The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-02-10
Kate Skelley's Heroism.

AS the Growing honor of many that
have been showered upon her in recog-
milton of her bravery and courage,
Kate Shelley, the heroine of perhaps
the most brilliant rescue in all the
annals of railroading, recently has
been appointed station agent at Moig.
mona, Ia. In bestowing upon her this
position the Northwestern Railroad
has added another testimonial to 1ts
appreciation Of her deed, by which
many lives and much property were
saved from destruction.
On the night of July 6, 1881, the Des
Monies River, swollen with heavy and
continuous rains, overfowed its banks
and swept downward in resistless tor
rents. OF the twenty-one bridges in
the valley between the towns of Boone
and Moingona, on the main line of the
Northwestern, eleven were smashed
into kindling wood, and to add to
the perils of the situation violent tenn
pest of wind and rain, the worst that
had been known in years, was raging.
In the warm shelter of her home
Kate Shelley, then O girl of sixteen,
listened to the bowling tempest and
talked anxiously with her mother.
Her father, section foreman on the
North western, was out in the storm
at his post of duty. He did not retrun
at his usual time, and their fears for
him grew into panic of ofapprehension.
Finally the girl in denfiance of her
mothers will, determined to brave the
elements and 60 in search of him.
She hardly had wrapped herself up
preparatory to going out, when an
ominous sound broke on their ears a.
bove the wailing of the wind. There
was crash, a hiss of escaping steam
and the thunder of heavy weight
falling great distance to the ground.
Peering through the darkness. they
saw that helper engine, sentout from
Boone to be of service in the storm,
had crashed through the lofty trestle
and lay in the deep gulch beneath, q
mass of ruins.
Settings lighted lantern the girl sped
out to the scene of disaster. Two of
the engine gcrew were dead. Two
others lay near the track desperately
hurt. She eased them all she could,
then turned her face In the direction of
Moingona, four miles west of Boone.
A passenger train was due from that
point within an hour. She must stop
that train.
Making her way through the rugged
gulch, and, with the aid Of the under
brush and weeds climbing up its
further side, she reached the main
track above and set out on her perlious
journey. Not far along the way her
heart almost failed her. She had to
cross trestle half q mile long over the
raging river that doomed not more than
twenty feet beneath her.
To make matters worse, the light In
her lantern was blown out, and she
shnddered in consciousness that one
false step would plunge her into the
boiling flood. But she kept on, crawl
ing and creeping over the trestle on
hands and knees, In utter darkness ex-
cept when occasional flashes Of light
ming threw weird illumination across
the stormy sky. .....
Having safely passed the trestle, the
girl ran at top speed to the station,
where, after sasping out q warning
to the station master, she fell swooning
at his feet. She was Just. In time.
The west bound train with 200 pas
sengers on board was even then slow
ing up at the station.
A special train was got ready to 60
to the scene of the wreck. By this
time the brave girl had been revived,
and, boarding the train, she conducted
the crew by the one safe path across
the gulch to the relief and rescue of the
two injured trainmen.
The Legislature of Iowa appropri-
ated IS, 600, which 1t gave to- Miss
Shelley as reward for her heroism.
With this money she bought the
farm on which she now lives. On the
night Of the rescue the grateful pas
sengers made up a purse Of many dol
lars, and not long afterwards the North
western Railway gave her q gold medal
and a life pass. -.
Recently the Northwestern Railway,
in opening Its new Kate Shelley Bridge
across the Des Moines Rvier gorge,
shifted it's track out of sight of her cot
tage, and when Miss Shelley could no
longer see the trains speeding by her
home she applied for the position of
station agent, which the railroad off,
cials gladly bestowed upon her. 1t
virtually is a life position. -New York
Press. -.