Omaha daily bee., 1884-10-31
TRUNKS AND THEIR CONTENTS.
What n Bapgagcmnu Can Tel when
He rcciS in u Tslkativc Mood.

From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
A pile of trunks. There is nothing
odd in this sight. 1t can be seen any
day ut n railway station, but when one
looks at it and notices the different sizes,
shapes and kinds, he peihips thinks of
what may be in them, and where they
came from. Then the pile becomes inter
| eating. Some of tho mes in question
could hardly DO called trunks. They are
merely largo wooden boxes, painted n
| dingy red and bound around with wide
pieces If strap iron, sometimes fastened
| with a paddock and staple, sometimes
merely tied together with a piece of rope.
Queer looking trunks, aren't they2'
said u baggageman sauntering into where
a Rochester Democrat scribe was ex,
aiming them.
"Yes."
And when you think of it," he con.
tinued philosophically, those old boxes
could tell a good deal if they could only
talk. AS it is, they remind many of us
of the time when we came across tho
great water to find a home with otAer
immigrants, for these are immigrants
trunks and many OF them contain all the
possessions of some poor family which
has come to the city to live"
"These trunks must DO rather hard to
handle, said the scribe, as he pointed to
some largo sample trunks handsomely
painted and studded with brass nails.
ayes, they are sample trunks and very
heavy. Most of those here belong TO
clothing drummers. | Buppose there ia
cloth enough in one of them to make
twenty good suits of clothes If 1t were
only taken out"
Hero are the trunks, though" he adj.
ded, pointing to four large ova ! top re.
ceptacles covered with dark leather, and
furnished with niokle- plated locks and
trimmings. ''Thoso belong to some lady
who is going away for the summer. We
had a great many of this style earlier in
the summer, but it Is 30 late now that
they are rather scarce. What do you
supnose q woman wants so many of them
fort"
oh, for her dressca and other
things"
"leP, | suppose 30, and when you
come to think it over, it is a wonder that
an average woman gets along with four
for all she usually wants to take with
her. and sitting down on II trunk the
philosophic baggageman continued:
'There are costly silk dresses fresh
from the hands of Worth, Cor George
William Curtis), bonnets and hats in be.
wildering profusion, tiny slippers of silk
and patent leather, perfect fitting shoes
Of bronze and other shad II to match
the dresses, and a thousand other things
both great and small which 60 to make
up tho woman of fashion. But this is
by 40 means all the trunks con
ANS. la a corner of one is a
milo of selected reading, and what is it!
NJ Istly Seaside Library stories, with per-
haps u few Of Ouida's and Mrs. Ste.
phens work thrown In. One trunk is
noted up with neat little drawers. One
of these drawers, If opened, might be
seen to contain several bottles of perfum.
ery, three or four little round powder
box IS containing a white powder and n
mysterious article looking a little like a
small duster. 1t is a duster in a certain
sense of the word, and is used when the
little round boxes are opened, but the
rest must be guessed IT."
"Hold on a minute" said the aston
ishcd reporter, you fairly take my
breath away. Where did you learn so
much?"
81 thought I'd astonish you," said the
baggageman with a laugh, ''but the fact
is we ha' q smash up here a few weeks
ago, and the tops were knocked OIL two
trunks like these. / had a great %curiosi-
ty to see what was inside of them, and
found things about as | told YOU, only a
great many more of them"
"Well, should say you had remem-
bered what was in them"
"Yes, | did remember pretty we'll. Dc
you see that pile of trunks against the
WALL
eyes"
"Well those all belong to a theatrical
company. You ould tell by the number
Of cards fastened to them ii in no Other
way, and them theatrical trunks always
wear 'bangs'-l mean are banged up.
You can generally tell them in that way
# in no other. Then there arc the ole
femily ~standby's tied up with a cord and
hired girls' trunks, but this pile goes lasl
IN the train coming in aud must be load.
ed up, 30 III have to stop" and no was
gone.