DIED ON DUTY.
The following lines were written by a comrade, on the death of Engineer Billy Ruffin, who lost his life by an accident that occurred on the Illinois Central Railroad, in Mississippi.
Bill Ruffin to some wouldn’t rank very high, being only an engineer;
But he opened the throttle with a steady grip, and didn’t know nothin’ like fear;
For doin’ his duty and doin’ it right, he was known all along the line,
And with him in the box of 258, you might figger “you’d be thar on time.”
Bill was comin’ down the run, one Monday night, a pullin’ of No. 3,
Just jogging along at a 30 gait, and a darker night you never see.
They had struck the trestle twenty rod north of old Tallahatchie bridge,