196 WESTERN INCIDENTS.

five miles, extending from the two hundred and seventieth to the
three hundred and fifth mile post west from Omaha; and they express
themselves highly pleased with the admirable manner in which the
road has been built throughout. They occupy the beautiful car
which was gotten up by the Quartermaster’s Department, during the
late rebellion, for President Lincoln, and which first carried him when
his mortal remains were borne through a weeping nation, from the
capital of our country to his home at Springfield, Illinois. The Goy-
ernment sold the car to this great national railroad company, and now
it is used by its officers for national purposes in connection with the
progress of this highway of the world.

This main trunk is so admirably linked with the Sioux City branch,
the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad branch, the Hannibal and St.
Joseph Railroad branch, by the way of Atchison, and the Missouri
Pacific branch, west from St. Louis, that all these roads should con-
tinue to be fostered by the General Government. These branches give
equal facilities to all parts of our common country, and every citizen,
as well as the Government, should take equal pride in encouraging
this greatest of all enterprises.

The writer had tiearly forgotten to speak of the railroad connection
with the net of railroads east of Omaha, by the near completion of
the Iowa branch of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. This
road the writer rode over last week, from Chicago, as far as St. Johns,
twenty-two miles east of Omaha, and certainly before spring, if not
within a month, the connection will be complete all the way from New
York to the west end of the Great Pacific Railroad.

Already an Express Company has been organised, called the West,
ern Transportation Company, which is in operation day and night,
and transports freight within five days from this, North Platte Station,
to Denver. This, again, is progress.

Westwarp, Ho!

DEATH OF GENERAL CURTIS.

Major-General Samuel R. Curtis, whose name is men-
tioned in the foregoing letter as one of the Government
Commissioners of the Union Pacific Railroad, died very
suddenly while returning from this visit to the road. He
was riding over from Omaha to Council Bluffs, in a car-