Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-06-03


holiday ride for pleasure.
This has been an unusually prosperous
spring for Western railroads. The cold
winter has made the Western fever al
most epidemic, and hundreds of thou
sands have lest their homes for the far
West. The most Of them will never ~
turn. A very few will get rich; would
anywhere. A few more will better
their condition; but the rank and file
at least ninety per cent-have left bet ter
homes, aud better business, than they
will ever find; and the greater part
will never have the means to regain
them. But this seems to be law of
nature,-immigration always follows
the setting sun.
The NJ. f. general conference has
added much to the customary travel,
aud the last week in April being the last
days of grace for lower fares, of course
there was a great rush. The train |
came on had twelve passenger ears all
crowded. With two or three trains a
day over the many different routes one
wonders where they are all to be housed
and fed; but the Pacific coast is big
place-some thousands of miles from
Washington to Mexico-and it will take
some years yet to overflow. But one is
sometimes amused to hear loquacious
Eastern man, who has been out here on
six weeks trip, riding in the cars, stop
ping at three or four towns, seeing a
few public sights, talking with some old
millionaire, and few sharp razors
who have stocks to sell, and then hear
him declaim on the wonders of Cali
fornia. If you took full stock in his as
sertions, you would exclaim; what he
don't know is not worth knowing On e
must travel the length and breadth Of
the land, year in and year out, and even
then he has hardly learned the A b c
of the Pacific coast. The railroad con-
panies and nearly all others are interest
ed in getting people out here, and i'll
keeping them after they come. There
are so many "wonderful openings to
make fortune" that stranger is likely
to be confused, and as each will prove
to certainty that his location is the
very best, 'one needs to keep their head
or they will get turned around. AL
come to make or spend money and the
most will have to make it before they
spend it. This is no place for lazy
man. it is "root hog or die" Old sec
ton hands on the railroad get 81 go pei
day, farm hands do not average as mucl
by the year, getting $l.00 per day il
haying and at harvesting Sl.23 to Sl,5O
In winter but little is done, while rem
and wood are higher than in Vermont
and ones social standing is not so good
Society is much more stony" than it wa
! forty years ago; but as an offset on
J can choose his society better than then
1t takes time, patience, and money, t
5 find the best place and then you are no
) sure of it. 1t also takes time to lear
5 the different ways of doing business
l Many prodigal son will find himsel
feeding swine in some vile saloon befor
he will come to himself and return t
his fathers home.
Several young men were coming OF
to take up claims, and these will hav
to wait some time before they get ricl
One young man left an eighty dolla
per month job, to better himself. On
. got homesick lat Utah and wanted to G
v back, but his ticket would carry hin
/, only West. Another lost his ticket an
s could go neither way without pay.
woman with three children wished 81
e had never started. Another with fy
said if she ever got there she woul
s never come back. Still another "if 81
: found heaven she would always stay
In our car were eight children, all mic
S and orderly. In the next were sixteel
: some of different typo and there W;
music and some dancing in that ca
The passengers were very kind and S
s ciable, especially so to me when I WI
!. sick. On the whole we were a jolly, ST
e cial crowd, time passed pleasantly, an
n at parting there were many wishes f'
) each others welfare.
i 1t has been a long, cold, wet whit,
+ here, with great freshets, and niue
$ damage has been done at railroad tow
e and farms. In the mountain distri
(. great falls of snow made the roads ofte
e impossible, for mail and other traffi
J. Two weeks ago it had been showing
J. raining for three weeks. My son wrot
y me he had been wet every day. Horses
!, cattle, and sheep were starving by til
hundred thousands. Think he write
of driving to mans house or cabi
with some fifty to hundred dead an
mails within mile of his door, to as
him to buy nursery stock. 1t was a
n insult and he would not do it. La
:. year was very dry and cold, consequent