Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-25
TROUGH HOUSE" IN
THE SLEEPING CARS
How Exuberant Ball Players
Amuse Themselves in the
Albright Jumps During
the Season.
BY HUGH s. FULLERTON.

BY HUGH y
Watching ball players fight 1t out Tor lhe
pennant on the ball fields is simply one
phase Of the existence of a professional,
and there is only one place where an out
slider can get really acquainted with the
players-that is in the sleeping cars during
the long Jumps over the United States
when the twent, or more men that compose
a team aIe herd, d into a car by themselves
to ride twen,v four or thirty hours to the
next stand.
And there is more excitement and ad-
venture I'm the sleeping cars. and more pen
nants won and lost there than on the ball
fields Poker, reading, storytelling, sleep
ing and eatiugs fill the time except when
some of the rowdies break loose.
When Rough House" Comes.
During the heat of a season. when the
teams are on edge and lighting for the lead,
the gang usually is overwhelmingly
quiet The rough house times in the sleep
ers are when the team has position won,
or is hopelessly out of the race. but in every
team there come times when the crowd
seems struck with a desire for a rough
house, and then the poor scribe. cooped up
with twenty-five vulgarly healthy players,
plead self-defense for anything he may
be charged with
l nave Deem Uuiltd Out Vi upper pEi ttiS
by the feet, doused with cold water. slept
on the bare springs, walked In stocking feet
or slippers through stations because my
shoes had been SHE'D out of car windows,
and grinned at scores of such jests, ana
at that they let me down easy.
Punctured Anson's Pneumatic Mat
tress.
One of the funniest things that ever came
on in e. sleeping ear was the trick that
Elmer Foster worked on Arson one night
between Boston and New York. The New
York, New Haven and Hartford road had
put pneumatic mattresses in the sieepers
Arson had retired. and his 300 pounds OF
healthy frame was resposing on an Inflated
rubber mattress when Foster slipped
through the car, quietly pushed back the
curtains of caps berth, and inserted PEN
knife In the mattress. There was a sissing
II the air brake had burst, as the air
escaped and slowly caps body pressed the
wind out of his bed until he landed on the
Stats
Arson kept the porter pumping up his
mattress all the way to Bfston.
Another on Arson.
One night. after 1 had learned to sleep
with one eye open and to dodge If the cur
tains of my berth parted. L saw suspicious
movement Of the curtains and. an instant
later Fosters face appeared
All 4 Dt6 YOUR pdIuOHs te ItUldTheu
Il was seeking Capt. Arson"
He's in lower seven.'
Then l gently opened the curtains and
looked out. Foster had parted the curtains
&C Anson's berth and was deity pulling
the blanket on the caps body, while An
son, whose conscience always was easy,
was sleeping on his back, his snores drown
ing the rumbling Of the train Foster drew
down the blankets dashed glass of ice
water the length of Anson's body. leaped
sideways into my berth, and sat on me from
New London over TO New Haven while
Arson was storming UP and down the aisle
A Formidable Barricade.
The toughest house time in sleeper that
] ever saw was one night when the old
Chicago team pulled out of Nashville to
jump into Louisville and open the season.
The spring training trip had been one con-
tIuuous round of joy, and that night there
were half dozen reckless players looking
for trouble. There were fights with uni
form bags. battles with pillows, and, with
It an hour the car looked as If it had been
through a cyclone.
Then George Decker. who was a genius
in inveutng things when in that mood
began TO build barrCade in the center Of
the car. The others Joined in, and in five
minutes that sleeper was barricaded the
length Of one berth with a pile Of suit cases
uniform bags, grips and the manager $
hand trunk. The trainmen managed TO
clear the debris away after an hour OF hard
EhLi IhiSiliHEs during WHICH Iney were
routed half a dozen times by volIeys of
uniform bags hurled over the barricade
by the intrenChed ball players.
Finally they broke through the barri-
SADIE, vowing vengeance. and discovered
that all the players were in their berths-
and pretending sleep.
Trick Played by Arson.
Dahleu got on a train in Chicago one
night TO go to Louisville on the Monon.
aHd as soon as he boarded the train he
went To bed Arson had suspicious. He
wanted to see Dahlen and verify them
pshlen didn't particularly want 10 see
Arson.
The result was a contest in stubborn
ness seldom equafed. Arson was giving
ont the tickets. and he held out on Dahl
The conductor demanded a railway and a
sleeping car ticket from Dahl, who sent
him to Arson. Arson told the conductor
to tell Dahl to come and get his tickets
a deadlock ensued, with the conductor
valnly trying to stratghten out the affair.
Finally he grew wrathy and told Arson
he would put Dahl or the train.
He's got no ticket" remarked Cap do
yoGr duty
Ii was at Cedar La & that the conductor
finally put Dahlen on--in the middle Of
the highland nothing doing in the way
ct hotels. except on the other side OF the