The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1897-06-16
A HARD MAN TO BEAT
THE LIVE RAILROAD AGENT IS UP TO
ALL SORTS OF TRICKS.

Circus People Are Pretty Cute Them
Party Was cIeverIy outwttted by the /
Hustling RAiIroader.
"There are people who think you |
rant heat circus man, but / want to /
tell you that the hardest man to do is q /
live railroad man."
The old sawdust manager had tried |
it. He continued:
"Know where Purcell is in the In
dian Territory? Away down at the
jumping off place on the Santa Fe road
The show had been at Purcell and we
wanted to get out in the night for
long run. We were going to make a
jump to Kansas City. Not far from
Purcell is another town. Oklahoma
City. At that point q competing road
with the Santa Fe runs in. We had 500
people. and of course the railroad men
were after Us. 1t was big haul. Some
of our people bought through tickets
from Purcell, aud they didn't worry
But about 200, maybe more, of the
crowd that always haggles over a 10
cent dicker concluded TO take the Santa
Fe from Purcell to Oklahoma City, pay
the short haul, and then take the CON-
peting line at Oklahoma, the agents of
which were active and full of promises.
"Then the Santa Fe man fixed it SO
the dickerers couldn't buy any tickets
from Purcell to Oklahoma, for the train
we were to go on was a special The
dickerers said that was all right; that
they would wait for tho regular. In
lass than five minutes a bulletin was
slapped ON tie board of the station to
the effect that the regular Santa Fe was
IL hours late. That made the fellows
who were Gickering for a cheaper rate
turn white around their gills.
sin another five minutes saw man
on track velocipede scudding down the
stretch. Every man to his business. So
l thought the railroad people knew
what they were doing, and they did.
That chap on the velocipede was going
down the track to flag the regular and
hold it indefinitely. Smart trick, wasn't
iti Wait till l tell you. There was q
smarter trick than that.
"When the special got ready to pull
out, the dickerers asked the agent if
they could pay on tho train from Pur.
cell to Oklahoma, and he said Cert.
So they all boarded the train at Pur-
cell, intending to get off at Oklahoma.
just before the train pulled out the
agent walks down to the engine and
oulyo ka al M kha fhpnttlo hOV
long no had been on the road and about
the capacity of his iron horse, and sc
forth.
"'How many miles an hour can she
go at her best?' asked the agent.
"'On good track. 65 miles.
is it good track through Oklaho
ma City?
"'Yes, pretty good.
"tAll right. You've got no orders tt
stop there nor to slow up, have YOU?
"Not yet.
We'll, when you get to the edge O.
the town you let her go. Don't stop fol
anything-flags or teams or cattle
Scoot through the town at 60 mil
gait, or more il you like, and don
slow up until you strike that strip o
desolation about | miles t'other sid
and you smoke box of the finest cigar
in Chicago. Is it go?'
"'If l don't get no orders fore
start
".Well, you are five minutes lat
now
"In a minute, and I calculate it wa
less, the circus special was under way
1t went around curves like a scare
snake. 1t shot across straight lines lik
"a gazelle that had been singed.
whirled the dust of that country int
the sky. After awhile we saw towr
Then wo went through it like the won
an that's shot from the catapult, onl
moro So Ono of the dickerers, who W;
smiling to think the conductor had NJ
yet come round asked brakeman ;
the train was going through the stree
What town is this?' The brakema
said, Oklahoma City
1.-THE diekerers smile faded as
came, as the poet says, and his ha
stood up, and turning to the brakema
he says:
'Jezecrimini! Stop her! Here
where we get Off
"'She doesn't even hesitate at TOW
like this, said the brakeman.
"Well, about IL miles on this sid
in q strip of country where a crow car
live and where az Indian wouldn't
caught dead, the old iron horse began
slow up. The conductor came throuI
just then and said:
"'Tickets'
well, say, that was funny sigl
Them that had tickets showed up a
then went to sleep. But the dicker,
began to kick. They said they shot
have been let off at Oklahoma Gil
The conductor said the train didn't st
at Oklahoma, that it wasn't schedul
to stop there, and that he wasn't goi
to go back that trip. The leader of
dickerers for cheap fares wanted
know what was to be done.
1.-THE conductor was an old timer.
had face OH him like woman W
never loved anybody. He just t
them, Pay or get off. Then they ash
him where they could pay to. And
said the train wouldn't stop any IN
until it got to Kansas City the n
morning unless it stopped to put th
off. And he reached up and caught
bellcord.
"And every ono of the dickerers p
to Kansas City. And, of course, I'M
the railroad law, they raid more Il
they would have paid if they
bought tickets at Purcell And the CT
pany was that much ahead. And thu
what mean when say that the ha
est man to do is live railroad MAJ
New York Sun.