The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-12-19

the steel cars. and put them in such .
state that they could not be used.
There we were, dying down hundred.
,oot grade-two engines and twenty
two heavy loaded cars--and only six
brakes on the train.
"Kid Vallejo and his partner doubled
on the brakes on the tie cars, and tho
first thing they did was TO break two
chains. That left MS only four brakes
not enough to stop us
"We shot by Banning's station at the
rate of sixty miles an hour, the FIRE
flying from the driving wheels and the
tender brakes just burning upl The
driving boxes were hot and that stack
the wedges so that the engine rode
like an old cart going over cobble-
stones.
1T shook the oil cans oft the shelf to
the deck and Jared out the cab lights.
The coal was all shaken forward from
the tender; it was pouring out of the
deck.
Looking back, we could see the
ties working off the fat cars sidewise;
they struck the ground endwise every
other minute, and went off in the air
like a sky rocket, and then off down
into the canyon.
"The engines were heating all over,
and the Babbit metal was fying from
the beck ends of the main rods. was
afraie my engine would tear herself TO
pieces, everything was shrieking aud
groaning so.
"We went past Cabazon station at
the rate of seventy-fve miles an hour.
The grade from Cabazon for six or
seven miles is easier, aud then there
comes a short curve, close in by the
side of the mountain; ii is way up on
one side and way down on the other.
Billy and his fireman were down on
the tender steps, holding on for dear
life, waiting for the crash on the
curve. knew the chances were
mighty slim for those two n-wheelers
TO 60 around that curve. The speed
began TO reduce some, but we were
still flying.
my fireman crawled over to me and
yelled: Let's wet the rail; it's our only
chance for that curver
IL nodded to him, and we started
both injectors Each had attached 70
it an inch pipe with hose and nozzle
leaned out of the cab and sent the
water pouring right down over the front
drive wheels. That stream was as big
as your thumb, and went with the
force of stream from fire engine.
1.-THE speed must have slackened con-
siderably before we struck the curve,
but 1t seemed to me that we were GO
ing faster than ever. You couldn't see
across the cab on account of the dust
and smoke from the hot jourpelA
"My fireman yelled: 'Good-by, Jack,
but he kept the water flying. shut
my teeth and held my breath. and said
TO myself: This is my last run; it's
"Good-by, john" right here
"When old l12 reached the curve
thought for a second she would cap.
size. Then / thought she was off. Blu,
we kept the water a-pouring. Then
came jerk and n crash, and the fat
cars left the rails, and those bridge
timbers went sailing out into the al,
and over the bank.
"The fat cars began playing leap
frog over each other, and those steel
rails just sheeted over and through
those cars and ties, making match
wood of everything.
But the two engines were on the
rail, and we stopped them after run
ming two miles. They were all burn,
and cut up, but they would move. and
after putting out some torpedoes and
red lights we backed up to the wreck.
1--WE all thought that the water was
the only thing that saved our engines
on that curve.
"Jinmy, my fireman went running
lround calling out: o Kidl o Kid