The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-11-03
CHLOROFORMED AND ROBBED.
Mr.. James DeHart of Saluda Robbed
and Left Across R. r. Track
Carried to Savannah.

Mr.. DeHart sold cotton at Chap
pellS and was given check on
Greenwood and he took the morn
ing train for Greenwood to get bis
check cashed so that he might pay a
bank note which he owed at Ninety
Six. After getting his money be
came to Ninety Six and found the
bank closed, he says, as it was after
banking hours, and, therefore, could
not pay his note.
He boarded the night train at
Ninety Six to return to his home in
Saluda county. He got off the train
at Old Town and here begins his re-
markable experiences and narrow es-
capes and the loss Of his money and
clothes.
It seems that that night there was
freight train following the passen-
ger train and the engineer as he ap-
preached Old Town observed some
thing ahead of his engine across the
track. His engine carried brilliant
and searching headlight and he was
thus enabled to stop his train before
the engine struck the object across
the track, and the engine was stop
ped and the engineer, whose name we
have not learned, got down from his
engine to examine this object on the
track. He found it to be a white
man. The body was square across
! the track with the feet resting on one
rail and the head. face downward, on
the other. There was a cloth under
the man : nose saturated with chloro-
form. His hat. coat, and shoes were
missing. 50 our information goes. and
the man was unconscious. There was
! on his finger. however. a Knight of
Pythias rim" and the engineer being a
Knight Of Pvthias recognized his OBJ
! hyal!nM to care for 4 brother IN dis
treSS and he put the body on board
his engine and carried it on to Co.
lumhia but did not call a physician.
or secure medical aid Of any kind.
! The St"rv j. thar the engineer home
is in Savannah and as soon as he,
got off his run in Columbia he board
ed Southern train for Savannah and
true to his obligations he carried the
unconscious form Of his brother with
him to Savannah and took him to his
home. Of all this Mr.. DeHart knows
nothing. When ne regained conscious
ness he was in Savannah and it was
Sunday. and he discovered that his
money was gone. The last thing he
remembers from the time he got off
the train at Old Town on Saturday
night until i,e cc~ae to himself on
Sund"v il Savannah is that as he got
off til: train at Old Town some one
unknown to him put an arm around
his neck and held a cloth under his
nose. He remembers having the
mone.:- for his check when he got off
the train and not having it when he
reached Savannah or rather when he
found himself in Savannah.
Mr.. DeHart was given a ticket or
pass by his engineer friend in Savar-
nah back to Newberry when it Was
discovered who he was and where his
home was Mr.. DeHart says he came
back to Columbia and spent Monday
night there coming on to Newberry
on Tuesday.
Mr.. G. NJ. B. Epting sent him out
to Mr.. D. J. DeHart's 5 Tuesday after
his arrival in Newberry.
In the meantime his wife had be-
come Alarmed at his not returning
home aid his father. MI. Dan De-
Hart, lad gone to Saluda and they
were searching for the lost boy, and
it was ; relief to them all when he
turned up alive.
| 1t is a very strange story. The
facts are given to us by Mr.. W. G.
Peterson, who obtained them from
members Of Mr.. DeHart's S family.
There seems to be no doubt that
Mr.. DeHart was chloroformed by
some one who knew in some way that
he had this money and that the mon-
ey was taken away from him. The
strange part Of the story to us is that
the engineer would carry a man who
was unconscious all the way to Saw
J annah and take him to his home with
out calling physician when he pass
ed Newberry where a doctor could
have been obtained and that he should
go through Columbia where there are