.OTk1.NjQ1OTk

1 A trip to the gold regions of the Rocky Mountains in the summer of 1860

Excitement was running very high in the summer of 1860 in respect to the gold regions of Kansas, and Nebraska. Almost every man who could raise the means gone for the land of gold expecting to realize a fortune in one short summer. Having perhaps the same foolish views of the rest of the young men of our place, I , determined to make one of the crowd bound for the new Eldorado of the west. Accordingly we raised a party consisting of seven persons, bought arms and equipments and embarked on our long and tedious journey. We started on the Burlington and Quincy Rail Road running through the centre of the state the most fertile and best settled part, and let me here remark, that on this line is by far the best land in the west at the time. I traveled through there they had a most spendid harvest the grain was as full and yellow and as I afterwards was informed so vast was the crops that they could not ship it and were compelled to make fuel of it. On the following morning we arrived at Quincy on the Mississippi River one of the most ancient towns in Illinois. It is a town of considerable importance having beautiful facilities for trading on the upper and lower Mississippi with the interior of Illinois and Misouri. The streets here are very irregular there being no attempt towards a uniforma of grade the door sill of one house sometimes is ? ? with the roof of a neighbouring house something ? storys in hight it is very unpleasant and dreading ?, The Mississippi at this point is a magnificent working sight it is about a mile with the water of a sky blue color and remarkebly clear the beautiful islands closing in ? for miles above and below its green shores rising into