The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-07-16
LETTER FROM ILLINOIS.
CHICAGO. June 20. 1876,

u ~
/ thereabouts. j flattered myself with
, the pleasing anticipation Of the cooler
breezes OF the North, on arriving in
Chicago but the anticipation has thus
far been delusion. not to say snare.
As to temperature there Is, at this mo-
ment. very little difference between the
two ends Of the Mississippi Valley, but
in latitude, 30 degrees, you have the pros
pect of several months more of hot
weather, and In latitude Al degrees II
few days. Mt most. ore the extent of u
heated term. u is very nearly thou
sand miles from New Orleans to
Chicago. that is TO say nearly n third of
the distance to the Arctic Circle or from
perpetual summer TO perpetual winter.
or from the region where snow never
falls to tho regions where snow never
uelts. One Gun scarcely fancy TINT In
tho short space Of Il day and half he
has been whirled over third OF such
m interval Us that IT might be sup
posed that In thousand miles Of travel
there would be something to narrate.
and 50 there would be ii the railway had
not superseded tho country road. and II
we had 70 mako our journeys in stage
coaches or post-chhi8eH, OF on horse
back as our fofefather5 had to do. but
all that is changed now. aud steam has
knocked d good deal Of the romance out
Of the world, and rs to the romance Of
travel. II seems to be entirely inGoinpati-
Die with the railroad train nt 80
miles an hour. | have had more
good old fashioned adventures,
such ns you read about in
books, to say nothing Of tieas aud other
pleasing coucotutauts Of the old style,
In u journey Of two hundred miles by
stage. than in ten thousand accomplish
ed by the locomotive and the palace
cars. Three years ago the followers Of
Don Carlos, not understanding the d-n
nonsense Of the railway and the tele-
graph. tore up the tracks of the one
aud threw down the wires Of the other
in nll that part Of Spain over which they
held control. Just ut That time it hap
pened to me that | was trying to leave
the country, and | had 10 take an ex-
temporized diligence from Vittoria 10
San Sebastian. In passing through anil |
over the Pyrenees we that Is TO say, |
diligence horses md passengers were |
captured by the Catlists at Mondrogou. |
where we had to stay day aud IA night
before we could get away, aud after
wards two of the diligeuces, OF our train |
Of three, were stopped on the road be.
tween San Sebastiau and Irun and /
plundered Of their contents. and the /
passengers were relieved OF their.
watches and money, and turned adrift
on the highway TO make their way on
foot backward or forward rs best they
could, Once, too, | made the Journey
from Vera Cruz to the City OF Mexico in
u stage coach. ! have lively recollec-
ton of the joyous anticipation with
which the passengers in that diligence
looked forward TO surprise and capture
by tho brigands. who had u pleasing
habit Of stripping their captives and
4T.t
were thoughtless enough TO carry moth
ing to be robbed Of / remember, also,
the charming variety impaired to the
scenery by the spectacle of half dozen
Of these brigands swinging gaily In the
breeze, and Of the telegraph posts,
adorned each with the right hand OF
some lucklcss guerilla, which the French
had nailed up as u sign and warning
To tho rest. You don't have such anti
and, as q general thing. you
don't see such sights, when travelling
by railway. And yet, | am free to con-
fcss. / do not regret them. / rather
prefer to overcome the thousand miles
from New Orleans to Chicago, and the
other thousand miles from Chicago TO
New York by means OF the speedy To- |
aud the comfortable Pullman +,
car Which reminds me to say that Of
all routes from southwest TO northeast,
| prefer this one. The Jackson road - !
Or rather the New Orleans, st. Louis
and Chicago, from New Orleans TO
Cairo, Is now in good order, and the
time Is made with regularity.
There Is vast improvement in the 4
present management over that Of Nc
Comb, which was simply Infamous.
There is great improvement, too, in /
he eating houses, which, with one ex-
,eption. are now quite endurable. ]
lad occasion once, under the McComb
'egime, to make some criticisms on the I
'o-called eating house at Hammond, |
he result Of which was that the pro-
Jrietor of that establish ment went down !,
o the city TO hunt me up, and not find :
ng me there, he laid for me" Mt Ham
nond till one day he pounced upon me 7
vs. sat at table in his dining-room and }
to blow the top Of my head 3
'n for dessert. / am gratified to say s
hat this fierce purveyor has vanished,
Ogether with many other or the incon- !,
'eniencs Of the McComb dynasty. The
Illinois Central, from Cairo to Chicago, !
$ likewise in superb order, and the Z
ating- houses are exquisite. The time
5 not so fast as on some OF the other
outes, but this disadvantage will. am
old, soon be remedied. At all events.
he privilege Of stopping at Chicago G
Hu dt OUG Ol lH6 uldBHliiccub %
Iotels for which that city is r
amous, Is enough to give this route 4
he preference. / have no wish 8
0 discriminate among these hotels =
indeed, the Palmer House, the Sher- 4
nan, the fremont, and the Grand Pa 8
itlc are all among the finest in the
World. / say this advisedly, because /
ny hotel experience is not limited to a +
ingle country or single continent. /
ave been in many Of the great hotels $
4 Europe and America, and | am pre- r
ared to say that none III London, or =
'aris, or Berlin, or Vienna, or Rome, or
Iadrid, or even OF New York or Phila |,
elphia, excel the great Chicago houses. =
indeed, with one or two questionable y
! know Of none that can Il
ompare with them. and when expense
taken into consideration, they are G.
ntirely unapproachable Such accom-
lodations as you can get at the Grand :.
'acific or the Palmer House for five, >
r even four dollars day, would cost s
t least fifteen at the Grand Hotel in
'aris, or at the Grosvenor or the Lang r
N, in T.onIn, ayap if won cat IL Of a II Il