Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-08-20
Crossing 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 clay with tears
of sympathy she'd by an appreciative
public. For this is about what he daily
experiences.
Leaving his home in the morning, he
starts for %down town. or cup 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 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
thump and a jerk, that reverberate all
along the spinal column ofthe malicious.
old serpent, the train begins to move
/ Backward, and the baff1ed business man
pauses, and makes a few remarks not.
intended for publication. Then like a
brave, soldier he starts for ''the 'front.'
determined to get around thatlocometive,
Iu To chi TO tl,ns I,
walks half the distance, the cars once
more come to a dead halt, and call is
quieton 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 @sWltchman 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 deyo-
tional exercises are perfectly appropriate,
but this is not one of Them B. M. be-
comes desperate The train has again
stopped, and,he is standing opposite the
middle of it, He resolves to climb
throughsbetWeen two cars, before another
start is made, even at the risk Of furnish
ing a case for the coroner. He seizes.
the corner of a car with one hand, places
onegfoot on the bumper, and is about to-
make one bold jump for liberty. or death,
when the train is jerked forward, and he
falls backward into the mud, demon
allied human being. Finally, the train
actually gets out of the way, and business
man makes dash across the track, and
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 apitch 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 Sas.
though he had just passed through a
spell oftyphoid fever, or had experienced
an unusually severe attack Of incompati-
Die mother-ln-law. He sits down to his
desk, and proceeds torestimate, as nearly
as possible, how long it will take these
freight trains to reduce him to poverty,
throw him into bankruptcy, corrupt his
morals, blast his hopes of future happl- Z
ness, break his wife's heart, and render
him fit subject for a lunatic asylum, or
a Westinghouse Home-ffaEph III. H0yt,
IN F'Sresfde Friend.
An Alabama firm advertises: Notice
to our patrons and the public: In conse-