Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1868-07-31

From tho Far West.
CHEYENNE, d. r., July %, 1863.
Westward the star of empire takes
its way" and wishing to follow In
its footsteps o short distance, we set
out in company with our brother,
late of the Montana Standard, to vi: =
it the "Great West" Armed with
passes from Mr.. ]. b. Howe, the best
Superintendent of the best Railroad
of the best State i'm the best World
we have any knowledge of, we set
our faces Westward. Fear of being
demoralized induced us to take pas
sage Oh the Pacific Express at Monta-
ma and not wait for the train of seven
hundred Mormon emigrants, direct
from England, who were to travel
over the road few hours later.
We might devote an entire letter to
the description of the coal mines OF
the Des Moines Valley, through
which we passed Immediately after
leaving Montana, but few words
must suffice. The coal mines in
Boone County give labor to four hun
dred men and have capacity of six
hundred tons per day, which is read
lily sold at the mines for the remuner-
alive price of $3.50 per ton. Moingo-
M is q mining town about one and a
half years of age, located on the west
bank of the Des Moines River, con-
tanning about one thousand inhabi-
tants and ships more freight than
any other town in Iowa, if you ex-
cept the lumber trade, of Clinton.
Jefferson, formerly New Jefferson)
the county seat of Greene County,
contains u thousand inhabitants and
enjoys healthy growth since the
building of the II. r..
Carroll, the capital of the County
bearing the same name, is new town
containing 200 inhabitants and is
only few months old. Crops i'm
Western Iowa look well, yet many
fields OF wheat were badly damaged
by grassboppers and some entirely
destroyed. Corn looks well.
Tiptop is reached, 266 miles west of
Clinton and is the highest point on
this road between the two Rivers
Here we find ourselves at the head
waters of the Boyer River, which,
stream we follow to the Missouri
through one of the finest valleys in
Iowa, scarcity OF timber being the
only drawback.
Dennison, the next point of inter
est, the County seat of Crawford Co.,
is located OIL high prairie.
Dunlap is an important point,
where hungry and weary travellers
are furnished with q square mear'
in the emphatic serse of the word
And here let us remark that the pro-
prietors of the eating houses at Mon
tana, (Boone) and Dunlap, have no
equals as "hotelists" in this or any
other country.
Missouri Valley is at present one OF
the most promising towns in West
ern Iowa. Located III the edge OF
the Bluffs bordering on the Missouri
River, at the junction of the S. G. &
P. II. r. with the c. & N. w. II. r.,
it is destined to become an important
town. A road is now in process OF
construction from this point to FIRE.
mont, on the U. p. r. r., forty-six
miles west of Omaha which will
cross the Missouri River about TWEEN
ty miles north of that city. At this
point of crossing the river it is prac-
ticable to build bridge, while at
Omaha the quicl .ands run to such q
depth that, we are informed, il
will be impossible ever to construct a
bridge at that point. The route over
this new road will be sone forty
miles shorter than via Omaha, and
probably will become the main thor
ough-fare to and from the Noun
tains.
Council Bluffs, with population
estimated at s, 200, is thriving city,
depending on travel and foreign,
trade more for support than from the
country in its immediate vicinity,
which Is rs yet very sparsely settled.
Here we come to the celebrated
"Big Muddy" a river everywhere to-
day and nowhere tomorrow w; shing
banks in one place for material to
manufacture q sandbar in another
treacherous and uncertain, like the
Democratic party, it continually
shifts its positions according to the
caprices of its currents and under
currents which are continually i'm
motion.
We cross over to Omaha, q city of
900 Inhabitants, and begin to real
ize that we are out of Iowa. Why ?
Those who indulge i'm a "wee drop of
the ardent" remember that while
passing through Iowa where a strin-
gent Liquor Law is in force, always
call for "Natire 1Fiae," and it is
sometimes amusing to notice what a
variety of Vines Iowa soil will pro-
duce. West of the Missouri, when n
man wants some Whiskey he calls for
1t. OF course we gain our knOwl-
edge from observation, not er7oeri-
eace.
Having been supplied with the
necessary passes by Mr.. Hoxie, who,
by the way, makes q very efficient
Assistant Superintendent of one of
the most celebrated Rail Roads in
the world, we start westward on the
4:30 p. M. train of the 10th inst.
Eastern Nebraska, or, ut least that
portion which came within the range
of our vision, for one hundred and
irinety miles up the Platte River, en-
braces some of the finest farming
lands the eyes of man ever rested
upon. Beautiful fields of grain are
to he found wherever the hand of in
dustry had turned the furrow and
onuaA tho SaaI onI nnxuhora ha va