Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1885-12-17
HE GOT THE MILK.
How a Rough" Drummer "Oame
Out Strong"

"My story" said the New York
drummer, isn't a bit funny. May be
some Of you know Hiram r. Stebbin.
He's in feathers, artificial flowers,
ladies / notions, hat trimmings and
such. A, morose, cross kind
Of man, that don't make friends
outside of the trade. They do say that
when he was young he was real nice
fellow, but bothering with men MILF
,ners and women in the bonnet bust
ness, and trying to keep abreast Of the
fashions, soured naturally good tenn
per. Well, Hiram B. Stebbins is not
bit soclable, and sort of chap to be
letlalone. Never understood Joke in
his lite.
''We often crossed one another on
4 me road, but after saying How dye
that's all the words we exchanged. A
ycrr-aso l met him, going west from
Dubuque, on scalding hot day in
July; thermometer way up in the nine
ties and the. car just in blaze. The
car was full and great many women
aboard. Just back of me was nice
looking young woman dressed in deep
mourning, and she held baby in her
arms, wee, wee thing, and that child
was wailing pitifully, and the young
woman was crying. TWAS just mite
of child, puny-looking, and / should
judge barely six weeks old. Back of
her sat Stebbins, looking as cross and
surly as. q bear with a sore head,
apparently annoyed by the cries Of
that baby. The woman's back being
turned to Hiram he couldn't see she
was crying. Off started the train, and
the dust and cinders sifted through in
showers. Most everybody seemed
cross, and Hiram uncommOnly so.
There was no smoker on the train and
we had to stay in that car. That
baby's crying bothered me as it did
everybody else. Turning around.I saw
the young woman take nursing-bot-
tie out of a basket, then a small earth
enware jug, and she uncorked it. II
was full of milk, and she began to fill
the nursing-bottle. A drop Of milk
fell on her hand and she tasted it, then
looked very much distressed. She put
back the nursing-bottle and the jug
into the basket and didn't feed the
baby.
- "sWhat on earth shall dog' l heard
her say. The milk is as sour as vine-
gar and will kill the child,' and she be.
gan to cry again, not loud like the
baby, but the tears Just streamed down
her pale cheeks. Then Hiram B. Steb.
bins shook himself up, and leaned for
ward and said to the young woman
kind of cross like:
"'Your infant, ma amp
".Oh, no, sir. 1t was my poor sis
ter's, and she died week ago--died o.
broken heart, because her husband
this little baby's father, was killed on Q
railroad few days before baby was
born. It's delicate child and half
starved, and the hot weather has turned
the milk sour. What am | to dop
am trying to carry the poor little chile
some hundreds of miles further on, tt
my mother, and if l can't feed 1t, i
will die before get TO the end of N,
Journey, it's so feeble now Then sht
sobbed sfresh. and the baby sobbed
too.
Hiram B. Stebbins didn't say any
thing for fully minute; then he go
up and came to me, and said he, Fam
lily MANI told him l wasn't. Ther
he sat down and fidgeted; then he go
up suddenly, looked around him an(
went into the next car He passed
through our car, and then through tn,
whole train. BY and by he came back
and said he: Not darned one on tn,
Sain.
Not whatp' inquired.
N woman nursing her bal
hey are ever