The Portland daily press., 1869-11-06
A Trim 10 California.


friend of the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany, soon procured us a capital one, and we
| made all due preparations for our five or six
days ride.
We star ted from Omaha Nebraska, the
| Eastern terminus of the road. When Omaha
| was builtit stood upon high bluff on the OPP
| posite side of the Missouri river, and since its
construction the river has changed its course,
20 that it now flows about three quarters OF
mile from the city, and the inhabitants don't
know where it will eventually find itself. On
| this side of the river stands the town OF Coun-
| Gil Bluffs, the former residence of the Nor
mons Omaha is a city of about 10000 inhabi-
| tants, with wide streets. but not particularly
attractive. Here the delegates to the great
Odd Fellows Convention were welcomed by
he Governor of Nebraska and the Mayor Of
Omaha, and banquet and ball given to them
From Omaha then we proceed on our way in
splendid train of cars, one fitted up as a par
Tor. another as dining-room and third as a
kitchen, with others for sleeping cars, in which
every man is provided with nice comfortable
berth. On board the train the most luxurious
meals are provided, or you can take with you
your own big basket of luncheon
For the first 300 miles we pass through
rich country, whose soil is black with fertility
md luxuriant in verdure and covered with
teemng orchards. When Kansas and Nebras
ka were first settled this country was thought
o be desolate one, but cultivation has shown
what can be done with it. Just beyond this
rich tract we approach what is called the Great
American Desert 1t is dead level of waste
land Nothing grows upon it but the wild
sage. When the Mormons first went to Salt
Lake they found the same sort of soil in
great valley shut in by mountains. They said
10 human beings will ever come here, and
lere will we SETTLE Now that Great Salt
Lake valley BLOSSOMS like the rose,' and so
We may expect will be the case with the Des-
ert when the same pluck shall take hold of it
So we push on through the Great Desert and
1t last we feel that we are gradually rising and
indeed we have been rising all the time; for,
although the country round us has the ap
oearance of dead level, yet there is slight
ascent from the beginning. We are now as
cending the mou ntains; not the Rocky Noun
rains. for we do not ascend them at all, but
spurs of the Rocky Mountains called the Black
Hills. We have to go either around or through
hese hills to get to San Francisco On our
way through these mountains we find our
selves surrounded by scenery 50 grand and
picturesque that you find yourself constantly
IN the watch to discover new beat and
cannot bear to pass moment in the interior
Of the cars. You see mountains on all sides Of
'ou-some thousand feet high. You look as
if you were going to bump into one of these
MOUNTAINS and in fact you do, for you sudden
y find yourself running into a tunnel, fifteen
# which are to be found between San Francis
60 and Omaha. To give you an idea of the de-
todrs the road has to make, in one place they
went six m les arc und TO go half mile ahead.
Some of the curves are very sharp and the
;anous. or gorges, very narrow. Some noun
sains seem to have been riven by lightning,
aud through these mere cracks, as it we're, the
train winds its way. You creep up one noun
ain so near the edge thai if the car should go
off the track it would precipitate you dis
lance Of 1000 feet. The grade here is 102 feet
o mile, and you ascend at the rate of twenty
niles an hour and descend at the rate of sixty
niles The highest point the road attains
above the level of the sea is the town of Sher-
nan, 5000 feet As you begin to ascend you
begin to notice the change in the atmosphere;
begins to grow chilly, and you shut the win
lows: it grows colder, and you get your over
coal; pretty soon the men begin to bring in
wood and build fire. The town of Sherman
numbers in population about 1900 people, and
is composed almost entirely of tents, as are all
the towns along the route.
Here the Judge remarked that in almost all
these new towns they have public schools but
no churches The minister, however, if one
happens to come to town, is treated with the
most distinguished consideration. The gam
blers even give up their hall to him aud while
he breaches they play, and at the conclusion
they pass round the hat, take up a collection,
giving the largest portion themselves; and il
my one attempts to interrupt the preacher he
is knocked down without ceremony. The
Judge thought, however, if the preacher
should advocate some of the doctrines of tn e
present day the gamblers would play harder
than ever although they have so far not cared
what denomination the minister belonged to.
He considered that lawyers did not seem to be
much needed out there until they had laws
that could be carried out, for at present Judge
Lynch is very popular man. Only the day
before he passed through town on the road,
Eve men were hung for horse stealing, a crime
there worse than murder. ....-
He had been asked if the fatigue of the jour
ney was not terrible. He said the constant
succession of surprises in the climate, the
scenery, and the people prevented fatigue. He
spoke of the miners you met on the road in the
smoking-car, rough fellows, but glad to see fell
lows from the East, Cinnamon, Indians, etc.
He thought those people who can see no beau
ty in strange and new scenes had better stay at
home, they were not fit for travelling.
AS it was now getting late we found our
selves compelled to drive on, without stopping
1T Salt Lake City, and passed through Sierra
Nevada County, rich and fertile, to Sacramen
to, which contains $4,000 inhabitants, and is a
magnificent city. Here you can eat figs right
from the trees, and gather almonds. From
sacramento you pass through Gold Run to
San Francisco, through country that pre-
sents fearful scene of desolation, the ground
being upheaved where they have been digging
for gold. San Francisco is not exactly the ter
minus, as there is sort of Back Bay which has
to be crossed after leaving the cars, and which
is six miles wide. A fine description was given
its magnificent buildings and wide streets, its
80 900 Cinnamon, and the great rocks at the
mouth of the outer harbor which guard the en-
trance to the Golden Gate, on which the great
seals and walruses sport and bosk in the sun,
one of which named Ben Butler, weighs 25OC
pounds, and amuses himself by knocking the
smaller ones into the water These, by city
and State ordinances, cannot be touched under
severe penalties. The Judge also paid a high
compliment to Rev. Mr.. Stebbins, formerly O.
This city, who he said, as a leader of thought,
and as the mover in all great undertakings,
stood head and shoulders above any man in
the West.
day, our compositor, impressed with the gener-
al idea that all his goods sold for little or
nothing, made him say that his latest style of
| velvet hats were offered for two cents each
| when it should have appeared twenty cents
| each. 1t is the "Velvet brims' that be offers
| for two cents, and the way they sell is eau
| ton. But husbands and fathers will not find
much fault at paying the enormous sum of
| twenty cents, in order that their wives ar d
! daughters may adorn themselves with the latest
| style of velvet hats Whoever heard of such a
thing as velvet hat for twenty cents. Let the
| young men 10 longer dread the expenses Incl
dent to matrimony. While Cosia lives every
body can afford to be married.
Il