The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-04-30
letter from Egypt.
CENTRALIA, Ill, April ".

CENTRALlA, liz, April ld'
Editors Journal:
The good book tells US of man
who, long time ago. went down
into Egypt and abode there" What
he went there for most of the people
know. That was the ancient Egypt;
this, where [ am, is the modern, and
as am here taking notes | thought
may be you would consent to print
them.
This city is 10 Marion County, Of
which Salem, some sixteen miles off,
is the shire town, and about six miles
south of the o. q NJ Road, where the
Eastern and Western branches of the
Central Illinois R.R.unite, going south
to Cairo. some hundred and twenty
miles below. Centralia is beautifully
situated. The country is rolling prai-
RE, and. though rich, does not seem
to the traveller to have so much Of
that deep black soil as you see In the
northern part of the State, but per
haps yields to no part in its fertility
The city owes its commencement,
which Is comparatively recent, to its
being selected as the point where the
shops Of the Central Road should be
located. The company have recently
connected with these other works a
large rolling mill, which will add
greatly to the number of the en-
ployees of the road and shops already
residing here, which number, [ am
told, already amounts to some six or
seven hundred men, who, with their
families, constitute large part of the
population. One man told me that
the number of persons in the employ
ment of the company must exceed
thousand. They say the census of the
city will show population of five
thousand.
A story is told of large property
holder living two or three miles north
Of this, which is quite instructive, and
which is worthy of record for the ben
eft of that class OF men who remind
you Of the dog and his bone" or
the dog and his shadow" and who,
swapping at the shadow of the other
bone in the water, lost his OWL
W hen the company were about locat-
ing their works, they seemed to have
set their hearts upon a site some miles
to the north This large property
holder, having the very water privi-
leges the company desired, concluding
they could not do without them, was
so extravagant in his demands that
after every attempt to bring him to
reasonable terms, the company gave
up the attempt and quietly selected
this spot, built up not only shops but
city, and now his friends say of him
that he reminds them more of the man
who was left outin the cold than any
other IN all this section of country
He has not, as yet, however, himself
told me how he feels.
Your readers may be interested also.
in knowing that this is the centre of
the fruit growing region. The num-
Der of bushels OF strawberries, as
well as peaches, expressed at this
point alone Is amazing. As many as
| five carloads Of strawberries have
gone from this one station in day,
and IL is to be remembered that as
| thew do not admit of wagoning any
eonsiderab bic distance, cars are loaded
at intervals of every few miles, and
| the fruit growing region extends from
a nOiut some ten or twelve miles
North to below Golden, some seventy
miles South. OF course it is confined
to comparatively narrow limits on
each side of the road. The advantage
they have is, that they can, without
change of car, send fruits and vegeta.
bles to the far North, particularly to
Chicago, where the demand for early
vegetables aud fruits is very great, but
they go to every important point and
in every direction where they can be
conveyed without change of cars.
They are now getting ready tor the
strawberry harvest, and it is of the
most promising kind. They buy the
material ready prepared to be set up In
boxes, and are set up in an Incredibly
short space of time. They come in