The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1911-08-25
Editor Marietta Journal /:

| and the citizens OF Cobb county some
information as to my travels over the
northwest
Accompanied by my daughter,
Maude, we left home at Austell on
June Goth, and spent FIVE weeks trav-
cling through the northwest and Can
ada. There is no picture, artist or
tongue could tell all we saw. Our
first stopping point was Birmingham,
Ala, and from there we went to Men,
phis, Tenn. Thence to Kansas City,
where we saw the Union Stock Yards,
Armours Packing House and Ex-
change, Thence to Cameron, Mo, 60
miles west, in the farming district
We spent two days and nights with
friends at this point and l had my
| first experience with hot western winds.
When we arrived at Mr.. Ditmars'
his corn looked fresh and black, but
on the second day hot, high wind
blew, so that corn looked as if hot
water had been poured over it. l was
informed by my friend that unless
rain came in two days the corn would
be ruined. looked at his stock in
the pasture with grass all dried up,
and ground so cracked open so that
l could almost put my foot into the
holes. This occurred in what is
considered the best farming district
in the state.
The wheat crop in Missouri was
fairly good, but oat crop short l
would not begin to swap Georgia for
Missouria.
From Kansas City we went to Den
yer, Col. The whole country between
these points was dry and burned up.
At Denver we took in the sights, lie.
U. S Mint, Cheesman Park, City
Park and Zoo, Observatory Point, etc.
/ consider Denver the incest and most
up-to-date city l visited on my
travels.
From Denver to Salt Lake City,
passing through dry deserts where
nothing living except Prairie dogs
was to be seen. presume the exist
without water, as l never saw sign
Of any.
l was wonderfully disappointed at
Salt Lake City. Expected to see an
up-to-date place, but it will not COM
pare with Atlanta. We took the sight
seeing car and went to all points of
of interest; the Mormon Temple and
heard the organ played; saw the home
and graves of Brigham Young and
Mistresses Young. saw the finest
hotel there of any on my route 1t
was built of solid marble.
The scenery we had passed through
the Rocky Mountains is to me in
describable. 1t took two of the largest
locomotives l ever saw to haul our
train up and over the mountains. All
the high peaks are eternally covered
with snow.
Before reaching the summit, the
snow was above, below and all around
US. The girls tried their best to per-
suade the conductor to stop and let
them gather some snow, but he was
not one of the persuadable kind The
curves are so sharp that it appeared as
il the engineer would run into the
rear OF our train. When on the sum-
NIT of the mountains we were over
$4,000 feet above sea level. Some OF
the passengers suffered from the
rarefied air and were anxious to
descend.
We went down the West slope very
much faster than we came up.
We were disappointed in not getting
all the fruit we needed. It was said
northern California's fruit crop was
almost total failure. / saw many
nice fruit farm and here saw my
first land under irrigation. They
make nothing without it in this par
ticular locality These lands are held
at high figures and water-rights are
higher acre than any rents ever heard
OF in this country. We were in San
Francisco the morning after the earth
quake, visiting my son. We stayed
there two days and nights and saw
all there was to be seen of interest
My son informed me that at the first
sign of the quake, everyone hustled
to get out of doors, but no serious
damage was done.
Would say that | saw more hustling
in Frisco than any other city Visited.
Travel through the main streets was
difficult
From here we went to Portland,
Oregon. About this city and Salem
were the first places that looked at
tractive to an old Georgia cracker
Here they had had some rains and l
saw the first corn since | left Missouri.
| 1t was about knee high and date July