Mexico Missouri message., 1901-05-16
AUDRAIN ENGINEER.
Tim Burk-Didn't Quit the
Road Any too Soon.

Everyone who lives along the
G. & \. line knows Tim Bul'k.
He was Il railroad engineer until
recently when he took up farming;
not actively, however, for Tim
would present sorry spectacle at
tilling the soil. No matter what
his inclination would be ITO hold
or drive his weight is against
him, his figure being something
like an inflated balloon upside
down. He can pilot an engine all
right and carry her over the road
with as much care and safety as
anyone, but plotting Il horse and
holding onto the handles of Il pillow
is quite another thing. Tim had
been on the road Il long time,
earned good wages, invested it jul
diciouSly and retired in good cir
cumstanccs. He was we'll acquaiut.
ed with every inch of the road
night or day and knew in what
position to sit in his cab at differ
cnt points along the road where
there might be curve or swerve.
SO long had he been in the bust
ness that it was part of his nature.
He uses the vocabulary in his or
binary every day conversation. 1t
is said that he brought load of
produce to IL grocery store in Mex
leo the other day and the clerk
told him to drive down the alley
to the side door. lie drove to the
mouth of the alley and stopped.
Calling back to the clerk, he said,
Did YOU say to head in here"
Instead of using the usual farm
expressions Tim always uses Il
form of his own. Instead of hook
ing up or hitching up IA team, Tim
always says, couple up" and
measures distances by car lengths.
1t is said he employs an cX-brakc-
man on his farm who assists the
other hands in interpreting Tim $
language.
Tim is devotcdly attached to a
dollar, yet he is not considered
misery. There is very little sur
plus stock on his farm. He enjoys
making money, but he doesn't run
many chances. For instance he
had fine bluegrass pasture and
some one asked him why he did
not buy some young stock and his
answer was that he once had COW
and she died. The inference was
that he would rather rent the past
IRE and lend his money, than in
vest it in stock and run the chance
of losing it.
When Burk presented his
monthly checks at the bank he al
ways demanded gold. He usually
got it, All the banks between
Slater and Louisiana have cashed
his checks. When the Slater bank
failed Il few years ago he was loser
Of about So, 900. He has, besides
his farm, valuable property in
Louisiana, Slater and in Indiana
Most Of the money he lost by the
Slater bank failure was gold he
had collected from banks along the
{. 4 A line.
Bmk left home when small
boy, determined to carve out a
fortune. What he lacked in cdu-
cation was made up III energy.
The first thing he made up his
mind to do was to get his father
and mother a comfortable home.
Then he went to work for himself.
His first work in railrOading was
done on the section. He rose to
wiper in an engine house, and then
in rapid strides to engineer. Burk
never appreciated the fact that he
was outrmked by II conductor.
Since he is master of the train,
responsibility rests with the con-
ductor and he sometimes finds il
necessary to reprimand an engi-
neer. These poor, poverty strick-
en- collegc-bred lads he would
say, with theoretical ideas of
railroading are placed on trains
over an engineer. Bah! Well,
there's this consolation: They get