The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-01

" q y z IA y " q -
pumps, others have a leaning toward
Wooten boilers, while the master me
chanic Of the Airline division, Mr. Mo.
Cracken, ran to naming locomotives
instead Of having them numbered. His
selections had a peculiar twist, such
names as Dante's Inferno, Nemesis
and Hell's Kitchen meeting his fancy
Withal he had good nose for loco.
motive mettle and doubt II the Air
line ever had a better stable Of iron
horses than when he was IN charge Of
that department.
"Bill Hott was the engineer on
Dantes Inferno. Bill was the real
thing at handling locomotives and
when he was at the throttle 1t might
be said that the Inferno could pull
like Hades
AT that time was night operator
at the Stockton waterplug Sam Mills
was fielding the dots and dashes at
scruggins Corners, some 10 miles
away
Sam had a bug on homing pigeons.
It was only short fly, Texas lea
guer one might say, from the water
plug to scruggins Corners for the big,
strong pigeons Sam bred. Going to
work at the waterplug Of nights | usu
ally took two or three Of the birds
over 10 my station and let EN- loose at
various times of the night to take
practice trips back to Sam at the
Corners.
"Bill Hott and Dante's Inferno were
always on the job on the Cannonball
fast freight eastbound nights AS the
schedule was laid out in the time
card the Cannonball passed the mid
night express going west at Fargo,
siding about ten miles east Of Scrug
gins Corners, the Airline not having
double tracks at that time Sometimes,
If the Cannonhail was behind time,
the dispatcher would give orders to
put the lid on the Inferno and back
in at the waterplug siding to let flyer
by.
One night something bigger'n a
woodchuck seemed to have gone cross
ways with Dante's Inferno and Bill
was falling down on his time. On the
other hand the time card was being
pursued by the Nemesis on the mid.
night express with q vengeance SO
was on the lookout for the train dis
patcher when he called me on the
wire and gave me the following order:
The Cannonball freight, Eng.
Dante's Inferno. and No u, Eng. Mem.
esis, win meet and pass at Stockton
Siding instead Of Fargo, the Cannon
ball to take the siding.
Il slammed my signal board against
the Cannonball and informed the dis
patCher that the semaphore was set
On this information he let the mid
night express proceed on the order.
IN the meantime Dante's Inferno
had had q change Of heart and was
making up time. Rill Holt therefore
must have decided to cut out tbs
Stockton watering stop and tank VI
further down the line. / could heai
him coming down the valley, hitting
it up for dear life.
TT was a cinch that old Bill woull
make some complimentary remarks OF
train dispatchers in particular an
telegraphic orders in general when h
met up with my signal. 1t was "
grade from Stockton to Scrugginl
Corners and Bill had to hand 1t to tn
Inferno for all she was worth comm
} down through the valley in order t
make the hard pull
Well, say. he just whirled By m
little station without 50 much a
whistling by your leave and duste
on for all he was worth.
7 looked out at my semaphore. M
q heart sank until it made my corn
i, hurt The Hgh; showed white no
i withstanding the fact that the leves !
! my ONCE was thrown to the dapgt
position. Either the wires had b
come kinked, holding the blade baC
to safety, or the red glass had falle
? out
But It was no time for sDeeulatiu
as to cause. The pressing business
hand was for me to get those ordei
to Bill Hott some way.
Il called Scruggins Corners on Il
wire, but Sam must have been fussir
with his pigeons, as he didn't answe
Then my eye lighted on the bask
!, with the carrier pigeons which
e had brought over earlier in the ere
/ Ing.
+ 1T took me just about three secon,
/ to ge the largest pigeon, Samson. O
and stick that order Ia an enyelol
+ tied to his neck. then fastened oi
e Of my small red lanterns around
il neck and raised the window, and Sal
: son was of like fash in the direetiI
3 OF scruggins Corners.
! II figured that as soon as the Canno
!. bail struck the heavy grade its spel
would slacken considerably and Il
carrier pigeon would be able to be
EN- to scrugglnA Corners BY flying
1f straight line, while the railroad q
Jagged in and out up the grade. G