I MUSICAL CRIES OF
Chants of Chicago's Railway Station Guards While An
nouncing the Various Trains.
WHEN the lmpressarlos who
manage the great opera
companies are out of sing
era and are looking for a few choice
tenors and baritones to stop the gaps
In their troupes they might do worse
than gather In some of the men who
make a living by calling trains In the
various railroad depots of Chicago,
Bays the Sunday Chronicle. These have
voices of strength and pdwer and pene
tration, and although they are prob
ably unconscious of the fact their an
nouncements of trains are musical to
a degree.
The train caller has a peculiar posi
tion, and he Is a necessary adjunct to
the railroad business only In a city like
Chicago, which is the initial point of
the trips of all trains. That is, no train
arrives at this city and continues on Its
Journey. This Is the end of the road for
all of them, and passengers wishing to
go further In any direction must
change cars. This usually necessitates
a wait of more or less duration either
in the depot at which the passenger ar
rives or at one in some other part of
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UNION
town to which he Is hurried in an om
nibus. . ,
When a mao or woman has been
traveling a day or two across the coun
try and Is .dumped In a big noisy depot
In Chicago, hustled Into a bus with a
lot of other tourists and rattled across
town to another depot equally large
and noisy and confusing, with clanging
bells and arriving and departing trains,
It Is a bit difficult to know just what Is
going on. The tourist Is likely to be
come confused and not rcmemlier over
what road the remainder of the Jour
ney is to be taken. The time the train
Is to leave is also a puzzling point, and
to guard against mistakes and the miss
ing of trains by Inexperienced travelers
the train caller Is employed to an
nounce every train half an hour or so
before It leaves.
When a Chicago man Is going on a
i
Cf ca jfa 3h
fla-rt'on.
enf lark fioi fon and
Of-ca - go ond
Jeardl
DEARBORN
Journey he, of course, knows what road
he Is going over and what hour and
minute the train leaves, and times him
self to arrive at the depot a few min
utes before train time. For blm there
.0
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JL
DEPOT CALLERS
Is no need of a caller. But It is to the
tired traveler who is going across the
country, the woman with half a dozen
children, the tourist who never before
took a journey of over ten miles that
the caller comes as a boon and a bless
ing". After sitting perhaps for hours in
a big depot, watching with wide open
eyes the hurried coming and going of
the crowds of people, the starting of
dozens of suburban trains, fearful that
each one is the train that he should
take, the man who never saw Chicago
before and haply never wants to again
after his tiresome experiences on the
road, sees a man In uniform stroll Into
the waiting-room, lift up his voice, and
In slow resonant tones begin to call out
an announcement about the next
through train that Is to leave.
Every word he utters is eagerly list
ened to by the tourist, who anticipates
hearing the name of the road over
which he is to travel or the city to
which he is bound. If he does not hear
them he sinks back in his seat satis
fied.' That If not his train. He is all
right thus far. In half an hour or so
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Traii faves
DEPOT.
perhaps the caller walks leisurely Into
the big echoing room again, and he Is
watched and listened to by every one
as he begins his slow chant It Is the
train of another road this time, and as
he announces the name of the road the
people who have tickets for that line
begin to gather up their effects,
straighten out their children and put
on their coats. As ho concludes with
the welcome news that "the train is
ready" a small procession hurries out
the door toward the train shed and the
disappointed ones settle back In their
seats to wait the glad moment when
their trains shall thus be announced.
Develop a Chant.
In the course of time naturally the
announcer develops a chnnj or song to
which he fits the announcements. It
comes easier than a plain recitation of
the name of the road and the principal.
JTne
CoI'vm-AuS Abf.ra ftjfs
a floihs . east
Gyndrunt cfo-wjfeasf' a.
STATION.
stations at which the train will stop.
He Is obliged to speak loudly and clear
ly euotigh to be heard In every part of
the waiting-room, and to accomplish
this end he causes bis voice to riee and
i i - H I
fall In regular cadence, and doing this
day after day It becomes as natural for
him to sing the calls as If he were
chanting a popular ditty of the hour.
It is largely unconscious music on the
part of the caller. He does not stop to
think about the tune he is chanting, the
key in which he sings or the pitch of
his voice. His business Is to let people
know about the trains and not to be
guile their weary moments with song.
But he Is a picturesque and welcome
feature of a very proBaic and humdrum
place, the big depot In a big city.
. iiiiffiiRlHR y
Pai Senders
for tie
ROCK ISLAND DEPOT.
The man who does most of the call
ing at the Union depot is young and
good-looking and possesses a splendid
voice. His name is Tom Kennedy, and
he seems to be as happy as Is possible
amid the depressing surroundings of
tired passengers, ' crying babies, mis-
sent baggage and late trains which
serve to make life miserable for most
of the employes around a railroad sta
tion. He has four big railroads to keep
tab on the Burlington, Alton, Milwau
kee, and Pennsylvania and they man
age to send out a good many trains ev
ery day and evening. This gives Ken
nedy little opportunity to make money
on the side or tell funny stories to the
bus drivers, for he is kept fairly busy
watching the clock and remembering
what train Is next on the list to be an
nounced. Shortly after 8 o'clock every
evening he enters the ladles' waiting-
room of the depot, and In a sonorous
monotone he chants this melody:
"Panhandle, Pennsylvania train Is
ready. Passengers going south and
east for Logansport, Kokomo, Rich
mond, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louls
vllle, Columbus, Pittsburg, Harrisburg,
Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and
Washington. Train leaves down-stairs
gate No. 4."
His voice rings through the lofty
room and Is echoed from the vaulted
celling, and as he rests after enunciat
ing the name of each city there Is no
opportunity of mistaking what he
says. The - latter portion of the an
nouncement, referring to the train leav
ing downstairs. Is delivered a minor
3a -t. more
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GRAND CENTRAL STATION.
third lower than the other part in a
sod, heart-rending way, aa If Tom
Kennedy deeply regretted the neces
sity of having that train go out.
In direct contradistinction to Ken
nedy, at least as shown by the tone of
his voice In calllug. Is the fat, Jolly po
liceman who makes the aunouncements
at the Dearborn Station on Polk street
While the Union depot man sings In a
minor the policeman pitches his voice
In a major which seems to express
fully the content with which he views
the world, and even In his position as
arbiter of all troubles that come to the
traveling public. Ills job Is even more
trying than that of the man In the
Union depot, for he has more roads to
look after. The Erie, Grand Trunk,
Santa Fe, Eastern Illinois, Wabash
and Mouon Roads are under his care,
so far as announcing the trains Is con
cerned, but he manages to keep plump
and good-natured, and It Is reflected In
his voice.
He has manifold duties, for he Is
depot policeman In adldtlon to being
caller, and when he !s not telling peo
ple what train to take he is stopping
somelHxly from smoking In the waiting-rooms
or directing some luckless
stranger to a hotel or a theater. He
keeps an eye on the clock, however,
and never misses his turn at announc
ing the approach of the time for the de
parture of a train. When the minute
band reaches the proper hour In the
evening he walks to the center of the
waiting-room, and, without striking a
pose or putting on any grand opera
airs, he chants the following:
"Chicago and Erie train going east
Huntington, Marlon, Columbus, Niag
ara Falls, New Tork, Boston and all
polnta east"
At another time he makes thl simple
announcement:
"Chicago and Grand Trunk train go
ing east. All aboard."-
He does not vary the theme particu
larly, and while his rendition may be
lacking In color it certainly Is full of
atmosphere. His voice Is rotund, and
what might be called, for want of a
better term, comfortable. He seems at
peace with all the world, except prob
ably the farmer who Insists on smok
ing a villainous pipe in the ladies' waiting-room,
and for him there Is short
shrift The officer says that the num
ber of duties he is called upon to per-
fixt ' s- dad
and Pac'c
form as depot policeman and official
train announcer hardly leaves time for
such a rendition of the train and sta
tion obligations as might be wished,
but he does the best he can. There are
five waiting-rooms, and were a man to
go to each one and render a long-winded
call he would not be half through
with the last room before a train would
be ready on some other road, and there
fore he has to cut them short at times.
But the star caller of the city Is at
the Grand Central Station, Harrison
street and Fifth avenue. His name Is
George Gtmberling, and he has a voice
like that of Campanarl. The station has
probably the loftiest celling In the
waiting-room of any in the city, and an
ordinary voice would soon get lost
among the marble pillars and things up
there. But not so with Glmberllng's.
He knows just how to modulate It and
throw It and use it so that every one in
the depot will know what Is going to
happen out on the tracks. He has a
number of roads on his hands, too the
Baltimore and Ohio, Great Western
and Wisconsin Central and the big
wlating-room is generally filled with
passengers waiting the calling of their
trains. When George ges through no
body has to ask the college graduate
policeman what the caller 'said. They
all hear him. He takes bis post near
the center of the big room and begins
like this: ,
"Baltimore and Ohio train now ready
for Garrett, Chicago Junction,- Mans
field, Wheeling, Bellalre, Grafton,
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
- ce -ii - a. tfe rorf and
ponfis
min-ufoi
New York and Intermediate points.
Train leaves track 0 In fifteen min
utes." All this is delivered In a true, clear
baritone voice, which he uses well
Every word Is pronounced clearly and
distinctly, and after the name of every
city he rests long enough for the mental
impression produced by the enuncia
tion of the name to sink into the minds
of the listeners. The voice is full of
melody and Is under complete control
of the caller. Were Glmberllng.to take
up music for a while he would not have
to call trains any more.
At the Rock Island and Lake Shore
depot the caller does not pay much at
tention to the musical part of his work.
He calls ' the trains In a Jerky way,
using one theme, which he makes fit all
announcements, regardless of what he
says. He does not chant but rather
speaks, and his voice Is not musical. It
needs cultivation to bring It up to the
standard of Kennedy and Glmberllng
and the big policeman at the Dearborn
station. The theme he uses might well
be employed for a walt melody when
he makes this announcement:
'Tassengers going on the Rock Isl
and and Pacific train. Rock Island and
Pacific all aboard."
He does not call loudly and reverber
antly, filling the walting-roora with his
voice, but prefers to walk to different
parts of the room and make the an
nouncement In rather a low tone, which
fits well with the subdued hum ol
voices In the waiting-room.
Altogether the callers at the depot
form an Interesting study of voice cul
ture, or rather lack of culture. Each ol
them chants In a different key and use
a different theme jf rora the others, and
probably none of them ever stopped to
think that he was really singing rha
h u.ld.
. 1 ; T 1 1 '" III MJBHBBBB
CUBA REVERES HER MEMORY.
Beautiful Patriot Who Gave Her Life
in Her Country' Cause.
A name which is dear to every pa
triotic Cuban, one which will be hand
ed down in Cuban history as long as
the present race exists, is that of a
beautiful woman who heroically gave
up her life in the cause of her coun
try, Mathilde Agramonte y Varona.
' She was a beautiful girl of the purest
Castillan lineage, but her family was a
Cuban family and went with the pa
triots In their struggles. Her father
fell first then her beloved and only
brother was taken by the red hand of
war. Not satisfied with taking away
nil she loved, Spanish hatred found fur
ther gratification by destroying the
orphaned girl's home before her eyes.
This last outrage roused her to the
fighting point She revolted and thirst
ed for vengeance, sought out Gen.
Maceo and offered her services as a
soldier. Although a womau and a
young and beautiful one, her desire
was granted and she became an officer
under the noted mulatto warrior. In a
short time she had the opportunity to
display her courage and skill. She sue-
MATniLDB AGBAMONTE T VARONA.
ceeded in both, but paid for her temer
ity with her life.
Maceo sent her with a small detach
ment to check the advance of a Spanish
colunin while some much-needed am
munition was carried to a safe place.
She and her ' comrades repeatedly
charged the Spaniards and held them
back while the general drew off and
secured his munitions of war. In the
last charge before the detachment
those who survived was recalled, the
brave woman fell while urging her
troops to greater exertion.
APPENDICITIS.
It Cannot Be Cured Without an Oper
ation. That there Is really uo medical cure
for appendicitis, even though some cases
recover without operation, is the opinion
of many eminent physicians, and ac
cording to experience, though it Is a
surgical disease, operation may not be
necessary in every case, from the fact
that the ailment Is a stoppage of the
drainage from the appendix to the
colon, and preliminary treatment Is
often worse than useless. Thus the
opium treatment, though relieving pain
and discomfort, entirely masks the
symptoms at a most important time,
for it Is in the first twenty-four hours
ffom the beginning of the attack that
physicians can decide not only as to the
diagnosis, but as to the probable course
and result of the case. It Is found, for
Instance, that If there Is no Increase in
urgency In five or six hours the patient
Is not In Immediate 'danger when kept
at perfect rest In bed, and If In twelve
hours there Is still no Increase in the
severity of the symptoms the patient
should begin to Improve. On the other
hand, if the urgency of the case haa
steadily Increased In twelve hours
from the time when the diagnosis was
made an operation will probably be
called for. After two attacks a patient
Is sure to have a third. Medical News.
A Similar Case,
The Indian may be unsophisticated
by the side of the white man, but Bish
op Whipple, writing In the Temple
Magazine, shows that he has a dry
sense of humor.
His Indian flock was visited by a
speculative Yankee who hungered af
ter their good lands, and tried to per
suade them to exchange their 'reserva
tion for a worthless tract of country
elsewhere. A council of the tribe was
called together, and the Yankee ad
dressed the assembly.
"My friends, I have lived fifty-five
years In this world," he said, "and the
winds of fifty-five winters have blown
over my head and silvered It over with
gray. As a true man I advise you to
acept this new treaty at once."
He sat down, and at the same mo
ment an old chief sprang to his feet
"Look at me," he said. "The winds
of fifty-five winters have blown over
my head, and have silvered It gray, but
they have not blown away my brains."
'That conference was ended," said
the Bishop, laconically.
Blow to I'atnnt Medicines. "
An ordinance has been passed In Los
Angeles, Cal., forbidding the distribu
tion and throwing about of samples of
drugs and patent medicines In any pub
lic ear or other conveyance, on any pi.b
Uc street or alley, or In any private
yard or premises.
Cats Always Smell.
Cats can smell even durlug sleep.
When a piece of meat Is placed Imme
diately In front of a sleeping cat's nose
the nostrils begin to work as the scent
Is perceived, and an Instant later the
cat will wake up.
The Vulture's Eye.
The eye of the vulture la so constrnct
ed that It Is a high-power telescope,
enabling the bird to see object at an
almost Incredible distance.
f
I "WILD WOMAN OF BORNEO."
Largest Oranst-Ontanar Ever Cap
tured Mow Id England.
The largest captive orang-outang In
the world has arrived at Liverpool. The
animal stands about 5 feet 3 Inches,
each arm Is 5 feet long, the hands
measure 1 foot each and some of the
fingers are 7 Inches in length. When
hands and arms are extended this
magnificent monkey can stretch ten
feet. It could wrestle with five men
at a time, and the chances are that this
handsome specimen of their ancestors
would get the bettor of the encounter.
Judged from man's standard of beau
ty, the new arrival cannot bo said to
world's greatest obang-outano.
have an attractive physiognomy. The
nose is sunk deep in the face and the
massive top lip is shot out tS a length
prodigious even for an orang-outang.
It is an experience to see the animal
yawn. When captured the orang-outang
was In the company of a baby
ape. This latter the hunters shot and
placed In a cage. The grown-up orang
had no more sense than to follow the
corpse, and was surprised, to find that
there was no exit to the cage.
On the way from Borneo, whence
halls the world's champion orang, the
brute nearly escaped from the ship by
scratching and chewing a hole In the
side of the cage. As the orang Is a fe
male, she may not Inaptly be called
"the wild woman of Borneo."
PORTRAIT MADE BY A RIFLE.
Admiral Schley's Picture Drawn by
Nearly 300 t-hota.
Adolph Toepperweln, the champion
shot of the world, has been giving inter
esting advice to the rifle experts who
are to contend next year for the Queen's
prize at Blsley, England.
'The first thing to keep In mind," he
says, "is the fact that one cannot give
the gun too much attention. Above all
things, clean It after emptying the mag
azine. The beginner should shoot at a
bull's eye say twenty feet away, firing
Just as soon as he gets the sight Imme
diately under the lower edge of the disc.
The bull's eye should be at least two
Inches in diameter at first In a few
days you will find that you can hit the
mark ten times out of fifteen.- Then de
crease the distance gradually until you
MADK BY BULLETS.
get the size down to half an Inch. You
wjll be surprised to find that you can
pump bullets ,Into It at a surprising rate.
Learn to shoot with both eyes open. You
will see the advantage of this method
by pointing your finger at an object,
sighting over It with both eyes open.
It will be evident that you cannot only
see the object Itself, but all around It as
well. The effect is startling at first, buU
you will profit by It The first sight Is
the best. It is only a matter of time
before your finger will work In nnlson
with your eye, and the moment the
sights find the object your finger will
press the trigger automatically."
Young Toepperweln is an expert pic
ture shooter, and with his rifle can draw
a man s neaa in less man nve minutes.
For Admiral Schley's picture which he
dally draws on the target before ad
miring audiences nearly 200 shots are
required.
Happily Named.
How the late Prof. Cohn, of Breslan,
would have opened his famous lectures
on botany had his name chanced to be
Jones or Jenkins is left to the Imagina
tion of the readers of this story from
the New York Tribune.
'The four chief constituents of
plants," the distinguished botanist was
wont to say at the beginning of his
course, "are carbon, C; oxygen, O; hy
drogen, Hj nitrogen, N." .
Then, writing down these four let
ters, with apparent carelessness, on a
blackboard, COHN, he would smile, as
he observed:
"It Is clear that I ought to know
something about botany."
Know Shakspeare by Heart
Garrison Y. Shall, a convict in the
Connecticut State Prison, knows all of
Shakspeare's plays by heart having
learned them during the past fourteen
years of his Imprisonment
In every party there Is some guest
about whom all the other women are
wondering how on earth she broke In.
Some people are so complimentary
that they are untruthful.
II A
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