Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-05-21
FROM KNOXVILLE TO SALT LAKE.
a Knoxville Lacy's Account of a Journey
to the Coast

permitted 10 make the following extracts
from private letter written by lady to
her sister in this city:
AT Nashville we purchased our tickets
for San Francisco, via st. Louis and Oma-
ha, $4,000 each. Visiting u few days at
Nashville, we reached st. Louis, May 3D..
Why is it that Railroad officials persist in
deceiving the public by circulars and
agents We were assured that tickets via
the Missouri Pacific, would insure us a
Pullman car, without extra charge, from
st. Louis to. Omaha, which was something
desirable as you will see.
She then tells of three changes and nu-
merous Inconvenience on the Southern
Pacific from ST. Louis and advises trav-
elers to take the Northern route.
From Omaha she says: Here, to me the
journey really began. Here we struck the
Union Pacific Road which is to take us to
the Pacific Ocean. Every trunk is weighed
and the checks engraved Omaha to San
francisco" give the assurance that we are
actually started for California, or "the
coast' as the old travellers call the whole
country.
Now we enter our car, the Laramie
are shown our section by the polite waiter,
take out the books and magazines with
which we intend to beguile the time, hang
up the extra traps, hats and bonnets, leave
our lunch basket conveniently near, and
push valise and satohel cut of The way and
sight, and settle ourselves for 4 Go!nforta-
BILE ride. Our car contains all varieties of
people, from old miners, who tell us of
former hardships endured, then remark of
the success of their experiments, speak
carelessly of interests in gold and silver
mines and learnedly point out to us, those
ignorant ones, the different stratagems
of rocks" as one old man called it-from
these two invalids, both ladies and gentle
men. And the babies How many of the
little innocents are abroad! However, one
car is especially fortunate in carrying but
four, while the one ahead contains four
teen! Dead heads to the Union Pacific
Railroad but alive enough to the passen-
gereof. Bless the little darlings and pre-
serve the mothers.
SCENES IN THE FAR WEST.
From Omaha we passed through vast
prairies where now nothing but dried grass
is seen, but month later will be q garden
of gorgeous flowers. We occasionally saw
an Indian with or without his pony, some
times frightened prairie hens or wild ducks
or prairie dogs, and pass emigrants jour
neying slowly in covered wagons or i'll
trains of cars. Once | saw a new made
grave-a child's, rough clods, and a wood
en- cross to mark where some poor mother
laid her darling baby and perhaps her own
heart.
Near Cheyenne we saw the first snow
sheds though befC re that we passed snow
fences. AS we approached Sherman, we
met trains covered with snow and soon
found ourselves returned to winter in May!
This they say is unusual, but you know
that | always find unusual weather.
wherever / go. At Sherman we reach the
highest point travelled by the railroad
S,242 feet above the sea and yet here, out
from its snowy covering we plucked beauti-
full green leaves and flowers vying with
the snow in purity which lay two or three
Inn IN, or fI,N
early roses we left in Knoxville. South
of here stands the noted Pixies Peak and
west Fremont's Peak. Now we rapidly
descended, running between the Black
Hills and Rocky Mountains. The de-
scent is so precipitate as to propel the train
by force of gravity.
In the afternoon we came into the grand
scenery of Echo and Weber Canyon.
Standing on the platform, we lean over the
side and wonder at the majestic rocks we
pass by. Sometimes we can almost touch
them on either side; then they rise on one
side only, while on the other the land lies
level and fertile. Again, they come to-
gether closer and closer, till the track
passes through a tunnel. We lean over
and look ahead, and see our long train
winding around the curves, and all the
time on so descending grade that the ell
CINE is thirty feet below us, in the rear car
of train.of eight!
OH we go, ever uOWH, uOWii, ptlSSluS
DEVILS Gate, DEVILS Slide and the tree
which marks 900 miles from Omaha.
Fascinated by the exhilarating wildness of
the ride, L could not consent to re-enter
the car, but drawing my cloak and hood
closer around me, was willing to endure
the cold, mountain winds for the scene so
new and exciting. Whizzing by these ma
jestic beauties, we fail to enter in full ap-
probation of them. The ever-changing
view leaves no time for thought, losing
every idea but of wonder and awe. Around
us these canyons and strange rocks, be-
yond " the Rockies" in their strong, gray
grandeur, and higher yet the snow-cov-
cred peaks glittering in the sunlight.
But the conductor tells us we are nearing
Ogden we must pack up preparatory for
Salt Lake City.
We had a whole section of the ladies'
end of the car, $1,000 from Omaha to Og-
den and consequently were not hurried to
bed nor to breakfast. The days passed
pleasantly in talking, reading, looking, and
sojourning in this luxurious way, we
came to Ogden. Here we left the Union
Pacific Railroad and took ears for the city
of the Saints.n At the depot group of
Pizite Indians clad in 'full dress of leg
gins, skins" &c, and near by them CHANGED
to stand a "Heathen Chinee" and negro.
What trio
At an examination of the College of Sur
geons a candidate was asked by Aber-
Won do if =, xIraIa