The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1905-10-18

| Ramsey heard about it six miles away,
and, borrowing farmers horse, rode
| to the wreck.
1t was a bad wreck, but inside of ten
minutes Ramsey had figured out just
| how that locomotive must be rolled up
| the hill by hand, as he had no other
| engine to assist in the work. He
pulled a telegraph, a relay instrument
and a pair of pole climbers out of his
overcoat pockets, and, climbing pole,
| cut the solitary strand of telegraph
wire and, completing circuit by at"
| taching it to a rail, rugged up his own
| little telegraph office in the woods and
called his Office in Castle Shannon, ten
miles distant He ordered out hand
car with the necessary tackle, and in
three hours more was at work hoist
ing the twenty ton engine from the
creek by hand 1t took two days, but
he did it.
On two occasions did Ramsey by his
| own personal efforts and at great dan
ger to himself save the lives of train
| loads of passengers. The first was III
|
train on his little narrow gauge stuck
J in what is known as the Mount Leban-
on cut on the side of the highest hill III
Allegheny county, Pa. The snow was
very deep and the thermometer below
| zero.
There was no house nearer than
mile from the place where the train
stuck, and the drifting snow would
soon cover the train. There was but
little coal on the small train and no
hope of continuing fire through the
night There were twenty passengers
on the train, including seven women.
Ramsey, anticipating trouble, had come
on the train himself and was riding In
the cab with Jim Schooley his engi-
neer. He saw that 1t was almost sui
eide for the passengers to start out in
to the binding snow, while 1t was sure
death from cold to remain there all
night He told the passengers to cheer
up and, jumping from the train, dis
appeared in the binding snow.
Two hours later Farmer Gulbub, a
mile from the cut, heard a noise on his
back porch and discovered Ramsey,
we'll nigh frozen. The superintendent
gasped that his train was stuck and
the passengers would freeze. An hour
later a double yoke of oxen had broken
its way to the train, and the passen-
gers, almost frozen, were taken by sled
loads to the house Of the farmer
But there was no rest or meal for
Ramsey. Three miles away he knew of
a telephone, and through the drifts he
foundered that night to call up every
one in that part of the country to serve
notice that all the passengers from the
snow stalled train were safe. Then 1t
was that Ramsey got time to look him
self over, and he spent the next month
attending a pair Of badly frozen feet.
The next life saving stunt was on the
Cincinnati. Hamilton and Dayton road.
to which he went after finishing with
the Pittsburg Southern. He went as
chief engineer of the Cincinnati divi-
sion There had always been great loss
each spring on this division because the
spring floods washed away the little
station houses along the river and Milk
creek line. %amsey took charge about
the time the flood was due and he did
some quick work He doubled up
WTecking crews, and twenty-fOur hours
before the flood arrived he anchored
down the threatened stations with ties
and old rails, making them too heavy
for the water He saved the stations
On the night the heavy waters struck
tie Cincinnati division Ramsey went to
the front in earnest for his people. 1t
was certain that the train due in Gin
clunati about 10 that night would be
the last over the line for days-if it
ever could get in. There was some fear
expressed about the safety of this
train Twenty miles out Of Cincinnati
that night the engineer of the fiier was
stopped by a red block. A man in oil
skins with lantern and chart climb
ed into the cab Go on, Joe; go like
hades too. I'm Ramsey. We've got to
get this train through"
Joe Bristol, the engineer, still tells
about that ride The water became
deeper and deeper over the tracks hid
on that dark night by the swollen river.
At one point Ramsey ordered Joe to
stop.
Bad bit of road here, I'm afraid,
Joe. Follow me, but don't run Inc
down" said Ramsey as he slid out OF
the cab into icy water halfway up to
bis knees He walked the whole way
into Cincinnati, three miles, ahead of
that train. wading in water often over
his knees, but sounding with a stick
every ward of the track before he would
allow the train to come on. At mid
night the train reached Cincinnati with
all safe.
The next morning Ramsey reached
the office late. The superintendent,
not knowing that he had been out
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