Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1898-11-19

selves, but This Story Shows How One
Party Was Cleverly Outwitted by the
HustIing Railroader.
"There are people who think you
can't beat a circus man, but | want to
tell you that the hardest man to do is
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 We're going to make Il
jump to Kansas City. Not far from
Purcell is another town. Oklahoma
City. At that point a competing road
with the Santa Fe runs in. We had 500
people. and Of course the railroad men
were after rs. 1t was a big haul. Some
of our people bought through tickets
from Purcell, and they didn't worry.
But about 200, maybe more, of the
crowd that always haggles over 10
cent diCker concluded to take the Santa
Fe from Purcell to Oklahoma City, pay
the short haul, and then take the COM
peting line at Oklahoma, the agents of
which were active and full of promises.
"Then the Santa Fe man fixed it so
the dickerars couldn't buy any tickets
from Purcell to Oklahoma, for the train
we were to go on was special. The
dickerers said that was all right; that
they would wait for the regular. In
less than five minutes a bulletin was
slapped on the board of the station to
the effect that the regular Santa Fe was
II hours late. That made the fellows
who were dickering for a cheaper rate
turn white around their gills.
''In another five minutes | saw man
on a 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
it: Wait till | tell you. There was a
smarter trick than that
"When the special got ready to pull
out, the dickerers asked the agent if
they could pay on the 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
asks the old man at the throttle how
long he had been on the road and about
the capacity of his iron horse, and so
forth
"'How many miles an hour can she
go at her best% asked the agent.
"'On good track, 65 miles.
Sc Is it good track through Oklaho-
ma City?'
"'Yes, pretty good
"'All right. You've got no orders to
stop there nor to slow up, have you:
"Not yet.
Well, when you get to the edge Of
the town you let her 60 DON stop for
nything-t1ags or teams or cattle.
Scoot through the town at 60 mile
gait, or more if you like, and don't
slow up until you strike that strip of
desolation about l l miles t'other side
and you smoke box of the finest cigars
in Chicago. Is it go?'
elf l don't get no orders fore l
start.
We'll, you are five minutes late
now.'
In minute, and | calculate it was
less, the circus special was under way
1t went around curves like a scared
snake. 1t shot across straight lines like
gaZelle that had been singed. 1t
Whlrled the dust of that country into
the sky. After awhile we saw a town.
Then we went through it like the wom-
an that's shot from the catapult, only
more So One of the dickerers, who was
smiling to think the conductor had not
yet come round, asked brakeman as
the train was going through the street,
What town is this?' The brakeman
said, Oklahoma City
The dickerer's smile faded as it
came, as the poet says, and his hair
stood up, and turning to the brakeman
he says:
'Jezecriminil Stop her Here's
where we get Off!
She doesn't even hesitate at a town
like this said the brakeman.
well, about / miles on this side,
III strip of country where a crow can't
live and where an Indian wouldn t be
caught dead, the old iron horse began to
slow up. The conductor came through
just then and said:
"'Ticketsr
well, say, that was funny sight.
Them that had tickets showed up and
then went to sleep. But the dickerers
began to kick. They said they should
have been let off at Oklahoma City.
The conductor said the train didn't stop
at Oklahoma, that it wasn't scheduled
to stop there, and that he wasn't going
to go back that trip. The leader of the
dlckerers for cheap fares wanted to
know what was to be done.
1.-The conductor was an old timer He
bad face on him like a Woman who
never loved anybody. He just told
them, Pay or get off, Then they asked
him where they could pay to. And be
said the train wouldn't stop any more
until it got to Kansas City the next
morning unless it stopped to put them
Off. And ho reached up and caught tho
bellCOrd.
And Every one of the dickerers paid
to Kansas City. And, of course, under
the railroad law, they paid more than
they would have paid if they had
bought tickets at Purcell. And the com
pany was that much ahead And that's
what | mean W hon | cav that tho bar5-