1882 .] 
AMERICAS’ AGRICULTURIST. 
47 
A Fine Piece of Engineering, 
When completed, the railroad bridge at Bismarck, 
Editorial Ramblings. 
Across the Continent in 4 Days, 
Formerly it took several days to go from New 
York to Chicago. The best time up till within a 
few weeks was 36 hours. Now trains are adver¬ 
tised to make the distance in nearly 24 hours. The 
distance from Chicago to San Francisco is, by rail¬ 
road 2,400 miles. When the tortuous serpentine 
Union Pacific Road is straightened, and express 
trains take the place of the slow trains now moving 
between Omaha and San Francisco, there is no 
reason why there should not be a shortening of the 
time between Chicago and San Francisco, corre¬ 
sponding to that just made between New York and 
Chicago. Furthermore, trains ought to be able to 
run with fully as much speed and safety over the 
level prairies, as over the country between New 
York and Chicago. We may expect, therefore, in 
third class. Two elegant hotels, however, are being 
constructed now, and the little hotel which George 
Francis Train built years ago, in a fit of anger, be¬ 
cause the hotel where he was boarding would not 
furnish him with what he required—is now being 
rebuilt. There is a superior order of intelligence 
among the people of Omaha, and they confidently 
talk of soon having 100,000 population. 
Salt Lake City is one of the cleanest cities on the 
continent. The public buildings present an im¬ 
posing and impressive appearance, and the streets 
are daily purified with streams of water which are 
directed there from mountain reservoirs. During 
the summer months the Gentiles and the Mormons 
together are very fond of frequenting the bathing- 
resorts in Salt Lake. We present a view of one of 
these bathing resorts, which we visited during the 
season with a number of people from the city. 
Denver, like Salt Lake City, is watered by streams 
over the Missouri River will be one of the finest 
structures in the United States. A Boston engineer 
has charge of the work. The bridge will be a mile 
and a half long, and requires two years more for 
its completion. We present an engraving as it will 
appear when finished. The stone for the caissons 
were brought from Sauk Rapids, more than 300 
miles eastward, in Minnesota. These caissons are 
sunk 40 or 50 feet down in the quicksands of the 
river, in order to form a firm foundation. It is im¬ 
possible to find terra firma in the bed of the Mis¬ 
souri, the Platte, and many other streams. When 
a section of the suspension bridge over the river at 
Omaha was blown into the river, it quickly disap¬ 
peared. A few hours later when workmen with 
necessary machinery endeavored to grapple the 
section it had entirely disappeared beneath the 
A SALT LAKE BATHING RESORT, 
RAILROAD BRIDGE AT BISMARCK, DAKOTA. 
this day bf rapid locomotion, to soon see trains 
advertised from New York to San Francisco in four 
days’ time. 
The Union Pacific Road which ends at Ogden, 
Utah, is building a line through of its own, from a 
point east of Ogden, westward to the Pacific Coast. 
On the other hand, the Central Pacific, whose east¬ 
ern terminus is Ogden, is planning to run a line of 
its own eastward through Nebraska to the Missouri 
River. The spirit of competition, therefore, is to 
give us two lines where one now exists. Further¬ 
more, the Northern Pacific expects to have cars 
running to the Pacific Coast in two years’ time. 
There is already another line through to the Pacific, 
via Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe. Still another 
is being built further South. We are promised, 
therefore, in a comparatively short time, five sep¬ 
arate trans-continental railroad lines. The bring¬ 
ing, so to speak, in close proximity, all the different 
portions of the Republic is not only highly con¬ 
venient and advantageous to the commercial and 
travelling public, but it serves to weld and strength¬ 
en the bonds among the various States. 
Impressions of Western Cities. 
The people of Chicago are full of vim and enter¬ 
prise. They delight in broad thoroughfares, hand¬ 
some blocks, and beautiful residences. They arc 
very hospitable, and extend a very cordial welcome 
to people from the Eastern States. 
St, Paul wears somewhat of a venerable appear¬ 
ance. There is very old society here. Many of the 
people pride themselves upon their wealth and 
their family relations. 
Minneapolis looks very like a New England city. 
The thoroughfares, the stores, the private resi¬ 
dences and the numerous church spires, and the 
people all remind you of New England, and must 
make a man from Massachusetts feel quite at home. 
Omaha appears as if it had been stricken by one 
of those blizzards which sweep over the prairies. 
What with paving and the laying of gas pipes, 
nearly every one of the public thoroughfares is 
just now torn to pieces, many of them being in an 
almost impassable condition. There is not a first 
or second-class hotel in the whole city. In fact, it 
would be difficult to rank any of them as above 
of water passing through the streets, and presents 
a very tidy and cleanly appearance. There is a 
metropolitan air about the whole place, and at all 
seasons of the year the hotel registers are filled 
with the names of Eastern people en route to visit 
the various mines of Colorado. 
Kansas City strikes the stranger as being full of 
push and vim. One meets rather a heterogeneous 
population, who are apparently bent on making 
the most of their opportunities, and coining money. 
St, Louis is staid and sober. Northern and South¬ 
ern elements are gradually blending, and very many 
of the heavy business men are from the North. 
Cincinnati is all activity and bustle, but requires 
more first-class hotels. There is only one in the 
city. The business thoroughfares present rather a 
smoky appearance, and one wonders were the hand¬ 
some residences are. You have, however, but to 
ride about on the neighboring hills, and you will 
find them. 
Get Vaccinated. 
Just at present small-pox appears to be prevalent 
generally over the country. The newspapers and 
medical men are discussing whether or not vaccina¬ 
tion should be practiced. Do not wait, however, 
to read the outcome of these discussions, but pro¬ 
ceed to vaccinate yourself and family at once. Do 
not take the chances of having been vaccinated be¬ 
fore. It is a too loathsome disease to dally with. 
There was a lady on the train with us, going to Bis¬ 
marck, Dakota, who had received a telegraphic 
dispatch that her husband was lying sick there at 
the hotel. Judge of the general consternation, 
when, upon our arrival, and a physician had been 
called into the hotel, lie pronounced it a case 
of small-pox. There were lively times there for a 
few moments. The husband had come from Mon¬ 
tana, where small-pox prevails the year round, in 
some of the Swedish settlements, because the im¬ 
migrants bring with them from the old world a 
prejudice against vaccination. The following week 
we proceeded into Montana where most alarming 
reports reached us of dead and dying small-pox 
victims. Go to a reliable doctor who will furnish 
pure virus, and have him vaccinate you at once. 
quicksands, aud they were unable to discover it. 
Some four years ago a water-spout carried away, in 
the spring, the Kansas Pacific railway bridge over 
the Kiowa Creek, some 50 miles east of Denver. 
A freight train plunged over into the treacherous 
flood. A body of workmen were sent for from 
Lawrence, 600 miles away, to fish out the train. 
We were there about five months afterward. The 
man had recovered the freight cars. They had not 
yet, however, discovered the engine, for which 
they were still exploring by means of long poles. 
Minnesota abounds in picturesque water views. 
Very many of them are more beautiful than the 
Pretty Water Views. 
one a few miles below Minneapolis, immortalized 
in Hiawatha, as the Minnehaha Falls. Above is 
a picture of one of the many water scenes one sees 
in going from Minneapolis to Sioux City. All this 
North-west region presents a most attractive field 
for the artist who delights in water views and ro¬ 
mantic scenery. D. W. J. 
