The daily sentinel., 1908-05-07
TELLS THE STORY OF
The MAN in The TRUlK
Rio Grande Baggageman Tells His
Experience With the Fellow
Who Was Beating His Way
in u Big Thunk.

In connection with announcement
in The Sentinel yesterday of the dis
covery of man on the Rio Grande
Montrosc train, doubled up in "A trunk
i'm the baggage car, the following de-
scriptiOn of the baggageman's expeIi-
ence, taken from a Leadville paper,
will be read with interest:
What does it profit a man if he
tries to save railroad fare by having
himself locked up in a trunk and
checked as baggage only to be nearly
smothered to death, discovered when
half way over the journey, put off the
train and compelled to buy full
fare ticket to his destination?
That's the question that a 'mys-
terious stranger" who yesterday at
tempted to make the trip from
Hotchkiss to Denver in this manner
Is trying to answer.
A. G. Fox, the local express mes
senger on the Denver and Rio Grande
between here and Salida. returned to
town last night, and told this in
teresting story to his friends, as he
had heard it from trainmen on the
Rio Grande narrow gauge line south
of Salida, and as he learned by talk
ing to the man who tried this ex-
pertinent himself.
1t seems that two men one of
them accompanied by his wife, had
gone from their home in Tennessee
to Hotchkiss, to work in the fruit
orchards, but when the fruit crop
there was ruined two weeks ago,
their services no longer being need
ed, they decided to return to their
southern homes.
They figured that between them
they had just enough money to pay
the fares of one of the men and the
woman.
How to get three persons from
Hotchkiss to Tennessee on the price
of two tickets, was the question
solved by devising the scheme of
having one of them travel in trunk,
and have himself checked as the
baggage of the other two.
So a large trunk, measuring four
and half feet was procured, enough
holes were bored in it to afford good
quantity of food and
bottle of water were placed inside.
the man and his wife bought their
tickets at Hotchlliss for Denver, and
a baggageman called for their bag
gage
Everything went well from the
start.
At Delta, and again at Montrose,
the passengers changed cars, and
their trunk was rudely dumped from
the train at each place onto truck,
and the man mercilessly rolled off
into the next car.
At Montrose, John McClelland, the
baggageman. had a frightful lot of
stuff 10 go in his car. There was
baggage, express, fruit trees, bed
clothing, and some little live stock.
The trunk containing the human
baggage was about the first thing
that met his eyes. He piled it way
back in one corner of the narrow
gauge car. Next his hands struck
some blankets and mattresses which
camping outfit was shipping across
the state.
Then came deluge of more
trunks and an innumerable collection
of stuff that made the one end of
the car pretty near full.
The train whistled ont of Mont
rose, and John was getting along
nicely with his work until he reach
ed Sierra Summit. on Marshal Pass.
About this time the veteran bag
gageman heard strange noises in the
far end of the car.
He thought he heard human
voice, and listened closely.
Sure enough. that was man cry
ing out He couldn't be mistaken
this time.
John confesses that he felt just
little bit funny, but he soon got over
it
In few minutes he had the heap
of baggage and bed clothing cleared
away. and was down to the level
bearing the trunk.
With an AK he split the trunk in