The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-07-13

many of their improvements, but for
tunately did not burn their dwelling.
East of them stretches an unbroken
prairie for thirty miles. and South for
the same distance, which [ must
traverse in one day for want of
stopping place. So on Saturday
morning the 9th, with lunch in
valise and the latter in hand, |
took my way across the Big
Divide, which separates the waters
of Maple Greek from those of Boyer
River. These " divides are quite
dangerous at times In Winter, and no
one ventures to cross them unless the
day is quite clear and the weather set
tied. Two years ago five men froZe
to death on this road, three of them
travellers, who ventured across against
the advice of old residents. The
other two were brothers. who started
early in the morning with a wagon
and three yoke Of oxen to 60 from
Grant City to their farm. thirty miles
distant, and were overtaken by a sud-
den snow storm. A week afterwards
their oxen appeared at Grant City,
but it was useless to search for the
men while the snow lay from three to
five feet deep over the whole country.
When the thaw came they were found
within two miles of their home, the
younger brother laid out, and his
limbs decentIy composed as if for
burial, and the elder sitting by him.
1t was evident the younger, who was
In feeble health, had given out first,
and his brother had refused to leave
him, and survived him some time.
This district of Iowa is quite high
and rolling, in fact hilly, and the
roads generally follow the ridges.
Fortunately for my comfort, two gen.
tlemen had just opened stock farm,
twenty miles out, In beautiful val
ley. At this Arcadia / took supper
and rested till the cool of evening,
then trudged on ten miles, to Deni-
son. on the Northwestern Railroad,
taking the night train for this place,
which l reached early Sunday morn
ing. l found my way to the office of
our former townsman, MIR. jeremiah
Benin, who looks as if Omaha air
agreed with him. He took me In and
did me good, and together we have
explored much of the city and neigh
boring country. On Tuesday last we
walked out to his farm, some four
miles west of town, on q series of
beautiful slopes leading to the Pa
| pillon Valley. He Is improving it
fast, breaking sod, planting trees and
| fencing. The grasshoppers have in
| jured his wheat a little, but every
thing else is In fine growing condi-
ton. improvements are going on all
around, several farmers there
having planted this Spring as
many as twenty thousand trees
each, are cultivating the land in
corn which gives the trees fine start.
Another neighbor, / observed, had a
fine grove of forty acres, now some
years old, planted In natural 4. G.
irregular order. Nothing can exceed
the beauty of these young groves on
the prairie slopes, and in ten years
wants, and where and in what order
he wants it. The Papillion Valley is
quite little paradise, where
Grain and flower and fruit
Gush from the earth until the land runs
| o'ert"
The corn there will average waist
high, and the fields of wheat are the
heaviest l have yet seen In the West.
Probably there is no place in the
West which has elected more inquiry
and been the subject of more misrep-
resentation, both of unmeasured
praise and SANDER, than Omaha. /
have been assured on one hand that
it was " the live place of the West, -
:" the great Metropolis of the future, y
the heart of this continent beats
there" &c, dd ndlsednI per contra. l
have read In more than one corre-
| spondence that thefts and murders
were of frequent occurrence here,
thousands of people were out of en-
ployment, and begging their way to
the East, that the town was . kiting
concern" a speculation, had no
basis" and | know not what. Natu-
rally, then, [ felt some curiosity to
see place of which it seemed impos-
sible to learn the truth by report. A
few facts, then, by way of introduce
ton. Omaha was laid out in 1854 !;
in 1860 it had a population of 1000;
in 1864 of 1000; In 1866 of 10000,
and this year by census completed a
few days ago, its population numbers
IL, 106. The city stretches up and
down the Missouri, along the plateau
or second bottom, about one and a
half miles, and as / view it from
Capitol Hill covers about half the
area of Evansville, but has more
than half as much trade as your city.
1t has fine climate, healthy location
and good water; is in the midst of a
| splendid agricultural region; is the
present terminus of two through
lines of railroad, and in few months
will be of two more. Now look at
the map and you see there can be no
great city west of here between this
and the Rocky Mountains
| All the trade from Wyo-
ming, Montana, and Nebraska,
and most of that from Dakotah, Utah
and Colorado, must eventually center
here. Take this 10 connection with
what has been done, and its future
| growth is reasonably certain. But
here is the trouble In all this Western
country. Men will discount their
fears and lay a premium on their
hopes. The world is all before them,
their range Is all outdoors, and in
sensibly they learn to talk big. /
sometimes fancy it is In the air, and
men breathing this light, health
inspiring atmospere, like the Delphian
priestess, go mad on enchanted air,
and talk In strains of poetic exaggera-
ton! Lots and situations are held
not at their present value, but at
what they are expected to be worth
ten or twenty years hence. a specu-
lative glamour has been thrown over
everything, which makes many doubt
i its real merit, which is undoubtedly
great. The great increase of 1867, he
| rapid extension of the U. p. r. r.,
and the exaggeration too natur4l to
the Western mind, created a spirit of
wild enthusiasm among the young men