The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1886-10-29
Kansas Letter.
Topeka, KANSAS, Oct. II, 1886.

Quincy II. r., on the highest point be
tween the Mississippi and Missouri riv
ers. This road runs two through pas
senger trains daily between Oman,
and Chicago, and also has severa
branches running south to Atchison
Kansas City and other points. spen,
two or three hours in the forenoon look.
through the division repair shops,
which are located here. The round
house has stalls for sixty-five engines,
and is the largest round house standing
in a circle, in the United States, al
though there are Others of different
shape which will accommodate more
engines. The freight business passing
through here is immense.
In the afternoon we took a team
and drove several miles out into the
country to get a better idea of the place
as farming section. Monday D. M,
we went to Council Bluffs and after
taking look at the place for an hour
or two by gas light, we went over to
Omaha and stopped over night. The
next morning l said good bye to Mr..
Titus and started for Lincoln, Nebras-
ka. Mr.. Titus did everything in his
home to make my visit pleasant and in
teresting. He appears to be popular
with the railroad officials as well as the
travelling public and knows how to re .
tain his old friends as we'll as to make
new ones. AT half-past eleven reach
ed Lincoln, where | met another of
our Lisbon boys, Van o. English, who
is train master on the Burlington and
Missouri River r. r. He has worked
himself up through all the grades from
brakeman to his present position and
stands Il fair chance for further promo
tionIin the near future.
The Nebraska State Fair was being
held here at this time and spent the
afternoon of each of my three days
stay at the fair grounds. think it the
best fair that | ever attended. The at
tendance was large and the exhibits, in
all the departments complete, except
sheep, of which there We're but few en-
tries. The horses and cattle, of which
there were great many. were all thor
oughbred and registered and many of
them imported. OF farm products and
farm machinery, there was an almost
endless variety. Among the curiosi-
ties on exhibition was a five-year-Old
steer weighing 1880 lbs. and pen con-
tanning four buffalo calves and two an
telopes. There were closely contested
races each day, with the time ranging
from 2-4O down into the twenties.
Lincoln is an important railroad CEN
tire and is growing rapidly in popula-
ton and wealth. They have an arte-
sian well here which furnishes an in
'exhaustable supply of water, but it is
so salt as to be useless for any purpose
except as protection against fire. l
started south at noon on Friday the
18th inst. and after dull four hours
stop at Atchison, reached Topeka about
midnight, where l was heartily well
coined by E. X. Hall and wife. Dur
ing q stay. of three. weeks, here l had
ample time to visit the various points
of interest in this enterprising city.
Three days were occupied in attending
the Kansas State Fair. The show of
hogs and thoroughbred horses was
about the same as Lincoln, only about
half as many cattle were on exhibition
but what there were, were good. The
exhibits in horticultural and Floral
halls were fair, and in machinery al
most nothing. The races each after
noon were good. Among my notes of
the different fairs | find the following
one Percheron Norman horse five years
old, weight 1890 lbs, one three year
old colt 1880 lbs, one two year old
colt 1850 lbs, short horn bull $500 lbs.,
one squash 40 lbs. and one 1874, water
melons 60, Ga and So lbs. Kansas is
prominently corn growing state and
the exhibits of that cereal were on a
correspondingly large scale. No pre-
miums are offered at any of these west
ern fairs for native or grade stock of
any kind, so none are exhibited.
Ispent half day going through the
repair shops of the Atchison, Topeka
md Santa Fee r. r., where they en-
Dloy seven hundred men, build their
own engines and repair all their own
cars. All the work is done in the most
perfectly systematic manner and we
'ould get permission to go through the
shops only by promising not to talk to
he wOrkmen.
The other points of interest which l
nave visited are the reform school,
where they have two hundred inmates
md are putting up buildings for the
of as many more. The
insane asylum, which is one of the
most perfect institutions of its kind
hat 1 ever saw. A visit to the histor-
cal rooms in the State House carries
me back in memory quarter of GEN.
ury to the time of "bleeding Kansas,
When such names as Gen. Jim Lane
nd A. H. Reader were household
words all over the United States, their
portraits, with many others of the pio-
'eers of the State, are hung on the
walls of the Capitol. This building
vas commenced and the south wing
several years ago, while the
main part is now being built. When
if that time ever comes, it
will be a magnificent building.
l have had several pleasant visits
With Mrs. G. o. Kelsea and her son
,orloc ond h;s fom;l,, Thov hovo |