Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-05-30
WAITING TO SERVE.

to school until he was IA years old, and then
at Rods earnest request, they sent him to
school of biography for a year, where Rod
ney learned to send and receive messages owe
the wonderful and mysterious wires.
For Rod was by no means content with tn
humdrum life on the twenty acre lot in Missis
sippi which his father called the farm l
was well enough, he always said to himsel
and his chums, for sold folks" who were salts
fed to raise corn and tobacco, and know
nothing of the great world around them, saw,
what they read in the weekly paper. Bu
that wouldn't suit Rod Shipton-''not mucl
it wouldn't"
No, Rodney was anxious to start, brigh
and early, into the thick of the fight-into til,
front ranks of those who are taking part il
ffe's great battles.
But Rodney Shipton soon discovered tina
even those who are willing to do brave ane
arduous work are not the ones always select
ed for the most important duties. He had t.
learn, as so many of US will have to, that, a.
great poet once wrote:
They also serve who only stand and wait.
He found very speedily that the great tele
graph companies and newspapers were not il
need of inexperienced lads Of fifteen to plac,
in charge of their offices in large cities ano
other centers of life and activity.
First, he applied for position in Washing
ton, and did not so much as get an answer t.
his application.< Then he tried New York
and the manager of the concern wrote bacl
and kindly told the lad that he had better try
'snearer home"
At last much discouraged, Rod did try
nearer home It went much against thu
for, to bi,,1y fhot %oJo
ator should be compelled to remain in sucf
a rusty old state as Mississippi But he braceC
up, and one fine spring morning he started
out ON tramp of more than thirty miles tx
Jackson. Most of the way he trudged along
the railroad track, though he did not mint
that. Rod Shipton was used to long tramps
his father had not so many dollars that HI
could afford to give up two Of them for rail
road fare.
The lads shoes were pretty dusty when
early on the second morning, he presented
himself to the superintendent of telegraph o.
the jackson and Richmond railway and asked
for "job."
"Weu, my son." said the superintendent
"you're not very old and you've had no expe
rience, but if you are i'll dead earnest an6
want to show us what kind of stuff you're
made Of, I'll offer you job. We've got al
Office up at Snowflake City, seventy mile
from here, and we find it pretty hard to keel
any one there. It's a lonely sort of spot; OF
one side of the track is a swamp and on the
other side scrubby forest, with sawmil
and a store You'll have very few neighbors
and those that are there are about as rough
as they make 'em. There's very little work
and, consequently very little pay. Now, then
if you'll go down and try your hand as opera
tor at Snowflake City, I'll engage you at
salary of twenty dollars a month. What d.
you say?"
Well, it wasn't very bright picture which
the superintendent presented to our yount
friend, and SO Rodney Shipton thought. HI
stammered somewhat as he replied:
"You see, sir, [ thought some of job il
the city; and then, sir, the pay-it's awfu
small; father pays that for a hired man whel
he wants one on the farm, but-but-yes, sir
guess I'll take the job in Snowflake City"
'Look here, my lad, !" said the superintend
emit, laying his hand with much kindly feel
ing upon Rods shoulder. II know just hoy
you feel about it. was boy myself once
just about your size, and with just as mucl
of desire to do something big as you have
But started in clear at the bottom; yes
lower than you will have to do, and stuc
to it, and think I did my duty. You do tn
same, and we expect no more of the best pal
man on the road"
And the very next day Rodney Shipton
instead of tramping back to his fathers farm
took the train to Snowflake City.
The friendly words of the official who wa
now his chief had encouraged him greatly
har m of flo1y
no matter what might happen, until his abb
| ity should be recognized by his employers.
If the picture of Snowflake City, whic
| Superintendent Stebbins had outlined, was
dark one, the reality was still more black an
unattractive to Rodney. The neighborhoo
itself was most undressing; Nature ha
done as little as possible, it seemed; and tn
inhabitants were even more uncouth tina
their surroundings. The men were of tn
toughest and most ignorant type, while sue
women and children as graced-or disgrace
the settlement were nearly akin to the me
! in their tastes and habits. Not that thel
were great many of these people, for With
a very wide radius of Snowflake station Their
were not more than a hundred human being
who were about evenly divided betwee
| blacks and whites.
As for Rod, he made his headquarters g
the cabin, which was known as 'the Station.
At first he tried boarding at 'the store,
which was also a hotel and saloon, but
| finally came to the conclusion that he ha
better keep house, in the little cabin, whic
now became for him kitchen, parlor, bedroom
and office all rolled into one.
It was truly lonesome spot, and throug
| the long early summer days and the weir
| nights, when the breeZes soughed and sobbe
! over the dismal swamp, Rod often got home
| sick for the old farm He did not have niue
work; hardly enough to keep him from grow
ing weary; but remembering the superb
| tendents words, Rod did his work prompt
| and well, and not a single reprimapd came
| him over the wire from the train dispatcher
Rod saw few people, for passenger train
stopped very seldom at Snowflake, and th
boy did not encourage visits from the roug
nd-generally-half drunken men from til
sawnlill.
Three months passed away that were Ion
and dreary ones to Rodney Shipton and on
August day the lad awo1e to find himself in
portant.
Yellow fever had broken out at SnowfaR
| City! The state medical officer had bee
down from jackson and pronounced fou
| cases of serious sickness as yellow fever {
the most pronounced kind. Forthwith
doctor and nurse were dispatched from til
capitol to Snowflake, and the district ws
laiii under quarantine No one dared leay
the fever district now until the pest Shout
be driven away, and, for all the communlc'
ton the wretched people could have with IL
outside world, they might as well have bee
| living on desert island in the midst OF IL
i Pacific ocean. Stay there was the telegraph
Touched by the deft and willing fingers
the Young operator, the throbbing wires ca
ried all over the country the tale OF mlsel
which Snowflake City now told.
In the columns Of the great daily papers
the north were printed Rodney Symptoms di
patches, wherein folks learned how the poo
wretched, ignorant people of the forest al
swamp were dead and dying; how the fo'
cases speedily increased to fourteen and thu
to forty. Rodney's messages, calling Tor al
brought nurses from the hospitals OF the gre
cities; Rodney's messages brought nourlsnil
food and healthy clothing to those VINO we
fortunate enough to recover; Rodney's me
sages brought medicines for the SICK al
even caskets for the dead And many COLI
were needed in the stricken district-for full
half the people died; and through it all II
!, stuck to his post. TIE other folks OF the ST
| for thew