The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1905-03-03

IS MAos Up AT BURKE

Cincinnati Enquirer All aboard for
The drunk train. Rurke special this way.
Last chance to the mines
The wondering easteruet, standing
upon the Northern Payttic platform 1T
Wallace ON saturday night il inclined
to disbelicve his enrS. Yet he depot
master. who spreads his legs wide
apart and screeches through i mega
phone. is in earnest Nobody appears
10 see anything out of the ordinary lii
the announcement. Nobody rushes for
the train OF three cars that has been run
onto Il siding behind the station. The
fastener alone is astontshed, Inc
Drunk train" is a regular institution
on this section of the system.
TIL Northern Pacific has the only
drunk train in the world. 1t runs once
4 week. Saturday night. and has Il
picked crew. 1t is a dirty, dinSy train,
with dirty windows, smudged with the
numb marks of dirty hands. Its dirty
seats smell of old tobacco and ashes
litter its aisle carpe,s. 1t is never
cleaned. for the simple reason that he
ing the drunk train. ii is used for no
other class of passengers.
Down the road, on a spur mat runs
from Wallace up in the mountains to
the north. lies Burke. the toughest
mining camp in Idaho. a little town
that for "ginerai c~ussedness.H as the
superintendent of the division puts il.
has niver been bate Burke is q
mining ann and Just that. 1t gives
employment to none but miners. and
having no city government. and being
given Il wide berth. as a rule. by the
sheritfs. does as it pleases. And it
pleases as a rule. to be Burke which
means hell
, There is no amusement in Burke, no
dance halls worth the name. no big
saloons. no swell gambling halls. The
mine workers discourage the sale of
liquor, and the opening of games. The
prefer to have their turbulent employees
80 elsewhere for recreation. SO Sat-
urday at 3. when the day shift comes
off. there is an exodus TO Wallace.
They come in sober and moneyed.
They so back drunk and penniless.
Some of them do not go back, but tarry
awhile in the county jail-others never
return. and a fresh mound in the ceme-
tary tells their simple story.
Not q bad lot when sober. not a bad
lot when drunk. but quarrclsome al
ways and hard TO handle, the western
miner. no matter what his condition
may be, never forgets in the presence
of ladies', that he is, or w a gentle
man. But With men, after a night Of
it in Wallace. they sometimes dis
agree. SO the train crew is picked.
An ~ex-sheriff. who knows little of
railroading. but is familiar with the
business n of Il siX-shooter. is con-
ductor of this train alone. fol- he has
no other run on the road. The en-
sineer is an ex-bad man, who served
time for the notches on the gun he
never puts from his hip. The tiremen
and brakemen are picked for their bulk
and experience with deSperados. The
whole crew, like the conductor. has
this one run" The rest of the week
they have individual trades. But they
are paid big for taking the drunk train
down to Burke and back.
The train is run on no schedule. h
track is always clear for this special.
OF necessity it starts when it ~pleases.
for no man can tell when it Will pull
out, although the huge conductors
stentorian call of Drunk train this
way through his megaphone begins
at midnight. But he begins to call at
out that early, but to guide his charges
his way. He knows to d man whom
he has brought down. Every man has
a return ticket and a badge. in case
lie loses it. pinned to his vest. When
the train is pretty full the conductor
consults With the police and the sher-
ifs. Then, the missing located. eithe,
in jair or at q hospital, he waves his
lantern nonchalantly to the engineer
and tho drunk train pulls out.
No tickets are collected. The badge
proves tNe lldll Is etllltieu 10 Ilue. l. liz
tickets are Cancelled both ways When
sold. and therefore are useless to the
ticket broker. Moreover. they are off
a special die and mark ed Good only
on the Drunk Special" 1t would dc
you no good, il you We're an eastern
Isightseer, or correspondent, to beg, buy
or steal one of these tickets or one OF
the badges. for you would not be al,
lowed to enter the train. The conduc-
tor would inform you, politely, bu1
firmly, that he had no collins aboard
and thai the coroner was too drunk
to be reused at that time OF the night
During the run. having assured
themselves that all ~throwables are GU
of reach, hat the fire axes and bottle:
have all been removed and the door:
all unlocked, the crew takes refuge il
the baggage car and the locomotive
They pay no furthe" attention TO tn
passengers. IL any wish to crawl upo
the platform and fall to death whcl
the rain lurchcS. all we'll and good, 70
on the drunk special ticket is a pro
vision. which the purchaser is require,
to sign, to the effect that the passengc
on this train valves all rights for dam
ages in case of injury. o and the;
a man tumbles off or is thrown of
If he lives he is picked up later Sobe
aud mangled. If he dies he is burie
by the county.
This policy upon the part of TIL
railroad company is the result of Ion
and bitter experience. Before the drum
special was hit upon the miners rod
on the regular last train to Burkt
Fights were of frequent occurrence, an
more than one conductor or brakema
met an untimelv end in his efforts I
preserve order. Many Il deed of bloc
has the dingy train witnessed, an
more thar one bullet peacefully rest
in its smoky ceilings. The count
could not afford to put asw deputie
on the train, because after a few trir
there We're vacancies in the sheriff
Office, either through resignation {
other causes. An Idaho deputy DRAW
only $50. and the accident insurane
companies draw up nc special policit
for this sort of thing. So the divisio
, superintendent thought up the drum
| special. and % it is an institution.
Q 1t is as peaceful as such a trai
can ever be. 1t is only rarely no
y that trouble occurs. The train is III
. into Burke, left In the yards n dc
-I en,ta,l I. fln pyny Tho ,noccnr ro'