The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-06-25
READABLE SHORT STORIES
Brief Tales and Incidents Picked Up in
the By ways of Indianapolis.
How Gen. lew Wallace Ran Newspaper on
Short EOtics-7hought He Was Robbed
An Unfinished Item.

pnce had some newspaper experience him.
self. Then be told the story. 1T was after
we had taken Memphis" he said. and
were stationed there for some time. The
Avalanche. q morning paper. came out the
morning after our arrival with the bitter
est kind of attacks upon the Union cause
and upon President Lincoln. 1t was very
rantankerous ebel sheet and seemed to
enjoy fouting its vile assaults upon US,
calling our soldiers federal thieves and
the eoarsest of names that could appear in
type. / concluded TO take some action TO
put q stop TO this. There were a couple of
correspondents in camp in whom j had
great confidence. named Leander Richard
son, of the New York Herald and Browne. of
the Tribune. i sent for them TO come and
see me and said:
"'Have you seen the Avalanchef
They said they had and thought the
matter M blIshed an outrage. l told them
had concluded either TO stop the Du0llca-
tion or TO make the paper change Its tone
toward the Union. How would you like
90 take hold of the psper and run itP
asked of them. They stadied awhile and
then consented. told them that l had
concluded to give the proprietor chance
TO change his tone or cease printing his
paper. so sent for him 10 come and see
me, and the invitation ieing equivalent to
IN order, he came. i stated the case TO him.
and he chose To let me run the editorial
course of the paper and he was TO retain
the business management. The next day
Richardson and Brown were installed in
control and the Avalanche appeared as one
Of the truest Union papers In the country.
The first four pages were filled with Union
news and articles favOrlDg our cause.
Arguments were gwen showing why the
rebellion should be put down. and jeff
Davis WAS roasted IN savage style. The
papers went to it's usual readers In the val
II . aa &C., D.
sternatIon and amazement. They finally
concluded. | learned afterward that the
proprietor wss an internal scoundrel and
Rpostate. but he prohted by the change
nevertheless. Where he had been selling
one paper before. now be was ceiling hun
ureds. Some years after the war, i was
pnce at hotel IN New York
when several strangers sent mp
psmes but directed the bell boy TO invite
them up. When they entered one stepped
out from the rest and then | recognized
him the editor of the Memphis paper
which had seized. The fret thought was
that they had not come In peace. and L
moved toward the bell so that If necessary
could summon help. But L found that 1
bad been mistaken. They came IN
pressed his gratitude that L had taken
control. He said that it was turning
point IN the success of the paper. lt had
ransed changed which resulted prohtai y.
thought was the agent that brought ham
fortune" =
OrvilIe Gross, night foreman ct the Big
Four roundhouse. at Brightwood. is Q typi-
cal railroad man. He has been Q railroader
for years and has seen many phases of the
eventful life OF the road. He Is q great
sportsman in addition to being a railroader,
and never misses an opportunity to engage
In fishing excursion or hunting expedition
and there are few men in these parts that
can handle rod or gun with better success
than Gross FRIDAY night he was telling
of some of his experiences in hunting along
the lower Ohio. near Cairo. Ill.
81 was on the road then" he said. run
ming into Cairo and laying over there. l
always was then. and am vet. ready at any
time for sport with the gun. 1t was at a
time of the year when game was plenty
round about CAIRO. and one of the
boys suggested that cross the
river and 90 over into kentucky on
short hunting trip. The suggestion
was all that was needed. and We liked mp
our outit In d hurry. and over ne went
We started down the river with our guns,
and got into one of those long canebrakes.
lt was not very. long till We were CON-
pletely lost. We wandered about in the
cane till We were nearly exhausted. and
finally came out of it, almost starved, about
fifteen miles down the river. near Colum-
bus, Ky. We came out on tho road near an
old darky's cabin, and went TO it for some
thing TO eat. The old lady, aud she q
lady. too II her complexion was dark.
liked mp some corn pone." baked in q
Dutch oven, and gave us ali the butter
milk We could drink. and want to tell you
that that lunch tasted better TO me than
the best supper you could set before me
now. Well. we had wandered around In
that cenebrake. and got so far from Cairo
that lt was impossible to get back there in
time to 20 ont with our train-a passenger
srain. The whole crew was in the crowd.
and there was some tall hustllng back
there ct Cairo to get that train ont with
I'm entire new crew, unfamiliar with she
time and every thing else. | won't try 10
say what the old man said to US. but. If it
had not been that it was the whole crew
was In the same box. some of Us would
have undoubtedly quit working for the
company. i
An attache of an indianapolis dry-goods
store was the principal cause of . scene of
confusion which reigned for . short space
Of time In Pullman car en- route from Chi
cago to this city few nights ago. He had
gone to bed in q lower berth. and before
doing so had placed his vest. which con-
tanned his money, under his pillow. The
upper berth was occupied by A. Z. Lums-
den, of the Indiana Bicycle Company. who
was returning from q trip In Michigan.
Mr.. Lumsden took off his vest and hing 1t
on the outer ed GO of the berth and retired
60 rest In the morning ho was awakened
by an excited voice declaring that its
owner had been robbed, aud demanding of
the porter that the doors of the car be
locked and every body in it be searched
before they were allowed TO leave. Lums-
den peered over the edge OF his oerth, and
saw that the excited man was his friend of
the dry-goods store, and he then went back
and tried 10 sleep. but 1t was no use. He
could hear the other exclaiminR that he
had gone to bed with his vest under his
pillow. and that now it was lying out on
the floor without blessed" thing In it,
and that the porter had better do some
thing or he would sue the company for the
amount be had lost Lumsden concluded
20 get up. and when In the process of arr8y-
ing himself he came to the point where his
vest was next TO be put on he found that it
was gone. He remembered where he had
hung it. but it was not there. and he be-
thought himself to look over the edge and
see IL it had fallen.
And sure enough 10 had. And. what was
more &c W as the vest tn at the man W as point
ing to and gesticulating about Lumsden
stuck his head ont from the curtains and
drawled out: when you folks get done
fussing about my vest 1 wish that you
would send it mp here. because l want to
put 10 on"
The ry-goods man dived back INTO his
berth and was seen no more. When he
arose for the day it was noticeab BILE that he
bad q vest all right. and no one heard any
thing more about his being robbed