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diff --git a/40824-0.txt b/40824-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b12496e --- /dev/null +++ b/40824-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1202 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40824 *** + + ANOTHER SUMMER + + THE + YELLOWSTONE PARK + and + ALASKA + + BY + CHARLES J. GILLIS + + + Printed for + Private Distribution + + + COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY + CHARLES J. GILLIS. + + + Press of J. J. Little & Co. + Astor Place, New York + + + The more I think of it, the more I find this conclusion + impressed upon me, that the greatest thing a human soul ever + does in this world is to _see_ something and tell what it saw in + a plain way.--RUSKIN. + + + With the Compliments + of the Author. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In the spring of 1892, a party was made up for a trip to Alaska. The +different members thereof were to cross the continent by such routes +as they pleased, and meet at Portland, Oregon, on the second of July. +This plan was followed, and all the party boarded the steamer _Queen_ +at Tacoma, prepared for the journey of a thousand miles up the coast +of Alaska. + +Some account of this, and also of an excursion to the Yellowstone +Park, made on the way westward, is given in the following pages. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER + + I.--THE START FOR ALASKA, + + II.--ON THE WAY TO THE YELLOWSTONE, + + III.--YELLOWSTONE PARK, + + IV.--THE GEYSERS AND PAINT POT, + + V.--THE UPPER GEYSER BASIN, + + VI.--THE GRAND CANYON, AND THE FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE, + + VII.--DOWN THE COLUMBIA RIVER TO PORTLAND, + + VIII.--TACOMA AND SEATTLE, + + IX.--ON BOARD THE "QUEEN" FROM TACOMA TO VICTORIA, + + X.--ALASKA, + + XI.--THE MUIR GLACIER, + + XII.--SITKA, + + XIII.--AN ACCIDENT TO THE "QUEEN," + + XIV.--ICY BAY, TREADWELL, AND JUNEAU, + + XV.--THE RETURN VOYAGE, AND SOME STORIES TOLD ON THE WAY, + + XVI.--ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC, + + XVII.--BANFF SPRINGS, + + XVIII.--CONCLUSION, + + + + + +THE YELLOWSTONE PARK AND ALASKA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + THE START FOR ALASKA. + + +Our long trip to Alaska and return, nine thousand miles in all, +commenced on June 17, 1892, at the Grand Central Station, New York. +Arriving at Chicago the next afternoon, we obtained a good view of the +great exposition buildings from our car windows as we passed along the +lake front. Shortly afterward we were dumped down at the wretched +sheds of the Michigan Central Railroad. It rained very heavily, and +ourselves and hand baggage were somewhat wet passing a short distance +to a carriage. We soon crossed the Chicago River to the Northwestern +Depot, boarded the train, which left at 11 P.M., and arrived at the +beautiful modern city of St. Paul at 1 P.M. the next day. The Hotel +Ryan was found to be very comfortable, and everything in and around +the city is bright and cheerful. Great business activity, and immense +and costly buildings are especially noticeable. + +Running along the streets are great numbers of spacious and elegant +cars drawn by cables. We hailed a passing one, got in, and went slowly +and carefully through the crowded streets, up and down hills, with +great speed and ease, into the country for some miles, passing many +elegant private residences, as costly and fine as any to be seen in +any city in the world--notably one built and occupied by Mr. Hill, +president of the Great Northern Railroad, now about completed to the +Pacific Ocean, whose name you hear mentioned often as one of the great +railroad magnates of the West. The streets are clean, the sidewalks +wide, the front yards of the houses crowded with beautiful plants and +flowers, and in all respects we concluded that St. Paul is a most +delightful city. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + ON THE WAY TO THE YELLOWSTONE. + LIVINGSTON, MONTANA, June 22, 1892. + + +We left the city of St. Paul at 4.25 P.M. on the 20th, by the Northern +Pacific Railroad, and arrived here at 8 A.M. this morning. A section +on the sleeping-car had been previously engaged, and we found it and +the dining-room car attached to the train all that could be desired, +so that we thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip. Passing through the Bad +Lands was a wonderful experience. Great mountains of clay or stone, in +all sorts of grotesque shapes and of many colors, constantly attracted +our attention until we reached the Yellowstone River, which was higher +than it had been for many years. Here things began to look serious, as +frequently the dirty and rushing flood came near to the track, and +the rise of a foot or so would have caused a wash-out, and have +stopped our progress; but for many miles before we reached this +station, the engineer moved the train of ten cars very carefully, and +we were only two hours behind time. There has been a bridge burned +beyond this place, and some bad wash-outs are reported by passengers +coming East, who say that they had to travel around six miles on foot, +through a country infested with rattlesnakes, leaving their baggage +behind; but we expect that all will be clear on Monday, when we shall +have been through the park, and will be ready to go on from here West. + +There was the usual crowd of "all sorts and conditions" of men on the +train--young ranchmen, bright eyed, intelligent, and alert, one of +them being an English lord, but I did not know this until he left the +car at a way station. All had tales to tell of life in these parts, +one of which was that the stage running from one of the stations at +which we stopped was "held up" three times last week, and the +passengers robbed. This town is a new one, with a lot of small wooden +houses and stores, but as the hotels did not look very attractive, we +took our breakfast on the dining-car attached to a train about to +start for Cinnabar, on a branch road, and an excellent meal we had. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + YELLOWSTONE PARK. + MAMMOTH SPRINGS HOTEL, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, June 23, 1892. + + +Leaving Livingston at 9 A.M., we travelled by rail forty-two miles to +Cinnabar, the entrance to the National Park. We passed along the +valley of the Yellowstone River, now a much swollen, turbulent, and +rushing stream, hemmed in by mountains reaching their lofty heads +thousands of feet high. In one place there had been a land-slide some +hundreds of feet long, which had carried down all the earth and trees +into the valley, leaving the rock bare, and presenting a very rugged +appearance. There were numerous farms and ranches on the route, with +cattle and cultivated fields. The road bed was in good order, the cars +excellent, and the trip exceedingly interesting and enjoyable. At +Cinnabar, we took a stage for eight miles to this hotel. The road is a +very good one, passing over rushing streams and along the bases of +great mountains, amidst magnificent scenery. Beautiful flowers line +the way and are in the fields, while the mountains are partly covered +with snow. We hear that the road to the lake is blocked with snow, and +impassable. This hotel is an excellent one, the food, attendance, and +rooms are good, and for a day we are resting preparatory to commencing +the tour of the park. Here are located the barracks for the United +States soldiers in charge of the reservation, these being now two +hundred mounted men, who act as police, and constantly patrol the +roads, watching for poachers, and generally keeping everything in +order. From the front of the hotel we look upon the hot springs, which +have been throwing out hot water and steam, no doubt for ages, and +have formed a large terraced hill of soda or lime-like material, the +surplus water finding its way, partly through subterranean passages, +to the river. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + THE GEYSERS AND PAINT POT. + FOUNTAIN HOTEL, YELLOWSTONE PARK, June 23, 1892. + + +This morning at eight o'clock we left the Mammoth Spring, in a +strongly built and comfortable wagon drawn by four horses, with eight +passengers and a careful driver, and soon commenced to see the wonders +of this remarkable park. The road ran near three lakes, each measuring +a hundred acres or more--one green in color, one blue, and one +yellow--the like of which cannot, I think, be seen anywhere else on +earth. On examination, I found that the water was clear, and that the +pronounced and brilliant colors came from chemical deposits on the +bottom of the lakes. We did not linger long to look at these +remarkable phenomena, but drove on, and were soon passing over a road +made of natural glass, by the side of a great mountain of the same +material. I picked up several pieces of this glass, and found that it +was green in color, and looked like any other glass, while alongside +the road and up the mountain we saw large masses of the same material. +The only conclusion we could arrive at was, that in some prehistoric +time the materials of which glass is composed must have been in +juxtaposition, and were fused into their present form by a volcanic +eruption. It is safe to say that nowhere else on earth is to be found +a roadway made of glass. + +We reached this hotel at 6 P.M., and saw near by the first of the +geysers, spouting hot water fifty feet high. We made our way over a +thin crust to see this geyser, so thin that it seemed as if we might +break through and disappear forever, reminding me of a former +experience, when walking along the edge of a volcano in Japan, a place +was pointed out where two guides who had wandered from the path, broke +through the crust and were lost. We passed on to examine what I +consider the most extraordinary natural phenomenon to be seen on the +face of the earth. It is called the Paint Pot, and is a depression of +about thirty by forty feet, with walls of hardened clay three or four +feet high. In this so-called pot are half a dozen or more cones, much +like inverted flower pots, about six inches in diameter at the top, +and two or three feet high. From the centres of these there are +constantly flowing streams of hot clay, each stream of a different +color, varying from pure white to brown. In other parts of the big pot +the soft clay was coming slowly up from centres and overflowing, +forming figures like flowers, very beautiful to look at. The soldier +who escorted us was very polite, but would not permit us to carry away +a bit of the clay, though there were tens of thousands of tons lying +about. We could see, near by and at a distance, several other geysers, +spouting water fifty or more feet high, and we learned from the guide +books that there are no less than ten or twelve thousand boiling +springs and geysers within the reservation, which is sixty-five miles +long by fifty-three wide, containing about three thousand four hundred +and seventy-five square miles. We were informed that after sunset a +bear came regularly, back of the hotel, to regale himself on the +refuse thrown from the kitchen, and I went to see him; but the +mosquitoes were very thick, and proved such an intolerable nuisance +that I was obliged to go away without getting a look at the beast. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + THE UPPER GEYSER BASIN. + June 24, 1892. + + +After a good night's sleep, we left the hotel at half-past eight this +morning for an excursion to the Upper Geyser Basin, forty miles +distant. The roads were in bad order, very dusty, and the mosquitoes +thick. Geysers and boiling springs were to the right and left, +everywhere. At one place we got out of the wagon, and crossed a bridge +over a small stream to what is called the Devil's Half Acre. There +were really a dozen or more acres, containing great volumes of steam +and hot water rushing up and around. Many little streams ran toward a +big basin, some of them yellow, some green, and some blue, but on +examination I found that the water itself was clear. The mud or clay +which formed the bed of the streams, or was being carried along in +the current, was colored. We thought the Devil's Half Acre a dangerous +as well as a disagreeable place, and, recrossing the little stream, +continued on our way, arriving at the hotel at the Upper Geyser Basin +in four hours. We had just arrived when we were informed that the +famous Old Faithful Geyser, which has spouted for many years every +sixty-five minutes, would go off in a short time. It is situated a few +rods from the hotel, and as we drew near, it commenced to spout up an +immense column of water and steam one hundred and fifty feet or so in +height. Then, in about five minutes, it subsided into a hole in the +ground. We could hear the roar of the steam and water underneath, the +commotion shaking the ground. + +Soon after this exhibition, another geyser, called the Bee Hive, +situated near the hotel, spouted, and made a splendid display. I think +we saw in this basin as many as twenty large spouting geysers, and +hundreds of boiling springs, many of them of surprising beauty. One, +which attracted my attention particularly, was a slowly boiling spring +which threw up colored clay, and looked exactly like a large sponge. +This was about three feet long, two feet wide, and as many high. + +Driving along the road, we frequently saw signs put up by the +Government: "Do not drive on here," and "Danger"; so one is impressed +with the idea that some day the tremendous volcanic power underlying +this entire valley may burst out and make one vast crater of lava, +mud, water, and steam. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + THE GRAND CANYON, AND THE FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE. + GRAND CANYON HOTEL, June 26, 1892. + + +We left the Upper Geyser Basin at half-past eight yesterday morning, +stopped for lunch at Norris's at noon, and, branching off, arrived +here at 3.30 P.M. The road was on the banks of or near the Gibbon +River for many miles, and was very rough. Twice we forded the river, +and once the passengers were obliged to leave the wagon and remove a +fallen tree from the way. At another place, a tree a foot in diameter +had fallen across the road; the party all got out, and the driver had +to jump the wagon over the obstruction, at the risk of breaking the +vehicle. The road from Norris's was in good repair, and from it we had +a fine view of the great Yellowstone Falls, and then drove on to find +comfortable accommodations at this hotel, the views from which are +very magnificent. Mrs. Marble and I, accompanied by a guide, and Mr. +and Mrs. Hunter, of Canada, took a walk toward the Grand Canyon, about +half a mile off. Crossing some fields, we entered the pine woods. The +whole park has been repeatedly burnt over, and there is everywhere an +immense number of prostrate pine-trees, some of which are very large, +and appeared, when we saw them, to have been lying on the ground many +years. In this vicinity, however, there is quite a forest of new +growth, all about the same size, from six to ten inches in diameter, +and ten to a dozen feet apart, making a very pretty park. Here we came +suddenly upon a big black bear lying down; he got up, took a look at +us, and then in a leisurely way walked off. It was a fine specimen, +weighing, we judged, about two hundred and fifty pounds, with long, +clean black hair. Mr. Hunter ran on toward the animal, but we called +to him to come back, and the bear, turning his head, gave us another +look, and disappeared in the forest. We walked along to the banks of +the rushing and roaring river, ascended a high cliff, and looked down +upon the great falls and the tremendous canyon, the walls of which are +several hundred feet high, colored bright green in some places, and in +others red, yellow, or violet. + +The whole scene was magnificent, grand, and gloomy. In the middle of +the river, near where we stood, was a column of rock some hundreds of +feet high, apparently ten yards in diameter at the bottom, and just +large enough at the top for an eagle's nest. One had been built there, +and we saw the young eagles stretching their necks, and opening their +mouths, as all kinds of young ones do when hungry. The parents were +soaring about, and evidently keeping a watchful eye upon us and their +progeny, but the little ones were safe, as nothing but a ball from a +rifle could reach that nest. From this point we had another fine view +of the Falls of the Yellowstone, both lower and upper. The upper fall +has been measured, and found to be one hundred and twelve feet high +and eighty feet wide. + +The wild animals in the reservation are carefully protected by the +custodians, no one being allowed to use a gun, and consequently they +have become comparatively tame, and have increased in numbers. Passing +along the roads, we saw on one occasion two deer, and at other times +an elk and an antelope. The superintendent, in his official report, +says that there are in the park four hundred head of buffalo, a few +moose, numerous elk, estimated at twenty thousand, and large numbers +of bears, which latter are sometimes troublesome. A herd of twenty or +thirty elk was seen near this hotel on the morning before we arrived. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + DOWN THE COLUMBIA RIVER TO PORTLAND. + PORTLAND, OREGON, July 1, 1892. + + +After spending six days in the Yellowstone Park, which would have been +far more comfortable if there had been less dust, fewer mosquitoes, +and better roads, we again returned to Livingston, and took the train +coming from the East at 8.15 P.M. All the next day and night and the +day following we were passing through mountain scenery of wonderful +beauty and grandeur, until at 11 P.M. we were landed at Pasco +Junction, there being a cross-country railroad from that point to the +Union Pacific, on the banks of the Columbia, where we wanted to go. +There was a large station at Pasco, but not a porter nor a carriage to +be seen. Many drinking places were open, and I interviewed several of +the patriots who were lounging about in their shirt sleeves--for the +thermometer registered one hundred degrees--and they pointed out the +way to Cook's Hotel, about a quarter of a mile off. Finally a porter +came to our assistance and escorted us to the hotel, which was about +as poor a one as could well be--close, hot, and uncomfortable. The +beds were as hot as if there was a fire under them, and we, of course, +slept but little. In the morning, after looking at a bad breakfast, +which did not tempt our appetites, we got into the caboose of a +freight train, and a very rough trip of two hours brought us to +Wallula Junction, where the thermometer stood at one hundred degrees +in the shade. Here we changed cars, and after two hours' more riding, +reached the Union Pacific Railroad, where we once more enjoyed the +luxury of seats in a Pullman. There was no dining-room car attached to +this train, but it stopped at a station for half an hour, and we were +supplied with an excellent dinner. The polite and kind conductor told +us not to hurry, that he would not start until we had all the dinner +we wanted. We were about eight hours running on or near the southern +banks of the Columbia River. The water was very high, and often ran +swiftly over rough rocks in the bed of the stream, and around the +bends with great force. The river appeared much wider than the Hudson, +about the same width as the Danube at Vienna. The great rivers of +Europe, Asia, Africa, and America all have their attractive +peculiarities, and I often recall my remembrances of the St. Lawrence, +Hudson, Mississippi, Rhine, Elbe, Danube, Seine, Nile, and Ganges with +the greatest pleasure and satisfaction, and am thankful that I have +been permitted to see them; but I must acknowledge that the Columbia, +in beauty and grandeur, far surpasses them all. For long distances, +you look out upon the wide and rushing water, and up to the lofty +mountains which border the banks and far beyond, some covered with +snow, and as picturesque and beautiful as anything an artist could +dream of. + +One of the most interesting things to be seen on the trip down the +river is the method of catching salmon, which, as is well known, are +as fine as any in the world. They are caught in immense numbers and +sent to all parts of the country. During the dry season, a wall is +built about twenty-five feet from the shore, forming a canal through +which the water rushes with great force. In this canal is placed a +large wheel, something like those on a sidewheel steamer, under which +the water pours, causing it to revolve in a direction contrary to the +current. The salmon swimming up stream try to jump over this +obstruction, and falling into the wheel, are tossed up on a platform, +and thus captured. + +Our train arrived at this city at 9 P.M., and we were furnished with +luxurious accommodations at "The Portland," an hotel erected by a +stock company, at a cost of one million dollars, and admirably kept by +Mr. Leland, formerly of the Delavan, Albany, and the Clarendon, +Saratoga. We found at the hotel all of the Alaska party in good health +and spirits, and ready for the voyage as arranged. + +Two days of exceptionally fine weather have given us an opportunity to +see this beautiful city to the best advantage. The Honorable Benjamin +Stark, formerly United States Senator from Oregon, now residing in New +London, Connecticut, informed me that when he first landed at Portland +in 1845, from the bark _Toulon_, there was not a house in the place, +and the party was obliged to sleep in tents where now is a fine city +of sixty-six thousand inhabitants, wide streets, elegant public and +private buildings, electric and cable street railways, and all the +appliances of modern civilization, in many respects in advance of +Eastern cities. We saw a number of Japanese and Chinese stores filled +with elegant goods, and attended by native salesmen. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + TACOMA AND SEATTLE. + TACOMA, WASHINGTON, July 5, 1892. + + +We left Portland at 8 A.M. on the 2d by rail, and arrived at this fine +hotel, "The Tacoma," at 3.30 P.M. after a very agreeable and +comfortable trip. The first thing to attract our special attention was +a view of Mount Tacoma, as seen from the rear windows of the hotel, +truly a royal and splendid sight: a great mountain, of symmetrical +shape, covered with pure white snow. There are not many such mountains +to be seen anywhere; none so beautiful, as I remember, except the +Jungfrau at Interlaken, and Fusiyama in Japan. + +We have been in this place for three days, going about everywhere, and +find it a wonderful example of a rapidly built city--solid and +substantial, wide streets, great and costly public and private +buildings, an admirable system of swift-going street cars, running in +every direction, by cable or electric power; fine dry-goods and other +stores, and every indication of great business activity and success. + +The citizens inform us that in 1880 there were thirty thousand +inhabitants in this city, and now there are fifty thousand. Judging +from the crowds on the streets and in the street cars, and the +business activity seen everywhere, this must be correct. We attended +service on Sunday at St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, built by +Mr. Wright, of Philadelphia, in memory of his daughter. The church is +a beautiful one; the service was rendered in an impressive manner, and +the sermon was excellent. + +Wishing to see Seattle, the other famous city of the State of +Washington, I went there by rail in two hours, and, accompanied by a +relative, spent the day looking at the buildings and shops, and +travelling on the electric street cars, which run everywhere, with +what appeared to be dangerous speed. We had an excellent lunch at a +good hotel, situated on top of a hill, from which we looked down on +the city and harbor. Looking at the solid blocks of business houses, +wholesale and retail, and the beautiful private residences, and +knowing that there are now about fifty thousand inhabitants in the +city, it is difficult to comprehend that fifteen or twenty years ago +it was almost a wilderness. After lunch, we took seats in an electric +car, and were carried five or six miles with the greatest ease, to a +beautiful lake, where we found many interesting things to look at for +an hour or two. We hear of a great deal of jealousy between Tacoma and +Seattle, but to a stranger they appear to have much in common--large, +substantial and handsome buildings, many of which would not be thought +out of place in any city; prompt, energetic, and lively business men, +and every appearance that the foundations have been laid for two great +cities, to which the immense products of India, China, and Japan will +naturally come for distribution throughout the United States and +Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + ON BOARD THE "QUEEN" FROM TACOMA TO VICTORIA. + STEAMER "QUEEN," July 7, 1892. + + +At 9 P.M. on the 5th instant we went on board the steamer _Queen_, +which, as there are no hotels in Alaska, is to be our home for two +weeks. The steamer is a fine, large vessel, with ample accommodations +for two hundred or more passengers. I had secured and paid for two +first-class staterooms two months in advance, but found, the first +night, that the ones given us were the worst on the ship, being +directly over the boiler, and consequently so hot that it was +impossible to live in them unless the doors were open. In addition to +this annoyance, when the watch was changed at 9 P.M., and at 1, 4, and +8 A.M., the ashes were hoisted from the hold, the rough and noisy +machinery used being located in the rear of our rooms, apparently +within a foot or two. The iron ash-can was about eighteen inches in +diameter and four feet high, and when it was rushed up by steam power, +it made a tremendous noise, making sleep impossible. In the morning I +called on the purser, and asked him to change the rooms. He said that +he could not "change all the rooms in the ship," but on being informed +that unless he gave my sister better accommodations we would abandon +the trip and go ashore at the next stopping place, he changed his +mind, and gave her a good room in the cabin below, but refused to +change mine unless I would pay fifty dollars additional. On +consultation with my roommate, Mr. Edwin S. Townsend, we concluded +that the advance asked was a violation of our contract with the +company, and that we would not pay it. We therefore endured the +distress and annoyance of the ash-lifting machinery. I did not remove +my clothing at night, but lay on the bed until the ash-can nuisance +commenced, and then left the room and walked the deck until the noise +stopped, in about half an hour. Being forced on deck at night had its +inconveniences, but it had its compensations also, for it gave me the +chance to see the magnificent scenery by moonlight; and, one night, +there was a splendid display of aurora borealis, which illuminated the +entire northern sky. + +After five nights spent in this disagreeable manner, one of our +friends had a talk with the purser, and induced him to change the +undesirable rooms for comfortable ones on the upper deck. We learned +with much satisfaction that the steamer during the entire trip will go +through a series of inland seas, and that we shall look upon the +Pacific Ocean but two or three times, and then for only a few hours. + +We arrived off Seattle at 4 A.M. on the 6th, and remained there five +hours, giving those who wished an opportunity to go ashore and see +that famous place. All day the beautiful vessel steamed along the +quiet waters, until we reached Victoria, the capital of British +Columbia, at 9 P.M. Most of our party thought they would like to see +the place, so half a dozen of us went ashore, and after consulting +some natives, we concluded to walk to the settled part of the city. It +was quite a long walk, a mile or more, passing government buildings +and grounds, and many handsome houses, until we came to one of the +business streets, and there we found the "Poodle Dog Restaurant," +rendered famous from a notice of it in Mrs. General Collis's +exceedingly interesting and beautifully illustrated book, "A Woman's +Trip to Alaska." We had a little supper, and then took carriages back +to the vessel, which soon afterward steamed away through the Gulf of +Georgia, and along the coast of British Columbia toward Alaska, our +goal. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + ALASKA. + July 9, 1892. + + +This morning we went ashore at Fort Wrangell, but found little there +of interest. A lot of miserable Indians and dogs and old houses, a +post-office and a court-house. An Indian dressed himself as a warrior +in paint and feathers, and executed a war-dance in a barn for the +amusement of the visitors. I saw him dancing along the walk into the +barn, but did not care to see the show. At noon we left the fort, and +since then have been passing through scenes of unsurpassed +magnificence. Tall mountains were on either side, those nearest +covered with spruce-trees, and the ranges back of them white with +snow. Occasionally there were open spaces, where snow or land-slides +had taken place, making good feeding grounds for wild animals, but we +saw only one, a large elk, who kept on feeding and did not notice our +ship. The sun set at a quarter past nine last evening. The steamer's +route is generally between islands and the main land, the water smooth +and everything comfortable; but yesterday we came out upon the broad +Pacific Ocean for an hour or two, and some of the passengers were +sea-sick, but none of our party were troubled in that way. All +appeared regularly at meals, which were excellent: well-cooked meats +and vegetables, and plenty of fruit. Just now, at 8 P.M., we are in a +bay some twenty miles in extent, surrounded by great mountains covered +with snow. The setting sun shining on these makes a picture of extreme +beauty and grandeur. All day long we have been on deck admiring the +beautiful sights, the weather being fine, numerous sea-gulls in view, +occasionally a school of porpoises, and now and then a whale. Every +day we pass numerous islands, large and small, all covered with +spruce-trees and having a very charming appearance. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + THE MUIR GLACIER. + GLACIER BAY, July 10, 1892. + + +We arrived here at nine this morning, and have the great Muir Glacier +before us. It is about two miles wide, two or three hundred feet high, +and several hundred miles long. Every quarter of an hour or so we hear +a loud crack, followed by a noise like the discharge of a gun, then a +rumbling like thunder, and a big piece of ice, as large as a house, +and, sometimes, as a church, falls into the water, causing the great +steamer to rock. Word was passed for us to get into boats for an +excursion onto the glacier. We were cautioned to be prudent and not to +wander too far, and were told the story of a young Methodist +clergyman, who went out of sight of his companions and was never after +seen or heard of. It fell to my lot to escort a lady who, accompanied +by her maid, wished to go on the glacier. A glacier may be said to be +a river of ice, formed on the mountains and forced downwards, +travelling the same as water, only slower. This one moves at the rate +of about forty feet a day, much faster than they do in the Alps. Those +at Chamouny, for instance, make only a foot or two a day. Our party +landed, and for some distance had the use of a plank walk. From +various parts of this we had fine views of the front of the glacier, +large pieces of which were frequently falling into the water, making a +great noise. We then, after much rough walking over stones and ice, +passed up to the main body of the glacier. The ice is forced up into +hillocks and ranges, wet, slippery, and difficult to travel on. Mrs. +B. tripped along lightly and safely, but not so her maid, whose shoes +were treacherous, and twice she came to grief, but no harm was done. I +had on arctic overshoes with corrugated soles, which served me well, +for I did not slip once. For an hour or two we wandered about, +admiring the ice, the views, the numerous small streams of clear water +formed by melted ice, and then returned to our quarters on board. At 7 +P.M. the stately vessel steamed around near the front of the glacier, +when, as if to give us a parting salute, an immense mass of ice, as +big as a church, fell into the water with a great noise. The +passengers cheered, and we went on our course, passing numerous ice +islands. The day was perfect, as the preceding ones had been. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + SITKA. + SITKA, July 11, 1892. + + +At six o'clock this morning we arrived here. The weather was warm, +tempered by a cool breeze. Not a cloud was in the sky. This is a small +harbor, with many islands in sight. From the deck of the steamer we +could see the town, and on top of a hill a large wooden edifice, where +the Russian governor-general formerly resided. It is vacant now, and +in a dilapidated condition. We went ashore, and saw many Indians +sitting on the walks or by the side of the roads. They were dressed +nicely, and were better looking than any I ever saw before. They had +the usual supply of baskets and curios for sale. + +We went in and out of several stores, and bought some curios, and then +visited the Russian church, where there were some fine paintings of +saints and other religious subjects. Back about a rod from the water, +with boats in front of them, were a hundred or more houses occupied by +Indians. Accompanied by a resident doctor, we went into some of these +houses, and saw how the Indians lived. Owing to the large number of +dogs and quantities of bad-smelling fish, we were very glad to get +away from that neighborhood. + +One of our friends had chartered the only wagon in the town, and took +us for a trip of a mile or two along the shore, among the +sweet-smelling spruce-trees, to a small stream of water, over which we +passed, and then rested in the woods. On our return, we went to the +Presbyterian Mission, which is a large and important one. It consists +of a group of buildings: a church, a school-house, and two large +edifices erected at the expense of Mrs. Elliott F. Shepard, in which +the young Indians are to be taught carpentry and other mechanical +industries. We attended a school in session, and heard the reverend +gentleman in charge examine the Indian girls and boys in arithmetic, +reading, and writing. They appeared as bright and intelligent as any +white children, and as capable of being educated. It was reported to +us that there were two hundred pupils in the school, and fourteen +missionaries in charge. + +Mrs. Richard H. L. Townsend, of New York, saw among the pupils a +sweet-faced and bright girl ten years of age, and after talking to her +awhile, adopted her to educate, agreeing to pay the mission for her +support and education for a number of years. This lady, when in Japan +in 1889, adopted in a similar way a little native girl there, and +another native girl in China. These two children in their respective +countries are getting along nicely with their education, and write to +Mrs. T. sweet letters every month. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + AN ACCIDENT TO THE "QUEEN." + July 12, 1892. + + +At 7 P.M. last evening the steamer's whistle sounded the last signal, +all our passengers came on board, and we started. Going out of the +harbor, we passed numerous small islands covered with spruce-trees. +The view of the town, the harbor, and the surrounding mountains made a +scene of great beauty. At half-past seven the steamer struck a rock. +The bow was forced high up out of water, and the stern, where I was +sitting with some ladies and gentlemen, careened over so much that we +had to hold on to the railing to prevent ourselves from falling. There +was no occasion for alarm, as we were within two hundred feet of an +island, and about a mile from the harbor of Sitka, where we could see +a revenue cutter lying, with her steam up, and numerous rowboats +near. No one about us manifested any excitement, except one young +woman who became hysterical and had to be restrained. The tide was +rising, and our captain declined assistance from the captain of the +revenue cutter, thinking it best to wait for the tide to rise high +enough to float the vessel. The passengers were generally very cool, +except one gentleman from Chicago, said to be worth several million +dollars, who indulged in remarks about the proper way to navigate +steamers, and insisted that the captain of the _Queen_ did not +understand his business, or he would not have run the vessel on rocks +in the daytime. Captain Carroll, hearing of these observations, +stepped up to the great capitalist and said: "Sir, if you do not like +the way I manage this ship, you can go ashore," to which the +capitalist replied that he would. A boat was lowered, and the officer +in charge was directed to take this gentleman, together with his wife +and daughter, back to Sitka. There being no hotels in the town, and +hardly any accommodations whatever, except for Indians and dogs, the +prospect of being obliged to stop there for a week or two was not +entertaining, so the wife and daughter remonstrated. The matter was +therefore smoothed over with the captain, and all parties remained on +board. Soon after this incident, a line was run to the shore of an +island near by, and attached to the trunk of a tree, to assist in +hauling the ship off. Every half hour or so the propeller would +commence running, and attempts would be made to start the steamer, +with no success, until 12.15 A.M., when, with much grating on the +bottom, she was floated off into deep water. The captain thought best +to take her back to Sitka, so we were soon anchored there again, +opposite Mrs. Shepard's houses. + +When I awoke this morning, the water was as still as a mill pond, and +the sky cloudless, giving us another perfect day. It was found that no +damage had been done to the steamer, and at 8 A.M. she started on her +course. We are now passing through Peril Straits, very narrow, with +mountains near, covered with trees. The water is shallow, and +sometimes our stanch vessel grates roughly over the bottom. At one +time, when passing an opening of a dozen miles, we looked upon the +ocean, with just enough swell to remind us how much more agreeable it +is to sail on water where you are not liable to sea-sickness. + +The captain has issued his usual noon-day bulletin, stating that the +ship will arrive at certain places during the next twenty-four hours, +provided she does not run on rocks, and there is no fog, and that +"after Juneau, we will go to Taku Glacier, where we will obtain our +supply of ice." "Passengers are permitted to fill up with it, as it is +exceedingly cheap, and cooling to the mind." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + ICY BAY, TREADWELL, AND JUNEAU. + JUNEAU, July 13, 1892. + + +Yesterday we were moving through the straits, and looking upon the +majestic scenery which distinguishes Alaska, for a thousand miles from +Tacoma. We passed the great Davidson Glacier, and during the afternoon +and evening were constantly seeing immense ranges of mountains, until +we reached Icy Bay at seven this morning. Here the steamer took in her +supply of ice, fishing it out of the water and hoisting it on board, +several tons at a time. Coming into Icy Bay, the scenery was of +extraordinary grandeur, mountains many thousand feet high, the bases +of which were near the water, and numerous waterfalls and glaciers. +Some of us sat up nearly all night to see the wonders, the like of +which cannot be seen anywhere in the world, except, perhaps, in +Greenland. After midnight the moon came up in all her glory, and the +northern lights played fantastic tricks in the sky. The great glacier +in this bay is a wonder, a mile wide and several hundred feet high, +the ice falling off every few minutes in great masses. Once I saw two +great ice towers, looking much like those of the Church of Notre Dame +in Paris, and I called the attention of a lady to them. Hardly had I +made the remark, before they both crumbled down into the water with a +tremendous crash, making our big ship feel the force of the waves +caused by the fall. After leaving Icy Bay we touched at Treadwell at +noon, where are located some famous gold mines. Most of the passengers +went ashore and were permitted to go through the large buildings of +the mining company, and see the operations of getting gold from rocks. +The blasting was going on a short distance off. The ore was +transported by rail to the mill, and then pounded into powder by +several hundred powerful steam hammers, which made a prodigious din. +This powdered stone was mixed with running water, and we were +informed that the gold was obtained in that way, but we saw none of +it. An hour was quite sufficient for Treadwell, so we steamed over to +this place, nearly opposite, and went ashore. There are several +hundred houses in this town, built at the base of the mountains. Near +the water there was the usual number of Indian women squatting on the +ground and offering baskets and curios for sale. The stores are well +supplied with skins of foxes, bears, and other wild animals, and the +usual goods required in country places. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + THE RETURN VOYAGE, AND SOME STORIES TOLD ON THE WAY. + + +On the evening of the 13th we left Juneau, and reached Chilcat, the +most northerly place on our course, the following morning. Then +commenced the return trip over much the same route which we took on +the outgoing voyage, passing the mountains, glaciers, and islands we +had seen before. The passengers amused themselves in various ways, one +group in the cabin telling stories to pass away the time. + +One of this party interviewed an elderly gentleman, and asked him if +there was not a history connected with the great scar which extended +across his face, and the gentleman very kindly told the following, +which may be called-- + + + THE CAPTAIN'S STORY. + +"My name is Neilson, and I have been at sea since I was a boy. For +many years I served before the mast, then as mate, and finally as +captain, on many voyages in different parts of the world. Back in the +fifties I was in command of a whaling ship owned in San Francisco, and +we sailed from that port to the selected cruising ground in Behring +Sea, between the Aleutian Islands and Behring Strait. Once we sailed +through the strait into the Arctic Ocean, but the intense cold and +immense masses of floating ice drove us back in a damaged condition. +We secured a good many whales after some months' cruising about, +until, one day, a violent storm came up, and we were driven ashore on +St. Lawrence Island, near North Cape. The ship was a total loss, but +all the officers and crew succeeded in getting ashore, and a passing +ship took us back to San Francisco. I stopped in the city for some +weeks, and talked a good deal with an old friend, Captain Samuel, who +had also been so unfortunate as to lose his ship on a whaling voyage. +We looked about and found some capitalists who purchased a ship for +us, and we determined to try our luck again, searching for whales in +the Behring Sea. Captain Samuel suggested that I should be captain and +he would act as mate, but I told him no, that he, being the elder and +more experienced, should be captain, and I the mate, and it was so +arranged. The captain of a whaling craft always has a share of the +results of the voyage, and the mate another, but not so large as the +captain's. It was agreed between us that on this voyage we would +divide the profits, if any, equally. It will be understood that at +this time whaling voyages were very profitable, sperm oil often +selling in the San Francisco market for two dollars and fifty cents +per gallon. + +"We shipped a crew of ten men, and a second mate, took on provisions +for a long voyage, and sailed for Behring Sea. We cruised about over +three months, and had remarkable success, having harpooned and secured +several large sperm whales, so we felt that we were going to have a +good voyage. + +"The crew was a rough one, and sometimes we heard murmurs of +discontent about the labor of trying out the oil, and about the food, +but we paid no attention, thinking it only the usual growling among +sailors. One day the captain and I were in the cabin, when he, hearing +a noise, stepped on deck, and was at once assaulted by a man with a +cutlass, and instantly killed. Hearing the uproar, I too rushed on +deck only to be in season to see the prostrate form of the murdered +captain, and a sailor with a drawn cutlass coming toward me. As I +backed down the companion-way he hit me on the head, where the scar +is, which has attracted your attention. I fell into the hold, and the +mutineers, thinking I was dead, did not follow me. I found, in the +hold, the second mate, unhurt, who staunched the flowing blood from my +wound, and bound it up with some old canvas. At that time I was nearly +forty years younger than I am now, and was as tough as men are made. +The mutineers heard us moving about, and fired at us with muskets +loaded with ball, but did not hit us. For some reason, they did not +venture down after us, probably because they knew there were loaded +muskets within our reach, and that we would be sure to use them. We +found the muskets, but they were useless, having been wet. + +"As every moment's delay was dangerous, we being liable to be hunted +down, killed, and thrown into the sea, to follow the body of our +murdered captain, it became necessary for us to think and act quickly. + +"We could hear the men, who were collected together directly over the +cabin, talking loudly and excitedly. I knew where the magazine was, +and getting a keg of powder, placed it directly under where the +mutineers were standing, laid a train from it to the bow of the +vessel, and touched a match to it. The explosion was almost +instantaneous, and tremendous in its results, throwing to the right +and left that part of the cabin over which the mutineers were, and +killing or drowning every man except three, who, evidently thinking +the ship was a wreck, hastily got into a boat and rowed away. + +"We listened for some time, but hearing no noise, went on deck, and +found on examination that the hull of the ship was perfectly sound, +and that no damage had been done to the masts; so that with some +assistance we could navigate her into port. We obtained the assistance +required from a passing vessel, and in due season arrived at San +Francisco. There was a good deal of valuable sperm oil on board, +which was sold, and gave the second mate and myself quite a sum of +money, the owners being disposed to be liberal under the extraordinary +circumstances. + +"After this, I concluded to abandon the sea, and went into the +business of supplying water to ships in the port of San Francisco. + +"I had followed this business for twelve years, when one day, as I was +furnishing water for a whaling ship, I saw among the sailors a man +who, I felt quite certain, was the ring-leader of the gang of +murderous mutineers who killed our captain and came so near making an +end of me. I communicated my suspicions to the captain of the whaler, +but he said that his ship was ready to sail, and that he would take +the man, but would keep a watch on him, and find out if he talked +while at sea. When this ship returned, the captain sought me out, and +said: 'He is your man, for he talked during the voyage, and told about +being on a ship on which an explosion took place, and he and two +others were the only survivors.' I had the man arrested, but the +administration of justice was very lax at that time in California, +and the time which had elapsed since the commission of the crime +rendered proof difficult to obtain, so the man escaped the gallows. + +"This, gentlemen, is the story of how I became scarred for life, as +you see." + +Another tale related by one of the storytelling group ran as follows: + + + THE TRAVELLER'S STORY.--AN UMBRELLA. + +"I am an expert in umbrellas, take good care of them, and they +generally serve me for many years. I have one purchased in Florence, +another from the Bon Marché, Paris, and this one, which I hold in my +hand, bought at the Burlington Arcade, London, has been a good and +faithful servant, having been used as a cane when tramping through +Italy, France, Germany, and England. It has sheltered me from the +rains of Japan, and the terrible sun in China, Ceylon, India, Egypt, +and Turkey. It has been re-covered in Vienna, and had a new stick put +in at New York, and, as you see, is now in fair condition. One day, in +Constantinople, I wandered along the street called La Grande Rue de +Pera, which is about a mile long, and on which are located the +principal foreign shops; but I failed to discover anything grand about +it, and one is annoyed to have to avoid stepping on great yellow dogs, +who are sleeping on the sidewalks, when there are any, and in the +roadway. At one end of this street are cable cars, which carry you +down a sharp incline to the streets on the water. I took one of these +cars down, and in a few minutes passed over the famous bridge which +connects Galata with Constantinople proper, to a wharf, where I was +detained some time waiting for a steamboat to take me on the splendid +and never-to-be-forgotten trip up the Bosphorus, to the entrance of +the Black Sea. Many large yellow dogs were wandering about on the +wharf, and one of them coming near me, I scratched his back with this +umbrella, which he took for a hostile demonstration, and bit the +umbrella in a most savage way, with his long, sharp teeth. I succeeded +in getting it away from him, and was glad that he did not try his +teeth on me. From that day I have been careful about undertaking to +pet strange dogs with umbrellas, or anything else, but I forgot the +Constantinople experience yesterday at Sitka, when I went ashore, and +after wandering around among the Indian women, who were sitting on the +grass surrounded by their mats, bottles, and various curios, I stopped +opposite one of them, and saw, lying down in front of her, a very +small dog, which I supposed was a puppy, but it proved to be full +grown, and a very ugly little beast. I touched him with the umbrella, +and he barked in a furious manner, and making one jump, fastened his +teeth into my leg above the knee. I shook him off, the Indian woman +put him under her blanket, and I returned to the ship to repair +damages with court-plaster, vowing that never shall this umbrella be +used again to pet a strange dog." + +Indian reminiscences being in order, one of our party related the +following: + + + SARAH ARBUCKLE AND THE INDIAN CHIEF. + A STORY OF FRONTIER LIFE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. + +"Sarah Arbuckle came to this country, with her father and brothers, +about 1740, when she was sixteen years old. They settled in the midst +of a dense wilderness, where the town of Merrimac now stands, many +miles from neighbors, and she was their housekeeper. It was so lonely +that many times a day, she would step out-of-doors to listen for the +sound of their axes, and if it ceased for any length of time, she +would tremble with fear lest the Indians or wild beasts had attacked +them. + +"One morning she was stooping over the fireplace, making the +'stirabout' (Indian hasty pudding) for breakfast, when a shadow +falling across the floor startled her, and turning hastily to the open +door, she was frightened almost to death at the sight of a gigantic +Indian standing at the threshold, with blood streaming down all over +one side of his face. He tried to speak to her, but she could not +understand him. When she was a little over her fright, she saw that +there was an arrow sticking in his eye, which he wanted her to remove. +She plucked up courage, drew the arrow out, dressed the wound, gave +him food, and he stayed there and was cared for a few days, and then +disappeared in the woods. Some years after this occurrence, a war +broke out between the Indians and settlers, and the Arbuckles were +preparing to remove to the garrison house for safety, when, one +evening, a band of Indians, with fearful yells, burst in the doors of +their house, and the tomahawk was just descending on Sarah's head, +when at a word spoken by a chief, who rushed in after them, every +warrior dropped his hand, and silently, one after another, filed out +into the darkness, leaving the chief with the family. He had learned +enough English to tell them that he had been there before, and had +been assisted by them, and that they need fear nothing. They might +remain on their place, and would not be molested. They did so +throughout the war, and had no further trouble. This Indian came to +see them annually, for years after, always bringing them some little +present." + + * * * * * + +These and other stories helped us to while away the time until we +arrived at Nanaimo, at six o'clock on the morning of July 16th. Here +our party left the steamer and embarked on a ferry-boat. + +In two hours we landed at Vancouver, British Columbia, and found there +a first-class hotel. Ten years ago, we were informed, the place on +which the city is built was a wilderness, but when the Canadian +Pacific Railroad made it the western terminus of its line, there was +at once a "boom," such as has been seen so often in our own Western +States, and now there are banks, public buildings, fine streets, +electric cars, and all the appliances to make strangers and residents +happy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC. + + GLACIER HOUSE, + CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, July 19, 1892. + + +We left Vancouver at 2.20 P.M. on the 16th, and made our acquaintance +with this great transcontinental railway. I think it fully as good as +any of those over which I have travelled in recent years. A good +roadbed, fine and comfortable cars, polite attendants, and every thing +supplied to make travelling agreeable. The road runs for many miles on +the banks of the Frazier River. Great mountains tower above, covered +with snow, and there are distant views of glaciers, which would have +been thought immense if we had not seen those in Alaska. We were +detained all day Sunday at a place called Kamloops, a telegram having +been received that a freight train had been derailed eighty miles +eastward. Some of us attended service at a small Methodist Church, +and listened to a good sermon from a young man who had for a +congregation only about twenty persons. Leaving Kamloops on the +evening of the 17th, we arrived here at seven the next morning. This +hotel, which was built and is kept by the railway company, is a fine +one, and guests are made very comfortable by the excellent manager, +Mr. Pearly. The valley through which the road passes does not contain +more than two or three hundred acres, and is surrounded by immense +mountains, one of which, Sir Donald, is a mile and a half high. Small +streams of melted ice and snow come rushing down from the tops of +these mountains, and form a pretty little river, in some places not +more than twenty-five feet wide. Our party took a two-mile walk over a +rough path to a great glacier among the mountains, Mr. Pearly acting +as guide. It was a hard tramp through the woods, and over small +streams, but we all survived it, and in a couple of hours returned to +the hotel, very much fatigued, but well pleased. Near the hotel, the +railway tracks are covered with substantial snow-sheds about a mile +long, made of heavy planks and timber, affording an excellent place +for walking and viewing the surrounding mountains. A party of ladies +and gentlemen went out on these sheds this morning, and spent some +time walking back and forth, viewing the magnificent scenery. The +surrounding mountains appeared colossal in their grandeur. We had a +fine view of them, and of the great glacier, and the valley below. The +scenery all along this railway from Vancouver impresses me as the most +splendid I have ever seen anywhere, with the exception of once, when +we came up from the hot plains of India, crossed the Ganges, and +taking a little narrow-gauge railway, crawled up the mighty Himalayas +to Darjeeling, arriving at sunset. It was a glorious sight, four +mighty ranges of mountains, among them Mount Everest, twenty-nine +thousand feet high. But this is a digression. From our place of +observation on the snow-sheds we were looking down into the valley, +when suddenly Mr. Edwin T. Townsend shouted: "There is a bear," and +all eyes were turned in the direction of the little stream running +through the valley below, about one-third of a mile off. On a small +island in this stream, wandering about, was a big grizzly, as large +as a cow. He was in sight for half an hour, and seemed to be a playful +kind of a beast. He would wade out into the stream, and get something +to eat, probably refuse from the hotel, then go ashore and devour it; +and once he got hold of a good-sized spruce-tree and shook it +violently. Mr. Eden, of Winnipeg, went to the hotel for a gun, and, +accompanied by another gentleman, tried to head off the bear and get a +shot at him, but he disappeared and could not be found. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + BANFF SPRINGS. + + BANFF SPRINGS HOTEL, + CANADIAN NATIONAL PARK, July 22, 1892. + + +We left the Glacier Hotel on the 19th, at 1 P.M., or, as stated in the +time tables of this country, at thirteen o'clock, and arrived here at +11 P.M. We spent the whole time on the observation car, viewing the +mighty mountains and magnificent scenery along the banks of the +Columbia and the Beaver. + +Banff is an ideal place for an hotel, being situated near the Bow +River Falls and the mouth of the Spray, and surrounded by great +mountains, often ten thousand feet high. There are fine roads and +walks everywhere. The hotel is a splendid one, built and run by the +railway company, and everything about it is first-class. Sulphur +springs are located two miles up among the mountains, the water being +brought down in pipes to the rear of the hotel, where there are +bathing houses, and an open-air bathing tank, thirty by twenty feet +and five feet deep. The water in this tank is strongly impregnated +with sulphur. Young Mr. Townsend and I took a bath in this tank, and +found the water so delightful, soft, and nice to swim about in, that +we stopped in too long, or were not sufficiently cautious coming out, +and I caught a bad cold, followed by a cough and headache, and +consequently had to spend a couple of days in bed, seeking, with the +aid of Doctors Diet and Quiet, to recuperate. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + CONCLUSION. + + +We left Banff at 10.20 P.M. on the 22d, and after two days and two +nights on the cars, reached Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. At the +hotel there we found the rooms for which we had telegraphed ready for +us. The sulphur bath at Banff, and the subsequent exposure, proved too +much for me, and I was obliged to go to bed and stay there for a week. +Very often I suffered extreme pain in the head, and was only conscious +of being carefully nursed by my sister and travelling companions, and +attended by a skilful doctor. After three days and nights of +continuous illness I grew better, and began to appreciate how +exceedingly kind every one was. One lady, Mrs. E., of Winnipeg, sent +for my use calf's-foot jelly and beef tea prepared by her own fair +hands, and accompanied with beautiful flowers from her garden. +Another one, Mrs. B., of New Orleans, sent a pot of beautiful +flowering fuchsia. All of which attentions were very acceptable. + +Ever since we left Vancouver, all along the railroad, there was a +small-pox scare. There had been a hundred cases at Victoria, and the +city had been quarantined; reports were also circulated that the +disease was bad at Vancouver, and as a consequence the passengers on +our train were looked upon with suspicion. At one stopping place, +called Medicine Hat, ropes were put around the station, and the +passengers were prevented from going into the town. The governor of +North Dakota issued a proclamation forbidding all persons to come into +that State from Manitoba, by rail or otherwise, because a Chinaman +near the line, and a girl who nursed him, had the small-pox. In two or +three days, however, this proclamation was withdrawn, much to my +relief, as I wished to return home by the shortest route. The Manitoba +Hotel, where we were located, is owned and managed by the Northern +Pacific Railroad Co., and is a model one in every way. + +When sufficiently recovered from my at one time serious illness, I +took several drives about the thriving and beautiful city, and +finally, on August 2d, we started by the Great Northern Railroad for +home. One day at Minneapolis was altogether too little time for seeing +one of the finest cities of its size in the world. Two days were spent +at Chicago, during which we drove around the Exposition buildings, now +rapidly nearing completion; then we took places previously engaged on +the Pennsylvania Limited, and in twenty-five hours were landed in +Jersey City. We happened to occupy a car which had just been put on +the road, containing many new appliances and conveniences, the latest +inventions of Mr. Pullman. + +Thus pleasantly our journey ended, and we arrived safely home again, +after an absence of just fifty-one days. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Another Summer, by Charles J. Gillis + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40824 *** |