The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-10-17
The Weak Subd uing The Mighty.
Our readers have doubtless heard the

Our readers have doubtless heard the
story of the mouse and the elephant,
and of how the little animal succeeded
in welding undisputed sway over the
big one. We are reminded of this by
story told in the Montreal Witness, in
which is described the capture of
railway by an arm y # caterpillars.
The advance guard of the army was
seen by railroad tinekeeper at Sebois,
on the Canadian Pacific, as he rode
over the line on his velocipede the
night before. He encountered lot of
small gray caterpiliars which had
spread themselves over the track SO,
thickly that he had to push his-n1a-
chine along by hand for hsfan hour.
Next morning the first train that,
left Sebois for Brownsville consisted
OF a big engine and eleven fiat cars,
loaded with l,500 snip knees. 1t had
gone but few miles when it ran into a
sticky, squirming mass, which the
locomotives ground to greasy pulp
that clogged the driving wheels and
prevented them from getting any. grip
on the track. 49,.
1t was as if wheels and rails had been
thoroughly larded. The train came to
standstill, and the conductor and
engineer made an investigation.
"Pooh!" said the engineer. "Bugsw
"Ha, ha" laughed the conductor, deris-
lively. They jumped aboard, after a lit
tie scraping and tried to start again, but
it was no use. The bugs were too
much for them.
AS far as the eye could reach the
little caterpillars were in complete
possession of. the track. The Canadian
Pacific was turned into two lines Of
gray wriggle.
The train was in the midst of the
woods. "Cut bushes and try to sweep
them off," said the conductor to the
train men. All hands tried it, but the
bushes crushed the pulpy mass and
only smeared the track worse than ever.
Sand was then sprinkled on the rails.
This enabled the engine to start, but
the caterpillars soon creased the rails
again and the train halted. A messen-
ger was despatched to the Sebois station,
and the situation telegraphed to the
manager Of the road. He sent an extra
locomotive and crew of helpers to the,
assistance of the beleaguered train.
With force of men scraping and
standing, with an engine to pull and
another to push, the train crept through
the woods at snaiPs pace.
And now, queerly enough, a new
enemy rallied to the support of the,
caterpillars. vast horde Of large and
ferocious mosquitoes came out of the,
depths of the forest and assailed the
motley crew of railroad men, showing
no national predictions, but drawing
blood from Poles, Frenchmen, Russians
and Irishmen alike. Even a bishop
would have smiled to see the crowd
fighting with mosquitoes with cne
hand and caterpillars with the other, all
the time matchmaking the pests in
at least five different languages!
Superintendent Van Zile issued the
orders, and charge after charge was
made at the steep grades fabricated
with squeezed caterpillars. All day long
and after the sun had gone. down the
locomotive and men toiIed to drag the
train from Sebois to Brownsville. The
myriads or caterpillars covered the
rails for eleven miles. When the train
reached its destination ut last it bore
the most exhausted and disgusted crew
ever seen on this continent outside of a
| blizzard.