Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-01-11

WIS JNuup ltllOW JuoV Oub VI IVY
teens when Tho Weekly Chronicle digni
GA me with the title of local man
Chat is to say, was taken on the paper rs
local reporter, my duty being to keep
Geon lookout for anything which might
gappen III the community or vicinity and
S. set forth the Same in as attractive
nianncr as possible for the benefit of the
Ueadcrs Of The Chronicle.
During the years 1876 new line of
eairoad was built from Simond5villo up
che valley Of the La Platte river to Stowe,
|hero it formed a junction with the main
sine Of the f.. NJ. and o. O railroad
Stowe was the site Of the great wooden
tQuthnicl< factory Of Charles Ellis &; Co.
which was said to turn out about one
tenth of .ill the wooden toothpicks used in
the United States. The place was there
fore Of some Importance in the manufac
curing and commercial world, and when
the new railroad link was added, binding
together the two towns the whole La
Platte valley rcjoiccd exceedingly, particu-
thrly the town of Simoudsyille For at
least three weeks The Chronicle bristlod
With cougratulatury headlines and glowcd
With rainbow colored prophecies of the
commercial prosperity which would fol
NW this magnificent enterprise of the local
capitalists.
When the first train was run over the
new road | was instructed by my superior
On the editorial staff Of The Chronicle to
accompany the party and write up the OK
eprsiou. The management Of the new La
Flatte Valley railroad bad invited ali the
Norunont citizens along the line, all the
officials and employees to take part in
grand excursion over the road. Dinner
was to l., served at the Stowe House, after
which tnc Stowe party was to return with
the train and sup at the Sinondsvillc
holoi. Editor Marsh of The Chronicle was
to accompany the eXcursionists, of course,
hut as he had to hOhnob with the digni-
torics and make a speech at the banquet
/ was tn take my pad and pencil along
snd do the less snowy but equally impor
tant work of reporting.
Will net describe the perilS and dis
comforts Of that first trip over the rough
now roaGbcd further than to say we were
al glad to get out and walk across the two
railroad bridges over the La Platte, which
the cautious management refused to trust
with the combined weight of the crowded
tCain and Passengers. We had good din
Rcr at the Stowe House, and | enjoyed it
zal except the oratory. The spCcchifying
was over at length, however, and hurried
down to tho station to see if Bert Wilson,
the engineer, would let me ride back with
sim in the cab. He readily consented,
aud Jumped aboard just as the Colonel
Merriam" was started for the turntablc
Shore wo swung the big engine round and
pointed her CoWcatchCr homoward
"WuUld you mind staying in the cab
and watching her for about five minutes
while mc and Bin run up to the store!
asked Bert.
Certainly not" replied Il should
enjoy tho responsibility.
We'll, l reckon you know enough about
AL engine not to touch anything was
Bcrt'S rather o4uivocal compliment as he
and Bill, the fireman, started on "A dog
frot for the store. | could not help smil
ing at Bert's caution My father had been
~ engineer on Il western road, and had
ylred for him On the big mogul engine
II tho day express What he had not
caught mo about locomotives certainly
was not worth knowing But of course
Bert was ignorant of all this He was
quite justified in supposing me to be a
green hand 80 far as locomotive engines
were Concerned.
on the righ5 side Of the cab and began to
imagine myself an engineer How fine
IT would DE, / thought, ito run this en-
gine wild back to Simondsylle! | would
make her zip 80 she would never feel the
cradle holes in the roadbed. "
The great dam of the Ellis Spool com
pany lay below me, and the station where
the excursion train stood waiting on side
track Tue GAin held back an enormous
body of waite, making miniature lake
fully IA mile deep and half a mile wide
had heard il reported on the authority Oi
good engineers that this dam was unsafe
that in order TO accommodate the thou
sands Of logs used by the factory the end.
had boon extended in a hasty manner
with insufficient ballast, and that som,
day when the water was high ana th'
pressure stIouR the dam would give way
and thousands If tons of water would rusl
in torrent o. destruction down the val
Icy But The Gam had held now for TEL
years or moro. and people had grown 5,
used to tho rumur Of its unsafe condiuoi
that IL had ceased TO impress them
/, was low lally fall There had beer
heavy ana continuous rains, and coult
see that the water above the dam wa
much higher than usual Suddenly, as
sat looking cut uf the cab window Of TIN
Colonel Merriam. | saw IA number of mel
rush down to nc end of the dam on TIN
CppositeG lido OF .he river. Still no suspi
Cion crossed my mind that anything wa
wrong until Il Tot of logs shot forward al
at once and disappeared apparently RICH
over the dam ut its opposite end Then i
burst upon ire like a fash that the dan
was giving way.
can hardly describe my sensations II
that moment or the thoughts whicl
FLASHED like lightning through my mind
realized that IN few minutes, unles
something could be done to stop the break
tbe whole dam would be washed away