The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-26
SHOWED HIM A RUN
Colorado Man Who Was Dis
appointed in His Trip
WHILE WAITING FOR TRAIN
Tells Good Story of Stage
Drivers Christmas.

Frank o. Madden, registering from
Boulder, Colo, came to Wichita to spend
| Christmas with brother, Bert Madden.
who, he thought, lived here. When Frank
Madden got here a diligent search failed
to locate any such man as Bert Madden,
who, if he ever lived here, has moved
away. The Colorado brother came to sur
prise the Wichita man, whom he had not
seen for seven years, and when no trace
Of the relation could be found the Colo
RADIO man settled down to spend his
Christmas alone with his thoughts and
his cigar.
This is rather dull Christmas" he
said, ''and surprise, too. But I've seen
worse ones, and I've seen other men with
worse Christmases than I've had gener-
ally. I've got plenty to eat and money
to get home, and a good job when get
there"
Then he fell to relating Christmas
stories of mountain life, and among them
this one:
Dad White was one Of the best driv-
ers that ever pulled a line over Rocky
mountain mule, but he was difhdent. No
one ever heard him brag Of his prowess,
yet no driver ever made the stage sta
tons with more regularity than he; no
drivers stock was kept IN better condi-
ton than his, and fewe accidents were
charged to him than to any driver on
the line
Zone Christmas day, sixteen years ago,
before the iron horse had been trained
to drag the coaches through the labyrinth
of rocks in the Georgetown district, Dad
had a passenger who was determined to
ride on the boot. He wanted to see the
country better, he said. but it soon devel-
oped that he rode there for the purpose
Of hurrying over the road. That was
something Dad wouldn't stand. He
wouldn't near stand it. He had six mules
in hand. They were good ones, too, and
Dad knew just what they could do and
how to make them do it to the best adj
vantage. But the Maine man drew odious
comparisons. He even intimated that
there were more dangerous roads down
in Maine and that the good drivers
weren't foolish to come west
Coming over the mountains into
Georgetown, the last three miles of road
don't happen to be smooth. In fact, they
are rough, and the grade is terrific, and
there are many turns where but very
few feet to one side would f1url a coach
with its passengers down the mountain
side hundreds of feet BY the time this
grade was reached Dad White was ex-
asperated beyond endurance. He turned
to his passenger (Dad' was always will
ing to give even his worst enemy a fair
show, and said:
" Stranger, I'm about to lose my Job
but I'm about to give We the alI-firedest
ride mortal man ever had. Tam O'Shan
ter warn't in it with the way we're about
ter hit this dirt. Reckon yed better git
inside the coach
His bluff was good and strong, but
with more sarcasm than was necessary
the easterner declined to move
Liz! Mag" yelled Dad 10 the lead
ers, and quick as a flash the Merry little
animals dropped their ears onto their
necks and darted away lie pair Of jack
rabbits. Again and again the long lash
whizzed and snapped over their backs
the TANKS of the swing mules were lit
orally gashed with it, and down they
went. Talk about T.eetIe Brooches ;
team going 'hell-to-split over the prairien
Why, they couldn't have lgot close
enough to that six-mule team to tell
what they looked like. Those three miles
perhaps trifle less than that; say two
and three-quarters-were covered in nine
minutes, and Dad swung around TO the
Antlers hotel with the utmost sang froid
But the man from Maine had to be lifted
off the seat
And say! He was so darned ornery"
said Madden that he informed on Dad
and he lost his job"