The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-06-05
ACONDUCTOR'SSTOR
MONEY COULDN'T STOP THE TRAIN.
BUT IT WAS STOPPED.

There's . Grave Somewhere ut the Foot Of
the Long Range of white Capped Noun.
tatna Over MIC the Trains of the Grea,
Northern Crawl.
never read or hear of the mountains
that do not recall II story told by a con-
ductor of d train on the Great Northern
road. We were going to Butte. The
train had Just crossed the river at Great
Fails From that point the road begins
its eastern ascent of the range whose
tops are whitened with the snow all the
year round. A wide plain spreads out
between the line of the road and the
range, AS the train was getting "a fresh
hold on the rails" as one of the party
expressed it. the conductor stood on the
rear platform of the coach and looked
steadfastly at n spot until it was lost.
"Got II claim anywhere around thereT'
asked n 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 to tell vi makes no diff
ference now. Here is what he told:
Bout a year ago I think it was, a
young maj was put On my train by the
conductor who had brought him to
where | take it. He had been east. His
folks lived down there, ] believe. He
had been west a good many years. was a
cowboy, then a deputy marshal, then q
boss Of a ranch and then he got to spec
nlatin Ia Anaconda. He had lived the
sort of life out here that d fna1 was ez-
pected to live in them days. He was a
hard citizen and then a good one. Blest
If ! know just where he quit off, but he
did. He finally got to lovin a girl. and
Just when he was havin it the wust way
she ups and marries "a good for nothin
dude that came out here and got to
clerkin in a raghouse. Then the young
man that | am talkin about he goes east
TO wear out his f~eelin's, | reckon. And
he was gone all summer. They said he
was at the seaside. | thought when !
heard that as how he would not last long.
When a man quits this climate to go to
the seaside, there must be something
mighty bad about his case. If a man
cant get cured here, he needn't go any
where else.
Well. when he was put in my care
there was four or five of the boys with
him. They had heerd he was comm
back. and they met him away down this
side of st. Paul And they nursed him
all the way and fed him jest as if he had
been u sick girl He was lookin out of
the winder of the car all the time, day
and night. but wasn't sayin nothin.
When we got to 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 him, and they
thought he was gettin well. He asked
EN- to set him up in his berth so he could
nee.
{ And no looked at the mountain tops
on there covered with the wilderness of
God, and the foot of the mountains that
in washed by the purest water this side
of the divide. The train was Just get
ting u good holt ON the rails when tbs
poor fellow sank back, and the next
thing | see the boys was takin the piller
ont from under his head. Then |
knowed it was all over. Then one of the
boys come to me and asked mel | would
take 81 900 to stop the train. | told 'em
icouldn't do anything of tibet sort. They
said money was no object. Then | asked
e,n what was mp. and one of 'em told
me that he. meanin the dead man, had
made ii last request that he be taken
from the tram 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 promised him they would. ! asked
'ern where they would get a box, and
they said a man as good as he was didn't
need no box: that the angels would take
care of him as Don as he was laid away.
Il asked Elm what they would do If
b train wasn't stopped They held a
short parley and said in a most respect
full way. which | understood, that they
had TO carry out the wishes of the de-
ceased at all hazards: that they couid
stop the tram if didn't. | understood
en- / pulled the cord and went or'ard.
and while the engineer was mendin the
locomotive, which got oEt Of sorts jest
then. the funeral procession moved out,
and the dead was buried out there in
Iull sight. IL so happened that we got
the locomotive fixed just as the funeral
WAS over. and we took the pallbearers
INTO Butte that night
And ! never pass thai SPOT that |
don q out there where they Laid him.
1 ain never seen any of the pallbearezs
since. aud | doa't know the name of the
young man that they buried Do you
know. gents. that his grave is green all
the year round. | once thought of put.
TIN up a gravestone at the head. but.
thinks |, it's mons OF my business, and.
besides, the boys said the angels was goin
10 TO take care of his body. SO | thought
! wouldn't be intrudin on any angels
business. II was the only time, though,
that my locomotive ever got anything
the matter with ii. "-Chicago Tribune.
Criticism of '.Cymbeiine."
E