Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-07-10

mile west Of the bridge, and train
of fiat cars, heavily laden with railway
iron, was kept there until certain guys
and anchors could be made and set and
the bridge stiffened laterally-n long
operation. The object was to run those
cars out on the bridge, set the brakes
and by this vast increase of weight so
add to its stability as to bid defiance
when the elements threatened. The re-
pairs had been made and that auxili-
airy train removed before the manage
ment was called on to resist q storm
of far greater magnitude and very diff
ferent character. But the siding was
still there. ut may come in handy
some day." said the division superin-
tendent, and the day appeared to have
come. Old hands minded them of that
old train, and some fiat cars were
"loaded up" The American is never
satisfied with the powers of his own
yerbs-to add, to load, to open, to sad
die and others of that ilk. He must, as
lie conceives, strengthen each by the
superposition of up" despite the fact
that when correctly done there is no
difference in the result of adding up or
adding down. The schoolboy still talks
ofadding up column, the section boss
clouds up his teams, the railway
"opens up" the new region, the trooper
Saddles up" his steed, and the news
paper sanctions and follows the exam
pie. Old hands knew it wouldn't do to
hinder the mail trains, so the bridge
was not destroyed or even blocked
against them, but on the rumor that
troops were coming conservative fell
lows among the strikers ran those iron
laden cars down grade to the siding
and there held them in readiness to be
showed out on the bridge the moment
1t was known the dreaded train had
started from Gunnison, 20 miles to the
east. One by one the heavy cars were
then showed across the bridge until the
east approach and the span itself were
covered. Then the more determined
took things in their hands, also picks,
crowbars and shovels, and SO under
mined the track at point some 20
yards west Of the bridge foundation
that, should the troops succeed in
reaching the bridge and then attempt
to move the obstructing flats westward
out of the way, their weight would
break through the weakened roadbed
and pile up a barricade, of tangled rails
and ruined fiat cars that, without dam
age to either engine or troop train,
would effectually block their passage,
since men and tools and the wrecking
train would be needed to clear the
track, and as matters stood on this
2Sth of November these were not to
be had.
And now at 4:30 in the wintry gloam-
ing, silent save for occasional mutter-
ing, shiyering bit from mingled cold
and excitement, a hundred or more of
the hands. backed by twice their num-
Der of "toughs" and tramps, We're gath
cred about the bluffs at Bridge siding,
listening with all their ears for the
first sound of the coming train. The
rush of the Red Water over Its rocky
bed in the gorge below was the only
sound that steadily bore upon the ear.
Some few of the men, painting not a lit
tie, were laboring up the steep with
hats or hands full of rocks. Over on
the opposite-the southern-shore the
concave curve Of the Seattle was lined
for third of mile with sympathiz-
ing operatives of the rival road, and
for time shouts of encouragement to
each other and defiance to the manage
ment had echoed from bank to bank.
Now, however, the gravity of the stu
alton weighed upon the lea lers, and in
the mournful twilight the conscious
ness that they We're "up ag'in the gov
ernment," as several expressed 1t, caus-
ed some of the older men, who had
gone through harder tussle to utter
defeat in 1877, to draw aside and con-
fer together In cautious tones. From
mere brayado an uncouth looking fell
low began climbing the telegraph pole
west of the bridge, and the applause of
certain among the tramp element, at
other times the natural enemy Of the
trainhands, attracted the attention of
the leaders on the bluff Instantly the
query was beloved from above:
"Hold on! What are you at?"
SuelAA uC Vic, VI COURSE, WIS the
shouted answer, and an unkempt face
peered upward through the dim twi-
light.
Let it alone, you fool! We're run
min the telegraph" And down spin
ming 'dolmck," sent by no reluctant
hand, skinned SO close to the fuzzy
head that, amid jeers of derision now,
the would be wire clipper slid back to
earth and skulked In among his cronies
in the shadow of the bluff.
Barely 200 yards away eastward,
across the deep rocky gulch, two men,,
muffled in oyercoats and fur caps, had
just alighted from buggy. One,
standing at the horses head, nodded
approximately.
Hear that, major?' he asked. ''They
have not lost their senses, anyhow. I'll
join you quick as have blanketed and
tethered the horse"
Silently the other bowed and still
standing at the edge of the little patch
of frs that crowned the height, took
from his pocket small binocular, care
fully studied the groups across the
gulcn TO the west and then swept the
line Of the Seattle across the Red Wa
ter. Those on level with himself were
in black silhouette against the pallid
western sky; those down across the
Red Water were but dimly visible, for
the sun was now behind bank of
cloud at the horizon, and 1t was nearly
s o'clock. Voices and jeers rising from
the foot of the bluff where ran the line
of the Big Horn told that many men
were still there, but they could not be
distinguished. Observant of his duty,
Melville had notified the sheriff of the
new complication, and together they
had driven out of Brentwood by
northeastern road until well away from
town and then, taking the first turn to
the east, had swept round over the
hard, smooth prairie highways and had ]
finally come down along the east bank
80 a