Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 November 1875 — A Novel Race. [ARTICLE]

A Novel Race.

Plainsmen will be surprised to hear that there is something in the world that can run faster than a jack-raboit. As a passenger-train on the Union Pacific, heading east, was rattling along over the Laramie Plains the other night, the engineer, A 1 Johnson, looking from the cab down along ■. the gleaming rails, espied a huge jack-rabbit bounding over the ties about thirty feet ahead of the cow-catcher. The engineer put on more steam, and the ponderous locomotive shot ahead like an arrow, but the rabbit pricked up his ears and struck out at the rate of twenty Jeet a jump. Johnson’s pride was touched. His locomotive is one of the biggest anti swi%> est on the line, and he was afraid it he let that jack-hare outran him the boy! would find it out, and he would forever disgraced. So he turned on more steam and the engine made a bound under the elo.ud of smoke which belched from the smokestack, and the telegraph-poles danced past wildly, but jack let out another section of his legs and kept right along down the level grade just out of reach of the cowcatcher. For five miles and a quarter the locomotive and rabbit kept up this speed, when the latter began to weaken. Johnson, reining in his iron-horse, went out on the pilot, and, leaning forward, reached out and picked up the rabbit as the en-gine-jolted along slQwly. —Benner (Col.) Fetes.