The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-30

UriRING 4 SOLEMN LOOK AND OAR
EyTNG 4 nook OF POETRY,

Apract.cal Joker. who the police say was not
p.a. g. Hughes. had lot OF fun on the
pr.I.e yesterday morning at tho expense OF
.,,.r,l hundred citizens car conductors. mo-
,prnrcn aud Bridge policemen. He is described
s.,t,v spare man OF sober mien. who wore
fro.l Goat and n derby hat and carried book
n. r1atry under his arm. He was one OF
dozen passengers on a trolley car coming from
Hrsgs yn at about 81 o'clock. which was held
MO .n ihe middle OF the Bridge on account OF a
r,.,atr. lie sat on the loft side OF tho car.
,,L.-s he could look out on tho roadway. sud
deay he Jumped ur from his seat, clappod MS
hand - his head and walled:
"Oh. my God! lie Jumped. he jumped
Tnep hs bolted out OF the car. ran to the edge
,..so r,advay and looked down into the river.
,r},o o.ncr passengers began to get excited.
o,,,1rs - women put their hands over their
ewes l,- fear Of seeing something terrible.
ryr.emon jumucd up and went flying out OF
v.c,. 20 I5in the first man. shoutnG
.Nh4tsth iii. matter! What's the matter"
"p,i,1 YOU sue him Jump" said the first
n,u In 'rrnllous voice. never raising MS
eve. from 'hn river.
II wa, reading my paper" said one man.
"ij,v do II happen? Who was hep
the solemn man Strengthened himself out
e,tu,y, the other a whitening look.
say" ha said, how would | know who he
vas, IJus. looked UP from my book minute.
,uI,hpgc he was climbing up the rail. was
sr,ecElcss or "a have yelled. He turned
around when he got On top. looked me right IN
Tin, eye and thon Jumped Then l got my
Tongue on. i''s terrible and he hasn come
mn wi" And the man leaned over the rail
e,1.u and fixed his owes on the river.
BIZ mis- time \ hundred passengers had left
,,. .,ar'.l trolley cars nni crowded around the
man who rsi seen the Jump. II he told his
story one, hn told It nifty times, punctuating 1t
v.,py,ous cllncss at the river. and adding
nt,.. details that he had apparently forgotten
hrf.ra with Zach repetition. The first off1cial
II. arrive n the sceno was a trolley car In
so.,,or He was 50 loaded down with authorl
~ that he had to get some Of 1t OF ON the
crowd.
Here You people get back in the cars right
away. what's the matter here anyway" he
sa0d
say. you b,ams idiot. said an excited citi-
zen. "anan rust jumped Off the Bridge"
"No-o-ow exclaimed the inspector. in q
mi,der tore.
Too said the citizen. Go and get po-
lucmn..'
There was no need to send for policeman.
f,r.np appeared at this moment. He had run
'''fS
~ near man Jumped of tho Bridge here."
h-EasIA' Who saw him lump"
II ala. said about seven men at once. and in
atuw minutes the policeman was in posses-
son of me whole -nd story, revised and brought
Gosh" said the policeman. Isn't that
tough luck ON nv beat, too. ttosh.
"Hr hash come to the surface vet. said ore
He jumped I'VE minutes ago. too" said an
I, he isn't drowned he NAV be floating
around unconscious, said the policeman. We
must get word to the river police to send out
boats.
lv,hs time the roadway was so damned with
l"or.e hat even wagons couldn't pass and
passengers were stil! pouring out OF trolley cars
that had com" ". Persons on the promenade
were n. ruc,rl 10y the crowd and in few min
u'"S several hundred ot them were looking
down ut the roadway. Both crowds were in
w're arriving in patches OF two and three.
rgn.!g induce ANYBODY 10 bulge an inch,
In the meantime IN" trolley blockade had
""n 'alsed AMI n" mctorman of tho first car.
IuuG'7sc atigst car volunteered to carry the
trolley car never travelled faster. The motor
Ts9 swung into loop ; ~ /. at ms end OF the
breath left TO yell 70 Policeman l.nuterbaum
that man had Just jumped or the Bridge.
that he was Struggling, in the water. that there
SIN body had better get to the river front at
ot'r anl send out boat to pick him up.
hen he A. ioi!ceman Lautsrhapm rememh ered
e. get the name o. the motQrman or the num-
her Of III" gar. He hustled OF, one man 70
telephone Brooklyn to hold up tho ear when il
gat over there and learn these things. another
to the Oak street police station to see that n
boat was sent out to nick up the bridge
Brooklyn got excited and gave orders 10
arres; me n otorman and hold tho car The
order was carried out to the letter. The
motormau protested vigorously when told that
he was under arrest, and the passengers on
n, car maze great fuss about the delay;
Holding mp the Douglass street ear stalled all
the car, behind. Of course. and ~ all o them
were behind time. anyway. there was an elo-
Finally the telephone at this end began to
bu|Z. and when Policeman Lautsrbaum ans
wsr,tit a voice e1cIa aimed:
say. New York. this motOrman says he
didn throw any body of Of the Bridge, and"
"hoonhel said he didt' rosred Tanter-
Well. | had orders to arrest him for some
thing about a man falling Off tho Bridge. and
'."Ier him gol Let him go"' fairly shrieked
me POLICEMAN. Get his name and car num-
The BrooEiYn end did as, ordsrsd and tho
e4r1 began 10 move on III" bridge again,
IN the meantime the messengers to tho Oak
stree station had stirred things up down there.
Tire" policemen we're sent our to beg. borrow
or steal boat and go out and save the drown
nv man when they got down to tho river
front they found seyera men who had been
ai'lni all the morning, but hadn't seen any
ly'y a OF Of tho bridge. There was no sign
a. a arownng man IN tae river and no bodies
i...lANk AROUND. ne ppll't1nen got a BOAT
dHi wasted half an hour rowing around under
the bridge. Then they went back to The station
now" and reported that II a man had jumped
g, 'n" bridge he had either been picked up or
was stuck TO the bottom
While all this was going on the crowd on the
'r. X" roadway was increasing. Despite the
ltct lhH he cars were running, people refused
10 cave tnc spot. Finally IA sergeant OF police.
NN had been sent from Brooklyn to investi-
'''he case, came over on a ear. He forced
hl' way into the centre Of the crowd and ask ed
ne .Ilreman there who had seen the Jun ping.
lie t",'aman lonJed out ten different men
@ho mat been telling the story to newcomers.
me sergeant went at them ono by one. Every
o. them had to admit that he hadn't seen
me nan Jump, but they were all sure it had
harr"nrd IA they had been telling it. Finally
.u1 sergeant picked out n quiet. little man.
WI lace wore Il cynical smile.
10y, he said, what do you know about
ms ming, 0nyway"'
Nuthn'. only | think it's a fake, | was on
,H" ear with THIS big thin Teller that jumped
~ hH4 SAID he saw It. | was looking out OF
tN' "."'ow at the time. but didn't see any
nv 1nu. I've been looking ever since. and.
u4.H-4 n I've seen ANYTHING but suckers
VI ~ W here to get fooled
LAY big, thin teller are you talking aboutT
hsSnj the sergeant.
WINS no was here a minute ago. He's the
hN mat started II ull
iIe ,urgotut. tho little man and dozen
Ch".7 ooked around for the solemn man with
1I.'''"> li IO-ms but hs had disappeared.
me '.oNl began To dwinde, the men looking
e. In "a fav tFt1t uf,l "a