Litchfield enquirer., 1870-03-24

had now passed several stations of no inn portancs; the country was dotted here and there with little villages, farms well culti- vated, everything denoting thrift, Sc. Af- ter travelling some forty-five miles we first get a glimpse of Platte River near Ere mont. Broad plains are still the principal features of the landscape, skirted in places by low, abrupt hills, which in this level country rise to the dignity of ''blaffs. /" We are now fairly upon the banks of the Platte, sometimes so close that we could jump from the car into its muddy water, at oth- CT times the course of the river can only be traced by the timber growing upon its banks. Its waters were almost covered with wild ducks, and game of all kinds scented to be abundant. was much inter-
 ested by anecdotes and incidents rela- ted by 'Dave" and many members of his
 party relative to the time they first crossed
 the plains and along the river we wsre now
 passing in such comfort-the time when
 savages lay in ambush to shoot the weary
 traveller whose silent homes are now mark
 ed by mouldering head boards scattered from the Missouri to the Sierras. Those
 were the days and these plains the places that tried mans mettle. With the advance
 of civilization the red men have gradually disappeared. How strange that the ad-
 vance of civilization should sweep from the face of the earth race of human be- ings. Would it have been SO had they met with the treatment one would
 expect from civilized communities? The general feeling with all I have met here in
 California is perfect hatred towards them. I am here reminded of little incident that occurred while in the Shoshone coun- try. A certain lady of one of our compa- ny, from St. Louis, who was apparently meditating aloud while watching party of savages that were gazing vacantly at us at the station, repeating ''Lo the poor h. dian &c.," was interrupted by ':Dave's" saying ''beg pardon St. Louis" but ':D-n the poor Indian, and when you know him as well as I do those will be your senti- ments." After spending three months in 8 country infested by them l find that is the general feeling, of all white settlers. But to return to the Platte River, the country all along it's banks was beautiful rolling prarie, one would naturally imagine town on it's banks might become of it's impor- tance, and I so remarked, but was inform. ed that although the river at this point seemed three-fourths of mile wide, itiwas hardly navigable for shingles" as its av- craze debth was six inches. I was fur ther told that in the days of ''emigrant trains," the teamsters often found it neces- sary to excavate pits in the sand of the river bed before they could find water enough to water their stock. Although it looks like mighty river it is deceiving in ts"make up." The channel is continually shifting, it's sandy bottom very treacher- ous, and many were the stories told by our friends of their experiences in getting stuck Sc. The south bank of the Platte is lined with timber, mostly cottonwood,
 which presents beautiful appearance. The first place, fter leaving Fremont, of is Columbus, 90 miles from Omaha. This is the place Geo. F. Train calls the geographical center of the United States. and advocates the removal of the Capitol public buildings here from Wash ington. It is town of some importance, some 1000 inhabitants, three five school houses, @and hotels. After leaving Columbus we cross Loup fork on fine bridge. The country here and along till we reach Grand Island is appar- ently one of great fertility. Fields of corn, wheat &c.,, greet the eye on every side. The houses are rude but possess many of the features of eastern ones, Some are covered with with vines, and on benches can be seen the shining milk pans. and. standing sentinel by the well, the ''old
 we'll sweep" recalling pleasant memories of our early New England home. Game
 seems abundant, consisting of prairie chickens, turkeys, &c.,, while on the Loup I noticed millions of ducks and geese, and its waters and tributaries contain abun- dance of fish.
 Hnrrah! GAO p. m., and we are at Grand
 Island with the pleasing intelligence that
 30 minutes are allowed for supper-only
 think-30 minutes seem short time to
 one who has been accustomed to taking
 two hours for his six o'clock meal, conse-
 quently make the most of it. I here mo- ticed-it being the first place we ate any
 thing-that most of the passengers car
 ried their own provisions. Turkey and
 chicken bones presented themselves freely,
 and here let me say would advise all in crossing the plains to furnish their own
 eatables if possible, for the present at least. Time is short, walters impertinent, and at the best, in fact, accommodations are poor. Being bachelor, I got along nicely. My friends had lunch. but pre- ferred eating outside, rather than return to first principles, eating with fingers, as you