Cañon City record., 1906-04-26

Alln' anu SIZE uSeu 10 Seuu US all tnlny-
in Fred's box. His flesh was as white
and as pink as mountain snow. ana h.
had brown eyes. He was a good boy
and called him handsome reckon
they all did. Fred brought out IL tennis
set with him, the first we ever saw in
Medicine Bend, and before he had been
playing an hour he had Neighbor. big as
a grizzly. and Callahan. with pipe
In one hand and tennis guide in the
other, chasing all over the yard after
balls. and Haley trying to figure forty
love, while Fred taught Bucks the Law
ford drive. don't say what he was to
me; only that he taught me all ever
knew or ever will know about handling
trains. and, though was carrying mes.
sages then and he was signing orders.
we We're really like kids together
Fred for long time had the early
trick. He came on at I'm the morning
and caught most of the through freights
that got away from the river behind
the passenger trains. There was no
use trying to move them in the night
trick. Between the stock trains east
bound and the both way passenger
trains, IL a westbound freight got
caught in the mountains at night the
engine might as well be standing in the
house saving fuel; there wasn't time to
get from one siding to another. So Fred
Norman took the freights as they came.
and he handled them like a ringmaster.
When Fred's whip cracked. by Joe! a
train had to dance right along. grade or
no grade. Fred gave them the rights.
and they had the rest to door bust
ness to do with the superintendent or
with Doubleday. Neighbours assistant
in the motive power
There was only one tendency in Fred
Normans dispatching that anybody
could criticise He never seemed, after
handling trains on the plains, to appre-
ciate what our mountain grades really
meant. and when. they pushed him he
sent his trains out pretty close togeth
er. 1t never bothered him to handle
heavy traffic. He would get the bust
ness through the mountains just rs
fast as they could put 1t at the division.
but occasionally there were some hair
curling experiences among the freightS
on Norman's trick trying to keep cff
each others coattails. One night In
July there was a great press moving
eight or nine trains OF Montana grass
ers over the main line on some kind Of
a time contract We were giving stock
men the earth then. Everybody was
prJd-.,ng the Mountain division. and
part of the stuff came in late on Black
burn and part of it early on Fred. who
was almost coughing his head or about
that time. getting up at 3:3O every
morning.
Frcd at 4 o'clock took the steers and
sent them train after train through
the Rat river country like bullets out
of Maxim gun. 1t was hot work.
and before he had sat in an hour there
was a stumble The engineer Of u big
ten wheeler pulling twenty five cars OF
steers had been pushing hard and at
the entrance OF the canyon set his air
SO quick he sprung one Of the driver
shoes. and the main rod hit 1t. The
great steel bar doubled up like a man
with cramp. 1t was showing day
light. They made a stop and. quick as
men could do 1t. tagged both ways.
But the last section was crowding
into the canyon right behind. They
were too close together: that was all
there was to 1t. The hind section split
into the standing train like butcher
knife into sandwich. 1t made a
mean wreck. and, worse. II made u
lot of hard feeling at the Wickiup.
When the investigation came II was
pretty near up to Fred Norman right
from the start, and he knew 1t. But
Blackburn, who shielded him when no
could. just as all the dispatchers did.
because he was boy. and n sick one
among men. tried to take part Of the
blame himself He could afford 1t.
Blackburn. His shoulders were broad.
and he hadn't so much as II fly speck
on his book. Bucks looked pretty
grave when the evidence was all In. and
around the second floor they guessed
that meant something Cor Norman.
Fred himself couldn't sleep over It.
and to complicate things the engineer
Of the stalled train, who hated Double.
day, hinted quietly that the trouble
came In the first place from Double.
days newfangled idea of putting tho
driver shoes behind instead of in front
of the wheels. Then the fat was in tho
fire Fred got hold of 1t and, boylikc.
sore over his own share In the trouble
and exasperated by something Double
day was reported to have said about
him over at the house, lighted into
Doubleday about the engine failure
Doubleday was right in his device, as
time has proved. but 1t was unheard of
then, and, moreover. the assistant mas
ter mechanic, sensitive to criticism at
any time. was fearful man TO run
against. Sunday morning he and Nor
man met in the trainmaster's Office.
They went at each other like sparks.
and when Doubleday. who had hard
mouth. began cursing Fred the poor