The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1913-01-09
A Reckless
Driver
By THOMAS r. DEAN

| L
railroad, and the train was passing
J over an elevated portion of the road in
the Rocky mountains. The passengers
were all looking out through the cal
windows at the awful heights and
depths. Far below my eye caught 4
macadamiZed road that did not seem
| to be much used and was falling out of
| repair
The old stage road said a gentle.
man beside me who noticed me looking
! at il. lie was very old man with
| hair as white as snow. There was
| something in the confident way he
spoke of the road, a dreamy, far away
| look, as he GaZed at ii himself that
arrested my attention.
How do you know" l asked.
Because when l was a very young
man." he replied, Il went over it, and
an episode that occurred caused me to
| remember it. That's the Powder Horn
| bend over there. Pretty soon Wei
pass Dead Mans turn.
The ride | refer TO was when the
! stagecoach was the only method of
travel in these parts, and the driver
was as important a man then as the
| captain of an ocean liner is now. JSu-
ally the man at the reinS was a splen-
did specimen. He had full control of
his horses and always kept his head no
matter what happened. But on this
occasion-just about fifty years ago il
is nOw-the person driving US was a
different kind of a fellow. l was on
top, and several other passengers, east
ern tourists, who were anxious to see
the scenery were outside too. There
was one man who didn't seem TO be-
long among the rest of US, but rather
to the country. He was a very quiet
man, who minded his own business.
didn't bother the driver with questions
about the peaks and the canyons and
the cuts around the mountain sides, but
sat chewing on quid Of tobacco as
though the heights and the depths were
nothing compared to it.
I'VE were making one of those turns
where the road is cut around a noun
tain side when, looking down at the
wheels on the outside, we all saw that
the hind one had gone within a foot
of the edge. One Of the gentlemen re-
monstrated with the driver, and it
made him very ugly. He said it wasn't
customary for passengers to interfere
with stage drivers. He knew his
business and would listen to no sug-
gestions from no man
after this, instead of driving care
fully when we came to dangerous
parts of the road, he would whip up
his horses and go round in a hurry.
Every time he did this the rest of us
would hold on to our seats like grim
death, expecting to be dashed over
the precipice. On one occasion the
outside hind wheel did go over, but
the driver dashed his horses and pulled
it up on the road again.
"There was but one man who didn't
seem to be ruffled at this kind of driv-
ing-that was the silent man l was
speaking of. He sat silent in his seat
and 'chawed on Some Of the passen-
gers noticing that he appeared to be a
man of the west asked him if nothing
could be done to induce the driver to
mend his ways.
"'Y' needn't do no more skylarkin,'
the westerner said to the driver han
die them ribbons more keerful'
'The driver looked around to see
who was again interfering. and seeing
quiet looking man flushed angrily
and asked him if he was afraid.
mo said the other; L know what
| stage drivers can do on the road, but
these ladies and gents amt used to it;
it skeers EN-
"'Well, I'm responsible to the line
for my drivin' and not to you or any
one else. I'll handle the team as
please
The westerner made no reply to
this, and we, who had gathered a hope
that he might put a stop to the reck-
lessness, felt a disappointment. He
didn't seem to be offended or irritated
with the driver. He just 'chawed on
and seemed inclined to let the driver do
as he liked. But presently we APP
preached Dead Mans turn, called so
from a coach having gone down over
the precipice-there it is across the can
yon. The driver whipped up his horses
and was getting on a big squirt when he
felt something cold pressing against
the back of his neck. He must have
known that it was the muzzle of a re-
volver, for he didn't turn his head to
see.
"'Slow up said the westerner, who
was holding the pistol
'"The driver slowed up; then at the
westerner's further command came to
full stop.
Hitch the reins on to the brake,
was the next order, and the driver
obeyed. Do you see that tree growing
over the precipice on this side of the
bend? Well, the westerner forced the
driver at the point of his revolver to
climb out on to the farthest branch
of that tree. He was white as q sheet
and chung to the branch with the clutch
Of cat. AT one time l surely thought
he would go down. l had to look
away, and the rest of the party did the
same.