The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-03
LIFE OF A CIVIL ENGINEER.
GREAT ADVENTURE IN THE FAR
VEST.
Hardships and Exciteinents in Crossing
Habits In Camp.

the Continent in the Early Days-Thc
Habits In Camp.
A veteran civil engineer remarked the
other day that his profession had been
rather neglected in stories of the win
ming of the west. Much has been said
OF trappers, scouts, Indian fighters and
cowboys, but very little of the engineer.
Yet he was, and is, in the very fore
front of progress not only in the west,
but also in Central and South America,
South Africa, India, China and wherev-
er else civilization is advancing
"Often the camp life of the engineer
was rough enough, heaven knows" said
the veteran. II remember on one of
the great railroads of the far west at
one time the locating party at the font
was in charge of man who had lived
In camp slept on the ground, used tin
cups and tin plates, for twenty-five
years. Naturally he had lost sight of a
great many of the amenities of civilized
life. To him was sent young man
just graduated from a large eastern col
lege, who has since risen to very high
position, but who at that time still re-
tained the customs Of the effete east.
Meeting the captain at the breakfast
table the morning after his arrival, the
young fellow said, Good morning, cap
TAIN and the captain gruffly replied,
G'mornin'.' The second morning the
same thing occurred, save that the re-
ply was gruffer. But when the third
day came, bringing the same polite sal
utation, the captain could stand it no
longer, but beloved out: Look here,
young Teller, what the blank do 1 care
If 1t Is a good mornin'?
II have been out in the wyoming
hills in the dead of winter with the
mercury thirty-four degrees below, and
when we ate on noon lunch out on the
line, we had to build a sage-brush fire
and thaw out the solidly frozen food.
But it tasted good despite the sage
brush flavor. Yet at camp we were not
very uncomfortable. A tent is about
the hottest place on earth when you
have a roaring fire, especially If the
snow is banked around it foot or so
deep, thus preventing ventilation. At
this same camp we had alkali water
that was entirely undrinkable; all our
water was prepared by melting snow,
Of which there was no lack.
This alkali water, by the way, was
one Of the hardest propositions we had
In the opening of the west At one
point on the line of the Southern Paci-
f1c we had to have water hauled forty
four miles. In a temperature which
was often one hundred and ten degrees
at midnight you can imagine what
kind of water it was by the time it ar
rived. You could make watch-chains of
ii, it seemed so valuable.
ut was on this survey, by the way,
that one of the men, a Chnaman,
stopped perspiring about p. m. and
was dead at five. He was laid out that
night as decently as possible, and bur-
led In the sand In the morning, and
holiday was declared. The party sat
-arolEn all the forenoon looking very
glum; by the middle Of the afternoon
few of the most cheerful started little
game of cards, in the evening card
playing and singing became general,
and the next morning on the way out to
work some one said, looking over the
crowd: We'll, / wonder which one of
you will give me the next holiday?'
Nor was this remark so heartless as it
sounds. 1t was prompted by the dare
devil spirit that opened the west. Only
man capable of saying such thing
would have faced the blazing sun and
burning sands Of the Colorado desert in
southern California in July
GAS a general thing, except in the
Ewamps, the health Of an engineering
party Is good. They get plenty of ex-
ercise, and if they have a wise chief
engineer he will see to 1t that his par
ties are well supplied In the commissa-
ny line. Our great trouble, and very
prevalent and painful one in the win
ter, is snow blindness. It is temporary,
to be sure, but 1t is frightful to bear
One of the favorite precautions against
1T is to blacken the face with piece of
burnt cork. Tt is grotesque specta-
Gle to see what is apparently a compa-
ny Of negro minstrels engaged in lay
ing out curves on location. Still more
grotesque, though pitiful, was sight
] saw one day after a heavy snowfall
in Utah. Five of our men were stone
blind, and I went over to their tent to
see what I could do for them and to
condole with them. The sight that met
my gaze was coinical. The five men
were huddled close around the stove,
on which each had placed his pet cura-
tive decoction, tea leaves, a cracker
poultice, or whatever else he believed
in, and they were squabbling like so
many Kilkenny cats over the contents
of the kettles, what place each should
have on the stove, the merits of each
remedy and, besides, were duarreling
on general principleS
''Singing in camp is great boon to
men shut away for a time from the
world, and many are the enjoyable
choruses have listened to. Strangely
enough, solos are not popular. One
young levelman really had beautiful
voice, and was fond of using it. One
night he had been rather nonopoliZing
things and wound up by warbling
"Then You'll Remember Me- He sang
At we'll, very well. But certain old
veteran teamster, a dry old chap, who
did not like the young man, quietly
rolled over finally and remarked: Say
Tim thems beautiful words. What q
t1erned shame they never was sot to
music! The criticism was absolutely
crushing.
."That same teamster was quite a
character He was well-to-do, and did
not have to work, but as he could not
read or write, and did not drink, he had