St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-05-12
West and NOrth-We Vest.


Omaha is nearly 600 miles in one solid
stretch. By the Julesburg Cutoff, as
it is called, the trip is made i'll less
than "a hours. For two or three hours
after leaving Denver, this route runs
parallel with the Rocky Mountain
range, and the view of these mountains
is just magnificent, being unobstruct-
ed by hill or tree or cloud for the en-
tire distance These Colorado noun
tain views are very unlike anything
in the East. Elevate the White noun
tain range a thousand feet higher than
its present altitude, finish off the peaks
like A tents or Indian wigwams, nick
le-plate them, and then if they should
rise boldly out of ii bare plain, instead
of being mixed up with lesser noun
tains, the likeness would still be i'm
perfect for the reason that this West
ern atmosphere is so much clearer
than any thing known East. PrOmi-
nent in the foreground of this range OF
llt hOChltS, IL Lung . cam if'cOO wv
high while far in the rear stands out
Pixies Peak, that Mecca of so many de-
luded Eastern fortune hunters i'll years
past.
From Denver the railroad runs down
the South Platte river for 300 miles
until it unites with the North Platte in
I
ert. There are some herds of cattle,
which grow more numerous and bet
ter looking as one approaches the
! North Platte but there is not vii
lage or even "salOon" in the 300
miles. There is occasionally cabin,
for the herders, | suppose, but the
census of 1880 gives the entire route
but about 600 inhabitants. AS one
travels East in Nebraska the country
improves, and long before the train
reaches Omaha it runs through fine
agricultural section, dotted with thrifty
villages.
At Omaha our party found w. J.
Connell, Esq, and family which now
includes DR.. Payson Chadwick and
Judge Albert Chadwick. We also
found Mr.. Edwin Stevens of St. Johns
bury, son of James R., who has ii good
place in one of the lalge railroad of
fees. All st. Johnsbury people in
Omaha are well and doing well, and
for little while it almost seemed as
though we were in Vermont again, in
stead of west of the Missouri river
Omaha is thrifty city and growing
rapidly in good class of public build
ings and private residences. A new
and elegant opera house has been com
pleted the past year, and two large
hotels are now in course of cOnstruc-
ton. With so many railroads center
ing here, and such agricultural re-
} sources to back it, Omaha can hardly
fail to grow in population and business
Importance.
The travelling party i'll which you
correspondent holds a third interest
were not going back to Vermont sat
isfied without seeing something of the
north west. Twenty hours ride from
Omaha brought us to Minneapolis
This is the growing city of the north
! west, nearly two thousand houses hav
7 ing been built the past year, of whicI
: I57 were business blocks. Its grea
interests are -four and grain, and lum
Der. The largest Touring mills in TIN
world are located here, and the pro
duction of lumber the last year wa
two hundred and thirty-fOur milliO
: feet The flour product of the Mime
= apolis mills for 1881, was over thre
2 million barrels, of which over one mil
lion barrels were exported to EurOp
direct from the mills. This amount
more than a million barrels in exces
of 1880, and nearly two millions large
than that of 1879. These are not hear
= say statements, but figures taken fror
the statistics of the Board of Trade
There were % Touring mills operate
in 1881, and four more are being bull
The largest has capacity of five thou
sand barrels of -four day C) and til
smallest $50 barrels. There are seve
mills i'll all, which have a capacity {
D. over one thousand barrels "A day. L
in supply these mills there is a whes
s. country northwest of MinneapOl
at which an old resident of St. Paul tol
o. o. me in all sincerity was 925 miles lon,
d. Throwing off the p miles for "heaC
lands" and il still remains very r,
I'd spectacle wheat field.
The fall of some 80 feet in the Missi
II II sippi river at this place, is what give
)f. Minneapolis such valuable wat'
power. A dam built with an ang
or pointing up the river, divides the WI
Nd ter, giving each shore its apprOpria
1s share. The river is very high nov
I and the torrent pOurs over the da
and down the rapids with majest
fury. When one of our party SUI
- gested that it was "a very good fall
e ! some exceptions were taken to b