The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1888-08-18

raising my eyes upon the track ahead.
there she was!
my God, Jim,' said to my fire.
men, there is No. g."
..And she's fyin', too said Jim.
.what'll we do. Kell?' he shouted:
In few moments she would be on us:
"Guess we'd better stay, JIM l said,
and without shutting her off I braced
my feet against the boiler, threw her
over and clapped On the sand and the
air. This action reversed the drive
wheels of the engine and set them rum
ming backward. while the other wheels
of the engine and of the train ran for
ward. This greatly increased the re-
sistance against the forward motion OF
the train, and is only resorted to by
engineers when a crisis is imminent, as
there is danger of blowing out the cyl
inder heads and otherwise straining the
locomotive. 81 III A. 4
Gentlemen, said Kellogg, "a steam
engine on railroad never looked SO
big to me before as that No. 9. Talk
about the City Hall being big, why 1T
was an ant hill to the size of No. Us To-
connective. l could see her old drivers
spinning around on the inside rail- OF
that curve. There was no time to blow
the whistle until after I had reversed
her. Galloway-Alex. Galloway was
No. 9s engineer-saw me about the
same time saw him. What he did l
don't know; I suppose he did the same
as /, but thisI do know, and that is that
when those engines came to a stop the
pilots were, by actual measurement,
Just eight feet apart. Alex. and l
climbed down and shook hands across
those eight feet.
..Of course I was overdue when we
ran into Detroit" he continued, shut
it was not until had looked over my
engine, washed and changed my clothes
that began to feel the effects OF my
narrow escape. l broke completely
down, and recollect walking into SUI
perintendent Blodgett's Office with my
knees SO shaky that they would hardly
hold me up"
"Well, said 1 to Blodgett, you've
heard about it. Am i to blameP"
| Heard about whatp" he said.
20 come, now; l know you know all
about 1.-THE narrow escape on the
curve. Am to blame?"
II don't know"
"rll take the matter in my OWL
hands then, Mr.. Blodgett. I resign
and you must get somebody else t.
take out my engine in the morning."
Don't do that, Kellogg" said he
wait and see before you resign. You
are excited now; you will think differ
emily when you are composed"
mo, sir" slid, Il know what Tn
doing. and near what / say. didn'
see any flag out at the wagon works.
have been on this road a good man.
years, Mr.. Blodg lett, and if there was
flag out there and 1 didn't see it, it i
high time that should resign befor
something serious does happen"
This is a sensible way to talk, Kel
logg," said he. ,"Now you think thi
matter over until morning, then let m
know
i you see If I was to blame" ex
planned Kellogg aside, II did not wan
to give them an opportunity to discharg
me-"
II concluded to investigate myself,
said Kellogg, land told the superin
tendent that would call at his hous
at nine o'clock that night and inforr
8 him of my final decision. He said tha
would be satisfactory, and jumped o
street car in the evening and rode OF
: to West Detroit to intercept Gallowa
on his return to Detroit. Alex shove
: up all right and on time, though / coul
: see that he was still little shaky."
".How is it, Alexr asked, climbin
into his engine, was the flag out
: (He ran into Toledo right after lef
and would know whether the flag Wa
out or not.) as
.No,n he said, ..Kel, it wasn't!''
II thought not, said, 'and thu
saves me- Where was Brown"
Brown, the narrator explained, wi
the chief train dispatcher of the d
} vision and very careful and reliab
man. 1t was his duty to have the fis
put out if he wanted No. 4 to side-tra<
for No. 9. He had not done it. ss
Where was Brown" repeated Ale
when I ran in Brown was in de-
faint on the platform and they we
9 throwing water in his face, which w
as white rs sheet. trying to bril-
: him to-" s4 t.s, ff4 ~
II Brown was checking of some cars
t mako up train, duty that was thu
imposed on dispatchers, and his bra
L. A u -