St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-01
PHIL ARMoUR's PRoTEGE.
How "Gen. Forrest" the Negro
Car Porter. Came to Be Edu-

How Seen. Forrest" the Negro
/. Car Porter. Game to Be Edu-
/ Gated.
Chicago Inter Ocean.
& 1t was genuine pleasure the other
day to sit alongside "Gen. Forrest" the
colored smoking car porter on the "Con-
gressional limited" train between New
York and Washington, and hear his
radiant story how the richest man of
Chicago, P. d. Armour. had taken him
out of the bondage of ineXpreSSible
ignorance and made an educated, hope
full, happy man of him. "Gen. For
rest'' is probably the best-known and
best-liked car porter in the world; and
his life has been almost roman
tic one. He was a picaninny slave
bought in New Orleans with his
mother, Ann Burr, few years before
the war by the afterwards famous Con-
federate cavalry leader, Gen. N. B.
Forrest, for his Coahoma county, Mis-
mite of lad Forrest was fond of him,
and kept him at his side as a sort OF
diminutive valet until the generals
surrender at Gainesville in 1865. For
good many years "Gen. Forrest" who
thus honestly came by his sobriquet,
knocked about like all the rest of the
freedmen hotsam and jetSam of the
war, finally securing in 1872 position
as smoking car porter on the through
New York and Chicago train of the
Pennsylvania railraad. In eighteen
years he never was discharged and
never left the company's service but
once. T. ID. Armour was responsible
for that
He had been to Washington and was
on his way West. He had been enjoy
ing cigar in the smoker, and on near
ing Altoona wrote a telegram, which he
directed the General to be very par
ticular about with the operator at AL
toona, as one word was not very clear.
The General" filed the message, re-
turned to the car and began his usual
avocatiOn when not waiting on pasSen-
gers, of studying his primer. Armour
saw this with some alarm for the fate OF
his message, questioned him sharply,
found that he could not read, but that
his wits and memory served him in such
exigencies, and OH leaving the car
turned to the porter with:
"'General,' have you got sand enough
to go to school and be aman If somebody
would send you?"
"Gollyr responded the General"
less let somebody try.
"All right. 60 to school" 90 'sassssaA
With this Armour left the car. Some
two months later. on his way to. New
York, he found the smiling general
attending to his duties as usual. Re-
garding him with severity, Armour
brusquely asked:
'.How's this, 'general?' l thought l
told you to go to school,"
$50 you did, fur sure, Mr.. Armour.
But 1-l-well, l jess thought you was
Alumni me-"
mo, L don't 'fun' anybody. I tell
you to go to school,"
"All right, I'll go sure this time if you
say So"
"Well, SAY so.' Go to school at
once. anywhere you like"
mot another word was exchanged on
the subject. But the general left the
road; first located at Hamilton College,
Virginia; changed from this to Wilber-
force College, near Xenia. o.. where he
remained six years, leaving the same
well-educated man, and, as he says,
with no airs to be preacher or an
editor" in the summer of 1888, and at
once secured car on the Congress
sional limited" between New York and
Washington.