The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1892-06-06
AN UNFORTUNATE MAN.
Disabled Perhaps for Life. While Steal
ing Ride to Oregon.


ing Ride to Oregon.
A man named Arthur NJ Freeman,
while in the act of stealing ride west
through the Blue mountains Saturday,
was seriously injured, and was brought
to the Umatilla house in dangerous
condition. Usually, in cases like this,
the public learn very little about them,
except that tramp was killed or hurt.
In this instance however, an opportunity
was afforded to gain particulars, and a
reporter of THE CHRONICLE visited the
man in room 115, at the Umatilla house,
where his case is being attended to, at
the expense of the railway company, by
DIR. Doane. At first it seems about as
strange that a man injured by his
own carelessness, while unlawfully
appropriating to himself trans
portation over a line of. rail-
way should be picked up and cared for
by the company he was pilfering from,
as that he should be taken to the hos
pital by the man in whose house he may
have met with an accident while in the
pursuitof his profession as a burglar;
or as if, in holding up a train, he had
been accidentally wounded. But 1t is
one of the inscrutable mysteries of Prov
idence, perhaps, that this is so, and it
goes to prove that some things are done,
some times, by railway monopoly, out
side of the usual routine. This man
Freeman seems to be worthy of a higher
classification than the ordinary tramp.
He appears to be in possession of the
principles of sobriety, and the habits of
industry, but is sadly out of luck.
Last year he spent whatever money he
had, and much of his time, in Denver
hospital. He has father, mother and
brothers, all of whom are on the ragged
edge in the race of life, and unable to
help him. He, sbeing unable to help
himself financially, could not respond to
letter in his pocket from his poor old
mother, asking him for money. His
case was a desperate one, and setting his
face toward Oregon, in the hope of bet
tering his condition, he. must steal ride
or go on foot. He watched for an op-
portunity, and mounted the top of a
Pullman coach, to seek the regions
where hope led him, He became chilled
from exposure, and when the train
stopped was in the act of descending from
his perch when he was caught between
the projections of the car roofs and was
so crushed that he has been rendered
physically helpless, possibly forever.
In this condition he was taken
into theacar, and will perhaps be carried
on today, if able. to hospital in Port
land. A stretcher with the Union Pa
cific label on it, rested in the hallway
this morning, opposite the room in
which he was being g,attended, and pos
sibly we may never know anything fur
ther concerning his fate but from what
has been seen by THE CHRoNICLE re-
porter, enough is learned to call public
attention to this phase of railroading,
and to lead to reflections as to whether
or tthere should be some system de-
vised to meet emergencies such as this.
1t is perhaps an isolated case in the
career of an unfortunate class which is
steadily on the increase, but it suggests
that there ought to be a remedy
amongst all the benevolent associations
of the land, to reach out for deserving
victims Of the. failure of success.
Were he a Mason, an Odd Fellow.
ssKnight Of Pythias, or member. Of the
A.S0. u. w j his case would at once be
seen to, but unfortunately for him he is
not allied to either of these organizations.
Is there not some organization to furnish
relief in a matter of this kind2, In ad-
ministering TO the unfortunate it became
necessary for DR. Doane to prescribe
stimnlents.- To this Freeman. strenu-
ously as he could, objected, saying that
he peyer used liquor, and this is the in
)cident which called our: reporters sstten-
ton to his unhappy condition.
The island Of Mausitius, where the
recent terrible hurricane occurred, is
where the scene of the story of paul
and Virginia is laida