The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1890-12-05
WATCH CHARMS.
Entertaining Stories Sometimes
Suggested by Them.
Though of Little Intrinsic Value They
Serve Reminders of Interesting
Incidents In the Lives of
Their Wearers.


bigger than the Doomsday Book in
London. Many a man who woald disdain
any thing like weakness in personal
adornment will wear a watch charm from
one years end to the next when there is
no possible excuse for IL beyond some
legend of which he alone is the possessor.
One of tho conductors on the Pennsyl-
vania road wears a miniature lantern
with a red glass, and gold wire frame,
in the center of which is bit of phos-
phorescent light that glows brightly
however dark the night may be. But n
lantern in such place is not especially
remarked, for many many men on the
road wear them in one style or another.
The story about this particular one
would never come out il we waited for
the conductor to tell it himself. But it
has story.
Years ago, when this Same conductor
was brakeman, in the days when a
brakeman was really expected TO attend
to the brakes even on 4 passenger train,
there was collision and four men in
the sleeper were killed. That was seri-
Gus enough, but il would have been
vastly worse had it not been for the fact
that this man, then in a more humble
position, heard the train coming behind
him, clearly out of her time, snatched a
red lantern and ran back there TO give
the warning. The engineer of the tres
passing train saw him just in time to
turn off the steam and put on the
brakes, but he could not prevent the ac-
cident. Right at the PROV of his en-
gine, when the wreckers came to the
place, lay rich man who had long been
an invalid, and who considered himself
indebted to the brakeman for his life.
He made him a present of the little
lantern, and now each Christmas he
sends to the vigilant trainman, who has
since risen to the ranks of the conduc-
tors, a present which marks in some
measure the gratitude even suffering
man can feel for one who has saved his
life.
A Board of Trade man, not often left
on the wrong side Of the market, wears
a little gold grain of corn at the end of
a pensile swing of his watch chain. 1t
commentaries the fact that in mem
orable squeeze which occurred some
years ago he had sudden inspiration
that it would be good time to sell at
the very instant when all the men on
the floor seemed raving crazy to buy.
He unloaded all the corn he had on
hand, and the very next turn of the dial
showed notable falling off. Things
grew worse very rapidly, and before the
day was done the corn pit was simply
one crowd of bowling, losing speculat-
ors. 1t seemed that none of them had
been able to save a dollar, and this one
man was nearly alone in the fortunate
inspiration that had saved him thou
sands of dollars.
One of tho best known men around
the city hall wears q cluster Of bears
claws as his talisman. He never talks
about them, but when some one who
knows he was once a Californian directs
the conversation for him this man can
tell Of some very thrilling experiences
in the Sierra Neyadas, not the least in
teresting Of which is an encounter with
4 bear one morning when himself and
wife were alone in the camp, and when
nothing but good luck and the courage
of the woman in the case would have
averted disaster for all of them. He lived
10 see the brute laid out cold and stiff
in death, and then he drifted into de-
lirium that lasted for weeks. When he
regained his strength he found the
bears skin tanned and spread upon his
rude bed in lieu of better covering from
lut COAl VI NLo 1lt
lay there in his weakness and worked
away at tho claws till he ad taken all
of them from their proper resting place,
and when he recovered no had watch
charm made of them He wears it yet,
and is proud to say that he has never
since been compelled to work for him
self From the day he reached the
mines he has been called upon to serve
,,rtIlie in Soma 90 raeft,- ann+har
and so long as that good fortune at
tends him he will never give up his
bears claws
One man, now at the head OF big
baking establishment, has a common
looking bullet swung to his chain. Some
people think IL is a homely sort of n
thing 10 wear, and he docs not quarrel
with them; but if you ask him for tho
reason of such a strange fancy he Will
tell you il is because no owes all his
good fortune he ever had in life to that
lead bullet Years ago, when he was q
driver and hired to deliver bread for the
firm that he has since bought out and
made bigger than the founder over be-
lieved il could be made, he was going
his rounds, delivering bread, when he
came to the home of a patron who lived
away upstairs in a dark court Right
at the door of the patron was another
door which led to a dwelling that had
long been vacant The bread boy weari-
ly climbed the stairs, and was Just
about TO deposit the regular order Of
bread on the table prepared for it the
night before, when the door to the ad-
joining home was thrown open, and
man poked a pistol straight out and
fired. The bread boy tumbled from the
top 70 the bottom OF the stairs, and
when no reached the foot he heard the
angry voice of the girl in the house he
served scoring roundly the man in the
newer domieile, who had fired the shot
What did you mean-shooting at
Idm?" demanded the girl. ''lle is the