Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-03

Engineer McCarthy's Joke in Rail-
road Building Days I'm Oregon.

Engineer McCarthy's Joke In Rail-
road Building Days I'm Oregon.
One of the most popular and best known
locomotive engineers on the Southern Pa
cific railroad on its branch from San Fran
cisco to Portland. Ore, is Dan Mccarthy.
who has a daylight run through the ia
nous Rogue river valley, in the southern
part of Oregon. He has been with the rail-
road ever since it was built. and, in fact.
helped to build it up through all that coun-
try where the Modocs used to roam in full
mastery. Mccarthy came from the east,
but now nothing would induce him to re-
turn to his old home except for a brief
visit He owns one of the finest fruit or
chards in all that country, probably the
best valley in the world for fruit growing.
He also owns a gold mine all to himself
which has just been opened in a cut in the
railroad through which he runs every day,
and this worlds affairs look somewhat
rosy for him
Mccarthy has many interesting stories
of his early experiences of railroading in
Oregon, and the one that amuses him most
occurred at a place called Phoenix, In the
Rogue river valley, not far from the pros
porous town of Ashland, where he lives.
The New York Sun relates that when the
road had got as far as Phoenix, about ten
years ago, there gathered one Sunday
from miles around no less than 500 per-
sons. Many of them had never seen a
locomotive. They came, on horseback and
in all sorts of convey antes. and 1t seemed
as If there could not be that many persons
in all southern Oregon. The curiosity and
excitement over the new railroad was ire
mendouS. 1nasmuch as the company had
large force at work building the road,
and as work there was easy, 1t was neces-
sary for the citizens to move quickly If
they would see the road go through, and
ho han IN hn 6rSf live hot
came up.
The spectators tied their horses to the
trees that had been feiled and there was
great confusion in the throng. AS fast as
the rails were laid Mccarthy kept moving
up his engine while the people gathered
around to watch his machine and its won
derful workings. They interfered with the
track layers to some extent, but that was
unavoidable. Finally one old man came
up close to the engine and asked If he
could not climb up into 1T as mark of
special distinction. Mccarthy gave his
permission, and soon the old man was sit
could not hold himself in. He exclaimed
in the hearing Of nearly all those who were
present:
Thank God I have lived to see this day.
I never thought It would come that l
should see locomotive again. / am an
old forty-niner, and have not seen a loco
motive since / left the east so many years
ago Now, l am riding on the locomotive.
Tn INK God, thank Cod
The old man went on in this way for O
long time, and had worked up the crowd
to a great deal of enthusiasm. They
cheered him and they cheered the locomo-
tive with great zest. The crowd was in
terfering with the work, and Mccarthy
thought he would have a little joke and
also IL he could not clear the tracks
to some extent. He tipped the wink to
his fireman to blow off steam in the live
lest fashion. The old man was beginning
a
when with the noise of a tornado and a
terrific s-h-h! the engine began to snort
and roar. Panic seized the entire throng.
The horses ran away by the Dozen men fell
out of trees, hid themselves behind bowl
ders, ran hatless for hundreds of yards.
crashed through debris, plunged through
streams, and. painting and frightened. dis
appeared In the underbrush across the val
ley 1t was every man for himself, and
horses and wagons might go to perdition.
The last day had come for scores of
them. Some dropped in the attitude of
prayer and others fell fiat on their faces
in the hope of escaping some of the mis-
siles that they were sure would soon begin
to fly. The old man who thanked God
that he had lived to see that day simply
fell out of the cab window and lay beside
the engine unable to get up, and waiting
for the end, which he hoped would be
without prolonged agony. No such STAN
pede was ever seen in that country. and
the memory of it fingers wildly with those
present to this day.
At last the extra steam became exhaust
ed. and by degrees the crowd began to
return. They came cautiously at first, and
kept q respectful distance. The old man
was 80 bruised that he could not get very
far. He soon plucked up his courage to
approach Mccarthy and to say, standing on
the ground this time:
"Ncighbor l am an old forty-niner, and
/ have seen many hardships and have had
all sorts of close calls l fought all through
the Modoc war, and know what danger is
from Indians and wild animals. tell you
1 have been in some pretty tight fixes, but
l want TO say was never scared to death
before"