Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1892-01-14
KILLED BY THE IRON HORSE.
The Drivers Feelings ms tho Monster Does
lila Hcrrld Work,


grown gray in the service OF the com-
pany, MS he stood beside his locomotive,
the other day, "the suspense attending
a turnover accident when you are on an
engine smothers one. can assure YOU"
he continued, wiping blotch of oil off
the side rod with piece of waste, shat
am somewhat of an authority on the
subject, because ! have had the misfor-
tune to run over about everything from
a chicken to fire engine.
"You would naturally think that a
collision where your own life was in
imminent danger would cause you more
anxiety than anything else, but it
doesn't Usually collision occurs be-
fore 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 the train, for | have
never tried to pass an engine on the
same track coming in an opposite direc-
ton. 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 If you are not at fault for
the accident and no one is injured or
killed, you soon forget all about It, But
1t 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 to-
ward you, and you pull the whistle
string and the engine shrieks her warn.
ing. He does not hear even that, so you
try to stop the train. The air brakes
are put on, the engine is reversed, and
the great drivers begin working back
ward, sending fire in showers from the
shining steel rails, while sparks of live
Goals from the furnace shoot from the
stack high up into the sky as the mon
ster groans and struggles, vainly trying
to stop1he train behind
while you draw nearer and nearer the
victim the suspense is absolutely be-
yond description. All efforts are use
less, You feel slight jar as the poor
devil is struck, and a cold sweat breaks
out all over your body and faint feel
ing comes over you, until you fall back
on your seat sick at heart, and wonder
what the fate of the man was, and
whether he leaves family and what
sadness there will be when they learn
the news at home. You think that you
would like to stop railroading and earn
living at something else. Meantime,
the train has come to stand still The
engine has ceased her struggles and the
only sound you hear is the throbbing of
the air brake as pumps back and forth,
making noise like the breathing of
some exhausted beast The baggage
master, conductor and brakeman rush
out of the cars and take all that is left
of the victim from under the wheels.
"Well, you know his fate now. AS
soon as you are signalled 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 a moment the
thought of the accident is driven by
other work from your busy mind.
"a pig is dangerous thing to run
over, for he is likely to throw the loco
motive 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 certain to follow the
trucks and if you don't go down the
bank you are lucky So you see what
havoc one pig can make with a ruilroad
Another disagreeable thing about a pig
is that he never stops squealing from
the time he is hit until he is stone dead
at is next to impossible to kill goa
with an engine. Goats are the mos
irritating of all animals that wande
along railroad track. No mat
ter how fast you may be running Of
how quietly you steal down upon him
he will see you out of the corner of hi
eye, and manage to get ont of the wa.
just in time to miss the cowcatcher a
the engine rushes by him at lightnin!
speed Cows and horses are general,
easily disposed of, though sometime
they get under the wheels and cause
bad wreck. But they are so large tina
the pilot gets under them and throw
them to one side Sheep are the mos
pitiful of all animals to run down
They seem to realize the danger tina
they are in and huddle together in tn
middle of the rails and await death
Their innocent eyes stare at you s
mournfully and sadly that they haun
you for days to come. A locomotiv
seems to take savage delight in destroy
ing sheep. She throws them in ever
direction, and will kill a whole flock i
an instant struck flock of gees
once. Well, / never thought Their
were so many feathers in the world.
couldn't see anything but feathers fo
ten minutes and when we reached tn
| my CHBiHc ioOhOu 40 IA ohS Ai'
received q coat of tar and feathers. :
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.
How He Lost Her.
He had proposed to the fair ives
erner and she had dropped him so han
his heart broke.
"And you will never marry me|
walled despairingly
mot this time" she answered bree
ily. "I'm mortgaged. Come arour
and see me when I'm widow and /
: see how / feel about it then"
30, you heartless, heartless woman
he groaned bitterly. "You have robb'
: me of all hope; you have made me 10
I faith in woman; you have made me di
: trust mankind you have made me b
! lieve that the whole world is frau
and sham and that the simple ar
: honest aud good and Industrious al
!, poor and weak are to be crushed to Il
earth: you"
30, get out" she interrupted; 'dor
/ u..-xz.n +6ara lent anu 9TH