The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-03-03
THE lola REGISTER.
FRIDAY. MARCH 5. 1898.
TRAVELLING IN LONDON FOG.
An Old Bus Driver Tells Some of His Ex-
periences.

An Old Bus Driver Tells Some of His Ex-
periences.
Talking of the fogs of London an old
bus driver had an interesting chat with
q correspondent the other morning on
nv way from Hammersmith.
These ere fogs is dreadful" he said
Zone day I'm thinllin' of was bad 'un.
couldn't get the 'osses to go at all, so
l turned back at Piccadilly. But that
doesn't pay, for if the company don't
think-and they mostly don't thinl-its
thick enough to stop running the
buses and you do stop without any Of
fetal telling you they'll make you pay
for the half of the journey that you
missed. l had to pay for that half
journey from Piccadilly."
Have you ever got on the wrong
road through the fog?" l asked.
20, yes; lots of times, I've often
turned up a wrong street, but I've gen.
orally found my way again. But one
time-about three years ago-I got
quite lost 1t was going from Hammer
smith to Liverpool street You could
have cut the fog it was so thick. We
passed Kensington and Knightsbridge
all right, and then l got somewhere
where didn't know; my mate behind
looked about bit, but he couldn't
make out where we was, so we went
and asked a p'liceman. He was on
point duty and told us he was in the
park somewhere but he didn't know
where. But I've made plenty of
mistakes like that. Why, the first run
this morning l nearly went the wrong
way.
Now, look there" he said, pointing
to a street-lamp that was glimmering
quite close at hand, those are the
things that puzzle you. You think
that's on the pavement and go sharp off
to the right to miss it, and you find
yourself at the wrong side of the road,
with traffic on all sides of you and
p'liceman swearing and waiting to take
your number for causing an obstruc-
ton That's in the middle of the
of road: it isn't on the pavement at all
I've otter wished that big lamp at the
corner of Hyde Park far enough; it al
ways balks me-"
Are there many accidents in foggy
weather."
It don't think there are more than in
clear weather, for every one drives
careful-they have to do or they'd soon
have a smash. Sometimes, you know,
a cabby will pull up sharp and your
pole will go through the back of his
kerridge;' but then them things al
ways happens The 'osses, too gets
frightened when it's extra thick, and
they'll lib but they're often not so
bad as some of the passengers, uwho
nudge you and pull you and tell you to
please drive careful The fog doesn't
hurt the 'osses much; it might give 'em
a cold, but it's us that suffers most.
When there's frost and fog together
it's awful
I've often had my 'osses led, but we
don't like any one to touch our animals
heads It's like an insult to us Po-
hcemen are always at that game, be-
cause they know we don't like it But
it's very bad when they fall down in
fog, for no one can see you and it's
quite likely that another bus will come
sailing along right onto you; but in all
my experience I've only seen one 'oss
down in a fog, and he was shot I'd
sooner drive anywhere on a thick night
than up to Hammersmith or Bayswater
You have the park all along one side of
the road, and you know how dark it is.
1 think Bayswater is the worst of the
two. l once drove a three-'oss metro /
politan bus into the middle of row of
hansoms, but it's surprising what a
little damage is sometimes done in a
collision"
But how do you manage to find your
way?"
why, we grope, was the significant
answer. 81 think the best way is to /
get the left hand wheel of your bus /
against the curb and let her grind /
You won't know what this is Well, l /
mean keeping along side the pavement. /
Never mind the wheels; they'll be all /
right On some routes men go about |
with lanterns to guide you, but that's
too slow work ] once went a journey
when the conductor took one of the
lamps in his hand and ran along on the
pavement to show me how far was off
the curb; but all men haven't the same
disposition and I've had a conductor
who wouldn't move off the step to tell
me which side of the road ! was; why,
sometimes can't see the whip | have