The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-09-10
CONDUCTOR
. OF N.P.ISN NEAR 100
Fred SWeetman Turns over
Original Switch Key; Custer
Had Him Discharged

- ~
st. Paul, Sept. 1O.-Fred eweetmAn,
first conductor Of, the Northern Pa
cific, who now Is in his Tooth year,
today presented to the museum Of the
railway company the first switch key
ever used on that pioneer railroad
system.
Sweetman. who now lives ct Red
Lodge, Mont, went to work for the
railway company in February. 1870.
when the first excavation for the road
bed was made one-hAlf mile west OF
the present station Of Carlton, near
Duluth. He participated In q celebra-
ton at that time marking the begin
ming Of construction Of the Northern
Pacific railroad system 60 years ago.
The first rails were shipped from
Duluth. A few miles Of track were
laid in the spring Of that year. These
tracks Joined with the rails OF the old
Lake Superior & Mississippi railroad,
and at the junction q switchstand
was placed. Sweettnan, "a the first
conductor. thus became the possessor
Of tho first switch key, which now is
a valued relic in the museum.
Custer Had Him Fired
His rigid adherence to common
sense railroading In the early days
terminated Mr.. Sweetman's conduc-
torship abruptly In 1879 Is q result Of
a complaint registered against him by
General @. A Custer, famous In.
dian fighter. 6weetmat1 today re-
called that. a. conductor that year,
he wa called upon to operate q train
to buck snow drifts between James
town ana Bismarck. General Clusters
private car was attached to this train.
General and MR.. Custer were the only
occupants Of the car. Bucking the
snow drifts, they were hanc.led rough
ly, and the general demanded that
Conductor Sweetman leave the private
car while bucking snow and then re-
turn to pick 1t up. This Mr.. Sweet
man refused to do, he said, because
he feared he might not be able to back
his engine through new drifts which
might form. He did not wish to have
General Custer isolated In the snow
drifts. Despite insistence On the
part Of General Custer. Sweetman de-
clined and this started unpleasantness
between them with the result that
when the party reached Bismarck, the
general reported to the Superinten-
dent. The conductor was reprimAnd-
ed and his services terminated. How
ever, he vas told, he said, that he
would be reinstAted later II he would
remain at Bismarck. This COM
promise Sweetnan refused. One Of
the ironies Of fate was that not many
months later Sweetrnan, who was en-
gagged in delivering focdstuffs to the
soldiers, was one Of the first to at
rive on the field after the battle in
which Custer and his men were an
initiated by the Indians.
Old Days at Red Lodge
Sweetman also recalls that he fur
nished teams and accompanied q
party Of engineers when they first
located the coal fields at Red Lodge,
Mont. At that time only one cabin
was located there and this was &C.
cupied by Yankee Jim. The trip re-
quired two weeks from Billings. This
trip marked the beginning Of coal
production In the mines at Red Lodge.
Fred Sweetman was born In County
Tipperary, Ireland, March 4, 1881.
His father was Irish and his mother
of Scotch descent. In 1847, when he
was 16 years old, he came to the
United States with his cousin, Martha
Williams, a Quaker lecturer, whose
itinerary took her through the United
States and Canada following service
as q missionary in China. Young
Sweetman remained with his cousin
until they reached Montreal, from
which city he went to Buffalo, N. Y,
and became q common laborer, but q
few months later he returned to Ire
land. There he attended college, corn-
pleting what he said was equivalent
to q present day high school course
With q wholesale dry goods house, en-
gagged in export and import business.
he then took employment and this
firm, Phillip Riley & Sons, SUBJ
sequently engaged him as a CONNER
cial traveller in the large cities Of Eng
land. In 1854 he came again to the
United States and obtained work in
q grain elevator where he earned $50
q month.
Joins With N. p. \
Soon after, he went to Rochester,
N. Y, and engaged in similar work
for $50 a month. The call Of the
west intrigued him and Last Chance
Gulch at Helena. Mont, was his goal.
He remained there only two weeks,
when he returned to Buffalo to en-
gage In real estate business. He &C.
cumulated $4,000. He then turned to
railroad service and was employed
first by the New York Central and
then by the Michigan Central as q
laborer. With the Michigan Central
at that time was Adam A. Dill. who
later became the first superintendent
Of the Northern Pacific. He then
transferred his activities to Detroit,
and in January, 1870, he met Gregory
Smith, second president Of the North.
fern Pacific.
This acquaintance resulted in EN-
ployment Of young eweetnnAn with
the Northern Pacific at the very out
set Of its construction. His first Job
was that Of conductor. In the fan
| Of 1870 he was made yard master ct
Duluth, but . few months later hA
again became q conductor In charge OF
q work train and steam shovel en-
| rared in building the railroad.