Trapped by a Bull

Henry Koczur, Hammond, Indiana

"In Saugus, California, I was bumming a house for something to eat, when a forest ranger drove up in an ambulance. He told me to climb in. I asked where we were going. 'To fight a fire,' he said. He commandeered more men on the way up the mountain road. What authority did he have to do this? I asked. If the governor himself happened on the scene, he could force him to fight the fire, he said.

"We arrived at a camp, where a ranger handed me a double-bladed ax and a three-quart canteen of water. We hiked up a mountain in the Castiac Canyon. When I got to the top, it looked as though the whole world was on fire.

"We started to build fire trails from the top of the mountain to the bottom. Men behind us threw the brush to the side, so the fire wouldn't leap across the trail but it always did.

"One of the rangers, a Captain Durham, sent for a water tanker. We ran two-inch hoses from the truck to the fire and cut a new trail. Captain Durham told me to take two lengths of hose to a ranger, who was wetting down the brush. I was on my way to him, when another ranger ran up to me, telling me to drop everything and run for my life.

"Captain Durham showed disappointment, when he learned I'd dropped the hoses. After the fire passed us, I went back to retrieve them. All I could find were four chrome-plated hose ends.

"I didn't think we could put out that fire, but then the wind changed and helped us extinguish it. We remained on patrol for a few days, looking for any sign of smoke and covering the embers with dirt.

"I worked 12 hours a day for 20 cents an hour, very good wages then. And, boy, did we eat good, as much as we wanted, bacon and eggs for breakfast, meat and beans for supper. When the fire was put out and the work ended, we learned we would have to wait 30 days for our pay checks. I buddied up with a fellow named Jensen from Escanaba, Michigan. We decided we would go to Yuma, Arizona in the meantime.

"We caught a Southern Pacific passenger train to Niland, California, riding the blinds with two other hoboes. When the train stopped, we all got off. We were caught by a bull, who ordered us to line up next to the train. Had any of us tried to jump back on, I'm sure he would've shot us.

"When the train left, the bull asked how much money I had.

" 'Not a cent,' I said.

"One of the men who rode the blinds with us was next to me. The man had $2.00. The bull told him to take it out and hold it in his hand.

"The second man had 50 cents. My buddy, Jensen, had 20 cents.

"The bull collected the money. 'This will pay for your fare,' he said. He put the $2.70 in his pocket and told us to start walking.

"I tripped over a railroad tie. The bull thought I was trying to get away. He gave me a kick in the butt that to this day I never forgot. I saw he was going to hit me over the head with a blackjack. I raised my arm, and he struck my fingers, cracking the knuckle of my forefinger. He warned us to hit the highway and never set foot on railroad property again.

"We slept the night in the desert. Walking down the road in the morning, we saw a train being made up for Yuma. There must've been 50 hobos waiting there, who'd met the same fate the night before. We all climbed into an empty boxcar and shut the door, not making a sound as we waited for the freight to leave.

"All of a sudden, the door slid open. Who is looking at us, but the same bull who kicked and black-jacked me. 'Get the hell out of here,' he shouted.

"I was first to jump out and run. We were 100 feet from the train, when one of the bums hollered, 'Hold it, guys! There are 50 of us. He has six bullets in his gun. He knows he can shoot six of us; after that he's a dead man.' We listened to him. When the engineer gave the highball, we ran to the train.

"Almost all climbed back into the boxcar for the ride to Yuma. We left the bull standing there, with his legs spread out and his hands crossed over under his arms. "

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