Kenneth Plummer, the head surveyor for the Northern Plains Railway System, stepped out of the new office shack at the worksite in the Montana Rockies. He looked forward to launching the first day’s work for his crew. He was the supervisor for laying out a track route through the Haut-Prairie Gap in the mountains near the Canadian border. This would eventually link up with other lines going across Idaho and into the state of Washington
The six men of his crew, their bellies filled with bacon and eggs prepared by their fulltime Chinese cook, waited in a group by the shack with their transits and levels. These were college men from back east who accepted the employment for the experience as well as a chance to see the Wild West up close and personal.
Plummer was as pleased with the young fellows as they were pleased with him. They especially admired his robust appearance that epitomized the great wilderness of the northwestern frontier. The boss had a large, bushy, ill-kempt beard that went down to his chest, and he dressed in jackets and trousers of thick cotton duck. A faded wide-brimmed hat was crammed so low on his head it pushed his ears down slightly.
“Well, boys,” Plummer said, addressing them in his booming voice, “Today we’ll start the — ”
The head of the kid on the far right suddenly exploded, spraying brain and blood over the man next to him. Another jerked sideways, collapsing to his knees, and the next bullet kicked him over sideways to the ground.
Those unhurt followed Plummer’s example and dived to the ground, crawling toward the shack as more shots cracked the air and plowed into the dirt. When they reached the back of the structure they could see the Oriental cook sprawled out in front of his cook tent.
“This,” commented Plummer cantankerously, “is a hell of a way to run a railroad!”