Omaha daily bee., 1901-02-05
Maverick Stories
Rounded up at Random.

had the experience of being shadowcd in a
small Nebraska town q week or so ago.
IL got into Columbus one morning" said
Mr.. Howell to a group of friends last night
finished up my business in hurry and
caught a freight for little town near there.
] had received the report that a professor
in this town was arranging to take party
OF friends on trip up into the northern
part of Michigan next summer to pursue a
few geological researches, so ! wanted to
see him and corral the business. ! got into
town and found my man had gone to the
county seat to attend a teachers institute.
so I had nothing to do but loaf around and
wait for the first train.
"I was standing idly around the depot
when big tall. lanky lad rushed up to mo
and peered into my face as though attempt
ing to hypnotize me. When I got off the
train / noticed that he looked me over
pretty carefully and furtively consulted a
photograph which he jerked out Of hts
pocket didn't think much OF it at first,
but when he came around and looked me
over | thought 1t was getting to be too
much of a good thing.
What's the matter partner | asked
him. DO | look like some long-lost relative
or an escaped lunatic?'
and said: Wal, l don't keer bout takin'
you in custody now, for s'pose you amt
my man. I cert'rly took you for Pat Grove
when you hoped off'n the train. I've ben
lookin over every stranger that's come 10
town lately, and il Pat ever comes here
I'm tnly goin' to get i'm
jackson n Man of Action.
Many stories, some true and others de-
cidedly fanciful, are told of Scott Jackson,
n coored man who was a fire department
driver for some months about three years
ago. He was attached to No. II hose com
pany, composed exclusively of colored men,
then stationed at Twenty seventh and Jones
streets and now at Thirtieth and Spalding
streets. Scott was a rapid fellow and
stopped for nothing when answering an
alarm. In fact, his exceeding swiftness
was the cause of his leaving the depart
ment.
II is said OF Scott that he never paused
when he came to a red light in the street
showing where an excavation had been
made. II was his custom to call out to the
men on the wagon, 'Hol' on. now niggahs
we'se gwine to jump a hole" and then
drive across the obstruction at break neck
speed. After his wagon had been sent tc
the shops a few times for repairs he was
demonstrated with, but his reply was, "Yo
want to keep dem red lights outen de street
eff yo' don want 'em runned ovah. Al
amt got no time to tuhp out when Ah'n
agoin' to a hah."
Hardly fire happened but that Scott'i
wagon did not receive such q severe shak
ing that one or more OF the men would b,
thrown off before the fire was reached
His greatest exploit in this line occurre,
, at the time OF a fire in the Wearne foundr!
at Fourteenth and Jackson streets He lef
} the house at Twenty seventh and Jone
streets when the alarm struck and turne,
into Leavenworth with the horses on tn
keen Jump as usual At Twentieth stree
an obstruction was encountered which tool
off wheel and threw every man, excep
, Driver Jackson, from the wagon. He locke
neither right left nor to the rear, bu
kept straight ahead, and credible eye wit
nesses say that he and his three W wheele
wagon arrived at the fire ahead OF all tn
apparatus from No. engine house a
l Eighteenth and Harvey streets, which wa
many blocks nearer the fire.
Noting the inactivity of No. II, the chic
, came up and addressed the sable driver:
. Scott, where's all your men?"
"Ah don know, chief All don know. A
. allus tells dem fool niggahs to hang on, bu
. All CANT keep a-watchin' 'em. All has m
= two hosses to tend to an All got to kee
= in de middle OBJ de road, an ef dem mig
I gahs CANT hol on All suhtinly CANT no
'em on"
:. That ended the interview. The next da
I Scott resumed his former and less pic
turesque vocation OF carrying a hod
All AbOut n Dog.
: We'll, that kid must have been kidnapped
;. said Western Union operator to the ma
% who was listening intently to the clicl
e click of the telegraph instrument on II
k table adjoining him. That's the third te
n egram in the past half hour from Kansa
v City about this youngster being safel
2 aboard a train for Omaha"
2 The kilograms We're shot down the chut
q and In due time reached the Rock Islan