The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-02-22
staging In Texas.

anu oiSus auo waves HOAS tHe caves llkc q
cohort Of cats celebrating the election re.
turns. There is something awfully unreal
about it, eveE Th6sViy. cannot lelp lis.
dering plaints-and shaping themselves
into cries unearthly. All at once host of
demon spirits dash against the glass and
shrek out angry imprecations. shudder
like creature afraid, and pull down the
curtains TO shut out the storms hoarse
roar. Anon the rain dashes down and
sideways, rushing with clash and shock
against the frail wooden walls, pouring
from the low roof, dripping, deluging,
saturating all the earth. On, do not hike
those stormsl For three days at a time
they never cease. Rivers of water fall,
rushing down the narrow valleys, tearing
away the soft earth, channelling out the
streets and filling the streams to the very
top Of their limestone bluffs. Our San
Antonio is a brave stream and seldom un-
equal to the emergency. The water fire.
quently rises fifty feet in a single night,
but 1t rarely overtlows. Last August it
reached over the banks for more than fifty
miles, and ruined 800, 700 worth Of corn,
potatoes and cotton. Such calamity may
not occur again in q lifetime. With every
heavy ram these Western rivers rise from
twenty to fifty feet, and this renders the
building of bridges extremely hazardous
AT this time there arc very few bridges in
Western Texas, which renders travelling in
wet weather somewhat dangerous as we'll
as amusing. The crossings arc effected, in
high water, by means Of poontoons or fer.
rles, and in dry weather by "fords." The
descent is not like that which Virgil de-
scribes, into ''facilis'-but, on
the contrary, quite the reverse. The bluff
drops off from the first, second or third
terrace, and each drop is worse than the
preceding one. The last is usually con-
sidered "a drop too much" 1t just lifts
you out of your boots. The bluff ls per-
pendicular wall of sand or adobe clay,
gulohed by running water, and is appro-
priately described by the feminine term
perfectly awful"
If you are lady you 90 down with the
driver in the hack-who says there Is no
dangcr-until you reach your final plunge,
and then you shut your eyes and pray. Y.u
never expect to see the sun again, Just as
If you lived in London, but somehow you
do, The surc-footcd mules slide down the
'ragged edge" the driver leans both feet
upon the brake and swcars softly to HIM
self; the coach rocks and plunges; you feel
yourself slipping down, down, down, like
frightful nightmare, and at length you
arc Oh board the boat. The boainlan puts
his head in, hopes you are not frightened,
and says $50 CENTS" or, if he is a native,
-four bits" You hand II out mechanically,
never thinking to ask what the charge is
for. You are so bcwldercd that had he
said ''$5" you would have paid it rs read
lily and felt that you had escaped cheap
enough. lie turns crank, the ropes
crcak and strain, the boat swings round in
the narrow, boiling gorge, and III five min
utesy you find yourself reeling up the red
clay bank on the further shore. You wake
up. The motion has ceased The driver
shouts, swcars, lashcs - the thing has
stopped and refused to move. The ichu
puts aside the curtains and says:
''Younl have to get out mum This old
scarc.clow buzzard's carriage can't tackle
the bluffs, dash 'cml"
'Mud's purity bad Sorry, mum! DOT
any rubbcrsY No. That's bad. Kin lend
you my slicker if yell put it on. Kinder
kecp'the leak otf." DRIVERS are always
kind, polite and respectful to ladies here.
1t is raining furiously. The wheels are
slipping back. You feel yourself going
dowu. You realize what it means. If
nervous you scream aud faint. If not you
open the curtains. The driver whips up
his jadcd ''carrlon." The coach stops
sliding down. You leap nimbly ont. The
mud catches you and holds you. You are
sefe at least. Then the fun begins. You
drag good sized farm up the awful bluff.
Your companions follow and bring up all
the mud you left. The mud is very kind.
1t sticks close to you-it follows you-lt
prevents you from flying if so disposed
it goes with you like Ruth, and stops with
you when you stop-quitc out of breath
and moral reflections. Your feet are red
as well as your face. Somebody says it
seldom rains in Texas. Don't believe it.
l never saw prcttlcr rain in my life. Such
mud! Prepared glue is not ordinary muci-
lage beside 1t. The sharpest knife will not
cut it from your shoes. You stand on the
upper bank unable to move. There arc
sheets OF water falling upon your spring
bonnet, torrents Of it rolling from your
best clothes, waves, rivers, oceans of it be-
meath your feet. Your only solace 10 that
your disgustcd and dripping companions
cannot laugh at you.
The driver discharges now volume of
oaths, all neatly bound for the occasion
with Texas leather. The lashlng and
cursing cause the rain TO hold its breath in
astonishment. AT last up he comcs-the
Red Sea is crossed and you resume your
place. The thoroughly saturated passcn-
gers have enough to do hewing off the
mud to occupy them till the next station
is reached, and somehow the conversation
lags for want of encouragement.
Very few people arc killed In these stage
Journeys, few seriously injured, but there
arc plenty Of Old citizens here who never
ride across river. They invariably get
out and walk down. When asked if they
apprehended danger, they say, "No, but It
is safcr.'"
But the "Concord'S and "mail coach"
are doomed in Texas. Their race is nearly
run. The iron horse is pre-emptlng all
their valuable territory. Railroad stock is
more valuable than horse stock. The age
Of progress has reached us.
Che Switch Engine.
Everybody enjoys practical joke when
it is played on somebody else. A few
months ago young man named Stone had
so gained the confidence of the enginpor of