4o6 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



THE CARAVAN LINED UP ON THE PRAIRIE AT THE CORRALS. 



Continued from page 403. 



provision for many hours, but before we 

 reached Cleveland, he was glad to make use 

 of it and stretched himself out with a grunt 

 of satisfaction which was more expressive than 

 words. We rolled into Buffalo late in the 

 forenoon and gladly leaped out of our airy 

 quarters to attend the needs of the animals 

 in the rear car. Here we encountered the 

 first obstruction to our journey, which after- 

 wards occurred so frequently that it became 

 a habit. The inspectors blandly reported to 

 us that the steam-hose had been pulled off in 

 the night and the bolts in one of the brake- 

 beams had loosened, almost dropping it to 

 the level of the rails. The cars must be run 

 into the cripple track and jacked up, and with 

 the customary yards of railroad red-tape sur- 

 rounding such events, Mr. Mitchell could 

 readily understand what a delav this would 

 mean. Moreover, to cap the climax, the Lake 

 Shore road refused to handle the cars, de- 

 claring them not properly equipped for fast 

 work. It was right here that the esprit de 

 corps of the Zoological Park showed its true 

 worth. Mr. Mitchell was a bulwark against 

 all opposition, and his perfect familiarity with 

 the proper railroad methods rendered him abso- 

 lutely impervious to all opposition. Scarcely 

 twenty minutes elapsed before the yardmen 

 had expanded under the influence of Zoo- 

 logical Park spirit, and the cars were being 

 whisked away to the repair yards. That was 



half the battle accomplished, but there yet 

 remained the fact that we were denied the 

 right to ride with the passenger service. Buf- 

 falo officials peremptorilv refused. After a 

 lengthy argument, Cleveland was reached by 

 long-distance 'phone and the Traffic Manager 

 reluctantly gave his consent to couple us with 

 the second section of 37. Our spirits arose ap- 

 preciably and after assuring ourselves that 

 the construction work was progressing rapidly 

 enough to ensure our making this train, we 

 awaited our leaving time with great satisfac- 

 tion. 



At 1.30 we were attached to a train of ex- 

 press cars, running as the second section of 37, 

 en route to Cleveland. We skirted the shores 

 of Lake Erie, feeling the first real breath of 

 winter sweeping across its surface. The 

 season was three weeks earlier than the 

 New York region, and autumn had laid her 

 finger heavily on all the vegetation. Out of 

 Dunkirk we ran into a smart storm of rain ; 

 a cold, penetrating one, which the rapid motion 

 of the train drove into every nook and cranny, 

 finally dripping into the remnants which the 

 bull had left of our bed, so that we were forced 

 to erect a shelter over it with a piece of oil- 

 cloth. The broken windows were repaired 

 with New York dailies and overcoats donned. 

 At every station the trainmen crept into the 

 car, drenched, condemning the weather and 

 accommodations with one breath. It was so 

 delightful to see others miserable that our 

 spirits rose in ratio. In spite of these dis- 



