Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-01-24
a TRIP AROUND THE WORLD.
Some InierestinE Letters from DIR. s. w
Thayer.


Some Iniercsting Letters from DIR. s. W.
Thayer.
FROM ST. PAUL TO SAN FRANCICO.s
By the kind permission of Mrs. Thayer,
We give our readers some very interesting
letters from DR.. S. W. Thayer. who is now
making the journey around the world, which
will be found we'll worth reading both by
the genial Doctors hosts uf friends and by
the general public.-ED. FREE Press,
1t wes the second day of December when
Col. j. L. Merriam. Of St. Paul, Mipn. and
myself, left that thriving and prosperous
city, which, with its twin sister, Minneapo-
lis, constitutes the great metropolis in the
northwest. After taking leave Of our
friends at the railway station of the St.
Paul and Sioux City Railroad for Omaha,
distance of $40 miles, we realized for the
first time that We had commenced journey
to follow in the track of the sun.
After long and slow journey, although
not an uncomfortable, nor very tedious
one, We of Saturday evening passed
through the "golden gates Of entrance to
the city of San Francisco, soon alter
gorgeous sunset OF which CalifOrnians
boast as being so much superior in beauty
and brilliancy than greets the eyes of NOR
tails elsewhere in tine world; as the Mime
sotians swear cant he heat by any other
place than in their own State as the YER
monters and New Englanders generally
declare that nothing this side the portals of
heaven is half SO grand and sublime as the
evening lights and shadows & ven off by Sol
as he il about to close the day and such
sunset as was called forth exclamations of
"charming, beautiful" from some of the
ladies 'too funny for anthing, amt it. ma,
that We should out West here see almost as
nice as the one we saw when Gen. Robert
and were in Italy, and Rob wrote these nice
verses about it which were printed in the
newspapers"
1t was really pleasant TO feel assured that
after week OF night and day travel by
rail, We were comfortably lodged in the
Grand Hotel, San Francisco. and also to be
so cordially received, SO pleasantly greeted
with smiles and volunteer service, which. ii
not regarded as an essential requisite to
make good landlord. landlords clerk and
hotel servants, as it is for the undertaken at
funeral, to look solemn, walk solemn, and
ride solemnly upon the hearse, is quite as
acceptable in this case to the guests as in
the other to the mourners.
think | wrote you from Omaha some
thing of the route from St. Paul to where
we crossed the Missouri river, the villages
here and there, the scattered houses upon the
plains, the extensive fields plowed for early
sowing CT wheat in Spring. The sparsity of
wood land and scarcity Of fuel for the settlers,
is now and has been serious drawback to
the settlement Of the country. Within
few years there have come from Russia to
this country large number Of class Of
immigrants known as hIennunites, a peculiar
people with somewhat peculiar notions.
Their religious belief is Lutheran. They
are opposed to war and contentious of all
kinds as much as the Quakers. They have
settled in small communities in Missouri,
Texas Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Dakota
and Minnesota, and have purchased lands not
in common, but as independent individuals
in that respect. Many Of them brought
to this country quite large sums Of money,
their old and quite useless agricultural i'm
plements, wagons and harness quite unique
in style, cumbersome and awkward and i'll
adapted to the new regime in the country
III WHICH tucy DOW HNe
| visited the family of one Of the cOmmu-
nity living far out on the prairie, away
from town, neighbors and woodland. a
very comfortable house, which served the
two-fold purpose as shelter for both man
and beast, it is tainted white, partly sur
rounded IL trees, planted as protection
against prevailing Winter winds. In the
partition which divides the house into two
nearly equal parts is brick structure quite
like in appearance to the old fashioned
"s stack of chimneys" that in early times
before stoves came Into use occupied the
central part of dwellings and like them so
constructed as to serve the purpose Of
warming the whole house and for the cook
ing of food. On the side towards the barn
portion of the dwelling. is an opening like
1" low down CRATE " in which fuel is
placed the opposite side is 50 construct
ed as to serve all the necessary purposes
for cooking, warming the house, etc, etc.
Hay is the only article used fo- fuel it is in
abundance all around them and costs moth
ing except for cutting and gathering, which
Is done during the season OF the year when
wheat-growIng farmers have the least de-
mands made upon them for labor. The hay
Is thrown into the fire place either in a loose
condition or pressed into small bales easy
to handle. 1t serves every necessary pur-
pose for which fuel is demanded, at cheaper
rate even than if taken from forest of
wood. These people a.c temperate, indus
trious, economical and prosperous, many cf
them quite wealthy, not fashionably but
comfortably dressed their houses painted
without, whitewashed, cleanly and orderly
within, although somewhat favored with
odors of the stable from its near proximity to
the barn. They are apparently happy
in their homes, and invariably when
questioned about living they say they
have no desire to return to Russia.
saw several articles of furniture for the
houses and the tables of such peculiar ma
terial and structure which they brought
with them from their former rhomes, that |
fear the sir of coyetousness might be charged
against me if it were not for the command
ant against its commission. Only that part Of
it, however, would apply in my case-that
reads 'nor anything that is his"