Minnesota and Dacotah | Page 4

was not very romantic, perhaps not picturesque-- but
it was quite novel; and the novelty of the scene enabled us to bear with
greater patience the gloomy delay.
The mountain scenery in plain sight of the traveller over the Baltimore
and Ohio road is more extensive and protracted, and I think as beautiful,
as on any road in the United States. There are as wild places seen on
the road across Tennessee from Nashville, and as picturesque scenes on
the Pennsylvania Central road-- perhaps the White Mountains as seen
from the Atlantic and St. Lawrence road present a more sublime view--
but I think on the road I speak of, there is more gorgeous mountain
scenery than on any other. On such routes one passes through a rude
civilization. The settlements are small and scattered, exhibiting here
and there instances of thrift and contentment, but generally the fields
are small and the houses in proportion. The habits of the people are
perhaps more original than primitive. It was along the route that I saw
farmers gathering their corn on sleds. The cheerful scene is often
witnessed of the whole family-- father, mother, and children-- at work
gathering the crops. These pictures of cottage life in the mountain glens,
with the beautiful variegated foliage of October for groundwork, are
objects which neither weary nor satiate our sight.
The practice of taking a vote for presidential candidates in the cars has
been run into the ground. By this I mean that it has been carried to a
ridiculous excess. So far I have had occasion to vote several times. A
man may be indifferent as to expressing his vote when out of his state;
but a man's curiosity must have reached a high pitch when he travels
through a train of cars to inquire how the passengers vote. It is not

uncommon, I find, for people to carry out the joke by voting with their
real opponents. Various devices are resorted to to get a unanimous vote.
For example, a man will say, "All who are in favor of Buchanan take
off their boots; all in favor of Fremont keep them on." Again, when
there are several passengers on a stage-coach out west, and they are
passing under the limbs of a tree, or low bridge, as they are called, it is
not unusual far a Fremont man to say, "All in favor of Fremont bow
their heads."
I have a word to say about refreshments on railroad routes. It is,
perhaps, well known that the price for a meal anywhere on a railroad in
the United States is fifty cents. That is the uniform price. Would that
the meals were as uniform! But alas! a man might as well get a quid of
tobacco with his money, for he seldom gets a quid pro quo. Once in a
couple of days' travel you may perhaps get a wholesome meal, but as a
general thing what you get (when you get out of New England) isn't
worth over a dime. You stop at a place, say for breakfast, after having
rode all night. The conductor calls out, "Twenty minutes for breakfast."
There is a great crowd and a great rush, of course. Well, the proprietor
expects there will be a crowd, and ought to be prepared. But how is it?
Perhaps you are lucky enough to get a seat at the table. Then your
chance to get something to eat is as one to thirteen: for as there is
nothing of any consequence on the table, your luck depends on your
securing the services of a waiter who at the same time is being called
on by about thirteen others as hungry as yourself. Then suppose you
succeed! First comes a cup of black coffee, strong of water; then a
piece of tough fried beef steak, some fried potatoes, a heavy biscuit-- a
little sour (and in fact everything is sour but the pickles). You get up
when you have finished eating-- it would be a mockery to say when
you have satisfied your appetite-- and at the door stand two muscular
men (significantly the proprietor is aware of the need of such) with
bank bills drawn through their fingers, who are prepared to receive
your 50c. It is not unusual to hear a great deal of indignation expressed
by travellers on such occasions. No man has a right to grumble at the
fare which hospitality sets before him. But when he buys a dinner at a
liberal price, in a country where provisions are abundant, he has a right
to expect something which will sustain life and health. Those

individuals who have the privilege of furnishing meals to railroad
travellers probably find security in the reflection that their patronage
does not depend on