The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-11-17
THE BRAKE BEAM RIDER

have been a good one on which to "lay
up" for there was a sand terror hard al
work along the line. Any brakeman OF
that particular division will tell you what
it means to switch cars in a sand terror
but as you may not meet such a man
they generally die young, anyway viii
remark right here that it means tough
time and a good deal of swearing There
is sense of continually having to brac,
yourself up against something, and thai
something is strong, dry wind that pelts
you with small hot shot from the desert.
If you are in a caravan on the Sahara
you can turn your back to the sandstone
and let it 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 railroad track and make signals
to an engineer who cannot see more thar
forty feet ahead of him in the storm, anG
does not care a brass button whether OF
not he crushes the life out of you wher
you run between the cars to make cou
plings And then there is that other horror
making Aying 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 good deal more il
you happen to have big. believing bull
of a conductor TO curse you if you make g
miss in coupling or cut out a car that
ought to be left in the train.
was glad, you may be sure, when We
were through handling these empties at
that satan's hole of a station on the desert
and there was a 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 "fat" behind
q 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 fat car long iron smokestaok and q
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 that" 1 shouted in a
harsher tone than really meant to use,
for have always had at keast grain of
pity for train juiapers, sdless tAey are too
soggy with rum to deserve kindness at my
hands.
But the man in the smokestack did not
come out. So laid hold of shs protruding
boot, and jerked st so hard shat it came
off the foot and fell sgaintt the furnace,
giving my elbow hard :. hack upon the
iron. This elbow knock made me pitiless
for the time, and l 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.
Somehow fsncied as thrust him off
none too gently-that he resem bled me-
1t might be that he was several years
younger, but be had my nose and eyes, and
his build was about the same, while his
hair was fully as light.
'If it hadn't been for that elbow knock, :"
said /, as l threw the fellows boot after
him into the desert, Il would have let him,
stay on. 1t wouldn't have cost me any,
thing-his riding in the smokestack; and
wandering about in a storm like this is
hardly the thing for a white man, especial
ly with very black night coming on"
The day loses itself very quickly in a
sandstone, and before the train had run
many miles farther it was quite dark.
We were at Bishops station, and the
wind had died down a bit. l had just re-
marked to the head brakeman how cool it
was getting, when he said:
"There's tramp lyin up on top o. that
cattle car. Go an fire him off while look
out for the switch"
did as was ordered.
"Ehl Why. you're the same man 1
hauled out of the Smokestack back at Des-
eret!" l exclaimed as my lantern lighted
up the brown features of the tramp.
"Where the - did you come fromP"
"Oh, l got on again." said my train
jumper, his face as mournful as ever.
"Well, you'll go of this time for good"
said firmly, and of he went into the dark
ness by the side of the freight shed.
AS the train pulled out 1 stood on the
platform, lantern in hand, ready to jump
upon the rear step of the caboose when it
should go by. There was a heavy strain
ing of the engine, a Gathering of loose
brakes, slow grinding of the wheels on
the rails, and all the other noises that a
heavy freight train makes in getting under
way. There was bulging furniture car
in the middle of the train, and as it went
by ! saw, crouching down upon the brake
beam, my hungry looking train jumper.
Now, any man who will ride on a brake
beam forces a certain sort of admiration
from me in spite of myself, no matter how
be may irritate me in other ways. The
dare devil manner in which the brake beam
rider stretches out on his narrow perch be-
tween the wheels and goes gliding along.
with his body not two feet from the
ground, his hands gripping whatever he
can get hold of-and that is next to moth
commands my respect. The
light of my lantern flashed upon the mans
lace, but he did not cover. He only smiled
and called out:
Rough sort of Pullman berth. isn't it?"
/ said nothing and sprang upon the ca
ooose. He could have his ride on the
brake beam il he wanted to, and heaven
help him.
Letter for you, Tom" said the conduc-
Tor, as went in. 81 got it back there at
The station"
The misSive was from nv mother, who
wrote from the dear old Vermont home
that Joe-my own brother Joe-was on his
way west and would reach Humboldt BY
the 18th. Although had weeks before re-
ceived letter stating this intention on
Joe's part, the aews of MS starting came to
me as a sort OF surprise.
"Humboldt-the lSthi Why, this is the
lsth," said to myself The letter had
been delayed. Well. at any rate, we will
get to Humboldt tonight. and Brother Joe
will no doubt come in on the 9:l5 express,
half an heur behind Us"
Humboldt was the end of Tne run and
they knew that Joe could and me there.
i had 10 80 forward in the dark and take
np > position neSr the engine. The chill
air OF the evening, As we rushed through
it, seemed 60 cut TO the bone. but the sand
the fates,-had suhsided. l
had put on heavy coat, and, lantern in
hand. ] had made rnv WAY carefully over