The Bemidji pioneer., 1900-12-20

i iB ~ ------------ -
| Passenger train No. 2,was whirling
i Its load Of humanity over the Mohave
i desert. great, wide expanse of mid
i mountain country whose parched
4 bosom has exposed many an uncanny
secret Of death from thirst and Indian
1 deyiltry. Wearied with the monoto-
i nous view Of treeless, waterless plains.
the passengers gladly welcomed the
approach OF twilight The sun went
down In an angry glare, outlining the
bare peaks Of a far-away range in
fantastic forms, and gradually.as night
came on. there were more hopeful
signs OF vegetation. 1t was the oath
or December. and most Of the passen-
gers were building on spending q nler-
! ~ Christmas in the favored spots OF
the land OF sunshine and flowers
California.
i Suddenly we heard the warning
shrek Of the engine, and saw scat
tered band CT cattle flying away in
terror from either side OF the TRACK.
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 were after them. The
| train finally spent its speed, and the
| 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 great cloud Of
steam, which marked its position about
half the length Of the train. When
the steam finally exhausted itself, a
! sad wreck was exposed. The tender
of the engine was upturned. and the
engineer sat upon piece Of wreckage
dazedly nursing an injured hand. The
fireman was some distance away, his
hair and whiskers singed by the hot
outpour from the engine. Neither was
seriously injured, and not a passenger
| was scratched. Beside the track, shiv-
| ering Ii the throes Of death, lay a
I handsome steer--the cause at all the
trouble His neck had been twisted by
! a mad rush at the cowcatcher. AS the
| engineers eyes fell upon the. form Of
| the animal smile of satisfaction
| spread over his wan face, as he said:
| That critter must nave been in the
bull fights at some time in his career,
| for when he spied that red flag yonder
on the coWcatcher. he shook his head
| Yiiously and refused to leave the track
| with the rest of them. slowed up
and whistIed several times to give him
| a chance but he only snorted defantly.
| 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 roar he came full at the en-
CINE, his head bent low to the track.
We all know the rest"
| The steer at once became an object
Of great interest to the relic fend. One
man secured a horn and another cut
| out a tooth, and the next day various
camera views were taken Of the vail
ant animal that had wrecked a train
We were twenty miles from the next
station. and the eastbound passenger
was due within an hour. Luckily a
telegraph operator was on the train
and the wires were hastily tapped so
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
us disconsolate party. There was no
dining car attached to the train, and
those travellers that were not provided
with lunch baskets rallied at the ILL
luck that had placed them in so mis-
cradle plight Finally, some of them
went on a foraging expedition, and
down the track few miles they locat-
ed section house controlled by Mex
leans Here the appeased their hun
ger on frijoles, chile con carne and
the other warm dishes of the natives.
A wrecking train at length arrived on
the scene, but the work Of repair was
slow and tedious. Several yards of
track had been torn up, and it was
necessary to construct a tshoo-fy"
around the wreck This took the
greater part Of the day. Meanwhile
the passengers looked on in a helpless
way, and all vowed that they had never
passed a Christmas amid such desolate
surroundings-C.N N. Stark
For C6risfnG>s Gix'irsS.
The Hopkins family were out of
match boxes. and If there is one thing