El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-20
PICTURESQUE JOURNEY.

PICTURESQUE JOURNEY.
The second stage of our journey was
more picturesque. Then, we Travelled
in the latter half OF car whose first
part was given up to the baggage, ex-
press, and mail. 1t was long up-pull,
and the little locomotive pulled and
grew breathless, stopped to rest and
get up steam for another squirt, took
long, leisurely drinks from great pipes
that swung about like elephau Is trunks
while the trainmen dashed
the water that dripped about the tank
on each other, and altogether it was
the most irresponsible, go-as-you-
please of trains. Its schedule seemed
return journey at O'Clock the next
morning, and it could pick as many
daisies on the way as it pleased. The
seats were filed with people going to
Hillsboro to attend the great murder
trial. Men who had been called as
witnesses were taking their wives aud
babies along for q holiday. There was
also kinky-haired drummer, who, be-
ing more than pleased with the portion
OF beauty allotted him by nature, ex-
pacted all womankind to wonder, too,
that he was so fair. Wherever the
train stopped, and one could hear the
talk, it was about the FitZsimm ons-
Jeffries fieht-going over the details of
the condition of each man, the differ
ences in training, the value of this at
tack or that defense, the character of
the pugilists: all the while the drum
mer particularly insisted that no man
could expect to win who burnt out his
stomach with liquor"
The train would start ain, go for
b alf hour, then rest, and again the talk
OF the fight would come to our ears.
Here, out in the wide, lonely spaces in
the blazing afternoon, buzzard on the
telegraph pole serepely watching US; 8
dusty coyote slipping across the track
and disappearing in the low grass.
only the whisking OF his tail showing
the path he was taking, the lilies fling
ing scent to the breezes, and the little
train with its passengers, the only sign
of man within the circling horizon: the
droning talk of fight to be thousands
of miles away in the crowded East
and the drummer reasserted that no
man could win who burnt out his
stomach with liquor-space seemed
immense, man but buZzing insect.
This trip ended, too, and in the late
evening We were deposited in little
gray town, where we waited for the
stage to be hitched up that was to car
ry US the rest Of the way to Hillsboro,
where the trial was to be held.
LAKE VALLEY.
Lake Valley, the little gray town, is
such place as Bret Harte tells OLA
collection of implanted, uuadorned
houses, built hastily for the crowds of
men who rushed here at the first re-
port of treasures of silver in the hill
side. The town is now almost desert
ed. OF it's 20, 600 eager citize MS of a
few years ago there are now only a
or so left-a handful of rail-
way men, as many miners drudging
and hoping and mixing up politics aud
the wsywardness of fortune in placing
treasure in the mines to explain why
they are poor.
Not many years ago The Bridal
Chamber" was none too loving a title
for big, black hole that now makes
the landscape desolate. A few years
ago it WAS yielding treasures enough
to outdaZzle Arabian Nights" tales, -
stories of rich nuggets and those days
of millions are told In the streets to-
day. The treasures were carried far
away, and sparkled and cleaned in the
pleasures OF Vanity Fair" In the
worlds gay cities, while the men in.
the gray town dug far into the hill
sides; and today this town of the
tire asure Is grsyer and more desolate
than ever. The stsge-driver told US
about bis town while he pitched up.
THE STAGE COACH AND DRIVER.
Then there was q cracking of the
whip and a gfest creaking and rum
bling as the four nervous horses
into the street and swung the
red coach up to the platform. The
big leather boot in the back was filed
with valises, cameras, boxes of oranges,
crates of eggs, bags of fish, long
package which the driver guessed to