Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-09-20
Tales of the Town.

Big, fat, jovial Engineer Murphy
who runs into Lancaster every even
ing from Madison can tell a good
story as capably as he manages an
engine. Il was lettering about the
streets of Madison the other evening""
he stated to the Heard on the Street
man, land as had nothing to do |
dropped into concert and heard a
sleek looking Frenchman play piano
in way that made me feel all over in
spots. AS soon as he sat down on the
stool knew by the way he handled
himself that he understood the
machine he was running. He tapped
the keys up on end, just as if they
were gauges, and he wanted to see if
he had water enough. Then he look
ed up as If he wanted to know how
much steam he was carrying, and the
next moment he pulled open the
throttle and sailed on the main line
as if he was half an hour late. You
could hear her thunder over culverts
and bridges and getting faster and
faster until the fellow rocked about in
his seat like a cradle. Somehow |
thought it was SO pulling pass
enger train and getting out OF the
way of special The fellow worked
the keys on the middle division like
tightening, and then he flew along
the north end of the line until the
d ivers went around like a buzzsaw,
and | got excited.
about the time | was fixed to tell
him to cut her off little he kicked
the hampers under the machine wide
open, pulled the throttle way back
into the tender, and how he did run!
/ couldn't stand it any longer and
yelled to him that he was pounding
on the left side, and if he wasn't care
full he'd drop his ash pan. But he
didn't hear. No one heard me. Every
thing was flying and whizzing. Tele-
graph poles on the side of the track
looked like row of cornstalks, the
trees appeared to be mud bank, and
all the time the exhaust of the old
machine sounded like the hum of a
bum blebee
Il tried to yell out, but my tongue
wouldn't move. He went around
curves like a bullet, slipped an eccen-
trio, blew out his soft plug. went
down grades so feet to the mile and
not controlling brake set. She
went by the meeting point at mile a
minute and calling for more steam.
My hair stood up straight, because
knew the game was up. Sure enough,
dead ahead of US was the headlight
of the special In a daze heard the
crash as they struck, and l saw cars
shivered into atoms, people smashed
and mangled and bleeding and gasp
ing for water. | heard another crash
as the French professor struck the
deep keys away down on the lower
end of the southern division, and then
/ came to my senses. There he was
at dead standstill, with door of the
firebox OF the machine open, wiping
the perspiration off his face and
bowling to the people before him.
If l live to be 1000 years old I'll
never forget the ride that Frenchman
gave me on the piano.
The man who had the wonderful
photographic reproduction of the
burning of the Texas negro at the
stake had been the whole thing all
afternoon. He had told his thrilling
story time and time again, and the
crowd had forged to the front each
time, eager to catch the last words of
the dying confession.
''You each and everyone have heard
songs and stories on a photograph "
he ratified of gliblv, '.but I'll guaran-
tee that you never were permitted 70
hear anything like this; a story which
actually cost a human life to pro-
duce." (Horror on the faces of the
small boys who stood closest.)
Meanwhile, the man with the won
derful soap. the man who really had
the first right to the corner, had
e established mis- little table. had opened
his sample case, and had gone to the
barber shop across the street for jar
of warm water. As soon as there was
a pause in the narrative OF the Texas
traOedv few feet IN front tho so.n