Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-09-02

was going east on company business
/ In the spring of 1889, and before Ieay-
ing his wi1e had one of those strange
warnings which are supposed to give
notice of approaching catastrophe.
Mrs. Director begged her husband
not to go, but, of course, he had to
attend to his duties The night before
he left the woman dreamed that her
husbands life was endangered by wa
ter, the details of the dream, how
ever, occurring on the ocean, and she
made him promise not to go near the
ocean Or on any water while he was
in the east.
/ Her husband promised and fulfilled
his promise, but the morning after he
left his wife read in the paper the
first news of the Johnstown flood Of
course, then she knew why it was
she had been warned that he was in
danger from water. For time she
was half crazy with grief, then she
received telegram from her husband
telling of his safe arrival, for it ap-
peared that he had been on one of the
trains that had gone through before
the dam burst
Tommie Mari when he was a fire
man on freight run used to have,
and in fact has yet, a dog that is
greatly interested in railroads. at
least so Tommie says. Every time
Tommie started out for the yards to
! get his engine the dog would follow
him, which, of course, is strange,
considering that it is a dogs nature
to follow his master, but Tommie
claims the dog never bothered about
following him unless he was starting
to work Every day the dog would
watch and when Tommie went down
, town to play pool with the boys the
bowwow paid no attention, but as
soon as he set out for the railroad the
dog trotted after him.
The dog had been in the habit of
doing this for a long time when one
day he didn't show up as time came
to start for the yards. Tommie wor-
ried over his dogs strange desertion,
and the more he thought of il the
more he wondered and worried. Fin,
ally he had come to the conclusion
that the dog knew in some strange
way that there was going to be an
accident and couldn't bear to see his
master leave On what probably would
be his last trip.
Tommie Takes a Leap.
Then Tommie had it all figured out
not to his satisfaction, however-he
began to plan how he might escape
the impending danger. He didn't
stop to think that if the dog knew
something was going to happen to his
master, why, then something certain
had to happen, for if there was a way
to escape the danger and Tommie
took advantage of that way out of the
diculty, why, of course, the dog ought
to have known that also, and conse-
quently the canine shouldn't have felt
worried
AS the engine dragged it's long line
of cars slowly along a newly laid
piece of track Tommie had time to
think over what he would do when
the wreck occurred, for he felt sure
there was to be a wreck of some
kind. While thinking over this Tom
mic was slowly shoveling in COAL and
just then deciding that he ought to
tell the engineer, SO that he would be
warned, he Strengthened up.
There was a binding flash of
headlight in his eyes, a roar of a fast
train rushing upon them, and Tom
ME, without stopping to shout at the
engineer, Jumped overheard. rolled
over and over down the bank, and
splashed into a pool of water, while
the passenger train that had fright
ened him went by on the other track
that had been put in few days be-
fore.
When Tommie returned home he
learned that his dog had been chas-
ing a cat and didn't see his master
leave the house, which accounted for
his failure to accompany him as usual
to the roundhose.