The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1890-04-19
BEATING A cLouD-BuRsT.
How an Engineer Outstripped = Flood by
Savanfv Saconsia-


- .u.<. Seventy Seconds.
I George Davis is one of the oldest and best
engineers in Denver, says the News OF that
city. He commenced in 1870 on the old Den
yer Pacific, and was firing for Ed Hoskins
on old No. 30 when the engine brought the
first passenger train to Denver in 1870 In
1872 he was given charge of an engine, and
continued in active service on that line un-
til, owing TO sickness, he was obliged to lay
of; butthe company, approaching his vaiua-
Bile services, have him employed in the
Union Depot examining train hands as to
their knowledge of train rules and duties.
George had the reputation of being one of
the fastest engineers on the road, and on
one occasion when pulling President
Adams car, a speed indicator in his car in
dictated seventy miles an hour for short
distance, but George thinks the fastest
time he ever made was on the afternoon of
July II, 1875, when he ran race with a
food IN Sand Greek and beat it by just sew
enty seconds. George can tell the story best,
however: ss-s~- .'-~~a-~-
1T was during the time we were having
so many floods, and the bridge over Sand
creek had been washed out a few days be-
fore, and the track ran down over the sand
in the bottom of the creek, which was al
ways dry except when there was flood
1--WE were an hour late that afternoon,
and when we reached Eaton, forty-eignt
miles from Denver, we were just taking
water at the tank when ID. b. Keller, who
was the agent at that place then, came rum
ming out to me with message, which read:
"'Make all possible haste to Denver.
Water cominU down Sand (,rpply
1.-THE message was signed by Colonel
Fisher, the superintendent, and l knew it
meant get there. and the way damned the
old machine going over the track that after
noon was a caution. We had no air brakes
in those days, and had six stops to make
but were only sixty-four minutes from
Eaton to Sand Creek.
'When we reached the bank of the creek
it was nearly dusk, but l could see the
water coming only few rods above, foam
ing and roaring, solid wall six feet high,
full of timber and wreckage from the
Kansas Pacific bridge few miles above,
and thought at first would not chance it,
but just as was about to blow the brakes
caught sight of Colonel Fisher on the other
side, waving his hat to me to come on, so l
pulled her wide open and we plunged down
~ VIZ hoiS anu "iiSSiCu up buC OinCT
just seventy seconds before the water
struck the track and wiped it out of exist
ence with roar.
Il stopped as quick as I could after we
got over, and if you ever saw delighted
set OF passengers they were there. You
see they didn't know any thing about it
until we were down in the creek bottom,
when they saw the water coming. Scared!
Well, you can bet they were. They had
been uneasy all the way from Eaton, and
had been coaxing Ed Hoskins-he was the
conductor-to make me stop running so
last, but when we swung down into the
creek bottom at the rate of fifty miles an
hour, they knew something was up, and
when they caught sight Of that food they
saw right away what the matter was. They
got out on the bank and acted foolish,
cheering me and throwing their hats in the
air and shaking hands with me and saying:
God bless you, and all that kind of thing.
., we had big time there for awhile, and
it was days before we could run trains
across the creek again.