The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-03

name was Bullhead-JusI !
plain Bullhead.
When he began passenger
braking tho trainmaster put
him on with Pat Francis.
The very first trip he made, a man in the !
smoking car asked him where the drink |
ing water was. Bullhead, tho sufficiently
gaudy in his new uniform, was not pre-
thrown at him. He pulled out his book
of rules, which he had been told to con-
suit in case Of doubt, and after some
study referred his inquirer to the fire.
bucket hanging at the front end of the
car. The passenger happened to be a
foreigner and very thirsty. He climbed
up on the Baker heater, according to d.
rections, and did at some risk get hold
Of the bucket-but it was empty.
"Iss no water HER. cried the second
class man. Bullhead sat half way back
in the car, still studying the rules. He
looked up surprised, but turning around
pointed with confidence to the f1re-pal
at the hind end Of the smoker.
t"Try the other bucket, Johnnie" he
said, calmly. At that every man in the
car began to choke; and the German,
thinking the new brakeman was making
funny Of him, wanted to fight. Now, Bull
head would rather fight than go to Sunday
engaged the insulted homesteader. Pat
Francis parted them after some hard
words on his part; and Kenyon, the train
master, gave Bullhead three months to
study up where the water cooler was To-
Gated In standard, A pattern, smoking
cars. Bullhead's own mother, who did
Callahan's washing, refused to believe her
son was so stupid as not to know; but
Bullhead, who now tells the story him.
self, claims he did not know.
When he got back to work he tried the
freight trains. They put him on the No.
20, local, and one day they were drifting
into the yard at Goose River Junction,
call for brakes. Instead Of climbing out
and grabbing a brakewheel for dear life,
Bullhead looked out of the window to
see what the excitement was. By the
| time he had decided what rule covered the
emergency his train had driven a stray
fiat half way thru the eating-house east
| Of the depot. Kenyon, after hearing Bull.
heads own candid statement Of fact
coughed apologetically and said three
years; Whereupon Bullhead resigned per-
manently from the train service and ap'
piled for a job in the roundhouse.
But the roundhouse-for a boy like Bull
head. It would hardly do. He was pu
at helping Pete Beezer, the boiler washer
One night Pete was snatching his Gus
tomary nap in the pit when the hose go
away from Bullhead and struck his boss
In the confusion Peter, who was nearl.
drowned, lost a set Of teeth; that wa
sufficient in that department of the mo
tive power; Bullhead moved on, sudden
ly. NeiaHbor thought he might do for
: wiper. After the boy had learned some
thing about wiping he tried one day t.
back an engine out on the turn-table JUS
to see whether 1t was easy. 1t was, dea
easy; but the turn-table happened to b
arranged wrong for the experiment.; an
Neighbour, before calling in the wreckin
| IL 1r Dell 4
of the roundhouse bodily. Nevertheless
Bullhead, like every Medicine Bend boy
wanted to railroad. Some fellows can
be shut off. - u. T. = =
! When the Widow Lyons asked Callaha
/ to put. Jamie at telegraph1ng, the assist
ant superintendent nearly fell off his chat
Mrs Lyons, however, was in earnest, g
i the red-hatred man soon found by tn
way his shirts were starched. Her so
meantime had gotten hold of a sounde
\ and was studying telegraphy, correspond
ing at the same time with Cincinna
detective agency for the town and count
rights to all hidden and undiscovere
crime on the Mountain division-righ1
offered at the very reasonable price of 81
by registered mail, bank draft or expires
money order; currency at senders r1sl
The only obligations imposed by this de-
n were secrecy and German silver sta
. mother up for the ten, became a regular
j installed detective with proprietary RICH
to local misdeeds. Days he piled h
i sounder, and nights he lay awake tryir
n to mix up Pete Beezer and Neighbor Wi
7 the disappearance Of various punches
horses from the Bar M ranch. i. .
r Finally his mother had Callahan r
$ duced to terms, and the assistant s,
perintendent put Bullhead among the OF
orators. 49,. F
y That was a great day for Bullhea
He had to. take the worst of it, of cours
/ sweeping the office and that; but wha
It ever his faults. the boy did as he WI
o told. Only one vicious habit chung
d htm-he had passion for reading Il
rules. In spite of this, however, /
e steadily mastered the taking, and, as f
sending, he could do that before he &
e out Of the cuspidor department. Ever!
>. body around the Wickup bullied him, ar
d maybe that was his salvation. He g
d used to expecting the worst Of 1t, ar
nerved himself to take it, which In raj
Y, reading is half the battle.
til A few months after he became con
If petent to handle a key the nightman
Goose River Junction went wrong. Whe
d Callahan told Bullhead he thought abo1
,r giving him the job, the boy went wi
with excitement, and in a burst of conf
e dence showed Callahan his star. It ".
T6 Ille DeSL IQlnS .CQaC ever happened, I
the assistant head Of the division had 6
m impulsive way Of swearing the nonsen
: out Of a boys head, and when Bullhes
to confessed to being a. detective a fie
m stream was poured on him. The foe
ishness couldn't quite all be driven out
l. one round; but jamie Lyons went
ID Goose River fairly we'll informed as
er how much of a. fool he was. PIP r.
f. Goose River Junction is not a live
er place. It has been claimed that even Il
s. buzzards at Goose River Junction oil;
II solitaire. But apart from the utter Ion
Illness 1T was hard to hold operators the
on account of Nellie Cassidy A m
ne rarely stayed at Goose River past t.
second pay check. When he got mon
Of enough to resign he resigned; and all b
lit cause Nellie Cassidy despised operate
The lunch counter that Matt Cassie
as Nellie's father, ran at the Junction "
e. just an adjunct for feeding train ere
as and the few miners who wandered do,
from the Glencoe spur. Matt hims
u took the night turn, but days it was Mel
who heated the Goose River coffee a
- dispensed the pie-contract pie made
10 Medicine Bend, and sent by local freie
classified as ammunition loaded and
leased, o. r.
It was Nellie's cruelty that made I
frequent shifts at Goose River. Not IL
she was unimpressible, or had no hero
ne She had plenty Of them In the engine a
the train service. It was the sma
ter uniformed young conductors and k
chiefed juvenile engineers on the f
"a runs to whom Nellie paid Difference, q
for whom she served the preferred doug