The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1902-03-06


was repeated time and again until l
had been stack five different times.
Coal was getting down and water was
not much better. The prospect of
reaching Oskaloosa began to be doubt
full and | must confess, that / was wor-
ried. The fireman had several times
shoveled snow into the tank for water.
l had passed Lacey and was again
stuck. Matters were getting serious.
Water was very low more snow melt
ing; was scared by this time. l did
not care 10 spend the night out in
the open country and / could not
make another drift. The storm was
increasing with every passing min
ute as l finally struck the South
Skunk bottoms. The river bridge
was passed, and four miles to Oska.
loosa. Would ever make it? I went
up that grede of mile and over and
fairly tunneled the snow where it
was drifted in between the sides of
the cuts. Coal was almost gone and
water to the danger point. l thought
that l could not make it, and yet
while there was steam there was hope.
If only could make the hill at the
Quaker church. Now every lump OF
coal was gone,-I do not know how
much water there was. l pulled her
wide op5n and made one last effort.
She was getting weaker and weaker
but she still obeyed and responded
nobly,-l have loved that machine
ever since that memorable night. 1t
was supreme struggle with the odds
against us and l could not tell how it
was to end. knew my engine was
dying on my hands but / was going
as far as / could. 1t was $50 near
and yet 80 far" Slower and slower
worked the piston and l shuddered
as she came to stand still. Stuck
again and in seven feet of snow. No
hope this time for the valve was
opened to its widest.
Just then a shout attracted my at
tention and ducked from under my
curtain to find that had been stalled
in the heart of the Oskaloosa yards.
My engine had died on me between
the Baumgart restaurant and the
north end of the "old Sneak ele
vator" that stood about where the
passenger depot rests today.
The storm ragged all that night, all
day Thursday and Thursday night.
The wind made things lively Friday
and Friday night and another
blizzard started in Saturday morn
ing and lasted full ten hours. l
believe the snow was said to be four
feet deep on the level. The following
Sunday morning we finally became
organized for business. In the mean
time wires were down and everything
was tighter than a drum head in dry
weather The mercury went down
to 80 degrees below zero. We boys,
and there are several of US stuck
here, played "seven.up" in the depot
or Baumgart's place until Saturday
afternoon when the wires were made
to work again and we went out, liv-
ened the engines after great amount
of trouble and work and attempted
to open the line south from Oskaloo-
ga to Eddyville, distance of about
ten miles. An engine that had been
at Abba had made her way almost to
Oskaloosa' Thursday morning and
was stuck fast in the cut just into
the Oskaloosa yards south of town
about half mile. 1t was afterwards
known as the old "Acme Gut" Be-
fore we got through with that job
there were three engines stuck fast
in that cut. In those days that was
the worst place between Oskaloosa
and Abba. Somehow the snow
would get packed in there, bank.full,
and many smoke-stack has been
knocked off by striking "crusted
snow" in drift therein. We were
finally released from the place by an
engine that worked it's way from
Marshalltown. She pulled us all out
and a more foolish looking lot of en-.
gines you never saw in all your life.
Ask John Marshall who got buried in
snow while watching the fun-snow
bucking in that cut.
eyes, that was hard winter. We
had three months OF that sort of o