Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-09-18
Editorial Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, Iowa, Sept. IIth.

WASHINGTON, Iowa, Sept. 11th.
Feeling that a little rest and re
creation would do us good after
months of hard labor and close at
tention TO business,we concluded to
lay aside our pen and scissors and
take stroll through some of the
western States, spend a few days
with friends, and see as much OF the
country as we could. Accordingly,
armed with passes for self and wife
thanks to the railroad companies,
we left Millersburg behind US on
Tuesday morning, the 9th inst, and
found our way through the dense fog
along Killbuck and Salt Creek val
leys, reaching Orrville in time for
the morning express going west.
We shortly went whirling along that
great thoroughfare, one of the chief
arteries of commerce in the United
States, the P. F. W & G. R. R. Moth
ing of special interest to the gener
al reader occurred during this ride.
We might say that the prospect for
fruit all along this line, is not SO
good as we had supposed it was.
Apples are tolerably plenty in some
parts of Ohio and Indiana. Corn is
only medium crop. AS our rea-
ders perhaps know,t the western part
of Ohio is quite rough. 1t is gener-
ally covered with heavy timber, and
where 1t has been cleared off, the
stumps and old logs are pretty nu-
merous. Saw mills are quite plenty
and large quantities of lumber can
be seen almost anywhere. Stave
Factories can be counted by the doz-
en-, and slaves by the million.
The farther west We go, the drier
the ground seems to be, indicating
that there has 1ot been so much rain
as in Holmes and adjoining coun-
ties.
We leave Ohio and pass into In
diana, and; shortly arrived at the
lively city of Ft. Wayne, where we
dined at 2 O'Clock. The day is
warm,a and disagreeable for travellers,
as the dust on the streets in some
towns which we pass through is sew
eral inches deep. To a person who
has never seen a prairie, the first
good initiation presented is the
Kankakee Swamp, which is some
ten or twelve miles in length, and
we don't know how wide. As We
draw near to Chicago, we pass over
land almost entirely worthless. The
land IS composed of beautiful white
sand, very fine, but almost worthless
in every respect. There is little or
no grass on it, and the trees and
shrubery are poor and sickly look
ing, the great majority of the larger
ones being dead. Stretching out
their ras asged and jagged limbs, they
present quite curious appearance.
About half past Z O'Clock Tuesday
evening we arrived in Chicago, and
took lodging at the West Side
briggs House, which is quite close
to the Ft. Wayne depot. This is
good house, and well kept, but you
pay well for all you get. We stroll
through the city, and were it not
for a few ruins here and there, we
would have nothing to remind us of
the disastrous condagration that
swept over the city two years ago,
so much does it resemble the old
city as we saw it just two weeks be-
fore the fire. If anything it is finer
now than then. We got a good
nights rest, ride about the city till
10 o'clock Wednesday morning,
when we leave for Fairfield, Iowa,
by way of the Chicago, Burlington
q Quincy road.
Illinois is beautiful State well
cultivated, land rich and rolling
enough for good drainage. The
corn crop is not so good as usual
this year, owing in q great measure
to the extreme dry season. The
early corn is pretty fair but the late
planting, like in Iowa, amounts to
but little. One principal feature the
traveller notices in Illinois is the
large number of windmills used to
pump water for stock. They are
coming into use a great deal more in
this State for the same purpose.
About dark we arrived at the Mis-
sissippi river and found the ''Father
of waters" very low and confined to
his bed. 1t is thought he will re-
cover soon,as his disease will doubt
less take turn about the time the
Sun crosses the slime" We cross
over into Burlington and stop for
Supper, latter which we drive on fifty
miles farther to Fairfield where we
change cars for Washington. We
stop at the Spencer House and are
entertained we'll till the next evening.
Fairfield is a fine town of about a, 900
inhab. ants. Everything is fairly
burned up in this section by the
long drouth. Nearly all the wells
are dry. Vegetation is nearly dried
up. Fruit is scarce. Grapes rath-
er plenty, and are selling for $3,00I
a hundred pounds. Corn is thirty
cents bushel., In our next will
give the result of our observations
still farther West. e.
ME-. CONFERENCE.