Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-23

roader when once persuaded to talk will
stray outside the boundaries of truth.
| They seldom need to do it, as personal
| history will suffice.
The recent great blizzard drove a band
| of These hardy fellows into the railroad
| oil house down on Virginia avenue and
| Immediately session of the Rail and lie
Club" was inaugurated. Everything nova
BILE outside was tied up with snow and ice
and the cutting wind almost made the
big locomotive in front Of the door con-
graduate itself that 1t possessed warm
interior.
An old engineer that had served his ap-
premiership on southern roads said:
II was running an engine on the Nash
VILE and Chattanooga road at the time
and we left the latter city at l o'clock in
the morning, little late. 1t was an awful
night; the rain fell in torrents. while the
wind moaned and whistled through the
pines along the road. When we passed
I saw the great overhanging rock and
heard the oak trees snap as the boughs
crashed into each other l felt more lonely
than / ever did before or since.
IF you We're acquainted down In that
region you would know that there are
good many small mountain streams cross
ing that road, and just on the otner SIDE
of Christy's station is long trestle over
hundred feet high. l always felt glad
when we got over it, and that night l was
so nervous that I could hardly hold the
lever. Not a great distance beyond this
dangerous trestle is a smaller one under
which a mountain stream runs
The Mysterious Warning.
Before we reached this trestie 1 became
perfectly dumb, paraIyzed with fear. l re-
versed the engine and stopped it. 1t was
an unconscious act, and why did it will
never know. The conductor came running
| through the train with his lantern.
:. Hello George, what's the trouble?' he
asked. II
"Darned IL 1 know shouted back. I
couldn't help it, and that's all there is to 1t.
{" Losing your nerve, Old man, eh?' he
said with a sarcastic laugh. Pun her wide
open, and let's get out of this; and with d
muttered oath he started back to the cars
"Grasping hold Of the lever. l tried to
start my engine, but my hand seemed par
alyzed. and couldn't make her move.
Back came the, conductor on the run.
You're a beaut,' ne shouted up at me in
the cab. why don't you go ahead? Wen
get back on the time of No. 81, and then
there'il be the Jing0 to- pay.
Its no use. old man. / answered back:
there's danger just ahead. but 1 don't
know what it is
Il couldn't see ten feet ahead Of me in the
pitch darkness and rain, but something told
me there was danger. and 1 wouldn't try
again to bulge the train.
ITO say that that conductor was mad but
family describes it: in fact he was about
the maddest individual l ever saw; but
paid no attention to him, and, grabbing up
a lantern, l walked out ahead Of the train
l had not gone fifty yards before l found
that the bridge was gone, knocked into the
river by the high water and rubbish that
came rushing down on it's crest hurried
back and told the conductor. and then
crowd of us went together to see the eX-
tent of the damage. When the conductor
no chi Y,cr tarS nd iZad
he had urged me on and the narrow escape
the entire train had made he sat down on
q tree by the side of the road that had been
blown down by the storm and cried like a
child.
1--WE were tied up there until daylight the
next morning, and 1t was noon before the
waters had sufficiently fallen to permit us
to throw a temporary bridge over the run.
flood height and subsde in a night 1t is
very seldom 1 tell this story and it seems
so ridiculous to any one not acquainted
able to explain it to me. and 1 can't under
stand it myself. All l know is that I was
powerless in the hands of some one, an I'M
seen power, stronger than was"
A Weird Experience.
Experiences down in that country are
bound to be exciting" spoke up a bright
looking, man of middle age whose face
denoted great frmness and more than
usual intelligence II worked down there
for five years, and I must say the scenery
is enough to drive one to drink. 1t might
suit picture painter, but a railroad en-
gineer has no use for it. 1 was finally
driven out OF the country through super
Stition.
1T was in 1885. 1 had just been pro-
| NOTED to a passenger run on the Tennes-
see road down in that state 1t was
night train crossing the mountains, and
with mishap.
'One night as We were passing over the
range. with its dismal shadows and abrupt
curves. thought l felt the engine strike
something. l had not seen anything, al
though my head was out of the window at
the time, and l was looking directly ahead.
something soft swept over my face, caus-
ing sensation SO peculiar that for mo-
ment 1 could not tell whether its origin
was internal or external.
1.-The next instant 1 looked around to
see if the fireman had noticed anything.
He had just opened the firebox door to put
in shovel of coal. 1 saw him pick up
something from the" floor of the cab and
examine it by the light Of the fire.
Je-je-rusalem it's hairr shrieked the
fireman, with chattering teeth. coming over
to and holding 1t up before my eyes.
'Womans hair, too
ct made my flesh creep and my hair
almost stand up straight. l shut off the
engine immedia tely,' and by giving her
plenty of air and sand soon brought the
train to a standstilE The conductor came
forward on the run to inquire the cause of
the halt. I called out that l had struck
something, and he and the fireman going
forward searched the engine and found a
big splash Of blood on one CT the driving
wheels. This told the tale.
The Missing Finger.
Then the crew and several of the pas
sengers went back over the track to see
what could be found Pretty soon I got
signal to back, ami after being slowed
down and stopped the fireman came up
into the cab
TOO bad, old fellow he said, it's a
woman. and very good looking. It's not
much cut up. but most of her fine brown
hair has been cut off by a wheel
"It proved to be corpse Of a refined wo-
man, and what she could have been doing
alone on the railroad track in those DESC
late mountains was a mystery to me- 1
never left my engine to see the remains,
which were loaded into the baggage car;
1 was sufficiently worked up without see
ing any blood and white faces that night.
My nerves would probably have gone down
to normal in an hour or two, If the fireman
had not told me that the index finger of the
woman's left hand had been cut of, and