The Bark Covered House: Or, Back In the Woods Again; Being a Graphic and Thrilling Description of Real Pioneer Life in the Wilderness of MichiganNowlin, William
History
The Bark Covered House: Or, Back In the Woods Again; Being a Graphic and Thrilling Description of Real Pioneer Life in the Wilderness of Michigan
Nowlin, William
Dearborn (Mich.); Frontier and pioneer life -- Michigan -- Dearborn
I go with her, accompanied by my wife and brother John S. As the train we
wished to take did not stop at Dearborn I had a hired man, with my team,
take us to Detroit. Father went with us to Detroit and to the Michigan
Central Depot. We went aboard the railroad ferry boat and were soon
across the river and on the cars on the "Great Western Railway." We were
soon receding very fast from Michigan; going across lots and down through
the woods of Upper Canada. I tried to see as much as I could of the
country, while we were swiftly passing through it. I told mother we would
manage it so as to see the whole route, either going or coming, by
daylight. I didn't see anything in particular to admire in Canada until
we got down near London and beyond. Then I saw some good country and I
thought it would compare favorably with Michigan land.
Just before sundown we got to the swinging bridge, which hangs over and
across Niagara River. We crossed it very carefully. Just as the sun was
about half hid beyond the Western horizon our car reached terra-firma in
the state of New York. I felt a little more secure and at home, than I
felt when leaving Canada, when we had reached our native state.
In a little while we were aboard the cars of the "New York Central
Railroad" and making our way through the darkness rapidly, toward the
east. I told mother we must try and get a good rest, that night, on the
way to Albany. We located ourselves the best we could for the night. We
had only gone a little ways when, all at once, there was a terrible
rattling and jingling, made by the passing of another train. It made a
noise something like the shelf of a crockery store tumbling down and
breaking in pieces glass ware, earthen ware and all. This noise was
accompanied with a heavy rumbling sound which shook the ground and the
car we were in and caused them to tremble. The flash of the light of the
passing train, as it sped on its way, was so quick by us that it was
impossible to see whether it was a light or not. It appeared like the
ghost of a light or a spectre in its flight through the darkness, for a
moment and it was gone. It left no trace behind that I could see. There
had two or three of those trains of cars passed us before I was able to
make out what made the extra noise. Not having any knowledge that there
was a double track there, and never having rode where there was one
before, it took me a little while, to make up my mind in regard to it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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