Morning journal and courier., 1889-08-22
NOTES OF TRAVEL.

RO'0 " On00IIu1 r Nun IN AbocAA ~ bhO
Greatest City on Earth-Its High As
piraslons-The Mighty Corn Fields of
the West.
Tothe Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
We started from good old New Haven on
Tuesday, August IA, not for Tourney
round the world In eighty days." but only
four weeks trip across the United States and
some of its territories and then home again,
with few days stop at intervals.
Suoh q trip is not uncommon nor infre-
quent nowadays, although it embraces dis
lance of several thousand miles, how many
will be good geography lesson to such of
your young readers as peruse this and follow
our journeyings. And yet there are people
now living in New Haven who can recall in
the earlier part of the present century when
prayers were offered in your churches for
the safe return of those who had to make the
perilous journey to Litchfeld, Connecticut.
This sounds absurd and is amusing, and yet
there may have been greater perils in travel
ing before the days of railroads than to-day.
The lamented ARENAS Ward once said that
more persons died in their beds than were
killed on the railway, hence it was safer to
travel on the cars than to remain at home.
|
forts and Injuries were supplied on leaving
New York city the next morning on the
0:50 a. m. "vestibuled limited" train on the
New York Central and Lake Shore railroad,
which makes the run to Chicago in twenty
four hours, not allowing for difference in
standard time between the two cities. What
parlor, dining and sleeping cars, the buffet
or composite car, with its smoking room,
card room, barber shop and bath room, if
but laundry were had, it would be whole
hotel on wheels.
Reaching Chicago we remain here for the
rest of the day. Whereas in New York city
there seemed to be no doubt in the minds Of
all we talked with that the Worlds Fair in
1892, oommemorating the four hundredth
anniversary of the discovery of America by
Christopher Columbus, will be by Congress
idea of it's being held elsewhere is secuted.
A former New Havener, who is now e
thorough Chicagoan, told us in conversation
at the Grand Pacific Hotel, that the commit
pledges of Eve million dollars, and would
raise ten if needed without calling for either
state or national assistance. This faith In
themselves and unity of action in their city's
interests accounts in a great measure for
their wonderful growth and success in
| large business enterprises. 1t is
| also characteristic of all cities of
| the great west as is likewise
| their contempt for and depreciation of rival
cities. For instance, the we'll known antag-
| onisms of Chicago and ST. Louis, Milwaukee
and St. Paul, Kansas City and St. Louis and
others. We have been present ut a number
of meetings when representatives or residents
| Of these different cities were there on mutual
personal interests, and have never known an
instance before the separation of the parties
that they did not good-naturedly run down
| the home cities of the others with all the wit
and ridicule at mutual command, and as for
eastern cities, why, they were ld-fashioned
slow and the like. By way of avenging the
thrusts at the East we must confess to de.
liberate pleasure in pitting them against one
another till all else was lost sight of in the
desire to establish self-supremacy. Still, we
frankly admit liking for the energy, enter
prise and determination to advance them
selves shown by the people of the West.
We were In Chicago early last July, soon
after it had increased its city limits, and
everywhere we were told that Chicago wa.
now the largest city in area in the world
containing the greatest number of square
miles. 1t was told us in the hotels, on the
street cars, in the barber shops, by the cab
man who drove US through the public parks
and the newsboys shouted it. Great is Chi
cago, but not always does the wind blow
from Lake Michigan
is held there, visitors from abroad must nee.
essarily see some more of the United States
than portion of the Atlantic seaboard ia
not without force.
We left "the largest city on earth" via thu
Chicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul railway al
eleven O'Clock p. m. and after good nights
sleep awoke Friday morning to find ourselves
In Iowa and very properly were aroused by
| the noise made in attaching the dining car
All dav wa ran throuoh viob forp die
triots where the grass was mostly cut, thu
| wheat and oats harvested, and past hundreds
| of corn fields most of them forty acre tracts
several containing eighty acres and two W,
saw of one hundred and twenty acres each
1t is not difficult to determine the size O
these fields when once you are shown how
| though but seldom are there division fences
between the farms which are mostly quarter
half or whole sections, quarter section be
ing forty acres, and the owner seldom plantl
| close up to his boundaries, so that each trsc
is sharply defined as you look through thu
clear dry air across the landscape.
Most of the corn was from eight to ter
feet in height, some exceeding that, snt
though we cannot enclose a stalk to prov,
this statement, if your readers who "kuov
about farming" have doubts they must stel
| out there and measure 1t for themselves.
A gentleman told us in st. Louis som,
weeks since that a few years ago when IL
Massachusetts friend drove him out int,
the country to see the largest corn field il
that State. 1t comprised thirty acres
"There," said the exhibitor, 81 do not sup
pose you ever saw so large piece of corn.
The other simply replied: 'It is avery lsrg
deld." He told us he dared not tell hin
what he had seen, for he had business t,
transact with him and he would have los
his character for veracity and his trade.
Such of your readers AZ do not know
how many acres are contained In the OLE
Green, can easily ascertain and 80 get q com
parative Idea of the size of Iowa patches o
corn." The plump. rosy checked girls il
feds" while the corn palace, built each yea
at Sioux City from ears and stalks of corn
has helped bring that city to it's presen
prominence. We are told that the plans TO
the palace this year are the most elaborate O
any yet built.
We are approaching Council Bluffs, wher
We change to the Union Pacific railroad Ii
our next letter we hope to tell you some
thing about the Rocky mountain region. l
may not be new, but we hope it will be cor
| rect, for the same reason that the elderl,
maiden lady, claimed to be the best Judge O
matrimony, that she was simply disinter
ested OBSERVER
Another state Shoot.
MIDpLETowN, Aug. 2l.-The Middleton
Gun club will give State tournament OF
Labor day, September Q. Crack shots from
all over the State will take part In tn
sweepstake shooting.