Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1879-01-25


invitation Mr.. UhI and wife and my
self spent pleasant evening in Dixon |
with Mr.. and Mr.. Miller, formerly
Of trostburg. Mr.. Miller taught
school here, and his wife is the daugh-
ter of Mr.. Williams of the Allegany |
mines.
Ny next stopping was at Cedar
Rapids. on the Chicago Il N. W. R. r. |
Here had to remain over night to
make a connection to Grundy Centre,
the terminus Of my trip by rail
This night capped the climax-2S
degrees below zero! | nearly began
to thin seriously of giving the thing
up, CT laying over for better times I
had already had my nose frozen, and
began to think | might soon find my
self, standing, somewhere, frozen all
oserl | assure You that l wished the
Steyer estate was in some one else s
hands as far as was concerned. The
locomotives troze up; the people
bundled their faces and moved on;
did likewise as | was in for it, and
there was no going back in the pro-
gramme. No better Saturday-the
next morning, and at noon I arrived
at Grundy Centre. | soon found that
Mr.. Lynn was looking for Inc that
day, and that he had asked neigh
Dor to bring me out to his place. I
had now nine miles by sleigh to his
place over the open prairie. The cold
was now reduced to Is degrees Jelot0
zero. Very oonsoling, indeed, with
such a ride before me. I found the
cold pierced me so terribly that I was
compelled to purchase some extra I'M
derclothing to keep me from actually
freezing. MIR. Barnes and myself
started, not, however, without some
misgivings on his Part about me, as I
could see. He several times wished
to know if I eouid stand it through.
| found it different entirely to travel
ing here in the mountains where we
have the vallies and hills to relieve
us occasionally, be it ever so c2lu
But on the prairies to face endless
and boundless space against the north
west wind, blowing with relentless
fury and without ceasing, is, indeed,
terrible. I felt thankful, indeed,
when | arrived all whole, but the
nose. Mr.. Barnes remarked it was
unusually cold even for lows. He
also said they had become used to the
cold. That will do, but as far as |
was concerned I did not intend to re-
main long enough for that.
[ found Mr.. Lynn, whom I had
never met before, a very clever gen
tleman, who had been attending to
Mr.. Steyer's affairs in Iowa for about
twenty years, and, considering all
things, [ found his interests in better
condition than I anticipated. Mr..
Steyer owned originally about l,4OO
acres of land in Iowa, nearly all of
which is now disposed of. Mr.. Lynn
and Mr. Wilhelm were the pioneers in
that particular locality, and I will
give yon two instances Of how they
had to rough it as such. 7 will give
it to you III Mr.. Lynn's own words.
He had to haul by wagon the lumber
tC build his house 10 miles, He
also told me that one winter, after be-
ing there several years, the snow fell
so deep aud dritted to such an extent.
that they could not get out, and con-
aeQuently he did not see a living hu-
man being for five weeks outside his
own family. In answer to the ques-
ton how they managed about provi-
sions in all that time, he said they
happened to have rather a good stock
on hand, and by economy they lived
it through. His trees that he had
planted made fuel, but some of
his nejghhors had even burned their
bedsteads to keep from freezing.
The first thing the settlers do is to
plant trees around the houses to pro-
tect them from the storm, and also
for the purpose of fuel. Some of the
groves planted are beautiful and quite
extensive, and they grow rapidly.
They are mostly of cottonwood and
soft maple.
ana now about 1000 miles from
Frostburg and have passed over unin-
terrupted snow and ice. Grundy
Centre, the county seat of Grundy
county, is quito q fiourishing place Of
about l 500 inhabitants. Dixon and
Sterling, in Illinois, I noticed, are
places Of considerable Importance.
Clinton, Town, where we crossed the
Mississippi, is quite a Aourishing
place particularly as a lumber mark
ct. Cedar Rapids, 90 miles from
Chicago, is also a considerable place
| must say this ACE affords the finest
eating house, with the most respectful
walters that / have ever seen.
AS ! expect this will tire your pa
tience, Mr.. Editor, l will row make
+, few casual remarks and close. As |
recommended, like Greeley, to the
young man, 60 West, you perhaps
may think | should in some manner
qualify the remark. l can do so only
by saying that in not one instance did
meet any one settled West, that left
here, but seemed proporous, and had
no thought OF returning. Besides
this, when | see the greet, broad acres,
tll boundIoss ICON it seems to me, the
word should be go vest for young