The Havre herald. [volume] (Havre, Mont.) 1904-1908, 1906-03-09

"
! state frankly at the out
set that this tale in Its inexplicable
psychological features Is a transcript
from the queer things In the railroad
life. 1t is based on an extraordinary
happening that fell within the experi
ence of the president of large west
| ern railway system. Whether the
story, suggestive from any point Of
view of mystery, can be regarded as a
demonstration of the efficacy of prayer
may be disputable question In pass.
ing, however, it is only fair to say that
the circumstance on which the tale is
based was so regarded by the dispatch
er himself and by those familiar with
the circumstance
A hundred times If once the thing
had been, on appeals for betterment,
before the board of directors 1t was the
one piece of track on the mountain
division that trainmen shook their
heads over - the Peace river stretch.
To run any sort of line through that
canyon would take the breath Of an en-
gineer. Give him all the money he
could ask and 1t would stagger Wet
more himself. Brodie in his day said
there was nothing worse in the Andes,
and Brodie, before he drifted into the
Rockies. had seen, first and last, pretty
much all Of the Chilean work.
But our men had the job to do with
one-half the money they needed-the
lines to run, the grades to figure, the
culverts to put ill., the fills to make,
the blasting to do, the tunnel to bore,
the bridge to build, in limit; that
was the curse Of 1.-THE limit And
they did the best they could But
will be candid-if section and eleva-
ton OF Rosamond's bower and a sec
ton and elevation of our Peace river
work were put up to stand for a prize
at civil engineers cakewalk the de-
cision would 60 and quick, to the
Peace river track There are only
eight miles of it, but our men would
back 1t against any eighty on earth for
whipping curves, tough grades, villain
GUS approaches and railroad tangle
generally.
to improve 1t, and they are promising
yet. Thanks to what HALEY taught
them, there's a good bridge there now
cassons sunk to the bed.
It's the more pity they haven't elimi-
mated the dread main line curves that
approach it through valley which [
brief as a canyon and the mauvaises
farrsaS pf.11nI MT air rpIa
ton
Yet we do lots of business along that |
stretch. Our engineers thread the cuts
and are glad to get safely through |
them. Our roadmasters keep up the |
hoping some night the |
blooming right Of way will tumble In
to perdition. Our dispatchers, study |
Ing under shaded lamps, think Of 1t
with their teeth clinched and hope
there never will be any trouble on that |
stretch. Trouble is our portion, and
trouble we must get, but not there.
Let it come. but let it come anywhere /
except on the Peace
It was in the golden days OF the bat
tered old Wickiup that the story opens,
whan Blackburn sat In the night chair,
The days when the old guard were still
here, before death and fame and cir
had stolen our first COM
and left only us little fellows,
forgotten by every better fate, to tell
heir greater stories.
HALEY had the bridges then. and
Wetmore the locating. and Neighbor
he roundhouses, and Bucks the super
and Callahan, so he claim
ID, the work, and Blackburn had the
light trick.
When Blackburn came from the
plains he brought record clean as the
book Of life. Four years on a station
iey, then eight years at Omaha dis
patching, with never blunder or a
Freak to the eight years. But 1t was
It Omaha that Blackburn lost the wife
whose face he carried In his watch.
lever heard the story, only some ru-
nor OF how young she was and how
'retty and how he buried her and the
wee baby together. It was all Black
'urn brought to the West End noun
ains-his record and the little face In
he watch, They said he had no kith
r kin on earth besides the wife and
he baby back on the bluffs OF the Mis-
ouri. and so he came on the night
rick to us.
I was just boy around the Wickiup
hen, but remember the crowd. Who
ould forget them? They were Jolly
God fellows. Sometimes there. were
cry high links | done mean anybody
runk Or that sort. but good tobacco to
moke and good songs TO sing and good
tories TO tell. and. Lord, how they
ould tell them! And when the pins
Tipped. as they would. and things went
Trong, 40 they will. there were clear
eads and pretty wits and stout hearts
D put things right 5...,. .. .....
Blackburn. As much as / can remem-
or, always enjoyed 1t. but In a differ
Mt way. He had such times a manner