Nebraska advertiser., 1880-12-09
A RAILROAD SCENE.
Affecting Incident on a Rock Island
Train.

Davenport Democrat
On Friday morning a bright little
girl was placed on the c., r. l. & P
train from Kansas City to Davenport.
the person who brought her to the cars
requesting the conductor to be very par
ticular and deliver the child into the
hands of nobody but certain persons at
Muscatine, who would be at the depot
in that city for the purpose of receiv-
ing it; and the conductor promised to
comply The chill seemed cOntented
enough, and the passengers near her.
rs well as the conductor, were pleased
with her beauty and brightness. At
Fairfield, Iowa, a nicely dressed and
handsome woman, rather dashing in
entered the coach, and was
walking through it, when the child
called to her mama, oh maman' The
woman turned and asked, '.Did you
speak to me, child?' And the child re-
piled, ''Oh, mama, don you know me
II am your little girlr' and then
bounded towards her. The woman
held the child at arms length for a mo-
ment, and then seemed completely over
come-sinking to she floor, and clasp
ing the child To her in almost frenzied
delight. She stated to the conductor
that she was the child's mother, but had
not seen the little one for nearly three
years; then he told her the directions he
received when the girl was placed in
his care-and she begged the privilege
of riding with the child as far as Wash
ingtOn, to which place she was ticketed.
And so the mother and child sat together
the child in the woman's lap and
arms about her neck the whole way.
at Washington the woman asked if she
might continue to Muscatine, and the
conductor gave permission; but before
that city was reached the woman was
in an agony of fear At Muscatine
there was a scene-as stirring and melt
ing a one as ever was presented on a
stage. As the train stopped a young
man and woman entered the coach, the
former going directly to the child, seiz-
ing her, and rudely taking her from the
woman in whose lap she had been rid
ing-scowling at the woman as if he
would like to crush her to the floor.
Then the child's mother fairly shrieked
in her sobs: please, oh please, let me
kiss her once mOrer' The answer was
brutal in its rOugbness: Cd d-n
you, you shall never kiss the child
againr' The passengers grouped
around very much excited, and the con-
ductor interfered-''I say she shall kiss
the girl if she wants to; it's her own
child, and she may do it, and he put
his hand towards the girl to hand her
to the mother. Instantly the man put
his hand to his hip pocket, and told the
conductor to mind his business or he
would put daylight through him-and
the conductor grasped him, saying,
"You take your hand out of that peck
ct or I'll brain y0u-i say this mother
shall kiss her child" And he held the
man until the mother and child had
taken a long embrace-and when the
child left her it was crying as if its
heart would break, and its mother was
in a swoon in seat. And there wasn't
dry eye in the car.
1t appears that the parents of the
child had separated-an now were
meeting over their child for the first
time in years; that the mother had
gone into forbidden paths, or was
charged with doing so, and that the
father had been granted a divorce with
the custody of the child, which had now
been sent to him by his relatives.