The St. Johns herald., 1886-09-30
THE TRA1Pg REGISTER.
4 VeraeIous Rec"rd of Arrivals and De
 pArtures.

q Veraeious Record of Arrivals and De.
 pArtures.
 With tho mir of one doing his duty and whose m.iId was uuly impressed with the fmpurtAnes or Inc work in hand, young ruan with Lronz d features. gIimy fin gers. rusty coat. well-fringed pantaloOns and shoes wh ch had evidently parted coIupany with backing many months before. stood Fl q shadow of the high fenca nt.ar the narrow-gauge ferry land iny carving the last letter of the words "Phiia. JoS."
 What's that for ?" he repeated in re- ply 10 the question of a Chronicle re- porter. Why, I'm putting my name on the register, 50 my friends will know I'm in town.
 five been on the road from Philadel-' phy now only about a Inonth-not bad time. considering the way these con- ductors and trakenen go after fellow when they find him taking q free ride. Now I'll Dut down the date and tell where I'm eoing next. Just room there next to tha; knot to put Los Ang.' You don't Sec the good of it :!
 "I guess you never break-beamed it over overland and haven't much of an idea how many friends you can pick up in that line of travel, and about whose welfare and future travels you get to have such a kindly regard. How would I know that Kalamazoo Pete, who was ny chum in New Orleans in 1883, had been here three months ago and left for Portland with Charley, the Kid, if l didn't see 1t registered up there on that stringer
 Just take a look at the records, he continued, with wave of his hand in the direction of the fence. "There's Lead vile Lew" saId he, pointing to the very irregular carved letters high up on ono of the boards; "knew him in Kansas City two years ago. He struck town last week, an1 l haven't seen him yet, but he'll give us 8 hint winch direction he intends to take before he leaves.
 Maybe you won't believe 1t. but there's 6 register of this kind kept at every important station along the road. You see, break-beaming isn't conducted with the same degree of safety it was years ago. and we make shorter laps. There isn't the same sympathy shown by the train hands toward our set.
 "You never heard of tramps racing across the continent, did you! Why, l know two crack break-beamers- Shorty Stephens and .Frenchy Girard - who started out of Boston on the same day, each bent on making the best record to San Francisco. It was good deal of satisfaction for Frenchy to register first at Omaha, but when he got to Ogden, there was Shorty's sig, with date two days back, and beat yer in big letters below. At Elko they met, and at Truckee Frenchy was one day behind; but, as you'll see by the record over there, Stevens got beat two days, after all. A good deal of interest is taken in these long-distanee contests by everybody on the road.
 "How does a new arrival find the reg isteTing place2 Why, he asks the first break-Geamer he meets on striking town. Here comes fellow to register now. Cues I'll slide. He might want to bor- row my knife, and itwould be the last I'd ever se., of 1t. I'm dead on to these oommynIstic chaps. and he's one of 'em."
 The reporter watched the newcomer aS he approached the fence, pulled a huge lead pencil from his pocket, and made tho following entry in the tramPs' reg ister:
 Victoria Slim, Ard s. F. May 18th, 1886, from Fl Paso, Texas. Dec, 19th 1885. Bound for Salem. Oregon, June the 2lst. 18S6."-[ San Francisco Chron-