The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1853-11-10
A Night Ride on the Prairie.

lures over in Indiana, after the Railway
train on which he was had run off the track,
Our conductor had started a hand-car
back to Lafayette in quest of the only en-
CINE there--a weak old one, needing some
repairs before il could b. used. II was cal
enlated that these engines would be up about
II o'clock, and would then drag Us back to
Lafayette to spend the remainder of the
night, and take fair start In the morning.
This for one had resolved not - submit to,
though the onIy alternative were a campfire
on the prairie, But now bright thought
struck the engineer, for which | think he
was indebted TO my good angel He recol-
| lected thai good engine was stationed At IA
point named CalyertoWa, forty-three miles
ahead, and he decided to take hand-car and
make for this SO that ctr bow should have
two strings to it.
The hant-car was dragged over the rough
prairie around our long tram, and launched
i followed with my carpet bags, on the
lookout for chances. In tree it was
! duly manned: had coaxed my way TO a seat
upon it, and we were off
The full moon rose bright over the east
4 ern woods as, with the north star straight
ahead we babe adieu to the embryo city of
7 bEbtfheltIt W L were seven III Us IA TIT
haud-ear. four propelliug By twos a. il turn
ing heavy two-handed grindstoue; but we
let off ono passenger after travelling few
miles. The engineer and | made NJ the
party; and the car, about equal in size - a
wheeibarru% and a half. just managed to hold
US and give the propelcrs working room.
To economize space, sat good part OF
the time facing backward, With ivy feet
hanging over the rear Of the car, knocking
here and there on tie or bridge timber, and
often tickicd through my boots by the coarse,
rank weeds growing up at intervals between
the ties and recently sttieued by the hard
October frost. As C instant effort to hold
on was required, the position was not favor
able to slumber, however it might be to
cogitation. Our Irish steam was envolyed
from Yankee muscles and proved of capital
quality. We made our first five miles
heavily laden as we were, in % minutes;
our first ten miles in IN hour; but our pro-
pelers grew gradually weary; NE stopped
twice or thrice for oil, water and perhaps one
other liquid. so that we were five hours in
making these forty three miles, or from
O'Clock till midnight. | only tried my hand
at propelling for short mile, and that ex-
periencc sutiiced TO convince me that, how
ever it may be ns a business, this species Of
exercise cannot be eoncientiously commend
cd as an amusement.
The night was chilly though clear; the
dead-ahcad breeze. though light, was keen
and |, by no means dressed for such an airy
ride. felt it most sensihly Our course lay
across the east end Of Grand Prairie. " hich
stretches westerly from the bank of The Wa
bash across Indiana and Illinois to the Mis-
sissippi. and thence through Iowa and
Nebraska. perhaps to Council Bluffs and the
Rocky Mountains. The ground we tray
crsed was nearly level, often marshy and
for the most part clear Of wood but we fire.
qucntly crossed belts or spurs on higher.
dricr soil Of the great forest on our right.
with occasional clumps of sturdy oaks--isles
Of timber in the prairie sea--to which the
belts aforesaid served as promontories. Four
prairie firos-two at either hand-at inter-
walls Of miles, burned brightly but azily, for
the wind was not strong enough, nor the
vegetation dry and crisp enough, to impel a
rapid, roaring, sweeping fire. Now flock
ofwild geese few by, murmurng subducdly;
( then great heron rose before us and flew
! heavily over the marshes; an opossum was
! frightened by our noisy approach, and fled
eagerly into the prairie, under an evident
mistake as TO the nature of our business; and
ogan an od9rous skunk, Keeping his car
caas unseen, gave pungent evidence Of his
close proximity. Finally, little after mid
night, chilled and weary, we reached the
onc-horsc village Of Culyertown and found
( the engine miasingi-run down to Michigan
City for rcpars-so that my companions
have had their rugged ride for nothing,
/ The landIady of the only house in sight
rot up and made u fire; the engineer decided
to wait for the return Of the fugitive engine;
and began to drum up the means OF far
! ther conveyance, for ! was still twenty odd
miles from any public conveyance that would
speed me on my way. Horses, learned,
were not not easily to be had, and if at all,
probably a mile or two away, and not till
morning; and even if had Il team, the roads
across the great marsh and small river Just
north Of us were rather shy. But the en-
gineer lent me the hand-cur which had al
ready done such good service, and cnvOkcd
! from lumber two Dutchmcn who were per-
,naded to act az my crew; and by O'Clock
| was ogain under Roadway Northward-the
air more kccncr, and more vulnerable to
its assaults in my loneliness than when six
OF lis were so closely huddIcd together. But
my Dutchmcn propelled with will, and my
good craft sped briskly onward.
From CuiVertOWn prairie marsh stretches
thirteen miles northwurd, and think no
buildings and hardly cultivated acre was
visible through all that distance. The dense
fog, beaten down by the cold air, lay low OH
this marsh, and was heavily charged with
prairie smoke for part of the way. Three
miles from G.. we crossed on pokcrsh bridge /
Of naked timbrrs, the slough-Iike bed where,
in the kankakec oozes and Crccps Sluggish /
" westward to join the Fox aud form the
Illinois. They say the kankukcc has
rapid current and dry, inviting banks from
the point where it crosses the Illinois line,
which might tempt one to regret that it did
not cross that line forty miles higher up.
Happily the keen air had done for muaqui-
toes, so that we had no more music than
had fairly bargoined for; but Bunyan might
have improved his description Of the Slough
o. era...l-lh, h"oG .ayo~,t wi'h o vision