The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1904-03-01
The Jaguar
Special
BY PAUL r.. BULLARD.

duras. Hold-ups, collisions and rum
away trains are OF frequent occur
renee on its so miles of length, but its
most extraordinary incident was that
in which George Powers took part.
1t was in the dry season." when the
banana plants were weighted with
their punches of green fruit, ready for
cutting.
Zone day"-as Powers tells the story
the fruit steamer Breakwater an
chored unexpectedly in the offing of
our Caribbean sea harbor of Porto
Cortez. Soon, at her agents orders,
there was hoisted at her masthead the
signal indicating Fruit, ready for
quick cargo And when the ship had
-eached the dock fruit train was be-
ing made up.
Then we learned that the Break
water was expected to sail for New
Orleans with a cargo of bananas early
the next morning. Extraordinary eff
forts must be made to load her with
a suitable shipment in less than
days time. To hurry was decidedly
untropical, but the bonus given by the
railroad officials was as oil to lubricate
the machinery of the transportation
departments; and was handed these
orders:
Engineer Powers will take engine No. 10,
with Is platform cars, and proceed with
best speed to La Pimienta; load cargo of
bananas; return to San Pedro load fruit
there. Report at this office after the run,
and not later than ten p. m. to-day
WI 7 II % rf1..a
such an order meant hurry My
fireman oiled 10, the only locomotive
available, and the yardmen made up
the train. BY noon we were started.
There was work enough ahead to keep
us all out of mischief for the next ten
hours. To cover a round trip of 100
miles, load IS cars with bananas and
pull them into Porto Cortez within
ten hours would be the record for
speed upon the Honduras railroad.
$50 old 10, with throttle wide open,
was soon putting up the rough road
bed to La Pimienta at an unaccus-
toned pace. The telegraph line was
equally busy. and when we ran past
San Pedro the ox-cars were already
punches alongside the track in readi-
ness for our return. Between four and
five o'clock we whistled for La Pimi-
enta, the terminus.
There the station agent had a gang
OF leaders ready, and before the
train had quite stopped the green
buncheswer being passed to the load
QrS in m a paru Tn ', fporoIfl,I, ~ 80
space of time the bananas rose, tier
upontier, to heavy load; and all the
time my fireman fed the sticks of soft
pine TO our roaring fire box, for we
should need good head of steam to
get back to San Pedro in season. The
agent sarcastically asked me: is the
engine good for the heavy pull with-
out a breakdown? and / replied:
Number 10 is about to surprise every
body by a record trip And so we did,
both because of and in spite of an I'M
precedented adventure.
AT six o'clock we had loaded all the
fruit in sight, and whistling for open
brakes we started for San Pedro.
The down grade helped us materially.
In less than an hour we had covered
the distance and were taking the fruit
aboard from our last stop
Delay began here. There were few
men to load the fruit, and the handling
OF il was slow; every bunch was thor
oughly inspected by the leaders lest
they should grasp tarantulas crawling
among the bananas. But at eight
o'clock the train was loaded the
pitchpine headlight was lighted, the
throttle opened and the whistle
shrieked its farewell to San Pedro.
1.-TWO hours only were left in which
TO make the run in schedule time over
S5 miles of rolling country and with a
weight of IS heavily loaded cars. The
passenger with her light Freight
was allowed four hours for the same
run. The darkness was intense, and
the vibration of the train soon became
so great that the headlight was shak-
en- into mere suffering, and at a
lurch went out. The front Of the en-
CINE became the limit of my vision.
The white mile markers were
passed so quickly that my fireman
lost his count, and we could not tell
where we were. But No. 10 was doing
her best. Not a valve had blown out.
nor rod broken. Our GATHERING over
the track was varied only by the
frantic squealings of a fine, fat MIG.
sent by the agent at La Pimienta to the
captain of the Breakwater as a deli
cacy for his table, Piggy continually
squealed from its berth in an open
fruit car.
In one place a large limb extended
from tree out over the track. lust
high enough to clear the stacks of
the passing engines. The pig seemed
TO scream more loudly than before and
we heard new sound.
What was that?' asked nv
startled fireman. Did you hear thai
crash?
oh, never mindi Give me more
steam replied, for knew we must
be nearing steep grade. blew the
signals to release the brakes. but
without avail.
in minute we struck the hill. 1t
was a hard one to climb, and the en-