Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1871-04-27
My Highway Robbery.
BY JAMES MAURICE THOMPSON.

the STAMPS OFF with you, AM
no whining round me ! Iknow m,
business and you know yours
maybe. Any baggage ?"
"No baggage" l muttered dole
fully; "but you can take my over
coat. l can get the money a
Savannah" 4asss "a
"Dang your old overcoat! Wha
you s'pose | want with your olC
rags ?"
Rags! Look here, there's no
a break in this coat. Good as new.
"Of with you, quick r
"For heavens sakei' t
"Shall l kick you OFF,
W'm a thousand miles from
home"
"Dang your home! Of witt
you, or I'll sling you off. !" .a5..a
"Try it If you darer'
Whop! thud biff diff lick
to-whack spat scuffle- a-bangle
kowhim ! thrash! wollop! and
out we went together onto a pile
of cross ties. As be clinehed me
| struck him a heavy blow in the
face with my right fist, while with
my left hand / pulled the bell.
rope, Toot toot! said the sig
nal whistle and off went the train
Do you quite understand what
| had done? It's all very plain
to me. / had stolen a conductor.
Let me be explicit. To tell you
the truth l had just served
through the war in the Confeder.
ate army, and only twenty-one
years at that. You know there
was conscription law, and when
| was eighteen l had to go in
was assigned to duty in Florida,
and when the war ended / found
myself suffering from a wound
and a thousand miles from home.
staid in Florida til the winter
of '68, when finding myself well
again, and seeing no earthly chance
of ever finding any employment
in that distracted State which
would enable me to lay up
money enough to pay my way
home on the cars, ] set out afoot
Not till / had walked a hundred
miles or more did I fully realize
the difficulty of my undertaking
In consequence of my wound
had for a long time been in doors
scarcely taking any exercise at all
ana now, although l was well, j
was tender as a woman. Ny feet
swelled SO that | had to split my
boots all to pieces, and my legs
got stiff and sore. / suffered
from lack OF food, too, at times
for the country through which
passed was thinly settled, with
people SO poor that they had moth
ing for me. Finally reached ths
railroad, and as it was my mos
direct route to Savannah, where
hoped to find some friends, l fol
lowed it. This railroad passed
through the outlying marshes and
cypress wastes of the grea. Oake
fenokee swamp, and it was in th'
most dismal part of that wild bar
rem that a happy idea entered m
brain. 1t was that of stealing
ride. A freight train had jus
passed me going north. and
knew that in less than an henf
passenger train would follow
NV plan was to stand near tn,
track and leap upon the rear plat
form of the hindermost car.
did this without accident, ant
found myself, a moment after
wEirling along very comfortably
seated on the platform steps. Ah
it was delicious to feel the coo
night breeze tanning my feverisl
face. Night air? Yes, it wa
near midnight, and the full moo
was shining gloriously. Hos
) sweet 1 rested. How pleasante
than walking. 5.E
But luck did not favor me-
My ride was g short one. Ihad no
been seated more than two min
utes when something tapped m
on the shoulder. ] looked up
"Tickets, said the man who lean
over me.
"Got none,' said 1.
"Money then" said he.
"Got none" | replied.
Then followed what is chroni
cled at the beginning Of thi
sketch. He had reached up an
pulled the bell-rope bringing th
cars to a staudstill. | did nc
think of stealing him until tn
very moment he clinched ME I
throw me from the platform. :