Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1901-02-01

l nuy Butcher on the hlOnd1ke Linn
tied Does Not Need to Dig Col
Emo nous Prices Given or Every
thing He Has to Sell.
The old query as to whether or not
you would like to be the iceman will
be rapidly forgotten as soon as song
writers and balladsts learn about the
train boy in Alaska. There is train
boy in Alaska. Just one. Or rather
there was few weeks ago, but by this
time he may be somewhere in the Med
iterranean on his private yacht blowing
rings from his 50-cent cigars, and
swearing at his $5,000-a-year sailing
master because he cannot whistle up
breeze.
Think of being the only train boy on
railroad that brings miners with
thousands of dollars worth of gold out
of the greatest mining camp in the
world. There is only one railroad to
Alaska-that is the White Pass and
Yukon Railroad. On that railroad there
Is a train called the Klondike Limited.
The Kloudike Limited! Isn't the
sound of that name enough to make a
common candy butcher on the run be-
tween Peoria and Lafayette, Ind, stick
his head into his basket Of salted pea
nuts and strangle himself to death? For
there Is a trainboy on the KlOndike
Limited. On the Klondike Limited,
that brings prOspectors and miners and
adventurers weighted down with gold
en- nuggets back to the States civiliza-
ton, and the girls they left behind
them, there is a candy butcher. And
all these prospectors and miners and
adventurers on this Klondike Limited
are bubbllng over with joy that the
days of their exile are over and that
soon they will be back to their boyhood
homes again. Think of turning loose
candy butcher in such crowd as that.
TO quote another popular song, 1T
seems like shame TO take the
money"
The tralnboy on the Klondlke Limit
ed, like his brothers on the Kenosha To-
cal, deals in peanuts, candy, books, pa
pers, and magazines. But more than
that, he sells shirts and collars and
bright red neckties. He also has full
line of plug tobacco and cigars Of the
finest cabbage selected leaf. The train
boy does not like to sell cigars He only
gets 80 cents apiece for them, and they
cost him rs cents hundred. He sells
the cigars to show he's good fellow.
He didn't originally deal In shirts and
haberdashery, but he found that the
miners returning to civilization yearn
madly for "blled" shirt. SO after he
had sold the shirt off his back, together
with his collar and red necktie for 500
and ties.
There are stringent restrictions In
Alaska in regard to selling whisky, and
so the tralnbOy doesn't sell 1t. He gives
It away, and let's the man tip him for
his trouble In pulling the cork. If the
man were to give him nugget any
smaller than the size of the cork the
tralnboy would haughtily refuse to let
him buy any more cigars, and would
charge him ut least IS for two
months old newspaper, which he ordi,
narily gives away for only $1.50.
Then the tralnboy sells playing cards
and the passengers are always wanting
game. lie puts up the table, too
hands around the matches, and, OF
course, a large and substantial kitty
Is maintained on one side of the iaDl,
for the sole support of the obllgin:
trainboy If anybody was to put
quarter or silver half dollar into tn,
"kltty" the trainboy wouldn't be angry
He uses those things to pay storekeep
ers for fresh goods for his next run.
A Seattle newspaper man interviews
the trainboy on the last trip from Alas
ka. Quoth the tralnboy: "Am l 1t
Am II Say. amt a naughty boy?
know It's wrong to take the money, bu
need II In my business, and. besides
as soon us | get enough III buy tn
railroad and give some other good dc
serving boy chance to fasten on to
little honest money. But 81 for sac
of peanuts. Say. that's penitentlar
offense In Illinois But need the nor
ey"-Chicago Tribune.