PACIFIC RAILWAY.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 1932, 15 July 1869, Page 3

PACIFIC RAILWAY.

{From the Pull Mull Gazelle.) The Union Pacific Railroad may be a great work, but we should not advise travellers to put any trust in it during the winter months. An American correspondent gives a sorrowful account of a journey he made by it, or set ogt to make, on the 12 th of February. The “through train” from Wasatch to Omaha was stopped at a place called Rawlings on account of the snow. There were 200 passengers “ on board,” Californians and others. Many of them had but little money with them, and a scanty meal at Rawlings cost 1 dol. 25 c. This was not conducive to enjoyment of the landscape. After, they had been detained seven days in this wretched place, some of them began to think they were being hardly used. The Americans are veiy patient under injury when the injury is done in the name of a company, and to be snow-bound for a few days is no uncommon occu rren ce on the Pacific road. But what exasperated them on this occasion was that the managers made no effort to clear the line. On the 21st of February the general manager coolly telegraphed from Laramie, “ I see passengers are somewhat dissatisfied, but I can’t help it.” He proceeded to say that the day before he had given 2QO passengers three locomotives and shovels, “ with the understanding that they should shovel through. They left here yesterday morning, and have only got about twenty miles. They find it is not play to shovel snow.” Passengers by a railroad certainly do not bargain as a rule to shovel the train through some hundreds of miles of snow. At last, after nine days’ imprisonment, the payty were alloyed to §e| p\Vf pu ; ft’ irAin hj >vay pf experiment, They went safely about forty-five miles, and then ran violently into a snow-bank. The conductor knew of this obstruction beforehand, but the general manag r telegraphed “Come on,” “which we did," says the writer. They all got out and shovelled at the snow, but as fast as they made a hole in it t]ie wjp(l ppcj if up again with drift. The engine fires had of course gone out, and the

whole party were being gradually covered up. “We played cards, read novels, sang psalms, and would have drunk whiskey, had not that useful article ceased to exist, owing to the persistent drowning of sorrows which took place at Rawlings.” At last they set out one line morning to walk to Laramie, and succeeded in reaching that station in four days, suffering cold and hunger by the way. This account, which is well authenticated, will not render the general public anxious to make a trip by this line between November and April.