The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1880-08-12
FROM NEW MEXICO.

| tUOW NEW WeAuCO.
| LAS VEGAS, n. NJ, August ., 1880.
| EDITORS JOURNAL: When l babe
the readers Of the JOURNAL good by
last March, supposed Il en- it would bt
my last attempt as y newspaper cores
pOndent; but ibavecOncluded to drop q
few lines occasionally and ask your
readers to bear with me in my imper-
| feet manner As u writer, making no
pretentiOns as such, always feeling,
| when q sentence il finished, or de-
scribing anything in my travels,
swell, that will not interest any one"
But here goes, even If il is dry reading.
Leaving Salina, Monday. August
I'd, OH the 5. & :. II. r., changing ut
at Mcpherson to the A., I. & :. r. Il.
r., from thence to Lyons, then by
buggy over to Sterling 40 miles, on
the main line. BY this route the trav-
eler saves about 100 miles or over in
going by way Of Florence. At noon
Tuesday arrived at West Las Animas.
That night I took the ears for La
Junta, arriving there about ten o'clock,
then changing to the south bound
train for Trinidad. After well fixing
myself in the car, expecting to put the
found disappOintment,a a the cars were
pretty well Tiled with western rOughs.
They would not sleep aud were deter
mined that no one else shOuld-ex-
hausting politics and many other sub
jects. The political subject was soon
put aside, as only one being q Garfield
man, the Hancock crowd sOOn silenced
him. After most all got tired out the
4 til Aauu
stories. and finally, when one started
out on q story the rest would snOre
him out. | endeavOred To keep from
getting provoked, and did: for il
had opened my mouth To object TO their
actions might now be lying along
the track some place. But there il
nothing like getting used to western
life.
Arriving at Trinidad next morn
ing the bus put us out ut the United
States Hotel. Here, near the noun
tains. there is quite change in the
weather-the days being nice and
pleasant. the nights 50 cool that WOOL
en- blankets are required over you
every night. Ies. it is the land Of cool
nights and sweet dreams under wooden
blankets in August. Before We arrived
At Trinidad We could see the top Of the
Spanish peaks covered with snow.
stopping ut the same hotel was Gen.
Albert Pike, Of Mexican war fame
and Pixies Peak renowu. He Is now
seventy-one years old, very large and
fleshy his hair is white - snow and
very long, coming down over his
shoulder The old General Il very
talkative-and also interesting. Very
few know more about Old Mexico and
West than he.
On Friday morning I left Trinidad
for this place. I will not describe
passing over the Ration mountains
and through the great tunnel. ~
gave . description Of them In my
former letters. When l let New
Mexico last May il was barren-you
could hardly zee spear of gfass-and
Was surprised To see the face Of the
country green and pretty now. They
tell me plenty Of rain has fallen since
last Nav; in fact, too much. The
railruad has been washed out several
times during July. The merchants
complain that hardly any goods have
arrived for - days. We passed sew
eral X. II. wrecks on the way down.
The crops here u kansas man would
laugh II them are good. The corn l.
two feet high. tasseied out, with big
ears on it-about ~ big ~ small eap
Of popcorn. The wheat 10 green and
has commenced headinG, and prom
ise- . large yield, say or I bushels to
the acre. believe the largest 0eld on
my journey In y. n. thus far must
contain af least ten acre<. requiring
two Mexicans 10 keep the hungry