Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-08-07
Crossing D Railroad Track in the City.

THE city man whose residence and
| place of business are divided by a
railroad, with the usual number of
switches and side tracks, deserves to have
his garden sprinkled every day with tears
of sympathy shed by an appreciative
| public. For this is about what he daily
experiences.
! Leaving his home in the morning. he
starts for "down town" or sup town" as
the case may be- Arriving at the rail-
road crossing, he, of course, finds good
| long freight train stretched out upon the
| track, and near it stands switchman,
welding a short stick to which is
fastened a red flannel flag. This he waves
| to and fro, at regular intervals, TO warn
| pedestrians and drivers of teams not to
run over the cars. The business man
| stops-Out Of sheer respect for the freight
| train-and waits awhile, thinking the
| cars will soon move out Of his way.
| When his patience is nearly exhausted,
| and he begins TO think about some other
| route, the train starts up, and slowly
| moves ahead about half its length, and
then stops. Business man waits another
| five minutes and as there is no other
movement of the Obstructing nuisance,
he starts for the rear of the train, intend
to go round it. When he has measured
twO-thirds of the distance, the engineer
again opens the thrOttle-valve, and with
a thump and jerk, that reverberate all
along the spinal column Oft the malicious
old serpent, the train begins to move
backward, and the batfled business man
pauses, and makes few remarks not
| intended for publication. Then like a
brave, soldier he starts for "the 'front.'"
determined to get around that locomotive,
| if only to spite the engineer. Before he
walks half the distance, the cars once
more come to a dead halt, and "all is
| quiet on the Potomac" Now business
man thinks he has a sure thing, and he
| puts on full head of steam and develops
into brisk run. When he gets within
| about four car lengths of the locomotive,
the switchman waves the red signal
proudly in the air, the engineer rings the
| bell, and the whole train moves ahead
more rapidly than it had previously run
backwards. By this time, business man
positively declines to engage in prayer,
nor has he any inclination to sing a
| hymn. There are occasions when devo-
uonal exercises are perfectly appropriate
but this is not one of them. B. NJ be-
comes desperate. The train has again
stopped, and he is standing opposite the
middle of it. He resolves to climb
through between two cars, before another
start is made, even at the risk of furnish
ing case for the coroner. He seizes
| the corner Of car with one hand places
one foot on the bumper, and is about to
make one bold jump for liberty or death
when the train is ierked forward, and he
| falls backward into the mud, demon
allied human being. Finally, the train
actually gets out of the way, and business
/ "a q u Oh 70 track
strikes out for the horse cars, three
blocks distant. An examination of his
| watch shows that he has lost just twenty
three minutes by that freight train, be-
| sides getting his new suit of clothes Gov
| cred with dirt, and his mind wrought up
to pitch of desperation bordering on
| insanity. The horse car whose driver
| and conductor fail to see him till he has
climbed aboard moves as if running a
race with a funeral procession. But, at
| last, the unfortunate victim of freight
| trains reaches his place of business, three
quarters Of an hour behind time and
! looking as haggard and worn down as
though he had just passed through a
| spell of typhoid fever, or mad experienced
| an unusually severe attack of incompati-
| bic mother-inlaw He sits down to his
| desk, and proceeds to estimate, as nearly
|
! freight trains to reduce him to poverty,
throw him into bankruptcy, corrupt his
morals, blast his hopes of future happi-
ness break his wite's heart, and render
him fit subject for a lunatic asylum, or
a Washingtonian Home.-Ralph Z. HoW,
| IN firGside Friend.
A firm in Chicago one day, recently,
! sent a package of envelopes to the post
/ office for transportation in the mails, upon
| one of which the one-cent stamp had &C
/ cidentally been omitted. Principally, the
next day, came missive from the Post
master, in large official envelope duly
| bearing a new official two-cent stamp, no.
| tifying the firm of the omission and ask
ing that it be supplied. The following
! reply was sent to the faithful guardian of
| Uncle Sans postal treasures: Dear Sir
| We have received your notice of pack
| age which we sent without a cent attached,
and are obliged, especially as you were
obliged to attach a two-ce7lt stamp in or
| der that the notice might be sent En-
| closed please find One-ceRt stamp for the
| package we sent without the cent, and also
a two-cent stamp enclosed, for which
| please acknowledge the receipt of the one
cent stamp sent to pay the cent on the pack