Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-08-22
HERAILROADSCARE

THERAlLROADSCARE
ODD EFFECTS OF THE FIRST SIGHT
OF A LOCOMOTIVE.
Some of the People of the South Hid
Behind Trees In 1888, When the
Iron Horse Went Blythe Co.srltry,s
Earliest Rnilroad.
America cannot lay claim to the first
locomotive or the first railroad. That
great honor lies with England Yet
Yankee genius was not very far behind
her, for, when George Stephenson
launched his first real locomotive, the
Rocket, on the Liverpool and Manchcs-
ter road i'll 1920, the first spike had been
driven on the Baltimore and Ohio rail
road, July 4, 1928, by Charles Carroll
of Carrollton, the last surviving slgncr
of the Declaration of Independence.
This was the first road started in the
United States, and in 1880 it had reach
cd lGllicott Mills, 13 miles from Balti-
more.
But the south can claim the honor of
completing the longest railroad in the
world at that date, being the old
Charleston and Hamburg road, now Il
part of the South Carolina and Georgia
system, which was begun in 1880. and
by October, 1888. it had 137 miles Of
track in operation. In Il letter from
MIR. Samuel C. Clarke of Georgia,
Xii nf n
the extreme age OF 91 years and who
had seen the beginning and the compile
tion of this road, he thus gives his ex-
pcricnce upon first sight OF u locomo-
tive:
"One day While going down to
Charleston with Il party of gentlemen
to attend the races as we approached
the city we saw in the distance the
new railroad, finished some 10 or II
miles out of Charleston. 1t was built
upon piles, longer or short, according
to the nature of the ground. Sometimes
i'll crossing Il r:lvine the rails were 20
feet from the surface. Our track ran
near this elevated road, and soon
horrid Shrek as from 20 panthcrs was
heard in the woods. by this time we
We're nervous. Elephants and lions
we had heard of, and some OF us had
seen them, but what monster was this
whose screams we heard? Presently
1t came in sight, flying aloft through
the air and breathing fire and smoke,
and our frightened steeds became un-
manageable, and in fact l think that
some of our party We're as badly fright
ened as their horses. If any of my
readers are old enough to remember
the Introduction of locomotives and
how they felt at first sight Of them,
they will perhaps understand our sen
sations that day in the pine woods.
"a mile or two farther on we came
to broken wagon by the side of the
road, and near it sat 4 Georgia cracker
smoking his pipe. On being asked
what was his trouble he replied, We'll,
stranger, I've often hcarn tell Of nullI-
fication. and now l reckon I've saw 1t
for truc.'"
1t is somewhat amusing now to read
of the superstitious dread with which
the Inhabitants looked upon the build
ing of these first railroads. Some
thought the smoke of the continual
passing trains would cause pestilcnce
or destroy all the crops along the road.
Others We're afraid to ride OH the cars
for fear of having their breath taken
away. and the people in the cities OBJ
jectcd to the railroad being built be-
cause they feared the smoke from the
engines would soil the clothes which
were hung out to dry.
Many are yet living who looked upon
the terrible, scrccching iron monster
with awe and trcpidation. Mr.. Nat Nc
Gee of Ivy, Albcmnrlc. tells Joke upon
himself that when he heard the train
coming he jumped from his horse and
got behind a tree, where he viewed it
for fear of being run over Mr.. w. T.
Prout. who was taking wagon load of
produce to Richmond. when he reached
Gordonvlle heard the whistle and ter
rible noise of the approaching train.
and he and his companions were so
scared that they sprang out. lcaped the
fence and ran across the field to safe
distance. leaving the wagon and team
TO its fate, but when the train appeared
Vt was only an engine and one COACH
The first roadbeds were formed as
has been stated, by driving piles in the
ground. upon the top of which were
placed wooden stringcrs, in which were
cut groove for the wheels to run.
These were called wooden railroads"
and nt a distance appeared like the ele-
vated railroads in the cities of the pres
ent day. The honor of this invention
was contested between John Hartman
of Scottsville, Va. and John Williams,
IN engineer OF Chic, but 1t did not
prove bonanza to either. for the
wheels were constantly bouncing out of
the groove, and the piles soon after
gave place to solid dirt embankments,
and strap iron rails were substituted
for the wooden groove. But the grad
ing was very imperfect and uneven,
which made riding on one of these
primitive railroads like going over
corduroy road in springless wagon,
with the cars bouncing over these
rough rails to the jinglng music of the
windows.-Richmond Dispatch.
Do Carpets Shorten LifeH
Just think what n horrible receptacle