Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1885-04-06
WESTERN LETTER.

= Editor Monitor,-From Kansas
City to FL Paso is 1857 miles, all
the way over the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe Railway, and the run
ming time is three days and two
nights. This road connects at La
Junta with the Denver and Rio Grande
for Denver, Salt Lake City and San
Francisco; at Albuquerque with the
Atlantic and Pacific, both for San
Francisco. The Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe is deservedly great
favorite among the trans-continental
routes. 1t is in every respect first
class; has heavy steel rail, and
much of the way stone ballast; has
fine cars, including the Pullman
Sleeper, all of which are run on the
paper wheels with steel tire, and fur
nished with the Miller platforms and
automatic brake. The management
remembering with the poet, that
"We may live without friends and live without
books,
But civilized man cannot live without cooks.'
Maintains the best line of eating
houses of any of the great trunk
roads, all in charge of one man;
they are all that can be desired by
the most fastidious, and ample time
is given for meals. This road has
eleven branches of between four and
five hundred miles in length, reach
ing off to important points also
line to Guaymas, on the Pacific coast,
making in all about 1000 miles, which
with its connections, already named,
and its connection at this place with
the Mexican Central, makes one of
the most important, as we'll as pros
porous, railway lines in the whole
Southeast. The New Highlander
feels at home when he strikes
this line and claims that it was project
ed and built by New England men and
capital, and VIM. B. Strong, an Or
leans County boy, is Its president;
and Alden Speare of Boston, for
whom one of the locomotives
on the Passumpsic road was
named, is one of its directors.
He feels at once as he enters
the enterprising and vigorous state
of Kansas, the atmosphere of home,
and is glad to bid adieu to the
dirt and decay of Missouri.
He meets different set of
employees on the railway, notes a
cleanliness and thrift in villages and
cities that betoken enterprise and
wealth. The highways, also, though
not perfect, show that the people are
awake to improvements. Instead of
the bottomless sloughs in which the
traveller is seen foundering at the
crossing of small streams in Missouri,
| Cor the stream being bridged, never
with anything but poles, with the
ends Of the stringers on the ground)
there is a respectable wooden struc-
ture or iron truss, resting on substan-
tial stone abutments. AS the train
flies past the smaller stations, 8
glimpse is given of thrifty, fresh.
looking villages, and for this country
well-kept residences. Right here the
question arises why this difference
between Kansas and Missouri? /
cannot be in climate, for the whole
of Kansas lies south of the north line
of Missouri. 1t is not in the soil, fol-
both states have the same deep de
post of black alluvium, which Yields
abundantly of the fruits of the earth
still the difference is marked an(
there must be a reason for it. Fort,
miles from Kansas City the trail
stops at fine station in a substantial
wealthy town, and Lawrence is an
nounced. Oh here is New Eng
land name. and clue to the reason
for the differ ence noted between tw
towns so near together and yet s.
unlike. The memories Of thirty year
ago, when Kansas was struggling t
enter the Union as free state, ar
awakened. Lawrence was the frs
free state settlement, and was S
named in honor of a wealthy ma
: from Mas sachusetts, who contribute
literally for the purchase of Sharpe
rifles, with which the settlers were er
abled to hold at bay the ruffians frol
t Missouri, who, backed by the slav
t power of the South. were murderous
Iy trying to swoop it in for slav
t state. But whether John Brown wa
5 attacked at Osawatomie, or the fire
e state men at Lawrence and elsewhel
: by QuantrelIe'ss or other bands {
e cut-throats, from Missouri, Sharpe
e rifles in the hands of the brave me
F.. who were defending their homes, a
: ways spoke for freedom, and, at las
+ after bloody baptism indeed, Kal
n sas was admitted as free state.
8 Eleven miles west of Lawrence
: small, somber, unattractive village
: reached, but the train does not stor
Il it is Lecompton. the place whel
the "border ruf1ian" legislature m
n that formed that pro-slavery const
K tuition which, according to the dem
a cratic programme, with the aid
e Buchanan's ADMINISTRATION, was
Il have been forced upon the people
n Kansas by the 35th congress, B
Ii this scheme, vigorously denounce
/, Of course, by the young republics
It party, was too much, also, for maj
IF northern democrats Douglass Sti