The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-09-25

engineer was not in the remotest do
gree to blame for it. He had a par
tlcularly strong hold on the affections
OF his employers, owing to the fart
mat ne was one of the only men who
refused to go out during the great
strlke OF 70, and made his regular
run despite the danger to himself in
vowed In refusing to obey the order
OF the union. After the accident he
was put back on his old trip with a
new engine. and, so far as anv one
could see, was Just the same quiet
capable runner" he had ALWAYS
been.
One night he was rounding a long
curve with high bluffs on one side of
the tracks and steep precipice on
tne other, he suddenly shut off steam.
whlstled for brakes, for it was be-
lore the day of air" and yelled 10
MS fireman to jump. When an en-
gineer gives that warning, his COM
panion in the cab does not usually
stand on the order of his going. Int
jumps first and looks afterwards
mats what the fireman in this case
aid, and when he came to, he found
himself with broken arm and cut
mead, at the foot of the hillside down
winch ne had rolled. He picked him
SELF up and scrambled as best he
could 10 the track, looking for the
rest OF the wreck. Looming I'M in
the Moonlight on the track ahead
he saw the dark shadow of the train
with lanterns glinting about it, The
conductor was holding an earnest
conversation with the engineer as
ne reached the locomotive, which, to
the astonishment of the fireman. was
with the rest of the train entirely un-
injured.
| L swear by all that's holy. Jim"
the engineer declared to the conduc-
tor, L saw the headlight of another
engine coming toward us on our
| track"
The conductor was scornful and
the fireman mad, and neither of
them, of course, believed the story.
The conductor climbed aboard the
cab, and the train was run back to
pick up the brakeman who was out
with a flag. AS they rounded the
curve on resuming the trip, the en-
glneer suddenly shut off steam and
again called his fireman to look.
There on the track in front of them
was the light of a headlight so bright
as to be almost binding. The fire.
man saw, however, what had not
struck the engineer when he first
perceived it, that the light was the
rejection of their own lamp. A pool
OF water had collected in a hollow
in the bluffs, and was close enough
to the track to make a powerful re-
Hector. The engineer in this case
was not discharged, but at his own
request served out his time on a
switch engine.
The Man Who Takes Chances.
| In the two instances sited above.
the men themselves might be said to
De only indirectly responsible for the
! trouble they caused There is anoth-
er ldiosyncrasy, however, which.
while it is undoubtedly due to a
state OF mind, precludes the posi-
oility of any feeling of sympathy for
the person who is subject to it. The
man who takes chances" is Justly
the bane of railroad life, and is the
one element next to spring freshets.
most dreaded by the operating Off
GERS. Here is an example of the kind
OF thing such man will do. A d.
Vl~lon engineer was one day making
an inspection of track from the cab
OF passenger locomotive which he
had boarded for the purpose. The
engine driver called him over to his
seat to look at some object at the
side of the road as the division en-
glneer supposed. Instead, he point
ed to a large boulder, the size of an
egg crate, that had rolled down the
hillside and lay directly between the
rails in front of them. There was
plenty. of time to stop, and the divi-
sion engineer expected the driver to
smut off steam. Instead, he opened
the throttle wide and yelled
See me bunt it off,"
The engine hit the rock with a
mighty thud, rolled trifle, and then
settled down on the rails again. the
boulder having gone over to one side.
The division engineer, as soon as he
could get possession of his voice.
made the driver stop his engine.
You fool" he called back as he
climbed down from the cab, 81 would
not ride another mile on the same en-
CINE with you for a thousand dol
lars"
The fireman, meaning to throw oil
on the troubled waters, said:
| Why, that's nothing, Mr.. -.
Gus never stops for little thing like
that, and he's got the best record
for time of any runner on the>road. /"
The division engineer left the road
soon after this incident, so he never
knew what became of the engine dri-
yer. Before he went, however. he
sent full report of the occurrence
to headquarters, and the man was
in all probability discharged.
According to the latest reports of
the Adobe disaster, the accident was
caused by the negligence of tele-
graph operator and signalman who
fell asleep and was therefore not
aware that the fated train had passed
his station. This is one of the com
| monect and mnct diffioult donoar. 20