A NICE RAILWAY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 132, 26 May 1876, Page 4

A NICE RAILWAY.

Underi the-headinff 1 •* Mr Bis on the Napa Valley Railroad," the San Francisco News Letter contains the following satirical and iunny communication: *.£.*.. u I U./l 'i ' i J x" '- ' a'-I [Y}|-, VALLEJO, Mirch 23. Editor News ( Lefter. — I want to know, Mr Editor/ if "you have any objection to,; sending me about three thousand namVs from your sbbsbriptibh list. I'm not particular about, the number, ejaptly f ;.but r ;wbat' t| waht .' enough to mske a petition about' twenty- ; two feet lon'g." ; '-'' "- •- in.- :•: *■-■ .-■- i.~. .It's all about this railroad. Of course f l* want it'abolished^e^ry'bne^oes. Tbei reckless lyelocity with which, the trains are run between here and Ssora-..meniql/is-'.absblu^ frightful. ( I ; was deiigh fed when this road was e*tab-| lished, because I thought we had got; rid of the rickety and dangerously fast! stag? "'coaches, .but; the- speed they are] beginning to' run the' trains at now onj this road iB; ; worse yet. Now .every) one knows - that the Vsllejo is'sixtyj miles from Saoramento if it isaoineh,} and ( ( 4ayfl/.ahd a-half is plenty! quick' enough for ''.the /trip," ( but" the' managers have already reduced this sbhfe/Jule iiimo J to three 3 days and four hours, l abd ; what ; /with/^ making the engine fires too hot, and racing' with cows;: aldng the road, and .all that, the t: bbhdiictbrs are even cutting the time down. ... ,, ...... ..,. ./ .yy! t .. I Why, it was, only/ the/other- day,, on the down/ trip, wo happened to/spy Simms' old ■'•[ mule about it wo.; miles out of to'wol '" should the reckleris \ wretch of an Yengineer/dp but clap on ' full steam, and race; every blessed bit of the way into Vallejo. Wei'didn'i exactly' piies the piule, but ; we caught up wilhihim and came into the depot neck and neck-rand which was puffing most,' the mule or the engine^ you couldn't have told to save your life! Now, it wassail ,tery;exciting r and all that, I knew, but I vhadn't purchased an accident ticket,! and I don't believe the other -four passengers bad either^ This is all , wrong, 'Mr Editor, all wrong. L ./: •>-. ;-. 'ir \ And then,- on another occsision, we came within a.hair's/bresdth of having a. very seriou^ accident. '. *;Tou^ sbp thi engineer had gotten pff to stone, a chirapunk, and the conductor was minding a ybung v widbw*Bbaby for her-^-tbe result was that the train- happened to get on raidown grade,- and we started off at a terrifie rate, every bit of four miles an hour, I shquld reckon; We were just half-a-mile above the Napa junction^. : ind otheY0 theY first thingYwe knew-^-therb being no one to whistle and wake up (he switch tender— we were turned ofl into theCalistoga-road, and went down the jwrongV track' at full speed. Imaginp our consternation; when just at this ; irjoment we heard the whistle, not half-(-^miierahe^a'd of us/ of the Gslistpga* 'upj. • train;' We were paralysed wUh^terror. , Here were two trains on the same track approaching each other at the dizzy speed just/mentioned. Evideptly our time had come ! In a few short hours the engines would meet, and then —-riestruction ! With great presence of mind, a minister on board organised a,; prayer-meeting. Pale but calm the doomed ! band of paesengers sat, arid thohgh with the very shadow of death on them, raised, their, voices in' a par ting hymn. - ' .//- 7 e • " Send foiv the 1 baggage-m aster/' said a young man, with a sad I smile. " Why," wais asked; ■"■ .; - •-• «» " Because! we are all nboUt.to pass n l ' our checks." ' ' [] Everbody wept. From the rejtri platform we Icburd i seeYthe miserable engineer straining every nerve to cattjtb .up, but. be had tight boots on, sad didn't gaibr anything to speak o y f. ' ! j At this moment a ' ray of hobe /dawne'd^ upon up. I : had justi finished : my^ will; on the back of a^visit- ( ,iqg. card, when Lobseryeda young.lady ' in the act of detaching her bustle. Placing r the article, which was /Composed of eighty "News Letters/^abd

| a hair- maKreSs^-onder [ber arm , the : heroine, marched through the oars* We, I folio wed/an xioqsly. [] 1 * \ ./,' '• . t /'; .' ; ; ;' ': ; -- 1 Bnb climbed bp oh 'the tender, and lihen over ; *tigJnei >^Itr was very ', interesting and thrilling io see her climbing bvbrDtbe wheelsi-and, brass, > things on then way io too cowcatcher. :It reminded me of -a country girl getj ting; over) a wire fence. ? Did 70a *v}er r ! notice a country girl getting overl ' w^ : :.forieW ! Mr i; J&ii6r/?<;^ell'W«^but never mind about ''-'that 1 c nbifc "LeT me l see, where , was/1 ? Qh, J ; 9*T' 0 \ tbe , c'n w/sajleber.- r: ' Hol^d^nj^ $fr. ; b J.'tfir cross-bars with ;one ; hand,, the noble maiden) tiedY the bustle on the sharp prow /with/ the other. ; . •! ( ." /• ; /'You/Ycan/.j'^upss ;thb >«*!s£ 7?n/the course :of/ ihe afternoon /t.he cbllisiQn came off. Proteo ted Iby the bustif, the engine received a gentle bamp; and we Were/iavjed it ' /. '.. ,,. . /.', " '_ s ,/ } '7 7, Z J; -77