The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1895-01-29
QUICK WIT.

CHIC railroad one dark and rain
night about year ago, started
conversation with the night opera
tor, who, though at first somewha
reserved, later on "thawed out" un
der the soothing influence of goo,
cigar and related the followin,
story:
In my long experience as an opera
tor have met with an adventure
you askp Yes, more than one which
might prove interesting if repeated
but the one above all others which
constantly forces itself upon my
memory and which seems to have
left the most lasting impression, oc
CURED over a decade ago, when
was employed as night operator al
k, water tank and side track
located on the Union Pacific railway,
20 miles from tho nearest town and
eight miles from the nearest dwell.
ing house. The day operator was q
man named Jamison, who was slow.
ly dying of consumption and had
left his faraway eastern home for a
frontier life in the forlorn hope of
regaining his health, although it
was painfully apparent, even to a
casual observer like myself, that he
had come too late to derive benefit
from climatic changes. And well
knew that instead of "roughing it"
he should be in a hospital and nursed
by tender hands.
Our mode of living needed strong
constitution to battle with it. An
old, discarded box car, stripped of
its wheels, served as an office and
sleeping room, and a small "shanty, ~.
built of planks, was our dining room
and kitchen.
There we prepared the indelicacies
of our table and fastened upon our
selves a well developed and intense
hatred for salt pork and stale and
sad bread.
Oh, how sad that bread was!
Poor Jamison, he was too i'll to do
eny of the cooking or baking and
consequently that task fell upon me,
and perhaps this FASTENED his end.
But one thing I can look backward
to and not feel q shadow of remorse,
and that is to the fact that the baked
potatoes were always cooked Just
right, as he used to say. He never |
praised anything else I cooked, even
though I once tried my hand at bak-
ing a pie, and so to brighten his days
I never permitted meal to pass by
without his favorite dish-"baked
potatoes.
Well, there came a time when
Jamison could no longer stand nv
bill OF fare nor the frontier life he
was leading, and instead of rough
ing it" having improved his failing
health, he seemed to grow weaker
lay by day, and at last he was COM
PEELED to resign and return to his
eastern home to pass his few remain
ng days on earth among friends.
He always seemed to mo as one
who was suffering under severe
mental strain, and although I fire.
luently gave him an opportunity to :
his mind, and even cues.
toned him, was never able to learn {
more of his history than that he was {
10 years of age and had never mar ]
led, and had but one living relative
"a sister living in Pennsylvania. I
The time for his departure came, and
t was with many misgivings that he '
would never reach his old home that 6
babe him a sad farewell. My fears c
we're not unfounded, for in less than '
wo weeks l received a telegram c
rom n physician in a town in Colo c
ado informing me that Jamison was I
to abandon his journey at v
hat place, and after lingering for a @
sw days had peacefully passed to t
40 great and unknown beyond. t
In those days it was not an easy r
lsk to find men who were willing to s
,cept positions in offices with no '
lducements beyond the monthly c
~ certificate and the privilege of v
ling ones own cook and washer &
oman, thus depriving man of that 1
essed pleasure of finding fault with r
s 1andlady. IL
1t was three days after Jamison's
parture before a man could be n
und who was willing to accept the n
ace. A young chap from Chicago Il
rs introduced to take the night Of u
q, and was installed as day opera O
{, vice .Jamison. y
Three nights of frontier life proved
lite enough for my young friend m
10 either could not stand my cook 81
FL was compelled to be mother II
this fellow also, for he disclailned az
knowledge Of housewifery --or io