The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-19
A CHILD ENGINEER.
How Ella Lawson Made the Iron Horse
Dance Along the Rails.
From the Nc.cnrk CnH

%@-ACO 49, @~-S@~Ds
From the Ac1odrk Cali
A barefootei girl of II years, with coal
black eyes and ose-fying hair, was playing
about the rou1dhouse on Tuesday evening
Just as the sun was sinking over Bergen
Hills, and six or eight men who were sitting
around the dismantled caboose, where they
are won't to wait every evening for orders
| for their regular trips 70 begin, were watch
| ing her as she went from engine to engine,
climbing over the tanks, running out on
| toe footboards or sitting on the pilots and
| dangling her sunburned feet. Two TIN
buckets full of coal, resting near a Discarded
! tie, told why she was around the yard and
| it was evident from her actions that she re-
garded herself as a privileged character.
Its s'prizin' how muca Uhat gal has got
10 know bout an engine in the past year"
said the blue-eyed engineer OF 81 as he
watched her wlping the bulls eye OF a sig
| nal lamp with the hem OF ragged frOck, to
! the reporter II believe she could run an
engine if she had half a chance, with what
| she has picked up around here siuce Mike
was killed. It's just year next Saturday
| that he got caught, and she has been round
| the yard almost every day since. She'll
give over coming here when she gets year
or two more on her shoulders, you can safe
| " bet, and I'd like to know of some way of
she gets too big TO be pic1iu' coal"
| Maggie Ryan was the daughter Of an old
| switchman who was run over and killed in
the yard while on duty, and who left wife
and three children without dollar i'll the
| world Maggie was TIE oldest child and
she was male pet of by the men in the
| yard AM at the round house. No other
| youngsters are allowed around the cars and
| engines, and Maggie would not be were the
rules strictly enforced As it is, many
| dainty is SGT aside for her from the dinner
| pals Of the trainmen, and many tine
lump of coal is dropped from the cars willie
they are passing Mrs. Ryan's cabin, where
| sne spends nearly the whole week washing
| and ironing for the railroad men.
Maggie is getting TO be quite woman
said Eddie Stewart, as he watched her an
tics on the engine. Speaking about her
running an engine reminds me of the only
| gal | ever knew who could and did run an
engine, and run it for all IL is worth.
mean Sid Lawsons daughter Ella, Of Pine
| Oak. Sid taught his gal more about railroad
ing than her mother did about cooking and
housekeeping, aud when Ella was IA years
of age she knew almost as much about an
engine as her father did. He used to let her
ride down to Bradley's with him three
times week, and she'd sit up on the box
by him and keep a sharp lookout ahead.
IL was firing for Ham Stonelake then,
and often, when Ella didn't want to wait
for her fathers train, she'd hop on our en-
CINE and come home with us. Old Barker
saw her on the engine one day, and gave
orders that she should never be allowed to
ride there again. 1t purity near broke her
heart when she heard of it, and it made her
pap feel purity bad too, but the order had
to he obeyed, and Ellie had to ride in a pas
senger coach when she went to Bradley's
to the store after that. When she was be-
tween IA and Is Doc Study taught her to
telegraph little, and after that she just
haunted the window of the ticket office for
hours every day watching Clark Wllliss,
the agent of Pine Oak. ascending and re-
ceiving messages. She got so well posted
that Clark used TO let her practice with DR..
Studley over private wire that Clark put
up between the station and the doctors
house on the gully ropd.
ut was before the days Of telephones, you
know, and 1t was great co1vei fence TO the
whole township to have that half.
mile OF private wire from the
station TO Cue doctors Office. When
Ell was 10 the company took Clark Willis