The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-19
Told by the Conductor.

/ never read or heard Of the mountains that
do not recall a story. told By conductor Of a
train on the Great Northern road, says a writer
/ in the Chicago Tribune. We were going 20
/ Butte the train had just crossed the river at
/ Great ais. From thar point the road begins
lts eastern ascent OF the range whose tops are
Whitnned With the snow all the year round. A
vide plain spreads out between the line OF the
| ROAD ana the range, As the train was get
I ting "a fresh hold on the rails as one OF the
party expressed it, the conductor stood on tie
rear platform Of the coach and looked stead
lastly at one spot until il was lost
Got claim anywhere around thereg asked
a traveller who had noticed the conductors
| longing look.
"A kinder Of a claim = he replied, but not
the kind you're thinkin' Of
How he came 10 tell US makes no difference
now. Here is what he told:
Bout year ago, / think II was, young
man was put on my train by the conductor who
nsd brought him 70 where l take il. He had
been east. His folks live down there, be-
ieve. he had been west a good m9ny years,
was a cowboy then a deputy marshal then
boss OF a ranch, and then he got to specuistn'
IN Anaconda He had lived the sort Of life out
mere that man was expected to live in them
days He was hard citizen, and then good
one: Blest II l know just where ne quit of, but
ne oid. He 1ualiy got 70 lOvin g girl, and just
when he was hsvin it the Wurst way she ups
and merrieS EoOdfOr-nothin' dude that came
out h-re and got to cierkin 10 a rag house.
Then the young man that I am talkin' about he
goes east TO wear out his feelin's reckon. And
! ne was gone all summer. Tney said he was as
the seaside. thought when heard that as how
he would not last long When man quits this
climate to 90 to the seaside there must be some
| thing mighty bad about his case. If man can't
git cured here he needn't go anywhere else.
We'll, when he was put in my care there
was four or five OF the boys with him. They
bad heerd he was comm back, and they met
| hun away down this side OF st. Pasll. And they
nnrsed hin all the way. and fed him Jest as If
he had been sick girl. He was lookiu' out of
| the winder of the car all the time day and
night, but wasn't sayio' nothn. When We
got 70 Great Falls he looked out OF the car
winder and smiled. It was the first time that
the boys had see him do that since they met
MIN, and they thought he was Rettin we'll. He
asked EN- to set him up in his berth so he could
see. And he looked at the mountain tops out
thGre, covered WITH the whiteness of God and
Inc FOOT OF the mountains that is washed by
the purest water this side of the divine. Tbs
tram was just getting good holt on the rails
when the poor fellow sank back, Rnd the next
thing l see the boys was takin the
pllier out from under his head. Then 1
knowed 1t was all over. Then one OF
the boys come to me and asked me if
would take 81 600 to stop the train. l told EN-
couldn't do anything Of that sort. They said
money was no object. Then asked 'em what
was up, and one Of EN- told me that he,
meanln the dead man, had made last request
mat he be taken from the train and buried in
sight of the mountain that had the snow on it,
the one that caught his eyes first after we had
come over the river They said they had prom
lsed him they would. | asked 'em where they
would get box, and they said man as good
as ne was didn't need no box; that the angels
would take care of him as soon as he was laid
away l asked EN- what they would do il the
tram wasn't stopped. They held short pRrley
and said in most respectful way, which
understood, that they had to carry out
the wishes of the deceased at all hazards;
that they could stop the train if
didn't understood em. l pulled the cord
and went for'ard, and while the engineer was
meDdin' the locomotive. which got out of sorts
Jest then, the funeral procession moved out, and
the dead was buried out there in full sight IL
SO happened that we got the locomotive fixed
Just as the funeral was over and we took the
pail bearers into Butte that night.
And never pass that spot that don't look
out there where they laid him. l amt never
seen any Of the pall-bearers since, and l don't
know the name of the young man that they
buried. Do you know gents, that his grave is
green all the year round? l once thought of
putin up gravestone at the head, but, thinks
|, it's none of my business, and, besides, the
boys said the angels was gon to take care of
his body, so thought wouldn't be intrudin'
on any angels business. It was the only time
though, that my locomotive ever got anything
the matter with it"