Synthesized answer
The overarching human drama in "On the Iron at Big Cloud" centers on the "curious assortment of men working on it" within the challenging environment of the Rocky Mountains [1]. These men, who are engaged in building and operating a railway, are depicted as displaying heroism, integrity, and grit, or conversely, a lack of these qualities [1]. The railway itself, the "Hill Division" of the Transcontinental, passes through "some of the most difficult and dangerous parts of the Rocky Mountains" [1]. This environment is described as unforgiving, with the right of way twisting and curving through the mountains like a "great sinewy serpent" [3]. The "Big Fellows" are shown "wrestl[ing] with the rough of it, shaking the steel down into a permanent right of way, shackling the Rockies, welding the West and the East" [5].
The passages highlight the intense human element involved in taming this harsh landscape for the railway. The men face challenging conditions and situations, as exemplified by the showdown between a foreman and a new gang member, or the dispatcher's realization of responsibility for a "horrific train crash" [2, 3]. The railway construction itself is a monumental…
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From the book
← On the Iron at Big Cloud ( 1911 ) by Frank L. Packard Rafferty's Rule → Frank L. Packard's experience as a civil engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway led to this, his first book. The Hill Division managed the railway passing through some of the most difficult and dangerous parts of the Rocky Mountains . These fifteen, intensely human stories tell of it; of the difficult, early days; of the curious assortment of men working on it; of their heroism, integrity and grit—or lack of it! 2151191 On the Iron at Big Cloud 1911 Frank L. Packard Layout 2 " 'Was you thinkin' av lavin', Mr.…
← Speckles On the Iron at Big Cloud by Frank L. Packard Munford → Things are fast heading for a showdown between Alan Burton, foreman of Bridge Gang No. 3., and the newest member of his gang, the giant Munford—who introduced himself by demolishing a crooked gambling joint. 2153000 On the Iron at Big Cloud — Munford Frank L. Packard Layout 2 XV MUNFORD Munford came to the work before the gangs were deep enough into the hills to lose daily, or rather nightly, touch with Big Cloud. And the way of his coming was this: The town, springing up in a night, had its beginning in the wooden shanty the…
← The Little Super On the Iron at Big Cloud by Frank L. Packard "If a Man Die" Spitzer → "If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come."— Job 14:14 When "Angel" Breen, the none too popular dispatcher on the Hill Division of the Transcontinental, realizes that he is the author of a slip— the slip that is responsible for a horrific train crash, he seems to die all at once, "to wither up, blasted as the oak is blasted by a lightning stroke." And, from there, it seems to be downhill all the way. 2151309 On the Iron at Big Cloud — "If a Man…
← On the Iron at Big Cloud (1911) On the Iron at Big Cloud by Frank L. Packard Rafferty's Rule The Little Super → "This is the biggest division on the system, isn't it?" Holman asked inconsequently. "Oh!" returned the other with a grin. "Well, you'll be thinkin' so if you ever sthay long enough to git acquainted wid ut." "Perhaps that's the reason I am beginning to feel cramped—I've only been here a month, you know," Holman smiled. "Fwhat d'ye mean?" "Why, curiously, it doesn't seem big enough or wide enough or long enough for even two men." 2151228 On the Iron at Big Cloud — Rafferty's Rule…
who had nursed him back to health and taken care of him as a son.... 2152299 On the Iron at Big Cloud — Marley Frank L. Packard Layout 2 IX MARLEY There are some men they remember on the Hill Division—Marley is one of them; and his story goes back to the days before the fire wiped out what the strike had left of the old rambling shops at the western end of the Big Cloud yards, back to the time when "Royal" Carleton was young in the superintendency of the division, when Tommy Regan, squat, fat and paunchy was master mechanic, and Harvey was division engineer, and Spence was chief dispatcher,…
More questions about this book
- The text describes the Hill Division as a place of immense cost in both money and lives, contrasting fame with being a "graveyard." How does this specific setting directly contribute to, or even embody, the themes of "heroism, integrity, and grit—or lack of it!" that Packard promises to explore?
- Consider "Angel" Breen, who "seems to die all at once" after causing the crash, and the accompanying quote from Job: "If a man die, shall he live again?" How does this specific passage invite readers to ponder the nature of responsibility, guilt, and redemption in ways that go beyond a literal interpretation of death?
- Frank L. Packard's background as a civil engineer is highlighted. How might this specific professional experience uniquely shape his storytelling in "On the Iron at Big Cloud," particularly concerning the portrayal of the railway's challenges and the human responses to them?
- The provided text begins with a reference to Mayakovsky's "A Cloud in Trousers" before transitioning to Packard's work. While no content from Mayakovsky is present, what effect does this initial, seemingly unrelated title have on a reader approaching Packard's grounded stories of railway life, and how might it subtly highlight different literary intentions or perspectives on reality?