Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1869-04-03
A Pacific Railroad Town.

lu aClnc bdllG0aQ Town, rH-N
"CarletoN" writes to the Boston jour
n@thc followed account of the present
terminus Of the Union Pacific Railway
the town of Bryan, eight hundred miles
west Of Omaha :rf-iltf '.r...r rH|'.'
The United States, at the present time,
can exhibit one thing not to be found in
any, other ,eonntfy1a Pacific Railroad
town. by that we 10 not mean town
like Omaha, which j. an old-establishcl
city, but one Of Tie mushroom places
Which grow mp In a night, last weak
or two, and then are torn down, and
moved oil TO another locality. The rail
road is pushed forward so fast, and the
termihhs changed so often, that town
only gets under way before it is pulled
down and sent forward TO a new place.
You can find houses at the present termi-
nus, Bryan, eight hundred mill, $ west
Of omaha, which have been pu. up and
taken down fifteen or twenty times, The
people WHO i've III them are American
Arabs. They are not only nomads, ever
OH the move, but they can steal and
plnnder as ,adroitly and with as little
compunction Of conscience as their breth-
rem the Bedouins. Civilization. and Chris
tianity have not refined or soitcned their
human nature.
Let me not be understood to say that
every man in one Of these railroad towns
is villain. or blackleg: on the contra
ry, honest men are to be found who, after
bearing patiently with rufans, till
patience ceases TO be virtue, and there
being no law or order, Or organized
society, take matters into their own
hands and become a, terror to cvildoers
When some fagant crime has been com
mitted7rmurder or assassinaiiOn---thcse
law-abiding men purify the place by
hanging the murflerars to the nearest
tree, Ur ID no tree IL near, they extempo-
rize = gallows by fitting mp tho tongue of
a wagon, and sending the rufiian in to
eternity before the body of the victim is
cold. Such sudden punishment is like
lightning on sultry day-purifying and
inyigorating. .r+ re..
1t was lntelin the, evening when we
entered the new town of lSryan, then
about two weeks old. Wctrode uJpa wide
street, bright with lights flaming in the
windows OF the restaurants and saloons,
ea1h sliopman and bar.keeppr trying, by
Arrangement of Kerosene humps and col.
ored glasses, to outshinc his nerghhor in
his endeavors TO attract the crowd.
g"There was a sound of revelrv," and
Bryan had gathered the largest part of
her propuiation for high time. There
was sHch dancing and fiddling, such
drinking healths, shutfliug of cards and
ratiling of dice, we never saw before.
From the dance saloons came the sound
ofthe hurdy-glraies, Siolins and banjoes,
the rattle and chatter of the double
shuttle and plantation breakdown, mir
gled with shouts and oAths, the jingle OF
glasses, rs the rude men, wild with wills
Ky, nnd the more rude women, decked in
silks, satins, ilounced aud rutiled aud
glttering with trunn ncry jewelry, went
whisking III each Others arms round the
room. 'IIH .nI'l' 'al SCOUT
The railroad company ave laid out
town, and are selling lots at high prices.
Ot course, these lots will have very little
value after tho road Is opened, but the
town is butt ias IT, there was a limited
amount OF land available for city. The
shops and houses are all crowded togeth.
er, and il fire were to brake ont on the
windward side, all would go.
Here is atown two weeks old, with a
population OF five thousand. On every
side We hear the sound Of saws and ham.
mers. Here is " man putting up his shop,
which he has just bpought frs,n tho late
terminus nc Green river. The boards are
numbered liks those ofa window shutter.
He viii havo.it complete in an hour or
two, his goodsin and ready foe trnde. u
Here is a German aud his wife unpack-
ing the chests which contain mugs and
glasses. In d few moments he will have
lager beer saloon in operation. .W"r
Wonder ~ HaAkks has established
bakery, building his oven of bricks made
on the spot. ilc is selling hot-ginger-
bread and seed cakes, aud has large
pile OF bread none corner aud pumpkin
pics on his shelves. lre.a - a'"' 4,
TIE salSons during the day are not
much patreaSzed, but are thronged at
night. H b a. lively town Tho whole
population Eve on q small territory. ana
are dependent wholly upon tho railroad
for supplies. Were the cars to stop run.
ming tho community would be brought
TO the verge Of starvation in a week, but
that contingency Is not Thought Of, aud
this crowd of railroad followers arc here
70 gather ap the spoils Which pass from
tho treasury OF the company, through
the workmep, into their hands.
kNEw LAw.--'file Legislature has passed a
A. "A. tha faf all
clerks, marshais, civil engineers, chiefs of fire
deparlnlssoss and street commissioners. THIS
law eoeu into ,efiSss Immediately, and hence
these offices wiil,be. Oiled by thepeople ut the
election In April. Inises'oa parties. will do
we'll 70 make a note of this, a. Il Involves the
necessity OF adew more lzillsidaais making up