The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-05
AN ICE DELAY.
How the State of the North River Emu
ences European Travel.

How the State of the North River knno-
ences European Travel.
New dangers are often added 10 the
undertaking of q European tour by the
presence of ice in the North river. If you
think that a fanciful proposition you
should have been with me when L went
over to Hoboken.
It was a cold day and the river was
pretty full of ice-a good deal fuller tnan
it had been the day before-a fact that
some of my fellow passengers learned 10
their surprise and agony when it was too
late. Why agony, unless the boat was
smashed? Because they were crossing to
take an outgoing steamer. They were 0hree
well dressed. gentlemanly fellows-that is,
they were very gentlemanly when they
came aboard with their sticks and their
rugs and their umbrellas neatly strapped
mn. and their handbags shining like Xmas
presents with silver initials.
They sat down together, and one pulling
ont his watch remarked easily that they
had plenty of time, and another one said
that 1t was "beastIy to be so early, don't
Won know, with all the fellows that are
bores. YOU know, hanging around talking
to YOU for hours" and the third said, yes,
and the plank was always so choked with
the visitors you couldn't find your state
room without a lot of fuss, and that a
steamer the hour before she sailed was the
best place for pickpockets in the world,
and that he never wanted to be on hand
fifteen minutes before the gangplank was
drawn in"
Meanwhile the boat had drawn out and
was putting on steam to crush her way
through the ice. The three gentlemanly
fellows had done everything just as they
had meant to- and were beautifully salts
fed with themselves, but they did not
seem to know great deal about ice in the
North river. Pretty soon the boat stopped
that is she ceased to go forward, and as
one of the passengers said, began to chaw
on the ice." The ice did not seem to mind
! it, neither first did the three ocean bound
travellers. But time went on and the boat
didn't, and after a while it began to strike
them that this was bad com bination, and
that if it kept up long enough it might be
| inconvenient.
One went out of the cabin saying he was
going to find somebody to ask about things.
| This Napoleonic measure did not percept-
| iblv increase our all but imperceptible
| progress. When he came back the three
| looked at each other very blankly, then
| they looked at their watches and looked
! blanker. They did not seem to find much
| consolation in conversation. They began
tramping about uneasily. One discovered
| that from window they could see their
steamer lying at her dock. They all stared
| at her in turn long and earnestly. Still
the boat "chawed" on the ice. Then NUT
| terings of profanity could be heard from
| their once gentlemanly lips.
| At last the boat forged ahead for few
| feet, and the trio in woe looked each other
| in the face and smiled once more. When
progress again stopped and the "chawing"
| was renewed their last estate was worse
than their first. When finally, by backings
| and startings and many maneuvers that
| all consumed time, we got into the clear
| water they looked ten years older than
| they did when we left New York. Never
| had trip to Europe used up more vitality
in the same length of time. They tried to
exchange q few words about the improba-
bility of the steamer leaving exactly on
| time, but their voices seemed to stick in
| their threats, and it was plain to any man
with watch in his pocket and an adver-
! tisement of the line in his paper that they
| were still left, even if the steamer should
| be good many minutes late.
When at last we got in they had their
measures arranged for the best fight they
could make. They had taken all their
traps and bags to some employee on the
| ferryboat to keep till called for, only put
| ting in their pockets some small things
| from their contents, FOR carriages and
| hacks are not common around that part of
| Hoboken. and they were wise enough to
prepare for the run that they soon took.
They started from the boat at very nearly
full speed, in spite of cheerful warnings
from fellow passengers, newsboys and
others to save their wind. A number of
them followed at lesser speed to see how
| they came out. A cry of ''Stop thief was
raised by an unenlightened Hobokener,
but he was choked Off The three gentle
manly fellows were for the time hardened
to all the sings and arrows of outrageous
fortune Not so when one of them had to
come back alone He was shorter and
fatter than his companions; they few over
the wavering gangplank just as it was
trembling on the very point of retirement
from public service. He didn't. He re-
turned amid expressions of sympathy from
the interested populace to hunt up the man
that had all their things" and with
plenty of time to consider what he'd dc
next.-New York Herald.