Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-06-21
ON THE NARROW ESCAPE.
STRANGE AND PECULIAR FEATURES
OF RAILROADiNG IN OREGON.


OF RAILROADlNG IN OREGON.
Cunning for Grouse and Other Game Out
of the Baggage Car Doors-A Wild Chase
After Scroggins' Hog-How the Engineer
Struck and Tied Up the Whole System.
'If you ever go up to Oregon" said Col j.
M. Seuter at the Baldwin, "you don't want
to miss trip over the Narrow Escape rail-
way that runs from an indefinite point out
side of Portland to wherever night overtakes
the train.
"a man who likes excitement and advent
ure would enjoy the ride. The road has
been in the hands of receiver for some years,
and has fallen into state of picturesque de-
cay.
mo two rails on the entire system are on
the same level, and there is an absence of
straight lines and regularity that gives a
charming variety and waviness to the per-
spective of the track. The coldly practical
theory that the rails should be supported by
the ties does not find favor with the section
men on the Narrow Escape line.
1.-The ties hang from the rails by the spike
heads, but for the sake of variety an occa-
sional tie is permitted to touch the roadbed.
which is largely composed OF loose cobbles.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROAD
"Talk about riding horseback for exercised
1t doesn't compare with railroading over the
Narrow Escape. You get a greater variety
and amount of motion to the mile than you
could get anywhere else in the world, except
on the back of a camel witis peg leg"
Sometimes, when the track is a little too
f,.oi, off lie oy,I
take short cut over the prairie for quar-
ter of mile or so, and then run back upon
the rails when they strike good place on the
grade. When they come to a trestle, and
there are several high, spider legged struc-
leaving just enough steam on to give head
way
''They are very careful about crossing tres
ties. have seen them SO cautious that the
engineer, conductor and whole train crew
would get off and walk over and wait for the
train on the other side. They never alarm
the passengers, however, by saying anything
to them about getting off and walking.
"The line is about forty miles long, count
ing the twists in the rails, and the trains that
leave the lower end early in the morning gen
orally get up to one of the other ends by
night There are two or three upper ends to
the line.
1.-THE men who built it had notion to run
it over to the coast, but when they got near
the mountains they changed their minds
went back few miles and branched off to
the southwark. They changed their minds
several times, and the result was a lot of
ragged ends of track running out into the
prairie and stopping nowhere in particular.
sometimes the train runs up one spur and
sometimes up another-just depends on how
the section men leave the switches. When
the sea breeze draws down through the gap
in the Coast range and blows right hard, they
don't go up the west spur at all, but switch
off to the east and scud before the wind. You
see the prairie is so soft up the west spur that
they can't run off the rails and tack very well
II remember one evening when the train
got up to Sheridan before dark, and the in
habitants all rushed over to the station to see
what was the matter. 1t turned out that one
of old man Scroggins' hogs had wandered
down the valley, and when the engineer saw
him on the track he just clapped on steam
and went for him
1.-THE Sheridan switch happened to be
open and the train followed the hog up the
west spur and chased him into town ahead of
time. The engineer came pretty near being
discharged for reckless running, but the ex-
element of the chase was considered as an
extenuating circumstance.
IT WAS FINE SPORT
"You ought to go up and have hunt on
that railroad some time There's some of the
best grouse shooting on the line that ever
saw. The conductor is a good shot and the
engineer is no SLOUGH. had hunt with
them few weeks ago.
"As the early morning is the best time to
find birds, the train pulled out about an hour
before the usual time of starting. The con-
ductor and l were III the baggage car with
our guns, and the engineer had gun in the
cab
"We had gone about mile when the train
slowed down and the conductor told me to
watch out. He took one of the wide doors in
the sides of the car and took the other. The
slowing down meant that the engineer saw
birds. and in moment the conductor banged
away.
1.-THE train stopped and a brakeman jumped
off and picked up dead grouse. Pretty
soon the grouse became thick along the sides
of the track and didn't seem to mind the
train in the least. We heard the engineer
popping away, and we whanged at 'em right
and left, and kept the brakeman busy. The
solitary passenger became interested and
made first class retriever.
1.-THE grouse were plentiful, but the China
pheasants were thicker than flies We saw
at least 500, but didn't get many. The China
pheasant is the finest game bird in this coun-
try. Seven pairs wero imported about eigh-
teen years ago, and being protected by law
for ten years. they have increased wonder
fully. and there must be millions of them in
Oregon.
"You see, it is no fool of a trick to shoot
from a moving train that wabbles along as
though the wheels were geared on eccentrics
and SO we wasted a lot of powder. We used
about a hundred shells and secured thirty
one birds, mostly grouse That beats tramp
ing over the hills all to thunder.
81 don't know as you had better go up
there right away to hunt Oh the train. When
left, the Narrow Escape system was tied up
by a strike. The engineer hadn't got any
pay for two years, and he,started kick.
1.-THE receiver received well enough, but he
didn't seem to give up quite so well, but per-
haps that was because there wasn't much to
give up. The section men didn't mind, be-
cause they could pick up a hand car load of
old ties most any time, run down to old man
Fairgrave's place and swap them off for beer,
but the engineer and fireman didn't have
chance to pick up any more ties than they
needed to burn under the boiler.
$50 one day the engineer ran the locomo-
tive off the rails into Sim Hyde's potato field
and swore he'd stay there with it until the
company paid him something on account.
That tied up the whole system, and the lastl
knew the engineer was camping in the cab in
the potato field. You'd better wait until you
hear that traffic has been resumed over the
Marrow Escape. "-San Francisco paper.
La ut the White