The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-05-15
A RACE FOR LIFE.

fellow who is making the race said
d. o. Caldwell, the engineer on the
Mackay branch, as he blew curl Of
smoke from his cigar and smiled re-
miniscently. Il was just thinking of
couple of coyotes, and how they
went down the line right along here
one night in January"
ut was in the cab of his engine last
Friday evening as he came in from
Arco, and the man with the green
sack sat on the cushioned seat, learn
ing what he could about the levers
and valves, and watching the little
oil balloons as they rose through the
hot water in glass tank, and were
carried off through water pipe to
oil the piston twenty feet away The
fact that it saves man the trouble
of going out on the walking board on
each side of the engine about every
ten miles to hang on by one hand
while he pours oil from can with
the other, made us inquire who in
vented 1t, and when told that 1t was
a colored man, and that several emf
nent mechanics of the White Race
laughed him to scorn when he ex-
planned the principle to them, 1t only
intensified our interest in the little
oil drops and the Race qeustion.
The engineer had explained how
1t was that they get through the big
rock cuts in the lavas in winter time
by using the snow pillow and entering
the cuts at sixty miles an hour. He
showed us where Bill Murray was
busy trying to get a bunch OF cattle
across the track one evening and they
refused to hurry when Bill got anx-
ious about the train that was coming.
Mr.. Murray himself didn't know 1t
was coming so fast, and that Is the
reason he stuck to his Job until the
last second and let the engine jam
his horse little. It mattered moth
ing that dozen cattle were tossed
into the air, since "Bill" saved his
own skin and his teed. The man on
the engine knew nothing of their
presence until he struck them, for the
binding cloud of snow scooting over
the cab kept him from seeing any
thing ahead.
"How about the coyotes?" we ask
ed, and he bit his cigar while he pull
ed the train slowly around curve
and. then continued.
you see the snow pillow keeps the
snow hard and smooth between the
rails in winter, and as we came along
two coyotes on the track saw us and
galloped off down the line ahead of
u.s. We were running about twenty
miles an hour and we just gave them
nice little chase for awhile. You
would think at first thought that they
would leave the track and get away
from us, but it was good travelling
on the track and naturally they took
the best trail When we pressed
them pretty close one of them lodged
out into the snow, but it was deep
and soft, and he Immediately fell be-
hind in the race. Seeing his mistake
he jumped over the rail again and
kept on where there was good foot
ing. Then the other coyote had a
happy thought and turned out to one
side and he Immediately got behind
When he saw his mistake, he switch
ed back into the good track to try |
to catch up with his companion. He
just literally got down and dug in
the race, but put on little more
steam and pressed him hard. I know
1t wasn't square deal, but couldn't
help It. Both of them did their level
best until the pilot struck them and
they went under. One of them flip
ped out mysteriously between the
drive wheels and lit a-running The
other one came out on the other side
between the engine and the tender
and in a second he was running. I
never saw such seriousness. They
lidn't seem to take 1t as joke at all,
but after being under the engine they
seemed to make even better time
han before. ! guess they are going
yet."l
Mr.. Caldwell looked at the guage
o see about the steam and the air,
md we peered through the glass tank
lgain where the drops Of oil were
till sailing off through the hot wat
n and chasing one another into
wenty foot pipe to get to the bear
ng that needed oil.
"Betchu that was a smart Niger" I
Less Saloons, More Drug Stores.