Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-25
AN EVENTFUL TRIP.
Incidents That Enlivened the Journey
of a Travelling Salesman.
NeaC York Sun.


Veao York Sun.
eff l didn't have a trip spiced will
variety this time" said Commercial
Traveller John Gilbert, "then I'll give vol
my commissions.
EsTO start with, when we stopped al
Trenton, where l had some business,
was requested by a couple of train mer
to give them a hand toward lifting man
off the cowcatcher of the locomotive
Nobody knew when he got ON there, OF
how far he had ridden, but he was dead
From that time on my trip was quite dull
until | struck a town in PENNSYLVANIA
called McKeespOrt. People We're all
worked up there over a little incident that
had just occurred.
''1wo boys, while digging in the bank
Of the river, had uncovered about half a
peck Of silver dollars. They were hurry
ing home with the Doodle when they were
stopped by a strange man wearing a straw
hat and red hair. He made the boys show
him what they had. They were carrying
the money in their hats. They showed
up, and he told 'em that he had lost that
money himself and had just missed it. and
was on his way back to look for it. So
the boys handed it over to him, hats and
all, and took to their heels.
'sThe man who had so luckily recovered
his money couldn't afterward be found,
and the whole community was out look
ing for him. 1t seems the money had
been hidden more than forty years ago,
and had belonged to some old resident
who had been murdered and robbed in his
bed. That's what they told me, and folks
were very mad about the way the find had
turned out.
"Then l struck a little quiet place
called Windsor, and the town was so
worked up over a family disturbance
that / had to leave without doing any
business at all. 1t seems that one of the
citizens of the place had been sent to the
penitentiary some months before for pick
ing up mans halter strap and gong
away with it, without thinking to take OF
the horse that happened to be at the end
of 1t. His widow married another man,
and subsequently exchanged him for an
other. The first one got mad, and the sec
ond one inserted a knife in the first ones
neck. This led to quite a family row, and
the citizens of the place, male and female,
took charge of both the lady and gentle
man in the case, and ran them out Of
town with bells on. Consequently, society
was all torn up, and the stores hadn't
taken their shutters down yet, and l
moved on.
SAT Franklin things were comparative
ly quiet. A young lady had elOped with
a man her father had grudge against,
and the old man had damned the life
nearly out Of the young fellow and taken
the girl away from him. There was a
constable looking for the old man when
got there, but there was no stir.
SAT Oil City l met a man who was look
ing for a team and wagon. his wife, three
children, and a man that used to clerk for
him up in York State somewhere. He
had tracked them as far as Titusville, but
there they gave him the slip. He seemed
to take things pretty cool, unless there
was something hot in what he took at the
bar every ten minutes.
CAT Butler a man 81 years old, with
great-grandchildren old enough to be mar
ried, had come in from the back country
and was looking for some one to marry
him to a girl not yet Is. He was leading
her around by the hand. This didn't stop
business in the place, but it made talk.
He wasn't married yet when / left. The
girl was nice looking, neat, and smart,
and l wondered what she could be think
ing of. l found out later that the old
man had a tip-tOp farm and ,000 in
cash.
cat Petrolia the people were out look
ing for wild man. They hadn't lost one,
but they seemed anxious to find this one,
because he was chiefly engaged in butch
ering sheep and things that are usually
left around loose in the fields out there.
Before the wild man came to disturb
them a lOng-headed old citizen had been
robbed for the third time by masked
burglars. He had the habit of keeping
a hundred thousand dollars or so stuck
away in coffee pots, stockings, old boots,
and such, because he didn't believe in
banks. The folks were so broke up over
the wild man that l thought it would be
hoJ fn 70 I
grabbed my Qripsack and shook the place.
81 got to Port Allegheny just in time to
hear of the suicide of an old gentleman
who had four living wives, and who had
tired of life, after burning down the barns
of the fourth. Things were quiet, though,
and the funeral was small. l got on to
the Erie road at Olean, and turned up in
HOrnellsville in time to see a horse rum
ming away at the rate of twenty miles an
tonic cast of features. The gentleman at
tempted to jump out, and did. But he
fell in front of the wagon, and both
wheels went over him right at the belt.
That upset the wagon. The gentleman
got up and walked to a board fence and
laid down. Some men carried him
into a hotel. The horse and wagon went
on. In few minutes they came back.
The horse was trotting gently. A stout
ldtS SdI III VIC WdSOu uliN ing II luIuGu
out to be the gentleman's wife. She had
stopped the horse and righted things, and
came back to see what was the matter.
Her husband breathed hard for a while,
then took a glass Of beer, got in the
wagon, and the two drove away as cheer
full as if nothing had happened.
Il don't know what else would have
happened on my trip if / hadn't taken a
car at HOrnellsyille and came
right straight through to New York"