The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-04
1T SHOOK THEM UP.
Mischfevous Boys Monkey with the
South Butte Trolly Wire.

Mischievous Boys Monkey with the
south Butte Trolly Wire.
The mischieviousness Of a crowd OF
boys who wanted to see some fireworks
night before last came near being the
cause of several funerals in South
Butte. The boys had the fireworks.
and gave the neighborhood in South
Main street. i'm the vicinity of the b.,
A. & p. tracks, quite a spectacular ex-
hibition, but 1t was by the merest' good
luck some of the youngsters were not
killed.
The street railway In lay
ing its South Main street line is using
an electric drill for drilling holes in the
rails in making connections. To sup
ply the current for running the drill
the trolley wire is carried along as fast
as the work progresses, and as the
have hitherto experienced no
trouble from meddlers, the current has
hitherto been left Of over night, with
the necessary precautions being taken.
as was supposed. to prevent accidents.
But the men did not reckon on the in
genuity of mischievious boys. and left
a rope hanging over the trolley wire.
Night before last about dark Manager
Wharton of the street railway COM
pany, while at home, had his attention
called to the remarkable lightning
flashes that were lighting up the sky
in the south by one of his children. As
there were no signs OF a storm at that
time. Mr.. Wharton got up and looked
out, n seeing the flashes were in the
neighborhood of the b., A. & p. tracks,
where his men had quit work that
night, at once surmised the cause of the
extraordinary exhibition. and going to
the telephone called up the power house
and inquired il any trouble had been
experienced there. He received a re-
ply that the place had been nearly
shake down two or three times. and
the engineer could not understand the
cause. Mr.. Wharton told the engineer
to cut off the current of the South Main
street line, and then jumped In a hack
and drove TO the police station and got
Detective Murphy and hurried to the
scene, but by the time they reached
there h promoters of the disturbance
had disappeared. They were odd by
the neighbors that a gang of boys had
pulled down the trolley wire with the
rope which hung over II till II was close
enough to the ground to make a con-
nection by standing a ~crowbar. found
among the workmen's tools, on the
rail and leaning the other end against
the wire. This closed the circuit, and
the resistance thus offered was what
shook up the power house and caused
the electrical exhibition. The flashes
were caused py nItlng the crowpa
away from the wire and then letting II
fall back. Mr.. Wharton said yester-
day that had the crowbar slipped on
the rail and touched the ground while
the other end connected with the wire.
the boys who had hold of II would sure
ly nav been killed, n all that pre-
vented serious damage at the power
house was the fact that 1t was so far
distant that much OF the current was
wasted in returning to the works, by
the rails coming In contact with the
wet ground. Mr.. Wharton and De-
tective Murphy endeavored to learn who
the BOYS were who took part i'm the
mischievous prank. but were unable 10
do so. Hereafter the current will be
shut Off at night while the work is in
progress.