Notes of a Trip to California and Oregon. 329 



Nebraska has a pleasant look. It is settling quite rapidly, and in 

 a few years the eastei'n half of the state will doubtless appear much as 

 Iowa does to-day. Her thousands of cheap unoccupied acres, so full 

 of bread and meat, seem to repeat, with a slight variation, Mr. Greeley's 

 advice, — " Young man, co7ne west." 



The ride over the plains becomes rather wearisome, on account of the 

 sameness of view ; but this prepares one to appreciate better the moun- 

 tain scenery. To persons who are taking a journey for the first time, 

 the wild animals to be seen along the way are objects of great interest. 

 We wish we could say as much for our wild, red brother. We sympa- 

 thize with him in his poverty, but his brutal face and dirty person make 

 his near presence intolerable. It must have been some tobacco dealer's 

 sign that inspired Longfellow's pen. 



It is quite a privilege, as we ride over the dusty and barren sage 

 brush lands of the mountains, to be able to purchase, on the train, the 

 luscious fruits of California, at prices, too, that prevent over-indulgence. 

 Pears, peaches, plums, grapes, and apricots were temptingly passed 

 every hour. Sometimes we were offered Utah apples, right from Brig- 

 ham's garden. 



The ride in an open car through Echo or Weber Canons affords .a 

 good view of the many curiously-formed rocks and the grand moun- 

 tain scenery, and is one long to be remembered. During this ride we 

 see for the first time crops grown by irrigation. Here, on the narrow 

 strips of land along Weber River, the Mormons have settled. Most of 

 them, perhaps, have come over the gi^eat sea, across the rich and open 

 lands of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, to this narrow, arid 

 valley, to toil for a scanty subsistence, and enjoy their newly-discovered 

 religion. Of all animals, man is the most gullible. 



They have no creeks in this country ; the smallest streams are called 

 rivers. The Humboldt appears in many places not over twenty feet 

 from bank to bank ; and Weber River would be called. East, a very 

 moderate-sized creek. At Humboldt Station we have an opportunity of 

 seeing what water will do for the barren alkali lands. Some twenty 

 acres have been enclosed by the proprietor of the hotel, and irrigated by 

 water from a spring. Fruit and shade trees have been planted, and are 

 doing quite well. We did not have an opportunity of going over the 

 enclosure, but were told that all kinds of vegetables do w^ell. 



The Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys must be beautiful when 

 clothed in green. Even now, parched and brown as they are, they 

 have a pleasant appearance. W^indmills are the chief reliance for 



