The Bossier banner., 1891-10-29

(which a rough made an. effort
70 ufaaw a revolver: Grasping the man s
hand with the pistol in it Just as he was a
drawing it from his pocket, with the
| other hand the heavy lantern was raised
and with swing dashed fun into his
/ face. - . - y 1'--''
+ b. 1he pistol-drawer fell as if shot and
one or two blows in addition stretched
MN -senseless on the. floor. His, com
panlons came to the. rescue, another
brakeman happened in, and for! a few
minutes there was a lively row. But
the lanterns got the best of 1T and a
wholesome lesson was taught Ell .,o.
The brakeman of to-day, however. is
SO only in name. Rarely does he toucb
the brake wheel, but his duties are con,
fined to building fires, calling out. the
names of stations, helping people on
and OH the train, and flirting with the
pretty girl passengers 4fsa~ -, j.,
r., It's nerves are not kept at the highest
tension on the qui viVe for the short
sharp whistle. which commands him to
jump to the brake and exert himself to
the utmost. rao,' t.4 y e.ss i.s.s. -t..tt..s
He looks after the valve that operates
the brake, but beyond that his duties
do not resemble in the, least those of
the old-fashioned brakeman He gets
better pay,toe, than the old-time brake
tWlsters. Forty dollars to fifty dollars
month used to be the stipend for
which men took their lives in, their
hands daily on many of the large
eastern roads, but in California the paw
is nearly twice this, and the risk and
labor are lesseped to a minimum '''..
It's the freight brakeman, howev en-
who appreciates to the fullest the BEN
etits which follow the gradual intro
Iiduction OF, the air brake, The brake
men on California RAILROADS, however,
/ have far less to contend with than
those in the east, where wind and rain
and snow comb bine to make. outdoor
life miserable for so large atportien of
the year. f.,ss o. ~Iv..,t s,..
i If there is anything that will try a
mans nerve it is to hear the sharp
whistle for brakes on some pitch dark
rainy or snowy night. Out from the
warm caboose the brakeman hurr1es,
lantern in hand, and climbs to the
deck of the nearest car. The wind is
blowing a gale, the running boarti is
covered with ice. It is impossible to
walk, so down on all fours he goes and
crawls- along as best he may. A gust
of wind extnguishes the light in his
lantern, SO he feels along cautiously
until he, reaches the end of the car,
then catches the brake wheel and ''sets
| nm saC ifrbA l,1
Perhaps the dog" and ratchet are so
clogged with ice that they do not hold.
and just as he thinks the brake is se-
cure it slips and around goes the wheel
with suddenness and force that, if he
be not on his guard, will probably. cost
him his life by throwing him down be-
tween the ears. a5'f si''aFa rtsrga
Along the top of the next car he
/ crawls to repeat the operation. The
| wind almost takes his breath away. 1t
is on a'down grade and the cars bound
from side to side. They almost seem
to jump clear of the track and then
come back with a laundering crash. sa
A curve is struck, and the unwieldly
ears lurch and sway and threaten to go
over the bank. The ice and the cold
iron of the brake wheel have be-
numbed the poor brakey's hands. SO
that he can hardly use them, and all
the while the repeated calls for brakes
from the engineer urge him to do his
utmost to slaeken the speed of the
tain. ,.,,- -,.- ,..,..-., ....,,.s. r. e.
Perhaps, as he tugs at some wheel
and swings his body clear of the car in
his effort to tighten up the brakes, the
chain gives way, and woe to him if he
have not presence of mind and strength
of muscles sufficient to retain his
grasp, for otherwise his body will be
shot down between the cars, to be
ground to pulp beneath the merciless
| wheels. s.. ..t,r~s .i.i 5s'.r F. ...zs 80 s-e
B The danger is tenfold greater, too, if
he be using a club" as lever in tight
| ening the brakes. Should the chain
give way, as not infrequently happens,
and the brakeman have the wheel torn
from the grasp of his Single hand,
death or mutilation is almost certain to
result. sE.ltifa. .jka~ ..#.. t.1 tse ,.t,~-i 1aa
Itis always the part of a'brakemau
who understands his business to exam
inc the rods and chains on each car that
will be put in his charge before the
train leaves the yard. On some roads
the freight-car brakes are kept in good
order by men specially detailed for the
purpose, but on many, especially those
which handle many cars from other
lines, it is the. duty of no one to. look
out for these details, and the careful
brakeman,will always'examinet the ears
L L 4 -. ar 81 " sgt s.. fs .. F
He will save himself much trouble
and possibly, even preserve his own life
as well as those of the rest of the crew
by. finding out which cars have their
brakes in the best, order and which are
not to be depended upon sat a.s .sl
With the modern freight train
equipped with air brakes, as is now
often the case, the life of the brakeman
is far easier and the major portion. of
the hard and dangerous work is elm
mated. The engineer can control the
speed OF, his train without the constant
care of the brakeman, and all that in
dividual has to do is to hold himself in
readiness to respond to a can should