The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-09-11

they seemed to see the advantages of
it as a highway, and they turned and
pointed for Buchephalus without stop
ping to ask the way. They were just
full of business, and hadn't the least
time to take notice of one another or OF
us. Blacksnakes and rattlers are gem
orally spelling to fight one another, but
this time they were jostling and run.
ming over each other, and nobody was
saying: Where are you showing to?' or
so much as offering to bite. One big
rattler climbed into the cab, and Sam
just showed him out with his foot. I
needn't tell you what that snake would
have done if he hadn't had his mind set
on getting away from the fire.
"The sight made me fairly sick, for
hate snake as I do an Injun. Iknew
then how poor devil feels who has the
delirium tremens, and if 1 hadn't been
a sober man, which always was, I'd
have sworn off then and there.
"Well, we started On again, running
over snakes by the dozen. Some of
them got twisted into the driving wheel.
and the engine lashed the ground with
them as If they were whipcord till they
were worn out. We had lost only two
or three minutes by stopping, but the
fire seemed to have gained on us about
half the distance that it had been when
we first saw it, and we were near enough
now to hear the cracking and the roar
ing of the flames. saw the fire strike
big tree, and, If you'll believe it, that
tree burst as if it had been filled with
gunpowder and vanished clean out Of
sight in less than a minute after the
leaves began to frizzle. The wind was
drawing towards the fire, but we could
see by the way the flames acted that q
high east wind was bringing the fire
down on us at an awful rate. The flames
would shoot up 30 or 40 feet into the air
and wave just as if they were hurrahing
at the prospect of catching us.
"Our engine was going at least IS
miles an hour and was swinging from
side to side and humping over the joints
for we didn't have any fishplates in
those days-as if she was bound to jump
the track. We had outrun the snake
procession, and the only live thing we
could see was a coyote who was Looping
down the track so yards ahead of us,
without so much rs turning his head to
see what was after him.
"'How long will the track stand this
sort of thing?' says I to Sam, rs he fin
ished shovelling fresh coal into the fire.
"'Don't know says he. It's IS miles
from here to the Wachusetts river, and
if we can get across the bridge ahead of
the fire, there is fair chance that 1t
won't cross. I don't much believe that
we shall fetch the bridge, but if we don't
it won't be because don tdrive this hyer
engine for all she's worth. We're dead
men if she jumps the track, and we're
dead men if we stop short of the river.
So we might as well let her go, and take
our chances
81 don't know if any of you gentlemen
have ever travelled over track that was
laid on a prairie without any ballast.
If you haven't, take my advice and
don't ever try it. There were times
when the swaying of that engine made
the whole track, sleepers and all, slide
sideways. 1t wasn't merely that it felt
as if the track slid. It actually did
slide, and could see places that we had
passed over that ought to have been
straight, but that were curved in and
out, just like u snake that is trying to
get away from you, and twists itself
into a letter S so as to confuse you and
keep you from hitting it. Sam hung
on to the lever and hung on to the edge
IF ha h Naifhnv. Of,
have kept our feet without hanging on
to something. 1 am free to say that
first along 1 was pretty badly scared,
but finding that the engine didn't leave
the track, for all her slewings and jump
ings, began to think she would carry
us through. So far as 1 could see, the
fire didn't gain any on us, but then we
didn't seem to be gaining anything to
speak of on the fire.
Presently Sam swore in general
sort of way, and sung out to me to rake
up the fire. did so; and then, suppos,
ing that something must have dissat-
isfied him.. l asked him what was the
matter.
"'That derned coyotes the matter,
said he. we don't gain an inch on it,
and do most everlastingly hate to be
beat by a coyote. Here! you take the
lever, while lie her jints little. Tn
bound to beat that coyote between here
and the river, or to pile up this engine.
I never see such an impudent derned
brute since took to railroading.'
"Well, Sam went out on the engine
with his oil can, and when he had oiled
her to his satisfaction he came back
and raked up the fire again and fused
round with his gauges. He seemed to
have forgotten all about the danger we
were in, and to think of nothing but rae
ing with that coyote. Pretty soon we
could see that we had gained little on
the beast, and Sam was as cheerful as
he would have been if he had been sit
ting comfortably in a Buchephalus
saloon. He never so much as looked
back at the prairie fire, that was as near
as ever and as bent on gathering us in.
"'The ground is sort of loose and
swampy just below here, if 1 remember
rightly said 1. will she keep the track.
do you think?'
Sam didn't answer me, for he was
leaning out of the cab and watching
the coyote. Suddenly he sings out,
'Hurrah, boys! The coyotes losing his
wind. There amt ten minutes more
run in him, and we'll be atop of him in
less than that time
"Just then we struck the swampy part
of the road that 1 had been speaking of,
and, one side of the track sinking a
little too deep, the engine jumped the