St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-17
Who Saved a Northern Pacific
Passenger Train From
Destruction.
How 1t Glanced That Old En-
gineer Joe Bassett Lost
His Nerve.
A Blood Chilling Ride to Death
on the Cascade Divi-
sion in '85.
The Wrath of tho Fireman
Gives the Warning Of
Danger.

AuOuI as Wel1 kHOWn Il CHARACTER DIS
any who ever lived in this part of the
country was old Joe Bassett, who died
last Wednesday at the home of his later
| years near North st. Paul. BasSett was
a locomotive engineer, employed by
| half a dozen roads at different times,
and latterly, up to five years ago. by
| the Northern Pacific on one of its West
| ern divisions. Those who know his his
tory say that the company never had a
steadier hand at the throttle, nor
claimed the service of a man more thor
| oughly to be depended on in any i'm
aginable emergency than he. The old
man made his last run four years ago.
Not that he retired from the rail be-
cause he was tired of it-certainlY not
| that-but because on that particular
| journey referred to the iron nerve which
had saved a train in more than
one tight place was subjected to
strain so severe as to Shatter it hope
| lessly and forever. Since that dark
night upon which a heavy passenger
train pulled by Joe's engine, Old No.
she was called. came within an ace of
destruction, the old man had never
pulled lever. He was taken from his
and his career as an engineer was over.
| Often of late years the old veteran
would come to town and visit the rail
| road yards. There he would stand
watching the FURNISHED mOnarchS of
| the rail as they pulled out for the West.
| 1t was almost a wiStful look that some
times to be seen in his face as hand
| some engine passed along the track,
its brightly polished rails shining
with a brilliance only attained
| by first-ciass handling. 'She's beau
ty,' the old man would mutter, She's
| beauty, but there don't none of 'em
come up along side of old Five Most
| of the engineers and firemen knew old
| Joe. and had heard his story. either
| from his own lips or from those of their
| fellows. The Old-timer was never too
| busy to tell the tale Of "that night in
49," and nearly every railroad man he
| met was willing to hear it. Sometimes
| friendly voice from a passing engine
would banter the old veteran to ''get
aboard and try her trip but he would
sadly shake his head. Boys" he said
| few weeks ago, to few of them who
| on an engine agin. My nerves is clean
| gone. and [ couldn't hold her steady
to save me from HI" The old engi-
neer is dead now. The story of his adj
venture he left as legacy to his
friends of the road, and in all probable
| ity it will be told and retold as long as
| the n. P. is road. A crowd of the
brotherhood men got together one day,
and Joe BaSsett was listening to stories
of narrow escapes from men who bad
never heard about his. Boys" he
| said. "talkin' about narrer escapes, was
| ever any of yes out through Eagle gorge
on the Cascade? No; we'll, Pll tell
| you there amt no better piece O. track
on the system N what there is on that
division. Used to run old No. 5 over it
| myself for year or two, and I'd of
been runnin' her yet, only for lOsin' my
| nerve. l hain't near so old as look,
and there's older men on the road N
| what | am, but there amt many of 'em
can tell the story eZ | cam The crowd
settled down to listen and Joe went on.
| 1T were i'll 'S5, long towards winter, as
Bill Tanner fell sick one night. His
wife she comes down to the sheds an
she seq to me with the tears runnin'
down her face: MIR. Bassett,' she says,
Bill can't go out this trip. He's awful
bad with fever, an the doctor says per-
haps he'll die. He's delirious now
| she kept on, AN talkin' all the time
about the engine, an tryin' to shovel
COAL Well, didn't like it much, this
ldee O. going out on run 'thout Bill.
He fired for me two years straight, an
it seemed sort o. second natur' like for
| us two fellerS to get into the cab at
onct. Well, there warn't no other
way to do than to take a new man.
| There wasn't nOthin' the matter with
him neither; he were a good man, but
| he warn't Bill Tanner. When we pulled
out that night it were rainin' like it
didn't never expect to quit, an as dark
as the difference between black an
white. We got to spinnin' along in
good shape, an it just seemed so we
was rnnnin' through clouds tibet
| had dropped down low SOS to make
things ugly. l knowed every turn in
the cross ties and culverts where we
was. Seemed to me as we wasn't
poundin' her down just right, so l says
to the new man TO give her more coal
and rake her up bit. | looked out
ahead, and couldn't see nothin' for
mist and clouds and the rain drivin'
against the window in sheet. steps
to the side window and looks out.
| Seemed to me somehow as there was
! somethin' goin' wrong, an L was tryin'
| to See through the haze, when my heart
| jumps clear up between my teeth, for l
felt big jerk an heard the drivers
| begin to bite the track on the reverse.
l jerks my head in out O. that, an there
/ saw sight that froze me up for
| minute. an couldn't move hand nor
| foot The lever was pulled clear
| back to the last notch, an Bill Tanner
stood there a-hold OF it. The new man
| had the furnace door open ready to
| shove in more fire, an the red glow
| of the blaze inside sbone on Bill's
| blue OverallS, as was most white from
fimnC
| Warn't no mistake about it, boys: it
| were Bill just as sure as Pm Joe Bas-
| sett, an HIM hundred mile away on
| deathbed. l jumps off'n the window
| seat an makes grab for Bill, but there
warn't nothin' there. l turns round to
the new man an / seq, See here,' l
seq, did you touch tibet lever?' so help
me God he says, Il was on the tender
| when she reversed an / knowed it
afore l asked him. sits down again
| and puts my hands to my head,
| a touch of the fever. too. When
l come to myself, the train was stopped
| and the new man was trying to pour
tea down my throat from his pannikin.
| / got up an shook myself an then goes
| down the track ways with lantern.
| didn't hev to go fur. We was seven
miles from the gorge. | knowed that
by the ellis on both sides. The rain
he'd loOsened up bout thousand ton o.
rocks from above the track, an they
was lynn ten feet deep right in the road
a hundred yards ahead of the engine.
Boys, when they got that track clear L
pulled my train to the end of the di-
vision, an then l got dispatch. l
couldn't read it then, but / did after.
1t were from Bill Tanners wife. Bill
he'd died at $50. few minutes before
he took the lever out of my hands like,
an saved the train. l hain't never
touched a lever sence, an whenever l
go a'near one my hand shakes like l
had palsy. tell you." concluded the
old man, rising to go, there's them as
can talk about close calls an SIGH, but
/ low as Their amt any of 'em put in
night like Joe Bassett did on the Cas-
eade in the fall of 49,"
SEIBERTS FINE START.