"Enough to wilt the feathers off a wooden Indian!"

“On a couple of occasions we finagled a ride out to tracks end and back in the cab of the C. P. Huntington.  Named for Mr. Hopkins’ fellow shopkeeper and coconspirator, Collis Potter Huntington, the little engine was a workhorse for the Central Pacific. Chugging along through the Sierra’s aboard the cab of the Huntington was reminiscent of riding an iron-wheeled wheelbarrow down a cobblestone street, only more gut wrenching and exhilaratingly perilous! The heat off the boiler and firebox was enough to wilt the feathers off a wooden Indian, and you could fry an egg on any surface of the cab!” “OBIE’S QUEST”

It’s come to my attention that some may take offense at my reference to wooden Indians.  The following is my humble response: Despite what some will tell you, far from threatening our unity as a nation, treasuring our heritage, warts, wooden Indians, and all, is what frees us from our past and assures our future. God forbid we diminish our future by denying our past. SC