St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-03
SUMMER AT'SCONSET
The Season at It's Height at
the Quaint Massachusetts
Resort.
One Of the Most Remarkable
& Railways on the American
Continent.
Some Of the People Who Are
Getting the Breezes at
'Sconset.
John G.. Hinkel Said to Be
Catching All the Bluefish
in the Ocean.

S&tOAAuS hA4 GuV 01NOAOA
in the Ocean.
Special to the Globe.
SIASCONsET. Mass, July 31.-For
short the natives of Nantucket call this
funny old fshermen's hamlet "'Scon-
SET" 1t is over 200 years old. 1t is
fifty miles from New Bedford. 1t is
the point on Uncle Sans domain the
furthest out in the ocean. By SWIM
ming due east two thousand and odd
miles l could reach Spain. ! haven't
triet it yet, but fishermen tell me so.
Fishermen never lie. don't know
how far it is to the West Indies on the
south. Even the fishermen don't vonch-
safe the information. 1.-THE wind blow
eth where it listeth." Whether
it bloweth or listeth at 'Scon-
set it comes from the ocean.
When badly disciplined Their
mometers on the main land indicate the
warmth of Turkish bath, the easy go
ing, conservative mercury at 'Sconset
is satisfied to skirmish between 20 and
CN 0O5s 4Od SuI SOO w 0OOhOOG Nlbll-
out going to Nantucket town. A hun
dred years ago the certain way to reach
the town and sometimes the cheapest,
was to get on whale ship in the south
seas. The Fall River line and Old
Colony railroad cured all that. They
made their connections from New Bed
ford and Boston with Nantucket town.
But they
Didn't Solve the Problem
of getting to 'Sconset. Until seven
years ago, to reach here visitors were
pulled through one of many sandy roads
with deep ruts. There we're dozen of
them. more or less. Each was parallel
with the other and all close together.
senger wished the driver had taken an.
other. To make the change was extra
hazardous. Marine insurance COM
panies in issuing policies on box carts
crossing the island declared them void
If it was shown that the loss was
caused by attempting to go from one
set of ruts to another. Then the spirit
of improvement invaded the island.
She didn't come minute too soon.
SconSet was waiting for her. A rail
road was built. The project was con-
ceived in speculatiOn; was born in
poverty; was dry-nursed on hope; was
sustained by the sale of its stock and
the issue of bonds. The stock was in
time surrendered to the bondhOlders to
whom new stock was given. Then
other bonds were issued. st. Paul
subscribed for some. Soon after he
wrote, II would that all men were
like unto me except these bonds" 1t is
QuiHanf that hn rp0rnftGa6 fha inuQct-
ment. The road was broad conception
built on narrow gauge. 1t skirts the
south shore of the island from Nam
tucket town to Siasconset. On the north
are wide pasture lands and moors red
olent with the perfume of wild flowers.
On the south is the ocean with the water
breaking on the ''rips' in sight the
whole distance. 1t is a railroad the like
of which does not exist.
DevOut Hebrews
and piOus Christians alike bow down
and worship it. They do not violate the
second commandment. 1t is like moth
ing in the heavens, or on the earth, OF
in the waters beneath the earth!
SiascOnset Is a sanitarium. 1t is the
delight of inyalids who need rest. Rest
Is not suited to all complaints. There
are maladies for which travel OH this
railroad is a panacea. A New York
doctor was treating a bad case OF
torpidity of the liver. He didn't
want to have the patient die on
his hands. No doctor ever does,
He put him up some harmless medica-
ments aud told him to go to 'Sconset for
the season. He expected the patient to
die. and he wanted to leave the duty of
giving the certificate of death to
'Sconset doctor. The patient didn't die.
He rode on the SiaSconSet railroad.
That did the business. He gave the
doctors medicines the credit for the
cure, sent on big check for q fee and
began to shout the doctors fame. Any
day tail of patients with morbid livers
can be seen at the door OF that doctors
office. The natives of the island are
A Seafaring People.
When they have nothing to do-which
generally happens they take "a
cruise" When the cars began run
ming, the change from boX-cart to
them was novelty. They liked it.
Those who had free passes liked it still
better. The sway of the cars from port
to starbOard seemed like the motion of
a ship. The track was not always laid
with an even grade. The ascent and
descent of the craft was like unto run
ming bows on to a coming wave, GO
ing over its crest and sinking in the
trough of the sea beyond. They felt
at home. AT first they experienced
sense of danger. There were
no spar buoys to mark the channel.
There was no sense in putting bell buoy
on top Of the locomotive when it might be
wanted to mark the location of shoal.
Again, the locomotive didn't conform
to maritime rules and regulations. 1t
didn't have a StarbOard and port light.
At night, box cart or wagon, steering
across their course with brisk wind
abeam, might run into the train and
sink it in two fathoms of sand. There
were no life-boats or even life-pre-
servers on the train. 1t looked like
takiug a big risk. The engineer was
an old sailor himself. He knew the
feeling of the average Nantucket man.
In Difference to the public wish he put
green light on the starboard and a red
light on the port side of the locomotive.
Then with the glare of the headlight
from the bow the natives were reas-
sured. There was no greater danger
than existed in sailing in other waters.
The projectors of the road resolved to
make it a first-class line of traffic. It's
a trunk line. Its terminal point is Sias-
cOnset. The 'ScOnset visitors have no
use tor
Nantucket Town
except as a port of entry. Then they
embark their hopes on the 'ScOnset cars.
There are half dozen trains day each
way. Each makes half dozen trips.
There is the 'ScOnset limited, the light
ming express, the United States mail,
the huckelberry accommodation, the
freight, the construction train, the
train and thn owl train The
owl train doesn't run at night. 1t was
NOT CON emnlated Nuhnn the enternrisn