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Vol. 11.
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-A- cloj-e. -jtpave- on &A- • 188/• _-
A Close Shave on the W. & A.
It would be idle to say that the Side
track never knows trouble; that mat
ters are always serene with the old re
liable, and that there is never a close
shave on the W. & A., —although the
close shaves are not al wavs trouble
some; on the other hand, they are
sometimes quite pleasant.
Our illustration graphically depicts
two close shaves that occurred on the
W. & A.; —one of them “enduring
the wah,” of which the hero was a big
bomb shell, and the victim an “intel
ligent contraband.” One bright morn
ing, just as the sun had lighted up the
war-devastated landscape, and gilded
old Kennesaw Mountain, in the dis
tance, a darkey, who had beguiled a
trio of fish to his pin hook, with the
aid of a squirming worm, was quietly
engaged in frying them for his break
fast, in an old skillet, over a fire by the
side of the Western & Atlantic Rail
road. His mouth watered as the sa
vory odor of sizzling “lady cats” was
drawn in through his olfactories. A
W. & A. train was speeding toward
Marietta when a somewhat belated
shell, sent after it, exploded directly
over the darkey’s head. He had seen
solid shot, but this “rotten shot,” as
he designated the bursting shell, was
too much for him, and, seizing his
ripßetj he “lit out” down the track.
A. tivimorouLS dare-devil—tlae very man to suit my purpose. bulwer.
“INDEPENDENCE ID7X.Y” NUMBER.
spilling his fish as he ran. He lost his
breakfast and had a close shave for his
life.
The other incident illustrated was
literally a close shave. A corpulent
gentleman, in a smoking car on the
W. & A., not long ago, felt of his 4-
days old beard, remarked the smooth
ness with which the train glided along,
and determined to have a shave. So
he laid off his coat, took a small mir
ror and shaving apparatus from his
sachel, hung up his mirror, made a
lather, applied it to his face, and pro
ceeded to treat himself to a comforta
ble close shave, without a scratch or a
bobble. A dignified passenger looked
on in mild surprise, while an elegant
young dude placidly regarded the op
eration.
We have not space for any of the
other close shaves on the W. & A. at
this writing.
The Fourth of July.
Hurrah for the Fourth of July!
This great and memorable day was
first invented, we are told, by Thomas
Jefferson and some of the other dis
tinguished American patriots, about
the year 1776. They drew up the
Declaration of Independence, and pub
lished it, not only for the benefit of
King George the Third, but for all the
rest of mankind, We wilt not take
ATLANTA, CA., JULY 4, 1887.
up the time of our reader in recount
ing all the details of the struggle
which ensued, on the attempt of the
British to put down this day as well
as the men who first discovered it.
That belongs to history, and in this
article we are writing for the folks of
the present day.
We have always had a tender spot
in our nature for the small boy with
his fire-crackers, for the larger boy with
his sky-rockets and Roman candles,
and our heart has been filled with ad
miration for the men who invented
and shoot cannon and other big guns.
We use the words “big guns” in their
strict sense as applied to those which
are made out of metal and notin their
comprehensive sense as applying to the
leading citizens of the day, —for we
have no desire to wish any of them
shot.
During the late “unpleasantness”
that ensued south of Mason and Dix
on’s line within the years 1861-65,
the Fourth of July was not celebrated
in this sunny land of ours with quite
as much enthusiasm and quite as much
waving of the stars and stripes as had
been the case for over eighty years pre
vious to that period; but at the\pres
ent time the heat of patriotic enthusi
asm mounts up rather impartially all
uyer the country,—somewhat in pro-
portion to the heat of the b’ourih of
July sun.
We like to see the day celebrated,
for we have been told that it is “a
great and glorious” one. So we hope
that the small boy will be allowed to
pop his fire-crackers —in such localities
where they will do no harm to ignita
ble buildings —and we trust that the
firing of cannon, the waving of flags
and the playing of brass bands will
form an important part of the proceed
ings.
We also anticipate that there will be
many hundreds of enthusiastic celebra
tors who will come to Atlanta or go to
Chattanooga over the Western & At
lantic Railroad, to celebrate the treas
ured recollections of the Declaration
of Independence and the birth of a new
nation which has now become the
greatest on earth.
We will only remark, in conclusion,
that it will be singularly appropriate
for all the admirers of the day to travel
over the Western <fc Atlantic Railroad,
because, as General Sherman says, “by
reason of its existence the Union was
saved.”
Magnificent scenery is viewed from
the summits of Kennesaw, Allatoona
and Rocky Face Mountains, directly
on the line of the Western & Atlantic
Railroad, and all along the line of the
Marietta and North Georgia Railroad.
NO. 13.