Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-01-11
A TRIP TO. NEW MEXICO.
Mr.. EDITOR:

have been requested by many of |
your readers to send to your paper
some of my Impressions of the coun-
try through which l passed and In |
which now find myself.
left Barton Nov. 5th at 500 p. m.
On the way to Montreal Overheard
conversation between two gentlemen,
one of whom / afterward learned was
a Canadian official conne cted with
the land office in the Northwest Ter
ritories, and was much interested to
learn from him that the dissatisfaction
voiced by the Canadian journals over
the recent Alaskan boundary decision
was political material pure and sim
pie, and that the peop4e in the vicinity
of the boundary in question, as well
as the whole Northwest, are very
well satisfied with the award.
From Montreal to Detroit we lost a
little time and true to the prophecy of
the conductor the Chicago train over
the Wabash road did not wait, though
we were only seven minutes late. At
Detroit our train of seven coaches
| together with seven loaded freight
cars was put on one ferry boat and
taken across the river as easily as
can be imagined. Trains going west
are taken diagonally across by the
current, and only require steam
power to back the boat into the slip.
The country between Montreal and
Detroit is val led, but much of it is
rolling CT level and there are some
remarkably fine farms. Fall plough
ing was we'll advanced I should say.
In one field / saw fifteen pairs of
horses drawing as many plows, they
were ploughing in strips about
twenty burrows wide, turned to the
center and leaving a dead furrow
for drainage. Inquiry revealed the
fact that this was "ploughing
frolic.n The custom doubtless eman-
ates from the sociability of the
people. Instead of blowing two
weeks alone, the farmer invites his
neighbors and gets the blowing all
done in one day; at night the wives
and daughters appearing, a pleasant
evening is enjoyed with dances,
games, etc. This plan makes the
work more congenial. but we might
pertinently add that there are no
stones to Dig, else the work might
not be done sufficiently we'll to suit
some of the fastidious Orleans county
farmers.
We were DELAYED three hours in
Detroit and had an opportunity to
get glimpse of thescleanest city l
was ever in. The street cleaning
force are all dressed in white duck
uniforms, and the streets at 500 p.
m which is naturally the dirtiest
time in the day, we're delight fully
clean. Woodwork Avenue, the prin-
cipal retail and, farther out, residen-
tial street, is one of which the city is
Justly proud. The lighting is done
from very high skeleton steel towers
that carry four large electric lights
; each, and lighting they do a large
area, are said to be very satisfactory
By reason of delays we just missed
r connection at Chicago for Santa Fe
} and I stopped in the former city
r eighteen hours. 1 was very sorry te
miss seeing Rev. F. W. Millar, whom
. so many of your readers will pleas
antly remember. He was out of th'
city. Finding my card on his return
;. and not knowing my destination, h'
addressed me at Glover saying h
= would get somebody to supply hi
g pulpit and come and make me visit
t. but inasmuch as am 1900 miles from
n Chicago shall hardly expect him.
< called upon our old friends, MI
u and Mrs. W. E. Randall, and foun
- them very costly situated. I wa
- given a very cordial invitation t
4 spend some days there on my retur
to the East.
le The trip from Chicago to Santa T
u was Ou0 OudO Will
ef pleasant memory. took the South
ern California Limited over the SAINT
Us Fe route. The train only ran sem
- weekly at that time and the demar
m for passage can be appreciated
the fact that it was impossible to g
le- a stateroom less than five wee ks
&c; advance. Tbs accommodation
IN, limited, as the name implies. got
ST seat in the morning before leaving
se' 500 p. 10. or 1 would have be-
80 turned away as many were towar
vo night. We carried SO passenger
mr. The train was solid vestibule, finish'
I'd in Honduras mahogany and polish
like a new piano. The upholste
TO was pale blue plush. Each car W
ere lighted by its own electric plant; t
h's ''juice" was generated by mote