The
Omaha
Sunday
Bee
PART TWO
EDITORIAL
PAGES ONE TO TEN
PART TWO
SOCIETY
PAGES ONE TO TEN
VOL. XLUI-NO. 13.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 14, 10i:l.
SINGLE COPY" liTVE CENTS.
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JIAEN go into tin wilderness, lacked ly modern science,
" and mountains fade before (Mm, valleys di'snp
pear, rivers arc removed from their btds, lukes appear
where, nefer1 v.attr ftdo'd i.ifore, forests tire rended, and
the tch'ile aspect of nature is c'lonjr.il. In civilizejl sec
tions thi ixpan'lixg needs of manrars-ministered unto
by similar methods. Lit la t'toug'it ii taken iif these mtr.;
thty an reckoned ttith as a part of the macliinery of the
modern industrial mov.menU But they nave a life of
their own, in xvhicli romance and adventure iron out the
wrinkles an lit it rom Vie sordidness of mere existence.
Venturous as the bold pioneers ot a itew world, possessing
the characteristics of strong and free mm, they are as
clannish as the trtbes or the mountains. They.live apart,
indulge in their own fancies in their own way, and whin
the. i foregather in hours of nlaxation, they conmune in
a language th'it is iuch their own. Thttt men ore tvld
of in a measure in the article that lollvws. It can be
be'tcr understood b'j presenting at the beginning a glos
sal y of tome o the terms:
7
v.
Ofclnner Driver of a
Kradlng jnachlne drawn by
niu.es; used loosely to
mean all who work In
grading KanB. on railroad
erodes or other dlrt-mov-(ntr
work for companies dr
corporations.
Dyx.oo The men who
build the tracks of th
railroad, Including those
who lay the tics, drive tha
pikes and handle tho
steel.
Knit-eater The dynos
who lay the steel rails.
Tresnos Th6 four-mule
scrapers, knows ns slips, or
the men who drive the
four-mule machines.
Xormoa A scraper
with a tongue In It.
Monntain CutA skin
ner who yorks In tho
mountain country.
Western Cat Tho skin
ner who works In the
plains country.
aooser or Pashman
Driver of the pushing ma
chines, which crowd the
dirt Into the pit in fills.
Sprocket llan Man
who holds the plow. '
Zonglusfcinan or Strong
arm elan A driver of a
b'g team of four or more
horses.
EpUlman Man who
spills the dirt from the
steam shovels.
IJellyrobfcer Tho cook.
Ironbamer The camp's
blacksmith.
Muokers, tampers and
slnpcrs nro the men who
shape the dirt In the fills,
shoving It around Into
places where It Is needed,
Oypo A smsJl outfit of
two or threo machines:
also tho men who work
with the small .outfits.
dandy-dancer The' han
dler of tho steam shovel.
Slnky-slclnnex Skinner
who works with the gang
of graders for a narrow
gauge road.
Oranesman The man
who handles the "dipper."
Pitmen The fellows
who level the dirt ahead
of the steam shovel.
Btable-dor T h e care
taker of the mules.
Orowler The boss of
the outfit; the contractor.
iifinirnsmiTr7
By A. 3L EASTERLINQ.
DCHUITED from every known vocation
and et preserving with Jealous lovo
Its own peculiar type a strange army
of 1,500 "skinners" Is marshalled In
Omaha by local men In tho spring ot
each year and sent fprth to every
Ber.ilon of America and Canada to engage In In
dustrial struggles involving millions of dollars.
Until the snow flies and tho earth freezes this
quaint array of dirt-movers builds its railroads,
levels hills, fills valleys and fulfills the prophecy
or destroys tho hopes of' tho boomers, who aro tho
advanco guards and the outposts of modern civ
UiKbtlon. Through languid summers In the south, the hot
rcldsi'iinmurs of the central west or the short and
tantalizing warm seasons of tho north, these skin
ners, with wonderful camaraderie, labor iiko the
6lnvt'of undent Egypt, yet withal contrive to sur
round their work with that halo of romance with
which the man of mediocre temperament Invests
the ekinnor's prototype the cowboy. They live
with the tame wild abandon as did tho horsemen
of tho plains, drinking a little harder, spending
more freely, eating better grub, making moro
moi.ey, dreaming bigger dreams' and worshiping
the boss while they laugh at his worries.
Wherever the tontacles of progress roach to
clutch and hold the riches of new countries, there
the skinners gather, but always as the forerunners
of the permannt civilization which builds Its coun
try homes and Its somber cities of steel and stone.
They spend their wages and much ot their time in
the cities, but the wandorlust, which Is one ot their
characteristics, Impels them on and on, always a
little in tho lead, blazing tho trail for their less
restless brethren to follow,. Thoy nro tho -mighty
Nomads ot capital, weaving the gossamer' schemes
of the men with money into tangible things lev
eled hills, uplifted valleys, mountains undermined
and behind them sounds tho roar of swift-moving
engines on thin steel rails, bearing tho hom6
makers. Tack of Billy Atkins' saloon on Farnam street,
in a little old shack, tho skinnor3 keep 'their head
quarters. There tho floaters gather, year In and
year out, proud ot their calling and Jealous or its
good name. No swaggering stranger could flaunt
in their faces a deadlier insult than to sncor at a
grader, a growler, a dyno, a skinner, a fresno,
wheelor or oven a gypo. They nro clannish, hob
nobbing with none who comes unintroduced, but
generous to the friend who is broke.
"Most clannish crowd you ever saw," said John
M. Ward, one-time politician of Sarpy county, but
uo7 fiist lieutenant to Georgo W. Condon, who is
kuoun nil over tho middle west as "the galloper."
"If a Bkinnor with 100 plunkB in hl3 pocket hits a
gang of 100 dead brotoo pals, you can bet your
bottom aollar ovory skinner in tho bunch will
pockot a buck. That is their way. They are tho
last survivors of the groat free spenders of tho
early days. They lovo the picturesque, tho flam
boyant, and they're truo bluo."
Always, without exception, the skinner wears
the telltale toggery of his trade. A narrow-brim
black hat with high, undentod crown, and his "J 6
shoos" aro as necessary to the skinner as a T-bone
steak and a black cigar or a thick and Juicy plug,
which aro the known primo essentials of his lire.
Bccauso the rust-eaterB, the llngolstic appellation of
tho rall-luylng squads of tho railroad construction
gangs, aro less careful of their dross thoy aro not
admitted to the inner councils of tho truly elite
skinners. The rust-eaters ordinarily prefer a bat
tered cady or an outlandish cap to a high black hat.
Exact nB the Bcience" of railroad grading has
become, the skinner, with his love of tho peculiar
and tho picturesque, refuses to bo loss exact in his
lingo and will seldom speak of his own work ex
cept in the idioms of the trade, often peifeotly
meaningless to tho uninitiated. Evon "Whltey"
nnnsom, one of tho "gallopors " cooks, and touted
as the small man of tho big appetito, has too much
prldo of profession to vergo from tho vernacular.
"Whltey" has become famous for bis T-bone
stfakp, potntoos lyonnnlso, blackjack and punk, tho
lattor meaning coffee and broad. In addition to
thi 4 fore under Condon's orders that it be servod
well and bounteously, "Whitey" has mude a spe
cialty of cuke and preserves or something equally
as d HrloiiB for dessert. Condon was once head ot
a gyre or "one-horse outfit," and has extended his
bjpiness until his monthly payroll roaches around
$00,000 One of his theories is, and tho skinners
all over thb country are familiar with it, that tho
best fed nmn are the best workmen. Every night
ho gives tho hard-worked graders everything their
hungry stomachs crave, knowing that If thoy are
well fed they will smoke their cigars, cigarettes or
pipes and toll Into blankets without suffering from
UV'
en
that disrupting disease Known as a "hankorln' for
the whtto lights."
Condon won his title as "the galloping kid" be
cause it took him but a few years to grow from a
gypo to ono of tho chief factors in railroad grading
In tho middle west, being now second in rank to
Edvard Pcterspn, an Omaha "growlor," who is
grading tho Canadian Pacific, a contract involving
nr. expenditure of ) 160,000 a month tor lnbor. A
time-killing crew of the Condon army tilled in and
lifted the west end of Amos avenue. Their camp,
pitched at Thirty-third and Ames avenue, drew a
curious crowd daily and was at first the object ot
protect from citizens of tho vicinity, but tho order
maintained b the skinners did not Justify tho com
plalhts and they wero willingly withdrawn.
A skinner camp is a model of ordor and cloanli
nesH. About the big stock tont whore the mules
which pull tho grading and pushing machines aro
kept tho fotable-dog and his flunkoys hold dlspotlo
sway. Even tho "boss man" would not Interfere
with the arrangements of the stable-dog any more
than ho would daro meddle with tho stomach-rob-bo.-,
ns the cook Is called, for this cook has bis
own flunkies and is a person to reckon wllh In a
grading camp.
There nre, in the skinner camps of tho middle
west and Canada, a few outfits whoro horses aro
used to drag or push the grading, loveling and
scraping niachlnoa, but tho true skinner abhors tho
horse. GIvo him stubborn teams of big mules, sev
enteen hands high, and tho pride of the longlash
man possesses him at onco. No other wild or do
mestic animal could fill tho placo tho mule holds In
tho skinners' camps. Ho Is by naturo peculiarly
oqulppod for tho work; tho heat does not hurt him;
his hldo is tough and few welts rise whero the
long lash strikes; he is more sure of foot than tho
horso, loss nervous, lose fastidious.
Although tho mulos could withstand much
rough treatment and neglect, the stable dog minis
ters to them as painstakingly aH a Hindu cares for
the sacrod cows of India. While tho boBS-raan dooa
not meddle in tho affairs of tho stable dog, it la told
in many griding camps with apparent prldo 'that
the growler could nt a glance, whllo walking past
the harnessod teams, detoot a missing bucklo or on
tho Instant soe tho slightest "swltdi" of hnrnoss.
"Tho galloper" is accredited with being of so keen
an eye that he knows the collars belonging to each
of his hundreds of mules and hns halted sklunors
as thoy drove out of camp to ordor a collar changed,
knowing the mule would limp into camp at night
with a soro shoulder if the Bkinnor worked him in
the wrong cpllar all day. ,
There are several classes of sklnnors and nono
ot tluni shun tho Omaha. headquarters, whoro "Old
Dad" Holhrdok prosldoB at tho conclaves with an
unci) o( bearing and speech which entitles him to
the rani; of a steam shovel man, but ho is not even
a skiunor. "Dad" is tho poor of "doposters," and
as tho tide of floaters, or drifting skinners, ebbs
and flows with tho como and go of tho season, it
is "Old Dad" Holbrook who Bonds the pushmon,
the wheelers, tho frcsnos, tho dinky skinners, tho
dynus, the moat-burners and tho mountain cntB on
their way. In some mosmoric mannor he knows
whoro the newest gypo is at work, how mnny skin
ners the big growlers need, whero the next army
of dirt fhovers Is likely to bo flung and th length
ot time It v. ill maneuver there.
Any Bkinnor who works with a steam shovel
gang of from seventy to 700 men, or oven with tho
whrilors nnd frcsnos, is entitled to wear tho black
hat and the $6 shoes, but it grlevos tho soul of a
skinner groatly to see a poor llttlo despisod gypo
uffoct tho ivannerlsms of a high-clasB skinner, when
ovoryborty knows ho Is nothing but a Btraggllng
Beaut of the main armies of graders. Although
the i:ypo drives tho grading and pushing muchlnoa
nnri the dump wagons on little Jobs and his droams
am not t-hot through with glamour of mighty con
quests of the earth such as tho steam shovol men
know, ho it, for all that, admitted to be a very near
rolntivo of the blue-blood skinner.
Squatted on tho floor of Holbrook's little shaok,
or lounging on the rough benches about the walls,
the skinner renew acquaintances and spin thrilling
yarns of last season's adventuros. Thore are
HtorJcH of encounters with boars and bobcats and
hnlr-rnlHlng descriptions of struggles at night In tho
wild lands of Canada or tho swamps of the south
with strange forooious tfeasta stories to inako a
bo gaep.
One of I'otorson's sklnnors declares he has wit
noases to prove that ho chased a big black bear Into
cunip one day and that the frightened animal sud
denly turned and chasod him back into the woods
and that he was lost for two days. Another skinner
who . triced last season in Canada says a flock ot
wild ducks In numbers to groat that tho stars wore
hidden swept over the camp ono night. Thinking
tho whito tents wore water, they circled and settled
Tho flaps of tho "growler's" tent wero rolled
up and at least a dozen ot tho migrating duckB
crawled under his roof, fluttorod over his .bunk and
oven tried to hide under tho covers. Tho growlor,
awakened from sound slumber, suffered all tho
symptoms of n man with the "snakes," and had it
not boon for his strong constitution ho would have
undoubtedly ondurod a nervous breakdown, this
skinner nffirms. .Men in all mannor of night garb
ran yelling from tho tents and stood befuddled
whllo tho whirling drove wont by. The stomach
robber wbb less flustorod and solomnly gathered in
the wounded blrdB, caged them in the cook shack
and for many days thoreaf ter the skinners dined on
wild duck.
Sklnnors seldom laugh nt tho stories told, for
loud laughter Is not ono of their characteristics. A
group of them will only smile at a yarn which sets
the chnnce hoaror to guffawing. Cosmopolitan as
thoy aro, thoy consciously repel the loquacloue per
son who seoks to bo one of them in their revolB or
to participate In their frequent convorsatlnal fetes.
Thoy moot in session at tholr old haunts year by
year, discuss tho latest and the oldest news and
wander on tholr sepnrate ways, their real Uvea a
closed book to their dearoBt comrades of the clan.
"Whero's he from?" nn inquiring person asko
"Dad" Holbrook when a particularly picturesque
skinner takes loavo of headquarters. "Dunno. Ho'b
a skinner," and Holbrook goes on with his chew
ing, feeling his explanation has been full and satis
factory. Somo tlrao during tho life of the skinner
ho finds his way back to his old haunts, although
he may have spent a score ot years in South Amer
ica or Africa on somo big Job, and he is Just as con
tent to "chow the rng with tho dopestor' nnd pass
tho latost grading camp gossip with strangers, ap
parently, ns ho would bo to chat with tho acquaint
ances ot former years.
"They como and go hundreds of them," Bald
Holbrook, in a meditative mood. "Whoro? No
body knows. Nobody cares. They come nnd go
and coma back again, sometime Isn't that enough?
I remember them aftor many years. They are not
easy to forgot, as you seem to think. They scatter
over tho whole continent when tho season Is over
and tho ground freozes, but when the spring thaws
como thep hear tho old call and invariably find
their way back to tho camps new camps, ntw
faces, now growlers, but a grading camp with tho
voteran skinners thore and that is the great
lure."
As Holbrook ceased speaking and clambered
down from tho steps where ho sat outsldo the shack
half a dozen men In high black hats and glistening
bIioob came out, called a cheery "goodby. Dad." and
vanished down tho alley. "Dad" looked after them
with a yearning in his eyes, for his days of hard
labor aro over. "Whero aro they going?" a
strangor promptod, but "Dad" did not hear the
question, or, hearing It, thought It puerile and
vouchsafed no answer.