The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1892-12-30

stories are sure to follow. | have us
tened for hours to good yarns there.
One day in the San Francisco round
house of the Southern Pacific company
mention was made Of a recent accident
which had been caused by the break
iny apart OF af;eight train. This served
as a reminder to the engineer from
Arizona. Taking n seat on the side-rod
Of a locomotive he began:
II think the livcliest ride and the
worst scare / ever had was while ! was
running out of Los Angeles to Yuma IN
the spring Of so. The company was
building the road across Arizona then
and we were hauling material TO the
front.
1--WE left Los Angeles one afternoon
with twenty six ears and "a o
We went ont a double-hcader, with
two ten-wheel engines. l was running
liz in advance. and Billy Stewartson
with the lgs, was coupled in behind me.
next to the engines were some long
bridge timbers, extend cd over three
Nat ears, from which the brake STATS
had TO be taken. Then there were six
cars loaded with redwood ties: then
tuiTtceu cars vi StCCi tuiAFs t"SA $500
TO the car. These cars were all fats,
of course. Then came four box cars
loaded with giant powder. to be used IN
some heavy work ut the front.
ITS a stiff pull most Of the wa from
Los Angeles to Cotton, n from tne.e
to San Gorgonio it's an up grade OF
hundred and twenty feet to the mile
They rave us a third engine from Col
ton 70 the top of the hill: and IT was al
the three ten-whcclers could do to take
that train up there.
1--WE stopped at San Gorgonio and Gu
ont the helper engine; and then whe'
everybody was ready we started dowi
the hill.
From San Gorgonio it is nearly al
down-grade to Indio. sixty miles. am
for the first thirty miles the grade run
from one hundred and twenty-five fee
70 seventy feet TO the mile.
.Wc had a half-Spanish boy calle'
Kid Vallejo bralsing ahead. lie was
good one-as smart as "A steel trap. IN
middle brakeman was rather light, an
the hind man was a big, thick-heade
brute. who had no 'savvy.' and neve
would know anything. The conducto
was a slow, ca sy-going chap.
There weren't any air-brakcs o
freight trains then; nothing but han
brakes. But we had air-brakes on I'll
tenders and u steam-brake on the loc'
motive drivers.
1T was about half-past nine on
brigh, moonlight night when we star
ed down the grade. About n mile OF
! felt the train jerk, and then we sh'
ahead lively. AS l looked back. Bill
footed of brakes and began to wor
steam. saw the two brakemc
swinging their lights and signaling
go ahead
1T was SO light that ] could see tn
the caboosc and the four cars OF po'
der had broken off. and were about Z
car-lengths behind the rest Of the trai
The chuckle-headed hind brakemi
had slapped up the aboose brake q
snapped the train apart. and we we
running down that grade in two piece
III ever that loose rear section stru'
the forward one the conclusion wou
be sure 70 explode the giant powdt
and then there would he an cxplosi'
that would shake the earth. and Sc
the whole Of us to kingdom come.
I'VE pulled out TO get away from
and whistled and whistlcd for the
boose man to get out on the box ca
n set some brakes; but he did
show up, and in less than a mile
were running dfty miles an hour,
keep out Of the way Of the rear sectit
and increasing rapidly every second.
II realized at once that we had s
10 check up soon or the train wo,
get away with vas and land evcryb be
and everything down in the canyon
thousand feet below. But what char
were we going to get to check up?
Just then we saw q light come
on the box cars. and knew that
caboosc brakeman had got out at Ia
Then we felt sure that he would 81
that section and the thing for MS to
80 70 stop ourselves set my ten