The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-06-15
BRAVE ENGINEER CLIFFORD.
The Man Who Carried the News Through
the Valley on His Engine.

4AAo oASA ~ aLO CNe nlOuk
the Valley on His Engine.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
ID. A. Orr, editor of the Chambersburg
Daily Spirit, wasin town yesterday. Touch
ing on the Johnstown horror, from the scene
of which he had just returned, he said: II
see that one OF your city peapers, referring
and dozens of others by the engineman who
dashed through Johnstown in advance Of
the flood, says: They fed up the hills and
waited. They, saw the unknown engineer
fleeing along the track with the Hood rae
ing behind him: they do not know now nor
does anyone to this day who he was OK
whether he outran it. The. daring en-
~gineer." said Mr.. Orr, who plucked cour-
Clifford. in charge of freight engine CAS-.
and he kept ahead of the sweep. / saw him
last Monday, and, with becoming modesty,
he told me his story, running something
like this:
there received a message that the dam had
broken. knew what that might mean.
for / was aware of the enormous volume of
water its banks up to that time had held in
thoughts of the people and friends as far
as LOckport. twenty miles away that L
might ave thickened upon me. / leaped
to my engine, to which was attached four
freight cars, and started on my ride
with a full head of steam. For the first
time in my railroad life / went ahead
without orders. l heard the dreadful roar
behind me. and felt that mine was a race
to save many lives. / was afraid to look
back for fear of being appalled, with what
i had undertaken. ! sped down the grade.
my whistle screaming and bell ringing,
while / called to hundreds, shouting and
making myself heard as best l could:
Get to the hills! the dam has broken'
Along by the track, at Johnstown. some
wOrkmen jeered me, and Others cried, with
oaths: Let it breakv But / warned ALL
could.
about twenty minutes ahead of the flood,
and while my locomotive did It's best, in my
fear for the safety of those had yet to
reach, l felt at times that the wheels were
9Gs mo Long 9 81 sped i 1sTSash and Sam Se~
Florence, on until 1 reached Lock,
their families live. There / stopped,
alarmed all l could, hurried our people to
caught up with me. If l saved many, az
they say / did, I am satisfied. l don't see
that ] deserve praise for doing what 1
thought was the best to do. This was not
the safest for myself. 1 agree. but ! thought
then rather of the hundreds 1 might help
than of my own security
Hugh Clifford, who rode down the val
ley on his iron steed, unlike sheridan In
front. of his enemy instead of behind, on
bnat 1ape1ul fT1Qay,' cOubinuco W. Oil.
twas not then a hero for the first time. 1t
was this plucky fellow: thena fireman only
twenty years of age. who. $ me eight years
| ago. averted an awful wreck and loss OK
life. He found the freight train he
was on. a train of twenty loaded
| cars, speeding down the eastern slope
| OF the Alleghenies at Allegrippus. deserted
by its engineer and crew. all save fireman
Clifford. The engineer deemed the train
beyond control, and signaling danger,
| jumped from his engine. and with the re-
| mainder of the crew, except TIE Young fire.
man. fed. He might, too. easily and safely
| have jumped as did the rest, but he knew
| the danger and death that it might cause,
as it would dash into the Altoona yards un.
manned. Clifford, with a full realization
of his risk, saw that the engine was re-
versed, then ran back the full length of the
| train, braking each car as he went. ard
soon, though il seemed hours to him, he had
brought the train to a stand-stiu and was
| able to take it in safely to Altoona. Cliff
| ford never fired after that day. The next
morning he was made an engineer. And
now the hero of Allegrippus has won new
laurels in the valley of the Conemaugh.
| Paul Revere's ride seems a pleasure gallop
when its story is told along with Hugh
| CiifTord,sD