The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-07-10

No one on the train, possibly thought
of the brave crew that were hauling
/ them nor Of the perfect road and sys-
tenn that made their safety certain.
The rain ceased or we had out run II.
The yellow time card swung in clip
in front of the engineer. He was past
due in Atlanta. 1t was a blind fight
| against a run out schedule. Franklin
and Cloughs. side tracks, went by to
backwards like the popping of a whip.
Dim objects doomed up in the dark
ness indistinct and dim and disap-
pear. They were farm houses. The
yellow moon, dropping in oriental
splendor CLEANED family thro the
feathery clouds The rain drops upon
the telegraph wires glistened in the
electric headlight like the wet wing
OF a wild song bird that suddenly flies
through gorgeous sunbeam. Faster,
faster, faster The great wheels. high
er than a tall man, were revolving like
electricians. We stuck to the sides of
the cab like a stamp to a stamped en-
velope. The cars leaned on the curves
and creaked uneasily.- Hicks opened
| window and thought we would be
blown out The cold air cut through
like a knife, but the ecstacy and in
vigoration OF the wild dash made us
| warm in a moment. 81 swept grand
|
| like a monster devouring the earth
that was running at 1t. looked down
at the earth 1T seemed we were stand
! ing still in the air and the ground, a
coarse black cloth, was being snatched
| from under US. A long low blast of
| the tenor whistle aroused me from my
reverie. We swung around the long
curve leading into Chehaw like a COM
ct curves through the celestial space.
four more long blasts changed the red
| light of the semaphore to white and
I saw the air brakes go on. felt the
engine Jerked back as the brakes set
| on the heavy sleepers and in a moment
We were standing. 1t was as easy as
feather floats to earth after the wind
that carried 1t up subsidies. l was al
| most deaf and when l stood up as
quickly as possible, Hicks was on the
ground. oiling the machinery. The 81
actually looked sullen. Reuben Smith
his fireman pulled down the water
spout. Smith fired one of the Ameri-
can battle ships during the Spanish
| American was and had been under fire
before. The signal to start was given
and the engine started with 1t. Wick
| ersham and myself Rugged our plac-
es again. The bell rang and we were
off. For fourteen miles the grade is
called Notasulga hill, and is the steep
est on the line. We fought the stu
pendous grade with the power of ten
thousand furies. The 81 reared like a
Vesuvius. The furnace door was op-
ened constantly to feed the red jaws
| of the monster with more anthracite.
The whole heavens to the rear were lit
/ with Nhe reflection that seemed to
| jump about in the sky. When the
door was shut we would be blind for
moment after looking in 1t. Now
and then the tireless engineer looked
back. The long train was safely fol-
| lowing.
A long freight with many colored
lights slept in the side track like a
great sea serpent with green eyes.
| We hammered over the hill, snatched
at switches, hammered at fish plates,
careened at cruves, until we struck the
| level again.
| l felt the air like sand blast striking
the cab. A small halo of blue steam
or smoke covered the smokestack's
rim. In a whirlwind of blood thrilling
and nerve gladdening motion 81 whirl-
ed into and out of Auburn. The coll
| lege tower shone out in the moonlight
against the sky like cameo. 1t was
| as clear cut as steel engraving or
a dimond's edge. The call for white
signal rang resonantly while the black
chariots rolled rumbling by and clat
| teringly over the switches. The white
CLEANED out against the horizon and
the pace increased 1t was tremen-
dous. I shouted but no one heard. My
eyes would gaze into the blue white
flame of the fire box and as it closed
in inky blackness / could not see for
full minute.
We rolled and tossed and lurched
and rolled and tossed again. At one
/ I OIL hn o1d oh In LnI
rock or foundered. But the blue
steam boiled from the smoke stack
| and the 81 roared like a mad bull
| Now and then a red anthracite spark
scared up to skyward as though pro-
| PEELED by rifle. Trestles would pass
under us and pop like cap, sound
ing different from the solid roadbed
A long blast aroused me- The glow
of the electric lights at Opelika awoke
the horizon to a knowledge of the day
before 1t came. In a moment we were
| there.
A half asleep porter called the
name of the hotel A policeman and
few stragglers were standing around
Martin and Hicks got orders. greasy
car inspector examined the train from
engine to Pullmans and in a moment
WEE were gone. The 81 dropped by
the East Alabama junction with a
speed that was fairly frightful. Rough
and Ready roared by, Nelson came and
went like a flash of lightning in an
inky sky. Halawauka creek rippled
like a yellow ribbon. dmpled by the
breeze, we Jared the little village OF
Cusseta like an earthquake. The train
seemed to leave the track. 1t wound
around the long curves out of Cusseta
while the farm houses reeled and stag
gered apparently like a drunken man.
spot would appear on the horizon
ahead of us. 1t would turn and twist
and move down on us like a barrel
rolling down hill. What was it? 1t
was simply the form that forests took
can-can, ! was deaf as a post The
rattle of the rails. The exhaust, the
hum of the whole business was awful
trying to the nerves. Wickersham
and myself. novices, could hardly keen
our seats. We hung on like grim
death. Both our hands were brought
into use. With set teeth we were
sticking to the old 81 while the tenn
pestcus hurricane of steel and oak
and fire and flesh was hurtling tow
ards Atlanta. Hicks leaned forward
with eyes riveted on the track, He
looked sadly over my way once but
never even smiled. l had clutched the
woodwork until my fingers ached.
Wickersham had never tried this trip