V .9' =1 * aV • -^> L^ .^' /-xs ,2 ^ ^ -^^o^ V^ y rf » * S \ * ^ .0^ .0 .^^-. ■% ■^ % ■^ V <" V i ,-,t f'^1 COMPLIMENTS OF 9JSSENGE^ OETA'R TMENT, GSSEAT r:IO:2THEKI^ RAILWAY, 4.5 SOUTH THIRD STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA. J Across America "GREAT NORTHERN" ^^|-0)_^X - r J■:f■JJrdLhy-Y^^ VMUJO^f^^- FIRST EDITION. CHICAGO: Rand, McXallv & Co., Prixters and Engravers. 1899. 50872 Copyright, 1899, by F. I. Whitney, G. P. and T. A. Great Northern Railway, St. Paul, Minn. A- &* ^ Of WKSW''^. A<^ KS^ V-^crin, u. Buffalo, N.Y, to Duluth, Minn. VIA Northern Steamship Company. 1,072 MILES. LMOST all the railway lines from New England and Eastern States connect at Buffalo, New York State, with the Northern Steamship Company for points on the Great Lakes, the Northwest, and the Pacific Coast. There are numerous daily trains between New York, Boston, and Buffalo, most of which land passengers in Buffalo at an hour which permits of leisurely sight-seeing and allows abundant time for transfer to steamer. _ a , ^ There is much of interest in x,o7. miles from Duiuth. ^his bcautiful city, and nothing Altitude, =;7^ feet. ■ • i i i -i -j^ Population, 335,709. IS morc enjoyable while wait- ing for sailing time of the steamer, than a tour through the clean, smooth asphalt streets, the most famous in the world in this respect. Buffalo was settled in 1801. At that time the now almost extinct American c|uadruped, the bison, commonly called "buffalo," was abundant in the district and gave the name to the city. It is the third city of the State of New York, called the "Empire State." Its trade in grain, GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY h\ Buffalo Is Wonderfully Attractiue. coal, iron, lumber, and manufactured products is prodigious. The immense new steel elevator of the Great Northern Railway, completed in the fall of 1897, is well worth a visit. It is built on an entirely new principle, and is a vast improvement over old style elevator systems. The entire building is of steel and brick, absolutely fireproof. Its sixty metal tanks have a combined storage capacity of over 3,000,000 bushels of wheat. The walls of these tanks are from one-quarter to one-half inch in thickness of solid steel. The building is sup- plied with every latest device for the rapid and safe handling of whole fleet loads of grain, and almost all the machinery is driven by electricity derived from the tunnel at Niagara Falls, twenty- three miles distant. Buffalo has been called a " Venice run by steam," but is being rapidly transformed into a city of electricity. The recent introduction of 4 ACROSS AMERICA electrical power, from the Niagara Falls generat- ing station, has worked miracles amongst the whirring flywheels of the busy city. The two most attractive features of Buffalo in the eyes of strangers are Niagara Falls and the shipping. The big cataract is reached by electric cars in about thirty minutes' run and should be visited without fail. In addition to the enormous lake shipping which clusters around its water front, Buffalo is the terminus of the Erie Canal ; here center great railway systems, here are man}^ enormous elevators and huge iron and steel cranes, jauntily balanced on pivots and reaching out long gaunt arms over trains and steamers. Whole weeks of delight could be spent at Buf- falo, the city of parks and asphalt drives, the "Paradise of Cyclers," but sailing hour is imper- ative, and the docks of the Northern Steamship Company become the objective point. GREA r NORTHERN RAIL WA V !yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMjiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiMniiuiMiiiiiiiiniiiiiriiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiuHniii»iiiiiiMiMiiiniiin»iinjiiiiiHHiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiMiiiiijiiiiiiiiiriiiiiMnniiiiriMii»uiiiit'^ -111 II II nil I I I iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir^ Electric Cars Run to the Whirlpool Rapids. Here alongside wharves of massive masonry and piling- lie, twice a week, the world's most magnificent fresh-water steamships — the peerless "North West" and "North Land." To attempt a complete description of these floating palaces in all their wonderful details of construction, operation, etc., would overflow the limits of this book. On the opposite page is a bow view of the "North West" under steam, with a few flgures giving dimensions, etc., and the following brief paragraphs may prove interesting : The Northern Steamship Company is an in- tegral and important part of the Great Northern Railway system. In addition to the passenger service, it operates a fleet of six large freight steamships of 3,000 tons burden each, bearing the attractive names of " North Star," " North ACROSS A AI ERICA Wind," "Northern King," " Nortliern Queen," "Northern Light," and "Northern Wave." These are the finest vessels of their class and carry enormous cargoes of grain from Duluth and West Superior to Cleveland and Buffalo. They will be seen during the trip up the lakes and should be carefully noted. The Pride of the Great Lakes. The "North West" and "North Land," 5,500 tons each, were designed and are used exclusively and only for passengers, not an ounce of freight being allowed on the boats. They were built at Cleveland, in 1894 and 1895 respectively, at an expense of nearly one million dollars each, are almost double the size of the next largest vessels on the Great Lakes, and absolutely without a rival in every respect. The order for the vessels 7 i , . ■r. ^ i M"' r B> ■Bl: ) :1 JH -|^ ACROSS AMERICA specified that they should be the " fastest, largest, safest, and most comfortable vessels that could be made." They possess several peculiar properties; amongst others the flexible water-ballast system that permits of sinking the ships to the depth required to insure the greatest speed and safety in the deep lakes, and of floating them easily and surely over the shallow bars of the connecting rivers. This system made possible the construc- tion of ships of a size and magnificence hitherto quite unattainable. Before mentioning other features, a glance at a few cold figures may be of interest. The hull contains over 1,500 tons of steel, 145 tons of iron, 81^ tons of rivets. Cabins and deckwork absorbed 50,679 cubic feet of timber and several tons of nails. To paint the hull alone required 15 tons of paint and 30 barrels of oil. There are 28 boilers in which are 4,032 tubes with a combined length of 4^ miles. They use 70 tons of water per hour, and on a round trip convert into steam a quarter of a mile of water 25 feet wide and 9 feet deep. The engines employ 65 steam cylinders, 26 pump cylinders, and 6 centrifugal pumps. Propellers turn 120 times every minute, and at each revolution move the ship 17 feet or 22 miles an hour. This can be increased under pressure to 27 miles, the speed of an ordinary passenger train. There are 4^ miles of steam and water pipe in each steamer, and 26 miles of electric wire, supplying 1,200 i6-candlepower electric lights. The lamps exceed by 300 the number on the 9 ACROSS AMERICA largest ocean steamship ; the electric searchlight on deck has 100,000-candlepower and was used on the Liberal Arts Building at the World's Fair in Chicago. The commissary order for a round trip in- cludes 3,000 pounds of beef, 5^4 barrels of flour, 450 pounds of butter, 500 gallons of milk, 40 gallons of cream, 450 dozen of eggs, etc. The refrigerating plant manufactures 1,000 pounds of ice every clay. The engines are simply marvels, but space does not permit of their description. The completeness and elegance of the ap- pointments on these boats surpass anything ever before attempted on the lakes. The decorations and fittings alone cost more than the complete construction of some old-time passenger steam- ers. The conventional white and gold is con- spicuous by its absence, and rich Cuban mahog- any, artistic relief work, and magnificent fresco- ing, delight the most exquisite taste on every side. Arrangements for the safety of life in case of the well-nigh impossible occurrence of an acci- dent, are most ample. Lifeboats, liferafts, and life-saving apparatus beyond the strictest require- ment of any naval board are provided in quantity more than sufficient to care for every member of both passengers and crew. Electric signal lights are provided with special safety appliances which render their extinguishing a practical impossi- bility. On arrival at the docks passengers are im- pressed by the majestic lines of the huge steam- 11 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A V ship, the polished brass work, uniformed crew, and three great funnels. The first thing- to be done on going aboard is to call at the clerk's office and get key and loca- tion of stateroom. Tickets are collected before passengers go ashore. The electric lights in the staterooms are turned on and olf the same as gas. If anything is wanted while in the stateroom, it is only necessary to touch the electric button and any request will be promptly attended to. Baggage is to be found in charge of a porter, in a spacious baggage room abaft of the engine room. At all times, day or night, access can be had to trunks and valises stored here. vSteamer trunks are allowed in staterooms. . . . GOING WEST . . . „,,^„ . ^ ^ ( 10 15 P. M.— Eastern Standard Time. Leave BUFFALO - ( 9.1.5 P. M.— Central Standard Time. ^^ North /-a;/a' "— Tuesdays. '' No7-th W-Vj-/ "— Fridays. . . . GOING EAST. . . . . „.,.„_.,_( 9.30 A. M.— Central standard Time. Arrive BUFFALO - ( 10. .30 .A. M.— Eastern Standard Time. '■'■ JVort/i Land"— Tuesdays. " iVor/A West"— Fridays. Promptly on schedule time, and without any of the clamor of an ocean liner, the great vessel glides smoothly and easily down the narrow stream that forms the harbor of Buffalo. The small tugs to be seen at bow and stern are the motive power. There is always a crowd on deck and dock to bid the vessel " hoii voyage,'' and 12 { A CROSS A M ERICA it is treated to electric flashlight pictures of tow- ering- elevators, huge warehouses, and gaunt black coal trestles. After a short distance the lines are cast off, the tugs whistle their good-by, electric bells tinkle from engine room and bridge, the powerful quadruple engines commence to move, and the trip of a lifetime is fairly begun. Buffalo rapidly becomes a pyramid of twink- ling stars. Those points of light on the Canadian side mark Fort Erie, a favorite resort. Farther away is Crystal Beach, and opposite on the American side is Woodlawn Beach, all well-known summer haunts between which and Buffalo ply innu- merable sinall excursion steamers. As the speed increases, Buffalo fades into the distance. The famous ship's orchestra has already commenced to play, and the soft strains of the excellent music invite deck strollers into the saloon. It is not long, however, until visions of comfort- able staterooms hold full sway and passengers peacefully slumber, while up above the red and green lights glitter to port and starboard, and watchful eyes guide the great vessel over the dim waters. . . . GOING WEST . . . Arrive CLEVELAND 8 00 A. M.— Central Standard Time. Leave CLEVELAND 8.30 A. M.— Central Standard Time. ^'' Noi'th ZflWif "~ Wednesdays. " North West "— vSaturdays. . . .GOING EAST. . . Arrive CLEVELAND 10.20 P. M.— Central Standard Time. Leave CLEVELAND 10.45 P. M.— Central Standard Time. " JVort/i Land"— Mondays. ''^ North ff^^J/ " — Thursdays. 1. 13 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY CI PVrLAND ^ glance from the window in 175 miles from Buffalo, the early moming" reveals the 8g7 miles from Duluth. , . ^ , Altitude, 573 feet. wiQC expanse of water glorined Population, 300,000. by the rising sun. Sunrise on Lake Erie, never to be forgotten. Huge banks of smoke in the distance announce the busy birthplace of the "North West" and "North Land " — Cleveland, considered by many the most beautiful city on the lakes. The smoky effect adds to the beauty of the early morning picture and is a reminder of the many noted factories of the important city. Breakfast is served from 7.00 to 11.00 A. M., and as the steamer stops half an hour at Cleveland, an early breakfast permits j an opportunity of seeing the city. Coming on .■; deck the first glance rests on the beautiful Garfield Monument, located on a hill 250 feet above the lake. It is plainly to be j seen from the deck of " the steamer. The tomb stands on a reserved plat of 2^ acres in Lake' View Cemetery. Two tugs escort the steamer through the beau- tiful harbor entrance, past GarfiM Monument. HghthOUSCS OU thC CUds of the huge breakwaters and in sight of the oldl white lighthouse, on the top of the bluff, which was formerly a well-known guide for mariners, but is now only a memory. Fifteen or more U ACROSS AMERICA years ago on a stormy night, the range lights on the breakwater refused to shine. A schooner attempting to enter was lost, and gave the evan- gelist P. P. Bliss, who was present, a text for his famous hymn " Let the Lower Lights be Burninof." Cleueland is ceil ted "The Forest City." Cleveland, named for Gen. Moses Cleaveland, agent of the Connecticut Land Company and settled by New Englanders in 1796, has now a population of 300,000, a great network of rail- roads and an immense commerce in iron, lumber, coal, and oil. Its business and manufacturing center offers scenes of most fascinating interest. Huge viaducts cross the deep valley through which runs the main water artery of the city, the Cuyahoga River. Here are bridge works, iron works, iron smelters, and other plants of impor- tance. Those bursts of flame at irregular inter- vals come from immense reduction furnaces. The beauty of Cleveland lies in her wide streets ■z 15 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V. and palatial homes. The abundance of shade trees and parks has given to her the sobriquet of "Forest City." On the noble bluff rising from the water lies the beautiful Lake View Cemeter)^ Euclid Avenue, " the street of millionaires," is lined with gardens and pretty homes. Wade Park and Gordon Park are famed for Wade Park. Cleueland. their bcaUty, and the Public Square, with its statues and the old historic lighthouse, should be visited by everyone. Commodore Perry's Statue attracts much attention from visitors. At Cleveland the vessel takes on an increased complement of passengers as this is the natural starting-place of the traveler from Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and the South. Notice the novel method of loading coal on vessels in the harbor, a whole car being lifted and the coal dumped into the hold of the vessel quicker than a ton can be chuted into your cellar. Leaving the harbor, Cleveland looms up in the full daylight in her true proportions, a magnifi- cent city. Lake craft of all sizes and shapes is coming in. Salutes of three whistles screech on every side. Everyone seems interested in " the big boat." The steamer passes everything no matter in which direction it may be moving. The 16 i ACROSS AMERICA morning- panorama is one of endlessly beautiful variety. Those huge hotels and observatory spindles mark the site of historic Put-in-Bay. There Com. Oliver Hazard Perry, on the loth of September, 1813, waited for the English officer, Barclay, and from here, after his victory, he sent his famous and laconic message — "Dear General: We have met the enemy and they are ours — two ships, two brigs, two schooners, and one sloop. With esteem, O. H. P." The steamer crosses the identical spot where occurred the great fight. Kelly's and Put-in-Bay islands are famous for Catawba grapes and building stone. This is the direct route of the lake commerce, ■the volume of which an Eastern man learns of with astonishment. Although navigation is open only eight months in the year, there is by official record more tonnage passing down the lakes than enters, in twelve months, London, the largest port in the world. Much interest at- taches to the craft that pass the steamer. Those - propellers with engine ¥M Woodward Avenue, Detroit. 17 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V far astern are old wooden ships now almost obsolete. The boats with smokestacks amid ship are new steel freight ships of modern type. Close observation will be rewarded by making- out the freight ships of the Northern Steamship Company. Most common of all are the tows or lines of vessels like a train of cars. These are schooners and tow barges that help themselves by sail when the wind is favorable, but never cast loose from the steamer ahead. They keep together the whole season, carrying coal up and wheat down, to and from Duluth, West Superior, Chicago, and Milwaukee in the West, and Buffalo, Cleveland, and Ogdensburg, via the Welland Canal, in the East. Occasionally a large ocean-sized sailing vessel may be seen sailing alone. They are invariably schooners. All square-rigged craft vanished from the lakes before the war. Of passenger steamers there are hundreds, for Lake Erie is full of islands and a perfect pleasure ground. A grand lonely lighthouse on the left, Bar Point Light, marks a turning point, and swing- ing to the north the steamer enters the majestic Strait of Detroit. A curious change has been going on in the meanwhile under the feet of the passengers. Out in the lake the vessel was deep in the water, like ocean vessels, now she grad- ually rises as the pumps force out the water bal- last, and soon becomes in effect a light-draft river steamer. This device is responsible for the revolution in late ship building, inaugurated by the " North West " and " North Land." Just as 18 ACROSS AMERICA the perfection of the passenger elevator made tall buildings a possibility, so the use of adjustable water ballast made possible- the construction of such immense ships on these lakes. Heretofore the mitre sill at the Soo Locks, as well as the shallow flats of Lake St. Clair, kept the size of lake vessels down to those of twelve and four- teen feet draft. The Northern vSteamship boats, whose speed and stability in the open lakes could never be secured with such light draft, have solved the difficulty with water ballast. The Detroit River is a panorama of great beauty. The channel is studded with islands, of which Father Hennepin said, in 1679, "they are the finest in the world." Summer villas dot their shores. The sharp-eyed traveler may dis- cover now and then old blockhouses, remnants of the warlike days of 100 years ago, and occa- sionally the dismantled towers of windmills fully as ancient. This noble stream possesses great historic interest. At its mouth, on the Canadian shore, lies the picturesque town of Amherstburg, with a captured Yankee cannon in her public square. The little town enjoyed a prominent reputation during Fenian times. Her streets lie open to view from the high decks of the steamer. Old Fort Maiden may be made out behind the town. There are a few reminders of the stirring times of "twelve and thirteen" still visible to those with observant eyes. Off the port side of the steamer on " Sugar Island," the passenger will see in the middle of a field, and used as a stable, one of 19 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V the old blockhouses above mentioned, pierced with rifle shots. Bo3^s still dig bullets out of the logs with their jackknives. Here is where Harriet Beecher Stowe had Eliza and Harris, in the story of Uncle Tom's Cabin, first touch free soil. Farther up the stream on the Amer- ican shore is old Fort AVayne, named after Mad , Anthony, who fought the Indians in these re- gions. It is not a fighting fort now. The cannon frowning over the green breastworks are of the antiquated lots-of-bark-and-little-bite kind, suitable for salutes and birds' nests. At Grosse Isle are to be seen the villas of Detroit families, with trim steam yachts and pretty boathouses. That is Sandwich Cathedral at the end of the short, willow-fringed canal. On the American side are iron works and shipyards. Detroit's streets end in blue water. Detroit from the Harbor. £0 ACROSS AMERICA . . . GOING WEST . . . Arrive DETROIT 3.45 P. M.- Central Standard Time. Leave DETROIT 4.15 P. M.— Central Standard Time. '■'■North Land" — Wednesdays. '■'•North West "— Saturdays. . . .GOING EAST. . . Arrive DETROIT 2.45 P. M. — Central Standard Time. Leave DETROIT 3.15 P. M.— Central Standard Time. '■^ North Land'' — Mondays. '■^ North W^,?i-^ "— Thursdays. ROIT " The City of the Straits," the ;^rmnesfromgufuth.- nextport of call, lies twenty Popuiat1on"26s^ooo. miles from Lake Erie and seven from Lake St. Clair. It has a population of 265,000 and is the chief city of Michigan. Three trunk lines of railway ferry their trains across the river here to their terminus in Wind- sor. Summer and winter the huge transports ply back and forth with their loads of freight and passenger trains. The internal business of the city is extensive, consisting of wholesale trade, furniture factories, stove works, tobacco- manufactories, car works, shipyards, and copper smelters. The streets of the city are of great beauty, the street and boulevard system now in process of perfection being widely famed. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY Detroit sends her products all over the world. The Russian car ferries used across the Balkan Gulf were built here, her stoves and ranges glow in every city and hamlet, her cars run across the Brooklyn Bridge, Detroit injectors are used in thousands of locomotives. The water front is] nine miles long and is diversified by a fleet of most picturesque craft — the railroad ferry, the old white "transit" boats, the quaint wood barges] from the sleepy Chanatlle Ecarte, the Grosse] Point "mosquito fleet." At the upper end of the city, joined by a] long handsome bridge, is Belle Isle — Detroit's inland park, one of the loveliest Car Ferries at Detroit. 22 ^^' ■ 7-P' Belle Isle and Waterworks Park, Detroit. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY Waterworks Park. spots in America. It was planned by Frederick Law Olmstead. Its beauty consists of its mead- ows, woods, and winding canals. Fifteen miles of watery streets thread their way ."^Sf^,---;: , among the trees. The boat livery is the largest in the world, not excepting Ven- ice. The steamer glides past Peche Island, the old home of the Indian war- rior Tecumseh, now owned by Hiram Walker ; past Grosse Point, famous for horse races and fish dinners, and out into the smallest and shallowest of the chain of lakes. La Salle entered it upon the day of "Our Ladye Sainte Claire," and so it received its baptism. Saint Clair, the thronging Detroit yachtsmen call it now. Where the shallow bars have been cut by a narrow canal protected by wooden piers, is entered the famed St. Clair Flats — picturesque "Little Venice," as called by the Century Magazine. Hundreds of summer homes, club houses without end, all built on piles. It is a city of but one street — the river, and along but a single side it stretches for miles and miles. Fine and frequent steamers communicate with near-by Michigan cities. All summer is one whirl of gayety. By day, fishing, swimming, sailing ; by night, music, dancing, illuminations. And all the while the swiftest, sweetest, greenest water U ACROSS AMERICA gurgles and flashes among the stilts. Everybody turns out to see the vessel go by, and handker- chiefs and bunting by day, lanterns and colored fire at night, are much in evidence. Farther along the marsh-like tract changes ito wide meadows filled with cattle and backed iby woods. That sleepy town, all women, with jwide grassy streets, is Algonac, once a famous trading point with extensive pilot service. iOn the right are Walpole and Squirrel islands. Marine City is where the shipyards, coal docks, salt wells, and barrel factories cluster. The Canadian shore looks asleep. From Port Lamb- tpn to Sarnia quiet villages doze and blink on the bank. Note the quaint Chanaillc Ecartc, com- monly called " Sui Carty " or the "Sui." Its banks are the dreamiest, most restful spots on this busy continent. Hotels and more hotels, and then opposite Stag Island, on the Canadian Shore, the little house where spent his last days Captain Marryatt, of the ship " Bellerephon," which took Napoleon to St. Helena. Now the steamer runs above the roof :)f the Grand Trunk Canal, the lights of Port Huron yleam on the water, and the darkness of great Lake Huron proclaims the end of another day. ..Jl^_ GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY Down the center of the lake all night rushes the great white steamer, and in the morning passengers see to the south the white cliffs of the Bois Blanc, " Island of the White Woods," in the straits of Mackinac. That is Mackinac — the famous — that square- topped bluffy island rising out of the water straight ahead. . . .GOING WEST . . . Arrive MACKINAC ISLAND 11.15 A. M.— Central Standard Time. Leave MACKINAC ISLAND 11.45 P. M.— Central Standard Time. " Nortli Land'''— Sundays. " North West ' '— Thursdays. . . GOING EAST. . . Arrive MACKINAC ISLAND 8.10 p.m.— Central Standard Time. Leave MACKINAC ISLAND 8.40 P.M.— Central Standard Time. ^^ North Land'" — Wednesdays. " North West " — Stmdays. I 'I hmt ^mimmmi ;'nACKlNAC Approaching the Dock at Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island belongs to the State of Michigan. At one time ;| the name was Michilimackinac, pronounced, if one ever suc- ceeded in the feat, Mish-il-e-mak-e-naw. Around !: 26 (Pronounced Mak-e-naw.) 588 miles from Buffalo. 484 miles from Duluth. Altitude, 580 feet. Mackinac. 21 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY \ this wonderfull}^ beautiful island cluster mem- ories of two centuries. Here good Father. Marquette explored; here English and French^ fought for supremacy; here John Jacob Astor laid the foundation of the colossal family for- tune. Through the narrow lanes have gone courrieiirs dii bois, voyagcurs, Hudson Bay fur traders, French troopers, British dragoons, Amer- ican soldiers. The cross of St. George and the lilies of the Bourbons successively waved over that old crumbling fort on the hill, but in 1814 the Stars and Stripes swung to the breeze and still reign supreme. The natural scenery of Mackinac is unique. The geologist finds a fas- cination in the island as does also the botanist; while the lover of the weird and grand finds in the " arched rock," "lover's leap," "sugar ^ loaf," and "devil's 'Jk^r, kitchen," a never- failing cause for wonder and ad- miration. The beauty of the land and the de- lights of the cli- mate have called the tourist from the most distant part of the countr)^ Arched Rock, Mackinac Island. ChicagO, ClCVCland, Buffalo, and Detroit here mingle all summer long in one beautiful festal city, while the £8 ACROSS AMERICA cottages of more distant residents are num- erously sprinkled about the island. In hotel accommodations, from Plank's magnificent cara- "^^ Mackinac Drives an: nf Wonderful Beauty. vansary to the comfortable and inexpensive boarding houses, Mackinac is able to entertain her visitors most handsomely. Stop-over per- mits may be obtained and three days spent at Mackinac while waiting for the next steamer. Leaving Mackinac the course of the steamer is almost due east past Goose Island away to the north, and farther on Marquette and La Salle islands. Turning north, Point Detour lighthouse rises on the west, Drummond Island on the east ; the steamer passes the little town of Detour on the right bank and enters St. Mary's River. There is now before the passenger probably the finest part of the whole trip — the scenic St. Mary's River, with its countless islands, bays, and prom- ontories, the beautiful "Soo," and the wonderful canal. GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V The shores of the river are hardly altered by the hand of man except where the steering ranges, curious white squares with black crosses painted on them have been set up on the shore. By means of these the pilot must thread his way through those boiling rapids and treacherous shoals that make the stream a trial to the nav- igator. After passing through Detour Passage, if the day be Sunday, a lookout should be kept for the other steamer. The "North West," leav- ing Buffalo Friday, and the "North Land," leav- ing Duluth Saturday, meet on Sunday afternoon between Detour and the "Soo." On the other trip, steamers pass in Lake Huron during Wed- nesday night. Old Fort Mackinac — From the Lake. An enormous amount of work has been done by the Government on Hay Lake Channel, and some twelve luiles of distance saved thereb)". The old route was north and west around Sugar 30 ACROSS A AT ERIC A Island, the large island on the right, and through Lake George. This is difficult navigation; the steamer picks its way through straits and buoys, past huge red rocks, shoals, and bars, emerging into a broad sweep of river, with the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie straight ahead. . . . GOING WEST . . . Arrive the "SCO" 6.45 P. m.— Central Standard Time. Leave the "SCO" 7.15 P. M.— Central Standard Time. " North Land "— Thursdays. ^'' No7-th ?F^.j^ "— Sundays. . . . GOING EAST . . . Arrive the "SCO" 13.40 P. M.— Central Standard Time. Leave the "SCO" 1 10 P. M.— Central Standard Time. '■'•North Land" — Sundays. " North West "— Wednesdays. .T STE. AARIE popularly known as the ., ^ T, ^ -, " Soo," offers many attrac- 672 iniles from Buffalo. ' -^ AitiS, eTi^e^t*^^"*^' tions to tourists. It is a pic- turesque place, and the never- ending procession of vessels passing through the canal makes a moving panorama well worth seeing. The locks are the largest in the world. The operation of locking the steamer through the canal is most interesting. Water opens the doors, water closes them; water opens the valves; water hoists the floating city up the hill and into the still stream of the upper river. The canal carries more tonnage than any in the world, not iCxcepting the Suez Canal. A short distance from !the town the very best of trout fishing is to be 1 3 31 ACROSS AMERICA had, and competent guides can be hired at almost any time. Fort Brady, where some 300 infantry are posted, is an attractive spot. While the big Another View of the " Soo " Canal. ship is being locked through, an operation which consumes about one hour, an opportunity is given for shooting the rapids of the St. Mary's River. The walk from the steamer dock, the descent of the rapids and return to the ship occupy about forty minutes. Prices charged by the Indians for the service I depend somewhat on the size of the partyl Three or four people can make the trip at a total expense of about two dollars. i Soldiers were put on guard at the canal dur- ing the summer of '98, after Caranza, the Span- ish officer, made Canada the base of his plots against this country. At the top of the rapids^ i'just where the ripples begin, will be noticed the international bridge of the Canadian Pacific Railway. ~ ; Numerous lighthouses dot the channel of the ,jWide river beyond the "Soo." Point aux Pins 33 GREA r NORTHERN RAIL WA V and Round Island appear on right and left, and running' between Iroquois Point on the American side, and Gross Cap on the Canadian, the steamer emerges into Lake Superior, the greatest fresh- water lake in the world — the Lac Superieur of the old voyageiirs ; the Gitchee Gumee, or big sea waters of Hiawatha and his friends. Its his- tory is weird and beautiful, but belongs to a different race from ours. Its pictured rocks were painted by the Manito of the mountains. Its sand-dunes were whirled up by the breath of the garments of the dancing yenodizze. Its glassy surface was a mirror for the lovely bride of Hiawatha, the maiden Minnehaha. Even the mines of Silver Islet belong to another age. The shores of the lake abound in mineral wealth, copper and iron in enormous quantities, gold and silver in less bulk. Millions of pounds of copper are mined every year and shipped, in its crude form, to the East to be smelted. Blast Old Lock, "Soo " Canal. S4 ^.;ll< Typical Views at the "Soo/ 35 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY furnaces, smelters, foundries, and rolling mills are gradually springing up along the shores of the lake, where are rapidly being built impor- tant manufacturing centers. Freight boats of the Northern Steamship Line will be met and passed, vessels built of steel and designed to carry the greatest amount of freight compatible with safety and speed. The famous Calumet and Hecla Mine is situated on the southern shore. The mines in this section undoubtedly produce the finest copper in the world. There is a great future for this land of so much min- eral wealth. Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water in the world, is 360 miles long, 140 miles in the widest part, has a shore line of 1,500 miles, an area of 32,000 square miles ; is 1,008 feet deep, 407 feet being below the level of the sea. The coast line is very rocky. On the north, huge hills and towering precipices extend for many miles. The famous pictured rocks are located twenty miles west of Whitefish Point, on the 3Q ACROSS AMERICA Michigan shore. Lake Superior is too vast to admit of the observation of much shore line. Steamers take the shortest distance from port >*-*.«;^i^-«'^'i *\ ''v*-'*l<'f *'^' A Bit of Duluth and Harbor. to port, and are for long- distances completely out of sight of land as on the ocean. Keweenaw Point to the south has wonderful copper mines. Calumet, Hancock, and Houghton are busy towns located there. Away to the north is Isle Royale, the largest island in the lake. Farther west the Apostle Islands, twenty-seven in number, appear to the south. This is a beauti- ful group, having many peculiar and picturesque sandstone formations. The islands are covered with a heavy growth of forest trees. The dis- coverer of the islands supposed there were but twelve in the group, hence the name — the " Apostle " Islands. Soon are seen on the right the grand red cliffs of porphyry, sometimes a thousand feet high, which mark the north shore of Lake Superior. Keeping to the westward, signs of habitation are noticed on these rocky 37 GREA T NOR THERN RAIL WA V heights, and after a delightful sail, the narrow channel that opens Duluth harbor to the lake is entered. The city is above upon the hills. Each man's dooryard is even with his neighbor's roof. Imposing buildings rise all about, and an elevat- ing railway climbs to the summit of the hill. The harbor is full of active life. Coal barges, iron carriers, whalebacks, tugboats, and lake schooners abound. Huge mountains of coal ap- pear on the docks, and long rows of lumber piles glisten in the sun. West Superior, across the harbor, is also in plain sight from the decks. Three thriving towns have here grown into one city, possessing singular natural advantages for growth and enterprise. It was 220 years ago, or to be exact, in 1679, that Du Luht, leading his rangers, made the rug- ged locality now bearing his name a rendezvous. Nearly two hundred years passed before it at- tracted attention, and then mainly through a speech against a railway grant made in Congress, in 1870, by Proctor Knott. Now Duluth and its twin. West Superior, are rapidly attaining world- wide prominence. A narrow arm of water di- vides them. Each has its own impressive array of wharves, grain elevators, and coal and ore bins and dumps. The smoke of the enterprise of the two young giants unites in one cloud, and drifts (f ACROSS AMERICA way over the lake or into the forest. Duluth is uilt on a hillside, Superior on a level plain. The combined population is over 100,000. The indus- tries of the two are not unlike — flouring mills, blast furnaces, iron works, sawmills, etc. Many- elegant business blocks and residences exist. Both are laid out on extensive plans, in antici- pation of keeping even pace with the growth of the vast tributary West. They are as near the East by water as Chicago and Milwaukee. They are surrounded by forests of merchantable tim- ber and the chief mines of iron and copper in the country. There is now being constructed at Superior, by the Great Northern Railway, what will be the largest elevator in the world. The foun- dation for this mammoth structure is 128 x 370 feet in size, constructed of Portland cement poncrete on a foundation of piles. The cost Df the foundation alone was $85,000. When :ompleted the elevator will tower 230 feet above ;he foundation, and be one of the most imposing ron and steel structures ever erected. The capacity of this elevator will be 6,000,000 Dushels, and the interior will be arranged for the storage of corn as well as small grain. The storage bins will be 13)^ feet square. The square Dins are a new departure in steel construction, no pne has dared to use them heretofore, former bins baving always been round, and of course of less apacity. Tests have been made of grain pressure in these square bins at the University of Minne- sota, by a member of the Institute of Engineers GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY of England, and by the engineering corps of the Great Northern Railway. There will be a base- ment floor and a main floor where all cleaning machinery will be located, with a capacity of 3,000,000 bushels. Above the main floor are the bins about 100 feet in depth. The cupola above the bins has six stories. Thirty steel storage tanks will be erected surrounding the main elevator, which will be 50 feet in diameter and 65 feet high. The largest elevator now in existence has a capacity for only 4,000,000 bushels, so it will bej seen that this structure will be the greatest grain] elevator in the world. Twenty million pounds of j steel will be used in the construction of the main building. Total cost of the building will be about! $2,000,000. The recent completion of a connecting link] of the Great Northern Railway between the head of the lakes and the Red River cities puts] Duluth and West Superior directly in the track! of empire, and ere long the Lake Superior twins! will be second to none of America's great] cities. . . .GOING WEST. . . Arrive DULUTH 6.30 P. M.— Central Standard Time. '■^ North Land "—Fridays. '^ North f'F£?j-/ "— Mondays. ■ ^ . . . GOING EAST . . . Leave DULUTH 2.10 P. M.— Central Standard Time. ^^ North Land" — Saturdays. " North West "— Tuesdays. I^0 ACROSS A Af ERICA The traveler, as he reaches these zenith cities, is upon the threshold of the great Northwest. Westward stretches the bread-basket of America, the greatest wheat-growing country in the world. Farther west, range cattle upon a thousand hills, whence conies the finest beef known to man. Westward still are luines of gold and silver, cop- per and lead, beside which Golconda and Johan- nesburg are pigmy names, and away beyond the snowy mountains, where smiles the blue Pacific, are the world's grandest forests, greatest fisheries, most luscious fruits. Branches of the Great Northern Railway like giant fingers gather from this goodly land a mul- titude of varied products, and aided by connecting steamer lines carry them east to the older States, to England and Europe ; and west to the new American colonies, to China, Japan, and the growing markets of the wide Orient. rrt^-:^i^'°^^^'^S K. 41 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V DULUTH -feiro^^EATTLE 1,794 MILES. HERE are two ways of commencing the railway trip from midland lakes to western ocean. Passengers can go from Duluth and West Superior by way of St. Paul and Minneapolis, over the East- ern Railway of Minnesota, a branch of the Great Northern system, or directly west to Grand Forks, via the new " Fosston Line," saving one day in time, but missing the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and also a beautiful daylight run through Minnesota's famous " Lake Park Region." ACROSS AMERICA VIA FossTON Line, |_^^I UTM 288 MILES. Altitude, 607 feet. Population, 70,000. GREAT railroad center. Eastern ter- minus of the transcontinental line of the Great Northern Railway system. Duluth has grown from a popula- tion of 3,000 in 1880 to its present magnificent proportions. The shipping interests are immense. The harbor is claimed to be the finest on the lakes. It is not possible to give exact figures of vessel clearances or shipments of grain, lumber, etc., as most of the records include both Duluth and Superior. Figures are given for the two cities as follows for the year 1898 : Received at Duluth and Superior, 85,841,913 bushels of all kinds of grain. Shipped from Duluth and Superior, 56,154,071 bushels of all kinds of grain. Sawmills on Duluth -Superior Harbor manufactured 324,000,000 feet of lumber. Iron ore shipments from the head of the lakes, including Two Harbors — sub port of Duluth — were 6,144,258 gross tons. Flour mills at the head of the lakes ground 10,050,000 bushels of wheat, turning out about 2,233,000 barrels of flour. Receipts of freight i,ii5>- 510 net tons. Shipments 3,047,130 net tons. Duluth boasts, and not without reason, that she has the finest high-school building in the country. Duluth possesses every advantage of a modern city, having magnificent hotels, cable and electric roads, well paved streets, excellent 43 ACROSS AMERICA and abundant water, electric lights, etc. With a fine climate, natural advantages, the develop- ment of the valuable iron ranges, and the build- ing of new railroads, Duluth bids fair to prosper beyond the dreams of boomers for a long time to come. ST SUPERIOR ^ t^vn. to Duluth; there is prob- 4 miles from Duluth. ably no parallel in the West Altitude, 633 feet. Population, 38,000. to the rapidity with which it grew, from the small settlement of Superior, in Partial View of Great Northern Terminals. 1856, to the modern city of to-day. There are three towns in the city of Superior, each having its distinct post office and railway station — "Supe- rior" (known locally as " Old Town "), where the first settlement was made in 1852, "South Supe- rior," and "West Superior." West Superior com- menced its development in 1886; contains about 90 per cent of the population, and does about 45 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY Freight Yards, Eastern Railway of Minnesota. 95 per cent of the business of the city. Supe- rior is now the second largest flour-milling center in the world, and claims that in a few years she will be first. Already seven modern mills are located here, some with a daily capacity of 6,000 barrels. Here are dry docks, wood and iron-working factories, sawmills, and many small manufacturing enterprises. Coal is but 10 to 40 cents per ton dearer than at Erie, Pa. West Superior climate is unusually healthful and in- vigorating, and workmen can, it is claimed, work , I - more days in the ^si^ssji^ l4'k''fci^,year than anywhere Ei TiTS^p-^n.is" '^'Ise in the . country south of the lakes. Thus, taking into ■A Corner in Superior. COnsidcrationthC Eft ^iTsJ'i'^ r"" ^ 46 Flour Mills, Normal School, and Toiler Avenue — West Superior. 4 4'^ GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V great advantages in lake transportation and rail- road transportation, and the many local advan- tages already described, there would seem to be no place in the entire West that could offer the manufacturer and jobber better inducements than Superior, and the enterprising people who now establish themselves there will realize within five years that they did an exceedingly wise thing. Nine miles from Duluth and five from West SOUTH SUPERIOR ^^P^^^or is South Superior, the g miles from Duluth. southem part of the city of Su- SAUNDERS perior just described. At Saund- II miles from Duluth. ers, the diverging point of lines to Grand Forks and St. Paul and Minneapolis, the railway turns sharply toward the west, and runs for some distance through a rough and hilly bit of country. This is the sort of ma- terial that gives the head of the lakes its pre- eminence, for these gnarled and twisted rocks, 4S ACROSS AMERICA these deep ravines and precipitous, stony hill- sides are much the same formation as the famous iron ranges which seam and net the whole earth for many miles. The largest develop- ments have been made, and the largest mines exist, in the Vermilion, Missabe, and Iron ranges, some fifty miles north, but there seems no reason to doubt that the whole of this section of country is built on identical foundations, and minerals in large quantities may yet be taken from almost any of these rugged hills. For many miles the track winds and twists its way past junction points, crossings of other rail- ways, and over steel bridges, until Cloquet is OQUET reached. Here is a large wood- 32 miles from Duiuth. pulp paper mill. At one door enter the logs of spruce, and after a series of sawings, choppings, boilings, and rollings, emerge transformed into paper as white as the driven snow, huge rolls of which go to distant cities to furnish backing for the news of the world. From Cloquet to Floodwood, thirty - three miles, the railway runs along the west bank of the St. Louis River, passing en route Stony ONY BROOK cJCT. Brook Junction, from which 49 miles from Duiuth. point a branch of the Duiuth, Missabe & Northern Railway stretches away to the famous iron mines of the Missabe range OODWOOD From Floodwood the route lies 67 miles from DuiuUi. for morc thaii ouc huiidrcd and fifty miles through what has been called by many experienced hunters the finest moose and deer 49 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V hunting- ground in America. North of the railway line for more than one hundred miles stretches the virgin forest. No settlement exists after the first few miles. Here is ample opportunity for amateur explorers and hunters. Balsamic pine and noble beech and oak, with but little underbrush, characterize this district. Some swampy tracts are found at intervals, where inoose, deer, and bear love to loiter. This famous game country is well known to Minnesota sportsmen, and deer and moose hunters from St. Paul and Minneapolis, and occasional parties from the East, have for many years visited it. The district has been very little advertised, however, and is not widely known as a hunting field. Minnesota shooters have kept their own counsel. This country has been difficult of access until the recent completion of the new Fosston line of the Great Northern Railway, and this fact accounts in great measure for the amount of game to be found there. The moose and deer hunting in season can not be sur- passed in the United States. The famous Maine woods are not to be compared to this region. Illustrated and descriptive pamphlets, devoted to the game interests of this attractive section, will be sent on request by general agents of the company, a list of whom is to be found in the back part of this book. SWAN RIVER ^^ Swan River a branch line, 84 miles from Duiuth. formerly kuowu as the Duluth, Mississippi River & Northern Railway, is crossed. This is a lumber and ore line and carries logs from 50 ACROSS AMERICA St. Louis and Itasca counties to the Mississippi, about six miles southwest of Swan River, from where they are floated to sawmills as far distant as Minneapolis. The line runs north to Hibbing, in the Vermilion range. Recent developments of ore properties point to this as destined to be a leader amongst the great iron districts at the head of Lake Superior. The work will be con- ducted on a scale much more extensive than anything of the kind in the Lake Superior district, not barring even the famous Jackson mine on the Marquette range. The Vermilion range, still in its infancy, is more than twice as large as the Marquette, which has ninety-one shipping mines; three times as large as the Menominee range, which has had sixty-four shipping mines, and more than four times as large as the Gogebic, with forty-four shipping mines. The range is a marvel in its way and is destined to become famous at no far distant day. There is undoubt- edly more iron ore concealed within its bound- aries than was ever contained in any of the above-mentioned ranges put together. The Vermilion range is certainly entering upon the most promising era of its history, and the coming season will witness greater developments than have ever before been experienced. The Duluth, Mississippi River & Northern Railway, the branch line running from Mississippi north to Hibbing, has recently been added to the Great Northern system and furnishes an easy route to the rich iron mines of the district. Large ore docks have also been acquired at Duluth, 51 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY and the Great Northern thus becomes one of the great ore carrying roads of the United States. GRAND RAPIDS Grand Rapids, the county seat 103 miles from Duiuth. of Itasca, is a prominent point. Itasca is one of the largest counties of the State, and when developed will make Grand Rapids a city. The town already possesses many fine buildings, waterworks, electric lights, banks, newspapers, sawmills, hotels, churches, etc. A branch of the State Experiment Station is located near by and is doing much to promote agricultural interests. There are about 150,000 acres of free land in the country. A paper-pulp mill is contemplated at this point, there being large supplies of spruce in the vicinity. DTPR RIVPR ^^ Deer River the Ball Club 117 miles from Duiuth. Indian Reservation is entered, and froin here to Cass Lake the line passes through territory reserved for the red man. South of Ball Club is Winnibigoshish Reserva- tion, and directly west are the Chippewa and Leech Lake reservations. Numerous clear-water lakes are in this section. Ball Club, Winni- bigoshish, Cass, and Leech lakes being the larg- est. Bena, on the south shore of Lake Winnibi- r>[=:|v, a goshish, is of interest, and will 137 miles from Duiuth. be an important point when the natural advantages of its location come to be appreciated. Leech Lake is one of the most beautiful bodies of water in Minnesota, and has a shore line of 540 miles. It is a per- fect fairy-land for tourists and sportsmen. The handsome sheet of water to the south is known 52 ACROSS AMERICA ^^~r:^>ss^\£/ Population, 5,000. West Superior, and St. Paul- Minneapolis. Passengers from the Head of thei Lakes transfer here to the vestibuled limited, transcontinental train, familiarly known as the "Flyer," and to railway men as "No. 3," whict arrives from St. Paul and Minneapolis by wa] of the other branch of the transcontinental line,> 58 ACROSS AMERICA iPive minutes' time and a few steps along the ijlepot platform suffice to make the transfer, and passengers have not the least, inconvenience or annoyance in so doing. ( For a description of the transcontinental i' Flyer," the city of Grand Forks, and the r rom St. Paul to Grand Forks, see page 64.) un 59 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY J)uLUTH^g^T Paul VIA Eastei^ I^ilway of Minnesota ■=^^ (Qi^AT ^Joi^HEi^ ^System) 185 MILES. fOURISTS and travelers who desire to go West, by way of St. Paul and Minneapolis, have the choice of two trains from Duluth over the Eastern Railway of Minnesota, a branch of the Great Northern system. The night express (No. 21) leaves Dultith every night; the day train (No. 19) does not run on Sundays. The night train lands passengers in Minneapolis and St. Paul before breakfast the next morning, making close con- nections with the " Flyer." Tourists can, if they desire, spend the day in St. Paul and Minne- apolis, leaving by the evening train (No. 7, the Montana-Pacific Express) for the West. Sleeping cars may be occupied at the Union Depots of St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, and West Superior at any time after 9.00 p. m. These cars are of great beauty of design and finish. The smoking compartment is the largest in use on any sleeping car, having two double seats as well as half a dozen easy chairs. It is finished in leather and plush. Buffet parlor chair cars are also attached to these trains. Woods and yet more woods; lakes and streams — trouty looking water that makes the eyes of the 60 ACROSS AMERICA fly-caster glisten — wooded glades and coppices that cause the sportsman to instinctively glance around for the ruffed grouse — cozy looking farm- ST. P. 81. i o, , . Hudson PO L I^Sj.;„j^ :Mc>,'allY it Co.. Chic ago. houses, with substantial outbuildings; sleek cat- tle, luxurious expanses of grain, splendid far- reaching fields of potatoes and root crops. Such is the country through which the Eastern Rail- way of Minnesota passes on its way to the Twin Cities. There is good speckled trout fishing at . 31 miles from Duluth. i CBORO 1 26 miles from Duluth. stations near by to Duluth and West Superior. Holyoke and Foxboro streams have many admirers. There is also fine 61 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V shooting in these dim old woods, and many an antlered trophy of grand old moose or nimble deer has been garnered along the line of the railway. SANDSTONE Sandstone has quarries of the 64 miles from Duiuth. rock from whence it takes its name. All along the route are numerous streams, some arriving at the dignity of rivers. Logs are floating toward the St. Croix River, bound for Lake Pepin and points below St. MlNCKl PY Paul. At Hinckley the St. Paul 7^ miies from Duiuth. & Duluth Railroad is crossed. BROOK PARK From Brook Park runs south 80 miles from Duiuth. to Coon Creek, a few miles from Minneapolis, the new "cut-off," which will shorten the distance between the lake and river twins by some thirty miles and make the Eastern Minnesota the short and fast line between these four important Western cities. Along this new line are rapidly growing up important and thriv- ing towns. The Great Northern is the only railroad through Isanti County, one of the rich- est counties in Minnesota. At Milaca the road A\1LACA to St. Paul turns south and III miles from Duiuth. east, whilc another branch ex- tends to St. Cloud on the Mississippi River. Settlement now rapidly increases. Prosper- ous looking farmhouses whirl by, then bustling villages and smart towns. At Elk River the PI K RIVPR main line on the east bank 144 miles from Duiuth. of the Mississippi Rivcr is reached, and from here to Minneapolis the tracks of the Great Northern and Northern 6B ACROSS AMERICA Pacific run side by side, on the same right of way in fact. Anoka, a town of 4,000 population, -)Yl[\ ^"*^ ^ county seat, is the site 156 miles from Duiuth. of scvcral lunibcr, flour, and shoe plants. It has the advantage of water power from the Rum River. The train crosses a fine steel bridge and winds through a maze of lumber yards and large buildings occupied by the builders and sellers of agricultural implements. Evidently this is one of the famous twins, the home of the largest flour mills in the world — Minneapolis. Here inany passengers leave the train, a goodly percentage, however, finishing out the full run ten miles farther to St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, and the railroad center of the great Northwest. G3 GREA T NOR THERN RAIL WA V 3t. PAULT tk^C-^ --T« -^kEATTLE 1.823 MILES EFORE commencing the attractive journey across the great States of the Northwest, a word about the rail- road over whose tracks the trip is to be made may be of interest. The Railway. A fact to be remembered is that the Great Northern Railway is the only transcontinental line built without a land grant or other subsidy from this Government. It traverses a transcon- tinental belt possible of continuous settlement. There are no deserts and sandy wastes on the way. Below and above it are arid tracts without rainfall or water, while it will be observed that the dry sections along this line are supplied with running streams whose waters can be and are being used for purposes of irrigation. Trains to haul water for tanks and locomotives are therefore not necessary. For its population no equal area on earth turns out such supplies of wheat, flax, meat, wool, lumber, copper, and iron as the States between Lake Superior and Puget Sound, and the two mentioned bodies of water are at the top in the fish industry, while the intervening space between the two is the game preserve of the Union. The Great Northern 64 ACROSS AMERICA follows in turn the three great rivers of the continent, the Mississippi, Missouri, and Colum- bia, besides other rivers in comparison with which the Hudson and other Eastern waterways are but minor streams. The system extends across five States, Great Northern trains run- ning on their own tracks for a distance not equaled on any other continent except our own. The Great Northern is the principal line of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana, reach- ing more stations and having more miles of track than any other company. The Train, No finer example of the art of transportation can be found than the transcontinental train of the Great Northern Railway, as it stands ready in the St. Paul Union Depot for its part of the trip across America. The people that realize the difference between a transcontinental and an ordinary train, the thought that is embodied, the care that is bestowed, and the complicated yet smoothly working mechanism of the whole, are few and far between. The Great Northern Flyer is made up of a locomotive of the most advanced and powerful type ; a postal car, where work is carried on night and day ; baggage and express car ; tourist sleeping car, affording both comfort and conve- nience ; elegant day coaches wnth high-backed seats ; a dining car that represents a high-class restaurant on wheels ; a buffet-smoking-library car, with bath room and barber shop, library, G5 GREA T NOR THERN RAIL WA V daily and weekly papers, and magazines, and lastly, the palace sleeping cars. The Engine* Like a thing of life stands the huge ten- wheeled passenger locomotive. It is a master- piece. Designed and built to haul heavy and fast passenger trains; a superb thing of steel, a combination of 3,650 pieces, requiring no less than 8,000 manufacturing operations. It tips the beam at 138,000 pounds, and with the tender reaches the enormous weight of 224,000 pounds. vSuch is the Great Northern passenger engine, which is changed several times during the trip, the style of engine varying to suit the character of the country. The Vestibule. The vestibule in use on the Great Northern is really an enclosed platform, and is known as the flush or extended style. It utilizes the entire platform, the steps being covered with traps, which are swung up to allow exit or entrance. This particular style of vestibule makes a solid car of the entire train. It insures perfect safety in passing from one car to another, does away with all wind resistance, and absolutely negatives any danger of telescoping. Each vestibule is enclosed with plate glass and carpeted with heavy rubber, making within itself a complete observa- tion room. The end vestibule of the last car is enclosed by a glass door — an uncommon feature in vestibule construction — offering a magnificent lookout. 66 ACROSS AMERICA The Famous Buffet-Smoking-Library Car is a luxurious and mucli-appreciated feature. It is a magnificent car, furnished in costly fashion. Nearly half its sides are of massive plate glass for scenery viewing purposes. It has a library of about two hundred selected volumes, and all the latest magazines and representative daily and weekly newspapers, an elegantly appointed barber chair and bath room, great cushioned arm chairs, a cafe, where the choicest products of vineyard, brewery, distillery, and tobacco factory are always to be found; smoking rooms, writing desks, card tables, and everything else to make a charming loafing or working place for passengers. The Dining Car. The dining car, finished in oak and artistically furnished, affords elbow-room for its patrons, by means of the new idea in tables — used by the Great Northern — consisting of a seating capacity for four on one side of the car and tables upon the other side, with seats for two. Meals are served a la carte — ^aj only for what you order — the menu always presents the delicacies of the season, as well as the substantials of life. It is not necessary to dilate upon the advantage of the a la carte plan ; economy recommends it as a system beyond compare. Great Northern dining cars are always at- tached to the train, and do away absolutely with the rush and hurry that too often destroys a meal on other lines. Abundance of time, the 67 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY smoothest of running, and the exquisite service have made the Great Northern " diners " famous with experienced travelers. The Palace Skeping; Car. Since the year 1836, gradual and ever increas- ing improvement has been made in American sleeping cars, and the palace sleepers of the Great Northern represent the latest ideas. Nothing is left to be desired ; in weight, strength, ease of movement, finish, and convenience, the ideal has been attained. The toilet rooms are fitted with every modern device, whilst special attention is given to the heating, lighting, and ventilation. The uniform finish is oak, the dra- peries and carpets differ in both design and color in each car, affording variety to the eye and suiting all tastes. The Great Northern owns and operates its own sleepers, which is not only a guarantee of cleanliness, but also of cour- tesy and watchful politeness on the part of attendants. The Tourist Sleepingf Car* This car is a regular sleeper, built upon the same general plan as the palace sleeper, with the simple difference of having a plainer interior finish. It has double berths, which are made up at night with the same completeness and privacy as the palace car. A cooking range is in each car, so that those carrying food with them can warm it, or prepare hot tea or coffee. Each section is fitted with an adjustable table ; a 68 ACROSS AMERICA uniformed porter is also in attendance to wait upon passeng-ers. Tliere are the usual well appointed toilet rooms. The heating and ven- tilating system is the same as in the other cars. The tourist car can be occupied by holders of either first or second class tickets. The Track. It has long tangents, light grades, easy curves, wide embankments, and well ballasted, heavy steel rails, which insures not only safe and comfortable riding, but speed, less wear and tear of rolling stock, and the maximum of power at a minimum expenditure of effort. This means economy for the company and prompt service for the public. From St. Paul to the Rocky Mountains the heaviest grade on the Great Northern is between the Twin Cities. The most careful consideration is given to every branch of service on the Great Northern, making it a line that is always reliable and capable of everything that is demanded by critical modern travel. Extent of the System. The Great Northern system has of main line and branches 5,413 miles of track, divided into twelve operating divisions, reaching about 700 stations in the States of Minnesota. Wisconsin, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Its branches touch the Manitoba boundary at four points, and two enter British Columbia. With allied lines it enters Iowa and Oregon. It carries more wheat 69 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY from original points than any other road in the world. Connecting with the Northern Steamship Line on the Great Lakes, it reaches from Duluth to Buffalo, and through the Nippon Yusen Kaisha (Japan Mail Steamship Co.) and British Amer- ican Steamship Co., at Seattle, it has connection with the Hawaiian and Philippine islands, Japan, China, Siberia, Australia, India, and via the Suez Canal to Marseilles, Antwerp, and London. A Safe Line. With the Great Northern Railway Company safety is the great desideratum, and no road in the world can show such a record in this respect, or on no train can passengers be safer. No expense has been spared in the assemblage of devices known to inventive skill, that enhance safe running and add to the comfort of pas- sengers. Krupp wheels, with wrought iron centers and steel tires, are used from first to last; air brakes are on every wheel; the signaling between con- ductor and engineer is by pneumatic arrange- ment, simple but absolutely infallible; the train is fitted with automatic vertical plane couplers — couplers that withstand a pull of 150,000 pounds — the full platform vestibules are so constructed as to make the dreaded *' telescoping " of cars an impossibility. In fact, the construction of the entire train is in complete accord with the latest and most approved models, and from materials, every part of which has been sub- jected to scientific tests. 10 ACROSS AMERICA St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota Altitude, 70. feet. and the seat of Ramsey County, Population, iQo,ooo. . . -^ ^ , . IS gracefully located on a pictur- esque series of terraces overlooking the Missis- sippi River, at the head of navigation. Charles Dudley Warner says in Harpefs Monthly, that it is " one of the notably beautiful cities in the world. Summit Avenue is literally a street of palaces. It is not easy to recall a street and view anywhere, finer than this, and this is only one of the streets conspicuous for handsome homes." St. Paul is the center of a large whole- sale trade and manufacturing industry, and the focus of several extensive railway systems. The mission of St. Paul was founded in 1841, and seven years later the town was platted. Fort Snelling, adjoining the city, is the chief military post of the Northwest, and one of the most beau- tiful spots in the United States. The death rate GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA Y Picturesque Fort Snelling Attracts Many Visitors, of St. Paul per i,ooo, in 1896, was 9.25 per cent, the lowest in the Union. The city covers 55 square miles — 10 miles east and west and 5 miles north and south — and has 800 iniles of streets, of which 384 miles are graded, 560 miles of side- walks, 147 miles of sewers, and 233 miles of water main, 46 school houses, 5 colleo-es, public library, with 45,000 books, 160 churches and missions, 103 miles of street car track, using 410 cars. Assessed valuation of real estate in 1897, $78,000,000; personal property, $14,000,000. There are 21 parks, Como being the largest and one of the finest in the country. There are 5 daily papers and many other publications. The new State House, now being erected, will be one of the handsomest legislative buildings in the Union. The Mississippi, which divides the city, is spanned by several bridges, the one from Smith Avenue, known as the " High Bridge " 7^ ACROSS AMERICA giving a magnificent view of the river and city. Indian Mound Park, on Dayton's Bluff, and " Merriam Hill " also afford extended views of both river and city. Leaving St. Paul, the train passes through a narrow ravine, over tunnels and under bridges, half a dozen railways crowding the narrow exit. Between St. Paul and Minneapolis (ten miles) the railway has four tracks through a well settled suburban district, with stations at Como, Hamline, and St. Anthony Park, in full view of the im- posing structures of the State Fair Grounds, giant grain elevators, and the State Experiment vStation, a little village of itself; thence passing the build- ings of the State University, the richest endowed State institution in the Union, to Minneapolis, crossing the river on a curved stone arch bridge — the property of the Great Northern and which Falls of Minnehaha. Made famous by Longfellou. Between St. Paul and Minneapolis GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V /niNNEAPOLlS Altitude, 8ii feet. Population, 218,000, cost one million dollars to build — in plain sight of the Falls of St. Anthony, the new dam and electric-power plant, and the largest flouring mills in the world. Minneapolis, the seat of justice of Hennepin County, is famous for its flour and lumber interests, which center around the Falls of St. Anthony. These falls were dis- covered in t68o, by Louis Hen- nepin, who named them in honor of an Italian saint — St. Anthony of Padua. The first white land- owner was Franklin Steele, who located there in 1838, and who perfected his title to a homestead in 1843, t>y paying $1.25 an acre. In 1847, he sold his interest in the water power for $12,000. The wearing away of the falls is now prevented by a wooden apron put in at a cost of $200,000. For many years the chief settlement was on the east side known as St. Anthon}^ In 1849 a stage commenced running between St. Anthony and St. Paul. In 1854 a bridge was built and settle- 74 Court House Minneapolis. ACROSS AMERICA ment began on the west side. In i860 it was incorporated as a village and known successively as West St. Anthony, All Saints, Lowell, Albion, and finally Minneapolis- — " Minne " Sioux Indian for water and "apolis" Greek for city — was adopted. In 1862 the first railway in the State was opened between St. Paul and St. Anthony, ten miles, now a part of the Great Northern system, and the short line between the two cities. Minneapolis leads the world in the output of flour — 10,000,000 barrels a year. The city has an extensive park system, a free public library, and many fine business blocks and public buildings. From Minneapolis the Great Northern has two tracks which again branch out in a dozen directions, as will be seen by a reference to the map, covering the whole country with a net- work of rails. The transcontinental trains use the track on the west bank of the Mississippi. For some miles after leaving the Minneapolis Handsome Homes are Numerous in Red R'wer Valley Towns. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY Union Depot the train clatters through almost interminable lines of freight cars, engines, rail- way buildings of various kinds, lumber yards, etc., emerging at last into a section beautified by handsome suburban homes and clusters of attractive settlements. The two hours' run between Minneapolis and St. Cloud, the next station at which the Flyer is scheduled to stop, is through a prosperous and picturesque country. Small towns, with thrift and busy industry depicted in every feature, are dotted along the railway like a string of beads. Lake gems open their blue eyes to the bright Minnesota sky. Waving fields of grain, rich pastures, contented cattle, are on every side. Monticello — where the train Altitude. ,30 feet. ^^ops for watcr-is the prm- 47 miles from St. Paul. ^-^^^^ ^^^^^ passcd en route. It is the thriving center of a fine agricultural and dairy country. From this point the road runs closely along the west bank of the Missis- sippi River, gradually turning northward until, at a distance of seventy-seven miles from St. Paul, the train runs into the fine new granite depot of the Great Northern at St. Cloud. ST CI ODD ^^' Cloud, the county seat of 77 miles from St Paul. Stcams Couuty, is the sitc of Altitude, 1,029 feet. , ^ , . Population, 10,000. a State Normal School and a State Reformatory. It is also the See city of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Central Minnesota. The granite quarries here are very extensive, and large quantities of stone for building and paving purposes are shipped to all parts of the GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY country. Branch lines of the Great Northern run east and west from here. It is the converg- ing point for no less than five lines of this one railway. Leaving St. Cloud, the train plunges into the famous lake park countr}'", with hand- some towns everywhere along the line. Minnesota is a land of lakes; its name shows that — "The land of sky-blue water." Its north- ern and its western halves are thickly mottled with them. It is as though the Creator from His mighty hand had sprinkled the country with the clearest and bluest of water. Every farmhouse seems to be upon the shores of a crystal pond varying froin a few hundred yards to forty miles in circumference. For this reason the country west and north from St. Paul and Minneapolis is known to the geographer and tourist as the Lake Park Region, although the whole vState of Minnesota is dotted everywhere with uncounted lakes. The total number has been estimated at Minnesota /s a Lake-gemmed Paradise. 7S ACROSS AMERICA 10,000. The old word for park is paradelsos — paradise. How well the word fits this country. Nature herself takes the Minnesotan's farm and does landscape gardening for him. All day long the train rushes through corn patches, vegetable gardens, and wheat fields, varied with frequent groves, but most noticeable are the innumerable lakes. They seem to peer at one with their blue eyes from every part of the country. Here the farmer is sailor and IK CPNTPR fisher, too. At Sauk Center 119 miles from St. Paul, the Park Rapids branch breaks away from the main line, running northward through a magnificent section of country until it reaches the Fosston line at Cass Lake, passing within a short distance of Lake Itasca, the source of the great Mississippi. . i^l<- Osakis, nestling in the shore of 132 miles from St. Paul, a wlde-reachiug body of blue water, claims undivided attention. This is a famous resort. Its banks are dotted with summer hotels, tents, and cottages. On every hand broad generous fields, garden places, pretty lakes, and woodlands stretch away to the horizon. Large numbers of summer tourists from Missouri and Iowa visit Osakis every year. One hale fisherman of seventy has been here every summer for twenty years and likes it better every time. ^.r ^ .,r.r^, ^ Alcxaudria is the county seat of X44 miles from St. Paul. Douglas Couuty, and IS fairly Altitude, 1,^85 feet. ^ , . ..1 4.„„ ^-1, ^ Population, 3,000. hemmed m with water, tne county having no less than 200 lakes, affording a variety for fishermen and duck hunters scarcely fi 79 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY equaled in the country. Club houses belonging to wealthy people from Eastern and Southern cities are found on the shores of a number of lakes. United States Senator Nelson lives on a farm near Alexandria. Geneva Beach, with its summer hotel overlooking a broad sheet of water, is to be seen just before reaching the town. Here is the wall-eyed pike, beloved by sportsmen; the small- mouth "gray" or " Oswego " bass, one of the gamest of fresh-water fishes; the large-mouthed black bass, pickerel, croppie, and scores of commoner varieties, and in some of the lakes the famous mascalonge. A Minneapolis judge said he had fished from the Mississippi to the coast and had found here the best sport he ever enjoyed. GARriELD Leaving Alexandria, the towns 150 miles from St. Paul, of Garfield and Brandon are BRANDON passed to Evansville, where a 156 miles from St. Paul. F\/AN*s\/II I P branch line runs west to points 161 miles from St. Paul, in North and South Dakota ; 80 t)> ACROSS AMERICA >liBY then to Ashby, in Grant County, .70 miles from St. Paul. famouS for itS duck shootin^ ^^^^^ and to Dalton and Parkdale 178 miles from St. Paul. ^RKDALE pretty towns in the heart of 184 miles from St. Paul, the Park Region. RCllS PAI I S Fergus Falls, the county seat i8q miles from sr Paul, of Ottertail Couuty, is a most Altitude, 1,203 i'eet. Population, 5,000. attractive point; the very name has a musical cadence that impresses the stranger. Here the Red River of the North is reached, and here, filled with the tribute of numberless lakes, it makes its last plunge from the high lands to the smoother slopes of the valley so famous for wheat. Fergus grinds a lot of it, for the river, ■ in a succession of ledges, has some very pretty and industrious falls. There are six in all. They furnish power for a number of factories, and the citizens are generous in their offer of power and sites for other industries. Several pretty little hamlets surrounded by good farms are passed, and then the tangle of railway tracks, the tinkle of hammers on car wheels, announces the division point of Barnesville. A branch line leads from here to Ada, Crookston, and out to St. Vincent on the international iRNESVlLLE boundary. At Barnesville, the 220 miles from St. Paul, train Icavcs the St. Cloud & Fergus Falls Division, and having acquired a fresh GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A Y locomotive with full supplies of coal and water, it dashes off due north through the Red River Valley over the northern division. At Moorhead BARNESVILLE /nOORMEAD the traveler looks his last on 243 miles from St. Paul, the fair fields of Minnesota. Altitude, 902 feet. Population, 4,500. A magnificent State Normal School is one of Moorhead's show places. From here another north-bound branch of the road leads away toward Crookston. The whole Red River Valley is so belted with railways that it is not an easy matter to find a locality where the smoke of a locomotive can not be seen or its whistle heard sometime during the day. ACROSS AMERICA Minnesota has an area of 83,365 square miles and 1,573-350 people. It is 400 miles north to south and 350 in width from east to west. It is only yet sparsely set- tled, and the outside world is just beginning to under- stand and appreciate its wealth of well-watered, fertile soil and extensive agricultural and live-stock interests, its vast timberal resources, its rich mineral deposits, iron and gold, its numerous water power, its enormous stone quar- ries, its glorious climate, its beautiful cities and towns, its superior educational advantages, the sterling morality and intelligence of its people, with their great achieve- ments in home-making and manufacturing, its charming landscapes, its fine transportation facilities, and its well- laid foundations of statehood and high civilization. From a handsome steel drawbridge passen- gers look down again upon the waters of the Red River, and at midstream cross the line into North Dakota and enter Fargo, county seat of A pro Cass County, widely known for ^^nmiies from St. Paul, its push and enterprise. Well- Altitude, 901 feet. 1-1 ■ t , 1 . Population, 7,000. Duilt residences and business blocks, paved streets, and factory smokestacks are to be seen in every direction. Wheat fields encroach upon the city limits. The State Agri- -^- If Front Street, Fargo, N. D. GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A V cultural College and Experimental Station are located just outside of the city. Fargo supports three daily papers, and has all modern facilities in the way of telephones, waterworks, electric lights, gas, street cars, etc. Broad and level as the sea the prairie stretches out north, south, and west of Fargo. The plow cuts it as a ship cuts the ocean, and it has its waves and ripples as the wind kisses the grain A Quaint Red Riuer Ferry. or the grass. It has a sky as blue as Italy by day, and as starry as Chaldea by night. Like landsmen for the first time seeing the ocean, the endless sweep of view brings to the lips the instinctive exclamation: "The sea! the sea!" At first a dreariness, a terrible lonesomeness, oppresses ; the world does look so big and same, the houses so very far apart ; but in the days spent between the Red River and the mountains the beauty of the prairie slowly grows, until the S4 ACROSS A iM ERIC A freedom and the largeness of feeling which these Western people have, and their affection for those boundless plains, begins to throw its spell over all. Almost due north from Fargo lie the tracks of the Great Northern. For seventy-eight miles the way is along the west bank of the Red River, which runs through that strip of green away to the right, though never again in sight of its waters. Good towns are strung along the track AN DIN like beads on a string, includ- 271 miles from St. Paul, ing Graudiu, Hillsboro— couuty .LSBORO seat of Traill County— Buxton, 283 miles from St. Paul. YTOIM Reynolds, and other growing 297 miles from St. Paul. Communities. Every little town YNOLDS has its elevators, and, glancing 302 miles from St. Paul. ^^ ^i^^^g. ^-^e sky line, One can see these great grain houses standing like ships at sea. Just a word about this famous valley, how it was formed and why its soil is so marvel- ously productive. The " Red River of the North," flowing due north to Lake Winnipeg, and thence under other names into Hudson Bay, is 500 miles long, and navigable two-thirds of its length. The Nile is the only stream that has so long a northward course, and the two valleys are similar in fertility. This is the bed of an ancient lake, known to geologists as Lake Agas- siz. It was larger than Superior is now, and caine from the melting ice of the glacial period. The flood of this epoch, not able to drain in the direction of the natural slope, because of the still unmelted area toward the north, lay 85 GREA T NOR THERN RAIL WA V on this land, sometimes spreading quite to the Gulf oE Mexico. At the bottom was deposited for years and years the mud resulting from the glacial detritus, ground off from the rocks of the north. This mud was so thick that it has covered out of sight the bowlders, gravel, and drift found elsewhere in glacial tracts. At length the ice, retreating slowly, left the opening to the Northern Sea and the lake ran into Hudson Bay, forming the river which we see before us. The mud deposited for ages gradually dried and made the soil, of whose fertility we have heard so much, a soil which at its poorest is said by Professor Denton to excel the average of Massachusetts and the Eastern farming States. Soon there is a clatter of many intersecting tracks, a glimpse of many switch signals, and the handsome red sandstone depot and shrill GRAND rORKS cries of 'bus and cab drivers 322 miles from St. Paul, anuouuce Grand Forks, the first Altitude, 835 feet. Population, 5,000. Station in the great State of North Dakota, a county seat, and the second city [in North Dakota. Grand Forks Depot S6 ACROSS AMERICA Grand Forks is a busy bustling- Western city of over 5,000 people. It is an important railroad center. From it radiate north, south, east, and west the tracks of the Great Northern. From the south comes the main transcontinental line, and pausing- at Grand Forks, turns to the west. The north line, or Neche branch, leads to valley points in North Dakota and on to Winnipeg. The line from the east has just been traversed by the traveler. This is the chief manufacturing city of the State, and the center of a fine agricul- tural country. The State University is located here, besides other noted academies and colleges. Grand Forks banks and trust companies are model financial institutions. With broad well- paved streets and well-lighted imposing business houses and handsome residences, Grand Forks presents a most attractive appearance, and its citizens are justly proud of their home town. Leaving Grand Forks the route leads away toward the broad rich plains of the North Dakota 87 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY OcJATA prairies. Numerous thriving 333 miles from St. Paul, ^owns are passed. E/nERADO Between Grand Forks and 338 miles from St. Paul. ARVl LLA Minot is a great country — a 344 miles from St. Paul, land of liuiitless possibilities. All along this 200 miles of prairie, wheat fields as level as the ocean at rest, stretch away in every direction. The clustered buildings of ■The World's Bread-basket.*^ ACROSS AMERICA the big farms look like villages. The mirage is often seen hanging in the summer air, with waving palms, ships under sail, distant towns, shimmering lakes, floral meadows, and processions moving across the glowing horizon, scenes as beautiful as strange. All through this region wild ducks and geese come in such numbers, during the migrating season, that the shores of the lakes and the stubble fields often look like snowdrifts where the flocks cluster. A North Dakota Home and Farmyard. ?IAAORF' '^^^ branch line from Wah- 350 miles from St. Paul, petou, Mayvillc, and Casselton Altitude, 1,139 feet. Population, 1,000. crosscs at Larimorc and runs north ninety-seven miles to Park River and Hannah. Continuing west in the midst of grain fields and pasture lands through Lakota, seat ''OTA ^^ Nelson County, the shore of 386 miles from St. Paul. Devils Lake is finally reached, the largest body of water on the plains east of the Rocky Mountains. Devils Lake, the /II S LAKE county seat of Ramsey County, 411 miles from St. Paul. N. D., is on the north shore of Altitude, I, 4q6 feet. ., .^ , t. i_ • j-X. Population, 1,500. Devils Lake. It contams the GREA T NOR THERN RAIL WA V United States Land Office, the State School for the Deaf and Dumb, and the grounds for the North Dakota Chautauqua Association and State Military Encampment. Chautauqua Grounds and Steamer '•Minnie H." Devils Lake, N, D. MH^M « aBsmfiii§i^' On the south shore of the lake is Fort Totten, and the Cuthead Sioux Indian Reservation. The Indians number about 800 and are well advanced in civil- ized habits. This is famous hunting ground. From Devils Lake for many miles the train passes numerous lakes and sloughs where innumerable wild fowl love to congregate. Here the wild goose reigns supreme, and during the proper seasons in the spring and fall, large flocks inay be seen from the train, the well-known V outlined against the morning sky. As the train passes 90 ACROSS A AI ERICA RCh'S TERRY Church's Ferry a branch line 430 miles from St. Paul, is noticed diverafinp" north to Altitude, 1,461 feet. * ^^ Population, 800. Cando, Rollo, and St. John in the Turtle Mountains, the highest point of land in the State. The country along this branch of the road is remarkable as being the locality where has been domiciled the largest number of German Baptists of the sect known as " Dunkers." The Great Northern originated this movement, and in the course of a few years has transferred between 8,000 and 10,000 of the best class of settlers from the over-crowded vStates of Indiana and Pennsylvania, and settled them on fine farms in this fertile and attractive district. The set- tlers have almost without exception prospered amazingly, and now own attractive homes, fine stock, stabling, implements, etc. Crops are almost invariably good and the prospects of the entire community are of the most roseate hue. Pjo Settlements now become less 441 miles from St. Paul, frcqucnt, and bauds of horses, cattle, and sheep crop the buffalo grass. In early days the buffalo possessed the country, and for a long time after the railway was built, the bones of this ill-fated animal were gathered and shipped by hundreds of carloads. It is estimated that hide hunters slaughtered a half million in two years in this State. Bones can still be seen lying at small stations awaiting I shipment, and bone and hide buyers make regular trips into the country. At Pleasant JIASANT I AKT Lake the numbers of wild 459 miles from St. Paul, fowl amazingly increase, for 91 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY this is a favorite feeding ground; at times the sky is darkened with their hosts and the air resonant with their strident calls. The last North Dakota branch of the railway turns ofE in the usual northerly direction at RUGBY (JUNCTION ^^Z^l Junction, running north 468 miles from St. Paul, to Bottiueau, ou the wcstem BERWICK edge of the Turtle Mountains. 480 miles from St. Paul. At Berwick, the eastern bound- TOWNER ary of the great county of 487 miles from St. Paul. McHcury is passcd, and just after leaving Towner the train crosses the Mouse River, called in Canada the Souris, whose valley is the main feature of the county. This is to be the home of many prosperous farmers who can profitably combine stock raising with other lines. Here are still to be found many sections of free government land. It lies right along the track of the road, yet scattered through it are towns, churches, schools, banks, lumber yards, newspapers, and stores. The pioneers of Iowa, Illinois, and the Central West stayed out of civilization waiting for railroads twenty years. Here the railroad came ahead of them. Twelve miles west of the western boundary of McHenry County the Mouse River is again crossed at Minot, chief town of another great county called Ward. At Minot the time changes from Central time to Mountain time, and watches are set back one hour. Minot is a United States Land A\lNOT Office and a railway division 529 miles irom St. j^aui. -' Attitude, 1,565 feet. headquarters. There engines 529 miles from St. Paul. 92 ACROSS AMERICA are changed, and the train passes from the Dakota ■ division into the Montana division. Minot is the last considerable town at present in Dakota, and marks the present eastern limits of the grazing country. Rapidly and surely the farm- ing community is pressing westward upon the graziers. But when one realizes that it is 600 miles from here to the mountains, and that there is tributary to this line of road a hundred and twenty thousand square miles of land, it does not seem as though there was likely to be a scarcity of room for either the graziers or the stockmen. Leaving Minot the escarpment of the "Plateau du Coteau du Missouri " is noticed, a mass of rugged broken country. I yfl Delta is well up on the high 568 miles from St. Paul, platcau. Siiicc leaving Towner Altitude, 2,263 feet. r\rR the train has climbed 800 feet 644 miles from St. Paul, nearer the sky. A little beyond Avoca is noticed the first glimpse of the Mis- 93 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA Y souri, huge, dignified, and silent, cutting its way among clay bluffs, changing its channel day by day, uneasy, unruly, and sullen. Soon after passing Williston the Fort Bu- 650 miles from St. Paul, ford Military Reservation is Altitude, 1,852 feet. ^ , 1 , 1 , • entered, and the tram pauses at Buford Station, at the junction of the " Big Muddy" and the Yellowstone rivers. The exten- sive and important post buildings were formerly located south of the track, but have been torn down. For many miles the way is along the valley of the Missouri. Buford, the last place in North Dakota, is 670 miles from St. Paul. North Dakota has an area of 70,795 square miles and 182,719 population. It is 360 miles north to south and 210 east to west. The Red River Valley, Devils Lake District, and Turtle Mountain country are noted for the production of No. I hard wheat, the best in the world, besides other small grains and vegetables. All conditions favor the live- stock industry. Extensive deposits of coal exist in the western part of the State. North Dakota has all of the advantages of a new country in cheap lands and chances for home-making, and all of the conveniences of an old country in schools, churches, markets, postal and railway facilities. There is a good deal of government land now being taken up. ARDEN Arden is the first station in 679 miles from St. Paul. Montana, and between Buford and Arden will be noticed, on the north side of the track, the white post which marks the divid- ing line between the States of North Dakota and p>l a IP Montana. At Blair the train 708 miles from St. Paul, enters the Fort Peck Indian POPLAR Reservation, whose southern 736 miles from St. Paul. • i ■»!-• • r-. • Altitude, 1,960 feet. boundary IS the Missouri River. ACROSS AMERICA At Poplar is a small military post and one of the largest Indian schools in the country located on a railway. K RIVER Milk River is a point worthy of 786 miles from St. Paul, notice. Hcrc the railway, after following- the Missouri for over 100 miles, turns almost due north, leaves the Indian reservation, and turns into the valley of the Milk River. For 180 miles the course is along this important stream. Here was the scene, in 1887, of the fastest railway building operations ever known, involving the construction of 550 miles of sub- stantial roadway in six months. The unparal- leled record of laying 8Jq- miles of track in one •day was accomplished. Glasgow is the county seat of — — — 7. — ^ „, ^ , Valley County and division 806 miles from St. Paul. -' J Altitude, 2,092 feet. headquarters of the railway. This is a ranch country, and live stock wanders about with no seeming owner.ship, attaining ma- turity and going to market fat and sleek without ever having a particle of food other than native grasses, and no shelter except the sky. To the north and south are outlying sentinel hills, warn- ing passengers that the mighty Rockies are ahead. Small stations, where the stockmen bring horses, cattle, and sheep for shipment, are scat- tered along the track. Hins- SDALE _.,*-. 83X miles from St. Paul, ^alc IS bccommg an important Altitude, 2,x68 feet. p^.^^^_ ^^^^^ ^^^^ scttlcrs are coming in to this section, and the fertile soil and abundant crops promise a good town at this point. I The first mountains seen are the Little Rockies, 7 95 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V w. CHURCH EUTTE JiajiJ.:McNaily& Co., CMcago. EUREKA south of Eureka and Harlem. 895 miles from St, Paul. Important gold discoveries have n Ah?LC/ \ been made in the Little Rockies. Between Eureka and Zurich the 916 miles from St. Paul. ZURICH 925 miles from St. Paul, railway runs north of the Milk River, and on the south bank will be noticed the well-built cabins of the Indians of the Fort Bel- knap Reservation, whose southern boundary is the Little Rocky Mountains — in plain view from the train. They appear to be about ten miles away; the real distance is forty miles. Chinook is the center of irrio^a- CtilNOOK . , , . • .t, ^/r 11 ~ ^^^^es from St. Paul, ^lou development m the Milk Altitude, 2,404 feet. -^.^^^ Vallcy, and ditches are to be seen from the car windows. More farm- houses are in sight than have yet been seen in Montana. Across vast hay meadows to the south the Bear Paw Mountains, a singularly beautiful and impressive group, tower in silent majesty. Many settlers are locating in this vicinity, and as 96 ACROSS AMERICA irrigation means assured harvests, all are pros- perous and rapidly becoming independent. The climate is healthful and enjoyable. Winters are cold, but the cold is a dry' cold and much more agreeable than the winter weather of the Eastern States. The Milk River Valley is destined to be one of the richest and best settled agricultural districts of Montana. Full information about the great opportunities of this part of Montana may be had from agents of Great Northern Railway. At Havre the Montana Central "^^niies from St. Paul. Railway (a part of the Great e, 2,480 ee . Northern system) leads away to the south, to Benton, Great Falls, Helena, ■ Butte, and Anaconda. Sleeper for these points is dropped at Havre and is attached to the other train. (For description of this division, see page 155.) Seven miles from here on the branch line is Fort Assiniboine, the largest RT ASSINIBOINE .^.^ ^ . ' ,,, ^^ ^^ military post m the West. It is occupied by colored troops. At Havre the engines are changed again, and fresh supplies of ice, beef, poultry, and other creature comforts promise good meals to come on the dining car. Were it not that the road constantly follows the lower level of the country, the Rockies could be seen while still distant from them two hundred miles. At Galata, however, the track climbs up on the 1,034 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 3,368 feet. platcau, extending southward from the Sweetgrass Hills, and the towering, snow-capped, and jagged peaks of the great mountains suddenly spring into view, straight 97 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY ahead, yet still a hundred miles away. From this point and for some distance farther west- ward, the Sweetgrass Hills may be seen, three lone buttes set in a vast sea of rolling, grassy prairie. The Blackfoot name for these hills is Cut-o-yis, "sweet grasses." The middle one of the buttes was regarded by the simple red men as the home of a wrathful god, who de- manded a sacrifice froin every person who ap- proached it. None of them ever went near it without murmuring a prayer, and reverently dropping an arrow, or bracelet, or other valued thing. The Government purchased the Hills and surrounding country from the Indians in 1887, and soon afterward placer gold was found in pay- ing quantities. Both placer and quartz claims are now being worked in all three of the buttes, and a mining town has sprung up, "Gold Butte," and is in a flourishing condition. SHELBY eJUNCTION . , eu n. t .• 1 ' — - — „^ „ , At Shelby I unction, down m 1,064 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 3,276 feet. ^ valley, the Great Falls & Canada Railway, a narrow-gauge road, crosses the Great Northern line. Crossing Cutbank River the road enters the Blackfeet Reservation, a large tract of rich prairie land extending from the Cana- BLACKrOOT ,. ,. ^x, . . , .,„5 miles from St. Paul, ^^^n line Southward sixty Altitude, 4,142 feet. ^^-^^^^ ^^^ forty-fivc milcs from east to west. There are now about two thousand Indians on this Reserve, living on comfortable ranches along the streams. The Blackfeet have long since forsaken the old wild life of the chase, and are now prosperous raisers 98 ACROSS AMERICA of cattle, which they ship to the Chicago markets. Blackfoot Station is the central point for the people here, and a little farther west- ward, but some distance north of the railway, can be seen the agency and government school buildings. Northwest of Blackfoot, on the extreme hori- zon, looms up a tall, slender butte named Chief Mountain. (Blackfoot : Ni'-na Os-tukwi.) It is 10,800 feet high, and its precipitous sides have re- cently been scaled clear to the summit by some adventurous young New Yorkers. Some distance this side of Chief Mountain, nestling in a valley extending far into the heart of the range, lie the St. Mary's lakes, the Geneva of America. The scener}^ about them is said by experienced travel- ers to excel in grandeur and wildness anything to be found in Switzerland. The lower lake is seven, the upper one eleven miles long", and on either side of them the mountains rise to great heights, in places precipitously from the water's edge. Im- mense glaciers furnish the water of these lovely lakes, and afford a most inviting field of explora- tion to the tourist and student of nature. The whole range from Chief Mountain far to the south of the Great Northern Railway abounds in a variety of big game. Elk, moose, deer, and grizzly bears are to be found in the pine forests, and on the high, bare, rocky peaks live the big- horn and goats in greater numbers than anywhere "^ "^^^^ else in America. Trout of 99 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V great size are plentiful in all the streams, and in the St. Mary's waters are three varieties of them — the lake, Dolly Varden, and redthroated. No better grouse shooting can be found anywhere than along these mountains. The ptarmigan has its home on the high levels, and thence down to the prairie ai"e found the blue and Franklin, the ruffed and sharp-tailed grouse, the latter being commonly termed the prairie chicken. Joe Kipp, who captured the large grizzly bear for Central Park, New York, lives near Blackfoot. Approaching Midvale Station, r^^^^les from St. Paul. ^WO McdlCmC RlVCr IS CrOSSCd. Altitude, 4,785 feet. q^^^ ^^^ Blackfoot tribe had difficulties and settled them by arbitration. The two medicine lodges that they put up here while the discussion was proceeding gave the place its name. This stream is the outlet of the beautiful Two Medicine lakes, three in num- ber. The lower one is only three miles to the northward. Between it and the second one is, probably, the most peculiar waterfall in the country. At this point a high precipice of rough rock crosses the valley from side to side, and some thirty feet above its base the, .stream bursts from a cavernous hole in its side and falls into a deep, wide pool. It is a most lovely spot, sheltered by tall and graceful pines, well worth a visit by the lover of nature. Here, too, the angler can cast his line with success, for the pool abounds with trout of large size. While none of the lakes can be seen from the car window, their locality may easily be traced 100 ACROSS AMERICA by the depression in the green forest, on either side of which rise the great mountains. Most noticeable of all these massive heights is one of red slate, almost a pyramid in shape, sit- uated apparently at the head of the valley ; on its lower slopes grow a few stunted pines, but the greater part of it is bare, grim, and forbid- ding. It has been named the Rising Wolf, which was the Indian name of Hugh Monroe, an ex- employe of the Hudson's Bay Company. Mon- roe was sent by the company in 1816 to visit the Blackfeet, learn their language, and estab- lish trade relations with them. He led a very adventurous life and, for many years, was the only white man in what is now known as Mon- tana. When he died a few years ago — at the age of 103 years — his friends thought they could not better perpetuate his memory than to give this grand mountain his name. He was widely known among the Indian tribes, and never saw 101 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V a train of cars until the Great Northern was built past his cabin door. What mighty moves have taken place upon the chessboard of events since this old man went West in 1802 ! Napo- leon changed the map of Europe ; England grew to a vast empire ; these United States increased from a little fringe of country on the sea to this immense republic ; the age of steam began, developed, reached its height ; the age of electricity was born — and this old trapper in the wilderness went on from day to day hunting his bear ! Next to Rising Wolf is Hough's Mountain, named after the author of that name, who killed his first bighorn — a mag- nificent ram — on it in 1897. The mountain on its right, 1 which descends to the prai- rie, has no name. Across the valley, and approach- ing the railway, are a num- ber of peaks rising higher and higher un- til the summit is reached. South of the railway, at this point, are numberless unnamed mountains and buttes set in a vast 0/ the Continent — Lake McDonald Country. ACROSS AMERICA el Glacii Lake McDonald. expanse of pine forest. Reaching the summit, one sees just north of the station a high, long- mountain, known as " Divide Mountain," from whose snow-clad sides the water runs both to the Atlantic and Pacific. On the eastern end of it, just below the wall rock, is a "lick," which is visited daily in the summer months by numbers Grinnef Glacier, 103 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A V of goats and sheep (bighorn). Its waters are alkaline, and much loved by all ruminant animals. The goats drinking at it can often be seen, by the aid of a glass, from the station. Pyramid Peak — Lake McDonald Country. Midvale is the starting point for Two Medi- cine Lake, five miles away. The fact that the train is climbing the Rockies is not apparent to the traveler, except that he may notice the engme puffing a little harder than usual. Summit Station is where pas- sengers get out of the cars, expecting that they are at the top and can look back along the plain just ii traversed, or forward in the direction of the,! Pacific. Instead they find a j^ark or meadow of ij several hundred acres, enclosed in an amphi-t theatre of barren peaks rising 2,000 to 3,000; 104. SU/nAMT STATION 1,149 miles from St. Pau Altitude, 5,202 feet. ACROSS AMERICA feet, in the crevices of which snow has lodged in immense drifts. The summer sun sends down its fiercest rays, but. the snowy glaciers are slow in melting. At a little distance from the track is a lake, a half mile long and several hundred feet wide, originally the bed of a creek, across which beavers built a dam, and whose waters drain east through the Marias and west by way of the Flathead to different oceans. Summit is 5,202 feet above sea level, the high- est point reached by the Great Northern in its entire course across the continent. The railway really does not climb the moun- tains at all. What makes the road so noted among engineers is the successful way in which it has avoided the steep grades. A single loco- motive has conducted this huge train at thirty iniles an hour A Sharp Corner up to the '■" KHartin Creek. summit of the Rocky Mountains without slip- ping a wheel or doing an undue amount of puffing. The road coaxes its "^ %i^ way into the midst of li towering peaks, and runs '!'^-'^ among them for a day, but always with a steady track, a gentle grade, and a perpetual watch for economical, paying business. 105 ACROSS AMERICA The scenery rapidly becomes imposing. The track winds around the huge peaks on ledges of solid rock. A dense growth of pine and other coniferous trees cover the mountain sides as with a robe of velvet green. Higher up the bare, rugged peaks, white with age, stand in solemn majesty. As the train begins the descent of the western slope. Summit Creek will be noticed beside the track. Countless cascades hang their silvery streaks along the mountain sides. If the scenery on the eastern side is imposing, here it is grand. The train whirls along in a narrow defile between high mountains. The canyon gradually widens with a level stretch of bottom land, below which Bear Creek hastens with such speed that it looks like a streak of white foam. The bottom continues to widen, and a collection of log cabins are seen, all that is left in what was known in construction days as McCarthy- ville — and a notorious place it was — now the 107 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY lonely home of the ranchman. Near by is a graveyard, mainly filled by men who met violent deaths in the saloons and g-ambling- dens. The track sweeps clear around the town, which can be seen from many points of a horseshoe whose surrounding- heights throw into shadow \ the one in the Key- stone State, known to all travelers. When the sun from be- tween two towering domes lights up the isolated top of a third, while all else is in shadow, the effect is beautiful be^-ond expression. Creaasse in fP TllCSe Httlc StatloU Sperry Glacier, Laiie McDonald. liouscs whlch arc bc- ing passed so rapidly are occupied by track men. . „ , , „ At Java the train crosses a JAVA 1,163 miles from St. Paul, curvcd bridge and the middle e, 3,9 5 ee . ^^^.^^ ^^ ^^^ Flathead is reached, in time of flood a considerable river. At Essex the can3^on widens out and permits the building of side tracks and coal sheds. Small tunnels are passed through on the way down. Heavily timbered mountains are ever in sight, and at intervals glimpses are had of snowy peaks and lOS ACROSS AMERICA the bare rocks of the main range rising to the sky. Water from the snow above pours down steep places in little streams to swell the flow of the Flathead. If on the lookout, bear and deer may be seen, for this is a country of big game. The dams seen in some of the creeks Avalanche Basin — Lake McDonald Countnj. were made by beavers, and the rude roadway high above and far below was where the horses and men toted material used in constructing the railway track. Paola, Nyack, and Belton are passed in turn, and endless still appear the encircling mountains. At Belton tourists for 109 Ahern Pass — near North End of Lake. Scenes in Lake McDonald Country. 110 ACROSS AMERICA ii -jQlvj the Lake McDonald country i,i9^^iies from St. Paul, leave the train. Every season Altitude, 3,210 feet. increasing- numbers visit this charming locality. The lake is a mountain jewel, and the glacial attractions are very fine. Hotels have been built at the head and foot of the lake, eighteen miles apart, and a steamer runs between the two. Avalanche Basin and the Evening on Lake McDonald. largest known glaciers in the Rockies can be reached by trail from the head of the lake. The region has been termed the " Northern Yosemite," and it well merits the name, while at the same time it possesses attractions peculiarly its own. McDonald is to be a famous place ; it can not help it. There is a glacier here more accessible to the tourist than any other in the Union. There are four distinct varieties of trout here, besides fish of other kinds ; they are in numberless abundance. Charles Hallock, who 8 111 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY was writing an article for the American Angler^ said : " There is every scenic beauty of an Alpine lake in this one, with a far greater choice of game and fish. There is no bother- some exaction of fees and tolls. It will be a leading resort of the continent when it becomes familiar to the tourist." Lovers of mountain camping and climbing should make a note of the Lake McDonald country and write for special literature regarding it. At Belton, after following the valley of the ^ North End of Lake McDonald. Micldle^ork of the Flathead for some distance, the railway turns almost due south, and, cross- ing the main stream of the Flathead, halts at COLU/HBIA FALLS Columbia Falls, a pretty town 1,209 miles from St. Paul, located on Q. plateau in a bend of the river. A fifteen-mile stretch of straight track now leads direct to the chief town of the Flathead Valley. Kalispell is in the center of a wide valley, with mountains circled around it. A fertile soil and hills covered 112 KALISPELL 1,224 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 2,946 feet. Population, 3,cxx). ACROSS AMERICA There 13 Fertile Soil in the Flathead Valley. with forests and veined with precious metals will in time make it a large city. Already it has a population of 3,000, well organized in municipal and social forces. Flathead River runs near the town, and Flathead Lake, the largest body of water in the Rockies, is a few miles south. The valley may well be called the lake park region of the Rockies, for there are over one hundred lakes in Flathead Foy Lakes, Flathead Valley. lis GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V Kafispell and Flathead Valley. County alone. This is a division headquarters, and the company has erected here a score of fine, substantial buildings, including a fine brick pas- senger depot and headquarters for the division officials, freight depots, round-house, coal bunkers, storehouses, workshops, and supply storehouses. The valley of the Flathead is an ideal place. With its natural forest growths, protecting mountains, grain and fruit possibilities, not to speak of the mineral riches, it is one of the garden spots of Montana. Settlers are locating in large numbers, and much improvement is going on in both town and country. There is not a stream in the 114. ACROSS AMERICA ■ valley that is not alive with trout and salmon. The angler finds here a paradise. The prairie lands and the woods furnish grouse, pheasants, and deer for the sportsman. Farther back in the mountains larger game is found, includ- ing bear, moose, elk, goats, and sheep. Eastern parties have learned of the sport to be found here with rod and gun, and each succeeding season sees larger numbers coming hither. From Kalispell a stage line runs north to Tobacco Plains, Fort Steele, and the rich mining fields of the Eastern Kootenai. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are found in large quantities in the northern part of the country. The next 140 miles of railway is still in the Flathead country. The route is along Ashby Creek, skirting the Cabinet Mountains, with con- stantly increasing grade as the railway climbs the steep ascent, hugging the sides of the mountains closely meanwhile. ARION STATION After leaving Marion Station 1,248 miles from St. Paul, the road swiugs arouud Little Bitter Root Lake on the south and west — the left-hand side of the train — and crossing Jonah Creek on a steel bridge plunges into the gloom of Haskell Pass tunnel, and ^SKELL PASS ^^gg^g ^^g ^^gg^ ^^ ^j^g (^^^._ T r.r-. milfic frnm Sif Traill J- 1,254 miles from. St. Paul. Altitude, 4,146 feet. net Mountains. A gradual de- scent is now made to Pleasant Valley. Here there is a string of pretty lakes and the promise of a populous country soon to LEAS ANT VALLEY , 1,, , • Z ,. 1 ., be. The mountains to the left J 1,264 miles trom bt. Faui. ] Altitude, 3,496 feet. are the Mcthow range, whcrc GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V Kooten River. minerals in generous quan- tity exist and around which is a fine hunt- ing section. Just **~ before reaching Melbourne, Island Lake is seen. By easy grades the train drops to Jennings, on the famous Kootenai River. This stream is one of the great (JENNINGS i,TO5 miles from St. Paul. Attitude, .,113 feet. arteries of the continent. It is 600 miles long and rises in the mountains of British Columbia, within a mile of the Columbia. The river, like the Souris which was crossed at Minot, takes a wide sweep into republican territory but returns to Canada. It is larger than the Hudson, and traverses a country beautiful beyond description and rich in precious minerals. From Jennings, upstream, run steamers to Wardner and Fort Steele in British Columbia. The boats do an enormous traffic in ore. The distance to Fort Steele is 140 miles. The rich farming lands of Tobacco Plains are ready for the plow. Some day there will be a magnificent town at this beautiful spot. Gold, silver, and copper are extensively mined on the Kootenai. Great s^ajiipedes, fol- lowing rich finds, have marked -f the history of the stream ; the region has a nervous effect upon prospectors. The whole country is very rich in minerals, and enor- 116 ACROSS AMERICA moiis beds of coal exist in veins six to thirty feet thick, in some places exposed to sight for an aggregate width of 130 feet, one vein above another. From Jennings to Bonner's Ferry, sixty-two miles, the railway runs through the Canyon of the Kootenai, following every curve of the river. This is truly enchanted ground. The coloring of rock, water, and sky is the despair of artists. The delicate bewildering green of the icy stream, the soft greens and yellows of the foliage, Kootenai Faiis. the reds and blues and purples of the jagged rocks, canopied by a sky of dazzling blue and clouds of snowy white, make up a panorama which once seen can never be forgotten. For two hours the scenery is kaleidoscopic in nature. The train swings around rocks and cliffs with startling suddenness, while new beau- 117 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V ties unfold at every turn. Libby Creek comes down from the mountains with stories of great mineral promise. Libby is a town developing LlooY 1,317 miles from St. Paul, rapidly and substantially. Altitude, 2,055 feet. -nt •■ . 1 tt- , • -n 11 Near it are the Kootenai r alls, a turbulent stretch of river turned on edge in a deep canyon opposed by rocks of great size. North of the track is the Purcell range of mountains, while to the south is the western range of the Cabinets. The verdure is luxuri- ant, the flowers load the air with fragrance and the valley with beauty. Except for Kootenai Falls and Canyon the river would be navigable for 500 miles. The falls can be seen from the car windows, and the roar of the falling water is to be heard above the noise of the train. TROY Troy is a freight division sta- 1,335 miles from St. Paul, tioii. The ncxt Station is Altitude, 1,881 feet. YAKT Yakt, opposite a swift river 1,342 miles from St. Paul, of the Same name, which comes from the north, and along which exten- sive gold placer claims are being worked. The town of Sylvania, with 300 people, fifteen miles away, is the growth of the last year. This section promises great results when further developed. Montana has an area of 146,080 .square miles and 144,310 population. Its length east to west is 580 miles; its width north to south, 315. It is one of the leading precious metal bearing States of the Union, and contains extensive forests, valuable coal fields, wide areas of grazing lands, and fine agricultural valleys; its chief cities are Butte, Helena, Great Falls, Anaconda, and Kalispell. Has fine hunting and fishing resorts and scenic attractions. It is 118 ACROSS AMERICA noted for its superior sheep, horses, and cattle. It is the source of the Missouri and other large rivers. The water power at Great Falls City, on the JNIissoiiri, is the largest in the Union, the river ha^•ing• a series of falls, \\-ith an aggregate plunge of 512 feet in eight miles, and that city > already the site of extensive industries. Helena is the .apital of the State, and Btitte has the largest silver and copper mines in the country. Anaconda is a smelting center. Boulder is the seat of hot spring's of much popu- larity. Kalispell is in the Flathead Valley, near Flathead Lake, the largest body of fresh water in the Rocky Moun- tains. The climate is healthful and invigorating and the State is an attractive one from many standpoints. Tiist before reachinc-- Leonia the Idano State line is crossed. i,:;50 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, i,So7 feet. ^j^.^ -^ ^j^^ ^^^^^^j. ^_^j- ^ ^^^^ mineral district. The oldest and best known town of Northern Idaho is reached after passing- the two small stations of Katka and Crossport. ,^,,^ This portion of Idaho is ■;:^ miles from St. Paul, i^nown as the Panhandle, a ^^^^v^^pQpy narrow arm of land running 1,36;: miles from St. Paul, up between Montana and Washington to the international bonndary line. Bonner's Ferrv has a history extending back a generation of time, as a miners' rendezvous and „ __, . ferrv point on the Kootenai. BANN ER'S PERR^ ^ ' . , ,, n . — : T— ;r- , The coming ot the ureat 1.367 miles trom bt. Paul. <^ Altitxide, 1,761 feet. Northern gave it its first large impetus of growth. Here the Kootenai turns north to British Columbia and widens into Kootenai Lake, around which very rich silver mines are being operated. Steamers run from here to Pilot Bay. Ainsworth, Kaslo, and Nelson. The lower Kootenai is navigable for more 119 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY than 150 miles and the steamers plying it are as neat and clean as a Dutch kitchen. At the foot of the main street of Bonner's Ferry can be seen the pilot-houses and smokestacks of steamers that land below the bluffs. From Bonner's Ferry the track swings around a large bend in the river, and a very picturesque I'M) 1,372 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 1,836 feet. j^PLES ■ I1378 n _; Altitu i)LBURN 1,378 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 2,019 feet. 1,393 miles from St. Paul, Altitude, 2,162 feet. ACROSS AMERICA view is offered from the train as it begins the ^<5^^ascent, by easy grades, of the di- vide between the Kootenai and Pend d'Oreille The view is an ideal one across the tres- I ties, the wide bay and the meadows and woodlands all rimmed about with mountains. The climb is IbRAVIA hardly perceptible as the train pulls by Moravia and through the woods to Naples and its sawmills. Here for thirty miles is as beautiful a piece of track as can be imagined. At about Colburn is crossed the divide which separates the Kootenai from the Pend d'Oreille River (pronounced pon-de-ray — French, meaning ''pendant eardrops"). At Sand Point n nrMM-r ^^® railway touches the north X.40X mile's from St. Paul, ^^ore of the lake, and from Altitude, 2,xo7 feet. ^^^.^ ^^^ thirty-five milcs the route lies along the beautiful lake and wide, majestic river, on its way north to join the Columbia. Along its banks are many prosperous looking ranches. At Albani Falls the river plunges in two splendid cat- aracts over precip- itous rocks. The railway uses these as stepping stones Pend d'Oreille Riuer. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY for two steel bridges, and the train passes directly above the falls. The deep-green water in smooth, swift rush leaps down into boiling waves of emer- ald, tipped with foam as white as snow. Just before reaching Newport, the first town in Washington, will be noticed the white post that marks the «.ic=, rr^^r^T- dividlug Hue between Idaho NEWPORT 1,430 miles from St. Paul, and Washington. Newport is Altitude, 2,118 feet. ,,-11 , t t • -, prettily located, and is becom- ing quite a resort for pleasure seekers and fishing parties from vSpokane. Wide meadows spread out beside the river, bounded by rounding, wooded hills, as if the scene were in the more familiar East. Stern-wheeled river steamers are on the river, and run north seventy miles down stream as far as Box Canyon, a gorge between towering rocks. The valleys of the Pend d'Oreille and Priest rivers contain large tracts of rich agricultural and grazing land, and are well watered and easily reached. This is a most picturesque and attractive locality. Leaving Newport the track cuts through a wooded country and enters the canyon of the SCOTIA Little Spokane River before 1,438 miles from St. Paul, it rcaches Scotia, and follows Altitude, 2,040 feet. CAAADPN ^^^ "^^'^ ^^^^ Camden (with ;:;;:^iies from St. Paul, its Diamond Lake) and Mi- Altitude, I, Q02 feet. , .1 ,-, n Ian. Along the way walls ^*'^^^ of rock loom up like solid 1,452 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 1,756 feet. masoury, and pinnacles of basalt, minarets of flint, and buttresses of gran- ite, with scrub pines and wild flowers clinging to the scanty soil, greet the eye on every side. 122 ORSE 1,466 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 1,888 feet. ST SPOKANE ACJ?OSS AMERICA ATTAROY 1,458 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 1,804 feet. 1,471 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 2,027 feet. It is a romantic ride. Pass- ing Chattaroy, nestling in a little valley, then Morse, the way widens into the Spokane Plain, and the repair shops and yards are reached at East Spokane. Spokane time Spokane. is Pacific time. The change from Mountain time is made at East Spokane, and watches should be set back one hour. It is now a short run to the metropolis of Eastern Washington. Spo- kane is one of the delightful cities of America. No city anywhere, of equal age and population, excels OKANE (Pronounced "spoke-ann.") 1,475 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 1,869 feet. Population, 30,000. GREA r NORTHERN RAIL WA V it in the character and number of fine resi- dences and handsome public and mercantile buildings. It is thoroughly modern in every respect, and has a most picturesque location. Its streets are broad and level, the rock on which the city is built helping to form natural pavement. It is equipped with waterworks, public parks, electric lights and gas, forty-five miles of street railway, telephone connection with all the tributary regions, and has an intelligent, Spokane has Incomparable Water Power. m ACROSS AMERICA wide-awake, and irrepressible population of about 30,000. It commands a territory of about 60,000 square miles of area, abounding in mineral, tim- beral, agricultural, and pastoral riches. It has splendid railway facilities. The Great Northern gives it the shortest route to the East and to Puget Sound. The Spokane Falls & Northern Railway (a branch of the Great Northern system) connects it with Rossland, Nelson, Kaslo, and other points in the famous Kootenai mining region. In the center of the city are the mighty falls to which Spokane owes its birth. The swift flow- ing Spokane River, in its course to the Columbia, plunges down rocky inclines and narrow ravines at Spokane; in a distance of about one-half mile it falls 130 feet. This is divided into two main falls. The fall at the upper cataract is 60 feet, while the lower one has a fall of 70 feet. This tremendous water power has not yet been developed to its fullest extent; when it is, Spokane will easily be a city of 200,000. At the foot of the lower falls is the large $200,000 plant of the Edison Electric Illuminating Com- pany, which is one of the greatest water-power stations for the generation of electricity in the world. Electricity is transmitted from this plant to all parts of the city. Perhaps no other city in the world uses electricity for such a variety of purposes as does Spokane. From Spokane the train of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co., with which company the Great Northern has a traffic arrangement, runs direct to Portland, 125 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL VVA Y stacking Hay. HlGtiLAND 1,483 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 2,049 feet. Oregon. The trains of both companies leave from the same depot and there is no delay or annoyance in making transfer. En route to Seattle the line crosses the river and valle)^, and at Highland turns ab- ruptly to the southwest. As the train climbs the plains to the west, a striking change in the country is noticed. Gradually the timber grows more scattered, till the prairies of Dakota come to mind. Herds of cattle, with the now familiar type of cowboy, greet the eye; wheat fields occur and farmhouses appear. Building is going on everywhere. Towns are springing up and being hurried to completion as cities. Around Harring- ton is ideal grain land. This is the famous " Big Bend Coun- try," so called from an im- mense curve in the Columbia River. There are 7,000 square miles in the Big Bend country. Its soil is largely made up of the decomposed basaltic and other volcanic rock and is marvelously fertile. Oats, barley, fruits, melons, sweet potatoes, sor- ghum, and tobacco thrive in it. Success so far has attended every effort of the farmer. One may travel a whole day across the ESPANOLA 1,498 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 2,378 feet. MARRINGTON 1,527 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 2,167 feet. 1!S6 The " Header " — Used Only on the Western Wheat Fields, ACROSS AMERICA Big Bend without the sight of a single patch of barren soiL The soil is easily handled and the harvest season dry and bright. The grain ripens without rust, yet the berry does not shell out in the field. Long processions of binders are a com- mon sight; but the "header" excites most interest. This is a machine drawn by a score of horses, by means of which wheat is cut, threshed, cleaned, and bagged by the same machine. Awaiting ship- micnt sacked wheat lies in season in great piles by the track without eleva- <•'' tor charges. The coun- " ■ try is provided with \l,^ numerous lakes and ^1?^ water courses, and its ', appearance impresses intending settlers with the prospective riches ly- ing dormant there. Crab Creek is crossed and re- crossed, and the volcanic nature of the country begins to be apparent. Continuing westward, the i;^xniies from St. Paul ^ram passcs through a narrow Altitude, 1,316 feet. valley which cuts, like a rock- lined cleft, through the plateau. It is a wild ride, desolate and rugged, and so dead seem the crumbled rocks, that it is impossible to realize that all around, over the edges of confining crevices, are the fertile fields whose richness has so astonished the world. Column after column o 127 Palisades of Basaltic Kock Tower Beside the Traclt. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY ItanH. JlcXafe i- Co.. Ch of the black rock passes by. Now banks of it seem like grim fortresses menacing the trains ; __ now there seem to be aban- TRINIDAD .... ^e^T^ies from St. Paul, ^oncd cities strctchmg out for e, i,oo8 eet. miles ahead. One sees quaint monuments erected by no human hands ; inscrip- tions on them confuse the eye with their quaint characters. Faces of Egyptian warriors seem to peer out of the confusion, clothed in red or green or yellow headdresses. There's a slough which has dissolved mineral matter from the rocks and lies here like a pool of blood, yet from its lower end a clear stream issues and, continuing with us down the valley, makes the freshest of green hay meadows amongst the rocks. Stock and horses are in sight, with here and there a house. The creek bottoin has sunk deeper into the earth, so that the train is now proceeding through a canyon up whose sides the long columnar rocks rise side by side like some 128 ACROSS AMERICA huge organ for the giants of the wilderness to play upon. Suddenly the cleft debouches into a great hole, so wide and deep that those who have not known of the approach are wonder-struck at its immensity. This is the "Crater" or "Devil's Punchbowl" — a part of the great Moses Coulee, which cuts a hollow through the plain. It runs off to the northeast, met by still a greater one, Grand Coulee, which pierces to the heart of the Big Bend. It is an awful void, without the vestige of a tree. Beyond it, square-topped rocks appear ; beyond them, in the shadowy distance, are the almost indistinguishable summits of the Cascade Mountains, while a few miles to the left, away below, hazy, dim, and blue, rolls the superb Columbia " The Oregon, and knows no sound Save its own dashings." This is, indeed, the Oregon of early geogra- phies, and the second largest river in America. Coasting along the eastern edge of the ravine, the railway watches for an opportunity to get across and down. In a great horseshoe bend it swings across one trestle after another. Out of the same window is seen those already crossed and those to come. They look like a line of giants joining hands, those in the center far apart, those on the ends in close order. At last the river is reached >i_>'j and the road runs up its east ,-. bank. Up stream a slender steel bridge ^ , /toca /.w 7„w. ^9 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V is seen across the river and in front of it a basalt rock obstructing the way. A hole appears through it, however, and the train threads the tunnel of Rock Island in a trice. Coming upon the bridge, its size, which from the distance seems inconsiderable, now becomes imposing. Without approaches, it is gi6% feet long, and 70 feet View of Palisades of tiie Columbia, Looliing out of West Portal of Rock Island Tunnel. above extreine high water. Its construction was a triumph of engineering skill. Following the west bank of the river the route lies through a bald valley, the famous valley of the Wenatchee, growing of itself nothing but the sage brush. The soil is of such richness, however, that wher- ever water touches it there grows a luxurious ISO ACROSS AMERICA Wenatchee Valley — From the Bluffs. vegetation. This makes the valley the paradise of fruit growers. Wheels on floats pump water from the river, and trenches lead it off through the thirsty soil. There is no limit to the prod- ucts thus obtained. Peach trees two years old droop with burdens of delicious fruit, breaking down with it in fact, unless propped artificially. The luxuriant alfalfa, yielding crop after crop in the same season, shines with its brilliant green here and there along the track. The capital of this strange country is Wenatchee, located where a river of the same name meets tjie Colum- bia. Wenat- VENATCHER 1,649 i^ilss from St. Paul Altitude, 633 feet. chee stands in the midst of orchards and vineyards. It is the half-way town between Seattle and Spo- kane, and roads from all directions lead down hill to its stores and shipping house 131 GREA T NOR THERN RAIL IV A V Steamers run from here up the Columbia to Che- lan Falls and Virginia City at the mouth of the Okanogan, giving the most direct access to the Lake Chelan, Methow, and Okanogan mining dis- tricts. Tourists who can spare the time should stop off at Wenatchee and take the trip to Lake Chelan. The region is one of marvelous beauty and will yet be one of the show places of America. 5 Three-year-old Apple Tree — Wenatchee Valley. There is a comfortable home hotel at the lake and enough shooting- and fishing, boating and exploring, to suit the taste of all. By all means visit Lake Chelan. (Booklet describing Lake Chelan can be had on application in buffet - librar}^ - smoking car, or by addressing F. L Whitney, General Passenger Agent, St. Paul, Minn.) 132 I - - - Wenatchee Fruit is Achieving Wide Fan 133 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A Y The way west of Wenatchee is up a rushing river of the same name. Water is taken out of it to irrigate orchards and gardens which sur- round the home of the ranchers. The hills grow higher and the timber heavier as we advance, while the river is tossed into foam by proiecting rocks. At Old Mis- OLD /MISSION ,,66o miles from St. Paul, sion, in scason, children brmg Altitude, 787 feet. ^^^^^ glorious masscs of red and yellow roses. A basket of the beauties costs but a nickel. The Peshastin Mountains are in plain view to the south. Mount Stuart, 12,000 feet high, is easily visible. 13J!^ ACROSS AMERICA A\/FN\ /ODTM Leavenworth is a picturesque 1,672 miles from St. Paul, hamlet at the foot of the Altitude, 1,165 feet. . , , ,^ . _, . mighty Cascades. It is a freight division point. High mountains sur- round it, and glimpses are had of snow peaks up ravines and canyons which break through the nearer hills and bring trib- utes of water to Tumwater Canyon the larger streams. The river is fol- lowed for eighteen miles after leaving Leavenworth, ten miles through what is known as Tum- water (Talking Water) Canyon, which for scenic grandeur, in plain view from the car windows, has no known rival. Two engines are needed to haul the train. This is a defile ten miles in length through the heart of the Cascade Moun- tains. This mountain torrent playing leap-frog 135 ACROSS AMERICA over the giant stones and roaring- above the noise of the train is still the Wenatchee. From its birth in the mountains to its last moment in the Columbia, the Wenatchee leads a rollicking, riotous life, wild as a mountain lion. The moun- tains here are the inost nearly perpendicular of any yet seen. Everywhere hang long, white streaks of snow and water — one can not dis- tinguish between them until directly under a i SON CREEK '="'""'" '-' ^^^°° '^■•"^ 1,690 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 2,153 feet. the train pushes more deeply into the mountains, passing through a canyon so steep that it seems as though The Wild Wenatchee — in Tumwater Canyon. 137 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY the lightning had cleft the mountains asunder Climbing still higher, the train comes to a stop at the foot of the East Side Switchback. Here anothei engine is added to take the train over the mountains. The Switchback is a series of tracks, at an altitude of 4,027 feet, zig- CASCADE TUNNEL 1,705 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 3,375 feet. y'lew of Switchback, showing Series of Ascending Tracks. zagging up the sides of the mountain, at the points of which the train switches back to climb another leg, as each successive stretch of track is called.! There are three legs on the east side, with 3^ per cent grades, and four on the west side, with 4 per: cent grades. At Cascade Sum-' mit the train is at the highest point reached by the Great 138 CASCADE SUA\A\1T i,7oci miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 4,027 feet. ACJ^OSS AMERICA Northern in the Cascade range. The crossing of the Rockies and Cabinets both exceed it in alti- tude. It is a park-like opening. The switch- backing course of the train ceases at Wellington, in the midst of the immense trees of the western slope. Here is to be the west portal .LINGTON 1,717 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 3,093 feet. of the tunnel now being built, which it is expected to have completed by November, 1900, and which will do away with ten miles of switchback and reduce the altitude over 1,000 feet. This great piece of engineering will be three miles and a quarter long, and will pass under i-ock 5,350 feet high. It will run in a straight line from the head of one canyon to that of another, with a slope of ninety feet to the mile. The east portal is at an ele- vation of about 1,375 feet above sea level, while the west portal is about 3,125 feet above the same base. It will be brick lined, twen- ty-three feet 139 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY high and sixteen feet wide, and will cost, when finished, 2,000,000. Work on the ap- proaches of the tunnel was begun in Januar}", 1897, but it was late in the summer \-, ',' of that year when the work- Vii men fairly got under cover and had the compressor plants installed. About 500 men are now employed in driv- •30 Feet" ^^^ ^■^^ tunucl, divldcd between each end. The total progress so far made is about 7,000 feet. Equal progress is being made from each end. From Wellington the track winds down the valley amidst an ever-changing panorama of green woods, sloping hillsides, and majestic snow-crowned mountain peaks. What seem shrubs below are huge trees ; while streaks are rivers. The descent is so tortuous that six different elevations of the track may be seen from the window. Three miles west is Windy Point, and lying below it the valley of the head- waters of the Skykomish River. At a distance, of about one mile can be seen the water tank and section house at Madison. Before reach- ing this place the train travels a distance of about nine miles. It runs up the east side of the creek, crosses it ■^^ ACROSS AMERICA A Typical Scene in tile Cascade Range. on a trestle, curves about in the darkness for 1,500 feet in the solid rock, descending all the time, emerges into day- light, crosses another trestle, and comes back under the original line. The next stop is at Sky- komish (Indian name for the river), a freight divisional point. The valley here is quite narrow, and between the graceful stems of the stately firs 200 feet high may be seen on either side the grand sentinel mountains, looking calmly down upon the peaceful town and limpid river in the valley. Some of these hills are covered with a wealth of green timber that looks soft and velvety 141 l YKO/niSM 1,738 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 918 feet. GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A V BARING in the distance ; and again others are bold and rocky, bearing on their jagged steeps the scars of many an ava- lanche. The long stretches of giant firs and cedar trees in the foreground, the wooded foothills, hundreds and hun- dreds of grace- ful ferns of every indigenous variety, and the towering peaks, with filmy clouds resting on their snowy crests in the background, compose a picture that is not soon forgotten. One mile west are passed the Miller River Mountains, at the headwaters of which are located the " Cleopatra " and " Cooney " mines, and numerous promising mining prospects. The railroad runs along the north bank of the picturesque Skykomish River, and the stream is visible nearly all the way, giving life to the scene and making merry music as it dashes and foams down its rock-strewn bed in tempestuous glee. Passing Baring in the distance to the south is Salmon Basin, shielded by picturesque moun- 1,746 miles from St. Paul Altitude, 751 feet. tains 3,000 feet high, rich in minerals; here also are located many promising mining prospects. Between Baring and Index are the falls of the Skykomish River, two of which are plainly seen from the car window. The first known as " Can- yon Falls," the second as "Eagle Falls." They 14s ACROSS AMERICA fume and foam, and roar and leap into the chasm which they have made for themselves in the solid rock, and their clamor makes the noise of the passing" train seem insignificant in comparison. The panorama of the falls, the river, here and there a sparkling brook leaping- joyously down the mountain side, and beyond the majestic hills, is such as to effectually appeal to the senses of the most matter-of-fact. Next is Index, situated about one mile above the confluence :X 1,752 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 516 feet. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ f ^^j.^ ^f the Skykomish River — an outfitting point for the many mining properties in the vicinity, upon which active de- velopment work is being done. During the Skykomish Valley and Indt-x Peaks. 10 ■ 143 Mining Scenes near Index, Washington. lU ACROSS A iM ERIC A \i{ summer months, those with the desire for a few days' or weeks' recreation can find no more delightful, spot anywhere in which to gratify it. Fishing is first-class — trout and salmon in abundance. The view of the mountains from this ,•>%.• point is grand in the ex- treme. The "Index Peaks," three in number, with chasms and fissures filled > with snow, and here and there a fleecy cloud lingering lovingly around their rocky crests, sumd a full mile above the track, awe-inspiring in their sublimity and grandeur. (See frontispiece.) One can not view the Index Peaks without recalling Byron's lines, inspired by a scene not more sublime than this : "Above Me ake the Alps. The palaces of Nature, whose vast walls Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps, And throned Eternity in icy halls Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls The avalanche — the thunderbolt of snow ! All that expands the spirit, yet appals. Gather around those summits, as to show How earth may pierce to heaven, yet leave vain man below." Index has a home hotel, clean and comfort- able. There is fishing, there is riding, there is hunting at In- dex. Seattle- GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY Tacoma-Everett people come here in con- siderable num- bers. The rail- way is now down to water level, and the rich farm lands of the val- __ the Snohomish stretch away on either side. Leavino- Index, still continuino- GOLD BAR . " 1. t. 1 . .1. ^;^7^^s from St. Paul, a^ong the north bank of the Altitude, xS9 feet. Skykomish Rivcr, Gold Bar is passed, so called by the Chinamen who used to wash gold from a sand-bar near here. Here commences the evergreen portion of the State of Washington, passing Wallace and Sultan —out- fitting points for the Sultan x,767 miles from St. Paul, basiu mining district. Tothc Altitude, Z04 feet. ^^^.^^ -^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ largest tracts of standing timber in the State, extending at least twenty miles. Numerous shingle and saw- mills are in operation and under construction in the vicinity. As the valley broadens, the signs of life and cultivation become more abundant. Great Northern passengers will be struck not alone with the sublimity of the scenery, but with the many advantages which this region offers for the profitable investment of capital, the employ- ment of labor, and as a field for enterprise in all directions. The river has now grown to an imposing stream, navigable by stern-wheel steamers. Fine steamers are in sight at Snoho- U6 SULTAN ACROSS AMERICA OHO/niSH mish, a thriving- business cen- 1,781 miles from St. Paul, ^cr, witli a country back of it Altitude, 7 feet. r 1 1 r t j_i rull ot resources. In the east- ern part of the county are located the famous Monte Cristo silver mines. Six miles farther on , ,^, . the train pulls into Lowell, T^^iies from St. Paul, ^hc mauufacturmg suburb of Altitude, 2 feet. -i-> ,, ■, 1 ' Lverett, passes its huge paper mill, and swinging about a promontory passen- gers get the first glimpse of the waters of the great Pacific. Well named does it seem to be. Its waters stretch away to north and south, among a thousand islands, its shores are lined with wooden wharves not protected by break- water or mole; the frailest of river craft are safely meandering about it; and the stately ocean ships are lazily cutting its level waters. This is the famous Puget Sound, that landlocked sea which makes all Western Washington a vast harbor of refuge, which permits coal barges to be Moonlight on Puget Sound. GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V towed from one port to another without fear of wreck, and floats vast rafts of logs and lumber as safely as the Hud- son. Few scenes Cut from One Tree — Washington Timber Has No Equal on Eartii. Can DC Hiorc sercncly beauti- ful. Hezekiah Butterworth has said of it: " I sit beside the Puget Sea And wait the purple steps so even, And, lo, above the waters broad, The mountain, glorious tent of God, 'Mid parting clouds, stands grand and free Against the shining wall of heaven. " Methinks a thousand years are here. The grandest years since time begun, Oil, my America, whose march Has readied the wide Pacific arch And welcomes in this atmo.sphere The Mongolian merchants of the sun." EVERETT 1,790 miles from Altitude, 6 feet. Everett with its nail works, St Paul paper mills, lumber and shin- gle mills, silver smelter, and shipyards is soon reached. It is a thrifty city and its industries are well worth a visit. The Sno- homish River gives it the advantages of a fresh- water harbor. The mountain peak standing off on the northern horizon is Baker, 10,850 feet high, while the one to the southeast is Rainier, whose snowy dome is 1 4,444 feet above The Hop Haruest on Puget Sound '»-^' Snoqualmie Falls — on the Snoqualmie River, near Everett. GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V sea level. There is only one liig-her peak in the United States, Mount Whitney in California. To the west, Mount Olympus, 8,000 feet high, is seen, the monarch of the Olympic range. The land across the harbor is Whidby Island, one of many islands in Puget Sound, there being two organized island counties in the Sound. Everett is the base for trips to the famous Snoqualmie Falls, a marvelously beautiful com- bination of rock, tree, water, and sky. It is only a short distance from the city and is much favored by residents and tourists. The Great Northern Railway splits in two at Everett. One branch goes due north among the lumber and farming cities of the Sound to New Westminster and Vancouver in British Columbia. The other line runs along the shore to the cities of the south. For most of the distance between Everett and Seattle there is nothing between the track and the water of the Sound. An uninter- rupted view greets the eye. Occasionally the train runs through the middle of a bluffy cape or back of a factory or sawmill. Whenever a town is passed, there are of course upon the water side, wharves, warehouses, and mills. The log tram- ways over the tracks are interesting features of the journey. Out on the water are seen the white sails of ships coming and going with wheat, lumber, tea, and the varied commodities of this and other countries. The greater frequency of mills and factories, the numerous pretty villas and the presence of trolley cars, announce the nearness of a city. 150 ACROSS AMERICA Now it comes plainly into view, rising in pyram- idal shape on the left. Through a street lined by wholesale stores and bonded warehouses the train runs to the center of the business district of the city to a wharf surrounded by ships and steamboats and alive with hotel runners, "Gur- ney coaches," and travelers. PATTLP Seattle is the largest city in 1,823 miles from St. Paul, the State of Washington. It Altitude, 5 feet. Population, 65,000. began as the site of a sawmill. Seattle Shipping. Its commanding location, superb harbor, and self- reliant people have made it what it is. The city possesses an extensive system of boulevards and many miles of cable and electric car track. The manufacturing part of the city swarms with shingle-makers, lumbermen, shipbuilders, and other woodworkers. At Seattle is located the second largest iron foundry on the Pacific Coast. Across the harbor 151 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY is Admiralty Inlet, be- hind which rise the snow- capped peaks of the Olym- pian range of mountains. No city in the country can boast of greater advantages from a picturesque point of view than Seattle. Its suburbs present an incomparable prospect of w^ild and rugged mountain scenery, dense forests, and wave-washed ^. beach. I The city contains ninety I miles of graded streets, < thirty miles of which are I planked. The average width •^ of the streets is sixty-six I feet ; some of the main I avenues, however, have a I width of eighty-six feet. The great wealth of Seattle's tributary country leaves no doubt as to the future of this beautiful city. The forests of Washington contain no less than 250,- 000,000,000 feet of iner- chantable timber. A con- siderable part of this timber belt is within easy reach of Seattle, and the amount of timber in the adjoining 152 ACROSS AMERICA And Room for a Dozen More. forests can not be exhausted by years of constant sawing-. The great niin eral resources of this re gion will be found to be of greater importance than the timber when the work of developing them is really begun. There is every reason to believe that in a few years Seattle wall rank as one of the greatest seaports of the United States. The Great Northern makes connection at Seattle with the ■'\li > *. '; aii'l Nippon Yusen Kaisha (Japan Mail Steamship Company) for the Orient, and with fine ocean- going steamships of a half dozen com- panies for Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, Cali- fornia, Alaska, and all river points and way ports. Washington is the extreme northwestern member of the American sisterhood of States. Itg width north and south is about 240 miles; from east to west its length is about 360 miles. It has 66,880 square miles of land sur- face and 2,300 sq. miles of water stir- face. The popu- lation is 349,390. Washington has often been termed p' the Pennsylvania A ? A Logging Team A Catch of Salmon — ^wrairhaven Canneries. 153 GREA T A^ORTHERN RAIL IVA V of the West, because of its many natural advantages and manufactui-ing possibilities, with resources Pennsylvania has not — precious metals, finer climatic and health con- ditions, better ocean harbors, and larger forests, while the stock raising, agricultural, and horticultural advan- tages are not equaled by any Eastern State. Washing- ton's physical make-up is one of startling contrasts. It has mountains whose snowy peaks tower about valleys where ice rarely forms. It is one of the leading hop- producing sections in America. Its waters help to supply the world with salmon. The fish exhibit at the World's Fair contained 235 varieties. There are extensive coal beds and mines of silver. The Okanogan countr}^ contains the only free-milling gold ore on the Pacific Coast. A peculi- arit}'- of grain growing is the volunteering of crops. Two and three fairly good crops of wheat and oats have been gathered from one plowing and planting. Berries are remarkable for yield, size, and flavor. Grape cuttings set in the spring bear grapes in the fall. Vast forests wave their long arms from hilltop and mountain side. Countless water powers stand ready to be harnessed to wheels and do the work of steam and horses. Veins of precious metals, ores, and coal bulge out of the hillsides. Pasture lands there are where herds and flocks can revel in the wantonness of plent}-. The valleys, rich beyond compare, await the farmer, the gardener, the horticulturist, and the wine press. The mortality statistics of the Federal census and of the United States army group the States of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon into a division showing the smallest rate of mortality in the Union. 154 ACROSS AMERICA "HaVI^ To yV^NACONDA A\ONTANA CeNTI^AL l^ILWAY 377 MILES. LYRE 959 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 2,480 feet. ^' RT ASSINIBOINE Q67 miles from. St. Paul. Altitude, 2,583 feet. . IVE minutes before the Seattle train whirls away west, the train for Great Falls, Helena, Butte, and Anaconda pulls out of the station at Havre. Twenty minutes' run brings passengers to Assiniboine, where is located Fort Assin- iboine, the largest military post in the United States. A full regiment of regular soldiers is stationed at this important point. There are no parapets, no frowning cannon, nor high stockade ; but long barracks, pretty vine-covered cottages, a little chapel, and a cozy theater. It is not a fighting fort, but should occasion demand could be made very effective in that direction in fifteen minutes' time. Assiniboine has a park along the bank of Beaver Creek, with winding walks among the cottonwoods and willows. After leaving Assiniboine, passengers enjoy for many miles a magnificent view of the splen- did Bear Paw Mountains, on the left, the east- ern side of the track. The highest peak is called Bear Paw or Bald Mountain. A number of small stations are passed. At Dry Fork the 155 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A V DPY PORK Missouri River comes into 1,013 "''les from St. Paul, view, and, away beyond, the Altitude, 2,992 feet. dim outlines of the Little Rockies. Here the Marias and Teton rivers are crossed, important branches of the Missouri. BENTON At Benton is a considerable 1,036 miles from St. Paul. tOWn, the largest SCCU siuCC Altitude, 2,458 feet. Population, 2,500. leaving North Dakota. This is the county seat of Choteau County, which has an area of 10,000 square miles. Brick buildings and electric lights are here, the remains of an ancient adobe fort, huge warehouses along the Missouri banks, and a long iron bridge across that stream. Benton is Montana's only seaport. 1.56 ACROSS AMERICA There is a custom house here, and a navigable stretch of water extends east and south 3,000 miles to the Gulf of Mexico: Before the railroad this was the distributing point for almost all Montana. Freighting wagons by the hundreds radiated from these wharves, penetrating 500 miles inland even to the interior of British America. Now one solitary steamer, the Rose- bud, makes the long trip up from Bismarck, North Dakota, or from Sioux City, Iowa, with freight which agents are content to wait for anywhere from six months to a year. This is the country of the cowboy, huge herds of cattle, and bands of sheep. Montana is world famous for its beef, its wool, and its mutton, and this is the country where it is produced. At almost all of the stations in this section are the evidences of Montana's great wealth as a wool-producing State. Few people know that Montana leads all the other States in number oi sheep and in wool shipments. The total wool clip of 1898 was 23,000,000 pounds, yielding the sheep ranchers about three and a half million dollars. There were 3,146,868 sheep in Montana in 1898, of which Choteau County had 539,958 ; Fergus, 513,646 ; Meagher, 301,125 ; Sweet Grass, 240,000, etc. From Benton the railway follows the Missouri River forty-three miles to Great Falls. The river is in sight at many places, and off in the southeast in full view are the picturesque High- wood Mountains. Square Butte, Arrow Butte, and other heights bear appropriate names and 157 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY will be readily identified. To the northwest lies the Teton Ridgfe in the southeast corner of Teton County GREAT rALLS 1,070 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 3,313 feet. Population, 5,000. Great Falls is a most interest- ing commercial center. It has its name froiu the great falls of the Missouri River first made known through the explorations of Lewis and Clarke early in the present century. The river here is 2,800 feet wide, narrowing to 1,000 feet just above the falls. The total fall of the series of cataracts is 520 feet. The train runs down a long grade and stops at an attractive station in a small park. Great Falls is an anomaly. It commenced life full grown. It has always been a city. Few cities of its size can show such costly and elegant buildings. Great Falls is a city of bustling Rainbow Falls — on the Missouri Riuer at Great Falls, 158 ACROSS AMERICA Rainbow Falls. activity, the center of enormous mineral interests, and the site of several silver and copper smelters. There are many points of interest in and near the city. From Great Falls the Great Northern has a branch to Neihart and Barker, among the coal and silver mines. It is known as the Belt Mountain and Sand Coulee line, and on its way to the Little Belt, Baldy, and Blue mountains passes through a country of wonderful scenic beauty. From Great Falls the Great Falls & Canada Railway runs northwest to a crossing of the main line of the Great Northern at Shelby and on to Lethbridge on the Canadian side of the forty-ninth parallel, a total distance of 200 miles. 11 159. GREA T NOR THERN RA IL WA V Leaving Great Falls the Sun River is crossed, the track still following the west branch of the Missouri. Box Butte is an interesting point. At ijj^yv^ Ulm the river makes a series of 1,093 miles from St. Paul, majcstic curves and is crossed Altitude, 3,329 feet. by a rope ferry. Stock farms are numerous in the valley, and herds of cattle graze knee-deep in the rich grasses. There are numerous sloughs where sportsmen come from Helena and Great Falls, and stone quarries are busy getting out shipments. To the south the Big Belt Mountains raise their bright heads into the clear air. Ahead of the train rise the blue, transparent looking peaks of the main range of r-3c-^T^c= the Rocky Mountains. Box CASCADE 1,108 miles from St. Paul. ButtC finally gOCS OUt of Sight Altitude, 3,363 feet. , . ^ . n • , r^ ^ and the tram pulls into Cascade, the last town on the plains. On each side of the river are long parallel lines of rock as perfect as walls of masonry. Passing through the magnifi- cent "Gate of the Mountains," the view opens into an immense amphitheatre of rock. Splendid col- orings are on every side. Nature has painted in never-fading tints the rocky precipices. The river is navigable above this break in the rocky wall for 200 miles to the junction of the three ' rivers forming the Missouri. The valley farms along the road are beautiful bits of pastoral scenery ; apple trees and fruits show in great abundance. Celery grows here and other garden truck. The rocks absorb the sunlight all day long and give out heat all night ; they bloom with flowers in every crevice, and are haunts of 160 ACROSS AMERICA r'F^AlG mountain sheep and black- 1,131 miles from St. Paul, tailed deer. At Craig- the rail- Altitude, 3,439 feet. ^ , way leaves the river ; it has been a constant companion for 124 miles. As it swings away to the southeast it .affords one last brief view of its broad expanse hemmed in by majestic precipices. Entering a tributary val- ley the line runs along Wolf Creek. The white char- coal kilns are iinique and fre- quent features of the land- scape. Soon an affluent of the ^*'^- AVolf a t3 13 ears Entrance to Prickly Pear Canyon and the train enters the famous Prickly Pear Canyon with its wealth of scenery. It is a marvelously picturesque ride among crags and precipices of trap rock set on end in fantastic array. Along the way are openings of fine val- leys, thriving ranches, and villages of saucy marmots or prairie dogs. That splendid piece of road building is the Government road from Missoula and Fort Benton. It is a fine specimen of military engineering, level, smooth, and as hard as macadam. It is all down hill for the hundred miles from Great Falls, a superb " century " for bicyclists. 161 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY ^i:^"^^. V- Prichly Pear Canyon. U^ tile Prickly Pear Canyon still farther, till a mountain-framed city is reached, named in honor of Trojan Helen, of whom Homer HPLfNA sang. Pine-clad, grass-covered 1,177 ™iss ^'■°™ St. Paul. Mount Helena makes a fitting Altitude, 3,991 feet. Population, 16,830. background for a place so rich in scenic effects. But it is not to the beauty of its scenery, or the extraordinary advantages of its climate, that Helena owes its founding, but to a fortu- nate incident in the lives of four prospectors. In July, 1864, this little band, weary and dis- appointed, determined on one more trial before abandoning their search for gold. It was a for- lorn hope, and with the recklessness of despair they made a crony of the desperate situation, and called the gulch along which they were 163 ACROSS AMERICA prospecting the " Last Chance." Whir-r-r went the wheel of fortune, and the yellow gold drifted down with each revolution. The first panful of washed gravel revealed $20 in coarse gold. During the first six years of its life the camp yielded $15,000,000 in gold, and then the seem- ingly inexhaustible supply began to wane. The apparent decadence of Helena was its real devel- opment. It is to Helena the artless foreigner must come if he would have his visions of picking up gold in the streets of the new world realized. The precious dust is still gathered from the streets of this thronged and busy city, washed down from the sands of neighboring streams. Its principal street is built above the old " Last Chance" gulch. Mountain-framed Helena. Helena is surrounded by mountains, forming many striking views. Close by are the famous Hot Springs and the Broadwater Hotel, with the most commodious and attractive plunge bath on 163 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V The Natatorhim — Helena, the continent, which is also the finest speci- men of Moorish archi- tecture in America. Its vaulted roof of ,i, cathedral glass ", covers a bathing pool 300 by 100 feet in size, with enormous water supply. It is equipped with springboards, slides, and water- sports, is lighted through stained-glass windows by day and by colored lights at night. Near Helena gold mining in its several departments is being actively prosecuted, and nowhere can better results be shown. The climate is that of the best moun- tain regions ; the elevation assures cool breezes in the summer time, and makes it an ideal resort for the heated term. Hel- ena is located in the county of Lewis and Clarke. "^'^'"'- *""'■ Leaving Helena, the route lies up the valley to ALhAA\BRA 1,193 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 4,265 feet. CORBIN 1,200 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 4,S8i feet. WICKES Alhambra, from which point the train climbs to an eleva- tion high above the roofs of the towns of Corbin and Wickes. At the latter place 1,203 miles from St. Paul, is a great tunucl cutting off Altitude, 5,280 feet. 164 ACROSS AMERICA a sweep of fourteen miles arotind the brow of a mountain. As they leave the tunnel, passen- gers will notice the g-rowing- town of Boulder, -./^iTi PARI-. o^ ^ level plain. This is the M OULDER 1,212 miles from St. Paul, region of mines, sluiceboxes, Altitude, 4,Qoi feet. i , . , , ^-^ t and Avater rights. Ore dumps are everywhere in evidence. Some mines, of more pretensions, are equipped with engine house and sheds. hRr-vMi/-c=: Bernice is the name of the ^E RNICE 1,224 miles from St. Paul. ^°^^'^ whcrC the WOod-pilcS Altitude, 5,530 feet. /-> i 1 1 • • are. Cordwood and mining timber is the important thing hereabouts. The ifti i/i i->Ar->i/^ train crosses another wide 1,232 miles from St. Paul, vallcy at Elk Park, and then Altitude, 6,222 feet. .-, •, , ,1 r 1 . gathers its strength for a last attack on the main range of the Rockies. One rr^r^r^, ,,, , ^ mile west of Woodville is the iV OODVlLLE 1,242 miles from St. Paul, summit of the divide. Here Altitude, 6,343 feet. , , , . , one can look out on both the east and west slopes of the greatest watershed on earth. A few feet either way determines whether the rivers shall flow to the great Atlantic or the blue Pacific. The train enters a tunnel which cost over $1,000,000, and when it comes out of the other end Butte is seen below. Butte, the largest mining camp on earth ; Butte, built on a mountain honey-combed with mines; Butte, netted with railway tracks as a hand is with lines; where common laborers get $3 a day ; where trenches and sluices of water run everywhere, and green dump-piles of ore complete the view at the end of every street. The railway sweeps 165 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY around the side of the mountain with the city in plain view, and lands passengers at the lower end of the town. Butte is Built on a Mountain, Honey-combed with Mines. r>i lyrp Butte is known everywhere as 1,250 miles from St. Paul, the largest mining camp on Altitude, 5,526 feet. Population, 12,000. earth. The streets are jammed with crowds made up almost exclusively of men. They call it a camp, but its buildings are solid and imposing; a courthouse worth $150,000, two opera houses, banks, and attractive residences meet the eye. In the midst of everything are the busy mills, crushing and grinding the rocks that hoisting machinery is everywhere drawing up through the shafts. There is enough ore now in sight to keep the mills and smelters working fifty years. 166 ACROSS AMERICA No one should visit Butte without seeing a mine. There is no place where the mining industry can be observed on such a grand and scientific scale. The huge plant of the Anaconda Company is here ; the Boston and Montana properties, the Consolidated, the Alice, the Blue- bird, the Parrot, the Mountain Chief, and other famous establishments. Silver, lead, and copper form the chief staples of the output. An enthusi- astic visitor calls Butte the "busiest, heartiest, noisiest, sauciest, brightest, most hospitable city on the continent; the Paris of mining towns, the metropolis of hustledom, the capital of hullabaloo, the Athens of Montana." Deer Lodge Valley, famous for agriculture and filled with flumes and sluices, stretches west from Butte; for thirty miles the railway passes through it, par- alleling for '^'tv miles, too, a dM2z line of cop- per sm el t er h along the side of the hills. These are the largest smelters Butte — The Greatest Mil 167 ng Camp in the World. GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA Y „ ., „ ^^. ^ ^ in the world. The features of ANACONDA , , . x,376 miles from St. Paul. Anaconda are its race track, opu a ion, 7,500. Montana Hotel, the Anaconda Standard^ and Marcus Daly. Anaconda has electric cars, electric lights, sewers, waterworks, and a splendid protecting mountain full of inviting groves. It is one of the cleanest, hand- somest cities on the continent. Here for the present. Great Northern travel ends. 168 ACROSS AMERICA 3POKANE.Tofp^^LAND VIA Oi^EqoN ^[^&r f«4AviqATiON Co. 450 MILES. HE palace and tourist sleeping cars of the Great Northern are run through from Spokane to Portland on the tracks of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. Close connections are made at Union Depot in Spokane, and no delay ■or annoyance is experienced in transferring. Baggage is checked through to Portland and intermediate points from eastern Great Northern terminals, and requires no attention whatever by passengers. Leaving Spokane, one is led to imagine that he is retracing his steps, as the railroad leads directly eastward for several miles. It soon ' Vc'ilo f-atls" — Columbia River IGD GREA T NORTHERN RAIL IV A Y swings away to the south, however, and runs for about fortv-five miles through the southeastern part of Spokane County. Tov/ard the east rise the rugged Coeur d'Alene Mountains, Mica Peak standing alone in prominent grandeur. Numerous flourishing villages and ambitious LATAH TEKOA SELTICC towns are passed at frequent -ymSLpauL intervals. Between Latah and ttf feet. Tekoa the railway crosses the -st-paaL li^^ i^to Whitman County, Washington. At Seltice, five miles farther south, a branch line turns abruptly to the 170 -'/Tfi -5 feet. j,?^?' Jwale* from St. PanL Ajii", jde, 2,;iK. f*et. -r/C^e^^ .^J/ZXA'L^ ;ss>ed and pas$s:rngers e fairly -withia. the "boundaries c^ tlie vrorid- -iraoxis Paloctse cooatry, a sEaall braacb of the er of that name being' crossed before reach- ^- the next station. Elberton. The Falo^^tse i Big: Bend countries yield more wheat to e acre than any other soil in Asnerica. At koa alone the warehouses and elevators -ndle frvi'ni ;rcc»c^^:> to jcc.oco bushels of \eat a }.-ear. Other points ship in like -oportion. The total wheat crv>p -louse country is abo\tt 5cc.c\x' "aitman County has an ..~ea of i,2$c>oco acreSs. $3 per cent ot which is sus- ceptible of cul- ' tivation. Lc«ig^ J processions of binders .■. - seen ; alsv of the ?us>.els^ -^^*3b^^ GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V the Eastern Oregon or Washington harvesting machine, called a "header," because it cuts off only the heads of the grain and a very short section of straw. This machine is a source of amazement to visitors from the older and slower-going vStates. It is drawn by a team of twenty or thirty horses, five men ride on the machine, and it cuts, threshes, cleans, and sacks the grain as it moves through the great field, and drops the filled and securely tied bags off, five or six in a pile, at regular inter- vals, every operation being automatically per- formed. The Palouse country is also famous for the production of rye, oats, barley, flax, alfalfa, timothy, all kinds of grasses and gar- den products, as well as countless varieties of fruit. The barley raised in the Palouse country equals the best Canadian product and enjoys a world-wide reputation. Thousands of bushels are annually shipped East for brewing pur- poses. ' Stock raising is carried on extensively; the farmers in Whitman County own more sheep and export more wool than any other county in the State. „, _,„^„^., From Elberton the railway E LBERTON 1,55: miles from St. Paul, follows the Palousc Rivcr for Altitude, 2,183 feet. ■-, ,. 1 many miles, sometimes close to the stream, at other times from six to ten miles distant. The first important point after rni FAY leaving Elberton is Colfax, " "T^eTmiies from St. Paul, the county Seat of Whitman Altitude, i,q6i feet. r^ .1 j t , ,1 County, located at the junc- tion of two branches of the Palouse River. 17^ 'Horse Tail Falls." ■Bridal Veil Falls." Along the Columbia River 173 ' Lutourelle Falls." GREA T NOR THERN RAIL WA V This is the central town of the Palouse coun- try, and a growing municipality. Enormous quantities of grain and fruit are distributed from here. Lumber is also a prominent industry. During a visit of the Agricultural College Com- mission to Colfax, Whit- man County, Thomas Kennedy exhibited, among other big things, a parsnip fifty-seven inches long. John B. Tabor, of Wa- wawai, on Snake River, raised a yellow sweet potato that weighed ten pounds fourteen ounces. George Ruedy, of Colfax, has twenty varieties pears on one tree, all producing in perfec- tion. At the Whitman County Agricultural Fair, a year ago, twenty-eight dif- ferent varieties of seedling apples were shown. Pages might be filled with items of this kind, all absolutely true and susceptible of easy proof. A\OCKONEA\A -^^ Mockonema the railway 1,568 miles from St. Paul, tums at a sharp angle and runs Altitude, 2,130 feet. ^ •=' WINONA north and west, parallel with the Palouse River. At Winona 174 Columbia Riuer. 1,589 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 1,492 feet. I ACROSS AMERICA PARIA it is joined by a branch line, as mentioned, from Seltice. Again turning to the south, the Union River is crossed at ;rosse „ , ^ ^ 1,599 miles from St. Paul. Sutton, and at La Crosse, two Altitude, 1, 47Q feet. -i r i.i i i i- ^^ miles farther, a branch line bears away to the west, crossing the Palouse River at Harper to Connell, in Franklin County. The inain line continues its southeasterly course toward the Snake River, one of the notable streams of the West and a principal tributary of the great Columbia. The 1,624 miles from St. Paul. "^®^' ^^ crosscd at Riparia, Altitude, S4g feet. 1 , • .1 , r ■. about nine miles west of its junction with the Palouse. The country along the banks of the Snake River is famous as a fruit section. Between Riparia, Wash., and Lewiston, Idaho, a distance of eighty miles, the banks are dotted with fruit farms. This sec- tion includes some 5,000 acres of irrigable land, with 2,000 aci"es in orchards, tw^o-thirds of which are in bearing. Steamers run from Riparia to Lewiston and interme- diate points, connecting with the railway at Riparia.-^ The peach is the fruit-j that, above all "Pillars of Hercules" — Columbia Riuer 175 GREA T NOR THERN RA IL IV A V that do well are pears, cherries, apricots, plums, prunes, apples, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, etc. Melons and early vegetables are raised in wagon loads. All of these fruits and vegetables are of the very finest quality, and are readily sold at the highest prices. After crossing the vSnake River the railway still runs south through the Columbia country. At Starbuck a branch breaks off to the east to STARBUCK ^ ■ n ^ ^A r , 1,632 miles from St. Paul. Pomeroy, lu Garfield County, e, 45 ee . j^ ^-^^ hazc to the southeast lie the Blue Mountains, the corner stone of this part of the State. Forty-seven miles from Star- buck the train comes to a stop at Walla Walla, the second citv of Eastern WALLA WALLA ^^. , . ^ ' ^ ^ 1,679 miles from St. Paul. Washmgton, Spokane alone Altitude, Q20 feet. -, . ■> t j? -j. rrvi ■ ^ being ahead of it. This is one of the oldest settled and most productive parts of the Northwest. Walla Walla, which is said to mean "many waters," "valley of waters," or "meeting of rivers," has also been called the Garden City, and well does she merit the name. Trees and flowers crowd the streets and lawns. The whole valley seems specially de- signed to please. Every scene is as pretty as it is rich. Walla Walla has over 8,000 popula- tion. The county has 20,000 people and an assessed valuation of $14,000,000. Near the city is a government military post, where are usually stationed five troops of cavalry. The city is the seat of the Whitman Congregational College and a Second Adventist College. It has two daily papers, and is altogether a city typical of 176 I ACROSS AMERICA )\Dilensburg'5,'fef!3ui( Rapida >«v-l'i!!gD^ ^-' ^^^^^^TJboJ of Priea. Head of Pj^esiRapida Connel c iirS£. Mt W Isot^i^'^ _-^°(/ \PNER (JUNCTION Heppner Junction will be 1,772 miles from St. Paul. j.- -i ,i i -, -, Altitude, 241 feet. noticed another branch, and the last one before reaching- Portland, of the varied network of track that belongs to the system of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. Cape Horn — Columbia Riuer. ^ILLOWS After leaving Willows the 1,774 miles from St. Paul. t^i,„ t^ 1 t^ /~m ^ Altitude, 234 feet. J ohn Day and Des Chutes =iLjj^Q rivers are cro.ssed. At Celilo, 1,824 miles from St. Paul. loo miles from Portland, are Altitude, 160 feet. located the Celilo Falls, vis- ^ LLcb "l^lg £j.Qj^ ^YiQ windows of the 1,836 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, 106 feet. train, and at the Dalles, twelve miles farther, the route approaches the wildest and most romantic mountain and river scenery. Here the mile-wide river is narrowed between giant walls of volcanic rock to a few yards. The tremendous volume of water boils and rages in fury against the unyielding granite, furnishing for two and a half miles a panorama of indescribable beauty. During a June freshet the water has been known to rise in this gorge 126 feet. 179 GREA T NORTHERN RAIL WA V From the Dalles, Mount Hood (altitude 11,225 feet) is a splendid sight as it raises its snow- crowned crest into the blue southern sky. This magnificent peak is now constantly in view at inany points as the train curves around the pic- turesque rock points that lie all along the river from here to Portland. To the north, across the river, Mount Adams, altitude 12,470 feet; Mount St. Helens, 9,759 feet, ^^^<^^^.^ and Mount Rainier, ^.V^^^^-s^*^-?; 14,444 feet, raise their lofty snow caps to the azure. From Hood HOOD RIVER 1,859 miles from St. Paul. Altitude, loi feet. River, sixty-six miles froin Portland, stages leave for Cloud Cap Inn, half way to the summit ISO ACROSS AMERICA of Mount Hood. This is a renowned fruit region, " Hood River apples " being- famous for , r^ricORTLAND ACROSS AMERICA Portland, although an inland A^dmdty'frt^'-^''"^- city, is visited by ships flying Population, 9s,ooo. ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ maritime nations. At tide-water it has the greatest water power in the world. Its background is the greatest forest in America ; adjacent to its busi- Morrison Street, Portland. ness center is an immense deposit of iron ore ; its tributary country contains mines which annu- ally produce millions in gold and silver ; the finest fresh-water fisheries in the world are at its doors. Portland, in fact, is the focal point of a country possessing, its citizens aver, a greater diversity of valuable resources than any other in the United States. The growth 1S5 GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY of Portland is due to natural causes ; the real- estate boom has never forced its advancement. The causes which combine to make it the metropolis of a 1,000-mile area are alone re- sponsible for its prosperit}'. Its growth from a strug- gling village in 1846 to a mag- nificent city of Chamber of Commerce and Cittj Hall, Portland, Oregon 95,000 inhabitants at the present time has been as steady as it has been rapid. Scattered through the residence quarter of Portland are a number of beantifnl parks, the largest of which is the City Park, an enclosure containing much natural beauty. Fern-lined canyons, forests, ponds, and delightful walks and drives, and a fine collection of animals, combine 1S6 ACROSS AMERICA to make this reservation unusually attractive. Nob Hill, the fashionable residence district, con- tains many palatial residences, some of which occupy an entire block. One of the most attract- ive features of Portland is its wealth of roses ; they bloom around the cottage of the laborer as well as the mansion of the millionaire ; from March to December they perfume the air with their fragrance. From Portland steamships run to Washington, Oregon, and California ocean and river ports; to Alaska; to the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, and the Orient. It is the metropolis of the great empire of Oregon and a worthy twin to Seattle, a few miles farther north in the adjoining wonderland of Washington. Columbia Riuer at Portland. 187 REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY. For full informaoion a>)out rates and routes, also for illustrated literature descriptive of the Northwestern States, maps, folders, etc., apply to any of the following named representatives of the railway : TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT. D. MILLER, Second Vice-President, St. Paul, Minn. FRANCIS B. CLARKE. Geiiev.al TrafUc Manager St. Paul, Minn. J. VV . BL A BON. Western Traffic Manager Seattle, Wash . F. I. WHITNKY, General P.assenger and Ticket Aeent St. Paul, Minn. T. B. LYNCH, Assistant General I^assenger ana Ticket Agent St. Paul, Minn. G. O. SOMICliS, General Freight Agent St. Paul, Minn, W. H. HILL, Assist.aut General Freight Agent St. Paul, Minn. A. GRAY. Assistant General Freight Agent Biitte, Mont. J. C. F.DEN. General Freight Agent E.astern Railway of Minnesota St. Paul, Minn. S. A. SMAliT. General Baggage Agent St. Paul, Minn W. J, FOOTNER, Vice-President and Gen'l Manager G. N. Express Co.. St. Paul. Minn. GENERAL AND TRAVELING AGENTS. BOSTON. Mass., 211 Washington St W. A. SEWARD, General Agent. 211 Washington St J. L FOG(i. Traveling Agent. 211 Washington St F. L. SOPER, Traveling Agent. BUFFALO, N.Y.,n00 Prudential Bldg....GEO. J'ilGHMY, Jr.,Trav. X^assenger Agent. 300 Prudential Bldg. , . .H. G. DOW, Traveling Freight Agent. BUTTE . Mont, , 11 N. Main St J. E. DAWSON. General Agent. CHICAGO, 111., 220 S.Clark St W. M. LOWRIE, General Agent Pass'r Dep't. 220 S. Clark St MAX BASS. General Immigration Agent. 220 S. Clark St GEO. G. OKOSE Trav. Pass'r and Im. Agt. 220 S. Clark St C. W. PITTS. Traveling Passenger Agent. 220 S. Clark St L. W. CAMPBELL, General A gt. Freight Uep't. 220 S. Clark St O. L. ALLEN. Traveling Freight Agent. CINCINNATI, O., Fifth and Walnut Sts W. J. BYRTH. General Agent. Filth and Walnut Sts, I. O. STOUT, Traveling Passenger Agent. CLEVELAND, O.,i03 Chamber of Com- merce ARTHUR W. STREET, Commercial Agent. DES MOINES, Iowa, 401 Walnut Pt W, M. ROMINE, District Pass'r Agent. 101 Walnut St J. E, GIBSON, Traveling Passenger Agent, DETROIT. Mich., Nor. S. S. Co.'s Dock ..C. B. DEAN, General Agent. Nor. S. S. Co.'s Dock ..J. T, LEE, Traveling Agent. DULUTH, Minn.. 432 West Superior St... T. G. MOONEY, Northern Passenger Agent. 4,32 West Superior St. .J. A. MICHAELSON, City Pass'r and Tkt. Agt. 432 West Superior St., J AS. ROBERTSON, Gen'l Agt. Freight Dep't. 432 West Superior St,. G. M. BRUSH, Traveling Freight Agent. FARGO, N. D JI. J. COSTELLO, Traveling Freight Agent.. GRAND FORKS, N. D JAS. ROBINSON, Traveling Freight Agent. HICLENA, Mont., 10 N. Main St C. E. DUTTON, General Agent. J. W. SEARLS, Live Stock Agent. KANSAS CITY, Mo., P. O. Box 65 E. C. LEEDY,Trav. Pass, and Immigrat'n Agt. LONDON. England, 21 Cockspur St H, G. McMICKEN, European Traffic Agent. MILWAUKEE, Wis., 302 Pabst Bldg .TAMES YOUNG. Genpral Agent. 302 Pabst Bldg E. A. FRADE.NBURGH, Traveling Agent. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn, 300 Nicollet Ave, V. D. JONES, City Pass'r .and Ticket Agent. 300 Nicollet Ave,H. A. KIMBALL, General Agent Freight Dep't. MONTREAL,Quebec,17Cl Notre Dame St, W. G. McLEAN, General Agent. NKW YORK, .37.5 Bro.adw.ay, S. J. ELLISON, Gen'l Agent Passenger Dep't. 375 Broadway L. W. LAKE, General Agent Freight Dep't. PHILADELPHIA, Pa., 42 S. Third St A. C. HARVEY, District Passenger Agent. 42 S. Third St J. H. GRACE, General Agent Freight Dep't. 42 S. Third St GEO. L. WILLIAMS, Trav. Pass'r and Ini. Agt. PITT.S.BURG,P,T.902ParkBldg..FifthAve. DELANO LUCE, District Pass'r Agent. 902 Park Bldg., Fifth Ave.E, B.CLARK, District Freight Agent. 902 ParkBldg.,FifthAve.J. W. STEVENSON. Traveling Freight Agent. PORTLAND, Ore., 122 Third St A. B.C. DENNISTON. City Pass'r & Tkt. Agt. 122 Third St WM. HARDER, Gen'l Agt. Freight Dep't. SANFRANCISCO,CaL,llMontgm'ySt..E. S. BLAIR. Gener.al Agent. O. P. SPAULDING, Trav. Frt. and Pass'r Agt. SEATTLE. Wash., 612 First Ave. . R. C, STEVENS. General West'n Pass'r Agent. B12 First Ave J. A. MILLER, General Agent Freight Dep't. 012 First Ave S. G. YERKES, City Pass'r and Tkt. Agent. 612 First Ave R. CUNNINGHAM, Trav. P.ass'r Agent. SPOKANE, Wash.. 701 W. Riverside Av.H. A. JACKSON. Commercial Agent. 701 W. Riverside Av.GEO. H. WILLIAMS, Traveling Agent. ST. LOUIS, Mo.,CarletonBUlg,,Cor.6th and Olive Sts W.J. EVANS. General Agent. Carletun Bldg., Cor. 6th and Olive Sts A. E. WARD, Traveling Agent. ST. PAUL, Minn., 199 E. 3d St W.J. DCJTCH, City Passenger and Ticket Agt. Cor.3dSt.and B'way..O. THORriON, Traveling Pass'r Agent. Cor, 3d St, and B'vvaiy. .MOSES FOLSOM, Immigration Agent. 199 E. Third St ,' , , , C D. THO MPSON. Gen'l A gent Freight Dept. Cor. 3dSt. andB'way..H. B. BltlGGS, Traveling Freight Agetit. Cor. 3d St. and B'way .W. J. MAGNER, Traveling Freight Agent, TACOMA. Wash., 11 16 Pacific Ave CHAS, WURTELE, Agent, TORONTO. Ont., 6 King St. West C.W. GRAVES, Dist. Freight and Pass'r Agt. VANCOUVER, B.C F. J. W HKE I, ER, General Agent. VICTOKIA. i;. C J. H. ROGERS. Agent. WALi.A WALLA. W.ash J. C. MACKINNON, Traveling Freight Agent. W EST SUPERIOR, Wis., 813 Tower Av . . W. K, ADAMS. Citv Passenger and Ticket Agt. WINNIPEG, M.an.. 508 Main St R. J, SMITH, Dist. Freight and Pass'r Agt. L D 1. 6 7 "' ;/^^--r. ^oV^ rA '3^ ^o > ?>°'^<^. ^'^r c '^0^ '^o^ >o o >'' .^ •<"\ A^^ C' " o „ '^ .O-^ ^^-^^^ -^. c^'- ^>|te V.^^ ^^o^^^^ VA^ ; » .- .^^ MAY -69 V'Vxyv' ^-^^.o • ST. AUGUSTINE ^ -z^ %* ^h o .^V^^- ^^ - ''^ ■^i: