The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-09-02
CHANGES AND CHANCES.
4 RAILROAD "REMINISCENCES.

express train go to 81. LouisW
"Eleven O'Clock and thirty minutes 10. gut,
sir" was The gentlsmaaly reply to the rough
query.
"Eleven O'Clock and thirty minutes! Go
10 Texas! Why lbs ten this very minute
I'll bet my boots against jack.knife the
morning express is off,"
eyes sir, it las been gone half an hour.n
"Why in natur didn't you get us there
soonera Fourteen hours in Chicager is
enough 10 break fellow to smash. Four
teen hours in Chcager, putting and blowing!
I've been told they keep regular six hun
dred horse steam pawer all The wnst
MIN to blow themselves up with, and pick
the pocket of every stranger 10 pay the fire.
man and engineers! Wall, l guess can
stand ii: Pve twenty that's never been
broke, I think that'll put me through Why
don't you fire up, old brag-sive your old
horse another peck of oats. | tell ye, this
fourteen hours will knock my calculations
into the middle of next week.
every sorry, sir; but we've done our best;
but as We are not clerks of the weather,
hope you will not lay your misfortune 10
our account. Snow drifts and the lhermom-
eter sixteen degrees below zero are enemies
we can't readily overcome"
"Thal's so," said the first speaker, with
broad emphasis, and good na,ured, forgiv-
ing smile. "Fourleen hours in Chicager."
"The sentorian voice sounded like trum.
pet, and aroused every sleeper from eIysian
dreams into which he might have iallen, af-
ter his long, tedious, cold nights ,ravel.--
Every head was turned, every eye was fixed
on the man who had broken silence. He
was standing by the stove, warming his
boots. To have warmed his feet through
such mass of cowhide and sole leather,
would have been fourteen hours opera
ton. Six feet four or five inches he stood in
those boots, with shoulders Ceased in fur
coa,) that looked more like barring up a
world than yeu will meet with, ordinarily, in
half life time. His head, Webstefian, his
shaggy hair black as jet, his whiskers TO
match, his dark, piercing eye and his jaws
eternally moving, with rousing quid be-
tween them, while smile of good humor
Notwithstanding his seeming Impotence, al
tracted every one's attention.
s'Fourteen hours in Chicaser, oh? Wal,
can stand it if the rest can if twenty dol
lars won't carry me through, I'lI borrow of
my friends. I've got the thing thal'll bring
'em. That's so."
And he thrust hand little less in size
than common spade, down in the cavern
Gus depths oil broad striped, flasby pair of
pants, and brought up that great red hand,
full as it could hold, of shining twenty dol
lar gold pieces.
Don't yer think cen stand these 'ere
Chicagers for one fourteen hours?"
A nod of assent from three or four, and a
smile of curiosity from The rest, answered
his question in the affirmative.
"You must have been in lnck, strauger,n
said an envious looking little man. "You've
more than your share of gold"
~ have, eh?" Wal, reckon not. Icame
honestly by it. That's so. And there's
them who remember this child when he
went around prauies trapping prairie hens
and the like, 10 get him nights lodging, or
a pair of shoes, TO keep the massausgers
from biting my Toes. hung myself up
many night in the timber, 10 keep out of
the way of the wild varmints; best sleeping
in the world in the crotch of tree top
Now, reckon you wouldn't believe it, hut
Pve gone all winter without a shoe 10 my
foot; and lived on wild game when could
ketch it.
That's soE'
"Didn't stunt your growth" said voice
near.
"Not bit Of it. 1t brought me up right
These prairies are wonderful roomy.
thought one spell would let myself out en-
trely, but me and mother held a corcus, ard
decided that she was getting old, and blind
sew up the legs Of my irowsers, and SO
put stop to it, and concluded that six feat
five would do for Teller that couldn't afford
the expensive luxury of wife 10 make his
breeches. II was only my love for my moth.
er that stopped my growth. If I'D had an
idea of sewing machine, there's no telling
wha, might have DONE"
"You have so many gold pieces in your
pocket, you can afford to get your mother
to hold another caucus and sse what you
can do! If she would no. let you expand
yourself, you might sell out 10 Banum, and
make fortune travelling with Tom Thumb,
and take the old woman along"
"Stranger," said the rough, great man,
and his whole face loomed up With mir
ged expression of pain and pride. "Slran-
ger, spoke a word here didn't mean 10;
a slightly word, like, about my mother. l
would give all the gold in my pocket to
bring her back for one hour to look upon
this country as il is now. She had her cab
in here when Chicager was nowhere; here
she raised her boys-she couldn't give them
Learning, but she taught us better things than
books can give; 10 be honest, and useful,