Arizona republican., 1918-11-17

in Phoenix. They had planned to make the trip from their old Michigan home overland with their automobile, but the report of bad roads caused them to change their minds and make the journey by rail. We left Detroit at II ?. n., Thursday
 was the day; So glad was I to start at length. thank
 Heaven, I did say. And though the friends I'd left behind
 were still fresh in my mind, Twas sweetest music in my ears, when
 wheels began to grind And the first part of our journey was
 thankfully begun, When in Chicago we arrived with the
 rising of the sun. Here we ate our breakfast and then
 for many mile There was nothing in the scenery,
 which would cause a smile For the farms were poor, and the coun-
 try flat And disappointed was I at that; Till I saw the Mississippi river, Bright with sunheams all a quiver. In the State of Iowa, attractions were
 few Through Missouri state, in the night
 we flew Kansas, we saw by the morning light And here indeed was a pretty sight Long stretches of prairie, there flashed
 in view And the homes of prairie dogs were
 here located too. These cute little animals, so happy and
 so free Were perched upon tho tufts of grass,
 as funny as could be Standing on their hind legs, their fore
 paws hanging down Their ears so straight up in the air,
 upon their furry crown Their bright eyes watched the Limited
 as it went roaring by Then away they all did scamper, just
 as fast as they could fly. Another animal we saw, upon the
 prairie trail Was the skulking, sneaing coyote, with
 his waving bushy tail, A certain specie of the fox, was also
 lettering near From whom the little prairie dogs, fled
 madly in their fear. Of Brier Jack rabbit we caught a
 glimpse, scurrying pell-mell This much of Kansas animals, is all
 that l can tell. In Colorado next we rode, at La Junta
 stayed we first, At Trinidad upon our view the lordly
 mountains burst In attempting to descibe them, tongue
 and pen doth fail,
 
 above the winding trail Towering heights. some bare. and some
 with sage brush covered Needle pointed, pine grown. so high
 that clouds OCT lowered. We follow their beauty for miles, till
 we strike New Mexico And still the chain goes on. but here
 they're capped with snow Odd caves turk in their sides, and pre-
 historic races Have carved thereon devices queer,
 and yet stranger faces Letters too are there, which defy in-
 depreciation Remains of dwellings in the cliff, now
 void of occupation. Gorges long and deep, with rocky sides
 where formerly Torrents loaned and roared at noun tain bases nightly But the crowning wonder of all our
 journey was | The climbing of the awe-inspiring,
 wondrous Rattoon Pass Three panting engines. with coaches
 filled with human freight Ascended above it's eleven thousand
 feet drawing their share of weight. Then for while we twist and bend
 round smaller mountain sides And finally we downward dip, the train OCT the desert glides And here on the outskirts we saw an Indian family Wearing OCT the shoulders, gay blan-
 kets jauntily | Mexicans too, are living there, in their huts of adobe clay l One wonders what the attraction is,
 that they choose to stay. Again we upward climb to Flagstaff,
 where scenes are new For miles of healthy forest pines, we
 go rushing thru, Here the saw mills busy hum, at work l lo pidlulA HtdIu And too the whisting note of some
 strange unknown bird. While the rays of the setting sun
 bathes in blood red glow The rugged mountain passes, where
 the giant cacti grow. Then dash we thru a tunnel, with a
 nightly roaring sound The load the engine carries seems tc
 shake the very ground, | Though 'tis but the heart of a noun
 tain. we've pierced and hurried
 thru
 Such wonders of the Universe, seem
 hardly real or true Then the twilight comes, the view tc
 close
 The weary travellers seek repose Next morning with the suns brigh
 light
 We view again another sight For close to Phoenix, now are we And orange groves We plainly see Including palms of every kind Strange trees, and cotton too we find And then our noses sniff the air We smell the odor of roses rare And we wonder what manner of stat,
 is this
 Where cold is not and the climat,
 bliss.
 The train puffs at last into Phoeni,
 stataion
 Where we disembark with much ela
 Mr-c