The Jaguar Special.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 179, 20 October 1903, Page 2

The Jaguar Special.

By PAUL R. BUIXARD.

-TiJuiilii lllilllliiiiiiiHini— || ' 111 '■ ' ' QTRANGE affairs happen upok the 1^ solitary railroad of Spanish Honduras. Hold-ups, collisions and runaway trains are of frequent occur- • rence pn its 50 miles of length, but its most extraordinary incident was that - in which George Powers took part. It was in the "dry season," when,ttoe> banana plants were weighted with fheir bunches of greve» fruit, ready for cutting. "One day"— «aPo"?7«»s.tells the- story —"the fruit steamer Breakwater anchored unexpectedly in the offing of our Caribbean sea harbor of Porto Cortez. Soon, at her agent's orders, tV.ere was hoisted at her masitheadthe signal indicating 'Fruit, ready for a quick cargo.' And when the ship had reached the dock a fruit train was being made up, "Then we learned that the Breakwater was expected to sail for New Orleans with a cargo of bananas early Hie next morning. Extraordinary efforts must be made to load her with I -a suitable shipment in less than a ! dry's time. To hurry was) decidedly ! untropical, but the bonus given by the railroad officials was as oil to lubricate Ihe machinery of the 'transportation department;' and I was handed these orders: Engineer Power 3 -will take engine No. 12, •with IS platform cars, and proceed with bfsr speed to La Pimienta; load cargo of h.ir..ir.a.s; return to San Pedro; load fruit th ro. Report at this office after the run, By.c. not later th-an ten p. m. to-day. (SiiEned) COL.VILLE (Supt. of Trans.). "Such an order meant 'hurry.' My fireman oiled 13, the only locomotive «T\r.il able, and the yardmen made up tl>e train. By noon we were started. T'n're was work enough ahead to keep n- all out of mischief for the next ten Wiirs. To cover a round trip of 100 !!i : !:-y. load 18 cars with bananas and pull them into Porto Cortez within ten hours would be the record for speed upon the Honduras railroad. "So old 13, with throttle wide open, was soon puffing up the rough road bed to La Pimienta at an unaccustomed pace. The telegraph line was equally busy, and when we ran. past : San Pedro the ox-cars were already unloading their nine and ten-hand bunches alongside the track in readiness for our return. Between four and five o'clock we whistled for La Pimienta, the terminus. "There the station agent had a gnng of 'loaders' ready, and before the train had quite stopped tbe green bunches were being passed to tbe loaders in the cars. In an incredibly short space of time the bananas rose, tier upon tier, to a heavy load; and all the time my fireman fed the sticks of soft pine to our roaring fire box. for we should need a gpod head of steam to £et back to San Pedro in season. The aq-ent sarcastically asked me: 'Is the engine good for the heavy pull without a breakdown?' and I replied: "Number 13 is about to surprise everybody by a record trip.' And so we did, both because of and in spite of an unprecedented adventure. "At six o'clock we had, loaded all the fruit in sight, and whistling for 'open brakes,' we started for San Pedro. The down grade helped us materially. Jn less than an hour we had covered the distance and were taking the fruit aboard from our last stop. 1 "Delay began here. There were few men to load the fruit, and the handling of it was slow; every bunch was thoroughly inspected, by the loaders lest they should grasp tarantulas 1 crawling among the bananas. But at eight o'clock the train was loaded, the pitehpine headlight was lighted, the throttle opened and the whistle shrieked its farewell to San Pedro. "Two hours only were left in which to make the run in schedule time over 35 mile? of rolling country and with a weight of 18 heavily loaded cars. The 'passenger,' with her light freight, was allowed four hours for the same run. The darkness was intense, and the vibration of the train soon became so great that the headlight was shaken into a mere sputtering, and at a lurch went out. The front of the engine became the limit of my vision. "The white mile markers were passed so quickly that my fireman lost his count, and we could not tell where we were. But No. 13 was doing her best. Not a valve had blown out, nor a rod broken. Our clattering over the track was varied only by the frantic squealings of a fine, fat pig, sent by the agent at La Pimienta to the captain of the Breakwater as a delicacy for his table. Piggy continually ! squealed from its berth in an open ) fruit car. "In one- place a large limb extended from a tree out over the track, just lii^h enough to clear the stacks of j the passing engines. The pig seemed to .stream more loudly than before and we hear,d a new sound. ; " 'What was that?' asked my I startled fireman. 'Did you hear that j crash?' " 'Oh, never mind! Give me more steam,' I replied, for I knew we must be nearing a steep grade. I blew the signals to release the brakes, but J without avail. "In a minute we struck the hill. It was a hard one to climb, and the engine puffed so loudly that I did not no- , tice the cessation of the pig's squeals. Slowly but surely we. were coming to a standstill. The brakes still seemed • set. I again blew the signal for their ', release, but the train came' suddenly to an irresolute' stop, although making • herculean efforts to keep going, ; "The incline had but begun. To j «tart the train jy»* imposgibte, jj^

"I lighted a pine torch, swung from the cab to ascertain the situation, and had passed several cars when the most terrible yells echoed through \he forest. The men from the rear of the train were shouting at me. It was impossible to distinguish what they were saj-ing, because of the yells which were rising apparently between me and j them. These did not alarm me much j for the creature seemed like a wildcat, a reckless, but not dangerous, night prowler. So on I walked toward the rear of the train. ] "Approaching the trainmen, I heard them s\hout: 'Look out for the jaguar, Powers!' "Now, no wild creature is more dangerous by night to man than a jaguar. I halted and stared. I could now see tbe glaring eyes of the fierce brute as he pawed the lifeless pig. Those eye? followed me with such hostile intent that I hastened back to the cab for the fireman a:. J my Winchester. "Of course, one of us> had to staj' with the engine, so I left my fireman in charge and returned alone, with torch in hand and rifle ready. The trainmen came toward me from around the rear of the train. They told me that the jaguar must have been crouching on the overspreading limb, and having heard the squeals of the pig, must have leaped recklessly into the passing train for his pre\ . The trainmen had discovered him when they started to answer my signal of 'brakes- off.' The brute held them- at bay. They were in the rear car, the jaguar was in the next one. and they could not pass over the train to release the brakes. The 18 loaded cars, most of them having tightened brakes had stopped No. 13 on the incline. "I must either give up hope of getting to the port in time for loading the Breakwater, or else must kill or drive away the jaguar. The fire of his eyes was intensified by the flickeringlight of the torch. It was not a pleasant grimace when the brute suggestively wiped his lips and tongue with those huge paws. "The engine gave a sudden lurch. My fireman must have been m-eddling. It threw the animal from his balance. His tail lashed. Banding the torch to a man, I raised my Winchester. The beast glared ferociously, and measured with his eye the distance to the ground. Some of the men ran. As the animal seemed about to jump, I took hasty aim and pulled the trigger. Apparently the jaguar was unharmed, but he had changed his opinion about the jump, and calmly tro'.tpd along the tops of the bananas toward the Engine. I aimed at him again and pulled the trigger. Then I remembered that the only cartridge in the Winchester was the one I had fired. "I shouted to the fireman, but before I could make him understand the cowardly fellow jumped from the cab and scampered into the forest. Luckily, there v?as no other jaguar awaiting him. "I went toward the cab, expecting to find the jaguar in possession, and determined to club him out with the butt of my gun; but he was ivot in the cab. I blew 'brakes off,' and casually looked n round. On the floor of the tender, among- the wood and casks of water, stretched out at full length and apparently crouching for a spring, I saw the jag-uar. I jumped from the engine. The thought of the fireman's cowardice did not amuse me. As fast as possible I ran toward the rear of the train. "Ten o'clock was approaching. The ship could not receive her fruit unless we started immediately. In my haste I bad left the rifle in the cab; now I took a crowbar which one of the brakemen handed me. But the plan from which I hoped most was his suggestion that I should climb upon the engine from the front of the cab, and then reach in bo open the steam valve an the chance that the escape of the hissing steam would frighten the brute to the point of leaping from the train. "I opened the valve — the jaguar never moved. "I then reached a heary iron wrench and threw it at the beast with all my strength. It struck him upon the head, but he did not stir. I was startled. Climbing to the fancied security of the top of the cab, I poked him with a long-handled rod; but I could see no sign of life. "After a close watch, I descended to the floor of the cab and opened the furnace door to have more light. The , jaguar was dead. There was a hole through his head caused by the lucky shot from, my Winchester., He had walked to the tender in a daze and died there. "I blew the whistle vigorously. It wa? a welcome sound to the trainmen. The brakes were speedily released. The fireman came scrambling back; I opened the throttle, and slowly the train went up the incline toward Porto Cortez. "At a little after ten o'clock that night the whistling of No. 13, approaeh-. ing" with her load of bananas, Eummoned the crew of the Breakwater, whose captain congratulated the officials of thellonduras railroad on the remarkable expedition of their fruit service. But when he saw the nine feet of jaguar strertched out in my tender and heard the story of the difficulties of the run, he remarked that the railroad officials should pass a vote of thanks to me upon the success of the record trip of the road."— Youth's Companion.