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diff --git a/old/52290-8.txt b/old/52290-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b039523..0000000 --- a/old/52290-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12926 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Studies in The South and West, With -Comments on Canada, by Charles Dudley Warner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Studies in The South and West, With Comments on Canada - -Author: Charles Dudley Warner - -Release Date: June 9, 2016 [EBook #52290] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES IN THE SOUTH *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -STUDIES IN THE SOUTH AND WEST WITH COMMENTS ON CANADA - -By Charles Dudley Warner - -New York: Harper & Brothers - -1889 - - - - -PREFATORY NOTE. - -To Henry M. Alden, Esq., Editor of Harper's Monthly: - -My dear Mr. Alden,--It was at your suggestion that these Studies were -undertaken; all of them passed under your eye, except "Society in the -New South," which appeared in the _New Princeton Review_. The object -was not to present a comprehensive account of the country South and -West--which would have been impossible in the time and space -given--but to note certain representative developments, tendencies, -and dispositions, the communication of which would lead to a better -understanding between different sections. The subjects chosen embrace by -no means all that is important and interesting, but it is believed that -they are fairly representative. The strongest impression produced upon -the writer in making these Studies was that the prosperous life of the -Union depends upon the life and dignity of the individual States. - -C. D. W, - - - - -STUDIES IN THE SOUTH AND WEST - - - - -I.--IMPRESSIONS OF THE SOUTH IN 1885. - -|It is borne in upon me, as the Friends would say, that I ought to bear -my testimony of certain impressions made by a recent visit to the Gulf -States. In doing this I am aware that I shall be under the suspicion of -having received kindness and hospitality, and of forming opinions upon a -brief sojourn. Both these facts must be confessed, and allowed their due -weight in discrediting what I have to say. A month of my short visit -was given to New Orleans in the spring, during the Exposition, and these -impressions are mainly of Louisiana. - -The first general impression made was that the war is over in spirit as -well as in deed. The thoughts of the people are not upon the war, not -much upon the past at all, except as their losses remind them of it, but -upon the future, upon business, a revival of trade, upon education, and -adjustment to the new state of things. The thoughts are not much upon -politics either, or upon offices; certainly they are not turned more -in this direction than the thoughts of people at the North are. When -we read a despatch which declares that there is immense dissatisfaction -throughout Arkansas because offices are not dealt out more liberally -to it, we may know that the case is exactly what it is in, say, -Wisconsin--that a few political managers are grumbling, and that the -great body of the people are indifferent, perhaps too indifferent, to -the distribution of offices. - -Undoubtedly immense satisfaction was felt at the election of Mr. -Cleveland, and elation of triumph in the belief that now the party which -had been largely a non-participant in Federal affairs would have a large -share and weight in the administration. With this went, however, a new -feeling of responsibility, of a stake in the country, that manifested -itself at once in attachment to the Union as the common possession of -all sections. I feel sure that Louisiana, for instance, was never in its -whole history, from the day of the Jefferson purchase, so consciously -loyal to the United States as it is to-day. I have believed that for the -past ten years there has been growing in this country a stronger feeling -of nationality--a distinct American historic consciousness--and nowhere -else has it developed so rapidly of late as at the South. I am convinced -that this is a genuine development of attachment to the Union and of -pride in the nation, and not in any respect a political movement for -unworthy purposes. I am sorry that it is necessary, for the sake of -any lingering prejudice at the North, to say this. But it is time -that sober, thoughtful, patriotic people at the North should quit -representing the desire for office at the South as a desire to get into -the Government saddle and ride again with a "rebel" impulse. It would -be, indeed, a discouraging fact if any considerable portion of the South -held aloof in sullenness from Federal affairs. Nor is it any just cause -either of reproach or of uneasiness that men who were prominent in the -war of the rebellion should be prominent now in official positions, for -with a few exceptions the worth and weight of the South went into the -war. It would be idle to discuss the question whether the masses of -the South were not dragooned into the war by the politicians; it is -sufficient to recognize the fact that it became practically, by one -means or another, a unanimous revolt. - -One of the strongest impressions made upon a Northerner who visits the -extreme South now, having been familiar with it only by report, is the -extent to which it suffered in the war. Of course there was extravagance -and there were impending bankruptcies before the war, debt, and methods -of business inherently vicious, and no doubt the war is charged with -many losses which would have come without it, just as in every crisis -half the failures wrongfully accuse the crisis. Yet, with all allowance -for these things, the fact remains that the war practically wiped out -personal property and the means of livelihood. The completeness of -this loss and disaster never came home to me before. In some cases the -picture of the _ante bellum_ civilization is more roseate in the minds -of those who lost everything than cool observation of it would justify. -But conceding this, the actual disaster needs no embellishment of the -imagination. It seems to me, in the reverse, that the Southern people do -not appreciate the sacrifices the North made for the Union. They do -not, I think, realize the fact that the North put into the war its -best blood, that every battle brought mourning into our households, and -filled our churches day by day and year by year with the black garments -of bereavement; nor did they ever understand the tearful enthusiasm for -the Union and the flag, and the unselfish devotion that underlay all the -self-sacrifice. Some time the Southern people will know that it was love -for the Union, and not hatred of the South, that made heroes of the men -and angels of renunciation of the women. - -Yes, say our Southern friends, we can believe that you lost dear ones -and were in mourning; but, after all, the North was prosperous; you grew -rich; and when the war ended, life went on in the fulness of material -prosperity. We lost not only our friends and relatives, fathers, sons, -brothers, till there was scarcely a household that was not broken up, we -lost not only the cause on which we had set our hearts, and for which we -had suffered privation and hardship, were fugitives and wanderers, and -endured the bitterness of defeat at the end, but our property was gone, -we were stripped, with scarcely a home, and the whole of life had to -be begun over again, under all the disadvantage of a sudden social -revolution. - -It is not necessary to dwell upon this or to heighten it, but it must -be borne in mind when we observe the temper of the South, and especially -when we are looking for remaining bitterness, and the wonder to me is -that after so short a space of time there is remaining so little of -resentment or of bitter feeling over loss and discomfiture. I believe -there is not in history any parallel to it. Every American must -take pride in the fact that Americans have so risen superior to -circumstances, and come out of trials that thoroughly threshed and -winnowed soul and body in a temper so gentle and a spirit so noble. It -is good stuff that can endure a test of this kind. - -A lady, whose family sustained all the losses that were possible in -the war, said to me--and she said only what several others said in -substance--"We are going to get more out of this war than you at the -North, because we suffered more. We were drawn out of ourselves in -sacrifices, and were drawn together in a tenderer feeling of humanity; I -do believe we were chastened into a higher and purer spirit." - -Let me not be misunderstood. The people who thus recognize the moral -training of adversity and its effects upon character, and who are glad -that slavery is gone, and believe that a new and better era for the -South is at hand, would not for a moment put themselves in an attitude -of apology for the part they took in the war, nor confess that they -were wrong, nor join in any denunciation of the leaders they followed -to their sorrow. They simply put the past behind them, so far as the -conduct of the present life is concerned. They do not propose to stamp -upon memories that are tender and sacred, and they cherish certain -sentiments whieh are to them loyalty to their past and to the great -passionate experiences of their lives. When a woman, who enlisted by -the consent of Jeff Davis, whose name appeared for four years upon the -rolls, and who endured all the perils and hardships of the conflict as a -field-nurse, speaks of "President" Davis, what does it mean? It is -only a sentiment. This heroine of the war on the wrong side had in the -Exposition a tent, where the veterans of the Confederacy recorded their -names. On one side, at the back of the tent, was a table piled with -touching relics of the war, and above it a portrait of Robert E. Lee, -wreathed in immortelles. It was surely a harmless shrine. - -On the other side was also a table, piled with fruit and cereals--not -relics, but signs of prosperity and peace--and above it a portrait of -Ulysses S. Grant. Here was the sentiment, cherished with an aching heart -maybe, and here was the fact of the Union and the future. - -Another strong impression made upon the visitor is, as I said, that the -South has entirely put the past behind it, and is devoting itself to the -work of rebuilding on new foundations. There is no reluctance to talk -about the war, or to discuss its conduct and what might have been. But -all this is historic. It engenders no heat. The mind of the South to-day -is on the development of its resources, upon the rehabilitation of its -affairs. I think it is rather more concerned about national prosperity -than it is about the great problem of the negro--but I will refer to -this further on. There goes with this interest in material development -the same interest in the general prosperity of the country that exists -at the North--the anxiety that the country should prosper, acquit itself -well, and stand well with the other nations. There is, of course, a -sectional feeling--as to tariff, as to internal improvements--but I do -not think the Southern States are any more anxious to get things for -themselves out of the Federal Government than the Northern States are. -That the most extreme of Southern politicians have any sinister purpose -(any more than any of the Northern "rings" on either side have) in -wanting to "rule" the country, is, in my humble opinion, only a chimera -evoked to make political capital. - -As to the absolute subsidence of hostile intention (this phrase I know -will sound queer in the South), and the laying aside of bitterness for -the past, are not necessary in the presence of a strong general -impression, but they might be given in great number. I note one that was -significant from its origin, remembering, what is well known, that women -and clergymen are always the last to experience subsidence of hostile -feeling after a civil war. On the Confederate Decoration Day in New -Orleans I was standing near the Confederate monument in one of the -cemeteries when the veterans marched in to decorate it. First came the -veterans of the Army of Virginia, last those of the Army of Tennessee, -and between them the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, Union -soldiers now living in Louisiana. I stood beside a lady whose name, if I -mentioned it, would be recognized as representative of a family which -was as conspicuous, and did as much and lost as much, as any other in -the war--a family that would be popularly supposed to cherish -unrelenting feelings. As the veterans, some of them on crutches, many of -them with empty sleeves, grouped themselves about the monument, we -remarked upon the sight as a touching one, and I said: "I see you have -no address on Decoration Day. At the North we still keep up the custom." - -"No," she replied; "we have given it up. So many imprudent things were -said that we thought best to discontinue the address." And then, after a -pause, she added, thoughtfully: "Each side did the best it could; it is -all over and done with, and let's have an end of it." In the mouth -of the lady who uttered it, the remark was very significant, but it -expresses, I am firmly convinced, the feeling of the South. - -Of course the South will build monuments to its heroes, and weep over -their graves, and live upon the memory of their devotion and genius. In -Heaven's name, why shouldn't it? Is human nature itself to be changed in -twenty years? - -A long chapter might be written upon the dis-likeness of North and -South, the difference in education, in training, in mental inheritances, -the misapprehensions, radical and very singular to us, of the -civilization of the North. We must recognize certain historic facts, -not only the effect of the institution of slavery, but other facts in -Southern development. Suppose we say that an unreasonable prejudice -exists, or did exist, about the people of the North. That prejudice is a -historic fact, of which the statesman must take account. It enters -into the question of the time needed to effect the revolution now in -progress. There are prejudices in the North about the South as well. We -admit their existence. But what impresses me is the rapidity with which -they are disappearing in the South. Knowing what human nature is, it -seems incredible that they could have subsided so rapidly. Enough remain -for national variety, and enough will remain for purposes of social -badinage, but common interests in the country and in making money are -melting them away very fast. So far as loyalty to the Government is -concerned, I am not authorized to say that it is as deeply rooted in the -South as in the North, but it is expressed as vividly, and felt with a -good deal of fresh enthusiasm. The "American" sentiment, pride in this -as the most glorious of all lands, is genuine, and amounts to enthusiasm -with many who would in an argument glory in their rebellion. "We had -more loyalty to our States than you had," said one lady, "and we have -transferred it to the whole country." - -But the negro? Granting that the South is loyal enough, wishes never -another rebellion, and is satisfied to be rid of slavery, do not the -people intend to keep the negroes practically a servile class, slaves in -all but the name, and to defeat by chicanery or by force the legitimate -results of the war and of enfranchisement? - -This is a very large question, and cannot be discussed in my limits. If -I were to say what my impression is, it would be about this: the South -is quite as much perplexed by the negro problem as the North is, and is -very much disposed to await developments, and to let time solve it. One -thing, however, must be admitted in all this discussion. The Southerners -will not permit such Legislatures as those assembled once in Louisiana -and South Carolina to rule them again. "Will you disfranchise the blacks -by management or by force?" - -"Well, what would you do in Ohio or in Connecticut? Would you be ruled -by a lot of ignorant field-hands allied with a gang of plunderers?" - -In looking at this question from a Northern point of view we have to -keep in mind two things: first, the Federal Government imposed colored -suffrage without any educational qualification--a hazardous experiment; -in the second place, it has handed over the control of the colored -people in each State to the State, under the Constitution, as completely -in Louisiana as in New York. The responsibility is on Louisiana. The -North cannot relieve her of it, and it cannot interfere, except by ways -provided in the Constitution. In the South, where fear of a legislative -domination has gone, the feeling between the two races is that of amity -and mutual help. This is, I think, especially true in Louisiana. The -Southerners never have forgotten the loyalty of the slaves during the -war, the security with which the white families dwelt in the midst of a -black population while all the white men were absent in the field; they -often refer to this. It touches with tenderness the new relation of the -races. I think there is generally in the South a feeling of good-will -towards the negroes, a desire that they should develop into true manhood -and womanhood. Undeniably there are indifference and neglect and -some remaining suspicion about the schools that Northern charity has -organized for the negroes. As to this neglect of the negro, two things -are to be said: the whole subject of education (as we have understood -it in the North) is comparatively new in the South; and the necessity of -earning a living since the war has distracted attention from it. But -the general development of education is quite as advanced as could be -expected. The thoughtful and the leaders of opinion are fully awake to -the fact that the mass of the people must be educated, and that the -only settlement of the negro problem is in the education of the negro, -intellectually and morally. They go further than this. They say that for -the South to hold its own--since the negro is there and will stay there, -and is the majority of the laboring class--it is necessary that the -great agricultural mass of unskilled labor should be transformed, to -a great extent, into a class of skilled labor, skilled on the farm, in -shops, in factories, and that the South must have a highly diversified -industry. To this end they want industrial as well as ordinary schools -for the colored people. - -It is believed that, with this education and with diversified industry, -the social question will settle itself, as it does the world over. -Society cannot be made or unmade by legislation. In New Orleans the -street-ears are free to all colors; at the Exposition white and colored -people mingled freely, talking and looking at what was of common -interest. - -We who live in States where hotel-keepers exclude Hebrews cannot say -much about the exclusion of negroes from Southern hotels. There are -prejudices remaining. There are cases of hardship on the railways, where -for the same charge perfectly respectable and nearly white women are -shut out of cars while there is no discrimination against dirty and -disagreeable white people. In time all this will doubtless rest upon -the basis it rests on at the North, and social life will take care of -itself. It is my impression that the negroes are no more desirous to -mingle socially with the whites than the whites are with the negroes. -Among the negroes there are social grades as distinctly marked as in -white society. What will be the final outcome of the juxtaposition -nobody can tell; meantime it must be recorded that good-will exists -between the races. - -I had one day at the Exposition an interesting talk with the colored -woman in charge of the Alabama section of the exhibit of the colored -people. This exhibit, made by States, was suggested and promoted by -Major Burke in order to show the whites what the colored people could -do, and as a stimulus to the latter. There was not much time--only two -or three months--in which to prepare the exhibit, and it was hardly a -fair showing of the capacity of the colored people. The work was mainly -women's work--embroidery, sewing, household stuffs, with a little of the -handiwork of artisans, and an exhibit of the progress in education; but -small as it was, it was wonderful as the result of only a few years of -freedom. The Alabama exhibit was largely from Mobile, and was due to the -energy, executive ability, and taste of the commissioner in charge. She -was a quadroon, a widow, a woman of character and uncommon mental -and moral quality. She talked exceedingly well, and with a practical -good-sense which would be notable in anybody. In the course of our -conversation the whole social and political question was gone over. -Herself a person of light color, and with a confirmed social prejudice -against black people, she thoroughly identified herself with the -colored race, and it was evident that her sympathies were with them. She -confirmed what I had heard of the social grades among colored people, -but her whole soul was in the elevation of her race as a race, inclining -always to their side, but with no trace of hostility to the whites. Many -of her best friends were whites, and perhaps the most valuable part of -her education was acquired in families of social distinction. "I can -illustrate," she said, "the state of feeling between the two races in -Mobile by an incident last summer. There was an election coming off in -the City Government, and I knew that the reformers wanted and needed the -colored vote. I went, therefore, to some of the chief men, who knew me -and had confidence in me, for I had had business relations with many of -them [she had kept a fashionable boarding-house], and told them that I -wanted the Opera-house for the colored people to give an entertainment -and exhibition in. The request was extraordinary. Nobody but white -people had ever been admitted to the Opera-house. But, after some -hesitation and consultation, the request was granted. We gave the -exhibition, and the white people all attended. It was really a beautiful -affair, lovely tableaux, with gorgeous dresses, recitations, etc., and -everybody was astonished that the colored people had so much taste -and talent, and had got on so far in education. They said they were -delighted and surprised, and they liked it so well that they wanted the -entertainment repeated--it was given for one of our charities--but I -was too wise for that. I didn't want to run the chance of destroying the -impression by repeating, and I said we would wait a while, and then -show them something better. Well, the election came off in August, and -everything went all right, and now the colored people in Mobile can have -anything they want. There is the best feeling between the races. I tell -you we should get on beautifully if the politicians would let us alone. -It is politics that has made all the trouble in Alabama and in Mobile." -And I learned that in Mobile, as in many other places, the negroes were -put in minor official positions, the duties of which they were capable -of discharging, and had places in the police. - -On "Louisiana Day" in the Exposition the colored citizens took their -full share of the parade and the honors. Their societies marched with -the others, and the races mingled on the grounds in unconscious equality -of privileges. Speeches were made, glorifying the State and its history, -by able speakers, the Governor among them; but it was the testimony of -Democrats of undoubted Southern orthodoxy that the honors of the day -were carried off by a colored clergyman, an educated man, who united -eloquence with excellent good-sense, and who spoke as a citizen of -Louisiana, proud of his native State, dwelling with richness of allusion -upon its history. It was a perfectly manly speech in the assertion of -the rights and the position of his race, and it breathed throughout the -same spirit of good-will and amity in a common hope of progress that -characterized the talk of the colored woman commissioner of Mobile. It -was warmly applauded, and accepted, so far as I heard, as a matter of -course. - -No one, however, can see the mass of colored people in the cities and -on the plantations, the ignorant mass, slowly coming to moral -consciousness, without a recognition of the magnitude of the negro -problem. I am glad that my State has not the practical settlement of it, -and I cannot do less than express profound sympathy with the people who -have. They inherit the most difficult task now anywhere visible in human -progress. They will make mistakes, and they will do injustice now and -then; but one feels like turning away from these, and thanking God for -what they do well. - -There are many encouraging things in the condition of the negro. -Good-will, generally, among the people where he lives is one thing; -their tolerance of his weaknesses and failings is another. He is -himself, here and there, making heroic sacrifices to obtain an -education. There are negro mothers earning money at the wash-tub to keep -their boys at school and in college. In the South-west there is such a -call for colored teachers that the Straight University in New Orleans, -which has about five hundred pupils, cannot begin to supply the demand, -although the teachers, male and female, are paid from thirty-five to -fifty dollars a month. A colored graduate of this school a year ago is -now superintendent of the colored schools in Memphis, at a salary of -$1200 a year. - -Are these exceptional cases? Well, I suppose it is also exceptional to -see a colored clergyman in his surplice seated in the chancel of the -most important white Episcopal church in New Orleans, assisting in the -service; but it is significant. There are many good auguries to be drawn -from the improved condition of the negroes on the plantations, the more -rational and less emotional character of their religious services, -and the hold of the temperance movement on all classes in the country -places. - - - - - - - -II.--SOCIETY IN THE NEW SOUTH. - -|The American Revolution made less social change in the South than in -the North. Under conservative influences the South developed her social -life with little alteration in form and spirit--allowing for the decay -that always attends conservatism--down to the Civil War. The social -revolution which was in fact accomplished contemporaneously with the -political severance from Great Britain, in the North, was not effected -in the South until Lee offered his sword to Grant, and Grant told him -to keep it and beat it into a ploughshare. The change had indeed been -inevitable, and ripening for four years, but it was at that moment -universally recognized. Impossible, of course, except by the removal of -slavery, it is not wholly accounted for by the removal of slavery; it -results also from an economical and political revolution, and from a -total alteration of the relations of the South to the rest of the world. -The story of this social change will be one of the most marvellous the -historian has to deal with. - -Provincial is a comparative term. All England is provincial to the -Londoner, all America to the Englishman. Perhaps New York looks upon -Philadelphia as provincial; and if Chicago is forced to admit that -Boston resembles ancient Athens, then Athens, by the Chicago standard, -must have been a very provincial city. The root of provincialism is -localism, or a condition of being on one side and apart from the general -movement of contemporary life. In this sense, and compared with the -North in its absolute openness to every wind from all parts of the -globe, the South was provincial. Provincialism may have its decided -advantages, and it may nurture many superior virtues and produce a -social state that is as charming as it is interesting, but along with it -goes a certain self-appreciation, which ultracosmopolitan critics would -call Concord-like, that seems exaggerated to outsiders. - -The South, and notably Virginia and South Carolina, cherished English -traditions long after the political relation was severed. But it kept -the traditions of the time of the separation, and did not share the -literary and political evolution of England. Slavery divided it from the -North in sympathy, and slavery, by excluding European emigration, shut -out the South from the influence of the new ideas germinating in -Europe. It was not exactly true to say that the library of the Southern -gentleman stopped with the publications current in the reign of George -the Third, but, well stocked as it was with the classics and with the -English literature become classic, it was not likely to contain much -of later date than the Reform Bill in England and the beginning of the -abolition movement in the North. The pages of _De Bow's Review_ attest -the ambition and direction of Southern scholarship--a scholarship not -much troubled by the new problems that were at the time rending England -and the North. The young men who still went abroad to be educated -brought back with them the traditions and flavor of the old England and -not the spirit of the new, the traditions of the universities and not -the new life of research and doubt in them. The conservatism of the -Southern life was so strong that the students at Northern colleges -returned unchanged by contact with a different civilization. The South -met the North in business and in politics, and in a limited social -intercourse, but from one cause and another for three-quarters of -a century it was practically isolated, and consequently developed a -peculiar social life. - -One result of this isolation was that the South was more homogeneous -than the North, and perhaps more distinctly American in its -characteristics. This was to be expected, since it had one common and -overmastering interest in slavery, had little foreign admixture, and -was removed from the currents of commerce and the disturbing ideas of -Reform. The South, so far as society was concerned, was an agricultural -aristocracy, based upon a perfectly defined lowest class in the slaves, -and holding all trade, commerce, and industrial and mechanical pursuits -in true mediæval contempt. Its literature was monarchical, tempered by -some Jeffersonian, doctrinaire notions of the rights of man, which were -satisfied, however, by an insistence upon the sovereignty of the States, -and by equal privileges to a certain social order in each State. Looked -at, then, from the outside, the South appeared to be homogeneous, but -from its own point of view, socially, it was not at all so. Social life -in these jealously independent States developed almost as freely and -variously as it did in the Middle Ages in the free cities of Italy. -Virginia was not at all like South Carolina (except in one common -interest), and Louisiana--especially in its centre, New Orleans--more -cosmopolitan than any other part of the South by reason of its foreign -elements, more closely always in sympathy with Paris than with New York -or Boston, was widely, in its social life, separated from its sisters. -Indeed, in early days, before the slavery agitation, there was, owing -to the heritage of English traditions, more in common between Boston and -Charleston than between New Orleans and Charleston. And later, there was -a marked social difference between towns and cities near together--as, -for instance, between agricultural Lexington and commercial Louisville, -in Kentucky. - -The historian who writes the social life of the Southern States will be -embarrassed with romantic and picturesque material. Nowhere else in -this levelling age will he find a community developing so much of the -dramatic, so much splendor and such pathetic contrasts in the highest -social cultivation, as in the plantation and city life of South -Carolina. Already, in regarding it, it assumes an air of unreality, -and vanishes in its strong lights and heavy shades like a dream of -the chivalric age. An allusion to its character is sufficient for the -purposes of this paper. Persons are still alive who saw the prodigal -style of living and the reckless hospitality of the planters in -those days, when in the Charleston and Sea Island mansions the guests -constantly entertained were only outnumbered by the swarms of servants; -when it was not incongruous and scarcely ostentatious that the courtly -company, which had the fine and free manner of another age, should dine -off gold and silver plate; and when all that wealth and luxury could -suggest was lavished in a princely magnificence that was almost barbaric -in its profusion. The young men were educated in England; the young -women were reared like helpless princesses, with a servant for every -want and whim; it was a day of elegant accomplishments and deferential -manners, but the men gamed like Fox and drank like Sheridan, and the -duel was the ordinary arbiter of any difference of opinion or of any -point of honor. Not even slavery itself could support existence on such -a scale, and even before the war it began to give way to the conditions -of our modern life. And now that old peculiar civilization of South. -Carolina belongs to romance. It can never be repeated, even by the aid -of such gigantic fortunes as are now accumulating in the North. - -The agricultural life of Virginia appeals with scarcely less attraction -to the imagination of the novelist. Mr. Thackeray caught the flavor of -it in his "Virginians" from an actual study of it in the old houses, -when it was becoming a faded memory. The vast estates--principalities -in size--with troops of slaves attached to each plantation; the -hospitality, less costly, but as free as that of South Carolina; the -land in the hands of a few people; politics and society controlled by a -small number of historic families, intermarried until all Virginians of -a certain grade were related--all this forms a picture as feudal-like -and foreign to this age as can be imagined. The writer recently read -the will of a country gentleman of the last century in Virginia, which -raises a distinct image of the landed aristocracy of the time. It -devised his plantation of six thousand acres with its slaves attached, -his plantation of eighteen hundred acres and slaves, his plantation of -twelve hundred acres and slaves, with other farms and outlying property; -it mentioned all the cattle, sheep, and hogs, the riding-horses in -stables, the racing-steeds, the several coaches with the six horses that -drew them (an acknowledgment of the wretched state of the roads), and -so on in all the details of a vast domain. All the slaves are called -by name, all the farming implements were enumerated, and all the homely -articles of furniture down to the beds and kitchen utensils. This whole -structure of a unique civilization is practically swept away now, and -with it the peculiar social life it produced. Let us pause a moment -upon a few details of it, as it had its highest development in Eastern -Virginia. - -The family was the fetich. In this high social caste the estates were -entailed to the limit of the law, for one generation, and this entail -was commonly religiously renewed by the heir. It was not expected that -a widow would remarry; as a rule she did not, and it was almost a matter -of course that the will of the husband should make the enjoyment of even -the entailed estate dependent upon the non-marriage of the widow. These -prohibitions upon her freedom of choice were not considered singular or -cruel in a society whose chief gospel was the preservation of the family -name. - -The planters lived more simply than the great seaboard planters of South -Carolina and Georgia, with not less pride, but with less ostentation -and show. The houses were of the accepted colonial pattern, square, with -four rooms on a floor, but with wide galleries (wherein they differed -from the colonial houses in New England), and sometimes with additions -in the way of offices and lodging-rooms. The furniture was very simple -and plain--a few hundred dollars would cover the cost of it in most -mansions. There were not in all Virginia more than two or three -magnificent houses. It was the taste of gentlemen to adorn the ground -in front of the house with evergreens, with the locust and acanthus, and -perhaps the maple-trees not native to the spot; while the oak, which is -nowhere more stately and noble than in Virginia, was never seen on the -lawn or the drive-way, but might be found about the "quarters," or in -an adjacent forest park. As the interior of the houses was plain, so the -taste of the people was simple in the matter of ornament--jewellery was -very little worn; in fact, it is almost literally true that there were -in Virginia no family jewels. - -So thoroughly did this society believe in itself and keep to its -traditions that the young gentleman of the house, educated in England, -brought on his return nothing foreign home with him--no foreign tastes, -no bric-à-brac for his home, and never a foreign wife. He came back -unchanged, and married the cousin he met at the first country dance he -went to. - -The pride of the people, which was intense, did not manifest itself in -ways that are common elsewhere--it was sufficient to itself in its own -homespun independence. What would make one distinguished elsewhere -was powerless here. Literary talent, and even acquired wealth, gave no -distinction; aside from family and membership of the caste, nothing -gave it to any native or visitor. There was no lion-hunting, no desire -whatever to attract the attention of, or to pay any deference to, men of -letters. If a member of society happened to be distinguished in letters -or in scholarship, it made not the slightest difference in his social -appreciation. There was absolutely no encouragement for men of letters, -and consequently there was no literary class and little literature. -There was only one thing that gave a man any distinction in -this society, except a long pedigree, and that was the talent of -oratory--that was prized, for that was connected with prestige in the -State and the politics of the dominant class. The planters took few -newspapers, and read those few very little. They were a fox-hunting, -convivial race, generally Whig in politics, always orthodox in religion. -The man of cultivation was rare, and, if he was cultivated, it was -usually only on a single subject. But the planter might be an astute -politician, and a man of wide knowledge and influence in public affairs. -There was one thing, however, that was held in almost equal value with -pedigree, and that was female beauty. There was always the recognized -"belle," the beauty of the day, who was the toast and the theme of talk, -whose memory was always green with her chivalrous contemporaries; the -veterans liked to recall over the old Madeira the wit and charms of the -raving beauties who had long gone the way of the famous vintages of the -cellar. - -The position of the clergyman in the Episcopal Church was very much what -his position was in England in the time of James II. He was patronized -and paid like any other adjunct of a well-ordered society. If he did not -satisfy his masters he was quietly informed that he could probably -be more useful elsewhere. If he was acceptable, one element of his -popularity was that he rode to hounds and could tell a good story over -the wine at dinner. - -The pride of this society preserved itself in a certain high, chivalrous -state. If any of its members were poor, as most of them became after the -war, they took a certain pride in their poverty. They were too proud to -enter into a vulgar struggle to be otherwise, and they were too old to -learn the habit of labor. No such thing was known in it as scandal. -If any breach of morals occurred, it was apt to be acknowledged with -a Spartan regard for truth, and defiantly published by the families -affected, who announced that they accepted the humiliation of it. -Scandal there should be none. In that caste the character of women was -not even to be the subject of talk in private gossip and innuendo. No -breach of social caste was possible. The overseer, for instance, and -the descendants of the overseer, however rich, or well educated, or -accomplished they might become, could never marry into the select -class. An alliance of this sort doomed the offender to an absolute and -permanent loss of social position. This was the rule. Beauty could no -more gain entrance there than wealth. - -This plantation life, of which so much has been written, was repeated -with variations all over the South. In Louisiana and lower Mississippi -it was more prodigal than in Virginia. To a great extent its tone was -determined by a relaxing climate, and it must be confessed that it had -in it an element of the irresponsible--of the "after us the deluge." -The whole system wanted thrift and, to an English or Northern -visitor, certain conditions of comfort. Yet everybody acknowledged its -fascination; for there was nowhere else such a display of open-hearted -hospitality. An invitation to visit meant an invitation to stay -indefinitely. The longer the visit lasted, if it ran into months, -the better were the entertainers pleased. It was an uncalculating -hospitality, and possibly it went along with littleness and meanness, in -some directions, that were no more creditable than the alleged meanness -of the New England farmer. At any rate, it was not a systematized -generosity. The hospitality had somewhat the character of a new country -and of a society not crowded. Company was welcome on the vast, isolated -plantations. Society also was really small, composed of a few families, -and intercourse by long visits and profuse entertainments was natural -and even necessary. - -This social aristocracy had the faults as well as the virtues of an -aristocracy so formed. One fault was an undue sense of superiority, -a sense nurtured by isolation from the intellectual contests and the -illusion-destroying tests of modern life. And this sense of superiority -diffused itself downward through the mass of the Southern population. -The slave of a great family was proud; he held himself very much above -the poor white, and he would not associate with the slave of the small -farmer; and the poor white never doubted his own superiority to the -Northern "mudsill"--as the phrase of the day was. The whole life was -somehow pitched to a romantic key, and often there was a queer contrast -between the Gascon-like pretension and the reality--all the more because -of a certain sincerity and single-mindedness that was unable to see the -anachronism of trying to live in the spirit of Scott's romances in our -day and generation. - -But with all allowance for this, there was a real basis for romance -in the impulsive, sun-nurtured people, in the conflict between the two -distinct races, and in the system of labor that was an anomaly in modern -life. With the downfall of this system it was inevitable that the social -state should radically change, and especially as this downfall -was sudden and by violence, and in a struggle that left the South -impoverished, and reduced to the rank of bread-winners those who had -always regarded labor as a thing impossible for themselves. - -As a necessary effect of this change, the dignity of the agricultural -interest was lowered, and trade and industrial pursuits were elevated. -Labor itself was perforce dignified. To earn one's living by actual -work, in the shop, with the needle, by the pen, in the counting-house or -school, in any honorable way, was a lot accepted with cheerful courage. -And it is to the credit of all concerned that reduced circumstances and -the necessity of work for daily bread have not thus far cost men and -women in Southern society their social position. Work was a necessity of -the situation, and the spirit in which the new life was taken up brought -out the solid qualities of the race. In a few trying years they had -to reverse the habits and traditions of a century. I think the honest -observer will acknowledge that they have accomplished this without loss -of that social elasticity and charm which were heretofore supposed to -depend very much upon the artificial state of slave labor. And they have -gained much. They have gained in losing a kind of suspicion that was -inevitable in the isolation of their peculiar institution. They have -gained freedom of thought and action in all the fields of modern -endeavor, in the industrial arts, in science, in literature. And the -fruits of this enlargement must add greatly to the industrial and -intellectual wealth of the world. - -Society itself in the new South has cut loose from its old moorings, but -it is still in a transition state, and offers the most interesting study -of tendencies and possibilities. Its danger, of course, is that of the -North--a drift into materialism, into a mere struggle for wealth, undue -importance attached to money, and a loss of public spirit in the selfish -accumulation of property. Unfortunately, in the transition of twenty -years the higher education has been neglected. The young men of this -generation have not given even as much attention to intellectual -pursuits as their fathers gave. Neither in polite letters nor in -politics and political history have they had the same training. They -have been too busy in the hard struggle for a living. It is true at the -North that the young men in business are not so well educated, not -so well read, as the young women of their own rank in society. And I -suspect that this is still more true in the South. It is not uncommon -to find in this generation Southern young women who add to sincerity, -openness and frankness of manner; to the charm born of the wish to -please, the graces of cultivation; who know French like their native -tongue, who are well acquainted with the French and German literatures, -who are well read in the English classics--though perhaps guiltless of -much familiarity with our modern American literature. But taking the -South at large, the schools for either sex are far behind those of -the North both in discipline and range. And this is especially to -be regretted, since the higher education is an absolute necessity to -counteract the intellectual demoralization of the newly come industrial -spirit. - -We have yet to study the compensations left to the South in their -century of isolation from this industrial spirit, and from the -absolutely free inquiry of our modern life. Shall we find something -sweet and sound there, that will yet be a powerful conservative -influence in the republic? Will it not be strange, said a distinguished -biblical scholar and an old-time antislavery radical, if we have to -depend, after all, upon the orthodox conservatism of the South? For it -is to be noted that the Southern pulpit holds still the traditions -of the old theology, and the mass of Southern Christians are still -undisturbed by doubts. They are no more troubled by agnosticism in -religion than by altruism in sociology. There remains a great mass of -sound and simple faith. We are not discussing either the advantage or -the danger of disturbing thought, or any question of morality or of the -conduct of life, nor the shield or the peril of ignorance--it is simply -a matter of fact that the South is comparatively free from what is -called modern doubt. - -Another fact is noticeable. The South is not and never has been -disturbed by "isms" of any sort. "Spiritualism" or "Spiritism" has -absolutely no lodgement there. It has not even appealed in any way to -the excitable and superstitious colored race. Inquiry failed to discover -to the writer any trace of this delusion among whites or blacks. Society -has never been agitated on the important subjects of graham-bread or of -the divided skirt. The temperance question has forced itself upon the -attention of deeply drinking communities here and there. Usually it -has been treated in a very common-sense way, and not as a matter -of politics. Fanaticism may sometimes be a necessity against an -overwhelming evil; but the writer knows of communities in the South that -have effected a practical reform in liquor selling and drinking without -fanatical excitement. Bar-room drinking is a fearful curse in Southern -cities, as it is in Northern; it is an evil that the colored people fall -into easily, but it is beginning to be met in some Southern localities -in a resolute and sensible manner. - -The students of what we like to call "progress," especially if they are -disciples of Mr. Ruskin, have an admirable field of investigation in the -contrast of the social, economic, and educational structure of the North -and the South at the close of the war. After a century of free schools, -perpetual intellectual agitation, extraordinary enterprise in every -domain of thought and material achievement, the North presented a -spectacle at once of the highest hope and the gravest anxiety. What -diversity of life! What fulness! What intellectual and even social -emancipation! What reforms, called by one party Heavensent, and by -the other reforms against nature! What agitations, doubts, contempt of -authority! What wild attempts to conduct life on no basis philosophic -or divine! And yet what prosperity, what charities, what a marvellous -growth, what an improvement in physical life! With better knowledge of -sanitary conditions and of the culinary art, what an increase of beauty -in women and of stalwartness in men! For beauty and physical comeliness, -it must be acknowledged (parenthetically), largely depend upon food. - -It is in the impoverished parts of the country, whether South or North, -the sandy barrens, and the still vast regions where cooking is an -unknown art, that scrawny and dyspeptic men and women abound--the -sallow-faced, flat-chested, spindle-limbed. - -This Northern picture is a veritable nineteenth-century spectacle. Side -by side with it was the other society, also covering a vast domain, that -was in many respects a projection of the eighteenth century into the -nineteenth. It had much of the conservatism, and preserved something -of the manners, of the eighteenth century, and lacked a good deal the -so-called spirit of the age of the nineteenth, together with its doubts, -its isms, its delusions, its energies. Life in the South is still on -simpler terms than in the North, and society is not so complex. I am -inclined to think it is a little more natural, more sincere in manner -though not in fact, more frank and impulsive. One would hesitate to use -the word unworldly with regard to it, but it may be less calculating. A -bungling male observer would be certain to get himself into trouble by -expressing an opinion about women in any part of the world; but women -make society, and to discuss society at all is to discuss them. It is -probably true that the education of women at the South, taken at -large, is more superficial than at the North, lacking in purpose, in -discipline, in intellectual vigor. The aim of the old civilization was -to develop the graces of life, to make women attractive, charming, good -talkers (but not too learned), graceful, and entertaining companions. -When the main object is to charm and please, society is certain to be -agreeable. In Southern society beauty, physical beauty, was and is much -thought of, much talked of. The "belle" was an institution, and is yet. -The belle of one city or village had a wide reputation, and trains -of admirers wherever she went--in short, a veritable career, and was -probably better known than a poetess at the North. She not only ruled -in her day, but she left a memory which became a romance to the next -generation. There went along with such careers a certain lightness and -gayety of life, and now and again a good deal of pathos and tragedy. - -With all its social accomplishments, its love of color, its climatic -tendency to the sensuous side of life, the South has been unexpectedly -wanting in a fine-art development--namely, in music and pictorial art. -Culture of this sort has been slow enough in the North, and only -lately has had any solidity or been much diffused. The love of art, and -especially of art decoration, was greatly quickened by the Philadelphia -Exhibition, and the comparatively recent infusion of German music has -begun to elevate the taste. But I imagine that while the South naturally -was fond of music of a light sort, and New Orleans could sustain and -almost make native the French opera when New York failed entirely to -popularize any sort of opera, the musical taste was generally very -rudimentary; and the poverty in respect to pictures and engravings was -more marked still. In a few great houses were fine paintings, brought -over from Europe, and here and there a noble family portrait. But the -traveller to-day will go through city after city, and village after -village, and find no art-shop (as he may look in vain in large cities -for any sort of book-store except a news-room); rarely will see an -etching or a fine engraving; and he will be led to doubt if the taste -for either existed to any great degree before the war. Of course he will -remember that taste and knowledge in the fine arts may be said in the -North to be recent acquirements, and that, meantime, the South has been -impoverished and struggling in a political and social revolution. - -Slavery and isolation and a semi-feudal state have left traces that must -long continue to modify social life in the South, and that may not wear -out for a century to come. The new life must also differ from that in -the North by reason of climate, and on account of the presence of the -alien, _insouciant_ colored race. The vast black population, however -it may change, and however education may influence it, must remain a -powerful determining factor. The body of the slaves, themselves inert, -and with no voice in affairs, inevitably influenced life, the character -of civilization, manners, even speech itself. With slavery ended, the -Southern whites are emancipated, and the influence of the alien race -will be other than what it was, but it cannot fail to affect the tone of -life in the States where it is a large element. - -When, however, we have made all allowance for difference in climate, -difference in traditions, total difference in the way of looking at life -for a century, it is plain to be seen that a great transformation -is taking place in the South, and that Southern society and Northern -society are becoming every day more and more alike. I know there are -those, and Southerners, too, who insist that we are still two peoples, -with more points of difference than of resemblance--certainly farther -apart than Gascons and Bretons. - -This seems to me not true in general, though it may be of a portion of -the passing generation. Of course there is difference in temperament, -and peculiarities of speech and manner remain and will continue, as they -exist in different portions of the North--the accent of the Bostonian -differs from that of the Philadelphian, and the inhabitant of Richmond -is known by his speech as neither of New Orleans nor New York. But the -influence of economic laws, of common political action, of interest -and pride in one country, is stronger than local bias in such an age of -intercommunication as this. The great barrier between North and South -having been removed, social assimilation must go on. It is true that -the small farmer in Vermont, and the small planter in Georgia, and the -village life in the two States, will preserve their strong contrasts. -But that which, without clearly defining, we call society becomes -yearly more and more alike North and South. It is becoming more and more -difficult to tell in any summer assembly--at Newport, the White Sulphur, -Saratoga, Bar Harbor--by physiognomy, dress, or manner, a person's -birthplace. There are noticeable fewer distinctive traits that enable -us to say with certainty that one is from the South, or the West, or the -East. No doubt the type at such a Southern resort as the White Sulphur -is more distinctly American than at such a Northern resort as Saratoga. -We are prone to make a good deal of local peculiarities, but when we -look at the matter broadly and consider the vastness of our territory -and the varieties of climate, it is marvellous that there is so little -difference in speech, manner, and appearance. Contrast us with Europe -and its various irreconcilable races occupying less territory. Even -little England offers greater variety than the United States. When we -think of our large, widely scattered population, the wonder is that we -do not differ more. - -Southern society has always had a certain prestige in the North. One -reason for this was the fact that the ruling class South had more -leisure for social life. Climate, also, had much to do in softening -manners, making the temperament ardent, and at the same time producing -that leisurely movement which is essential to a polished life. It is -probably true, also, that mere wealth was less a passport to social -distinction than at the North, or than it has become at the North; that -is to say, family, or a certain charm of breeding, or the talent -of being agreeable, or the gift of cleverness, or of beauty, were -necessary, and money was not. In this respect it seems to be true that -social life is changing at the South; that is to say, money is getting -to have the social power in New Orleans that it has in New York. It is -inevitable in a commercial and industrial community that money should -have a controlling power, as it is regrettable that the enjoyment of -its power very slowly admits a sense of its responsibility. The -old traditions of the South having been broken down, and nearly all -attention being turned to the necessity of making money, it must follow -that mere wealth will rise as a social factor. Herein lies one danger to -what was best in the old régime. Another danger is that it must be put -to the test of the ideas, the agitations, the elements of doubt and -disintegration that seem inseparable to "progress," which give Northern -society its present complexity, and just cause of alarm to all who watch -its headlong career. Fulness of life is accepted as desirable, but it -has its dangers. - -Within the past five years social intercourse between North and South -has been greatly increased. Northerners who felt strongly about the -Union and about slavery, and took up the cause of the freedman, and were -accustomed all their lives to absolute free speech, were not comfortable -in the post-reconstruction atmosphere. Perhaps they expected too much of -human nature--a too sudden subsidence of suspicion and resentment. They -felt that they were not welcome socially, however much their capital and -business energy were desired. On the other hand, most Southerners were -too poor to travel in the North, as they did formerly. But all these -points have been turned. Social intercourse and travel are renewed. If -difficulties and alienations remain they are sporadic, and melting away. -The harshness of the Northern winter climate has turned a stream of -travel and occupation to the Gulf States, and particularly to Florida, -which is indeed now scarcely a Southern State except in climate. The -Atlanta and New Orleans Exhibitions did much to bring people of all -sections together socially. With returning financial prosperity all the -Northern summer resorts have seen increasing numbers of Southern people -seeking health and pleasure. I believe that during the past summer more -Southerners have been travelling and visiting in the North than ever -before. - -This social intermingling is significant in itself, and of the utmost -importance for the removal of lingering misunderstandings. They who -learn to like each other personally will be tolerant in political -differences, and helpful and unsuspicious in the very grave problems -that rest upon the late slave States. Differences of opinion and -different interests will exist, but surely love is stronger than hate, -and sympathy and kindness are better solvents than alienation and -criticism. The play of social forces is very powerful in such a republic -as ours, and there is certainly reason to believe that they will be -exerted now in behalf of that cordial appreciation of what is good and -that toleration of traditional differences which are necessary to a -people indissolubly bound together in one national destiny. Alienated -for a century, the society of the North and the society of the South -have something to forget but more to gain in the union that every day -becomes closer. - - - - -III.--NEW ORLEANS. - -|The first time I saw New Orleans was on a Sunday morning in the month -of March. We alighted from the train at the foot of Esplanade Street, -and walked along through the French Market, and by Jackson Square to the -Hotel Royal. The morning, after rain, was charming; there was a fresh -breeze from the river; the foliage was a tender green; in the balconies -and on the mouldering window-ledges flowers bloomed, and in the decaying -courts climbing-roses mingled their perfume with the orange; the shops -were open; ladies tripped along from early mass or to early market; -there was a twittering in the square and in the sweet old gardens; caged -birds sang and screamed the songs of South America and the tropics; the -language heard on all sides was French or the degraded jargon which -the easy-going African has manufactured out of the tongue of Bienville. -Nothing could be more shabby than the streets, ill-paved, with -undulating sidewalks and open gutters green with slime, and both -stealing and giving odor; little canals in which the cat, become the -companion of the crawfish, and the vegetable in decay sought in vain a -current to oblivion; the streets with rows of one-story houses, wooden, -with green doors and batten window-shutters, or brick, with the painted -stucco peeling off, the line broken often by an edifice of two stories, -with galleries and delicate tracery of wrought-iron, houses pink and -yellow and brown and gray--colors all blending and harmonious when -we get a long vista of them and lose the details of view in the broad -artistic effect. Nothing could be shabbier than the streets, unless -it is the tumble-down, picturesque old market, bright with flowers and -vegetables and many-hued fish, and enlivened by the genial African, who -in the New World experiments in all colors, from coal black to the pale -pink of the sea-shell, to find one that suits his mobile nature. I liked -it all from the first; I lingered long in that morning walk, liking it -more and more, in spite of its shabbiness, but utterly unable to say -then or ever since wherein its charm lies. I suppose we are all wrongly -made up and have a fallen nature; else why is it that while the most -thrifty and neat and orderly city only wins our approval, and perhaps -gratifies us intellectually, such a thriftless, battered and stained, -and lazy old place as the French quarter of New Orleans takes our -hearts? - -I never could find out exactly where New Orleans is. I have looked -for it on the map without much enlightenment. It is dropped down there -somewhere in the marshes of the Mississippi and the bayous and lakes. It -is below the one, and tangled up among the others, or it might some -day float out to the Gulf and disappear. How the Mississippi gets out -I never could discover. When it first comes in sight of the town it is -running east; at Carrollton it abruptly turns its rapid, broad, yellow -flood and runs south, turns presently eastward, circles a great portion -of the city, then makes a bold push for the north in order to avoid -Algiers and reach the foot of Canal Street, and encountering there the -heart of the town, it sheers off again along the old French quarter and -Jackson Square due east, and goes no one knows where, except perhaps Mr. -Eads. - -The city is supposed to lie in this bend of the river, but it in fact -extends eastward along the bank down to the Barracks, and spreads -backward towards Lake Pontchartrain over a vast area, and includes some -very good snipe-shooting. - -Although New Orleans has only about a quarter of a million of -inhabitants, and so many only in the winter, it is larger than Pekin, -and I believe than Philadelphia, having an area of about one hundred and -five square miles. From Carrollton to the Barracks, which are not far -from the Battle-field, the distance by the river is some thirteen miles. -From the river to the lake the least distance is four miles. This vast -territory is traversed by lines of horse-cars which all meet in Canal -Street, the most important business thoroughfare of the city, which -runs north-east from the river, and divides the French from the American -quarter. One taking a horse-car in any part of the city will ultimately -land, having boxed the compass, in Canal Street. But it needs a person -of vast local erudition to tell in what part of the city, or in what -section of the home of the frog and crawfish, he will land if he takes -a horse-ear in Canal Street. The river being higher than the city, there -is of course no drainage into it; but there is a theory that the water -in the open gutters does move, and that it moves in the direction of -the Bayou St. John, and of the cypress swamps that drain into Lake -Pontchartrain. The stranger who is accustomed to closed sewers, and to -get his malaria and typhoid through pipes conducted into his house by -the most approved methods of plumbing, is aghast at this spectacle -of slime and filth in the streets, and wonders why the city is not in -perennial epidemic; but the sun and the wind are great scavengers, and -the city is not nearly so unhealthy as it ought to be with such a city -government as they say it endures. - -It is not necessary to dwell much upon the external features of New -Orleans, for innumerable descriptions and pictures have familiarized -the public with them. Besides, descriptions can give the stranger little -idea of the peculiar city. Although all on one level, it is a town of -contrasts. In no other city of the United States or of Mexico is the -old and romantic preserved in such integrity and brought into such -sharp contrast to the modern. There are many handsome public buildings, -churches, club-houses, elegant shops, and on the American side a great -area of well-paved streets solidly built up in business blocks. The -Square of the original city, included between the river and canal, -Rampart and Esplanade streets, which was once surrounded by a wall, is -as closely built, but the streets are narrow, the houses generally are -smaller, and although it swarms with people, and contains the cathedral, -the old Spanish buildings, Jackson Square, the French Market, the French -Opera-house, and other theatres, the Mint, the Custom-house, the old -Ursuline convent (now the residence of the archbishop), old banks, and -scores of houses of historic celebrity, it is a city of the past, and -specially interesting in its picturesque decay. Beyond this, eastward -and northward extend interminable streets of small houses, with now and -then a flowery court or a pretty rose garden, occupied mainly by people -of French and Spanish descent. The African pervades all parts of the -town, except the new residence portion of the American quarter. This, -which occupies the vast area in the bend of the river west of the -business blocks as far as Carrollton, is in character a great village -rather than a city. Not all its broad avenues and handsome streets -are paved (and those that are not are in some seasons impassable), its -houses are nearly all of wood, most of them detached, with plots of -ground and gardens, and as the quarter is very well shaded, the effect -is bright and agreeable. In it are many stately residences, occupying a -square or half a square, and embowered in foliage and flowers. Care -has been given lately to turf-culture, and one sees here thick-set -and handsome lawns. The broad Esplanade Street, with its elegant -old-fashioned houses, and double rows of shade trees, which has -long been the rural pride of the French quarter, has now rivals in -respectability and style on the American side. - -New Orleans is said to be delightful in the late fall months, before the -winter rains set in, but I believe it looks its best in March and April. -This is owing to the roses. If the town was not attached to the name -of the Crescent City, it might very well adopt the title of the City of -Roses. So kind are climate and soil that the magnificent varieties of -this queen of flowers, which at the North bloom only in hot-houses, or -with great care are planted out-doors in the heat of our summer, thrive -here in the open air in prodigal abundance and beauty. In April the town -is literally embowered in them; they fill door-yards and gardens, they -overrun the porches, they climb the sides of the houses, they spread -over the trees, they take possession of trellises and fences and walls, -perfuming the air and entrancing the heart with color. In the outlying -parks, like that of the Jockey Club, and the florists' gardens at -Carrollton, there are fields of them, acres of the finest sorts waving -in the spring wind. Alas! can beauty ever satisfy? This wonderful -spectacle fills one with I know not what exquisite longing. These -flowers pervade the town, old women on the street corners sit behind -banks of them, the florists' windows blush with them, friends despatch -to each other great baskets of them, the favorites at the theatre and -the amateur performers stand behind high barricades of roses which the -good-humored audience piles upon the stage, everybody carries roses -and wears roses, and the houses overflow with them. In this passion for -flowers you may read a prominent trait of the people. For myself I like -to see a spot on this earth where beauty is enjoyed for itself and -let to run to waste, but if ever the industrial spirit of the -French-Italians should prevail along the littoral of Louisiana and -Mississippi, the raising of flowers for the manufacture of perfumes -would become a most profitable industry. - -New Orleans is the most cosmopolitan of provincial cities. Its -comparative isolation has secured the development of provincial traits -and manners, has preserved the individuality of the many races that -give it color, morals, and character, while its close relations -with France--an affiliation and sympathy which the late war has not -altogether broken--and the constant influx of Northern men of business -and affairs have given it the air of a metropolis. To the Northern -stranger the aspect and the manners of the city are foreign, but if he -remains long enough he is sure to yield to its fascinations, and become -a partisan of it. It is not altogether the soft and somewhat enervating -and occasionally treacherous climate that beguiles him, but quite as -much the easy terms on which life can be lived. There is a human as well -as a climatic amiability that wins him. No doubt it is better for a man -to be always braced up, but no doubt also there is an attraction in a -complaisance that indulges his inclinations. - -Socially as well as commercially New Orleans is in a transitive state. -The change from river to railway transportation has made her levees -vacant; the shipment of cotton by rail and its direct transfer to ocean -carriage have nearly destroyed a large middle-men industry; a large -part of the agricultural tribute of the South-west has been diverted; -plantations have either not recovered from the effects of the war or -have not adjusted themselves to new productions, and the city waits -the rather blind developments of the new era. The falling off of law -business, which I should like to attribute to the growth of common-sense -and good-will is, I fear, rather due to business lassitude, for it is -observed that men quarrel most when they are most actively engaged in -acquiring each other's property. The business habits of the Creoles were -conservative and slow; they do not readily accept new ways, and in -this transition time the American element is taking the lead in all -enterprises. The American element itself is toned down by the climate -and the contagion of the leisurely habits of the Creoles, and loses -something of the sharpness and excitability exhibited by business men in -all Northern cities, but it is certainly changing the social as well as -the business aspect of the city. Whether these social changes will make -New Orleans a more agreeable place of residence remains to be seen. - -For the old civilization had many admirable qualities. With all its love -of money and luxury and an easy life, it was comparatively simple. It -cared less for display than the society that is supplanting it. Its rule -was domesticity. I should say that it bad the virtues as well as -the prejudices and the narrowness of intense family feeling, and -its exclusiveness. But when it trusted, it had few reserves, and its -cordiality was equal to its _naivete_. The Creole civilization differed -totally from that in any Northern city; it looked at life, literature, -wit, manners, from altogether another plane; in order to understand the -society of New Orleans one needs to imagine what French society would -be in a genial climate and in the freedom of a new country. Undeniably, -until recently, the Creoles gave the tone to New Orleans. And it was the -French culture, the French view of life, that was diffused. The young -ladies mainly were educated in convents and French schools. This -education had womanly agreeability and matrimony in view, and the graces -of social life. It differed not much from the education of young ladies -of the period elsewhere, except that it was from the French rather than -the English side, but this made a world of difference. French was a -study and a possession, not a fashionable accomplishment. The Creole had -gayety, sentiment, spice with a certain climatic languor, sweetness of -disposition, and charm of manner, and not seldom winning beauty; she was -passionately fond of dancing and of music, and occasionally an adept in -the latter; and she had candor, and either simplicity or the art of it. -But with her tendency to domesticity and her capacity for friendship, -and notwithstanding her gay temperament, she was less worldly than some -of her sisters who were more gravely educated after the English manner. -There was therefore in the old New Orleans life something nobler than -the spirit of plutocracy. The Creole middle-class population had, and -has yet, captivating _naivete_, friendliness, cordiality. - -But the Creole influence in New Orleans is wider and deeper than this. -It has affected literary sympathies and what may be called literary -morals. In business the Creole is accused of being slow, conservative, -in regard to improvements obstinate and reactionary, preferring to -nurse a prejudice rather than run the risk of removing it by improving -himself, and of having a conceit that his way of looking at life is -better than the Boston way. His literary culture is derived from France, -and not from England or the North. And his ideas a good deal affect the -attitude of New Orleans towards English and contemporary literature. -The American element of the town was for the most part commercial, and -little given to literary tastes. That also is changing, but I fancy it -is still true that the most solid culture is with the Creoles, and it -has not been appreciated because it is French, and because its point -of view for literary criticism is quite different from that prevailing -elsewhere in America. It brings our American and English contemporary -authors, for instance, to comparison, not with each other, but -with French and other Continental writers. And this point of view -considerably affects the New Orleans opinion of Northern literature. In -this view it wants color, passion; it is too self-conscious and prudish, -not to say Puritanically mock-modest. I do not mean to say that the -Creoles as a class are a reading people, but the literary standards -of their scholars and of those among them who do cultivate literature -deeply are different from those at the North. We may call it provincial, -or we may call it cosmopolitan, but we shall not understand New Orleans -until we get its point of view of both life and letters. - -In making these observations it will occur to the reader that they are -of necessity superficial, and not entitled to be regarded as criticism -or judgment. But I am impressed with the foreignness of New Orleans -civilization, and whether its point of view is right or wrong, I am very -far from wishing it to change. It contains a valuable element of variety -for the republic. We tend everywhere to sameness and monotony. New -Orleans is entering upon a new era of development, especially in -educational life. The Tonlane University is beginning to make itself -felt as a force both in polite letters and in industrial education. And -I sincerely hope that the literary development of the city and of the -South-west will be in the line of its own traditions, and that it will -not be a copy of New England or of Dutch Manhattan. It can, if it is -faithful to its own sympathies and temperament, make an original and -valuable contribution to our literary life. - -There is a great temptation to regard New Orleans through the romance of -its past; and the most interesting occupation of the idler is to stroll -about in the French part of the town, search the shelves of French and -Spanish literature in the second-hand book-shops, try to identify the -historic sites and the houses that are the seats of local romances, and -observe the life in the narrow streets and alleys that, except for the -presence of the colored folk, recall the quaint picturesqueness of -many a French provincial town. One never tires of wandering in the -neighborhood of the old cathedral, facing the smart Jackson Square, -which is flanked by the respectable Pontalba buildings, and supported -on either side by the ancient Spanish courthouse, the most interesting -specimens of Spanish architecture this side of Mexico. When the court is -in session, iron cables are stretched across the street to prevent the -passage of wagons, and justice is administered in silence only broken by -the trill of birds in the Place d'Armee and in the old flower-garden in -the rear of the cathedral, and by the muffled sound of footsteps in the -flagged passages. The region is saturated with romance, and so full of -present sentiment and picturesqueness that I can fancy no ground more -congenial to the artist and the story-teller. To enter into any details -of it would be to commit one's self to a task quite foreign to the -purpose of this paper, and I leave it to the writers who have done and -are doing so much to make old New Orleans classic. - -Possibly no other city of the United States so abounds in stories -pathetic and tragic, many of which cannot yet be published, growing -out of the mingling of races, the conflicts of French and Spanish, the -presence of adventurers from the Old World and the Spanish Main, and -especially out of the relations between the whites and the fair women -who had in their thin veins drops of African blood. The quadroon and -the octoroon are the staple of hundreds of thrilling tales. Duels were -common incidents of the Creole dancing assemblies, and of the _cordon -bleu_ balls--the deities of which were the quadroon women, "the -handsomest race of women in the world," says the description, and the -most splendid dancers and the most exquisitely dressed--the affairs of -honor being settled by a midnight thrust in a vacant square behind the -cathedral, or adjourned to a more French daylight encounter at "The -Oaks," or "Les Trois Capalins." But this life has all gone. In a stately -building in this quarter, said by tradition to have been the quadroon -ball-room, but I believe it was a white assembly-room connected with the -opera, is now a well-ordered school for colored orphans, presided over -by colored Sisters of Charity. - -It is quite evident that the peculiar prestige of the quadroon and -the octoroon is a thing of the past. Indeed, the result of the war -has greatly changed the relations of the two races in New Orleans. The -colored people withdraw more and more to themselves. Isolation from -white influence has good results and bad results, the bad being, as one -can see, in some quarters of the town, a tendency to barbarism, which -can only be counteracted by free public schools, and by a necessity -which shall compel them to habits of thrift and industry. One needs -to be very much an optimist, however, to have patience for these -developments. - -I believe there is an instinct in both races against mixture of -blood, and upon this rests the law of Louisiana, which forbids such -intermarriages; the time may come when the colored people will be as -strenuous in insisting upon its execution as the whites, unless there is -a great change in popular feeling, of which there is no sign at present; -it is they who will see that there is no escape from the equivocal -position in which those nearly white in appearance find themselves -except by a rigid separation of races. The danger is of a reversal -at any time to the original type, and that is always present to the -offspring of any one with a drop of African blood in the veins. The -pathos of this situation is infinite, and it cannot be lessened by -saying that the prejudice about color is unreasonable; it exists. Often -the African strain is so attenuated that the possessor of it would pass -to the ordinary observer for Spanish or French; and I suppose that many -so-called Creole peculiarities of speech and manner are traceable to -this strain. An incident in point may not be uninteresting. - -I once lodged in the old French quarter in a house kept by two maiden -sisters, only one of whom spoke English at all. They were refined, and -had the air of decayed gentlewomen. The one who spoke English had the -vivacity and agreeability of a Paris landlady, without the latter's -invariable hardness and sharpness. I thought I had found in her pretty -mode of speech the real Creole dialect of her class. "You are French," I -said, when I engaged my room. - -"No," she said, "no, m'sieu, I am an American; we are of the United -States," with the air of informing a stranger that New Orleans was now -annexed. - -"Yes," I replied, "but you are of French descent?" - -"Oh, and a little Spanish." - -"Can you tell me, madame," I asked, one Sunday morning, "the way to -Trinity Church?" - -"I cannot tell, m'sieu; it is somewhere the other side; I do not know -the other side." - -"But have you never been the other side of Canal Street?" - -"Oh yes, I went once, to make a visit on a friend on New-Year's." - -I explained that it was far uptown, and a Protestant church. - -"M'sieu, is he Cat'olic?" - -"Oh no; I am a Protestant." - -"Well, me, I am Cat'olic; but Protestan' o' Cat'olic, it is 'mos' ze -same." - -This was purely the instinct of politeness, and that my feelings might -not be wounded, for she was a good Catholic, and did not believe at all -that it was "'mos' ze same." - -It was Exposition year, and then April, and madame had never been to the -Exposition. I urged her to go, and one day, after great preparation -for a journey to the other side, she made the expedition, and returned -enchanted with all she had seen, especially with the Mexican band. A -new world was opened to her, and she resolved to go again. The morning -of Louisiana Day she rapped at my door and informed me that she was -going to the fair. "And"--she paused at the door-way, her eyes sparkling -with her new project--"you know what I goin' do?" - -"No." - -"I goin' get one big bouquet, and give to the leader of the orchestre." - -"You know him, the leader?" - -"No, not yet." - -I did not know then how poor she was, and how much sacrifice this would -be to her, this gratification of a sentiment. - -The next year, in the same month, I asked for her at the lodging. -She was not there. "You did not know," said the woman then in -possession--"good God! her sister died four days ago, from want of food, -and madame has gone away back of town, nobody knows where. They told -nobody, they were so proud; none of their friends knew, or they would -have helped. They had no lodgers, and could not keep this place, and -took another opposite; but they were unlucky, and the sheriff came." -I said that I was very sorry that I had not known; she might have been -helped. "No," she replied, with considerable spirit; "she would have -accepted nothing; she would starve rather. So would I." The woman -referred me to some well-known Creole families who knew madame, but I -was unable to find her hiding-place. I asked who madame was. "Oh, she -was a very nice woman, very respectable. Her father was Spanish, her -mother was an octoroon." - -One does not need to go into the past of New Orleans for the -picturesque; the streets have their peculiar physiognomy, and -"character" such as the artists delight to depict is the result of the -extraordinary mixture of races and the habit of out-door life. The long -summer, from April to November, with a heat continuous, though rarely so -excessive as it occasionally is in higher latitudes, determines the -mode of life and the structure of the houses, and gives a leisurely and -amiable tone to the aspect of people and streets which exists in few -other American cities. The French quarter is out of repair, and has the -air of being for rent; but in fact there is comparatively little change -in occupancy, Creole families being remarkably adhesive to localities. -The stranger who sees all over the French and the business parts of the -town the immense number of lodging-houses--some of them the most -stately old mansions--let largely by colored landladies, is likely to -underestimate the home life of this city. New Orleans soil is so wet -that the city is without cellars for storage, and its court-yards and -odd corners become catch-alls of broken furniture and other lumber. The -solid window-shutters, useful in the glare of the long summer, give a -blank appearance to the streets. This is relieved, however, by the -queer little Spanish houses, and by the endless variety of galleries -and balconies. In one part of the town the iron-work of the balconies is -cast, and uninteresting in its set patterns; in French-town much of -it is hand-made, exquisite in design, and gives to a street vista a -delicate lace-work appearance. I do not know any foreign town which -has on view so much exquisite wrought-iron work as the old part of -New Orleans. Besides the balconies, there are recessed galleries, old -dormer-windows, fantastic little nooks and corners, tricked out with -flower-pots and vines. - -The glimpses of street life are always entertaining, because -unconscious, while full of character. It may be a Creole court-yard, the -walls draped with vines, flowers blooming in bap-hazard disarray, and -a group of pretty girls sewing and chatting, and stabbing the passer-by -with a charmed glance. It may be a cotton team in the street, the mules, -the rollicking driver, the creaking cart. It may be a single figure, or -a group in the market or on the levee--a slender yellow girl sweeping up -the grains of rice, a colored gleaner recalling Ruth; an ancient darky -asleep, with mouth open, in his tipped-up two-wheeled cart, waiting for -a job; the "solid South," in the shape of an immense "aunty" under a red -umbrella, standing and contemplating the river; the broad-faced women in -gay bandannas behind their cake-stands; a group of levee hands about -a rickety table, taking their noonday meal of pork and greens; -the blind-man, capable of sitting more patiently than an American -Congressman, with a dog trained to hold his basket for the pennies of -the charitable; the black stalwart vender of tin and iron utensils, -who totes in a basket, and piled on his head, and strung on his back, -a weight of over two hundred and fifty pounds; and negro women who walk -erect with baskets of clothes or enormous bundles balanced on their -heads, smiling and "jawing," unconscious of their burdens. These are -the familiar figures of a street life as varied and picturesque as the -artist can desire. - -New Orleans amuses itself in the winter with very good theatres, and -until recently has sustained an excellent French opera. It has all -the year round plenty of _cafes chantants_, gilded saloons, and -gambling-houses, and more than enough of the resorts upon which the -police are supposed to keep one blind eye. "Back of town," towards -Lake Pontchartrain, there is much that is picturesque and blooming, -especially in the spring of the year--the charming gardens of the Jockey -Club, the City Park, the old duelling-ground with its superb oaks, and -the Bayou St. John with its idling fishing-boats, and the colored houses -and plantations along the banks--a piece of Holland wanting the Dutch -windmills. On a breezy day one may go far for a prettier sight than the -river-bank and esplanade at Carrollton, where the mighty coffee-colored -flood swirls by, where the vast steamers struggle and cough against the -stream, or swiftly go with it round the bend, leaving their trail of -smoke, and the delicate line of foliage against the sky on the far -opposite shore completes the outline of an exquisite landscape. Suburban -resorts much patronized, and reached by frequent trains, are the old -Spanish Fort and the West End of Lake Pontchartrain. The way lies -through cypress swamp and palmetto thickets, brilliant at certain -seasons with _fleur-de-lis_. At each of these resorts are restaurants, -dancing-halls, promenade-galleries, all on a large scale; boat-houses, -and semi-tropical gardens very prettily laid out in walks and -labyrinths, and adorned with trees and flowers. Even in the heat of -summer at night the lake is sure to offer a breeze, and with waltz music -and moonlight and ices and tinkling glasses with straws in them and -love's young dream, even the _ennuyé_ globe-trotter declares that it is -not half bad. - -The city, indeed, offers opportunity for charming excursions in -all directions. Parties are constantly made up to visit the river -plantations, to sail up and down the stream, or to take an outing across -the lake, or to the many lovely places along the coast. In the winter, -excursions are made to these places, and in summer the well-to-do take -the sea-air in cottages, at such places as Mandeville across the lake, -or at such resorts on the Mississippi as Pass Christian. - -I crossed the lake one spring day to the pretty town of Mandeville, and -then sailed up the Tehefuncta River to Covington. The winding Tchefuncta -is in character like some of the narrow Florida streams, has the same -luxuriant overhanging foliage, and as many shy lounging alligators to -the mile, and is prettier by reason of occasional open glades and large -moss-draped live-oaks and China-trees. From the steamer landing in the -woods we drove three miles through a lovely open pine forest to the -town. Covington is one of the oldest settlements in the State, is the -centre of considerable historic interest, and the origin of several -historic families. The land is elevated a good deal above the -coast-level, and is consequently dry. The town has a few roomy oldtime -houses, a mineral spring, some pleasing scenery along the river that -winds through it, and not much else. But it is in the midst of pine -woods, it is sheltered from all "northers," it has the soft air, but -not the dampness, of the Gulf, and is exceedingly salubrious in all the -winter months, to say nothing of the summer. It has lately come -into local repute as a health resort, although it lacks sufficient -accommodations for the entertainment of many strangers. I was told by -some New Orleans physicians that they regarded it as almost a specific -for pulmonary diseases, and instances were given of persons in what was -supposed to be advanced stages of lung and bronchial troubles who had -been apparently cured by a few months' residence there; and invalids -are, I believe, greatly benefited by its healing, soft, and piny -atmosphere. - -I have no doubt, from what I hear and my limited observation, that all -this coast about New Orleans would be a favorite winter resort if it had -hotels as good as, for instance, that at Pass Christian. The region -has many attractions for the idler and the invalid. It is, in the first -place, interesting; it has a good deal of variety of scenery and of -historical interest; there is excellent fishing and shooting; and if the -visitor tires of the monotony of the country, he can by a short ride on -cars or a steamer transfer himself for a day or a week to a large and -most hospitable city, to society, the club, the opera, balls, parties, -and every variety of life that his taste craves. The disadvantage of -many Southern places to which our Northern regions force us is that they -are uninteresting, stupid, and monotonous, if not malarious. It seems -a long way from New York to New Orleans, but I do not doubt that the -region around the city would become immediately a great winter resort if -money and enterprise were enlisted to make it so. - -New Orleans has never been called a "strait-laced" city; its Sunday -is still of the Continental type; but it seems to me free from the -socialistic agnosticism which flaunts itself more or less in Cincinnati, -St. Louis, and Chicago; the tone of leading Presbyterian churches is -distinctly Calvinistic, one perceives comparatively little of religious -speculation and doubt, and so far as I could see there is harmony -and entire social good feeling between the Catholic and Protestant -communions. Protestant ladies assist at Catholic fairs, and the -compliment is returned by the society ladies of the Catholic faith when -a Protestant good cause is to be furthered by a bazaar or a "pink tea." -Denominational lines seem to have little to do with social affiliations. -There may be friction in the management of the great public charities, -but on the surface there is toleration and united good-will. The -Catholic faith long had the prestige of wealth, family, and power, and -the education of the daughters of Protestant houses in convent schools -tended to allay prejudice. Notwithstanding the reputation New Orleans -has for gayety and even frivolity--and no one can deny the fast -and furious living of ante-bellum days--it possesses at bottom an -old-fashioned religious simplicity. If any one thinks that "faith" has -died out of modern life, let him visit the mortuary chapel of St. Roch. -In a distant part of the town, beyond the street of the Elysian Fields, -and on Washington avenue, in a district very sparsely built up, is -the Campo Santo of the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity. In this -foreign-looking cemetery is the pretty little Gothic Chapel of St. Roch, -having a background of common and swampy land. It is a brown stuccoed -edifice, wholly open in front, and was a year or two ago covered with -beautiful ivy. The small interior is paved in white marble, the windows -are stained glass, the side-walls are composed of tiers of vaults, where -are buried the members of certain societies, and the spaces in the wall -and in the altar area are thickly covered with votive offerings, in wax -and in _naive_ painting--contributed by those who have been healed by -the intercession of the saints. Over the altar is the shrine of St. -Roch--a cavalier, staff in hand, with his clog by his side, the faithful -animal which accompanied this eighth-century philanthropist in his -visitations to the plague-stricken people of Munich. Within the altar -rail are rows of lighted candles, tended and renewed by the attendant, -placed there by penitents or by seekers after the favor of the saint. -On the wooden benches, kneeling, are ladies, servants, colored women, -in silent prayer. One approaches the lighted, picturesque shrine through -the formal rows of tombs, and comes there into an atmosphere of peace -and faith. It is believed that miracles are daily wrought here, and one -notices in all the gardeners, keepers, and attendants of the place the -accent and demeanor of simple faith. On the wall hangs this inscription: - -_"O great St. Roch, deliver us, we beseech thee, from the scourges -of God. Through thy intercessions preserve our bodies from contagious -diseases, and our souls from the contagion of sin. Obtain for us -salubrious air; but, above all, purity of heart. Assist us to make good -use of health, to bear suffering with patience, and after thy example to -live in the practice of penitence and charity, that we may one day enjoy -the happiness which thou hast merited by thy virtues._ - -_"St. Roch, pray for us._ - -_"St. Roch, pray for us._ - -_"St. Roch, pray for us."_ - -There is testimony that many people, even Protestants, and men, have had -wounds cured and been healed of diseases by prayer in this chapel. To -this distant shrine come ladies from all parts of the city to make -the "novena"--the prayer of nine days, with the offer of the burning -taper--and here daily resort hundreds to intercede for themselves or -their friends. It is believed by the damsels of this district that if -they offer prayer daily in this chapel they will have a husband within -the year, and one may see kneeling here every evening these trustful -devotees to the welfare of the human race. I asked the colored woman who -sold medals and leaflets and renewed the candles if she personally knew -any persons who had been miraculously cured by prayer, or novena, in St. -Roch. "Plenty, sir, plenty." And she related many instances, which were -confirmed by votive offerings on the walls. "Why," said she, "there was -a friend of mine who wanted a place, and could hear of none, who made a -novena here, and right away got a place, a good place, and" (conscious -that she was making an astonishing statement about a New Orleans -servant) "she kept it a whole year!" - -"But one must come in the right spirit," I said. - -"Ah, indeed. It needs to believe. You can't fool God!" - -One might make various studies of New Orleans: its commercial life; its -methods, more or less antiquated, of doing business, and the leisure -for talk that enters into it; its admirable charities and its mediaeval -prisons; its romantic French and Spanish history, still lingering in -the old houses, and traits of family and street life; the city politics, -which nobody can explain, and no other city need covet; its sanitary -condition, which needs an intelligent despot with plenty of money and an -ingenuity that can make water run uphill; its colored population--about -a fourth of the city--with its distinct social grades, its superstition, -nonchalant good-humor, turn for idling and basking in the sun, slowly -awaking to a sense of thrift, chastity, truth-speaking, with many -excellent order-loving, patriotic men and women, but a mass that -needs moral training quite as much as the spelling-book before it can -contribute to the vigor and prosperity of the city; its schools and -recent libraries, and the developing literary and art taste which will -sustain book-shops and picture-galleries; its cuisine, peculiar in its -mingling of French and African skill, and determined largely by a market -unexcelled in the quality of fish, game, and fruit--the fig alone -would go far to reconcile one to four or five months of hot nights; the -climatic influence in assimilating races meeting there from every region -of the earth. - -But whatever way we regard New Orleans., it is in its aspect, social -tone, and character _sui generis_; its civilization differs widely from -that of any other, and it remains one of the most interesting places in -the republic. Of course, social life in these days is much the same in -all great cities in its observances, but that of New Orleans is -markedly cordial, ingenuous, warmhearted. I do not imagine that it -could tolerate, as Boston does, absolute freedom of local opinion on all -subjects, and undoubtedly it is sensitive to criticism; but I believe -that it is literally true, as one of its citizens said, that it is still -more sensitive to kindness. - -The metropolis of the South-west has geographical reasons for a great -future. Louisiana is rich in alluvial soil, the capability of which has -not yet been tested, except in some localities, by skilful agriculture. -But the prosperity of the city depends much upon local conditions. -Science and energy can solve the problem of drainage, can convert all -the territory between the city and Lake Pontchartrain into a veritable -garden, surpassing in fertility the flat environs of the city of Mexico. -And the steady development of common-school education, together with -technical and industrial schools, will create a skill which will make -New Orleans the industrial and manufacturing centre of that region. - - - - -IV.--A VOUDOO DANCE. - -|There was nothing mysterious about it. The ceremony took place in broad -day, at noon in the upper chambers of a small frame house in a street -just beyond Congo Square and the old Parish prison in New Orleans. It -was an incantation rather than a dance--a curious mingling of African -Voudoo rites with modern "spiritualism" and faith-cure. - -The explanation of Voudooism (or Vaudouism) would require a chapter by -itself. It is sufficient to say for the purpose of this paper that -the barbaric rites of Voudooism originated with the Congo and Guinea -negroes, were brought to San Domingo, and thence to Louisiana. In Hayti -the sect is in full vigor, and its midnight orgies have reverted more -and more to the barbaric original in the last twenty-five years. The -wild dance and incantations are accompanied by sacrifice of animals -and occasionally of infants, and with cannibalism, and scenes of most -indecent license. In its origin it is serpent worship. The Voudoo -signifies a being all-powerful on the earth, who is, or is represented -by, a harmless species of serpent (_couleuvre_), and in this belief -the sect perform rites in which the serpent is propitiated. In common -parlance, the chief actor is called the Voudoo--if a man, the Voudoo -King; if a woman, the Voudoo Queen. Some years ago Congo Square was -the scene of the weird midnight rites of this sect, as unrestrained and -barbarous as ever took place in the Congo country. All these semi-public -performances have been suppressed, and all private assemblies for this -worship are illegal, and broken up by the police when discovered. It -is said in New Orleans that Voudooism is a thing of the past. But the -superstition remains, and I believe that very few of the colored -people in New Orleans are free from it--that is, free from it as a -superstition. Those who repudiate it, have nothing to do with it, and -regard it as only evil, still ascribe power to the Voudoo, to some ugly -old woman or man, who is popularly believed to have occult power (as -the Italians believe in the "evil-eye"), can cast a charm and put the -victims under a spell, or by incantations relieve them from it. The -power of the Voudoo is still feared by many who are too intelligent to -believe in it intellectually. That persons are still Voudooed, probably -few doubt; and that people are injured by charms secretly placed in -their beds, or are bewitched in various ways, is common belief--more -common than the Saxon notion that it is ill-luck to see the new moon -over the left shoulder. - -Although very few white people in New Orleans have ever seen the -performance I shall try to describe, and it is said that the police -would break it up if they knew of it, it takes place every Wednesday -at noon at the house where I saw it; and there are three or four other -places in the city where the rites are celebrated sometimes at night. -Our admission was procured through a friend who had, I suppose, vouched -for our good intentions. - -We were received in the living-rooms of the house on the ground-floor -by the "doctor," a good-looking mulatto of middle age, clad in a white -shirt with gold studs, linen pantaloons, and list slippers. He had the -simple-minded shrewd look of a "healing medium." The interior was neat, -though in some confusion; among the rude attempts at art on the walls -was the worst chromo print of General Grant that was probably ever made. -There were several negroes about the door, many in the rooms and in the -backyard, and all had an air of expectation and mild excitement. After -we had satisfied the scruples of the doctor, and signed our names in his -register, we were invited to ascend by a narrow, crooked stair-way in -the rear. This led to a small landing where a dozen people might stand, -and from this a door opened into a chamber perhaps fifteen feet by ten, -where the rites were to take place; beyond this was a small bedroom. -Around the sides of these rooms were benches and chairs, and the close -quarters were already well filled. - -The assembly was perfectly orderly, but a motley one, and the women -largely outnumbered the men. There were coal-black negroes, porters, and -stevedores, fat cooks, slender chamber-maids, all shades of complexion, -yellow girls and comely quadroons, most of them in common servant -attire, but some neatly dressed. And among them were, to my surprise, -several white people. - -On one side of the middle room where we sat was constructed a sort of -buffet or bureau, used as an altar. On it stood an image of the Virgin -Mary in painted plaster, about two feet high, flanked by lighted candles -and a couple of cruets, with some other small objects. On a shelf below -were two other candles, and on this shelf and the floor in front were -various offerings to be used in the rites--plates of apples, grapes, -bananas, oranges; dishes of sugar, of sugarplums; a dish of powdered -orris root, packages of candles, bottles of brandy and of water. Two -other lighted candles stood on the floor, and in front an earthen bowl. -The clear space in front for the dancer was not more than four or five -feet square. - -Some time was consumed in preparations, or in waiting for the -worshippers to assemble. From conversation with those near me, I found -that the doctor had a reputation for healing the diseased by virtue of -his incantations, of removing "spells," of finding lost articles, of -ministering to the troubles of lovers, and, in short, of doing very much -what clairvoyants and healing mediums claim to do in what are called -civilized communities. But failing to get a very intelligent account of -the expected performance from the negro woman next me, I moved to the -side of the altar and took a chair next a girl of perhaps twenty years -old, whose complexion and features gave evidence that she was white. -Still, finding her in that company, and there as a participant in the -Voudoo rites, I concluded that I must be mistaken, and that she must -have colored blood in her veins. Assuming the privilege of an inquirer, -I asked her questions about the coming performance, and in doing so -carried the impression that she was kin to the colored race. But I -was soon convinced, from her manner and her replies, that she was pure -white. She was a pretty, modest girl, very reticent, well-bred, polite, -and civil. None of the colored people seemed to know who she was, -but she said she had been there before. She told me, in course of the -conversation, the name of the street where she lived (in the American -part of the town), the private school at which she had been educated -(one of the best in the city), and that she and her parents were -Episcopalians. Whatever her trouble was, mental or physical, she was -evidently infatuated with the notion that this Voudoo doctor could -conjure it away, and said that she thought he had already been of -service to her. She did not communicate her difficulties to him or speak -to him, but she evidently had faith that he could discern what every -one present needed, and minister to them. When I asked her if, with -her education, she did not think that more good would come to her by -confiding in known friends or in regular practitioners, she wearily said -that she did not know. After the performance began, her intense interest -in it, and the light in her eyes, were evidence of the deep hold the -superstition had upon her nature. In coming to this place she had gone a -step beyond the young ladies of her class who make a novena at St. Roch. - -While we still waited, the doctor and two other colored men called me -into the next chamber, and wanted to be assured that it was my own name -I had written on the register, and that I had no unfriendly intentions -in being present. Their doubts at rest, all was ready. - -The doctor squatted on one side of the altar, and his wife, a stout -woman of darker hue, on the other. - -"_Commençons_," said the woman, in a low voice. All the colored people -spoke French, and French only, to each other and in the ceremony. - -The doctor nodded, bent over, and gave three sharp raps on the floor -with a bit of wood. (This is the usual opening of Voudoo rites.) All -the others rapped three times on the floor with their knuckles. Anyone -coming in to join the circle afterwards, stooped and rapped three times. -After a moment's silence, all kneeled and repeated together in French -the Apostles' Creed, and still on their knees, they said two prayers to -the Virgin Mary. - -The colored woman at the side of the altar began a chant in a low, -melodious voice. It was the weird and strange "Dansé Calinda." A tall -negress, with a bright, good-natured face, entered the circle with the -air of a chief performer, knelt, rapped the floor, laid an offering of -candles before the altar, with a small bottle of brandy, seated herself -beside the singer, and took up in a strong, sweet voice the bizarre -rhythm of the song. Nearly all those who came in had laid some -little offering before the altar. The chant grew, the single line was -enunciated in stronger pulsations, and other voices joined in the wild -refrain,= - -```"Dansé Calinda, boudoum, boudoum - -```Dansé Calinda, boudoum, boudoum!"= - -bodies swayed, the hands kept time in soft patpatting, and the feet in -muffled accentuation. The Voudoo arose, removed his slippers, seized a -bottle of brandy, dashed some of the liquid on the floor on each side of -the brown bowl as a libation, threw back his head and took a long pull -at the bottle, and then began in the open space a slow measured dance, -a rhythmical shuffle, with more movement of the hips than of the feet, -backward and forward, round and round, but accelerating his movement as -the time of the song quickened and the excitement rose in the room. The -singing became wilder and more impassioned, a strange minor strain, full -of savage pathos and longing, that made it almost impossible for the -spectator not to join in the swing of its influence, while the dancer -wrought himself up into the wild passion of a Cairene dervish. Without -a moment ceasing his rhythmical steps and his extravagant gesticulation, -he poured liquid into the basin, and dashing in brandy, ignited the -fluid with a match. The liquid flamed up before the altar. He seized -then a bunch of candles, plunged them into the bowl, held them up all -flaming with the burning brandy, and, keeping his step to the maddening -"Calinda," distributed them lighted to the devotees. In the same way -he snatched up dishes of apples, grapes, bananas, oranges, deluged them -with burning brandy, and tossed them about the room to the eager and -excited crowd. His hands were aflame, his clothes seemed to be on fire; -he held the burning dishes close to his breast, apparently inhaling the -flame, closing his eyes and swaying his head backward and forward in an -ecstasy, the hips advancing and receding, the feet still shuffling to -the barbaric measure. - -Every moment his own excitement and that of the audience increased. -The floor was covered with the débris of the sacrifice--broken candy, -crushed sugarplums, scattered grapes--and all more or less in flame. The -wild dancer was dancing in fire! In the height of his frenzy he grasped -a large plate filled with lump-sugar. That was set on fire. He held the -burning mass to his breast, he swung it round, and finally, with his -hand extended under the bottom of the plate (the plate only adhering to -his hand by the rapidity of his circular motion), he spun around like a -dancing dervish, his eyes shut, the perspiration pouring in streams from -his face, in a frenzy. The flaming sugar scattered about the floor, and -the devotees scrambled for it. In intervals of the dance, though the -singing went on, the various offerings which had been conjured were -passed around--bits of sugar and fruit and orris powder. That which fell -to my share I gave to the young girl next me, whose eyes were blazing -with excitement, though she had remained perfectly tranquil, and -joined neither by voice or hands or feet in the excitement. She put the -conjured sugar and fruit in her pocket, and seemed grateful to me for -relinquishing it to her. - -Before this point had been reached the chant had been changed for the -wild _canga_, more rapid in movement than the _chanson africaine_:= - -````"Eh! eli! Bomba, hen! hen! - -````Canga bafio té - -````Canga moune dé lé - -````Canga do ki la - -````Canga li."= - -At intervals during the performance, when the charm had begun to -work, the believers came forward into the open space, and knelt for -"treatment." The singing, the dance, the wild incantation, went on -uninterruptedly; but amid all his antics the dancer had an eye to -business. The first group that knelt were four stalwart men, three of -them white laborers. All of them, I presume, had some disease which they -had faith the incantation would drive away. Each held a lighted candle -in each hand. The doctor successively extinguished each candle by -putting it in his mouth, and performed a number of antics of a saltatory -sort. During his dancing and whirling he frequently filled his mouth -with liquid, and discharged it in spray, exactly as a Chinese laundryman -sprinkles his clothes, into the faces and on the heads of any man or -woman within reach. Those so treated considered themselves specially -favored. Having extinguished the candles of the suppliants, he scooped -the liquid from the bowl, flaming or not as it might be, and with -his hands vigorously scrubbed their faces and heads, as if he were -shampooing them. While the victim was still sputtering and choking he -seized him by the right hand, lifted him up, spun him round half a dozen -times, and then sent him whirling. - -This was substantially the treatment that all received who knelt in the -circle, though sometimes it was more violent. Some of them were -slapped smartly upon the back and the breast, and much knocked about. -Occasionally a woman was whirled till she was dizzy, and perhaps swung -about in his arms as if she had been a bundle of clothes. They all took -it meekly and gratefully. One little girl of twelve, who had rickets, -was banged about till it seemed as if every bone in her body would be -broken. But the doctor had discrimination, even in his wildest moods. -Some of the women were gently whirled, and the conjurer forbore either -to spray them from his mouth or to shampoo them. - -Nearly all those present knelt, and were whirled and shaken, and -those who did not take this "cure" I suppose got the benefit of -the incantation by carrying away some of the consecrated offerings. -Occasionally a woman in the whirl would whisper something-in the -doctor's ear, and receive from him doubtless the counsel she needed. But -generally the doctor made no inquiries of his patients, and they said -nothing to him. - -While the wild chanting, the rhythmic movement of hands and feet, the -barbarous dance, and the fiery incantations were at their height, it was -difficult to believe that we were in a civilized city of an enlightened -republic. Nothing indecent occurred in word or gesture, but it was so -wild and bizarre that one might easily imagine he was in Africa or in -hell. - -As I said, nearly all the participants were colored people; but in the -height of the frenzy one white woman knelt and was sprayed and whirled -with the others. She was a respectable married woman from the other side -of Canal Street. I waited with some anxiety to see what my modest little -neighbor would do. She had told me that she should look on and take -no part. I hoped that the senseless antics, the mummery, the rough -treatment, would disgust her. Towards the close of the séance, when -the spells were all woven and the flames had subsided, the tall, -good-natured negress motioned to me that it was my turn to advance into -the circle and kneel. I excused myself. But the young girl was unable -to resist longer. She went forward and knelt, with a candle in her hand. -The conjurer was either touched by her youth and race, or he had spent -his force. He gently lifted her by one hand, and gave her one turn -around, and she came back to her seat. - -The singing ceased, The doctor's wife passed round the hat for -contributions, and the ceremony, which had lasted nearly an hour and a -half, was over. The doctor retired exhausted with the violent exertions. -As for the patients, I trust they were well cured of rheumatism, of -fever, or whatever ill they had, and that the young ladies have either -got husbands to their minds or have escaped faithless lovers. In the -breaking up I had no opportunity to speak further to the interesting -young white neophyte; but as I saw her resuming her hat and cloak in the -adjoining room there was a strange excitement in her face, and in her -eyes a light of triumph and faith. We came out by the back way, and -through an alley made our escape into the sunny street and the air of -the nineteenth century. - - - - -V.--THE ACADIAN LAND. - -|If one crosses the river from New Orleans to Algiers, and takes -Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railway (now a part of the Southern Pacific -line), he will go west, with a dip at first southerly, and will pass -through a region little attractive except to water-fowl, snakes, and -alligators, by an occasional rice plantation, an abandoned indigo field, -an interminable stretch of cypress swamps, thickets of Spanish-bayonets, -black waters, rank and rampant vegetation, vines, and water-plants; -by-and-by firmer arable land, and cane plantations, many of them -forsaken and become thickets of undergrowth, owing to frequent -inundations and the low price of sugar. - -At a distance of eighty miles Morgan City is reached, and the broad -Atchafalaya Bayou is crossed. Hence is steamboat communication with New -Orleans and Vera Cruz. The Atchafalaya Bayou has its origin near the -mouth of the Red River, and diverting from the Mississippi most of that -great stream, it makes its tortuous way to the Gulf, frequently -expanding into the proportions of a lake, and giving this region a great -deal more water than it needs. The Bayou Teche, which is, in fact, a -lazy river, wanders down from the rolling country of Washington and -Opelousas, with a great deal of uncertainty of purpose, but mainly -south-easterly, and parallel with the Atchafalaya, and joins the latter -at Morgan City. Steamers of good size navigate it as far as New Iberia, -some forty to fifty miles, and the railway follows it to the latter -place, within sight of its fringe of live-oaks and cotton-woods. The -region south and west of the Bayou Teche, a vast plain cut by -innumerable small bayous and streams, which have mostly a connection -with the bay of Côte Blanche and Vermilion Bay, is the home of the Nova -Scotia Acadians. - -The Acadians in 1755 made a good exchange, little as they thought so -at the time, of bleak Nova Scotia for these sunny, genial, and -fertile lands. They came into a land and a climate suited to their -idiosyncrasies, and which have enabled them to preserve their primitive -traits. In a comparative isolation from the disturbing currents -of modern life, they have preserved the habits and customs of the -eighteenth century. The immigrants spread themselves abroad among those -bayous, made their homes wide apart, and the traveller will nowhere -find--at least I did not--large and compact communities of them, -unalloyed with the American and other elements. Indeed, I imagine -that they are losing, in the general settlement of the country, their -conspicuousness. They still give the tone, however, to considerable -districts, as in the village and neighborhood of Abbeville. Some places, -like the old town of St. Martinsville, on the Teche, once the social -capital of the region, and entitled, for its wealth and gayety, the -Petit Paris, had a large element of French who were not Acadians. - -The Teche from Morgan City to New Iberia is a deep, slow, and winding -stream, flowing through a flat region of sugar plantations. It is -very picturesque by reason of its tortuousness and the great spreading -live-oak trees, moss-draped, that hang over it. A voyage on it is one of -the most romantic entertainments offered to the traveller. The -scenery is peaceful, and exceedingly pretty. There are few conspicuous -plantations with mansions and sugar-stacks of any pretensions, but the -panorama from the deck of the steamer is always pleasing. There is an -air of leisure and "afternoon" about the expedition, which is heightened -by the idle case of the inhabitants lounging at the rude wharves and -landing-places, and the patience of the colored fishers, boys in scant -raiment and women in sun-bonnets, seated on the banks. Typical of this -universal contentment is the ancient colored man stretched on a plank -close to the steamer's boiler, oblivious of the heat, apparently asleep, -with his spacious mouth wide open, but softly singing. - -"Are you asleep, uncle?" - -"No, not adzackly asleep, boss. I jes wake up, and thinkin' how good de -Lord is, I couldn't help singin'." - -The panorama is always interesting. There are wide silvery expanses of -water, into which fall the shadows of great trees. A tug is dragging -along a tow of old rafts composed of cypress logs all water-soaked, -green with weeds and grass, so that it looks like a floating garden. -What pictures! Clusters of oaks on the prairie; a picturesque old -cotton-press; a house thatched with palmettoes; rice-fields irrigated by -pumps; darkies, field-hands, men and women, hoeing in the cane-fields, -giving stalwart strokes that exhibit their robust figures; an old -sugar-mill in ruin and vine-draped; an old begass chimney against the -sky; an antique cotton-press with its mouldering roof supported on -timbers; a darky on a mule motionless on the bank, clad in Attakapas -cloth, his slouch hat falling about his head like a roof from which the -rafters have been withdrawn; palmettoes, oaks, and funereal moss; lines -of Spanish-bayonets; rickety wharves; primitive boats; spider-legged -bridges. Neither on the Teche nor the Atchafalaya, nor on the great -plain near the Mississippi, fit for amphibious creatures, where one -standing on the level wonders to sec the wheels of the vast river -steamers above him, apparently without cause, revolving, is there any -lack of the picturesque. - -New Iberia, the thriving mart of the region, which has drawn away the -life from St. Martinsville, ten miles farther up the bayou, is a -village mainly of small frame houses, with a smart court-house, a lively -business street, a few pretty houses, and some oldtime mansions on the -bank of the bayou, half smothered in old rose gardens, the ground in the -rear sloping to the water under the shade of gigantic oaks. One of -them, which with its outside staircases in the pillared gallery suggests -Spanish taste on the outside, and in the interior the arrangement of -connecting rooms a French chateau, has a self-keeping rose garden, where -one might easily become sentimental; the vines disport themselves -like holiday children, climbing the trees, the side of the house, and -revelling in an abandon of color and perfume. - -The population is mixed--Americans, French, Italians, now and then a -Spaniard and even a Mexican, occasionally a basket-making Attakapas, -and the all-pervading person of color. The darky is a born fisherman, in -places where fishing requires no exertion, and one may see him any -hour seated on the banks of the Teche, especially the boy and the -sun-bonneted woman, placidly holding their poles over the muddy stream, -and can study, if he like, the black face in expectation of a bite. -There too are the washer-women, with their tubs and a plank thrust -into the water, and a handkerchief of bright colors for a turban. These -people somehow never fail to be picturesque, whatever attitude they -take, and they are not at all self-conscious. The groups on Sunday give -an interest to church-going--a lean white horse, with a man, his wife, -and boy strung along its backbone, an aged darky and his wife seated in -a cart, in stiff Sunday clothes and flaming colors, the wheels of the -cart making all angles with the ground, and wabbling and creaking -along, the whole party as proud of its appearance as Julius Caesar in a -triumph. - -I drove on Sunday morning early from New Iberia to church at St. -Martinsville. It was a lovely April morning. The way lay over fertile -prairies, past fine cane plantations, with some irrigation, and for a -distance along the pretty Teche, shaded by great live-oaks, and here and -there a fine magnolia-tree; a country with few houses, and those mostly -shanties, but a sunny, smiling land, loved of the birds. We passed on -our left the Spanish Lake, a shallow, irregular body of water. My -driver was an ex-Confederate soldier, whose tramp with a musket through -Virginia had not greatly enlightened him as to what it was all about. -As to the Acadians, however, he had a decided opinion, and it was a poor -one. They are no good. "You ask them a question, and they shrug their -shoulders like a tarrapin--don't know no more'n a dead alligator; only -language they ever have is 'no' and 'what?'" - -If St. Martinsville, once the scat of fashion, retains anything of its -past elegance, its life has departed from it. It has stopped growing -anything but old, and yet it has not much of interest that is antique; -it is a village of small white frame houses, with three or four big -gaunt brick structures, two stories and a half high, with galleries, -and here and there a Creole cottage, the stairs running up inside the -galleries, over which roses climb in profusion. - -I went to breakfast at a French inn, kept by Madame Castillo, a large -red-brick house on the banks of the Teche, where the live-oaks cast -shadows upon the silvery stream. It had, of course, a double gallery. -Below, the waiting-room, dining-room, and general assembly-room were -paved with brick, and instead of a door, Turkey-red curtains hung in the -entrance, and blowing aside, hospitably invited the stranger within. The -breakfast was neatly served, the house was scrupulously clean, and the -guest felt the influence of that personal hospitality which is always so -pleasing. Madame offered me a seat in her pew in church, and meantime -a chair on the upper gallery, which opened from large square sleeping -chambers. In that fresh morning I thought I never had seen a more -sweet and peaceful place than this gallery. Close to it grew graceful -China-trees in full blossom and odor; up and down the Teche were -charming views under the oaks; only the roofs of the town could be seen -amid the foliage of China-trees; and there was an atmosphere of repose -in all the scene. - -It was Easter morning. I felt that I should like to linger there a week -in absolute forgetfulness of the world. French is the ordinary language -of the village, spoken more or less corruptly by all colors. - -The Catholic church, a large and ugly structure, stands on the plaza, -which is not at all like a Spanish plaza, but a veritable New England -"green," with stores and shops on all sides--New England, except that -the shops are open on Sunday. In the church apse is a noted and not bad -painting of St. Martin, and at the bottom of one aisle a vast bank of -black stucco clouds, with the Virgin standing on them, and the legend, -"_Je suis l'immaculee conception_." - -Country people were pouring into town for the Easter service and -festivities--more blacks than whites--on horseback and in rickety -carriages, and the horses were hitched on either side of the church. -Before service the square was full of lively young colored lads cracking -Easter-eggs. Two meet and strike together the eggs in their hands, and -the one loses whose egg breaks. A tough shell is a valuable possession. -The custom provokes a good deal of larking and merriment. While this is -going on, the worshippers are making their way into the church -through the throng, ladies in the neat glory of provincial dress, and -high-stepping, saucy colored belles, yellow and black, the blackest in -the most radiant apparel of violent pink and light blue, and now and -then a society favorite in all the hues of the rainbow. The centre pews -of the church are reserved for the whites, the seats of the side aisles -for the negroes. When mass begins, the church is crowded. The boys, -with occasional excursions into the vestibule to dip the finger in the -holy-water, or perhaps say a prayer, are still winning and losing eggs -on the preen. - -On the gallery at the inn it is also Sunday. The air is full of odor. A -strong south wind begins to blow. I think the south wind is the wind -of memory and of longing. I wonder if the gay spirits of the last -generation ever return to the scenes of their revelry? Will they come -back to the theatre this Sunday night, and to the Grand Ball afterwards? -The admission to both is only twenty-five cents, including gombo file. - -From New Iberia southward towards Vermilion Bay stretches a vast -prairie; if it is not absolutely fiat, if it resembles the ocean, it -is the ocean when its long swells have settled nearly to a calm. This -prairie would be monotonous were it not dotted with small round ponds, -like hand-mirrors for the flitting birds and sailing clouds, were its -expanse not spotted with herds of cattle, scattered or clustering like -fishing-boats on a green sea, were it not for a cabin here and there, a -field of cane or cotton, a garden plot, and were it not for the forests -which break the horizon line, and send out dark capes into the verdant -plains. On a gray day, or when storms and fogs roll in from the Gulf, it -might be a gloomy region, but under the sunlight and in the spring it is -full of life and color; it has an air of refinement and repose that is -very welcome. Besides the uplift of the spirit that a wide horizon is -apt to give, one is conscious here of the neighborhood of the sea, and -of the possibilities of romantic adventure in a coast intersected by -bayous, and the presence of novel forms of animal and vegetable life, -and of a people with habits foreign and strange. There is also a -grateful sense of freedom and expansion. - -Soon, over the plain, is seen on the horizon, ten miles from New Iberia, -the dark foliage on the island of Petite Anse, or Wery's Island. This -unexpected upheaval from the marsh, bounded by the narrow, circling -Petite Anse Bayou, rises into the sky one hundred and eighty feet, -and has the effect in this flat expanse of a veritable mountain, -comparatively a surprise, like Pike's Peak seen from the elevation of -Denver. Perhaps nowhere else would a hill of one hundred and eighty -feet make such an impression on the mind. Crossing the bayou, where -alligators sun themselves and eye with affection the colored people -angling at the bridge, and passing a long causeway over the marsh, the -firm land of the island is reached. This island, which is a sort of -geological puzzle, has a very uneven surface, and is some two and a half -miles long by one mile broad. It is a little kingdom in itself, capable -of producing in its soil and adjacent waters nearly everything one -desires of the necessaries of life. A portion of the island is devoted -to a cane plantation and sugar-works; a part of it is covered with -forests; and on the lowlands and gentle slopes, besides thickets of -palmetto, are gigantic live-oaks, moss-draped trees monstrous in girth, -and towering into the sky with a vast spread of branches. Scarcely -anywhere else will one see a nobler growth of these stately trees. In -a depression is the famous saltmine, unique in quality and situation -in the world. Here is grown and put up the Tobasco pepper; here, amid -fields of clover and flowers, a large apiary flourishes. Stones of some -value for ornament are found. - -Indeed, I should not be surprised at anything turning up there, for I am -told that good kaoline has been discovered; and about the residences -of the hospitable proprietors roses bloom in abundance, the China-tree -blossoms sweetly, and the mocking-bird sings. - -But better than all these things I think I like the view from the broad -cottage piazzas, and I like it best when the salt breeze is strong -enough to sweep away the coast mosquitoes--a most undesirable variety. I -do not know another view of its kind for extent and color comparable to -that from this hill over the waters seaward. The expanse of luxuriant -grass, brown, golden, reddish, in patches, is intersected by a network -of bayous, which gleam like silver in the sun, or trail like dark -fabulous serpents under a cloudy sky. The scene is limited only by the -power of the eye to meet the sky line. Vast and level, it is constantly -changing, almost in motion with life; the long grass and weeds run like -waves when the wind blows, great shadows of clouds pass on its surface, -alternating dark masses with vivid ones of sunlight; fishing-boats and -the masts of schooners creep along the threads of water; when the sun -goes down, a red globe of fire in the Gulf mists, all the expanse is -warm and ruddy, and the waters sparkle like jewels; and at night, under -the great field of stars, marsh fires here and there give a sort of -lurid splendor to the scene. In the winter it is a temperate spot, and -at all times of the year it is blessed by an invigorating seabreeze. - -Those who have enjoyed the charming social life and the unbounded -hospitality of the family who inhabit this island may envy them their -paradisiacal home, but they would be able to select none others so -worthy to enjoy it. - -It is said that the Attakapas Indians are shy of this island, having -a legend that it was the scene of a great catastrophe to their race. -Whether this catastrophe has any connection with the upheaval of the -salt mountain I do not know. Many stories are current in this region in -regard to the discovery of this deposit. A little over a quarter of a -century ago it was unsuspected. The presence of salt in the water of -a small spring led somebody to dig in that place, and at the depth of -sixteen feet below the surface solid salt was struck. In stripping away -the soil several relics of human workmanship came to light, among them -stone implements and a woven basket, exactly such as the Attakapas make -now. This basket, found at the depth of sixteen feet, lay upon the salt -rock, and was in perfect preservation. Half of it can now be seen in the -Smithsonian Institution. At the beginning of the war great quantities of -salt were taken from this mine for the use of the Confederacy. But this -supply was cut off by the Unionists, who at first sent gunboats up the -bayou within shelling distance, and at length occupied it with troops. - -The ascertained area of the mine is several acres; the depth of the -deposit is unknown. The first shaft was sunk a hundred feet; below -this a shaft of seventy feet fails to find any limit to the salt. -The excavation is already large. Descending, the visitor enters vast -cathedral-like chambers; the sides are solid salt, sparkling with -crystals; the floor is solid salt; the roof is solid salt, supported -on pillars of salt left by the excavators, forty or perhaps sixty feet -square. When the interior is lighted by dynamite the effect is superbly -weird and grotesque. The salt is blasted by dynamite, loaded into ears -which run on rails to the elevator, hoisted, and distributed into the -crushers, and from the crushers directly into the bags for shipment. -The crushers differ in crushing capacity, some producing fine and others -coarse salt. No bleaching or cleansing process is needed; the salt -is almost absolutely pure. Large blocks of it are sent to the Western -plains for "cattle licks." The mine is connected by rail with the main -line at New Iberia. - -Across the marshes and bayous eight miles to the west from Petite Anse -Island rises Orange Island, famous for its orange plantation, but -called Jefferson Island since it became the property and home of Joseph -Jefferson. Not so high as Petite Anse, it is still conspicuous with its -crown of dark forest. From a high point on Petite Anse, through a lovely -vista of trees, with flowering cacti in the foreground, Jefferson's -house is a white spot in the landscape. We reached it by a circuitous -drive of twelve miles over the prairie, sometimes in and sometimes out -of the water, and continually diverted from our course by fences. It is -a good sign of the thrift of the race, and of its independence, that the -colored people have taken up or bought little tracts of thirty or forty -acres, put up cabins, and new fences round their domains regardless of -the travelling public. We zigzagged all about the country to get round -these little enclosures. At one place, where the main road was bad, a -thrifty Acadian had set up a toll of twenty-five cents for the privilege -of passing through his premises. The scenery was pastoral and pleasing. - -There were frequent round ponds, brilliant with lilies and -_fleurs-de-lis_, and hundreds of cattle feeding on the prairie or -standing In the water, and generally of a dun-color, made always -an agreeable picture. The monotony was broken by lines of trees, by -cape-like woods stretching into the plain, and the horizon line was -always fine. Great variety of birds enlivened the landscape, game birds -abounding. There was the lively little nonpareil, which seems to change -its color, and is red and green and blue, I believe of the oriole -family, the papabotte, a favorite on New Orleans tables in the autumn, -snipe, killdee, the cherooke (snipe?), the meadow-lark, and quantities -of teal ducks in the ponds. These little ponds are called "bull-holes." -The traveller is told that they are started in this watery soil by the -pawing of bulls, and gradually enlarged as the cattle frequent them. He -remembers that he has seen similar circular ponds in the North not made -by bulls. - -Mr. Jefferson's residence--a pretty rose-vine-covered cottage--is -situated on the slope of the hill, overlooking a broad plain and a vast -stretch of bayou country. Along one side of his home enclosure for a -mile runs a superb hedge of Chickasaw roses. On the slope back of the -house, and almost embracing it, is a magnificent grove of live-oaks, -great gray stems, and the branches hung with heavy masses of moss, -which swing in the wind like the pendent boughs of the willow, and with -something of its sentimental and mournful suggestion. The recesses of -this forest are cool and dark, but upon ascending the hill, suddenly -bursts upon the view under the trees a most lovely lake of clear blue -water. This lake, which may be a mile long and half a mile broad, is -called Lake Peigneur, from its fanciful resemblance, I believe, to -a wool-comber. The shores are wooded. On the island side the bank is -precipitous; on the opposite shore amid the trees is a hunting-lodge, -and I believe there are plantations on the north end, but it is in -aspect altogether solitary and peaceful. But the island did not want -life. The day was brilliant, with a deep blue sky and high-sailing -fleecy clouds, and it seemed a sort of animal holiday: squirrels -chattered; cardinal-birds flashed through the green leaves; there -flitted about the red-winged blackbird, blue jays, redheaded -woodpeckers, thrushes, and occasionally a rain-crow crossed the scene; -high overhead sailed the heavy buzzards, describing great aerial -circles; and off in the still lake the ugly heads of alligators were -toasting in the sun. - -It was very pleasant to sit on the wooded point, enlivened by all this -animal activity, looking off upon the lake and the great expanse of -marsh, over which came a refreshing breeze. There was great variety of -forest-trees. Besides the live-oaks, in one small area I noticed the -water-oak, red-oak, pin-oak, the elm, the cypress, the hackberry, and -the pecan tree. - -This point is a favorite rendezvous for the buzzards. Before I reached -it I heard a tremendous whirring in the air, and, lo! there upon the -oaks were hundreds and hundreds of buzzards. Upon one dead tree, vast, -gaunt, and bleached, they had settled in black masses. When I came near -they rose and flew about with clamor and surprise, momentarily -obscuring the sunlight. With these unpleasant birds consorted in unclean -fellowship numerous long-necked water-turkeys. - -Doré would have liked to introduce into one of his melodramatic pictures -this helpless dead tree, extending its gray arms loaded with these black -scavengers. It needed the blue sky and blue lake to prevent the scene -from being altogether uncanny. I remember still the harsh, croaking -noise of the buzzards and the water-turkeys when they were disturbed, -and the flapping of their funereal wings, and perhaps the alligators -lying off in the lake noted it, for they grunted and bellowed a -response. But the birds sang merrily, the wind blew softly; there was -the repose as of a far country undisturbed by man, and a silvery tone on -the water and all the landscape that refined the whole. - -If the Acadians can anywhere be seen in the prosperity of their -primitive simplicity, I fancy it is in the parish of Vermilion, in the -vicinity of Abbeville and on the Bayou Tigre. Here, among the intricate -bayous that are their highways and supply them with the poorer sort of -fish, and the fair meadows on which their cattle pasture, and where they -grow nearly everything their simple habits require, they have for over -a century enjoyed a quiet existence, practically undisturbed by the -agitations of modern life, ignorant of its progress. History makes their -departure from the comparatively bleak meadows of Grand Pré a cruel -hardship, if a political necessity. But they made a very fortunate -exchange. Nowhere else on the continent could they so well have -preserved their primitive habits, or found climate and soil so suited -to their humor. Others have exhaustively set forth the history and -idiosyncrasies of this peculiar people; it is in my way only to tell -what I saw on a spring day. - -To reach the heart of this abode of contented and perhaps wise ignorance -we took boats early one morning at Petite Anse Island, while the dew was -still heavy and the birds were at matins, and rowed down the Petite -Anse Bayou. A stranger would surely be lost in these winding, branching, -interlacing streams. Evangeline and her lover might have passed each -other unknown within hail across these marshes. The party of a dozen -people occupied two row-boats. Among them were gentlemen who knew the -route, but the reserve of wisdom as to what bayous and cutoffs were -navigable was an ancient ex-slave, now a voter, who responded to -the name of "Honorable"--a weather-beaten and weather-wise darky, a -redoubtable fisherman, whose memory extended away beyond the war, and -played familiarly about the person of Lafayette, with whom he had been -on agreeable terms in Charleston, and who dated his narratives, to our -relief, not from the war, but from the year of some great sickness on -the coast. From the Petite Anse we entered the Carlin Bayou, and wound -through it is needless to say what others in our tortuous course. In -the fresh morning, with the salt air, it was a voyage of delight. Mullet -were jumping in the glassy stream, perhaps disturbed by the gar-fish, -and alligators lazily slid from the reedy banks into the water at our -approach. All the marsh was gay with flowers, vast patches of the -blue _fleur-de-lis_ intermingled with the exquisite white spider-lily, -nodding in clusters on long stalks; an amaryllis (pancratium), its pure -halfdisk fringed with delicate white filaments. The air was vocal -with the notes of birds, the nonpareil and the meadow-lark, and most -conspicuous of all the handsome boat-tail grackle, a blackbird, which -alighted on the slender dead reeds that swayed with his weight as he -poured forth his song. Sometimes the bayou narrowed so that it was -impossible to row with the oars, and poling was resorted to, and the -current was swift and strong. At such passes we saw only the banks with -nodding flowers, and the reeds, with the blackbirds singing, against the -sky. Again we emerged into placid reaches overhung by gigantic live-oaks -and fringed with cypress. It was enchanting. But the way was not quite -solitary. Numerous fishing parties were encountered, boats on their way -to the bay, and now and then a party of stalwart men drawing a net in -the bayou, their clothes being deposited on the banks. Occasionally a -large schooner was seen, tied to the bank or slowly working its way, and -on one a whole family was domesticated. There is a good deal of queer -life hidden in these bayous. - -After passing through a narrow artificial canal, we came into the Bayou -Tigre, and landed for breakfast on a greensward, with meadow-land and -signs of habitations in the distance, under spreading live-oaks. Under -one of the most attractive of these trees, close to the stream, we did -not spread our table-cloth and shawls, because a large moccason snake -was seen to glide under the roots, and we did not know but that his -modesty was assumed, and he might join the breakfast party. It is -said that these snakes never attack any one who has kept all the ten -commandments from his youth up. Cardinal-birds made the wood gay for us -while we breakfasted, and we might have added plenty of partridges to -our _menu_ if we had been armed. - -Resuming our voyage, we presently entered the inhabited part of -the bayou, among cultivated fields, and made our first call on the -Thibodeaux. They had been expecting us, and Andonia came down to the -landing to welcome us, and with a formal, pretty courtesy led the way to -the house. Does the reader happen to remember, say in New England, say -fifty years ago, the sweetest maiden lady in the village, prim, staid, -full of kindness, the proportions of the figure never quite developed, -with a row of small corkscrew curls about her serene forehead, and all -the juices of life that might have overflowed into the life of others -somehow withered into the sweetness of her wistful face? Yes; a little -timid and appealing, and yet trustful, and in a scant, quaint gown? -Well, Andonia was never married, and she had such curls, and a -high-waisted gown, and a kerchief folded across her breast; and when she -spoke, it was in the language of France as it is rendered in Acadia. - -The house, like all in this region, stands upon blocks of wood, is in -appearance a frame house, but the walls between timbers are of concrete -mixed with moss, and the same inside as out. It had no glass in tin -windows, which were closed with solid shutters. Upon the rough walls -were hung sacred pictures and other crudely colored prints. The -furniture was rude and apparently home-made, and the whole interior was -as painfully neat as a Dutch parlor. Even the beams overhead and ceiling -had been scrubbed. Andonia showed us with a blush of pride her neat -little sleeping-room, with its souvenirs of affection, and perhaps some -of the dried flowers of a possible romance, and the ladies admired the -finely woven white counterpane on the bed. Andonia's married sister was -a large, handsome woman, smiling and prosperous. There were children -and, I think, a baby about, besides Mr. Thibodeaux. Nothing could exceed -the kindly manner of these people. Andonia showed us how they card, -weave, and spin the cotton out of which then-blankets and the jean for -their clothing are made. They use the old-fashioned hand-cards, spin -on a little wheel with a foot-treadle, have the most primitive -warping-bars, and weave most laboriously on a rude loom. But the cloth -they make will wear forever, and the colors they use are all fast. It -is a great pleasure, we might almost say shock, to encounter such honest -work in these times. The Acadians grow a yellow or nankeen sort of -cotton which, without requiring any dye, is woven into a handsome yellow -stuff. When we departed Andonia slipped into the door-yard, and returned -with a rose for each of us. I fancied she was loath to have us go, and -that the visit was an event in the monotony of her single life. - -Embarking again on the placid stream, we moved along through a land -of peace. The houses of the Acadians are scattered along the bayou at -considerable distances apart. The voyager seems to be in an unoccupied -country, when suddenly the turn of the stream shows him a farm-house, -with its little landing-wharf, boats, and perhaps a schooner moored at -the bank, and behind it cultivated fields and a fringe of trees. In -the blossoming time of the year, when the birds are most active, these -scenes are idyllic. At a bend in the bayou, where a tree sent its -horizontal trunk half across it, we made our next call, at the house -of Mr Vallet, a large frame house, and evidently the abode of a man of -means. The house was ceiled outside and inside with native woods. As -usual in this region, the premises were not as orderly as those about -some Northern farm-houses, but the interior of the house was spotlessly -clean, and in its polish and barrenness of ornament and of appliances -of comfort suggested a Brittany home, while its openness and the broad -veranda spoke of a genial climate. Our call here was brief, for a sick -man, very ill, they said, lay in the front room--a stranger who had -been overtaken with fever, and was being cared for by these kind-hearted -people. - -Other calls were made--this visiting by boat recalls Venice--but the -end of our voyage was the plantation of Simonette Le Blanc, a sturdy -old man, a sort of patriarch in this region, the centre of a very large -family of sons, daughters, and grandchildren. The residence, a rambling -story-and-a-half house, grown by accretions as more room was needed, -calls for no comment. It was all very plain, and contained no books, -nor any adornments except some family photographs, the poor work of a -travelling artist. But in front, on the bayou, Mr. Le Blanc had erected -a grand ballroom, which gave an air of distinction to the place. This -hall, which had benches along the wail, and at one end a high dais for -the fiddlers, and a little counter where the gombo filé (the common -refreshment) is served, had an air of gayety by reason of engravings -cut from the illustrated papers, and was shown with some pride. Here -neighborhood dances take place once in two weeks, and a grand ball was -to come off on Easter-Sunday night, to which we were urgently invited to -come. - -Simonette Le Blanc, with several of his sons, had returned at midnight -from an expedition to Vermilion Bay, where they had been camping for -a couple of weeks, fishing and taking oysters. Working the schooner -through the bayou at night had been fatiguing, and then there was -supper, and all the news of the fortnight to be talked over, so that it -was four o'clock before the house was at rest, but neither the hale old -man nor his stalwart sons seemed the worse for the adventure. Such trips -are not uncommon, for these people seem to have leisure for enjoyment, -and vary the toil of the plantation with the pleasures of fishing -and lazy navigation. But to the women and the home-stayers this was -evidently an event. The men had been to the outer world, and brought -back with them the gossip of the bayous and the simple incidents of the -camping life on the coast. "There was a great deal to talk over that had -happened in a fortnight," said Simonette--he and one of his sons spoke -English. I do not imagine that the talk was about politics, or any of -the events that seem important in other portions of the United States, -only the faintest echoes of which ever reach this secluded place. This -is a purely domestic and patriarchal community, where there are no books -to bring in agitating doubts, and few newspapers to disquiet the nerves. -The only matter of politics broached was in regard to an appropriation -by Congress to improve a cut-off between two bayous. So far as I could -learn, the most intelligent of these people had no other interest in -or concern about the Government. There is a neighborhood school where -English is taught, but no church nearer than Abbeville, six miles away. -I should not describe the population as fanatically religious, nor -a churchgoing one except on special clays. But by all accounts it is -moral, orderly, sociable, fond of dancing, thrifty, and conservative. - -The Acadians are fond of their homes. It is not the fashion for the -young people to go away to better their condition. Few young men have -ever been as far from home as New Orleans; they marry young, and settle -down near the homestead. Mr. Le Blanc has a colony of his descendants -about him, within hail from his door. It must be large, and his race -must be prolific, judging by the number of small children who gathered -at the homestead to have a sly peep at the strangers. They took -small interest in the war, and it had few attractions for them. The -conscription carried away many of their young men, but I am told they -did not make very good soldiers, not because they were not stalwart and -brave, but because they were so intolerably homesick that they deserted -whenever they had a chance. The men whom we saw were most of them fine -athletic fellows, with honest, dark, sun-browned faces; some of the -children were very pretty, but the women usually showed the effects of -isolation and toil, and had the common plainness of French peasants. -They are a self-supporting community, raise their own cotton, corn, and -sugar, and for the most part manufacture their own clothes and -articles of household use. Some of the cotton jeans, striped with blue, -indigo-dyed, made into garments for men and women, and the blankets, -plain yellow (from the native nankeen cotton), curiously clouded, are -very pretty and serviceable. Further than that their habits of living -are simple, and their ways primitive, I saw few eccentricities. The -peculiarity of this community is in its freedom from all the hurry and -worry and information of our modern life. I have read that the gallants -train their little horses to prance and curvet and rear and fidget -about, and that these are called "courtin' horses," and are used when -a young man goes courting, to impress his mistress with his manly -horsemanship. I have seen these horses perform under the saddle, but I -was not so fortunate as to see any courting going on. - -In their given as well as their family names these people are classical -and peculiar. I heard, of men, the names L'Odias, Peigneur, Niolas, -Elias, Homère, Lemaire, and of women, Emilite, Ségoura, Antoinette, -Clarise, Elia. - -We were very hospitably entertained by the Le Blancs. On our arrival -tiny cups of black coffee were handed round, and later a drink of -syrup and water, which some of the party sipped with a sickly smile of -enjoyment. Before dinner we walked up to the bridge over the bayou -on the road leading to Abbeville, where there is a little cluster of -houses, a small country store, and a closed drug-shop--the owner of -which had put up his shutters and gone to a more unhealthy region. Here -is a fine grove of oaks, and from the bridge we had in view a grand -sweep of prairie, with trees, single and in masses, which made with -the winding silvery stream a very pleasing picture. We sat down to a -dinner--the women waiting on the table--of gombo file, fried oysters, -eggs, sweet-potatoes (the delicious saccharine, sticky sort), with syrup -out of a bottle served in little saucers, and afterwards black coffee. -We were sincerely welcome to whatever the house contained, and when we -departed the whole family, and indeed all the neighborhood, accompanied -us to our boats, and we went away down the stream with a chorus of -adieus and good wishes. - -We were watching for a hail from the Thibodeaux. The doors and shutters -were closed, and the mansion seemed blank and forgetful. But as we -came opposite the landing, there stood Andonia, faithful, waving her -handkerchief. Ah me! - -We went home gayly and more swiftly, current and tide with us, though a -little pensive, perhaps, with too much pleasure and the sunset effects -on the wide marshes through which we voyaged. Cattle wander at will -over these marshes, and are often stalled and lost. We saw some pitiful -sights. The cattle venturing too near the boggy edge to drink become -inextricably involved. We passed an ox sunken to his back, and dead; a -cow frantically struggling in the mire, almost exhausted, and a cow and -calf, the mother dead, the calf moaning beside her. On a cattle lookout -near by sat three black buzzards surveying the prospect with hungry -eyes. - -When we landed and climbed the hill, and from the rose-embowered veranda -looked back over the strange land we had sailed through, away to Bayou -Tigre, where the red sun was setting, we felt that we had been in a -country that is not of this world. - - - - -VI.--THE SOUTH REVISITED, IN 1887. - -|In speaking again of the South in Harper's Monthly, after an interval -of about two years, and as before at the request of the editor, I said, -I shrink a good deal from the appearance of forwardness which a second -paper may seem to give to observations which have the single purpose of -contributing my mite towards making the present spirit of the -Southern people, their progress in industries and in education, their -aspirations, better known. On the other hand, I have no desire to escape -the imputation of a warm interest in the South, and of a belief that its -development and prosperity are essential to the greatness and glory of -the nation. Indeed, no one can go through the South, with his eyes open, -without having his patriotic fervor quickened and broadened, and without -increased pride in the republic. - -We are one people. Different traditions, different education or the lack -of it, the demoralizing curse of slavery, different prejudices, made -us look at life from irreconcilable points of view; but the prominent -common feature, after all, is our Americanism. In any assembly of -gentlemen from the two sections the resemblances are greater than the -differences. A score of times I have heard it said, "We look alike, talk -alike, feel alike; how strange it is we should have fought!" Personal -contact always tends to remove prejudices, and to bring into prominence -the national feeling, the race feeling, the human nature common to all -of us. - -I wish to give as succinctly as I can the general impressions of a -recent six weeks' tour, made by a company of artists and writers, which -became known as the "Harper party," through a considerable portion -of the South, including the cities of Lynchburg, Richmond, Danville, -Atlanta, Augusta (with a brief call at Charleston and Columbia, for -it was not intended to take in the eastern seaboard on this trip), -Knoxville, Chattanooga, South Pittsburg, Nashville, Birmingham, -Montgomery, Pensacola, Mobile, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Vicksburg, -Memphis, Louisville. Points of great interest were necessarily omitted -in a tour which could only include representatives of the industrial and -educational development of the New South. Naturally we were thrown more -with business men and with educators than with others; that is, with -those who are actually making the New South; but we saw something of -social life, something of the homes and mode of living of every class, -and we had abundant opportunities of conversation with whites and blacks -of every social grade and political affinity. The Southern people -were anxious to show us what they were doing, and they expressed their -sentiments with entire frankness; if we were misled, it is our own -fault. It must be noted, however, in estimating the value of our -observations, that they were mainly made in cities and large villages, -and little in the country districts. - -Inquiries in the South as to the feeling of the North show that there -is still left some misapprehension of the spirit in which the North sent -out its armies, though it is beginning to be widely understood that the -North was not animated by hatred of the South, but by intense love of -the Union. On the other hand, I have no doubt there still lingers in the -North a little misapprehension of the present feeling of the Southern -people about the Union. It arises from a confusion of two facts which it -is best to speak of plainly. Everybody knows that the South is heartily -glad that slavery is gone, and that a new era of freedom has set in. -Everybody who knows the South at all is aware that any idea of any -renewal of the strife, now or at any time, is nowhere entertained, even -as a speculation, and that to the women especially, who are said to -be first in war, last in peace, and first in the hearts of their -countrymen, the idea of war is a subject of utter loathing. The two -facts to which I refer are the loyalty of the Southern whites to the -Union, and their determination to rule in domestic affairs. Naturally -there are here and there soreness and some bitterness over personal loss -and ruin, life-long grief, maybe, over lost illusions--the observer -who remembers what human nature is wonders that so little of this is -left--but the great fact is that the South is politically loyal to the -Union of the States, that the sentiment for its symbol is growing into a -deep reality which would flame out in passion under any foreign insult, -and that nationality, pride in the republic, is everywhere strong -and prominent. It is hardly necessary to say this, but it needs to be -emphasized when the other fact is dwelt on, namely, the denial of free -suffrage to the colored man. These two things are confused, and this -confusion is the source of much political misunderstanding. Often when -a Southern election "outrage" is telegraphed, when intimidation or fraud -is revealed, it is said in print, "So that is Southern loyalty!" In -short, the political treatment of the negro is taken to be a sign of -surviving war feeling, if not of a renewed purpose of rebellion. In this -year of grace 1887 the two things have no isolation to each other. It -would be as true to say that election frauds and violence to individuals -and on the ballot-box in Cincinnati are signs of hatred of the Union and -of Union men, as that a suppressed negro vote at the South, by adroit -management or otherwise, is indication of remaining hostility to the -Union. In the South it is sometimes due to the same depraved party -spirit that causes frauds in the North--the determination of a party to -get or keep the upper-hand at all hazards; but it is, in its origin and -generally, simply the result of the resolution of the majority of the -brains and property of the South to govern the cities and the States, -and in the Southern mind this is perfectly consistent with entire -allegiance to the Government. I could name men who were abettors of -what is called the "shotgun policy" whose national patriotism is -beyond question, and who are warm promoters of negro education and the -improvement of the condition of the colored people. - -We might as well go to the bottom of this state of things, and look it -squarely in the face. Under reconstruction, sometimes owing to a -tardy acceptance of the new conditions by the ruling class, the State -governments and the municipalities fell under the control of ignorant -colored people, guided by unscrupulous white adventurers. States and -cities were prostrate under the heel of ignorance and fraud, crushed -with taxes, and no improvements to show for them. It was ruin on the way -to universal bankruptcy. The regaining of power by the intelligent and -the property owners was a question of civilization. The situation was -intolerable. There is no Northern community that would have submitted -to it; if it could not have been changed by legal process, it would have -been upset by revolution, as it was at the South. Recognizing as we -must the existence of race prejudice and pride, it was nevertheless a -struggle for existence. The methods resorted to were often violent, and -being sweeping, carried injustice. To be a Republican, in the eyes -of those smarting under carpet-bag _government_ and the rule of the -ignorant lately enfranchised, was to be identified with the detested -carpetbag government and with negro rule. The Southern Unionist and -the Northern emigrant, who justly regarded the name Republican as the -proudest they could bear, identified as it was with the preservation -of the Union and the national credit, could not show their Republican -principles at the polls without personal danger in the country and -social ostracism in the cities. Social ostracism on account of politics -even outran social ostracism on account of participation in the -education of the negroes. The very men who would say, "I respect a man -who fought for the Union more than a Northern Copperhead, and if I had -lived North, no doubt I should have gone with my section," would at the -same time say, or think, "But you cannot be a Republican down here -now, for to be that is to identify yourself with the party here that -is hostile to everything in life that is dear to us." This feeling was -intensified by the memories of the war, but it was in a measure distinct -from the war feeling, and it lived on when the latter grew weak, and it -still survives in communities perfectly loyal to the Union, glad that -slavery is ended, and sincerely desirous of the establishment and -improvement of public education for colored and white alike. - -Any tampering with the freedom of the ballot-box in a republic, no -matter what the provocation, is dangerous; the methods used to regain -white ascendancy were speedily adopted for purely party purposes and -factional purposes; the chicanery, even the violence, employed to render -powerless the negro and "carpetbag" vote were freely used by partisans -in local elections against each other, and in time became means of -preserving party and ring ascendancy. Thoughtful men South as well as -North recognize the vital danger to popular government if voting and the -ballot-box are not sacredly protected. In a recent election in Texas, in -a district where, I am told, the majority of the inhabitants are white, -and the majority of the whites are Republicans, and the majority of -the colored voters voted the Republican ticket, and greatly the larger -proportion of the wealth and business of the district are in Republican -hands, there was an election row; ballot-boxes were destroyed in several -precincts, persons killed on both sides, and leading Republicans driven -out of the State. This is barbarism. If the case is substantiated as -stated, that in the district it was not a question of race ascendancy, -but of party ascendancy, no fair-minded man in the Sooth can do -otherwise than condemn it, for under such conditions not only is a -republican form of government impossible, but development and prosperity -are impossible. - -For this reason, and because separation of voters on class lines is -always a peril, it is my decided impression that throughout the South, -though not by everybody, a breaking up of the solidarity of the South -would be welcome; that is to say, a breaking up of both the negro and -the white vote, and the reforming upon lines of national and economic -policy, as in the old days of Whig and Democrat, and liberty of free -action in all local affairs, without regard to color or previous party -relations. There are politicians who would preserve a solid South, or -as a counterpart a solid North, for party purposes. But the sense of the -country, the perception of business men North and South, is that this -condition of politics interferes with the free play of industrial -development, with emigration, investment of capital, and with that -untrammelled agitation and movement in society which are the life of -prosperous States. - -Let us come a little closer to the subject, dealing altogether with -facts, and not with opinions. The Republicans of the North protest -against the injustice of an increased power in the Lower House and in -the Electoral College based upon a vote which is not represented. It is -a valid protest in law; there is no answer to it. What is the reply to -it? The substance of hundreds of replies to it is that "we dare not -let go so long as the negroes all vote together, regardless of local -considerations or any economic problems whatever; we are in danger of a -return to a rule of ignorance that was intolerable, and as long as you -wave the bloody shirt at the North, which means to us a return to that -rule, the South will be solid." The remark made by one man of political -prominence was perhaps typical: "The waving of the bloody shirt suits me -exactly as a political game; we should have hard work to keep our State -Democratic if you did not wave it." So the case stands. The Republican -party will always insist on freedom, not only of political opinion, but -of action, in every part of the Union; and the South will keep "solid" -so long as it fears, or so long as politicians can persuade it to fear, -the return of the late disastrous domination. And recognizing this fact, -and speaking in the interest of no party, but only in that of better -understanding and of the prosperity of the whole country, I cannot doubt -that the way out of most of our complications is in letting the past -drop absolutely, and addressing ourselves with sympathy and good-will -all around to the great economical problems and national issues. And I -believe that in this way also lies the speediest and most permanent good -to the colored as well as the white population of the South. - -There has been a great change in the aspect of the South and in its -sentiment within two years; or perhaps it would be more correct to say -that the change maturing for fifteen years is more apparent in a period -of comparative rest from race or sectional agitation. The educational -development is not more marvellous than the industrial, and both are -unparalleled in history. Let us begin by an illustration. - -I stood one day before an assembly of four hundred pupils of a -colored college--called a college, but with a necessary preparatory -department--children and well-grown young women and men. The buildings -are fine, spacious, not inferior to the best modern educational -buildings either in architectural appearance or in interior furnishing, -with scientific apparatus, a library, the appliances approved by recent -experience in teaching, with admirable methods and discipline, and an -accomplished corps of instructors. The scholars were neat, orderly, -intelligent in appearance. As I stood for a moment or two looking at -their bright expectant faces the profound significance of the spectacle -and the situation came over me, and I said: "I wonder if you know what -you are doing, if you realize what this means. Here you are in a school -the equal of any of its grade in the land, with better methods of -instruction than prevailed anywhere when I was a boy, with the gates of -all knowledge opened as freely to you as to any youth in the land--here, -in this State, where only about twenty years ago it was a misdemeanor, -punishable with fine and imprisonment, to teach a colored person to read -and write. And I am brought here to see this fine school, as one of the -best things he can show me in the city, by a Confederate colonel. Not in -all history is there any instance of a change like this in a quarter -of a century: no, not in one nor in two hundred years. It seems -incredible." - -This is one of the schools instituted and sustained by Northern friends -of the South; but while it exhibits the capacity of the colored people -for education, it is not so significant in the view we are now taking -of the New South as the public schools. Indeed, next to the amazing -industrial change in the South, nothing is so striking as the interest -and progress in the matter of public schools. In all the cities we -visited the people were enthusiastic about their common schools. It was -a common remark, "I suppose we have one of the best school systems in -the country." There is a wholesome rivalry to have the best. We found -everywhere the graded system and the newest methods of teaching in -vogue. In many of the primary rooms in both white and colored schools, -when I asked if these little children knew the alphabet when they came -to school, the reply was, "Not generally we prefer they should not; -we use the new method of teaching words." In many schools the youngest -pupils were taught to read music by sight, and to understand its -notation by exercises on the blackboard. In the higher classes -generally, the instruction in arithmetic, in reading, In geography, in -history, and in literature was wholly in the modern method. In some of -the geography classes and in the language classes I was reminded of the -drill in the German schools. In all the cities, as far as I could learn, -the public money was equally distributed to the colored and to the white -schools, and the number of schools bore a just proportion to the number -of the two races. When the town was equally divided in population, the -number of pupils in the colored schools was about the same as the number -in the white schools. There was this exception: though provision was -made for a high-school to terminate the graded for both colors, the -number in the colored high-school department was usually very small; -and the reason given by colored and white teachers was that the colored -children had not yet worked up to it. The colored people prefer teachers -of their own race, and they are quite generally employed; but many of -the colored schools have white teachers, and generally, I think, with -better results, although I saw many thoroughly good colored teachers, -and one or two colored classes under them that compared favorably with -any white classes of the same grade. - -The great fact, however, is that the common-school system has become -a part of Southern life, is everywhere accepted as a necessity, and -usually money is freely voted to sustain it. But practically, as an -efficient factor in civilization, the system is yet undeveloped in the -country districts. I can only speak from personal observation of the -cities, but the universal testimony was that the common schools in the -country for both whites and blacks are poor. Three months' schooling in -the year is about the rule, and that of a slack and inferior sort, under -incompetent teachers. In some places the colored people complain that -ignorant teachers are put over them, who are chosen simply on political -considerations. More than one respectable colored man told me that he -would not send his children to such schools, but combined with a few -others to get them private instruction. The colored people are more -dependent on public schools than the whites, for while there are vast -masses of colored people in city and country who have neither the money -nor the disposition to sustain schools, in all the large places the -whites are able to have excellent private schools, and do have them. -Scarcely anywhere can the colored people as yet have a private school -without white aid from somewhere. At the present rate of progress, -and even of the increase of tax-paying ability, it must be a long time -before the ignorant masses, white and black, in the country districts, -scattered over a wide area, can have public schools at all efficient. -The necessity is great. The danger to the State of ignorance is more and -more apprehended; and it is upon this that many of the best men of -the South base their urgent appeal for temporary aid from the Federal -Government for public schools. It is seen that a State cannot soundly -prosper unless its laborers are to some degree intelligent. This opinion -is shown in little things. One of the great planters of the Yazoo Delta -told me that he used to have no end of trouble in settling with his -hands. But now that numbers of them can read and cipher, and explain the -accounts to the others, lie never has the least trouble. - -One cannot speak too highly of the private schools in the South, -especially of those for young women. I do not know what they were before -the war, probably mainly devoted to "accomplishments," as most of girls' -schools in the North were. Now most of them are wider in range, thorough -in discipline, excellent in all the modern methods. Some of them, under -accomplished women, are entirely in line with the best in the country. -Before leaving this general subject of education, it is necessary to -say that the advisability of industrial training, as supplementary to -book-learning, is growing in favor, and that in some colored schools it -is tried with good results. - -When we come to the New Industrial South the change is marvellous, and -so vast and various that I scarcely know where to begin in a short -paper that cannot go much into details. Instead of a South devoted -to agriculture and politics, we find a South wide awake to business, -excited and even astonished at the development of its own immense -resources in metals, marbles, coal, timber, fertilizers, eagerly laying -lines of communication, rapidly opening mines, building furnaces, -founderies, and all sorts of shops for utilizing the native riches. It -is like the discovery of a new world. When the Northerner finds great -founderies in Virginia using only (with slight exceptions) the products -of Virginia iron and coal mines; when he finds Alabama and Tennessee -making iron so good and so cheap that it finds ready market in -Pennsylvania, and founderies multiplying near the great furnaces for -supplying Northern markets; when he finds cotton-mills running to full -capacity on grades of cheap cottons universally in demand throughout the -South and South-west; when he finds small industries, such as paper-box -factories and wooden bucket and tub factories, sending all they can make -into the North and widely over the West; when he sees the loads of most -beautiful marbles shipped North; when he learns that some of the largest -and most important engines and mill machinery were made in Southern -shops; when he finds in Richmond a "pole locomotive," made to run on -logs laid end to end, and drag out from Michigan forests and Southern -swamps lumber hitherto inaccessible; when he sees worn-out highlands -in Georgia and Carolina bear more cotton than ever before by help of a -fertilizer the base of which is the cotton-seed itself (worth more as -a fertilizer than it was before the oil was extracted from it); when -he sees a multitude of small shops giving employment to men, women, and -children who never had any work of that sort to do before; and when he -sees Roanoke iron cast in Richmond into car-irons, and returned to a -car-factory in Roanoke which last year sold three hundred cars to the -New York and New England Railroad--he begins to open his eyes. The South -is manufacturing a great variety of things needed in the house, on the -farm, and in the shops, for home consumption, and already sends to the -North and West several manufactured products. With iron, coal, timber -contiguous and easily obtained, the amount sent out is certain to -increase as the labor becomes more skilful. The most striking industrial -development today is in iron, coal, lumber, and marbles; the more -encouraging for the self-sustaining life of the Southern people is the -multiplication of small industries in nearly every city I visited. - -When I have been asked what impressed me most in this hasty tour, I have -always said that the most notable thing was that everybody was at work. -In many cities this was literally true: every man, woman, and child -was actively employed, and in most there were fewer idlers than in many -Northern towns. There are, of course, slow places, antiquated methods, -easy-going ways, a-hundred-years-behind-the-time makeshifts, but the -spirit in all the centres, and leavening the whole country, is work. -Perhaps the greatest revolution of all in Southern sentiment is in -regard to the dignity of labor. Labor is honorable, made so by the -example of the best in the land. There are, no doubt, fossils or -Bourbons, sitting in the midst of the ruins of their estates, martyrs -to an ancient pride; but usually the leaders in business and enterprise -bear names well known in politics and society. The nonsense that it is -beneath the dignity of any man or woman to work for a living is pretty -much eliminated from the Southern mind. It still remains true that the -Anglo-Saxon type is prevalent in the South; but in all the cities the -business sign-boards show that the enterprising Hebrew is increasingly -prominent as merchant and trader, and he is becoming a plantation owner -as well. - -It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public mind that the South, -to use a comprehensible phrase, "has joined the procession." Its mind is -turned to the development of its resources, to business, to enterprise, -to education, to economic problems; it is marching with the North in the -same purpose of wealth by industry. It is true that the railways, -mines, and furnaces could not have been without enormous investments of -Northern capital, but I was continually surprised to find so many and -important local industries the result solely of home capital, made and -saved since the war. - -In this industrial change, in the growth of manufactures, the Southern -people are necessarily divided on the national economic problems. -Speaking of it purely from the side of political economy and not of -politics, great sections of the South--whole States, in fact--are -becoming more in favor of "protection" every day. All theories -aside, whenever a man begins to work up the raw material at hand into -manufactured articles for the market, he thinks that the revenue should -be so adjusted as to help and not to hinder him. - -Underlying everything else is the negro problem. It is the most -difficult ever given to a people to solve. - -It must, under our Constitution, be left to the States concerned, and -there is a general hopefulness that time and patience will solve it to -the advantage of both races. The negro is generally regarded as the -best laborer in the world, and there is generally goodwill towards him, -desire that he shall be educated and become thrifty. The negro has more -confidence now than formerly in the white man, and he will go to him for -aid and advice in everything except politics. Again and again colored -men said to me, "If anybody tells you that any considerable number of -colored men are Democrats, don't you believe him; it is not so." The -philanthropist who goes South will find many things to encourage -him, but if he knows the colored people thoroughly, he will lose many -illusions. But to speak of things hopeful, the progress in education, in -industry, in ability to earn money, is extraordinary--much greater than -ought to have been expected in twenty years even by their most sanguine -friends, and it is greater now than at any other period. They are -generally well paid, according to the class of work they do. Usually I -found the same wages for the same class of work as whites received. I -cannot say how this is in remote country districts. The treatment of -laborers depends, I have no doubt, as elsewhere, upon the nature of the -employer. In some districts I heard that the negroes never got out of -debt, never could lay up anything, and were in a very bad condition. But -on some plantations certainly, and generally in the cities, there is an -improvement in thrift shown in the ownership of bits of land and houses, -and in the possession of neat and pretty homes. As to morals, the gain -is slower, but it is discernible, and exhibited in a growing public -opinion against immorality and lax family relations. He is no friend to -the colored people who blinks this subject, and does not plainly say -to them that their position as citizens in the enjoyment of all civil -rights depends quite as much upon their personal virtue and their -acquiring habits of thrift as it does upon school privileges. - -I had many interesting talks with representative colored men in -different sections. While it is undoubtedly true that more are -indifferent to politics than formerly, owing to causes already named and -to the unfulfilled promises of wheedling politicians, it would be untrue -to say that there is not great soreness over the present situation. -At Nashville I had an interview with eight or ten of the best colored -citizens, men of all shades of color. One of them was a trusted clerk in -the post-office; another was a mail agent, who had saved money, and -made more by an investment in Birmingham; another was a lawyer of good -practice in the courts, a man of decided refinement and cultivation; -another was at the head of one of the leading transportation lines in -the city, and another had the largest provision establishment in town, -and both were men of considerable property; and another, a slave when -the war ended, was a large furniture dealer, and reputed worth a hundred -thousand dollars. They were all solid, sensible business men, and all -respected as citizens. They talked most intelligently of politics, and -freely about social conditions. In regard to voting in Tennessee -there was little to complain of; but in regard to Mississippi, as an -illustration, it was an outrage that the dominant party had increased -power in Congress and in the election of President, while the colored -Republican vote did not count. What could they do? Some said that -probably nothing could be done; time must be left to cure the wrong. -Others wanted the Federal Government to interfere, at least to the -extent of making a test case on some member of Congress that his -election was illegal. They did not think that need excite anew any race -prejudice. As to exciting race and sectional agitation, we discussed -this question: whether the present marvellous improvement of the colored -people, with general good-will, or at least a truce everywhere, would -not be hindered by anything like a race or class agitation; that is to -say, whether under the present conditions of education and thrift the -colored people (whatever injustice they felt) were not going on faster -towards the realization of all they wanted than would be possible under -any circumstances of adverse agitation. As a matter of policy most of -them assented to this. I put this question: "In the first reconstruction -days, how many colored men were there in the State of Mississippi fitted -either by knowledge of letters, law, political economy, history, or -politics to make laws for the State?" Very few. Well then, it was -unfortunate that they should have attempted it. There are more to-day, -and with education and the accumulation of property the number will -constantly increase. In a republic, power usually goes with intelligence -and property. - -Finally I asked this intelligent company, every man of which stood upon -his own ability in perfect self-respect, "What do you want here in the -way of civil rights that you have not?" The reply from one was that he -got the respect of the whites just as he was able to command it by his -ability and by making money, and, with a touch of a sense of injustice, -he said he had ceased to expect that the colored race would get it -in any other way. Another reply was--and this was evidently the deep -feeling of all: "We want to be treated like men, like anybody else, -regardless of color. We don't mean by this social equality at all; -that is a matter that regulates itself among whites and colored people -everywhere. We want the public conveyances open to us according to the -fare we pay; we want privilege to go to hotels and to theatres, operas -and places of amusement. We wish you could see our families and the -way we live; you would then understand that we cannot go to the places -assigned us in concerts and theatres without loss of self-respect." I -might have said, but I did not, that the question raised by this last -observation is not a local one, but as wide as the world. - -If I tried to put in a single sentence the most widespread and active -sentiment in the South to-day, it would be this: The past is put behind -us; we are one with the North in business and national ambition: we want -a sympathetic recognition of this fact. - - - - -VII.--A FAR AND FAIR COUNTRY. - -|Lewis and Clarke, sent out by Mr. Jefferson in 1804 to discover the -North-west by the route of the Missouri River, left the town of St. -Charles early in the spring, sailed and poled and dragged their boats up -the swift, turbulent, and treacherous stream all summer, wintered with -the Mandan Indians, and reached the Great Falls of the Missouri in about -a year and a quarter from the beginning of their voyage. Now, when we -wish to rediscover this interesting country, which is still virgin land, -we lay down a railway-track in the spring and summer, and go over there -in the autumn in a palace-car--a much more expeditious and comfortable -mode of exploration. - -In beginning a series of observations and comments upon Western life it -is proper to say that the reader is not to expect exhaustive statistical -statements of growth or development, nor descriptions, except such as -will illustrate the point of view taken of the making of the Great West. -Materialism is the most obtrusive feature of a cursory observation, but -it does not interest one so much as the forces that underlie it, the -enterprise and the joyousness of conquest and achievement that it stands -for, or the finer processes evolved in the marvellous building up of new -societies. What is the spirit, what is the civilization of the West? I -have not the presumption to expect to answer these large questions -to any one's satisfaction--least of all to my own--but if I may be -permitted to talk about them familiarly, in the manner that one speaks -to his friends of what interested him most in a journey, and with -flexibility in passing from one topic to another, I shall hope to -contribute something to a better understanding between the territories -of a vast empire. How vast this republic is, no one can at all -appreciate who does not actually travel over its wide areas. To many of -us the West is still the West of the geographies of thirty years ago; -it is the simple truth to say that comparatively few Eastern people -have any adequate conception of what lies west of Chicago and St. Louis: -perhaps a hazy geographical notion of it, but not the faintest idea of -its civilization and society. Now, a good understanding of each other -between the great sections of the republic is politically of the first -importance. We shall hang together as a nation; blood, relationship, -steel rails, navigable waters, trade, absence of natural boundaries, -settle that. We shall pull and push and grumble, we shall vituperate -each other, parties will continue to make capital out of sectional -prejudice, and wantonly inflame it (what a pitiful sort of "politics" -that is!), but we shall stick together like wax. Still, anything like -smooth working of our political machine depends upon good understanding -between sections. And the remark applies to East and West as well as to -North and South. It is a common remark at the West that "Eastern people -know nothing about us; they think us half civilized and there is -mingled with slight irritability at this ignorance a waxing feeling of -superiority over the East in force and power." One would not say that -repose as yet goes along with this sense of great capacity and great -achievement; indeed, it is inevitable that in a condition of development -and of quick growth unparalleled in the history of the world there -should be abundant self-assertion and even monumental boastfulness. - -When the Western man goes East he carries the consciousness of playing -a great part in the making of an empire; his horizon is large; but -he finds himself surrounded by an atmosphere of indifference or -non-comprehension of the prodigiousness of his country, of incredulity -as to the refinement and luxury of his civilization; and self-assertion -is his natural defence. This longitudinal incredulity and swagger is -a curious phenomenon. London thinks New York puts on airs, New York -complains of Chicago's want of modesty, Chicago can see that Kansas City -and Omaha are aggressively boastful, and these cities acknowledge the -expansive self-appreciation of Denver and Helena. - -Does going West work a radical difference in a man's character? Hardly. -We are all cut out of the same piece of cloth. The Western man is the -Eastern or the Southern man let loose, with his leading-strings cut. But -the change of situation creates immense diversity in interests and in -spirit. One has but to take up any of the great newspapers, say in St. -Paul or Minneapolis, to be aware that he is in another world of ideas, -of news, of interests. The topics that most interest the East he does -not find there, nor much of its news. Persons of whom he reads daily -in the East drop out of sight, and other persons, magnates in politics, -packing, railways, loom up. It takes columns to tell the daily history -of places which have heretofore only caught the attention of the Eastern -reader for freaks of the thermometer, and he has an opportunity to -read daily pages about Dakota, concerning which a weekly paragraph has -formerly satisfied his curiosity. Before he can be absorbed in these -lively and intelligent newspapers he must change the whole current of -his thoughts, and take up other subjects, persons, and places than those -that have occupied his mind. He is in a new world. - -One of the most striking facts in the West is State pride, attachment -to the State, the profound belief of every citizen that his State is the -best. Engendered perhaps at first by a permanent investment and the spur -of self-interest, it speedily becomes a passion, as strong in the newest -State as it is in any one of the original thirteen. Rivalry between -cities is sharp, and civic pride is excessive, but both are outdone by -the larger devotion to the commonwealth. And this pride is developed in -the inhabitants of a Territory as soon as it is organized. Montana has -condensed the ordinary achievements of a century into twenty years, and -loyalty to its present and expectation of its future are as strong in -its citizens as is the attachment of men of Massachusetts to the State -of nearly three centuries of growth. In Nebraska I was pleased with the -talk of a clergyman who had just returned from three months' travel in -Europe. He was full of his novel experiences; he had greatly enjoyed -the trip; but he was glad to get back to Nebraska and its full, vigorous -life. In England and on the Continent he had seen much to interest him; -but he could not help comparing Europe with Nebraska; and as for -him, this was the substance of it: give him Nebraska every time. What -astonished him most, and wounded his feelings (and there was a note of -pathos in his statement of it), was the general foreign ignorance abroad -about Nebraska--the utter failure in the European mind to take it in. -I felt guilty, for to me it had been little more than a geographical -expression, and I presume the Continent did not know whether Nebraska -was a new kind of patent medicine or a new sort of religion. -To the clergymen this ignorance of the central, richest, -about-to-be-the-most-important of States, was simply incredible. - -This feeling is not only admirable in itself, but it has an incalculable -political value, especially in the West, where there is a little haze as -to the limitations of Federal power, and a notion that the Constitution -was swaddling-clothes for an infant, which manly limbs may need to -kick off. Healthy and even assertive State pride is the only possible -counterbalance in our system against that centralization which tends to -corruption in the centre and weakness and discontent in the individual -members. - -It should be added that the West, speaking of it generally, is defiantly -"American." It wants a more vigorous and assertive foreign policy. -Conscious of its power, the growing pains in the limbs of the young -giant will not let it rest. That this is the most magnificent country, -that we have the only government beyond criticism, that our civilization -is far and away the best, does not admit of doubt. It is refreshing to -see men who believe in something heartily and with-out reserve, even if -it is only in themselves. There is a tonic in this challenge of all -time and history. A certain attitude of American assertion towards other -powers is desired. For want of this our late representatives to Great -Britain are said to be un-American; "political dudes" is what the -Governor of Iowa calls them. It is his indictment against the present -Minister to St. James that "he is numerous in his visits to the castles -of English noblemen, and profuse in his obsequiousness to British -aristocrats." And perhaps the Governor speaks for a majority of Western -voters and fighters when he says that "timidity has characterized our -State Department for the last twenty years." - -By chance I begin these Western studies with the North-west. Passing by -for the present the intelligent and progressive State of Wisconsin, -we will consider Minnesota and the vast region at present more or less -tributary to it. It is necessary to remember that the State was admitted -to the Union in 1858, and that its extraordinary industrial development -dates from the building of the first railway in its limits--ten miles -from St. Paul to St. Anthony--in 1862. For this road the first stake was -driven and the first shovelful of earth lifted by a citizen of St. Paul -who has lived to see his State gridironed with railways, and whose firm -constructed in 1887 over eleven hundred miles of railroad. - -It is unnecessary to dwell upon the familiar facts that Minnesota is a -great wheat State, and that it is intersected by railways that stimulate -the enormous yield and market it with facility. The discovery that -the State, especially the Red River Valley, and Dakota and the country -beyond, were peculiarly adapted to the production of hard spring-wheat, -which is the most desirable for flour, probably gave this vast region -its first immense advantage. Minnesota, a prairie country, rolling, but -with no important hills, well watered, well grassed, with a repellent -reputation for severe winters, not well adapted to corn, nor friendly -to most fruits, attracted nevertheless hardy and adventurous people, -and proved specially inviting to the Scandinavians, who are tough and -industrious. It would grow wheat without end. And wheat is the easiest -crop to raise, and returns the greatest income for the least labor. In -good seasons and with good prices it is a mine of wealth. But Minnesota -had to learn that one industry does not suffice to make a State, and -that wheat-raising alone is not only unreliable, but exhaustive. The -grasshopper scourge was no doubt a blessing in disguise. It helped to -turn the attention of farmers to cattle and sheep, and to more varied -agriculture. I shall have more to say about this in connection with -certain most interesting movements in Wisconsin. - -The notion has prevailed that the North-west was being absorbed by -owners of immense tracts of land, great capitalists who by the aid of -machinery were monopolizing the production of wheat, and crowding out -small farmers. There are still vast wheat farms under one control, but -I am happy to believe that the danger of this great land monopoly has -reached its height, and the tendency is the other way. Small farms are -on the increase, practising a more varied agriculture. The reason is -this: A plantation of 5000 or 15,000 acres, with a good season, freedom -from blight and insects, will enrich the owner if prices are good; but -one poor crop, with low prices, will bankrupt him. Whereas the small -farmer can get a living under the most adverse circumstances, and taking -one year with another, accumulate something, especially if he varies -his products and feeds them to stock, thus returning the richness of his -farm to itself. The skinning of the land by sending away its substance -in hard wheat is an improvidence of natural resources, which belongs, -like cattle-ranging, to a half-civilized era, and like cattle-ranging has -probably seen its best days. One incident illustrates what can be done. -Mr. James J. Hill, the president of the Manitoba railway system, an -importer and breeder of fine cattle on his Minnesota country place, -recently gave and loaned a number of blooded bulls to farmers over a -wide area in Minnesota and Dakota. The result of this benefaction -has been surprising in adding to the wealth of those regions and the -prosperity of the farmers. It is the beginning of a varied farming -and of cattle production, which will be of incalculable benefit to the -North-west. - -It is in the memory of men still in active life when the Territory of -Minnesota was supposed to be beyond the pale of desirable settlement. -The State, except in the north-east portion, is now well settled, and -well sprinkled with thriving villages and cities. Of the latter, St. -Paul and Minneapolis are still a wonder to themselves, as they are to -the world. I knew that they were big cities, having each a population -nearly approaching 175,000, but I was not prepared to find them so -handsome and substantial, and exhibiting such vigor and activity of -movement. One of the most impressive things to an Eastern man in both -of them is their public spirit, and the harmony with which business men -work together for anything which will build up and beautify the city. -I believe that the ruling force in Minneapolis is of New England stock, -while St. Paul has a larger proportion of New York people, with a -mixture of Southern; and I have a fancy that there is a social shading -that shows this distinction. It is worth noting, however, that the -Southerner, transplanted to Minnesota or Montana, loses the _laisser -faire_ with which he is credited at home, and becomes as active -and pushing as anybody. Both cities have a very large Scandinavian -population. The laborers and the domestic servants are mostly Swedes. In -forecasting what sort of a State Minnesota is to be, the Scandinavian -is a largely determining force. It is a virile element. The traveller is -impressed with the idea that the women whom he sees at the stations in -the country and in the city streets are sturdy, ruddy, and better able -to endure the protracted season of cold and the highly stimulating -atmosphere than the American-born women, who tend to become nervous in -these climatic conditions. The Swedes are thrifty, taking eagerly -to polities, and as ready to profit by them as anybody; unreservedly -American in intention, and on the whole, good citizens. - -The physical difference of the two cities is mainly one of situation. -Minneapolis spreads out on both sides of the Mississippi over a plain, -from the gigantic flouring-mills and the canal and the Falls of St. -Anthony as a centre (the falls being, by-the-way, planked over with a -wooden apron to prevent the total wearing away of the shaly rock) to -rolling land and beautiful building sites on moderate elevations. Nature -has surrounded the city with a lovely country, diversified by lakes and -forests, and enterprise has developed it into one of the most inviting -of summer regions. Twelve miles west of it, Lake Minnetonka, naturally -surpassingly lovely, has become, by an immense expenditure of money, -perhaps the most attractive summer resort in the North-west. Each city -has a hotel (the West in Minneapolis, the Ryan in St. Paul) which would -be distinguished monuments of cost and elegance in any city in the -world, and each city has blocks of business houses, shops, and offices -of solidity and architectural beauty, and each has many private -residences which are palaces in size, in solidity, and interior -embellishment, but they are scattered over the city in Minneapolis, -which can boast of no single street equal to Summit avenue in St. Paul. -The most conspicuous of the private houses is the stone mansion of -Governor Washburn, pleasing in color, harmonious in design, but so -gigantic that the visitor (who may have seen palaces abroad) expects -to find a somewhat vacant interior. He is therefore surprised that the -predominating note is homelikeness and comfort, and he does not see -how a family of moderate size could well get along with less than the -seventy rooms (most of them large) which they have at their disposal. - -St. Paul has the advantage of picturesqueness of situation. The business -part of the town lies on a spacious uneven elevation above the river, -surrounded by a semicircle of bluffs averaging something like two -hundred feet high. Up the sides of these the city climbs, beautifying -every vantage-ground with handsome and stately residences. On the north -the bluffs maintain their elevation in a splendid plateau, and over this -dry and healthful plain the two cities advance to meet each other, and -already meet in suburbs, colleges, and various public buildings. Summit -avenue curves along the line of the northern bluff, and then turns -northward, two hundred feet broad, graded a distance of over two miles, -and with a magnificent asphalt road-way for more than a mile. It is -almost literally a street of palaces, for although wooden structures -alternate with the varied and architecturally interesting mansions of -stone and brick on both sides, each house is isolated, with a handsome -lawn and ornamental trees, and the total effect is spacious and noble. -This avenue commands an almost unequalled view of the sweep of bluffs -round to the Indian Mounds, of the city, the winding river, and the town -and heights of West St. Paul. It is not easy to recall a street and view -anywhere finer than this, and this is only one of the streets on this -plateau conspicuous for handsome houses. I see no reason why St. Paul -should not become, within a few years, one of the notably most beautiful -cities in the world. And it is now wonderfully well advanced in that -direction. Of course the reader understands that both these rapidly -growing cities are in the process of "making," and that means cutting -and digging and slashing, torn-up streets, shabby structures alternating -with gigantic and solid buildings, and the usual unsightliness of -transition and growth. - -Minneapolis has the State University, St. Paul the Capitol, an ordinary -building of brick, which will not long, it is safe to say, suit the -needs of the pride of the State. I do not set out to describe the city, -the churches, big newspaper buildings, great wholesale and ware houses, -handsome club-house (the Minnesota Club), stately City Hall, banks, -Chamber of Commerce, and so on. I was impressed with the size of the -buildings needed to house the great railway offices. Nothing can give -one a livelier idea of the growth and grasp of Western business than -one of these plain structures, five or six stories high, devoted to the -several departments of one road or system of roads, crowded with -busy officials and clerks, offices of the president, vice-president, -assistant of the president, secretary, treasurer, engineer, general -manager, general superintendent, general freight, general traffic, -general passenger, perhaps a land officer, and so on--affairs as -complicated and vast in organization and extensive in detail as those of -a State government. - -There are sixteen railways which run in Minnesota, having a total -mileage of 5024 miles in the State. Those which have over two hundred -miles of road in the State are the Chicago and North-western, Chicago, -Milwaukee, and St. Paul, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha, -Minneapolis and St. Louis, Northern Pacific, St. Paul and Duluth, and -the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba. The names of these roads give -little indication of their location, as the reader knows, for many of -them run all over the North-west like spider-webs. - -It goes without saying that the management of these great -interests--imperial, almost continental in scope--requires brains, -sobriety, integrity; and one is not surprised to find that the railways -command and pay liberally for the highest talent and skill. It is not -merely a matter of laying rails and running trains, but of developing -the resources--one might almost say creating the industries--of vast -territories. These are gigantic interests, concerning which there is -such sharp rivalry and competition, and as a rule it is the generous, -large-minded policy that wins. Somebody has said that the railway -managers and magnates (I do not mean those who deal in railways for -the sake of gambling) are the _élite_ of Western life. I am not drawing -distinctions of this sort, but I will say, and it might as well be said -here and simply, that next to the impression I got of the powerful -hand of the railways in the making of the West, was that of the high -character, the moral stamina, the ability, the devotion to something -outside themselves, of the railway men I met in the North-west. -Specialists many of them are, and absorbed in special work, but I doubt -if any other profession or occupation can show a proportionally larger -number of broad-minded, fair-minded men, of higher integrity and less -pettiness, or more inclined to the liberalizing culture in art and -social life. Either dealing with large concerns has lifted up the -men, or the large opportunities have attracted men of high talent and -character; and I sincerely believe that we should have no occasion -for anxiety if the average community did not go below the standard of -railway morality and honorable dealing. - -What is the _raison d'etre_ of these two phenomenal, cities? why do they -grow? why are they likely to continue to grow? I confess that this -was an enigma to me until I had looked beyond to see what country was -tributary to them, what a territory they have to supply. Of course, the -railways, the flouring-mills, the vast wholesale dry goods and grocery -houses speak for themselves. But I had thought of these cities as on -the confines of civilization. They are, however, the two posts of the -gate-way to an empire. In order to comprehend their future, I made some -little trips north-east and north-west. - -Duluth, though as yet with only about twenty-five to thirty thousand -inhabitants, feels itself, by its position, a rival of the cities on the -Mississippi. A few figures show the basis of this feeling. In 1880 the -population was 3740; in 1886, 25,000. In 1880 the receipts of wheat were -1,347,679 bushels; in 1886, 22,425,730 bushels; in 1860 the shipments -of wheat 1,453,647 bushels; in 1886,17,981,965 bushels. In 1880 the -shipments of flour were 551,800 bushels; in 1886, 1,500,000 bushels. In -1886 there were grain elevators with a capacity of 18,000,000 bushels. -The tax valuation had increased from 8669,012 in 1880 to 811,773,729 in -1886. The following comparisons are made: The receipt of wheat in -Chicago in 1885 was 19,266,000 bushels; in Duluth, 14,880,000 bushels. -The receipt of wheat in 1886 was at Duluth 22,425,730 bushels; at -Minneapolis, 33,394,450; at Chicago, 15,982,524; at Milwaukee, -7,930,102. This shows that an increasing amount of the great volume of -wheat raised in north Dakota and north-west Minnesota (that is, largely -in the Red River Valley) is seeking market by way of Duluth and water -transportation. In 1869 Minnesota raised about 18,000,000 bushels of -wheat; in 1886, about 50,000,000. In 1869 Dakota grew no grain at all; -in 1886 it produced about 50,000,000 bushels of wheat. To understand the -amount of transportation the reader has only to look on the map and see -the railway lines--the Northern Pacific, the Chicago, St. Paul, -Minneapolis, and Omaha, the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba, and -other lines, running to Duluth, and sending out spurs, like the roots of -an elm-tree, into the wheat lands of the North-west. - -Most of the route from St. Paul to Duluth is uninteresting; there is -nothing picturesque except the Dalles of the St. Louis River, and a good -deal of the country passed through seems agriculturally of no value. The -approaches to Duluth, both from the Wisconsin and the Minnesota side, -are rough and vexatious by reason of broken, low, hummocky, and swamp -land. Duluth itself, with good harbor facilities, has only a strip of -level ground for a street, and inadequate room for railway tracks and -transfers. The town itself climbs up the hill, whence there is a good -view of the lake and the Wisconsin shore, and a fair chance for both -summer and winter breezes. The residence portion of the town, mainly -small wooden houses, has many highly ornamental dwellings, and the long -street below, following the shore, has many noble buildings of stone -and brick, which would be a credit to any city. Grading and sewer-making -render a large number of the streets impassable, and add to the signs of -push, growth, and business excitement. - -For the purposes of trade, Duluth, and the towns of Superior and West -Superior, in Wisconsin, may be considered one port; and while Duluth may -continue to be the money and business centre, the expansion for railway -terminal facilities, elevators, and manufactures is likely to be in the -Wisconsin towns on the south side of the harbor. From the Great Northern -Elevator in West Superior the view of the other elevators, of the -immense dock room, of the harbor and lake, of a net-work of miles and -miles of terminal tracks of the various roads, gives one an idea -of gigantic commerce; and the long freight trains laden with wheat, -glutting all the roads and sidings approaching Duluth, speak of the -bursting abundance of the tributary country. This Great Northern -Elevator, belonging to the Manitoba system, is the largest In the world; -its dimensions are 360 feet long, 95 in width, 115 in height, with -a capacity of 1,800,000 bushels, and with facilities for handling 40 -car-loads an hour, or 400 cars in a day of 10 hours. As I am merely -illustrating the amount of the present great staple of the North-west, -I say nothing here of the mineral, stone, and lumber business of this -region. Duluth has a cool, salubrious summer and a snug winter climate. -I ought to add that the enterprising inhabitants attend to education -as well as the elevation of grain; the city has eight commodious school -buildings. - -To return to the Mississippi. To understand what feeds Minneapolis and -St. Paul, and what country their great wholesale houses supply, one must -take the rail and penetrate the vast North-west. The famous Park or Lake -district, between St. Cloud (75 miles north-west of St. Paul) and Fergus -Falls, is too well known to need description. A rolling prairie, with -hundreds of small lakes, tree fringed, it is a region of surpassing -loveliness, and already dotted, as at Alexandria, with summer resorts. -The whole region, up as far as Moorhead (240 miles from St. Paul), on -the Red River, opposite Fargo, Dakota, is well settled, and full of -prosperous towns. At Fargo, crossing the Northern Pacific, we ran -parallel with the Red River, through a line of bursting elevators and -wheat farms, clown to Grand Forks, where we turned westward, and passed -out of the Red River Valley, rising to the plateau at Larimore, some -three hundred feet above it. - -The Red River, a narrow but deep and navigable stream, has from its -source to Lake Winnipeg a tortuous course of about 600 miles, while -the valley itself is about 285 miles long, of which 180 miles Is in the -United States. This valley, which has astonished the world by its wheat -production, is about 160 miles in breadth, and level as a floor, except -that it has a northward slope of, I believe, about five feet to the -mile. The river forms the boundary between Minnesota and Dakota; the -width of valley on the Dakota side varies from 50 to 100 miles. The rich -soil is from two to three feet deep, underlaid with clay. Fargo, the -centre of this valley, is 940 feet above the sea. The climate is one -of extremes between winter and summer, but of much constancy of cold or -heat according to the season. Although it is undeniable that one does -not feel the severe cold there as much as in more humid atmospheres, it -cannot be doubted that the long continuance of extreme cold is trying -to the system. And it may be said of all the North-west, including -Minnesota, that while it is more favorable to the lungs than many -regions where the thermometer has less sinking power, it is not free -from catarrh (the curse of New England), nor from rheumatism. The -climate seems to me specially stimulating, and I should say there is -less excuse here for the use of stimulants (on account of "lowness" or -lassitude) than in almost any other portion of the United States with -which I am acquainted. - -But whatever attractions or drawbacks this territory has as a place of -residence, its grain and stock growing capacity is inexhaustible, and -having seen it, we begin to comprehend the vigorous activity and growth -of the twin cities. And yet this is the beginning of resources; there -lies Dakota, with its 149,100 square miles (96,596,480 acres of land), -larger than all the New England States and New York combined, and -Montana beyond, together making a belt of hard spring-wheat land -sufficient, one would think, to feed the world. When one travels over -1200 miles of it, doubt ceases. - -I cannot better illustrate the resources and enterprise of the -North-west than by speaking in some detail of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, -and Manitoba Railway (known as the Manitoba system), and by telling -briefly the story of one season's work, not because this system is -bigger or more enterprising or of more importance in the West than some -others I might name, but because it has lately pierced a comparatively -unknown region, and opened to settlement a fertile empire. - -The Manitoba system gridirons north Minnesota, runs to Duluth, puts two -tracks down the Red River Valley (one on each side of the river) to the -Canada line, sends out various spurs into Dakota, and operates a main -line from Grand Forks westward through the whole of Dakota, and through -Montana as far as the Great Falls of the Missouri, and thence through -the canon of the Missouri and the canon of the Prickly-Pear to -Helena--in all about 3000 miles of track. Its president is Mr. James J. -Hill, a Canadian by birth, whose rapid career from that of a clerk on -the St. Paul levee to his present position of influence, opportunity, -and wealth is a romance in itself, and whose character, integrity, -tastes, and accomplishments, and domestic life, were it proper to speak -of them, would satisfactorily answer many of the questions that are -asked about the materialistic West. - -The Manitoba line west had reached Minot, 530 miles from St. Paul, in -1886. I shall speak of its extension in 1887, which was intrusted to Mr. -D. C. Shepard, a veteran engineer and railway builder of St. Paul, and -his firm, Messrs. Shepard, Winston & Co. Credit should be given by name -to the men who conducted this Napoleonic enterprise; for it required -not only the advance of millions of money, but the foresight, energy, -vigilance, and capacity that insure success in a distant military -campaign. - -It needs to be noted that the continuation of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, -and Manitoba road from Great Falls to Helena, 98 miles, is called the -Montana Central. The work to be accomplished in 1887 was to grade 500 -miles of railroad to reach Great Falls, to put in the bridging and -mechanical structures (by hauling all material brought up by rail ahead -of the track by teams, so as not to delay the progress of the track) -on 530 miles of continuous railway, and to lay and put in good running -condition 643 miles of rails continuously and from one end only. - -In the winter of 1886-87 the road was completed to a point five miles -west of Minot, and work was done beyond which if consolidated would -amount to about fifty miles of completed grading, and the mechanical -structures were done for twenty miles west from Minot. On the Montana -Central the grading and mechanical structures were made from Helena as -a base, and completed before the track reached Great Falls. St. Paul, -Minneapolis, and Duluth were the primary bases of operations, and -generally speaking all materials, labor, fuel, and supplies originated -at these three points; Minot was the secondary base, and here in -the winter of 1886-87 large depots of supplies and materials for -construction were formed. - -Track-laying began April 2,1887, but was greatly retarded by snow and -ice in the completed cuts, and by the grading, which was heavy. The -cuts were frozen more or less up to May 15th. The forwarding of grading -forces to Minot began April 6th, but it was a labor of considerable -magnitude to outfit them at Minot and get them forward to the work; -so that it was as late as May 10th before the entire force was under -employment. - -The average force on the grading was 3300 teams and about 8000 men. -Upon the track-laving, surfacing, piling, and timber-work there were -225 teams and about 650 men. The heaviest work was encountered on the -eastern end, so that the track was close upon the grading up to the 10th -of June. Some of the cuttings and embankments were heavy. After the 10th -of June progress upon the grading was very rapid. From the mouth of Milk -River to Great Falls (a distance of 200 miles) grading was done at an -average rate of seven miles a day. Those who saw this army of men -and teams stretching over the prairie and casting up this continental -highway think they beheld one of the most striking achievements of -civilization. - -I may mention that the track is all cast up (even where the grading is -easy) to such a height as to relieve it of drifting snow; and to give -some idea of the character of the work, it is noted that in preparing it -there were moved 9,700,000 cubic yards of earth, 15,000 cubic yards of -loose rock, and 17,500 cubic yards of solid rock, and that there were -hauled ahead of the track and put in the work to such distance as would -not obstruct the track-laying (in some instances 30 miles), 9,000,000 -feet (board measure) of timber and 390,000 lineal feet of piling. - -On the 5th of August the grading of the entire line to Great Falls was -either finished or properly manned for its completion the first day -of September, and on the 10th of August it became necessary to remove -outfits to the east as they completed their work, and about 2500 teams -and their quota of men were withdrawn between the 10th and 20th of -August, and placed upon work elsewhere. - -The record of track laid is as follows: April 2d to 30th, 30 miles; -May, 82 miles; June, 79.8 miles; July, 100.8 miles; August, 115.4 miles; -September, 102.4 miles; up to October 15th to Great Falls, 34.0 miles--a -total to Great Falls of 545 miles. October 10th being Sunday, no track -was laid. The track started from Great Falls Monday, October 17th, and -reached Helena on Friday, November 18th, a distance of 98 miles, making -a grand total of 043 miles, and an average rate for every working-day -of three and one-quarter miles. It will thus be seen that laying a good -road was a much more expeditious method of reaching the Great Falls of -the Missouri than that adopted by Lewis and Clarke. - -Some of the details of this construction and tracklaying will interest -railroad men. On the 16th of July 7 miles and 1040 feet of track were -laid, and on the 8th of August 8 miles and 60 feet were laid, in each -instance by daylight, and by the regular gang of track-layers, without -any increase of their numbers whatever. The entire work was done by -handling the iron on low iron cars, and depositing it on the track from -the car at the front end. The method pursued was the same as when one -mile of track is laid per day in the ordinary manner. The force of -track-layers was maintained at the proper number for the ordinary daily -work, and was never increased to obtain any special result. The result -on the 11th of August was probably decreased by a quarter to a half mile -by the breaking of an axle of an iron car while going to the front with -its load at about 4 p.m. From six to eight iron cars were employed in -doing this day's work. The number ordinarily used was four to five. - -Sidings were graded at intervals of seven to eight miles, and spur -tracks, laid on the natural surface, put in at convenient points, -sixteen miles apart, for storage of materials and supplies at or near -the front. As the work went on, the spur tracks in the rear were taken -up. The construction train contained box cars two and three stories -high, in which workmen were boarded and lodged. Supplies, as a rule, -were taken by wagon-trains from the spur tracks near the front to their -destination, an average distance of one hundred miles and an extreme one -of two hundred miles. Steamboats were employed to a limited extent on -the Missouri River in supplying such remote points as Fort Benton -and the Coal Banks, but not more than fifteen per cent, of the -transportation was done by steamers. A single item illustrating the -magnitude of the supply transportation is that there were shipped to -Minot and forwarded and consumed on the work 590,000 bushels of oats. - -It is believed that the work of grading 500 miles of railroad in five -months, and the transportation into the country of everything consumed, -grass and water excepted, and of every rail, tie, bit of timber, pile, -tool, machine, man, or team employed, and laying 643 miles of track -in seven and a half months, from one end, far exceeds in magnitude -and rapidity of execution any similar undertaking in this or any other -country. It reflects also the greatest credit on the managers of the -railway transportation (it is not invidious to mention the names of Mr. -A. Manvel, general manager, and Mr. J. M. Egan, general superintendent, -upon whom the working details devolved) when it is stated that the -delays for material or supplies on the entire work did not retard it -in the aggregate one hour. And every hour counted in this masterly -campaign. - -The Western people apparently think no more of throwing down a railroad, -if they want to go anywhere, than a conservative Easterner does of -taking an unaccustomed walk across country; and the railway constructors -and managers are a little amused at the Eastern slowness and want of -facility in construction and management. One hears that the East is -antiquated, and does not know anything about railroad building. Shovels, -carts, and wheelbarrows are of a past age; the big wheel-scraper does -the business. It is a common remark that a contractor accustomed to -Eastern work is not desired on a Western job. - -On Friday afternoon, November 18th, the news was flashed that the last -rail was laid, and at 6 p.m. a special train was on the way from St. -Paul with a double complement of engineers and train-men. For the first -500 miles there was more or less delay in avoiding the long and frequent -freight trains, but after that not much except the necessary stops for -cleaning the engine. Great Falls, about 1100 miles, was reached Sunday -noon, in thirty-six hours, an average of over thirty miles an hour. A -part of the time the speed was as much as fifty miles an hour. The track -was solid, evenly graded, heavily tied, well aligned, and the cars ran -over it with no more swing and bounce than on an old road. The only -exception to this is the piece from Great Falls to Helena, which had not -been surfaced all the way. It is excellent railway construction, and it -is necessary to emphasize this when we consider the rapidity with which -it was built. - -The company has built this road without land grant or subsidy of any -kind. The Montana extension, from Minot, Dakota, to Great Falls, runs -mostly through Indian and military reservations, permission to pass -through being given by special Act of Congress, and the company buying -200 feet road-way. Little of it, therefore, is open to settlement. - -These reservations, naming them in order westward, are as follows: The -Fort Berthold Indian reservation, Dakota, the eastern boundary of which -is twenty-seven miles west of Minot, has an area of 4550 square miles -(about as large as Connecticut), or 2,912,000 acres. The Fort Buford -military reservation, lying in Dakota and Montana, has an area of 900 -square miles, or 576,000 acres. The Blackfeet Indian reserve has an area -of 34,000 square miles (the State of New York has 46,000), or 21,760,000 -acres. The Fort Assiniboin military reserve has an area of 869.82 square -miles, or 556,684 acres. - -It is a liberal estimate that there are 6000 Indians on the Blackfeet -and Fort Berth old reservations. As nearly as I could ascertain, there -are not over 3500 Indians (some of those I saw were Créés on a long -visit from Canada) on the Blackfeet reservation of about 22,000,000 -acres. Some judges put the number as low as 2500 to all this territory, -and estimate that there was about one Indian to ten square miles, or one -Indian family to fifty square miles. We rode through 300 miles of this -territory along the Milk River, nearly every acre of it good soil, with -thick, abundant grass, splendid wheat land. - -I have no space to take up the Indian problem. But the present condition -of affairs is neither fair to white settlers nor just or humane to the -Indians. These big reservations are of no use to them, nor they to -the reservations. The buffaloes have disappeared; they do not live by -hunting; they cultivate very little ground; they use little even to -pasture their ponies. They are fed and clothed by the Government, -and they camp about the agencies in idleness, under conditions that -pauperize them, destroy their manhood, degrade them into dependent, -vicious lives. The reservations ought to be sold, and the -proceeds devoted to educating the Indians and setting them up in a -self-sustaining existence. They should be allotted an abundance of good -land, in the region to which they are acclimated, in severalty, and -under such restrictions that they cannot alienate it at least for a -generation or two. As the Indian is now, he will neither work, nor keep -clean, nor live decently. Close to, the Indian is not a romantic object, -and certainly no better now morally than Lewis and Clarke depicted him -in 1804. But he is a man; he has been barbarously treated; and it is -certainly not beyond honest administration and Christian effort to -better his condition. And his condition will not be improved simply by -keeping from settlement and civilization the magnificent agricultural -territory that is reserved to him. - -Of this almost unknown country, pierced by the road west from Larimore, -I can only make the briefest notes. I need not say that this open, -unobstructed highway of arable land and habitable country, from the Red -River to the Rocky Mountains, was an astonishment to me; but it is more -to the purpose to say that the fertile region was a surprise to railway -men who are perfectly familiar with the West. - -We had passed some snow in the night, which had been very cold, but -there was very little at Larimore, a considerable town; there was a -high, raw wind during the day, and a temperature of about 10° above, -which heavily frosted the car windows. At Devil's Lake (a body of -brackish water twenty-eight miles long) is a settlement three years old, -and from this and two insignificant stations beyond were shipped, -in 1887, 1,500,000 bushels of wheat. The country beyond is slightly -rolling, fine land, has much wheat, little houses scattered about, some -stock, very promising altogether. Minot, where we crossed the Mouse -River the second time, is a village of 700 people, with several brick -houses and plenty of saloons. Thence we ran up to a plateau some three -hundred feet higher than the Mouse River Valley, and found a land more -broken, and interspersed with rocky land and bowlders--the only touch -of "bad lands" I recall on the route. We crossed several small streams, -White Earth, Sandy, Little Muddy, and Muddy, and before reaching -Williston descended into the valley of the Missouri, reached Fort -Buford, where the Yellowstone comes in, entered what is called Paradise -Valley, and continued parallel with the Missouri as far as the mouth of -Milk River. Before reaching this we crossed the Big Muddy and the Poplar -rivers, both rising in Canada. At Poplar Station is a large Indian -agency, and hundreds of Teton Sioux Indians (I was told 1800) camped -there in their conical tepees. I climbed the plateau above the station -where the Indians bury their dead, wrapping the bodies in blankets -and buffalo-robes, and suspending them aloft on crossbars supported by -stakes, to keep them from the wolves. Beyond Assiniboin I saw a platform -in a cottonwood-tree on which reposed the remains of a chief and his -family. This country is all good, so far as I could see and learn. - -It gave me a sense of geographical deficiency in my education to travel -three hundred miles on a river I had never heard of before. But it -happened on the Milk River, a considerable but not navigable stream, -although some six hundred miles long. The broad Milk River Valley is -in itself an empire of excellent land, ready for the plough and the -wheat-sower. Judging by the grass (which cures into the most nutritious -feed as it stands), there had been no lack of rain during the summer; -but if there is lack of water, all the land can be irrigated by the Milk -River, and it may also be said of the country beyond to Great Falls that -frequent streams make irrigation easy, if there is scant rainfall. I -should say that this would be the only question about water. - -Leaving the Milk River Valley, we began to curve southward, passing Fort -Assiniboin on our right. In this region and beyond at Fort Benton great -herds of cattle are grazed by Government contractors, who supply the -posts with beef. At the Big Sandy Station they were shipping cattle -eastward. We crossed the Marias River (originally named Maria's River), -a stream that had the respectful attention of Lewis and Clarke, and the -Teton, a wilfully erratic watercourse in a narrow valley, which caused -the railway constructors a good deal of trouble. We looked down, in -passing, on Fort Benton, nestled in a bend of the Missouri; a smart -town, with a daily newspaper, an old trading station. Shortly after -leaving Assiniboin we saw on our left the Bear Paw Mountains and the -noble Highwood Mountains, fine peaks, snow-dusted, about thirty miles -from us, and adjoining them the Belt Mountains. Between them is a -shapely little pyramid called the Wolf Butte. Far to our right were the -Sweet Grass Hills, on the Canada line, where gold-miners are at work. -I have noted of all this country that it is agriculturally fine. After -Fort Benton we had glimpses of the Rockies, off to the right (we had -seen before the Little Rockies in the south, towards Yellowstone Park); -then the Bird-tail Divide came in sight, and the mathematically Square -Butte, sometimes called Fort Montana. - -At noon, November 20th, we reached Great Falls, where the Sun River, -coming in from the west, joins the Missouri. The railway crosses the Sun -River, and runs on up the left bank of the Missouri. Great Falls, which -lies in a bend of the Missouri on the cast side, was not then, but soon -will be, connected with the line by a railway bridge. I wish I could -convey to the reader some idea of the beauty of the view as we came out -upon the Sun River Valley, or the feeling of exhilaration and elevation -we experienced. I had come to no place before that did not seem remote, -far from home, lonesome. Here the aspect was friendly, livable, almost -home-like. We seemed to have come out, after a long journey, to a place -where one might be content to stay for some time--to a far but fair -country, on top of the world, as it were. Not that the elevation is -great--only about 3000 feet above the sea--nor the horizon illimitable, -as on the great plains; its spaciousness is brought within human -sympathy by guardian hills and distant mountain ranges. - -A more sweet, smiling picture than the Sun River Valley the traveller -may go far to see. With an average breadth of not over two and a half to -five miles, level, richly grassed, flanked by elevations that swell up -to plateaus, through the valley the Sun River, clear, full to the grassy -banks, comes down like a ribbon of silver, perhaps 800 feet broad before -its junction. Across the far end of it, seventy-five miles distant, but -seemingly not more than twenty, run the silver serrated peaks of the -Rocky Mountains, snow-clad and sparkling in the sun. At distances of -twelve and fifty miles up the valley have been for years prosperous -settlements, with school-houses and churches, hitherto cut off from the -world. - -The whole rolling, arable, though treeless country in view is beautiful, -and the far prospects are magnificent. I suppose that something of the -homelikeness of the region is due to the presence of the great Missouri -River (a connection with the world we know), which is here a rapid, -clear stream, in permanent rock-laid banks. At the town a dam has been -thrown across it, and the width above the dam, where we crossed it, is -about 1800 feet. The day was fair and not cold, but a gale of wind -from the south-west blew with such violence that the ferry-boat was -unmanageable, and we went over in little skiffs, much tossed about by -the white-capped waves. - -In June, 1886, there was not a house within twelve miles of this place. -The country is now taken up and dotted with claim shanties, and Great -Falls is a town of over 1000 inhabitants, regularly laid out, with -streets indeed extending far on to the prairie, a handsome and -commodious hotel, several brick buildings, and new houses going up in -all directions. Central lots, fifty feet by two hundred and fifty, are -said to sell for $5000, and I was offered a corner lot on Tenth Street, -away out on the prairie, for $1500, including the corner stake. - -It is difficult to write of this country without seeming exaggeration, -and the habitual frontier boastfulness makes the acquisition of bottom -facts difficult. It is plain to be seen that it is a good grazing -country, and the experimental fields of wheat near the town show that it -is equally well adapted to wheatraising. The vegetables grown there are -enormous and solid, especially potatoes and turnips; I have the outline -of a turnip which measured seventeen inches across, seven inches deep, -and weighed twenty-four pounds. The region is underlaid by bituminous -coal, good coking quality, and extensive mines are opening in the -neighborhood. I have no doubt from what I saw and heard that iron of -good quality (hematite) is abundant. It goes without saying that the -Montana mountains are full of other minerals. The present advantage -of Great Falls is in the possession of unlimited water-power in the -Missouri River. - -As to rainfall and climate? The grass shows no lack of rain, and the -wheat was raised in 1887 without irrigation. But irrigation from the -Missouri and Sun rivers is easy, if needed. The thermometer shows a more -temperate and less rigorous climate than Minnesota and north Dakota. -Unless everybody fibs, the winters are less severe, and stock ranges and -fattens all winter. Less snow falls here than farther east and south, -and that which falls does not usually remain long. The truth seems to be -that the mercury occasionally goes very low, but that every few days -a warm Pacific wind from the south-west, the "Chinook," blows a gale, -which instantly raises the temperature, and sweeps off the snow in -twenty-four hours. I was told that ice rarely gets more than ten inches -thick, and that ploughing can be done as late as the 20th of December, -and recommenced from the 1st to the 15th of March. I did not stay long -enough to verify these statements. There had been a slight fall of snow -in October, which speedily disappeared. November 20th was pleasant, with -a strong Chinook wind. November 21st there was a driving snow-storm. - -The region is attractive to the sight-seer. I can speak of only two -things, the Springs and the Falls. - -There is a series of rapids and falls, for twelve miles below the town; -and the river drops down rapidly into a canyon which is in some places -nearly 200 feet deep. The first fall is twenty-six feet high. The most -beautiful is the Rainbow Fall, six miles from town. This cataract, in a -wild, deep gorge, has a width of 1400 feet, nearly as straight across as -an artificial dam, with a perpendicular plunge of fifty feet. What makes -it impressive is the immense volume of water. Dashed upon the rocks -below, it sends up clouds of spray, which the sun tinges with prismatic -colors the whole breadth of the magnificent fall. Standing half-way down -the precipice another considerable and regular fall is seen above, while -below are rapids and falls again at the bend, and beyond, great reaches -of tumultuous river in the canon. It is altogether a wild and splendid -spectacle. Six miles below, the river takes a continuous though not -perpendicular plunge of ninety-six feet. - -One of the most exquisitely beautiful natural objects I know is the -Spring, a mile above Rainbow Fall. Out of a rocky ledge, sloping up some -ten feet above the river, burst several springs of absolutely crystal -water, powerfully bubbling up like small geysers, and together forming -instantly a splendid stream, which falls into the Missouri. So perfectly -transparent is the water that the springs seem to have a depth of only -fifteen inches; they are fifteen feet deep. In them grow flat-leaved -plants of vivid green, shades from lightest to deepest emerald, and -when the sunlight strikes into their depths the effect is exquisitely -beautiful. Mingled with the emerald are maroon colors that heighten -the effect. The vigor of the outburst, the volume of water, the -transparency, the play of sunlight on the lovely colors, give one a -positively new sensation. - -I have left no room to speak of the road of ninety-eight miles -through the canon of the Missouri and the canon of the Prickly-Pear to -Helena--about 1400 feet higher than Great Falls. It is a marvellously -picturesque road, following the mighty river, winding through crags and -precipices of trap-rock set on end in fantastic array, and wild mountain -scenery. On the route are many pleasant places, openings of fine -valleys, thriving ranches, considerable stock and oats, much laud -ploughed and cultivated. The valley broadens out before we reach Helena -and enter Last Chance Gulch, now the main street of the city, out of -which millions of gold have been taken. - -At Helena we reach familiar ground. The 21st was a jubilee day for the -city and the whole Territory. Cannon, bells, whistles, welcomed the -train and the man, and fifteen thousand people hurrahed; the town was -gayly decorated; there was a long procession, speeches and music in the -Opera-house in the afternoon, and fireworks, illumination, and banquet -in the evening. The reason of the boundless enthusiasm of Helena was -in the fact that the day gave it a new competing line to the East, and -opened up the coal, iron, and wheat fields of north Montana. - - - - -VIII.--ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TOPICS. MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN. - -|A visitor at a club in Chicago was pointed out a table at which -usually lunched a hundred and fifty millions of dollars! This impressive -statement was as significant in its way as the list of the men, in the -days of Emerson, Agassiz, and Longfellow, who dined together as the -Saturday Club in Boston. We cannot, however, generalize from this that -the only thing considered in the North-west is money, and that the only -thing held in esteem in Boston is intellect. - -The chief concerns in the North-west are material, and the making of -money, sometimes termed the "development of resources," is of the -first importance. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, social position is more -determined by money than it is in most Eastern cities, and this makes -social life more democratic, so far as traditions and family are -concerned. I desire not to overstate this, for money is potent -everywhere; but I should say that a person not devoted to business, -or not succeeding in it, but interested rather in intellectual -pursuits--study, research, art (not decorative), education, and the -like--would find less sympathy there than in Eastern cities of the same -size and less consideration. Indeed, I was told, more than once, that -the spirit of plutocracy is so strong in these cities as to make a very -disagreeable atmosphere for people who value the higher things in life -more than money and what money only will procure, and display which is -always more or less vulgar. But it is necessary to get closer to the -facts than this statement. - -The materialistic spirit is very strong in the West; of necessity it -is, in the struggle for existence and position going on there, and in -the unprecedented opportunities for making fortunes. And hence arises -a prevailing notion that any education is of little value that does not -bear directly upon material success. I should say that the professions, -including divinity and the work of the scholar and the man of letters, -do not have the weight there that they do in some other places. The -professional man, either in the college or the pulpit, is expected to -look alive and keep up with the procession. Tradition is weak; it is -no objection to a thing that it is new, and in the general strain -"sensations" are welcome. The general motto is, "Be alive; be -practical." Naturally, also, wealth recently come by desires to assert -itself a little in display, in ostentatious houses, luxurious living, -dress, jewellery, even to the frank delight in the diamond shirt-stud. - -But we are writing of Americans, and the Americans are the quickest -people in the world to adapt themselves to new situations. The Western -people travel much, at home and abroad, and they do not require a very -long experience to know what is in bad taste. They are as quick as -anybody--I believe they gave us the phrase--to "catch on" to quietness -and a low tone. Indeed, I don't know but they would boast that if it -is a question of subdued style, they can beat the world. The revolution -which has gone all over the country since the Exposition of 1876 in -house-furnishing and decoration is quite as apparent in the West as -in the East. The West has not suffered more than the East from -eccentricities of architecture in the past twenty years. Violations of -good taste are pretty well distributed, but of new houses the proportion -of handsome, solid, good structures is as large in the West as in the -East, and in the cities I think the West has the advantage in variety. -It must be frankly said that if the Easterner is surprised at the size, -cost, and palatial character of many of their residences, he is not less -surprised by the refinement and good taste of their interiors. There are -cases where money is too evident, where the splendor has been ordered, -but there are plenty of other cases where individual taste is apparent, -and love of harmony and beauty. What I am trying to say is that the East -undervalues the real refinement of living going along with the admitted -cost and luxury in the West. The art of dining is said to be a test -of civilization--on a certain plane. Well, dining, in good houses -(I believe that is the phrase), is much the same East and West as to -appointments, service, cuisine, and talk, with a trifle more freedom and -sense of newness in the West. No doubt there is a difference in tone, -appreciable but not easy to define. It relates less to the things than -the way the things are considered. Where a family has had "things" for -two or three generations they are less an object than an unregarded -matter of course; where things and a manner of living are newly -acquired, they have more importance in themselves. An old community, if -it is really civilized (I mean a state in which intellectual concerns -are paramount), values less and less, as an end, merely material -refinement. The tendency all over the United States is for wealth to run -into vulgarity. - -In St. Paul and Minneapolis one thing notable is the cordial -hospitality, another is the public spirit, and another is the intense -devotion to business, the forecast and alertness in new enterprises. -Where society is fluid and on the move, it seems comparatively easy -to interest the citizens in any scheme for the public good. The public -spirit of those cities is admirable. One notices also an uncommon power -of organization, of devices for saving time. An illustration of this is -the immense railway transfer ground here. Midway between the cities is a -mile square of land where all the great railway lines meet, and by -means of communicating tracks easily and cheaply exchange freight -cars, immensely increasing the facility and lessening the cost of -transportation. Another illustration of system is the State office of -Public Examiner, an office peculiar to Minnesota, an office supervising -banks, public institutions, and county treasuries, by means of which -a uniform system of accounting is enforced for all public funds, and -safety is insured. - -There is a large furniture and furnishing store in Minneapolis, well -sustained by the public, which gives one a new idea of the taste of the -North-west. A community that buys furniture so elegant and chaste in -design, and stuffs and decorations so aesthetically good, as this shop -offers it, is certainly not deficient either in material refinement or -the means to gratify the love of it. - -What is there besides this tremendous energy, very material prosperity, -and undeniable refinement in living? I do not know that the excellently -managed public-school system offers anything peculiar for comment. But -the High-school in St. Paul is worth a visit. So far as I could judge, -the method of teaching is admirable, and produces good results. It has -no rules, nor any espionage. Scholars are put upon their honor. One -object of education being character, it is well to have good behavior -consist, not in conformity to artificial laws existing only in school, -but to principles of good conduct that should prevail everywhere. There -is system here, but the conduct expected is that of well-bred boys and -girls anywhere. The plan works well, and there are very few cases of -discipline. A manual training school is attached--a notion growing in -favor in the West, and practised in a scientific and truly educational -spirit. Attendance is not compulsory, but a considerable proportion of -the pupils, boys and girls, spend a certain number of hours each week in -the workshops, learning the use of tools, and making simple objects to -an accurate scale from drawings on the blackboard. The design is not at -all to teach a trade. The object is strictly educational, not simply -to give manual facility and knowledge in the use of tools, but to teach -accuracy, the mental training that there is in working out a definite, -specific purpose. - -The State University is still in a formative condition, and has attached -to it a preparatory school. Its first class graduated only in 1872. It -sends out on an average about twenty graduates a year in the various -departments, science, literature, mechanic arts, and agriculture. The -bane of a State university is politics, and in the West the hand of the -Granger is on the college, endeavoring to make it "practical." Probably -this modern idea of education will have to run its course, and so long -as it is running its course the Eastern colleges which adhere to the -idea of intellectual discipline will attract the young men who value -a liberal rather than a material education. The State University of -Minnesota is thriving in the enlargement of its facilities. About -one-third of its scholars are women, but I notice that in the last -catalogue, in the Senior Class of twenty-six there is only one woman. -There are two independent institutions also that should be mentioned, -both within the limits of St. Paul, the Hamline University, under -Methodist auspices, and the McAllister College, under Presbyterian. -I did not visit the former, but the latter, at least, though just -beginning, has the idea of a classical education foremost, and does -not adopt co-education. Its library is well begun by the gift of a -miscellaneous collection, containing many rare and old books, by the -Rev. E. D. Neill, the well-known antiquarian, who has done so much to -illuminate the colonial history of Virginia and Maryland. In the State -Historical Society, which has rooms in the Capitol in St. Paul, a -vigorous and well-managed society, is a valuable collection of books -illustrating the history of the North-west. The visitor will notice in -St. Paul quite as much taste for reading among business men as exists -elsewhere, a growing fancy for rare books, and find some private -collections of interest. Though music and art cannot be said to be -generally cultivated, there are in private circles musical enthusiasm -and musical ability, and many of the best examples of modern painting -are to be found in private houses. Indeed, there is one gallery in which -is a collection of pictures by foreign artists that would be notable in -any city. These things are mentioned as indications of a liberalizing -use of wealth. - -Wisconsin is not only one of the most progressive, but one of the most -enlightened, States in the Union. Physically it is an agreeable and -beautiful State, agriculturally it is rich, in the southern and -central portions at least, and it is overlaid with a perfect network -of railways. All this is well known. I wish to speak of certain other -things which give it distinction. I mean the prevailing spirit in -education and in social-economic problems. In some respects it leads all -the other States. - -There seem to be two elements in the State contending for the mastery, -one the New England, but emancipated from tradition, the other the -foreign, with ideas of liberty not of New England origin. Neither is -afraid of new ideas nor of trying social experiments. Co-education -seems to be everywhere accepted without question, as if it were already -demonstrated that the mingling of the sexes in the higher education -will produce the sort of men and women most desirable in the highest -civilization. The success of women in the higher schools, the capacity -shown by women in the management of public institutions and in reforms -and charities, have perhaps something to do with the favor to woman -suffrage. It may be that, if women vote there in general elections as -well as school matters, on the ground that every public office "relates -to education," Prohibition will be agitated as it is in most other -States, but at present the lager-bier interest is too strong to give -Prohibition much chance. The capital invested in the manufacture of beer -makes this interest a political element of great importance. - -Milwaukee and Madison may be taken to represent fairly the civilization -of Wisconsin. Milwaukee, having a population of about 175,000, is a -beautiful city, with some characteristics peculiar to itself, having the -settled air of being much older than it is, a place accustomed to money -and considerable elegance of living. The situation on the lake is fine, -the high curving bluffs offering most attractive sites for residences, -and the rolling country about having a quiet beauty. Grand avenue, an -extension of the main business thoroughfare of the city, runs out into -the country some two miles, broad, with a solid road, a stately avenue, -lined with fine dwellings, many of them palaces in size and elegant in -design. Fashion seems to hesitate between the east side and the -west side, but the east or lake side seems to have the advantage in -situation, certainly in views, and contains a greater proportion of the -American population than the other. Indeed, it is not easy to recall -a quarter of any busy city which combines more comfort, evidences of -wealth and taste and refinement, and a certain domestic character, than -this portion of the town on the bluffs, Prospect avenue and the adjacent -streets. With the many costly and elegant houses there is here and -there one rather fantastic, but the whole effect is pleasing, and -the traveller feels no hesitation in deciding that this would be -an agreeable place to live. From the avenue the lake prospect is -wonderfully attractive--the beauty of Lake Michigan in changing color -and variety of lights in sun and storm cannot be too much insisted -on--and this is especially true of the noble Esplanade, where stands -the bronze statue (a gift of two citizens) of Solomon Juneau, the first -settler of Milwaukee in 1818. It is a very satisfactory figure, and -placed where it is, it gives a sort of foreign distinction to the open -place which the city has wisely left for public use. In this part of -the town is the house of the Milwaukee Club, a good building, one of the -most tasteful internally, and one of the best appointed, best arranged, -and comfortable club-houses In the country. Near this is the new Art -Museum (also the gift of a private citizen), a building greatly to be -commended for its excellent proportions, simplicity, and chasteness of -style, and adaptability to its purpose. It is a style that will last, -to please the eye, and be more and more appreciated as the taste of the -community becomes more and more refined. - -In this quarter are many of the churches, of the average sort, but -none calling for special mention except St. Paul's, which is noble in -proportions and rich in color, and contains several notable windows of -stained glass, one of them occupying the entire end of one transept, the -largest, I believe, in the country. It is a copy of Doré's painting of -Christ on the way to the Crucifixion, an illuminated street scene, with -superb architecture of marble and porphyry, and crowded with hundreds -of figures in colors of Oriental splendor. The colors are rich and -harmonious, but it is very brilliant, flashing in the sunlight with -magnificent effect, and I am not sure but it would attract the humble -sinners of Milwaukee from a contemplation of their little faults which -they go to church to confess. - -The city does not neglect education, as the many thriving public -schools testify. It has a public circulating library of 42,000 volumes, -sustained at an expense of $22,000 a year by a tax; is free, and well -patronized. There are good private collections of books also, one that -I saw large and worthy to be called a library, especially strong in -classic English literature. - -Perhaps the greatest industry of the city, certainly the most -conspicuous, is brewing. I do not say that the city is in the hands of -the brewers, but with their vast establishments they wield great power. -One of them, about the largest in the country, and said to equal in its -capacity any in Europe, has in one group seven enormous buildings, and -is impressive by its extent and orderly management, as well as by the -rivers of amber fluid which it pours out for this thirsty country. -Milwaukee, with its large German element--two-thirds of the population, -most of whom are freethinkers--has no Sunday except in a holiday -sense; the theatres are all open, and the pleasure-gardens, which are -extensive, are crowded with merrymakers in the season. It is, in short, -the Continental fashion, and while the churches and church-goers are -like churches and church-goers everywhere, there is an air of general -Continental freedom. - -The general impression of Milwaukee is that it is a city of much -wealth and a great deal of comfort, with a settled, almost conservative -feeling, like an Eastern city, and charming, cultivated social life, -with the grace and beauty that are common in American society anywhere. -I think the men generally would be called well-looking, robust, of the -quiet, assured manner of an old community. The women seen on the street -and In the shops are of good physique and good color and average good -looks, without anything startling in the way of beauty or elegance. I -speak of the general aspect of the town, and I mention the well-to-do -physical condition because it contradicts the English prophecy of a -physical decadence in the West, owing to the stimulating climate and -the restless pursuit of wealth. On the train to Madison (the line runs -through a beautiful country) one might have fancied that he was on a -local New England train: the same plain, good sort of people, and in -abundance the well-looking, domestic sort of young women. - -Madison is a great contrast to Milwaukee. Although it is the political -and educational centre, has the Capitol and the State University, and a -population of about 15,000, it is like a large village, with the village -habits and friendliness. On elevated, hilly ground, between two charming -lakes, it has an almost unrivalled situation, and is likely to -possess, in the progress of years and the accumulation of wealth, the -picturesqueness and beauty that travellers ascribe to Stockholm. With -the hills of the town, the gracefully curving shores of the lakes and -their pointed bays, the gentle elevations beyond the lakes, and the -capacity of these two bodies of water as pleasure resorts, with elegant -music pavilions and fleets of boats for the sail and the oar--why do we -not take a hint from the painted Venetian sail?--there is no limit to -what may be expected in the way of refined beauty of Madison in the -summer, if it remains a city of education and of laws, and does not get -up a "boom," and set up factories, and blacken all the landscape with -coal smoke! - -The centre of the town is a big square, pleasantly tree-planted, so -large that the facing rows of shops and houses have a remote and dwarfed -appearance, and in the middle of it is the great pillared State-house, -American style. The town itself is one of unpretentious, comfortable -houses, some of them with elegant interiors, having plenty of books -and the spoils of foreign travel. In one of them, the old-fashioned but -entirely charming mansion of Governor Fairchild, I cannot refrain -from saying, is a collection which, so far as I know, is unique in the -world--a collection to which the helmet of Don Quixote gives a certain -flavor; it is of barbers' basins, of all ages and countries. - -Wisconsin is working out its educational ideas on an intelligent system, -and one that may be expected to demonstrate the full value of the -popular method--I mean a more intimate connection of the university with -the life of the people than exists elsewhere. What effect this will have -upon the higher education in the ultimate civilization of the State is -a question of serious and curious interest. Unless the experience of the -ages is misleading, the tendency of the "practical" in all education is -a downward and material one, and the highest civilization must continue -to depend upon a pure scholarship, and upon what are called abstract -ideas. Even so practical a man as Socrates found the natural sciences -inadequate to the inner needs of the soul. "I thought," he says, "as -I have failed in the contemplation of true existence (by means of the -sciences), I ought to be careful that I did not lose the eye of the -soul, as people may injure their bodily eye by gazing on the sun during -an eclipse.... That occurred to me, and I was afraid that my soul might -be blinded altogether if I looked at things with my eyes, or tried by -the help of the senses to apprehend them. And I thought I had better -have recourse to ideas, and seek in them the truth of existence." The -intimate union of the university with the life of the people is a most -desirable object, if the university does not descend and lose its high -character in the process. - -The graded school system of the State is vigorous, all working up to the -University. This is a State institution, and the State is fairly liberal -to it, so far as practical education is concerned. It has a magnificent -new Science building, and will have excellent shops and machinery for -the sciences (especially the applied) and the mechanic arts. The system -is elective. A small per cent, of the students take Greek, a larger -number Latin, French, and German, but the University is largely devoted -to science. In all the departments, including law, there are about six -hundred students, of whom above one hundred are girls. There seems to be -no doubt about co-education as a practical matter in the conduct of -the college, and as a desirable thing for women. The girls are good -students, and usually take more than half the highest honors on the -marking scale. Notwithstanding the testimony of the marks, however, the -boys say that the girls don't "know" as much as they do about things -generally, and they (the boys) have no doubt of their ability to pass -the girls either in scholarship or practical affairs in the struggle of -life. The idea seems to be that the girls are serious in education -only up to a certain point, and that marriage will practically end the -rivalry. - -The distinguishing thing, however, about the State University is its -vital connection with the farmers and the agricultural interests. I do -not refer to the agricultural department, which it has in common with -many colleges, nor to the special short agricultural course of three -months in the winter, intended to give farmers' boys, who enter it -without examination or other connection with the University, the most -available agricultural information in the briefest time, the intention -being not to educate boys away from a taste for farming but to make them -better farmers. The students must be not less than sixteen years old, -and have a common-school education. During the term of twelve weeks -they have lectures by the professors and recitations on practical and -theoretical agriculture, on elementary and agricultural chemistry, on -elemental botany, with laboratory practice, and on the anatomy of our -domestic animals and the treatment of their common diseases. But what -I wish to call special attention to is the connection of the University -with the farmers' institutes. - -A special Act of the Legislature, drawn by a lawyer, Mr. C. E. -Estabrook, authorized the farmers' institutes, and placed them under the -control of the regents of the University, who have the power to select -a State superintendent to control them. A committee of three of the -regents has special charge of the institutes. Thus the farmers are -brought into direct relation with the University, and while, as a -prospectus says, they are not actually non-resident students of the -University, they receive information and instruction directly from it. -The State appropriates twelve thousand dollars a year to this work, -which pays the salaries of Mr. W. H. Morrison, the superintendent, to -whose tact and energy the success of the institutes is largely due, and -his assistants, and enables him to pay the expenses of specialists -and agriculturists who can instruct the farmers and wisely direct the -discussions at the meetings. By reason of this complete organization, -which penetrates every part of the State, subjects of most advantage are -considered, and time is not wasted in merely amateur debates. - -I know of no other State where a like system of popular instruction on -a vital and universal interest of the State, directed by the highest -educational authority, is so perfectly organized and carried on with -such unity of purpose and detail of administration; no other in which -the farmer is brought systematically into such direct relations to the -university. In the current year there have been held eighty-two -farmers' institutes in forty-five counties. The list of practical topics -discussed is 279, and in this service have been engaged one hundred and -seven workers, thirty-one of whom are specialists from other States. -This is an "agricultural college," on a grand scale, brought to the -homes of the people. The meetings are managed by local committees in -such a way as to evoke local pride, interest, and talent. I will -mention some of the topics that were thoroughly discussed at one of -the institutes: clover as a fertilizer; recuperative agriculture; -bee-keeping; taking care of the little things about the house and -farm; the education for farmers' daughters; the whole economy of sheep -husbandry; egg production; poultry; the value of thought and application -in farming; horses to breed for the farm and market; breeding and -management of swine; mixed farming; grain-raising; assessment and -collection of taxes; does knowledge pay? (with illustrations of money -made by knowledge of the market); breeding and care of cattle, with -expert testimony as to the best sorts of cows; points in corn culture; -full discussion of small-fruit culture; butter-making as a line art; the -daily; our country roads; agricultural education. So, during the winter, -every topic that concerns the well-being of the home, the prolit of -the farm, the moral welfare of the people and their prosperity, was -intelligently discussed, with audiences fully awake to the value of this -practical and applied education. Some of the best of these discussions -are printed and widely distributed. Most of them are full of wise -details in the way of thrift and money-making, but I am glad to see that -the meetings also consider the truth that as much care should be given -to the rearing of boys and girls as of calves and colts, and that brains -are as necessary in farming as in any other occupation. - -As these farmers' institutes are conducted, I do not know any influence -comparable to them in waking up the farmers to think, to inquire into -new and improved methods, and to see in what real prosperity consists. -With prosperity, as a rule, the farmer and his family are conservative, -law-keeping, church-going, good citizens. The little appropriation of -twelve thousand dollars has already returned to the State a hundred-fold -financially and a thousand-fold in general intelligence. - -I have spoken of the habit in Minnesota and Wisconsin of depending -mostly upon one crop--that of spring wheat--and the disasters from this -single reliance in bad years. Hard lessons are beginning to teach the -advantage of mixed farming and stockraising. In this change the farmers' -institutes of Wisconsin have been potent. As one observer says, "They -have produced a revolution in the mode of farming, raising crops, and -caring for stock." The farmers have been enabled to protect themselves -against the effects of drought and other evils. Taking the advice of the -institute in 1886, the farmers planted 50,000 acres of ensilage corn, -which took the place of the short hay crop caused by the drought. -This provision saved thousands of dollars' worth of stock in several -counties. From all over the State comes the testimony of farmers as to -the good results of the institute work, like this: "Several thousand -dollars' worth of improved stock have been brought in. Creameries and -cheese-factories have been established and well supported. Farmers are -no longer raising grain exclusively as heretofore. Our hill-sides are -covered with clover. Our farmers are encouraged to labor anew. A new era -of prosperity in our State dates from the farmers' institutes." - -There is abundant evidence that a revolution is going on in the farming -of Wisconsin, greatly assisted, if not inaugurated, by this systematic -popular instruction from the University as a centre. It may not greatly -interest the reader that the result of this will be greater agricultural -wealth in Wisconsin, but it does concern him that putting intelligence -into farming must inevitably raise the level of the home life and the -general civilization of Wisconsin. I have spoken of this centralized, -systematic effort in some detail because it seems more efficient than -the work of agricultural societies and sporadic institutes in other -States. - -In another matter Wisconsin has taken a step in advance of other States; -that is, in the care of the insane. The State has about 2600 insane, -increasing at the rate of about 167 a year. The provisions in the State -for these are the State Hospital (capacity of 500), Northern Hospital -(capacity of 600), the Milwaukee Asylum (capacity of 255), and fifteen -county asylums for the chronic insane, including two nearly ready -(capacity 1220). The improvement in the care of the insane consists in -several particulars--the doing away of restraints, either by mechanical -appliances or by narcotics, reasonable separation of the chronic cases -from the others, increased liberty, and the substitution of wholesome -labor for idleness. Many of these changes have been brought about by the -establishment of county asylums, the feature of which I wish specially -to speak. The State asylums were crowded beyond their proper capacity, -classification was difficult in them, and a large number of the insane -were miserably housed in county jails and poor-houses. The evils of -great establishments were more and more apparent, and it was determined -to try the experiment of county asylums. These have now been in -operation for six years, and a word about their constitution and -perfectly successful operation may be of public service. - -These asylums, which are only for the chronic insane, are managed by -local authorities, but under constant and close State supervision; this -last provision is absolutely essential, and no doubt accounts for the -success of the undertaking. It is not necessary here to enter into -details as to the construction of these buildings. They are of brick, -solid, plain, comfortable, and of a size to accommodate not less than -fifty nor more than one hundred inmates: an institution with less than -fifty is not economical; one with a larger number than one hundred is -unwieldy, and beyond the personal supervision of the superintendent. A -farm is needed for economy in maintenance and to furnish occupation for -the men; about four acres for each inmate is a fair allowance. The -land should be fertile, and adapted to a variety of crops as well as to -cattle, and it should have woodland to give occupation in the winter. -The fact is recognized that idleness is no better for an insane than -for a sane person. The house-work is all done by the women; the farm, -garden, and general out-door work by the men. Experience shows that -three-fourths of the chronic insane can be furnished occupation of -some sort, and greatly to their physical and moral well-being. The -nervousness incident always to restraint and idleness disappears with -liberty and occupation. Hence greater happiness and comfort to the -insane, and occasionally a complete or partial cure. - -About one attendant to twenty insane persons is sufficient, but it is -necessary that these should have intelligence and tact; the men capable -of leading in farm-work, the women to instruct in house-work and -dress-making, and it is well if they can play some musical instrument -and direct in amusements. One of the most encouraging features of this -experiment in small asylums has been the discovery of so many efficient -superintendents and matrons among the intelligent farmers and business -men of the rural districts, who have the practical sagacity and -financial ability to carry on these institutions successfully. - -These asylums are as open as a school; no locked doors (instead of -window-bars, the glass-frames are of iron painted white), no pens made -by high fences. The inmates are free to go and come at their work, with -no other restraint than the watch of the attendants. The asylum is a -home and not a prison. The great thing is to provide occupation. The -insane, it is found, can be trained to regular industry, and it is -remarkable how little restraint is needed if an earnest effort is made -to do without it. In the county asylums of Wisconsin about one person in -a thousand is in restraint or seclusion each day. The whole theory seems -to be to treat the insane like persons in some way diseased, who need -occupation, amusement, kindness. The practice of this theory in the -Wisconsin county asylums is so successful that it must ultimately affect -the treatment of the insane all over the country. - -And the beauty of it is that it is as economical as it is enlightened -and humane. The secret of providing occupation for this class is to buy -as little material and hire as little labor as possible; let the women -make the clothes, and the men do the farm-work without the aid of -machinery. The surprising result of this is that some of these asylums -approach the point of being self-supporting, and all of them save money -to the counties, compared with the old method. The State has not lost -by these asylums, and the counties have gained; nor has the economy been -purchased at the expense of humanity to the insane; the insane in the -county asylums have been as well clothed, lodged, and fed as in the -State institutions, and have had more freedom, and consequently more -personal comfort and a better chance of abating their mania. This is the -result arrived at by an exhaustive report on these county asylums in the -report of the State Board of Charities and Reforms, of which Mr. Albert -O. Wright is secretary. The average cost per week per capita of patients -in the asylums by the latest report was, in the State Hospital, $4.39; -in the Northern Hospital, $4.33; in the county asylums, $1.89. - -The new system considers the education of the chronic insane an -important part of their treatment; not specially book-learning (though -that may be included), but training of the mental, moral, and physical -faculties in habits of order, propriety, and labor. By these means -wonders have been worked for the insane. The danger, of course, is that -the local asylums may fall into unproductive routine, and that politics -will interfere with the intelligent State supervision. If Wisconsin is -able to keep her State institutions out of the clutches of men with whom -politics is a business simply for what they can make out of it (as it is -with those who oppose a civil service not based upon partisan dexterity -and subserviency), she will carry her enlightened ideas into the making -of a model State. The working out of such a noble reform as this in the -treatment of the insane can only be intrusted to men specially qualified -by knowledge, sympathy, and enthusiasm, and would be impossible in the -hands of changing political workers. The systematized enlightenment -of the farmers in the farmers' institutes by means of their vital -connection with the University needs the steady direction of those -who are devoted to it, and not to any party success. As to education -generally, it may be said that while for the present the popular favor -to the State University depends upon its being "practical" in this and -other ways, the time will come when it will be seen that the highest -service it can render the State is by upholding pure scholarship, -without the least material object. - -Another institution of which Wisconsin has reason to be proud is -the State Historical Society--a corporation (dating from 1853) with -perpetual succession, supported by an annual appropriation of five -thousand dollars, with provisions for printing the reports of the -society and the catalogues of the library. It is housed in the Capitol. -The society has accumulated interesting historical portraits, cabinets -of antiquities, natural history, and curiosities, a collection of -copper, and some valuable MSS. for the library. The library is one of -the best historical collections in the country. The excellence of it -is largely due to Lyman C. Draper, LL.D., who was its secretary for -thirty-three years, but who began as early as 1834 to gather facts -and materials for border history and biography, and who had in 1852 -accumulated thousands of manuscripts and historical statements, the -nucleus of the present splendid library, which embraces rare and -valuable works relating to the history of nearly every State. This -material is arranged by States, and readily accessible to the student. -Indeed, there are few historical libraries in the country where -historical research in American subjects can be better prosecuted than -in this. The library began in January, 1854, with fifty volumes. In -January, 1887, it had 57,935 volumes and 60,731 pamphlets and documents, -making a total of 118,666 titles. - -There is a large law library in the State-house, the University has a -fair special library for the students, and in the city is a good public -circulating library, free, supported by a tax, and much used. For a -young city, it is therefore very well off for books. - -Madison is not only an educational centre, but an intelligent city; the -people read and no doubt buy books, but they do not support book-stores. -The shops where books are sold are variety-shops, dealing in stationery, -artists' materials, cheap pictures, bric-à-brac. Books are of minor -importance, and but few are "kept in stock." Indeed, bookselling is not -a profitable part of the business; it does not pay to "handle" books, -or to keep the run of new publications, or to keep a supply of standard -works. In this the shops of Madison are not peculiar. It is true all -over the West, except in two or three large cities, and true, perhaps, -not quite so generally in the East; the book-shops are not the literary -and intellectual centres they used to be. - -There are several reasons given for this discouraging state of the -book-trade. Perhaps it is true that people accustomed to newspapers full -of "selections," to the flimsy publications found on the cheap counters, -and to the magazines, do not buy "books that are books," except for -"furnishing;" that they depend more and more upon the circulating -libraries for anything that costs more than an imported cigar or half -a pound of candy. The local dealers say that the system of the great -publishing houses is unsatisfactory as to prices and discounts. Private -persons can get the same discounts as the dealers, and can very likely, -by ordering a list, buy more cheaply than of the local bookseller, and -therefore, as a matter of business, he says that it does not pay to -keep books; he gives up trying to sell them, and turns his attention to -"varieties." Another reason for the decline in the trade may be in the -fact that comparatively few booksellers are men of taste in letters, men -who read, or keep the run of new publications. If a retail grocer knew -no more of his business than many booksellers know of theirs, he would -certainly fail. It is a pity on all accounts that the book-trade is -in this condition. A bookseller in any community, if he is a man of -literary culture, and has a love of books and knowledge of them, can do -a great deal for the cultivation of the public taste. His shop becomes -a sort of intellectual centre of the town. If the public find there -an atmosphere of books, and are likely to have their wants met for -publications new or rare, they will generally sustain the shop; at -least this is my observation. Still, I should not like to attempt to say -whether the falling off in the retail book-trade is due to want of skill -in the sellers, to the publishing machinery, or to public indifference. -The subject is worthy the attention of experts. It is undeniably -important to maintain everywhere these little depots of intellectual -supply. In a town new to him the visitor is apt to estimate the taste, -the culture, the refinement, as well as the wealth of the town, by its -shops. The stock in the dry goods and fancy stores tells one thing, that -in the art-stores another thing, that in the book-stores another thing, -about the inhabitants. The West, even on the remote frontiers, is full -of magnificent stores of goods, telling of taste as well as luxury; the -book-shops are the poorest of all. - -The impression of the North-west, thus far seen, is that of tremendous -energy, material refinement, much open-mindedness, considerable -self-appreciation,' uncommon sagacity in meeting new problems, generous -hospitality, the Old Testament notion of possessing this world, rather -more recognition of the pecuniary as the only success than exists in -the East and South, intense national enthusiasm, and unblushing and most -welcome "Americanism." - -In these sketchy observations on the North-west nothing has seemed to me -more interesting and important than the agricultural changes going on -in eastern Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In the vast wheat farms, as -well as in the vast cattle ranges, there is an element of speculation, -if not of gambling, of the chance of immense profits or of considerable -loss, that is neither conducive to the stable prosperity nor to the -moral soundness of a State. In the breaking up of the great farms, and -in the introduction of varied agriculture and cattle-raising on a small -scale, there will not be so many great fortunes made, but each State -will be richer as a whole, and less liable to yearly fluctuations in -prosperity. But the gain most worth considering will be in the home -life and the character of the citizens. The best life of any community -depends upon varied industries. No part of the United States has ever -prospered, as regards the well-being of the mass of the people, that -relied upon the production of a single staple. - - - - -IX.--CHICAGO. [_First Paper_.] - -|Chicago is becoming modest. Perhaps the inhabitants may still be able -to conceal their modesty, but nevertheless they feel it. The explanation -is simple. The city has grown not only beyond the most sanguine -expectations of those who indulged in the most inflated hope of its -future, but it has grown beyond what they said they expected. This gives -the citizens pause--as it might an eagle that laid a roc's egg. - -The fact is, Chicago has become an independent organism, growing by a -combination of forces and opportunities, beyond the contrivance of -any combination of men to help or hinder, beyond the need of flaming -circulars and reports of boards of trade, and process pictures. It has -passed the danger or the fear of rivalry, and reached the point where -the growth of any other portion of the great North-west, or of any -city in it (whatever rivalry that city may show in industries or in -commerce), is in some way a contribution to the power and wealth of -Chicago. To them that have shall be given. Cities, under favoring -conditions for local expansion, which reach a certain amount of -population and wealth, grow by a kind of natural increment, the law of -attraction, very well known in human nature, which draws a person to an -active city of two hundred thousand rather than to a stagnant city of -one hundred thousand. And it is a fortunate thing for civilization that -this attraction is almost as strong to men of letters as it is to men of -affairs. Chicago has, it seems to me, only recently turned this point of -assured expansion, and, as I intimated, the inhabitants have hardly yet -become accustomed to this idea; but I believe that the time is near when -they will be as indifferent to what strangers think of Chicago as the -New-Yorkers are to what strangers think of New York. New York is -to-day the only American city free from this anxious note of -provincialism--though in Boston it rather takes the form of pity for the -unenlightened man who doubts its superiority; but the impartial student -of Chicago to-day can see plenty of signs of the sure growth of this -metropolitan indifference. And yet there is still here enough of the old -Chicago stamp to make the place interesting. - -It is everything in getting a point of view. Last summer a lady of New -Orleans who had never before been out of her native French city, and -who would look upon the whole North with the impartial eyes of a -foreigner--and more than that, with Continental eyes--visited Chicago, -and afterwards New York. "Which city did you like best?" I asked, -without taking myself seriously in the question. To my surprise, she -hesitated. This hesitation was fatal to all my preconceived notions. It -mattered not thereafter which she preferred: she had hesitated. She was -actually comparing Chicago to New York in her mind, as one might compare -Paris and London. The audacity of the comparison I saw was excused by -its innocence. I confess that it had never occurred to me to think of -Chicago in that Continental light. "Well," she said, not seeing at all -the humor of my remark, "Chicago seems to me to have finer buildings and -residences, to be the more beautiful city; but of course there is more -in New York; it is a greater city; and I should prefer to live there for -what I want." This naïve observation set me thinking, and I wondered if -there was a point of view, say that of divine omniscience and fairness, -in which Chicago would appear as one of the great cities of the world, -in fact a metropolis, by-and-by to rival in population and wealth any -city of the seaboard. It has certainly better commercial advantages, -so far as water communication and railways go, than Paris or Pekin or -Berlin, and a territory to supply and receive from infinitely vaster, -richer, and more promising than either. This territory will have -many big cities, but in the nature of things only one of surpassing -importance. And taking into account its geographical position--a -thousand miles from the Atlantic seaboard on the one side, and from the -mountains on the other, with the acknowledged tendency of people and of -money to it as a continental centre--it seems to me that Chicago is to -be that one. - -The growth of Chicago is one of the marvels of the world. I do not -wonder that it is incomprehensible even to those who have seen it year -by year. As I remember it in 1860, it was one of the shabbiest and most -unattractive cities of about a hundred thousand inhabitants anywhere to -be found; but even then it had more than trebled its size in ten years; -the streets were mud sloughs, the sidewalks were a series of stairs and -more or less rotten planks, half the town was in process of elevation -above the tadpole level, and a considerable part of it was on -wheels--the moving house being about the only wheeled vehicle that -could get around with any comfort to the passengers. The west side was a -straggling shanty-town, the north side was a country village with two or -three "aristocratic" houses occupying a square, the south side had not -a handsome business building in it, nor a public edifice of any merit -except a couple of churches, but there were a few pleasant residences -on Michigan avenue fronting the encroaching lake, and on Wabash avenue. -Yet I am not sure that even then the exceedingly busy and excited -traders and speculators did not feel that the town was more important -than New York. For it had a great business. Aside from its real estate -operations, its trade that year was set down at $97,000,000, embracing -its dealing in produce, its wholesale supply business, and its -manufacturing. - -No one then, however, would have dared to predict that the value of -trade in 1887 would be, as it was, $1,103,000,000. Nor could any one -have believed that the population of 100,000 would reach in 1887 -nearly 800,000 (estimated 782,644), likely to reach in 1888, with the -annexation of contiguous villages that have become physically a part of -the city, the amount of 900,000. Growing at its usual rate for several -years past, the city is certain in a couple of years to count its -million of people. And there is not probably anywhere congregated a -more active and aggressive million, with so great a proportion of -young, ambitious blood. Other figures keep pace with those of trade and -population. I will mention only one or two of them here. The national -banks, in 1887, had a capital of $15,800,000, in which the deposits -were $80,473,740, the loans and discounts $63,113,821, the surplus and -profits $6,320,559. The First National is, I believe, the second or -third largest banking house in the country, having a deposit account of -over twenty-two millions. The figures given only include the national -banks; add to these the private banks, and the deposits of Chicago in -1887 were $105,307,000. The aggregate bank clearings of the city were -$2,969,216,210.00, an increase of 14 per cent, over 1880. It should be -noted that there were only twenty-one banks in the clearing house (with -an aggregate capital and surplus of $28,514,000), and that the fewer the -banks the smaller the total clearings will be. The aggregate Board of -Trade clearings for 1887 were $78,179,809. In the year 1880 Chicago -imported merchandise entered for consumption to the value of -$11,574,449, and paid $4,349,237 duties on it. I did not intend to go -into statistics, but these and a few other figures will give some -idea of the volume of business in this new city. I found on inquiry -that--owing to legislation that need not be gone into--there are few -savings-banks, and the visible savings of labor cut a small figure in -this way. The explanation is that there are several important loan and -building associations. Money is received on deposit in small amounts, -and loaned at a good rate of interest to those wishing to build or buy -houses, the latter paying in small instalments. The result is that these -loan institutions have been very profitable to those who have put money -in them, and that the laborers who have borrowed to build have also been -benefited by putting all their savings into houses. I believe there -is no other large city, except Philadelphia perhaps, where so large a -proportion of the inhabitants own the houses they live in. There is -no better prevention of the spread of anarchical notions and communist -foolishness than this. - -It is an item of interest that the wholesale drygoods jobbing -establishments increased their business in 1887 12 1/2 per cent, over -1886. Five houses have a capital of $9,000,000, and the sales in 1887 -were nearly $74,000,000. And it is worth special mention that one man in -Chicago, Marshall Field, is the largest wholesale and retail dry-goods -merchant in the world. In his retail shop and wholesale store there are -3000 employes on the pay-roll. As to being first in his specialty, the -same may be said of Philip D. Armour, who not only distances all rivals -in the world as a packer, but no doubt also as a merchant of such -products as the hog contributes to the support of life. His sales in one -year have been over $51,000,000. The city has also the distinction -of having among its citizens Henry W. King, the largest dealer, in -establishments here and elsewhere, in clothing in the world. - -In nothing has the growth of Chicago been more marked in the past five -years than in manufactures. I cannot go into the details of all the -products, but the totals of manufacture for 1887 were, in 2396 firms, -$113,960,000 capital employed, 134,615 workers, $74,567,000 paid in -wages, and the value of the product was $403,109,500--an increase of -product over 1886 of about 15 1/2 per cent. A surprising item in this is -the book and publishing business. The increase of sales of books in 1887 -over 1886 was 20 per cent. The wholesale sales for 1887 are estimated at -$10,000,000. It is now claimed that as a book-publishing centre -Chicago ranks second only to New York, and that in the issue of -subscription-books it does more business than New York, Boston, and -Philadelphia combined. In regard to musical instruments the statement -is not less surprising. In 1887 the sales of pianos amounted to about -$2,600,000--a gain of $300,000 over 1886. My authority for this, and for -some, but not all, of the other figures given, is the _Tribune_, which -says that Chicago is not only the largest reed-organ market in the -world, but that more organs are manufactured here than in any other city -in Europe or America. The sales for 1887 were $2,000,000--an increase -over 1880 of $500,000. There were $1,000,000 worth of small musical -instruments sold, and of sheet music and music-books a total of -$450,000. This speaks well for the cultivation of musical taste in the -West, especially as there was a marked improvement in the class of the -music bought. - -The product of the iron manufactures in 1887, including rolling-mills -($23,952,000) and founderies ($10,000,000), was $61,187,000 against -$46,790,000 in 1886, and the wages paid in iron and steel work was -$14,899,000. In 1887 there were erected 4833 buildings, at a reported -cost of $19,778,100--a few more build-' ings, but yet at nearly two -millions less cost, than in 1886. A couple of items interested me: -that Chicago made in 1887 $900,000 worth of toys and $500,000 worth of -perfumes. The soap-makers waged a gallant but entirely unsuccessful war -against the soot and smoke of the town in producing $6,250,000 worth -of soap and candles. I do not see it mentioned, but I should think the -laundry business in Chicago would be the most profitable one at present. - -Without attempting at all to set forth the business of Chicago in -detail, a few more figures will help to indicate its volume. At the -beginning of 1887 the storage capacity for grain in 29 elevators was -27,025,000 bushels. The total receipts of flour and grain in 1882, '3, -'4, '5, and '6, in bushels, were respectively, 126,155,483, 164,924,732, -159,561,474, 156,408,228, 151,932,995. In 1887 the receipts in bushels -were: flour, 6,873,544; wheat, 21,848,251; corn, 51,578,410; oats, -45,750,842; rye, 852,726; barley, 12,476,547--total, 139,380,320. It is -useless to go into details of the meat products, but interesting to know -that in 1886 Chicago shipped 310,039,600 pounds of lard and 573,496,012 -pounds of dressed beef. - -I was surprised at the amount of the lake commerce, the railway traffic -(nearly 50,000 miles tributary to the city) making so much more show. In -1882 the tonnage of vessels clearing this port was 4,904,999; in 1880 -it was 3,950,762. The report of the Board of Trade for 1886 says the -arrivals and clearances, foreign and coastwise, for this port for the -year ending June 30th were 22,096, which was 869 more than at the ports -of Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Portland and Falmouth, -and San Francisco combined; 315 more than at New York, New Orleans, -Portland and Falmouth, and San Francisco; and 100 more than at New York, -Baltimore, and Portland and Falmouth. It will not be overlooked that -this lake commerce is training a race of hardy sailors, who would come -to the front in case of a naval war, though they might have to go out on -rafts. - -In 1888 Chicago is a magnificent city. Although it has been incorporated -fifty years, during which period its accession of population has been -rapid and steady--hardly checked by the devastating fires of 1871 and -1874--its metropolitan character and appearance is the work of less -than fifteen years. There is in history no parallel to this product of a -freely acting democracy: not St. Petersburg rising out of the marshes -at an imperial edict, nor Berlin, the magic creation of a consolidated -empire and a Caesar's power. The north-side village has become a city -of broad streets, running northward to the parks, lined with handsome -residences interspersed with stately mansions of most varied and -agreeable architecture, marred by very little that is bizarre and -pretentious--a region of churches and club-houses and public buildings -of importance. The west side, the largest section, and containing more -population than the other two divisions combined, stretching out over -the prairie to a horizon fringed with villages, expanding in three -directions, is more mediocre in buildings, but impressive in its -vastness; and the stranger driving out the stately avenue of Washington -some four miles to Garfield Park will be astonished by the evidences of -wealth and the vigor of the city expansion. - -But it is the business portion of the south side that is the miracle of -the time, the solid creation of energy and capital since the fire--the -square mile containing the Post-office and City Hall, the giant -hotels, the opera-houses and theatres, the Board of Trade building, the -many-storied offices, the great shops, the clubhouses, the vast retail -and wholesale warehouses. This area has the advantage of some other -great business centres in having broad streets at right angles, but with -all this openness for movement, the throng of passengers and traffic, -the intersecting street and cable railways, the loads of freight and the -crush of carriages, the life and hurry and excitement are sufficient to -satisfy the most eager lover of metropolitan pandemonium. Unfortunately -for a clear comprehension of it, the manufactories vomit dense clouds of -bituminous coal smoke, which settle in a black mass in this part of the -town, so that one can scarcely see across the streets in a damp day, -and the huge buildings loom up in the black sky in ghostly dimness. The -climate of Chicago, though some ten degrees warmer than the average of -its immediately tributary territory, is a harsh one, and in the short -winter days the centre of the city is not only black, but damp and -chilly. In some of the November and December days I could without any -stretch of the imagination fancy myself in London. On a Sunday, when -business gives place to amusement and religion, the stately city is -seen in all its fine proportions. No other city in the Union can show -business warehouses and offices of more architectural nobility. The mind -inevitably goes to Florence for comparison with the structures of the -Medicean merchant princes. One might name the Pullman Building for -offices as an example, and the wholesale warehouse of Marshall Field, -the work of that truly original American architect, Richardson, which -in massiveness, simplicity of lines, and admirable blending of artistic -beauty with adaptability to its purpose, seems to me unrivalled in this -country. A few of these buildings are exceptions to the general style of -architecture, which is only good of its utilitarian American kind, but -they give distinction to the town, and I am sure are prophetic of the -concrete form the wealth of the city will take. The visitor is likely -to be surprised at the number and size of the structures devoted to -offices, and to think, as he sees some of them unfilled, that the -business is overdone. At any given moment it may be, but the demand for -"offices" is always surprising to those who pay most attention to this -subject, and I am told that if the erection of office buildings should -cease for a year, the demand would pass beyond the means of satisfying -it. - -Leaving the business portion of the south side, the city runs in -apparently limitless broad avenues southward into suburban villages and -a region thickly populated to the Indiana line. The continuous slightly -curving lake front of the city is about seven miles, pretty solidly -occupied with houses. The Michigan avenue of 1860, with its wooden -fronts and cheap boarding-houses, has taken on quite another appearance, -and extends its broad way in unbroken lines of fine residences five -miles, which will be six miles next summer, when its opening is -completed to the entrance of Washington Park. I do not know such -another street in the world. In the evening the converging lines of gas -lamps offer a prospective of unequalled beauty of its kind. The south -parks are reached now by turning either into the Drexel Boulevard or the -Grand Boulevard, a magnificent avenue a mile in length, tree-planted, -gay with flower-beds in the season, and crowded in the sleighing-time -with fast teams and fancy turnouts. - -This leads me to speak of another feature of Chicago, which has no rival -in this country: I mean the facility for pleasure driving and riding. -Michigan avenue from the mouth of the river, the centre of town, is -macadamized. It and the other avenues immediately connected with the -park system are not included in the city street department, but are -under the care of the Commissioners of Parks. No traffic is permitted on -them, and consequently they are in superb condition for driving, summer -and winter. The whole length of Michigan avenue you will never see a -loaded team. These roads--that is, Michigan avenue and the others of -the park system, and the park drives--are superb for driving or riding, -perfectly made for drainage and permanency, with a top-dressing of -pulverized granite. The cost of the Michigan avenue drive was two -hundred thousand dollars a mile. The cost of the parks and boulevards -in each of the three divisions is met by a tax on the property in -that division. The tax is considerable, but the wise liberality of -the citizens has done for the town what only royalty usually -accomplishes--given it magnificent roads; and if good roads are a -criterion of civilization, Chicago must stand very high. But it needed -a community with a great deal of daring and confidence in the future to -create this park system. - -One in the heart of the city has not to drive three or four miles -over cobble-stones and ruts to get to good driving-ground. When he -has entered Michigan avenue he need not pull rein for twenty to thirty -miles. This is almost literally true as to extent, without counting the -miles of fine drives in the parks; for the city proper is circled by -great parks, already laid out as pleasure-grounds, tree-planted -and beautified to a high degree, although they are nothing to what -cultivation will make them in ten years more. On the lake shore, at -the south, is Jackson Park; next is Washington Park, twice as large as -Central Park, New York; then, farther to the west, and north, Douglas -Park and Garfield Park; then Humboldt Park, until we come round to -Lincoln Park, on the lake shore on the north side. These parks are -all connected by broad boulevards, some of which are not yet fully -developed, thus forming a continuous park drive, with enough of nature -and enough of varied architecture for variety, unsurpassed, I should -say, in the world within any city limits. Washington Park, with a -slightly rolling surface and beautiful landscape-gardening, has not only -fine drive-ways, but a splendid road set apart for horsemen. This is -a dirt road, always well sprinkled, and the equestrian has a chance -besides of a gallop over springy turf. Water is now so abundantly -provided that this park is kept green in the driest season. From -anywhere in the south side one may mount his horse or enter his carriage -for a turn of fifteen or twenty miles on what is equivalent to a country -road--that is to say, an English country road. Of the effect of this -facility on social life I shall have occasion to speak. On the lake side -of Washington Park are the grounds of the Washington Park Racing Club, -with a splendid track, and stables and other facilities which, I am -told, exceed anything of the kind in the country. The club-house itself -is very handsome and commodious, is open to the members and their -families summer and winter, and makes a favorite rendezvous for that -part of society which shares its privileges. Besides its large dining -and dancing halls, it has elegant apartments set apart for ladies. In -winter its hospitable rooms and big wood fires are very attractive after -a zero drive. - -Almost equal facility for driving and riding is had on the north side by -taking the lake-shore drive to Lincoln Park. Too much cannot be said of -the beauty of this drive along the curving shore of an inland sea, ever -attractive in the play of changing lights and colors, and beginning -to be fronted by palatial houses--a foretaste of the coming Venetian -variety and splendor. The park itself, dignified by the Lincoln statue, -is an exquisite piece of restful landscape, looked over by a thickening -assemblage of stately residences. It is a quarter of spacious elegance. - -One hardly knows how to speak justly of either the physical aspect or -the social life of Chicago, the present performance suggesting such -promise and immediate change. The excited admiration waits a little upon -expectation. I should like to sec it in five years--in ten years; it -is a formative period, but one of such excellence of execution that -the imagination takes a very high flight in anticipating the result of -another quarter of a century. What other city has begun so nobly or -has planned so liberally for metropolitan solidity, elegance, and -recreation? What other has such magnificent, avenues and boulevards, -and such a system of parks? The boy is born here who will see the town -expanded far beyond these splendid pleasure-grounds, and what is now -the circumference of the city will be to Chicago what the vernal gardens -from St. James to Hampton are to London. This anticipation hardly seems -strange when one remembers what Chicago was fifteen years ago. - -Architecturally, Chicago is more interesting than many older cities. Its -wealth and opportunity for fine building coming when our national -taste is beginning to be individual, it has escaped the monotony and -mediocrity in which New York for so many years put its money, and out -of the sameness of which it is escaping in spots. Having also plenty of -room, Chicago has been able to avoid the block system in its residences, -and to give play to variety and creative genius. It is impossible to do -much with the interior of a house in a block, however much you may load -the front with ornament. Confined to a long parallelogram, and limited -as to light and air, neither comfort nor individual taste can be -consulted or satisfied. Chicago is a city of detached houses, in the -humbler quarters as well as in the magnificent avenues, and the -effect is home-like and beautiful at the same time. There is great -variety--stone, brick, and wood intermingled, plain and ornamental; but -drive where you will in the favorite residence parts of the vast city, -you will be continually surprised with the sight of noble and artistic -houses and homes displaying taste as well as luxury. In addition to the -business and public buildings of which I spoke, there are several, like -the Art Museum, the Studebaker Building, and the new Auditorium, which -would be conspicuous and admired in any city in the world. The city is -rich in a few specimens of private houses by Mr. Richardson (whose loss -to the country is still apparently irreparable), houses worth a long -journey to see, so simple, so noble, so full of comfort, sentiment, -unique, having what may be called a charming personality. As to -interiors, there has been plenty of money spent in Chicago in mere show; -but, after all, I know of no other city that has more character and -individuality in its interiors, more evidences of personal refinement -and taste. There is, of course--Boston knows that--a grace and richness -in a dwelling in which generations have accumulated the best fruits of -wealth and cultivation; but any tasteful stranger here, I am sure, will -be surprised to find in a city so new so many homes pervaded by the -atmosphere of books and art and refined sensibility, due, I imagine, -mainly to the taste of the women, for while there are plenty of men here -who have taste, there are very few who have leisure to indulge it; and -I doubt if there was ever anywhere a livable house--a man can build -a palace, but he cannot make a home--that was not the creation of a -refined woman. I do not mean to say that Chicago is not still very much -the victim of the upholsterer, and that the eye is not offended by a -good deal that is gaudy and pretentious, but there is so much here that -is in exquisite taste that one has a hopeful heart about its future. -Everybody is not yet educated up to the "Richardson houses," but nothing -is more certain than that they will powerfully influence all the future -architecture of the town. - -Perhaps there never was before such an opportunity to study the growth -of an enormous city, physically and socially, as is offered now in -Chicago, where the development of half a century is condensed into a -decade. In one respect it differs from all other cities of anything like -its size. It is not only surrounded by a complete net-work of railways, -but it is permeated by them. The converging lines of twenty-one (I think -it is) railways paralleling each other or criss-crossing in the suburbs -concentrate upon fewer tracks as they enter the dense part of the -city, but they literally surround it, and actually pierce its heart. So -complete is this environment and interlacing that you cannot enter the -city from any direction without encountering a net-work of tracks. None -of the water-front, except a strip on the north side, is free from them. -The finest residence part of the south side, including the boulevards -and parks, is surrounded and cut by them. There are a few viaducts, but -for the most part the tracks occupy streets, and the crossings are at -grade. Along the Michigan avenue water-front and down the lake shore to -Hyde Park, on the Illinois Central and the Michigan Central and their -connections, the foreign and local trains pass incessantly (I believe -over sixty a day), and the Illinois crosses above Sixteenth Street, -cutting all the great southward avenues; and farther down, the tracks -run between Jackson Park and Washington Park, crossing at grade the -500-feet-wide boulevard which connects these great parks and makes them -one. These tracks and grade crossings, from which so few parts of the -city are free, are a serious evil and danger, and the annoyance is -increased by the multiplicity of street railway's, and by the swiftly -running cable-cars, which are a constant source of alarm to the timid. -The railways present a difficult problem. The town covers such a vast -area (always extending in a ratio that cannot be calculated) that to -place all the passenger stations outside would be a great inconvenience, -to unite the lines in a single station probably impracticable. In time, -however, the roads must come in on elevated viaducts, or concentrate in -three or four stations which communicate with the central parts of the -town by elevated roads. - -This state of things arose from the fact that the railways antedated, -and we may say made, the town, which has grown up along their lines. To -a town of pure business, transportation was the first requisite, and the -newer roads have been encouraged to penetrate as far into the city as -they could. Now that it is necessary to make it a city to live in safely -and agreeably, the railways are regarded from another point of view. I -suppose a sociologist would make some reflections on the effect of such -a thorough permeation of tracks, trains, engines, and traffic upon -the temperament of a town, the action of these exciting and irritating -causes upon its nervous centres. Living in a big railway-station must -have an effect on the nerves. At present this seems a legitimate part -of the excited activity of the city; but if it continues, with the rapid -increase of wealth and the growth of a leisure class, the inhabitants -who can afford to get away will live here only the few months necessary -to do their business and take a short season of social gayety, and then -go to quieter places early in the spring and for the summer months. - -It is at this point of view that the value of the park system appears, -not only as a relief, as easily accessible recreation-grounds for the -inhabitants in every part of the city, but as an element in society -life. These parks, which I have already named, contain 1742 acres. -The two south parks, connected so as to be substantially one, have 957 -acres. Their great connecting boulevards are interfered with somewhat by -railway-tracks, and none of them, except Lincoln, can be reached without -crossing tracks on which locomotives run, yet, as has been said, the -most important of them are led to by good driving-roads from the heart -of the city. They have excellent roads set apart for equestrians as -well as for driving. These facilities induce the keeping of horses, the -setting up of fine equipages, and a display for which no other city has -better opportunity. This cannot but have an appreciable effect upon the -growth of luxury and display in this direction. Indeed, it is already -true that the city keeps more private carriages--for the pleasure -not only of the rich, but of the well-to-do--in proportion to its -population, than any other large city I know. These broad thoroughfares, -kept free from traffic, furnish excellent sleighing when it does not -exist in the city streets generally, and in the summer unequalled avenues -for the show of wealth and beauty and style. In a few years the turnouts -on the Grand Boulevard and the Lincoln Park drive will be worth going -far to see for those who admire--and who does not? for, the world over, -wealth has no spectacle more attractive to all classes--fine horses and -the splendor of moving equipages. And here is no cramped mile or two -for parade, like most of the fashionable drives of the world, but space -inviting healthful exercise as well as display. These broad avenues and -park outlooks, with ample ground-room, stimulate architectural rivalry, -and this opportunity for driving and riding and being on view cannot but -affect very strongly the social tone. The foresight of the busy men who -planned this park system is already vindicated. The public appreciate -their privileges. On fair days the driving avenues are thronged. One -Sunday afternoon in January, when the sleighing was good, some one -estimated that there were as many as ten thousand teams flying up and -down Michigan avenue and the Grand Boulevard. This was, of course, an -over-estimate, but the throng made a ten-thousand impression on the -mind. Perhaps it was a note of Western independence that a woman was -here and there seen "speeding" a fast horse, in a cutter, alone. - -I suppose that most of these people had been to church in the morning, -for Chicago, which does everything it puts its hand to with tremendous -energy, is a church-going city, and I believe presents some contrast to -Cincinnati in this respect. Religious, mission, and Sunday-school work -is very active, churches are many, whatever the liberality of the creeds -of a majority of them, and there are several congregations of over two -thousand people. One vast music-hall and one theatre are thronged Sunday -after Sunday with organized, vigorous, worshipful congregations. Besides -these are the Sunday meetings for ethical culture and Christian science. -It is true that many of the theatres are open as on week-days, and there -is a vast foreign population that takes its day of rest in idleness or -base-ball and garden amusements, but the prevailing aspect of the city -is that of Sunday observance. There is a good deal of wholesome New -England in its tone. And it welcomes any form of activity--orthodoxy, -liberalism, revivals, ethical culture. - -A special interest in Chicago at the moment is because it is -forming--full of contrasts and of promise, palaces and shanties side -by side. Its forces are gathered and accumulating, but not assimilated. -What a mass of crude, undigested material it has! In one region on the -west side are twenty thousand Bohemians and Poles; the street signs -are all foreign and of unpronounceable names--a physically strong, -but mentally and morally brutal, people for the most part; the adults -generally do not speak English, and claning as they do, they probably -never will. There is no hope that this generation will be intelligent -American citizens, or be otherwise than the political prey of -demagogues. But their children are in the excellent public schools, and -will take in American ideas and take on American ways. Still, the mill -has about as much grist as it can grind at present. - -Social life is, speaking generally, as unformed, unselected, as the -city--that is, more fluid and undetermined than in Eastern large cities. -That is merely to say, however, that while it is American, it is young. -When you come to individuals, the people in society are largely from -the East, or have Eastern connections that determine their conduct. For -twenty years the great universities, Harvard, Yale, Amherst, Princeton, -and the rest, have been pouring in their young men here. There is no -better element in the world, and it is felt in every pulse of the town. -Young couples marry and come here from every sort of Eastern circle. But -the town has grown so fast, and so many new people have come into the -ability suddenly to spend money in fine houses and equipages, that the -people do not know each other. You may drive past miles of good houses, -with a man who has grown up with the town, who cannot tell you who any -of the occupants of the houses are. Men know each other on change, in -the courts, in business, and are beginning to know each other in clubs, -but society has not got itself sorted out and arranged, or discovered -its elements. This is a metropolitan trait, it is true, but the -condition is socially very different from what it is in New York or -Boston; the small village associations survive a little yet, struggling -against the territorial distances, but the social mass is still -unorganized, although "society" is a prominent feature in the -newspapers. Of course it is understood that there are people "in -society," and dinners, and all that, in nowise different from the same -people and events the world over. - -A striking feature of the town is "youth," visible in social life as -well as in business. An Eastern man is surprised to see so many young -men in responsible positions, at the head, or taking the managing oar, -in great moneyed institutions, in railway corporations, and in societies -of charity and culture. A young man, graduate of the city high-school, -is at the same time president of a prominent bank, president of the -Board of Trade, and president of the Art Institute. This youthful spirit -must be contagious, for apparently the more elderly men do not permit -themselves to become old, either in the business or the pleasures of -life. Everything goes on with youthful vim and spirit. - -Next to the youth, and perhaps more noticeable, the characteristic -feature of Chicago is money-making, and the money power is as obtrusive -socially as on change. When we come to speak of educational and -intellectual tendencies, it will be seen how this spirit is being at -once utilized and mitigated; but for the moment money is the recognized -power. How could it be otherwise? Youth and energy did not flock here -for pleasure or for society, but simply for fortune. And success in -money-getting was about the only one considered. And it is still that -by which Chicago is chiefly known abroad, by that and by a certain -consciousness of it which is noticed. And as women reflect social -conditions most vividly, it cannot be denied that there is a type known -in Europe and in the East as the Chicago young woman, capable rather -than timid, dashing rather than retiring, quite able to take care of -herself. But this is not by any means an exhaustive account of the -Chicago woman of to-day. - -While it must be said that the men, as a rule, are too much absorbed -in business to give heed to anything else, yet even this statement will -need more qualification than would appear at first, when we come to -consider the educational, industrial, and reformatory projects. And -indeed a veritable exception is the Literary Club, of nearly two hundred -members, a mingling of business and professional men, who have fine -rooms in the Art Building, and meet weekly for papers and discussions. -It is not in every city that an equal number of busy men will give -the time to this sort of intellectual recreation. The energy here is -superabundant; in whatever direction it is exerted it is very effective; -and it may be said, in the language of the street, that if the men of -Chicago seriously take hold of culture, they will make it hum. - -Still it remains true here, as elsewhere in the United States, that -women are in advance in the intellectual revival. One cannot yet -predict what will be the result of this continental furor for literary, -scientific, and study clubs--in some places in the East the literary -wave has already risen to the height of the scientific study of -whist--but for the time being Chicago women are in the full swing of -literary life. Mr. Browning says that more of his books are sold in -Chicago than in any other American city. Granting some affectation, some -passing fashion, in the Browning, Dante, and Shakespeare clubs, I think -it is true that the Chicago woman, who is imbued with the energy of the -place, is more serious in her work than are women in many other places; -at least she is more enthusiastic. Her spirit is open, more that of -frank admiration than of criticism of both literature and of authors. -This carries her not only further into the heart of literature itself, -but into a genuine enjoyment of it--wanting almost to some circles at -the East, who are too cultivated to admire with warmth or to surrender -themselves to the delights of learning, but find their avocation rather -in what may be called literary detraction, the spirit being that of -dissection of authors and books, much as social gossips pick to pieces -the characters of those of their own set. And one occupation is as good -as the other. Chicago has some reputation for beauty, for having pretty, -dashing, and attractive women; it is as much entitled to be considered -for its intelligent women who are intellectually agreeable. Comparisons -are very unsafe, but it is my impression that there is more love for -books in Chicago than in New York society, and less of the critical, -_nil admirari_ spirit than in Boston. - -It might be an indication of no value (only of the taste of individuals) -that books should be the principal "favors" at a fashionable german, but -there is a book-store in the city whose evidence cannot be set aside -by reference to any freak of fashion. McClurg's book-store is a very -extensive establishment in all departments--publishing, manufacturing, -retailing, wholesaling, and importing. In some respects it has not its -equal in this country. The book-lover, whether he comes from London -or New York, will find there a stock, constantly sold and constantly -replenished, of books rare, curious, interesting, that will surprise -him. The general intelligence that sustains a retail shop of this -variety and magnitude must be considerable, and speaks of a taste for -books with which the city has not been credited; but the cultivation, -the special love of books for themselves, which makes possible this rich -corner of rare and imported books at McClurg's, would be noticeable -in any city, and women as well as men in Chicago are buyers and -appreciators of first editions, autograph and presentation copies, and -books valued because they are scarce and rare. - -Chicago has a physical peculiarity that radically affects its social -condition, and prevents its becoming homogeneous. It has one business -centre and three distinct residence parts, divided by the branching -river. Communication between the residence sections has to be made -through the business city, and is further hindered by the bridge -crossings, which cause irritating delays the greater part of the year. -The result is that three villages grew up, now become cities in size, -and each with a peculiar character. The north side was originally -the more aristocratic, and having fewer railways and a -less-occupied-with-business lake front, was the more agreeable as a -place of residence, always having the drawback of the bridge crossings -to the business part. After the great fire, building lots were cheaper -there than on the south side within reasonable distance of the active -city. It has grown amazingly, and is beautified by stately bouses and -fine architecture, and would probably still be called the more desirable -place of residence. But the south side has two great advantages--easy -access to the business centre and to the great southern parks and -pleasure-grounds. This latter would decide many to live there. The vast -west side, with its lumber-yards and factories, its foreign settlements, -and its population outnumbering the two other sections combined, is -practically an unknown region socially to the north side and south side. -The causes which produced three villages surrounding a common business -centre will continue to operate. The west side will continue to expand -with cheap houses, or even elegant residences on the park avenues--it -is the glory of Chicago that such a large proportion of its houses are -owned by their occupants, and that there are few tenement rookeries, and -even few gigantic apartment houses--over a limitless prairie; the north -side will grow in increasing beauty about Lincoln Park; and the south -side will more and more gravitate with imposing houses about the -attractive south parks. Thus the two fashionable parts of the city, -separated by five, eight, and ten miles, will develop a social life of -their own, about as distinct as New York and Brooklyn. It remains to be -seen which will call the other "Brooklyn." At present these divisions -account for much of the disorganization of social life, and prevent that -concentration which seems essential to the highest social development. - -In this situation Chicago is original, as she is in many other ways, and -it makes one of the interesting phases in the guesses at her future. - - - - -X.--CHICAGO [_Second Paper_.] - -|The country gets its impression of Chicago largely from the Chicago -newspapers. In my observation, the impression is wrong. The press is -able, vigorous, voluminous, full of enterprise, alert, spirited; its -news columns are marvellous in quantity, if not in quality; nowhere -are important events, public meetings, and demonstrations more fully, -graphically, and satisfactorily reported; it has keen and competent -writers in several departments of criticism--theatrical, musical, and -occasionally literary; independence, with less of personal bias than -in some other cities; the editorial pages of most of the newspapers are -bright, sparkling, witty, not seldom spiced with knowing drollery, and -strong, vivid, well-informed and well-written, in the discussion of -public questions, with an allowance always to be made for the "personal -equation" in dealing with particular men and measures--as little -provincial in this respect as any press in the country. - -But it lacks tone, elevation of purpose; it represents to the world -the inferior elements of a great city rather than the better, under a -mistaken notion in the press and the public, not confined to Chicago, -as to what is "news." It cannot escape the charge of being highly -sensational; that is, the elevation into notoriety of mean persons and -mean events by every rhetorical and pictorial device. Day after day the -leading news, the most displayed and most conspicuous, will be of vulgar -men and women, and all the more expanded if it have in it a spice -of scandal. This sort of reading creates a diseased appetite, which -requires a stronger dose daily to satisfy; and people who read it lose -their relish for the higher, more decent, if less piquant, news of the -world. Of course the Chicago newspapers are not by any means alone in -this course; it is a disease of the time. Even New York has recently -imitated successfully this feature of what is called "Western -journalism." - -But it is largely from the Chicago newspapers that the impression has -gone abroad that the city is preeminent in divorces, pre-eminent in -scandals, that its society is fast, that it is vulgar and pretentious, -that its tone is "shoddy," and its culture a sham. The laws of Illinois -in regard to divorces are not more lax than in some Eastern States, -and divorces are not more numerous there of residents (according to -population) than in some Eastern towns; but while the press of the -latter give merely an official line to the court separations, the -Chicago papers parade all the details, and illustrate them with -pictures. Many people go there to get divorces, because they avoid -scandal at their homes, and because the Chicago courts offer unusual -facilities in being open every month in the year. Chicago has a young, -mobile population, an immense foreign brutal element. I watched for -some weeks the daily reports of divorces and scandals. Almost without -exception they related to the lower, not to say the more vulgar, -portions of social life. In several years the city has had, I believe, -only two _causes célèbres_ in what is called good society--a remarkable -record for a city of its size. Of course a city of this magnitude and -mobility is not free from vice and immorality and fast living; but I -am compelled to record the deliberate opinion, formed on a good deal of -observation and inquiry, that the moral tone in Chicago society, in all -the well-to-do industrious classes which give the town its distinctive -character, is purer and higher than in any other city of its size with -which I am acquainted, and purer than in many much smaller. The tone is -not so fast, public opinion is more restrictive, and women take, and are -disposed to take, less latitude in conduct. This was not my impression -from the newspapers. But it is true not only that social life holds -itself to great propriety, but that the moral atmosphere is uncommonly -pure and wholesome. At the same time, the city does not lack gayety -of movement, and it would not be called prudish, nor in some respects -conventional. - -It is curious, also, that the newspapers, or some of them, take pleasure -in mocking at the culture of the town. Outside papers catch this spirit, -and the "culture" of Chicago is the butt of the paragraphers. It is a -singular attitude for newspapers to take regarding their own city. Not -long ago Mr. McClurg published a very neat volume, in vellum, of the -fragments of Sappho, with translations. If the volume had appeared in -Boston it would have been welcomed and most respectfully received in -Chicago. But instead of regarding it as an evidence of the growing -literary taste of the new town, the humorists saw occasion in it for -exquisite mockery in the juxtaposition of Sappho with the modern ability -to kill seven pigs a minute, and in the cleverest and most humorous -manner set all the country in a roar over the incongruity. It goes -without saying that the business men of Chicago were not sitting up -nights to study the Greek poets in the original; but the fact was -that there was enough literary taste in the city to make the volume -a profitable venture, and that its appearance was an evidence of -intellectual activity and scholarly inclination that would be creditable -to any city in the land. It was not at all my intention to intrude my -impressions of a newspaper press so very able and with such magnificent -opportunities as that of Chicago, but it was unavoidable to mention one -of the causes of the misapprehension of the social and moral condition -of the city. - -The business statistics of Chicago, and the story of its growth, and the -social movement, which have been touched on in a previous paper, give -only a half-picture of the life of the town. The prophecy for its -great and more hopeful future is in other exhibitions of its incessant -activity. My limits permit only a reference to its churches, extensive -charities (which alone would make a remarkable and most creditable -chapter), hospitals, medical schools, and conservatories of music. Club -life is attaining metropolitan proportions. There is on the south side -the Chicago, the Union League, the University, the Calumet, and on the -north side the Union--all vigorous, and most of them housed in -superb buildings of their own. The Women's Exchange is a most -useful organization, and the Ladies' Fortnightly ranks with the best -intellectual associations in the country. The Commercial Club, composed -of sixty representative business men in all departments, is a most vital -element in the prosperity of the city. I cannot dwell upon these. But -at least a word must be said about the charities, and some space must be -given to the schools. - -The number of solicitors for far West churches and colleges who pass by -Chicago and come to Xew York and New England for money have created -the impression that Chicago is not a good place to go for this purpose. -Whatever may be the truth of this, the city does give royally for -private charities, and liberally for mission work beyond her borders. It -is estimated by those familiar with the subject that Chicago contributes -for charitable and religious purposes, exclusive of the public charities -of the city and county, not less than five millions of dollars annually. -I have not room to give even the partial list of the benevolent -societies that lies before me, but beginning with the Chicago Relief and -Aid, and the Armour Mission, and going down to lesser organizations, the -sum annually given by them is considerably over half a million dollars. -The amount raised by the churches of various denominations for religious -purposes is not less than four millions yearly. These figures prove -the liberality, and I am able to add that the charities are most -sympathetically and intelligently administered. - -Inviting, by its opportunities for labor and its facilities for -business, comers from all the world, a large proportion of whom are -aliens to the language and institutions of America, Chicago is making -a noble fight to assimilate this material into good citizenship. -The popular schools are liberally sustained, intelligently directed, -practise the most advanced and inspiring methods, and exhibit excellent -results. I have not the statistics of 1887; but in 1886, when the -population was only 703,000, there were 129,000 between the ages of six -and sixteen, of whom 83,000 were enrolled as pupils, and the average -daily attendance in schools was over 65,000. Besides these there were -about 43,000 in private schools. The census of 1886 reports only 34 -children between the ages of six and twenty-one who could neither read -nor write. There were 91 school buildings owned by the city, and two -rented. Of these, three are high-schools, one in each division, the -newest, on the west side, having 1000 students. The school attendance -increases by a large per cent, each year. The principals of the -high-schools were men; of the grammar and primary schools, 35 men and -42 women. The total of teachers was 1440, of whom 56 were men. By the -census of 1886 there were 106,929 children in the city under six years -of age. No kindergartens are attached to the public schools, but the -question of attaching them is agitated. In the lower grades, however, -the instruction is by object lessons, drawing, writing, modelling, and -exercises that train the eye to observe, the tongue to describe, and -that awaken attention without weariness. The alertness of the scholars -and the enthusiasm of the teachers were marked. It should be added that -German is extensively taught in the grammar schools, and that the number -enrolled in the German classes in 1886 was over 28,000. There is some -public sentiment for throwing out German from the public schools, and -generally for restricting studies in the higher branches. - -The argument against this is that very few of the children, and the -majority of those girls, enter the high-schools; the boys are taken -out early for business, and get no education afterwards. In 1885 were -organized public elementary evening schools (which had, in 1886, 6709 -pupils), and an evening high-school, in which book-keeping, stenography, -mechanical drawing, and advanced mathematics were taught. The Sehool -Committee also have in charge day schools for the education of deaf and -dumb children. - -The total expenditure for 1880 was $2,000,803; this includes $1,023,394 -paid to superintendents and teachers, and large sums for new buildings, -apparatus, and repairs. The total cash receipts for sehool purposes were -$2,091,951. Of this was from the school tax fund $1,758,053 (the total -city tax for all purposes was $5,308,409), and the rest from State -dividend and sehool fund bonds and miscellaneous sources. These figures -show that education is not neglected. - -Of the quality and efficacy of this education there cannot be two -opinions, as seen in the schools whieh I visited. The high-school on the -west side is a model of its kind; but perhaps as interesting an example -of popular education as any is the Franklin grammar and primary school -on the north side, in a district of laboring people. Here were 1700 -pupils, all children of working people, mostly Swedes and Germans, from -the age of six years upwards. Here were found some of the children of -the late anarchists, and nowhere else can one see a more interesting -attempt to manufacture intelligent American citizens. The instruction -rises through the several grades from object lessons, drawing, writing -and reading (and writing and reading well), to elementary physiology, -political and constitutional history, and physical geography. Here is -taught to young children what they cannot learn at home, and might never -clearly comprehend otherwise; not only something of the geography -and history of the country, but the distinctive principles of our -government, its constitutional ideas, the growth, creeds, and relations -of political parties, and the personality of the great men who have -represented them. That the pupils comprehend these subjects fairly well -I had evidence in recitations that were as pleasing as surprising. In -this way Chicago is teaching its alien population American ideas, and it -is fair to presume that the rising generation will have some notion of -the nature and value of our institutions that will save them from the -inclination to destroy them. - -The public mind is agitated a good deal on the question of the -introduction of manual training into the public schools. The idea of -some people is that manual training should only be used as an aid to -mental training, in order to give definiteness and accuracy to thought; -others would like actual trades taught; and others think that it is -outside the function of the State to teach anything but elementary -mental studies. The subject would require an essay by itself, and I only -allude to it to say that Chicago is quite alive to the problems and -the most advanced educational ideas. If one would like to study -the philosophy and the practical working of what may be called -physico-mental training, I know no better place in the country to do so -than the Cook County Normal School, near Englewood, under the charge -of Colonel F. W. Parker, the originator of what is known as the -Quincy (Massachusetts) System. This is a training school for about 100 -teachers, in a building where they have practice on about 500 children -in all stages of education, from the kindergarten up to the eighth -grade. This may be called a thorough manual training school, but not -to teach trades, work being done in drawing, modelling in clay, making -raised maps, and wood-carving. The Quincy System, which is sometimes -described as the development of character by developing mind and body, -has a literature to itself. This remarkable school, which draws teachers -for training from all over the country, is a notable instance of the -hospitality of the West to new and advanced ideas. It does not neglect -the literary side in education. Here and in some of the grammar schools -of Chicago the experiment is successfully tried of interesting young -children in the best literature by reading to them from the works of the -best authors, ancient and modern, and giving them a taste for what -is excellent, instead of the trash that is likely to fall into their -hands--the cultivation of sustained and consecutive interest in -narratives, essays, and descriptions in good literature, in place of the -scrappy selections and reading-books written down to the childish level. -The written comments and criticisms of the children on what they acquire -in this way are a perfect vindication of the experiment. It is to be -said also that this sort of education, coupled with the manual training, -and the inculcated love for order and neatness, is beginning to tell on -the homes of these children. The parents are actually being educated and -civilized through the public schools. - -An opportunity for superior technical education is given in the Chicago -Manual Training School, founded and sustained by the Commercial Club. It -has a handsome and commodious building on the corner of Michigan avenue -and Twelfth Street, which accommodates over two hundred pupils, under -the direction of Dr. Henry H. Belfield, assisted by an able corps of -teachers and practical mechanics. It has only been in operation since -1884, but has fully demonstrated its usefulness in the training of young -men for places of responsibility and profit. Some of the pupils are -from the city schools, but it is open to all boys of good character and -promise. The course is three years, in which the tuition is $80, $100, -and $120 a year; but the club provides for the payment of the tuition of -a limited number of deserving boys whose parents lack the means to give -them this sort of education. The course includes the higher mathematics, -English, and French or Latin, physics, chemistry--in short, a -high-school course--with drawing, and all sorts of technical training in -work in wood and iron, the use and making of tools, and the building -of machinery, up to the construction of steam-engines, stationary and -locomotive. Throughout the course one hour each day is given to drawing, -two hours to shop-work, and the remainder of the school day to study -and recitation. The shops--the wood-work rooms, the foundery, the -forge-room, the machine-shop--are exceedingly well equipped and well -managed. The visitor cannot but be pleased by the tone of the school and -the intelligent enthusiasm of the pupils. It is an institution likely to -grow, and perhaps become the nucleus of a great technical school, which -the West much needs. It is worthy of notice also as an illustration of -the public spirit, sagacity, and liberality of the Chicago business men. -They probably sec that if the city is greatly to increase its importance -as a manufacturing centre, it must train a considerable proportion -of its population to the highest skilled labor, and that splendidly -equipped and ably taught technical schools would do for Chicago what -similar institutions in Zurich have done for Switzerland. Chicago is -ready for a really comprehensive technical and industrial college, and -probably no other investment would now add more to the solid prosperity -and wealth of the town. - -Such an institution would not hinder, but rather help, the higher -education, without which the best technical education tends to -materialize life. Chicago must before long recognize the value of the -intellectual side by beginning the foundation of a college of pure -learning. For in nothing is the Western society of to-day more in danger -than in the superficial half-education which is called "practical," -and in the lack of logic and philosophy. The tendency to the literary -side--awakening a love for good books--in the public schools is very -hopeful. The existence of some well-chosen private libraries shows the -same tendency. In art and archæology there is also much promise. The Art -Institute is a very fine building, with a vigorous school in drawing -and painting, and its occasional loan exhibitions show that the city -contains a good many fine pictures, though scarcely proportioned to its -wealth. The Historical Society, which has had the irreparable misfortune -twice to lose its entire collections by fire, is beginning anew with -vigor, and will shortly erect a building from its own funds. Among the -private collections which have a historical value is that relating to -the Indian history of the West made by Mr. Edward Ayer, and a large -library of rare and scarce books, mostly of the English Shakespeare -period, by the Rev. Frank M. Bristoll. These, together with the -remarkable collection of Mr. C. F. Gunther (of which further mention -will be made), are prophecies of a great literary and archaeological -museum. - -The city has reason to be proud of its Free Public Library, organized -under the general library law of Illinois, which permits the support -of a free library in every incorporated city, town, and township by -taxation. This library is sustained by a tax of one halfmill on the -assessed value of all the city property. This brings it in now about -$80,000 a year, which makes its income for 1888, together with its fund -and fines, about $90,000. It is at present housed in the City Hall, but -will soon have a building of its own (on Dearborn Park), towards the -erection of which it has a considerable fund. It has about 130,000 -volumes, including a fair reference library and many expensive art -books. The institution has been well managed hitherto, notwithstanding -its connection with politics in the appointment of the trustees by the -mayor, and its dependence upon the city councils. The reading-rooms are -thronged daily; the average daily circulation has increased yearly; it -was 2263 in 1887--a gain of eleven per cent, over the preceding year. -This is stimulated by the establishment of eight delivering stations in -different parts of the city. The cosmopolitan character of the users -of the library is indicated by the uncommon number of German, French, -Dutch, Bohemian, Polish, and Scandinavian books. Of the books issued -at the delivery stations in 1887 twelve per cent, were in the Bohemian -language. The encouraging thing about this free library is that it is -not only freely used, but that it is as freely sustained by the voting -population. - -Another institution, which promises to have still more influence on the -city, and indeed on the whole North-west, is the Newberry Library, now -organizing under an able board of trustees, who have chosen Mr. W. F. -Poole as librarian. The munificent fund of the donor is now reckoned at -about 82,500,000, but the value of the property will be very much more -than this in a few years. A temporary building for the library, which -is slowly forming, will be erected at once, but the library, which is to -occupy a square on the north side, will not be erected until the plans -are fully matured. It is to be a library of reference and study solely, -and it is in contemplation to have the books distributed in separate -rooms for each department, with ample facilities for reading and study -in each room. If the library is built and the collections are made in -accordance with the ample means at command, and in the spirit of its -projectors, it will powerfully tend to make Chicago not only the money -but the intellectual centre of the North-west, and attract to it -hosts of students from all quarters. One can hardly over-estimate -the influence that such a library as this may be will have upon the -character and the attractiveness of the city. - -I hope that it will have ample space for, and that it will receive, -certain literary collections, such as are the glory and the attraction, -both to students and sight-seers, of the great libraries of the world. -And this leads me to speak of the treasures of Mr. Gunther, the most -remarkable private collection I have ever seen, and already worthy to -rank with some of the most famous on public exhibition. Mr. Gunther is a -candy manufacturer, who has an archaeological and "curio" taste, and for -many years has devoted an amount of money to the purchase of historical -relics that if known would probably astonish the public. Only specimens -of what he has can be displayed in the large apartment set apart for the -purpose over his shop. The collection is miscellaneous, forming a varied -and most interesting museum. It contains relics--many of them unique, -and most of them having a historical value--from many lands and all -periods since the Middle Ages, and is strong in relics and documents -relating to our own history, from the colonial period down to the -close of our civil war. But the distinction of the collection is in -its original letters and manuscripts of famous people, and its missals, -illuminated manuscripts, and rare books. It is hardly possible to -mention a name famous since America was discovered that is not here -represented by an autograph letter or some personal relics. We may pass -by such mementos as the Appomattox table, a sampler worked by Queen -Elizabeth, a prayer-book of Mary, Queen of Scots, personal belongings of -Washington, Lincoln, and hundreds of other historical characters, but we -must give a little space to the books and manuscripts, in order that it -may be seen that all the wealth of Chicago is not in grain and meat. - -It is only possible here to name a few of the original letters, -manuscripts, and historical papers in this wonderful collection of over -seventeen thousand. Most of the great names in the literature of our era -are represented. There is an autograph letter of Molière, the only one -known outside of France, except one in the British Museum; there are -letters of Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Madame Roland, and other French -writers. It is understood that this is not a collection of mere -autographs, but of letters or original manuscripts of those named. -In Germany, nearly all the great poets and writers--Goethe, Schiller, -Uhland, Lessing, etc.; in England, Milton, Pope, Shelley, Keats, -Wordsworth, Coleridge, Cowper, Hunt, Gray, etc.; the manuscript of -Byron's "Prometheus," the "Auld Lang Syne" of Burns, and his "Journal in -the Highlands," "Sweet Home" in the author's hand; a poem by Thackeray; -manuscript stories of Scott and Dickens. Among the Italians, Tasso. In -America, the known authors, almost without exception. There are letters -from nearly all the prominent reformers--Calvin, Melanehthon, Zwingle, -Erasmus, Savonarola; a letter of Luther in regard to the Pope's bull; -letters of prominent leaders--William the Silent, John the Steadfast, -Gustavus Adolphus, Wallenstein. There is a curious collection of letters -of the saints--St. Francis de Sales, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Borromeo; -letters of the Popes for three centuries and a half, and of many of the -great cardinals. - -I must set down a few more of the noted names, and that without much -order. There is a manuscript of Charlotte Corday (probably the only -one in this country), John Bunyan, Izaak Walton, John Cotton, Michael -Angelo, Galileo, Lorenzo the Magnificent; letters of Queen Elizabeth, -Mary, Queen of Scots, Mary of England, Anne, several of Victoria (one at -the age of twelve), Catherine de' Medici, Marie Antoinette, Josephine, -Marie Louise; letters of all the Napoleons, of Frederick the Great, -Marat, Robespierre, St. Just; a letter of Hernando Cortez to Charles the -Fifth; a letter of Alverez; letters of kings of all European nations, -and statesmen and generals without number. - -The collection is rich in colonial and Revolutionary material; original -letters from Plymouth Colony, 1621, 1622,1623--I believe the only ones -known; manuscript sermons of the early American ministers; letters of -the first bishops, White and Seabury; letters of John André, Nathan -Hale, Kosciusko, Pulaski, De Kalb, Steuben, and of great numbers of the -general and subordinate officers of the French and Revolutionary wars; -William Tudor's manuscript account of the battle of Bunker Hill; a -letter of Aide-de-camp Robert Orhm to the Governor of Pennsylvania -relating Braddock's defeat; the original of Washington's first -Thanksgiving proclamation; the report of the committee of the -Continental Congress on its visit to Valley Forge on the distress of the -army; the original proceedings of the Commissioners of the Colonies at -Cambridge for the organization of the Continental army; original returns -of the Hessians captured at Princeton; orderly books of the Continental -army; manuscripts and surveys of the early explorers; letters of -Lafitte, the pirate, Paul Jones, Captain Lawrence, Bainbridge, and so -on. Documents relating to the Washington family are very remarkable: the -original will of Lawrence Washington bequeathing Mount Vernon to George; -will of John Custis to his family; letters of Martha, of Mary, the -mother of George, of Betty Lewis, his sister, of all his step and grand -children of the Custis family. - -In music there are the original manuscript compositions of all the -leading musicians in our modern world, and there is a large collection -of the choral books from ancient monasteries and churches. There are -exquisite illuminated missals on parchment of all periods from the -eighth century. Of the large array of Bibles and other early printed -books it is impossible to speak, except in a general way. There is a -copy of the first English Bible, Coverdale's, also of the very rare -second Matthews, and of most of the other editions of the English Bible; -the first Scotch, Irish, French, Welsh, and German Luther Bibles; the -first Eliot's Indian Bible, of 1662, and the second, of 1685; the first -American Bibles; the first American primers, almanacs, newspapers, and -the first patent, issued in 1794; the first book printed in Boston; the -first printed accounts of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, -South Carolina, Georgia; the first picture of New York City, an original -plan of the city in 1700, and one of it in 1765; early surveys of -Boston, Philadelphia, and New York; the earliest maps of America, -including the first, second, and third map of the world in which America -appears. - -Returning to England, there are the Shakespeare folio editions of 1632 -and 1685; the first of his printed "Poems" and the "Rape of Lucrece;" -an early quarto of "Othello;" the first edition of Ben Jonson, 1616, -in which Shakespeare's name appears in the cast for a play; and letters -from the Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare's friend, and Sir Walter -Raleigh, Francis Bacon, and Essex. There is also a letter written by -Oliver Cromwell while he was engaged in the conquest of Ireland. - -The relics, documents, and letters illustrating our civil war are -constantly being added to. There are many old engravings, caricatures, -and broadsides. Of oil-portraits there are three originals of -Washington, one by Stuart, one by Peale, one by Polk, and I think I -remember one or two miniatures. There is also a portrait in oil of -Shakespeare which may become important. The original canvas has been -remounted, and there are indubitable signs of its age, although the -picture can be traced back only about one hundred and fifty years. The -Owner hopes to be able to prove that it is a contemporary work. The -interesting fact about it is that whilc it is not remarkable as a work -of art, it is recognizable at once as a likeness of what we suppose from -other portraits and the busts to be the face and head of Shakespeare, -and yet it is different from all other pictures w know, so that it does -not suggest itself as a copy. - -The most important of Mr. Gunther's collection is an autograph of -Shakespeare; if it prove to be genuine, it will be one of the four in -the world, and a great possession for America. This autograph is pasted -on the fly-leaf of a folio of 1632, which was the property of one -John Ward. In 1839 there was published in London, from manuscripts in -possession of the Medical Society, extracts from the diary of John Ward -(1648-1679), who was vicar and doctor at Stratford-on-Avon. It is -to this diary that we owe certain facts theretofore unknown about -Shakespeare. The editor, Mr. Stevens, had this volume in his hands while -he was compiling his book, and refers to it in his preface. He supposed -it to have belonged to the John Ward, vicar, who kept the diary. It -turns out, however, to have been the property of John Ward the actor, -who was in Stratford in 1740, was an enthusiast in the revival of -Shakespeare, and played Hamlet there in order to raise money to repair -the bust of the poet in the church. This folio has the appearance of -being much used. On the fly-leaf is writing by Ward and his signature; -there are marginal notes and directions in his hand, and several of the -pages from which parts were torn off have been repaired by manuscript -text neatly joined. - -The Shakespeare signature is pasted on the leaf above Ward's name. The -paper on which it is written is unlike that of the book in texture. The -slip was pasted on when the leaf was not as brown as it is now, as can -be seen at one end where it is lifted. The signature is written out -fairly and in full, _William Shakspeare_, like the one to the will, and -differs from the two others, which are hasty scrawls, as if the -writer were cramped for room, or finished off the last syllable with -a flourish, indifferent to the formation of the letters. I had the -opportunity to compare it with a careful tracing of the signature to -the will sent over by Mr. Hallowell-Phillips. At first sight the two -signatures appear to be identical; but on examination they are not; -there is just that difference in the strokes, spaces, and formation of -the letters that always appears in two signatures by the same hand. -One is not a copy of the other, and the one in the folio had to me the -unmistakable stamp of genuineness. The experts in handwriting and the -micro-scopists in this country who have examined ink and paper as to -antiquity, I understand, regard it as genuine. - -There seems to be all along the line no reason to suspect forgery. -What more natural than that John Ward, the owner of the book, and a -Shakespeare enthusiast, should have enriched his beloved volume with an -autograph which he found somewhere in Stratford? And in 1740 there was -no craze or controversy about Shakespeare to make the forgery of his -autograph an object. And there is no suspicion that the book has been -doctored for a market. It never was sold for a price. It was found -in Utah, whither it had drifted from England in the possession of an -emigrant, and he readily gave it in exchange for a new and fresh edition -of Shakespeare's works. - -I have dwelt upon this collection at some length, first because of -its intrinsic value, second because of its importance to Chicago as a -nucleus for what (I hope in connection with the Newberry Library) will -become one of the most interesting museums in the country, and lastly as -an illustration of what a Western business man may do with his money. - -New York is the first and Chicago the second base of operations on this -continent--the second in point of departure, I will not say for another -civilization, but for a great civilizing and conquering movement, at -once a reservoir and distributing point of energy, power, and money. -And precisely here is to be fought out and settled some of the most -important problems concerning labor, supply, and transportation. -Striking as are the operations of merchants, manufacturers, and traders, -nothing in the city makes a greater appeal to the imagination than the -railways that centre there, whether we consider their fifty thousand -miles of track, the enormous investment in them, or their competition -for the carrying trade of the vast regions they pierce, and apparently -compel to be tributary to the central city. The story of their building -would read like a romance, and a simple statement of their organization, -management, and business rivals the affairs of an empire. The present -development of a belt road round the city, to serve as a track of -freight exchange for all the lines, like the transfer grounds between -St. Paul and Minneapolis, is found to be an affair of great magnitude, -as must needs be to accommodate lines of traffic that represent an -investment in stock and bonds of $1,305,000,000. - -As it is not my purpose to describe the railway systems of the West, but -only to speak of some of the problems involved in them, it will suffice -to mention two of the leading corporations. Passing by the great eastern -lines, and those like the Illinois Central, and the Chicago, Alton, and -St. Louis, and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé, which are operating -mainly to the south and south-west, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. -Paul, one of the greatest corporations, with a mileage which had reached -4921, December 1, 1885, and has increased since, we may name the Chicago -and North-western, and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. Each of -these great systems, which has grown by accretion and extension and -consolidations of small roads, operates over four thousand miles of -road, leaving out from the North-western's mileage that of the Omaha -system, which it controls. Looked at on the map, each of these systems -completely occupies a vast territory, the one mainly to the north of the -other, but they interlace to some extent and parallel each other in very -important competitions. - -The North-western system, which includes, besides the lines that-have -its name, the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha, the Fremont; Elkhorn, -and Missouri Valley, and several minor roads, occupies northern Illinois -and southern Wisconsin, sends a line along Lake Michigan to Lake -Superior, with branches, a line to St. Paul, with branches tapping Lake -Superior again at Bayfield and Duluth, sends another trunk line, with -branches, into the far fields of Dakota, drops down a tangle of lines -through Iowa and into Nebraska, sends another great line through -northern Nebraska into Wyoming, with a divergence into the Black Hills, -and runs all these feeders into Chicago by another trunk line from -Omaha. By the report of 1887 the gross earnings of this system (in round -numbers) were over twenty-six millions, expenses over twenty millions, -leaving a net income of over six million dollars. In these items the -receipts for freight were over nineteen millions, and from passengers -less than six millions. Not to enter into confusing details, the -magnitude of the system is shown in the general balance-sheet for May, -1887, when the cost of road (4101 miles), the sinking funds, the general -assets, and the operating assets foot up $176,048,000. Over 3500 miles -of this road are laid with steel rails; the equipment required 735 -engines and over 23,000 cars of all sorts. It is worthy of note that a -table makes the net earnings of 4000 miles of road, 1887, only a little -more than those of 3000 miles of road in 1882--a greater gain evidently -to the public than to the railroad. - -In speaking of this system territorially, I have included the Chicago, -St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha, but not in the above figures. The -two systems have the same president, but different general managers and -other officials, and the reports are separate. To the over 4000 miles of -the other North-western lines, therefore, are to be added the 1360 -miles of the Omaha system (report of December, 1886, since considerably -increased). The balance-sheet of the Omaha system (December, 1886) -shows a cost of over fifty-seven millions. Its total net earnings over -operating expenses and taxes were about $2,304,000. It then required an -equipment of 194 locomotives and about 6000 cars. These figures are not, -of course, given for specific railroad information, but merely to give a -general idea of the magnitude of operations. This may be illustrated -by another item. During the year for which the above figures have been -given the entire North-western system ran on the average 415 passenger -and 732 freight trains each day through the year. It may also be -an interesting comparison to say that all the railways in -Connecticut, including those that run into other States, have 416 -locomotives, 668 passenger cars, and 11,502 other cars, and that their -total mileage in the State is 1405 miles. - -The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy (report of December, 1886) was -operating 4036 miles of road. Its only eccentric development was the -recent Burlington and Northern, up the Mississippi River to St. Paul. -Its main stem from Chicago branches out over northern and western -Illinois, runs down to St. Louis, from thence to Kansas City by way of -Hannibal, has a trunk line to Omaha, criss-crosses northern Missouri -and southern Iowa, skirts and pierces Kansas, and fairly occupies -three-quarters of Nebraska with a network of tracks, sending out lines -north of the Platte, and one to Cheyenne and one to Denver. The whole -amount of stock and bonds, December, 1886, was reported at $155,920,000. -The gross earnings for 1886 were over twenty-six millions (over nineteen -of which was for freight and over five for passengers), operating -expenses over fourteen millions, leaving over twelve millions net -earnings. The system that year paid eight per cent, dividends (as it -had done for a long series of years), leaving over fixed charges -and dividends about a million and a half to be carried to surplus or -construction outlays. The equipment for the year required 619 engines -and over 24,000 cars. These figures do not give the exact present -condition of the road, but only indicate the magnitude of its affairs. - -Both these great systems have been well managed, and both have been, -and continue to be, great agents in developing the West. Both have been -profitable to investors. The comparatively small cost of building roads -in the West and the profit hitherto have invited capital, and stimulated -the construction of roads not absolutely needed. There are too many -miles of road for capitalists. Are there too many for the accommodation -of the public? What locality would be willing to surrender its road? - -It is difficult to understand the attitude of the Western Granger and -the Western Legislatures towards the railways, or it would be if we -didn't understand pretty well the nature of demagogues the world over. -The people are everywhere crazy for roads, for more and more roads. -The whole West we are considering is made by railways. Without them -the larger part of it would be uninhabitable, the lands of small value, -produce useless for want of a market. No railways, no civilization. Year -by year settlements have increased in all regions touched by railways, -land has risen in price, and freight charges have diminished. And yet no -sooner do the people get the railways near them than they become hostile -to the companies; hostility to railway corporations seems to be the -dominant sentiment in the Western mind, and the one most naturally -invoked by any political demagogue who wants to climb up higher in -elective office. The roads are denounced as "monopolies"--a word getting -to be applied to any private persons who are successful in business--and -their consolidation is regarded as a standing menace to society. - -Of course it goes without saying that great corporations with -exceptional privileges are apt to be arrogant, unjust, and grasping, -and especially when, as in the case of railways, they unite private -interests and public functions, they need the restraint of law and -careful limitations of powers. But the Western situation is nevertheless -a very curious one. Naturally when capital takes great risks it -is entitled to proportionate profits; but profits always encourage -competition, and the great Western lines are already in a war for -existence that does not need much unfriendly legislation to make fatal. -In fact, the lowering of rates in railway wars has gone on so rapidly of -late years that the most active Granger Legislature cannot frame hostile -bills fast enough to keep pace with it. Consolidation is objected to. -Yet this consideration must not be lost sight of: the West is cut up -by local roads that could not be maintained; they would not pay running -expenses if they had not been made parts of a great system. Whatever -may be the danger of the consolidation system, the country has doubtless -benefited by it. - -The present tendency of legislation, pushed to its logical conclusion, -is towards a practical confiscation of railway property; that is, its -tendency is to so interfere with management, so restrict freedom of -arrangement, so reduce rates, that the companies will with difficulty -continue operations. The first effect of this will be, necessarily, -poorer service and deteriorated equipments and tracks. Roads that do not -prosper cannot keep up safe lines. Experienced travellers usually shun -those that are in the hands of a receiver. The Western roads of which -I speak have been noted for their excellent service and the liberality -towards the public in accommodations, especially in fine cars and -matters pertaining to the comfort of passengers. Some dining cars on the -Omaha system were maintained last year at a cost to the company of ten -thousand dollars over receipts. The Western Legislatures assume -that because a railway which is thickly strung with cities can carry -passengers for two cents a mile, a railway running over an almost -unsettled plain can carry for the same price. They assume also that -because railway companies in a foolish fight for business cut rates, -the lowest rate they touch is a living one for them. The same logic -that induces Legislatures to fix rates of transportation, directly or by -means of a commission, would lead it to set a price on meat, wheat, and -groceries. Legislative restriction is one thing; legislative destruction -is another. There is a craze of prohibition and interference. Iowa has -an attack of it. In Nebraska, not only the Legislature but the courts -have been so hostile to railway enterprise that one hundred and fifty -miles of new road graded last year, which was to receive its rails this -spring, will not be railed, because it is not safe for the company to -make further investments in that State. Between the Grangers on the -one side and the labor unions on the other, the railways are in a tight -place. Whatever restrictions great corporations may need, the sort of -attack now made on them in the West is altogether irrational. Is it -always made from public motives? The legislators of one Western State -had been accustomed to receive from the various lines that centred at -the capital trip passes, in addition to their personal annual passes. -Trip passes are passes that the members can send to their relations, -friends, and political allies who want to visit the capital. One year -the several roads agreed that they would not issue trip passes. When -the members asked the agent for them they were told that they were -not ready. As days passed and no trip passes were ready, hostile and -annoying bills began to be introduced into the Legislature. In six weeks -there was a shower of them. The roads yielded, and began to give out the -passes. After that, nothing more was heard of the bills. - -What the public have a right to complain of is the manipulation of -railways in Wall Street gambling. But this does not account for the -hostility to the corporations which are developing the West by an -extraordinary outlay of money, and cutting their own throats by a war of -rates. The vast interests at stake, and the ignorance of the relation -of legislation to the laws of business, make the railway problem to a -spectator in Chicago one of absorbing interest. - -In a thorough discussion of all interests it must be admitted that the -railways have brought many of their troubles upon themselves by their -greedy wars with each other, and perhaps in some cases by teaching -Legislatures that have bettered their instructions, and that tyrannies -in management and unjust discriminations (such as the Inter-State -Commerce Law was meant to stop) have much to do in provoking hostility -that survives many of its causes. - -I cannot leave Chicago without a word concerning the town of Pullman, -although it has already been fully studied in the pages of Harper's -Monthly. It is one of the most interesting experiments in the world. As -it is only a little over seven years old, it would be idle to prophesy -about it, and I can only say that thus far many of the predictions as -to the effect of "paternalism" have not come true. If it shall turn -out that its only valuable result is an "object lesson" in decent and -orderly living, the experiment will not have been in vain. It is to be -remembered that it is not a philanthropic scheme, but a purely business -operation, conducted on the idea that comfort, cleanliness, and -agreeable surroundings conduce more to the prosperity of labor and of -capital than the opposites. - -Pullman is the only city in existence built from the foundation on -scientific and sanitary principles, and not more or less the result of -accident and variety of purpose and incapacity. Before anything else was -done on the flat prairie, perfect drainage, sewerage, and water supply -were provided. The shops, the houses, the public buildings, the parks, -the streets, the recreation grounds, then followed in intelligent -creation. Its public buildings are fine, and the grouping of them about -the open flower-planted spaces is very effective. It is a handsome city, -with the single drawback of monotony in the well-built houses. Pullman -is within the limits of the village of Hyde Park, but it is not included -in the annexation of the latter to Chicago. - -It is certainly a pleasing industrial city. The workshops are spacious, -light, and well ventilated, perfectly systematized; for instance, timber -goes into one end of the long car-shop and, without turning back, comes -out a freight car at the other, the capacity of the shop being one -freight car every fifteen minutes of the working hours. There are a -variety of industries, which employ about 4500 workmen. Of these about -500 live outside the city, and there are about 1000 workmen who live -in the city and work elsewhere. The company keeps in order the streets, -parks, lawns, and shade trees, but nothing else except the schools -is free. The schools are excellent, and there are over 1300 children -enrolled in them. The company has a well-selected library of over 6000 -volumes, containing many scientific and art books, which is open to all -residents on payment of an annual subscription of three dollars. Its use -increases yearly, and study classes are formed in connection with it. -The company rents shops to dealers, but it carries on none of its own. -Wages are paid to employés without deduction, except as to rent, and -the women appreciate a provision that secures them a home beyond -peradventure. - -The competition among dealers brings prices to the Chicago rates, or -lower, and then the great city is easily accessible for shopping. House -rent is a little higher for ordinary workmen than in Chicago, but not -higher in proportion to accommodations, and living is reckoned a little -cheaper. The reports show that the earnings of operatives exceed those -of other working communities, averaging per capita (exclusive of the -higher pay of the general management) $590 a year. I noticed that -piece-wages were generally paid, and always when possible. The town is a -hive of busy workers; employment is furnished to all classes except the -school-children, and the fine moral and physical appearance of the -young women in the upholstery and other work rooms would please a -philanthropist. - -Both the health and the _morale_ of the town are exceptional; and the -moral tone of the workmen has constantly improved under the agreeable -surroundings. Those who prefer the kind of independence that gives -them filthy homes and demoralizing associations seem to like to live -elsewhere. Pullman has a population of 10,000. I do not know another -city of 10,000 that has not a place where liquor is sold, nor a house -nor a professional woman of ill repute. With the restrictions as to -decent living, the community is free in its political action, its -church and other societies, and in all healthful social activity. It has -several ministers; it seems to require the services of only one or two -policemen; it supports four doctors and one lawyer. - -I know that any control, any interference with individual -responsibility, is un-American. Our theory is that every person knows -what is best for himself. It is not true, but it may be safer, -in working out all the social problems, than any lessening of -responsibility either in the home or in civil affairs. When I contrast -the dirty tenements, with contiguous seductions to vice and idleness, -in some parts of Chicago, with the homes of Pullman, I am glad that this -experiment has been made. It may be worth some sacrifice to teach people -that it is better for them, morally and pecuniarily, to live cleanly and -under educational influences that increase their self-respect. No doubt -it is best that people should own their homes, and that they should -assume all the responsibilities of citizenship. But let us wait the full -evolution of the Pullman idea. The town could not have been built as -an object lesson in any other way than it was built. The hope is that -laboring people will voluntarily do hereafter what they have here -been induced to accept. The model city stands there as a lesson, -the wonderful creation of less than eight years. The company is now -preparing to sell lots on the west side of the railway-tracks, and we -shall see what influence this nucleus of order, cleanliness, and system -will have upon the larger community rapidly gathering about it. Of -course people should be free to go up or go down. Will they be injured -by the opportunity of seeing how much pleasanter it is to go up than to -go down? - - - - -XI.--THREE CAPITALS--SPRINGFIELD, INDIANAPOLIS, COLUMBUS. - -|To one travelling over this vast country, especially the northern and -western portions, the superficial impression made is that of uniformity, -and even monotony: towns are alike, cities have a general resemblance, -State lines are not recognized, and the idea of conformity and -centralization is easily entertained. Similar institutions, facility -of communication, a disposition to stronger nationality, we say, are -rapidly fusing us into one federal mass. - -But when we study a State at its centre, its political action, its -organization, its spirit, the management of its institutions of -learning and of charity, the tendencies, restrictive or liberal, of its -legislation, even the tone of social life and the code of manners, we -discover distinctions, individualities, almost as many differences as -resemblances. And we see--the saving truth in our national life--that -each State is a well-nigh indestructible entity, an empire in itself, -proud and conscious of its peculiarities, and jealous of its rights. -We see that State boundaries are not imaginary lines, made by the -geographers, which could be easily altered by the central power. -Nothing, indeed, in our whole national development, considering the -common influences that have made us, is so remarkable as the difference -of the several States. Even on the lines of a common settlement, say -from New England and New York, note the differences between northern -Ohio, northern Indiana, northern Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. -Or take another line, and see the differences between southern Ohio, -southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and northern Missouri. But each -State, with its diverse population, has a certain homogeneity and -character of its own. We can understand this where there are great -differences of climate, or when one is mountainous and the other flat. -But why should Indiana be so totally unlike the two States that flank -it, in so many of the developments of civilized life or in retarded -action; and why should Iowa, in its entire temper and spirit, be so -unlike Illinois? One State copies the institutions of another, but there -is always something in its life that it does not copy from any other. -And the perpetuity of the Union rests upon the separateness and -integrity of this State life. I confess that I am not so much impressed -by the magnitude of our country as I am by the wonderful system of our -complex government in unity, which permits the freest development of -human nature, and the most perfect adaptability to local conditions. I -can conceive of no greater enemy to the Union than he who would by any -attempt at further centralization weaken the self-dependence, pride, and -dignity of a single State. It seems to me that one travels in vain over -the United States if he does not learn that lesson. - -The State of Illinois is geographically much favored both for -agriculture and commerce. With access to the Gulf by two great rivers -that bound it on two sides, and communicating with the Atlantic by Lake -Michigan, enterprise has aided these commercial advantages by covering -it with railways. Stretching from Galena to Cairo, it has a great -variety of climate; it is well watered by many noble streams, and -contains in its great area scarcely any waste land. It has its contrasts -of civilization. In the northern half are the thriving cities; the -extreme southern portion, owing in part to a more debilitating, less -wholesome climate, and in part to a less virile, ambitious population, -still keeps its "Egyptian" reputation. But the railways have already -made a great change in southern Illinois, and education is transforming -it. The establishment of a normal school at Carbondale in 1874-75 -has changed the aspect of a great region. I am told by the State -Superintendent of Education that the contrast in dress, manners, -cultivation, of the country crowd which came to witness the dedication -of the first building, and those who came to see the inauguration of the -new school, twelve years later, was something astonishing. - -Passing through the central portion of the State to Springfield, after -an interval of many years, let us say a generation, I was impressed with -the transformation the country had undergone by tree-planting and -the growth of considerable patches of forest. The State is generally -prosperous. The farmers have money, some surplus to spend in luxuries, -in the education of their children, in musical instruments, in the -adornment of their homes. This is the universal report of the commercial -travellers, those modern couriers of business and information, who -run in swarms to and fro over the whole land. To them it is -significant--their opinion can go for what it is worth--that Illinois -has not tried the restrictive and prohibitory legislation of its western -neighbor, Iowa, which, with its rolling prairies and park-like timber, -loved in the season of birds and flowers, is one of the most fertile and -lovely States in the West. - -Springfield, which spreads its 30,000 people extensively over a plain on -the Sangamon River, is prosperous, and in the season when any place can -be agreeable, a beautiful city. The elm grows well in the rich soil, -and its many broad, well-shaded streets, with pretty detached houses and -lawns, make it very attractive, a delightful rural capital. The large -Illinois towns are slowly lifting themselves out of the slough of rich -streets, better adapted to crops than to trade; though good material -for pavement is nowhere abundant. Springfield has recently improved -its condition by paving, mostly with cedar blocks, twenty-five miles -of streets. I notice that in some of the Western towns tile pavement -is being tried. Manufacturing is increasing--there is a prosperous -rolling-mill and a successful watch factory--but the overwhelming -interest of the city is that it is the centre of the political and -educational institutions--of the life emanating from the State-honse. - -The State-house is, I believe, famous. It is a big building, a great -deal has been spent on it in the way of ornamentation, and it enjoys the -distinction of the highest State-honse dome in the country--350 feet. It -has the merit also of being well placed on an elevation, and its -rooms are spacious and very well planned. It is an incongruous pile -externally, mixing many styles of architecture, placing Corinthian -capitals on Doric columns, and generally losing the impression of a -dignified mass in details. Within, it is especially rich in wall-casings -of beautiful and variegated marbles, each panel exquisite, but all -together tending to dissipate any idea of unity of design or simplicity. -Nothing whatever can be said for many of the scenes in relief, or the -mural paintings (except that they illustrate the history of the State), -nor for most of the statues in the corridors, but the decoration of the -chief rooms, in mingling of colors and material, is frankly barbarous. - -Illinois has the reputation of being slow in matters of education and -reform. A day in the State offices, however, will give the visitor an -impression of intelligence and vigor in these directions. The office of -the State Board of Pharmacy in the Capitol shows a strict enforcement of -the law in the supervision of drugs and druggists. Prison management has -also most intelligent consideration. The two great penitentiaries, the -Southern, at Chester (with about 800 convicts), and the Northern, at -Joliet (with about 1600 convicts), call for no special comment. The -one at Joliet is a model of its kind, with a large library, and such -schooling as is practicable in the system, and is well administered; -and I am glad to see that Mr. McClaughry, the warden, believes that -incorrigibles should be permanently held, and that grading, the -discipline of labor and education, with a parole system, can make -law-abiding citizens of many convicts. - -In school education the State is certainly not supine in efforts. Out -of a State population of about 8,500,000, there were, in 1887, 1,627,841 -under twenty-one years, and 1,096,464 between the ages of six -and twenty-one. The school age for free attendance is from six to -twenty-one; for compulsory attendance, from eight to fourteen. There -were 749,994 children enrolled, and 500,197 in daily attendance. Those -enrolled in private schools numbered 87,725. There were 2258 teachers in -private schools, and 22,925 in public schools; of this latter, 7402 were -men and 15,403 women. The average monthly salary of men was $51.48, -and of women $42.17. The sum available for school purposes in 1887 was -$12,890,515, in an assessed value of taxable property of $797,752,888. -These figures are from Dr. X. W. Edwards, Superintendent of Public -Instruction, whose energy is felt In every part of the State. - -The State prides itself on its institutions of charity. I saw some of -them at Jacksonville, an hour's ride west of Springfield. Jacksonville -is a very pretty city of some 15,000, with elm-shaded avenues that crest -but do not rival New Haven--one of those intellectual centres that are -a continual surprise to our English friends in their bewildered -exploration of our monotonous land. In being the Western centre of -Platonic philosophy, it is more like Concord than like New Haven. It -is the home of a large number of people who have travelled, who give -intelligent attention to art, to literary study in small societies and -clubs--its Monday Evening Club of men long antedated most of the similar -institutions at the East--and to social problems. I certainly did -not expect to find, as I did, water-colors by Turner in Jacksonville, -besides many other evidences of a culture that must modify many Eastern -ideas of what the West is and is getting to be. - -The Illinois College is at Jacksonville. It is one of twenty-five small -colleges in the State, and I believe the only one that adheres to the -old curriculum, and does not adopt co-education. It has about sixty -students in the college proper, and about one hundred and thirty in -the preparatory academy. Most of the Illinois colleges have preparatory -departments, and so long as they do, and the various sects scatter their -energies among so many institutions, the youth of the State who wish a -higher education will be obliged to go East. The school perhaps the most -vigorous just now is the University of Illinois, at Urbana, a school -of agriculture and applied science mainly. The Central Hospital for the -Insane (one of three in the State), under the superintendence of Dr. -Henry F. Carriel, is a fine establishment, a model of neatness and good -management, with over nine hundred patients, about a third of whom do -some light work on the farm or in the house. A large conservatory of -plants and flowers is rightly regarded as a remedial agency in the -treatment of the patients. Here also is a fine school for the education -of the blind. - -The Institution for the Education of Deaf-Mutes, Dr. Philip H. Gillette, -superintendent, is, I believe, the largest in the world, and certainly -one of the most thoroughly equipped and successful in its purposes. It -has between five hundred and six hundred pupils. All the departments -found in many other institutions are united here. The school has a -manual training department; articulation is taught; the art school -exhibits surprising results in aptitude for both drawing and painting; -and industries are taught to the extent of giving every pupil a trade -or some means of support--shoemaking, cabinet-making, printing, sewing, -gardening, and baking. - -Such an institution as this raises many interesting questions. It is -at once evident that the loss of the sense of hearing has an effect on -character, moral and intellectual. Whatever may be the education of -the deaf-mute, he will remain, in some essential and not easily to be -characterized respects, different from other people. It is exceedingly -hard to cultivate in them a spirit of self-dependence, or eradicate the -notion that society owes them perpetual care and support. The education -of deaf-mutes, and the teaching them trades, so that they become -intelligent and productive members of society, of course induce marriages -among them. Is not this calculated to increase the number of deaf-mutes? -Dr. Gillette thinks not. The vital statistics show that consanguineous -marriages are a large factor in deaf-muteism; about ten per cent., it -is estimated, of the deaf-mutes are the offspring of parents related by -blood. Ancestral defects are not always perpetuated in kind; they may -descend in physical deformity, in deafness, in imbecility. Deafness is -more apt to descend in collateral branches than in a straight line. It -is a striking fact in a table of relationships prepared by Dr. Gillette -that, while the 450 deaf-mutes enumerated had 770 relationships to other -deaf-mutes, making a total of 1220, only twelve of them had deaf-mute -parents, and only two of them one deaf-mute parent, the mother of these -having been able to hear, and that in no case was the mother alone -a deaf-mute. Of the pupils who have left this institution, 251 have -married deaf-mutes, and 19 hearing persons. These marriages have been as -fruitful as the average, and among them all only sixteen have deaf-mute -children; in some of the families having a deaf child there are other -children who hear. These facts, says the report, clearly indicate that -the probability of deaf offspring from deaf parentage is remote, while -other facts may clearly indicate that a deaf person probably has or will -have a deaf relation other than a child. - -Springfield is old enough to have a historic flavor and social -traditions; perhaps it might be called a Kentucky flavor, so largely did -settlers from Kentucky determine it. There was a leisurely element in -it, and it produced a large number of men prominent in politics and in -the law, and women celebrated for beauty and spirit. It was a hospitable -society, with a certain tone of "family" that distinguished it from -other frontier places, a great liking for the telling of racy stories, -and a hearty enjoyment of life. The State has provided a Gubernatorial -residence which is at once spacious and pleasant, and is a mansion, with -its present occupants, typical in a way of the old regime and of modern -culture. - -To the country at large Springfield is distinguished as the home of -Abraham Lincoln to an extent perhaps not fully realized by the residents -of the growing capital, with its ever new interests. And I was perhaps -unreasonably disappointed in not finding that sense of his personality -that I expected. It is, indeed, emphasized by statues in the Capitol and -by the great mausoleum in the cemetery--an imposing structure, with an -excellent statue in bronze, and four groups, relating to the civil war, -of uncommon merit. But this great monumental show does not satisfy the -personal longing of which I speak. Nor is the Lincoln residence much -more satisfactory in this respect. The plain two-story wooden house has -been presented to the State by his son Robert, and is in charge of -a custodian. And although the parlor is made a show-room and full of -memorials, there is no atmosphere of the man about it. On Lincoln's -departure for Washington the furniture was sold and the house rented, -never to be again occupied by him. There is here nothing of that -personal presence that clings to the Hermitage, to Marshfield, to Mount -Vernon, to Monticello. Lincoln was given to the nation, and--a frequent -occurrence in our uprooting business life--the home disappeared. Lincoln -was honored and beloved in Springfield as a man, but perhaps some of -the feeling towards him as a party leader still lingers, although it has -disappeared almost everywhere else in the country. Nowhere else was the -personal partisanship hotter than in this city, and it is hardly to be -expected that political foes in this generation should quite comprehend -the elevation of Lincoln, in the consenting opinion of the world, among -the greatest characters of all ages. It has happened to Lincoln that -every year and a more intimate knowledge of his character have added -to his fame and to the appreciation of his moral grandeur. There is -a natural desire to go to some spot pre-eminently sacred to his -personality. This may be his birthplace. At any rate, it is likely that -before many years Kentucky will be proud to distinguish in some way -the spot where the life began of the most illustrious man born in its -borders. - -When we come to the capital of Indiana we have, in official language, -to report progress. One reason assigned for the passing of emigrants -through Indiana to Illinois was that the latter was a prairie country, -more easily subdued than the more wooded region of Indiana. But it is -also true that the sluggish, illiterate character of its early occupants -turned aside the stream of Western emigration from its borders. There -has been a great deal of philosophic speculation upon the acknowledged -backwardness of civilization in Indiana, its slow development in -institutions of education, and its slow change in rural life, compared -with its sister States. But this concerns us less now than the awakening -which is visible at the capital and in some of the northern towns. -The forests of hard timber which were an early disadvantage are now an -important element in the State industry and wealth. Recent developments -of coal-fields and the discovery of natural gas have given an impetus to -manufacturing, which will powerfully stimulate agriculture and traffic, -and open a new career to the State. - -Indianapolis, which stood still for some years in a reaction from -real-estate speculation, is now a rapidly improving city, with a -population of about 125,000. It is on the natural highway of the old -National Turnpike, and its central location in the State, in the midst -of a rich agricultural district, has made it the centre of fifteen -railway lines, and of active freight and passenger traffic. These lines -are all connected for freight purposes by a belt road, over which pass -about 5000 freight cars daily. This belt road also does an enormous -business for the stock-yards, and its convenient line is rapidly -filling up with manufacturing establishments. As a consequence of these -facilities the trade of the city in both wholesale and retail houses is -good and increasing. With this increase of business there has been an -accession of banking capital. The four national and two private -banks have an aggregate capital of about three millions, and the -Clearing-house report of 1887 showed a business of about one hundred -millions, an increase of nearly fifty per cent, over the preceding -year. But the individual prosperity is largely due to the building -and loan associations, of which there are nearly one hundred, with an -aggregate capital of seven millions, the loans of which exceed those of -the banks. These take the place of savings-banks, encourage the purchase -of homesteads, and are preventives of strikes and labor troubles in the -factories. - -The people of Indianapolis call their town a Park City. Occupying a -level plain, its streets (the principal ones with a noble width of ninety -feet) intersect each other at right angles; but in the centre of the -city is a Circle Park of several acres, from which radiate to the four -quarters of the town avenues ninety feet broad that relieve the monotony -of the right lines. These streets are for the most part well shaded, -and getting to be well paved, lined with pleasant but not ambitious -residences, so that the whole aspect of the city is open and agreeable. -The best residences are within a few squares of the most active business -streets, and if the city has not the distinction of palaces, it has -fewer poor and shabby quarters than most other towns of its size. In -the Circle Park, Here now stands a statue of Governor Morton, is to be -erected immediately the Soldiers' Monument, at a cost of $250,000. - -The city is fortunate in its public buildings. The County Court-house -(which cost $1,000,000) and City Hall are both fine buildings; in the -latter are the city markets, and above, a noble auditorium with seats -for 4000 people. But the State Capitol, just finished within the -appropriation of $2,000,000, is pre-eminent among State Capitols in -many respects. It is built of the Bedford limestone, one of the best -materials both for color and endurance found in the country. It -follows the American plan of two wings and a dome; but it is finely -proportioned; and the exterior, with rows of graceful Corinthian columns -above the basement story, is altogether pleasing. The interior is -spacious and impressive, the Chambers fine, the furnishing solid and in -good taste, with nowhere any over-ornamentation or petty details to -mar the general noble effect. The State Library contains, besides the -law-books, about 20,000 miscellaneous volumes. - -When Matthew Arnold first came to New York the place in the West about -which he expressed the most curiosity was Indianapolis; that he said he -must see, if no other city. He had no knowledge of the place, and could -give no reason for his preference except that the name had always had -a fascination for him. He found there, however, a very extensive -book-store, where his own works were sold in numbers that pleased and -surprised him. The shop has a large miscellaneous stock, and does a -large jobbing and retail business, but the miscellaneous books dealt -in are mostly cheap reprints of English works, with very few American -copyright books. This is a significant comment on the languishing -state of the market for works of American authors in the absence of an -international copyright law. - -The city is not behind any other in educational efforts. In its five -free public libraries are over 70,000 volumes. The city has a hundred -churches and a vigorous Young Men's Christian Association, which cost -$75,000. Its private schools have an excellent reputation. There are -20,000 children registered of school age, and 11,000 in daily attendance -in twenty-eight free-school houses. In methods of efficacy these are -equal to any in the Union, as is shown by the fact that there are -reported in the city only 325 persons between the ages of six and -twenty-one unable to read and write. The average cost of instruction for -each pupil is $19.04 a year. In regard to advanced methods and manual -training, Indianapolis schools claim to be pioneers. - -The latest reports show educational activity in the State as well as in -the capital. In 1880 the revenues expended in public schools were about -$5,000,000. The State supports the Indiana University at Bloomington, -with about 300 students, the Agricultural College at Lafayette, with -over 300, and a normal school at Terre Haute, with an attendance of -about 500. There are, besides, seventeen private colleges and several -other normal schools. In 1886 the number of school-children enrolled -in the State was 500,000, of whom 340,000 were in daily attendance. -To those familiar with Indiana these figures show a greatly increased -interest in education. - -Several of the State benevolent institutions are in Indianapolis: a -hospital for the insane, which cost $1,200,000, and accommodates 1000 -patients; an asylum for the blind, which has 132 pupils; and a school -for deaf-mutes which cost $500,000, and has about 400 scholars. The -novel institution, however, that I saw at Indianapolis is a reformatory -for women and girls, controlled entirely by women. The board of trustees -are women, the superintendent, physician, and keepers are women. In one -building, but in separate departments, were the female convicts, 42 in -number, several of them respectable-looking elderly women who had -killed their husbands, and about 150 young girls. The convicts and the -girls--who are committed for restraint and reform--never meet except -in chapel, but it is more than doubtful if it is wise for the State to -subject girls to even this sort of contiguity with convicts, and to the -degradation of penitentiary suggestions. The establishment is very neat -and well ordered and well administered. The work of the prison is done -by the convicts, who are besides kept employed at sewing and in the -laundry. The girls in the reformatory work half a day, and are in school -the other half. - -This experiment of the control of a State-prison by women is regarded as -doubtful by some critics, who say that women will obey a man when they -will not obey a woman. Female convicts, because they have fallen lower -than men, or by reason of their more nervous organization, are commonly -not so easily controlled as male convicts, and it is insisted that they -indulge in less "tantrums" under male than under female authority. -This is denied by the superintendent of this prison, though she has -incorrigible cases who can only be controlled by solitary confinement. -She has daily religious exercises, Bible reading and exposition, and a -Sunday-school; and she doubts if she could control the convicts without -this religious influence. It not only has a daily quieting effect, -but has resulted in several cases in "conversion." There are in -the institution several girls and women of color, and I asked the -superintendent if the white inmates exhibited any prejudice against -them on account of their color. To my surprise, the answer was that the -contrary is the case. The whites look up to the colored girls, and seem -either to have a respect for them or to be fascinated by them. This -surprising statement was supplemented by another, that the influence of -the colored girls on the whites is not good; the white girl who seeks -the company of the colored girl deteriorates, and the colored girl does -not change. - -Indianapolis, which is attractive by reason of a climate that avoids -extremes, bases its manufacturing and its business prosperity upon the -large coal-beds lying to the west and south of it, the splendid and very -extensive quarries of Bedford limestone contiguous to the coal-fields, -the abundant supply of various sorts of hard-wood for the making of -furniture, and the recent discovery of natural gas. The gas-field -region, which is said to be very much larger than any other in the -country, lies to the north-west, and comes within eight miles of the -city. Pipes are already laid to the city limits, and the whole heating -and manufacturing of the city will soon be done by the gas. I saw this -fuel in use in a large and successful pottery, where are made superior -glazed and encaustic tiles, and nothing could be better for the purpose. -The heat in the kilns is intense; it can be perfectly regulated; as fuel -the gas is free from smoke and smut, and its cost is merely nominal. The -excitement over this new agent is at present extraordinary. The field -where it has been found is so extensive as to make the supply seem -inexhaustible. It was first discovered in Indiana at Eaton, in Delaware -County, in 1880. From January 1, 1887, to February, 1888, it is reported -that 1000 wells were opened in the gas territory, and that 245 companies -were organized for various manufactures, with an aggregate capital -of $25,000,000. Whatever the figures may he, there are the highest -expectations of immense increase of manufactures in Indianapolis and in -all the gas region. Of some effects of this revolution in fuel we may -speak when we come to the gas wells of Ohio. - -I had conceived of Columbus as a rural capital, pleasant and slow, -rather a village than a city. I was surprised to find a city of 80,000 -people, growing with a rapidity astonishing even for a Western town, -with miles of prosperous business blocks (High Street is four miles -long), and wide avenues of residences extending to suburban parks. Broad -Street, with its four rows of trees and fine houses and beautiful lawns, -is one of the handsomest avenues in the country, and it is only one -of many that are attractive. The Capitol Square, with several good -buildings about it, makes an agreeable centre of the city. Of the -Capitol building not much is to be said. The exterior is not wholly bad, -but it is surmounted by a truncated something that is neither a dome nor -a revolving turret, and the interior is badly arranged for room, light, -and ventilation. Space is wasted, and many of the rooms, among them the -relic-room and the flag-room, are inconvenient and almost inaccessible. -The best is the room of the Supreme Court, which has attached a large -law library. The general State Library contains about 54,000 volumes, -with a fair but not large proportion of Western history. - -Columbus is a city of churches, of very fine public schools, of -many clubs, literary and social, in which the intellectual element -predominates, and of an intelligent, refined, and most hospitable -society. Here one may study the educational and charitable institutions -of the State, many of the more important of which are in the city, -and also the politics. It was Ohio's hard fate to be for many years -an "October State," and the battle-field and corruption-field of many -outside influences. This no doubt demoralized the politics of the State, -and lowered the tone of public morality. With the removal of the cause -of this decline, I believe the tone is being raised. Recent trials for -election frauds, and the rehabilitation of the Cincinnati police, show -that a better spirit prevails. - -Ohio is growing in wealth as it is in population, and is in many -directions an ambitious and progressive State. Judged by its -institutions of benevolence and of economies, it is a leading State. No -other State provides more liberally for its unfortunates, in asylums for -the insane, the blind, the deaf-mutes, the idiotic, the young waifs and -strays, nor shows a more intelligent comprehension of the legitimate -functions of a great commonwealth, in the creation of boards of -education and of charities and of health, in a State inspection of -workshops and factories, in establishing bureaus of meteorology and of -forestry, a fish commission, and an agricultural experiment station. The -State has thirty-four colleges and universities, a public-school system -which has abolished distinctions of color, and which by the reports is -as efficient as any in the Union. Cincinnati, the moral tone of which, -the Ohio people say, is not fairly represented by its newspapers, is -famous the world over for its cultivation in music and its progress in -the fine and industrial arts. It would be possible for a State to have -and be all this and yet rise in the general scale of civilization -only to a splendid mediocrity, without the higher institutions of pure -learning, and without a very high standard of public morality. Ohio is -in no less danger of materialism, with all its diffused intelligence, -than other States. There is a recognizable limit to what a diffused -level of education, say in thirty-four colleges, can do for the higher -life of a State. I heard an address in the Capitol by ex-President Hayes -on the expediency of adding a manual-training school to the Ohio State -University at Columbus. The comment of some of the legislators on it -was that we have altogether too much book-learning; what we need is -workshops in our schools and colleges. It seems to a stranger that -whatever first-class industrial and technical schools Ohio needs, it -needs more the higher education, and the teaching of philosophy, logic, -and ethics. In 1886 Governor Foraker sent a special message to the -Legislature pointing out the fact that notwithstanding the increase -of wealth in the State, the revenue was inadequate to the expenditure, -principally by reason of the undervaluation of taxable property (there -being a yearly decline in the reported value of personal property), and -a fraudulent evasion of taxes. There must have been a wide insensibility -to the wrong of cheating the State to have produced this state of -things, and one cannot but think that it went along with the low -political tone before mentioned. Of course Ohio is not a solitary sinner -among States in this evasion of duty, but she helps to point the moral -that the higher life of a State needs a great deal of education that is -neither commercial nor industrial nor simply philanthropic. - -It is impossible and unnecessary for the purposes of this paper to speak -of many of the public institutions of the State, even of those in the -city. But educators everywhere may study with profit the management of -the public schools under the City Board of Education, of which Mr. R. -W. Stevenson is superintendent. The High-school, of over 600 pupils, is -especially to be commended. Manual training is not introduced into -the schools, and the present better sentiment is against it; but its -foundation, drawing, is thoroughly taught from the primaries up to the -High-school, and the exhibits of the work of the schools of all grades -in modelling, drawing, and form and color studies, which were made last -year in New York and Chicago, gave these Columbus schools a very high -rank in the country. Any visitor to them must be impressed with the -intelligence of the methods employed, the apprehension of modern -notions, and also the conservative spirit of common-sense. - -The Ohio State University has an endowment from the State of over half -a million dollars, and a source of ultimate wealth in its great farm and -grounds, which must Increase in value as the city extends. It is a very -well equipped institution for the study of the natural sciences and -agriculture, and might easily be built up into a university in all -departments, worthy of the State. At present it has 335 students, -of whom 150 are in the academic department, 41 in special practical -courses, and 143 in the preparatory school. All the students are -organized in companies, under an officer of the United States, for -military discipline; the uniform, the drill, the lessons of order and -obedience, are invaluable in the transforming of carriage and manners. -The University has a museum of geology which ranks among the important -ones of the country. It is a pity that a consolidation of other State -institutions with this cannot be brought about. - -The Ohio Penitentiary at Columbus is an old building, not in keeping -with the modern notions of prison construction. In 1887 it had about -1300 convicts, some 100 less than in the preceding year. The management -is subject to political changes, and its officers have to be taken from -various parts of the State at the dictation of political workers. Under -this system the best management is liable to be upset by an election. -The special interest in the prison at this time was in the observation -of the working of the Parole Law. Since the passage of the Act in May, -1885, 283 prisoners have been paroled, and while several of the convicts -have been returned for a violation of parole, nearly the whole number -are reported as law-abiding citizens. The managers are exceedingly -pleased with the working of the law; it promotes good conduct in the -prison, and reduces the number in confinement. The reduction of the -number of convicts in 1887 from the former year was ascribed partially -to the passage of the General Sentence Law in 1884, and the Habitual -Crimes Act in 1885. The criminals dread these laws, the first because -it gives no fixed time to build their hopes upon, but all depends upon -their previous record and good conduct in prison, while the latter -affects the incorrigible, who are careful to shun the State after being -convicted twice, and avoid imprisonment for life. The success of these -laws and the condition of the State finances delay the work on -the Intermediate Prison, or Reformatory, begun at Mansfield. This -Reformatory is intended for first offenders, and has the distinct -purpose of prevention of further deterioration, and of reformation -by means of the discipline of education and labor. The success of the -tentative laws in this direction, as applied to the general prisons, is, -in fact, a strong argument for the carrying out of the Mansfield scheme. - -There cannot be a more interesting study of the "misfits" of humanity -than that offered in the Institution for Feeble-minded Youth, under the -superintendence of Dr. G. A. Doren. Here are 715 imbeciles in all stages -of development from absolute mental and physical incapacity. There is -scarcely a problem that exists in education, in the relation of the body -and mind, in the inheritance of mental and physical traits, in regard to -the responsibility for crime, in psychology or physiology, that is not -here illustrated. It is the intention of the school to teach the idiot -child some trade or occupation that will make him to some degree useful, -and to carry him no further than the common branches in learning. The -first impression, I think, made upon a visitor is the almost invariable -physical deformity that attends imbecility--ill-proportioned, distorted -bodies, dwarfed, misshapen gelatinoids, with bones that have no -stiffness. The next impression is the preponderance of the animal -nature, the persistence of the lower passions, and the absence of moral -qualities in the general immaturity. And perhaps the next impression is -of the extraordinary effect that physical training has in awakening the -mind, and how soon the discipline of the institution creates the -power of self-control. From almost blank imbecility and utter lack of -self-restraint the majority of these children, as we saw them in -their schoolrooms and workshops, exhibited a sense of order, of entire -decency, and very considerable intelligence. It was demonstrated that -most imbeciles are capable of acquiring the rudiments of an education -and of learning some useful occupation. Some of the boys work on the -farm, others learn trades. The boys in the shoe-shop were making shoes -of excellent finish. The girls do plain sewing and house-work apparently -almost as well as girls of their age outside. Two or three things that -we saw may be mentioned to show the scope of the very able management -and the capacities of the pupils. There was a drill of half a hundred -boys and girls in the dumb-bell exercise, to music, under the leadership -of a pupil, which in time, grace, and exact execution of complicated -movements would have done credit to any school. The institution has two -bands, one of brass and one of strings, which perform very well. The -string band played for dancing in the large amusement hall. Several -hundred children were on the floor dancing cotillons, and they went -through the variety of changes not only in perfect time and decorum, but -without any leader to call the figures. It would have been a remarkable -performance for any children. There were many individual cases of great -and deplorable interest. Cretins, it was formerly supposed, were only -born in mountainous regions. There are three here born in Ohio. There -were five imbeciles of what I should call the ape type, all of one Ohio -family. Two of them were the boys exhibited some years ago by Barnum as -the Aztec children--the last of an extinct race. He exhibited them as -a boy and a girl. When they had grown a little too large to show as -children, or the public curiosity was satisfied about the extinct race, -he exhibited them as wild Australians. - -The humanity of so training these imbeciles that they can have some -enjoyment of life, and be occasionally of some use to their relations, -is undeniable. But since the State makes this effort in the survival of -the unfittest, it must go further and provide a permanent home for them. -The girls who have learned to read and write and sew and do house-work, -and are of decent appearance, as many of them are, are apt to marry when -they leave the institution. Their offspring are invariably idiots. I saw -in this school the children of mothers who had been trained here. It is -no more the intention of the State to increase the number of imbeciles -than it is the number of criminals. Many of our charitable and penal -institutions at present do both. - -I should like to approach the subject of Natural Gas in a proper spirit, -but I have neither the imagination nor the rhetoric to do justice to -the expectations formed of it. In the restrained language of one of the -inhabitants of Findlay, its people "have, caught the divine afflatus -which came with the discovery of natural gas." If Findlay had only -natural gas, "she would be the peer, if not the superior, of any -municipality on earth;" but she has much more, "and in all things has no -equal or superior between the oceans and the lakes and the gulf, and is -marching on to the grandest destiny ever prepared for any people, in any -land, or in any period, since the morning stars first sang together, -and the flowers in the garden of Eden budded and blossomed for man." In -fact, "this she has been doing in the past two years in the grandest -and most satisfactory way, and that she will continue to progress is as -certain as the stars that hold their midnight revel around the throne of -Omnipotence." - -Notwithstanding this guarded announcement, it is evident that the -discovery of natural gas has begun a revolution in fuel, which will have -permanent and far-reaching economic and social consequences, whether the -supply of gas is limited or inexhaustible. - -Those who have once used fuel in this form are not likely to return to -the crude and wasteful heating by coal. All the cities and large towns -west of the Alleghanies are made disagreeable by bituminous coal smoke. -The extent of this annoyance and its detraction from the pleasure of -daily living cannot be exaggerated. The atmosphere is more or less -vitiated, and the sky obscured, houses, furniture, clothing, are dirty, -and clean linen and clean hands and face are not expected. All this is -changed where gas is used for fuel. The city becomes cheerful, and the -people can see each other. But this is not all. One of the great burdens -of our Northern life, fire building and replenishing, disappears, -house-keeping is simplified, the expense of servants reduced, -cleanliness restored. Add to this that in the gas regions the cost of -fuel is merely nominal, and in towns distant some thirty or forty miles -it is not half that of coal. It is easy to see that this revolution in -fuel will make as great a change in social life as in manufacturing, -and that all the change may not be agreeable. This natural gas is a very -subtle fluid, somewhat difficult to control, though I have no doubt that -invention will make it as safe in our houses as illuminating gas is. So -far as I have seen its use, the heat from it is intense and withering. -In a closed stove it is intolerable; in an open grate, with a simulated -pile of hard coal or logs, it is better, but much less agreeable than -soft coal or wood. It does not, as at present used, promote a good -air in the room, and its intense dryness ruins the furniture. But its -cheapness, convenience, and neatness will no doubt prevail; and we are -entering upon a gas age, in which, for the sake of progress, we shall -doubtless surrender something that will cause us to look back to the -more primitive time with regret. If the gas-wells fail, artificial gas -for fuel will doubtless be manufactured. - -I went up to the gas-fields of northern Ohio in company with Prof. -Edward Orton, the State Geologist, who has made a study of the subject, -and pretty well defined the fields of Indiana and Ohio. The gas is found -at a depth of between 1100 and 1200 feet, after passing through a -great body of shale and encountering salt-water, in a porous Trenton -limestone. The drilling and tubing enter this limestone several feet to -get a good holding. This porous limestone holds the gas like a sponge, -and it rushes forth with tremendous force when released. It is now -well settled that these are reservoirs of gas that are tapped, and -not sources of perpetual supply by constant manufacture. How large the -supply may be in any case cannot be told, but there is a limit to it. It -can be exhausted, like a vein of coal. But the fields are so large, both -in Indiana and Ohio, that it seems probable that by sinking new wells -the supply will be continued for a long time. The evidence that it is -not inexhaustible in any one well is that in all in which the flow -of gas has been tested at intervals the force of pressure is found to -diminish. For months after the discovery the wells were allowed to run -to waste, and billions of feet of gas were lost. A better economy now -prevails, and this wastefulness is stopped. The wells are all under -control, and large groups of them are connected by common service-pipes. -The region about Fostoria is organized under the North-western Gas -Company, and controls a large territory. It supplies the city of Toledo, -which uses no other fuel, through pipes thirty miles long, Fremont, -and other towns. The loss per mile in transit through the pipes is now -known, so that the distance can be calculated at which it will pay to -send it. I believe that this is about fifty to sixty miles. The gas when -it comes from the well is about the temperature of 32° Fahr., and the -common pressure is 400 pounds to the square inch. The velocity with -which it rushes, unchecked, from the pipe at the mouth of the well may -be said to be about that of a minie-ball from an ordinary rifle. The -Ohio area of gas is between 2000 and 3000 square miles. The claim for -the Indiana area is that it is 20,000 square miles, but the geologists -make it much less. - -The speculation in real estate caused by this discovery has been perhaps -without parallel in the history of the State, and, as is usual in such -cases, it is now in a lull, waiting for the promised developments. But -these have been almost as marvellous as the speculation. Findlay was -a sleepy little village in the black swamp district, one of the -most backward regions of Ohio. For many years there had been surface -indications of gas, and there is now a house standing in the city which -used gas for fuel forty years ago. When the first gas-well was opened, -ten years ago, the village had about 4500 inhabitants. It has now -probably 15,-. 000, it is a city, and its limits have been extended to -cover an area six miles long by four miles wide. This is dotted -over with hastily built houses, and is rapidly being occupied by -manufacturing establishments. The city owns all the gas-wells, and -supplies fuel to factories and private houses at the simple cost of -maintaining the service-pipes. So rapid has been the growth and the -demand for gas that there has not been time to put all the pipes -underground, and they are encountered on the surface all over the -region. The town is pervaded by the odor of the gas, which is like that -of petroleum, and the traveller is notified of his nearness to the town -by the smell before he can see the houses. The surface pipes, hastily -laid, occasionally leak, and at these weak places the gas is generally -ignited in order to prevent its tainting the atmosphere. This immediate -neighborhood has an oil-field contiguous to the gas, plenty of limestone -(the kilns are burned by gas), good building stone, clay fit for making -bricks and tiles, and superior hard-wood forests. The cheap fuel has -already attracted here manufacturing industries of all sorts, and new -plants are continually made. - -I have a list of over thirty different mills and factories which -are either in full operation or getting under way. Among the most -interesting of these are the works for making window-glass and table -glass. The superiority of this fuel for the glass-furnaces seems to be -admitted. - -Although the wells about Findlay are under control, the tubing is -anchored, and the awful force is held under by gates and levers of -steel, it is impossible to escape a feeling of awe in this region at -the subterranean energies which seem adequate to blow the whole country -heavenward. Some of the wells were opened for us. Opening a well is -unscrewing the service-pipe and letting the full force of the gas issue -from the pipe at the mouth of the well. When one of these wells is thus -opened the whole town is aware of it by the roaring and the quaking of -the air. The first one exhibited was in a field a mile and a half from -the city. At the first freedom from the screws and clamps the gas rushed -out in such density that it was visible. Although we stood several rods -from it, the roar was so great that one could not make himself heard -shouting in the ear of his neighbor. The geologist stuffed cotton in -his ears and tied a shawl about his head, and, assisted by the chemist, -stood close to the pipe to measure the flow. The chemist, who had not -taken the precaution to protect himself, was quite deaf for some time -after the experiment. A four-inch pipe, about sixty feet in length, was -then screwed on, and the gas ignited as it issued from the end on the -ground. The roaring was as before. For several feet from the end of -the tube there was no flame, but beyond was a sea of fire sweeping the -ground and rioting high in the air--billows of red and yellow and blue -flame, fierce and hot enough to consume everything within reach. It was -an awful display of power. - -We had a like though only a momentary display at the famous Karg well, an -eight-million-feet well. This could only be turned on for a few seconds -at a time, for it is in connection with the general system. If the gas -is turned off, the fires in houses and factories would go out, and if it -were turned on again without notice, the rooms would be full of gas, and -an explosion follow an attempt to relight it. This danger is now being -removed by the invention of an automatic valve in the pipe supplying -each fire, which will close and lock when the flow of gas ceases, and -admit no more gas until it is opened. The ordinary pressure for house -service is about two pounds to the square inch. The Karg well is on the -bank of the creek, and the discharge-pipe through which the gas (though -not in its full force) was turned for our astonishment extends over the -water. The roar was like that of Niagara; all the town shakes when the -Karg is loose. When lighted, billows of flame rolled over the water, -brilliant in color and fantastic in form, with a fury and rage of -conflagration enough to strike the spectator with terror. I have never -seen any other display of natural force so impressive as this. When this -flame issues from an upright pipe, the great mass of fire rises eighty -feet into the air, leaping and twisting in fiendish fury. For six weeks -after this well was first opened its constant roaring shook the nerves -of the town, and by night its flaming torch lit up the heaven and -banished darkness. With the aid of this new agent anything seems -possible. - -The feverishness of speculation will abate; many anticipations will -not be realized. It will be discovered that there is a limit to -manufacturing, even with fuel that costs next to nothing. The supply -of natural gas no doubt has its defined limits. But nothing seems more -certain to me than that gas, manufactured if not to be the fuel of the -future in the West, and that the importance of this economic change in -social life is greater than we can at present calculate. - - - - -XII.--CINCINNATI AND LOUISVILLE. - -|Cincinnati is a city that has a past. As Daniel Webster said, that at -least is secure. Among the many places that have been and are the Athens -of America, this was perhaps the first. As long ago as the first visit -of Charles Dickens to this country it was distinguished as a town of -refinement as well as cultivation; and the novelist, who saw little to -admire, though much to interest him in our raw country, was captivated -by this little village on the Ohio. It was already the centre of an -independent intellectual life, and produced scholars, artists, writers, -who subsequently went east instead of west. According to tradition, -there seems to have been early a tendency to free thought, and a -response to the movement which, for lack of a better name, was known in -Massachusetts as transcendentalism. - -The evolution of Cincinnati seems to have been a little peculiar in -American life. It is a rich city, priding itself on the solidity of its -individual fortunes and business, and the freedom of its real property -from foreign mortgages. Usually in our development the pursuit of wealth -comes first, and then all other things are added thereto, as we read -the promise. In Cincinnati there seems to have been a very considerable -cultivation first in time, and we have the spectacle of what wealth -will do in the way of the sophistication and materialization of society. -Ordinarily we have the process of an uncultivated community gradually -working itself out into a more or less ornamented and artistic condition -as it gets money. The reverse process we might see if the philosophic -town of Concord, Massachusetts, should become the home of rich men -engaged in commerce and manufacturing. I may be all wrong in my notion -of Cincinnati, but there is a sort of tradition, a remaining flavor of -old-time culture before the town became commercially so important as it -was before the war. - -It is difficult to think of Cincinnati as in Ohio. I cannot find their -similarity of traits. Indeed, I think that generally in the State there -is a feeling that it is an alien city; the general characteristics -of the State do not flow into and culminate in Cincinnati as its -metropolis. It has had somehow an independent life. If you look on a -geologic map of the State, you see that the glacial drift, I believe it -is called, which flowed over three-fourths of the State and took out its -wrinkles did not advance into the south-west. And Cincinnati lies in the -portion that was not smoothed into a kind of monotony. When a settlement -was made here it was a good landing-place for trade up and down the -river, and was probably not so much thought of as a distributing and -receiving point for the interior north of it. Indeed, up to the time of -the war, it looked to the South for its trade, and naturally, even when -the line of war was drawn, a good deal of its sympathies lay in the -direction of its trade. It had become a great city, and grown rich both -in trade and manufactures, but in the decline of steamboating and in the -era of railways there were physical difficulties in the way of adapting -itself easily to the new conditions. It was not easy to bring the -railways down the irregular hills and to find room for them on the -landing. The city itself had to contend with great natural obstacles -to get adequate foothold, and its radiation over, around, and among the -hills produced some novel features in business and in social life. - -What Cincinnati would have been, with its early culture and its -increasing wealth, if it had not become so largely German in its -population, we can only conjecture. The German element was at once -conservative as to improvements and liberalizing, as the phrase is, in -theology and in life. Bituminous coal and the Germans combined to make -a novel American city. When Dickens saw the place it was a compact, -smiling little city, with a few country places on the hills. It is now -a scattered city of country places, with a little nucleus of beclouded -business streets. The traveller does not go there to see the city, but -to visit the suburbs, climbing into them, out of the smoke and grime, by -steam "inclines" and grip railways. The city is indeed difficult to -see. When you are in it, by the river, you can see nothing; when you are -outside of it you are in any one of half a dozen villages, in regions -of parks and elegant residences, altogether charming and geographically -confusing; and if from some commanding point you try to recover the city -idea, you look down upon black roofs half hid in black smoke, through -which the fires of factories gleam, and where the colored Ohio rolls -majestically along under a dark canopy. Looked at in one way, the real -Cincinnati is a German city, and you can only study its true character -"Over the Rhine," and see it successfully through the bottom of an -upturned beer glass. Looked at another way, it is mainly an affair -of elegant suburbs, beautifully wooded hills, pleasure-grounds, and -isolated institutions of art or charity. I am thankful that there is no -obligation on me to depict it. - -It would probably be described as a city of art rather than of theology, -and one of rural homes rather than metropolitan society. Perhaps -the German element has had something to do in giving it its musical -character, and the early culture may have determined its set more -towards art than religion. As the cloud of smoke became thicker and -thicker in the old city those who disliked this gloom escaped out upon -the hills in various directions. Many, of course, still cling to the -solid ancestral houses in the city, but the country movement was so -general that church-going became an affair of some difficulty, and I can -imagine that the church-going habit was a little broken up while the new -neighborhoods were forming on the hills and in the winding valleys, and -before the new churches in the suburbs were erected. Congregations -were scattered, and society itself was more or less disintegrated. Each -suburb is fairly accessible from the centre of the city, either by -a winding valley or by a bold climb up a precipice, but owing to the -configuration of the ground, it is difficult to get from one suburb to -another without returning to the centre and taking a fresh start. This -geographical hinderance must necessarily interfere with social life, and -tend to isolation of families, or to merely neighborhood association. - -Although much yet remains to be done in the way of good roads, nature -and art have combined to make the suburbs of the city wonderfully -beautiful. The surface is most picturesquely broken, the forests -are fine, from this point and that there are views pleasing, poetic, -distant, perfectly satisfying in form and variety, and in advantageous -situations taste has guided wealth in the construction of stately -houses, having ample space in the midst of manorial parks. You are not -out of sight of these fine places in any of the suburbs, and there -are besides, in every direction, miles of streets of pleasing homes. I -scarcely know whether to prefer Clifton, with its wide sweeping avenues -rounding the hills, or the perhaps more commanding heights of Walnut, -nearer the river, and overlooking Kentucky. On the East Walnut Hills -is a private house worth going far to see for its color. It is built of -broken limestone, the chance find of a quarry, making the richest walls -I have anywhere seen, comparable to nothing else than the exquisite -colors in the rocks of the Yellowstone Falls, as I recall them in Mr. -Moran's original studies. - -If the city itself could substitute gas fuel for its smutty coal, I -fancy that, with its many solid homes and stately buildings, backed by -the picturesque hills, it would be a city at once curious and attractive -to the view. The visitor who ascends from the river as far as Fourth -Street is surprised to find room for fair avenues, and many streets and -buildings of mark. The Probasco fountain in another atmosphere would be -a thing of beauty, for one may go far to find so many groups in -bronze so good. The Post-office building is one of the best of the -Mullet-headed era of our national architecture--so good generally that -one wonders that the architect thought it expedient to destroy the -effect of the monolith columns by cutting them to resemble superimposed -blocks. A very remarkable building also is the new Chamber of Commerce -structure, from Richardson's design, massive, mediæval, challenging -attention, and compelling criticism to give way to genuine admiration. -There are other buildings, public and private, that indicate a city of -solid growth; and the activity of its strong Chamber of Commerce is a -guarantee that its growth will be maintained with the enterprise common -to American cities. The effort is to make manufacturing take the place -in certain lines of business that, as in the item of pork-packing, has -been diverted by various causes. Money and effort have been freely given -to regain the Southern trade interrupted by the war, and I am forced to -believe that the success in this respect would have been greater if some -of the city newspapers had not thought it all-important to manufacture -political capital by keeping alive old antagonisms and prejudices. -Whatever people may say, sentiment does play a considerable part in -business, and it is within the knowledge of the writer that prominent -merchants in at least one Southern city have refused trade contracts -that would have been advantageous to Cincinnati, on account of this -exhibition of partisan spirit, as if the war were not over. Nothing -would be more contemptible than to see a community selling its -principles for trade; but it is true that men will trade, other things -being equal, where they are met with friendly cordiality and toleration, -and where there is a spirit of helpfulness instead of suspicion. -Professional politicians, North and South, may be able to demonstrate to -their satisfaction that they should have a chance to make a living, -but they ask too much when this shall be at the expense of free-flowing -trade, which is in itself the best solvent of any remaining alienation, -and the surest disintegrator of the objectionable political solidity, -and to the hinderance of that entire social and business good feeling -which is of all things desirable and necessary in a restored and -compacted Union. And it is as bad political as it is bad economic -policy. As a matter of fact, the politicians of Kentucky are grateful to -one or two Republican journals for aid in keeping their State "solid." -It is a pity that the situation has its serious as well as its -ridiculous aspect. - -Cincinnati in many respects is more an Eastern than a Western town; -it is developing its own life, and so far as I could see, without much -infusion of young fortune-hunting blood from the East. It has attained -its population of about 275,000 by a slower growth than some other -Western cities, and I notice in its statistical reports a pause rather -than excitement since 1878-79-80. The valuation of real and personal -property has kept about the same for nearly ten years (1886, real estate -about $129,000,000, personal about $42,000,000), with a falling off in -the personalty, and a noticeable decrease in the revenue from taxation. -At the same time manufacturing has increased considerably. In 1880 there -was a capital of $60,623,350, employing 74,798 laborers, with a product -of $148,957,280. In 1886 the capital was $76,248,200, laborers 93,103, -product $190,722,153. The business at the Post-office was a little less -in 1886 than in 1883. In the seven years ending with 1886 there was -a considerable increase in banking capital, which reached in the city -proper over ten millions, and there was an increase in clearings from -1881 to 1886. - -It would teach us nothing to follow in detail the fluctuations of the -various businesses in Cincinnati, either in appreciation or decline, but -it may be noted that it has more than held its own in one of the great -staples--leaf tobacco--and still maintains a leading position. Yet -I must refer to one of the industries for the sake of an important -experiment made in connection with it. This is the experiment of -profit-sharing at Ivorydale, the establishment of Messrs. Procter and -Gamble, now, I believe, the largest soap factory in the world. The soap -and candle industry has always been a large one in Cincinnati, and it -has increased about seventy-five per cent, within the past two years. -The proprietors at Ivorydale disclaim any intention of philanthropy in -their new scheme--that is, the philanthropy that means giving something -for nothing, as a charity: it is strictly a business operation. It is -an experiment that I need not say will be watched with a good deal of -interest as a means of lessening the friction between the interests of -capital and labor. The plan is this: Three trustees are named who are -to declare the net profits of the concern every six months; for this -purpose they are to have free access to the books and papers at all -times, and they are to permit the employes to designate a book-keeper -to make an examination for them also. In determining the net profits, -interest on all capital invested is calculated as an expense at the rate -of six per cent., and a reasonable salary is allowed to each member of -the firm who gives his entire time to the business. In order to share -in the profits, the employé must have been at work for three consecutive -months, and must be at work when the semi-annual account is made up. -All the men share whose wages have exceeded $5 a week, and all the women -whose wages have exceeded $4.25 a week. The proportion divided to -each employé is determined by the amount of wages earned; that is, the -employés shall share as between themselves in the profits exactly as -they have shared in the entire fund paid as wages to the whole body, -excluding the first three months' wages. In order to determine the -profits for distribution, the total amount of wages paid to all employés -(except travelling salesmen, who do not share) is ascertained. The -amount of all expenses, Including interest and salaries, is ascertained, -and the total net profits shall be divided between the firm and the -employés sharing in the fund. The amount of the net profit to be -distributed will be that proportion of the whole net profit which will -correspond to the proportion of the wages paid as compared with -the entire cost of production and the expense of the business. To -illustrate: If the wages paid to all employés shall equal twenty per -cent, of the entire expenditure in the business, including interest and -salaries of members of the firm, then twenty per cent, of the net profit -will be distributed to employés. - -It will be noted that this plan promotes steadiness in work, stimulates -to industry, and adds a most valuable element of hopefulness to labor. -As a business enterprise for the owners it is sound, for it makes -every workman an interested party in increasing the profits of the -firm--interested not only in production, but in the marketableness of -the thing produced. There have been two divisions under this plan. At -the declaration of the first the workmen had no confidence in it; many -of them would have sold their chances for a glass of beer. They expected -that "expenses" would make such a large figure that nothing would -be left to divide. When they received, as the good workmen did, -considerable sums of money, life took on another aspect to them, and -we may suppose that their confidence in fair dealing was raised. The -experiment of a year has been entirely satisfactory; it has not -only improved the class of employés, but has introduced into the -establishment a spirit of industrial cheerfulness. Of course it is still -an experiment. So long as business is good, all will go well; but -if there is a bad six months, and no profits, it is impossible that -suspicion should not arise. And there is another consideration: the -publishing to the world that the business of six months was without -profit might impair credit. But, on the other hand, this openness in -legitimate business may be contagious, and in the end promotive of a -wider and more stable business confidence. Ivorydale is one of the best -and most solidly built industrial establishments anywhere to be found, -and doubly interesting for the intelligent attempt to solve the most -difficult problem in modern society. The first semi-annual dividend -amounted to about an eighth increase of wages. A girl who was earning -five dollars a week would receive as dividend about thirty dollars a -year. I think it was not in my imagination that the laborers in -this establishment worked with more than usual alacrity, and seemed -contented. If this plan shall prevent strikes, that alone will be as -great a benefit to the workmen as to those who risk capital in employing -them. - -Probably to a stranger the chief interest of Cincinnati is not in its -business enterprises, great as they are, but in another life just as -real and important, but which is not always considered in taking account -of the prosperity of a community--the development of education and of -the fine arts. For a long time the city has had an independent life in -art and in music. Whether a people can be saved by art I do not know. -The pendulum is always swinging backward and forward, and we seem never -to be able to be enthusiastic in one direction without losing something -in another. The art of Cincinnati has a good deal the air of being -indigenous, and the outcome in the arts of carving and design and in -music has exhibited native vigor. The city has made itself a reputation -for wood-carving and for decorative pottery. The Rockwood pottery, the -private enterprise of Mrs. Bellamy Storer, is the only pottery in this -country in which the instinct of beauty is paramount to the desire of -profit. Here for a series of years experiments have been going on with -clays and glazing, in regard to form and color, and in decoration purely -for effect, which have resulted in pieces of marvellous interest and -beauty. The effort has always been to satisfy a refined sense rather -than to cater to a vicious taste, or one for startling effects already -formed. I mean that the effort has not been to suit the taste of -the market, but to raise that taste. The result is some of the most -exquisite work in texture and color anywhere to be found, and I was glad -to learn that it is gaining an appreciation which will not in this case -leave virtue to be its own reward. - -The various private attempts at art expression have been consolidated in -a public Museum and an Art School, which are among the best planned and -equipped in the country. The Museum Building in Eden Park, of which the -centre pavilion and west wing are completed (having a total length of -214 feet from east to west), is in Romanesque style, solid and pleasing, -with exceedingly well-planned exhibition-rooms and picture-galleries, -and its collections are already choice and interesting. The fund was -raised by the subscriptions of 455 persons, and amounts to $310,501, -of which Mr. Charles R. West led off with the contribution of $150,000, -invested as a permanent fund. Near this is the Art School, also a noble -building, the gift of Mr. David Sinton, who in 1855 gave the Museum -Association $75,000 for this purpose. It should be said that the -original and liberal endowment of the Art School was made by Mr. -Nicholas Longworth, in accordance with the wish of his father, and -that the association also received a legacy of $40,000 from Mr. R. R. -Springer. Altogether the association has received considerably over a -million of dollars, and has in addition, by gift and purchase, property -gained at nearly $200,000. The Museum is the fortunate possessor of one -of the three Russian Reproductions, the other two being in the South -Kensington Museum of London and the Metropolitan of New York. Thus, by -private enterprise, in the true American way, the city is graced and -honored by art buildings which give it distinction, and has a school -of art so well equipped and conducted that it attracts students from far -and near, filling its departments of drawing, painting, sculpture, -and wood-carving with eager learners. It has over 400 scholars in the -various departments. The ample endowment fund makes the school really -free, there being only a nominal charge of about $5 a year. - -In the collection of paintings, which has several of merit, is one with -a history, which has a unique importance. This is B. R. Haydon's "Public -Entry of Christ into Jerusalem." This picture of heroic size, and in the -grand style which had a great vogue in its day, was finished in 1820, -sold for £170 in 1831, and brought to Philadelphia, where it was -exhibited. The exhibition did not pay expenses, and the picture was -placed in the Academy as a companion piece to Benjamin West's "Death on -the Pale Horse." In the fire of 1845 both canvases were rescued by being -cut from the frames and dragged out like old blankets. It was finally -given to the Cathedral in Cincinnati, where its existence was forgotten -until it was discovered lately and loaned to the Museum. The interest -in the picture now is mainly an accidental one, although it is a fine -illustration of the large academic method, and in certain details is -painted with the greatest care. Haydon's studio was the resort of -English authors of his day, and the portraits of several of them are -introduced into this picture. The face of William Hazlitt does duty -as St. Peter; Wordsworth and Sir Isaac Newton and Voltaire appear as -spectators of the pageant--the cynical expression of Voltaire is the -worldly contrast to the believing faith of the disciples--and the -inspired face of the youthful St. John is that of John Keats. This being -the only portrait of Keats in life, gives this picture extraordinary -interest. - -The spirit of Cincinnati, that is, its concern for interests not -altogether material, is also illustrated by its College of Music. This -institution was opened in 1878. It was endowed by private subscription, -the largest being $100,000 by Mr. R. R. Springer. It is financially -very prosperous; its possessions in real estate, buildings--including a -beautiful concert hall--and invested endowments amount to over $300,000. -Its average attendance is about 550, and during the year 1887 it had -about 650 different scholars. From tuition alone about $45,000 were -received, and although the expenditures were liberal, the college had at -the beginning of 1888 a handsome cash balance. The object of the college -is the development of native talent, and to evoke this the best foreign -teachers obtainable have been secured. In the departments of the voice, -the piano, and the violin, American youth are said to show special -proficiency, and the result of the experiment thus far is to strengthen -the belief that out of our mixed nationality is to come most artistic -development in music. Free admission is liberally given to pupils who -have talent but not the means to cultivate it. Recognizing the value of -broad culture in musical education, the managers have provided courses -of instruction in English literature, lectures upon American authors, -and for the critical study of Italian. The college proper has forty -teachers, and as many rooms for instruction. Near it, and connected by -a covered way, is the great Music Hall, with a seating capacity of 5400, -and the room to pack in nearly 7000 people. In this superb hall the -great annual musical festivals are held. It has a plain interior, -sealed entirely in wood, and with almost no ornamentation to impair its -resonance. The courage of the projectors who dared to build this hall -for a purely musical purpose and not for display is already vindicated. -It is no doubt the best auditorium in the country. As age darkens the -wood, the interior grows rich, and it is discovered that the effect of -the seasoning of the wood or of the musical vibrations steadily improves -the acoustic properties, having the same effect upon the sonorousness of -the wood that long use has upon a good violin. The whole interior is a -magnificent sounding-board, if that is the proper expression, and for -fifty years, if the hall stands, it will constantly improve, and have a -resonant quality unparalleled in any other auditorium. - -The city has a number of clubs, well housed, such as are common to -other cities, and some that are peculiar. The Cuvier Club, for the -preservation of game, has a very large museum of birds, animals, -and fishes, beautifully prepared and arranged. The Historical and -Philosophical Society has also good quarters, a library of about 10,000 -books and 44,000 pamphlets, and is becoming an important depository of -historical manuscripts. The Literary Society, composed of 100 members, -who meet weekly, in commodious apartments, to hear an essay, discuss -general topics, and pass an hour socially about small tables, with -something to eat and drink, has been vigorously-maintained since 1848. - -An institution of more general importance is the Free Public Library, -which has about 150,000 books and 18,000 pamphlets. This is supported -in part by an accumulated fund, but mainly by a city tax, which is -appropriated through the Board of Education. The expenditures for it -in 1887 were about $50,000. It has a notably fine art department. The -Library is excellently managed by Mr. A. W. Whelpley, the librarian, who -has increased its circulation and usefulness by recognizing the new -idea that a librarian is not a mere custodian of books, but should be -a stimulator and director of the reading of a community. This office -becomes more and more important now that the good library has to compete -for the attention of the young with the "cheap and nasty" publications -of the day. It is probably due somewhat to direction in reading that -books of fiction taken from the Library last year were only fifty-one -per cent, of the whole. - -An institution established in many cities as a helping hand to women -is the Women's Exchange. The Exchange in Cincinnati is popular as a -restaurant. Many worthy women support themselves by preparing food which -is sold here over the counter, or served at the tables. The city has -for many years sustained a very good Zoological Garden, which is much -frequented except in the winter. Interest in it is not, however, as -lively as it was formerly. It seems very difficult to keep a "zoo" up to -the mark in America. - -I do not know that the public schools of Cincinnati call for special -mention. They seem to be conservative schools, not differing from the -best elsewhere, and they appear to be trying no new experiments. One -of the high-schools which I saw with 600 pupils is well conducted, and -gives good preparation for college. The city enumeration is over 87,000 -children between the ages of six and twenty-one, and of these about -36,000 are reported not in school. Of the 2300 colored children in the -city, about half were in school. When the Ohio Legislature repealed -the law establishing separate schools for colored people, practically -creating mixed schools, a majority of the colored parents in the city -petitioned and obtained branch schools of their own, with colored -teachers in charge. The colored people everywhere seem to prefer to be -served by teachers and preachers of their own race. - -The schools of Cincinnati have not adopted manual training, but a -Technical School has been in existence about a year, with promise of -success. The Cincinnati University under the presidency of Governor Cox -shows new vitality. It is supported in part by taxation, and is open -free to all resident youth, so that while it is not a part of the -public-school system, it supplements it. - -Cincinnati has had a great many discouragements of late, turbulent -politics and dishonorable financial failures. But, for all that, it -impresses one as a solid city, with remarkable development in the higher -civilization. - -In its physical aspect Louisville is in every respect a contrast to -Cincinnati. Lying on a plain, sloping gently up from the river, it -spreads widely in rectangular uniformity of streets--a city of broad -avenues, getting to be well paved and well shaded, with ample spaces in -lawns, houses detached, somewhat uniform in style, but with an air of -comfort, occasionally of elegance and solid good taste. The city has -an exceedingly open, friendly, cheerful appearance. In May, with its -abundant foliage and flowery lawns, it is a beautiful city: a beautiful, -healthful city in a temperate climate, surrounded by a fertile country, -is Louisville. Beyond the city the land rises into a rolling country of -Blue-Grass farms, and eastward along the river are fine bluffs broken -into most advantageous sites for suburban residences. Looking northward -across the Ohio are seen the Indiana "Knobs." In high-water the river -is a majestic stream, covering almost entirely the rocks which form the -"Falls," and the beds of "cement" which are so profitably worked. -The canal, which makes navigation round the rapids, has its mouth at -Shipping-port Island. About this spot clusters much of the early romance -of Louisville. Here are some of the old houses and the old mill built -by the Frenchman Tarascon in the early part of the century. Here in a -weather-beaten wooden tenement, still standing, Taras-con offered border -hospitality to many distinguished guests; Aaron Burr and Blennerhasset -were among his visitors, and General Wilkinson, the projector of the -canal, then in command of the armies of the United States; and it was -probably here that the famous "Spanish conspiracy" was concocted. Corn -Island, below the rapids, upon which the first settlement of Louisville -was made in 1778, disappeared some years ago, gradually washed away by -the swift river. - -Opposite this point, in Indiana, is the village of Clarksville, which -has a unique history. About 1785 Virginia granted to Gen. George Rogers -Clark, the most considerable historic figure of this region, a large -tract of land in recognition of his services in the war. When Virginia -ceded this territory to Indiana the township of Clarksville was -excepted from the grant. It had been organized with a governing board -of trustees, self-perpetuating, and this organization still continues. -Clarksville has therefore never been ceded to the United States, and if -it is not an independent community, the eminent domain must still rest -in the State of Virginia. - -Some philosophers say that the character of a people is determined by -climate and soil. There is a notion in this region that the underlying -limestone and the consequent succulent Blue-Grass produce a race of -large men, frank in manner, brave in war, inclined to oratory and -ornamental conversation, women of uncommon beauty, and the finest horses -in the Union. Of course a fertile soil and good living conduce to beauty -of form and in a way to the free graces of life. But the contrast of -Cincinnati and Louisville in social life and in the manner of doing -business cannot all be accounted for by Blue-Grass. It would be very -interesting, if one had the knowledge, to study the causes of this -contrast in two cities not very far apart. In late years Louisville has -awakened to a new commercial life, as one finds in it a strong infusion -of Western business energy and ambition. It is jubilant in its growth -and prosperity. It was always a commercial town, but with a dash of -Blue-Grass leisure and hospitality, and a hereditary flavor of manners -and fine living. Family and pedigree have always been held in as high -esteem as beauty. The Kentuckian of society is a great contrast to -the Virginian, but it may be only the development of the tide-water -gentleman in the freer, wider opportunities of the Blue-Grass region. -The pioneers of Kentucky were backwoodsmen, but many of the early -settlers, whose descendants are now leaders in society and in the -professions, came with the full-blown tastes and habits of Virginia -civilization, as their spacious colonial houses, erected in the latter -part of the last century and the early part of this, still attest. They -brought and planted in the wilderness a highly developed social state, -which was modified into a certain freedom by circumstances. One can -fancy in the abundance of a temperate latitude a certain gayety and -joyousness in material existence, which is contented with that, and -has not sought the art and musical development which one finds in -Cincinnati. All over the South, Louisville is noted for the beauty of -its women, but the other ladies of the South say that they can always -tell one from Louisville by her dress, something in it quite aware of -the advanced fashion, something in the "cut"--a mystery known only to -the feminine eye. - -I did not intend, however, to enter upon a disquisition of the different -types of civilization in Cincinnati and in Louisville. One observes them -as evidences of what has heretofore been mentioned, the great variety -in American life, when one looks below the surface. The traveller enjoys -both types, and is rejoiced to find such variety, culture, taking in one -city the form of the worship of beauty and the enjoyment of life, and -in the other greater tendency to the fine arts. Louisville is a city of -churches, of very considerable religious activity, and of pretty stanch -orthodoxy. I do not mean to say that what are called modern ideas do -not leaven its society. In one of its best literary clubs I heard the -Spencerian philosophy expounded and advocated with the enthusiasm and -keenness of an emancipated Eastern town. But it is as true of Louisville -as it is of other Southern cities that traditional faith is less -disturbed by doubts and isms than in many Eastern towns. One notes -here also, as all over the South, the marked growth of the temperance -movement. The Kentuckians believe that they produce the best fluid from -rye and corn in the Union, and that they are the best judges of it. -Neither proposition will be disputed, nor will one trifle with a -legitimate pride in a home production; but there is a new spirit abroad, -and both Bourbon and the game that depends quite as much upon the -knowledge of human nature as upon the turn of the cards are silently -going to the rear. Always Kentuckians have been distinguished in -politics, in oratory, in the professions of law and of medicine; nor has -the city ever wanted scholars in historical lore, men who have not only -kept alive the traditions of learning and local research, like Col. John -Mason Brown, but have exhibited the true antiquarian spirit of Col. -H. T. Durrett, whose historical library is worth going far to see and -study. It will be a great pity if his exceedingly valuable collection is -not preserved to the State to become the nucleus of a Historical Society -worthy of the State's history. When I spoke of art it was in a public -sense; there are many individuals who have good pictures and especially -interesting portraits, and in the early days Kentucky produced at least -one artist, wholly self-taught, who was a rare genius. Matthew H. Jouett -was born in Mercer County in 1780, and died in Louisville in 1820. In -the course of his life he painted as many as three hundred and fifty -portraits, which are scattered all over the Union. In his mature years -he was for a time with Stuart in Boston. Some specimens of his work in -Louisville are wonderfully fine, recalling the style and traditions -of the best masters, some of them equal if not superior to the best -by Stuart, and suggesting in color and solidity the vigor and grace of -Vandyck. He was the product of no school but nature and his own genius. -Louisville has always had a scholarly and aggressive press, and its -traditions are not weakened in Mr. Henry Watterson. On the social side -the good-fellowship of the city is well represented in the Pendennis -Club, which is thoroughly home-like and agreeable. The town has at -least one book-store of the first class, but it sells very few American -copyright books. The city has no free or considerable public library. -The Polytechnic Society, which has a room for lectures, keeps for -circulation among subscribers about 38,000 books. It has also a -geological and mineral collection, and a room devoted to pictures, which -contains an allegorical statue by Canova. - -In its public schools and institutions of charity the city has a great -deal to show that is interesting. In medicine it has always been famous. -It has four medical colleges, a college of dentistry, a college of -pharmacy, and a school of pharmacy for women. In nothing, however, -is the spirit of the town better exhibited than in its public-school -system. With a population of less than 180,000, the school enrolment, -which has advanced year by year, was in 1887, 21,601, with an aggregate -belonging of 17,392. The amount expended on schools, which was in 1880 -$197,699, had increased to $323,943 in 1887--a cost of $18.62 per pupil. -Equal provision is made for colored schools as for white, but the number -of colored pupils is less than 3000, and the colored high-school is -small, as only a few are yet fitted to go so far in education. The -negroes all prefer colored teachers, and so far as I could learn, they -are quite content with the present management of the School Board. -Co-education is not in the Kentucky idea, nor in its social scheme. -There are therefore two high-schools--one for girls and one for -boys--both of the highest class and efficiency, in excellent buildings, -and under most intelligent management. Among the teachers in the -schools are ladies of position, and the schools doubtless owe their good -character largely to the fact that they are in the fashion: as a rule, -all the children of the city are educated in them. Manual training is -not introduced, but all the advanced methods in the best modern schools, -object-lessons, word-building, moulding, and drawing, are practised. -During the fall and winter months there are night schools, which are -very well attended. In one of the intermediate schools I saw an exercise -which illustrates the intelligent spirit of the schools. This was an -account of the early settlement, growth, and prosperity of Louisville, -told in a series of very short papers--so many that a large number of -the pupils had a share in constructing the history. Each one took up -connectively a brief period or the chief events in chronological order, -with illustrations of manners and customs, fashions of dress and mode -of life. Of course this mosaic was not original, but made up of extracts -from various local histories and statistical reports. This had the merit -of being a good exercise as well as inculcating an intelligent pride in -the city. - -Nearly every religious denomination is represented in the 142 churches -of Louisville. Of these 9 are Northern Presbyterian and 7 Southern -Presbyterian, 11 of the M.E. Church South and 6 of the M.E. Church -North, 18 Catholic, 7 Christian, 1 Unitarian, and 31 colored. There are -seven convents and monasteries, and a Young Men's Christian Association. -In proportion to its population, the city is pre-eminent for public -and private charities: there are no less than thirty-eight of these -institutions, providing for the infirm and unfortunate of all ages -and conditions. Unique among these in the United States is a very fine -building for the maintenance of the widows and orphans of deceased -Freemasons of the State of Kentucky, supported mainly by contributions -of the Masonic lodges. One of the best equipped and managed industrial -schools of reform for boys and girls is on the outskirts of the city. -Mr. P. Caldwell is its superintendent, and it owes its success, as all -similar schools do, to the peculiar fitness of the manager for this sort -of work. The institution has three departments. There were 125 white -boys and 79 colored boys, occupying separate buildings in the same -enclosure, and 41 white girls in their own house in another enclosure. - -The establishment has a farm, a garden, a greenhouse, a library -building, a little chapel, ample and pleasant play-yards. There is as -little as possible the air of a prison about the place, and as much as -possible that of a home and school. The boys have organized a very fair -brass band. The girls make all the clothes for the establishment; the -boys make shoes, and last year earned $8000 in bottoming chairs. The -school is mainly sustained by taxation and city appropriations; the -yearly cost is about $26,000. Children are indentured out when good -homes can be found for them. - -The School for the Education of the Blind is a State institution, -and admits none from outside the State. The fine building occupies a -commanding situation on hills not far from the river, and is admirably -built, the rooms spacious and airy, and the whole establishment is -well ordered. There are only 79 scholars, and the few colored are -accommodated by themselves in a separate building, in accordance with -an Act of the Legislature in 1884 for the education of colored blind -children. The distinction of this institution is that it has on its -premises the United States printing-office for furnishing publications -for the blind asylums of the country. Printing is done here both in -letters and in points, by very ingenious processes, and the library is -already considerable. The space required to store a library of books -for the blind may be reckoned from the statement that the novel of -"Ivan-hoe" occupies three volumes, each larger than Webster's Unabridged -Dictionary. The weekly _Sunday-school Times_ is printed here. The point -writing consists entirely of dots in certain combinations to represent -letters, and it is noticed that about half the children prefer this -to the alphabet. The preference is not explained by saying that it is -merely a matter of feeling. - -The city has as yet no public parks, but the very broad streets--from -sixty to one hundred and twenty feet in width--the wide spacing of the -houses in the residence parts, and the abundant shade make them less a -necessity than elsewhere. The city spreads very freely and openly over -the plain, and short drives take one into lovely Blue-Grass country. -A few miles out on Churchill Downs is the famous Jockey Club Park, a -perfect racing track and establishment, where worldwide reputations are -made at the semi-annual meetings. The limestone region, a beautifully -rolling country, almost rivals the Lexington plantations in the raising -of fine horses. Driving out to one of these farms one day, we passed, -not far from the river, the old Taylor mansion and the tomb of Zachary -Taylor. It is in the reserved family burying-ground, where lie also the -remains of Richard Taylor, of Revolutionary memory. The great tomb and -the graves are overrun thickly with myrtle, and the secluded irregular -ground is shaded by forest-trees. The soft wind of spring was blowing -sweetly over the fresh green fields, and there was about the place an -air of repose and dignity most refreshing to the spirit. Near the -tomb stands the fine commemorative shaft bearing on its summit a good -portrait statue of the hero of Buena Vista. I liked to linger there, the -country was so sweet; the great river flowing in sight lent a certain -grandeur to the resting-place, and I thought how dignified and fit it -was for a President to be buried at his home. - -The city of Louisville in 1888 has the unmistakable air of confidence -and buoyant prosperity. This feeling of confidence is strengthened -by the general awakening of Kentucky in increased immigration of -agriculturists, and in the development of extraordinary mines of coal -and iron, and in the railway extension. But locally the Board of -Trade (an active body of 700 members) has in its latest report most -encouraging figures to present. In almost every branch of business there -was an increase in 1887 over 1886; in both manufactures and trade -the volume of business increased from twenty to fifty per cent. For -instance, stoves and castings increased from 16,574,547 pounds to -19,386,808; manufactured tobacco, from 12,729,421 pounds to 17,059,006; -gas and water pipes, from 56,083,380 pounds to 63,745,216; grass and -clover seed, from 4,240,908 bushels to 6,601,451. A conclusive item -as to manufactures is that there were received in 1887 951,767 tons -of bituminous coal, against 204,221 tons in 1886. Louisville makes -the claim of being the largest tobacco market in the world in bulk and -variety. It leads largely the nine principal leaf-tobacco markets in -the West. The figures for 1887 are--receipts, 123,569 hogsheads; -sales, 135,192 hogsheads; stock in hand, 36,431 hogsheads, against the -corresponding figures of 62,074, 65,924, 13,972 of its great rival, -Cincinnati. These large figures are a great increase over 1886, when -the value of tobacco handled here was estimated at nearly $20,000,000. -Another great interest always associated with Louisville, whiskey, shows -a like increase, there being shipped in 1887 119,637 barrels, against -101,943 barrels in 1886. In the Louisville collection district there -were registered one hundred grain distilleries, with a capacity of -80,000 gallons a day. For the five years ending June 30, 1887, the -revenue taxes on this product amounted to nearly $30,000,000. I am not -attempting a conspectus of the business of Louisville, only selecting -some figures illustrating its growth. Its manufacture of agricultural -implements has attained great proportions. The reputation of Louisville -for tobacco and whiskey is widely advertised, but it is not generally -known that it has the largest plough factory in the world. This is one -of four which altogether employ about 2000 hands, and make a product -valued at $2,275,000. In 1880 Louisville made 80,000 ploughs; in 1886, -190,000. The capacity of manufacture in 1887 was increased by the -enlargement of the chief factory to a number not given, but there were -shipped that year 11,005,151 pounds of ploughs. There is a steadily -increasing manufacture of woollen goods, and the production of the mixed -fabric known as Kentucky jeans is another industry in which Louisville -leads the world, making annually 7,500,000 yards of cloth, and its four -mills increased their capacity twenty per cent, in 1887. The opening of -the hard-wood lumber districts in eastern Kentucky has made Louisville -one of the important lumber markets: about 125,000,000 feet of -lumber, logs, etc., were sold here in 1887. But it is unnecessary -to particularize. The Board of Trade think that the advantages of -Louisville as a manufacturing centre are sufficiently emphasized from -the fact that during the year 1887 seventy-three new manufacturing -establishments, mainly from the North and East, were set up, using -a capital of $1,290,500, and employing 1621 laborers. The city has -twenty-two banks, which had, July 1, 1887, $8,200,200 capital, and -$19,927,138 deposits. The clearings for 1887 were $281,110,402--an -increase of nearly $50,000,000 over 1886. - -Another item which helps to explain the buoyant feeling of Louisville is -that its population increased over 10,000 from 1886 to 1887, reaching, -according to the best estimate, 177,000 people. I should have said also -that no city in the Union is better served by street railways, which -are so multiplied and arranged as to "correspondences" that for one -fare nearly every inhabitant can ride within at least two blocks of his -residence. In these cars, as in the railway cars of the State, there -is the same absence of discrimination against color that prevails in -Louisiana and in Arkansas. And it is an observation hopeful, at least to -the writer, of the good time at hand when all party lines shall be drawn -upon the broadest national issues, that there seems to be in Kentucky no -social distinction between Democrats and Republicans. - - - - -XIII.--MEMPHIS AND LITTLE ROCK. - -|The State of Tennessee gets its diversity of climate and productions -from the irregularity of its surface, not from its range over degrees -of latitude, like Illinois; for it is a narrow State, with an average -breadth of only a hundred and ten miles, while it is about four hundred -miles in length, from the mountains in the east--the highest land east -of the Rocky Mountains--to the alluvial bottom of the Mississippi in the -west. In this range is every variety of mineral and agricultural wealth, -with some of the noblest scenery and the fairest farming-land in the -Union, and all the good varieties of a temperate climate. - -In the extreme south-west corner lies Memphis, differing as entirely -in character from Knoxville and Nashville as the bottom-lands of the -Mississippi differ from the valleys of the Great Smoky Mountains. It is -the natural centre of the finest cotton-producing district in the -world, the county of Shelby, of which it is legally known as the Taxing -District, yielding more cotton than any other county in the Union -except that of Washington in Mississippi. It is almost as much aloof -politically from east and middle Tennessee as it is geographically. A -homogeneous State might be constructed by taking west Tennessee, all of -Mississippi above Vicksburg and Jackson, and a slice off Arkansas, with -Memphis for its capital. But the redistricting would be a good thing -neither for the States named nor for Memphis, for the more variety -within convenient limits a State can have, the better, and Memphis -could not wish a better or more distinguished destiny than to become the -commercial metropolis of a State of such great possibilities and varied -industries as Tennessee. Her political influence might be more decisive -in the homogeneous State outlined, but it will be abundant for all -reasonable ambition in its inevitable commercial importance. And -besides, the western part of the State needs the moral tonic of the more -elevated regions. - -The city has a frontage of about four miles on the Mississippi River, -but is high above it on the Chickasaw Bluffs, with an uneven surface and -a rolling country back of it, the whole capable of perfect drainage. -Its site is the best on the river for a great city from St. Louis to the -Gulf; this advantage is emphasized by the concentration of railways -at this point, and the great bridge, which is now on the eve of -construction, to the Arkansas shore, no doubt fixes its destiny as -the inland metropolis of the South-west. Memphis was the child of the -Mississippi, and this powerful, wayward stream is still its fostering -mother, notwithstanding the decay of river commerce brought about by the -railways; for the river still asserts its power as a regulator of rates -of transportation. I do not mean to say that the freighting on it in -towed barges is not still enormous, but if it did not carry a pound -to the markets of the world it is still the friend of all the inner -continental regions, which says to the railroads, beyond a certain -rate of charges you shall not go. With this advantage of situation, the -natural receiver of the products of an inexhaustible agricultural region -(one has only to take a trip by rail through the Yazoo Valley to be -convinced of that), and an equally good point for distribution of -supplies, it is inevitable that Memphis should grow with an accelerating -impulse. - -The city has had a singular and instructive history, and that she -has survived so many vicissitudes and calamities, and entered upon -an extraordinary career of prosperity, is sufficient evidence of the -territorial necessity of a large city just at this point on the river. -The student of social science will find in its history a striking -illustration of the relation of sound sanitary and business conditions -to order and morality. Before the war, and for some time after it, -Memphis was a place for trade in one staple, where fortunes were quickly -made and lost, where no attention was paid to sanitary laws. The cloud -of impending pestilence always hung over it, the yellow-fever was always -a possibility, and a devastating epidemic of it must inevitably be -reckoned with every few years. It seems to be a law of social life that -an epidemic, or the probability of it, engenders a recklessness of life -and a low condition of morals and public order. Memphis existed, so to -speak, on the edge of a volcano, and it cannot be denied that it had a -reputation for violence and disorder. While little or nothing was done -to make the city clean and habitable, or to beautify it, law was weak -in its mobile, excitable population, and differences of opinion were -settled by the revolver. In spite of these disadvantages, the profits of -trade were so great there that its population of twenty thousand at the -close of the war had doubled by 1878. In that year the yellow-fever came -as an epidemic, and so increased in 1879 as nearly to depopulate the -city; its population was reduced from nearly forty thousand to about -fourteen thousand, two-thirds of which were negroes; its commerce was -absolutely cut off, its manufactures were suspended, it was bankrupt. -There is nothing more unfortunate for a State or a city than loss of -financial credit. Memphis struggled in vain with its enormous debt, -unable to pay it, unable to compromise it. - -Under these circumstances the city resorted to a novel expedient. -It surrendered its charter to the State, and ceased to exist as a -municipality. The leaders of this movement gave two reasons for it, the -wish not to repudiate the city debt, but to gain breathing-time, and -that municipal government in this country is a failure. The Legislature -erected the former Memphis into The Taxing District of Shelby County, -and provided a government for it. This government consists of a -Legislative Council of eight members, made up of the Board of Fire -and Police Commissioners, consisting of three, and the Board of Public -Works, consisting of five. These are all elected by popular vote to -serve a term of four years, but the elections are held every two years, -so that the council always contains members who have had experience. The -Board of Fire and Police Commissioners elects a President, who is the -executive officer of the Taxing District, and has the power and duties -of a mayor; he has a salary of $2000, inclusive of his fees as police -magistrate, and the other members of his board have salaries of $500. -The members of the Board of Public Works serve without compensation. No -man can be eligible to either board who has not been a resident of -the district for five years. In addition there is a Board of Health, -appointed by the council. This government has the ordinary powers of -a city government, defined carefully in the Act, but it cannot run the -city in debt, and it cannot appropriate the taxes collected except for -the specific purpose named by the State Legislature, which specific -appropriations are voted annually by the Legislature on the -recommendation of the council. Thus the government of the city is -committed to eight men, and the execution of its laws to one man, the -President of the Taxing District, who has extraordinary power. The final -success of this scheme will be watched with a great deal of interest -by other cities. On the surface it can be seen that it depends upon -securing a non-partisan council, and an honest, conscientious President -of the Taxing District--that is to say, upon the choice by popular -vote of the best eight men to rule the city. Up to this time, with only -slight hitches, it has worked exceedingly well, as will appear in a -consideration of the condition of the city. The slight hitch mentioned -was that the President was accused of using temporarily the sum -appropriated for one city purpose for another. - -The Supreme Court of the United States decided that Memphis had not -evaded its obligations by a change of name and form of government. The -result was a settlement with the creditors at fifty cents on the dollar; -and then the city gathered itself together for a courageous effort and a -new era of prosperity. The turning-point in its career was the adoption -of a system of drainage and sewerage which transformed it immediately -into a fairly healthful city. With its uneven surface and abundance of -water at hand, it was well adapted to the Waring system, which works -to the satisfaction of all concerned, and since its introduction -the inhabitants are relieved from apprehension of the return of a -yellow-fever epidemic. Population and business returned with this sense -of security, and there has been a change in the social atmosphere -as well. In 1880 it had a population of less than 34,000; it can now -truthfully claim between 75,000 and 80,000; and the business activity, -the building both of fine business blocks and handsome private -residences, are proportioned to the increase in inhabitants. In 1879-80 -the receipt of cotton was 409,809 bales, valued at $23,752,529; in -1886-87, 603,277 bales, valued at $30,099,510. The estimate of the Board -of Trade for 1888, judging from the first months of the year, is 700,000 -bales. I notice in the comparative statement of leading articles of -commerce and consumption an exceedingly large increase in 1887 over -1886. The banking capital in 1887 was $3,300,000--an increase of -$1,560,000 over 1886. The clearings were $101,177,377 in 1877, against -$82,642,192 in 1880. - -The traveller, however, does not need figures to convince him of the -business activity of the town; the piles of cotton beyond the capacity -of storage, the street traffic, the extension of streets and residences -far beyond the city limits, all speak of growth. There is in process of -construction a union station to accommodate the six railways now meeting -there and others projected. On the west of the river it has lines to -Kansas City and Little Rock and to St. Louis; on the east, to Louisville -and to the Atlantic seaboard direct, and two to New Orleans. With the -building of the bridge, which is expected to be constructed in a -couple of years, Memphis will be admirably supplied with transportation -facilities. - -As to its external appearance, it must be said that the city has grown -so fast that city improvements do not keep pace with its assessable -value. The inability of the city to go into debt is a wholesome -provision, but under this limitation the city offices are shabby, -the city police quarters and court would disgrace an indigent country -village, and most of the streets are in bad condition for want of -pavement. There are fine streets, many attractive new residences, and -some fine old places, with great trees, and the gravelled pikes running -into the country are in fine condition, and are favorite drives. There -is a beautiful country round about, with some hills and pleasant -woods. Looked at from an elevation, the town is seen to cover a -large territory, and presents in the early green of spring a charming -appearance. Some five miles out is the Montgomery race-track, park, and -club-house--a handsome establishment, prettily laid out and planted, -already attractive, and sure to be notable when the trees are grown. - -The city has a public-school system, a Board of Education elected by -popular vote, and divides its fund fairly between schools for white -and colored children. But it needs good school-houses as much as it -needs good pavements. In 1887 the tax of one and a half mills produced -$54,000 for carrying on the schools, and $19,000 for the building fund. -It was not enough--at least $75,000 were needed. The schools were in -debt. There is a plan adopted for a fine High-school building, but the -city needs altogether more money and more energy for the public -schools. According to some reports the public schools have suffered -from politics, and are not as good as they were years ago, but they -are undoubtedly gaining in public favor, notwithstanding some remaining -Bourbon prejudice against them. The citizens are making money fast -enough to begin to be liberal in matters educational, which are only -second to sanitary measures in the well-being of the city. The new free -Public Library, which will be built and opened in a couple of years, -will do much for the city in this direction. It is the noble gift of the -late F. H. Cossitt, of New York, formerly a citizen of Memphis, who left -$75,000 for that purpose. - -Perhaps the public schools of Memphis would be better (though not so -without liberal endowment) if the city had not two exceptionally good -private schools for young ladies. These are the Clara Conway Institute -and the Higby School for Young Ladies, taking their names from their -principals and founders. Each of these schools has about 350 pupils, -from the age of six to the mature age of graduation, boys being admitted -until they are twelve years old. Each has pleasant grounds and fine -buildings, large, airy, well planned, with ample room for all the -departments--literature, science, art, music--of the most advanced -education. One finds in them the best methods of the best schools, and a -most admirable spirit. It is not too much to say that these schools -give distinction to Memphis, and that the discipline and intellectual -training the young ladies receive there will have a marked effect upon -the social life of the city. If one who spent some delightful hours in -the company of these graceful and enthusiastic scholars, and who would -like heartily to acknowledge their cordiality, and his appreciation of -their admirable progress in general study, might make a suggestion, it -would be that what the frank, impulsive Southern girl, with her inborn -talent for being agreeable and her vivid apprehension of life, needs -least of all is the cultivation of the emotional, the rhetorical, the -sentimental side. However cleverly they are done, the recitation of -poems of sentiment, of passion, of lovemaking and marriage, above all, -of those doubtful dialect verses in which a touch of pseudo-feeling -is supposed to excuse the slang of the street and the vulgarity of the -farm, is not an exercise elevating to the taste. I happen to speak of -it here, but I confess that it is only a text from which a little sermon -might be preached about "recitations" and declamations generally, in -these days of overdone dialect and innuendoes about the hypocrisy of -old-fashioned morality. - -The city has a prosperous college of the Christian Brothers, another -excellent school for girls in the St. Agnes Academy, and a colored -industrial school, the Lemoyne, where the girls are taught cooking and -the art of house-keeping, and the boys learn carpentering. This does not -belong to the public-school system. - -Whatever may be the opinion about the propriety of attaching industrial -training to public schools generally, there is no doubt that this sort -of training is indispensable to the colored people of the South, whose -children do not at present receive the needed domestic training at -borne, and whose education must contribute to their ability to earn -a living. Those educated in the schools, high and low, cannot all be -teachers or preachers, and they are not in the way of either social -elevation or thrifty lives if they have neither a trade nor the taste to -make neat and agreeable homes. The colored race cannot have it too often -impressed upon them that their way to all the rights and privileges -under a free government lies in industry, thrift, and morality. Whatever -reason they have to complain of remaining discrimination and prejudice, -there is only one way to overcome both, and that is by the acquisition -of property and intelligence. In the history of the world a people -were never elevated otherwise. No amount of legislation can do it. -In Memphis--in Southern cities generally--the public schools are -impartially administered as to the use of money for both races. In the -country districts they are as generally inadequate, both in quality -and in the length of the school year. In the country, where farming -and domestic service must be the occupations of the mass of the people, -industrial schools are certainly not called for; but in the cities they -are a necessity of the present development. - -Ever since Memphis took itself in hand with a new kind of municipal -government, and made itself a healthful city, good-fortune of one kind -and another seems to have attended it. Abundant water it could get from -the river for sewerage purposes, but for other uses either extensive -filters were needed or cisterns were resorted to. The city was supplied -with water, which the stranger would hesitate to drink or bathe in, from -Wolf River, a small stream emptying into the Mississippi above the city. -But within the year a most important discovery has been made for -the health and prosperity of the town. This was the striking, in the -depression of the Gayoso Bayou, at a depth of 450 feet, perfectly -pure water, at a temperature of about 62°, in abundance, with a head -sufficient to bring it in fountains some feet about the level of the -ground. Ten wells had been sunk, and the water flowing was estimated at -ten millions of gallons daily, or half enough to supply the city. It -was expected that with more wells the supply would be sufficient for -all purposes, and then Memphis will have drinking water not excelled in -purity by that of any city in the land. It is not to be wondered at that -this incalculable good-fortune should add buoyancy to the business, and -even to the advance in the price, of real estate. The city has widely -outgrown its corporate limits, there is activity in building and -improvements in all the pleasant suburbs, and with the new pavements -which are in progress, the city will be as attractive as it is -prosperous. - -Climate is much a matter of taste. The whole area of the alluvial land -of the Mississippi has the three requisites for malaria--heat, moisture, -and vegetable decomposition. The tendency to this is overcome, in a -measure, as the land is thoroughly drained and cultivated. Memphis has -a mild winter, long summer, and a considerable portion of the year -when the temperature is just about right for enjoyment. In the table -of temperature for 1887 I find that the mean was 61.9°, the mean of the -highest by months was 84.9°, and the mean lowest was 37.4°. The coldest -month was January, when the range of the thermometer was from 72.2° to -4.3°, and the hottest was July, when the range was from 99° to 67.30. -There is a preponderance of fair, sunny weather. The record for 1887 -was: 157 days of clear, 132 fair, 65 cloudy, 91 days of frost. From this -it appears that Memphis has a pretty agreeable climate for those who do -not insist upon a good deal of "bracing," and it has a most genial and -hospitable society. - -Early on the morning of the 12th of April we crossed the river to the -lower landing of the Memphis and Little Rock Railway, the upper landing -being inaccessible on account of the high water. It was a delicious -spring morning, the foliage, half unfolded, was in its first flush of -green, and as we steamed down the stream the town, on bluffs forty feet -high, was seen to have a noble situation. All the opposite country for -forty miles from the river was afloat, and presented the appearance of -a vast swamp, not altogether unpleasing in its fresh dress of green. For -forty miles, to Madison, the road ran upon an embankment just above the -flood; at intervals were poor shanties and little cultivated patches, -but shanties, corn patches, and trees all stood in the water. The -inhabitants, the majority colored, seemed of the sort to be content with -half-amphibious lives. Before we reached Madison and crossed St. Francis -River we ran through a streak of gravel. Forest City, at the crossing of -the Iron Mountain Railway, turned out to be not exactly a city, in the -Eastern meaning of the word, but a considerable collection of -houses, with a large hotel. It seemed, so far in the wilderness, an -irresponsible sort of place, and the crowd at the station were in -a festive, hilarious mood. This was heightened by the playing of a -travelling band which we carried with us in the second-class car, and -which good-naturedly unlimbered at the stations. It consisted of a -colored bass-viol, violin, and guitar, and a white cornet. On the way -the negro population were in the majority, all the residences were -shabby shanties, and the moving public on the trains and about the -stations had not profited by the example of the commercial travellers, -who are the only smartly dressed people one sees in these regions. -A young girl who got into the car here told me that she came from -Marianna, a town to the south, on the Languille River, and she seemed -to regard it as a central place. At Brinkley we crossed the St. Louis, -Arkansas, and Texas road, ran through more swamps to the Cache River, -after which there was prairie and bottom-land, and at De Valle's Bluff -we came to the White River. There is no doubt that this country is -well watered. After White River fine reaches of prairie-land were -encountered--in fact, a good deal of prairie and oak timber. Much of -this prairie had once been cultivated to cotton, but was now turned to -grazing, and dotted with cattle. A place named Prairie Centre had been -abandoned; indeed, we passed a good many abandoned houses before we -reached Carlisle and the Galloway. Lonoke is one of the villages of -rather mean appearance, but important enough to be talked about and -visited by the five aspirants for the gubernatorial nomination, who were -travelling about together, each one trying to convince the people that -the other four were unworthy the office. This is lowland Arkansas, -supporting a few rude villages, inhabited by negroes and unambitious -whites, and not a fairly representative portion of a great State. - -At Argenta, a sort of railway and factory suburb of the city, we crossed -the muddy, strong-flowing Arkansas River on a fine bridge, elevated so -as to strike high up on the bluff on which Little Rock is built. The -rock of the bluff, which the railway pierces, is a very shaly slate. The -town lying along the bluff has a very picturesque appearance, in spite -of its newness and the poor color of its brick. The situation is a noble -one, commanding a fine prospect of river and plain, and mountains to the -west rising from the bluff on a series of gentle hills, with conspicuous -heights farther out for public institutions and country houses. The -eity, which has nearly thirty thousand inhabitants, can boast a number -of handsome business streets with good shops and an air of prosperous -trade, with well-shaded residence streets of comfortable houses; but -all the thoroughfares are bad for want of paving, Little Rock being -forbidden by the organic law ( as Memphis is ) to run in debt for city -improvements. A city which has doubled its population within eight -years, and been restrained from using its credit, must expect to suffer -from bad streets, but its caution about debt is reassuring to intending -settlers. The needed street improvements, it is understood, however, -will soon be under way, and the citizens have the satisfaction of -knowing that when they are made, Little Rock will be a beautiful city. - -Below the second of the iron bridges which span the river is a bowlder -which gave the name of Little Rock to the town. The general impression -is that it is the first rock on the river above its confluence with -the Mississippi; this is not literally true, but this rock is the first -conspicuous one, and has become historic. On the opposite side of the -river, a mile above, is a bluff several hundred feet high, called Big -Rock. On the summit is a beautiful park, a vineyard, a summer hotel, and -pleasure-grounds--a delightful resort in the hot weather. From the top -one gains a fair idea of Arkansas--the rich delta of the river, -the mighty stream itself, the fertile rolling land and forests, the -mountains on the border of the Indian Territory, the fair city, the -sightly prominences about it dotted with buildings--altogether a -magnificent and most charming view. - -There is a United States arsenal at Little Rock; the Government -Post-office is a handsome building, and among the twenty-seven churches -there are some of pleasing architecture. The State-house, which -stands upon the bluff overlooking the river, is a relic of old times, -suggesting the easy-going plantation style. It is an indescribable -building, or group of buildings, with classic pillars of course, and -rambling galleries that lead to old-fashioned, domestic-looking State -offices. It is shabby in appearance, but has a certain interior air of -comfort. The room of the Assembly--plain, with windows on three sides, -open to the sun and air, and not so large that conversational speaking -cannot be heard in it--is not at all the modern notion of a legislative -chamber, which ought to be lofty, magnificently decorated, lighted from -above, and shut in as much as possible from the air and the outside -world. Arkansas, which is rapidly growing in population and wealth, will -no doubt very soon want a new State-house. Heaven send it an architect -who will think first of the comfortable, cheerful rooms, and second -of imposing outside display! He might spend a couple of millions on -a building which would astonish the natives, and not give them as -agreeable a working room for the Legislature as this old chamber. The -fashion is to put up an edifice whose dimensions shall somehow represent -the dignity of the State, a vast structure of hall-ways and staircases, -with half-lighted and ill-ventilated rooms. It seems to me that the -American genius ought to be able to devise a capitol of a different -sort, certainly one better adapted to the Southern climate. A group of -connected buildings for the various departments might be better than -one solid parallelogram, and I have a fancy that legislators would be -clearer-headed, and would profit more by discussion, if they sat in a -cheerful chamber, not too large to be easily heard in, and open as much -as possible to the sun and air and the sight of tranquil nature. The -present Capitol has an air of lazy neglect, and the law library which -is stored in it could not well be in a worse condition; but there is -something rather pleasing about the old, easy-going establishment that -one would pretty certainly miss in a smart new building. Arkansas has an -opportunity to distinguish itself by a new departure in State-houses. - -In the city are several of the State institutions, most of them -occupying ample grounds with fine sites in the suburbs. Conspicuous -on high ground in the city is the Blind Asylum, a very commodious, -and well-conducted institution, with about 80 inmates. The School -for Deaf-mutes, with 125 pupils, is under very able management. But I -confess that the State Lunatic Asylum gave me a genuine surprise, and if -the civilization of Arkansas were to be judged by it, it would take high -rank among the States. It is a very fine building, well constructed and -admirably planned, on a site commanding a noble view, with eighty -acres of forest and garden. More land is needed to carry out the -superintendent's idea of labor, and to furnish supplies for the -patients, of whom there are 450, the men and women, colored and white, -in separate wings. The builders seem to have taken advantage of all the -Eastern experience and shunned the Eastern mistakes, and the result -is an establishment with all the modern improvements and conveniences, -conducted in the most enlightened spirit. I do not know a better large -State asylum in the United States. Of the State penitentiary nothing -good can be said. Arkansas is still struggling with the wretched lease -system, the frightful abuses of which she is beginning to appreciate. -The penitentiary is a sort of depot for convicts, who are distributed -about the State by the contractors. At the time of my visit a -considerable number were there, more or less crippled and sick, who had -been rescued from barbarous treatment in one of the mines. A gang were -breaking stones in the yard, a few were making cigars, and the dozen -women in the women's ward were doing laundry-work. But nothing appeared -to be done to improve the condition of the inmates. In Southern prisons -I notice comparatively few of the "professional" class which so largely -make the population of Northern penitentiaries, and I always fancy that -in the rather easy-going management, wanting the cast-iron discipline, -the lot of the prisoners is not so hard. Thus far among the colored -people not much odium attaches to one of their race who has been in -prison. - -The public-school system of the State is slowly improving, hampered -by want of Constitutional power to raise money for the schools. By the -Constitution, State taxes are limited to one per cent.; county taxes to -one-half of one per cent., with an addition of one-half of one per cent, -to pay debts existing when the Constitution was adopted in 1874; -city taxes the same as county; in addition, for the support of common -schools, the Assembly may lay a tax not to exceed two mills on the -dollar on the taxable property of the State, and an annual _per capita_ -tax of one dollar on every male inhabitant over the age of twenty-one -years; and it may also authorize each school district to raise for -itself, by vote of its electors, a tax for school purposes not to exceed -five mills on the dollar. The towns generally vote this additional tax, -but in most of the country districts schools are not maintained for -more than three months in the year. The population of the State is about -1,000,000, in an area of 53,045 square miles. The scholastic population -enrolled has increased steadily for several years, and in 1886 was -164,757, of which 122,296 were white and 42,461 were colored. The total -population of school age (including the enrolled) was 358,006, of which -266,188 were white and 91,818 colored. The school fund available for -that year was $1,327,710. The increased revenue and enrolment are -encouraging, but it is admitted that the schools of the State (sparsely -settled as it is) cannot be what they should be without more money to -build decent school-houses, employ competent teachers, and have longer -sessions. - -Little Rock has fourteen school-houses, only one or two of which are -commendable-The High-school, with 50 pupils and 2 teachers, is held in -a district building. The colored people have their fair proportion of -schools, with teachers of their own race. Little Rock is abundantly able -to tax itself for better schools, as it is for better pavements. In all -the schools most attention seems to be paid to mathematics, and it is -noticeable how proficient colored children under twelve are in figures. - -The most important school in the State, which I did not see, is the -Industrial University at Fayetteville, which received the Congressional -land grant and is a State beneficiary; its property, including -endowments and the University farm, is reckoned at $300,000. The general -intention is to give a practical industrial education. The collegiate -department, a course of three years, has 77 pupils; in the preparatory -department are about 200; but the catalogue, including special students -in art and music, the medical department at Little Rock of 60, and the -Normal School at Pine Bluff of 215, foots up about 600 students. The -University is situated in a part of the State most attractive in its -scenery and most healthful, and offers a chance for every sort of mental -and manual training. - -The most widely famous place in the State is the Hot Springs. I should -like to have seen it when it was in a state of nature; I should like to -see it when it gets the civilization of a European bath-place. It -has been a popular and even crowded resort for several years, and the -medical treatment which can be given there in connection with the use -of the waters is so nearly a specific for certain serious diseases, and -going there is so much a necessity for many invalids, that access to -it ought by this time to be easy. But it is not. It is fifty-five miles -south-west of Little Rock, but to reach it the traveller must leave -the Iron Mountain road at Malvern for a ride over a branch line of some -twenty miles. Unfortunately this is a narrow-gauge road, and however -ill a person may be, a change of cars must be made at Malvern. This is -a serious annoyance, and it is a wonder that the main railways and the -hotel and bath keepers have not united to rid themselves of the monopoly -of the narrow-gauge road. - -The valley of the Springs is over seven hundred feet above the sea; -the country is rough and broken; the hills, clad with small pines and -hard-wood, which rise on either side of the valley to the height' of two -or three hundred feet, make an agreeable impression of greenness; -and the place is capable, by reason of its irregularity, of becoming -beautiful as well as picturesque. It is still in the cheap cottage and -raw brick stage. The situation suggests Carlsbad, which is also jammed -into a narrow valley. The Hot Springs Mountain--that is, the mountain -from the side of which all the hot springs (about seventy) flow--is a -Government reservation. Nothing is permitted to be built on it except -the Government hospital for soldiers and sailors, the public bath-houses -along the foot, and one hotel, which holds over on the reserved land. -The Government has enclosed and piped the springs, built a couple of -cement reservoirs, and lets the bath privileges to private parties at -thirty dollars a tub, the number of tubs being limited. The rent money -the Government is supposed to devote to the improvement of the mountain. -This has now a private lookout tower on the summit, from which a most -extensive view is had over the well-wooded State, and it can be made -a lovely park. There is a good deal of criticism about favoritism in -letting the bath privileges, and the words "ring" and "syndicate" -are constantly heard. Before improvements were made, the hot water -discharged into a creek at the base of the hill. This creek is now -arched over and become a street, with the bath-houses on one side and -shops and shanties on the other. Difficulty about obtaining a good title -to land has until recently stood in the way of permanent improvements. -All claims have now been adjudicated upon, the Government is prepared to -give a perfect title to all its own land, except the mountain, forever -reserved, and purchasers can be sure of peaceful occupation. - -Opposite the Hot Springs Mountain rises the long sharp ridge of West -Mountain, from which the Government does not permit the foliage to be -stripped. The city runs around and back of this mountain, follows the -winding valley to the north, climbs up all the irregular ridges in the -neighborhood, and spreads itself over the valley on the south, near the -Ouachita River. It is estimated that there are 10,000 residents in this -rapidly growing town. Houses stick on the sides of the hills, perch on -terraces, nestle in the ravines. Nothing is regular, nothing is as might -have been expected, but it is all interesting, and promising of -something pleasing and picturesque in the future. All the springs, -except one, on Hot Springs Mountain are hot, with a temperature ranging -from 93° to 157° Fahrenheit; there are plenty of springs in and among -the other hills, but they are all cold. It is estimated that the present -quantity of hot water, much of which runs to waste, would supply about -19,000 persons daily with 25 gallons each. The water is perfectly clear, -has no odor, and is very agreeable for bathing. That remarkable cures -are performed here the evidence does not permit one to doubt, nor can -one question the wonderfully rejuvenating effect upon the system of a -course of its waters. - -It is necessary to suggest, however, that the value of the springs -to invalids and to all visitors would be greatly enhanced by such -regulations as those that govern Carlsbad and Marienbad in Bohemia. The -success of those great "cures" depends largely upon the regimen enforced -there, the impossibility of indulging in an improper diet, and the -prevailing regularity of habits as to diet, sleep, and exercise. There -is need at Hot Springs for more hotel accommodation of the sort that -will make comfortable invalids accustomed to luxury at home, and at -least one new and very large hotel is promised soon to supply this -demand; but what Hot Springs needs is the comforts of life, and not -means of indulgence at table or otherwise. Perhaps it is impossible -for the American public, even the sick part of it, to submit itself to -discipline, but we never will have the full benefit of our many curative -springs until it consents to do so. Patients, no doubt, try to follow -the varying regimen imposed by different doctors, but it is difficult -to do so amid all the temptations of a go-as-you-please bath-place. -A general regimen of diet applicable to all visitors is the only safe -rule. Under such enlightened rules as prevail at Marienbad, and with the -opportunity for mild entertainment in pretty shops, agreeable walks -and drives, with music and the hundred devices to make the time pass -pleasantly, Hot Springs would become one of the most important sanitary -resorts in the world. It is now in a very crude state; but it has the -water, the climate, the hills and woods; good saddle-horses are to be -had, and it is an interesting country to ride over; those who frequent -the place are attached to it; and time and taste and money will, no -doubt, transform it into a place of beauty. - -Arkansas surprised the world by the exhibition it made of itself at -New Orleans, not only for its natural resources, but for the range and -variety of its productions. That it is second to no other State in -its adaptability to cotton-raising was known; that it had magnificent -forests and large coal-fields and valuable minerals in its mountains was -known; but that it raised fruit superior to any other in the South-west, -and quite equal to any in the North, was a revelation. The mountainous -part of the State, where some of the hills rise to the altitude of 2500 -feet, gives as good apples, pears, and peaches as are raised in any -portion of the Union; indeed, this fruit has taken the first prize in -exhibitions from Massachusetts to Texas. It is as remarkable for flavor -and firmness as it is for size and beauty. This region is also a good -vineyard country. The State boasts more miles of navigable waters than -any other, it has variety of soil and of surface to fit it for every -crop in the temperate latitudes, and it has a very good climate. -The range of northern mountains protects it from "northers," and its -elevated portions have cold enough for a tonie. Of course the low -and swampy lands are subject to malaria. The State has just begun to -appreciate itself, and has organized efforts to promote immigration. -It has employed a competent State geologist, who is doing excellent -service. The United States has still a large quantity of valuable land -in the State open to settlement under the homestead and preemption -laws. The State itself has over 2,000,000 acres of land, forfeited and -granted to it in various ways; of this, the land forfeited for taxes -will be given to actual settlers in tracts of 160 acres to each person, -and the rest can be purchased at a low price. I cannot go into all the -details, but the reader may be assured that the immigration committee -make an exceedingly good showing for settlers who wish to engage in -farming, fruit-raising, mining, or lumbering. The Constitution of the -State is very democratic, the statute laws are stringent in morality, -the limitations upon town and city indebtedness are severe, the rate of -taxation is very low, and the State debt is small. The State, in short, -is in a good condition for a vigorous development of its resources. - -There is a popular notion that Arkansas is a "bowie-knife" State, a -lawless and an ignorant State. I shared this before I went there. I -cannot disprove the ignorance of the country districts. As I said, more -money is needed to make the public-school system effective. But in -its general aspect the State is as orderly and moral as any. The laws -against carrying concealed weapons are strict, and are enforced.. It is -a fairly temperate State. Under the high license and local option laws, -prohibition prevails in two-thirds of the State, and the popular vote -is strictly enforced. In forty-eight of the seventy-five counties no -license is granted, in other counties only a single town votes license, -and in many of the remaining counties many towns refuse it. In five -counties only is liquor perfectly free. A special law prohibits -liquor-selling within five miles of a college; within three miles of a -church or school, a majority of the adult inhabitants can prohibit it. -With regard to liquor-selling, woman suffrage practically exists. The -law says that on petition of a majority of the adult population in any -district the county judge must refuse license. The women, therefore, -without going into politics, sign the petitions and create prohibition. - -The street-cars and railways make no discrimination as to color of -passengers. Everywhere I went I noticed that the intercourse between the -two races was friendly. There is much good land on the railway between -Little Rock and Arkansas City, heavily timbered, especially with the -clean-boled, stately gum-trees. At Pine Bluff, which has a population -of 5000, there is a good colored Normal School, and the town has many -prosperous negroes, who support a racetrack of their own, and keep up a -county fair. I was told that the most enterprising man in the place, the -largest street-railway owner, is black as a coal. Farther down the road -the country is not so good, the houses are mostly poor shanties, and -the population, largely colored, appears to be of a shiftless -character. Arkansas City itself, low-lying on the Mississippi, has a bad -reputation. - -Little Rock, already a railway centre of importance, is prosperous and -rapidly improving. It has the settled, temperate, orderly society of -an Eastern town, but democratic in its habits, and with a cordial -hospitality which is more provincial than fashionable. I heard there a -good chamber concert of stringed instruments, one of a series which had -been kept up by subscription all winter, and would continue the coming -winter. The performers were young Bohemians. The gentleman at whose -pleasant, old-fashioned house I was entertained, a leading lawyer and -jurist in the South-west, was a good linguist, had travelled in most -parts of the civilized globe, had on his table the current literature of -France, England, Germany, and America, a daily Paris newspaper, one -New York journal (to give its name might impugn his good taste in -the judgment of every other New York journal), and a very large and -well-selected library, two-thirds of which was French, and nearly half -of the remainder German. This was one of the many things I found in -Arkansas which I did not expect to find. - - - - -XIV.--ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY. - -|St. Louis is eighty years old. It was incorporated as a town in 1808, -thirteen years before the admission of Missouri into the Union as a -State. In 1764 a company of thirty Frenchmen made a settlement on its -site and gave it its distinguished name. For nearly half a century, -under French and Spanish jurisdiction alternately, it was little more -than a trading post, and at the beginning of this century it contained -only about a thousand inhabitants. This period, however, gave it a -romantic historic background, and as late as 1853, when its population -was a hundred thousand, it preserved French characteristics and a French -appearance--small brick houses and narrow streets crowded down by the -river. To the stranger it was the Planters' Hotel and a shoal of big -steamboats moored along an extensive levee roaring with river traffic. -Crowded, ill-paved, dirty streets, a few country houses on elevated -sites, a population forced into a certain activity by trade, but -hindered in municipal improvement by French conservatism, and touched -with the rust of slavery--that was the St. Louis of thirty-five years -ago. - -Now everything is changed as by some magic touch. The growth of the -city has always been solid, unspeculative, conservative in its business -methods, with some persistence of the old French influence, only -gradually parting from its ancient traditions, preserving always -something of the aristocratic flavor of "old families," accounted "slow" -in the impatience of youth. But it has burst its old bounds, and grown -with a rapidity that would be marvellous in any other country. The levee -is comparatively deserted, although the trade on the lower river is -actually very large. The traveller who enters the city from the east -passes over the St. Louis Bridge, a magnificent structure and one of the -engineering wonders of the modern world, plunges into a tunnel under the -business portion of the old city, and emerges into a valley covered with -a net-work of railway-tracks, and occupied by apparently interminable -lines of passenger coaches and freight cars, out of the confusion of -which he makes his way with difficulty to a carriage, impressed at once -by the enormous railway traffic of the city. This is the site of -the proposed Union Depot, which waits upon the halting action of the -Missouri Pacific system. The eastern outlet for all this growing traffic -is over the two tracks of the bridge; these are entirely inadequate, and -during a portion of the year there is a serious blockade of freight. -A second bridge over the Mississippi is already a necessity to the -commerce of the city, and is certain to be built within a few years. - -St. Louis, since the war, has spread westward over the gentle ridges -which parallel the river, and become a city vast in territory and most -attractive in appearance. While the business portion has expanded into -noble avenues with stately business and public edifices, the residence -parts have a beauty, in handsome streets and varied architecture, that -is a continual surprise to one who has not seen the city for twenty -years. I had set down the length of the city along the river-front -as thirteen miles, with a depth of about six miles; but the official -statistics are: length of river-front, 19.15 miles; length of western -limits, 21.27; extent north and south in an air line, 17; and length -east and west on an air line, 6.62. This gives an area of 61.37 square -miles, or 39,276 acres. This includes the public parks (containing 2095 -acres), and is sufficient room for the population of 450,000, which -the city doubtless has in 1888. By the United States census of 1870 the -population was reported much larger than it was, the figures having no -doubt been manipulated for political purposes. Estimating the natural -increase from this false report, the city was led to claim a population -far beyond the actual number, and unjustly suffered a little ridicule -for a mistake for which it was not responsible. The United States census -of 1880 gave it 350,522. During the eight years from 1880 there were -erected 18,574 new dwelling-houses, at a cost of over fifty millions of -dollars. - -The great territorial extension of the city in 1876 was for a time a -disadvantage, for it threw upon the city the care of enormous street -extensions, made a sporadic movement of population beyond Grand avenue, -which left hiatuses in improvement, and created a sort of furor of -fashion for getting away from what to me is still the most attractive -residence portion of the town, namely, the elevated ridges west of -Fourteenth Street, crossed by Lucas Place and adjoining avenues. In this -quarter, and east of Grand avenue, are fine high streets, with detached -houses and grounds, many of them both elegant and comfortable, and -this is the region of the Washington University, some of the finest -club-houses, and handsomest churches. The movements of eity populations, -however, are not to be accounted for. One of the finest parts of the -town, and one of the oldest of the better residence parts, that south of -the railways, containing broad, well-planted avenues, and very stately -old homes, and the exquisite Lafayette Park, is almost wholly occupied -now by Germans, who make up so large a proportion of the population. - -One would have predicted at an early day that the sightly bluffs below -the eity would be the resort of fashion, and be occupied with fine -country houses. But the movement has been almost altogether westward and -away from the river. And this rolling, wooded region is most inviting, -elevated, open, cheerful. No other eity in the West has fairer suburbs -for expansion and adornment, and its noble avenues, dotted with -conspicuously fine residences, give promise of great beauty and -elegance. In its late architectural development, St. Louis, like -Chicago, is just in time to escape a very mediocre and merely imitative -period in American building. Beyond Grand avenue the stranger will be -shown Vandeventer Place, a semiprivate oblong park, surrounded by many -pretty and some notably fine residences. Two of them are by Richardson, -and the city has other specimens of his work. I cannot refrain from -again speaking of the effect that this original genius has had upon -American architecture, especially in the West, when money and enterprise -afforded him free scope. It is not too much to say that he created a new -era, and the influence of his ideas is seen everywhere in the work of -architects who have caught his spirit. - -The city has addressed itself to the occupation and adornment of its -great territory and the improvement of its most travelled thoroughfares -with admirable public spirit. The rolling nature of the ground has been -taken advantage of to give it a nearly perfect system of drainage and -sewerage. The old pavements of soft limestone, which were dust in dry -weather and liquid mud in wet weather, are being replaced by granite in -the business parts and asphalt and wood blocks (laid on a concrete base) -in the residence portions. Up to the beginning of 1888 this new pavement -had cost nearly three and a half million dollars, and over thirty-three -miles of it were granite blocks. Street railways have also been pushed -all over the territory. The total of street lines is already over one -hundred and fifty-four miles, and over thirty miles of these give rapid -transit by cable. These facilities make the whole of the wide territory -available for business and residence, and give the poorest inhabitants -the means of reaching the parks. - -The park system is on the most liberal scale, both public and private; -the parks are already famous for extent and beauty, but when the -projected connecting boulevards are made they will attain world-wide -notoriety. The most extensive of the private parks is that of the -combined Agricultural Fair Grounds and Zoological Gardens. Here is held -annually the St. Louis Fair, which is said to be the largest in the -United States. The enclosure is finely laid out and planted, and -contains an extensive park, exhibition buildings, cottages, a -race-track, an amphitheatre, which suggests in size and construction -some of the largest Spanish bull-rings, and picturesque houses for -wild animals. The zoological exhibition is a very good one. There are -eighteen public parks. One of the smaller (thirty acres) of these, and -one of the oldest, is Lafayette Park, on the south side. Its beauty -surprised me more than almost anything I saw in the city. It is a gem; -just that artificial control of nature which most pleases--forest-trees, -a pretty lake, fountains, flowers, walks planned to give everywhere -exquisite vistas. It contains a statue of Thomas II. Benton, which may -be a likeness, but utterly fails to give the character of the man. The -largest is Forest Park, on the west side, a tract of 1372 acres, mostly -forest, improved by excellent drives, and left as much as possible in -a natural condition. It has ten miles of good driving-roads. This park -cost the city about $850,000, and nearly as much more has been expended -on it since its purchase. The surface has great variety of slopes, -glens, elevations, lakes, and meadows. During the summer music is -furnished in a handsome pagoda, and the place is much resorted to. -Fronting the boulevard are statues of Governor Edward Bates and Frank P. -Blair, the latter very characteristic. - -Next in importance is Tower Grove Park, an oblong of 276 acres. This and -Shaw's Garden, adjoining, have been given to the city by Mr. Henry Shaw, -an Englishman who made his fortune in the city, and they remain under -his control as to care and adornment during his life. Those who have -never seen foreign parks and pleasure-gardens can obtain a very good -idea of their formal elegance and impressiveness by visiting Tower Grove -Park and the Botanical Gardens. They will see the perfection of lawns, -avenues ornamented by statuary, flower-beds, and tasteful walks. The -entrances, with stone towers and lodges, suggest similar effects in -France and in England. About the music-stand are white marble busts of -six chief musical composers. The drives are adorned with three statues -in bronze, thirty feet high, designed and cast in Munich by Frederick -Millier. They are figures of Shakespeare, Humboldt, and Columbus, and so -nobly conceived and executed that the patriotic American must wish they -had been done in this country. Of Shaw's Botanical Garden I need to say -little, for its fame as a comprehensive and classified collection -of trees, plants, and flowers is world-wide. It has no equal in this -country. As a place for botanical study no one appreciated it -more highly than the late Professor Asa Gray. Sometimes a peculiar -classification is followed; one locality' is devoted to economic -plants--camphor, quinine, cotton, tea, coffee, etc.; another to "Plants -of the Bible." The space of fifty-four acres, enclosed by high stone -walls, contains, besides the open garden and _allées_ and glass houses, -the summer residence and the tomb of Mr. Shaw. This old gentleman, still -vigorous in his eighty-eighth year, is planning new adornments in the -way of statuary and busts of statesmen, poets, and scientists. His plans -are all liberal and cosmopolitan. For over thirty years his botanical -knowledge, his taste, and abundant wealth and leisure have been devoted -to the creation of this wonderful garden and park, which all bear the -stamp of his strong individuality, and of a certain pleasing foreign -formality. What a source of unfailing delight it must have been to him! -As we sat talking with him I thought how other millionaires, if they -knew how, might envy a matured life, after the struggle for a competency -is over, devoted to this most rational enjoyment, in an occupation as -elevating to the taste as to the character, and having in mind always -the public good. Over the entrance gate is the inscription, "Missouri -Botanical Gardens." When the city has full control of the garden the -word "Missouri" should be replaced by "Shaw." - -The money expended for public parks gives some idea of the liberal and -far-sighted provision for the health and pleasure of a great city. The -parks originally cost the city 81,309,944, and three millions more have -been spent upon their improvement and maintenance. This indicates an -enlightened spirit, which we shall see characterizes the city in other -things, and is evidence of a high degree of culture. - -Of the commerce and manufactures of the town I can give no adequate -statement without going into details, which my space forbids. The -importance of the Mississippi River is much emphasized, not only as an -actual highway of traffic, but as a regulator of railway rates. The town -has by the official reports been discriminated against, and even the -Inter-State Act has not afforded all the relief expected. In 1887 -the city shipped to foreign markets by way of the Mississippi and the -jetties 3,973,000 bushels of wheat and 7,365,000 bushels of corn--a -larger exportation than ever before except in the years 1880 and 1881. -An outlet like this is of course a check on railway charges. The trade -of the place employs a banking capital of fifteen millions. The deposits -in 1887 were thirty-seven millions; the clearings over 8894,527,731--the -largest ever reached, and over ten per cent, in excess of the clearings -of 1886. To whatever departments I turn in the report of the Merchants' -Exchange for 1887 I find a vigorous growth--as in building--and in -most articles of commerce a great increase. It appears by the tonnage -statements that, taking receipts and shipments together, 12,060,995 tons -of freight were handled in and out during 1886, against 14,359,059 tons -in 1887--a gain of nineteen and a half per cent. The buildings in 1886 -cost $7,030,819; in 1887, $8,162,914. There were $44,740 more stamps -sold at the post-office in 1887 than in 1886. The custom-house -collections were less than in 1886, but reached the figures of -$1,414,747. The assessed value of real and personal property in 1887 was -$217,142,320, on which the rate of taxation in the old city limits was -$2.50. - -It is never my intention in these papers to mention individual -enterprises for their own sake, but I do not hesitate to do so when it -is necessary in order to illustrate some peculiar development. It is a -curious matter of observation that so many Western cities have one or -more specialties in which they excel--houses of trade or manufacture -larger and more important than can be found elsewhere. St. Louis finds -itself in this category in regard to several establishments. One of -these is a wooden-ware company, the largest of the sort in the country, -a house which gathers its peculiar goods from all over the United -States, and distributes them almost as widely--a business of gigantic -proportions and bewildering detail. Its annual sales amount to as much -as the sales of all the houses in its line in New York, Chicago, and -Cincinnati together. Another is a hardware company, wholesale and -retail, also the largest of its kind in the country, with sales annually -amounting to six millions of dollars, a very large amount when we -consider that it is made up of an infinite number of small and cheap -articles in iron, from a fish-hook up--indeed, over fifty thousand -separate articles. I spent half a day in this establishment, walking -through its departments, noting the unequalled system of compact -display, classification, and methods of sale and shipment. Merely as -a method of system in business I have never seen anything more -interesting. Another establishment, important on account of its -central position in the continent and its relation to the Louisiana -sugar-fields, is the St. Louis Sugar Refinery. - -The refinery proper is the largest building in the Western country -used for manufacturing purposes, and, together with its adjuncts of -cooper-shops and warehouses, covers five entire blocks and employs 500 -men. It has a capacity of working up 400 tons of raw sugar a day, but -runs only to the extent of about 200 tons a day, making the value of its -present product $7,500,000 a year. - -During the winter and spring it uses Louisiana sugars; the remainder -of the year, sugars of Cuba and the Sandwich Islands. Like all other -refineries of which I have inquired, this reckons the advent of the -Louisiana crop as an important regulator of prices. This establishment, -in common with other industries of the city, has had to complain of -business somewhat hampered by discrimination in railway rates. St. Louis -also has what I suppose, from the figures accessible, to be the largest -lager-beer brewing establishment in the world; its solid, gigantic, and -architecturally imposing buildings lift themselves up like a fortress -over the thirty acres of ground they cover. Its manufacture and sales in -1887 were 456,511 barrels of beer--an increase of nearly 100,000 since -1885-86. It exports largely to Mexico, South America, the West Indies, -and Australia. The establishment is a marvel of system and ingenious -devices. It employs 1200 laborers, to whom it pays $500,000 a year. -Some of the details are of interest. In the bottling department we saw -workmen filling, corking, labelling, and packing at the rate of 100,000 -bottles a day. In a year 25,000,000 bottles are used, packed in 400,000 -barrels and boxes. The consumption of barley is 1,100,000 bushels -yearly, and of hops over 700,000 pounds, and the amount of water used -for all purposes is 250,000,000 gallons--nearly enough to float our -navy. The charges for freight received and shipped by rail amount to -nearly a million dollars a year. There are several other large breweries -in the city. The total product manufactured in 1887 was 1,383,301 -barrels, equal to 43,575,872 gallons--more than three times the amount -of 1877. The barley used in the city and vicinity was 2,932,192 bushels, -of which 340,335 bushels came from Canada. The direct export of beer -during 1887 to foreign countries was equal to 1,924,108 quart bottles. -The greater part of the barley used comes from Iowa, Minnesota, and -Wisconsin. - -It is useless to enumerate the many railways which touch and affect St. -Louis. The most considerable is the agglomeration known as the Missouri -Pacific, or South-western System, which operated 6994 miles of road on -January 1, 1888. This great aggregate is likely to be much diminished -by the surrender of lines, but the railway facilities of the city are -constantly extending. - -There are figures enough to show that St. Louis is a prosperous city, -constantly developing new enterprises with fresh energy; to walk its -handsome streets and drive about its great avenues and parks is -to obtain an impression of a cheerful town on the way to be most -attractive; but its chief distinction lies in its social and -intellectual life, and in the spirit that has made it a pioneer in so -many educational movements. It seems to me a very good place to study -the influence of speculative thought in economic and practical affairs. -The question I am oftenest asked is, whether the little knot of -speculative philosophers accidentally gathered there a few years -ago, and who gave a sort of fame to the city, have had any permanent -influence. For years they discussed abstractions; they sustained for -some time a very remarkable periodical of speculative philosophy, and -in a limited sphere they maintained an elevated tone of thought and life -quite in contrast with our general materialism. The circle is broken, -the members are scattered. Probably the town never understood them, -perhaps they did not altogether understand each other, and maybe the -tremendous conflict of Kant and Hegel settled nothing. But if there is -anything that can be demonstrated in this world it is the influence of -abstract thought upon practical affairs in the long-run. And although -one may not be able to point to any definite thing created or -established by this metaphysical movement, I think I can see that it was -a leaven that had a marked effect in the social, and especially in the -educational, life of the town, and liberalized minds, and opened the way -for the trial of theories in education. One of the disciples declares -that the State Constitution of Missouri and the charter of St. Louis are -distinctly Hegelian. However this may be, both these organic laws are -uncommonly wise in their provisions. A study of the evolution of the -city government is one of the most interesting that the student can -make. Many of the provisions of the charter are admirable, such as those -securing honest elections, furnishing financial checks, and guarding -against public debt. The mayor is elected for four years, and the -important offices filled by his appointment are not vacant until the -beginning of the third year of his appointment, so that hope of reward -for political work is too dim to affect the merits of an election. The -composition and election of the school board is also worthy of notice. -Of the twenty-one members, seven are elected on a general ticket, -and the remaining fourteen by districts, made by consolidating the -twenty-eight city wards, members to serve four years, divided into two -classes. This arrangement secures immunity from the ward politician. - -St. Louis is famous for its public schools, and especially for the -enlightened methods, and the willingness to experiment in improving -them. The school expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1887, were -$1,095,773; the school property in lots, buildings, and furniture in -1885 was estimated at $3,445,254. The total number of pupils enrolled -was 56,936. These required about 1200 teachers, of whom over a thousand -were women. The actual average of pupils to each teacher was about -42. There were 106 school buildings, with a seating capacity for about -50,000 scholars. Of the district schools 13 were colored, in which were -employed 78 colored teachers. The salaries of teachers are progressive, -according to length of service. As for instance, the principal of the -High-school has $2400 the first year, $2500 the second, $2600 the third, -$2750 the fourth; a head assistant in a district school, $650 the first -year, $700 the second, $750 the third, $800 the fourth, $850 the fifth. - -The few schools that I saw fully sustained their public reputation as -to methods, discipline, and attainments. The Normal School, of -something over 100 pupils, nearly all the girls being graduates of -the High-school, was admirable in drill, in literary training, in -calisthenic exercises. The High-school is also admirable, a school with -a thoroughly elevated tone and an able principal. Of the 600 pupils at -least two-thirds were girls. From appearances I should judge that it is -attended by children of the most intelligent families, for certainly -the girls of the junior and senior classes, in manner, looks, dress, -and attainments, compared favorably with those of one of the best girls' -schools I have seen anywhere, the Mary Institute, which is a department -of the Washington University. This fact is most important, for the -excellence of our public schools (for the product of good men and women) -depends largely upon their popularity with the well-to-do classes. One -of the most interesting schools I saw was the Jefferson, presided over -by a woman, having fine fire-proof buildings and 1100 pupils, nearly all -whom are of foreign parentage--German, Russian, and Italian, with many -Hebrews also--a finely ordered, wide-awake school of eight grades. The -kindergarten here was the best I saw; good teachers, bright and happy -little children, with natural manners, throwing themselves gracefully -into their games with enjoyment and without self-consciousness, and -exhibiting exceedingly pretty fancy and kindergarten work. In St. -Louis the kindergarten is a part of the public-school system, and the -experiment is one of general interest. The question cannot be called -settled. In the first place the experiment is hampered in St. Louis by -a decision of the Supreme Court that the public money cannot be used for -children out of the school age, that is, under six and over twenty. This -prevents teaching English to adult foreigners in the evening schools, -and, rigidly applied, it shuts out pupils from the kindergarten under -six. One advantage from the kindergarten was expected to be an extension -of the school period; and there is no doubt that the kindergarten -instruction ought to begin before the age of six, especially for the -mass of children who miss home training and home care. As a matter -of fact, many of the children I saw in the kindergartens were only -constructively six years old. It cannot be said, also, that the Froebel -system is fully understood or accepted. In my observation, the success -of the kindergarten depends entirely upon the teacher; where she is -competent, fully believes in and understands the Froebel system, and is -enthusiastic, the pupils are interested and alert; otherwise they are -listless, and fail to get the benefit of it. The Froebel system is the -developing the concrete idea in education, and in the opinion of his -disciples this is as important for children of the intelligent -and well-to-do as for those of the poor and ignorant. They resist, -therefore, the attempt which is constantly made, to introduce the -primary work into the kindergarten. But for the six years' limit the -kindergarten in St. Louis would have a better chance in its connection -with the public schools. As the majority of children leave school for -work at the age of twelve or fourteen, there is little time enough -given for book education; many educators think time is wasted in the -kindergarten, and they advocate the introduction of what they call -kindergarten features in the primary classes. This is called by the -disciples of Froebel an entire abandonment of his system. I should like -to see the kindergarten in connection with the public school tried long -enough to demonstrate all that is claimed for it in its influence on -mental development, character, and manners, but it seems unlikely to -be done in St. Louis, unless the public-school year begins at least as -early as five, or, better still, is specially unlimited for kindergarten -pupils. - -Except in the primary work in drawing and modelling, there is no manual -training feature in the St. Louis public schools. The teaching of German -is recently dropped from all the district schools (though retained in -the High), in accordance with the well-founded idea of Americanizing our -foreign population as rapidly as possible. - -One of the most important institutions in the Mississippi Valley, and -one that exercises a decided influence upon the intellectual and social -life of St. Louis, and is a fair measure of its culture and the value -of the higher education, is the Washington University, which was -incorporated in 1853, and was presided over until his death, in 1887, -by the late Chancellor William Green-leaf Eliot, of revered memory. -It covers the whole range of university studies, except theology, -and allows no instruction either sectarian in religion or partisan in -politics, nor the application of any sectarian or party test in the -election of professors, teachers, or officers. Its real estate and -buildings in use for educational purposes cost $625,000; its libraries, -scientific apparatus, casts, and machinery cost over $100,000, and it -has investments for revenue amounting to over $650,000. The University -comprehends an undergraduate department, including the college (a -thorough classical, literary, and philosophical course, with about sixty -students), open to women, and the polytechnic, an admirably equipped -school of science; the St. Louis Law School, of excellent reputation; -the Manual Training School, the most celebrated school of this sort, and -one that has furnished more manual training teachers than any other; -the Henry Shaw School of Botany; the St. Louis School of Fine Arts; the -Smith Academy, for boys; and the Mary Institute, one of the roomiest and -most cheerful school buildings I know, where 400 girls, whose collective -appearance need not fear comparison with any in the country, enjoy the -best educational advantages. Mary Institute is justly the pride of the -city. - -The School of Botany, which is endowed and has its own laboratory, -workshop, and working library, was, of course, the outgrowth of the Shaw -Botanical Garden; it has usually from twenty to thirty special students. - -The School of Fine Arts, which was reorganized under the University -in 1879, has enrolled over 200 students, and gives a wide and careful -training in all the departments of drawing, painting, and modelling, -with instructions in anatomy, perspective, and composition, and has life -classes for both sexes, in drawing from draped and nude figures. Its -lecture, working rooms, and galleries of paintings and casts are in -its Crow Art Museum--a beautiful building, well planned and justly -distinguished for architectural excellence. It ranks among the best Art -buildings in the country. - -The Manual Training School has been in operation since 1880. It may be -called the most fully developed pioneer institution of the sort. I spent -some time in its workshops and schools, thinking of the very interesting -question at the bottom of the experiment, namely, the mental development -involved in the training of the hand and the eye, and the reflex help to -manual skill in the purely intellectual training of study. It is, it may -be said again, not the purpose of the modern manual training to teach -a trade, but to teach the use of tools as an aid in the symmetrical -development of the human being. The students here certainly do beautiful -work in wood-turning and simple carving, in ironwork and forging. They -enjoy the work; they are alert and interested in it. I am certain that -they are the more interested in it in seeing how they can work out and -apply what they have learned in books, and I doubt not they take hold of -literary study more freshly for this manual training in exactness. The -school exacts close and thoughtful study with tools as well as in books, -and I can believe that it gives dignity in the opinion of the working -student to hand labor. The school is large, its graduates have been -generally successful in practical pursuits and in teaching, and it lias -demonstrated in itself the correctness of the theory of its authors, -that intellectual drill and manual training are mutually advantageous -together. Whether manual training shall be a part of all district school -education is a question involving many considerations that do not enter -into the practicability of this school, but I have no doubt that manual -training schools of this sort would be immensely useful in every city. -There are many boys in every community who cannot in any other wayr be -awakened to any real study. This training school deserves a chapter -by itself, and as I have no space for details, I take the liberty of -referring those interested to a volume on its aims and methods by Dr. C. -M. Woodward, its director. - -Notwithstanding the excellence of the public-school system of St. Louis, -there is no other city in the country, except New Orleans, where so -large a proportion of the youths are being educated outside the public -schools. A very considerable portion of the population is Catholic. -There are forty-four parochial schools, attended by nineteen thousand -pupils, and over a dozen different Sisterhoods are engaged in teaching -in them. Generally each parochial school has two departments--one for -boys and one for girls. They are sustained entirely by the parishes. In -these schools, as in the two Catholic universities, the prominence of -ethical and religious training is to be noted. Seven-eighths of the -schools are in charge of thoroughly trained religious teachers. Many of -the boys' schools are taught by Christian Brothers. The girls are almost -invariably taught by members of religious Sisterhoods. In most of the -German schools the girls and smaller boys are taught by Sisters, the -larger boys by lay teachers. Some reports of school attendance are given -in the Catholic Directory: SS. Peter and Paul's (German), 1300 pupils; -St. Joseph's (German), 957; St. Bridget's, 950; St. Malaehy's, 756; St. -John's, 700; St. Patrick's, 700. There is a school for colored children -of 150 pupils taught by colored Sisters. - -In addition to these parochial schools there are a dozen academies -and convents of higher education for young ladies, all under charge of -Catholic Sisterhoods, commonly with a mixed attendance of boarders -and day scholars, and some of them with a reputation for learning that -attracts pupils from other States, notably the Academy of the Sacred -Heart, St. Joseph's Academy, and the Academy of the Visitation, in -charge of cloistered nuns of that order. Besides these, in connection -with various reformatory and charitable institutions, such as the House -of the Good Shepherd and St. Mary's Orphan Asylum, there are industrial -schools in charge of the Sisterhoods, where girls receive, in addition -to their education, training in some industry to maintain themselves -respectably when they leave their temporary homes. Statistics are -wanting, but it will be readily inferred from these statements that -there are in the city a great number of single women devoted for life, -and by special religious and intellectual training, to the office of -teaching. - -For the higher education of Catholic young men the city is distinguished -by two remarkable institutions. The one is the old St. Louis University, -and the other is the Christian Brothers' College. The latter, which a -few years ago outgrew its old buildings in the city, has a fine pile of -buildings at Côte Brillante, on a commanding site about five miles out, -with ample grounds, and in the neighborhood of the great parks and the -Botanical Garden. The character of the school is indicated by the -motto on the façade of the building--_Religio, Mores, Cultura_. The -institution is designed to accommodate a thousand boarding students. -The present attendance is 450, about half of whom are boarders, and -represent twenty States. There is a corps of thirty-five professors, and -three courses of study are maintained--the classical, the scientific, -and the commercial. As several of the best parochial schools are in -charge of Christian Brothers, these schools are feeders of the -college, and the pupils have the advantage of an unbroken system with a -consistent purpose from the day they enter into the primary department -till they graduate at the college. The order has, at Glencoe, a large -Normal School for the training of teachers. The fame and success of the -Christian Brothers as educators in elementary and the higher education, -in Europe and the United States, is largely due to the fact that -they labor as a unit in a system that never varies in its methods of -imparting instruction, in which the exponents of it have all undergone -the same pedagogic training, in which there is no room for the personal -fancy of the teacher in correction, discipline, or scholarship, for -everything is judiciously governed by prescribed modes of procedure, -founded on long experience, and exemplified in the co-operative plan of -the Brothers. In vindication of the exceptional skill acquired by its -teachers in the thorough drill of the order, the Brotherhood points -to the success of its graduates in competitive examinations for public -employment in this country and in Europe, and to the commendation its -educational exhibits received at London and New Orleans. - -The St. Louis University, founded in 1829 by members of the Society of -Jesus, and chartered in 1834, is officered and controlled by the Jesuit -Fathers. It is an unendowed institution, depending upon fees paid -for tuition. Before the war its students were largely the children of -Southern planters, and its graduates are found all over the South and -South-west; and up to 1881 the pupils boarded and lodged within the -precincts of the old buildings on the corner of Ninth Street and -Washington, where for over half a century the school has vigorously -flourished. The place, which is now sold and about to be used for -business purposes, has a certain flavor of antique scholarship, and the -quaint buildings keep in mind the plain but rather pleasing architecture -of the French period. The University is in process of removal to the new -buildings on Grand avenue, which are a conspicuous ornament to one of -the most attractive parts of the city. Soon nothing will be left of -the institution on Ninth Street except the old college church, which is -still a favorite place of worship for the Catholics of the city. The new -buildings, in the early decorated English Gothic style, are ample and -imposing; they have a front of 270 feet, and the northern wing extends -325 feet westward from the avenue. The library, probably the finest room -of the kind in the West, is sixty-seven feet high, amply lighted, -and provided with three balconies. The library, which was packed for -removal, has over 25,000 volumes, is said to contain many rare and -interesting books, and to fairly represent science and literature. -Besides this, there are special libraries, open to students, of over -0000 volumes. The museum of the new building is a noble ball, one -hundred feet by sixty feet, and fifty-two feet high, without columns, -and lighted from above and from the side. The University has a valuable -collection of ores and minerals, and other objects of nature and -art that will be deposited in this hall, which will also serve as -a picture-gallery for the many paintings of historical interest. -Philosophical apparatus, a chemical laboratory, and an astronomical -observatory are the equipments on the scientific side. - -The University has now no dormitories and no boarders. There are -twenty-five professors and instructors. The entire course, including the -preparatory, is seven years. A glance at the catalogue shows that in -the curriculum the institution keeps pace with the demands of the age. -Besides the preparatory course (89 pupils), it has a classical course -(143 pupils), an English course (82 pupils), and 85 post-graduate -students, making a total of 399. Its students form societies for various -purposes; one, the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with distinct -organizations in the senior and junior classes, is for the promotion of -piety and the practice of devotion towards the Blessed Virgin; another -is for training in public speaking and philosophic and literary -disputation; there is also a scientific academy, to foster a taste for -scientific culture; and there is a student's library of 4000 volumes, -independent of the religious books of the Sodality societies. - -In a conversation with the president I learned that the prevailing idea -in the courses of study is the gradual and healthy development of -the mind. The classes are carefully graded. The classics are favorite -branches, but mental philosophy, chemistry, physics, astronomy, are -taught with a view to practical application. Much stress is laid upon -mathematics. During the whole course of seven years, one hour each day -is devoted to this branch. In short, I was impressed with the fact that -this is an institution for mental training. Still more was I struck with -the prominence in the whole course of ethical and religious culture. On -assembling every morning, all the Catholic students hear mass. In every -class in every year Christian doctrine has as prominent a place as -any branch of study; beginning in the elementary class with the small -catechism and practical instructions in the manner of reciting the -ordinary prayers, it goes on through the whole range of doctrine--creed, -evidences, ritual, ceremonial, mysteries--in the minutest details of -theory and practice; ingraining, so far as repeated instruction can, -the Catholic faith and pure moral conduct in the character, involving -instructions as to what occasions and what amusements are dangerous to -a good life, on the reading of good books and the avoiding bad books and -bad company. - -In the post-graduate course, lectures are given and examinations made -in ethics, psychology, anthropology, biology, and physics; and in the -published abstracts of lectures for the past two years I find that none -of the subjects of modern doubt and speculation are ignored--spiritism, -psychical research, the cell theory, the idea of God, socialism, -agnosticism, the Noachinn deluge, theories of government, fundamental -notions of physical science, unity of the human species, potency -of matter, and so on. During the past fifty years this faculty has -contained many men famous as pulpit orators and missionaries, and this -course of lectures on philosophic and scientific subjects has brought it -prominently before the cultivated inhabitants of the town. - -Another educational institution of note in St. Louis is the Concordia -Seminar of the Old Lutheran, or the Evangelical Lutheran Church. This -denomination, which originated in Saxony, and has a large membership in -our Western States, adheres strictly to the Augsburg Confession, and is -distinguished from the general Lutheran Church by greater strictness -of doctrine and practice, or, as may be said, by a return to primitive -Lutheranism; that is to say, it grounds itself upon the literal -inspiration of the Scriptures, upon salvation by faith alone, and upon -individual liberty. This Seminar is one of several related institutions -in the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States: there is a college at -Fort Wayne, Indiana, a Progymnasium at Milwaukee, a Seminar of practical -theology at Springfield, Illinois, and this Seminar at St. Louis, -which is wholly devoted to theoretical theology. This Church numbers, I -believe, about 200,000 members. - -The Concordia Seminar is housed in a large, commodious building, -effectively set upon high ground in the southern part of the city. It -was erected and the institution is sustained by the contributions of the -congregations. The interior, roomy, light, and commodious, is plain to -barrenness, and has a certain monastic severity, which is matched by the -discipline and the fare. In visiting it one takes a step backward into -the atmosphere and theology of the sixteenth century. The ministers of -the denomination are distinguished for learning and earnest simplicity. -The president, a very able man, only thirty-five years of age, is at -least two centuries old in his opinions, and wholly undisturbed by -any of the doubts which have agitated the Christian world since the -Reformation. He holds the faith "once for all" delivered to the saints. -The Seminar has a hundred students. It is requisite to admission, said -the president, that they be perfect Latin, Greek, and Hebrew scholars. -A large proportion of the lectures are given in Latin, the remainder in -German and English, and Latin is current in the institution, although -German is the familiar speech. The course of study is exacting, the -rules are rigid, and the discipline severe. Social intercourse with -the other sex is discouraged. The pursuit of love and learning are -considered incompatible at the same time; and if a student were -inconsiderate enough to become engaged, he would be expelled. Each -student from abroad may select or be selected by a family in the -communion, at whose house he may visit once a week, which attends to his -washing, and supplies to a certain extent the place of a home. The young -men are trained in the highest scholarship and the strictest code of -morals. I know of no other denomination which holds its members to such -primitive theology and such strictness of life. Individual liberty and -responsibility are stoutly asserted, without any latitude in belief. -It repudiates Prohibition as an infringement of personal liberty, would -make the use of wine or beer depend upon the individual conscience, -but no member of the communion would be permitted to sell intoxicating -liquors, or to go to a beer-garden or a theatre. In regard to the -sacrament of communion, there is no authority for altering the plain -directions in the Scripture, and communion without wine, or the -substitution of any concoction for wine, would be a sin. No member would -be permitted to join any labor union or secret society. The sacrament -of communion is a mystery. It is neither transubstantiation nor -consubstantiation. The president, whose use of English in subtle -distinctions is limited, resorted to Latin and German in explanation -of the mystery, but left the question of real and actual presence, of -spirit and substance, still a matter of terms; one can only say that -neither the ordinary Protestant nor the Catholic interpretation is -accepted. Conversion is not by any act or ability of man; salvation is -by faith alone. As the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures is -insisted on in all cases, the world was actually created in six days -of twenty-four hours each. When I asked the president what he did -with geology, he smiled and simply waved his hand. This communion has -thirteen flourishing churches in the city. In a town so largely German, -and with so many freethinkers as well as free-livers, I cannot but -consider this strict sect, of a simple unquestioning faith and high -moral demands, of the highest importance in the future of the city. But -one encounters with surprise, in our modern life, this revival of the -sixteenth century, which plants itself so squarely against so much that -we call "progress." - -As to the institutions of charity, I must content myself with saying -that they are many, and worthy of a great and enlightened city. There -are of all denominations 211 churches; of these the Catholics lead with -47; the Presbyterians come next with 24; and the Baptists have 22; the -Methodists North, 4; and the Methodists South, 8. The most interesting -edifices, both for associations and architecture, are the old Cathedral; -the old Christ Church (Episcopalian), excellent Gothic; and an exquisite -edifice, the Church of the Messiah (Unitarian), in Locust Street. - -The city has two excellent libraries. The Public Library, an adjunct -of the public-school system, in the Polytechnic Building, has an annual -appropriation of about $14,000 from the School Board, and receives about -$5000 more from membership and other sources. It contains about 67,000 -volumes, and is admirably managed. The Mercantile Library is in process -of removal into a magnificent six-story building on Broadway and Locust -Street. It is a solid and imposing structure, the first story of red -granite, and the others of brick and terra-cotta. The library and -reading-rooms are on the fifth story, the rest of the building is -rented. This association, which is forty-two years old, has 3500 -members, and had an income in 1887 of $120,000, nearly all from -membership. In January, 1888, it had 68,732 volumes, and in a -circulation of over 168,000 in the year, it had the unparalleled -distinction of reducing the fiction given out to 41.95 per cent. Both -these libraries have many treasures interesting to a book-lover, and -though neither is free, the liberal, intelligent management of each has -been such as to make it a most beneficent institution for the city. - -There are many handsome and stately buildings in the city, the recent -erections showing growth in wealth and taste. The Chamber of Commerce, -which is conspicuous for solid elegance, cost a million and a half -dollars. There are 3295 members of the Merchants' Exchange. The -Court-house, with its noble dome, is as well proportioned a building as -can be found in the country. A good deal may be said for the size and -effect of the Exposition Building, which covers what was once a pretty -park at the foot of Lucas Place, and cost 6750,000. There are clubs many -and flourishing. The St. Louis Club (social) has the finest building, -an exceedingly tasteful piece of Romanesque architecture on Twenty-ninth -Street. The University Club, which is like its namesake in other cities, -has a charming old-fashioned house and grounds on Pine Street. The -Commercial Club, an organization limited in its membership to sixty, -has no club-house, but, like its namesake in Chicago, is a controlling -influence in the prosperity of the city. Representing all the leading -occupations, it is a body of men who, by character, intellect, and -wealth, can carry through any project for the public good, and which is -animated by the highest public spirit. - -Of the social life of the town one is permitted to speak only in general -terms. It has many elements to make it delightful--long use in social -civilities, interest in letters and in education, the cultivation of -travel, traditions, and the refinement of intellectual pursuits. The -town has no academy of music, but there is a good deal of musical -feeling and cultivation; there is a very good orchestra, one of the very -best choruses in the country, and Verdi's "Requiem" was recently given -splendidly. I am told by men and women of rare and special cultivation -that the city is a most satisfactory one to live in, and certainly to -the stranger its society is charming. The city has, however, the -Mississippi Valley climate--extreme heat in the summer, and trying -winters. - -There is no more interesting industrial establishment in the West than -the plate-glass works at Crystal City, thirty miles south on the river. -It was built up after repeated failures and reverses--for the business, -like any other, had to be learned. The plant is very extensive, the -buildings are of the best, the machinery is that most approved, and the -whole represents a cash investment of $1,500,000. The location of the -works at this point was determined by the existence of a mountain of -sand which is quarried out like rock, and is the finest and cleanest -silica known in the country. The production is confined entirety to -plate-glass, which is cast in great slabs, twelve feet by twelve and -a half in size, each of which weighs, before it is reduced half in -thickness by grinding, smoothing, and polishing, about 750 pounds. The -product for 1887 was 1,200,000 feet. The coal used in the furnaces is -converted into gas, which is found to be the most economical and most -easily regulated fuel. This industry has drawn together a population of -about 1500. I was interested to learn that labor in the production of -this glass is paid twice as much as similar labor in England, and from -three to four times as much as similar labor in France and Belgium. As -the materials used in making plate-glass are inexpensive, the main cost, -after the plant, is in labor. Since plate-glass was first made in this -country, eighteen years ago, the price of it in the foreign market has -been continually forced down, until now it costs the American consumer -only half what it cost him before, and the jobber gets it at an average -cost of 75 cents a foot, as against the $1.50 a foot which we paid the -foreign manufacturer before the establishment of American factories. -And in these eighteen years the Government has had from this source a -revenue of over seventeen millions, at an average duty, on all sizes, of -less than 59 per cent. - -Missouri is one of the greatest of our States in resources and in -promise, and it is conspicuous in the West for its variety and capacity -of interesting development. The northern portion rivals Iowa in -beautiful rolling prairie, with high divides and park-like forests; its -water communication is unsurpassed; its mineral resources are immense; -it has noble mountains as well as fine uplands and fertile valleys, and -it never impresses the traveller as monotonous. So attractive is it -in both scenery and resources that it seems unaccountable that so -many settlers have passed it by. But, first slavery, and then a rural -population disinclined to change, have stayed its development. This -state of things, however, is changing, has changed marvellously within -a few years in the northern portion, in the iron regions, and especially -in larger cities of the west, St. Joseph and Kansas City. The State -deserves a study by itself, for it is on the way to be a great empire -of most varied interests. I can only mention here one indication of -its moral progress. It has adopted a high license and local option law. -Under this the saloons are closed in nearly all the smaller villages and -country towns. A shaded map shows more than three-fourths of the area -of the State, including three-fifths of the population, free from -liquor-selling. The county court may grant a license to sell liquor to -a person of good moral character on the signed petition of a majority of -the taxpaying citizens of a township or of a city block; it must grant -it on the petition of two-thirds of the citizens. Thus positive action -is required to establish a saloon. On the map there are 76 white -counties free of saloons, 14 counties In which there are from one to -three saloons only, and 24 shaded counties which have altogether 2263 -saloons, of which 1450 are in St. Louis and 520 in Kansas City. The -revenue from the saloons in St. Louis is about 8800,000, in Kansas City -about 8375,000, annually. The heavily shaded portions of the map are on -the great rivers. - -Of all the wonderful towns in the West, none has attracted more -attention in the East than Kansas City. I think I am not wrong in saying -that it is largely the product of Eastern energy and capital, and that -its closest relations have been with Boston. I doubt if ever a new town -was from the start built up so solidly or has grown more substantially. -The situation, at the point where the Missouri River makes a sharp bend -to the east, and the Kansas River enters it, was long ago pointed out -as the natural centre of a great trade. Long before it started on its -present career it was the great receiving and distributing point of -South-western commerce, which left the Missouri River at this point -for Santa Fé and other trading marts in the South-west. Aside from this -river advantage, if one studies the course of streams and the incline of -the land in a wide circle to the westward, he is impressed with the fact -that the natural business drainage of a vast area is Kansas City. The -city was therefore not fortuitously located, and when the railways -centred there, they obeyed an inevitable law. Here nature intended, in -the development of the country, a great city. Where the next one will -be in the South-west is not likely to be determined until the Indian -Territory is open to settlement. To the north, Omaha, with reference -to Nebraska and the West, possesses many similar advantages, and is -likewise growing with great vigor and solidity. Its situation on a slope -rising from the river is commanding and beautiful, and its splendid -business houses, handsome private residences, and fine public schools -give ample evidence of the intelligent enterprise that is directing its -rapid growth. - -It is difficult to analyze the impression Kansas City first makes upon -the Eastern stranger. It is usually that of immense movement, much of it -crude, all of it full of purpose. At the Union Station, at the time of -the arrival and departure of trains, the whole world seems afloat; one -is in the midst of a continental movement of most varied populations. I -remember that the first time I saw it in passing, the detail that most -impressed me was the racks and rows of baggage checks; it did not seem -to me that the whole travelling world could need so many. At that time -a drive through the city revealed a chaos of enterprise--deep cuts for -streets, cable roads in process of construction over the sharp ridges, -new buildings, hills shaved down, houses perched high up on slashed -knolls, streets swarming with traffic and roaring with speculation. A -little more than a year later the change towards order was marvellous: -the cable roads were running in all directions; gigantic buildings -rising upon enormous blocks of stone gave distinction to the principal -streets; the great residence avenues have been beautified, and showed -all over the hills stately and picturesque houses. And it is worthy of -remark that while the "boom" of speculation in lots had subsided, there -was no slacking in building, and the reports showed a steady increase in -legitimate business. I was confirmed in my theory that a city is likely -to be most attractive when it has had to struggle heroically against -natural obstacles in the building. - -I am not going to describe the city. The reader knows that it lies south -of the river Missouri, at the bend, and that the notable portion of it -is built upon a series of sharp hills. The hill portion is already a -beautiful city; the flat part, which contains the railway depot and -yards, a considerable portion of the manufactories and wholesale -houses, and much refuse and squatting population (white and black), is -unattractive in a high degree. The Kaw, or Kansas, River would seem to -be the natural western boundary, but it is not the boundary; the city -and State line runs at some distance east of Kansas River, leaving -a considerable portion of low ground in Kansas City, Kansas, which -contains the larger number of the great packing-houses and the great -stock-yards. This identity of names is confusing. Kansas City (Kansas), -Wyandotte, Armourdale, Armstrong, and Riverview (all in the State of -Kansas) have been recently consolidated under the name of Kansas City, -Kansas. It is to be regretted that this thriving town of Kansas, -which already claims a population of 40,000, did not take the name of -Wyandotte. In its boundaries are the second largest stock-yards in the -country, which received last year 670,000 cattle, nearly 2,500,000 hogs, -and 210,000 sheep, estimated worth 851,000,000. There also are half a -dozen large packing-houses, one of them ranking with the biggest in the -country, which last year slaughtered 195,933 cattle, and 1,907,104 hogs. -The great elevated railway, a wonderful structure, which connects Kansas -City, Missouri, with Wyandotte, is owned and managed by men of Kansas -City, Kansas. The city in Kansas has a great area of level ground for -the accommodation of manufacturing enterprises, and I noticed a good -deal of speculative feeling in regard to this territory. The Kansas side -has fine elevated situations for residences, but Wyandotte itself does -not compare in attractiveness with the Missouri city, and I fancy that -the controlling impetus and capital will long remain with the city that -has so much the start. - -Looking about for the specialty which I have learned to expect in every -great Western city, I was struck by the number of warehouses for the -sale of agricultural implements on the flats, and I was told that Kansas -City excels all others in the amount of sales of farming implements. -The sale is put down at 815,000,000 for the year 1887--a fourth of the -entire reported product manufactured in the United States. Looking for -the explanation of this, one largely accounts for the growth of Kansas -City, namely, the vast rich agricultural regions to the west and -southwest, the development of Missouri itself, and the facilities -of distribution. It is a general belief that settlement is gradually -pushing the rainy belt farther and farther westward over the prairies -and plains, that the breaking up of the sod by the plough and the -tilling have increased evaporation and consequently rainfall. I find -this questioned by competent observers, who say that the observation of -ten years is not enough to settle the fact of a change of climate, -and that, as not a tenth part of the area under consideration has been -broken by the plough, there is not cause enough for the alleged effect, -and that we do not yet know the cycle of years of drought and years of -rain. However this may be, there is no doubt of the vast agricultural -yield of these new States and Territories, nor of the quantities -of improved machinery they use. As to facility of distribution, the -railways are in evidence. I need not name them, but I believe I counted -fifteen lines and systems centring there. In 1887, 4565 miles of railway -were added to the facilities of Kansas City, stretching out in -every direction. The development of one is notable as peculiar and -far-sighted, the Fort Scott and Gulf, which is grasping the East as well -as the South-west; turning eastward from Fort Scott, it already reaches -the iron industries of Birmingham, pushes on to Atlanta, and seeks the -seaboard. I do not think I over-estimate the importance of this quite -direct connection of Kansas City with the Atlantic. - -The population of Kansas City, according to the statistics of the Board -of Trade, increased from 41,786 in 1877 to 165,924 in 1887, the assessed -valuation from $9,370,287 in 1877 to $53,017,290 in 1887, and the rate -of taxation was reduced in the same period from about 22 mills to 14. -I notice also that the banking capital increased in a year--1886 to -1887--from $3,873,000 to $6,950,000, and the Clearing-house transactions -in the same year from $251,963,441 to $353,895,458. This, with other -figures which might be given, sustains the assertion that while -real-estate speculation has decreased in the current year, there was a -substantial increase of business. During the year ending June 30, 1886, -there were built 4054 new houses, costing $10,393,207; during the year -ending June 30, 1887, 5889, costing $12,839,808. An important feature -of the business of Kansas City is in the investment and loan and trust -companies, which are many, and aggregate a capital of $7,773,000. Loans -are made on farms in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa, and also for -city improvements. - -Details of business might be multiplied, but enough have been given to -illustrate the material prosperity of the city. I might add a note -of the enterprise which last year paved (mainly with cedar blocks on -concrete) thirteen miles of the city; the very handsome churches -in process of erection, and one or two (of the many) already built, -admirable in plan and appearance; the really magnificent building of the -Board of Trade--a palace, in fact; and other handsome, costly structures -on every hand. There are thirty-five miles of cable road. I am not -sure but these cable roads are the most interesting--certainly the most -exciting--feature of the city to a stranger. They climb such steeps, -they plunge down such grades, they penetrate and whiz through such -crowded, lively thoroughfares, their trains go so rapidly, that the -rider is in a perpetual exhilaration. I know no other locomotion more -exciting and agreeable. Life seems a sort of holiday when one whizzes -through the crowded city, up and down and around amid the tall -buildings, and then launches off in any direction into the suburbs, -which are alive with new buildings. Independence avenue is shown as one -of the finest avenues, and very handsome it and that part of the town -are, but I fancied I could detect a movement of fashion and preference -to the hills southward. - -In the midst of such a material expansion one has learned to expect fine -houses, but I was surprised to find three very good book-stores (as I -remember, St. Louis has not one so good), and a very good start for a -public library, consisting of about 16,000 well-arranged and classified -books. Members pay $2 a year, and the library receives only about $2500 -a year from the city. The citizens could make no better-paying investment -than to raise this library to the first rank. There is also the -beginning of an art school in some pretty rooms, furnished with casts -and autotypes, where pupils practise drawing under direction of local -artiste. There are two social clubs--the University, which occupies -pleasant apartments, and the Kansas City Club, which has just erected a -handsome club-house. In these respects, and in a hundred refinements -of living, the town, which has so largely drawn its young, enterprising -population from the extreme East, has little the appearance of a -frontier place; it is the push, the public spirit, the mixture of -fashion and slouching negligence in street attire, the mingling of -Eastern smartness with border emancipation in manner, and the general -restlessness of movement, that proclaim the newness. It seems to me that -the incessant stir, and especially the clatter, whir, and rapidity of -the cable ears, must have a decided effect on the nerves of the whole -population. The appearance is certainly that of an entire population -incessantly in motion. - -I have spoken of the public spirit. Besides the Board of Trade there is -a Merchants' and Manufacturers' Bureau, which works vigorously to bring -to the city and establish mercantile and manufacturing enterprises. The -same spirit is shown in the public schools. The expenditures in 1887 -were, for school purposes, $226,923; for interest on bonds, $18,408; for -grounds and buildings, $110,087; in all, $355,418. The total of children -of school age was, white, 31,667; colored, 4204. Of these in -attendance at school were, white, 12,933; colored, 1975. There were -25 school-houses and 212 teachers. The schools which I saw--one large -grammar-school, a colored school, and the High-school of over 600 -pupils--were good all through, full of intelligent emulation, the -teachers alert and well equipped, and the attention to literature, to -the science of government, to what, in short, goes to make intelligent -citizens, highly commendable. I find the annual reports, under Prof. -J. M. Greenwood, most interesting reading. Topics are taken up and -investigations made of great public interest. These topics relate to the -even physical and mental development of the young in distinction from -the effort merely to stuff them with information. There is a most -intelligent attempt to remedy defective eyesight. Twenty per cent, of -school children have some anomaly of refraction or accommodation which -should be recognized and corrected early; girls have a larger per cent, -of anomalies than boys. Irish, Swedish, and German children have the -highest percentage of affections of the eyes; English, French, Scotch, -and Americans the lowest. Scientific observations of the eyes are made -in the Kansas City schools, with a view to remedy defects. Another -curious topic is the investigation of the Contents of Children's -Minds--that is, what very small children know about common things. Prof. -Stanley Hall published recently the result of examinations made of -very little folks in Boston schools. Professor Greenwood made similar -investigations among the lowest grade of pupils in the Kansas City -schools, and a table of comparisons is printed. The per cent, of -children ignorant of common things is astonishingly less in Kansas City -schools than in the Boston; even the colored children of the Western -city made a much better showing. Another subject of investigation is the -alleged physical deterioration in this country. Examinations were made -of hundreds of school children from the age of ten to fifteen, -and comparisons taken with the tables in Mulhal's "Dictionary of -Statistics," London, 1884. It turns out that the Kansas City children -are taller, taking sex into account, than the average English child -at the age of either ten or fifteen, weigh a fraction less at ten, but -upwards of four pounds more at fifteen, while the average Belgian boy -and girl compare favorably with American children two years younger. -The tabulated statistics show two facts, that the average Kansas child -stands fully as tall as the tallest, and that in weight he tips the -beam against an older child on the other side of the Atlantic. With this -showing, we trust that our American experiment will be permitted to go -on. - -In reaching the necessary limit of a paper too short for its subject, I -can only express my admiration of the indomitable energy and spirit of -that portion of the West which Kansas City represents, and congratulate -it upon so many indications of attention to the higher civilization, -without which its material prosperity will be wonderful but not -attractive. - - - - -XV.--KENTUCKY. - -|All Kentucky, like Gaul, is divided into three parts. This division, -which may not be sustained by the geologists or the geographers, perhaps -not even by the ethnologists, is, in my mind, one of character: the east -and south-east mountainous part, the central blue-grass region, and the -great western portion, thrifty in both agriculture and manufactures. It -is a great self-sustaining empire, lying midway in the Union, and between -the North and the South (never having yet exactly made up its mind -whether it is North or South), extending over more than seven degrees of -longitude. Its greatest length east and west is 410 miles; its greatest -breadth, 178 miles. Its area by latest surveys, and larger than formerly -estimated, is 42,283 square miles. Within this area prodigal nature -has brought together nearly everything that a highly civilized society -needs: the most fertile soil, capable of producing almost every variety -of product for food or for textile fabrics; mountains of coals and iron -ores and limestone; streams and springs everywhere; almost all sorts -of hard-wood timber in abundance. Nearly half the State is still -virgin forest of the noblest trees, oaks, sugar-maple, ash, poplar, -black-walnut, linn, elm, hickory, beech, chestnut, red cedar. The -climate may honestly be called temperate: its inhabitants do not need to -live in cellars in the summer, nor burn up their fences and furniture in -the winter. - -Kentucky is loved of its rivers. It can be seen by their excessively -zigzag courses how reluctant they are to leave the State, and if they do -leave it they are certain to return. The Kentucky and the Green wander -about in the most uncertain way before they go to the Ohio, and the -Licking and Big Sandy exhibit only a little less reluctance. The -Cumberland, after a wide detour in Tennessee, returns; and Powell's -River, joining the Clinch and entering the Tennessee, finally persuades -that river, after it has looked about the State of Tennessee and -gladdened northern Alabama, to return to Kentucky. - -Kentucky is an old State, with an old civilization. It was the pioneer -in the great western movement of population after the Revolution. -Although it was first explored in 1770, and the Boone trail through the -wilderness of Cumberland Gap was not marked till 1775, a settlement -had been made in Frankfort in 1774, and in 1790 the Territory had a -population of 79,077. This was a marvellous growth, considering the -isolation by hundreds of miles of wilderness from Eastern communities, -and the savage opposition of the Indians, who selw fifteen hundred whilc -settlers from 1783 to 1790. Kentucky was the home of no Indian tribe, -but it was the favorite hunting and fighting ground of those north of -the Ohio and south of the Cumberland, and they united to resent white -interference. When the State came into the Union in 1792--the second -admitted--it was the equal in population and agricultural wealth of some -of the original States that had been settled a hundred and fifty years, -and in 1800 could boast 220,750 inhabitants, and in 1810, 400,511. - -At the time of the settlement, New York west of the Hudson, western -Pennsylvania, and western Virginia were almost unoccupied except by -hostile Indians; there was only chance and dangerous navigation down -the Ohio from Pittsburg, and it was nearly eight hundred miles of a -wilderness road, which was nothing but a bridle-path, from Philadelphia -by way of the Cumberland Gap to central Kentucky. The majority of -emigrants came this toilsome way, which was, after all, preferable to -the river route, and all passengers and produce went that way eastward, -for the steamboat bad not yet made the ascent of the Ohio feasible. In -1779 Virginia resolved to construct a wagon-road through the wilderness, -but no road was made for many years afterwards, and indeed no vehicle of -any sort passed over it till a road was built by action of the Kentucky -Legislature in 1700. I hope it was better then than the portion of it I -travelled from Pineville to the Gap in 1888. - -Civilization made a great leap over nearly a thousand miles into the -open garden-spot of central Kentucky, and the exploit is a unique -chapter in our frontier development. Either no other land ever lent -itself so easily to civilization as the blue-grass region, or it was -exceptionally fortunate in its occupants. They formed almost immediately -a society distinguished for its amenities, for its political influence, -prosperous beyond precedent in farming, venturesome and active in trade, -developing large manufactures, especially from hemp, of such articles -as could be transported by river, and sending annually through the -wilderness road to the East and South immense droves of cattle, horses, -and swine. In the first necessity, and the best indication of superior -civilization, good roads for transportation, Kentucky was conspicuous in -comparison with the rest of the country. As early as 1825 macadam roads -were projected, the turnpike from. Lexington to Maysville on the Ohio -was built in 1829, and the work went on by State and county co-operation -until the central region had a system of splendid roads, unexcelled -in any part of the Union. In 1830 one of the earliest railways in the -United States, that from Lexington to Frankfort, was begun; two years -later seven miles were constructed, and in 1835 the first locomotive and -train of cars ran on it to Frankfort, twenty-seven miles, in two hours -and twenty-nine minutes. The structure was composed of stone sills, in -which grooves were cut to receive the iron bars. These stone blocks can -still be seen along the line of the road, now a part of the Louisville -and Nashville system. In all internal improvements the State was very -energetic. The canal around the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville was -opened in 1831, with some aid from the General Government. The State -expended a great deal in improving the navigation of the Kentucky, the -Green, and other rivers in its borders by an expensive system of locks -and dams; in 1837 it paid $19,500 to engineers engaged in turnpike and -river improvement, and in 1839 $31,075 for the same purpose. - -The story of early Kentucky reads like a romance. By 1820 it counted -a population of over 510,000, and still it had scarcely wagon-road -communication with the East. Here was a singular phenomenon, a -prosperous community, as one might say a garden in the wilderness, -separated by natural barriers from the great life of the East, which -pushed out north of it a connected, continuous development; a community -almost self-sustaining, having for his centre the loveliest agricultural -region in the Union, and evolving a unique social state so gracious and -attractive that it was thought necessary to call in the effect of the -blue-grass to explain it, unaided human nature being inadequate, it -was thought, to such a result. Almost from the beginning fine houses -attested the taste and prosperity of the settlers; by 1792 the -blue-grass region was dotted with neat and commodious dwellings, fruit -orchards and gardens, sugar groves, and clusters of villages; while, -a little later, rose, in the midst of broad plantations and park-like -forests, lands luxuriant with wheat and clover and corn and hemp and -tobacco, the manorial dwellings of the colonial period, like the stately -homes planted by the Holland Land Company along the Hudson and the -Mohawk and in the fair Genesee, like the pillared structures on the -James and the Staunton, and like the solid square mansions of old New -England. A type of some of them stands in Frankfort now, a house which -was planned by Thomas Jefferson and built in 1796, spacious, permanent, -elegant in the low relief of its chaste ornamentation. For comfort, for -the purposes of hospitality, for the quiet and rest of the mind, -there is still nothing so good as the colonial house, with the slight -modifications required by our changed conditions. - -From 1820 onward the State grew by a natural increment of population, -but without much aid from native or foreign emigration. In 1860 its -population was only about 919,000 whites, with some 225,000 slaves and -over 10,000 free colored persons. It had no city of the first class, nor -any villages specially thriving. Louisville numbered only about 68,000, -Lexington less than 15,000, and Frankfort, the capital, a little over -5000. It retained the lead in hemp and a leading position in tobacco; -but it had fallen away behind its much younger rivals in manufactures -and the building of railways, and only feeble efforts had been made in -the development of its extraordinary mineral resources. - -How is this arrest of development accounted for? I know that a short -way of accounting for it has been the presence of slavery. I would not -underestimate this. Free labor would not go where it had to compete with -slave labor; white labor now does not like to come into relations with -black labor; and capital also was shy of investment in a State where -both political economy and social life were disturbed by a color line. -But this does not wholly account for the position of Kentucky as to -development at the close of the war. So attractive is the State in most -respects, in climate, soil, and the possibilities of great wealth by -manufactures, that I doubt not the State would have been forced into the -line of Western progress and slavery become an unimportant factor long -ago, but for certain natural obstacles and artificial influences. - -Let the reader look on the map, at the ranges of mountains running from -the north-east to the southwest--the Blue Ridge, the Alleghanies, the -Cumberland, and Pine mountains, continuous rocky ridges, with scarcely -a water gap, and only at long intervals a passable mountain gap--and -notice how these would both hinder and deflect the tide of emigration. -With such barriers the early development of Kentucky becomes ten times -a wonder. But about 1825 an event occurred that placed her at a greater -disadvantage in the competition. The Erie Canal was opened. This made -New York, and not Virginia, the great commercial highway. The railway -development followed. It was easy to build roads north of Kentucky, and -the tide of settlement followed the roads, which were mostly aided -by land grants; and in order to utilize the land grants the railways -stimulated emigration by extensive advertising. Capital and population -passed Kentucky by on the north. To the south somewhat similar -conditions prevailed. Comparatively cheap roads could be built along -the eastern slope of the Alleghanies, following the great valley from -Pennsylvania to Alabama; and these south-westwardly roads were also -aided by the General Government. The North and South Railway of Alabama, -and the Alabama and Great Southern, which cross at Birmingham, were -land-grant roads. The roads which left the Atlantic seaboard passed -naturally northward and southward of Kentucky, and left an immense area -in the centre of the Union--all of western and southwestern Virginia and -eastern Kentucky--without transportation facilities. Until 1880 here was -the largest area east of the Mississippi impenetrated by railways. - -The war removed one obstacle to the free movement of men desiring work -and seeking agreeable homes, a movement marked in the great increase -of the industrial population of Louisville and the awakening to varied -industries and trade in western Kentucky. The offer of cheap land, -which would reward skilful farming In agreeable climatic conditions, -has attracted foreign settlers to the plateau south of the blue-grass -region; and scientific investigation has made the mountain district in -the south-east the object of the eager competition of both domestic -and foreign capital. Kentucky, therefore, is entering upon a new era of -development. Two phases of it, the Swiss colonies, and the opening -of the coal, iron, and timber resources, present special points of -interest. - -This Incoming of the commercial spirit will change Kentucky for the -better and for the worse, will change even the tone of the blue-grass -country, and perhaps take away something of that charm about which so -much has been written. So thoroughly has this region been set forth by -the pen and the pencil and the lens that I am relieved of the necessity -of describing it. But I must confess that all I had read of it, all -the pictures I had seen, gave me an inadequate idea of its beauty and -richness. So far as I know, there is nothing like it in the world. -Comparison of it with England is often made in the use of the words -"garden" and "park." The landscape is as unlike the finer parts of Old -England as it is unlike the most carefully tended parts of New England. -It has neither the intense green, the subdivisions in hedges, the bosky -lanes, the picturesque cottages, the niceness of minute garden-culture, -of England, nor the broken, mixed lawn gardening and neglected pastures -and highways, with the sweet wild hills, of the Berkshire region. It -is an open, elevated, rolling land, giving the traveller often the most -extended views over wheat and clover, hemp and tobacco fields, forests -and blue-grass pastures. One may drive for a hundred miles north and -south over the splendid macadam turnpikes, behind blooded roadsters, -at an easy ten-mile gait, and see always the same sight--a smiling -agricultural paradise, with scarcely a foot, in fence corners, by the -road-side, or in low grounds, of uncultivated, uncared-for land. The -open country is more pleasing than the small villages, which have not -the tidiness of the New England small villages; the houses are for the -most part plain; here and there is a negro cabin, or a cluster of them, -apt to be unsightly, but always in view somewhere is a plantation-house, -more or less pretentious, generally old-fashioned and with the colonial -charm. These are frequently off the main thoroughfare, approached by a -private road winding through oaks and ash-trees, seated on some gentle -knoll or slope, maybe with a small flower-garden, but probably with the -old sentimental blooms that smell good and have reminiscences, in the -midst of waving fields of grain, blue-grass pastures, and open forest -glades watered by a dear stream. There seems to be infinite peace in -a house so surrounded. The house may have pillars, probably a colonial -porch and door-way with earving in bass-relief, a wide hall, large -square rooms, low studded, and a general air of comfort. What is new in -it in the way of art, furniture, or bric-à-brac may not be in the best -taste, and may "swear" at the old furniture and the delightful old -portraits. For almost always will be found some portraits of the -post-Revolutionary period, having a traditional and family interest, by -Copley or Jouett, perhaps a Stuart, maybe by some artist who evidently -did not paint for fame, which carry the observer back to the colonial -society in Virginia, Philadelphia, and New York. In a country house and -in Lexington I saw portraits, life-size and miniature, of Rebecca Gratz, -whose loveliness of person and character is still a tender recollection -of persons living. She was a great beauty and toast in her day. It -was at her house in Philadelphia, a centre of wit and gayety, that -Washington Irving and Henry Brevoort and Gulian C. Verplanck often -visited. She shone not less in New York society, and was the most -intimate friend of Matilda Hoffman, who was betrothed to Irving; indeed, -it was in her arms that Matilda died, fadeless always to us as she was -to Irving, in the loveliness of her eighteenth year. The well-founded -tradition is that Irving, on his first visit to Abbotsford, told Scott -of his own loss, and made him acquainted with the beauty and grace of -Rebecca Gratz, and that Scott, wanting at the moment to vindicate a race -that was aspersed, used her as a model for Rebecca in "Ivanhoe." - -One distinction of the blue-grass region is the forests, largely of -gigantic oaks, free of all undergrowth, carpeted with the close-set, -luscious, nutritive blue-grass, which remains green all the season when -it is cropped by feeding. The blue-grass thrives elsewhere, notably in -the upper Shenandoah Valley, where somewhat similar limestone conditions -prevail; but this is its natural habitat. On all this elevated rolling -plateau the limestone is near the surface. This grass blooms towards the -middle of June in a bluish, almost a peacock blue, blossom, which gives -to the fields an exquisite hue. By the end of the month the seed ripens -into a yellowish color, and while the grass is still green and lush -underneath, the surface presents much the appearance of a high New -England pasture in August. When it is ripe, the top is cut for the seed. -The limestone and the blue-grass together determine the agricultural -pre-eminence of the region, and account for the fine breeding of the -horses, the excellence of the cattle, the stature of the men, and the -beauty of the women; but they have social and moral influence also. It -could not well be otherwise, considering the relation of the physical -condition to disposition and character. We should be surprised if a -rich agricultural region, healthful at the same time, where there is -abundance of food, and wholesome cooking is the rule, did not affect the -tone of social life. And I am almost prepared to go further, and -think that blue-grass is a specific for physical beauty and a certain -graciousness of life. I have been told that there is a natural relation -between Presbyterianism and blue-grass, and am pointed to the Shenandoah -and to Kentucky as evidence of it. Perhaps Presbyterians naturally seek -a limestone country. But the relation, if it exists, is too subtle and -the facts are too few to build a theory on. Still, I have no doubt there -is a distinct variety of woman known as the blue-grass girl. A geologist -told me that once when he was footing it over the State with a geologist -from another State, as they approached the blue-grass region from the -southward they were carefully examining the rock formation and studying -the surface indications, which are usually marked on the border line, -to determine exactly where the peculiar limestone formation began. -Indications, however, were wanting. Suddenly my geologist looked up the -road and exclaimed: - -"We are in the blue-grass region now." - -"How do you know?" asked the other. - -"Why, there is a blue-grass girl." - -There was no mistaking the neat dress, the style, the rounded contours, -the gracious personage. A few steps farther on the geologists found the -outcropping of the blue limestone. - -Perhaps the people of this region are trying to live up to the -thorough-bred. A pedigree is a necessity. The horse is of the first -consideration, and either has or gives a sort of social distinction; -first, the running horse, the thorough-bred, and now the trotting horse, -which is beginning to have a recognizable descent, and is on the way to -be a thorough-bred. Many of the finest plantations are horse farms; -one might call them the feature of the country. Horse-raising is here -a science, and as we drive from one estate to another, and note the -careful tillage, the trim fences, the neat stables, the pretty paddocks, -and the houses of the favorites, we see how everything is intended -to contribute to the perfection in refinement of fibre, speed, and -endurance of the noble animal. Even persons who are usually indifferent -to horses cannot but admire these beautiful high-bred creatures, either -the famous ones displayed at the stables, or the colts and fillies, -which have yet their reputations to make, at play in the blue-grass -pastures; and the pleasure one experiences is a refined one in harmony -with the landscape. Usually horse-dealing carries with it a lowering of -the moral tone, which we quite understand when we say of a man that he -is "horsy." I suppose the truth is that man has degraded the idea of the -horse by his own evil passions, using him to gamble and cheat with. -Now, the visitor will find little of these degrading associations in the -blue-grass region. It is an orthodox and a moral region. The best -and most successful horse-breeders have nothing to do with racing or -betting. The yearly product of their farms is sold at auction, without -reserve or favor. The sole business is the production of the best -animals that science and care can breed. Undeniably where the horse is -of such importance he is much in the thought, and the use of "horsy" -phrases in ordinary conversation shows his effect upon the vocabulary. -The recital of pedigree at the stables, as horse after horse is led out, -sounds a little like a chapter from the Book of Genesis, and naturally -this Biblical formula gets into a conversation about people. - -And after the horses there is whiskey. There are many distilleries in -this part of the country, and a great deal of whiskey is made. I am not -defending whiskey, at least any that is less than thirty years old and -has attained a medicinal quality. But I want to express my opinion that -this is as temperate as any region in the United States. There is a -wide-spread strict temperance sentiment, and even prohibition prevails -to a considerable degree. Whiskey is made and stored, and mostly shipped -away; rightly or wrongly, it is regarded as a legitimate business, like -wheatraising, and is conducted by honorable men. I believe this to be -the truth, and that drunkenness does not prevail in the neighborhood of -the distilleries, nor did I see anywhere in the country evidence of a -habit of dram drinking, of the traditional matter-of-course offering of -whiskey as a hospitality. It is true that mint grows in Kentucky, -and that there are persons who would win the respect of a tide-water -Virginian in the concoction of a julep. And no doubt in the mind of -the born Kentuckian there is a rooted belief that if a person needed -a stimulant, the best he can take is old hand-made whiskey. Where the -manufacture of whiskey is the source of so much revenue, and is carried -on with decorum, of course the public sentiment about it differs from -that of a community that makes its money in raising potatoes for starch. -Where the horse is so beautiful, fleet, and profitable, of course -there is intense interest in him, and the general public take a -lively pleasure in the races; but if the reader has been accustomed -to associate this part of Kentucky with horse-racing and drinking as -prominent characteristics, he must revise his opinion. - -Perhaps certain colonial habits lingered longer in Kentucky than -elsewhere. Travellers have spoken about the habit of profanity and -gambling, especially the game of poker. In the West generally profane -swearing is not as bad form as it is in the East. But whatever -distinction central Kentucky had in profanity or poker, it has evidently -lost it. The duel lingered long, and prompt revenge for insults, -especially to women. The blue-grass region has "histories"--beauty has -been fought about; women have had careers; families have run out through -dissipation. One may hear stories of this sort even in the Berkshire -Hills, in any place where there have been long settlement, wealth, and -time for the development of family and personal eccentricities. And -there is still a flavor left in Kentucky; there is still a subtle -difference in its social tone; the intelligent women are attractive in -another way from the intelligent New England women--they have a charm -of their own. May Heaven long postpone the day when, by the commercial -spirit and trade and education, we shall all be alike in all parts -of the Union! Yet it would be no disadvantage to anybody if the -graciousness, the simplicity of manner, the refined hospitality, of the -blue-grass region should spread beyond the blue limestone of the Lower -Silurian. - -In the excellent State Museum at Frankfort, under the charge of Prof. -John R. Procter, * who is State Geologist and also Director of the -Bureau of Immigration, in addition to the admirable exhibit of the -natural resources of Kentucky, are photographs, statistics, and products -showing the condition of the Swiss and other foreign farming colonics -recently established in the State, which were so interesting and -offered so many instructive points that I determined to see some of the -colonies. - - * Whatever value this paper has is so largely due to - Professor Procter that I desire to make to him the most - explicit acknowledgments. One of the very best results of - the war was keeping him in the Union. - -This museum and the geological department, the intelligent management of -which has been of immense service to the commonwealth, is in one of the -detached buildings which make up the present Capitol. The Capitol is -altogether antiquated, and not a credit to the State. The room in which -the Lower House meets is shabby and mean, yet I noticed that it is -fairly well lighted by side windows, and debate can be heard in it -conducted in an ordinary tone of voice. Kentucky will before many years -be accommodated with new State buildings more suited to her wealth and -dignity. But I should like to repeat what was said in relation to the -Capitol of Arkansas. Why cannot our architects devise a capitol suited -to the wants of those who occupy it? Why must we go on making these -huge inconvenient structures, mainly for external display, in which the -legislative Chambers are vast air-tight and water-tight compartments, -commonly completely surrounded by other rooms and lobbies, and lighted -only from the roof, or at best by high windows in one or two sides that -permit no outlook--rooms difficult to speak or hear in, impossible to -ventilate, needing always artificial light? Why should the Senators of -the United States be compelled to occupy a gilded dungeon, unlighted -ever by the sun, unvisited ever by the free wind of heaven, in which the -air is so foul that the Senators sicken? What sort of legislation ought -we to expect from such Chambers? It is perfectly feasible to build a -legislative room cheerful and light, open freely to sun and air on -three sides. In order to do this it may be necessary to build a group -of connected buildings, instead of the parallelogram or square, which is -mostly domed, with gigantic halls and stair-ways, and, considering the -purpose for which it is intended, is a libel on our ingenuity and a -burlesque on our civilization. - -Kentucky has gone to work in a very sensible way to induce immigration -and to attract settlers of the right sort. The Bureau of Immigration -was established in 1880. It began to publish facts about the State, in -regard to the geologic formation, the soils, the price of lands, both -the uncleared and the lands injured by slovenly culture, the kind and -amount of products that might be expected by thrifty farming, and the -climate; not exaggerated general proclamations promising sudden wealth -with little labor, but facts such as would attract the attention of men -willing to work in order to obtain for themselves and their children -comfortable homes and modest independence. Invitations were made for -a thorough examination of lands--of the different sorts of soils in -different counties--before purchase and settlement. The leading idea was -to induce industrious farmers who were poor, or had not money enough -to purchase high-priced improved lands, to settle upon lands that the -majority of Kentuckians considered scarcely worth cultivating, and the -belief was that good farming would show that these neglected lands were -capable of becoming very productive. Eight years' experience has fully -justified all these expectations. Colonies of Swiss, Germans, Austrians, -have come, and Swedes also, and these have attracted many from the -North and North-west. In this period I suppose as many as ten thousand -immigrants of this class, thrifty cultivators of the soil, have come -into the State, many of whom are scattered about the State, unconnected -with the so-called colonies. These colonies are not organized -communities in any way separated from the general inhabitants of the -State. They have merely settled together for companionship and social -reasons, where a sufficiently large tract of cheap land was found -to accommodate them. Each family owns its own farm, and is perfectly -independent. An indiscriminate immigration has not been desired -or encouraged, but the better class of laboring agriculturists, -grape-growers, and stock-raisers. There are several settlements of -these, chiefly Swiss, dairy-farmers, cheese-makers, and vine-growers, in -Laurel County; others in Lincoln County, composed of Swiss, Germans, and -Austrians; a mixed colony in Rock Castle County; a thriving settlement -of Austrians in Boyle County; a temperance colony of Scandinavians in -Edmonson County; another Scandinavian colony in Grayson County; and -scattered settlements of Germans and Scandinavians in Christian County. -These settlements have from one hundred to over a thousand inhabitants -each. The lands in Laurel and Lincoln counties, which I travelled -through, are on a high plateau, with good air and temperate climate, but -with a somewhat thin, loamy, and sandy soil, needing manure, and called -generally in the State poor land--poor certainly compared with the -blue-grass region and other extraordinarily fertile sections. These -farms, which had been more or less run over by Kentucky farming, were -sold at from one to five dollars an acre. They are farms that a man -cannot live on in idleness. But they respond well to thrifty tillage, -and it is a sight worth a long journey to see the beautiful farms these -Swiss have made out of land that the average Kentuckian thought not -worth cultivating. It has not been done without hard work, and as most -of the immigrants were poor, many of them have had a hard struggle in -building comfortable houses, reducing the neglected land to order, and -obtaining stock. A great attraction to the Swiss was that this land -is adapted to vine culture, and a reasonable profit was expected -from selling grapes and making wine. The vineyards are still young; -experiment has not yet settled what kind of grapes flourish best, but -many vine-growers have realized handsome profits in the sale of fruit, -and the trial is sufficient to show that good wine can be produced. The -only interference thus far with the grapes has been the unprecedented -late freeze last spring. - -At the recent exposition in Louisville the exhibit of these Swiss -colonies--the photographs showing the appearance of the unkempt land -when they bought it, and the fertile fields of grain and meadow and -vineyards afterwards, and the neat, plain farm cottages, the pretty -Swiss chalet with its attendants of intelligent comely girls in native -costumes offering articles illustrating the taste and the thrift of the -colonies, wood-carving, the products of the dairy, and the fruit of the -vine--attracted great attention. - -I cannot better convey to the reader the impression I wish to in regard -to this colonization and its lesson for the country at large than -by speaking more in detail of one of the Swiss settlements in Laurel -County. This is Bernstadt, about six miles from Pittsburg, on the -Louisville and Nashville road, a coal-mining region, and offering a good -market for the produce of the Swiss farmers. We did not need to be told -when we entered the colony lands; neater houses, thrifty farming, and -better roads proclaimed it. It is not a garden-spot; in some respects it -is a poor-looking country; but it has abundant timber, good water, good -air, a soil of light sandy loam, which is productive under good -tillage. There are here, I suppose, some two hundred and fifty families, -scattered about over a large area, each on its farm. There is no -collection of houses; the church (Lutheran), the school-house, the -store, the post-office, the hotel, are widely separated; for the -hotel-keeper, the store-keeper, the postmaster, and, I believe, the -school-master and the parson, are all farmers to a greater or less -extent. It must be understood that it is a primitive settlement, -having as yet very little that is picturesque, a community of simple -working-people. Only one or two of the houses have any pretension -to taste in architecture, but this will come in time--the vine-clad -porches, the quaint gables, the home-likeness. The Kentuckian, however, -will notice the barns for the stock, and a general thriftiness about -the places. And the appearance of the farms is an object-lesson of the -highest value. - -The chief interest to me, however, was the character of the settlers. -Most of them were poor, used to hard work and scant returns for it in -Switzerland. What they have accomplished, therefore, is the result of -industry, and not of capital. There are among the colonists -skilled laborers in other things than vine-growing and -cheese-making--watch-makers and wood-carvers and adepts in various -trades. The thrifty young farmer at whose pretty house we spent the -night, and who has saw-mills at Pittsburg, is of one of the best Swiss -families; his father was for many years President of the republic, and -he was a graduate of the university at Lucerne. There were others of -the best blood and breeding and schooling, and men of scientific -attainments. But they are all at work close to the soil. As a rule, -however, the colonists were men and women of small means at home. The -notable thing is that they bring with them a certain old civilization, a -unity of simplicity of life with real refinement, courtesy, politeness, -good-humor. The girls would not be above going out to service, and they -would not lose their self-respect in it. Many of them would be described -as "peasants," but I saw some, not above the labors of the house and -farm, with real grace and dignity of manner and charm of conversation. -Few of them as yet speak any English, but in most houses are evidences -of some German culture. Uniformly there was courtesy and frank -hospitality. The community amuses itself rationally. It has a very good -brass band, a singing club, and in the evenings and holidays it is apt -to assemble at the hotel and take a little wine and sing the songs of -father-land. The hotel is indeed at present without accommodations for -lodgers--nothing but a Wirthshaus with a German garden where dancing -may take place now and then. With all the hard labor, they have an idea -of the simple comforts and enjoyments of life. And they live very well, -though plainly. At a house where we dined, in the colony Strasburg, -near Bernstadt, we had an excellent dinner, well served, and including -delicious soup. If the colony never did anything else than teach that -part of the State how to make soup, its existence would be justified. -Here, in short, is an element of homely thrift, civilization on a -rational basis, good-citizenship, very desirable in any State. May their -vineyards flourish! When we departed early in the morning--it was -not yet seven--a dozen Switzers, fresh from the dewy fields, in their -working dresses, had assembled at the hotel, where the young landlady -also smiled a welcome, to send us off with a song, which ended, as we -drove away, in a good-bye _yodel_. - -A line drawn from the junction of the Scioto River with the Ohio -south-west to a point in the southern boundary about thirty miles -east of where the Cumberland leaves the State defines the eastern -coal-measures of Kentucky. In area it is about a quarter of the State--a -region of plateaus, mountains, narrow valleys, cut in all directions by -clear, rapid streams, stuffed, one may say, with coals, streaked -with iron, abounding in limestone, and covered with superb forests. -Independent of other States a most remarkable region, but considered -in its relation to the coals and iron ores of West Virginia, western -Virginia, and eastern Tennessee, it becomes one of the most important -and interesting regions in the Union. Looking to the south-eastern -border, I hazard nothing in saying that the country from the Breaks of -Sandy down to Big Creek Gap (in the Cumberland Mountain), in Tennessee, -is on the eve of an astonishing development--one that will revolutionize -eastern Kentucky, and powerfully affect the iron and coal markets of the -country. It is a region that appeals as well to the imagination of the -traveller as to the capitalist. My personal observation of it extends -only to the portion from Cumberland Gap to Big Stone Gap, and the -head-waters of the Cumberland between Cumberland Mountain and Pine -Mountain, but I saw enough to comprehend why eager purchasers are buying -the forests and the mining rights, why great companies, American and -English, are planting themselves there and laying the foundations of -cities, and why the gigantic railway corporations are straining every -nerve to penetrate the mineral and forest heart of the region. A dozen -roads, projected and in progress, are pointed towards this centre. It -is a race for the prize. The Louisville and Nashville, running through -soft-coal fields to Jellico and on to Knoxville, branches from Corbin -to Barboursville (an old and thriving town) and to Pineville. From -Pineville it is under contract, thirteen miles, to Cumberland Gap. This -gap is being tunnelled (work going on at both ends) by an independent -company, the tunnel to be open to all roads. The Louisville and -Nashville may run up the south side of the Cumberland range to Big Stone -Gap, or it may ascend the Cumberland River and its Clover Fork, and pass -over to Big Stone Gap that way, or it may do both. A road is building -from Knoxville to Cumberland Gap, and from Johnson City to Big Stone -Gap. A road is running from Bristol to within twenty miles of Big Stone -Gap; another road nears the same place--the extension of the Norfolk and -Western--from Pocahontas down the Clinch River. From the north-west many -roads are projected to pierce the great deposits of coking and -cannel coals, and find or bore a way through the mountain ridges into -south-western Virginia. One of these, the Kentucky Union, starting from -Lexington (which is becoming a great railroad centre), has reached Clay -City, and will soon be open to the Three Forks of the Kentucky River, -and on to Jackson, in Breathitt County. These valley and transridge -roads will bring within short hauling distance of each other as great -a variety of iron ores of high and low grade, and of coals, coking and -other, as can be found anywhere--according to the official reports, -greater than anywhere else within the same radius. As an item it may be -mentioned that the rich, pure, magnetic iron ore used in the manufacture -of Bessemer steel, found in East Tennessee and North Carolina, and -developed in greatest abundance at Cranberry Forge, is within one -hundred miles of the superior Kentucky coking coal. This contiguity (a -contiguity of coke, ore, and limestone) in this region points to the -manufacture of Bessemer steel here at less cost than it is now elsewhere -made. - -It is unnecessary that I should go into details as to the ore and coal -deposits of this region: the official reports are accessible. It may be -said, however, that the reports of the Geological Survey as to both -coal and iron have been recently perfectly confirmed by the digging of -experts. Aside from the coal-measures below the sandstone, there have -been found above the sandstone, north of Pine Mountain, 1650 feet of -coal-measures, containing nine beds of coal of workable thickness, and -between Pine and Cumberland mountains there is a greater thickness of -coal-measures, containing twelve or more workable beds. Some of these -are coking coals of great excellence. Cannel-coals are found in sixteen -of the counties in the eastern coal-fields. Two of them at least are of -unexampled richness and purity. The value of a cannel-coal is determined -by its volatile combustible matter. By this test some of the Kentucky -cannel-coal excels the most celebrated coals of Great Britain. An -analysis of a cannel-coal in Breathitt County gives 66.28 of volatile -combustible matter; the highest in Great Britain is the Boghead, -Scotland, 51.60 per cent. This beautiful cannel-coal has been brought -out in small quantities _via_ the Kentucky River; it will have a -market all over the country when the railways reach it. The first coal -identified as coking was named the Elkhorn, from the stream where it was -found in Pike County. A thick bed of it has been traced over an area of -1600 square miles, covering several counties, but attaining its greatest -thickness in Letcher, Pike, and Harlan. This discovery of coking coal -adds greatly to the value of the iron ores in north-eastern Kentucky, -and in the Red and Kentucky valleys, and also of the great deposits -of ore on the south-east boundary, along the western base of the -Cumberland, along the slope of Powell's Mountain, and also along -Wallin's Ridge, three parallel lines, convenient to the coking coal in -Kentucky. This is the Clinton or red fossil ore, stratified, having -from 45 to 54 per cent, of metallic iron. Recently has been found on the -north side of Pine Mountain in Kentucky, a third deposit of rich "brown" -ore, averaging 52 per cent, of metallic iron. This is the same as the -celebrated brown ore used in the furnaces at Clifton Forge; it makes a -very tough iron. I saw a vein of it on Straight Creek, three miles north -of Pineville, just opened, at least eight feet thick. - -The railway to Pineville follows the old Wilderness road, the trail of -Boone and the stage-road, along which are seen the ancient tavern -stands where the jolly story-telling travellers of fifty years ago were -entertained and the droves of horses and cattle were fed. The railway -has been stopped a mile west of Pineville by a belligerent property -owner, who sits there with his Winchester rifle, and will not let the -work go on until the courts compel him. The railway will not cross the -Cumberland at Pineville, but higher up, near the great elbow. There -was no bridge over the stream, and we crossed at a very rough and rocky -wagon-ford. Pineville, where there has loner been a backwoods settlement -on the south bend of the river just after it breaks through Pine -Mountain, is now the centre of a good deal of mining excitement and -real-estate speculation. It has about five hundred inhabitants, and a -temporary addition of land buyers, mineral experts, engineers, furnace -projectors, and railway contractors. There is not level ground for a -large city, but what there is is plotted out for sale. The abundant iron -ore, coal, and timber here predict for it a future of some importance. -It has already a smart new hotel, and business buildings, and churches -are in process of erection. The society of the town had gathered for the -evening at the hotel. A wandering one-eyed fiddler was providentially -present who could sing and play "The Arkansas Traveller" and other -tunes that lift the heels of the young, and also accompany the scream -of the violin with the droning bagpipe notes of the mouth-harmonica. -The star of the gay company was a graduate of Annapolis, in full evening -dress uniform, a native boy of the valley, and his vis-à-vis was a heavy -man in a long linen duster and carpet slippers, with a palm-leaf fan, -who crashed through the cotillon with good effect. It was a pleasant -party, and long after it had dispersed, the troubadour, sitting on the -piazza, wiled away sleep by the break-downs, jigs, and songs of the -frontier. - -Pineville and its vicinity have many attractions; the streams are clear, -rapid, rocky, the foliage abundant, the hills picturesque. Straight -Creek, which comes in along the north base of Pine Mountain, is an -exceedingly picturesque stream, having along its banks fertile little -stretches of level ground, while the gentle bordering hills are -excellent for grass, fruit orchards, and vineyards. The walnut-trees -have been culled out, but there is abundance of oat, beech, poplar, -encumber, and small pines. And there is no doubt about the mineral -wealth. - -We drove from Pineville to Cumberland Gap, thirteen miles, over the now -neglected Wilderness road, the two mules of the wagon unable to pull -us faster than two miles an hour. The road had every variety of badness -conceivable--loose stones, ledges of rock, bowlders, sloughs, holes, -mud, sand, deep fords. We crossed and followed up Clear Creek (a muddy -stream) over Log Mountain (full of coal) to Canon Creek. Settlements -were few--only occasional poor shanties. Climbing over another ridge, we -reached the Yellow Creek Valley, through which the Yellow Creek meanders -in sand. This whole valley, lying very prettily among the mountains, has -a bad name for "difficulties." The hills about, on the sides and tops of -which are ragged little farms, and the valley itself, still contain some -lawless people. We looked with some interest at the Turner house, where -a sheriff was killed a year ago, at a place where a "severe" man fired -into a wagon-load of people and shot a woman, and at other places where -in recent times differences of opinion had been settled by the revolver. -This sort of thing is, however, practically over. This valley, close to -Cumberland Gap, is the site of the great city, already plotted, which -the English company are to build as soon as the tunnel is completed. -It is called Middleborough, and the streets are being graded and -preparations made for building furnaces. The north side of Cumberland -Mountain, like the south side of Pine, is a conglomerate, covered with -superb oak and chestnut trees. We climbed up to the mountain over -a winding road of ledges, bowlders, and deep gullies, rising to an -extended pleasing prospect of mountains and valleys. The pass has a -historic interest, not only as the ancient highway, but as the path of -armies in the Civil War. It is narrow, a deep road between overhanging -rocks. It is easily defended. A light bridge thrown over the road, -leading to rifle-pits and breastworks on the north side, remains to -attest the warlike occupation. Above, on the bald highest rocky head on -the north, guns were planted to command the pass. Two or three houses, a -blacksmith's shop, a drinking tavern, behind which on the rocks four men -were playing old sledge, made up the sum of its human attractions as we -saw it. Just here in the pass Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia touch -each other. Virginia inserts a narrow wedge between the other two. -On our way down the wild and picturesque road we crossed the State of -Virginia and went to the new English hotel in Tennessee. We passed a -magnificent spring, which sends a torrent of water into the valley, and -turns a great millwheel--a picture in its green setting--saw the opening -of the tunnel with its shops and machinery, noted the few houses and -company stores of the new settlement, climbed the hill to the pretty -hotel, and sat down on the piazza to look at the scene. The view is -a striking one. The valley through which the Powell River runs is -pleasant, and the bold, bare mountain of rock at the right of the -pass is a noble feature in the landscape. With what joy must the early -wilderness pilgrims have hailed this landmark, this gate-way to the -Paradise beyond the mountains! Some miles north in the range are the -White Rocks, gleaming in the sun and conspicuous from afar, the first -signal to the weary travellers from the east of the region they sought. -Cumberland Gap is full of expectation, and only awaits the completion of -the tunnel to enter upon its development. Here railways from the north, -south, and west are expected to meet, and in the Yellow Creek Valley -beyond, the English are to build a great manufacturing city. The valleys -and sides of these mountain ranges (which have a uniform elevation -of not much more than 2000 to 2500 feet) enjoy a delightful climate, -moderate in the winter and temperate in the summer. This whole region, -when it is accessible by rail, will be attractive to tourists. - -We pursued our journey up the Powell River Valley, along the base of the -Cumberland, on horseback--one day in a wagon in this country ought to -satisfy anybody. The roads, however, are better on this side of the -mountain; all through Lee County, In Virginia, in spots very good. This -is a very fine valley, with good water, cold and clear, growing in -abundance oats and corn, a constant succession of pretty views. We dined -excellently at a neat farm-house on the river, and slept at the house -of a very prosperous farmer near Boon's Path post-office. Here we are -abreast the White Rocks, the highest point of the Cumberland (3451 -feet), that used to be the beacon of immigration. - -The valley grows more and more beautiful as we go up, full fields of -wheat, corn, oats, friendly to fruit of all sorts, with abundance of -walnut, oak, and chestnut timber--a fertile, agreeable valley, settled -with well-to-do farmers. The next morning, beautifully clear and -sparkling, we were off at seven o'clock through a lovely broken -country, following the line of Cumberland (here called Stone) Mountain, -alternately little hills and meadows, cultivated hill-sides, stretches -of rich valley, exquisite views--a land picturesque and thriving. -Continuing for nine miles up Powell Valley, we turned to the left -through a break in the hills into Poor Valley, a narrow, wild, sweet -ravine among the hills, with a swift crystal stream overhung by masses -of rhododendrons in bloom, and shaded by magnificent forest-trees. We -dined at a farm-house by Pennington's Gap, and had a swim in the north -fork of Powell River, which here, with many a leap, breaks through the -bold scenery in the gap. Farther on, the valley was broader and -more fertile, and along the wide reaches of the river grew enormous -beech-trees, the russet foliage of which took on an exquisite color -towards evening. Indeed, the ride all day was excitingly interesting, -with the great trees, the narrow rich valleys, the frequent sparkling -streams, and lovely mountain views. At sunset we came to the house of an -important farmer who has wide possessions, about thirteen miles from Big -Stone Gap. We have nothing whatever against him except that he routed -us out at five o'clock of a foggy Sunday morning, which promised to be -warm--July 1st--to send us on our way to "the city." All along we had -heard of "the city." In a radius of a hundred miles Big Stone Gap is -called nothing but "the city," and our anticipations were raised. - -That morning's ride I shall not forget. We crossed and followed Powell -River. All along the banks are set the most remarkable beech-trees I -have ever seen--great, wide-spreading, clean-boled trees, overbading the -stream, and giving under their boughs, nearly all the way, ravishingly -lovely views. This was the paradisiacal way to Big Stone Gap, which we -found to be a round broken valley, shut in by wooded mountains, covered -more or less with fine trees, the meeting-place of the Powell River, -which comes through the gap, and its south fork. In the round elevation -between them is the inviting place of the future city. There are two Big -Stone Gaps--the one open fields and forests, a settlement of some thirty -to forty houses, most of them new and many in process of building, a -hotel, and some tents; the other, the city on the map. The latter is -selling in small lots, has wide avenues, parks, one of the finest hotels -in the South, banks, warehouses, and all that can attract the business -man or the summer lounger. - -The heavy investments in Big Stone Gap and the region I should say were -fully justified by the natural advantages. It is a country of great -beauty, noble mountain ranges, with the valleys diversified by small -hills, fertile intervales, fine streams, and a splendid forest growth. -If the anticipations of an important city at the gap are half realized, -the slopes of the hills and natural terraces will be dotted with -beautiful residences, agreeable in both summer and winter. It was the -warmest time of the year when we were there, but the air was fresh and -full of vitality. The Big Stone Gap Improvement Company has the city and -its site in charge; it is a consolidation of the various interests of -railway companies and heavy capitalists, who have purchased the land. -The money and the character of the men behind the enterprise insure a -vigorous prosecution of it. On the west side of the river are the depot -and switching-grounds which the several railways have reserved for -their use, and here also are to be the furnaces and shops. When the -city outgrows its present site it can extend up valleys in several -directions. We rode through line forests up the lovely Powell Valley to -Powell Mountain, where a broad and beautiful meadow offers a site for a -suburban village. The city is already planning for suburbs. A few miles -south of the city a powerful stream of clear water falls over precipices -and rocks seven hundred feet in continuous rapids. This is not only -a charming addition to the scenic attractions of the region, but the -stream will supply the town with excellent water and unlimited "power." -Beyond, ten miles to the north-east, rises High Knob, a very sightly -point, where one gets the sort of view of four States that he sees on an -atlas. It is indeed a delightful region; but however one may be charmed -by its natural beauty, he cannot spend a day at Big Stone Gap without -being infected with the great enterprises brooding there. - -We forded Powell River and ascended through the gap on its right bank. -Before entering the gorge we galloped over a beautiful level plateau, -the counterpart of that where the city is laid out, reserved for -railways and furnaces. From this point the valley is seen to be wider -than we suspected, and to have ample room for the manufacturing and -traffic expected. As we turned to see what we shall never see again--the -virgin beauty of nature in this site--the whole attractiveness of this -marvellously picturesque region burst upon us--the great forests, the -clear swift streams, the fertile meadows, the wooded mountains that have -so long secluded this beauty and guarded the treasures of the hills. - -The pass itself, which shows from a distance only a dent in the green -foliage, surprised us by its wild beauty. The stony road, rising little -by little above the river, runs through a magnificent forest, gigantic -trees growing in the midst of enormous bowlders, and towering among -rocks that take the form of walls and buttresses, square structures like -the Titanic ruins of castles; below, the river, full and strong, rages -over rocks and dashes down, filling the forest with its roar, which is -echoed by the towering cliffs on either side. The woods were fresh and -glistening from recent rains, but what made the final charm of the -way was the bloom of the rhododendron, which blazed along the road and -illuminated the cool recesses of the forest. The time for the blooming -of the azalea and the kalmia (mountain-laurel) was past, but the pink -and white rhododendron was in full glory, masses of bloom, not small -stalks lurking like underbrush, but on bushes attaining the dignity of -trees, and at least twenty-five feet high. The splendor of the forest -did not lessen as we turned to the left and followed up Pigeon Creek to -a high farming region, rough but fertile, at the base of Black Mountain. -Such a wealth of oak, beech, poplar, chestnut, and ash, and, sprinkled -in, the pretty cucumber-magnolia in bloom! By sunset we found our way, -off the main road, to a lonely farm-house hidden away at the foot of -Morris Pass, secluded behind an orchard of apple and peach trees. A -stream of spring-water from the rocks above ran to the house, and to the -eastward the ravine broadened into pastures. It seemed impossible to -get farther from the world and its active currents. We were still in -Virginia. - -Our host, an old man over six feet in height, with spare, straight, -athletic form, a fine head, and large clear gray eyes, lived here alone -with his aged spouse. He had done his duty by his country in raising -twelve children (that is the common and orthodox number in this region), -who had all left him except one son, who lived in a shanty up the -ravine. It was this son's wife who helped about the house and did the -milking, taking care also of a growing family of her own, and doing her -share of field-work. I had heard that the women in this country were -more industrious than the men. I asked this woman, as she was milking -that evening, if the women did all the work. No, she said; only their -share. Her husband was all the time in the field, and even her boys, one -only eight, had to work with him; there was no time to go to school, and -indeed the school didn't amount to much anyway--only a little while in -the fall. She had all the care of the cows. "Men," she added, "never -notice milking;" and the worst of it was that she had to go miles around -in the bush night and morning to find them. After supper we had a call -from a bachelor who occupied a cabin over the pass, on the Kentucky -side, a loquacious philosopher, who squatted on his heels in the -door-yard where we were sitting, and interrogated each of us in turn as -to our names, occupations, residence, ages, and politics, and then gave -us as freely his own history and views of life. His eccentricity in this -mountain region was that he had voted for Cleveland and should do it -again. Mr. Morris couldn't go with him in this; and when pressed for his -reasons he said that Cleveland had had the salary long enough, and got -rich enough out of it. The philosopher brought the news, had heard it -talked about on Sunday, that a man over Clover Fork way had killed his -wife and brother. It was claimed to be an accident; they were having -a game of cards and some whiskey, and he was trying to kill his -son-in-law. Was there much killing round here? Well, not much lately. -Last year John Cone, over on Clover Fork, shot Mat Harner in a dispute -over cards. Well, what became of John Cone? Oh, he was killed by Jim -Blood, a friend of Harner. And what became of Blood? Well, he got shot -by Elias Travers. And Travers? Oh, he was killed by a man by the name -of Jacobs. That ended it. None of 'em was of much account. There was a -pleasing naivete in this narrative. And then the philosopher, whom the -milkmaid described to me next morning as "a simlar sort of man," went on -to give his idea about this killing business. "All this killing in the -mountains is foolish. If you kill a man, that don't aggravate him; he's -dead and don't care, and it all comes on you." - -In the early morning we crossed a narrow pass in the Black Mountain into -"Canetucky," and followed down the Clover Fork of the Cumberland. -All these mountains are perfectly tree-clad, but they have not the -sombreness of the high regions of the Great Smoky and the Black -Mountains of North Carolina. There are few black balsams, or any sort of -evergreens, and the great variety of deciduous trees, from the shining -green of the oak to the bronze hue of the beech, makes everywhere soft -gradations of color most pleasing to the eye. In the autumn, they say, -the brilliant maples in combination with the soberer bronzes and yellows -of the other forest-trees give an ineffable beauty to these ridges and -graceful slopes. The ride down Clover Fork, all day long, was for the -most part through a virgin world. The winding valley is at all times -narrow, with here and there a tiny meadow, and at long intervals a -lateral opening down which another sparkling brook comes from the -recesses of this wilderness of mountains. Houses are miles apart, and -usually nothing but cabins half concealed in some sheltered nook. There -is, however, hidden on the small streams, on mountain terraces, and high -up on the slopes, a considerable population, cabin dwellers, cultivators -of corn, on the almost perpendicular hills. Many of these cornfields are -so steep that it is impossible to plough them, and all the cultivation -is done with the hoe. I heard that a man was recently killed in this -neighborhood by falling out of his cornfield. The story has as much -foundation as the current belief that the only way to keep a mule in the -field where you wish him to stay is to put him into the adjoining lot. -But it is true that no one would believe that crops could be raised on -such nearly perpendicular slopes as these unless he had seen the planted -fields. - -In my limited experience I can recall no day's ride equal in simple -natural beauty--not magnificence--and splendor of color to that down -Clover Fork. There was scarcely a moment of the day when the scene did -not call forth from us exclamations of surprise and delight. The road -follows and often crosses the swift, clear, rocky stream. The variegated -forest rises on either hand, but all along the banks vast trees without -underbrush dot the little intervales. Now and then, in a level reach, -where the road wound through these monarch stems, and the water spread -in silver pools, the perspective was entrancing. But the color! For -always there were the rhododendrons, either gleaming in masses of white -and pink in the recesses of the forest, or forming for us an _allée_, -close set, and uninterrupted for miles and miles; shrubs like trees, -from twenty to thirty feet high, solid bouquets of blossoms, more -abundant than any cultivated parterre, more brilliant than the -finest display in a horticultural exhibition. There is an avenue of -rhododendrons half a mile long at Hampton Court, which is world-wide -famous. It needs a day to ride through the rhododendron avenue on Clover -Fork, and the wild and free beauty of it transcends all creations of the -gardener. - -The inhabitants of the region are primitive and to a considerable extent -illiterate. But still many strong and distinguished men have come from -these mountain towns. Many families send their children away to school, -and there are fair schools at Barbersville, Harlan Court-house, and in -other places. Long isolated from the moving world, they have retained -the habits of the early settlers, and to some extent the vernacular -speech, though the dialect is not specially marked. They have been until -recently a self-sustaining people, raising and manufacturing nearly -everything required by their limited knowledge and wants. Not long ago -the women spun and wove from cotton and hemp and wool the household -linen, the bed-wear, and the clothes of the family. In many houses the -loom is still at work. The colors used for dyeing were formerly all of -home make except, perhaps, the indigo; now they use what they call the -"brought in" dyes, bought at the stores; and prints and other fabrics -are largely taking the places of the home-made. During the morning we -stopped at one of the best houses on the fork, a house with a small -apple-orchard in front, having a veranda, two large rooms, and a porch -and kitchen at the back. In the back porch stood the loom with its -web of half-finished cloth. The farmer was of the age when men sun -themselves on the gallery and talk. His wife, an intelligent, barefooted -old woman, was still engaged in household duties, but her weaving days -were over. Her daughters did the weaving, and in one of the rooms were -the linsey-woolsey dresses hung up, and piles of gorgeous bed coverlets, -enough to set up half a dozen families. These are the treasures and -heirlooms handed down from mother to daughter, for these handmade -fabrics never wear out. Only eight of the twelve children were at home. -The youngest, the baby, a sickly boy of twelve, was lounging about the -house. He could read a little, for he had been to school a few weeks. -Reading and writing were not accomplishments in the family generally. -The other girls and boys were in the cornfield, and going to the back -door, I saw a line of them hoeing at the top of the field. The field -was literally so steep that they might have rolled from the top to the -bottom. The mother called them in, and they lounged leisurely down, the -girls swinging themselves over the garden fence with athletic ease. -The four eldest were girls: one, a woman of thirty-five, had lost her -beauty, if she ever had any, with her teeth; one, of thirty, recently -married, had a stately dignity and a certain nobility of figure; one, of -sixteen, was undeniably pretty--almost the only woman entitled to this -epithet that we saw in the whole journey. This household must have been -an exception, for the girls usually marry very young. They were all, -of course, barefooted. They were all laborers, and evidently took life -seriously, and however much their knowledge of the world was limited, -the household evidently respected itself. The elder girls were the -weavers, and they showed a taste and skill in their fabrics that would -be praised in the Orient or in Mexico. The designs and colors of the -coverlets were ingenious and striking. There was a very handsome one -in crimson, done in wavy lines and bizarre figures, that was called the -Kentucky Beauty, or the Ocean Wave, that had a most brilliant effect. -A simple, hospitable family this. The traveller may go all through -this region with the certainty of kindly treatment, and in perfect -security--if, I suppose, he is not a revenue officer, or sent in to -survey land on which the inhabitants have squatted. - -We came at night to Harlan Court-house, an old shabby hamlet, but -growing and improving, having a new court-house and other signs of the -awakening of the people to the wealth here in timber and mines. Here in -a beautiful valley three streams--Poor, Martin, and Clover forks--unite -to form the Cumberland. The place has fourteen "stores" and three -taverns, the latter a trial to the traveller. Harlan has been one of -the counties most conspicuous for lawlessness. The trouble is not -simply individual wickedness, but the want of courage of public opinion, -coupled with a general disrespect for authority. Plenty of people lament -the state of things, but want the courage to take a public stand. The -day before we reached the Court-house the man who killed his wife and -his brother had his examination. His friends were able to take the case -before a friendly justice instead of the judge. The facts sworn to were -that in a drunken dispute over cards he tried to kill his son-in-law, -who escaped out of the window, and that his wife and brother opposed -him, and he killed them with his pistol. Therefore their deaths were -accidental, and he was discharged. Many people said privately that he -ought to be hanged, but there was entire public apathy over the affair. -If Harlan had three or four resolute men who would take a public stand -that this lawlessness must cease, they could carry the community with -them. But the difficulty of enforcing law and order in some of these -mountain counties is to find proper judges, prosecuting officers, and -sheriffs. The officers are as likely as not to be the worst men in the -community, and if they are not, they are likely to use their authority -for satisfying their private grudges and revenges. Consequently men take -the "law" into their own hands. The most personally courageous become -bullies and the terror of the community. The worst citizens are not -those who have killed most men, in the opinion of the public. It ought -to be said that in some of the mountain counties there has been very -little lawlessness, and in some it has been repressed by the local -authorities, and there is great improvement on the whole. I was sorry -not to meet a well-known character in the mountains, who has killed -twenty-one men. He is a very agreeable "square" man, and I believe -"high-toned," and it is the universal testimony that he never killed a -man who did not deserve killing, and whose death was a benefit to the -community. He is called, in the language of the country, a "severe" man. -In a little company that assembled at the Harlan tavern were two elderly -men, who appeared to be on friendly terms enough. Their sons had had -a difficulty, and two boys out of each family had been killed not very -long ago. The fathers were not involved in the vendetta. About the old -Harlan court-house a great many men have been killed during court week -in the past few years. The habit of carrying pistols and knives, and -whiskey, are the immediate causes of these deaths, but back of these is -the want of respect for law. At the ford of the Cumberland at Pineville -was anchored a little house-boat, which was nothing but a whiskey-shop. -During our absence a tragedy occurred there. The sheriff with a posse -went out to arrest some criminals in the mountain near. He secured his -men, and was bringing them into Pineville, when it occurred to him that -it would be a good plan to take a drink at the houseboat. The whole -party got into a quarrel over their liquor, and in it the sheriff was -killed and a couple of men seriously wounded. A resolute surveyor, -formerly a general in our army, surveying land in the neighborhood of -Pineville, under a decree of the United States Court, has for years -carried on his work at the personal peril of himself and his party. The -squatters not only pull up his stakes and destroy his work day after -day, but it was reported that they had shot at his corps from the -bushes. He can only go on with his work by employing a large guard of -armed men. - -This state of things in eastern Kentucky will not be radically changed -until the railways enter it, and business and enterprise bring in -law and order. The State Government cannot find native material for -enforcing law, though there has been improvement within the past two -years. I think no permanent gain can be expected till a new civilization -comes in, though I heard of a bad community in one of the counties -that had been quite subdued and changed by the labors of a devout and -plain-spoken evangelist. So far as our party was concerned, we received -nothing but kind treatment, and saw little evidences of demoralization, -except that the young men usually were growing up to be "roughs," and -liked to lounge about with shot-guns rather than work. But the report of -men who have known the country for years was very unfavorable as to the -general character of the people who live on the mountains and in the -little valleys--that they were all ignorant; that the men generally were -idle, vicious, and cowardly, and threw most of the hard labor in the -field and house upon the women; that the killings are mostly done -from ambush, and with no show for a fair fight. This is a tremendous -indictment, and it is too sweeping to be sustained. The testimony of -the gentlemen of our party, who thoroughly know this part of the State, -contradicted it. The fact is there are two sorts of people in the -mountains, as elsewhere. - -The race of American mountaineers occupying the country from western -North Carolina to eastern Kentucky is a curious study Their origin is -in doubt. They have developed their peculiarities in isolation. In this -freedom stalwart and able men have been from time to time developed, but -ignorance and freedom from the restraints of law have had their logical -result as to the mass. I am told that this lawlessness has only existed -since the war; that before, the people, though ignorant of letters, were -peaceful. They had the good points of a simple people, and if they were -not literate, they had abundant knowledge of their own region. During -the war the mountaineers were carrying on a civil war at home. The -opposing parties were not soldiers, but bushwhackers. Some of the best -citizens were run out of the country, and never returned. The majority -were Unionists, and in all the mountain region of eastern Kentucky I -passed through there are few to-day who are politically Democrats. In -the war, home-guards were organized, and these were little better than -vigilance committees for private revenge. Disorder began with -this private and partly patriotic warfare. After the war, when the -bushwhackers got back to their cabins, the animosities were kept up, -though I fancy that politics has little or nothing to do with them now. -The habit of reckless shooting, of taking justice into private hands, is -no doubt a relic of the disorganization during the war. - -Worthless, good-for-nothing, irreclaimable, were words I often heard -applied to people of this and that region. I am not so despondent of -their future. Railways, trade, the sight of enterprise and industry, -will do much with this material. Schools will do more, though it seems -impossible to have efficient schools there at present. The people in -their ignorance and their undeveloped country have a hard struggle for -life. This region is, according to the census, the most prolific in -the United States. The girls marry young, bear many children, work like -galley-slaves, and at the time when women should be at their best they -fade, lose their teeth, become ugly, and look old. One great cause of -this is their lack of proper nourishment. There is nothing unhealthy in -out-door work in moderation if the body is properly sustained by good -food. But healthy, handsome women are not possible without good fare. -In a considerable part of eastern Kentucky (not I hear in all) good -wholesome cooking is unknown, and civilization is not possible without -that. We passed a cabin where a man was very ill with dysentery. No -doctor could be obtained, and perhaps that, considering what the doctor -might have been, was not a misfortune. But he had no food fit for a -sick man, and the women of the house were utterly ignorant of the diet -suitable to a man in his state. I have no doubt that the abominable -cookery of the region has much to do with the lawlessness, as it visibly -has to do with the poor physical condition. - -The road down the Cumberland, in a valley at times spreading out into -fertile meadows, is nearly all the way through magnificent forests, -along hill-sides fit for the vine, for fruit, and for pasture, while -frequent outcroppings of coal testify to the abundance of the fuel that -has been so long stored for the new civilization. These mountains -would be profitable as sheep pastures did not the inhabitants here, as -elsewhere in the United States, prefer to keep dogs rather than sheep. - -I have thus sketched hastily some of the capacities of the Cumberland -region. It is my belief that this central and hitherto neglected -portion of the United States will soon become the theatre of vast and -controlling industries. - -I want space for more than a concluding word about western Kentucky, -which deserves, both for its capacity and its recent improvements, -a chapter to itself. There is a limestone area of some 10,000 square -miles, with a soil hardly less fertile than that of the blue-grass -region, a high agricultural development, and a population equal in all -respects to that of the famous and historic grass country. Seven of the -ten principal tobacco-producing counties in Kentucky and the largest -Indian corn and wheat raising counties are in this part of the State. -The western coal-field has both river and rail transportation, thick -deposits of iron ore, and more level and richer farming lands than the -eastern coal-field. Indeed, the agricultural development in this western -coal region has attracted great attention. - -Much also might be written of the remarkable progress of the towns of -western Kentucky within the past few years. The increase in population -is not more astonishing than the development of various industries. They -show a vigorous, modern activity for which this part of the State has -not, so far as I know, been generally credited. The traveller will -find abundant evidence of it in Owensborough, Henderson, Hopkinsville, -Bowling Green, and other places. As an illustration: Paducah, while -doubling its population since 1880, has increased its manufacturing 150 -per cent. The town had in 1880 twenty-six factories, with a capital of -$600,000, employing 950 men; now it has fifty factories, with a cash -capital of $2,000,000, employing 3250 men, engaged in a variety of -industries--to which a large iron furnace is now being added. Taking it -all together--variety of resources, excellence of climate, vigor of -its people--one cannot escape the impression that Kentucky has a great -future. - - - - - -COMMENTS ON CANADA. - - - - -I. - -|The area of the Dominion of Canada is larger than that of the United -States, excluding Alaska. It is fair, however, in the comparison, to -add Alaska, for Canada has in its domain enough arctic and practically -uninhabitable land to offset Alaska. Excluding the boundary great lakes -and rivers, Canada has 3,470,257 square miles of territory, or more than -one-third of the entire British Empire; the United States has 3,026,494 -square miles, or, adding Alaska (577,390), 3,603,884 square miles. From -the eastern limit of the maritime provinces to Vancouver Island the -distance is over three thousand five hundred miles. This whole distance -is settled, but a considerable portion of it only by a thin skirmish -line. I have seen a map, colored according to the maker's idea of -fertility, on which Canada appears little more than a green flush along -the northern boundary of the United States. With a territory equal -to our own, Canada has the population of the single State of New -York--about five millions. - -Most of Canada lies north of the limit of what was reckoned agreeably -habitable before it was discovered that climate depends largely on -altitude, and that the isothermal lines and the lines of latitude do not -coincide. The division between the two countries is, however, mainly -a natural one, on a divide sloping one way to the arctic regions, the -other way to the tropics. It would seem better map-making to us if our -line followed the northern mountains of Maine and included New -Brunswick and the other maritime provinces. But it would seem a better -rectification to Canadians if their line included Maine with the harbor -of Portland, and dipped down in the North-west so as to take in the Red -River of the North, and all the waters discharging into Hudson's Bay. - -The great bulk of Canada is on the arctic slope. When we pass the -highlands of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York we fall away into -a wide champaign country. The only break in this is the Lauren-tian -granite mountains, north of the St. Lawrence, the oldest land above -water, now degraded into hills of from 1500 to 2000 feet in height. The -central mass of Canada consists of three great basins: that portion of -the St. Lawrence in the Dominion, 400,000 square miles; the Hudson's -Bay, 2,000,000 square miles; the Mackenzie, 550,000 square miles. -That is to say, of the 3,470,257 square miles of the area of Canada, -3,010,000 have a northern slope. - -This decrease in altitude from our northern boundary makes Canada a -possible nation. The Rocky Mountains fall away north into the Mackenzie -plain. The highest altitude attained by the Union Pacific Railroad is -8240 feet; the highest of the Canadian Pacific is 5296; and a line of -railway still farther north, from the North Saskatchewan region, can, -and doubtless some time will, reach the Pacific without any obstruction -by the Rockies and the Selkirks. In estimating, therefore, the capacity -of Canada for sustaining a large population we have to remember that -the greater portion of it is but little above the sea-level; that the -climate of the interior is modified by vast bodies of water; that the -maximum summer heat of Montreal and Quebec exceeds that of New York; -and that there is a vast region east of the Rockies and north of -the Canadian Pacific Railway, not only the plains drained by the two -branches of the Saskatchewan, but those drained by the Peace River still -farther north, which have a fair share of summer weather, and winters -much milder than are enjoyed in our Territories farther south but higher -in altitude. The summers of this vast region are by all reports -most agreeable, warm days and refreshing nights, with a stimulating -atmosphere; winters with little snow, and usually bright and pleasant, -occasional falls of the thermometer for two or three days to arctic -temperature, but as certain a recovery to mildness by the "Chinook" -or Pacific winds. It is estimated that the plains of the -Saskatchewan--500,000 square miles--are capable of sustaining a -population of thirty millions. But nature there must call forth a good -deal of human energy and endurance. There is no doubt that frosts are -liable to come very late in the spring and very early in the autumn; -that persistent winds are hostile to the growth of trees; and that -varieties of hardy cereals and fruits must be selected for success in -agriculture and horticulture. The winters are exceedingly severe on all -the prairies east of Winnipeg, and westward on the Canadian Pacific as -far as Medicine Hat, the crossing of the South Saskatchewan. Heavy items -in the cost of living there must always be fuel, warm clothing, and -solid houses. Fortunately the region has an abundance of lignite and -extensive fields of easily workable coal. - -Canada is really two countries, separated from each other by the vast -rocky wilderness between the lakes and James Bay. For a thousand miles -west of Ottawa, till the Manitoba prairie is reached, the traveller -on the line of the railway sees little but granite rock and stunted -balsams, larches, and poplars--a dreary region, impossible to attract -settlers. Copper and other minerals there are; and in the region north -of Lake Superior there is no doubt timber, and arable land is spoken -of; but the country is really unknown. Portions of this land, like that -about Lake Nipigon, offer attractions to sportsmen. Lake navigation is -impracticable about four months in the year, so that Canada seems to -depend for political and commercial unity upon a telegraph wire and -two steel rails running a thousand miles through a region where local -traffic is at present insignificant. - -The present government of Canada is an evolution on British lines, -modified by the example of the republic of the United States. In form -the resemblances are striking to the United States, but underneath, -the differences are radical. There is a supreme federal government, -comprehending a union of provinces, each having its local government. -But the union in the two countries was brought about in a different way, -and the restrictive powers have a different origin. In the one, power -descends from the Crown; in the other, it originates with the people. -In the Dominion Government all the powers not delegated to the provinces -are held by the Federal Government. In the United States, all the powers -not delegated to the Federal Government by the States are held by the -States. In the United States, delegates from the colonies, specially -elected for the purpose, met to put in shape a union already a necessity -of the internal and external situation. And the union expressed in the -Constitution was accepted by the popular vote in each State. In the -provinces of Canada there was a long and successful struggle for -responsible government. The first union was of the two Canadas, in -1840; that is, of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada--Ontario and -Quebec--with Parliaments sitting sometimes in Quebec and sometimes -in Toronto, and at last in Ottawa, a site selected by the Queen. This -Government was carried on with increasing friction. There is not space -here to sketch the politics of this epoch. Many causes contributed to -this friction, but the leading ones were the antagonism of French and -English ideas, the superior advance in wealth and population of Ontario -over Quebec, and the resistance of what was called French domination. At -length, in 1863-64, the two parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals -(or, in the political nomenclature of the day, the "Tories" and the -"Grits"--i. e., those of "clear grit"), were so evenly divided that a -dead-lock occurred, neither was able to carry on the government, and -a coalition ministry was formed. Then the subject of colonial -confederation was actively agitated. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick -contemplated a legislative union of the maritime provinces, and a -conference was called at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in the -summer of 1864. Having in view a more comprehensive union, the Canadian -Government sought and obtained admission to this conference, which -was soon swallowed up in a larger scheme, and a conference of all the -colonies was appointed to be held at Quebec in October. Delegates, -thirty-three in number, were present from all the provinces, probably -sent by the respective legislatures or governments, for I find no note -of a popular election. The result of this conference was the adoption -of resolutions as a basis of an act of confederation. The Canadian -Parliament adopted this scheme after a protracted debate. But the -maritime provinces stood out. Meantime the Civil War in the United -States, the Fenian invasion, and the abrogation of the reciprocity -treaty fostered a spirit of Canadian nationality, and discouraged -whatever feeling existed for annexation to the United States. The -colonies, therefore, with more or less willingness, came into the plan, -and in 1867 the English Parliament passed the British North American -Act, which is the charter of the Dominion. It established the union of -the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and provided -for the admission to the union of the other parts of British North -America; that is, Prince Edward Island, the Hudson Bay Territory, -British Columbia, and Newfoundland, with its dependency Labrador. Nova -Scotia was, however, still dissatisfied with the terms of the union, and -was only reconciled on the granting of additional annual subsidies. - -In 1868, by Act of the British Parliament, the Hudson's Bay Company -surrendered to the Crown its territorial rights over the vast region it -controlled, in consideration of £300,000 sterling, grants of land around -its trading posts to the extent of fifty thousand acres in all, and -one-twentieth of all the fertile land south of the north branch of the -Saskatchewan, retaining its privileges of trade, without its exclusive -monopoly. The attempt of the Dominion Government to take possession -of this north-west territory (Manitoba was created a province July 15, -1870) was met by the rising of the squatters and half-breeds under Louis -Riel in 1869-70. Riel formed a provisional government, and proceeded -with a high hand to banish persons and confiscate property, and on a -drumhead court-martial put to death Thomas Scott, a Canadian militia -officer. The murder of Scott provoked intense excitement throughout -Canada, especially in Ontario. Colonel Garnet Wolseley's expedition to -Fort Garry (now Winnipeg) followed, and the Government authority -was restored. Riel and his squatter confederates fled, and he was -subsequently pardoned. - -In 1871 British Columbia was admitted into the Dominion. In 1873 Prince -Edward Island came in. The original Act for establishing the province of -Manitoba provided for a Lieutenant-governor, a Legislative Council, and -an elected Legislative Assembly. In 1876 Manitoba abolished the Council, -and the government took its present form of a Lieutenant-governor and -one Assembly. By subsequent legislation of the Dominion the district -of Keewatin was created out of the eastern portion of the north-west -territory, under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-governor of -Manitoba, _ex officio_. The Territories of Assiniboin, Alberta, and -Saskatchewan have been organized into a Territory called the North-west -Territory, with a Lieutenant-governor and Council, and a representative -in Parliament, the capital being Regina. Outside of this Territory, -to the northward, lies Athabasca, of which the Lieutenant-governor at -Regina is _ex officio_ ruler. Newfoundland still remains independent, -although negotiations for union were revived in 1888. Some years ago -overtures were made for taking in Jamaica to the union, and a delegation -from that island visited Ottawa; but nothing came of the proposal. It -was said that the Jamaica delegates thought the Dominion debt too large. - -The Dominion of Canada, therefore, has a central government at Ottawa, -and is composed of the provinces of Nova Scotia (including Cape Breton), -New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, British -Columbia, and the North-west Territory. - -It has been necessary to speak in this brief detail of the manner of the -formation of the union in order to understand the politics of Canada. -For there are radicals in the Liberal party who still regard the union -as forced and artificial, and say that the provinces outside of Ontario -and Quebec were brought in only by the promise of local railways and the -payment of large subsidies. And this idea more or less influences the -opposition to the "strong government" at Ottawa. I do not say that the -Liberals oppose the formation of a "nation"; but they are critics of its -methods, and array themselves for provincial rights as against federal -consolidation. - -The Federal Government consists of the Queen, the Senate, and the House -of Commons. The Queen is represented by the Governor-general, who is -paid by Canada a salary of fifty thousand dollars a year. He has his -personal staff, and is aided and advised by a council, called the -Queen's Privy Council of Canada, thirteen members, constituting the -ministry, who must be sustained by a Parliamentary majority. The English -model is exactly followed. The Governor has nominally the power of veto, -but his use of it is as much in abeyance as is the Queen's prerogative -in regard to Acts of Parliament. The premier is in fact the ruler, but -his power depends upon possessing a majority in the House of Commons. -This responsible government, therefore, more quickly responds to popular -action than ours. The Senators are chosen for life, and are in fact -appointed by the premier in power. The House of Commons is elected for -five years, unless Parliament is sooner dissolved, and according to a -ratio of population to correspond with the province of Quebec, which has -always the fixed number of sixty-five members. The voter for members -of Parliament must have certain property qualifications, as owner or -tenant, or, if in a city or town, as earning three hundred dollars a -year--qualifications so low as practically to exclude no one who is -not an idler and a waif; the Indian may vote (though not in the -Territories), but the Mongolian or Chinese is excluded. Members of -the House may be returned by any constituency in the Dominion without -reference to residence. All bills affecting taxation or revenue must -originate in the House, and be recommended by a message from the -Governor-general. The Government introduces bills, and takes the -responsibility of them. The premier is leader of the House; there is -also a recognized leader of the Opposition. In case the Government -cannot command a majority it resigns, and the Governor-general forms -a new cabinet. In theory, also, if the Crown (represented by the -Governor-general) should resort to the extreme exercise of its -prerogative in refusing the advice of its ministers, the ministers must -submit, or resign and give place to others. - -The Federal Government has all powers not granted expressly to the -provinces. In practice its jurisdiction extends over the public debt, -expenditure, and public loans; treaties; customs and excise duties; -trade and commerce; navigation, shipping, and fisheries; light-houses -and harbors; the postal, naval, and military services; public -statistics; monetary institutions, banks, banking, currency, coining -(but all coining is done in England); insolvency; criminal law; marriage -and divorce; public works, railways, and canals. - -The provinces have no militia; that all belongs to the Dominion. -Marriage is solemnized according to provincial regulations, but the -power of divorce exists in Canada in the Federal Parliament only, except -in the province of New Brunswick. This province has a court of -divorce and matrimonial causes, with a single judge, a survival -of pre-confederation times, which grants divorces _a vinculo_ for -scriptural causes, and _a mensa et thoro_ for desertion or cruelty, with -right of appeal to the Supreme Court of the province and to the Privy -Council of the Dominion. Criminal law is one all over the Dominion, but -there is no law against adultery or incest. The British Act contains -no provision analogous to that in the Constitution of the United States -which forbids any State to pass a law impairing the obligation of -contracts--a serious defect. - -The Federal Government has a Supreme Court, consisting of a -chief-justice and five puisne judges, which has original jurisdiction in -civil suits involving the validity of Dominion and provincial acts, and -appellate in appeals from the provincial courts. The Federal Government -appoints and pays the judges of the Superior, District, and County -courts of the provinces; but the provinces may constitute, maintain, and -organize provincial courts, civil and criminal, including procedure in -civil matters in those courts. But as the provinces cannot appoint any -judicial officer above the rank of magistrate, it may happen that a -constituted court may be inoperative for want of a judge. This is one of -the points of friction between the federal and provincial authorities, -and in the fall of 1888 it led to the trouble in Quebec, when the Ottawa -cabinet disallowed the appointment of two provincial judges made by the -Quebec premier. - -The Dominion has another power unknown to our Constitution; that is, -disallowance or veto of provincial acts. This power is regarded with -great jealousy by the provinces. It is claimed by one party that it -should only be exercised on the ground of unconstitutionality; by -the other, that it may be exercised in the interest of the Dominion -generally. As a matter of fact it has been sometimes exercised in cases -that the special province felt to be an interference with its rights. - -Another cause of friction, aggravated by the power of disallowance, has -arisen from conflict in jurisdiction as to railways. Both the Dominion -and the provinces may charter and build railways. But the British Act -forbids the province to legislate as to lines of steam or other ships, -railways, canals, and telegraphs connecting the province with any other -province, or extending beyond its limits, or any such work actually -within the limits which the Canadian Parliament may declare for the -general advantage of Canada; that is, declare it to be a Dominion work. -A promoter, therefore, cannot tell with any certainty what a charter is -worth, or who will have jurisdiction over it. The trouble in Manitoba -in the fall of 1888 between the province and the Canadian Pacific road -(which is a Dominion road in the meaning of the Act) could scarcely -have arisen if the definition of Dominion and provincial rights had been -clearer. - -But a more serious cause of weakness to the provinces and embarrassment -to the Dominion is in the provincial subsidies. When the present -confederation was formed the Dominion took on the provincial debts up -to a certain amount. It also agreed to pay annually to each province, in -half-yearly payments, a subsidy. By the British Act this annual payment -was $80,000 to Ontario, $70,000 to Quebec, $60,000 to Nova Scotia, -$50,000 to New Brunswick, with something additional to the last two. In -1886-87 the subsidies paid to all the provinces amounted to $4,169,341. -This is as if the United States should undertake to raise a fixed -revenue to distribute among the States--a proceeding alien to our ideas -of the true function of the General Government, and certain to lead to -State demoralization, and tending directly to undermine its self-support -and dignity. It is an idea quite foreign to the conception of political -economy that it is best for people to earn what they spend, and only -spend what they earn. This subsidy under the Act was a grant equal to -eighty cents a head of the population. Besides this there is given -to each province an annual allowance for government; also an annual -allowance of interest on the amount of debt allowed where the province -has not reached the limit of the authorized debt. It is the theory of -the Federal Government that in taking on these pecuniary burdens of the -provinces they will individually feel them less, and that if money is to -be raised the Dominion can procure it on more favorable terms than the -provinces. The system, nevertheless, seems vicious to our apprehension, -for nothing is clearer to us than that neither the State nor the general -welfare would be promoted if the States were pensioners of the General -Government. - -The provinces are miniature copies of the Dominion Government. Each has -a Lieutenant-governor, who is appointed by the Ottawa Governor-general -and ministry (that is, in fact, by the premier), whose salary is paid by -the Dominion Parliament. In theory he represents the Crown, and is -above parties. He forms his cabinet out of the party in majority in the -elective Assembly. Each province has an elective Assembly, and most of -them have two Houses, one of which is a Senate appointed for life. The -provincial cabinet has a premier, who is the leader of the House, and -the Opposition is represented by a recognized leader. The Government -is as responsible as the Federal Government. This organization of -recognized and responsible leaders greatly facilitates the despatch -of public business. Affairs are brought to a direct issue; and if -the Government cannot carry its measures, or a dead-lock occurs, -the ministry is changed, or an appeal is had to the people. Canadian -statesmen point to the want of responsibility in the conduct of public -business in our House, and the dead-lock between the Senate and the -House, as a state of things that needs a remedy. - -The provinces retain possession of the public lands belonging to them at -the time of confederation; Manitoba, which had none when it was created -a province out of north-west territory, has since had a gift of swamp -lands from the Dominion. Emigration and immigration are subjects of -both federal and provincial legislation, but provincial laws must not -conflict with federal laws. - -The provinces appoint all officers for the administration of justice -except judges, and are charged with the general administration of -justice and the maintenance of civil and criminal courts; they control -jails, prisons, and reformatories, but not the penitentiaries, to which -convicts sentenced for over two years must be committed. They control -also asylums and charitable institutions, all strictly municipal -institutions, local works, the solemnization of marriage, property and -civil rights, and shop, tavern, and other licenses. In regard to the -latter, a conflict of jurisdiction arose on the passage in 1878 by the -Canadian Parliament of a temperance Act. The result of judicial and -Privy Council decisions on this was to sustain the right of the Dominion -to legislate on temperance, but to give to the provincial legislatures -the right to deal with the subject of licenses for the sale of liquors. -In the Territories prohibition prevails under the federal statutes, -modified by the right of the Lieutenant-governor to grant special -permits. The effect of the general law has been most salutary in -excluding liquor from the Indians. - -But the most important subject left to the provinces is education, over -which they have exclusive control. What this means we shall see when we -come to consider the provinces of Quebec and Ontario as illustrations. - -Broadly stated, Canada has representative government by ministers -responsible to the people, a federal government charged with the -general good of the whole, and provincial governments attending to local -interests. It differs widely from the English Government in subjects -remitted to the provincial legislatures and in the freedom of the -municipalities, so that Canada has self-government comparable to that -in the United States. Two striking limitations are that the provinces -cannot keep a militia force, and that the provinces have no power of -final legislation, every Act being subject to Dominion revision and -veto. - -The two parties are arranged on general lines that we might expect -from the organization of the central and the local governments. The -Conservative, which calls itself Liberal-Conservative, inclines to the -consolidation and increase of federal power; the Liberal (styled the -"Grits") is what we would call a State-rights party. Curiously enough, -while the Ottawa Government is Conservative, and the ministry of -Sir John A. Macdonald is sustained by a handsome majority, all the -provincial governments are at present Liberal. The Conservatives say -that this is because the opinion of the country sustains the general -Conservative policy for the development of the Dominion, so that the -same constituency will elect a Conservative member to the Dominion House -and a Liberal member to the provincial House. The Liberals say that this -result in some cases is brought about by the manner in which the central -Government has arranged the voting districts for the central Parliament, -which do not coincide with the provincial districts. There is no doubt -some truth in this, but I believe that at present the sentiment of -nationality is what sustains the Conservative majority in the Ottawa -Government. - -The general policy of the Conservative Government may fairly be -described as one for the rapid development of the country. This leads -it to desire more federal power, and there are some leading spirits -who, although content with the present Constitution, would not oppose a -legislative union of all the provinces. The policy of "development" led -the party to adopt the present moderate protective tariff. It led it to -the building of railways, to the granting of subsidies, in money and in -land, to railways, to the subsidizing of steamship lines, to the active -stimulation of immigration by offering extraordinary inducements -to settlers. Having a vast domain, sparsely settled, but capable of -sustaining a population not less dense than that in the northern parts -of Europe, the ambition of the Conservative statesmen has been to open -up the resources of the country and to plant a powerful nation. The -Liberal criticism of this programme I shall speak of later. At present -it is sufficient to say that the tariff did stimulate and build -up manufactories in cotton, leather, iron, including implements of -agriculture, to the extent that they were more than able to supply the -Canadian market. As an item, after the abrogation of the reciprocity -treaty, the factories of Ontario were able successfully to compete with -the United States in the supply of agricultural implements to the great -North-west, and in fact to take the market. I think it cannot be denied -that the protective tariff did not only build up home industries, -but did give an extraordinary stimulus to the general business of the -Dominion. - -Under this policy of development and subsidies the Dominion has been -accumulating a debt, which now reaches something over $200,000,000. -Before estimating the comparative size of this debt, the statistician -wants to see whether this debt and the provincial debts together equal, -per capita, the federal and State debts together of the United States. -It is estimated by one authority that the public lands of the Dominion -could pay the debt, and it is noted that it has mainly been made for -railways, canals, and other permanent improvements, and not in offensive -or defensive wars. The statistical record of 1887 estimates that the -provincial debts added to the public debt give a per capita of $48.88. -The same year the united debts of States and general government in the -United States gave a per capita of $32, but, the municipal and county -debts added, the per capita would be $55. If the unreported municipal -debts in Canada were added, I suppose the per capita would somewhat -exceed that in the United States. - -Before glancing at the development and condition of Canada in -confederation we will complete the official outline by a reference -to the civil service and to the militia. The British Government has -withdrawn all the imperial troops from Canada except a small garrison at -Halifax, and a naval establishment there and at Victoria. The Queen is -commander-in-chief of all the military and naval forces in Canada, but -the control of the same is in the Dominion Parliament. The general of -the military force is a British officer. There are permanent corps and -schools of instruction in various places, amounting in all to about 950 -men, exclusive of officers, and the number is limited to 1000. There is -a royal military school at Kingston, with about 80 cadets. The active -militia, December 31, 1887, in all the provinces, the whole being under -Dominion control, amounted to 38,152. The military expenditure that year -was $1,281,255. The diminishing military pensions of that year amounted -to $35,100. The reserve militia includes all the male inhabitants of the -age of eighteen and under sixty. In 1887 the total active cavalry was -under 2000. - -The members of the civil service are nearly all Canadians. In the -Federal Government and in the provinces there is an organized system; -the federal system has been constantly amended, and is not yet free -of recognized defects. The main points of excellence, more or less -perfectly attained, may be stated to be a decent entrance examination -for all, a special, strict, and particular examination for some who -are to undertake technical duties, and a secure tenure of office. The -federal Act of 1886, which has since been amended in details, was not -arrived at without many experiments and the accumulation of testimonies -and diverse reports; and it did not follow exactly the majority report -of 1881, but leaned too much, in the judgment of many, to the English -system, the working of which has not been satisfactory. The main -features of the Act, omitting details, are these: The service has two -divisions--first, deputy heads of departments and employés in the Ottawa -departments; second, others than those employed in Ottawa departments, -including customs officials, inland revenue officials, post-office -inspectors, railway mail clerks, city postmasters, their assistants, -clerks, and carriers, and inspector of penitentiaries. A board of three -examiners is appointed by the Governor in council. All appointments -shall be "during pleasure," and no persons shall be appointed or -promoted to any place below that of deputy head unless he has passed the -requisite examination and served the probationary term of six months; -he must not be over thirty-five years old for appointment in Ottawa -departments (this limit is not fixed for the "outside" appointments), -nor under fifteen in a lower grade than third-class clerk, nor under -eighteen in other cases. Appointees must be sound in health and of good -character. Women are not appointed. A deputy head may be removed "on -pleasure," but the reasons for the removal must be laid before both -Houses of Parliament. Appointments may be made without reference to -age on the report of the deputy head, on account of technical or -professional qualifications or the public interest. City postmasters, -and such officers as inspectors and collectors, may be appointed without -examination or reference to the rules for promotion. Examinations are -dispensed with in other special cases. Removals may be made by the -Governor in council. Reports of all examinations and of the entire civil -service list must be laid before Parliament each session. Amendments -have been made to the law in the direction of relieving from examination -on their promotion men who have been long in the service, and an -amendment of last session omitted some examinations altogether. - -It must be stated also that the service is not free from favoritism, and -that influence is used, if not always necessary, to get in and to get -on in it. The law has been gone around by means of the plea of "special -qualifications," and this evasion has sometimes been considered a -political necessity on account of service to a minister or to the party -generally. I suppose that the party in power favors its own adherents. -The competitive system of England has a mischievous effect in the -encouragement of the examinations to direct studies towards a service -which nine in ten of the applicants will never reach. This evil, of -numbers qualified but not appointed, has grown so great in Canada that -it has lately been ordered that there shall be only one examination in -each year. - -The federal pension system cannot be considered settled. A man may be -superannuated at any time, but by custom, not law, he retires at the -full age of sixty. While in service he pays a superannuation allowance -of two and a half per cent, on his salary for thirty-five years; after -that, no more. If he is superannuated after ten years' service, say, he -gets one-fiftieth of his salary for each year. If he is not in fault in -any way, Government may add ten years more to his service, so as to give -him a larger allowance. If a man serves the full term of thirty-five -years he gets thirty-five fiftieths of his salary in pension. This -pension system, recognized as essential to a good civil service, has -this weakness: A man pays two and a half per cent, of his salary for -twenty years. If the salary is $3000, his payments would have amounted -to $1200, with interest, in that time. If he then dies, his widow gets -only two months' salary as a solatium; all the rest is lost to her, -and goes to the superannuation fund of the treasury. Or, a man is -superannuated after thirty-five years; he has paid perhaps $2100, with -interest; he draws, say, one year's superannuative allowance, and then -dies. His family get nothing at all, not even the two months' salary -they would have had if he had died in service. This is illogical and -unjust. If the two and a half per cent, had been put into a life policy, -the insurance being undertaken by the Government, a decent sum would -have been realized at death. - -A civil service is also established in the provinces. That in Quebec is -better organized than the federal; the Government adds to the pension -fund one-fourth of that retained from the salaries, and half pensions -are extended to widows and children. - -It will be seen that this pension is an essential part of the civil -service system, and the method of it is at once a sort of insurance and -a stimulation to faithful service. Good service is a constant inducement -to retention, to promotion, and to increase of pension. The Canadians -say that the systems work well both in the federal and provincial -services, and in this respect, as well as in the matter of responsible -government, they think their government superior to ours. - -The policy of the Dominion Government, when confederation had given -it the form and territory of a great nation, was to develop this into -reality and solidity by creating industries, building railways, and -filling up the country with settlers. As to the means of carrying out -this the two parties differed somewhat. The Conservatives favored active -stimulation to the extent of drawing on the future; the Liberals favored -what they call a more natural if a slower growth. To illustrate: the -Conservatives enacted a tariff, which was protective, to build up -industries, and it is now continued, as in their view a necessity -for raising the revenue needed for government expenses and for the -development of the country. The Liberals favored a low tariff, and -in the main the principles of free-trade. It might be impertinence -to attempt to say now whether the Canadian affiliations are with the -Democratic or the Republican party in the United States, but it is -historical to say that for the most part the Unionists had not the -sympathy of the Conservatives during our Civil War, and that they had -the sympathy of the Liberals generally, and that the sympathy of the -Liberals continued with the Republican party down to the Presidential -campaign of 1884. It seemed to the Conservatives a necessity for the -unity and growth of the Dominion to push railway construction. The -Liberals, if I understand their policy, opposed mortgaging the future, -and would rather let railways spring from local action and local -necessity throughout the Dominion. But whatever the policies of parties -may be, the Conservative Government has promoted by subsidies of money -and grants of land all the great so-called Dominion railways. The chief -of these in national importance, because it crosses the continent, is -the Canadian Pacific. In order that I might understand its relation -to the development of the country, and have some comprehension of the -extent of Canadian territory, I made the journey on this line--3000 -miles--from Montreal to Vancouver. - -The Canadians have contributed liberally to the promotion of railways. -The Hand-book of 1886 says that $187,000,000 have been given by the -governments (federal and provincial) and by the municipalities towards -the construction of the 13,000 miles of railways within the Dominion. -The same authority says that from 1881 to July, 1885, the Federal -Government gave $74,500,000 to the Canadian Pacific. The Conservatives -like to note that the railway development corresponds with the political -life of Sir John A. Macdonald, for upon his entrance upon political life -in 1844 there were only fourteen miles of railway in operation. - -The Federal Government began surveys for the Canadian Pacific road in -1871, a company was chartered the same year to build it, but no results -followed. The Government then began the construction itself, and built -several disconnected sections. The present company was chartered in -1880. The Dominion Government granted it a subsidy of $25,000,000 and -25,000,000 acres of land, and transferred to it, free of cost, 713 miles -of railway which had been built by the Government, at a cost of -about $35,000,000. In November, 1885, considerably inside the time of -contract, the road was finished to the Pacific, and in 1886 cars were -running regularly its entire length. In point of time, and considering -the substantial character of the road, it is a marvellous achievement. -Subsequently, in order to obtain a line from Montreal to the maritime -ports, a subsidy of $186,000 per annum for a term of twenty years was -granted to the Atlantic and North-west Railway Company, which undertook -to build or acquire a line from Montreal _via_ Sherbrooke, and across -the State of Maine to St. John, St. Andrews, and Halifax. This is one -of the leased lines of the Canadian Pacific, which finished it last -December. - -The main line, from Quebec to Montreal and Vancouver, is 3065 miles. The -leased lines measure 2412 miles, one under construction 112, making a -total mileage of 5589. Adding to this the lines in which the company's -influence amounts to a control (including those on American soil to St. -Paul and Chicago), the total mileage of the company is over 6500. The -branch lines, built or acquired in Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, -are all necessary feeders to the main line. The cost of the Canadian -Pacific, including the line built by the Government and acquired -(not leased) lines, is: Cost of road, $170,689,629.51; equipment, -$10,570,933.22; amount of deposit with Government to guarantee three -per cent, on capital stock until August 17, 1893, $10,310,954.75. Total, -$191,571,517.48. - -Without going into the financial statement, nor appending the leases -and guarantees, any further than to note that the capital stock -is $65,000,000 and the first mortgage bonds (five per cent.) are -$34,999,633, it is only necessary to say that in the report the capital -foots up $112,908,019. The total earnings for 1885 were $8,308,493; for -1886, $10,081,803; for 1887, $11,600,412, while the working expenses for -1887 were $8,102,294. The gross earnings for 1888 are about $14,000,000, -and the net earnings about $4,000,000. These figures show the steady -growth of business. - -Being a Dominion road, and favored, the company had a monopoly in -Manitoba for building roads south of its line and roads connecting with -foreign lines. This monopoly was surrendered in 1887 upon agreement -of the Dominion Government to guarantee 3 1/2 per cent, interest on -$15,000,000 of the company's land grant bonds for fifty years. The -company has paid its debt to the Government, partly by surrender of a -portion of its lands, and now absolutely owns its entire line free of -Government obligations. It has, however, a claim upon the Government of -something like six million dollars, now in litigation, on portions of -the mountain sections of the road built by the Government, which are not -up to the standard guaranteed in the contract with the company. - -The road was extended to the Pacific as a necessity of the national -development, and the present Government is convinced that it is worth -to the country all it has cost. The Liberals' criticism is that the -Government has spent a vast sum for what it can show no assets, and that -it has enriched a private company instead of owning the road itself. The -property is no doubt a good one, for the road is well built as to grades -and road-bed, excellently equipped, and notwithstanding the heavy Lake -Superior and mountain work, at a less cost than some roads that preceded -it. - -The full significance of this transcontinental line to Canada, Great -Britain, and the United States will appear upon emphasizing the value of -the line across the State of Maine to connect with St. John and -Halifax; upon the fact that its western terminus is in regular steamer -communication with Hong-Kong via Yokohama; that the company is building -new and swift steamers for this line, to which the British Government -has granted an annual subsidy of £60,000, and the Dominion one of -$15,000; that a line will run from Vancouver to Australia; and that -a part of this round-the-world route is to be a line of fast steamers -between Halifax and England. The Canadian Pacific is England's shortest -route to her Pacific colonies, and to Japan and China; and in case of a -blockade in the Suez Canal it would become of the first importance for -Australia and India. It is noted as significant by an enthusiast of -the line that the first loaded train that passed over its entire length -carried British naval stores transferred from Quebec to Vancouver, and -that the first car of merchandise was a cargo of Jamaica sugar refined -at Halifax and sent to British Columbia. - - - - -II. - -|We left Montreal, attached to the regular train, on the evening of -September 22d. The company runs six through trains a week, omitting the -despatch of a train on Sunday from each terminus. The time is six -days and rive nights. We travelled in the private ear of Mr. T. G. -Shaughnessy, the manager, who was on a tour of inspection, and took it -leisurely, stopping at points of interest on the way. The weather was -bad, rainy and cold, in eastern Canada, as it was all over New England, -and as it continued to be through September and October. During our -absence there was snow both in Montreal and Quebec. We passed out of the -rain into lovely weather north of Lake Superior; encountered rain again -at Winnipeg; but a hundred miles west of there, on the prairie, we -were blessed with as delightful weather as the globe can furnish, which -continued all through the remainder of the trip until our return to -Montreal, October 12th. The climate just east of the Rocky Mountains -was a little warmer than was needed for comfort (at the time Ontario and -Quebec had snow), but the air was always pure and exhilarating; and -all through the mountains we had the perfection of lovely days. On the -Pacific it was still the dry season, though the autumn rains, which -continue all winter, with scarcely any snow, were not far off. For mere -physical pleasure of living and breathing, I know no atmosphere superior -to that we encountered on the rolling lands east of the Rockies. - -Between Ottawa and Winnipeg (from midnight of the 22d till the morning -of the 25th) there is not much to interest the tourist, unless he is -engaged in lumbering or mining. What we saw was mainly a monotonous -wilderness of rocks and small poplars, though the country has -agricultural capacities after leaving Rat Portage (north of Lake of the -Woods), just before coming upon the Manitoba prairies. There were -more new villages and greater crowds of people at the stations than I -expected. From Sudbury the company runs a line to the Sault Sainte Marie -to connect with lines it controls to Duluth and St. Paul. At Port Arthur -and Fort William is evidence of great transportation activity, and all -along the Lake Superior Division there are signs that the expectations -of profitable business in lumber and minerals will be realized. At Port -Arthur we strike the Western Division. On the Western, Mountain, and -Pacific divisions the company has adopted the 24-hour system, by which -a.m. and P.M. are abolished, and the hours from noon till midnight are -counted as from 12 to 24 o'clock. For instance, the train reaches Eagle -River at 24.55, Winnipeg at 9.30, and Brandon at 16.10. - -At Winnipeg we come into the real North-west, and a condition of soil, -climate, and political development as different from eastern Canada as -Montana is from New England. This town, at the junction of the Red -and Assiniboin rivers, in a valley which is one of the finest -wheat-producing sections of the world, is a very important place. -Railways, built and projected, radiate from it like spokes from a wheel -hub. Its growth has been marvellous. Formerly known as Fort Garry, the -chief post of the Hudson's Bay Company, it had in 1871 a population of -only one hundred. It is now the capital of the province of Manitoba, -contains the chief workshops of the Canadian Pacific between Montreal -and Vancouver, and has a population of 25,000. It is laid out on a grand -scale, with very broad streets--Main Street is 200 feet wide--has -many substantial public and business buildings, streetcars, and -electric-lights, and abundant facilities for trade. At present it is -in a condition of subsided "boom;" the whole province has not more -than 120,000 people, and the city for that number is out of proportion. -Winnipeg must wait a little for the development of the country. It -seems to the people that the town would start up again if it had more -railroads. Among the projects much discussed is a road northward between -Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba, turning eastward to York Factory on -Hudson's Bay. The idea is to reach a short water route to Europe. From -all the testimony I have read as to ice in Hudson's Bay harbors and in -the straits, the short period the straits are open, and the uncertainty -from year to year as to the months they will be open, this route seems -chimerical. But it does not seem so to its advocates, and there is no -doubt that a portion of the line between the lakes first named would -develop a good country and pay. A more important line--indeed, of the -first importance--is built for 200 miles north-west from Portage la -Prairie, destined to go to Prince Albert, on the North Saskatchewan. -This is the Manitoba and North-west, and it makes its connection -from Portage la Prairie with Winnipeg over the Canadian Pacific. An -antagonism has grown up ill Manitoba towards the Canadian Pacific. This -arose from the monopoly privileges enjoyed by it as a Dominion road. The -province could build no road with extra-territorial connections. This -monopoly was surrendered in consideration of the guarantee spoken of -from the Government. The people of Winnipeg also say that the company -discriminated against them in the matter of rates, and that the -province must have a competing outlet. The company says that it did not -discriminate, but treated Winnipeg like other towns on the line, having -an eye to the development of the whole prairie region, and that the -trouble was that it refused to discriminate in favor of Winnipeg, so -that it might become the distributing-point of the whole North-west. -Whatever the truth may be, the province grew increasingly restless, and -determined to build another road. The Canadian Pacific has two lines on -either side of the Red River, connecting at Emerson and Gretna with the -Red River branches of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba. It has -also two branches running westward south of its main line, penetrating -the fertile wheat-fields of Manitoba. The province graded a third -road, paralleling the two to the border, and the river, southward from -Winnipeg to the border connecting there with a branch of the Northern -Pacific, which was eager to reach the rich wheat,-fields of the -North-west. The provincial Red River Railway also proposed to cross the -branches of the Canadian Pacific, and connect at Portage la Prairie with -the Manitoba and North-west. The Canadian Pacific, which had offered -to sell to the province its Emerson branch, saying that there was not -business enough for three parallel routes, insisted upon its legal -rights and resisted this crossing. Hence the provincial and railroad -conflict of the fall of 1888. The province built the new road, but -it was alleged that the Northern Pacific was the real party, and that -Manitoba has so far put itself into the hands of that corporation. -There can be no doubt that Manitoba will have its road and connect the -Northern Pacific with the Saskatchewan country, and very likely will -parallel the main line of the Canadian Pacific. But whether it will get -from the Northern Pacific the relief it thought itself refused by the -Canadian, many people in Winnipeg begin to doubt; for however eager -rival railways may be for new territory, they are apt to come to an -understanding in order to keep up profitable rates. They must live. - -I went down on the southern branch of the Canadian Pacific, which runs -west, not far from our border, as far as Boissevain. It is a magnificent -wheat country, and already very well settled and sprinkled with -villages. The whole prairie was covered with yellow wheat-stacks, and -teams loaded with wheat were wending their way from all directions to -the elevators on the line. There has been quite an emigration of Russian -Mennonites to this region, said to be 9000 of them. We passed near two -of their villages--a couple of rows of square unbeautiful houses facing -each other, with a street of mud between, as we see them in pictures -of Russian communes. These people are a peculiar and somewhat mystical -sect, separate and unassimilated in habits, customs, and faith from -their neighbors, but peaceful, industrious, and thrifty. I shall have -occasion to speak of other peculiar immigration, encouraged by the -governments and by private companies. - -There can be no doubt of the fertility of all the prairie region of -Manitoba and Assiniboin. Great heat is developed in the summers, but -cereals are liable, as in Dakota, to be touched, as in 1888, by early -frost. The great drawback from Winnipeg on westward is the intense cold -of winter, regarded not as either agreeable or disagreeable, but as -a matter of economy. The region, by reason of extra expense for fuel, -clothing, and housing, must always be more expensive to live in than, -say, Ontario. - -The province of Manitoba is an interesting political and social study. -It is very unlike Ontario or British Columbia. Its development has been, -in freedom and self-help, very like one of our Western Territories, -and it is like them in its free, independent spirit. It has a spirit -to resist any imposed authority. We read of the conflicts between -the Hudson's Bay and the Northwestern Fur companies and the Selkirk -settlers, who began to come in in 1812. Gradually the vast territory -of the North-west had a large number of "freemen," independent of any -company, and of half-breed Frenchmen. Other free settlers sifted in. -The territory was remote from the Government, and had no facilities -of communication with the East, even after the union. The rebellion of -1870-71 was repeated in 1885, when Riel was called back from Montana -to head the discontented. The settlers could not get patents for their -lands, and they had many grievances, which they demanded should be -redressed in a "bill of rights." There were aspects of the insurrection, -not connected with the race question, with which many well-disposed -persons sympathized. But the discontent became a violent rebellion, -and had to be suppressed. The execution of Riel, which some of the -Conservatives thought ill-advised, raised a race storm throughout -Canada; the French element was in a tumult, and some of the Liberals -made opposition capital out of the event. In the province of Quebec it -is still a deep grievance, for party purposes partly, as was shown in -the recent election of a federal member of Parliament in Montreal. - -Manitoba is Western in its spirit and its sympathies. Before the -building of the Canadian Pacific its communication was with Minnesota. -Its interests now largely lie with its southern neighbors. It has a -feeling of irritation with too much federal dictation, and frets under -the still somewhat undefined relations of power between the federal -and the provincial governments, as was seen in the railway conflict. -Besides, the natural exchange of products between south and -north--between the lower Mississippi and the Red River of the North -and the north-west prairies--is going to increase; the north and south -railway lines will have, with the development of industries and exchange -of various sorts, a growing importance compared with the great east and -west lines. Nothing can stop this exchange and the need of it along our -whole border west of Lake Superior. It is already active and growing, -even on the Pacific, between Washington Territory and British Columbia. - -For these geographical reasons, and especially on account of similarity -of social and political development, I was strongly impressed with the -notion that if the Canadian Pacific Railway had not been built when it -was, Manitoba would by this time have gravitated to the United States, -and it would only have been a question of time when the remaining -Northwest should have fallen in. The line of the road is very well -settled, and yellow with wheat westward to Regina, but the farms are -often off from the line, as the railway sections are for the most part -still unoccupied; and there are many thriving villages: Portage la -Prairie, from which the Manitoba and North-western Railway starts -north-west, with a population of 3000; Brandon, a busy grain mart, -standing on a rise of ground 1150 feet above the sea, with a population -of 4000 and over; Qu'Appelle, in the rich valley of the river of that -name, with 700; Regina, the capital of the North-west Territory, on a -vast plain, with 800; Moosejay, a market-town towards the western limit -of the settled country, with 600. This is all good land, but the winters -are severe. - -Naturally, on the rail we saw little game, except ducks and geese on the -frequent fresh-water ponds, and occasionally coyotes and prairie-dogs. -But plenty of large game still can be found farther north. At Stony -Mountain, fifteen miles north of Winnipeg, the site of the Manitoba -penitentiary, we saw a team of moose, which Colonel Bedson, the -superintendent, drives--fleet animals, going easily fifteen miles an -hour. They were captured only thirty-five miles north of the prison, -where moose are abundant. Colonel Bedson has the only large herd of the -practically extinct buffalo. There are about a hundred of these uncouth -and picturesque animals, which have a range of twenty or thirty miles -over the plains, and are watched by mounted keepers. They were driven -in, bulls, cows, and calves, the day before our arrival--it seemed odd -that we could order up a herd of buffaloes by telephone, but we did--and -we saw the whole troop lumbering over the prairie, exactly as we were -familiar with them in pictures. The colonel is trying the experiment of -crossing them with common cattle. The result is a half-breed of large -size, with heavier hind-quarters and less hump than the buffalo, and -said to be good beef. The penitentiary has taken in all the convicts of -the North-west Territory, and there were only sixty-five of them. The -institution is a model one in its management. We were shown two separate -chapels--one for Catholics and another for Protestants. - -All along the line settlers are sifting in, and there are everywhere -signs of promoted immigration. Not only is Canada making every effort -to fill up its lands, but England is interested in relieving itself -of troublesome people. The experiment has been tried of bringing out -East-Londoners. These barbarians of civilization are about as unfitted -for colonists as can be. Small bodies of them have been aided to make -settlements, but the trial is not very encouraging; very few of them -take to the new life. The Scotch crofters do better. They are accustomed -to labor and thrift, and are not a bad addition to the population. A -company under the management of Sir John Lister Kaye is making a larger -experiment. It has received sections from the Government and bought -contiguous sections from the railway, so as to have large blocks of land -on the road. A dozen settlements are projected. The company brings over -laborers and farmers, paying their expenses and wages for a year. A -large central house is built on each block, tools and cattle are -supplied, and the men are to begin the cultivation of the soil. At the -end of a year they may, if they choose, take up adjacent free Government -land and begin to make homes for themselves working meantime on the -company land, if they will. By this plan they are guaranteed support for -a year at least, and a chance to set up for themselves. The company -secures the breaking up of its land and a crop, and the nucleus of a -town. The further plan is to encourage farmers, with a capital of a -thousand dollars, to follow and settle in the neighborhood. There will -then be three ranks--the large company proprietors, the farmers with -some capital, and the laborers who are earning their capital. We saw -some of these settlements on the line that looked promising. About 150 -settlers, mostly men, arrived last fall, and with them were sent out -English tools and English cattle. The plan looks to making model -communities, on something of the old-world plan of proprietor, farmer, -and laborer. It would not work in the United States. - -Another important colonization is that of Icelanders. These are settled -to the north-east of Winnipeg and in southern Manitoba. About 10,000 -have already come over, and the movement has assumed such large -proportions that it threatens to depopulate Iceland. This is good -and intelligent material. Climate and soil are so superior to that of -Iceland that the emigrants are well content. They make good farmers, but -they are not so clannish as the Mennonites; many of them scatter about -in the towns as laborers. - -Before we reached Medicine Hat, and beyond that place, we passed through -considerable alkaline country--little dried-up lakes looking like -patches of snow. There was an idea that this land was not fertile. The -Canadian Pacific Company have been making several experiments on the -line of model farms, which prove the contrary. As soon as the land is -broken up and the crust turned under, the soil becomes very fertile, and -produces excellent crops of wheat and vegetables. - -Medicine Hat, on a branch of the South Saskatchewan, is a thriving town. -Here are a station and barracks of the Mounted Police, a picturesque -body of civil cavalry in blue pantaloons and red jackets. This body of -picked men, numbering about a thousand, and similar in functions to the -_Guarda Civil_ of Spain, are scattered through the North-west Territory, -and are the Dominion police for keeping in order the Indians, and -settling disputes between the Indians and whites. The sergeants have -powers of police-justices, and the organization is altogether an -admirable one for the purpose, and has a fine _esprit de corps_. - -Here we saw many Cree Indians, physically a creditable-looking race of -men and women, and picturesque in their gay blankets and red and -yellow paint daubed on the skin without the least attempt at shading or -artistic effect. A fair was going on, an exhibition of horses, cattle, -and vegetable and cereal products of the region. The vegetables -were large and of good quality. Delicate flowers were still blooming -(September 28th) untouched by frost in the gardens. These Crees are not -on a reservation. They cultivate the soil a little, but mainly support -themselves by gathering and selling buffalo bones, and well set-up and -polished horns of cattle, which they swear are buffalo. The women are -far from a degraded race in appearance, have good heads, high foreheads, -and are well-favored. As to morals, they are reputed not to equal the -Blackfeet. - -The same day we reached Gleichen, about 2500 feet above the sea. The -land is rolling, and all good for grazing and the plough. This region -gets the "Chinook" wind. Ploughing is begun in April, sometimes in -March; in 1888 they ploughed in January. Flurries of snow may be -expected any time after October 1st, but frost is not so early as in -eastern Canada. A fine autumn is common, and fine, mild weather may -continue up to December. At Dun-more, the station before Medicine -Hat, we passed a branch railway running west to the great Lethbridge -coal-mines, and Dunmore Station is a large coal depot. - -The morning at Gleichen was splendid; cool at sunrise, but no frost. -Here we had our first view of the Rockies, a long range of snow-peaks on -the horizon, 120 miles distant. There is an immense fascination in this -rolling country, the exhilarating air, and the magnificent mountains in -the distance. Here is the beginning of a reservation of the Blackfeet, -near 3000. They live here on the Bow River, and cultivate the soil to a -considerable extent, and have the benefit of a mission and two schools. -They are the best-looking race of Indians we have seen, and have most -self-respect. - -We went over a rolling country to Calgary, at an altitude of 3388 feet, -a place of some 3000 inhabitants, and of the most distinction of all -between Brandon and Vancouver. On the way we passed two stations where -natural gas was used, the boring for which was only about 600 feet. The -country is underlaid with coal. Calgary is delightfully situated at -the junction of the Bow and Elbow rivers, rapid streams as clear as -crystal, with a greenish hue, on a small plateau, surrounded by low -hills and overlooked by the still distant snow-peaks. The town has -many good shops, several churches, two newspapers, and many fanciful -cottages. We drove several miles out on the McCloud trail, up a lovely -valley, with good farms, growing wheat and oats, and the splendid -mountains in the distance. The day was superb, the thermometer marking -70°. This is, however, a ranch country, wheat being an uncertain crop, -owing to summer frosts. But some years, like 1888, are good for all -grains and vegetables. A few Saree Indians were loafing about here, -inferior savages. Much better are the Stony Indians, who are settled -and work the soil beyond Calgary, and are very well cared for by a -Protestant mission. - -Some of the Indian tribes of Canada are self-supporting. This is true of -many of the Siwash and other west coast tribes, who live by fishing. -At Lytton, on the upper Fraser, I saw a village of the Siwash civilized -enough to live in houses, wear our dress, and earn their living by -working on the railway, fishing, etc. The Indians have done a good deal -of work on the railway, and many of them are still employed on it. The -coast Indians are a different race from the plains Indians, and have a -marked resemblance to the Chinese and Japanese. The polished carvings in -black slate of the Haida Indians bear a striking resemblance to archaic -Mexican work, and strengthen the theory that the coast Indians crossed -the straits from Asia, are related to the early occupiers of Arizona and -Mexico, and ought not to be classed with the North American Indian. The -Dominion has done very well by its Indians, of whom it has probably a -hundred thousand. It has tried to civilize them by means of schools, -missions, and farm instructors, and it has been pretty successful in -keeping ardent spirits away from them. A large proportion of them are -still fed and clothed by the Government. It is doubtful if the plains -Indians will ever be industrious. The Indian fund from the sale of their -lands has accumulated to $3,000,000. There are 140 teachers and -4000 pupils in school. In 1885 the total expenditure on the Indian -population, beyond that provided by the Indian fund, was $1,109,604, of -which $478,038 was expended for provisions for destitute Indians. - -At Cochrane's we were getting well into the hills. Here is a large horse -and sheep ranch and a very extensive range. North and south along the -foot-hills is fine grazing and ranging country. We enter the mountains -by the Bow River Valley, and plunge at once into splendid scenery, bare -mountains rising on both sides in sharp, varied, and fantastic peaks, -snow-dusted, and in lateral openings assemblages of giant summits -of rock and ice. The change from the rolling prairie was magical. At -Mountain House the Three Sisters were very impressive. Late in the -afternoon we came to Banff. - -Banff will have a unique reputation among the resorts of the world. If -a judicious plan is formed and adhered to for the development of -its extraordinary beauties and grandeur, it will be second to few in -attractions. A considerable tract of wilderness about it is reserved -as a National Park, and the whole ought to be developed by some master -landscape expert. It is in the power of the Government and of the -Canadian Pacific Company to so manage its already famous curative hot -sulphur springs as to make Banff the resort of invalids as well as -pleasure-seekers the year round. This is to be done not simply by -established good bathing-places, but by regulations and restrictions -such as give to the German baths their virtue. - -The Banff Hotel, unsurpassed in situation, amid magnificent mountains, -is large, picturesque, many gabled and windowed, and thoroughly -comfortable. It looks down upon the meeting of the Bow and the Spray, -which spread in a pretty valley closed by a range of snow-peaks. To -right and left rise mountains of savage rock ten thousand feet high. The -whole scene has all the elements of beauty and grandeur. The place -is attractive for its climate, its baths, and excellent hunting and -fishing. - -For two days, travelling only by day, passing the Rockies, the Selkirks, -and the Gold range, we were kept in a state of intense excitement, in -a constant exclamation of wonder and delight. I would advise no one -to attempt to take it in the time we did. Nobody could sit through -Beethoven's nine symphonies played continuously. I have no doubt that -when carriage-roads and foot-paths are made into the mountain recesses, -as they will be, and little hotels are established in the valleys and in -the passes and advantageous sites, as in Switzerland, this region will -rival the Alpine resorts. I can speak of two or three things only. - -The highest point on the line is the station at Mount Stephen, 5296 -feet above the sea. The mountain, a bald mass of rock in a rounded cone, -rises about 8000 feet above this. As we moved away from it the mountain -was hidden by a huge wooded intervening mountain. The train was speeding -rapidly on the down grade, carrying us away from the base, and we stood -upon the rear platform watching the apparent recession of the great -mass, when suddenly, and yet deliberately, the vast white bulk of Mount -Stephen began to rise over the intervening summit in the blue sky, -lifting itself up by a steady motion while one could count twenty, -until its magnificence stood revealed. It was like a transformation in -a theatre, only the curtain here was lowered instead of raised. The -surprise was almost too much for the nerves; the whole company was -awe-stricken. It is too much to say that the mountain "shot up;" it rose -with conscious grandeur and power. The effect, of course, depends much -upon the speed of the train. I have never seen anything to compare with -it for awakening the emotion of surprise and wonder. - -The station of Field, just beyond Mount Stephen, where there is a -charming hotel, is in the midst of wonderful mountain and glacier -scenery, and would be a delightful place for rest. From there the -descent down the canon of Kickinghorse River, along the edge of -precipices, among the snow-monarchs, is very exciting. At Golden we come -to the valley of the Columbia River and in view of the Selkirks. The -river is navigable about a hundred miles above Golden, and this is the -way to the mining district of the Kootenay Valley. The region abounds -in gold and silver. The broad Columbia runs north here until it breaks -through the Selkirks, and then turns southward on the west side of that -range. - -The railway follows down the river, between the splendid ranges of the -Selkirks and the Rockies, to the mouth of the Beaver, and then ascends -its narrow gorge. I am not sure but that the scenery of the Selkirks -is finer than that of the Rockies. One is bewildered by the illimitable -noble snow-peaks and great glaciers. At Glacier House is another -excellent hotel. In savage grandeur, nobility of mountain-peaks, -snow-ranges, and extent of glacier it rivals anything in Switzerland. -The glacier, only one arm of which is seen from the road, is, I believe, -larger than any in Switzerland. There are some thirteen miles of flowing -ice; but the monster lies up in the mountains, like a great octopus, -with many giant arms. The branch which we saw, overlooked by the -striking snow-cone of Sir Donald, some two and a half miles from the -hotel, is immense in thickness and breadth, and seems to pour out of the -sky. Recent measurements show that it is moving at the rate of twenty -inches in twenty-four hours--about the rate of progress of the Mer de -Glace. In the midst of the main body, higher up, is an isolated mountain -of pure ice three hundred feet high and nearly a quarter of a mile in -length. These mountains are the home of the mountain sheep. - -From this amphitheatre of giant peaks, snow, and glaciers we drop by -marvellous loops--wonderful engineering, four apparently different -tracks in sight at one time--down to the valley of the Illicilliweat, -the lower part of which is fertile, and blooming with irrigated farms. -We pass a cluster of four lovely-lakes, and coast around the great -Shuswap Lake, which is fifty miles long. But the traveller is not out of -excitement. The ride down the Thompson and Fraser canons is as amazing -almost as anything on the line. At Spence's Bridge we come to the old -Government road to the Cariboo gold-mines, three hundred miles above. -This region has been for a long time a scene of activity in mining and -salmon-fishing. It may be said generally of the Coast or Gold range -that its riches have yet to be developed. The villages all along these -mountain slopes and valleys are waiting for this development. - -The city of Vancouver, only two years old since the beginnings of a town -were devoured by fire, is already an interesting place of seven to -eight thousand inhabitants, fast building up, and with many substantial -granite and brick buildings, and spreading over a large area. It lies -upon a high point of land between Burrard Inlet on the north and the -north arm of the Fraser River. The inner harbor is deep and spacious. -Burrard Inlet entrance is narrow but deep, and opens into English Bay, -which opens into Georgia Sound, that separates the island of Vancouver, -three hundred miles long, from the main-land. The round headland south -of the entrance is set apart for a public park, called now Stanley Park, -and is being improved with excellent driving-roads, which give charming -views. It is a tangled wilderness of nearly one thousand acres. So -dense is the undergrowth, in this moist air, of vines, ferns, and small -shrubs, that it looks like a tropical thicket. But in the midst of it -are gigantic Douglas firs and a few noble cedars. One veteran cedar, -partly decayed at the top, measured fifty-six feet in circumference, and -another, in full vigor and of gigantic height, over thirty-nine feet. -The hotel of the Canadian Pacific Company, a beautiful building in -modern style, is, in point of comfort, elegance of appointment, abundant -table, and service, not excelled by any in Canada, equalled by few -anywhere. - -Vancouver would be a very busy and promising city merely as the railway -terminus and the shipping-point for Japan and China and the east -generally. But it has other resources of growth. There is a very -good country back of it, and south of it all the way into Washington -Territory. New Westminster, twelve miles south, is a place of importance -for fish and lumber. The immensely fertile alluvial bottoms of the -Fraser, which now overflows its banks, will some day be diked, and -become exceedingly valuable. Its relations to Washington Territory are -already close. The very thriving city of Seattle, having a disagreement -with the North Pacific and its rival, Tacoma, sends and receives most of -its freight and passengers via Vancouver, and is already pushing forward -a railway to that point. It is also building to Spokane Falls, expecting -some time to be met by an extension of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and -Manitoba from the Great Falls of the Missouri. I found that many of the -emigrants in the loaded trains that we travelled with or that passed -us were bound to Washington Territory. It is an acknowledged fact that -there is a constant "leakage" of emigrants, who had apparently promised -to tarry in Canada, into United States territories. Some of them, -disappointed of the easy wealth expected, no doubt return; but the name -of "republic" seems to have an attraction for Old World people when they -are once set adrift. - -We took steamer one afternoon for a five hours sail to Victoria. A part -of the way is among beautiful wooded islands. Once out in the open, -we had a view of our "native land," and prominent in it the dim, -cloud-like, gigantic peak of Mount Baker. Before we passed the islands -we were entertained by a rare show of right-whales. A school of them a -couple of weeks before had come down through Behring Strait, and pursued -a shoal of fish into this landlocked bay. There must have been as -many as fifty of the monsters in sight, spouting up slender fountains, -lifting their huge bulk out of water, and diving, with their bifurcated -tails waving in the air. They played about like porpoises, apparently -only for our entertainment. - -Victoria, so long isolated, is the most English part of Canada. The town -itself does not want solidity and wealth, but it is stationary, and, the -Canadians elsewhere think, slow. It was the dry and dusty time of the -year. The environs are broken with inlets, hilly and picturesque; there -are many pretty cottages and country places in the suburbs; and one -visits with interest the Eskimalt naval station, and the elevated Park, -which has a coble coast view. The very mild climate is favorable for -grapes and apples. The summer is delightful; the winter damp, and -constantly rainy. And this may be said of all this coast. Of the -thirteen thousand population six thousand are Chinese, and they form -in the city a dense, insoluble, unassimilating mass. Victoria has one -railway, that to the prosperous Nanaimo coal-mines. The island has -abundance of coal, some copper, and timber. But Vancouver has taken -away from Victoria all its importance as a port. The Government and -Parliament buildings are detached, but pleasant and commodious edifices. -There is a decorous British air about everything. Throughout British -Columbia the judges and the lawyers wear the gown and band and the -horse-hair wig. In an evening trial for murder which I attended in -a dingy upper chamber of the Kamloops court-house, lighted only by -kerosene lamps, the wigs and gowns of judge and attorneys lent, I -confess, a dignity to the administration of justice which the kerosene -lamps could not have given. In one of the Government buildings is -a capital museum of natural history and geology. The educational -department is vigorous and effective, and I find in the bulky report -evidence of most intelligent management of the schools. - -It is only by traversing the long distance to this coast, and seeing the -activity here, that one can appreciate the importance to Canada and to -the British Empire of the Canadian Pacific Railway as a bond of unity, -a developer of resources, and a world's highway. The out-going steamers -were crowded with passengers and laden with freight. We met on the way -two solid trains, of twenty cars each, full of tea. When the new swift -steamers are put on, which are already heavily subsidized by both the -English and the Canadian governments, the traffic in passengers and -goods must increase. What effect the possession of such a certain line -of communication with her Oriental domains will have upon the English -willingness to surrender Canada either to complete independence or to a -union with the United States, any political prophet can estimate. - -It must be added that the Canadian Pacific Company are doing everything -to make this highway popular as well as profitable. Construction and -management show English regard for comfort and safety and order. It is -one of the most agreeable lines to travel over I am acquainted with. -Most of it is well built, and defects are being energetically removed. -The "Colonist" cars are clean and convenient. The first class carriages -are luxurious. The dining-room cars are uniformly well kept, the company -hotels are exceptionally excellent; and from the railway servants one -meets with civility and attention. - - - - -III. - -|I had been told that the Canadians are second-hand Englishmen. No -estimate could convey a more erroneous impression. A portion of the -people have strong English traditions and loyalties to institutions, but -in manner and in expectations the Canadians are scarcely more English -than the people of the United States; they have their own colonial -development, and one can mark already with tolerable distinctness a -Canadian type which is neither English nor American. This is noticeable -especially in the women. The Canadian girl resembles the American in -escape from a purely conventional restraint and in self-reliance, -and she has, like the English, a well-modulated voice and distinct -articulation. In the cities, also, she has taste in dress and a certain -style which we think belongs to the New World. In features and action -a certain modification has gone on, due partly to climate and partly to -greater social independence. It is unnecessary to make comparisons, and -I only note that there is a Canadian type of woman. - -But there is great variety in Canada, and in fact a remarkable racial -diversity. The man of Nova Scotia is not at all the man of British -Columbia or Manitoba. The Scotch in old Canada have made a distinct -impression in features and speech. And it may be said generally in -eastern Canada that the Scotch element is a leading and conspicuous one -in the vigor and push of enterprise and the accumulation of fortune. -The Canadian men, as one sees them in official life, at the clubs, in -business, are markedly a vigorous, stalwart race, well made, of good -stature, and not seldom handsome. This physical prosperity needs to be -remembered when we consider the rigorous climate and the long winters; -these seem to have at least one advantage--that of breeding virile men. -The Canadians generally are fond of out-door sports and athletic games, -of fishing and hunting, and they give more time to such recreations -than we do. They are a little less driven by the business goad. Abundant -animal spirits tend to make men good-natured and little quarrelsome. The -Canadians would make good soldiers. There was a time when the drinking -habit pervaded very much in Canada, and there are still places where -they do not put water enough in their grog, but temperance reform has -taken as strong a hold there as it has in the United States. - -The feeling about the English is illustrated by the statement that there -is not more aping of English ways in Montreal and Toronto clubs and -social life than in New York, and that the English superciliousness, or -condescension as to colonists, the ultra-English manner, is ridiculed -in Canada, and resented with even more warmth than in the United States. -The amusing stories of English presumption upon hospitality are current -in Canada as well as on this side. All this is not inconsistent with -pride in the empire, loyalty to its traditions and institutions, and -even a considerable willingness (for human nature is pretty much alike -everywhere) to accept decorative titles. But the underlying fact is that -there is a distinct feeling of nationality, and it is increasing. - -There is not anywhere so great a contrast between neighboring cities as -between Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto. Quebec is mediæval, Toronto is -modern, Montreal is in a conflict between the two conditions. As the -travelling world knows, they are all interesting cities, and have -peculiar attractions. Quebec is French, more decidedly so than Toronto -is English, and in Montreal the French have a large numerical majority -and complete political control. In the Canadian cities generally -municipal affairs are pretty much divorced from general party politics, -greatly to the advantage of good city government. - -Montreal has most wealth, and from its splendid geographical position it -is the railway centre, and has the business and commercial primacy. It -has grown rapidly from a population of 140,000 in 1881 to a population -of over 200,000--estimated, with its suburbs, at 250,000. Were it part -of my plan to describe these cities, I should need much space to devote -to the finest public buildings and public institutions of Montreal, the -handsome streets in the Protestant quarter, with their solid, tasteful, -and often elegant residences, the many churches, and the almost -unequalled possession of the Mountain as a park and resort, where one -has the most striking and varied prospects in the world. Montreal, being -a part of the province of Quebec, is not only under provincial control -of the government at Quebec, but it is ruled by the same French party -in the city, and there is the complaint always found where the poorer -majority taxes the richer and more enterprising minority out of -proportion to the benefits the latter receives. Various occasions -have produced something like race conflicts in the city, and there -are prophesies of more serious ones in the strife for ascendency. The -seriousness of this to the minority lies in the fact that the French -race is more prolific than any other in the province. - -Perhaps nothing will surprise the visitor more than the persistence of -the French type in Canada, and naturally its aggressiveness. Guaranteed -their religion, laws, and language, the French have not only failed -to assimilate, but have had hopes--maybe still have--of making Canada -French. The French "national" party means simply a French consolidation, -and has no relation to the "nationalism" of Sir John Macdonald. So far -as the Church and the French politicians are concerned, the effort is to -keep the French solid as a political force, and whether the French are -Liberal or Conservative, this is the underlying thought. The province of -Quebec is Liberal, but the liberalism is of a different hue from that of -Ontario. The French recognize the truth that language is so integral -a part of a people's growth that the individuality of a people depends -upon maintaining it. The French have escaped absorption in Canada mainly -by loyalty to their native tongue, aided by the concession to them -of their civil laws and their religious privileges. They owe this to -William Pitt. I quote from a contributed essay in the Toronto _Week_ -about three years ago: "Up to 1791 the small French population of Canada -was in a position to be converted into an English colony with traces of -French sentiment and language, which would have slowly disappeared. But -at that date William Pitt the younger brought into the House of Commons -two Quebec Acts, which constituted two provinces--Lower Canada, with a -full provision of French laws, language, and institutions; Upper Canada, -with a reproduction of English laws and social system. During the debate -Pitt declared on the floor of the House that his purpose was to create -two colonies distinct from and jealous of each other, so as to guard -against a repetition of the late unhappy rebellion which had separated -the thirteen colonies from the empire." - -The French have always been loyal to the English connection under all -temptations, for these guarantees have been continued, which could -scarcely be expected from any other power, and certainly not in a -legislative union of the Canadian provinces. In literature and sentiment -the connection is with France; in religion, with Rome; in politics -England has been the guarantee of both. There will be no prevailing -sentiment in favor of annexation to the United States so long as -the Church retains its authority, nor would it be favored by the -accomplished politicians so long as they can use the solid French mass -as a political force. - -The relegation of the subject of education entirely to the provinces -is an element in the persistence of the French type in the province -of Quebec, in the same way that it strengthens the Protestant cause -in Ontario. In the province of Quebec all the public schools are Roman -Catholic, and the separate schools are of other sects. In the council of -public instruction the Catholics, of course, have a large majority, but -the public schools are managed by a Catholic committee and the others -by a Protestant committee. In the academies, model and high schools, -subsidized by the Government, those having Protestant teachers are -insignificant in number, and there are very few Protestants in Catholic -schools, and very few Catholics in Protestant schools; the same is true -of the schools of this class not subsidized. The bulky report of the -superintendent of public instruction of the province of Quebec (which is -translated into English) shows a vigorous and intelligent attention -to education. The general statistics give the number of pupils in the -province as 219,403 Roman Catholics (the term always used in the report) -and 37,484 Protestants. In the elementary schools there are 143,848 -Roman Catholics and 30,401 Protestants. Of the ecclesiastical teachers, -808 are Roman Catholics and 8 Protestants; of the certificated lay -teachers, 250 are Roman Catholic and 105 Protestant; the proportion -of schools is four to one. It must be kept in mind that in the French -schools it is French literature that is cultivated. In the Laval -University, at Quebec, English literature is as purely an ornamental -study as French literature would be in Yale. The Laval University, which -has a branch in Montreal, is a strong institution, with departments of -divinity, law, medicine, and the arts, 80 professors, and 575 -students. The institution has a vast pile of buildings, one of the most -conspicuous objects in a view of the city. Besides spacious lecture, -assembly rooms, and laboratories, it has extensive collections in -geology, mineralogy, botany, ethnology, zoology, coins, a library -of 100,000 volumes, in which theology is well represented, but which -contains a large collection of works on Canada, including valuable -manuscripts, the original MS. of the _Journal des Jésuites_, and the -most complete set of the _Relation des Jésuites_ existing in America. It -has also a gallery of paintings, chiefly valuable for its portraits. - -Of the 62,000 population of Quebec City, by the census of 1881, not over -6000 were Protestants. By the same census Montreal had 140,747, of whom -78,684 were French, and 28,995 of Irish origin. The Roman Catholics -numbered 103,579. I believe the proportion has not much changed with the -considerable growth in seven years. - -One is struck, in looking at the religious statistics of Canada, by -the fact that the Church of England has not the primacy, and that the -so-called independent sects have a position they have not in England. -In the total population of 4,324,810, given by the census of 1881, -the Protestants were put down at 2,436,554 and the Roman Catholics at -1,791,982. The larger of the Protestant denominations were, Methodists, -742,981; Presbyterians, 676,165; Church of England, 574,818; Baptists, -296,525. Taking as a specimen of the north-west the province of -Manitoba, census of 1886, we get these statistics of the larger sects: -Presbyterians, 28,406; Church of England, 23,206; Methodists, 18,648; -Roman Catholics, 14,651; Mennonites, 9112; Baptists, 3296; Lutherans, -3131. - -Some statistics of general education in the Dominion show the popular -interest in the matter. In 1885 the total number of pupils in the -Dominion, in public and private schools, was 908,193, and the average -attendance was 555,404. The total expenditure of the year, not including -school buildings, was $9,310,745, and the value of school lands, -buildings, and furniture was $25,000,000. Yet in the province of Quebec, -out of the total expenditure of $3,102,410, only $353,077 was granted by -the provincial Legislature. And in Ontario, of the total of $3,904,797, -only $267,084 was granted by the Legislature. - -The McGill University at Montreal, Sir William Dawson principal, is -a corporation organized under royal charter, which owes its original -endowment of land and money (valued at $120,000) to James McGill. It -receives small grants from the provincial and Dominion governments, but -mainly depends upon its own funds, which in 1885 stood at $791,000. It -has numerous endowed professorships and endowments for scholarships and -prizes; among them is the Donalda Endowment for the Higher Education of -Women (from Sir Donald A. Smith), by which a special course in separate -classes, by University professors, is maintained in the University -buildings for women. It has faculties of arts, applied sciences, law, -and medicine--the latter with one of the most complete anatomical -museums and one of the best selected libraries on the continent. It -has several colleges affiliated with it for the purpose of conferring -University degrees, a model school, and four theological colleges, a -Congregational, a Presbyterian, an Episcopalian, and a Wesleyan, the -students in which may supplement their own courses in the University. -The professors and students wear the University cap and gown, and -morning prayers are read to a voluntary attendance. The Redpath Museum, -of geology, mineralogy, zoology, and ethnology, has a distinction -among museums not only for the size of the collection, but for splendid -arrangement and classification. The well-selected library numbers about -30,000 volumes. The whole University is a vigorous educational centre, -and its well-planted grounds and fine buildings are an ornament to the -city. - -Returning to the French element, its influence is not only felt in the -province of Quebec, but in the Dominion. The laws of the Dominion and -the proceedings are published in French and English; the debates in -the Dominion Parliament are conducted indifferently in both languages, -although it is observed that as the five years of any Parliament go on -English is more and more used by the members, for the French are more -likely to learn English than the English are to learn French. Of course -the Quebec Parliament is even more distinctly French. And the power of -the Roman Catholic Church is pretty much co-extensive with the language. -The system of tithes is legal in provincial law, and tithes can be -collected of all Roman Catholics by law. The Church has also what is -called the fabrique system; that is, a method of raising contributions -from any district for churches, priests' houses, and conventual -buildings and schools. The tithes and the fabrique assessments make a -heavy burden on the peasants. The traveller down the St. Lawrence sees -how the interests of religion are emphasized in the large churches -raised in the midst of humble villages, and in the great Church -establishments of charity and instruction. It is said that the farmers -attempted to escape the tithe on cereals by changing to the cultivation -of pease, but the Church then decided that pease were cereals. There is -no doubt that the French population are devout, and that they support -the Church in proportion to their devotion, and that much which seems -to the Protestants extortion on the part of the Church is a voluntary -contribution. Still the fact remains that the burden is heavy on land -that is too cold for the highest productiveness. The desire to better -themselves in wages, and perhaps to escape burdens, sends a great many -French to New England. Some of them earn money, and return to settle in -the land that is dear by tradition and a thousand associations. Many do -not return, and I suppose there are over three-quarters of a million -of French Canadians now in New England. They go to better themselves, -exactly as New Englanders leave their homes for more productive farms in -the West. The Church, of course, does not encourage this emigration, -but does encourage the acquisition of lands in Ontario or elsewhere -in Canada. And there has been recently a marked increase of French -in Ontario--so marked that the French representation in the Ontario -Parliament will be increased probably by three members in the next -election. There are many people in Canada who are seriously alarmed at -this increase of the French and of the Roman Catholic power. Others look -upon this fear as idle, and say that immigration is sure to make the -Protestant element overwhelming. It is to be noted also that Ontario -furnishes Protestant emigrants to the United States in large numbers. It -may be that the interchange of ideas caused by the French emigration -to New England will be an important make-weight in favor of annexation. -Individuals, and even French newspapers, are found to advocate it. But -these are at present only surface indications. The political leaders, -the Church, and the mass of the people are fairly content with things as -they are, and with the provincial autonomy, although they resent federal -vetoes, and still make a "cry" of the Riel execution. - -The French element in Canada may be considered from other points of -view. The contribution of romance and tradition is not an unimportant -one in any nation. The French in Canada have never broken with their -past, as the French in France have. There is a great charm about -Quebec--its language, its social life, the military remains of the last -century. It is a Protestant writer who speaks of the volume and -wealth of the French Canadian literature as too little known to -English-speaking Canada. And it is true that literary men have not -realized the richness of the French material, nor the work accomplished -by French writers in history, poetry, essays, and romances. Quebec -itself is at a commercial stand-still, but its uniquely beautiful -situation, its history, and the projection of mediævalism into existing -institutions make it one of the most interesting places to the tourist -on the continent. The conspicuous, noble, and commodious Parliament -building is almost the only one of consequence that speaks of the modern -spirit. It was the remark of a high Church dignitary that the object of -the French in Canada was the promotion of religion, and the object -of the English, commerce. We cannot overlook this attitude against -materialism. In the French schools and universities religion is not -divorced from education. And even in the highest education, where modern -science has a large place, what we may call the literary side is very -much emphasized. Indeed, the French students are rather inclined to -rhetoric, and in public life the French are distinguished for the -graces and charm of oratory. It may be true, as charged, that the public -schools of Quebec province, especially in the country, giving special -attention to the interest the Church regards as the highest, do little -to remove the ignorance of the French peasant. It is our belief that -the best Christianity is the most intelligent. Yet there is matter for -consideration with all thoughtful men what sort of society we shall -ultimately have in States where the common schools have neither -religious nor ethical teaching. - -Ottawa is a creation of the Federal Government as distinctly as -'Washington is. The lumber-mills on the Chaudière Falls necessitate a -considerable town here, for this industry assumes gigantic proportions, -but the beauty and attraction of the city are due to the concentration -here of political interest. The situation on the bluffs of the Ottawa -River is commanding, and gives fine opportunity for architectural -display. The group of Government buildings is surpassingly fine. The -Parliament House and the department buildings on three sides of a square -are exceedingly effective in color and in the perfection of Gothic -details, especially in the noble towers. There are few groups of -buildings anywhere so pleasing to the eye, or that appeal more strongly -to one's sense of dignity and beauty. The library attached to the -Parliament House in the rear, a rotunda in form, has a picturesque -exterior, and the interior is exceedingly beautiful and effective. -The library, though mainly for Parliamentary uses, is rich in Canadian -history, and well up in polite literature. It contains about 90,000 -volumes. In the Parliament building, which contains the two fine -legislative Chambers, there are residence apartments for the Speakers -of the Senate and of the House of Commons and their families, where -entertainments are given during the session. The opening of Parliament -is an imposing and brilliant occasion, graced by the presence of the -Governor-general, who is supposed to visit the Chambers at no other -time in the session. Ottawa is very gay during the session, society and -politics mingling as in London, and the English habit of night sessions -adds a good deal to the excitement and brilliancy of the Parliamentary -proceedings. - -The growth of the Government business and of official life has made -necessary the addition of a third department building, and the new one, -departing from the Gothic style, is very solid and tasteful. There are -thirteen members of the Privy Council with portfolios, and the volume of -public business is attested by the increase of department officials. - -I believe there are about 1500 men attached to the civil service in -Ottawa. It will be seen at once that the Federal Government, which -seemed in a manner superimposed upon the provincial governments, has -taken on large proportions, and that there is in Ottawa and throughout -the Dominion in federal officials and offices a strengthening vested -interest in the continuance of the present form of government. The -capital itself, with its investment in buildings, is a conservator of -the state of things as they are. The Cabinet has many able men, men who -would take a leading rank as parliamentarians in the English Commons, -and the Opposition benches in the House furnish a good quota of the -same material. The power of the premier is a fact as recognizable as -in England. For many years Sir John A. Macdonald has been virtually the -ruler of Canada. He has had the ability and skill to keep his party -in power, while all the provinces have remained or become Liberal. I -believe his continuance is due to his devotion to the national idea, to -the development of the country, to bold measures--like the urgency of -the Canadian Pacific Railway construction--for binding the provinces -together and promoting commercial activity. Canada is proud of this, -even while it counts its debt. Sir John is worshipped by his party, -especially by the younger men, to whom he furnishes an ideal, as -a statesman of bold conceptions and courage. He is disliked as a -politician as cordially by the Opposition, who attribute to him the same -policy of adventure that was attributed to Beaconsfield. Personally he -resembles that remarkable man. Undoubtedly Sir John adds prudence to his -knowledge of men, and his habit of never crossing a stream till he gets -to it has gained him the sobriquet of "Old To-morrow." He is a man of -the world as well as a man of affairs, with a wide and liberal literary -taste. - -The members of Government are well informed about the United States, and -attentive students of its politics. I am sure that, while they prefer -their system of responsible government, they have no sentiment but -friendliness to American institutions and people, nor any expectation -that any differences will not be adjusted in a manner satisfactory and -honorable to both. I happened to be in Canada during the fishery -and "retaliation" talk. There was no belief that the "retaliation" -threatened was anything more than a campaign measure; it may have -chilled the _rapport_ for the moment, but there was literally no -excitement over it, and the opinion was general that retaliation as to -transportation would benefit the Canadian railways. The effect of the -moment was that importers made large foreign orders for goods to be sent -by Halifax that would otherwise have gone to United States ports. The -fishery question is not one that can be treated in the space at -our command. Naturally Canada sees it from its point of view. To a -considerable portion of the maritime provinces fishing means livelihood, -and the view is that if the United States shares in it we ought to -open our markets to the Canadian fishermen. Some, indeed, and these are -generally advocates of freer trade, think that our fishermen ought to -have the right of entering the Canadian harbors for bait and shipment -of their catch, and think also that Canada would derive an equal benefit -from this; but probably the general feeling is that these privileges -should be compensated by a United States market. The defence of the -treaty in the United States Senate debate was not the defence of the -Canadian Government in many particulars. For instance, it was said that -the "outrages" had been _disowned_ as the acts of irresponsible men. The -Canadian defence was that the "outrages"--that is, the most conspicuous -of them which appeared in the debate--had been _disproved_ in the -investigation. Several of them, which excited indignation in the United -States, were declared by a Cabinet minister to have no foundation in -fact, and after proof of the falsity of the allegations the complainants -were not again heard of. Of course it is known that no arrangement made -by England can hold that is not materially beneficial to Canada and the -United States; and I believe I state the best judgment of both -sides that the whole fishery question, in the hands of sensible -representatives of both countries, upon ascertained facts, could be -settled between Canada and the United States. Is it not natural that, -with England conducting the negotiation, Canada should appear as a -somewhat irresponsible litigating party bent on securing all that she -can get? But whatever the legal rights are, under treaties or the law of -nations, I am sure that the absurdity of making a _casus belli_ of them -is as much felt in Canada as in the United States. And I believe the -Canadians understand that this attitude is consistent with a firm -maintenance of treaty or other rights by the United States as it is by -Canada. - -The province of Ontario is an empire in itself. It is nearly as large -as France; it is larger by twenty-live thousand square miles than -the combined six New England States, with New York, New Jersey, -Pennsylvania, and Maryland. In its varied capacities it is the richest -province in Canada, and leaving out the forests and minerals and stony -wilderness between the Canadian Pacific and James Bay, it has an area -large enough for an empire, which compares favorably in climate and -fertility with the most prosperous States of our Union. The climate -of the lake region is milder than that of southern New York, and a -considerable part of it is easily productive of superior grapes, apples, -and other sorts of fruit. The average yield of wheat, per acre, both -fall and spring, for five years ending with 1886, was considerably above -that of our best grain-producing States, from Pennsylvania to those -farthest West. The same is true of oats. The comparison of barley -is still more favorable for Ontario, and the barley is of a superior -quality. On a carefully cultivated farm in York county, for this period, -the average was higher than the general in the province, being, of -wheat, 25 bushels to the acre; barley, 47 bushels; oats, 66 bushels; -pease, 32 bushels. It has no superior as a wool-producing and -cattle-raising country. Its waterpower is unexcelled; in minerals it is -as rich as it is in timber; every part of it has been made accessible to -market by railways and good highways, which have had liberal Government -aid; and its manufactures have been stimulated by a protective tariff. -Better than all this, it is the home of a very superior people. There -are no better anywhere. The original stock was good, the climate has -been favorable, the athletic habits have given them vigor and tone and -courage, and there prevails a robust, healthful moral condition. In any -company, in the clubs, in business houses, in professional circles, the -traveller is impressed with the physical development of the men, and -even on the streets of the chief towns with the uncommon number of -women who have beauty and that attractiveness which generally goes with -good taste in dress. - -The original settlers of Ontario were 10,000 loyalists, who left New -England during and after our Revolutionary War. They went to Canada -impoverished, but they carried there moral and intellectual qualities -of a high order, the product of the best civilization of their day, -the best materials for making a State. I confess that I never could -rid myself of the school-boy idea that the terms "British redcoat" -and "enemy" were synonymous, and that a "Tory" was the worst character -Providence had ever permitted to live. But these people, who were -deported, or went voluntarily away for an idea, were among the best -material we had in stanch moral traits, intellectual leadership, social -position, and wealth; their crime was superior attachment to England, -and utter want of sympathy with the colonial cause, the cause of -"liberty" of the hour. It is to them, at any rate, that Ontario owes its -solid basis of character, vigor, and prosperity. I do not quarrel with -the pride of their descendants in the fact that their ancestors were -U. E. (United Empire) loyalists--a designation that still has a vital -meaning to them. No doubt they inherit the idea that the revolt was a -mistake, that the English connection is better as a form of government -than the republic, and some of them may still regard the "Yankees" as -their Tory ancestors did. It does not matter. In the development of -a century in a new world they are more like us than they are like -the English, except in a certain sentiment and in traditions, and in -adherence to English governmental ideas. I think I am not wrong in -saying that this conservative element in Ontario, or this aristocratical -element which believes that it can rule a people better than they -can rule themselves, was for a long time an anti-progressive and -anti-popular force. They did not give up their power readily--power, -however, which they were never accused of using for personal profit in -the way of money. But I suppose that the "rule of the best" is only held -today as a theory under popular suffrage in a responsible government. - -The population of Ontario in 1886 was estimated at 1,819,026. For the -seven years from 1872--79 the gain was 250,782. For the seven years from -1879-86 the gain was only 145,459. These figures, which I take from the -statistics of Mr. Archibald Blue, secretary of the Ontario Bureau of -Industries, become still more significant when we consider that in the -second period of seven years the Government had spent more money in -developing the railways, in promoting immigration, and raised more money -by the protective tariff for the establishing of industries, than in the -first. The increase of population in the first period was 174 per cent.; -in the second, only 8 2/3 per cent. Mr. Blue also says that but for the -accession by immigration in the seven years 1879-86 the population -of the province in 1886 would have been 62,640 less than in 1879. The -natural increase, added to the immigration reported (208,000), should -have given an increase of 442,000. There was an increase of only -145,000. What became of the 297,000? They did not go to Manitoba--the -census shows that. "The lamentable truth is that we are growing men for -the United States." That is, the province is at the cost of raising -thousands of citizens up to a productive age only to lose them by -emigration to the United States. Comparisons are also made with Ohio and -Michigan, showing in them a proportionally greater increase in -population, in acres of land under production, in manufactured products, -and in development of mineral wealth. And yet Ontario has as great -natural advantages as these neighboring States. The observation is also -made that in the six years 1873-79, a period of intense business -stringency, the country made decidedly greater progress than in the six -years 1879-85, "a period of revival and boom, and vast expenditure of -public money." The reader will bear in mind that the repeal (caused -mainly by the increase of Canadian duties on American products) of the -reciprocity treaty in 1866 (under which an international trade had grown -to $70,000,000 annually) discouraged any annexation sentiment that may -have existed, aided the scheme of confederation, and seemed greatly to -stimulate Canadian manufactures, and the growth of interior and exterior -commerce. - -We touch here not only political questions active in Canada, but -economic problems affecting both Canada and the United States. It is the -criticism of the Liberals upon the "development" policy, the protective -tariff, the subsidy policy of the Liberal-Conservative party now in -power, that a great show of activity is made without any real progress -either in wealth or population. To put it in a word, the Liberals want -unrestricted trade with the United States, with England, or with the -world--preferably with the United States. If this caused separation -from England they would accept the consequences with composure, but -they vehemently deny that they in any way favor annexation because they -desire free-trade. Pointing to the more rapid growth of the States of -the Union their advantage is said to consist in having free exchange of -commodities with sixty millions of people, spread over a continent. - -As a matter of fact it seems plain that Ontario would benefit and have -a better development by sharing in this large circulation and exchange. -Would the State of New York be injured by the prosperity of Ontario? - -Is it not benefited by the prosperity of its other neighbor, -Pennsylvania? - -Toronto represents Ontario. It is its monetary, intellectual, -educational centre, and I may add that here, more than anywhere else -in Canada, the visitor is conscious of the complicated energy of a very -vigorous civilization. The city itself has grown rapidly--an increase -from 86,415 in 1881 to probably 170,000 in 1888--and it is growing as -rapidly as any city on the continent, according to the indications -of building, manufacturing, railway building, and the visible stir of -enterprise. It is a very handsome and agreeable city, pleasant for one -reason, because it covers a large area, and gives space for the -display of its fine buildings. I noticed especially the effect of noble -churches, occupying a square--ample grounds that give dignity to the -house of God. It extends along the lake about six miles, and runs back -about as far, laid out with regularity, and with the general effect -of being level, but the outskirts have a good deal of irregularity and -picturesqueness. It has many broad, handsome streets and several fine -parks; High Park on the west is extensive, the University grounds (or -Queen's Park) are beautiful--the new and imposing Parliament Buildings -are being erected in a part of its domain ceded for the purpose; and -the Island Park, the irregular strip of an island lying in front of the -city, suggests the Lido of Venice. I cannot pause upon details, but the -town has an air of elegance, of solidity, of prosperity. The well-filled -streets present an aspect of great business animation, which is seen -also in the shops, the newspapers, the clubs. It is a place of social -activity as well, of animation, of hospitality. - -There are a few delightful old houses, which date back to the New -England loyalists, and give a certain flavor to the town. - -If I were to make an accurate picture of Toronto it would appear as one -of the most orderly, well-governed, moral, highly civilized towns on -the continent--in fact, almost unique in the active elements of a high -Christian civilization. The notable fact is that the concentration here -of business enterprise is equalled by the concentration of religious and -educational activity. - -The Christian religion is fundamental in the educational system. In this -province the public schools are Protestant, the separate schools Roman -Catholic, and the Bible has never been driven from the schools. The -result as to positive and not passive religious instruction has not -been arrived at without agitation. The mandatory regulations of the -provincial Assembly are these: Every public and high school shall be -opened daily with the Lord's Prayer, and closed with the reading of -the Scriptures and the Lord's Prayer, or the prayer authorized by -the Department of Education. The Scriptures shall be read daily and -systematically, without comment or explanation. No pupil shall be -required to take part in any religious exercise objected to by parent -or guardian, and an interval is given for children of Roman Catholics to -withdraw. A volume of Scripture selections made up by clergymen of the -various denominations or the Bible may be used, in the discretion of the -trustees, who may also order the repeating of the ten commandments in -the school at least once a week. Clergymen of any denomination, or -their authorized representatives, shall have the right to give religions -instruction to pupils of their denomination in the school-house at least -once a week. The historical portions of the Bible are given with more -fulness than the others. Each lesson contains a continuous selection. -The denominational rights of the pupils are respected, because the -Scripture must be read without comment or explanation. The State thus -discharges its duty without prejudice to any sect, but recognizes the -truth that ethical and religious instruction is as necessary in life as -any other. - -I am not able to collate the statistics to show the effect of this upon -public morals. I can only testify to the general healthful tone. The -schools of Toronto are excellent and comprehensive; the kindergarten is -a part of the system, and the law avoids the difficulty experienced in -St. Louis about spending money on children under the school age of six -by making the kindergarten age three. There is also a school for strays -and truants, under private auspices as yet, which reinforces the public -schools in an important manner, and an industrial school of promise, -on the cottage system, for neglected boys. The heads of educational -departments whom I met were Christian men. - -I sat one day with the police-magistrate, and saw something of the -workings of the Police Department. The chief of police is a gentleman. -So far as I could see there was a distinct moral intention in the -administration. There are special policemen of high character, -with discretionary powers, who seek to prevent crime, to reconcile -differences, to suppress vice, to do justice on the side of the erring -as well as on the side of the law. The central prison (all offenders -sentenced for more than two years go to a Dominion penitentiary) is a -well-ordered jail, without any special reformatory features. I cannot -even mention the courts, the institutions of charity and reform, except -to say that they all show vigorous moral action and sentiment in the -community. - -The city, though spread over such a large area, permits no horse-cars -to run on Sunday. There are no saloons open on Sunday; there are no -beer-gardens or places of entertainment in the suburbs, and no Sunday -newspapers. It is believed that the effect of not running the cars on -Sunday has been to scatter excellent churches all over the city, so -that every small section has good churches. Certainly they are well -distributed. They are large and fine architecturally; they are -well filled on Sunday; the clergymen are able, and the salaries -are considered liberal. If I may believe the reports and my limited -observation, the city is as active religiously as it is in matters -of education. And I do not see that this interferes with an agreeable -social life, with a marked tendency of the women to beauty and to taste -in dress. The tone of public and private life impresses a stranger as -exceptionally good. The police is free from political influence, being -under a commission of three, two of whom are life magistrates, and the -mayor. - -The free-library system of the whole province is good. Toronto has an -excellent and most intelligently arranged free public library of about -50,000 volumes. The library trustees make an estimate yearly of the -money necessary, and this, under the law, must be voted by the city -council. The Dominion Government still imposes a duty on books purchased -for the library outside of Canada. - -The educational work of Ontario is nobly crowned by the University -of Toronto, though it is in no sense a State institution. It is well -endowed, and has a fine estate. The central building is dignified and an -altogether noble piece of architecture, worthy to stand in its beautiful -park. It has a university organization, with a college inside of it, a -school of practical science, and affiliated divinity schools of several -denominations, including the Roman Catholic. There are fine museums and -libraries, and it is altogether well equipped and endowed, and under -the presidency of Dr. Daniel Wilson, the venerable ethnologist, it is a -great force in Canada. The students and officers wear the cap and gown, -and the establishment has altogether a scholastic air. Indeed, this -tradition and equipment--which in a sense pervades all life and politics -in Canada--has much to do with keeping up the British connection. The -conservation of the past is stronger than with us. - -A hundred matters touching our relations with Canada press for mention. -I must not omit the labor organizations. These are in affiliation with -those in the United States, and most of them are international. The -plumbers, the bricklayers, the stone-masons and stone-cutters, the -Typographical Union, the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the -wood-carvers, the Knights of Labor, are affiliated; there is a branch -of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in Canada; the railway -conductors, with delegates from all our States, held their conference in -Toronto last summer. The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners -is a British association, with headquarters in Manchester, but it has -an executive committee in New York, with which all the Canadian and -American societies communicate, and it sustains a periodical in New -York. The Society of Amalgamated Engine Builders has its office in -London, but there is an American branch, with which all the Canadian -societies work in harmony. The Cigar-makers' Union is American, but a -strike of cigar-makers in Toronto was supported by the American; so with -the plumbers. It may be said generally that the societies each side the -line will sustain each other. The trade organizations are also taken -up by women, and these all affiliate with the United States. When a -"National" union affiliates with one on the other side, the name -is changed to "International." This union and interchange draws the -laborers of both nations closer together. From my best information, and -notwithstanding the denial of some politicians, the Canadian unions -have love and sympathy for and with America. And this feeling must be -reckoned with in speaking of the tendency to annexation. The present -much-respected mayor of Toronto is a trade-unionist, and has a seat -in the local parliament as a Conservative; he was once arrested for -picketing, or some such trade-union performance. I should not say that -the trades-unions are in favor of annexation, but they are not afraid -to discuss it. There is in Toronto a society of a hundred young men, -the greater part of whom are of the artisan class, who meet to discuss -questions of economy and politics. One of their subjects was Canadian -independence. I am told that there is among young men a considerable -desire for independence, accompanied with a determination to be on the -best terms with the United States, and that as between a connection with -Great Britain and the United States, they would prefer the latter. In -my own observation the determination to be on good terms with the United -States is general in Canada; the desire for independence is not. - -The frequency of the question, "What do you think of the future -of Canada?" shows that it is an open question. Undeniably the -confederation, which seems to me rather a creation than a growth, works -very well, and under it Canada has steadily risen in the consideration -of the world and in the development of the sentiment of nationality. -But there are many points unadjusted in the federal and provincial -relations; more power is desired on one side, more local autonomy on -the other. The federal right of disallowance of local legislation is -resisted. The stated distribution of federal money to the provinces -is an anomaly which we could not reconcile with the public spirit -and dignity of the States, nor recognize as a proper function of the -Government. The habit of the provinces of asking aid from the -central government in emergencies, and getting it, does not cultivate -self-reliance, and the grant of aid by the Federal Government, in order -to allay dissatisfaction, must be a growing embarrassment. The French -privileges in regard to laws, language, and religion make an insoluble -core in the heart of the confederacy, and form a compact mass which -can be wielded for political purposes. This element, dominant in the -province of Quebec, is aggressive. I have read many alarmist articles, -both in Canadian and English periodicals, as to the danger of this to -the rights of Protestant communities. I lay no present stress upon the -expression of the belief by intelligent men that Protestant communities -might some time be driven to the shelter of the wider toleration of the -United States. No doubt much feeling is involved. I am only reporting -a state of mind which is of public notoriety; and I will add that men -equally intelligent say that all this fear is idle; that, for instance, -the French increase in Ontario means nothing, only that the _habitant_ -can live on the semisterile Laurentian lands that others cannot -profitably cultivate. - -In estimating the idea the Canadians have of their future it will not -do to take surface indications. One can go to Canada and get almost -any opinion and tendency he is in search of. Party spirit--though the -newspapers are in every way, as a rule, less sensational than -ours--runs as high and is as deeply bitter as it is with us. Motives -are unwarrantably attributed. It is always to be remembered that the -Opposition criticises the party in power for a policy it might not -essentially change if it came in, and the party in power attributes -designs to the Opposition which it does not entertain: as, for instance, -the Opposition party is not hostile to confederation because it objects -to the "development" policy or to the increase of the federal debt, nor -is it for annexation because it may favor unrestricted trade or even -commercial union. As a general statement it may be said that the -Liberal-Conservative party is a protection party, a "development" party, -and leans to a stronger federal government; that the Liberal party -favors freer trade, would cry halt to debt for the forcing of -development, and is jealous of provincial rights. Even the two parties -are not exactly homogeneous. There are Conservatives who would like -legislative union; the Liberals of the province of Quebec are of one -sort, the Liberals of the province of Ontario are of another, and there -are Conservative-Liberals as well as Radicals. - -The interests of the maritime provinces are closely associated with -those of New England; popular votes there have often pointed to -political as well as commercial union, but the controlling forces -are loyal to the confederation and to British connection. Manitoba -is different in origin, as I pointed out, and in temper. It considers -sharply the benefit to itself of the federal domination. My own -impression is that it would vote pretty solidly against any present -proposition of annexation, but under the spur of local grievances and -the impatience of a growth slower than expected there is more or less -annexation talk, and one newspaper of a town of six thousand people has -advocated it. Whether that is any more significant than the same course -taken by a Quebec newspaper recently under local irritation about -disallowance I do not know. As to unrestricted trade, Sir John Thompson, -the very able Minister of Justice in Ottawa, said in a recent speech -that Canada could not permit her financial centre to be shifted to -Washington and her tariff to be made there; and in this he not only -touched the heart of the difficulty of an arrangement, but spoke, I -believe, the prevailing sentiment of Canada. - -As to the future, I believe the choice of a strict conservatism would -be, first, the government as it is; second, independence; third, -imperial federation: annexation never. But imperial federation is -generally regarded as a wholly impracticable scheme. The Liberal would -choose, first, the framework as it is, with modifications; second, -independence, with freer trade; third, trust in Providence, without -fear. It will be noted in all these varieties of predilection -that separation from England is calmly contemplated as a definite -possibility, and I have no doubt that it would be preferred rather than -submission to the least loss of the present autonomy. And I must express -the belief that, underlying all other thought, unexpressed, or, if -expressed, vehemently repudiated, is the idea, widely prevalent, that -some time, not now, in the dim future, the destiny of Canada and the -United States will be one. And if one will let his imagination run a -little, he cannot but feel an exultation in the contemplation of the -majestic power and consequence in the world such a nation would be, -bounded by three oceans and the Gulf, united under a restricted federal -head, with free play for the individuality of every State. If this ever -comes to pass, the tendency to it will not be advanced by threats, by -unfriendly legislation, by attempts at conquest. The Canadians are as -high-spirited as we are. Any sort of union that is of the least value -could only come by free action of the Canadian people, in a growth of -business interests undisturbed by hostile sentiment. And there could -be no greater calamity to Canada, to the United States, to the -English-speaking interest in the world, than a collision. Nothing is -to be more dreaded for its effect upon the morals of the people of the -United States than any war with any taint of conquest in it. - -There is, no doubt, with many, an honest preference for the colonial -condition. I have heard this said: - -"We have the best government in the world, a responsible government, -with entire local freedom. England exercises no sort of control; we are -as free as a nation can he. We have in the representative of the Crown a -certain conservative tradition, and it only costs us ten thousand pounds -a year. We are free, we have little expense, and if we get into any -difficulty there is the mighty power of Great Britain behind us!" It -is as if one should say in life, I have no responsibilities; I have a -protector. Perhaps as a "rebel," I am unable to enter into the colonial -state of mind. But the boy is never a man so long as he is dependent. -There was never a nation great until it came to the knowledge that it -had nowhere in the world to go for help. - -In Canada to-dav there is a growing feeling for independence; very -little, taking the whole mass, for annexation. Put squarely to a popular -vote, it would make little show in the returns. Among the minor causes -of reluctance to a union are distrust of the Government of the United -States, coupled with the undoubted belief that Canada has the better -government; dislike of our quadrennial elections; the want of a -system of civil service, with all the turmoil of our constant official -overturning; dislike of our sensational and irresponsible journalism, -tending so often to recklessness; and dislike also, very likely, of -the very assertive spirit which has made us so rapidly subdue our -continental possessions. - -But if one would forecast the future of Canada, he needs to take a wider -view than personal preferences or the agitations of local parties. The -railway development, the Canadian Pacific alone, has changed within five -years the prospects of the political situation. It has brought together -the widely separated provinces, and has given a new impulse to the -sentiment of nationality. It has produced a sort of unity which no Act -of Parliament could ever create. But it has done more than this: it has -changed the relation of England to Canada. The Dominion is felt to be -a much more important part of the British Empire than it was ten -years ago, and in England within less than ten years there has been a -revolution in colonial policy. With a line of fast steamers from the -British Islands to Halifax, with lines of fast steamers from Vancouver -to Yokohama, Hong-Kong, and Australia, with an all rail transit, within -British limits, through an empire of magnificent capacities, offering -homes for any possible British overflow, will England regard Canada as -a weakness? It is true that on this continent the day of dynasties is -over, and that the people will determine their own place. But there -are great commercial forces at work that cannot be ignored, which seem -strong enough to keep Canada for a long time on her present line of -development in a British connection. - -THE END. - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Studies in The South and West, With -Comments on Canada, by Charles Dudley Warner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES IN THE SOUTH *** - -***** This file should be named 52290-8.txt or 52290-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/2/9/52290/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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