New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-05-09
NOTES OF A TRIP TO KANSAS AND
NEBRASKA.

NOTES OF 4 TRIP TO AANSiS AM
NEBRASKA.
Correspondent Of The y. \. TrbunA
STEAMER AUSTRALIA, March -, 1857.
Another day upon this h of waters, -
observe the quotation marks, and visit your pous
wrath on Byron. not on ME. But let me do the
Mud River English fo7Miss0urF justice. Il
wonder, by the way, what Mississippi means
Manufacturers of Indian legends tell you Il means
81. Father of Waters"-doubted. What a passion
they have in Europe for anything connected with
the Indians Read volume or two OF Indian
legends. when Your memory fails call upon your
imagination rub up your French, and your fortune
is made in the best European circles
Reyenons. For the last twenty-iour hours the
river has been slowly rising. We meet less dhGuis!
from sand.bars Ii seems odd TO us jewellers upon
the scaboard that the time Of high water upon the
Missouri should be Summer. yet such is the fact.
Then the waters from the SHOWS of the Rocky
Mountains reach us on their way to the sea- nat
AN idea of vast distance it gives you to reflect that
drop of water from the sources OF the river Is two
months in making its way to 1t. Louis.
The Summer, therefore, is the season Tor naSies-
tion Then the boats can carry heavy freght-a
feat they cannot always perform. Then sand-bars
have no terrors and ,nags hide their diminished heads
This is the country for railroads--leye hnd or
slightly rolling -chespy built and cheaply repaired,
and little river competition. For, during mhe
months of tho year, feights arc 80 high, insurance
40 heavy, that the boats cannot compete with soe
trains.
Last night we performed a feat. We ran through
a loft bristlng with snags. Our pilot was emu
lous of rivals fame. Can you do It = SAID the
captan. Il cues, So" boldly responded the pilot.
IL. I'm man WAS stationed
starboardbow, the captain himself fooe the lar
board.
snsss the night Of them.
snss. the leh Of them,
Righ. in the jaws Of them
Knocked the Australia
We made the passage The opposition bOot
feared TO follow, and the rival pilot gave up beat
There goes that bell again This time it is the
deep bass The boat is running her nose INTO
mud bank; on top of il lie piled cords Of wood.
The gentlemauly proprietor in blue military over
coat and old fur cap stands BY the side OF his pile
We run ashore-primitiye mode Of landing. The
captain halls and inquiries the price 1t is settled.
The clerk lands and measures the pile. The hands
run ashore to carry ii on board, aud We ditto Tor
stroll in the woods.
The timber is the cottonwood. The bottoms
along the Missouri are generally cottonwood bot
toms-a miserable, light, porous wood, about as
good for fuel as our poplar.
A race-a race Our boat has been poking along
heretofore at the rate of FIVE miles an hour; deduct
ing for sand-bars and landings, about three-ayerage
canal speed Now she is painting and quverlDg so that
I can scarcely write. The Morning Star is astern
and rapidly overtaklng U.s. She is faster than We,
but honor forbids to give up without struggle. L
will 60 out and let YOU know the result.
The Morning Star goes by amid the triumphant
jeers Of her passengers. Our notions OF retort are
primitive, SO We eer in return. Invitations are
u ana IN hoy
for Us; shall they tow us up! Thus they taunt u.s.
ike the Homeric Ajax or Cooper's Braves.
But though they have gone by, it by no means
follows that they will arrive first. A friendly
sand-bar NAV detain them, or a snag give them
too close an embrace. Now We adopt an ingenious
expedient We make fast to wOod-Scow, and
transfer IFS contents as we 90. W hen unloaded,
she will drop down with the current Now, Star OF
the Morning, hold thine own. Courage, good Aus
tralia We may beat them yet.
Did tell YOU in my former letter how much
an struck with the intelligence and general informa-
ton of these Western men +! They are much supe-
Nor | think To the same class IN the East. The
most ordinary looking fellows, in their coarse
clothes and dirty shirts, talk well, reason well. and
are well posted upon the current topics Of the day
heard one rough-loOking farmer giving his spiritual
experience. an interview with the spirit of Samson.
Five strong Western men bore all their weight upon
table Samson raised and shook il. Then they
seized il by the legs. Samson pulled the legs on.
Then they threw themselves upon the top, but
Samson held the table suspended in mid air, like
Mahomet's coffin, without any legs Another gave
an interesting account Of the milk sickness, which
has proved fatal in many parts OF Illinois 10 octn
man and beast The cattle are poisoned AMI die;
the milk il pOsoned-sick milk they call IT, treat
efforts have been made 10 ascertain the cause, but
without effect: chemical anal yss falls IL Is snou2hs
by some to be In the water, by some In weed the
cattle eat in dry seasons. The better opinion seems
10 be that it is an srsenical yapOr found In certain
spots and under certain atmospheric conditions. The
cattle inhae il in feeding. Ii disappears with Guilt
walton.
have talked freely with the Missourians / have
fallen in with upon the subject OF Slavery Ihers
is no violence or buster about them. They wonder
that people should rush 80 TO Kansas when there is
better land and more accessible in Missouri. tel
them. Abolish Slavery, and land viii DC az valu-
able here" They don't know but II Is 80, or
lit will abolish itself in five years. talked with
one intelligent Young man from the southwestern
part Of the State He told me he would gladly sell
biz slaves at half their value, but that they had
come 10 him from his father and he could not; that
there were about fifty slaves in the town where he
lived. all held in the same way. This is such Slavery
"a We had in New York in the time of our grand
fathers. II must die out with another generation.
There stands Border Rufisn; let US take his
picture: An old felt hat without rim, no neck.
handkerchief dirty check shirt, and the eternal
blue military overcoat; he may have suspenders
but they are concealed; his breath smells strongly
Of whisky and he has q half-drunken, half-defiant
air.
These are the men who invaded Kansas in the
Winter Of 1855. Too lazy ~ work, bold enough
to fight with the odds Oh their side, they invaded
the Territory in mob, and, ike mobs everywhere,
were cruel and cOwardly. These men cared net a1