The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1882-10-14
OUT WEST ON A BICYCLE.
Letters from . Correspondent ON Wheels.
Arrival q CounciI Bluns after Much Toll
ing over the Flaeney Hills Of lows.
CouNcuL BLurrs, low, Sept. 1s, 1852.

= 4 AII1V0A ~ OOWUCAE 6A0N1 01C0E MUCH VOl
!; ing over the flasuey Hills Of lows.
Q CouNuL BLurYs, low, Sept. 1s, 1882
: EDITOR CHIEF:
81 Christopher Columbus This excla
!; nation have used about nine hundre
$ and ninety-nine times during the pas
week, aud have only used it once fo
. every bad hill / have had to climb, an
{ in several instances only once for tw
, hills. The roads through Iowa are quit
, dry and smooth, hut the hills-oh, my
!, Wednesday addressed native Of tl,i
terrible State and asked him why ther
! were no more hills in Iowa, and he sor
) rowfully replied that they had no p'ac
to put 'em or they would surely get few
more. He said Iowa was the best Stat.
. in the Union, and wanted to know how
liked to ride bicycle, and if wa,
shat feller that's goin' through to Cali
forny."
On Monday of last week I visited til.
manufacturing town of Moline, Ills, and
saw the inner workings Of the great plow
works, the corn planter works, the Wagon
works, tie pipe aud the reed orga,
4 factories, the foundry and several shops
Of minor Importance. Moline is very
busy town Of eight OF ten thousand pop.
nlation, but very dirty, dusty and
smoky place, rs nearly all manufacture
ing towns are.
Tuesday morning crossed the river
into Davenport, Iowa, spent few hours
looking at that pretty city, and ther,
again turning my faithful Columbia
wheel westward, started OH my trip
across this great State. And behold,
live to say / have crossed, though don't
want to make the trip again in the same
way. Oh, those terrible hills! Did you
ever try 'em!
pave passed through many towns and
cities on my way, and many shabby and
discouraging looking ones, but Que no.
ticeable feature of Iowa towns of any
Importance is, that pretty Or shabby,
nearly all have neat, we'll kept parks.
Iowa City is a nice place Of eight thou
sand population. West Liberty, Brook
lyn and Malcolm are good little places,
and Grinnell, where rested part of
Wednesday, is almost little Eden, al
though the cyclone Of last summer did
destroy more than a hundred buildings,
including a college, and killed forty-one
people, besides manning and crippling
many. went through that portion of
the town attacked by the terrible storm,
and found piles of debris still lying
around, while some Of it was being
burned to get rid Of it. No fences are
here to he seen, and the trees that remain
are all twisted out of shape. But, Chi
cago-like, Grinnell viii! not remain de-
stroyed and is rapidly rebuilding.
From Grinnell l betook my way to
DesMoines, where met both the gentle
men of the wheel and those of the rcpor-
torial staff of the various papers, passing
a very pleasant half day. In the after
noon, again mounting my Columbia
resumed my journey west, accompanied
to the gates of the city by Mr.. Ed. X.
Failor, one of the DesMoines bicyclists.
The State fair had just closed and been
Il great success, and the people of that
live city were very happy thereat. The
city is a good business point and is builds
ing up rapidly. 1t has three daily and
several weekly papers, and is surrounded
by good country and seems to contain
many live, wide-awake business men.
From DesMoines to this point l passed
through quite number of good towns,
Dexter, Stuart, Anita, Atlantic aud Shell
by being among the number.
Iowa will probably have At good corn
crop, and wheat has turned out quite
well this season, though / am told the |
State is not relied on SO much for wheat |
as it used to be, and that tile soil is wear |
ing out for that product. Why it should |
while the State is SO ncy is puzzIin. |
question for the uiisoplisticated to an
swer. The ground is very rolling along
the route came, and do not think l I
have seen twenty miles of even mofier-
ately level country from the time l left |
Davenport till reached Council Bluffs. I
have seen many hills SD steep that those
W who were on horses would get off and
lead up in mercy to their beasts never
did this myself, my animal being so mod
EST and backward that invariably had
to pusl, instead of lead lim.up hill.
l arrived here safe and sound, Though
wofu!ly tired aud almost sick, and was
,ollared by Messrs. Samuel Bowly, Clar-
snce Judson aud Will Carothers of the
Council Bluffs wheelmen almost as soon
IS strlck Main street, and who are do
ng all they can to make my stay i'll this
;ity pleasant one, SO that once more
feel almost at home and not entirely
among strangers.
Council Bluffs is a place with narrow,
crooked streets and poor sidewalks, but
t is now doing considerable toward in,-
3rovement. 1t is on the Missouri river.
opposite Omaha, Nebraska, and has about
l5, 600 inhabitants. From here all the
way to Sioux City runs an almost nn-
broken liDe of bluffs, which are very pic
but hard to climb.
The hardest part OF my wheeling is
low over till reach the mountains.
from this city cross the river to Omaha,
md after a short stay there will again
Mount the rubber-shod steed that has
,hus far stood by Inc SO nobly, and again
Quincy toward the setting sun. 1t may
AXE me eight days to cross Nebraska,
hough l am told the roads are quite
evel and in excellent condition, aud may
make much better time than that. will
axe the trail that follows near the Lice