The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-07-17

spring of 1908 a farmer in the Spring
Creek Valley in Hodgeman county
was approached by an old German,
stranger, who asked to buy strip of
land across part of his farm. Sur
prised at the request, the farmer
questioned the old German and final
ly learned the land was wanted for
railroad right of way.
The farmer could not believe that
his visitor was the representative of
a railway company and his behalf was
justified by the frank admission of
the stranger that he was not backed
by any company. He wanted the
land for his own use, he said. He
was to be the sole railroad builder.
That was the way Rudolph Meyer
started on his railroad construction.
His queer enterprise provoked no end
of comment among the farmers in the
neighborhood, but comment did not
interest this hard working, uncom-
municative Teuton in the least. Men
said five years ago that he would
soon quit his quixotic campaign to
throw up a>grade across a broken
prairie country where some OF the ILLS
had to be seventy feet.
But Rudolph Meyer is still work
ing. Men believed that when he ex-
hausted his supply of money-and his
appearance did not indicate that he
had much-he would have to quit
work because of lack of right of way
to work on But he has always had
the cash ready to pay for the next
strip of land, no matter how much't the
owner asked for it.
Meyer has worked five years now
and has hardly five miles of road
grade to show for MS toll. A little
mule team and a single scraper COM
prise his complete outfit. With it he
works all day when the weather is
fine. When the ground is frozen Or
soaked with water he whiles away
his time in his little cook shack,
which is always stationed near the
part of the grade he is at work on.
The work of Rudolph Meyer has
been the topic of keen speculation
among railroad men in western Kan
sas. What induced him to under
take job of that kind? Who furnish
es funds for carrying on the work?
What route does he intend to follow?
What railroad is interested in the
project? Is he crazy? These are the
questions that have been discussed
over and over again the last five
years.
And Rudolph Meyer is the last man
in the world to throw light on the
puzzle. The questions have been put
to Meyer on different occasions, but
they might as we'll have been with
held so far as eliciting information
is concerned. No cross-examiner has
yet managed to extract from the old
grader any information that amounts
to anything. And no information has
been dug up from any other source.
Iteis peculiar project carried out in
peculiar manner by peculiar man
A party of visitors to the scene of
the strange railroad grade recently
found the lonesome cook shack of the
grader huddled down in a valley be-
tween two high hills Towering above
it was the grade of 70 feet, hauled
into place scraper full at time by
the patient labor of an old worker
and his mules.
Stretching away to the northeast
toward Jetmore are the few miles of
grade which Meyer has to show for
the five years of work. All the dirt
in the grade was hauled by Meyer; he
holds and dumps the scraper. He is
workman, the hostler, the cook, the
whole crew on an enterprise that
should have the service of high
grade engineer and an experienced
contractor.
Meyer never objects to talking to
visitors. He seems to enjoy chat
with those who scoop down on his
little camp to find out all about his
business and he always manages to
work out an extremely indefinite an
swer to all questions. The visitors
wanted to find out how he happened
to start railroad grade there.
''Oh, just picked out an easy place
to build one," Meyer replied.
Where was he going? Meyer had
no objection to telling. Just going
over into the flats; but he hadn't fig
ured any further than than.
Just ahead of where he is working
another fill must be built up and just