The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1868-10-07
Letters From Our Special.
q.

/ Letters From Our Special,
| Number q. ~
| PEORIA, ILLINOIS,
Sept, 81, 1868.
Dear Nrgiaiaa Since our last hurried
letter, we have travelled several hundred miles,
which must be our excuse for the length Of
time which has elapsed since then without
hearing from US. We were, then, we believe.
near Portsmouth, Ohio, with a fair prospect
Of being in Cincinnati next morning. We
arrived at the latter city on time, but unfor-
tunately our train left in just thirty minutes
from the time we put foot on land; and COW
sequently, without breakfast we had to hur-
ny down to the Hamilton and Dayton Depot.
"a mile and a quarter distaat) without break
fast. After the usual indispensable struggle
with coach drivers, hotel runners, boot blacks.
ticket agents, news boys, ETC., ETC., ETC.. inei>
dent to landing in large city, we ''smiled''
| 1--WE have holy horror of Cincinnati water}
and picked our way to the Depot, and having
few minutes to spare, we devoted them tn
looking at "waking up in Cincinnati, for it
was but little after day break. While thua
pleasantly engaged, the s'all aboard" of tho
conductor brought us to sense Of our re
sponsibilities, aud we were soon rushing o',
our way to Hamilton, where. we changed cars,
for Richmond, Indiana. Being delayed here
nearly all the rest Of the day, we improved
our leisure in noticing matters and things
about town, looking at them, as we imagined.
from an Indiana .'standpoint." The towns
all along the route are very pretty, and the
buildings generally evince agreat amount -
taste, energy and go-aheadatiyeness. T.,
people, as a general thing, do. not c,mpa 81
favorably with those of the South, The -,
yer and ague" is too common disease to al
NIT of rosy cheeks in either male or female
young or old Twelve hours more, and We
were in Logansport, which for the time be-.
ing, was our destination. Two days, howov.
err convinced us that s'the West" was tho
place for us, and to ..the West" We according
ly went Late on Saturday night we crossed
the line of Indiana, into Illinois, spending the
night, Sunday and Monday in Watseka, tho
county seat Of Iroquois. On Tuesday, We
came on to this place, in which, since that
day, we have lived, breathea and had our be.
ing Peoria is a beautiful city; the second
in point Of size in the State, having a popu-
lation of $4,000. It is situated on the lii.
nois river, which at this place forms sort Of
lake, being over a mile in width for three or
four miles. Mississippi boats of the largest
size can make the ascent which, together
with the railroads, makes Peoria a central
point of great business Importance to the Ell.
tire West. .A
THE COUNTRY - liaffsq
through which we have passed is a novelty to
me who has been accustomed to the hills and
valleys Of Virginia. The great aud everlast-
ing prairies stretch as far as the eye can reachs
For over three hundred miles we did not pass
fifty acres Of timber, and what little we did
see was Of the smallest kind. The soil is q
sort Of black loom, in which there is here and
there strata of sand. The corn crop is 4
marvel Corn to the right Of you, corn to
the left Of you and corn to the front and
rear Of you. Although not equal in quality
to what we saw on the banks of the Kanaw-
ha yet it is of most excellent kind, and the
immense quantity will fully repay the labor Of
tho husbandman: The fences are Of pine
board or Usage orange bushes; but for many
miles we saw no fence at all. We were, in-
formed that farmers herd their cattle, etc,
thus dispensing with fencing Thousand.
and thousands Of acres Of land in the centre
Of the State are still unoccupied, but settlers
are Aooking hither from all the States almost
daily.
We have seen and hoard more politics in
the last two weeks than we have for the past
ten years. In Cincinate Seymour and Blair
flags, White Boys in Blue and Fighting RoSa
in Blue. 1.-THE name Of the radicals organiaa,
toni uniforms, the uncouth dress of the Stan.
ners' Grant and Colfax flags, badges Of all
kinds, and every other imaginable thing, stare
you in the face wherever you 60. Cincinna.
tians informed us that the city and state we're
safe for Seymour, and from our observation,
we incline the belief In Indiana, I had
the pleasure of listning to a. good speechby
Judge Harland, the Democratic candidate for
the scat in Congress now occupied by Mr. Col
fax We found the Judge to bean ablo aud
talented speaker, and in a subsequent CONVEX
sation with him had occasion to notice bia
kind polite and gentlemanly, manners At
Logansport heard a good address the White
Boys in Blue, by nm ex-captain. who had seen
the error of his ways and who "thahked God
that he had never yet voted radical tiaket"
lQQldUA II SURE luk wig 1&VaAoOk N-3Av W
seka, Illinois, we listened for three mortal
hours to the rawlings of Dirty Work Logan,
Of Alta Vela and Impeachment notoriety:-
He had large audiences aud, BY the way
they were nearly all after his own heart
"Uniou'' and 'rehel" we're his texts and oen
them he bloviated to his hearts content. He
made no converts, but opinc to the, belief
that many Of his hearers were as heartily dis
custod as ourselves Illinois is badly eatdp,
the radicals, wethink having tho majorityi-
IF we get half the electoral vote VIC shall do
Will, although the Democrats feel confident
Of carrying the State. In my next ] will
give you description Of tho peo,le, their
looks, habits, etc. a 19a MONTANA
A new invention for printers has been
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movement of cam lever stick can be almost
Instantly adjusted to any desired size. The
screw head is OF course abolished, and the
stick made much more agreeable to hand. Tho
| Improvement can be applied to any stick now