Morning journal and courier., 1890-09-16
THE BIG WEST.


 A New Hayener,s Journeyings To.
 ward the Setting Sun-Out in omaha A TrOtting M0ose-The Sugar Pal-
 ace Exhibition at Grand Island-
 The Bronchos-Beer Imbibfng and
 Western Laws. a ~ss l To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 HASTINGS, Neb., Sept 10.-Being on my way west for the first time in my life, and seeing many things that appeared strange and funny to one always living in the east, I thought I would write you letter, espe- cially as it might interest someone in the east intending to go west. And let me say in starting, I found it indeed big coun- try.
 The region passed through from Chicago to where the Fox river is crossed is very fine; after that the prairies become less level and are diversified by an abundance of well grown groves and hedge rows planted by the early settlers. Clear streams run southward into the Illinois river. Even the most ardent admirer of | life is city cannot help but admire those | beautiful farms and think what a l pleasant life the farmers of this re- zion lead. The approach to the M1s- @
 sissippi river is indicated by the hilly
 country and the large and various klnos of timber encountered. After passing Cartilage Junction, saw for the first
 time the great Mississippi river, and right on the bluffs of the western side, is Bnr- | lington. It was night when the tram went over, but the moon shone clearly
 and it was very fine sight to one who had never seen it before. I had wished
 always to see this great river at night with
 the moon shining, and looking out of the
 car window was great pleasure to me.
 After that we were in "I-o-w-a-y," as it is
 called by everybody. | In the morning I saw the Missouri bluffs-old friends of mine ever since
 studied geography. Three miles beyond Pacific Junction the Missouri river IS 1 crossed remarked about the big amount l of sand and the small amount of water, l and a lady with whom had been convers- 1 sing said: ''Yes, that is the muddy Mis-
 souri, three thousand miles long and three | feet wide" Omaha is very fine place. It 1 covers the lofty hills terminating in bluffs, washed by the Missouri. | Omaha started as the principal point of departure for overland emigrant travel to | California and Oregon, and subsequently, l became the eastern terminus of the first l transcontinental railway. The name of 1 George Francis Train is gratefully identi- fled With this early prosperity. From the number of people on the train going to Lincoln should think that about half the | population of Nebraska attended the state l fair. One of the attractions was trotting l moose, which has trotted two minutes. He was to trot each day at the fair. The
 manufacture of beet sugar is assuming
 large proportions. At Grand Island the first sugar palace ever built was opened September l, and also large beet sugar factory.
 The sugar palace exposition was open
 till the 9th, but the factory will continue
 to manufacture beet sugar. great
 amount of corn is raised between Omaha
 and Lincoln, and from Ashland a large
 amount of baled hay is sent out. Lincoln,
 the state capital, is a very fine place and
 has many industries. As rode along
 by the great corn fields thought how
 much it would interest Connecticut
 farmer to see them for the first time in
 his life. Hastings is the county seat of
 Adams county and the third largest city
 in the state. This town is out on a prai-
 rie as level as the most part of the New Ha-
 ven green. Like all western towns the
 stands sIs at v'E tEe ~as ooTner "o of t~e
 streets, he can look out over the prairie
 as far as he can see. I left the train al l Hastings in the afternoon and, after eat
 ing my supper, I started out to see the
 town. It was Saturday night, and as
 walked along wondered where the people
 could be like those that are seen out walk
 ing Saturday night in the east. On in
 quiring found that Tuesday night was
 the night when the people turned out
 Everywhere out here you see people rid
 ing horseback, young and old.
 The horses are mostly bronchos. The
 "village smithy" does not hold forth out
 here as in all the country towns in tho
 east, for the reason that very few horse!
 are shod here, and then only on the fore
 feet. The roads through the town art
 hard and dry and very fine to drive on
 and if it rains they are all dried up agai1
 in two days time Stiff hats are at a dis
 count here, for all the male inhabitants
 from the oldest to the youngest, wea
 broad -brimmed felt hats. The ornament
 around the crown are various, running
 from a nickel plated chain band to piec
 of cowhide just as it came of the beef
 Passing by a saloon Sunday morning, noticed some men drinking beer, and asked young fellow why the proprieto did not pull down the curtains. He sait ; that the law forbidding the pulling dow of the curtains was very strict and that . saloon keeper would be arrested and fine, } much sooner for pulling down the cul
 tains on Sunday than he would for sellin
 beer He said that they made one saloon , keeper take some potted plants out of hi
 window, because they thought the vie' } into the bar-room was obstructed by them A western mans idea of distance is yer curious, as the following will show: Tn young fellow with whom l had been talk ing said 'Talking about beer, l coul 3 get it very easy once for lived right nea r a brewery" ''What do you call near l asked. ''Twenty- nine miles," h r replied, He really thought that | : and the brewery were close neigh t bors with only twenty miles b. y tween them One old man asked II f where I was from. "Connecticut," l T. e piled 70 yere q reglar blue belly hey r ''Well Eve heard tell of your wooden nu o megs." He seemed to regard "blu h belly" as quite a curiosity. The popul
 ton of Hastings is 13, $50 and the city h.
 a fine opera house, some very fine schoo Il buildings, and is completing S75,0 t court house. And here let me say that IT these towns if the people do live most d in small one story houses, they all hay " fine school buildings.
 :. The main line of the Chicago, ,BurlingtC # and Quincy runs through here, while thr tt' other roads, branches from other line 2 make this terminal station. The city |, lighted by electricity and gas, and h f. more miles of horse car track than thu ' use. Hastings has fine city water. Th' a also make brick out here, in three var n o east of the town. The Union club is fiji ,r club and has about 100 members, col 'a posed of the prominent men of the tow ia Hastings college is about one and one-hs .e .e miles from town. There are several if ~. ~ churches here.
 Ia thought Hastings very nice plat ,d The crops this year in Adams county a at M very good. Wheat is mostly raised al ~ r the average yield is about thirty eig :, bushels to the acre. Most all western tow . .e are trying to get natural gas or oil. n Hastings they are sinking a well and Ia prominent citizen told me that they we m looking for anything they could find. 4 n ,a day Sunday steady wind blew over t ,5 prairie and it made the weather very ple' oe ant. Soon I'll write to you again.
 7. H. R. B.