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TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE

Friday Jul 18, 1890

ALONG THE RAILROAD.

Pastoral Sagebrush Views and Romantic Mountain Scenery -- Reno and Carson Amenities and Improvements -- River Resources and Reflections -- Painless Dentistry.

A pleasanter and more satisfactory ride, for either business or pleasure, cannot be found in this section than over the Virginia & Truckee railroad between here and Reno -- comfortable seats, plenty of room, good companionship, no horse to take care of; in fact, cheaper than owning your own team. And as for scenery all along the route, you have plenty of it, from sagebrush rolling barrens, river and lake views to the deep wooded ravines and snow-crowned peaks and slopes of the grand old Sierra Nevada, along the eastern base of which the railroad skirts for numerous miles, amid broad fields of waving grain and luxurious alfalfa.

THE RIVERSIDE CITY.

Reno never looked more naturally attractive with fine, costly residences, grand shade trees and beautiful shrubbery. It seems to be an off year for fruit, but many well loaded orchards indicate that there will be no famine in that respect.

Another fine three-storey brick hotel is nearly completed next west of Killeen's, opposite the new railroad depot, and still another choice brick building is being put up near by. Other building work goes ahead elsewhere in the town, and, although everybody, as usual, growls about hard times, yet Reno continues her slow, but sure, advancing prosperity. Rents are not cheap, and empty houses are not plenty. The destructive conflagrations of last year were but a temporary interruption. The re-building has been a very decided step in advance, and it is even now proposed to reconstruct the destroyed reduction works. This could be done to very good advantage and at much less expense than at first, as the dam and water arrangements remain intact; the grading is all there, and much of the reduction apparatus did not have its availability totally destroyed. The great wooden building itself can be rebuilt cheaper than at first, and with a better understanding and more experienced management the works can be made to pay.

The dark, flashing Truckee rolls joyously through the town from beautiful Lake Tahoe to historic Pyramid Lake, and the Reno Board of Trade will finally contrive a plan to perfectly utilize the grand water power now running to waste and alkalian demoralization.

PASTORAL VIEWS.

The air is redolent of fresh-mown clover and timothy, and huge haystacks are looming up all through the valley. Cattle and horses are rolling in an affluence of good feed, the various small streams and brooks dance merrily down from the mountains, Washoe lake is higher and more overflowingly extensive than ever before, and the perch, bass and carfish are all happy.

CARSON AMENITIES.

During the Winter months Carson City is simply and officially the State Capital and Federal headquarters, but at this season of the year she is, by common consent and natural beauty the picnic city. Broad, clean streets, abundant shrubbery and long lines of grand shade trees proclaim and adapt her as such, and the Capitol square is the most beautiful spot in the State of Nevada.

And the historic old river itself is not altogether a burlesque this season, by any means. It has fallen somewhat from its high state of a few days ago, but will run Sam Longabaugh's approaching wood drive, and continue to drive all the mills steadily until next Winter furnishes a renewal of water resources and irrigation dam propositions. The flats at Empire again show green pasturage above the turbid waters, and the web-footed cows swim voraciously across the meandering river branches and sloughs to get at the esculent grasses on the green isles of the Empire sea. The mills along the river are all running full blast on Comstock ore, and the dams all stood the floods splendidly, except the old Merriman dam, which got considerably dilapidated and needs repairing.

NATURAL DENTISTRY.

The river has had a thorough flushing out from the floods, and the baneful salivating effects of the quicksilver and chemicals from the mills, causing the trout to lose their teeth, is at least temporarily checked. All of which reminds me of a little dental operation I witnessed a few days ago in a C street butcher shop. George Williams was suffering fearfully from an aching tooth, one of the few old snags he has left, and which has not allowed him to drink a drop of cold water for the last three years. He managed to get a clove hitch with a stout string around the rebellious tooth and handed the ends to Tom Cara. Tom tied a loop, caught it on a meat hook and made a lively "bit o' scruff" with his ponderous fist at George's nose. Away went George, backward, leaving the tooth dangling from the hook -- a fact he did not notice until he got through nursing his nose -- felt no pain from the tooth whatever. And now Tom has quit his music business and is having an office sign painted to start in as a "painless dentist."

ALF DOTEN.