Barre evening enterprise. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-1898, 1898-05-18
A HARD MAN TO BEAT
THE LIVE RAILROAD AGENT is UP TO
ALL SORTS OF TRICKS.

There are people who think vol
can't Leaf circus man, but l want tt
tell you that the hardest man to do is a
live railroad man."
. Tho old sawdust manager had tried
it. He continued:
know where Purcell is in the In.
dian Territory? Away down at the
m Jumping off place on the Santa Fe road.
The show had been at Purcell and we
ID wanted to get out in the night for a
TO long run. We were going to make &
II jump to Kansas City, Not far from
l. Purcell is another town, Oklahoma
II Clty. AT that point competing road
q with the Santa Fe runs in. We had 500
j. people. and of course the railroad men
s were after us. 1t was big haul. Some
d of our people bought through tickets
, from Purcell, and they didn't worry.
S But about 200, maybe more, of tho
l crowd that always haggles over 10
, cent Glcker concluded to take the Santa
J re from Purcell to Oklahoma CITY. nav
the short haul, and then take the com.
petlng line at Oklahoma, the agents of
which were active and full of promises.
"Ihen the Santa Fe man fixed it 50
the dlokerers couldn't buy any tickets
from Purcell to Oklahoma, for the train
we were to 90 on was special. The
dlckerers said that was all right: that
they would wait for the regular In
less than five minutes bulletin was
slapped on the board of the station to 3
Inc eHect that the regular Santa Fe was /
~ hours late. That made the fellows
VINO were dickering for cheaper rate %
turn white around their gills. .
In another five minutes l saw a man b
on track volocipede scudding down the Il
s'retch. Every man to his business. So ~
thought the railroad people knew a. q,
W, wn"5 they were doing, and they did. A
L nat chap on the velocipede was going sc
GOWN the track to flag the regular and n
nold 1t indefinitely. Smart trick, wasn't
lt' Wait till l tell you. There was \ n
smarter trick than that
When the special got ready to pull Nc
OUT the dickerers asked the agent if
they could pay on tho train from Fur.
cen to Oklahoma, and he said Cert sci
90 they all boarded tho train at pur. Sp
ge4l, intending to get off at Oklahoma. Da
before the train pulled out the nei
agent walks down to the engine and WI
ASKS the old man at the throttle how ha
ohg ne had been Oh the road and abopt do
ne capacity of his iron horse. and 81 GA
ORTIZ anu 81 de-,
How many miles an hour can she cen
o at her best?' asked tho agent. wo'
ON good track G5 miles cen
Is 1t good track through OkIaho. Of {
Ia City? 0iN'"''o' Jew
" Yes, pretty good CEN
-. 49, r'sht You've got no orders to won
op there nor to slow up, have you?, won
"'Not yet. '0"' won
"ell' when you get to the edge of III
10 town you let her go. Don't ston for man
~ tnlhs, t1@sr or 'ssams q, E.,., DR.,
'cooe through the town at 65 mile ity
al1' or more if you like, and don,t do
low up until you strike that strip of say
esolatlon about 1 miles t'other side Oh
M you smoke box of the finest oioars inf
Chicago. Is it a COP tho
y IT l. don't get no orders ,foro T be
art. the
Well, you are five Minutes 1,to som
wv. 1"'e vote
In minute, and calculate it was und
3D. tne circus special was under way. el,
"enG around curves like a scared groN
axe IL shot across straight lines like wor
eazello that had been sinped II heig
llr!ed the dust of that country info cenc
hky. After awhile we saw q town III
gu "o Went through it like the won. arms
'na1 S shot from the catapult. only stinc
!' 3d. One OF the dickerers who was or l
i1lh9 10 think the conductor had net like
come round, asked brakeman nc advel
Tram was going through the straot incre
naC town is this? The hral,en.n older
=, Oh1anoma City, as ma
A"o olcHerer's smile faded as il mani
~ ~ 40 'ne poet says, and his hair numb
~ "p' ana turning to the brakeman that
avs: '-'Ao'ii"n 10 str
ooAocI1illnl! Stop herl ETnro,s age
re we get Off -1o-o
she doesn't even hesitate at q town
TINS, said the brakeman, '0"D On
"e!l' ABOUT III miles on this sido one Wi
s'flp OF country where a crow can't Office
, anu where an Indian wou]dn,t ho Newto
nC dead, the old iron horse began 70 southy
up Inc conductor came thronsh ago De
then and said 7' had OF
Tickets!' Oklahc
Veil, say, that was a funny sight sons re
'naC mad tickets showed nm a,,d was 81
"eAG 10 sleep. But the dic.ornrs Log a
10 Hlck. They said thew chonId this vi
neon loC or at Oklahoma City. mis- I'LL
onauctor said the train didn't ston house {
lahoma, that it wasn't schednIn1 conclud
there, and that he WASH 4 go;no searchil
oacK that trip. The leader of the master,
efs Tor cheap fares wanted to was the
what was to be done. her nan
10 conductor was an old timer III she was
lace on him like a woman who taod. 81
loved anybody. He just told was cal
ray or get off, Then they asked didn't k
mere they could pay to. And bo office wa
!. traln wouldn't stop any moro "Loghou
u got to Kansas City the newt partment
= unless it stopped to put them dropped
!, - ne reached up and caught the journal
as CITY. Ava ~ u.oAerers paid Mrs. j;
road law, they paid more than S ~" 49, L
ould have paid if thoy had 'N' I 'uIl
llokets at Purcell. And the COM. ios o"ss; IS
y 1hat much ahead And that's ,a ,ta a. a. }
mean when l say that the hard. .h;1o "a as
10 40 is live railroad man ), 'A'oo Vi u
York Sun. -'"n'
ilnx 10 the latest statist;os .,o "" >