The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-16
sToRY 81 ENaINE 80.
tie Held First Locomotive That Crossed
the Plains.

Il see there IL a new house going up here
some newcomer settled among your
asked the livery man who was driving
me through the hot July weather from
Munden 70 Prairie Centre. No new house
mad been built audn old one repainted Ia the
ten years | had made that territory, says
writer In the Kansas City Star.
NO. that's old Pete Hanson's engine
house. Haven't you heard that old Pete
has sold his railroad at last?"
Didn't know he had a railroad. What
do you mean3'
'Geel l thought everybody had heard
about Pete Hanson and his trackless rail-
road
'Ah, an inventor, eh'' My interest was
aroused.
i SEQ I'll have to tell you. Bout thirty
years ago this country was on a boom.
Nothin' sleepy about II then. 1t was the
hveliest section in the country. They
were going to run a spur right through
here TO connect with the main line Of the
Union Pacific; condemned a piece Of Pete
Hanson's land. Pete was young then and
had three little towheads and lived In a
shanty. With the money he got for his
land he was going to build decent house
Well, the road was never built; scheme
fell through, and they never paid Pete for
his land. Pete was bound TO have his money
He went over to Prairie Centre and got out
a writ Of attachment. Got the Sheriff and
a lot Of chains, and swore he'd chain
to the track and serve the writ on the next
freight train that came along.
The station agent wired down to the
division superintendent what was up and
they sent out the oldest and most useless
engine you ever heard Of. The Sheriff
pulled his gun and made the en- gineer run
the engine on a siding Pete chained Ter
down and the writ was served The COM
pany telegraphed to Pete that they guessed
he had the right Of IL and the only way
they could see it was that that engine was
his huckleberry. So they gave him twenty
four hours to get it of their tracks. Well
that about got Pete, but he was game. He
hired half the men and horses in the country
and lugged his engine home. 1t broke him
and he never seemed to be able TO get another
start in life. People nearly guyed him to
death. Called him ngine Pete and Rail
road Hanson forever afterward.
$50 there that old engine set out in his
back yard. The hens hatched their chickens
in the boiler and the children played sum
mer house in the cab. As years went on
the old engine rusted and sunk deeper in
the earth. The children grew up and
went away, but still old man Hanson stoutly
maintained that he had done right and that
some day he'd get the money from the rail
road to build that new house which his wife
and he had wanted when the children we're
babies.
well, the funny part Of It is that last
year he got letter from the railroad COM
pany telling him that they had been trac-
ing the whereabouts Of the first engine
that ever crossed the plains on the Union
Pacific which was the first road to span
the continent and connect the two oceans
with an iron highway. They wanted this
engine for the transportation Building
exhibit at the worlds fair. Old Pete Han
son held out for 81 900. and got It; and now
him and his woman are getting the new
house he had been promising oil his life. "