battered and bruised bluecoats, a
wounded engineer and fireman, commanded by an almost beardless boy. Well
did that mob know that if those rifles ever spoke there would be a
number of vacant chairs at the various family boards that night. The
wire was soon cut, the main office gave me department headquarters and
in thirty minutes' time that mob was scattering like so much chaff
before the wind, and with a ringing cheer, two companies of the --th
Infantry came down among them like a thunderbolt. We were saved and took
Redway back to camp with us. That evening the major came over to see
him. Poor chap! he couldn't speak but he motioned for a pencil and
paper and this is what he wrote:--

"Don't worry, major, I'm all right. My speaking machine seems to have
had a head end collision with a cyclone, but if you want me to pull any
more trains out my right arm is still in pretty good shape." Bob hung to
us all through the trying weeks that followed and in the end some of us
succeeded in getting him a good position in one of the departments in
Washington.

Far up in the Northwest things were in a very bad shape. Everything was
tied up tight; mail trains could not run because there were no men to
run them; "Debsism" had a firm grasp; and even though many of the
trainmen were willing to run, intimidation by the strikers caused them
to go slow.

At one place, call it Bridgeton, there was an overland mail waiting to
go out, but no engineer. Here's where the versatility of the American
soldier came in. Major Clarke of the --th Infantry, had four companies
of his regiment guarding public property at Bridgeton and he sent word
by his orderly that he wanted a locomotive engineer and a fireman. Quick
as a flash he had six engineers and any number of men who could fire. He
chose two good men and then detailed Captain Stilling's company to go
along as an escort. Orders were procured at the telegraph office for the
train to run to Pokeville, where further orders would be sent them. When
the crowd of loiterers and strikers saw the preparations they jeered in
derision. They had the engineer and fireman corralled, but their laugh
turned to sorrow when they saw a strapping infantry sergeant climb into
the cab and after placing his loaded rifle in front of him, he grasped
the throttle and away they went--much to the disgust of Mr. Rioter. They
didn't like it worth a cent, but as one striker put it, "What's the use
of monkeyin' with them reg'