Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-18

the center Of the table at intervals OF a
few feet were groups Of salt. pepper. mus
tard and vinegar IN bottles, and sugar bowls
thanked by pitchers of diluted condensed
| milk. The viands were well cooked, found,
and Of fair quality. Ham, potatoes. canned
with hot cakes every other morning, mo-
! lasses. good coffee, oleomargarine and oat-
meal. That Is the usual bill of fare for
breakfast For dinner the meat is beef.
boiled or roasted, and there are three vcge-
| tables, enc Of which Is usually baked beans.
Always dessert. pie and plum dug alteI-
mating.
Boarders md Their Rights.
Yes. the men are pretty rough some
| times was Mrs. Lanes reply to my ques-
ticn, as she gave me chair In the kitchen.
while she nursed the baby, and waited for
the regular freight, due long before, to come
alcng, so she could get water to make the
coffee! wondered, but waited. when the
cooking is not up to their idea of what It
should be they object in a very emphatic
manner. / don't often have any trouble
unless am sick, and have to get some man
to come ard cook. We can't keep a wo-
man because 1t is too lonesome and the
work too hard. Sometimes the bread Is
failure then they pick 1t all up and pitch 1t
outdoor. If the butter is bad they will be
very apt to decorate the walls of the car
with it,; and then knew the why of those
awful splasheS of gredSei "Once," continued
Mrs. Lane in a reminiscent tone, the ccf-
fee was very bad. I was ILL., and there was
a Mexican cook. The men I'D not IKE him
anyhow, and they discovered that the rea-
son the coffee was SO weak was because he
Lad only put in naii Inucn as HAD Deg.I
allowed him, and had sold the rest to the
Indians. The men poured the whole boiler
ful. nearly four gallons In q washtub and
put the Mexican in It and scrubbed him with
a broom. If the vegetables are not cooked
to their taste they amuse themselves by
plastering the fiunky with them
But why do you allow them to do such
awful things" / asked in amazement.
I'VE have nothing whatever to do with 1t"
she replied. If we were to say anything
some of the men would be apt to burn the
cars about our heads. They are perfectly
il irresponsible, and the railroad company has
no concern about how they act after they
get their work done. The men say that they
Fay for good grub and they mean to have
Imagine such state of affairs about some
or the boarding houses in Washington,
where the kick coming might well be lust
as vigorous. 1t would probably have the
erect OF improving the table board. Anoth-
/ er pleasant diversion. 1 learned is kicking
the table over If the meal is particularly
bad. On the other hand they roast a
''tenderfoot" numerically IL he objects 10
the grub
The Animals Feed.
Just as the new baby was dropping off to
sleep the shrek OF the freight whistle
startled 1T into screams of fright, and the
great numbering train rushed up alongside
Of the sidetrack on which we STOOD SO that
/ might have touched It as l sat A fat
car with three great water tanks was
halted beside the kitchen car. hose at
tachej to ore OF the tanks was Immediately
hunS into the open door, and the end was
caught up by Mrs. Lane. and tossed up till
1t fell into the big iron tank in the corner
opposite the dish cupboard. This tank
held twenty or more barrels of water. and
this was why no coffee could be made till
the freight came along. They were out of
water. and there was none nearer than the
railroad tank. fifteen miles away. Another
of the amenities of boarding train life
When coal WIS needed. an hour later, the
engine ran up beside the car and a few
chunks of coal were dumped of on the
kitchen floor
engine gave stentorian whistle for
breakfast and the wide doors OF the dining
car were thrown open for the men 10
enter. which they did "A good deal as hogs
crowd to the trough. Mr.. Lane acted as
funky-waitcr. In United States"-and II
TOOK the men about ten minutes TO "fll
up"
About o'clock orders cnme for the trnin
Ia go 10 IA point about nifty miles west TO
repair Il bridge. Then everything had TO he
taken down OF the walls the dishes packed
Ia the cupboard. and IL boltcd shut: every
thing that would slip or slid. had TO be
fhchorei. for a boarding train ~ rough
enough nj best Mrs. Lane then got her
brood around her and counted noses. II
LEFT Nellie once" she explained, and the
child had TO come west on the freight
that followed ms very soon. She had been
hi play among the rocks" Think of that
record for n siX-yca r-old girl.
Yes, II IL a hard life," said Mrs Lane
Irhectively. AZ she scraped potatoes for
dinner. with the boarding train numbering
along at the rate of fifteen miles AN hour
harder than once though could endure
but you know the back il fitted 10 the
burden; there are things that might be
worse. We can all be together here We
would like to put Jimmie and Robbie I'm
school but can't, so / teach them as well
as ! can. They are very fair readers and
their father teaches them mathematics;
they have excellent opportunities for study
ing natural history and botany and have a
small kno" ledge OF Latin and French from
me. or course. they naturally pick up
Spanish and many of the Indian dialects"