Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-06-21
TRICKS AMONG TELEGRAPHERs.
Ill.,. renderfoot Is Usually Put Through
VIGOROUS Course of Sprouts.

I'll. Tenderfoot Is Usually Put Through
vigorous Course of Sprouts.
"Sneakine of country town tele-
oranhers." said veteran operator, re
Minds me of story ON myself. l was
tho student of the railway station in
small New Jersey town when an Old
timer came down there to work wire
in the division superintendent office,
which was Just across the track IN an
other building.
cone dav / answered call on my in
strument. and got message from
Master Mechanic McN[artin, who lived
down the track sixty miles asking me
as personal favor to take the hand-car
and 90 down the road about three miles
to the farm of J. Bird, where I would
get 500 strawberry plants. He wanted
me to bring them to the station and send
them down by the evening express.
Now, McMartin, was i'll especial favor
with me. had two brothers working
under him, and naturally thought he
was great man. So l said [ would
do it.
Il went home, got big clothes
basket, rolled out the hand-car, and
with one of the boys that always hang
around a country depot started out to
find the farm of J. Bird. 1 had never
heard of any such person, but thought
I might have overlooked him. So l
pumped away up long grade until l
reckoned 1 had gone at least three
miles. Then l hailed man in field
and asked him where j. Bird lived.
He said there wasn't any such man
around there-might live farther west;
SO I went on couple of miles until
1 found another man, and he was at
least half mile away in plowed field.
So foundered over that stretch of
broken ground and asked where to find
the farm of J. Bird. He said he had
lived in that county thirty years, and
that no such person had ever been in it
so far as he knew-there was no such
man in that immediate section, any
way.
!; II went back to the hand-car in q
quandary. l would have gone farther
west, though I was already between
eight and nine miles from town, and my
hands from pumping the hand-car were
blistered fearfully, if it hadn't been for
the old farmers positive statement that
no such man lived anywhere around.
Finally 1 concluded that there had been
some mistake and started back. It was
mighty hard work and my hands were
awful sore, but I pumped away, and at
last I rolled up to the depot. There
was great crowd of young fellows
there, and when [ picked up the big
clothes basket and stepped on to the
platform everybody gave me great
laugh. Then the old-time operator put
his head out of the window and sung
out:
".Get them strawberry plants?'
ut didn't take me moren second to
realize the whole measly trick. The
operator from the other building had
switched on his ground wire, called
me up, and sent me the message,
and signed it McNIartin. On the
strength of that I had gone out on a
hunt for a jaybird and come back with
two dozen blisters. While I was gone
he had circulated the story and the gang
had gathered. I didn't hear the last Of
that sell for months, and 1 was so sus-
picious afterward that 1 wouldn't an
swer my own call half the time. That's
what [ call a low-down trick; but I've
hoaxed young operators just as badly
since. 1t teaches EN- the business"