The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1869-03-25
A Pacific Railroad Town.

carleton" writes TO the Boston J0aq'1o
the following account of the present ter
minus the OF the Union Pacific Railway
the town of Bryan, eight hundred miles
west of Omaha:
The United States at the present time
can exhibit one thing not to be found IN
any other country Pacific Railroad
town. By that we do not mean a town
like Omaha, which is an old established
city, but one of the mushroom places,
which grow up in a night, last week or
two, and then are torn down and moved
to another locality. The railroad IS push
ed forward so fast, and the terminus
changed so often, th:t town only gets
under way before it is pulled down ana
sent forward to new place. You can
find houses at the present terminus, Bry-
an. eight hundred miles west OF Omaha.
which have been put up and taken down
| fifteen or twenty times. The people VINO
live in .hem are American Arabs. They
are not only nomads, ever on the move,
but they can steal and plumber asadroitly
and with as little compunctlons OF con-
science, as their brethren, the Bedouins.
Civilization and Christianity have not
refined or softened their human nature.
1t was late in the evening when we en-
tered the new town of Bryan, then about
two weeks old We rode up a wide street
bright with the lights streaming from the
windows of the restaurants and saloons,
each shop keeper trying by arrangement
of kerosene lamps and colored glasses to
outshine his neighbol in his endeavors to
attract crowd
There was sound of revelry," and
Bryan gathered the lalgest part of her
population for high old time" There
was such dancing and fiddling, such
drinking Of healths, shuff1ing OF cards
and rafting of dice, as we never saw be-
fore. From the dance saloons came the
sound Of hurdy- gurdies, violins and ban
joes, the rattle and clatter of the double
shuttle and plantation breakdown, mingl-
Ell with shouts and oaths, the gingling of
glasses, as the rude men, wild with whis-
ky, and ruder women, decked in silks,
and satns founced and ruffied, and gilt
tcrieg with trumpery jewelry, went
whisking in each others arms around the
room.
The railroad company have laid opt the
town and are selling lots at high prices.
Of course these lots have very little value
after the road is opened, but the town is
| built as if there was limited amount of
land available for city. The shops and
houses are all crowded together, and if a
fire should break out op the windward
side, all would go.
Here is town two weeks old, with a
population of five thousand On every
sode we here the sound of saws and ham
mers Here is man putting up his shop
which he has just brought from the late
terminus at Green River. The boards
are all numbered like those of window
shutter He will have it complete in an
hour or two, his goods in and ready for
trade. Here is German and wife un-
| packing the chests which contain mugs
and glasses. In few minutes ne will
have lager beer saloon in operation.
Yonder, Yankee has established a
bakery, building his oven of bricks made
on the spot. He is selling hot ginger
bread and seed cakes, and has large pile
OF bread in one corner and pumpkin pies
on his shelves. The saloons during the
day are not much patronized, but are
thronged at night. 1t is lively town.
The whole population live on small ter
ritory, and are dependent entirely on the
railroad for supplies. Were the cars to
stop running, the community would be
brought to the verge of starvation in a
week; but that contingency is not thought
of, and this crowd OF railroad followers
are here to gather up the spoils which
pass from the treasury Of the company
through the workman into their hands.