Hesperothen; Notes from the West, Vol. 2 (of 2): A Record of a Ramble in the United States and Canada in the Spring and Summer of 1881Russell, William Howard, Sir
History
Hesperothen; Notes from the West, Vol. 2 (of 2): A Record of a Ramble in the United States and Canada in the Spring and Summer of 1881
Russell, William Howard, Sir
United States -- Description and travel
railway ticket all right, a few dollars in his pocket, and I told him
I would see him and get him a passage, if I found on inquiry his story
was true. My companions thought the tale suspicious--but I believe it
was true, and I subsequently franked the man to England.
Now here we had an exemplification of the manners and customs of
the district. Such an act of violence and robbery might occur in
London--anywhere. But what of the apathy, or perhaps complicity, of the
bar man? And if it or they be considered not altogether abnormal, is
the conduct of the policeman to be accepted as quite consistent with
the discharge of a policeman's duty? Well, whilst I was pondering on
these things, there came to me the best possible adviser--a judge in
this Israel--our excellent Palinurus, Mr. White. He threw a new, if not
a side light on the subject. "Depend on it he is a confidence man. The
trains are full of them! Our conductors have express orders about the
rascals." And he explained that a confidence man is a swindler--very
often an Englishman, who makes it his business to look out for unwary
strangers, on whom he imposes with some tale of distress, or some
recital of imaginary misfortune and adventure. As the man I had seen
was coming on in the train in our wake, Mr. White promised to talk with
the conductor, and find out, if he could, the truth about the Pueblo
robbery. Before dusk a telegram was forwarded by him to me from the
station where he left us, to say that the conductor had no doubt the
man was robbed, but that it was partly his own fault, and to warn me to
be cautious in my dealings with him.
We have now been travelling straight on end for 1160 miles, with only
two engineers and two firemen and one engine, a feat of endurance
which has greatly exercised the Duke of Sutherland, who, as a practical
director of the London and North-Western Railway, has knowledge of such
matters, and who contrasts the performance with the experience he has
on the home lines, where engines, engineers, and firemen would have
been relieved or laid up over and over again. The head engineer of the
line, who joined us, Mr. Hackney, formerly of Congleton, had become
accustomed to these journeyings and endurances, which were brought to
the front in our conversation by the engine-driver appearing at the
door of the carriage to claim a dollar which he had won from the Duke
in a bet that he could not do the distance without laying up the engine
for repairs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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