Omaha daily bee., 1885-04-15
ON A SLEEPING OAR.
The Peculiar Experience of a Pull.
man Porter on the Panhandle

The Peculiar Experience of a Pull
man Porter on the Panhandle
Pittsburg Dispatch.
"Yes, We do have some peculiar expert
%ences," said an intelligent Pullman car
porter on the Panhandle road at the
Union depot lsst night. 1--WE run up
against all sorts of people, l can tell you.
1t was on this same train, Panhandle No,
4, and we had just run into the station al
Mingo Junction. A well-dressed young
man, who looked as if he was sick or in
trouble. came up to me and wanted tc
know if he could get a berth. We'll Ihad
nothing to do with letting him have a
birth, but there was but one parlor cal
on the train and that was full. So | told
him that every birth was taken, and thai
it would be impossible for him to get 8
place. He turned around and walked
away about fifteen feet stopped suddenly
and pulled q revolver from his hip pocket,
and before anyone could stop him shot
himself through the head. He lived q
few minutes, He was out of his mind,
evidently, for he kept moaning, Il didn't
murder him | didn't murder himl' We
found out afterwsrd hat his name was
Frank Leighton, and that he lived In st.
Louis, where he had relatives of high
social standing. He had become dissi.
psted, and in some club quarrel a mau
was killed. He was never charged with
the crime, but he got the Idea that sus.
plcion reAted on him and he disappeared
from home and his friends did not know
where he had gone until they had heard
of his suicide.
''Another case l shall remember az long
az 1 live. A young New York Hebrew,
named Nathan, died on my car. he
was broken down In health and went
down south to get we'll. he spent the
winter down in New Orleans aud Calves.
ton. He didn't get any better and In the
spring time started home. He knew he
was going to die, and was terribly down.
hearted. l had to be with him most of
the time on the way up. 1 made up his
berth early In the evening, and he went
to bed. 1 helped to undress him and
tuck him In. Two hours later, when We
got in Plttsburg here, l looked into his
berth. and he was dead. Well, he was
taken out here, but we did not know
any of his friends, and could not tele-
graph them. They were waiting fer him,
though, when we gat to jersey City.
They didn't know he was dead. His
father, a white-haired old man, and his
sister, a beautiful girl of not more than
1S years old, were at the depot, and were
almost the first people l saw when l
stepped down from the car. l had an
idea they were his friends as coon as l
saw them, and it made me feel shaky, I
can tell you rs Mr.. Nathan with you,
porterl' asked the young lady, looking
kind and anxious. Well, L just looked
at her and then at the old gentleman, and
| couldn't say a word. l couldn't bear
to tell them that he was dead, and 20 l
just said: No, ma'am, he got off at Pitts
burg She turned as white as a sheet,
and said: why, was he worse2' The old
man was 30 nervous that he just chung to
the lady as if he was afraid of falling. Il
don't know ma'am,' l managed to ray.
Just then a young man came up, who |
took to be her brother. l called him to
one side. tnoughtit would bs better
for him to let them know than me.
Well, sir, he was so badly broke up that
he just blurred out, MY Gcd, my broth.
er Is dead 1t vas the hardest thing l
ever saw, l thought the girl would go
wild. They could hardly get her away
to the carriage. The brother came back
to Pittaburg and took the body home.
l never heard from them again.
Gone of the funniest cases 1 ever ran
across" he continued, occurred this
winter with a newly married couple on
their wedding trip. He was a young army
or navy officer, l don't know which. His
wife was a bashfuI, b~lue-eyed little girl.
not a day over II years old. About IL
o'clock at night l saw her stick her head
out of the curtains and look up and down
the Isle to see If the coast was clear
Then she slid out and pottered up to the
water cooler to get a drink. When she
started back she forgot her berth, and
her bashfulness only made it worse. She
got hack to what she supposed was her
berth and piled in. Well, l heard a wear
and 8 scream, and then the little woman,
frightened half to death, shot out of the
curtains aid up the sisle to the state
room, when / met her. You see she had
climbed In with an old gentleman and
lady from down in Texas, whose berth
was next to hers. The old man was o
cattle dealer and a rough old fellow, and
his wife was a nervous, tidgety old lady.
She just screamed and yelled thieves,
murder till every passenger in the car
had his head out of the curtains. The
young husband woke up and mit sed his
wife and he was almost wild, and came
running up to to the Car to where his
wife was crying in the stateroom. She
just fell in his arms and pretty near
tainted. He couldn't understand what
had happened and wanted to 60 back
after his revolver and shoot some one. |
just then locked them In the staterocm
and then went bsckand explained matters
to t1o Texas pair and got them quoted
down. Then l told the other passengers
that there was nothing the matter aud
they pulled In their heads. The young
fellow and his wife wouldn't go back to
their berths for about an hour until they
were sure everyone had gone to sleep. /
managed everything, so that no cns but
the old couple ever knew anything about
1t or what it was that raised the diaturb-
ance. When they left the car the next
day he slipped $40 in my hand. Their
nsmesi Oh, no! l couldn't give you
that.
'I had another yparl.poa tbonoL