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INTRODUCTION, 
 
 ^lUR TRIP across the Continent was the 
 ^J culmination of the liopes of a number 
 ~ of years, and the devouring of every- 
 thing obtainable which related to any part 
 of it. Several of our friends had been over 
 the route and their report only intensified 
 our desires ; and we now feel that they like 
 ourselves did not tell half the truth. We 
 had some misgivings as to our ability to 
 bear the exhaustion of so long a journej', as 
 we had only a few weeks before arisen from 
 a dangerous and protracted illness. So not 
 attaching ourselves to any party we resolved 
 to go as far as our strength would bear, and 
 return if we found it to fail ; but we grew 
 stronger and fecept the temporary indispo- 
 sition of Mrs.' B. we came through safely. 
 
 The material composing these jiages ap- 
 peared iu the Neiv Holland Clarion from 
 January 17th to May 16th, inclusive, by re- 
 quest of the editoT, stimulated by the in- 
 quiries of many friends, and besides our 
 story was too long to be transmitted verbally 
 or by personal letter. Some of the readers 
 suggested the desirability of having the 
 narrative placed in a more convenient and 
 permanent shape by its publication in 
 pamphlet form. That it has been so kindly 
 received by the readers of the paper is very 
 flattering and we hope has added to the 
 subscription list, for our elibi-ts were gratu- 
 itous. 
 
 The present is a reprint from the Clarion. 
 The typographical errors (the most serious 
 of which are elsewhere pointed out) must 
 be charged to the devil's (CZa> iort's devil) 
 account; the others we claim as our own 
 and these latter ones are not few. The devil 
 and we are good friends and will i)ool the 
 account. 
 
 We have no apology to make for any of 
 the material offered unless to say that we 
 feel ourselves incapable of making some 
 parts of it true to nature, and did we have 
 the powers of description and the control of 
 
 language to jiortray what we have seen, 
 some persons not knowing us would be dis- 
 Ijosed to question our truthfulness. Differ- 
 ent eyes see the same things very dilferentlj' 
 and to illustrate we will here mention w'hat 
 we were told at the dinner-station between 
 Wawona and Medara on our return from 
 the Yosemite Valley. At this place it is the 
 custom of tourists on their return to register 
 their names if they choose, and the attend- 
 ants are apt to ask the travellers' impres- 
 sions — whether the valley, big trees, etc., 
 reached their expectations. We were en- 
 thusiastic, notwithstanding the intense heat 
 (118°) rough road and clouds of dust which 
 settled upon us with remarkable affection. 
 The story had never been half told us; yet 
 these people said that earlier in the season 
 a gentleman and lady on their return were 
 so disgusted that he wrote in the register — 
 "Fool and Wife." They must have been 
 hard to please ; a dynamite explosion under 
 them doubtless would not surprise them 
 because there might be much greater ones. 
 When they go again doubtless there will be 
 a broad gauge railway and lightning express 
 train of Pullman parlor and dining cars to 
 the valley. That would be pleasanter, but 
 there would not be so much fun and less 
 romance if the stage is entirely dispensed 
 with, though a little less of it would be ver^' 
 acceptable. 
 
 We have devoted considerable sjiace to 
 the history of the Mormons, etc. ; to many 
 this has refreshed their recollection of the 
 incidents there narrated, and probably 
 stated some points previously unknown to 
 them. To the younger generation most of 
 it is entirely new ; and the recent agitation 
 of the Mormon question has developed an 
 interest which must make our absti'act of 
 history, creed, etc., of some jaresent value. 
 As to the righteousness or iniquity of these 
 people in the past or present we do not 
 judge ; we were kindly received and treated 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT 
 
 B-sr J-, i^. 
 
 i=i3:iij.i5wiDEXjaFi3:i-a.. 
 
 ON JuDe 21st, 1884, Mrs. Beecher aud 
 iDyseif left Philadelphia at 2:15 p. ni., 
 froiu the Broad street station, Penu- 
 sylvanla Railroad, for the west. The day 
 was glorious and the ride delightful, pass- 
 ing the magnificent suburban residences 
 aud towns until Malvern was reached, 
 where on the right of the railroad the 
 beautiful Chester Valley came into view ; 
 and from the elevation of the road pre- 
 sented a magnificent scene. The farms 
 with which it is covered appeared in the 
 distance like garden plats, tlie regularity 
 of the rows of corn, slill young, the even 
 level of the fields of wheat aud other 
 grain, showing cultivation of a kind, sucli 
 as, except in one other portion of Penn- 
 sylvania, we did not see anywhere else in 
 our long trip. 
 
 After passing through the Gap, in the 
 eastern portion of Lancaster county — 
 "the granary of Pennsylvania" — we be- 
 held the Pequea Valley, studded with its 
 fine farm houses and l)arns, located on 
 farms not excelled in the country for ap- 
 pearance, management and production. 
 And while naturally prejudiced in favor 
 of our own state and immediate vicinity 
 of our l)irth, we will submit to the judg- 
 ment of others whether they find any- 
 where such manliest superiority of Penn- 
 sylvania farming over that of any other 
 part of the country. We do not in the 
 least wish to depreciate the quality of 
 land and the comparative amount of pro- 
 duction of otlier sections, for we have 
 seen the natural richness of the soil in 
 other states aud know their products to lie 
 immense; but with the management of 
 the Pennsylvania farmer, their yield 
 would be vastly increased, and with pro- 
 portionally little more lat)or than is now 
 bestowed upon them. I will allude to 
 some of these points as th*^y occurred to 
 me in course of our trip. 
 
 Passing on through Lancaster we ar- 
 rived at Columbia, once the terminus of 
 the Philadelphia and Columbia railroad. 
 There, fifty years ago, the freight for 
 points west of Cf)lumbia; was transmitted 
 to the Pennsylvania canal, and in section 
 boats carried to the foot of the Alieghenies 
 and by portage over their heights, thence 
 
 to Pittsburg ;md beyond. Well do I re- 
 member these as also the Conestoga 
 wagons used for the carriage of freight in 
 the same direction. The cjontrast of then 
 aud to day in the transportation of freight 
 and passengers so wonderful in all partic- 
 ulars, and wiiich impressed me, will be 
 niy excuse for this allusion. 
 
 At Columbia we get our first view of 
 the Susquelianna with its high liatiks, 
 broad surface and innumerable islands. 
 Continuing our course along its banks for 
 ten miles we arrived 6:30 p. m. at Bain- 
 bridge, a small town on a bluff overlook- 
 ing tlie river, and in the western part of 
 Lancaster county. Sojourning here for a 
 few days we left June 23, 6:30 p. m. for 
 Harris'burg, passing for twenty miles 
 along the Susquehanna, still, beautiful, 
 majestic aud grand. Waiting at Harris- 
 burg until midnight we took the express 
 train leaving Philadelphia at 9 p. m. for 
 Cincinnati. Not able to procure a berth 
 in a sleejier we were compelled to do tlie 
 best we could in making ourselves com- 
 fortable in the usual day car. In the 
 darkness we missed the view of the river, 
 the cro.ssing of the long bridge, the spurs 
 of rock around which the river bends, 
 the entrance of the Juniata into it, the 
 Tuscarora mountain^;, the Juniata river 
 aud valley, the Lewistown Narrows aud 
 all that scenery which is so enchanting, 
 always new, always interesting to the 
 traveller, until near Aitoona at the base 
 of the Allegheny mountains. But all this 
 we had often seen before, therefore, the 
 retrret was not so great. Too early for 
 breakfast at Aitoona we partook of a cu[) 
 of C()ffee to bridge over the regular time of 
 breakfast until reaching Pittsliurg. 
 
 Taking on an extra engine we left Ai- 
 toona and commenced climbing the grade 
 until we reached the famous Horseshoe, 
 at one time regarded as a ujarvel of 
 engineering skill, but novv overtopped by 
 other more extraordinary ones of like 
 character. From this point to the top of 
 the mountains is a vast panorama of 
 mountains and valleys seen to beautiful 
 advantage under the rising sun as we 
 ascend the grade. The long tunnel at 
 Galitzin and Cressou passed, we begin 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 our descent towards Pittsburg, having blackened by the smut from the burning 
 
 views on each side of the road, grand in of bituminous coal. Tiie streets are geii- 
 
 tiieir ruggedness and wildness; the val- erally at rightanglesand averageagreater 
 
 ley f)f the Conemaugh river, the Pack width than those of our eastern cities. 
 
 Saddle, the Cambria Iron Works, at The business houses arelargeand commo- 
 
 Johnstown, the openings of coal mineson dious, and while of the latter the Gibson , 
 
 the hillsides, keep the eye of the traveller and Burnet House are the principal there 
 
 liusy. As we approach Pittsburg we pass are others whose accommodations con- 
 
 the Edgar Thompson steel works located tribute to every comfort, and the St. 
 
 at Brad<iocks, the place where, in our early James is one of them. 
 
 colonial history, Gen. Braddock was kill- To the casual visitor this city presents 
 
 ed in a l)atlle with the Indians, July 9, mucli the same appearance of other cities 
 
 17oo. while he was on bis march to attack of the same class; the wholesale and retail 
 
 the Ererich Fort DuQuense, now Pitts- business is about the same, its factories, 
 
 burg. Washington, tiien a colonel, ac- numerous and varied in products, but 
 
 eompanied this expedition. here as ir) the various cities throughout 
 
 Arriving at Pittsburg at 7:40 a. m., the country we find depots for the partic- 
 Jiiiie 24, we took a substantial l)reakfast ular productions of the adjacent country; 
 and immediately thereafter took a train as for instance the tonacco grown so 
 on the Pan Handle railroad, passing largely in Kentucky and the lower parts j 
 through a tunnel under the city, crossed of Ohio and Indiana is sent to tliis centre ' 
 the Monongahela river to S(Hith Side, and of trade as may be seen in the large ware- 
 then on to Cincinnati From Pittslturg houses where it is stf)red in large hog.s- 
 west the country was new to us, never heads awaiting a purchaser. "Blue-grass 
 having been tbrouiih it before. The road dew"( Bourbon ) fiom the vale of Licking, 
 passes among mountains and through finds a market here ; peanuts are also 
 forests. We have Pennsylvania, pass found here in large quantities shipped 
 across the pan handle of West Virginia. from the south. Cincinnati is also famous 
 and at Steuben ville, Ohio, we cross the for its poi k-packing, its German poi)ula- 
 Ohioriver on a higli bridge. Steulien ville. tion and the"German Nectar"comm()iil3' 
 iis many other places along the railroad known as beer. The Esplanade on tiie 
 where bituminous coal is extensively site of what probably was a market shed 
 used, is more or less overshadowed by in the city's earlier days, is elevated about 
 clouds of black smoke, which hangover two and a half feet above the street and 
 it like a pall, the factories and adjacent in the centre is a large and very orna- 
 coke ovens f^rni^^hing the most of it ; the mental fountain of bronze, surmounted 
 roa<l l)eing elevated gives a good view of an<i having on its sides allegorical fig- 
 t be town. From Steubenville we success- u res of th*^ same material, and life size, 
 ively passed through Coshocton, county The fountain is a gift of a philanthropic, 
 seat of Coshocton county, and in the public spirited and wealthy citizen. On 
 midst of a bituminous coal district ; New- the upper terrace, l»ut some distance from 
 ark, county seal of Licking county, on the bluff, running in a general east and 
 a branch of the Muskingum; (Jolumlius, vvesteriy direction is a canal ; between 
 the cjipital of Ohio, on the Sciota river, this canal and the 1)1 uft" is a large popula- 
 aiid famous for its magnificent capitol tion of Germans and to visit them you 
 liuilding, Ohio penitentiary and other go "across the Rhine," for the canal is 
 important l)uildii)gs and institutions, fac- commonly so called at this place. Then 
 tories, etc, as well as being a railroad to "cross the Rhine"is what almost every 
 centre; Xeuia, in Green county, on the visitor to this city expects to do. Here 
 Little Miami river, all being places of we see German life as it probably is in 
 .-ome size and note. the "Vaterland, "though there is nothing 
 
 Following the Little Miami river to distinctive in the architecture. So acro.ss 
 
 iieur its mouth, then westward along the the Rhine we go and see beer saloons and 
 
 Ohio river we arrive at CiiuMunali at 7:30 music halls with lieer attachments in 
 
 p. m., June 24. Having taken quarters great numbers and almost side by side, 
 
 in the St. James hotel on Fourth street, where, when the day's work is over, and 
 
 and partaken of supj)er, we sallied out to on Sunday, the German father and 
 
 see a little of t he place prior to early re- mother saunter in, taking their children, 
 
 tiring. This city, more recently famous and the l>eaux an(i belles are to be seen 
 
 for its riots of last spring and the Ohio sitting at tables iti perfect harmony and 
 
 flood in February, is built upon two ter- proj)riety enjoying the fluid which the 
 
 races from the edgeof tlie riverand back- mythic King Gambrinus taught them 
 
 ed by iiigh blufTs. the tops of which, are was good, and tlie wines which we hope 
 
 reached i)y inclined railways, and l>ack of had tiie genuine flavor obtained on the 
 
 these the city extends for some distance. banks of the Rhine in their much loved 
 
 It has many fine buildings, more or less fatherland. We saw these places, but not 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 beiug aecustoujed to the customs of the 
 country we did uot enter, tliough it is 
 said that "when you are in Rome you 
 siiould do as the Roniaus do." Every 
 visitor who has uot visited tlie bluffs 
 misses a very tine view. These bluffs 
 about 200 feet high, are variously named 
 in their different parts as Mt. Auburn, 
 Mt. Adams, Mt. Washington, etc. They 
 are reached by inclined railways and on 
 the tops at various points are large build- 
 ings, characteristically named the High- 
 land House and the Lookout House, gen- 
 erously glazed, filled with taLIes and 
 chairs, as also surrounded by large plat- 
 forms likewise provided with tables and 
 chairs, and with accomiiiodations for sev- 
 eral thousand persons each. Here beer 
 is dispensed and music enlivens those 
 who of an evening ascend these heights 
 and in the light of the electric lamps or 
 moon, or both, tujoy an hour or two, and 
 get a good breath of cool fresh air after a 
 day's swelter in the hot city below. Fire- 
 works, particularly on the Fourth of 
 July, are set off on these heights and the 
 view from the city is grand. From these 
 heights in the daytime a grand view for 
 many miles is open to the gazer. At his 
 feet is the busy city which is much be- 
 low him; it is however sometimes covered 
 by a dense cloud of smoke so that only 
 the churchspires and the roofs of very 
 high buildings are seen sticking through. 
 To the east and west he sees the winding 
 of the Ohio river ; to the south is Coving- 
 ton on the Kentucky side and the mouth 
 of the Licking river. Back of these 
 points of view are fine residences, and 
 horse-car lines continue from tlie inclin- 
 ed railways. We did not visit the parks, 
 theatres, etc., as cbangeof j)lan prevented 
 our return to the city. We saw no traces 
 of the great flood and were surprised to 
 see the great Ohio at this time, to be a 
 most insigiiificaut stream at this point, as 
 compared witii the Delaware at Pljiladel- 
 phia ; indeed it seems as if one could 
 almost tliiow a stone across it, but a sixty 
 foot rise makes it an almost irresistible 
 flood. The banks gently descend to the 
 water's edge, are paved with cobblestones 
 and the flat bottomed steamboats just 
 throw olf a gang plank, generally rigged 
 to a crane near the bow of the boat and 
 readily swing to one side or the other to 
 load and unload. The smoke stacks, 
 generally^double, are very tall and joint- 
 ed in the middle so as to permit their pass- 
 ing under the bridges crossing the Ohio. 
 These boats go up the river to Pittsburg 
 and down the Ohio and Mississippi to 
 New Orleans, and by this means Cincin- 
 nati carries on an extensive commerce 
 with a vast region of country. As a rail- 
 way centre it is also extensively known. 
 
 Ciucinuati is connected with Covington, 
 Kentucky, by a magnificent suspension 
 bridge of the same general pattern as that 
 connecting New York and Brooklyn, but 
 it is a dwarf compared to the latter. Over 
 this bridge pass horse car tracks contin- 
 uous from those in Cincinnati and con- 
 tinued for a long distance into Covington, 
 so taking a car we crossed the bridge to 
 reach the Kentucky (-entral railroad 
 depot to take the train for Cynthiana. 
 
 Covington is a place of considerable 
 size and importance, being nicely laid out 
 and well built. If it did not lay within 
 the jurisdiction of another state, doubtless 
 ere this it would have been consolidated 
 into the corporate limits of Cincinnati ; 
 as it is, many Cincinnati business men 
 reside there and most of the commerce 
 between Cincinnati and central Kentucky 
 passes through it. As we only saw Cov- 
 ington from the horse cars we cannot say 
 much of it. 
 
 Leaving Covington we followed the 
 inaiu trunk of the Licking river until we 
 reached Falmouth, about thirty miles 
 south, where we left it and generally fol- 
 lowed the bank of the West Branch or 
 Little Licking for thirty miles more, 
 when we arrived at Cynthiana The 
 main river is of some length, but of no 
 great size at tiiis time; but when the Ohio 
 leaves iis batiks the Licking is apt to do 
 the same and makes a freshet at its outlet 
 the more dangerous. Along the smaller 
 branch it is of quite as insignificant a size 
 as small eastern creeks, the result of pro- 
 tracted drouth. The country along the 
 railroad is rolling, in some places decid- 
 edly hilly, with here and there patches of 
 level ground. The land is fruitful ; much 
 is under cultivation, producing generous 
 crops, but there is an air of indifference 
 in the general management of the farms. 
 The farms, generally quite large, are not 
 cultivated to their fullest extent; more 
 time is devoted to the raising of horses 
 and cattle ; the fame of the state for the 
 former is well known, so that much land 
 is kept for grazing purposes. The "blue 
 grass," a natural growth, requires no re- 
 plenishing, a field remaining unchanged 
 for years; the generally mild climate 
 allows pasturing in winter and unless the 
 weather is extretne the stock scarcely re- 
 quires any shelter. Rotation of crops in 
 the soil is not regarded as necessary, and 
 the use of straw and manure, as a fertil- 
 izer, is scarcely thought of. 
 
 Corn, wheat, tobacco and hemp are the 
 major crops of the soil. Corn, after being 
 husked, is often placed in rail cribs-, the 
 rails laid together as for building a log 
 house. The ears are generally consider- 
 ably longer than that grown in Pennsyl- 
 vania; probably the climate influences 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 this. Wheat eitlier remains iu the shock 
 until threshed, or is stacked. I am in- 
 formed that generally there is only 
 enough wheat raised as is necessary for 
 home consumption. Tobacco, a great 
 staple, was once, if not now, regarded of 
 a fine grade and probably would continue 
 so if the attention was bestowed that ex- 
 perience has demonstrated to be of such 
 great value in its production in our state. 
 
 The residences and farm buildings are 
 generally unpretentious, even though 
 their owners may be wealthy. The man- 
 sion house, generally of wood, is usually 
 one story high, though it niay cover con- 
 siderable space. The barns are small and 
 often only large enough to shelter the 
 family horse, the farm implements oTten 
 standing in the field from season to sea- 
 son. The negroes, of which there are 
 plenty, live in one story shanties or log 
 huts. We have some samples iu our own 
 state. 
 
 This is the famous "blue grass" region 
 of which all Kentuckians, particularly 
 those who live in it, are supremely proud, 
 and to own a "blue grass farm'' generally 
 means that the owner is comfortly fixed. 
 Now the grass is not blue, as the name 
 would indicate ; it is delightfully green, 
 but at certain periods there is a bluii^h or 
 purplish tint along the flower and seed 
 stem ; this grass does not grow high, and 
 between the seeds which fall and the ex- 
 tension from the roots, it requires no arti- 
 ficial renewing and continues from year 
 to year. It is regarded as most nutritious 
 and the choicest Kentucky horses and 
 cattle are pastured on its finest fields. A 
 similar grass is found in this state, but 
 not to any great extent, nor do I know of 
 its being encouraged. 
 
 Another production of this particular 
 region (though by no means confined to 
 it) -and for which it is famous is "blue 
 grass dew" or Bourbon whisky. Distil- 
 leries are found at short intervals all along 
 the railroad and river. Business, either 
 iu the manufacture or sale of this article, 
 is at present in a condition (^f stagnation, 
 the result of certain government require- 
 ments together with the influence of the 
 depression in the commercial world. 
 Much of the corn raised in Kentucky is 
 converted into this good but often very 
 bad (in its influences) article. 
 
 Cyuthiaua is the county seat of Harri- 
 son county. It is located on the Little 
 Licking about sixt^'-seven miles from 
 Covington. It is an unpretentious town; 
 buildings generally of brick and not im- 
 posiug ; it contains a court house and that 
 necessary associate a jail, banks, hotels 
 and business houses, a good scliool, a 
 number of distilleries, steam roller flour 
 mill, etc., sVowing considerable business, 
 
 but at the time of our visit it was rather 
 dull. The streets are broad and well 
 piked, indeed all the roads in Kentucky 
 are piked and kept iu excellent condition 
 making them a great comfort in all sea- 
 sons of the year. The people here and in 
 the surrounding country that we visited 
 are exceedingly hospitable, carrying out 
 the reputation of the people of the south 
 on that score, and to be known as a friend 
 of one of their friends means a profusion 
 of attention. 
 
 There is a great deal of horse-back rid- 
 ing by both sexes. On certain days, par- 
 ticularly court days, many men are seen 
 riding into town and hitching their horses 
 to a rail whi(;h more or less surrounds 
 the court house; then there is a great 
 barter of stock, trading, etc. Hot Nooded 
 and injpulsive, yet the morals or b/eaches 
 of the law must be very slight among the 
 people of this county, for the jail is so 
 small that the prisoner's accommodations 
 do not equal that of a police station house 
 in one of our eastern cities, and from this 
 we must infer that they do not need a 
 larger one. Battle Grove Cemetery is 
 located about half a mile east of the town 
 on an elevation, and commands a beauti- 
 ful view of the surrounding country; it is 
 handsomely laid out, carefully kept and 
 elegantly decorated with fine monuments 
 and other approf>riate markings of those 
 buried there. During the lale war this 
 spot was the scene of a brisk skirn)ish. 
 This was prior to its use as a cemetery. 
 
 In Cynthiana we sojourned some days. 
 Here resides Mrs. Lydia B. Cook, an aged 
 sister of my father, and the last survivor 
 of a large number of brothers and sisters. 
 A Pennsylvauian by birth, she with her 
 husband and family, went to Kentucky 
 just prior to the war, where he and three 
 sons engaged in the distillery business, iu 
 which they were very successful. One 
 son Cyrus B. Cook, now deceased, became 
 the mayor of Cynthiana. His family still 
 reside the-e. One daughter married Mr. 
 Jacob Walford, a distiller and grain 
 dealer in (^yr.thiana ; another married 
 Mr. W. H. Wilson, a famous horse raiser, 
 and owner of Alxlallah Park and driving 
 course; another daughter Mrs. M. M. 
 Norris, a widower, is the leading milliner 
 and dressmaker in the county, having 
 the largest and finest store of the kind in 
 Cynthiana, and whose son is editor and 
 proprietor of the Cj'uthiana Times; Mr. 
 William Cook also residing here is the 
 only surviving son. From all these we 
 received distinguished attention. Through 
 their courtesy and kindness we were en- 
 abled to see the surrounding country, 
 which would invite the attention of the 
 most critical or prejudiced. 
 
 A short mile south of town, on the line 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 of the railroad, is tiie Ahdallah Park. 
 Here is as tine a race track as I ever saw, 
 fully equipped with stables tor the ac- 
 coiiiiiiodatioii of some of tlie finest horses 
 in the country, some owned liy Mr. Wil- 
 son and some owned by otiiers wiio had 
 them there for training^ or other purposes. 
 Mr. Wilson and family reside on the 
 place. A feature of this park is, that Mr. 
 Wilson has constructed a short track en- 
 tirely under cover, where, no matter 
 what the weather, he can gait his "one 
 and two year olds" or show the..i to any- 
 one contemplating purchase. Tiie park 
 is also used as a fair ground at sp|)ropriate 
 seasons, when trotting is made a feature. 
 Mr. Wilson is a thorough horse lover and 
 and no trouble is toogreat when he has an 
 appreciative companion. As a sample of 
 tlie inhaliitants of his stabUs I will men- 
 tion Triumvir, Huron, Long Branch, 
 Chestnut Wilkes, Tom Bagby, Ink. and 
 others, all famous on the turf; but (lie 
 |.ri<ie of Mr. Wilson's heart, and, from 
 what I beard, tlie pride of the whole 
 state, is bis beauliful sbovv mare, Lady 
 de Jarnett, who biis captured tin- prize for 
 beauty and style at all the f;iirs where 
 she has been shown, and decorated with 
 bushels of riblioiis bestowed by admiring 
 ladies. 
 
 Since our return home we Intve learned 
 Willi regret tbat the stables and dwellitig 
 of Mr. Wilson had been burned, includ- 
 ing the horses above named together 
 witb others, except Lady de Jarnett and 
 anothtr, wliicli were on a car, just hav- 
 ing arrived from the fair at Cincinnati, 
 but too late to unload that night; other- 
 wi>elliey too would have been burned. 
 The family of Mr. Wilson narrowly es- 
 caped, saving some furniture. A stable 
 han<l, proliably the cause ol the tire, was 
 burned to death. I was taken liy Mr. 
 Wil^on to several blue grass farms where 
 he ke[)t bis brood mares and young >tock; 
 his annual sales of f-tock ate large and 
 well known among horsemen al over the 
 country. 
 
 Leaving Cynthiana after a most delight- 
 ful visit we passed on through Paris, 
 county seat of Bourbon county, Iheiic- to 
 Lexington. Fayette rounty. We bad in- 
 tended t(t-top and speinl a few hours here, 
 but htniing the trains were not disposed 
 to our ad vantage we were here but little 
 longer than to take dinner. Long ago I 
 liati determined to visit the home of 
 Henry Clay should I ever be within rea- 
 sonable proximity. For him least my first 
 ))residential vote, and I longed to pay my 
 respecis li.v a visit to his home and bis 
 grave. A-hland is about a mile and a 
 quarter south of Lexington, and we are 
 inlciruied is nearly as Henry Clay left it. 
 His monument iu the cemetery is readily 
 
 seen from the railroad, a colossal statue 
 upon a Shalt of great height builtoverthe 
 tomb, which has an iron grating, behind 
 which is seen the marble sarcophagus 
 containing the body of Kentucky's great- 
 est man, and one of the country's greatest 
 statesmen. He should have been made 
 president. Lexington is tinely built and is 
 the most im|iortant inland ciiy of tnestate 
 and is probably the most aristocratic city 
 in it. It has a'i)opulation of IB.OUO. From 
 Lexington we went to Louisville, passing 
 through Frankfort, the capitol, on the 
 Kentucky river, and Shelbyville, county 
 seat of Shelby county. 
 
 Louisville, the most important city in 
 Kentucky, is located on the Ohio river, at 
 the falls 'one hundnd miles we^t from 
 Lexiniiton and one hundred and twenty- 
 five miles from Cincinnati. Its manu- 
 factures are extensive ami valuable, and 
 its shipping interests very large by way 
 of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and 
 also by the railroads which center here. 
 It is an extensive depot for toiiacco, hemp, 
 grain, etc. Population 123,000. Crossing 
 tbeOliioona bridge we hit Louisville 
 for North Vernon, Jennings county, 
 Indiana, there to intercept the train from 
 Cincinnati !o .St. Louis, on the Ohio and 
 Mississi[>pi railroad. Passing westward 
 we i-rossed the East and West Forks of the 
 While River, and the Wabash at Viucen- 
 nes 
 
 Vincennes was originally one of a num- 
 ber of Fieocb trading posts established 
 along the Wabash and other rivers, and 
 at the lakes, to carry on the fur trade 
 with the Indians The c<(untry was sub- 
 sequently, in 17(38, ceded by France to 
 Engbuui. This town is somewhat of a 
 railroad center. In cros.«ing Illinois we 
 pass through no place of special impor- 
 tance till we arrive al East St. Louis. 
 This last place is a railroad point for stor- 
 age of cars aiid making up of freight 
 trains for east and west. The c<)untry 
 from Louisville is generally very level 
 and constitutes part «if the low prairie 
 country «>f Imliamt and IlliiM)is. The 
 soil is'almosl black, of great depth as 
 compared with tbat in Pennsylvania, re- 
 quiring IM) fertilizers and of ureal pro- 
 ilucliveiiess; corn, wheat, and tobacco, 
 being produced in large ijuaiilities. Here 
 there is a general air of indifference in the 
 cultivation ; st raw slacks ami corn shocks 
 being left standing in Ine field until ibey 
 rot or perhaps are burned to get rid of 
 them ; the barns are small and the houses 
 often of only one siory, generally frame, 
 are set up on blocks two or three feet 
 above the grouinl (there being no cellars). 
 The country is st» low tbat in the wet 
 season the land is boggy. Cattle are 
 raised iu large numbers. 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 At East St. Louis we liad our first view 
 of the fatljer of waters, the Mississippi, 
 whose channel carries the drainage of the 
 largest watershed in the world, from the 
 heart of tlie Rockies in the far north- 
 west, to the Alleghenies in the east, and 
 stretching from nortli to south across tiie 
 country. We are led to contemplate 
 wiiat a mighty and terrifying river it 
 becomes when it overflows. From East 
 St. Louis we cross the river on an iron 
 bridge completed a few years ago hy Capt. 
 Eads, famous for his jetties at the mouth 
 of the river. This bridge is a wonder of 
 engineering skill, the building of the 
 piers i)eing attended with the greatest dif- 
 ficulty, wbich makes it figuie promi- 
 nently in engineering and medical annals. 
 Passing from the bridge we enter a tun- 
 nel which goes under a portion of St. 
 Louis. After landing we proceeded to 
 the St. Cloud Hotel, and after resting we 
 tried tlie sights, but the lieat prevented 
 much invesligation. Tliis was July 4th, 
 and imagineour surprise to find a celebra- 
 tion of the day, at least by the small boy, 
 whieh reminded us of otht-r Fourths of 
 July in Philadelphia, when firecrackers, 
 salutes, military parades, patriotic 
 speeches and lire works formed tiie 
 features, but for several years past this 
 anniversary is celebrated as if all the peo- 
 ple had just returned from a funeral or 
 that it was a day of fasting and prayer. 
 
 St. Louis is built upon two terraces 
 above the flood line, but not backed by 
 hills as is Cincinnati. The stieets aie 
 principally at rigiit angles N. E. S. and VV. 
 except at the upper and lower portio!;s of 
 the city, wliere they range witli the 
 curves of the river toward the N. W. and 
 and S. W respeetively. It is a railroad 
 centre for roads from E. and N. E. run- 
 ning to the W. and S. VV. The Imildings 
 are (|uite large and well built; factories 
 are numerous; its wholesale bu>iness is 
 extensive and its commerce on the Mis- 
 sissippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers is very 
 great. Its principat hotel is the Planters, 
 known for many years, and, in ante-bel- 
 lum days, as a great rendezvo^is for the 
 planters of the south. 'Jlie [)opulation of 
 St. Louis is 350,000. The Missouri river 
 empties into the Mississippi a few miles 
 above St. Louis ; the waters of the Mis- 
 souri being generally muddy, the waters 
 of the two streams do not entirely com- 
 mingle until after thej' liave passed over 
 a number of niiles, the west half showing 
 a muddy strip and the east half clear; 
 the phenomenon is noticed at St. Louis. 
 
 We left St. Louis after a very short stay, 
 pursuing our westward trip, pa.ssing 
 suburban towns which are peopled by 
 wealthy and other men fioing business iu 
 the city, Kirkwood being the principal 
 
 town of this kind and within easy access. 
 Very soon we caught sight of the "Big 
 Muddy" as the Missouri river is other- 
 known, because it is almost always so, 
 regardless of fresliets or storms along its 
 course. Tlie banks of the river are back- 
 ed by considerable elevations made up 
 largely of limestone with almost perpen- 
 dicular facings, and as the railroad passes 
 along the river, view of ihe country back 
 ol them was cut off", except here and there 
 where the road leit the banks to avoid a 
 large curve. We conlinued along the 
 south bank of the river, crossing the Gas- 
 CDuade and Ihe Osage wliere they empty 
 into the Missouri, and passing through 
 no placies of particular importance until 
 we reached Jefferson City, tlie capital of 
 Missouri, in ueaily the central {/i>rt of the 
 state, one hundred and iwenty-five miles 
 from St. Louis and the most important 
 town in the interior. It is well built of 
 stone and briek. One circumstance I will 
 mention. On our approach to Jefferson 
 City, l)ut while yet some distance from it, 
 a porter brought into the car, towels, 
 combs, brushes, wash basins and water, 
 to enable the traveller to wash and brush 
 up before dinner at Jefferson City, where 
 the train slopped I wenly minutes. At no 
 other time was this luxury thrust upon 
 us. 
 
 Here we leave the Missouri, continuing 
 in a general westerly direction and yrad- 
 nally rising, crossing rolling prairie of 
 great fertility; corn (a little late), wheat 
 and grass in great plenty and in fine con- 
 dition, the quality of the land improving 
 as we go. ttettlemenls are rather thinly 
 scattered here and there at considerable 
 distances apart, and single houses at long 
 intervals; indeed some are little more 
 than shanties of probably one room ; no 
 barns for housing crops or shelter for 
 cattle. The whole aspect of the country 
 improves as we approach Kansas City and 
 becomes quite attractive. Amish and 
 Dunkers are located in this section in 
 large numbers and their presence is 
 noticed in the care they display in selec- 
 tion of land and its cultivation. 
 
 Sedalia, the first town of importance 
 after leaving Jefferson City, one hundred 
 and eighty-nine miles from St. Louis, is 
 somewiiat of a railroad point and of con- 
 siderable business iui|)ortance. Waruer.s- 
 burg, in Johnson county, and Indepen- 
 dence in Jackson county are places of 
 some note; the latter iu particular, being 
 ten miles from Kansas City, is a railroad 
 point and is famous in the history of the 
 Mormon emigration westward. After 
 their expulsion from Illinois they settled 
 at Independence and in several adjoining 
 counties, where, after they had thought 
 themselves secure from molestation, tliey 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 were a^ain compelled to leave by force, 
 they being obnoxious to the other settlervs; 
 they tlien weut to Utah. Arriviug at 
 Kansas City at the Union Depot, we se- 
 cured accommodations at the St. James 
 hotel. 
 
 Kansas City is located on the south 
 bank of the Missouri river. It is a place 
 of great importance as a railroad and busi- 
 ness centre; it is well built of stone and 
 brick on a series of terraces, more or less 
 steep and close together, notwithstanding 
 whi<!h they have street cars, and cable 
 roads are in construction. Itsstores rivel in 
 size those of eastern cities ; factories are 
 numerous, and its slaughlering and pack- 
 ing establishments are among the largest 
 in the country, while its stock yards have 
 no superior for size. The union depot on 
 the lower level near the river, is one 
 of the busiest places in the world for its 
 kind. Here people of all nations gather 
 and are dispersed through the west and 
 southwest, and this is continuous day and 
 night. When flrst laid out tliis city was 
 supposed to be within the Kansas line, 
 but subsequent surveys showed that it 
 was just east of it and consequently in 
 Missouri ; this apparently has not mili- 
 tated against its rapid progress ; its streets 
 are wf-11 paved and liglited. Notlongago 
 it was the centre for a very rough element 
 of people ; now it is seemingly as polished 
 and orderly as if established one hundred 
 years ago. Some business is transacted 
 ou Sunday and places of amusement are 
 open, but we saw little of it, though we 
 were there during a Sunday. Ii; all towns 
 that are or have been on the frontier, 
 there has been little regard in their early 
 days to a consideration of the Sabbath, 
 but certainly we saw nothing in our 
 travels which could have offended any 
 but bigots or fanatics. The people of Kan- 
 sas City are very busy and up to the times 
 in everytliing. Here we first saw evi- 
 dence of the push and activity claimed 
 for the western people, though it was not 
 our fortune to see this everywhere even 
 iu some large cities. An extensive garden 
 called St. James Park, where music is 
 discoursed and beer dispensed, adjoin.^ our 
 hotel and is well patronized ; a room on 
 that side of the house is not agreeable to 
 tired travelers. The hotel is Unely fur- 
 nished, convenient, comfortable aiid rea- 
 sonable ; let travellers take notice. 
 
 Leaving Kansas City we very shortly 
 crossed the Kansas river on the other 
 side of which and at its confluence with 
 the Missouri is Wyandotte, Kansas. Fol- 
 lowing the west bank of the Missouri (for 
 at Kansas City it bends northward) we 
 arrived at Atchison. After changing 
 cars we proceeded westward sixty-seven 
 miles to Ceutralia, Nemaha county, in the 
 
 northern part of Kansas, on the central 
 branch of the Union Pacific. Awaiting 
 our arrival was Mr. Abraham Brower, 
 an old and valued friend. Mr. Brower is 
 a Pennsylv nian by liirth and for many 
 years a resident of VVilliamsport, Pa. 
 Advancing in years he felt the cares and 
 restraints of a mercantile lile as becoming 
 very irksome; he longed for a relief 
 which others tlian he have expressed and 
 acted upon. The green fields, the open 
 air, tiie horses and cattle seemed to call 
 him, and feeling that though the air was 
 iis pure and the grass as green in Penn- 
 sylvania as in any other place, yet he 
 seemed lo think that here lie would be 
 too crowded and that he could purchase in 
 Kansas fionj three to six acres for the 
 price of one here. So ridding himself of 
 ins store he took his family and goods 
 about five years ago and settled down on 
 a prairie farm two miles nortli of Cen- 
 tralia. He has a fine two story frame 
 house, his out-buildings are in true Penn- 
 sylvania style, bis farm is well fenced, 
 and there is every ap|)earance of conifort, 
 contentment and plenty. Our reception 
 was most cordial and our entertainment 
 far in advance of our expectations in a 
 prairie home. The garden was profuse 
 in its yield of most elegant and delicious 
 berries and other vegetables, and the 
 barnyard with its many spring chickens, 
 all contributed their part in making us 
 liearlily wel«;ome. We parted with great 
 reluctance as from a very dear brother. 
 May Mr. Brower and his faniily live long 
 to enjoy their neu home and continue to 
 be prosperous atul happy. 
 
 In all this prairie country therearefew 
 trees of any kind except along the water 
 courses, and as the wind, having a fair 
 sweep, rushes with tremendous velocity 
 and often extremely cold, 'he settlers 
 plant "wind breaks" of trees on one, two 
 or three sides of the house a short distance 
 from it, sometimes they surround tlie 
 house. These "wind breaks"are very nec- 
 essary to the comfort of persons and 
 cattle. 
 
 After spending a few days with our 
 friend and family we returned again to 
 Atchison, from there to Fort Leaven- 
 worth, where westopped and were royally 
 entertained by Capt Windt, U. S. A., and 
 his charming wife. This fort, established 
 in 1847 to keep the Indians in subjection 
 on the then frontier, is one of the finest 
 posts iu the country; the grounds are kept 
 in magnificent order and cover many hun- 
 dred acres, in which are numerous beau- 
 tiful drives, parade grounds, rifle ranges 
 and other means of military- exercise. 
 These grounds serve as a grand park to 
 Leavenworth City, the people of which 
 resort to this place for pleasure driving. 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 The officers houses are beautiful, eoiuiiio- 
 dious aud tatitefully arranged ; here tlie 
 officers and tlieir tariiilit's live, otherwise 
 they take acconiiuodalious in a tine hotel 
 within the K'ounds. There is another 
 hotel of a different nature on the grounds 
 to which are sent various individuals who 
 have given offense or violated the laws of 
 Uncle Saiii, and he don't charge them 
 anything for kee|iing them in victuals 
 and clothes. Fori Leavenworth is one of 
 the choice posts to be assigned to duty; 
 and it is generally sought after l)y officers, 
 but with all the comfort, even luxury of 
 the place, tliese persons lire of it and long 
 to have the monotony varied by an as- 
 signment to some less happily situated 
 post and have a Lirush with the Indians, 
 whom some regard as the legitimate prey 
 of powder and ball. The case, however, 
 sometimes bec<»mes as with the man who 
 went out to hunt the tiger, and returning 
 rather precipitately it appeared that the. 
 tiger had been found and was coming 
 after him. 
 
 Leaving Fort Leavenworth by coach 
 we arrived at Leavenwoilh City. This 
 city while having very wide streets and 
 covering a large extent of surfact, and 
 probably doing a large business, is far 
 from being elegantly built, or, so far as 
 we saw, a busy place. It is prol)abie that 
 other places not far distant have monopol- 
 ized considerable of the tiade, silua'ed as 
 it is between Atchison and Kansas City. 
 The country from .Atchison lo (Jentralia 
 is rolling prairie ; that between Atchison 
 aud Kansas City cannot be well observed 
 from the cars, as the railroad passes along 
 the Missouri and its banks are bluffy. 
 
 llelurning to Kansas (Jiiy we left on 
 the Kansas Pacific railroad for Denver. 
 Following the course of the Kansas river, 
 the first place of importance passed 
 througli was Lawrence, forty miles from 
 Kansas (Mly. This place is very lively in 
 good times, is well built, having factories, 
 schools and university, in apparent [jeace 
 with all tlie world. It lias, however, been 
 the scene of many acts of border ruffian- 
 ism aud the raid made by Quantrell dur- 
 ing the late war, during which many per- 
 sons were massacred. Population 11,000. 
 At sixty-seven miles from Kansas Cily 
 we pass through Topeka, the capital of 
 Kansas, a cily well laid out and tine 
 buildings for business and residences; it 
 is a railroad centre; two colleges we are 
 infornied, are located here. Train stopped 
 twenty njinutes for dinner. Pof)ulation 
 23,000. At ninety miles we pass St. 
 Mary's where tliere is u large Catholic 
 seminary, which is linely located and en- 
 closed ; this place was originally a Cath- 
 olic mission. At one hundred and three 
 miles we pass Wamego, a place apparently 
 
 of some importance ; we could learn little 
 of it. At one hundred and eighteen miles 
 we pass Maniiattan, a town of 2400 iu- 
 hal)itants, and having some very impos- 
 ing buildings. The next station. Junc- 
 tion City, is a railroad point, one hundred 
 and thirty-eight miles from Kansas City. 
 At one iiundred and sixty-two miles we 
 arrive at Abilene, county seal of Dickin- 
 son county. 
 
 The country through which we passed 
 is of great fertility; corn, wheat, oats and 
 grass are raised in great quantities and 
 the towns passed Ibrough seem lo l)e 
 located in tine silualions aud surrounded 
 by all that contributes to solid wealth and 
 comfort; the farms are large and well 
 man. ged, and the improvements gen- 
 erally of good quality. After leaving 
 Kansas City the railroad follows the 
 Kansas river until we leacli Fort Kily at 
 the moulh of the Re[)ublicau, liaving 
 crossed the Big Blue river at iis mouth 
 near Manhattan. At Fort Riley the 
 Kansas ri .er, as such, ceaseS, being form- 
 ed by the confluence of the Iteputilicau 
 and Smoky Hill ; the latter whicn is very 
 tortuous, we follow as nearly nearly as 
 may l)e until we arrive at Aliileiie. A 
 number of creeks which empty them- 
 selves into the Kansas were also crossed ; 
 as they were generally insignificant we 
 did note their names. I will also here 
 say,iliat frequently what are called rivers 
 in the west woukl in the east scarcely be 
 regarded as more then fair sized creeks, 
 though the rivers thus far named are of 
 considerable size but not of any great 
 depth. The scenery along the Kansas 
 river, besides the line farm country, is 
 very curious, pariicularly from Wamego 
 westward to St. (ieorge ; high above the 
 cars range curious mounds with lines 
 (horizontal) of projeciting rock on the 
 top edges resembling In east works made 
 for protection and defense by the former 
 occupants of the land. These formations 
 are found at other points along the line 
 further west and running for miles ; they 
 seem to be made up of a dingy or dirty 
 limestone unlike that formed in the 
 east. 
 
 Abilene is a town of wide streets, well 
 built, aud in as tine an agricultural 
 country as one would wish to see. Here 
 as well as in a large jiart of this county, 
 is to be found a large population of Duu- 
 kers, mostly from Lancaster county, 
 Pennsylvania. I need not say what they 
 have done for thi.'i section ; their pecu- 
 liarities are too well known in the east, 
 and they have lost none of them in their 
 new homes. 1 feel satisfied that they will 
 make Dickinson county one of the richest 
 agricultural counties in the state. The 
 product of this country has so often beeu 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 wiitteu up that I should hesitate to do 
 more thau note that wheat produces from 
 twenty-five to forty busliels per acre and 
 other crops in proportion; this on land 
 that, according to the iiiprovemenls, costs 
 from $25 to not more tlian $.■)() per acre, 
 any llie labor of cultivation reduced to a 
 minimum, for no manuring is required ; 
 the same field is sown with the same liind 
 of seed many successive years, and does 
 not seem to weaken ; no stones to be 
 gathered, no rocks in the way of the plow, 
 no stumps, etc., as in other new country 
 in the east. But do not be misled by my 
 strong statements iutotlie belief that the 
 whole state is thus productive, for as we 
 go westward tl>e couuiry gradually gets 
 poorer and poorer until nothing could be 
 raised and indeed no one appears to try, 
 for a desolation and desertion stiikes tiie 
 eye which is almost painful, and un- 
 known in any part of Pennsylvania, not 
 excepting itsrockiestand wildest counties; 
 but more of this as we get to it. 
 
 At the railroad station at Abilene is a 
 very tine hotel of imposing exterior called 
 the Henry House, built and owned by the 
 railroad conjpauy. Here we stopped in 
 the afternoon after a hot ride ; the day 
 was said to be tiie hottest of the season 
 and the progress slow as compared witli 
 eastern travel. The next day I procured 
 a pair of bronchos at a livery stable, the 
 owner of wliich was satisfied with recom- 
 mendations from one who had been a 
 Lancaster county man and one who 
 knew of me ; perhaps the own^r was also 
 satisfied because I was a Pennsylvauian, 
 and Penusylvanians are generally of good 
 repute in Kansas because many of the 
 settlers are samples of our people. We. 
 however, were the only ones who feared 
 that the animals might not be returned 
 in good time and order for they required 
 urging and persuasion occasionally with 
 the whip. Bronchos generally are good 
 travellers. So with the bronchos and a 
 buggy (you see they have s«)me of the 
 conveniences and luxuriesof civilization) 
 we set sail southward over the prairie; 
 this was our first drive of any consider- 
 able extent; in such country where there 
 is little fencing and the land not broken, 
 road and field are alike comfortable to 
 drive over because the [and is level. 'Tis 
 best to follow the road unless j'ou know 
 how to read the section stakes whicli 
 mark theranges, townships, sections, etc., 
 otherwise one might readily get lost. 
 Thus following the road after a ride of 
 twelve miles we arrived at Belle Springs, 
 and it would puzzle you to find either the 
 Belle or the Springs ; however, two or 
 three houses and more in process of erec- 
 tion, and a post office, which as it lacked 
 the palatial exterior of the one we have in 
 
 Philadelphia, we did not see, constitute 
 this village; whether more existed on 
 [)aper than what we saw 1 cannot tell. 
 Frcipiently these towns* are all on paper, 
 but the land is there all the same, even if 
 it should happen to be covered witli 
 water like the town of Napoleon in Mark 
 Twain's "(ililded Age." It is almost a 
 wonder that this place is not called Belle 
 Springs City, for it is a fact that many 
 towns in the west little larger than this 
 are given the grandiloquent title of city ; 
 probably tlie honest ex-Pen nsylvanians 
 would not permit the use of such mis- 
 leading names. 
 
 At Belle vSprings we found our nephew 
 INIr. A. L. Hall,ot Lancaster county, wlio 
 had gone there last spring on a {prospect- 
 ing trip, and finding that he could make 
 himself useful he settled dowui to work in 
 house building, and in harvest helping 
 his employer. His expression of satisfac- 
 tion was sucli that, while an early return 
 from the promised land was expected, 
 with a re))<trt on itfs cjualities as he saw 
 them, his returii is indetinitely postponed 
 and will give him opjtortunity to quietly 
 consider the matter of making a purchase 
 and ultimate removal. His residence 
 with Mr. Eli Hoffman and family, for- 
 merly of western Lancaster county, and 
 near neigh liors befoie they left Pennsyl- 
 vania, tend to mal-ve him satisfied iu a 
 country where i)eople are not many and 
 neighbors some distance apart as com pared 
 with the east. I must here give testi- 
 mony to the hospitality extended by Mr. 
 Hoft'man to us, and also to say that all 
 these people are lu^spitable and accommo- 
 dating in the extreme. We were solicited 
 very earnestly to remain until Sunday 
 (this was Saturday) but not calculating 
 upon such pressing kindness and with the 
 twelve miles return, we declined and 
 turned our faces toward Abilene, where 
 we arrived in the early evening. The day 
 had been exceedingly hot-lO-i degrees in 
 the shade. It will surprise the eastern 
 people when they go west, particularly as 
 visitors, to find' how little account the 
 people there uuike long distances ; a ride 
 or drive of one or two hundred miles is 
 accomplished in a short tinie and really 
 one hardly- perceLes how quir-kly the 
 ground is covered when the country is 
 generally level. 
 
 The next day (Sunday) Mr. Hall and a 
 friend rode into Abilene to spend the day 
 with us, but as our tinje was very short 
 and there being nothing of any special in- 
 terest to the casual visitor, besides finding 
 that but one "through train" passed west 
 that day, we concluded to leave rather 
 than remain until the next day at the 
 same hour, for the railways iu the west, 
 iu consequence of the general stagnation 
 
10 
 
 A SUMMERtTRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 iu business, have rediu'ed the trains to 
 one ''through traiu" a day each way; 
 and during the rest of our travels, both in 
 going west and returning to the Missis- 
 sippi, we found this very inconvenient 
 state of affairs, preventing our stopping 
 a few hours here and there wljere we 
 might have seen something of interest, 
 but not enough to venture the loss of 
 twenty-four hours should it not prove 
 so. 
 
 Leaving Abilene in the afternoon we 
 continued through good country, passing 
 Solomon City, crossing Solomon river 
 near its junction with the Smok^' Hill, 
 also crossing the Salina, proceeding on 
 through Salina, Brookville, Fort Barker, 
 Ellsworth, Wilson, Russell and Ellis, all 
 towns of ujore or less importance ; at the 
 latter place we took supper. The crops as 
 we go west seem lo consist more of wheat 
 and less of corn, as if the soil or clinjate 
 was not adapted to the perfection of the 
 latter. After passing Russel the country 
 gets poorer and poorer and is used more 
 for cattle herding, also horses and sheep, 
 for we see great numbers of theui as we 
 pass along. Darkness covered the laud 
 and we were left to think of the sights 
 thus far seen and early stowed ourselves 
 to rest and sleep until daybreak, for we 
 were at the time of closing our eyes three 
 hundred miles from Denver, and at day- 
 break had over one hundred and fifty 
 miles to ride before breakfast. The tired 
 traveller can generally sleep anywhere 
 and so we took it by putting together the 
 cushions of three seats (there not being 
 many passengers) because we were unable 
 to get a sleeping l)erth at Abilene. Sleep 
 gotten in this manner is generally much 
 broken, and we got the first glimpse of 
 morning, and consequently of the coun- 
 try, at a very early hour. On tiie prairie 
 and at theae high elevations the morning 
 dawn appears much earlier than iu the 
 east ; it may be several hours before sun- 
 rise. 
 
 With the break of day we found f>ur- 
 selves not far from Kit Carson, a station 
 on the railroad, named after the famous 
 scout and frontiersman. The station pre- 
 ceeding this, called First View, one hun- 
 dred and sixty-seven miles from Denver, 
 is socalled because here on a clear day the 
 first view of the Rockies is obtained ; we 
 did not know of it at the time and be- 
 sides it was two o'c'ock iu the morning. 
 The country we had passed through, 
 we were informed, is rather thinly set- 
 tled, and on opening our eyes in the 
 morning they fell upon a country that 
 could not be inviting; a sandy soil, if 
 soil it can be called, gravelly and some 
 stones, with some sage brush. Now sage 
 brush is like the Jamestown weed ; it de- 
 
 lights in what apparently no other plant 
 could live on ; the ground consequently 
 is very poor, and a goat or mule would 
 starve to death if comptlled to eat this 
 only vestige of vegetable life, even though 
 they have reputations which rival the 
 ostrich. But we come to places before we 
 reach Denver where absolutely nothing 
 will grow. We are crossing the great 
 American Desert. 
 
 In njany places along the road where 
 we saw cattle grazing the country was 
 apparentlj' so bare of grass that Mrs. B. 
 often said she would like to be alongside 
 of the mouths of the-^^e aiiimals to see 
 what they got to eut. Here and there is 
 a rank grass called "bunch or buffalo 
 grass" which the cattle seemed to enjoy, 
 but at this season of the year it appeared 
 as if blasted by heat and withered for 
 want of water, of a color strikingly like 
 as if it liad died from the roots; it is 
 claimed, however, thai it is self cured and 
 very nutritious, but we are of the impres- 
 sion the cattle were making a virtue of a 
 necessity as there is nothing else to eat, 
 nor do I think any eastern cattle could be 
 induced to think it fit to enter their 
 stomachs; yet these western cattle gen- 
 erally looked well, and frouj here they 
 are shipped or driven lo market at Kan- 
 sas City, Omaha, Chicugo or farther east. 
 This grass range or grazing belt extends 
 absolutely across the United States from 
 north to south, is many miles wide and 
 reaches far up on the foot-bills of the 
 Rockies. From Kit Carson the railroad 
 extends north-westerly to Denver, where 
 we arrived at 7:30 a. m., mountain time, 
 six hundred and thirty-nine miles from 
 Kansas City. 
 
 W'e had passed from Kansas City to 
 Denver over what was apparently a level 
 or gently rolling prairie, and the travel 
 should have been easy and rapid, but the 
 contrary was the case, for it was difficult 
 and slow. This will be explained when 
 I say that Kansas City is 7(33 feet above 
 sea level and from there the gradual 
 ascent to Denver reaches 5203 feet or 
 about one mile above sea level. This is a 
 long pull and requires a strong pull, but 
 is trifiing in comparis<jn to other ascents 
 of greater height in much shorter dis- 
 tances which are subsequently made in 
 the railway cars. The atmosphere be- 
 comes more and more rarified as we 
 ascend this grade; the mountains were 
 seen at a longer distance than what we 
 would be enabled to do in the east. To 
 the sonth-west stands Pike's Peak among 
 the snow capped mountains as a land- 
 mark which guided many a weay strug- 
 gling adventurer or emigrant who had to 
 make the journey overland on horseback 
 or iu "prairie schooners" to this newer 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 11 
 
 El Dorado just prior to the building of 
 tbe U. P. R. R. 
 
 Arriving at Denver we proceeded to the 
 Brunswick Hotel, wliere, after tlie neces- 
 sary ablution, we partook of a substantial 
 breakfast and then laid down to rest. 
 The Hotel Brunswick we can recommend 
 to all visitors to Denver, for comfortable 
 accommodation, excellent and plenty of 
 provision, agreeable and courteous atten- 
 dance, and charges moderate considering 
 quality. Denver is buill on the desert 
 prairie which surrounds it, giving an un- 
 Qbstructed view on the north, east, and 
 south, for very many miles ; but on the 
 west are the Rockies, and while they are 
 in full view from the city and appear to 
 be scarcely more than an hour's walk 
 away, they are from fifteen to twenty 
 miles away. If you don't believe it and 
 want to take a little exercise before break- 
 fast, try a walk to them ; only take your 
 breakfast before you g.), unless 3'ou want 
 to postpone the breakfast until the next 
 day. This deception as to distance which 
 is general in these high altitudes is due 
 to the raritied atujosphere and is not easy 
 to appreciate at first. 
 
 How or why this spot should have been 
 selected as the site of a city is not at this 
 time easy to say. It may be a part of the 
 unwritten history with which we are un- 
 familiar ; it is, however, the offspring of 
 those peculiar enthusiasms which pervade 
 a certain class of mankind who love rov- 
 ing and adventure in wild and almost in- 
 accessible places. This much we got 
 from one of the early pioneer settlers, 
 that "it was conceived in sin, brought 
 forth in iniquity and was slill a little 
 wicked." 
 
 Thirty years ago there was no settle- 
 ment at this point ; only the prairie in its 
 dreamy barrenness. About 1856 or 57 
 some prospectors announced to the world 
 that sjold was to be found at Pik«'s Peak, 
 so from the settlers or rather the miners 
 who flocked to this vicinity beginning a 
 town with all the characteristics of min- 
 ing towns, it is now a city of 75,000 in- 
 habitants, as well built as any eastern 
 city of its size, having some buildings of 
 which" any city might be proud, wide 
 streets, well shaded and with running 
 water in the gutters carried by conduits 
 from the mountain streams which never 
 cease to flow. Business of all kinds is 
 carried on in buildings of considerable 
 pretentions as to size and architecture. It 
 has, however, been largely in the direc- 
 tion of out-fitting miners' camps, etc., 
 and the receipt and shipment of the pro- 
 ducts of the mines. The private residen- 
 ces are, many of them, surrounded by 
 lawns, filled with flowers; in some in- 
 stances the houses are palatial, for there 
 
 is great wealth here. We saw the rtsi- 
 dence of Mrs Tabor No. 1, which is built 
 on a plot of about four acres including the 
 whole block, which is cultivated to about 
 two-thirds of its extent, the whole enclos- 
 ed by common l)oard and post fence. 
 Trees of various kinds are scattered over 
 ground, giving it a rural appearance ; the 
 the house is of brick and quite extensive 
 We made a call at the residence of Bishop 
 Warren of the M. E. Church, but as he 
 was absent from the city we did not see 
 him. 
 
 The Tabor Grand Opera House is a 
 large ornamental building of stone and is 
 one of the most finely appointed places of 
 amusement in the country. It was built 
 by the millionaire Tal)or, who also owns 
 a large hotel in Denver. The Court 
 House is probably the finest in the coun- 
 try, built since ISSO, at a cost complete in 
 furniture, etc., of $350,000. It is finished 
 in bard woods and the floors are laid in 
 marble tiies. We were kindly taken 
 through by an officer and finally conduct- 
 ed to the douie, frt)m which we had a 
 grand view of the city, Uiountains and 
 surrounding country for many miles. 
 The permanent exposition building just 
 outside of the city, is constructed on the 
 same general plan as the Main Centen- 
 nial Exposition building in 1876, only it 
 is much smaller. Here annually are 
 shown the [)roducts of the earth's surface 
 and the niines of the state attracting 
 large numbers of people. The railway 
 depot is a large and commodious building 
 of stone and admirably adapted to the 
 purposes for which it had been built. 
 
 The city is supplied with all of the 
 modern conveniences of water, gas, elec- 
 tricity, horse and steam street ears, etc., 
 as ii'. any of the largest eastern cities. 
 Cherry river runs through the city and 
 is bridged over at many points ; it is gen- 
 erally a dry river (?) ni this season of the 
 year, but in times of great rains and over- 
 flow of mountain streams it is filled to a 
 more or less extent. The South Platte 
 river adjacent to the city, is, however, a 
 permanent stream. Denver is the point 
 of departure selected by most tourists for 
 taking various excursions among the 
 mountains and they are numerous. A 
 certain railway guide says that the area 
 of Colorado "comprises 104,500 square 
 miles of mountains, canons, valleys, and 
 plains," and the visitor wonders where 
 the agriculture is carried on which is said 
 to be so extensive and susceptible of still 
 greater development. 
 
 So after resting somewhat and seeing 
 in a quiet way, the particular sights of 
 the city, we concluded to start out among 
 the mountains, first having taken some 
 letters of iuiroduction to Mr. Geo. Ady, 
 
12 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 the obliging general agent of the U. P. R. 
 R. at Denver, and from him we received 
 such advice as was exceeding serviceable 
 because the snow in the uiountains even 
 in July is not always sufficiently melted 
 to allow easy visit to souie points, and 
 there ai'e occasional snow slides and wash- 
 outs that prevent the trains from running 
 and such had occurred this spring ; it is 
 also a fact that some few much lauded 
 places are not worth a great deal of effort 
 to see, particularly if special trips are to 
 be made to see them. Of some of these 
 points we were judiciously advised. 
 
 While I shall aitempi to make a de- 
 scription of what we saw in these excur- 
 sions and may state some almost incred- 
 ible facts, it will be but a faint shadow of 
 the reality, for no man can by word or 
 pen do justice to these wonders; they 
 nmst be seen. I shall have occasion to 
 refer to the parks of Colorado, of which 
 there are three grand divisions, having 
 smaller parks inside them. These three 
 are the North, Middle and South Parks, 
 each covering many thousands of acres 
 and surrounded more or less with walls 
 of high mountains. Within them are 
 some mountains also, but generally of 
 less altitude. Tlje valleys in these basins 
 are generally broad, covered with grass, 
 tine streams running through them, fur- 
 nishing fine fishing, hunting and graz- 
 ing. The North Park extending from 
 southern Wyoming southward into Col- 
 orado, a distance of probably 5(J miles 
 we did not visit; in it rises the North 
 Platte river. Middle Park, separated 
 from North Park by the Park View 
 mountains, is less extensive, about sixty 
 miles west of Denver. We got a view of a 
 portion of it from an elevated point ; in it 
 ri.sea ttie Grand river, which, uniting 
 in Arizona with the Green river, forms 
 the Colorado river. South Park is very- 
 large, occupying the wlioleof Park county 
 and this is a very large county ; the park 
 is about sixty miles south-west of Denver; 
 in it rises the South Platte river. 
 
 Our first trip out of Denver is to Lead- 
 ville, one hundred and seventy-one njiles 
 away (but about two-thirds of that dis- 
 tance in a straight line) by the Denver 
 and South Park division of the U. P. R. 
 R., following the banks of the South 
 Platte river, through Platte canon, over 
 Kenosha summit to Buena Vista, then 
 northward to Leadville. The road is ap- 
 parently constructed with an eye to 
 safety, the need of which can only be ap- 
 preciated by seeing it ; the steep grades, 
 the narrow ledges, the frightful precipices, 
 the overhanging rocks, the narrow canons, 
 the short and frequent curves, require 
 a solidity and strength of material, 
 both in road and rolling stock, together 
 
 with great care and management, with- 
 out which destruction and death would 
 be the frequent result. The first portion 
 of the road passes southwest along the 
 wooded banks of the South Platte and 
 reaches appart^ntly up to the face of the 
 niouniains, when with a sudden turn the 
 train dashes into Platte canon, until then 
 unseen in the approach. With minds 
 prepared by previous reading we had 
 looked for something grand and sublime, 
 but the reality far overreached our ex- 
 pectations. At this point the North Fork 
 of the South Platte emerges with a wild 
 rush from between the granite i)()rtals of 
 the canon. From the time of leaving 
 Denver we proceed to ascend a grade; on 
 through the canon the road continues 
 uj)ward to Kenosha summit, 10,000 feet 
 above sea level, and nearly 5,000 feet 
 above the level of Denver. The walls of the 
 canon are sometimes very close together, 
 and encroach upon the river, at other 
 times widening somewhat, have more or 
 less precipitous faces, very rugged, and 
 presenting at every turn some new feat- 
 ures. The fancy can trace faces like the 
 "Old man of the Mountain" in the White 
 Mountainis of New Hampshire, and heads 
 in various positions, as if they were the 
 guardian spirits and were entering a pro- 
 test to the advance of the intruder into 
 these solitudes; or perhaps beneath the 
 Cathedral Spires (so named from the pro- 
 jection skyward of slender pinnacles of 
 rock resembling spires) are vaults unex- 
 plored wherein these spirits of the valley 
 gather to commune. In the channel the 
 Wiiters of the river go bounding down- 
 ward over the boulders, rushing against 
 the rough side walls, boiling in the abrupt 
 curves and lashed into a fury and milky 
 whiteness in their efforts to extricate 
 themselves from the mighty fastnesses. 
 
 With scarcely a mile (4' straight track 
 in climbing on towards the summit we 
 pass around curves so short that they are 
 denominated "mule shoes" in contrast 
 wjth the horse shoe curve in our own 
 state before alluded to ; the road-bed often 
 on a ledge of rock no wider than just suf- 
 ficient to hold it; precipices that make 
 the hair almost stand when viewing and 
 contemplating the result of what might 
 happen ; bridges are crossed from one 
 side of the canon to the other, fetching up 
 apparently against a wall, but the train 
 dashes suddenly aside, so that for quite a 
 while no little alarm is felt at this con- 
 stant swaying of the train from side to 
 side as it quickly and with energy passes 
 the curves producing also in sensitive 
 persons a sensation somewhat akin to sea- 
 sickness. When riding along in the bot- 
 tom of the canon, little is to be seen but 
 water, the almost perpendicular walls 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 13 
 
 towering up hundreds of feet, and the 
 sky ; wliere the wall? are not too close to- 
 gether then the snow capped peaks are in 
 view when not mantled with clouds; 
 when high up and you look down into 
 the canon you wonder that light ever 
 penetrates to its depths. Besides the 
 Cathedral Spires, Dome Rock is in full 
 view from the train ; it stands out a bare 
 barren rock from the clifF, and as its name 
 indicates, resembles a church dome, 
 though on a grander scale than any con- 
 structed by man. It inspires the beholder 
 with wonder at what must be thefounda- 
 tion of such a mass of solid rock. At 
 various points along the line are stations 
 with a few cabins, much lauded as health 
 resorts, but it is only the hunter or tisher, 
 or some one who wants to rough it, who 
 takes any comfort in them. 
 
 We at last reach Kenosha or Kenosha 
 Summit 10,000 feet above sea level and 
 seventy-six miles from Denver, rising in 
 the last seven miles just 1,000 feet, and 
 yet this magnificent specimen of engineer- 
 ing skill has greater rivals. Fronj this 
 height the scope of view is immense and 
 the scenery varied and grand. With 
 peaks above us covered with snow, we 
 look off into South Park with its varied 
 undulations and see fields of standing 
 grain, vast tracks of the greenest and 
 freshest grass and herds of countless tliou- 
 sands of cattle and sheep. From Kenosha 
 Summit we descend into South Park and 
 pass through it for forty-six miles, cro.ss- 
 ing gulches and creeks which are the 
 sources of the South Platte river, and at 
 a short distance beyond we reach Bueiui 
 Vista, 7,957 feet above sea level and 2,000 
 feet below Kenosha ; here we take the 
 Denver and Rio Grand railroad and pro- 
 ceed northward to Leadville following 
 the Arkansas river which takes its rise 
 in the hills above Lead ville. From Buena 
 Vista to Leadville we climb the moun- 
 tain sides 2,250 feet with views almost as 
 varied as in the Platte Canon and through 
 South Park ; we pass in close proximity 
 to Twin Lal^es 8,500 above sea level and 
 begirt by mountains, but we did not feel 
 interested in merely seeing two bodies of 
 water at this altitude, there being other 
 matters more attractive. In this part of 
 the road we see the curious and almost 
 paradoxical condition of mountains on 
 one side of a valley exposed to the north 
 almost bare ot vegetation and capped 
 with snow, while on the other side of the 
 valley the mountain sides are covered 
 with flowers of many kinds and various 
 colors, as numerous as field daisies and 
 dandelions in their height in the east. 
 Dandelion grows in this chilly atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 We arrived at Leadville in the evening, 
 
 cold and tired, took a carriage to the Clar- 
 endon hotel and after supper retired 
 early. Leadville is built upon a gentle 
 slope at the foot of the mountain and is 
 nicely and easily drained; immediately 
 back of the city are the mountains, the 
 sides covered with pine forest and tops 
 covered with snow which is almost per- 
 petual. The valley here is quite wide, 
 from fifteen to twenty miles to the moun- 
 tains iu the west, though they appear to 
 be within easy walking distance; to the 
 north are high mountains, making this a 
 sort of basin with the outlet to the south. 
 Leadville is the county seat of Lake 
 county and is purely a mining town, the 
 result of the finding of the precious 
 metals which run through all this coun- 
 try. It is only about ten years old, and 
 is a wonder fir location, size and popula- 
 tion in thisshort period ; whilestill rough 
 it has become much polished within a 
 recent period, making it tolerable for re- 
 fined people ; general good order prevails. 
 Some of the buildings are substantial and 
 of good size; many are only one story 
 wooden buildings with wooden sidewalks. 
 The streets in many places still have the 
 stumps of the trees which were cut away 
 at the time of the first settlement. The 
 business is generally that of shipping ore, 
 preparing and shipping bullion, the 
 products of the mines, uierchandize and 
 miners' supplies ; all the provisions con- 
 sumed iu this place are brought here, and 
 it astonished us to see the young moun- 
 tains of tin cans that contained meats 
 and vegetables, which after having been 
 emptied were thrown out on heaps. The 
 region in this vicinity is honey-combed 
 with tunnels and shafts in search of gold, 
 silver and lead; these three and particu- 
 larly the two last are found together. 
 Lead, however, is the principal metal, as 
 might be inferred by the application of 
 the name to the town. Gulch and placer 
 mining is also carried on in the gulches 
 where water is plenty ; the water washes 
 the precious stuff from the mountain side, 
 and it accumulates in the bottom, where 
 it is gathered up. Earth supposed to con- 
 tain gold is carried to these streams and 
 washed in pans and the gravel, etc., is 
 then examined to see how it "pans out." 
 Where there is apparently considerable 
 mineral the stream is interrupted by a 
 series of low dams which permit of the 
 accumulation of the gravel while the finer 
 particles are washed farther down the 
 channel. From these dams extend flumes, 
 which are wooden troughs about two and 
 a half feet wide and twelve to eighteen 
 inches deep ; in these are transverse nar- 
 row strips of wood over which the water 
 runs. These flumes often extend many 
 miles. Men in rubber boots and pants 
 
14 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 stand in the dams, and with picks and 
 shovels keep stirring the water, throwing 
 out tlie larger rocks as they conie across 
 them and piling them up on the bank. 
 The fine particles of gold and silver are 
 floated into the flumes and there the 
 stream is broken by the strips of wood in 
 them ; in the depressions made by them 
 mereurj' is placed, wliieh, having a great 
 atflnity for gold and silver, takes up the 
 particles. At the end of the season they 
 have what they call a "wash up," the 
 quicksilver is collected, the separation is 
 made and then only is it known whether 
 the season has been one of profit or loss. 
 Streams are sometimes turned from their 
 beds and tlie bottom worked over. Hy- 
 draulic mining is not carried on to much 
 extent in Colorado. This is done by play- 
 ingastream of water under great pressure 
 against a hillside containing the metal 
 and thus washing it loose. It is in reality 
 but a form of placer mining, but with 
 more extended application. We went to 
 the mouths of several mines, but did not 
 enter them. A road, one of the roughest 
 I ever saw, with dust twelve to eighteen 
 inches deep, is the only one to the mines, 
 and it is over this road that the ore is 
 brought into the city. We did not enter 
 because they were bringing out ore from 
 one, the shaft of which was down a steep 
 inclined plane and we would have been 
 in the way; at another a perpendicular 
 shaft of several hundred feet offered no 
 inducement to try, and a third, probably 
 the richest of these, had just inside a 
 closed door, over which were a skull and 
 cross bones, very suggestive of "no admit- 
 tanceexceptatyourowu peril." In another 
 mining district, however, we did enter a 
 mine, and of that I will speak later on. 
 The out-put of ore at Leadville is at pres- 
 ent quite small on account of the low 
 price of lead in the east which makes it 
 unprofitable to mine, but pay mineral is 
 almost inexhaustible in this region, 
 making Leadville permanent. 
 
 The Harrison smelter on the edge of 
 the city is an imnjense affair. Here 
 much of the ore is carried and reduced to 
 metal, which is transported to Denver, 
 Omaha or St. Louis for separation. The 
 smelter is built on the same principle as 
 an iron furnace, only the stack is not so 
 large, generally there are several. The 
 ore, of which we saw great piles at the 
 smelter, bears no resemblance to the 
 metals which it contains and the richest 
 is often that which is apparently of the 
 least value for any purpose whatever, and 
 by the uninitiated would be regarded as 
 rubbish. 
 
 We did not visit the Mountain of the 
 Holy Cro.ss, north-west from Leadville, 
 requiring about twenty-five miles of rail- 
 
 roading and eighteen miles staging, if 
 passes on the mountains were clear of 
 snow, and of that we were not assured ; 
 besides it was not known whether the 
 mountain was sutflciently clear of snow 
 to see the Cross at this time. The moun- 
 tain itself is not ascended, there being no 
 trails, and it is 14,176 feet above sea. It 
 is viewed from an opposite range several 
 miles off', ana can be seen from certain 
 elevated points nearly one hundred miles 
 away. It is called the Mountain of the 
 Holy Cn)ss in consequence of two im- 
 mense fissures near the top and running 
 transversely to each other, making a cross. 
 The longitudinal one is said to be 1500 
 feet long, 50 feet wide and 50 to 100 feet 
 deep; transverse fissure is about 700 feet 
 long ; the winter snows fill these fissures 
 ana cover the mountain top, but when 
 tlie summer's sun melts the snow on the 
 mountain, then the snow remaining in 
 tile fissures shows the white cross ; this 
 is never entirely melted out. Ifthesum- 
 mer should happen to be late the Cross is 
 not seen until late, and that we feared 
 was the case this season. Had the early 
 Spanish missionaries seen this mountain, 
 they doubtless would have established a 
 monastery here. At Leadville we noticed 
 the influence "f the high altitude upon 
 ourselves in a tendency to fullness of the 
 head, headache, flushed face and hurried 
 respiration. This would probably have 
 not been so marked had we been entirely 
 quiet and been here some time before 
 starting out, but we had come to see the 
 place (not to stay) and did some hill 
 climbing on foot, which, under more fav- 
 orable circumstances would have been 
 sufficient'y trying. 
 
 From Leadville we retraced our steps 
 to Buena Vista and spent the night. At 
 this place is a fine hot-l and some other 
 buildings of fair proportions, but is mostly 
 made up of one story shanties, as in all 
 the very young western towns, particu- 
 larly in the mining region. At 5 a. m. 
 we left for Gunnison, seventy miles west 
 by south, and at 7:40 a. m. we stopped at 
 Alpine for breakfast. Alpine consists of 
 a small railroad station and a log house, 
 indeed it seemed no place for a traveller 
 to dine, but we were prepared for this ap- 
 parently forbidding condition while we 
 were in Denver. We ventured into the 
 log house, found everything clean and 
 tidy, and a breakfast awaiting, the recol- 
 lection of which even now makes my 
 mouth water, and as you may suppose a 
 two and a half hours ride among these 
 mountains and this delightful bracing 
 atmosphere, made appetites prepared for 
 anything ; but here is the bill of fare- 
 mountain trout broiled to a turn, laml> 
 chops sweet and tender, hot cakes and 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 lo 
 
 biscuits, delicious coffee and creani, with 
 fresli raspberries to tiuisli ; and to cou- 
 suiue all Ibis we were allowed quite tbirty 
 uiiuutes. On all the roads west from 
 Denver there is liberal time allowed for 
 meals, which is a great comI"ort, i)articu- 
 laiiy if the coffee, cakes, elc^, are served 
 Very hot, as they seem inleiUioiiully to be 
 at many i)hices in the east, with only a 
 few minutes allowed to consume them. 
 
 The train continues in its upward 
 journey among the Rockies, and at Han- 
 cock 10,939 feet is reached ; then on to 
 the Alpine tunnel 1773 feet long, at an 
 elevation of ll,()2o feet. In the thirty- 
 two miles from Buena Vista to tiie tunnel 
 we make a rise of 4,032 feet, and have 
 Chalk Creek below us with all the pecu- 
 liar and varied acenery of this region. 
 Al(>ine tunnel is on the divide in the 
 Saguache Range and it is poetically stated 
 tbat two drops of water hant>ing together 
 in an uncertain manner to the roof, drop 
 to the floor and according to the fact of 
 their falling at one place or anotlier, one 
 goes eastwaid to the Gulf of Mexico and 
 the other westward to the Gulf of Cali- 
 fornia, and thus by circumstances i)re- 
 existent their courses are widely diver- 
 gent, probably never to come together 
 again. Wiiat a lesson in the everyday 
 life of humanity ! There are over six 
 iiundred feet of rock above the tunnel. 
 The building of the tunnel was accom- 
 plished with great difficulty and cost, and 
 was made to open the Gunnison country, 
 which is rich in valuable mineral. 
 
 From Hancock to the tunnel we are 
 above timber line, surrounded by barren 
 rocks, and snow two to eight feet deep 
 along the tracks and ten to twelve leet 
 deep at the tunnel. At the western end 
 of tlie tunnel we enter a sn<nv shed where 
 the train stopped twenty minutes for 
 water. We took the oppcutunity to do a 
 little snow-balling and face-wasiiing, the 
 otlier passengers participating ; here the 
 snow is perpetual. Snow-sheds are nec- 
 essary at souje pointf. along the line, for 
 from the steep mountain sides plunge 
 masses of snow, carrying huge boulders 
 with them, irresistible in their force and 
 carrying ail before them. These sheds 
 are sometimes very effective in diverting 
 these masses over the cliff, but notwith- 
 standing the sheds are built of thick 
 round timber bolted together and fastened 
 to the rock by two inch iron rods, the 
 wholestructureis sometimes carried away 
 breaking rods and beams as if only made 
 of candy. We saw workmen recovering 
 portions of wrecked snow sheds which 
 laid several hundred feet below the bed 
 of the road. Numbers of snow sheds 
 cover the railroad where it passes along 
 the mountain side in the Chalk Creek 
 
 Valley and make the traveller think he 
 is in a tunnel. 
 
 lieginning our descent, at three miles 
 from the tunnel we reach Woodstock, 
 where, a year or two ago, the whole town 
 was swept away by a snow slide or 
 avalanche, and some fifteen lives lost ; 
 we saw what was left of this unfortunate 
 place. By zig-zagging along the irregular 
 mountain sides wegradually descend into 
 Quartz Creek Valley, along which we 
 saw such cities (?) as are all along the 
 line, the houses of which are frequently 
 if not generally of rough logs piled to a 
 little above the height of a man, with logs 
 placed across the top for a roof, and these 
 are covered with brush and turf. In the 
 turf, when moist, numerous flowers are 
 seen growing. We have seen many such 
 buildings (Covered with most beautiful 
 flowers. Whitewash and paint are almost 
 unknown in Colorado except on the more 
 important buildings. This gives the 
 towns (even though of some size) a decid- 
 edly dullappearance. At Quartz, a station 
 10 miles from Alpine Tunnel, through 
 the kindness of the conductor I got on 
 the engine and had a ride of sixteen 
 miles. The opportunity thus given, af- 
 forded one of the finest views of the trip, 
 which Can only be given to all passengers 
 by t he introduction of open observation 
 cars. Tlie conductors are most affable 
 and readily give information to travellers 
 whether soiiciltd or not. 
 
 At ll:oO a. m. we arrived at Gunnison, 
 7,582 feet above sea level and seventy 
 miles froni Buena Vista. Gunnison, 
 county seat of Gunnison county, is located 
 in a narrow basin entirely barren, sur- 
 rounded by higli nnniutaius. A more 
 uninviting spot for a town would be hard 
 to select, and why it was located here is 
 almost as iiard to tell. People in the 
 east are led Irom various sources, to be- 
 lieve that Gunnison is one of Ihe wonders 
 of Colorado for size (considering age), 
 activity, business inter* sts, etc., but a 
 more dead place does not exist within the 
 boundary of the state. The "son of a gun" 
 who located it is probably dead and I 
 believe Lieut. Gunnison, after whom the 
 town, the adjacent river and the country 
 beyond were named, is tiead too. It is 
 well laid out, the buildings are not num- 
 erous and are most unpretentious except 
 the hotel, The La Veta, a large and mag- 
 niflcent new brick building, the accom- 
 modations of which are very superior and 
 the rates remarkably low, though tran- 
 sient rates are advertised at three to four 
 dollars per day. Business in general is 
 almost at a dead stand still and few' i^er- 
 sons are to be seen on the streets. Perhaps 
 the people were hunting or flsbing, for the 
 hotel cards say this is"au excellent moun- 
 
18 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 tain resort for huutiug and fishing." I 
 should think it an excellent place for 
 huutit/g, but you want "seven league 
 boots" to get over the mountains, other- 
 wise you are apt to "get left." Fossil 
 Ridge and West Elk Mountains are in 
 sight ao<l it njight be that unless you 
 were well provided, that "you would 
 have to sleep on a boulder and pull the 
 clouds down over you" as somebody has 
 suggested. 
 
 On our way to this place we passed 
 peaks having various names, but we did 
 not note them. In addition to the points 
 of interest already mentioned I neglected 
 to speak of our passage over the famous 
 Alpine Pass near the tunnel. The rail- 
 road is built on a narrow ledge of 
 rock against the mountain, only wide 
 enough for one track, narrow gauge at 
 that, with perpendicular walls of solid 
 granite, hundreds of feet above, and on 
 the other side you can look down many 
 hundreds of feet below, while the view 
 offin the valley is awfully sublinje. The 
 Palisades on the western decline present 
 views which are second only to those of 
 the Alpine Pass, and the Hair Pin curve 
 of the railroad on the same side strikes 
 the observer with astonishment. You 
 are in a narrow deep gulch, where, as the 
 road courses along one side you look out 
 and see the road just below on the other 
 side, which is reacned by njaking a curve 
 so short that it is called a "hair pin." 
 Except as to the degree of the curves we 
 were frequently, almost (H)nstautly going 
 over such windings both in the ascent 
 and descent. We were awe-inspired at 
 what we saw, and now after tiie excite- 
 ment is over and calmly contemplating 
 all the scenes and incidents we are lost in 
 wonderment at the marvels of nature and 
 the astonishing results of man's ingenuity, 
 skill, perseverance and labor in the face 
 of almost insurmountable obstacles. This 
 country just passed through as might be 
 supposed from the description given, pro- 
 duces nothing for the sustenance of man. 
 Everything must be carried into it; a lit- 
 tle pasture here and there for a few horses 
 may be found. Silver, gold and lead are 
 about the only productions. But our 
 story is far from linished ; we have more 
 to see and more to say. 
 
 We left Gunnison, having done it very 
 thoroughly and in a very short period of 
 time, very soon reaching the gulches of 
 the Tornchi river, a branch of the Gunni- 
 son river, surrounded by snow clad rocks. 
 One side of the valley was entirely bar- 
 ren while the other was green with pine 
 trees, small shrubs and innumerable 
 flowers of many varieties in full bloom. 
 At Sargeant thirty-nine miles from Gun- 
 nison, we stopped for dinner. Here we 
 
 took on a large engine and commenced a 
 steep ascent until seventeen miles farther 
 on Marshall pass is reached at an eleva- 
 tion of 10,850 feet having passed through 
 one snow shed after another for many 
 miles, goirig along precipitous mountain 
 sides with frightful precipices and over- 
 hanging rocks. This is ground and lofty 
 climi:)ing, but a tumble over one of these 
 precipices would make "lofty and ground 
 tumbling." Our stop is made in a snow 
 shed nearly a mile long, with snow and 
 ice on all sides. We are also on another 
 divide, which is very marked. I got out 
 of the train and placed one foot on the 
 descent toward the Atlantic and the other 
 lOot on the descent toward the Pacific. 
 At 4:30 p. m. we leave Marshall Pass and 
 the next twenty-five miles is one of won- 
 der, almost horror. The scenes we have 
 passed over seem to be here reproduced 
 in an exaggerated form if that were pos- 
 sible ; bridges spring from one mountain 
 side to another, crossing almost unfath- 
 omable chasujs, descending to Salida, 
 which lays in a basin of the Rockies in 
 the valley of the Arkansas. 
 
 Salida is the junction point of three 
 railroads and is (juite a smart place. Tlie 
 hotel at the station is called Monte Cristo. 
 It is owned by the railroad company and 
 is very comfortable. Here we spent Sun- 
 day quietly resting. The town itself pos- 
 sesses nothing particularly interesting. 
 July 21st, Monday, we left, descending 
 along the Arkansas, through the valley 
 of which, in some places, is sulticient 
 bottom land to allow of some cultivation 
 of wheat, oats and grass by means of irri- 
 gation. We pass a number of small 
 stations, many coal pits and few habita- 
 tions, mostly cabins. The mountains 
 on both sides are tall and gray, and as we 
 approach the Grand Canon the mountain 
 peaks with very craggy sides increase till 
 tiiey reach thousands of feet above the 
 track which winds in and out along their 
 sides with not five hundred yards of 
 straight track for twenty miles, the rocks 
 often overhanging the track and train, 
 with the river just at the edge. 
 
 At Park Dale, a sn)all station forty-six 
 miles from Salida, we enter the Royal 
 Gorge of the Grand Canon of the Arkan- 
 sas. 1 cannot do it justice ; words fail at 
 the hands of anyone. A cleft in the 
 mountain, in many places thirty or forty 
 feet across at the bottom, with perf)en- 
 <lieular and overhanging walls 2000 to 3000 
 feet high, that the gloom of evening i)er- 
 vades at midday, for the sun scarcely 
 penetrates to the bottorii of this awful 
 crevice. We travel three or (our miles as 
 it were through a dimly lighted tunnel, 
 for on looking up the walls seem to almost 
 come together and only a ve.'-y narrow 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THP: CONTINENT. 
 
 17 
 
 streak of light can be seen. The feeling 
 is one almost aniountiug to awful dread. 
 Tiie road rests on a ledge of these perpen- 
 dicular wails, the rock having been liiasted 
 away for that purpose. Atone point an 
 iron bridge extends across the gorge from 
 wail to wall and braced like the rafters in 
 a comb roof, and from these rafl'^rs the 
 bridge hangs. This bridge as also a por- 
 tion of the road was l)uiit l)y workmen 
 being left down from the top, and, swing- 
 ing in chairs, attacked the rocky sides 
 and gained a foothold. The river is full 
 of the rock blasted off to make the road- 
 bed and which could not then be re- 
 moved. 
 
 Up, up. up, is rock, rock, rock, for 
 nearly oUOO feet, while down bf-low is the 
 Arkansas, roariug and surging in this 
 narrow pass. Almost deafened with the 
 noise of cars and roaring waters we felt 
 our littleness in the presence ot the won- 
 ders of (lod and the ingenuity and skill 
 of man. Going ten miles through this 
 gorge we leave it at Canon City and come 
 upon the open valley, the road following 
 the river to So. Pueblo and fioni there 
 northward to Manitou. The country 
 from Canon ("ity to Manitou is mostly 
 barren except wiiere irrigation is carried 
 on. Canon City has long been known as 
 a health resort on account of springs, 
 climate and air ; there are also works of 
 various kinds, and a depot for the ship- 
 ment of coal which is mined in the 
 vicinity and which is of excellent quality. 
 Colorado has extensive coal deposits 
 which are relatively as valuable as they 
 are necessary in all the extensive mining 
 and other operations of the state. 
 
 From Salida to South Pueblo is ninety- 
 seven miles, from South Pueblo to Manitou 
 is fifty miles. From Canon City toSouth 
 Pueblo we pass numerous castellated 
 rocks on the mountain range, often con- 
 tinuing for njiles together, with here and 
 there a break, resembling massive 
 masonry, the stones being in parallel and 
 even tiers as if they composed the walls 
 of an extensive fortification. South 
 Pueblo is a place of considej-able size and 
 importance, being a railroad point, with 
 car and repair shops, etc. ; we did not 
 stop here. From South Pueblo we go 
 northward to Coloiado Springs, following 
 the banks of the Fountain creek, a branch 
 of the Arkansas, which it joins at South 
 Pueblo. The road passes through a sandy 
 desert ; on the west, varying from five to 
 ten miles distant, the front range ot the 
 Rockies is in view, with Pike's Peak over- 
 topping all. Numerous buttes are also 
 seen on the plain ; these are elevations 
 of various sizes and shapes, generally of 
 rock and making no pretentions to being 
 mountains. They are seen very fre- 
 
 quently all along the various roads in the 
 west and often present very curious ap- 
 pearances. Ill thedistaiice they resemble 
 the remains of forts, or of towers, like the 
 ruins of some of the feudal castles on the 
 Rhine in Germany. One incident of this 
 part of our trip was a sand storm, which 
 came up very much like wliat we 
 sometinjes see in the east in the wind 
 and dust just preceeding the rush of a 
 violent summer thunder and rain storm, 
 only without the thunder and rain ; the 
 sky for a short time became hazy, then 
 the wij|d sprang up, and a noise "resem- 
 bling mild hail came from the car roof. 
 The conductor and brakemen rushed in 
 closed all the windows ; then followed a 
 shower of sand in the furious wind, the 
 dust entering all the crevices ; this lasted 
 only a few minutes. I have no doubt 
 that the overland travellers through these 
 western deserts have had experiences 
 such as we see pictured in our geog- 
 raphies and books of travel as occurring 
 to the caravans on the Arabian and 
 African deserts. 
 
 We also saw along this road communi- 
 ties of prairie dogs, wonderful, comical 
 and interesting. Out on the plain where 
 nothing grows that we could think would 
 serve the purposes of these little creatures 
 they exist by thousands. They are seen 
 scampering about and in a most impudent 
 way sit upright and motionless upon their 
 haunches, staring at the passer, but 
 should a motion be made at all aggressive 
 or intrusive, then quick as a fiash they 
 drop into their holes and are gone. They 
 are also difficult lo shoot on account of 
 their rapid movements. Around each of 
 their holes for a radius of three feet there 
 are planted apparently by them a stock- 
 ade of sunflowers from eighteen to thirty- 
 six inches high, and within this stockade 
 the utmost apparent cleanliness and good 
 order prevails. At other places along the 
 U. P. R. R. we saw great numbers of 
 these interesting little creatures. I will 
 here say that we saw at various times, 
 acres upon acres ot sun -flowers growing 
 wild like field daisies between Kansas 
 City and Denver, and from being quite 
 large at the former place, they gradually 
 decrease in size of plant and flower until 
 in Colorado the flowers would notaverage 
 three inches across. 
 
 At Colorado Springs we took the train 
 in waiting for Manitou, five miles west- 
 ward. VVe were soor; meandering be- 
 tween the foothills of the front range, and 
 after passing close to the Garden of the 
 Gods,i,arrived at our destination, nestled 
 in among the mountains, at 5:30 p. m., 
 and stopped at the Barker House, a fine 
 cottage hotel, exceedingly comfortable 
 and well managed. After shaking off 
 
18 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 the sand of the desert and a good wash, 
 we took tea and bad au hour's walk before 
 retiring. Manitou i^- located on Fountain 
 creek, a clear and swift running stream 
 which supplies tlie town with water and 
 has its rise in the adjacent mountains. It 
 isasmall, quiet towu of about tivehundred 
 inhabitants; it has several tine hotels of 
 considerable size, churches, schools and 
 private residences; most of the buildings 
 are of wood built on the cottage plan, very 
 neat and apparently comfortable. The 
 business portion of the town is rather 
 inconsiderable. Trees are planted, along 
 the sidewalks and flowers adorn the yards 
 of the residences. Manitou is a very busy 
 place during the summer months, because 
 it is a summer resort for the people of 
 Denver, invalids and tourists. The 
 springs, iron and soda, which are num- 
 erous, furnish an attraction. There are 
 convenient bath houses connected with 
 these springs ; one in particular is a large 
 two story building, very ornamental, 
 fitted up in almost extravagant style in 
 dressing rooms, parlors, etc. This place 
 should have been called Colorado Springs 
 and Colorado Springs should have been 
 called Manitou or something else because 
 there are no springs there. 
 
 While the middle of the day may be 
 very hot, as soon as the sun gets past 
 meridian the temperature is more eom- 
 comfortable, and at night a blanket or 
 two to sleep under will be required. This 
 last is a luxury as compared with some of 
 our eastern experiences in mid summer. 
 There is a great deal of cam()ing out on 
 the mountain slopes, and from the town 
 tents may be seen in every direction. 
 They are occupied by invalids and others 
 who are after the pure and undefiled 
 mountain air. These tents are sometimes 
 used far into cold weather. 
 
 Immediately out from Manitou, among 
 the mountains, are short canons, the 
 most noted of wliich are Williams and 
 Cheyenne, Manitou Trail, Ute Pass, Gar- 
 den of the (jlods and Glen Eyrie, which, 
 together with mountains, small parks, 
 springs, etc., furnish varied amusement 
 to carriage jiarties or those on foot. Afier 
 breakfast the next day we engaged a two 
 horse carriage with driver and guide and 
 visited the Garden of the tiods. Glen 
 Eyrie, Williams' (Janon and Ute Pass. 
 The Garden of the Gods doubtless derives 
 its name from some Indian legends of the 
 spirits or manitous. It isagenerally level 
 basin surrounded by high walls of rock, 
 showing all manners of colored strata, 
 and in nearly all positions, justifying the 
 belief that there had at one lime l)een an 
 upheaval by a very great force. The sur- 
 face of the basin lias profusely scattered 
 over it rocks made up of i)araHel and hor- 
 
 izontal layers of different densities of a 
 reddish sandstone which have taken all 
 sorts of shapes by the action of running 
 water, resembling pillars with capitals, 
 huge mushrooms, even fantastic shapes, 
 and are named according to certain re- 
 semblances, as Wild Irishman, Punch 
 and Judy, Mother Grundy, etc. They 
 vary in size from a few feet to several 
 hundreds, one reaching three hundred 
 and thirty feet. The larger ones are 
 known by different names and are gen- 
 erally denominated as "Gods." Perhaps 
 they were regarded as visible evidences of 
 their spirits or manitous by the Indians. 
 Tlie gateway of this garden is an opening 
 in the rock probably one hundred feet 
 wide, the rock on each side being strati- 
 fied, of various colors, as red, yellow, 
 wnite, etc, standing on edge and nearly 
 four hundred feet high, the jagged upper 
 edge resembling a saw with irregular 
 teeth. Just inside the portal and midway 
 between the two walls is a lone rock of 
 considerable size, but small as compared 
 with the height of the gateway. Itseems 
 as if placed to direct the visitors to the 
 right or left at ingress and egre-ss. While 
 passing through the garden we saw in the 
 face of one of the walls what appeared to 
 be the impress of the complete skeleton 
 and antlers of a large buck deer and it is 
 called the Buck. On one of the sides of 
 the portal is a form of the rock resembling 
 a lion with his foot on a seal, and is called 
 the Lion and Seal. A similar formation 
 resembling the upper parts of a woman 
 in a sitting posture is the Lady of the 
 Park. Balance Rock or Pivot Rock is an 
 irregular ovoidal mass stratified in hard 
 and soft layers and of a reddish color. It 
 Is twenty-five feet or more in height, 
 stands on its smaller end and appears as 
 if it might be easily upset. It is gradually 
 crumbling away and will eventually 
 tumble over, but not in many years. A 
 little grass is seen here and there through 
 the Garden and some grass and a few 
 scrub trees are seen in the crevices of the 
 rocky walls. 
 
 Tliis strange, wierd place is difficult to 
 describe. It is visited on moonlight 
 nights by romatic individuals, and I have 
 no doubt the imagination could be brought 
 to see more strange and fantastic forms 
 in the shadows than are apparent in day- 
 light. Monument Park, very near here, 
 is one of the same character ; we did not 
 visit it. (jleu Eyrie, adjacent to the Garden 
 of the Gods, isa valley between the moun- 
 tains, full of beautiful scenery and curious 
 rock forms. One of the latter, a column 
 called Major Domo is twenty-five feet 
 high and two and a half feet through ; it 
 stands alone and resembles some of the 
 stone monuments attributed to the Druids 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 19 
 
 in Europe. In Glen Eyrie is the beauti- 
 ful eouutry resideuce of General Palmer, 
 formerly the president of the Denver and 
 Rio (Grande railroad. From here we 
 drove to Williams' Canon, one of those 
 numerous clefts in the mountains, about 
 three niiles in length, with towering side 
 walls of rock widening out as they go 
 ujnvard, but in some places at the bottom 
 so narrow that the hubs of the wheels 
 almost touch the rock on each side. The 
 road which is very poor is so nairow and 
 in such precipitous places that it is im- 
 possible Tor two vehicles to pass except at 
 j)oints where there are turnouts. A very 
 small stream runs through the canon. 
 The scenery is very grand but not of that 
 sublimity of the Platte and Grand 
 Canons. Our attention was called to an 
 eagle's nest high up on an inaccessible 
 shelf of the rock wall of this canon. I 
 mention this only because eagle's nests 
 are not often seen even by hunters. On 
 one side of the canon, far up and reached 
 by a long tlight of steps, is the opening of 
 the Cave of the Winds, said to be mag- 
 nificent with stalactites and stalagmites; 
 but having visited Luray Cave two years 
 ago, we did not think this could exceed 
 that in splendor, so we did not go in. We 
 had come to visit such of nature's wonders 
 as the east did not possess. From Wil- 
 liams' Canon we went to Ute Pass. This 
 was an old Indian trail to points farther 
 in the mountains and during the Pike's 
 Peak and Leadville excitement it was the 
 road over which the camp trains reached 
 those places. GJoing as far as the Grand 
 Falls we took a drink of pure njountain 
 water, and doing the s.ime at an adjacent 
 Iron Spring we returned to Manitou. 
 
 Manitou Park, reached by the Ute Pass 
 is a pleasant summer resort and has a fine 
 hotel, but we did not visit it. The Seven 
 Falls in Cheyenne Canon we did not 
 visit ; they are said to be very interesting 
 and picturesque, but not large and grand. 
 Pike's Peak tiiirteen miles away, ever in 
 sight, is one of the great attractions of this 
 vicinity. Manitou Trail leads to it, but 
 as it is only reached by horse-backing, 
 the rest on foot and a portion of the trail 
 dangerous, though visitors generally after 
 their return from the peak do not give 
 expression to the fear they experienced 
 on the narrow road, and the awful preci- 
 pices they pass, where a single misstep of 
 mule or horse means death, we did not 
 venture, though at first intending to do 
 so. Parties starting out in the morning 
 from Manitou return in the evening, 
 making a round trip of twenty-six ujiles. 
 A railroad to the peak is in contemplation 
 or in process of construction, which when 
 complete will out-rival that on Mt. Wash- 
 ington or the Rigi in Switzerland. A gov- 
 
 ernment meteorological station is on top 
 and sometimes in winter conununication 
 with the town is cut off for several weeks, 
 by thesnow storms ; such was the case last 
 winter, when two of the three persons 
 who remain there came to town for pro- 
 visions, etc., leaving one behind, a snow 
 storm prevented tlieir return for two 
 weeks ; the trails were covered and hid- 
 den ; the telegraph wires were broken, 
 but after several efforts they reached the 
 top, gladly finding their companion alive, 
 wliile they had feared he would be starved 
 or frozen to death. 
 
 From Manitou we went to Colorado 
 Springs leaving the mountains behind us. 
 No springs are here except those from 
 pipes or irrigating canals, which carry 
 the town's water supply. It is a finely 
 built place, the houses being generally of 
 wood. There are several fine hotels, the 
 largest and best of which is The Antlers, 
 built of stone and one of llie finest in the 
 state. The streets are wide, well shaded 
 with cott.ni-wood trees and water cours- 
 ing along the curbs. This water is also 
 used for irrigation of gardens, etc., con- 
 taining beautiful flowers. The water 
 supply for domestic and other purposes 
 comes from Fountain Creek, which is 
 carried by ditches along tiie mountain 
 sides from Manitou over thirteen miles. 
 Where irrigation is not used the prairie 
 is barren. Little rain falls here and that 
 generally in July and August. The 
 average of snow and rain for the year 
 amounts to fifteen inches. 
 
 Colorado Springs is a beautiful place 
 and a resort in summer for persons living 
 in adjacent places, tourists and invalids. 
 The clear, rarified atmosphere of this 
 vicinity is regarded as very salutary in 
 pulmonary diseases, and is considered 
 with more favor even in winter than the 
 warm moist atmosphere and low ground 
 of Florida or other southern states. The 
 condition of society is about all that can 
 be desired, schools, churchs, etc., are 
 numerous and the communication with 
 the rest of the world frequent and easy. 
 Our stay in Colorado Springs was of short 
 duration and taking a train on the Den- 
 ver and Rio Grande railroad, we left for 
 Denver, seventy-five miles north, passing 
 along a branch of the FoJjntaiu Creek 
 and a branch of the South Platte river, 
 along which we saw horses, cattle and 
 sheep by thousands. 
 
 July 24, we left Denver by the Colorado 
 Central railroad for Black Hawk, Cen- 
 tral City, Georgetown and Gray's Peak. 
 W'e crossed a prairie country for about 
 twenty miles, generously cultivated by 
 irrigation, producing fine wheat, oats and 
 corn. A short distance froni Denver we 
 pass the Argo smelter, one of the largest 
 
20 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 in this state. Tbe first place of any im- 
 portance on tiiis line is Golden, at tbe 
 nioutb of Clear Creek or Tougb-enss 
 Canon. It is a very busy place, built of 
 brick and frame and surrounded by 
 buttes several hundred feet high, upon 
 wiiicb it to some extent encroaches. Here 
 are smelters and iron works of fair pro- 
 portions. I must here relate a little in- 
 cident, somewhat serio-comic, connected 
 with this place as having occurred to 
 Isabella L. Bird, au English lady, who 
 in 1873 went through the canons and over 
 the mountains of Colorado principally on 
 horseback. "Passing bj' a bare and des- 
 olate looking cemetery, I asked a sad- 
 looking woman who was leaning on the 
 gale if she could direct me to Golden 
 City. In doleful touts she said 'Ob, go 
 to the uiiuister ; I might tell you, may be, 
 but it's too great a responsibility ; go to 
 tbe ministers, they can tell you!'" I 
 miglit remark in passing, that cemeteries 
 are not plentiful in Colorado, that is so 
 far as we observed. Occasionally we saw 
 small private burial places on some of the 
 farms, just as we find them occasionally 
 in the east. It is stated that the famous 
 P. T. Baruunj (Greatest Sliow on Earth) 
 in a lecture on Colorado, said : Why, 
 Coioradoans are the most disappointed 
 peoj)le I ever saw. Two thirds of them 
 come here to die, and they canU do it. 
 This wonderful air brings them back 
 from the verge of the tomb, and they are 
 naturally exceedingly disajipointed." 
 
 But to return to our journey ; we con- 
 tinue along Clear Creek, enter the canon, 
 and at Fork Creek we turn to the rij^ht 
 in a gorge and follow it to Black Hawk, 
 the first mining town of any importance, 
 8057 feet above sea level and nearly 3000 
 feet above Denver. Black Hawk lies in 
 a narrow ravine iu the mountains, which 
 surround it on all sides, and with num- 
 erous mines scattered over their surface. 
 Tl)e ore is carried lo the town and if not 
 reduced there, it is ship|)ed by rail to 
 other places for that purpose. Itisa busy 
 place when mining is in full o[)eration. 
 The houses have no level ground to be 
 built U|)on and their gal)les are facing the 
 few streets tiiere are, presenting a curious 
 appearance. This latter is the case in 
 most of the mining tovvus. Five hundred 
 feet higher up on the mountain, but 
 almost joining Black Hawk, is Central 
 City. By straight line they are about one 
 mile apart, by wagon road two and one 
 half miles, luit by railroad the distance is 
 four. Now, laying railroads in the 
 Rockies is no joke, for the cost and en- 
 gineering skill is simply enormous where 
 the grades are so steep. The railroad 
 connecting these two places is called the 
 Zig-Zag, and it is just what its name in- 
 
 dicates. Starting out from Black Hawk 
 for a short distance the train l)Hcks up a 
 steep grade to a certain point, when by 
 turning a switch it goes forward and up- 
 ward to another point; it then backs up 
 another grade to a third point, then for- 
 ward and upward to Central City. This 
 is zig-zagging back and forth on the hill- 
 sides and not ascending bj' curves. It is, 
 in fact, a switch back road. It fills one 
 with astonishment ; how little one man 
 is in this great world, but what power he 
 displays in the intelligence his God has 
 given him. 
 
 We arrived at Centra! City, forty miles 
 from Denver, in the evening, having 
 passed numerous mines, some in ap- 
 parently almost inaccessible places, both 
 up and down the hillside. Theopeuings 
 in the distance look like the opening of 
 burrows made by animals and the men 
 could only be distinguished as such by 
 powerful gla.sses. We also passed various 
 stampers and w'ashers. These are com- 
 posed first of hoppers made of iron, into 
 which the ore is placed, and stamps 
 weighing many hundred pounds each, 
 arranged in rows, are raised and let fall 
 by machinery, thus Crushing the ore into 
 fine particles After the (^rushing the 
 ore is placed in large kettles of iron hav- 
 ing agitators, in the bottom of which is 
 metallic mercury ; then water is run into 
 these kettles and by agitation tbe gold 
 and silver are combined with llie mer- 
 cury from which they are subsequently 
 separated, and tlie rock and dust washed 
 away. Even this waste water, when it 
 readies the gulches is again worked over, 
 and we saw at various points, Chinese 
 and others up to their waists in water, 
 stirring it up, and carried on as in the 
 description of placer mining betV)re men- 
 tioned. The mines in this district are of 
 great richness and extent, thougli 'ittle 
 was doing at tbe time of our visit. 
 
 The next day after breakfast we started 
 out on a mountain climb of about one 
 mile to visit the Bonanza Tunr.el, where 
 we met by appointment Mr. Btck, who 
 is part owner and manager. This tunnel 
 extends over 1300 feet in a straight line 
 with drills or entries on both sides pene- 
 trating i'rom 300 to 600 feet each. As its 
 name indicates it is indeed a bonanza 
 Millions have been removed from it and 
 t he supply seems inexliaustible. Procur- 
 ing lanterns we entered with Mr. Beck, 
 and saw sights which rivalled tbe beauties 
 of the grottos and caverns of the Arabian 
 Nights, the (]Uar(z crystals sparkling as 
 gems with tbe pr'.'cious metalw in v rious 
 combinations as sulphurets, etc., studded 
 the mass. We went to the face of the 
 mine at the end of the tunnel and there 
 saw and touched our shadows made by 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 21 
 
 the light which entered at the mouth aud 
 because of the straightue.ss of the tunuel 
 tlie light was uninterrupted (he whole 
 length of 1300 feet. Of course our lamps 
 were extinguished to show this. After 
 gathering a few siiecimens, which by the 
 kindness of our conductor we were per- 
 nntted to carry away, we left and after 
 us was closed a strong door over which 
 are the expressive skull and cross bones. 
 
 Taking a hack we went back to the 
 Teller House, which we left after din- 
 ner, and taking the train down the Zig- 
 Zag proceeded to Forks Creek to go to 
 Georgetown, where we arrived the sanie 
 evening a little late, a delay having oc- 
 curred in consequence of the Denver 
 train preceeding having been wrecked by 
 a jackass, who was jack enough to think 
 he could frighten tlie locomotive by 
 jumping out of the bushes in front of it ; 
 the consequence was that both parties 
 cauje sadly to grief, the locomotive and 
 balance of the train being derailed and 
 badly wrecked and underneath lay silly 
 jack, having made his htst bray. The 
 road to Georgetown lays in the gorge and 
 it is still up, up, up to 8,500 feet with the 
 scenery like that already described. We 
 saw mine holes dotting th-e mountain 
 sides and placer mining going on in the 
 bed of thestreanj. On our M'ay we pass 
 Idaho Spring, a famous resort on account 
 of the numl)er and variety of mineral 
 s])rings both liot aud cold. One hot 
 spring is of such a temperature that the 
 hand can only be immersed for a moment. 
 These springs are much used by invalids ; 
 beyond tliis. attraction, Idaho Springs is 
 but a mining town with nothing peculiar 
 to distinguish it from tlie others. 
 
 Georgetown is (ifty miles from Denver, 
 and has a population of 8000, very active 
 as a mining town, and is supplied with 
 the necessary apparatus for reduction of 
 ore, etc. It is in a level basin ; the houses 
 are principalij- of wood. The business of 
 this place is enormous. Far up in the 
 mountains are the Chicago Lakes visited 
 from Georgetown. We did not go to 
 them, but Green Lake, which is more 
 convenient, we concluded to take in. 
 We took passage in a four-horse coach, in 
 which were other tourists, for a three 
 mile ride along and up the mountain 
 sides to an elevation 2000 feet above 
 Georgetown. The incline of the road is 
 fearful (over 600 feet to the mile) ; the 
 road is one of the rougliest, and the preci- 
 pices terrifying. A broken axle or simi- 
 lar accident on this narrow way, just 
 wide enough for a vehicle, would have 
 precipitated us over the mountain side, 
 and a funeral more or less numerous 
 would have been the inevitable result. 
 In going up the heavy passengers were 
 
 placed in the forward part of the coach ; 
 coming back was more dangerous, as it 
 was down grade, the heavy members tak- 
 ing tlie back part, and all holding on to a 
 strong strajj extending from end to end 
 to keep them from sliding forward in it. 
 Green Lake is located nearly 11,000 feet 
 above sea level. It is a small but beauti- 
 ful sheet of the clearest water from the 
 snows on the surrounding and overshad- 
 owing mountains, and is skirted by small 
 pine trees. A ride on its placid surface 
 in a row boat enabled us togeta line view 
 of its l)eaiitiful and grand surroundings 
 aud also to peer into its depth, which are 
 considerable (several hundred feet). 
 Trunks of trees in various positions are 
 seen at the bottom and they are repre- 
 sented as the reuiains of a petrified forest. 
 They probably are waterlogged trees from 
 the mountain side. Trout are here by 
 the thousands and are very tame, coming 
 at call to be fed. An old German who 
 seems to attend to this dis|)!ay, has sev- 
 eral of them named, being distinguished 
 by size, color or some other distinguish- 
 ing feature. One is called the Kaiser 
 another Kaiserin, etc., and hespealis ten- 
 derly of them, "der arm teufel, er wilt 
 auch etwas." A convenient building is 
 placed on the edge of tlie lake'for the use 
 of visitors and a hotel is in contempla- 
 tion. 
 
 This getting up in the world will 
 liardiy be appreciated by one who lias 
 not had the experience, for to speak of 
 ten, eleven, or twelve thousand feet above 
 sea level only conveys the idea of a great 
 lieight ; even two or three thousand feet 
 to one who has never seen it means 
 quite as much. One must stand near a 
 rock and look to its top two or three 
 thousand feet above or be above aud look 
 down to know how terrible it is, aud how 
 little we are. At no time when we were 
 at our highest elevations were we above 
 all the mountains, there were still those 
 whose sides rose more or less perpendic- 
 ularly from tiie roads we were on, not in- 
 cluding particular [teaks. 
 
 Returning to Georgetown without ac- 
 cident, for which we all congratulated 
 ourselves, for tiie descent was more dan- 
 gerous than the ascent, we left for Silver 
 Plume, farther up. The road becomes 
 very tortuous aud is here known as The 
 Loop, taxing the constructing engiueers' 
 resources to their utmost. I cannot de- 
 scribe its windings to be intelligible to 
 another without using a plan, but the fol- 
 lowing will possibly convey somewhat of 
 an idea: The road jiasses around the 
 edge of Georgetown and crosses itself by 
 a bridge three hundred feet long and 
 ninety feet high. First you pass under 
 the bridge and proceed up the canon. 
 
22 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 span Clear Creek and turn again towards 
 Georgetown. From the bridge you look 
 down upon the track below and also upon 
 Georgetown, taking in Devil's Gate and 
 Bridal Veil Falls. Then you turn away 
 from the town, then towards it, and still 
 higher, a complete loop having been 
 made, and three curves, which very 
 nearly become loops. From one point 
 six distinct tracks are visible at different 
 levels, but they are parts that we had 
 passed over, and were parts of our road. 
 At last we reach Silver Plume, 500 feet 
 above Georgetown, less than two miles 
 distant by straight line, but over four and 
 a half by rail. 
 
 Silver Plume is a small but busy min- 
 ing town located in a gulch with but little 
 level ground. The name is derived from 
 a beautiful waterfall in the creek. Mines 
 are on all sides, the dumps frouj which 
 spread themselves out like fans on the 
 mountain sides. We did not stop but 
 continued on to Graymout, four ujiles 
 farther on, at the foot of Gray's Peak, 
 from which it derives its name, with bare 
 mountains projecting all ar.)und. It was 
 formerly called Bakerville and consists of 
 a new frame hotel of fair size for this 
 place, but of rough construction, a frame 
 house, a log stable, a shingle mill, etc., 
 and is the terminus of the road. It is the 
 resort of visitors and those con (em plating 
 an ascent of the peak. We spent the 
 afternoon and night here and had ar- 
 ranged with the liveryman for horses to 
 go up the i)eak in the niorniiisr, but the 
 serious illness of Mrs. B., which canje on 
 suddenly, forced us to abandon it and 
 seek a place where, should the illness be 
 protracted, we should have medical ser- 
 vice and other comforts. So we left on 
 the first train next (iay. The high alti- 
 tude was probably the cause of the illness. 
 Graymount is 20()() feet above Georgetown, 
 eight miles away and nearly 11,000 feet 
 above sea level. 
 
 Gray's Peak is 14,441 feet high, the sec- 
 ond in height in Colorado, and is called 
 the Dome of the Continent. The ascent 
 is made by carri:tge to Kelso Cabin, the 
 limit of timber, where the horses are un- 
 hitched and saddled, for the carriage road 
 now merges in a narrow trail, which 
 winds arout)d several hills and then goes 
 towards the top by winding round the 
 peak. Togo straight up would be im- 
 possible. To have failed to reach the 
 peak was to us a great disappointment. 
 The openings of mines are seen all around 
 and it makes one wonder how Iheniineis 
 can get to them or get ore away from 
 them, they seem to be in such inaccessi- 
 ble places. The night spent at Graymont 
 was the tnost uncomfortable of our trip. 
 Our sense of security was considerably 
 
 shaken, though probably without cause. 
 The partitions in the hotel were only 
 of boards covered with muslin to con- 
 ceal the cracks; our next neighbors 
 were somewhat noisy and individuals 
 with dogs in the bar room were appar- 
 ently up all night, which with loud 
 talking and barking, made us feel un- 
 comfortable in this lonely and elevated 
 part of the country. A huge tire was 
 built outside the house and we did not 
 know how carefully it was managed nor 
 for what purpose it was intended. It was, 
 however, very cold here. 
 
 Clear Creek Canon is from end to end a 
 panorama of grandeur and sultlimity, 
 with towering walls 3000 feet high in 
 some places. It is a place all tourists 
 should visit. Clear Creek, which plunges 
 throuiih it from its beginning near Gray- 
 mont to near Denver, with a fall of over 
 5000 feet is by no means clear. It is at one 
 time crystal waters and milk-white foam, 
 have become muddied of various colors, 
 so to continue while man with pick and 
 drill, penetrates its mountain sides, for all 
 this color is from the washings from 
 stampers and gulches. We return to 
 Denver, leaving behind with regret these 
 wonders to which I have allucied, for a 
 complete descrii)tion is almost impossible. 
 
 Time is flying and there are many 
 ujiles and many things to claim ouratten- 
 tion as we chase the sun towards its set- 
 ting. 
 
 From Denver northward to Cheyenne 
 we pass over the western edge of the 
 desert, with the mountains on the left. 
 We follow the South Platte to within a 
 short distance of Greely, where the river 
 is crossed, and arrive at Cheyenne, one 
 hundred and six miles from Denver, in 
 the evening. The country is flat and 
 only cultivated where irrigation is carried 
 on. Greely is nicely located, has a popu- 
 lation of l)etween 3,000 and 4,000, and 
 surrounded by well-kept farms. Chey- 
 enne, in Wyomiiiij Territory, on the 
 main line of the U. P. R. R. Ave hun- 
 dred and sixteen miles from Omaha 
 and of 0,038 feet elevation, has a popula- 
 titui of six thousand. It is a l)Usy place, 
 beginning oriyinally as a point of distri- 
 bution to the mining and stock districts 
 of Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, 
 etc., which it still is, and besides is an 
 important railroad and stock centre. At 
 Ch« yenne we took supper, changed cars 
 and' in a sleeper continued our journey 
 towards Ogden. We are still cl'ml)ing to 
 tlie backb 'lie of the continent, passing 
 through narrow canons, and curiously- 
 shapedrocks on each side. One in par- 
 ticular near Sherman is called the Hippo- 
 potamusRock, consisting of an irregu- 
 larly oblong mass representing the body 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 23 
 
 resting upon several smaller ones repre- 
 senting the legs and feetof the ungainly 
 and unwieldy animal after which it has 
 betn named. All this is upon an eleva- 
 ted rock platform which resembles huge 
 masonry. 
 
 Sherman, thirty-three miles from Chey- 
 enne, at an elevation of 8,235 feet, is 
 reached before dark. It is the highest 
 point of the Union Pacific railroad, and 
 indeed the highest on this transconti- 
 nental line. On a sign a short distance 
 from the station are the words, "Summit 
 of the Rocky Mountains." Just beyond 
 Sherman we saw the monument erected 
 to Oakes and Oliver Ames, who were 
 chiefly instrumental in bringing this 
 railroad to completion. It is a pyramid 
 of granite 65 feet high and 60 feet square 
 at the base, and is marked by medallion 
 busts of each of these gentlemen. Dale 
 Creek Bridge, west of Sherman two miles, 
 is built of iron, 600 feet long, over a chasm 
 130 feet deep. It has rather a delicate 
 appearance, but is a very substantial 
 structure. We enter upon the great 
 Laramie Plains, which are 40 by 100 miles 
 in extent, of fine grazing country, but to 
 the eastern traveler there are here few 
 views except the mountain ranges in the 
 distance which charm the eye. On these 
 plains are pastured many herds of horses, 
 mules and cattle, in numbers that seem 
 almost incredible. These herds do not 
 require shelter and the natural grass is 
 accessible nearly the whole year, there 
 being only a few days each year that it is 
 entirely covered with snow. We also 
 noticed the great number of windmills or 
 rather winti-pumps which supply the 
 water at the railway statioiis and at other 
 points for euttle and like wants. 
 
 Night closes over the scene and we re- 
 tire, and in the morning look longer for 
 the sun than we did on the eastern slope 
 for we are descending towardsthe Pacific, 
 though t!>ere are steep grades to climb 
 and elevations to be crossed over before 
 we see its waters. The Wind river, Medi- 
 cine Bow and Snowy ranges of mountains 
 are in the distance and seen from the 
 ri>ad, and as we ap[)roacii Utah tlie 
 Uintah range comes into view. The 
 country grows more barren and seems to 
 produce nothing but sage brush. The 
 eyi' tires of it and the attention is turned 
 to other matters such as reading, talking 
 or slt-eping, lor tlioiigh crossing the 
 Rocky mountains, you would wonder 
 that tiiey could lie so named, for there is 
 not that roughness that you are led to ex- 
 pect. It is the high altitude that we are 
 on, and tije proximity of snow-capped 
 mountains which give indication that we 
 are crossing the back-bone of the conti- 
 nent. Sage brush is a small shrub of 
 
 varying height from six inches to three 
 or four feet, with narrow oval leaves, of a 
 sage-green color, sometimes yellowish 
 and having a slightly aromatic odor. It 
 grows in little l)unches, and generally 
 where no timber is to be seen. It is use- 
 less except that sheep, deer and antelope 
 feed upon it, because there is nothing else 
 to eat when they are in the sage-l)rush 
 region. 
 
 We pass over gullies and by castellated 
 rocks which stand out alone on the plain 
 or run in ranges of a similar character 
 and are from 300 to 1000 feet high. Snow 
 sheds that are continuous for miles and 
 resemble tunnels lined with timbers, 
 there being at regular intervals apertures 
 for the admission of light ; sometimes 
 they stand out clear, at others they are 
 built against the mountain side with 
 timbers, one would suppose equal .to any 
 force which could be applied to them, 
 but they are often carried away bodily. 
 Fire trains are kept at various points 
 loaded with water tanks, hose, etc., to be 
 conveyed to any point where the sheds 
 may be attacked by the devouring ele- 
 ment. Great care is required for under 
 the summer's sun and no rain for weeks, 
 these sheds become dried and are almost 
 like tinden in their tendency to inflame. 
 Snow fences are also numerous and con- 
 tinuous. They are made of light material 
 with the rails or cross-pieces not very close 
 together, and at certain points consist of 
 several parallel lines from 50 to 100 feet 
 apart. These break the force of the wind 
 when driving the snow and force the lat- 
 ter to drift near the fences and keep it 
 from the track, at least very materially 
 reducing the (piantity. From what we 
 have observed at this season of the year, 
 we would hesitate to cross these wastes in 
 winter, and if we did we would provide 
 ourselves with considerable provision, for 
 sometimes trains are snow bound for days 
 and no eating stations for miles and no 
 means of getting to them. It is related 
 that in the winter of 1871 and 1872 there 
 was a seventeen days snow blockade and 
 deep enough to bury the standing tele- 
 graph poles. 
 
 Besides the stations, which are gener- 
 ally most insignificant, often consisting of 
 not more than two or three houses and 
 very often often of only a side track, we 
 saw' what are known as "dug-outs" in 
 wliicli live miners, herdsmen and even 
 families. They are built by digging out 
 a cellar, raising a low side wall of turf 
 covered with timber and earth. They 
 are sometimes very capacious for that 
 kind of building and very comfortable, 
 for they are almost impervious to cold 
 and are in little danger of collapse from 
 the fierce winds which sweep these 
 
24 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 heights. Sod houses are also made where 
 that material can be obtained, and are 
 comfortable, that is, for this section. 
 They would be regarded in the east as 
 scarcely tit for beasts. 
 
 Creston, seven hundred and thirty- 
 eight miles from Omaha and 7,030 feet 
 above sea level, is so called because it is 
 near the divide. It consists of a telegraph 
 station, side tracks and a section house. 
 Three miles west is the summit or divide, 
 from which the waters pass to the east 
 and west respectively, though this place 
 is 1122 feet lower than Sherman. Here is 
 desolation ; there seems to be no living 
 thing, animal or vegetable. The elements 
 have here free play and appear to do so 
 to the detriment of everything, even the 
 ground over which they move. The view 
 a short distance fronj here is one of the 
 most extensive in this section and is esti- 
 mated at about two hundred miles. This 
 is the "Continental Divide." 
 
 We pass on over alkali plains upon 
 which nothing grows. The dust enters 
 the cars to the great annoyaice of eyes 
 and nose, for it is very irritant. Biiter 
 Creek, which passes through a valley of 
 the same name, is so called l)ecause its 
 water is impregnated with alkali, which 
 renders it almost useless. Some of the 
 scenery in this valley reminds us of s(tme 
 in Colorado, only they are not so great. 
 The country for miles each way is under- 
 laid with coal, the seams coming to the 
 aurface very frequently; it is of good 
 quality and easily min*^d. Rock Springs, 
 eight hundred and thirty-one miles from 
 Omaha, is the great coal depot on the 
 Union Pacitic Railroad, and is a great dis- 
 tributing point of tills great necessity, 
 which is said to be of superior quality, 
 second only to anthracite; it is called 
 "lignite." 
 
 We next come to Green River Valley 
 througii which pas-ses Green River. Green 
 River station is a dining station, and 
 when the surrounding country is taken 
 into consideration, om- would naturally 
 expect that provisions, etc., would be 
 scarce, and the prospect of a square meal 
 would l)e very scanty, liut I assure you 
 an iigreeable surprise awaits all who tr^- 
 the fare. This and other eating stations 
 along the road are owned and managed 
 l>y the railroad company, and they make 
 elegant and lil)eral provision. This is 
 necessary in a desert country like this, 
 and dining cars are not on all trains. 
 Almost all the provisions have to be 
 brcnight to these pla(;es from more or less 
 remote points on the road, and it is to the 
 interest of the company that they should 
 be good and in plenty ami not extrava- 
 giinl in price. 
 
 The Green River Valley is curious and 
 
 interesting. It abounds with fossils and 
 muss agates, but is otherwise barren. 
 Stratified rocks of strange shapes and 
 great size abound, with impressions of 
 fossil-tish, jilauts and insects at every 
 clearage. The Twin Sisters, two ma.sses 
 of rock, probably 200 feet high and 50 feet 
 at the base, standing alone on a little 
 knoll ; Castle Rock, high up on a bluff, 
 resembling the tower of a castle ; Giant's 
 Club, 250 feet high, standing alone with 
 almost perpendicular sides, isclub-shaiied 
 and is smaller towards the base than at 
 the top, and is likened to a club with its 
 handle stuck in th»'ground. The Giant's 
 Teapot is of the same material as the 
 club, but not by any means so high. It 
 stands on a knoll and resembles the old- 
 fashioned four sided China teapot, hav- 
 ing a projection like a s^ont l)Ut no 
 handle. Green River Valley is surround- 
 ed by bluft's of the same material as the 
 rocks just mentioned. The road follows 
 one side at a considerable elevation above 
 the river's bed. It was once a lake of 
 considerable dimensions and the whole 
 area shows evidence of water washings. 
 
 Red Canon is passed through, with 
 sides rising to a height of 8000 feet and 
 very grand. We now enter tlie valley ot 
 Black's Fork, which is located in the 
 Uintah mountains and is full of beauti- 
 ful scenery, cones, and bultis variously 
 named arising on all sides, which, under 
 the influence of the elements, are grad- 
 ually melting away. The site of Bear 
 River City is passed, iind the only evi- 
 dences of a once lively town, founded in 
 1868, are the head-boards of graves con- 
 taining the bodies of some of its early but 
 very rough settlers. At Evanstown. 
 nine hundred .iiid fifty-seven miles from 
 Omaha, we find a small but flourishing 
 town, having a round-house, car and 
 machine shops, with coal and lumber in- 
 terests of consideral)le ujagnitude. It has 
 also an eating station where elegant meals 
 are served to travellers, Chinese waiters 
 in t heir native costumes wailing upon the 
 tables. There is (juite a conimunity here 
 of these Chinese and their (luarter is 
 called (Jhinalown, »vbere they have their 
 Joss House and other buildings peculiar 
 to these people. 
 
 From here we-^tward we get among the 
 Mormons. They are |)rincipally farmers 
 in this vicinity and are to be found in all 
 directions, from one to two hundred 
 miles north, east, south, and west of Salt 
 Ijake City. We leave Wyoming and at 
 Wahsatch we are at the approach to the 
 famous Echo Canon in Utah. This canon 
 is full of wonders. Catliedral and Castle 
 Rocks, hundreds of feet high, and along- 
 side of which ordinary habitations are 
 but ant hills; Hangir.g Rock projecting 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 25 
 
 many feet from the mass to which it is 
 attached and threatening to fall ; Senti- 
 nel Rock standing erect and alone on a 
 bluff as a sentinel on duty ; Witch's 
 Rocks and Bottles, turreted and flask 
 like; Egyptian Tombs, resembling at 
 first sight the exteriors of those wonder- 
 ful excavated rock tombs found along the 
 Nile in Egypt; Pulpit Rock high above 
 Echo Creek, which resembles a pulpit, 
 and it is traditionally said that sermons 
 have been delivered from it (perhaps they 
 were "sermons in stones") ; Monument 
 Rock, standing like a high, time-worn 
 and lightning-shattered obelisk, marking 
 an epoch in the earth's pre-historic ex- 
 istence. These are but a part of the many 
 curious forms, and convey but little idea 
 of the ruggedness and grandeur of this 
 canon, with its red sandstone and con- 
 glomerate walls, cliffs, and ledges, from a 
 few hundred to a thousand feet high. In 
 this canon we pass a number of stations 
 and small towns, but they are insignifi- 
 cant and of no interest. 
 
 From Echo Canon we pass on and enter 
 Weber Canon, traversed by Weber river. 
 The rocks are dark gray and present 
 somewhat different features from those of 
 Echo. The mountains on each side, 
 while very high, do not have nearly such 
 perpendicular faces. The Thousand Mile 
 Tree is here with a sign hanging to it in- 
 dicating the fact ; it is one tbousand miles 
 from Omaha. Now this tree has nothing 
 to boast of except that it occupies this 
 place and is the largest of any of the trees 
 in the neighborhood, and that is saying 
 very little for it. It stands alone near the 
 track and is always noticed by the pas- 
 sengers in the trains. 
 
 The Devil's Slide, a short distance from 
 the Thousand Mile Tree, and on the op- 
 posite side of the canon, is tnade up of two 
 peipendicular and parallel masses of 
 granite, projecting a number of feelabove 
 the surface level of the side of the ujoun- 
 taiu to which they are attached. Tliey 
 are about fourteen feet apart, and eight 
 hundred feet long, and extend from near 
 the top of the njountain to the edge of the 
 river; the space between the walls con- 
 stitutes the slide. It is a very rough slide 
 and it is not known whether his satanic 
 majesty turned eastward or westward 
 when he arrived at the bottom. We think, 
 however, that he devoted con.siderable 
 time to the east, and when Mexico turned 
 this country over to Uncle Sam he hied 
 himself back towards the Pacific. The 
 early history of the west points conclu- 
 sively 1o such an action. He has stopped 
 sliding, iiowever, unless in some of the 
 wild storms and in the dead of night he 
 indulges in this pastime, as Hendriek 
 tfudsou and his crew, covered with bar- 
 
 nacles and sea weeds, amused themselves 
 in rolling ten pins in the Catskills wlien 
 wind and rain were most furious, thunder 
 the loudest and lightning the brightest; 
 and if you don't believe it go and hear 
 what Joe Jefferson says about Rip Van 
 Winkle. As the slide still remains 1 
 think he must be not far away, and be- 
 sides, Devil'sGatemustbe pa.ssed through 
 before we can reach Ogden. It is just 
 beyond and is a rough aiid rugged open- 
 ing in the mountains ; the pass to which 
 it leads is very grand. The old wagon 
 road used in the overland transit is seen 
 cut from the solid rock, for there is no 
 other level space over which wagons 
 could be drawn. 
 
 Before entering Devil's Gate we were 
 shown, far ofi' in the mountain top, holes 
 in the rocks, whicii projected. They ap- 
 peared no larger than a l>at yet we were 
 assured they were several feet in diameter. 
 They are sa'id to have been caused by the 
 winds, but for this we cannot vt/uch. The 
 The light is seen passing through them, 
 which proves them to be complete per- 
 forations. Leaving Weber Canon we 
 passed over a number of bridges and 
 through tunnels. We are ushered into 
 the Great Sail Lake Basin, once covered 
 by water, afterward a desert, but by man 
 converted into a fertile and productive 
 country, h conditioi\ which might be 
 brought about in many parts of the deso- 
 late and barren country through which 
 we have passed. Artesian wells are bored 
 here and there for the convenience of the 
 railroad company, but more of these, with 
 their water conducted over the land 
 would enable it to be cultivated with 
 profit. In all probability this will be 
 done, as also the utilizing of streams, 
 which now only follow their beds, but by 
 dams, pumps and flumes, they may be 
 made to serve man's [lurpose to his com- 
 fort and profit and make the country use- 
 ful and beautiful. 
 
 Following the Weber River we arrive 
 at Ogden early iu the evening, having 
 been iwenty-fo'ur hours on the rail. Here 
 we took supper and at 7 p. m. left for Salt 
 Lake City, where we arrived an hour 
 later, and stopped at the Continental 
 Hotel. Early to bed for good rest we 
 arose in the nioruing refreshed, and im- 
 mediately got ready to do this most won- 
 derful of "the western cities, founded under 
 most peculiar circumstances and prosper- 
 ing under influences regarded to be most 
 demoralizing. Here is the centre of the 
 Mormon world. This city lies upon a 
 plain in the valley of the Jordan River 
 (which is part of the Great Salt Lake 
 Basin) having the Wahsatch mountains 
 rising on the east and just behind it, with 
 the river on the west. This is an oasis 
 
26 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 in the desert and was commenced in July, 
 1847, by the Mormons from Missouri, 
 under the leadership of Brighara Young. 
 The city is laid out in rectangular plots 
 of ten acres each, with wide streets, hav- 
 ing long rows of shade trees growing at 
 their curbs. The buildings range irom 
 most imposing stone structures used for 
 public and business purposes, to dwell- 
 ings of stone and wood more or less pre- 
 tentious ; the hotels are large, convenient 
 and well kept, and the visitor is imme- 
 diately struck with the great cleanliness 
 and general good order of the place which- 
 ever way considered. The n)odern con- 
 veniences of water works, gas works, 
 hotel elevators, etc., which are regarded 
 as indispensable in these days, are here 
 adopted in the most approved style. The 
 city government is in the same general 
 form as that of other cities of the same 
 class. 
 
 Armed with letters of introduction we 
 sallied forth to see the city. We first 
 stojiped at the county court house to find 
 the U. S. Surrogate Judge, and failing in 
 this we were referred to the U. S. Court. 
 In goitig there we came upon ex-judge 
 Smith of the Municipal Court. He is an 
 elderly luan, using crutches and is a first 
 cousin of the original Josepli Suiith, of 
 Nauvoo fame, and founder of Mormon- 
 ism. We also met Mr. Cannon, brother 
 of Geo. Q. Cannon, who was sent to Con- 
 gress as representative of the territory in 
 that body, but was rejected because he 
 had three wives. We liad a very pleas- 
 ant talk with these and other dignitaries 
 of the church and from them we obtained 
 considerable iuforn)ation ; their courtesy 
 will be long remembered. We had been 
 infornjed that Mormons could be identi- 
 fied as such anywhere, particularly the 
 females; but we saw nothing to indicate 
 a distinguishing feature from Catholic, 
 p]piseopalian or ottier sect, and to this our 
 newly made acquaintances rather humor- 
 ously alluded. We had also been told 
 that the hatred v)f the Mormons for the 
 Gentiles was such that the churches, 
 halls, etc., of other than the Mormon de- 
 noniination were broken into and their 
 windows and interiorsdestroyed l>y them, 
 and the inmates interfered with. Our 
 new friends called attention to the 
 churches in view from where we were 
 talking and we did not see anything but 
 evidences of peace and good order. Per- 
 sonal violence in the direction of perse- 
 cution was in no wise indicated, but these 
 gentlemen when asked whether other 
 than Mormons could purchase property 
 and obtain clear titles, said that tbey 
 could, l)Ut that where there were two ap- 
 plicants, one a Mormon the other a Gen- 
 tile, the former would receive the pref- 
 
 erence, for they knew what kind of a 
 neighbor he would be and how tar to de- 
 pend on him in the administration of 
 municipal affairs. We were kindly 
 directed as to objects of interest, even giv- 
 ing us assistance by personal ititeiition. 
 Others to whom we were not introduced 
 were not less kind, not saying, "Go this 
 way or that," but "Come this way and I 
 will show you." These volunteered at- 
 tentions stamp these people as among the 
 most courteous to strangers that we have 
 ever met. 
 
 Tiie Tabernacle would be a wonder in 
 any part of the country, but here it is 
 more wonderful, when the disad vanluges 
 of time and place of building are consid- 
 ered. It is unlike any other building in 
 the United States so far as we know. It 
 is like a large inverted oval l)asin su|>- 
 ported on forty-four sandstcuie })illars, 
 three by nine feet in size and from four- 
 teen to twenty feet high. The building is 
 two hundred and fifty feet long, one hun- 
 dred and fifty feet wide and seventy feet 
 from the fioor to the highest part of the 
 ceiling; the roof is ten feet higher. This 
 immense douje is said to be the largest 
 self supporting arch in America, with one 
 exception. There are no pillars except 
 those which suppoit the whole at tlie 
 edge. A gallery extends around three 
 sides of tlie interior and is thirty feet 
 wide. The seats are not upholstered and 
 arranged as in churches generally ; the 
 pulpit is placed at some distance from one 
 end. so as to enableall to hear the speaker; 
 behind this is the organ, the largest on 
 the western slope, retjuiring four blowers, 
 and is said to be very fine. The sealing 
 capacity is ten thousand with standing 
 room for several thousand more. The 
 immense ceiling is festooned throughout 
 with evergreens, and presents a very at- 
 tractive appearance. The accoustic prop- 
 erties ot this building are remarkable. 
 From the pulpit a speakei in an ordinary 
 tone of voice, even in a whisper, can be 
 heard in any |)art of the building, and 
 better far away than very near to the 
 speaker. A piu (not a spike) dropped 
 into a hat upon the pulpit can also be 
 heard. These points were demonstrated 
 to us by the kindness of our conductor. 
 In this building are held the Sunday ser- 
 vices in summer, l)Ut as there are no pro- 
 visions for heating, services in winter are 
 held in an adjoining building. The Tab- 
 ernacle is built almost entirely of native 
 material, even to the furniture and organ, 
 the shingles on the roof also having been 
 made in Salt Lake City. It is enclosed 
 by a high wall made of cobble or round 
 river stones and mortar. The New Tem- 
 ple on the same block and within the 
 sameenclosureas the Tabernacle, is an im- 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE eONTINENT. 
 
 posing buildingofgrauite, smooth dressed, 
 one hundred and eighty-six and alialf feel 
 north and south and ninety-nine feet east 
 and west ; the walls are seven and eight 
 feet thick and very durahle. This huild- 
 ing was commenced in 1853 and is slill 
 incomplete. 
 
 The Edowment house is a large build- 
 ing in the Tabernacle enclosure in which 
 marriages are consecrated, and the people 
 both men and women, undergo certain 
 secret ceremonial services by which they 
 become sealed to each other or to Heaven. 
 The performances in this place have been 
 regarded by some as barbarous and grossly 
 indelicate, but of this we can not say. The 
 Tithing House in the same enclosure, is 
 the depository of tithes paid by the Mor- 
 mons for the benefit of the church, and 
 consist of money, merchandize, grain, 
 cattle and other products; those who 
 have not material tithes to contribute 
 give an equiva eut in labor. The articles 
 thus collected are either given in pay- 
 ment to those employed to do any work 
 for the church, or they are converted into 
 money, and that is used to pay ; and it is 
 also dispensed in charity, for this church 
 organization is a large and powerful cor- 
 poration with many enterprises other 
 than religious religious, and beggary is 
 not permitted. 
 
 The residence of Brigham Young is 
 quite imposing. Here he lived, had his 
 offices, gave his orders and received visi- 
 tors, and those having busiifess with him. 
 Adjoining is a row of houses in which he 
 kept his numerous wives. Amelia Palace, 
 a tine building, was erected for his prin- 
 cipal wife, Amelia, but he did not live to 
 see it completed. We visited these places. 
 Brigham Young died August 29th, 1877, 
 and is buried on his place near by, which 
 is reached by passing through the Eagle 
 Gateway, the arch of which extended 
 over the street and was surmoun(ed by an 
 eagle. The arch is nowjdowu, but the 
 stone pillars which su|)ported it still re- 
 main. The ground where he is laid con- 
 tains his vault, cut out of solid granite, 
 and the slab covering his body is bolted 
 dt>wn. Around this spot is an ornamen- 
 tal iron fence six feet high; the whole 
 plot is surrounded by a wall eighteen 
 inches high surmounted by an iron fence 
 four feet high. This is the shrine which 
 all good Mormons visit ; 'tis the Mormon 
 Kaba and Salt Lake City is the Mormon 
 Mecca. Other buildings as Social Hall, 
 Salt Lake Theatre, City Hall, Council 
 House, hotels, churches of various relig- 
 ious denominations, etc., are of very sub- 
 stantial construction and some of them 
 are of tine architecture. 
 
 Z. M. C. I, Zion's Mutual Co-operative 
 Institution, under the control of the chief 
 
 Mormon officers, combines the manufac- 
 ture, purchase and sale of nearly all 
 articles necessary for the people ; branch 
 houses are to l)e found in all of the lartit'r 
 Mormon towns. Tlie l)uilding in Salt 
 Lake City is very large and is known as 
 the "Big Co'op." It is well s'ored with 
 goods. At this time an inventory of stock 
 was being taken and the doors wt-re closed 
 to all comers. The motto of this institu- 
 tion is "Holiness to the Lord," derived 
 from the Bible and su|)posed to have a 
 specific meaning here. Business is al.so 
 carried cm hy others than Mt)rmoiis, but 
 Mormons prefer to patronize those of their 
 own faith. 
 
 About three miles east of the i-ity on 
 the Wahsatch mountains is Camp or 
 Fort Douglass, overlook ing the city. This 
 belongs to and is {garrisoned by the 
 United States. We did not visit it though 
 courteously invited to do so hy an officer 
 whom we met. With Mr. Werner, 
 United States Surrogate Judge, we made 
 a call upon the governor of Utah. This 
 position was formerly tilled by Brigham 
 Young. Desirous of knowing more of 
 the Mormons than we could learn in the 
 east, we made a visit to the Deseret Pul)- 
 lishing Company and purclia.-ed lheBo(»k 
 of Mormon (wliich is tlie Mormon Bil:)le) 
 and sundry other works containing the 
 Articles of Faith, etc. With minds more 
 or less prejudiced against the Mormons 
 we were quite dis(!omtitted on finding 
 their api)arent frankness, extreme affa- 
 bility, and earnest endeavor to correct 
 what they claim to l>e false statement as 
 to their government, their creed and their 
 treatment of Gentiles. A short synopsis 
 of their history may not be uninterest- 
 iiio'. 
 
 Joseph Smith the founder and known 
 as "The Prophet" was l)orn in Vermont 
 in Decen.l)er, 1805. His father was a 
 farmer and able to trive his son only a 
 meagre common school education. When 
 ten years old his parents removed to Pal- 
 myra, New York. The religious influence 
 surrounding him was of the Presbyterian 
 creed. When about fifteen years old, 
 being dissatisfied with the doctrines of 
 this and other denominations, he was 
 prompted by a scripture text to seek the 
 Lord in his own way, so retiring to a 
 grove he commenced praying and then 
 had a vision of two angels who assured 
 him bis sins were forgiven and that the 
 different denominations were not ac- 
 knowledged of God as Hi.s church and 
 kingdom, but that in the fullness of time 
 he should receive the true creed. Telling 
 his experience to others he was by them 
 subjected to persecution which continued. 
 In 1823 he had another vision and visita- 
 tion by a bright angel setting forth that 
 
28 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 the time was approaching for the gospel 
 to be preached preparatory to the secoud 
 coming of the Messiati, and that he was 
 the chosen one to hriug about some of tlie 
 purposes of this dispensation. He was 
 also informed that certain records of tiie 
 ancient Hebrew propliets were(u)nc'ealed, 
 but tnat by God's direction he shouKi dis- 
 cover them. The vision was twice re- 
 newed tijut same night and also the next 
 day while in the field. He immediately 
 started to the spot where tlie angel said 
 these records were, which spot lie imme- 
 diately recognized near Manchester, 
 Ontario county, N. Y. Here he found 
 certain metallic plates variously inscribed 
 in an unknown tongue with a key to de- 
 cipher the same. He did not remove 
 them until four years suL)se(juenlly, as 
 he was oraered by the angel. The plates 
 constituted the original Book of Mormon. 
 After he had obtainea them, the persecu- 
 tion waxed stronged, so that bis life was 
 in danger. In consecjuence of this he left 
 for Pennsylvania, packing the jiiates in a 
 barrel of beans to preserve them from 
 seizure, for an endeavor had been made 
 to take them, and in tliis State he com- 
 menced his translation of them whicii 
 was published in 1830; this edition is 
 scarce and costly. Tlie translation of the 
 title of tile book as taken from the plate 
 having equivalent cbaraoter.s is as follows, 
 "The Book of Mormon, an Ac^count 
 Written by the hand of Mormon, upon 
 Plates, taken from the Plates of Nepni." 
 He continued to have visions and visita- 
 tions, and having a few who believed in 
 his S{)ecial election to serve God's pur- 
 poses, they organized the "Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." 
 Persecutions by mobs and individuals 
 continued and they went to Kirtland, 
 Ohio, and subsequently to Missouri and 
 Illinois, establishing on the prairies a 
 number of thriving settlements. Every- 
 where they were the recipients of the 
 same attentions that they received in 
 New York, causing their migration. 
 Growing in power and wealth, their in- 
 fluence WHS wanted in politics, wliich 
 the political parties failed to obtain. Sol- 
 diers were even arrayed against them and 
 many were arrested ; others were shot 
 down in the streets. Joseph Smith was 
 taken from jail in Carthage, Illinois, and 
 murdered liy the soldiery, J une 27, 1844. 
 Martyrdom iii time past was horrible, 
 but tliat such should be in the United 
 States in the nineteenth century is cer- 
 tainly a blot upon our history. This 
 martyrdom of Jos. Snjith seems to have 
 been liallowed by the divine presence if 
 the statementsrelativelheretoare correct. 
 Plyruin Smith, an elder brother of .Joseph, 
 was also murdered in the Cartljage jail on 
 
 the same date. 
 
 The Saints selected Brigbani Young, 
 an apostle, as successor t<t Smith in tlie 
 presidency of tlie organization. They 
 settled in the western part of Mi.-souri in 
 some three or four counties, nonli, east, 
 and south of where Kansas City now 
 stands. Here, just as tliey t lioujilit t In m- 
 selves secure, the spirit of intolerance 
 arose and they were actually given notice 
 to leave the country uiKler penalty of de- 
 struction of property and lile. Brighaiii 
 Young conceived tlie idea of going to- 
 ward the Pacific Ocean with his people, 
 where in territory not under the domin- 
 ion of the United Stales lie would eslab- 
 lisha new Jerusalem Ibr bis people, wheie 
 they might organize and worship God 
 without iiindrunce, 
 
 Brigham Young svas a Yankee of the 
 Methodist denomination. He was a man 
 of extraordinary power, which be wielded 
 over his willing sulijects; his manage- 
 ment and foresight were marvellous. 
 Polygamy had been secretiy introduced 
 after liie patriarchal manner, and though 
 not kindly received by all, was said to be 
 necessary to please God ; besides as all 
 new organizations ami colonies get a vast 
 deal of their strengtli from the young, 
 the begetting of children was ingeniously 
 made a religious obligation, and its fail- 
 ure was a sore trial to the deluded men 
 and woman who lielieved thai their posi- 
 tion in heaven depended upon their 
 ol)edience of the command, "Be fruitful 
 and multiply." 
 
 The western states, into which the 
 Mormons first emigrated, were but thinly 
 settled. Illinois was but a young state, 
 and Missouri was on the t'rinilier. In 
 these two states numerous persons resided 
 whose presence in the east had tiecome 
 intolerable liy violation of the laws or 
 other repreheiisibleai,-ts, and they preferred 
 to take up new quarters at points more or 
 less remote from the scenes of their of- 
 fences and escape the punishment they 
 merited. Many of these allied them- 
 selves with the new organization, prob- 
 ably on account of its novelty or to more 
 thoroughly (-onceal their identity, con- 
 tributing very materially to its success 
 prior to and during the exodus to the 
 Pacific slope. They were courageous, 
 daring, loved adventure, cured not for 
 hardsiiip, and a better opportunity for 
 demonstration could not have ottered. 
 
 Brigham Young managed these with a 
 firmness amounting almost to military 
 discipline and with a success wh'cli must 
 command respect and excite astonish- 
 ment. Without any definite place in 
 view, but with faces turned toward the 
 setting sun, Brigham Young at the head 
 of one hundred and forty-three persons 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT 
 
 20 
 
 and a wagon train, set out from Indepen- 
 dence, Missouri, aud adjacent places and 
 proceeded over the plains which were 
 known only to hunters, traders aud 
 Indians, and part of which was an 
 almost trackless desert. This was April 
 14, 1847. This band experienced trials in 
 this expedition which would be horrible 
 to relate ; huuger aud thirst affecting 
 both human and brute; ludi ns, when 
 not on the war path, harrassed them by 
 their thieving disposition ; untravelled 
 passes in the Rocky Mountains, narrow 
 and dangerous trails made by man or 
 animals, a journey probably more exten- 
 sive than that of the forty years wander- 
 ing of the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai 
 after the Egyptian captivity, and prob- 
 ably fuller of adventure and suffering. 
 But with an object in view, fostered with 
 a belie, in a divine mission, these people 
 nmrmured but little, if at all, and when 
 they came within a few days march of 
 wiiere Salt Lake City is now located, a 
 small aud trusly band was sent ahead, 
 who like Caleb and Joshua of old, were 
 to spy out the land and make early re- 
 port. 
 
 On the 22d of July, Orson Pratt and the 
 small company of which he was the head 
 from the mountains discovered the valley 
 .vhere they subsequently settled. After 
 riding through it they returned and re- 
 ported to the main body. Two days later 
 the whole party entered the valley with 
 praise and thanksgiving to God, for here 
 they saw the promised land. Dire must 
 have been their distress that they should 
 have been thus gladdened at this linje; 
 the land did not bear grapes of great size, 
 for there were no vinesr;, nor did the land 
 flow with milk and honey for there were 
 neither cattle, flowers nor bees. The land 
 was gently sloping toward a river in the 
 valley, the valley several miles in width 
 and surrounded by high mountains. The 
 land was a barren waste, it was a desert 
 without shrub or blade of grass, but mul- 
 titudes of large black bugs had possession 
 of the place. However they felt them- 
 selves beyond the reach of their persecu- 
 tors and they were happy. 
 
 On the28(h of July they laid off the 
 plan of the present city of Salt Lake, two 
 niiles square, with streets eight rods wide 
 and blocks erf ten acres each, the lines 
 running due east and west, north and 
 south. This they called "Zion" and pro- 
 ceeded to erect such slielter as they could, 
 adopted some njeans of defence against 
 the Indians, and settled down to stay. 
 They prepared the ground and planted 
 seed which they had brought with them, 
 and by irrigation they eventually got a 
 good crop. A large number, among them 
 Brigham Young, retraced their steps to 
 
 Missouri to bear glad tidingis nf the New 
 ('auaaii to their families and friends, and 
 take them tliere, where they arrived the 
 last of October, 1847, having juiich of the 
 same experieiures »)f the first expedition, 
 except that the way was known, an(i 
 places of extreme dirticulty avoided where 
 possible. Brigham Young reluniKl t<i 
 Salt Lake the next year, with the re- 
 mainder of the people and such others as 
 had recently adopted their taith and cast 
 their lot amongst then:, when all went 
 actively to work to build and cultivate. 
 The blocks of ten acres each constituted 
 wards, to each of which was assigned an 
 elder who became the guardian of and ac- 
 countable for all which transpired upon 
 it, niaking daily reports to liead(jiiarlers. 
 A temporary tabernacle hiul been erected 
 (or worship. In order to extend the in- 
 fluence and power of the organization set- 
 tlements were estal)lislied in adjacent 
 parts of the country, but all triluitary to 
 liie central power at Salt Lake City. 
 Brigham Young apparently designed es- 
 tablishing a Mormon kingdom. 
 
 When Brigham Young took jiossession 
 of the country "in the name of the Lord" 
 the country belonged to Mexico, but in 
 March, 1848, the territory which includes 
 almost all the pre-ent states and terri- 
 tories from the Rocky mountains to the 
 Pacific Ocean, was ceded to the United 
 States. He, however, paid no attention 
 to this, and in March, 1849, tlie Saints 
 met in convention and organized "A free 
 and independent government by the 
 name of ttie state of Deseret." This in- 
 cluded nearly all tlie territory west of the 
 Rockies. Brigham Young soon after 
 sent a delegate to Washington avowedly 
 to open negotiations looking to the admis- 
 sion of Deseret into the Union; but the 
 tone lie assumed, we learn, was as that of 
 a representative of a foreign power de- 
 manding recognition. To this Congress 
 paid no attention, but in 18-50 organized 
 the present territory of Utah, making 
 Brigham Young governor, and itisstated 
 that up to the day of his death, the State 
 of Deseret existed de facto, and he its 
 governor, and that the said state exists in 
 spite of the territorial organization ; that 
 Brigham Young as its governor convened 
 its Legislature of thirty-nine Mormon 
 high priests, the same composing the 
 Utah Legislature and which was con- 
 vened immediately after the latter's ad- 
 journment. The saints adopted the policy 
 of seclusion and termed all others than 
 Mormons as Gentiles, and regarded them 
 with the same distrust and hatred as the 
 Jews did the Gentiles of old. 
 
 The gold discovery of California event- 
 ually brought ruiners and others among 
 them, very ujuch to their disgust. They 
 
30 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 have beeu growing aud extending their 
 power, aud that outrages occurred tbere 
 can be no doubt; also flagrant violations 
 of the laws aud customs of our country ; 
 yet tbey have grown in slreugtb and 
 grandeur, and present tbe appearance of 
 being law-abiding, which one might wish 
 was more regarded in the east. Brighaui 
 Young was born in Vermont, June 1st, 
 1801, was received iuto the church of the 
 Latter Day Saints, April 14th, 1832; was 
 elected one of the twelve apostles, Eebru- 
 arv 14th, 1835; led the first pioneer jour- 
 ney to Salt Lake, April 14th, 1847; led 
 the final jouruey of the Saints to Salt 
 Lake, May 26th, 'l848, with 1,891 persons 
 and over six hundre<l wagons, occupying 
 four months in the trip. He was elected 
 president of the church December 24ih, 
 1847 ; was elected govt rnor of the state of 
 Deseret, March 9th, 1849 ; appointed by 
 the United States, governor of Utah and 
 superintendent of Indian affairs, Septeiu- 
 ber 30th, 1850, which he held nearly eight 
 years. He continued president of the 
 church and governor of Deseret until his 
 death, August 29th, 1877. He left seven- 
 teen wives, sixteen sons and twenty-eight 
 daughters, and was the father of fifty- 
 eight children. He was a man who 
 weighed nearly two hundred po luds, had 
 a (arge head, high forehead, was large 
 featured and showed great firmness and 
 determination, which latter character- 
 istics stamps hiiii as one of the remark- 
 able men of his age and without which 
 there probably would have been rebellion, 
 aud certainly Salt Lake City would have 
 beeu nothing as comjiared with ils[)resent 
 condition. 
 
 For the better undersliinding I will 
 here insert the "Articles of Faith, of the 
 Church of Jesus Chrii-t of Latter Day 
 Saints." 
 
 1. We believe in God the Eternal 
 Father, and in his sou Jesus Christ, and 
 in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 2. We believe that men will be punished 
 for their own sins, and not for Adam's 
 transgression. 
 
 3. We believe that through the atone- 
 ment of Clirist, all mankind may he 
 saved, by obedience to the laws aud ordi- 
 nances of the Gospel. 
 
 4. We believe that the.se ordinances 
 are: First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 
 second, repentance; third, baptism by 
 immersion for the remission of sins; 
 fourth, laying on of bauds lor the gift of 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 5 We believe that a man must be called 
 of God by "prophecy and Ity the laying 
 on of hands," by those who are in 
 authority, to preach the Gospel aud ad- 
 minister the ordinances thereof. 
 
 6. We believe iu the same organization 
 
 that existed in the primitive church, viz : 
 apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evim- 
 gelisls, etc.. etc. 
 
 7. We believe in the gift of tongues, 
 prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, in- 
 lerpretaiou of tongues, etc. 
 
 8. We believe the Bible to be tbe Word 
 of God, as far as it is translated correctly. 
 We also believe the Book of Mormon to 
 be the Word of God. 
 
 9. We believe all that God bns revealed 
 and all that He does now reveal, and we 
 believe that He will yet reveal many 
 great and important things pertaining to 
 the Kingdom of God. 
 
 10. We believe in the literal gatherintr 
 of Israel, and in the restoration of the Ten 
 Tribes. That Zion will be buill upon 
 this continent. That Christ will reign 
 personally upon the eartii, and that the 
 earth will be renewed and receive its par- 
 adisical glory. 
 
 11. We claim the privilege of worship- 
 ping Almighty God accor(iing to the dic- 
 tates of our conscience, and allow all men 
 tbe same privilege, let them worship how, 
 where or what tluy may. 
 
 12. We believe in being subject to kings, 
 presideuts, rulers and magistrates, in 
 obeying, honoring aud sustaining the 
 law. 
 
 13. We believe in l)eing honest, true, 
 chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing- 
 good to all men; in<leed we may say that 
 we follow the admonition of Paul, "We 
 believe all things, we hope all things," 
 we have endured many thing.s and hope 
 to be able to endure all things. If there 
 is anything virtuous, lovely or of good 
 report or praiseworthy, we seek after these 
 things. . Joseph Smith. 
 
 It will be seen that the Mormous accept 
 the Bible and New testament as meaning 
 exactly what they say ; they believe in 
 the divinity of Christ, his crucifixion to 
 redeem the wicked world, the necessity 
 of repentance to gain pardon for sin, the 
 boly communion, baptism, and in fai^tall 
 that is regarded as necessary by the most 
 orthodox denomination. How well they 
 live up to the arti(des of their faith we 
 cannot tell; by the whole country they 
 are regarded as monsters of Iniquity. 
 
 They have also adopted the Book of 
 Mormon as second only to the Bible. It 
 is represented as a translation of the platis 
 found by Joseph Smith, being au account 
 of the actions of (tocI among the aborigines 
 of America who were the de.-ceudants of 
 the ten tribes of Israel. The characters 
 ou the plates were said to be reformed 
 Egyptian and a Urim aud Thumim or 
 key found with the plates was u.sed to 
 decipher them. The whole, that is, tbe 
 the preparation of the plates, was by in- 
 spiratiou, their coucealnieut was by 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 ■M 
 
 divine commaud, their discovery and 
 translation was l^)y divine order and 
 revelation to Joseph Sniilh, who was tlie 
 ordained instrument of (Jod to accomplish 
 this work and disseminate the same 
 among all people. The plates were said 
 to have been buried 14UU years. An in- 
 quiry by us as to where they now are 
 elicited the answer that, the aiitjel took 
 them away. We believed just so much 
 as we pleased and our readers may do the 
 sanje. The Book of Mormon is written 
 in the style of Chronicles vjf the Bible, 
 and is a curious production. 
 
 The Mormons have adojjted a high 
 nriesthood of the orders of Aaron and 
 Melchizedek ; aiso apostles, elders, priests, 
 deacons, etc., with particular duties both 
 religious and secular. The intricacies 
 of polygamic faith, the sealing of vvunieii to 
 men txjth dead and alive, the cerenjonies 
 of the endowment house, are such that 
 time only could discover them to the un- 
 initiated and we do not inttnd to dwell 
 upon them here. Polygamy is, however, 
 one of the points which excite the coun- 
 try against them, though, if they main- 
 tain their wives as they lepreseut they do, 
 and do not tulerate adultery and f(Muica- 
 tioM, they certainly are not so much to be 
 condemned. We do not wish to be re- 
 garded as their advocates, but state tlie 
 conditions as we learned them, and our 
 impressions in consequence. 
 
 This synopsis of history and creed is 
 derived principally from li)ooks, etc., 
 which we obtained in 8alt Lake City and 
 from conversations with people there, 
 coupled with our own recollections of 
 the excitement and reports respecting the 
 Mormons more than forty years ago. 
 They have made the land grow grapes 
 and literally flow with milk and honey ; 
 tliey have a land which, when the broad 
 tields of grain are viewed, also numerous 
 herds of cattle, etc., etc., suggestive of 
 comfort and prosperity, will make many, 
 envious of them. Missionaries are in var- 
 ious parts of the worbi, as Anjerica, 
 Europe and even Australia preaching tlie 
 doctrines of Mormonism and inviting 
 proselytes to the Zion in the Desert beside 
 the waters of the Jordan, which eflbrts 
 are not wholly fruitless. John Taylor 
 succeeded Biigham Young in the presi- 
 dency of the church and still remains so. 
 
 Before leaving tSait Lake City we took 
 a ride to the Great Salt Lake, twenty 
 miles distant by rail. This is the most 
 r!^mai kable body of salt water yet discov- 
 ered. It is eighty miles long, tifty miles 
 wide, and of great depth. It is inter- 
 sj)ersed with islands and mountains of 
 considerable height. It is surrouiuied by 
 tiie Wahsatch and Oquirrh ranges, and is 
 ■4,200 feel above the ocean. The sallness 
 
 of this lake is remarkable, l)eiug tibout 
 24 jier cent, of salt, ami it is related that a 
 few years ago it was 'A'.i per cent. Even 
 now the shrubs adjacent to the lake lie- 
 come covered wiin the cry.-^taiized salt 
 from the evaporated water daslied (ui 
 them in spray. We obtained at the lake 
 one beautilul and vvliite specinien two 
 and a half inehes thick with a small twig 
 in the centi'c. 'I'lie lake has noouilet ah(i 
 is sujiplied by numerous small rivers. 
 The eva|>oration is bec(»iniiig less each 
 year as the rainfall increa.'^e.^, ami the 
 "time is looked for when it will overrun iis 
 banks and become less salt. i'he saltiiess 
 is ascribed to salt sjirings in its bottom, 
 also percolation from the salt plains whicb 
 abound in this territory. Salt plains are 
 not confined to Utah, for w*- have seen a 
 report of a railroad in southern Colorado 
 wliich is ballasted with rock salt dug out 
 in grading the road bed. Tiie sail and 
 alkali plains of this section will become 
 more and more dejirived of their saline 
 constituents as the rainfall increases and 
 make the land more suitable for cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 The Great Salt Lake is a great resort 
 for tourists and residents ol Salt Lake 
 whogo to bathe in its invigoraling waters, 
 which are so buoyant that one cannot 
 sink in them. We took a bath and were 
 both surprised and delighted. After 
 spending a few liours here we look the 
 train and returned to Salt Lake City, 
 which we left the same afternoon, carry- 
 ing pleasant recollections of our visit and 
 regrets llial we could not make a longer 
 stay in this region. VVearrived at Ogden, 
 took supper and changed to cars on the 
 Central Pacific Railroad. Ogden is a 
 Mormon town of great importance as a 
 railroad point and is the connecting point 
 ot the U. P. R. R. and the C P. ii. R ; 
 also the starling point of the Utah Cen- 
 tral and Utah Northern railroad. It is 
 located on the Weber River, a short dis- 
 tance from the Great Salt Lake. It is 
 provided witli car and repair shops and 
 many other buildings; iron, coal, and 
 other valuable minerals abound in the 
 vicinity, making it [)robable that this will 
 become a manufacturing [ilace. The town 
 is regularly laid out U|pon two levels, con- 
 stituting an upper and lower town, the 
 upjier part having principally the private 
 residences, the lower town being the busi- 
 ness part. Tlie Mormons have a temple 
 and other denominations their churches. 
 Water runs through the streets, as is the 
 case iu all these Rocky mountain towns, 
 mountain streams supplying the water. 
 By this means trees are cultivated and 
 gardens jilanted with grass and tlowers. 
 
 After su}»per we entered a sleeper and 
 then started again toward the Golden 
 
32 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 Gate. We pass Corrinue, 809 miles from 
 San Fraucisco, the most importaut Gen- 
 tile town in tbe territory. At 780 miles 
 from San Francisco we reach Promontory 
 which is now of only historic importance. 
 Here tlie "Great Railroad Wedding" 
 took place, which joined the U. P. and 
 C. P. railroads and made the transconti- 
 nental line complete ; here the la.st spike 
 was driven 1085 8 miles from Omaha, May 
 19, 1869. The ceremonies were grand and 
 impressive. Locomotives with trains of 
 invited guests approacl)ed each other from 
 eacii Bide of the road and when the last 
 spike was driven the forward ones ap- 
 proached until their pilots touched and 
 persons standing on them reached out and 
 shook hands, pouring libations of wine 
 upon the track and drinking to tliesuceess 
 of the enterprise. Telegraphic operators 
 were at the keys to announce the instant 
 of completion, and at 2:47 p. m.. Promon- 
 tory Point gave signal to the rest of the 
 world, wailing anxiously for the word, 
 "DONE," followed by the official an- 
 nouncement: 
 
 "PROMONTORY SUMMIT, Utah, 
 "May, lOih. Thp: last rail is laid! 
 "Thp: last spike is dkiven ! The Pa- 
 
 "OIFIC RAILROAD IS COBIPLETED. ThE 
 "point of junction is 1086 MILES WEST 
 
 "OFTHE Missouri River, and 690 miles 
 "east of Sacramento City. 
 
 "LELAND STANFORD, 
 "(yENTRAL Pacific R. R. 
 "T C. Durant, ] 
 
 "Sidney Dillon, [Union Pacific R R. 
 "John Duff, j 
 
 From what has been said of the charac- 
 teristics of the country we have thus far 
 passed through it can be readily imagined 
 that the building of this road was beset on 
 all sides with natural or other obstacles, 
 but the part comprised in the Central 
 Pacific was attended by extraordinary 
 difficulties and cost. All of the material 
 for construction, as rails, spikes, tools, 
 locomotives and cars, had to be trans- 
 ported from New York across the Isthmus 
 of Panama or go around Cape Horn to 
 reach San Francisco. As the road neared 
 completion ten miles a day were laid, 
 showing the number of hands and the 
 energy displayed. The men who con- 
 ceived the idea of a trans-continental rail- 
 way were regarded as lunatics, and with 
 a knowledge of thecountry through which 
 it passes this belief cannot be regarded as 
 extraoidiiiary ; but 'tis now a fixed fact 
 and this wonderof the 19th century shows 
 that the projectors were neither demented 
 nor visionary. 
 
 The road follows the northern boundary 
 of Great Salt Lake, and at monument we 
 got a view of it from the train. Passing 
 westward towards Nevada, we course 
 
 along the upper edge of the desert which 
 is immediately west and south of the 
 Great Salt Lake, and as we approach 
 Teconja we come upon a pile of stones in- 
 dicating the Nevada state line. 
 
 At Elko, five hundred and fifty-eight 
 miles frotn San Francisco we took break- 
 fast. This town is of considerable coni- 
 mercial and educational importance, the 
 state university being located here. Num- 
 erous hot springs are here and used large- 
 ly by invalids. One, the "Chicken Soup" 
 spring, yields water which it is said only 
 requires salt, pepper and other seasonimr 
 to make the illusion perfect. Could it be 
 the outlet of a cauldron of chicken soup 
 deep down in the bowels of the earth, as 
 it has l)een said that the oil wells of our 
 own state have tapped a school of pre-his- 
 toric whales? 
 
 Here we strike the Humbohlt River 
 and follow it a long distance, going 
 through canons and among mountains, 
 sometimes on the plain with sage brush 
 to vary the monotony. At some of the 
 stations, surrounded by desert, we find 
 small encanjpments of Shoshone Indians. 
 They come to the stations and beg from 
 the passengers and show their papooses 
 which are i)ouMd to boards or bark and 
 are curiosities to travellers who tender 
 them a gratuity for the favor. These In- 
 dians apparently do nothing but loaf, beg 
 and gamble. 
 
 In due time we reach the Humboldt 
 Desert, a sandy plain of considerable di- 
 meiisn)ns covered with sage brush. We 
 pass several stations of slight importance 
 and many which are liut side tracks and 
 signal points. At Humboldt, four hun- 
 dred and twenty-three miles from San 
 Francisco we took dinner. This is an 
 oasis in tlie<lesert ; here will be seen trees, 
 grass, flowers and fountains, which re- 
 lieve the eyes made weary by many 
 monotonous miles of desert and sage brush 
 for these are the first trees, etc., seen simre 
 leaving Ogdeii. Mountains and alkali 
 plains are on all sides, hut by irrigation, 
 this place has been made lovely and ad- 
 jacent land made productive of superior 
 grain and vegetai)les. The hotel here is 
 well appointed and the decorations of the 
 grounds are remarkaide. With hose the 
 grounds and walks are sprinkled prior to 
 the arrival of the train, and passengers 
 avail themselves of a stroll nr a rest be- 
 neath the trees and bowers, for there is a 
 liberal allowance of time for meals and 
 rest at these places. Sulphur mines exist 
 near by and the shipments are ma<le from 
 this place, the native sulphur yielding 
 about 7o per cent, pure sulphur. 
 
 Lovelock's, three bund red and forty-one 
 miles from San Francisco, is only a side 
 track station, telegraph office, store, post- 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 38 
 
 office and a few other buildings ; it is im- 
 portant as a grazing pUn*e for cattle ami 
 tl)e shipment of hirge quantities of liay 
 raised in tlie meadows watered by tlie 
 sj)readiug out of the Humboklt River. It 
 is said upwards of 40(1, ()()() liead of cattle 
 and sheep graze on these meadows. Farm- 
 ing is carried on with excellent results 
 wliere irrigation is introduced. 
 
 White Plains, three l)uuiired and tliir- 
 teen miles from San Francisco, is only a 
 side track and is so called because it is in 
 tlie midst of a white alkali desert. Here 
 salt in fine divisiou exists upon the .sur- 
 face and extends many miles in all direc- 
 tions, and as tliis is the lowfst point (3,- 
 849 feet) on the Central Pacific east of the 
 Sierras, the bottom laud is often over- 
 flowed in the flood season ; and theijHum- 
 boldt'and Carson rivers lose themselves 
 in tins sink as it is termed, as there is no 
 visibleoutlet. They sink into the sand, and 
 the t)alance is established Ijy evaporation 
 and absorption. 
 
 Mirage, tliree hundreci and five njiles 
 from San Francisco, is but side track 
 and is only interesting from tlie fact that 
 here this phenomenon is often noticeii 
 when the atmospbere is in proper condi- 
 tion and travellers are generally on the 
 lookout. 'J'his curious optical delusion is 
 not infrequent on the desert plains of the 
 west, and even on the fertile praiiie, often 
 to temporary satisfaction of the weary 
 horseman or teamster who, hoj)ing for 
 a resting place, is doomed to disappoint- 
 ment on flndiug it vanish as he ap- 
 proaches. 
 
 At Reno, two hundred and ninety-three 
 miles from San Francisco, we take supper. 
 This place is situated in a grazing district 
 and is also the point from which tourists 
 start to visit Lake Tahoe, to the south 
 an(i Pyramid Lake on the north. 
 
 Following the Truckee River we soon 
 reach Verdi, the first station in Califor- 
 nia, making gradual assent into the 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains. We enter 
 snow sheds at various points, like those 
 we have passed through, also through 
 some tunnels, pass by Donner Lake high 
 up in the mountains, made famous as the 
 place where, in the winter of 1846 and '47, 
 a company of eighty-two emigrants were 
 overtaken by a snow storm and nearly all 
 perished. The account is full of horrible 
 detail, as cannibalism is charged against 
 the survivors. 
 
 Summit, near by, is one hundred and 
 ninety-five miles from San Francisco, 7,- 
 017 feet above sea level, and is the highest 
 point of the road in these mountains. It 
 is surrounded by mountains several thou- 
 sand feet higher. A fine hotel graces this 
 place and many tourists stop over here to 
 get views of the magnificent scenery from 
 
 adjacent points. The road winds along 
 the mountain sides, showing grand scenes 
 from the snow-crowned mountains above 
 to the river in the valley far below. The 
 road enters American River Canon, 
 far up on its sides. Tliis is one of the 
 finest views on the Central Pacific Rail- 
 road, and is truly grand. From the nar- 
 row stream at the bottom in its rocky bed, 
 the bare rock sides rise directly, widening 
 out and reaching several thousand feet 
 above tlie water. To see this canon one 
 cannot retire early, as also to see Cape 
 Horn, a projecting mountain, aniun/i 
 which the road passes, the sides of which 
 are so sleep that workmen were let down 
 from the top to make foothold for excava- 
 tions for the road-bed, li,OU0 feet above the 
 river. If moonlight, these can be seen 
 and the views are awfully grand ; if not, 
 the traveller sleeps, for the train passes 
 these points in the night. It was moon- 
 light when we passed. 
 
 The train continues on through Sacra- 
 mento, the moon was low and we slept, 
 but we stopped here on our return trip. 
 Arriving at Benicia, thirty-three miles 
 from San Francisco, the train leaves terra- 
 firma and bodily runs on the ferry boat 
 "Solano," the largest of her class afloat, 
 but so gradual was t bis that we did not 
 appreciate but that we had run intoalarge 
 train yard near the water. A little later 
 on we were enabled to investigate this 
 Leviatliau of the western waters. Her 
 length over all is four hundred and 
 twenty- four feet, her extreme width is 
 one hundred and sixteen feet, her draught 
 when- loaded is six feet six inches. She 
 has two vertical btam engines with 
 sixty inch cylinders and eleven feet 
 stroke; the two side wheels are 
 thirty feel in diameter, of twenty-four 
 paddles each, each paddle having seven- 
 teen feet face; each wheel is operated by 
 its own engine to ensure easier manage- 
 ment of the lioat. There are four rudders 
 at each end of the boat, eleven and one 
 half feet hnig and five and one half feet 
 deep. There are four railway tracks on 
 deck which will accommodate forty-eight 
 freight cars and and locomotive or twenty- 
 four passenger cars. Benicia is a town of 
 about l.oOO inlial)itants and is lamous for 
 a large agricultural implement factory 
 besides other industries ; it is an admir- 
 able shipping point and it is said that at 
 one time it was the rival of San Francisco 
 but this must have been very early. The 
 waters of theSacramento and San Joaquin 
 rivers pass by it thrf)ugh the Benicia 
 Strait which our monster boat crossed, 
 and passing the straits of Carijuinez and 
 along the eastern shore of vSan Pablo and 
 San Francisco bays we reach Oakland, 
 where we alight and on one of the largest 
 
34 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 ferry boats we ever saw, we were transport- 
 ed across the bay aud lauded in San Fran- 
 cisco at 8 a. ni. We immediately went to 
 the Russ Hotel wlien after a wash, break- 
 fast aud rest until afternoon, we started 
 for the post oflrtce, took a ride in tlie cable 
 cars and after supper retired. The next 
 day was Sunday and we went to the 
 Howard street Methodist Episcopal 
 church and lieard a delightful sermon by 
 Bishop Fowler who had been a passenger 
 on the train with us. After lunch we 
 took a train for the Cliff House and got 
 our tirst view of the Pacific Ocean with 
 its thousands of miles of i'X[)aiise. 
 
 San Francisco is situated on the western 
 shore of the bay at the upi)erend of a nar- 
 row peninsula extending between the 
 bay and Pacific Ocean. It is the pt)rt of 
 entry on the west coast of tlie United 
 States, and has one of the finest harljors 
 in the world. It was named after San 
 Francisco de Assisi, and was first a 
 Catholic Mission dedicated to the above 
 named padre, and founded October 9th, 
 1776. With the characteristic sluggish- 
 ness of the old Spaniartis little improve- 
 ment was made and little known of it 
 until the early part of the present century' 
 *vhen foreigners began to arrive in small 
 uumbirsand the place grew somewhat 
 as well as llie neighboring country. But 
 it remained for the period after the cession 
 to the United States and the discovery of 
 gold in 1848 to produce the change, and 
 from a village it has grown to the dimen- 
 sions of a city of nearly 250, 000 inhabi- 
 tants witli all the modern improvements. 
 The l)uildings for business are large and 
 imposing, substantial and convenient. 
 The hotels are numerous and of great size, 
 notably the Palace Hotel which is the 
 largest in the world. It has four fronts, 
 occupying a whole block and covers two 
 and one-fourth acres, it is one hundred 
 and twenty feet high and has an immense 
 number of bay windows on each side 
 which takes away the impression which 
 its great height and size would otherwise 
 make, it is two hundred and seventy-five 
 by three hundred and fifty feet on the 
 sides, and contains seven hundred and 
 flfly-tive rooms for guests alone ; it has 
 an immense court-yard which is covered 
 by a sky light where carriages enter and 
 depart with the visitors and guests of the 
 house. This hotel has a world wide rep- 
 utation and must beseen to beaj)i)reciated. 
 The furniture and other appoinments 
 with the accomodations are all upon the 
 same grand scale as the size of the build- 
 ing. The Baldwin, (Jrand Hotel, and 
 Lick House are marvels of grandtur and 
 size only less than the Palace, while the 
 Kuss House is commodious, grand, lux- 
 urious, convenient and reasonable, ex- 
 
 tending along the front of an entire block, 
 attendants efficient and courteous, not 
 hanging around for "tips" so extensively 
 practiced elsewhere and a bane to hotel 
 life; the policy of the management seems 
 to be to charge its patrons a fair price and 
 pay a fair price to^ the servants, and re- 
 quiring that the former shall be served 
 properly without extra charge. We were 
 surprised and gratified at the moderate 
 rales of charge compared with the accom- 
 Hiodalions which were equal to the best 
 hotels in Philadelphia and New York. 
 We can recommend the Russ House to 
 the most exacting. The churches are 
 numerous and very fine, all denomina- 
 tions are represented, even to that of the 
 heatlien ('hinee who lias his Joss House. 
 The places of amusement are the Grand 
 Opera House, California Theatre, Bald- 
 win Theatre, Bush Street Tlieatre, and 
 many others where grand and comic 
 operas are rendered and the legitimate 
 drama and variety performances attract 
 the people. As there is here a large float- 
 ing pojiulation more places of amuseujent 
 are supported than in most places of equal 
 size. The Post Office and (Custom Build- 
 ing and Mint are in keeping with the im- 
 portance of the plaee and dignity of the 
 Uuiteil Slates. The business iuid com- 
 merce are simply enormous. The trade 
 with the East Indies, China, Japan, 
 Australia, Sandwich Islands, Alaska, 
 Western South Auierica and Mexico, 
 centre at this point, and the forest of 
 masts iij the harbor fly the flags of all 
 nations. A visit to the wharves showed 
 them to be most substantial, and exten- 
 sive, having great docking space and 
 covered in many instam^es with large 
 Iniildings for storage and other purposes. 
 The dry and floating docks are very large, 
 capable of receiving the largest vessels 
 which enter the harbor. Who that has 
 read the newspapers for some years back 
 has not read of the "Pacific iMail?" The 
 Pacific Mail Steamship Company which 
 has its beadcjuarteis in San Francisco, 
 has a fleet ol six first class steamers which 
 go between tliis port and (Jbina, Japan, 
 Sandwich Islanils and Australia. W^e 
 can take a little pride in tliese vessels as 
 the most if not all of them were built 
 along our own Delaware River. The 
 newspaper m)tii'es of the Pacific Mail 
 liave Lieen with reference to the stocks, 
 etc., of ti.e company and the various ap- 
 plications to {'ongress for sultsidies. The 
 Oriental and Occitlental Steamship Coui- 
 pany also send steamers to China and 
 Japan. 
 
 Of the diflerent parks theOolden Gate 
 Park is most extensive, it is three aud a 
 half miles long and half a mile wide, con- 
 taining 1,019 acres, much of which has 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 3') 
 
 been reclaimed from the sand-hills which 
 are to be found in all directions ; the dec- 
 orations of the grounds, tlie walks, drives, 
 fountains, lakes, and conservatories are 
 most complete and grand, everything in 
 fact to make it the most elegant place of 
 its kind in the west. We enjoyed our 
 visit to it very much. The Woodward 
 Gardens are almost unique in this coun- 
 try. They resemble the Gardens of Ac- 
 climatization in Paris, fine large conser- 
 vatories, marine and other aquaria, seal 
 tanks, cages of animals and birds, cases of 
 stuffed birds, antiquities, etc., in other 
 words it is a garden of natural sciences. 
 The grounds are beautifully laid out, with 
 asphalt walks, ornamental trees, shrubs, 
 and flow'er beds, beautiful statuary dis- 
 posed here and there. An art gallery, 
 music hall, sltating rink and restau- 
 rant contribute to the entertainment and 
 refreshment of visitors. This little para- 
 dise was commeueed in 18(50 by Mr. R. B. 
 Woodward a gentlenian of wealth, (now 
 deceased) who expended vast sums to es- 
 tablish this great and useful attra(;tiou to 
 the people of San Francisco. ;No stranger 
 should miss the oj)portunity of visiting it 
 while here, as it is easy of access and only 
 a sliort distance from the centre of tlie 
 city. 
 
 To the visitor the first view of San 
 Francisco from Oakland and the ferry 
 boat is peculiar and surprising ; here and 
 thei'e are lofty eminences with buildings 
 upon them and upon landing it is observed 
 tljat some of the streets continue directly 
 up their sides to the tops, the grade being 
 such that horses with vehicles can scarcely 
 ascend. Tliese eminences are sand-hill's 
 and are covered with some of the finest 
 private residences in the city. Tne diffi- 
 culties of approach are however reduced 
 to a minimum since the cable cars have 
 been introduced and among the most in- 
 teresting street sights to the stranger is to 
 see the cars ascending and descending the 
 grades, one car acting as a counter bal 
 ance to the oiher and as these roads con- 
 tinue over the hills they are much patron- 
 ized and develop the country beyond. 
 The cable roads are very extensively 
 used, the cars are most substantially con- 
 structed and are the most couifortable of 
 all the public conveyances, beingspacious 
 and exceedingly clean. The five cable 
 lines extend for matjy miles over the city 
 and suburbs and constitute the most ad- 
 mirable .system we ever saw and this is 
 tlie testimotiy of all visitors. In the 
 northern part of the city is Telegraph 
 Hill whicli is very steep and reached by- 
 cable cars. A view from here is extensive. 
 The city below, the bay on the east, tiie 
 Gold Horn on the north, and sand-hills 
 and Pacific Ocean on the west. A pavilion 
 
 for refresliments is at the top which 
 makes it an objective point of an atter- 
 noon or evening, and see the ships going 
 out and coming in, and the setting sun. 
 Don't miss it ! 
 
 Of tne streets of San Francisco the citi- 
 zens are Justly proud. Tliey are wide, 
 well paved and vt-ry clean ; the winds, 
 which are important means of keeping 
 them clean, also conlril)Ute from time 
 to time to making them dirty by 
 the fine sand which they cany 
 from the outside of the city and deposit 
 over everything ; and who has not heard 
 of the "sand lots" and "Dennis Kearney" 
 the sand lot orator, that t'oiuentor of dis- 
 cord, riot and rebellion, with their conse- 
 quences, lire, murder and robliery ? 
 Happily liis socialistic and communistic 
 sentiments are little encouraged. Kear- 
 ney and his "sand lots" are part of this 
 city. 
 
 What will suri>rise the visitor among 
 the many things new and strange will be 
 to learn if he does not see, that many of 
 the private residences, and among them 
 the most palatial and costly, are but 
 wooden buildings. One reason has been 
 assigned for this that, earthquake shocks 
 are frequently felt but rart'ly of any 
 severity, and if these liuildings were of 
 brick or stone they would more readily 
 tumble down, but as the l)uildings for 
 business are of brick, stone, or iron, the 
 earthquake excuse cannot a|)ply. A fire 
 among these WM)oden buildengs would be 
 most disastrous. 
 
 By cal)le car we visited Laurel Hill 
 cemetery, perhaps one of the finest here, 
 elegantly laid out and decorated with 
 many monumental works of art and less 
 pretentious markings of the resting places 
 of the dead. Atrip to the Cliff House 
 should never be missed, as tiie view is 
 almost unique. It is situated on a cliff 
 on Point Lobos, on the southern side of 
 the Pacific entrance to the Golden Gate, 
 and is seven miles from San Francisco. 
 It is reached by a steam railway. This 
 house has a broad veranda overlooking 
 the Pacific Ocean on the west. It is a 
 great resort for tlie people of San Fran- 
 cisco, who, besides taking the fresh 
 breezes from the ocean, also are interested 
 in observing theseals which climb around 
 on the rocks near the shore. Tlie Seal 
 Rocks are three in number, of consid- 
 erable size and very high, a few hundred 
 feet from the shore, and which have been 
 taken possession of by a colony of seals 
 and sea-lions, which congregate here in 
 thousands. They are quite fearless, play 
 many antics on the rocks and in the 
 water, bark, and amuse the people very 
 much. If they should happen to be dis- 
 turbed they take to the water very quickly 
 
36 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 by rolling and tumbliug over each other 
 iu a most awkward aud ludicrous iriau- 
 uer uutil the water is reached. If the 
 way of escape is cut oft" aud they are iu- 
 terfered with, we were told that they be- 
 come very fierce aud use their sliarp teeth 
 in a very dangerous way. They are not 
 of the Alaska variety, but become very 
 large, reaching twelve feet sometimes. 
 These animals are protected by law from 
 molestation so that the colony and amuse- 
 ment are likely to be perpetual uuless 
 there should be a foreign invasion. We 
 sometimes see specimens of these crea- 
 tures iu the menageries aud Zoo Gardens 
 iu the east. 
 
 The view of the setting sun from this 
 point is supremely grand. The vessels of 
 all kinds and sizes are seen almost con- 
 stantly going in and coming out of the 
 Golden Gate because of the vast amount 
 of commerce between the countries of 
 Asia, the islands of the Pacific, the west 
 coast of America, and San Francisco. 
 The Pacific Ocean, so called from its 
 placid waters, was somewhat ruffled by a 
 stiff breeze. A road passes from tiie Ciiff" 
 House down to tlie water's edge. We de- 
 .scended and dipjted our hands aud bathed 
 our faces in the waters of theocean, which 
 more than three hundred years ago was 
 discovered aud taken possession of by 
 Vasco Nunez de Balboa in the name of 
 the King of Spain ; and since the days of 
 Magellan's voyage it has been a field of 
 discovery, conquest, annexation by the 
 civilized nations of the earth, and has 
 seen the instillation of civilizatiou in 
 many lands, while at the same time the 
 natives are melting away, soon to be in 
 oblivion. W^hat food for the contempla- 
 tive mind. 
 
 To return from the Cliff House at this 
 sea.son of the year is far from being easy 
 because of the vast crowds. The passen- 
 gers are crowded into a room of just the 
 capacity of the train; the room is then 
 closed against all others. When all is 
 ready the people are released and enter 
 the train, which starts off, and another 
 train comes for its portion. This is done 
 to insure safety and prevent over crowd- 
 ing, but once in the crowd to get tickets 
 and get into the room their is no return. 
 It is like driving cattle into a narrow 
 ally in which they cannot turn or go 
 back preparatory to entering the slaugh- 
 ter house. Probably 10,0U0 people were 
 there the day we made our visit. As the 
 whole peninsula seems to be nothing but 
 sand hills, the winds are shifting them 
 constantly and the little railroad has to be 
 dug out from time to tinje by men in con- 
 stant employ for that purpose. 
 
 The stranger in San Francisco rarely 
 leaves wiihout a visit to Chinatown, 
 
 where the colony of 6,000 or more Ciiinese 
 are to be found. It is only a short distance 
 from the centre of business and so unlike 
 all the rest that one miylit suppisp him- 
 self in China. Here are to be found the 
 Celestials of the Flowery Kingdom with 
 their pig-tails hanging down their backs, 
 thesign of tlieirsubju^alion to the Tartars, 
 living and doing business, dressing and oc- 
 cupying housesprecisely as if it .vas a part 
 of Canton. The arclii teeture, however, is 
 different, with here and there an attempt 
 at a re[)roduction of their Inmie style. 
 Frequently persons take guid»s to go 
 through tliis section, but recognizing the 
 general peaceful disposition of tiiese peo- 
 ple wherever found iu eastern (titles, we 
 felt equal to an attempt to penetrate it by 
 ourselves. So taking a cable car we were 
 soon landed in their midst aiui saunter- 
 ing here and there visited their shops, 
 markets, etc. We were as much alone as 
 if we had been in the heart of the Chinese 
 Eujpire. The sliops are all very snjall, 
 sometimes several different tradesmen 
 occupying the same room, the goods often 
 of a very tawdry kind. The signs are 
 many, suspended from the doors and 
 windows, of various bright colors and in- 
 scribed in the peculiar language of these 
 people. And we are told they are full of 
 self praise aud bombast with a generous 
 sprinkling of reference to their gods, etc., 
 reminding one of the blatant high-cock- 
 alorum in the circus whose hand bills 
 and posters describe the most wonderful 
 animals and mar^'elous performances ; or 
 the disinterested (?) jialent medicine ven- 
 der who from the stieet corners proclaims 
 the excellence of his goods and of his sole 
 desire to serve his fellow man in distress. 
 
 The people carry on the various kinds 
 of business from banker, broker, lawyer, 
 physician, and the various mercantile 
 and manufacluriug enterprises, provision 
 dealer, laborer, laundry, to domestic ser- 
 vant in any capacity among the whites, 
 etc. Where they work for themselves it 
 is in their native way, but where they are 
 employed by others, they follow direc- 
 tions to the letter as if they were machines 
 set to do certain work in a certain way, 
 and it being inji)()ssible to do otherwise. 
 The story of the sailor in China whose 
 pantaloons having become well worn and 
 had been patched, went to a Chinese 
 tailor to get a new pair to be made just 
 like the worn ones, and so faithfully did 
 the tailor follow directions that the new 
 garment was patched precisely like the 
 old one, is an illustration of the above 
 fact. 
 
 Their markets were peculiar in many 
 ways ; articles were thert* of which we 
 had never seen the like before aud did 
 not know how they could be used, and 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 37 
 
 our knowledge of Chinese was so limited 
 that we did not inquire, "John, washee, 
 washee?" not being appropriate to a 
 knowledge of provisions. Fish and vege- 
 tables are their favorites, but we did not 
 see strings or" "rats and mice, and puppies 
 for )iies." We did not visit their joss 
 House or places for idols tliough all pri- 
 vate houses have their own idols as well. 
 Here Paganism is practiced in the heart 
 of a civilized and we hope christian com- 
 munity. Their theatres got none of our 
 attention, as our time was limited and 
 besides it is not always proper for ladies; 
 parties of gentlemen frequently go. and 
 curious ladies sometimes. 
 
 Of the vices of these people we know 
 nothing; even had we witnessed any we 
 should not desire to relate them. Suffice 
 it that John Chinaman copies somewhat 
 front his christian (?) brother, and the 
 christian brother adopts some of the 
 worst of hf^athen Jolin's fieculiariiies. 
 Many of these people are huddled to- 
 iretber in a manner tliat is almost beyond 
 belief; from cellars to garrets, every 
 apartment, even sub cellars and excava 
 tions under 'he streets are occupied by 
 them, as bad nr worse than the Aleutian 
 Islanders or Kamschatdales. In some of 
 the subterranean rooms, lepers, tiltby and 
 loathsome, are said to be confined from 
 the light of day and the sight of man, 
 and where they labor until the eyes be- 
 come sightless, the bands and feet drop 
 off or melt away under this great oriental 
 scourire. 
 
 Desirous of procuring some memento 
 of our visit, we entered several establish- 
 ments where gold ornaments are made, 
 and upon inquiring the price of an article 
 a small pair of scales was immediately 
 produced and the object weighed, then 
 the peculiar calculating niacbine of these 
 people was brought into requisition and 
 in a few moments the price was named, 
 from which there was no deviation. The 
 calculating machine is a frame the size of 
 a school-boy's slate with wires upon 
 which are strung balls, and by sliding 
 these l)alls according to the Chinese way, 
 the calculation is made. We at last saw 
 a rintr, the workmanship of which was 
 jieculiar, having tish, crabs, scorpions, 
 etc., in high relief, and a purchase was 
 made by the assistance of a Chinaman 
 present who understood a little Enj^lish. 
 We had been assured that any article of 
 jewelry purchased from these people we 
 could rely upon as genuine, and we saw 
 them at work about their little furnaces, 
 melting the material prep'ratory to mak- 
 ing the article which is generally made 
 of nearly pure gold, between 22 and 24 
 carats fine While in these places small 
 crowds of Chinese gathered about the 
 
 doors and inside, apparently viewing us 
 as curiosities and desirous of knowing 
 our business among them ; but they were 
 well behaved and courteous. 
 
 We left this quarter highly pleased and 
 feeling that more time would be an ad- 
 vantage. Most of these Chinese came 
 here under contract and under the aus- 
 pices of S' veral companies for mining, 
 railroad building, et(!., and that in case 
 of death their bones and bodies are to be 
 returned to China. Women are also im- 
 ported in like manner under contract and 
 generally for immoral purpose.s. This 
 species of slavery has beet] in great meas- 
 ure checked by an act of Congress |)re- 
 venting the landing of any Chinaman 
 who is to become a resicbnt of this coun- 
 try. In spite of the opposition to them 
 they have done much as laborers to make 
 CaliCornia a success, as they have gener- 
 ally been tractable capable of .sustaining 
 considerable hardship, uncomplaining, 
 requiring but little food and demand- 
 ing but light wages. All these have i)een 
 the causes of the prejudice against them, 
 and those who have cried out the loudest 
 in denouncing them have themselves 
 been forei<rners. 
 
 We made a tour of the banking and 
 broker district of the city and saw in the 
 windows iio\(] coins of all nations, gold 
 quartz and gold in dust, grains and nug- 
 gets We never saw so much gold as 
 was dis|)layed in the :^'indows, arranged 
 in trays, saucers, bottles, etc., according 
 to the state it is in. This has been gath- 
 ered in trade by individuals in the min- 
 ing regions where coin is not current and 
 the ])rices of goods rated at a certain 
 weight's wortn of dust, which is weighed 
 at the time the purchase is made. It is 
 said that in these regions a miner going 
 into a bar room for a drink would put 
 down a buckskin bag of dust from which 
 the barkeeper would weigh out his pay 
 and return the bag less the amount. Gold 
 gathered in this way, as well as the 
 miner's accumulations, is carried to San 
 Francisco and other places and sold to 
 brokers atid others. The uncoined gold 
 whether in quartz or dust, etc., is all sold 
 b\^ weight according to the assay of the 
 specin.en. In a jewelry store w^e made a few 
 purchases of gold quartz set in ornaments 
 as souvenirs of the trip to the El Dorado, 
 the land of gold, and besides the gold 
 quartz is by no means so plenty as a few 
 years ago and will grow more rare unless 
 new deposits are found. Jewelry is rather 
 profusely worn, as might be inferred 
 when it can be obtained in all conditions 
 to suit the fancy of the wearer. 
 
 Many of the greatest discoveries in the 
 world have been the result of the merest 
 accident, the value of which was not 
 
38 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 always immediately apparent to the dis- 
 coverer, but tlie credit of observiuj^: ttie 
 result of an accident or unintentional cir- 
 cumstance wlieu man is benetitted either 
 physically or mentally must be accorded, 
 as but for his act, his generation at least 
 might not have reaped the good results, 
 but be postponed for a succeeding one. 
 Some discoveries are inevitable, the time 
 being the only consideration. The dis- 
 covery of gold in California was an acci- 
 dent and was inevitable. In a mill race 
 which had just had the water turned int'> 
 it, yellow particles were noticed which 
 excited enough curiosity to cause an ex- 
 amination. One piece was put into a 
 kettle of soap which was over a tire, and 
 after twenty-four hours it was taken out 
 brighter than when put in, when a fur- 
 ther test proved the material to be gold. 
 
 This discovery was made by James W. 
 Marshall, January' 19th, 1848, at Coloma, 
 on the American River. Captain Sutter 
 was the contractor for building the mill 
 race and saw-mill for Marshall. Not with 
 the speed of the electric current, but with 
 a remarkable celerity did the news of this 
 discovery l)ecome noised abroad, the world 
 heard tiie wtory, and within a year began 
 that wonderful invasion l)y people from 
 all parts of the world to seek adventure 
 and make a fortune, and the "Forty- 
 niners" are as proud of their early con- 
 nectiot) with tlie gold excitement of that 
 period as if they were of noble birth. 
 The stories of successes and losses, of glee 
 and despair, are not for us to write of; we 
 remember the time when every one dis- 
 cussed the prospects and probabilities. 
 A way ward or adventurous son was per- 
 liaps permitted to try his fortune in the 
 ho[)e that the severe experience would 
 tame his restless disposition ; the wicked 
 and rough, always in the advance guard, 
 made up a large number; gentle, care- 
 fully reared and kind-hearted were not 
 few; men broken in fortune; such as 
 these filled every ship, an<l thty were not 
 few, starling on the long journey "around 
 the Horn," or crossing the Isthmus of 
 Panama, destined for San Francisco and 
 the mines. Many never returned to tell 
 their story and many forever disappeared, 
 their fate suspected but never discovered. 
 In a little more than two years the popu- 
 lation of ('.ilifornia had so increased that 
 it was admitted into the Union as a state, 
 and its growth since has been one of con- 
 tinued i)rosperitj' and population which 
 is marvellous. 
 
 Captain Sutter participated in the glory 
 of this discovery and the early mining 
 efforts, and had amassed some wealth, 
 but he died in Pennsylvania, a very few 
 years ago, and if our memory is correct 
 he was iu comparative poverty. Mining, 
 
 at first reckless and wasteful has been re- 
 duced to a system, discarded places and 
 material are worked over, mountains 
 have been washed down and valleys and 
 meadows tilled by the debris, and water- 
 courses turned to the detriment of other 
 property, so that state laws have been 
 enacted to regulate it. 
 
 Coin, and particularly gold, is the cur- 
 rency of the realm, t)ut green-backs now 
 pass current. The introduction of the 
 cent has been combatted and successfully 
 resisted ; cents are not seen except as 
 curiosities and can only be used in the 
 post-ofRces. A nickel (five cent piece) is 
 the smallest coin used. No change is 
 ever returned where a purchase is made 
 of less value than five cents or the mul- 
 tiple of five, as a purchase amounting to 
 thirty-seven cents would have to be paid 
 with forty cents, this is of course to the 
 advantage of the dealer, but as this prac-' 
 tice is universal it equalizes itself in the 
 community. Dimes, which are coined 
 at our mint, we call "ten-cent pieces." " 
 
 When asking the price ot goods of any 
 kind and the value is twenty-five cents, 
 the answer will be "two-bits," and four, 
 six and eight bits for fifty and seventy- 
 five cents and one dollar respectively, a 
 "bit" representing twelve and one-half 
 cents. How this antiquated method of 
 reckoning should be continued iu this 
 new country with so many new people 
 from different parts of the country and 
 world, is hard to understand. We in the 
 east have long since discarded it, though 
 we still remember the "levy" or "eleven- 
 penny bit" and the "fip" or "fip penny 
 bit" representing twelve and one-half and 
 six and one-fourth cents respectively. 
 The younger generation know nothing 
 about them. Gold notes were largely 
 used in California during the war of the 
 Rebellion, but greenbacks received no 
 encouragement. 
 
 To pass over the fruits would be a gross 
 neglect. Caleb and Joshua were never in 
 California or they would never have been 
 al)le to carry their load back without the 
 assistance of a freight train or telegraph 
 for assistance from the home guard. Cali- 
 fornia has a re|)utation for the finest and 
 largest fruits, and while we did not see 
 apples, pears, oranges, etc., as big as 
 pum|)kins, nor juimpkins so large that 
 we have read that their insides were hol- 
 lowed out and fed to the cattle, and that 
 the shell then served for a barn to house 
 the cattle in, yet we did see the profusion 
 and quality of peaches, plums, apricots, 
 figs, etc., which, except the first, are 
 nearly all rarities with us. They were 
 placed before us on the hotel table in 
 every form ; they were for sale on tlie 
 street at most moderate prices at so much 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 39 
 
 per pound (for they do not sell by meas- 
 ure here); we were rekictant to leave he- 
 hiud these luscious products. All tropi- 
 cal and semi-tropical fruits are raised in 
 California. Olives, tij^s, dates, ji:rapes, 
 oranges, lemons, etc., recjuiring a 
 warm temperature are cultivated here iu 
 plantations, and their reputation for 
 quality is unrivallrd. 
 
 The cliujate of San Fl'aucisco is gener- 
 ally mild, rarely getting very hot or very 
 cold. The average temperature for the 
 year is about 54° Farenheit. The winter 
 is the rainy season, from November to 
 May, and thf» rain is rarely excessive, 
 generally falling at night. From May to 
 November there is almost no rain, but 
 every ujorning the atmosphere is hazy 
 and sometimes foggy, which deposits a 
 certain amount of moisture equal to dew. 
 The day we went to the Clifi House the 
 wind was strong and quite cold, men car- 
 ried or wore their overcoats in the street, 
 ladies dressed in furs and other heavy 
 robes, wliile those who drove had heavy 
 fur lap coverings and blankets^. Very 
 light sumnjer dresses are rarelj' worn 
 either by men or women. In the winter 
 we are told that the grass is green and the 
 flowers bloom ; frosL is rare and very 
 light, while snow is almost never seen. 
 
 There are many persons living in San 
 Francisco and vicinity who have never 
 seen snow. We subsequently met a young 
 man who took part of the tour with us 
 who hoped when he got among the moun- 
 tains to see some snow; he had been 
 reared a few miles from San Francisco. 
 The mildness of climate just mentioned 
 does not extend all over California, but 
 the coast is generally temperate from the 
 trade winds and warm ocean currents 
 which course along, but back in the 
 mountains the winters are rigorous, and 
 snow falls to the de{)th we only know of 
 by reading, but in the southern moun- 
 tains the snow melts out quickly ; in the 
 north it is not so soon removed. Our 
 limit of time having expired we conclud- 
 ed to pack up and "move on" with Yose- 
 mite Valley as the objective point, so hav- 
 ing our luggagechecked to Sacramento, we 
 left San Francisco at 3:30 p. m., crossed tlie 
 bay to Oakland, to take the train for Me- 
 dara on the Southern Pacific Railroad. 
 
 Oakland, so called in consequence of 
 the clumps of oak trees found in the vi- 
 cinity, constitutes a suburb of San Fran- 
 cisco and is the residence of many busi- 
 ness men in the latter city. It contains 
 car shops and other buildings appropriate 
 to the terminus of a great railroad. There 
 are also churches, hotels, banks, factories, 
 etc., iu such numbers, size and style, as 
 to proclaim it a place of great enterprise 
 and wealth, and prospectively a city of 
 
 great importance in itself as veil as to 
 San Francisco, and relatively the same as 
 Jersey City is to New York. The shij)- 
 j)ing is extensive and capable of unre- 
 strained growth, possessing many advan- 
 tages over the metropolis. Here is the 
 longest wooden pier in the world, and in- 
 cluding mole and trestle is three miles 
 long, accommodating eleven railway 
 tracks ; part has been filled in with rock 
 and earth to the distance of nearly two 
 miles. The stranger is siruck with won- 
 der at this pier extending so far straight 
 out into the bay. At tiie western end is 
 one of the largest and finest depots we 
 have been in, and is for the overland and 
 other traffic. Here tlie tVrry l){)ats from 
 San Fiaiicisco land, anil both tlie depot 
 and the boats are so constructed that the 
 upfter deck of the boats is reached di 
 rectly from the second story of the formei' 
 where the passenger's waiting rooms are 
 located, passengers passing from the 
 lower deck to the wharf, there is no con- 
 fusion. A freight boat starts from \\\v 
 old wharf near by which can accommo- 
 date twenty loaded freightcarsand twenty 
 cattle cars at one time. 
 
 Following the eastern shore of San 
 Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Straits of 
 Carquinez for thirty-thr':'e miles, we pass 
 Beniciaand Suisun Bay into which Sacra- 
 mento and San Joaquin rivers euipty, and 
 at Antideu we turn southeasterly to 
 Lathrop where we take supper, then re- 
 tiring to our sleeping lierth we coniinue 
 southward iu the Valley of the San 
 Joaijuin River and at 2:30 a. m. arrive at 
 Medara, one hundred and seventy-three 
 miles from San Francisco, wliere our car 
 was detached and run on a side track. 
 Here we remained until morning, when 
 leaving the car we took breakfast, and at 
 6 a. m. left in a six horse stage with twelve 
 Ijassengers for Wa- Wo-Na. We were soon 
 miles away from Medara coursing over a 
 level barren plain and at eighteen miles the 
 first change of horses was made ; we then 
 approach the foot hills of the Sierra Neva- 
 das, ascend among them, winding around 
 cliffs, approach the edges of precipices 
 which on the narrow road, seems like 
 courting destruction, the wheels of the 
 stage often not having six inches to spare 
 from the edge, yet accidents are exceed- 
 ingly rare. The horses tear along at a 
 rapid and apparently reckless rate, but 
 we were informed that a slower pace 
 would be more dangerous for the 
 curves, which are many and short, would 
 cause them to become entangled, the 
 wheels to lock under the stage and a pitch 
 of animal and vehicle would be ahnost 
 inevitable. To ride with the driver is 
 quite a privilege and it was accorded to 
 me part of the way ; the driver and the 
 
40 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 horses are well acquainted, the former 
 knows what they can do and the horses 
 know what is expected of them and 
 when. 
 
 The driver handles the reins and 
 wields his long whip with wonderful dex- 
 terity and precision ; he even has little 
 pebbles which, with great accuracy he 
 throws at the forward hoises striking 
 them on the ears, etc., when they are be- 
 yond the reach of his whip, or when he 
 merely wishes to slightly remind them of 
 liis presence. Six changes of horses were 
 made during this day and at Wa-Wo Na, 
 formerly called "Clark's," we st()i)ped for 
 the night, having made seventy miles. 
 The road we parsed over is good for this 
 section, but is very rough as almost all 
 mountain roads must be, and we were 
 high up in the Sierras. It was not always 
 possible to keep our seats or prevent our 
 heads from striking the top of the stage 
 when a wheel struck a stone pretty vig- 
 orously ; indeed it is a little trying on 
 thin and bald-headed persons, and we 
 would recommend anyone contemplating 
 this trip to make appropriate provisions 
 for the occasion, should lie be deticieut in 
 head covering and acZif/jase. In addition 
 to the roughness of the road, in this dry 
 season the dust rises in clouds enveloping 
 the stage and everything in it. We made 
 an endeavor at each opportunity to get 
 out of the stage and wash off this accu- 
 mulation which makes every person the 
 Stime color as his neighbor. Faces and 
 clothes were of the same shade. We were 
 told to dust ourselves oti' on the same 
 principle as the residents t)f Pittsburg and 
 similar sooty places, blow- ofF the specs of 
 smut which are continually rained through 
 the atmosphere, as to otherwise interfere 
 with them would be to become more 
 soiled and streaked. We, however, took 
 our chancis and washed to get the worst 
 oft as well as to be refreshed. 
 
 At the dinner station where the horses 
 are also changed we met the stage coming 
 from Wa-W<;-Na ; at the change stations 
 there is little else than the tew necessary 
 buildings or shanties for the accommoda- 
 tion of horses, atteudaiits, etc. ; the horses 
 are ready harnessed when the stage comes 
 up, so that they can be immediately 
 hitched to the stage when the others are 
 detached, and so little time is lost ; water- 
 ing stations are placed at appropriate dis- 
 tances aiid are forlorn in their loneliness, 
 for excepting the stages few vehicles or 
 persons use this road. At the change 
 stations the male passengers frequently 
 get out to get the kinks out of their legs, 
 but were generally in their places when 
 "All ready" was called, save one, a young 
 gentleman before mentioned as never 
 having seen snow; he would start off ou 
 
 a brisk trot and so continue in advance of 
 the stage for a couple of miles, cutting ofl" 
 curves when informed such was possible, 
 and when tired would be taken aboard. 
 As we got up higher in the mountains 
 the precipices beside the road became 
 more appaling, and the trees became 
 larger and larger ; as we advanced pines 
 from three to eight feet in diameter and 
 with stems })erfectly straight and rising 
 to a height of between one hundred antl 
 two hundred feet, redwoods and other 
 varieties in great numbers, and we meas- 
 ured the precipices by the number 
 of tree lengths as they stood on the 
 mountain side below us. 
 
 At Wa-Wo-Na is a large hotel of 
 frame, very commodious and first class 
 for here; there is a hirge pLit of ground 
 in front, which being iirigaled has a de- 
 lightful bed of grass a pleasant relief alter 
 a liry and «lusty journey ; an art gallery 
 with some tine oil paintings furnishes an 
 attraction to the place, aUo a saw-ndll; 
 these constitute the settlement. After 
 shaking off the dust we washed, took 
 supper, and then to bed to rest our bodies, 
 our eyes and our brains. Tbe next morn- 
 ing we again set out, now on a down 
 grade, winding in and out on tlie moun- 
 tain sides, passing over narrow ledges, 
 near frightful declivities, many hundieds 
 of feet down, making one feel uncom- 
 fortable to look over and tiiink that 
 l)arely more than the width of the tire of 
 the wheel separates him from an almost 
 certain death should the wheel slip over. 
 Still the horses tear along. At some 
 points the ledge is so narrow tliat by 
 means of heavy timbers and rock the 
 road is extended to a sufficient width. So 
 we proceed until we arrive at Insi)iration 
 Point some eight miles from the valley 
 and thiee thousand feet above it. 
 
 Inspiration Point is practically at the 
 entrance of Yoseniile Valley and high up 
 on its edge with mountains slill higher on 
 one side of the road while on the other is 
 a precipice nearly three- fourths of a mile 
 down which is enough to inspire awe, 
 and if bold enough to approach its edge 
 you return quickly with a shudder; 
 however this is not the inspiration, but 
 at this high point we get a first view of 
 the Yosemite which burstssuddenly upon 
 the gazer. To see this picture of loveli- 
 ness, wonder and grandeur inspires one 
 with reverence at the majesty of the 
 Creator who willed this to be so; and pro- 
 found silence or an exclamation of "Oh ! 
 Oh!" is probably the only disturbance 
 of that rapture which impresses and in- 
 spires the stranger. The stage stoppod 
 some minutes and gave us a good view 
 from this place. Immediately before you, 
 but in the distance you see Bridal Veil 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 41 
 
 Fall.YosemiteFall, Cataract Fall, Cloud's 
 Rest and Catliedral Spires. We tbeu 
 started down what is little more than a 
 a steep trail, tlie horses going at a rattling 
 pace and at each turn we saw more and 
 more of the valley as we descend into the 
 basin, until at 12:80 p. m. we were landed 
 at Cook's Hole! in the valley and imme- 
 diately in front oi the Yosemite Fall. 
 Upon landing we were immediaiely at- 
 tacketl by sundry attaches wIjo captured 
 our luggage and then canje at us with 
 broonjs to remove the dirt we had gath- 
 ered u\>, before we went into the house. 
 After a wash we took dinner and then 
 went out to see the glories of this wonder- 
 ful place. 
 
 Tiie Yosemite Valley is a huge cleft in 
 the Sierra Nevada mountains and runs 
 transversely across the range; it is about 
 seven miles long and from one-half to one 
 and a half miles wide ; its bottom is 
 about four thousand feet above sea level 
 and is walled in by mountains of bare 
 and solid rock ranging from one thou- 
 sand to five thousand feet higli ; the 
 Merced River flows throughout it, while 
 trees, grass and flowers extend frt)m side 
 to side. The characteristic features of 
 this valley are the great height of the 
 almost perpendicular walls, the number 
 and gieat heiglit of the waterfalls, the 
 small amount of debris or broken rock 
 scattered lliroughout, making it quite 
 easy for visitors lo go aruuud on foot. The 
 walls have various prominent parts pro- 
 jecting above the re.^1, anil according to 
 certain forms and positions they have re- 
 ceived names to designate them. These 
 uaujes are Indian, Spanish and Elnglish, 
 ihe foruier lieing according to the pecu- 
 liarilie.s and traditions of that people 
 which we need not mention here ; the 
 same a[)plies to the names of the water- 
 falls. 
 
 El Capitan, the great chief or captain 
 of the valley, is a projecting mass of solid 
 rock 2,973 feet high ; this rock it is said, 
 can be seen from the San Joaquin Valley; 
 it stands to the left of the entrance by the 
 Mariposa trail. Next but at some dis- 
 tance from El Capitan is the Cathedral 
 Rock, 2,660 feet high, suriuounted by two 
 pinnaclesofrock extending 800 feet higher. 
 Next follow tlie Three Biothers, a ujass 
 of rock with three slightly inclined peaks 
 the tallest of which is 3,830 feet above the 
 valley. Next we liave the Sentinel Rock 
 shaped somewhat like an obelisk, rising 
 3,270 feet. Farther on we find the North 
 Dome, the name suggesting somewhat its 
 shape, rising 3,568 feet above the valley. 
 The South Dotue still more majestic rises 
 to 4,737 feet above the valley and has one 
 vertical face of over 1500 feet from the sum- 
 mit, while the lower part is nearly so. 
 
 The Cap of Liberty is 4,600 feet high, and 
 Star King 5,600 feet. About a mile east 
 of South Dome is Glacier Point 3,700 feet 
 above the valley, with Cloud's Rest on 
 the south wall, rising to (1,450 feet, the 
 highest [)oint here and 10,500 feet above 
 sea level. We approached the bases of a 
 few of these wonderful masses of granite 
 and were impressed with wonder and ad 
 miration ; they are too great for the mind 
 to appreciate their immensity in a short 
 time; time only could develop that 
 particular feeling, fortliey grow with each 
 iiour sj)ent in their presence. Those 
 w Inch we did not go directly to were dis- 
 tinctly visible from one poiiit or another 
 in the valley where we (lid go. 
 
 There are trails reacl)iiig to Cloud's 
 Rest, Gl. icier Point and other places, and 
 horses and guides are obtainable ft)r that 
 purpose, but to ride around the mountain 
 sides on the most dangerous and nar- 
 lowest of trails and at heights, whert- 
 when viewed from the bottom of the val- 
 ley, the hoists and rid* rs appear little 
 larger than flies, did not seem a strong 
 enough inducement, for none but the 
 clearlieaded and brave-heai ted we weie 
 assured would dare to undertake the trip ; 
 but the views to be obtained froui these 
 elevated [joints are wonderfully grand and 
 sublime, and unecjualed so far as known ; 
 we were told our visit would not be com- 
 plete without undertaking it. The whole 
 valley lies at your feet and beyond are 
 the rocky Sierras. Think of being on a 
 trail of three feet wide or less (and three 
 feet is regarded as a good width) on a rock 
 shelf 1000 feel or more above the valley, 
 where tlie rock is almost perpendicular, 
 and where a horse cannot turn around or 
 the rider dismount, where, whatever the 
 number, none could render assistance, as 
 for instance if y.)U got dizzy or had a 
 faint, and there'will be no surprise that 
 we did not venture, though our determi- 
 nation was arrived ai with re'uctance. 
 Many places are absolutely inaccessible, at 
 leastthey have not yet been reached, but 
 some of the doujes, rocks ami spires are 
 visited, but their tops cannot be scaled 
 without imperiling life, for the summits 
 are naught but bare, unbroken rock which 
 lichen could hardly hold fast upon and a 
 fly had better rest content with a bald 
 head than atteiupt to settle upon one of 
 these. The South Dome has been scaled 
 and some enterprising individual (1 might 
 say fool-hardy as well) has anchored at 
 various points 975 feet of rope to enable 
 any ambitious person to hold on to and 
 occomplish the daring feat. Were there 
 elegant stairs and strong hand rail it 
 would be no trifling matter to climb so 
 high. A woman has been one of the few 
 who have reached the top of South Dome. 
 
42 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 The falls are scarcely less awe iuspiriug 
 than tbe ro(!ks. Bridal Veil has a clear 
 fall of G30 feet, striking upou a luass of 
 rocks from which it is agaiu precipitated 
 300 feet perpendicular making 980 feet 
 from the top. This is one of the most 
 beautiful in the valley, and as the water 
 descends its edges swayed and broken by 
 the winds resemble the serpent roctkets 
 which we formerly saw on 4th of July 
 evenings; theunlirokeu body swaysgently 
 like a tliin tissue moved by wind. 
 
 The Yosemite Fall is also divided, but 
 in three parts instead of two as in the 
 Bridal Veil ; the first part is a clear fall 
 of nearly 1600 feet, striking a ledge ol 
 rock, over which it flows in a series of 
 small cascades for 626 feet more, and then 
 400 feet in perpendicular to the bottom. 
 This is said to be the highest waterfall in 
 the world for an equal body of water ; the 
 water where it comes over the top is esti- 
 mated at twenty feet, wide, two feet deep 
 and falling at the rate of 500,000 cubic feet 
 an hour. This body of water which starts 
 almost thread-like in appearance as it 
 comes mor*' into view, has the peculiar 
 swaying that is so beautiful in the Bridal 
 Veii, and as these two falls are the only 
 ones in the valley possessing this feature, 
 it is probably due to the perpendicular 
 fall or their situation in relation to pre- 
 vailing winds. The mind njay picture 
 but the eye must see to appreciate these 
 beautiful falls. No description ever can 
 convey the con.plete idea. Vernal Fall 
 is a l)eauliful little fall of 350 feet (when 
 We speak so familiarly of tbousainis of 
 feet, 350teet become ahuost conleujptible.) 
 Niagara Falls are only about 160 feet high, 
 but the volume of water is infinitely 
 greater. Nevada Fall, over 600 feet, is 
 veritably grand. Other falls are seen 
 here and there, but they are as threads. 
 The falls are supplied by the melting 
 snows in the mountains beyond, and dur- 
 ing the mouths of May and June are se-n 
 to their best advantage. As September 
 comes on the water decreases, the falls 
 become lessened in volume and a few of 
 the smaller ones dry up. Their water 
 njakes up the body of the Merced River 
 which runs through the valley. 
 
 An episode connected with our visit I 
 will here relate. We were wandering 
 about iu search of whatever might inter- 
 est, when we came upon a little cabin 
 sheltered by trees, vines, etc., and seeing 
 no one about we made bold to trespass, 
 but not to enter the house. A pair of 
 antlers hung outside and we tliought 
 what a nice souvenir of the occasion they 
 would be if we could obtain ihenj ; while 
 pondering upon tiie probaiiility of becom- 
 ing their possessor the door of the cabin 
 opened and there to our surprise stood 
 
 not a grizzly bear nor a wild Indian, but 
 a kindly faced man, about sixty-tive years 
 of age, dressed as a gentleman would be 
 in any city and about to take a walk. 
 His kindly voice reassured us and we ex- 
 pressed our desire to purchase the antlers. 
 "Money," he said "could not buy them, 
 they should be ours for the taking." We 
 protested, but he was equally firm, con- 
 senting at last to receive a book if we 
 thought enough of it to send him one. 
 We were introduced into his cabin, saw 
 many evidences of retinenjent and educa- 
 tion and learned that this was Mr. T. M. 
 Hutchiugs the superintendent of the 
 valley. Here in the valley be remains 
 year in and year out, cut off from all the 
 world in winter except by telephone, and 
 in the summer by the incoming of tourists 
 and the United States mail. His history 
 is one of much sadness ; he is alone and 
 he seems to love to be alone to comniune 
 with himself, with nature and with God. 
 A pleasant interchange of letters has 
 since been had with him which inakes us 
 witsh we knew him more intimately, He 
 is highly educated, carries on an exten- 
 sive eorrespondeiice with all parts of the 
 world. We saw in his hand a bundle of 
 over forty letters which he was alK)Ut to 
 deposit in tbe mail bag, they being ans- 
 wers to inciuiries respecting the Yosemite 
 Valley. lie loves to be busy nt)t merely 
 for the pleasure of occupation, but to di- 
 vert his mi lid from those heart clouds 
 which oppress him. 
 
 When the winter snows fill the road- 
 ways, trails, and even the valley some- 
 times to a depth of fifteen or twenty feet 
 be employs his leisure time in making 
 snow shoes for man and horse. The 
 snow shoes for man are made of three- 
 fourih inch pieces of wood, from five to six 
 feet long and six inches wide, turned up 
 in front and provided with straps to hold 
 the feet. Then with a pole the wearer 
 slides over the snow, the pole serving to 
 propel or retard according as to whether 
 he goes up or down an incline, also to 
 steady him on the level. Snow shoes for 
 horses will strike one as very comical if 
 not absurd, but we saw some he had 
 made. The shoe consists of a block of 
 wood aliout tifteeen inches ^(^uare and 
 two inches thick, with a shoe fitted in 
 the top and so arranged as to clasp the 
 horse's hoof; the animal soon learns to 
 use these awkward contrivances so that 
 they niay not fall. Snow shoes are re- 
 quired bt cause early in the spring season 
 it becomes necessary to oi)en the roads, 
 clear away the snow and even tunnelling 
 when otherwise too deep, so that entrance 
 to the valley can be ma<le from the out- 
 side world, besides the sooner the road is 
 opened the sooner the visitors enter, 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 43 
 
 lience the greater profit, and too as the 
 country aloug the road from Medara is as 
 yet but slightly productive, all the pro- 
 visions used along the road and in the 
 valley must be carried in. Only a few 
 persons remain in the valley during the 
 winter, hence is very lonely except to the 
 seeker after solitude. 
 
 The Yosenibte Valley was lirst entered 
 by white lueu in 184S and afterwards in 
 ISoO and 1852 Mr. Hutchings was the 
 second white man wlio entered it, and if 
 we are correctly informed, he lias been a 
 resident ever "since. He had a small 
 tiotel for the accommodation of the few 
 visitors in its early days when it was 
 more of a venture than now. It was sev- 
 eral years after its discovery befor. its 
 wonders were published to the world 
 since which time it has grown in popu- 
 larity, and by those vlio have seen many 
 natural wonders in all parts of the world 
 it is said that the Yoseinite Valley stands 
 alone and unrivalled of its kind. There 
 were some English tourists in our party 
 in the coach, who had just come irom 
 India and China and their exi)ressions 
 were most enthusiastic. 
 
 The Valley is now an established part 
 of the State and is governed by Commis- 
 sioners appointed by state authority ; 
 this will preserve it forever from vandal- 
 ism though not much could be done to- 
 wards demolishing or damaging its 
 granite walls, yet some enterprising ad- 
 vertising agent might venture to paint 
 the name and virtues of some wonderful 
 remedy as "Mexican Mustang Liniment" 
 particularly useful for those who visiting 
 the valley, desire instantaneous relief 
 from bruises received iu' the stage or from 
 tumbles on the rocks ; or of some wonder- 
 ful soap compound particulaily useful for 
 travellers to remove the dust and dirt 
 after the return from the Valley ; or that 
 "John VVauamaker s largest retail store 
 in America, can supply all liu' necessary 
 wants in his line for such a journey and 
 have plenty left to re[)lace all things torn, 
 worn out, or lost, on the return," upon 
 the dome of El Capitau or other almost 
 inaccessil)le point, for visitors to view 
 with their glasses. 
 
 Mirror Lake is a small but beautiful 
 sheet of water, in which, when the water 
 is still, can be seen- the reflectijn of the 
 surrounding trees and mountains; there 
 is nothing remarkable in this, the sanje 
 is often seen in stid streams and lakes 
 elsewhere. With our antlers (which 
 came from a deer shot in the valley), a 
 couple of sticks for canes and a few otlier 
 trifles, we climbed into the stage and 
 going bach the way we came, stopped at 
 Inspiration Point, turned to take a last 
 look at the wonderful, beautiful, and 
 
 flowery Yosemite Valley which we may 
 never see again. I neglected to say that 
 wild flowers of great beauty and variety 
 exist in profusion and the floral botanist 
 would be in his glory to spend a month 
 here among them. An attempt to press a 
 few proved a failure, for we were not pro- 
 vided with materials for that purpose. At 
 noon time we arrived at Wa-Wo-Na and 
 after dinner we again took the stage and 
 a nine mile drive brouglit us io tht- 
 famous Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. 
 
 The road from Medara to the Yosemite 
 Valley passes among trees which in the 
 mountains attain enormous i»roportions, 
 pines and cedars particularly, the former 
 ranging from three to twenty feet in 
 diameter. It is no wonder then that at 
 flrst we were not so much impressed 
 with the bigness of the Big Redwoods, 
 besides they stand among trees of im- 
 mense size. But by standing beside them 
 walking about ihem, goiiig into and 
 through them we gradually felt how 
 much greater tliese were than any we had 
 ever seen. Did they stand alone in some 
 op(-n Held their magnitude would be dis- 
 {)layed to better advaotage;perha)is ihe.'-iir- 
 rouiiding trees have been the means of 
 preserving these mammoth specimens 
 from destruction by the violent storms 
 which prevail in these high altitudes at 
 certain seasons. Forest fires do much to- 
 ward destroying the young ones in other 
 parts. Many of these monarchs ot the 
 lorest are much injured by tire at their 
 bases which is regarded as remarkable, for 
 there are no evidences of having attacked 
 other trees adjacent and it is said that 
 probably these fires occurred hundreds of 
 years ago. One of the trees has a road- 
 way cut through its base, and under it we 
 pa.ssed in our six horse coach, as it is on 
 the line of the road into H.e grove. 
 Whether the road was built purposely to 
 thus go through it or whether it acted as 
 an olistruetion and was tunnelled in con- 
 sequence, we cannot say. One fallen tree 
 has a stairway leading to the upper side 
 which has a platform built upon it. 
 Almost all the fallen trees are more oi 
 
 ess broken l)ecause the wo(;d is quite 
 brittle, in the few instances where they 
 are not broken it is supposed they fell 
 when there was much snow in llie moun- 
 tain. A tree in the Calaveras Grove has 
 been felled in order to determine if pos- 
 sible its age, and required the labor of five 
 men for twenty-two days using long 
 augurs to penetrate towards the heart; 
 thus weakened it still stood so plumt) that 
 even wedging was required to toppl^^ it 
 over. It is computed that one of the Big 
 Trees would yield over 500,000 teet of one 
 iiich sawed lumber. A section of one of 
 the Big Trees from the Fresno Group was 
 
44 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 exhibited at the Centennial Exposition, 
 and it is to be regretted tliat it was not 
 purcliased for tbe Fairniouiit Park. There 
 is also another section at the New Orleans 
 Exposition and is pictured iu Harper's 
 Weekly. 
 
 Tlie trees of the Calaveras and Mariposa 
 Groups are numbered and many are 
 named. In tlie hitter group we saw the 
 Grizzly Giaut. Grant, Garfield, Three 
 Sisters, Three Brothers, Wa-Wo Na, etc. 
 This last has the roadway cut through it. 
 The stagf stopped under it and we pro- 
 cured (what an old salt would call) a 
 "splinter" from it by the use of an axe. 
 Much as we are opposed to violation of 
 the law, and depreciate vandalism, yet 
 our American relic-hunting disposition 
 could not be quelled. 
 
 The largest of these trees measure from 
 50 to 91.6 feet in circutntereuce at tht-ir 
 bases, but two of the largest have 
 been so much burned that their original 
 measure of over 100 feet is very much les- 
 sened ; one of these, the Gr izzy Giant, we 
 measured with a string as high as we 
 could reach above tlie ground and it was 
 82 feet. The highest Big Tree is in the 
 Calaveras Group, 325 feet high ; the high- 
 est in the Mariposa Gr()up is 272 leet and 
 the Grizzly Giant is the oldest thus far 
 found in any grcjup. Tliese trees are per- 
 fectly straight and devoid of branches 
 until about cue hundred feet from the 
 ground and we saw branches ^aid to 
 be six feet in diameter which we verified 
 by comparing ihem witii the fallen trees. 
 Further destruction of tiiis grove will be 
 prevented so far as man is eoneerned as the 
 United Slates maiie a grant of two square 
 miles containing this group to the State ot 
 California as trustee, for a public park. 
 
 The Big Trees are only found in the 
 Sierra Nevadas in California, und at an 
 average elevation of between 4,000 and 
 5,000 teet above the sea, in groups in a 
 belt C)f aljout 200 ndles ; whether knovvn 
 to white men before the cessioPi of this 
 country to the United Stales, we tlo not 
 know, but it w;is not until about 1850 that 
 the world was apprised of their existence. 
 
 The Big Trees are known to bcjtanists 
 as the /S'e^zfoza GUjantea, named after Se- 
 quo-yah a half breed Cherokee Indian 
 who was born in the last century, and 
 was a man of remarkable intelligence, 
 but we did not learn that he had any- 
 thing to do with tlie discovery or descrip- 
 tion of the giants. The (Sfef/uoia Semper- 
 virens is u very near relation of the Oigan 
 tea and is generally iu its company, 
 though it has a most extensive range, 
 covering hundreds of miles of mointain 
 and very numerous. They belong to the 
 Conifera or cone bearing trees, and re- 
 semble the cyprees; the wood is red like 
 
 cedar and is hence called the Redwood, 
 light in weigiit, rather brittle, and resists 
 decay with astonising power. The bark 
 is of a reddish brown color, quite porous 
 and soujewhat fibrous, is from twelve to 
 twenty inches thick, the corns are small 
 (from one and three-fourth to two and a 
 half inches long) growing in large num- 
 bers in clusters; they are hard and com- 
 pact, containing many .seeds whicli are 
 strikingly small when compared with the 
 size of the tree, one-fourth inch long and 
 one-sixteenth inch wide and as thin as 
 paper. 
 
 While the Sequoia Gigantea exists in 
 large numbers in the various groves the 
 giants are but a comparatively speaking, 
 small part. There are many in their 
 "youthful vigoi'' of ten feet in diameter, 
 supposed to be about 500 .\eais old. 'Tis 
 like children among their grandsires. 
 Tlie ag':'S of the largest trees are estimated 
 at l-etween 1200 and 2000; what an age 
 for a living thing! Nations have died, 
 races become extinct, discoveries made, 
 revolutions religious and civil, civiliza- 
 tion advancing, requiring centuries, and 
 yet these survive and with reasonable 
 ])rospect of centuries yet going over their 
 crowns, before they pass the way of all 
 living things. Oilier trees of great size 
 exist among these great ones, as sugar 
 pines, spruce, fir, bastard cedar (which is 
 very like the Sequoia) and others. The 
 most of these become very large, the 
 sugar \nuyi^, [pinus Iwinbertini,) growing 
 to 250 feet or more in height and from 
 10to20 feetin diameter, theconesof which 
 are 12 to 20 inches in length and from 4 
 to six inches in diameter. We gathered 
 up several, sixteen inches long. They re- 
 semble the cciuimon pine cone of the east 
 except their great size ; they aresupposed 
 by many to come from the giant trees. 
 This may arise from the fact that they 
 are found in those groves and also that it 
 would be a demonstration of the seeming 
 fitness of things. These pines, etc., are 
 fitting associates of scarcely more at- 
 tractive giants. 
 
 We purchased at a little cabin iu the 
 grove (there being no other houses) two 
 of the large cones encased in strips of 
 redwood, as souvenirs. These with other 
 cones, large and small, gathered from the 
 ground we finished our visit, and with our 
 comjiany left in ihe stage for Wa-Wo-Na, 
 took supper and the next moruing com- 
 menced our all day ride to Medara. A pe- 
 culiar tree of small size, generally little 
 more than a shrub with a leaf something 
 like the mountain laurel, found iu the Yose- 
 tnile Valley. In the mountains and along 
 the roadside is the Manzanita, reuiark- 
 able for its crookedness, little more than 
 a foot of straight wood iu auy part. It is 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 45 
 
 of exceeding toughness and hardines, 
 being almost of the density of box-wood. 
 It almost resists the saw and axe. We 
 procured with great ditticulty a few 
 pieces ; an endeavor to procure a straight 
 piece for a cane proved fruitles, and an 
 ofler to the stage driver of a fee if he 
 would cut a stick for us was declined ; se- 
 curing an ax, we tried for ourselves and 
 while fairly successful in getting some 
 pieces it was, however, with great difft- 
 culty. When the trunks are moderately 
 thick, canes are sometimes sawed from 
 them, but neccessarily having a cross 
 grain in some part, they readily break. 
 \\'e saw such a den)onstration in the 
 hands of one of our company. The man- 
 zaunita grows in bunches as if a number 
 came from a common root, and rarely 
 reach ten feet high. It produces a berry, 
 said to be eatable, but we did not try ; 
 the bark is of a dark red color, which, 
 when the tree is cut at this season, peels 
 otTin thin scales, revealing a green under- 
 layer which also peels ; when it is cut in 
 winter the barl? adheres very closely and 
 makes the wood very attractive. 
 
 The journey to Medara was made with- 
 out special incident except to hear the ex- 
 pressions of surprise and satisfaction 
 made by several of our party who were 
 subjects of John Bull. Tiiey had traveled 
 n)ucli and England was great, but they 
 had nothing at home, nor had they seen 
 abroad anything whicli would compare 
 with what they had just left. The Big 
 Trees may have been alive, though very 
 young when Julius Csesar invaded 
 Britain, and were centuries old when 
 William the Conqueror first set foot on 
 Britisli soil. These remarks were veiy 
 pleasant to our American ears. 
 
 On the return froui as well as on the 
 way to the Valley we passed under and 
 near to a large flume which extends from 
 Medara up into the mountains a distance 
 of seventy miles ; for a considerable 
 number of miles it follows the stage road 
 very closely. This flume is built like a 
 trough in a pig-sty and is about six feet 
 across the top ; in some places it is niarly 
 on a level with tlie road and at others 
 where it crosses gullies it is supported on 
 trestles nearly one hundred feet high. It 
 is used to carry lumber from tiie saw 
 mills in tiie mountains down to Medara. 
 It has sundry stations along its course 
 where it widens somewhat and where 
 persons are stationed with telegraphic 
 and tele[)honic instruments, so as to 
 observe and announce accidents or other 
 circumstances when they occur, just after 
 the manner of a signal station on a rail- 
 way line. The water, besides being used 
 for running lumber is also used for irriga 
 tion by persons who purchase the right 
 
 from the flume owners. The water runs 
 with great swiflne.ssas might besupposed 
 wliere the grade is so great and the con- 
 ductor so smooth, as it must be to prevent 
 jamming of lumber. Occasionally trips 
 are taken from tlie mountains in tri- 
 angular-shaped boats made for the pur- 
 pose, l)ut this amusement is not only 
 dangerous, but a wetting is an almost 
 sure result, while the transit is of almost 
 lightning-like rapidity. A trip had been 
 made down this flume a day or two 
 before we got there. A comical adventure 
 was related some time ago in the New 
 York Tribune by H. J. Ramsdell, who in 
 company with Messrs. Flood and Fair, 
 the California millionaires, and otliers, 
 had been visiting the mines near Virginia 
 City, Nevada, and a flume ride was 
 I)roposed and accepted. He says : "I 
 thought that if men worth $2o,00(),()(l() or 
 $30,OUU,000 apiece could afl'ord to risk their 
 lives I could afford to risk mine, which 
 wasnot worth half as much." Theaverage 
 time made was thirty miles an hour, and 
 after a fifteen mile ride in thirty-rtve 
 minutes, he, like the rest, was all wet, 
 and the other impression that they 
 received can be better appreciated l)y the 
 roilowing : "Flood said he would not 
 make the trip again for the whole Consol- 
 idated Virginia Mine. 
 
 This day's ride was made in a teujpera- 
 ture greater than we ever experienced 
 and when we arrived at Mtdara in llie 
 evening we were informed that the ther- 
 mometer liad registered llHdegiees Fah- 
 renheit. After supper, with our horns, 
 canes, sticks, etc., we got into a sleeping 
 car in waiting and retired to dream of 
 great rocks and huge treeM but we had no 
 night-mares ; later in the night the train 
 from Southern California hooked us on 
 and away we s[)ed up the Han Joaquin 
 Valley to Lathrop. As daylight appeared 
 our eyes opened on a country which was 
 uuder cultivation, wheat being the prin- 
 cipal production, tliere being fields of it 
 for miles and still standing ; few houses 
 were to be seen anywhere and they are 
 the merest shanties. The grass, wliich is 
 green in the winter and spring becomes 
 naturally cured in the summer and is cut 
 for hay ; the rainfall is light and where 
 it fails irrigation is resorted to, artesian 
 wells and streams supplied with wind- 
 pumps furnishing the water. Trees are 
 few except on the mountain slopes. The 
 San Joaquin Valley lies between the 
 Sierra Nevada and the coast ranges of 
 mountains, with a width of from twenty 
 to one hundred and fifty miles, and ex- 
 tends from Lathrop southward two liun- 
 dred and fifty miles. The soil is a close 
 loam which, under the summer sun, 
 opens in great cracks and of considerable 
 
46 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 depth. The stations along the road are 
 all small, being side tracks, telegraph 
 stations and occasionally villages. 
 
 We arrive at Lathrop at 7 a. m., take 
 our breakfast and change cars for Sacra- 
 mento, which we reached at 10:30 a. m. 
 August 11th. Lathrop is a railroad town 
 of great importance, it being on one of 
 the routes from Sacramento to San Fran- 
 cisco, also being at the entrance of the 
 San Joaquin Valley, traversed by the 
 Southern Pacific Railroad, by which the 
 Yosemite and Southern California is 
 reached. 
 
 Stockton, a short distance above Lath- 
 rop, is on very low level ground and is 
 an active business place ; the railroad 
 passes to the east of it, a deep slough 
 navigable for large steamers and other 
 vessels connecting witli the San Joaquin 
 river, enables it to carry on considerable 
 shipping trade with San Francisco. The 
 country hereabouts is mostly under culti- 
 vation, wheat being the staple product, 
 though other things, as vegetables, are 
 raised, but no corn. We do not remem- 
 ber having had green corn at any of the 
 hotels west of Ogdeu. Irrigation is 
 entirely depended on and wind-pumps 
 are so numerous in this section of Cali- 
 fornia that at one railway station (Lodi) 
 near here we counted nearly two hun- 
 dred in the few minutes of the stop of the 
 tiaiu and it would be safe to say there are 
 thousands in its vicinity. Stockton gets 
 its water from an artesian well. 
 
 Sacramento, which we passed in the 
 night on our way to San Francisco, is 
 located on the Sacramento river, ninety 
 miles from San Francisco, and is the 
 capital of the state. It is elegantly laid 
 out, the streets are broad and regular, 
 shaded by magnificent shade trees, 
 making in many places almost an arcade. 
 The business houses are mostly of brick, 
 while the residences from cottages to 
 mansions are of wood, the redwood, the 
 sequoia semjiervirens being used, and we 
 felt it a pity that these magnificent forest 
 trees should be used for su('h purpose, not 
 withstanding their profusion. The gar- 
 dens and lawns are well ke{)t and we saw 
 oranges, tigs, limes and tropical plants 
 growing in rare profusion. The city is 
 lighted with gas and electricity ; water 
 works which take the water from the 
 Sacramento river, churches, college halls, 
 schools, courthouse, capitol and other 
 buildings constitute the principal public 
 edilices ; the ca[)itol, built of granite and 
 t)rick, is very extensive and cost $2,500,- 
 000. The architecture resembles some- 
 what the (;apitol at Washington and is 
 surmounted by the Temple of Liberty 
 and a bronze statue representing Califor- 
 nia ; the interior is finished in elegant 
 
 style and the Californians are justly 
 proud of the whole. It is built in the 
 centre of a block of ground upon an ele- 
 vation which is terraced, the whole sur- 
 rounded by an ornamental railing ; the 
 grounds are ornamented with shade trees 
 and flowers and are very carefully kept. 
 The car shops of the Central Pacific 
 Railroad are located here, for Sacramento 
 is the beginning of the road. Flour mills, 
 carriage, wagon and furniture factories 
 are numerous, but this city is probably 
 best known for its manufacture of the 
 famous California Blankets, those lovely, 
 thick, soft and wooly covers which are 
 luxurious and unlike any others manu- 
 factured in the world that we are familiar 
 with in the east. The wool crop of Cali- 
 fornia is one of the largest, finest and 
 best in the world. 
 
 Sacramento is also famous for its pack- 
 ing and shipment of California fruits. 
 We made a visit to one of the largest 
 packing establishments in the city and 
 there found a large number of Chinamen 
 employed in sorting fruit, wrapping each 
 specimen in paper, as oranges and lemons 
 are wrapped which come to us from the 
 south. These are carefully packed in 
 small boxes for shipment. An inquiry 
 was made as to why Chinamen were em- 
 ployed and the answer was that they 
 followed directions and samples more 
 closely than whites and made no devia- 
 tion, which insured uniformity of size 
 and quality of each package. They 
 handle the fruit with the dexterity of an 
 expert handling and packing eggs. 
 
 The hotels are numerous and very large 
 the size of the city. Our stay at the 
 "Western" was exceedingly satisfactory 
 as to accommodations, table and cost. 
 The sidewalks are all plank, and a 
 peculiarity of the buildings near the 
 street is that they have porticos extend- 
 ing from the second story out to the curb 
 line, thus making a cover over the pave- 
 ment, and as they are quite continuous 
 they protect the pedestrian when the 
 summer's sun is at meridian, for it some- 
 limes get.s very hot in this place ; al.so 
 fr>)m the showers in the rainy season. 
 
 Every town of any size on the Pacific 
 (Joast lias its (.Munese quarter, and Sacra- 
 mento is no exception, where large 
 numbers of these people live, transact 
 business, or work in various parts of the 
 city for other people. They are large 
 dealers in fruits and vegetables, which 
 they sell by weight and not by peck or 
 busliel. This is universal throughout the 
 west and not peculiar to Chinamen, 
 They are |)ackers, as before noted, and 
 also act as laundrymen, cooks and cham- 
 ber—shall I say njaids or men ? in public 
 and private houses, in which capacities 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 47 
 
 they are said to be very reliable. 
 
 Agricultural Park, witb its race course, 
 is to be seen from the road when ap- 
 proaching the city from the east, and it is 
 held in high esteem here in the fair and 
 racing season. The State p]xposition 
 Building is a large tine structure and is 
 permanent. 
 
 The ground upon which Sacramento 
 stands, as well as surrounding it, is very 
 low and marshy, but its "moors and 
 fens" which are filled with festering 
 malaria have been so changed by filling 
 in, draining, etc., that the place has been 
 made habitable and tht> work of reclaim- 
 ing is still going on, to the great advan- 
 tage of the business and other interests of 
 the citj'. He who has been long absent 
 from the city would not recognize many 
 places on his return. In the early days 
 of the city the streets during certain 
 seasons, from rain, overflow and retained 
 moisture, would become so miry as to 
 constitute a dangerous slough or sink for 
 all who ventured, whether man or beast, 
 and we have seen it stated that on one 
 occasion a humane man posted a sign 
 near one particularly bad place, which 
 bore this significant legend : 
 
 "This street is impassable 
 Not even jacliassable." 
 
 This man, if dead, should have a mon- 
 ument erected to his memory for this 
 good deed by Mr. Henry Bergh's Society 
 for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ■ 
 from the proceeds of the legacies his 
 society has received ; for anything but 
 purely selfish demonstrations was rare in 
 tiie early days of California. 
 
 The shipi^ing is quite extensive, as the 
 Sacramento river is navigable for large 
 vessels. Much fruit is grown in the vSac- 
 ramento, Napa, and other adjacant val- 
 leys, the vineyards and orchards are 
 extensive and it is said the wine interests 
 alone promise to make California one of 
 the richest states in the Union. The 
 wine is pure, cheap and i)lentiful ; the 
 choicest grapes, whicn in the east fetch 
 from 50 cents to $1 per pound, are here 
 sold for 10 cents. The more decidedly 
 tropical fruits are raised in Southern 
 California. Thus California outrivals 
 any other state in the possibilities of its 
 its culture and it is prophesied that its 
 gold interests will eclipse the past pro- 
 ductions of that precious metal. 
 
 The railroad depot is large and most 
 complete. It is only excelled by that at 
 Oakland, which is the finest on the 
 Pacific coast. Two days spent in Sacra- 
 mento gave us a fair idea of the city and 
 we turned our faces homeward to leave 
 this wonderland behind. 
 
 California is a state which includes all 
 kinds of weather and season within its 
 
 boundaries. The southern part is hot, 
 with little or no rain in its desert country, 
 and winter is unknown ; farther up to- 
 wards the middle there is rain at certain 
 seasons, but in no great (juantity, and the 
 land is fairly tillable by irrigation ; spring 
 and summer are perpetual and the moun- 
 tains may be covered with snow ; further 
 north there is the rainy season which 
 corresponds with our winter ; the atmos- 
 phere at this season is chilly, snow is ex- 
 ceedingly rare and plants are always 
 green ; still farther north the coast line is 
 moderately warm, while in the mountains 
 the winters are rigorous; the sheltered 
 valleys are, however, habitable and verj' 
 productive. 
 
 We did not get into the extreme north 
 or south. California is too big and has 
 too njuch of interest to be seen in a short 
 stay like ours; even our ride of nearly 
 700 miles through it showed us but a 
 small part. We hope this may not be 
 our last visit and if so fortunate we shall 
 vi^it the great vinyards, orchards and 
 groves to the north and the south, com- 
 pared with which, what we did see is 
 quite insignificant. 
 
 Getting tnto a sleeper, by the light of 
 a waning moon we saw a little of the 
 country east of Sacramento, but retiring 
 • we awoke next morning at 5 o'clock at 
 Truckee, 119 miles from Sacramento. 
 Truckee 209 miles from San Francisco is 
 a railroiid division station, having a large 
 round-house and some repair shops. It 
 also has a large lumber trade; the popu- 
 lation, ahout 2000, has a large number of 
 Chinamen. It is also a mountain resort 
 in sunjmer time and is the point from 
 which stages start to visit several beauti- 
 ful lakes a few miles away. The hunting 
 and fishing make the locality very at- 
 tractive. In winter the snow storms are 
 sometimes of enormous proportions and 
 the need of snow sheds in these moun- 
 tains becomes very evident, forty to fifty 
 feet of snow sometimes covering them. 
 
 We soon passed the Nevada line and 
 at Reno we took breakfast; continuing 
 over the line we came, we crossed into 
 Utah at 1:45 a. m., Aug. 15, and at 7:30 a. 
 m.-took breakfast at Ogden. Nevada is a 
 state erected a few years ago out of the 
 territory of Utah, by cutting it through 
 in the r'niddle from north to south ; the 
 eastern half still remains as Utah Terri- 
 tory. 
 
 Nevada is composed of mountains and 
 valleys, furnishing grazing ground for 
 cattle and sheep ; forests of timber more 
 or less stunted for want of water; sage- 
 brush, alkali and sandy deserts which 
 absorbs all the water which comes from 
 the mountains. Some few lakes exist ; 
 but as a mining state it stands almost un- 
 
48 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 rivalled, gold, silver, lead, iron, sulphur, 
 autimony, coal aud salt existing in vast 
 quantities, aud the output has been euor- 
 tuous ; mining is still in its infancy. Car- 
 sou and Virginia Cities are the great 
 mining points of this state. The great 
 Consolidated Virginia Mine and the Sutro 
 Tunnel are near the latter place. 
 
 From Ogden we proceeded eastward 
 through the wonderful Echo and Weber 
 Canons which we were again enabled to 
 see, not more effectively, however, than 
 wheu we came out, for by the courtesy of 
 the conductor on that occasion we saw 
 much that would have otherwise passed 
 without our notice. He called our atten- 
 tion to them as we came to them, took us 
 to the most advantageous parts of the 
 train for observation, sometimes on the 
 phitforms, where we could get the advan- 
 tage of a view of the jjreat heights in the 
 narrow passes, etc. We have uot got his 
 name or we should here mention it with 
 our thanks.. Train men on the western 
 roads are generally co irteous so far as our 
 observation goes, and it is a great com- 
 fort to find it so. The remainder of the 
 road to Cheyenne was passed in daylight 
 and the interesting points ha^e already 
 been noted. Having crossed Utah and 
 Wyoming with llieir hills, dest-rt and 
 sage brush, at Pine Bluffs, 478 miles from 
 Omaha, we pass into Nel)rask:i, which 
 presents nothing materially different in 
 the landscape until we reach the Platte 
 River, where we see hort^es, cattle and 
 sheep in vast lierds, for the Platte Valley 
 is well provided with grass, and ranches 
 exist on all sides. No l>uil(iings are to be 
 seen except at the railway stations and 
 such others as are necessary for the herd- 
 ers of stock. 
 
 Oii the way we pass through Sidney, 
 412 miles from Omaha. It hits a round 
 house and small rep;iir shops, and a pop- 
 ulation of about 1,000. The next place of 
 importance is North Platte, 291 miles 
 from Omaha, and is said to be a thriving 
 town of 2000 inhabitants. The largest 
 round house and repair shops on tiie 
 road are at this place ; it is also noted for 
 being the residence of Hon. Wm F. Cody 
 (Buffalo Bill). His house was pointed 
 out to us. North Platte is also a great 
 centre for the shipment of catt'e from the 
 ranches in Nebraska; also for those 
 driven up from Texas. Here we took 
 supper and soon after retired. 
 
 On waking in the morniug we found 
 we had passed through a raiu storm, 
 which bad been pretty severe, tlu)Ujih it 
 did uot disturb us. Tlie railroad follows 
 the South Platte River to near 
 Nortii Platte, wheie it continues along 
 the Platte to within a few miles of 
 Omaha. We had crossed the Nebraska 
 
 plains famous for their buffalo herds in 
 past days ; also antelope, coyotes, prairie 
 chickens, prairie dogs and Indians; the 
 first have long since passed away and 
 their place taken by horses, cattle aud 
 sheep; the other above mentioned crea- 
 tures are fast melting away before the ad- 
 vance of white men. We saw small fleets 
 of "prairie schooners" with their ox or 
 mule teams slowly wending their way 
 across these wide, wide plains. We saw 
 roads here and there, but wiiere they led 
 we could only imagine, for no habitation 
 could be seen in any direction, and here 
 a clear uninterrupted view is bad in all 
 directions for very many miles. 
 
 The traveller, emigrant or otherwise, 
 who is overtaken by wind, rain, hail or 
 snow storms has no means of shelter, but 
 must take them as they come, and it is 
 said that they are often sudden and of a 
 severity which we in tbeeast can scarcely 
 conceive possible. We also saw num- 
 erous buttes, mounds, castle and chiniuey 
 rocks iii various parts of the prairie. It 
 would ujake one wonder what could in- 
 duce anyone to venture in these appar- 
 ently desolate regions, but Ibeover ciovvd- 
 ing of tlie east, the necessity for food, and 
 the desire for gain have doubtless lieen 
 the real incentives as they must be in the 
 peopling of any new country. Thus far 
 we liave not seen many people and there 
 are many thousands of square milts of un- 
 culiivaied lands, Im: as population in- 
 creases all this will lie changed 
 
 We arrived at Council Bluffs 7:o5 a. m. 
 August 17th, and put up at the Railroad 
 Htjtel connected with tlie depot. After a 
 preliminary wash up and l)reakfast we 
 took a horse car and went up into the 
 town, for the town is located some dis- 
 tance from the station. The horse made a 
 splash with each step he took over the 
 ties, for the road between the tracks is not 
 j)aved but has deep holes in which the rain 
 of the previous night had accumulated, 
 and the horse displayed considerable dex- 
 terity in avoiding the ties. 
 
 Council Bluffs, so called because of its 
 having been the scene oT a number of 
 Indian councils, having such a great 
 name in the east, figuring on all the rail- 
 road maps and time tables as a place of 
 some note, attracted our attention, hut we 
 were surprised to see a comparatively 
 small town, though it claims about 20,- 
 000 inhabitants, wi h its wooden houses, 
 many not painted, set upon stilts to keep 
 tbeiM out of the floods which overflow 
 the lower part of this place when it rains. 
 The board walks are also elevated aud 
 passage ways are made to the houses. We 
 saw many iiouses with water all arouud 
 and under them ; also signs announcing 
 lots for sale which were then covered 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 49 
 
 with water. Its promiueuce depends 
 upon its being a railroad point. It is tbe 
 terminus of several Iowa railroads ; there 
 is also here a large stock yard. 
 
 Getting ott the car where it stopped, it 
 turned on a turn table and went back to 
 the depot. We took a short walk on the 
 plank side walks and awaited the return 
 of the car we came in, which took about 
 one hour, for there is only one car on this 
 line and so far as we know it is the only 
 line. A goodly number of private resi- 
 dences are located on the bluff, but we 
 found the place so generally unattractive, 
 the streets very deep with njud and alto- 
 gether not worth the trip of two miles, 
 the distance from the depot, that we re- 
 turned as soon as possible. 
 
 We then desired to go to Omaha to get 
 our mail if any, and looked about for the 
 ferry to cross the river but found none. 
 We were told that the banks of the river 
 being so low and of such soft earth that 
 no roadway or landing place could 
 readily be made, but that trains at stated 
 times crossed the bridge for the accom- 
 modation of passengers and teams, flat 
 cars being provided for the latter. Thus 
 we crossed and going to the post office 
 found what we were after and then took a 
 view of the town which we foundan active 
 business place, well built and a great rail- 
 road point. It is fifty feet higlier than 
 Council Bluffs and nearer liie river. The 
 stores of l)oth places were open notwiMi 
 standing this was Sunday, luit no business 
 was being transacted. A resident said 
 that Sunday business was very light and 
 that Sunday opening would eventually 
 regulate it>elf. 
 
 Council Bluffs is the legal eastern ter- 
 minus of the Union Pacitic Railroad, but 
 Omaha is the business point. The dejjot 
 at the former place is very extensive and 
 accommodates all the roads centering here. 
 The railroad company owns lOOU acres, 
 which is designed for extending the 
 facilities and meeting the growing de- 
 mands of this place. The depot hotel is 
 large, elegant and convenient, and we 
 recommend it to visitors to Couijcil 
 Bluffs. 
 
 The bridge across the Missouri at this 
 place is an iron tru s and is an engineer- 
 ing marvel. It is composed of 11 spans, 
 250 feet each in length and 50 feet above 
 high water mark. The spans rest on 11 
 piers of cast iron, 2 columns each, HI feet 
 in diameter, and sunken through the mud 
 down to bed rock, wf)rkmen bemg on the 
 inside under great atmos[)heric pressure 
 cleaning out the earth so as lo enable the 
 tubes to sink, one of the columns reach- 
 ing the rock at 82 feet. Total lengtii of 
 the iron structure of the bridge is 2750 
 feet. The eastern approach is an embank- 
 
 ment one and a half miles long; the 
 western end of the bridge rests on tlie high 
 bank. There must have been consider- 
 able loss of life in its construction as is 
 the case with all large enterprises whether 
 in building tunnels or li)ridges. 
 
 We had now completed 1,805 from miles 
 San Francisco to Council Bluffs, and from 
 our time table we found we had passed 
 254 stations along the line including the 
 termini, with an aggregate population of 
 460,000 inhabitants. Of this amount 389,- 
 000 belong to 7 stations (and of this last 
 23o,000 belong to San Francisco), leaving 
 the amount of 71,000 to be distributed 
 among 247 stations many of which have 
 nothing to indicate that they are stations 
 except a sign with the name, and others — 
 well let me quote from Robt. J. Burdette, 
 Haivkeye man : 
 
 "As you wander up and down the 
 land you observe al tlie stations the 
 smaller the town the bigger the name. 
 The poorest, most distressed, hungriest- 
 looking passengers always get off at the 
 smallest, forlornest towns with the big- 
 gest names. Now there is a man just got 
 off at Canton City. He got on al Liver- 
 pool City. He didn't have enough coat 
 to sew buttons to. His trousers were 
 made of guuny-iiags, with patches ,;f tar- 
 paulin and shreds of flannel, and his hat 
 wasn't made al all. It was something 
 that grows wild souiewliere in the dark. 
 And the city is on a par with the man. 
 Now there is London City, that we just 
 passed. It is a compilation of cabins and 
 shanties, with one grocery with a dash- 
 board in front, where the natives in the 
 evenings hold their mouths open and say 
 'Hey' when any one ventures a remark 
 relative to the price of hogs. It is the 
 wild, ungovernable ambition of every 
 little hamlet about the size of a piano-box, 
 stodd down in a desolate swamp or tree- 
 less flat, to clujose souie high-sounding 
 name, and then tack "city" on to it. So 
 it is that we have Boston, New York, 
 Brooklyn and Chicago. That is all very 
 well ; but when you take a trip on the 
 Lost Creek narrow gauge, you find 
 Metropolis Ciiy, Berlin City, Edinburgh 
 City, Vienna City. Not a single plain 
 monosyllable town on the line, and not a 
 city that can raise one liundred people to 
 go "to the circus. Still such is the way of 
 man. I do not feel harshly toward 
 these cities " This is a fair descrip- 
 tion of many places we have seen. Time 
 will make some places important which 
 are now but barely noted on the railway 
 mai>s, develop new ones, and see others 
 blotted out. 
 
 August 18th we took the Chicago & 
 North-Westeru Railroad, crossed the 
 State of Iowa, which is a vast prairie, 
 
50 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 very fertile and with no special features. 
 The soil is a black loam quite two feet 
 deep, in some places more, and lilie much 
 of the country in the Mississippi Valley, 
 requires no manuring as it is of almost 
 inexhaustible richness. We passed 
 through several important places, particu- 
 larly Cedar Rapids but as it was night 
 and we were comfortably sleeping, we 
 knew nothing of what was transpiring. 
 We crossed the Mississippi River on a 
 flue iron bridge at Clinton and continued 
 due east across Illinois to Chicago, which 
 wereachtdat 7 a. m. August 19th and 
 490 miles from Council Bluffs. 
 
 A few days spent in this great city in 
 visiting Lincoln Park, taking views of 
 Lake Michigan at various points, looking 
 into the large dry goods liouses and pub- 
 lic buildings, all worthy the reputation 
 which this has. This city is greater since 
 the destructive firtsomeyeaisago. Nearly 
 all evidence of it has been blotted out an'd 
 like the t)hoenix rising from the asbes 
 more glorious than ever, there have been 
 rows of tall, fine looking and capacious 
 buildings in the places of, those destroyed. 
 The weather became intensely hot and 
 we concluded not to run the risk of sun- 
 stroke by pressing too much sight seeing 
 into a short space of time, and we there- 
 Core left njLich unseen, for this city is very 
 disagreeable in hot weather, located as it 
 is on low ground which is boggy ; the hot 
 moisture ri.-^es and is very opi)ressive. 
 We however determined to visit the 
 famous stock yards, and the slaughter 
 and packing houses of the famous pork 
 kiug Armour, who is sometimes sarcas- 
 tically called the "Kiug of the Hog.s," or 
 the "King Hog." 
 
 By cable car we were taken about two 
 miles south vvcsl of the city and saw the 
 immense droves of cattle and pigs in the 
 yards. The slauiihter house is a large 
 brick building right in tlie midst of tlie 
 yards. The slaughtering of pigs is done 
 in the second story and i.s supj>lied with 
 the most approved macliiueiy for this 
 wliolesale taking of life and prei)aring of 
 the meat, which, in the hands of work- 
 men, each having liis particular part to 
 perform, acquire a dexterity which is as- 
 tonishing. The pigs are raised upon an 
 elevator to the level of tlie slaugliteriug 
 room and each in turn is caught by tlie 
 leg l)y a machine and hoisted into the air. 
 A man with a long knife dexterously 
 j)lun<res it into the hog's throat and be- 
 fore he ceases his shrieks he is plunged 
 into a trough of scalding water. Wliile 
 passing through it revolving wheel 
 brushes are applied to the body and the 
 hair is rapidly removed. Then it is hung 
 up and quickly disembowelled. Passing 
 on to others the head is cut off uud the 
 
 body split in two. It is then washed otf 
 and starts on a railway track suspended 
 from the ceiling to a refrigerating room. 
 So rapidly is all this done that in the 
 time it would take to read this account a 
 pig has passed from his grunting selfish 
 life to the cooiing room and probably all 
 cut up ready for packing, or shipment in 
 the fresh state, and Armour's refrigerator 
 cars are to be seen in all parts of the coun- 
 try used in the transportation of fresh 
 dressed meats. 
 
 That this slaughter is almost beyond 
 comprehension is best appreciated when 
 it, is said that the enormous number of 
 between 5,000 and 6,000 are killed in a 
 working day or nearly ten every minute. 
 Cattle are driven into stalls from which 
 they cannot turn, they are then shot ami 
 with a rapidity almost equal to that just 
 described they pass from life through all 
 the processes necessary to tit them for the 
 market. We at first entered this esLab- 
 iishnient with some reluctance, feeling 
 that slaughter houses are not the places 
 which are regarded proper for ladies to 
 visit, but our minds were soon disabused 
 on this point, for we saw parties of ladies 
 and gentlemen coming in carriages, or as 
 we did, to see this place, which is proba- 
 l)ly not exceeded by any in Cincinnati or 
 Kansas City, tlie other great centres of 
 the slaughtering and packing trade. 
 
 Chicago is still growing in extent and 
 wealth. It is tjje great railroad centre of 
 the north and west ; its suburbs are dec- 
 oratedjwith magnificent private residences 
 and ditches running here aud there to 
 drain the land. The Cliicago river divides 
 the city ; it is a narrow, deep and sluggish 
 stream crossed by numerous draw bridges 
 aud has on each side large factories and 
 lumber yards which are reached by 
 steam and sailing vessels of considerable 
 size. 
 
 That this place was selected for a town 
 is difficult to understand. It probably 
 was the result of an accidental circum- 
 stance. Fort Dearborn was built at the 
 mouth of the Chicago River to control 
 the Indians and was proltably the nucleus 
 of a trading post many years ago, aud 
 around this centred what has become one 
 of the most important cities in the United 
 Slates. Chicago means in Indian 
 "skunk," probably because the locality 
 was a low, marshy, miasmatic, "stink- 
 ing" place, and more applicable to the 
 river now than when the fort was built. 
 The travel in the city as well as sanitary 
 considerations I have no doubt will ulti- 
 mately rec^uire it to be filled up, and the 
 shipping interests transferred to the lake 
 front. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to mention the 
 Corn and Wheat Exchange which to one 
 
A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 51 
 
 who has not been present during hours 
 in a Stock Exchange will be vtry inter- 
 esting. From tliis place as a great grain 
 centre the pulse of the market is some- 
 times felt ail over tlie world. In a large 
 room in the Exchange are two circles 
 about 15 feet in diameter each surrounded 
 by a narrow elevated platform reached 
 by a fesv steps on the outside of the circle 
 and a similar number on the inside, thus 
 forming what ;.re known as the "corn 
 and wheat pits." Into these the brokers 
 gather in large numbers, and if there is 
 any excitement either from [lauicor boom, 
 then to tlie uninitiated there arises a jar- 
 gon of sounds, so vociferous and unintel- 
 ligible, acconii)auied with evidences of the 
 greatest excitement, that tlie most turbu- 
 lent mob or the wildest demonstration in 
 an insane asylum would be nnldness 
 itself in comparison. After hours there 
 are often gatlierings in the streets in the 
 immediate vicinity and the same demon- 
 strations and transactions are made and 
 this too regardless of the state of the 
 weather. These gatherings are probably 
 made up of irregular dealers and brokers 
 not connected with the exchange. 
 
 Having seen as much of the most im- 
 portant objects as we could considering 
 the heat, we [jrepared to return and start- 
 ed for the Union Depot of whicii all Chi- 
 cagoans are very proud and flatter them- 
 selves into the belief that it is the finest 
 in the country. We t<jok a train on the 
 Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago Rail- 
 road to Pittsburg, and from there by 
 Pennsylvania Central to Bainbridge, 
 where we settled down to rest. 
 
 On September 1st, 1 entered my place 
 of business in Puila<Jelphia ai'id like 
 Phileas Fogg after his journey around 
 the world in eighty days was prepared to 
 say, "Here I am, gentleman," and ready 
 again for business ; having travelled by 
 rail and stage nearly 10,000 miles and 
 without the slightest ac-cident, though we 
 had been in places of considerable dan- 
 ger. We had been on narrow guage rail- 
 ways, on correspondingly narrow ledges 
 of rock high up on the almost perpen- 
 dicular mountaiii side, where a broken 
 rail or other accident meant almost cer- 
 tain death (and njost of the railroads 
 among the mountains of Colorado are 
 narrow gauge), aud I will repeat a story 
 I read in an eastern paper since our re- 
 turn which is said to have transpired on 
 one of the roads we went over and serves 
 as an excellent illustration. 
 
 "Leaving Salida, we have to use two 
 large mogul engines"— they must have 
 been little moguls for this is a narrow 
 gauge roi'd— "to take us over Marshall 
 Pass, a grade 26 miles long, and 217 feet to 
 the mile"— the grade on the Alleghenies 
 
 from Altoona to Cresson does not exceed 
 90 feet to the mile if we remember 
 aright — "winding around twenty-six de- 
 gree curves. One side you look down 
 3,000 feet, while by looking up on the 
 other side of the train you can see rocks 
 hanging over you more than a mile high, 
 one of the grandest sights man ever saw, 
 and worth the time and expense of any 
 man. Forty-four miles is counted a day's 
 worl\ on this division for engineers, and 
 their montlily earnings amount to from 
 $160 to !s)225, and the risks they run and 
 ability required are worth all the money 
 they get. 
 
 "It is here our old friend 'Curley' Whit- 
 nev bad his runaway. Curley was com- 
 ing down this grade when his brakes got 
 out of order and his train got the start of 
 him. He was running a second section, 
 and seeing no hopes of avoiding collision 
 by dashing into Ibe train ahead, lie and 
 his fireman, after doing all they could to 
 check the speed of their train, jumped off 
 and let it go. Ahead of them on the first 
 section w as one of those ever wide awake, 
 careful men who always looks to both 
 ends of his train, and he was looking back 
 when Curley and liis fireman jumped oft'. 
 Realizing his danger at once he eased up 
 on nis brakes and got the speed of the 
 runaway train. He then caught them 
 aud heid boih trains until he brought 
 them to a full stop." 
 
 An accident similar to this is liable at 
 any time, aud it can be readily imagined 
 how dangerous it would be even though 
 there might be no chance of collision with 
 another train. We have been in deep 
 canons with overhanging rocks, and from 
 the loose ones at the bottom we knew 
 they must have come from above. We 
 have been on wagon roads only wide 
 enough for the vehicle, on the edges of 
 steep deelivities ; proximity to elevations 
 from which huge boulders sometimes fall, 
 (one weighing many tons fell a short dis- 
 tance back of the hotel in the Yosemite 
 Valley while we were there, with a noise 
 like thunder and a trembling of the 
 ground.) We got through safely and are 
 thankful. 
 
 This narration is made without any 
 pretension to its lieing a literary effort, 
 and is but a plain account of facts of 
 wliere we went, and how, what we 
 saw, and our impressions. Doubtless 
 there are some errors in our statements 
 and where they occur it is not the result 
 of intention either to lessen, magnify or 
 deceive in the slightest degree. We ma^' 
 have in some cases been incorrectly in- 
 formed, for we did not ourselves measure 
 the height of mountains and water-falls, 
 the depth of canons, count people, etc. 
 Many statements will doubtless appear 
 
52 
 
 A SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
 
 incredible, but we have stated iiotliing 
 wliicb we believe would Dot beconflrrued 
 by anyone goiug over the same ground, 
 unless be should say we had not told half 
 the truth. We reel that an adequate de- 
 scription is impossible to fully impress a 
 reader or hearer with the greatness, the 
 beauty, the sublimity, the wildness, the 
 desolation which we have seen and 
 passed through. 
 
 We were impressed with the greatness 
 and vastuess of this country and felt 
 proud that we could call it ours, though 
 as yet we have seen little of it. Why 
 cross the ocean before viewing those 
 ihings in our own country wliich have 
 scarcely a parallel abroad? Those who 
 have means and time should not fail to 
 make this trip, which will be for them a 
 perpetual feast of pleasant recollections, 
 provided it is concluded without accident 
 or other serious episode, any of which are 
 possible anywhere ; but let us here ad- 
 vise (while we do so without vanity) 
 those who contemplate travel here or 
 elsewhere that it is time well spent to pro- 
 cure all the available means of informa- 
 
 tion about the places to be visited, and 
 objects to be seen by books of travel, 
 guide books, etc., to peruse them carefully 
 before starting and if necessary make 
 memorada, because much is passed over 
 by the stranger in strange places with- 
 out them. What is common and uninter- 
 esting to the resident may have particu- 
 lar attractions to the visitor. Indeed res- 
 idents often do not see the attractions of 
 their own towns or vicinity until some 
 non-resident relative or friend appears, 
 and they then act as guide. 
 
 This account was primarily written for 
 ourselves as a record of our trip, and has 
 given us many hours of pleasure in elab- 
 orating the details not contained in our 
 diary, which was rather an extended 
 memorandum from day to day, of our 
 doings, and noted every evening when 
 possible. The courteous editor of the 
 Clarion solicited it for the benefit of his 
 subscribers among wnom we number 
 many friends. Our own purpose has been 
 accomplished and if we have contributed 
 anything to their pleasure we are pleased 
 that we gave them the record of our 
 
 'SUMMER TRIP ACROSS THE C0NTINI:NT." 
 
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