Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1892-03-05
PULLED HER WIDE OPEN.
uow JOHN BURNS SAVED A
HUNDRED LIVES.
ma. ar Those stories That Make the Cold
shiysrs Roll Up Your Baek--A
Heroic Engineers Pres
enes of Mind.

.I.et me tell you an instance Of he
,oism OF railroad engineer said G.
K WILDER Western passenger agent
n tbe Lake Shore and Micigan South
arm railroad, to Chicago Press re-
porter
was somewhere about the beginning
u the year when John Burns showed
vbat he was made Of. He was then
N charge OF engine No 80. weighing
about 100 tons and drawing eight pas
ssngsr coaches one baggage and an
.Npress car The train was No 0, .
mo f..st New York and Chicago OK.
ures.. westward bound.
-It was miserable railroading .
weather taat day almost continuous /,
light snow fall or frosty drizzle. d
state D! things much dreaded By en- !
gigearS a. II almost obscures their /.
yiea ahead Mainly on account Of |
tae wrclchcl weather No was be-.
hind limo.
between Buffalo and Irving Sta.
ton there Is long down.grade stretch.
aai here tho engineer attempted TO
rataa up TO schedule by running at
about a i!ty.hye mile an hour rate.
.Bn the Other track was a fast and
heavily laden cattle train out OF Chi.
rago for New York. About a mile
eass Of Irving tho cattle train was
badly wrecked. 4 number Of the carr
.p.atered up into kindling most OF
,heca,,le were killed. and worst Of all.
tao Of the least injured cars were
thrown across the track OF No S, then
rapidly approaching al tremendous
speed. Tho engineer aud brHkcmen
81 iho cattle train were either killed
or TOO severely Injured 10 signal the
express Things were looking pretty
black Tor No s and tho occupants OF
Us eight crowded passenger coaches
John Burns and engine No 81
ytrs Within hundred feet Of the
wreck before IL was possible 10 see
thH anything was wrong Then he
took "a tho situation NJ one swift
eiaucr. As ho told me aftcrwGrd.
yst no courses were open. He could
reverse. pui on the braltes aud lump
on .4s bs!0rc his engine crashed into
lie cattle ears aud thus in an likeli-
hood save his own life. But the train
could by 80 possibility DO stopped Ia
time 10 prevent "A terrible wreck nt tho
passenger coaches Tharo must in.
.yiably be- fr!ghtinl collision aud
great loss " life. The other course
WIS 70 throw open tho valve and try
10 drive tho iOv.ton engine II light.
u.ng speed c,ea1 through the wreck
There was about one chance In ten
tNs, r0ndcrous No 50 could tear the
ra,tS cars ia halves and bring tho
pa srugcr coaches through with no
itug worse than terrible shaking
up But whore would John Burns be
Il tho vancouver succccdcdP Probably
.caldcd 20 death or ground % atoms
hy Ito collision.
Possibly Il did not take John a
lhousandth part as long 10 size mp tho
situation as It has iakon me 20 tell Il.
In thrilling fraction Of second
be weighed tho lives OF all those pas
scusoy4 against his own and. shouting
10 his argmcn. Tear her wide opcn.
he sent No. 80 with all her thunderous
'orco square into the cattle cars. The
locomotive went right through like a
knife aud carried the train with her
No sooner was tho wreck cleared than
liurns reversed and stopped tho train
Happily. 10 the car behind the on.
gjse thqro was y bagGageman Il can
90, recall his NANCY who possessed
that rare quality presence o. mind
lie took in Tho situation ai a glance
and rau into Tho rear cars shouting
loudly 10 tho passengers 10 rush to the
oHlor side tho ono opposite the great
maet Of tho wreck lie wsa able "a
RON swiftly through two coaches before
the crash camo The sidos Of these two
coaches nest tho wreck were almost
entirely torn out but mono Of tho
passengers wore killed. although a
number 81 thcn wosc more or less in
urcd
Thus through the daring hcroisn
~ m engineer and the presence o.
mind OF baggagcman not life was
lost when several hundreds OF then
wcro in dcadly peril.
Tho engine, tender and baggage
car wore entirely demolished. an
happy TO say. however, that BRAY,
John Burns was not killed though on,
Of his arms was terribly scalded ant
he was bruised and cut After shor
time on tho sick list he went back L
his cab. and is on his regular run now
Despite the assorted ingratitudo o
corporations you may be sure that a
long as tho Lake Shore turns vince
John Burns will DO taken care of, "