Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-21

LIVE been conductor on trains that
fed roaring through the midnight
4 storm like some lost spirit OF the
underworld, fleeing from the wrath OF
heaven" said Conductor Hef1in OF the
Southern railroad, land I've taken through
specials that rolNcked and reeled drunk
enly along the rails lettering, now on this
wheel, now on that, like tee-dancer,
with the odds even that our eighty-mlie-
an-hour git would shoot us OF the
next curve into some quiet pastoral scene
and destruction. But I've never taken
such a ride as was ridden by guileless
old darby from the backwoods, the time
he sat on a runaway caboose and shot
like a rush telegram down the Happy
Creek grade from top to foot of the Blue
Ridge mountains.
II was working over on the Manassas
Gap branch; it crosses the Blue Ridge
mountains about seventy-five miles south
Of Washington at little hamlet called
Linden, my home place. From the crest
of the gap at Linden the road runs
steeply down the tanks of the mountains,
following the bend of Happy Creek and
twisting as crooked a snake dying
with commissions from swallowing cork
screw. For FIVE or six miles it runs thus,
then, at the foot of the mountain it
makes a sharp lift for half mile over
a little spur, and thence runs Off on to
the broad reaches of the shenandoah
valley. About two miles beyond the top
of this little half-mile reverse grade, Is
the town Of Front Royal.
This little Linden place is great
point for shipping cattle from the back
counties and, this time, I'd been sent up
there with train of empty cattle cars
to bring down a big bunch Of steers that
had been driven in from over Kappa
hammock county way. There are no rail-
roads over there, and the negroes look
upon 1t as the summit Of bliss to drive
herd over to Linden to the 'cyahS.'
There was one old darby among the
herders of this drove who. despite his
more than seventy years, had never
was Nose. and his face was as black as
his teeth were white, both being the limit
of their lines. Old Nose had been reared
as the body servant Of the master of the
years as slave. and he had the
courtesy of a Chesterfield.
we pulled up to Linden early that
morning just as the herd got in sight,
ting in front, eager to see the railroad.
Seeing II, he Immediately lost his head
and heart. Regardless of the overseer's
threats. he abandoned all care Of the
cattle and trotted up and down. re-
garding our SCARED old freight train as
though it was chief of the seven won
ders. When one Of the brakemen told
him he could sit on the steps OF the
caboose while they were shunting the
cars back and forth during the loading.
his delight knew no bounds. No mill
lionaire in his en-thousand- dollar motor
car was ever as proud as Nose perched
on the rear of that caboose and shifting
TO and fro along the tracks as the ca
bose was pushed now forward, now
back.
Then some one pointed to a faint
smoke far down in the Shenandoah val
ley; 1t was the morning passenger train,
bound Tor Washington, just running into
Front Royal. moment afterWard, the
station agent came TO me with instruc-
lions 10 clear the main track as that
train was due in about fifteen or twenty
minutes.
The caboose on which Nose was riding
had been kicked over on a small spur,
but 1t did not quite clear the main line.
Accordingly, / hailed a passing brake
man from one of the other freight trains
that was there to take cattle and told
him TO go down and run the thing out on
the main track and / would send the
engine down to pick IL up and kick 1t in
on a better switch.
Now, this brakeman who had been
SO busy with his loading that he had
not observed Nose. when he approache.
the caboose and saw a negro sitting
there on the steps, took him for q train
! helper about the station yard Accord
ingly, thinking the fellow would have
sense enough to know what to do, he
went to the front brake that was on.
| threw it of and then, jumping down
and trotting ahead Of the cabcose, as it
now moved slowly down the grade, open
| ed the switch and allowed it to roll on to
the main track that ran down toward
the Shenandoah valley.