The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1889-10-17
BESlECED ON LOCOMOTIVE.
A Ride with Cobra on the Engine of an
Indian Railway.


Indian Railway.
/ was stationed at Sooramunoalum
in 1875, SAYS a writer in an English
paper, where | formed a close friend
ship with Tom Newdegate, the assist
ant traffic manager of western section
of the Chennaputnam railway. He was
a widower and | was a bachelor. and
being the only Europeans in the station
with the exception of Mai. Nimrod the
government district engineer, whose
| duties seldom allowed him to be at
home, we naturally spent a good many
evenings at each others bungalows.
1t was very hot June evening, and
Tom and | were stretched in long
American chairs in the veranda of my
bungalow smoking our ''triches" when
my''boy'' came to me for my instructions
about a journey | had to make by
train on the following day to station
few miles down the line.
The prospect was not pleasant one,
as the land wind was still prevailing
and | had little inclination to face that
parching, fiery blast. Therefore | did
not look forward with eagerness to
spending a day in the Oak bungalow at
Snukery Droog.
Why not 90 tonight" asked Tom.
Il am running a special goods to
Pothanore at II O'Clock and you can be
dropped at Sunkery. Or, better still,
| will 90 with you and we will ride on
the engine. the coolest place in the train
by day or night"
| readily closed with the offer. the
chance of travelling by night instead OF
by day at that time of the year being too
good to be lost, and telling my boy to
pack up days provisions, not forget
ting a bottle of EXshaw and half a
dozen sOdas, and ordering the black
chef to join him with his cooking
utensils, Tom and dozed off in our
chairs to be wakened ut 80 o'clock
AT that hour precisely we were aroused
by the boys monotonous "Sah! Sah!"
and we were forthwith driven to the
railway station.
We were soon off and found out at
once that Tom was right about the
engine being the coolest place. The
velocity of the engine creates a current
of air which rapidly absorbs the
abundant moisture thrown out from
ones pores when the thermometer
registers 80 degrees at midnight.
With our cheroots burning fra grantly,
we bowled along very chattily and felt
regretful that we had not a longer run
before us. Nothing worthy OF notice
had happened until the driver ordered
his fireman to make UP the furnace
Sooramungalum being upward of 200
miles from the sea, coal or compressed
patent fuel would be too costly to burn
in the engines on account of the ex-
pense of bringing it from the coast: be-
sides coal perishes very rapidly under
atropicaI sun. Therefore, the furnaces
are constructed to burn wood, of which
there is fair supply available from
the company's jungle reserves. OF
course all fuel is precious and drivers
must take the fat with the lean-that is,
roots rs well as logs.
Now, snakes very much affect the
hollow creyices of roots of old trees in
India and thus they are frequently
carried into the wood-yards at the
railway stations and thence are oc-
casionally transferred to the engine
tenders.
This was exactly our case. As the
fireman took up a log TO throw it into
the furnace down dropped a lively
cobra on the footplate. 1t was not
very large species of ''spectacles"-
about feet long-but a foot hooder
is quite enough to grant a passport to
the StouteSt man that ever hoped and
to frank him to that country from whose
bourne no traveller returns SO being
four human beings on that foot-plate,
and consequently being somewhat
crowded we skipped back with much
alacrity. Unfortunately none of us
had stick or the matter could speedily
have been ended. As it was. all we
could hope for was that the reptile
would glide off the engine and drop on
the track.
But the creature showed no inclina-
ton to go. Either it knew the bylaw
against leaving the train while in
motion, or it liked the fierce heat from
the open furnace. 1t reared itself up, and
in the hope of frightening it | made a
kick at it, taking care, of course not to
let my foot 90 within striking distance,
as my light ducks would have been no
protection against those awful fangs.
1t was an unfortunate demonstration,
for the snake, so far from being in
timidated accepted the menace as
casus belli, and advanced upon us.
We were besieged.
The driver sprang out on one side of
the engine, holding on the hand-rail that
runs along the boiler; the fireman went
up the pile of logs behind him like a
mountain eat; Tom vanished from
the scene on the opposite side of the
engine to that the driver had taken
calling to me To follow him. They
were all as much at home skipping
around on that engine in the dark as
squirrels on the top branches of a beech
tree; but to me the unfamiliar situation
was perfectly bewildering, and being
partly fascinated by the loathsome
thing | was unable to stir, and my feet
seemed rooted to the spot
The cobra raised itself to strike!
tried to jump off the engine, but
| could not move. l would have
called out but horror had tied my
tongue. The next instant | expected
to receive the mortal wound, when the
fireman slipped down from the logs be.
hind the snake, seized it by the tail,
and flung it bodily into the furnace
1t was a relief to see that cobra Squirm-
ing in the fire.
Sunkery Droo@ signals were now in
sight, and Tom" and l were soon
enjoying a peg in the station. But
before the train went on there was
a short interview between that fireman
and myself; and by the very broad grin
on his good-natured face, and the hearty
"Salaam. Iyye' with which he brought
both his palms to his forehead l
judged he was well satisfied. Certainly
| was.