The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1892-09-05
GOATS ON RAILWAYS.
A LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER COM
PLAINS OF THEIR CONDUCT,
OF All Animals Encountered by Railroad
Engineers Goats Are the Most Dreaded.
Hogs Are Dangerous Creatures to Run
Down, However.


Hogs Are Dangerous Creatures to Run
Down, However.
"Of all animals that wander along the
railroad track, declared veteran loco
motive engineer on the Philadelphia and
Reading, goats are the most irritating
It's next to impossible to kill them. and
that's not the least tantalizing feature
about them from the standpoint of our
profession. No matter how fast you
may be running or how quietly you steal
down upon him, Mister Goat will see
you out of the corner of his eye and
manage to get ont of the way just ID
time to miss the cowcatcher as the en-
gine rushes by him. Cows and horses
are generally disposed of with ease.
though bometimes they get under the
wheels and cause bad wreck. But
they are SO large that the pilot gets nm
der them and throws them to one side
The goat, though, nearly always sue
ceeds in getting as worked up to high
pitch of nervousness and then contrives
to get off without scratch. and that's
what we don't like.
Speaking of striking animals on the
rail" continued the engineer. '.the one
thing we most dread on the track is a
hog. Nine chances out OF ten the hog
will throw you. He is tough and greasy
you know, and If an engineer has any
show at all it's best to stop the train as
quick as can be and drive the animal off
the track.
when the pilot Of an engine hits a
hog it usually knocks him down and
then rolls him for a few yards before the
trucks strike him, and when they do
there's great danger Of their leaving the
rails. The drivers are almost certain to
follow the trucks, and If you don't go
down the bank you're lucky. So you
see what havoc one pig can make with q
railroad.
Y Another disagreeable thing about
pig is that he never stops squealing from
the time he is hit until he is stone dead.
Only few days ago big freight train
was derailed by striking hog near
Euphrata. Our main line is compare
lively free from wandering swine nova
days, but somehow the hogs still show q
perverse fancy for getting on the tracks
ON some of our branches.
.'Sheep are the most pitiful Of all ami
mails to run down. They seem to realize
the danger they are in and huddle to-
gether between the rails, awaiting death.
Their innocent eyes stare at you So
mournfully and sadly that they haunt
You for days to come. A locomotive
seems to take savage delight in de-
stroying sheep. It throws them in every
direction and will kill whole flock in
an instant.
II struck flock of geese once" the
engineer proceeded, call squatted down
over the ties. Well. never thought
there were so many feathers in the
world. couldn't see anything for
feathers for ten minutes, and when we
reached the station my engine looked as
II 1t had received coat Of tar and
feathers.
Here the engineers eyes bsgan TO
sparkle and be stopped talking to hold
his fat sides, shaken by suppressed
laughter over : funny recollection.
Mentioning feathers, he explained,
after q pause, acalls TO my mind q com
ical experience had q few years ago.
when 1 was running q fast limited pas
senger train over the Pennsylvania main
line from Pittsburg to Philadelphia.
We'd gone whooping through the town
Of Huntington, on the Juniata, without
stopping, and had whirled safely around
the base Of the ridge east Of there when
we struck q little stretch Of straight
level between high dirt banks. known as
Snyder's cut cast my eye on ahead
rs we scuddAd along to 3 wagon road
crossing near the end Of tho cut Just
IS we approached ii team was driven
down from the turnpike 1t the right
side, apparently intending to cross. But
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