The Meeker herald., 1900-12-22

niger train No. was Whirl1nG
T. Toi humanity over the Mohavs
essrt,Ia great. wide expanse OF mid
mountain country whose parchsd
bosom has exposed many an uncanny
secret Of death from thirst and Indian
'deviltry. Wearied with the monoto-
nous view OF treeless. waterless plains,
the passengers gladly welcomed the
approech Of twilight. The sun went
dswn in an angry glare. outlining the
Are peaks OF far-away range in
fantastic forms, and gradually .as night
came on. there were more hopeful
signs OF vegetation 1t was the oath
Of December. and most Of the passen-
sers were building on spending . mer-
|y Christmas in the favored spots Of
the land Of sunshine and fiowers-
California.
Suddenly we heard the warning
shrek Of the engine. and saw scat
tered band Of cattle flying away in
terror from either side OF the trtack.
Again the engine shrieked. the train
jerked nervously and seemed to sway
uncertainty on Its course.
The next moment we were bounding
along the ties In an uncomfortable and
terrifying manner. The cries of star
lied women were drowned In the roar
Of escaping steam, and panic-stricken
men looked vainly for means of es-
cape. A group Of Mexicans. awakened
from sleep by the jar. plunged head
| long through an open window as
though the devil we're after them. The
{fo tha
thoroughly frightened passengers
emerged to learn the number of the
dead and wounded. and to tender what
aid. they could. The engine was COM
pletely hidden in a great cloud Of
steam, which marked its position about
half the length of the train. When
the steam finally exhausted itself, a
sd wreck was exposed. The tender
Of the engine was upturned, and the
engineer sat upon piece of wreckage
daxedly nursing an injured hand. The
arsman was some distance away. his
kAir and whiskers singed by the hot
(pUtpour from the engine. Neither was
seriously injured. and not . paAsengsf
was scratched. Beside the track, shiy-
sring in the thfoes Of death. lay q
handsome stesr-the cause Of all the
trouble. His neck had been twisted by
y mad rush at the cowcatcher. As the
engineers eyas fell upon the form Of
the animal q sHils Of satisfaction
spread over his wan face. as he said:
That critter must nave teen In the
bull lights at some time in his career.
for when he spied that red nag yonder
on the cowcatcher. he shook his head
viciously and refused to leave the track
with the rest Of them. l slowed up
and whistled several times to give him
chance. but he only snorted denantly.
kicked his heels In the air and kept on
his stubborn course. Finally he turn
ed. and ] opened the throttle wide,
thinking that the best method Of
throwing him clear Of the track. With
an angry foAr he came full At the en-
gine, his hsad bsnt lev to the track.
We all know the rest"
The steer It once became an object
Of great interest to the relic dend. Oas
man secured = horn and another cut
out . tooth, and the NEXT day various
camera views were taken of tho vali-
ant animal that had wrecked train.
We were twenty miles from the next
station. and the esstbound passenger
was due within an hour. Luckily .
telegraph operator was On the train
and the wires were hastily tapped 50
that the dispatchers could be informed
OF the accident and hold the trains
both ways.
We passed cherries night ON the
desert, and Christmas morning found
~ disconsolate party. There was nc
aiAing car attached to the train. and
fe travellers that were not provided
n lunch baskets rallied At the ILL
lsck that had placed them in 70 mis-
ssahls plight. Finally. some of them
vent on foragins expedition, and
ooWn the track few miles they locat.
~ed section house controlled by Mex.
leans. Here they appsased their hun.
ger ON frijoles. chile con carne aat
me other warm dishes of tho natives
wrecking train at length arrived q,
me scene. but the work Of repair W
SLOW and tedious. Several yards o
tfack had been torn up, and 1t VA
necessary to construct "shoo-fly
around the wreck. This took II
greater part Of the day. Meanwhil
me Passengers looked on in a helples
way. and all vowed that they had neye
peo Christmas amid such dssolat
surroandinss.-c. N. Stark.
Fer Ckrisfmos GfvinS.
The Hopkins family vars ou+ :.