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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtra reproduit en un seul ciich*. il est film* A partir da I'angia supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en baa, en prenant la nombre d'imagas nicesaaire. Las diagrammes suivants illustrant la mithoda. »y errata sd to nt ne pelure. ipon A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 .« *. »*»*ISi*«ai3ieKf »N«'5^<'S2K! \ ^^ ■A i; I ll m ■:;•.! •■ i f (ti.,, ■ ■ I; •I "1 1 ) ■ 1 ' '-] * < it im • V .t--^' ibiW^JUi ^^Si&itm.«>ikii^*iA »* a ^'•^'i'^ JL. .i< '' i ' • - • ^ ' J lift nliiirat'jir^*^--*' • ■^.-.^'-l».-A> -»:, .r.. .':■.-. '^it, ^ From a I'hotoijraph (CopyrigliliMl nhy (', M. IMl, Washington, PORTRAITS OF THE DELEGATES TO THE INTER CharlcH R. Fl nl, United States. A. V'olordc, Wolivia. Jolin H. Hou'jiTSon, United Staii Melclior Obarrio, Bolivia. M. M. E«lfe, United States. M. ValdivieM), Salvador. Clem. Stiidehaker, United Stale- C. N. BlisK. United Statci*. CarloB M. Silva. (;oloiHbia. 11. J. CaBtellanoH, Salvador. Vi. Jone M. lliirtado. C'ol(mi))ia. 13. •!. Arrieta WohkI, Salvador. 14. Clinnu'o Calderon. ('oloml)ia. 15. .folili K. HatiKon, United Slatei- 16. Richard Villafraiica, I'oeta Uiea. 17. E. C. Flalli»', Hondurac. 18. F. I'. V. Zi'garra, Peru. 1!). Uenry (i. Davis, United StateK. i!0. F. A. Silva, \mi. ai. Alberto Nin. I rm Mi. !,ayfayette li. IVn 23. J. de V. Vawoiii 24. F. Cm/., (iiiiiiriiij as. J. A. F. daCnM,! a»i. Matios RoniiT". M ar. J. Zelaya, llonilnt as. J. U. do AmaralV TIONAL OR P Brazil. Brazil. !il. 0. If. Brazil. 29. Hi .■X). M 31. S. 3a. N. ;«. Ca 34. ,Jn ;i5. N. 37. H. ;w. M, I aph (Copyrighiiil ij inteM F. A. Silvn, Vi'iir/i Alberto Niii. 1 ru.l hnyfayette U I'l'f J. (If V. VftfiiiiiiTl , K. Cniz, (fUiiii'iiiil . .1. A. F. (lii<'"-'«l . MtttioH Roiiiir". Ml . .J. Zelaya. lltmiliii . J. (i. do AniMraMl Iby r. M. Bill, Wnshington, D. C. mONAL OR PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS, 1889-90. Brazil. Illra/ii. til. 0. itr.Ilnixil. 39. Hon. J. U. Itlnine, United Stntcx. SO. M. de Mondoiicii. Brazil. 31. S. du Mvndonca, Hnizil. Hi. N. Boli't PiTaza. Vencznela. 33. CarloH S. Martins, Brazil. 34. Jimn F. V'elordo, Bolivia. 35. N. B. Mont'^aB, Venezuela. 37. U. Ouznian, Niearajiiia •IS. M. Aragou, Costa liicu. 30. A. A. Adec, United States. 40. Walker Blaine, United Stat ;b. 41. J. B. Moore, United States. 48. M. Velorde, Bolivia. 43. Lieut. 11. P. Leinley. United States Army. 44. t'apt. J. O. Burke, United States Army. 4.5. William U. Trescot, Unite*! States. 40. J. Fcnuer Lee, United States. The North, OP THE GAEAT V RES ()[] VIEWS IN THK I triiA, lilt o A Bl AI THOU DP "THE !• STATKS FOU SCH 'i.ossirro's J Wll THB COUNTRIES OF The Vestcrn V0RI2D. THE GOVERN/^ENTS AN9 PEOPLE OK North, South and Central America, FROM THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS TO THE PRESENT TIME. PEN AND PKNCIL PICTURES OF THE QilEAT WONDERLANDS OF CUE REPDBLIO, THEIR NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS, THE STORY OF OCR MARVELLOUS PROGRESS AND GROWTH AS A NATION i WITH PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF OIK CONTINENT BEYOND THE STATES COMPRISING VIEWS I.N THE DOMINION OF CANADA, HER PROVINCES ANU CIIIES ; THE KEFIJHI IC OK MEXK'l ; cmiA, THE i;E.M ok the ANriI.I,ES; THE HAHA.MA ISLANDS, AND All, HIE COIMRIES OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA, THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. A Grand, Descriptive, Historical and Statistical Work. PREPARED BY BENSON J. LOSSING, LL.D., AITHoll OP "THE IMCTOniAL FIKl.I) BOOK OK THK IlKVOI-lTION," "THE HAIt o*" 181'J." "A llltiTOllV OP THK INITKI) STATES POU SPHOOI.8." "THK CIVIL WAR." "LIVES OK EMINENT A.MEI1ICANX," "THE HOME OP WASHINttTON," "I.OSSI?:u'l» BOOK OP THE HUDSON." "OUB COl'NTKT," "THE OIIHAT ntrl'Rl.IC OP THE WEsT." hTC, AND OTHER WELL-KNOWN WRITERS. ILLdSTRATED Willi NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS OF THE MAGNHICENI' SCENEKV DK i)l R WONDERLANDS AND PLACES OF PICTURESQUE AND HIsrORIC INTERESr. N K. W V K K : GAY BROTHERS c^^ CO., 30, 32, 34 READE STREET. 1890. mm ,( l.ltST OF AUTHORS. liKNSON- J. LOSSING, LL.D. Cur Illation; The Story of Its Progress and Gro*it!.. GEO. J. HAGAR. Beyond the States. A. H. GEURNSEY. T'li. D. AND JOHN E. REED Great Wonderlands of Cur Republic. Cui'VKiGHiEL), 1890, iiY Gay, Brothkrs iS; C: LlUAtY 9F TH£ UNJVUSITY W ALlEtTA PREFACE. The present is an auspicious time to present to tlv )ublic a work showing at one view the wonderful development .Ind progress of the countries of the western world, together with the marvellous scenery of our wonderlands and resorts. The volume in hand contains a concise and rapid review of ill the nations of our continent, including the story of Our Nation's Progress and Growth, giving in interesting and entertaining form the salient points of our national development from the discovery of the continent to the present time. This cannot fail to be of great value to the busy reader who has not the time to devote to more extensive works. It may be depended upon as accurate and reliable, the description of each event having been carefully verified as to its his- torical correctness. While the great republic of the West has made such rapid strides in her national progress, sister republics have arisen upon her southern border, and in Central and South America, modelled upon her Consti- tution. The lands of the Montezumas and the Incashave taken on a new type of civilization. Customs and traditions, transplanted from the countries of Europe to their American colonies, have been modi- fied and transformed by the blending of the races until the sovereign nations first represented in the Pan-American Congress, held at Wash- ington, D. C, in 1890, have displayed the great fact tl.at they are all together moving forward to a common destiny. The spirit of unity and of peaceful arbitration, as well as of commercial reciprocity urged by this Congress upon the respective governments represented there- in, shows a tendency to continental unity of aim. In order that the general reader may become fully informed upon their condition, political, commercial, and social, interesting chapters of a historical and descriptive nature have been introduced showing the form of government, with statistics respecting the educational facilities, military and naval forces, and religious condition of these nations of the western hemisphere which lie beyond the United 2090609 iv I'RKFACE. * S^tatcs. The dominion of Canada on the north, and Cuba, " the Key to the Antilles," with the Uahama Islands, have each been treated in chapters specially assigned to them. An interesting portion of the work is specially devoted to the natural scenery presented by ocean, lake, mountain, and river through- out the great "Wonderlands of Our Republic." These have long attracted the admiration of the native and foreign tourist, and awaken- ed an intense desire in all classes of readers to become better ac- quainted with the majestic wonders and varied scenes of our land. These chapters, which include the celebrated resorts of the United States, are surrounded with pictures([ue and historic interest to al! readers. To those who have had the time and opportunity to visit all or any of these famous places, a perusal of these sketches will awaken pleasant recollections and renew the thrilling sensations of grandeur and sublimity which the scenes themselves at first aroused. While for that large class of our readers who have not had the oppor- tunity of personally viewing them, these pen and pencil pictures will, in large measure, supply the place of actual visitation. While to those contemplating a visit to any of our celebrated resorts, an op- portunity is offered to make themselves familiar with the peculiar charms of each. The historic, descriptive, and picturesque features of this work cannot fail to most highly recommend it to all readers. This work is therefore published for readers of every class, with the belief that it will satisfy the renewed interest in the wonderful achievements of our Continent, everywhere rich in noble names and grand events ; and also with the assurance that it will furnish much desired information upon those subjects which are valuable to every American — in the broadest sense of that word — who believes in the grand future awaiting this Western Hemisphere of Republics. NATURAL CONTENTS. Preface ... List of Illustrations HI XXV The Great Wonderlands of Our Repiihlic: NATURAL SCKNKRY AND CKLEHRATKI) RK.SOKTS. NKW KNGI.ANF) CO.XST SCKNKS-The Coast Line-The I'roix.scd Tour- Route Selected — Long Island Sound — Newport — Location — Former Naval Station — The Round Tower — Various Attractions— Oj)en to All — I'opulation - Nantasket Beach IMymouth— Miles Standish 'I'lie " XLiytlower "— Karly Settlement of I'lymouth - Natural Features— Pilgrim Rock — I'lymouth Hall— Cajje Cod— Form — Area- Deriva- tion of its Name— Sand — Cranberry Marshes— Villages— Provincetown— Fisheries - Whales— Characteristic Scenes — New Bedford Decline of the Whale Fisheries- Manufactures Buzzard's Bay and Vicinity — Wood's Holl — .NLirtha's Vineyard Dis- covery- Attractions — Cottage City — (lay Head Nantucket — (leological Formation — Discovery— Settlement by Thomas Macey —Fisheries— Population — "The (larden of Fden " — Climate— Sanitary C(mdition— Return to Boston — Lowell— John Eliot - Cotton Mills — Lake Winnipiseogee - Farly Notices - Later Descriptions— Portland — Mount Desert Island — Area— Natural Features (Irowing Importance — As a Pleasure Resort - Prosperity, S3 THE WHITE MOUNTAINS— Location— First Visit by White Men— Increr'.sing Popularity — Various Attractions — Ascent of Mount Washington — Magnificent Scenery — The Notch and Vicinity — Franconia Mountains — Other Attractions, ... 97 THE RANGELEV LAKES— Location— Number— Names— Attractions of the Region — Routes — The Dixville Notch 104 ALONG THE HUDSON— The Hudson River— Nivigation— Scenery— Pali- sades— The Tappan Zee—" Sunnyside " — " Sleepy Hollow "— Nyack — Sing Sing — The Croton Aqueduct— " Treason Hill "—Peekskill— The Highland Region— West Point —Constitution Island — Cornwall — Newburg — Poughkeepsie — Other Cities— Claverack Valley — Albany — The Capitol Building — Feudal System — Troy, 106 THE ADIRONDACS— Location— Elevation— A VVil d Region— Mountains- Lakes and Ponds — Travelling — Routes— General Aspect, . iiy I'HE REGION OF THE CATSKILLS— Location— Routes Thereto- Catskin — Kingston — Fame of the Catskills— /"ittractions — Mountain Views— Railroads and f I fi Hi vi. CONTENTS. Stage Lines — Sunset Rock— Overlook Mountain — The Wallkill Valley — New Paltz — Sky Top — Lake Mohonk — Lake Minncvaska, 120 SARATOGA SPRINGS— A Famous Resort— Hotels— Historic Events— Miner •' Springs — Attractions — Saratoga Lake — Mt. McGregor — Population, .... uS LAKE GiiORGE — A Democratic Resort — Location and History — Attractions of the Region — Summer Population, 132 CHAUTAUQUA — Location — Elevation — Resorts — i^ducational Centre — Build- ings — Schools — Recreations, 136 AUSABLE CHASM— Location— Falls— The Chasm— A Pleasant Boat-ride, 138 f I CHATEAUGAY CHASM— Location— Lakes in the Vicinity— Description of the Chasm — Efifects of the Imagination — Rainbow Basin — Giant Gorge —Vulcan's Cave — Other Attractions — Increasing Popularity, 140 WATKINS GLEN— Situation— Scenery— Cascades— The Iron Bridge— Hotel- Art Gallery — The Cathedral — Various Attractions 144 NIAGARA F/ LLS — Volume of Water — Adequate Description Impossible — Niagara River — Earliest Mention of Falls — How the Falls were Formed — Rate of Retrocession- Goat Island — Width and Form of the Falls — Cave of the Wmds — The New York State Park — The Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park — Bridges Across the River — Below the Falls — The Whirlpool — Villages, 149 THE THOUSAND ISLANDS— The St. Lawrence River— The Rapids- Steamers — The Morning Hours — Various Islands — Alexandria Bay — Round Island Park— Thousand Island Park — Evening Scenes — Cottages — Westminster Park — On the River Banks — The Long Sault— Lake St. Francis — Through the Rapids — Victoria Bridge — Montreal, 160 CRESSON — Location — Elevation — Hotels and Cottages — Forests — Roads — Me- dicinal Springs, 172 LEWISTOWN NARROWS— The Home of Logan— Natural Curiosities— Indus- tries — Institutions and Buildings — Formation of the Narrows, 172 THE ] Chasm — A GREE^ — Scenery, . CONEY sure Resort Divisions, . LONG ] Hotels— Vai ASBUR1 of the Land — Attractions ATLAN1 Churches and CAPE M — Bathing Fa OLD PO Neighboring THE W Peaks— Medi — Healing Sji JEKYL ments— Mane ST. JOU Lake Georgt as a Winter TEXAS Bridge— The CONTENTS. vii. THE HORSESHOE CURVE— Up Cxrade— A Peculiar Cun-e— Across the Chasm— A Curious Delusion, 174 (iREENWOOl) LAKE — Location — Area — Numerous Attractions — Camping Out — Scenery, 176 CONEY ISLAND— Area and Location — Discovery — Early History — As a Plea- sure Resort — New Attractions — Elements of Popularity — Iron Piers — Hotels — Four Divisions, 177 LONG BRANCH — Location — Attractions— Original Settlement — The Beach — Hotels— Various Sections, . 180 ASBURY PARK AND OCEAN GROVE— Location of Asbury Park— Purchase of the Land — Incorporation — Beach — Hotels — Lakes — Ocean Grove — Management — Attractions — Population, 181 ATLANTIC CITY — Climatic Advantages — Location— Railroad Connections — Churches and Newspapers — Various Attractions, 185 CAPE MAY CITY— Location— Early Settlement— Attractions— Cape May Point — Bathing Facilities — City Avenues — Hotels and Cottages, i86 OLD POINT COMFORT— CHmate— Location— Fortress Monroe— Hampton- Neighboring Localities — Social Enjoyments, 188 THE WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS-Location— How reached -Mountain Peaks — Medicinal Spring — Popularity — Climate— Hotels and Cottages — Hot Springs — Healing Sjmngs — Sweet Springs — Red Siiiphur Springs — Scenery, .... 191 JEKYL ISLAND — Location — Former Popularity — Recent Pur-chase — Improve- ments — Management — Attractions— Climate, 193 SI'. JOHN'S I IVER — Rise and Course — Steamboat Trip — Orange Groves — Lake George — Luxuriant Vegetation — Stopi)ing Places — The Everglades — Florida as a Winter Resort, 195 I'EXAS AND i'HE GREAT SOUTHWEST — Scenery — The St. Louis Bridge — The Meramec River — The Iron Mountain — Pilot Knob Mountain— The mt J It il !m vm. CONTENTS. Ozark Mountain Section — Beautiful Scenes — The Black River — Little Rock — Hot Springs— Medicinal Character of the Waters — Scenic Beauty — Increasing Popularity — Texas — Area — Elevation — Soil — Attractions for the Sportsman — Agricultural Pro- ductions — Austin — The Capitol Building — San Marcos — San Antonio — Rapid Devel- opment — Historical Associations — Natural Bridge — Fort Worth — Court House — The Brazos River — Big Springs — Api)roaching the Rocky Mountains — The Sierra Blanca Mountains — El Paso — Attractions — El Paso del Norte — Fort Bliss — Ysleta, . 200 SCENES IN NEW MEXICO— Characteristics of the Region— An Ancient Country — A Trip from Enibudo — Fernandez de Taos — Indian Festival — The Pueblo de Taos — The Future of the Section, 226 HERE AND THERE IN THE (IREAT WES T— Starting Point— Warrens- burg — Agricultural Operations — Great American Desert— Oklahoma — Scenes in Illinois — In the Vicinity of Ottawa — Deer Park (ilen-r-B^iley's Falls — Iowa — Spirit Lake — Little S])irit Lake — West Okoboji Lake — Minnesota — Lake Minnetonka — Detroit Lake — Dakota — Lake Minnewakan, or Devil's Lake, 229 THE ROCKIES AND BEYOND— Nature of the Scenery— The Pioneer— Leadville — Methods of Travel — Mountain of the Holy Cross — Georgetown — Green Lake — Bow Knot Loop — Gray's Peak — The Cafions of Colorado — Cheyenne Canons — Manitou Springs — Pike's Peak — Rainbow Falls — Garden of the Gods — Toltec Gorge — Garfield Memorial — Grand Caflon of the Arkansas — The Royal Gorge — A Stee]) Grade — Gunnison — Crested Butte — Grotesque Figures — Idaho Springs — Location — Attractions — Medicinal Springs — The Chicago Lakes — Echo Lake — Hunt- ing Grounds— The North Park— The Middle Park— The South Park— The San Luis Park — Elevation and Attractions — A Wild Region — The Green River and Vicinity — Evanston — Echo Caiion — Tunnel and Bridges — Pillars of Rock — Castle Rock — Fossil Remains— Rugged Cliffs— Fulpit Rock— The Old Wagon Road— The Weber Valley — Weber Carton — The Devil's Slide — A Famous Tree — The Salt Lake Valley — A Magnificent Region — Should be Visited by Americans, 247 UTAH AND THE GREAT SAL T LAKE— An Interesting Section— Moun- tain Ranges — Elevations — Sharp Contrasts — Salt Lake City — Evidences of Prosperity — The Great Salt Lake — Chemical Constituents of the Water — Density — Area of the Lake — Islands — Steamers — Cai^ons, 297 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK -Early Visitors— Scientific Exploration — Reservation by Congress — Form and Area— Elevation — Rivers — Railroads — Mam- (I CONTENTS. ix. moth Hot Springs — Dead Springs — The Geysers —Great Geyser Basin — Giant Geyser — Other Important Geysers — Mud Volcano — Yellowstone River — Falls of the Yellowstone — Yellowstone Lake — The Grand Caflon — Massive Pillars — Gorgeous Colors — Falls of Tower Creek — Other Attractions — Governmental Supervision — A Trip to the Park, 303 THE YOSEMITE VALLEY— Location— Discovery by White Men— Reserved by the Government — Roads — Area — Height of the Walls — El Capitan — Other Attrac- tions — The Yosemite Falls — Falls of the Merced River — Wonders of the Tenaya Canon — Points of View — The Mariposa Grove — Discovery of the "Big Trees" — Where They Grow, 318 THE COLUMBIA RIVER REGION— Course of the River— Magnificent Scenery — Rapids — The Great Dalles — Mount Hood — The Cascades — Multnomah Falls — Pillnrs of Hercules — Cape Horn — The Grande Ronde Valley —The Willamette Falls — Canal and Locks — Portland — Astoria — Fisheries — A Trip to Puget Sound — Mount Tacoma, 322 ALASKA — Largely an Unknown Land — Location — Area — Shore Line — Trip by Steamer — Mountains — Glaciers — Mineral Springs — Rivers — The Yukon River — For- ests — Climate — Hunting and Fishing — The Mines — Sitka — Population — Indians — Totem Poles — The Cathedral— Government Buildings — A Sad Story — The Return Trip — An Interesting Region 335 ■ l . .1 II ^k I i hii:i CONTENTS. Our Nation: The Story of Its Progress and Growth. INTRODUCTION. Our Position — The Past and the Present — An Unending Conflict — Self-Govern- ment by the People an F^xperinient — Opposing Forces — A Wonderful History — The Formative Period — George Washington — Remarkable Development — Second War with England — Indians Subdued — Jealous of Foreign Powers — Slavery Overthrown — A Free Land — The Mission of the Country — The only Source of Danger, . . . 347-356 EARLY SETTLEMENTS. Progress and Growth of the Nation — Settlement at Jamestown — Experiences of the Colonists — Establishment of Representative Government — New England — Arrival of the Pilgrims — The Civil Compact in the Mayflower — Great Difficulties — Manner of Life — Massasoit — Education — Increase of Population — Union of the Colonies — John Eliot — King Philips War— Triumph of the Whites — New York — Discovery of the Hudson River — Settlement on Manhattan Island — War with Indians — Surrender to the English — William Penn — F^stablishment of the Colony on the Delaware — Prosperity of the New Settlement — Other Colonies, .... 357-367 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. General Condition — Belief in Witchcraft — Religious Intolerance — Excuse — Growth of the Colonies — Forms of Government — French and Indian Aggression — George Wash- ington — War with the French and Indians — Defeat of General Braddock— The Siege of Quebec — Rapid Immigration — The Gathering Cloud — Changed Relations — English Tyranny — Commercial Restrictions— The Stamp Act — Declaration of Rights —The Tax on Tea — British Troo])s — 0|)i)osition to F^nglish Interference — A Cargo of Tea De- stroyed — Retaliation — Preparations for War— First Colonial Congress, . . 367-379 THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. Opening of the War for Independence — The Attack at Lexington— The Battle of Concord — George Washington — John Hancock — Benjamin Franklin — Israel Putnam — Patrick Henry — Samuel Adams — Gathering of Troops — .Aggressive Movements — Ticon- deroga — Crown Point — Second Continental Congress — Arrival of British Troops — Bat- tle of Bunker Hill — Washington .\p])ointed Commander-in-Chief — British I^vacuation of Boston — Protection of New York— The British .Attack Charleston, . . 379-396 The Forma Hessian Troops Americans Ret Battles of Trei Lafayette — Var Northern Depai Renewed Overt Colonies — Valle tie at Quaker H Along the Sea- the Six Nations- Patriots — Franc of the Campaigr his Treasonable Robert Morris — — Various Engaj render of the Br The Close Colonies — Comr tent — Retiremer tion — Dissolutio of a President. Administrai Public Debt — Whiskey Rebel Administration Death of Washii Re|)resentatives- Additions to tht Rocky Mountaii Steam Navigati( TION OK J AMKS \ land— Indian Oi CONTENTS. xi INDEPENDENCE DECLARED. The Formal Declaration of Independence — iLs Reception by the People — Hessian Troops — General Howe's Commission — Overtures of the British Rejected — Americans Retreat from Brooklyn — Battle of White Plains— .\ Dark Period— The Battles of Trenton and Princeton — French Aid to the Patriots — The Martpiis de Lafayette — Various Encounters — Philadelphia Captured by the British — In the Northern Department — Indians Assist the British— Surrender -of General Burgoyne — Renewed Overtures of Peace from England — Alliance of France and Spain with the Colonies — Valley Forge — Appearance of a French Fleet — Battle of Monmouth — Bat- tle at Quaker Hill — The Wyoming Massacre — Cherry Valley — New Plan of Action — Along the Sea-coast — Various Battles — In the Western Wilderness — Punishment of the Six Nations — The Campaign at the South— On the High Seas — Disasters to the Patriots — F'rancis Marion — South Carolina Organized as a Royal Province — Progress of the Campaign in the South and the North— The Treachery of Arnold — Failure of his Treasonable Bargain — Sufferings of the Soldiers — Relief Granted by Congress — Robert Morris — Depredations by Arnold — Battles of Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse — Various F^ngagements — Massacre at Fort Griswold — The Battle of Yorktown — Sur- render of the British, 396-417 AFTER THE CONFLICT. The Close of the War — Treaties of Peace — Impoverished Condition of the Colonies — Commissioners — Proposition to Establish a Monarchy — Domestic Discon- tent — Retirement of Washington — Alexander Hamilton — Formation of the Constitu- tion — Dissolution of the Continental Congress — The Territorial Government — Election of a President 417-423 * A REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED. Administration of George Washington — Organization of the Government — Public Debt — Returning Prosperity — Indian Hostilities — Political Parties — The Whiskey Rebellion — Treaties with I>ngland and Spain — Establishment of a Navy — Administration ok John Adams — Threatened War with France .Averted — Tlie Death of Washington — The Second Census — F^lection of President by ihe House of Re|)resentatives — Administr.vmon ok Thomas Jekkerson — Conciliatory Measures — Atlditions to the Union — Expeditions against .Algerine Pirates — F-xploration of the Rocky Mountain Region— Aaron Burr — Difficulties with Foreign Nations — Successful Steam Navigation — Impressment of Seamen — Embargo upon Shiiijiing — Ad.ministra- tion of James Madison — The Rights of Citizenship — Continued Aggressions by Eng- land — Indian Outbreak — Strength of English and American Navies, . . . 423-432 '• < — Succession of Clicster A. Arthur to the Presidency — Adminis- ikahon ok I'rksiuknt Arthur— Special Session of the Senate — Appointment of Cal)inet Officers — Centennial Celebration of the Surrender of Cornwallis— Trial and Kxecution of Guiteau, the Assassin of President Garfield, 525-534 THE FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. The " Star Route " Trials — Recommendations of the President — The Chinese Kx- cliision Bill — Commercial Treaty with Mexico — Democratic Majority in the House of Kci)resentatives — Celebration of tiie Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Landing of W illiam Penn— Civil Service Reform Bill — Reduction of Letter Postage — Termination of Fisheries Treaty with Great Britain — Labor Commission — New York and Brooklyn Bridge — Opening of the Northern Pacific Railroad — Centennial Celebrations — The I'orty-eighth Congress — Reconimendations of the President — The Treasury Surjilus — Tlie Mormon Problem — The Liquor Trattlc — An Educational Measure Proposed^ Repeal of the Test Oath, 534-537 IMPORTANT EVENTS. National Conventions — Presidential Camjiaign and Election — Relief of Lieutenant (irecly's Exploring Party in Arctic Regions — Wreck of the Steamshij) Jeanette — The Martholdi Statue — The Tehuantepec Canal Project — Faiftire of a Treaty with Spain — Tlie President's Message — World's Fair at New Orleans — Com])letion of the Washing- ton Monument — Reduction of the National Debt — General Grant placed on the Re- tired list of the Army — Succession of Grover Cleveland to the Presidency — invents of his Administration — Rebellion at Panama — Trouble with Indian Tribes — Death of General Grant — Great Strike of the Knights of Labor on the Southwestern Railroads — Death of Archbishop McCloskey, General McClellan, and Vice President Hendricks — The Forty-ninth Congress — Conspiracy in San Francisco — The Cherokee Indians — The Anti- Polygamy Bill — Land Claims of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company — Presidential Succession Act — Opposition to the Chinese in California — Riot at East St. Louis — Anarchist Riot in Chicago — Marriage of President Cleveland — Veto of l\»nsion Bills — Fisheries Disi)ute with Canada — Destructive Earthquake at Charleston, 538-544 THE PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS. The Republican Anti-Saloon League Formed — Unveiling of the Bartholdi Statue in New York Harbor — Death of ex-President Arthur— The Maritime Canal Company — Department of Agriculture and Labor — The Inter State Commerce Act — Centen- nial Celebration of Adoption of the National Constitution at Philadelphia — The VU'i mmm 1 I u9:'\AMWMii mwmmM mMmWM K'-ijj|flH^^H K'' ''Iwfld^^^N liH lilBI 'ft* mmtm& p gi'iS^^^HI ^Bi-'f YMJ k^s^^^Slfl h' '''^'C ^^it^^^K SI B;^'*i':!|; ''^^BH n R''/;';f". mm 9 ifl 1 fSU\' r''''''P m m; Hf H r Jlll ''' M9h ''''I^^^B life. n^S^^hHBe 11 1 1 xvl CONTENTS. Fiftieth Congress — The President's Message — Nomination of L. Q. C. Lamar as Justice of the Supreme Court— Strike of Miners in Schuylkill Coal Regions — The " Mills Bill" — Death of the Emperor of Germany — The Oreat " Blizzard " — Death of Chief-Justice VVaite and Appointment of M. W. Fuller as his Successor — Relations with China — Death of General Sheridan — The Political Conventions — Re-union of Northern and Southern Soldiers at Gettysburg — Yellow-Fever at Jacksonville — Dismission of the British Minister — Presidential Election — The President's Message— New States Created, 545-549 OUR NATIONAL PROGRESS. At the Close of the War — Condition of the South — Industrie; Paralyzed — Cotton Grown by Vrec Labor — Industries of the North — Depreciation of Values — Return of Confidence— Effect of the Centennial Exposition— Reduction of the Public Deot- - The Feeling of the South — Cotton Exposition at Atlanta — Immigration — Wonderful Inventions — The Demands of the Hour, 55o~553 GREAT STATE PAPERS. Declaration ok Indkpkndenck, 555 Constitution ok thk United States, 155^ Emancipation Proclamation, 571 I } ::*! CONTENTS. XVII Beyond the States. THE DOMINION OF CANADA ~ Location — Area— Population— Provinces Government and Constitution — Religion — Public Works— Finances — Exports and Imports — Discovery — First Permanent Settlement — Progress — Ceded toOreat Britain — Political Difficulties — The Northwest Territories Purchased — Confederation, 573 City ok Ottawa — Location — Incorjuiration — Scenery — Water Power — Imports and Exports — (Jovernment Buildings — Railroad and Steamboat Connections — Popu- lation 577 PROVINCE OF ONTARIO— Location — Area — Poinilation — Cultivation- Natural Features — Resources — Industries — Productions— (iovernment — Education — Churches — Charitable Institutions — Railroads, 579 City ok Toronto — Location — Industries — Area — Harbor — Appearance — Princi- pal Buildings — Institutions — Exports — History — Population 582 ity ok Hamii/i'on — Location — Important Commercial Centre — Rapid Growth — Mai ifactures — Institutions — Population 584 City ok Kingston — Location — History — Harbor — Public Buildings — Surround- ings Ship-building — Manufactures — Important Military Position — Institutions — Popu- lation, 585 City ok London — Location — English Names — Commercial Centre — Manufactures — Education — Population 586 PROVINCE OF QUEBEC —Location— Area -Population— Cultivation— Nat- ural Features— Lakes —Mineral Wealth — Climate— Soil — Lumber — Wild Animals — I'roductions — Government — Principal Cities — P-ducation — Religion — Institutions — Railroads, 587 City ok Qukhk.c — Importance — Location — Railroad Connections — Discovery and Settlement - Early History— Peculiarities and Attractions — Commerce — Manufactures — Steamboats — Scenery — Institutions — Population 589 City ok Montrkai. — Rank — Location— Harbor — ^Steamboat and Railroad Com- munication — Public Buildings— Institutions^Water Sui)ply- Rapid Progress — Imports If ..J I xviii CONTENTS. anti Kxports- Maniifacturos The French Quarter and r,nj;lisli Quarter— Railroad I )e|)ots— Festivities Population • 592 PROVINCK OF NOVA SCOTIA Location-History— Area— Natural Fea- tures Mineral Deposits— Climate— Population Industries— Statistics — Governnient — Education — Religion ; 597 Crrv (»K Halifax — Location — Harbor — Kxtent — Armament — I'ublia Buildings — Industries Railroad Communication— Parks and (lardens, 599 PROVINCr-: OF NFW nRUNSWrCK— Karly History— Location-Area-Pop- ulation —^ Natural Divisions- Oeneral Ap|)earanee- Islands — Rivers -- Natural Re- sources—Climate Forests —Agricultural Productions — Animals — (lovernment— F.du- cation— Railroads and Telegraphs 600 Cnv OK Frkdkrk ION — Location — Ai)])earance Public Muildings — Kducational Institutions — Trade — P()])ulation, (102 Cnv OF Sr. John— Imjjortance" Location Harbor — Briilges — Streets — Principal Buildings — Institutions- Ciovernment Railroad Connections — Industries — Manufac- tures — Kxi)orts — Imports— Poi)ulation 603 PROVINCK OF MANITOBA- Location— Purchase by Dominion Government — Political Troubles— Area- Population — Soil — Extent of Agricultural Operations — Animals — Climate — (lovernment — Churches — Educational Institutions — Canadian Pacific Railroad, 604 Cnv OF WiNNiPFX, — Location— Marvellous Growth — Climate — Vegetation — Ma- terial Prosperity — Religion and Education — Poj)ulation, 606 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND-Location - Area- Population— Flarly History- Natural Resources — Climate — Productions — Government — Land Tenure — Education — Religion — Railroads 607 Cnv OF Charlottf.town- Location — Harbor — Appearance — Public Buildings — Educational Institutions — Churches — Trade — Population, 60.S PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA— Incorporation— Boundaries— Area— Population — Natural Features — Agricultural Capacities — Mineral Wealth — Game — Fisheries — Climate — Vancouvers Island— Statistics, 609 City of Victoria — Location — Extent — Streets — Harbor — Fortifications — Build- ings — Institutions — Climate — Exports — Population, 611 CONTENTS. xix THK NORTHWKSr TKRRI TORIKS Area - Population— Soil— Timber- Fur Trade —I'lircliascd by honiinioi) (fovcrnincnt -Otlicials — I'oiitiiul Divisions— Ciuirclies and Schools, 613 ISI.ANI) OK NKWKOl N I jLAND— Political Status— I,o(ation — Area Pop- ulation — Coast Line — Interior- Hays and Inlets — Rivers— Lakes — Soil — Fisheries — Minerals Climate The (rrand Hanks- (lovernment— Public I>cbt Revenue — Imports iind Kxports — Religion Kducation- Population 613 Cirv OK Sr. John's — lioration — Harbor — Importance — Disastrous Fires— Natural Features — Husiness — Institutions — Public Huildings — Population 615 MKXICO — An interesting Country — Boundaries — Area— Population — Political Divisions — Chief Cities — Statistics — (lovernment — Kducation — Religion — Natural Re- sources — Minerals — Agricultural Productions — History of the Country, . . . 617 Cnv OK Mkxuo — Location — Elevation — Streets — Principal Buildings — Public Scjuares Houses — Business Interests — Kducation — Railroads — Anticpiity — Early His- tory- -Population 622 Cnv OK Vkra Cruz — Location — Population — Shore — Harbor — Streets — Buildings — Water Supply- Railroad Connectitms — Fever — Winds — Imjjorts and Exports — Island of San Juan de L'lloa, 629 OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST— Montfrf.v— Location— Importance— Cli- mate — Public Buildings — Manufactures — Trade — An Ancient City — Captured by Gen- eral Taylor — The Valley of Mexico — Lakes — A Famous Railroad— State of Duran- c.o — Boundaries Area — Poj)ulation — Divisions — Climate — Soil — The Capital City — SiAiK OK Chihuahua — Boundaries — Area— Population — Political Divisions — Natural Features — The Cajjital City — Silver Mines — Mint — Manufactures — Agriculture — Points of Interest — Water Supply — Trade — Pojjulation, 631 CUBA — Importance — Location — Area — Ports — Soil — Agricultural Productions — Minerals — Forests — Indigenous Products of Value — Animal Life — Surface — Rel'gion — (iovernment — Pojmlation Large Cities— Manufactures— Exports and Imports — History 639 Cnv OF Havana — Importance — Location — Population — Defences — Attractions — Principal Buildings — Contrasts — Architecture — Houses — Railroads — Telegraphs — Steamers, 642 XX CONTENTS. THE BAHAMA ISLANDS— Location — Area— Natural Features — Principal Islands — Salt Production — Climate — Rainfall — Products — Kxports — Imports — Finan- ces — Government — Religion — Education — Submarine Gardens —Harbor Island — Spanish Wells — Eleuthera Island — Guanahani Island — History, 644 City of Nassau— Location — Extent — Appearance- Institutions — Principal Events — Foreign Trade — Winter Resort — Climate— Tropical Vegetation — Attractions, . 647 COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA— Brazil— Area— Location— Popula- tion — The Amazon — Surface — Forests — Soil — Climate — Religion — Education — Railroads and Telegraphs — Imports — Exports — Revenue— Manufactures-^Govern- ment — Principal Cities— History, 649 City of Rio dK Janeiro — Importance — Location — Harbor — Streets — Residences — Churches — Principal Buildings — Education — Water Suj)ply — Shipping — Imports — Exports — Population — History — Pernambuco — Population — General Appearance— Para — Population — Location — Public Buildings — Commerce, 65:: THE REPUBLIC OF CHILI— Location— Area— Population— Natural Features — Agriculture — Minerals — Climate^Political Divisions— Harbors — Government — Re- ligion — Education — Railroads — Telegraph — Finances — History, 654 City of Santiac.o — Location — Appearance — Principal Buildings — Attractions — Public Works — Disastrous Fire — Population, 657 City of Valparaiso — Location — Appearance— Harbor - Public Buildings — Pop- ulation — Disasters — Improvements, 65X THE REPUBLIC OF PERU — Boundaries — Extent— Population- Surface- Climate— Minerals — Soil — Forests — Animals — Guano — Nitrate of Soda — Finances — Government — Religion — Education — History, 659 City of Lima— Former Glory — Location- Population — Appearance — Attractions — Education — Earthquakes 661 City of Cai.t.ao - Location - Harbor — Defences — Exports — P(j|nilation- Disas- ters — Blockade, 662 Cnv OF Su( ■*■: ! THE UNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA— Area Population — Boundaries — Political Divisions — Elevation — Climate — Natural Resources — Minerals — Agricul- tural Productions — Army — Finances — Commerce — Ship Canals — History, . dv;^ City of Bogota — Location — Climate — Streets— Residences — Principal Buildings CONTENTS. xxi — Cataract of Tequendama — Religion — Education — Earthquakes— Exports — Popula- tion, 665 THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA— Situation— Boundaries— Area— Popula- tion — Political Divisions — Natural Features — Soil — Climate — Minerals — Live Stock — Agricultur.il Productions — Exports — Imports — Government — Religion — Education — Chief Cities — History, 666 City of Caracas — Location — Arrangement of Streets — Parishes — Principal Build- ings — Earthquakes — Population — La Guayra — Location — Defences — Climate — Trade — Population, 668 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC— Location— Boundaries— Area— Population- Soil — Climate — Natural Resources — Animals — Industries — Exports — Imports — Tele- graphs — Railroads — Provinces — Government — Religion — Pxlucation — History, 669 City ok Buenos Ayres — Importance— Location — Streets — Buildings — Parks — In- stitutions — Population, 672 THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA— Boundaries— Area and Population — Moun- tains — Rivers — Climate — Natural Resources — Animals — Agricultural Productions — Trade — Exports — Imports — Railroads — Finances — Religion — Education — Chief Cities — Government — Revolutions — History 672 City or Sucrk — Location — Elevation — Principal Buildings — Population, . 675 THE REPUBLIC OF PX'UADOR— Location— Area— Population— Divisions — Cocoa — Mountains — Minerals — Forests — Railroad Communication — Religion — Education — Government — Exports — Finances — Disadvantages — History, . . 675 Thk City ok Quito — Location — Climate — Buildings — Ruins — Population — Guayaquil — Location — Population — Manufactures, 677 THK REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY— Losses by War— Present Boundaries- Area — Population — F.ivers — Lakes — Soil — Animals — Forests — Government — Religion — Education — Kxi)orts — Imports — Army — Public Debt — History, 67.S City ok Assumption — Locatioi. — Houses — Importance — Population, . , 680 THE REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY — Boundaries — Area— Population— Coast J ,ine — Natural Features — Climate —Soil — Agriculture — Live Stock — Political I )ivi- sions — Government — Finances - Railroads — Telegraphs — Religion — Education — History 680 Ji'. ill xxii CONTENTS. City of Montevideo— Location — Harbor — Streets and Houses — Principal Build- ings — Commerce — Pojjulation, 682 GUIANA — Political I )ivisions — Location — Area — History — Rivers — Soil — Cli- mate — Productions — Forests, 683 BRITISH GUIANA— Location — Area — Population — Departments— Exports — Imports — Churches — Bxlucation, 684 DUTCH GUIANA — Location — Area — Pojjulation — Government — Imports — Ex- ports, 6S4 FRENCH GUIANA — Location — Area — Population — Climate — Earthquakes — Gold — Exports— Government — Religion — Settlement — Invasion — Convict Establish- ment, 6S5 COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA— Boundaries— C nquered by Spain — Organization of States — Political Changes — Natural Features — Soil — Minerals — Productions — Religion — Finances — Area, 687 THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA— Location— Political Changes— Area- Population — Government — Education — Institutions — Railroads and Telegraphs — Mines — P'inances, 688 City ok Nf.w Guatemala — Early History — Present Location — General Appear- ance — Principal Buildings — Population 6S9 THE REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR— Rank— Boundaries— Area— Pop- ulation — Mountains — Soil — Forests — Government — Industries — Religion — Education — Finances, 6go City ok Nikva San Salvador — Location — Destructive Earthquake — Buildings — Population, 6yi THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS— Rank -Boundaries- Coast Line— Area —Population — Mountains and Table-lands^Rivers — Yojoa Lake — Political Divisions — Seajjorts — Ciovernment — Ex])orts — Imports — Finances — Railroads and Telegrajjhs —Trade — Political History 691 City of Tkoucioalpa — Importance — Location — Miu'jral Wealth of the De])art- ment — The Capital City — Business — Population, 692 CONTENTS. XXIU THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA— Rank— Boundaries -Area— Public In- terest — Proposed Canal — Principal Rivers — Lake Nicaragua — Rainfall and Climate — Forests — Minerals — Soil— Live Stock — Manufactures — Political Divisions — Princi- pal Cities and Towns — Government — Finances — History, 693 THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA— Location— Boundaries— Area— Popu- lation — Surface — Climate — Soil — Forests — Products— Live Stock — Mineral Wealth — Political Divisions — Government — Finances — Religion — Inhabitants — History — Rail- roads and Telegraphs, 696 City ok San Jos^ — Elevation — Situation — Public Buildings — Population — Ala- juela — Former Importance — Cartago — Location — Destructive Earthquake, . . 698 flit LIS' Portrait of Christ Portraits of Deleg; Boat-House Landii The Round Tower, Cliff Walk, . Scenes at Newport, Old Fort, Plymouth Bay, The Home of Dan Where Miles Stand The Mayflower Ne Pilgrim Hall, Plym A Piece of the Pilg Scenes along Cape Provincetown, on ( Black Fish, . Views on Cape Co Buzzard's Bay and Views on Sea and Martha's Vineyard (lay Head Light, . Views at Nantuckt Nantucket, . Bar Harbor and M Moat Mountain, . Through the Fran< The Old Man of tl The Franconia Mc The Palisades, Fac-Simile of Pass Northern Entrance Newburgh, N. Y., View of the Turk's A View in the Cat Kaaterskill Falls, . /?#^% LIST OF ILLaSTRATIONS. , .s y, ' Portrait of Christopher Columbus (steel) Portraits of Delegates to International Am. Conference of 1889-90. f^ Boat-House Landing, Newport, R. I., The Round Tower, Cliff Walk, . Scenes at Newport, Old Fort, Plymouth Bay, Tiie Home of Daniel Webster, Where Miles Standish Lived, The Mayflower Nearing Land, Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, Mass., A Piece of the Pilgrim Rock, Scenes along Cape Cod, Provincetown, on Cape Cod, Black Fish, .... Views on Cape Cod, Buzzard's Bay and Vicinity, . Views on Sea and Shore, Martha's Vineyard, Mass., . Gay Head Light, . Views at Nantucket, Nantucket, .... Bar Harbor and Mount Desert, Moat Mountain, . Through the Franconia Notch, The Old Man of the Mountain, The Franconia Mountains, . The Palisades, Fac-Simile of Pass from Arnold to Andre, Northern Entrance to the Hudson Highlands Newburgh, N. Y., Scenes, . View of the Turk's Face on the Hudson, A View in the Catskills, Kaaterskill Falls, . . . . . V Frontispieces 54 SS 56 57 58 60 61 62 62 63 65 67 69 71 72 75 77 79 81 82 83 95 98 101 102 103 109 112 "3 "5 117 121 124 h f s"j >55 •56 '57 '59 161 163 164 '65 167 169 171 '73 175 1 84 187 189 '95 196 St. David's Pa On the Ocklai A Live-Oak C An Everglade, Scene on the i On the Meram The Meram ec, Cathedral Spir Balance Rock, Valley Home, The Black Riv In the Ozark A Ribbon Falls, Hot Springs V; View of the He Hot Springs, . Rancher's Cabi On Line of I. a Hunter's Parac Sheep Pastun Cotton Field, Colorado River, San Marcos, . Colorado River, San Pedro Rive Natural Bridge, Cotton Platform Scene on the Br Trestles, near C, Big Si)rings, . Sheep Ranch, Sierra Blanca M Road at El Paso I'ueblo De Taos, Pertle Springs, Stage Route, . Wheat Field, . A Scene in SoutF LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XXVIl. St. David's Path, . On the Ocklawaha, A Live-Oak Observatory, An Everglade, Scene on the Mississippi River, On the Meramec, . The Meramec, Cathedral Spires, . Balance Rock, Valley Home, The Black River, . In the Ozark Mountains, Ribbon Falls, Hot Springs Valley, View of the Hot Springs, Hot Springs, .... Rancher's Cabin, . On Line of I. and G. T. Railway, Hunter's Paradise, Sheep Pasture Cotton Field, Colorado River, near Austin, San Marcos, .... Colorado River, San Pedro River, . Natural Bridge, Cotton Platform, . Scene on the Brazos, Trestles, near Canyon, Texas, Big Springs, .... Sheep Ranch, Sierra Blanca Mountains, Road at K\ Paso and View of Fort Pueblo De Taos, New Mexico, Pertle Springs, Stage Route, .... Wheat Field, .... A Scene in Southwestern Missouri, Bliss 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 204 205 205 206 207 208 209 210 21 1 21 1 212 212 213 216 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 227 229 230 232 'U. xxvm. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. li fACB Scene near Atoka, Indian Territory, 233 The Horseshoe, or Twin Cafion, • 234 Bridal Veil Falls, 235 Bailey's Falls 237 Spirit Lake, Iowa, *. 239 View on Little Spirit Lake, 240 Lake Minnetonka, 241 Hunting Scene, .........'•• 242 Detroit Lake and Hotel Minnesota, 243 Scenery on Devil's Lake, Dakota .245 A Western Contrast, • • • 247 A Scene on the Leadville Route, • 249 Mount of the Holy Cross, 251 Georgetown, Colorado, 252 Devil's Gate, 253 Gray's Peak, 254 Cheyenne Falls, • • ^55 In North Cheyenne Cafion, 256 A Glimpse of Manitou and Pike's Peak, 257 The Mineral Springs, 258 Pike's Peak Trail, . 259 Rainbow Falls, . . . • 260 Garfield Memorial, • • • 261 Grand Caiion of the Arkansas, 262 The Royal Gorge, 263 Gunnison's Butte, . • • • 264 Sphinx Rock, 265 Mother Grundy, 266 Finger Rock, 267 Giant's Tea Kettle, 268 Chicago Lake, 269 Feeding Ground of the Antelope, 271 Snow Range, . . . 272 Giant's Club, 274 Tower Rock, . . . . . . . . . . . . .275 Castle Rock, •. . . 276 The Devil's Slide, . . . 277 Approaching the Sierras, . 278 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Nevada Falls, . Marshall Pass, A])l)roach of the Black Caflon, Maxwell's Point, Following a Carton, I )evirs Gate, . Ciirrecanti Needle, Marble Pinnacle, I'lilpit Rock, . Toltec Gorge, Black Carton of the Gunnison, The Palisades, Palace Butte, Veta Pass, .... Green River City and Buttes, . Great Shoshone Falls, Fntering Boulder Carton, Grand Carton, Dead Man's Falls, . Salt Lake City, Where Brigham Young Lived, Near High Bridge, . (Jreat Salt Lake, Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park, The " Giant " Geyser, Mammoth Hot Springs, . Pulpit Terrace, Crater of Extinct Geyser, Upper Yellowstone Falls, Views of " Old Faithful " Geyser, Yellowstone River, Ferry on the Yellowstone River, Falls of the Yellowstone, Clift" in Grand Carton of the Yellowstone Falls of the Gibbon River, }}ridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Valley, Hallet's Hades, Columbia River, Mount Hood, XXIX. PACK 280 281 282 384 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 294 296 297 298 299 300 301 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 312 3U 314 316 317 319 323 325 m li. \t:' ■ m liiiii i' W*$- ■ii u XXX, LIST OK ILLUSTRATIONS. Cribraltar, Columbia River, Steamer Rounding Cai)e Horn, Cape Horn, Multnomah Falls, . Floating Fish Wheel, Pillars of Hercules, Sitka, Alaska, Alaska's Thousand Islands, Devil's Thumb, Alaska, . An Alaska House with Totem Poles, Historical Spots in the City of Quebec, Chaudiere Falls, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, Great South Falls, Muskoka River, South Falls, High Falls, . Bridal Veil Falls, . Toronto University, Kingston, from Fort William Henry London, Ontario, . Wolfe's Monument, Quebec, View from the Citadel, . Wolfe's Cove, Montreal, from the Mountain, Victoria Square, Montreal, Victoria Bridge, St. John, New Brunswick, Mexican Adobe House, . Mexican Ox Cart, . City of Mexico, Church of San Domingo, Castle of Chapultepec, Merchants' Bazaar, . Entrance to Palace, Palace, City of Mexico, . Scene in the Bay of Vera Cruz, The Old Wall and City of Vera Cruz, Portal of the Cathedral, Monterey, . 326 33' 332 333 33t> 337 339 341 572 578 578 579 580 58' 582 583 585 S87 590 59' 59' 593 594 596 603 618 621 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 632 A (llimpse of Moi Scene in the Valle View of the City c Ihe Cathedral in ( i lie I'laza in Chih A Public" Fountain A Cicgk Beauty, LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. A Olimpse of Monterey, . Scene in the Valley of Mexico, \iew of the City of Durango,' Hie Cathedral in Chihuahua, The IMaza in Chihuahua, A Tubhc. Fountain in Chihuahua, A Ctcyk lieauty, . XXXI. I'Al.H 636 637 63H 638 686 ^m m..m wm mi i' Tl CELE THE WONDERLANDS AND CELEBRATED RESORTS OK OUR GREAT REPUBLIC. ill', i nil i I? Views i xNATURAL NEW ] Y the • narroi soutlu Maine. The dis latitude — say 35c coast and .he dec consider ourselvi tnaking New Yorl one can well set for the matter of shall pass by and population, their shall speak only ])ortions of this v We are now s be our immediat might have gone Newport, in Rho( by what is desi^ only runs the ste; Views in the Great Wonderlands of our Republic; EMBRACING NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. NEW ENGLAND COAST SCENES. Y the term " New Englanci Coast " we mean to designate that narrow strip of territory l>'ing along our Athuitic shore between the southern bounchiry of Rhode Ishuid and the northern boundary of Maine. The distance, measured in a straight hne. is about five degrees of latitude — say 350 miles — -but fully twice as much measured along the winding coast and .he deep inlets by which it is everywhere indented. We propose to consider ourselves setting out for a tour along this New England Coast, making New York our starting-point ; for such are the facilities for travel that one can well set out from that metropolis for any part of this continent; or, for the matter of that, for any i)art of the globe. On this journe}- of ours we shall pass by and through not a few places of much note by reason of their population, their industries, or their historic associations. Of these places we shall speak only incidentally; they will be treated at due length in other ])ortions of this volume. We are now setting out from New York, primarily for Boston, which will be our immediate point of departure along the New England Coast. We might have gone the whole way by rail had we not had it in view first to see Newport, in Rhode Island, which can be best reached by steamer. So we go by what is designated as " The Fall River Line," an association which not only runs the steamers traversing Long Island Sound, but also manages that '^i'^W ■;i(j '■'' Wi ''-M vm ii'.'ij fii f! :!?;-,, Iff li^l'' ''ink' ^'u:^ 54 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: railroad system known as " The Old Colony Railroad," whose various branches so thoroutjhly " gridiron " southeastern Massachusetts that it would not be easy for one to put his foot upon a spot more than ten miles from a railroad station. Our steamer runs up the Sound, having the rightly-named " Long Lsland " on the right, and the opposite shores of a hit of New York, oi Connecticut, and of Rhode Island on the left. Unless, as sometimes happens at all seasons, there should be a dense fog, the world cannot show a safer or BOAT-HOUSE LA.NDING, MCWl'OKT, K. I. more charming bit of inland navigation than the hundred miles and more through Long Island Sound. As we left New York late in the afternoon, it will be in the small hours of the next morning when we round Point Judith, a bold headland in Rhode Island, jutting out just where the Sound begins to widen into Buzzard's I^ay, then into Nantucket Sound, and then into the broad Atlantic. If there be any gale blowing hereabouts we shall be sure to find it at Point Judith. But, gale or no gale, we shoot across the narrow mouth of Narraganset Bay, which sets far inland up to Providence, the second city in New England in point of population. But up to Providence we do not purpose to go; so crossing the mouth of Narraganset Bay, we land at Newport. This city, the capital of Newport County and one of the capitals of the State, is the most noted of all American seaside resorts. It practically covers a little islaii ', which the NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 55 aborigines called Aquidncck, which we are told means " Peace Island." The early English settlers found or fancied in this islet some resemblance to the island of Rhodes (" Rose Lsland "), in the Mediterranean, and called it " Rhode Island;" and this name came to be applied to the entire State — one of the original thirteen — of which the island forms only a small part. If, a little more than a century ago one had been asked to point out the probable site of the future commercial metropolis of the Hritish colony in America, he would doubtless have placed it upon Rhode Island ratlier than upon Manhattan Island. During the war for Independence Newport Harbor was the principal station of the British fleet, and when the British were forced to abandon the region, they burned six men-of-war and many smaller arm.ed cruisers, and scuttled and sunk more than fifty transports and other vessels in T'lewport Harbor. They .ilso, ov:t of sheer wantonness, tried to destroy the curious old Round ToAver, the almost perfect remains of which are a puzzle to archaeologists. Nobody knows, or can more than guess, by whom, or when, or for what purpose, this Tower was built. Some will have it to be the work of the Norsemen, who are supposed to have coasted down from Greenland and set- tled here and hereabouts some five centuries before Columbus made his first voyage across the Atlantic to find the New World. Others, quite as con- fidently, and perhaps with quite as good reason, maintain that this Round Tower was built by some whimsical Englishman not more than a century and a half, or at most two centuries, ago, to be used as a windmill, or more probably as a granary. But whoever was the builder, or for whatever pur- pose it was built, the work was well done. The Tower has existed, sub- stantially as we now see it, for considerably more than a century, a, id doubtless much longer. It may be safely assumed that it is one of the most ancient structures by human hands now standing in New England ; and there seems no good reason to doubt that it will stand for centuries to come. Whatever view as to its origin one may adopt, he may congratulate himself IHK KOINI) roWEK, NKWl'ORT, R. I. <»','■■ »■ ti h^-n\ 56 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. that, if he cannot prove his o\\ n theory to be right, nobody else can prove it to be wrong. The Tower, as it stands, consists of an unroofed chamber rest- ing upon eight arches, of about 12 feet from the ground to the crown of the arches. The diameter of the Tower is about 23 feet, and its present height about 24 feet. It is built of blocks of the ordinary stone of the region, laid in a mortar composed of sand and shell-lime, this mortar being now quite as hard as the stone itself. During the latter part of the war for Independence the chamber of the Round Tower was used by the British as a powder-maga- zine — for which it was admirably adapted. When tliey attempted to blow it up b\' exploding a quantity of gunpowder in the chamber, they only suc- ceeded in blowing off the roof (prob.'biy of wood and conical), and in throwing down some four feet of the uppei" part of the stone wall. But, however interesting the old Tower may be to antiquarians, and the historic associations to the student, the tourist will look upon the city princi- pally in its character as a summer resort. But little observation will convince him that the attractions arc manifold and diverse. The natural beauty is of the fairest type. The landscape is charm- ing. Fine trees and ornamental shrubs abound. The turf is green and soft like a rich carpet spread over the ground. On a sunny day the delightful shade and the invigorating air make one wonder whether the original Eden was more beautiful and enjoyable than this celebrated locality. Then, too, the varying appearance of the shore as , viewed from different points adds greatly to the scenic attractions. Beaches alternate with ledges. The former, of which there are four, are long and fine. Three of them lie east of the town and form a driveway of great beauty. The other, called the South Beach, is less visited because less easy of access, but, though smaller, it can hardly be considered less beautiful. Here may be seen the " Spouting Rock," from the cavities in which, when the wind and tide are in the right direct jns, the spray is thrown in a most beautiful man- ner. This beach is not as much frequented for bathing as the one nearest ClAbf WALK, ^EW1'URT, R. 1. &i'\ II :um SCKNE8 AT NEWI'OKT, li. I. ^m'. in • mi yi!«' %mi. M ' ] If m il' r^'i' ■I'VII' ^^m u. .1:1: W L*;' 1 |( 1; : : . .:.)■■ .'li' , Ij;, . (; '. ■ ! ' ''i^i ' I , .■!-,;;• ')fc ■ ! ■ * 11 .'^'l (. sl^ ,1 1 5« THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: the cit}', which is a favorite because it is readily accessible, has a clear, smooth, sandy bottom, is safe, and its waters arc warmed by the Ciiilf Stream, whicli, at this point, is only a short distance from the shore. The cliffs and ledges at various places along the shore impart an air of wildncss and exquisit« beauty to the scene. As the waves break a<;ainst these precipitous walls they shov\' the power and grandeur of the ocean as clearly as the beach reveals its placid beauty. Fort Adams, at the mouth of the harbor, is an attractive feature, while on the other shore of the baj- may 1)0 seen the ruins of some of the fortifications of Revolution;iiA- times. The harbor itself also presents a beau tiful and interesting ^M^S-vJ .view. Here may be seen small sail-boats and immense ships, diminutive tug-boats and m a g n i fi c e n t steamers, while tl;e finest yachts in Amer ican waters may here be found. The num- berless small boats furnish abundant means for all who (II. 1) lilKl, .M.\K .M.UIMKI, U. 1. • I 4. 4. 1 -1 ' Wish to take a sail near the shore. The sportsman will find excellent fishing either a little out from the shore or in the streams and lakes of fresh water which are close at hand. The beautiful drives in the vicinity add not a little to the attractions of the place. A good road is now open all along the coast and passes over hills of considerable elevation and across valleys of the greatest beauty. From some of these hill-tops splendid views of both ocean and shore are obtained. Numerous islands stand like emeralds in the surrounding blue, while looking inland the landscape is beautiful beyond description. While in a certain sense Newport is an "aristocratic" locality, it is also a favorite place of resort for thousands who have neither wealth nor eminence in the social world. There is room, and the accommodations are ample, for NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 59 all. Sea ami shore present the same beauties to the poor as they do to the rich. The climate is as mild and genial to the one class as to the other. Ivven the attractions which wealth has added to the natural features of the landscape are in a degree enjoyed by all. The beautiful residences, and par- ticularly the magnificent grounds of the rich are admired by the poor as well as by the owners themselves. In few places have nature and art united so full}' and extensively to adorn a locality, and in but few spots upon the coast can there be found such perfect beauty of both sea and shore combined. The population of Newport in i88g was over 2o,cxx) besides the summer population, which ranges from 8 X)0 to 12,000. The city has excellent schools, libraries, and banking facilities, and numerous churches. Newport claims the distinction of having the oldest newspaper in the L^nited States and of being the place of the j-early meeting of the Society of Friends for almost two centuries and a half. During the past few years the permanent popula- tion has rapidly increased and the number of summer visitors grows larger }ear b)- year. l^idding good-by to Newport on the Narraganset, a nicer place, we ven- ture to say, than Nice on the Mediterranean, we commit ourselves trustingly to the care of the Old Colony Railroad, wiiose numerous tracks "gridiron" this region. The central bar of this gridiron is about the best by which one can reach Boston. From Boston we purpose to go over more than one of. the bars of the big gridiron, and notably its long crooked handle which men call Cape Cod ; and thence, as at the time may see'm best, to such out-of-the- way places as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Then, getting back to Boston by the way which seems to be most convenient — and the conjoined Fall River Steamers and Old Colony Railroad will give us abundant means for choice — we shall set out upon the northern part of our trip, up to the ex- treme boundary of Maine. Set* ".ig off from Boston, our first objective point is Plymouth, about forty miles southeastward, as the crow flies, but perhaps twice as far by the railway route, which we choose; for it is well worth our while to take one of the short bars of the gridiron, and have a look at Nantasket Beach, which, as we arc told at Boston, is the finest thing of the kind in the world. Perhaps our Boston friends are a little too enthusiastic; but Nantasket Beach is well worVh the few hours which will be required to "do" it. The Beach is simply a peninsula of wave-hardened sand, stretching some half- dozen miles nortnward from the coast-line, the trend of which is here due mm mm- ""'' «!''il ^J... ,il.P 6o THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REl'UHLIC: eastward, tliough it soon turns sharply to the south, down to Plymouth Bay, whence it seems not to have made up its mind which way t j go. At Icnf^th it seems to have come to the conclusion that an eastw;'-(.i course was worth looking at. If it had kept on this course for two or three thousand miles, it would have linked itself to the Old World, somewhere in France or Spain, which lie in about the same latitude. But after going eastward for a few leagues, the unstable coast went pretty nearly southward for a while; then again turned eastward once more; then bent again to the north, with even a PLYMOUTH BAY. slight westward look. This sickle-shaped inner shore line, with its outer shore line nearly parallel, forms the peninsula of Cape Cod, at whose extrcmest northeastern point is the village of Provincetown, from which one can look westward across Cape Cod Bay to Plymouth. The ilistance in a straight line from Provincetown to Plymouth is not far from twenty-five miles; measured around the coast-line of the Cape, with which the railroad runs nearly parallel, the distance is about three times greater. Leaving Nantaskct Beach, the "landscape" around which is rather nice,, and the " waterscape " a good deal more than nice — the Old Colony Railroad takes us toward Plymouth. As we approach the venerable and venerated ■( ..: !^. NATURAL SCENKRY AND CELEHRATKD RESORTS. 6r town of the rilgrim Fathers we shall pass Marshficld, for many years the homestead of Daniel Webster. We shall not see it from the train ; but its location will be indicated to us, and our Guide Hook will have a picture of it, so that we can congratulate ourselves upon having seen it, after a fashion. A few miles further on, and in the township of Duxbury, overlooking Ply- mouth Bay, is a quaint, substantial structure known as "The Miles Standish House," said to have been built in 1666. It cannot, therefore, have been built by the valorous little " Captain of Plymouth," who had died ten years before at the goodly age of seventy-two. Quite probably this house may occupy the site of the one where the only Miles Standish of whom we know anything had his abode at and after that "courtship" of his of which Longfellow tells us. At all events, the grim little Captain did nut die of a broken heart in consequence of his v courtship by proxy of young John Alden, who, upon the hint of the sweet Priscilla, " spoke for himself " with more success — though J^^~ — certainly not more earnestly, than he had been speaking in behalf of his middle-aged friend. Miles Standish lived nearly two-score years after this "disappointment;" and Longfellow tells us — and who will question him — he looked on, with more of pleasure thaii pain, when John Alden walked away from the scene of his wedding, leiding the " snow-white bull," upon w^hich was seated " Priscilla the Puritan maiden," the just-wedded wife of John Alden. It is no unreasonable stretch of imagina- tion for us to believe that in the coming years the little Aldens — and there were not a few of them — children borr. to John and Priscilla, were wont to visit the valorous Captain Miles Standish, whose fighting days were now over, in his " simple and primitive dwelling,' which certainly was not far from Ply- mouth, and which we hope no accurate antiquarian will be able to show did not stand upon the very spot where now stvinds the " Miles Standish House." Plymouth Bay, which we are now in sight of, in a bright summer after- noon, is a pleasant piece of water. Quite otherwise must it have looked to I'lIK IKIME OK DANIKI, WKIISTER. ;■''; '■■■ i iiil' •. ll'S;iis'^,.;i?l ,1,1 ■ ft ii !-. i f)2 TMK GRKAT WONDHRLANDS OF OUR RKl'UBLIC; NATURA I' - m WIIKKK MILKS SIANDISII I.IVKI). the vojaj^cis in the " Majfli)\ver," who on a ilay late in December, 1620, were tlie first nuMi of the white race who ever saw its waters and forest-clad shores. Shutting our eyes, and calling; to mind the narratives which have come down to us, we can pic- ture to ourselves iiow the scene must have looked to the Pilgrim Fathers and Pilgrim Mothers. Opening our eyes, and looking around, no two pictures could well be more unlike. Vet both are absolutely true. The brightness of glad waters, with their " innumerable laugh," and the white sails darting in every direction will be all the brighter in contrast with the hoarse murmur of the breakers heard by the Pilgrims of the " Mayflower " as their solitary weather-beaten vessel steered into th^se unknown waters. Vet no vessel freighted with loftier fortunes e\er sighted an unknown coast than did this little " Mayflower." In her was potentially the being of our New World. Had she borne other men and women than she did, our social and political insti- tutions would have been quite other ^4^ than they are: not 'eljfy* improbably like those of Mexico or Peru. We do not pur- pose here to narrate the story of Ply- mouth Colony. Taking the term in its widest sense, it was never more than a small settlement, not covering much more than the present "township" of Plymouth, a tract 18 miles long, with an average breadth of some six miles — the- area thus being about 100 Tllli MAYI'I.OWKK NKAKINi; I.AM). NATURAL SCENERY AND CELKHRATED RESORTS. 63 v(|ii;ire miles, I'lyrrKnith is tlic oldest settlement b)- Europeans of which we kiiDW an)-tliiii[,' certainly on the New Enj^dand Coast. If Norsemen settled there, as perhaps thej' did — centuries before, they vanished, leavinjf behiml them nothing which clearly shows that they had ever been there or there- abouts. LeavinjT out of view Saint Augustine, in Florida, where the Spaniards had ,1 post as early as 1 565, riymouth is the third early spot occupied by Euro- |icans within what w c now designate as North America. T h i s occupation was made in 1620. In 1608 the English UKule a settlement at a placj in Vir- ginia, which they c.iled Jamestown; tills was kept up for many years, but was at length aban- doned, '^tul there is now hardly an in- dication that there had ever been a set- tlement there. In 1614 — six years be- fore the " !\Iayfiow- cr " appeared in Plymouth Bay — the Dutch made a settlement at the mouth of a stream which they called Hudson River. They called this settlement " New Am- sterdam," designating the region thereabout as " New Netherlands." All this is what we now know as " New York." Plymouth, though an old place, as we reckon age in this New World of ours, is "very small for its age." Assuming the territorial area of the ancient colony to have been that of the present township, its population in 1885 — a little more than two centuries after its settlement — was about 7,000, and there is no reason to suppose that it had ever been greater. The general physical features of this old colony rilA.KIM llAl.l., 1'1.V.M\i <^ ■ ^ "it ' H >f \:a: NANTUCKET, MASS. . 1. .'■ijMI £■?!: 84 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: pursuers, he and his young wife sprung into a little boat, and paddled out into the waters. We can trace almost every mile of this adventurous voyage of some 150 miles, mostly in open ocean, until they reached their destined haven, of which they seem to have known nothing: By green Pentucket's southern slope the small boat glided fast ; The watchers of the " block house " saw the strangers as they passed. That night a stalwart garrison sat shaking in their shoes To hear tfie dip of Indian oars, the glide of birch canoes. The fisher-wives of Salisbury (the men were all away) Looked - .'t to see the stranger oar upon their waters play. Deer island's rocks and fir-trees threw their sunset shadows o'er them, And Newbury's spire and weather-cock peered o'er the pines before them. Around the Black Rocks, on their left, the marsh lay broad and green ; And on their right, with dwarf-shrnbs crowned. Plum Island's hills were seen. With skilful hand and war)' eye the harbor bar was crossed, A plaything of the restless wave, the boat on ocean tossed. The glory of the sunset-heaven on land and water lay ; On the steep hills of Agawam, on cape, and bluff, and bay. They passed the gray rocks of Cape Ann, and Gloucester's harbor-bar ; The watch-fire of the garrison shone like a setting star. Now brightly broke the morning on Massachusetts Bay ; Blue wave, and bright green island, rejoicing in the day! On passed the bark in safety, round isle and headland steep; No tempest broke above them, no fog-cloud veiled the deep. Far round the bleak and stormy cape, the venturous Macey passed, And on Nantucket's naked isle drew up his boat at last. And now, in log-built cabin, they braved the tough sea-weather; And there, in peace and quietness, went down life's vale together. How others drew around tliem, and how their fishing sped. Until to every wind of heaven Nantucket's sails were spread ; How pale Want alternated with Plenty's golden smile: — Behold, is it not written in the annals of the isle? And yet the isle remaineth a refuge for the free. As when true-hearted Macey beheld it from the sea' Free as the winds that winnow her shrubless hills of sand ; Free as the waves that batter along her yielding land Than hers, ac duty's summons, no loftier spirit stirs. Nor falls o'er human suffering a readier tear than hers. God bless the sea-beat island ! and grant for evermore That charity and freedom dwell, as now, upon her shore. When Macey settled upon the island it had an aboriginal population esti- mated at 1,500; within the ensuing century this gradually decreased to 350; in 1763 a pestilence carried off 222 of these. The last Indian of full blood died in 1821 ; the last of half-blood in 1854. Hardly ten years had passed < > -.1'- NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 8: before Nantucket became noted for its off-shore fisheries. The date of the capture of the first sperm-whale by Nantucket fishermen is given at the year 1 712, and vessels of larger size, fitted for longer voyages, began to be em- ployed. In 1775 Nantucket had 150 whaling ships, which cruised as far as Davis Strait on the north and the coast of Brazil on the south. The war of the Revolution stopped this industry for the time; but after its close the business was revived with still greater activity. In 1791 the first whale-ship from Nantucket was sent to the Pacific. For another half century the busi- ness was a prosperous one. But in 1846 the town of Nantucket was well- nigh burnt down ; and from that time the whale-fishery from this place grew less and less, until it has come to be practically extinct. Among the causes of this falling off — total as far as Nantucket is concerned — we find the follow- ing enumerated by competent authority: " The scarcity of whales from their being so constantly hunted; the increasing use of gas and mineral oils; and the substitution of steel for whalebone in many articles of clothing, umbrellas, parasols, and the like, and of hard-rubber or vulcanite in other cases." In fact, petroleum wells and the india-rubber tree have pretty well driven whales out of the market as producers of oil and whalebone. The following figures show the fluctuations in the white population of the island at different periods: in 1763, 3,220; in 1774, 4,545, among whom w:re one clergyman, one lawyer, and two physicians; in 1784, 4,209; in 1800, 5,617; in 1810,6,807; in 1820, 7,202; in 1840, 9,712; this was the highest point ever reached, and from this time the population has gradually but steadily fallen off. In 1 860 it was 6,094 ; in 1870,4,123; in 1880,3,727. As people do not die off rapidly there, the conclusion is inevitable that the emi- gration to other sections mucK more than counter-balanced the natural in- crease of population. Among all the locations which have been assigned to the Garden of Eden, we almost wonder that nobody has thought of naming the island of Nan- tucket. It would require no great strain of the imagination to recognize in the waters which encircle the sea-girt island, the " river which went out of Eden to water the garden, whence it was parted and became into four heads." Pison, Hiddekel, and Phrat, would be fairly enough represented by the waters which circle the northern, western, and southern shores, which have tidal and other currents that might well have led an early narrator, who had nothing but his own observations to rely upon, to suppose them to be veritable rivers. And as for the " Second river Gihon, that which compasseth the 1, '. ; '••'!' ' ■ i'l'' !;! 1 m ^t' I' I : -!(., :;m, ; ' ' ■ «; |Mll )' • W\y: :ibi:/. ill ■'• i ■ ' »• ■Intic- -• ; II: ■ ■ 86 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC; NATURA .M% ill' ■■•«*■ whole land of Ethiopia," how better could have been named the broatl " ocean river " on the east, whose limits no man then could know, and of which we now know that in it is no inch of dry land until we reach the shores of tile Eastern Continent, upon which must have been "the whole land of Ethiopia" — no matter how much or how little of the region may have been in the narrator's mind when he put down the score of words in which he describes it. As for soil and productions, we must acknowledge that the Nantucket which we know does not well correspond with our ideal of the Garden of Eden, wherein " the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food " — to say nothing of those two wonderful trees, the " Tree of Life " and the " Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. ' Few things are rarer on our Nantucket than a tree of any "kind. Instead of fruit- trees it now grows summer hotels, and bathing-places. As for climate, using the word in its widest sense — Nantucket comes well up to our idea of what the Garden of Eden might have been. For a time in winter the weather must be rather cold, since, as we are told, the surrounding waters are so frozen " that weeks go by without the possibility of passing to or from its shores." But it is not so much winter cold as summer heat that tells upon the human frame. Nantucket hardly knows what we call a " hot day." Year after year the highest temperature indicated by the thermometer is 86°, never going above 90°; and even in a hot day " there is a never-failing succession of breezes blowing over the land," which render the markings of the thermometer no correct indications of the temperature as felt by the human system. In a word, never, for more than a few hours in succession, does anybody think it very hot at Nantucket'. The sanitary effects of the climate are set forth in a paragraph which we quote from what we judge to be good authorit)': "Within a few years there has happened a period when upward of one-ninth of the population of the island was over 70 years old. During one recent year there were /y deaths, and of this number 72 per cent lived to the age of 73 years. Five of these deaths were of persons over go years of age; fifteen had lived over 80 years, and eighteen over 70 years. There were but eleven deaths under 36 years of age, and of these 8 were babes under one year old. The remaining ages were, one of 16 and two of 25. Surely," adds the writer, "there must be something 'life-giving' in the sanitary condition of the island so to prolong existence and lower the death-rate." He says, furthermore, that those who fr rj NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 87 (. )ine here only for a brief sojourn find immediate benefits from this sea-girt s.matorium, "which they are often able to note from the very first hour of their coming; persons sojourning here invariably find the appetite and the inclination to sleep largely increased during their visits; and the benefits to health here received are permanent, and to be carried away and enjoyed by the recipient wherever he may go. It will," he says in conclusion, " be a sufficient recommendation of Nantucket, as a place of summer losort, to say tliat here one may be sure of finding cool nights for sleeping, and never a mosquito to hum his lullaby." But Newport and Nantasket, Plymouth and Provincetovvn, Martha's Vine- yard and Nantucket, and all the hundreds of fair places around and between, do not constitute the entire New England Coast. Indeed, they form only a \ cry small part of it, as a glance at any map will show. We propose to con- tinue this summer tour of ours to a region where nature works for our delec- tation with rock rather than with sand a«d where there are besides ocean shores inland lakes and ponds innumerable : the region, in short of which Whittier, writing " First, Nov. 26th, 1887," says: "Gems of the Northland, never yet Were lakes in lovelier valleys set, Glassing the granites and the pines That mark New Hampshire's mountain lines. 'And not less fair the winding ways Of Casco and Penobscot bays. They seek for happier shores in vam, Who leave the summer isles of Maine." Our proposed trip — already accomplished, notes of which are to follow — covered much more territory than this. From Boston we are to go by rail to Lake Winnipiseogee, in New Hampshire; thence to Portland in Maine, and to the celebrated summer resort near by known as Mount Desert Island. Leaving Nantucket Island, a steamer carries us back, past Martha's Vine- yard to Wood's Holl, at the southwestern shoulder of Cape Cod. A detached bar of the Old Colony Railroad gridiron comes down here. We leave the water, and take to the rail, skirting the western and northern sides of Buz- zard's Bay. For want of more exciting topics of inquiry we try to find out how this bit of water came by its name. We are told by one that in former times the "buzzard," a pretty big kind of fishing-bird, which some naturalists describe as " an inferior sort of eagle, having a rather small and weak bill," < .1,, I' .rl'f. • Ihi'^f \imm .!;■': HD; .4 «!i,i m 88 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC; used to abound hereabouts, where they managed to pick up a comfortabli' living by catching fish. Another informant was quite as confident that a certain Mr. Buzzard had his home hereabouts, and jmve his own name to thi. bay. After all, the stories are not contradictory. Who knows that both arc not "founded on fact?" At all events, we get l^uck to Boston ' y rail, and the Map and Gazetteers tell us of not a few pleasant places along the route which we might have seen had we looked out from the windows of the cars— which we did not do to any great extent. We reached Boston late at night, but were ready to set out early next morning for " fresh fields and pastures new." The " Boston and Maine Rail- road," a union of several lines originally distinct, but now under one general management, foreseeing our wants, and those of many others with more or less money in their purses, has made provision to carry us as far as we propose to go — and much farther, indeed, if we had wished. The Com- pany furnishes excellent facilities for reaching the various points of interest on the route. It operates three distinct lines between Boston and Port- land, a distance of a little more than one hundred miles in a straight course. The eastern line runs along the Atlantic coast, rarely at a dis- tance of ten miles. The western line starts from Worcester, not quite fifty miles southwest of Boston, where it connects with other railways run- ning in every direction. About midway between these routes, and nearly parallel with both, is the middle line by which we are to travel. There is rarely anywhere a distance of a score of miles between one of these lines and the one next to it, and all are connected at frequent intervals. Starting from the main station in Haymarket Square — so-called because not many years ago sloops and barges laden with hay used to come up here and deposit their bulky cargoes — our train heads northwestward toward the Merrimac River, as though we were going to touch at Lowell, twenty-five miles from Boston, and next to it in the State in point of population, having a few hundred more inhabitants than Worcester, its close rival. The Merrimac, rising among the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and having a total length of about 150 miles, is perhaps the most industrious river in the world. Every cubic foot of its water is set to work spinning or weaving, especially at Lowell, at Nashua, fourteen miles, and Manchester, about as much more above Lowell, and at Lawrence ten miles below. These great manufacturing cities have a population cf about 160,000; and not one of them could have been more than a quiet agricultural village save for the Merrimac River which NATURA NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 89 stood ready to turn innumerable water-wheels as soon as anybody should ask il so to do. Lowell, the oldest and the largeK*- ">f these cities, was never dreamed of seventy years ago. About 1674, Job Eliot, "the apostle to the Indians," was preaching to the natives hereaboi. :s. On one spring Sunday he and his companion, Daniel Gookin, were hospitably entertained " at the wigwam of i)ne called Wannalancet, near Pawtucket Falls in the Merrimack River." Gookin, in his " Historical Collections of the Indians in New England," gives an instructive account of Eliot's method of Christianizing the Indians. We may, with no great stretch of the imagination, believe that he describes what actually took place on that bright May Sunday in 1674, in the very centre of the spot at t' : foot of the Pawtucket Falls, around which has within the mem- ory of men i.ow zing grown up the "City of Spindles." Gookin says: " Besid •. pr';a:hing to them, he framed two catechisms in the Indian tongue, containing the principles of the Christian religion — a lesser for children, an a larger for older persons. These also he communicated unto the Ind'ms gradually, a few questions at a time, according unto their capacity to rece.ve them. His manner was, after he had begun the meeting with prayer, then first to catechise the children. Then he would encourage them with some small gift, as an apple or a small biscuit, which he caused to be brought for the purpose. And by his prudence and winning practice the children were induced with delight to get into their memories the principles of the Christian religion. When the catechising was past he would preach to them upon some portion of Scripture for about three-quarters of an hour, and then give liberty to the Indians to propound questions, and, in the close, finish all with prayer." What with preliminary catechising the children, a sermon of three-quarters of an hour, subsequent catechising of the grown-up Indians, and the inter- spersed prayers, we imagine that this first Christian service of which we have any record held at what is now Lowell, must have occupied some four or five hours. Religious services there are in our days much shorter. A century and a half passes before we get another glimpse at these Pawtucket Falls on the Merrimac, which effectually barred all passage up the river for boats or even fish. But this stoppage of fish was a godsend to the Indians, for it gave them, in proper season, the best fishing-ground in the region. They could literally scoop them up by the boat-load with their bare hands from among the broken rocks at the foot of the Falls, where their upward course was t n ■:'! M r ,;frsi ■ ', fff -fir , 1 ! |Hjj i , 'P i ■ .1 <, 1|J 'i; ^11 » IJ Vi^jh *JLk I lit* ^ ''' 1^ 1 t^wi i't hi v", Vhi < f*j i IISII 90 TIIF. GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR I.El'UHLIC: stopped; for \vc s ipposc nothiiij^ that swims could ascend tlicsi; falls, or rather rapids, which in the space of three or four miles have a descent ol perhaps fifty feet. It happens that the writer of these pages spent several years of his boyhood at Lowell, then rapidly growing into a nianufacturin.L; town; and he has seen the fish (notably lamprey-eels) caught by the barrelful by hand. Only once since — and that more than twenty years ago— has hi seen Lowell. He would then have scarcely known the place. Still less would he recognize it now, as he found it described in a recent work, which he happened to have with him, " Pawtucket and Wamesit, where the Indians resorted in the fishing season, are now Lowell, the city of spindles and Manchester of America, which sends its cotton cloth around the globe. The water power was not utilized until 1821, when some Boston men set up a factory here. In 1823 the Merrimac cotton mills were started. Now Lowell's textile factories employ a capital of near!)' $20,000,000, running 25,000 looms and almost 1,000,000 spindles. They produce annually 240,000,000 yards of cotton cloth, 10,000,000. yards of woollens, 3,500,000 yards of carpetings, 120,000 shawls, 16,500,000 pairs of hose, and 100,000,000 yards of cloth are dyed and printed. In a word, Lowell weaves enough cotton cloth to furnish every man, woman, and child in the United States with five yards a year Lowell was incorporated as a city in 1836; in 1840 its population was 21,000; in i860, 37,000; in 1870,41,000; in 1880. 60,000; and is now fully 70,000, the larger half of whom arc employed in the mills, the wheels of all of which are turned by the water of the Merrimac. It would be a curious inquiry hnv. man\- hundreds of thousands of human beings could do the mechanical work performed by the Merrimac at this one point. And, moreover, at Lawrence, ten miles below, the river does quite half as much work as at Lowell, and fully as much more at Nashua and Manchester, a few miles above." These speculations occupy our thoughts while we are carried inland to the beautiful lake Winnipiseogee. This lake, which lies about 470 feet above the sea level, is about 25 miles long, the greatest breadth being less than half as much, and its surface consists to a good degree of narrow bays or coves jut- ting up into the land in all sorts of directions; not seldom, if these bays had shoved a little further, they would have made their way into other little lakes, or ponds. As it is, however, we suppose that their waters, fed by brooks in numerable, find their own way into Winnipiseogee, and thence into the Merrimac, of which it is the main reservoir, keeping its waters at an almost NATUR; Kliial volume tl Michigan and wire it not for iiDt have becom been a mountai ill summer and One may m; h;md and wrist, ami marking ar liiumb, fingers, actual number and what not, a The most a( 1816) President what were then siller the weeks his merits as a t of no mean rank the neighboring New York; vis the Kaatskills, of letters, whic New England .1 Of one of t mention in Der date of Septcm of Yale College whence, we unc rugged tour wi gentleman, the It was not i Dwight first si Lake George v " Winnipisaukc gancc, is almos lay on the east ■even fifty year NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. yi c(|iial volume throughout the year, and year after year, much as Superior ami Michigan ami Huron and Erie do for the mighty St. Lawrence. Indeed, wtie it not for the storehouse of Lake Winnipiseogee, the Merrimac could not have become the useful servitor to man which it now is. It would have bucii a mountain torrent overflowing in the spring, and with but scanty water ill summer and autumn. One may make a tolerably good map of Winnipiscogee by laying his left liand and wrist, palm downward, upon .a sheet of pai)er, spreading the fingers, aiu! marking around them with a jjencil. But he must not omit to adorn tiuimb, fingers, and wrist with island jewels to his heart's content, for their actual number is almost past counting, and their names, in Indian, Yankee, and what not, afford material for many an hour of philological study. The most admirable Timothy Dwight, for a full score of years (1795 to 1S16) President of Yale College, was wont to spend his annual vacation in what were then considered long excursions; and long they were if we con- sider the weeks rather than the number of miles which they occupied. Besides his merits as a theologian, Dwight was an ardent lover of nature, and a poet of no mean rank. We are told that, in these excursions, " he journej'ed through the neighboring States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York; visited the White Mountains, Lake George, Montauk, Niagara, the Kaatskills, etc., keeping notes of his journeys, written out in the form of letters, which were published after his death, under the title of ' Travels in New England and New York.' " Of one of the earliest of these journeys we find the following prefatory mention in Dennie's " Farmer's Museum," published at Walpole, N. H,, under date of September 25th, 1797: "This morning the truly respectable President of Yale College proceeded from this village on a journey to the Upper Coos; whence, we understand, he intends passing over the White Mountains. His rugged tour will, we hope, be relieved by those civilities which are due to the gentleman, the scholar, and the unaffected Christian." It was not in this journey, but in one made ten or more years later, that Dwight first saw Lake Winnipiseogec; he expresses his wonder that while Lake George was annually \isited by numerous people from New England, " Winnipisaukee, notwithstanding all its accumulation of splendor and ele- gance, is almost as much unknown to the inhabitants of this country as if it lay on the eastern side of the Caspian." The simple fact is that seventy or even fifty years ago Winnipiseogec was actually farther from Boston than UF • '"ft, > )•:< 04 m K' n I I '%, 4 . r< . If ■ I J ■■ '■■■ i-iyisiF m 92 THK r.RKAT WONDKRLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: . 'i 1 'i .my spot in the Heart of the Rockies now is. All this has been chanj^ed; an(! now " tliis most exquisite jewel in the lake necklace of New Kn|jlancl," as it has been well styled, is within a few hours of any point in our Eastern States. Of some of the nei^diborinjj lakes Thomas Starr Kinj^ — true poet as he was, though we have never seen a line t)f verse composed by him — writes: "There is (ireat Squam, singularly stripeil with lony, narrow, crinkling islands, and Little Scpiam, unbroken by islands, fringed and shadowed by thickets of the richest foliage that are disposed around its western shore in a long sweeping curve-line which will be remembered as a delightful melody (nf the eye. . . . The larger lake, though not a fourth part so large as Winnipiseogee, is doubtless the most beautiful of all the small sheets t)f water in New Ivigland ; and it has been pronounced by one gentleman, no less careful in his words than cultivated in his tastes, more charmingly em- bosomed in the landscape than any lake of equal size he had ever seen in Europe or America." In ilefault of any description of our own we quote a few paragraphs from Mr. Ernest Ingersoll: *' Red Hill has a summit at the northern end over 2,000 feet high, the picture visible from which, as many men have gazed upon the noted land- scapes of the world will tell you, is unequalled in either continent for that enduring quality which we call loveliness. Its extent alone is worth noting. Kearsarge and Monadnock are plainly visible at the southwest, and in the west the eye reaches far over the hills toward the Connecticut. Turning to the right, where Squam Lake is glittering in the foreground of the west, Mt. Cardigan, the hills along the Connecticut, and more to the northward, the immense mass of Moosilauke are seen; then the Franconia Mountains far away over nearer ranges. The huge dome of Sandwich cuts off the north for a space, hiding the White Mbuntains and their neighbors as far as Carrigain, of which a portion only is revealed, with a part of the slide-marked Tri-pyra- mid at its right. And so the eye is led around to the shapely broadside of the Ossipee, and the circle is complete. What fills this cicle as you rest your gaze in the southward ? Winnipiseogee — ' fashioned with every elegance of figure, bordered with the most beautiful winding shores, and studded with a multitude of islands,' as Dwight expressed it; 'liquid silver run into a vessel of unequal surface,' as Isaacs fancied it to be; 'islands and shores that fringe the water with winding lines and long narrow capes of green,' as Starr King paints it in words, more truly than can be done by the pencil of the artist." NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEHRATED RESORTS. 9^ From Winiiipiscoi^cc one may well hesitate wlietlier to j,m) first to the White Mountains a little northward, or to turn eastward, toward the Atlantic coast. We choose the latter; anti what is styled "the Northern Division of the Boston and Maine Railroad" is ready to take us whither we will. We have elected to make Portland, the principal seaport in Maine, our next objective point. Of Portland, as a city, there is not very much to be said here. We read ill a reliable Gazetteer, that it is beautifully situated on a peninsula at the southwestern extremity of Casco Hay. It was first named Falmouth; was settled by an En^jlish colony in 1632, and was three times burned in the war* with the French and Indians. It possesses broad, shaded streets, and hand- some public and private edifices, at the same time forming a centre to the luimerous wateriiijj-places within reach, where the purest of sea air can be found The harbor is one of the best on the Atlantic coast; the anchorajje bcinjf protected on every side by land, the communication with the ocean easy and direct, and the depth sufficient for the largest ships; although in a northern latitude (about 44° N., or some 140 miles north of Boston), it is never entirely closed by ice, even in the coldest weather." Simply as a harbor, we doubt if there is in the world a finer one than this of Portland. Not improbably, some generations hence, Portland may come to be a great commercial city, being the natural emporium for the trade between the Old World and that vast region which we now know as the " Dominion of Canada." But, as it is, the growth of Portland 'vis not been a rapid one. In 1830 its population was 12,000; in 1840, 15,000; in 1S50, 20,000; in i860, 26,000 in 1870, 31,000; in 1880, 34,000. Its population in 1889 was estimated to be about 40,000. From Portland there is ready communciation by steamer all along tlie Atlantic coast as far south as Boston, and as far north as Eastport, on the eastern frontier of the United States, where it abuts on the Canadian province of New Brunswick and looks across the Bay of Fundy to the Canadian penin- sula of Nova Scotia, which, with New Brunswick, would at the present time be worth more to us than all the rest of what we used to know as " Upper " and " Lower " Canada. The area is not very large, being about equal to that of the State of New York, with a population of something less than a million — about one-fifth of that of the entire Dominion of Canada. Our next point, going fro ; Portland, is Mount Desert Island, just off the coast of Maine, from which ; is separated by a channel a mile wide. We ■^ f ^{'i f; •^■i kM ,1'syi- III:.: 'it a :1m- 'iii I';? ^'i 94 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. might have gone thither (that is to a point on the neigl'-boring mainland op- posite the island) by rail ; but we have decided to go by water. Our steamer (her name is the "City of Richmond ") leaves Portland about midnight, upon the arrival of the train which started from Boston at seven in the morning, and is due at Bar Harbor, on Mount Desert, at noon the next day. As morning breaks we find ourselves thriddincr the islets which stud Penobscot Bay, which, says Mr. Xoah Brooks, "are covered, for the most part, with fir, spruce, and larch. The shores are bold and rocky, and rich tones of brown, gray, and purple are reflected in the silver}- tide." As tlie sun begins to ap- proach mid-heaven we see ahead of us the summits of a cluster of hills. These are the precipices of Bar Harbor Head, the southernmost point of the island of Mount Desert, surmounted by a lighthouse. The island is about fifteen miles long with an extreme breadth of twelve miles, and has a resident population of about 4,000. It embraces seven par- allel ranges of granite mountains, with deep and narrow valleys between. The loftiest point attains an altitude of nearly i,8go feet above its base, against which break the long Atlantic swells. This is the highest point of land along the entire Atlantic coast. One of these \allej-s, which is cut down clear to the water's edge, almost divides the island, " gi\'ing it the shape of a pair of well-stuffed saddle-bags." The norchern extremity of the island consists mainly of irregular foot-hills, with an area of arable land along the shore, which here approaches the mainland so closel)- that the interval is crossed by a bridge. At the southwescern extremits' of the island is an almost level plateau. Upon the southern and eastern shores the mountains come sheer down to the ocean, often without a yard of beach. .Mount Desert is growing year by year more and mure a place of summer resort. At present, if one wants to pass a few weeks in a manner different from that to which he has been accustomed, this is the place for him. How long this will continue to be the case no man can say: most likely not for any very long time. Even now one, if he so pleases, can live at Mount Desert very much as he might have done at Newport or Coney Island, at Saratoga or Cape May, or anj'where else; for we are told, upon authority of a little Handbook put forth a year ago by the " Passenger Department of the Grand Trunk Railway," that the island has a prosperous community engaged in cod and mackerel fishing, and has some twenty excellent hotels." We may rest assured that the Bar Harbor Bonifaces catch fatter fish on shore than do their neighbors M'ho fling their hooks for cod and mackerel into the brinj- deep. Not very \tii ^'. i\lm- H,k Mr 'h^ .^.- ■ ' I ' ■/ 1 .< . -.1 , 1 > ;■ 1 ■ 1 M I' 1 < i ^ ^ft 96 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: ii long ago Mr. Charles Dudley Warner gave a lively picture of society life on Mount Desert. He says: " E-xcept in some of the cottages at Bar Harbor, it might be said that society was on a ' lark.' The young ladies liked to appear in nautical and lawn-tennis toilets. As to the young gentlemen, if tliere were any dress-coats on the island, they took pains not to display them, but delighted in appearing in the evening promenade in the nondescript suits that made them so con- spicuous in the morning — the favorite being a dress erf stripes, with a striped jockey-cap to match. ... " But the principal occupation at Bar Harbor was out-door exercise : in- cessant activity in driving, walking, boating, rowing and sailing, bowling, ten- nis, and flirtation. There was always an excursion somewhere, by land or sea; watermelon parties; races in the harbor, in which the girls took part; drives on buckboards, which they organized. Indeed, the canoe and the buckboard were in constant demand. This activity, this desire to row and walk and drive, and to become acquainted, was all due to the air. It has a peculiar quality. It composes the nerves to sleep; it stimulates to unwonted exertion. The fanatics of the place say that the fogs are not damp as at other resorts on the coast. Fashion can make even a fog dry. But the air is delicious. In this latitude, and by reason of the hills, the atmosphere is pure and elastic and stimulating, and .t is softened by the, presence of the sea." Commenting upon the foregoing passage, Mr. Ernest Ingersoll says: " We came to know (and hereby testify to) the solemn truth of all that, excepting perhaps the ' dry fogs,' of which we heard much, but saw nothing, though it was a good year for fogs." Let us admit, causa argiimcnti, that Mount Dosert may be ?.\\ Arcadia for those who carry such a thing about with them ; if otherwise, they will not find it on the New England Coast, or anywhere else. For a few sentences more we must stand indebted to Mr. Ernest Ingersoll^ although we ciuote with very much condensation : " Nowhere in America are lovelier summer houses. The island is almost engirdled with a row of cottages, great and small. But the word ' cottage ' ht>re is as expansive as at Newport or Saratoga. The rise in the value of real estate has been most extraordinary. A lot of forty acres was bought in 1880 for $" ^no, which has since paid its owner $46,000. Land at Bar Harbor is now . icip \\i. §25,000 an acre, and for some $125,000 has been paid. Desira- ble cottages have appreciated in ijroportion : one small one was pointed out NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 97 as having gone from $3,000 to $11,000 between 1882 and 1885. The people of the island are thriving greatly under this new state of things, so that Mount Desert, from being one of the most forsaken, hardest-working and poorest- living corners of Yankee-land, has become ©ne of the most prosperous and easy." THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. HIS remarkable range, called by enthusiastic travellers "The Switz- erland of America," and known to the Indians as Agiocochook, "The Mountain of the Snowy Forehead and Home of the Great Spirit," is situated in Coos and Grafton Counties, N. H., and consists of a plateau 1,600 feet above sea level and having the general form of a parallelo- gram, from which rise several clusters of peaks, a number of which are among the highest in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. It is believed that the first white man who visited them was Walter Neal, who left sufficient records to establish the fact that he was at least partially familiar with the region as early as 1632. Shortly before the Revolutionary war an attempt was made to explore it, with the result of the discovery of the Notch, and after the war considerable attention was turned toward it. That the wonders of the locality had become somewhat known and appreciated at this period, seems evidenced by the fact that a shelter, where warmth, food, and liquors could be obtained, was erected in 1803. The summit of Mount Wash- ington, the higl.est peak in the eastern cluster, having an altitude of 6,285 f^^^, A'as rendered accessible by a bridle path in 1819, and by 1852 travel had grown to an extent that warranted the erection of a hotel. The region then attained a popularity as a summer mountain resort that has never since flagged in the least. As there are two periods in the year when the grandeur of the scenery is presented in its most perfect wealth of tinge and cloud-effects: the latter half of June and the first half of October; it has become a favorite custom with tourists and summer travellers to precede or supplement a season at the popular springs or seaside resorts with a trip to the White Mountains. The location of the principal attractions is such that they may be reached by any one of half a dozen or more routes and from as many starting points. But the course most generally pursued is to begin the ascent at North Conway, N. H., near Mount Kearsarge, which belongs to the southeastern cluster. The village ( K'- ' 4ms o8 THE GkEAi vVONDERLANLv^ OF OUR REPUBLIC overlooks the intervulr. of ':bc Saco River, and is surrounded on all sides oy mountains. East o! it !s ilic Rattlesnake Ridge of hills, Middle Mountain top- ping them all, and but a short distance northward is Mount Kearsarge or Pe- quawket, rising to a height of 3,367 feet. To the westward is seen the cluster called the Moat Mountains, with the peak of Chocorua, "The Old Bear," a mass of granite with but little vegetation, 3,358 feet high, in the distance. The chief attraction of the place k the magnificent view of the valley of the Saco, where the great dome of Mount Washington, changing almost hourly in ap- pearance, forms an impenetrable curtain across the vista. In the immediate neighborhood of North Conway are the Artist's Falls, a pretty descent of MOAT MorNTAIN KROM NOR 1 H CONWAY, N. II. V .ter in the midst of a paten of forest; Echo Lake, a beautiful sheet of water lying at ♦■he foot of Moat Mountains, and on the opposite side of the river; the Cathedral, a cavity in the granite, with a wall eighty feet high, which, inclining outward, forms a magnificent arch that is met on the other side by a wall of great treer;; the White Horse displayed upon the perpendi- cular sides of the cliffs that extend a distance of four or fivv miles and are from lOO tc 800 feet high: Diana's Bath, a little to the north of the Cathe- dral, and Mount Kear.sarge, the highest peak south of the mountains in this direction, from which the best view of the entire White Mountain range is obtained. While the spectacles of natural grandeur that are visible at every turn are thrillif/j^ and awe-inspiring, the supreme pleasure of a trip to this region is to . 1 M§ •'■i (lit NATURAL SCE\..RY AM) ( ELL" Ui? ATP:} ) RESORTS. 9^ bo found in the ascent of Mount Wasliin . 4"; 1 If I **;.« i BOO THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: Washington, has a fall of eighty feet, seen to the best advantage from tht high bank opposite the foot of the fall; and Tuckerman's Ravine, whicl, carries the water from Mount Washington to the Crystal Cascade, an enor mous gulf in the southerly side of the peak with walls l,ooo feet high, and containing a beautiful snow cavern formed by a spring stream flowing through the mass of snow several hundred feet deep that collects there during the winter season. From the village of Gorham, N. H., on the eastern side of the mountains, the ascent of Mount Washington can be made in one day by way of the Glen House. The distance from Gorham to the Notch is thirty-two miles, and the Cherry Mountain road abounds in pretty spectacles. The beauties of Mount Moriah, Mount Carter, and the Imp are here seen to better advantage than elsewhere: the Pilot range of mountains rise onthe northwest; while at the east and southeast stand the Androscoggin hills, from the highest of ■which, Mount Hayes, 2.500 feet high, a magnificent view is obtained of Mounts Adams and Jefferson, while Washington itself from this point seems invested with additional grandeur. Fronting Mount Hayes is Mount Surprise, a spur of Moriah, 1,200 feet high, whose crown is easy of access by foot or horse. At its summit there is no obstruction to the view of the " Presiden- tial ' mountains, and there is no other eminence where one can get so near those monarchs of rock and forest This point also commands a grand view of the great cleft between Mount Carter and the White Mountains, through which the Peabody Ri\er flows, as the summit of Mount Willard commands the Notch and the Saco River. A capital pedestrian tour for those who can depend upon their legs may be made from the Alpine House at Gorham by riding to the base of Mount Madison, at the foot of Randolph Hill, then footing it up Madison, passing over its summit, continuing around or over the sharp pyramid of Adams, over Jeflcrson between the humps of Clay, and thence to the summit of Washington. The tramp can be made between sunrise and sunset. Another attraction of Gorham, and by many considered the best, is Berlin Falls, si.x miles from the Alpine House. The entire scenery is wild and noble. The Androscoggin River here jxuirs down .1 rock}- gate- way. The mountains seem to overhang the stream, which, having the ap- pearance of a long, swift rapid, is broken here and there l)\- a direct and j)()werful fall. In the course of a mile the river descetuis nearly 200 feet, and as the road winds directly by the river the entire panorama may be viewed without the effort of rock climbing. NATU The ascent House, and a (iver the sum Mount Monrc now usually [ House, the T\ road is 3,596 The rails are centre one res llie engine fin face of the Ol ster. The De profiles of the init of Mount ropes. Proce- l^'lunie, a n.M rapidit\' ; and Silver Cascad ing. Three 11 Cataract, con^ waterfall in tl several minor NATURAL SCMXERV AND CELEHRATEl) RESORTS. loi The ;isccnt of Mount Washinj^toii may also be made from the Crawford House, and at one time this route was very popular. A bridle-path leads ()\cr the summits of Mount Clinton, Mount Pleasant, Mount Franklin, and Mount Monroe, but the railroad and carriage-path from the Glen House are ,i.)\v usually preferred. The ascent by rail may be made from the Crawford 1 louse, the Twin Mountain I louse, and the P'abyan House. The grade of the road is 3,596 feet in three miles, and in some places is one foot in every three. The rails are three in number, bolted to a heavy trestlework of timber, the centre one resembling a ladder, between whose rounds the cogs of a wheel on tlie engine find an unfailing purchase. However great the inclination of the cars may be, the seats maintain a uniforml)- horizontal position. Tile ascent is made in an hour and a half. The Notrh. the gate ii which is near the Crawford House, is a great gorge in the mountains which rise on either side to a height of 2,000 feet At the Gateway these mountains, Web ster on the right ami Wille)- on tile left, are only twenty two ieet apart Ethan's Pond lies l)lacidly at the top of Willey Mountain, and the great stone face of the Old Maid of the Mountain peers out from a si)ur of Mount Web ster. The Devil's Pulpit is near the gate of thi; Notcli. and close by are the profiles of tlic Infant and the "S'oung Man of the IMountain, Near the sum- mit (if Mount Willard is the Devil's Den, a cavern accessible by means of ropes. Proceeding a short distance down the Notch, the tourist meets the Flume, a n.-i row , deep gorge through which the waters rush with great rjipidit}- ; and the most beautiful of all the falls on this side the mountain, the Sih'er Cascade, wliicii is seen to admirable advantajije on a nioonliglit e\en- ing. Three miles beyond the Willey Memorial House is the Sylvan Glade Cataract, consideretl by veteran travellers the 'nost beautiful ami imjircssive waterfall in the entire range of mountains. A mile above the cataract are sc\'eral minor falls, the chief of which is the Sparkling Cascade. The fol- lUKiinai nil. ik.vni i)M..\ .\(iu;ii. .si ;^ M ,"|i''l ' ' ''.1(1 (»- .ill ■i 'm ^mA m ■mi \\ M i-rA-th' -it '■'.'mm -. '#^^' .M'''r Jl'i l\ in ml m ;y''^:§ ill I* y^ li .'J .i;iu|- .4,, 4 lo: THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUHLIC. )< V il 111 lowinjj is the name ami height of each mountain of the ranj^e, in its oriU i . beginning at the Notch: Mount Webster, 4,000 feet ; Mount J.irkson, 4,101 , Mount Chnton, 4,200; Mount Pleasant, 4,800; Mount Franklin, 4,900; Mount Monroe, 5,400; Mount Washington, 6,285 ; Mount Clay, 5,400; Mount Jefferson, 5,700; Mount Adam , 5,800; and Mount Madison, 5,400. The F ran con i, I Mountains, though to- tally distinct and \h- culiar, are usually con sidered a part of tlu; White Mountain range, and are always visited in connectit)n with it. Two roads lead from Bethlehem to the Notch in this range, and both ex- tend over a high hill, from the summit of which the whole of the range is compre- hended in front, with the head of Lafay- ette rising above theiVi all, and the dark jjor- tal of the notch aj)- pears on the right. The Profile House is in the immediate vi- cinity (jf Echo Lake, a sheet of water of great depth and transparency, surrounded by green hills, and navigable by small boats; Cannon Mountain, or, as it is sometimes called, Profile Mountain, receiving its first name from the resemblance to a great gun which a rock upon its summit exhibits, and the second from the great stone face, or Old llll£ Dl.U MAN OF IHE Ml II. MAIN. if ''ilii M 55 )>|i H\ >',Sk''4 ' :. s. ■'* A i )lf(', iliV^ Nil 11 '■'ii ' ill ■;'l ' 'li ImH " *'f sfl ■a « '1 .'J t * t 1 f '^1 1 " ^ ^> ? .4>' $ v" ■", '1l ii ii 11 '■: ■■■1 104 THE CkKM WONDKKLANDS OF OUR RKrUHLlC: Man of the Mountain, that appears on the soutliern extremity of its crown; Ka^'le Cliff, a hii^^e columnar crag, separated from the rest of the mountaii;, and rising perpendicuhirly, the former eyrie of a family of eagles; ]\i\\<', Mountain; the Cascade; Profile Lake, known also as Terrier's Pond and thr Old Man's Washbowl; and Mount Lafayette i,200 feet below Mount Wash ington in height. Among the oth r attractions of the Franconia range ari the Basin, a granite bowl, sixty feet in circumference and fifteen feet dee]i, into which the waters of the i^^;^■lgcwassct River, flowing from Profile Lake, anil passing over a rocky hdge, fall; the Cascades below the outlet of thr l^asin; the great FMume, where the walls of rock approach within ten feet d each other, and hold in their unrelenting embrace about midway to tin bottom a huge granite boulder weighing several tons; the Cascade below it, the Pool, directly in front of the hotel; and Georgianna, or Harvard, F'alls, two miles below the F'lume House, where the water i)lunges over the preci ])ice in two leaps of eighty feet each. Another great curiosity of this part of New Hampshire is a remarkabK pass, some sixty miles ncMth of the White Mountains, and narrower than either of the great notches of the White Hills, knf)wn as the Dixville Notch. About half-way through the notch is Table Rock, a loft}-, projecting pinnacle, from which one may look into Maine, Vermont, and Canada. To fully enjoy the marvellous scenery and grand monuments of nature in the White Mountains, at least two weeks' time .should be allowed. And even with that and a constant riding and tramping, there will be much left over for a second season, liut whether the weird region is visited once or more fre- quently, there can never be any lessening of interest, exhaustion of novelty, or regret at the expenditure of time, money, and energy. THE RANGELEY LAKES. HE Rangeley Lakes, often called the Androscoggin Lakes, are principally located in the western portion of the State of Maine, but about one-half of the lowest lake in the chain is situated in New Hampshire. There are six lakes in this remarkable series, but they are all connected by streams and form a continuous water-course for almost sixt\- miles. For the most part they lie in a densely wooded region, and they arc among the most picturesque sheets of water to be found in the country. NATURA V, : NATURAL SCENKKV AM) ("KLrjiRATFJ) RI'.SORTS. 105 'I he one unfortunate tliin;4 pertainin^f to thcni is the character of tln' iiaines which tlicy have received. They are known as the Oiiuossoc i tin; original Kangeley), Cupsuptic, Mooschicmaf^untic, Molechunkanuink, \Velokeiuul)a- took, and Umba^o^. The latter is partly in New Hampshire, and aloni; its southern shore ajjricultural operations have been conniiencetk In tlie valley of the Ma^^dloway River, one of the connecting streams, and afound a con- siilerable portion of Oipiossoc Lake, there are also a j^ood many farms. The lemainder of this lar;4e territory remains in its orifjjinal condition of a wilderness. While the ret^don of the Ran^eley Lakes is very beautiful and will prove attractive to all lovers of Nature, it is especiall}' adapted to meet the wants uf those who like to spentl a considerable portion of tlieir time in huntin;,; and fishinij. There a/e several Ljood hotels, thou> .i:l: I > ' t'Mli, i 1 ^ ijjJBji >n h [i llll '] '';,'l|ffi ^ ';:V(P '->. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 2.8 I.I 1.25 it 1^ 1.4 25 li 2.0 1.8 Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 145*0 (716)872-4503 ? f/ 6 S :. I. »:; I ■!e river in this long distance is only five feet. Large steamers pass as far as Hudson, 1 16 miles up the river, and boats of considerable size are able to reach Troy, six miles above Albany. Beyond this place, sloops and smaller craft pass to Cohoes, which is the liighest point to which the river is navigable. Between Hudson and Albany there are various obstructions, principally caused by shifting sand, which interfere with rapid navigation. To remove these obstacles the State of New York has at various times made large appro- priations, and the United States government has expended more than $1,500,- 000. The United States also has erected more than twenty light-houses along the banks of the river. Above the point to which the river is navigable, the scenery along the shores is beautiful, and in many places romantic. Theie are also various rapids in the river and near Sandy Hill, about fifty miles north of Albany, are Glens Falls, which are well worth a visit. Here is a deep and wild ravine, 900 feet in length, through which the river rushes over a rocky bed down a descent of fifty feet. Not only is it a picturesque locality, but it also has an interest to a multitude of readers from the fact that it was the scene of some of the important incidents in Cooper's famous novel, "The Last of the Mohicans." The place has been well fitted up as a summer resort and is quite popular with a large number of visitors. As the region of the Adirondacs is entered the scenery is pleasantly diversified and in many places is extremely picturesque and delightful. Many thousands of tourists who take a trip up the Hudson do not go be- yond the point which gives the most convenient access to the Catskill Moun- tains, which have become a sort of Mecca to pilgrims on the Hudson, whether from the South or the North. Still, large numbers wisely extend the trip from New York to Troy. Unfortunately, many of these tourists have but little time at their command and are consequently obliged to pass many interesting places and a great deal of beautiful scenery unnoticed. The trip along the Hudson can be made either by rail or by boat- If ■|«j; r^'* "m ! til |!i Hi 3:' !■/' *!ii^ i io8 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 'all M made by daylight the latter will give the most extensive views. Several steamers leave New York daily, except Sunday, for various points up the river — some of them going as far as Troy. On the east bank, the New- York Central and Hudson River Railroad runs from New York to Albany, while on the west bank the West Shore Railroad takes passengers to thi; same city. Passing up the river on one of the large steamers, said to be the finest and the fastest which ply upon American inland waters, the tourist will obtain excellent views of New York City and harbor, of Jersey City, and of various suburbs. Soon the Palisades will appear on the western shore. This re- markable line of precipices, rising from 300 to 500 feet in height, is composed of trap rod: and extends for a distance of about twenty miles. Upon the summit is a fine growth of forest trees. Upon this lofty height may be seen Fort Lee, which stands upon the site of an old Revolutionary fortification. Fifteen miles from New York, on the east side of the river, is the Convent of St. Vincent. Two miles beyond, on the same side of the river, is the large and growing town of Yonkers. At the end of the Palisades is Piermont. It is on the western shore, and is a terminus of a branch of the Erie Railroad. Its principal feature is a pier a mile long, which runs from the shore to a point at which the water is deep enough for large steamers. About three miles distant is the historic town of Tappan, at which Washington at one time had his headquarters and which was the place of execution of the unfortunate Major Andre. Beyond Piermont the river becomes much wider and assumes the form of a lake, which is called Tappan Zee. Its extreme width is about four miles and its length is nearly ten miles. On the east bank of this broad expanse of water, and about twenty-three miles from New York, is the little town of Irvington. This place derives its fame from the fact that here Washington Irving spent the last years of his life. His little cottage, " Sunnyside " still remains and is "one of the shrines of American pilgrimage." It stands upon the bank of the river, but the surrounding trees and shrubs hide it from the sight of parties on the boat. The east wrll is covered with ivy which has grown from slips presented by Sir Walter Scott, and planted by Irving's own hands. A short distance above is Tarrytown, a favorite summer resort., and famous as the place at \.hich M?;or Andre was captured. A valley, lying a little north of the town, through which flows the stream known as Mill River, is the original of the Sleepy Hollow with which Irving made the English-speak- ''Ik '!■'. ■»' .!, .1 1 :'. m\ w im mmm§ :>-Cm i''ik-?^ i^i :i : ' ! H'., i mMm ■( ♦? m IV': i'm \m iim rm llmt^ •M.M Hi!, ^W1 ■ im- m^:. fj) :{ 4 m '.m^ '-ill! ■■f r'., _. ' ■■ i ■ ■ • :^M no THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: ing world acquainted. The stone bridge referred to in the story of Ichabod Crane still remains, as does the Dutch church, which was built in 1699, and which is the oldest building in the State used for religious purposes. In the cemetery belonging to this church and located in Sleepy Hollow is Irving's grave. In Christ Church, of which Irving was one of the wardens during his last years, is a handsome tablet, which has been placed there to commemorate his virtues, and perpetuate his fame. Opposite Tarrytown is the beautiful town of Nyack, which is principally built on the river bank, but has many fine residences on the wooded hills which lie just back of the main part of the town, and rise above it to a con- siderable height. The large building on the bluff just south of the town is known in winter as the Rockland Female Institute, but in the summer it is used as a boarding-house, and is called the Tappan-Zee House. A little farther up the river is Rockland Lake, a pretty sheet of water lying among the hills, and of special interest to the inhabitants of New York City, from the fact that from this lake a large part of their ice supply is obtained. The lake itself is not seen from the boat, but a large pier from which the ice is loaded, and numerous storehouses, indicate its vicinity. Almost directly across the river from the lake is Sing Sing. The peculiar name comes from an Indian word signifying a " stony point." The town is most widely known as being the seat of one of the State Prisons. This cele- brated institution is located about three-fourths of a mile south of the village. The main building is nearly 500 feet long, is five stories high, and " accom- modates " 1,200 persons. Instead of the high walls by which prison grounds are usually inclosed the place is guarded by armed sentinels. But without regard to this somewhat exceptional feature of a popular resort the town is one of the most beautiful in the country, and is a desirable place for the tourist to visit. It is built on sloping ground, some of the streets being more than 200 feet higher than others which run parallel with them, and com- mands a magnificent view of the Hudson at its widest, and also one of its most beautiful points. Tappan Zee lies spread out in all its beauty below, and another broad expanse of the river, known as Haverstraw Bay, is in full view ju.'y: above. Across the river Mount Taurn rises to a height of 640 feet, Nyack, Stony Point, and several other villages and towns are easily seen, and numerous other features add to the general attractiveness of the landscape. The Croton aqueduct is also an interesting point. The stone arch which supports the aqueduct has a span of eighty-eight feet and is over eighty feet n NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. iii above the water of the Sing Sing Kill. The town contains several important schools, fine church edifices, and many beautiful residences. Four miles above Sing Sing, Croton Point separates the Tappan Zee from the similar expansion of the river known as Haverstraw Bay. This penin- sula, now noted for its splendid vineyards, was formerly known as Teller's Toint. It is the place where the Vulture was to remain for Major Andre V hile he negotiated for the betrayal of West Point by the traitor Arnold, but from which position, fortunately for the colonists and the cause of liberty, she was driven by a few zealous patriots with an old iron cannon which carried only a six-pound ball. Here the Croton River, from which the water supply of New York City is obtained, joins the Hudson. A dam across the stream, six miles from its mouth, converts it into an artificial lake. The dam is 250 feet long, seventy feet thick at the bottom, and forty feet high. From this lake an aqueduct more than forty miles in length conducts the water to the city. The capacity of the aqueduct is from two million to two and one-half million gallons of water per hour. The lake is easily reached by team from Sing Sing, or Croto , and attracts many visitors. On the western shore of Haverstraw Bay is the town of Haverstraw. Here, on " Treason Hill " stands the house in which Major Andr6 and Bene- dict Arnold arranged the terms for the betrayal of West Point. This house now does service as a summer boarding-hcuse. On the shore of the river there are valuable banks of clay, and several miles of brick yards in which vast numbers of bricks of the finest quality are made every season. So valu- able are these beds of clay that the West Shore Railroad follows a circuitous course to avoid crossing them. In the neighborhood of Stony Point are some limestone cliffs from which immense quantities of lime are obtained. This town also has historical associations, having been the scene of a hard- fought battle during the Revolutionary War. The fortifications then secured by the British were afterward retaken by the Americans without a blow. A lighthouse now stands on the ground formerly occupied by the magazine of the old fort. On the opposite bank, and a little above Stony Point, is Peekskill, a small but pretty town, located on the steep hill which rises from the river. It received its name from Jan Peek, a Dutch explorer, who settled here, in 1764. For a while during the Revolution, General Putnam had his headquarters here and Washington also remained here a short time. To the present generation it became somewhat noted as the summer home of the late Henry Ward Beecher. East of the town, and some 900 feet above the ', *■ ■ li m : m i*' ::i'',.! i.^'l JIT T J- .1 i ^♦f;.u>;),i3 ■ i' ^.ii^n ni' i 'A THE ( I ivcr, is Lak picturesque rt in the vicinit Mountain, th< from New Yj From this Highland rcg valid claim i BO! i ^!^ t^ / ■ claim that i1 In the nr West Point. l6o feet abc distance to the locality of the most specimens ( tions. Th( the various- THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OE OUR KErUBLlC. 113 liver, is Lake Mohcnsick. Tiic distance is about six miles, through a jiicturesquc region. The hike is a beautiful sheet of water, and the scenery ill the vicinity is delifjhtful. Nearly opposite Pcekskill lies Dunderberg Mountain, the first peak of the celebrated Highlands reached in the journey from New York. From this point, for a distance of fifteen or twenty miles through the Highland region, the scenery is magnificent. Its beauty gives the Hudson a NORTHKRN HNTRANCK TO THE HIDSON HKilllANOS. valid claim to the title of " The Rhine of America," and fully justifies the claim that it is unsurpassed by any river-scenery in the world. In the midst of the Highland region is the famous Military Academy at West Poir.t. This t^wn is on the west side of the river, on a plateau some 160 feet above the bank, with still more elevated points lying at but little distaoce to the west. On account of the school, the historic association of the locality, and the magnificent views which it presents. West Point is one of the most noted resorts in the State. Some of the buildings are very fine specimens of architecture, and have many interesting features and associa- tions. The Museum contains a large collection of relics, models, trophies of the various wars in w'lich the country has engaged, and numerous other r:« \. -! ; 1 f -n™p4';,,i'W ^t im 114 Tm<: GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. articles of intcicftt. From the ruins of Fort Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, a splendid view may be obtained. There are many beautiful walks and drives in the vicinity and large and fine hotels furnish ample accommoda- tions for visitors. In the rivcr, a little distance above the town, is Constitu- tion Island, on which Elizabeth Wetherell (Miss Susan Warner), author of " The W^ide, Wide World," " Queechy," and other famous novels, had her home for many years with her younger sister, Anna, who wrote many popu- lar stories under the name of Amy Lathrope. Cornwall, a small but beautiful town on the west bank of the river, is probably the most popular of all the summer resorts on the Hudson. Here are many beautiful and fruitful vineyards and delightful scenes open tn the eye in every direction. From this point Storm King, the last and one of the highest peaks of the Highlands, can be reached. From the summit, 1,529 leet above the sea, a wide and magnificent view is obtained. In the village are several large and well-kept hotels. The place is of interest to people with literary tastes from the fact that Idlewild, the home of the late N. P. Willis, is on one of its beautiful elevations. Here, too, the late Rev. E. P. Roe wrote r.early all of his wonderfully successful novels, and also gave an impetus to the business of small fruit culture which has been of immense benefit to all the region around as well as an indirect advantage to the country at large. Four miles above Cornwall, and nearly sixty miles from New York, is the historic city of Newburg. It is located on a slope rising some 300 feet above the river, has about 18,000 inhabitants, is beautiful in itself and commands fine views of other localities. The old stone house in which Washington for a time had his headquarters in the War for Independence still remains, and is now owned by the State. This house was built in 1750 and contains a large number of interesting relics. It is freely opened to the public. From this place the proclamation disbanding the army was issueil, and at a little distance is a monument erected jointly by the United States and the State of New York to commemorate the successful termination of the Revolution. Immediately across the river is F'ishkill. Immense ferry boats, each large enough to take a full train of cars at a trip, ply between the two places. Here the W^est Shore road connects with the New York and New England Railroad, which has its western terminus at Fishkill. This gives a through line to Boston by way of Hartford, and passes through several im portant manufacturing centres. Abov^ Newburg the scenery Is charming, but presents no very imposing IM I '; KKWBURGII, N. Y.', 8CENK8. ' r i ■ I I MM' I if 13. irr. TIIL GKKAT WONDI^RLANDS OF OUR RIU'UHLIC: features. The rc^jioii is celebrated for tlie immense (jiiantity and excellei ' quality, as well as for the jjreat variety of fruit which it produces every yea . At i*out,'hkeei)sie, seventy-five miles from New York, there are lar^e mam facturin^f and commercial interests. The plain on which the city is built risi . some 200 feet aho\'- the river, with a ran^'e of high hills in the rear. TIin elevated and protected location renders the name, derived from an Indiai, word meaning " a safe and pleasant place," singularly appropriate. In earl) times considerable latitude was allowed in the manner of spelling the nanu. It is asserted that in existing records it is spelled in forty-two different ways. The city is noted for its educational intetests. Vassar College, the largest among the female colleges of the countr)-, is on a beautiful and elevated site about two miles east of the city and attracts large numbers of visitors as well as students. There are half a ilo/eii other impoftant institutions of learniiiL; and many fine i)ublic and private buiklings. A little north of the city aii the large buildings of the State Lunatic As)'lum. The great railroad bridgi' across the Hudson, which connects New England with t!ie coal regions of Pennsylvania, is well worth)' a visit. Including the appro.Aches, it is about one ;ind one-thirti miles in length. In its construction about 1 5,cxdo tons of steel and more than 6.000 tons of iron were used. It is built in the cantilever style antl its construction is one of the great engineering feats of the age. The end spans and the centre span give a clear space to the water of 160 feet, while the others rise 130 feet above the surface. From the water to the top of the rail is 212 feet. This bridge is one of the finest and strongest ever built. Across the river from Poughkeepsie is New I'altz Landing. It is reached by a ferry, and from it a line of stages runs to the beautiful Lake Mohonk, in the Wallkill Valley region. Passengers on the West Shore Railroad, 01 on the Erie, going up the west bank of the river, reach New Paltz by rail and from thence go to the lake by stage or private conveyance. Kingston, 88 miles from New York, is an interesting place, and is also a favorite point of departure for the Catskill Mountain region. Directly oj)posite is Rhinebeck Landing, Here may be seen the Beektnan House, erected nearly 200 years ago and said to be the most perfect specimen of the old-fashioned Dutch homSstead now remaining in the Hudson River Valley. Catskill, no miles above New York, on the west side of the river, is a famous summer resort as well as a point from which passengers leave for the Catskill Mountains. Hudson, a few miles further up the river, and on the cast bank, is built upon a rocky cliff and extends up the slope of the hill to a point 500 feet above the NATURAL SCKNICRV AND CICLKHRATKl) RKSORTS. 117 river. From the hit;l> ^'rouiul spktulid views of the Catskill and otiicr moun- lains may be obtaiiicii. I*'ivc miles away, in the Chiverack V'allcy, is the (|iiict and pleasant resort known as Cokimbia Sprinjjs. There is a beautiful lake near by offering excellent opportunities for boating' and fishing'. Not f.ir tlistant are the Claverack Falls, where the water passes over a precipice ninety feet hij;h, and the scenery jjresents many picturescpie featun.-s. VIEW OK THE TIRK S I'.Vl E UN TllK UIDSON. At Albany the visitor finds one of the oldest settlements by Europeans in the United States. It has been an incorporated city more than 200 years, and the permanent capital of the State for more than ninety years. It is lo- cated on the west bank of the Hudson and extends for more than three miles and a half along the river. The ground is very low along the shore, but gradually rises until it reaches a tableland 150 feet high a few miles west, thus giving, when viewed from the east, a splendid presentation of its public and f I ••:! '■'t I ( ! t tA '' t; '/if Ji(.i|'' ;;'i':j! I -i :li ii \W I ''t' ii8 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. private buildings. Of the many objects of interest the new Capitol buildinj; easily holds the first rank. This enormous structure will cost, when com pleted, about $20,000,000. More than $.2,000,000 were required to complete the foundations and the walls of the basement. The building is 390 feet long, 290 feet wide, and four stori..i high. The corner stone was laid in 1871. With the e.xception of the National Capitol at Washington, this is considered the finest public building in the country. It is an interesting fact that on the banks of the Hudson that curious relic of the Middle Ages known as the Feudal System was established soon after the settlement of this nominally free country and continued in existence for a long period. Large tracts of land were granted to various partie.>5, who were known as patroons. In the vicinity of Albany a grant of a tract of land, twenty-four miles square on both sides of the Hudson was made to the Van Rensselaer family in 1629. The lands thus obtained were leased by the patroons to settlers, who paid them a certain fixed rental each year, either in cash or in the products of the soil. The system, though nominally done away in 1787, was not entirely abandoned until after the political party known as the Anti-renters, in 1846, secured the insertion of a clause in the State Constitu- tion abolishing feudal rights and tenures and prohibiting the leasing of land for farming purposes for a longer term than twelve years. The old manor- house of the Van Rensselaer family is still standing and there are various other buildings in the older part of the city which have an interest to the tourist as well as to the antiquarian and the historian. .A.t Troy, the final landing place of the boat and the last point to visit on the trip, the tourist will find various educational institutions, many beautiful buildings, and several large manufactories. But the chief point of interest will be Oakwood Cemetery, and a visit thereto will be well repaid. This Cemeterv is located on high land, from which may be obtained a splendid view of the Mohawk Valley and cf the falls at Cohoes. Within the inclosure are the graves 01 two Major-Generals of the United States army — George H. Thcmas and John E. Wool. The obelisk erected as a monument to General Wool is seventy -five feet high and is said to be the largest stone taken out of a quarry during the last \.ooo years. '"■ill THE ADIRONDACS. HE Adirondac region lies in the rtheastern corner of the State of New York. Thirty years ago it was almost entirely unknown. At the present time, although mainly a wilderness, it is a very popular summer resort. It is a vast plateau extending from the St. Lawrence River on the northwest nearly to the Mohawk River on the south, and to Lake George and I nke Champlain on the east, and lying about 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. It is crossed from southwest to northeast by five ranges of mountains. Several of the peaks are about 5,000 feet in height and Mount Marcy reaches an altitude of 5,370 feet. Though there are peaks in New Hampshire and in North Carolina which rise to a greater height, the general elevation of the Adirondacs is greater than that of any chain east of the Rocky Mountains. These mountains form the watershed between the St. Lawrence River and the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. Among them, at an elevation of about 3,000 feet, the Hudson has its rise. At only a short distance from this point, which is in the Indian Pass, one of the wildest portions of the region and to a great extent still unexplored, are the springs of the Ausable River, which flows into Lake Champlain. Though starting close together, the waters of these rivers are hundreds of miles apart when they reach the Atlantic Ocean. The most beautiful river in the region is the Raquette, rising in Raquette Lake and flowing a distance of 120 miles until it reaches the St. Lawrence. In this region there are said to be more than 500 mountains. Only a small portion of them have yet been named. E.xcept at the summits of those which rise above the timber line, these mountains are covered with heavy forests. On the lower lands there is also a dense growth of trees, largely evergreens, which at many points are almost impenetrable. In the woods, and especially upon the mountains, various kinds of game abound. There are some ferocious animals as well as deer and several fur-bearing animals. The number of lakes and ponds in the Adirondacs which have received names and been definitely located exceeds 1,000. They vary in e.xtent from an area of a fevv acres to a length of twenty miles. The general elevation of these lakes is some 1,500 feet above the sea level, but many of them are much higher, and at least one, Lake Perkins, lies at an altitude of over 4,000 feet. mi i i; liiUf !i ■%}l "■ • ■■ ' ■Si'. m -i 120 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. The shores of these hikes are covered with rank grass and aquatic phmts and tlieir waters are liberally stocked with fish of good size and fine varieties. The largest lakes are the Saranac, Raquette Schroon Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, Long Lake, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, and the chain of Eulton Lakes. Travelling throughout the region is largely done by means of small boats. The lakes are connected by rivers and small streams. A guide is needed for the double purpose of leading the way and carrying the boat where sailing is impracticable. Camps will be found at various points and in the most fre quented sections hotels have been erected. Within a few years railroads have been constructed and stage lines established, and it is now compara- tively easy to reach the most popular portions of the region. The Adirondac Railroad from Saratoga to North Creek leads directly into the district. The Chateaugay Railroad from Plattsburg, lying on Lake Champlain, reached from New York by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company Railroad, runs to Saranac Lake. From Boston the tourist reaches Burlington by the Ver- mont Central Railroad and crosses the lake by a steamer to Plattsburg. The general aspect of the Adirondac region is said to closely resemble that of the Highlands of Scotland and the more elevated regions of Switzer- land before they were settled. There are areas of considerable extent which no white man has ever trave.. jd and in which " untamed nature in all its purity " holds undisputed sway. Throughout the vvhole region the scenery is wild and romantic and we can easily believe the assertion of experienced travellers that it has " no parallel in the world." THE REGION OF THE CATSKILLS. HOUGH somewhat separated from the main line, the Catskills be- long to the great Appalachian range of mountains, which extend, in a southwesterly direction some 1,300 miles from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the State of Alabama, and which throughout their entire course are but a comparatively short distance from the Atlantic coast. The Cats kills lie principally in Greene County, N. V., rising from a plain about ten miles wide on the west bunk of the Hudson River. One of the principal points, and for many years the only place of departure for the interior of the mountain region, is Catskill, 1 10 miles from New York City, and itself a famous summer resort. Situated on the west bank of 'T: 'I r h %\ '}/I If .|,,:t ' 'S> ■3MH E V f1^ ■'• -um »:^.i *ih' MO;;, ■S ',i<,f '<■•';' :.'i.l' ir »i '5 ii^: A VIK.W IN TIIK CATSKILLS. 122 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC; .f;t'4ji tm m the river, at the mouth of Catskill Creek, it long ago became known as the "Gem of the Hudson," and although many new rivals have been brought to public notice it still maintains its popularity. The beautiful and varied scenery, the plains and cliffs, the forests interspersed with cultivated fields, the mountain-brooks and the quiet glens, combine to make it a place for rest and peace. In this town Thomas Cole, the famous painter, lived for many years, and here, in 1848, he died. It was while residing here that the two series of his celebrated allegorical pictures entitled " The Voyage of Life," and " The Course of Empire," were painted. While Catskill is a most attractive place, and in some portions very quiet, the town is also quite a business centre, a fact which makes it a favorite resort of city people •who desire to find rest and refreshment, but who also wish to remain in close connection with the active affairs of the world. It is a point from which either the mountains or the city can be very easily and quickly reached. The opening of new railroads has made it easy to reach the resorts in the Catskills from Kingston, also on the west bank of the Hudson River. This city, eighty-eight miles from New York, is readily reached from that point by the West Shore Railroad on the west side of the river; by the New York Central and Hudsoil River Railroad on the east side, connecting at Rhinebeck with Rondout, a suburb of Kingston, by a steam ferry; or by steamer up the Hudson. Kingston was settled by the English in 1614. Here the State Constitution was adopted and the first Legislature of the State of New York was convened. The old house in which the Constitution was written is still standing. In 1872 the villages of Rondout and Wilbur were incorporated with Kingston as a city. Here the Delaware and Hudson Canal has its eastern terminus. Through this canal 1,500,000 tons of coal are brought every year. From this port enormous quantities of blue flagging stones for paving the sidewalks of New York City arc annually shipped and here is located the largest cement manufactory in the United States. Rondout Creek, about a mile south of Kingston, is crossed by trains on the West Shore Railroad by means of a bridge a fourth of a mile long aiid 195 feet above the water. Just beyond the bridge the train passes through a tunnel 400 feet in length. From this point it is only a short distance to the. fine Union Depot, built in the Queen Anne style, which is used by the West Shore, the Wallkill Valley, and the Ulster and Delaware railroads. It is at Kingston that the traveller passing up the Hudson by the West Shore Railroad gains his first clear view of the Catskills. Leaving this ancient town by the Ulster and NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 123 Delaware Railroad he can pass to the very centre of the mountain region, where the breezes are fresh and cool, and the most beautiful scenery greets the eye in whatever direction it may be turned. From time immemorial the Catskills have been famed for their beauty and grandeur. Before the advent of the white man the Indian rejoiced to gaze upon their massive forms and feast his eye upon their wondrous beauty. He imagined thit in this glorious region was the home of the Great Spirit who ruled the Universe, and he looked with awe upon the peaks which to his un- taught mind were the visible dwelling place of a Being who was clothed with the glory and mystery of a mighty power of which he saw many evidences, but which he could in no-wise comprehend. To him they were the " blissful regions," the land of rest and peace. The early Dutch settlers also had a certain degree of superstitious reverence for this locality. They imagined that from the beautiful heights the soul of Henry Hudson watched with joy and pride the ceaseless flow of the magnificent river which he discovered and which bears his honored name. And when Washington Irving, the first and foremost of the great American writers of fiction, wove the various legends of the section into his charming tales, he attracted the attention of the Eng- lish-speaking world to the manifold beauties of the region and gave to the Catskills, as well as received for himself, a deserved and an enduring fame. The proximity of the region to New York, and the ease with which it can be reached from the principal points in the Eastern and Central States, unite with its wonderful natural attractions to make it a favorite summer resort for multitudes of the residents of these sections. Yet, while close to the great centres of civilization and easily reached by parties who need rest as well as recreation, the Catskill region to a great extent maintains its primitive simplic- ity. Large hotels are numerous, boarding houses abound, many beautiful private residences have been erected, and there are various centres of business life and activity. But close to these are quiet walks and silvery streams, the beautiful trees and the towering mountain peaks, and the peace and quiet of nature unchanged by man. The mountain roads pass through a wonder- ful variety of scenery and at many points seem to bring the traveller to a " fairy land." Those who long for the life and gayety of fashion will find a" they desire at the large hotels, while those in search of rest can readily find quiet and peaceful homes. There is room enough for all and nature spreads her beauties and her glories with a lavish hand for all who come. Though none of the mountains rise to a great height, the views from many J- 111 m ' w li'M i' ' 3IMV-' '' I'l'-'-'? •CM ■ ■■^: m ■•I. ■>'i ■^ if Mi 8'' '(ii ^sd- ^1/ ' ■ i ' '' *'. ri ■ , 124 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. of the peaks are really iriajjnificeiit. Not only is the adjacent region spread out to view, but far outlying localities can be plainly seen. From some points the Hudson River and the fruitful valley through which it flows can be seen for nearly a hundred miles. They form a picture of beauty which once be- held will never be forgotten. The highest point is believed to be the Slide Mountain, which reaches an altitude of 4,220 feet above the tide level. It is near the centre of the Catskill region and is one of a group of not;i- ble peaks. Several of the hotels of this region are located from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea. From many lower points, as tvell as from the higher elevations, splendid views may also be obtained. Indeed, so numerous and varied are the attractions of the landscape that, go where he will in all this section, the tourist will Pnd a scene of beauty constantly open before him. The several railroads and stage lines make it comparatively easy to reach any part of the re- gion, and a long distance can be ^ passed and many views obtained in a limited time, though it is far *^^ more satisfactory to move slowly and allow the pictures to become* indelibly impressed upon the MB] mind. Some of the railroads are f^t narrow gauge, and have very W'fj steep grades to overcome. In one case, there is a grade of 180 feet to the mile, while a rise of 140 feet in that distance is not uncommon. Even with these steep inclines it is often necessary to choose a v.'inding pathway, and make the running distance between stations several miles farther than it would be if a straignt line could be followed. Among the many points of interest in the Catskill region Sunset Rock is deserving of special mention. It is located in the Eastern Catskills, only a KAA ir.KSKII 1. lAI IS. % ^^- ^'*M M ■ ■' V"- '■ -■ ^■Cv^VV'-" I^^^^^^M VIKW ON LAKE MINNEWASKA. i mi i'h \: } I :i- m 'mmm ill! A.:"-. .l;::l! V '■'('■' :1i ^.^i.^....L ;-i mi ■iHI^ _.^, 'Ir' ■ml ?l 126 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: sliort distance from the famous Hotel Kaat'irskill, and overhangs the Kaatcr- skill Clove. It is a table rock with an almost perpendicular descent of 1,500 feet, while lying opposite is the K.aterskill High Peak, which rises in full view for its entire height of 4,000 feet. Looking down the Clove, the valley of the Hudson is seen spread out in wondrous beauty. At the head of the Clove Haines's Falls glimmer in the sun, while looking far inland the giant form of Hunter Mountain comes into view. The Clove itself is also one of the grandest features of the region. It is a ravine some five miles in length, at the head of which two rivulets unite. The stream thus formed flows rapidly to a point where a division in the mountain leaves an immense hollow forming a cata- ract of 180 feet, while just below are two falls of eighty feet and forty feet respectively. This cascade of 300 feet makes a wonderful scene of beauty in summer, and is said to be still more attractive in the winter when the sun- light is reflected by the ice, which in a multitude of fantastic forms beautifully decorates the falls. Overlook Mountain, which has been styled " the corner stone " of the Catskills, is also an important point of observation. From the hotel located here a fine view can be obtained, while from Grand View Rock, only a mile away, the outlook is beautiful beyond description, and is said by experienced travellers to be one of the finest in the world. The Hudson River can be seen for nearly loo miles, five ranges of mountains besides the Catskills are in full v.iew, as are also portions of seven different States. The range of vision is said to cover the vast area of 30,000 square miles. From the little observa- tory which has been erected at the top of Slide Mountain, in the Western Catskills, the view is also extensive and magnificent. The Berkshire Hills in Massachusetts, the Hudson River, and many mountains in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are clearly seen in the distance, while the Catskill region lies spread out in beauty and grandeur close at hand. Less imposing, but per- haps not less beautiful, views are to be obtained in many of the valleys of this " enchanted land." Beautiful drives and pleasant walks abound. The merry flow of the mountain streams, the beauty of tree and flower, and the silent grandeur of the adjacent peaks rearing their heads to the "ky, combine to form a scene of loveliness of which the beholder never tires. If more sombre scenes are desired, the deep gorges of the region, in which snow and ice remain during the entire year, their sides covered with rich, dark ever- greens which shut out the sun yet which point toward the light will give the thoughts a tinge of sadness and solemnity which brighter views do not impart. >'■■'• ■11 NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 127 In this wild region Nature can be seen in all her varied moods and the visitor can choose the asjject in which to him she shall appear. The sportsman, as wed as the admirer of natural b('auty, may here find abundant diversion ; excellent hunting and fishing being found throughout the .section. The routes from New York to the Catskills have already been men- tinned. From Boston this delightful region is easily reached by the Boston aiul Albany Railroad, or the Hoosac Tunnel Route, with their connecting north and south lines, while our Canadian friends who wish to visit it will find excellent accommodations on the Grand Trunk road with its connecting lines. Several recently constructed railroads have made all portions of the Catskill section easily accessible, and it is now possiblij to start from the Hudson, pass through the entire length of the region, and return in a single day. A less hurried trip will be found far more satisfactory, but even this brief visit will be remembered with joy as long as life remains. Lying a little to the south of the mountains, but properly noted in con- nection v.Ith the Catskill region, is the VVallkill Valley, which presents numer- ous beautiful scenes and through which a path can be found to many charming resorts. It is easily reached from Kingston by the Wallkill Valley Railroad. The fertiliiyof its soil as well as the attractions of its scenery made it a favor- ite locality with the early settlers of the country. It was discovered and set- tled by Huguenot refugees who fled from France to avoid religious persecu- tion. They cleared a portion of *the land, planted vines upon the hillsides, and made the former wilderness to " ^lossom as the rose." The town of New Paltz, on the east side of Wallkill Creek, and on the Wallkill Valley Rail- road, was settled in 1683. It still bears, after the lapse of two centuries with tiio tremendous progress which has been made and the vast changes which have taken place in all the civilized world, the impress of the quaint and in- dustrious toilers who here found civil liberty and freedom to worship God. Some of the houses which they erected are standing to-day, and afford a curi- ous contrast to the structures of modern times. From New Paltz the Shawangunk Mountains are in view and a stage route leads to their various places of interest. Sky Top, one of the highest peaks of the range, is an interesting as well as prominent feature of the land- scape. Near its summit is Lake Mohonk, a beautiful sheet of water, lying nearly 1,250 feet above the level of the sea. A carriage road has been con- structed by which the lake can be readily reached. The view from all the upper portion of the route is rich and varied, while the lake it£p'f, inclosed ' t; S .iC n- ! IX- yi^l] •■i!ig m 128 TlIK GRI:AT wonderlands Ol' Ol\i RKl'UHLIC. with riu j(l cliffs ami massive rocks, is woiulcrfiil in its placiil lovcl iiu Upon this mountain peak a fine hotel has been erectf.cl and many windin^r paths lead to the points from which the finest vi' r.ay be obtainetl. '1 he lake, thoiij^h comparatively narrow, is about h mile in len^'th, and the water, which is 80 feet deep, is always clear and cold. About six miles far- ther on, and also locateil on a mountain jeak, is Lake Minnewaska. 'lliis beautiful sheet of water is about 1,650 feet above the level of the sea and, like Lake Mohonk, is hemmed in by rocky walls. On Minnewaska Heights, a cliff overlooking the lake, two hotels have been erectetl, and from their wiii- ilows very fine and extensive views may be obtained. The Green Mountains of Vermont, the Berkshire lliiis of ALissachusetts, the Housatonic Moun- tains of Connecticut, the Catskills and several other groups of mountains in New A'ork, are all in sight, while many va!le\s, and lakes, antl rivers, with villages and towns, add their attractions co the general beauty. Only a short distance from these houses may be seen the Awosting Falls, where a small stream of water has a clear fall of 60 feet, while about half a mile farther on its course, by a series of beautiful and rapid descents, it drops to a level one hundred feet lower still. In the vicinity are many other places of interest, including several caves and bluffs, a magnificent forest of hemlocks, and the placid Lake Awosting; all of which are within easy reach and by the beauti- ful views which they present will amply repay a visit from tourists who find their way to this delightful region. • i,U SARATOGA SPRINGS. HE town of Saratoga Springs has long been famous as a summer resort and for at least a quarter of a century has held the position of " Queen " of the inland watering places in America. It owes its fame to the wonderful mineral springs which it contains and to the large and elegant hotels which have here been erected, and which are said to be more luxurious and magnificent in their appointments than those of any other watering place in the world. Of these hotels the United States accommo- dates about 2,000 people, the Grand Union 1,800, and Congress Hall 1,000, while several others care for from 250 to 750 each. At several of the hotels fine orchestras are kept throughout the season. In all there are more than 50 hotels and there are also a large number of boarding-houses. The town is THK AWOS'IINO FALLS. -,r 1 1; ill ^ i| •» f lii fl lit I fj ^ i 130 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: located in Sarato^ja County, New York, 1 86 miles from New York City, ^6 miles uortli of Albany, and 238 miles west and north of Boston. The nanio is from an Indian word meaniiij; "the place of the herrin^js," and was doul)! less sii|4j;ested by the sij;ht of larye numbers of this variety of fish which fur merly passetl up the Hudson River to Saratoj,'a Lake. The re^jion around the Sprin^js is also an historic locality. In 1693 it was the scene of conflict between the English and the French, anil in this vicinity the ^jreat battle of Saratoj^a was fought in 1777. The latter was not only one of the most im- portant battles in the struggle of the colonists for independence, but. on ac- count of its far-reaching results, is included among the fifteen decisive battles of the world. The mineral springs, and their value in the treatment of disease, were known to the Indians at a very early period. When Cartier, the French ex- plorer, was in the region of the St. Lawrence in 1534 he was told of the springs by members of the Iroquois tribe with whom he came in contact. But he did not visit them, and it is supposed that the first white man who ever saw the springs or tested the waters was Sir William Johnson. He was the first white resident in the region. He settled among the Mohawk In- dians, and by his kind treatment and fair dealings soon acquired their respect and confidence. One c? the v rious offices which he held under the govern- ment of Great Britain was that of superintendent of matters pertaining to the Indians in this vicinity. In 1767, during a period of illness, some of his Indian friends carried him to the High Rock Spring, and by the use of its water he was soon restored to health. The first framed house was built at the Springs in 1784 by General Schuyler and the first hotel in or about 181 5. The popularity of the waters rapidly increased and in 1826 their exportation in bottles was commenced. This business has assumed vast proportions and the waters of some of the springs are now sent to all parts of the civilized world. Several new springs have been discovered and a few have been opened by drills. There are now twenty-eight springs, from si.x of which the water spouts into the air. Among the most popular of the springs are the Congress, discovered in 1792; the Hathorn, discovered in 1868; the Empire, High Rock, and Columbian. Among the spouting springs are the Geyser, opened in 1870 by an artesian well 140 feet deep, and the Glacier, opened in 1 87 1 by boring a well to the depth of 300 feet. The different springs vary greatly in the chemical constituents of their waters, and the effects which they produce upon the human system. Some NATURAL SCENHRY AND CELKHRATKI) RESORTS. rji cniitain iodine, sulphur, and magnesia. Sumc also contain limu and others arc stronjjiy iniprcj^ii.^tcd witii iron. All arc charged with carbonic-acid j^as. 'I he waters of some of the sprin^js are cathartic in their action and are vahi- ;il)le for liver and kidiiey troubles, dyspepsia, and y«)ut. Those of other springs act as a tonic, while those of the remainintj classes seem to be useful in various other ways. The waters of some of these sprin^js are used for bathing;, and are very efficacious in certain forms of illness. For the diseases to tile treatment of which they are specially adapted these waters are among tlic most efficient curative agents yet discovered. Saratoga Springs is not less famed as a fashionable summer resort than it is for the medicinal cpiality of its waters. While many invalids frequent tiic place in search of health, the great majority of the visitors go merely for pleasure, which, if their purses are well filled, they can pursue here with less difficulty and greater success than they can elsewhere. Multitudes of the wealthiest and most fashionable people of the country spend a few weeks of the summer season at this beautiful retreat. The air is clear, splendid trees abound, the streets and avenues are well laid out, and the excellent roads leading in all directions into the country furnish beautiful and attractive drives. A camp of Indians is located near by and adds variety if not beauty to the scene. Saratoga Lake, lying four miles from Mie Springs, is a beautiful sheet of water and offers one of the finest courses for boating found anywhere. The fishing is also excellent. There are ample hotel accommodations, and the lake is a favorite place of resort both for day and evening parties. Only a short distance from the village there is one of the finest race-courses in the country. It is controlled by a local association, but is famous throughout the land for the brilliant races which have here been held. Many of the most noted horses in the United States have been speeded upon this track, and regular and largely attended meetings for racing are held during the months of July and August of each year. Saratoga Springs is also an excellent place from which to make excursions to various points, including the Saratoga Battle Ground, Lake Luzerne, in the Adirondacs, Lake George, Lake Champlain, and Mt. McGregor. The latter point is reached by the Saratoga, Mt. McGregor, and Lake George Rail- road. It is about 1,200 feet above the sea. The distance is 11 rniles and the trip is made in 40 minutes. From many points along the route very fine views of both the Catskill and the Adirondac mountains are obtained. At I I rif ':fm jyr iy- THE GREAT VV0NDP:RLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: the summit is a larijc liotcl and a park of 1,000 acres, with fine walks and drives. Witiiiii a siiort distance there is excellent fishinjjj and good boatinj. The scenery, including both the near and the more distant views, is divt'r-.i- fied and beautiful. The air is remarkably clear and pure. To large numhi is of people, especially to soldiers, the principal object of interest will be the ■cottage in which General Grant died, and which has since become the proj). erty of the State of New York. As already intimated Saratoga Springs is pre-eminently a pleasure resort. Quiet houses can be found in which one can rest, but the large hotels are the recognized centres of fashionable amusements. There " the days are given up to ease, and the nights to mirth and pleasure," and the season is a constant round of the gayest enjoyments. There are several newspapers and each of the leading religious denominations has one or more churches. The j)ernia- iient population is from 8,000 to 10,000 and the additional summer population ranges from 15,000 to 20,000. During the season, special and luxurious rail- road trains are run from several large cities, as Boston, Washington, Phila- delphia, and New York, to accommodate the large number of visitors uiio want to make the trip to the Sprin^js as quickly and as comfortably as pos- sible. LAKE GEORGE. ROM the day that Fenimore Cooper began describing the glories and emphasizing the historical associations of its vicinage, this beautiful sheet of water has possessed a remarkable interest for all Americans. No other similar resort has so much of historx-, of romance, of natural beauty, of the very essence of quietude ami repose, ami no other is so popular to-da)-. It is the inost democratic resort in the country, aiul its frequenters are thoroughly cosmopolitan. Unlike almost all other sum- mer recreation grounds, it ofTers equal opportunities to the rich and poor to enjoy its myriad advantages. It is not an exclusive resort for the wealthy, for beyond the extravagances of the ultra-fashionable class, one may obtain as much health-giving recreation and enjoyment out of the little as out of the much. On the one hand wealth can find just as many avenues for ex- penditure as at the most exclusive caravansery, and on the other the means that have to be estimated and counted frequently can secure an e(]ual amount NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEHRATED RESORTS. 133 iif invigorating larofit. The pure mountain air is free to all, the rare beau- tics of the lake and its surrounding scenery are open to all for the mere look- iiiL;; and the scrambler in the woods along the shore stands a fair chance of receiving more real benefit from the natural advantages of the place than he w ho pays a summer's income for a suite of rooms in the finest hotel. Camp- ing out is the favorite method of . oeking enjoyment at a comparatively small txpense, and in many respects it is the best. With few exceptions the numerous islands in the lake belong to the State, and camping parties are l)rivileged to locate on any of them. A trip up the lake at any time during "the season" will reveal hundreds of tents half hidden by the trees that line the shores, in which whole families pass the entire period of their annual outing. The lake lies partly in Warren and partly in Washington counties, N. Y., extends north-northeast and south-southwest, is thirty-six miles long, and CAMI'INC ON THE LAKE. from one to four miles wide. It is encircled by the foothills of the Adiron- \ VJ NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 135 and Rogers's Slide on the left. Beyond the slide the lake is narrow, and relatively devoid of interest till the boat approaches the landing at Baldwin, where two other attractions are found, Prisoners' Island, where the English confined their French prisoners, and Lord Howe's Point, where that olificcr landed his army previous to the attack on Ticonderoga, five miles distant on Lake Chaniplain. It will thus be seen that there is a vast amount of material for historical study and contemplation; and it may be accepted as trustworthy that the m m Hill ■It; ' I mm ■■■■'''' f'i. :. ■ ''Mi VIF.W ON LAKE r.F.nRC.E. narratives and traditions of local occurrences will furnish sufificient of the elements of romance and daring to cheer many a long winter evening. Heyond sailing, canoeing, mountain climbing, and the thousand and one time-killing employments of camping life, good fishing can be found at almor.t any point. The summer population of Lake George is now very large, and constantly increasing. Eighteen commodious hotels were scattered along its shore in icS88, none of which were able to shelter all the season guests, to say nothing of the transient ones. ^•J 'M I 1;' ■m^ "'':'if% iZM CHAUTAUQUA. LTHOUGH of a very different n. it are from most of the famous summer resorts, and managed upon unique principles, Cliautauqua attracts a large and a rapidly increasing number of visitors every summer. It is beautifully located on Chautauqua Lake, in the extreme wes- tern part of the State of New York. It is in the county of Chautauqua, which has the peculiarity of being bounded on two sides by the State of Pennsylvania. The lake is from one mile to three miles wide and is about 1 8 miles long. AHhough but a short distance from Lake Erie, it lies 726 feet higher than that large body of water and is about 1,400 feet above the ocean level. This is the greatest altitude of anj' navigable lake east of the Rocky Mountains, and with the exception of Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevadas, the highest on the continent. The lake itself is extremely beautiful and its surroundings are picturesque and charming. Steamers ply upon its waters and small boats may be had b)' those who prefer a more quiet or a more leisurely trip. On the shores of the Lake are several popular resorts. At the southern end is Jamestown, on the New York, Penns\lvania Railroad, connecting with the Erie from New York ('ity; and Lakewood, on the same railroad, is close by. Both have hotels and are charming places. Mayville, perhaps equally attractive, is at the northern end of the lake, and on the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia, and the Buffalo, Pittsburg and Western railroads. This place also has abundant accommodations for visitors. Between these places are Point Chautauqua, a popular Baptist resort, and Chautauqua, the celebrated educatioiial centre. Chautauqua is located on a point which pushes f)ut into the lake and which, to quite an extent, is still covered with forest trees. The original name of the place was Eair Point and for many years it was a famous local- ity for camp meetings. It is some 125 feet higher than the water of the lake. The ascent is gradual and the view from the elevation is delightful. In icS74 the grounds now occupied were jiurchased by the Chautaucjua Sunday-school As.sembly and since that date the place has been the recog- nized centre of a peculiar and important educational niovement. A portion of tlie forest was removed and buildings were erected. There has been an 0)1* THE GIvEAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR RF.PUBLIC. 137 increasing interest in the work of the association and the place has had a steady growth. Nearly 150 acres have been inclosed. Several hundred '■ cottages," many of them elegant houses, have been erected, together with stores, public buildings, places of recreation and amusement, and a hotel which cost $100,000. Electric lights have been introduced, water is obtained from the purest part of the lake, the streets are well laid out, the sanitary conditions are excellent, and in every respect the place compares favorably with older and far more pretentious resorts. But it is principally the intellectual and educational features which draw people to Chautauqua. As the headquarters of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle it has a strong attraction for many thousands of people who are pursuing the course of study prescribed by the managers of that organization. The School of Languages is also held here, as is also a Mis- sionary Institute and a Sunday-school Assembly. Secular educators have here their Teachers' Retreat and literary and scientific, as well as religious matters are kept prominently before the attention of visitors. The season at Chautauqua lasts for six weeks. Many lectures by some of the ablest men in their respective lines are delivered, numerous meetings are held, and studies are pursued. Interspersed with these are splendid con- certs, fireworks, illuminations, and many and various recreations. Improve- ment is sought as well as ; 'casure, and the large numbers who attend the ses- sions each year and the growing popularity of the resort indicate that the plan here adopted is both practical and profitable. 1:,! I '\i I r l':l ']'r ■m^ > J, -' ; ^:^*3>^^--^-- Kt' II . -iJ ausable chasm. UK wonderful chasm of the Ausable Rixer is reached by a delight- ful drive of about twelve miles from the cit\- of I'lattsburg, N. v., through a section of country that presents many natural ol). jects of curiosity and interest, l^cyond its weird scenerj-, the chasm derives an additional attractiveness from the fact that it is an isolated formation, wholly independent of, and disconnected from, any other similar panorama. The surrounding country is comparatively level. I-5ut here a slight depression and a wooded valley with gently sloping sides suddenly arrest the attention of the A SIlAkI' TURN. A LATI-KAI KAVINE. tourist, without, however, giving indication of the extent or variet}- of the scenes close at hand. At a point about eight miles from Plattsburg and one mile from Keesville, the river makes a leap of twenty feet into a semicircular basin of rare beauty; and about a mile further on, and in a spot of the wildest scenery, it makes another leap, this time down a declixity of i6o feet, where it forms the Birmingham Falls. Still further on and nearly opposite the entrance to the chasm, it plunges over the Horse Shoe Falls, where great blocks of sandstone are piled on one another, assimilating the smoothest cut masonry. THE G I'rom the base .iiul maintains At the begir ncl not over tei from 100 to 20( Lower down a ward the lak< walls gradually ;i i)art till in |)laces there is tance betwi-en of fifty feet, an extend into a canal, with shar and occasion larL^ements for taiice of nearl miles. Later sures deep ar row, project fr main ravine at r i l;' h t a n g through one o the ab\'ss is by a stairway 203 steps. Tl mass of the formed of la sandstone, laic regular and order by the nature as to crevices of tl form, as if 1)1 or, from appa angles that i depths of th THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REI'UHLIC. 139 I'l-om the base of the falls the river bejjins to deepen and grow narrower, and maintains for a considerable distance an angry foaming. At the beginning of the chasm proper, the river is hemmed into a chan- nel not over ten feet wide by walls of rock that rise abruptly to a height of from 100 to 200 feet. Lower down and to- ward the 1 a k e , the walls gradually spread a ]) a r t till in some |)laces there is a dis- tance between them of fift)' feet, and then extend into a lateral canal, with sharp turns and occasional en- largements for a dis- tance of nearly two miles. Lateral fis- sures deep and nar- row, project frcMii the main ravine at nearly r i g h t a n g 1 e s , and through one of these the ab\-ss is reached !)}• a stairway of over 200 steps. Tlieen':ire mass of the walls is formed of lamina; of sandstone, laid in such regular and precise order by the hand of nature as to produce the effect of a grand architectural ruin. From the crevices of these walls, innumerable hardy pines and cedars rise in stately form, as if planted by man to heighten the artistic beauty of the landscape; or, from apparently less secure footing, threateningly project their trunks at angles that give them the appearance of being about to be drawn into the depths of the chasm by an irresistible power. Dark branches and darker LONG GALLERY. ■J ;;^: <«'l '^!^ tUl i :4i, 140 TIIR (iRKAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: sliculows thus lie athwart the ^orge, suggestive of the additional charm of rugged-nature clanger. The trip through the chasm may be made either in a small boat, which is much preferable, or on foot and with absolute comfort, as the distance is uni sufficient to entail more than a healthful amount of fatigue. A boat rii'u over the last half-mile is one of the pleasantest features of the excursion, aiul the novel sensation of shooting the rapids and floating over unknown doptln is something long to be remembered. The chasm is owned by a company. h\ whom stone walks with substantial iron railings, firm bridges, and safe ami commodious boats have been provided. CHATEAUGAY CHASM. F the thousands of tourists who visit the Adirondac re- gion of New York State each season, and content themselves with camping, climbing, and hunting, would extend their journey a little further north- ward than has heretofore been customary, they would find am- ple recompense in the vistas of rugged grandeur that are dis- played in the marvellous chasm of the Chateaugay River. The locality is just within the \\cst- ern boundary line of Clinton County, due west of Plattsburg, and north-northeast of Lyon Mountain. Norway Mountain rises on the southeast, Rand Hill is directly east, Owl's Head, in Franklin County, west. The vicinity com- prehends a number of lakes and large ponds, chief among which are Chateaugay POINT LOOKOUT. y'^t ■' NATURAL SCENERY AND CRLEHRATED RESORTS. 141 L.ikc, Lower Chatcuigay, which is geographically the upper, Ragged, Chazy, Mcachani, Leon, Silver, Branch Lakes, and Round and Ingraham Ponds. The chasm is about a mile and a h?\i north of the village of Chateaugay, and is reached by rail from Plattsburg, from the central and western portions (if New York by the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg Railroad, and from the latter city by the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad. The waters of the Chateaugay River and tlie two lakes of the same name find an outlet to the St. Lawrence River through a hilly country. At the oliasm the whole volume is forced through a narrow gorge, walled in on either side by high and perpendicu- lar clifTs, and with but one or two i)laces where a de- scent can be made in safety. i'Voiii the banks above splen- (liil and most interesting views may be had of the charming cascades and falls, and when the tourist has once gained the bottom suffi- cient attractions will be found to engage the atten- tion for hours. Ample pro- visions have been made to guard against accidents, and the descent is accomplished with but little fatigue, though in places it is very abrupt. After leaving the pavilion on the edge of the cliff and passing down the steps cut in the solid rock, the tourist comes first to a broad flat rock by which the river dashes over a high ledge which forms the upper or first falls, a cascade of considerable volume and much brilliancy. Above is seen the rugged masonry of sandstone blocks formed by the regular stratification of the natural deposit, with frequent irregular fissures and seams nearly at right angles with the strata. It is quite natural, in viewing such scenery, to allow CASCADE AM) HUTTRKSS. V 'I I :■ 'X I'".. '\ '■ -i '1' 'Ml ^1' 'Id. ■ Ti*'*'" 's mm ■V > WW i ; ;■ mmnm \ mm 1 .] : ^ t liil;**' ■■'■'■*'■ !<■• ^1^^ ':i<;i I 11? 142 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: the imagination to mould what rcall)- exists into forms and shapes that haw ,1 .-limilitudc to mystic creations. Just as one's fancy discerns tiic most j;frotesquc objects and structures in moon-illumined clouds, so here, but slijjht elasticit\' of imagination suffices to transform the rugged rocks that are really seen .m 1 ma\' be felt into far-off vistas of feudal buildings with mighty embattit 1 towers, arches, minarets, and the thousand and one architectural features of a lord's manor in the roman- tic days of King Arthur and his valiant knights of tlu' round table. Such is tlir character of Cathedral Rock, the Bastile on the left, aiiil the Niches of Jupiter on the right, all comparatively close to Vulcan's Cave. Tlie Niches and Cave are seen high up among the cliffs, as the tourist wends his wa}- still downward and along the narrow gallery of stone smoothed by nature, and past the rippling surface ci the stream, to a point where the gorge begins to widen, and where the fury of the water is somewhat calmetl ' / its extension in a wide, thin sheet over the sand- stone base that unites the two walls of the chasm. A little further on, the water that here sparkles in seeming rest glides down from one to another of a series of stone terraces, worn smooth by its own action in unnumbered years, seething and foaming at each interruption in its hasty progress, and sending up clouds of spray that exhibit in the sunlight a succession of iridescent bows spanning the verdure- clad walls. This sj)ot is known as Rainbow Hasin. Then passing close by the leaping waters down a natural stairway of nearly roo steps, formed by the stratification of the stone, the Giant Gorge is RAINBOW FAI.I.S — SPARTAN PASS. : i NATURAL SCENERY AND CELERRATED RESORTS. 14,? readied. I'ausiiig at the entrance a moment and lm Im': flfe-f •, *-' I. 'i / ■ !.i:i< . 11: 146 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. Minnehaha is one of the numerous beautiful cascades; it is irreguhir, ytl full of grace. The water, broken several times in its fall, is clashed into foam and spray, which forms a brilliant contrast to the dark, rocky surroundinL;s. About 100 feet beyond Minnehaha is the Fairy Cascade, which, with unr graceful bound, leaps into Neptune's Pool. For sublimity and grandeur Cavern Gorge is probably unsurpassed by any in the Glen. Near this beau tiful cavern is another, known as Cavern Cascade, which leaps 60 feet in a single column from the rocks above into what is known as the Grotto, which is a dark, damp, weird cavern. After t;merging from the dark chasm, we see before us silvery cascades, quiet pools, and moss-garnished walls overarched by stately forest trees ami thick shrubbery, with a broad light flooding the distance ; and far above through the emerald foliage, like a web of gossamer, is seen the beautiful iron bridge spanning the Glon. The beauty of the ft)liage is very impressive, and the vegetation is almost tropical. From this point along the verge of the gorge is a "new" pathway, with a fine stairway, broken bj' platforms re- cently erected, and which leads to the building known as the " Swiss Cottage," now a cottage of the Glen Mountain House, the only hotel connectetl with the Glen, which is locateti on a sort of natural shelf, 100 feet above the le\cl of the stream, and 200 feet above the level of Glen Alpha, overlooking The Vista, and nestling among the trees and shrubbery. Thousands of feet of pathway and many of the stairs are cut in the solid rock. A few rods above the Mountain House is situated Hope's Art Gallery, which was built by Captain J. Hope, late of 82 Fifth Avenue, New York, and contains a superb collection of more than 100 of his finest and most celebrated paintings. From this point Sylvan Gorge is not far distant. It is considered one of the wildest, most beautiful, and interesting portions of the Glen. A succession of little rapids and cascades leap into Sylvan Gorge, of which the upper termination is called the Sylvan Rapids, and they glide and dance very beautifully through iiieir irregular rocky channel. Here we have a delightful bird's-eye view down through Sylvan Gorge, with its many- windings and mysterious recesses. L-^oking upward we find ourselves in Glen Cathedral. All attempt at de- scription fails, and words are inadequate to paint a picture that would do this subject justice, or convey to the mind an idea of its grandeur. The Cathe- dral is an immense oblong amphitheatre, nearly an eighth of a mile in length. Here the Glen is wider than at any other point; the rocky walls tower to a I IP' pP Mi *^! ill;' III hi mi I ' ULE;* AIOLNTAIN HOUSE, WATKINS GLEN. 148 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC; ,- tic Hebrew once attempted to found "Ararat, a cit\' of refuge for the Jews," in which he hoped to gather all the Jews in the world. As it leaves Lakr Erie the river is about three-fourths of a mile wide, but below Grand Islanii it reaches a width of nearly three miles and, with its small islands and quirt surface, resembles a picturesque lake. Further down, by a contraction nf the channel and a fall of fifty-two feet in the bed of the river in a distance lA about one mile, the mighty current known as the Rapids is formed. Altho th ere is an immense vo lum e o f wat er and the river is of great depth, the uuli sur- face is always covered with a white foam. The rapids terminate in the fall.-^, the distance from Lake Erie being about twentv-two miles. The earliest printed mention of the falls was contained in an account of the explorations of Jacques Cartier in i 3J3' In 1613 Samuel de Champlain marked the location on a map of his voyages. But the earliest known de- scription of the falls -Aas given in 1678 by Father Louis Hennepin, a French missionary. With this description there was a drawing of the falls as they then appeared. A comparison of this sketch with the falls at the present time shows that they have undergone " feet hiL^h, anil which will be so hard as to almost wholl)- resist the erosive action of the water. To reach this sanil stone formation will, accordii;^ to the estimates of geologists, require a period of about lo.ooo years. At the falls the river is divided into two portions by Goat Island. This is a small tract of land about 150 rods long by 70 rods wide, and contains about 65 acres. It rises about 40 feet above the water and is one of the most beautiful spots in the vicinity. It is reached by an iron bridge, 360 feet in length, built upon piers. From this point a splendid view of the rapids is obtained. Between this island and the shore is Bath Island, a beautiful spot which in summer is covered with luxuriant verdure. At a little distance from Goat Island is a massive rock projecting to the brow of the falls. Many years ago a stone structure, some 20 or 30 feet in height, and called Terrapin Tower, was built upon this rock. It was reached from Goat Island by a brid;^ . and but for the feeling of insecurity which the visitor could not throw off it would have been one of the pleasantest places, as it was one of the TllK HKIDi-.K I.EAniNi; TO HATH AND COAT ISLAND. m mm ■"■H!l m Vi\''> 'i^;\ ■ (:■) •!' : !fifi?'i •!-iilf5i : ."ijsjsi *. '; 1 ;! '*( ill jl IJ 'iilfevi ^Li..y,.. fii:; ■.IS -k' 154 Till-: GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC : finest points of view, at the falls. The constant motion caused by the stcutK- fall (if such an enormous quantity of water, antl the gradual wearing awaj- if .., _., _. „ the face of the falls, at lenL;tii rendered it so manifesth- unsafe that it was destroytd with gunpowder. The width of the river at the falls is 4,750 feet, of which Goat Island occupit ^ » about I, oco feet. The width i of the Ainerican Fall is about r,l03 feet, broken, howevn, ,; by i\ small island, while tlir |i Canadian Fall is more than twice as wide. The line nf the latter, or Horseshoe Fall, is curved to such an extent as to make the mea- surement of the face of the fall much greater than the THE TFRRAPIN' TOWF.R, IlKSTROYED IN I873. distance from Goat Island to the shore in a straight line. On account ot the direction of the current, as well as the greater width of the channel, the quantity of water passing over the Canadian Fall is many times greater than that going over the Ameri- can side. The height of the precipice is 158 feet on the Canadian side and 167 feet on the American portion. The Horseshoe Fall has worn I away very much faster in the middle than it has near the outer edges and is rapidly assuming an angular form. On the American side also there is, of late years, a teji- dency to cut away in the middle much faster than elsewhere. By the falling of vast masses of rock the outline of the falls is frequently modified. Table THE OI.U 1 ABLE-ROCK. NATURAL SCLNERV AND CKLMHRATKI) RESORTS. 155 Rock, diKL' a VL'i)' prominent feature on the Canadian side, has entirely fallen i:i, though a spot near its former location is still called by that name. Other large portions have iallen in recent years, but the essential features of the fills remain i'*;;inpaired. From Goat Island there is a bridge leading to Luna Island, a mass of rock occupying an area of about three-fourths of an acre, which separates what is known as the Central Fall from the American Fall. Just beyond is a spiral stairway leading to the foot of the falls. This is known as the Riddle Stair- ua\- and received its name from Nicholas Riddle, president of the famous I'nited States Rank, by whose direction it was constructed. Ry this stairway access is gained to the Cave of the Winds. As already noted tlic rock near tile bottom of the falls is dis- solved and washed away much faster than is t h e h a r d e r rock near the top. This process of undermining seems to have gone on quite rapidly at the Cen- tral Fall, and tl,ie overhanging rock projects for quite a distance. The tre- mendous force of the current also throws the water many feet beyond the brink of the precipice. Thus there is left a sufificiently wide but a " rough, slippery, half-subtj.>rranean half-submarine pathway " by which one can go behind the vast torrent of water. Waterproof clothing must be worn and an experienced guide should be secured. The air is greatly compressed, the mist is heavy and the roar is terrific. The first view from beneath the falls is absolutely appalling. Rut when the instinctive feeling of fear has passed the scene appears magnificent beyond description. A plank road has been laid to rocks outside, and near the foot of the falls, from which point another splendid view may be obtained. From Goat Island bridges lead to the Three Sisters, a cluster of pretty little islands lying in the rapids. There are also islands nearer the Canadian shore. NIAGARA RIVER BKI.OW THE FALLS — THE CANADA SIDE. Is? ■'■m ■ ■ i\{ ■m .' ' ■> ' '■ ■ ,.■ ^■'. - 156 THE GREAT WONDKKLANlJS OF OUR REPUBLIC. In order to make free to the people of the world the wonderful attraction , of the falls, place and keep the ^'rounds in suitable conilition, and put an ciu! to the annoyances as well as the extortions to which \i: itors had been sub- jected, Governor Lucius Robinson sent a message to the Le^'islature of New York, in 1879, in which he recommended that the Sta'.e take possession of a suitable area of land in the vicinity and set it asidi- as a public park. Tii(. subject was a^jitateil until 1883, when commissioners were appointed to locate the lands which it seemed desirable to secure. The property designated in their report was appraised, by parties ajjpointed by the courts, at §1,433,42^.- 50, which sum was duly paid by the State. On the i^th of July, 1885. "The New York State Park at Niagara Falls" was opened tn the public w itli appropriate- ceremonies. The grounds, J which include Goat Island, with several smaller islands, and a strip along the bank of the river, comprise an area of about 107 acres. They are under the care of commissioners, who are authorized to maintain the property in good condition and make necessary improvements. The bank of the river has been terraced, fences, and barns, with other un- sightly objects, have been removed, a reception house has been built and vari- ous other means have been taken to promote the comfort of visitors, while an elevator at the Cave of the Winds is to be constructed, and certain other im- provements are either being made or will soon be effected. A railwa\- has been built from the park to the foot of the falls, and a steamer, called Maid of the Mist, crosses the river. From this little craft a splendid view of the falls may be obtained. Passengers in the car and the steamer are charged a small sum and there is a charge for a guide in the Cave of the Winds, but entrance to the park, and to all points of interest, is entirely free. NIACJAKA IKUM NKAR i UEENSTOWN llKKiUTS. laiJi- •':', ' •'! !^^. II ■•"; ••■'h:. i'''' m i :l Bf . I ,;.'< i?.s TIIF. GKKAT WONiniKLANDS OK OUR RIU'UBLIC: At ;i sonu'uh.it lati-r date measures were taken by the let;islature nf Ontario to sniire .i imhlic park on the Canadian sidi' of the falls. At'ti i so;m,' delay these efforts were successful, and on the 2Jil of June, 1SS7, tlw fjiiecn X'ictoria Ni.iLjara l'"alls i'ark was openeil without ceremony to tli • public use. Roaihva)s ha\e heen laid out, platforms built from which tn view the falls, .and an elevator has been constructed to take people from tlu' cliff to .1 bank So feet below. I-'rom the latter point access is «fained to the rieess behind the Horseshoe l''all. The stairs leadinjj to the foot of the falls are steep, but can be passed without much difficulty. Waterproof clothing; and a j^uide are re(iuired if one is to pass behind the fall. The air is so ^M'latly compressed that it is impossible to ^ro a lonjj distance in this direc- tion. This park contains iiS acres of land, is some two and a half niihs \i ' '■* *-T^T mif^^ f.-'M i*'. ..Pi •il iS " ;■: ■ ■lA!", i-i>; THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. HE St. Lawrence River is the volume of the overflow of Lakes Superior, Micl\gan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Its course is m a general northeaste-ly direction. From the point of its dcboiiclia- from Lake Ontario to the crossin