The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1889-09-24
A LETTER FROM ED. WRIGHT
DiscOursing on His Trip Eastward
And What He Saw and Heard en- Route
ST. PAUL, Sept. Sth, 1889.

= Of. fAUL, OcpI. OIL, 1901
FRIEND HALLoRAN:
In accordance with your request l
will disclose my present whereabouts
for the benefit of my creditors and
other interested parties.
In coming over the range departed
from the beaten path chosen by most
travellers and took the o. r. & n. train
to Huntington, the Short Line from
there. to Pocatello, thence by the
Utah Northern to Butte City, thence
by the Montana Central to Great
Falls. and from there to this city by
the ST. P. NJ. & NJ. R. R. This latter
is the celebrated Jim Hills" road
that will eventually find terminus
on the Pacific coast.
We left Portland Tuesday night
with a big train filled mostly with
delegates to the Walla Walla conven-
ton, among them being J. G. Megler,
of Brookfeld, Ed. Finch, late of the
Aberdeen Herald, T. Sperry, of IL
waco, and several others well known
to Astorians; these gentlemen were In
the Walla Walla sleeper, which was
dropped at Umatilla; so l awoke the
next morning to find myself among
strangers.
The dust in this region is simply
terrible, and water seems to be an al
most unknown commodity; probably
the denizens of this region enjoy life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness
in such a place, but it would be an
awful punishment for those who have
spent few years near the mouth of
the majestic Columbia, where the
streams run on to the river and the
river runs on to the ocean, and the
ocean joins with the horizons rim,
and the sparkling waters in ever
changing mood gladdens the heart of
the beholder.
Union is the only town in eastern
Oregon ON the line of the o. r. 4 n.
that does not present kiln-dried and
baked appearance; and, like an oasis
in the desert, it affords a pleasing rest
to the eyes made sore by alkai dust.
The grade over the Blue mountains
is very heavy, and despite the efforts
of two big engines the train continues
to lose time, SO that at Huntington we
are three hours late.
Pocatello is reached the following
morning, and large and select COM
mittee of Blackfoot Indians are on
hand trying to sell us a miscellaneous
assortment of buffalo horns, bear cubs,
moccasins, squaws, ponies, pappooses,
etc, etc. We meet the west bound
train here, and a party of Boston peo-
pie confer with Mrs. Cleopatra Horse
Blanket, who has an heir strapped to
her back in true picture book style.
While the conference is in session,
the Omnipresent small boy of the
party, sticks pin in the papoose to
see il it is alive, but before he has
finished this experiment, little Pau
Pau-Kee- Wis, who thinks he is the
papoose's brother, lets fly at the Bos-
tonian and lays him out in the dust.
From Pocatello nearly to Butte is
as pretty railroad track as there is
anywhere in the west, and the trains
reel off fifty miles per hour with ease
| We cross Snake river near the
Blackfoot reservation. It's the same
Snake river that floats the big wheat
steamers up at Lewiston and Riparia
Bowling along down the avenues OF
the future headed toward us, is time
looming when those steamers can load
way up here at the headwaters, and
go right through to Astoria without
breaking cargo. When that time ar,
rives, all the railroads on this nun
dane sphere cannot keep the wheat
crop of the inland empire from going
TO sea via Astoria.
Butte City is an elevated city; it Ii
lnearly up to the timber line and sc
rare is the atmosphere that it came
very near sending me still higher, Of
lower. No sooner had reached the
hotel than the blood began running
from my nostrils, and with intervals
of but few minutes, it continued fol
nine hours, and | had about concluded
to finish my trip in box in the
baggage car, when the physician sue
lceeded in stopping the flow of blood
He stated that many people were sim.
ilarly affected, especially those COM
. ing suddenly from low attitudes.
| Butte is strictly mining town. anC
pail of smoke from the hundreds o.
smelters and mills in that vicinity
!. hangs over the place continually.
The streams that come out of the
mountains on the way down to Hell
lena are poisoned and discolorei
/ by the yellow ochre, and gray quartz
dust, almost as soon as they come in
sight. From life giving streams o
crystal water they are changed int
veritable rivers of death; birds anC
fowls drink of the water and die: fisl
try to ascend the polluted streams
but ne'er go back again: cattle anG
: horses sniff at it and go away t.
quench their thirst in stagnant pool
left by rain storm.
Helena has come down out of tht
gulch In which she formerly received
visitors and now covers nearly all tn,
level plain in front Of the old city.
| The n. P. r. r. depot which was
built fully two miles from the hear
of the city is now right In town; biI
business blocks are going up al
around it, and money and enterpris
are making this old mining hamle
J. the metropolis of the prairies. Leav
e ing Helena the Montana Central run
l. through Prickly Pear canyon, one o
, the most picturesque spots In the west
L AS the train few through this canyon
/ called to mind a prophecy mad
/; eight years ago by "Bill" Mills, on
J, of the pioneer freighters of Montana
Bill came to Montana with the val