davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06
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up my stuff and turned to thank Dave
Hawk. He was gone.
1t wasn't the first time Dave had
pulled me out of the water. About
two weeks before that I had crawled
one night up on the front platform OF
the baggage at Peace River to steal a
ride to Medicine Bend on No. 1. 1t
was Dawes train. l had been kicked
out of the McCloud hospital two days
before without a cent or a friend on
earth outside the old country. and |
hadn't a mind to bother the folks at
home any more, come Conan or the
devil
The night was bitter bad. black as a
Fuzzy and sleeting out of the foothills
like m~anslaughter. When h train
stopped at Rosebud for water, what
with gripping the icy hand rail and
trying to keep my teeth steady on my
knees l must have been a hard sight.
Just as the train was ready to pull out
Dave came by and poked his lantern
full in my face.
If it had been a headlight l couldn't
have been worse scared, and l found
afterward he carried the brightest
lamp on the division. | looked up into
his face, and he looked into mine. l
wonder if in this life it isn't mostly in
the face after all? l couldn't say any
thing. l was shaking in a chill as
climbed down into the storm.
Yet | never saw a face harder in
Arn uyo W fhon Doya HAWKS His
visor hid his forehead and a black
beard covered his face till it left only
his straight, cold nose and a dash of
olive white under the eyes. His whis-
kers doomed high as a Cossack's, and his
eyes were onyx black with just such a
glitter. He knew it was no better than
murder to put me off in that storm at a
mountain siding. l knew it, but 1
didn't much care, for | knew before
very long I should fall off anyway.
After / crawled down he stood looking
at me, and, with nothing better on, l
stood looking at him.
IF you get up there again I'll break
your neck" he promised, holding up
his lantern. | was quiet. The nerve
was out of me.
"Where are you going?" he asked
shortly.
"Medicine Ben
"Get into the smoker, you FOOL
How it galvanized me. For twenty
four hours | hadn't eaten. l was just
out of a hospital bed and six weeks
of mountain fever, but l braced at his
words like a SIOUX buck.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06

down over the heater seat. In the mid
die of the car Henry C%avanaugh, crouch
ing in the aisle, held in his arms Dave
Hawk. At the lark front end of the
coach l saw the outline of a man
sprawled ON his face in the aisle. The
news agent crawled out from under a
seat. 1t must have been short and hor-
ribly sharp.
They had tagged the train east of
Bear Dance. Two men boarded the
front platform of the smoker and one
the rear. But the two in front opened
the smoker door just as Dave was hur-
rying forward to investigate the stop.
He was no man to ask questions. He
saw the masks and covered them in
stantly. Dave Hawk any time Inc any
where was a deadly shot. Without a
word he opened on the forward rob
bers. A game cowboy back of him
pulled a gun and cut into it and was
the first to go down, wounded. But the
train boy said Hawk himself had drop
ped the two head men almost immedi-
ately after the firing began and stood
free handed when the man from the
rear platform put a Winchester against
his back. Even then, with a hole blown
clean through him, he had whirled and
fired again. We found the mans blood
on the platform in the morning, but,
whoever he was, he got to the horses
and got away.
When | reached Dave he lay in his
baggageman's arms. We threw the
carrion INTO the baggage car and car
ried the cowboy and the conductor back
into the forward sleeper. I gave the
go ahead orders and hurried again to
the side of theNast of the old guard.
Once his eyes opened, wandering ston-
lily, but he never heard me, never knew
me, never spoke. AS his train went
that morning into division he went
with it. When we stopped his face
was cold. 1t was up to the Grand
Master.
A game man always, he was never a
cruel one. He called himself a thief.
He never hesitated with the other men,
high and low, to loot the company.
The big looters were financiers; Dave
was only a thief, yet gave his life for
the very law he trampled under foot.
Thief, If you please. 1 don't know.
We needn't quarrel about the word he
branded himself with. Yet a trust of
money, of friendship, of duty, were
safer in Dave Hawks hands than in
he hands of ADLER %flnanciers.
l hold him not up for a model, net
Their glory in his wickedness. When [
was frlendless he was my friend. Sis
story is told.
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06

drenched wet and tough, l know. 1
looked so tough that the brakeman
grabbed me the minute l opened the
front door and tried to kick me out.
| turned snarling then, crazy as a wolf
all in a second, and somehow backed
the brakeman against the water cooler
with his windpipe twisted in my bony
fingers like a corkscrew. The train
was moving out. l had been cuffed and
kicked till l would rather kill somebody
than not; this seemed a fair nance for
a homicide. When the poor fellows
wind went off-he wasn't much OF a
scrapper, I %fancy-he whipped around
in the aisle like a dying rooster. AS he
struggled in my grip there behind him
in the doorway stood Dave, lantern in
hand, looking on with a new face. This
time he was smiling. Dawes smile
meant just the parting of his lips over
a row of glistening teeth, perfectly even
teeth and under his black mustache
whittier than ivory. 1t appeared to
amuse him to gee me killing the brake
nan The instant | saw Dave l. let
go, and he watched, the crestfallen
trainman pull himself together.
"Guess you'll let him alone now,
won't your" said Dave pleasantly to
my ratified assailant. "Sit down." he
growled harshly at me, stringing his
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06

I'll, u yOu w th0t+ 4
protested.
put up your money. Tommie." He
called me Tommie.
NO." he repeated, putting by my
hand, his face set hard and when
Dawes face did set it set stony. "Put
up your money. You don't W me
anything. / stole it."
1t was a queer deal out ON the West
End in those days. 1t was a case of
wide open from the river to the Rockies.
Everybody on the line, from the di-
rectors to the car links, were giving the
company the worst of it. The section
hands hooked the ties for the mainte-
nance, the painters drank the alcohol
for the shellac, the purchasing agent
had more fast horses than we had loco
motives, and what made it d%iscourag-
ing for the conductors the auditors stole
what little money the boys did turn in.
A hard place to begin %railroading the
old line was then, but that's where |
had to tackle the game, and in all the
hard crowd / mixed with Dave Hawk
was the only big man on the division.
1HtIC WtIC OluclS licIe WDO uAtu luc
thing up by comparing notes on their
collections and turning in percentages
to make their reports look right, but
Dave was not a conspirator,
made a confidant of any man in his
stealing or his spending and despised
their figuring. He did as he pleased
and cared for no one No superior had
any terror for Dave. He had a wife
somewhere back east of the river, they
said, that had sold him out-that's why
he was in the mountains-and he lived
among free and easy men a lonely life.
If anybody ever got close to him l
think maybe did, though I was still
only a freight conductor when the
lightning struck the division.
1t came with a clean sweep through
the general offices at the ~river-every-
body in the auditing department, the
executive heads down to-general man
ager, and a whole raft of East End con
ductors. 1t was a shake-out from top
to bottom, and the bloods ON our divi-
sion went white and sickly very fast.
OF course it was somebody's gain.
When the heads of our passenger con-
ductors began to drop they began set
ting up freight men. Rocksby had re-
signed a year earlier, and Haverly, his
successor, an ex-dispatcher and as big
a knave as there was on the payroll,
let the men out right and left with the
sole idea of saving his own scalp. By
the time l was put up to a passenger
train the old force was pretty much
cleared out except Dave.
Every day almost we looked to see
him go. Everybody loved him because
he was a master railroad man, and ev-
erybody except Dave himself was APP
prehensive about his future, He moved
on just the same, calm and cold as
ice water, taking the same old chances,
reckless of everything and everybody.
l never knew till afterward, but the
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06

K7u nara 10 get lulo lIOuDlc.
w As far back as | can re-
I@k1 member that has come
|S60NAU dead easy for me.
IS9URu When this happened I
~ hadn't been ~railroading
a month, and l was up with my con-
ductor on the carpet, sweating from
sheer grogginess and excitement. The
Job of front end brakeman on a noun
tain division is no great stake for a
man ordinarily, but it was one for me
just then. We knew when we went
into the superintendent office that
somebody was to get fired. The only
question was, who, the train crew or
out of it. 1t was up to the conductor
and to me. Had the operator displayed
red signals? The conductor said no;
l said no. The operator said yes, but
he lied. We couldn't prove it. We
could only put our word against his,
and, what made it the worse for me
my conductor was something of a liar
himself.
1 stood beading in a cold sweat, for
l could see with half an eye 1t
was going against us. The superin-
tendent, an up and up railroad man
every inch and all business, but sus-
picious, was leaning the operators way
the strongest kind.
There wasn't another soul in the lit
tie room as the three of us stood be-
fore the superintendent desk except
a passenger conductor, who sat behind
me with his feet on the window ledge,
looking out into the yard.
"Morrison's record in this office is
Clean" the superintendent was saying
of the operator, who was doing us
smooth as smokeless powder. HE has
never to my knowledge lied in an in
vestigation; but, Allbers,' continued
the superintendent speaking bluntly to
my conductor, you've never told a
straight story about that Rat River
switch matter yet. This man is
a new man." he added, throwing a
hard look at me. Ordinarily I'd be in
clined to take the word of two men
against one, but l don't know n at
all and the other has done me onc l
can't see anything for it but to take
Morrison's word and let you fellows
both out. There wasn't any wreck, but
that's not your fault, not for a min
ute"
"Mr. Rocksby," l protested, speaking
up to the division boss in a clean + mk
the prospect of losing my job that
way. Itbrough a ly1 nerStor- $500
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06

&OhO
whats your word of honorT' asked
the superintendent, cutting me like a
Ratchet. 81 don't know any more about
your word of honor than l do about
you. Allbers, take your man and get
your time"
A wave of helpless rage swept over
me. The only thing l could think of
was strangling the lying operator in
the hall. Then somebody spoke.
"Show your papers, you fool"
1t came calm as sunshine and cold as
a Northwestern from the passenger con-
ductor behind me, from Dave Hawk,
and it pulled me into line like a bugle
call. l felt my English all back at
once. Everybody heard him and looked
my way. Again it was up to me This
time l was ready for the superintend-
ent, or, for that matter, for the bloom
ing Mountain division. l had forgot
all about my papers till Dave Hawk
spoke. | put my hand, shaking, into
my inside vest pocket for a piece of
oilskin-it was all l had left. / was
a good way from my base that year. l
laid the oilskin on the superintendent
table, unfolded it jealousy and took out
a medal and a letter, that in spite of
the carefullest wrapping was creased
and sweated. But the letter was from
my captain and the bit of bronze was
the cross. Rocksby picked up the let
ter and read it.
"Have you peer in the British
army?" he asked CURLY.
Eyes, SIR"
He scowled a minute over Picton's
scrawl, laid it down and gratifed his
curiosity by picking up the medal. He
studied the face of the token, looked
curiously at the dingy red ribbon,
twirled it and saw the words on the
reverse, For Valor," and looked again
at me.
"Where'd you get this?' be asked,
indicating the Victoria.
"In the Sudan, sir"
Dave Hawk kept right on looking out
the window. Neither my conductor
nor the operator seemed to know just
what the row was. Nobody spoke.
what you doing hereT Rocksby
went on.
81 came out to learn the cattle bust
ness" His brows went up easy-like.
''They cleaned me out" Brows drop
ped gentle-like. 'Then l went bad
with mountain fever" and he looked
decent at me.
"You say you had your head out
the cupola and saw the white signal?"
he asked, sort of puzzled.
81 saw the white signal" Rocksby
looked at the operator Morrison.
wen adjourn this thing" said he
at last, "till 1 look into it a little fur
Their. For the present go back to your
runs"
We neve heard any more of it.
Allbers got out quick. I waited to pick
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06

lantern on his arm. He walked uncOn-
cernedly down the aisle, and l dropped
exhausted into the front seat facing
the Baker heater. 1t was heavenly hot;
red hot. | have loved a car heater ever
since, and Baker to me is hardly lower
than the angels. My toys began to
steam, my blood began to flow, the
train boy gave me a wormy apple, an
Irishman with a bottle of rank whisky
gave me a singer, and l wanted to live
again.
| curled up in the seat. and in Ave
minutes | was roasting-oh, such a
heavenly roast and doing Lord.
what a heavenly ~doze-before that
Baker heater. All night the forward
truck beat and pounded under me. All
night l woke and slept in the steaming,
sinking air of the hot car. And when.,
ever opened my eyes | saw always.
the same thing-a topping tall con-
ductor looming in the aisle, his green
hooded lamp like a semaphore under
his arm. And above in the gloom a
bush of black beard and a pair of deep
set, shining eyes back under a peaked
cap Dave often comes back as | saw
him. waking and dreaming. that night
in the smoker of No. /.
1t was breaking day when he bent
over NEE
Were getting into the Bend" he
said grufly. Got any money for
breakfastf"
II haven't a cent on Gods earth"
He put his hand in his pocket and, pull
ing out a handful of loose bills, showed
one into my fingers.
I'll take it from you, and gladly" l
said, sitting up. But I'm not a beggar
or Il tramp"
of track?"
"Yes. I'm going to enlist" His
teeth flashed. That's worse than rail
reading. amt it?' Something came
into my head like a rocket.
IF | could get started railroading'-
Get started easy enough"
That's how l happened to show him
my Victoria. He gave me a card to the
trainmaster. and next day l went to
braking for Allbers, who. by the way,
was the biggest liar l ever knew.
But the morning l got into Medicine
Bend that first time on No. l | had
another scare. l went into the lunch
room for coffee and sandwiches and
threw my bill at the boy. He opened
it, looked at it and looked at me.
well" | growled, for | was impu-
dent with luck and a hot stomach.
Good. amt it?"
SMALLEST you got?'
/ nodded as if | had a pocketful. He
hustled around and came back with Il
handful of money. l said nothing, but
when he spread 1t out before me l sat
I. paralyzed. | had just assumed that
Dave had given me a dollar. Sinkers,
deducting the price of two coffees and
six sandwiches from the bill, counted
out $19.30 for me.
That change kept me running for a
month, and after my first pay day !
hunted up Dave to pay him back. !
found him in the evening. He vas sit
ting alone on the eating house porch,
his feet up against the rail. looking at
the mountains in the SApSaA
!. - l. III -..L =
Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-03-06

Y found 1t very
hard to get into trouble.
As far back as l can re-
member that has come
dead easy for me.
When this happened I
hadn't been railroading
La democracia. (Ponce, P.R.) 1890-1948, 1907-09-23
De 7ODAS parties
Memorials de la canpa-
ma en- Cuba del ge-
neral Weyler.
ROBO EN- UN 1REN
Cometido por tres hombres
enmascarados. Las vic.
timas de un choque.

Dicen de Madrid que Ell tenien-
te general del ejercito espanol, Va
leriano Weyler, cuya funesta V
cruellsima gesti6n en- Cuba como
gobernador general de dicha isla, lie
gan6 los sobrenombres de Caynice,o
y Sangalnario, ha terminado de es.
cribir sus memorials referentes al
tempo que desempeii6 el expresado
cargo.
-Comunican de Ohama, Ne
braska, que tres hombres enmasca.
radios robaron el tren expreso de
Rock Island en- los primeros dias
de este mes. Penetraron por un
coche-sa6n y apuntandoles con sus
levolveres, lograron intimidar to-
dos los pasajeros, robandoles todos
los objetos de valor que llevaban
tratando despues de penetrar en- los
carros Pullman, pero encontrando.
los cerrados, desistieron de su en-
pe1o. AL aproximarse el tren al
apeadero de Murdock, Sc lanzaron
a terra, conslguiehdo escapar.
En- Waterloo, Iowa, un tren
de pasajeros que iba toda veloci-
dad, salto de la via en- Norris Y
choc6 con uno de carga que estaba
enchuchando para darle paso, que
dando destruidos tres de sus carros.
Once pasajeios perecieron y
doce resultaron heridoS.
, Todos los muertos estaban en-
el caro- de fumar cuando ocurri6 el
choque,
La democracia. (Ponce, P.R.) 1890-1948, 1907-09-23
NOT|C|AS DEL D|L
Treinta y seis profeso-
res rura1eS.--El doc
tor Pa niagua.
HOSPITAL MUNICIPAL
Incorporation. ..--Reenganche
de un guardia. .-Varlcela
en- San Sebastian.

En- los examenes 1ltimos OBJ
tuvieron el certi6cado de graduados
36 profesores rurales.
-Ha sido dada de baJa, por
incurable, en- el Asilo de ciegos, de
Ponce, la sehora Carmen Torres, de
Yauco.
Las Pastillas digestivas del
doctor LIE Roy, msrca eANTURI-
CAS,O quitau la palidez y demacra-
ci6n en- el seblante.
Han solicitado examenes pa
ra el asc enso a cabos, los guardias
de la policia Juan J. Alvarez, Juan
Cu7todio, Hipolito Segarra, Serahn
Lopez y Saloln6n Rosario.
Han ingresado en- el Hospi-
tai Municipal Agripina Ayala, San
tiago Ellis, Pablo Paniagua, Juana
Colon, Luisa Molina, Btigido Huet,
Francisco Garcia y Catalina Ro-
man v fueron dados de alta Gle
meucia Rivera y Francisco Cruz
Ruiz
-Ha regresado a Ponce, el
inspector de Sanidad del distritc
norte doctor Paniagua, que Sc ha'
(llaba en- Cabo Rojo designando el
sito para Ia construction de la pla.
"a del mercado dc aquel pueblo.
Ell Soberano Capituio Gre
gencraci6np 10 SO que Sc reuni6 er
noches pasadaS, acordo comisional
4 Mr.. Park, que saldra en- brev'
para Washington, a fin de que ges
tione la incorporation de aquel a
Supreme Consejo del Sur de lo
Estados Unidos.
NADIA hay mas convenien
te para un professional 8 comercian
te que tener TN local en- sitio fre
cuentado. 81 usted quiere un buel
departamento para establecerse, We
la casa recien construlda al lado dc
Correo por la calle de San lose
5 encontrara departamentos apropt
4 sito. Informara Jose Bazan, ALE
5 St. 2I.-Box 2I6. 3o-15 a.
, FL Official de sanidad de Sa
Sebastian inforrna que existe II
, case de varic, ia en- el barrio aCala
+ bazas.o Sc han tornado todas la
precauciones del case.
Ell inspector de sanidad h
; denunciado Ia casa de Liberat
} Ndiiez por hallarse en- malas condi
clones higienicas.
a Sc VENDEN sillones anne
! ricanos, a dos dollars IS centavc
: par. San Jose 10, altos. d.
Ell inspector de sandal, St
nor Torres, respec'o a la denunci
presentada por don Her ett A {
La democracia. (Ponce, P.R.) 1890-1948, 1907-09-23
NOTICIAS De PONCE

honrados, por Ell solo delito de no
comulgar en- sus opiniones polfti
cas-.
Los unionistas atacamos q la
colectividad republican,, por su
historic LENA de obscuras nubes,
pero a sus hombres en- particular
los respetamos y consideramos.
Nos apena tener que darles
lecciones a diario, 'pero ellos nos
nhlipan
La democracia. (Ponce, P.R.) 1890-1948, 1907-09-23
Continuara.

Sc NECESITA una mujer
del campo que entienda eu el orden
y quehacereS de una casa. Que
sea de bueuas costumbres y sobre
todo que sea una mujer aseada y
este en- buena salud. 1nformaran
en- la administration de este peri6
dico. 15-IId.
La democracia. (Ponce, P.R.) 1890-1948, 1907-09-23
OESDE CAGUIS
Atropel1os bochornosos
cometidos por la poll
cia en- este pueblo.
FL GUAROlA LANAUSSE
El constante perturbador de
la tranquilidad publlca,
Merece un castigo.

Septiembre 2o.- impossible Sc
hace va callar por mas tempo 10
que viene. ocurriendo en- Caguas
con la Policia Insular.
Amantes del orden y dispues
tos siempre a sostener el prestiglo
de las autoridades, hemos agotado
todos los recursos posibles para
acabar con esta situaci6n verdade-
ramente insostenible. Pero como
las quejas diarias bien fundadas a
los jefes del puesto, no han dado el
resultado que esperabamos, pues
siempre Sc encuentra un motive pa
ra justifcar los hechos, hemos re-
suelto publican todos los atropellos
cometidos por la Policla, con ex-
cepci6n de alguno que otro guardia.
En- Caguas reina la tranquil
dad mas completa y el mayor Or
den, y por 10 tanto no hay NADIA
que justi6que el refnado despotis-
mo de la Policia de este puesto.
Aqui raro es el detenido que llevan
al Deposito municipal, sin que an
tes no 10 hayan estropeado a maca-
nazos, algunos de ellos con heridas
graves.
Muchos son los abusos de todo
genero que tenemos que llevar a Ia
publicidad, pero hoy Sc precisa de-
dicarnos al celebre guardia L.anau
sse, de quien va en- otra OCCASION
nos hemos o9upado en- La DEMO
CRACIA.
Este guarda representa- en- Ca.
guas la viva consternacjon. y no es
por tanto un agente policiaco para
ell orden, sino el constante pertur
bador de la trauquilidad publica,
por el azote ilnplacable que realize
contra las personas. Vease sino e
n1mero de denuncias que hoy pen
den contra el por acometimiento.
Nj en- los tiempos mas turbu
lentos Sc presenciaron en- Cagua
los atropellos que realiza hoy i
Policfar y de todo esto hacemo
responsables a los jefeS del puesto
como 10 prueba el que mientras es
tuvo aqui el teniente Iturrondo
este guardia no Sc atrevi6 a comete
los atropellos que hoy comete.
En- la campaiia que emprende
! mos hoy, no cesaremos mientra
este guardia no sea castigado COM
Sc merece. No nos guia la inten
ci6n de que ell Gobierno haga un
investigation. No la pedimos
Ia oueremos. Solo deseamos prC
bar una tez mas que la Policfa In
sular de hoy es aqui la mislna d
1902, y que 81 no. .hace mas, es POI
que no cuenta con aquellos juece
que no SOLO aprobaban todos su
desmanes sino que los fomentabar
: DR PI,ICKE.
Continuara.