On
each of the other two cross arms there were four wires, and there was
also one strung along the tops of the poles. This made ten wires in all,
and I had not the least idea which one was the despatcher's wire. The
pole being wet from the rain, made the wires mighty hot to handle. I had
the fireman hand me up a piece of old iron wire he happened to have on
the engine, and with this I made a flying cut in the third wire of the
second cross arm. I attached the little pocket instrument, and found
that upon adjusting it, I was on a commercial wire. There I was,
straddling a cross arm between heaven and earth, with the instrument
held on my knee, and totally ignorant of any of the calls or the wire I
was on. I yelled down to the conductor and asked him if he knew any of
the calls. No; of course he didn't; and he was so excited he didn't have
sense enough to look on his time-card, where the calls are always
printed. Finally, after carefully adjusting the instrument, I opened my
key, broke in on somebody, and said "Wreck." The answer came, "Sine." I
said, "I haven't any sine. No. 2 on the C. K. & Q. has been wrecked out
here, and I want the despatcher's office. Can you tell me if he is on
this wire?"

Now there is a vast deal of difference between sending with a Bunnell
key on a polished table, and sending with a pocket instrument held on
your knee, especially when you are perched on a thirty foot pole, with
the rain pouring down in torrents, the wind blowing almost a gale, and
expecting every minute to be blown off and have your precious neck
broken. Consequently my sending was pretty "rocky," and some one came
back at me with, "Oh! get out you big ham." But I hung to it and
finally made them understand who I was and what I wanted. The main
office in Ouray cut me in on the despatcher's wire and I told him of the
wreck. He said he had suspected that No. 2. was in trouble, but he had
no idea that it was as bad as I had reported. He said he would order out
the wrecking outfit and would send doctors with it. Would I please stay
close and do the telegraphing for them, he would see that I was properly
rewarded. Then I told him about where I was, but promised to hold on as
long as I could, but for him to be sure and send out some more wire and
a pair of climbers on the wrecker. After waiting about an hour the
wrecker arrived, and with it the doctors; so our anxiety was relieved,
the wounded taken care of, and a decent wrecking off