San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-12-01

trafiic greatly In tnat uiiee''o"'
grants are going in fair numbers in'o
the territory we occupy, and coal Is De-
ing developed at points along the hne'
which will in time give considerable
local traffic. The lumber trade Is In
creasing as fast US saw-mills can be put
into the yellow.pine district, through
which we run in Louisiana and Eastern
Texas. and the cattle business from
Northwestern Texas has been very sat
isfactory. The passenger business Is
increaing all the time, as many points
reached by the extension OF the roads
are already settled i o."
THE COUNTRY OPENED BY THE NEW ROADS
"What sort of country does the
new system open?" ~, ''.'
"Western Texas is exceedingly fer
tile, particularly in the Pecos country.
There any one of the crops OF the re-
gion can be raised in abundance. The
great Llanos Estacados, the "Staked
Plains" are splendid grazing territory
and water can be procured in almost
any of the gullies by sinking few
feet. We have found no difficulty in
getting all the water we want. The
Southern Pacific opens, as you know
the great mining region Of the South
west-New Mexico and Arizona-and
the new system will allow OF speedy
communication between the mines OF
the Eastern-or rather / should say
Western cities. There has been a
movement of capital from st. Louis
and cities in the Mississippi Valley
into this mining region already, and
the new roads will undoubtedly increase
this investment very materially"
THE PLEAsANTEsT ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA.
"What overland trade do you expect
to commando" 49,,
"There is enough difference between
the rates per ton from San Francisco
and New Orleans to England on wheat,
when added to the interest on money
and the insurance, to pay us for bring
ing wheat from Southern California to
the Gulf of Mexico for shipment We
can therefore hope to secure this trade
anyway. Then we hav. the difference
in climate in our favor, and this will
affect the passenger traffic materially.
On the Central and Union Pacific roads
the managers have been forced, in order
to get around the difficulty of snow
blockades, to build snow-sheds for
many miles over the roads. Before
those sheds were built the snow during
the winter would pile up and drift into
the deep cuts and narrow passes until
the working of the road became farce.
Trains were delayed and passengers
shut up in cars which were stuck in
snow-drifts. Often the supply of food
would give out, so that those on board
were obliged to make up common
stock and ration themselves, or the cars
would be run back to an eating station,
where they would stay until the road
had been dug out. Starting for San
Francisco in those days you could not
tell with any certainty when you would
arrive. AS for freight, when the snow
was bad, perfect block of freight
would fill up all of the cars and all of
Inc sidings waiting for chance to be
hauled through. To put an end to
;hese snow blockades the snow-sheds
we're built. These are of sufficient
strength to stand any ordinary strain
which can be put upon them by the
torms, but while they answer the pur-
pose they have spoiled the roads for
1t is difficult to imagine
nything more dismal than riding for
niles through these sheds. You see
lothing but the everlasting posts at the
ides, and your only amusement is
for the windows or openings,
hitch occur at regular intervals. Now
ne view of this interior of a snow-shed
J not enhancing when you first strike
), and you get very, very sick of it af- :
sr few miles. And then there is the
consciousness that the
emery outside of the sheds is well
orth looking at. On the southern
'ute We have not this difficulty of cold !,
r snow, and the passengers can amuse.
lemselves by watching the country
trough which they pass; and it is Z