The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-03-03
ON THE WING"
The Prairies Of IllinOis-.St. Louis,
the City of SOlitude.-Celum.
bus, Ky..-.COrinth and
Bay st. Louis, Miss.
NEw ORLEANS, Feb. %, 1877.

New ORLEANS, Feb. % 1877.
"Lifc on the wing" or the occupation OF
commercial tourist" as we travelling men are
sometimes called, must appear TO many as
very pleasant caling-as II were, lie OF con
| tnual romance and ever changing grandeur, &
accustomed to see new faces and new things al
most daily, and living, as we are told ION the ia'
! Of the land" All this may appear beautiful TO
the rustic mind who never ventures beyond the
music Of his own village church bells, or the
rural shades of his native town, except now
and then TO county fair or once in a while to
the city
True, We put up at the best hotels, pay the
biggest prices, but seldom are assigned to the
best rooms, for any place is good enough for u
drummer" you know-the house foots the bills!
I Will admit that many OF them are not what
they should be-gentlcmen; and for these lew
the entire profession is condemned. They are
| good naturcd set anyhow, and II the story is
| true that |.....
| PIT. an Heaven above,
| Where all is love,
! Thcrell be no drummer there
| 1t is because the merchants failed to put in an
appearance, and there were no sales for the
"drummcrs' TO make
But this is all out OF my line of business, and
perhaps it would be better for me to leave such
sort OF things" for men like the Rev Parlate to
tell what travelling men are.
| Last winter made an attempt to picture to
the readers of the FREE TRADER 4 trip down the
majestic Mississippi on one Of those floating
palaces, ana now have the cheek to inact an.
other dose, though taking different route, or,
as might say" "a new departure"
With the scenery of Illinois most OF you are
familiar, which. as you know, has no lofty noun
tans towering In majestic proportions to the
skies, no wales lingering between snow capped
hills, nor musical streams meanderng over
rocks and cliffs 10 the surgng sea. But 1t has
broad prairies and fertile plains. reminding the
weary traveller OF trip across the bOundless
pillows; and presenting panorama which is as
full OF beauty as an egg is full OF meat But
even though 1t lacks the grandeur of mountain
scenery and "vales lingering between snow.
capped hills" where will you find anything to
equal It's vast corn fields and unlimited coal
mincsy Where upon the face of this habitable
globe can one stand upon SO email an elevation
anu thhc Ill SUCH u UTOuu tAUaUbe Oh Country
at a single glances leave that for those who
have crossed the prairies OF Illinois to answer,
while climb to an supper sixteen" in Pullman
sleeper, and dream Of the beauties Of the Prairie
State, only to be aroused in the morning by the
porter whispering softly In my ear
ST. LOUIS
city OF the dead, and one OF the many places
which seems like one Of the past ages, instead
Of a full grown American city of the present
time. Many time and oft. while strolling along
some OF its most busy thoroughfares, have
asked myself the question, "Why Is it that so
many OF our people will brave the dangers OF the
deep and risk their lives in crossing the ocean to
visit desolate cities in foreign lands,-why this
useless waste OF time and money to behold relics
Of antiquity and view the fossil remains OF some
ancient landmark OF other ages, when they can
20 to st. Louis and there have their most ardent
wishes gratiGed?' Here they will find some.
thing that even surpasses Hcrculaneum or
Pompe and leave the cities OF Seldom and Go.
morrah in the shade. | do not wish any one to
think for a moment that / mean they will not
find people here. Indeed they will-sevcral
hundred thousand; but what they all do and
how they make a living is more than can I'M.
derstand. From general observation am forced
to say OF 81. Louis, that IL is an immcnsc waste
OF brick and mortar, so far rs business activity or
enterprise are concerned; and the idea Of think
ing TO make this the future capital of the United
States is simply ridiculous. II is astonishing to
know that cities with less than half its wealth
are up with the times-alive TO energy, pride and
enterprise, while st. Louis sits in dreamy stupid
ity, with nothing to do but watch the drawing
current of the Father OF Rivers as it glides by
with sluggish sound which seems TO deepen
the sleep of those that dwell upon its bank. For
a people wtha
srECK or Pride,
It's streets are a disgrace to any city, and re.
mind one Of the cow-paths OF Boston. The
only difference, that here the cows or ever cows
could live here must have made bee line,
while in Boston :hcy Swung round the circle"
and have given the paths q wide turn; but here
the streets are So narrow that they would
scarcely pass for respectable sized alleys in
towns Of less pretcnsion.
The buildings, both public and private, are a
strange combination Of designs, and seem to
have been the odds and ends owned by class OF
architects that belonged to no particular school
True, ;herc are Il few respectable buildings, but
not enough to make special mention OF. The
only building In the city worthy OF netc that
can see is the Merchants Exchange; but even
that cdiscc, which stands in II very bad loo alton,
seems no; to be appreciated by the slow-gnirg
oil fossils who comprise the business men OF
ST. Louis for though it has been finished some
a.
in wandering through its halls and lofty rooms,
in the language OF the poet, thought TO myself,
II feel Ike one who treads alone
Some banquet hall deserted.
Whose lights are flown,
Whose garlands gone.
Aud all bat me departed
81. Louis has one or two passingly tine hotels,
but nothing to brag Of, ard q few other places
tscarcely worthy Of mention, such as -Four Courts,
Union Depot, and will some time In the dim fu.
ture possess a respectable poet Office; but then