Leaving Milwaukie at eleven o'clock a.m., one reaches the
Mississippi at Prairie-du-Chien at ten o'clock same night; here a steamer
ferries the broad swift-running stream, and at North Macgregor, on the
Iowa shore, a train is in waiting to take on board the now sleepy
passengers. The railway sleeping-car is essentially an American
institution. Like every other institution, it has its critics, favourable
and severe. On the one hand, it is said to be the acme of comfort; on the
other, the essence of unrest. But it is just what might be expected under
the circumstances, neither one thing nor the other. No one in his senses
would prefer to sleep in a bed which was being bornc violently along over
rough and uneven iron when he could select a stationary resting-place. On
the other hand, it is a very great saving of time and expense to travel
for some eighty or one hundred consecutive hours, and this can only be
effected by means of the sleeping-car. Take this distance, from New York
to St. Paul, as an instance. It is about 1450 miles, and it can be
accomplished in sixty-four hours. Of course one cannot expect to find
oneself as comfortably located as in an hotel; but, all things
considered, the balance of advantage is very much on the side of the
sleeping-car.
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