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The Omaha Sunday Bee
PART III.
IIALF-TOilE SECTIOil
PACES 1 T 0
A Paper for the Norn
THE OMAHA DEC
Best & West
VOL. XXXVH NO. 12.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 8, 1907.
SINGLE COFY . FIVE CENTS.
GEORGE GARDINER OAAHA'S PIONEER TELEGRAPH LINEMAN
How the Wonderlust Brought a Boy from the Canal Boat Service in England to the Telegraph Service in Nebraska More than Forty Years Ago, and How He Has Prospered Since
THE cosmopolitanlnmof the Anglo-Saxon la traditional. Out
from the little home Island of Britain sturdy men have
Balled away by thousands every year since the days of the
Crusades and long before. They have ventured Into the
wildest parts of the world, have adapted themselves quickly
7 and either established a civilization where there was none or taken
active part in that which was already established.
One of the sons of John Bull dropped Into Omaha in 1862 and
became a pioneer. George Gardiner was born In the village of Shef
ford, Gloucestershire. England, In 1834. Shefford Is one of those
odd little villages peculiar to England, with -houses set along the
croofced street at Irregular Intervals and In all kinds of odd lines as
though each builder had built with the determination to have his
house stand In some different way from those of his neighbors. Some
of the second stories project beyond the first, tlio roofs are tiled,
chimney pots rise from the tops of the chimneys. Shefford is ono
of the quaintest of the many quaint villages of England.
Through Shefford runs the canal. A great thing was the canal
when Mr. Gardiner was a boy and young man. It was the highway
along which a man could go to many strange places. He could visit
the towns, villages and cities along its course clear to Birmingham
(pronounced Burnlgam). He could go beyond that by canal to Liv
erpool and there he could takers ship flying the Union Jack and go
to any port on the face of the earth. Many a lad went out along
that canal from the village and never returned.
The people of Shefford were such as are so admirably portrayed
by W. W. Jacobs in his short stories. Their chief interest was In
shipping. A boy started life working on a canal boat when he was
little more than out of the cradle. If he rose to own a quarter or
half interest in a boat pecple said he was' "right smart of a la-ad."
If he secured a whole boat of his own he was pronounced "sum-mot
o' a genius."
Family Fortune Founded on Canal
The father of young Gardiner had made his fortune on the canal
and at the time his son was added by a liberal stork to the already
large family he was one of the village real estate magnates and
owned several of the crooked, tile-roofed, chimney-potted houses.
The boy followed In the footsteps of his ancestors and secured a
berth on a little canal boat, "Susan Jane" by name, which plied from
Shefford to Birmingham.
" Twas a proud day for me when I got that place," says Mr.
Gardiner. "I'd never been out o the village and yon were great
Ights to be seen. We 'ad a tiny cabin forrard on the 'Susan Jane,'
where we 'ad a stove and cooking utensils and bunks. We made
about twenty miles a day. In the evening we were always in a new
town. We 'ad sooper and then could spend the evening ashore
'nvli g a pot o' ale at the Inn and a bit o' gossip wl' the people. We
brought Into Burnlgam In about three days and a half. Ooomlng
back we always hauled coals, which were plentiful up Burnlgam way,
but scarce doon at Shefford."
Ho he spent his youth, plying up and down the canal. He
proved to be "right smart of a la-ad" and no pampered scion of his
father, the village real estate magnate. He owned part Interest In
the boat when he attained his twenty-first birthday. That year was .
further made memorable by his marriage. His wife's name was
Miss Emma Astman and she was his companion through life until
only five years ago, when she died.
A solemn, seedy-looking, but earpest Mormon apostle was the
direct cause of Mr. Gardiner's emigration to America. The Mormon
propaganda In England at that time was extremely active and one
H i of the apostles sent from Utah found his way to the quiet little vll
' lage lying so far out of the ordinary path of travel. He appeared
iU viuunvu iiiuo street ana tne oaa people from the quaint
bouses flocked out to see and to bear him. He told them of the
"true religion." be painted, a picture of the prosperity of Utah and
beld out golden promises to all those who should Join the caravan
which was being organized to crose the sea and to traverse the conti
nent to that distant Canaan.
1 Mormon Starts Him West
The apostle was successful in Shefford as others were successful
elsewhere. George Gardiner and his wife were among the 900 men,
women and children who gathered at Liverpool and embarked upon
the sailing vessel which had been chartered by the Mormons. Storms
beset the vessel and adverse winds blew it out of its course. They
were on the ocean six weeks and three days before they sighted New
, York and by that time, says Mr. Gardiner, they didn't care whether
they ever landed. They were treated miserably on the ship, having
poor food and miserably squalid sleeping quarters. There was no
medical aid for the sick and a number died during the voyage.
But when they were on land once more they quickly plucked up
spirit and came on toward the west He and his wife Journeyed
with the pilgrims as far as Florence, There they "got disgusted
with them," stopped, came down to Omaha and determined to make
It their home. Here they remained and Mr. Gardiner has been
closely Identified with the upbuilding of the city and the west
He was an employe of the Western Union Telegraph company for
more than thirty-eight years. When be first arrived in Omaha be
worked for Sheely Bros., butchers. Before he had been here a year
Edward Crelgbton completed the Pacifio telegraph as far as Jules
burg. Edward Rosewater. who had Just been made manager of the
Omaht district, met Mr. Gardiner on the street one day and asked
him if he wanted a Job. .The young Englishman thought be would
like the telegraph business and promptly accepted.
Duties with Telegraph Company
"J1" Ck f " tradeB 1 w8 wttn tt company In those
days," be say, "I had to cut wood, carry messages aad act as line
man. I ran all over this town delivering telgrama. I sawed cords
of wood to burn In the office stove in the winter. The office was
on the second floor of the building where the Union Pacifio ticket
office Is now at Fourteenth and Farnam streets. There were two
tables and two men besides Mr. Rosewater. He surely was a worker,
regular engine for getting things done. He worked, too, for all
he got I knew the time when be was living In a little room on
Jackson street and cooking his own grub."
As the infant telegraph business was more and more perfected
Mr. Gardiner's duties became greater. He was put In charge of the
line west as far as Columbus, and sometimes had to go out to Grand
Island. Down along the river he had to keep the wires In order to
Nebraska City. This was before there was a railroad and most of the
traveling had to be done on horseback, with saddlebags In which to
carry bis tools and material. He traveled hundreds of miles in this
way, In all sorts of weather, by night and by day.
"We had only one wire then," he says, "and if it got down or
broke there was no more telegraphing until I could get It fixed. So
the work had to be done in more of a rush than now. The poles
were almost anything in those days. Some of them weren't hardly
strong enough to hold a man to climb up on them. We. used only
sixteen joles to the mile then. Now they use thirty five.
"The Indians didn't give us much trouble about the wires. Once
In awhile a stray band of bucks would get out and pull down a few
strands Just for fun. But we to!d them that the wire led to the
home of 'The Great White Father' in Washington and that If they
pulled them down the White Father would be very angry."
In building and keeping In order the lines across the Missouri
and Platte rivers Mr. Gardiner showed great skill and intrepidity.
There was no bridge across the Missouri at that time and the
problem of carrying the wires over was a difficult one. He had four
poles, each sixty feet long, shipped out from Chicago. Having set
up one of these with a cross-bar near the top. like the yard on a
' ship's mast, be drew the other oue up by block and tackle and fast
t ened it on top of the first one. Then the cable was strung from the
top, more than 100 feet above the ground. The span of the cable
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across the river was nearly half a mile. He also put wires across the Mr. Gardiner was here when the Union Pacific line was first
Missouri rlver at Nebraska City and over the Platte river at several talked of and he worked on the wires along Its line for thirty years,
points. "The people pretty near went wild with Joy when the line was built,"
he says. He bos a clipping from an early day rarer which demon
strates something of the popular feeling. The paean of Joy Is as
follows;
Jubilate Omaha
"Ring out, ye church bells and assemble the choirs. Let the deep
toned organs swell the anthems to the skies. Dln dang, dong, ye
school bells and let the children shout Today let banners float, to
night let bonfires burn and rockets cut the darkness. Cannons boom
and wake the cloud gods.
"Bring all the Instruments out the cornet, flute and fiddle,
hornpipe and drum. Sound the the hewgag, blow the humstrum,
smite the tonjon, beat the fuzzy-guziy and rattle the bones. Let
your torturing lnharnionles be sweet harmony now. Ding, dong,
bum, boom, tut, hoot bangety, bang, dlckety, clack.
"Let all nature Join the chorus. Blow, ye Nebraska winds, bofl
anew Big Muddy, and thou far-famed Tlatte bring tho mountain
waters. -
"All Irving thtngs take part Bellow, ye herds and flocks, for
soon ye shall ride to the Chicago stock yards on cars. Skip, ye
Juvenile muttons, and frisk, ye little pigs, for soon the passage to
slaughter will be In style.
"Aborigines, arise. Tawnees and all redskins of the plains, come
and Jubilate. Free passes on flat cars to you all forever. Old bull
whackers, begin to prepare to make ready to lay down your gads
forever, for soon the iron horso will supersede your bulls forever-
tuore.
"Old settlers, prick your ears to henr the first snort. All tho
emigrant world, open your eyee and behold the grassy vales and
rounded hills of Nebraska. Tourists of the globe, pack your trunks
for the Rocky mountains.
"Close the concert, ye mighty oceans, for your ships shall anchor
at the ends of a continental iron band blending your waves in one
and holding the hemispheres In nearness close and union firm."
Early Investments Pay Well
Mr. Gardiner took an interest In Omaha real estate at an early
date. He built a house on Capitol avenue between Tenth and
Eleventh streets In 1865. He paid $100 a thousand feet for the
lumber used in the house. When Edward Rosewater bought the lot
at Seventeenth and Farnam streets on which part of The Bee build
ing now stands Mr. Gardiner loaned him $200 of the purchase price.
"He begged me to buy the lot next to his," says Mr. Gardiner,
"but I wouldn't Of course, money wasn't any too plentiful with me
then, but I would have made 2,000 per cent on the Investment if I'd
followed his advice. I used to plant potatoes on the lot and ran a
little garden up there on the bluff, but I never thought ot buying It"
Many of the great men of the state were among Mr. Gardiner's
friends. He is well acquainted with President Clowry of the Western
Union and calls on him when in New York. He Is on terms of
friendship with many other leading officials In the Western Union
company.
Since retiring from the service of tho company in 1900 Mr.
Gardiner has been engaged in attending his real estate interests. He
lives at 805 South Twenty-third street He owns considerable prop
erty in different parts of the city and in managing this he Is quite
active In spit of Mb 78 years ot age. Unlike most of his fellow
Britons, he does not smoke and never has dVne so, but he saves
tho traditions of the race by indulging in an occasional' pot o' ale.
Mr and Mrs. Gardiner have four daughters and a son, aU of whom
liveMn Omaha. Mrs. Gardiner died in 1802. Mi Gardiner has
traveled considerably in late years. He has made two trips to Eng
land, where he visited his old home. For the modern generation
of linemen he has no admiration.
"They carry a whole machine shop in their belts. We bad
nothing but pliers and holders. Lota of them don't know what
they're going up a pole for. None "of them could ever go through
what we did in the old days."
Early Struggles and Triumphs of Richard Aansfield
1NCE Mansfield has gone the writers for
Sthe press throughout the country have
vied with each other in efforts to give
the fullest possible informaUon concern
ing the iuan who was admittedly the
bead of his class. Much that is curious has been
brought to light concerning him. He was born in
Berlin, not Helgoland, as has been so often set
forth In public print He was cast away on the
Island hy a shipwreck when a babe, and from this
grew the statement that he was born in that little
island. He did spend his babyhood there. Later
he was taken by his mother to England, where he
was sent to school.
Not much Is known of his first schooling, but
they sent children to school early In those days,
and hlrf mother, as a professional woman, had not
much time to spare for the training of youth.
Richard had a schoolmaster In his childhood who,
to his Infantile mind, seemed a sort of ogre. He -used
to frighten the lad terribly, and once be de
clared that he had reproduced some of the char
acteristics of this awful personage in his portrayal
of the grim hero of "Ivan the Terrible," especially
in the earlier sceaes in which that fateful czar is
represented as a tyrannical husband and cruel
parent
It is known that Mansfield passed ten years,
from his seventh to his seventeenth, in the publlo
schools at Derby, in England. Dr. Clark, the head
master, was one of his warmest friends, and at the
time ot Mansfield's engagement in London in
1888-8, he took his company to Derby and acted
some scenes ot "Richard III" on the school plat
form, where he had appeared in his youth fre
quently In scenes from "The Merchant of Venice"
and other Shakespearean plays, after the fashion
of English schools.
His mother was very fond of him and heeded
his slightest wish when there was plenty of money
in the family exchequer; but 'the finances fre
quently ran low, which was the reason why be
went briefly, into trade instead of going to Har
vard college' as was planned. He had already
spent a year in the Latin school. He soon left
Boston to go to Paris to study art abroad. Mr.
Mansfield always bad a very skillful way of paint
ing water colors, but be never bad much skill in
selling them. Many water colors are easily sold
that are leas meritorious than his, and, doubtless,
a handsome sum would be paid nowadays for one
of his little pictures as a souvenir. He had them
by him In large quantities during bis early days
in New York. In fact, they helped largely to fur
nlsh bis flat in West Twenty-ninth street. After
he began to make money be employed the pleasing
occupation of hunting them up in old picture
shops, for he had gradually lost them all through
stress ot circumstances. He had gathered to
gether quite a collection of Mansfield works, which
he afterward kept by him.
From Paris, after some hardships, he went to
London, where he entered as a pupil at South
Kensington, but remittances from home were ir
regular, so he soon found it necessary to do some
thing for his own support In the old Savage
club ho met George Urotismith, father and grand
father of the present Grossmlth family of the
English musical comedy stage, who was renowned
, as an "entertainer," and was one of the first to
go around to society functions and enliven the
guests with songs and mimicry. Mr. Grossmith
noted Mansfield's musical and mimetic skill, and
advised him to take up the same line. Hence
came "Mrs. Dldymus' Party," the musical sketch
in which the performer sat at the piano, sang the
songs of his own composition and spoke the orig
inal descriptive passages between them. This
was practically the entertainment which he after
ward introduced so successfully in the last act ot
"Prince Karl" in the first year ot his starring
career, 1886.
Those were gay days for Mansfield in London,
and he frequently made enough money to live on,
though art naturally suffered and sometimes there
was very little In his pocket. He always had a
dress suit, however, and managed to keep up ap
pearances. He tells a story of starting out one
night when he had a 10 o'clock engagement at a
house in Mayfalr, with only a single shilling In
his pocket. On the Strand a cab stopped and a
friend Jumped out. "Hullo, Mansfield," he ex
claimed, "let's go Into Short's and have a cham
pagne cocktail." Champagne cocktails cost 6
pence in London. After they had drank theirs
the friend discovered that he had come out with
out his purse. "Just pay the shot, Dick," he said,
"and I will see you tomorrow."
Richard bravely pulled out his only shilling
and, giving up his cherished plan of having a
cheap fish smack or fried sole and a half pint of
bitter, in Covent Garden market, walked the
streets until the hour of bis engagement and
fainted that night at the piano.
Of these hard days In London he told a circle
of friends some of the details. He said:
"I went on the stage because J. was poor. I
bad an excellent education and started life as an
artist I was living in Boston, and had many
friends, so I sold every picture I painted as soon
as it was finished; but soon my list of friends be
gan to decrease, and with every picture I sold I
lost a friend, until at last I had not a companion
left and no market for my wares, and I returned
to London.
"You know what the life of a young painter
Is like. I had to give up my art and go Into busi
ness, but at the end et a year I made a dismal
failure aud returned to art But I made no
money, and was so poor I could not pay for my
lodgings. Sometimes the landlady would shut mo
out &nd then I would wander through the streets
all night and sing ballads. If I got a few pennies
I would invest them in hot potatoes, and, after
thoroughly warming my hands and pockets I
would proceed to make a meal and warm my
stomach."
A grim smile stole over his face at this
thought, and then he added:
"Borne people wonder why I am not one of the
boys; they do not know that I have been through
It all; before Beerbohm Tree ever thought of go
ing on the stage I have stood among the cabbages
in the market at 4 o'clock in the morning, singing
songs. My great chum in those days was young
Hepworth Dixon. Sometimes we used to sing to
gether, and often when his father would shut him
out he would come to spend the night with me
that was before my landlady locked me out."
"At that period of my life I often dined on
smells. . There was a famous brewery on Cheap
side and I used to go there every morning, be
cause I thought the smell of hops strengthening.
For a second course I would stand in front of a
butcher shop, then the baker's.
"Sometimes for days I lived on smells, but
once in a while I was lucky enough to receive an
Invitation to dine with some ot my friends at the
Savage club. I was one of the original members,
and the only time in my Ufe that J ever got drunk
was there. Receiving an Invitation to dine, with
eager steps I hastened to the club as fast as my
weak condition would permit, but roy strength
gave out and I arrived Just after the last course
had been cleared away. The. boys were drinking
wine, and foolishly I Joined them, and was soon
as drunk as a lord. '
"The first time I was ever on any stage was at
a German read, all the rage when I was a young
man. It was an entertainment something like the
theater, only all love was expunged from the two
short plays that constituted the performance. To
give it a semblance of Iparlor entertainment there
was always piano music between the plays, and
so it was the bishops and ministers of the church
attended and applauded. Young Hepworth had
a great deal of influence in society, and once when
one ot the performers In a German read was taken
ill he obtained the position for me. Faint with
hunger, I approached the piano; I attempted to
play, was too weak and fainted dead away, falling
forward on the keys. I was dismissed and for
some time longer continued to starve.
"Few persons know that my play, 'Monsieur,'
Is taken from life my own. The critics object
to my writing plays now, but once I wrote a sketch
tor a German read and bad it returned with the
remark that It was excellent but contained to
much love and might offend some of their patrons.
So I was out that much writing paper.
"At last, in despair, I called on W. S. Gilbert
and asked him to use his Influence in my behalf.
He took a fancy to me, and when 'Pinafore' was
finished I was sent out in the provinces as Sir
Joseph Porter, and under D'Oyly Carte's stingy
management I played the leading role in the opera
for three years at a salary of 3 a week. One
day I determined to go to London and try my
luck. I had become a great favorite in the prov
inces; so without a penny, more than my fare I
boarded the train. The company all came to see
me off. I was universally liked then; but things
are different now. I don't know why.
"As the train was rolling out an elderly lady,
a member of our company, thrust a paper into
my hand; it was a 5 note a small fortune to
one of that company. I returned it soon after
ward and have often looked for the old lady to
give her an engagement She was a crank only
cranks do kind deeds In real life.
"I made a success in London and have never
, known real want since."
" Mansfield had a very sensitive nature; that
was the essential truth about him, and that was
something that people who did not, know him .well
could never understand, for he did not show bis
sensitiveness and his aspect was generally that of
a severe and rather cynical man of the world. But
he greatly appreciated the smallest kindness, and
only those who knew him intimately ever saw th
better side of him or enjoyed the real charm ot
his personality. His social gifts were pronounced.
He was a splendid host, but he was given too much
to the resentment of little Informalities and unin
tentional rudeness.
He used to tell some droll stories ot his earlier
career. After his great hit In "A Parisian Ro
mance" be was engaged for the Madison Square
theater to act a pui t In "Alpine Roses," a feeble
little play by the late Prof. Boyesen. On the first
night, before the curtain rose, Mansfield, clad as
a foppish young man, In mountain attire, was
standing on a rustic bridge, and Georgia Cayvan,
the leading actress, dressed as a mountain maid,
was standing by him. The scene was idyllic, even
viewed from the stage, but the atmosphere at that
moment was quite the reverse.
"Mr. Mansfield," said Miss Cayvan, "you must
know that I have Influence with the management
of thU theater, and I want to tell you now, before
the curtain rises, that it you put one word tonight
In your part that has not been rehearsed I will
have you dismissed from this theater."
Mansfield was duly Impressed and his amaze
ment was increased a moment later, when David
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