The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 7, 1900, Page 1

GH fire and smoks, falling a ng brands, d&own furnace and out again rth Pacific Cosst Rall- Y's property—that is sn ex- gineer O. . Bmith went week over in the Sonoma ere the flames of a great forest evastating long stretches blistered, in several s about uiries snd “Hero™ repeats O, E. Smith inquiring- ty, “why there is no hero about it We fellows @14 the right thing, or as near te AT L ¥ S v iad T ft as we could—end that is all there is to Y te B0, Mkewise, say &ll the men who were eoncerned in the daring work, which saved ithe North Pacile Cosst Rallroad X > N Company’'s $20,000 bridge at Howards last week. When one has heard the tale it seems different. ‘When Engineer Elliett, In charge of the dally pessenger train from Dunocan Springs to Bansalito, made his run one day be found his path disputed. Het breaths of air at first gave warning, then came stifiing heat and cinders. Near a lttle station named Freestone the engine thundefed into the midst of the forest fire. On either side wers burning trees, and as the train rushed over a bridge the trestle works were seen to be on fire. The neer turned on full steam, and though his face was blistered with the heat sent the great engine with its charge of human freight thundering along the threatened track until the flames were left behind THe passengers were quieted with gssur- anoes of safety, and some three miles be- low Conductor Phe rdared the coaches @etached from the ine, leaving the pas- sengers to their own devices, for it was evident that something must be done im- mediately. A ‘ew minutes later the great engine had gathered up a ®rew of section men and was screeching and flying up the hill toward the conflagration. As it leapea over the rails the blistering alr blew hot in the faces of the men &nd smoke and cinders obscured thelr view; but there was no turnlng back. They passed over little bridges and big bridges and crossed the great trestle work of the company’s $20,000 elevated road, seventy feet high and over 30 fost long. only & féw hundred yards * WY ) b P = 2 FEC T 1w R A A T from which the flames were raging flerce- iy and where burning brands wers drop- ping with dangerous frequency, blown by the heavy wind. When the engipe drew up at the next bridge the trestle work was burning In several places, and the crew was kept busy pouring bucketfuls of water upon the threatened timbers, dipping the ‘water from the engine’s tank. - Up on the hill at the end of a short emergency treck were two waker cars, placed there by the railroad a few days before for use in case the bridges were endangered. Conductor Pheips and Engineer Elliott climbed the hills with their hats pulled down over thelr eyes, through the choking smoke and falling cinders, to where the cars were standing at the end of the sloping track, and adjusting the brake released the two water-cars. Down the grade they glid, first one and then the other, coming to a stop at the upsiope at the foot of the nill only a few feet from the burning bridge. Then there was hard work. On elther side, within twenty-five feet from the center of the track trees and shrub- bery were on fire and eonstant vigilance wes required to subdue the fires starting in the trestlework. Aside from the chok- ing emoke and the falling brands the heat so intgnse as to b almost unendura- ble. After an hour’s exhausting work the hopelessness of subdulng the fire along the track seemed absolute and the men were about to ‘abandon the effort when another crew of section men arrived from another direction-in charge of Engineer ‘Williams and Conductor James P. Kinney. They had come in answer to Conduetor Phelps' telegram for assistance sent from the station at Freestone, where the coaches had been left. The new crew re- leved the exhausted men and for a time Hi1$ ENGINE ROUGH MILES OF FIRE TO SAVE & held the fire In check, backfiring from the direction of the big bridge. Leaving them to their task, Engineer Elliott and Con- ductor Phelps took thelr engine and re- turned to Freestone, where the situation was telegraphed to headquarters. Coup- ling bis engine to the train of coaches, with Its anxious passengers, Conductor Phelps turned his attention to making up the two hours’ lost time, in deference to the rchedule pasted upon the station walls at Sausalito. At the bridge the men worked on stead- fly, relieving each other at short inter- vals.. Whipping back tl.e flames with wet gunny-sacks and branches broken from pine trees: guarding against sneaking tongues of fire and suddan conflagrations started trom falling cinders and burning sticks; choking with the smoke and ashes, perspiring and blistering from the intense heat, quenching their thirst with hasty drinks from the fire buckets, and falling back exhausted when the rellef force took their places, to hurry away from the cen- ter of the fire for a few minutes’ respite, bravely and furiously they worked, fight- ing for every inch of ground . they lost, but the odds were against them. When the heat was so great that they could-no, longer stay on the bridge they retreated. The flames burst up through the trestla work and the smaller bridge was doomed. They hurried away to save the big bridge. But they had been compelled to leave one of the water cars near the:-burning trestle- work, and the water from the other was soon exhausted. By back-firing they kept back the fire from the sides, but the wind had sprung ~up- briskly, and‘ burning branches from the tops of trees were fall- ing in the trestlework. As long as there ‘was water they fought with it, and as s managed. there was only a few bucketfuls left the buckets were thrown aside and the water Yeft was reserved for keeping the gunny- sacks wet. It was a fight for the com- 's $20,000 bridge, and right bravely 414 the company’s men battle, but thers was & limit to their strength and endur- ance, and the fird still raged. Shorter 2nd shorter grew the periods of rest, and more often the relief was called for: then the men of the crew began to drop out from exhaustion. Conductor Kinney and Engineer Willlams fought with them, but when the end became evident orders were given to stand back. “It's all off with the \ biz bridge' sald one of the men. There! was a sharp whistle, a succeésion of little screeches and a roar that sounded above the roar of the flames. A cheer went up from the exhavsted men. Around the bend came a puffing engine, with Engineer O. E. Smith at the throttls, and a fresh crew of men. The great wheels rolled slower and stopped beside the exhausted men. The new crew jumped out and took up the wet gunny-sacks. Then Engineee Smith was told of the waier difficulty. There was no additional water supply.exs - cept the small reserve in the engine's tens der, From this the buckets were filled and the men were put to work. “What ‘d!d you ray about that othew water car?’ asked Engineer Smith as ha leaped from the cab. He was told of the full car left in the midst of the flames at the smaller bridge. He leaped into the cab again. ‘“What are you going to do?' asked Conductor Kine rey. “I am going after that car,” replied Smith, with his hand on the throttle. There was a hiss of steam, a sharp toot from the whistle, and away went the lo= comotive, with the one man on board, to- ward the mass of flames at the smaller bridge. For what he did in the next half hour O. E. Smith will probably receive handfme recognition at the hands of the company whose property he saved. The burning bridge was bullt across a dip between two hills, and on either side “of it up to within twenty-five feet a mass of trees, whose tops were just on a level with the cab of the locomotive, were burning eflercely. The water car was étanding just at the end of the bridge, flames leaping high all around it, and in places the car itself was smoldering and dered at his recklessness. While the en- ofce and whisperings engine reached the water car his face ‘was blistered with the Intense heat, and his eyes blinded by the smoke and cin- ders, but he never hesitated. As he drew . near the place the wheels rolled slower and more cautfously, but straight on over the warping t: and burning ties, until the engine Bumped heavily against the end of the water car. Then Smith leaped out and felt for the coup- lings with his blistered hands. Burning sticks of wood fell all around him, and his clothes caught fire. Smothering it out with his hands he groped biindly in the smoke and heat and coupled the wat- er car to the locomotive. Whipping out the flames that had start- o4 on the sides of the car with his hat, ha gToped his way back to the locomotive through the scorching heat and took his place at the throttla. Then out of the raging furnace he backed his engine with the walter car attached, siowly and cau- tioualy, though the air was at flame heat and his lungs filled with ashep and smoke. The men who walted thought the big en- gine with its daring master wers doomed. They had seen Smith go down into the mass of flames and smoke and had won- > FOR- THE- ‘COUPLING. | e of awe to the men on the MIL Then they oked at eor went heard the whistle blow, and each other. But presently a ci motive and finally the w little blaze at the side. they all hurried and as the water car rolled up to the end of the big bridgwe all ‘men to use it. The company’s bridgs waa saved. This i the story that i toid of he Sve at Howards, but {ts heroes have nething to say—enly that their daring and thety work was théir duty, done In protsction of the company’s property. Far inte the .night. they worked, and thers was mameh to do before the arrival of assistanos, ‘When a fire patrol had deon orgaatwed fee the guarding of the threatened lne of track and all was safe, the two remaintng engines modestly backed out, with thetr respective engineers and oconductesw, n the conseiousness of expecting_to have But it is rumored consultations &t tha co E GROPED a starting to burn, from ‘failen brands. Sineer was groping about for the coup- to the med Who fought at the big bridge When. Hundreds of feet betore Engineer mith's Lngs, the period of sllence was a slience fire