Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1902-02-13
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NJ = i - q Ients The csuntry,al
q lisat laasls -,
America cannot lay ciaiin tostlie first
|, locomotive sor. the first railroad. That
Hreat honor lies with Isnglantl. Vet
yankee genius was not Ner5s far behind
her, for, when George Stephenson
launched his first real locomotive. the
Rocket, On the Liverpool aud AlanclIes-
.Aer rnad In 1929; the first spike had been
.iriven on the Baltimore and OHIO rail-
-road. July 4. 1923. by Charles Carroll
of Carrollton. the lastSsurW..ing s:gner.
OF the Declarationas of Inaa dependence
!: This was the first road started lin The.
United States. and IN 1880 1T had reach
led lcllicott Mills, Il. miles from Balti-
more.
But. the south can clnim the honor Of
!. completing the longest railroad in: ths
ssEorld ut that date. lWins the. old
I charleston and Hamburg road, now a
aapart Of the South CaIolina. and GeDrgia
;system, which was begun In 1880 and
Aby October, 1888. It had 137 miles VI
track in operation. Ina letter from.
,sslIr. Samuel c. Clarke Georgia, n
ikinsnan of the. writer. Mho att,incal
the extreme age of 81 years and WHO,
had seen the beginning and the compile;
ton Of this road, he thus gives his ex-
perience upon first sight Of loconlo.
tive:
.s"One day while going. down TO
charleston With p:tl;.' Of gentlelnr::l
to attend the races :as We approached.
the city we saw i. distance the
new railroad, fni::.....:l seize 1O.or II
miles oHt OF Char. sion. 1t w.; built
upon piles, longe:' OF s:.o:... . sording
to the nature of e groE,.-l. ...Ietimes
In crossing a ,.,y;;,e tie II: We're 20
feet from The .:riaca. Gu, track ran
near this eltt,...;.l road. lii soon
horrid shrek as from - !a4nthers was
heard in the woods. BY ,..is time we
were nervous. ElephaE.; and lions
we had heard of, and some OF Us lad
seen them, but what monster was this
whose screams we heard? Presently
It came in sight, flying aloft through
the mir and breathing fire and smoke.
and our frightened steeds became un-
manageable. and in fact think that
some Of our party were rs badly fright
ened as their horses. IL 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
satior.s that day in the pine woods.
~ mile or two farther on we came
to /, broken wagon by the side of the
road, and near it sat Georgia cracker
smoking his pipe. On being asked
sxhat was his trouble he replied, Well,
stranger. I've often hearn tell Of nulli-
llcation. and now reckon I've saw It
Cor true.' q.
It is somewhat amusing now to read
tof the superstitious dread with which
tl,c Inhabitants looked upon the build
:Anr Of these first railroads. Some
thought the smoke of the continual
passing trains would cause pestilence
jbr destroy all the crops along the road.
Others were afraid to ride on the cars
lfor fear Of having their breath taken
away, and the people in the cities OBJ.
1ected 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
1he terrible. screeching iron monster
with awe and trepidation. Mr.. Nat Nc
Gee Of Ivy. Albemarle. tells joke upon
himself that when he heard the train
eoming he jumped from his horse and
got behind q tree. where he viewed Il
Tor fear of being run over. Mr.. W. +
Prout, who was taking wagon load Of
.Hroduce to Richmond, when he reached
Gordonville heard the whistle and ter
ril.le noise Of the approaching train
end he and his companions were g
scared that they sprang out, leaped the
Fence and RIM across the field to q saft
distance. leaving the wagon and team
% it's fate. but when the train appeared
t was only an engine and one coach.
The first roadbeds were formed. a
has been stated. by driving piles In th,
ground. upon the top Of which wer,
placed wooden stringers, In which Wer,
nut groove for the wheels to run
These were called wooden railroads
and at a distance appeared like the ele
iyated railroads in the cities Of the pres
!. lent day. The honor Of this invention
sras contested between John Hartman
6 Scottsville. Va, aud John Williams
I'm engineer Of Ohio, but, Il did no
psove q bonanza to. either. for "a
wheels were constantly bouncing ont o
The groove. and the piles soon ate
lenve place to solid dirt embankmenta
Ind strap iron rails were substitute,
Tor the wooden groove. But the grad
Ing was very imperfect and uneven
which made riding on one Of thes
primitive railroads like going over
corduroy road In . springless wagon
nth the cars bouncing over thes
rough rails to the jingling music Of Ii
MISUNDERSTANDING dispatch.
% Carpets shslten LifeS
Just think what q horrible receptacl
n M nnelnAn t1,inOa tho roSspok so q, ~,