Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1853-07-16
From the Washington RepubIlc.]
Chat with the Conductor.

cts not often man loses anything by kind
ness [ know a little matter of that sort saved
my life, and perhaps the lives Of many Others
at the same time"
GLOW was that!' asked we of our friend
Rawlings, the model conductor.
"Why, we had an Irishman on this road,
watching funnel. It was warm weather, so
he used to 90 into the tunnel to keep cool.
rather think he used to take little liquor when
he was lonesome; any way, be laid down on
the track one day to listen for the cars lie
fell asleep, and very mprudenty got his head
cut Off by the express train Well, there was
the last Of that Irishman. There was the dev-
lis own row in his shanty when we took the
poor fellow up and we got away as soonas
we decent}y could for you know its not agree
able to be surrounded with adistracted family,
when you neither doctor, nor nurse, nor
preacher. Somehow was always sorry when
| passed that place: Of course | felt as if
not exactly the same thing-but just as bad
might happen to me some day, and then thered
be another row in the family. told my wife
about it and she sent the family some little
things. The widow of the dead Irishman was
a Catholic, and as I was then on a very fast
train, would sometimes take up the old Wo-
man on Sunday, and carry her to church at
Martlnsburg. somehow thought it was sat
isfaction to her to 90 to church, for she had but
little chance in the world, any how | certain
ly did not expectto get anything for it in this
world, and expected they had so much scored
against me in the other that it wouldn't amount
TO anything there.
"That was during the summer. One night
the next winter it was very cold, ,and the mount
aims were covered with snow; we were running
10 make time, when, on turning a curve, the en-
gineer saw 4 waving light upon the track, and
we soon heard some one ahead shouting. |
was then out on the PLATFORM The engineer
Stacked up and stopped the engine, andw got
out and went ahead in thedark to see what was
the matter. There it was. A large landslide
had fallen across the track, near the shantv of
that old Irishwoman. She had built up a large
fire and watched for the train, for the curves
were SO sharp that we might have been upon
the slide before we could see it. So, when we
run up, there was the old lady, with her calico
cap, swinging the chunk of fire like revolving
lighthouse, and there were the little Irish car
rying brush, like so many little beavers. She
had watched all that night in the cold. But
for her, in another minute we should have run
into 4 pile of dirt and stone as big as Barnum's
Hotel. Ishould have got pit Ticket certain,
for was on the platform. What would have
become Of the passengers and train you can
guess as well as can"
We expressed hope that the old widow
had been properly rewarded.
''The passengers made up about eighty dol
lars. the company afterwards gave her a shanty
rent free, the brakeman and engineers bought
her a cow, and she made out very well. But
when handed the money to her that night,
she said: 'Gintlemen and ladies I'm thankful,
and may ye niyer know the want of what ye
give me. But what | did was mostly on ac-
count of him, there He was kind and thought
ful to the poor and the sfflicted, and I'd watch
ed till froze before harrum should have come
to him, if could ha helped it,
"Darn the thing, it made me choke right up"
''Passen-jars for the Rela~a-y." "Don't for~
get your umbrella, sir; there might be an ex-
plosion, and you'd want it to keep off the Gin
ders.' "Let me pass your banbox, miss
Take care of your little boy, madam, no in
surance on him. call right go ahead.'