The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-11-17
FOUNDON THE TRAINS
A MAN WHO FOR FIFTEEN YEARS HAS
BEEN PICKING UP THINGS.

erty-Umbrellas Head the List Of For
gotten Belongings.
Whenever during the daytime q New
York, New Haven and Hartford train
rolls into the Grand Central depot a stoop
shouldered, little man, with keen gray
eye and a beard that doesn't grow with
SUFFICIENT luxuriance to require frequent
trimming. strolls down to the end of the
platform. When the train stops and
while the most laggard of the passengers
are still ~leisurely %alighting. he hops MIN
bly, on the rear platform Of the last car
and proceeds to literally Ego through"
the train. Sometimes a much excited
passenger who has suddenly recollected
that he has forgotten something rushes
lnadly back into the train and discovers
his portable property in the hands of the
little man. Then, if he is Of a suspicious
disposition, he glares and scowls at the
little man, and sometimes pounces upon
him and Indignantly demands to be told
what he Is doing with that"
Then a tired look comes into the little
mans face and he mildly explains that
he Is employed by the company to search
ioAtlS " tlllSitS ltll DSIllllt
by passengers, which he conveys to the
lost property room, where the owners
can always get pos ssion of them again
by furnishing ~rres7rmptiye evidence that
the thingU belong 20 them.
When C~harlie-rhat is what the other
employees about the depot call him, al
though he has another name which APP
pears on the paw rolls of the company
first began this work. his beard wasn't
tinged with gray, and he wasn't a bit
stOop shouldered. That was II years
ago All these years. from $3.50 in the
morning until $3.50 at night each day, he
has been picking NJ things that careless
passenger have forgotten to take with
them when they left the train.
1t would make any man stoop Shout
dered to be continually looking for
things that long. Blu his eyes are as
keen as ever. and his honesty is still proof
against all temptations. If that were
not the case, he could have retired with
a snug little capital. From the pocket
books and purses and ''wads" that he
has found while pursuing his unique &C.
cupation lie could have slipped enough
into his own pocket to render him quite
independent.
There are no blanks in mis- daily rec
ords. Never a day goes by that he
doesn't find something that somebody
has forgotten. He picks up fewer things
on Sundays than on any other days, be-
cause on Sundays travel is comparative
ly light, n passengers are apt to be
less preoccupied with business cares and
therefore not SO likely to forget things.
On some days his list of articles found
OF the incoming trains is quite a formi-
dable one.
This, for instance, is what he turned
into the lost property room on Aug. Il:
Thirteen umbrellas, wv rings lone plain
gold and one with diamonds). one over
coat, II package of legal "a oers, one
satchel. II iadys jacket, ne Derby
hat, one yallse. II cape, one cane. one
package OF underwear, one macintosh
and one p~ocketbook.
And this is what he found on Aug. 81:
Seven umbrellas, one parasol, one shawl,
n overcoat, n pair of shoes, one pack
age containing a suit of clothes, one pair
OF spectacies, n purse, one flask of
whisky and n smelling bottle.
When the articles are taken to the LOST
property room, they are labeled with the
date on which they are found and the
number OF the train. Nearly all the ar
ticles that have any intrinsic value are
redeemed. The rest are simply stored
away for the gnawing tooth of time to
prey upon.
Charlie is of the opinion, and surely
may be regarded as an expert on the
subject, that everybody is liable to for
get something at some time or other.
Umbrellas are the articles that are most
frequently left behind on the trains by
travellers. The man who could devise
an infallible system by which the owner
of an umbrella would always be sure to
-emenber it would reap a fortune.
Ihariie has tried his W wits at it. but
was forced to give it up.
He has come to the conclusion that a
tate OF ecstatic happiness, equally with
me OF intense preoccupation, is apt to
'roduce forgetfulness of portable prop :
rty. He has discovered that newly i.
brides and grooms are quite as
pit to forget the little things they may
70 carrying with them as the mar who
as got SO much business on his hands
70 can't think of anything else. The
nan who never travels withou. a flask !
4 whisky seldom forpets it. Perhaps
hat is because tue act of putting it into
liz pocket Immediately after taking a
lip has been SO often repeated tia i
10 the category Of unconscious
erebration. c
It is not an infreaGent tnia9 for . m:a
o leave a ~stovepipe hat on the rack and
walk out of the car with a little skull
on. But when he gets into the
treets the small boys are sure to shout.
Shoot tie hat" Or Where did yaR rot
hat hat Then he discovers the mis-. =.
AXE that he has made. but the fact that