The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-02-01
From Maine to California.

Chicago by the B. M, C. v. and 6. T.;
passed through Massachusetts and soon
got into New Hampshire; passed through
Manchester, Concord and other nice look
inp cities. Then into Vermont, Mont
heller. Barre, St. Adams and White River
Junction. nice thrifty looking towns.
We then passed into the Dominion OF
Canada and soon reached the large and
fine looking city of Montreal, with some
magnificent looking buildings; then the
city of Toronto, good looking city OF
2SO, 900 inhabitants. Our trip took US 6O0
miles through Canada. 1t is fine look
ing farming country, quite level and free
from rocks, with nice looking fields and
orchards and good looking buildings, and
an air of thrift and neatness that COM
pares very favorably with New England.
We passed by Lake Ontario, beautiful
sheet of water that stretches as far as
the eye can see, and reached Sarnla, the
last stop in Canada, where the custom
house officers boarded the train to in
spect our baggage. We then passed
through a tunnel under the st. Claire
river, which took US into Port Huron,
Mich, and we were once more in the
glorious U. S. A. We now see some fine
looking farms, with large herds of horses,
cattle and sheep. This is a great coun-
try for raising beets for sugar and we
saw a great many cars loaded with them
for the factory. We stopped at Lansing,
the State capital of Michigan, where
there is a fine capitol building and nice
State college of agriculture. There were
towers with hundreds of miles of wire
through Canada and Michigan for the
transmission of power and light from
Niagara Falls. We soon got into In
diana, then Illinois, and finally reached
Chicago, the windy city, the great me-
tropolis of the West, full of hustle and
business. Then on through Illinois into
Iowa; then Missouri, where a tough snow
storm was prevailing, and it looked pretty
cold and winterish. The farm buildings
small and cheap, with small barns and
sheds and hay stacked out of doors. They
do not look as neat and thrifty as they do
down in New England. We crossed the
Missouri river On high bridge, said to
be mile long The river was very high
and muddy. We stopped at Kansas City
several hours. 1t is stirring city, full
of business, but did not fancy the looks
of it nearly as we'll as do our neat east
ern cities. 1t looks as if it were more
for use than ornament. We now reach
the great State of Kansas, but l do not
admire its beauty; it is too level and
monotonous and lacks our fine scenery,
nicely painted buildings and the neat, up
to-date appearance of our homes in New
England In Colorado we found foot of
snow and some pretty bracing cold
weather. We saw large herds of cattle
foraging in the snow for a little grass to
keep alive 1t looked like hard sight
for them. We now pass through some
grand mountain scenery. We have a
very long train with three engines to
haul US up the hills, and as we wind
around we can see the front and rear of
the train as it twists around the hills like
a serpent. We now go through a long
tunnel, and when We come into the day
light again We are in the State Of New
Mexico, with swarthys. Mexicans, adobe
dwellings and odd surroundings that look
very peculiar to a doWn-east Yankee.
We next pass into Arizona and make a
stop at Flagstaff. Nearly all the towns in
New Mexico and Arizona are rough and
shabby; about half saloons, with crowds
of Indians, Mexicans and miners; a rough
looking crowd generally. We see hun
dreds of dead cattle that have persisted
with cold, hunger and thirst. We cross
the Colorado river into California ano
travel all night ard part of the day
through the Mojave Desert, long,
dreary waste of sand as far as the eye
can reach; for California is not all flow
ers, orange groves and beauty. We pass
large number of pack-mules loaded
with freight on their backs. In one
place through the mountains we made 6
complete circle and crossed the tracks
right over where we had passed Few
moments before. 1t was a wonderful
feat of engineering. We soon reached
Bakersfield, the center of the great oil.
producing region of California, with
hundreds of oil wells. We now come te
orange groves and vast stretches Of
grape vines; then Fresno, the grea;
producing center of the United
States, where we see beautiful palm,
orange and lemon trees, and everything
beautiful, warm and lovely for the 23rc
day of December. We then reach the
fine city of Stockton, then Richmond
Ferry, where we take the ferry boat fol
San Francisco, arriving at 10 p. m. Sat
urday, four hours behind time. | founc
NV son and his wife there waiting fol
me.
Christmas eve they gave great
out of door Christmas concert in the
streets to advertise the beauties of the