The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-11-22
IMPRESSIONS OF
A FRUIT-GROWER.
From Denver to ChiCagO-ThG Michigan
Peach Belt
Billiards and Cyclonss-In the Fruit Markets.
The Profits on Fruits Question Of
veracity-Beets and squashes.

mountain towns is the fact that even the
small, poor houses are built OF stone and
brick. We naturally think OF these ma
terials as being reserved for use within the
fire limits or for very expensive buildings;
but in these towns stone is very cheap and
plenty and while brick must cost about The
same here as anywhere wood is very much
more expensive. Moreover, as the builders
have no fear of earthquakes. they use
brick and stone ad libituni, and the result is
a soidity and permanence OF appearance
that the immense wooden palaces on Cali
fornia- street hill do not possess.
In Denver, especially. they have had
some good architects, and with the great
variety and numerous coiors OF stone ready
to their hands it is no wonder that many
beautiful residences are scattered through the
city.
have had little experience with West
ern blizzard. 1t was on day in Southern
Missouri. had to walt several hours for
delayed train, and after doing the town,
which did not take long, l sat down on the
shady side of the station building to read.
The sky was clear and gentle breeze was
blowing, so that where l sat 1t was just
pleasantly cool. In the sun 1t was really
too warm for comfort. ] became interested
in my reading, and for half an hour hardly
81 anced up. At about that time suspicious
SILVER ran down my back, and | found that
l must hunt for warmer place Soon l had
to get out my great overcoat and hang over
the fire which the station agent had started
in the big stove in order to keep from
shiyering The wind was blowing
A GALE FROM THE NORTH,
And the sky was covered smoothly over
with gray clouds. On the whole, it was
. l.
might wish to see
In driving to my friends house. one and
a half miles, that night, nearly froze to
death; at least, it took me all the evening to
get thoroughly thawed out. In the morning
the winds had stopped and the birds were
singing as if nothing was out of the way,
but to my California skin the air was decid-
eddy sharp, and in spite Of my very warm
coat and the fact that we stood on tie south
side of the barn while we talked of Caifor-
mia and " crops here and there, | shivered,
and before long proposed that we should
walk around and see his stock. By noon,
however, things had got back 10 more
normal state, and / was really warm and
comfortable for the first time in twenty-four
hours.
l had no thermometer and do not know
what the change IN degrees was, but judg
ing simply by my feelings, should say that
it must have been from about 7Oo down TO
20o if not lower. 1t really seemed colder
than the coolest weather we have ever had
in California. and | once remember seeing
it down to 1872 Still, cur coolest weather
always comes after much preparation, and
the suddenness of this was much more try
ing. My frieno told me some fearful stories
OF the suffering and death caused by these
same Billiards in the winter season.
One man was frozen to death in going a
few hundred feet TO his barn, and another
got within three feet of his own front door
when he felt, and, no help coming, froZe 20
death. These cases we're not in Missouri,
however but in Dakota and Nebraska.
The thing that makes such tragedies posi-
bic is the binding, cutting hail that accom-
panies these Arctic visitors. The eyes are
soon c2t and
BLINDED BY THIS,
And the sense of direction is completely be-
wildered by the driving, whirling blasts.
The Indians seem able to brave them in
safety. But the explanation is, that when
an Indian is caught out in such weather-if
the distance is too great or the storm too
hard-he simply hunts the most sheltered
place he can find and crawls deep down into
snow-drift. AS he does this at once-be-
fore he is exhausted with struggling with
the storm-he nearly always hobs up Sc
renely" at the end of twenty-four or forty
eight hours but little the worse for the ex-
perience.
My friend told some stories of kansas
twisters," or cyclones, that rather beat any,
thing that had heard. He told of one case
where all but one side of house had been
torn away by cyclone. The side that was
LETT was intact, pictures On the wall, and
even clock on the mantel-pece, appa-
rentiy just as the old farmer had left it the
night before when he wound it up and set it
IN its lace. On careful examination it was
found that the works were completely gone
and no trace of them could be found A
reward was offered. and. though other
things belonging to the house were found
widely scattered over the township. not
trace OF those works was ever brought to
light.
In another case house was swept away
leaving the cellar and contents apparently
intact. However, 1t was noticed that the
pork barrel was leaking, and closer inspec-
tion proved that the barrel, pork and all,
had been lifted up and inverted. falling
back In the exact spot it had occupied be-
fore. the escaping brine being the only
thing that brought the fact TO light
Such tricks have given the people of these
afflicted regions dread of the cyclone that
Is really
OUT OF PROPORTION
To the harm they do, and they all seem to
have an earnest and heartfelt desire to have
a good "cyclOne refuge" in easy reach of
their dwellings. My friend showed me an
old one about $50 yards from his house that
former occupant had built, but lie said it
was too far off, and that he was going to
build better one and put il nearer. | in
CURED II they had many cyclones there and
he said he had only heard of one since he
had been there, and that was simply a yery
strong wind, he thought. 1t had wrecked a
new bridge, however, which showed that it
was quite breeze.
The face OF the country is good deal the
same from Missouri till you reach the sea
coast at Boston. There are sections where
the knobs are higher than Others and there
are even q few hills mountains thew are
called here, but in general it is up and
down. cut and FILL along the railroad tracks
all the way. There are a great many clus-
ters OF medium-sized trees, and what strikes |
the Western eye as strange is that these |
pieces OF woodland are not In distant, iso- |
lated parts OF the country 1t will be a sue |
cession of farms for mile or so, then |
patch OF trees then farm or two, and |
more woodland, the size of the pieces vary |
ing from several acres to hundreds. Almost |
all the timber is bardwood-white and |
black oaks, walnuts, ''sllag- bark" Shell |
bark, hickory, ''pig-nuts," as they are va
riously called; crock" and other NAPLES. |
pecan, black walnut. butternut, beech, and |
an Infinite variety of trees unknown to me. |
There are few pines and other eonifers |
which increase in number as one goes east |
In California we expect our land to be as !
sorted, as 1t were-fne, level valleys free /
from trees and ready for the plow, and then |
the forest and hill land set off by them /
selves in the more inaccessible parts of the
State. Not so here. 1t is all mixed up. |
One is
NEVER OUT OF SIGHT
OF woods, and one can never find per-
fectly level tract Of any extent. have not |
seen, even in the States bordering on the
Mississippi, as deep, rich land as we have
in the best parts of California; but there is |
a great deal of very fine land, and as 1t is
cheap from SIS TO 500 per acre. there
ought to be some profit in farming it, es-
pecially as there are so many large cities |
near. Still, crops are more uncertain here
than in California, and most farmers are
well pleased to make comfortable living
and keep out of debt. They do not expect
to make as much money as California
farmers calculate on.
l attended a big agricultural fair at st.
Louis, and saw many, to me, novel sights.
There was perfectly stupendous amount |
of farm machinery. Steam corn-shuckers |
and shelters, feed-grinders, portable saw