Hutton - George - 1899 from Colo
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal 22 Sept 1899 p 4
Letter From George W. Hutton. To the Editor The Journal.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., Sept. 12* 1899.- On leaving Indiana I was asked by many friends to write to them about our trip west and of our future home at Grand Junction. As time is precious, I will write one letter to all and to those whom it may concern. We stopped over at Emporia, Kans., for five days with Mrs. Hutton's parents and her brother and family, Prof. W.D. Ward, of Wabash '81. At the latter home we found Mr. and Mrs. John Overton.
Emporia is a very nice town of 8,000 or 10,000 inhabitants, with some fine business houses and residences. The streets are not graveled and in bad weather they are very muddy. The walks are mostly made of stone. They have a fine college and normal. The people are very industrious, -The farmers rejoice greatly over their large corn crop and numerous herds of cattle.
On our way to Denver to bile walking through the car I. was approached by an old gentleman who shook hands with me and asked, "Is this Rev. Gray? I felt much more complimented than had I been taken for a horse thief. We spent half a day in Denver, sight seeing. We visited the state building, which structure was built at a cost of 82,600,000. We went up to the dome, from which we had a beautiful view of the city. Had it not have been cloudy we could have seen mountains seventy-five miles away. We visited the city park—the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We remained in Denver over night and left at 9 o'clock next morning for Grand Junction by way of the D. & R. G. R. R., which route took us through Royal Gorge and over the Rocky Mountains, which to us was a wonderful sight. Glenn (our youngest boy) was standing in the aisle near his mother when the train went whizzing through a tunnel that was as dark as night, and on reaching the other side said, "Mamma, what was that?" to the amusement of those who heard him.
The banks of the Royal Gorge are stone and are almost straight up to a height of from 160 to 200 feet or more, and in some places you can touch the banks from the car window. Some of UB got down on our knees at the car window, turning our faces upward that we might see the top of the gorge, which is very irregular. We reached the top of the mountain a while before night and then began to descend. What a crooked route ascending and descending and winding around mountain after mountain. We arrived at Grand Junction at midnight Saturday, Sept. 9. Grand Junction is very different in many respects from Crawfordsville. The streets are not graveled and are quite rough. The walks are all made of boards and the wheelmen use the walks almost exclusively, which is a real nuisance, as they keep those who walk dodging first one way and then another and sometimes jump straight up- and let them sail ahead. Everything here is watered by irrigation. Water is running through the side ditches of the streets continually, for the benefit of the shade trees. How the folks of Crawfordsville would smile to see the jail building here. It resembles Geo. Keller's smoke house, only it is a little larger. This is peach day here and will continue for Several days. It is simply a grand display of the fine fruits, vegetables, cereals, and ores produced in and around Grand Valley. Finer apples, peaches, pears, grapes, etc., I have never seen. Each visitor to peach day from a distance is given a ticket, which, if presented to the peach day committee, will be given a fine basket of mixed fruit. We have been favored with tickets and fruit. Monday, the 11th, we went to the city park to hear W. J, Bryan deliver an address. Just as he arose to speak the band came marching toward the platform making such a noise that he took his seat and waited until it quit playing. Mrs. Bryan was present and was introduced to the audience amid cheers. House rent here is very high and as soon as the lumber is hauled on the ground for a house it is spoken for. Most all kinds of produce is sold by the pound and judging from the price the pounds vary of considerable magnitude. Coal is quite cheap—83 per ton delivered. A large beet sugar factory is nearly completed at a cost of a half million dollars and with capacity for more machinery if necessary. It will consume 350 tons each day. While at work on the factory Saturday a man fell from the second story and was instantly killed. I find people here from all over the world. Some like the place and climate and some do not, and for my part I think there is no place like Indiana.
Yours respectfully GEORGE W. HUTTON