Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-12-15
PULLMAN PORTeR'S WllES.
Fcxy Black Man Made Money by Les.
ing the Shoe of Missis
sippi Man.

dIklnS ABOUT the race pFoDISLl,
said the retired Pullman conductor,
though nobody had been talking about
it, relates the Chicago Daily News, Il
had a cOloreG porter on my run Gown
through the south one year who was
wonder
i think must have met him. sad
the cigar salesman. "On my last trip
south the porter took half collar from
me to buy a box OF cigarettes at a way
station. brought back Is cents change
and eyed me until gave it to him. He
charged so cents a pint for bottled beer
and wanted dime every time he walked
across the buffet car with fresh bot
tie"
No, that was not the same porter,
said the retired Pullman conductor,
although Tom. my porter, had his own
peculiar abilities in that line, too. We
We're sailing along through lower Mis-
sissippi after midnight one night anG
Tom was sitting in the wash room
shining the shoes Of the passengers. Ae
had bad feet and had taken off his oWr
shoes.
All Of sudden the train stopped al
an unaecustOmed place ard | told Tom
to jump out and see what was the mat
ter 1t had been raining heavily and
he looked out obviously at the muddy
ground and then looked down at his
stockinsed feet.
1t done look pretty BAD out yondah,
boss, Tom says, but III go out ef YOU
wants me to.
With that he picked up a big pail
of shoes belonging to a passenger.
slipped them Oh and jumped into the
darkness. In a few minutes the traiB
started up and l forgot all about Tom.
Il suppose you pitched in and shined
the rest Of the shoes for him. suggested
the cigar salesman.
NO, but in a few minutes after We
started he came dumping in to where
was looking worried.
Say. boss I'm in an awful box he
says. an l.Goan know what to do bout
it.
What's the matter, Tom asked.
We'll, sah,' he says, when jumped
off back theah | done put on a big pair
o..
she started up made a quick run and
one o them shoes done stuck in the
mud
He held out the remaining shoe and
looked at it ruefully.
What 90 you s'pose better do?' he
asked
Why, there's only one thing to do
I jrn NO f !, oh
shape, put it under the berth and bluff
it out in the morning Tell him YOU
don't know ANYTHING about his shoe
That SOUNDS good, says Tom. Ill
do it,
THE next morning there was a fear
ful rev whea lower got Up. He vas
a big, broad stouI6ored M.asiss5ppIan
and he gct his hneer on the pUsh E1tton
in hurry. Tom pretended G0t 70 hear
the beli. bat pret1y soon the big fellow
came st@mqin2 cut.
Hey! nc says in voice that nearly
turned Tom white, did YOU shine .te
shoes in lower 6 last Hiaht?
'Y-y-yessah, Yessah,' Tom says
I done shined all the shoes in the cah
] must have shined EN-.
We'll, one Of ems gone the big fel-
low says, and | want YOU to find it
Tom never hatted an eye but went
in and turned the car upside down. He
turned the bedding out of all the berths,
swept the car and looked in the upper
berths. No shoe.
Seems to be gone, boss. he said, at
length
The Mississippian fixed him with
cold eye
Have you any idea how that shoe
could get out of here?' he demanded,
well, sab. SAYS Tom, they was two
ladies got off at Water Valley bout
O'Clock this mohnin. an they both had
these here long, trailin skirts on. Now,
| often heard how they could sweep
a shoe out Of a car that away
81 guess that's what happened to
mine, the big fellow says, but I've got to
get off at Harrodsburg to meet my
mother. Now, here's So When we stop
to change engines at Barr Junction you
duck up to the town and get me pair
of wide No. 12's. Don't lose any time
now
Tom chased up and got the ST ,es
and they fitted all right and the Mis-
sissippian gave him quarter for going
When the big fellow was gone at Har-
rodsburg | cornered my porter.
Well, you got out of that scrape
pretty lucky, said to him.
Lucky?' he says. Why, nah good !
ness, man, you don't know half Of It
Them We're Gollah an half shoes done
bought him.
Scientific Nursing.
An ingenious Swiss mechanic claims !