The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-12-27

Recently the railroad from Helena to
Lula has been abandoned. This news will
1aiI with a sickeniHg PUNK on the ear of
the tourist. The road ran largely through
a oank swamp-a shaggy wallow in the
Wilderness. When the off side of the track
sagged, which it invariably did, unless the
nigh side was engaged in ~sagging, the
weight OF the train showed tne decayed ties
into the wet, mushy bosom of the earth
and s%quirted the mud forty feet high. This
kept the windows of the cars looking verv
untldy, which is a rare thing in that vicin-
ity.
1t is said to be the worst railroad ever
born in captivity. Icould hardly help COM
pairing 1t with the road in Michigan leading
out from Manistee, which has never had a
dollar of debt, | think. The stock has
never been for sale; the logs hauled over it
are sufficient to pay all running expenses.
me only passenger conductor on the road
IS also general passenger agent, auditor.
assistant general passenger agent, general
western freight agent, assistant general
press agent and eX-officio president.
AT LULA
we got what we called dinner. 1t was such
a meal as you would naturally expect i'm a
town named Lula. The hotel was run nv q
sad faced woman in middle life who had
probably twenty years ago rashly made a
- INV ia SuOSloL u WE'LL NalrE
on her own cooking. l would like TO give a
list of the different articles which we ate
there, but never knew what thew were
and L hate to describe anything unless | am
fully posted regarding il. What we had in
our coffee cups l inferred was coffee. mt it
might have been, for all l could see to the
contrary, the abandoned right of wav of
the Lula " Helena railroad.
During the afternoon we rode tbrourb
one enormous and almost continuous cotton
held. The negroes pronounced nigproes1
were Just closing up the third and last nick.
lug. The first picking, ! believe. occurs in
October, but as the bolls are not open verv
much the yield is small. A few weeks later
the principal picking takes place: the third
IoloWS the hrst heavy frost, when the pods
are fully opened. F'
The cotton we have been riding through
to-day IS spoken of sarcastically bv a man
who sits with me, and who lives on higher
ground, as ~bumblebee cotton, which is
short IN staple and inferior in quality. The
cotton buyer has a way of pulling out a
Wlsp OF cotton from the bale, and with a
uexterlty resulting from long-continued
practice, he squares the lock at either eod
SO that he is able to know the exact length
OF the FIBRE or staple, measuring it with his
eye and telling you accurately what its
market value would be. US
1t reminds me Of the wonderful sagaoity
ol the wheat buyer OF the northwest. who
runs his hand into a bin of wheat blov,s
out the chaff, weighs ii in his hand esti.
mates the shrinkage per cookie. pioeon
grass seed, wild buckwheat, etc. also Grad.
ing 1t and telling you accurately the market
VALUE OF THE ENTIRE LOT.
He has the same profound air of seex-no
further knowledge of the old protector of
the gold mines, who takes a lump of ordin
airy rock from the dump, blows hard on -
wipes 1t on a shiny side of his trousers leg
puts a pocket glass on it, looks far ave.
seeming TO place himself back at the heoigg'
ming OF the world, when the peologicaI
formation of the earth was being arraneed
and gives an opinion which NAV cost eoma
gentle pilgrim from Wall street a million ~
dollars.
New Orleans is doubtless more apitated
at the present tim over the state lottery
than she has ever before been. II ia q no.
tlonal question, however, for the state and
city are almost hopelessly in it's power. 7
Wonde that some great New York paner-
a feature paper looking for a large ion of
reformation instead of fighting windmilIs
with a squirt gun, does not take off it's coat
and free the state of Louisiana from her
pitiful slavery.
Within the last six months a member of
the legislature died. What became of his
soul have not the slightest idea. bnt IN
his body was ound a shirt in which had
been sewn seventeen 1000 bills, which
represented his savings during the shorr
session of the legislature. l presume he
saved tbs amount by going withAAt cigars.