Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1870-10-06
FROM THE WEST.
'OEs MONIES, Iowa,
Sent. 26. 1870.
My DEAR JOURNAL:

My DEAR JOURNAL:
A broken con.
nection forces me to be sojournel
over Sabbath, in this beautiful Capt.
tol of the Hawkeye Stste; and were
it not for the recent heavy rains, |
should not have regretted it. In
fact, muddy as it is. I I'm rather
pleased than otherwise. Sunday as
it is, have been ungodley enough
to procure conveyance and edo"
the city and its surroundings, on
both sides of the beautiful river that
divides 1t, and I assure you l was
not only delighted, but surprised.
To your slow, dull. "penDy wise"
plodders, of Gallipolis, and Gallia
county-one of the first counties in
the State, who cannot muster courage
enough to build a few miles Of rail
road, ] would advise a trip to this
region. / think it would do them
good. They would either go home
and try to emoIate these people, emi-
CRATE, or drown themselves.
To revert to this city. 1t is really
astonishing to see the rapid and sub
stantial Improvement exhibited, even
within the last eight months, since l
was last here. Magnificent business
houses, splendid and palatial man
sions greet the eye on all sides. l
dropped into grocery house yester-
day, and was shown that their bust
ness run over $4,000 day, all the
time. Think of that for an inland
city, which. dozen years ago, was
8 small village, with no rail road.
But for the matter of that take the
8hole State, and in fact the whole
region west of the Mississippi, and
Eis simply wonderful.
g @5The q. S. Government is just fn-
ishing a splendid Court House here,
which will be not only an ornament
to the city, but the State. Ground
has-been broken for a new State
Capitol to cost s4.OOG,00O. The
State is NoDpareil, it don't owe
anything, and the people have some
marrow in their hones-life and
snap.
! have been to several State and
county Fairs during my western trip,
and they have been most excellent
affairs, especially in fruits, cereals
and cattle.
Kansas City, Leavenworth, st.
Joseph, Omaha and Council Bluff. are
rushing ahead like an avalanche, and
it really does live man good TO see
the way they push business. They
have all been struck with severe
epidemic this fall, which will take
them some time to recover from. /
doubt whether, in the history of the
country, anything has been so severe.
] allude to the census! Last year
Kansas City, Leavenworth and Oma,
ha, all claimed from 50, 900 to 40, 600
This year they count only 10000
noses! If you want to make q Kan
sas City man mad, ask him the pop
ulation of his city. Nevertheless
they are great cities, and monuments
Of enterprise and go-aheadativeness.
Blythe bye, at Kansas City, 1 met
and spent an agreeable evening with
an old friend and cotempora:y of
yours, Hon. R. T. Van Horn. You
will remember him as the editor of
the Pomeroy Telegraph, twenty years
ago. He is the editor of the "Jour-
nal of Commerce." and has "put
money in his purse He was Col.
in the late war, and for the last six
years member of Congress. He has
retired now.
Last evening I witnessed the most
beautiful display Of northern lights l
ever saw, the entire heavens was illu-
mined in the most supurb crimson,
golden and white lights, flashing and
changing constantly. 1t seemed q
vast canopy centering in the dome,
with the curtains falling away to the
horizon. l don't believe this to be
an Iowa enterprise, but nevertheless
it was beautiful one.
Politics are running very high out
west. In Missouri, Kansas and
Iowa, both parties mean business.
heard Senator Harlan the other
night, and could have heard my
Democratic friend Henry Clay Dean,
the man of excessive dirt, but chose
rather not to. He is the dirtiest
nan in the world. I think, there will
be no necessity of burying him when
he dies. Roll him up in his clothes,
and that will be sufficient, and so is
this for the present.
Yours, P.