The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1919-08-21

road the fare for second class pas
sage is SIS for the ESQ miles and
you are allowed 80 pounds Of bag:
gage. For all excess you pay "a
cent per pound. There is cargo
ing to be transported to the up river
terminus and cannot be handled fol
lack of equipment and men to
handle the business. So if you want
your excess baggage or be sure OF
ever seeing it again you had better
pay this enormous excess charge and
take it along with you. Otherwise
getting off OF the steamer under
see that it would be bai job to try
to handle beer and baggage at the
same time. However some of the
fellows tried it with the result that
they got the beer and lost all their
baggage. One fellow. who came ur
that he had except what he had on
his back and that would have been
gone too had it not been fast to
him.
The trip up this stretch of road is
anything but enjoyable. In fact
It is the only bad spot in the journey
for one who has made the trip
But to newcomer it is one out;
standing experience: The roadbed
is narrow gauge and the rolling
out Of the ark. A first-ciass Carriage
will seat IL persons and as the jour.
ney takes two days; the company of.
ficials do one thing that is credit.
able, that is, won't allow more peo.
pie in a car than can get a seat. A
second-class coach viii! also seat II
people and the third-class cars are
like the open street cars at home
the car. Fancy two days ride in
such as that.
We travelled second as we can't
afford the $40 necessary for first
and the accommodations are about
as good. The main difference is the
name of being tirst-class. To get
into the train is somewhat of a
football scramble: AS the train
packs down to the depot ready to
start. you must be one of the lucky
scramble up the steps of the car
about three deep. And you can be
sure that after seeing the way a lot
of those fellows went after the bag
gage proposition on the run. Before
That l was one of that first three.
Then your baggage that you carry in
your hand is passed through the
you had to carry It to the depot and and
wait for that special purpose. All
day long the train goes at various
rates of speed, from two or three
miles per hour to maybe twenty; it
al depends on the grade. The coun-
Try 1or the most part is hilly and
In fact is called mountainous. Some
Of the scenes are beautiful But the
hof /
intense heat and the Uncomfortable
ness OF the journey. At Thysville or
the halfway place, we stop for the
night. 1t is very much needed rest
too. II you happen to be on the
second division of the train, as we
were this time and the good engines
are taken for the first and you are
h 1ett with one that needs to be fixed
experience of riding in the dark and
not even headlight on the engine.
And some of the curves and rises
and falls in the roadbed are almost
enough to make walking on foot
dangerous after dark. But we ar
rived safely. about $3.50 instead of
3: At nearly every station and
on wood for fuel. Coal is SO scarce
that it is impossible to get and the
freight rates are so high that it is
prohibitive. There is no coal in
this part of Congo.
The second day is a repetition of
the first only not quite so long. We
arrived at the end of our railroad
Journey to find no accommodation
at the hotel. AS there are several
people going home by every, boat
congestion of guests at the hotels at
steamer time and the managers do
a flourishing business for about a
week: Then for two or three weeks
I'LL the next steamer, the hotel is a
white elephant sure enough. But
the luckiest thing that happened on
the whole trip was that a steamer
fnnt was starting St a up the river the
gers and we obtained passage on this
boat and went aboard to sleep that
night as they were starting before
sun rise the next morning. By the
time we got our baggage aboard it
was too late to get anything to eat
but we were satisfied to be on the
last lap of the journey and went to
bed.
The trip up river was just the or
binary to me. Many places were
to me when made few trips with
our mission steamer to get provis-
ions s, and freight First, for about
five hours run the river is very wide
and shallow in places. We were
stuck on sand bar for four hours
Just out of sight of the town. OF
course, such a thing is a little humil-
iating to the captain but the expert
ence comes to all of them if they
run steamer long enough. By
taking out anchors in front and
pulling on them with the wenches
and working forward and back and
sideways one can get off after the
necessary work. AS we get out of
the pool as it is called the banks
rise abruptly on either side and for
the most part are covered with
trees nearly to the top. The hills
are from 500 to 700 feet hi Oh. The
river is from one-half to one mile
wide and very swift and deep. At
night the steamers all tie up to take
on wood and because it is not safe
to run at night. The next morning
this might be clearly seen by one
who might doubt this danger, for in
the. middle of the river was a rock
just under water and it's place could
be seen by the bunch of grass caught
on it. Then here and there were
whirlpools and smoothe places that
to the unframed eye meant little or
nothing, but to one used to this
river meant rocks from five to 20