The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-10-20
JUMPING FROM A TRAIN.
A Locomotive Engineer Relates His Varis
ria

A Locomotive Engineer Relates His Varied
Experience.
Did you ever jump from your cab
while the train was going at full
speed?" / asked of locomotive engi-
neer the other day.
Eyes, three or four times" he an
swered.
whats the sensation?"
That's according to how you land
One night three years ago the train
dispatcher got two of us headed for
each other on a single track at gait
If forty miles an hour. The first thing
l saw was the headlight of the other
locomotive rounding a curve thirty rods
away. | shut 'er off. threw over the
lever and set the air-brakes, and then
made jump. I'd no time to pick for
4 spot, and as jumped l realized that
I'd have a bad time of it. as | knew
every foot of the ground. 1t was on a
level covered with thistle-patch.
There was strip of them forty rods
long growing up like corn-stalks. L
expect they broke my fall somewhat,
but | don't know that | ever hit the
ground until / fetched up fur good. 1t
seemed to me that just swept through
that patch about knee-high from the
ground, and when there were no more
thistles TO knock down landed 'l1er-
chug! against an old stump and up
rooted it. j broke a leg and an arm,
but that wasn't the worst of it. The
doctor estimated the number of thistle
points sticking into my body at one
billion. My wife and have been pick
ing EN- out ever since they got me
home, and we've only finished one side
of me-
Landing in a mud-puddle would be
a soft thing" l suggested.
I've been there" he replied, with n
heeting smile "While was running
freight they built a side-track to
gravel pit at certain point. In eX-
cavating at the main line they dug a
hole about twenty feet long by ten
wide and four deep. As Il rule this
hole was always full of water, and as
it was on my side of the engine and
always came under my eye. | got to
thinking what snap I'd have if ! had
to make jump right there"
But you never. had to-"
Didn't |? There was little station
just mile above this hole, and it was
sharp upgrade. One day, while we
were humping along to make the sta
ton a dozen cars broke loose from a
freight side-tracking at that station,
and down they came. like so many
roaring lions after their prey. BY the
| A. 7 L Il Il. r..
versed my engine. it was time to jump,
and bless my soul. if | wasn't just
where | wanted to be-right at the
pond. | waited to pass the mile-pOst
and then shut my eyes and took a
header. feeling sorry at the same in
slant for my fireman, who'd got to
Jump among the stumps. Well, l
| struck.
''In the water?" l asked, as he paused
nd worked finger in his ear.
"Oh. no, There had been long
spell of hot, dry weather, and every
pint of water had evaporated out of
that pond. The mud was left behind,
| though. There was three feet of it
waiting to catch some sucker, and it
caught me. | went head first to the
bottom. Then / rolled over and
fioundered around for five minutes.
and could never have pulled myself out
unassisted. / didn't break any bones,
but-ugh!'
| What
Mud! | took twenty-seven baths
before / got down so | could see my
hide. and it was hours before mud quit
washing ont of my ears. eyes, nose and
mouth. | tasted mud. | felt mud
crawling up and down my back. |
snuffed mud. found mud in my pock-
cts and combed it out of my hair until
got tired and let the balance go. I'm
running on the road yet, but I'm not
spotting off any mud-holes to land in.
On the contrary, if things turn ont as |
have figured, my next jump will be into
patch of blackberry bushes, with an
old dead tree in the center, and | conf
IDENTIFY expect to NOW down everything
in my path. Detroit Free Press.