The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-04
OVER ENGINE TO SAVE DRIVER
rIREWAN CORLEY or ,76 RISKS
ITFE ron 4 CONRiDE.
Rump with Truck Sent scanlon From Ills
strapprd.On seat Corlc,. From the
Hear. Crawled over the steam Hot
Machinery and stopped the Horses.

a. ssved the life Of the driver of the engine
Tnr, Scanlon. Yesterday. Firenen have a
rav Of saving one another's lives; and,
mo corley and Scanlon. they have a way
- saving nothing about It. But if any
,hsa,re in this town had way Of presenting
~ folks az fiction the things that happened
;, the men at engine 80 early yesterday
r,orning a great deal would be said about
:, indeed II just happened in this instance
that some outside folk saw the thing that
,ssuv did happen and 80 il all came out.
Engine "a was called out by second
,lsrm from the tenement fire at Isl Brook
svenue where two score OF more OF families
rsre driven out Of their homes just at day
tebt The en- CINE house is in Park avenue.
under the railroad tracks. between 126th
and I27ih streets The distance to be
covered was not great. as fire engine runs =
% and Scanon let his horses go at their
vicc.t pace. except at the turns Of corners.
4, the Third avenue bridge over tho
Harlem River. Scanlon found the right side
NJ tho wav blocked by procession Of
heavy trucks moving stupidity over tho
bridge ahead II him on the right hand side.
He took 10 the car tricks in the middle.
The horses got over the crest Of the draw
and stretched themselves out as they felt
tho engine growing lighter behind them
when they struck tho down grade. Scanon
knew be had plenty Of room in the open
enace beyond the bridge to turn them east
through 1854 street toward Brook avenue.
He baced himself Under the strap that
hound him down to his seat reached out
10 give their heads and nccks full play
and yelled Ike an Apache on a drunken
raid
Go on Go on you fools!7 he screamed
over their heads joyously, Wow Why
e-e-e-e-e' Wowl'
Tie three horses the gray on the near side.
the roam in the middle and the black on the
Of. jumped forward into their steel collars
and theenginc bounded and swung behind
them down tho cobbled slope from the
bridge.
Cant Joe O'Connor on the step back Of
the frobox. beside Bill Corley, the engineer,
chung to the machine with one hand. With
the other he grasped the whistle rope.
There was no ne d to yank on It, The
bouncing and the saving Of the machine
kept him swinging SO that the crazy scream
Of the whistle footing out over the frozen
river and the half light streets was almost
continuous.
Everybody knows how fire horses run,
onos in their stride, on a level asphalted
street The three Of Engine 80 were going
downhill. with free rein and with rough
cobbes under their well calked shoes They
verc running like wild horses.
out in front of them flashed q fool red
trolley car in between the double line of
slow trucks. 1t had no business there No
trolley car has any business moving at all
while 4 fire engine whistle is sounding
until after the engine and its tender have
passed But engines do not often cross the
bridge and the motorman was thinking
about something else.
Scanlon made up his mind in a fash that
he couldn't pull up his horses in time TO
dodge tho trolley car. His only hope was
that he could dodge into the truck line and
dodge out behind the car again. So he
gripped his lines bit and swerved the three
to the left and gritted his teeth. There was
hit OF an open space in the truck line
feliind a crea; yellow van loaded with yell
low hog carcasscs. II he could dodge into
that wbiIethe car went by and then dodge
out again, everything would be all right
He did what every fire ngine driver
chance
The big machine careened over to tho
right with the sudden turn, and then
careoned over to tho left on the reverse
As Scauon tried to get out between the !
u7ndIhg car and the slow truck. The
horses didn't care. They have been trained
10 believe that anything the driver sets out
Tor them 10 do is their job and that they
cant get hurt if they obey orders. They
kept on in their straining gallop.
The moto-man decided at this inoppor- |
rune moment that he had made mistake !
and that be ought TO stop-of course, at
that second, there was nothing worse that |
he could have done. He put on the brakes |
oi his car ScGnlon steered the team a |
hlile closer TO the pork loaded truck Tho !
hoFse- got by the front wheels got by |
h1' the rear wheels OF the engine brought |
Up smash against the end Of the truck
Inc strap which bound Scanlos to his (
sea- Parted with crack like a pistol shot. |
He9n'on whirled forward in a helpless |
hoiner-a MI between the roam and the black. /
tie struck the Of pole. slid over it. but |
managed to grasp it with his hands. There
ne 'llng dragged among the flying hoofs !
' '-"N "ic'is OF lHe great steer engine /
were night behind him; If he lost his grip |
,,hey must surely crush him to death So |
ne hung on and prayed The horses, the
ihree had not slowed in the least If Scan
ION chose TO bump them into a load Of
stark naked pork it was none Of their bust
mes Il was doubtless part of the game.
Meantime. Capt. O'Connor and Bill Corley
were humping about among the Goals
n the irepan, into which the shock had
hurled them. Both Of them were bruised
ana stunned, md the Goals shaken from
'ne hreboS were burning through their
,.o'he, torley perhaps because he was
burned the worse and the pain brought him
more quickly back to his senses. came TO
' ,eloFe the captain. He got to his feet and |
boxed out ahead.
ooanlon, he could see was gone from the
drivers seat The horses we're plunging
snead' the reins loose and flying over their /
uacSs. 1t was all they knew how to do; /
moreover If they were excited before, they (
we're frantic now; this letting loose of the |
'e'h' and this catapult like descent of a I
man from Tie heavens over their backs |
"a7 quite out Of all FIRE horse experience. |
n hTe horse always runs as fast as he can. |
II anything unusual occurs. there il only /