Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1896-10-15
ADVENTURES OF rElEGRApHERs
Knights Of the Key Are Sometimes
Placed III Peculiar Positions.

Telegraph operators have queer ex-
periences at times, especially 81 the
lonely railroad stations where travel Is .
light, hours long and the work L. done
ut night, An experience meeting of
sailors, so far as yarn spinning is con-
cerned, Is as mild compared to tele-
gfaphers' social session as milk is TO a
tars shore leave. Several knights OF
The key We're sitting about table
downtown after hours recently when
the tongues began 10 wag about eXper-
fences Gil Bradley started the ball.
Il was sent one night 20 sub on the
Texas and Pacific at little station
called Gordon" he said, There was
one hotel of four rooms mile from the
telegraph station, and two or three
cabins about the same distance OFF.
The regular operator had his rooms
over the station and freighthouse,
where supplies were received for the
coal mines, several miles away II
was the loneliest place ! ever struck,
but had to work. After fixing things
] lay down on bench TO wait for the
next freight. | suppose | do2ed, for
jumped up with start at feeling a
cold. wet nose showed into my face.
There WIS big Newfoundland dog
wagging his tail rs merrily as Il buzz
saw cuts through soft wood Well,
that dog ran first 70 Che lighted lam
tern on the floor, then back TO me, and
then pretty soon began to think
something was wrong Up | got and
he led me all through the freighthouse.
up to the operators rooms and back to
tho Office, then calmly went to sleep
with one eye open and one ear pricked
UP. ! waited for the train, but before
heard 1t he began to bark,
"fhe next night the same perform
ance Well after that used TO go TO
sleep and for the wsek was there that
dog kept watch You see, the regular
was fond of sleep Mt night 50 he could
play poker all day. never told on
him, but that was wtll-trained dog"
That's no experience" said Billy
Marshall There was only half
thrill in that Why, In 1883, during
the blizzard, | was holding down a
night job In New Jeney, 1t was the
dreariest spot that railroad official
could pick out for station. II was so
quiet in the daytime that you could
hear the sunlight CLINT and at night
the shadows fall, r. was showing
when went on vt night and all trains
were blocked, and by morning I was
almost buried My lunch was long ago
gone and felt like grinding my teeth
into some breakfast. Dinner time
came and went, supper hour passed
and no relief arrived. | chewed on
lead pencils and rubber banGs until |
felt like girl bookkeeper. | pulled
in my belt and nearly cut myself IN
two, but the old hunger was there, just
the same. SO J lrled TO sleep, but
there was no sleep in me with that
gnawing at my stomach
'All at once / saw three muskrats
come UP through a hole In the floor.
Muskrat was better than starvation, 50
| made for them with q poker killed
one and the others got away TO freeze
to death. SHINING that fellow and
dressing him didn't take long, and
with wire | rugged broiler. You bet
your life the smell OF that cooking rat
was lust great JOY, and I'm no chink,
either. II just tlckled me 80 that | fell
asleep and only woke up when he was
so burnt that the odor nearly choked
me.
THE Snow pillow came along soon,
however and when l got filled up
again / was sort OF glad ! hadn't put
down the old muskrat, after all. He
might not have agreed with me"
New York sun