, 1859-07-29
OLYMPIA WASHINGTON TERRITORY FRIDAY JULY 49, 1885,

Now and then you zee farm house. or ranch it is
called with Que fields VI grain waving In the breeze
end Ga'ening in the ennlgent Tays OF the noohuay @
this country We never wearied OF looking at IT, and
commenting on 10, beauty and magnihcence. we lett
Shermen On the morning of the 18th OF Juhe, and ar
rived at Fort Belknap the 9th passing through an
intermediate town called Gainesville After leaving
Fort Belknap, We pass tbrOUsh dry barieh country
for about or hundred miles, in which there were no
settlements except one two forts and the stations,
along tie road The Mail Company certainly deserve
great deal NJ credit for their perseverance, aid ener'
~ in conducting this route through this Barren ster'
lie an uninhabited country where there ~ no iooa TO
be had for man or beast uAder five or six hundred
TniIes. u pdg ald With propritty be called Her
lculean task and think thai the promPideSs, resu'
arity aud :Ec shoIt space Of time In whicn tue tnp
! is made and to which the OVERHEAD Mail Company
have adhered, deserve the commentator as well as
the encouragement of the people Of the Pacific coast
and also Of the eastern and western statC There Is no
doubt but what i is grand enterprises mighty uu-
dertakng and mnst repeat that it should be encour-
aged from the fact that they have great difficulties
and dangerS u encounter, from the Indians the
scarcity OF proviscns aId many other like Obstacles
The country is trayersed by number OF rivers but
they great ways apart aud the waters OF several
OF which is not good to drink from the fact that IL is
brackish. The BrazOs, which crossed shorty at
ter leaving Fort Belknap, is broad stream, though
at this OF the year 1t has very little water In it,
The country lying between the BRACES and the Colo
radO, distance Of ITO miles, is pretty much such as
have described, with the addition that it is little
more broken and sandy. The scenery here Is OF q
dierent order altogether from that Of the country
lying east Of the DrazoS Here you are surrounded
by mountains, which your Imagination can picture
iato the most fantastic shapes. Far away in the dim
vista you behold them rising up in majestic slender
upon whose lofty heights only the wild animals of the
desert, together with the dIsky form of the savage
Camanchc, arc permitted 10 roam. The latter though
comparatively peaccable TO the white men Of this
/ n W terror
and CONSERVATION to the heart Of the Mexican; and
we'll may they dread them, for it is not without a
cause.
After crossing the Colorado we enter what is called
the Stake Plains from tue fact that the road
them was marked out by stakes when first designed
4 for route. HeIe our troubles began. We had to
undergo mary privatons and difficulties, but were
enabled get through without experiencing any ser
Gus results We had to pay an Xrbtant price for
any thing we had In the eating line and then it was
none Of the best for ii was generally cooked by men
who where new hands ct the business Nevertheless,
necessity compelled partake Of these vands with q
comparatively good relish tin cup filled with cof-
fee (wthout Tie Ingredients frequently, some cold
bread and little meat OF some description being the
sUnnum bon,El Of what had at any time and tru-
| ly were we glad to get this.
think that the men OF this country arc certainly
unfortunate in respect ard that IS that they
shut out from the society Of wanal. There are not
permitted to enjoy the enlivenng influence Of gentle
woman whose radieHt smiles cause the heart of poor
unfortunate to hutter in the exsacy of delight
Whenever wOmens influence In not felt, men become
indOent rough, uncouth and dssipated; they gamble
and swear murder and steal-in fact they become al
most totally depraved. Then let US have the rsVlvi-
Tying, the benign, the agreeable the delightful niu.
ence OF the gentle sex among and we shall become
prosperOuS-a high-minded, honorable and intell.-
gent people. But set out u describe journey to
you and must not permit my enthusiasm, when /
speak Of the ladies' To prevail and by way Of dspens
ing with then propose the following tOaSt, which
Though Il may not prove new
It nevertheless is true;
THE LADIEs-Sweet Briars in the Garden Of Life.
The country called the Stake Plains commences
shortly after crossing the Colorado, and extends
the PecOs, distance OF several hundred niles-a
country whose principal Characteristic Is that 1t pos
seAses no attractions whatever, either for man or
beast The only articles Of vegetation ae the Mes
qnite tree (Which grows very small herc), the wild
sage shrub, and some grass, which looked it
might have fiourished years before, but which now
was perfectly dead The Mesquite tree. where It
grows luxurously, Is filled with kind Of beam sini-
lar in shape and size TO the common string bean,
which is very nutritious for stockin fact this Is the
Ouy TODD that drovers can depend on in driving stock
| 10 or from California. Where the land il good the
tree grows 10 large size, with wide extending branch
c., which hang very low TO the grund, that cattle
can get at the beans without difficulty. Large qunn-
titles Of these beans gathered every year and fed
to the stock through the winter.
The wild sage have spoken Of Is a shrub similar
Of its qualities hungry mule will sometimes take
tew mOuthfuls Of IT, but with this exception there
Is nothing that will eat it. Besides these, you see
nothing green for many miles.
| The PecOs though narrow so high up as this Is q
deep, turpld stream the water OF which Is hrackish
and very unpaata6le ia those who not accustomed
70 y. This river Is likely to prove hindrance the
Mail Company as in case Of high water t will be i'm.
difficult matter TO il without wettng the mail
VIC had to put our trunks inside the stage on top Of
the seats and In this way they carried safe
lly. II the Company should need ferry boat here,
there Is not the wherewh TO construct Il. There is
not enough timber in the country 10 construct even
Tat, should necessity require something Of the sort.
The houses that the station keepers live In are Of the
rudest description, being constructed Of small sticks
set upright and driven into the ground, while some
are laid across the top and then covered with dirt and
dead grass. These huts serve their purpose, as 1t
never rains there. The Camanches come down on
them occasionally, and drive Of some Of the mules or
horses belonging to the Company. Il Is said that
they steal the mules for the purpose Of eating them
back large herds Of stock It Is rarely however, the
case that any murders are committed among the
I American people.
From the Pecos. we strike into the road leading
from San Antonio, Texas, 10 Fl Paso, which is the
best road in the world, suppose, though It passes
Immediately throuVh desert and barren country for
J many miles. There are some springs on this road
called Leon Springs and Immediately on the In.
dian trial into Mexico Here we saw the graves Of
four men, who were murdered by the Indians about
two years ago. But since the Overland Mail Route has
been ndueted through this portion Of the country
aNSH
to OF any notoriety Fort Davis situated about
; half way between the Pecos and Rio Grande. We
got to this in the night. however and did not get
view Of the place. The country here is mostly mount
ainous, with streak Of prairie plain intervening
We got some pretty good water here at place called
Indian Springs We had very hot weather from herr
to the Rio Grande. This stream, where struck II
: was deep, and believe one Of the swiftest I ever
saw. We pass up this river about 100 miles, which
distance we Travelled very slowly. owing to the cause
OF the sand being so heavy that II Is impossible
with the aid Of six horses, to proceed faster than
walk. After going about 20 miles up this river, W,
came to FL Paso, which is situated both sides o
: the river. Old FL PasO is In Mexico, while the por
ton Of the town the east side Of the river Is IL
Texas, and is called Franklin This is the place frou
which the route east Of the Rio Grande Is suppleC
with corn and provisions. II Is considerable place
+ numbering somewhere about two thousand iHhabit
ants. The valley Of the Rio Grandc is very rich an,
= fertile above FL PasO. We saw some fne lookint
corn along this valley. II is cultivated by Mexicans
who, owing to the fact that they have but little rain
inigate their crops from the river by means Of wha
they call sacas, which bitches leading all through
the helds which receive water from one main or larR