Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-10-30
DAILY SHORT STORY
Farmer Shocks Claim.
IOriginal.l

the r. c. and ID. Railroad company
received a bill from Farmer Aaron
Shock for one brindle cow killed by
a locomotive, the amount claimed be-
ing $50. The claim was duly made
out and presented to the station agent.
Now, railroad companies are proven
bially particular about their employees
doing business expeditiously. Never
theless while the r. C. and DIS en-
ployees would have risked dismissal
for not forwarding promptly any claim
the company might have on others
they would also risk dismissal for for
warding promptly any claim against
the company. 1t must be admitted
that the auditor was in no hurry In
either receiving or paying the account
for Farmer Shocks COW. The auditor
no sooner laid eyes on the claim than
it went into the pigeonhole where were
kept those claims which it was not
considered necessary to pay soon, if at
all-in other words, from claimants
without the ability to push them.
Farmer Shock, who fully expected
to receive cash for his cow as soon as
the president of the road should re-
ceive his bill, was much disappointed
at the delay.
Aaron" said his wife, 'does them
big city people pay bills onless they
have toy
''Waal, reckon it don't make no diff
ference. 1 can't make EN-
'Mebbe you can"
"HOwT'
"Waal, there's no water they kin git
hereabout to feed the tank at the sta
ton except from the creek that runs
through our farm You've often said
you had mind to cut away some dirt
where the creek turns and let the wa
ter go down around the hills. Why
don't you do it?"
Aaron scratched his head, then pick
ed up a pick and Il spade, and in q
couple of hours the little stream was
flowing in another channel.
The next day the station agent came
I'D to the Shock farmhouse to find out
what was the matter with the creek.
When the change was discovered he
told Farmer Shock that he would send
a gang to turn the water back again.
whereupon the farmer declared that if
he did he would ''shoot 'em for tres
passin'."
The station agent reported the mat
ter to headquarters. This time there
was no delay in transmission. The
water tank was useless without water,
and engines must be fed from it. The
attorney for the company was sum-
moned and questioned as to the farm
er's legal rights in turning the stream.
The attorney returned to his Office,
hunted through library of law books
and reported that 1T was pretty hard to
keep a man from doing what he liked
on his own farm, but if the stream did
not originate on the premises some
thing might be done. A deadhead tele
gram was at once dispatched TO the
station agent for the information, who
after investigation, reported that the
creek originated from a spring n mile
from Shocks house, but on property
owned by him.
By this time a number of engines
had given out at the station for want
of water and were sidetracked there.
The attorney for the company ad-
vised that compromise be effected,
but the president declared that he'd
stop running trains before he would
dicker with an ignorant countryman.
There was another tank at n station
below the one near Farmer Shocks,
and the president gave orders that the
locomotives be provided with water to
last till they reached this station.
By this time Farmer Shock had got
wind of the fact that the source of the
stream was an important matter, and
he knew that the spring on his farm
a very copious spring-was the source
of all streams crossing the railroad in
that neighborhood. He concluded to
see what he could do toward turning
the water away from the last named
station. Possessing a pasture through
which ran the stream that fed the
tank there. after examination he found
that by damming he could give the
stream n bend that would turn it into
a small river which flowed near. The
consequence was that one morning the
creek at the second tank station was
found dried up.
This settled it that Farmer Shocks
claim should have attention. The au-
ditOr of the road was sent to see him,
and, disclaiming any liability for the
COW, which had no business to get in
the way, offered the farmer so per
cent of the claim, or $3.50 as a pres
ent The farmer stuck to his bill of
$25 and presented an additional bill of
$3.50 for incidentals. When the auditor
asked him to specify the items he said
it was the work he had done in turn
ing the streams from their natural
channels.
This unheard of audacity in charg-
ing q railroad company for the means
used in injuring it was too much for
the auditor. who left the house in high
dudgeon and reported to the president
that he had found it impossible to treat
with the unreasonable farmer.
A meeting of the directors was called
and the matter laid before them, with
the result of sending the attorney to
the farmer with orders to settle the
claim before returning. The attorney