The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-05-05
AHEAD OF EDISON.
An Inventive Train News-Agent Who An.
tedated the Wizard.

An Inventive Train News-Agcnt Who An.
tedated the Wizard.
edison may think he has this bust.
ness of telegraphing from a moving
train down fne,' said the candy
butcher, "but can go him one better.
l have been sending messages from
moving train for two years, and
stopped only three months ago. That
amt all, either; [ send my autograph
by wire, and boxes of candy, fruit, nov
els, and hull lot o. such things. Edi-
is way behind the times.'
you're lying"
..No, hain't. swear by the great
horned spoon that l am telling the
truth, s'efp me. You doubt mea Of
course. All great inventors have been
greeted in this cold world by sneers and
incrednlity. That has been the fortune
of all of us great men. But we get
there Just the same. You want to hear
how | did it? Well, I'll tell you.
About two years ago Invent gone on a
girl who lived down in the country ina
house located about half mile from the
track in little valley. There was no
station there, and | didn't get to see
her very often except at distance-a
wave Of handkerchief, or some thing
like that-and this wasn't satisfactory,
as you may imagine. My train never
passed that way unless had yearning
that there would be an ac-
cident or something that would cause us
to lay over two or three days. used
to think seriously about throwing my
self off the rear car and getting hurt, so
| could be carried to her dads house
and by her fair hands and loving ten
derness nursed slowly back to the
strength and health of vigorous young
manhood, as the story books have it.
But didn't throw myself off the train,
not Just then. Might have done it but
for an idea. An idea came to me from
out of the clouds, l guess. 1t was
regular inspiration. It broke all over
me like a bad egg, which granger
threw at ME once down the road in re-
yenge for cheating him out of nickel.
It took possession of me from my brain
to my heart. wasn't long getting to
work on it, either. The very next Sun
| day stopped at the nearest station.
hired a livery horse and carriage, and
I, drove out to my girls house Under
the seat in the carriage l had a big roll
| of telegraph wire which the linemen
! had left out in the storm. [ told the
girl of my little scheme, and she became
! enthusiastic over it. Between the
house and the railroad, half-mile
away, was piece of woods coming
clear up to the track. Here we were
walking, and I took along my roll OF
wire and some tools which she
sneaked out of her dads shop.
We worked like beavers all the after
noon, and by night had wire stretched
from the track down the hillside to an
arbor in the garden by the house. From
that on sent her message every time
passed. Some days sent her books,
oranges, boxes of candy, every thing
like that. How? Just as easy as fall.
ing off log. had stretched the wire
/ from the top of whistle post close by
the side of the trark, and in my kit I
kept a lot of little wire fixin's which
made myself. They fit the wire nicely,
and to 'em I could tie letters, light
packages and such things, and then all
I had to do was to watch for the whistle
post, hoop in hand, and, on reaching
the post, slip the hoop on the wire
while the train was running forty miles
an hour. Down the hillside the letter
glided with great rapidity, and at the
!. other end of the line she was waiting
on the arbor bench for my message
Great scheme, isn't it?"
..Yes; but how did you come 10 stol
on it?''
"Why, bout three months ago mar
I ried the girl. You wouldn't expect
! man to 60 to all that trouble in order Il
= keep up communication with his owl
lwiie, would your Gh'eago Herald