Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-12-08


arch Of Russia and his people.
/ For several years he had had an irresisti-
I bic longing to visit the Old World; to sal
/ on the Mediterranean and visit the Holy
/ Land; to pass across Russia and Siberia tc
the Amoor, and through Japan to China,
/ home. But he had deferred this until he
1 had visited our owD country and learned its
/ greatness. A desire for a more adequate
I knowledge Of our country led him, when
/ the direful contest Of four years had ended
4 in blissful peace, to make journey oftwo
I thousand miles across deserts and plains,
unlnhabited except by sayages; not very
! delightful prospect But he was successful
in obtaining the society Of three friends,
who made his Journey a very happy one,
! Ills trip was thus made as pleasant as if on
1 " railroad trip instead Of thirteen thou
sand miles, and they all returned 90 their
homes as physically strong as could be.
From Atchison, four hundred miles north
Of st. Louis, to Denver City, six hundred
miles, is the finest tract in the world 1t
seems designed by Providence for railroad
The plains spread along unbroken. They
are sometimes called the desert plains; but
be expected TO find the larger part of it, IN
future years, highly cultivated.
The ride here was full Of invigoration,
and the breeze full Of health and glowing
spirits The prolonged twilight extended
until nine O'Clock; the beautiful stars and
| the long sunlight made the trip delightful
On the morning of the fifth day he had the
first sight Of snow on the Rocky Mountains
1t was thrilling, glorious sight, a panorama
OF mountain beauty, sublime and impres-
siye.
From Denver four thousand feet more
oh hir,b
tains, and saw snow falling on mountain top,
rain on the sides, and the sunlight below
Cropping their way far down into the bow
els Of the earth to explore the mines, hear
ing the sounds Of the machinery and seeing
the great wealth, they wondered at the vast
array. Colorado has immense treasures
With the mountains ahead around and be-
bind. the stations robbed Of their relays Of
horses and the posts behind them attacked
by Indians. trans assaulted within a few
miles Of them, they made very narrow es-
capes. lie believed from experience, that
the Indians Of Cooper novels were entirely
extinct. 1t was hard to realize they were
eight thousand five hundred feet above the
sea. They only knew they were over the
mountains by a riyttet which flowed to the
W est The lofty chains lowered like the
RUNS OF magnificent cathedrals, only on 4
grandcr scale.
They descended into that great internal
basin Of SIX hundred miles, walled in by the
mountains, whose waters have no outlet. 1t
has streams so deep as to be unfordable,
that pour in their waters and are turned to
brine. The water Is so heavy those who
cannot swim float like a cork 1t was on a
beautiful Sabbath morning, after long
ride, that emerging from a canon they had
their first view Of Salt Lake City Ii was
one Of the most beautiful Of sights. Their
fuit trees, gardens and shFubbery seemed
ike Paradise after the deserts.
They drove into the city and saw the spa
cious street one hundred and twenty-eieht
feet wide bue buildings, and magnificent
fruit tree, Of the peculiar Institutions he
would speak before he closed Thirteen
ranges Of mountains had lain over their
path. Between the mountsins lay parallel
ines Of valleys. Two-thirds Of the way
over Is the famous silver regions; one town
which Is three years old, has five thousand
inhabitants Virginia City, on a high hill,
has twenty thousand inhabitants, Only FIVE
years have elapsed since the discovery, but
over fifty millions Of dollars have been OBJ
tanned Still mining is like lottery. Out
Of one hundred companies, less than twenty
ud|C pau Uih itACliQP IL LiiClI SbNthllOlutIE.
Around the fertile valley, they gained at last
the foot Of the Sierra Nevada, the Andes of
the Uniied States The first view was very
grand, but their grandeur increased on their
nearer approach They rolled away seventy
miles in width, clothed in green until they
reached the line Of eternal snow.
When at last the party had by zig-zags
reached the top and looked down, the wag-
ons that were yet below looked ike chiIdrens
baby wagons They found above the finest
roads in the land, and could look down over
precipices and yaWning chasms stretching
below thousands Of feet But they had
careful drivers, and were safe. SiXty-fve hun
dred feet above the sea was the gem of west
ern scenery; q beautiful sheet Of water, so
clear that you can look down one hundred
feet instead of ten, and having steamboat
on which to sail, probablv higher up than
any other place in the world As they gaz-
ed at the smiling landscapes of California
spread out in all her beauty at their feet
they felt as Christian must have felt in Pill
grim 5 Progress reaching the Delectable
Mountains To show the business of the
Pacific Railroad he would say that the pres
ent road paid two per cent per mouth divi-
dend They were joyed to reach the rail
road, and thence travel to San Francisco,
the great creation Of fifteen years now rival
ing Cincinnati and St Lcuis, welcoming Wis
itors to hotels, school houses, reinements,
luxuries, and hospitalities of metropolitan
life
In all his iourneyings he-had found moth
ing so attractive as California, combining
together the products OF the temperate and
tornd zones, with strawberries every month
and fruit all the year round. The wool there
is almost as fine as swan down. Out of
seven million pounds, one million are con-
sumed in manufactures by one single MILL
The ladies in California said John Chinaman
made the best baby tenders in the world
Indeed the Chinese are in all positions to
the number Of eighty thousand. They can
live where others would starve but they
must have their bodies carried back to their
county after death, and are singulary pa
tient people. The future Of the new state
seemed as certain as destiny. The people
are singularly selfreliant and courageous,
Though cut off from four years immigration,
yet with her industry and great internal ad-
vantages, the Pacific Railroad and the new
Steam Line to China, itneeds but increased
capital and popula ION to extend her prosper
ity far beyond that Of the past
He travelled thousands Of miles into Ore
gon, and Washington territories, to inspect
the interior, and was amply repaid by the
grandeur and magnilieence of the country
that they saw. 1t was a splendid tract of
agricultural land six hundred miles long
and one hundred and fifty wide between the
mountains and the sea- 1t is cultivated and
e,,lo,,1.1 i,1r