The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-24
BY ALLAN Y. GILLESPIE.

BY ALLAN Y. GILLESPIE.
Copyright, 1909. by Alien V. Gillespie
Ny engines, after ninety days O. race and
rack and strain
Through all the seas of all Thy word
slam-bangin' hasae again
Slamb-bang too much-they knock a wee
thee ross-hea6 GIBBS are loose;
BY thirty thousand miles O. sea has gied
them fair excuse.
-McArdrews' Hymn.
lone of the real heroes Of the sea-
said the manager of a Transatlantic line.
as he plodded at the retreating figure of
his late visitor. zone of our engineers.
and he anu his kind save many a ship
many time at great personal risk. and
are not even thanked for their Efforts by
the passengers. But that's because the
latter don't know when nor where nor
how the engineers preserve their lives,
for their deeds are unhe-al1ed outside the
engineers mess and the captains room.
Yes. sir. it's true that
Z" They've words for every one but me
shake hands with half the crew.
Except the dour Scots engineer the man
they never knew
The manager pondered a moment.
I'll prove 10 you that these men are
the real heroes Ct the ocean, he said
and these are the stories he offered in
proof:
WORKING INSIDE'A RED-HOT
BOILER
A certain steamship in the Pacific trade
had been sent out from her home port
milf la Of I,fl Of
commission. In mi5ocean enc of the few
boilers capable OF being fired got leaky
tubes, and it became necessary in order
to keep the ship under any sort of head
way in 4 hurricane-swept sea, to repair
the boiler Immediately. The fire was
Pulled out from under it. the manhols
Ia was unscrewed and removed and the
first engineer wrapped from head TO foot
In thick coating of asbestos. crawled
unto the red-hot boiler and with chisal
and hammer began tearing out the de-
fective tubes For Two minutes he worked
lard as he worked, he held his breath,
for a single gasp CT the fiery air il his
lungs would have Killed him. Thea ha
crawled TO the man-hole and was pulled
out by stokCrs.
Five minutes later he again went into
the boiler This time. after neary two
minutes work. he succeeded in cutting
away TWO tubes. on the third entry h
removed three. and after that he spent
another five minutes resting
Then came the task of scanning in new
tubes, ard 10 do this he was compelled
to enter the boiler i've times In each
case ne staii inside nearly two minutes,
and as he crawled out the last time he
barely had breath ard strength enough
left to say to his chisf before he tainted
dead away:
Its done. sir
AS result Of his experience IN that he'll
Of heat the man was laid ZIP il he ship
hospital for ever a week. And II this day
his sleep is constantly disturbed by
dreams in which he is roasted in red hot
furnaces.
STANDING on RED-HOT PIPES.
The same engineer was in the boiler
room one day when suddenly valve. in
among "A great coli of pipes. began Leak
ing badly and hliing the room with scald-
ing steam Instantly. and regardless OF
his own safety. Re scrambled upon the
pipes and btea -hessiy began making re-
pairs. He hal almost finished when. as
,
order. a pipe joint below. the one
on xaich he was standing broke. and i
sussns OF kissing steam enveloped his
fost When he endeavored to pull it
away. he fourd il To be tightly weGged
in the joint lie had IN low Shoes and
before his cries brought AID his shoe and
sock Were burned of and his foot ana
lower leg paTbolsd He was unable to
ress.me work fer three months. and to-
day he walks with perceptible limp Yet
he hooked uron st all Is part CT the
Days work, and uttered no complaint
RISKiNG LIFE UNDER A BROKEN
SHAFT
II was in December OF Ig.c. Just around
Christmas time. that tho J'rnbria broke
her thrust shaft and foandered helpIesslv
In mid-ooean. The part that broke was
twenty-siX feet long and weighed tons.
Under The direction cf Chief Engineer
Lawrence Tomiinson. the p!scas We're Sc
cure and suspended by chains from the
top Of the tunnel. and then, although the
shaft threatened to fan on him at any