Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1878-04-13
A SLEEPING CAR TRAGEDY.

a CAN lhAGED1.
Cincinnati Commercial, March 2s,)
On the tram of the Atlantic and Great
Western Railroad that left this city on
Friday night Of last week was party Ell
route from Florida to Akron. 1t would
be hard to find u sadder story than that
which the presence Of this party on that
| trait calls up. In brief it was this On
| ~ u short time ago Mr.. Phillips, one OF
tho leading citizens of Akron, Ohio, pro-
prietor of a MANILA paper man
| ufactory i'll that place, suddenly found
himself losing his hitherto excellent
health. Alarmed at this change from
health to debility, he consulted a physi-
| clan, who told him his only hope was to
60 to warmer climate. His mother
and sister were.opposed to the journey,
as they thought him unable to endure it,
but he was fully convinced of the pro-
priety Of tho step, aud went a few weeks
ago to Florida, accompanied by his wife.
The journey FRUSTRATED him, and he tel
egraphed for the old family physician to
come to him. The physician went, and
found Mr.. Phillips apparently better,
but deeply iutent on going homo to die.
He felt that he could not recover, and
his whole desire was to come home aud
die among his friends. The old physi-
clan yielded to the sick mans earnest
entreaties, and tho three started home
ward. Mr.. Phillips was buoyant with
hope at the start, and seemed better for 4
while, but on the second morning be was
| dead, and the journey was continued
with the dead body on the train. His
poor wife was almost crazed. She felt
! that she would be blamed for having
taken him from home to die, and as she
| neared Cincinnati her grief aud dread of
| the apprehended blame that would fall
! on her gave the physician alarm. When
the train left Cincinnati she seemed to
be more calm, and late at night she re-
tired to her berth. The physician thought
she would sleep after so much txhaus-
tion, and he, worn out with so much
a berth opposite.
When the train neared Akron early in
tho morning, the physician arose, and to
his horrer, when he went to awaken Mrs.
Phillips, found her berth empty and the
| window open! Search w;ss ma do all
through the train, but she was no where
| to be found. When tho train stopped at
Akron, the poor physician was almost
speechless. How could he give TO the
sorrowing friends the dead body of Mr..
Phillips, and tell them tt. lat his wife had
committed suicidef The telegraph vas
used at once to get tidings of the missing
| woman, but it was several hours before
! any response came, aud it was then an
| nouced that tho woman was lying at q
house in a little village some distance off
| the railroad, not far from Mansfield. A
| train was chartered and friends hastened
to bring her home. They found her in
bed, copscious, but almost exhausted.
! The people said that she knocked at their
| door Il little while before daylight, and
| opening the door, they found her all COW
| cred with mud, and unable to tell her
name, or anything about herself. They
took hcr in and kindly cared for her. but
| it was some hours before she became con-
| scions. She explained that after she
went to her berth she could not sleep.
i She finally opened the window and
looked out. 1t was raining, and the
feeling that she was rapidly approach
ing home brought an undetinable dread
and u powerful impulse to escape it,.
| With this feeling she threw herself out
| of tho window while the train was in
| full motion. She fortunately struck up
| Oh 4 sand bank, aud was thus saved from
immediate death, as we'll as severe injury.
How she wandered so far from the rail-
road to tho house where she was found she
could not tell, and it is hard to toll how
she found strength for snch a task. 1t
was late in the afternoon wher a special
train brought her to her home, where she
still lies lit IL critical condition.
| THE WAR FEELING IN CANADA.
|