Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-09-30

was urged to tell his dream.
Il dreamed last night that my
brother was killed in a head-on COLI
sion near Topeka" he said, "and later
l dreamed that old COS blew up" AS
COS was his engine, he resisted the
laughter of his friends and would not
take her out and another man was
sent for to take the job.
That afternoon the boiler of COS ex-
ploded on the road, killing the substi-
tute engineer and the fireman. A week
later the engineers brother was killed
in a collision, as he had dreamed.
The horror that engineers have for
running over a human being is not di-
rected to smaller creatures, and it is
considered very unlucky to have a
small animal run in front of an en-
CINE while it is going, unless the en-
gineer succeeds in running it down
and killing it, when the hoodoo de-
parts.
One night an engineer on a western
road left a division point with a spe-
cial train running on time to a station
up the line, there to meet and wait for
a through passenger train.
AS he pulled out of the yard and
struck the open track in the country
he observed a small animal running
and leaping along the track ahead Of
the engine. 1t ran and leaped like a
squirrel, and it stuck to the track
with such persistency that a cold chill
coursed down the engineers back. 1t
meant disaster If he could not chase
it from the track, and he let out
spasmodic blasts of the whistle in the
hope that it would be frightened and
leap off.
But it stuck to the track, leaping
from tie to tie, keeping the same dis
lance from the engine, eve letting
up it's stride. The engineer, now thor
oughly exasperated and somewhat
frightened, let out a notch or two in
the throttle, and the engine increased
it's speed. But so did the squirrel"
Soon the engine was making SO
miles an hour, and in front of it, in
the path of light made by the head
light, the squirrel bounded, never
losing or gaining an inch.
Faster and faster went the engine,
in its endeavor to catch up with and
run down the bothersome little ami
nal, which increased its speed ahead
Of the engine with remarkable &C.
curacy and with a tirelessness that
was remarkable.
The engineer was so intent in try
ing to run down the little animal that
he was not paying much attention tc
where he was, and Numbered past the
station at which he was to stop at the
rate of 60 miles an hour. He looked
back and saw the station agent wa
wing his red lantern like mad. But he
had becomes SO obsessed with the
idea of running down his squirrel
that he paid no attention to it. When
he looked at the track again the
Squirrel" was gone. 1t had leapeG
the track or had tired and gone I'm
der the wheels. In front of him III
the track the engineer heard the en-
CINE of the approaching passenger
train screech a warning from its wills
tie, and he shut off the steam and ap
piled the brakes and sand.
He had just time to run back to the
siding at the station when the passen
ger Numbered past.
When he climbed down from thu
cab to look at the front of the engine
10 learn what had happened to thu
little animal that had outrun him HI
CHANGED to glance up at the headlight
On 1t was the wet shape of a mapl'
leaf that had blown against the glas1
as he left town, and it was the sha
dow of it that had danced along tn,
track ahead Of him. The suction o
wind as the engine flew past the sta
ton had d~islodged it, and probabl.
prevented a terrible disaster by di
recting the engineers attention from
the chase.-Railway and Locomotiv,
Engineering.