The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1896-02-12
SC rAouaAf "a SOMETHING.
A Modntain Girrs Bright idea Saved tho
Lives of Passengers.

A Mountain GirIs Bright idea Saved tho'
Lives of Passengers.
nSpeaking of experiences on the
railroad, 4" said New York travel
ing man, "I had slight sorape one
time on mountain road in Tonnes
see that may be worth the hearing.
Two were going down a long
grade of ton miles in q mixed train
that is, we had gondola loaded
with ties as the end car, with our
two passenger coaches and baggage
car, and should say VIC were max
ing about 20 miles an hour on
track that would be treating us very
kindly if it didn't sling us into
eternity if we dared to add five
miles an hour to our speed when
happened to look out of tho rear
door and saw wild train of loaded
coal cars swinging down after us.
They had evidently started at q tip
pie which we had passed only few
minutes before, and when saw
them they were going SO fast that
they distanced tho men on tho
ground, who mado a run to get on
and stop their farther flight. made
wild rush for the conductor. but
before reached him no had ordered
the engineer to lot out his engine for
all she WAS worth and i'll this way
keep ahead of our chasers. Fortu-
nately we had no women aboard,
and tho men could BIO kept i'll better
control, though it was all we could
do to keep them from jumping off.
ut was onlya short time until we
began to SEQ that our salvation lay
in tho pursuing train flying the
track, because we had reached our
limit, and our train was swaying
and tossing so that everybody was
scared out of his wits. 1 know
was, and just sat in my scat and
held Oh, waiting and listening to the
thunder of the train behind us,
which was not 500 yards away and
gaining every second. 1t was far
heavior than ours, and / knew that
if anybody won't off the track it
wasn't going to be tho coal train.
said moment ago we had no wom-
on aboard. meant wo had mono to
speak of.
"rhere was ono, but she was
homely mountain girl who didn't
seem to know anything, and because
sho sat quiet in the corner and didn't
scream we thought she didn't
amount to enough to count was
looking at her in daZed kind of
way when all of "a sudden she lit out
of her seat as if sho had boon shot
out of it, and knocking everybody
out of tho way she dashed out of tho
rear door before anybody could touch
ner, ana we thought she had jumped
off, but she hadn't. She jumped for
tho open car, hanging on like cat
until sho got to tho far end of it,
and in a second she was tumbling
those ties off at tho ratio of dozen
n second.
"They would hit tho track and
bounce overy which way, but she
kept piling them off, tho coal train
getting closer ovory second, and at
last n couple of thom stuck up i'll
cattle guard, and the next thing we
know thoro WAS terrific crash.
Rails and ties and track and coal
oars flow, and tho coal train rolled
over itself and &ent down the hill
in a heap. BY George, as that girl
stood there in hor plain calico dress
and hor old sunbonnet and watched
that train pilo up at her foet I
thought that Joan of Arc, Cleopatra,
Queen Elizabeth, Grace Darling and
tho lot of them weren't n patching
to her, and as far as we were con-
cerned thoY weren't.
"She had saved our train and our
lives, and wo took her on with us in
triumph. Thon wo made up purse
for hor big enough to buy u farm
with, and I'll bet she's got moro
good clothes and jowelry and books
and trinkots and things than any
girl in tho mountains, for We mover
forgot her. Sho doesn't quite appro-
oiato somo of tho fine things she has,
but what do wo care for that? Wo
appreciate her just tho samo. -
Washington Star.