Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-16
ACROSS THE CONTINENT.

trans-cOnttnental tourists. To get clear
idea Of the extent and diversity OF the land
you live in better go one way and oome back
another. Then there are two other lines
left tor q trip that can be taken some other
time. These four long lines each furnish
fresh scenic wonders, traverse the same
country in name but not in nature.
climb and cut through the same
chains Of mountains but by dfnerent
passes, longer tunnels and sleeper
grades So there is no need for monotony in
crossing and recrossing from ocean to
ocean, and choosing the route to suit the
season too. The Northern Pacific, to my
mind, is q splendid summer highway. or
course there are long stretches of sand and
sage, but this is Offset by Intervening miles
OF green grazing lands and the splendid hill,
dale and forest views from Montana west
ward. To return in summer the next best
route is the Union Pacific, just far enough
south to pass through regions that make
the traveller who went westward over the
line further north imagine he is whtrling
through, another world, SO far as topography
and scene are concerned. Then there's the
two lines still further down on the maps,
which can be reserved for future use by
those whose desire it is to see the magnitude
and the wonders of Uncle Sans big baili-
wick.
OF. course there are disappointments as
well as surprises. The Rockies up which
you will climb will not be the ideal Rockies
of your school days. The spots made
historic by Indian outbreaks and yell
low-backed novelists will seem very
ordinary. The people you will peep
at from the car window or rub up against at
the section stations will be very like the
everyday folk you jostle at home. The
small towns that dot the plains, hug the
hills or nestle in the valleys between the
mountains have the same air ofrural repose
in the main as those of the East. Where
the wind occasionally tears things
the structures are squatty and deep-cellared.
There's a lonesome look in the eyes of some
who are forced to dwell alone out there, to
be sure, but that's quite natural. Still this
sameness only convinces you that this
country, SO far as its population is con-
cerned, is mainly alike through and
through. Judging from swift appear
ances. It's the vastness. the variety. the
possibilities, tho romance and the reality
that WILL attract and impress even the
casual observer. There's room for millions
more. but the links in the living chain across
this vast country are not SO wide apart as
most people imagine.
AS AN object lesson of our growth and
progress the going one way and the coming
back another-even though the loops take in
but half section of the continents in
structive, entertaining, broadening. 1t will
convince you that the widely separated
sections are surely becoming self-dependent
as we'll as selfreliant. 1t will demonstrate
that the resources Of one spot are nearly
duplicated somewhere else-that where
there are drawbacks on the one hand ther.
are advantages on the other. So you will
come home less narrow minded and with
better knowledge of the land you live in
and the people thereof than can be obtained
from any other source.
STILL there's 20 place like home, after
all. Idfdn't see the hustle, the jostle, the
going and the coming quickly of Pittsburg
in any other city, not even the
Michigan-washed metropolis. Nor did
hear those homelike noises-our changing,
putting, pulsating, forceful noises-that re-
mind the stranger within our gates that we
are busy by day and hard workers by night
hung over other cities the red rays from the
fires Of forge and furnace. Nor did jostle
in their streets broad-shouldered, fire.
bronzed, comfortable-looking men of mus
Gle. Nor did see rosier-cheeked, healthier
looking, sweeter-faced lasses. Nor did see
mercantile marts as well patronized, street
cars as crowded, thoroughfares as wheel
worn. No, the push and the pushers were
not so marked, but q leisure unknown to
our folk was apparent.
AND we of Pittsburg have scenes of our
own that cannot be found elsewhere. Did
you ever climb at night by car or limb or
vehicle the winding sleeps round aboutf
Did you ever look down from the hillside
avenues upon the white and red lights that
shine and dance through the somber clouds
in the valleys below? If SO. did you ever
see such night pictures elsewhere? Next
time you go away climb to the heights and
see for yourself There's no place like home
scenic or otherwise. GEO. A. MADDEN.