Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1901-05-08
A QUEER COLLISION.
1T THREW A VIGOROUS SCARE INTO
THE FAT ENGINEER.

| He Didn't Know Until the Next Day
What Kind of CiinGing Game He
and His Fast Freight Train Had
| Butted Into During the FOgGJ
| Night.
zone pitchy dark night early last
summer" said the fat engineer, wipine
his long necked oil can with a piece OF
waste, II was coming east with a fas,
freight. AS we were approaching the
top Of Pecano hill noticed some kind
Of light moving way up in the sky
First thought it was a new star, but
as the sky was all beclouded and !
could see no other stars concluded
that I was mistaken. The light seem
ed to be descending, but as we pitched
over the top of the hill dismissed the
matter from my mind, having more i'm
portant matters to attend to.
"The farther along we got the dark
ness and fog seemed to thicken. I
was a little bit skittish about going
down the hill with that heavy train
such night, and as the train dropped
over the top of the decline I soaked
the air on a little to ease 'em off. Then
l thought 1t was no use slowing up.
If l didn't make time with the fast
freight, they'd take me off and put me
on the pick up again. So put the air.
brake handle back in running posi-
ton again and let the cars behind me
set the pace.
After we got about a mile down
the grade we We're going q clip that
would make the Empire State express
look like dingy old stagecoach in
comparison. Then l got cold feet
once more and thought it was up to
me to jack 'em up again. According
ly l put the air over in the service
position; but, by thunder, it had no
more effect on those flying cars than
a thimble of whisky on a Kentucky
colonel They just kept on coming
and showing my Mother Hubbard en-
CINE along ahead Of 'em at about a 20
mile an hour pace. / reached up for
the whistle rope to pass tip to the
train crew in the doghouse that they'd
better get out and twist upa few
brake wheels, when ca-smash we went
into something.
Some darned kind Of a rubbery
blanket enveloped my cheese box cab
and came down over the windows, lust
as II some one had lassoed us with
big rubbT bag. l made frantic jerk
at the whistle valve, but instead of
the sonorous sound it usually handed
OH the noise 1t gave out then was like
the shrek of penny horn. You
couldn't hear it for a car length. III
slammed the air over into the emer-
gency notch, but 1 had kept it on so
long for service application that the
pressure was all out of the train nine
and 1t was like thro wing straws under
the car wheels. There was nothing
doing with the air.
II was getting mighty scared because
didn't know what kind Of game
we'd butted into. The rubber covering |
had settled down over the cab windows
ana was shutting off the outside atmos. I
phere from me so that l could hardly |
breathe, and surely thought 1 would
SURROGATE unless got relief somehow.
no one on the train, not even my fire
man, knew what dire straits ! was in.
made several Intellectual attempts to
get out of the cab, but the rubber blan.
ket had me completely cut off.
Il tried the whistle again, but it was
smothered so by its covering that il
hardly gave forth any sound at all.
lad about given up hope when heard
he pop valve on the dome commence
% blow off steam. At first this added I
greatly to my discomfort, but realized
hat my only hope would be in having
he safety valve blow off steam with
sufficient pressure to lift the rubber
covering.
After two or three minutes had
lapsed, during which time steam had
'een blowing off steadily with heavy
PRESSURE, the rubber bag began to lift
nd finally tore itself away, although it
ook with it large section of the cab
oof. / was pretty nearly exhausted,
nut ! managed to reverse the engine
nd call for brakes. With the assist
nee of the brakemen the train was :
rought speedily under control and
topped. We made an investigation.
ut it was so dark we could not find
ut what had hit the cab and chung so
ghtly to it,
I'm reading the newspaper advertise
lents the next morning l saw an adj
ertisement which stated that the pro
rletors of a big wagon circus would
ay liberal reward for information ,
oncerning their balloon, which had
cen lost, strayed or stolen from a lit
e village in the vicinity of which /
nd my queer experience the night be-
IRE. Their swell parachute jumper
nd let the balloon get away from him.
flashed through by mind right away
lat II must have been the descending
illoon l had run into. and on my next :
ip out saw the battered remains of =
big balloon lying at the foot OF the
nbankment where it had been loosen
from the cab."-New York Sun.
When You Upset Your Wine.
There Is a curious superstition in It. 4