New-York tribune., 1891-08-30
L'ISLE DOUTEUSE.
II.
AN IMPRESSIVE RAILWAY.

AN IMPRESSIVE RAILWAY.
'Sconset August 1S.
It does not seem to me that enough has been
written about the railway which connects 'ne
town Of Nantucket with the hamlet Of SSconset'
Everybody who has ever travelled over IL writes
something concerning it, bat / have observed
that sighting tone has been adopted in refer
ence to this subject This is O railway thet ae-
serves q respectful consideration. / do not pe
leye that anywhere else on the face OF tne ear'n
Is az iron track that so impresses one Win
sense Of perfect safety. II is narrow, the rais
have the appearance Of bulging up In Places ou'
when they bulge up too much In any one spo'
somebody on the train is sure 70 have jack
knife or some other tool with wich 10 run '"
the rescue. Somebody who has peen iounene
round on the enpine-and this person 10 pi@
sumably a Nantuckcter, and presumably aiso u
future participant in the French Oi''iis-''''s
somebody slipped of the engine wheh 10 sVoppes
for the third time on the run over to 'Sconset' n
man behind us puts his head out OF Uhe open
window and asks Whats up now
The other man has some kind OF an IRON iu-
strument in his hand. He stops ana grihS a' 'i'e
Questioner. ohn.a ~,
"Nothin's up he answers, were aneau oi
time, n have got to walt here i0r O'i' 0A"e'
limited"
Then he wallows on through the sand. shout
., lanohter coes nm from our car 1t is felt to be
the kecnest of Jokes that the Chicago limited
sbould have been mentioned. Men saunter out
ana IN They hope there won't be collision
MA, ,noke bets as 10 when we shall get 10 our
destination The ringing sound of blows on the
rails ahead of us is heard. The conductor does
NOT disdain to take tool ard 60 out and pound
with the others. Some of the passengers suggest
that carriages ought TO be whistled for. Then
Miss Myra Roberts, the girl from Chillicothe,
who Is our cicerone. explains TO us that when the
@rails have been acting too badly, they whistle
for carriages to come from Surfside, if they are
nearest that hotel or from Nantucket, as the case
may be- The passengers are then sent ON by
horse power" She adds that the rails are always
cutting up in some way She did not know
until she came to Nantucket that there were so
many things that rails could do. She has trav-
elled ON this road good deal; she thinks it the
safest road in the world She did not know as
they ever made q trip without detention of some
kind but she thinks that all that kind of thing
is made I'D for by the feeling of safety which comes
IN one the moment one enters one of these cars.
sOf course if you are in a hurry-that makes O
difference"
But we were not in hurry. / for one felt
willing to sit any length Of time with my head out
OF the window taking in long breaths of that de-
licous salt air. / know it is not the custom in
other trains TO put your head out Of the window:
that is, if you wish to preserve your head. But
this is safe train, and there was line of heads
out on my side. With what a rush that wind
came from off the whole Atlantic for that water
is no trashy bay or harbor, il is the ocean. At
last could smell the salt. The odor was like the
sight of mountains to one bred among theul.
The water thundered up against the unprotected
land. And the water was enough for there is
no great variety of scenery between Nantucket
town and Siasconset This lack of scenery is of
no consequence. Think of the satisfaction
which comes to the average mortal from the mere
fact of being on the island where all those Star
bucks and others of line equally noble, have
dwelt for many generations 1t is, of course, not
like being the rose, but 1t is being near it.
And like this very lack of variety. like
those reaches of fat lands, wind.swept always and
suggestive Of long, lovely, solitary days with the
birds and the ocean. If had q shelter tent l
would ask nothing better than to pitch it some
where here, and one place here is exactly as good
as another, and spend hours and days in mere
existence.
When communicated this idea of the shelter
tent to my friend she smiled. She said she had
never come upon place so exactly suitable to
mere existence. She thought if the track were
not mended in the course of the forenoon we
might have quite taste of mere existence, even
without that tent.
There are times when wish that my friend
were possessed of little more sentiment. Sent-
ment is the best attribute to possess if you wish to
travel anywhere, that and credulity.
1t was while we were waiting for repairs to be
made that my friend still with that air Of always
having known it, related that tradition about the
origin of The island She had read it the evening
before in the guide-book. Very much condensed
il is TO the effect that time, when the Great
Spirit was smoking, he put some sand in his pipe
when he emptied the mixed remains from his
pipe into the sea they formed the island of Man
tucket."
This legend does not seem at all respectful to
the island which was afterward to become the
home of so many old families, and l. for one, do
not believe the place was formed in that way.
We found the presence of Miss Roberts great
pleasure, save in one particular. We were afraid
TO refer however remotely, to the inhabitants,
because we had understood that the beau She had
lost was Nantucketer, CT was connected with
some Nantucketers. We found conversation with
her bristling with warnings, in our own minds,
lest we might touch upon an unhealed wound.
almost felt like wishing, either that she had not
come with us, or that she had not lest her bean.
She continued to wear the gay mask with the ut
most degree Of success
She talked with the conductor, whom she
seemed to know. =. 1t was because of her acquaint-
ance with this prison that we learned that it
might take great deal longer to mend the road
than he had led the other passengers to believe.
He said something about bumper being broken,
besides the trouble the track" lie added,
You know you can't mend bumper in minute
The Chillicothe girl said, NO, indeed just
as II she knew what bumper was. She suggested
that carriages be whistled over from Surfside.
The conductor said there was time enough for
that. and went on.
lie men kept getting up and going out, appar.
entity for tho nilrnoSe NJ cnmino boox afrain A