The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1877-12-19

|
long to the railroad, are excellent
The train stops for nuals regularly.
three times day, and passengers
can get out and eat. or if they carry
lunch, as many do, can have coffee.
etc, brought into the cacs for very
moderate charge.
We will soon enter the long line
of "snow-sheds the longest on the
route, covering the road for forty
i've miles. 1 dread the passage. for
the daylight is shut out from US, and
although they light the lanp, did
any one ever see a railroad lamp
that was anything but a ''vexation
and a snare?' Dim. blinking nuis-
ances, they do not iIIumine, but only
suggest in a feeble way that, were
their number multiplied dd intHitunl
there might be something like q
light. To one who has never seen
them before these "snow-sheds'' are
! quite a curiosity. They are built or
heavy, round timbers, with slanting
roofs, and completely cover the
road. l can see the necessity for
them, as in many places the snow is
from sixteen to twenty feet deep.
In a "snow-shed' between Summit
and Cape Horn!
You have heard Of being snow
bound? Yes. so have 1. but never
did | imagine should experience
the blissful reality. Snow before
snow behind-snow all around US!
Aud worse than all it is so dark that
my next neighbor looks like a char
coal sketch. How long will we be
here? A'as the answer l know
not. Here comes our guardian
angel. so I will iuterrogate him;
'You there Porter. come here and
tell me hoa long We have to stay in
this miserable place?' well. my
Young Miss" (with bow that would
have made my Lord Che=torGeId's
fortune), Il am almost afraid to say,
but. | hope not many hours" Hours,
indeed speak to me Of hours in
place so dark that you would not
recognize your own shadow, on top
of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Moments were uncomfortable, but as
for hours, mention them not!
We could easily 60 on. as we are
descending the mountains, but there
is freight train in front Of us.
which cannot pull up the mountain,
and cannot go back because the
snow behind it is twenty feet deep.
We are miles from any hotel, and
there is nothing to be had to eat.
Our lunches had grown stale, so we
after the manner of most good !
Christians gave what we did not
need to the savagea. Only few
bilious-looking oranges can be found,
and even our ubiquitous "fruit.boy"
has not been seen for full fifteen
minutes. His alarming and nnpre-
cedented absence being remarked |
npon by some of the passengers, a
wiry-looking little gentleman who
had suffered greatly from the atten-
tjons of this youth, responded that
he had seen him take his basket
sometime since, and go out upon
the mountains for blackberries, and |
he hoped he would get lost in the
snow!
l have been trying to hold con-
versation with lonesome looking
italian who sits opposite me. and as
he don't know a word of English,
and 1 don't know word of italian
our conversation was very entertain
ing. We finally compromised upon
French, and succeeded ia making
the astounding observation that it
was ''tres .fj,oid," to which my Ital-
ian replied with an expressive shiy-
er. will give him up and amuse
myself with the wiry gentleman,
who, if sarcastic is at least English,
and will prove more entertaining
than the Italians bows and shiyers.
MONDAY EVENING Near Cape
Horn.
At last we are free, and at liberty
% ''go on our way rejoicing that
We do rejoice it is scarce necessary
% remark. By the aid of snow
blows. and with five engines to the
'reight train which was impeding
,ur way she road was cleared. and
our captivity ended.
We will soon 'round Cape Horn" I
-one of the greatest wonders of the
way, Yes-eyen now the train is
ilackening its sped, and we all {
,rowd to the window to see this ter
IDLY beautiful work OF nature.
What imagination can picture the {
jcene which now bursts upon our
yiewl Vast mountains whose lofty {
,eaks seem to reach beyond tue |
yintry sly-deep gorges between.
md pine trees tall and grand on the
snowy mountain sides. Around one