The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-07
sHACKLED TO PRISONER.
An Ex-Deputy Sheriff Says It's Not
as Pleasant as 1t Looks to Be.
Washington Star.

as Pleasant as 1t Looks to BE.
Washington Star.
A Star reporter, recently on a trip
along the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad.
in Virginia, noticed a sheriff get off
the train with a prisoner, to whom he
was handcuffed. The incident drew
him into conversation with the brake
man, an interesting sort Of a chap.
who was a good talker
That sort Of thing" said the brake
man, nodding toward the station where
the sheriff had got off, and referring.
OF course, to the circumstance Of the
handcuffs, "looks safe, and maybe is.
but | don't want to get myself mixed
up In no kind Of combination like
that
AN officer gets used to it," suggested
the writer.
I didn't" responded the brakeman.
with extreme succinctness.
DO brakemen have to arrest prison.
ers and carry them into captivity %
inquired the writer, with some degree
of surprise.
It was this away" said the brake
man, falling into that peculiar Southern
provlncialism, this away" IT didn't
always use to be a brakeman. NV
DADDY didn't exactly know what pro-
Iess1on to put me out to when T was
q boy, SO he thought he'd look about q
little till he found something that
would Mt. had done all kinds Of odd
JOBS up to the time I was eighteen. and
being great strapping big fellow. nv
oaddy at last got me a job as kind
OF supdeputy to the sheriff of the
county. who was a friend of NV
daddy's. 1 took to 1t easy, and being
Dig and strong 1 come handy when
there was any prisoners to be toted
around to Richmond or from one court
house to another.
suppose had made six or eight
trips of that kind, and, of course fol
lowing the customs of the country r
Always went with the prisoner hand
CURED to me, so I could have him ready
Wnen called for. One day we got .
notce at our place to look out for a
man That had done murder down about
Richmond some place, and sat o,,t
doing my first detective work. 7 don,t
Drag, but In about three DAYS we had
our man, and we got orders to bring
hln IN. IL was only three hours RIM
ana the sheriff and me started ont
ABOUT o O'Clock in the evening. with
me handcuffed to the prisoner.
We was feeling good. that is the
sher1H and me, for there was a reward
IN II, and we didn't make it any harder
On the prisoner than we could help.
Tor he was dreadful blue and seemed
dead sorry that he had done wrn rle
After we had been riding along for an
hour, l reckon, the sheriff said what
was the matter with going out info
the smoking car and trying a smoke
and the prisoner fairly Jumped at tbe
chance. The sheriff went in front. with
the prisoner next and me swinging tn
the back The sheriff cautioned us to
4 sci. IL
for the train was going thirty miles or
more, and the coaches were ordinary
light ones that rocked a good deal. We
crossed the first platform all right and
then, just as the prisoner was about
to step into the car after the sheriff
he made a quick turn and jumped from
the platform, dragging me after him
of course
What happened during the next half
hour 1 only know by hearsay. for All
remember was a whiz and q thnd
against something soft, and that was
the end Of me until / come to half an
hour later. The prisoner, however. wa 9
DEAD, as he intended, but he hadn't
got me, as In falling / had dronned
square on top of him and hadn't a
bone broken except the bone in the
wrist that was through that confound-
cd handcuf. The jar was enough to
AeA ny up LOI d week. ana Wl6n L got
over it told my daddy
that reckoned had got
all | wanted of that profession. and
he let me resign. I've been in the rail-
road profession about a dozen years
now, and one Of these days if 7 amt
riding in a private car it will be be-
cause the man that owns it hasn't in
vited me to get aboard. See?" and the
brakeman grinned IS he thought he
might massage it straight once more.