St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-04-02
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
a /
: The Brakeman's 5 Race
Q

THE conversation having warped it.
self around to the discussion of
speed, the man who had but lately come
into the deliberations of the smoking
room congress remarked:
"Yes, sir, a race horse is fast and a
railroad train is faster, but there's
something that can lick the whole lot .
sH-m-m!" said the man who had lied
about bicycles. ''The tables of statis-
tics don't recognize it, then. What sort
of machine or animate body it is?''
1T amt either one. 1t don't breathe
nor turn wheels nor anything like that.
It is just two long, half-beveied planks
that turn up little at the front end"
The others looked at him wearily. A
story about a plank that could get over
the country faster than fast express
train was plainly and tiresomely false,
and it did not help the thing out any
to say that it was two planks.
'fou don't believe what I'm telling
you," the stranger remarked, with a
shade of regret in his voice. "Well,
then. it's plain you never saw pair Of
skees."
.'Skees?" the whole crowd chorused.
Some ignorant people call 'em skies
because they're spelled with an i. But
they're skees-a kind of second cousin
to a snowshoe, with some blood rela-
tionship to sleigh runner.
.'Out in the west" lie went on,
"they re common property in the noun
tain country. You fasten a foot to each
ski and start down mountainside, and
if its your first trip you haven't got
very far in your experience before you
have landed across the valley seven or
!. miles away.
What / was going to say was that
pair OF skees is fast thing. Maybe I
can prove it to you by telling of little
incident that came under my obserya-
tion. 1t was out on one of the slopes
down which the South Park line pitches
"a continual descent for about II miles.
Our train, which was an accommoda-
ton string of freight cars with coach
at the hind part, was pulling and chok-
ing up the mountain, and had got to
about the sixteenth mile, / suppose,
when the beginning of this story hap
pened. 1t was in November and the
snow had not yet got the better of the
section men-was beaten down pretty
well between the rails-just smooth,
nice chute between high banks of white.
Well, sirs, as we neared the summit,
what happened? Nothing scarcely,
only that the coach broke its coupling,
nd n,,fa
and jump off she was kiting down that
mountainside pretty much like a tele-
gram. We ran to the brake and set it.
and she eased little, and then we heard
q sort of straining, and the brakeman,
who was the only railroad man on
board, said that the chains were Civ
ing and we'd be off at full speed again
before she'd have chance to slow up.
We knew what that meant, for there
was train following us couple of
hours back. The coach would go slid
ing down that mountain like gunshot |
and out over the plain, and somewhere
away off in the level of the valley would |
find that other train and mix with it
and strew us around in a sort of human
debris
1T looked mighty serious. especially |
ms those chains creaked the more. and |
we were still proceeding at three-year-
old gait down the hill. One man turned |
to another, and the other looked in
quiringly at the next, and then the
brakeman-great, noble, profoundly
wise-had an inspiration.
Three miles up the valley he said.
there's junction where line runs IN
to the Old Tom mine. If we could get
that switch thrown for the mine track,
which is five miles long and uphill all
the way, like this, we'd be all right
.Hurah.' everybody yelled. And
then: But how in thunder can ii be
doneg
Watch me- said the brakeman. He
paved into the baggage compartment
and brought out couple of long, hook
nosed planks. They were a pair of
skees he had bought down at Como for
the operator at the Summit. We scarce
" knew what his plan was and looked
with interest as he strapped them to
his feet and made for the back door
which was, of course. the front door
now. This all took only few seconds,
you notice, please, but we were bally-
hooting along at whirling, dizzying
rate even then.
'sThe brakeman got ont and poised
leaning forward. When IL
count three he said. tone of YOU on
each side give me i throw SO that TN
land cut ahead of the coach on nv feet.
Be 6arefuI anddo it together, for if /
there's the slightest difference IN your
action I'll twist q little. maybe. and win
Imply be wet red streak on the snow.
t1Gentlcmen, it took nerve for man
3 . thing like that, but the brake i