The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-30

train consisted Of a battered old locomO-
tive that looked not unlike an old-fashioned
:" ma. . machine ana that summed alohS
the tracks Ike a tired thing. IL dragged.
by jerks and bumps. a coach similar 10 the
ancient type which Peter Cooper used. bu.
despite all these drawbacks the running Of
the first train was hailed with JOY by the
farmer stockholders. and the first trips were
made occasions OF rural celebrations. But
no matter how much delight they took I'm
the road, the farmers We're not railroad
men. and they did not know how 10 make
railroad property pay dividends Deeper
ano deeper the property sank into the nlire
OF debt. until the demand for a receiver
was so strong that the court needed the
appeal OF the Eastern bOndholders and
placed James \. Larnard in control as re-
celNer. Ihat was sorry day for the farm
er stockholders. Some Of them were ut
terry ruined. Many lost heavily. and one
or two killed themselves.
But the receiver could not help matters.
AT that time there was little freight and
the passenger business was uncertain. for
the very excellent reason that patrons Of
the line had no certainty OF getting any
where after they entered one OF the coach
es. So ramshackle and shaky the roll
ing stock that engines and cars were quite
likely to collapse between destinations. and
passengers would be left TO toll painfully
10 the next town. there TO await the slow
repair or their train. Such mishaps were
not calculated to improve the passenger
tranc Larnard had a schedule OF time.
but II never was followed: even the pas
sengers would have been displeased IL strict
adherence had been had anything like
regular time. There were, in the early days,
many thick patches of blackberry bushes
along the line. and whenever the request
was made the conductor, who was not In
frequently the general manager Of the road.
would stop the train and permit the pas
Sengers TO pick all they wanted OF the
luscious fruit. A facetious newspaper man,
Dory Blddle. now editor OF the Anderson
News, but then a deputy sheriff whose
principal amusement was serving writs OF
attachment on the officers OF the road.
called II The Blackberry Route" a name
There were stories told OF the Anderson,
Lebanon St Louis as il was then called.
that would rival the imaginative efforts
oil Munchausen IL was said that there
was no arbitrary scale OF freight or pas
senger rates: that passengers always sized
up the conductor and gave him the mimi
mum amount they thought he could nego-
tate for a living for himself and a report
70 the company as well. Frequently.
the story goes. farmers would stop the train
in the middle OF a cornfield and dicker with
the baggage master. who was not infre-
quently the master of transportation, for
the hauling OF half dozen pigs TO Mobiles
Vile. Trains would stop whenever the
conductor wanted to get a drink OF well
water at a farmhouse or whenever a pas
senger got sick from unaccustomed speed.
But the cap-sheaf Of narrative was placed
when legends Of Larnards poker playing
became current.
STAKED THE LOCOMOTIVE
Larnard, who made Anderson his general
office, was poker player without fear or
favor. He played a stiff game, and when i'm
hard luck was known to lose not only his
own money, but all the roads receipts for
weeks. Then, IL is said. still undaunted. he
would draw up rough bill of sale for the
engine and boost" the jack pot TO the cell
ing The lone locomotive that staggered
over the track Of the Anderson, Lebanon a.
St Louis at different times was the prop
erty of every poker player in Anderson, and
the passenger coach had more than once
engineered a bluff for Larnard or had been
the resource upon which he rested to show
his confidence in a one-card draw.
travelling agents used 10 get out WritS OF
attachment against the wheezy locomotive
and tie il up until Larnard found enough
money to hquidate the claim. When the
Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis became the
Cleveland. Cincinnati & st. Louis Larnard
was made president and the road was inn
proved Troubles continued and the road
finally became the property OF Harry Craw-
ford in 1892 and became absorbed by the In
diana Midland. Crawford extended IL to
Brazil and the coal fields and also built an
extension to Muncie. He spent a big sum
In rebuilding IL and purchased lot of new
rolling stock. He located the general Offices
of the road a Muncie.
But the road seemed ill-starred. Creditors
arose in every hamlet and there is hardly a
county court along the right of way that
has not at one time or another appointed a
receiver FOR II. The farmers along the line
seemed to have more cattle killed by ITS
trains than the rural neighbOrs OF any
other railroad property, and IL was said
that there were more suits against the Mid
land for slaughtered horses and cows than
against the Lake Shore. To these dead ami
mails the canny farmers attached fabulous
prices, and review Of the bills they pre-
sented 10 the Midland would indicate that
the section of Indiana through which the
Midland runs raises a finer breed of horses
and cattle than any other locality in the
United States. From court after court
Crawford appealed suits 10 the higher
courts of the State, and every time ne was
victorious.
But the troubles OF the Midland are over
and IL is unlikely that Indiana railroad his
tory will ever contain such pages Of queer
narrative as the record of the battle OF
Harry Crawford against the legion of the
Midland's enemies