Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-08-21
Crossing a Railroad Track in the City.

| LIE Guy man whose residence anu
| place of business are divided by a
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 "up town. as
the case .nay be. Arriving at the rail
| road crossing, he, of course, finds a 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
a thump and jerk, that reverberate all
along the spinal column ofthe malicious
old serpent, the train begins to move
| backward, and the baffied business man
pauses, and makes few remarks not
intended for publication Then like a
brave, soldier he starts for 1.-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 dead halt, and call is
| quiet on the Potomac" Now business
man thinks he has sure thing, and he
| puts on a 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-
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
| 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 a 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 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 COW
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 had experienced
an unusually severe attack Of incompati-
BILE mother-ln-law. He sits down to his
desk, and proceeds to estimate, 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 happi-
ness, break his wife's heart, and render
MN ut subject for lunatic asylum, or
Washingtonian Home.-Ralph b. Hoyt,
IN Fireside Fri,,nd