The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-08-16
Another letter from Dr. Read.
SAN FRANCISCO. July 80, 1870.

SAN FRANCISCO. July oo, iotV'
Major r. A. Sales:
Nv Dear Sir,-May presume that m
hotter. commenced at Chicago and MALE
rom This point, did not weary you bcYon
the endurance Of another? Are you in tn
mood to listen to such notices as may q,
of our journey and observations frol
Omaha, in Nebraska, through Wyoming
and over the Rocky mountains to Ogdc
and Salt Lake City, in Utah and then'
returning by Ogden over the Sicrr'ts OF NJ
vada to the Valley OF the Sacramento, an
so on by Stockton and Oakland, ana aero
the Raw of San Francisco. which opens iht
the Pacific through the Golden Gaze
this beautiful and marvellous city ~ IL -
long way. indeed, but the notices shail ~
relatively brief, and il wcar!Somc, !o" '''.
drop them when you please.
TIE ROAD. -,,uoa,
Sneakiny of the Union Pacli'c i' mnntro
from Omaha to Ogden. OF lhc and NJ
Pacific " from Ogden to sac l,.i,' tc
1hc Western Pacific rom ~ :, rnmnarns
..,n Eronrisco Us ono T"a". ~ III,
Gan ,'i r.~,,, ono extremity To the other
,s.;,h any, If the roads cast OF Omaha. foi
VIII thon hall the distance The natural
HUI os bod cannot be surpassed i'll any part OF
tnn fTnited states. The line is remarkably,
.ir.icbt :: the grade easy ; the soil firm ana
,hc condition of the track uneNceptiohahlc,
the motion of the cars being smoother thali
nm many of the eastern roads. The cross,
tins average two thousand six hundred ana
fiftv To the mile. The rails are joined with
tisf.platcs and bolts, rendering the TRACK
almost rs smooth as Il continuous rail-. Inc
engineering problems in the rouShcr rof-
fions Of the rollte-partcularly III tnc cici Il
Neyadas-havc been solved win adlhitapie
skill in design and execution, ailordlng Il
sense Of security in the most difficult, wild,
and dizzy passes and leaving the passenger
to the full enjoyment OF the SilblllnllleS OF
the scenery land it is in some places dW1"Hy
snblimc), with 4 comfortable sense OF per-
sonal safety.
THE ROLLING STOCK.
find published statement, which sup
nose to be reliable, from which / gather rs
follows:
rho number of locomotives in Use on the
consolidated road is $40 !; passenger cars. in
Guiding the "Pullman" and Silver Pal-
ace Slecping-Cars," POS; cmigrant and Sc
conti-claSs cars, So; mail, express, ana bag
gage cars, 10; box and flat cars for freight,
h.G30 cars for various uses, construction
&c, 413.
. SHAPE AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE
COUNTRY.
Ipsyinn Omaha and the bluffs Of the Mis-
souri river, the clay OF the land " west
ward soon assumes the appearance almost
of n dead level, and ii is not easy to realize
that YOU are actually ascending the Rocky
mountains over the plans, which arc scarce
" broken by any observable elevations, or
bounded by any billy or tlmbercd horizon,
and vet with every mile OF easy progress
Won advance on the gentle, ascending grade,
until snow-capped peaks loom up into
view.
AS YOU approach Cheyenne City (about
500 miles from omaha and !, 200 from Sacra-
mento, and where the elevation above tide
water has been increased some 5000 feet
since leaving Omaha, } the ''Black Hills" be-
gin to reveal their rugged outline, Il distant
boundary in the northwest, becoming more
and more distinct and extending further
across your line of advance until you 1lnd
rising before you the ''back-bone of the
American continent" the "grcat Rocky
mountain chain"
Huge, lofty peaks now lift up in the dis
lance; Longs Peak and "Pikc's Peak"
visible 1T5 miles away clad in snow.
Now the ascent in the grade is clearly per-
ceivable in the cars, and in the next thirty
miles the elevation is increased 1900 feet,
bringing you to Sherman, the highest point
attained in crossing this range of mountains.
Sherman has little of interest aside from its
relative altitude. The immediate landscape
is barren and dcSolatc-you are on the bleak
summit of the Black Hills of Wyoming, and
yet there is sensation of sublimity i'll the
desoate isolation.
There may be twenty or twenty-five
houses md huts, built of logs and coarse
boards. 1t Is about as much of a torn a.
an Indian canoe is a boat. 1t will do until
you try it; then Catlin's description i
realized. You must sit in the middle, look
straight ahead, speak words of one syllable
out of the middle of your mouth. or you
will upset. And yet l have a pleasant re.
collection Of Sherman, for there found
Uncle Johns" cabin, and III it some
ncely-cooked brook trout, the eating and
catching Of which is one of my speci;lltieS.
These made our next lunch in the cars q
very amiable entertainment. Speaking OF
the naming Of places IN honor Of diStin-
guished individuals provokes Il smile as you
observe some Of the names given to places
in this section. For example, here YOU
hive Gilmore, Fremont, Schuyler, Column
bus, jackson, Kearncy, Mcpherson, and
Fort Sedgwick, and then comes "Prairic
Dog City" Prairie dogs! They are, in
deed, a noticeable folk. Their numbers.
agility, and pert littleness, with their rdic,l-
lous barking at the passing train as they sit
on their launches over their holes in the
ground, will draw attention.
They are about the size of Guinea pigs,
of sandy brown color, living OH root:
and grasses, burrowing in the ground and
the guide-book has it that they occupy
their nests in perfect harmony with the owl
and rattlesnake. BE that true or false
they possess the ground literally, and are
very noticeable feature of acres and mile
of territory along the road through tn.
Platte River Valley; and this reminds mt
OF the ANTELOPE Station" and of the
pleasing views we had, sometimes of pal
and sometimes of q considerable herd o
these graceful creatures (antelopesl, star
tied from their feeding by the approach @
the train, and speeding away. At Shcl
man we have left cultivation, except her.
and there in little patches, sustained b.
artificial irrigation, far behind us. scarcel
any vegetation is seen except clumps G
stunted pine, and the coarse, low, brow
,sage-brush covering the open boundles
plains. We have become familiar now wit
snow fences, erected at points where cut
are liable to be filled by drift.
Some times q short stretch, as may serv
the purpose, and some times miles of cor
tinuous fencing, parallel with and fey
rods from the road, which breaks the GU
rents of wind and causes the drifting sno,
to form in heaps along the fence, thus pr,
tectng the track In cuttings. But it is tim
to leave these barren regions and com
down the western slope or pitch of tn
Rocky mountains for | wish to get us f,
as Salt Lake City before we break of th
interview. Would that l could introduc
you (and scores OF other Richmond friend.
into the CONSERVATION car" attached to tn
rear of the train, comfortably cushionc,
but open above and around, for the gratil
IF N q