The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-08-07
TROUT AND BICYCLES
AND WATER
THE CALL BOY INDUCES IN A
FEW REMiNiscENcEs ON
FISHING AND SUCH.


are some mighty good ones being told.
Some of them are true and some are
a little overdrawn but they all listen
good. Some of them are modern and
some are ancient but every man with
a fish story tells il and the older it
is the better, for when they are really
old. rohody asks to see the fish. Con-
dnctors. engineers. brakemen and fire
men-al have their fish s,ories on tap
ard the dispatchc!s. operators, car
clerks and yard men are not whit
behind
1t was this presfl enee of riscatar.ol
fact and fiction that drove the call
hoy from the cosy corner which he
graces so handsomely in the dispatch
ers' room and sent him down to the
platform, where he iounged disgustel
~ on a baggage truck. II was there
that his friend. the Fat conductor.
found him and asked him what was
the matter.
Matter enough" said the call boy.
say. there amt nothing but fish up
there And he pointed over his
shoulder In the direction of the Sec
ond story. Its fish all the blame
time an I'm darn sick of IL. They've
got fish scales all over the ra!ls till
there amt train on the division that
ran make time and whole blame If
flee smells like salmon wharf on
Puget sound. That's WHAT'S the mat
ter Wouldn't il burst your air valve?
Them fellers don't know nothin'
at all about fish. There amt bu. one
man in the bunch here shat knows
fish; these sfellers talk and syn,ctIae.,
they meet a Teller when they're com
Ing home that has some fish and they
get EN- that way. There's Dodds;
he's a fine Teller. all right and he can
sure rawhide en- over the division
when he gets 'em swinging right. but
he don't know any more about fish
tnan rsdneck knows about heaven.
But. say. West IL the boy that can
get 'em. It's no more trouble to him
10 fill fish basket than 1T is TO make
up n I,sDo-ton extra when there amt
noren 1000 tonnage in the yard How
he does ii | don't know but he sure
delivers the goods. | was out one
day last summer an | see Dodds come
in from Lolo without "A fish. But he
was next. He meets a conductor thai
was fishin' in the river an had IA lot.
Dodds goes down To where the con
Is pulln' 'em out an when he comes
back he's got enough TO make "A show
ing. And, say, maybe that con didn't
get some good runs all last summer.
He was the high pillow kid, all right
Fish stories. is IL? Listen. You'd
ought L been out with me this week
and seen what l did an then you'd
be as tired as / am over this fish
business. An I'm as tired as
scoop artist after "A run from Paradise
with two thousand tons behind him.
There was Dodds an West-that /
was tellin' you about-an' this fele.
Irwin. They was goin' to catch trout
in Lolo again. An that after Dodds
had fell down there last var on his
annual. An there was another thing
about last years trip that l didn't
tell you. Dodds wouldn't do for IA
sinker but ned make IA fine float an
when he went into a mole that looked
like rifle IL was all off with ine
wire jerker, He just bobbed along on
top OF the water an didn't any mole
than wet his back. But his stray
hat with all his flies in ii sinks anu
he don't get any more fish. But West
is with him this time. too. aad be gets
"A stick and poles Dodds into the shore
and lands him, That was great. Ia
like to float that way. 'twoald he like
coasting down Eyaro hill on light
engine.
''isut that's nothing to do with this /
last combination. II just shows You
tn kind Of IA ehnmp that West is. He
has that trip last year and just the
sams he donhle-heads with Dodds on
another and they takes Irwin along I"
make up their tonnage. An West
fisherman. mind you.
They goes out this time on their
bicycles. Them that has no bicycles,
gets en- somewhere and they pulls
out. When / sees EN-, West Is steam
ing fine. Irwin is working on one
side and nodds Is leakin steam like
his pachn' is all blown out. That
is on the first Loio grade an when
they hits the four~per-cent there is
trouble right away. Irwin open his
sand pipe but he can't make the
grade: she slips ON him and then SHE
dies at the first high joint. Dodd;
he gets her porpin' an makes run
for the grade but she's leaking So
1kAdA ne t8I cut Inc lluSlAfi anu Ie
don't even get start up the hill.
West gets To the top ot the grade
before he knows the rest IL stalled
Then he slips down the hill again and
couples on to help en- ur. lie opens
her W wide and gives rs, the sand:
Irwin works his one side and they
make ii ali rirht. but they have To
stop at the top for coal AID water.
on the next grade lis just the
same, West tries to help both seq
tions up the hill at once but he can't
make ii an he has to double To get
em To tn top. But he stays with
her and when they get over tie hump.
he stops and they take water again.
West takes ii soft hammer and goes al
the other scrap heaps and gets EN-
into shape for another run and after
one or two stalls he gets 'em To Lolo
all right. But. say. that was tn
hardest running there ever was on
this division.
Going down the last grade into
I4olo. Dodds gets scared and pulls tn
emergency and skids her. That's two
flat wheels IL bump on for the rest