The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1873-04-17
Interesting Letter from q
Highlander In California.


Interesting Letter from q
Highlander in California. a.
We are permitted to make some
extracts from q private letter from
Robert G. Rhoades, son of the late
Thos. Rhoades, former sheriff of this
county, dated
MERGED, Cal, March Is, 1873.
Here I am, after ten days ride,
three thousand miles from home. It
seems like a foreign land" there are
somany Spaniards, Cinnamon, Swedes
and other foreigners about. New
vegetables, potatoes, &C., such as you
have in June, we have here now.
Wheat on the bottom lands is waist
high, and Hay will be madenextmonth.
We left Ottumwa, Iowa, March 8, at
10 A. M, reached Omaha next day
about the same time. Omaha is
something of city, but we saw little
of it, as we left for the Gland of Gold"
at l P. NJ.
About 100 of US were crowded into
two small cars-not larger than COM
mon freight cars Such a mixed
crowd you never saw-Irish, German,
Swedes, Negroes, Cinnamon, &c, al
together. At night we had to sleep
as best we could. Some slept on the
floor, others took up the bottoms of
the car-seats, and laid them across the
tops of the seats, and made pretty
comfortable Observation-Disclosures
it, we called it.
About ten o'clock that night, a
crowd of girls C!) from 8 years old up
to Is, came aboard the train to sell
eatables. They sold hot coffee Is cts.
pint, boiled eggs 5 cts. each, bread
25 cts. per LOAF, but as we were sup
piled with full rations on leaving our
friends in Iowa, we did not buy.
After breakfast next morning, most
of US took to the top of the cars, to
have good look at the country
Indians were to be seen often, but
white men got very scarce. We pass
ed houses only every hour or two, and
these mostly clustered together at the
R. r. Stations.
For three or four days, we had the
same thing over and over again. For
1900 miles we did not see tree
nothing but sage brush, and that not
high enough to shelter you from the
sun.
Cheyenne was the next place of i'm
portance. We stopped here long
enough to take a good airing. The
city is built on a sandy (and gravelly)
foundation-no mud there.
From Cheyenne we began climbing
the mountains to Laramie, where we
found cold winds and snow. It SEEM
ed as if the wind would take the cars
from the track. Next day we got to
Ft. Sherman, the highest point on
the U. P. R. R. Here we came to
the first snow-shed.
Again we got into warmer country,
and wild game became plenty, Elk,
Antelopes, Wolves, Prairie Dogs, &c.
I shot Prairie Dog from my place
on top of the car.
For several days we ran along in
somewhat the same way, until we
reached Ogden, where we changed
cars. Here we passed the great Salt
Lake, but as it was night, 1 did not
get to see much of it. Four gallons
of water from this Lake make one
gallon of salt.
At Ogden we took aboard lot Of
Indians, and had a great deal of fun
with them. The r. r. Co. carries the
Indians free whenever they want to
ride, to keep them from tearing up
the track.
I could not begin to describe the
beauties of "Echo Canyon" On both
sides of us we could look straight up
rock walls 1000 feet highl After
passing through the Devils Shute,
for some ten miles, we came into
level country, with nothing but sage
brush for miles. This brush looks
very much like common sage, grows
two or three feet high, and as thick as
it can stand. Droves Of sheep are
brought here and wintered upon the
sage.
The Palisades" afforded the wild
est, finest scenery we have seen yet.
For several miles we followed a
stream, first on one side then the
other, now through tunnel, now
over a trestle-work 500 feet high
The curves of the road were so sharp,
that at times neither end of the train
could be seen from the centre.
Here we saw the first big teams,