Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-10-19
GRIZZLY BILL.

"Thrill1ng?" said the major. Well
I should say SO. 1t was the most ex'
citing thing hat ever occurred to me
Why, I can't even think of it without
shuddering a little. I was consider
ably younger in those days than / an
now. At the time I was telegraph
operator and dispatcher for the Noun
tain Valley Railroad Company in a
Western mining country. 1t was a
wild and lawless country, and was
not much in love with my place, but
being poor I was obliged to accept the
conditions with the best possible
grace.
Goldton, where [ was located was
really nothing more than a railroad
station. 1t was not on the main line
of the Mountain Valley railroad, but
on a spur which ran to the Ingot min
es. Travel was not very extensive in
fact, but one train a day passed my
lonely station.
On the fifteenth day of every month
I received by express for the superin-
tendent of the Ingot Mining Company
the money with which the miners
were paid off. The amount averaged
between $4,000 and SIS, 600. On the
18th of June in that year the superin-
tendent of the mines came to me and
said:
Perkins, the pay money will be
here tomorrow, as usual, but I want
you to exercise more than ordinary
vigilance in guarding it, as I under
stand Grizzly Bill is operating in the
mountains again.
Grizzly Bill was a name to inspire
terror. The individual who bore that
unmusical sobriquet was an outlaw of
great daring and resolution. He stop
ped at nothing. 1t was, therefore,
quite natural for me to feel some lit
tie trepidatio1. I assured the super
intendent however, that I would do
all in my power to guard the money,
and I think, continued the major with
some self satisfaction, that I kept my
word in this respect.
During the night which followed, a
violent rainstorm swept through the
mountains. Shortly before 10 o'clock
the next morning I received word
over the wire that the train from
Pikeville could not get to Goldton
owing to a washout below Summit
Rock. 1t was thought that the track
could be made passable by afternoon
and that the train would reach my
station before 6 o'clock. I communi-
Gated these facts to the mine superin-
tendent by means of an assistant who
was always at the station during the
day.
At 5 o'clock that evening received
a message saying that it would be i'm
possible for the train to get through
before 9 or 10 O'Clock the next morn
ing. [ sent word to this effect to the
mine superintendent, who, in turn,
communicated it to the men. Feel
ing rather tired I turned in early hat
night. Sleep, however, was out of
the question.
The baggage, freight, express and
telegraph offices were all under one
roof. One corner of the big ware
house Git was hardly anything else)
was partitioned off 50 as to make a
private Enclosure. This boX-like COM
partment I used for sleeping, eating
and the transaction of the company's
~telegraphic and railroad business.
The sender and receiver were affixed
to a table conveniently near my bed,
and if necessary it vas possible to
transmit or take a message without
even arising. OF course, I never
found it necessary to do this. / sim
ply mention it to illustrate the ar
~rangernent of the office.
Along toward midnight the tele-
graph instrument began to click. l
heard my call, opened the key and
asked what was wanted. The oper-
ator at Pikeville wired back that the
train which had been delayed on ac-
count of the washout had started for
GoIdton and would reach there be-
tween 3 and 4 O'Clock in the morning.
At precisely 2:45 O'Clock the train
steamed into Goldton.
The express messenger alighted and
handed me a huge and many sealed
package. 1t contained $17 500.
Oh, that isn't all, said the messen-
ger with a laugh. I have a box in the
car that's as heavy as lead. We've
been wondering all the way up the
mountain what it contained.
The box was lifted from the car and
placed on end in the freight depart
ment af the station. 1t was fully sew
en- feet long and four wide-horribly