River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-07-16
Chicago Letter.
CHICAGO. July 10th, l88l

(HlCdSO LtlLSIs
CHICAGO. July 10th, 1885,
DEAR JouRNAL:-For some days past we
have been having siege of hot weather,
but this evening it is cold enough to ne
cessitate the wearing of an overcoat.
Nothing of importance occurred here to
mar the quiet of the Fourth. On the
contrary every one who could do 50 went
out Of the city on that day, and among
this mighty outtlowing of people was
your correspondent. AT II 80 .. m, of
the Sd inst, we took the r. Il TT W. r.
Il. enroute for Indiana, our natal state,
and arrived Mt Bourbon our destination,
at 4 q. m., ON the glorious Fourth. Here
we took breakfast with kind relatives
some of whom we had never seen before.
After doing justice to the meal, we soon
found ourselves being whirled away to a
little city by the name of Argus, some il
miles distant. Here we were RECALLED
with the usual Fourth of July spread-eagle
"tatfy" so commonly doled out to the
American citizens Of to-day. Having re-
turned home in the evening, a good
nights rest was enjoyed, and the Sabbath
was spent in the orthodox way. In the
evening, we attended a public meeting
that was held in the M. +. church under
the auspices of the w. G. T. o., and, at
the request Of the President, briefly told
them what was being done in Wisconsin
in the temperance cause. As result of
this talk, a call was made that evening to
take the necessary steps at once to organ
Use Good Templars lodge in that city
also to see that juvenile Temple be
formed. Monday evening found us again
in Chicago and ready for work.
The winter wheat is now being har
vested in the section where we were.
Tho &c mood NH at there * # II lint
the general yield will be light Corn
looked quite sickly, the poorest being
but few inches high while the best was
about two feet tall
As promised in our last letter, we will
now continue the description OF few
of the things that we have seen here, and
the remainder of our letter viii be direc-
ted more especially to the school children
of Pierce county, with whom we have
spent so many pleasant hours.
At present the streets, many OF them,
are being torn up the debris removed,
| and a granite pavement put down in its
/ stead The blocks of granite are brought
| from Green Lake, Wisconsin, and each
/ block is about Is inches long, / inches
! wide, and inches deep. After the top
! dirt, etc, has been removed from the
street to a depth Of 10 inches, layer of
crushed stones is put all over it, and
upon that layer Of sand is evenly
| spread When this is done, a heavy
steam roller is run back and forth many
times over it SO as to thoroughly pack
the sand and gravel, after which the
| granite blocks are set up edgewlse
side by side, small gravel stones worked
down between them, pitch smeared over
them, and LAYER of sand over all. A
street like this, ready for use, costs $40
| ,,gr c.,r,ro ,,or1 Lara
Having looked at the streets if you
will come with me, we will go to Lincoln
Park, containing $40 acres, the most
beautiful and attractive Park in the city,
and it is said to have the finest location
of any Park in the country. After a
twenty minutes ride we find ourselv es at
our destination, and taking one of the
shady walks we will see what there is tC
be seen Besides the green grass and
leafy trees the first tt ing that attracts
our attention is a series of beautiful flow
er beds artstically arranged and contain
inc mvriads of many-hued flowers. As
we gaze upon all this beauty, the thought
comes to us, why should we who live il
the country be without these beautiful
things when with a little labor anC
care they might be easily had? Beside
being pleasant to behold, flowers have
; a magic influence over children tina
tends to subdue their turbulent spirit
and instead thereof TO cause a love 70
the beautiful to spring forth
] AT the end of the walk which we arr
5 now traversing, we come to Lake Wen
; stOn, where may be seen swan, geese
! ducks, and pleasure boats lnnumerabl
I loaded with passengers. Following al
this lake we come to Lake NlthroW, a
the head of which is located the Boat
| PASSING IN IN the SH
Lion pit. How graceful they are as the
I gambOl in the water and spOrtlVely chas
i each other round and round in the tank
i All, did YOU hear that one roar? What
g queer noise he made! AT our right
/. | a short distance sta nds the RymersO
! Memorial Indian Group in bronze. HaN
ing looked at this as long as we care t
we now pass to the Eagle house whef,
may be seen eagles, crows, allgators, tul
ties, and porcuplnes. Close by this is tn
squirrel cage and the cage of birds, mex
is the badger, and then we arrive at tn
village of prairie dogs. As we gaze upo
4 them, their peculiar habits as describe
It by travellers, is called to mind Farthe
+ on we come to the Rocky Mountain lilo
I and dog III one cage, next are the wolves
e the wild eats, and bear pits where mn
. black and brown bears are kept Puss
!. seems pleasant enough i'll her cage, bu
G her claws look as if she could scratch ii
! fitting opportunity were offered hel
Y There, DO YOU see that large resJles
brown bear standing on his hind fec
n md apparently trying the strength OF tn
5 iron bars of his cage six or eight feet frOI
|. the groupd3 What a hug he could give
: Directly opposite the bear pits on on
left are the flower garden and conserva
t tory where a great variety OF beautltu
5 and rare flowers are cultivated and kept
i Going a little to the north, we come +
: the pens where the buffalo, elk, and dee
e are kept.
s Having now taken look at all the AM
\ mails, there remain many walks an
/ places of interest yet to be seen. At thu
S extreme north end of the park is thu
celebrated artesian well, No. l, iron
3 which 200 gallons OF pure water is fioWln
: each minute. Also Stocton Lake which
, when completed, will be the largest ant
{ most beautiful in the park.
There are within the boundaries Of tn
park about seven miles of drive, ter
/ miles of walk, twenty-five acres devoted
t to lakes, one hundred and fifty acres il
7 lawns, and is visited by about two million
? people yearly.
1t is now time to return home, we will
| do 50 by the way of the water works, bu
= as it is late we must not stop to describe
! them at present.
t Sincerely yours, A. r.
+ See the La Crosse Business College adver
tisement in another column.
Notice.