The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-02-25
Another SomnambuIistic Feat.

Curious cases of sOmnambulism are toll
erablv common. but of late the victims are
taking new departure and displaying a
zeal TO furnish items that is highly credit
able to themselves. A fe v days age, says the
Fort WAYNE (lnd.) Sentinel, young boy
named Weaver jumped off n train going at
the rate of twenty miles an hour while he
was asleep. and took to the tracks where
he was found some time afterward by his
anxious parent. only a little damaged.
DIR. Narnell Of Fort Wayne reports an
equally singular case iba5 happened on
Thursday night at kendallville. On board
the train coming from Chicago, on the
Lake Shore road. was a paSsenger-a Mr..
James III. Smith of Marengo, la. Mr.. 5.
is proprietor of the Sherman House in
that place. and is therefore accustomed to
being aroused often in the night by the
shouting of bus drivers. etc, on the ar
rival aud departure of trains. He had
been travelling at night for some time and
had lost a good deal OF sleep. Worn out by
fatigue. he fell into a sound slumber. As
the train approached Kendallville the
whistle sounded shrilly and the cars rat
tied loudly i'm passing crossing. In his
sleep Mr.. Smith fancied he was at home
and in the Sherman House. When the
whistle sounded he thought it TO be
the cries of the bus and haekmen,
and the rafting of the cars he sup
posed was that of carriages or wagons
driving up in front of his own hotel.
With this idea still in his mind, he,
still sleeping, hastily arose from his
seat and went to the rear end of the
ear. He had only one boot on, the
other having been taken of, the bet
ter to rest his aching foot. When he
reachel the platform he gave spring and
Jumped off the train, which was then
moving at nearly its fastest rate. The
ears rushed on, no one noticing that he
left his seat and unconscious that fellow
passenger had perhaps met his death.
Neither the conductor nor any of the train
men happened to see Mr.. Smith when he
involunrrily took this singular flight. so
his absence was not noted nor the affair
reported at the station in kendallville.
About half an hour after the train had left,
a man came limping along the track tIom
the west, apparently walking with both
difficulty and pain. he was hatless, had
no overcoat on and but one boot. 1t
proved TO be the somnambulistic Smith,
who had. it would seem, made almost
miraculous escape. He told the station
master that he was badly hurt, he thought,
and wanted TO be sent 10 hotel at once.
He was taken TO the Kelly House, where
DIR. Yarnell of Fort Wayne happened TO
be stopping. he was called in and made
an examination of Mr.. Smiths injuries
He found thst his ankle was dislocated,
and that number of severe bruises had
been sustained. Otherwise Mr.. Smith
had Cotton OFF much better than he could
possibly have expected.
He stated to the doctor that he had no
idea as to what he was doing after he had
fallen aleep. He remembered dreaming
of being at home in Iowa, and thought he
was called up, ETC., as stated at first. Sud-
denly he received violent shaking up,
and struck heavily against some hard sub
stance. This complely awakened him,
and TO his horror and surprise he found
that he was on the railroad track, with no
hat, but one boot, and no overcoat. be
could not bear his weight upon the boot
less foot, such was the intense pain, and SO,