Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1860-09-08

WILLIS IN ILLINOIS--NOYELTY OF PRAI-
RE TRAVEL.

To ove.take a thunder shower, whirl through it
and outrun it, was the first of the days exciting
novelties. We saw it ahead Of US, on the prairie,
just as you see a single black cloud in the sky, with
sunshine all around. 1t was moving 10 the same
direction as ourselves, probably at about twenty
miles an hour and we soon began to overtake it
with our better harnessed thunder and lightning.
The conductor pointed the dark mass out to me,
some ten or fifteen minutes before we entered the
outer skirt Of the shower and we were 10 a pelt'
ing rain, with tightening and peals of thunder, for
perhaps ten minutes--emerging in fair weather on
the other side, and leaving the storm to lag after
US, like the slow coach that it was But, GER
tainly, it was very queer thus to give thunder and
tightening the gO-by. 1t seemed to me, somehow,
anticipatory Of another state of things. When we
go telegraph-ing about, at the beginning of our
spirittravels in the next life, 1 am sure 1 shall
have a vague impression of having done something
OF that sort, before-this experience of distancing
a we'll trained thunder cloud being laid away in
my memory.
But it is to the ,0ad animals Of the prairie that
the s~wiftness of the rail. train if most inexplicable.
Ages upon ages have established certain relative
rates of speed between man and the subject races
Of cIeation--tho mounted hunter being the fastest
pursuer for which the elk and reindeer, the bear
and the p~rairie-wolf, the fox and the wildcat, the
skunk, otter and marteD, are at all prepared, The
small line Of the rail-track, nearly hidden in grass,
is not recognized by these wanderers over the
vast plains Of the West, and, while thinking them
selves still safe IN their own horizon-edged wilder
ness, they suddenly see the coming of the new
monster II is a daily experience Of the trains
on this railroad across Illinois, to overtake some
one or mere Of them and it is curious, (so the
different conductors and brakemen all told me-
how none Of them seem to hare the Sagacity to es
cape by running off at right angles! Almost in.
variably they flee before the pursuer, and are rur
down, at last, to fall fainting with terror and ex
h~austatitn in the neighbOrhood Of the track.
To the wild birds on the prairies the alarm cAis
tie seems the most formidable part Of it. With
the settlers cattle grazing loose, it is necessary tc
have the scream of the pipe unusually sharp and
loud the engineer often pulls the string of his
fearful zenith-piercer when a flock of wild geese
pigeons, or prairie'hens are flying over. Murder
the voice of the new monster | To the great saw
ing of the h%untsman's powder and shot, half o.
the birds. at least, will fall senseless to the GROUND
with pure fright We cav but one approach to
tragedy Of this kind--an astonished eagle, whom
we put to q speed for g horizontal fight of abouN
Eve or six miles, and whom the brakeman pointed
out to me as likely to come down. But when hi
found we were getting too close upon him, the roy
al bird took to a series of upward gyrations, and
was soon out of sight--wisor, of course, as to the
future policy of keeping above the level of things
new and noisy