The National tribune., 1900-01-18
By FRANK H. TAYLOR, 54th N. Y. S. M.

Texas is not exactly the sort OF Com
monwealth that it was at the time when
nv particular adventure happened within
its precincts-that is to say, it has of late
wears energetically dis couraged some forms
of industry which were formerly the main
stay of a considerable population existing
I'm remote spots comfortably distant from
settlements appreciably larger than groups
composed of a station-shed, water-tank,
and general store.
One of these now reprehensible employ
ments was cotton tossing" The process
consisted simply in going up the railroad
line to a station, and getting abearo
of cotton train, generally after dark.
The bales were stacked upon open cars,
and it was dead easy TO tumble one or two
of them off at favorable points, where they
were Immediately secured and hidden
away by other members OF the gang in
waiting.
The settlement of claims for cotton short
age upon the line of the S. =. II. X. about
that time formed a large and eXasperating
item in the fixed charges" The freight
conductor who got to the end of his run
with all of the cotton that his wayblllS
called for was in great luck, and when he
came in short he was promptly bounced,
and bad man with a reputation for being
reckless in the manipulation of his weapons
generally got his job.
OF this imminent state of things we, my
partner and /, were blissfully unaware,
as we came over from Fort Worth TO Sher-
man one Winter afternoon only to find
every hotel in the place congested with
more or less turbulent humanity, and our
only resource, under this unexpected set
back, appeared IL be in the continuation
of ollr tourney forthwith to TeXarkana.
yNitl,i,, holt IN hn1lr down at tho
station meditating intently upon the fact
that the only thing going out on wheels
before Monday morning in that direction
was a slow freight due at the other end
in about 15 hours. This or nothing. The
conductor, under the mitigating influences
of our cigar-caSes, looked us over, exam
fined our press passes, and said we might
go along and take our chances He
didn't enumerate the chances.
To sit upon little window seat, up in
the sky-light of the caboose, and watch the
miles of Texan landscape grow purple,
gray and black as the daylight fed west
ward. was mighty pleasant. and the serene
consciousness that we were homeward
bound after months OF wandering all over
the domain of the Lone Star was very COM
forting. 1t induced most satisfactory
appetite, and we We're glad to sit down with
the trainmen at the supper station, and for
the last time, as We fondly hoped, masticate
Texas beef and swallow Texas coffee.
i he engineer Scelilttl " DC OH Oh MS
feed" and the several brakesmen wore an
air of gloom which discouraged our social
advances. We attributed this attitude
upon their part to that provincial diffidence
which the urban stranger so often encoun-
ters in the unpaved portions of the world.
Only the conductor was blithe and COM
panionable and as he merrily wiped and
oiled his siX-shooter after he had eaten, he
carefully filled the chambers with fresh
charges and gibed the darlly fireman, who
stood outside the door, and he borrowed
gun" from brakesman and fixed it up
right for the engineer, with full instruc-
tions for all cases Of track obstruction
made and provided.
The armament OF the outfit comprised
five revolvers and a carbine. The con-
ductor, after some reflection, confided to us
that in all probability the entire battery
would be useful before morning. We
learned with outward calm that upon the
up-trip couple Of nights previously he had
shot a brace of cotton tossers for whom
he had been in ambush out along the jolting
procession of cars, and an operator had got
the tip that all of the relations and friends