Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-10-04
LETTER FROM CHICAGO.
BEIvIDERE, Boone Co, ILL
SaDt .li 1890

FRIEND NEGLEY:- am stranded here in
northern Illinois, and will help fill up dull
day by complying with your request of last
May, "Let me hear from you if you go West
II this distant echo reaches you and finds
yorr favor, l may halloa again. L have Oh y
begun my westward wanderings. hence my Oh
servaIiOns have been limited, and my concu-
sions being hasty. NAV not BE- correct.
In Indiana, discovered that nature and the
soil had produces big timber, nature and GER
tain Other factors have produced the Native,
the native and the sell produce big orn big
corn and the natives care, produce big hogs,
biz hogs produce cash for the native, and the
native aided by some undetermined combiha-
ton of forces, produces big stories. The
stories in TACT, are the bggist things in the
State-unless it is some oi the swamps. so
many things biz aud marvellous in Indiana,
had thought rendered me surprise proof, but
Chicago penetrated my armOr ara surprlsea
me again. l bave been in a good many Places,
and am prepared 10 say of Chicago, that 1t
"I,ays over them all" In fact think it beas
the - with big ID, in being more to his
fancy than he could expect OF any place in the
19.h century. l conceive that even Gabriel
With one eye on the past, looking through ex-
,erlence, aud the other the must be cock eyed,)
on the future looking through presclepcc, has
not been quite "up to snuff" in regard TO
Chicago. 1t is the most wonderfully enterprls-
ing, 90 ahead place, the jolliest, and most de-
lghtfully wicked place can conceive Of This
sort OF Hodge Podge" is universal Tree
lunch where everybody lunches, only different
people call it by different names as they smack
their lips and sc, um yum" over 1t. Some call
il iun, others business, while hosts are enthusi-
astic in their cry of This is life, hulrah ~
The few who will admit it to be naughty, quail
fy il like the French lady in speaking of the
can can, by asserting that it is also nice, and
its "Eat, drink and be merry, for Tomorrow
we die"
When one considers the juvenility of Chicago,
(it is only in the Kuickerbocker and Sholt dress
slage,) one is astonished at its vast extent;
at the great number, the massiveness and the
splendor of its business aud public buildings
al its loug, wide, handsome streets, with their
Nicholson or McAdamized pavements; but it's
parks are lin the estimation OF your "true blue
Chicagoian) its crowning glory. The parks are
numerous, they are fine, theY are expensive.
Wonderful pyroiechnc displays occur in Them
every night. Unless my observation has mis-
led me, there are many thousand sparks Tor
every park, and more flames than sparks. No
doubt but you remember of big fire that oc-
Cured here in October 1871. Maybe the phe-
noinena of sparks ana flames have just men,
toned is The result Of that fire; or, could 1t
have been the cause That IA COW caused IL by
kicking over a lamp in a barn l know Is the
common rumor, but then doesn't everybody
know, that common rumor is 4 common liar
Nov which will yoH beljeyey Common rumor,
that the COW did it 7 or me, that the sparks and
flames were somehow mixed up in in ity
For twenty days during the month of Sep-
tember the weather has been the finest | ever
experienced Sunshine, with enough haze in
the lmospheie to prevent excessive heat, and
il a south wind did become sultry, it soon yeer-
ed round and came oil the lake fresh and III
vIgorating. In fact, The weather has been
fine enough TO almost delude poor mortals into
the notion that this is Paradise, the verltahle
r. n M fhQTn anil NJ
the ..Trce OF ife' that they might eat Of its
fruit and live here forever and it is my opin-
ion that the Chicagoians Git they ever hear oil
iu will get, If not the who e tree, few gratis
ut least, for they ale mighty apt TO indulge iD
whatever they want, but perhaps, having so
much else to enjoy they may not oother ABOUT
this any more than they do for the future in
general.
| infer that they already have, somewhere
hereabout, the "Tfee OF knowledge.p At least
its fruit must be very abundant III this market.
stree was told (or did ! only dream it) that
this fruit is given the youngsters in Chicago, to
cut Il cir eye teeth on. Lord Lo d! why
wasn't brought up in Chicago
And the ladies' OF Chicago-Lord love them,
(uothjng masculine can help lt,) no description
OF the place omittng them would be complete.
The base slander mat they hase 6tg feet has
been so often asserlsd, that they wear short
dresses to dlspfove It. They are the most
abundant and the most friendly | have ever
met All the grandmothers, au0ts, cousins and
other lady triuds have, never manifested half
80 much desire TO cnteiain me, as has been
shown here where | am a stranger among
strange women. They are pretty, trim built,
neatly rigsed, clipper looking craft as can be
turned oil the SOCKS; bright as new dollar,
quick as fash, and iull OF "go;" but must
admit -piratcal looking, possibly are SO III
practice, for baye seen them SAL up 70 large
masculine crafts, who would haul in their colors
and be taken in low by the little clippers, like
a merchantmen in tow of a tug being dragged
into port go
But enough of Chicago, and next lime | will
tell you about the grangers.
Yours Cordially, +. j. 3.