The record-union., 1893-01-07
NAT GOODWIN'O TRIP.
How He Made Miles in Snow, Ice
and Peril.
1t Gives Us Some Idea of What Winter
At the East Really Is and
All 1t Means.

Nat G. Goodwin tells this story of how
he kept an engagement year ago Christ
mas:
The most eventful Christmas I ever
passed was just one year ago. We had
played in Utica Christmas Eve and were
to leave on an early morning train for
Poughkeepsie. The company caught the
train all right, but it was frightfully cold
ana a blizzard was raging. L decided to
wait for a later train which would reach
Poughkeepsie about o'clock. Instead of
clearing up, however, the storm grew
worse, and the train that l waited for
never came. 1t was stalled in drift up
the road somewhere. l began to realize
that it was cold day for me in more
senses than one.
tried to hire an engine but didn't sue
ceeQ, tor there were none. | finally gave
it up in despair and went back to the ho-
lei. George Appleton, my new manager,
was made OF sterner stuff than L, hoWev-
er, and IN about two hours had organized
party OF storm bound passengers, and
persuaded another railroad to make up
mixed train and try to get us through to
the uncompleted bridge at Poughkeepsie.
| we would be landed on the opposite side
of the river, they said, but we could get
across to the town by the ferry. The de-
pot was about three miles outside of
Utica, and it took us three hours and a
quarter to reach it. There was no fire in
the cars we secured and mighty little in
the engine. At o'clock Christmas night
we were dumped out at the landing OPP
posite Poughkeepsie.
The river was full of jagged masses of
ice, and the ferry-bOats had been COM
PEELED to stop running at = O'Clock. There
was no possible way of crossing except
by the half-tnished railroad bridge, and
that was guarded at either end by watch
men who had orders to allow no one to
pass. Moreover, there was no approach
to the bridge, whose ice-clad buttress
arose abruptly from the rivers edge to a
hight of hundred feet or more. The
other passengers stopped right there and
sought shelter in neighboring hotel. [
wanted to follow their good example. but
Appleton wouldn't let me. He said we
had gone too far to turn back then, and,
besides, sturdy small boy at the hotel
had offered to show us how to climb to
the bridge. He was rewarded in ad-
vance, and then We set out to battle with
fate. The small boy took the lead, APP
pletOn followed him, made close third,
and my valet, Jack, formed kind of
rearguard to look alter my remains in
case of accident. Our small guide led US
straight to the huge buttress OF the bridge,
which was built of massive blocks OF
stone arranged in terrace form, from its
broad base to its narrow apex. These
terraces were about fifteen feet high and
covered with ice and snow. 1t was i'm
possible for a man to climb them un-
aided, but the boy was equal TO the emer-
gency. After prowling about for few
minutes he found a ladder which had
been used by the workmen. l can't be-
gini to describe the difficulties and dan
gers of that climb. But at last we scram-
bled to the top, with clothes torn and
hands bruised and bleeding. Fortunately
the watchman was walking toward the
middle of the bridge, and We had chance
for good start before he could stop us.
After short breathing spell Appleton,
Jack and began our perilouS journey
along the narrow footpath that stretched
across the ghastly-looking iron work.
But before we had reached the middle of
the uncompleted bridge the watchman
stopped us and ordered us to go back.
We pleaded and protested and argued,
but it was of no use. He wouldn't even
take bribe. Hereupon the boy Jack
loudly called my attention to the fact that
the water looked awfully cold down be-
low. Appleton quickly added that un-
der certain circumstances it would make
an excellent plunge bath, and chipped
in with t1ippant remark about it being
q three-to-one shot.
The watchman evidently thought we
OF SOLll6 equally QeS-
| perate crime, for his eyes fairly bulged
| from their sockets as he backed away
| from us far as the narrow footpath would
| permit. We brushed by him instantly
and continued on our way without any
| further interference from him. The
watchman at the other end of the bridge.
| however, proved of different metal. He
was as big as two Of US and we didn't
dare to attempt any bluff with him. He
was even more obdurate than the other
| fellow. 1t began to look as though all
our labor was to be in vain, when Apple
ton whispered to me to run while he en-
gagged the watchman in conversation.
| Well, l scOoted, and so did Jack, but we
didn't scoOt far, for we were brought to a
sudden standstill by the abrupt termina-
| ton of the bridge at the buttress. 1t was
| a sheer hundred feet to the ground, and
there was no ladder. gave it up again,
and could have wept scalding tears if it
hadn't been so cold. Appleton, however.
succeeded in pacifying the watchman and
came to our rescue with grim determina-
ton in his stride. He boldly jumped
down the first terrace and called upon
| Jack and me to follow. Jack did so, but
hesitated. Those fifteen feet seemed
like precipice, and the landing on the
| next terrace looked awfully hard and in
|