The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-09-07
OVER THE CONTINENT.
FROM CHICAGO TO THE COAST.
NJ. canpS.ll. Journey to tho .pasIa G os.aa-rhs
DifieultIss Of Travel to the Land Of the
Setting sua-Ths People EaeOaatsrsd
on the Way-The Fad OF the TrIp.

Correspondence of he LRtetIignee1.
TACOMA, PUGET SOUND, August 23.-My
last letter closed with our arrival at Deer
Lodge-one Of the lodges in vast wilder.
ness minus the "boundless contiguity oi
shade" that We hear so much about, but
surrounded by an indefinite quantity oil
overshadowing mountains When l say
"our arrivaW l mean that OF Mr.. Winser,
chief OF the bureau Of information Of the
Northern Pacific road, Mr.. Fuller Of the
Detroit Tribune and myself. According to
agreement, Ward called for US at 4 the
next morning, and by half past 4-just as
1t was getting cleverly light-we were
seated in his vehicle behind two coed
horses bound for French's ranch thirty
miles away. AS we pulled out we saw one
Of the gaming houses OF Deer Lodge still
brightly lit up, aud could note all the night
long faro players still seated around the
table. The "lodge" is full OF licensed
gambling houses as they are open day and
night.
At o'clock we had reached Hauck's
ranch, almost half way, and there We
stopped for breakfast. We cav field OF
wheat there, ripe for harvest, some OF
which he said would run 70 bushels to
the acre. OF course 1t was an irrigated field.
Hauck is a thrifty German who has rough
ed II in California and Oregon and a. last
settled in the Deer Lodge Valley and is
now content. After half an hours stop
with him we pushed on briskly and almost
on the dot no o'clock reached French's
ranch, in good time for an engine and
caboose which the division engineer az
Misaoula had ordered by telegraph
to take us to "Bear's Mouth" where we
would catch at 9 o'clock the regular con-
suuction train for Missoula. At Bears
Mouth We found large force at work,
about half Cinnamon and half other nation
alities, and the contractor said that unless
some part OF the programme miscaried
the gap between the two approaching ends
Of track would be closed by the 25sh. And
now at this point, from whence | write
away up here on PUget Sound-we hear
already on the 23d, that it was closed yes
terday, the 22d, three days ahead oil ths
time set, and over two weeks ahead oil the
day (the Sth OF September) set weeks
ago for the formal and ceremonial driving
Of the last spike by President Willard ami
his invited guests.
l am tempted at this point to break of
the thread OF my narrative and branch out
into dissemination upon the final compile
ton OF this great line, between the begin
ming and completion Of which so many
years have intervened-years that brought
such great changes to the protector Jay
can appreciate what the Northern Pacific
has done and will do for the boundless
Northern territory through which 1t is
built, which 1t has opened up to settlement,
until he has travelled over the line.
BIRNINGHAMs RANCH.
Resuming my narrative. we got ona
mixed train at Bears Mouth at the hour
appointed, but not until after we had
walked three quarters OF a mile up 10
Bears Mouth to Birmingham's ranch to
get our dinners. We were piloted up by
the telegraph operator whom we found
doing business in the most primitivestyle
underneath torn and huttsring tent
along side OF the track. Birmingham's
ranch Is another place like Keenes-a
stage station-one OF the many PLACES on
the old line Of travel iu the ruts that In a
few days more will be played out as eating
stations. They have been bonauzi spots
to their owners. They have levied tribute
at the rate oil seventy'fve cents per head
per meal on way stage travellers, while
they have Accommodated the rest oil the
travelling public at "iopr bits" as they
universally denomiaate a half dollar out
here.
We found Birmingham to be shrewd
and leyel-headed IriShman who had settled
in these wilds years ago and grown up
quite plethotiC with the opening and de-
velopment OF the country. His wife en-
tertained us at liable with recital OF their
experiences, and how in tho course ot
years they had got able to send theis girls
oil to boarding school started by the Sis
ters at Missoula Birmingham is the posi-
master OF Bears Mouth and keeps his little
cupboard or pigeon holed box OF mail mat
ter in the wash room OF his .Shack," where
| discovered two huge reyolVerS gtlCkiug in
one OF the pigeon hOles. | concluded mat
tile rights 0f Uncle Sam were well guarded.
He assured me, however, that these @ere
not government fusileerR, but belonged TO
couple OF travellers whom he was thus ac-
commodating. He Faid lnat as long as he
had been in the country he bGd never had
OCCASION to 60 armed; that he had noticed
that nearly all shooting lcrapes had origi.
mated In whisky, and as he was not q
whisky man he had never got into any OF
them.
Ali.sou u has been for sometime The East.
ern terminus OF the Western division OF
the Northern Pacific roai. From that
place the stages have started on their jour
ney through the mountsins 10 Helena, the
lernlinnS OF the Eastern division of the
line. We reached MissOula from Bars
Mouth between and Z IN tue evening,
and were carried in "lree buR'-sa sort OF
q deg cart on wheels--to the Occidental
House, where we were comfortably lodged
over night. Eugineer Wicks, to whose au-
,Iofsty and courtesy We had been indebted
for trausp sportation from Be2t'S Mouth, called
on us at the hotel and gave Us an interest:
ing resume OF his experiences as railroad
builder ia tho. W,st Tor two or three years
past. The hardships and exposures which
engineers and their men have undergone
in building this great line would read very
much like Atoly OF the war could It be
written out We saw point at one ot the
tuuue!s along the Golumbia river where
men had 10 bc let down over u prtCjpice ot
several hundred feet by ropes-ihs same as
paintsrs on swinging Yladders-to drill holes
! for The inserting ot dynamite whereby 10
blast the rock and secnrO Il roadway,
CIVILIZED rRAvELlSo.
At9 o'clock lie aext morning We resnm-
ed our journey by rati. E9x, We thought,
we were to hsv, rlsiu satlisg once more-
AN easy time OF i. the balance Of the way.
30 We g,t nur lWggiVe alNa'd AMI chose
our respe4,ive brr,hs, having u ride OF
apnut 600 miles from Portland, Oregon, be.
tore Us, We got aIouS very wei indeed