The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1919-01-30

rye. Whether Killed by freezing or
died OF old age don't know, but this
condition existed for four days. Every
farm had herds of cows, from 25 TO
so; lots of hogs and occasionally a
flock of sheep. Where they kept
their stock in winter Is a conundrum,
for they have no such barns as We
have East. Occasionally one sees a
comfortable. we'll kept set of farm
buildings. but for the most part they
are old, small. weather beaten struc-
lures Hay is left In the fields piled
up in heaps of perhaps ton or two
in a place Grain is threshed in the
piles to be burned. saw several
/ blazing piles The grain is also left
/ in the fields in large boxes or in great
iron tanks. This condition prevails
for hundreds of miles and SO far as
one can see on either side. | sup
! pose they haul the hay in as needed,
/ but to haul hay thru deep snow and
in such winds as they must have in
such a level country cannot be much
OF a picnic, especially as much OF 1t
must be hauled several miles. In
parts of the Middle West large sums
are expended on roads, but along the
railroad lines the roads are very poor.
After leaving the prairie we passed
thru a series of mounds covered with
grass from 10 to Is feet high and per
haps 2 feet In diameter, at the base,
and as symmetrical as II made by hu
man hands. They look like huge
globes cut in half and are scattered
over large area. Next came some
thing still more curious-tall, slim
spires from 20 to 100 feet high, some
with the tops knocked of sometimes
with two grown together; others with
sharp points like giant teeth It
looked dubious about getting past
them but we did, and don't think we
hit one of them. This must have
been in Dakota or Montana 1t be-
came dark at this point 80 | could not
see what stations We passed, and it
does appear to be part OF brake
mans duty to announce stations on
these western roads.
spent Sunday in the Union Sta
ton in Chicago, together with sever
al hundreds other pilgrims all wait
| ing for train Every few minutes
an official with a red band on his cap
would come in and call off a long
list of names which were almost as
Ineligible as a Chinese laundry tick
| ct; all you could understand was that
a train was about to start from track
anywhere from l to the limit. The
only way to be sure you don't get left
is to find out at what hour your train
| Is scheduled to start and watch the
clock Sometimes the announcing Is
done thru a megaphone but in such a
hollow, sepulchral tone it made me
think of the old hymn "Hark! From
the Tomb a Doleful Sound. On
every train and in every large station
! were scores Of soldiers, and the Red
Cross and Y. w. G. A. were on duty
to look out for their comfort They
are very attentive on these roads that
/ you don't travel on some other line
When you start for the outside you
don't get there till an official drills a
hole in your ticket and tells you
which track your train is on. The
roads are well ballasted; the rolling
stock is first class, clean and com
Portable; ice water to drink and hot
and cold water to wash in and some
times--soap.
| The speed however Is not likely to
] cause hot boxes | noticed NJ. c. and
i b. & NJ were not in too great a hurry
but | thought after we got on to the
long western roads, there would be an
illustration of how space could be an
initiated but mix. 1t was no bet
ter. If by chance a train got ahead
of its schedule it would halt in some
lonely spot and wait for the schedule
to catch up. | asked one conductor
why the cause of such haste and he
explained that all roads now were
required to run about twenty-five
! miles an hour. They don't all do that
much. | kept tabs over one line
awhile and they were two hours go
ing fourteen miles. | made me think
Of Mark Twain's boat ride on the sea
of Galilee, in "Innocents Abroad.
When we got to Oregon and Wash
ington, all sorts of vegetation was
as green and flourishing as on June
day in Maine. Flowers in profusion
and the weather perfect, My OBJ
jeCtive was 260 miles south from Port
land, town of Coquille. on the Coqulle
river eight miles down the river from
the city, and near the town of River
ton. The city of Bandon Is about 90
miles further down the river Two
good sized steamers and several
smaller ones make daily trips from
that port to Coquille. There is also
line running from Bandon to San
Francisco.
Oregon Is a marvellous country in
several particulars-its dairying pos
sbilities; it's vast timber forest; the
situation and fertility of its soil being
the most noted. Near the coast the
climate Is, in summer, almost perfect
but little rain and a temperature rare
ly rising above IS degrees The win
tiers are rainy with heavy fog nearly
every morning. We have had but one
light frost-Thanksgiying morning. so
far this fall and but little rain. The
days seem more like the first OF June
than December. In the eastern part
OF the state 1t Is colder and they have
some snow. In great portion of the
st'te the ground Is piled up into great
ridges or horsebacks from 100 to 1000
feet high 1t looks as II when 1t was
made thew used a huge pillow that
would throw up burrows to that height
and then cross plowed occasionally
with a smaller one to make gulches
At some points the hills rise from the
river banks AT other points there