Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-11-26
THE BRAKE BEAM RIDER

We were doing little switching at
small station not ten miles from the gray
stone that marks the boundary line be-
tween Utah and Nevada. That day would
have been good one on which to "lay
I'D" for there was sand terror hard at
work along tho line. Any brakeman on
that particular division will tell you what
it means TO switch cars in a sand terror,
but as you may not meet such man
they generally die young, anyway will
remark right here that it means tough
time and good deal Of swearing. There
is a sense Of continually having to brace
Yourself up against something, and that
something is a strong, dry wind that pelts
you with small hot shot from the desert.
If you are in n caravan on the Sahara,
YOU can turn your back to the sandstone
and let 1t howl as it will, or you can lie
down and cover your face; but what are
you to do when you have to run along the
side of a railroad track and make signals
to an engineer who cannot see more than
forty feet ahead of him in the storm, and
does not care brass button whether or
not he brushes the life out of you when
you run between the cars to make cou-
ping? And then there is that other horror
making flying switch, while you stand
on the top of box car, in the teeth of the
terror" with your eyes and mouth full of
sand and your whiskers as dry and prickly
as lot of cactus spines. Yes, that Is what
it means, and it means a good deal more IL
you happen to have a big, believing bull
of conductor TO curse you il you make
miss in coupling or cut out car that
ought to be left in the train.
was glad, you may be sure, when we
were through handling these empties at
10 hnla atatt . L.
and there was clear stretch of thirty
miles to the next place where there was
any more switch work to be done. AS the
train started jumped on "nat" behind
box car, the better to avoid the wind,
which by this time seemed to have half the
desert in its teeth. There were lying on
the fiat car a long iron smokestack and n
furnace that were going to Virginia City.
] saw a boot sticking out of the end of the
big pipe, and knew at once that boot had
In it the foot of tramp who was beating
his way westward.
"Come out of thatr' | shouted in
harsher tone than | really meant to use,
Tor have always had at least grain of
pity for train jumpers, unless they are too
soggy with rum to deserve kindness at my
hands.
But the man in the smokestacll did not
come out. So laid hold of the protrudiug
boot, and jerked it SO hard that it came
off the foot, and / fell against the furnace,
giving my elbow a hard whack upon the
iron. This elbow knock made me pitiless
for the time and pulled and pushed the
poor fellow until | had him off the train,
which was slowly moving away from the
station. He was dressed in dingy suit,
and had very hungry and mournful look.
1oiien low i"tcieu 10 VA uSS mn III
nono 'Co 0n"' nc 80 NJ
IL might De Una' he was eeNerai years
younkT Duo i4o Iau IL 4'ose anu 81 o. 90 "li
ms puli' "%S aoVuC 'Ne S'iiio' "N4i' las
mar was lully @S iIstV' :,
II IL haun peeh LOT tGao eioo" KNOCK
Salu - a" 'nio" wy az ieIiT 11 noTV "IIer
nun into ',io oesoIV, "ouiN nav" ieO lii'l4'
sway on; ~ MouluH nave ToaI mo any
us va VIC ''-4oi- anu
"''Nuo' .na 60" 80. ~ " So Al iiA0 'i'e -
haroly 'he tnlng LOT "ilte man. especial
~ WIN very p1"cN n.Gh' coming on
ms uay lo9es 4.sel very iup hly IN Il
sahuseorn' anu oelofe tne tram hao run
many mites IarVnei IL was qulte udrN'
we were az b4shoP sUdCloh' anu tht
VIM hau u4eu ~" II oiC' hau J'isC nc
marked 10 'he heau prakehan no" cool II
was seIChs' "nen he saul
nere trump lyin up on Cop INA
cattle car. 80 an hre him OH While Ioob
out Tor the SWITCH
ala as was ordered
En-. why, you're Inc same man
hau!eu out 81 the smoAestacK oacK at Des
ereIr l exclaimed as my lantern HShte'
up Che Drown features Oh the tramp
ne'e 'he = Gu you come lromF
Oh, i gov on again salu my tra't
jumper, LIS 'dGo rs iiIournIui as ever
wei youH 90 on thls uiine Tor GOOD,
said nrihly, anu on La went INTO Ihe DARK
ness Oy inc see Oh .he lrelH4t sheu'
AS III" 'rH,H pu!l'I GUY $1,000 on th
PLATFORM lantern III huhS' ready 10 Juml
upon INC rear SI1p Vi 'No o"pVoso "heh
shouAu 70 n.y. 4nere WAS hea'y straih
ing Vi Tue engine cla1terlh8 OF zoos
BRAKES, BIO" gIlhuIng Oh the Wheels Oh
,no rs,ls, anu al the ocher hoises tDat
. - oaa'H ht" 'li III eeIlinS unue