The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1889-10-01

| the choosing or route TO the east
from a dozen or so that are offered
from large city like Chicago; each
route has its peculiar advantages, and
the agents are not at all backward
about extolling them. l left Chicago
on the Baltimore and Ohio limited ex-
press, which makes the run of about
i,060 miles to New York in 26 hours,
including stops; the go miles between
Philadelphia and Jersey City is COW
cred in exactly 100 minutes, including
four stops: so that the actual running
time is about mile a minute. IT'S
but few minutes ride from Chicago
to the Indiana line, and all through
this state, as In Illinois, are vast fields
of corn, the monotony of which is re-
ieved by an occasional patch of su-
gar cane, which will supply the far
mer with sorghum" for his corn
cakes.
The land here has q green, healthy
look and is exceedingly fertile, and if
I couldn't have a farm in Oregon, I
believe this section would be my sec
ond choice.
Night shuts down on us before we
leave Indiana, and we awake the next
morning in a region Of coal, iron, oil
and gas. The very air seems impreg-
mated with combustibles; wells of nat
ural gas are blazing up in front of
hundreds of farm houses, and the
spectacle at night is said to be grand
| in the extreme.
For years this has been the home
OF numberless moonshiners who, sin
cere in their ignorance, do not realize
that it is wrong to manufacture pure
whisky without paying the tax. They
cultivate little patch Of corn way up
on the mountain side, and it is easier
to get this corn to market III the
shape of whisky than any other way.
Talk about the elixir OF life," said a
Chicago drummer, who boarded the
train at little station in the heart of
the mountains. "but here is an elixir
that Brown-Sequard can never equal
with his new tangled cocktail" and
after a fellow drummer had allowed
about half of the contents of a fiat
bottle to gurgle down his throat, he
said, "That's so, bgosh."
On entering Maryland the train is
rolling over historic ground. From
Winchester, in the Shenandoah valley,
to Middleton, is where Sheridan made
his famous ride along the valley turn
pike on the eventful morning of Octo.
Der 18th, 1861, and several hard bat
ties were fought in this immediate
vicinity. At Harper's ferry the old
engine house in which John Brown
fortified himself is still standing,
in good order. despite the on
slaughts of the relic hunters. 1t
is only few yards from the depot,
and is the greatest attraction any
where on the line.
There is q great deal of truth In the
words "John Browns body lies moul-
dering in the grave, but his soul goes
marching on" and as long as the earth
endures, all lovers of freedom will
gratefully remember the martyred
Brown, who brooded DER the woes of
the race until he thought it his duty
to lay down his life in an endeavor to
help them. The Potomac forces its
way through a narrow gorge at this
place, and the water is so swift that
locks have been built to enable boats
to ascend the stream.
On leaving Harpers Ferry we are
almost Immediately in the suburbs of
Washington, to be sure the distance
is considerable, but little towns and
additions have sprung mp all along
the line, and suburban trains are
whizzing past us every few minutes.
As / had no particular desire to
hasten Mr.. Harrison's return from
Deer Park, I did not stop at the
Office seekers Mecca. Washington is
q nice clean city, and man drawing
q good salary like Harrison does,
ought to be satisfied to live there.
Baltimore, the home of the oyster, is
the next hating place. Here the
train Is ferried across the bay on q
boat trife smaller than the Kslama
ferry. Baltimore has been a prosper
GUS city, but is said to be on the de-
cline. Towns and villages are sand
wiched in pretty thick between here
and Philadelphia, but the Slimited"
sails right through the most of them
without even stacking speed,
The city OF Brotherly love has seen
its best days. I spent two days there
and was much surprised at the de.
cadence of the historic city. The
signs "for sale and "for rent" adorn
hundreds Of fine buildings on nearly
every street in the city. Much wealth
has been withdrawn from the business
OF the city and invested elsewhere, 80
that the result has been disastrous.
New York is too big place to be
handled in a sketch of this kind SO
will pass right through to- the Long
Island sound. The steamer Puritan,
said to be the biggest steamboat afioat
she is daisy, fitted up like palace
400 state rooms with electric light,
hot and cold water in each one OF
them, brass and string band carried
all through the season.
| After refreshing nights sleep Oh
the steamer 1 awake next morning al
"Stonington on Long Island shore,
and there took the train for Boston.
| There is much to interest one il
this quaint old city with its crooked
narrow streets, which begin nowhere
J and end nowhere. Just across thu
street from where I write is the grave
Of Paul Revere and a dozen othe
lpatriots Of the revolution, near these
are the graves of the father and moth
er of Ben Franklin. The Old South
Injecting house is still in good repair
tThe breastworks thrown up by th,
| natriofs at Runkar Hill can sfiI h