It is related that the President of the Fitchburg Railroad, some thirty
years ago, settled with a number of passengers who had been wet but not
seriously injured by the running off of a train into the river, by paying
them from $5 to $20 each. One of them, a sailor, when his terms were
asked, said:—“Well, you see, mister, when I was down in the water, I
looked up to the bridge and calculated that we had fallen fifteen feet,
so if you will pay me a dollar a foot I will call it square.”