Litchfield enquirer., 1870-03-24
OCEAN TO OCEAN" l"
AS SEEN BY ''LITcHFIELD coNNTY BOY. |"

As soon as the railroad joining Ocean to Ocean was completed, I resolved to pass ov. CT it and at the same time, ,inthe true 'sYan- kee style" to see all that was to be seen. Not being encumbered with the ''usual appendage' of a family had noth- ing to detain me except business in New York which was quickly disposed of, and after sojourning two weeks with my moth- CT and friends among the quiet hills of my "native home" the 21st of September, 1869 found me at the foot of Chambers Street, New York surrounded by friends wishing me bon voyage. crossed the Hudson and at TO- 15 a. m.. was costly and comforta
 bly, settled amid the luxurious cushions of "Coast Pacific" of the Erie Line Lightning Express to Chicago. will not tire your readers with descriptions of the country and places with which many are. 1 pre- sume, familiar. As before stated, "I was alone in the wide world" and enjoyed the privilege of catering to my own desires uninterruptedly. My first stopping place was Binghamton, N. T., where I enjoyed the Inequalities of one of your old citizens D. K, and his most worthy spouse. After spending a day in their com. pany started for the interior of Penn sylvania,I I might say 'wilds.' could hard ly credit my evesight so perfectly antiqua- ted everything appeared, one could scarce ly believe that 200 miles could produce such 8 change. The kindness of the people knew no bounds. was much amused by a Country hop-dance," the lasses spend ing the day picking hops and the gentle men coming in the evening to see them home. Although fond of tsrpsichorating in New York, did not dare compete when he who made the londest noise received the most applause. After travelling forty miles by carriage, and 30 by cars, again make my way to Candor, N. Y., in stage bound for Spencer, some eight miles dis tant, over or through level country. For the benefit of those who are compelled to ride from certain station east of your town, let me say there were IT passengers of all sizes but mostly those boasting of some 200 lbs. weight.
 We. were three hours making the trip This was my only experience of genuine comfort in the 5000 miles of travel. Here again met Mount Tom people of former days, who, only few years previous. left home for the west, as it was then called, to better their condition, and, judging from appearances, their desires have been boun- tifully gratifea. Oct. 4th, the morning after the storm that swept desolation over . large part of New York State and Con- necticut, found me on the line of the Erie The Susquehanna was sweeping in fearful torrents; the telegraph lines were destroy ed between Oswego and New York and everything seemed gloomy. Soon train was made, up and we were off at rate of 40 miles per hour. At Hornellsville met friends from New York, engaged section, and notwithstanding the danger that might have been caused by the late rain was soon in the ''arms of Morpheus" Awoke at 6 a. m., to find the storm abated, took Ca Coburb" and joined to our party gentle man from Chicago whom we afterwards learned was the Supt. of Western Dipatch, and through whose kindness we were shown Chicago. Lunched at Cleveland, ,brsakfasted at Toledo. Here we were annoyed by ''hot journals" and the intelligence that the coach we were in was on fire. caused by friction. After some delaHour party, then consisting of four gentlemen, found them selves in one of the saloons of the palace coach, "Omaha." Thelrest of our journey was performed in safety, arriving at Sher- man House, Chicago, 5.30 p. m. I could not help remarking the beauty of the land on all sides and wondered what could be beyond to induce farmers to leave such a beautiful country. In Chicago we staid several days. was surprised at its size scarcely forty years ago. it contained three taverns and four agencies. two stores and blacksmith shop. To-day it is city of 300, ,0O0 inhabitants and is the "Queen City of the West" had often met Chica' goans and thought them boastful. I here find they have every reason to be proud and are truly deserving of credit for ener- gy displayed.
 The s'Chamber of Commerce" is 6 model of beauty. and humbles the pride of the New Yorkerwhen his thoughts revert to buildings of the same kind at home, such as the Stock Exchange, Gold Room, &c. From the annual report of trade for the year ending April 1st, 1869, I found that there were 45, ,690. $40 bushels of grain received land by referring to the year 1888 that there were then only 7S bushels-quite an in- crease for 31 years) 347, ,244 head of cattle,
 l.93s. .5se hogs. 5.50s, ,6so lbs of butter &c. These four articles will give your readers something of an idea of the commerce of this western town of some forty years growth. We visited the Lake tunnel, by means of which every house is supplied with an abundance of pure water equal to