Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1894-02-17
THE TRAVELLING TRAMP
RAILROAD PETE HAS LUCK
WHEN ON THE Road.
Accidents Had no Terror Tor IIim-He
,onld Grin and bear Anything That
rnrpsd Up-IIad Come Out Of Dozen
snash-tps W.thout eratch.

Yes. tramp is killed in rail
road accident now and then. said
the freight conductor. tbut il NAV
be set down as an act OF Providence.
IN other words, il is the tramp who
seems to have nineteen chances out
OF twenty Of coming Off without a
scratch.
- on carry a good many ON the
deadhead list, ! suppose? 2" queried
the Detroit Free Press man
ii don't suppose that freight
train enters or leaves Detroit which
hasn't from two to ten tramp passen-
ge's on the bumpers, he replied.
1.-The last thing before pulling out.
we go along the train and drive them
on. but they are lack in place again
before the train is under way. Now
and then I've had tramp killed on
ny train, but he was second-class
tramp aud new TO the railroad bust.
ness. There are two species Of him.
AS you probably know-the railroad
tramp and the highway tramp. 50
mo, didn't know That. .
"Wen, it's so. and the railroad
tramp feels himself head and Shout.
ders above the other; one rides IN his
carriage, so to say. while the other
sioshes through mud or dust. We
were speaking, however. OF tramps
being killed on the road A week
ago 1 saw by the papers that we'll
known tramp called Railroad Pete
had been killed down near Dayton.
] didn't believe il. and it wasn't an
hour ago that met him down in the
yards looking for Chicago freight. y
did yon ever carry him on any
Of your runs?"
did /? Wei. should whistle for
COW on the track! III bet money
Pete has travelled %. 00l miles on nv
trains, and III bet more money that
he goes ont with me.to-night. He is a
case in point. He's been in at least a
dozen smash.ups and never got a
scratch. Five years ago. when first
met him, we struck farmers team
at a crossing and had fourteen cars
piled into the ditch. About the last
thing the wreeking crew came 20 as
they cleared away the debris was
kailroad Pete, but lie didn't even
have his nose skinned where four OF
my crew were killed Six months
later my train went through a bridge
and two men were killed and eight
cars smashed to kindling wood.
Pete was down at the bottom. as
usual, and ! believe he got his foot
hurt that time. DO you remember
the big accident down near Monroe
vile two years ago?n
II believe there was one
'Nou can be sure there was. /
was running a train of forty-two
cars, half OF them .empties. when
the engine struck car which had
rolled on to the main track from
siding. That was what you might
call Jim dandy accident Twenty
nine cars left the track and the kind
ling wood was piled thirty feet high.
The engineer was killed outright. the
fireman fatally injured and three of
my braSemen never knew what hurt
EN-. / got off light, but il was three
months in the hospital Railroad
Pete was right in the center OF that
wreck. and 1t was eighteen hours be-
fore they got him out lie hadn't
oven bruise oe himr'
But he can't always escape"
81 dunno about that | know OF
his having been thrown of train
twice and landing right side np.
Two or three times he has jumped Off
at stations where he didn't stop.
and after knocking down fences and
uprooting trees. has escaped even
busted suspendeE One night, down
near Toledo. he got TO fighting with
tramp on the roof OF car
and was knocked off by bridge.
The other man was run over and cut
into strings, while Pete landed in n
snow-bank aud reached town only
forty minutes behind schedule time.
Down here at Trenton one night
about a year ago he was mannuv-
ring around to get ride on my
train when the express picked him
up. Say, il he wasn't thrown twenty
feet high and hundred feet out
into garden YOU may call me a
liarln
"And he wasn't killed?n
"killed! Why, when half dozen
men went after his body they
couldn't find it, As soon as he
struck he jumped up and made a
half circle to strike my train and get !
a front seat believe he com !
planned that one OF his knees was a |
bit stiff for week or so, but that
was all, Kill old Railroad Pete! IL
night be done with gun or axe, /
but he can't be gathered to his faith
srs by any sort of railroad accident
We know anything about in this
A Sacrifice.
Mr.. Sourly-Iim ooing. "a hava ~.