The Western Echo / A Description of the Western State and Territories of the United States. As Gathered in a Tour by Wagon

by George W. Romspert

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

Start from Dayton—Coal-Mine—Indianapolis—Illinois Roads—Springfield—Crops—Poor Water—Missouri River—Enter Iowa—Enter Missouri—Kansas City—Des Moines Valley and City—Western Iowa—Fourth of July at Lewis—Council Bluffs.

A back turned upon the State of Ohio is a back turned against the Eden of the Union! And to a person whose lot it has been to be born in this beautiful land, and whose borders he has never crossed, to think of quitting a civilized and happy home to wander in the land where the savage screams and the growl of the wild beast may be heard is certainly somewhat embarrassing. Nevertheless, being more than ordinarily interested in the narratives of the frontier, the author, with two comrades, John Routsong and Johnny Lair,—being stout, robust young men of the vicinity of Dayton,—resolved to test the truth of what we had heard and read by seeing for ourselves, even if it had to be done at the price of a hair or two. Accordingly, a topped spring-wagon and a good team were procured, and lightly we tripped along, eager to prove ourselves Davids, and anxious to wrap ourselves in the robes of the wild buffaloes of the prairie, the giants of our own slaying. The first part of our journey, from its novelty, was the merriest; and sweeter dreams than we dreamed while lying upon the hard ground, with nothing but a tent to shelter us from the dews of heaven, were never dreamed by a king in his palace. Wishing to fully experience the effect of camp-life, we did our own cooking from the start; and never having graduated in the pastry art, we were obliged to forsake knickknacks. And how natural it was that we grew more and more hardy from our new diet, which we eat in the pure, open air. Being in the month of June, the weather was warm and the roads were delightful, and we merrily passed along until we found ourselves treading Hoosier soil. As we wended our way toward the interior of the state, equestrianism became quite common; and in some of the back parts of the country we were amused at seeing the people finding their way to church in two-horse farm-wagons. Many other little novelties and changes attracted our attention; and we musingly passed along until we stood upon the bank of the Wabash River, where stands the pleasant little village of Montezuma. The stream is about two hundred yards wide; and being very deep, we found it necessary to take the ferry. This was something new to us; and as we floated across the stream we imagined ourselves in the Mayflower, plowing the foamy Atlantic, and carrying with us the seeds of life and death. The former we calculated for all who wished us no harm; but the latter we fully meant to spring up in the path of the wild buffalo and the bear. Our imaginary ocean, however, was soon crossed; and having been told by the ferryman that there was a coal-mine up the river a-piece, we determined to visit what we had never before had the opportunity of seeing.

There lay the dark fuel, and here ran the tunnel into the foot of the hill whence came the coal. Of course, wanting to see it all, we determined to explore the thing to our satisfaction. The tunnel being but three feet wide by three and a half high, we were obliged to stoop very low. Onward we went, bold as the lion in his cave, lightly talking of the great dampness and the little car-track that wound its way so far into the bowels of the earth, etc., etc., until we found ourselves about fifty yards from the daylight door. Here a slight caving from the side of the passage caused a panic in a party of three, and for some minutes the bowels of Vesuvius never knew a greater rumbling than was heard in the tunnel of that coal-mine. When the weakest,—who had been trampled into the mud by the stampede,—had once more dragged himself into daylight, we concluded that we knew all about coal-mines, and thought it not necessary to penetrate any more hills to inform ourselves better. Betaking ourselves to the wagon, we once more resumed our journey.

Coming into the splendid city of Indianapolis one bright morning, we were greatly struck with its great life and beauty, and concluded to camp in a pretty grove just back of the great asylum and spend a few days in surveying and acquainting ourselves with the Hoosier capital. The first was reception-day for the horse-traders, who swarmed to us from all directions. They were all good, clever fellows, and offered us a chance to make fifty dollars in a single swap. The boys wanted to trade, but I had conscientious scruples against taking the advantage of such good-hearted, honest fellows, and prevailed on the boys to deal gently with the innocent.

The great clouds of dark smoke that curl from the engines of the thirteen railroads, the deafening sound of the car-bells at train-time, together with a depot that is surpassed in size and magnificence by but one or two in the United States, speak the advantages of this thriving and lovely city. Its court-house is also a model, being one of the finest in the land. Having informed ourselves to our satisfaction, we again pulled out.

The roads having been good and the weather fine, our trip through Indiana was a pleasant one, indeed; but upon our approaching Illinois we found the character of the country materially changed. The large beach-forests began to fade away, and before us, like a great ocean, spread a broad and fertile prairie all covered with richest vegetation. Here, too, the prairie-chickens began to fly, and small game became abundant. This was sport for us, and, with guns in hand, we some days almost veiled the sun with smoke and feathers—especially smoke. From the want of timber, fences became very few and the fields contained many acres. We were compelled to haul our wood, for cooking purposes, for many miles, upon different occasions. In case we forgot to take wood along when we left where it could be had, I shall not attempt to tell you where we got our fuel, but will simply remark that he who passes through Illinois by wagon without pulling middle rails from the fences or tearing down barn-yard gates must certainly have a mighty conscience dictating for him.

There is no gravel here, and the loose, black soil, dampened by the almost incessant rains of this region, render the highways rivers of mud. There were a great many emigrants along the road, bound for a home beyond the Mississippi; and to see them turning their honest faces in all earnestness toward the heavens as if wondering if something had not burst, was truly an affecting sight. Instead of good hard pikes leading into the cities, there are nothing but graded mud-roads; and we saw four horses to a hearse stall in the middle of one of Springfield’s main streets, and in the center of town. A gravel-bank in central Illinois would be a fortune indeed, and by its aid Springfield could be made a most beautiful city. The state-house situated here is an immense structure, covering a great area, and supporting a flag five hundred and thirty-one feet in the air. Flags and military relics of several nations, together with many other curiosities, are kept here for the public view; and persons going this way and having an opportunity, should by all means spend a half-day in going through this great museum. The cost of the building is about ten millions. It is built of stone and is fire-proof. Being rainy, and wood very scarce, we concluded to pitch our tent on the common for the night, and go to the Central Hotel for supper. This was our first meal inside of a house since we started, and dressing ourselves in our long hunting-coats, with great deep pockets in the sides, we were the center of attraction and comment; and we naturally felt inclined to have as much sport upon our side as the landlord and guests were having upon theirs. Accordingly, we sat at a table to ourselves; and having caught the eyes of one of the fair waitresses, we politely marked the bill of fare and began relating some of our great adventures, and Indian and lion fights through which we had dragged our lives by a single hair. And this, with our peculiar expressions and appearances, aroused great curiosity, and whisperings could be heard, “Which is Buffalo Bill?” “They are fierce-looking fellows, ar’n’t they?” After we were served, taking advantage of the good lady as she turned away, with a sort of sleight of hand the roasted potatoes and biscuits found their way to the bottom of the great side pockets, and we called out, “Potatoes and biscuits, please!” Apologizing, and having the good lady believe that we had eaten nothing for some time, we stayed at the table and played our game until the lady grew pale and the great pockets were pulling heavily at our sides. We now remarked that we thought we could wait until morning, and, seizing our great broad-brims, started for camp. The lady, with a sigh of relief, looked after us as if to say, “They must be powerful fellows! A biscuit or potato is no more than a pill to them!” The next day there was a long article in the Springfield paper about three hunters and their mighty capacities.

The street-car track is laid in the center of the street, and between the railing it is planked. Taking this we succeeded in getting through the muddiest city in the world, and arrived in camp safely, well pleased with our supper and the faithful lady. When the city was dead in slumber, and deep darkness hung o’er it, not wishing to disturb any one, we innocently seized a couple of chicken-coops that we found in the back yards, and then did our own cooking. When we were breaking up the coops into firewood down at camp, we were surprised to find a couple of chickens fast in the laths. This made me so mad that I jerked their heads off right then and there. John stood looking on with a troubled gaze, and as they lay there fat and motionless, he said, “Boys, it is too bad to waste those fowls that way; I think we had better cook them.” Well, after considering the hell we might raise by throwing dead chickens over the common in that way, we decided to make a stew. Feathers make very good pillows, you know; and we were very careful to pick up every one. We stored the wood in the wagon, very carefully out of the way, and of course had breakfast very early—for you know how curious people are when persons are going through the country, and how they hang around their camp, especially if they have chickens. To avoid all this we had everything cleaned up at daylight, and then and there made a rule that no person should be permitted to fool around the wagon. That wood and those feathers were hard to get; and one does not know what thieves might be lurking around. In a few days we pulled out, striking north-west for Iowa.