Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-12

opportunity, so that, undisturbed, the old
man proceeded:
81 was layin' at sort of halfway sta
ton, doin' extra work-haulin' sections, re-
lievin' crippled engines an shown stalled
freights up heavy grade there was there.
I'd been dOublin the division two days with
Barnums circus, an had went to bed clean
tuckered out. a little after 1 o'clock the
caller reused me out, an told me to hurry
up an get the wreck train.
w ats the natter says l, 'alf dead,
and feelin' for ny clothes by the light of
is lantern.
" Dunno says e; wreck up the road
some'eres: hurry up, they're waitin' fer ye.
" oh, aye, says /, of course, they re
alus waitin' for ye, but it don't matter 'ow
much we ave to wait fer them Away e
goes. an left me in the dark, an the first
thing I does, vile 'untin' for a match, was
/ to walk with my stockin' feet right into a
puddle of water W at 'ad run often is rub
Der coat
an pulled her up to the telegraph Office for
orders. Out comes the division roadmaster
an climbs on the engine.
"'Wats the trouble? says L.
" 'Twenty-eights ditched at Jenkins,
says he, an Woods can't be found
II got orders to run extra to Jenkins I'll.
1t was still pourin' rain That seemed the
| longest twenty-five miles 1 ever run. There
was other fills an things between US an
Jenkins, an it was on'y about arr the time
that we knowed Were we was. The road
master said if | didn't get a gait on me,
We wouldn't git there fore next summer.
Oh says |, L didn't know ye in a
hurry, an before I'd gone another mile, e
told me to slow up a bit or we wouidn t
never git there at all.
I'VE picked up twenty-eight's flag arr a
mile this side o the fill but e didn't know
nuthin. E run back. soon's e felt the jolt
an ad been wonderin' ever sence wot
! could be the matter. The conductor sent a
man to the station ahead to report the
% Flra'r fA.lNr
Il pulled up to the wreck, left the fire
man in charge, an went ahead with the
rest. The rear car was a sleeper. They
found somethn' wrong with the brakes ON
ii Jest before they left, so they cut the air
off it. Wen the engine pitched into the 'ol,
she broke the air connections, settin' the
automatic brakes on all the other cars.
They was held like a wise, an the sleeper
telescoped over the coach ahead. The
coach rammed the berths an passengers
all in cap into the rear end o the Sleep
er. Twas the worst sight I ever seen:
broken wood, twisted iron an people, all
mashed together in pile.
The conductor and uninjured passengers
ad tore out the end o the car an pulled
,, out the dead and injured passengers an
oused them in a coach We left the doc
| tor with them an went ahead.
1.-The engine lay on er right side, at the
| bottom o the fill. The fireman 'ad smoth-
| cred the fire with mud. so there was no
| danger Of 'er BLOWN up. The tender was
| crossways o the engine, an bottom up
| The baggage car stood on end just he'jnd
| an the smoker was 'arf way down the
| bank Part o one gang tore open the side
| o the baggage car, an pulled fifteen OF
| twenty 'eavy trunks Off the body O. the
! baggagemaster. / allus said that the worst
! place to be in a wreck was in the baggage
! car. The trunks are piled as ign as the
roof sometimes, an wat show as a man
| in there wen cars are flynn end over end
| or rollin' down the bank?
The engine crew as whatever chance
| there is to jump; the trainmen amt nc
wuss off than the passengers but baggage
| masters an express messengers are too
| busy to notice every little jolt, so wen il
| comes they gently git it.
| The rest on us ripped the roof often the
! cab. an there, by the light O. lanterns, we
| saw poor Toms left arm, stickin' up as
| stiff as poker / s'pose wen e felt .er
/ goin' from under i'm is and few up, nat
| urally, to steady 'imself.
| A!l We could see besides was the back
| OF is cad. is face bein' damned ard down
into the mud. Is arm an cad was SWELL
| ed up nigh to Dustin, an was as black
as the biler butt. We dug the mud I'm
| under i'm an got i'm out.
| some ow everybody forgot to notify lis
| "he, SO the first she knowed on 1t was
Wen the boys brought i'm to the 'ouse