The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1860-09-29
Tllr Gtaporia Mews,
NOVELTY OF PRAIRIE TRAVFL-

4 r
N. P. Willis. of the Home Journal, has
been travelling in the west and north west
recently. In one of his last letters be clos
es thus:
The prairie ride from Chicago to the
Mississippi, by the Burlington and GUM
cy Railway, lie likely to be the newest ex-
Perience-the straightests and the most in
structive-at present within reach of the
American traveller. Il is about an easy
days journey across the prairie state of III
inois and. while it is full of surprises for
the eye and the mind, the Accommodation
OF the cars are so admirable as to make the
trip remembered for its mere luxury. Peo-
pie IN search of new sensations should 90
to chicago, as the starting point for that
ride. as they go to NIAGARA and Trenton
Falls. 80
To overtake thunder shower. whirl
through it and outrun it, was the first of the
days exciting novelties. We saw it ahead
OF as, on the prairie. as you see single
black cloud 10 the sky. with sunshine all
around it. 1t was moving in the same d.
rection as ourselves. probably at about TWEEN
" miles an hour; and We soon began to
overtake it, with our better-harnessed thun-
der and lightning. Theconductor pointed the
dark mass out to me, some ten or IF
teen minutes before we entered the outer
skirts OF the shower and we were in pei
ting rain, with lightning and peals of thun-
der, for perhaps ten minutes-emerging in
fair weather on the other side, and leaving
the storm to lag after US, like the s'sloW
coach" that it was But certainly, il was
very queer thus to give thunder and light
ming the go-by. 1t seemed to me, somehow,
anticipatory of another state of things
When we go telegraphing about, at the be-
ginning of our spirit travels in the next life.
am sure shall have vague impression
of having done something of the sort, be-
fore-this experience of distancing a we'll
trained thunder-cloud being laid away in nv
memory.
But it is to the Wild animals of the prairie
that the swiftness of the rail train is most
inexplicable. Ages upon ages have Eestab-
hshed certain relative rates Of speed between
man and the subject races of creation-the
mounted hunter being the fastest pursuer
for which the elk and the reindeer, the bear
and the prairie wolf, the fox and the wildcat,
the skunk, otter and marten, are ali pre-
pared. The small line of the rail track, near
ly hidden in grass, is not recognised by
these wanderers over the vast plains of
the West, and, while thinking themselves
still safe in their own horizon edged wilder
ness, they suddenly see the coming of the
new monster It is a daily experience of
the trains on this railroad across Illinois. to
overtake some one or more of them and it
Is curious ESQ the different conductors and
brakemen all told me) how none of them
seem to haze the sdgadcity TO escape By rvn-
ming of at right angles! Almost invariably
they flee before the pursuer, and are run
down, at last, lainting with terror and ex-
haustion in the neigborhood of the track.
To the wild birds on the prairies the
alarm sChisHe seems the most formidable part
of it. With the settlers cattle grazing
loose, it is necessary to have the scream Of
the pipe unusually sharp and loud /; and the
engineer often pulls the string of the fearful
zenith piercer when a flock of wild geese,
pigeons OF prairie hens are flying over
Murder the voice of the new monster To
the great saving of the huntsman's powder
and shot, half Of the birds, at least, will fall
senseless to the ground with pure fright
We saw but one approach to tragedy of
this kind-an astonished eagle, whom we
put to his speed for horizontal flight of
about five or six miles, and whom the braek-
man pointed out to me as likely to come
down. But when he found we were getting
too close upon him, the royal bird took sud |
IDENTIFY to series of upward gyrations, and
was soon out of sight-wiser, of course, as
to the future policy of keeping above the
level of things new and noisy