St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-29
AN OVERLAND TRIP.
Incidents Of a Journey Across
the Continent by the
Northern Pacific.
A Porter Who Gave Informa-
ton at twenty-five Cents
a Chunk.
Strange and Beautiful Sights
Along the Valleys and
Mountain Sides.
A Dissertation on Bluffs
Kerosene as a Flavor
for Food.
snec,al CORRESPONDENCE of the Globe.

Special Correspondence of the Globe.
OAKLAND, CAL, April 24.-Ihe rlde
from Spokane Falls, w. T., to Portland
Ore, over the Northern Pacific railroad,
is an interesting and pleasant trip, es-
pecially when one is able to make it III
an upholstered sleeping car, entirely de-
void of train butchers and fragrant emil
grants from Italy. Science has done
great deal for the people of this world
Sho are afflicted with tender
set and short breath, in devils
Gag scheme for lifting them
over the curved spine of this great
continent and delivering them Oh the
ether side in as good mental condition
IS when they were taken up, though III
fome places they may find themselves
broke. On my trip across the country
1nder these circumstances, l was ten
derby cared for by a long black porter
who, before the journey was ended, nao
managed to collect about everything
that belonged to me but my thoughts.
/ insisted to the last on collecting
these myself. He was an eX-
tremely ioquacious gentleman, and
had managed to stow away
vast fund of information
in his black skull, that he retalled to
me along the road in wads to suit his
fancy at the paltry price of % cents
wad. While we were climbing the
steep side of the rugged, snoW-robed
mountains, the porter would lean pleas
antly over the back of my seat and say:
Oars some putty sharp curves hyar.
"'Sthat SOP" said |.
Eyes. said he. 80 sharp dat you can
sot hyar and count all de cars in de
train"
"'Sthat so?''
Yes. made 1913 tellin' dat to
party OBJ ST. Louis folks goln' to Gle coast
las winter.''
GOT A QUARTER.
The information pleased me and l
laid quarter in my informantS hand,
that hung in a suggestive way over the
back of the seat, palm up. In this art
less manner the darby won my good
will, also my money. He had no fee
list He had evidently averaged up all
the points of interest along the road be-
tween ST. Paul and Portland and fixed
the minimum value of each at 25 cents,
consequently hole dug in the noun
tain side by prospector was pointed
out to me at the same price as beautl-
full sunset. | saw more of the former
than of the latter, but of the two | must
prefer twenty-five cent sunset to a
pr0Spector'S claim, even at the same
price. 1t was nearly o'clock one even
ing when my colored friend announced
sunset. After carelesSly tossing him
silver quarter, | turned my attention
to the-west. We had just rounded the
jagged front of an intrusive bluff and
wheeled out upon the summit of the
highest points in the coast range. A
few struggling flakes of snow were wall
dering lazily down from the clouds,
into the very midst of which, the
wheeZy locomotive seemed to puff its
thick breath. To the east the shades
of night were tWinkling in the valley,
and far down in the black canyons, the
the bright eye of the mountain
eer's cabin-light twinkled like a
restless soul imprisoned in the grue-
some shadows of hades. Out of these
black deeps, up the steep sides Of the
mountains the tail, spectral forms of the
slender pines came climbing as though
eager to catch the goodnight kiss of the
retiring day good who was fast draw
ing his shining hosts from the mountain
tops aud across the plains to his strong
hold in the west. Far, far away, over
the western horizon hung great bank
of sru,uds, touched with the rarest light
of the radiant monarch. Red, gold,
opJ,, amethyst, topas, sapphire and
pearl, all beautifully interviewer into
a royal robe, the lower border of which
was vast breadth of gliStening snow,
lichly embroidered with winding rivers
of silver. A few glances at this
BEAUTIFUL PICTURE
and we were wildly chasing the retreat
ing shrdoWS down the mountain side
and were soon buried in the tangible
nf In hn
busily engaged in the smoking room at
game of freeze out at twenty-five cents
a corner with the conductor, IN which |
knew the conductor had much the best
of it, for the porter soon came in and
told me he was sorry it was dark, for l
could see farther from the cars if it was
light. | gave him half a dollar.
twenty-five cents for being sorry and
twenty-five cents for the information.
He Immediately went back to the game
and presume had a run of luck, for he
didn't return to me until it was
time to make up my berth.
! awoke in a new world the next morn
ing. We had left the mountains be-
hind, with their snow and shadows,
and come out into country full of
sunshine and sage brush. The rail-
road followed the whims of the Column
bia river, an unpretentious body of
water, broad and shallow, full of rap
ids and salmon. On one side perpen-
dicular bluffs rise to height of 800
feet, and their face is beautifully mot
tied with velvety moss and clinging
lichens. On the other side are tower
ing banks of sand, unmarked by sign
of vegetation, and over them perpetu-
ally drift light clouds of mist. uprising
from the river. l was told by the
hot Il Inf l.
product of this country. He said
people had often tried to raise various
things there, but in the end it amounted
to nothing but bluff. l am inclined
to think the porter. in his absent
minded way, told the truth on this oc-
casion, for saw some of the rarest and
most beautiful specimens of bluff DUR
ing my ride through that part of the
country that ever saw in my life. At
Wallula junction, seventy-five half
famished travellers were dumped into
ten-boarder power feeding station,
but the three-burner Oil stove did
splendid service, and left it's trade
mark on the eggs that it cooked. In the
of the eggs before noticed the pre-
Vailing
FLAVOR OF KEROSENE.
When the waiter came around said
in an injured tone:
"There was kerosene on my eggs.''
"Twan't no cheap stuff" he replied,
''we don't use nuthin' but $50 fire test
round this house."
my coffee is burnt" l said.
"All the kind we've got" he promptly
replied. "We don't have call for
green coffee once in dogs age.''
l leaned back in my chair and breathed
heavily. A lady sitting near me in