Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-08-27

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we we're all astir, and drove down to Bear
River only three or four miles distant, for
break fast aeeH .1
We halted before crossing, beside what
is here called a grocery, the only other
structure on that side of the river being a
blacksmith's shop Consisting, believe, of
a bellows and anvil under the open sky),
to which some part of our rigging was sent
for repair, while we prepared and ate break.
fast There were two or three men sleep
ing 10 wet blankets on the grass, who rose
and made fire on our appearance. The
grocery was irregularly constructed of box
es which had once contained goods, but,
having fulfilled that end, were thus made
useful afresh. suppose it was six feet
high, and Eve by eight in diameter, though
no two of its sides were OF the same hight
An old tent cloth for covering completed
the edifce, from which we obtained sar-
dimes, canned lobster, and prepared coffee
which was said TO contain sugar aud cream,
but which was voted by our drinkers
swinding humbug. believe these articles
exhausted the capabilities Of the concern;
but, as we had bread, we needed no more
Some of our party thought otherwise, how
ever; they called for whisky or some kindred
beverage, aud were Indignantly diSgusted
at its non-production. They bad become
Injured to groceries containing nothing that
could by possibility be eaten, but grocery
devoid of some kind of 'rot," as the fiery
beverage was currently desiguated. was to
them novel and most distasteful exper-
ience However, man was at once dis
patched across the creek to a similar estab-
lishment, bnt more happily furnished,
whence he soon returned wish the indispens-
able fluid (price So for flask containing
perhaps pint and o half Of some diabolie
alcoholic concoction wherein the small mo-
dicum Of genuine whiskey had taken to it.
self seven other devils worse than the frst),
and our breakfast was finished to general
satisfaction.
A word here on the Liquor traffic thro'-
out this region A mercantile firm in this
city, in order to close out promptly its ex-
ira stock Of liquors, offers to sell whisky
at the extraordinarily low price of So SO
per gallon. l believe the common price
from Laramie westward to the Sierra Ne
vada is So per gallon; but it is usually sold
to consumers by the bottle, holding less
than a quart, for which the charge is 50 up
to So SO, but seldom below 50 So And
such liquor True, have not tasted it;
but the smell l could not escape, and l am
sure more wholesome potable might be
compounded of spirits of turpentine, aqua
forts, and stepped tobacco. It's look alone
would condemn it--soapy, ropy, turbid, it
is within bounds to say that every pint of
it contains as much deadly poison as gal
lon OF pure whisky. And yet fully half
the earning of the working men (not in
Guiding Mormons. of whom | have yet seen
little) of this whole region are fooled away
on this abominable witchbroth and its fos-
ter-brother tobacco, for which they pay
81 to $2s per pound The trader at
Weber, of whom our mail boys bought
their next supply Of rot" apologetieaIly
observed, "rhere ant nothing bad about
this whisky; the only fault is, it isn't good"
| back that last assertion with my whole
heart.
Fording Bear River-here a swift, rocky
bottomed creek, now perhaps forty yards
wide, but hardly three feet deep-we rose
gradually through a grassy valley, partially
ncosed by high, perpendicular stone Buttes
especially on the right. The stone (evi-
dently once clay) ouposts of one of the
Bnttes are known as THE Needles" We
thence descended a long, sveep hill into the
valley of "IIost Creek, "-lohy "loSt," l
could not divine as the creek is plainly
there-a fair trout-brook. running through
a grassy meadow, between high bills, over
which we made our way into the head OF
"Echo CLnou," down which We jagged
some twenty miles to Weber River.
This Canton reminded me afresh that
evil and good are strongly interviewer IN
our earthly lot. Throughout the desoate
region which stretches from the Sweetwa-
ter nearly or quite to Bridger, we had in
the main the best natural road l ever trav-
eled-dusty, indeed, in places abrupt and
rough, but equal in the average to the care
fully made and annually repaired roads OF
New England But in this fairly graSSed
ravine, hemmed in by steep, picturesque
, bluffs, with springs issuing from their bases
and gradually gathering into trout-0rooE
2 as We neared the Weber, we found the
going" decidedly bad, and realized that
D in the dark it could not but be dangerous.
: For the brook, with its growing fringe o.
t willow choke-cherry, service-berry, and 9th
! ef SuruOS, community hlbAaSSSe AiS@n eiA'
, to side of the Canon, compelling as to de
sceud and ascend its preclpitOus banks ant
cross its sometimes miry bed, often with !
smart chance of breaking an axle or up
! setting We stopped to feed and dine a
, the siIe of ''Gen. Wells Camp during
} the Mormon wag in 1873, and passed, Il
. miles below, the fortifcations constructed
, under his orders, in that famous campaign
, They seem childish affairs, more suited &c
| the genius Of Chinese than of civilized war
| fare. | cannot believe that they woulo
have stopped the Federal troops, II even
/ tolerably led, for more than an hour. y,
: We reached our next station on the we
t kber a little after p NJ, and did not leave
r till after an early breakfast, next (yester
( day1 morning. The Weber is, perhaps I
! llittle larger than the Bear, & runs, through
4 a deep. narrow, rugged valley, with NJ
! cultivation so far as we saw it. Two ''gro
; ceries,p a blacksmith-shop, and the mail
' station, are all the hahitations we passed
5 in following down it some four Or i've miles
8 to the shaky pole-bridge on which we cross