The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-06-04
GRANVILLE, May 10th, 1872.
Notes of Trip to the Pacific Coast.

SAN Francisco, May II.
My last letter left us at Salt Lake, af-
ter having hurriedly done the "Saints"
and their city. A ride through the green
valley, overlooked by the snow capped
mountains, on Monday afternoon, May 6,
gave us another opportunity to see the
thrift and thoroughness of Mormon hls-
6andry, which is their strongest hold.
We embarked on the cars of the Cen
tral Pacific at 500 p. M, finding most
comfortable quarters in the Silver Palace
cars of the railroad. Pullman does not
extend his sceptre beyond Ogden, the
Central Pacific finding It's own sleeping
cars, which are not practically different
from Pullman's.
The Union Pacific train came through
on time, with an observation car attach.
ed, from which the passengers had been
able to see the beauties of Echo and Web.
er Carons, the latter of which we had
missed, but we hope to make it up going
home.
There are some curious things result
Ing from our journey towards sunset. For
instance, the Union Pacific train reaches
Ogden at $50 ; makes stop of about an
hour in Ogden, and the Central Pacific
train starts West at 5.20-which seems
to make the halt ten minutes less than no
time. The Union Pacific runs by Lara
mic time, west of Cheyenne, and the
Central by San Francisco time. To keep
up with the time by which we travel we
are Obliged to set our watches back al
n most as regularly as Capt Cutie set his
forward
The night set in rainy, and thick:rain
storm Is not very bad thing in this
couatry when one is we'll housed. A rain
OF pitchtorks would add something of
cheeriulness to the arid alkali plains over
which we journeyed. We have become
accustomed to the motion of the cars, and
now only make one nap" of the nights S
sleep as Sancho Panza says. When l
get home again l shall sing "Rock me to
sleep mother and expect to be humor.
ca to that extent for timo oon roAl
izc the feelings of the boy who went to
sea Il week, aud then couldn't sleep with
out having somebody splashing water
against his bedstead. We had rain, snow
ana han by turns during the evening and
the next day. For dry climate it is do
ing very well.
inerc must be Jonah in our party,
ana II there was not such hard chance
ior whales here we would cast lots and
'nrow him out. | suspected should be
the victim myself; but as for fish, we
nave not seen anything larger than a sar-
dine' and those were tame ones. When
we woke up the next morning We seemed
TO be going in the opposite direction from
That which we were going when we went
to bed The road is so crooked and |
am so apt to get turned round was
not at all sure about it, and tried to make
myself think we were still moving to.
wards the Pacific. When l was a boy
once went in swimming without leave, and
came home with my shirt wrong side out
1t seemed to be regular fatality on such
occasions. My mother interviewed me
on the subject, and asked me how it hap.
pened. was unable to make any other
explanation except that I had been turn.
ing somersaults. Suffice it to say that
the explanation-though I fatter myself
1t was rather ingenious-was not wholly
satisfactory. Let us draw a curtain over
the painful scene never realized udti
then how smart boy | was-or how well
red for one so young and fair. But to GO
back was speaking about going back
1t was no deusion. The Central Pacific
was backing us up. A freight train had
been wrecked on the track, and we were
going back to make a switch and get as.
siStance. When we got under way again
we were eight hours behind time. and
mighty slow time at that This was SC
much better than getting smashed up that
We did not grumbe, but it caused dis
arrangement of our connection with the
eating stations, and those who were not
provided with lunch baskets had nothing
but alkali plain for breakfast. We had
restocked our lunch basket among the
Saints-one of whom had gift of (boil-
edD tongue-and finding ranchman who
made coffee for us, we Jared sumptously
We took our coffee black there was not
a COW within thirty-four miles of the
station where We got our coffee, and we
could not wait for the cows to come
home.
After the detention we went on merri-
ly making breakfast and dinner out OF
our lunch baskets. We saw our first
Indians of any accountant they were
not of much account-at Toano, about
two hundred miles west of Ogden. At
this little station on the alkali plains we
had the pleasure Of seeing America,
Europe, Asia and Africa represented in a
slab grocery. The Chinese are employed
as section men on the Central Pacific, and
swarm like bees. The porter of our sleep.
ing car was the distinguished representa-.
tive of Africa on this occasion. 1t was
quite evident that he did not consider hi.
race very low down in the scale of hu.
manity. Below him he recognized "Lo
tho poor Indian" and Wang Lo, the Chi.
naman, and that was low enough. But
We can learn some hing from the most de,
graded people, If we have receptive minds
Al Indian woman here gave us some
IDEAS about carrying baby, which we
have never invented for ourselves, though
we rejoice that We have babies to carry
This little Indian had case in which he
was very comfortably done up, The case
was made Of basket stuff, with a soft lin.
ing, and it was carried against the moth.
er's back. being held in position by strap
passing over her forehead. The young