The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-26
BY cY WARMAN.

Copyright, 1897, by Cy Warman).
Pennsylvania furnishes the hero as
well as the narrator of this story. for
the story is not mime. 1t was told to
me by Mr.. S. Y. Derrdh, who was a
bashfuI, beardless youth when he wan
dared into the west and struck the
New Santa Fe Train at Trinidad. He
began his railroad career when this
tale begins, and he began at the bot
tom
The rules governing the actions of
railway employees in this country are
almost uniform-tlaey oUght to be per-
fectiy 50. The RUSS are made to cover
everything but emergencies, and good
emergency mana, man who is brave
enough to break a ruIe-is a valuable
man 20 a railroad company. | remeTn-
Der a rule that said if your train breaks
IN two, keep on going urisil you are sure
that 'uhe rear section, the detached part
of your train, mas stopped. a man on
our division started down a long nil,
looked back and saw that MS train had
parted. He Immediately set the air on
che cars that We're still coupled to him;
the rear section smashed into him. Of
course. and made splinters OF two
freight cars. He broke q Well-known
rule, but if he had undertaken to out
run that train he would have lost his
iife, as well as the train and engine,
for a car let loose on nil will run
faster than a locomotive There have
been hundreds Of instances where
friGhtful accidents have been aVerted
by the quick wit of an emergency man.
A great many good stories remain
untold because the men who hold the
secrets know that their publication
would embaTrass those responsible for
them. Often the most careful man will
make a mistake at the beginning of his
career, which, if published would make
his whole life a failure. Sometimes by
! a single move, in the face Of a great
emergency, a young man places himself
| under the eye of the management and
in the sure line Of promotion.
The incident related here, however,
T seems to have made no great difference
With the young hero. Some men seem
born to succeed and others doomed to
failure. Mr.. DeTTah has himself made
| a great success OF railroading. He is
! just now one of the trusted lieutenan'ts
| of the gertlemanly, scholarly freight
traffic manager of the Missouri Pacific
railway, stationed at Salt Lake City.
He talks better wrtting than tlle writer
! writes, and here is the tale:
| One,dark, stormy night, in the winter
of 1872, the writer sat in the waiting
| room of the old Santa Fe depot at
! Trinidad, patiently watching the hands
of the clock as they slowly crept
toward the point on the dial that in
| Dictated midnight.
! California express No. 104, eastbound
| was reported four hours late at Wal
I lace and at Las Vegas it lost so minutes
| more. a motley crowd was gathered
| in that room, and as the minutes wore
! into hours, and the reports from the
| delayed train became more discourage
| ing, it was apparent to all that daylight
! would Stin find US in Trinidad. A roar
I ing fire blaZed in the mammoth stove
! that stood in the middle of the room
and, wearied by the tedious wait OF
| made droWsy by the heat, those wh{
! we're SO fortunate as TO secure then
| stretched out at full length upon the
benches which lined the room. In on4
| corner. wrapped in his striped blan
llet, a Navajo buck snored Justify. while
beside him upon the floor sat his dusk!
squaw, her Nigils keeping, ever anC
anon sucking an embryo Sitting Bull
who at other times stood strapped Il
q board which leaned against a con
venient bench. In another corner
party of Nexicans and cowboys from
ranch no the '-PicketWire," were play
ing high five" and the frequent iing
ling of silver indicated that it was no
for paStime only A beVy Of gaudil
dressed naidens, whose rich, Oily
cheeks and lansuishing. dreamy eye
bespoke their Spanish origin, ciatteTe
and laughed ever the fun and fr3lic c
the baile which they had come dow
from FL Moro TO attend the night ba
= fore. Their escorts. bashful and aWb
, ward. occupied q bench at the oppC
= site side of the room and contentedl
a smoked their cigarettes in silence.
4. couple of miners from the famous tie
= Strike" we're sizing Up their losses owe
by the ticket window, and cursing VIZ
, toria and his devihsh Apaches, who's
. bloody raids into that part of Ne
Mexico had made life in the Blac
range country altogether too unpleai
: ant for them. The merry clicking of IL
telegraph instruments in the adjoil
ing room could be heard, and occasion
z ally the sleepy operator would Vclus
= teer some cherries information as
r the w'heraboeuts and prospects of IN
t 104"
t Outside the wind blew in ftful gust
5 the snow outside sitting through II
Q creYiees in doors and windows. only
e last a brief moment in that sitting a
d mosphere. Through the small mulliol
d ed windows could be seen the fIicke
5, ing street lamps, upon snow cOVert
}. wooden posts. that stood like ghost
n seRtinels at long intervals on CONNIE
q cfal street DtagOnaliy across, and his
d up in one of the blocks on Main sire
v cleaned a row of lights which markt
the News office, where Editor NeWe
Y nightly prepared the mental pabulu
v on which the "unterrified" of that de
V fed and waxed fat. Near the bridg
l. which spans the "Picl1etwire" stoC
r peg-legged Pete's dance house, and Il
IS sounds OF revelry and debauchery bor1
: upon the night wind mingled weird
e and gruesomely with tn dismal crea
ie Ing Of the old windmill, that for
s, many years held sway upon the opp
n site bank of the stream.
n About I o'clock l turned to the tel
$, graph window when the following me
le sage posted on the bulletin boa
le caught my eye:
lie La Jerni.a. Nov. =
n "Aglr1t L. so:
a ''StGrt Engineer Murphy for La Jun
is az ? a. N. W3h Eng. 63, hg.g.
Immediately determined to be a pa
senger on GO, if [ could get Murphy
. carry me- AtcGc 1880 Mr.. MuTrl
showed up, and. presenting my cTede
tilals, tle FINALLY clr.sentsd 10 Gatle I
b, along if [ wSutd promise nlt to fatl O
II CT tlna cab window and GlE,dguG'a 6
h risfl. of way. agreed 80 ti'is, provid
l. hs kept on the ra4E5, so the Tnailher "
! sou-led Stlugt1y aD,Er The fiuamt