The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-01-11
THE TRAVELLING TRAMP
RAlLROAD PETE HAS LUCK
WHEN ON THE ROAD.
Accidents Had no Terror for Him--ne
Could Grin and Bear Anything That
Turned Up-Ha,l Come Out OF u Dozen
smas Ia Ups Without - scratch. ...'r

''fes, a tramp is killed in u rail-
road accident now and then" said
the freight conductor, "but it may
be set down as al act of Providence.
In other words, it is the tramp who
seems to have nineteen chances out
OF twenty OF coming off without q
scratch" -.....
''Yo GU carry a good many on the
deadhead list, I suppose?" queried
the Detroit Free Press man.
Il don't suppose that freight
train enters Or leaves Detroit which
hasn't from two to ten tramp passen-
gers on the bumpers, he replied.
The last thing before pulling out,
we 60 along the train and drive them
off, but they are lack in place again
before the train is under way. Now
and then I've had tramp killed on
my train, but he was second-class
tramp and new to the railroad bust
ness. There are two species of him,
as you probably know-the railroad
tramp and the highway tramp
ANOs uluu KNOW GQaC
'Well, 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
sloshes through mud or dust. We
were speaking, however. of tramps
being killed on the road. A week
ago saw by the papers that a we'll
fra I'D I'D n;1
had been killed down near Dayton.
didn't believe it, and it wasn't an
hour ago that met him down in the
yards looking for a Chicago freight"
"Did you ever carry him on any
OF your runs?"
''Did |? Well, I should whistle for
COW on the track! I'll bet money
Pete has travelled %, OO) miles on nv
trains, and I'll bet more money that
he goes out with me.to-night. He is a
case in point. He's been in at least
dozen smash-ups and never cot a
scratch. Five years ago, when | first
met him, we struck farmers team
at crossing and had fourteen cars
piled into the ditch About the last
thing the wrecking crew came to as
they cleared away the debris was
Railroad Pete, but he didn't even
have his nose skinned where four of
my crew were killed. Six months
later my train went through bridge
and two men were killed and eight
cars smashed to kindling wood
Pete was down ut the bottom. as
usual, and l believe he got his foot
hurt that time. Do you remember
the big accident down near Monroe
Vile two years ago?"
81 believe there was One"
''You can be sure there was! l
was running IL train of forty-two
cars, half of them .empties,' when
the engine struck a car which had
rolled on to the main track from a
siding: That was what You might
call a 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 bra1emen never knew what hurt
'em. | got off light, but it was three
months in the hospital. Railroad
Pete was right in the center of that
wreck. and it was eighteen hours be-
fore they got him out. He hadn't
even q bruise oe him"
"But he can't always escape"
Il dunno about that. l know of
his having boen thrown off a train
twice and landing right side up.
Two or three times he has jumped off
at stations whore he didn't stop,
ana after knocking down fences and
uprooting trees, has escaped even g.,
busted suspender One night, down.
noar Toledo. he got to fighting with
another tramp on the roof of car
and was knocked off by a bridge.
The other man. was run over and cut
into strings. while Pete landed in O
snow-bank and reached town only
forty minutes behind schedule time.
Down here at Trenton one night
about a year ago he was maneuv-
ring around to get ride on my
train when the express picked him
up. Say. if he wasn't thrown twenty
feet high and q hundred feet out
into garden you may call me a
liar!" .....
and he wasn't killed?'
"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. I believe he COM
planned that one of his knees was q
bit stiff for a week Or so, but that
was all. Kill old Railroad Pete! It
might be done with gun or axe.
but he can't be gathered to his faith
ers By any sort Of railroad accident
we know anything about in this
country" .>.-
"A Sacrifice.
Mr.. Sourly-Im going to have my
pictures taken to-day. .-.