The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-06-14

EiLLY SKAGGLY'S BAGGAGE SMAgH-
ING AT PRAIRIE JUNCTION.

Trunk Caused nm .cridcnt Thnt
Ended His "BOunrinG Them over
Transfer system AT That sutton.
1T has always seemed ic me that
about the slickest thing in the way nf
trunk Juggling that ever saw said
an old railroad man. WAS something
that a baggage man named Billy Skag
gly nscd to do at plncc called Prairie
junction on the VI y and r road.
Billy was running then un the old g.,
Y. and e.. which was at that time an
independent line but practically a
tranch uf the NJ " and r. coming in
at Prairie junction. running along back
of the station at an angle and striking
the NJ. n. track 100 feet or more to the
west. This incloscd Il sort Of Il y shaped
open space, like V lying down fiat, In
tween their track on cne side and til.
or, the widest part being back Of tb"
rtatiOn. This part was plankcd over
from the station To the &. y. track,
making a broad platform there. and
when trains came III on the g.. y. and
u. 81 man used to roll baygag. truck
ACROSS this platform 10 the baggage car,
and they get the lmggaY- out on it,
and then he'd roll it back acros. thu.
broad platform to the station.
'.Thut's the way they were dun.
there before Billy cHillc--thr way they
do it under like circumstances every
where. But Billy said that was all :,
waste Of time. labor and trouble. and
he soon put into operation here Il trans
fer system of his own by which he casi-
ly put the trunks over alone.
''The trains on the q. " used To
halt with the baggage car right back
of the rear door of the station From
the door Of the station to the door Of
the car was maybe 30 feet. Billy conld
throw trunk as far ny any nther man
| ever knew don't know but what
farther. But lie cOnldn' t throw a loaded
Saratoga that distance. and what he
used to do was to bonnd 'em over He
made fast in the middle Of the platform
thick rubber cushion about AS big az
Il dOOrmat.
Where he learned how to do this ur
how he got the skill lie i,nd l don't
know. He may have had run some
where before where there was a plat
form like that to cover. or it may be
that he invented the system to meet
this situation and then practiced up
somewhere with blank TIL he could
hit the mark. but certain it is that he
could stand in the door of his baggage
car and throw trunk in such man
ner that it would land with one corner
Oh the bouncing pad and bound up and
on plumb through IT," back door Of the
station every time.
II was running then on the NJ. n. on
train that stopped at Prairie June
tiOn, and we used to meet Billy's train
on the branch and often I've looked
out down back of the station. where
the branch came in. to see Billy bounc
ing the trunks. After he'd got EN-
started he'd keep two in the air all the
time. starting one on its arched course
through the air from the car door to
the pad before tho trunk ahead had dis.
appeared through the door of the bag
gage room. And this went along just az
nice and comfortable as could be till,
as usual, something happened
"Billy pulled down from the stack in
the cor one day and rolled along on its
end to the car door a big, massive
trunk. marked Snakes; Handle With
Care. Billy had seen the words Handle
With Care before, and he had also heard
Of trunks being marked Snakes, 'Dy-
Mantle and that sort Of thing, and 90
the marks on this massive trunk did
not impress him strongly. He hustled
it along to the doorway, seized it by
the handle, lifted it and launched it
through the air.
Very likely this was the first trunk
that Billy ever missed the mark with
and l don't suppose he'd have missed
with this one if the handle hadn t broken
Just as he let 60 of it. but it missed the
pad by about an inch and half and
came down on the hard platform with
Il bang that busted that corner wide
open. Even AS it was. the trunk bound
ed we'll mp into the air. It had rubber
knobs on its corners to protect It and
the plank it struck on was springy, but
it didn't bound toward the station door.
1t was DETECTED mt another angle and
as it rose snakes began dropping ont of
it's busted lower corner.
out of the way but for the fact that
he was eort Of fascinated by the sight of
the falling snakes. was knocked down
by the flying trunk and had his leg
broken. This accident broke up Billy e
transfer system at Prairie junction.
The super said they were proud of Billy
as baggage tosser.' hut that that one
mishap had cost 'em in one way and
another more than the hire Of man to
carry the baggage across would cost
them for five years. and the first thing
/ knew the bouncing pad he'd been
taken up and the man was back with
the baggage truck, rolled up in front oi
the baggage car door in the old familiar
way. "-Chicago Inter Ocean.
A Faithful Dog.
The Paris Figaro relates a touching
souvenir Of the poet De Mnsset, as men