Thursday,
January 20, 1916
Reed Gay was in town Tuesday with as fine a forty pound wild cat as anyone would wish to see. He had killed it on Red Lick Mountain near his home. It was as large as a big dog. For a number of years this cat had been carrying off chickens and turkeys and making himself a general and expensive nuisance to the farmers. The snow was good and soft on Monday and Mr. Gay followed the cat all day, round and round through laurel and brush patches.
A number of times he saw the varmit but at no time was he able to get a shot. On Tuesday morning he took the trail at daylight and he had followed not more than a mile when he came upon the cat and shot him down. The State is now paying a bounty of five dollars on wild cats and with the county bounty and the high price of fur, wildcat killing is getting to be profitable besides being about the finest sport going. No sport excels a dog and cat chase and fight, but many persons prefer to trail and still hunt them.
GREENBRIER TRAIN WRECKED
Greenbrier passenger train No. 141, due in this city about 10:50 a.m., was wrecked on Tuesday morning just north of Burnside. The miraculous escape from serious injury and perhaps death of Engineer Thos. Surber and Fireman Fred Mitchell, both of this city, can only be accounted for as an act of Providence.
A rock, weighing about 1,000 pounds dislodged from a cliff high up on the mountain by the heavy rains, cut a path down the mountainside, clearing its way of shrubbery and saplings as big as four inches in diameter. The rock touched the track only once in its descent, striking the inside rail, and bounced clear of the outside rail, and then into the river. Where it struck the track a piece of rail about three feet long was broken out, which caused the derailment of the passenger.
Engineer Surber had passed the whistling post and was blowing for Burnside when he noticed a short distance ahead the break in the rail. Immediately he reversed the engine and applied the emergency brakes, but with little effect. The fireman, seeing the situation came over to the inside of the track and jumped and made an effort to crawl up the steep embankment. Engineer Surber, after doing everything possible for the safety of his passengers and train, attempted to escape, but found that he had stuck to his post too long to jump; the engine was toppling over, having come upon the broken rail, and headed for the river. The working garments of Mr. Surber caught on some of the engine’s mechanism and pinned him fast for a time. The engine hung balanced on the brink of the river, but the engineer emerged alive from the torn and battered cab…
The engine was brought to this city on Thursday evening by the wrecking crew. – West Virginia News
DURBIN
Two degrees below zero this morning in Durbin.
The Durbin election of town officers is as follows: W. H. Arbogast, mayor; C. E. Carpenter, recorder, J. F. Folk, Thomas Cummins, S. H. Hiner, J. Hall Wilson, N. B. Arbogast, councilmen.
Prof. G. J. LaRue, of Hillsboro, has started up his school again after a week’s sickness.
J. M. Colaw is preparing to move to the farm of James Galford on Back Alleghany.
DUNMORE
Mrs. Jane Curry gave the young people a taffy stew which was enjoyed by all.
This is a nice winter for the farmers. They had better save their feed for next winter; it will be a bad one.
The infant child of Mr. and Mrs. Musto McLaughlin died at the home January 12, 1916.
There will be a debate on Woman Suffrage and a fish pond at the Dunmore school house Saturday night, January 22. Everybody come and fish and see the new organ that has just arrived.
YELK
George Gay trapped a very large eagle a few days ago.
Edgar McLaughlin, of Hillsboro, was a business visitor here last week.
Miss Ida Beverage, who spent several days with her sister, has returned to her home at Onoto.
George Bright has a big job of brush cutting for French Hoover, which he employs himself at daily. He and his brother, Steve Bright, raised 400 bushels of potatoes, cut and put up 11 stacks of hay; raised and threshed almost 100 bushels of buckwheat; and it was mostly done by man power, not having any team, it was mostly done by the sweat of their brows.