, 1873-10-06
Tho Sunmor~Season Too Short for Any.
thing Less Hardy than Pota'
toes and Turnips.
The Earnings Of the Ronl This Season
Moro tllAn Sufficient TO Meet
It's Operating Ex-
penses.
average Time Botweeu Chicago and
Helena, via the N. P.
and the u. F. ..
The Town Of Bismarck, and Some Of
Its Characters.

Special Correspondence Of The Chicago 7,foune
BISMARCK, Dakota, Sept. %, 1878.
OF course. raitroad companies run trains to
mako thoir connections, aud aro gonorally gov
crnod in their movements by n careful regard
for the intrinsic value Of tho almighty dollar.
But, once In while, tho railroad companies
mako grand mistake. a caso In point: Tho
Northern Pacific trains run On cart-timo from
Duluth to Fargo, arriving at the lattor place be"
twoou aud III tho evening. But ut Fargo the
trains lay over
From NIGHT TILL MORNING.
al tho way from Duluth to Fargo, had been
told that through Dakota-thnt is, from Fargo
10 Bism arcl-tho road WIS In oxcellont Hhhpo;
aud was the moro surprised when l
found TINT a long and tedious delay
Of twelve hours was to be met. inquiry
among 1ailroad-mon for tho why Of this ching
eiicited no satisfactory response ; nor did find
any till discovered that travellers oaat md
wost woro forced to patronize 1argo md COM
tnodiouH, but misernbIy-kopt, Northern Pacific
Company hotel. So this great ieothor1nnl route
this poetically-sung pugot-sonnd OUTLETS 80
1uoan ns to hold ovor It's travellers twelve hours
to derive pittance of income. Tho Northern
Pacific hotel at Fargo cost 100000, but tho
stewards bill emit be more than eco por month.
It takes twelve hours to make the trip from
Fnrgo to Bismarck, and vtco yersa,-" through
by daylight" ns tho Wabash Canal Captains
nsod to advertiHo,-a distance Of 195 miles. The
track ia In better shApo than was the Union Pa
olfo track through Wyoming the second year
a1tor it wns built ); and it is tho moro reflection
On Tho management for delaying passengers
twelve hours at Fargo, and for dragging its
trains along at sixteen miles an hour.
r La -. A1.nN Doo tno
rany credit for passing through bottor country
between hfoorehcnd and Duluth than I did in
my letters from Brainord and Moorohoad. But
tho Company mislod mo by its advertisements,
and by tho "blowing" paragraphs Of its pom
stoned cditors. I was led to bolievo TINT tho
limo trayorscd a wonderfully productive region
through Dakota. Actual observation conyiucos
mo that it
DOESN'T DO AMY suoK THING.
- few miles west Of Fargo, tho roal ontersupon
tho Plains. Tho Plaina, or pampas Of tho Great
West, commence in tho British possessions, and
run southwest through Dakota, Nebraska and
Wyoming, KanRas mud Colorado, Now Mexico,
aud terminate in Old Aloxico. Tho Missouri
River partly hodges them in on tho north, md
tho Black Hills range Of tho Rocky Mountains
<lotiues their western line. II q man croaB them
by the Texas cattlo-trnl or the Nuecos Valley
route south by tho old Overland trail, central !;
or by tho Fremont trail. Lorsis Clarke or
Missouri Rivor route north ho llas crossed thorn
everywhere. Tl,oro il not 3 particle Of dfler-
euce in conhguraton of tho pampas, md only
tho ono difference Of climate. On tho eastorn
section Of the Plains the buncl-graeH. marah-
EraAB, and a profnbion Of wild flowers are found !;
tho cel,tra! section il marked by d vast oxpanse
of nothingnoss-b s-b,lnch-grnsB, fow flowers, less
water; the western tectiou, by scarcity OF
water and COZ. :nual strife for mastery between
bunch-graas and sage-brish: Tho lands belong
in1 In fhn Nprth arn pnnita To1nDanv il, Dnkntu
tho lands belonging TO the Government, nre no
better mud no worse thnn tho lands anywhere on
tic plninH. But the difference III climate makes
them
FAR LESS VALUABLE.
Mrs. Flood lives on the Shycnnc, and keeps r
rniroad boarding-hollso. SHE told mo that this
summer she had nice garden OF vegetables :
potatoes TINT maturod early and developed
front came and killed nll hor cucumbers and to-
matoes. aud nippod her turnlps. In the valley
between Bismarck ind Fort Lincoln, o German
farmer had tho Same experience thiB year hH
cabbages grow into leavos and tho frost killed
oil the Lessor vegetables. Col. Carlin, at Fort
Lincoln, told mo tho season was too short for
anything less hardy than potatoes and tn1nips.
Yet, when q man intimnteB to Northern
Pacific omploye that the country IL oyerratod as
an agricultural country, ho is oithor insulted or
else oponly lied to, az Was tle Mennonite who
nsked Brainord1nan for Information. Dotween
bicotte aud Drainord shero is q vast tamarnck-
tue wild-poa and iyy yinos clinging lovingly to
the tnmnrack-trunks.
y Whit are tioHe vinos :" Haid he.
"Aht' said cnppor for the Northern Pacific
Company, Just tllon at his elbow, "thoso arc
hop-yines. We are now passing through tho
famous English hop-garden. Over $780, 900 in
vested, sir splendid yield, Hir immonAe profit,
sir"
And the innocent Russo- German Mennonite
The yalley Of tue Iod River has already been
described. Thore are tracts Of arable. lnnd or
tho Maple River, on tho shyenno, on tho janet
tho great bulk Of tho land Is aB outlined in tic
paragraph Oil tho PlainH. And west Of tho Mis-.
aourl, along tho proposed route, tho uniform
testimony OF the military officers just returned
H., that the country ia
NOT FIT ron FARMING PURPOSES.
Now, what other attractions does tho great
7aotheImal prosont2 Jay Cookies and William
A. Howard's advertisements call our attention te
Whore arc thoy7 At Fargo, last full, man by
.tho upmo OF Wolf, who had earned
$500 as q grader, discovered coal-mine
on the land Of q pro-onptor Visions Of woalt
pre-oniptor'n claim, stipulnting that tho pro:
omptor should remain oil the land till spring md
hold possession. During the long and cold
winter. the pro-emptor made heavy drafts OIL
canlu aud Wolf wont to work tic mtno, there
WAS no coal thoro. I1c lad only, found q
"pocket." Another fellow found q silver mine
'veat OF Drainord. IIe preserved tho utmost
secrecy dreamed OF an easy and rapid FORTUNE,
took hB specimen to St. Paul md Ind 1t asHayed
Ills ore was only potrified 1noual, whose gilt
1orng, pearl-liko inside ho had tahon for argouti'
5orouB galena.
PER CONTRA:
As already stated, the earnings of the Northern
Pacific line have this HeaBon boon moro than Auf-
M 5lcient to meet lth actual Legitimate expenses.
Ihe earnings Tor next aoason will greatly exceed
~ amount tho cummings for 1873. hit insist
that tho Northern Pacific sllall not claim those
earningsna having boen derived solely from local
traito: THO hooks Of the agent at Bismarck,
Col. Hurry lrownson show that t,ot,yeen Ii, ,UoO,
D0o 9nd u, oe0, 900 pounds of freight hayo bcol,
received and transferred at Bismarck. by ,tH
contract with the Government, u largo proper
lion OF o. tho supplies destined for poBts on tho
Missouri lttVer above a,1d below bismarck lava
paased oyor the Northern Iaelfio I.oad from ST,
naql 5nl ana nl,ou nnlqth n, The sat ysar soo tho
Montana freight, it Only aggregated a
total OF 100000 pounds. During luis soason