Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-06-19
LOST HIS RAILROAD NERVE.
A Travelling Man whio Has Become Nor.
bldly Fearful of ali Accident, Is

A Travelling Man Who Has Become Mor...
bidly Fearful of ali Accident. !. --
A rowing theatrical manager and Il
newspaper man were breakfasting at
the Morton House one day last week,
when the former remarked: Ell am
trying to get control of a house of my
own, so that 1 can locate permanently.
In fact, I have lost my railroad nerve"
"Your railroad nerve; what do you
mean?"
just what I say. l have lost my
railroad nerve. Up to about a year
ago | felt almost as safe on q railway
train rs l did in a hotel, but since that
time, for some cause or other, [ have
become morbidly apprehensives OF rail-
road accidents, and now, when travel
ing, I fret and worry all the time. 1
can't rest in a sleeper any more. Many
a time | have lain awake all night, and
even if | do doze, the slightest out-of-
the-way jar will startle and arouse me
in the most unpleasant name If the
train slackens its speed. [ dread that
we are too close to another, and I
sometimes become so agitated that /
leave my berth and walk the aisle for
an hour at a time"
You should conquer your fears"
said the newspaper man when 1
step on a train l consider that my fate
is in the hands of others-that worry
or fret will not avail one particle to
help me in case of trouble-and | sleep
almost as we'll in a Pullman or q Wag-
ner as l do in my w bed"
SST lo va ~, I'D ~ -.....J -.L-c
my fears" was the response, ''but 1
can't. know l have only got to die
once, and that / must die some time.
Honestly, though [ am not at all dis
posed to go off the hooks just yet, the
fear of instant death is not so much
what haunts me as the dread of acct
dent that would deprive me of a limb
or otherwise cripple me permanently.
Did you ever see a one-armed or one
legged theatrical manager or agent?
We have hard enough times to get
along with all limbs and faculties.
10 deprive me of a leg or an arm would
be to take away my means of living and
cause me to resort to some other that
would perhaps make me a semi-mendi-
cant. That is what 1 fear, and it is
that which has deprived me of my rail-
road nerve. L will make almost my
sacrifice that will enable me to locate
and regain my former buoyancy of
spirits. Even as l talk with you now I
fret because Ihave to take the train for
Boston to-day, and I won't feel easy in
my mind till l get to the end of my
journey, and not then, for 1 know I
have to come back again"
"Are your fears shared by many
other managers or actors?"
"Indeed they are, but few of them
care to acknowledge it. 1 know lots of
drummers, too, who feel just as 1 do.
Stand in front of a ticket office before
the departure Of a through train,
especially at night, and watch the men
buy accident insurance tickets, and you
will be surprised to find how many there
are who, like me, have lost their rail
road nerve. A year ago 1 hadn't a gray
hair in my head. Now there are plenty
of them, Still, if circumstances compel,
1 will be on the road next season, with
only one consoEng thought, and that is
that perhaps after all I may never get
a scratch, while some one who never
gave the matter a thought, or who
would laugh at it if he did, may be
killed by q derailment or u collision
within a year. 1t is strange though,
considering how much they travel, how
few actors get hurt, and l don't believe
one in a thousand ever buys an accident
ticket. They are too superstitious, and
feel that if they were to insure they
would be certain to beat the game and
have to die to do i'm Y. SMa.