The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-04-05
FUN-LOVING FIELD
STOLE THEIR SHOES
Robbed Two Carloads of Solid Bust
ness Men of Their Foot Gear While
They Slept and Protested His In
nocence to the Last.

The recent trip of the Kansas City
Commercial club recalls another in the
early history of these excursions which
Eugene Field accompanied. In those
days the Commercial club Travelled in
sleepers attached to regular trains over
most Of its route, stopping over on side
tracks at the various trade centers.
The party was approaching the In
dian territory from the south. They
had been entertained lavishly at a
Texas town one night, and Field was
not in a mood for much sleep. On this
occasion he had spent a greater part
Of the night in the smoking compart-
ment of his car, until one by one his
companions had disappeared to their
berths, and he was left alone.
He had smoked his cigar and, saunt-
erlng back through the car to his berth,
he met the porter, who had just shned
the boots of the party and was replac-
ing them under the berths. As the
CLEAN of a polished pair Of shoes, stick
ing out from under the curtains of a
couch met his eye, there came to his
mind an Idea. He went back to the
smoking compartment, where he passed
another hour until the porter had fin
ished his work throughout the train
and crawled away.
Then Field came forth and going
through the two cars occupied by the
Commercial club party. he carefully
gathered up every pair of polished foot
gear. He passed through and depos-
tied them in a bundle i'm the regular
baggage car of the through train. Be
fore daylight the two tourist cars were
switched ntf n
baggage ear. with the shoes on board.
was speeding along it's way over the
Texas Pacific for California. The tour
lists slept on until O'CLOCK or after
Then one after another awoke and
started dressing. Soon the question,
Where are my shoes" began to give
place &c a general highly Favored dis
cussiOn The porter was called for.
Meanwhile. Fields was the only bunk
in the two cars from which the occu-
pant had not been aroused. He had
snored gently and serenely on, with his
own shoes safely tucked away beneath
his pillow,
Finally Fields head appeared from
behind the curtains of his berth. He
opened his eyes wide in innocent sur
prise when everyone in the car tried to
the calamity which had befallen the
party. He was informed that he was
also included in the list of those be-
trayed, as his shoes were nowhere in
sight. He listened with evident sur
prise, but did not commit himself
further than to extract some amusing
thoughts and observations from the
situation.
Having become resigned to their fate
the tourists began to plan for supply
ing themselves with new footwear at
the first stop. But they were in the
territory" where such goods as they
habitually wore We're scarce. The first
stop was at small town with only
four general merchandise stores. Here
they bought up all the manufactured
shoe leather in the place-shoes, top
boots. slippers. brogans and even larger
sizes Of women's shoes for some os the
smaller men. But even then there were
not half enough to go round.
But i'm the meantime no one noticed
until late i'm the day, when all had be-
come comparatively serene, that Fields
feet were dressed in their usual we'll