Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1879-07-24

ice is away, varied with the luxury
Of polishing the poles of the tele-
graph line. Ezra Cornell little dream
ed that in taking the wire out of the
ditch and mounting it in the air he
would some day become a bovine
benefactor. Minus the river and
ranches, the scene is much the same
on the X. p, virified now and then
by few fleeing antelopes.
The towns, which have partaken OF
the nature Of the country everyw here
neat and thiving at first, scattered
and temporary farther on, still look
city-like and prosperous on the maps,
but in reality they have dwindled to
name, occasionally associated with
n water-tank and Windmill At
times they swell to the proportions of
'dobe house, a "dug-out" and a
corral, denuisoned with a population
ranging from a dog and telegraph
',rcrator to a COW, q pony and a
postmaster. Lakin and Wallace
have eating houses, but the others
are geometrical rather than geo.
graphical points, for their greatest
characteristic is ''position without
magnitude" " The last town in
Kansas OH the X. z. is Monetary
ESQ the brakeman and map say) but
you do lot strain your eyes to see a
village o. that when you have been
riding through state of it for hours.
launching, lounging and looking, the
day wears away. You get pretty
well cqlainted with your fellow
travellers by this time. A general
worry, impatience and anxiety per-
vaae the entire coach. "a fellow
feeling makes us wondrous kind"
and little condolences and rumors
float around and anon you are en-
lightcned about your neighbors. The
fat woman is going to the noun
tains to reduce her flesh, and heay-
ems! you are going to increase
yours. The young men playing eu-
chrc now, are all for Leadville, and
the young girl you patcrnally called
Isis" is going to meet her husband
in Denver. The fat woman is a spir-
ituaIiot and Is taking this trip at the
request OF Il dead daughters ghost,
who was with her in her berth last
night and not happy. Then you
think, 'What shadows. we are, &c -
but that won't apply to the woman if
it does to the ghost, and you drift
into wondering il this is the abode
OF unhappy spirits, whether the plains
were not the place where Dives was
when he wanted that drop of water.
On with the evening some one re-
marks, 1--WE ought to see the noun
tains nOw," and there is a raising of
windows, Il rushing for platforms, a
stretching Of necks and straining of
eyes, as if our train were a ship, and
the cry of LAND ahead" had sound
ed. The ''tender-foot" hangs out
from the platform, like a brakeman
looking for COWS, and loses his hat,
gets cindcr in his eye and general
disappointment in his heart. AT
last Pixies or Longs Peak looms up,
4 hundred miles away, Il welcome
sight and ''yc hatIcss" one stretches
his neck like terrapin, the sash
comes down like guiIIotine and he
thinks the peak volcano in most
violent eruption.
And now, if you are on the A. T.
& $. +, you begin to rise fast to Pu-
eblo. The engine coughs like a
western bound asthmatic and the
steam which curled high above the
tram yesterday drops through the
LIGHT air hy the tender now and trails
along the ground like mist. If on
.he X. Z. Gas will he presumed from
his om) you glide down ''thc divide"
.hc engineer strives to make up lost
ims e. chronic thing with the X. P.)
md Longs Peak and adjacent ran
yes, magnitied hv the evening mirage
md respondent with the sun and
snow, ornament. like immense stuc.
.oCs the northern horizon. On
lown toward the valley Of the Platte,
.agcr and anxious You go. Sudden
Y some one puts on his hat or coat, !
yhcn the whole crowd of newcomers
yrab bundles, baskets and babies and /
0uk out the window for Denver. ,
Porter, are we near now For +
V miles sir; he there in two hours
\ relapse of lounging, longing and
trctching, but the little leGges and
harply bsohcn bOuldcrs ard some
igns of mountains and the tllicken-
ny ranches shadow an approach to
At last Il shrill whistle
which is music now) arouses the /
rain and you gather your bundles, /
hrOw away your lunch box, and are
Ii Denver with your watch an hour
90 fast and your heart sad that the
light air has not weakened the voices
If the western 'bus-driver and hotel
All, the light air! Why, you do |
lot feel it, you say, but when you
limb To a room on third floor you
lon't feel it, but YOU are feeling for
t 1ranticalIy. This is the precursor
If the climatic change. Like sea-
lckness, it may come i'll a minute or
! month, but to many it is sure tc
.Ome. A shiyer, flush, q nervous
brill, sweating, q burning, full
less of blood, an emptiness of air. A
lesire TO go, yet going is laborious,
! desire to breathe (and a capacity
or breath even to your boots) but
he thinness of the thing is eXasperat-
ng. Your heart pumps away like a
ire engine and your respirations are
ike those ofa rejected lover. In a
lay or SO they usually subside, but
elapses of more or less energy occur
With any unusual exercise. When
'ver this you are ''acclimated" and
''tendcrioot, in local parlance, and |
ike poor "Joe" in Bleak House,
don't know nothink' IF from
Missouri, you are doubly contempti-
lie to the Republican "barnacle" of
his State, for he has slight grip upon
lis majority and looks with uncer-
ain dread upon this recent influx.
Oh, his heart opens wonderfully to-
yard Eye Kansas negro" but his
blatant philanthropy sounds more
ike cry for help than an imitation.