Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1899-06-02
CHAPTER I
SAAAA In l.
TIFF PARTY on SPECIAL 80. PTS.

studies, had il not bcCn for tiIc fact
that played half ba X On the team ant
so the professors marked E.c away NJ
above where l ought to have ranked.
That was ~ years ago, Int my life since
! received my parchment has hardly
been Of kind tn improve me in either
style or grammar. Ii is true that one
woman tclls me | write well and my
directors never find fault with my com
positions, but know that she likes my
letters because, whatever else they may
say to her, they always say i'll some
form, Il love Won. while my board
approves my annual reports because thus
far / have Eccn able 10 end each with
81 recommend the declaration of Il G:yi-
dend Of - per cent from the earnings
of the current year. l should therefore
prefer to reserve my writings for such
friendly critics if it did not seem nCceS-
sary to make punlic a plain statement
concerning an affair over which there
appears to be much confusion. | have
heard in the last five years not less than
30 renderings Of what is commonly
called "the great K. and A. train rob-
berry," some so twisted and distorted
that but for the intermediate versions |
should never have recognized them as
attempts to naTTate the series Of events
in which played somewhat promi-
nent part.
l have read or been told that, unaS-
sisted, the pseudo hero captured dozen
desperadoes; that he was one of the road
agents himself; that Re was saved from
lynching only by the timely arrival of
cavalry; that the action Of the United
States government in rcscuing him from
the civil authorities was most high
handed interference with state rights;
that he received his reward from CRATE
full railroad by being promoted; that a
lovely woman as recOmpenScf for his vii
-lainy-but, bother; it, my business to
tell what really occurred and not what
the world chooses 70 invent And if any
man thinks he would have done otlCr-
wise in my position | can only say that
he is better or II worse man than Dick
Gordon.
Primarily, it was football which
shaped my end Owing to my skill i'll
the game, took a postgraduate at the
Sheffield Scientific schCal, that the team
might lave my services for an extra two
years. That led to my knowing a little
about mechanical engineering, and when
l left the quad" for good l went into
the Alton railroad shops 1t wasn't long
before l was foreman Of a section; next
l became division pcrintcndent, and
after l had stuck to that for Il time |
was appointed superintendent Of the
Kansas aud Arizona railroad, Il line OK
tending from Trinidad in Kansas to The
Needles in Arizona, tapping the Mis-.
souri, Western system at the first place
and the Great Southern at the other
With both lines we had important traffic
agreements, as we'll as the closest rcla-
tions, which sometimes were little
difficult as the two roads were anything
but friendly. And we had directors of
each on the X. and A board, III which
they fought like cats Indeed it could
only be question Of time when one
"ouId OLlSU lilI otlItl uIltll tlbSDl -
my road My headquarters were at AL
buquerque, i'll New Mexico and it was
there, i'll October, 1890, that l received
the communication which was the be-
ginning Of all that followed.
This initial factor was a letter from
the president of the Missouri Western,
telling me that their first vice president,
MIR. Cullen (wEO was also director of
my road), was coming out to attend the
annual election CT the K. and A., which
under our charter had to be held in Ash
Forks A 7. A second paragraph told
NE that Mr. Cullens family accompa-
MED him, and that they all wished to
visit the Grand canyon Of the Colorado
on their way. Finally the president
wrote that the party travelled in his own
private car and asked me to make my
self generally useful to them. Having
become quito hardened to just such de-
mands, at the proper date l ordered my
superintendent car on to No. 2, and
the next morning it was dropped off at
Trinidad
The moment No arrived | climbed
into the presidents special, that was
the last car on the train, and introduced
myself to Mr.. Cullen, whom, though an
official of my road, had never met. He
seemed surprised at my presence, but
greeted me very pleasantly as soon as
explained that the Missouri Western
Office had asked me to do what | could
for him and that l was there for that
purpose. His party were about to sit
down to breakfast, and he asked mo to
join them. Sow we passed into the dining
room at the forward end of the car,
where / was introduced to my son, 1"
Lord Rallies" and Captain Ack-
land. The son was a Junior copy of
his father, tall and fine looking; but, in
place Of the frank and easy manner of
his sire, he was so very English that
most people would have sworn falsely
as to his native land Lord BALES was
little, well built chap, not half SO
English as Albert Cullen, quick in man
her and thought, being in this the op-
posite of his brother, Captain Ackland
who was heavy enough to rock ballast a
Iroadbed Both brothers gave me the
impression of being gentlemen, and
both were decidedly good looking.
After tho introductions Mr.. Cullen
said we would not wait, and his remark
called my attention to the fact that
there was one more place at the table
than there were people assembled.
had barely noted this when my host
said, Here's the truant, and, turning,
faced lady who had Just entered.
Mr.. Cullen said, "Madge, let me intro
duce Mr.. Gordon TO you" My bow was
made to girl of about 20, with light
brown hair, the blucst of eyes, fresh
skin and fine figure, dressed so nattily
as to be to me, after my four years of
western life, q sight for tired eyes. She
greeted me pleasantly, made a neat lit
tlo apology for having kept us waiting,