The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-12
The Model Brakeman.
From. the Chicago Tribune.

From the Chicago Tribune.
There is one railroad brakeman working
somew here in Dakota who in certain
branches Of railroading is a bigger man
than Jay Gould. ] don't know what his
name is, but he is large, raw }ned,
square-cornered. ugly looking man, some
where between and Z feet tall, with
wrOng-font lower jaw-one which was in
tended for man between and feet tall.
He always works on the front esd of a
freight train and enjoys nothing more than
a collision with a cattle train occasionally.
There can't any trampS ride on his tram.
He's done more to solve the tramp problem
than perhaps any other man in the United
States Hits 'em with a coupling pin aid
leaves them for the local authorities to
bury. He can't remember the time when
he was small enough to axe back talk.
was on his tram one day in 1871, going
on the Northwestern road from Tracy,
Mimi. TO Watertown, Oak. He was feel
ing a little CT osS about something, and one
of the first things he was to twist off
two brake-rods and throw them off Oh the
prairie At Gary, Just across the terri
| torial line some forty or fifty Sioux Indians
boarded the train. They were from the
SisseOn reservation, and had been down on
the Lac Qui Pare river hunting; they were
rather unclvilized, but they had made prog
! reSs enough to see the advantage of riding
on the pale face freight train over walking.
They scorned the caboose, however and
| scattered themselves along the top of the
| box cars near the center OF the train They
were, OF course, sufficiently civilized TO
| know enough not to buy tickets.
When the train pulled out of Gary the
angular brakeman calne INTO the caboose
and took off his coat His face wore bad
scowl
i guess wen have to let them Indians
| ride" said the conductor. "Of course We
can't put them off till we get to the next
| station. and even then it will be the easiest
and safest way to let them alone The
! brakeman gave HIM one witherin- glance
and went ut the front door We climbed
up into the pilot house of the caOoOse,
| cooked ahead and awaited the war OF exter-
| minatiOn.
The train was going full speed. Git
| DIN this. Git Off u this. you dirty, sneak
ing thievesI' yelled the brakeman, as he
advanced along the roof Of the cars, taking
| long steps and swinging his arms and work
ing his lower jaw sideways. Jump Off, or
! III throw you off, The Indians only
grunted and lay down and chung to the
| ridge boards of the cars the harder. The
| first Inuiau he came TO was a chief with
| feathers in his hale The brakeman seized
him by the houlders and pulhei. The
| haughIy leader of a downtroIden people
| mad a pretty good hold on the board and
over, took a better grip, aud slaughtered
| I'D and threw himself back like man who
has leaned over TO feel of a buzz-sa whe
it's buzzing, and that proud old chief Of tine
| unconquered Sioux came up board and all
! and the raw boned twlsUer of brakes shot
nim off through the air. where he lodged
| against a telegraph pole and wilted up like
an autumn leaf.
Then that brakeman went for the noble
savage He had got a taste of blood and lie
! made it a bright-red day for Indians
| He began TO walk right through those
! Indians and throw them both ways at once
! they saw their only hope was to get up and
| fight him. This was what he wanted For
| tie next half hour he stood up there ON top
OF those swaying freight cars and fought,
| and tore and ripped, and gouged. am
wrestled, and pounded, and leaned over,
! and Strengthened up, and chewed, and mas
| ticated, and othe wise comnuned after has
! manner with tLls simple sons of the forest.
| LO, the poor Indian, the untu,ored cusS,
| thought there'd a Methodist meeting house
fallen on him that DAY.
= Some of them he shot off into the tall
| prairie grass others he rolled off into the
| ditch, and still otaers he tossed up and left
hang ng on the te egrapn wire, and looked
DacA at them sad y as If reSretting hat he
! hadn't time TO stop and ADJUST clothes pin
on them.
Sometimes when ne struck car where
/ Indians were particularly plenty and be
! was fortunate III getting gO0I holds On them
| be shot them up 50 fast hat 20 us back ID
/ the caUoose il looked as ii a volcano had
! broken out ahead, VIII n discharged nothing
/ but North American abongines ii man
/ gied condition.
! Again he would shove one over the side
| and tAen seem H. regret the action FOR some
reason, seize the foot OF the red man Just
/ before II was too late, and stand on the edge
! and pound the side Of the car with L is
| or sinal pOssessor of the continent.
TLey never go5 him down or once causel
/ him 10 swerve from the great bj5ct lie had
I in view. OLce they completely surrounded
him. bu, he made q .wluglng kick and SIX
/ noble braves got II the tain and BIT the
right Of way There were Indians 70 the
/ right Of him, Inli rs TO left of him
/ Indians III front Of him, but he only swu *
/ tuat lower jaw OF hI- Sideways a LIT e., Ike
] { gang-plank Of a steamboat. and scat
tered til IN ON the prairie. The roll uz
/ cotcaux of Eastern Dakota were III 4ntei To
10 70. over ten miles Final he got hold
OF the last one. He seemed to throw him
of reluctantly, as If he wished h was
rather beginning the pleasant task instead
of ending It. Bat h altered ouiy mo-
meat aud the last Indian struck ten feet
further from the TRAIN than the first-that
was the only difference. Then lie came
back to tie caboose and put on his coat, and
the half angry expression on his face was
gone and its place rested a calm, contented
air, which told of duty faithfully and con-
erieptiouely nerfornled