Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1890-05-23

most ignorant type, while sucf
women and children as graced-ol
disgraced-thes settlement were nearly
akin to the men in their tastes and
habits. Not that there were great
many of these people, for within q
very wide radius of Snowflake sta
tion there were not more than hun
dred human beings, who were about
evenly divided between blacks and
whites. ~ r
AS for Rod, he made his headquar
ters at the cabin, which was known As
"the station" At first he tried board,
ing at 1.-The store" which was also a
hotel and saloon, but he finally came
| TO the conclusion that he had better
keep house" in the little cabin,
which now became for him kitchen,
parlor, bedroom and Office all rolled
into one.
1t was truly a lonesome spot, and
through the long early summer days
and the weird nights, when the
breezes soughed and sobbed over the
dismal swamp, Rob often got home
sick for the old farm. He did not
have much work; hardly enough to
keep him from growing weary; but
remembering the superintendent's
words. Rod did his work promptly
and well, and not a single reprimand
came to him over the wire from the
train dispatcher.
Rod saw few people, for passenger
trains stopped very seldom at Snow
flake, and the boy did not encourage
visits from the Rough and-generall,
half drunken men from the saw
mill
Three months passed away that
were long and dreary ones to Rodney
Shipton, and one August day the lad
awoke to find himself important.
Yellow fever had broken out at
Snowflake City! The state medical
officer had been down from Jackson
and pronounced four cases OF serious
sickness as yellow fever OF the most
pronounced kind. Forthwith a doc
tor and nurse were dispatched from
the capital to Snowflake, and the dis
trict was laid under quarantine. No
one dared leave the fever district
now until the pest should be driven
away, and for ali the communication
the wretched people could have with
the outside world, they might as well
have been living on a desert island in
the midst of the Pacific ocean. Stay,
there was the telegraph? Touched by
the deft and willing fingers OF the
young operator, the throbbing wires
carried all over the country the tale
of misery which Snowflake City now
told.
In the columns OF the great daily
papers Of the north We're printed
Rodney Shipton's dispatches, where
in folks learned how the poor,
wretched, ignorant people of the for
est and swamp were dead and dying;
how the four cases speedily increased
to fourteen and then to forty. Rod
ney' messages, calling for aid, brought
nurses from the hospitals of the great
cities; Rodney's messages brought
nourishing food and healthy clothing
to those who were fortunate enough
torecover; Rodney y'smessages brought
medicines for the sick and even cas-
kets for the dead. And many coffins
were needed in the stricken district
for fully half the people died, and
through it all Rod stuck to his post.
The other folks Of the settlement
moved away as far as they could
within the quarantine boundary, but
Rod stayed right on at the little tele-
graph abin on the edge of the swamp,
and close to the huts and novels OF
the sawmill people.
He knew that the people and the
doctor could not do without the tele-
graph, he knew that no one would
come from outside If he should desert
his post, and he knew quite well that
there was not soul in Snowflake
CITY. beside himself who could ope-
rate the telegraph. So, with a brave
heart, he did his duty. Rod did not
complain now that his work was light;
dear, mol He could hardly give infor-
nation enough with his little clicking
hammer The eyes Of the whole
country were upon Snowflake City.
The people were sorry enough for the
unfortunates shut up by themselves,
but they wanted to keep the dread
plague at Snowflake.
No trains stopped now. Most OF
them went flying past, and even on
the hottest days the passengers would
shut down all the windows, as il they
feared to breathe the air in passing.
Even the local freight only slowed as
she went on her way, and the train
men carelessly dumped the barrels
and boxes of clothing and provisions
on to the little platform for Rob to
gather as best he might
So the days and weeks dragged
slowly along, and one morning the
papers had these words at the foot Of
their usual dispatch. from Snowflake
City. .R -3afa= i1 St
THE only telegraph operator in
the place has the fever and is fast fail
| ing ,4 -.. .-.-i si ts 5e
Then for days there was no news al
all over the wires from the unfortu
nate village, and the stricken people
had to shout the news and their needs
to the train men as they passed
through the station.