The weekly pioneer and Democrat., 1863-02-06
Jottings of Travel to a Nearer View
Of the War, or Things as They Are
OH the Road and at Home.
BARSUM's, BALTIMORE, ND, !
To =

BARSUMS, BALTIMORE, Md,
January 25, 1863
To the Editor Of the Pioneer:
No more unhappy infiiction could be
imposed upon ones worst enemy than a
general shaking up Ga ride-bah y over
one hundred and sixty miles in a cramped,
screaking, numbering wagon, 'yclept, now
a-days, stage-coach. Had Moses touch
ed old Pharaoh up with the like expert
ence, his Egyptian majesty would have
cried out in utter despair" Wayward
brick-makers, depart in peace !" 1t is
wonderful. Bright improvement has
marked the progress of the age in every
branch of industry embellished life most
prodigally with its art; bound coy nature
in every conceivable form, faster and
faster to its chains,-yet the stage-coach
remains the curse of every traveller, and
stage proprietOrs still stick most per-
sistently to the Ole adage-" Never too full
to take on another passenger" On the
trip to Lacrosse there were nine passen-
gers inside and one OH the outside-ten in
all, and tangled up thus ike a skein of
yarn, they were jolted up and down for
thirty long weary hours. The fare is ten
dollars two dollars extra This in
itself is exorbitant. The contract of the
ticket is to land you at the cars. Instead
of this. however, upon arriving at La
Crosse your baggage is taken, noleas rO-
lens, to little, out-of-the-way tavern, the
only attraction about which is that it pos
sesses, like the one Coleridge put up at in
Germany, seventy-five well-defined, sepa-
rate and distinct stinks, and you are COM
PEELED to pay an extra quarter for trans
pOrtatiOn to the cars. This not being so
nominated in the bond, is direct swindle
NOT to mention the cup of swill coffee
and slice of corn-beef two days old, taken
from the unmentionable part of {. steer,
born somewhere in the last century 'nore
or less
The Minnesota Stage Company are pup
lic-spirited men, but they are paid for it,
and are realizing more money than any
company in the State and they owe many
improvements to the public by whom they
are sustained. Iworld suggest to them far
ther that they prohibit some Of their driv-
| ers from using such outrageous profanity
in the presence of ladies' If there is any
''cussing," the passengers have the better
right TO do it.
Speaking casually above, in defence OF
ladies, is there any necessity for their tray
cling with dry goods store, and two or
three millinery shops about their persons !?
Is it not possible for them to adopt some
neat, warm and close-titting travelling
! dress, SO that masculines may not be
srnothered to death in stage coach, omni-
bus and railroad car, with balrnorals, hoop
skirts and all the ct ceteras OF their mod
ern toilet? One might suppose them
''gsoutesses," did he not know too well
that without the appurtenances one half
of them are not larger than half-starvcd
| whip-poOr-wills. | mean no disrespect
| admire them with all their little ways
too much, and must'p plead with others quiet
| ly to the soft Impeachment:
Fair tresses mans imperial race ensnare,
And beauty draws us with single hair
I am reminded of sad accident a
poor Irish woman was run over by the
Prairie du Chen train, near GAINESVILLE. On
the Northwestern track-the two trains
were running almost abreast-she became
confused, stepped over on the other track,
and was almost instantly killed. No one
knew of the sad affair, until her clothes
were discovered on the cow-catcher. Her
husband is far away in the army, and we
left her little girl, five years old, with her
baby sister in her arms, weeping its little
broken heart out beside the mangled form
of the dying mother.
From St. Paul to Baltimore, at every
cross-road, in the country and in the town,
in every hotel and saloon, at every billiard
table, smoking, drinking, eating, swearing,
are seen soldiers and officers of the army
promiscuously mixed, while their brave
comrades are fighting and dying upon the
far-off battle-6elds Of this unhappy war. |
do not understand the system-I cannot
see the use of soldiers at home, unless it is
designed to make this nation of lasza-
aoni. Here in Baltimore | perceive little
change. Men do business, laugh and drink,
and drink and joke, when the very air is
loaded with the departing spirits from en-
crimsoned battle-felds, and our once united
country plunged into the horrors of a civil
war unparalleled in the records of time.