The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-02-11
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A BABY. IN THE SNOW.
A STRANGE CHRISTMAS EXPERT
ENCE or A TRACKWALkER.

the Railroad Track-A Christmas Gift.
Every time | think of Christmas |
think of the year 1872, said an old track
walker That's more than twenty }t;lrS
ago ISN'T 1t, Twenty v4sars Is Il rood
long stretch. Lots 4 happen to 4 man
IN twrntv YEARS He could g,f rIch ana
spend II all and @Ht r1ch again II t!l;t
space II tI;e" and sgiLI haye lots 81 lf4le
To sEnlre. liut / haven't. I've gust stand
poe, r.,ht along
tat AZ / was saying. speaking Of
Christmas always reminds ne 1T 1872. |
was -trickwai@lug then fer the Nanialia
line om 4 section between Terre ilant"
AMI t'trrllZtuu III the STATE If Indiana.
That Christmas night WIS a eorkcr. III
tell Won / heard ut moor from the Src-
ton tos@ that the thermometer wits 10
degs teiow zero. ana rs night rlule on
VI seemed ~ rnf colder ana colder. it
nasi ~nuVvr;t the dav ~beiurn-One of the
deepest Ia that ytar-;jnal tie engines
mad nli q pretty tough time of It pIow-
lne tntlr way through in the morning.
After they dld get by my section the
tiDH 49, 10 go va vi 'iohb ItCl
deep III some places " the side of the
track. 1t WIS so cold that | wrapped
coffee s;irks around my feet before start
ing ont lust to keep them from Il frost
D'te. Iou bet | hated to start out, but
I did muster up the courage after
awhile. 1t waa about 8 o'clock when |
started to 70 back to Harrington. and
the wlnt was III my face. Its d durn
poo Christmas for me-, | thought to
myself as the wind caught me a belt in
the side of the head. Here I'm fated to
walk this ..old track until midnight
without even Il kind word from anybody
70 say Merry Christmas t. you" It's
PRETTY tough | guess track walking
In Just about the worst trade Il man who
loves company Tan adopt.
As was stamping along thinking
like this. away off ahead of me | saw Il
sparkle. It's the st. Louis express.
AID to myself. and she'll be ~ru1nbling
over me ut about sixty miles an hour.
You had better go out in the snow, old
man. unless you like being ground into
little bits. Boo bnt that suow was
deep. Way mp over my waist. But when
/ pot down off tho track and snugly
tucked away il the drift | was a heap
warmer. because the wind coulin't reach
me. And the old train came right ahead
with a buzz and y roar. and her old vel
ow~ headlight getting brighter and big
ger every second. 1t was Il train of six
or seven passenger coaches. All were lit
M as bright as kerosene oil could make
en-. One, two. three. four of the cars
whizzed past me. But the fifth seemed
to stop. 1t didn't. Of course. but the
sight saw seemed to nail it to my eye!
"A man and a woman. They stood at
the rear window. 1t was open. saw
the man with his arms put out, suppli-
eating like. The woman had a bundle
in her arms. Then she didn't have it.
The man gave a cry of horror that rang
high above the clamor of the wheels
n the rattle of the rails and the creak-
ing Of the coaches. Something shot
down Just past my head and landed in
the snowdrift beside me. | shut my
ewes. bnt still saw the woman with the
bundle n the ma with outstretched
rleading arms. When | opened nv
eyes again h train was Il quarter of a
mile away. with her rear green light
sinklng swiftly into a dot and then dis
appearing The wind cut me sharp on
the cheek. and five miles off | heard the
church chime in Harrington tolling the
quarter hour That sight was Il dream,
old man, ! said to myself as | pulled
my legs out of the drift. But the bun
die. ! exclaimed. I%nvoinntarily | looked
down In the drift and saw another hole
in the not the one | came out Of.
u a smaller one.
Maybe you've guessed the thing by
this time and maybe you haven t: Well.
sir that bundle was just as cute a 20
pound kid as | want to look upon. Hurt:
Well. l guess 0 a little bit. When |
found him he was laughing ~contentedly
as You please and chewing a chunk of
snow for il sugar cake"
Who did he belong to-
'Yon tell, can't, never knew and
v expect to know. He bad good
clothes on, and the odd little collar of
lace ne wore was marked with d pretty
silk He was fat as Il Christmas trr-
Key and the biggest eater you even saw.
Why didn't yon find his parentS::"
Didn't | try my durndest? Didn't |
spend malt my wages for the next month
advertising III the newspapers? But no
answer did | get to any OF them It
seems to me that the man ought to have
come and got the child, for re evidently
didn't want 10 see it fired out Hike that
His o-ntstretched snpphcauag arms
showed that Bat perhaps he only
wanted to prevent its being killed Who
knows: Perhaps he WIS 2Ial to yet I'LL