The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-04-28
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yesterday. yoss doa's want % miss .
trip evey the Marrow Ezcape railway
thas runs from an indefinsze point out
side sf Portland 20 wherever right
evertakex the train A rnan who likes
exeisement and adventure uouhi en-
5oy the ride The road has been III the
hands Of recsEvsr for some yearlI and
has fallen into state Of Picturesque
decay No fuo raEss on the entire sys-
ten are on the same Level and there Is
an absence OF straight lines and Isgu-
Iarity that gises a charming variety
and uaviness to the perspective oil the
txzek. The coidIy practical theory
that the rails should be supportau by
the ties does NOS ind favor With the
section men on the Narrow Escape
line The ties hang from the rails
by the spike-hxads, bat for the sake of
variety an occasion tie Is permitted TO
touch the read bed. which Is largely
composed OF loose eobbles.
Talk abouf riding horseback. for
exercise. II doesn't compare with
rsiiroading over the Narrow Esl.ape-
Yon get greater variety and amount
OF motion 10 the mile than you eonEe
get anywhere else III the world, e1icept
on the back of camel with peg leg
Sometimes, when the track Is little
too wayy. they run the train of the
rails and take . short cut over the
prairie for quarter OF mile CIR so,
and then run back upon the rails when
they strike good place on the glade.
When they come 10 tTesfle. and
there are several high. spider-legged
structures OF that scrt. the engineer
slows up, leaving Just enough steam
on 70 give bcadway. They are very
careful about crossing trestles. Ihave
seen them so cautious that the engi-
,seer conductor and whole train crew
would get of and walk over and wait
for the train on the other side They
never alarm the passengers, however,
by saying anything To them shout
getting OF ard walking.
The line il about forty miles long
counting the twists in the rails, and
the srNins that leave the lower end
early in the morning generally get mp
10 one of the other ends by night.
There are two or three upper ends to
the line. The men who built il had a
notion TO run IL over TO the coast, but
when they rot near the mountains
they changed their minds, went back
a few miles and branched off 10 the
southwark. They changed their
minds several times. and the result
was lot OF ragged ends Of track rum
ming out into the prairie and stopping
noxhere in particular. Sometimes the
train runs up one spur and sometimes
up another Just depends on h0w the
section men leave the switches. When
the sea breeze draws down through
the gap In the Coast range and klows
right hard. they don 70 up the, west
ss,,ur at eli. but switch off to the east
and scud before the wind. YOU see
the prairie Is so soft up the wes'; spui
that they cant run OF the rails and
tack very well.
II remember one evening when the
train got up 10 Sheridan before dark
and the inhabitants all rushed o'Fer te
the station 10 see what was the matter
1t turned out that one of old mar
Scroggins hogs had wandered dowr
the VALLEY, and when the engineer saw
him on the track he just clapped or
steam and went for him. The Sheri
dan switch happened to be operi, and
tue train followed the hog up TO thu
west spur and chased him into iowr
ahead Of time. The engineer came
pretty near being discharged for reck
less running, but the excitement o
the chase was considered as an extern
Mating circumstance.
You ought to 60 up and have /
hunt on that railroad some time
There's some OF the best grouse shoot
ing on the line that / ever saw. Tht
conductor Is good shot. and the en-
gineer Is no slouch. / had hum
with them O few weeks ago. As the
early morning il the best time 10 FIND
the birds. the train pulled out ahou'
an hour before the usual time OF start
ina. The conductor and were In ths
baggage car with our guns and the en-
gineer had a gun ia the cab. We has
gone about mile when thu
train slowed down and the
conductor told me 10 watel
out. lie took one of the wild,
doors In the side Of the car, and
took the other. The slowing down
meant that the engineer saw birds, ane
/ In a moment the conductor hanget
away. The train stopped and brake
man jumped of and picked mp dear
grouse. Pretty soon the grouse be
came thick along the sides OF tn.
train in tbs least We heard the engi
az EN- right and left. and kept tn,
brakeman busy. The solitary passen
ger became interested and made
flrsteiass retriever,
1.-THE grouse were plentiful, bnt tn
China pheeants were thicker thai
flies. We saw at least 500 but w
disin get many. The China phesan
Is the finest game bird in this country
Seven pairs were imported about eigh
years ago. and being protected by ias
for ten years. they have increase,
wonderfully, and there must be nail
lions Of them in Oregon. 4 cocl
7 pheasant Il handsome bird. He
About the size of a game chicken, am
his piumagc Is almost ~ brilliant as
/ peaeock's, The feathers on his heaI
and neck are purple, except a whit
band like q cellar. and the plumage OF
his breast is iridescent. He has tai
about eighteen inches long. The bet
Is more sober looking bird.
The pheasant Is a sly bird ARID har,
20 get al He can run like 4 vii,
turkey. and his flight is strong, stead
and very swift California sporssmei
ought 90 introduce them here. | sur
pose the farmers would lick some. b.
canse the pheasant Is lover OF whoa
fields. and he's : thinasnan besides.
IL j. unlawful "a sSoot chimes
phsasants yet, but they would get /
front Of Cur guns, and m sorr,f to sA
that some OF them We're fatally ininre
by stray shot. The conductor shot
splendid cock, add Ii was laid clown q
the pise al birds at our feet. liza mo,
ing around somebody pushed CD
pheasant oat Of the door, and whc
the loss vas discovered the train va
slapped and ran back. The enginee
found the bird beside the track. ahou
80 wards hack, and claimed il hy riga
of discovery. sy reminding the cor
ductar that there were more ;al he 81
prevented a fight.
Once when We shot ard cripple
two geese, the conductor stopped th
train, and all hands got OF and chase
the rvesc all ever ieEs-2cre ktt. Th
fireman and the passenger secsfe
them, hesng the best runners. and v
brought the geese III alive The bird
were 50 thick that before we gslt 10 IN
next towu NE saw that oar anannu
tsoa wouldn't last. and when we X
there we telexraphe<i ahead for 4 lot (
cartridges, which were hs0agkt - I
AZ the third station. Yoa see II ~ n
fool q trick ~ shoot from 8 Faovin
train, that wolslslss along IS saoux
the wheels were geaFe6 on eccentric
ard 80 ne wasted lot OF pow,ter IN
tSesi Ahous q hundred shells and :,