Evening journal., 1897-01-19
A FIDDLER WANTED.
HE-wAs FAMED AND'AT DANCE MUSIC
DID VERY WELL.

Fun and Frolic In "A washout on the Ore
gon Short Line-Mnlionaires and Immi-
grants Attend Dance and Experience
a Musical Surprise.
On st. Patrick's day, 1894, five !
through trains, bound both to the east
ward and westward Of the Oregon Short |
Line Of the Union Pacific, were tied up
at Glenns Ferry, Ida. They had been
caught between two serious washouts,
one at Pocatello and the other at Indian
Greek, three days before, and had TO
wait at Glenns Ferry for track repairs
along the line before they could proceed.
Glenns Ferry is a bleak little railroad
and sheep herders town Of 300 or 400
inhabitants, situate on a sagebrush
bluff overlooking the unspeakably dark
and dreary Snake river
The five stalled trains carried 600
passengers Of as miscellaneous a charac-
ter as could be gotten together at
carefully selected congress of types.
There were emigrants and millionaires;
soldiers on the move; dainty women in
palace cars and women bound for Creede
and Cripple Creek in day coaches; min
ers who killed time during the wait in
shooting magpies circling over the
Snake river; Shoshone Indians travel
ing to the limits of their reservation;
well behaved and quiet people, noisy
and tumultuous people. But all were
stuck alike, and they made the best Of it.
Lines of social demarcation were for
the time erased All hands mingled
easily on the little station platform and
in the little station waiting room. The
supply Of food on the dining cars gave
out the first day Of the hitch, and every
body was fed, and we'll fed, too, in the
station eating room. They sat down at
the tables in relays and patiently
awaited their turns
The railroad employees and their
wives were to give a dance at the little
town hall on St. Patrick's night. The
switchman who had been customarily
employed to fiddle for them had been
switched to another division. In guam
Diary, the dance committee toured the
trains and station to ascertain if any of
the stalled passengers happened 20 be
carrying a violin and was capable of
producing music on il. In one of the
sleeping cars they came ocross an artistic
looking man, with very long hair, a
seraphic, oleaginous countenanoe and
exceedingly baggy clothes. They were
looking for a fiddler, they said. Did he
know of any on tho traing Well. he
didn't know Tin outrageously bad Eng
lish) he played a little himself once in
awhile, and had rather fair fiddle
with him. The long haired man accent
ed the fiddle" rather curiously. But
the railroad men were overjoyed. Would
he play for them to dance with their
wives and sweethearts? Certainly Did
he know dance music? Well, some.
All Of the stalled passengers were in
vited to the dance, and they all went.
2 A good many of them could not get in.
The baggily clothed fiddler turned az
in coed time. The pianist was waiting
for him. So was the railroad dance
committee, cn0 Of tho members of whicl
slipped SO in one dollar bills into thl
fiddler's hand as payment in advance
s for the evenings work. 1t was smiling
{ ly accepted. The dance began. TIL,
fireman's wife, who played the piano
produced an old bethumbed violin and
piano tune book and turned to the Ian
: GERS. She told the fiddler, at the end Of
: the first dance, that he did pretty WELL
( only he went too fast. Then there wai
< a waltz. The fiddler was informed by
- his accompanist that he was getting
C along finely, and everybody in the room
e began to prick up his ears at the sweet
N ] &c t,n 81 n1tInsrrsl,
dances were common enough and tawdrl
enough.
Another waltz-the Beautiful Blu,
Danube. All Of the dancers ON thl
= floor stopped dead at the first bar, ant
r the travellers with cultivated musica
= ears moved close 10 the piano. The pi
5 anist ceased. She wished to listen. Th
J. violin music was miraculous. The play
: er swayed from side TO side as he phras
y ed. He appeared to be oblivious of hi
y surroundings He improvised variation
+ Of inspiring tenderness. He out-Strauss
ed Strauss. His violin sang, throbbe'
with passion. When the last note diet
away, the people in the hall appeared
q to be - dream-all but one.
y "1I ysaye," said Charley Fair, tn
!. son Of iho late United States Senate
! Fair, f,,rp.rg from the throng, 'won'
o you nlly Cat lively, rafting thing yol
e gave g.. tho Bohemian club in Sal
r Franc $50 tlo other night? It's beef
running in my head ever since. -
NJ. Ysaye played Berlioz's "Pizzi
s cato" as he perhaps never played it be
4 fore. w Washington Star.
:. The Da Naurier Woman.