The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-29


change of grade needed new rod-man.
Headquarters accordingly sent him one.
The recruit had not been with the corps
three hours before he was sized up as an
unknown quantity, and very appropri-
ately nicknamed Spehnitzaue For want of
breath this name was finally abbreviated
to Schnitz. and Sehnltz 1t remained dur
ing the whole time he was with the COM
pany.
The resident engineer had business in
Birmingham on the morning Sehnitz ar
rived so he turned him over to Carrie,
with orders to break him in. Carrie by
the way, was the instrument man of the
party and had won his feminine title one
night in the Evening Star but that
does not relate in any way TO Schnitz.
Suffice it to say that if there was one
thing in the world that Carrie loved to
do it was to break in a new man.
It seems to be a strange provision Of
Mother Nature to set some folks aside
to bear the brunt of all raillery, while
others go scot free-and Schnitz was one
of the first kind. Unfortunately he was
possessed of a self-important, own-it-all
bearing which gave the Ellen n. boys
the tip at the very start. Carrie sud
denly decided that big mud hole in the
center of the main cut needed draIning,
so he ordered a line of levels run through
the puddle In ore that he might deter
mine the depth of the drain ditch required.
As Schnitz was rod-man 1t was up to
him to wade through the mud and hold
the rod in the deepest places of the pud-
die. Schnitz had on patent feathers and
new breeehes. and he didn't like his ord
ers a little bit. but the boys told him
that II he went back to the office in town
that evening without being covered with
mud the boss would think he had NOT
dope any work.
If the old man really had sized up the
amount of work his engineers did dur
ing the day by the amount of real es-
tate they had clinging to their bearings
when they came to report he most as
suredly would have had Schnitz chroni-
cled in his private note book a double
back-acting hydraulic dredge. Before the
work on the puddle was finished one of
the negro men remarked that "Mistah
Schnitz sho looked mo- lax razah-
backed hog in a cane-brake than GEM
man what wah riz on one of de mos
self-respeculatin streets in Moo O'leens.
BY dinner time Schnitz had found out
that a rodman's work was not so easy
as he thought. The boy was not only
covered with mud, but his hands were
blistered his feet were sore. and worse
than all. his collar was wilted into
limp. sticky rag. All the other boys wore
flannel shirts, khaki trousers and leg
gings, so they couldn't sympathize with
Schnitz on superfuities.
On this particular day Carrie had ae-
copied a dinner invitation from one of
the contractors, so when the big furnace
whistles in the district Missed out the
noon hour the whole bunch of Ellen n
pegstickers highballed for the commits
sary. On the way to the feed Carrie told
Schnitz that 1t was the custom among
all engineers for the new man to set up
the dinners to the crowd his first
day in camp. This bit of information was
a knock out blow to the man from the
Crescent City, but his feelings were con-
sderabIy eased when he was told that
the grub only cost % cents each or 81 so
for the crowd. After dinner the boys
made Schntz fork up all the change
he had with him-and there was none to
spare. either, for the poor fellow only
had 81 so to his name. Carrie always
magnanimous, collected but 81 40 of this,
however
Along about o'clock the boys had
finished all the work there was to do.
so they decided to hop freight and go
to town, a distance of five miles. Schnitz
declared that he was an expert at jump
ing on or off fast moving trains. He
didn't look 1t though, so Carrie advised
him to get on the rear step of the ca
boose, so in case he fell he'd be safe.
He was then stationed at a point on
the grade near the summit. where he
could get on easy, while the other fell
al NJ in
tervals
The eighth section of Number 76 a
through fruit train due at Grace's at 8
D. m. had a three hour run-late on No. 2,
the fast northbound mail. AS the boys
didn't dare ask the dispatcher to stop her
for them. In due time she came along
running quite fast. As she reached the
summit the fellows had no trouble in
boarding her--all excepting Schnitz. That
expert did not even get to touch the rear
bumper, because Carrie got on the tail
end too and wouldn't get out of the way.
Schnitz began to hit the ties at that
and chase the train. He got within smell
ing distance of the caboose and the boys
gave him the high sign and yelled to him
to be sure to blow for stations and road
crossing AS Schntz didn't have a pass
and since Marie had collected all his
money he had to hoof it into town.
II was nearly 6 o'clock before the track
walker puffed into the office-and 1t was
pretty near a month before he found out
that he was the victim of put up lob.
Later on the evening of this first day,
however, Schnitzs spirits were somewhat
cheered when Carrie told him that the
81. 40 was to be invested in little of the
brand without a headache" to be taken
out to camp the next morning. This put
the new man in such a happy mood that
Carrie lay awake half that night hatch
ing schemes to pull him down few more
notches.
Long before train time the next morn
ing Schntz was down at the depot wait
ing for the rest of the boys, and at the
same time telling all the train hands about
the big piece of work and complicated
engineering problems he was looking
after at Iron Hill.
Carrie was on to this. and his scheming
of the night before had not been in vain,
so he knew where to hack him most Just
as the train was about to pull out Schnitz
was given hasty order to remain in the
office and copy some field notes. That or
der was a heart-breaker. then the fellows
drank his health at noon and let him
smell the empty bottle that night.
During his first week with the corps
Schnitz developed a good deal of mis-
placed energy. which was equalled by
nothing but his wonderful ability to get
things mixed up. He would always run at
the wrong time; hold his rod on the
wrong stakes: bring out the wrong instru-
down. He was in his element. though.
I'll Axrr1 AE