Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-10-03
THE FAR WEST.
lettings by the Way.

Jottings by the Way.
ANTELOPE VALLEY, Nevada, Sept sOth, 1873
My last was finished so hastily
that / had to omit what had inten
dcd, an account of the incidents oc
curing while l was here, the eli
mate, mines, stock, agricultural pro
ducts, fish and game of the country
which I will now attempt after an
apology for my long stay in this
state. This has thrown me too late
for trip this season, to "Tacoma,'
the new terminus of the Northern
Pacific Railroad, but l have CONVEX
eed with SO many who know that
country s.just like book" that l
am as well satisfied as if l had been
there, although one had rather see a
place than take another's word, for,
Opinionators naturally differ,
From other men, rs wooden legs are sitter,
Inan tnOse Oh pllant JOlnts VINO ylelQ ana DOW
Which way soccer they are designed to go.
But as this first year all the "ring"
within the ring will have to be sat
isfed first, an outsider would very
likely get sailed, besides they have
moved their location once, and Their
by fooled good many, and may do
it again. But think they will not
be apt to, as the land commissioner
at Washington has notified them
that so soon as they locate their ter
minus there, their land grant ceases.
Well, they have now located it, and
if they move it they will have to
build the road from their present
terminus, at their own expense.
Los Angeles (city of angels, $50
miles south of San Francisco, will
be as far as l shall probably go this
season. l enclose a description Of
the city, which is said to be accu.
rate by old Californians, but of
course l shall give you an opinion
of my own for reasons mentioned in
the lines above quoted.
The climate of this country is very
dry; rain is not common in the sum-
mer season. The rain l think l
mentioned in my letter q may have
omitted it), that fell few days be-
fore my arrival, making the roads
muddy in few places, was the best
they had had here in a long time,
and started the grass good deal.
Storms are scarcely known here in
the summer, and very little thunder
and lightning. 1t seems strange to
me to sec so much sun and so little
wind, but SO much dust; another
strange sight is that on the calmest
of days, all over the valley you can
see clouds of dust whirling along.
Perhaps you may see five or SIX in
this (Antelope) valley at one time
Their prevalence is supposed here
to account for the fact that few hur-
ricanes occur here. Sometimes they
cause scattcration among loose
thing, but SO soon as they pass all
is calm. They greatly resemble the
smoke from cabin on calm morn,
and that is what l thought them
when l first struck the valley, until
l noticed that they sprung up all
of a sudden. One came rushing
along close by me and 1 thought it
an animal Of some kind running
through the sage brush, when it
suddenly eliminated in whirlwind,
raised cloud of dust, rushed along
about 20 rods and then as suddenly
died out. In the fall and winter,
they have severe winds and heavy
falls ofsnow, but no very cold wealth
err, as the coal burners sleep by their
pits on the mountains, which could
not be done in Iowa. lam told that
5 or 6 degrees below zero is as cold
as it gets, while in the valley it is
not SO cold. The sun soon melts
the snow ON the south side of the
mountains, but on the north side and
on the summit, snow lies till June
and July. 1t is in the north part of
the state where it lies all summer
on the mountains, near Ogden and
in Wyoming Territory. The water
is generally excellent, and soft,
while the hot springs are nice for
either bathing or washing clothes.
After running some distance, it be-
comes cool enough for cattle to drink
and is also excellent for irrigating,
being so warm that it pushes the
the vegetables in early Spring, much
better than colder water. The pro-
duets of the State are in its mines
and stock. The total product of
the mines is about o2,OOO,OOo per
annum, Of which Virginia City
yields about $14, 100000, the balance
being divided between Eureka, Pi-
oche { Pe-o-che) Hamilton and Aus
tin. The present outlook for the
mining camps, except Virginia is
not tlattering, as some of the best
mines are giving out, and most of
them are involved in heavy lawsuits.
You may imagine the amount of
money spent, when it is estimated
that one jury cost certain mine
$4,000, one juryman alone getting
$4,000. The first night he gambled
$500 Of it away, and the next day
the authorities getting on his track,
and that Of others, they fled. The
suit was finally compromised for
less than half what it cost, and nei-
Their any better off than before. Pope
says:
Judges and Senators have been bought with gold,
Etseem and love were never to be sold.
This seems to be the worst place on
earth for that, as every man seems
to have his price-money is the God
most worshipped. The reason of
this is, the country is full of what
are on the coast called "forty-niners"
men who came here at the outbreak
of the gold excitement, and who,
having worked and waited long and
patiently for what we all appear to
be striving for-fortune-and hav-
ing lost the golden opportunity, now
consider any means that will bring
the pelf lawful, like lagos advice
"Put money in thy pocket" or as
Shakespeare aptly has it: