The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1900-06-23
AsDADn RICHARDSON'S WATCH.

G%lSEy4zEnE
IL Travelled Huff Mutton Mes and
Never Lost a Seco.ti.
Kansas City Star: 'Dad2 Richard
son sat with his chair tilted back
against the front OF a barber shop in
the village of Hamilton. Kan. Ths
barber yawned, stretched his arms
and asked:
What time is it, Dada"
The old man drew slowly from hi9
pocket q large, open-faccd silyerlne
watch. AS 1t lay in the palm Of his
left hand he SWEPT his left thumb low
backward and forward acrosa
Its face several times: and then replied
solennnly, as if the consultation OF
such a valuable timepiece was q thing
of great moment: ~
"lt's nov, exactly S o'clock, eighteen
minutes and four seconds.
Sure about the seconds are you,
Dnd?!, said the barber quizzically.
.Ies, sir. I'm sure about the sec
onds. You can bet allsyou've got on
this watch,
And he held the stem OF the watch
between the thumb and foretinger OF
his hand hand and held it out for pub
lie observation. This watch keeps
the correct time to a second. 1t has
Travelled with me 10000 miles aaSyear
for the lastt years and she's never
gone back on me yet--not as much as
Il fraction of a second.
Fifty thousand miles a year for ten
years? Why that's half u million
miles, interrupted the stranger.
That's right. Figure it up. Its a
165-inile run from Emporia to- Moline
and back, and for the ten years
made that run six days each week;
that's $50 miles a week, isn'tit? and
there's fifty-two weeks in n year.
Fifts-two times $50 is 51,4So miles and
ten years is 514,sco miles. Am
riglit?"
Yes.
well, that isn't all; / carried that
watch with me five years wlsn8I a
between Detroit and Chicago"
Been in the railroad business quite
a whiic?" suggested the stranger.
Been nit forty years.
THAT SOP"
.Yes, forty years. When I went into
the business as n railroad brakeman
there were no tclegraphs, but we
hadn't more accidents then thnn now.
Ran slower. of course, and had to do
more figuring, but we got there just
the same. Were no sleeping cars then.
The seats in night cars had movable
head rests at the back like those on
barber chairs. They were padded and
at night we usedEto slip them up for
passengers to rest their heads on. The
engines then had no injectors and wa
ter could only be pumped into tho
boiler while the locomotive was going
md f1,a .,tl,nn1c ,r,irEr ,c,,,I ~ IVhnt1E
:n engine ran short of water on a sid
ing the engine aud render used to go
out on the main line and run up and
down the track to pump water into
the boiler"
Hum" grunted the stranger.
Yes, and the engineer and fireman
had no cabs. Used to stand out un-
covered i'll all sorts of weather. But
the brakeman onsthet top of the trains
Iindsa snap in sloppy weather. On top
of the cars at each end was nn mr.
rangerrent like a buggy top, and
when it rained or showed the brake:
man used 10 raise his buggy top and
sit3in there on a spring seat as snug as
n bug in a rug Hello, there's the old
woman on the porch looking over in
this direction. Guess suppcr's ready.
We'll. SO long folks"
After the veteran railroad man had
limped out of hearing the barber
said:
.Dat#reminds me of nm old farmer
that lives northeast of here. He was
telling the other day, sober as q
judge, that he tied the boom OH a load
Of hay SO tight down to the rear axle
that he drove the wagon all the way
to town On the front wheels"