The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-08-04
From the West.

Leaving Worthington on the noon
train [ arrived at Minneapolis at 7:45
p. M. and stayed all night there.
Next morning ran across Ed Nelson |
Harry Day, and some of the boys
who were up there to enlist. Will
Jams and Hawkins, both. of Worth |
ipgtop, were rejected, and left the
same day I did, they going by the
500 line, up through Canada, and |
by the Great Northern, a day shorter.
4 went down to the depot here, when
their train came in, and met them.
l saw them yesterday again and they
said they could go to work at any
time, but outside the city.
Lea wing Minneapolis at 2 p. M, l
had good chance to see the north
ern part of my old state. Small lakes
were very numerous, the country be-
ing dotted all over with them, some
surrounded with timber.
forgot to make mention of our
train, and might do so here before
going further. The train consisted
Of ten long coaches of tourists, sleep
ing and dining cars, finely equipped,
and all drawn by one of the Great
Northern's largest six'wheel locomo-
tives. The coaches were paeked-two
in seat-and all going to either
Seattle or Portland, and some through
to the Klonkyke region. Quite a
number of them were families going
to meet their husband and father,
who had come earlier in the spring.
! We were all strange at first but be-
for night Of the first day we were all
we'll acquainted and it seemed like
one large family.
AS we proceeded farther north the
crops began to look very poor and
the way of farming very backward,
the farmers mostly all living in small
log cabins, and also the country be-
gan to look very desolate, with a
rough, broken prairie. We crossed
the line into n. Dakota at about 9
o'clock but ] could Judge of the
country there by what had seen, to
know that I would not miss anything
in the way of scenery that night.
Next morning when / awoke we
were rolling across the broad and
desolate prairies of N. Dakota, not
even sod shanty to look at, all day
long and that night we steamed
across that prairie region, 50, having
nothing to look at outside, l had to
join in and take part in some of the
games and sports that we're going on
among the passengers inside, 1t was
a very nice and jolly crowd, and I
can say that not game of cards was
played in either of the two cars that
I stayed in during the whole trip.
We had one man little under the
influence of liquor, but we soon got
him out and into another Car. The
next morning (thursday) we awoke
to gaze on the finest grazing country
in America. that Of the nice, broad
rolling prairies of Montana, About
3 o'clock in the afternoon We arrived
at one of the government Indian
agencies at Poplar. We stopped
there for about five minutes, as this
was the regular coast train. All the
Indians were down to see us. The
squaws remained out on the bank,
but the men came down to the plat
form. One of Uncle Sans special
officers was there and took on board
with him an Indian lad about nine
teen years of age, handcufed, who,
while under the influence of liquor,
had struck another Indian on the
head with a bar of iron, killing him
almost instantly; but he did not
seem to care much for that.
At Glasgow our fireman gave out
from exhaustion and had had to be
taken back to the car. A passenger
volunteered to fire as far as he could
stand it, but by the time we had
reache d the next place "a water tank
and a few Indian tepees scattered
around) he had given out, and the
brakeman, much against his wishes,
had to don jumper and 90 into the
cab. So. between the brakeman and
the engineer, both working hard, we
finally reached the next division,
where we changed engines and crews.
1 never had any idea before that one
of those monsters ate up 80 much
coal. All that afternoon we rolled
along over the prairies Of western
Montana, occasionally passing
through an Indian agency. One thing.
I always noticed very plainly; that
when | saw a team and wagon, the
Indian always sat in the seat and the
squaw sat down on the bottom Of the
wagon bed, where she could get a.
good jolting. TWAS quite amusing
to see, whenever the train stopped at
these Indian agencies and most of us
got off on the ground among the In
dams, how there we're always some
Fasteners who we're contentto re-
main insidean stick their heads out
Of the windows. lremember one old
gentleman from the far east, especial
|Iy. The next morning FRIDAY when
we awoke we really felt that we had,
experiences. quite ID change Of elm
ate during. the night % g was now
quite chill <, and going 70 the plat