The Newtown bee., 1904-03-25
LOCAL AFFAIRS.

LOCAL AFFAIRS.
 E. L. JOHNSON
 WRITES INTERESTINGLY OF HIS TRIP
 ACROSS THE CONTINENT
 letter we were in the western part of New Mexico, and just at sunset crossed the line and entered the territory of Arizona. The first place of any im- portance reached was Tucson. Bear ing in mind the fact before leaving home, that in Tucson was an old-time friend, once a school boy of mine, dropped postal at Washington to Frank T. Botsford of Tucson, telling him we were due to pass through that place at a certain hour on the following Tuesday. We were four hours late when we reached there, and I feared he had tired of waiting and we would not see him. It was about p. m. when our train arrived. We were on the ground as soon as the wheels stop ped moving, to find our good friend expectantly waiting to say, if no more, "Howdy do, and goodbye" But we had long wait there, and we had a chatty time thereby. How strange the meeting! Once together as teacher and pupil in South Center school, now together in the far off desert country. Right glad we were to meet, and it will always be one bright spot in my memory-the meeting of Frank in the glare of the electric light on the far off plains of Arizona. How much such little episodes mean in the every day experiences of life! While we were talking a porter called out, Right off dis way fur de Gram Central" and it needed but little stretch of the i'm agination to dream myself in New town, once again. We also knew that our friend, Mrs J. W. Gordon, had two sisters living in Tucson and Mrs John- son had written them of our expected coming; one of them was there to meet us and have little chat with those who knew her sister who was so far, far away. When far from home, the next thing to letter, is to clasp the hand of one, though a stranger, may be, who is personally acquainted with some dear friend of ours. A very pleasant interview it was, and it added another ripple of pleasure to our won- derfully interesting trip. Our train started on after a half hours delay, and we supposed that when daylight broke we would be we'll on our way across Arizona, and took to my berth sorry that I must lose so much of day light travel across the Arizona desert a strip of country had always wished so much to see by daylight. We had now finished our fourth day of sight seeing out of Washington. Not book or paper had I looked at .in-the mean time. was going over route I had never been over before, and that l was never expecting to go over again. Any other time I could read, at no other time could ever see the like scenery again. Dreadfully tired, I soon fell asleep. When I awoke it was we'll into the night, and we were going bumpty- bump, but at not a very high rate o1 speed. My wife~was sitting up ln hel berth putting on her outer wraps. said: "What are you doing?" She re- piled: "I believe there is something the matter. I believe we are off the track and I am going to get ready fol it." "Oh! pshaw," I said, ''do lie down and go to sleer." Of course, she said "No!' But poor me, felt as in different as man does in sea sickness for I knew we were locked in our ca and we were bound to go where the car did, and soon fell asleep again ant slept soundly till morning. After day light we began to take our bearing! and found that during the entire nigh
 we had only gone 80 miles, and we wer
 yet in Arizona. That meant to m
 Arizona by daylight, but to the busi ness man it might mean vexatiou
 delay, or to one going to meet sic] friend disappointment, if not actua sorrow. On enquiry we learned tha
 when 30 miles out of Tucson our en zine became disabled, and they had t
 telegraph back for helper: then whel we'll under way the hind truck of ou car jumped the track and made an other long delay. But thanks to a clea
 conscience (perhaps), your correspond
 ent slept through it all. All the da before, through New Mexico the yucca
 a plant that grows spontaneously ol
 the desert waste, to heights varyin from two to five feet, with it's lon spike leaves, and flower stem runnin up two feet or more, covered with del icate white blossoms, was particular ]. Arizona desert, the cactus is the plan to draw attention. All across tn
 border they are to be found, but
 habitant more particularly of the eas
 ern part, where they grow often to height of 20 feet, and as large at tn , base as telephone pole. Sometime with long branching arms shootin
 forth from either side, they look lik
 sentinels stationed upon the outpost p a growth l never tired of looking a
 as the train speeded on. I was muc
 interested in a large herd of Angol
 goats, some hundreds of them, that
 would think might find some succor
 the dry, scrubby but scanty growth (
 the desert land. They must at lea