The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-12-25
might just as well stand stiI and let US

now MUCH IdSbcE a flBuboucu ucoI OOuAu
travel than a railroad train, so pulled
her open and let her slide. I'll bet we
weren't a minute gong through that
mile cut, but the deer kept good ten
yards space between himself and the en-
CINE with ease. The road takes the long
high trestle at the end of the cut by quite
stiff curve, and at the left is Kanes
gulley, 40 feet wide at the top if it is a
foot, and so feet deep. If the buck at
tempted to cross the open trestle he was
sure to fall between the ties to the bot
tom of the ravine, and for him to leap
the gully seemed impossible. The deer
knew his capacity, however, and quitting
the track at the eud of the cut he gath
cred himself on one edge of the gully and
shot across that 40 feet of chasm as light
ly as if he were jumping six foot ditch,
cleared 1t with foot or more to spare,
and bounded away into the forest.
Whatever happens ON this road now
won't surprise me = exclaimed my fire
man, as he gazed with bullying eyes after
the fleeing deer.
81 thought the same then, but 1
changed my mind afterward. The rest
of the down trip was quiet enough, but
coming back we had plenty to keep us
awake. Wewere passing through part
of the hemlock woods where there had
been big slashing made by the tannery
bark peelers, and happening to glance
back over the train saw one of the
brakemen struggling desperately on top
of a freight car with the biggest bird l
had ever seen. The brakeman had his
stout brake stick, and was hammering
the bird, which was a'bald eagle, wher-
ever he could get in a blow, while the
eagle was pitching into the brakeman
with beak and claws and striking him
with its immense wings. The top of a
freight car, with the train running
rs miles an hour is not a particularly de-
sirable place for one to have desperate
fight on his hands, and was about to
stop the train and give some aid to the
brakeman when the eagle came running
and screeching over the tops of the cars,
jumping from one to the other, toward
the engine, and the first thing my fire.
man and myself knew it had jumped in
to the tender and dashed into the cab,
where, being unable to get any further,
it continued with US the fight it had be-
gun with the brakeman. The eagle
fought so desperately with the terrible
weapons at its command that in very
short time my greasy engine clothes we're
hanging in strips about me- My fireman
retreated through the cab window to the
handrail at the side of the boiler, and
but for the arrival on the scene of the
brakeman and the Aagman, l would have
either had to desert my post or been
roundly whipped by the eagle. The two
men succeeded in overpowering the
fierce bird and we tied him down. The
brakeman said the eagle had swooped
down on him from somewhere in the
bark, slashing and almost knocking him
from the car at the first assault 1t was
his lucky blow in breaking the eagles
wing with his brakestick that turned the
fight in his favor, for the eagle beat re-
treat and, being unable to fly, had en-
deavored to escape by running, which
brought it in close quarters in the cab.
It's good this road isn't any longer,
l said to my fireman, after we had got
over the effects of the eagle fight. If it
had much more of such country to run
through they would have to send COM
pany of soldiers with each train to pro-
tect it,
''We were within five miles of the end
of the trip, and had just rounded Bal
CONS curve, when we came in sight of
three bears, one very large one and
the other two small ones, standing right
in the middle of the track, not five rods
ahead. We were running fast, and l
sounded the whistle, thinking to scare
the bears off the track, but the sound
had no effect on them except to fetch
the big bear to hei launches, where she
stood with open jaws and fore paws
raised, awaiting what she supposed was
an attack, small bear on each side of
her. The engine swept into the foolish
bear family at the rate of 25 miles an
hour, and when the train was stopped
the old bear was found lodged against
the fore part of the boiler, dead, and one
of the small bears lay 20 feet up in the
woods, also dead, the other was on the
cowcatcher, uninjured, but holding on to
the bars like grim death.
81 never said word after that bear
episode until we got in. jumped off my
engine, and ragged as 1 was from the
eagles claws, went straight to the super
Office and told him my place
on that railroad was at his disposal,
1.-THE road learned to be an engineer
on l said, somehow neglected to in
clude bear fighting, catamount killing,
deer chasing and the like in its instruc-
tons, and can't fill the bill on the B.
B. & X
sand so quit. "-New York Sun.
COLD WAVES