The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1894-03-01
BY DYNAMITE

nm. engineer leaned back content
dIy in his cab and lit his pipe. The
x,r.,s was thirty minutes late. and
thar makes Il very acceptable rest for
rho crew of tho 10 al freight. which
,noL tne siding at this point to per-
nj, the passenger train To pass.
,The air-lrakcs on freight cars
arc treat things, Bill" he eiacu-
lated. aS he watched the fireman
rake down the ashes: ''heats all
sha, a help they arc in holdin' a
heavy train on a down grade. | saw
times once when I'd have given a
pjle o. money if there had been such
thing then, and twas right on this
division. too.
Lets hear about it, Pete" said
the fireman, putting the poker away
and chipping off some hard tobacco
fer his curncoh.
Its a good while ago now" the
engineer answered mcditatively. II
was runuin' a pushcr between Cone
maugh and Crcsson, helpin' freight
and coal trains up the hill. 1t was
iust after the strike in - when the
bows raised Cain, and the cause of
that strike, if you'll remember, was
prtly on account of the company
tuttin' down The crews and doublin'
the nuns. Nowadays. with box and
c0al cars tilted with air, a brakeman
more or less don't make much differ
ence. nut then every man counted.
aud when thcy,dropped a chap off on
these mountain run it made the rest
feel shaky, for there wasn't enough
men letl to tend the brakes.
tone night it was our turn to as.
,>t what was known as the Panhan-
lie freight up the mountain. We
started ont from ~COnemaugh about
ll:-0 uushln' the train. which was
made up Of about ten carS OF hogs,
two box ears and fifteen or twenty
fOar-whccl coal cars-Jimmies, we
called EN-. The box cars were at
the rear: that is, right in front Of us.
We made pretty fair time up to
south Fork, where the flood broke
afterwards. you know. Then the
engine in front began to steam bad,
and what with us pushin' hard and
1t pullin' by fits, 'twasn't long before
the ears we're pumpin' and jerkin'
pretty rough. Then l saw the con-
ductor comm back hard as he could.
When he got within hearin' he
seIled, For Gods sake stop that
bumpin. We have two cars of dyna-
mite IN the train
Ibid | stop it: You better, be
!ie'e | did, aud mighty quick, too. l
bowed for brakes and the engineer
III front answered, and as the grade
there is about eighty feet 70 the mile
VT soon stopped. l sent my fireman
forward to tell the other engineer to
lY ana get his steam gauge up and
tnat wasn't goin' to bump myself
into eternity if | knew it. After he
"a> gone discovered my water was
10" and concluded 10 u back to a
>tahd pipe about half a mile down
Tue track to I'LL the tank, So, cut
su The couplin' myself, / dropped
Town | found afterwards the crew
ullht know 1 had gone and had
.a!eu TO put the brakes on the last
cars lhihkin' my engine would hold
'ea.
hadn't more than got alongside
.r1 PIPE than caught a glimpse Of
wy Tall lamps OF the train comm
"VNc'Y split towards me. / knew at
SuCe what had happened. The train
"1u oloke in two and part of it was
I1hniH wild down the hill. That
otcn happens, you know, and there
wta much danger in stoppin' the
""u cars; all that's necessary bein'
l"' engineer Of the pusher to run
'"VN"atd slowly, so as to make the
+NP "hen IT comes easier than if
rtgihe was stopped.
hut You can bet | wasn't hank
,h u stop two cars of dynamite
way and when | saw 'em comm
N'n stop at the pine bat kept on
on Ny Old push r jumped, and
cri III out down the hill. Jimmy
l%VVs o she was a hummin' in
w,Y v"'A a minute, while the runa-
was chasih' us hell Lent. Scared?
InN., msbbe wasn't, though il Wa MT
cat- ocL"fe we begun to gain on the
In,,"uu leave them further behind.
tbat low the little drivin' wheels of
n,'Htu pusher did hum.
and inns time l was thinkin',
kra"!,hNin' hard as well as fast. |
lra." mat bein' on the east bound
might run slap bang into a