My Native Land: The United States: its Wonders, its Beauties, and its People; with Descriptive Notes, Character Sketches, Folk Lore, Traditions, Legends and History, for the Amusement of the Old and the Instruction of the YoungCox, James
History
My Native Land: The United States: its Wonders, its Beauties, and its People; with Descriptive Notes, Character Sketches, Folk Lore, Traditions, Legends and History, for the Amusement of the Old and the Instruction of the Young
Cox, James
Indians of North America; United States -- Description and travel; United States -- Social life and customs -- 1865-1918
All sorts of stories have been heard from time to time concerning the
supernatural side of railroading, and the peculiar and apparently hidden
antics which locomotives occasionally are guilty of. The following story
is well worth reproducing, and may serve as an illustration of hundreds
of others. It was told by an engineer, who worked on the Utah & Northern
Railroad years ago, before that road became part of the Union Pacific
system. The road was very rough, and save for a long stretch of sage
brush along the Snake River north of Pocatello, it ran in cañons, over
mountains, and through heavy cuts of clay, which was often washed down
on to the tracks by the spring rains. It was, as it is now, a railroad
rushed with business.
It was the only line into Butte City, which had been struck a short time
before, and was then giving promise of its future distinction as the
greatest mining camp in the world. The shipments of gold and bullion
were very heavy, and all the money for the banks in Butte and Helena was
sent over this road. There were no towns along the line. The only stops
were made at water-tanks, and such eating-houses as the railroad company
had built at long intervals. It was a rough, hard run, and was made
especially lonely by the uninhabited stretches of sand and sage brush,
and the echoes from the high granite walls of the narrow cañon. It was a
dangerous run besides. The James gang of train robbers and the Younger
brothers had been operating so successfully in Missouri, Kansas and
Minnesota that other bandits had moved West to attempt similar
operations.
Finally, word came from the general offices of Wells, Fargo & Co. that
several train robbers had been seen in Denver, and might work their way
north in the hope of either securing gold bullion from one of the down
trains from Butte, or money in exchange on an up train. After detailing
these conditions, the engineer went on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account