Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-21

at life through knot hole in the back
fence Of obscurity. She wanted one good
. satisfying look. anyhow, from the worlds
/ front door. And. naturally. it wouldn't
| be a free show. So she decided TO burn
| her money right now and let the future
! glimrher go hang Foolish virgins are
] that way
Bv way of putting A match to her
/ saNings she bought a ticket that allowed
/ !le; IL rip. diagonaliy. through every At
!; Ian1ic biilow between Sandy Hook and
II. Davids light. which means Bermuda
I The trip whetted her eagerness for
/ more-everN body knows what happens to
a sheep dog that gets taste for blood
! and the first thing that foolish virgin
! knew sh. promenading al the bottom
% the dtch ihat is going 10 be the Pan
anna canal. wading in ch.ffony little
clouds on top Of Central America; Hopping
a hand -me-doNn bathing suit neuter gen
Ger) II the green crystal OF the Caribbean
sea. aud eating home-canned beans at
that Carriage place where a volcano sits
| around peaceably until it gets hungry
and allows everything in sight.
| When tac savings had gone up in smoke
/ with nothing lcft but few pinches of
| earth i'll dollar a pinch-one of those
gilt-eGSc inve s.ment things that YOU
couldn't sell To save Your life-and the
foolish virgin was heading foT the mourn
ers bench, along came good fairy
named May, with an invita- tion-ticbet in
| cluded-to do the westward no. act
| So like those other fortunates in fairy
tales. the Washington spinster travelled
| and Travelled, until at last she shifted 4
| briny breeze and caught way-off flashes
4
| blade. and then q drawn saber. and then
the Pacific ocean b;llowing into the sky
line. as if the one and only thing nature
| knew how to make was green blue
ocean topped with a blue-blue sky
There is undoubtedly scenery between
| Washington and Chicago. but the fool
| ish virgins beatific dazc absorbed only
| a Sub-consciousness of lower berth, d
| table on the shady side o. the diner. Il
| Waiting by of town and country and a
| general Disqualification that lamp
had been kicked over and done with. any
! how.
Never mind what happened to that
other light, between Mrs O'Leary and
| her COW, but
Once on a track that gashed the CONT
nent to its farthest west, she shed her
| ego, as one casts aside any other i'll
| fitting garment, and, incidentally, be-
| came a human ashcan, from continuous
| standing at the rail of the observation
car that furnished with equal prodigality
| engine cinders and worldwide view.
| five days rush across this country
| is. to put 1t classically, some journey
| MANY of the passengers killed time with
| cards and novels. while giant loco
motive hauled them and another boosted
them over the most stupendous scenic
| glories earth can show. They had
| made the trip before.
| But there were others: One was a
| backwoods minister on his way to
heaven. via Los Angeles. who thanked
God for permitting his eyes to behold
such wonders before they should be
When they crossed the Great Divide.
each mountain trying to up-leap the
others to the very gates of that world
above the clouds. he said to his wife:
| Look. my dear at that one that
stands alone with a single star shining
above it, 1t satisfies my idea of God"
The wife looked. but-any other woman
could tell that she had eyes only for
the thing that was trying to outspeed the
| train to take her husband from her. And.
after all, what is a mountain compared
to a good man who has laid down his
| life for his kind? mountain is all
right, butt takes a man to satisfy one 5
real idea-but never mind, this hasn't
anything to do with men.
AS to the foolish virgin. If she had
been say, open-faced watch instead
of an ugly-faced woman. her wheels
would have gone around something like
this
/ A geography doesn't tell all it knows
about prairies; YOU have got to get
quainted with the greenness and the ST
lence and the everlasting level / pre-
fer world with bumps to it, and l like
my scenery wet-wire fences instead of
wood. Looks thriftier. but not so pic
4 ~ Tic, All
over vines and black ants. Little red
school houses crop up regularly, ditto
graveyards. Everywhere progress and
, tombstones. This green monotony is get
ting on my nerves. l want a tree
| There's a swampy place full of lilies.
| Looks lovely. but smells baltimore
swamp lilies and bad smells Have just
seen an oak-hurrah"' Swamp continued,
but no stream-found it running like Il
silver chain on the other side of the car
| a herd Of cows wading in it: frisky as
kids in a swimming hole: speck of hill
way off against the sky line. first rise in
a two-day level. thank the good Lord.
Coming to the cattle country: ranches
| instead of farms. BoundleSs fields cover
| ed with grain ricks that smell fragrant
and shine like new minted gold.
Ny first ranch: Thousands of cattle
grazing from track TO horizon with moth
ing to do but fatten up for the trusts.
important lind. Cattle prefer their own
color; herd of big fellows as black a.
charcoal hob-nob together: another col
ony, all red stock, and still another of
| the Jacobs spotted kind that might have
| slipped out of the Old Testament into
k.ebraska. They don't play in each
others yards. Know, now. why herders
go insane. II is the never-ending level.
The never changing scene. The i'm
mensity. The silence. The loneliness.
, Kiss my hands TO the foothills of Colo
rado. Kissed too soon. The hills have
ducked under or iattened out until the
country is pancaky as Nebraska
More unbroken green without hump OF
cree.
There goes my first cowboy-straght
and slight and big hatted--on horse
that stands like bronze against the tWi-
light Only living creature-eNcept cat
begins to break in assures that increase
in size. II the porter had not screened
my window ! could reach out Of my
berth and pluck the moon. it seems SO
socially near. Monstrous black shapes
rise from the level. When far between
stations show their light l that
the hills are jagged and broken and
snaggled-toothed. as If Mother Nature
ought to have them extracted.
Wyoming desert. A queer new world
of barren hills and plains. all OF it
Whitley gray soil and wild sage. No liv-
ing creature except skittish prairie dogs
| that look like the soil come to life. And.
oh. those poor daffy little blue blossoms
trying to bloom near tbs track line. This
deserts somber immensely reminds me
of the barren, loveless lives OF some