Jack Evans would have been piloting a locomotive much like this at the time of his daring act in 1874. This Burlington & Missouri River Railroad engine was the first to arrive at Broken Bow, Nebraska, during 1886. The B&M was, by that time, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy.
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| Find a Grave photo |
The story of his daring leap from the cowcatcher of a C. B. & Q. locomotive named Winona to snatch a toddler off the tracks near Farragut and then roll to safety during May of 1874 was told time and time again as the 19th century ended. But the modest Mr. Evans, all his long life, assured everyone it was just part of the job.
The heroic incident occurred near Fremont County's Farragut at about 11 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 1874, and details of it were flashed immediately by telegraph across the state to Burlington where the following somewhat breathless account was published soon thereafter in the Hawk Eye. On June 10, the Hawk Eye account was republished on Page 1 of The Chariton Patriot as follows:
ROMANCE OF THE ROAD
A Gallant Act by an Engineer
How Jack Evans Saved the Baby
"One of Bret Harte's stories or John Hay's poems, wherein an engineer, full of animal life, indifferent morals and questionable slang, is made the hero of some thrilling deed, charms us and fills us with admiration of the ideal hero. The steady nerve, the cool head, and the unwavering courage which are so characteristic of railway engineers, as a class, has long made them favorite subjects for the story writer, but it is true that the dry, unembellished records of the road, the brief, pointed reports of the station agents and train men, sometimes record, in the pigeon holes of the central offices, deeds of daring that far surpass, in every element of the heroic, the finest conceptions of the romanticist. And yesterday there flashed over the wires from Red Oak, an instance of this very kind, wherein a veritable live engineer commands the admiration of everyone, by the performance of a feat which placed his own life at a terrible risk, but saved that of a child. We glean the incident from the official report.
"J. P. Evans, Jack Evans, as he is better known among "the boys," is a young man about twenty-eight years old, and certainly not over thirty, and a great favorite among his associates, a clever, generous hearted man. In his eventful life, before he adopted railroading for a business, he traveled with the circus and was a star performer on the flying trapeze. Doubtless some of the gorgeously colored poster cuts of handsome, symmetrical men, in glove fitting tights and scarlet small clothes, "sailing through the air with the greatest of ease," were originally executed for Senor Juan del Evanne, but this has nothing to do with our story.
"Mr. Evans quit "starring," threw up all his engagements, and took an engine, but the physical prowess acquired in his athletic exercises did not desert him, and his skill remained with him. Often when he is "laid out" on the side track, he gives the boys impromptu exhibitions of "life in the ring" with grace, skill and agility, and fills that part of the country so full of double somersaults and handsprings and flying leaps that the air has a flavor of circus about it for a month. But the greatest and noblest feat our hero ever performed in his life was one that wasn't down on the bills and called out very unexpectedly at a local matinee Friday afternoon.
"Evans, who is in the employ of the C.B.&Q. railway, was running an extra, we believe, on the Red Oak branch. When about a quarter of a mile east of Farragut, the train then running at the rate of twenty miles an hour, the engineer saw, hardly seventy yards ahead of him, a little child, about eighteen months old, playing in the middle of the track. Quicker than thought he squealed for brakes, and without ever touching the throttle, leaving it wide open, he seized the lever and threw it clear over, reversing his engine with a full head of steam on.
"But the heavy freight train had acquired a powerful momentum that could not be overcome, and by the time, short as it was, that Evans could hurry around and take his position on the pilot (aka cow-catcher), the engine was frightfully near the child, who, apparently unconscious of danger, remained where he was when first discovered. Evans saw that there was no chance of his stooping to seize the child as the train swept down upon it, from his place on the pilot, and now his old athletic accomplishments and training, seconded by his steady nerve and coolness, and the ability so characteristic of engine men to think rapidly and clearly in moments of great danger, came in good play.
"Measuring his distance as carefully and accurately as ever he had when making a mid-air leap from a flying trapeze, he summoned all his strength, and making a splendid leap, caught the child in his arms and without attempting to regain his feet threw himself over the rail with the agility of a cat. It was a close call. Before he had quite cleared the track the pilot struck his foot, but he rolled safely out of the way for several yards, still holding the child in his arms.
"The rate at which the train was running may be judged when it is known that it moved five car lengths past where Evans was lying before it could be stopped. The mother of the child, who witnessed the affair, was on the spot in a flash, trembling, weeping and almost speechless with excitement. Jack rose to his feet and handed her the baby as cooly as though he had just taken it out of its cradle. "Madam," he said, "You had better take better care of that young one hereafter."
"And he climbed into the cab and went ahead more unconcerned and less excited than all the gentlemen who were back aft, serving their country by twisting brakes. It was a gallant deed and well performed, and among the many, the many, thrilling legends which already fill the pages of the "Romance of the Road" railroad men will have one more to relate in the intervals of duty, and that, too, one whose chief value is that there is naught of invention or exaggerations in its details --- How Jack Evans saved the Baby."
The Patriot staff, then consisting of partners Moses Folsom and Bill Maple, added the following paragraphs on their local news page, explaining that Jack once had been a resident of Chariton, soon after the Civil War's end:
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The Patriot staff, then consisting of partners Moses Folsom and Bill Maple, added the following paragraphs on their local news page, explaining that Jack once had been a resident of Chariton, soon after the Civil War's end:
"A BRAVE ACT --- On the first page will be found an article under the heading of 'Romance of the Road,' taken from the Burlington Hawk Eye, telling 'How Jack Evans saved the Baby.' The hero of the daring deed was formerly a resident of Chariton, and is known by many of our older residents, having while here clerked at the Hatcher House. He was the clog dancer of the first minstrel troupe formed here under the management of the Reed boys and Billy Tooker, the latter now a fireman on a B. & M. engine. Johnny's bravery is justly acknowledged by the President of the C. B. & Q. in the following letter:
"Chicago, May 30, 1874. J. Evans Esq., Locomotive Engineer, Red Oak, Iowa: My Dear Sir --- I am more than gratified at your timely heroic act in saving the little child on the track in front of your engine on the 29th inst. The man whose generous heart and noble impulses lead him to risk his own life for another's well deserves the thanks not only of the parents of the child and this company but of the noble and good every where. I regret to learn that you are injured. You will not incur further danger by attempting to work until fully restored, and in the meantime your pay will be continued, and I will thank you to send all bills for medical service and other expenses incurred on account of this injury to the proper offices of this company for payment. Yours sincerely, Jas. R. Walker, President, C. B. & Q. R.R."
Jack, whose given name was John Pulman Evans, continued in the employ of the C. B. & Q. for the remainder of his working life, headquartered in Chariton during much of that time. Although he climbed the ladder professionally, his work as an engineer was what he relished the most --- and it was that to which he always returned.
By 1882, Jack had married Anna somewhere in southwest Iowa and upon his appointment as foreman of the divisional roundhouse in Chariton, the couple moved back to Lucas County, where Jack had lived as a younger man. He eventually was named assistant roadmaster for the the C. B. & Q.'s central Iowa division. Jack and Anna, who had no children, became involved and widely known in the Chariton community and Jack served for a time as a City Council member, too.
Jack's runs as engineer during his years in Lucas County were on the C. B. & Q. line that then connected Chariton and St. Joseph, Missouri (the first 13 miles of that route now form the recreational Cinder Path). And he still gained attention now and then for his good deeds, as demonstrated by this report from The Chariton Herald of April 2, 1903:
"Very Accommodating Trainman: Last Wednesday afternoon as the north-bound passenger train in charge of Conductor George Bryan and Engineer Jack Evans was running along about a mile west of Davis City, Engineer Evans discovered that the residence of John Atterbury, a short distance from the track, was on fire. He promptly stopped the train and train crew and passengers hurried to the house and by prompt action soon had the fire under control. It was fortunate indeed that the train stopped, for there was no one at home at the time and the house and contents would have soon been destroyed had not Mr. Evans stopped the train and assisted at the fire. It is not often that a train will stop for a fire, but Jack Evans is one of the biggest hearted men who ever guided an engine."
By 1911, when Jack was 65 and nearing retirement age, he was offered an opportunity to transfer to Villisca and continue to work at his convenience as an engineer in that area of the state again. This seems to have been nearer Anna's family and so the couple left Chariton during July of that year after 30 years and moved west.
Sadly, Anna died at Villisca, age 69, during 1920 and was buried in the cemetery there. A year later, Jack married as his second wife the widowed Lucy (Harris) Pierce on July 4, 1921, at they continued to make Villisca their home.
Old age --- and influenza --- caught up with Mr. and Mrs. Evans during December of 1928. Jack, age 84, was the first to die, on Dec. 20, of pneumonia. Lucy followed two days later, on Dec. 22, age 87. Jack was buried beside Anna in the Villisca Cemetery. Lucy was buried in the Villisca Cemetery, too, but her grave is unmarked. (Note: The death year inscribed on Jack's tombstone is one year off.)
And thus ended the life and career of a genuine hero whose story by now had been largely forgotten --- until, of course, I told you about it.
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Jack, whose given name was John Pulman Evans, continued in the employ of the C. B. & Q. for the remainder of his working life, headquartered in Chariton during much of that time. Although he climbed the ladder professionally, his work as an engineer was what he relished the most --- and it was that to which he always returned.
By 1882, Jack had married Anna somewhere in southwest Iowa and upon his appointment as foreman of the divisional roundhouse in Chariton, the couple moved back to Lucas County, where Jack had lived as a younger man. He eventually was named assistant roadmaster for the the C. B. & Q.'s central Iowa division. Jack and Anna, who had no children, became involved and widely known in the Chariton community and Jack served for a time as a City Council member, too.
Jack's runs as engineer during his years in Lucas County were on the C. B. & Q. line that then connected Chariton and St. Joseph, Missouri (the first 13 miles of that route now form the recreational Cinder Path). And he still gained attention now and then for his good deeds, as demonstrated by this report from The Chariton Herald of April 2, 1903:
"Very Accommodating Trainman: Last Wednesday afternoon as the north-bound passenger train in charge of Conductor George Bryan and Engineer Jack Evans was running along about a mile west of Davis City, Engineer Evans discovered that the residence of John Atterbury, a short distance from the track, was on fire. He promptly stopped the train and train crew and passengers hurried to the house and by prompt action soon had the fire under control. It was fortunate indeed that the train stopped, for there was no one at home at the time and the house and contents would have soon been destroyed had not Mr. Evans stopped the train and assisted at the fire. It is not often that a train will stop for a fire, but Jack Evans is one of the biggest hearted men who ever guided an engine."
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By 1911, when Jack was 65 and nearing retirement age, he was offered an opportunity to transfer to Villisca and continue to work at his convenience as an engineer in that area of the state again. This seems to have been nearer Anna's family and so the couple left Chariton during July of that year after 30 years and moved west.
Sadly, Anna died at Villisca, age 69, during 1920 and was buried in the cemetery there. A year later, Jack married as his second wife the widowed Lucy (Harris) Pierce on July 4, 1921, at they continued to make Villisca their home.
Old age --- and influenza --- caught up with Mr. and Mrs. Evans during December of 1928. Jack, age 84, was the first to die, on Dec. 20, of pneumonia. Lucy followed two days later, on Dec. 22, age 87. Jack was buried beside Anna in the Villisca Cemetery. Lucy was buried in the Villisca Cemetery, too, but her grave is unmarked. (Note: The death year inscribed on Jack's tombstone is one year off.)
And thus ended the life and career of a genuine hero whose story by now had been largely forgotten --- until, of course, I told you about it.
1 comment:
What a brave and courageous man. Jack Evans was indeed a hero.
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