RAILROAD LIFE IN AMERICA.
BYWILD EDGERTON.
Not to be blest with warrior strength, To wield the sword and wear the glaive, Or rise to conqueror's fame at length, Proclaims the good or makes the brave. To have the power to bide the scorn, And rise above the hate and strife, Of those to wealth and title born, Is the crown'd courage of our life. What are the swords that prop a king— The banners in his army's van— To strength of soul that dares to spring And show the monarch in the MAN? —C. D. STUARTBIRNEY HAND & COMPANY; CHICAGO.
1870.TO
THE EMPLOYES
OF THE
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILWAY,
AMONG WHOM THE
AUTHOR OF
"RAILROAD LIFE IN AMERICA"
PASSED
MANY OF THE HAPPIEST
DAYS
OF HIS LIFE,
THIS BOOK
IS RESPECTFULLY AND MOST
AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED
BY
WILD EDGERTON.
A PRELIMINARY PUFF!
BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION.
Not a puff of our book, dear reader; that business expedient is left to the dealer, in his advertisement. And not a puff of steam, for that we cannot have until the boiler is heated. But, let us say, a little puff of smoke from the kindling fire, in whose fanciful forms you may catch just a shadowy outline of the long railway journey we are about to take together.
Perhaps there will be some, among our many friends, who will consider "RAILROAD LIFE IN AMERICA" too pretentious a title for the rambling record which follows. If any such there be, let them reconcile themselves thereto by the reflection that "RAILROAD LIFE," though briefer and more simple, would have been none the less ambitious and objectionable, while promising or implying much more.
Our dealings are confined to American Railway Life exclusively, as the title suggests; and though, for the sake of greater compactness and convenience of narration, the incidents are presented as occurring in the limits of a single line, they are, in reality, gathered from many and widely separated roads. And, though sifted from the gleanings of twenty years experience and observation, they have been condensed into a much shorter period, since it has not not been thought necessary to string out our story through the fifth of a century.
An effort has been made to convey to those who live outside of the world of which we treat, a fair idea of what makes up the lives of those industrious, faithful, earnest workers in railway ranks who, while mostly invisible and unknown, are ever pushing forward and keeping in motion page: 8-9[View Page 8-9] the grand commercial highways of the country; who are standing always tirelessly by the mighty steam looms of the Union, and directing their rushing iron shuttles which weave a nation's wide-spreading States into one. The wonders they accomplish are patent to all. The part they play in developing a free people's greatness, wealth and power is too plainly apparent, and too often the theme of admiration and wonder, to call for repetition here. But no one, until now, has penetrated or gone behind this curtain of palpable and conspicuous facts, and, in the interest of the public, looked into the lives of those who achieve the miracles over which men marvel. This has been your author's grateful task, and, in performing it, he has endeavored to handle respectfully and candidly the valuable material in hand. Avoiding the introduction of a bewildering multiplicity of characters, which would have precluded the possibility of more than a mere glance at each, comparatively few specimens are brought prominently before the reader's observation, and the fortunes of these are, in most cases, closely and circumstantially followed. The attributes of the many are bestowed upon the few, for the sake of illustration; and, though regarded in the light of what is possible, in this exhaustless field of exploration, our picture seems but a sketch, after all, it is hoped the companions of our tour will find sufficient that is entertaining along the way to compensate for the trouble of the trip.
It is just possible that some few railroad men will fail to be pleased with this record, where it fails to accord with their own past or present experiences. Railroaders are now counted by tens of thousands in America, and, of course, everyone's busy life has its own variations from the general features we have drawn as an average, and have had trials and adventures not recorded in this book, and gone through dangers and difficulties not here set down. Others, again, may never have met with the principal features which are set forth in our work, and may even never have heard of its more striking characteristics in the sphere of their labors. To such it will appear fanciful and unreal—perhaps fantastic and absurd. But let none doubt the existence of what is written, and let those who criticise omissions consider what must be the proportions of a volume which should present the personal experiences of every individual on every railroad in the country! This apprehension of incredulity is a source of regret; but it is pleasant to believe—nay, to positively know that, for one disaffected, there will be hundreds to recognize and do justice to the truth of our narrative.
Accept, if you please, the best endeavor of one who has earnestly sought to be accurate in detail, as well as entertaining, and whose hope has been to make a book not wholly unworthy of those for whom it was more especially intended. He has written "a plain, unvarnished tale," resisting all inclination to construct an elaborate and ambitious work. He has diligently sought to write comprehensively, unostentatiously, and in such a simple style as should recommend his effort cordially to the humblest, as well as the highest; and secure it a welcome to the hearts and homes of even the least practised readers in railway service. This must not be construed into an implication that to meet any special railroad patronage he has needed to write down to any particular level. Far from it. There is such a degree of intelligence among the operatives and mechanics of American Railways, that one well might be proud of an ability to reach their high standard of excellence, and meet the reward of their approval. But, with the labors, both mental and bodily, which fill full the cycle of their daily lives, the writer knows very well that, turning to literature, as they do, for recreation, something light and simple is much more gratifying to them, generally, than books more labored and more learned.
Two or three of the stories, not original, which have been introduced, came into the author's possession anonymously, and, reaching him in the form of "clippings," it has been impossible to indicate their origin. This circumstance is unfortunate but unavoidable. Other, briefer fragments, which are borrowed for our purposes, are acknowledged, and credit is assigned at the point of insertion.
Our heartiest thanks must be herein expressed to both agents and purchasers, throughout the country, for an unparalleled enterprise and page: 10-11[View Page 10-11] liberality by which we are assured of many thousands of readers in advance. It is earnestly hoped that the remarkable confidence so unhesitatingly manifested will prove not to have been in any degree misplaced; and that this flattering exhibition of faith in an humble author's ability to fulfill what was promised, will not find itself entirely unrewarded.
The author confesses himself quite unable to express his emotions of gratitude for those cheering letters of compliment, congratulation and encouragement which have poured in upon him since a knowledge of the preparation of this volume has gone abroad. These sacred evidences of fraternal regard, coming chiefly from old companions in the labor of the past, are held in an esteem which words are wholly powerless to convey. They are valued among those rare and choice blessings of heaven, which reconcile us to life's "sea of troubles," which render our hardest tasks easy by the inspiration they impart, which nerve us anew for the conflicts of existence, and which are not to be forgotten—O, never to be forgotten!
With the foregoing smoke-puff of explanation, casting a shadowy impression on the mind of our amiable reader, it is believed that our railroad companion, at least, will be able to proceed with us pleasantly, and perhaps profitably, to the end of our journey, avoiding both accident and misunderstanding.
And if he will sit by our side as we travel, and regard our tale simply as the unpolished gossip of a garrulous tourist who has made the trip hundreds of times, and points out such objects of interest as present themselves at various stages of the route, we shall certainly arrive at a happy congeniality, and, in time, become the very best friends in the world.
WILD EDGERTON.
CHICAGO, August, 1870.