The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1868-08-18
agile, " large side wheel steamer with

Eagle" large side wheel steamer with
more room and better accommodations
l began to think steamboat life novel;
ty indeed. You are thrown into such
intimate relations with everybody you
see, meet them as you would In your
own parlor, eat at the same table, sleep
under the same roof, discuss politics,
religion and friendships you would at
home. Nature introduces strangers to
each other. Some one inquiries of you
the name Of Il lofty peak, you tell him
if you can; if not, say SO. From that
time you are no longer strangers. You
begin to think there is mighty sight
of good in human nature after alias
there really is, Men do not seem to
you all wolves and beggars women
all termagants and liars. The scenery
is so delightful, too. Sometimes you
seem to be in a little lake surrounded
with purple hills. Again it opens to a
glimpse of prairie moving with golden
harvest, and then shuts you in with a
view of the river far ahead, with tall
cliffs and great overhanging rocks on
either side. Some of these have his
tory, "Maiden Rocku for instance,
which is several hundred feet above
high water mark. An Indian girl be-
come disappointed in love and threw
herself over it, killing her instantly
Her grave is near the spot where she
fell.
/ Arriving at Lacrosse, Wis. we went
on board the key City" another
steamer of the same class. Lacrosse,
you will remember, is the residence of
Brick Pomeroy, the editor of the La
Crosse Democrat" and the great black
guard of the northwest. BY the char
acter of the sheet, should suppose all
the filth and rottenness in the universe,
by eo'c invisible prial network of
sewci were made to drip into his dirty
brain. | wouldn't use his paper to
clean oil horse. Yet the ncwsboys
at LACROSSE seemed to have forgotten
that any other paper is published in the
ccunuy, J asked for a Chicago Tribune
they nHd none. II was "Pricli Pom
erOy's poncr or nothing. For once
thought. "binsscd lc no,hiuy. More
pas-cnge came ON here, among which
was an eccentric old Doctor He talked
inccssan;ly and with II Great display OF
learning. In politics, lac was II Demo-
crGt, IN religion, II Nationalist, in man
ners II Clown. lie argued Immensely
in all directions, oourlusiVclv ih none
Was very polite (" the ladies, tuld stor-
les, quoted poetry, and held The babies.
We arrived mt Dubuque at last, and
learned that We Wort to wait twenty
four hours for the next boat.
Dubuque is II wcll-built citV of ~. 900
inhabitants. 1t has horse railroads,
theatres, policemen, gas, orange women.
and beggars. New York in miniature.
In il are many elegant dwellings, homes
of beautiful architecture and fine sur
roundings. We were much pleased
with the town. At the hotel the pros
pcct was more gloomy, | was unable To
get room, At my solicitation a waiter
brought into the parlur mattress ard
two comfortnbles with yernn attached.
and informed me that there Was mate
rial Tor bed. | arranged said ial
as well rs possible and composed myself
Tor dream. In the night was aroused
from my slumbcrs by loud talk in the
room, found the gas lighted and our
tlcud the Doctor standing ncar. He
presented an appearance quite diii'rent
from that Of the day before. His Lat was
badly broken. Lis shirt torn and hi. bosom
bare, yet he was exceedingly good natur.
AMI rs garrulous as a rocking bind. He
insisted on discussing with me the rel,-
tive merits If the British poets from
which he passed to anatomy and mcdi-
cine and the last remember as my wan
ing senses gave way to sleep, he was en-
terlng upon an apparently elaborate argu.
mnnt upon the origin of species In the
morning found him lying partly upon
the sofa and partly upon the floor. Ia
king his loud bsseathing AMI general app
pea'ance in connection with his known
ecccntricties thought him the most Ia
dcrous picture of an advclturcr, since
the time Of Don QuiXctc,
Our next start was on the steamer
eddie ,Johnson'--a smaller boat than
the other. \ few hours brought us To
Lyons, Iowa, where my company left me
went on my way alone The contrast
was noticeable enough, Hitherto, h d
been treated with the utmost re~pcct by
the entire crew, sat at the captains table.
and, although | upset cup of coffee AMI
nearly scalded myself to death, bore il
with such stoical Indifference that the
cnptain readily forgavc me, and the ladies
only smiled, excepting one, who, having
received large part Of the solution upon
her dress, sad something about "blundor-
cr;' hut being about that time unitc en-
gagged with my own sensations, | made @
/ application Of what she said 10 myself.
Now it was different. | took my seat at
the table, Ms usual darkie tapped me
on the shoulder, and told me to git out
oh dar,' lie launched me into side
alley, and WAS obliged to wait ill the
second table. grumhlcd and,b!y, no
doubt, sat down On deck aud philoso-
piuzed for II half hour tn myself upon the
transitorY nature of human happinrss
arrived At Rock Island, Ill in season
to take the evening train for Chicago.
To state what saw and heard there
would make tn is letter quite too tedious
| visited Peru, Princeton, Dixon and
several other large villages in Northern
Illinois. The wheat crop is very fine,
The cornfelds surprised my New Eng
land eyes most of ALL A New lamp
shire or Vermont farmer with his 'acre
and a half would not believe his senses
were he TO be taken up and suddenly set
down in cornfed of 500 acres Here