The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-02-11
IRECOUNT TALES OF
EARLY RA|LROAO|NG
Men Slept Out When 1t Was
so Degrees Below Zero
Many Frozen.


by whose son. Charles Francis Shelby,
was killed recently at Ancon, Peru,
in an automobile accident, is at the
Waldorf. Mr.. Shelby was at Winches-
ter, Va. when he got the news and
came TO New York to get further par
ticulars.
my son was thirty-six years DID,
said Mr.. Shelby. "Hc was general su-
perintendcnt OF the metallurgical de-
psrtment OF the Cerro dc Pasco Min
ing company. He is survived by his
wife and one son. He was educated
by the Jcsuits at Buffalo and he used
to work for the Grecne-Cananea peo-
pie. The body will be sent home,
and will be buried in gainesville.
where my sons mother and sister are
buried"
Mr.. Shelby was in the railroad bus
mess for many years with James j.
Hill lie said that as vice-president
and general manager of the coast
lines of the Great Northern he had
laid the tracks from Puget Sound TO
the summit of the Cascades.
II went into the railroad business
Just after the civil war. through
which I served" said Mr.. shelby. Il
got a wound In II which has given me
trouble at times since. or late have
made my home in San Francisco. But
the other day bought a real castle
in gainesville, o., where ! used to
live. and am on my way there now.
The house Is IA replica of an old En-
glish Castle, and was built by man
named Storrs, who used to be the
agent for Connecticut of the Western
Reserve. lie sold II TO "a man named
Avery. who was rich at the time Boss
Tweed went down. and in the house Is
Tweed's old mantcl. together with
some really fine works of art Storrs
built the castle and died poor. |
bought the place from Avery's daugh-
ter.
Getting Mr.. Shelby's mind off his
loss seemed to make him feel better.
II went into the railroad business
right after the war closed" he said.
IL began in n subordinate position on
only two locomotives and forty miles
OF track extending west from Omaha.
went out there with General Case.
ment. who was famous railroad
builder and who had served in the
war. Those were wild days in that
country. I remember that in '67 the
Indians who were on the rampage
most OF the time and had to be kept
off the line by soldiers. ditched an en-.
CINE at Plum creek. $50 miles west Of
Omaha. put the engineer in the fire
box alive and roasted him. At the
time the road was completed. on May
10. 1869. I was in the traffic depart
ment In Omaha.
II started with Mr. Hill twenty-five
years ago next October. At the time
] was general manager of the Mon
tana Central. and when that was con-
solidated with the Great Northern
became general manager Of the big
ger road.
Omaha had population Of three
thousand when I first went there.
All the material for the first three
hundred miles Of the Union Pacific
. was brought up the Missouri river.
The nearest railroad station to ON.
aha. was Boone. Ia. $50 miles away.
The boats used to run all the way up
from st. Louis to Fl. Benton. Mont.
"Thirty.two years ago I was sent
by Jay Gould into the far northwest to
study traffic prospects and determine
whether they justified the building of
the Utah Northern, now the Oregon
short line. ! Travelled 750 miles in a
sleigh and one night slept out with
the thermometer at so degrees below
zero.
In reading about recent experien.
ces OF arctic explorers I came across
accounts Of experiences that were
similar tn one ] had that night. The
icicles formed so thick and fast OH the
eyelids OF the driver that l had TO
break them off SO that he could sec
his way. Then when my hands got so
numb with cold that I could not keep
up this work We did lose our way. We
cantcd the sleigh In the snow SO as to
break the force OF the wind. and the
four hoscsc put their backs to tho
wind and stayed In that position all
night. We spread buffalo robes on
the snow and with my secretary on
ono sidc IF mo and my driver IN tho