The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-23
WHITEAKER'S RIDE.
now THE OREGON CONGRESSMAN
REACHED WASHINGTON In TIME.
The Fastest Trip Ever Made Between the
West and The East-FTom rive
months to five Bays.
GPlttsburg Postl

| fueSSHEe from bilt DNtuOtIbbit ihbh"eS giF' '"h
ing him to come to Washington Immediately
| He took n special train and reached Portland,
distant $50 miles from his home. ID g0od tiine
for the steamer. ON Saturday. the eighth,
| the steamer started down the Columbia river
to Astoria. The first vexatious delay was bad
mt the bar. A fter weary walt tho boat start
ed across at o'clock Sunday morning The
weather was ugly tho water was rough aud
travel was tedious. The boat should have
reached San Francisco by O'Clock on Tues
day morning last but, tossed about by the
waves, she was detained over twenty-four
hours. She arrived at San Francisco, distant
G57 miles from Portland, at 93O Wednesday
morning Gov Whitaker had expected TO
take n train ut the former point ut o'clock
Tuesday morning. This train would have
taken him through to Washington by9 O'Clock
Tuesday morning, March ~, early enough to
be present ut the organization Of Congress.
News or his delay was photographed to
| Washington, and back went the knesSage,
| ''Take special train and come on % oil haH-
ards" Tho instructions TO the traveller were
followed up with arrangements Tor his jour
ney Tho special train was provided. man
with q light craft was instructor 10 pull mp to
| the steamer as she approached the San Fran
cisco wharf He obeyed the instructions, and,
while other passengers were eagerly awaiting
| the tedious process of tying up the steamer,
Congressman Whiteaker was in the little
boat cutting through the water to Oakland
/ At 10 30, on less than an hour from the time
OF leaving the steamer, he had reached OAK
land had taken the special train, and was
soon aftarward whooping across tho country
over the Union Pacific ut q rate Of forty-five
miles an hour. The intention WAS 10 Overtake
the train which he had missed. Tho special
consisted Of n locomotive aud sleeper.
A al. n,1rxH fgtgn fnts
she sped ut n terrific rate Of speed until Ogden
was reached. Twenty-one hours had now
been gained, but the regular train was still
far ahead. There was no delay at Ogden, but
the special continued her way, now on the
Union Pacific, flying at an enormous speed,
across the plains The traveller was deter
mined to reach Washington In time for or
ganization In spite of wind and tide and rail-
! road schedules. and to be sure Of doing IT. had
given up the idea Of taking the train which ne
had missed at San Francisco. He determined
10 stick to the special, and allowed no dimnu-
ton in the speed of his own train. He swept
on through Wyoming and then through Ne
, braeka, sometimes travelling Mt the rate Of
forty-ilve miles an hour, sometimes legs than
tw, nty-five, but always maintaining the
average Of over thirty miles III hour.
/, At half-past 2 o'clock on last Saturday
morning his special pulled into the depot ut
Omaha, having made the run from San Fran
cisco, "A distance Of 1923 miles, in sixty-four
hours The usual time for the fastest train
v IA one nuIlufNU anu ono hours. nb UBuhi
rate of speed Is an average of not quite nine
teen miles an hour. The average rate Ot
Congressman Whiteakers special was sone-
: thing over thirty miles an hour There was
D no detention ut Omaha. The special contln-
ued her way now over still another road. She
left Omaha on Saturday last at 3 .05 o. IN.
She pulled up In Chicago mt 5:15 p. m. She
delivered her distinguished passenger at Chi
: cago Just In time to take the Atlantic express
over the Fort Wayne road The Congress
man hustled himself into the Atlantic, and at
halfpast o'clock WAS still shooting over
terra iirma and was nOw.on the tirst schedule
train since he left his home, three thousand
2 miles away. He arrived In Pittsburg at II :27
yesterday afternoon.
THE FASTEST TRAIN ON RECORD.
On the Fort Wayne road he met Hon. Hen
: ry Poehler and Mr. Smith. The party left
! here last night at 06 on the Fast Line over
the Pennsylvania Railroad, and will arrive In
Washington at ~ o'clock this morning
With wind, tide and railroad schedules all
!. against him. Gov Whitaker will still reach
bis destination twenty-four hours ahead 81
the time expected when he left home. Ills
4 trip from San Francisco to Washington will
have been made in one hour and twenty-three
{ minutes less than five days, the fastest time
. on record from West to East. The trip Of
I Lawrence Barrett and other theatrical people
. from New York to San Francisco some time
ago was made In something less than six
days. These gentlemen travelled from East
y to West with the sun, but Gov. WhiteakeI
| travelled in a contrary direction. They gained
! three hours, because San Francisco time IL
. three hours slower than Washington
/ time. Congressman Whiteaker lost three
/ hours for the same reason. tie also lost
nearly eight hours In this city, because there
was no through train to Washington before
:O6 p. m. The theatrical people had the adj
, vantage also Of previous arrangements on all
the railroads Gov. Whiteaker's special train
was put on the road at the shortest notice.
Were there any incidents In the trip
! | tbv ~ nj
Gov. Whitaker during the afternoon.
mo, nothing further than the time. DIFF
ferent railroad people told me that we were
; making the fastest run ever made across the
plains, and this led my mind back TO my ex-
Z perience In 1849. | first went to the Pacific
coast In that year. Afterwards | came back
! to Missouri, and in 1852 | crossed the plains
: again. Each Of those trips required five
! months. and our trains made fair time, too
We went with OK teams"
THE GOVERNORS PERSONNEL.
Gov. John Whitaker, the man who made
this break-neck trip, is tifty-nine years of age
He Is about five feet nine or ten inches in
height, with massive square shoulders, deep
chest and would weigh probably about 1870
pounds. He wears an iron-gray beard and
moustache, which, while covering nearly the
whole face, leaves exposed a pair OF ruddy
cheeks, which are the very picture of health
, His hair is OF light brown and his eyes are a
sharp blue. His countenance indicates him to
be a whoe-souled jolly good fellow, with an
extraordinary share OF good square common
sense and much sound practical information.
His conversation and action prove him to be
not only that sort Of a man, but a man also
with good fund of lore. He was dressed in
plain attire avoiding every tendency toward
foppishness. Though somewhat careless
about nicely Of dress, he Just as scrupulously
! doffs the marks OF man whose home is on
the plains as he avoids snobbishness. There
Is none of the broad-brimmed hat f0olishneSs
and Western country staggering air about
him.
Mr.Whiteaker was born in Dearborn county,
Indiana, on May A. 1920. He first went to the
Pacific coast in 1849. In 1851 he came back as
far as Missouri, and in 1852 again went to the
Far West this time to settle in Main county,
Oregon.
TAKING POSSESSION.