Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-03-14
MODJEsKA OUTDONE.
The Terrible Dangers that MsnaOed
Bob Burdette.
wabash Qnd.l Cor. Burlington H~awkoye.I


Wabash Qnd.l Cor. Burlington Hawkeye.l
| have suffered such a terrible fright
since leaving New Carlisle this morn
ing. One of the numerous trains on
which | travel every day was late, Of
course, and the consequence was that
| had to wait over in Peru several
hours. This is the place where all the
Peruvian bark used in the United
States is manufactured. | saw a Pc
ruyian dog manufacturing some. He
had a boy up on the fence, and was
giving him enough every minute to
scare all the ague out of America for
the next ten years. But | digress.
| went to a hotel in Peru and took
a room with a fire, a lame window.
curtain, an invalid water-pitcher and
some other portable articles of furni-
ture in it, and left my baggage care
lessly piled up in great stacks around
the room. Judge of my dismay, when
after leaving the room for a few mo-
ments, | returned to discover that a
desperate attempt had been made by
a party Of men, who had evidently been
following me for several days, to steal
my diamond necklace. You remem-
Der the necklace very well, of course :
it is the same one | lectured in last
season, and was a present from Khalil
Bey, to whom it had descended among
the family jewels. 1t was originally
obtained by his grandfather. who was
a Buddhist priest and stole the neck
lace from the image of Bhundal-up-
Ghud, in the hill district, Jabbal-al-
Jal. The stones were unusually large
and brilliant, and some of them
weighed nearly four onces when killed
and dressed. TWAS valued at $4,000.
The robbers, four in number, who had
probably seen me wearing it, and had
followed me for several days, were
masked, and effected an entrance into
my room by climbing a telegraph
pole about two miles down the
Wabash track. Thence they
cooned along the wire until they
got into town, when they got onto the
roof of the station and descended to
the ground, went around behind the
hotel, found a ladder probably left
there by some accomplices, got onto
the roof Of the hotel, entered the
chimney and worked their way down
it into the cellar. 1t was then easy
work to come up the cellar stairs, 90
into the wash-room and wash their
hands and remove their masks, and
then they came out into the office and
asked the clerk the number of my
room. Then the deed was all but ac-
complished, when, by a piece of won
derful good fortune, | returned to my
room, having been out in the back
yard stealing enough wood to make
the fire last fifteen minutes, Just in
time to prevent the spOilation of my
jewel-case. The robbers escaped.
leaving the hotel and the city in the
same manner as they entered it. /
think, indeed, | have been rather in
discrete, seeing that | travel alone, in
wearing so much valuable iewelry. |
enclose necklace herewith. Hang it
up on a nail in the Hawkeye Office
until | return home, and don't let
Newt wear it every time he goes to a
party.
A very thrilling accident happened
to the train in which [ went to New
Carlisle yesterday. We were crossing
a long bridge at a very high rate OF
speed, the captains chronometer in
dicating a gait of 2:17f on the first
quarter, when suddenly the engineer
staggered into the special drawing
room car in which | always travel
big coal stove in the middle, tool chest
at the end, and long seats at the sides,
so you can lie down and pound your
ear when you are a~weary-the engineer
came in with a face of ashy p~aleness
and said to the conductor:
1--WE are lostl'
What has h%appened?" eagerly
asked the conductor.
| leaned forward and caught the
engineers agonized whisper.
She's bowed all the packin' clean
out of the ashpan /"
Few, few of the other passengers
realized the imminent peril throuob
which we were passing; but | sat and
listened to the labored sound of the
men at the pumps, and silently PRAYED
that night or Butcher would come
Night came along after a while and we
were saved; but Butcher did not mt
IN an appearance, and | afterward
learned that he was detained by dead
ness.
| am enjoying one of the p~leasantest
lecture tours | ever made, and provi.
dence is evidently on my side. | have
nearly lost my diamonds, like Modes.
kai had a railroad accident. ike
Roze got myself scratched with a
cat, like Cary sprained my back
kicking over a piano-stool, like Nils
son had a row about my DRESSING
room, like Minnie HauE; Cianitor
wouldn't let me hang my oyercoat on
the gas ~fixtures) eat onions lile
kellogg; and spell my name with al
like Wilhelmj. The men who nlnn'
der the people from the platform have
too long neglected their opportunities
and | propose to make the stars of the
musical world hump themselves
like comets if they have any moro
advertising incidents happen to them
than | intend shall occur to myself
and my colleagues. ''
Inc Princess Louise Margaret. fin.
turO Dunhnss nf NnnnnmLI ~