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V^lZ/W^ 7 * VlEW OF KEHNESAW lz V - “ ■■■ > (c> ALLEY: Vol. 11. \Ty HK / ( )) II I |\ K\ \\U -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.