The log cabin Democrat., 1909-09-24

 railroad men do not like F, their pet superstition in the way of numbers is 9, It is difficult to get an engineer to become reconciled to ta- king out an engine with g in it's num- Der. Where the superstition against 9 came from no railroad man can tell, and yet 1t is one of their strongest an tipathies.
 An engineer spends from 8 to 12 hours a day in his cab, constantly moving amid noise that prevents con- versation. His work is almost auto matic.
 AS his engine rushes with roar through the country he has nothing to do but think. His watchfulness be- comes automatic as well as his labor. The noise, the rush of his train, the danger of his occupation, all contrib ute to give a twist to his thoughts. A very great many engineers are found to have eccentric opinions on some particular phase of life in which they become interested. It may be a religion or politics, but whatever it is their thoughts on it take an un- usual turn, probably influenced by their working habits.
 Railroad engineers have an abhor- renee for an engine that ever has been in a wreck. This, no doubt, Is due to their belief in the infallibility of wrecks and other accidents com ing in cycles, or in occurrences of threes. When an accident happens on the road they wag their heads and wonder when the next one will take place, and when the third has hap pened they breathe easier until anoth- CT occurs to give them the chance to look for two more again. An engine that has been in only one wreck is looked to finish its cycle, and until it does so and gets a clean bill of health it is regarded as a hoodoo.
 Friday has the same hold on the su- perstitious fear of railroad men that it has in other quarters. Men will re fuse to take a lay-off on Friday. and if it is forced upon them they will not return to work until the following Monday Many railroad superintend- ents and trainmasters coddle their men as far as they can in this super stition, but a general regard for it would be impossible, else the railroad traffic of the country might come to a comparative standstill some Friday.
 There are thousands of stories rife in railroad circles that prove to rail hot iG for their fear of this or that hoodoo. Here is a true story on the num- Der 13:
 Several years ago one of the sever est snowstorms in the history of rail roading swept to the west. Between Chicago and Aurora drifts ten feet high obstructed traffic, and a snow blow and engines were sent out to clear the road. At a point on the road was a yardmaster. who is now a railroad superintendent in St. Louis, and it is he who tells the tale.
 The snow-bucking train was com posed of 13 engines behind the blow" says he.
 Tn the front engine was my elder brother, who was the engineer of it. The superintendent of the division was there supervising the work
 When the train was made up and ready to start. the superintendent told me to go with the head engine. climbed aboard and my brother asked me what l was doing there. I replied that was going along with him. DO you know that there are Is engines in this train?' he asked, solemnly. told him I knew all about it. Well, there's going to be an accident he said. T don't want you on this en- zine When the accident comes one of us will be killed, perhaps both. Who is going to look after our old father and mother then?'
 "I was young, and l wasn't very strong on the 1S superstition anyway, and I told him he was talking like a sentimental kid. The superintendent approached us and must have heard the last part of our conversation, for he told me to stay in the yard and see that the road was kept clear.
 "The snow buckers pulled out with out me. They had not been out an hour when the journal burned off or the front engine and dropped the axle. It caused rail to curl up and the end of it shot through the floor of the cab and knocked the hat off the fireman. Had l gone on the en- zine my body would have been pierced by the rail, which went through the seat where l would have been sitting"