St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1857-10-15
Storn Of tbe oo(sst.
CHANCES AND CHANGES.
A RAILROAD SKETCH.

A RAILROAD SKETCH
| say, Mr.. Conductor, when will the
neXtcXprcss train go ont to st. Louis p
Eleven o'clock and thirty minutes
tonight, sir, was the gcntlemanlv re
ply to the rough inquiry"
Eleven O'Clock and thiyty minutes
Go to Texas Why, its ten thi
very minute. III bet my boot
against a .iack-knife, the morning es
press is off,
yes sir, it has been gone hal
an hour"
Why in natur didn't you get u
here sooner? Fourteen hours in Chi
eager is enough to break a fellow al
to smash. Fourteen hours in Chica
ger, putting and blowing! Pvc beer
told they keep a six hundred horse
steam power all the while running, tt
blow themselves up with, and picl
the pockets Of every traveller to pay
the tiremen and engineers Wall,
can stand it Pvc twenty that,
never been broke. | think that viii
put me through. Why didn't you fire
up, old brag-give your old hoss an.
other peck of oats. | tell We, this
fourteen hours will knock my calcula-
tions all into the middle of next week. f"
Very sorry, sir-wc've done our
best /; but we are not clerks of the
weather, | hope you will not lay your
misfortunes to our account. Snow
drifts and the thermometer sixteen be-
low zero, are enemies not readily over.
come"
That's so,' said the first speaker,
with broad emphasis, and a good ma
turcd, forgiving smile.
Fourteen hours in Chicager
The stcntoran voice sounding like
Il trumpet, had aroused every sleeper
from elysian dreams into which he
might have fallen after his long, te-
dious, cold nights travel. Every
head was turned, every eye was fixed
on the man who had broken the ST.
lcncc. He was standing by the stove,
warming his boots to have warmed
his feet through snch mass of cow
hide and sole leather, would have
been fourteen hours operation. Six
feet four or five inches he stood in
those boots, with shoulders Ceased in
4 fur coat that looked more like bear.
ing up world than you will meet or
dinarily, in half lifetime. His hcat
Websterian, his shaggy hair black al
jet, his whiskcrs to match, his darl
piercing eye, and his jaws cternally
moving, with a rousing quid between
them, while smile of cheerful gooc
humor. Notwithstanding his seeming
impatience, attracted every ones at,
tcntion.
Fourteen hours in Chicagcr, ch
Wall, can stand it if the rest can
il twenty dollars won't carry me
through, I'll borry of my friends. I've
got the things thatll bring'em. That's
81
And he thrust hand little less in
size than a common spade, down the
cavernous depths of broad-striped,
dashy pair ol pants, and brought up
that great red hand, full as it could
hold, Of shining twenty dollar pieces.
"Don't yer think | can stand these
ere Chicagers for one fourteen hours?
\ nod of assent from three or four,
and a smile OF curiosity from the rest,
answered his question in the affirma.
tive.
You must have been in luck
stranger" said an envious looking
man. You've got more than your
share of gold"
| have, eh Well | reckon not.
come honestly by it. That's so. And
there's them living who can remcm.
Der this child when he went round the
prarie trapping prairie hens and the
like, to get him nights lodging, or a
pair of shoes, to keep the massasaug-
ers from biting my toes Pve hung
myself up more nor one night to keep
out Of the way of the wild varmints
best sleeping in the world, in the
crotch of a trce-top! Now, reckon
you wouldn't believe it, but Eve gone
all winter without shoe to my foot !;
and lived on wild game when l could
ketch it. That's so I"
Didn't stunt your growth" said a
voice near.
Not bit of it, II brought me up
right. These prairies are wonderful
roony. | thought one spell | would
let myself out entirely, but me and
mother held corcus, and decided that
she was getting old and blind like, it
TUX too long, and cost too much to
sew up the legs of my pantaloons, and
SO put stop to it, aud concluded
that six feet five would do for a feller
that couldn't afford the expensive lux
ury of wife to make his brecches.
1t was only my love for my mother
that stopped my growth. If I'd had an
idea of sewing machine, there's nc
telling what l might done"
"You have SO many gold pieces in
your pocket, you can afford to get
your trousers made now Why don't
you and your mother hold anothel
caucus, and see what you can do? l
she would let you expand yourself
you might sell out to Barnum, an,
make fortune travelling with Ton
Thumb and take the old woman
along"
Stranger said the rough, grea
man, and his whole face loomcd u
with a mingled expression fpain an
pride. Stranger, | spoke u wor
here didn't mean to q slight
word, like, about my mother.
would give all the gold in my pock'
to bring her back for one hour,
look upon this country as it is no,
She had her cabin here when Chicag
was nowhere here she raised h
hoNS-She couldn't rive thcm larnil