Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-09-13
A TRIP BY RAIL.

A TRIP BY RAIL. !
rgum LANCASTER To LITTLE BOOK.
Acr.S. pennsylvanla, West Virginia, Ohios |
lnd,aus. Illinois, Missouri and Arksn-
sss.-scenes by the way.
Correspondence of the INTkLLIGENcER-
That humorous writer and great trav-
eler, Sam'l L. Clemens, who uses the pseu-
donym title of Mark Twain" gives as
frontispiece to his /" Roughing It," his
dreams of tho West prior to leaving the
states" for the Pacific slope. we Will
not attempt description OF the picture,
but it illustrates in some s3rt OF way what
passed through the mind OF the writer
nriOr to his leaving his Lancaster home to
accept Greeley's advice to the young men
to "Go West"
The trip by rail through the near west
eru states is no doubt familiar to your
readers. and if in this letter We repeat
some "oft told tale" or attempt dc.
scription of something or somebody that
frequent reading has made you become
acquainted with, we ask forbearance-for
to us it was all new.
1t was ILLS Sunday night when We put
our head out of the car window and waved
good by to friends, and took last look
for time-at your city. We passed Har-
risburg and arrived at Altoona without IN
cident, and passing it we assembled the
Alleghnies. As We 90 round tho horse
shoe bend We have that great piece oi
railroad engineering fully explained to us
by Mr.. Reah F. Wilson, Of the Pennsyiva.
MIA railroad corps. 1t was indeed grand
sight to look way down in the valley, To
sec the st, cams forming and running down
tie mountain sides just as the streaks OF
returning day are lighting up the western
horizon, while in the distance We see the
coke ovens in full blaze that illume
the morning sky with red, lurid
glare. This industry Of burning,
coke is carried on to great extent IN
the mountains. We pass ON through the
tunnel, past Gallitzen to CressCn, pretty
place near the top of the mountain, where
we read on its station sign that it is lOl
miles to Pittsburgh. We settle in our
seat for nap only to awake at the s0nOr-
GUS voice of the conductor Pittsburgh /;
20 minutes for breakfast" After par
taking of lunch and coffee We get on
board of the p. G. s. st. l.. Il. Il: (Pan
Handle) cars. In passing through the
Smoky City you SEQ nothing OF interest.
Now you are going over some high trcstie
work again through short or long tun-
mel, as the case may be, and it is not
until you pass over the Allegheny rivers
handsome iron bridge and leave Fits.
burgh in the rear that You once again ell
Joy travel or what you may see.
We cross tho intermediate country and
stop at Wheeling junction, where the
for St. Louis, whittier they went to sing in
opera in three weeks engagement. After
crossing the Ohio river, which, by the
way, at this point is not as widc as the
Conestoga at its average width, we come
into Steubenville, Ohio. Like Pittsburgh
it is q great manufacturing town, ano
clouds of black smoke hang like pal
over the place. The flint glass works cal
beat a rolling mill all the time in thu
amount of smoke issuing from 1t. Alter
leaving Steubenville wo began to look
around for somebody to talk to, ant
found in Mr.. Dick Boyer, of Philadelphia
a genial companion. He was, too, goin:
South, and began filling our inexperienced
brain with tales of the Southern "cOw
boy" How his story was recalled whc'
We arrived at Indianapolis, VIC will shoV
hereafter.
At noon we stop at Dennison fo
dinner, and reach Columbus, Ohio
at 3, where we took supper. From
this place to Indianapolis, where We al
rived shortly after midnight, our journe
is made more pleasant by tho singing 4
portions of the leading operas of tho da
by Mr.. Henry Laurent, tenor Miss Ed
moDds, soprano :; Miss Roach, alto; MI
C. X. Fullerton, basso. They are OF til
opera company before alluded to, and be
sides being good singers, are asreeabl
companions.
We arrive at Indianapolis, and being in
formed that we must wait two hours fO
our train, four Of us concluded to take il
tho place. Just as We leave tho depot which
is brilliantly illuminated with electric light
we hear several pistol shots. A crow
gathers and We mingle with it. In tn
centre lies a policeman, who has jus
breathed his last. Ie was only trying t
that Individual quieted him with thre
little pieces of lead, small but effective
We saw tho cowboy. 1t took four stou
officers and about fifty hits with maces
get him to the station house. 1t was Ou
first lesson in the dark side of wester
life. As We stood in that lighted dept
and gazed on the features Of that dea
policeman we vowed q vow to never GRO.
cowboy.
We have inow gone nearly 1000 mil,
and are at st. Louis. We expected to sc
in our journey out large tracts of uncult
waited land, but we hardly passed any ha
miles of thai long distance in which coul
not be noted the mark Of the agriculturis
If it is not field of growing corn you Sc
it i'm a newly plowed patch. Through Obi
each field on farm is divided by a goo
fence. The barns and house are good, an
you occasionally see an orchard. In Indian
aud Illinois, more especially in the fOrme
this is rare occurrence. There is fen.
on the farm line, but Zone between tt
fields, and those that you do see are eithe
worm or patent wirc fence; this latter art
Gle is extensively used in the West in col
structing fences, more on account Of its 81
ing of post planting; in some Instances We 81
the posts set at least Is or 18 feet apar
But, taking this section as whole, in {
agricultural view, some Of the pOOre
sections in Lancaster county will ''beat
all hollow" The houses and stables
these two states cannot rank with those
Ohio. and the straw stacks arc as ungain
as they are small.
But, to return to St. Louis, where v
spent several hours. This is a dir
city, out full of business. 1 mu
say q word about railroads. He
You SEQ some of the greatest maste
pieces Of the civil engineer's skill. For