The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-04-08
HUMBLE MEXICAN
PROVES A FIGHTER
Managed to Whip Big Railroad
Camp Bully
FOUGHT LIKE A CYCLONE
digger Boy" Would Make His Rounds
and 1t Was Easy for Laborers
to Stay Drunk All
the Time.
FOUGHT LIKE A CYCLONE


When they were building the Hannibal
and St. Joseph railroad across Northern
Missouri in the fifties, they paid the Ia
borers s1.s5 and eight "jiggers" day A
'jlgger'' was quarter pint of corn juice
| invigorant
At regular intervals the "jigger boy
would make his rounds of the work, pass
! ing out the elixir from his canteen to
| arid threats. The price of whisky was
only % cents a gallon, so in the good old
days it was not necessary for a man TO
! hypothecate his brown stone mansion and
railroad stocks to keep comfortably drunk
all the year round.
.'Be-jiggered," an expression Of bewilder
ment now become classical, Is supposed
| to have grown amid the hospltaple sur
roundngs of the workers in hard-pan on
| the old Hannibal and st. Joseph right OF
| way But it took more than eight or ten
| .jiggers" a day to overly ballast BOD
| Stewards shovelcrs and scraper hands.
| That economical allotment was barely sui
| ncient to keep the joints oiled. 1t was
after nightfal when these brawny men
| really began to drink and now ana tnen
| the reservoir would overflow and they be-
o.n,e "be-iigpered' On such occasion
| they were ready for scrap with anything
| that walked or sailed or rolled on wheels
| Most of the mills occurred on Sundays
| and holidays, when the farmer loik iiau
| time to drop In and observe the perform
| ance. 1t was a frequent thing to see
! farmers drive to camp with their famlhes
| on nice afternoons when the gang was
taking a day off and enjoying itself IN
| its strenuous fashion. AS the hair ana
| hide were scattered over the earth tne
| farmer would cite to his offspring the
various technical points of civil engineer
| af
who were so industrious that they mad
time to build railways between jisgers in
| order that the pathway of civilization
| might really blaze.
Contractor Tells Story.
| Thomas Jobson of Macon, Mo-. was
| contractor on the pioneer road. having
| section to grade some twenty miles west
| of Macon. He came up the country from
! ST. Louis with a crew of these stalwart
Irish laborers and put them to work
| tearing up the soil. He described an incl
| dent connected Win MS cohtract Inns
| way
Zach gang had a pugilistic boss-a
man who could lick anybody else, and
who became a sort of bully thereby.
| With us he was great giant OF 1eiiow
named Jimmie Kelso. He was easily the
| hest man in our crew, and he would often
Journey over to adjoining contracts to ex-
| tend his Jurisdiction. Kelso wasn't bad
| fellow, and he never beat up man unless
| IL was, in his judgment, necessary. But
| 1t was generally necessary II the other
fellow was large and made any preten-
| lions to fighting.
! zone day we got tall, slender man in
nv boat. He wore somebrero with silk
cord and tassels on 1t and affected en-
broidery. The boys called him the Mex
ican,' but he was born on the Texas from
tier He was rather quiet, and would
rather smoke than drink. OF course, II
was fated that Jimmie should initiate
| him. which he did one day by knocking
off the Mexicans big hat. The stranger
picked 1t up, busted it off and quietly
| puffed on his stogy, while the crowd
| ieered He carefully replaced his sombre-
ro, and Jimmie again jerked II OH ana
| sent it whrling down the grade. Then
things began happening to Jimmie before
| he really realized there was war on
The Mexican butted him in the stomach,
| then caught him and stood him on his
head. Jumped over him. crawled between
his legs and played with him like a rag
doll. Then he laid down on the ground,
! elevated his legs and put the dazed Irish
/ man thereon. Round and round he spun
the HELPLESS body, kicked it up in the air
| and caught it like a professional acrobat,
and now and then smacked Jimmie's red
| face with his moccasined feet.
Mexican Bowed.
when the boss of the camp at last hit
| the earth with a grunt that could be
| heard a quarter, the Mexican arose ana
| bowed.
| Then he went to his tent and brought
! ont some liniment, which he carefully put
! on Jimmie's sore spots. The boys gathered
around and offered the Mexican wads OF
money to teach 'em the stunts he had put
| Jimmie through. but he shook his head.
ESQ no puede Sc, he said; the lini-
| ment would give out
| .He afterward became Jimmie's warm
| est friend, and gave him number or
| lessons in tumbling and wrestling, but
| be rigidly refused to impart instruction
| to any of the others. The fellow had been
! a matador, and had come up into the