The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1871-09-01
NOTES OF TRAVEL.
Editor State Rights Democrat.

| coHtlHeHt uy Tail, W NlSit iatHcT aiio
mother, from whom / had been sepa
rated sixteen years. The first day in
assing over the San Joaquin and Sac
ramento plains, we suffered with hea,
and dust, but in the evening, as We
began to assend the Sierras, a most
refreshing breeze came sweeping
down from their snow-clad SUBMITS
cooling the atmosphere, tanning the
heated brow and driving away the
lassitude occasioned by the excessive
heat of the valley. During the day ]
saw some of the terrible effects of the
drouth in California. Much of the
road lay through the most fertile por
ton of the State and in travelling q
distance of 100 miles l saw less wheat
than you would see in 90 miles travel
through the Albany prairie, Linn
county, Oregon.
l saw thousands of acres, from
which not one bushel of wheat would
be gathered, and but little of it high
enough 70 be reaped for hay. Give
me the rains of Oregon with sure
crops, rather than the drouths of Cal
ifornia, with her blasted fields and
sun smitten plains!
At o'clock p. N. we reached Col
! fax, and in a few minutes we were
doubling "Cape Horn" Here the
road is cut into the side of an almost
perpendicular mountain, 1000 feet
above the American River. At this
point the scenery surpasses in wild,
ru yged grandeur, anything | ever
beheld. A succession of mountains
piled on mountains rose around and
above us-"frozen waves of world
on fire." that were heaved up of old,
by some strong convulision which
ceased at the Omnific word, and
left its stiffened pillows still on
high. And far beneath us were yawn-
ing chasms worn by the attrit;on of
the elements deep into the bosom of
these old mountains. No one who
passes this way will ever forget the
wonderful panorama spread out be-
fore him and penciled by the hand OF
Him who made the worlds. Toiling
on up the mountain, We stop at Alta
for supper, where the passengers do
ample justice to bounteous meal.
The whistle blows-all on board
and away we go leaping up the noun
tains, thudering along the ridges,
threading mighty chasms, rumbling
over bridges-"bless me this is pleas
ant, riding on a rail" About midnight
we reached the summit OF the mighty
Sierras, and then down, down We
swept with wonderful momentum to-
wards its Eastern base, passing
Truckee and Reno, reaching the Hum
boldt by S A. n, wednesday morning.
To the right is a broad sheet of water
the sink OF the Humboldt. Here
we stop for water and fuel, and now
start across the hot, sterile valley
of the Humboldt, the only unpleasant
part of our journey. Soon the whole
plain glows like a heated furnace un-
der the rays of July sun, and hot
wind drives the alkali dust in clouds
through the air. Car windows are
closed, but still the dust Sits through
upon ms and fills hair, mouth, nose and
eyes, while the heat nearly suffocates
us. | can almost imagine that the
old iron horse has been endowed with
life and instinct, and, seeing around
him the ghosts of the OK, the mule
and the horse of the emigrant, that
perished on the sun-scorched plains,
with a snort and a roar he almost flies
along the straight iron track for the
mountains.
About 3 P. N. refreshing thunder
storm passed over us, cooling the at
mosphere and laying the dust. In. the
evening we passed Battle Mountain,
Elko, and other places of interest.
We had a very pleasant nights rest
and woke up in sight of the Great
Salt Lake. Here We passed through
a fine agricultural country-felds OF
wheat, corn and oats greet the eye on
every hand, while the dwellings oi
"the Saints dot the plain.
At 6 A. NJ. on Thursday we reach
Ogden, the terminus of the Central
Pacific r. r. Here we change cars
and at 8 A. N. the whistle blows, pas.
sengers hasten on board, and away we
roll, toward Sunrise. 4
Soon after leaving Ogden the noun
sains begin to close in around us unit
we reach the mouth of Weber Can
yon. This Canyon is about 40 miles
long. Through it flows the Weber
river, rushing over precipices, cata
racts and ragged rocks until it break.
forth into the plains and rolls away
toward the lake. In this Canyon il
situated the richest, grapdest scenery
on the entire route. Devils Gate
j Devils Slide Pulnit Rock CastIx