The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1869-04-02
4 Pacific Rai'road Tos".

"Carleton" writes to the Boston Journal
the following account Of the present ter
minus of the Union Pacific Railway-thc
town of Bryan, eight hundred miles west
of Omaha "Thc United States ut the
present time can exhibit one thing not to
be found In any other country-a Pacific
Railroad town. BY that we do not mean
n town like Omaha, which Is an old estab-
lished city, mushroom places which grow
ND In night, last week or two, and then
are torn down and moved on to another
locality. The railroad and the terminus
changed so often, that town only gets
under way before 1t Is pulled down and
sent forward to new place. You can
find houses mt the terminus, Bryan, eight
hundred miles west Of Omaha, which have
been put up and taken down fifteen or
twenty times. The people who live In
them are Arabs. They are not only no
mands, ever on the move, but they can
steal and plumber as adroitly aud win as
little compunction of conscience rs their
brethren the Bedouins. Civilization anu
Christianity has not refined or soitened
their inh,inan nature. rr.
Let me not be understood to say that
every man In one Of these railroad towns
is a villain or a blackleg; on the contrary
honest men are to be found who, amer
bearing patiently with rufiians, till pa
tience ceases to be virtue, and there be-
ing no law or order, or organized society,
take matters into their own hands and be-
come terror to cvil-doers. When some
flagrant crime has been commltted-mur-
der or assassination-thcse law-abldlng
men purity the place by hanging the mllr-
derers to the nearest tree, or II no tree Is
near, they extemporizc gallows by TIT
Ing up the tongue OF wagon aud send
ing the rufiian Into eternity before the
body Of his victim Is cold. Such sudden
punishment is like lightning on sultry
day-puriEing and inyigoratins.
Il was late In the evening when We en-
tered the next town Of Bryan, then about
two weeks old. We rode up wide street
bright with lights flaming In the wiz dows
of restaurants and saloons. each shopnian
and bar-kccper trying by arrangement OF
Kerosene lamps and colored glasses to
outshine his neighbor In his endcavor to
attract n crowd.
There was sound OF revelry' and Bry-
an had gathered the largest part OF her
population for high time. There was
such dancing and flddling, such drinking
of healths, shufiing Of cards aud rattling
Of dice, rs we never saw before. From
tbe dance saloons came the sound Of hnr-
dy-y,irdies. violins and baijocs. the rattle
and clatter Of the double shufac and plan
ta,ion brcaktlown, mingled with shouts
and oaths, the jlngling Of glasses, As The
rude men, wild with whisky, and rtfAed'
and ylipcring with tumpcry. jewelry,
went whisking In each Others arms around
the room. see ~-T r - 'r1-1-'
The railroad company have laid out the
town and arc selling lots at high prices.
or course these lots VIII have very itue
value after the road is opened, but the
town Is built as II there was a iimlted
amount of land available for city. The
shops and houses are all crowded togcth.
er. and Il a fire were to break out on tbs
windward sido all would go. -r.u
Here Is town two weeks old, with .
population OF Ave thousand! On every
side we hear the sound Of saws aud ham
mcrs. Here Is n man putting up his shop
which he has just brought from the late
terminus at Green River. The boards are
all numbered like thosc Of a window shut
ter. He WIN have Il complete In an hour
or two, his goods In and ready ior INC
: = 80 e II