Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-08-16
From the n. Y. Evening Post.
WESTWARD HO!
CHICAGO TO DENVER
THE START.

Chicago moves off at last AT least that
is the impression which the first regular
swing of the westward-bound train made
upon two ssiove-lorn' woman, who started
one warm evening not long ago for tour
in the Rocky Mountains. These adyentu-
rous creatures, after many false starts and
retreats, were at last fairly pushed into a
Pullman palace car by their devoted but
exhausted friends, who, having been called
upon to arrange each preliminary backing
and filling, have been devOutly thankful
when the impatient engine finally shook
out her smoky skirts and started on her
Atalanta-like race with Time. These WO-
men did not desire the suffrage, and were,
consequently, only true to their principles
in evincing to the last moment OF prepara-
ton that painful vagueness and tendency
to become idiotic excitement, which rem
ders the starting on journey of the aver
age unprotected female" such perillous
and exasperating enterprise. Woe to the
unhappy male being who Undertakes to ''see
her off7'-lucky for him if she does not see
him off this terrestrial globe by some incal-
culab,e combination of absence Of mind
with presence of body in the wrong place.
Well, these two travellers ''might have
been SEEM in the approved fashion II 1t
had not been 10 o'clock at night and very
dark. AS it was, there is a dim impression
left on the mind of one of them OF having
wildly embraced q surprised crowd, and
then been hustled into a sort OF marrow,
tall coffin, where a sensation of great stutli-
ness scruggled with general gloomy con-
viction of having lost everything, and also
of having probably caused the death Of a
devoted friend by a false alarm given at
the moment of starting as to lost check,
which cheek proved to be safe i'll her
pocket.
As the train finally moves OIL, memory
presents stracting though dim vision of
her own figure, dimlf shaking hands with
the devoted relative who had careered
about for the last hour loaded with all her
personal baggage, and then tryins (fortu-
nately without success) to kiss the young
English officer who had just been intro
duced to her in the depot.
WAKING REALITIES.
But these phantasmal horrors are quickly
superseded by real ones. L have noticed
that when the American woman of limited
means takes journey for pleasure, she
generally begins by being absurdly eco
nomical, and then, finding herself ex-
tremely uncomfortable, rushes blindfOld
into the widest extravaganza for the rest
of the trip. So the fend of RIGHTEOUSNESS
induced these two ladies to occupy berth
jaunt, which arrangement resulted in one
of them repOsing on the window sill all
night, while the other experienced how
much sharper than q serpent's tooth is the
front edge of car sofa. However, we
bore it like martyrs, for were we not going
to the Rocky Mountains? and had we not
dreamed Of them, lmpOrtuned our friends
for passes, eXulted in the hardships to be
gladly endured in ascending their sublime
heights, and, in fact, camped out nightly
upon their finty SUBMITS for the last SIX
months, i'll Imagination? and were we
| going to finch now at an ache or two con-
| tracted in the cause of that economy which
was to give lis more pleasure at less cost
| than the wisest and most experienced
| travellers had ever comprised before? No,
| indeed. So We sawed away on our re-
| spective boards and gloried in our Spartan
virtue; but candOr compells me to admit
that thereafter we took separate bertls at
| two dollars apiece for each Of the two en-
suing nights.
VOICES OF TIE NIGHT.
Once packed into our patent casket,
however, these preliminary trials were for
gotten. First, the air blew in too much
| on the window sufferer, and she suggested
that we should change the direction Of oul
| heads, reversing them with our feet. Now,
| when the reader reflects that here Were
| two well-grOwn human beings enclosed in
a single berth, in company with two boys
and two large strapped bundles, besides
hats, clothes and loose traps innumerable
he will see that the effect ofthe change can
| be lillened to nothing but the last shake
| given to a very thick and slab plum cake
| the bedclOtheS representing the batter
and the unhappy humans and their prop
erty the raiSins and citrOn. The rest Of
| the night was spent in vain clutches at
each other for bedclOthes, which articles
generally proved to be immOvably fixed
under us, or to have escaped to the floor
| outside, whence they We're recoverable.
| However, what will nOt-a resOlute woman
who is bent on pleasure accomplish? We
| resigned ourselves at last, or at least trans
I ferred oar wide-awake attention TO the re-
production Of stories as to the robbing OF
| sleeping cars, which intellectual recreation
! afforded us that grim satisfaction only to be
| derived by women from tirSt-class fright.
Having settled it finally that people were
| almost always robbed in sleeping cars, es-
| pecially ladies, we considered what we
| would rather save, if anything was to be
rescued frOmj what now appeared III,
| almost certain fate of our mOvahles.-
There was my watch That must be saved,
| because being the gift of our rich
and aristocratic great aunc, dreadful
| consequences might result to the family
from its loss, and my four brothers
and two sisters had each taken me aside
mySteriOusly to recommend il to my es-
pecial care. To be sure, it is the size and
nearly the shape of large apple, and
| about as asy to conceal as 4 Warlning-pan,
but still the thief (by this time possible
murderer as well) must be carefully pre-
vented from abstracting it without awaking
| the owner. So l tried carrying it in my
mouth, but the first choke satisfied me as
that mode Of conveyance. A subse-
quent suspension over my left shoulder was
only advantageous insOmuch that it would
awake ME regularly by thump whenever
L tried to turn over. COncealing it under
the arm, produced the effect of a large and
painful abceSs, so a compromise was finally
resorted to, by which the precious treasure
was hidden between the outside edge of
the berth and the clOthes-while | held the
chain. This plan wo ked admirably as
long as general misery kept the possessor
OF the precious taliSman awake, but when
exhausted nature had at last succumbed to
fOrgettulnesS, for little while, and morning
came, the watch was dis covered in the
passage of the car, outside of the bed, quite
safe, but not taken care Of i'll the way in
tended.
Apropos Of sleeping arrangements, why
is it that the Champion American Snorer
is always to be found {or heard of in our
otherwise luxurious place cars?
ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY.
1 am afraid that this letter is as long now
as can induce the cable and accomplish
ed editor of sc. to publish; and yet L do
not seem really to have furnished such a
description of the road from Chicago to
Denver as would enable an inexperienced