The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1871-05-09
THE CONDUCTORS STORY.

known as tne DrOVerS IHAprtsS, SOluS
West, but which had the name, suppose,
in contradiction to that title-of the
gentlemau's wagon, coming East. The
drovers, when coming to market with
their cattle, always went with the beasts
on the freight train, but going home
westward they went with me.
One night / had au unusually rough
crowd aboard They were generally
rough enough, but this time they were
worse than usual had their car (for
[ kept them to themselves) placed in the
rear of the train, and to prevent their
trespassing into the other cars of my
train, or stepping off the platforms, | had
them locked in. ........
We started about 9 o'clock in the
night, and as [ went through the drovers'
car for my tickets, found mischief
brewing already. Each man had provided
himself with bottle or two of whisky,
and the carousal had begun in real
earnest but few if any of the drovers
being sober.
One or two small fights had been
begun, one in particular between tall
Kentuckian and short, thick-set Mis-
sourian, having threatened to lead to
serious consequences, both men having
drawn their knives. Their friends had,
however, separated them, and had placed
them in different parts of the car, the
Kentuckian sitting in the first seat near
the door, in the front of the car, and the
Missourian far back in the rear. The
latter, when they were being parted, had
vowed that he would yet kill the former,
but as both were in hot blood, the words
were not much thought of, though they
helped to sentence him to be hung after
ward.
AS | took up the Missourian's ticket,
he repeated to me his threats against the
life of his opponent, and proposed duel
with bowies in the baggage-car. l man
aged, however, to silence the half-mad-
dened man, and friend sitting in the
seat with him, and nearest the aisle of
the car, promised to see that he should
not leave his seat and attack the Ken
tuckian. / looked in upon them about 2
o'clock, A. NJ, and found them all asleep
in drunken slumber The Kentuckian
sat in the front seat as | had left him,
and the Missourian away in the rear, and
also in his previous position
There being no more stops to make, l
curled myself up in a chair in the bag
gage car for a nap and dozed comforta-
bly, till awakened by the rattle of the bell
rope overhead, and the whistle of the en-
CINE calling for the brakes to be put
down. Catching up my lantern opened
the car door and looked out, but found
nothing but darkness the most intense.
The train having stopped | got off and
ran to the engine, asking the engineer IN
a halfasleep manner where we were and
why he had stopped Were in the
Grover Tunnel" he replied, "and |
stopped because the bell-rope was pulled"
The Grover Tunnel was about mile
in length, through which we passed
nearly all the way on half-speed and
with the steam shut off from the cylinders,
there being a down-grade at the entrance,
which was sufficient to nearly give us
headway to carry us through. When the
engineer saw the light at the other end
of the tunnel, however he was accustomed
to put on steam, and it was just at that
time, he told me the bell was pulled
being the signal for him to stop. i.ca
BY the time my brakesman had been
around the outside the train, and finding
all the couplings right, and not discovering
anything wrong externally, 1 gave the
signal to 60 ahead, as it was dangerous
to STAY in the tunnel. AS we cama out
the daylight was just breaking, and, with
brakesman, started through the train
to find out if possible, who pulled the
bell-rope. aatu ipodIH .bued iags
Most Of the passengers were asleep
in the forward cars as we passed through,
but some few were awake, who told me that
the pulling ofthe bell came from behind
from some of the rear cars, | made the
trip through the entire train with the ex
ception of the drovers' car, and yet the
account said the bell was pulled from
still further in the rear. 1t was day.
light as the brakesman and myself crossed
on to the platform of the last car. After
unlocking the door, we essayed to push il
open, but some weight against 1t pre-
vented us. With our united strength
however, we pushed it open, and found
the cause Of the obstruction. '9if il3a
Against the bottom Of the door lay the
Kentuckian, his body twisted and rolled
up into distorted heap, as if he had beer
overtaken by fit Surprising him to be
in drunken stupor, l raised him to. his
seat, and then began TO loose his collar