| Show The other contestant the train hadtiny steam engine followed by the tender which carriedsupply of coal and water There was alwaysbaggage car and coach and on this day there wasfreight car Unlike the Double Malleys that lugged long trains over SoldierSummit this locomotive was no behemoth and unlike the horse it had no adrenalin glands that could be stimulated but with much hissing of steam it chugged along reliably Illogical as it may be people are inclined to bet on what they know and like The people of Sanpete didnknow the racing merits of Petewhite mare from those of Adamoff ox Besides they loved their very own Sanpete Valley Railroad held the train crew in high esteem and were inclined to back the abilities of the train in any contest Much as they loved the train they still made fun of it Names of the jokesters have not come down to us but some stories may have been told byjocular Dane who gave his imagination free rein He compared the traintortuous climb up the mountainside with that offast-growing pea vine as it clinbs up its supporting fence and dubbed the train the peavine The montker stuck At that time railroads enjoyedmonopoly on transportation Conductors were inclined to be surly some were grouchy That was not conductor Bradleystyle affable and accommodating He promoted He was tall handsome business for his employ er People who knew him would want him to win the bet as the train engineer on the train Sam Parry wasfriendly chap uncertain time in the afternoon neared The At an home base in Manti he would pull heavy and long on the whistle cord With the sound reverberated from canyon to canyon Sam was saying Hear ye hear ye Manti one and all We ve made it again We re back Reduced to its barest running gears the race was betweengood horse and the Peavine And yet before placing onelast dollar in jeopardy it might be smart to broaden the equation to include the resourcefulness of wily Peter Meyers Any wrinkles up his sleeve The pressure made the for the toward train stood immobile beside the station but with steam up and ready to go The sound of the hissing steam mare dance Atweak toot of the whistle signal race to start the mare bounded forward cloppity-clop the mouth of the canyon -87 |
