Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1912-11-05
PEN pIrTgIRr
\ Akv 1 xOAOBk
OF THE WEST
]. ]. PIERCE Delighted With
Scenes While Going Across
Continent
WRITES TO FRIENDS
FROM NEVADA TOWN

Board OF Public utility Commission
ers, is on a western trip he is
having delightful time visiting
places OF interest through the West,
and naturally observant he iotted
down many interesting notes, and has
written them ina entertaining manner
for THE EVENING JOURNAL. Mr..
Peirce. in his letter sent from Reno,
Nevada says
I thought a few lines might inter-
est you by letting you know what 4
have seen, heard and experienced on
my way TO the Pacific coast left
philadelphia on the 10th inst, arriy-
ing Ia Chicago the following morn
ing. ! noticed the corn crop through
Ohio. Indiana and Iowa is very good.
The conductor, going west on the
train. from Columbus, Ohio, who has
run of ISIS miles. told NE that he
did not thing that in all that distance
along his run there Was enough wheat
grown to feed half a dozen families.
but all other crops were good. | left
Chicago &C $50 p. ma. on Friday the
nth on the Overland Limited, u. Il. and
S p. r. r., composed only of Pull
man cars and arrived in Reno on
Monday morning, tho l4th. a little be-
hind schedule time In crossing the
mountains in Wyoming and Utah and
Nevada. there was considerable ice.
and the frost had cleared most OF the
trees of their leaves. which made It
look like winter, together with the
surrounding snow-clad mountains.
Reno is q very pretty little city with
some 5000 or 1000 population. II isl
situated on the Truckeo River and
between high mountains There are
many fine buildings The streets are
almost sixty feet wide and many well
paved. There is a good sorviceable
electric street car line, which runs a
considerable distance out Of the city
TO places Of amusement. such as parks
and Monana hat springs, where a large
covered natatorium is built The
pool is about 100 feet long and so feet
wide. It's depth runs from 3 to . feet
The temperature of water is from so
No 100 degrees. IL contains regular
bath houses for men aud women. on
one side arc several different private
apartments about 10 to ~ feet square.
They contain water fed by as many
different springs from 80 TO l20 de-
grees. Many persons who are az
aicted by rheumatism battle in the
heated apartments and many cures
have been made.
The land in the valley is almost
dead level, and it is watored by
Irrigation The farm land sells for
from $500 to $500 per acre They raise
wheat, oats. potatoes. truck of diff
ferent kinds. apples and pears and
alfalfa
Visited the Mines.
ION last Sunday a party Of four OF
MS went ont by rail about IL miles TO
a place called the Steamboat" where
on the side OF the mountain. there are
many hot springs, the steam from
which can be seen for miles. There are
several pools Of boiling water. We
saw two men scalding and cleaning
Die at one of the pools
The surface of the mountain is solid
rock and barren. The surface I'm
msny places Is cracked open from
six to twenty-four inches wide for
several hundred feet in length, along
which Ia places the boiling water
spurts up two to four feet In places
u seems to be hallow underneath and
the water can be heard boiling and
roaring. Many persons go there for
rheumatic troubles and are generally
cured or benefited
Yesterday, Saturday. the 26th. a.
party OF five of us took the $50 train
for Virginia City, where the celebrated
Comstock mines are located, opened
many years ago by two men named
Fair and MacKeg. out Of which mine
We were told over 10000, 600 Ina gold
and silver has been taken. We were
told that the stockholders were paid
n one time S3,00O,000 per month for
seven consecutive months II Is the
richest aud deepest mine in the world.
Through the kindness OF a bank officer
IN Reno. who made arrangements with
the superintendent of the mine. we
were taken down and shown through
IT,
We were ushered into a big room
where there were big bath tub and
shower baths and ordered to disrobe.
Each Of use was furnished with a suit
Of flannel clothes, an old hat and
shoes. At 10 a. m, we. with Miss
Hazel Lee Roberts, 10 years old,
daughter OF Congressman Roberts,
Carson City, Nevada, entered the
cage, which holds six 10 eight per-
sons and descended the shaft TO the
2,000-foot level Miss Roberts was
dressed like man. We were shown
ground the engine room. which is
sixty TO seventy-five feet long and
thirty TO forty feet wide IL contains
large engines used for hosting and
drilling; also to suck and distribute
air through the different drifts. The
men wear nothing but the thinest
pants. and are naked above the waist
"a