LUCK ON THE PKAIRIE 



i 



A WELL-GROOMED hobby will carry its rider com- 

 fortably over many a slough. 



I was on my way westward to El Paso, and 

 knowing that the train was due there before day- 

 light, I left my berth early, and had gone out upon 

 the porch of the observation car to catch a bite 

 of fresh air and enjoy the first faint flushes of 

 the dawn, when a train-hand, passing in the semi- 

 darkness, informed me that the wreck of a freight 

 train was on the track in front of us, and that 

 we should probably not be able to move for eight 

 or nine hours. I had noticed that we were stand- 

 ing still upon a " siding," but such halts are not 

 infrequent on a single-track road, and having my 

 mind upon pleasanter themes, I had passed the 

 circumstance by without further thought. 



The news of our trouble spread, as one pas- 

 senger after another made his unhandsome, half- 

 civilized appearance from behind the curtains, 

 and though we proved to be a pretty philosoph- 

 ical company, as transcontinental travelers have 

 need to be, the general run of comment was not 

 hilarious. 



