The Greeley tribune., 1907-01-10
1t was good luck

aha hoard the choppy, Ice bitten screen
~ ~ rnG That was never forgotteh'
| ,,h..,, ,he service was special or reg
ular. Besides, the head cap Oh ''ie
ram carried this time not only 1eoreie
Sinclair but her father as well. san
to,, ..,,,a handle a slice bar rs well as
a nuncb and rode on the head engine.
where II anywhere, the big chahces
hovora5 What he was not capable or
In tha train service we never knew, be-
cause he was stronger than any eiher-
eencv that ever confronted MIN.
Rnclinr snow is principally brute
force There Is little coaxing. Just
west of the bluffs, like code signals
between fleet of cruisers, there was
a yolley of sharp footing, and In min
ute the four ponderous engines. two of
them In the back motion, fires white
and throats bursting, steamed wildly
into the canyon.
Six hundred feet from the first cut
6inclair's whistle signaled again. Burns
and Cameron and Kennedy answered,
and then. literally turning the monster
ram loose against the dazzling noun
tain. the crews settled themselves for
the shock.
At such a moment there Is nothing to
be done If anything goes wrong, eter-
nifty is too close to consider. There
come muff1ed drumming on the
steam chests, stagger and terrific
impact and then the recoll. like the
stroke of trip hammer. The snow
shoots into the air fifty feet, and the
wind carries cloud OF feecy confu-
sion over the ram and out of the cut.
The cabs were buried in white, and the
great steel frames of the engines
sprung like knitting needles under the
frightful blow.
Pausing for hardly breath, the sig
mailing again began, then the backing,
up and up and up the line, and again
the massive machines were hurled
screaming into the cut.
"You're getting there, Georgier' ex-
claimed Sankey when the rolling and
lurching had stopped. No one else
could tell thing about 1t, for it was
snow and snow and snow, above and
behind and ahead and beneath. Sin
clair coughed the fakes out Of his eyes
and nose and mouth, like a baffled
collie. He looked doubtful Of the claim
until the mist had blown clear and the
Quivering monsters were again recalled
for dash. Then it was plain that
Sankey's Instinct wse right. They
were gaining.
Again they went in, liftfisg very
avalanche over the stacks, packllag the
banks of the cut with walls hard las
Ice. Again as the drivers stuck they
raced In frenzy, and into the shrek
Of the wind went the unearthly scrape
Of the overloaded safeties.
Slowly and sullenly the machines
were backed again.
She's doing the work, Georgia"
cried Sankey. For that kind Of
cut shes as good as rotary. Look
everything over now while go back
and see how the boys are standing it.
Then we'll give her one more and give
1t the hardest kind"
And they did give her one more, and
another Men at Santiago put up no
stouter fight than they made that Sun
day morning in the canyon of the
Blackwood. Once and twice more they
went In, and the second time the
humping drummed more deeply. The
drivers held, pushed, painted and gain
ed against the white wall. heaved and
stumbled ahead, and, with a yell from
Sinclair and Sankey and the fireman.
the double header shot her nose into
the clear over the Blackwood gorge.
As engine after engine few past the
divided walls each cab took up the
cry. 1t was the widest shout that
ever crowned victory.
Through they went and halfway
across the bridge before they could
check their monster catapult. Then
at half full they shot it back at the
cut. 1t worked as well one way as
the other
"The thing Is DONE" declared San.
key. Then they got into position up
the fne for final shoot to clean the
eastern cut and to get the head for a
dash across the bridge into the west
end of the canyon, where lay another
mountain Of snow to split
Look the machines over close,
boys" said sankey to the engineers.
IF nothing's sprung we'll take full
head across the gorge-the bridge will
carry anything-and buck the west
cut. Then after we get No. through
this afternoon Neighbor can get his
baby cabs in here and keep 'em chas.
ing all NIGHT Rnt ft's dona onou,in~ ,,
he added, looking into the leaden sky.
He had everything figured out for
the master mechanic-the shrewd,
kindly old man. There's no man on
earth like a good Indian and, for that
matter, none like a bad one. Sankey
knew by military instinct Just what
had to be done and how to do 1t. II be
had lI.od he Was To haxzo hooa a.sia4