Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-03-01

sonage VINO so unflghteousiy trOubleu tu'
righteous man of Uz in the days of the older
time. The tour of Europe is made by many
of the wealthy and adventurous, whilst q
trip to the springs, the mountains, and the
sea-shore, is occasionally INDUCED in by al
most everybody. Perhaps, however, jour
ney Out West y is more common to Yer
monters than one to any other place or section
And this is very natural, because towards
half the State has emigrated in that direc-
tion first and last-and half of those who re-
main have thought more or less seriously at
times of removing thither-and those who
havn't, have friends there, and have heard
so much of the West that they have a Curl
osity to SEQ it-and 50 everybody has been
or is going, or wants to 90, where they can
see the great fields of wheat and corn, and
hear the bark of the prairie wolf for them :
selves. | see that many of the farmers of
this section are beginning to feel that they
can afford few dollars occasionally in trav-
cling and have no doubt but they find it
a good investment. l know one who take. a
- play day and a short trip somewhere
nearly every year, after his hay is hary ested,
and comes home, little poorer in purse, to
be sure, but enough richer in everything else
to more than make up for the deficiency Of
cash which the journey has created.
have written out some Of my impressions
concerning the West, and now have a word
to say in reference TO the different routes
thereto all of which or at least the more
direct ones. have been over, both by land
and by water. The lake route seems to have
got little out of fashion, either on account
Of its greater danger, reai or supposed, or as
is more likely on account Of the greater
length Of time required by that route than
by the more direct and rapid ones by rail.
And the most common routes by rail rom
Vermont have been by way Of the Grand
Trunk Railroad, OF 10y the New York Central
and Lake Shore perhaps ottener than else
going out by one of these routes and back by
the other But | think | have discovered
much better route than either Of these for
the journey out, AMI that is by way Of New
York, Philadelphia and the Allegheny Noun
tains 1t may strike the reader that this is
a crooked way but it is not much more 20
tha the others, and the fare last summer.
thongh a dollar or two more than by he
Grand Trunk, was a dollar or two less than
by the Lake Shore, that being tie most ex-
pensive route, and the Grand Trunk the
cheapest. But the difference is so small as
to be Of no very great Importance either way.
Among the advantages Of my route. l may
mention first, that it takes the traveller
through the two largest cities in the country,
which very many Yermonters have never seen.
And single Wow up Broadway in NewIork.
rom the steps Of the Astor House, or a little
above the Astor House, where there is a slight
depression in the ground, giving q view OF
he street for long distance. with it, dense
Ind moving mass Of human heiugs-ever
Yet never changing, like the surg
ng Of the sea-is worth journey to that
metropolis Tie City Of Brotherly Love,
Washed on either side by the Schuylkill and
Delaware rivers, is we'll worth seeing but
,est of all is the ride over the Alleghany
Mountains, including tic Blue Ridge and
.aurel Ridge, from Philadelphia TO Pitts
'urgh.
The tourist is iorei5ly struck by the beau
y Of the country Immediately west of Phil
delphia, and it grows more beautiful, pic
and wild by turns. until we reach
he low land the other side oF the hills. Ten
niles this side Of Harrisburg, the road strikes
he Susquehanna river, running along Its
,anks thirty or forty miles, TO the junction
4 the Susquehanna with the Juniata-thc
. Blue Juniata,' as it used to be called in
he song-following up the valley Of that
tream, away into the mountains. Up the
mountain side, by the famous horse shoe
end, through the tunnel of nearly mile in
9ngth at the top, and down the deep rayine.
long a swift-running branch Of the Allegha-
" river-all this Is romantic and charming
= could well be imagined. A well-drcssed
ohio lady who sat in the seat next me in the
ar while crossing these mountains, and who
eemed to appreciate the beauty Of the scene
Y through which we were passing, COM
,lained of the great speed of the train, say
ng that it went 50 fast that she couldn't .
ct to see anything" We were on the
special fast train, and it did run like
ighming; but to me 1t was all the better for
at, as it enabled me to drink in the beauty
f each succeeding landscape, it presented .
-self, so rapidly as to make it exceeding
nioyable. 1t made me feel as if | were be-
1g transported through Elysiun in the car
Jove. We might ask if it were safe TO
IN so rapidly, but ! think there has never
cen any serious accident on this road since
was built. And though the express trains
4 all the roads run pretty fast, don t know
hen or where any one of the terrible and
tai casualties which periodically startle and
rock the country, ever happened in conse-
lence of fast running, though high rate of
iced would tend to increase the jeopardy to
fe and limb, in case an accident should hap
en- But slower trains run on this and other
,ads, and those travellers who prefer to be
,nveyed about more moderately can take
lem. The city Of Pittsburgh, noted for its
1merous furnaces and rolling mills, and in
for its smOkiness and dirtiness,
very interesting place to visit, though ]
ould not go there to live until most other
aces were full. Here the Allegheny and
onougahela rivers unite to form the Ohio,
hich the Fort Wayne road to Chicago leaves
the left, passing thence over country !
hich is essentially western; and though in
resting, is not peculiarly so, as it is not
aterially different from the great bulk of
vel and prairie country of the whole West.
have designated this, as in my judgm ent
c best and most interesting route from Yer ,
ont 10 the West-roing down the Vermont