Imperial Valley press., 1921-09-03
bRAWL.Ey LAD
WALKS FROM
RAIN IN
SLEEP
Master Hugh Vests Weird
Adventure on Trip to San
Diego. Has Marvellous Es-
cape from Injury.


Hugh West, 11-year-old Brawley
boy, has just come through an adven-
ture, strange and weird, that comes to
but few persons, many times his age,
and that he escaped without injury
is one of the things that go to rroJe
that truth is s'Ianger than fiction.
Accompanied by his mother and
younger brothers Master Hugh left
for San Diego to spend belated vaca-
tion at that seaside city.
They drove down from Brawley in
the. family motor and then took the
night train over the San Diego &
Arizona.
Soon after the train left Ell Centre
Master Hugh cuddled up in big comfy
chair and went to sleep. Just what
the lad dreamed of the gods that
watched over him do not reveal. He
may have been thinking of that plunge
slide at Ocean Beach that he had been
spring board dive he intended to take
at the Coronado bath house, or he may
have thought he was sliding off Il big
sand dune just as the tide was tapping
it's base.
At all events soon after the t,ain
was chugging and coughing its way
past Sugar Loaf, Master Hugh was
seen to leave his seat and walk for
ward in the coach. If anyone noticed
him particularly they thought per-
haps he was going to get drink Of
water. When he was seen to pass out
the coach door, it was thought that
he was going into the next coach, may
be. At all events no one paid any at
tenton to him and the incident passed
recollection.
The train puffed and puffed along
and after t'1le Mrs. West awoke and
inquired for Hugh. A search was made
for him. Nothing could be found of
the boy The frantic mother called
the conductor and brakemen and The
train was searched from end to end.
The boy was not found. A telegraph
station was found and the wires sung
the song of alarm at Hugh's d.s2o-
pearance.
Train crews bound east and track
walkers through the mountains were
warned to look out for the boy S
manglcd remains alongside the right
of way, and the passenger train crow
and sympathetic passengers did the,r
best to quiet the frantic grief OF the
mother and little brothers.
Coming east on the early morning
freight was Conductor Billy Whitman.
He tied up at Carisso Gorge and asked
the dispatcher for orders. He was in
formed that No. 81 had lost pas
senger and to watch out for HIM.
The train crew kept a watch frocl
the top of the train and some distance
west of Coyote Wells a small figuce
was seen dotting the laae.scape ahead
The train pulled up and running ahead
Master Hugh was found sturdily walk
ing along toward Ell Centre. His
clothes were a bit mussed, but he
didn't have scratch to show that he
had walked off the platform of tht
train going at full speed.
Master Hugh didn't have the slight
est recollection of what had happened
to him, from the time he cuddled III
in the big chair aboard the train, until
he awoke with a start and found him
self walking down the railroad track
He had tried to figure it all out, but
couldn't, so accepted his situation
phlosophically and started back home
y lie had walked off the train in his
sleep at about 1880 o'clock at night
and when found it was 6:30 in tht
morning. The lad was brought t,
Ell Centre and the frantic mother in
formed that he was safe and on a later
train he was sent back to San Diego
to join Mrs. West and the litt!s
brothers.
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