Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1905-04-15

Y!N many months the
l structing practic-
ally a new railroad over the noun
tains. but the EXPENSE, more than
$50 600 600. according TO estimates
was enough 20 stagrer even the
most progressive railroad management
six years ago Both Mt Burt and
his chief engineer. however. knew that
Edward r. Hartman would not stop az
expense provided the ultimate and com
mensurste good OF the property could
be foretold with reasonable certainty.
When the matter was waveriug in the
! balance along came the awful night OF
4 December 23. when the storm giants of
I the Rockies seemed to have united 90
I produce widespread ard tremendous
+ chaos. Such a nf-ht the oldest noun
4 tain raiiroader had never before expe-
rienced and Cor as hours trains crept
along az "a snails pace bereft Of the
friendly aid Oh the dispatcher To was
when the chaos producing revel of the
elements was al lts heIght that the
+ Overland limited" ran sheer 90 the
brink of The Dale creek chasm and then
stood there as 30 uncertain whether it
were best TO take the plunge Of more
than 600 feet 90 the swollen river and
the serrated rocks below
The next day President Burt de-
clared that the Dale creek trestle must
90. whatever the cost. and go &c did. de-
pite the fact that IL took more than
$1,000. 600 OF the company's surplus rev
enues TO construct the aew line around
It, The story OF that night and of the al
most miraculous escape Of the limited
has few parallels even in the history OF
hazardous mountain railroading Dale
creek. usually an inof1ensive streamlet
wends it's way through the Lone Tree
gulch. which is at che very summit OF
sherman pass. more than 5000 feet above
sea level IL was almost impossible 20
nll &c. SO the company constructed a
wooden. and later "a steel trestle. span
ming It's yawning depths The trestle
was within Jew hundred feel OF the
Natural Fort near the summit Of the
pass. This fort was well named. for IL
resembles The miniature crater OF an ex-
tinct volcano. Here and there It's sides
are perforated with natural portfolios.
and around ori DO is a sheer descent
OF anywhere between 100 and 00O feet
Well prov .slo-ed within its walls a few
could easily Dc.--l themselves aaalDs,
an army. And this is ust what baue
of noted bandits once did in GA Natural
Fort Driven to lay by a vs. oming
posse. four bandits held this fort for
/ nearly mon b uru. starved Into sur
render
Picturesque In its surroundings. Dale
creek trestie was also ia the midst g..
legendary lore an ol early frontier his
/ tory. Less tnau a haii-mlie west was Tie
/ siding. win ,ne reputation OF being tho
I toughest town la 81 yumlng. when was
the end oi Tie hntt as 10 reputation h.
/ those days. Iie s.iing was just wha,
/ It's name implc- the place where IN,
ties and other railroad supplies for con
! struction and renewa. were dumped for
I use Nesting in the side of the noun
1 tain pass. Tie Sizing was as forloru-
looking collection OF board shanties as
one would care TO see. IL had its attrac-
/ tioEs. however fer those eXcommuni-
Gated by the law and hunted by the au-
/ thorities
This fact undoubtedly accounted for
the presence oi "Eed" Mccain. who had
swung himself from the front end of the
+ blind baggage he Gay previous 70 the
I big storm. The less one said about
Red" Mccain when he was alive the
better il was Tor his anatomy. His rec
ord was called bad" in a territory
! where ordinary compound cussedness
went unchallcnged. The afternoon of
/ McCann's arr al IL began to rain gen
/ tly. then 10 tn, saith appeared a NINA
| ture thunderstorm. which sailed along
\ prettily betWseA heaven and earth and
/ below the levei OF the summit. It was
soon followed by Others in other quar-
/ ters, until the denizens Of Tie Siding
Witnessed the phenomena Of eight sep
arate and distinct thunderstorms rag
ing about them while they themselves
remained rainless.
Those who have had the pleasure of
Witnessing such a magnificent display Of
natures forces from the top OF a noun
tain can never forget the awe which il
/ inspires and the sentiment il creates.
| Perhaps il was this that may have
| touched the good and noble which must
have lain dormant deep in the heart OF
Red" Mccain. Wyoming's noted out
law Perhaps it was the tear-stained
letter which they found in his pocket the
next day. written by a heart-broken
mother in the east. At any rate. there
was something which moved Red" Nc
Cam to save the Overland Limited" at
the cost of his own worthless life, and
thereby expiate so far as possible his
many crimes.
BY sunset the storm had reached the
sumTrit of the pass and was raging with