The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-05-11


for The Times goes where he pleases,
when he pleases. in search Of odd stories
sScut this and that.
DUEBLA, Mexico. May 11.-There
l. was no place to sit. walked
up and down the aisle Of the first
class coach three times, and there
wasn't a vacant seat.
I had been riding on the locomo-
tive of the Oaxaca-Puebla train
for half the night. 1t was l a. m
when 1 went back to the day coach,
to try to sleep. 1 was the only
American in the car Also, I was
the only person who wasn't asleep.
Now there's no point in walking
up and down an aisle all night.
So 1 just picked up a Mexican's
legs, moved them over to another
fellows lap, and sat down.
For a long time I couldn't sleep.
The lights were dim, but I could
see everybody in the car. All wore
American clothes. There were lots
of children. And you never saw
so many baskets. They were on
seats, between seats, on top of
people, stacked in the end of the
car, even in the aisle.
One mother was travelling with
five kids. Across the aisle from
me, in double seat, were a father
and mother and five children, all
in a heap.
THERE were couples, and single
l. men, and single women. The
couples always slept with the mans
head on the woman's shoulder. Most
mouths were open.
But sleep was fitful and short,
and every few minutes some one
would wake up, try to twist to a
more comfortable position, stare
around at the other sleepers, and
then settle back and close his eyes.
The head of the seven person
family across from me woke up. He
looked like Mexican Charlie Chap
lin. He had one baby on his lap.
and two in the seat beside him.
He reached down into a basket,
pulled out big bottle, and took
drink. thought it was water. After
a while he took another drink.
Finally he reached over and touched
my arm, and offered me the bottle.
1t was tequila. I said mo, gracias,"
and put my hand on my temple, to
indicate that it would give me
headache land also that it was the
worst tequila I ever smelledD.
| CtNoy@1ix1 L.
He kept hacking away at his bottle.
The baby would slide off his lap, and
he'd grab it just in time. He wanted
to talk And he did talk. I have
no idea what he was talking about.
MY leg went to sleep. I had to
WI get up and walk up and down
the aisle, shaking it, pins and nee
dies running through it. Papa
Chaplin had remedy for that. He
acted it all out, in pantomime.
He had just about killed the bot
tie. He was still talking. Sud-
denly, the madam woke up. She
scowled, grabbed the bottle and
ratified off some Spanish. Papa
Chaplin looked over at me, winked
and went to sleep.
I was dead for sleep, but couldn't
sleep. There wasn't room to stretch
my legs out. There wasn't room
even to lay my head over just a
little. There wasn't room to relax
even one muscle. You had to
sleep sitting straight up. stiff as a
poker, or not at ALL Finally. I did
doze off.
Every few minutes I'd wake up
and Squirm around. Other people
were doing the same.
VXTHEN I awakened from my
w longest nap, We were coming
into Tehuacan, just before daylight.
1t suddenly had become very cold.
Every one was waking up, shivering,
pulling up coat collars.
At Tehuacan a horde of Indians
came aboard. There must have been
80 of them. They were cold All
wore big straw hats, like sombreros,
and the white pajama costume, and
sandals, and had serapes wrapped
around them.
They all stood in the aisle, at one
end of the car. After the train
started they got to talking, and
didn't look so grim.
It was beginning to get daylight
now. I was wide awake BY $50
everybody was awake. Indians adj
mired the waking children, and
smiled at them, and talked with
the mothers. People got up. and
stretched and pulled at their
clothes, and sat down again.
I felt little dirty, but sort of
rested, as though I had slept sew
eral hours instead of maybe just
one. But was terribly cold.
st s o'clock we stopped to take
on water. So went up to the en-
CINE and sat down in the fireman's
seat, close to the warm boiler, and
there stayed until we pulled into
Puebla two hours later.