Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1899-05-27
A TRIP TO THE PACIFIC.

t1t DTtSenL century, lpBlOuS DeBdu Tue lUll-
some march across the plains and over the
mighty mountain barriers to the land of
promise and gold, a journey which required
months OF toll and privatlon and the con-
fronting of innumerable dangers. With
in a period of time so brief that many now
living made this journey in the early days
to the wonderful West, what marvellous
changes have been wrought in methods of
transportation. To-day, surrounded by
every luxury and comfort of modern ex.
i%stence, making 1T a verltable holiday, OF
pleasure, the Journey is a delight rather
than a task, and as one is swiftly carried in
palace sleeping cars through to destination
little thought is given TO the labor, effort
and privation attending such a journey in
days gone by.
The Chicago, Union Pacific & North
Western Line comprises the Chicago d.
North Western, Union Pacific, and South
ern Pacific railways-the direct through
car route every day in the year between
Chicago and the Pacific Coast.
The Chicago & North Western Railway
was the pioneer line west OF Chicago, and
the first engine run over its rails was
named the Pioneer" The Union Pacific
Railroad from Council Bluffs to Ogden was
the pioneer railway from the Missouri River
across the plains and the Rocky Mountains,
while the Central Pacific, from Ogden to
San Francisco, was the pioneer line from
the Pacific Coast across the fertile Sacra-
mento Valley and Sierra Nevada Moun
tains. The route traversed by these trans
continental trains is virtually the same as
that travelled by the thousands of pioneers,
who rode or tramped over prairie and
mountain.
That part of the country traversed by
the trans-continental trains OF the Chicago,
Union Pacific & North Western Line inn
mediately after leaving Chicago, is the Mis-
sisslppi Valley, an ideal agricultural region,
with evidences of prosperity on every hand.
After leaving Illinois, the trains cross the
Mississippi River to Clinton, Iowa, the gate
way to the 'Hawkeye" state. TIL entire
distance across the boundless prairies lying
between the Mississippi and Missouri Riv-
ers is a succession of fertile fields, pros
porous cities and thriving towns. Between
Council Bluffs and Omaha, the overland
trains cross the Missouri River, which sep
arates the states OF Iowa and Nebraska.
1t is 40 miles from Omaha to the state
hne of Wyoming, the route being through
Nebraska all the way except for the di.
version of a few miles into Colorado to
reach Julesburg, and the direct gateway to
Denver. All the way the traveller sees a
country rich in its production of wheat,
corn and cattle. North Platte, near where
Colonel w. +. Cody, Buffalo Bill" has his
famous ranch, is the center of a district
from which great quantities of live stock
are shipped, and from North Platte west
ward cattle-raising predominates, crops
gradually giving way to grazing until, when
| SAN NAAAN 10 lNh'AA1h lOl IL AAAlS 6N0h
in the way of diversified farming, while
cattle, horses and sheep are everywhere.
Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming, is
a city worthy of more than a passing glance,
and from here, as well as from ~Julesburg,
one can make a detour to Denver, Colorado
Springs, Pueblo, and other Colorado points.
The first important town west of Cheyenne
is Laramie, with $500 people, and the
next is Rawlins, thirty miles west of which
the train crosses the Continental Divide.
| M -,n,t,. ~ -.-s.- - H.
is stimulating and refreshing, and mountain
ranges, hundreds of miles away, deceive
IN vision by their seeming nearness-the
Sweetwater Mountains, Vino River Noun
tains and Rocky Mountains all being in
sight. Evanston. Wyoming, is halfway be-
tween Omaha and San Francisco, and from
here nearly all the way to Ogden the
traveller may see a succession of scenery
marking the grand as well as the curious
and grotesque in nature. TIL train glides
swiftly through Echo Canyon and past Cas-
tie Rock, Steamboat Rock, Great Eastern,
Giants Teapot and Pulpit Rock, into Web
er Canon, where Witch Rocks, Devils
Slide, 1000 Mile Tree and Devils Gate are,
points OF interest eagerly watched for by
travelers; then, almost before the transi-
ton can be realized, the mountains are
left behind and the train speeds through
a fertile valley with farms and orchards
on every side, and shortly comes to a stop
1t the line union station at Ogden, the sac
ond city IN Importance in Utah, and the
junction point OF the Union Pacific and the
Southern Pacific lines, Salt Lake City, the
Zion of the Mormons, is but thirty-siX miles
to the south, with frequent train service,
and is the principal city of Utah.
From Ogden to San Francisco the journey
is one OF notable contrasts. Immediately
after leaving Ogden the route lies through
a valley made productive by irrigation.
Next, the traveller obtains a splendid view
of Great Salt Lake, and afterward come
the Sierra Nevada Mountains with varied
scenery unrivaled for p-icturesqueness.
West of Reno, Nevada, where the United
States experiment station is located, the
steady climb of the mountain continues,
and a few miles west of Verdi the state line
between Nevada and California is crossed.
Iruckee is the first important station in Cal
ltornla and is a starting point for beautiful
Lake Tahoe and Donner Lake, which lie
hidden IN the mountains a short distance
away Fourteen miles west of Truckee is
Summit Station, the highest point reached
by. the train in the Sierra Nevada Noun
talns, and after a most enjoyable ride
around Cape Horn" where the train is
a thousand feet above the smiling valley
beneath, the descent is rapidly made to
ColfaN. Leaving ColfaX the route lies
through the fertile Sacramento Valley, and
no region can surpass the wheat fields and
fruit orchards to be seen. Sacramento, tne
capital OF the state, is in the midst of this
rich region, and 1t is a journey of but nine
ty miles to San Francisco. From Sacra-
mento, Los Angeles and all of delightful
Southern California are reached by the
Southern Pacific Railway.
EXcurslonists desiring to return via Port
land and the northern routes, can have
choice of the Shasta route of the Southern
Pacific, which is renowned for its marvel
Gus scenery through the Shasta Mountains,
or an ocean voyage between San Francisco
and Portland, on the magnificent steamers
of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Com
pany. Portland is delightfully."- situated, and
is the chief city of the north Pacific coast.
From Portland all points of local interest,
which are many, as well as those of the
Puget Sound country can be easily reached.
From Portland to Chicago, the Chicago,
Union Pacific & North-W Western Line, which
includes the Oregon Railroad & Navigation
Co. and the Oregon Short Line, is the only
line running soid trains of chair cars,
coaches and standard and tourist sleeping
cars every day in the wear.