The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-09-24

VINO nave taken advantage or Lu6
completion of the Pacific Road, to
visit the old homestead and friends IN
the States, from whom they have
been separated for more than fifteen
years: they are on their return
home again to California-and how
easy is the journey now compared
with that long and toilsome one OF o.
across the plains and the mountains.
Here IN close conversation, is a Bos-
tom CAPITALIST, on his way to Colorado,
to look after some mining interests
in which he has Investments, talking
with California merchant about
quartz, stamp mills, mines, &c. Two
English gentlemen, with the broad
accent, but intelligent and pleasant,
are close observers Of the country as
we pass along, and are full of won
der at what they have seen Ia their
ride over the States from New
York. There are two or three
couples, ladies and gentlemen, from
New York, on an excursion trip sim
ply for pleasure, and are making the
most Of it. Two or more agents Of
Eastern manufacturers. are on the
way to San Francisco, to look after
tuC VI e4CAA E5sAgAAGAA - VI
the Pacific coast. A family is destined
to Montana-the husband has been
there mining for some years, has been
successful, and now has returned to
| the States for his wife and children
to accompany him to that wild region.
My nearest nejghbors across the aisle
are among the most noticeable, and
/ are worthy of a fuller mention. as
| illustrative of this Western life.
They. consist of husband, wife, aud
mother. In bOyhOod the husband
left his home IN Connecticut intent
on . seeing the world. Ia 1852 he
crossed the Isthmus of Panama and
came to California; he has been all
over the Pacific Coast, California, and
Oregon; has mined and freighted F"
in those States, In Nevada, Idaho,
Montana, and Colorado; has crossed
| the Plains two or three times. The
wife is. an English woman of more
/ than average education and lnteHl-
gence; was converted to the Mormon
faith In the old country by the
preaching Of one Of the missionaries
| Of the Latter Day Saints. With her
| mother, brother and sisters she start
| ed in colony to the far of earthly
Paradise in Utah. They commenced
the long and weary journey over the
Plains In 1862, and IN that journey
| the mother, brother and one sister
sickened aud died, and were buried
by the road side In the sands of the
! Plains, she and one sister only reach
ing the valley Of Salt Lake. The
husband, after his years of Wild. wan
dering life, settled in Utah as a
farmer and herder, and they two
became one some years ago-she a
devoted Mormon, and he :" as much
Mormon as anything else, so he says
The Pacific Road being opened two
months ago, they returned to his ole
home in Connecticut, to visit his old
| mother, whom he had not seen fol
:. seventeen years. And she IN her ole
age has been persuaded to make hel
home in Utah with her only son
They are to be my companions as fal
as Salt Lake City, and l have been
much interested in his variations oil
early pioneer and miner life, and hel
accounts of her experiences in cross
ing the Plains, aud her accounts Of
the Salt Lake Valley-she is firmly
of the opinion that 1t is the most de-
lightful aud attractive country on the
face of the Globe.
Such are part of this long train
of people bound for the Territori1s
and States of the Far West. The
trip and the country passed over by
the Road has been so often and SO
fully written up by correspondents
and read by the patrons of the jour-
NAL that | hesitate to write anything
about it. L will, at the best, not at
tempt anything like minute deserip-
ton Of the. route, but simply make .
few notes ss we pass along.
Tho Road, as is we'll known, follows
up the valley of Platte River or one
of its forks for nearly four hundred
miles, aud for about two hum
bred miles the soil IS suscepti-
BILE Of cultivation. A large
portion of it is quite fertile, and
will sustain a large population. From
what [ saw along the route, | doubt
its adaptability for raising corn, but it
is said to be equal to any part of the
! United States for wheat and other
small grains. The grass grows luxu-
riantly, and the wild prairie lands are
| the only meadows the farmers have,
| yielding very nutritious quality of
grass. The valley is wider than that
of the Kansas River, of which wrote
you, but it does not have as many
tributary streams and valleys, and the
land is more fiat and prairie like, and
is by no means as attractive to look
upon. On each side rises the upland
bluffs, at a considerable distance from
the river, and seldom approaching near
to it. The Platte River is wide, shall
low, usually sluggish, and full of
quicksands. A writer, In describing
it, says it is about three.quarters of a
mile wide, with an average depth of
six inches, and boating capacity to
float shinglei The picture is little
overdraWn, but gives somewhat the
characteristics of the stream.
Along up this valley, clothed with
verdure, and as We passed along to
the west, quite sparsely settled and
little improved, our journey lay in
daylight. During the night we ira
versed the alkaG region of desola-
ton, and after daylight this morning
we were we'll up the slope of the
plains towards the foot Of the Black
Hills. just before we reach the city
of Cheyenne, we pass whole1tOWns OF
prairie dogs, and saw the population
In great numbers, sitting at the mouth
of their dwellings, giving the train
theirmorning ereetlng, but saw nel-
ther the owl or the rattlesnake, their
companions in the same dwelling,
according TO the old settlers and
plainsmen. Away over the brown
hills, two or three miles off, We saw
herd of antelope, racing away from
the train, and this is the only sight of
them we have had so far. Up to the
present writing no buffalo have been
seen, and probably viii not be, as we
have passed over their usual pasture
ground.