Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-06-29
BEFORE THE ENGINE.
Animals That Meet Death on the
Railroad Track.
A Veteran Locomotive Engineer Re
lstes His EIperiences-The AMI
mails lie Most breads to
Encounter.

Encounter.
''Of all animals that wander along the
railroad track" declared veteran loco.
motive engineer to q Washington Star
reporter, 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, Mr.. Goat will see you
out of the corner Of his eye and manage
to get away just in time to miss the
cowcatcher as the engine rushes by him
at lightning speed. Cows and horses
are generally disposed Of with ease,
though sometimes they get under the
wheels and cause a bad wreck. But
they're so large that the pilot gets under
them and throws them off to one side
The goat. though, nearly always sue.
ceeds in getting us worked 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, 1.-The one
thing we most dread to meet on the
track is hog. Nine chances out OF
ten the hog'll throw you. He is tough
and greasy, you know. and if an engi.
neer has any show at all it's best for
him to stop the train as quick as it can
be done and drive the animal of the
track.
"When the pilot Of an engine hits .
hog it usually knocks him down. and
then rolls him for 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 you're lucky if you don't 60 down
the bank. So you see what havoc one
pig can make with a railroad. Another
disagreeable thing about pig is that
he never stops squealing from the time
he is hit until he is stone dead.
''Sheep are the most pitiful Of all ami.
mails to run down. They seem to re-
slize the danger they're in and huddle
together between the rails awaiting
death. Their innocent eyes stare at
you so mournfully and sadly that they
haunt you for days to come. A loco
motive seems to take a savage delight
in destroying sheep. 1t throws them in
every direction and will kill q whole
6ock in an instant
II struck flock Of geese once" pro-
ceeded the engineer. well, I never
thought there were SO many feathers in
the world. / couldn't see anything but
feathers for ten minutes, and when we
reached the station my engine looked
as if she had received . coat Of tar and
feathers"
Here the engineers eyes began to
sparkle, and he stopped talking to hold
his fat sides, shaken with suppressed
laughter over q funny recollection.
mentioning feathers" he explained
after q pause, recalls to my mind q
comical experience had q few years
ago In running fast limited passenger
train over the Pennsylvania main line
from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. We'd
gone through the town of Huntingdon,
on the Juniata, without Stacking up,
and had whirled safely around the base
Of the ridge east Of there. when we
struck little stretch Of straight level
between high dirt banks, known IS
Snyder's cut. cast my eyes on ahead
rs we scudded along to q wagon road
crossing near the lower end Of the cut
Just as we approached it q two-horse
team was driven down from the turn
pike at the right side, apparently with
the intention to cross. But instead of
crossing the team stood still. Two men
were in the wagon. and they seemed to
be having an alteration Is to whether
they should cross or go back. As .
compromise they Just stood there on the
track. reversed the engine and
whistled down brakes, but it was too
late. We struck the team square in the
middle, and then-O. my!"
Here the engineer laughed without
restraint. Then he resumed: 1.-THE
men In the wagon were evidently
farmers returning from town in bois-
ferrous humor after q days market
ing, carrying home a queer cargo
Of store goods Curious to relate they
weren't hurt in the least, nor were the
horses. The wagon, until we cut It
clean in two, contained feather bed,
. key Of nails and barrel Of whisky.
'Now we struck them oil at the same
instant. The nails few way up in the
sky, rs it seemed. and came down with
. peppering rattle over the roofs Of all
the coaches in the train for at least five
minutes. The feathers scattered far
and wide through the air like q driving
snowstorm and seemed to come from q
thousand bursted feather beds instead
Of one. The whisky got mixed with
the feathers, and spurted high up in
every direction, falling in fine spray
principally over the engine, the tender
and the first couple Of coaches. The
whisky and feathers chung to the tops
and sides Of the cars and against the
window panes for the remainder of the
trip. and the passengers. as 1 was told
afterward, all got thirsty with vain
longings from shifting the rum-soaked
atmosphere. 1t was altogether the fun
NEST mess I ever was in, and the strang-
est combination. Think OF it-nails,
whisky and feathers-all flying through
the air and following US for miles and
miles. o, myr' And the jolly engineer
laughed again and again, until he
actually cried, at the picture be had in