Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-09-14

thing in your career?" Mr.. shehan was
asked.
We'll, have been fortunate in not
figuring in any big accidents OF any
sort, and so I can not recite hair
breadth escape tale. But the hardest
time l ever had was to keep up with
this man Davis when he was running
opposite me on the Rocky Mountain
limited. For IA years straight that
man had me going so that | had 10 car
~ the Chicago papers into Dies Moines
on time every morning during the en-
tire period. The two of US together
managed 10 get them in there at l1:45
every morning, taking our turns at the
throttle. carried the first regular
Rock Island passenger train over the
bridge at Omaha back in 1890"
Possibly the funniest accident that
any member OF the club ever expert
enced was that which befell Engineer
Johnston one morning many years ago
when he was running the Denver lin
tied into Davenport The morning was
dark and chill and it was hard to see
ahead on the track. Suddenly the en-
CINE which Mr.. Johnston was plotting
crashed into the caEoose of a freight
train and never stopped till it had
plowed through three other cars,
broken from the tender and crashed
down the steep embankment. Mr..
Johnston got out OF the wreckage with
nothing more serious than a sprained
arm. but It took many days 10 roll the
engine back up the 35-foot embank-
ment When the engineer had picked
himself up, he crawled up to the track,
; expecting TO see a derailed train. But
the tender. except for two wheels, was
still on the track, and the rest of the
train was as if nothing had happened
albeit the passengers were in a pan
.iCky turmoil Mr. Johnston found that
he had plowed through a portion of
a butter and egg train and that he
had done some tall scrambling.
Mr.. Johnston began service back in
December of 1869 and was retired on
a pension Sept Is, 1911
DAVIS Runs WITHOUT WHEELS.
Never in all of the railroad history
OF the country has such a peculiar &C
cident as that which befel Engineer
Davis back in February of 1883 beer
recorded on the books of any trafh,
corporation. and there is little likeli
hood that there will ever be anothe
accident bearing any similarity. II
] D 10 ., nh
drivers on Engineer Davis engine be
came loosened and dropped The Ell
CINE ran on for about a quarter mil
and over a 60foot bridge. and whe,
brought TO a stop. was not six inChe
out of line. The reason that the Ell
CINE stood upright was an extra ffeav
drawbar between II and the tender.
pair OF shop trucks were taken to Ii
scene Of the accident, near Iowa CITY
pushed under the driverless engin,
and used to bring the engine into tn
repair shops. Major Mclaughlin.
wealthy Pacific coast resident. was o
. the train, and he gave the engineer
SO gold piece for his pluck in stickin
70 his post. Mr.. Davis now wears tn
I $40 gold piece in the shape Of a ban
, ring
. Another Of his strange experience
was in 1866. when the old wood-burne
= engine which be was driving brok
loose from the tender while passin
5 through Fulton. now Stockton. Davi
b with one foot on the tender ana III
{ other on the deck Of the engine. f.
{ down between the rails. The ttai
: was going four miles an hour. Tn
v fireman, G. B. Swami. asked II the el
!. CINE vas slipping. and Davis replie
that II was slipping toward Walcot