The record-union., 1893-01-26

Two Awful Fights With Drunken
Tramps, out of which the Little
Woman Came Vtctorious-Of Course
She Got Married Afterward-
In the building of the first great trunk
line of railroad across the continent up
ward Of 10000 men were killed by the In
dians or met death through sickness or
accident. During the first three or four
years of train service tramps and toughs
and terrors made life burden for all
train conductors, and the small stations
were entirely at their mercy. There
were plenty of telegraph operators out Of
job who could not be induced to take a
lone station at any salary, and sometimes
the company had to send three men to a
station where there was little or nothing
for one to do.
Lone Pine station was up in the mount
aims, Just at the east end OF long stretch
of snowsheds. 1t was thirteen miles
from Bad Creek to the west and eleven
from Big Rock to the east. The names
of these stations, together with dozens of
others, have since been changed. At the
date / write OF man named Clark had
the Big Rock station. l had Bad Creek
and new agent and operator had just
taken possession OF Lone Pine. That sta
ton had been vacant for a week. 1t had
been held by a young man named Reed
Tor about three months, but one night he
was found dead and roDbed-the work Of
the lawIess element then overrunning
the West. The first news that l got from
the new agent came from herself over the
wire one afternoon and this is what she
said:
ALLOW me to introduce myself as Mrs.
Hadley, the new agent at Lone Pine. l
am just out from Chicago. Charming
place this, and / know l shall like it.
Hope TO become better acquainted"
l found out later ON that she was a
widow, about rs years old, good-loOking.
well educated and possessed plenty of
courage and common sense. Just why
she didn't do as most other young widows
do was no ones business but her own.
Finding that she must earn her own
living, she learned teiegraphy and came
down the road in search of a place. They
didn't want to give her the station at
Lone Pine, but she was so persistent that
she was finally installed. AS at many
other stations, she had to gather her own
firewood and cook her own provisions,
and there were many annoyances to be
encountered.
Clark and l were both knocked out to
find that woman had been sent to Lone
Pine. Had it been a man we should
have expected him to take care of him
SELF but as it was we couldn't help but
worry. There was hardly day that we
didn't have to drive some tough out of
our houses at the muzZle of shotgun,
and both of US had twice been held up
and cleaned out by gangs. Her station
was even more isolated, and though her
/ 4 81
were men abroad as wicked as the old
time pirates. In response to our in
Quiries she assured us that she had been
provided with the regular outfit of weap-
ons by the company, and that she should
not hesitate to shoot if she found it neces-
gary.
Ii was in May when the little woman
took possession. In describing her 1 did
not say that she was little, but such was
the fact. Her weight was not over 100
pounds, and she looked more like a girl
of 10 than a woman of Is. got a chance
to run up and see her one afternoon in
the month and found her nicely settled.
She had been more or less annoyed by
roughs, but there had been no occasion to
test her nerve as yet. | found her double
barreled shotgun loaded with buckshot
and her navy revolver ready for busi-
ness, and she assured me that she should
not hesitate to fire upon any man who
menaced her safety.
/ went home much relieved in mind.
Outside of the fraternal feeling so strong
among the brotherhood of the key, there
was something in the thought Of that
little woman being perched up there
alone among the grim hills and wild for
ests calculated to keep a man awake
when he should have been sound asleep
on his cot. The first alarm came one
night early in July. In the forenoon of
that day two very rough-looking men
had come up the track from the west
They halted at my station, sized me up,
and then demanded something to eat
might have given them a bite had they
requested instead of demanded; but when
I saw that they meant to pick a quarrel
and have an excuse for assaulting and
robbing me, l brought out my shotgun
and Obliged them to walk on. AS soon
as they were out Of sight / notified the
little woman at Lone Pine to look out for
them. She replied that she would, and
up to 10 O'Clock at night 1 heard from her
every hour, but the tramps had not put
in an appearance. 1t was 11:30 O'Clock,
and | was sound asleep, when l heard
Lone Pine call me over the wire. /
rolled off my cot and ran to the instru-
lnent and asked what was wanted.
''The tramps are here" was the reply.
''They are knocking on the door and ask
ing for food and shelter"
tBut don't let them in. Get down your
shotgun, lay it across the table, with the
muZzles pointed at the door, and if they
break in pull both triggersi'
''They are cursing me, and declaring
they will set the cabin on fire if [ don'i
open the door!' telegraphed the little
woman a moment later.
''If you open the door they will murder
you! You have sliding window to the
right OF your door if 1 remember right!'
'.Yes."
''Take your revolver, slide the sash
back, and fire upon the fellowsv'
"But | may kill one of them"
'That's what you want to do-both. ii
possible! If you show any fear of them
they will batter the door in, and then God
help your
''Its awful to shoot
Then came a break. knew that the
fellows were making some demonstration
which Obliged her to act, and during the
next sixty seconds l heard every beat OF
my heart. Then came the tremulous
message:
live shot one of them, and what
what-shall l do about it?"
Did you fire from the windows"
''Yes."
"Don't do anything except wait and
watch. If you've hit one the other will
likely make of. Ii he tries to get in
however, give him the same dose. Dc
you hear him about?"
mo; / think he's moved off, but the
one l shot is groaning and taking on aw-
fully"
Let him groan. You'll have train
from the east in thirty-fve minutes