Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-03-03

(Which isn't the name of the speaker
| used but will do) He was braking on
a freight ana got off sudden when the
train was half way over the Eastern
bridge from the island. Where the
draw is there was a guy rope across
just above the roofs Of the ears when
they passed under it. Well. Bill, he
was on top Of the ears and he forgot
Ithat guy rope until he was so near that
h couldn't get out OF harms way in
the usual fashion. The draw amt
like the rest of the bridge. It's 50 mar
row that car covers il from sid. to
side. Bin concluded that ne would be
safer in the water than he would BE- if
he waited to interview that guy rope
ana ne jumped. OFF h went right
into the drink. Well, the fellows in
the draw tenders house saw him when
he jumped and they ran out and threw
him a life preSerVer with a line on il
Bill could swim all right and he got
hold of the life preservrr ana they
yanked him up when they had got
through laughing. Bill lisps ana when
he came up in the water alongside. of
the wharf, sputtering like a porpoise.
he said He'll he said. thith aint on
plathe for me- and the chaps on the
wharf didn't know whether he meant
the running board on the car or The
drink he'd jumped into. He was all
right though ana he was 50 mad that
by the time he had got through swear
ing they said his clothes We're dry.
Presence Of mind saves many a life
on the railroads. There was the case
M IN ~ Dnnh.ct..r Nm,
caught between a car and a bulkhead
and rolled in and having been rolled
round and round for about the length
Of a car. was then rolled out again by
running the car backward The
switchman told the story. II
was over on the Rochester them days"
he began. We'll. this fellow he'd been
setting a switch or something and he
was standing just by the corner Of the
bulkhead when a car came along be-
hind him and damned him in between
it and the bulkhead. The bulkhead
was about breast high and there was
SO little room when a car was along
side that a big man like this fellow
was would get the life squeezed out Of
him If he Staid there long. The car
wasn't going very fast but it caught
the chap and set him rolling round and
round between it and the bulkhead
When the ear stopped the man was a
car length along that bulkhead and
wedged in tight. 1t would have taken
50 long to cut him out that he would
have died from the squeezing. Any
how that's the way the boys looked at
it, SO they just started that car going
the other way ana rolled him out
again. Hurt him? No. he vas all
right in a little while cept TINT they
said he looked kinder slim WASTED for
4 few months"
learned during this conversation in the
switch shan;y If the Importance rail
road man attaches to the sound Of break
ing glass. The sound If breaking win
dow will cause the sudden putting on If
the 'lir" ana the abrupt stop Sc the
train When railroad man deems it
necessary in the night 10 stop a train t.
avert some threatened danger his last re-
sort IS to throw something through one
of the windows. The lantern with viii II
he intended To Civ the warnin. may have
been cNtinguishcd ana in that case it be
comes Il missile ana he viii try to send
il crashing through the window Of the
cab on the locomotive. The engineer who
sees a broken lantern sail into his quar-
ters does not stop To ask questions. he
puts on the ''cmerg-ncy" ana brings his
train to a standstll with i suddrnness
that is likely to make the passengers turn
somersaults. Sometimes lanterns are
thrown under circumstances which have
about them an element of humor. 1t was
to match the tale of Bill Jones VINO
thought the water was no place for him,
that the long man in the corner uf the
ShantY. who had not spoken before. told
this tale. lie mentioned the name of
the hero Of the incident but as don't
remember il, We will call him John Smith.
John took a tumble from the running
board Of the night freight on the East
crn.'' said the long man. The boys used
to fall off oftener in them days than they
do now. You see before they had the air
ON the freights when all the brakes had
TO be set by hand. ii kept fellow hust-
ling along the tops of the cars pretty
lively ana sometimes the top of a car will
get about as slippery as a banana peel
Well. John was trottins along the run
ming board one night. cause the train
WAS getting near stopping place. OF
course. when he got about to the brake,
he had to step off the board onto the roof
of the car. That had a good deal of pitch
to it and it was as smooth as glass where
as it fell. The first thinr John knew he
was going towards No eds Of the ear
roof Il good deal faster than OnIy nine, v
five was hauling the train. The next
thing he realized was that he was up to
his neck in the big snow pile alongside
the track and the train was a rumbling
right along. John didn't know quite what
to do. He let out a yell. but Lord. there
wasn't nobody to hear him. He tried to
kick but his feet was froZe into that snow
bank About all of him that was above
ground. 50 to speak. was his head and
his two arms. Then the lights of the
buggy came along. 1t was Johns last
chance. If he didn't let the fellows on
the train know what had happened to
him before he saw the tail lights. he'd be
left there buried alive in a snow drift
John didn't like that idea a little bit SO
just as the buggy lights got opposite to
the dead and he let that lantern tiy He
hit the window square and the fellows in
that buggy We're probably about as sur
prsed a pair as you ever saw but they
stopped the train and went back to find
out where John was; they knew his lam
tern. Well. to make a long story short.
they found him back 4 piece and they
dug him out. That's not the only TIM
either that train has been stopped Ia
pick up a brakeman who had skated off
the top of a car and sometimes thev
found them in worse condition than John
was
The long man lit his pipe. while the
owner of the red mttens put on those
useful articles and the gathering dis
persed.