The American guide., 1896-07-04
/ orESrp Tue THROTTLE.

gauge to standard, and MS II had been
raining for the past week, the streams
were all swollen, and the roalbcd was
soft, making travelling at any very great
rate of speed very unsafe. We made thr
"trip from ChrrryNalc to Fort Scott and
back in one day, and all the crew, there
fore, made their homes in therrNNale.
On the morning of the Sd Of July
left home for the roundhousc, prom
isng my little boy to bring him some
fireworks for the Fourth. ! made the
purchases at Fort Scott, and among
the fireworks was n large cannon
cracker, which tossed in the fireman,
scat.boS.
We pulled out of Fort Scott on time.
and in such rainstorm as have never
since witnessed, BY the time we arrived
at Pittsburgh we were 20 minutes late
on account OF the storm. Al the ncSt
station we got orders to run to Chcro-
kec and go In the hole" as we railroad
men call side-tracl,ing, us II train had
been wrecked west OF that place.
We were due out OF Cherokee at 5:i5:
but before the two cars that had jumped
the track could be got back on the rails
1t was eight o'clock, aud raining ms only
II Gun rain In southeastern Kansas.
After leaving Cherokee opened the
throttle. and we shot along through the
rain at a speed That was frghtful, con-
sidering the softncss OF the roadbcd
und the danger OF washouts. But an
engineer never thinks OF danger when
he is behind time.
The headlight burned with n dim, yel.
low light, and only pierced the darkness
TO the distance OF n few yards. There
was hut one bridge of any consequence
between Cherokee and CherryNulc, and
| intended Stacking up FOR IL. The fire.
man worked like beaver to keep ap
the steam, as the rain cooled the boiler,
making il more dinlcult to keep the
proper pressure, Along wesped through
the darkness, the flashes of lightning
lighting up the surrounding country
as bright as dny, aud making II almost
impossible to see at all by the sudden
return to darkness
As we ncnrcl the Ncosho river | slack.
cncd the speed, intending to run slowly
over the bridge, when distinctly above
the roar Of the train. and the storm
sounded the report Of II single torpedo.
Instantly | shut her or, reversed the
lever and applied the brakes, She
slowed down quickly and stopped with
thr pilot OF the engine projecting over
chnsm--for Ncosho bridge was gonrl
The conductor came running forward
to see what caused us to stop, md when
he saw how nearly had came 10 pulling
the passenger train into the Ncosh,
river, he ,rcmblcd like an aspen, and waa
utterly powcrlcss TO move.
but about The torpedo signal?
When told the conductor how hnp.
pencd to stop, In answer to his question,
he laughed at me. How could anyone
put torpedo on the track at that place
and no station within ten miles? did
net know, but hcDrd 1t distinctly, and
so did my fireman, wlNp could no more
explain It's being there than ! could,
One thing was ccrtnln=t the bridge wns
gone, and there was nothing for us to
do but to back to Cherokee and get
orders, and jumped into the cub, feel
ing little more queer than ever felt
before in nil my railroad experience.
"oh, Ned. look herc!" said my fire,
man, us We stopped at the sldetrack at
Cherokee,
lie wns holding oren his scat-box. |
looked, and the whole thing dnwned
upon me.
There. In the bottom Of the sent-box,
was mass Of tom, blnckcnrd brown
paper, and the fremHn's dinner. bucket
and his pipe, which he threw lighted
into the box when getting down from
his seat to put IN n fire." and which
had ignitcd the frfcrackcr fuse.
We were saved horrible death indi.
rcctly by my little hoy, aud never al
lowed u Fourth" pass snfter that with
ont buying him large supply of fire.
works.
When We told the stcry N Fort Scott,
the railroad fellows would not bclicv,
VI; but, after they found II was the
truth, they took up collection, and now
Larry Doolen, the fireman, is the owner
Of the finest mecrschaum pipe west OF
th" Misslsslppi.--Eycri l., Paul, In
Golden bays,
a surrosi,
WAS little Tommy Bunkcr's fourtl,
Of July celebration success2"
al A 4. a