The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-12

very low. In the middle is a draw. The
rails are laid on open ties. and there is no
path for pedestrians Whatever induced
the peasants TO start across ii with the
bears is q mystery. They probably
thought that 1t was the only means of get
ting over the river At any rate. they lid
start and the bears, refreshed by their
rights rest, took very kindly to the ties
at first
After gong apout an eighth OF a mile
they got tired of the trip. So they sat
down and refused to bulge. By merci-
lessly yanking on the nose rings and con-
stantly prodding with steel-pointed
sticks. the men got the bears TO within
a few feet of the draw. There the ami
mails stopped short, squatted down on the
ties. and stayed there despite the efforts
of their masters. Twenty minutes Of
prodding and yanking. shaking Of fists
and swearing had no effect on the bears
They were imperVious to all arguments
They not only declined to resume the trip
but also refused to get up and sit between
the north and south tracks. Two rail-
road hands ran over from the draw to tell
the men that there was a train due on
the south track in a few minutes and
that If they wanted the bears they'd bet
ter move them. The men then tugged at
and prOddcd the bears with renewed en-
ergy, but again their efforts were in vain.
What was more, the bears showed them
the utter fuUlity Of further efforts in
that direction by putting up a fight that
almost landed the men in the waters of
the Raritan. The two railroad hands
quickly withdrew to the draw when the
bears began to fight and stood ready to
disconnect themselves from the rest of
the trcstle at the first sign of hostile in
tentiOus on the part of the animals. But
the bears didn't make a move. They
only wanted to be let alone.
The train which was due on the south
track in a few minutes was the special
morning express which leaves Asbury
Park at 1880 o'clock Monday mornings and
brings business men who have been at
the summer resorts along the road over
Sunday to the city. 1t is a fast train
and makes only one or two stops on the
trip.
The bears were still resting on the track
when the train hove in sight, coming at
fun speed The peasants alternately wav-
ed their arms at the train and knelt and
implored the bears to get out Of the way
but 1t was all in vain The train came
on and the bears continued to blink at
their masters as though they didn't care
whether school kept or not
Just what would have happened to the
bears if the train had not come to a stand
stlll is a question One of the draw ten
ders. however, signalled the train that the
draw was open. That was all that saved
the bears. When he got near enough En-
gineer Kline saw that the draw was closed
and that the bears were the real cause of
the delay, so he whistled furiously and
came slowly ahead. The bears looked
around to see what was making all the
noise, and then looked away. They were
perfectly unconcerned. Kline whisued
again, while the fireman hurled chunks of
coal at the obstacles. 1t was all Of no
avail, however. The bears remained where
they We're Then Conductor Waidman and
Engineer Kline, followed by about fifty
passengers, got out of the train and tried
to chase the bears away. one or two went
too near and got cuffed for their pains.
The bear owners renewed their efforts,
but 1t was of no use.
Meantime the news that two bears were
holding up the train spread through the
cars, and passengers came tumbiing out
to see the fun. Some enjoyed it, while
others were indignant. One man cried out
loudly against the delay, saying thar II
might mean thousands of dollars 70 MIN
unless he got to the city before the ex-
changes opened. Several others had sim
liar grievances, but all Conductor Waid-
man could say was:
They won't move. don't see what We
can do"
Back up and give them a boost into the
river" shouted one man.
Throw coal at them" cried another.
What's the matter with tying ropes to
those rings In their noses, fastening them
to the engine and baciiug into South Am
boy" suggested a third man.
Turn some hot water on them" came
from the rear of the crowd.
This last was regarded as the first sensi- |
bic suggestion made. The owners protest
ed against adopting the suggestion, but
they We're Gjsregarded. The passengers
who had been polling the bears with UNI
brelas and canes and having lot of fun
vita them, We're ordered back into the
carr, and then a volume of steam was
turned on. II completely enveloped the
amin ais. but from the midst came shorts
and squeals which showed that Il was
having the desired effect. When the
cloGd of steam rose the bears were on the
north track, standing up, and apparently
all ready 10 proceed. They were a very
much disguised pair of bears, and walked
along peaceably enough when the peasants
grabbed their leading strings and started
toward South Amboy with them.
1.f,ctnser Kline lost no time in getting
past The bears, and the last the passengers
sa0 Of the animals they were still walk
ing slowly along the ties, led by their own
ers.
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