Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-07-12
SLEEPING CAR HABITS.
Old Porter Tells of Things He En-
counters on Road.

| working on the cars we learn ooo
! things about peoples sleeping HABITS
said porter on Pullman car. one
| of the surprising items CLEANED IN my
| early railroad days was the TACT thd'
many people sleep with their glasses on.
| The first fellow | saw go to bed mace up
| that way was a politician who tfaVeled
| over my road stirring up voters In the
| western part of the state The FUNNY
| thing about him was that he didn really
| need glasses any more than l dld. lie
| seldom wore them in the daytime, ana
generally read the papers and MADE the
| speeches with his glasses dangling from
| his eyes But the minute he got READY
| for sleep they became Indispensable. IL
| bowled me clean over when l bumped
| into his berth one night and found him
sleeping with the things on. l tried to
| take them off, but at the first touch he
| was wide awake.
| 81 was just taking off your glasses,
said l. YOU went to bed with theW on
| "Of course l did, he snapped - al
| ways do / couldn't sleep without EN-
Give 'em here
| after that | met lots of people who
| had become slaves to the habit. Some
| who could afford luxuries had special
| night glasses made with certain lops and
| clasps which held them securely in place.
! while Others less eXtravagant. contented
| themselves with the regular reading
| glasses. few whom l questioned said
| they had purposely accustomed them
| selves to the habit because they were
| apt to lay their glasses down carelessly
and were totally helpless when awakened
suddenly. but the majority declared that
| their glasses had become part of them
selves, and that they would as soon think
of taking off their ears.
| In contrast to those folks l found that
| most people take out their false teeth
| upon going to bed [ had a good deal of
| trouble with the toothless contingent.
| Most of them were afraid to trust their
teeth to the narrow confines Of the berth
for fear of losing them. So they gave
them to me for safe keeping.
Then there were wigs. Lots of bald
headed people couldn't sleep without
them. In most cases a special shock Of
hair was provided for sleeping purposes,
thus keeping the regular wig spick and
| span for daytime weak; One of the fun
| niest things | ever came across in the
false hair line was the case of a certain
gentleman from Indiana who often trav
eled with me. He was absolutely bald.
One night I caught a glimpse of him N
! his night attire. The shining pate that
had marveled at only an hour before
had bossomed out into great mat of
| shaggy black hair.
ct always sleep in it. the old fellow
said. Don't say anything about it. will
| you? It's just fad of mine. All my life
| long | have wished for fine head of
curly black hair. Nature denied me that
boon. She gave me nothing but sparse
| red locks to start with. Now that she
has taken even these away l feel justi-
fed in getting back at her by wearing
any old kind of hair I please | don't
dare to put on my black wig in the day
time for fear my folks will make fun of
me- so wear it at night
That struck me one of the craziest
notions had ever heard of. but of
! course, it was strictly the old mans
business. SO I didn't say much about it.
Another funny thing is the prediction
many people have for sleeping with their
heads in certain direction. remem-
Der particularly we'll what a time I had
with one woman travelling over the
| Northern Pacific from st. Paul to Helena
After that road passes into North Dakota
it runs almost due west. This woman
could sleep only with her head to the
north
1T makes me deathly sick to lie with
my head in any other direction she said
Make up my bed with the head to the
north
II tried to be diplomatic. pointed out
how impossible it was to improvise 4
couch that would block up the aisle for
| the rest Of the passengers. but she
| wouldn't listen to reason / reported the
! difficulty to the conductors and brake
men. They set the whole machinery Of
| the road in motion to try to get that
woman a crosswise berth, but she was
such tall woman they could not manage
it unless she rode with either her head
or her feet sticking out of the window.
Finally we made up little bunk for her
| il little ante-room at the rear end of
the rear coach, and she slept there two
nights.
| Then there are certain sounds essential
! to repose. There Is the fellow who can
not sleep without an alarm clock tick
| ing under his head, the fellow who is
kept awake all night by the whirring of
the car wheels, and the one who can be
lulled to sleep only by a roar and a rattle
loud enough to split pair of ordinary
ears
| OF all the slaves to habit those who
are bound to awake at a stated hour or
minute of the night, or at particular
spot are the most amusing and at the
same time most annoying. I have in
mind now customer belonging to the
latter class.
He Travelled in my car once from
Cleveland to Chicago We had been out
of Cleveland only about half an hour
when he hunted me up and asked to have
his bed fixed 1 suggested that it was
j rather early and asked him if he
couldn't hold out little longer
i NO. sir, said he T cannot I've only
got few catnaps ahead of me. at tho
| best and I want to make the most af