The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-05
NO FIREWORKS CARRIED.
The Road Had Had One Experience
and Did Not want Another.
From the Chicago Times-Herald.

ana Dtd NOT want Another.
From the Chicago Times-H Herald.
How is it, Jack, this road refuses to
carry fireworks?" asked the fireman. as
the old engineer leaned back contentedly
smoking his pipe, awaiting the passing
of No. 3.
well, here is a story connected with
that rule" replied the veteran slowly.
"and / don't mind sayfh' that 1t was me
that had it put in force by insistin' that
II must either be done or I'd leave the
throttle. Moreover, as the road had to
pay a big roll for property destroyed one
time, not countin the cars burned up,
the boss thought pretty much as / did"
Tell us about 1t, Jack" urged the
conductor.
"'Twas about 1876 or 1871 / think" said
the engineer, meditatively, when we was
still usn' the old wood burners. My.
what a. lot of rattle trap nuisances they
were. Had 10 stop every twenty minutes
or so for wood and when runntn' It kept
a man busy pretty much all the time
chuckin in the sticks. Talk about
sparks! Why, on a dark night, an en-
CINE passin' at a pretty good gait looked
like a house ahre. Used to have hand
trains to put out the brush fires, Fact.
We'll, there is a story connected with
engine No. 5, pullin the night freight
we had a pretty heavy load of cotton,
phosphate and odds and ends, includin
two box cars next the engine, containing
something | did not know what at nrst,
but | found out later. 1t was past mid
night when we got on the hill beyond Cor
sons, and so you know 1t is twenty mile
steep down grade after you get over the
top. / thought we were goin' to stick
goin' up, and had old five workin' for
all she was worth. Chunks Of blazin
wood as big as your two fists came pour
in out of the stack In a regular shower.
"At last the old engine pushed her snout
over the top of the hill and the train
gradually begun TO creep and then TO hum
on the down grade
IAN of a sudden there was an explo-
sion like a cannon shot, What teIs
anything else 'zipr spang,' somethin
came a whizzin' along and struck the
cab Biff, boom, bang, fix and then hell
Roman candles, rockets, pin wheels,
red fire, green fire, cannon crackers,
other odds and ends of fireworks dis
play begun going off, Eastern you could
count. Didn't take fellow more than
a second to realize there was carload
of that stuff back there set on fire from
the engine, but what to do was something
else.
chased down the mountains with a lit
tie burnin' he'll like that behind you is
enough for a lifetime. Jimmy Christmas
what a sight that must have been for
the natives, but you can bet 1t was no
fun for us in the cab
Giver q jerk and break the couplin,
yelled the fireman, as a ball of red fire
flew past his nose. shut off steam for
a second and then pulled her wide open.
Crash, and It was done. The old engine
away from the blaZin' car, and in less
darted away from the blazin' car, and in
less'n minute we was a quarter of
mile ahead, go'n, licety-split, while the
fireworks display came boomin' along be-
hind. / let her at full speed, although
ordinarily no man in his senses would
risk comm down that grade at such
rate. All the time 1 was thinkin' and
thinkin' hard.
Jim" yelled, we must ditch that
How? shouted Jim. pullin' a final
rocket ball from his whiskers.
Down at the wood slidin.' I'll slow
up, you jump off. turn the switch after
" .Goodp shouted Jim.
We had about five miles. yet to go,
and calculated we should be near a
which meant about minute, as the run
away was knockin' along at fully sixty
miles an hour. Well, dropped Jim at the
mile and stopped.
II saw Jim throw the switch and hustle
away He hadn't got two hundred yards
before the train came whizzin' along. She
struck the switch. and, for an instant, I
trembled, for it looked as If she had
jumped right over it and was maxim a
Decline for me. Then the fireworks made
sudden twist into the woods and l saw
i was safe. In a moment a crash came as
the train reached the end of the track
and piled up in the hollow, and for a
few seconds the display was grander than
ever.
Jim and run over to see If any of
the crew We're hurt, but they had all
jumped off at the head of the grade. We
did find poor old darkey, however, who
had been Weakened up by the crash, and
who thought the day of judgment had
come sure, which, consderin' the red fire
and so on, was only natural
And that's the reason" concluded the
engineer, putting away his pipe, why this
road don't carry fireworks and powder any
more