Show A TEXAS EPISODE D C Adamss Reminiscence of n Rain of Shoats Several I years ago said D C Adams the other evening I was with Gen Dodge on the Texas Pacific down In T xa and I had a number of amusing amus-ing as well as Interesting adventures One of the most amusing I believe belevc occurred when I was making a trip over a new section of the road one day The engineer of the train I was riding on was a particular friend of mine While we were taking water at one of the water stations I went forward I thinking I would ride on the engine for a while Just a we were about to pull out my friend the engineer suggested sug-gested that I could get a better view of the country and enjoy the ride moro If I would go forward and ride on the cowcatcher or rather on the platform I Just back of the cowcatcher The novelty nov-elty of the ride was In harmony with the mood I was in at the time so pickIng pick-Ing UI an empty spike keg near at hand I was soon comfortably seated on the front of the engine The post was certainly one of vantage van-tage I had an unobstructed view of the country through which the road ran and as It was a warm pleasant day in October I enjoyed the ride Immensely Im-mensely Wo had gone about ten or twelve miles after leaving the water station when we came In sight of a small body I of timber The road did imt pass I through the timber but ran very close to ItFor For miles the road ran through a level stretch of country and one could see a long distance ahead As we approached ap-proached the Umber I noticed about half a mile ahead what appeared to hen he-n dark stream of something moving across the track toward the timber ll not only attracted my attention but I became very much Interested and wondered what It could be 1 also wondered If the engineer had soon It As we drew near I soon discovered that It was a drove of wild hogs crossIng cross-Ing the track I was a large drove of several hundred They were not moving mov-ing very fast and I could easily sec that at the rate of speed we were advancing ad-vancing that there was bound to be 1 a collision unless the train stopped BY this time I was standing up On looking around the end of the boiler I could see my friend the engineer standing at the throttle looking at me through the window of his cab laughing laugh-Ing at me Instead of slowing down he turned on more steam and we were soon clipping along at the rate of forty or fifty miles an hour I concluded to move and In loss time than It takes to tell It I had climbed up on top of the boiler back clmbed of the smokestack I was rather a warm berth but not nearly so warm as I I thought my position on the cowcatcher cow-catcher would he I had scarcely got behind the smokestack smoke-stack when we struck the pigs and for a fow moments it rained pigs on both sides of tho track I may have been excited and possibly possi-bly I saw double or treble for that matter but making all due allowance I for that Ill bet that for the space of a few seconds there was more than 200 I of those cussed little hogs flying In the I air at once Some people say hogs cant fly but I know better because I have seen them fly And the racket I they made Squeal Well I should say they did Each Individual hoat put In his best licks a he flew through I space and the noise they made drowned the noise of the train The show was all over In a few seconds sec-onds but I never missed an oct Why I can shut my eyes today and see and hear those blamed hogs as plain and distinct as I did on that memorable afternoon As soon as we were fairly through the hog drift I cllnibed down from my perch I would have been all right for me lo have stayed on the cowcatcher I did lot know that but the engineer did hence hp did not hesitate to send his engine Into that drove of hogs for all that she was worth None of the pigs landed on the front of the engine I was pretty warm In the collar an well as some other places because I can tell you It Is not a very cool place to sit astride of a locomotive boiler especially when she Is working hard When I first got down my mind was fully made up to lick that engineer at the next station but before we arrived there I had cooled down so that 1 could I appreciate the funny side of the case and as I recalled how ridiculous those I hogs looked and what a funny spectacle r specta-cle I much have appeared astrldo ot the boiler behind the smokestack 1 began to laugh When we drew up at tho next station sta-tion the engineer hastened to Inquire how I had enjoyed my ride I told him I liked the ride well enough but that I had not been able to see much because It seemed to be raining hogs Then he began to laugh and I guess he Is laughing e1 lie would laugh heartily that every time he saw me after thatIt was certainly funny but I dont care to repeat the entertainment and despite the applause of my friends I positively refused to respond to an encore en-core |