Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-07-19
CATCHING A TRAIN.

C.AICalNU a IhAlN.
Il was my first day on the wheat
praixie of North Dakota Ihad left Far
go az o'clock in the morning on one of
the two daily trains westward and had
stopped at Castleton, 90 miles from
the ''Phenix City Of the Northwest. +"
Thence had tramped back across the
prairie two miles to see the Dalrymple
farm, the greatest in the world, 80;
acres under cultivation. By 9o'clock in
the morning had seen all there was to
be seen in the process of thrashing and
SO retraced my steps to Castleton.
At the station was informed that the
next means of getting back to Fargo
was by freight train leaving at about
2 o'clock.
There are no art galleries or cathe-
drals in Castleton. There are dozen or
two stores and hotel. / entered the
hotel with the air of abandon and gen.
eral superintendent usually ascribed to
commercial travellers, sat down in the
office and picked up day before yester-
days st. Paul paper. An old man with
white whiskers sat in the sun reading
the day before that's paper. He was
evidently a pioneer, who had SO long
been away from the more civilized re-
gions that he Jagged little in the his
tory of the world. However, was glad
to see one guest at least in the hotel
among the wheatfields.
By way of introducing myself to the
old gentleman cracked few jokes on
the sleepiness of the town and the dingi-
ness of the hotel, but little later real
lied that my remarks were i'll directed,
by finding that he was proprietor Of the
establishment. "Never mind" thought
I, ''it will be all right if take dinner
here. The old gentleman face showed
an animated interest as he informed me,
in response to a question, that dinner
would be served at half past r..
was now wearied Of reading stale
news, SO went out and took five min
utes' walk to the end Of the main street
and back. Next 1 bought novel and
went out upon the prairie and spent q
couple of hours reading Killing time
| in Dakota town I found not to be SC
exciting as the same occupation in Chi
cago or London. About noon wandered
back to town and got stranded on some
California fruit at store. filed my
self SO completely with grapes and
peaches that I never once Thought of
dinner at the hotel. The old Landlord
must have been grievously disappointed,
| but I did not see him again.
talked with the clerk in the store,
read some more and cursed the Northern
Pacific until nearly 2 o'clock Then
sauntered over to the station, and after
waiting a half hour for the train in.
quired Of the station agent as to what
time I could get away
He replied, ''Not until the O'Clock
through freight comes " The 2 O'Clock
was way freight and had been de
layed, he explained.
I moralized on the inconvenience o1
travel in new section of the country
and set about using up another two
hours. I found that had somehow got
some spots of wheel grease on my clothes
and managed to spend comparatively
pleasant hour scrubbing out the spots
with naphtha at the town drug store
Then I read some more.
| At4 o'clock went over to the station
again and finally plucked up courage tx
ask the rather irritable agent about th,
train. He deigned to tell me, as if tiret
of seeing me around, that the trail
wouldn' t be along until 5. Now had ,
companion in my misery, for lady
with two little girls, was waiting for th,
next train to Fargo.
i Our common annoyances served 3,
introduce us, and we talked of the har
vesting and SO on, deriving some in
formation, as she was resident of tn,
region. AT o'clock the train was no
in sight, and the station man positivel.
refused to know anything or to have an,
opinion as to the prospect Of our gettinl
away. Ioffered the lady my book ant
sat and reflected on the happiness of lif
in that section, getting up occasionall.
to look out upon the fiat prairie to see j
the train had yet risen above the hori
zon. There was nothing but the twl
rails stretching away till they converge,
into one, and then that was lost to tn
eye
Once in awhile the lady and the httl
girls got up to look. Finally she an
nounced that she could see see smoke i
the distance. My eyes were not SO good
but we watched eagerly, and after som
minutes I acknowledged with grea
pleasure that she was right. We watche
the smoke solidify into q train, whic
grew larger and larger until at last
rolled along, and at precisely 8 o'cloc
. the engine came to o standstill fe,
| feet beyond the station on side TRACK
], The aaboose intended fcs passenger
! was, " course, at the rear end Of th,
! train and seemingly quarter Of a mil
away.
BY this time several men and boy
had gathered on the scene, apparentl.
\ wishing to go to Fargo. Noone scenes
. to want to walk away back to the ca
! boose, and every one was very anxiou
! not to get left At this moment anothe
! freight train, hitherto uInoticed, cam
! booming along on the main track
: Things were getting muddled. Woul
the second train stop2 Would the firs
: r. n. - Il "A