The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-10-05
BIG THINGS LOSE THEMSELVES.

Human nature will insist on losing
and mislaying things. but when the ar
ticles get to be so big as boiler or
bridge, human ingenuity fails 10 un-'
derstand how 1t happened.
A short time ago a Western railroad
had TO issue a pathetic advertisement
i'm the local papers. They had fixed
twenty eight ton steel bridge on three
fatcars. chained together. and dis
patched il to Dayton. o., with their
blessing
At an intermediate station the
bridge was observed TO be bearing tne
journey extremely well. and was seem
ingly in the best OF spirits. nevert1e-
less. when the train arrived at it's des~
tination not a sign OF the bridge cou'd
be discovered. and owing TO the ina
bilaty OF the company 10 discover any
trace OF their lost property, the adver-
tisement was issued begging the pub
lie should IL meet with wandering
bridge. to return IL to its oNne's wich
all despatch. when substantial re-
ward would be given in exchange, says
the New York Press
NOn the Belgian Railway line. o..
tween Antwerp and Termonde, a cat
astrophe was thought TO have occurred
early I'm the spring of 1897. The plssen.
gers at the intermediate stations he
tween these places. after waiting Cor
some time for the train due ID 'e5Ne
the former place at eight minutes
past seven in the evening. were not a
.1..sst hon sat
coming
Many people thought an accident had
happened. others shook their heads and
thought OF all the Kidnapping stories
they had ever read. while the light
hearted suggested that the errant train
had lost it's way. As a matter OF fact,
there was no accident and no train
napng. nor did the engine lose its way
indeed. the only individuals who lost
anything were the officials who lost
their heads and. bv an unaccountable
oversight, forgot t. despatch the train.
Railway wagon No. 474 Is the prop
ertv OF the London and Northwestern
railway. and fifteen months ago II was
missing with it's contents. consisting
of one ton OF copper. Toward the end
OF August the wagon turned up on a
siding at Leicester. but how IL got
there passed the understanding OF all
railway men.
A year ago an advertisement appear
ed In an English country paper. stating
that reward of $50 was offered by
great engineering firm to any one who
produced full-grown torpedo that had
been lost about a mnG and a half east
OF the TrOw Rocks. Ii was comforting
TO learn that there were no explosives
in the torpedo. Strangely enough.
month later. a similar fish put i'm an
appearance at Aldeburgh. i'm Suffolk
and numbered 24l4 Y. and though
originally charged with Il working
pressure Of 1850 pounds. when IL was
recovered II was exhausted
Early i'm 1897 a peculiar case was tried
at Woolwich regarding an extraordi-
nary piece Of lost property. 1t appear
ed that a man bought. for $75 boiler.
whose size can be estimated from the
fact that IL took six horses and twenty
mem to move il. While this operation
was being carried out. the boiler. by
some remarkable freak. managed to
lose itself. and where Il went u no
man knew nor could they find out.
though the police were put ON it's track,
and ii was requested to return to its
sorrowing friends.
Some years ELAPSED. and. then. when
a surveyor in the office of works was
estimating the value of fine crop OF
scrap iron that a piece OF ground
known as mo Mans Land" had yield
ed. he spied the boiler but being ignor-
ant of it's history. ordered IL TO be sold
at auction. at which sale Il realized
$3.50. Then the original owner recog-
nized his lOng-lost property and sued
the surveyor for the S15 it cost him.
Eventually. the Judge awarded him $50.
while the surveyor received 81 for the
tresDass. II was learned that the
three -years-lost boiler had hid itself
ON a niece of land quite near its own
ers residence.