Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-02-22
An Ohio Bows Eventful Ride.

/
An uncouth, beardless, thinly clad youth,
| 90 wears old, sa; in bolsered chair behind
! q large coal stove in the tent annexed 10 the
Ninety-ninth Street Hospital New York,
Thursday afternoon. His feet and legs were
bandaged almost to the knees and rested on
another chair by the fire. His face was
thin, his eyes sunken, and he looked very
much exhausted. The scant clothing he
wore was covered with dust resemb mbling
wheat bran.
"This young fellow has been locked up in
freight car for five days" said Hos
pital Steward Kehoe. During that time
he did not have n drop of water to drink
nor mouthful OF food except the corn he
was bedded in"
After an hours conversation, the patient
speaking in feeble voice, it was learned
that he was the son of poor Ohio farmer,
tanner by trade, who had never been
away from home until he went on the al
most fatal trip which landed him in New
York without friends or money and with
both his feet badly frozen.
"My name is William Rutherford" said
the patient. II live with my parents at
Londonderry, Ross county, Ohio. About
month ago, father being poor, | set out to
see if could find farm which he and my
brothers and myself could work on shares
for the owner went as far as Dayton, and
just outside of the city l saw a freight train
going to Columbus Knowing that if [ could
get to Columbus it would be easy to walk
the fifty miles further to my home at Lon
douderry, | watched my chance and
III, ohol ;,to 1noIa1 ypit
corn. 1t was 2 o'clock in the afternoon Of
Feb. -. was very tired and after burrow-
ing down in the corn l fell asleep in spite of
my efforts to keep awake. When / awoke
the car was in motion and the door was
locked and bolted. The car was made of
iron, except the doors, which were of wood.
had no knife, but found q pine stick in the
ar,wth which tried to pry open the doors.
But they were fastened tight. heard many
voices, and heard one man say "Coiumbus.'
| Men came along and pounded on the wheels
| to tost them brakemen walked on top of
| the car, aud other men wrote on the car
with chalk. could hear Tie chalk scratch
| ing. / pounded on the sides of the car with
the pine stick, but only one WAS answered.
| don't know whether the man I spoke 10
through the door was railroad man or u
citizen, but he said il Was good enough
place for q tramp to 0c locked up.
"After we left Columbus, the train turned
so many curves l got all mixed up, and
| thought was going west. am told that
must have gone from Columbus TO Cleve-
land, on the c c., G. Il l. Railroad, then to
| Nickel Plate railroads, ami over the New
| York Central to this city by way of Albany.
| remember little of what occurred Friday
night, Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday,
Sunday night, Monday and Monday night,
| except that | almost died Of thirst.
Thursday night the train stopped. The
next morning about o'clock man broke
| the lead seal aud opened the door. | wait
| ed two or three minutes and then crawled
out. Nobody saw me get out. | was stiff and
| my feet numb. There were three large ele-
vators near by and a man told me was in
| the freight yard of the Hudson River Rail-
! road On lamp post / saw "Sixty-ftth
street" on one side and 'Twelfth avenue"
on the other; still didn't know what city
I was in or where was. / thought it must
| be Omaha.
"After walking around several hours I be.
gan to feel faint and sick, and went into
little saloon, near the river There grew
worse, my feet and legs sweled up and
panied me terribly. A sailor in the place,
boots off with sheath knife. A police.
man came in, and 1 remember little
more until I found myself here in this tent.'
1t was Patrolman Michael Baumeister, of
the East Tooth street station, who found the
boy He said Friday night: II gave him a
cup of coffee He almost swallowed the
cup. Then I sent for an ambulance"
Rutherford's feet will not have to be am
putated.-N Y. Star.