River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-07-03
LETTER FROM VERMONT.
NoRrH FERRIsBURGH. W., .
June "a, 1890.

are never Sulltu WIFI your WHERE
abouts. You always wish To be il
some other place" Everybody knows
that the Yankee is migratory animal
but one must take long railroad
journey to realize how great is the
number of our people'who are moving
somewhere. The train which bore us
eastward carried also an elderly man,
with his family, who some thirty years
ago had gone west from Maine to
Ohio. From Ohio he drifted on To
Iowa. and thence over the plains and
the mountains to the coast. Here, in
twenty years, he had wandered from
Los Angeles to Vancouver. Now he
starts on the back track, with the in
tention. he says, of settling down
for the rest of his life in Ohio, if only
he can sell his farm in Oregon. Where
will be his final resting place!
While we wait in Chicago, we fall
To talking with younger man who.
tired OF hillside and stone-heap farm
ing in the old Granite State. is on his
way to gather the golden fruits of the
Hesperides. He had located the
favored, spot somewhere In Nebraska.
year or month hence, the igRis
fdtUUS of his fortune will move on.
The deserted farms OF New England,
of which we shall write in another
letter. furnish p sorry illustration of
our migratory instincts.
The people one meets on the train
afford curious study. Here is found
the individual, Ia woman who travels
with small dray-load of bundles and
a bird-csge. Another carries the in
evitable ported house plant; but the
one with the blanketed poodle dog is
unaccountably absent. However, we
meet her awhile later on the steamer
down the st. Lawrence. A (maideni)
lady Of respectable years Is transport
ing a small wooden box with stats
nailed across the top. Dismal mi
souings at intervals from the interior
sufficiently proclaim its contents. Why
lady in travelling will carry such inn
pediments must go down to posterity
as an uHsoved problem.
The masculine foibles are more IN
pleasant. Don Piatt wrote a diatribe
against the "car-hog" some years ago.
There are, nevertheless, car-hogs yet.
We have the man who would occupy
alone two seats while others stand,
who splits on the floor, whe stares his
fellow passengers cub of oountenance,
who keeps the car window open to the
discomfort of others, etc. May the
tribe diminish.
on to Niagara. We gaze for time
at the great sweep of the Horse Shoe
Fall, then we pass over the river and
stand By the brink of the American
Pail almost in hand-reach of the green
flood as it takes it's final terrific
plunge. BY the foot Of the cataract
we look up at 1.-THE inanity, the eterni-
ty of waters" falling from the sky.
We can remain only brief space, but
it is long enough for coed drenching.
The wind brings a sudden shower of
mist and spray in our direction. We
retreat in disorder from the down
pour, but rather proud after all of the
baptism. The Cave of the Winds, the
Whirlpool Rapids and other attrac-
tions must be left for our return trip.
We drive around the beautiful Falls
Park, owned and maintained by the
State of New York, then to the train
for the Thousand Islands.
At Clayton, n. Y, we take the boat
for Montreal. This voyage is arevela.
ton of possible delights in steamboat
travelling. Many JOURNAL readers have
taken the trip down the st. Lawrence;
but for those who have not, it may
be said that the so-called thousand
islands number about 1900, ranging
in size from single bare rock just
projecting above the surface of the
river, to islands 20 miles in extent.
Many are beautifully wooded; some
are carpeted with grass. Others are
lofty and send up rocky crags. A
large number are occupied by private
owners who have erected cottages for
summer use. Notable are the Pull
man cottage, costing Sl50,000, and the
Warner cottage (of Safe Cure fame).
Having contributed to Mr.. Pullman's
money pile, we feel somewhat of
personal interest in the former. In
the latter, fortunately, we have no
such interest. The cottage formerly
occupied by j. G. Holland is also
seen.
Here is the paradise Of fishermen.
Musfelcsge UP to 40 lbs. in weight
are tsken. Bass, piekerel and pike
abound. What true tales could our
good friends B., T. H., and others,
tell after fishing excursion here!
For hours we glide through scenes
of picturesque beauty. Then we come
to the rapids. These are seven in
number, occurring at intervals from
Prescott to Montreal. The mighty
river dashes over and down lodges of
rocks; the steamer once fairly in the
current is carried along by an irresisti-
bic force to apparent destruction on
every side. But the danger is more
apparent than real. The old half
breed pilot understands his business.
The last and most FORMIDABLE of the
rapids is the Lachine, nine miles from
Montreal. The name was given by
the early French explorers, who i'm
agined that they had here found the
desired passage to China. The turbu-
lence of the waters is certainly terrific,
and the passage is most exciting.
Soon after. we pass under the great
Victoria Bridge and the steamer ties
up at the Montreal wharf. On the
voyage up the river, the rapids are
passed by canals.