Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-12-16
LETTER FROnI OALIFORNIA.
Correspondence Delaware aaaeite-l

Correspondence Delaware Gazette.l
SIERRA VALLEY, CAL, Nov. %, 70
EDS. GAZETTE Since the Railroad
has been completed trip across tn,
plains has ceased to be one of hardship
and peril as in former times, but has be
come one of ease and pleasure. Ii
former years the emigrant would leave
some outpost of civilization, in what was
called the far west, and start on q
weary pilgrimage across sandy deserts
and mountains, surrounded by wild
beasts and still wilder savages. not
knowing what moment the yell Of the
savage would sound his death knell and
perhaps after toiling and Plodding for
months he would reach the goal Of his
ambition, the land of gold. In those
! days California was thought to be al
most out of the world, but since the Iron
Horse has commenced running across
! the plains, the distance seems less.
] But / started in to tell you something
Of the principal points Of interest along
the road. We leave Omaha at I:qo p
! NJ in a splendid Pullman Palace car,
and after running twenty-five miles we
strike the Platte valley, and a few miles
| further on come in sight of the Platte
river along which we travel for several
hundred miles. It is broad sluggish
stream with scarcely any banks and no
Perceivable current, and, am told, at
most seasons of the year it will not av-
erage more than six inches in depth
The first station of any importance is
Fremont, town of 1000 inhabitants. -
The train here connects with the stage
for Lincoln, the capitol of Nebraska
We leave Fremont and after passing
several small stations arrive at Colum-
bus, town of some 500 or 1000 inhabi-
tants, and said to be about in the geo
praphical center of the United States.
We pass on leaving numerous small
stations behind until we arrive at Grand
Island, where we stop go minutes for
breakfast. The company set a very
good table here, and / will say right
here, that the Railroad company runs
all the eating houses on the road. On
the Union Pacific the price per meal
is Is cents and on the Central Pacific
the price is 81 90 in currency or "six
bits" in coin. After leaving Grand Is
land we are said to be in the buffalo
country. We saw oeca sionally a few
antelope galloping away over the broad
prairie, but mary a buffalo did we see.
But we are tarrying to long on this
desert where there is nothing to be seen
but one vast plain. We pass on
through pretty much the same kind of
scenery till we reach Cheyenne, the
largest town between Omaha and Ogden
and the junction of the Union Pacific
and Kansas Pacific Rail Roads. The
train here makes close connection with
the Kansas Pacific train for Denver,
Colorado. Cheyenne is destined to be-
come city of considerable importance,
on account of being at the junction of the
two roads.
We can now begin to see the foothills !
of the Rocky Mountains, and occa-
sionally high peak. We pass on go !
ing 'uP grade" till we arrive at Sher- |
man, the highest point on the road, being |
8242 feet above the level of the sea. At |
this point we can see Pixies Peak, sixty |
miles to the south, and Longs Peak, |
(said to be) one hundred and twenty |
miles to the north, but the wind blows
too cold to stand on the platform long,
so we enter the cars and "shove out"
After leaving several small stations
behind we reach Laramie, the prettiest
own on the road. Here the company
have a round-house and machine shops, |
making it station of considerable i'm
Il
patience we must hasten. After cross
ng the Rocky Mountains we come to
he Wahsatch Range where the scenery
becomes more grand. The road winds
around and through Canyons and over
streams, passing under mountains of
)verhanging rock that looks as though
t were ready to fall and crush the train.
Occasionally going through a tunnel,
md then through miles of snow-shed we
ush along, and here in Weber Canyon
We pass tree with board nailed fast,
N which IS painted 1000 mile tree,
which means that it IS one thousand
niles from Omaha.
We will say nothing of the Devils
Iate" and Devils Slide" fso named !
rom walls of rock) but will hurry on to ,
ogden. Here the train connects with
he trains on Brigham YOung's road for
ALT Lake City, and here we change
ars, leaving the Pullman and taking :
ne fSilver Palace cars on the Central :
'acIhc, which, by the way, are not to
e compared with the Pullman We :
ass on through pretty much the same
cenery, never being out of sight of =
fountains. At Elko we first saw In :
ians and after leaving Elko were never
ut of sight of them. They are of the
i Ute and Washoe tribes, and are con-
dered perfectly harmless. But here =
e are at Reno, where we leave the Il
lrs being three days and a half from !,
maha and having travelled sixteen :,
undred and twenty miles. Reno is =
estined to become a town of considera- -
le importance it-being the station to y
irginia City and far-famed Washoe :,
lver mines. The town is built in the 8
ruckee valley, a small valley in the n
Terra Nevadas, is improving very rap =
ly and is a very pleasant little place. It i
as near here that the Express Rob i
cry was perpetrated of which you have a
0 doubt had full accounts. The robbers n
re all lodged in jail awaiting their trial. 4
he money has all, believe, been re- h
,vered and the robbers all made con-
ssions, and so anxious were they to ;r
,nfess that some of them confessed to o.
bberies committed years ago. 6,
But have spun this out too long al n,
adv and will close. I A