Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-07-01
STICKING TO THEIR POSTS.
Egg ineerS Who Face Danger with Small
Chance of Coming Out Alive.

Eyes, I've been pretty badly scared
several times since | began railroad
ing. fifteen years ago" said an old
freight conductor to a Kansas City
StGr man, land don't really know
which one was the worst, although. of
course, | always thought the last was.
We're all of us human, and if man
tells YOU he don't get scared railroad
ing don't you believe him. I've seen
lots in the papers about heroic enGi-
neers who stayed at their posts and
sacrificed their lives trying to save
others. When YOU show me one man
that takes those chances for humanity's
sake, as they say, I'll show you 100 who
stayed just because they were scared
to Jump or didn't have time.
"A man thinks mighty quick some
times, but he doesn't always have time
to think of any body that's behind him.
When a fellows running across the
country a mile minute in pitch dark
and all of sudden a big headlight
flashing in his face or a pair of red
lights show up in front, he is mighty
apt to forget what the papers will say
about hero at his post. If he can
move at all he shuts off and throws
her over and plugs her with one hand,
working the air just because it's
second nature and he can't help him
self. It's what they call mechanical,
and a man will do it without really
knowing what he's doing Then he'll
Jump if he can.
"Talking about these heroes, I'm one
of them myself. I've a bio reputation
up north as a man who'd stick to his
post 1t was when first went to rail
reading. I'd been raised in my superin-
tendent's family, and when | got old
enough | went to firing on the Mil
waukee. About three months after
I'd got regular run | was out on a
freig chit over night. We'd had rush
and | was pretty tired, and about II
the head brakeman took the fire for
awhile and | went to sleep. Twas sit
ting on the front end of the seat, dead
to the world, when couple of red
lights on the tail end of caboose
showed up. The freight ahead of us
had broken in two and we caught the
hind end in cut. The engineer shut
off, but he didn't have time to throw
her over and plug her, and he and the
brakeman both jumped without even
waking me up.
ave hit the caboose pretty hard,
tell you, but, instead of breaking hel
up or ditching, the pilot went under
the car and raised it right up till il
Slid halfway up the boiler. The SHOCK
woke me up, but was only half awake
then. She was moving along slow yet
and when ] saw the red lights on the
! caboose the first thing that struck mt
was that we were on a siding and thai
, the engineer had got off, leaving the
engine in forward motion and she hac
leaked or sprung her throttle and gon,
into another freight on the siding aheac
of us.
Il jumped over to the engineers side
ant threw her over and plugged hel
hard. 1t didn't take much to stop her
and | stood there for a minute com.
menting profanely on the engineers
leaving her in forward motion; and
vet if | had been wide enough awake
to think of jumping you bet your
sweet life some other fellow would have
| been the hero and I'd tried to beat the
| engineer and brakeman out of the cal
| window"