Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-09
HE COLLECTED THE FARES.

HE COLLECTED THE FARES.
An Incident of Railroading in North
| ern Michigan Woods.
| From the Detroit Free Press
A group of railroad men sat together one
| day last month on the cool and airy office
| balcony Of the Union depot in Detroit.
| They were conductors and engineers for
the most part. though some Of them had
seen service in many branches Of railroad
| ing. AS they smoked and chatted and list
ened to the puff, puff of the engines and
| the changing of bells in the yard below
| they were reminded Of mishaps and adj
ventures that had befallen them or their
acquaintance in the course of many years
| on the road. AS their cigars grew shorter
their stories grew longer and stronger I'M
| til one wound up lurid tale bristling with
shining pistol barrels. flaring torches,
| cracks Of revolvers, frightened passengers
and masked bandits in midnight setting
| on lonely Nebraska prairie.
WELL said the Old Timer, when the
silence following this recital began to grow
oppressive, you can talk about the wild
and woolly until your tongue is tired. but
I'll tell you there was a time right here
in Michigan when we trainmen had Gus
toners to deal with that would simply have
| telescoped and derailed all the reckless
highwaymen west of the Missouri"
when was that?'' asked the former
speaker, obviously.
THAT was along sometime after the war,
say in the early 7Vs, and the place was
up in the woods in the northern part of the
lower peninsula. Those were the days when
the great lumber camps We're in the height
of their glory. A single railway track ran
up into the heart of the forest and was
used all winter for hauling logs and freight.
Men went up into the woods in the fall
of the and out In the spring,
These were about the only occasions upon
| which passenger train went up into the
Wilderness
1T was all right taking the lumbermen
| up in the fall. That was easy They were
dead broke, perfectly sober and quiet
and orderly as a Sunday school class just
before Christmas.
But, coming back!
They were the most obstreperous pas
sengers a conductor ever had to collect
fares from. The way those wld-eyed
woodsmen coming out in the spring would
pile into the and scramble through a
train would take the nerve out of most
any conductor in the United States today.
They were like band of school boys just
let out for a lark, only ten times more dan
gerous. Their pockets were stuffed with
greenbacks and a whisky flask. They
shouted and fought, cursed and sang out
of pure high spirits. They were good nat
ured as rule and only anxious to get
home and spend their money, but any
show of restraint upon their actions or
movements would plunge them instantly
into an ugly and furious temper.
There was conductor working for the
Detroit Lansing and Northern in those
days whose name was Mclaughlin. He
was a professional wrestler before he took
to railroading and was considered one of
the best in the country. He man
of fine physique, strong. 1.-THE and over six
feet tall. He it was whom they always
sent up to the camps to bring the lumber
men home, and as he never failed to col
lect at least three-fourths of the fares he
was looked upon a wonder.
THE log-rollers came to know him in
time and had very great respect for Prov
ess They looked for his coming in the
bouts between Mac and whoever happened
to be champion scrapper of the season
But there came a spring at last when
Mac did not appear He had left the D.,
L. and n. and gone west. think he now
runs on the Northern Pacific out of Mime
apois. In his stead the wondering lumber
men now saw medum-sized man that in
no respect resembled the muscular and
giant-framed Mac swing off the train when
it slowed up at the station in the woods.
The new conductor was Johnny Hall. who
had been sent out to do the best he could
in Macs place.
THE passengers -to-be Immediately pro-
posed to themselves what they thought
would prove humorous and agreeable
pastime. Every man jack of them agreed
not under any circumstances to pay his
fare to the new conductor. SO they board
ed the train in high glee at the prospect of
a free ride home
Meanwhile John Hill had not failed to
notice a few signs which, when he remem-
bered the evil repute in which his passen-
gers were held by all railroad men, gave
the future an ominous look. He walked
forward and spoke few words to his en-
gineer. You can't get back to civilization
a minute too soon. Steve he said Jerk
| her through the woods for all she'll stand
1t was just nightfall when they pulled
away from the lonely station and plunged
Int fhn oil or ha
| pine and tamarack that lay before them for
| $50 miles. Johnny Hall started at once to
collect his fares. He appeared at the rear
| end of the last train with his punch in his
right hand. his lantern hanging from his
| left arm and one burly brakeman along
| side of him.
| There was husky woodchopper in
| the last seat. Fares. please, said Johnny.
| Fares be d said the passenger
| THE passengers continued their CONVEX
| sations or gazed unconcernedly through the
| windows into the black night
Pay your fare or get thrown off the
| train, said the conductor in even tones
| Like a gladiator waiting for the word
| the unruly passenger prepared to spring
| upon his victim. He half rose from his seat
| when something happened. The pliers
| which the conductor carried in his right
| hand had suddenly met the passenger be-
| tween the eyes and he tumbled to the floor.
1t was blow for blow and Johnny Hall knew
| better than to let his antagonist get in
| the first one.
| "'Cover EN-. Bill he said, and the big
| brakeman instantly whipped out two muir
| derous looking Colts and turned them
| upon the astonished occupants of the car
| Nobody stirred while he sung out: Any
| body that tries to leave this car Is a dead
| man. Keep your seats" All kept their
| seats. and everybody paid his fare, too. No
| one had any arguments that could stand
up against the muzzles of two loaded guns,
and once having paid, they wanted to see
| every one else pay, too, they made no
! Interference.
| I'm the second car no one knew what
| had happened in the first. But the mo-
| ment the two men stepped inside and the
! door slammed behind them, the eyes Of
| every one there caught sight of the two
| revovers. In the twinkling of an eye the
hand of the man In the first seat reached
| his hip pocket. But even before he could
| draw 1t away Johnny Halls lantern had
| circled through the air and come down
| with terrible force. flooring him instantly
Throw up your hands, shouted the
| brakeman at the same moment and all the
| other passengers in the car had a race to
| see who could get his hands up over his
| head first. They went through the car
| from the last seat to the first and got every
| fare in cash.
After that Johnny came to the conclu-
| sion that 1t was a waste of time to stand
upon ceremony. So the first intimation the