Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-06-18
PERII.s OF SLEEPING CARS.

I - ASA0A ny ~ ~t1AsAfSSS A<s - - <s~SsSS
/ There is a good deal Of interest mani
Testing these days on the part Of thu
American people relative to the matter
Of separate sleeping cars for the two
sexes. tits move in the right direc-
ton, and we hope it will win. As it il
now, no gentleman travelling alone is
safe.
Several months ago, entirely alone,
we travelled from Laramie to Chicago
and back, making the round trip with
no escort whatever. Our wife was de-
tanned at home, and that entire journey
was made with no one to whom we could
look for protection.
When we returned our hair had turned
our hair perfectly white with the horror
of those dreadful nights.
There was one woman from Philadel-
phia, whose name we will not mention
and who rode all the way between
Omaha and Chicago in one car. Almost
at Omaha she began to make advances
toward us by asking us if we would not
hold her lunch basket while she went
after drink.
She also asked us for our knife to peel
an orange.
These things look small and inslgnih.
cant, but in the light of latter develop
ments they are Of vital Importance.
That evening we saw with horror that
the woman's section was adjoining our
own.
We asked the conductor if this could
not be changed; but he laughed coldly
and told us to soak our head, or some
such unfeeling remark.
That is one bad feature Of the present
! system. A man travelling alone gets no
sympathy OF assistance from the conduc-
| tor.
It would be impossible to describe the
horror and appreciation Of that awful
night. All through it's vigils we suf-
fered on till near morning, when tired
nature yielded, and we fell into trou-
bled sleep.
There we lay, fair and beautiful, in
the soft gray of approaching day, thou
sands of miles from our home, and, less
than ten feet away, great horrid woman
from Pennsylvania, to whom we had not
even been introduced.
How we could have slept 50 soundly
under the circumstances we are yet un-
able to tell, bpt after perhaps twenty
minutes of slumber we saw, above the
footboard of our berth and peering over
at us, the face of that woman. With a
wild bound we were on our feet in the
aisle of the car. The other berths had
all disappeared but ours.
The other passengers were sitting
quietly in the seats, and it was halfpast
nine o'clock. The woman from Pennsyl.
vania was in the day coach.
1t was only horrid dream.
But supposing it had been q reality !!
And any man that travels along is liable
to be insulted at any time. We do not
care for luxury in travelling. All we
want is the assurance that we are safe.
The experience which we have narrat-
ed above is only one of q thousand. Did
you note the care-worn look of the man
who is travelling alone! The wild,
haunted expression Oh the countenance
and the horrible apprehension that is de.
picted there
You may talk about the various causes
that are leading men downward to early
graves, but the nervous strain induced
by the fear that while they are taking
out their false teeth or buttoning their
suspenders, prying eyes are looking over
the foot-board of their berths, is con-
structing more new-made graves than
consumption or the Ute war.