Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1873-05-18
FROM KNOXVILLE TO SALT LAKE.
A Knoxville La6y's Account of a Journey
to the Coast.

|
| TO the Coast.
Through the kindness of friend we are
permitted to make the following extracts
from private letter written by a 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 few days at
Nashville, we reached st. Louis, May Sd.
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
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 satchel out of the way and
sight, and settle ourselves for cUmforta-
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
of rocks,n 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. n
From Omaha we passed through vast
prairies where now nothing but dried grass
is seen, but month later will be 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 in
trains of cars. Once I saw new made
grave-a child's, rough clods, and 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 before 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
full green leaves and flowers vying with
the snow in purity which lay two or three
inches in depth. Strong contrast to the
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 en-
CINE is thirty feet below us, in the rear car
of train of eight!
On we go, ever down, down, passing |
DEVILS Gate, DEVILS Slide, and the tree |
which marks 1000 miles from Omaha. |
Fascinated by the exhilarating wildness of |
the ride, 1 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 ave. Around |
us these canyons and strange rocks, be- |
yond +" the Rockies" in their strong, gray |
grandeur, and higher yet the snow COW
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, We're 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 cars for the "City
of the Saints" At the ldepot a group of
Pizite Indians clad in "fulI dress of leg
gins, skins" &c. land near by them CHANGED
to stand "Heathen Chinee" and negro.
What trio |!
Cost Of the Geneva Arbitration.