A
Gentleman Whose Whole Life Had Been Spent In Opposition To The Principles
Which They Are Bringing Forward Was Very Violent, And The Pretty Young
Lady, Mrs. Wood, Equally So.
After stopping for two hours at a wayside shed, we set out again at dark
for La Fayette, [Footnote:
From the frequent recurrence of the same names,
the great distance travelled over, the short halt we made at any place,
and the absence of a railway guide, I have been unable to give, our route
from Cincinnati to Chicago with more than an approximation to
correctness.] which we reached at nine. These Western cars are crammed to
overflowing, and, having to cross a wide stream in a ferryboat, the crush
was so terrible, that I was nearly knocked down; but as American gentlemen
freely use their canes where a lady is in the case, I fared better than
some of my fellow-passengers, who had their coat-tails torn and their toes
barbarously crushed in the crowd. The steam ferry-boat had no parapet, and
the weakest were pushed to the side; the centre was filled up with
baggage, carts, and horses; and vessels were moored along the river, with
the warps crossing each other, to which we had to bow continually to avoid
decapitation. When we reached the wharf, quantities of people were waiting
to go to the other side; and directly the gangway-board was laid, there
was a simultaneous rush of two opposing currents, and, the insecure board
slipping, they were all precipitated into the water.
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