Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-05-16
Did He Attempt Suicide =
A LEAF FROM THE HISTORY OF A BRAKE
MAN.
a NIGHT ON Il TRAIN

a LEAF FROM THE HISTORY OF a BRAKE
MAN.
a NIGHT ON Il TRAIN.
We announced briefly in yesterdays
HERALD that ION Sunday morning,
Charles Crandall, either by accident or
design, poisoned himself by drinking
from a bottle containing alcohol and
corrosive sublimate."
Since penning that brief paragraph
certain facts and circumstances have
developed themselves, or rather come to
our knowledge, which not only leave it
still undecided whether there was an
actual and deliberate attempt at self
destruction or whether, to quench an
unnatural thirst, he partook of the con-
tents of the bottle said to contain a
compound of alcohol and corrosive sub
Innate or whether, IN fact, there was
any unusual poison taken into his stom-
ach. We give the facts as they I'M
doubtedly exist and leave each of our
readers to draw the inference for him
self.
Charles Crandall is a young man, prob
ably but just past his majority, and has
been a resident of Rutland for some six
or nine months. He has been since his
residence here, if not before, in the
employ of the Vermont Central rail-
road az, We suppose it may be called,
"a spare man, that is, he has been used
as brakeman, baggageman, etc, as the
case might be and the necessities of the
road might require. For some time he
has been known to the proper authOri-
ties as a dissOlute character, and it is
said that some of his transactions would
not bear a close scrutiny. His course
of conduct for several weeks, we may
say for months, has been detailed TO Us
with somewhat of minuteness, but we
do not propose, and indeed it is not
necessary. to narrate them here although
they might have more or less bearing on
the transaction, or alleged transaction,
of Sunday morning. We come now to
the
STORY OF SATURDAY NIGHT.
Saturday night, in the temporary alb
scnce of the regular brakeman, Crandall
was detailed to "brake" the night ex-
press train from Burlington to Rutland.
After the train had left Burlington and
was well under way, his duties, for the
time being, having been performed, he
entered one of the passenger coaches. 1t
was observed by those present that he
was under the influence of liquor. but
whether this was known before h left
Burlington, is not positively ass, It'd
Let us hope that it was not known or
even suspected.
He signaliZed his entrance to the car
by turning down thelights and approach
ing passenger and, somewhat rudely,
removing the ticket from his hat-band.
On being demonstrated with and stcrnly
informed that he must not interfere
with the ticket, he gave it mp and desist-
ed from further annoyance and insults
to that particular passenger.
4 short distance ahead was another
gentleman, leaning forward, with his
head ON the back Of the seat in front of
him, wrapped in sleep; for it must be
remembered that by this time it was late
at night, and the train was a through ex
press from Montreal. Crandall takes a
seat Immediately in the rear of the
sleeping passenger. He too leaned his
head forward. He too, to a casual OBJ
server, was apparently about to become
overpowered with sleep. But alas, for
his plans there was, at least, one watch
full, observant, wide-awake man in the
car, and he in the employ of the railroad
company, although he had nothing to do
with the running of that particular train.
Crandall was observed stealthily to
reach his hand forward and insert it in
the pocket of the sleeping man in front.
Our watchful railroad friend 1--WE refrain
from giving his nance at once awoke
the passenger and informed him what
was transporting. Crandall Immediately
''showed fight" and aimed blow at the
one who had thwarted his attempted
crime. Then he went for Crandall just
as Bill Nye event for that heather Chi
nee." A good cause coupled with power
and skill will always prevail against
sneaking, cowardly meanness, and Gran
dali was soon placed hOrs de combat, so
badly damaged and punished that he
sneaked off into a state of retirement,
and there remained until the arrival of
the train at Rutland.
At the depot he emerged from his OBJ
security, only long enough to take him
self to his bed in the shortest possible
time, and in the most quiet manner pos
sible under the circumstances. Here
we lose all trace of him until
SUNDAY MORNING,
and here too we leave the realms of
known and ascertained facts and enter
that of mystery and probabilities. The
only thing really known is that Crandall
is sick, very sick perhaps. He says, we
understand, that he awoke on the NOR
ming of Sunday, went to the woodshed
and drank from bottle containing, as
we have stated, alcohol and corrosive
sublimate. This fact, if it be fact, is
accounted for on two hypothesis. One
that, moved by remorse, he deliberately
and knowingly ATTEMPTED to put ter
minationto his existence. Another, and
if he took any poison at all, probably
the most correct explanation, is that
awaking with an unnatural thirst, seq