The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-04-22
~ Peeiae nnilread Toyyn---curious scenes
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/ "oaflstonn writes to the Boston .,o,,ua1
the following acconnt OF the present terrni
nus Of the Union Pacific Raj II watyf town
of Bryan, 800 miles West Of Omaha: 96'''7
The United States at the present time can
exhibit one thing not to be found in any
other countryAa, 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 q
| night, last q week or two, and then are torn
down and moved on to another locality.
The railroad is pushed forward 80 fast. and
the terminus changed SO often, that town
only gets E1der way before it is pulled down
and sent forward to new place. You can
ind houses at the present terminus, Bryan,
800 miles West of Omaha, which have been
put up and taken down fifteen or twenty
times: The people who live in them are
American Arabs. They are not only no.
mads, ever on the move, but they can steal
and plunder as adroitly, and with as little
| compunction of conscience. as their
brethren, the Bedouins. Civilization and
Christianity has not refined or softened
| their inhuman nature
| Let me not be understood to saw that
every mon in one of these railroad towns is
villain or blackleg; on the contrary.
honest men are to be found, who, after bear
ing patiently with ruffians, till patience
ceases to be virtue, and there being no
law or order or organized society, take rc.t-
ters into their own hands, and become
terror to evil-doers. When some fragrant
| crime has been committed murder or os
sasslnation-thesc law-abiding men purify
the place by hanging the murderers to the
| nearest tree, or if no tree is near, they ex.
temporize n gallows by titing up the tongue
of wagon, and sending the ruffian into
eternity before the body of his victim is
cold Such sudden punishment is like
lightning on sultry day-purifying and
invigorating.
1t was late in the evening when we entered
the new town of Bryan, then about two
weeks old. We rode up wide street.
bright with lights flaming in the windows
OF the restaurants and saloons, each shop-
man and barkeeper trying by arrangement
OF Kerosene lamps and colored glasses to
outshlne his neighbor in his endcavors to
| attract crowd.
"There was sound of revelry," and
Bryan had gathered the largest part of her
population for q high time There was
such dancing and fddling, such drinking of
healths, shuffiing of cards and rafting of
dice, ns we never saw before. From the
dance saloons came the sound of hurdy-pur-
dies, violins and bapjos, the rattle and clat-
ter OF the double shuttle and plantation
breakdown, mingled with shouts and oaths.
the 1lngling Of glasses. as therude men, wild
with whiskey, and ruder women, decked in
silks, satins, hounced and ruff1ed, and gilt
terlng with trumpery jewelry. went whisk-
ing in each others arms round the room.
| The railroad company have laid out the
town, and are selling lots at high prices.
Ot course, these lots will have very little
after a 10 L,k
is built as if there was limited amount of
land available for city. The shops and
houses are all crowded together. and il n fire
were to break out on the windward side all
would go.
Here is town two weeks old, with a
population of 5000. On every side, we
hear the sound of saws and hammers. Here
is man putting up his shop, which no has
Just brought from the terminus at Green
River. The boards are all numbered, like
those OF wlndow-shutter. He will have it
complete In an hour or two his goods in,
and ready for trade
Here Is German and his wife unpacking
the chests which contain mugs and glasses
In few minutes, he will have a lager beer
saloon in operation
Yonder, Yankee has established bake
ry, building his oven of bricks made on the
spot. He is selling hot gingerbread and
SEED cakes, and has largo pile of bread in
one corner and pumpkin-p 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 territory, and are dependent
wholly upon the railroad for supplies. Were
the cars to stop running, the community
would be brought to the verge of starvation
In week; but that contingency is not
thought of, and this crowd of railroad fol-
lowers are here to gather up the spoils which
pass from the treasury of the company,
through the workmen, into their hands.
FoUR PERSONS BURNED TO DEATH.