Stifota, 9tttt fork CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 Cornell University Library G 440.C38 Notes on my lourney round the world / 3 1924 023 252 590 The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023252590 JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD PIIIXTKD BY BPOITlSlVOODli AXD CO., NKW-STilrjST SQUARE LONDON ^ fa NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD BY EVELYN CECIL, B.A. -r ' j *a',.' WITH FIFTEEN FULL-PAOE ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO. AND NEW YOBK : 15 EAST 16'" STBEET 1889 All rights reserved PEEFACE. It needs some apology to add one more book to the library already published about journeys round the world ; and could I not plead the excuse of having been persuaded to stray from the com- mendable paths of 'masterly inactivity,' it cer- tainly would have never been written. But this is not intended to be a volume of thrilling adventures or of tales profusely drawing upon the imagina- tion ; it is rather a volume of fact, briefly de- scribing things as they exist, and its aim (if not too great a presumption) is to hint at just so much information as may entice the reader into follow- ing up any fancy in some larger work. The journey, in company with my father, through Canada, the States, Japan, Canton, Hong Hong, Singapore, Java, Ceylon, India, and Egypt, took a day or two more than seven months and vi PREFACE a half, aud I can therefore scarcely expect that notes taken of it will be absolutely free from the inevitable accompaniment of all rapid travelling — a tendency to generalise inaccurately from events or circumstances which have only been seen once. Perhaps, too, some of the descriptions may appear tedious and overdrawn, or interesting only to persons who have visited the reality ; but an ad- vantage of longer descriptions over short ones often is that they leave a better general impres- sion, a more representative picture, than any terser summary can ever hope for. Lastly, I should be glad here to express my grateful thanks to aU the authorities we met for the hospitahty and kindness which they showed Tis, without which it would have been quite im- possible to have enjoyed so much, or to have accomplished it in so short a time. E. C. Ltichbii Heath, Poole : Jan. 8, 1889, CONTENTS. CHAI-TER TAOR I. THROUGH' THE EASTERN STATES AND CANADA . 1 II. IN THE STATES : THE WILD WEST . . .27 III. JAPAN : THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF YOKOHAMA AND TOKIO . ."iS IV. JAPAN : KOBE TO KIOTO AND NAGASAKI . . 7" V. HONG KONG ; CANTON ; SINGAPORE ; JAVA . . 93 VI. CEYLON AND SOUTHERN INDIA . . . .117 VII. NORTHERN INDIA : FROM CALCUTTA TO DELHI . 134 Till. NORTHERN INDIA : DELHI TO THE KHYBER PASS ; UMRITSUR TO BOMBAY . . . . . ISS IX. HOMEWARDS THROUGH ADEN, CAIRO, AND ALEX- ANDRIA . . .... 189 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. KocKY Mountains : View from Banff Hotel, LOOKING DOWN THE Bow Vallbt . . . FrontUpwce Amekican Falls; Niagaka To face page 12 EocKY Mountains : Kicking Hoesb Pass, look- ing EAST „ 20 Ik the Selkieks ; Heemit Range .... „ 23 CUEEECANTI NEEDLE, ON THE DENVEB AND ElO Grande Kaileoad .... . „ 31 Cathedral Bocks ; Yosemite Valley ... „ 37 Avenue of Cryptomeeias neae Nikko, Japan . „ 65 ToRii and Pagoda at the entrance to the Shinto Temple, Nikko „ 68 Outer Aechway to Shrine of Shinto Temple, Nikko „ 70 Mount Fuji; Japan „ 74 Steeet in a Japanese Village .... „ 82 View of Mount Salak from Euitbnzoeg, Java „ 108 The Great Pagoda; Tanjore, Southern India. „ i29 The Taj; Agra ,,153 KUTUB MinIr, near Delhi . ... ,,163 NOTES OF MY JOUENEY EOUND THE WOULD. CHAPTER I. THEOUGH THE EASTERN STATES AND CANADA. To four years of University life there is, perhaps, no better antidote than a journey round the world. It is a time ^specially favourable for receiving new and vivid impressions, and one when there is more leisure to be disposed of than perhaps may be wished for hereafter. Preparations for the start are always an effort ; but, once started, matters seem to arrange themselves, and the annoyances or disappointments of the moment soon fade away in the more pleasing recollections of the past. In sailing for New York towards the end of August, on a journey which is to occupy about seven months and a half, there is still some danger of meeting with that enervating heat which is there so unbearable throughout the summer. The glories of the harbour of the ' Empire City ' 2 jXotes of my journey round the world are, liowever, if possible, enhanced by the seven days of dreary sea, during which, perchance, the appearance of an iceberg may alleviate the monotony of their daily routine. On the right of the ship, as she enters the harbour, is Coney Island, a favourite bathing-place, quite covered with palatial hotels, of which the latest has assumed the form and colour of an enormous elephant ! and behind it is Long Island ; while on the left the green hills of Staten Island are almost buried in luxuriant woods. Every incoming steamer has an excellent view of the gigantic bronze statue of Liberty, not long ago erected in the centre of the inner bay ; and in the distance Brooklyn Suspension Bridge is no imposture in respect of its far-famed reputation as a master- piece of modern engineering. New York is the very essence of a great metropolis of the Western Continent. Its large buildings and crowded streets, its anxious, hurried faces, its busy thoroughfares, whose rutted con- dition is a melancholy sacrifice to the universal tram-car, and its countless telegraph-poles, are all famihar to those who have been there ; but perhaps its elevated railroads are the most pecu- liar of its enterprising pecuharities. They answer the purpose of our District Eailway in London, but are raised in the streets on an elevated iron THROUGH THE EASTERX STATES &- CANADA 3 framework, so that trains run on a level with the first floors of the neighbouring houses. The householders must cordially detest them ; yet their airy position makes them much more profit- able and popular than oiir ' Underground ' ever could be. The rectangular streets of Xew York are common to all American cities, and their huge advertisements give ample scope for the brilliancy of American wit. Passing on to Philadelphia, by far its most interesting feature is Independence Hall, where the representatives of the thirteen original States signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Ever since that memorable day, the Pourth of July has been a great national hohdav in the States ; and whenever a new State is admitted to the Union, another star is added to the Stars and Stripes on the following Fourth of July. In read- ing through a copy of the Declaration, it is very evident that its authors had constantly before them the provisions of the Bill of Eights and Act of Settlement ; but Washington himself did not sign it, although it contains the signatm-es of Hancock, Jefferson, FrankUn, and others. The Congress of the Union sat in Independence HaU at Philadelphia between 1775 and 1781, when it was removed to "Washington. Apart from seeing the President's White B 2 4 NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD House, every visitor to Washington goes to the Capitol, which combines under one roof the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court. Its imposing exterior is built in Grecian architecture, so common to the public offices of the United States, and centres in a handsome dome. The interior is decorated with gilt and marble ; but every room has a weighty and massive appear- ance, and must be very depressing to hard-worked legislators. For a session, which lasts from De- cember till March, the members of both Houses receive ;^5,000 a year (about 1,040Z.) ; in England we are so fortunate as to possess unpaid politicians who work nearly three times as hard. There is no better way of leaving New York than by the daily steamer up the Hudson to Albany. Tor the first twenty miles an enormous mass of basaltic rock, known as the 'Palisades,' guards the western bank of the river, while magnificent woods overlook the water from the opposite side. During fifteen miles more, the river expands to a width of nearly four miles to form Tappan Bay, which displays a truly striking contrast between the overpowering splendour of an American river and the modest windings of our little Thames. Then the steamer passes Donderberg Mountain and Anthony's Nose, two thickly wooded promontories at one end of the Hudson ' Highlands,' whose lofty THROUGH THE EASTERN STATES &- CANADA ] fastnesses extend along its banks like colossal re- collections of Scotland ; and, among these, jutting out upon tlie pretty headland of West Point, is situated tlie joint Sandhurst and 'Woohvich of the United States. On leaving the Highlands the scenery becomes tamer, until the CatskiU Moun- tains, the mythical abode of Eip van "Winkle, appear on the western bank ; but, farther up, the stream narrows down to comparatively moderate proportions, which would not be navigable but for the Government dykes, and on its brink large ice store-houses are conspicuous and ugly. From Albany to Montreal is a night's journey by railway, concluding with the great Victoria Bridsre over the St. Lawrence — almost the longrest in the world, for it has twenty-five arches, and is over a mile and a half long. It is built entirely of iron, 8,000 tons of it having been used in its construction ; and its whole length consists of a tunnel, through which the trains of the Grand Trunk Eailway take about four or five minutes to run. It was formally opened by the Prince of Wales in 1860, and was made in the shape of a tunnel from an idea that the snow in the winter would not then cause it so much damage as might be the case with an open bridge — a mistake only now being discovered, when the rusty iron is in need of constant repair. 6 AOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE IVORLV The most precipitous side of Mount Eoyal, at the background of Montreal, can be chmbed in about two minutes by an elevator or steam-lift, a mode of ascent as safe and ingenious as at first sight it seems strange ; and once at the top there is a wide view over the town and the St. Lawrence. While at Montreal, also, an excursion is in- variably made to shoot the Lachine Eapids on the St. Lawrence. They are about seven miles above the town, and two below the village of Lachine, and in summer steamers paddle down them every day. As they are approached, the large and numerous eddies of the river become every minute more formidable ; and the excitement at the moment of shooting them is only equal to one's interest in watching the steamer as it darts through the waves and avoids the half-submerged rocks, which con- siderably exercise the ingenuity of the steersman. Down the St. Lawrence it is easy in twelve hours to reach Quebec, whose citadel and old city-waUs (for it is the only walled city in America) lend an additional charm to its beautiful site. On the south the citadel shuts out the town from the historic plains of Abraham, where General Wolfe's monument, with its significant inscription, 'Here died Wolfe victorious : Sept. 13, 1759,' tells its own tale. From the Durham and Dufierin Terrace, just under the citadel, there is a very fine THROUGH THE EASTERX STATES &- CANADA 7 panorama (looking over tlie St. Lawrence) of the distant Beanport Mountains, wliose harmony and softness it would be difficult to excel ; but it is far too extensive to be reproduced with justice in any sketch or photograph. The Protestant cathedral is large, but has no pretension to beauty, having been built in the time of George III. In it there is a monument to Dr. Jacob Mountain, the first Anglican bishop, about whom an amusing anecdote is told. King George is said to have expressed some hesitation, in the presence of Dr. Mountain, as to whom to appoint bishop of the new See of Quebec. The Doctor answered, ' If your Majesty had faith, there would be no difficulty.' 'How so?' said the King. ' If 3"0u had faith,' replied Mountain, ' you would say to this Mountain, " Be thou removed into that See," and it would be done.' The witticism won him the appointment. The streets of Quebec are often steep and ruo-ored, and the large number of French names, advertisements, and translations points to the fact that about three quarters of the population are French Canadians. The Parliament House is spacious and neat, and its interior is a great improvement upon that of the Capitol at "Wasliington. It is, of course, merely the local parUament of the province of 8 NOTES OF MV JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD Quebec, and is quite distinct from the Dominion Parliament wMcli meets at Ottawa. In the Legis- lative Council, or Upper House, of the Quebec province there are twenty-four members, appointed for hfe by nomination of the Crown through the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec. The Legislative Assembly, or Lower House, consists of sixty-five members, elected by constituencies as in England ; but no parhament may sit for more than five years. The members receive only 600 dollars a year (125Z.), besides their travelling expenses ; and at present their number in the Lower House averages about five Frenchmen to one Enghsh- man ; each member may speak in whichever language he prefers, and the debates are published both in Enghsh and French. Eight miles from Quebec are the Falls of Montmorenci ; and though the Montmorenci river contains but httle water, it is so uniformly dis- tributed over the precipitous rock that the falls are among the finest in America. They are 50 feet wide and 250 feet high, and as the glistening spray floats over the stream below, it forms, as it were, a very beautiful network of gossamer. The Parliament House at Ottawa is a well- designed group of buildings — indeed, there are at present few other large erections in the town — and it is in the main or central block that both the THROUGH THE EASTERX STATES 6- CANADA 9 Senate and House of Commons liold their sessions. The former consists of seventy-eight members, nominated by the Crown tlirough the Governor General for hfe ; in the latter there are 215 elected members. The session begins at the end of Januav}', and lasts about three months. Ottawa is a night's journey from Toronto — in its ways a very Enghsh citj^ and accordingly most appropriately situated between two York shire rivers, the Don and the Humber. There are in it, besides, fewer of the French Canadians, who keep so much aloof from the Enghsh popula- tion in Montreal and Quebec. It has no very special attractions ; but during a spare moment there is time to look into Osgoode Hall, the law courts of the town, and hsten to the proceedings of the Appeal Court. Two of the practising counsel there have actually resisrned their seats on the bench of judges, on account of the low salaries which the bench receive ; and the cases are very deplorable, inasmuch as new judges are uncon- sciously apt to treat the remarks of these counsel with undue deference. Fortunately there are no other such instances at the Canadian bar. On a dark and still September evening, about eight o'clock, there is something romantic in ap- proaching Xiagaia, and ai'riving within hearing of the ceaseless roar of its tremendous cataract. lo NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD It is a picture too hopeless to contemplate, too surpassing in majesty, to allow any true idea of its vivid magnificence. Whether you go before the falls or behind them, beneath them or around them, their overwhelming grandeur seems never to diminish. A mile above them, the Niagara river spreads out into foaming rapids, whose fury would be imposing in any other spot, and leaves behind it various islets, of which the Three Sister Islands, Luna Island, and Goat Island are the most important. The last is by far the largest, and divides at its lower end the Horse- shoe or Canadian falls from those on the American side. The Canadian falls are 156 feet high and 2,300 broad ; the American are 164 feet high and about 1,300 broad. They are, of course, quite inde- scribable. As the raging water dashes down the precipice, with a force which nothing can oppose, into the surging sea below, and forms in the rays of sunlight bright clouds of dazzling spray, it is hard to conceive in nature a more perfect embodi- ment of irresistible might and power. From the Clifton Suspension Bridge the water glides on in calmer eddies (the river being here about 1,200 feet wide), with no warning of a fresh disturbance until it reaches the two bridges of the Michigan Central and Grand Trunk Eailways, a few hundred yards below. Here, however, the gorge narrows THROUGH THE EASTERN STATES &-- CANADA ii to about 300 feet, and the great pressure of the water above causes the most violent rapids, the waves of which are literally more than rivals of a stormy Atlantic. They extend down the river for three-quarters of a mile, and are no less than 250 feet deep, while the rocks on either side are 240 feet high. At the end of the rapids there is a great whirlpool, 400 feet deep, which gives its name to the ' Whirlpool ' rapids above. Its waters look comparatively calm and seductive; but its smooth surface conceals a dangerous under- current, whose powers of suction are very fatal. The outlet to the whirlpool is at right angles to the original stream, and is the narrowest and deepest part of the whole river, being only 296 feet wide, but nearly 500 feet deep. From this point to Lake Ontario the river flows a distance of twelve miles. The httle steamer ' Maid of the Mist ' is always ready to convey passengers as near as is possible to the foot of both the American and Horse-shoe falls. By landing on the American side, one can make one's way more easily over the Upper Eapids to Goat Island, from which there is a descent to the so-called Cave of the Winds, where the sensation experienced is far more wonderful than that un- der the falls on the Canadian side. The cave is merely a deep curve in the rock, exactly under 12 NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD the left side (as the river flows) of the American falls, and a special suit of flannel and waterproof is necessarjr to enter it. Venturing on, with the customary guide, the driving spray suddenly be- comes so blinding that the rock which forms one's path is scarcely visible ; but, on emerging from the cave, smaU wooden bridges lead round over the rocks to the front of the fall, where beautifully complete and tiny circles of the rainbow are glistening in several crannies. This general effect just in front of the falling water is perhaps the most impressive of all, and a more perfect realisa- tion of the beauty and majesty which is so true a feature of every inch of Niagara. It is well worth one's while to ' contemplate ' Niagara for a day or two. Even when, at first sight, one's expectations have been unreasonable and cause a slight disappointment, the falls grow more fascinating every hour, and every visitor must admit before long that their grandeur is indeed unrivalled. Perhaps after Niagara everything is imbued with a kind of tameness ; but a farm among the backwoods of Eastern Canada is certainly of more than ordinary interest, although, were it not for the absence of hedges, its cultivated grounds are not very dissimilar to those in England. In the woods in autumn, the glorious crimson red of the THROUGH THE EASTERN STATES S- CANADA 13 maples is the crowning beauty of every forest; but there is a novelty in the variety of trees, which makes them suggestive of a perpetual Enghsh shrubbery. They comprise numbers of white cedars, of bass-wood (in appearance very like a Hme-tree, and a useful white wood for furniture), moose-wood (a shrub formerly much used by the Indians for tying knots), hemlock-spruce, iron- wood, white-ash, and Canadian pine. The farmers, however, of Eastern Canada can make but little profit, since they are now being inevitably out- bidden by the virgin soil of the West. They live very thriftily, and employ few labourers, for labour is verj^ dear both in Canada and the States, and their wives and children are ever ready to help them in the very commonest and roughest work. From enjoying the hospitality of so pleasant a country visit it is rather dismal to return to large towns like Chicago, remarkable only for their business and their size, and also, with aU due deference, for the uncompromising pride with which their inhabitants regard them. The newly- buUt Minneapohs is as neat and clean as any of them, and is pleasantly situated on undulating ground. On its outskirts there are some pretty woods and lakes, while in the centre of the town the ilississippi divides itself into two channels, which flow round KicoUet Island. The fall of 14 KOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD water is here very considerable, and the water- power (to which Minneapohs mainly owes its existence) is mostly used for flour-mills and iron- foundries; among which, with characteristic Yankee self-assurance, Pillsbury's flour-mill claims in its ad- vertisements to be the eighth wonder of the world. Eetreating northwards again to Canada, "Win- nipeg now flourishes in the midst of wide and well-paved streets : and several large buildings, which have all grown up in the last six years, evidently show that it is a rising town and anxious to become a large city, Its position as the capital of Manitoba, and the focus of an extensive agricul- tural district, certainly augurs well for its future ambitions. All round Winnipeg lies a vast prairie, with not even an apology for rising ground from which to get a good general view of the town ; and, as it flows through it, the Eed Eiver appears as an ordinary-sized, sluggish, and muddy stream, shut in by the most unattractive banks. Autumn weather in "Winnipeg is delightful during the day ; but the difierence in temperature at night is incredible, and often, at first, rather trying. Li winter the thermometer goes down to about —40° Fahr. (seventy degrees of frost !) and although the snow is not usually more than three inches deep, the farmers are shut in with no occupation but THROUGH THE EASTERN STATES 6- CANADA 15 to feed their cattle, and undergo a kind of enforced idleness which is easilj- productive of regrettable consequences. Through the kindness of a most courteous gentleman near Winnipeg an opportunity may arise of seeing his herd of tame bufialo, or more properly bisons, which he keeps about twelve miles from the town. These splendid animals condescend to receive visitors at a distance of twenty yards, and their handsome heads and ^ sparkling eyes are indeed a picture of magnificence and strength. If chased on horseback, the buffalo is not slow to prove that, although he may seem heavy and sloth- ful when he is at rest, he can bolt much faster than a galloping horse. The tame herd wanders over a prairie nine miles by eight in size. It is very melancholy that no wild buffaloes are now believed to exist in North America. They have all been persecuted by railways, or exter- minated by the wanton and ruthless destruction formerly practised upon them by Indian, and more recently by American sportsmen; and, though their disappearance is everywhere lamented, no amount of remorse can bring them back. In Norway a recent law has stringently preserved the game before it is too late : may we in England also learn the lesson which America teaches ! In leaving Winnipeg by the Canadian Pacific i6 NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD Eailway the journey towards the Wild "West is fairly begun. As the train glides on through the long prairie grass, or halts at a newly built town which seems to fix the future market of some flourishing district, the landscape is continually dotted with prairie farms or distant cattle. And such farmers have at present a very enviable prospect. Their industry, however, must not be nominal, and they must not start with a capital of less than 500/. They should not be up later than six in the morn- ing, nor shoot when they ought to be at work. Suppose, in such a case, that wheat in Manitoba sells at sixty cents (2s. 6c?.) a bushel, or 20s. a quarter, and that it would fetch at Liverpool 34s. a quarter, a hard-working farmer can ensure a profit of over twenty per cent, under ordinary circumstances, even after taking into account his primary outlay in erecting a house and outbuildings, buying seed, implements, and other necessaries, and his main- tenance for the first year. His advantages over an English farmer are in respect of rent, rates, and taxes, original cost of the freehold (which is about two and a half dollars, or 10s. 6rf., per acre), and the wheat itself, for the soil in Manitoba and Assiniboia now produces the very best. Labour costs on an average one and a half dollars a day, or thirty-six shillings a week, as opposed to fourteen shillings a week in England ; but the labourers work harder, THROUGH THE EASTERN STATES &- CANADA 17 ai),d work by the piece and not by the hour ; and the farmer directs all the work himself, without a thought of employing an agent or foreman. The prairie rolls on towards Calgary and the Eocky Mountains in low, undulating hiUs, the home of the ' coyote,' or prairie-dog, and, more especially in winter, the antelope ; or it dips down in grace- ful curves to small lakelets, sometimes fresh, sometimes alkaline, abounding with geese and duck, which start away in black clouds as they are disturbed in turn by the approaching train. At the stations several Eed Indians, squaws, and papooses, arrayed in bright-coloured rugs, and vain in proportion to the paint on their faces, figure upon the platform. They are usually the refuse of their tribe, and intent upon selling bufialo-horns, for they have found out that many a traveller falls an easy victim to their persuasions. Where the railway crosses the South Saskat- chewan — a region of rattlesnakes— it is very re- freshing to see the oaks and poplars which skirt its banks, for scarcely a tree has been visible during the thirty hours' journey from Winnipeg. There is then a steep ascent from the Saskat- chewan to the fine prairie above, which is all part of the ranch- country, intersected with buffalo- trails, and covered with semi- circular depressions, marking the former wallows of these prairie kings. c i8 NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD After entering the territory of Alberta, at a spot where there spring out jets of natural gas, some of which are often lighted to speed the passing train, its capital at Calgary is soon reached, and affords an excellent halting-place before jour- neying on through the Eockies. It is well situated within sight of their soft grey and jagged peaks, and stands on a plateau encircled by low hills, with the ripple of the Bow and Elbow Elvers close by — an admirable position for an increasing trade. Tlie land round Calgary is very favourable to agriculture, and, since very little corn can be grown in the Eockies, it may soon be expected to become the metropolis for feeding their advancing population, as well as the connecting link between Eastern and "Western Canada. It is a wonderful instance of the erection of a complete town in three or four years ; though its grassy streets and somewhat unfinished look stiU tend to betray its recent growth. Its climate is generally good. The severity of the winter lasts only from Decem- ber to February, when the frosts are tremendous, though there falls but little snow — a circum- stance which renders ranching practicable near Calgary, while it is almost unknown in Manitoba. The industrious ranclimen seem to lead a very enjoyable hfe, if not too rough a one ; they live in their saddles, and require only health, oppor- THROUGH THE EASTERX STATES &- CAXADA 19 tunity, and a little common sense to make a good business of their horses. Throughout this district Indians and Indian wigwams are -^'ery common. The Blackfeet and the Crees are the two chief tribes of Western Canada ; the Ojibbeway Indians are scattered over Eastern Canada, and the Sioux Indians are natives of the United States. AU Indian tribes speak tolaUy different languages, being unable to under- stand each other ; and an experienced eye can at once tell their featui-es apart. On making treaties with the various tribes, the Canadian Government has allowed each tribe to choose its own ' reserve,' or large tract of land, which was in future to be its residence. Conditionally on their retiring to this reserve, the Government allow the Indians so many dollars a day according to their rank among themselves, so that now they are really dependent upon the Government for their food and maintenance. But, alas ! a quiet, half-civilised life ill agrees with their spirited constitution, and they seem to be gradually dying out and wasting away through the ravages of consumption and fever. From Calgai-y to the Eocky Mountains the line follows the valley of the Bow, and winds among the foot-hiUs, \\-hose thirty miles of graceful slopes are lit heralds to the shaggy heights beyond. c 2 20 NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD At * the Gap,' the entrance to the Eockies, the novelty of the scene is truly grand. All round are rocky peaks of every shape, at whose bases the dark green spruce contrasts strikingly in autumn with the pale yet glowing yellow of the birch or poplar ; while beneath the river Bow trickles quietly on, washed with the greenish hue of glacier streams. At Banff the hot sulfur springs, in the midst of bracing mountain air, promise before long to become a fashionable re- sort ; for, in the cave of sulphur water at one side of the Sulphur Mountain, the temperature is extremely pleasant, and the curious yellow deposits and crystallised walls are quite romantic surround- ings for a morning's swim. A visit to the Devil's Lake has also many charms. Beyond Banff the views grow grander and grander, and each fresh turn in the railway has the varying effect of a vast kaleidoscope. Sometimes the train runs through a dark forest of Canadian pine, which lines the borders of some wanderin* rivulet, and is enclosed by two rows of rocky battlements and fantastic, snowy tops ; sometimes it creeps along the cliffs of a dizzy spur, which overhangs a mountain lake or the precipitous vaUey of some foaming torrent, as it leaps far away into the depths below. Presently another range looms out in a vista of endless peaks, THROUGH THE EASTERX STATES &- GAiXADA 21 till all of a sudden these are hidden by bold and jutting rocks, which lead the railway into a nar- row gorge, and force it to cross and recross the gurgling stream : and at last it emerges from a rocky gateway, to come in fuU view of the blue Columbia. The Columbia valley is here most en- chanting. In front gleam out the Selkirks, clear against the azure sky, the unrivalled kings of every range, on whose silvery crests and cedar- clad foot-hills the lights and shadows are too mag- nificent to describe. Below, the banks of the river are clothed in tints of every shade ; and behind, the Eockies stand out as no mean partners in the scene. After crossing the Columbia a steep ascent begins over the Selkirks, where the rail- way, unlike its windings through the Eockies, hes straight up the mountain, spanning deep ravines, and leaving bright cascades to dash far beneath amid a sea of firs. At Eogers' Pass the frowning heights of Mount Carroll overlook the train. It is indeed a majestic mountain, towering just a mile above the rail, with its slopes entwined in glaciers ; and it is doubtless owing to the near- ness of its stupendous precipice that it seems to convey a keener sense of the Eockies' individual grandeur than does any other of their lofty heights. Just beyond it is the Glacier House, a pretty Swiss chalet, built as an hotel by the Canadian Pacific 22, NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD Railway Company, and presided over by the noble peak of Sir Donald. The Glacier House is only two miles from the foot of the Sir Donald Glacier, melted last year into a deep, icy cave, stretching some forty feet into the ice, and measuring from ten to fifteen feet high. From its pale blue walls and thick trans- parent ceiling two arches formed an outlet, both resting upon a massive icy pillar, and each carved into crystal points. From these the melted water dripped slowly upon the stony floor ; while each arch disclosed a green slope of distant trees, all the more beautiful in the setting sun, and almost like a glimpse of some other world from the glassy palaces of fairyland. To climb the glacier needs a guide and a hard day's work. The first four miles from the Glacier House pass through a forest of spruces, and along the banks of a milky torrent, where a rifle is always a useful companion should one chance to meet a bear. It is a favourite haunt of black bears, but cinnamons and the more dangerous grizzlies are not so often at home. The next mile is a weary ascent, at the end of which all signs of verdure are left behind, and the road becomes a monotonous trudge through heavy boulders of loose rock. Higher up, the region of glacial mud proves the most difficult part of the journey ; and THROUGH THE EASTERX STATES &. CAXADA 23 beyond it tlie climb is intercepted Ijy one or two narrow crevasses : and impregnable parapets of ice show themselves off to their best advantase, indented with streaks of pale transparent blue, or deeply worn away into wrinkled ledges. The highest part of the glacier is about 11,000 feet above the sea. Soon after leaving the Glacier House, the rail- waj' track takes the form of great curves or loops, from the first of which it is actually visible one hundred feet lower down, at a spot where the train arrives in a few minutes. Here, again, there is a most splendid view, in the very heart of the Sel- kirks. On the left the handsome outline of Eoss Peak peers out in solitary grandeur, while looking back over the wild gorge of the Ille-cille-waet stream, the snowy satellites of Sir Donald cluster round his stately pyramid. The mountain forests are the abode of bears and mountain goat ; the neighbouring district is fuU of mineral ore, though the gold and silver mines are not very effectively worked at present. After passing perpendicular gorges and deep abysses, the line re-crosses the Columbia, and leads up by the creeks and lakes of the Gold Eange to the town of Kamloops, one of tlie oldest western settlements of the Hudson's Ray Company ; but the scenery here is not to be com- pared with that in the Selkirks, and the surround- 24 NOTES OF MY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD ing hills are covered with a short brownish grass, which gives the country a very desolate and arid appearance. The town is situated at the ' conflu- ence of two rivers,' whence its Indian name, and a few miles below it these rivers widen out into the Kamloops Lake. From this point to Vancouver the finest views are along the canyon or gorge of the Fraser Eiver. Every day the single mail train arrives there to wards early dawn, when heavy veils of floating mist still fringe the mountain-tops ; but even in the twilight each ray sparkles over the foam, and shines with a silvery glitter from off the whirlpools below. Near the approach to North Bend, the Eraser canyon becomes more and more striking, with its walls of graceful mountains and luxuriance of gigantic trees, which are if possible improved by the varied colouring of the shrubs. All these con- verge towards the rocky fortresses which guard the channel of the eddying river, and unite to form a most enchanting picture, and a very lovely type of the beauties of British Columbia. Towards Vancouver and along the coast there flourish great numbers of the enormous Douglas firs for which British Columbia is famous. Many of them are no less than 250 feet high ; but their roots are so large and indestructible that it is not worth while, when they have been cut down, to THROUGH THE EASTERX STATES i>'t.;'-::-