True stories of old Houston and Houstonians: historical and personal sketches / by S. O. Young. Page: 160

                                
TRUE STORIES OF OLD
He got other clothes and hurried to the office, to find a half crazy
operator, two-thirds suffocated, hiding himself in the battery
room.
Mike was a long time squaring himself with the operator. He
never attempted to have the bad man square himself at all. He
sent a drayman for his trunk and sought other quarters.
UNCLE DAN AND CAPTAIN FAULKNER.
THE other day I was talking with a lot of old printers
when one of them recalled an incident that Iad escaped
my memory completely. I have said once or twice, in
speaking of Uncle Dan McGarey, that there was but one man on
earth to whom Uncle Dan would tip his hat. That man was
Captain Andy Faulkner, who had commanded Uncle Dan's company
during the war. The old fellow knew the great w6rth of
the captain and knew that he was a man under all circumstances
and conditions and he always paid the captain the utmost deference
when in his presence. Of course the captain thought
much of Uncle Dan and was constantly doing something for
him. He liked him but that did not prevent his playing a practical
joke on Uncle Dan that nearly drove him crazy for awhile.
Dud Bryan, Frank Small, Uncle Dan and several others of the
Bohemian Club went to Austin one winter while the Legislature
was in session. There was some bill affecting the railroads
being discussed and there were also several representatives of
the railroads in Austin. Among the latter were Captain Faulkner
and Major Waldo, representing the Houston and Texas
Central road. The newspaper boys and the railroad men were
together for a few days and then the newspaper representatives
returned home. An exception was Uncle Dan, who could not
be found when the party got ready to leave. Captain Faulkner
said he would look out for him and ship him down on the next
day's train. The truth was that Uncle Dan was out with some
friends he had found in Austin and was painting the town a
vivid red. Finally his friends fell by the roadside and about midnight
he found himself alone somewhere, he did not know where.
He made an effort to get to the hotel where he was, nominally
stopping, but ran against a policeman on the way. Acting just
as he always did at home, he ordered the officer to get out of his
way and let him pass. The policeman did not know him from
a side of bacon, and, judging from his personal appearance that
he was a drunken tramp, he promptly arrested him and started
for the station house with him. That sort of brought Uncle Dan
to his senses and he began to explain who he was and to offer
proof of the truth of what he said if the policeman would take
him to the hotel where his friends, Faulkner and Waldo, were
staying. The policeman did not believe one word of the story,
but finally concluded to stop at the hotel, as he had to pass it
on the way to the station.