The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1869-12-16
Chasing Railroad Trains.


Chasing Railroad Trains.
The Rev. ]. Hyatt Smith describes as
follows his experience in trying to take a
train in time:
"We stopped at Syracuse, n. Y, for
| dinner. You remember the railroad de-
pot, centrally situated, with its eastern and
western entrances exactly alike-as much
so as the two ends of a car. After we had
dined the depot master informed us that
we had seventeen minutes to spare before
the departure of the eastern train. This,
thought 1, will give me an opportunity to
see the city and a glorious chance for a
smoke, provided clergyman could be
tempted into such piece of worldly and
wasteful amusement. l sauntered forth,
and after an absence of exactly thirteen
minutes, having enjoyed delightful and
soothing stroll, l was returning, watch in
hand, when, to my astonishment, l beheld
the train slowly gliding out of the other
end of the depot, and increasing its speed
at every puff of its gigantic locomotive.
| Here, indeed, was a "call s" that admitted
neither correspondence nor delay; there
was no time for taking it into cOnsidera-
| tion." So, without comforting with flesh
or blood, put off like sky-rocket with a
| double fuse. For a moment thought 1
had it all my own way thought I was
gaining ground, although | knew / was
losing wind / was encouraged in the
race by sundry helpful fellows ,who kept
crying out as | passed, "G0 it gai-
ters!" "plucky boyp "he aint left,
o, nor and other well meaning
and benignant exhOrtations. Though
they intended, perhaps, helping me over
the course, / found that the more they
shouted the less inclined l was to run, and
the more decidedly did the locomotive
make terrible headway against me. To
| give up the chase; to submit to the chagrin
of being left; to lose my party and my pas
sage; to meet, with disappointment and
enough; but the thought of encountering,
all the way back to the depot, that line of
interested individuals who with their
cheering eXclamatiOns had so feelingly en-
cOuraged me on my outward journey, this
was the bitterest pill in this unexpected
dose. But it must be done, so tapering off
gradually | gave up the contestant turned
back to meet my fate, and-if / could find
him-the depot master whose laundering
statements were the cause fall my trouble.
| Without search that individual advanced
to greet me with the bland recognition of
fact that no one could well deny, "Well,
you got left, did you?" / replied only
with resentment of q "silencing eye"
If looked as tried to look, my photo
| graph taken at that instant would hardly
| be chosen to grace an album gallery of
"eminent divines." Several bystanders
seeking information, asked, with a show
of confidential interest in my case, on
what wise the thing had happened ?
and others wishing " to point a NOR
al" advised me to "be on hand a
| little earlier next time" With
returning breath relief and words came
together, and squarely charged the rail-
road official with all the blame. ] spoke
Of his incompetency, in no measured
placed my party in the car he had assured
me that there were full seventeen minutes
| to spare before the train went out: "while
here" said /, with a triumphant exhibi-
| ton of my watch, the seventeen minutes
are even now barely up. and yet the train
| is gone and out of sight" After no little
hot shot cast back and forth, with the
usual variations and final perorations of
"you did and you didn't" "you're anOth-
| err" etc, l asked him whether would be
rlsking another chance of being left if |
depended upon him to give me the exact
hour of the departure of the nert Eastern
train. "Easternp exclaimed he. "Yes,
E1stern," replied /, with decided upward
and sarcastic infection. "Why," quoth
he the train you've just been chasing
with such poor luck wasn't an Eastern
train, but the Western Expressw With
much and increasing confusion and ex-
citement 1 stammered out, "Then where
in Joppa is the Eastern traing" "Why,
there it is" replied he, "just getting
under way at the other end of the depot.
Leg it, or you'll lose that" If ever | did
make Dexter time l made it then. 1
passed right through that depot like
the wind. l felt as if was all legs.
One glance, however, at the rear door of
the last car as was nearing it, came near
being too much for me. l discovered the
group of my long lost friends, whose
forms and faces seemed bursting with
poorly suppressed and i'll timed mirth. As
l reached safely the platform, the fire that
opened upon me could only be equalled
for it's merciless effect by the fire in the
rear, from which 1 had providentially fled.
| heard jibes, and jokes, and jeers; | heard
the hoarse laughter of full-chested men,
the hysterical efforts of mirth- exhausted
women. They had all witnessed my chase
after the wrong train now fearful lest in
deed 1 should overtake it, and then re-
joiced at my evident lack of what jockeys
call "bottOm," as my speed began to
slacken and my chances with the lOcomo-
tive began to grow "small" by degrees
and beautifully less. They had witnessed
the blowing up" administered the depot
master, the strange procrastination in
starting for the right train, until at length
it had actually started and had entered
upon second 4" stern chase" Then they
feared L was left again, as tLey looked
with breathless interest at the unequal
contest of legs Uersus a locomotive. They
had witnessed my final triumph, but how
gracefully was welcomed, and with what
feelings 1 received their peculiar congratu-
lations, leave my hearers to imagine.
The heavy cold head of the cold