The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-02-12
Engiaeers' suss==fsti:iissaas,

Railroad engineers arc inclined to
be superstitious. They hesitate to
admit the truth Of the assertion, Int,
like all men who are constantly ex-
posed to danger, they come 70 expect
disaster to be preceded by herald.
"No, I am not superstitious,' .
SAID one, 'but my wife is, and I have
never been in wreck einea we were
married but what she predicted was
going to occur. I remember that I
was running out Of Salida, on the Rio
Grande, that by her insistenoe Of the
truth of q dream she saved my life.
! vas to have taken out the freight in
the morning, but she awakened me
soon after midnight. 'Oh, Jim,' she
said, Z have had sroh dreadful
dream. I thought I sag A04 Chat
was my engine) plunge into another
engine. I heard the crash, Jim, and
tbs a::ss of eecaping steam, and the
e.ries Of the poor follows p;nned under
;he wreck. You must not go out in
the morning. I know you will be in
jured.' [ laughed at her and told
her to go to sleep, that she was ner-
vous. She protested, but I was tired
and was snoozing the sleep of the
just. When I awoke at 6 O'Clock she
was pale and haggard, and I saw that
if 1 went out she would be nervous
wreck before I returned. I decided
TO give in for once and fixed it up so
that another man took out my train.
They had a collision up the line. My
substitute was killed and the other
engineer and both Of tho firemen bad
ly injured. I pay more attention to
my wife's dreams now, but consider
it cowardly to attempt to act upon
them. If my engine is going into o
smash-up / will be at the throttle and
the little woman at home must de.
pend upon her prayers to save me. F"
"You may call it superstition il
you like laughed Charlie Frye, the
veteran engineer on the Rio Grande
''but I have come to regard the mum.
Der thirteen with q certain amount c;
awe. To show you how it is inter
woven with the tragedies of my life:
On July Is, 1901, I was pulling sraiu
No. Z out Of Denver. At thirteen
minutes past IL I struck wagon con.
tanning Max Wagner and his thir
teen-year-old boy near Petersburg
The boy was killed. I reported tht
accident from the Littleton Office ant
was delayed just thirteen minutes
At Palmer Lake the conductor casual
ly remarked that we had Just thirteer
passengers in the sleeper from Grip
pie Creek.
Tom Lotus, Of the Colorado ant
Southern, looked serious when the
subject of engineers superstitions wa
broached. "Well, / have an unlucky
day." said he, "or maybe, it is luck!
day, for, although on that day I have
80 far escaped injury, it is the las
day Of the year. When I climb int
the cab on December BIZ always say
Now, look out, Tom, old chap Tel
years ago the coming December 81
was pounding along on a double-head
er from Trinidad to Denver. We wer'
making about thirty miles an hou
through,a binding snow storm. Yo,
couldn't see fifty feet ahead. Be
tween Beaares and Huerfano we crash
ed into another double-header, which
was making about forty miles an hou
in the direction Of Trinidad. I saw
the other train. in time to reverse ant
jump. / escaped without serious in
jury, but one Of the firemen on tn,
train bound south was killed and tn,
rest Of the engine crew were bunget
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