Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-12-18
A LOCOMOTIVES PREY.
RUNS DOWN EVERYTHING FROM
TRAINS TO GEESE.
An Engineer Tells How 1t All Feels
Danger to Ones Own Life Does
Not Cause the Most Anx-
iety-The Suspense.


grown gray in the service of the COM
pany, as he sUoSd beside his locomo-
tive the other day. 'the suspense at
tending n turnover accident when you
are on an engine smothers one. can
assure YOU" he continued wiping
blotch OF oil of the side rod with
piece OF waste, that / am somewhat
of an authority on the subject because
l have had the misfortune TO run over
about everything from "a chicken TO a
fire engine.
You would naturally think that
collision, where your own life was in
imminent danger would cause you
more anxiety than anything else. but
ii doesn't Usually a collision occurs
before you know where you are. You
are sailing along over the rails. trying
TO keep as near your schedule time as
you can. when suddenly something
shows up before YOU With me it has
always been the rear OF train. for i
have never tried to pass an engine on
the same track coming in on opposite
direction. In an instant you slam on
the air brakes. reverse the engine and
wait for the crash, and the engine
buries herself in the caboose or cars
of the train you strike. Then you
make the most of bad job and il
you are not at fault for the accident
and no one is injured or killed. you
soon forget all about it. But it
is entirely different when you run
over human being You
are speeding along and see
man on the track in front Of you.
at first you think he will hear the
train, just as thousands have heard it
before, and get Off the track in time,
but he goes on with his back toward
you and you pull the whistle string
and the engine shrieks her warning.
He does not hear even that so you try
to stop the train. The air brakes are
pat on, the engine is reversed and the
great drivers begin working backward,
sending fire in showers from the shin
ing steel rails. while live coal sparks
from the furnace shoot from the stack
high up into sky, as the monster
groans and struggles vainly trying to
stop the train behind.
While you draw nearer and nearer
the victim the suspense is absolutely
beyond description. All efforts are
useless. You feel slight jar as the
poor devil is struck, cold sweat
breaks out all over your body, and
faint feeling comes over you, until you
fall back on your seat sick at heart
and wonder what the fate of the man
nj hot ha 6, i1t,
and what sadness there will be when
they learn the news at home You
think you would like 10 stop railroad
ing and earn a living at something
else. Meantime the train has come TO
standstill. The engine has ceased
her struggles and the only sound you
hear is the throbbing of the air. brake
as it pumps back and forth. making
noise like the breathing OF some ex-
hausted beast The baggagemaster,
conductor and brakeman rush out of
the cars and take all that is left of the
victim from under the wheels
We'll you know his fate now. AS
soon as you are signaled to go ahead,
and as you touch the throttle. the en-
CINE leaps forward eagerly as if she
were anxious TO leave the dreadful
place behind. and in moment the
thought of the accident is driven by
other work from your busy mind
"A pig is a dangerous thing to run
over, for he is likely TO throw the To-
connective off the track. When the
pilot of the engine hits him it usually
knocks him down and then rolls him
for few yards under it before the
trucks strike him, and when they do
there is great danger of them leaving
the rails. The drivers are almost GER
tain to follow the trucks. and il you
don't go down the bank you are lucky.
So you see what havoc one pig can
make with a railroad. Another dis
agreeable thing about pig is that he
never stops squealing from the time
he is hit until he is stone dead. En-
gipeers are not fond of pork.
1T is next to impossible to kill a
goat with an engine. Goats are the
most irritating Of all animals that
WANDER along a railroad track. No
matter how fast you may be running
or how quietly you steal down on him
ne VIII see you out OF the corner OF
his eye and manage to get out of the
way just in time to miss the cowcatcher
rs the engine rushes by him at light
ming speed. Cows and horses are gen.
orally easily disposed of, though some
times they get under the wheels and
cause a bad wreck But they are so
large that the pilot gets under them
and throws them TO one side Sheep
are the most pitiful of all animals to
run down. They seem to realize the
danger they are in and huddle together
in the middle OF the rails and await
death. Their great, innocent eyes
stare at you so mournfully and sadly
that they haunt you for days to come.
A locomotive seems 10 take savage de-
light in destroying sheep. She throws
them in every direction and will kill a
L l. anoly - 81,