The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-11-10
A PLUCKY GIRL

/
IN fact at that time the whole coun.
try was ringing with the praises of
"Iowa's Grace Darling" from whom
the place takes its name. The fast
mail was wrecked just at the approach
to the Des Moines River bridge. which
Is at the foot of Moingona Hill.
In 1881 Kate Shelly lived with her
widowed mother on the banks of the
river. which in ordinary time at that
point was comparatively insignifi-
cant stream. She was the daughter of
a railroad man who had lost his life
in an accident on the Northwestern
road. Her mother and herself earned
their own living and neither dreamed
that some day Kate Shelly would be
famous and the story of her heroism
would be used in thousands of school
rooms throughout the land to impress
upon the little ones the Importance
of rising to the occasion when duty
calls.
From her humble cabin door she
daily watched the trains rush by as
they came with the momentum gained
on the long, steep hill, or crowded on
all steam to enable them to make the
climb. No trainman ever went by
without watching for the girlish figure
sure to be on the lookout in the day-
time, or without mentally marking in
the night "that is Kate Shelly's home"
She was always a favorite with the
trainmen and was soon to become
their idol.
Instead of the modern structure
which now spans the stream there
was in those days a long wooden
bridge. On the night when Kate
Shelly sprang into fame the ordinary
Insignificant stream had been swollen
by heavy rains until it was a raging
torrent. None of the railroad men
ever dreamed that the water would
ever come up high enough to reach the
top of the bridge. Kate Shelly had
been watching the rising flood all day
and when night came she saw it was
nearing the danger line. The railway
company did not have any Waterman
on duty, but the time was coming for
Kate Shelly to repay the CHEEKY greet
ings and many kindnesses of the rail-
road men.
In the darkness she saw the waters
tapping the timbers upon which the
rails rested. The flood continued to
rise, and as the time drew near for the
passing of the big westbound night
express the water was over the rails
and the huge wooden structure was
swaying in the torrent like a tree in
gale. Kate Shelly knew that the
bridge in its weakened condition could
never bear the weight of the engine
and heavy train which would be due
in a few minutes, rushing down the
sGepest grade on the Northwestern
road at a speed of sixty miles an hour.
The crew and passengers of that
train must be saved and no one was
there to do it but frail little Kate
Shelly. The night was pitchy dark,
the rain was coming In torrents. and
with the water running over the rails
and the bridge lettering to its fall the
task of crossing it and tagging the
approaching train was one which
might induce the stoutest to shrink.
but Kate Shelly was not built out of
that kind of timber. Realizing that
not moment was to be lost, she got
down on her hands and knees and
foot by foot felt her way through the
water over the swaying structure.
The rumble of the heavy train. as it
sped down the long hill, was already
audible above the sound of the rush. |
ing water.
1t was slow work feeling her way |
over in the dark, but at last her feet |
were on solid ground. With all her \
strength she hurried up the
track to warn the approaching train |
of the danger. At the curve, which
still bears her name she caught the
first sight of the cleaning headlight |
dangerously close to the river.
The engineer espied the girl on the |
track frantically gesticulating, and 1t |
required no second look to tell him
that something was wrong. The
heavy train with its human burden |
was speedily but none too soon brought
to a standstill, and the lives of the
engineer, train crew and passengers
were saved by the heroism of a girl.
for no human being could possible
have escaped alive had that ponderous
engine and the heavy coaches once
gone upon the bridge. Without Kate
Shelly's warning the engineer could
not have seen his danger in time to
stop.
As the engineer realized what the
little girl whom he had watched so
many times at the cabin door had done
be gathered her in his brawny arms
and Rugged her for joy. The excite
ment over and the incentive which
had nerved her up gone, Kate Shelly
was on the point of collapse. Strong
arms bore her back to the sleeping
ear and passengers and crew did all
that was possible for the wet and ex-
hausted girl to whom they all owed
their lives. A few minutes more and
the bridge gave way under the pres
sure Of the current and fioated off
down the stream.
Railroad men not only on the North