\\ Fron tispiece . THE YOSEMITR FAT.T THROUGH AMERICA; OR, NINE MONTHS IN THE UNITED STATES. . G. MARSHALL, M.A. ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS. NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION, SAMPSON LOW^MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET. 1882. [All rights reserced.j Co STANDARD LIBRARY OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE. Crown 8vo, uniform with this work, very numerous Illustrations ) price is. 6d. each volume. 1. The Great Lone Land. By Major W. F. BUTLEU, C.B. 2. The Wild North Land. By Major W. F. BUTLER, C.B. 3. How I found Living-stone. By H. M. STANLEY. 4. The Threshold of the Unknown Region. By C. R. MARK- HAM. (4th Edition, with Additional Chapters, ior. 6d.} 5. A Whaling Cruise to Baffin's Bay and the Gulf of Boothia. By A. H. MARKHAM. 6. Campaigning- on the Oxus. By J. A. MACGAHAN. 7. Akim-foo: The History of a Failure. By Major W. F. BUTLER, C.B. 8. Ocean to Ocean. By the Rev. GEORGE M. GRANT. 9. Cruise of the Challeng-er. By W. J. J. SPRY, R.N. 10. Schweinfurth's Heart of Africa. 2 vols. 11. Through the Dark Continent. By H. M. STANLEY, i vol., I2s. 6d. SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, Crown Buildings, 188, Fleet Street, London. Bancroli Library PREFACE. As the ground which is covered in the following pages has been often described before, I feel that some apology is due from me for submitting to the public a book of travel which will take the reader through scenes with the general aspects of which he is, probably, already sufficiently familiar. But America, with its vast natural resources, and with a population at once ingenious and enterprising, is, necessarily, in a continual state of development and change. For the traveller, therefore, who visits, even, the beaten tracks of such a country, there will always be plenty of fresh material to collect, and abundant opportunity for the enunciation of new views of old subjects ; and I venture to hope that in the endeavour to present a truthful account of actual ex- periences of travel in the United States, I may, perhaps, have gathered a few facts which will prove to be something more than mere personal reminiscences, and be interesting and valuable to the public at large. In the five chapters which are devoted to the Mormons and Salt Lake City, no attempt has been made to give a complete picture of Mormon life. What I have endeavoured to do has been to lay before the public some facts in con- iv Preface. nection with my visits to Utah in 1878 and 1879, which may be of service in exposing what can only be regarded as a monstrous social scandal a scandal which is, unhappily, strengthened and kept alive mainly by emigration from our shores, and which threatens, unless an effectual check is placed upon it by the Government of the United States, to exercise a very malevolent influence, in the future, upon the great Territories of the far West. I have been induced to write these chapters because I believe there is a common impression amongst English people that Mormonism is dying out. That such, however, is not the case, but that, on the contrary, the power of the Mormon Church is on the increase rather than on the wane, will, I think, be admitted after a perusal of the contents of Chapter XI. I should state that I have been particularly careful to substantiate the statements I have made respecting the Mor- mons their social life, public utterances, etc. And here I will take the opportunity of expressing my thanks to those gentlemen in Utah who, since my return from America, have kindly afforded me information upon certain matters as to which I was somewhat in doubt, and who, besides, have guaranteed the accuracy of certain statements con- tained in this volume which could not have been placed before the public without having been first properly authen- ticated. All the illustrations in this work have been specially drawn and engraved, and, with a few exceptions, have been executed from photographs, the work of engraving having been carried out by Mr. James D. Cooper, of the Preface. v Strand. My thanks are due to the following gentlemen for permission to use their views, port-raits, etc. : To Mr. H. Bencke, of New York, for his engraving of the bird's-eye view of New York and vicinity ; to Messrs. Scribner and Co., of New York, for permission to copy two illustrations from the St. Nicholas Magazine, namely those which I have placed on pages 29 and 265 ; to Messrs. E. and H. T. Anthony and Co., of New York, for their views illustrative of New York and the Hudson River ; to Mr. Frith, of Reigate (England), for two views which will be found on pages 21 and 50; to Mr. C. Davis, of Niagara, for his views of the Niagara Falls and Rapids ; to Mr. C. R. Savage, of Salt Lake City, for his views of Salt Lake City and neighbourhood, as well as for the portrait of Brigham Young, and the portraits of " pro- minent living Mormons ; " to Mr. G. S. Smith, of Salt Lake City, for his portrait of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mor- monism ; to Mr. C. W. Carter, of Salt Lake City, for his view of the Mormon Tabernacle which appears on the title-page also for the view of the interior of the Tabernacle, given on page 167 ; to Mr. Watkins, of San Francisco, for his views illustrative of the Pacific Railroad (with the exception of those given on pages 134, 144, 241, and 246, for which I have to thank Mr. Savage, of Salt Lake City), and of scenes in California, including all those of San Francisco, the Yosemite Valley, the Giant Trees, etc. ; to the editor of Frank Leslie's Illus- trated Newspaper, for permission to copy from that journal the cuts which are given on pages 298, 300, 303, and 306 ; and lastly, to Mr. C. Weitfle, of Central City, Colorado, for the two views of Golden and Denver. vi Preface. In conclusion, I must appeal to my critics for a little consideration, inasmuch as "Through America" is my first literary venture. To one friend Mr. Francis George Heath my especial thanks are due, for valuable assistance received ; and I cannot send forth this volume without acknow- ledging the gratitude I owe to feim for the several hints and suggestions he has given me, and which have proved of great service in the preparation of this work. W. G. MARSHALL. LONDON, Christmas, 1880. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE EMPIRE CITY. PAGE The voyage out Off Sandy Hook The Bay of New York The Empire City A glance at its history General plan of the city The Brooklyn Bridge Up-town and down-town The Broadway Telephoning Rapid growth of the city The old City Hall The " new" County Court House The Post Office The private locker system The Tribune building An aerial newspaper office Trinity Church A mammoth store in the Broadway Mr. Alexander T. Stewart His Garden City enter- prise American philanthropy Horace Greeley The Fifth Avenue St. Patrick's Cathedral The water-front of New York Washington and Fulton Markets Ferry-boats on the North River A ferry-boat scene The elevated railway Popularity of the enterprise Dangers ahead The oil-dripping nuisance Horse-cars and stages Family coaches and coupes Badly- levelled roads Dirty streets The white-paint advertisement nuisance Similarity in the streets Oysters An oyster saloon in Sixth Avenue Oysters by the hundred thousand The oyster export trade Cautionary notices about swearing New York public restaurants Delmonico's The Astor House A typical American restaurant Rapid bolting of food A loving darkie " Are you through ? " Lager-beer saloons " Family '' en- trances A lager-beer saloon on a Sunday A drive in the Central Park A ludicrous sight The Greenwood Cemetery The City of Brooklyn i CHAPTER II. TO NIAGARA. Decoration Day in New York The city en fete Processions and speech-making Troops of darkies Starting West The Hudson River A procession of canal barges Bringing grain from Chi- cago The Hudson River in the autumn The scenery- about West Point The Catskill Mountains American patriotism The home of Washington Irving A seminary for young ladies The diet of American ladies at college The ice harvest of the Hudson Brick-making The white-paint nuisance again Albany Its new State Capitol Utica A dinner off a cigar Railway travelling in America Parlour cars and sleeping cars Examin- ing tickets Conductors' checks Buying and selling A parlour car pantry The baggage check system Its great convenience to the traveller Niagara 48 viii Contents. CHAPTER III. AT THE FALLS. PACE Impressions of Niagara View from the Clifton House The American Fall The giant Canadian Abuses of Niagara "Indian variety 5 ' stores Wholesale despoliation of natural scenery The white-paint nuisance again Towers for obtaining views An irrepressible photographer An awkward situation The Niagara Falls Museum The spider and the fly Putting on oilskins Walking under the Canadian Fall Impressions conveyed The Centre and American Falls A sensational trip . The Whirlpool Rapids A visit to an Indian reservation A Sunday morning service Setting out for Chicago London in Canada Crossing the Detroit River Chicago . . . -72 CHAPTER IV. WONDERFUL CHICAGO. A marvellous city Its growth of fifty years A commercial position unrivalled The greatest livestock mart in the world The great Union Stock Yards A wonderful sight Chicago's livestock trade since 1876 The famous packing-houses Slaughtering on a mammoth scale The pork packing process Chicago as a grain market Her receipts of 1879 The great grain elevators The pine lumber trade Manufacturing establishments of the Queen City The total value of her trade of 1879 The develop- ment of the Great West The United States seventy years ago The United States to-day Agricultural statistics Exports to the United Kingdom Railway development Chicago's Grand Pacific Hotel The five grand hotels of America Hotel living The American at table Iced water and milk Apple-pie A national failing A disagreeable subject A disgusting sight An active people How Chicago was lifted several feet out of the mud The new waterworks A drive in the Lincoln Park Rivalry of the large cities Boston's opinion of Chicago A Chicagoan's opinion of New York What Boston thinks of Troy \Vhat Troy says of the ladies of New York and Boston Chicago's opinion of herself An association of bald men . . 86 CHAPTER V. WESTWARD TO OMAHA. To Omaha Rock Island The Mississippi River Crossing Iowa- Council Bluffs The Missouri River Its enormous length Luxury in modern railway travelling Railway-car meals A popular newspaper's advertisement The white-paint nuisance again A country sadly disfigured Omaha A " booming" city Contents. ix PAGE Gold fever mottoes A Prusso-Red-Indian His remarkable history A wigwam of curiosities A visit to an Indian encamp, ment What we found there 104 CHAPTER VI. OVER PRAIRIE AND MOUNTAIN. The Pacific Railroad A mighty enterprise Rapid progress of the work Difficulties encountered The East and the West joined Starting across the Great Plains On the rolling prairie Im- pressions Animal life The " dog '' of the prairie Stations on the line Elkhorn The Platte River Giant rivers of the Plains The "wickedest town in America" A lesson in massacre A breakfast on the prairie A prairie-dog city Sighting the Rocky Mountains The Magic City of the Plains Passing the eastern overland train An exchange of greetings Steeply ascending The " Summit of the Rocky Mountains " Nearly left behind A glorious panorama The Laramie Plains The Gem City of the Mountains A station museum A double supper A con- cert in our sleeping car Green River Rocks of the " Rockies " The Desert House Evanston Chinese waiters Begging Indians Rapidly descending Echo Canon The Pulpit Rock An engine's performance A conductor's diversion The white-paint nuisance again Mormon settlements The Thou- sand Mile Tree The Devil's Slide Ogden Junction We arrive in "Zion" .... 119 CHAPTER VII. MORMONISM. The origin of Mormonism Joseph Smith's initiatory vision His mother's account of the vision His interviews with an "angel" Discovery of the golden plates The origin of the Book of Mormon The founding of the Church Principles of the Mor- mon faith Originality of the Church The Book of Mormon A blasphemous publication A few samples of its contents Rubbish and bad grammar Organization of the Mormon ChurchThe " First Presidency " The two priesthoods The various offices in the Church "Stakes" and "wards" of Zion How the people are looked after 147 CHAPTER VIII. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ZION. The Mormon metropolis Its luxuriant appearance A model city- Lovely situation Clearness of the atmosphere The Tabernacle An extraordinary-looking building Inside and outside The x Contents. PAGE Tabernacle organ Curious subjects of sermons A horn-blower from the Old Country An angry spouse objects The Temple The Endowment House Mysteries of the "endowments" The new Assembly Hall Brigham's Block The tithing sys- tem The tithing fund of 1879 The Lion House The Bee- hive House Sign of Mormon stores The President of the Monnon Church Holy men of " Zion " Hypocrisy extra- ordinary Revolting picture of Mormon life A matter for Con- gress to look into ''The Upper California" A porter from Didcot Junction Peculiarity of Mormon houses Domestic economy On the road to Fort Douglas Magnificent prospect over the Salt Lake Valley The doctrine of polygamy Its introduction among the Saints Smith's reason for introducing it Many-wived Mormons A bachelor's duty The spiritual wife system Sealing Pleading for polygamy Remarkable meeting of women in favour of the institution Utah's delegate to the National Congress . ".'.. . . . 164 CHAPTER IX. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ZION (continued}. The Great Salt Lake Its saline properties Buoyancy of its water Mormon Sunday excursions The River Jordan Islands in the Salt Lake Fort Douglas Ordered off to fight the " Reds " Wagner and his brewery Back to the Walker House A de- bate on polygamy Blasphemy extraordinary An invitation to join a Mormon's family circle A six-wived Mormon's home Popular household mottoes Extraordinary notice in a restau- rant A service in the Tabernacle Impressions produced by it A listless congregation Celebrating the Holy Eucharist Characteristic sermon Mormon hymns The Mormon " Du dah" Other remarkable hymns ' . . 190 CHAPTER X. PORTER ROCKWELL AND BRIGHAM YOUNG. Orrin Porter Rockwell Death of the noted Danite Origin of the Danite band " Destroying Angels ''Rockwell's history A famous assassin Brigham Young Joseph Smith's pro- phecy concerning him His first interview with Smith Con- versing in "unknown tongues" Brigham's iron rule The Church's blind belief in him Blasphemous utterance of the apostle HeberC. Kimball Brigham Young's opinion concerning the Deity Blasphemy extraordinary The domestic life of the deceased President A Yankee Mahomet "Briggy'' Young His wives A double courtship John A. Young His matri- monial proclivities A specimen " Saint " Brigham Young's grave The deceased President's directions respecting the con- duct of his funeral 215 Contents. xi CHAPTER XI. A SERIOUS ASPECT OF MORMONISM. PAGE Perversion to Mormonism The missionary abroad Missionary work in Great Britain How British emigrants are imposed upon European exodus to Utah in 1879 British Mormons in Salt Lake City The exodus from Great Britain in 1880 Converts from Iceland A superabundance of clergy The " trustee-in- trust V account for 1879 Receipts and disbursements Chris- tian missionary work in Utah Result of ten years' labour Utah's admission to Statedom Trouble ahead Defiant Mor- mons Treasonable utterances The Endowment House A scandalous institution The Mormon's treasonable oath Penalty for revealing it No public record of Mormon marriages No marriage certificates International intervention . . 225 CHAPTER XII. WESTWARD TO SAN FRANCISCO. Further westward A run through the Salt Lake Valley to Ogden A warm spring lake Mormon husbandry Successful agriculture Ogden An uproarious greeting Choice of three dinners Scarcity of berths Leaving Ogden Brigham City "Gentile" Corinne Promontory Point The "great railroad wedding" A word for the poor Indian The way he is treated Census of the Indians A wash and a breakfast at Elko The American Desert "All aboard, all aboard ! " A rush for the cars Battle Mountain Wmnemucca The " noble red man " An oasis in the desert Peaceful reflections On the rampage again Junction for Virginia City The wonderful mines of the Corn- stock lode Ascending the Sierra A twenty-eight mile snow- shed 7017 feet above the sea Californian mining names Quartz mining and placer mining Rounding Cape Horn A run down into California Sacramento I become an object of attraction A word about English tourists The State Capitol of California At the Oakland wharf On board the ferry San Francisco .... 237 CHAPTER XIII. THE GOLDEN CITY. The Golden City Its rapid growth General plan of the city Its principal thoroughfare Monster hotels Curious street con- veyances The balloon car The dummy cable car Boot- blacking Champion boot-blacks A champion boot-black's challenge A rush for wealth Hoodlums Their vocation and operations The hoodlum alphabet Instance of rough handling A Californian fruit market A treacherous climate Wet days and cold days The great hotel of America Its form xii Contents. PAGE and general appearance Its Grand Central Court "Barbarism" with a vengeance Our suites of apartments To the Cliff House Irrigation in California The windmill system of irrigation Oakland Marvellous rapidity of growth The University of Cali- fornia An anomaly in railway travelling The white-paint nuisance again 261 CHAPTER XIV. A NIGHT IN CHINATOWN. Preparing for Chinatown Setting out for the quarters A walk down Montgomery-street An anti- Chinese demonstration A trouble- some problem "The Chinese must go 5 ' We arrive in Chinatown Novel street scene Popular Chinese restaurant Choice articles of food A ceremonious little grocer Buying shoes Very tight fit A Chinaman's signature Visit to a joss-house Popular Chinese gods Examining a Chinaboy's head The " Royal China" Theatre A Chinese opera Music of the past An acrobatic performance " All aboard '' for an opium-den Double guard A disreputable locality Inside an opium-den Very close quarters How to smoke opium We turn opium- smokers The way John Chinaman smokes himself to sleep Saving expense A man of delicate birth " Old Johnny" counts up . , , , . , % , . . , .287 CHAPTER XV. A TRIP TO THE GEYSERS. Setting out for the GeysersA sail up the bay A barber afloat- Bird's-eye view of the Golden City The Bay of San Francisco From Donahue to Cloverdale The road to the Geysers- Smothered with dust Dexterous driving The Geysers Hotel Pretty crowded A rush for beds Setting out to survey the premises A foolish adventure A remarkable spot Devil's conveniences The "Steamboat Geyser" The "Witches' Caldron '' The Geysers mis-named An early-morning walk round the canon Returning to San Francisco Splendid ride over a mountain pass Luxuriant growth in a Californian forest Bark-shedding trees Fossville The abode of a veteran driver A great man with a Californian reputation Preparing for dinner A gushing matron A father reproves his son Geological curiosity A forest of stone The "Pride of the Forest" How Charlie Evans became a rich man Average weight of the ladies of Calistoga Back again in the Golden City 308 Contents. xili CHAPTER XVI. THE GIANT TREES OF CALAVERAS. PAGE Leaving San Francisco Visions of the Yosemite Valley How to reach it from the Golden City Stockton A night with a mos- quito A Chinese family On the road to the Giant Trees A refreshing draught of cold water An army of small frogs Dinner in the thick forest A cosmopolitan mining district Murphy's Grand drive through the woods The Calaveras Mammoth Grove Passing between the " Two Sentinels " Fashionable quarters in the wild forest Wonders of Nature The u Father" and ' Mother of the Forest "Other fine trees The Three Graces A " mother " fifty feet in circumference A pair of Siamese Twins The greatest wonder of all A novel ball- room "John Bright" and "Richard Cobden," etc. Monster pitch-pine cones Lovers again Other mammoth groves . . 323 CHAPTER XVII. THE ROAD TO THE YOSEMITE. On the road to the Yosemite A "Digger" Indian No account- ing for taste Columbia gold-diggings Slightly warm Dinner at Sonora The white-paint nuisance again Chinese Camp A Polish count A Jehu madly drives " Wouldn't you like a wash ? " Driver and passenger take a drive together Crossing the Tuolumne River Up Rattlesnake Hill Under the tender care of Mrs. Priest We rise at four o' the morning A Jehu madly drives A mixture of everything The village of Big Oak Flat Colfax Springs Hodgson's An ostler's ditty The charm of a ride in a California!! forest The Tuolumne Mam- moth Grove Driving through a Giant Tree Siamese Twins Almost a collision Narrow escape Magnificent view Our driver's laundry in the Valley Shakespeare in California The Yosemite Valley 335 CHAPTER XVIII. THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. Our descent into the gorge A wonderful sight El Capitan Rock The Spires and Cathedral Rock The Bridal Veil Fall Our first view of this fall At the bottom of the gorge The Ribbon Fall The Three Brothers Sentinel Rock The sight par excellence of the Valley The deepest plunge in the world North and South Domes At the door of Black's Hotel Our driver a nuisance The Yosemite Falls Hotel Discovery of the Valley- Action of Congress An hotel largely advertised Seclusion of the Valley The word *' Yosemite " How to pronounce it pro- perly A walk up the Valley A camp of tourists The Mirror xiv Contents. PAGE Lake Curious rock formations Reflections in the lake Break- fast at the hotel An agile waiter An Englishman and a cricketer , 346 CHAPTER XIX. THE YOSEMITE VALLEY (contiwtea). To Glacier Point The Yosemite Fall A glorious sight Mounting the gorge Union Point At Glacier Point The view therefrom A dangerous leap A dizzy depth The great South Dome Returning to the hotel A trip up the Merced caHon The glories of this trip The Vernal Fall Its great beauty View from above the fall The Cap of Liberty The Nevada Fall- Peculiar features of this fall An eagle's nest Dropping stones into it A timely rebuke The " Grand Register" A few selec- tions from the volume High charges in the Yosemite Herr Sinning's curiosity-shop A house built round the stump of a tree An ascent of the South Dome The formation of the Yosemite 366 CHAPTER XX. AWAY EAST. Leaving the Yosemite Valley Eastward to New York To Chinese Camp A Jehu madly drives Copperopolis To Milton A bone-shaking ride to catch a train Back again to Stockton Left behind Return to Salt Lake City 791 miles to Ogden The Fourth of July Celebrating "the Fourth" at Ogden On the road to " Zion " An accident by the way A serious scrape Again in the Mormon metropolis A concert in the Tabernacle Programme of the concert Amusements at Lake Point Brigham Young's Fun Hall A theatrical performance Leaving Salt Lake City Over the Rocky Mountains A peep into Colo- rado A run down to Denver Cattle in the way A sample of Coloradan railway-travelling The chief attractions of Colorado A glorious country Denver Its sudden rise Its free schools The American free school system Denver's situation Clear- ness of the atmosphere Prosperity of the State Its business record of 1879 The mining, live-stock, and agricultural indus- tries Invigorating climate Camping out under canvas Mining cities of Colorado The trips to Georgetown and Leadville A railway 10,139 feet above the sea The " Great Carbonate Camp" A mining wonder The mines of Leadville Their yield in 1 879 A mine 14,200 feet above the sea Leaving Denver Eastward to the Missourian capital The fatal heat of St. Louis A death- stricken city A hasty retreat Back again in New York Conclusion , 389 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FULL-PAGE ENGRAVINGS. The Yosemite Fall, Yosemite Valley, California . . Frontispiece New York and Vicinity To face page 5 The Hudson River . . . . . . . . . 55 Niagara Falls ,, . 79 Pulpit Rock, Pacific Railroad 143 Portraits of prominent living Mormons, 1880 . . ,, i6c Salt Lake City, from the Utah Central Railroad . . .165 Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City . . . . . ,, . 167 Portrait of Brigham Young 219 San Francisco ............ 261 Calaveras Mammoth Grove " Two Sentinels " . ,', 327 ,, ., " Father of the Forest " . ? , . 328 Yosemite Valley Three Brothers . 358 ,, Vernal Fall ......,,. 373 Nevada Fall ' 375 The South Dome 385 SMALLER ENGRAVINGS. Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City .... Title-page New York The Broadway View from Houston-street ... 8 "New York Herald'' building 12 " New York Tribune " building . .... 13 .. A. T. Stewart's Retail Store, Broadway . . .15 ,, North River Water-front 21 ,, Elevated Railway . .25 Elevated Railway View in Chatham -street ... 27 ., -Under the Elevated Railway 29 Trinity Church, Broadway ...... 44 View on the Hudson River West Point Landing . . . 48 Union-square, New York -5 Hudson River Day-boat 52 Day-boat Another view 53 The Stormking Rock ...... 57 Engine and cars . . 6r Niagara Falls View from Victoria Point, Canada side ... 73 ,, American and Centre Falls . . . . .74 ., Upper Rapids So ,, Whirlpool Rapids ....... 83 Chicago Grand Pacific Hotel 96 Tremont House 97 x vi L ist of lUustra tions. PAGE Railway-car laid out for dining 106 A railway-car meal . . . . . . . . . .107 Pacific Railroad Sherman 134 ,, Echo Canon . . . 140 Witches Rocks . 141 Witches Bottles 142 Devil's Slide . . . . . . .144 Portrait of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism . . . 148 Salt Lake City Interior of the Tabernacle . . "-. . 167 Interior of the Tabernacle, showing Organ . . 168 ,, Design of the new Temple ..... 171 The Beehive House . . '.'.. . . 176 View in Main-street The Black Rock, Great Salt Lake . Mormon baptism of Indians " Utah's Best Crop" . . 177 . 191 * . 193 V 214 Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City . . . . . . 236 Pacific Railroad Ogden . ... 241 Elko 246 American River Canon View from Cape Horn . 255 Leaving the Oakland wharf . . . ..,,.-. . 259 San Francisco Balloon car 265 View in Clay-street, showing the dummy cable car 266 Palace Hotel Exterior view . . . . . 276 Palace Hotel Grand Central Court . . . 278 An all-night supper at the Chinese Theatre . . 298 : Performance at the Chinese Theatre . ... 300 Interior of an opium-den . . . . 303 Chinese merchant balancing his accounts . . 306 Bay of San Francisco View from Telegraph-hill .... 310 The Californian Geysers View of the canon 314 Calaveras Mammoth Grove " Mother of the Forest " . > . . 329 "John Torrey" Group . . . 332 " Pioneer's Cabin" .... 334 Road-tunnel through a Giant Tree . . . . . . . 342 Yosemite Valley Bird's-eye view 346 El Capitan 347 Cathedral Rocks 348 Bridal Veil Fall 350 Yosemite Fall 353 Mirror Lake ... .... 363 Yosemite Fall Another view .... 368 View from Glacier Point 371 South Dome 381 Pulpit Rock Pacific Railroad . . . % . . -393 Golden, Colorado * .401 Larimer-street, Denver 405 THEOUGH AMEEICA; OR, NINE MONTHS IN THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER I. THE EMPIRE CITY. The voyage out Off Sandy Hook The Bay of New York The Empire City A glance at its history General plan of the city The Brooklyn Bridge Up-town and down-town The Broadway Telephoning Rapid growth of the city The old City Hall The " new " County Court House The Post Office The private locker system The Tribune building An aerial newspaper office Trinity Church A mammoth store in the Broadway Mr. Alexander T. Stewart His Garden City enterprise American philanthropy Horace Greeley The Fifth Avenue St. Patrick's Cathedral The water-front of New York Washington and Fulton Markets Ferry- boats on the North River A ferry-boat scene The elevated railway Popularity of the enterprise Dangers ahead The oil-dripping nuisance Horse-cars and stages Family coaches and coupe's Badly-levelled roads Dirty streets The white-paint advertisement nuisance Simi- larity in the streets Oysters An oyster saloon in Sixth Avenue Oysters by the hundred thousand The oyster export trade Cautionary notices about swearing New York public restaurants Delmonico's The Astor House A typical American restaurant Rapid bolting of food A loving darkie " Are you through ? " Lager-beer saloons " Family " entrances A lager-beer saloon on a Sunday A drive in the Central Park A ludicrous sight The Greenwood Cemetery The City of Brooklyn. IN May, 1878, I crossed from Liverpool to New York in the Cunard steamship " Scythia," and spent three months in the United States. In June, 1879, 1 again crossed the Atlantic to New York, and remained six months in the States, returning to England early in December. It is with the record of a B 2 Through America. few experiences of ordinary travel acquired during these two tours that I shall endeavour, in the following pages, to interest the reader. It will be superfluous for me to enter into a description of the nine days' journey across the Atlantic. Let me merely observe that should the intending voyager to New York select one of the splendid steamers of the Cunard Company, such as the " Scythia," " Bothnia," or " Gallia," he will find not only every imaginable comfort provided for him on board these floating hotels chess, draughts, backgammon, cards, smoking-rooms and bath-rooms, an extensive library always available, everything in short to render his comfort complete Provided the weather continues calm ; but on board the boats have mentioned he will meet with a class of passengers among whom, probably, will be found several Americans returning from foreign travel. Thus it was on board the "Scythia" when I crossed with my college friend C , in May, 1878. Our fellow-passengers we found to be mostly people from the United States genial, kind-hearted, hospitable Americans, who, finding we were about to visit their country for the first time, courteously extended to us invitations to their homes stationed in various parts of the States, which we innocently accepted at the time, thinking we should have no difficulty in fulfilling them ; but that was before we came to realize by actual experience the immense distances that have to be travelled in America in passing from State to State. On the tenth morning, therefore, after leaving Liverpool we sighted Sandy Hook, eighteen miles from New York, and a few hours after we were steaming up the glorious New York Bay, admiring the fine expanse of this beautiful sheet of water. But first, after passing Sandy Hook, we lay in qua- rantine awhile, about twenty minutes or so, while an officer of health came on board and received a certificate from our ship's doctor that we had brought no infectious diseases with us, while in the meantime we discharged the mailbags into a little tiny wooden, white-painted steamer which came along- side, gaily decked with the Stars and Stripes great ponderous concerns these mailbags, numbering in all 536. Stopping again a little further on to receive on board two officers of the Customs, who promptly commenced taking (in the saloon) The Empire City. 3 an inventory of our luggage, requesting us to give them our several names, addresses, occupations, the number of articles of baggage we possessed, both large and small ; plying each of us with questions as to whether we had anything to "declare," and then making us swear that we were telling them the truth at eight o'clock we found ourselves ap- proaching our wharf on Jersey City side, separated from New York by the broad North, or Hudson River. 1 Of course we found crowds of people assembled on the landing awaiting our arrival. They were the friends of the voyagers, and as soon as we were alongside a rush was made on board, and the hugging and kissing that went on was truly painful. After being delayed more than an hour by the gentlemen of the Customs, who still were particular to overhaul everything we had, examining our luggage in very earnest, which evidently showed they did not believe what we had previously sworn, every little and every big thing of mine they opened and searched minutely, making quite a business of it, we got into an immense antique-looking, springy coach that was in readiness to take us to any part of New York we liked, and were driven on board a ferry-boat, and in ten minutes trans- ported with other coaches and waggons across the river to the metropolis, and taken direct to our hotel, the Brevoort House, which lies in the beautiful Fifth-avenue. Before proceeding to a notice of some of the prominent features of the chief city of the Western Hemisphere, it may not be uninteresting to take a glance at its history. The site of New York may be said to have been discovered by Europeans in the year 1524, by one Verrazzani, a Florentine. The locality, however, was not further visited by Europeans till 1609, when Henry Hudson, an English mariner in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, having been sent out to search for a north-east passage to India, anchored the " Half Moon " off the southern extremity of Long Island, and then, proceeding twelve miles up the bay, discovered anew, so to speak, the island upon which New York came afterwards to be built. Hudson landed on Sep- 1 Passengers arriving by the steamers of the Cunard Company are now landed on the New York side of the N orth River. B 2 4 Through America, tember 4th, accompanied by a mixed crew of English and Hollandese, and found a tribe of " Indians" the sole occupants of what has been described as " an uninviting tract of rocky woodland, swamp, and sandy plain." He seems to have had " a good time " generally with the aborigines, and to have made merry on the occasion of their meeting, for we are told by Heckewelder, the Indian historian, that " mutual saluta- tions and signs of friendship were restored, and after a while, strong drink was offered, which made all gay and happy." A somewhat curious commentary on this event is afforded by the fact that the island, thenceforth, received the name of Manhattan, which in the vernacular of one of the Indian tribes signifies, "the place where they all got drunk!" Subse- quently colonized by the Dutch, for in 1625 Manhattan Island was bought from the Indians by Peter Mirmits, the first Dutch governor, for the sum of 4?. 16^., the settlement was called New Amsterdam, and in the year 1614 it contained just four dwelling-houses and a little fort. Half a century later, with a population of about 5000, New Amsterdam was surrendered to Great Britain, and its name changed to New York, in honour of the brother of Charles II. James, Duke of York and Albany, to whom the King handed over the pos- session of the territory. In 1673 the Dutch again became the possessors of the settlement, and changed its name to New Orange ; but in the following year it was restored to the British, re-named New York,and it remained in our hands till we finally evacuated it on November 25th, 1783, at the conclusion of the American War of Independence. The New Yorkers still annually celebrate the occasion of our evacuation 'with a parade of troops, and other public demonstrations. In 1870, New York had a population of 942,292 ; in 1875, 1,046,037 ; now (1880) its population is about 1,200,000. Of this a third, roughly speaking, is German, a third Irish, and a third native. There are more Irish in New York than in any other city in the world, except Dublin. New York called the Empire City, for the same reason that New York State is called the Empire or Excelsior State is spread over an island thirteen and a half miles long, and varying from a few hundred yards to two miles in breadth. Within the city limits are included five miles of the mainland to the The Empire City. 5 north of the island, though this portion of upper New York has more the appearance of a suburb of the city than part of the busy metropolis, consisting, for the most part, of private resi- dences which have sprung up within the last few years. At its northern end Manhattan Island is separated from the mainland by the Harlem River and Spyten Duyvel Creek, 2 west and east it is bounded by the broader North (Hudson) and East Rivers respectively, the latter an inlet of the sea uniting- with the former at the southern end of the island, wheie New York city looks out upon its bay. As Liverpool is separated from Birkenhead by the Mersey, so is New York by the East River from her sister city Brooklyn, both cities facing each other, both built down to the water's edge. Though New York and Brooklyn are now two distinct municipalities, it is not beyond the range of probability that they will, some day or other, be brought under one city government. There was a time when New Yorkers were anxious for the amalga- mation, before Brooklyn came to be the great city that it is ; but now, contra, the New Yorkers object, while the Brook- lynites see more than ever what an advantage it would be to become part and parcel of the prosperous Empire City ; and so the matter stands. An immense bridge which is being thrown over the East River to connect the two cities, although it was begun eleven years ago, is not yet finished. Great efforts are being made to complete the work by the end of May, 1 88 1. This bridge was to have taken only five years to construct, and was estimated to cost i,6oo,ooo/. ; but up to February I, 1880, it had absorbed 2,257,2777., and still a further appropriation of 45O,odo/. has had to be made. Brooklyn contributes a third of the expenses incurred, and New York the rest. There are several buildings now in course of erection in the United States whose progress is just 3 So named as Diedrich Knickerbocker (Washington Irving) tells us in his History of New York from a Dutchman, one Anthony van Corlear, trumpeter to Governor Stuyvesant, the " Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of Amsterdam in New Netherlands, now (1682) called New York" (vide the inscription over Governor Stuyvesant's tomb in St. Mark's Church, New York), who swore he would swim over the creek during a gale of v/ind "in spite of the devil" (en spyt der duyvel). He ventured, but lost his life in the attempt. Anthony's Nose, a rocky headland on the Hudson River, is called after the same individual. 6 Through America.. as dilatory as that of the Brooklyn Bridge, which were to have been finished years ago and whose cost has already nearly doubled the sums originally intended to be spent upon them, and in each case it is doubtful whether the works will be speedily accomplished. We shall have occasion to notice some of them later on. The first thing that strikes the British stranger in New York after indeed he has become painfully aware, in the terrible ride that he took from the ferry to his hotel, that the roads are not quite so evenly levelled here as they are in the Old Country is the extremely neat way in which the streets are arranged. This will become all the more evident if he acquaints himself with a map of the place, for there he will see at a glance that the greater portion of the city is laid out as regularly as a chess-board, with " avenues " running in parallel straight lines from north to south, lengthwise with the island, and "streets" in like manner from east to west, all numerically indicated, on the lamp-posts at the corners, and the Broadway running obliquely from one end of the island to the other, inter- secting both avenues and streets. Thus, supposing you are At Eighth-street, and you wish to get to Eightieth-street, all you have to do is to follow along one of the avenues and count the numbers of the seventy-two streets you cross till you come to your destination, walking or taking the street-car in a straight line all the way. The lower, or "down-town," that is the old portion of the city, is laid out somewhat irregularly, whereas the upper or " up-town " poition lies in well-defined, uniform blocks, every block having a frontage of 200 feet, sometimes a little more, and thus is the city laid out for some miles in this unvaried, weari- some fashion. Distances in American cities are generally judged by " blocks." If you ask your way to this or that " store " you will be told to go up or down such-and- such street, and then along so many " blocks " 'till you come to it. Up-town commences indefinitely somewhere in the neighbourhood of Washington-square, which is two miles above the Battery, a small park at the southern extremity of the island. Above Washington-square, where First, Second, and Third streets commence (for here the city begins to be The Empire City. 7 regularly laid out), the cross streets are numbered east and west, according to the side of Fifth-avenue on which they happen to lie. Thus, West Fifty-sixth street is on the North River side of this avenue, while East Fifty-sixth street lies on the opposite side of the road. The Broadway is, as everyone knows, the principal street of New York, and a grand one it is. It runs nearly the whole length of the island, above Fifty-ninth street it is called the Boulevard, first in a straight line north for two miles to Union-square (or to be more correct, to within four blocks of it), dividing the city into two equal divisions, and then it inclines obliquely westward, cutting across all the streets and avenues up-town, which, as we have just seen, are laid out in this part of the city after the manner of a chess-board. Starting from the Bowling Green, 3 the Broadway, for a couple of miles, is the daily scene of such life and busy turmoil, the roadway so packed with waggons of merchandise and public conveyances, and the pavements likewise thronged with a hurrying, bustling concourse of people, that this street has come to be called (in America) the u busiest street in the world ;" but the fact of the matter is that the Broadway is not broad, at least the part of it below Union-square which is always so crowded, so that it is not to be wondered that it presents such a busy appearance. In the old or lower part of the city, the streets branching off right and left from the Broadway are the great com- mercial centres of the metropolis. Glance down any one of these, such as Exchange Place, Liberty, Cedar, or Wall streets, the latter is the Lombard-street of New York, and, narrow as each one is, you see what tells you at once of a vast amount of commercial activity, for above, against the sky, you look upon a perfect maze of telephone and telegraph wires crossing and recrossing each other from the tops of the houses. The sky, indeed, is blackened with them, and it is as if you were looking through the meshes of a net. 3 A small park adjoining the Battery, at the southern end of the island, where stood in 1614 the old Dutch settlement, Nieu Amsterdam. An equestrian leaden statue of George III. was set up here in 1770, but the New Yorkers pulled it down on the day that the Declaration of - Independence was read in their city, and had it melted into bullets. 8 Through America And this is the case in every street in this part of New York. The sky is really obscured by the countless threads of wire, and the housetops are made free use of to conduct THE BROADWAY. View from Houston-street. them to their destination. Altogether there are about 5000 miles of telegraph and telephone wires in the Empire City. The telegraph wires are conducted along the streets by means of some 9000 or 10,000 poles. Out of a window of the Western Union Telegraph Company's building in the lower part of the Broadway, from a single shoot, one hundred and thirty-six wires issue forth, and, joined immediately by others, are stretched overhead in the direction of the Battery till they branch off from the street to all parts of the country, one The Empire City. 9 hundred and forty on one side the street and sixty-two on the other. There were, in February last, 20,000 people in direct telephonic communication in New Vork, through the exchange offices of the Bell Telephone Company, the Law Telephone Company (licensed by the Bell Company for legal purposes only), and the Gold and Stock Western Union Telephone Company. It would take exactly three minutes for the Bell Company at 923, Broadway (corner of Twenty-first street), to connect, say, John Smith, of 27, Bowling Green, two and a half miles distant, with Richard Doe, of Paterson, New Jersey, seven- teen miles distant from the same office; and a like time would be required to connect any two persons in the metropolis or its suburbs similarly provided with telephones. Each subscriber to any one of these companies the subscription is ten dollars per month has, of course, a list of all other subscribers to the same company, so that he may know whom he can talk to at any time. At present the furthest places communicated with by telephone in New York are distant thirty miles ; but the Bell Company are engaged in setting up lines to Philadelphia, ninety miles distant. 4 New York has extended itself in a marvellous degree during the last ten or fifteen years. Nineteen thousand eight hundred 4 Perhaps the longest distance over which the telephone has been successfully operated as yet was accomplished on January 25th of the present year, when a conversation was carried on between the Union Pacific Transfer at Council Bluff, Iowa, and the American Union office at St. Louis, Missouri, a distance of 410 miles. A strong wind, it is said, was blowing at the time, and yet only two or three interruptions of a few seconds occurred. "An ordinary conversation," says the New York Herald, " was carried on with the utmost ease, the most noticeable fact being that while the enunciation of the words was perfectly clear, they came invariably with the regular vibration of a musical note. The conversa- tion was varied with singing, of which apparently not a note was lost. A St. Louis singer sent over the wire in clear baritone voice ' Sweet By- and-by,' which Mr. France repeated back. The St. Louis singer then sent * I'm a Pilgrim and a Stranger/ and this also Mr. France repeated back. The wires over the greater part of the distance were quiet and not in use, but at the St. Louis end there was a heavy induction." On April 8th, 1880, the New York telephone companies were con- solidated into one company, which now has the entire control of all the telephone business of the metropolis, and for thirty-three miles around. The capital of the stock amounts to 3oo,ooo/. io Through America. and eleven buildings were erected from January i, 1868, to December 21, 1878, at a cost of 56,865,6997., to which must be added 2605 new buildings erected during the year 1879, at an aggregate cost of 4,51 3,462^, and still the city is increasing, and seems likely to increase for many a year to come. A good part of what is now up-town was waste land not half a score years agone. Perhaps as good an illustration as any of the unexpected growth of New York is afforded by the building of the old City Hall, which, facing a park or square of the same name, lies in the busiest quarter of the lower portion of the city. This was begun in 1803, and finished in 1812. It has a frontage of white marble, but the rear is, alas ! merely plain brown-stone. It was never imagined that the Empire City wou)d become so big that its citizens would be able to look upon the back of this building without taking a walk into the country. But now there are a good twelve miles of the city at the back of the City Hall. Near this building is the " new " County Court House, which has taken nineteen years in building, having been commenced in 1861, and completed last June. According to the original estimates the building was to have cost only 800,000 dollars ; but, owing to the disgraceful peculations of the Tammany ring, headed by the famous "Boss" Tweed, millions of dollars (some say fourteen) have been squandered over the work. There are some splendid buildings in New York, and some of the finest are in the Broadway. The new Post Office, for instance, down-town, is ornate and imposing, built in the Doric-Renaissance style, and with the exception of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral now rising in Fifth-avenue is the finest building on the island. But it has been erected to serve two purposes, for whereas the basement and first floor are devoted to postal business alone, the second and remain- ing floors are handed over to the United States Law Courts. On the first floor are the money-order and registering offices, and a few private rooms ; on the basement the letters are received and sorted, and the mails made up. In the lobby are separate drop-boxes or lockers for the reception of letters and newspapers for the City of New York, for each one of the States and Territories, for Canada and Newfound- The Empire City. 1 1 land, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceanica ; and besides windows for the sale of postage stamps and stamped envelopes and for the reception of packets too bulky for the drop-boxes, there are 6480 private lockers for the convenience of those citizens of New York who prefer having their letters retained for them in this way, instead of their being brought round by the postman after the arrival of each successive mail, to their private residences or places of business. The owner of such a locker has a private key of his own, so that he can come and open his box whenever he feels disposed, and see if any letters or newspapers have come for him. If a parcel has arrived too large to be dropped in, he will, upon opening his locker, find a notice inside to that effect, and that he can have the packet on his inquiring for it within. This is a system by no means confined to New York : it is in vogue all over the United States. In every large post-office there are similar private lockers. Philadelphia, for instance, has 2840 ; Taun- ton in Massachusetts, with a population of 20,000, has 619. Sometimes such a number of communications come at a time for one person alone, or for a particular firm or business house, that a locker is found insufficient to hold the numerous packages that arrive. To meet this emergency a good-sized trunk is provided, and then letters, etc., can be dropped into it ad lib. There are eleven "elevators" (lifts) in the building, namely, eight for the transmission of the mails from the basement (and cellar) to the first floor ; two for the use of the public ascending to the court rooms aloft ; and one for the exclusive use of the clerks employed on the premises. Each elevator cost 6ooo/., and is worked by hydraulic power. In the vicinity of the Post Office is the Printing House Square, where unlike our London square of that name, which accommodates only its one great newspaper establish- ment are congregated the offices of the principal journals of the Empire City, such as the Herald, Times, Tribune, World, Evening Telegram, Evening Express, etc. The offices of the Herald and Tribune are located in imposing buildings, the former in an elaborate marble edifice, the latter in well, this building of the New York Tribune is about the most remark- able I ever beheld, for a newspaper office. It towers up above 12 Through America. the surrounding buildings like a sort of brick-and-mortar giraffe. Composed of bright-red Philadelphia pressed-brick and granite, it presents a frontage on Printing House Square of ninety feet, rearing its nine stories to a height of 200 feet, at the top of which comes a clock tower of sixty-five feet in height, which is a conspicuous landmark in the lower part of the island. The editorial rooms are THE M NEW YORK HERALD BUILDING. located eight stones up, 170 feet above the street pavement, and the composing-room is still further aloft, occupying the whole of the ninth floor. Other buildings in this neighbour- hood may be mentioned, such as the New York Life Insurance Company's building in the Broadway a splendid edifice of white marble, modelled after the Temple of Erectheus at Athens ; the Sub-Treasury in Wall-street, 6 5 This street, the great centre of United States finance, has other interesting associations besides those relating to banking and stock- broking. It was here that the installation of George Washington as first President of the United States took place, from the balcony of the old Federal Hall building, which stood on the site now occupied by that The Empire City. 1 3 modelled after the Parthenon at Athens ; also a beautiful church in the Broadway, facing Wall-street Trinity Church THE " NEW YORK TRIBUNE " BUILDING. (Episcopal), built entirely of brown-stone, with a spire reaching '284 feet in height. In 1705 this church was liberally of the Sub-Treasury. Though rather late in the day it is now ninety- one years since this inauguration took place the New York Chamber of Commerce called a special meeting on February 2nd last, to consider 14 Through America. endowed by Queen Anne, who also presented it with a com- munion service, which has been preserved. The tower contains a fine set of chimes, and the services are rendered by an excellent choir, though I must say it is one which has been considerably overrated, probably because this is the only church in America where there is any good choral singing to be heard. Americans have told me that we have no choir in England to equal it. But it would be easy to point out several that are superior to it in many respects. It must be admitted that one of the great sights of the Empire City is the mammoth establishment of the late Mr. A. T. Stewart, the draper, in the Broadway, up-town. Built wholly of iron (painted white), it occupies an entire block, cover- ing an area of two and a half acres. The height of this building is 1 20 feet from its foundations ; but though it stands 100 feet above the street-level, a considerable part of the business is con- ducted at a depth of twenty feet below, for here is the carpet de- partment and other departments connected with the establish- ment. The interior is certainly one of the " things to see " in New York. You look upon fifteen acres of flooring almost directly you step inside so you are told. Tier upon tier, gallery upon gallery does the vast pile soar above you, and if you are fortunate enough to drop in when business is " boom- ing," you will see a sight such as perhaps is not to be found in any other shop of the kind in the world. Then from 2900 to 3000 hands are employed on the premises, and the vast open hall is packed from floor to roof with customers and non- customers, a great many people dropping in simply to stare and look about, without intending to make purchases. There are five elevators for customers, and two for freight. This is the retail establishment of Mr. Stewart's " dry goods' " business ; but the wholesale department occupies another block in the shape of a handsome marble structure down-town (also in the Broadway), which, five stories in height, is generally known by the name of " Stewart's marble ' palace.' " This successful merchant established branches of his business in what steps should be taken for suitably commemorating the auspicious event, when it was decided to erect, subject to the permission of Congress, " an heroic bronze statue " as soon as possible on one of the buttresses of the steps in front of the Sub-Treasury building. The Empire City. 1 5 Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, as well as in Glasgow, Bel- fast, Manchester, Nottingham, Bradford, Paris, Berlin, Lyons, and at Chemnitz in Saxony. At the corner of Thirty-fourth street and Fifth-avenue he erected a gorgeous white-marble mansion for himself and wife, which is one of the most superb private residences in the United States. Its equal is only to be found in the palaces of California's millionaires, such as are to be seen in San Francisco and its neighbourhood. The Americans have been called a benevolent and a gene- A. T. STEWART'S RETAIL STORE, BROADWAY. rous people, and no nation in the world has' earned a better right to be so esteemed. But surely a grander instance of libe- rality and'large-heartedness on the part of one man cannot be named, than that which characterized the closing years of Mr. Stewart's successful life. What does the reader think of a man founding and setting up a city, furnishing it with a splendid cathedral, with schools, etc., a man whose aim and object was to establish a self-supporting community of men of small means, every man being his own landlord, owning the roof he 1 6 Through America. lived under and the soil he tilled ? Death overtook him before he could carry out the whole of this enterprise, but he has left behind him those who will continue the good work, which will in time become one of the grandest monuments of American charity and benevolence. The late Mormon president, Brigham Young, did, it is true, the same thing in the case of Salt Lake, planting and building up a city in a barren desert hundreds of miles away from any human habi- tation, except the wigwam of the wild red man ; but then, as we shall see further on, Brigham took care that he should be amply recouped for his pains out of the tithing which every Mormon was (and still is) obliged to contribute for the support of his Church, so that his can hardly be taken as a parallel case. But instances could be multiplied of con- spicuous acts of American philanthropy, and one of the best known is that of Horace Greeley, the worthy founder of the New York Tribune, who, in the year 1870, took possession of 100,000 acres of good land far away in distant Colorado, and established a colony there by removing 200 poverty-stricken people from Massachusetts, who set to work and reclaimed the land and caused it to bring forth abundantly, and now Greeley (as the settlement was appropriately named) has be- come a thriving little place, with a population of over 2000, the central depot of a fine wheat-growing territory, having its churches and schools, the best free school in the State is located at Greeley, two banks, and two grist-mills, sup- porting two weekly newspapers, with its streets planted with shade-trees and watered at the sides by irrigating ditches ; and, to crown all, teetotalers will welcome this piece of intelligence, the town charter of Greeley enjoins that no house or land can be sold for the purpose of retailing intoxicating drinks. (Vineland, in New Jersey, is, I believe, another such a temperance town.) But to return to the famous enterprise of the great dry goods' merchant of the Empire City, now deceased. If we turn to the New York Herald of January 26 (1880), we shall find an interesting account of what has already been done at Garden City which is the name given to the enterprise and what is intended to be done ; and this I proceed to quote in extenso, as follows : The Empire City. 1 7 "You step from the Long Island Railroad cars, about sixteen miles from New York, near the centre of a vast plain, on which are about a hundred houses, and right ahead, as you walk from the handsome railroad station, is a large hotel. At a glance it is seen to be a public-house of the best class. It is supported as a part of the Garden City enterprise, Mr. Stewart having said, ' If I build a city to be rented by men of moderate means, who prefer to hire houses rather than invest in real estate the capital that they need in their busi- ness, I must have a good hotel at which these men can find accommodations while they are here looking at the houses that I offer for rent.' Accordingly the hotel is kept up in the style of the best public-houses of course at a considerable loss as a hotel, for the price of board is only $3 a day. Mr. Stewart reserved for himself a sumptuous room in this phenomenal country-house, and since his death it has been sacredly kept for Mrs. Stewart. " Precisely what Alexander T. Stewart had in view when he paid the town of Hempstead $450,000 for Hempstead Plains until about the time of the purchase esteemed a barren waste no man living pretends to know. He bought 10,000 acres, and in the beginning it was said that he would erect from 20,000 to 30,000 dwellings, each well supplied with water and lighted with gas, and surrounded by an ornamental garden. What he did was, first to make about twenty-seven miles of finished boulevards, 80 feet wide and crossing each other at right angles, and then to plant 50,000 trees. Then he began to erect dwellings, set back in the swards 75 feet from the street lines. It is believed that the merchant- prince actually did contemplate 10,000 houses for clerks and the under-ten of business men, and it is known that he intended that not one shingle should be sold in Garden City. It is conjectured that he desired to bequeath to the world a city that should own itself a city whose every inhabitant should pay house-rent to the city treasury direct a city that should ultimately become so wealthy that it might support schools and encourage art, and at length rival the European art centres. There is little doubt, however, that the executors of the great trust will eventually sell homes in Garden City as a means of attracting a class that will be welcomed there. T 8 Through America. " Meantime, as a means of making the city self-supporting long before it gets the population that will pay its expenses, Mr. Hinsdale, the manager of the enterprise, is making the rich loam of the once-neglected plains yield considerable crops of oats, corn, and hay. Of oats he raised 14,000 bushels last year ; of shelled corn, 45,000 bushels ; and of hay he cut 300 tons. He keeps eighty horses and 500 head of Southdown sheep, and in summer employs 450 men and eight steam engines two of them traction engines. He had not one bag to handle all his grain. It was all trundled in tanks on wheels, and elevated by steam and distributed by gravity. This is only the beginning of Mr. Hinsdale's farming. He has more than 8000 acres of soil at an elevation of 103 feet above the tide, so situated that the ordinary rainfall gives it perfect saturation, and the incline of eight feet to the mile towards the sea affords ample natural drainage, thus depriving it of any malarial qualities. He will speedily put more and more of it under cultivation, employing steam and modern machinery, and probably making it the greatest farm east of the prairies. Farming operations are not, however, to be carried on to the hindrance of the progress of the city. The water and gas pipes are to be extended, and just now Manager Hinsdale is beginning to heat the city with steam. He has already laid two and a half miles of water-pipe, and four and a half miles of gas-pipe. His bank of boilers for heating the city is situated near the water-works, where the men who operate the great engines of the enormous well- room from which the city is supplied with water may be utilized in handling the machinery for sending out steam. " The water-works are a mile distant from Garden City Hotel, the centre of the city ; but in the hotel, yesterday, and in the Cathedral of the Incarnation, near by, it was possible to elevate the temperature to an uncomfortable heat by turning a cock in the pipes that were fed a mile a\vay. In Garden City the possibility of heating cities with steam has already been demonstrated beyond peradventure. " The ornate gothic cathedral, beneath whose chancel the remains of Alexander and Mrs. Stewart were to have lain, 6 is 6 Mr. Alexander Stewart died on April 10, 1876, and his body was interred in the churchyard of St. Mark's, in Tenth-street, New York, The Empire City. 19 nearing completion, and its lofty tower will soon be in readi- ness for the carillon that has been cast for it. The crypt, for whose exquisitely polished pillars of rare marbles the globe has been ransacked and which is to cost a round $100,000 needs only the laying of its white marble floor and the placing of the superb sarcophagi. The cast for a statue of Hope, that is to occupy a niche behind the sarcophagi, has been sent to Europe to be worked in marble. St. Paul's Cathedral School, for which ground was broken in April last, has been completed as far as its exterior is concerned. The structure is of Philadelphia brick, made on the premises, and the trimmings are of stone. It is four stories in height, and has towers and other roof ornaments of the renaissance style. It is to be heated with steam. Three hundred pupils as boarders and 300 more as day pupils are to be accommo- dated. In addition to the ordinary bath-room appliances, the institution has a marble swimming bath, seventy feet in length by thirty in width. The structure is fireproof through- out, every floor being double, and a perfectly fireproof lining being carried between the two floors. Every ceiling is of fireproof material, and so is every partition that is not of brick. " The foundation of Bishop Littlejohn's mansion, south of the Cathedral, has been completed. With the finishing of this edifice and of St. Paul's Cathedral School, and the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City will be not only the cathedral city of Long Island, and the residence of its bishops, but a university town as well. And to this end Mrs. Stewart has given land and endowments for two church schools, and is considering the endowment and erection of the Theological Seminary of the Diocese of Long Island." The Broadway is the principal street commercially, but Fifth and Madison avenues are the most fashionable localities, where aristocratic New York reigns supreme. What with its long line of handsome brown-stone churches and its many there to lie till it could be finally removed to the Garden City cathedral. But on the night of November 6, 1878, his body was stolen by some person or persons unknown, and though a reward of $50,000 was ofiered for its recovery it has not since been heard of, nor has any clue been obtained as to the perpetrators of the outrage. C 2 2O ' Through -America. elegant and costly private residences, Fifth-avenue is indeed a most beautiful street, one worthy of close inspection. That is a beautiful sight looking up and down Fifth-avenue as you stand in front of the western entrance of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral, between Fiftieth and Fifty-first streets, when for two miles, looking in the direction of the Battery, you have an unbroken view of elegant private residences and a succession of eight brown-stone churches with their spires and towers ; on the other side, looking towards Central Park, you have the street continuing in a straight line for some miles, bordered with shade-trees, with the fine towers of St. Thomas's and that of Dr. Hall's Presbyterian Church stand- ing almost in front of you (at the corner of Fifty-third and Fifty-fifth streets) on the opposite side of the road. The new Catholic Cathedral, dedicated to St. Patrick, is undoubtedly the most imposing ecclesiastical edifice in America. It is built of white marble, in the decorated Gothic style of the thir- teenth and fourteenth centuries, and was begun in the year 1858, and opened for divine service in May, 1879; but its two western towers are not yet completed. They will attain a height of 136 feet, and be surmounted by octagonal lanterns fifty-four feet high, which will in turn give place to. octagonal spires in two stories of 140 feet, so that the culminating height of towers and spires will be 330 feet, thus forming, with a central gable (already completed) between the two towers of 156 feet in height, the west front of the cathedral facing Fifth-avenue. The building is rich in beautiful traceries and emblematical carvings ; but no statues as yet adorn the edifice, though a number of tabernacles are ready prepared for them. The first to be erected are those of the Twelve Apostles, which will be placed in the western porch. The interior has noble propor- tions, and is built entirely of white marble (local). It is cruci- form, consisting of choir (apsidal), nave and side aisles, and two transepts, the choir raised six steps above the floor of the nave. There are no chapels at least what are called the chapels are little recesses under the windows of the side aisles, only four- teen feet high and eighteen feet wide. The total length of the interior is 306 feet ; the nave is seventy-seven feet in height. The entire floor was, when I went over the cathedral, covered with pews, 408 in all, seating 2500 people. These, and an The Empire City. 21 organ and choir gallery at the west end of the nave, are made of white ash. The reredos over the high altar is a fine work of art, chaste and beautiful in the extreme. It is fashioned of pure white Poitiers stone, and was carved at St. Brieuc, in France. The altar proper was carved in Italy, and is of white Italian marble. Perhaps one of the finest features about St. Patrick's is its figured stained-glass windows, which are exceptionally beautiful. They were executed in France, the majority of them at Chartres. THE NORTH RIVER WATER-FRONT. Turning from the sublime to the ridiculous we come to the water-front of New York. This literally bristles with wooden wharf-houses and piers, which are numbered in order, and are occupied by various railway and steamship companies. But they are a tumble-down, miserable-looking lot, and give one the idea that if a sudden gust of wind were to come it would blow the whole collection to the ground. A great improve- ment is sadly needed here. Besides better houses and docks, there should at least be a river-wall built. And then the slums in the neighbourhood ! It is a locality almost as bad as 22 Through America. Billingsgate ; but it is not every Londoner who has to pass through Billingsgate on his way out of town. Yet here, in compact New York, where everything is in a nut-shell, where you feel yourself " at home " in a couple of days when in any other place it would take a week, where you are on an island and cannot leave it by road unless you do so at its northern end, you have almost of necessity to seek the piers of the North or East Rivers if you want to leave the city to go South or West, ferry-boats transporting you over the former river to the great railways which start across-continent from Jersey City on the opposite shore, ferry-boats taking you across the East River to Brooklyn on Long Island, and in order to reach them you must pass through a neighbour- hood reeking with every smell in Christendom you would say so if you found yourself anywhere near the Washington or Fulton Markets on a wet day. These are the two principal markets of the Empire City, but in their present condition they are simply slums, and a disgrace to the place. However, a bill for, rebuilding Fulton Market passed the State Senate on the 26th of last May. Washington Market is also to be rebuilt, " at an expenditure not exceeding $200,000." Now the ferry-boats to which I have just alluded are of im- mense size. Some of them will hold a thousand people or more. The most capacious ply across the North River, between the metropolis and Jersey City. Once some years ago now one of these North River boats crossed over to Jersey City with 1600 on board. The occasion was, undoubtedly, an extraordinary one ; yet it only shows how many can be packed on board on an emergency. On to the ferry-boats public and private con- veyances are driven four-in-hands, waggons, market-carts ; you go over with a whole cargo of conveyances, which take up their station under cover, in the middle of the boat, while you read your Herald or Evening Telegram in a spacious " gents' saloon " on one side, if you wish to have a smoke, or in an equally commodious " ladies' saloon " on the other side of the boat, along with ladies and gentlemen, if you don't intend to smoke, for, as a matter of fact, the notice "ladies' saloon" is only put up to keep off smokers and chewers. I have crossed over in company with two waggons loaded with pig-iron, two loaded with lager-beer barrels, another laden with great bags The Empire City. 23 of salt, a four-in-hand drag, two private carriages, together with, I should say, about 300 people. But it is a sight to see an East River ferry-boat about five o'clock in an afternoon. Take one on the point of starting from the New York Fulton- street pier to connect with Fulton-street which is continued in the city of Brooklyn, three-quarters of a mile away on the opposite shore. Every inch of the boat is filled, there is not standing-room upon it for ten people more. It is crowded after the manner of an Oxford college barge on the Isis during the racing of College Eights, only more so, for here everyone pushes up unceremoniously against his neighbour till there is scarcely anything of his neighbour left. There are no ladies to prevent a body being literally squeezed into a pancake. All are business men returning to Brooklyn after their day's labours in the Empire City, and for the next two hours every ferry-boat crossing over from the Fulton-street pier will be similarly crowded. On the arrival of one of these boats there is a regular stampede among the passen- gers to see who can get ashore first. Many jump off before the boat has become stationary, and, like a flock of sheep, those behind them follow suit, and the deck is cleared of several hundred people yourself among the number, for you are irresistibly pressed forward from the rear and obliged to jump off with the rest in less time than you would have thought it possible. The boat rapidly cleared in this way, is as quickly filled again, for having to wait perhaps five or, at the most, six minutes before it has to set out on its return journey the moment the path is clear for the outgoing passen- gers to come on board, the gates behind which they have been held in check are suddenly slid open, and a headlong rush is again the consequence, everybody tearing forward as if the boat had already begun to move off, when in reality it wants another three minutes before the departure-bell will ring. "At the present time," says the New York Herald of January n, 1880, "200,000 people are actually carried over and re- turned each day by the ferries (East River), about half of them during three hours, morning and evening. During such times, 50,000 people and a corresponding mass of vehicles would accumulate at the bridge termini in an hour and a half, if the business of the ferries were for any reason suspended." 24 Through America. And now how to get about New York. There is first the elevated railway. Answering to our "underground" in London, in affording rapid conveyance through the city without inter- fering with the traffic, it is raised high above the streets instead of being tunnelled under them. The effect of the "elevated" the "L," as New Yorkers generally call it is, to my mind, anything but beautiful ; but this, perhaps, is only a matter of taste. The tracks are lifted to a height of thirty feet (in some places higher) upon iron pillars, the up line on one side of the street and the down on the other, in a few of the streets, where there is room enough, there are three tracks built, and to prevent as far as possible the train from tipping over, the metals are laid on sleepers in a deep furrow or groove cut out of long pieces of timber, which are firmly bolted to the sleepers. Beneath the raised lines is the roadway for horses and carriages, and the lines of rail for the tramway cars, with the pavements beyond. As you sit in a car on the " L " and are being whirled along, you can put your head out of window and salute a friend who is walking on the street pavement below. In some places, where the streets are narrow, the railway is built right over the " side- walks " (pavements) close up against the walls of the houses. In Pearl-street, for instance, this is especially the case, for just after leaving the Fulton-street station, on your way towards the Bowery, you find you are on a level with the rooms of the third story of the United States Hotel, and able easily to see into them, which is not very pleasant, I should imagine, for the occupants of those rooms. As might be expected, the elevated railway is immensely patronized. Trains run at frequent intervals on the several lines, from 5 30 in the morning till 12 o'clock at night, and during the crowded hours, namely from 5.30 a.m. to 7.30 a.m., and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., they follow each other as fast as can be managed. One company the Metropolitan, or Sixth Avenue runs daily 840 trains (420 each way) up and down its line between 5.30 a.m. and 12 p.m.; seventy trains per hour are run during the crowded hours mornings and evenings. The fare during these busy hours is five cents (2^d.)> at other times ten cents. Of course it is needless to observe that there are no classes, as in our passenger trains, The Empire City. 25 but all ride together in a long car, or carriage, the seats ranged lengthwise at the sides, with a passage down the middle and a door at each end, four cars being as many as are run at a time on the " elevated." There is, therefore, the same fare for everybody, no matter how long or short the distance travelled over, and the three companies working the elevated railways (the Metropolitan, the Manhattan, and New THE ELEVATED RAILWAY. York companies), having carried their lines far into the upper portion of the city, you can, for the sum of five cents, take a ride of some ten or twelve miles, and without changing cars. The trains are run at a good speed, and there is but little delay at the stations ; indeed sometimes the train does not pull up at all, and yet people recklessly jump on and off all the same, I have sometimes noticed the conductor 26 Through America. obliged to pull people up on to the train, as the halt made is not long enough to enable them to get quietly upon it by themselves. During a trip I once took from Eighth-street to One Hun- dred and Fifty-fifth street, on the Metropolitan "L," when we stopped at fifteen stations on the way, I noticed that the average length of delay at each station was ten seconds at three stations we did not even come to a standstill, and yet we took up and put down passengers in each case. There are very few cross tracks, so that the chances of collision are reduced to a minimum ; but there are sharp curves here and there, which have to be approached slowly and cautiously, else the train would never get round. In rounding these the engine will give a sudden jerk to one side, so much so that you have a full view of the locomotive ahead of you from out of the side-window of your car but only for a moment, till you are jerked round into proper position behind it the next. Tickets have to be given up almost as soon as bought, before passengers can enter the train, this arrangement having been adopted since the 22nd of last June, before which date they had to be given up as usual, at the end of the journey. No smoking is allowed in any of the cars, and standing on the platforms at the ends is strictly forbidden. The average height of the " L" above the street-level is thirty feet ; but in one place it is fifty-seven feet, namely beyond Central Park, on the west side of the island. From end to end it is a veritable railway in the air, for nowhere does the track descend to the level of the street. As a financial enterprise the elevated railway has turned out a success beyond even the expectations of its promoters. " One hundred and seventy-five thousand pas- sengers are carried over the city lines daily," says a gentle- man officially connected with one of the "L" roads, "or 12,000 tons of human flesh, averaging each person at I4olbs." Thirty million dollars have already been expended on the enterprise, that is up to the end of 1879, the first " L" line having been opened in May, 1878, and 5,000,000 more will be required to finish all the city railways that are in con- templation. "L" roads are at present only in operation in New York City, but these lines are rapidly being extended into the suburbs, and Brooklyn already has one in process of erection, and Philadelphia is to have one too, and even ' The Empire City. 27 sedate Boston is thinking- of providing herself with one, so that it seems as if the popularity of this mode of locomotion is on the increase in the large cities : but dangers are loom- ing ahead which bid fair to stem the tide of prosperity which the promoters of "rapid transit" have been enjoying hitherto, and to render the enterprise in the future costly rather than THE ELEVATED RAILWAY. . View in Chatham-street. lucrative. As a natural consequence of the introduction of the elevated railway, property lying contiguous to the over- head lines has considerably depreciated in value. The nine- teen hours and more of incessant rumbling day and night from the passing trains ; the blocking out of a sufficiency of light from the rooms of houses, close up to which the lines are built ; the full, close view passengers on the cars can have 28 Through America. into rooms on the second and third floors ; the frequent squirtings of oil from the engines, sometimes even finding its way into the private rooms of a dwelling-house, when the windows are left open all these are objections that have been reasonably urged by unfortunate occupants of houses whose comfort has been so unjustly molested, and the result is, tenants who have found themselves so inconvenienced have chosen rather to remove to other and more eligible quarters, and house-owners have been obliged to lower their rents to get any tenants at all. Only very recently has judg- ment been delivered by the Supreme Court at Albany, in an action brought by a New Yorker against the Metropolitan Company to recover compensation for damages done to his property in Fifty-third street, by the erection of the "L" railway right in front of his premises, the Court deciding for the plaintiff, and reversing the decision of an inferior Court, where the verdict had been in favour of the railway company; and should the Court of Appeals whither the defendants will in all probability carry their suit also decide in favour of the property holder, " rapid transit " companies will begin to see that they have a costly business in store for them, to re- strain all the actions for damages that would probably ensue. Far better have carried their lines underground. With regard to the inconvenience sometimes arising from the bespattering of oil from a passing train, I may here mention a little incident which befell me one day as I was crossing the Sixth-avenue from Twelfth- street, when I halted as soon as I found myself underneath the " L," to look up at a train rushing by overhead of me. It was lucky I had not my mouth open at the time, for as I gazed with my face upturned, I was saluted with a large pat of oil from one of the axle-boxes of a car, which besprinkled my counte- nance and neck-tie in such a manner that I had to rush into a barber's shop conveniently close at handand be cleansed from the dreadful mess. Oil drippings from passing trains are a source of constant annoyance to foot-passengers crossing the roadway beneath a nuisance that could be easily remedied by the application of a proper sort of hard grease, such as is used on every English railway. There are other ways of getting about New York besides The Empire City. 29 taking the " elevated." Railways for horse-cars are laid along nearly every avenue (all except Fifth and Lexington avenues, I believe), and many of the cross streets : you are said to travel in this way by " car," but by " stage " if you take another form of conveyance, namely a. 'bus. But there is no sitting on top of the New York stages as can be done in the case of our London 'buses, for they are small, and only take passengers inside ; moreover they are " bobtailed," as are some of the UNDER THE ELEVATED RAILWAY. horse-cars. A bobtailed stage or car is one without a con- ductor or man to collect the fares, there being a box inside with a slit in the top, into which the passenger is trusted to drop the exact amount of the fare. If he wants change out of his money, he can, in a bobtailed horse-car, obtain it from the driver to the amount of two dollars, and no more, and the driver will hand back to the passenger a little sealed packet containing the whole amount returned in the form of small 30 Through America. pieces of change, and thus the proper fare, which is generally five cents, can be selected and dropped into the till. In a stage, however, there is no such communication between the passenger and driver, for the former is here left to pay in the exact amount, and if he happens to have no change well, we will not suppose him so dishonest as to take u ride for nothing. But the fare-box is so placed that the driver can peep down from his seat and see if everyone inside has paid, and if you don't pay immediately you step in, the driver will " rap away" at you till you do till he sees you have dropped the proper fare into the box, whereupon he will turn a slide and pass the money out of sight, so that there may be no confusion when the next passenger comes to pay in his fare. Stages are painted red, white, and blue, and have bright- coloured pictures (very dauby-looking) illuminating the sides. They traverse the Broadway, and convey up-town New Yorkers to the ferries for Brooklyn. But it is " fashionable" in the Empire City to travel by horse-car, or else take the " elevated." Of course there are hackney carriages to be obtained, but these are very few and far between. They consist mostly of big family coaches-and-pairs, with room enough inside to comfortably seat six. If you happen to be in one of them by yourself you have abundance of room to pitch about, and the bumping you will receive owing to the unevenness of the roadway will soon cause you to do this whether you like it or no. There is another form of public conveyance called a "coupe," or small brougham, holding only two people. These coupes are invariably well cushioned, and are as comfortable a class of conveyance as one could well desire. The pity is there is not more of them. But driving about in public carriages in New York comes to be absurdly expensive, unless you hire by the hour, when the fare is one dollar. Yet even then there must be an understanding between yourself and the driver before starting, else there may be a "scene." The regulation fare per mile is one dollar ; but if you only drive along a couple of blocks you must pay a dollar all the same. I remember once being charged two dollars that is eight shillings for a drive from the Grand Central Depot (railway station) to my hotel, the Brevoort House, The Empire City. 3 1 whereas in London I could have done the distance for eighteen pence. But the great evil of New York is the unevenness of the roads. In some places they are so bad that you have to walk with the same amount of care you would use in cross- ing a river on stepping-stones take Frankfort and North William streets, and others in the vicinity of Printing House Square, as also all the streets leading down to the North River from Broadway or Fifth-avenue. The jolting you get in a stage is terrible, and it is not always convenient to take a car. It is no uncommon thing to see great holes which are allowed to exist in the middle of the street, down into which you bump, though only to be pulled out again with a violent jerk, which would have a serious result if you did not hold on tight. A man returning home late at night the worse for liquor would find these holes rather awkward for him, and in the way, for he would be on his head before he had got very far ; and yet if he kept to the pavement he would be just as liable to come down, for on coming to a cross street he would have to descend about a foot, and then have to mount up a foot again so as to regain the pavement on the other side. It is, however, after a good shower of rain that the New York roads are seen at their worst, let alone their uneven surface. Then some of the most frequented and fashionable thorough- fares are rendered well-nigh impassable for the pedestrian on account of the vast amount of mud that is allowed not only to accumulate, there being no such thing as a street crossing, but to remain uncleared away for days upon days together. A man wishing to cross a street in such a state must be careful to tuck up the ends of his trousers ere he ventures to make the experiment, for his boots will, in a step or two, be covered with the slimy mess, and more than this ; he must be prepared to slide about on the slippery surface like a duck trying to waddle to the other side of an ice-pond. And the pavements are just as bad. You could use a pair of skates on them. The thick black mud, so continually trampled upon, here becomes a kind of smooth cake or dough, over which you struggle in vain to walk steady and straight. It would of course be superfluous to draw attention to the disgraceful condition of the New York roads in wet weather, 32 Through America. were it not for the fact that no effort, apparently, is made to clean them. (The responsibility for their condition rests with the Bureau or Committee of Street-cleaning, which is appointed by the Board of Police Commissioners.) A street crossing swept and kept so, and rendered in a passable condition so that one can cross without fear of getting one's boots well mudded during the passage, is, as far as my experience goes, a thing unknown in the Empire City. It is strange, too, that at least some of the garbage or refuse is not removed from the city sewers, so as to prevent poisonous and obnoxious smells arising, particularly on a warm summer's day, about which there have been so many complaints lately. Such a state of things cannot be conducive to the health of the New Yorkers. And yet the people of the Empire City are highly taxed for the proper cleansing of their streets. Another of the evils of New York is the conspicuous white- paint advertisements that disfigure the upper portion of the city. The white and yellow daubing, indeed, that here prevails so extensively, is nothing less than a disgrace to any respecta- ble and well-ordered community. Above Eightieth-street, and on the other side of the Harlem River, where buildings are, as yet, few and far between, where palatial marble and granite structures give place to wooden and red brick " skin " dwelling- houses with eight-inch party walls, the huge notices of aperients, liniments, pills, plasters, powders, hair-dyes, etc., completely cover rocks and palings, and the blank walls of houses, although there is a State law which prohibits the disfigurement of natural scenery in this ruthless, shoppy fashion. It is to be hoped that an effort will be made to remove the more objectionable of these advertisements before the forthcoming New York International Exhibition, the great " world's fair " of i883. 7 Some of them are simply disgusting. 7 The contemplated international exhibition to be held in New York, in 1883, is in celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and the recognition of American independence, the evacuation of the British troops from the city of New York, on November 25, 1783, having marked the close of the War of Independence. The Centennial Exhibition, which was held in Philadelphia in 1876, was, it will be remem- bered, in celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, that famous Declaration having been first publicly made in that city. The Empire City. 33 A great number of the streets are built so much alike that it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between them with- out the most careful scrutiny and observation. A glance, for instance, up Forty-sixth, Forty-seventh, Forty-eighth, Forty- ninth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first streets, in the direction of Fifth- avenue, as you pass them in order on the Sixth-avenue " L," or in a horse-car on the same avenue, will fail to reveal any appreciable difference in them, excepting a church spire (that of the Dutch Reformed Church, and a beauti- ful spire this is) in Forty-eighth street, and a portion of the west front of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral, which just comes into view as you flit past Fifty-first street. Every house has a frontage of Connecticut brown-stone, and a " stoop " or flight of ten steps attached, by ascending which admittance is gained into the front entrance of the building. Most of the private residences in the city are provided with similar " stoops." In one respect New York excels our English towns, and that is in its shade-trees. Not only in the " avenues," but in the cross streets, also, there are trees growing ; and though they are not planted here so numerously as in other American cities, yet they are sufficient to impart- to the busy metropolis a delightfully rural appearance. As purifiers of the atmosphere their beneficial influence is indisputable. If there is one thing more than another for which New York is particularly distinguished, it is for the excellence, the wonderful variety, the illimitable supply, and con- sequently the cheapness of its oysters. To one who is partial to a good oyster now and then, this city must be simple bliss. How many saloons there are in the place wholly given up to the cooking of the bivalves in every variety of form, and to the continual supply of them without need of any cooking, and how many of the good people of the Empire City daily and nightly crowd the saloons in the season, and how many oysters on an average each person eats all this might furnish an interesting subject of inquiry for the lover of statistics. Oysters stewed, oysters steamed, oysters fried, oysters broiled, oysters scalloped, oysters raw, oyster pie, oyster pattie, oyster soup ; you can have your oysters prepared in any one of these forms if you step into D 34 Through America. the first saloon you happen to pass, no matter how unpre- tentious or humble it may look, it will not escape your notice for want of sufficient advertisement, and there you will find piles upon piles of the shell-fish on the counters ready waiting to be opened. Now I advise all who are interested on the subject of oysters to visit the restaurant of Mr. Robert Burns, at No. 783, Sixth-avenue, any time during the season. Mr. Burns, to begin with, is a typical oyster man. He was born (he told me) on an oyster bed, rocked in a cradle of oyster shells, his first play-toy was an oyster, and he has been playing with oysters now for fifty-one years. Very courteous and willing to afford every information within his power on the subject of his shell-fish, Mr. Burns will tell the visitor to his establishment a few facts which may cause him to open his eyes. He will tell him but perhaps I had better relate my own experiences when I first made the acquaintance of Mr. Burns, and his excellent oysters. This was in the month of November, 1879, at tne conclusion of my second visit to the United States, and he had then in stock about fifty thousand : but that was a small matter. In holiday-time, he told me, he has from four to five hundred thousand. Mr. Burns set before me a large plateful of Cow Bays. Now these oysters in particular were of prodigious size ; I measured them, shells and all. The shells of the first one I measured were ten and a half inches long, and averaged four and a half inches in width ; those of the second I measured were nine inches by six ; those of another, nine inches by four. The meat inside each averaged six inches by four. Of course I could do no more than look at them : it would have taken a nigger to have swallowed them. I doubt even if Dr. Tanner after his celebrated fast could have successfully bolted half a dozen of them. I was shown about fifteen thousand of these monsters, all stored away in bins in a cellar under the house. Mr. Burns told me that he sometimes has them much larger. Of the well-known " Blue Points " he had many thousand. Those I tried were in splendid condition, as good as any Whitstable " natives " or Scotch " Pandores" very much better than those which are sent over to our Liverpool and London markets, and can be bought at ninepence a dozen. The Empire City. 35 Blue Point is the name given to the upper part of Cow Bay, which is an inlet of Long Island Sound, about fifty miles above New York. A natural oyster bed, it is ten miles in length, and contains two-thirds salt water to one-third fresh. Cow Bay of itself produces more oysters than all the other oyster beds of the country put together. Millions of the bivalves consumed in and around New York are brought from Virginia; but these are not to be compared in flavour with the natural seed oysters of Cow Bay, and other famous beds in the neighbourhood of the Empire City, such as Raritan Bay, the Mill Pond,- Rockaway, Flushing and Sheepshead Bays. Again, Virginian "plants," or seed oysters, are sent when they are no larger than one's thumb nail to improve in the New York waters, where they grow fatter and richer. They are sold by the cargo to the large dealers and thrown in sometimes from fifty to one hundred thousand bushels at a time, according to the extent of the beds. Ninety thousand six hundred and sixty-three barrels of oysters were shipped to England from New York and neighbouring ports in 1879, at a total value of 9 u ggy- I " convulsed " when I caught sight of them, I never saw anything so ridiculous. Darkie was standing up cudgeling his horse with a big stick ; his wife, etc., sat and gazed admiringly while he pitched into his beast. But the beast would not budge an inch ; so darkie stood and jeered at him, opening his immense mouth till it included half the size of his head. And such an animal he drove ! You could have counted all its ribs. Not so, however, the other horses in the park. Some of them were splendid creatures, and stepped out at a fine pace. They alone were worth coming into the park to see. The Americans provide beautiful resting-places for their dead, but there is none more beautiful than the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. A visit to this famous burial-ground should form one of the first and foremost objects of the stranger on his arrival in New York, were it only for the glorious and comprehensive view to be here obtained of the great metropolis and its surroundings, even supposing he did not care to interest himself in tombstones and graveplots. Occupying a slight elevation immediately overlooking the City of Brooklyn, this cemetery commands, also, an extensive panorama of the splendid Bay of New York and the Long Island Sound, of New York City itself and Jersey City, and of Long Island in the direct-ion of Coney Island and Sandy Hook, all of which can be taken in from the two highest elevations in the cemetery, Battle and Ocean Hills. And Greenwood Cemetery is well named, for it is a lovely park of 600 acres, with hills and dales, lakes and fountains, and numberless quiet retreats from the busy world outside. Perhaps nowhere in the two hemispheres is there a more lovely city of the dead. And yet Mount Auburn near Boston, and Oakwood at Troy, though of less extent, are each of them scarcely less beautiful. 12 w There have been 199,747 interments in Greenwood Cemetery since it was formally opened to the public on August 15, 1842, 5132 of them during the year 1879. There were seventy- three cats destroyed in the cemetery in 1879; also 3159 mice, twenty-nine dogs, thirty- three rats, one skunk, two musk-rats, sixty-four snakes, and thirty-three moles. 44 Through America. The road one would take to Greenwood after crossing the East River by the Fulton-street ferry, is not likely, in its present condition, to impress the stranger very favourably with Brooklyn supposing, that is to say, this is his first visit TRINITY CHURCH, BROADWAY. (Seepage 13.) to the " City of Churches," as Brooklyn is frequently called. The road or street I refer to goes by the name of Hamilton - avenue, and is peopled mostly by Irish. One proceeds along it for about three miles before coming to the cemetery. But The Empire City. 45 the tumble-down appearance of the buildings that here line the public way, the uneven side-walks, and still worse road- way, fortunately there are tramway cars to take one to the cemetery, the swarms of dirty little children running about hither and thither without any shoes or stockings on, all this, I say, is not calculated to give one exalted impressions of Brooklyn. And yet Brooklyn is a great city, the third largest in population in the United States, 13 even though it lies so close to New York, the most populous in the Union. But Brooklyn bears the same relation to New York as the shadow does to its substance, for a great many of those who do business in the latter city have their homes in the former. There are but few things for the ordinary tourist to see and do here, great city though Brooklyn is. About the only attractions are the Greenwood Cemetery, the United States Navy Yards, the Prospect Park, and those two notorious divines, Henry Ward Beecher and Dr. T. de Witt Talmage. 14 13 According to the estimated census returns of 1880, Brooklyn's popu- lation is 566,680. 14 The terrible railway disaster which happened in Scotland on the night of December 28, 1879, was the theme of a remarkable sermon preached by Dr. Talmage in Brooklyn Tabernacle, on the morning of the Sunday following. The Sunday discourses of this eccentric divine are weekly reported in the New York Monday papers. Perhaps the notice of the sermon in question to which the New York World treated its readers, will not be found uninteresting. Prefacing its report with two large and attractive headings, TALMAGE IN HIS GLORY. HE "IMPROVES" THE DISASTER ON THE BRIDGE OF TAY IN MANNER AND FORM FOLLOWING, the World proceeds to say : " It needed only the advertisement which the careful and business-like managers of Mr. Talmage's Tabernacle inserted in yesterday morning's papers to give to Mr. Talmage yesterday morning an overwhelmingly large audience. It was announced that he would preach on or about the recent railroad disaster in Scotland. Mr. Talmage, true to his advertise- ment, pitched right into the subject at once. His text was taken from that portion of Holy Writ entitled Nahum, and read : ' The chariots shall rage in the streets. They shall jostle one another in the broad ways. They shall seem like torches. They shall run like lightning.' " ' If that be not an express tram under full headway at night/ said the preacher, * what is it ? I am inclined to think that the use of steam was one of the lost arts, and that Nahum knew all about it long before Robert 46 Through America. The Prospect Park, i.-deed, a large rambling recreation ground of 510 acres, is too far out of the city to be much resorted to, and hardly repays a visit It is only within the last few years that there has been any considerable wholesale Fulton and others were born. When you read this text you hear the clank of the couplings and the ring of the wheels on the iron rails. It may be the sound of a train between Albany and New York, or between Cincinnati and St. Louis ; it may be (Mr. Talmage made a dire face) a train between Dundee and Glasgow. For moral improvement this morning I shall call your attention to the terrible disaster of the Tay Bridge last Sunday evening.' Mr. Talmage then told how on the 3ist of last July he went down the River Tay on a steamer, which he called by name, and how he was impressed, more than the Hudson or the Rhine had ever impressed him, with its rare beauties. From its birth at Loch Tay to its transformation into the German Ocean the River Tay is, according to Mr. Talmage, a chain of enchantment. He told how, ten or fifteen minutes after leaving the Dundee dock, the steamer passed under the great bridge, and how he remarked to an inquiring Scotchman that there was nothing in America like it, with its eighty-seven spans, its eighty feet of width, and two miles of length. Then from these remi- niscences of his pleasant journey down the stream, Mr. Talmage turned at once to his subject. * When, last Sabbath, the conductor lifted his hand to the engineer of that ill-fated train, what a smooth opening was that great architectural triumph to the horror that followed ! Will not some switchman with a red flag run out ? Will not the echo of the rocks cry ' Halt ' ? Will not some friendly voice borne on the wings of the night-wind stop the doomed procession ? How dumb and unsympathetic are all the natural surroundings ! Not a note of warning as the coaches go swaying to and fro on to destruction ! Down through the darkness and the space, down, down ! Crash ! crash ! crash ! All dead ! Some by fright, some by bruise, some by drowning. Death stopped that train. Death put his foot on the brakes, collected the tickets, seized the royal mail-bags, and horrified the world. The bridge broke. What a text for a sermon !' Mr. Talmage then paused to explain that it was not his intention to draw from the disaster a moral apropos of Sabbath-breaking, but to take a broad and Christian view of the catastrophe. ' Learn first,' he continued, ' that God is mightier than science, and that science ought to be reverential. General Hutchings, the supervisor of railroads in Scotland, said that the Tay Bridge was safe beyond all necessity, and yet under a blast from God's nostrils 2000 feet of it gave way. Science says ' I can do anything.' It makes the Creator a superfluity. Yea, it proposes to build a bridge over into the next world. And men start to cross this bridge drawing trains of hope behind them, when behold ! midway the Lord blows upon it, and they are lost. Learn in the next place that a bridge which doesn't reach clear across is of no use. The stability of the abutment on the Fife side of the River Tay tempted the train to destruction. We want a complete bridge across the river of death. Thank God, we have one ! The Empire City. 47 business done in Brooklyn. Many of the principal streets are shockingly paved I mean " co'bbled." Let any one take a horse-and-trap and drive the full length of Fulton-street, some seven or eight miles, all in one long straight line except the first mile from the ferry, and the shaking and the bumping he will surely get he will retain a recollection of as long as he lives. Its abutments are quarried from the Rock of Ages, its timbers are hewn from Calvary, and it is nailed with nails from the Cross ! "'In the third place, learn that all travellers ought to have spiritual insurance. The world goes on wheels. Railroad travelling is every day increasing. Soon the solemn silence of Palestine will be broken by the conductor's shout, " All aboard for Jerusalem," " Ten minutes for refresh- ments at Damascus," " Change cars for the Dead Sea." How long did the passengers at South Norwalk and Ashtabula and on the River Tay have for preparation ? Don't let the future of your soul depend upon a frosty rail or a drunken switchman. Between the top of a bridge and the bottom of a river is a small space in which to prepare for a residence of five hundred thousand million centuries.' " In the last place Mr. Talmage implored his hearers to learn from the railroad disaster that Death was no respecter of persons. There were on the train, he said, one first-class coach, two second-class coaches, and four for third-class travellers. ' I don't know which went first, but they all went down. How complete the democracy of travel ; how complete the democracy of the graveyard ! There is no first, second, or third class with Death. He stalks into the house at Gad's Hill and says, " I want that novelist." He enters Windsor Castle and says, " I want that Prince Consort." He walks into the almshouse and says, " Give me that pauper." And in the howling of the winter storm he stood on the Tay Bridge and cried, '' Give into my cold bosom those railway passengers !" ' " His sermon finished, Mr. Talmage requested Mr. Morgan to play on the organ the ' Dead March from Saul,' which request Mr. Morgan though evidently taken by surprise, promptly complied with." VIEW ON THE HUDSON RIVER. West Point Landing. CHAPTER II. TO NIAGARA. Decoration Day in New York The cityenfete Processions and speech- making Troops of darkies Starting West The Hudson River A procession of canal barges Bringing grain from Chicago The Hudson River in the autumn The scenery about West Point The Catskill Mountains American patriotism The home of Washington Irving A seminary for young ladies The diet of American ladies at college The ice harvest of the Hudson Brick-making The white- paint nuisance again Albany Its new State Capitol Utica A dinner off a cigar Railway travelling in America Parlour cars and sleeping cars Examining tickets Conductors' checks Buying and selling A parlour car pantry The baggage check system Its great convenience to the traveller Niagara. THE thirtieth day of May is known as Decoration Day 1 in 1 Called also Memorial Day. To Niagara. 49 America. It is a national holiday set apart annually for re- specting the memories of those soldiers who perished in the late rebellion a day which is kept sacred all over the United States, when flowers are placed on the graves of the departed and their statues and monuments are publicly and formally decorated. This day is right religiously observed in the Empire City. Speeches are made and processions organized, the various " posts " of the Grand Army of the Republic are paraded before the mayor ; certain civic organizations with their bands accompanied by distinguished citizens in their carriages, and waggons filled with ladies carrying baskets of flowers to decorate the soldiers' graves in the public cemeteries, join the column of the Grand Army and are reviewed by his worship likewise ; the whole city, in short, turns out en masse to do honour to the illus- trious dead. 2 Now it so happened that Decoration Day occurred on the second day after that of our first arrival in the Empire City. On Thursday morning, May 30, 1878, we found New York decked out in gayest attire, flags flying in all directions, stands erected for viewing the processions, everybody rushing about as if everybody was mad ; indeed, such evidences were there this day of " a real high old time " in this beautiful Metropolis of the West, that though we had fully made up our minds to make a start in the morning for California, we deter- mined to wait over the day, for it would never have done to have gone away and missed seeing the festivities with which it would be celebrated. The "exercises " of the day were commenced with a special performance of sacred music upon the chimes of Trinity Church, which, sending forth various hymn-tunes to be found in our " Hymns Ancient and Modern," delighted crowds of listeners assembled in the street below. At the same time the 2 I think there is nothing that brings out more forcibly the keen patriotism of the American people than this their annual observance of the festival of Decoration Day. Not only in New York, but in Boston Philadelphia, Washington, St. Louis, Cincinnati, New Orleans, etc., this day is regularly celebrated, when every cemetery is visited, every soldier's monument is decorated, and not a grave of those who died for their country is omitted to be honoured. In the evening there is generally a memorial " service " held in some suitable spacious building, when the " exercises " take the form of patriotic addresses and songs. 50 Through America. ceremonies of publicly decorating the statues of Abraham Lincoln and Lafayette were taking place in Union-square, when in the presence of an enthusiastic multitude and an array of military a little more floral decoration was formally added to the already profusely-adorned statue of Lincoln, and an oration delivered by Major-General Schulyer Hamilton; after which the statue of the French hero was publicly draped with the tricolor, and his head crowned with laurel, and then another oration was delivered by General M. T. MacMuhon. UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK. The equestrian statue of General Washington in the same square was next proceeded with, and very profuse and elaborate were the decorations of this the chief monument in the Empire City, mostly consisting of moss, festoons of azaleas, roses, immortelles, rhododendrons, and palm-leaves from Florida. (This monument is decorated every year on De- coration Day by an association of Washington and West Washington Market dealers, formed in 1877 for the purpose.) On one side of the 4-ft.-high pedestal supporting the statue was wrought in flowers the motto, " 1777-1878. To Niagara. 5 1 THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY." On the other side were the words, " THE IMMORTAL WASHINGTON." Near the statue a stand was erected, and here I believe enthusiastic amatores patrice made speeches till they were black in the face : but I did not stay to listen and be fired by their patriotic remarks. Other statues and monuments were visited and decorated, and then a procession of regiments of soldiers and sailors, battalions of telegraph messengers and members of the Fire Brigade, " disabled comrades " in barouches and a few sur- vivors of the War of 1812, and many decked-out floral waggons containing a number of ladies, paraded the principal streets, and were lustily cheered by a patriotic mob. There were troops of white men and troops of "colored" men, knicker- bockered Zouaves and short-trousered coal-black darkies, the latterdressed in the most laughable outfits conceivable. Some of the niggers were fine-looking fellows, handsome and soldierly in their blackness. But the curious way they had of marching rolling themselves along by putting first one shoulder forward, then the other, while they carried their rifles pointed straight up to the clouds and tried to look fierce, was really fine, and evoked from us much laughter ; indeed it was the best pan- tomime I ever saw. In front of one troop of darkies two gray- haired, or rather gray-woolled old negroes stumped along, carry- ing between them a large open clothes-basket, containing a cloth, which hid something. I believe there was something good to eat inside, which would be pitched into as soon as the marching was over ; but this is only a conjecture of mine. A pouring rain came down in the middle of the marching, and lasted till evening. I got a nigger under my umbrella. He had a nose which connected both his whiskers ; it stretched more than half-way across his countenance. He was exceedingly com- municative, and kindly afforded me information about himself and his coloured brethren marching by, whom he evidently considered the flower of the army. He grinned and showed his teeth at them ; he stamped and kicked and shouted " Golly ! " many times when he caught sight of his old com- rades and the regiment to which he once belonged. These troops of niggers exhibited a rare and unique collection of noses, the breadth of some of them was really too ridiculous. E 2 52 Through America. Their bands were out of time and tune, and the airs they played were, I should say, with the exception of " Nancy Lee," composed by the two gray-woolled old gentlemen above- mentioned. I will now ask the reader to accompany me across the continent to San Francisco, on a trip which I took with my friend (already referred to) in the year 1 878, part of which I took again myself in 1879. And first we will set out for Niagara. DAY-BOAT, HUDSON RIVER. May 31, 1878. There are two routes by which the Niagara Falls are gene- rally reached from New York. Either the Erie Railroad is taken direct (445 miles), or one can proceed by boat up the Hudson River or by railway along its eastern bank, for 145 miles, as far as Albany, and from thence take the train for 327 miles via Buffalo (472 miles in all). It was this latter route that we selected in order to reach the Falls. But the sum- mer navigation season not having yet commenced, we had to content ourselves now with seeing as much as we could of To Niagara. 53 this far-famed river from the crowded window of a Pullman car. Many trips, however, since tak~:i on this river, both in 1878 and 1879, enable me to offer here a few remarks on some of its salient features. A trip on the Hudson in one of "its palatial steamers, among picturesque scenery unrivalled, with a band of music on board, and with the comforts and luxuries of a well-ordered hotel, is one to be remembered. Many persons compare the Hudson with the Rhine, but there are but few points of resem- DAY-BOAT, HUDSON RIVER. Another view. blance between the two rivers. The former is a river on an immense scale. In places it widens to the breadth of some miles. It has large towns on its banks ; ships ascend for more than a hundred miles as far as the city of Hudson, 115 miles from the New York City Hall, though the river steamers ascend to Troy, 1 5 1 miles ; and during the season many passenger boats ply up and down and continually pass each other in the night, as well as in the day. Scores of canal barges laden 54 Through America. with every variety of merchandise, may often be seen lashed together in one long line, tugged by two or more steamers. Once I remember seeing two tugs abreast dragging after them down-stream forty of these barges, which were strung together in eight lots, five in each lot. Following close behind these came a second string of twenty-six, with three steamers tugging them ; behind these, again, came a third string of thirty- eight, towed by three steamers likewise. Thus there was a procession of one hundred and four barges in three detach- ments drawn by eight steam-tugs ! These barges are laden with freight, which has come by water all the way from Chicago, nearly fourteen hundred miles inland. (The exact distance of the water route from Chicago to New York is 1379 miles.) They have been loaded at Buffalo on Lake Erie with grain, timber, etc., which have been brought by vessel from Chicago 900 miles across Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie, and from Buffalo they have come by the Erie Canal for 350 miles to Albany, whence they have taken the Hudson River to New York. At New York the docks and piers on the East River front of the city, from No. 2 to No. 10 inclusive, are set apart by statute for the accommoda- tion of these boats, except during the months of J anuary and February, and part of March (till March 5), when they are open to all classes of shipping. From 4000 to 6000 barges come to New York annually via the Erie Canal and Hudson River, the majority of them loaded with wheat, barley, oats, timber, and malt. A canal boat laden with grain may be valued at about 24.00!. sterling. It holds about as much as can be got into twenty-two railway waggons ; that is, about 165,000 feet of lumber, or 7800 bushels of wheat. It is not now in the late spring, nor is it in summer, that the Hudson River is seen at its best. But in the autumn, when its well-timbered banks are clothed with those rich and glorious tints ; when the maples, elms and oaks have put on their autumnal dress, and their leaves have turned to bright crimson and gold ; when the whole of this part of the country, in truth, is decked in the gayest and most brilliant colours then is the time to see the Hudson, and a more beautiful and inspiring sight it would be hard indeed to imagine. See this river in October, about, the second or third week if possible, To Niagara. 55 and the sight you will then witness will not soon fade from the memory. There is one part of the Hudson which recalls a recollection of the Rhine above Coblenz, and this is at West Point, fifty miles above New York, where the river, contracting into a narrow channel, forces its way through a fine mountainous gorge. Here is centred scenery at once glorious and im- pressive in the extreme. Between West Point where is established an important military academy and Albany, the Catskill Mountains come into sight on the west bank, forming one of the most striking views on this noble river. Distant eight miles away they rise a huge bold barrier, averaging 3000 feet in height, towering abruptly out of the plain which stretches between them and the river. They are covered from top to bottom with one dense forest of timber. The Hudson does not abound in legendary lore ; yet here, here among the Catskills has been laid the scene of one of the most popular legends of the day it is the legend of poor Rip van Winkle, who fell into bad hands and took his nap of twenty years in the Sleepy Hollow of the Catskill Moun- tains. The spot is still shown were Rip played his game of nine-pins with those strange-looking people, and quaffed the potent nectar. It lies in a deep dark glen, nestled among the wildest mountain scenery, and seems just the proper place for bogies and hobgoblins. But if the Hudson abounds not in legendary lore ; if, too, this river, the (so called) " Rhine of America," cannot boast of " Chiefless castles breathing stern farewells From grey but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells/' still it is, from the Americans' point of view, more historically interesting and dear to them than all the legends and " chief- less castles" in the world put together, and only naturally so, for it was here, on the banks of the Hudson, that some of the most important scenes were enacted during the struggle of the American people for independence. Forts Lee, Washington, Clinton, and Montgomery ; also West Point (called the "Gibraltar of America"), Jeffrey's Hook, the villages of Tappan and Haverstraw all these are points on this river as indelibly engraven in the memories of our 56 Through America. Transatlantic friends as any battlegrounds in history in which we as a nation take equal patriotic pride. And the Ameri- cans are an intensely patriotic people of this we may be well assured. Their patriotism is shown by the veneration they pay to the memory of George Washington, by the zealous way they annually celebrate their Decoration Day, and, one might also say, their Independence Day, or Fourth of July ; for which, indeed, all old sores being now completely healed and forgotten, we ought to give them all the honour and credit that is due. There are some places on the Hudson which are interesting from another point of view. Thus there is Sing Sing, famous for its convict prison ; also Irvington, noted as being the home of Washington Irving, the " father of American literature." Irving's house, called Sunnyside, stands a short distance from the river, hidden among thick shrubberies, and is covered with ivy grown from a sprig which Sir Walter Scott is said to have presented to Irving when he was at Abbotsford. There is also the city of Poughkeepsie, the Indian (Mohegan) Apo-keep-sinck, the " safe and pleasant harbour," seventy-five miles above New York, where is Vassar College, the celebrated seminary for ladies. At this college 300 young women "are educated in the fullest sense of the word." They are taught Greek and Latin extensively, also physics, physiology, mental and moral philosophy, and they have museums of geology, natural history and botany, a laboratory for chemistry, an observatory, a gymnasium, and a riding-school. According to Scribne^s Magazine, this is what they eat : " Two hundred pounds of beef, mutton, or lamb, or seventy shad for dinner daily, after one hundred and twenty- five pounds of steak for breakfast. They consume two hundred and seventy to three hundred and fifty quarts of milk per day ; from seventy-five to one hundred pounds of butter daily ; one half-barrel of granulated sugar, six pounds of coffee, and three to four pounds of tea for the same time. Canned fruit of all kinds is eaten largely. Twice a week they do away at dinner with one hundred and sixty quarts of ice-cream. Farinaceous food abounds. Two articles, with bread and butter, are always supplied at tea, Twice To Niagara. 57 a day they have some acid. Winter brings buckwheat and rice cakes, and twenty barrels of syrup are used in a year." 3 One of the most important industries connected with the Hudson River is the annual gathering and storing away of its ice during the winter months, so as to meet the summer THE STORMKING ROCK, HUDSON RIVER. requirements of the people of the Empire State. As you sail along the river, you see stationed at various points on each shore enormous (and very unsightly) timber warehouses, 8 Quoted from " American Pictures," by the Rev. Samuel Manning. The Philadelphia Ledger affords us further interesting information as to what is eaten and drunk by the young ladies at this college. It says : " In the last collegiate year (1879-80), 303 Vassar girls have consumed forty-five tons of fresh meats, two tons and a half of smoked meats, two tons 58 Through America. standing close to the water's edge. These have been erected for the purpose of receiving the ice, which is piled up in them in huge blocks, and kept there till it is wanted. There are from one to two or three of these ice-houses stationed at forty-one points along the river, and some of them are capable of holding from 10,000 to 65,000 tons each. The ice crop of the Hudson was a comparative failure during the winter of 1879-80, and a great number of hands, some- thing like eleven or twelve thousand, were thrown out of em- ploy in consequence. The companies had to go to remote places for their usual supply, such as Lake Champlain, and the Adirondack lake region, and this naturally caused a great increase in the price of the article, at which the consumers were not slow to grumble. Nearly a million tons of ice were procured from Lake Champlain last winter by New York and Hudson River companies, and about 800,000 tons from the Adirondack lake region. There were 67,500 tons harvested in the immediate vicinity of Troy, of which 46,500 tons were sold to the New Yor.k dealers. Ice was sold in New York this summer (1880) to small consumers at the rate of 4^. per week for a daily supply of from eighteen to twenty pounds ; to large consumers the cost was at the rate of 30^. per ton, perhaps a little under. This was the retail price per ton in New York, the wholesale price being 2Os. The Troy dealers charged 3^. per week to families, and 2s. per 100 Ibs. to restaurants, marketmen, etc. where a large quantity was re- quired at a time. There were 10,000,000 tons of ice harvested in the United States for summer use during the winter of 1878-79. Brick-making is another important industry connected with the Hudson River. There were 175 brickyards in operation last spring between the towns of Tarrytown of poultry, three tons of fish, a ton and a half of salt-fish, and five barrels of mackerel. Also 25,800 clams, 442 gallons of oysters, five barrels olf pork, 225 barrels of flour, over two tons of buckwheat, thirty-six bushels of beans, 84O9~dozen eggs, 14,740 pounds of butter, 93,602 quarts of milk, 252 barrels of apples, 3823 pounds of grapes, 8005 bananas, 13,846 lemons, 22,611 oranges, 307 cans of potted meats, 154 jars of raspberry jam, 211 gallons of apple sauce, 326 boxes of sardines, 1141 pounds of hickory nuts, 1919 bushels of potatoes, six barrels of onions, 468 gallons of molasses and syrups, etc." To Niagara. 59 and Troy, that is within a distance of 123 miles, these varying in the productive capacity of from 20,000 to 150,000 bricks per day. The banks of the Hudson are beautifully wooded through- out, and studded with thousands of pretty villas, the suburban retreats of the wealthy merchants of New York, and of other adjacent cities. Here "art and nature" to quote from an American journal "so rival each other that one is at a loss which most to praise." But though this may be so, it must not be overlooked that the beauty of this river is sadly marred by a nuisance already referred to, one that blurs all natural scenery in this part of the country I mean the huge staring white-paint advertisements of pills, plasters, etc., which here figure up as prominently as usual. Who is there who does not call to mind that conspicuous notice relating to " GERMAN LAUNDRY SOAP " planted at the base of the Palisades on the west bank of the river, and which can be plainly read from the opposite shore, though the river must be here more than a mile wide at least ? Other enormous notices there are, of a similar nature, in the neighbourhood of West Point. It really makes one feel indignant when one sees the beauties of Nature so dishonoured by such nauseous embellishments from the paint-pot. Arriving at Albany, the prosperous capital (political) of the State of New York, we put up at the Delevan House, near the station. There is nothing particular here to detain the traveller. A stroll through the city, a visit to the famous Dudley Observatory, a look at the marble walls of the new State Capitol in course of erection, a building which is causing the unfortunate tax-payers a terrible sum of money, is suffi- cient. The Capitol, it may be mentioned, was begun twelve years ago, in 1868. Already it has cost 1,920,1367. It will cost a further sum of 700, ooo/. before it is finished. Governor Cornell, in his Message to the State Legislature delivered at Albany on the 6th of last January, held out a hope that the work would be completed before 1883. Originally it was to have cost only 8oo,ooo/. After breakfast next morning (June 1st) we took the 9.30 train for Niagara, distant 328 miles from Albany. On the 60 Through America. way we obtained views of modern Rome, Verona, Syracuse, Utica, Frankfort, Amsterdam, Waterloo, Geneva, and Ro- chester. For the first hundred miles we followed the course of the Mohawk River, through pretty, wooded scenery. We saw many turtles on the rocks, both in and beside the river. At Utica, in the middle of the day, we all turned out to dine except one old gentleman in our car, who preferred remaining behind and contenting himself with dining off his cigar. He had a peaceful chew all to himself while we did full justice to the good things at the station buffet. And now a little about railway travelling in America. Let us take our train to-day from Albany to Niagara or rather to Buffalo, twenty-two miles from Niagara, for here we leave the main-line, our train dividing, half going with us to "the Falls" and the other half to Chicago, 837 miles from Albany. There is first the engine, whose weight is forty tons. Behind it come the baggage-vans (two in number to-day), which are generally placed next the engine. Behind these is the mail-van, containing all the letters. It has a little letter-box at the side, called a "despatch-box/' into which one can slip a newspaper or letter at any time during the journey, and have it duly "mailed." Every mail train carries a despatch-box, and people are frequently running up and post- ing their letters in this way. Behind the mail-van come four passenger carriages or " cars," as we must call them in this country. This makes up a fairly long train, for the American car is much longer than the ordinary English carriage, being about sixty feet in length. It is possible to walk through the train from one end to the other, beginning with the first baggage-van behind the engine and so on through the passenger cars till you can walk no further, and here, at the end of the train, you can stand at the doorway of the last car and admire the receding view. There are no platforms at the sides, and there are but two doors to a car, one at each end. I have met with the English form of railway carriage only once in America, and that was on the Old Colony Railroad, which runs between Fall River, Taunton, and Boston. Now the general effect of our engine is extraordinary. To Niagara. 61 Massive and clumsy-looking, it has a monster black funnel resembling a wine-strainer, very wide at the top and taper- ing towards the bottom. It is called a "smoke-stack," not a funnel. In like manner, you seldom hear an engine called an " engine," but a " locomotive." (You " take the cars " to this or that place, not the " train." You " mail " a letter, you never " post " it.) Below, in front, is the large "cow-catcher." Its name suggests its use, and it is ENGINE AND CARS. composed of wooden palings. The catcher presents a for- midable appearance in the engine's architecture, and is the width of its entire front. Before the funnel is attached a large head-light, or lamp, wherewith to light up the track at night and enable the driver to stop the train quickly if a cow or other animal should be lying in the way, which, as we shall see further on, is sometimes the case. This might happen indeed at any time, for the railways in America are almost 62 ^7^ro^lgh America. invariably unenclosed, being laid over meadow-land and farm- land, and often along the streets of a town, without any protection being placed to prevent the track from being encroached upon. At a street or road-crossing, a notice such as "Mind the locomotive," or "Look out for the cars,' will be put up to warn people ; but it is the exception to find a hedgerow or fence planted, or a row of hurdles laid down, to prevent cattle from straying on to the metals. Behind the funnel is a bell, which is rung loudly by the driver when approaching or leaving a station, so as to clear the track. It serves also as a guard's whistle, such a thing being unknown in America. The clamour that is made on nearing an important station, when the bells attached to a number of engines are all clanging away in different keys, is perfectly deafening ; but when one is slowly rung, it sounds like a call to prayer. The cars are not divided into first, second, and third classes. All are equal at least are supposed to be out here. If a distinction does exist, it is one of dollars ; but not about Boston, however, for there will be found the true aristocracy of the country. One's position in society is not measured according to a superabundance or a deficiency of the " almighty dollar," among the " upper ten " of Boston and neighbourhood. Your neighbour in the railway car will address you with " sir/' and you will be careful to address him back likewise. You must be very polite and say " sir " to every man and " ma'am " to every woman, and then you will get on. Even the conductor or guard who comes round so often to take a look at your ticket, you must treat with great civility, for bear in mind he is a gentleman, and expects to be regarded as such. (Some of the best men in the country have been railway conductors in their day.) On no account attempt to " tip " him, as you would do the porter or the guard in the Old Country. You would never attempt it a second time. But you can fee your darkie attendant with impunity, and be sure that the poor fellow will pocket what you give him with avidity. Any small trifle will suffice. There is but little "tipping" in the United States, and this is one of the very few instances that could be mentioned. Pullman cars are generally used on the American railways, To Niagara. 63 and where they are not called by the name of Pullman they are constructed and fitted in a similar manner. There are two kinds the drawing-room or " parlor " car, and the palace sleeping-car. The former would answer to our first- class, for a slight extra charge is made for riding in it. With it, as well as with the sleeping-car, we are in a measure acquainted in England ; but with the common or ordinary car we are not familiar. As of course with every sort of American railway car, you can promenade the whole length of it. The seats, two in a section, all face one way, namely the engine. But if the section in front of you is unoccupied, you can, if you like, appropriate it with your legs by turning round the back of the seat on its hinges, and lying at full length. (On the Pennsylvania Railroad, however, notices are put up in the car informing you that this is " positively prohibited.") In every car there is a large pitcher of iced water, which affords the cooling beverage by means of a turned tap. The Americans are, in both summer and winter, great iced water drinkers. Indeed they are always drinking iced water. The arrangements in the sleeping-cars are so excellent that they leave nothing to be desired. In every such car there are separate lavatories for ladies and gentlemen. There are generally twelve sleeping sections, six a side, and every section contains an upper and a lower berth. Such a car is not unfrequently termed a " palace drawing-room and sleeping-car," and not inappropriately, for the internal fittings, the gildings, and the paintings, are of the highest order in point of elegance and taste ; besides, a transforma- tion is effected, when the berths have been made up, by the car being converted from a dormitory into a sitting-room, and as a sitting-room it is used throughout the day till bed-time, when the berths are again made up. The lower berth of your section is constructed upon the two seats of the section, which are vis-a-vis, an extra board being placed in between them. During the day the sheets, mattresses, pillows, etc., which go to make up two comfortable beds, are hidden away in the upper berth overhead, and are so concealed inside the beautifully-gilded case forming the frontj that anyone who had never before been inside a sleeping-car would not be 64 Through America. aware there was a berth overhead, unless informed of the fact. In the evening the mulatto attendant comes round and makes up the berths, producing the wooden partitions which enclose and divide you from the sections on both sides of your own and the curtain belonging to your section, which, when hung up in front, is found to be sufficiently large to conceal entirely both the upper and lower berths. It is advan- tageous, sometimes, to travel in a sleeping-car with a friend, so that he may share your section with you, for it is not at all pleasant if some rough kind of fellow, whether clean or honest you cannot tell, is put in along with you, especially if he is allotted the upper berth, and has to climb up over yours when he wishes to get into his own. In such a case, if you have not taken the precaution to hide away your valuables, but have innocently left them in the pockets of your clothes, which you have hung upon the pegs above, he would, were he feloniously inclined, and really you cannot tell who may be put in the section with you, have an opportunity for a quiet plunder all to himself, and this he probably would not find difficult to avail himself of. But your berth is roomy and wide, so that it is better to take everything in with you, and to make use of the two pegs you will find provided inside; or else you may stow as much as you can into the innermost corners of your berth, where you can be sure all will be safe. Thus protected from the vulgar gaze by the sufficient curtain you can go straight to bed. Or, if you find you have not enough room to accomplish this, you can do what I saw a young mother do to her baby- boy one night. She had not room, I suppose, to undress the little child behind the folds of the curtain, so she took him to the far end of the car, and there put on his night-things behind the scenes, together with her own, and afterwards toddled him up the car both mother and son clad in white linen tunics and popped him behind the curtain. This successfully accomplished, the mother herself then disap- peared from view. The two outside pegs at the top of your upper berth are sometimes appropriated by the occupant of the berth under you, who will calmly hang up his things on them if he finds he has* not room to do so on his own pegs. The awkwardness of this arrangement is felt when the occu- To Niagara. 65 pant of the lower berth gets up in the morning before you do, and you happen to be fast asleep overhead, and he has to clamber up on to your bed to unhook his things from the pegs should they chance to have become entangled on them. This once happened in my own case, when I was travelling alone. I was fast asleep at the time, but was suddenly awakened from my slumbers by finding someone on the top of me a great hulking fellow who had actually crawled up on to my bed to reach down his "pants" from the pegs aloft. A new conductor comes "on board " the train at each divi- sion of the line, and proceeds at once to walk through the cars and examine all the tickets. After he has inspected your ticket, which you purchased at the railway company's office or at your hotel before starting, he will pocket it, and give you in exchange a check, which you are to keep till you have passed over his division into the next one, when the con- ductor of that division will in his turn give you a check, and receive for it the check of the conductor of the preceding division ; and thus it is through the other divisions till you come to your journey's end. If you want to "stop over" at any intermediate station, you can do so by asking the con- ductor to endorse your ticket, or to give you a "stop-over check," unless the ticket you bought at starting was a "limited" one, as this would not allow you to break the journey, except at specified points. Should you be travelling by a " huckleberry train," or one that stops at every station, the chances are you are liable to have your ticket examined pretty frequently, especially if many people are taken up at the several stations, for the conductor invariably comes round after every single stoppage and diligently looks about some- times without success for all the passengers who have got up on to the various cars, and among such a number as he has to look after he is just as likely as not to become confused and forget, and to repeatedly ask you to show him your check. But you are saved the worry and bother that this frequent examination would entail by simply attending to the wording of your ticket, or rather your check, which will have a notice like " Please keep this check in sight " printed upon it on one side ; on the other side all the stations of the divisions and 66 Through America. the distances between each. Indeed the strange, not to say familiar action of the conductor upon presenting you with the check will show you what to do with it without need of further explanation, for instead of placing it in your hand, he will suddenly " go for" the band of your hat, and having successfully planted it there he will pass on to the next passenger and present him with his check in the same sort of fashion. Thus the conductor is saved trouble, and the pas- senger likewise, for every male passenger having his check visibly stuck in his hat, all the conductor has to do is to cast his eye round the car and see if there is a hat unprovided with one, and, if so, to pitch upon the wearer of that hat and ask him for his check. Once, when travelling on the "Shore Line " from New York to Boston, the conductor of one of the divisions of that line presented me with a check, one side of which was printed as follows : W If you wish A QUIET NAP place this on your Jf OR and always, by DAY OR NIGHT, Please to keep this CHECK IN SIGHT. Good for This Trip and Train Only. G. H. Wood, Conductor. A good deal of buying and selling goes on during a long railway journey. There is always someone walking through To Niagara. 67 the train, who comes round offering to sell you all sorts of delicacies, from a packet of popcorn to well, the latest English or American novel. To-day, for example, on our journey to Niagara, in the far corner of the car behind ours there was a large box, which was presided over by a boy, and in this box were stored away oranges, bananas, books, news- papers, cigars, etc., and every now and then the boy came round with his books and bananas, and asked us if we wanted to buy. Not only so, but he came and distributed printed slips to everyone, first in one car, then in another, on which was announced some startling novelty that he was about to bring round for the general inspection. One of these sets of slips contained the following information : " GREAT NATURAL CURIOSITY, IVORY THAT GROWS ON TREES. FOR SALE BY THE NEWSAGENTS ON THIS TRAIN, WHO WILL CALL ON YOU FOR THIS CIRCULAR, AND GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXAMINE THE ARTICLE." " The Article " was then brought round for examination, and speci- mens dealt out to each person, whether wanted or not, after which they were all collected again, both the slips and the " Natural Curiosity," for none of us felt inclined to buy, and then the same thing was tried on in the next car, and so on. The next wonder brought round for sale, previously announced by the usual distribution of printed slips, was some "Spanish Kisses," price one cent per box. The "kiss" was a poisonous compound of a kind of hardbake, the latest poison from New York, very bad for a cent. In the parlour car we occupied to-day a nigger presided over a pantry which was at one end of it, and dealt out for con- sumption fruit, strawberries-and-cream, tea, coffee, milk, lemonade, gin, sherry cobblers, sour-smash cocktails, gin cocktails, mint juleps, and an immense variety of American iced-drinks. He seemed to have a ready and endless supply of everything in this line of trade. One of the greatest conveniences experienced in travelling on the American railways is the facility with which you can go any distance, no matter how far, with several articles of baggage, and yet not be put to the trouble of looking after them from one end of the journey to the other no, not even if you have to change trains several times on the way. The F 2 68 Through America. companies over whose lines of rail you travel undertake the responsibility of delivering up your luggage to you safely at your journey's end, you must hand it over into their care, and allow them to transfer it -to its destination without let or hindrance on your part, rendering themselves liable for the loss of or injury to any article to an amount not exceeding one hundred dollars. You are thus saved an infinite amount of bother and trouble, and though you may be a little diffident at first and inclined rather to speculate on the chances as to whether you will ever see your belongings again, still there is no need for any anxiety, for you may rest assured they are in safe hands, and that you will find everything safe and sound when you come to your journey's end. Let me in a few words explain how this is managed. We will take, for instance, the two almost extreme points of the United States, Boston and San Francisco, the distance between the two places being 3440 miles. You are at the Brunswick Hotel, Boston, and intend starting this evening by the six o'clock train for the Golden City (San Francisco), where you will put up at suppose we say the Palace Hotel. But it is not your intention to go straight through to San Francisco without stopping and seeing some- thing " by the way." Indeed you intend not only to spend three or four days at Chicago, but to see Omaha as well, and you have also planned for yourself a few days' "hunting" on the Rocky Mountains in the neighbourhood of Laramie one of the very best sporting centres you could select. Now, having resolved to accomplish all this, you begin to think it would be infinitely more convenient to send on some of your heavier luggage to San Francisco at once, and your gun-case to Laramie, and one of the two portmanteaus you are taking might, you think, be despatched imme- diately to Omaha, so that you may be saved the trouble of having to look after it at Chicago, which is 490 miles this side of Omaha ; besides, you recollect you have to " change cars " four times on the journey, namely at Albany, Chicago, Omaha, and Ogden. Well, then, having arranged all your plans, and intending to start this evening on your travels, the first thing you do is to procure your railway ticket, which you can do at the station (a day or two beforehand if you like), or at a rail- To Niagara. 69 way ticket office in the city, the Boston and Albany Rail- road, which is the line you intend taking, has its ticket office at No. 232, Washington-street, having, I say, secured your ticket, you make a start for the railway station, taking with you two large corded boxes, a gun-case, and two small port- manteaus. On reaching the station you take all your luggage to the baggage-room, and tell the baggage-man there that you want two large boxes transported direct to San Fran- cisco, a gun-case to Laramie, a portmanteau ("valise," as the Americans term it) to Omaha but the other portmanteau you intend taking charge of yourself, as you will have need of this in your "sleeper." First the baggage-man will require you to show him your ticket (a through " unlimited " one to San Francisco), which you must have provided yourself with beforehand, otherwise he will not "check" your luggage for you: This done, he will take the two corded boxes you wish trans- ported direct to your journey's end, and fasten to each a leather strap, to each of which is affixed a small brass plate, which is numbered, and has " Boston " and " San Francisco " plainly stamped on to it ; at the same time he will hand over to you two duplicate brass plates (minus the straps), having numbers corresponding with those of the checks which have been attached to your boxes. The gun-case, which is to go to Laramie, has a check likewise attached to it, but one with a different number, and with the words "Boston" and "Laramie " impressed on it ; a duplicate check for this item of luggage, with corresponding number, etc., will be handed to you ; the portmanteau for Omaha is treated in a similar manner, and its duplicate check also handed to you. Thus you find your- self in possession of four small brass plates corresponding with those which have been strapped on to your four articles f luggage : you put them all in your waistcoat pocket and start forth on your journey. When you arrive at Albany (200 miles from Boston), which is the first place where you change cars, you find you have only your one portmanteau to look after, for the railway authorities have charge of the rest of your paraphernalia, and will see them safely transferred into the Chicago train ; when you come to Chicago (837 miles further), you find, just before reaching the terminus, that a Chicago baggage-man, who has got on board the train 7O Through America. at one of the preceding stations, will come and ask you as he will ask everyone else in your car, indeed every passenger on the train if you have any luggage for Chicago, where- upon you show him your portmanteau (the one you took into your sleeping-car), and upon your telling him the hotel you are going to, he will give you a receipt for the portmanteau in the form of a paper ticket, which you keep till you have reached the hotel, where the portmanteau will follow in due course, if it be not there before you have got there yourself, and upon handing over the paper ticket to the chief cashier you will receive back your portmanteau. Meanwhile your other articles of luggage have proceeded to their several desti- nations, namely the other portmanteau to Omaha (490 miles beyond Chicago), the gun-case to Laramie (574 miles further), and the two large corded boxes to San Francisco (1341 miles more). You reach Omaha a few days afterwards and proceed to the baggage-room at the station, and there find your port- manteau, which will be delivered up to you on presentation of the duplicate brass check given you at New York ; you reach Laramie in due course, and find the gun-case, and receive it in like manner ; and when you come at last to the Golden City, there you will find your two large boxes, and on presenting your checks they are delivered up to you likewise. A more convenient arrangement, even, than this is to proceed direct to your hotel whether it be at Omaha, San Francisco, or any other place I have mentioned and have your luggage sent for, thus saving you the trouble of having to bring it yourself from the railway station. This is done by handing your duplicate brass checks to the chief cashier (at your hotel), who will despatch an employe with them to the station baggage-room and have your luggage brought up for you. The railway companies will always retain luggage till it is claimed by the presentment of the proper duplicate checks, there being a baggage-room at every station, where all luggage is deposited. This excellent system of checking baggage prevails on every railway in the United States. You can transport your paraphernalia in this way from one remote point to another, over a thousand miles or more, over several companies' lines ; your luggage is never lost, you are saved an infinite deal of To Niagara. 71 bother and worry, and you are able to travel about the country with the greatest possible comfort. At eleven o'clock at night we reach the town of Niagara. Hark ! the thundering, deadening roar that fills the air as we pull up at the station and alight from the train. Niagara, a living reality at last ! Well, we won't go into ecstasies just yet not till we have feasted our eyes and found that we are really obliged to. Running the gauntlet of fourteen hotel runners, each one especially anxious to take us under the shelter of his protec- tion, we managed, after considerable difficulty, to " fix " the 'bus of the Clifton House, the hotel lying on the opposite or Canadian bank of the Niagara River, and were quickly driven off to it. In order to reach the hotel, we had to cross the river below the falls by the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which is thrown over the deep wide gulf at the bottom of which the Niagara whirls along in its headlong career. The grandeur of the scene as we looked down on those two stupendous cataracts when crossing the bridge so short a distance below them, seen as they were in the grim darkness of a moonless night amid the hollow, deadening roar of their waters, is indescribable. 72 Through America. CHAPTER III. AT THE FALLS. Impressions of Niagara View from the Clifton House The Ameri- can Fall The giant Canadian Abuses of Niagara " Indian variety" stores Wholesale despoliation of natural scenery The white- paint nuisance again Towers for obtaining views An irrepressible photographer An awkward situation The Niagara Falls Museum- The spider and the fly Putting on oilskins Walking under the Cana- dian Fall Impressions conveyed The Centre and American Falls A sensational trip The Whirlpool Rapids A visit to an Indian reserva- tion A Sunday morning service Setting out for Chicago London in Canada Crossing the Detroit River Chicago. June WHEN we awoke this morning, lo, what a sight presented itself! The hollow, deadening roar, which like the sound of distant cannonading had been audible throughout the night, prepared us somewhat for a surprise, but never for a sight like the one we now looked upon. In front, in full view from our window lay Niagara, 1 those two broad cataracts, which, tumbling with awful majesty into that fearfully grand abyss, lost in their own white spray long before ever that abyss is reached, form a picture which, as all the world knows, is wonderful, terrible, and unique. The Niagara Falls are caused by a sudden breach of the Niagara River, which is the outlet of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie. The river connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario, the distance between the two lakes being thirty-six miles. At about twenty-two miles from the former and fourteen from the latter, the Niagara, which is here a mile 1 The Indian (Iroquois) " Thunder of Waters." At the Falls. 73 and a half wide, meets with an island (Goat Island) seventy- five acres in extent, and divides. Descending thence in rapids with a velocity of thirty miles an hour, part of the river is discharged over a precipice 164 feet in height, with a width of 1200 feet, and part its main volume is pre- cipitated 158 feet, with a width of 2400 feet. The former of these cataracts is called the "American" Fall, as it lies wholly l THE NIAGARA FALLS. From Victoria Point, Canada side. on the United States the New York side of the river. The latter was until recently called the Horse-shoe ; but a landslip having occurred about the middle of the precipice, which has broken the bend of the curve, the name has become in- appropriate, and it is now generally known as the Canadian. That part of the river which eventually throws the bulk of its waters over the American Fall, meets also with an island, 74 Through America. and divides. But this third leap which anon ensues a fine one withal, and called the Centre Fall sinks altogether into insignificance before its two giant rivals, the American and the Canadian. Indeed, so close is it to the former and so completely is it dwarfed, that it seems from a distance to be part and parcel of the same fall. . From our window, then, we have a full view of Niagara. A few yards from us is the precipice of the deep wide gorge, THE AMERICAN AND CENTRE FALLS. which begins with the Canadian or Horse-shoe Fall half a mile away to the right, and stretching past us to the left is soon spanned by the light handsome suspension bridge, over which we were driven last night. Facing us, on the opposite side of the gorge, is the broad sheet of the American Fall, the clear smooth crest of its bright green wave resembling a rich and beautiful skein of silk. The slow, steady descent of this immense wall of water forms a splendid contrast to the headlong rush of the wild rapids above it, the loud continuing At the Falls. 75 thud with which it meets its fate against the hidden rocks beneath, and the clouds of white vapour showered up around, adding life to a picture which surely can only be eclipsed by one other fall in the known world its great rival, the giant Canadian. Behind the American Fall can be seen the town of Niagara, with the International Hotel towering con- spicuously above the other buildings : to the immediate left is the Prospect Park, walled off from the fall by a low parapet of rock, which enables one to approach close enough to look right over the crest of the descending cataract. An iron carriage - bridge, 360 feet in length, connects the town of Niagara that is the mainland with an island called Bath Island, which rises in the middle of the rapids ; and further to the right another carriage-bridge connects this with Goat Island, which is densely wooded, and is the largest island of the group. It faces the Niagara gorge with a sheer precipice, which extends till it meets the great Canadian Fall in the far distance, and this tremendous cataract connects in the form of a half-circle with the bank we are now upon. Not only the two great cataracts themselves, but the rapids called the Upper Rapids which commence more than a mile above them, constitute a very marvellous sight, resembling a moving or agitated mer de glace. It seems presumption on my part to attempt to describe Niagara. I cannot hope to satisfactorily depict its sublimity and awful magnificence. The scene may be laid before one by a faithful description in words, and by means of photo- graphs and drawings ; but that " sound of many waters," that continuous roar which can be heard twenty miles away, and is yet so soft that a conversation can, without straining the voice, be kept up close beside the cataracts, must needs over- whelm a man and encompass him must indeed be felt by him before he can realize the majesty of the situation. It is computed that 100,000,000 tons of water pass over the Niagara precipice every hour. " It is the drainage of half a continent pouring over a single wall of rock." From the Clifton House a road runs along the edge of the gorge to the Canadian Fall, and wonderful and magical is the sight as this stupendous cataract is approached ! No word- painting, no spontaneous effusion can convey an idea of the 76 Through America. terrible grandeur of this the King of Falls. The immense stretch of that fearful, sweeping wave ; the slow measured descent into that hellish, boiling abyss ; that roar so loud and thundering, yet so soft, so mellow, so permeating ; that glorious iris spanning the flood, glistening amid the snow-white clouds of spray that rise hundreds of feet aloft all this is but a too inadequate portrayal of this wondrous natural phenomenon. It is a sight to be remembered, that mighty, fearful plunge. It is one that can never be forgotten, nor can its impressions ever be effaced. Thoughts suggest themselves to you as you stand at the edge of the precipice almost within clutching distance of the swift wave of the Canadian Fall passing over the brink to its destruction. That never-ending flow, that incessant mighty roar, are you not reminded of the continuous flow of Time Eternity that day which never dies ? A thought such as this, with many others, too, fills you as you stand lost in wonder and awe at the tremendous scene around. To-day being Sunday, we were in a measure free from the annoyances and importunities of hawkers and guides, who are such pests at this place, harassing the stranger as they do from morning till night. Yet the toll nuisances are equally objectionable. The everlasting half-a-dollar demanded of every person approaching the Falls from this or that quarter, is just as rigidly exacted on a Sunday as on any other day of the week. At some places, where fees are required, the hack- man who drives you has a private arrangement with the toll- collectors to receive a percentage for himself, often amounting to half the sums charged. It pays to be a hack- man at Niagara. 2 I have been to many show-places in the world, but the " tout " pest is worse -at Niagara than at any of them. I know of no place where one is so continually pestered, 2 A table of the " charges to visitors desirous of enjoying a thorough view and inspection of the Falls and their attractions >; was given in the late official report drawn up by Mr. Mowat (the Attorney- General of Ontario) in December, 1879 respecting the abuses of Niagara, which had become so serious as to lead to a suggestion for the formation of an international park around the Falls. The report in question was submitted to the At the Falls. 77 where hackmen so incessantly worry you when you want to be at peace, where you are so dogged over every inch of the ground you tread, where guides and photographers, shop-mongers and toll-gatherers all combine to get as much as they can out of you, besetting you as if you were the only human being besides themselves who ever came near the place. It is the same in the little town of Niagara as it is close to the Falls. You are just as much set upon when you are walking through the streets. Here every other shop is an " Indian variety " store, and every one possesses an attractive-looking young woman ready to pounce upon you, and ask you to buy something or other, and if you begin to hesitate, she will invite you, by way of further inducement to purchase, to step inside her store for one moment and take a look at all the pretty things. But if you are wise you will not be caught in this way. New York prices, which are proverbially high, are low compared with those you must expect, and will find, at Niagara. Indeed, a great many of these so-called " Indian " curiosities are no more Indian than the clothes you are wearing. They are made in New York, and are palmed off on you as Indian. But worse, far worse than these annoyances is the whole- sale, ruthless destruction of the natural beauty of the gorge. Trees, aye, forests have been cut down to make room for unsightly factories, for hotels, museums, drinking saloons and what not. White-paint notices, too, of the usual Secretary of State at Ottawa, and the table accompanying it, which was published in the New York Herald of April 13, 1880, was as follows : For a Party of Four Persons. The Museum Table Rock . Burning Spring Prospect Park Upper Bridge Shadow of Rock Goat Island Cave of Winds Add for hack U2 oo 4 oo 2 00 2 00 1 50 4 oo 2 00 4 oo 3 50 Totals .... $25 oo $9 50 78 Through America. kind are even here permitted to thrive. On the Canadian side, " RISING SUN STOVE POLISH BEST IN THE WORLD," meets the eye wherever it turns ; and the American or United States side simply revels in " ERASER'S AXLE GREASE," " HER- RICK'S PILLS AND PLASTERS," " CRUMBS OF COMFORT FOR WIVES SOLD BY ALL," "LIGHTNING OlL, SURE CURE FOR PAINS," "BARTLETT'S BLACKING WILL SHINE 'EM UP," etc. Towers are erected at the best points for obtaining views, and a notice-board nailed against a tree will remind you that "THE GRANDEUR AND AWFUL SUBLIMITY OF THE FALLS NOWHERE CAN YOU SEE BUT FROM " such-and-such tower or point of elevation. And when you have selected your tower, you can, if you feel so disposed, go up and have a view by paying the sum of half-a-dollar, which will enable you as well to gaze at, admire, and buy many stuffed birds and animals, fossils and minerals, Egyptian mummies and half- breed Indian (Tuscarora) beadwork, which you will find collected together and attractively arranged for your inspec- tion at the bottom of the building. A bottle of Niagara- water must really be obtained by the visitor before he leaves the neighbourhood, otherwise it cannot be said that he has " done " the Falls properly. 3 There are rare opportunities for having your photograph taken, opportunities that should not be missed if you wish to have a background to your portrait which will create a sensation. As you proceed towards the Horse-shoe by the cliff road and here I allude to a little incident that occurred when I paid a second visit to Niagara you pass a shanty on your right, outside which is announced, "PICTURES OF PAR- TIES TAKEN HERE WITH THE FALLS IN THE BACKGROUND." You smile, and think whether it is worth trying. While so engaged, a man comes up and accosts you. He takes off his hat to you, and politely asks if you want your likeness taken 3 Thanks to the exertions of the late Governor-General of Canada (the Earl of Dtifferin) there is a likelihood of Niagara being protected by law from the above-mentioned abuses, through the joint action of the Dominion and the New York State Legislatures. It is proposed to form an international park round the cataracts, so as to restore Niagara as far as possible to its ancient pristine beauty, and, by rescuing it from the hands of the petty land-jobbers, toll^gatherers, hucksters, and sharpers, preserve it as a glorious public resort free and open to rich and poor alike. At the Falls. 79 to-day, saying, " Now, du jist wait a minute and stand where y' are. Y'll make quite an ilegant pictur', and I'll catch ye right 'andsome." Meanwhile four ladies are approaching from the hotel. You see them, and your courage shrinks, for you do not want to make an exhibition of yourself in their presence; so you decline, and pass on. Photographer, however, not to be outdone, suggests to the ladies that he would be pleased to take the whole lot, " the gentleman and all." A happy thought ! a bright idea ! But how is this proposal received by the ladies ? One bestows on the photographer a withering scowl, which causes him to look ashamed of himself. A second deigns even to reply, telling him to mind his own business. All four of them quicken speed, and "hasten in the direction of the Horse-shoe, and you yourself slowly follow with a slight feeling of guilt or rather, you feel as if you would just like that photo- grapher to taste the tip of your boot. But the great thing to do on the Canadian side is to put on oilskins, and walk under the Horse-shoe. Close to this Fall is a large curiosity shop, or general museum, called the " Niagara Falls Museum," where waterproof suits are let out to those who desire to go behind the descending mass of water ; where, too, you can ascend to an observatory at the top of the building, and (to quote from the museum pros- pectus) see " one of the most magnificent panoramic views on the face of the earth ;" where also is " the finest collection on the continent of America, consisting of upwards of 100,000 specimens, such as birds, animals, minerals, insects, Egyptian antiquities, a whale fifty feet long, and the finest Egyptian mummy in the world ;" where also is attached " the beautiful Pleasure Garden, with its fish-pond and fountain, Indian wig- wams and summer-houses, living animals, comprising buffa- loes, bears, wolves, eagles, etc.," and where (the prospectus adds) " thousands of visitors every year testify to its richness, variety, and beauty, and to the fact that this is the place, above all others, for spending a while delightfully, with pleasant memories. Admittance to the Museum, Observa- tory, Gardens, and living Animals, only 50 cents." (Before reaching this Museum you see a notice-board informing you that there is on view, in some gardens bordering on the 8o Through America. road, " a live buffalo from the Rock^y Mountains.") There is generally someone outside waiting to pounce upon passers- by, and induce them to step in and inspect the curiosities, or to dress up in oilskins, and thus " do " the Fall. In my own case a nigger caught me looking at some pretty things in the window, and, spider-like, was down on me in a moment. Beckoning me by putting up his finger, he asked me to " come an' see a vu." As I was in need of photographs at the time, I stepped in to look over, as I thought, a selection - fct THE UPPER RAPIDS. of views. Great was my surprise when he handed me some waterproof oilskin leggings, waterproof vest, waterproof head- cape, adding, as he gave them to me, " There y' are, colonel." Then he intimated again that I should follow him : I did so, darkie taking the oilskins along with him. We reached a chamber, a sort of dressing-room, in a far corner of the building, and appropriated chairs opposite one another. My darkie then told me to slip on my suit, first of all showing how it was done by putting on his own. Enveloped from At the Falls. 81 head to foot in overalls, with hoods coming over our heads, leaving visible just the nose, mouth, and eyes, and with oil- skin coat and continuations reaching down to the feet, which were encased in bags, we, my darkie and I, looked like two beautiful beings about to take a trip together in a diving- bell. Darkie seemed pleased, and cried, " Yah, yah ! " Waddling out of the house, we had to cross the road to a tower on the opposite side, containing a staircase leading down to the rocks below. A man stopped me as I waddled as swiftly as I could across the turnpike it was another irre- pressible photographer, who wished to take me in my garb, "with the Falls in the background," before I descended, informing me that my Lord This and my Lord That had honoured him with sittings, and wouldn't I do the same " jist as I was" ? I told him to wait till I came up again and then I would think about it. Arrived at the bottom of the tower ! the booming, terrible roar, the fearful, stupefying grandeur of the scene ! No expression or collection of epithets can convey a particle of an idea of the sight or the sound it would be folly to attempt a description. My guide exclaimed, " Look, colonel, look at it ! //ain't it mighty, hain't it glorious ! " " 'Tis immense," said I, " 'tis really too terrible. Lead on." We now crept carefully along the path which lay at the bottom of the precipice on our right, with the boiling caldron of water sharp away on our left, into which we should in- evitably have slipped if once we had missed our footing, and fallen. A few steps, and we were under the Fall. As I write I feel the utter hopelessness of attempting any form of language which could give expression to my feelings, or by the aid of which I can convey even a rough idea of the wondrous sight that we now looked upon that great long vista beneath the arched descending sheet that measured fall, seeming " As if God pour'd it from His hollow hand," the thing is too fearful to contemplate, too sublime to grasp. My guide burst into exclamations of wonder and delight, all got up for my special edification, and, grinning broadly, said, " //ain't it a vu, colonel ; hain't that scenery for you ! " I differed from him, however, and told him that it was G 8 1 Through America. undoubtedly an unique and wonderful sight, but that I thought the view he spoke of rather too limited and con- fined. From Goat Island, on the opposite side of the gorge, a stairway leads down to the rocks at the foot of the Centre and American Falls. Under the escort, once more, of a guide, and enveloped in a waterproof suit, you can pass behind the entire wave of the Centre Fall till you find your- self confronting the tremendous sweep of the American, the full volume of which pours down, as it were, upon you from the clouds above. The utmost caution must here be exercised in treading from rock to rock, for, encompassed as you are by a veritable whirlwind of driving spray, with gallons of water thundering continuously on to your head, with your eyes perfectly blinded so that you cannot see how or where to step, with merely the guide's hand for a support to pre- vent you from slipping and being carried away by the fatal current, you find it as much as you can possibly do to keep your balance while endeavouring to secure a firm foothold as you step on to and between rocks covered with two-feet-deep rushing water. But so transported are you with rapture and amazement that you pay little heed to the danger of the moment, though danger there need be none if you only do what the guide tells you. Come what may, you will never forget the thrilling sensations of this trip. It is worth all the trouble, all the risk involved in its accomplishment. It is also worth the expense, for the charge is but a dollar for guide, dress and all. This is the cheapest dollar's worth in America. At the top of the stairs you will find another photographer ready waiting to take you in your waterproof suit, dripping wet though you are, before you doff it in the dressing-room. He will throw in part of the Horse-shoe as a background to your portrait Besides the Falls themselves, and their immediate sur- roundings, there is one great sight which the visitor to Niagara must be sure and not overlook. This is the Whirlpool Rapids, about two miles below the Falls. After leaping the precipice the Niagara plunges on down a narrow ravine, which it has hollowed out for itself from the hard limestone At the Falls. 83 rock, for seven miles till it reaches the flat country at Queenstown, the width of this ravine which Sir Charles Lyell tells us has taken 30,000 years to become excavated, the cataract of the Niagara receding at the rate of one foot THE WHIRLPOOL RAPIDS. per year varying from 300 to 400 yards, and averaging 200 to 300 feet in depth ; but so great is the force with which such an immense mass of water is projected over the precipice that for more than a mile it forms an underwater current at the bottom of the river bed, the surface-stream for this G 2 84 Through America. distance presenting a comparatively smooth and placid appearance, yet bearing evidence, by its eddying flow, of the swift rush of the torrent beneath. But at the narrowest part of the gorge this under-current rises to the surface, and here occur the famous rapids, where the stream, compressed into the smallest limits, bounds along at a furious rate, seething, raging, roaring, throwing up its waters high into the air, displaying a magnificent series of leaping mountains of white foam, presenting a sight that is simply terrific. By means of an elevator you can descend the cliff (260 feet) to the water's edge. You can also be photographed here if you like, " with the Rapids in the background." Seven miles from Niagara Falls is the Tuscarora-Indian reservation, where 300 of this tribe live on a territory com- prising about 1000 acres.' This is among the oldest of the reserved localities assigned to the various Indian tribes, having been established so far .back as the year 1780. There are two churches on the reservation, a Baptist and a Presbyterian, and the services in each are performed by ministers supplied by the American Board of Home Missions. One Sunday morning (August 24, 1879), I drove out to the reservation, and attended a service in the Baptist church. The congregation mustered 167, namely 125 men and 42 squaws, the two sexes sitting apart, and, it need scarcely be said, clad in ordinary civilized attire. The men wore black coats and trousers, and were provided with tall beaver hats ; the women were brightly dressed, scarlet and green being the predominating colours. I cannot say that I was particularly struck with the cleanly appearance of the tribe, nor indeed with the religious devotion displayed by the members of the congregation who sat around me. All looked as if they had never known what it was to be well washed with soap and water, all sat perfectly still during the service as if they were having their photographs taken, though the majority of them seemed to be fast asleep, and those who were not asleep sat listlessly bolt upright with their eyes half closed. The only one who seemed to take the least interest in what was going on was a squaw, who, sitting near me, bent forward in prayer and paid attention to the sermon, and lustily sang during the hymns like a religious woman that she was. The service was At the Falls. 85 performed in the language of the tribe. The musical portion was rendered by a choir of seven voices, two girls and five men, who sang and sang very fairly, too from a gallery, to the accompaniment of a harmonium. Taking leave of Niagara for a while, we proceeded (June 3rd) on our overland trip. A run of 120 miles through the province of Ontario brought us, via Paris, and by Great Western Railway, to London-on-Thames, in the county of Middlesex, a pros- perous city of 25,000 inhabitants, the capital of its county, and the centre of a famous agricultural district. Here we delayed a few hours ; and a slight acquaintance with the capital now, which afterwards became closer on the occasion of a stay with some friends, enabled me to become familiar with West- minster, Victoria, London and Blackfriars Bridges, Hyde Park, Piccadilly, Kensington, Oxford-street, Regent-street, the Crystal Palace, and Sydenham, etc, The country around is so thickly wooded that London has acquired the name of the Forest City. Resuming our journey at 6 p.m., we took a through sleeping- car to Chicago, distant from London 394 miles. Passing through, among other places, Glencoe and Chatham, in four hours we came to Windsor. We here had our baggage over- hauled before re-entering the States from Canada. This was accomplished while we crossed over the Detroit River, which forms the connecting link between Lakes Huron and Erie, the whole train, barring the engine, being run on to a ferry- boat, split into three divisions and taken over to the other side, while our baggage was examined very slightly examined during the passage across. Entering Michigan State at Detroit, we arrived there at 10 p.m. We stopped twenty minutes to rush out and get supper, and then, turning in again, soon retired to bed, to wake up in the morning at Chicago. 86 Through America* CHAPTER IV. WONDERFUL CHICAGO. A marvellous city Its growth of fifty years A commercial position unrivalled The greatest livestock mart in the world The great Union Stock Yards A wonderful sight Chicago's livestock trade since 1876 The famous packing-houses Slaughtering on a mammoth scale The pork packing process Chicago as a grain market Her receipts of 1879 The great grain elevators The pine lumber trade Manu- facturing establishments of the Queen City The total value of her trade of 1879 The development of the Great West The United States seventy years ago The United States to-day Agricultural statistics Exports to the United Kingdom Railway development Chicago's Grand Pacific Hotel The five grand hotels of America Hotel living The American at table Iced water and milk Apple- pie A national failing A disagreeable subject A disgusting sight An active people How Chicago was lifted several feet out of the mud The new waterworks A drive in the Lincoln Park Rivalry of the large cities Boston's opinion of Chicago A Chicagoan's opinion of New York 'What Boston thinks of Troy What Troy says of the ladies of New York and Boston Chicago's opinion of herself An association of bald men. CHICAGO, 1 a city with a population of nearly half a million, when fifty years ago there were not to be found twenty buildings not a hundred people in the place ! Then, in 1830, a solitary Indian trading-post ; now the Metropolis of the North West ! 1 Popularly called the Prairie City, or the Prairie Metropolis ; also the Garden City, the Phoenix City, the Lake City, and the Queen City of the Lakes. The name, perhaps, is derived from an Indian word meaning " wild onion," though some persons have interpreted it to mean a certain strong-smelling animal (? a skunk), while others, again, say that it is the Indian name for thunder, or the voice of the Great Manitou. The Chicagoans, however, to be on the safe side, split the difference and say that the word at any rate means something " strong." Wonderful Chicago. 87 The marvellous rapidity of the growth of Chicago is per- haps without a parallel in the history of modern times. Within half a century has this great city sprung into existence ; from the smallest of beginnings it has become one of the most populous cities in the Union. 2 Not a mere collection of " skin " buildings, indeed, sparsely scattered over a large extent of country. But with its streets closely and solidly laid out ; with their long lines of iron, stone and brick business blocks of four and five stories high ; with an appearance of massiveness and stability pervading the whole place, Chicago more resembles a European than an American city, indeed I do not believe there is a city in America that can be compared with it. And when we think of the dis- astrous fire of 1871, and look at the Chicago of to-day ; when we realize the fact that the best portion of the city, three-and-a-half square miles in extent, was consumed, 17450 buildings in all, the damages estimated at 4O,ooo,ooo/. sterling, and then call to mind the magnificence and solidity ,with which the new city has risen out of the ashes of the old wooden one, we cannot but admire the marvellous activity, the enterprising spirit of determi- nation displayed by the inhabitants in restoring their city so thoroughly and in so masterly a manner as they have done. Three years later than the great fire in 1874 another terrible fire broke out, when 8oo,ooo/. worth of property was destroyed, including 800 buildings (covering sixty acres) which had escaped the previous conflagration. But now the building law of Chicago forbids the erection of any frame building, or of any wooden roofs or wooden cornices, within the city limits. It also directs how commer- cial buildings, factories, hotels, theatre-houses, etc., should be constructed, how they are to be protected from becoming overheated, and prescribes that every wall shall be of a certain thickness. Possibly the building law of Chicago is permitted to be evaded as commonly as is that of New York ; but there is this to be said of the Queen City, that 2 In 1830 the population of Chicago was 80 ; in 1835, IO 6 ; in l8 4o, 4479 ; in 1845, 12,088 ; in 1850, 29,960 ; in 1855, 83,509 ; in 1860, 109,206 ; in 1865, 187,446 ; in 1870, 298,977 ; in 1875, 450,000; now (1880) its popu- lation is a little over 500,000. 88 Through America. of the houses which have been erected since the great fires of 1871 and 1874, there are none that look as if they were about to topple over. There are no " skin " buildings in modern Chicago. It is to its supreme position as a commercial centre that Chicago owes its prosperity. Lying at the south-west corner of Lake Michigan, at the head of the navigation of the great inland lakes a seaport several hundred miles from the sea, yet in direct water communication with the Atlantic ; 3 with 3 The distance by water from Chicago to the open sea via the great lakes and Montreal, is 2050 miles ; to New York, 1397 miles. During the season of lake navigation of 1879 from May i to November 30 Chicago had more than twice as many arrivals and clearances of vessels as New York had during the same period. The following table will show how Chicago figures as a shipping port when compared with New York and four other leading ports, during the period just mentioned : - Arrivals. Clearance. No. Tonnage. No. Tonnage New York . Boston . . Baltimore . Philadelphia Portland Chicago . . 4386 2287 2080 1902 60 7 11,859 4,826,473 1,259,209 1,552,278 1,269,652 419,516 3,887,095 5 I 51 2619 2413 1890 527 12,014 5,044,316 1,440,907 1,747,793 1,266,962 319,822 3,870,360 Vessels of considerable tonnage, and carrying 80,000 bushels of grain, ply on the upper lakes, but only those of from 500 to 600 tons bur- den can at present pass between Chicago and Montreal. With the enlargement, however, of the Welland Canal (connecting Lake Erie with Lake Ontario) and of the six St. Lawrence River canals, a work which is already in progress, vessels of 2000 tons carrying 6o,coo bushels of grain and drawing 132 feet of water, will be able to pass direct from Chicago to Montreal and Quebec, and therefore, of course, to Liverpool if necessary. The facilities for navigation are not nearly so great by the Erie Canal to New York. The depth of this canal is but seven feet, and boats only of 250 tons, carrying 7000 bushels of grain, can pass through its locks. There are seventy miles of canal navigation by way of the existing Montreal route, with fifty-four locks, and 365 miles by the Erie Canal route, with seventy-two locks. The opening of the Erie Canal for this year's navigation season took place on Tuesday, April 2oth. This was not a day too soon, for between three and four million bushels of grain had already accumulated at Buffalo, awaiting shipment to New York by the canal boats, Wonderful Chicago. 89 some of the most fertile and productive lands in the whole country stretching for hundreds of miles to the south and west of it ; with a perfect network of railways opening out these immense tracts, all converging at this point; the natural depdt for the unloading and re-shipping of endless cargoes of grain and other produce, as well as of " lumber," shingles, coal, iron, salt, etc., that come pouring into the place daily by water and by rail ; the primary market in America, if not in the world, for the receipt of livestock, of hogs and oxen to be slaughtered and boxed, of cattle, sheep and hogs to be shipped alive to different parts of the country, and to other countries as well ; the central market, in short, of a grand agricultural, food-producing country, Chicago has a position which is simply unrivalled ; and when we think of the illimitable resources of the vast extent of country to the westward, of the lands to be peopled, of the soil to be cultivated and rendered productive, of the mining and other industries which will in time be developed, it seems that Chicago is destined sooner or later to take its stand as one of the very foremost cities on the face of the globe. As a livestock market Chicago is pre-eminently famous. The Union Stock Yards, lying on the outskirts of the city, have capacity for holding 147,000 head, namely 100,000 hogs, 25,000 cattle, 22,000 sheep ; and there are stalls besides for 500 horses. The sight when I visited this market of such an immense number of animals herded together in the pens, the miles of water-troughs and feed-troughs, 4 the bustle and confusion caused by the hundreds of drovers who were looking after their stock which had lately come in by the trains from distant parts of the State, and from places beyond, and who mingled their shouts with the lowing of the oxen and the bleating of the sheep, of which there were thousands, was one to be ever remembered. The following tables of the receipts at these yards, and of the shipments therefrom, during the 4 " There are in the yards 32 miles of under drainage, 8 miles of streets^ and alleys, 3! miles of water-troughs in the various pens, 10 miles of feed-troughs, 2300 gates, 1500 open stock-pens for cattle, and 800 covered pens for sheep." Seven Days in Chicago. Through America. last four years, will show the enormous development of the livestock trade of this place : Receipts. Years. Cattle Hogs. Sheep. Total. 1876 1,096,745 4,I90,006 364,095 5,659,005 1877 1,033,151 4,025,970 310,240 5,369-36l 1878 1,083,068 6,339,654 310,420 7,733,H2 1879 1,215,672 6,448,933 32S9 7,989,724 Shipments. Years. Cattle. Hogs. Sheep. Total. 1876 797,724 1,131,635 195,925 2,125,284 1877 699,083 952,912 152,908 1,504,913 1878 699,108 1,266,906 156,727 2,122,741 1879 715,125 1,684,338 157,159 2,556,622 Adjoining the Union Yards are the great pork and beef packing-houses, which are thirty in number, where the slaughtering of hogs and oxen is prosecuted on a mammoth scale where as many as 80,000 can be " handled " during the course of a single day. The number of hogs packed here in 1872 amounted to, in round numbers, 1,900,000, and 1,781,900 during the year 1875. I was once taken over the slaughter-house of the Anglo-American Packing Company, it was in September, 1879, and I watched how Mr. Porker was put through his facings. Two thousand hogs had just come in to be slaughtered that was the number to be dressed on the day of my visit ; but I was told by one of the super- intendents that sometimes as many as from 7000 to 8000 are packed by this company daily. 5 There is one house where 5 In 1879 the Anglo-American Company " erected a building which will hold some 50,000 packages, and 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 pounds of meat. If necessary," 'says the Chicago Tribune of January i, 1880, "our Wonderful Chicago. 9 1 20,000 animals can be slaughtered and dressed in one day. The process the pig has to go through is as brief as it can be made. First he is driven into a pen in one of the slaughter- houses in company with many of his fellow-victims, all doomed like himself to be turned into bacon and sausage- meat within the course of the next fifteen or twenty minutes ; a chain with ring attached is fastened round one of his hind legs ; a hook attached to another chain is let down from a wheel in a sliding frame overhead, and passed into the ring ; the hog is then jerked into mid-air kicking and squealing but the executioner now stepping forward suddenly silences him for ever by cutting his throat with a sharp knife, and his body, passed on to the end of the frame, is seized hold of by a boy, unhooked and let drop into a large vat of boiling water, where it remains immersed for three or four minutes, other pigs meanwhile closely following behind and being dropped into the vat, one after another, at the rate of one every twenty- five or thirty seconds ; caught up out of the vat, the body is placed on a long scraper or gridiron, having a surface of steel blades, which, all set in motion by machinery, tear off the animal's skin, far quicker than hand-labour could effect the same operation, for in less than a quarter of a minute every bit of it is scraped off, not a vestige of the hide is left, a man catching hold of one leg while the body is being wriggled and tossed about on top of these moving blades like an india-rubber ball ; swung up aloft once more, the body is cut open and disemboweled, the heart, liver, lungs, stomach and intestines being carefully distinguished and put aside, while the head is chopped off, and the brain, tongue, eyes and ears are removed and put aside (to be potted) likewise ; and lastly, what there is by this time remaining of our luck- less porker is passed into the hanging-room, where it is left dangling by its heels to cool till it is ready to be cut up, salted, and packed. Each animal takes about fifteen minutes to go through the whole operation, from the time that he is first swung up into the air till he is dangling skinless, headless, "intestineless" in the hanging-room waiting packers and operators could now find room for 300,000 barrels of pork, 400,000 tierces of lard and hams, and 90,000,000 pounds of meat ; or 140,000 tons of stuff, the product of nearly 1,250,000 hogs." 92 Through America. to get cooled so that he may be properly seasoned and boxed. One hog after another is despatched in this way as fast as can be managed. More than 4,000,000 head of pork were packed in Chicago in six years, from 1872 to 1877 inclusive. There were 4,805,000 hogs slaughtered here in 1879. As an important grain market the Queen City is scarcely less famous. In 1872 she was the recipient of 88,426,842 bushels of breadstuffs (flour, wheat, barley, Indian corn, rye, and oats), of which 83,364,324 bushels were shipped. Even this is far exceeded by the receipts of 1879, which reached the amazing total of 137,624,833 bushels, including 62, 164,238 bushels of Indian corn alone : and yet this, again, is only 3*538,238 bushels in excess of the receipts of 1878. The shipments in 1879 amounted to 129,851,553 bushels. For receiving the grain and transferring it to the railway wag- gons when it is brought in by ship, immense towers or " elevators " (of corrugated zinc), twenty in number, have been set up along the shore of Lake Michigan, and they have a storage capacity of 16,000,000 bushels. Some of them are eighty feet high or more. They unload at the rate of about 7000 bushels an hour each. As a market for one more important article of commerce, Chicago stands unrivalled, and that is for " lumber," or timber for industrial purposes, such as is used in the con- struction of houses, for flooring, mouldings, doors, sashes, blinds, etc. The total quantity of pine lumber received at this port in 1879 by water and rail as I find by the annual report of the Chicago Lumbermen's Association reached 1,467,720,091 feet, an increase of 287,735,381 feet, or about twenty-five per cent, over the receipts of any previous year in the history of the trade. This added to what re- mained over in the city yards from the year 1878, namely 410,773,000 feet, brings the aggregate supply for 1879 to 1,878,493,091 feet. The average increase in the receipts of lumber at this market has been at the rate of about 50,000,000 feet per year. One might continue giving facts and figures like these to show the enormous interests which this wonderful city has at stake, but I think enough has been said already, indeed it would occupy more space in this work than can be spared to detail Wonderful Chicago. 93 one half, even, of the annual amount of business transacted at this place. Besides occupying so important a position as a market centre, Chicago's growth and increasing prosperity as a manufacturing centre within the fifty years of its existence, is a fact almost equally marvellous. The manufacturing establishments of the Queen City have acquired a world-wide reputation, and their name is legion. There are iron foundries and brass foundries, marble works, brick yards (in 1879 Chicago turned out 40,000,000 bricks), silver-smelting works, silver-plating works, reaping-machine manufactories, sewing-machine manufactories, cotton mills and flour mills, tanneries and breweries and distilleries by the dozen. Each and all of these have done a " rushing " business during the past year; other industries, too numerous to mention, have been prosperous likewise. The total value of Chicago's manufactures during the year 1879 amounted to 236,500,000 dollars : the total value of her entire trade of 1879 amounted to 764,000,000 dollars, a net gain of seventeen-and-a-half per cent, over her entire trade of 1878. Surely with this, and with such facts as we have above indicated, it may truly be said that this city, so young, so flourishing, possessing such vast interests, such grand resources, the great emporium of a new world springing up ? as it were, into life, has a future before it such as no other city in the world can anticipate. And the prosperity of Chicago may, in a measure, be said to foreshadow the future prosperity and development of the lands of the Great West. America is even still in its infancy. Not one half of the country has yet been peopled and taken possession of, and even at the present rate of emigration to the New World, 6 it will take an immense 6 Emigration to the United States has proceeded on a gigantic scale during the past year. From January I to May 31 the total number of arrivals at Castle Garden, New York, was 135.336, which is the largest number of arrivals at that port in any five consecutive months in the annals of the Emigration Department. During one month alone (May) 55,083 immigrants were landed, which, in so short a period, is a total altogether unprecedented. Employment is soon found for the vast numbers that come pouring into the country. Emigrant trains are ready to convey them at once to the lands of the far West, such as to Colorado, where they, may help to construct the railways in that 94 Through America. number of years, far beyond the life of any one now living, before those great lone lands have become opened out and developed, as in all probability they some day will be. But it cannot be denied that the peopling of America is pro- ceeding at a great rate. The population of the United States to-day is more than six times the number that it was seventy years since. According to the New York Times of August 1 8, 1879: "Seventy years ago the Union included seven States and five Territories, with an area of 708,000 square miles, and a population of 7,000,000 ; to-day it includes thirty-eight States and nine Territories, with an area of 3,600,000 square miles, and a population of probably 45,000,000." Wisconsin is a good case in point, as illustrating the rapid development of the great Western States. Forty years ago it had nothing but a single military post; now it possesses a population of 1,315,000 inhabitants. And then look at the well-nigh illimitable resources of the- vast area that is included under the term the United States of America ! To give only a very few statistics for this is a subject that is infinite: 420,122,400 bushels were the total product of wheat in 1878, a net gain of 55,928,254 bushels over the yield of the previous year 72,404,961 bushels were exported during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878 (40,431,624 bushels during the previous year), and of this, 54,664,732 bushels went to Great Britain and Ireland ; in 1878, 1,388,218,750 bushels of Indian corn alone were raised, a gain of 45,660,750 bushels over the yield of 1877 48,030,358 bushels were exported during the fiscal year just mentioned, 65,915,851 bushels of which found their way to our shores. The total value of the crops in 1878 was 1,480,570,866 dollars; the value in 1879 amounted to 1,904,480,000 dollars, which is the highest total reached in the history of the country. There were 12,062,236 hogs packed in the United States during the packing season of 1877-78, and rapidly-developing State ; and similarly with other States and Territories. On Wednesday, May 5th last, application was made at Castle Garden for looo immigrants to be despatched direct to Colorado, to assist in the extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway from Denver to El Paso in Texas. Similar applications are constantly being received at Castle Garden, for hands to aid in constructing new railways " out West." Wonderful Chicago. 95 14,480,703 in 1878-79: 54,046,771 pounds of fresh beef were exported from the country during the year ending June 30, 1878 (a large amount being brought from Chicago to eastern ports by means of refrigerator cars), at a value of 5,009,856 dollars. There were 112,986,300 horses, sheep, hogs, mules, milch-cows and other cattle in the United States in January, 1878, and 118,776,200 in the same month in 1879. Two thousand five hundred and seventy horses, 15,038 sheep, 7867 hogs, 57 mules, and 24,982 head of other cattle were exported to ^ the United Kingdom in 1878, or five times as many farm animals as were shipped to our shores during the year before. 7 And the railway development in the United States is a fact which is also worthy of notice. In 1830 there were twenty- two miles of railway in operation ; in 1835, 1098; in 1840, 2818; in 1845,4633; in 1850,9021 ; in 1855, 18,374; in 1860, 30,635; in 1865, 35,085 ; in 1870, 52,914 ; in 1875, 74,374; in 1878, 81,955 ; and, judging by the immense strides that have been taken since 1878 in the construction of new lines and in the extension of old ones, it is not improbable that when this year's census is completed the United States will be found to have close upon 100,000 miles of railway. (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has, of all the countries of the world, the nearest approach to this, having a total of 17,696 miles.) And so we might go on and on. With a country like this, having such wonderful resources at its command, Europe need never fear death from starvation or at any rate not for some time to come, till America has become well stocked with in- habitants and the home consumption of its produce is far greater than it is at present. It has been estimated that there are 200,000,000 acres of corn-land in the United States capable of cultivation, which, with the average yield per acre of the past ten years, would render an annual yield of over 5,250,000,000 bushels. 8 America appears destined indeed to be the future granary of the world granary; storehouse, farmyard and kitchen garden, all combined. 7 The statistics given here are taken from the official reports of the Commissioner of Agriculture. 8 Robert P. Porter in " Our Goodly Heritage," International Review, June, 1880. 96 Through America. The hotel at which we located ourselves (June 4th, 1878) was the Grand Pacific, a monster, six stories in height, built of stone and brick (65,000 square feet of stone, and 7,000,000 bricks), with a south and east frontage of 750 feet. It is magnificently furnished throughout. Inside^ right within the building, are several shops, or "stores/' for this is a characteristic of all the large American hotels. The entrance hall, called the Grand Exchange, is 100 feet by 60 ; and here crowds of men may be seen standing and sitting about all day long, smoking and reading the leading journals of the THE GRAND PACIFIC HOTEL. United States and Canada, as well as the Times, Standard, and other London papers. On the first floor is the grand parlour, which is loofeet by 24; also the ladies' ordinary and the grand dining-hall, with a promenade from the parlour to the dining-hall of 130 feet by 30. The dining-hall itself is 130 feet by 60. Its floor is laid with red and black marbles ; its ceiling is beautifully frescoed ; it is lighted at night by seven bronze chandeliers, and innumerable gas-jets along the walls ; and twenty-three windows look out upon the streets of La Salle arid Quincy below. The kitchen department Wonderful Chicago. 97 occupies the largest space in the house. It is 140 feet by 60, and is on the first floor, on a level with the grand dining- hall. Other hotels there are in Chicago, notably the Palmer House and the Tremont House, which are built on a similar scale of magnificence to the Grand Pacific. Indeed the Palmer House is said, in Chicago, to be the most splendidly furnished hotel in America, surpassing not only the Grand Pacific in that city, but the Palace Hotel and Baldwin's at San Francisco, and the Windsor Hotel at Montreal, these five hotels having the reputation of being the very grandest in the THE TREMONT HOUSE. country., For my part I would certainly yield the palm to the Windsor.. On the roof of the Palmer House a large conservatory has been set up, Mr. Potter Palmer's idea being to grow tropical plants in it wherewith to adorn his hotel, the corridors, dinner-tables, etc. Hotel-living in America is either on what is called the " American plan," or it is on the " European." At an hotel on the former plan there is always a fixed price for board, everything meals, charge for rooms and attendance, the use of gas (gas and electric bells are invariably found in H 98 Through America. your rooms) being included in the one general charge of the so-much per day. At an hotel on the European plan there is no such fixed price of board, for here one's expendi- ture is regulated according as one sees fit. In the best hotels on the American plan, living is from four to five dollars per day. Sometimes there will be two prices to select from, and in making your choice between the two you will be guided by your desire as to what part of the house you would prefer to go to. If you chose to board at the lesser amount you would be put somewhere in the neighbourhood of the top of the building, and perhaps be given only a single apartment, instead of a suite of several, which you would get if you chose to board at the higher rate ; but as there is an "elevator" in every first-class hotel, which you would be sure to make use of whether you occupied a humble little attic at the top of the house or whether you lived like a prince in a magnificent suite of rooms on the first floor, it really does not much matter which of the two you choose but the case would be different if you had to climb up a number of stairs. Hotel-living is much cheaper in America than it is in England. At some of the large hotels you can even board at the rate of twenty-eight dollars per week, with meals, etc. included. Or you can also have a bedroom on one of the higher floors, and take your meals away from the hotel altogether, or a la carte at the public restaurant in the hotel, though this, it is obvious, is a more expensive mode of living than the arrangements already mentioned. There are stated hours for meals (at an hotel on the American plan), breakfast generally being obtainable from 6.30 to n, early dinner from I to 3, another dinner from 4.30 to 6, tea from 6 to 9, supper from 9 to 12. This is the arrangement at the Grand Pacific. Americans seldom take any stimulants at meals. Wine on the table is a rarity rather than otherwise. Water, invariably iced, may be set down as the most popular beverage. Milk is also very popular; also tea, the latter being drunk during dinner. It is iced and served in tumblers when the. weather is very warm. I have often been filled with wonder and ad- miration upon seeing the amount of milk an American will drink at one meal, without apparently getting bilious. And the immense amount of food a man will sometimes Wonderful Chicago. 99 consume, and so quickly, that he surely cannot allow himself time while he is eating for a fit and healthy digestion, has also often surprised me, especially if I happen to be sitting opposite him, or next to him, so that I can see him, and we both began the meal at the same time, and I find that after I have only got " through " with my second course my neighbour has finished his dinner altogether and is quietly walking away ! It is a wonder to me there are not more accidents like the one which overtook poor Charlie Pierce one day, at Erie, Pennsylvania, who " met his death (says the New York Herald) by swallowing a huge piece of beef, which stuck in his throat and killed him in less than three minutes!" Our Transatlantic cousins are very fond of apple-pie. It is consumed to a large extent all over the country. Not raised apple-pie ; but flat, and with a paste that is invariably very coarse and indigestible. You have a triangular-shaped slice put on your plate, and (in some parts of America) if you do not want to be singular you will eat it with a bit of cheese, Yorkshire fashion. As an American lady once graphically put it : " Apple-pie without cheese Is like a kiss without a squeeze.'* And now I propose, once more and finally, to allude to a very disagreeable* subject. There is often experienced the greatest possible discomfort in some of the very best hotels in America, by reason of the continual spitting that prevails, sometimes even in rooms which are not set apart for the tobacco smoker and chewer, who have, naturally enough, occasion to ex- pectorate more frequently than the absolute abstainer from the familiar " weed." Perhaps I may be allowed, by way of illustration, to enter here a note which I made during a stay in Boston, in one of the principal hotels of that city, on the 1st of November, 1879. Entering the central hall of this hotel, I found a room on my right, about 20 feet square, with marble floor, etc. (no carpet) . I did not venture inside, for that was well-nigh impossible, as the crush was so great ; indeed I saw quite enough to deter me from making the attempt, for the floor presented a disgusting exhibition H 2 ioo Through America. to one unaccustomed to the spectacle, being simply covered with expectorated matter, although there were spittoons in the room lying about the marble floor ; but these on the present occasion seemed to be studiously avoided. With- drawing, I sought a room on the opposite side of the hall, of about the same size, containing a long writing-desk for the use of the hotel guests ; but in this room smoking was not permitted. True the order against smoking was respected by the twenty or thirty men assembled ; never- theless the floor of this room also was absolutely covered with saliva, nor was there a single spittoon visible for those who were in the habit of expectorating to make use of. And this disgusting habit of spitting prevails everywhere. It pervades the railway-cars (the non-smoking ordinary cars, I refer to more especially, not so much the Pull- mans), it pervades the street tramway-cars, it pervades the hotels ; and though in this latter case there are some notable exceptions, particularly those hotels which are frequented by Europeans and the more refined among the Americans, it may indeed almost be said that the nauseous habit of expectorating in places which are not set apart for the lover of smoking and chewing, is universal. I should be very sorry to take any lady of my acquaintance to some of the hotels I could mention. In some respects Chicago is ;/like a European city. Its streets are all laid out at right angles in " blocks," in true American fashion, Chicago is the most right-angle city in the United States, many of them running in long straight lines for some eight or ten miles, crossing the Chicago River (which flows through the city) by means of tunnels and draw- bridges. Telegraph wires are conducted along the principal streets as if they were railways, and countless threads of telephone wires are stretched over the housetops above them. Everybody communicates by telephone in Chicago. Shops, hotels, private houses, factories all are connected. The man who has not got a telephone is very much behind the age in Chicago, as indeed is the case, more or less, throughout America. 9 The facilities for getting about 9 Telephones are now being employed in some of the mines in Colorado. Wonderful Chicago. 101 Chicago are pretty much the same as they were in New York before the introduction of the " elevated," the tramway-car being the only means of locomotion, unless you adopt the big family coach-and-pair, or take to your legs ; and people do rush about Chicago as if they were mad. I never saw such racing. Men and women stride along as if they were hurrying to the railway station to try and catch a train. Whether at meals or en- gaged in their several avocations and employments, the Americans are an active people, there is no denying. One of the most remarkable events that have happened in the history of Chicago's existence is the raising of a por- tion of th city from its original level, not by building houses afresh, but by forcing up from their foundations those already built, and placing them beyond reach of inundations from Lake Michigan. The original site of the city was on a level with the lake, where the land was low and swampy, and the water was continually getting into the buildings and flooding the basements ; so what did the Chicagoans do ? They placed jack-screws under the walls of their houses and raised each building to a height of fourteen feet, not suddenly, or in violent jerks, with the possibility of upsetting the whole fabric during the operation, but gently and imperceptibly A medical friend of mine living in a New England town can talk to thirty of his patients from his bedroom by means of the telephone. He has his " transmitter " fastened by the side of his bed, and every now and then he is summoned something after the following style : "Doctor, doctor!" "Holloa there !" " Doctor, I want to see you ! " " All right coming." And the medical man hops out of bed, hurriedly dresses himself, and is off to his patient in a twinkling. On Sunday, April 18, 1880, the sermons preached in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, N.Y., were for the first time heard by telephone by certain members of the congregation in their own'rooms at their homes stationed in six different cities and towns in the neighbourhood, namely in Brooklyn, New -York, Jersey City, Newark, Orange, and Elizabeth, all within a radius of twenty miles of Plymouth Church. Every sound was heard with distinctness, even the music of the choir and the organ accompaniment even, too, the thumping of the preacher on his Bible, at which it is said there was " a whiz and a whir that was anything but solemn." IO2 Through America. so imperceptibly, indeed, that it is said that the inmates at the time had no idea of what was taking place, but things went on just the same as if nothing unusual was happening ! Under -the escort of an English friend whom we met un- expectedly at our hotel, who had been in Chicago a fortnight, and was therefore well posted up in what was to be seen, and what might be left unseen, we employed the greater part of the day in driving about the city and visiting the principal objects of interest. We went over the new water- works and visited two of the immense grain elevators, and we were at the Union Stock Yards at eleven o'clock, and stayed there an hour. The new water-works on the shore of Lake Michigan are well worth inspecting. In order to obtain the purest water possible, the people of Chicago have had a shaft sunk under the works, and have thrown out a tunnel from it under the lake for a distance of two miles, and at the end of this tunnel, at the bottom of the lake, have (by sinking a huge timber-iron coffer-dam)constructed another shaft, through which the water finds its way and hence is conducted to the shore. Pumped up by four engines at an average rate of 75,000,000 gallons a day, it is distributed through pipes to every dwelling in the city. There are forty artesian wells for supplying Chicago with fresh water, besides what is ob- tained from the lake. In the afternoon we drove up the fashionable Dearborn- avenue, and into the Lincoln Park, and returned along the shore of the Michigan Lake. We happened to be in the park at the fashionable hour of five, and saw many of the elite driving about in their buggies. There was every descrip- tion of this the national vehicle. We noticed several ladies racing each other. They drove splendid trotters, and it was a sight indeed to watch these beautiful creatures step out at a sixteen-mile-an-hour pace, proudly arching their necks as they whisked along guided by the fair ones who drove them. It is amusing sometimes to take note of the friendly rivalry that exists between these rapidly-growing cities, and of the opinions they entertain of each other. The Boston Herald, for instance, expresses itself as follows con- cerning the great North-Western metropolis : " Chicago is a large city, a smart city, and a city with a fair degree of con- Wonderful Chicago. 103 fidence in itself, but its total valuation, which is 123,000,000 dollars for all of Cook County, is equalled by some wards in Boston. In fact, Boston could buy all Chicago with its loose change and have enough money left over to take every man, woman and child to the circus. We do not say this in a boastful spirit, for Boston people care little about material things ; but simply to make our own people content with what little dross has stuck to them while studying theology, philosophy, and ethics." A Chicago man once took a trip East. When he returned he was asked what he thought of New York. " Wai," he replied, "I guess it's too far away from Chicago to do any partic'lar amount of business ! " " Troy," says the Boston Post, " has never produced a sweet singer, a philosopher, or a great infidel ; but she can trot out enough prize-fighters to keep the nation supplied." " New York women," says the Troy Times, " whistle in the horse cars. Boston women snore in bed, and call it culchaw." Said a Chicagoan to a friend of mine, when I visited the Queen City in the autumn of last year : " New York has the money, Boston the brains, but we start the big ideas, and carry them out with eastern money ! " 10 A New York paper informs its readers that Chicago has started a society for the purpose of discovering a cure for baldness. It is called the Bald Men's Society. If a man can show on the top of his head a bare spot not less than four square inches in extent, he is eligible for membership of that society. The president cannot even show a hair he is perfectly bald, and for that reason he was elected. 10 " A citizen of Chicago said to me : ' Our city is the biggest thing on the planet. We've had the biggest fire. We lifted the city five (?) feet out of the mud. We made a river run up hill ; it wouldn't go where we wanted it, so we turned it end and end about. And it's the only citron earth every inch of which is covered three inches deep in mortgages !' Rev. Samuel Manning in American Pictures. IO4 Through America t CHAPTER V. WESTWARD TO OMAHA. To Omaha Rock Island The Mississippi River Crossing Iowa- Council Bluffs The Missouri River Its enormous length Luxury in modern railway travelling Railway-car meals A popular newspaper's advertisement The white-paint nuisance again A country sadly dis- figured Omaha A "booming" city Gold fever mottoes A Prusso- Red-Indian His remarkable history A wigwam of curiosities A visit to an Indian encampment What we found there. FROM Chicago to Omaha in Nebraska is a distance of 494 miles, by the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Leaving at ten o'clock next morning (June 5) we continued to pass through a rich agricultural country, but did not meet with any- thing of consequence till, 182 miles from Chicago, we came to the town of Rock Island, where we obtained our first view of the great Mississippi River. 1 A mile wide at this point it flows the colour of chicken-broth. An immense number of turtle clung to floating logs of wood, basking in the sun as they were carried down-stream. This river rises in Minnesota State, to the north-west of Lake Superior, in lat. 49, long. 76 47'. We crossed it 1500 miles from its source. It flows south from Rock Island for 1410 miles before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. More than a thousand steam-boats navigate this mighty river and its tributaries. "Put it in which way you would, Europe could not hold the Mississippi." * Rock Island, situated on the Illinois side of the river, is a manufacturing town of some 8000 inhabitants, and is so called 1 The Miche Sepe of the Indians, the " Father of Waters." 2 Sir Charles Dilke. Westward to Omaha. 105 from an Island in the Mississippi, of three miles in length, lying a little below the town at the mouth of the Rock River. Crossing the former river by a fine iron bridge we entered Iowa State at Davenport, a beautifully-situated city extending for three miles along the river bank. Iowa has an area of 50,914 square miles. A vast prairie of rich land, it is uninteresting, perhaps, to the ordinary observer ; yet it is one of the most fruitful States in the Union, a veritable farmer's paradise, where the soil is fertile enough to bear exuberant crops of every variety of grain, 3 where the grass is of the richest, where the climate, too, is the most invigorating ; and for 300 miles after crossing the Mississippi we passed through a country studded with the homesteads of a thrifty people, who have "dug wealth from the soil " it is by taking a ride such as this, a ride through the rich farm-lands of Iowa so soon after leaving Chicago, that one is able to form some idea of the wondrous resources of that prosperous city. Three hundred and eight miles from Davenport we came to the city of Council Bluffs. It is separated from Omaha by the Missouri, or the " Mud River," twin sister of the Mississippi, just as dirty, and containing about the same number of turtle floating about on its surface. Another fine iron bridge is thrown over the river to Omaha. It is a mile in length with its approaches, and its total cost was 6oo,ooo/. Before this bridge was forthcoming, pas- sengers bound West had to be conveyed over the river in boats, to the cars of the Union Pacific Railroad on the other side. The intervening land between Council Bluffs and the Missouri, a distance of three miles, is what is known as " bottom land," or grassy swamps which are at times entirely covered by the river, which is in the habit of con- stantly shifting about and changing its bed. Council Bluffs is so named from a meeting held on the bluffs in the vicinity, in the year 1804, between the Indians and the explorers Messrs. Lewis and Clark ; but the place was hot settled till 1847, when the Mormons, persecuted and driven forth 3 In October, 1879, there was wheat standing in Iowa eighteen inches high, which had been sown the month before to be gathered the following summer. io6 Through America. from Illinois for their preachings and extravagant assump- tions, established here a "frontier city," under the name of Kanesville, preparatory to setting out over the Great Plains for the far West in quest of a land where, as they thought, they would be free for the future from the murderous attacks of their enemies. It was here that Brigham Young was elected, on December 24, 1847, " President of the Church of Jesus RAILWAY-CAR LAID OUT FOR DINING. Christ throughout the whole world," after the assassination of " Prophet " Joseph Smith, the reputed founder of Mormonism, in Carthage gaol, Illinois. In 1853 its name was changed to Council Bluffs. At present it is a city with a population of 15,000, and forms the " transfer grounds" of many railroads. Everyone has to get out here and " transfer " into the cars of the Pacific Railroad, and everyone's baggage has to be shifted here likewise. The Pacific train is made up on the Iowa side Westivard to Omaha. 107 of the Missouri River, the transfer grounds being two miles west of the Council Bluffs station. Who can comprehend the enormous length of the Missouri ? The Mississipi is under 3000 miles from source to mouth, but the Missouri flows for 3096 miles from its rise among the Rocky Mountains in Montana Territory to its point of junction with the Mississippi, and including the 1410 miles to the Gulf of Mexico below the confluence of the two rivers, its total length would be 4506 miles! The Missouri can be ascended by steamboat for 2540 miles above its junction with ==*< A RAILWAY-CAR MEAL. the Mississippi. But it is such enormous branches as the Missouri ; such, too, as the Ohio, the Arkansas, and the Red River, that make the Mississippi the great " Father of Waters " that it is. It drains an area of 1,226,600 square miles with its branches, and 1500 of these are navigable. I think we to-day experienced the highest pitch of luxury to which railway travelling can be brought. All our meals were cooked and served in a dining-car devoted to the pur- pose. At one end of this car was the kitchen, and from it were brought to light many dishes and dainties, wines, and a variety of " cocktails " whatever, in short, you chose to order io8 Through America. from an elegantly printed menu, at. the back of which was a coloured illustration of the way in which these spreads are con- ducted. The car is, for the time being, turned into a little dining- room, with six small tables a side ; and you can either walk into it from your car and dine there publicly with your friends, or you can have your dinner brought to you in your " sleeper " and served privately in your section, a temporary table being soon set up by your coloured attendant, whereon you can have the meal. The cooking to-day was all that could be desired. Each meal cost seventy-five cents, and swallow- tailed darkies were in attendance as usual. A bottle of " fine French wine " was, if desired, served at each meal, at an additional charge of fifteen cents. (The less said about the wine the better.) Guests were requested to exercise a little patience, as the dishes were cooked after the order had been given. On other lines, such as the Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne, and the " Panhandle " route between St. Louis and New York, the meals provided are far more reckerches than those served on this railway. Still a specimen of a railway-car dinner may be given by quoting our to-day's bill of fare, which, with the request " Put this in your pocket," led off with the following list of good things : Soup. Tomato. Fish. Boiled White Fish. Boiled. Sugar-cured Ham, Champagne Sauce. Corned Beef and Cabbage. Leg of Mutton, Caper Sauce. Beef Tongue. Roast. Ribs of Beef. Mutton. Spring Lamb, Mint Sauce. Veal, Stuffed. Cold Dishes. Boiled Tongue. Ham. Pressed Corned Beef. Entrees. Stewed Beef, with Vegetables. Chicken Pot Pie. Baked Corn and Beans. Maccaroni, with Cheese. Vegetables. Mashed Potatoes. Beets. Stewed Tomatoes. Turnips. New Cabbage. Spinach. Sweet Corn. Lima Beans. Green Peas. Asparagus. Cucumbers. Westward to Omaha. 1 09 Relishes. Horse-radish. Mixed Pickles. Chow Chow. Queen Olives. French Mustard. Worcestershire Sauce. Tomato Catsup. Dessert. Pie-Plant Pie. Apple Pie. Peach Pie. Custard Pie. Cake Cheese. Iced Tea. Coffee. Iced Milk. Ice Cream. Float Pudding. Fruit. Strawberries. The breakfast and supper bill of fare was as follows : Boiled and Fried. Veal Cutlet, Plain or Breaded. Beef Steak, Plain, with Mushrooms, with Tomato Sauce. Chicken. Mutton Chops, Plain or Breaded. Breakfast Bacon. Codfish Balls. Calves' Liver, with Salt Pork. Sugar-cured Ham. Fish. Lake Whitefish. Salt Mackerel. Stewed. Chicken. Kidneys. Cold. Beef. Ham. Tongue. Sardines. Corned Beef. Pork and Beans. Eggs. Boiled. Fried. Scrambled. Omelets, Plain, with Ham, with Herbs, with Cheese, with Tomatoes. Vegetables. Baked Potatoes. New Potatoes. Fried Potatoes. Cucumbers. Radishes. Bread. Vienna Bread. Hot Rolls. Hot Corn Bread. Plain Toast. Buttered Toast. Milk Toast. Oatmeal Porridge. Golden and Mapel Syrups. Peaches. Pears. Currant Jelly. Apple Butter. English Breakfast Tea. Black and Green Tea. Iced Tea. Coffee and Chocolate. Iced Milk. Before night the newsboy came round, and offered for sale the Detroit Free Press, one of the smartest and most humo- rous papers in the United States. He first presented every- body with a printed advertisement relating to the newspaper in question. He did this in every car, and then came and offered us bananas and peppermint drops. On the following page will be foun& the advertisement relating to the Press. Read! Read! HIP 5 HIP, HURRAH ! THE DETROIT FREE PRESS IS FOR SALE ON THIS TRAIN BY THE NEWS AGENT. It makes the poor rich, sick well, and alters your appearance so that when you meet the girl you proposed to (and was refused), she will jump for you. In short, it is a certain cure for all the ills of human nature. The difference between gossip and truth is, that no one ever stops to question your veracity when you are indulging in the first, but he wants you on oath when you are speaking solemn facts. DETROIT FREE PRESS. Try It, Buy it, a Nickel does the Job. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ONE AND ALL, READ THIS TALE. Life is full of uncertainties. We are here to-day, there to-morrow, and may be running for office next week. All things considered, you will be perfectly justified in asking the conductor if the train is on time ; if he can change a $20 bill ; if the road-bed is in good order ; if it is a cold day, if he isn't tired of railroading, and any other question you may happen to think of. By the way ; ask the train-boy if he has THE DETROIT FREE PRESS. Buy it, and you will be happy for ever. Railroads were discovered in 1828 ; conductors were invented a year later ; the first train-boy i was domesticated in 1850 ; brakemen were imported from Australia in 1841 ; but it was many years before they could shut a car door with the report of a cannon. Further particulars can be had from THE DETROIT FREE PRESS. For sale on the spot ; price, 5 cts. READ IT ONCE. And be convinced that it is edited by a second George Washington. Be Happy While Life Lasts, and Take Things Easy. There is no excuse for any vigorous language because you can't turn the seat in front of you, or because the window won't go up. Take it calmly, appear not to care, and wink to the boy to bring you THE DETROIT FREE PRESS. All will then go well. Important Notice to the Travelling Public. It is the intention of the stockholders of this road to put on coaches, with bay windows next year. In the mean time the passenger who doesn't get a fair view of the girl waving the dish-cloth at the train, should, ask the conductor to refund his money, but don't fail to buy a DETROIT FREE PRESS from the train agent. Important Information to Owners of Cattle. A succession of short sharp whistles from the locomotive means that there is an old cow on the track ahead, and that if she doesn't make a bee- 1 line for the fence, the engineer won't be responsible whether she makes a barrel of beef or only a' nail-keg full of hoofs and horns. After the collision is over, ask the boy for THE DETROIT FREE? PRESS. It's better than quail. Certainly, with Pleasure. If you are anxious about it, we'll explain, that one whistle from the locetnotive means take your feet off the other seat ; two signify that there is a bridal party in the car ; three whistles warn you to put your satchel on the floor and divide up your seat ; and four sharp toots indicate that if au bet on three-card monte you'll reach home strapped. N.B. When the boy comes along with HE DETROIT FREE PRESS, have your nickel ready, and be generous and tell all your friends what a prize the paper is. Confidential. In reply to various letters just received from a few of our distant relatives, Aunt Vic., Uncles Disraeli, Bismarck, Ben. Butler, Bounding BB. and others, we desire to say that in the future THE DETROIT FREE PRESS can be found for sale all the world over. Price, 6 cents. AIN'T YOU GLAD ? Get your nickel ready ; here comes the train agent with it. Why is the news agent on this train a philanthropist ? Because he picks up your nickels and gives you the finest paper published THE DETROIT FREE PRESS. (Facsimile of the Detroit free Press advertisement.; Westward to Omaha. 1 1 1 America is daubed from one end of the country to the other with huge white-paint notices of favourite articles of manufacture, with an endless array of advertisements puffing off the medicines of pretentious quacks, with announce- ments of mixtures without number to meet the requirements of suffering humanity, with every information, indeed, relating to the newest and the best and most attractive and cheapest articles of merchandise, both liquid and solid, which may be the most likely to arrest the attention of the traveller as he journeys along. I have drawn attention to this nuisance more than once already, for it is one of the first things that strike the stranger as soon as he has landed in the New World : he cannot step a mile into the open coun- try, whether into the fields or along the high roads, with- out meeting with the disfigurement. At first it seems to him a simple nuisance, an eyesore, an ugly blotch spread over a fair country ; but at length he becomes quite accustomed to the sight, and is able to look upon it with complacency and expect " Bitters," " Gargling Oil," " Horse Powders," etc., at every turn of the path. If a house has a blank wall to it, that blank wall is certain to be appropriated and daubed with a great staring white-paint notice with a background of black paint, sometimes with the letters two feet or more long and the strokes of the letters a couple of inches broad. If you have the toothache and want to get rid of it, if you are afflicted with a pain in the stomach and would have it re- moved, if you are in low spirits and want a " pick-me-up," if you are anxious to know the best chewing tobacco, the best stove-polish, the best tooth-paste, hair dye, or blacking for your boots, whatever be your ailment or whatever your need, whether it is a draught to be taken internally or an appli- cation to be used externally, you have simply to look on the blank walls, rocks and palings you come to as you flit by them in the railway train, and depend upon it you will not be long before you have found just the sort of remedy you are in quest of, and, once found, it will not be so easy to get rid of the " painting " will haunt you to your journey's end. I have room here to mention only a very few instances out of the many thousand I refer to. To take, for example, our route from New York up to this point On leaving the Empire 1 1 2 Through America. City, you see continually displayed in large white characters on both sides of the railway along the shore of the Hud- son River, for 150 miles to Albany, the following informa- tion and advice : " USE CARBOLINE FOR THE HAIR ; " " TARRANT'S SELTZER APERIENT CURES DIARRHCEA ; " " GARGLING OIL;" "TWIN BROTHERS YEAST;" "SAPOLIO;" " DIXON'S ICE CREAM," etc. You cannot look on the beauties of this river from the train without being re- minded that there are hair-dyes, pills, and horse-powders " HARVEY'S HORSE-POWDER " being about the most fashion- able claiming your immediate attention. After leaving Albany, "VINEGAR BlTTERS " begins to be prominently brought forward, and one is continually recommended to " SMOKE VANITY FAIR " and to " CHEW WOOD TAG NAVY." Even at Niagara, as you gaze in awe on the sub- limity of the scene, on those hundred million tons of water pouring every hour over those two great precipices, your thoughts which have wandered heavenward are suddenly re- called to earth when you turn round and find that the " RIS- ING SUN STOVE POLISH" is the "BEST IN THE WORLD!" As you approach Chicago, you find that " BIXBY'S IS THE BEST BLACKING ; " that " FOR FLAVORING PUDDINGS AND CAKE " you should " USE ONLY THE TRIPLE REVOLUTION EXTRACTS ;" and you are a hundred times requested to " USE GILLET'S CREAM YEAST" and to " EAT GUNTHER'S CANDY AND BE HAPPY." (In one place I found " Rising Sun Stove Polish" painted up in letters some five or six feet high. You see the polish on your right soon after passing out of the Chicago station, on the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.) Out of an infinite number of similar notices that disfigure Chicago, I would just mention one or two more, but before doing so let me observe that the nuisance culminates at Chicago, for here is the paradise of whitepaintism. In the distant future, when one thinks of this place, it will be impos- sible to disassociate it in one's memory from its splendid exhibition of medical and chemical notices. " USE DR. KING'S NEW DISCOVERY FOR CONSUMPTION, COLDS AND COUGHS;" "ASK FOR BADEAU'S PURE BLOOD MAKER;" " CHEW OLD FORT DEARBORN PLUG TOBACCO ; " " CLEAN YOUR TEETH WITH ZOZODONT;" "WIZARD OIL Westward to Omaha. i r 3 GOOD FOR NEURALGIA ; " " USE GAIL'S AND Ax's SCOTCH SNUFF " these may be taken as specimens of the rest. And so it is all the way on to Omaha. Notices of a similar nature, several feet high many of them, meet the eye of the traveller as he journeys through Iowa. We shall have occasion to refer to a few more before we come to our journey's end, but shall only do so where reference is necessary, else there would be no end to what might be written on the subject. " Gargling Oil," the most popular notice in America, is in- variably painted up in yellow lettering probably the colour of the mixture. No one who has not travelled in the United States has the least idea how sadly the country is disfigured by the daubing I have referred to. I am sure every sensible person will agree with me in the opinions I have expressed, and heartily join with me in condemning the nuisance. The Boston Herald spoke freely, yet to the point, when it said that the Americans are " a people who has brought to the highest development the arts and graces of publicity." Arriving at Omaha (June 6th) after twenty-four hours' journey from Chicago, we repair to the Grand Central Hotel, 4 an imposing five-story red brick building, but rather a "come down" after the magnificence of the Chicagoan Grand Pacific. We have now come 1480 miles from New York, and, barring a slight detour from the main track to Salt Lake City, we commence to-morrow a run of 1916 miles to the capital of the Pacific coast. For several days the palace car will be our home. Omaha lies on the border of that vast stretch of prairie which extends between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. It is named after a tribe of Indians now extinct, or nearly so, and its population is over 30,000, having increased 15,500 during a space of ten years (1866-75). It has seen the light of but twenty-four summers. Things are " booming " in Omaha, and things will continue to "boom" so long as the great trans-continental railway remains a fact. Its position is a happy one. It is half-way house for 4 This hotel was burnt to the ground in the autumn of 1 878. I 1 14 Through America. those pioneers who seek the Golden Land, the rich meads and yellow cornfields of California. But before California became connected with the East by the iron road there was another class of pioneers, who, excited by the Coloradan gold fever, mad with anxiety to throw in their lot with the discoverers of the hidden treasure, struck a more southerly course from Omaha in the direction of Pike's Peak, that great mountain across the prairie which was then to them the goal of every earthly ambition. To them it was " Pike's Peak or bust," they must either reach the mountain or " bust " in the attempt ; and this elegant motto they painted conspicuously on the sheets of their waggons, in order that the gold excite- ment already kindled might not be allowed to flag. When, however, a break-down occurred, a very different motto would be painted, on the waggon-sheet, revealing the de- plorable condition of the party, and this was, " Busted, by thunder ! " A " tub " followed by a hearty breakfast, and we strolled out to see the sights of Omaha. These are nil to one in quest of the wonderful. Yet even here there is a good deal to learn, and certainly something to supply food for reflection in 'the exis- tence of a city which, born so lately, has been run up so sud- denly, teeming with life and vigour, with its shops connected by the telephone, and its streets metalled with railways, even though there may be nothing in it that would be considered particularly worth seeing. Still, Omaha is a thriving manu- facturing city, and besides iron foundries, distilleries, breweries, flax, starch and flour mills, etc., it contains, perhaps, the largest smelting works in the United States. With seventeen hotels and about twenty churches or chapels, Omaha, besides, supports three daily and two weekly newspapers, and one tri- weekly ; but it is for its flourishing educational establishments that this city is chiefly famous. It has 86,I95/. invested in free school property, and some of its public schools have attained to very high merit. The building of the High School, the cost of which amounted to 56,ooo/., is a beautiful structure, and crowning a hill overlooking the city, with its spire of 185 feet, is the first object the eye rests upon as Omaha is approached. We were wandering along Farnham -street, the principal Westward to Omaha. \ \ 5 thoroughfare; when we came to a shop which announced itself as "The Indian Wigwam" of "Julius Meyer, Box-ka-re-sha- hash-ta-ka, Indian Interpreter, Indian Trader and Dealer in Indian Curiosities." A handsome-looking man dressed in a well cut, black frock coat, the lightest-coloured trousers, with a tall " beaver " covering a head of curly jet-black hair, was standing at the entrance, smoking. Presuming him to be the "dealer and Indian interpreter" aforesaid, we saluted and entered. He was indeed the veritable Box-ka-re-sha-hash- ta-ka ; and the following is his history, and a remarkable one it is. A Prussian by birth, he came out to America several years ago to visit his two brothers at Omaha. One day Herr Meyer and six or seven white neighbours went buffalo- hunting with a company of friendly Pawnee Indians who were encamped in the vicinity, and, as chance would have it, they fell in with a party of the bloody Sioux, sworn foes to all Paw- nees and pale-faces, and an engagement took place. The result of the meeting was that the Pawnees were taken prisoners and were walked off to be scalped at leisure, but the pale- faces, except the Prussian, were all scalped on the spot. The Prussian was allowed to retain the top of his head because of his youth, for he was then scarcely old enough for an Indian to consider his scalp of sufficient value to dangle from his girdle, or to tie on to a bit of stick to brandish in the scalp-dance. However, he was carried away by the Sioux to their retreat, and given a squaw to live with, a wigwam to Ifve in, a war- dress, some war-paint, and all the savage equipments of a Red Indian life. He accompanied the Indians on their wanderings and war-paths, and became, in truth, a semi- savage. But, more than all, he " got on " with Ta-kong-ka- you-ta, or Sitting Bull, the dreaded Sioux chief, and acquired the honour of smoking the calumet, or pipe of peace, with him. He received, too, the name of Box-ka-re-sha-hash-ta-ka, or " The Curly-haired White Chief with One Tongue " (i.e. one who never lies), by which little word he became known among the Sioux tribe, but generally among the Indians as simply the White Chief. His father offered large rewards for his redemp- tion, but it was of no avail. In time he learnt the language of the tribe, and the languages of other tribes ; and considering the Indians have no written dialects, but each word has to be I 2 n6 Through America. committed to memory according to the way it is pronounced, this must have been no slight difficulty for him to have over- come. At length he received his freedom, and was made Indian interpreter to Congress and (Indian) agent of the Interior Department, and he now receives an annual stipend of 6oo/. He goes periodically among the various tribes and learns the state of feeling among them, and, where able, settles their grievances and disputes. Having returned only a few weeks since from a visit to his old tribe, he had brought back with him Sitting Bull's favourite tomahawk and buffalo robe, also the tomahawk of Spotted Tail, another famous Sioux chief ; and what with many other interesting relics of Indian warfare obtained during his visit among the tribes, his "wigwam" of wild-Indian curiosities was well worth spending the greater part of the morning in, and this we did. White Chief was unwilling to part with Sitting Bull's paraphernalia for any reasonable sum of money, pre- ferring the rather to keep them himself, or at any rate till he could find a customer who would give him the fancy price he asked for them. But other curiosities almost if not quite as interesting were to be had, and before we quitted the premises we had bargained for several of the valuables. In the evening Box-ka-re-sha-hash-ta-ka came and dined with us at the hotel, and when we had waxed merry on bad claret he proposed taking us the next morning to a camp of the Wenabago Indians, which lay a few miles out of the city. " Indians ? " we exclaimed. " Won't they scalp us ? " " You shall see," was the reply. So we arranged to go early in the morning, and left it with our friend to get the horses. The next morning (June 7th), at seven o'clock, after an early breakfast with White Chief, we got on our horses, and a canter of five miles over a plain brought us to a forest on the shore of the Missouri ; and here we began looking about for the Indians. Curly-Haired White Chief, who rode in his tall " chimney-pot," frock coat, and yellow corduroys, taught us on the way certain familiar Wenabago-Indian terms, which he said we might find useful if we felt at all conversational, and wished to have a talk with any members of the tribe. Some of Westward to Omaha. i \ 7 these expressions were, Ho-coo-la, meaning, how d'ye do ; How-oo, my friend ; Nu, good-bye, etc. After riding backwards and forwards several times shouting or rather yelling A-ha-hee ? (where are you ?), White Chief was answered by a faint yell in the distance, and we advanced in the direction of the sound. In a minute or two we came upon the camp. On a bare spot cleared away in the thick brushwood were pitched four low tents or wigwams, each constructed simply of patches of canvas sewn together and stretched in one large sheet over bent strips of bamboo-cane. A hole at the bottom of each was just large enough for one person at a time to crawl through. The ground around was scarcely fit for a human being to tread upon. Three men " bucks," as the male Indians are called in contradistinction to the " squaws" were standing outside the tents smoking, but unpainted and dressed in civilised costume. Inside one of the "lodges" were three squaws, the filthiest-looking creatures I ever set eyes upon. They were .squatting d la Turque, with legs doubled in and knees doubled out, and the costumes they wore were appropriate to the extreme heat of the weather. Ugly and bloated in appearance, their skin was a dark copper brown, and their long black hair fell stiff and straight like a horse's mane over thb bare shoulders. One of them was studiously occupied in examining among the hairs of a dog that lay beside her ; another was engaged in needle- work, in making a pair of moccasins which would afterwards be sold in Omaha ; the other one did nothing but grin. The stench inside was simply unbearable. That we might examine the creatures, they crawled to the entrance and looked at us ; and one old girl, whose name was Ho-an-ni-ka, was presuming enough to ask me to give her a kiss! but I declined the honour with thanks. One of the tents seemed to be used as the sleeping-quarters of the whole crew : the ground was not earthen, as inside the others, but bestrewn with hay. This family, at least the grown-up portion of it, consisted of seventeen souls, four bucks and thirteen squaws. The preponderance of ladies was owing to one gentleman having gone in strongly for polygamy, for he kept a collection of eight wives. We made his aquaintance. He had no eye- brows, for he had amused himself by pulling all the hairs out. u8 Through America. Two of his wives were at home to-day, squatting with Ho-an-ni-ka in the tent above-mentioned. They wore ear- rings, and upon my expressing a desire to examine them their husband made them take them off and sell them to me, as he said he wanted money very badly. (They proved simply to be half-dimes, or American five-cent silver pieces, strung on to strips of leather.) The poor things did not seem to relish the idea of parting with their valuables ; but they were obliged to submit, else they would have had the squaw-whip about them. And considering that the amount I gave for them far exceeded their market value, they or rather he certainly got the best of the bargain. But the money given in exchange was of course pocketed by their lord and master, who would spend it on himself when he next visited Omaha. "And are these your Indians?" we inquired of White Chief, as we were riding back to the hotel. " They are our tame ones/' he replied ; " but their glory has departed. You will see plenty more of them before you reach San Francisco." CHAPTER VI, OVER PRAIRIE AND MOUNTAIN. The Pacific Railroad A mighty enterprise Rapid progress of the work Difficulties encountered The East and the West joined Starting across the Great Plains On the rolling prairie Im- pressions Animal life The "dog" of the prairie Stations on the line Elkhorn The Platte River Giant rivers of the Plains The "wickedest town in America" A lesson in massacre A break- fast on the prairie A prairie-dog city Sighting the Rocky Moun- tainsThe Magic City of the Plains Passing the eastern overland train An exchange of greetings Steeply ascending The " Summit of the Rocky Mountains" Nearly left behind A glorious panorama The Laramie Plains The Gem City of the Mountains A station museum A double supper A concert in our sleeping car Green River Rocks of the "Rockies" The Desert House Evanston Chinese waiters Begging Indians Rapidly descending Echo Canon The Pulpit Rock An engine's performance A conductor's diver- sion The white-paint nuisance again Mormon settlements The Thousand Mile Tree The Devil's Slide Ogden Junction We arrive in "Zion." FROM Omaha stretches that great line of railway which, replacing the old emigrant road, connects eastern North America with the shores of the Pacific. Wildly impossible as the idea at first seemed of linking the two cities of Omaha and San Francisco, yet in time in a marvellously short time this was effected, and the Pacific railroad now stands as one of the most wonderful achievements of the present day. It was no doubt chiefly owing to the great gold dis- coveries in California, and the consequent flow of emigrants into the far West, that the Pacific Railroad came to be devised ; but it was also devised to bring the States into closer affinity and union " to keep our country together," I2O Through America. as one patriotic gentleman observed in Congress about the time of this great railway movement. It was the beginning of the month of July, 1862, that the charter by which the Pacific Railroad was initiated was granted by the United States' Government. According to the provisions of that charter the line was bound to be completed by July i, 1876 just fourteen years from the passing of the Act. Three years and four months elapsed before the work was com- menced in Nebraska, for it was not till November 5, 1865, that the ceremony of " breaking ground " was celebrated at a spot near Omaha City. But to the Californians must be given the honour of being the most ardent promoters of the enterprise. So early as 1 86 1 a company, called the Central Pacific Company, was started at Sacramento, 140 miles north-east of San Francisco, the Western Pacific Railroad already uniting these two cities, and the great work was begun by breaking ground near Sacramento on February 22, 1863, scarcely eight months from the granting of the charter. Thus the Californians got a considerable start of their eastern brethren, anticipating them by the space of two years and eight months. The work being at length commenced in earnest, in Ne- braska as well as in California ; both companies in a friendly spirit of rivalry vying with each other as to which could ac- complish the greatest distance in the shortest space of time ; the rapidity with which the works were advanced dispelling the fears of the desponding, and far exceeding the expectations of the most sanguine this great railway, the completion of which had been limited to fourteen years, was actually laid, ready and open for traffic a vast stretch of 1916 miles on May 10, 1869, six years ten months and ten days from the passing of the Act, the full time occupied in the work itself from its very commencement in California, on February 22, 1863, being just six years, two months, and eighteen days! Thus what seemed little better than a dream in February, 1863, was an accomplished fact in May, 1869. Every effort was made and inducement held out to the competing parties to hasten the completion of the enterprise. Lands were promised to the men of both companies little short of 20,000,000 acres are said to have been so assured. Over Prairie and Mountain. 1 2 1 Large additional sums of money, too, were promised. But so strong was the opinion of the workmen on the line that the enterprise would fall through so stupendous and im- possible a scheme did it seem to them that they even refused to work till their wages had been paid them before their labour. The rush came at 'the end ; the voluntary struggle against time between the two rival companies was redoubled and persevered in, as the distance between them became less and less. The history of the final efforts of rivalry is most interesting, and it is as follows : " Day after day the average rate of building rose from . one to two, three and five miles. . . . The Union Pacific men laid one day six miles ; soon after the Central followed suit by laying seven. ' The Union Pacific retaliated by laying seven and a half; to this the Central sent the announcement that they could lay ten miles in one day ; to this, Mr. Durant, the vice-president, sent back a wager of $10,000 that it could not be done. The pride and spirit of the Central Pacific Company had now been challenged,, and they prepared for the enormous contest, one of extraordinary magnitude and rapidity. The 2pth of April, 1869, was selected for the decision of the contest, as there remained but fourteen miles of track to bring a meeting of the Roads at Promontory Point. " Work began ; the ground had already been graded and the ties placed in position, and at the signal the cars loaded with rails moved forward. Four men, two on each side, seize with their nippers the ends of the rails, lift from the car and carry them to their places ; the car moves steadily over the rails as fast as they are laid. Immediately after follows a band of men, who attach the plate and put the spikes in position; next a force of Chinamen, who drive down the spikes solid to their homes, and last another gang of Chinamen, with shovels, picks, &c., who ballast the track. The rapidity of all these motions, which required the most active of exercise and alert movements, was at the rate of 144 feet of track to every minute. By 1.30 p.m. the layers had placed eight miles of track in six hours. Resuming work again, after the noon rest, the track-laying progressed, and at 7 p.m. exactly the Central men finished their task of ten miles, with 200 feet over. Mr. James Campbell, the superin- 122 Through America. tendent of the division, then seizing a locomotive, ran it over the ten miles of new track in forty minutes, and the Union men were satisfied." l The difficulties in the way of progress must have been singularly formidable, and must at first have seemed in- surmountable. Two great mountain ranges, the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada, had to be surveyed, and the best and easiest points ascertained for conducting the line over them. Immense stretches of timberless plains of prairie- land and barren alkaline deserts had to be crossed, where fuel was not to be obtained, water was scarce, and exposure to the sweeping blasts sharp and certain. There is no doubt that at the outset of the enterprise the western company met with the greater difficulties of the two, for the Sierra Nevada, over whose heights the railway had at once to be threaded, lay im- mediately before them. We read that "the first 100 miles was a total ascent of 7000 feet. ... At the height of 5000 feet the snow-line was reached, and forty miles of snow galleries had to be erected at an additional expense of $20,000 to $30,000 per mile, and for a mile or more, in many places, these must be made so strong, that avalanches might pass over them, and yet preserve the safety of the track. Even after passing the Sierras the railroad descended into a vast plain, dry, and deserted, where there was not a sign of civilized life, nor any fuel. For over 600 miles at a stretch no water could be found for either man or machinery. . . . Every bar of iron and every tool had first to be brought and started on a sea voyage round Cape Horn some four or six months before it was needed." : However, all obstacles at length overcome, the union of the two lines took place at Promontory Point, Utah Territory, 1084 miles from Omaha and 832 miles from San Francisco (or 692 from Sacramento), and the East and the West became linked by the iron road. New York and San Francisco were joined, the distance between the two cities by the most direct lines of rail being 3230 miles. It now takes just a week to cross the North American Continent. The distance could be accomplished in less time, of course, for the average rate of 1 Williams' Pacific Tourist. Over Prairie and Moimtain. 123 speed on the Pacific Railroad does not exceed eighteen to twenty miles an hour. To America in general, San Francisco in particular, the advantages accruing from the construction of the Pacific Railroad are incalculable. This is obvious to any person who gives the subject a moment's consideration. Massachu- setts and California are brought into immediate connexion. The future of the Golden City as San Francisco has been termed at once becomes one of the most promising of all the cities in the Union ; its position as a shipping port the most commanding. Great Britain, too, is benefited. A new route is opened for her trade with China. The products of California are brought within her easy access. Proceeding on our journey to-day (June 7th) we took sleeping berths to Ogden, the junction for Salt Lake City. We are now on the rolling prairie. For over 500 miles after leaving Omaha the Pacific Railroad is thrown in an almost continuous straight line across the Great Plains. Everything is strange and new all seems changed. We turn our faces westward, and feel as if we are leaving life and civilization behind us. We look around and see nothing but a boundless sea of grass, a verdant undulating ocean stretching to the far distant horizon in one vast perpetual sweep. An overpowering sense of vastness is conveyed to us as we speed over these immense plains. An indescribable feeling of solitude, a mighty loneliness which no words can well represent, is engendered by the contemplation of such an immensity of open space. And to think that we are crossing but a very tiny portion of this tremendous sweep of plain ! " Into the Plains and Plateau you could put all India twice." 3 It is scarcely possible to comprehend the idea of so enormous an extent of sameness, such an uniformity of feature over so vast a portion of the country : yet thus it is. But that lone- some feeling which is engendered does not produce, as might be expected, a depression of the spirits far from it. There is a kind of charm in one's first ride over the prairie which drives away melancholy. Though surrounded by what seems to be an interminable monotony, there is life all around if 3 Sir Charles Djlke. 1 24 Through America. you only choose to look for it. For the first 200 miles you find the Plains in the vicinity of the railway dotted with the settlements of a frugal people, who have turned the land to the best account, and found it wonderfully fertile and productive. Groves of cottonwood-trees are frequently seen in the " valley " of the Platte, and are said to thrive amazingly, growing some eight feet or more a year. After the Platte Valley is passed cultivation is left behind, and the rest of the prairie crossed by the Pacific Railroad is devoted to the raising and grazing of stock. Seen now at the begin- ning of summer the Plains present an appearance of exquisite freshness and bloom. The tall prairie grass is of the greenest, and bright-coloured flowers springing from a smooth stone- less surface deck the ground in gayest profusion. But what a change will have been wrought in another two months ! The green grass will then have become brown and dried up, the beautiful flowers will have disappeared, ugliness will reign supreme, and scarcely a more unpromising and cheer- less sight will be found on the face of the earth. Then indeed if you take a trip across the Plains you will wonder how sheep and cattle can find food enough to keep them- selves alive. The thick brown bunches of buffalo grass which you see springing up on all sides, look the very reverse of nourishing ; yet it is only the colour of the grass which has changed. The hot sun has dried and cured it like hay, and has given it a sweet savoury taste particularly agreeable to cattle. Any farmer out West will tell you that this grass, so seemingly destitute of every nutritive quality, is equal if not superior to some of the best fresh grasses in the country. Very little animal life is seen in crossing the prairie by the railway. Buffalos are not seen now. Time was when they covered the plains of Nebraska, and the story goes that they used to be shot down from the cars as the train pro- ceeded, and their carcasses left by the side of the line to rot in the scorching sun. But this noble beast is no longer seen from the window of the Pullman car. Both the buffalo and the Indian have retired before the advance of the white man far, far away over the boundless sweep of the vast open plains. Antelopes may occasionally be seen from the train, but only Over Prairie and Mountain. 125 in a few solitary herds, for they, like the buffalo, have been scared away to seek " fresh fields and pastures new." But away from the railway antelopes are found in abundance, and an immense variety of other " big game " besides ; indeed many of the stations on the Pacific Railroad, throughout its whole length to California, are splendid starting-places for the sportsman. From Sidney, Cheyenne, Hazard, Laramie, Fort Saunders, Green River, Wells, Elko, Winnemucca, or Wads- worth, the hunter is within easy reach of some of the finest hunting regions in the New World. But the chief curiosity of the Plains is the comical little prairie marmot (Cynomys ludovicianus], called a " dog " by the Americans, and as such he is generally known. He is'very like a rat when seen from a distance, but he is as amusing and interesting in his movements and habits as a juvenile monkey. In length about fourteen inches from snout to tip of the tail, his colour is a greyish-red, and he stands on all fours at a height about equal to the length of his tail, which is a couple of inches long, and is tipped at the end with black. The male is slightly larger than the female, and is more brisk in his movements. Both male and female have long whiskers, small holes for ears, large claws on the feet, and a huge protruding pair of teeth, which are awkward customers if once they get hold of you, but which are never brought into requisition unless provocation has first been offered to their owner. The prairie-dog is a very sociable and hospitable animal. He lives underground in a " town " or " village " (as his home is called) with many of his own kind, and receives as his guests company, I must say, rather of a mixed and question- able character, for in his dwelling are to be found burrowing owls, tortoises, prickly frogs, and rattlesnakes a family living not so happily and harmoniously together, or so adapted to each other's peculiarities, as some have alleged, for it is said that the snake and the owl so far abuse the hospitality of their host as to make a quiet meal off him, when hunger dictates. The Indians call him " Wish-ton-Wish," not a very musi- cally-sounding name, certainly, but one, nevertheless, which is supposed to represent their idea of the sound the little creature makes. The Americans call him " dog," from the resemblance of his cry (so they say) to the yelp or bark of a 126 Through America. small fretful puppy. Another cry he has, which he utters when he is frightened, and that is a most remarkable sound : it would be a puzzle to find its equivalent. It is a kind of squeak a stuffed, gagged, and yet a loud and somewhat shrill sort of squeak, unlike the noise of any other animal, as far as I am aware. It somewhat resembles the pronounced "chuck " of an over- fed hen, or again it puts one in mind of the cackling of a guinea-fowl ; but, as I have said, it would be difficult to find its equivalent. Though their numbers are becoming less and less every year along the route of the Pacific Railroad, the noise of the train gradually scaring them away, hundreds of the little creatures may still be seen close to the line, but seldom or never more than one at a time, that is one to every " town/' for the sound of the approaching train will depopulate the district for the time being, and the solitary dog that is seen keeping guard outside, sitting bolt upright on his hind legs on the top of the earth-mound of his excavated home, is the old and experienced sentinel instinctively deputed by the rest of the community to look after their interests, and to tell them, by means of a loud squeak, that the danger they feared is past and that they may safely come up again. A prairie-dog's natural position, except when he is eating or is on the qui-vive, is on all fours ; but he takes his food, which principally consists of the roots and stalks of grass, squatting on his hind legs and holding it in his fore paws, monkey fashion. Always remaining near his hole and never wandering far from its vicinity, with a pair of sagacious, clever-looking eyes watching you he will munch away what he is grasping till it has all disappeared, and then, with a squeak of satisfaction accompanied by a quick jerk of the tail and a backward toss of the head very much like a cock throwing up its head at the commencement of a good long crow, only with ra f her more briskness he will suddenly tumble out of sight into his hole hard by, and leave you wondering as to what has really become of him. Very tenacious is Wish-ton-Wish of his precious little life. His fat, plump little body added to his circumspect habits render him difficult to be secured, either dead or alive. It requires a good-sized bullet, and one care- fully aimed for the brain, to' bring him down, and even then it is ten to one if you get him, for he is sure to be near his hole, Over Prairie and Mountain. 127 and will manage to wriggle himself into it ; and then sup- posing he does get into his hole, and dies there, and you put in your hand to pull him out, all I can say is, Beware of the rattlesnake ! The prairie-dog can be tamed so as to become a great pet, as I am able to testify. I brought back to England several live specimens in 1878 ; and with a large heap of sand to burrow in and plenty of fresh grass to eat every morning, they are, I fancy, as happy and contented with me in close confinement as if they were at liberty on their own native prairie. There are 230 stations between Omaha and San Francisco ; distance, 1916 miles. Most of the settlements which are passed have sprung up since the construction of the railway. Roughness and lawlessness have hitherto characterized the inhabitants of these places, and though time and civilization have wrought here and there a change for the better, their condition, it must be owned, is still rather barbarous. A man's life goes for a very little out West. If you hear people talk of " a man for breakfast," it means that someone has been shot during the night. The train stops at every one of these little stations. (There is but one train a day starting from Omaha for San Francisco, and vice versa.) Meals are supplied on the way at eating stations set up by the two railway companies. You are obliged to step out and take your meals at these places, unless you happen to have laid in a stock of provisions for consumption en route, for there is no food to be obtained at the interme- diate stations. Nor are there any dining-cars as yet on the Pacific Railroad. Twenty- nine miles from Omaha we reach the first little place of importance Elkhorn, situated on a river of the same name. About 300 miles in length the Elkhorn abounds with a great variety of fish, and in the fall of the year its banks are covered with flocks of geese, ducks, and wild turkeys. It is a paradise for the angler, and has been so since the spring of 1873, when, as the story goes, a car-load of spawn en route for California was accidentally upset at this point and turned into the water. Ever since then fish have been plentiful. Soon after leaving Elkhorn we come within sight of the Platte River, the great drainer and fertilizer of this region, and 128 Through America. for 345 miles, as far as Julesburg, we follow along- its northern bank. The Platte is one of the giant rivers of the Plains. Only can an idea be formed of this immense stretch of level country by glancing at the enormous length of the rivers that water it. " The Arkansas, which is borne and dies within the limits of the Plains, is 2000 miles in length, and is navigable for 800 miles/' The Missouri, as we have already seen, flows 3096 miles before meeting with the Mississippi. Then there is the Yellowstone, one of the great northern tributaries of the Missouri, which takes its rise in the north- east of Wyoming, and flows 1300 miles before its junction with the Missouri. From the source of the Yellowstone to the point where the waters of the Mississippi empty them- selves into the Gulf of Mexico, is one continuous stream of 5800 miles. The Platte is not very navigable. At the best of times it is no more than a couple of feet deep. Its channel is con- stantly shifting, and often the river spreads out to a mile in width. Sometimes there is no river visible at all. The stream in places dries up entirely in the late summer, and with a bed of soft quicksand it resembles at that season a bog more than anything, and is quite as difficult and treacherous to cross, except at the proper fording-places. It was now time to look about us. It had been smooth water so far. As yet we had had no occasion to use our revolvers. But we had now come to Julesburg, popularly known in its earlier days (since 1 867) as the " wickedest town in America," near which place the Pacific train, a few days since, had been attacked and robbed, and $25,000 stolen. A similar robbery on the train had been committed a few days previous to this event. Unfortunately I am unable to make this description of our route at this point more interest- ing by giving an account of some thrilling adventure with a band of thieves, for the truth is, that we passed through this critical period without a scratch, without even a ground for suspicion that there was anything wrong. To prevent mischief, however, or rather escape after mischief, the doors of all the cars of our train were locked long before we reached the "wickedest town," and kept locked until long after we had left it. The way the desperadoes go to Over Prairie and Mountain. 129 work is as follows. Half a dozen of them, say, will get into the train as ordinary passengers, having duly paid their fares. In the middle of a long run, one of them, at a given signal, will leave his companions and walk through the train to the engine driver and stoker, and, placing a couple of six-shooters at their throats, command them to pull up. This is a signal for another of the confederates to get up and suddenly plant himself against the door of his car with a couple more six-shooters, and, pointing them at all present, cry, " Hands up ! " If your hands don't go up you go down, that's all. Then another fellow calmly goes round and makes a collection. You dare not shoot at the fellow who is pointing at you, for you would be im- mediately "polished off" by two of his confederates in the same car. The bravest man in these cases is as helpless as the most cowardly, for a six-shooter takes all the courage and fight out of him. These robberies, however, are of very rare occurrence, indeed travelling on the Pacific Railroad may be said to be almost as safe as it is on any of our English railways. June %th. Thirty-seven miles beyond Julesburg we come to Sidney, an eating station, and therefore a place of importance. We stop half an hour to hurry out and get breakfast. Arriving at 8 a.m., having been roused from our slumbers twenty minutes beforehand by our coloured attendant, we quickly bundle out of the train and rush into the breakfast-room, to make sure of getting ourselves seats. We have, as 1 have observed, thirty minutes allowed for breakfast ; but on these oc- casions one generally contrives to despatch one's meal in five. Tearing into the station-house past a man standing at the doorway, who was vigorously proclaiming, on a loud-sounding copper-tin gong, that the feast was ready prepared and spread within, we found ourselves in a room furnished with many neatly-arrayed tables. We had plenty of the gentler sex to wait on us. There was plenty of time to eat and plenty of room to spare. There were given us eight little dishes apiece, containing hot beefsteak, two slices of cold roast antelope, a bit of cold chicken, ham and poached eggs, a couple of boiled K 130 Through America. potatoes, two sticks of sweet corn, stewed tomatoes, and four thin buckwheat " hot cakes" laid one on the top of the other, to be eaten with golden syrup the last thing of all. We were all served alike : everyone was given the same as his neighbour. Knives and forks were lamentably scarce, as usual. One knife and fork each to last through the whole meal is the order of the day out here. Cold tea in tumblers, with a quantity of sugar added, seemed to constitute the popular beverage if it was not cold milk : but there was hot tea and coffee for those who preferred. It was a typical American feast, all ate as if for their very lives. We, my friend and I, began slowly and properly ; but we soon found that the eagerness of our neighbours to be " through " with their meal provoked a similar eagerness on our part, and the result was that we were all " through " together a quarter of an hour before it was time to start. For this and for every meal (except two) along the route of the Pacific Railroad from Omaha to San Francisco, the charge is one dollar. There is a gradual although an almost imperceptible ascent in the journey across the plains of Nebraska from the Missouri River. The Great Plains are not level, but sloping. Omaha itself, to begin with, is 966 feet above the sea, and Julesburg, 376 miles from Omaha, has an elevation of 3500 feet, the rise along the whole distance being gradual, though at the same time nearly imperceptible. Sidney stands 570 feet higher than Julesburg. The railway continues to ascend after leaving Sidney, and in the next nineteen miles we rise 297 feet. Close to Potter, a station we now reach, is a famous prairie-dog city, a rather more extensive community than the ordinary town or village, where Wish-ton-Wish is to be found at home in his honeycombed domain with many thousands of his companions, in a territory comprising several hundred acres. About sixty miles further, between the stations Hillsdale and Archer, we sight the Rocky Mountains. Everyone is now astir. We crowd to the windows and steps of our car, and strain our eyes across the prairie in the direction of the range. There is a sort of romance attached to the bare mention of these mountains. We know that they form one of the great mountain chains of the world ; but there seems to be a touch Over Prairie and Mountain. 1 3 1 almost of mystery something vast and incomprehensible about them that we cannot grasp. And it is no wonder when we remember that they extend in an almost unbroken line throughout the entire length of North and South America, from the Arctic region to the south of Patagonia, a distance of 8200 miles ! The Andes in South America are but a con- tinuation of the " Rockies " in Colorado. Mount Acon- gagua in Chili, with a height of 23,910 feet, and Mount Hooker in British North America, with a height of 16,730 feet, may be said to form the culminating points of one and the same range, in South and North America respec- tively. It is a long blue line of mountains that we see, distant far away in Colorado to the south, and there is Long's Peak, snow-capped, towering above all to a height of 14,270 feet. No need of field-glasses in this part of the world. If the day were clearer we should see Pike's Peak, said to be 140 miles distant, "as the crow flies." But though it is glorious weather to-day, the sky a deep, cloudless blue, and the sun scorching hot, Pike's Peak and Long's do not come into view together. The Black Hills now appear to the north, and soon we are approaching Cheyenne (pro- nounced Shienne), the " Magic City of the Plains," and the blue distant lines far away to the north and south become more and more distinct. Approaching the Magic City by a couple of snow-sheds, which are rendered necessary owing to the violence of the storms in winter, we reach it at 1.40 p.m., and stop half an hour to get dinner in the station-house. We have now reached an elevation of 6041 feet, and are distant 516 miles from Omaha. We have also quitted the State of Nebraska, and entered the Territory of Wyoming. Cheyenne can boast of being the largest town between Omaha and Salt Lake City. It is the capital of Wyoming, and has seen a fluctuating population, which can now (1880), at all events, be estimated to be about 4000. Gold was dis- covered in the Black Hills a few years ago, and then up sprang the city almost magically ; hence the popular name by which it is designated. Like many of these " magic " cities it has had its day of lawlessness and vice. But the construc- K 2 132 Through America. tion of the Pacific Railroad has brought within the last few years a certain amount of civilization and enlightenment to this once barbarous community, and churches and schools have taken the place of drinking taverns and gambling dens. Not that the present condition of the Magic City is irre- proachable or blameless. It can scarcely yet be recommended as a haven for a peaceable and law-abiding citizen who is endowed with a liberal supply of this world's goods, to come and end his days in. There can sometimes be obtained a man for breakfast here, as well as at Julesburg. From Cheyenne a line branches south for 106 miles to Denver, the capital of Colorado. Another line branches off to the same destination from Hazard, or Colorado Junction, the next station we come to after Cheyenne. The former is the Denver Pacific Railroad, the latter the Colorado Central. Both form a junction at Denver with the Kansas Pacific, which connects the Coloradan capital with St. Louis in Mis- souri and the East, running parallel with the Union Pacific across the Plains about 200 miles south. Connexions are also made at Denver with various other lines, which lead to some of the most important mining " camps " in the State. A few miles beyond Hazard we pull up on a side track at a shanty named Otto, to allow the eastern overland train to pass us. The two trains pull up close by the side of each other, and greetings are exchanged between the respective conductors and baggage-masters. Our newspaper man hands over to the newspaper man of the eastward-bound train a bundle of the latest issues of the principal Chicago and Omaha papers, and in return we are presented with the latest issues of the principal San Francisco and Salt Lake journals. One is as anxious to get hold of a paper out here, to ascer- tain the latest news, as one is at the end of that long week at sea, upon the anxiously looked-for arrival at New York, or Queenstown Harbour, when you make a dash for the first paper available, to see what has been happening in the world you have been out of for so long a time, and on these occasions you do not mind paying double the proper price of the first paper that comes to hand. And so it is on a railway journey like the present. Anything to break the Over Prairie and Mountain. \ 33 monotony of the long ride over the Plains. At length, the conductors and baggage- masters having engaged in ten minutes' conversation, someone cries " All aboard, all aboard" we jump up on to the cars, the engine bells commence ringing and once more we proceed. The eastern overland train is passed every twenty- four hours between Omaha and San Francisco. We now rise rapidly and perceptibly, and in four miles, between Otto and Granite Canon, we ascend 574 feet. Six miles more, a further ascent of 482 feet, and we have reached an altitude of 7780 feet. Snow galleries are now frequent, and the line is cut through heavy masses of red granite. Ravines open out beneath, and you feel you are ascending the Rocky Mountains. Low stunted firs sparsely clothe the heights around, and you begin to associate the "Rockies" with bears, elks, and wild cats. Big game, in truth, abound in the vicinity, and the mountain streams literally swarm with trout. A further ascent of 464 feet in seven miles, and we reach Sherman, the highest elevation which the Pacific Railroad attains. It has an altitude of 8242 feet. We are 2192 feet higher than the Rigi near Lucerne, 3836 feet higher than Ben Nevis in Scotland, as high, indeed, as some of the loftiest passes in Switzerland and this in a railway train ! If the eye could see so far we should have an uninterrupted view back to Omaha, a distance of 550 miles. As it is we have (a little beyond Sherman station, for there is no view from the station premises) a noble panorama southward of the " Rockies " in Colorado, of a fine snow-capped belt of dark-blue heights containing some of the highest elevations of these North American Andes. Just before reaching Sherman, we pass a notice board on our right which informs us that this is the " Summit of the Rocky Mountains ! " We pull up at the station, and the train is to wait ten minutes. It is rather cold up here to-day, so I turn into a little inn the Sherman House near the track, expecting to find a fire ; but instead of this I find some cider real, good, excel- lent cider, to which I in company with others commence helping myself. While thus engaged, the engine bell is rung 134 Through America. and the conductor shouts " All aboard," the signals that it is time to be moving away. Now it happened that I was en- gaged at this moment in a lively debate on polygamy with the man at the bar, who was himself half a Mormon, and, it seemed to me, thought somewhat favourably of the institu- tion. But it all of a sudden flashed upon me that I was being left behind. So, tossing the man a dollar greenback, with a bottle of cider in one hand and a cup to drink out of in ~~ SHERMAN. the other, I dashed out of the building, and there was the train steaming away quite fifty yards ahead of me ! I think I never put on the pace with greater alacrity than I did to catch that train. I raced as for my very existence, and fortunately succeeded in reaching the hindmost car, for the engine had not yet got up sufficient steam so as to proceed very fast. Descending gradually for about three miles, suddenly, without any warning, we emerge from a deep cutting in the Over Prairie and Mountain. \ 35 red granite cliff on to the Dale Creek Bridge a wooden trestle-work structure 650 feet long, thrown 127 feet across the creek or ravine which so unexpectedly opens out beneath. We go over it at a snail's pace, and so fragile and thin does the bridge appear to be that it seems almost a wonder it is able to support the heavy weight of the train. When you reach the middle and look down below, you experience a kind of " creeping " sensation, which causes you to very much wish you were safely arrived on the opposite bank. We now quicken pace. Then we shut off steam, apply the brakes, and descend rapidly into the Laramie Plains. What a glorious panorama is now before us ! What intensity of colour ! How clear is the atmosphere, how blue the moun- tains, how diversified the landscape ! All around and about us the colour of rock and soil is a crimson red, and dark green fir-trees starting up here and there afford an agreeable con- trast to the general aspect of the picture. The Medicine Bow Mountains shut in the view to the west, rising dark and blue into the region of perpetual snow. The Black Hills we have just crossed are seen looming in the far north, and then spreading out before us, in one grand sweep of a hundred miles or more, are the Laramie Plains, a very paradise for sheep, for the grass is of the richest 160,000 to 170,000 head of stock revel here in one of the finest grazing-lands in North America. Descending through a series of snow- sheds into the plains, many curiously-formed rocks of red sandstone, called the Red Buttes, are seen on the right, about ten miles before we come to the settlement of Laramie. They present a most peculiar and fantastic appearance. Some of them are 100 feet in height. Soon we reach Laramie, called the "Gem City of the Mountains/'' for reasons which need not here be enumerated, and we turn out into the station-house and have supper. On the platform is a collection of fossils and minerals, heads of animals shot in the vicinity, and other interesting curiosities. Collections such as this are to be found at all the eating- stations on this part of the overland route. Elk, deer, and cinnamon bears abound on the mountains in the neighbour- hood of Laramie, and hunters bring their heads and place 136 Through America. them in these museums for sale. Moss-agates, variegated opals, amethysts, and mountain rubies, are not to be picked up every day cheaply ; but here were heaped together these precious stones, and others, in great variety, collected like the animals' heads from the adjacent mountains, and cer- tainly the prices asked for the several specimens could not be called excessive. At Laramie we are 7123 feet above the sea-level, having descended 1119 feet from Sherman in twenty-four miles. We resume our journey after supper and proceed for fifty miles to Rock Creek, where we have another supper. Time allowed for second supper, half an hour. Resuming our journey once more, night overtakes us, and we go to bed, the reader will say. No, not just yet ; for we have an eight-stop little organ in our sleeping car, the " Palmyra," and this evening we bring out its tone, and our companions in the car contribute a few songs. The instrument has two manuals, but will only sound in one, and the upper part is devoted to pillow-cases and blankets. So for two hours we amuse ourselves with singing and playing, our conductor who was a bit of a musician in his way coming and helping us and treating us to a few songs. I believe if we had only had room enough we should have got up a little dance ; but, as it was, this was entirely out of the question. In this way we spent a very pleasant evening. June Qt/i. When we rose this morning (at seven) we found ourselves near Green River station, 846 miles from Omaha, and at an altitude of about 6000 feet. During the night we passed over that high table-land or dividing ridge of the Rocky Mountains which constitutes the continental watershed, from which the waters of this portion of North America flow eastward into the Atlantic and westward into the Pacific. At Creston, the highest altitude we attained, we halted there at 1.45 a.m., we were 7030 feet above the sea. The settlement of Green River is so called from a stream of the same name in the vicinity, and the stream is so named from the greenish hue of its water. Not that the actual water is green, but, flowing through a slaty, clayish soil of that colour, it has the appearance, until examined, of being the same Over Prairie and Mountain. 137 colour also. At Green River the peculiar scenery of the Rocky Mountains commences not scenery in the character of grand and beautiful views, for it is a woe- begone, desolate region we are passing through ; not a tree is visible, nor, I believe, have we passed one for the last 300 miles. But the bluffs in the neighbourhood of the river, and solitary rocks starting up here and there, assume every variety of fantastic shape, and, further on, as Ogden is approached, the railway is laid through a remarkable gorge, called Echo Canon, where Nature is strange and weird in the extreme. The variety of colour in many of these rocks, and the regularity with which the layers of each are arranged, is most extraordinary. Red and grayish-buff are the predominating colours ; but there are also yellow and green layers layers of arenaceous clay alternating with layers of calcareous sandstone, and here and there a layer of white sand, so that such a variety of forma- tion appearing in so many colours, when found in a single rock, presents it immediately as an object requiring more than a passing glance. The sight that we witnessed early this morning of a valley enclosed by such rocks, lit up by the light of the morning sun, bathed in an inexpressible glow rendering their colours all the more brilliant and glorious, is one not likely ever to be forgotten. There is evidence enough to show that the whole of this region was once covered with water, for upon the face of many of these " buttes " are to be seen clear and beautiful impressions of fish, and not only one or two here and there, but sometimes hundreds together on one and the same rock. Thus during a prolonged course of corrosion caused by the action of climate and damp, or water, affecting the soil around, have these rocks come to assume such remarkable shapes, the soil composed of a softer and less durable substance having sunk by degrees, leaving these evidences of the former level of the valley. In 1870 an exploring party sent out under the auspices of Yale College, New Haven (Conn.), discovered near Green River many specimens of fossil grass- hoppers, beetles, dragon-flies, and other insects ; also, near Antelope, not far from Cheyenne, a petrified three-toed horse, a rhinoceros, besides turtles, birds, and other fossil specimens in the same locality. There is no finer field for 138 Through America. the geologist and fossilist than this section of the Rocky Mountains ; and the mineralogist, too, will find ample scope for the further development of his particular branch of natural science. The names which have been given to some of the rocks that are passed between Green River and Ogden, according to their more or less curious formation, will help to convey some idea of their general form and appearance. Thus we have (at Green River) a Giant's Club, a Giant's Thumb, and a Giant's Teapot, and further on we pass a Pulpit Rock, a Sentinel Rock, a Castle Rock, and within perceptible distance of some Twin Sisters, Egyptian Tombs, Church Buttes, Monument Rocks, and a few Witches' Bottles. I cannot take these in detail, for a rush past them in the train, though it be only at an eighteen-mile-an-hour pace, does not allow one to do more than gain a very superficial impression of their characteristic features. But suffice it to say that the proportions of a number of them are truly gigantic, and that while some are seemingly detached from the cliffs behind, others stand up out of the earth by themselves without prop or support, looking indeed as if Nature had pkiced them in their positions in order to puzzle everybody. We breakfasted at Green River, and a very good breakfast it was, too. considering the distance some of the things must have been brought. Besides the usual supply, we had a quantity of fruit, which had probably been brought all the way from Salt Lake City or California, for none can be got to grow up in this desert region. The station inn, the only hotel in the place, is called the Desert House. A more appropriate name could not have been chosen. The following notice I found framed and hung about the breakfast-room : Over Prairie and Mountain. 139 THE DESERT HOUSE. This hotel has been built and arranged for the special comfort and convenience of summer boarders. On arrival, each guest will be asked how he likes the situation ; and if he says the hotel ought to have been placed up upon the knoll or further down towards the village, the location of the house will be immediately changed. Corner front rooms, up only one flight, for every guest. Baths, gas, water-closets, hot and cold water, laundry, telegraph, restaurant, fire -alarm, bar- room, billiard-table, daily papers, coupe", sew- ing machine, grand piano, a clergyman, and all other modern conveniences in every room. Meals every minute, if desired, and conse- quently no second table. English, French, and German diccionaries furnished every guest, to make up such a bill-of-fare as he may desire, without regard to the bill-affair after- wards at the office. Waiters of any nationality and colour desired. Every waiter furnished with a libretto, button-hole bouquet, full-dress suits, ball-tablets, and his hair parted in the middle. Every guest will have the best seat in the dining-hall, and the best waiter in the house. Any guest not getting his breakfast red-hot, or experiencing a delay of sixteen seconds after giving his order for dinner, will please men- tion the fact at the office, and the cooks and waiters will be blown from the mouth of the cannon in front of the hotel at once. Children will be welcomed with delight, and are re- quested to bring hoop-sticks and hawkeys to bang the carved rosewood furniture especially provided for that purpose, and peg-tops to spin on the velvet carpets ; they will be allowed to bang on the piano at all hours, yell in the halls, slide down the bannisters, fall down stairs, carry away dessert enough for a small family in their pockets at dinner, and make themselves as disagreeable as the fondest mother can desire. Washing allowed in rooms, and ladies giving an order to " put me on a flat-iron " will be put on one at any hour of the day or night. A discreet waiter, who belongs to the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and who was never known to even tell the time of day, has been employed to carry milk punches and hot toddies to ladies' rooms in the evening. Every lady will be considered the belle of the house, and row-boys will answer the bell promptly. Should any row-boy fail to appear at a guest's door with a pitcher of ice-water, more towels, a gin-cocktail, and pen, ink, and paper, before the guest's hand has left the bell- knoh, he will be branded " Front " on his forehead, and be imprisoned for life. The office clerk has been carefully selected to please everybody, and can lead in prayer, play draw-poker, match worsted at the village store, shake for the drinks at any hour, day or night, play billiards, is a good waltzer and can dance the German, can make a fourth at euchre, amuse children, repeat the Beecher trial from memory, is a good judge of horses, as a railway and steamboat reference is far superior to Appleton's or anybody else's guide, will flirt with any young lady and not mind being cut dead when "pa comes down." Don't mind being damned any more than a Con- necticut river. Can room forty people in the best room in the house when the hotel is full, attend to the annunciator, and answer ques- tions in Hebrew, Greek, Choctaw, Irish, or any other polite language at the same moment, without turning a hair. Dogs allowed in any room in the house, in- cluding the w(h)ine room. Gentlemen can drink, smoke, swear, chew, gamble, tell shady stories, stare at the new arrivals, and indulge in any other innocent amusements common to watering-places, in any part of the hotel. The proprietor will always be happy to hear that some other hotel is the best house in the country. Special attention given to parties who can give information as to how these things are done in " Yewrup." The proprietor will take it as a personal affront if any guest on leaving should fail to dispute the bill, tell him he is a swindler, the house a barn, the table wretched, the wines vile, and that he, the guest, "was never so imposed upon in his life, will never stop there again, and means to warn his friends." G. W. KITCHEN. Continuing our journey through a waste, monotonous region, in 1 1 1 miles we come to Evanston, half-way house between Omaha and San Francisco. From Omaha the dis- tance is 957 miles, from San Francisco, 959 miles. During the preceding 1 1 1 miles we ascended a little over 700 feet. At Green River our elevation was 6140 feet ; here it is 6870 feet. 140 Through America. At Evanston we had dinner, and a novelty in the form of Chinamen to serve us. There were several, and they one and all wore an amazing lot of hair, the black flowing locks of some twisted and allowed to trail down the back and legs ECHO CAftON. in one grand, magnificent pigtail. One fellow's hair reached down to his ankles; others had theirs curled up round the back of the head, like a young lady's used to be alas, that plain and simple style ! before chignons became the Over Prairie and Mountain. 141 fashion. These Celestials are extraordinarily like one another in their countenances. Men or women, it's all the same they're all alike. For all the world it is hard to tell John Chinaman when you see him whether he is a man or a woman. There were also, at Evanston, several Indians (Shoshones) squatting on the platform, begging. They had dogs as usual ill-fed, half-starved curs ; and I noticed that one animal was sharing his dinner with his master, both Indian and hound tugging away together at a piece of meat. Filthy and dirty- looking in the extreme, their faces were thickly besmeared THE WITCHES ROCKS. with red and blue paint, and their clothing, as with those at Omaha, was suitable to the oppressive heat of the weather. The paint was so thickly laid on that it had become like a hard cake, and cracked by the heat of the sun. From Evanston, or rather from Wahsatch, nine miles further, the line rapidly descends, and in the succeeding nine miles, between the stations Wahsatch and Castle Rock, we descend 580 feet. We are now approaching the well-known Echo Canon, where we expect to revel in scenery remarkable and strange. We pass Castle Rock station, and find the rocks around us worn into many queer shapes, and the cliffs on our 142 7 7i ro iigh A merica . right assuming larger and loftier proportions as we descend beneath them from a higher level. The old emigrant road is beside us that old, beaten track so often traversed before the iron road was laid across the prairie and mountain, and which is still used by those who cannot afford the luxury of the railway train. We have been running close beside it for some distance, and have passed many oxen-drawn, canvas-covered waggons loaded with whole families on their way to seek new homes in the still far-off West. Now the road crosses the line, and there is a cartful of emigrants drawn up at the side, waiting till we have passed so that they may cross in safety. THE WITCHES BOTTLES. As we pass them they give us a cheer, and we of course cheer them back, and wave our pocket-handkerchiefs. But the increasing grandeur of the scene, which every mile becomes more and more impressive, requires all our attention now. Standing on the steps of the last car we have a fine view of Echo Canon as we descend into it gradually, and slowly, with plenty of time to look about us and take in every point of interest that is passed. The characteristic feature of this gorge is that while on the right or northern side of the line, during the descent towards Ogden, the cliffs, of dark red sandstone, are bold and massive, abrupt and bare, castellated and turreted, of all shapes and sizes, almost overhanging the THE PULPIT ROCK. Page 143- Over Prairie and Mountain. 143 rails in some places, on the left side the hills are perfectly smooth and rounded, and thinly clothed with grass. A curious formation close to the railway in this canon is the Pulpit Rock a gigantic "three-decker," about seventy feet in height, towering straight up above you as you pass only a few yards from it. There is a tale told by some clever people that Brigham Young preached from this " pulpit " to his Mormon band of pioneers, as he led them over the mountains to Salt Lake City, the newly-revealed " Zion." But the story is a mere invention, for he did nothing of the kind. Even if it were true, I do not see how he could have mounted on to the rock unless he happened to have been provided with an exceptionally long ladder. We pull up in the middle of the pass to allow a performance of our engine, for this is " Echo " Canon, and some wonderful resounding effects are here supposed to be produced. The engine performed while we listened. It gave three long jerks, then stopped awhile, then jerked again ; but the result of all this could scarcely be deemed a success. The echo was clear and defined, but not of long duration. I should have men- tioned above that we pulled up at Wahsatch station, just before descending into the gorge, to allow the eastern over- land train to pass us. As it was a little behind time our conductor amused himself by taking shots at one of the tele- graph posts with his revolver ; and about half a dozen of us followed suit and fired at the same. The sublimity of Echo Canon is considerably reduced in the estimation of the lover of the picturesque and beautiful by the conspicuous white-paint advertisements which are seen daubed up against the red sandstone precipices just in the most striking part of the whole gorge, and in other parts of it as well. The most frequent are " SOZODONT ;" " GARGLING OIL ;" " PLANTATION BITTERS ;" and " SALT LAKE HOUSE, SALT LAKE CITY, $1.50 to $2.00 pr. day." Just before entering the gorge, the Territory of Wyoming is quitted for that of Utah. We are now among the Mormons, we have reached the " Promised Land.-" All the settlements we pass between this and Ogden are inhabited by the " People of the Lord." We come to the village of Echo City city indeed, with a population of only 300! It is a Mormon 144 Through America. settlement, lying just outside the canon. We ascertain from a man standing and loafing about at the station, watching the train, that a bishop is located here, but that he has just gone "a missionizing" in California to preach polygamy to the Gentiles there. We are shown Mormon dwellings close to the station, and we gaze at them. But our curiosity is unrewarded. THE DEVIL'S SLIDE. Emerging from the canon, we have a grand view on our left of the snowy Wahsatch Mountains, on the other side of which lies Salt Lake City. The view of the range from this point is singularly beautiful and impressive. Traversing for eight miles an open, well-cultivated valley, we come to another canon, called the Weber. As we enter Over Prairie and Mountain. 145 it we pass on our left a tall solitary pine-tree bearing on its lower branch a sign-board, upon which can be discerned the notice, " 1000 M. Tree." This is the " Thousand Mile Tree," and marks the exact distance we have travelled since leaving Omaha. A little beyond this tree we come to a remarkable formation in the mountain side, consisting of two parallel ledges of granite, fourteen feet apart, projecting some sixty feet or more from a smooth surface, and running down the cliff for a height of 800 feet. It has been aptly called the " Devil's Slide." Several other instances of the same peculiar formation, only not so perfect and entire as in this particular case, may be seen while passing through this gorge. We emerge from the canon and enter a fertile valley of ten miles in length, hemmed in by lofty heights, which assume loftier proportions as we approach the opposite end. Then, with the Weber River flowing beside us, we come to the Devil's Gate Canon, the third and last gorge which is pene- trated by the Union Pacific Railway. It is only five miles in length, but the twists and turns of the line become so frequent and sudden that we can only proceed at a four-mile-an-hour pace. The rugged cliffs on both sides, averaging 900 feet, sometimes almost hang over the railway and meet almost, so to speak, shake hands across ; and they would do so were it not for the river at the bottom, which dashes along taking up for itself all the room, so that the railway has to be cut out of the side of the mountain, or else must force its way by means of a tunnel. Just as we are leaving the canon we pass a deep gap in the mountain on our right, from which the gorge receives its name. The Rocky Mountains now crossed, we emerge from them into the Great Salt Lake Valley, which is 120 miles in length, and from thirty to forty miles in breadth. Passing through green fertile lands, in ten miles we reach Ogden, the junction for Salt Lake City and the terminus of the Union division of the Pacific Railroad. The distance from Omaha is 1033 miles, and from San Francisco, 883 miles. Passengers bound West now change into the "silver palace" cars of the Central Pacific, which are waiting to take them as soon as they have had their supper ; passengers bound for the Mormon metropolis proceed by the cars of the Utah Central. Forty-five minutes L Through America. after our reaching Ogden find us covering the thirty-seven miles between that place and Salt Lake City, and, at 8.45 p.m., we find ourselves in Utah's capital, called " Zion " by all good Mormons the " Centre of the Kingdom of God upon earth," the " Dwelling-place of the Prophet," the " City of Refuge for the down-trodden Saints ;" and placing our baggage in a hotel 'bus and ourselves in a street-car drawn by a quartette of mules, we are taken off direct to the Walker House. CHAPTER VII. MORMONISM. The origin of Mormonism Joseph Smith's initiatory vision His mother's account of the vision His interviews with an " angel" Discovery of the golden plates The origin of the Book of Mormon the found- ing of the Church Principles of the Mormon faith Originality of the Church The Book of Mormon A blasphemous publication A few samples of its contents Rubbish and bad grammar Organi- zation of the Mormon Church The " First Presidency " The two priesthoods The various offices in the Church "Stakes'' and " wards " of Zion How the people are looked after. BEFORE proceeding further, it may be useful to give a slight sketch of Mormonism in general, one that, though it must be brief, may be found of service by enabling the general reader to understand the principles that govern the religious life of the "Saints" of the Rocky Mountains. I would fain pass on and omit dwelling here upon a religion that must be pronounced to be so empty and false, so demoralizing in its tendencies, a religion whose teachings are fraught with such sad and shocking blasphemies ; but when as will bt shown in a later chapter so large a number of persons continue to pour every year into Utah from Great Britain, Scandinavia, and other parts of Europe ; when, too, it is remembered that the greater proportion of Mormons in western North America are people from the British Islands alone, it will, I think, serve a useful purpose if publicity be given to their doctrines, which are, I believe, little known or understood, in order that it may be seen to what kind of religion, and to what a state of moral and social degradation, too many of our uneducated emigrants are being introduced ; for, though Brigham Young: is dead, L 2 148 Through America. Mormonism is, at this moment, in as. thriving and flourishing a condition as ever. First, then, as to the origin of Mormonism. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" this is the full title JOSEPH SMITH, FOUNDER OF MORMONISM was founded, as is well known, by one Joseph Smith, who in the year 1820, when he was fifteen years of age, is said to have had a remarkable vision while praying to God one day in the woods near his home at Manchester, Ontario (now Wayne) County, in New York State, upon which occasion Mormonism. 149 "a vision of the heavens opened unto him, two glorious persons descended towards him, and one, pointing to the other, said, 'This is my beloved son; hear him!"' 1 The lad appears to have been quite overcome for the moment ; but, on collecting his thoughts, and remembering that the object of his prayer was to know which of all the religious societies on the earth was the one he should join, for Joseph was a boy of strong religious principles ; and his mother and sister having just turned Presbyterians, and having himself half a mind to become a Methodist, he was as yet undecided what to do, he made bold to inquire, and the following was the reply which, in curious phraseology, he tells us he received, as it is given in the Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and his Progenitors for many generations, by Lucy Smith, his mother : " I was answered that I must join none of them, for that they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight ; that those professors- were all corrupt, they draw near me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me He again forbade that I should join with any of them. When I came to myself again I found myself lying on my back looking up to heaven." But this was not all. Three years later, on the night of the 2ist of September, 1823, after Joseph had "retired to bed for the night, and had betaken himself to prayer and sup- plication to Almighty God," an "angel," Moroni by name, appeared unto him three times, and told him how that there were " hid up " in a stone box under a hill near his home at Manchester, some golden plates containing a record written in hieroglyphics, " in a language called the Reformed Egyptian, not then known on the earth," giving a history of the ancient inhabitants of America, and that two stones in silver bows, anciently called the Urim and Thummim, were to be found fastened to a breastplate, together with the record, in the same stone box. (The " angel " seems to have appeared unto him again on the following day, and told him to relate this vision to his father.) Joseph accordingly went to the hill as directed, found the plates, and was on the point of carrying 1 Mormon Catechism for Children, by John Jacques. 150 Through America. them away when the angel again appeared and told him that he must leave them, for that the time had not yet arrived for taking them, and would not be for four years longer. But Joseph was allowed to come once a year and have a talk with the angel, yet the possession of the plates was denied him awhile, for reasons which have not been explained. At the end of the four years, therefore, the plates, etc., were pre- sented to Joseph ; but still he was only allowed to keep them a little while, "till the angel should call for them," during which time he was to translate them by means of the Urim and Thummim ; and this he did. Before, however, he returned them, "the Lord, by a heavenly messenger, showed the plates to three witnesses," and "Joseph Smith, by commandment, showed the plates to eight witnesses," 2 whose testimonies were considered essential to prove that Joseph had practised no deception in the matter. This translation from the " Reformed Egyptian " constitutes what is known as the Book of Mormon, so called, we are told, from a prophet of that name who flourished in America about the fourth cen- tury of this era. 3 But Joseph, although evidently " called," had not yet been fully " ordained of God." He had still to receive to use his own expression the " gift of the Holy Ghost." This was necessary before he could set about organizing a church. So on May 15, 1829, he retired as 2 Mormon Catechism for Children. 3 " Joseph Smith, when questioned on the subject, gave the following as the proper derivation of the word (Mormon) : "'I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation. Before I give a definition, however let me say that the Bible, in its widest sense, means good ; for the Saviour says, according to the Gospel of St. John : I am the good shepherd ; and it will not be beyond the use of terms to say that good is amongst the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in oppo- sition to bad. We say from the Saxon, good; the Dane, god; the Goth, godaj the German, gut; the Dutch, goed; the Latin, bonus; the Greek, kalos; the Hebrew, tob j and the Egyptian, men. Hence with the addition of more, or the Egyptian, mor, we have the word Mormon, which means literally, more good.' " Notwithstanding all this pedantic parade of learning on the part of the Prophet, uninspired scholars have expressed an opinion that the word was derived from the Greek poppav, a spectre or hideous shape." Rocky Mountain Saints, by T. B. H. Stenhouse. Monnonism. i 5 1 usual into the woods to pray, taking with him Oliver Cow- dery his scribe, one of the " three witnesses " above alluded to. As they prayed they took care to select a spot where there was some water (a pond) conveniently close at hand they were suddenly confronted by St. John the Baptist (!), who "descended from heaven in a bright light," laid his hands on them and ordained them, and commanded them to baptize and ordain each other in his presence. The two men then entered the water together and baptized each other by immersion, "Joseph Smith baptizing Oliver Cowdery, and he baptizing Joseph," and then " Joseph re-ordaining Oliver, and he re-ordaining Joseph." It is said that as they came out of the water they " experienced great and glorious bless- ings," and "stood up and prophesied." After this though not until April 6, 1830, more than a year after the ordination of Joseph and Oliver the Mormon Church was organized in earnest at Fayette, in Seneca County, New York, at the house of one Peter Whitmer, when six persons were present, including the Prophet and his scribe. They all " entered into covenant to serve the Lord," received the "gift of the Holy Ghost," and thus was the " Church of Christ " (sic) fairly launched upon a disbelieving and a persecuting world. This, then, briefly, is the origin of Mormonism. But unfor- tunately for the veracity of Joseph Smith, and for that of three of his witnesses," 4 this unknown " Reformed Egyptian " has 4 It is the testimony of the three witnesses who protested as to the plates, which must be discredited, not that of the eight witnesses who merely testified that Smith had shown them certain plates. It may be rioted that the " three witnesses," a few years after, formally renounced their testimony, declaring it to be false, for which they were "disfellow- shipped" from the Church and "turned over to the buffetings of the devil." The following are the two testimonies referred to, as appended to the Book of Mormon : " The Testimony of Three Witnesses. 11 Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken ; and we also know that they have been trans- lated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us ; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify 152 Through America. been proved by Professor Anthon, of New York City, to whom the plates were submitted before they were returned to the angel, to be a jumble of "Greek, Hebrew, and all sorts of letters, more or less distorted either through unskilfulness or design, and intermingled with sundry delineations of half- moons, stars, and other natural objects, the whole ending in a rude representation of the Mexican Zodiac ! " 5 And now comes the question, what is Mormonism ? Of what elements of faith is the religion composed ? These we shall find if we turn to the code of prominent doctrines with that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates ; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon ; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true ; and it is marvellous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it ; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgement-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honour be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God, Amen. " OLIVER COWDERY, " DAVID WHITMER, " MARTIN HARRIS. " The Testimony of Eight Witnesses. " Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jim., the translator of this work, hath shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold ; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our hands ; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen ; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it. " CHRISTIAN WHITMER, " HIRAM PAGE, " JACOB WHITMER, " JOSEPH SMITH, SEN., " PETER WHITMER, JUN., " HIRUM SMITH, " JOHN WHITMER, ' " SAMUEL H. SMITH." 5 Rocky Mountain Saints. Mor monism. 153 which Joseph Smith furnished the Church in the year 1842. A Mormon's creed, therefore, is as follows : Belief in the Three Persons of the Godhead ; man's punishment for sin ; Christ's atonement, and the consequent redemption of man- kind ; the four ordinances of the Gospel by which mankind may be saved, namely (i) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, (2) Repentance, (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, (4) Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost ; the divine calling of a man by prophecy, and the laying on of hands by those in authority to do so ; the regime of the primi- tive church, in its having apostles, prophets, teachers, evan- gelists, etc. ; the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues ; that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the Word of God, the former " so far as it is translated correctly;" the literal gathering of Israel and the restoration of the Ten Tribes ; the selection of North America for the location of Zion, according to the prophecies of Isaiah 6 and Zechariah; 7 the personal reign of Christ upon earth, and that the earth will be renewed, and will receive its "paradisic glory ;" and lastly, "We believe," says Mr. Smith, "in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men ; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul, ' We believe all things, we hope all things ;' we have endured many things, and we hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." To the above may be added : Belief in unrestricted polygamy; a heaven where there will be perpetual eating and drinking, to last on for ever and ever ; that man was existing in the form of a spirit before he came into the world ; that all good Mormons will be " resurrected " into gods, and that their existence in the next world will be the 6 Isaiah xxix. 4. " And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust." Mormons claim that this was a prophetic allusion to Joseph Smith's discovery of the golden plates. 7 Zech. ii. 4. " Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein." The young man here referred to is supposed by Mormons to be no less important a personage than Joseph Smith himself. 154 Th rough A merica . same as in this, the only difference being that their bodies will consist of flesh without blood, spirit supplying the deficiency caused by the removal of the latter constituent ; that Joseph Smith will be the first one " resurrected," and that then he will proceed immediately to " resurrect " in order all Latter-day Saints who have kept the faith, gentle- men first, then the ladies (!) ; and that last of all he will "resurrect" the Gentiles, the best first, and the worst that is, those who have been hostile to Mormonism coming last. An authority already quoted 8 gives the following informa- tion respecting the originality of the "Church of Christ." I give verbatim the questions and answers therein contained on the subject : " Q. What are those who believe and obey the truth called ? "A. Saints. "Q. What are they called as an organized body of people ? " A. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. " Q. Are there more Churches of Christ on the earth than one ? " A. No. There can be but one, and though that one may have many branches, they must all be united, and be subject to one head. " Q. Is it right that any branch of the Church of Christ should call itself the Church of England, or the Wesleyan Methodist Church, cr the New Connexion Methodist Church, or the Reformed Methodist Church, or the General Baptist Church, or the Particular Baptist Church ? "A. No. God highly disapproves of such names being applied to his Church or any portion thereof. " Q. Are these societies which use such names branches of the Church of Christ ? "A. No. They have been founded in the wisdom of this world, by men who have not received authority from God. "Q. Why are -such names given to societies of men who profess to belong to the Church of Christ ? " A. Because the founders of those societies, not being in- * Mormon Catechism for Children, Mormom'sm. 1 5 5 structed of the Lord, have not shown His will in the matter ; consequently such societies have been founded according to the taste of the founders, or of the people, after the names of the founders, or after some peculiar doctrines or circum- stances connected with the societies. " Q. Are such societies united, and subject to one head ? "A. No. They are divided, and they contend one with another. Indeed, some have separated themselves from others, for instance the Reformed Methodist Church, and the New Connexion Methodist Church, separated themselves from the Wesleyan Methodist Church ; the Wesleyan Metho- dist Church separated itself from the Church of England, and the Church of England separated itself from the Roman Catholic Church. "Q. Why is this called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ? "A. To distinguish it from the Church that existed in former days, as these are the latter days in which we live. " Q. How can the Church of Christ be known from other religious societies ? " A. By various characteristics, among which may be named : Its Priesthood and organization ; its being led by a prophet having direct revelation from God ; its enjoying the gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost, and promising the same to all believers ; its purity and consistency of doctrine : its unity and oneness of spirit ; its gathering its members from among the wicked ; its building of temples dedicated to the Lord instead of building churches and chapels dedicated to men and women ; its being persecuted and evil-spoken of by every other society and by every other people under heaven ; and lastly, men may know the Church of Christ by obeying its doctrines, and obtaining a testimony for themselves by revelation from God." 9 9 In the same work there occur also the following remarkable passages : " Q. Are bread and wine used in the Sacrament ? "A. No. Water is occasionally used, when wine made by the Church cannot be obtained. " Q. When wine is not to be had, is the use of water equally acceptable in the sight of God ? "A. Yes. It was through a revelation from him that water was first 1 56 Through America. We will now examine, very briefly, the contents of the book of Mormon that translation from the " Reformed Egyptian " by means of the Urim and Thummim vouchsafed to Joseph Smith by the holy angel. This publication is, in a word, a used in the Sacrament. Doctrine and Covenants 1. i, 2 ; new edition, xxvii. 2 5. Repeat the passage. * For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the Sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory ; remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins ; wherefore a commandment I give unto you, that you should not purchase wine, neither strong drink, of your enemies ; wherefore, ye shall partake of none, except it is made new among you ; yea, in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built upon the earth. Behold, this is wisdom in me.' " " Q. Who are the proper subjects of baptism ? " A, Those persons who have come to years of accountability. Doctrine and Covenants ii. 20 ; xliii. ; new edition xx. 71 ; xviii. 42. Repeat the passage. ' No one can be received into the Church of Christ unless he has arrived unto the years of accountability before God. and is capable of repentance. ' For all men must repent and be baptized, and not only men, but women, and children who have arrived to the years of accountability.' " Q. Do not many persons teach that little children will not be saved, unless they are baptized ? "A. Yes. But such doctrine is very wicked, and an abomination in the sight of God. Book of Mormon, Moroni, viii. 2, 3. Repeat the passage. ' Wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is a solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children. . . . Wherefore, if little children, could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell. Behold, I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism, is in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity, for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity, wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell. For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism. Woe be unto him that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish, except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God. . . . Little children cannot repent : wherefore it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy. And he that saith that little children need baptism, denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at nought the atonement of him and the power of his redemption. Woe Monnonism* 157 history of the " ancient inhabitants of America." It is a complete and very original description of the lives and actions of the remote ancestors of the present race of human beings, commencing about the time of the confusion of tongues at Babel in or about the year 2247, B - c -> an d coming down to the year 400, A.D., from the migration from Babylon to America of a certain Jared and his family, who increased and multiplied and covered the vast continent, which is called in the book of Mormon an " isle of the sea (!)," down to the final extermination of all Jared's descendants through their innate love of slaughtering one another, for they did nothing but fight, fight, fight till there was none of them left ! (It seems that Jared and his family escaped the confusion of tongues, and were not confounded like the rest of the people at Babel.) There is an account given in the work of perhaps the most disastrous battle on record, one in which we are told that 2,000,000 men were slain ! Two hundred and thirty thousand had been killed in a previous engagement ! Talk of our battle of Hastings, our Crecy, Poitiers, Waterloo, and other famous battles of modern tjrnes, why, they are a mere baga- telle compared with some ol^hese (fictitious) civil engage- ments of the primitive Americans. But there is a sad as well as a humorous side to an exami- nation of this extraordinary publication. To anyone with the least particle of i/ov?, the Book of Mormon deemed, be it re- membered, by the followers of Joseph Smith to be the Word of God will appear, before many pages of it have been turned over, to be nothing but a sham from beginning to end : more- over, the consummate audacity, the cool barefaced way in which the most sacred Name of Names is brought into its pages and made use of to serve the ends of the compilers of the wildly impossible stories that are to be found in the volume, .stamps blasphemy on the very face of the production. Even the poor feeble style of composition, with statements in some unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly, God hath commanded me,' " Q. At what age are children considered accountable, and old enough to be baptized ? " A. The children of the Saints are considered old enough at eight years to be baptized." 1 5 8 Through A merica . places vague and unmeaning, in others ill-formed and badly put together, is, in itself, quite sufficient to give rise to doubt as to the divine origin of the work. And when we do come to examine its contents, what do we find ? We find that the phraseology of the Bible is imitated in every page, every paragraph throughout the volume. We find passages collected from different parts of Holy Scripture mostly from the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and strung together indiscriminately, without any thought or re- gard being paid to the occasion or circumstance to which each has reference. We find some of the sublimest passages in Isaiah quoted wholesale and placed side by side with subject- matter so loathsome and disgusting as to be totally unfit for publication. And, worse than all, we find our Lord's own words to His disciples freely introduced, here word for word as He uttered them, there interpolated with supplemen- tary matter purely imaginary, which is not only altogether foreign to the text of the New Testament, but is, in many cases, quite out of harmony with the spirit and " style " if such a term may be used in which Holy Scripture is written. Blasphemy, rubbish and bad grammar are the leading characteristics of the Book of Mormon. The grammar is simply atrocious. It is a remarkable thing, that among the immense number of revelations vouchsafed to Prophet Joe Smith there are 133 recorded in his Book of Doctrine and Covenants there was not one imparting to him the art of writing with correctness. As illustrating the illiterate style of composition pervading the work, the following passages, taken at random, may be quoted : " Now behold, it came to pass that I, Jacob, having ministered much unto my people, in word, (and I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates,) and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain ; but whatso- ever things we write upon any thing save it be upon plates, must perish and vanish away ; but we can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or con- cerning their fathers." (Page 120, edition 1877.) Mormonisin . 159 " But we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an island of the sea." 10 But great are the promises of the Lord unto they who are upon the isles of the sea ; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren." (Page 78.) "And now it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words, he said unto them again, after he had expounded all the scriptures unto them which they had received, he said unto them, behold, other scriptures I would that ye should write, that ye have not." (Page 481.) " Now whether there shall be one time, or a second time, or a third time, that men shall come forth from the dead, it mattereth not ; for God knoweth all these things ; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the case." (Page 318.) " And he said go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but they understood not ; and see ye indeed, but they per- ceived not." (Page 337.) " And I saw wars and rumours of wars among them ; and in wars and rumours of wars, I saw many generations pass away." (Page 24.) " Let your communication be yea, yea ; nay, nay ; for whatsoever cometh of more than this are evil" (Page 460.) "And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year was very frequent in the land." (Page 337.) The following remarkable passages in the Book of Mormon may also be cited : " And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, waving the rent of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had wrote upon the rent." (Page 335.) "The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I was not rebel- lious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheek to them that plucked off my hair. I did not hide my face from fear and spitting, for the Lord God will help me ; therefore shall I not be confounded 10 North America, as already noted, is the " island " here referred to. 160 Through America. Who is my adversary? let him come near me, and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth ; for the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall condemn me, behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up." (Page 69.) " And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of Heaven, and also by the Heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired, should lose his head ; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life. And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish." (Page 553.) " Now the joy of Ammon was so great, even that he was full ; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength, and he fell again to the earth. Now was not this exceeding joy ? Behold this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness." (Page 285.) " There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of ites." (Page 493.) Concerning the organization of the Mormon Church the following may be said. It is governed by a president and a council or "Quorum" of twelve apostles, the president of the Church ranking as one of the twelve apostles, and these constitute the Mormon hierarchy. Their word is infallible, their behests incontrovertible, their power supreme. Originally when the Church was first started it was governed by a " First Presidency," or a " Quorum of Three," who considered themselves the representatives upon earth of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity ! These, in the first place, consisted of " Prophet " Joseph Smith and his two counsellors, namely Hyrum Smith his brother, and Willard Richards, the " Keeper of the Rolls ;" but after the two Smiths were assassinated in 1844, the First Presidency lapsed, and the twelve apostles or rather, a " Quorum of Twelve " ruled the Church for three years, till Brigham Young restored the First Presidency by procuring his own election to the prophet- ship and re-appointing two counsellors. Brigham died in 1877 ; and his death, again, dissolved the First Presidency, JRIGHAM YOUNG LORENZO Sxow. JOSEPH F. SMITH. PROMINENT LIVING MORMONS, l88o. FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS. Page 1 60. M or monism . 1 6 1 which has not since been revived. 11 The various offices in the Church are contained under two priesthoods, the Melchi- sedec or higher priesthood and the Aaronic (Levitical) or lesser priesthood. The former of these includes the offices of apostle, seventy, patriarch or evangelist, high priest, and elder ; the latter includes the offices of bishop, priest, teacher, and deacon. Taking these in order, an apostle has to organize and preside over the Church. A seventy, or a euorum of seventy or seventies, any number may form a uorum in this case, has to travel about the world and promote the general welfare of the Church, by preaching the Gospel to the " heathen " and inducing as many as possible to gather to " Zion." A patriarch or evangelist's duty is to bless bless the Saints and tell them of the joys that are in store for them (in the next world) if they will pay in their tithing regularly, and say their prayers morning and evening on behalf of the Holy Priesthoods. The duty of a high priest is to preside at collective meetings, and to travel about (like the seventy) and aid in converting the heathen. An elder preaches, baptizes, administers the Sacrament, blesses little children, ordains other elders and the officers of the lesser priesthood, presides at meetings in the absence of the high priest indeed he can perform an official duty in almost any capacity, provided that no higher authority is present to officiate. A bishop's duty is, in Mormon phraseology, to "administer all temporal things." He is " a judge in Israel/' a magistrate among the inhabitants of "Zion." A priest baptizes, administers the Sacrament, and visits the Saints 11 Information has reached me at the last moment from Salt Lake City, that at the late semi-annual Conference of the Latter-day Saints, held on October 6th and four following days, the Quorum of the First Presidency was re-established, two counsellors being appointed to John Taylor, the President of the Church. The Mormon Church, therefore, is now governed by a president and two counsellors, and a council of twelve apostles. The two counsellors who have just been appointed are George Q. Cannon, as " First Counsellor in the First Presidency," and Joseph F. Smith, as " Second Counsellor in the First Presidency." The names of the twelve apostles are as follows: John Taylor (president), Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Albert Carrington, Moses Thatcher, Francis Marion Lyman, and John Henry- Smith. M 162 Through America. in their homes, occasionally praying with them. A teacher likewise attends to the spiritual and temporal wants of the Saints, by visiting them, etc. ; and he has, besides, according to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, to " see that there is no iniquity in the Church." But I fear he sadly neglects his duty in this respect. Lastly, a deacon assists the teacher, visiting the fatherless and widows, and offering them what aid he can in their prayers, besides performing several menial offices, such as keeping order at public assemblies, seeing that the meeting-halls are properly ventilated, etc. The people are parcelled out into large districts, or "stakes," and these are sub-divided into smaller districts, or "wards." A president and two counsellors exercise control over each stake, their duty being to attend to the spiritual wants of those who have been entrusted to their care : a bishop and two counsellors preside over each ward, their duty being to look after the temporal wants of their protege's to look after their secular affairs, and report their condition to the presidents and counsellors of their respective wards. Again, there are the teachers and deacons, who are under the bishops and counsellors, each having his own little district to attend to, and these must in their turn report to the bishops upon the position and state of affairs of the people over whom they have been appointed, and they are expected to go round at least once a month and visit every family. Thus we see that the 01 TroXXol of " Christ's Church " are pretty well indeed looked after, and that their spiritual and temporal necessities are liberally taken into account especially the latter. The Territory of Utah is divided into twenty stakes, and these are split up into 230 wards. The Salt Lake stake is divided into twenty-one wards. Conferences of the Church are held in Salt Lake City twice every year, in April and . October. Of these, the spring meeting is the most important, for then the " trustee-in-trust" presents his annual budget ; missionaries are selected to go forth and preach " the Word " to the " heathen " in Europe ; and the well-being of " the elect," both spiritual and material, is thoroughly and satisfactorily investigated. Thus much for Mormonism in general. We have now given a brief account of its origin, and of some of its principal Mor monism. 163 characteristics, with which it is essential that the reader should be acquainted before he is introduced to the Saints in their mountain home. With the history of the Church from the day that it was founded on the 6th of April, 1830, ten years after Joseph Smith's first vision, and (according to the calculation of Orson Pratt, one of the twelve apostles) exactly 1 800 years to a day from the resurrection of Christ (!), it is not within the scope of this work to deal, however slightly. Yet I may remark, that the history of the persecutions of this people and of their barbarous and sanguinary retaliations upon their oppressors, is quite enough to gratify the appetite of the most ardent lover of sensational romance; and the story of the wanderings of that band of devotees across the great American plains and Rocky Mountains, going they scarcely knew whither, under the leadership of their late president, Brigham Young, till they sighted the beautiful valley where they have founded and built up a " city of refuge " for themselves, forms indeed a very remarkable and interesting page in the history of the great Transatlantic continent. However much we may cry down Mormonism and heap shame upon the Saints, which we are bound to do when we turn to and examine their domestic life, or pity them for their ignorant and superstitious belief, there is still one fact that cannot be ignored, and that is, that their frugal habits and patience in the endurance of many privations have enabled them to reclaim a region that once was barren, and to trans- form a desert into a garden. There can also be no doubt that they have mainly contributed to the development of the great hidden wealth of the Territory. M 2 164 Through America, CHAPTER VIII. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ZION. The Mormon metropolis Its luxuriant appearance A model city Lovely situation Clearness of the atmosphere The Tabernacle An extraordinary-looking building Inside and outside The Tabernacle organ Curious subjects of sermons A horn-blower from the Old Country An angry spouse objects The Temple The Endowment House Mysteries of the '' endowments "The new Assembly Hall . rBrigham's Block The tithing system The tithing fund of 1879 The Lion House The Beehive House Sign of Mormon stores The President of the Mormon Church Holy men of "Zion" Hy- pocrisy extraordinary Revolting picture of Mormon life A matter for Congress to look fnto " The Upper California " A porter from Didcot Junction Peculiarity of Mormon houses Domestic economy On the road to Fort Douglas Magnificent prospect over the Salt Lake Valley The doctrine of polygamy Its introduction among the Saints Smith's reason for introducing it Many-wived Mormons A bache- lor's duty The spiritual-wife system Sealing Pleading for polygamy Remarkable meeting of women in favour of the institution Utah's delegate to the National Congress. June lOtk. THIS morning we got up early, had breakfast sharp, and began to arrange our day's programme. In this we were aided by an English gentleman who had been located in " Zion " for more than a twelvemonth, who courteously came and offered us his services for the day, proposing to conduct us over the city, explain everything, and introduce us to the best of the Saints an offer which we only too readily accepted. So we started forth to see " Zion's glories." Stepping out of the hotel we found ourselves in the chief thoroughfare, called Main-street, and began making our way through a busy throng of people towards the Tabernacle, the Mormon House of God, which lay at the farther end. To The Rocky Mountain Zion. 165 / i one who expects to find in the principal street of the Rocky Mountain " Zion " a narrow highway composed of two rows of tumble-down wooden shanties, separated by a rough, half-made road, as no doubt is the impression of some, the sight of the Main-street would be an agreeable surprise. True the majority of the houses are built of wood, and those that are not of wood are built of " adobe," or sun-dried bricks ; and true, again, that the great width of the roadway (128 feet between the two pavements, each of which is 28 feet wide) completely dwarfs the height of the buildings, making them look small and insignificant albeit there are three buildings at least in this street that would not disgrace the State-street of Chicago or the Broadway of New York. But, with luxuriant shade- trees separating the pavements from the road ; with streams of pure water, fresh from the mountains, flowing down at the sides ; with the road laid with a tramway and continually traversed by mule-drawn cars, this street is but a specimen of others in the Mormon metropolis, for they most of them have similar features. Irrigating streams as I have implied run through every street, and not only at the two sides but down the middle of some of them as well ; tramways are laid from one end of the city to the other, connecting the "depot" (railway station) with the hotels and chief places of interest ; shade-trees, such as the cottonwood, locust, Lombardy poplar, and box elder, border the sidewalks ; trim landscape gar- dens full of fruit-trees (peach, apricot, pear, and plum), and gay with beautiful flowers, abound ; and every garden-lot can have a limited supply of water turned into it whenever the occupier feels disposed, by having it conveyed into his premises from the pure mountain stream which flows down the paved gutter of the street in front of him. A garden is this Salt Lake City, a very oasis in a desert, a luxuriant plantation in a once- waste wilderness ; and when, considering the extraordinary circumstances under which it sprang into being, we regard the freshness of everything, the fertility of everything, the wonderful growth of trees and plants which spring up above the alkaline soil that underlies the fair surface, and which, in many instances, where the roots have sprouted deep enough, has changed the colour of the leaves from bright green to yellow, we cannot 1 66 Through America. but come to the conclusion that this " City of the Saints " is one of the sights of the great American continent. Thirty- three years ago there was not a tree growing where the city now stands there was not even a log-hut to be found for hundreds of miles around. Brigham Young in the year 1847 sighted the valley of the Great Salt Lake. First he conse- crated it to the " Kingdom of God." Then he marked out " Zion," 1 founded it, built it up, divided it into wards, planted it, irrigated it by diverting the streams from the neighbouring mountains, and the result is that we have a city of a little over thirty years' growth built, as it were, by one man, for Brigham's word was law, and everything had to be done according to the peculiar taste of the Prophet as " divine " architect. But the situation of the Mormon metropolis is most lovely. It lies twelve miles to the south-east of an immense salt lake, whose greatest length is eighty miles, and breadth forty-five miles, nestled at the base of a grand range of mountains, which rise immediately above the city. Mountain ranges close in the entire valley around, mountain isles rise out of the Great Salt Lake all around is mountainous, the sublimity of the situation is supreme. The air, too, is so clear, that the glorious purple mountains by which the valley appears to be enclosed, seem to be scarcely half a dozen miles away, when in reality they are more like twenty. Just begin to step out to them before you have your breakfast one morning, and you will seem to be no nearer them when you have walked half way than when you first started. But we are on our way to the Tabernacle, and must digress no longer. Turning off to the left after walking three " blocks " up Main-street, we come within view of the building. This is one of the most extraordinary-looking structures it has been my lot to look upon. Let me endeavour in some way to describe it. Regarded from a distance, it may be said to resemble a great pie-dish turned upside down, and resting on pegs ; or, again, it is not unlike the back of an enormous turtle. It consists of an arched roof of an immense single, un- broken span, 250 feet long and 150 feet wide, reaching to a height of seventy-seven feet above the ground, and resting on J Salt Lake City is laid out in 260 ten-acre blocks, each block split up into lots of an acre and a quarter. Rocky Mountain Zion. 167 the top of forty-nine massive pillars of cut sandstone ranging from fourteen to twenty feet in height. The roof is composed of interlaced pieces of timber, which have been cut the size of small slates, and it is daubed over with white paint. Its shape is an oblong with the corners rounded off. There are doors between nearly every column all round the building, to be used for exit in case of panic, and there are windows above the doors, directly under the " cover " or roof. Upon entering you find an open, free and unobstructed building. INTERIOR OF THE TABERNACLE. At one end is a rostrum (for the President, the twelve apostles, the bishops, the preacher, the choir, the conductor of the choir, and the band), and behind it, at the back of all, a large organ, with an elaborately carved case and a frontage of gilded pipes. A gallery runs round three sides, supported by seventy-two thin columns of wood painted to resemble marble, each column being about sixteen inches in diameter, composed of two-inch plank, hollow in the centre and gra- dually tapering towards the top ; and these are the only props inside that can be seen. Low benches cover the entire floor, i68 Through America. and a passage runs down the middle. The floor is level to about the centre of the building, when a grade commences (of about four feet), to enable those sitting in the back benches to see and hear the more comfortably. Six or eight rows are allotted to the " Gentiles " who may happen to attend the services. They are by far the best seats, commencing about the seventh row. No corners are visible, and one cannot fail to be struck with the impression that the main object INTERIOR OF THE TABERNACLE. Showing Organ. in the mind of its ingenious architect was to effect such an arrangement, that no person in the building could be prevented from seeing the preacher. That such is the case I myself proved, for I was unable to place myself where I could not obtain an unobstructed view of the rostrum, and of anyone who might happen to be upon it. The ceiling is plain. It is whitewashed, and two small square apertures in the roof admit a little more light than what is afforded The Rocky Mountain Zion. 169 by the windows which are hidden right away beneath the gallery. Paper festoons made in imitation of flowers, and suspended aloft, considerably relieve the bare effect produced by this plain whitewashed ceiling, besides giving the building a festal appearance these having been put up on the 24th of July, 1877, the- thirtieth anniversary of the Mormon arrival in the valley. Prior to this anniversary there were certain familiar inscriptions hung about the building, such as " Brigham our leader and friend," " Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Lord," "Utah's best crop children," "Lamanites the battle-axes of the Lord," etc. ; but these were all taken down on July 24, 1877. The organ was built by an English Mormon, a Mr. Ridges, and contains 2000 pipes. Mormons tell you that it is the largest organ in America. I believe, however, that the one in the Music Hall at Boston, and that in the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, also the one in the Cin- cinnati Music Hall, are each of them much larger. The Saints also tell you that their Tabernacle is constructed to seat 13,000 persons at a push. But allowing eighteen inches for each person, it just holds 6280. The Mormon Tabernacle possesses remarkable acoustic powers. A common pin let drop at one end of the building, or an ordinary whisper, can be heard distinctly at the other end, a distance of 250 feet. Not only so, but a pin dropped twenty-five feet from the wall at one end, or even fifty feet from the same place, can also be heard by one standing at a distance of thirty feet from the wall at the opposite end of the building. I proved this to be so in each one of these cases. The services in the Tabernacle are generally well attended. Divine (?) service is held in it only once a week, on Sundays at 2 p.m. Other services, such as they are, are held in the twenty-one wards into which the city is ecclesiastically divided. No one knows who the preacher will be till he stands up on the dai's just before commencing his sermon. The sermons are practical enough, it cannot be denied, and must sometimes be rather entertaining. An authority thus writes : " In the Great Tabernacle one will hear sermons or idvice on the culture of sorghum ; upon infant baptism ; upon the best manure for cabbages ; upon the perseverance 1 70 Through America. of the saints ; upon the wickedness of skimming milk before its sale ; upon the best method of cleaning water-ditches ; upon bed-bug poison ; upon the price of real estate ; upon teething in children ; upon the martyrs and persecutions of the Church ; terrible denunciations of Gentiles and the enemies of the Mormons ; upon olive-oil as a cure for measles; upon the ordination of the priesthood ; upon the character of Melchisedec ; upon worms in dried peaches ; upon the crime of fceticide ; upon chignons ; upon twenty-five-yard dresses ; upon plural marriages, etc." 2 Our guide over the building was the Tabernacle porter, an English Mormon, who had been dwelling in " Zion " as one of the faithful for fifteen years. He used to blow the French horn in our Drury Lane and Crystal Palace orchestras. He still continues to blow his trumpet in the Tabernacle orchestral band, and occasionally does a little organ-playing. He is the husband of but one wife a " Lancashire lass." Not very long ago he wished to take unto himself another wife, but his present one would not let him. She gave him such a drubbing for his impudence that he was laid up after it for six weeks ! Close beside the Tabernacle are the walls of the new Temple in course of erection. They are built of granite pro- cured from quarries near at hand, and are nine feet nine inches thick. When completed, the building will, it is said, have cost 6,4OO,ooo/. (!) : but it was begun twenty-seven years ago, the corner-stone was laid on April 6, 1853, and the walls are as yet only thirty feet high. According to design of the building, the walls will be from eighty-six to ninety-nine feet in height, and the middle of its three great eastern towers will attain a height of 225 feet. Feeling curious on the subject, I asked the porter, who was with us, what would become of the Tabernacle when the Temple was completed ? He said that it would remain to be used as it was now used, " for the purposes of divine worship." " Then you intend holding your religious services in two buildings ? " I replied. " Not exactly," said the porter. " Our Temple will be devoted to the celebration of those mystic ceremonies which are the necessary accompaniments of our religion." I asked him to explain ; but the man declined. 2 The Pacific Tourist. The Rocky Mountain Zion. 171 At the north-west corner of this block which is generally known as the "Temple Block" is the Endowment House. This is not much of a building to look at, but in it all the DESIGN OF THE MORMON TEMPLE. baptisms as well as all monogamous and polygamous marriages are celebrated. It is enclosed within a stone wall some ten or twelve feet high. There is a good deal of mystery attached to the performance of certain rites in this 172 Through A merica . building. No one, I believe, outside Mormonism is aware of the actual nature of the "endowments" which a person receives in order that he or she may fully and entirely be taken into the bosom of the Church. From what I have been able to gather, re-baptism is necessary in order to receive them, this being immediately followed by the rite of confirma- tion, the latter ordinance conferring (sic) upon the person the gift of the Holy Ghost ; and then a drama is acted, founded, it would seem, upon Milton's Paradise Lost, in which the leaders of the Church sustain the principal charac- ters, and the man or woman who is to receive the " endow- ments" sustains also a principal part, and comes out of it all with a new name, an " endowment name," which is secretly given and is to be secretly kept, and by which he or she is to be " resurrected " at the last day. It can scarcely be said that much light is thrown on this subject by Mr. Stenhouse, who, in his valuable work before quoted, Mr. Stenhouse was himself a Mormon elder and missionary for twenty-five years, says, in referring to the Endowment House, " Within its portals are performed all the rites and ceremonies that hold Mormonism together." But in another portion of his work he says, " In due time every man is to receive the priesthood of Aaron and Melchisedec, and thereby becomes entitled to commune with the heavens ; and when all have accepted the ' Celestial Law ' that is, polygamy and have passed through the ordinances of the ' endowments,' they are presumed to be fairly started for ' honour, glory, and eternal lives with the gods above.' " No doubt the " mystic cere- monies" which, according to the porter, will be performed in the Temple, will be similar to those which are at present performed in the Endowment House, for the former is built only to supersede the latter, which is to be a far more glorious edifice, for ''thither the angels will come, and there ' the Lord ' will find rest upon the earth." There is a winter tabernacle, or " assembly hall," in course of erection beside the Temple and large Tabernacle. This building was sufficiently far advanced to allow of the last annual spring conference of the Mormons taking place under its roof, on April 6, 1880. The large Tabernacle is not used in cold weather, as there is no way of heating it, Mormons The Rocky Mountain Zion. 173 say ; so this new tabernacle has been devised, although it is a smaller building, seating about 4000 persons. The ceiling- is being adorned with frescoes illustrating the history of the Mormon Church, this work having been commenced" in the middle of last Februaiy. 3 A large organ has already been set up in the building, upon which the sum of 9907. gs. 8d. ($4952.38) was expended. This building was the late Prophet's final idea, and the plans he drew up for its construction are being faithfully carried out by a Mr. Obid Taylor. It is built of granite, and the interior will, in some respects, resemble that of the present tabernacle. The block containing this and the other buildings above mentioned is enclosed by a strong plastered wall of about ten feet high, and no " Gentile " can enter the premises without rendering himself liable to be pounced upon by the porter or keeper of the large Tabernacle, who will ask him his business, or at least keep very close to him as long as he remains inside. And if he gets too inquisitive in asking questions about the mysteries of the Endowment House or the purposes to which the Temple is to be turned, the porter is just as likely as not to inform him that his room is far better than his company. 3 The Salt Lake Daily Herald (a Mormon journal) of Sunday, Febru- ary 29, 1880, gives the following account of the frescoes which adorn the new Assembly Hall : " On the west ceiling," it says, " is a large bee-hive, the emblem of Deseret, and on either side are the two temples built by the Latter-day Saints before they were driven to this country. The one on the north side of the bee-hive is a painting of the temple at Kirtland, the one on the south side is a representation of the temple at Nauvoo. On the north ceiling are paintings of Peter, James and John in the act of conferring the Melchisedec priesthood on the Prophet Joseph Smith, who is kneeling. To the east is a representation of the Salt Lake Temple, as it will be when completed ; and further on the Logan Temple. Over the first of these temples is a large-size portrait of the Savior ; and above the latter, one of Elijah. At the east end of the ceiling is a large view repre- senting the Hill of Cumorah, with the Angel Moroni pointing out to Joseph of whom there is an excellent painting the spot where the tablets of the Book of Mormon were hidden. This view is supposed to be a fac-simile of the position of the stone under which the plates were discovered. On the south side are paintings of the Manti and St. George Temples, with a portrait of Elias over the former, and one of Moses who holds in his hand a scroll containing the Ten Commandments in Hebraic characters over the latter. West of the St. George Temple is a representation of John the Baptist conferring the Aaronic priesthood on the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery. . . ." 174 Through America. We next crossed over to the other side of Main-street, to "Brigham's Block" opposite. Here Prophet Brigham had his private residence, and the private residences of his prin- cipal wives, besides a few other establishments chiefly devoted to the transaction of that public and official business which keeps the Church alive. Thus there is the tithing house, the tithing office, the late Prophet's private office, and his two family mansions, the Lion House and the Beehive House ; also a printing-office, the office of the Deseret News (the lead- ing Mormon organ), and a telegraph office. Here, too, is the immigration house, which is used as a receptacle for new arrivals in " Zion." Here, into one room, are thrown whole families, husbands and wives, men, women, and children, all together, there to live like pigs till homes have been found for them. Should this room be overcrowded at any time and there are some unfortunates who cannot get in, these must make shift as best they can in the yard outside, and make their beds in the open air. But each family has to pay twenty-five cents for the privilege of doing so. The tithing house is where " Zion's " Saints come and pay in their tithes. A tenth of a Mormon's income must be given to the support of his Church. If he has no money he must give in kind anything will do so long as the Church gets it. Now the tithing fund is controlled wholly by the priesthood, who use it as they think fit, and make no report. In 1879 it amounted to the enormous sum of QI66/. 12s., and the total receipts of the Church for the year exceeded 219,0007. There is a tithing house in every Mormon town, which is presided over by the local bishop ; but the tithing house in Brigham's Block is the head and chief of all, for into it are paid all the receipts from the other towns. Brigham Young was absolute comptroller and sole disburser of all the money that was paid into the Church during his sovereignty over it. He was the " ' trustee in trust ' (as he called himself) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." What he did with all the money, it is not for us to inquire. But it is a well-known fact that he was immensely rich, even with his enormous family ; and it is also a fact, though one not so well-known, that he collected millions of dollars in this way, chiefly from Mormons in England, solely for the purpose of carrying out the work of The Rocky Mountain Zion. 1 75 the building of the Temple. That edifice, however, as we have seen, has not yet risen more than thirty feet above its foundations, although it was begun twenty-seven years ago. The Lion House is an unpretending little building, and was used as a shelter for several of Brigham Young's con- sorts. There were living in this house a dozen wives of this remarkably-married man, at his decease ; but more have been crowded into it at one time, for there is provision made for twenty ladies. Upstairs, at the top of the building, went the children of the several mothers ; downstairs were the ladies' apartments. If one wife had a larger family than usual, extra accommodation was provided for her, and she was allotted more rooms accordingly. There is, besides, a large dining- hall, a kitchen, a laundry, a cellar, and some general or weaving rooms. There are still a few widows left in the house to mourn over their lamented Brigham. The Beehive House was Brigham Young's private residence, though in strictness it should be said that this and the Lion House formed together his home or family mansion. In 1879 I found twelve widows in all residing in the two houses. The two buildings are only separated from each other by the adjunct buildings of the tithing office and the late Prophet's private office, as they stand all in a row, in one continuous block. The Beehive House and the Lion House are con- nected together inside, for a passage leads from the former through the two intermediate buildings into the latter. In his private office Brigham used to receive visitors who called upon him during their stay in the metropolis. It was also used by him for the transaction of his official business. A stout high wall used to stand in front of this row of build- ings ; but after the Prophet's decease his wives those in the Beehive agreed to have it pulled down, and to have railings put up instead, so that they might in future see a little more of the outside world since their lord and master had been taken from them, which is but natural. The wall was standing when I was in "Zion" in 1878, but the railings had taken the place of it when I was there in 1879. Part of the wall, however, is still remaining, namely the private gateway to the block, which is called the Eagle Gate, there being a large wooden spread-eagle over the entrance standing on a 176 Through America. wooden beehive. There is also the imitation of a hive (in yellow plaster) at the top of the Beehive house, the principal family residence as we have seen of the deceased Prophet. Coming out of Brigham's Block, there was pointed out to us an apostle giving one of his wives a turn in a buggy. This good man had eight consorts, all told. He happened to pull up, with the one he was now driving, at the door of a linen-draper's store, which we, very fortunately, were just THE BEEHIVE HOUSE. then on the point of entering. He gallantly tendered the lady his hand, and made belief to aid her in her descent ; but she, rejecting the proffered assistance, alighted quickly from the vehicle with a graceful, pretty bound. The two then went into the shop to make purchases, and we closely followed them, and, standing behind them as they sat at the counter perched on the top of two high stools, took The Rocky Mountain Zion. 177 notes of their conversation and proceedings as they examined, and I think also purchased, a quantity of linen. In the upper part of Main-street is an imposing brick and iron building, 318 feet long and fifty-four feet wide, with a sky- light covering its entire length, and the letters " Z. C. M. I." standing out conspicuously on the roof or more properly the skylight. This is the chief " co-op " (co-operative) store in VIEW IN MAIN-STREET. Salt Lake City, a strictly Mormon mercantile establishment, having, besides the letters on the skylight, a sign over the entrance, which describes more fully the purpose to which the building is devoted. The sign consists of the representation of an eye surrounded by a halo, the eye and the halo surrounded .by the words, " HOLINESS TO THE LORD," and under all the inscription, "ZiON's CO-OPERATIVE MERCANTILE INSTITU- TION." This is the well-known sign of a Mormon store, and N 178 Through America. though its adoption, now that Brigham Young is dead, is becoming less frequent, it is still to be found over several of the shops in Salt Lake City. In 1868 Brigham conceived the idea of a co-operative association to crush the trade of the anti-Mormons in the city. To use his own expressive language, he wished to " freeze the ungodly Gentiles out of Zion." He also directed the Mormon shop-keepers to place over their doors the sign I have described, and required the Saints to deal only with those that had this sign, and in no way to deal with " ungodly Gentiles," on pain of incurring his wrath, which would indeed have entailed consequences the most dreadful. But circumstances arose which frustrated all these benevolent intentions. Into this co-operative store we stepped, and found it per- fectly crowded with the Saints of"Z'on,"some buying, others selling. While we were there, Mr. John Taylor, the President, of the Mormon Church, entered, and he was immediately pointed out to us. To give him his full, recognized title, he is Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and, by " divine " appointment, " God's Vice-regent upon the earth and the Religious Dictator to the whole world." He is also known as the " Champion of Right," just as Brigham Young was sometimes called the " Lion of the Lord." Such an important personage as this should receive a minute description, and here it shall be attempted. Aged apparently about seventy, he is a tall thin man with thick-set features ; is grey-headed ; has short, stubby white whiskers shaved far back on his countenance ; wears no moustache, yet retains the semblance of a beard in a thick crop of white hair kept well away under the chin, and connected with the whiskers ; has deep penetrating eyes ; very protruding eyebrows ; quite a large mouth ; and, on the whole, has a very determined look about him. Added to his other accomplish- ments, he is the Poet Laureate of Zion. (We shall presently give a specimen of his poetry.) He is not a very great poly- gamist for a man in such an exalted position, for he is the husband of but six wives. We were promised an intro- duction to President Taylor, for he is always glad to welcome illustrious strangers in " Zion ;" but unfortunately this did not take place, as he stayed upstairs all the while conversing with the brethren and making purchases. However, we looked The Rocky Mountain Zion. 1 79 forward to being more fortunate on a future occasion. One of Brigham Young's grandsons was pointed out to us, lolling against the counter at the far end of the shop. This man had married his aunt ! Another man was shown us who had married a couple of sisters ! Other holy men of " Zion " were pointed out to us, and the number of their wives given. To some we were introduced, but in conversation avoided the " u gty " subject, which had it once been introduced would only have brought on argument and heated debate. So we con- tented ourselves by referring instead to the hot weather and the beauties of " Zion." Little need be said of the present head of the Mormon Church. The story of his hairbreadth escape from assassina- tion at the hands of the infuriated mob which murdered Joseph Smith and his (Smith's) brother Hyrum in Carthage gaol, so exasperated were the people of Illinois at the gross presumptions of the Church, forms indeed a wonderful and a thrilling narrative ; but it is sufficient for my purpose here simply to make this bare allusion to the incident. Yet there is one act of President Taylor's life that may as well be men- tioned : it is really too glaring and hypocritical to be passed over. It was in the year 1850 that Elder John Taylor was en- gaged on a mission at Boulogne-sur-mer, in France. Success attended his missionary efforts, and many " heathen " were con- verted and received into the fold. But he preached and he proselytized with a lie in his right hand. It had been charged against the Church that its Saints were practising polygamy. So grave an imputation as this required an immediate expla- nation ; so what did Elder Taylor do ? He represented to his hearers that such a state of moral degradation could not possibly be ; that the reports which had reached their ears were "too outrageous to admit of belief;" that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants had expressly denounced poly- gamy as a principle of the faith ; and that according to his views of chastity and marriage, and according to the views of his brother missionaries who were at Boulogne with him, the practice of such a degrading doctrine would be decidedly wrong. Yet all this time, while he stoutly repu- diated polygamy as an established ordinance of the Church, he had five wives living at Salt Lake City, one of his brother N 2 180 Through America. missionaries with him at Boulogne had two wives also living there, and another friend of his, also with him at Boulogne, had left behind him at Salt Lake two wives, namely, a mother and her daughter ! ! If an incredulous reader should be in- clined to call in question this last statement, I have only to remark that its corroboration is to be found in works of authority, which anyone interested in Mormonism can obtain, and see that what I have stated is only the simple truth. Indeed I myself received testimony of its correctness from the lips of several when I revisited Salt Lake City in 1879, and the instance is one out of more I could quote of the horrible and disgusting state of things that the doctrine of polygamy has engendered. From a pile of letters before me as I write, which I have received since last January from resident gentlemen in the Mormon Metropolis, whose veracity I con- sider unquestionable, and whose names, were I to give them, would be accepted as a sufficient guarantee of the truth of what they tell me, I have evidence of a state of immorality existing among certain Mormon families in Utah, the know- ledge of which would sicken and disgust even those who might on any grounds entertain the least sympathy for the followers of Brigham Young. " So far as I know," writes one of my correspondents, " no one has ever been molested by the church authorities for maintaining such infamous practices." But, it may be asked, why does not the Government of the United States interfere and wipe out this plague-spot from the national escutcheon ? Why is such iniquity tolerated, why are people allowed to exist in a manner which debases humanity, lowering themselves to the level of brute beasts ? Such a state of social corruption would never be tolerated in England, either by law or by public opinion. It will redound to the eternal discredit of American civilization if the evil be not speedily suppressed. But to return to " Zion's " chief Saint, the Mormon President, who, as we have already said, is somewhat of a poet. There is a hymn called "The Upper California," which he wrote during the journeying of the Saints under the guidance of their leader Brigham Young across the Great Plains in search of the " promised land," which had already been revealed as being located somewhere indefinitely in the far West. Apostle The Rocky Mountain Zion. 1 8 1 Taylor he was one of the twelve apostles then conceived the idea that its location would be in the northern part of California ; and this he endeavoured to impress upon the Saints by composing the hymn which I will now quote, and which was sung by the people over and over again during the course of their wanderings : "THE UPPER CALIFORNIA." The Upper California Oh, that's the land for me ! It lies between the mountains and the great Pacific sea ; The Saints can be supported there, And taste the sweets of liberty In Upper California Oh, that's the land for me ! We'll go and lift our standard, we'll go there and be free: We'll go to California and have our jubilee ; A land that blooms with endless spring, A land of life and liberty, With flocks and herds abounding Oh, that's the land for me ! We'll burst off all our fetters and break the Gentile yoke, For long it has beset us, but now it shall be broke : No more shall Jacob bow his neck ; Henceforth he shall be great and free In Upper California Oh, that's the land for me ! We'll reign, we'll rule and triumph, and God shall be our King j . The plains, the hills and valleys shall with hosannas ring ; Our towers and temples there shall rise Along the great Pacific sea, In Upper California Oh, that's the land for me ! We'll ask our cousin Lemuel to join us heart and hand, And spread abroad our curtains throughout fair Zion's land : Till this is done, we'll pitch our tents Along the great Pacific sea, In Upper California Oh, that's the land for me ! Then join with me, my brethren, and let us hasten there ; We'll lift our glorious standard and raise our house of prayer ; We'll call on all the nations round To join our standard and be free In Upper California Oh, that's the land for me ! But Apostle Taylor should not really have been quite so positive. The " Upper California " might have been the land for him, but it was not the one for Brigham Young. Upon Brigham sighting the valley of the Great Salt Lake, he was so entranced with the lovely prospect spread out before him, 1 8 2 Through A merica. such a suitable location did the valley appear to offer for founding a rocky mountain " Zion," that the bright idea occurred to him to seek council from " the Lord " as to what he had better do. He did so then and there, and was successful in obtaining a revelation which fixed " Zion's " location in the valley before him. So the " Upper California" became a myth after all. We now took a carriage-and-pair to Fort Douglas, a Government military post lying three miles out of the city. It is situated 750 feet above the valley, on the slopes of the neighbouring mountains. We stopped on the way at an un- pretending little restaurant (or lager-beer saloon), to get some refreshment. The keeper of the place was, thirty-two years ago, a porter at the Didcot Junction station of our Great Western Railway, who in course of time had thought fit to change his religion and become a Mormon. Upon our ex- plaining whence we came, he held out his hand for a good squeeze, and commenced " treating " us very kindly. He had one wife only. He told us he would like to be at Didcot Junc- tion now, see our luggage right for Oxford and take our fees. As we passed out of the region of shops we could not help noticing how strangely the houses were built. Few were higher than one story. All were detached, and standing in little gardens. But the peculiarity about them was that they were built in groups of threes and fours, and occasionally a house would be seen having three, or perhaps four entrances facing the street. The meaning of this was thus explained to us. Each group was a Mormon home, one family mansion, so to speak. In one little building the gentleman himself resided, and into the other little buildings he stowed away his wives. One house for each wife. Sometimes, for the sake of economy, he would crowd several into one house. In this case the wife was given a separate set of rooms, a separate entrance from the street, a separate knocker and perhaps a separate latch-key. The view we obtained over the valley as we ascended to the fort was magnificent. At our feet lay the verdant City of the Saints, its numerous gardens and green shady avenues giving it a delightfully fresh and luxuriant appearance ; while away beyond stretched the Great Salt Lake, fifteen miles The Rocky Mountain Zion. 183 from where we stood, with lofty mountains rising from its midst, its motionless waters spreading far away among still loftier heights. The white-crested range of the Wahsatch Mountains rose behind the city to the east, attaining a cul- minating height of 11,200 feet above the sea-level (or 7000 feet above the valley) ; and then a glorious amphitheatre of broken heights almost encircled the valley, fir-trees dotted over their slopes and springing from their summits of snow, gaps in the nearer ranges disclosing beautiful peaks far away beyond in the dim distance. There was Mount Nebo, for instance, a blue peak visible eighty-five miles away to the south, rising to a height of 13,200 feet above the sea. On the other side of the Wahsatch range to our right were the Little Cottonwood Caiion just twenty-six miles from us and the Emma Hill, the locality of the celebrated Emma Mine, close to which are other well-known silver mines, such as the Flagstaff, Savage, Magnet, North Star, Monitor, Prince of Wales, and Wellington mines. As even the briefest glance at the social life of the Latter- day Saints would be incomplete without a special reference to that institution which is universally associated with Mor- monism as one of its distinguishing characteristics, it may not be out of place to add a few words to what has already been said incidentally on the subject. I believe it is not generally known that polygamy or, as it is called in Mormon revelation, the " Patriarchal Order of Matrimony " did not originally form part of a Mormon's creed. Many people seem to be under the impression that Mormonism began with its practice ; but such was not the case. Polygamy was not introduced into the religion until twenty-three or twenty-four years after Joseph Smith's first vision, for it was not till the year 1843 that he received a somewhat lengthy revelation respecting the " divine " ordi- nance, and this may be set down as the date of its formal introduction among the Saints. Here then is a grave in- consistency in the religion of this people. In the Book of Mormon plurality of wives is strictly forbidden, for in that extraordinary publication there occurs the following passage : " Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken unto the 184 Through America. word of the Lord ; for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have .none, for I the Lord God delighteth in the chastity of woman." And again, the following curious passage : " Behold the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate, because of their filthiness and the cursings which have come upon their skins, are more righteous than you ; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our fathers, that they should have, save it were one wife." There is evidence enough to show that Joseph Smith in- troduced the doctrine of -polygamy simply to protect himself against certain charges made at the time respecting his own private character. And it should be noted, that eight years before he gave out the revelation on this " partiarchal mar- riage," he published a book 3 containing all the revelations he had received up to that time, in which he explicitly stated that the Saints were " monogamic and pure ;" but he also took care to insert into it the following passage, which, it will be noticed, admits in its first sentence of a conveniently equivocal interpretation : " We declare that we believe that one man should have one wife, 4 and one woman but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again." Eight years later, as I said, was the revela- tion made known, but then only to a chosen few, for it was kept secret and was not publicly proclaimed to the Church at large till nine years afterwards, namely in 1852. Then was the bad seed sown, and the ground, alas ! was fully prepared to receive it, for within three years after publicity had been given to the revelation, and countenance had been given to the practice of what is nothing more nor less than a barbarous, sensual and debasing doctrine, both apostles and saints were living " in open and undisguised polygamy." It will be as well to make a note of the ingenious reason which the remarkable Joseph Smith gave for his introduction into the Church of this celestial doctrine of " spiritual " mar- 3 Book of Doctrine and Covenants, published in Liverpool (1849, first edition). 4 This sentiment of Joseph Smith will be found aptly illustrated in the course of a conversation which I had with a Mormon elder on the subject of polygamy, and which will be given in the following chapter. The Rocky Mountain Zion. 185 riage. In a sermon he once delivered he is said, to have thus expressed himself : " People of polygamous nations will be converted to the Church, and will desire to gather with the Saints in Zion, and what will they do with their wives ? We must have polygamy among us as an established institution, and then they can bring their wives with them." Now Polygamy among the Mormons involves a good deal more than what we understand by the term. Its consequences in the next world are truly infinite. A Mormon talks of " building up " or " adding to the glory of his ' kingdom/ for time and for all eternity." By which is meant that the more wives he has now the better it will be for him hereafter, for that when he dies he will become a god, and all his wives god- desses ; and as the marital relation in the next world will be the same as in this, that there he will beget millions upon millions of spirits ; but what is to become in the end of all the spirits so begotten, we are not clearly informed. A man may, in this way, if he collects a sufficient number of wives before he dies, constitute himself and family into quite a respectable little world, in truth, " for time and for all eter- nity." This is indeed laying up treasure in heaven with a vengeance ! It is the doctrine of " Celestial Marriage ;" and the text in Holy Scripture upon which this doctrine is based is, we are told, Mark x. 29, 30. It should not be inferred from the above that a man who is a Mormon must be a polygamist Mormonism does not necessarily involve polygamy ; and yet it must be acknow- ledged that monogamy among the Saints is decidedly the less popular system of the two. A man does not rank very high in the estimation of the Church if he intends to build up his " spiritual " kingdom with the help of only one consort. All Mormons in Utah are polygamists, theoretically. About one-third of the Mormon men in Salt Lake City are living with from two to ten wives each ! " 5 Considerable disgrace attaches to a Mormon if he lives a bachelor life. It is a duty he owes to the Church, and one that becomes him as a true Saint, to get married as soon as 5 Extract from a private letter received from Salt Lake City in March, 1880. 1 86 Through America. he can. He should have three wives at least, and then he will command respect. There is certainly every facility afforded the Mormon for entering the marriage state. Thus, a man can either have a woman "sealed" to him as his consort for this world only, or he can have her sealed to him both for this world as well as for the world to come. Again, a man may have a woman sealed to him for this world only, while another man may have the same woman sealed to him for the world to come she is A's wife while she is on earth, but she becomes B's as soon as she has reached heaven. Or, again, a woman a spinster, for instance who has taken a particular fancy to any deceased Saint, and who wishes to become his consort in the world to come, can be sealed to him by proxy by becoming the wife of some living Saint. She has first to be sealed on earth before she can obtain the necessary introduc- tion into heaven. Now this term "sealing" is liable to be misconstrued. When a woman is said to be sealed to a man it does not necessarily imply that she is married to him. It may mean marriage, or it may simply amount to an "arrangement" to marry, to be consummated in the next world, made either directly between the two parties, or by proxy by another party in place of one of the two interested parties who is dead, as for instance as we have seen above where a woman wishes to become (in the Mormon heaven) the wife of a deceased Saint, sell. Joseph Smith or Brigham Young ; or again, where, even, she prefers being the consort of one of the patriarchs of the Old Testament, scil Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Job, etc., for the Mormon spiritual-wife doctrine even ventures to go the length of this ! Thus Brigham Young is said to have had 185 "spiritual" wives; that is to say, he entered into a holy compact with that number of women during his life-time that they should become his wives (or the wives of somebody else) in heaven. We now see how the Mormon " builds up " his extensive spiritual kingdom. It may astonish the reader to know that there are hundreds nay, thousands of women in Utah who are staunch advo- cates of polygamy, who even go so far as to give expression to their approval of the system by holding mass-meetings in The Rocky Mountain Zion. 187 public, whose battle-cry is " Polygamy or Death," and who look upon the " divine " institution as " the greatest of all earthly blessings ! " Whether these devoted creatures are under the power of the priesthood, or are moved by religious fanaticism, or whether they uphold the degradation of their sex because they seriously think it right for woman to be so de- graded, it would be hard to say; but I cannot believe that their submission to such moral debasement is spontaneous on their part, and voluntary. The opportunities I have had of judging for myself by conversing with Mormon women, have not been many ; but the conclusion I have come to is that they are not happy under the system, and would wish themselves well out of it. And yet it seems strange that there should be found so many as 2000 women in the neighbourhood of Salt Lake City, who could lower themselves to such a degree as to assemble together and stoutly plead for the unnatural institution. Yet such was the case one day in the autumn of 1878, when the theatre-house in the Rocky Mountain " Zion" was packed to overflowing with indignant wives, mothers and daughters who came to make a vigorous protest against a crusade which had been undertaken against "patriarchal matrimony " by the Gentile women in the Territory. I have to thank the Principal of the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute, Mr. J. M. Coyner, for placing in my possession an account of this meeting, namely a portion of a letter which he wrote to the Boston Educational Journal, dated January 28, 1879. It occurs among a series of letters contributed by this gentle- man to the same publication, and which have since been collected and published in pamphlet form under the title " Letters on Mormonism." The following is Mr. Coyner's account of the meeting : " The history," he says, " of Mor- monism from its beginning shows that the women have been more devoted than the men, and to-day there is more true devotion to Mormonism, from principle's sake, among the women than among the men. I was therefore not surprised to find the theatre packed from pit to dome with some 2000 women, the most of whom, as shown by the up-lifted hand when a vote was taken, were devoted Mormons. It was the most remarkable meeting I ever attended. There were the aged mothers of seventy, who among storm and privation 1 88 Throitgh America. had emigrated among the first to this desert wilderness. There was the grown-up matron, whose life marks the growth of the Mormon power in the Territory. There were also many buxom lassies, some brought up in the Territory, others the latest importations from the Old World, many of whom had lately become the third, fourth or tenth wife of an aged elder. There was no excitement, no enthusiasm, but seemingly that fixed determination that causes one to do, suffer, and if need be, die for what he considers right. The meeting was regularly organized. The president, who was dressed in silk material entirely made in this Territory, spoke readily and fluently for more than half an hour. Among other things she said: ' Polygamy is as essential to woman's happiness as her salvation/ Mormon theology teaches that all those who are faithful Mormons, living up to the privileges of their religion in this world, and having many wives and numerous children, will be kings in the celestial world, and their wives queens, while those who are not married at all are compelled to be the slaves of those kings. Just think of the Apostle Paul being the servant of Brigham Young through- out the ages of eternity ! Those who have but one wife, if they are faithful to the priesthood, and pay tithing, will have a home in the celestial world, but will not occupy any place of honour. Hence if any ambitious woman wishes a place of honour in the celestial world, she must be a polygamous wife. Another, who remarked she was seventy years old, said : ' I thank God that I am a polygamous wife, and that my husband is a polygamist ;' and she had a ' feeling of great pity for those who did not enjoy this good blessing/ One old lady said : ' I would not abandon it (meaning poly- gamy) to exchange with Queen Victoria and all her depen- dencies.' The secretary of the meeting said : ' The women of this country want to crush us, but it will be diamond cut diamond.' And thus for nearly three hours one speaker after another defended polygamy, all believing it to be an inspired doctrine given by God to aid in redeeming a sinful world from a condition of sin and pollution, to one of holi- ness and purity. The following resolution, amongst others was unanimously adopted by the meeting: 'Resolved, That we solemnly avow our belief in the doctrine of the patriarchal The Rocky Mountain Ziou. 189 order of marriage, a doctrine which was revealed to and practised by God's people in past ages, and is now re-estab- lished on earth by divine command of Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever a doctrine which, if lived up to and carried out under the direction of the precepts per- taining to it, and of the higher principles of our nature, would conduce to the long life, strength and glory of the people practising it ; and we therefore endorse it as one of the most important principles of our holy religion, and claim the right of its practice/ " It can be seen from these extracts that the leading Mor- mon women of Utah are in earnest in their plea for poly- gamy. They recognize the fact that their leaders have so interwoven this doctrine into their system of religious belief, that if it be removed their system must fall. Hence their cry of religious persecution if anything be said or done against polygamy." 6 There is one fact I wish to impress upon all who may hap- pen to read these lines, and it is this. The delegate of the Territory of Utah to the National Congress at Washington is a man who is in the possession of four wives. The name of this person is Mr. George Q. Cannon, an apostle of the Mormon Church, and therefore, it will naturally be expected, one who would strenuously advance, as far as he dared, the interests of his polygamous brethren. 7 How can we expect Mormonism to do aught but flourish when such a scandal as this is permitted ? As Brigham Young's nineteenth wife has written, yet none the less truly because she happens to come so late in the catalogue, Mr. Cannon "helps to make the laws which send George Smith of Massachusetts to State Prison for three years for the crime of having two wives. Only let George Smith remove himself and wives to Utah, and then he would be able to enjoy the confidence of the Government and the protection of its laws as fully as the apostolic George Q. C." 6 A meeting of women similar to the one just mentioned was held at Provo City, Utah, on December 7, 1878. 7 Mr. Cannon had five wives living towards the close of 1878, but during the winter of 1878-79 one of them died. IQO Through America. CHAPTER IX. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ZION (continued}. The Great Salt Lake Its saline properties Buoyancy of its water Mormon Sunday excursions The River Jordan Islands in the Salt Lake Fort Douglas Ordered off to fight the " Reds "Wagner and his brewery Back to the Walker House A debate on polygamy Blasphemy extraordinary An invitation to join a Mormon's famil> circle A six-wived Mormon's home Popular household mottoes- Extraordinary notice in a restaurant A service in the Tabernacle Impressions produced by it A listless congregation Celebrating the Holy Eucharist Characteristic sermon Mormon hymns The Mormon " Du dah" Other remarkable hymns. LOOKING down from our elevated position, on our way to Fort Douglas, the Mormon metropolis and the glistening waters of the Great Salt Lake beyond are the two promi- nent objects that especially arrest our attention. We have a fine bird's-eye view of the first-named of these. Its buildings, its beautiful gardens, its shady streets, its white cover- shaped Tabernacle the most conspicuous object of all, the single line of railway running from the city across the desert, till it seems at length to join with the lake all is clearly seen from our standpoint. The Great Salt Lake is of con- siderable density, the solid matters held in suspension being in the proportion of 22*422 of solid contents in every 100 parts of the lake water, the specific gravity of which (I'l/o) is said, curiously enough, to correspond with that of the Dead Sea. Such at least is the opinion of one authority ; but another considers the water of the Dead Sea to be slightly denser than that of the Great Salt Lake, and to contain 24*580 of solid contents in every 100 parts of the general volume of its water. However, the density of the water of each consider- The Rocky Mountain Zion. 191 ably exceeds that of the ocean. Four barrels of the water of the Great Salt Lake will leave after evaporation nearly a barrel of salt. The lake was discovered in the year 1820, and no outlet from it has yet been ascertained. Four or five large streams empty themselves into it, and the fact of its still retaining its saline properties seems to point to the conclusion that there exists some secret bed of saline deposit over which THE BLACK ROCK, GREAT SALT LAKE. its waters flow, and that thus they continue salt ; for, though the lake may be but the residue of an immense sea which once covered the whole of this region, yet by its continuing so salt with the amount of fresh water poured into it daily, the idea of the existence of some such deposit from which it receives its supply seems to be only too probable. For the past fifteen years (until last year) the lake has been gradually rising; but in 1879 it receded some two or three 192 Through America. feet a most unusual occurrence, owing to the exceptionally warm summer. There are no fish in the lake, but myriads of small flies cover its surface. The buoyancy of the water is so great that it is not at all an easy matter to drown in it. There is no such thing as "treading water " one must float. I had several baths in this lake in September, 1879. I found when I attempted to swim that my feet were buoyed upon the water, and that it was as much as I could do to make any progress. My shoulders, too, were well above the water when I thrust out my legs from me and assumed a sitting posture. The Mormons are great bathers, and have erected fifty or sixty " boxes " or dressing-sheds on the shore, at a place called Lake Point, where are kept many fanciful and becoming water costumes. It is necessary to wash in fresh water after bathing in the lake, because of the thick deposit of salt which adheres to the skin after emerging from it ; so tubs of fresh water for the second bath are accordingly provided. A steamer, called the " General Garfield," plies up and down the lake on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, calling at the most interesting places, and affording " Zion's " Saints a choice on the Sabbath between going to church in the Tabernacle and a luxurious sail in a two-decker to the strains of a band of music. These excursions are often made from Lake Point already mentioned, which is reached from Salt Lake City by train ; and after a little cruise in the steamer the Saints will return and disembark, and regale themselves by eating and drinking, and perhaps with a " hop," for the " People of the Lord " are ardent lovers of dancing, and they commence and end their balls with prayer ! We were told that, on one occasion, during one of the Sunday excursions, a slight breeze sprang up, causing " General Garfield " to sway just a little from side to side. The up and down motion was too much for the Saints, for they all fell on their knees and immediately began praying. Flowing into the Great Salt Lake is 'the River Jordan, where the Mormons used to receive their baptisms, but which are now performed in private in the Endowment House. The river forms the western boundary of the Rocky Mountain " Zion," and connects the Salt Lake with Lake Utah, a consider- able body of fresh water lying forty miles to the south. There The Rocky Mountain Zion. 193 are seven islands in the Salt Lake, all of them mountainous, and some containing, it is said, rich and rare minerals. The largest of them Antelope or Church Island is sixteen miles long and six miles broad, and its mountain peaks rise to a height of 3000 feet above the lake, or 7300 feet above the level of the sea. The next in size is Stansbury Island, which MORMON BAPTISM OF INDIANS. is twelve miles long. It has a circumference of thirty miles, and its mountains likewise rise to a height of 3000 feet above the lake. These two islands contain springs of fresh water. There is also Fremont or Castle Island, fifteen miles in circumference, and rising 1000 feet above the lake ; also Carrington, Gunnison, Hat, and Dolphin Isles. The entire length of the Salt Lake is, as we have seen, eighty-five miles, O 194 Through America. and its breadth, forty-five miles. Compared with the Dead Sea, the Great Salt Lake is longer by forty-three miles, and broader by thirty-five miles. When we reached the fort, we found an order had just come for a detachment of fifteen men to leave it within two hours to go and fight the " redskins." There had been, during the preceding fortnight, a general uprising among the Indian tribes, which was assuming every day larger and more serious proportions. We had found the papers of the " magic cities " we passed on the Pacific Railroad full of details respecting the incursions and encroachments of the Indians upon the settlers from their allotted reservations. Armed with Win- chester rifles, the Indians know well enough how to handle them, being dead shots at short ranges, though they are not so unerring with the rifle at long ranges as they are with the bow and arrow. The detachment of fifteen was ordered off to Kelton (a small settlement on the Central Pacific Railroad, which we should pass on our way to San Francisco), to protect the settlers there from the Bannack Indians, who had been scouring the neighbourhood scalp- ing the "palefaces" and making off with the cattle. We made the acquaintance of the officer in charge of this detach- ment in the city before commencing our ascent to the fort, and he was then anxiously expecting a telegram, which would decide his movements one way or the other. He had therefore received the telegram by the time we reached the fort. Notwithstanding the hurry and bustle of the moment, the rush of the men to get their kit together and the anxiety to see the very last of their comrades, whom they had been so suddenly called upon to leave behind, we were treated most kindly to the inevitable " lager " we drank success to the expedition and confusion to all red- skins. We visited some of the officers' quarters, and then drove on further for a mile or two, to the commencement of the pass in the mountains where Brigham Young first sighted the Salt Lake Valley, and which is called the Emigration Canon. The mountain-slopes here are extensively covered with forests, and contain a variety of big game. A brewery has been set up near the entrance to the canon, and we alighted The Rocky Mountain Zion. 195 there and made friends with its owner, Mr. Wagner, with whom I arranged to put up my horse the next morning, as I intended coming up early with my gun in order to secure a few specimens of the beautiful-plumaged birds of the region. Wagner was successful in enlivening us with sensational accounts of his adventures with certain ferocious animals, such as bears, wild cats, and other dangerous creatures. One adventure, in particular, which he told us he once had (in California) with a " thunderation grizzly," quite made our hair stand on end, so graphically was it related ! Returning to the hotel, we came upon an elder of the Melchisedec priesthood, and I " wrestled " with him. In other words, we had a warm debate on polygamy, which he was the first to commence a fact somewhat strange, for a Mormon Saint is very seldom found willing to converse on the subject of his religion with an " ungodly Gentile." How- ever I was especially privileged, I suppose, and as the religious ideas the man had got hold of completely startled me at the time, I think they may as well be made public. The man in question had four wives and thirtv-six children, and one of his sons was a bishop of the Church. He chewed tobacco all the while he conversed with me, and profusely expectorated on the floor around. After informing me that he considered me as good as a heathen, that I was but chaff that would one day be burned " with fire unquenchable," we closed our inter- view with the following discussion on polygamy : " Can you tell me," he began, " where the Bible says a man may not have more than one wife ? " I waited a moment before answering, and began to consider, lest I should commit myself. I thought of all the texts I could remember on the subject, but soon replied, " In one of St. Paul's Epistles, the apostle says, A bishop should be the husband of one wife." The Mormon quickly retorted, " Not good enough, not good enough ; that doesn't prevent him from having two, three, or a dozen wives if he likes ! " I confess I felt the force of his remark. But I was not to be beaten yet, so I continued : " But can you tell me where in the Bible polygamy is enjoined ? " " Solomon had many wives, I reckon." O 2 196 Through America. " So he had, I know, a very great many, and so had others whom no doubt you could quote from the Old Testament. But I intend adhering to the New Testament, so can you give me an instance from that portion of Holy Writ ? " "Well then," said the Mormon, "Jesus Christ Himself was a polygamist ! He was married to Martha and Mary, Lazarus' s sisters ; Mary Magdalene was His wife ; and when He turned the water into wine at Cana, in Galilee, He was present at the celebration of one of His own marriages ! ! " The reader will readily imagine that it was not easy to reason with, or to patiently listen to, a man so utterly ignorant and depraved as this. Brigham Young had preached the same blasphemy from the Tabernacle rostrum, and here was one of his followers preaching the very same to me ! It is not sur- prising that the Mormons commence one of their hymns with the line, " The God that others worship is not the God for me." I will, before going further, quote the hymn from which this line is taken. It is No. 297 of the collection of the Mor- mon "Sacred Hymns and Spiritual Songs" (i6th edition), and runs as follows : " The God that others worship is not the God for me ; He has no parts nor body, and cannot hear nor see ; But I've a God that reigns above A God of revelation Oh, that's the God for me ! Oh, that's the God for me ! Oh, that's the God for me ! " A Church without a Prophet is not the Church for me ; It has no head to lead it ; in it I would not be ; But I've a Church not made by man, Cut from the mountain without hand ; A Church with gifts and blessings Oh, that's the Church for me ! Oh, that's, etc. " A Church without Apostles is not the Church for me ; 'Tis like a ship dismasted, afloat upon the sea ; But I've a Church that's always led With the Twelve Stars around her head ; A Church without foundation Oh, that's the Church for me I Oh, that's, etc. The Rocky Mountain Zion. 197 " The Hope that Gentiles cherish is not the Hope for me ; It has no faith nor knowledge ; far from it I would be ; But I've a hope that will not fail ; It reaches far within the vail ; Which Hope is like an anchor Oh, that's the Hope for me ! Oh, that's, etc. " The Heaven of Sectarians is not the Heaven for me ; So doubtful its location, neither on land nor sea ; But I've a Heaven upon the earth, The land and home that gave me birth A Heaven of light and knowledge Oh, that's the Heaven for me ! Oh, that's, etc. "A Church without a gathering is not the Church for me ; The Saviour would not own it, wherever it might be ; But I've a Church that is called out From false tradition, fear and doubt A gathering dispensation Oh, that's the Church for me ! Oh, that's, etc." But returning to the Mormon, he took leave of me thus : 41 Ta ta," he cried. " Ta, ta, friend, ta, ta. I must be off now and strike the next train home, else I shall be late for dinner. Come and see me out at . I'll fix you for a week, or as long as you like, and you shall see how happily we all live together." So, shaking hands, we parted company. He jumped into a passing car which was being drawn towards the station by a quartette of mules, and was taken home to dinner. I should much have liked to have accepted his kind invitation, and to have made the acquaintance of his several wives ; but time was pressing. I am inclined to question, however, the domestic felicity that he spoke of, for from what I have read on the subject, and have Heard from the lips of the women them- selves, Mormon wives have, as a rule, rather a miserable time of it. 1 Upon my return to England in 187.8 I published a description of my interview with this Mormon in the columns of an English newspaper. When I revisited Salt Lake City in 1879 I was rather surprised to find that the Mormons there had been made acquainted with what I had written, and were, in consequence, considerably incensed. Acting on the advice of a friend I changed my name during my stay in the metro- polis, and thus fortunately escaped recognition. Under my assumed name I paid a visit to the Mormon's home (described below) but with a loaded six-shooter in my breast-pocket, so as to be prepared for all emergencies. 198 Through America. On another occasion in 1879 I did avail myself of the Mormon's kind invitation, and he then introduced me to two of his wives, for at the time that I paid my visit all his con- sorts were not visible. He was, I ascertained, a Scotchman and a farmer, and his wives were scattered in little houses over his estate. Each wife had a house to herself, and in this she lived together with her children. From what I could gather, the Mormon's home for the time being was at the residence of his second wife. The houses I went into were, in every respect, clean and comfortable ; but it should be mentioned that this Mormon was a well-to-do man, and could easily maintain a very large family. " Are not your wives jealous of each other ? " I asked, when I came to take my departure, at the conclusion of this visit. He answered me evasively. " I wouldn't give a cent for a woman who isn't jealous ; 'tis their nature. You know that that lady which Abraham took didn't get along with him quite so happily as she might have done, for she left him, and the Lord had to send His angel and tell her to go back to him." Then he added, " I'll swear to you on a stack of bibles that we've no misery here. We live as happy as the day is long. You've seen me and you've handled me. You've been into my houses and seen for yourself, so now you can judge." There was one thing, certainly, that I did happen to see, and that was a scroll of perforated cardboard nailed on to the wall in one of his rooms, having the following motto painted (in blue) upon it : " What is home without a baby ? " This is something after the style of a motto of similar design which I noticed in another Mormon's house I visited, and that was : " What is home without a mother-in-law ?" Here, too, I may perhaps be allowed to quote a charac- teristic notice I found posted up in a restaurant in Salt Lake City, namely in that of Messrs. O and P (Gentiles), The Rocky Mountain Zion. 199 in Second South-street. This remarkable specimen of Western vulgarity ran as follows : ,** ^ < v and ^ Then U won't O. To Trust is to Bust To Bust is Hell No Trust no Bust No Hell. I also found the following notice in another room in the same restaurant : In God We Trust All Others Cash. During my visit to Salt Lake City in 1879, I happened to be present at a Mormon service in the Tabernacle. At two o'clock on the afternoon of Sunday, August 3 1st, I found myself seated in the third row of the " Gentile " seats, with the service about to commence, the building well filled with Saints men, women, and children, there being plenty of the last-named present, indeed the immense number of babies-in-arms brought to church struck me at the time as something remarkable. Upon the rostrum in front of the organ were seated the Mormon hierarchy in full force, and on either side were ranged the choir, about a hundred voices in all, fifty men on one side and fifty women on the other. Conspicuous behind the organist stood, with baton in hand, Mr. George Careless, the conductor. On the floor of the building, below the rostrum, stood a long table, which, covered with a white linen cloth, supported tw r elve silver pewter- shaped vessels ; also eight piles of bread, the bread cut into large slices, and each pile containing about as much as a quartern loaf. This, it will be easily surmised, was the Table of the Lord's Supper. The Holy Sacrament is celebrated in the Tabernacle regularly every Sunday. Behind the Table sat six officers of the Church, namely three elders and three 2OO Through America. bishops coarse, common-looking men, whose duty consisted in breaking and blessing the bread before it was taken round by the "teachers" to the congregation assembled. Upon the table, also, were two large vessels, containing water, which would be poured into the pewters, and be brought round after it had been blessed by the teachers to the congregation likewise. Water is generally 'used in the Mormon celebration of the Lord's Supper. This was explained to me by the Tabernacle porter at the conclu- sion of this service, for when I asked him whether wine had been used in the service I had just attended, he replied, " No, indeed. We prefer pure water to impure wine ! " an answer for which I was rather unprepared. The service was opened by one Elder A. Cannon getting up from his seat and giving out a hymn. Then the great organ pealed forth, disclosing the melody of the composition, which was cheerful and animated. But, inspiriting as the tune certainly was, I could not help being strangely im- pressed, not with feelings of devoutness engendered by the solemnity of the occasion, but in another way altogether, for to me and it could hardly be called sentiment on my part the deep, sacred tones that proceeded from the glorious instrument seemed incongruous and out of place in such a service as this, a service performed by men who were such open blasphemers and evil-livers ; and when I tried to imagine myself actually " in church " and about to listen to, and per- haps join in, prayer and praise to the Almighty, I could not, do what I would, reconcile my feelings and make myself believe that it was a House of God, and not a rriusic-hall, that I was in. There, upon the rostrum, was the very man who had told me, a year before, that he considered our Saviour a polygamist ! There, too, sat a member of the hierarchy who had acquired such a reputation for cursing and blaspheming, that the designation by which he was commonly known was, " the cursing apostle ! " Were these the kind of men fitted to be the religious instructors of the people ? During the singing of the hymn I noticed that nobody stood up, except the choir and conductor. Very few members of the congregation seemed to be provided with hymn-books. The hymn was sung (and played) forte The Rocky Mountain Zion. 201 throughout. At its conclusion, Elder Johnson offered an extempore prayer, which was as follows : " O our divine Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we approach thee at this time to ask that thy spirit rest upon us while we are assembled here to worship thee and call upon thy name and sound thy praise, and commemorate the death and sufferings of Him who died so that thy will might be done. Bless us and give us power to bear like Him who suffered for us and died for our sins. Look in mercy upon us, and upon all others, and may they be converted to the truth and receive blessing at thy hand. May the faithful realize that thou art with them, and that, according to thy promise, where two or three are gathered together, thou wilt be in their midst, and there to bless them. O our Father, we have come before thee with desire to be blessed, and to have thy blessing rest upon thy servants throughout the world. Pour out thy spirit on all who are instructed to teach the people, and influence them with words of wisdom, strength, and power to call upon all the nations of the earth to come unto that way which thou hast pointed out for them to turn into, that they may receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Bless, our heavenly Father, all who are in authority. Pour out thy spirit upon the President, and upon the bishops who are presiding over the several wards, and all others who are in authority, in order that light and intelligence may beam upon them, and upon the people generally. Prepare them for whatever may come to pass. May all the nations and peoples of the earth be filled with the light of the Holy Ghost, and obey thy Word, and be brought into a perfect knowledge of Him who suffered for their sins. And may the Holy Father have mercy on us all, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ." The congregation responded, "Amen." Those who were present seemed to pay but little attention during the offering of this prayer. I did not see any of the congregation bending forward, or assuming that reverential demeanour by which one might infer that their feelings were in accord with what was being said. All sat listless and unconcerned, and not a few seemed to be fast asleep. At the conclusion of the prayer just mentioned, another hymn was sung ; and while this was taking place, the three elders and 202 Through America. the three bishops who were seated at the Table, " broke " the bread preparatory to the celebration of the Holy Commu- nion. The irreverent way in which they proceeded to work induced, in my mind, a feeling of absolute disgust. Slice after slice was hastily seized and torn into pieces the men seemed to pay no more respect to the solemnity of the sacred rite they were performing than if they were shelling peas or peeling potatoes. The hymn concluded, one of the three bishops already referred to Bishop Shaats offered the following consecration prayer, holding up his hands as he did so : "O God, the Eternal, we ask thee in the name of Jesus Christ to bless and sanctify this bread unto the souls of all those who shall partake thereof. And may they always bear witness unto thee that thou art God, the eternal Father, and keep thy commandments as they have been given unto them, and be filled with thy Holy Spirit." The congregation again responded, " Amen." The same utter indifference characterized the demeanour of the congregation during the consecration of the sacred elements. No one seemed the least interested in what was taking place. The Sacrament was brought round to the people in their seats by twelve teachers of the Eighth ward of the Salt Lake stake, the custom in this stake being for the teachers of the various wards to distribute the bread in the Tabernacle every Sunday in turn. This Sunday, therefore, it was the Eighth ward's turn to distribute ; the Sunday following it would be the Ninth ward's turn ; and so on. While the Sacrament was being administered, there was complete silence, which lasted for ten minutes. I could not help being struck with the careless and I may say irreverent manner of the several recipients of the consecrated elements, for no signs of devotion and thankfulness were displayed : people received the bread and ate it with no more concern than if they were sitting and eating at their own family breakfast-tables. There was not enough bread to go round ; but no more was consecrated, so that many of those present were not even given the chance of communicating. I will now pass to the sermon, which was delivered by Elder Cummings. I am indebted to the editor of the Daily The Rocky Mountain Zion. 203 Tribune, the chief " Gentile " organ in Salt Lake City, for his kindness in furnishing me with a verbatim report of the sermon as well as of the prayers which I have previously quoted taken by a representative of the journal in question, who was present at the service. Elder Cummings took for his text verses 6 and 7 of the xivth chapter of the Revelation : " And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlast- ing gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come : and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." I would particularly request the reader to note a statement which he will find given below relating to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and which will throw new and impor- tant light on the question of the presumed " divinity" of that extraordinary individual ! Omitting the earlier part of the sermon, Mr. Cummings concluded as follows : " We must be excused for criticizing the religions of the world of the present time. We are set down, I presume every one is aware, as a class of ignorant, illiterate fanatics, and that we are influenced by the impulse of the moment ; that our passions are exercised and wrought upon in order to accom- plish what is termed Mormonism. Now if you will take the trouble to examine every organization and all the doctrines taught now, outside of what is taught here, you cannot find among any sect a single iota of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Where is the organization that Jesus left upon the earth ? Do we find it in the Catholic church ? Verily not. The organiza- tion of the Catholic church is just as different as the light of the mid-day sun is different from midnight darkness. Do we find any apostles for evangelization ? Any pastors ? Any teachers ? What do we find ? A Pope and Cardinals. We find a heterogeneous organization that was never instituted. Consequently, it lacks that which Jesus established when he was here in the flesh. Well, now, let us come down to the old lady's daughter, the Episcopalian church. Do we find there anything similar to the organization that Jesus estab- lished when he was here ? We find there that the Queen of England is Head of the church, with bishops. Indeed we 204 Through America. find a curious organization, but nothing that represents any- thing that was instituted by our Saviour. And so we come down through the other denominations that have sprung from the Catholic church, and have descended from her down to the last one that has made its appearance on the face of the earth, and where do you find an organization like that that was instituted by the Saviour when he was upon earth ? Where do you find among them all the practice of what Jesus Christ taught should be performed the preaching of faith and repentance ; baptism according to the ordinance ; the laying on of hands and the giving of the Holy Ghost ; the doing of that which Peter, James and John did when they received their commission ? Then, if they are not doing this, not one of them is the Church of Christ. Now, to turn to the Latter- day Saints, when we come to examine their organization we find in the Church apostles, prophets, and so on ; we find they are qualified to perform that which was instituted by the Saviour when he was upon the earth ; we find that they preach the doctrine of faith, of repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the giving of the Holy Ghost. We find they do not omit one single iota of what was preached by the Saviour when he was upon the earth. Among the priesthood there is just the same authority that existed in the Church after her organiza- tion when the Saviour was in the flesh. Well, now, some one may say, Where do you get the authority for this new dispensation ? Where do you get the authority that God is going to speak from heaven again to the people upon the earth ? I answer, In the text I have read : ' And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven ' If the Latter-day Saints have not the gospel, no one else has got it. If the gospel had remained as it was instituted by the Saviour, there would be no necessity for sending an angel in the last days. But the Church has apostatized. There is no similarity between the sects called Christians and the gospel of the Church established by Jesus when he was upon earth. We claim that this angel that John saw, ninety -six years after the commencement of the Christian era, was Joseph Smith (!) ; that unto him was committed the keys of the gospel of the dispensation of the fulfilment of time ; and that he was the The Rocky Mountain Zion. 205 instrumentality used to give it to the children of men. He conversed with God, and Jesus himself. He organized the Church just precisely the same as that which existed when Jesus was upon the earth, with all the ordinances instituted at that time. The Almighty gave him the authority to pro- claim that everlasting gospel to every man and woman, and all the ordinances connected with it, until at last they shall enter into the kingdom of heaven " Now, with all the abuse the Latter-day Saints get, and the ridicule heaped upon them, there are no more lies told about them than were told about Jesus, and Peter, James, and John. They, too, had to suffer here in the flesh. But when the Master comes down from the heavens to marshal his host, those who were doing this will see their mistake. The peo- ple of the ancient time wanted the believers to do just precisely what the papers want us to do now. They spoke of the priesthood as ignorant, and heaped calumny upon them. They might make the desert to blossom as the rose, but that made no difference. All we want here is to pursue our religion. We stand to-day in the same relation that the first apostles did to the heathen world around them when they were on earth ; but all this will be met and overcome. The doings and sayings of sects and denominations, and of the Papal power with all its deformity and wickedness, and that was never more corrupt than it is at the present time, all this will be met and overcome. The Latter-day Saints present you the gospel in its purity just precisely as it was when Jesus was upon the earth. The priesthood is just the same ; nothing has been changed. The Church is organized just preci c ely as it originally was ; the fundamental principles are exactly the same " Our enemies persecute us ; but God will help us and destroy them. They persecute and prosecute our apostles for doing only that which was done of old and is authorized of God. And when these people die they expect to go right to heaven and sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who did the very same things thousands of years ago ! The charge against us is that we are polygamists. This is the consistency of this generation, and of the world at the present time. Yes, under the power of God we are polygamous, and will remain 206 Through America. so until and after our enemies are destroyed. We have received the dispensation to do this, and we are endeavouring to do it. It is only this that we are trying to do. We care nothing about monogamy. It is our business to preach the gospel, and it is our duty to practise the principles of it. We are as immovable as these mountains around us. We know our duty, we understand our calling. We have thousands who can stand up and tell you the same things that I have ; tell you that angels have come to earth ; that they know it is true ; who will testify to the full organization of the priest- hood of the Latter-day Saints. And now I may say to our enemies : you might just as well save your breath to cool your porridge, as to expect to persuade the Latter-day Saints to forsake their religion and turn unto your ways. No, no ! God the Father helping. We understand the gospel, and we are going to preach it ; of the things that are yet to come, and of the coming of the Son of Man. There will be trial, trouble and tribulation, earthquakes, storms and disaster, until the wicked have passed away and the Kingdom of the Son of Man upon earth has been fully established ; until the coming of the Kingdom of God in all its beauty. And then there will be peace and quiet, and no more persecution on account of polygamy. Then there will be peace and quiet. The good work is in the hands of God our preserver, in the hands of God our Father and helper. Amen." Perhaps it will not be out of place to quote here a few popular Mormon Hymns. The reader will, in this way, be able to comprehend, more fully, the sentiments that per- vade the mind of a true, zealous, Latter-day Saint. And first I will take the hymn known as the Mormon " Du dah." Unfortunately I am only able to give three verses of this remarkable composition. They are to be found on pages 370-1 of Mr. Stenhouse's work already mentioned. This hymn was sung in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City during " divine " (sic) service, after the discomfiture of the Federal troops which had been sent out against the Mormons in the year 1857, when the Saints succeeded in burning three of the supply trains, including seventy- three waggons, containing the provisions, clothing, etc. of Tke Rocky Mountain Zion. 207 the troops, and in driving off 1 300 head of oxen from the rear of the army. This success, so gallantly achieved by the " warriors of Zion," provoked the wildest enthusiasm among the Saints ; and the following paean was sung in honour of the event in the Tabernacle one Sunday, after the celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ! The hymn had been composed previous to the overthrow of the Govern- ment army in 1857; but it so happened that the last of the three verses which I will now give, fitted in almost exactly with the circumstances of the time : Old Sam has sent, I understand, Du dah ! Du dah ! A Missouri ass to rule our land, Du dah ! Du dah day ! But if he comes, we'll have some fun, Du dah ! Du dah ! To see him and his juries run, Du dah ! Du dah day ! Chorus. Then let us be on hand, By Brigham Young to stand, And if our enemies do appear We'll sweep them off the land. Old Squaw-killer Harney is on the way, Du dah ! Du dah ! The Mormon people for to slay, Du dah ! Du dah day ! Now if he comes, the truth I'll tell, Du dah J Du dah ! Our boys will drive him down to hell, Du dah ! Du dah day! Then let us be on hand, etc. There's seven hundred wagons on the way, Du dah ! Du dah ! And their cattle are numerous, so they say, Du dah ! Du dah day ! Now, to let them perish would be a sin, Du dah ! Du dah ! So we'll take all they've got for bringing them in, Du dah ! Du dah day ! Then let us be on hand, etc. The Mortnons have composed a hymn after the style of our " Cheer, boys, cheer," as the following quotation will show. It is No. 307 of the collection of Sacred Hymns and 2o8 Through America. Spiritual Songs. The reader should notice particularly the " roaring of the Lion," in verse 4. It refers, no doubt, to the voice of Brigham Young, who was often called the " Lion of the Lord." Cheer, saints, cheer ! we're bound for peaceful Zion ! Cheer, saints, cheer ! for that free and happy land ! Cheer, saints, cheer ! we'll Israel's God rely on ; We will be led by the power of His hand. Long, long in Bab'lon we have lived in sorrow, But God in His mercy hath opened up our way ; " Hope points before and shows the bright to-morrow ;" Let us forget the darkness of to-day. See, see the judgments o'er the earth extending, Pestilence and earthquakes, famine, fire, and sword ; Soon shall the rulers of this world come bending, Shorn of their glory, for thus saith the Lord. Come, come away unto the hill of Zion ; Come, come away to the temple of the Lord ; Come ye and hear the roaring of the Lion, Where Ephraim's children tremble at the Word. Away, far away to the everlasting mountains, Away, far away to the valley in the West ; Away, far away to yonder gushing fountains, Where all the faithful in the latter days are blest Sing, sing aloud, the song of adoration ; Yea, sing aloud for the goodness of our King ; Ye who are blest to see this great salvation, Lift up your voices, and make the mountains ring, The following verses have been composed to the well- known tune, " So early in the Morning :" There is a people in the West, the world call Mormonites in jest, The only people who can say, we have the truth, and own its sway. Away in Utah's valleys, away in Utah's valleys, Away in Utah's valleys, the chambers of the Lord. The world in darkness long has lain, since Jesus and the Saints were slain, Until these glorious latter days, when Joseph did the standard raise, And brought the book of Mormon, etc.. And brought, etc., to cheer our souls with light. The Rocky Moimtain Zion. 209 The truth in many lands is known, in power the Lord rolls forth the stone, Which from the mountains has gone forth, and -will in time fill all the earth. Go forth from Utah's valleys, etc., Go forth, etc., the chambers of the Lord. And all ye Saints, where'er you be, from bondage try to be set free, Escape unto fair Zion's land, and thus fulfil the Lord's command, And help to build up Zion, etc., And help, etc., before the Lord appear. The verses given below are sung to the tune of the " King of the Cannibal Islands :" Come, Mormons, all attention pay, While I attempt to sing my say ; I've chosen for my text to-day, Come forward and pay up your tithing. These may not be the very words, Which ancient Holy Writ records ; But Malachi, I think, affords A verse with which the sense accords. It seems that he had cause to scold The Saints, or Israelites of old ; In fact, they needed to be told Come forward and pay up your tithing. Chorus. Then, if to prosper you desire, And wish to keep out of the fire Nay, if you to be Saints aspire, Come forward and pay up your tithing. Just as it was in olden times With ancient Saints, in other climes, The call is now, bring out your dimes, Come forward and pay up your tithing. Our prophet says, " When elders preach, The law of tithing they should teach, Pay up themselves, and then beseech All those that come within their reach.' 7 This makes me now appeal to you, To follow counsel ; right pursue ; And whilst all evil you eschew, Come forward and pay up your tithing. Then, if to prosper, etc. Now male and female, rich and poor, Who wish to keep your standing sure ; That you salvation may secure, Come forward and pay up your tithing. 2io Through America. A tenth, that is, and nothing less, Of all you do or may possess : In flocks and herds, and their increase, In pigs and poultry, ducks and geese ; A tenth, indeed, of all your toil. Likewise the products of the soil ; And if you've any wine or oil, Come forward and pay up your tithing ! Then, if to prosper, etc. The following "hymn" goes to the tune of the "Disap pointed Milkman :" I'm a merry-hearted Mormon, by the truth I'm set free, And I wish all the world were as happy as me ; I've started for salvation, and hope I shall win, So with this explanation my song I'll begin. On board the good ship Zion we all have set sail, Our captain we rely on, who never can fail, And the officers and the ship's crew, whene'er it doth storm, Will bring us safe through so then feel no alarm. Sometimes when a calm doth come over the deep, Our nets we spread out, and the fish they will leap, And into the great net the fish they will throng, So we pull them on board and bring them along. We get garfish and blackfish, and minnows and whales, And sharks in abundance, and good fish ne'er fails ; There are flying-fish and star-fish and suckers and trout, And all sorts of fish from the net we take out. We've cat-fish and dog-fish and lobsters and crabs, And cuttle-fish and devil-fish and thorn-backs and dabs ; Many scorpions and pollywogs and crocodiles grim, With shoals of big sea-hogs fill the net to the brim. And now I say to you fish who in the net have been caught, I hope you are the true fish that can never be bought ; Else old Satan will buy you and you'll slip through the sieve, And go to destruction as sure as you live. The Savior's true parable I now bring to view, Who also declared, " The saved would be few ;" For straight is the entrance and narrow the way ; Now, mind you're not late on the great trying day. The Rocky Mountain Zion. 2 1 1 The tune of " Tramp, Tramp " is adapted for the following composition : In our lovely Deseret, 2 Where the Saints of God have met, There's a multitude Of children all around ; They are generous and brave, They have precious souls to save, They must listen, and Obey the Gospel sound. That the children may live long And be beautiful and strong, Tea and coffee and Tobacco they despise ; Drink no liquor, and they eat But very little meat, They are seeking to be Great and good and wise. They should be instructed young, How to watch and guard the tongue, And their tempers train, And evil passions bind. 2 " Deseret " is the name usually given by the Mormons to the Terri- tory of Utah, although they also apply the term so as to include the whole of the Rocky Mountain region colonized by them, as well as other States and Territories in the West which they hope will be peopled by them some day. In 1859 a convention of Mormons was held in Salt Lake City, when a constitution was framed, establishing " a free and independent government by the name of the State of Deseret, including all the territory of the United States within the following lines, namely, within a line commencing at the 33rd degree of north latitude, where it crosses the io8th degree of longitude west of Green- wich ; thence continuing south and west to the boundary of Mexico ; thence west to and down the main channel of the Gila river, and the northern boundary of Lower California to the Pacific Ocean ; thence along the coast north-westerly to about the io8th degree of west longi- tude," etc. The word, which signifies a honey bee, takes its origin from the Book of Mormon, where we are told that Jared and his family, previous to setting out (from Palestine) on their 344 days' journey "across many waters," a voyage which eventually landed them on the shores of America, " did prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish of the waters ; and they did also carry with them Deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee ; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind." P 2, 212 Through America. They should always be polite, And treat everybody right, And in every place Be affable and kind. They must not forget to pray Night and morning every day, For the Lord to keep Them safe from every ill, And assist them to do right, That with all their mind and might, They may love Him, and may Learn to do His will. Chorus. Hark ! hark ! hark ! 'tis children's music, Children's voices, O ! how sweet ! When in innocence and love Like the angels up above, They with happy hearts And cheerful faces meet. To the tune of the " Bonny Breast Knots " the subjoined " hymn " is sung : What peace and joy pervade the soul, And sweet sensations through me roll, And love and peace my heart console, Since first I met the Mormons. Chorus. Hey, the merry, O, the busy, Hey, the sturdy Mormons ; I never knew what joy was, Till I became a Mormon. They sing the folly of the wise, Sectarian precepts they despise ; A heaven far above the skies, Is never sought by Mormons. Hey, the merry, etc. To Sabbath meetings they repair, Both old and young assemble there ; The words of inspiration share, No 'less can suit the Mormons. Hey, the merry, etc. At night the Mormons do convene To chat awhile, and sing a hymn ; And one, perchance, repeat a rhyme He made about the Mormons. Hey, the merry, etc. The Rocky Mountain Zion. 213 The Mormon fathers love to see Their Mormon families all agree ; The prattling infant on his knee Cries, "Daddy, I'm a Mormon !'' Hey, the merry, etc. As youth in Israel once decried To wed with those that heaven denied, So youth among us now have cried, " Well marry none but Mormons." Hey, the merry, etc. So, while we tread our foeman's ground We'll make the trump of freedom sound, And scatter blessings all around, Like free and happy Mormons. Hey, the merry, etc. The late Mormon President has been the theme of a good many complimentary poems. The following remarkable effusion may be taken as a specimen : O, Brigham, the friend of the brow-beaten Saints, I think of the cause of so many restraints You've long labored under, which still do remain, It troubles my spirit, and causes me pain. 'Tis strange, that the man whose designs are so pure, Should be hated and hunted, and made to endure The scoffs and the taunts, with the venom and ire, Which the spirit of evil in some doth inspire. While rogues o'er the earth with impunity range, And the plans of Jehovah delight to derange, You are cramp'd and coop'd up and deprived of free air, And the sunlight of heaven, your spirits to cheer. But, who can imprison a soul such as thine By walls, or in dungeons ? in darkness 'twill shine ! And be free and as pure as the sweet mountain air, Which the hate of the wicked can never impair. Then, cheer up, dear Brigham, the time is at hand, When those who oppress you shan't cumber the land ; By the power of the Father, they'll soon be laid low, And His kingdom in glory forever shall grow. Of the above compositions, one, namely " Cheer, saints, cheer," is taken from the afore- mentioned Sacred Hymns 214 Through America. and Spirittial Songs (i6th edition, 1877) \ tne remainder are to be found in the Mountain Warbler, a collection of songs, etc. " for the use of Choirs, Sabbath Schools, and Families." In the former publication occur three of our well-known hymns commencing with the lines, "Glory to Thee, my God, this night" (Ken), "O God, our help in ages past" (Watts), and " From Greenland's icy mountains " (Heber). These are quoted in extenso, with four extra stanzas added to the first-named ; and there are, besides, in the same collection, adaptations from such beau- tiful hymns as " Behold the Lamb of God," " Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer," "Who are these like stars ap- pearing," etc. " UTAH'S BEST CROP." From a photograph by C. R. Savage, Salt Lake City. 2I 5 CHAPTER X. PORTER ROCKWELL AND BRIGHAM YOUNG. Orrin Porter Rockwell Death of the noted Danite Origin of the Danite Band " Destroying Angels " Rockwell's history A famous assassin Brigham Young Joseph Smith's prophecy concerning him His first interview with Smith Conversing in "unknown tongues" Brigham's iron rule The Church's blind belief in him Blasphemous utterance of the apostle Heber C. Kimball Brigham Young's opinion concerning the Deity Blasphemy extraordinary The do- mestic life of the deceased President A Yankee Mahomet" Briggy " Young His wives A double courtship John A. Young His matri- monial proclivities A specimen " Saint " Brigham Young's grave The deceased President's directions respecting the conduct of his funeral. WRITING in 1869, Sir Charles Dilke, in his work Greater Britain, says: "Since 1840, there has been no name of greater terror in the West than (Porter) Rockwell's." On the morning of June II, 1878, we were surprised, upon taking up that day's issue of the Salt Lake Daify Tribune, to find that a man answering to this name had died in Salt Lake City the previous evening. We found also, in the columns of the journal in question, full details respecting this man's extraordinary life and actions. It was, indeed, the famous Porter Rockwell who was dead. It may therefore be interest- ing to offer a few remarks concerning him. About the year 1838, when the Mormons were in Missouri, which was then their " Land of Promise," and remained so until they were driven out of the State and obliged perforce to seek another " Canaan," there was a "death society" formed among them for the purpose of putting quietly out of the way all obnoxious persons who, by their actions or other- 2 1 6 Through America. wise, hindered the progress and development of " Christ's Church." The members of this society were, as a body, called at different times by different names. Originally they were known as the " Daughters of Zion," being so designated from the text in Holy Scripture that they took for their motto, namely Micah iv. 13. But this title was thought to be hardly suitable, for many of these "Daughters " were bearded, and to have bearded daughters as the instruments for effectually re- moving the object of Prophet Joe Smith's wrath, was looked upon as slightly out of place. So they were called the " Avenging " or " Destroying Angels " sometimes also the " Flying Angels," or " Destructives." But perhaps they are better known as the " Sons of Dan," or the " Danites," so named from another text in Holy Scripture Genesis xlix. 17 which they found applicable to their case. The chief of this Danite Band was a man of the name of Orrin Porter Rockwell. "Port" Rockwell, as he was familiarly called, was the archangel of all the " Destroying Angels ;" he was (to quote Mormon phraseology) the " Chief Avenger of the Lord" the most destructive angel of the Band. He was called, too, the " Brother of Gideon ;" or again, the " Big Fan of the thresher that should throughly purge the floor." A life devoted to the most heinous crimes had rendered the name of this man famous throughout the con- tinent of civilized North America. Wholesale murders were " managed " by him : he died guilty of having assassinated more than a hundred victims with his own hand. His butcheries were performed, in the first instance, at the instiga- tion of or through a significant hint let drop by " Prophet " Joseph Smith, that such and such persons were obnoxious and " in the way," and similar " hints " were subsequently given to the assassin by " Prophet " Brigham Young. " Port " Rockwell was the chief confidant, the trusty and well-tried friend of Joseph Smith. But though he enjoyed high favour at the court of Brigham Young, he was not, perhaps, the most trusted avenger of this last-named personage (though at the same time it is true that he was his chief instrument), for another, one of the name of William Hickman, was the favoured confidant of the late President till he, indeed, turned " State's evidence " and startled the world with a full Porter Rockwell and Brigham Young. 2 1 7 confession of his crimes, which are said to have nearly equalled in number those of his friend and brother-angel, Rockwell. " Port " and " Bill " went hand-in-hand together. They were the prime instruments for "glorifying the name of Israel's God." Now Porter Rockwell was no ordinary man. He played an important part in the history of his country, and therefore it will be as well, I think, to turn to the Salt Lake Tribune y and see what that authority has to say concerning him. First we are informed of his death, which took place at the Colorado stables in First East-street, Salt Lake City, and was helped on by his getting drunk the night before at the theatre. No inquest was held over the remains of the deceased, nor was there any post mortem examination made, but the body was removed to the office of " Holy Joe," the sexton or under- taker, where it was visited by many of the leading Saints in the Territory. As illustrating the remarkable career of this notorious Mormon, the following extracts from the paper referred to may perhaps be found interesting : " Porter Rockwell was under indictment in the First Judicial District for participation in the Aikin murder, and was to be tried at the next September term of Judge Emer- son's court. There was strong evidence against Rockwell, but it is extremely doubtful whether a jury could have been impanelled that would convict him on the proof of the crime charged. Although Porter held many secrets of the Mormon priesthood, it is quite probable that the Church, by allowing John D. Lee to be executed, learned a lesson which convinced the guilty living ones of Mormondom that it would be far safer to stand by Rockwell in his trial, than to bear the odium of the exposures he could and would have made had they sacrificed him as they did Lee. Hence many a Mormon will rejoice at the demise of this great criminal. "The deceased Danite chief was an extremely ignorant, illiterate man, being unable to write his own name, and was as superstitious as a savage. He was a firm believer in ghosts, witches, evil spirits, and spooks, as well as in the revelations of Joseph Smith and the divinity of the utterances of the Mormon high priests and prophets. It was Rockwell who shot Governor Boggs in the early troubles of 218 Through America. the Mormon Church in Missouri, for which service to the cause Smith declared him the Samson of the Church, and promised him, in the name of the Lord, that if he would never allow his hair and whiskers to be cut, the bullet of his enemies should be turned aside, and wicked, designing men should never prevail against him. Rockwell, therefore, always wore his hair long, and a full beard, both of which, however, were thin, as well as gray. He wore his hair in two braids, tied up with two small ribbons across the back of the head on a line with his ears. It is estimated that he participated in at least a hundred murders for the Church, none of which he ever divulged. He used to own the Dunyan ranch, at the point of the mountain, south of the city ; and a short distance from that point on the road to Camp Floyd, there is a deep well, where there was, in early days, a stage station. This place he firmly believed to be haunted by evil spirits, who delighted in bring- ing trouble upon him or his horses every time he passed. He used to tell that on one occasion, when he was passing this well with a band of wild mustangs, some thirty of his animals fell down in the road sick. He directed the man to split the tail of each sick horse, put some of the blood of each on a wisp of straw, and set the straw on fire. This rite broke the spell of the witches. The horses immediately recovered, and he went on his way rejoicing Rockwell had a decided objection to sleeping in the dark. During the few months he stopped at the Colorado stables, he never permitted the lamp to be turned out. Not unfrequently, too, he would insist on sleeping with the hostler, as if afraid of shadows. " When Joseph Smith first organized the ' hosts of Israel/ Rockwell was made the chief of the Danite Band, which branch of the aforesaid ' hosts ' was charged with the work of secretly assassinating the enemies of Smith and the Church. This organization had its signs, the principal one of which was placing the palm against the cheek in such a manner that the right ear protruded between the index and the middle fingers. With this, Porter Rockwell and his band could do their bloody work in a crowd without danger of colliding with each other. After the death of Smith, Rockwell transferred his allegiance to Brigham Young, whom he served as devotedly as he did the original prophet, doing the priesthood's work of assassina- BRTGHAM YOUNG. From a Photograph tnken in 1876 a%e 219. Porter Rockwell and Brigham Young. 2 1 9 tion, when ordered, as cheerfully as other elders of the Church went on proselyting missions when called by the Mormon authorities. To murder for the Church was his calling : it was his religion. It is but justice to him, however, to say that he never was a polygamist, though he had been married three times, and was the father of three families of boys and girls In stature Rockwell was small, but heavy and compactly built. His eyes were little blue peepers, his features small, and his florid face always wore an expression of mingled disgust and contempt, as if something were con- stantly offending his olfactory nerves. He usually dressed in Brigham's homespun, and he wore a faded felt hat turned up at both sides." There is no name with which Mormonism has been more identified than with that of Brigham Young. This remark- able personage, to whose zeal and master-spirit the Mormon Church owes, it may be said, its present development and state of activity, was born on June i, 1801, at Whittingham, in Windham County, Vermont. His parents were, in religion, Methodists, and he was the fourth of a family of five sons and six daughters. He followed the trades of carpenter, painter, and glazier, and became a Mormon in 1832, and at once came out as an ardent supporter of " Prophet " Joseph Smith. Brigham became a staunch upholder of the tenets of the " new religion ;" and such promising signs of an arbitrary temper, of determination and tenacity of will must he have given to his chief, Joe Smith, that he (Smith) is said to have prophesied that one day, " Brother Brigham should rule the Church." Some persons, however, have affirmed that Smith, on one occasion, prophesied that " Brother Brig- ham " would eventually " lead the Church into hell," so that it is as well to be careful how we accept the predictions of the " inspired " founder of the Mormon Church. When Brigham Young first encountered Joseph Smith, which happened in the month of November, 1833, both of them, we are told, became u inspired," and began speaking in " unknown tongues." They both set to and gabbled away to each other in languages that no one had ever before heard of, and which neither of them could understand ! This is the 22O Throzcgh America. first recorded instance when the power of the "gift of tongues " was made manifest. It was three years after the assassination, in 1844, of Joseph Smith, when disorganization had followed that tragical event, and schism and apostasy from the " true fold " were rife among the Saints in " Zion," that Brigham Young was elected to the presidency as the only man who had sufficient tact and ability for despotic government to prevent the Church from falling to pieces ; and the power that he assumed at the commencement of his rule he retained up to the day of his death, on Wednesday, August 29, 1877. He ruled the Church with a rod of iron no mandate of his could possibly be disobeyed with impunity. It is remarkable what an amount of faith an ignorant and fanatical people . seem to have placed in his utterances, how implicitly they believed all that he told them, especially if he. qualified his remarks with the prefatory words, " Thus saith the Lord." They carried their belief in him to such a length that they even looked upon his word as the Word of God ! Apostle Heber C. Kimball, for instance, once expressed himself after the fol- lowing fashion : " I have often said that the word of our leader and Prophet is the Word of God to this people. We cannot see God, we cannot hold conversation with him ; but He has given us a man that we can talk to, and thereby know His will, just as well as if God himself were present with us. I am no more afraid to risk my salvation in the hands of this man than I am to trust myself in the hands of the Almighty. He will lead me right if I do as he says in every particular and circumstance." l Brigham Young entertained an extraordinary opinion con- cerning the Deity. He once announced that Adam was God. An idea publicly proclaimed to the Church implied something more than a mere private opinion, which he, or any- one else, was at liberty to hold, if he chose. But a statement made by the Mormon " Prophet " meant simply a doctrine which all were bound to believe, because Brigham's word was supposed to be infallible, and speaking to the Saints as a prophet he was, of course, " inspired." So, in the Tabernacle 1 Deseret News, October i, 1866. Porter Rockwell and Brigham Young. 221 in Salt Lake City, on April 9, 1852, he made the following remarkable declaration : " Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner ! When our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael the Archangel, the Ancient of Days, about whom holy men have written and spoken. He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, sooner or later." Apropos of this sentiment may be men- tioned the extraordinary blasphemy uttered by a prominent member of the present Mormon hierarchy, who once declared that " God is the most egotistical of all existing beings ! ! " 2 We have already taken a brief glance at the domestic life of Brigham Young ; but a little more, perhaps, may be added to what has already been said on the subject. This Yankee Mahomet first took unto him a wife in the year 1824, that is, when he was twenty- three years of age. The name of the lady I do not know ; she is now deceased, like her husband. Even- tually her original importance became seriously diminished, for, as far as one can gather, Brigham Young had altogether the number of nineteen wives : but as to the number of his children, I really cannot venture upon any positive statement. Mary Ann Angell is the name of his surviving " legal " widow, and to her he was married in the year 1834. He was certainly very assiduous and diligent in building up a most extensive " spiritual kingdom," and for the pains he must have taken in doing so we ought to give him all the credit we can. Mary Ann Angell had five children, who were named (in order) Joseph A. ; Brigham ; Alice ; Luna ; and John W, His second son, Brigham " Junior," as he is called, or " Briggy," as he is more familiarly known among Saints and Gentiles, was a great favourite with his father, and resembled him in many respects. It was the late " Prophet's " wish that " Briggy " should succeed him in the presidency ; but that wish was not fulfilled. " Briggy" is the husband of three wives. 2 According to Mormon doctrine, God is not a spirit, but a material being. 222 Through America. Katie Spencer, Jane Carrington, and Lizzie Fenton are their names. Both father and son courted Lizzie, the double courtship lasting for several months, till, in the long-run, age had to give way to youth, and Lizzie became " Briggy's " bride. Brigham Young had six of his daughters married to three of the Saints, two to each, namely, Alice and Emily to Hiram Clauson ; Luna and Fanny to George Thatcher ; and Mary and Caroline to Mark Croxall. The matrimonial proclivities of John A. Young, the last of Mary Ann Angell's five children above-mentioned, are, perhaps, worth noting. The following account of him, in brief, I have received from a reliable authority in Salt Lake City. In his early youth he loved a Miss Spencer, who "jilted" him ; whereupon he married a Miss Lucy Confield, out of spite. A year subsequently he married a Miss Clara Jones, thus demonstrating his faith in the doctrine of poly- gamy. He happened to be in Philadelphia a year or so later, where he met a Miss " Libby " Confield, the cousin of his first wife Lucy. This woman he also married ; but the condition on which the nuptials were celebrated was that he should dismiss his two former wives, which he did, though he did not divorce them until some years afterwards. A few weeks after his father's death, in 1877, " John A." startled the community by marrying his father's step-daughter, Luella Cobb. About twelve months later he married a German woman, and with these last two wives he removed to the Territory of Arizona " where he now is," my correspondent concludes, in a letter dated March 19, 1880. I have received confirmation of the correctness of these incidents in Mr. Young's career from another correspondent residing in Salt Lake City. It will of course be supposed that Brigham Young has been honoured with a splendid tombstone erected to his memory ; or perhaps with a mausoleum, at which all the world may marvel, a fitting sepulchre for so distinguished a Saint : but no. The mortal remains of the " Prophet of the Lord " are laid in one of his own private gardens in a plot of ground which is little better than a rough, neglected brickyard, where a plain stone slab, with no inscription upon it, marks the place where the remains are deposited ; nor are there any railings around Porter Rockwell a nd Brigham Young. 223 to fence off " ungodly Gentiles " who might at any time walk over the deceased "Prophet," and desecrate the spot with their unhallowed tread. In the same yard for the cemetery is worthy of no better name are the graves of some of the late President's wives and relations, which are well-nigh indistinguishable, for they lie hidden amongst a mass of rubbish with which the ground is thickly bestrewn. The deceased President entered minutely and characteris- tically into particulars as to the conduct of his funeral. I will here give verbatim the document which he prepared : " I, Brigham Young, wish my funeral services to be con- ducted after the following manner : " When I breathe my last I wish my friends to put my body in as clean and wholesome state as can conveniently be done, and preserve the same for one, two, three or four days, or as long as my body can be preserved in a good condition. I want my coffin made of plump ii-inch redwood boards, not scrimped in length, but two inches longer than I would measure, and from two to three inches wider than is com- monly made for a person of my breadth and size, and deep enough to place me on a little cotton bed with a good suitable pillow for size and quality ; my body dressed in my Temple clothing and laid nicely into my coffin, and the coffin to have the appearance that if I wanted to turn a little to the right or to the left I should have plenty of room to do so ; the lid can be made crowning. " At my interment I wish all my family present, that can be conveniently, and the male members wear no crape on their hats or their coats ; the females to buy no black bonnets, nor black dresses, nor black veils ; but if they have them they are at liberty to wear them. The services may be permitted, as singing and a prayer offered, and if any of my friends wish to say a few words, and really desire, do so ; and when they have closed their service, take my remains on a bier and repair to the little burying-ground which I have reserved on my lot east of the White House on the hill, and in the south- east corner of this lot have a vault built of mason work, large enough to receive my coffin, and that may be placed in a box, if they choose, made of the same materials as the coffin redwood, then place flat rocks over the vault, sufficiently large 224 Through A merica . to cover it, that the earth may be placed over it nice, fine, dry earth, to cover it until the walls of the little cemetery are reared, which will leave me in the southeast corner. This vault ought to be roofed over with some kind of a temporary roof. There let my earthly house or tabernacle rest in peace and have a good sleep until the morning of the first resurrec- tion ; no crying, nor mourning, with anyone that I have done my work faithfully and in good faith. " I wish this to be read at the funeral, providing that if I should die anywhere in the mountains, I desire the above directions respecting my place of burial to be observed ; but if I should live to go back with the Church to Jackson County, I wish to be buried there. "BRIGHAM YOUNG, " President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. " Sunday, November Qth, 1*873. "Salt Lake City, Utah Ter." These directions were carried out to the letter, and publicly read, by the apostle George Q. Cannon, on the day of the funeral. 225 CHAPTER XI. A SERIOUS ASPECT OF MORMONISM. Perversion to Mormonism The missionary abroad Missionary work in Great Britain How British emigrants are imposed upon European exodus to Utah in 1879 British Mormons in Salt Lake City The exodus from Great Britain in 1880 Converts from Iceland A superabun- dance of clergy The " trustee-in- tru st's " account for 1879 Receipts and disbursements Christian missionary work in Utah Result of ten years' labour Utah's admission to Statedom Trouble ahead Defiant Mormons Treasonable utterances The Endowment House A scandalous institution The Mormon's treasonable oath Penalty for revealing it No public record of Mormon marriages No marriage certificates International intervention. A FEW facts relating to the growth and influence of the Mormon religion will probably be of interest to English readers. Mormonism has now become so firmly established in the United States, that it is important, at the present time, when so many of our poor and ignorant countrymen are yearly decoyed to Salt Lake City, to direct attention to some of the evils, beyond those which have already been mentioned, to which Mormon emigrants to Utah are exposed. But with regard to these evils, the reader will have seen, from what has been said in the four preceding chapters, that it is impossible for me to place before him the whole truth of the practices and professions of the Latter-day Saints. There is perhaps no religious organization not at least in any country calling itself Christian where vulgarity so predominates ; where doctrines so hideous and revolting are held up for acceptance and belief ; where men's minds, manners, and language are so deplorably deficient in cultivation and refinement ; where pro- Q 226 Through America. fanity so abounds, and where let it be added the marriage relationship is so shamefully abused and its sacred digntiy so notoriously degraded. It is therefore not to be wondered that one should recoil with disgust when brought face to face with a society of people so professedly religious, yet amongst whom such social corruption prevails, and the doctrines of whose religious belief are really too shocking to admit of calm examination. It is a mistake for people to suppose, as many do suppose, that Mormonism is not increasing. On the contrary, Mor- monism was never so prosperous in a quiet way as it is at the present moment. Recruits from Great Britain and other European countries continue to pour into Utah by hundreds every two or three months not, as might be supposed, from various quarters of the United States and Canada, for but a very few number of converts to the religion are obtained in the New World ; but it is in England, Wales, Scotland, Den- mark, Sweden, and Norway among the poor and uneducated masses of these countries in remote districts where the truth of this pernicious "faith" is unknown that the Mormons win their greatest triumphs ; and it may be as well to note the fact that their chief recruiting-ground is Wales. What the Mormon missionaries impress on the people is not so much the peculiar doctrines of their Church as the opportunities offered for bettering their condition. They tell them that Utah is " a land flowing with milk and honey ;" that it is a garden ready made, and blossoming like the rose ; that there they will find a panacea for every ill, and be as happy as the day is long ; that in " Zion " liberty both civil and religious abounds, poverty is unknown, truth and virtue flourish, and that there they will find a holy and a loving priesthood ready to minister to their spiritual necessities far more than they have ever been ministered unto before ; that by becoming Mormons they will have all the sins they have hitherto committed forgiven them, 1 and be able to begin life anew, pure and spotless, and with every probability of remaining so in the Church's esti- 1 A popular Mormon song, set to the tune of "The Low -backed Car," commences as follows : When first I joined the Mormons, My soul was filled with light ; A Serious Aspect of Mormonism. 227 mation provided they pay in their tithing and say their prayers morning and evening regularly. They tell the igno- rant masses all this, they hold up before their eyes a picture of future happiness and prosperity, and a religion founded, they say, upon direct revelation from God : but what they do not tell them is the truth, and that is that Utah, far from being a garden, is in the first place a desert a barren, alkaline desert, whose soil has to be properly irrigated and prepared, and all the poisonous ingredients washed out and this often- times at considerable expense before anything can be got to grow. The new convert is not told that, far from civil and religious liberty abounding, liberty of action and freedom of thought are denied the poor deluded Mormon emigrant to Utah, his actions and religious convictions being controlled by a dictatorial and fanatical priesthood, who will not allow him to move so much as his little finger in opposition to its behests, 2 or to put forward his opinions in repugnance to doctrines, however profane, which they tell him are " inspired," or have been acquired also by direct revelation from God. He is not told that poverty and destitution are the rule rather than otherwise in Utah, for, however needy may be the Mor- mon's condition in life, he must still contribute his tithing annually, the bishop of his district will see that he is not My sins were gone, and that alone Convinced me I was right. When from the pure baptismal stream I rose, my guilt was fled, The Spirit, then, by chosen men Was sealed upon my head. 2 " In the most tyrannical way," says the Rev. R. G. McNiece, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, " this priesthood directs all the affairs of the people, telling them what store they must trade at, what newspaper they must read, what school they must patronize, and how much every man must contribute in order that the priesthood may continue to wax fat. This overbearing tyranny was well illustrated when one of the apostles, on one occasion, while speaking in one of the ward meeting-houses about the solemn duty of obeying the priesthood, happened to look through the window and see a load of wood passing by. ' Now I want you/ said he, ' to obey the priesthood so implicitly, and to have so much confidence in everything they tell you, that if any of the twelve apostles should tell you that load of wood is a load of hay, you would all say : Amen, that's a load of hay.'" Q 2 228 Through America. negligent in his duty in this respect, and be prepared, even, to surrender his all for the Church's benefit should it be required of him to do so. Lastly, the convert is not told that instead of truth and virtue abounding in " Zion," in the one case the sacred truths of the Gospel of Christ are perverted and misrepresented, or are put aside altogether, and the heresies of the Book of Mormon and of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants are brought forward and thrust in their place ; while in the other case it is a fact, and one which cannot be gainsaid, as I can prove from my inquiries on the subject made during my visit to Utah in 1879, that, despite the pre- tensions of the Latter-day Saints that their polygamous system has brought about a better state of morals, and that they are a more chaste and virtuous people than other communities on earth, virtue is no better cherished among them than it is among any monogamous community all the world over. If we turn to the latest official census report of the Latter- day Saints, namely that produced at the annual spring confer- ence held in Salt Lake City on the 6th of last April, 3 and two following days, we shall obtain a few interesting statistics. From this we learn that there are 111,820 Mormons in Utah (out of an entire population of about 144,000), 1895 in Arizona, 600 in Colorado, 5257 in Great Britain, 5205 in Scandinavia, and 798 in Germany; total, 125,575. Last year, 1500 were baptized into the Church, and there were upwards of 600 ex- communications and removals. The number of births amounted (in 1879) to 2461, or 1230 males and 1231 females. In the same year, 880 British were added to the Church by baptism. European emigration to Utah in 1879 was distributed amongst nationalities as follows :'British, 812 ; Scandinavia, 515 ; Swiss, 90 ; German, 34 ; Dutch, 5 ; Irish, 2 ; French, i ; total, 1459. In the report from which these particulars are taken, no mention is made of the Territories of Idaho and Wyoming, which are fast being peopled with Mormons, Idaho in par- ticular. It would be safe to say that there are not less than 150,000 Mormons in the Rocky Mountain region. In New Mexico, also, colonies of the Saints have been established, as well as in Tennessee, Georgia, and other States in the South. 3 This day was one of special importance to the Mormons, as it was the semi-centennial anniversary of the founding of their church. A Serious Aspect of Mormonism. 229 There are about sixty missionaries propagating the doctrines of Mormonism in the Southern States. In Europe there are 400 missionaries, eighty of these having been sent out from Salt Lake City in 1878. Of the population of Utah, former British subjects and their children may be estimated at about one-third. At the spring conference of 1879, it was reported that there were then 19,938 Mormons in Salt Lake City (4071 families), and a little over 5000 non-Mormons or " Gentiles." From a list compiled for me in September, 1879, of British Mormons holding office in the several " organized stakes of Zion," I find that there were then forty- two (at least) British-born presidents, counsellors and bishops in eleven of these stakes, namely in the Salt Lake, Sanpete, Sevier, St. George, Tooele, Utah, Weber, Morgan, Davis, Cache, and Box Elder stakes. In the Salt Lake stake alone, both the two counsellors and thirteen out of the twenty-one bishops holding office in that stake were British-born. Nine of these bishops were Scotchmen. I am told on reliable authority that one-half the Mormon population in Salt Lake City are British-born. About 1800 Mormons have embarked from Liverpool and Glasgow for Utah, during the current year. The exact number it is difficult to ascertain on this side of the Atlantic ; but the number stated may be taken as the very lowest estimate. All outgoing Mormons are taken to New York (from Liver- pool) by the steamers of the Guion Company, this company having conveyed the Saints for the last eighteen or twenty years. Among the batch of converts that left Liverpool on May ist last were fifteen natives of Iceland. As is probably well known, Liverpool is the headquarters of the Latter-day Saints in Great Britain. At the Mormon book- store located at 42, Islington (Liverpool), is published the Latter-day Saints Millennial Star, a monthly publication con- taining the chief items of news from Salt Lake City ; the re- ports of conferences held from time to time in Great Britain and elsewhere ; directions to intending emigrants, etc. Elder Albert Carrington is the present Jeader of the British mission. There were 109,218 Mormons in Utah in the spring of 1878. Of this number, 33,661 were children under eight years of age. Only those over that age are considered 230 Through America. members of the Church, so that the number of Church mem- bers in the Territory was 75,557- Of this latter number, 23,002 were office-holders, or two out of every six ! This naturally takes in every specially bright and intelligent man in the community, besides serving as a bribe in the case of any who might be disposed to be independent. Returning to the annual report already referred to, the tithing receipts in 1879 reached 9i,666/. 12s. To the Temple (Salt Lake City) fund, 12477. i$s. was contributed, and 28,8o6/. 3-y. 6d. was expended on the work of that building ! President Taylor and the bishops received 67757. gs. 3^., and, in addition to this, Taylor "took" 44667. as his salary as " trustee-in-trust " ( ? chancellor of the exchequer). There was 56897. is. lid. spent on the work of the new Assembly Hall or winter tabernacle in Salt Lake City, and as we have seen above 990^ 9^. 8d. (in addition) on the organ with which that building has been furnished : 44,701 7. is. 2d., besides, was spent on erecting new temples in three towns in the Territory, namely at Manti, Logan, and St. George. There was 38007. given away to the poor, and over i6oo7. appropriated to the Indians. The tithing-office salaries amounted in the aggregate to 30237. I2s. 4^7., and 7867. i6s. was expended in telegraphic despatches. There was 947. i6s. 6d. collected from unfortunate immigrants who had to camp out in the tithing yards in Brig- ham's Block. 4 The grand total receipts of the Church for 1879 amounted to 219,4067. 16^., a sum which represents a tax of i7. 19^. $d. upon every man, woman and child in Utah ! And where does all the money go to ? As the Mormon priesthood would say, it all goes to " the Lord." " The amount of money," says the Rev. Mr. McNiece, of Salt Lake City, " paid to the priesthood by the hard- working people during the last twenty years, through the Tithing fund, the Temple fund, the Perpetual Emigration fund, the Relief fund, and other funds which only a man possessed of inspired arithmetic could enumerate, cannot be estimated at less than ten million dollars." It is pleasant to turn from statistics such as these to those which can be afforded of the steady progress of Christian missionary work in Utah, as shown by the labours of the 4 See page 174. A Serious Aspect of Mormonism. 231 Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congrega- tionalists. Ten years ago there were only two public repre- sentatives of Christianity in the Territory, namely the two Episcopalian ministers, the Revs. T. W. Haskins, and G. W. Foote ; now the Christian forces in Utah amount to twenty- four church organizations, twenty-two ministers, twenty-five mission schools, fifty-four teachers, 250 pupils (with about the same number in Sunday schools), twenty-two churches and chapels ; and the total cost of buildings erected for church and school purposes has (in ten years) been I9,ooo/. The Presbyterians take the lead in the work of evangelization. They have ten church organizations in Utah, eight ministers, thirteen mission schools, eighteen teachers, 900 pupils, and nine churches or chapels. The Episcopalians come next with six church organizations, a bishop and five clergy, four mission schools, twenty-two teachers, 702 pupils, and five churches, with a cathedral (St. Mark's) in Salt Lake City which cost about io,ooo/. The Methodists and Congrega- tionalists are also doing a good work, joining hand in hand with the Presbyterians and Episcopalians in promoting the Christian reformation of the region. The churches and schools of these Protestant denominations are surely and gradually gaining ground and enlightening the masses, and as surely are they undermining the all-powerful influence of the priesthood. But in a Territory that is larger than England and Scotland put together, where there is already a population of nearly 112,000 unbelievers, whose ranks are being yearly increased by the addition of some ten or fifteen hundred, this little Christian army, fighting in the interests of civil and religious freedom, has a hard task before it, if it is to make any headway against the increasing tide of fanaticism and unbelief. What is sadly needed in Utah is more hands to help in the work of evangelization. And more sympathy in this work is required from the American people generally. More money, too, is needed, to establish a few free schools in the Territory. The leaders of the Latter-day Saints are naturally opposed to education the priesthood can only maintain its influence so long as its dupes are kept in a state of super- stition and ignorance. With all the money that comes pouring every year into the coffers of the Mormon Church 232 Through America. there have been no free schools established in Utah, which is an anomaly such as does not exist in any other State or Territory in the Union. "One thing there is," says Mr. McNiece, 5 "that Mormonism cannot endure, and that is the Light" Once get the people educated once bring home to them the sacred and eternal truths of the Gospel of Christ once convince them of the sensuality, the socially and morally degrading tendency of the doctrines of their religion, and refinement, self-respect, the realization of a higher intel- lectual and moral condition in life all this will follow ; and it is by planting schools in places where unbelief most abounds and inculcating the doctrines of Christianity in the minds of the children of the Latter-day Saints, that we can look for any success attending the praiseworthy efforts of the Christian missionaries of Utah. It may not be generally known that the Mormons are using what influence they can so as to procure the admission of Utah into the Union as a State. The^ reason of this is obvious. Polygamy could then be practised with impunity, for Utah, as a State, the Saints would give the new State the name of " Deseret," would have the management of its own affairs, and be altogether independent of Congressional legislation. The Territory could, and probably would, be admitted with a Constitution prohibiting polygamy ; or it could be admitted upon the express condition that polygamy should be abolished. But it would be quite possible for the Mormons to annul the Constitution as soon as the rights of Statedom had been conferred, and it is more than we can reasonably expect that they would give up their pet institution when it would be within their power to introduce a State law distinctly permitting it. The National Government, more- over, would be powerless to interfere in the internal affairs of the State when created. Polygamy would then be un- assailable, unless extreme measures were adopted, such as an amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting the institution. The danger that lies in the future may be seen by the following remarks of Mr. J. M. Coyner, an authority 5 I am indebted to this gentleman for the above interesting statistics relating to Christian missionary work in Utah, as well as for several other important and interesting facts contained in this and preceding chapters. A Serious A sped of Mormonism . 233 already referred to, who, writing to the Boston Educational Journal, says : " I am convinced that the plan of the hier- archy is to have Utah admitted as a State at the earliest opportunity This done Utah as a State, and with all the peculiarities of the Mormon Church engrafted on its State Constitution, such as its polygamy, its union of Church and State, its priesthood control two Senators and several Congressmen will be thus secured. Utah will then be divided into two States, with Salt Lake City for the northern capital, and St. George for the capital of the southern State. This accomplished, there will be four Senators. Then Idaho and Wyoming on the north, and Arizona on the south, will be so thoroughly colonized as to give the Mormons the balance of power in forming the State Governments of these Territories, so that they will undoubtedly ask for their admis- sion as Mormon States. New Mexico will follow suit, making six Mormon States, which, when settled by this Mormon foreign emigration, can be carved into half-a-dozen more. Every influence that money and bargaining can command will be used to have Utah admitted as a State. The parties are now so equally balanced that a bribe of two Senators and several Congressmen, in the present condition of party morals, with the prospect of an increase of Senators and Congressmen as more Mormon States are admitted, may turn the scales of justice Every Mormon is taught that his Church will ultimately overcome not only our own Government, but that all nations will become subject to the Mormon hierarchy ; and unless something is done to check the progress of this sentiment by the strong hand of Government, there is serious trouble ahead of us." But the Latter-day Saints can hardly be said to have merited such an extension of favours from the Federal Government if one may be allowed to judge by some of the utterances that are made by prominent Mormons in public, or through the medium of their official church organ, the Deseret News. Declarations not only dreadfully profane, but treasonable, are frequently made by members of the Mormon hierarchy. "What do we care for the Government of the United States ? " said Brigham Young "Junior " (the deceased Prophet's second s'on), one of the twelve apostles, in Salt 234 Through America. Lake City on November 17, 1878. "If I had my way," he continued, " I would say to every Gentile in this city and Territory, You get out of here, or take the consequences ! and it is coming to this." 6 It was to the advantage of the Mormons that they should give the late President of the United States " a warm welcome " when he paid a visit to Salt Lake City on his way to San Francisco on the 5th of last September (1880), escorting him from Ogden in a special train, 7 and pre- senting Mrs. Hayes with "a fine bouquet of flowers." It would not have been good policy on their part to have acted otherwise. And yet this manifestation of loyalty scarcely harmonizes with the following atrocious statement of Elder Wilford Woodruff, also one of the twelve apostles, which he made in the course of an encyclical letter (addressed to the Mormon Church) published in the Deseret News of April i, 1879, a copy of which letter lies before me as I write, where he says : " As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I will not desert my wives and children and disobey the com- mandments of God for the sake of accommodating the public clamor of a nation steeped in sin and ripened for the damna- tion of hell ! " Again, in the same paper, on August 8, 1 879, the following passage occurs in the course of an article severely attacking the Federal Government : " We settled in these quiet vales to serve God and build up Zion, and by His help we will do it, and we see no reason why we should bow our necks to the yoke and submit to be smitten and spit upon by the vile and despicable crew who have provoked one small act of retaliation, which, if they do not desist, will be the first drop of the drenching shower to come." Other 6 Letters on Mormonism, by J. M. Coyner. ' The special train which conveyed President Hayes back to Ogden, at the conclusion of his official visit to Salt Lake City, was under the per- sonal superintendence of Bishop (Mormon) John Sharp, the president of the Utah Central Railway Company. (The Mormons constructed the railway between Salt Lake City and Ogden.) Bishop Sharp is also one of the directors of the Union Pacific Railway, and the president of the Utah Southern Railway Company. He was a Scotch coal-miner, and is generally known among the Mormons and Gentiles in Utah as "the smartest man in the Church." Mr. Sharp rejoices in the possession of three wives at least that was the number at the beginning of last May, as I was informed by letter from Salt Lake City. A Serious Aspect of Mormonism. 235 statements, equally gross, might be cited. But I think that the three instances I have given are sufficient. If the reader is shocked as well indeed he might be at expressions such as these emanating from the leaders of the Latter-day Saints, with what increased feelings of horror and disgust would he be filled were he informed of the nature of the secret ceremonies attending the marriages of Mormon men and women in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City ! I cannot expose the scandalous proceedings which accompany these ceremonies, they are far too shock- ing to print, although I happen to be in possession of a full report of them, which has been forwarded me this year from Salt Lake City by a young victimized English lady ; indeed, a sufficient exposure of the proceedings alluded to has already been laid before the public. 8 But there is one feature in the Endowment House ceremonies which ought, I think, to be noticed here, and that is the treasonable oath which every Mormon whether man or woman has to swear who is about to enter the marriage state. Every Mormon must swear that he (or she) will "obey the laws of the Mormon Church in preference to those of the United States !" There is a terrible penalty attached for revealing this secret oath. It is that you will have your throat cut from ear to ear, and your tongue torn from your mouth. The sign of the penalty is " drawing the hand with the thumb pointing towards the throat sharply across and bringing the arm to the level of the square, and with the hand upraised to heaven, swearing to abide the same." No public record is kept of the Mormon marriages which are celebrated in the Endowment House. No marriage cer- tificates are given, and, in some cases, where, for instance, the woman is inclined to be perverse, no witnesses are allowed to be present. " If occasion requires it," writes my fair correspondent (previously alluded to) from Salt Lake City, " and it is to shield any of their polygamous brethren from being found out, they (i.e. the Mormon priesthood) will positively swear that they did not perform any marriage at all, so that the women in this Church have but a very poor outlook for being considered honorable wives." 8 See An Englishwoman in Utah, by Mrs. T. B. H. Stenhouse. 236 Through America. The interests of religion and morality demand that the power of the Mormon Church should be restrained at once. Mormonism has now flourished for fifty years flourished through dire affliction and persecution flourished in peace and tranquillity until it has become a power not merely of importance to our Transatlantic friends, but one in which we as Englishmen are, or ought to be, as much concerned as are the people of the United States. It does not redound to the credit of Old England that she should allow such a scandalous institution as this to be fostered and strengthened by the proselytism of so many of her sons. Is it too much to hope that something will be done to put a stop to the evil ? THE MORMON TABERNACLE. (Seepage 166.) 237 CHAPTER XII. WESTWARD TO SAN FRANCISCO. Further westward A run through the Salt Lake Valley to Ogden A warm spring lake Mormon husbandry Successful agriculture Ogden An uproarious greeting Choice of three dinners Scarcity of berths Leaving Ogden Brigham City "Gentile" Corinne Promontory Point The "great railroad wedding " A word for the poor Indian The way he is treated Census of the Indians A wash and a breakfast at Elko The American Desert" All aboard, all aboard ! "A rush for the cars Battle Mountain Winnemucca The " noble red man " An oasis in the desert Peaceful reflections On the rampage again Junction for Virginia City The wonderful mines of the Comstock lode Ascending the Sierra A twenty-eight mile snow-shed 7017 feet above the sea Californian mining names Quartz mining and placer mining Rounding Cape Horn A run down into California Sacra- mento I become an object of attraction A word about English tourists The State Capitol of California At the Oakland wharf On board the ferry San Francisco. ON June n, 1878, we left Salt Lake City for San Francisco, California, a distance of 920 miles. Between the Mormon metropolis and Ogden, where we rejoined the Pacific Railroad, the line runs for some distance close to the Great Salt Lake. On the way we passed a warm spring lake, of about a mile in length, whose waters ap- proached so close to the railway that they almost washed the metals as the train sped along. This lake is only separated from the Salt Lake by a thin strip of land. The beach and flats about the Salt Lake are encrusted with alkali, which renders the earth barren, and vegetation, it would seem, entirely out of the question ; but such is not the case. Mormon settlements are scattered over this "desert," and signs of careful husbandry around neat homesteads are 238 Jlirough America. seen by the traveller as he journeys along. Though the soil was at one time so alkaline as to hinder the growth of trees and plants, and to be a bar to all attempts at vegetation, it has been watered and brought under such an excellent system of irrigation by the Mormon settlers, that the alkali of soda or potash has been completely washed out, and thus the country has been made fertile and productive. Sage- brush, indeed, prevails everywhere, covering the mountain slopes and plains beneath, springing up naturally where no other plant can be induced to grow. But, as I have observed, where the Mormons have settled they have irri- gated and prepared the land, and turned it to the best account, have successfully planted and cultivated it and this is about the only good word that can be said on behalf of the " People of the Lord." * Along the beach there are in places thick, white layers of pure salt, the result of the evapo- ration of the water which has been washed up and has after- wards receded. 1 In 1879 I received an invitation from a Mormon to look over his farm at Wood's Cross, distant about eight miles from Salt Lake City, on the Utah Central Railroad. The following facts which he stated to me concerning the produce from his land will show what can be done in this desert valley by the application of labour and intelligence granted the possession of some capital to make a start with. His farm, which borders on the Great Salt Lake, comprises ninety-eight acres, or sixty-eight acres more than the average-sized farm in Utah ; and he has irrigated it with forty streams diverted from the neighbouring mountains. He had been most successful with wheat, Indian corn, barley, and oats. Fifty bushels of wheat to the acre he considered a very fair (!) crop ; but he had also raised as much as sixty bushels of wheat to the acre, also one hundred bushels of oats and fifty bushels of Indian corn. He told me that seventy-five to eighty bushels of oats per acre were regularly raised in the valley. He had raised thirty tons of beets and carrots to the acre, and once he raised a beet weighing thirty-six pounds, and sold 200,000 Ibs. of carrots at 6s. per 100 Ibs. Fourteen hundred bushels of carrots on four acres of land have been raised in the valley; but the average crop per acre is 250 bushels. He possessed a roadside fence of sixty-eight rods in length literally bowed to the ground with peaches, plums, pears, mulberries, etc., and this fence alone paid his annual taxes (territorial, county, and local), which amounted altogether to I2/. His tithe to the Church which he paid in for 1878 amounted in value to 58/. out of the yield from his farm, and included butter, eggs, corn, vegetables, fruit, etc. a tenth in fact of everything raised on the premises. Westward to San Francisco. 239 After a run of thirty-seven miles, over ground we had already traversed, a distance which we managed to ac- complish in two hours, stopping at four little stations on the way, we reached Ogden, and had to change from the cars of the Utah Central Railroad into those of the Central Pacific. Ogden, named after an old trapper who used to live in the neighbourhood, is a town of about 6000 inhabi- tants, is chiefly Mormon, and is the second town in point of importance in the Territory of Utah. Gentiles are fast pouring into the place> and the Mormons themselves are gradually getting " freezed out." Its streets are wide and regularly laid out, and have streams of pure water flowing at the sides, after the manner of Salt Lake City. Three times are kept here Ogden proper, Laramie, and San Fran- cisco times. The San Francisco time is I hr. 16 min. slower than Ogden, and the Ogden time is 30 min. slower than Laramie. On reaching the station, we were received by such a clang- ing and banging and booming of gongs, together with such an uproarious and confused babel of voices from a number ot excited individuals directly we stepped out of the train on to the platform, that it looked as if we had come to a place where everyone had taken leave of his senses. What did it all mean ? In one word, it meant dinner. Yes, dinner it was, dinner and supper combined, and this is how the hour of the meal was proclaimed. There are four or five insignificant- looking little inns hard by the Ogden station, and the " runners" of these hotelleries, each armed with a big gong, came forth with their satellites upon the arrival of our train, and made the most of such a windfall by intimating through the media of their gongs and their lungs how pleased they would be to see us inside their respective inns, where dinner was ready cooked and waiting for us, and how they would see us " fixed " for the meal with the smallest of amounts. Three out of the four or five came and pressed them- selves on myself and my friend they left off banging about their gongs and commenced vociferously haranguing us. As we had a couple of hours to wait before our train was due to leave for San Francisco, we began to turn a favourable ear to their vehement declarations; but so passionately did they 240 Through America. address us, and so violently did they abuse one another, call- ing each other by the very choicest of American epithets in their anxiety to conclude with us a bargain which would at the same time be the most agreeable to themselves, that I thought more than once there was going to be a free fight. They called me "boss," and my friend they called "cap'n." 2 Hitherto I had generally been known as "colonel/' particu- larly among the negroes. I rather approved of being called by this latter appellation. " To call a man ' colonel,' " says the Philadelphia Post, " is to convey the idea that he is of a mild, meek, and benevolent disposition." But to return to these hotel touts. One of them promised us each a " clean " meal for the sum of seventy-five cents ; another promised us one for fifteen cents less, and offered to get, in addition, some young ladies to wait upon us. A third promised us a fifty- cent dinner, young ladies to wait, and a good bottle of wine besides all to be included in the bargain. It is needless to observe that we closed immediately with this last-mentioned offer. Dinner over, upon which no comment need be made, except that it was served half cold, and what was served was half cooked, we returned to the station to see about securing a section in a sleeping-car, that we might be conveyed with ease and comfort to the far-distant end of our journey. But, as might have been expected, it was too late for us now to secure any berths. We ought to have made sure of these 2 To be called "boss,'' "captain," "judge' 5 (pronounced jidge) or " colonel " by the people you meet when you are travelling in the United States, is all very well, and you appreciate the good feeling that prompts the extension of such well-meaning compliments. But it is another matter altogether, indeed it is beyond a joke, when a letter comes ad- dressed to you with some " bogus " title appended to your name on the envelope, or when the newspapers take you up and proclaim your name with a like spurious title attached to it, thereby causing you to become a laughing-stock to your friends, making you feel anything rather than "elevated." During my visit to the United States in 1879, I was twice dubbed a " Right Hon." (by letter), thrice was I knighted (in the news- papers), and once I was addressed (by letter) as " colonel." To give one instance, In the arrival-list of guests staying at the Massasoit House, Narragansett Pier (a seaside resort on Rhode Island) on August 10, 1879, I found myself figuring prominently as "The Right Honorable," etc. etc. Westward to San Francisco. 241 before we left Salt Lake City. None were now to be had all had been taken long ago. As it v/as, the Ogden station office for berth tickets was literally besieged with travellers, all anxious like ourselves to reach California com- fortably, and everyone had to be similarly refused. So the prospect was before us of having to make the best of the situation for two nights in an ordinary car, where not only OGDEN. would there be no berths, nor indeed any proper accommoda- tion for those who wished to have a comfortable sleep on the way ; but no provision of lavatories, such as are in the parlour and sleeping-cars. Ogden is finely situated, and as we pass out of the station for our run of 883 miles to the capital of the Pacific coast, mountains tower up grandly before us on our right and R 242 Through America. behind the town at our rear. We have now entered upon the second division of the Pacific Railroad. Passing through a mountainous country, we come, in sixteen miles to Brigham " City," named after the late President of the Latter-day Saints. It is but an insignificant little Mormon settlement, where the " Church of Christ" is allowed to have full swing, for no " ungodly Gentiles " care to take the trouble to come here and set up their standard against it. We now pass into a flat, desert region, and come within sight of the eastern of the two northern arms of the Great Salt Lake. We run first in a north-easterly direction, and then gradually curve round these two northern branches, keeping the lake m view, off and on, for seventy-four miles till reach- ing the settlement of Kelton, where we lose sight of it. But we must not omit to take a glance at the next settlement we come to after Brigham, six miles beyond. It is called Corinne a very pretty name, and so indeed it ought to be, for here the Mormons are entirely " freezed out." No members of " Christ's Church " are allowed to have any voice in the counsels of this community. Corinne is the only town in the Territory where the Mormons do not preponderate. Its population is about 1500. Distant seven miles from the Great Salt Lake, a steamer used to ply between it and Lake Point, touching also at Black Rock. But the boat could not have paid very well, for it has now ceased running. Twenty-nine miles beyond Corinne we pass a spot which is historically the most interesting on the whole of the overland route. It is Promontory Point, a headland jutting out into the Great Salt Lake, 1084 miles from Omaha and 832 from San Francisco. It was here that the two companies which engineered the Pacific Railroad the one (the Central Pacific) commencing in California, the other (the Union Pacific) com- mencing in Nebraska met and joined their lines, the Central Company having laid 692 miles of rail from Sacramento, the Union Company 1084 miles from Omaha.' By an arrange- ment subsequently made, the Union Company gave up to the Central fifty-one miles of the portion they had laid, namely that between Ogden and Promontory Point, and again, in the same year (1869) which saw the union of the two lines, the Central Company purchased from the Western Pacific Com- Westward to San Francisco. 243 pany the 140 miles of rail which connected Sacramento with San Francisco. Thus we see how the length of the Union Pacific Railroad (from Omaha to Ogden) came to be 1033 miles, and the Central Pacific (from Ogden to San Francisco) 883 miles. This " great railroad wedding," as the union of the two lines has been termed, was celebrated with all the pomp and ceremony which the importance of the occasion demanded. Representatives from the principal cities of North America were present, and the ceremony of " driving the last spike " was performed by Governor Leland Stanford with a hammer made of solid silver, to the handle of which were attached telegraph wires that flashed, as he tapped the head of the gold spike, the news of the completion of the railway to San Francisco, New York, Boston, Washington, New Orleans, etc. We were fast asleep when we passed Kelton, the nearest station on our journey to the present advanced scalping- ground of the Indian, where the detachment of fifteen had been sent from Fort Douglas, Salt Lake City, to look after the interests of the terrified population of the settlement. But almost the first thing we saw the next morning (June I2th) when we awoke was a camp of wigwams pitched close together in a meadow a few hundred yards distant on our left. We applied our field-glasses and gazed at them eagerly. The Indians have curious terms for the telegraph wire, and the railway train with its cars or carriages. They call the former the "whispering spirit," and the latter "bad 'medicine' (i. e. mystery) waggons." I would here say a word on behalf of the poor Indian. We see him begging at the railway stations, looking dejected, miserable, dirty, and half-starved but can we wonder at see- ing him in this pitiable condition when we read of the way he is treated, and of the humiliations he has to endure at the hands of his pale-face masters ? Driven from home, he has had to flee in the face of advancing civilization nay, more than this. In Canada the Indian can truly say, This is all I have to complain of; but with the Indian of the United States the case is very different. Indians are not considered as " per- sons " in the eye of the American law. They are mere dogs ; or at best "red imps, drunkards, and murderers of decent white R 2 244 Through America. men." Treaties can be made with them and can be broken at will. From the time that he first surrendered his roving hunting-ground to the American white man, and received in exchange for it a circumscribed tract of territory, in some cases utterly unsuited to his disposition and habits of life, the poor Indian has had to submit to a course of cruelty and rapine, injustice and deceit, the whole history of the American's dealings with him reveals the same sad story of molestation and barbarism, for, given these new lands to occupy, he has not been allowed to live and dwell in them peaceably; either he has been swindled out of them and forced to give them up and to " move on " elsewhere, take the case of the Ponca tribe, for instance, or else his allotted reservation has been encroached upon by mining " pros- pectors " or by settlers or others who have no business on his reservation at all. " The Utes must go," comes the bitter cry from Colorado ; and why ? Because the reservation that this tribe occupies has been found to contain mineral wealth, which the white man must have, and which the Indian has no right in keeping him from having ; and so an organization has been started in Denver for the purpose of expelling the Utes from the Centennial State, in order that the white man may search for the gold and silver without being molested. 3 Other trfbes have as much ground for complaint as the Ute tribe in Colorado. Ought we then to feel surprised when we hear of the Indian raising the war-whoop against his pale-face aggressors ? If the Indians were allowed to live upon their reservations in peace and quietness, we should, I fancy, hear less about Indian wars, massacres of white men, ambuscades, murder, and bloodshed : but something more than this is needed. Let the Americans increase their army by 50,000 it would then number but 75,000 and strengthen the military posts on 3 " We do not want to fight the Indians/' says a Coloradan pros- pector, u but we will do it in preference to being deprived of the privilege of prospecting a country which we are entitled to We mean to go on that reservation and ascertain for ourselves what there is there. We know that there is an abundance of mineral, and believe it to be rich. Whether it is or not, we consider we have at least as good a right as the ndians." New York Herald, Feb. 6, 1880. Westward to San Francisco. 245 the reservations of the wild and savage tribes, adding a few 'more of these posts, so as to overawe those Indians that are inclined to be troublesome. Not that the Indian cannot be civilized. With humane and just treatment he is capable not only of being won over to civilization from his wild and nomadic mode of life, but to Christianity as well, as we see is already the case with several of the tribes in the United States and Canada. (The Sioux tribe, for instance, which numbers about 40,000, have 8000 Christian members.) But, given his reservation, he should be left to live on it without being unduly interfered with, such as by compelling him to take to farming, with the object of rendering him self-supporting, for an experiment like this, if repeated, might result in another Milk Creek disaster. 4 According to the census of 1870, there were 383,712 Indians in the United States, 96,366 of this number living on reservations and at agencies. The total number of Indians in the United States this year (according to the report of the Indian Bureau) is 256,000, all of them, with the excep- tion of 18,000, being more or less under the control of the Government agents. There are about 7000 of their children in attendance at school. At 8.30 a.m. we reach Elko, 274 miles from Ogden and 609 from San Francisco ; altitude, 5065 feet. Elko is an " eating- station," and we turn out to have breakfast. A gong as usual proclaims loudly that the feast is quite ready, and we ash out of the train ahead of everybody past the gong-man into not the meal-room, first of all, for we have our toilets to attend to after such a night as we have been obliged to put up with ; but into a little room whither instinct leads us, where we find six leaden bowls filled with water standing in a trough containing 4 Two reasons have been assigned for the Ute outbreak at Milk Creek, Colorado, on the 2Qth of September, 1879, which culminated in the massacre of Major Thornburgh, of the Fourth United States Infantry, and twelve of his men. One reason was the invasion of a gang of miners into the reservation and the refusal of the Government agent to grant any redress for the intrusion ; the other was that the agent insisted on the Indians cultivating their land, and, upon their refusing to do so, very considerately undertaking to plough up their land for them. The latter theory has been the one generally accepted. 246 Through America. a sink, where there is also a piece of soap to wash with, and a long clean towel suspended on high from a wooden reel. We perform our ablutions and make ourselves clean and tidy before venturing into the meal-room. But everything had to be done in a hurry, for we had only twenty minutes allowed us before our journey would have to be resumed. So when we are " through " with our ablutions we hurriedly seek the meal-room, which the uproarious clatter of knives and forks ELKO. renders not very difficult to find. Politely conducted to some vacant seats by a womanish-looking Chinaman, we indulge in a repast that might be called sumptuous con- sidering our position on the American continent, and pay a dollar for it. All the waiters here are Chinese, their pigtails coiled up round the backs of their heads, as the manner of some is. The Chinese, as waiters, are very brisk and atten- tive. Their style of pronouncing the English language seem*? at first to you rather strange, for they will add on "ee" Westward to San Francisco. 247 co a number of their words, and, besides, will call you a " Melican man " before you are aware of it. At Elko we are 280 miles within the State of Nevada. Utah Territory we quitted soon after leaving Kelton, crossing the boundary-line at 1.30 a.m. We have now 340 miles to cover before we enter California. It is needless to ascertain what we have missed seeing during the night, for we have been traversing nothing but desolate alkaline plains for the last 150 miles. We have, in truth, been crossing that dreary barren plateau known as the American Desert. It was lucky we were asleep during our journey across the desert. The white salinous dust brushed up by the train came sweeping in at the doors of the car intermittently opened during the night, and completely covered us, curled up though we were on the two seats of our section like a couple of dormice, with handkerchiefs tied round our necks and a rug thrown over us, making shift as best we could under the unpleasant circum- stances in which we were unfortunately placed. Vegetation there is none in this dreary desert, except a meagre sprink- ling of sage-brush. Water, too, is at a discount, for you would not find it even were you to dig for it ever so deep. The American Desert was once probably occupied by the waters of the Great Salt Lake. Early explorers have testified to the existence of immense sheets of solid salt extending over its surface, and the proximity of such a large body of salt water as the Great Salt Lake renders the theory all the more probable. " All aboard, all aboard !" Hark ! what is that ? It is the warning of the conductor that we must be up and away. There goes the engine bell, too ! So we leap up in the middle of our breakfast, though we have only half finished, and the first thing we do is to run straight into two " heathen Chinese," and nearly bowl them over, so great is our anxiety not to be left behind. The Celestials take it quite as a matter of course, they are rather used, poor fellows ! to being knocked and pushed about like this, and seem not the least surprised. Perhaps they do not understand the apology we hurriedly make ; but we cannot do more, for the train is already on the move. Some Shoshone squaws, or bucks, I don't know which, are squatting on the platform, 248 Through America. begging ; but we can only just glance at them as we rush quickly by, for as it is we have to run for it. If we miss the train now we shall have to wait till this time to-morrow for the next one. Halting at seven unimportant stations, we come, in eighty- four miles, to Battle Mountain, a town so named from an en- gagement which took place some time ago on an eminence three miles distant from the railway, between the settlers and the Indians, when the latter had as many as ill killed. The altitude of this place is 4508 feet. We arrive at 12.50 p.m., and wait half an hour. Meanwhile we have dinner, and Chinamen to serve us. Leaving Battle Moun- tain we continue to pass over a desolate sage-brush flat, and in seventy miles, after letting the eastern overland train pass us on a short side track, which has been given the name of Coin, we reach a place bearing the curious name of Winnemucca, which is the name of an old Puite warrior who is still (1880) alive, and who takes the side of the pale- faces in the present struggle. In the language of the tribe, Winnemucca means "chief" being equivalent, I should say, to the American word "boss." There are more Indians begging on the platform, two groups of them this time, one group consisting of four men, the other one of ten squaws, the latter all squatting together in a corner by themselves, In- dian women never eat in company with the men, eating something which appeared to us to be dried meat ; whereas the four men boarded the cars the moment the train came to a standstill, and began asking us for " dimes." One word here as to the colour of the Indian. The " noble red man " is not red. He is a kind of copper colour, a sort of dusky, dirty brown, and such is his colour all over the country. Leaving Winnemucca, we proceed forty- one miles further, and at 5.25 p.m. reach Humboldt, called " an oasis in the desert," as we shall see in a moment. The distance from San Francisco is 424 miles; our height, 4234 feet. We stop half an hour and have " supper." Humboldt is rightly called an oasis in the desert, for here we are in the middle of the Great Nevada Desert, and far away around us there extends an unbroken sea of desolate waste, backed up by cold, bleak-looking mountains ; while here, round Westward to San Francisco. 2 4.9 about the station hotel, is a sight which is at once refreshing to the traveller an agreeable relief after the dull monotony of the last twenty-four hours. Here are fruit-trees in abundance, and an ornamental shrubbery. Here is grass as green as ever it was, and a garden of flowers tastefully laid out. A fountain plays in front of the hotel, close by the side of the line, and gold and silver fish swim about in the tank from which the fountain springs. Nestled in an apple-orchard at the far end of the platform is a pond, and geese are upon it. Look around and beyond this oasis and contemplate the deso- lation with which we are surrounded ! In such a place as this, far away from everybody, thousands of miles from home, all so quiet around, you give way to reflection and your thoughts travel back to Old England, and you wonder well, never mind now, for listen ! " All aboard, all aboard ! " There's that conductor at it again. Time's up, and we must be away. Immediately all is bustle and confusion, and a rush is made for the cars. We leave off looking at the pretty fish in the water-tank, and withdraw from the orchard with its pond and its geese. With a clanging of the bell, and a vigorous puffing of black smoke from the huge wine-strainer-shaped funnel of our engine, we advance further into the desert, but every mile nearer the Golden City in eight hours we shall be in California, in twelve at San Francisco ! A ride of thirty-one miles brings us, in 2\ hours, to White Plains, and, as its name might suggest, nothing can be seen for miles and miles around but a white, alkali waste. This station is 3894 feet above the sea-level, so that we have descended from Humboldt 340 miles, or rather 2290 feet in 322 miles from a place called Pequoq, 192 miles from Ogden, and the highest elevation on the Central Pacific Railroad east of the Sierra. But at White Plains we have reached the lowest elevation between Ogden and the Sierra, and from this station we begin again tp ascend. The heat here is something fearful. Humboldt, with an elevation of 4234 feet, was one of the hottest places I ever was in. Fifty miles further, at Wadsvvorth, we begin to ascend the Sierra Nevada (Snowy Range) Mountains. We also come across here for the first time a few trees growing in their natural state, the first we have seen for many a long and 250 Through America. weary hour. It was a relief to look upon a respectable-sized plant once more. Every mile now we find the timber be- coming more and more plentiful, and soon we are ascending through ravines densely clothed with magnificent forests of pine. At midnight we stop at a station which is an important one for one especial reason : it is Reno, the junction for one of the most celebrated mining regions in the world. A railway connects it with Virginia City, twenty-one miles dis- tant, though fifty-two miles by rail, and at Virginia City are the wonderful silver-mines of the Comstock lode. Here are the famous Ophir, Gould and Curry, Savage, Hale and Norcross, Crown Point, Belcher (this the deepest mine in the United States, reaching a perpendicular depth of 3000 feet], Kentuck, Yellow Jacket, and Chollar Potosi mines. Virginia City, with a population of 20,000, and another mining town called Gold Hill, are both of them built on the top of the Comstock lode. This immense vein was discovered in the year 1859, eleven years after the discovery of gold in Cali- fornia, gold having been found two years previously in the neighbourhood of Gold Hill ; hence the name given to that locality. The yield from this wonderful lode since 1859 is unprecedented in the history of all mining achievements. Whether or not it will continue to produce its prodigious amount of bullion every year is a question which the Fates must be left alone to determine. But it seems, from recent official returns, to have begun to swallow more money than it yields, for in 1878 the yield amounted to $21,295,043, whereas in 1879 ^ was on ly $8,830,562, a decrease of $12,464,481. The working expenses, for 1879 came to $11,404,400,50 that a deficit was incurred for that year of $2,573,838, or say 514,7677. sterling. 5 Reno is 4507 feet above the sea, and distant 294 miles from San Francisco. Leaving Reno, we proceed along the bank of the Truckee River, and in the next nine miles rise 422 feet. We have determined to have no sleep to-night, but by the light of a full moon and of myriads of bright stars 6 The gross yield of precious metals in Nevada during the years 1878 and 1879 respectively, was $47,676,863 and $21,997,714; in Cali- fornia, $20,134,068 and $18,190,9731 and in Colorado, $9,820,774 and $19,110,882. Westward to San Francisco. 251 overhead, watch our progress as we wind up the beautiful canons of the Sierra. Up we go, puffing and blowing away in fine style. We have two engines now, and their puffs are so strong and loud, so slow and yet so irregular, that there is no need to turn to " official guide-books " to tell us that we are ascending the Sierra in right earnest. We have yet to mount 2510 feet from Reno, and in forty-nine miles. In eleven miles, between Reno and Verdi, we ascend 420 feet, and again, in the succeeding fifteen miles, between Verdi and Boca, we ascend 606 feet. Before reaching Boca we pass out of Nevada into California. Still ascending through wild, precipitous ravines, the air becoming colder every mile as we rise, from Boca we come to Truckee, mounting 313 feet in nine miles. A grand view is obtained from this station a panorama never to be forgotten. Snow-clad peaks rise from two to three thousand feet above us, springing from lovely forests of pine. As we stand on the steps of the hindmost car and look back upon the pano- rama we are leaving behind, the sun, which has just risen, it is now four o'clock in the morning, catches the tops of these peaks and gilds them with a soft pink glow, adding an inex- pressible charm to the sublimity of the scene. But our enjoyment is of brief duration. Our contempla- tion of the wonders of Nature is very suddenly cut short. Before we have advanced seven miles beyond Truckee we rush straight into a twenty-eight mile snow-shed ! And a series of similar galleries, the breaks between each so brief as to be hardly noticeable, are built along this portion of the route for more than forty miles. These massive timber gal- leries are constructed along the flanks of the mountains, the uprights being huge solid pine-trunks of from sixteen to twenty inches in diameter. It is not in summer that the use of these sheds is required ; but in winter, when snow-storms are often encountered, and when avalanches come crushing down from the heights overhead. It is said that in winter the snow lies on these galleries to a depth of twenty feet. So for many miles we have to put up with short, twinkling snatches of the lovely scenery for which this part of the route is famous, as we flit past the narrow openings in the wood-work of our shed, and the overwhelming smoke contributed by the 252 Through America. combined efforts of our two engines certainly does not render the views in the distance any the more distinctive or attrac- tive. However, there is no help for it, so we have to wait till the sheds are passed. Fourteen miles beyond Truckee we reach the station of Summit (in a snow-shed), the highest elevation on the Cen- tral division of the Pacific Railroad, 7017 feet above the sea, or 1225 feet less than the elevation we attained at Sherman on the Rocky Mountains. We are now 245 miles from San Francisco. Snow lies all around us, and it is piercingly cold. Here the writer in a certain illustrated overland guide- book, which has for its frontispiece a picture of " Utah's best crop," is unable any longer to restrain his enthusiasm now that he has at last brought his readers to this " Summit of the Sierras." He looks around (from a snow- shed, remember) and Contemplates the age of the "scat- tering groups of hardy fir and spruce" that grow in the vicinity of Summit station, and tells us that "they have lain, evidently, since Adam was a very small boy, or the tree sprouted from which our apple-loving ancestor, Eve, plucked that bedeviled fruit ! " From Summit the descent is rapid, for in the next thirty- eight miles we run down 3714 feet. We then reach Dutch Flat ; height, 3303 feet ; distance from San Francisco, 207 miles; time, 6.17 a.m. Dutch Flat is a famous "placer" mining district, where " hydraulicking " by means of water conveyed from long distances in " flumes " is carried on to a considerable extent. The country about here looks as if it had been suffering from convulsion, as if an earthquake had been felt in the locality, for miles of forest have been swept away, the ground has been bared, upturned, rent, and torn ; everything lies in a state of confusion as if, I repeat, some great convulsion of Nature had suddenly overtaken the neighbourhood. But the fact is, Nature has had to give way before the violent efforts of man, in his eager desire to gain possession of the coveted treasure that lies hidden beneath the soil. And in like manner is the country denuded around every little mining settlement in this lively region. Gold Run, another mining town, is next passed; and some distance away on our right can be seen the villages of You Bet, Red Westivard to San Francisco. 253 Dog, etc. You Bet, by-the-way, takes its name from an Americanism equivalent to our forcible expression " Rather ! " or, " I should think so ! " If you ask a man out West whether he likes whisky, he will immediately exclaim " You bet ! "in a manner there is no mistaking. This and Red Dog are nothing to some of the choice and elegant names that are given to mining localities in this part of the world. Chucklehead Diggings, Gospel Gulch, Ground Hog's Glory, Gridiron Bar, Greaser's Camp, Chicken Thief Flat, Shirt-Tail Canon, Petticoat Slide, and Blue Belly Ravine, are among the most select that might be quoted. " When Americans strike new mines," says the New York Herald, " they do not sit up all night to find a fancy name for the new town. They take the first homely one that is thought of." Gold-mining in the Western States is classed under two heads, placer and quartz. In placer mining the ore is found in alluvial deposits of gravel, sand, or clay, where it can some- times be obtained by means of the simplest appliances ; in quartz mining, however, the ore runs in lodes or veins of solid rock, when operations have to be carried on of considerable magnitude, and entailing great expense, such as sinking a shaft perhaps many hundred feet in depth, blasting the ore, extracting it and reducing the quartz to powder, etc. Placer mining prevails in California more extensively than quartz mining, whereas in Colorado the latter is by far the more important interest of the two. In the former process the " prospector " goes to work with merely his pickaxe, shovel, and pan, and so long as he is provided with plenty of water to wash away the earthy matter or " pay-dirt " in which the ore is imbedded, which he does in his pan (made of sheet- iron or tin) by dissolving all the grit or gravel till the particles of gold are distinguished, he has, it may be, everything requisite for his requirements. But sometimes, indeed in most cases, the precious metal has to be reached through immense masses of hard gravel, which would cause the prospector an endless amount of labour to remove did he not have resort to a more efficacious remedy than the mere pickaxe and shovel ; and so he brings hydraulic pressure into play to tear down the rocky obstruction, which method of reaching the ore now forms part and parcel of the process of placer mining. The 254 Through America. water for this purpose has often to be brought immense dis- tances, fifteen or twenty miles in some cases, and this has caused the construction of " flumes," or wooden canals which are built over the country on trestle-work, at a considerable height above the ground, sufficiently high so as not to be snowed up in winter, with a grade of about thirteen feet to the mile ; but iron pipes have to be used in the case of a deep depression to be crossed, such as a gap or ravine. The flume is carried to the top of the hill so that it just overlooks the " claim " or spot where the ore has been found, at a height of from fifty to perhaps 400 or 500 feet, and from this height is thrown a strong iron pipe down which the water pours with tremendous power, and is discharged against the gravel bank from a patent nozzle through an orifice from five to eight inches in diameter, whence it issues almost as a solid mass with, it is said, a force sometimes of 1300 Ibs. to the inch. By this means enormous excavations are made, and the " fields " have become studded with blocks, mounds and pinnacles left standing, thus presenting that torn and ragged appearance which the traveller notices when approaching these mining settlements of the Sierra Nevada. Between Gold Run and the next station, Colfax, is the sight par excellence on the whole Pacific Railroad. It is the view from Cape Horn over the American River Canon. The construction of the railway at this point constitutes one of the greatest engineering achievements in the country. In round- ing a precipitous bluff, the line is laid on the very edge of the cliff, and as you stand on the bottom step of the car and look over, you can see straight down into the gorge lying 2000 feet below. The line seems literally to cling to the mountain side. So inaccessible was the ledge over which it was intended to throw the railway, that the workmen had to be lowered down by ropes from the top of the cliff, at a great height above, in order that they might gain a foothold upon it. But glorious is the view that bursts upon us as we are rounding Cape Horn. Words are useless to convey an impression of it. Down into a deep gorge we look, down, far down beneath us. A silvery torrent is foaming at the bottom it is the American River, and we pass along the brink of the precipice over- looking it. Forest ranges rise one above the other for miles Westward to San Francisco. 255 and miles away, far away into California. Gorge after gorge can be traced winding their courses in the direction of the Pacific. This is but the bare outline of a sight that is inde- scribable. After rounding the Cape we cross a lovely ravine, called Rice's, by a trestle-work bridge 113 feet high and 878 feet long. Then we reach Colfax, where we stay twenty-five THE AMERICAN RIVER CANON. View from Cape Horn. minutes for breakfast. Several Chinamen, workmen on the line, are visible now, and the notices here and at the suc- ceeding stations are posted up in two languages, English and Chinese. Leaving Colfax, we continue to descend rapidly, and in twenty-three miles, on reaching Newcastle, find we have descended from Summit 6047 feet in seventy-four 256 Through America. miles. As we run down into California the scene completely changes. We leave the mountains behind us, and in their place we have rich cornfields, vineyards, orchards, orange- groves, fig-groves, and hay-fields in a land that knows not rain from March to November. We are now travelling fast through the Golden State. At eleven o'clock we reach Sacramento. It is the political capital of California, and has a population of about 23,000. San Francisco can be reached from this city either by rail, or by boat down the Sacramento River. The train waits twenty minutes, and I employ this interval in patronizing the buffet^ and being helped to all manner of good things by a " heathen Chinee." I happen to be wearing knickerbockers, and as they disclose a fine view of my calves, I soon discover that I am the object of considerable attention. A crowd assembles around me, and gazes in wonder at the remarkable cos- tume of the " Britisher." Perhaps my admirers had caught sight of some remarks about English tourists that appeared in this morning's San Francisco Chronicle^ which are, I think, worth quoting. They are contributed by a " special," and run as follows : " English tourists are easily known all the world over, rather, I think, from a capricious and various fancy in the article of travelling-hat than for any more marked peculiarity. A large number of them came over in the last Australian steamer, and every individual one has an individual style of head-gear. Some wear the shelterless Glengarry bonnet ; some a little round flexible cap ; and many of them various modifications of the Derby, with long, light veils draped thereon with studied carelessness. San Francisco is the first American city upon which many of them set foot, and they are continually amazed at the size, the bustle, and the civili- zation of a city so far upon the outposts of the known world. .... The passer-by has the full benefit of an Englishman's curbstone discourse. His lungs are always sound, his views are positive, and his self-possession is impregnable. He has a faint idea that the American language is as foreign as Greek or Italian, and the accompanying impression that all foreigners are slightly deaf. He gives his order at the table d'hote in a voice distinctly audible to everyone in the room. He looks at Westward to San Francisco. 257 the women as if they were a portion of Mme. Tussaud's exhibition. He is more careful of the convenances than when at home. But he is withal an exceedingly intelligent observer, and if he remains with us any length of time, carries away with him a very fair general impression." Sacramento possesses amongst its public buildings one of the finest in the Western States. This is the Capitol, where the State Legislature assembles. Its lofty metallic dome surmounted by twelve Corinthian pillars supporting a lesser dome, which is crowned with a bronze statue of California is a conspicuous object for several miles around. The city is laid out regularly in the usual right- angle American fashion. Those streets running north and south are numbered one, two, three, etc. ; those running east and west, A, B, C, etc. A very simple arrangement. Only 140 miles now before we reach the shores of the Pacific ! We take on two cars, and quit the Sacramento station with quite a trainful of passengers. As we thread our way through this the second city (though the capital) of California, we take note of the elegant villa residences of its citizens, covered as they are with vines, and standing in beau- tiful gardens bedecked with semi-tropical plants, approached by smooth grassy lawns that look indeed as if they were verily made for lawn-tennis and croquet. After leaving Sacramento, we run almost due south for forty-eight miles to Stockton. Orange-trees grow by the side of the line, and fig-trees take the form of little horse-chestnuts. Apple-orchards are abundant, and the country seems to be fairly populated. The air is deliciously fragrant. No ima- ginary odour is it that we are sensitive to, such as is only too- apt to be conceived and made the most of by two weary tra- vellers like ourselves upon their first arrival in this " Land of Setting Suns," as California has been peculiarly and dis- tinctively named. But it is an air rendered fragrant by the presence of flowers, by the scent from the hayfields as we pass through the midst of them, by the breeze from the ocean that is wafted up the valley. The sky above is a deep cloudless blue, the day is as fine as it can be. Our entry into the Golden Land could not be made under more favourable auspices. 258 Through America. Stockton we shall see more of when we return to it from San Francisco, as it is the point of departure for the groves of " Big" Trees and the Yosemite Valley ; so we will now pass it by. We come to Lathrop, next station to Stockton, and then turning nearly due west run so for sixty-two miles, across immense cornfields, as far as Niles, where we are thirty miles from San Francisco. Then we turn north-west and continue in this direction till reaching Oakland, which lies on the Bay of San Francisco. Oakland has a population of 48,000, and occupies the same position to San Francisco that Brooklyn or Jersey City does to New York. The Golden City is not reached by train (except from San Josd by the Southern Pacific Railroad), but, lying on a peninsula five miles across the bay, is approached from Oakland by means of a ferry, which conveys passengers and baggage, all except the train itself, over to the metropolis of the Pacific coast. 6 So, skirting Oakland, we make for the wharf, which lies at the end of a two-mile pier running out into the bay ; and on reaching the wharf, the termination of the Pacific Railroad, we transfer ourselves and belongings as quickly as we can on board the ferry, amid the bustle and com- motion of as cosmopolitan a crowd of people as is to be found in the Western Hemisphere. Mounting to the upper deck of our ferry-boat, it is a wooden two-decker we are in, painted white and called the " Oakland," we find our- selves in a large saloon decorated with paintings of the principal sights of this part of California, and a rich Turkey 6 A monster ferry-boat has now been built to convey the trains of the Central Pacific Railroad across the bay to San Francisco. She is called the " Solano," and her length is 424 feet, and her width 1 16 feet. Harper's Weekly Journal, of August 2, 1879, describing the boat, says : " She will have two vertical-beam engines and eight steel boilers (weighing twenty- one tons each), and four rudders at each end worked by hydraulic steering apparatus, operated by an independent steam-pump. The engines work independently, each moving one wheel. The boilers are placed upon the deck, to prevent escaping steam from rotting the wood. The hold is divided into eleven water-tight compartments, which render the boat less liable to sink, and also strengthen her. Four tracks will be placed upon her decks, which will accommodate forty-eight freight cars, or twenty-four passenger coaches. Her slips will be provided with aprons 100 feet in length, which will admit of cars being taken aboard without uncoupling from the engine." Westward to San Francisco. 259 carpet and cushioned sofas and ottomans take the place of the usual hard boards and benches. Below, on the lower deck, is the passengers' luggage, and vehicles of various descriptions carriages-and-pairs, market-carts, many horses, and two mules and a donkey. All is commotion above and below till we have weighed anchor, and then everyone begins to settle down and many ladies and gentlemen in the upper saloon to compose themselves and diligently study apricots, peaches and daily papers sold by three little boys. But who are LEAVING THE OAKLAND WHARF. San Francisco in the distance. those men searching about and asking questions among the passengers, wearing gold-banded caps and having an air of importance about them as if they were officers on board one of the Cunard steamships ? They are hackmen and hotel- runners touting for patrons, each for his respective master's hotel. " Palace Hotel, yer 'onor ? " said a fat, joyous- looking individual to me as I sat contemplating a Californian beauty on the other side of the saloon. I answered him in the affirmative. (There was no mistaking the man's nationality.) S 2 260 Through America. " Then give me your bhaggage checks, and, bedad, we shall be rhight glad to see ye," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder and gazing on me fondly, as a father does his son. " But first tell me where I can find a bird-stuffer to whom I can take all these birds to be skinned," I replied, showing him the contents of a satchel I wore they were some birds I had shot at Salt Lake, which I had not yet had time to skin. They had already begun to give undoubted proofs of their antiquity. " Shure, then, and you'll get the birrds claned rhight undernath the hotel," was the hotel-runner's answer. I thanked him and withdrew, but little thought he was deceiving me, for I after- wards found that there was no taxidermist of any description under the hotel. I had to go running about over the city for an hour before dinner before I found what I wanted. We are now in full view of San Francisco, which is spread out before us over its several hills. We are a little reminded of Leith and Edinburgh, as seen when approached from the sea. Here, however, the shipping is few and far between, and the houses which are seen are nearly all wooden, and there is no vegetation of any kind visible, and the sand-hills over which the Golden City is spread are the colour of brown paper; so that a good deal has to be left to the imagination to fill in the picture. Soon we are alongside the landing- place and are bundling ourselves out of the ferry. What a motley crowd below ! Palefaces, negroes, Chinese ; white, black, and yellow. Through this bustling throng we force our way under care of " ould Ireland," and are soon in a 'bus rattling away to our home for the next week, the " Palace Hotel of the world." ~"T- 261 CHAPTER XIII. THE GOLDEN CITY. The Golden City Its rapid growth General plan of the city Its prin- cipal thoroughfare Monster hotels Curious street conveyances The balloon car The dummy cable car Boot-blacking Champion boot- blacks A champion boot-black's challenge A rush for wealth Hoodlums Their vocation and operations The hoodlum alphabet Instance of rough handling A California!! fruit market A treacherous climate Wet days and cold days The great hotel of America Its form and general appearance Its Grand Central Court " Barbarism " with a vengeance Our suites of apartments To the Cliff House Irrigation in California The windmill system of irrigation Oakland Marvellous rapidity of growth University of California An anomaly in railway travelling The white-paint nuisance again. THE commercial metropolis of California and the Pacific coast lies at the northern end of a narrow peninsula extend- ing north between the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Bay of San Francisco on the east. This peninsula is bounded on the north by a strait called the Golden Gate, which is a mile wide, and five miles in length, and which separates it from another peninsula running south towards it from the northern mainland, thus forming the outlet from the bay to the ocean. San Francisco faces its bay, and not the Pacific, from which, indeed, the city is distant some six or seven miles. The road to the sea is one of the dustiest roads in the United States, as the traveller will find should he happen to make the trip any time between March and November. The Bay of San Francisco is very capacious, so much so that there is a popular saying that it is capable of finding accommodation for all the navies of the world. It is also very beautiful. San Francisco lies in lat. 37 46' N., 262 Through America. long. 120 23' W., in about the same latitude as Palermo and Athens, and is the chief city of a State whose area is 100,200 square miles more than that of Great Britain. The area of California is 188,981 square miles. It is 1800 miles long and 190 miles broad, and it has a coast-line of 1097 miles. The history of San 'Francisco dates from the year 1776, when two Spanish monks Benito Cambon and Francisco Paulo of the order of St. Francis, established in the locality the Mission Dolores. The settlement thus founded was called Yerba Buena (" good herb "), and it remained under that name till 1847, when it was changed to San Francisco. In 1847 we find the place consisting of a collection of a few wooden shanties, with a population of 450. But in the following year the gold fever broke out then was made the lucky discovery of the golden ore in the bed of the stream flowing from General Slitter's mill near Sacramento, 1 and the city sprang into existence in place of the wooden shanties which had formed the earlier settlement. The rapidity of the growth of San Francisco from this date affords one more instance of those extraordinary building exploits which will probably astonish a visitor from the Old World, whose towns have become developed by slower degrees ; and the rapid development of the great Western city will seem all the more remarkable when it is remembered that on six different occa- sions since 1848 has it narrowly escaped being completely destroyed by fire. In the year 1847, as we have just seen, its population numbered 450 souls ; whereas now (according to the estimated census returns of 1880) it numbers 233,956. Included in this are 20,549 Chinese. The city is built mainly upon three hills of an average elevation of 350 feet, and is spread over an area of forty-two square miles. There is a certain wearisome regularity in the arrangement of the streets, such as is to be noticed in many other cities and towns in the United States, the thorough- fares being laid out at right angles to each other, and con- 1 Gold was discovered in California on January 19, 1848, at Coloma. forty-five miles north-east of Sacramento, by a workman one James W. Marshall employed in building a saw-mill to be driven by water the gold being found in the race or ditch beneath. The Golden City. 263 sisting of set blocks, so many houses to each block. In San Francisco, however, this does not strike one so forcibly as in New York, Chicago, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, New Orleans, etc., for here the Market-street, which is the principal thorough- fare, runs athwart the city for nearly the whole of its length, from north-east to south-west ; and on one side of this thoroughfare the streets branch from it obliquely, and this half contains small blocks, whilst from the other side they branch at right angles, and this part is laid out in large blocks. This well and handsomely built (but villainously paved) Market-street, containing as it does such palatial edifices as the Palace, Baldwin, and Grand Hotels, is laid with four lines of tramway ; and no livelier street scene could well be imagined than the sight of such a number of cars visible at a time, once I counted as many as thirty-eight, of so great a variety of private carriages and 'buses, and so many bustling crowds of people, as are to be found all day long in front of, for instance, the Palace Hotel. Public con- veyances in the form of cabs there seem to be none, as the roads are too unevenly paved or " cobbled" to admit of travelling with comfort in this sort of fashion. Railways, therefore, are laid along the principal streets, and transfer tickets take you from one line of cars to another. Go about the city where you will, the fare, I believe, does not exceed five cents. Besides the Roman Catholic Cathedral (St. Patrick's) in Mission-street, and the Jewish Synagogue in Sutter-street, and ninety other churches of various denominations, there is a Greek Church, and a Chinese Roman Catholic Church with a school attached. The Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians have each established mission-houses among the Chinese in San Francisco, to which schools are attached. The services in each case are conducted in the Chinese lan- guage. The Jewish Synagogue, standing as it does on rising ground, is the first building one notices when approaching the Golden City from Oakland. Amongst the public buildings may be mentioned the United States Mint, the Bank of California, the Merchants' Exchange, and the Post Office and Custom House combined. But San Francisco is very badly off for public buildings, those I have mentioned being about 264 Through America. the only ones of any importance, although when the new City Hall is completed for there is here, as usual, some great building in course of erection which has already taken several years to set up, and which will be com- pleted at some indefinite period in the future the people of the Golden City will have a public building which they may justly feel proud of. Undoubtedly the most im- posing structure in San Francisco is the Palace Hotel, which may be considered one of the sights of America. Other hotels there are, however, which are wonders in their way, some for size, others for the luxurious and costly style in which they are fitted. Indeed the hotel system of San Francisco is unrivalled. One is simply astounded at the sight of such extravagance as has been lavished upon the fittings and decorations of Baldwin's Hotel, for instance, which cost Mr. Baldwin three million five hundred thousand dollars, or 7OO,ooo/., and is located on the top of quite a little town of shops. A noteworthy feature in the form of architecture of a number of the buildings is the prominence given to bay windows. Hotels, private residences and shops are most of them built in this style. Many of the houses are built of wood, 2 so that one is led to think that should a conflagration arise there would be no putting an end to it, despite the united energies of the Corporation's Fire Brigade and the Underwriters' Fire Patrol of the insurance companies. But the wood now used for building purposes is that of the Sequoia sempervirens, or redwood, which burns so slowly that there would not be time so people say for the flames to make any considerable headway before they could be got under. The " sidewalks " or pavements are also of wood, and herein lies a nuisance, for the nails project in so many places that one has to be always on the look-out lest he should trip and tumble. I once did do this, when I was walking along down Market-street (reading a letter). My foot suddenly struck against a projecting spike, and down I came on " all fours " before I could tell what had become of me. There are some remarkable street conveyances in San 2 A Californian writes, "Nine-tenths of the houses in the State are built of wood ; the others are built of adobe. : ' The Golden City. 265 Francisco. Besides the ordinary " bobtail " tramway car, or one without a conductor, which is common enough in every American city, there is the " balloon car " and the dummy cable car, the two last unique in their construction and peculiar to the Golden City. The balloon car is a curious-looking device, reminding one more of a spread-out umbrella than a balloon, though either name would do for it. Very like a circular box placed upon wheels, it has a large projecting roof quite out of proportion with the rest of the design, and this has caused it to look like an umbrella a great spread-out family THE BALLOON CAR. umbrella, and one cannot avoid making the comparison. The top part is moveable, and able to be pulled round by the horses or mules at the end of a journey, thereby saving the incon- venience of having the animals taken out and hitched on at the other end ; the driver, too, keeps his seat and is pulled round with the rest of the vehicle. But the "dummy car" is stranger still. Not drawn by horses or mules, nor propelled by any visible machinery, it is worked by an endless-wire underground cable of an inch and a quarter in diameter, by an engine of 500 horse-power, there being an engine to 266 Through America. every street provided with this sort of locomotion, and the force of its speed is controlled by a system of cog-wheel machinery. This latter method of locomotion is used only up and down the hills, which are very steep too steep to allow of any other sort of rapid conveyance, unless a regular train with steam-engine were introduced, as is the case on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, and on the Rigi near Lucerne; VIEW IN CLAY-STREET, Showing the dummy cable car. or unless a locomotive were employed like that used with the train which now makes the ascent of Vesuvius. Each dummy-, car arrangement consists of, in fact, two cars, the front car being an open one, unprotected at the sides, so that one can jump up on to it while it is in motion, and from whichever side one pleases. This front car might not unreasonably be The Golden City. 267 termed the engine, for though there is no appearance of an " engine " at all, nor of anything approaching a compound machine of this description, yet the driver stands in the middle of it and controls the progress of his car, and the one behind it, by means of a "gripping clamp" or large lever, which grapples the cable underground, the cable lying beneath a slit in the track between the two lines of rail. At the top of every hill the cable passes over a wheel or set of wheels, and at the bottom of the hill a pulley, and it is kept taut and prevented from slipping by the heavy strain of the several cars passing along upon it overhead. The hinder of the two cars is a covered one, and intended for those who object to smoking, or who find the rays of the sun too power- ful for them. As the open car that is the smoking car in front has always to be the foremost of the two, a difficulty might seem to occur at the end of a journey as to how it could be brought back again into its position as the foremost car, so as to lead on the return journey ; but by an ingenious method of double shunting lines, the positions of the two cars are quickly reversed. The pace whether up or down hill is uni- form throughout. You step up on to one of the front or side seats, and you have barely had time to sit down before you find yourself moving over the ground at full speed. And the pace is not gradually attained, as with a railway train ; but you pop off all at once as if you were a wound-up bit of machinery, and had been suddenly let loose. Your feet are only twelve inches above the ground, and you experience a delightful and comfortable sensation as if you were sailing over water. The idea is an ingenious one. It is a contrivance for quickly and comfortably mounting the steep hills, having been invented by a German resident in the Golden City. The Chinese describe this kind of locomotion in language as graphic as it is terse. " No pullee," says John, " No pushee. Melican-man go like hellee!" Of course a ride in the cable car is " the thing " to do during a stay in San Francisco. Besides the novelty of such a ride, it is advantageous for the reason that as the several lines are laid up* and down the hills for the distance of some miles, splendid views can be obtained over the city and 268 Through America. bay ; and many of the costly private residences of California's millionaires, and her lesser monetary magnates, are passed, and are able to be seen with comfort. A movement is on foot to introduce steam cars on the tramways, so that there will be a great variety of conveyances in San Francisco what with bobtail cars, umbrella cars, steam tramway cars, and dummy cable tramway cars. A noteworthy feature in the streets of San Francisco is the sanctum of the boot-black. This is a little room leading out from the street, devoted to the cleaning and the polishing, into which you enter to have a " shine." You find four, some- times six little chairs placed in a row on a da'fs, with two steps to mount up to them : you seat yourself in one, and the boot- black will hand you the day's newspaper to look over, and then set to work and give your boots the necessary " tone." There is sometimes considerable difficulty experienced in getting one's boots blacked in the United States. In some of the hotels it is impossible, so that you have to wait till you can find a boy in the street to do them for you, whose method of polishing them will be simple enough, but not the most agreeable should you watch him. I remember one morning when I came to open my door to look for my boots, when staying at an hotel not 1 50 miles from New York, that I found them lying outside my room on the corridor in the same uncleaned state in which they were left the pre- vious evening. Hearing a domestic sweeping up on the stairs opposite, I hailed her, and inquired how I could get my boots cleaned ? She replied curtly, resting her arm on her broom and looking up at me ; whereupon I thanked her, and with- drew. Seeing no other alternative, I took the boots down- stairs, but found, when I reached the bottom, that there was no such institution as a boot-black belonging to the establishment; so I was obliged to call in the services of a boy from the street, who by spitting on them and rubbing them made them "shine " in ten minutes for the sum of five cents. I have frequently seen notices fixed in the bedrooms of the hotels to the effect that " The Prop'r of this hotel will not be responsible for the safety of gentlemen's boots which are left.outside their bed- rooms at night/' But to return to boot-blacking as it is carried on in the Golden City. This is a "luxury" most The Golden City. "269 assiduously indulged in by those who can find nothing better to do, and as there is a mania among the better classes for having their boots resembling looking-glasses at all hours of the day, the street boot-blacks have established their little private apartments, so that they may entertain their well-to- do patrons in a fit and becoming manner. Some of these blacking rooms are elaborately fitted up. Pictures hang against the walls, and the chairs that are provided for sitting upon are comfortably cushioned. There is a champion boot- black to every principal street in San Francisco. The cham- pion of Market-street, for instance, resides at No. 828, near Baldwin's Hotel, and he has affixed the following notice at the entrance of his sanctum : Boots blacked, quick ! quick ! I am champion of this street. Make good shine, Cost half a dime. But the chief boot-black of all, the one who has reached the highest pinnacle of fame in his profession, has his location in Bush-street. An Englishman, and twenty-two years ago (in 1858) a member of the London "City Reds," or the Ragged School Boot-black Society (of Saffron-hill, Farring- don-road, E.G.), he has become such an adept in the business that he has thought fit to throw down the gauntlet to all the boot-blacks in the United States, and to challenge them to a " trial of skill," as will be seen by the following notice which I took down one morning while the champion himself was engaged in polishing my boots : BOOT BLACKING CHALLENGE ! The undersigned, claiming to be the CHAMPION BOOT BLACK OF THE UNITED STATES, and hearing his right to the Title disputed, for the purpose of friendly disposing of all controversy upon the subject, hereby challenges any man in the United States to a trial of skill, the result to be decided by a mutually appointed Committee. I propose to Black from 5 to 10 Pairs of Boots for from FIVE HUNDRED TO ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS a side, United States gold coin, the test to be the time employed and the quantity of polish. 270 Through America. Should any man outside of California accept the above challenge, I will pay his reasonable expenses to and from California. The above challenge to remain open for ninety days from date. The Profession are respectfully invited to st Put up or Shut up." Address ...... Cornelius Lyons, Champion Boot Black of the United States, Bush-street, between Sacramento and Cosmopolitan Hotels, San Francisco, California. February ist, 1871. At the junction of California and Montgomery streets is the medley of all things. Here men and women meet to bargain and barter for everything on the face of this earth and off it, perhaps. Everyone speculates in San Francisco. It is a mania pervading all classes of society, nor indeed does sex, nor age, nor any degree of wealth make any difference to the votaries of Mammon. The poor Irish servant girl blindly indulges in some likely investment together with her rich master and mistress ; boys and girls still in their teens resort to the stockbroker to put their savings into some mine that seems likely to " pay." A fortune is made in a day, a fortune is lost just as quickly. All is money, money, money. No serious thought of religion or of anything save what is purely temporal and transitory. This is one of the charac- teristic features of life in the Golden City. Now the Golden City enjoys a monopoly among the vota- ries of crime which is not shared by any other city in America. I allude to a species of the rough or rowdy type, called a "hoodlum." The hoodlums of San Francisco are young embryo criminals regularly organized gangs of boys and girls, whose ages vary from fifteen to twenty or twenty-five, their business being to waylay unoffending citizens during the hours of the night, and get as much as they can out of them, and, when found necessary, speedily despatch them to happy hunting-grounds by means of knives or revolvers, with which they are well provided. The freaks of these young rascals are multifarious ; but a common one is to enter a grocer's store, or a beer saloon, and compel the proprietor to hand over what is wanted by threatening him with a sound thrashing, or by the sudden presentment in his face of an The Golden City. 271 irrepressible six-shooter. " Hands up ! " shouts the hood- lum ; and if Mr. Grocer does not immediately throw up his hands, he is popped off instanter. Another employment of the young vagabonds is to follow people and annoy them by telling them lewd stones, for which they ought to be caught and well flogged. Unless a change is made for the better in the police organization of the Golden City, the hoodlums are likely to have a very merry time of it, for there are not more than 400 police officers, prior to February 24, 1880, there were less than this number, for on that day the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance increasing the police force to 400 men, and what with the constant atten- tion which has to be bestowed in looking after other classes of rogues with which the city abounds, for crime in San Francisco takes a variety of forms, and has many votaries, as in other large cities, this comparatively small body of men has been found to be quite inadequate to cope with the auda- cious freaks of these juvenile offenders, whose brutal opera- tions against the poor hated Chinese are about as cowardly as they are entirely unprovoked and uncalled for, notwithstand- ing the ill-feeling engendered by the outcry against Chinese cheap labour. There are twenty or more gangs of these hoodlums, comprising altogether some 500 or 550 members, who, before sallying forth on their nocturnal expeditions, will mask their faces and then exchange and dress up in each other's clothes, and, above all, take care that no one among them, be it boy or girl, ventures forth without being provided with such a six-shooter as is becoming to the sex of the wearer. These gangs are named according to the several districts of the city wherein they carry on their operations, each after its respective district. Thus there is the Bernal Heights gang, commanded by a youth who answers to the soubriquet of " Mountain Jack ; " also the Fifteenth-street, a gang having for its leader one Dave Condon, a young man who has been tried for various felonies, including one for murder, but who nevertheless is allowed to actively head his gang and at the same time live quietly at home with his parents in West Mission-street ! Dave Condon is an adept in the art of boxing. He is the "boss" pugilist of San Francisco. Two more of the gangs I will mention. They 272 Through America. are the Hayes Valley and the Beach Combers. The former chiefly confines its raids to grocers' stores. Now in order that they may evade the police or make themselves scarce at any critical juncture, the hoodlums have invented an alphabet, from which they acquire their pass- words and slang phrases, etc., and this alphabet is as follows : A . A G . Gug M . .Mum S Sus B Bub H .Hash N . . Nun T Tut C Cus I . . I . . .0 U . U D E Dud . E J K J"g . Kuk P . . Pup Q - -Q V W Vuv W F Fuf L . Lul R . . Rer X .X Y . . Yoke | Z . . Zud It will be seen from the above that all the letters, with the exception of the vowels, and Q, W, and X, have their distinctive hoodlum pronunciation. Thus can a strange and remarkable language, indeed, be produced by the very simple method of stringing together into sentences the pronunciation of the letters required, as will be seen by the following examples which may be given by. way of illustration. Thus, " Mind your eye, Tommy," becomes Muminundud yokeourer eyoke, Tiitomummumyoke ; " Look out for yourself," Lnlookiik outut fiiforer yokeourersuselulfuf ; " Give him the slip, Charley," Gugivuve hashimum tuthash suslulipup, Ctis- hasharerluleyoke ; and " Here comes Bobby round the corner," Hasherere cusonmmesus Bubobubbubyoke rerounundud tuthasJie cusorern unerer. But it must not be thought that such mouthy, protracted sentences as these are used by the hoodlums when they find themselves in a fix, and obliged to " cut and run " for it, for if that were so, " Robert " would be upon them long before the note of alarm could be successfully communicated. One password is quite sufficient, and would be given in accord- ance with the sort of danger apprehended. I myself came across a good illustration of the rough handling a poor fellow is subjected to who happens to be attacked by these audacious young scamps. One day, when near the Lone Mountain Cemetery, 1 happened to step into a lager-beer saloon to ask for a glass of that beverage before The Golden City. 273 entering the beautiful burial -ground. The keeper of the saloon was standing behind his counter. His head was bandaged up, his arm was in a sling, and he looked altogether as if he had just fallen into bad hands. I asked him what was the matter ? He told me that the evening before, about eight o'clock, two young boys, aged apparently twelve or fourteen, entered his saloon and asked for some whisky. They then enticed him outside his door, when the moment he had stepped beyond the threshold he was set upon by five or six more juveniles, one of whom was a girl, and before he had time to get out his six-shooter he was felled to the ground with a sharp crack on the head, after which he was kicked and beaten about the head and body till he was well nigh dead. His revolver was taken from him, for this was what they really wanted after all. I asked him if he ex- pected to catch the young rascals and bring them to justice ? But he laughed at the idea, and said it " couldn't be done." One of the great sights of the Golden City is its fruit- market, and this is a sight indeed ! Here are gathered to- gether the fruits of all America. Not collected, indeed, and brought to this market from various parts of the country ; but all grown within the State, for sub-tropical fruits and those of the north temperate zone here grow side by side the climate is suitable for both. Amongst an immense variety will be noticed figs, plums, pears, apples, olives, medlars, pineapples, strawberries, peaches, apricots, necta- rines, native lemon-coloured oranges, the ubiquitous banana and water-melon, all of which lie about the market in the greatest profusion. The peaches are the first that rivet the attention. Each is as large as one's two fists put together. Grapes lie about here in the season in veritable heaps, and no wonder, for enough can be found in this vine-growing State to be cast away as waste to the dogs and the pigs. There are 30,000,000 grape vines in California : her vine- yards are spread over 60,000 acres. Many vineyards are planted with 800 vines to the acre. The word California is said to be derived from the Spanish caliente fornalla, a hot furnace ; but it is not in San Fran- cisco that this derivation of the wofd is applicable, for the T 274 Through America. mean temperature of the Golden City all the year round is but 54. 3 Inland, however, where the winds and fogs of the Pacific do not penetrate, the country may in very truth be likened unto "an oven ; and this we shall have good reason to notice later on. But the climate of San Francisco will be found very treacherous by those who are unaccustomed to such sudden changes of temperature as occur, even, during the course of a single day, for in the morning it will be very chilly, in the middle of the day it will be very warm, and in the evening it will have become quite cold again, so that coming from the East you cannot be certain what kind of clothing to put on, and to keep to, and you find when you come to go to bed at night that you want an extra blanket to keep out the cold. As a writer in a Stockton journal once remarked concerning the Golden City : " You go out in the morning shivering, notwithstanding the fact that you are dressed in heavy woollen clothing, and under-clothing, and have a thick overcoat buttoned up to your throat. At 8.30, you unbutton two of the upper buttons; at 9, you unbutton the coat all the way down ; at 9.30, you take it off; at 10, you take off your woollen coat, and put on a summer coat ; at n, you take off all your woollen and put on light summer clothing ; at 2, it begins to grow cool, and you have to put on your woollen again ; and by 7 o'clock your overcoat is buttoned to the chin, and you shiver till bedtime." * The rainy season commences about the ist of November, and continues to the end of March. Little or no rain falls during the other months from the beginning of April to the end of October; indeed it is said that during the last fifteen years the average number of rainy days each year has been but sixty, together with 220 clear and eighty-five cloudy days. Taking the temperature of 30 to represent a cold day, there were no cold days registered in San Francisco during the winters of 1852-53, 1864-65, 1866-67, 1868-69, and 1871-72. In the winter season of 1853-54, there were three cold days ; in 1854-55, one cold day; in 1855-56, seven cold days; in 1856-57, five cold days; in 1857-58, four cold days; in 3 The mean temperature of September, the warmest month, is 58 Fahr., and that of January, the coldest month, 49. 4 Resources of California, by J. S. Hitteil. The Golden City. 275 1858-59, nine cold days; in 1859-60, one cold day; in 1860-61, one cold day; in 1861-62, twenty-one cold days; in 1862-63, three cold days ; in 1863-64, one cold day ; in 1865-66, one cold day; in 1867-68, eight cold days; in 1869-70, three cold days ; and in 1870-71, seven cold days. The Chinese have their location in " Chinatown " a part of the city exclusively inhabited by the Celestial People. Here, within a small area of back slums, about 10,500 of these people live after Chinese fashion, and the remaining 10,000 are scattered over other parts of the city. We have spent two evenings or rather nights in their quarters, and have made ourselves familiar with the theatres, opium-dens, joss-houses, thieves' retreats, etc. ; indeed we have seen many phases of Chinese life in a very short time. I propose there- fore, later on, to describe a night's experiences in Chinatown. But meanwhile a word or two may be said about the Palace Hotel, and perhaps one or two other matters of interest. The Palace Hotel forms an entire block by itself, in the commercial centre of San Francisco. It was built at the instance of a certain Mr. W. C. Ralston, a banker and a " representative man " of California, with the intention that it should eclipse in size every other hotel in the world, just as Baldwin's was built to surpass in elegance and finish, and in the luxuriousness and splendour of its internal fittings, also every other known building of the kind ; and I think that each projector has well-nigh succeeded in attaining the realiza- tion of his heart's desire. Mr. Baldwin was certainly not long in realizing his heart's desire, for he was but a poor man only a few years ago. However, he suddenly took to keeping a livery-stable, made a little money, went on 'Change, specu- lated, and the result is seen in his splendid hotel of three million dollars built entirely out of his own pocket ! Sic est vita. But to return to the Palace Hotel. Rearing itself seven stories above a deep and lofty base- ment, this giant pile covers nearly two and a quarter acres, or 96,256 square feet ; and if the sub-sidewalk extensions are taken into account, the entire basement will be found to cover the enormous area for an hotel of three acres. The height of the lowest story measures over twenty-seven feet, and the uppermost story is sixteen feet. The building is bounded by T 2 276 Through America. New Montgomery, Market, Annie, and Jessie streets, and its main front lies on the first-named of these thoroughfares, facing south a vast, rich front of immense bay windows, stretching to a length of 350 feet. Bay windows cover the entire edifice from top to bottom, whilst the ground floor is almost wholly devoted to shops. A glance at the prospectus of the hotel a copy of which is presented (with a photograph) to each individual guest will reveal certain details which I should not otherwise be able to give. " Its general form," it THE PALACE HOTEL. says, " is an immense triplicate, hollow quadrangle, including one grand central crystal-roofed garden court flanked by a lesser and parallel court on either side The deep foundation wall is twelve feet thick ; stone, iron, brick and marble are the chief materials. Of the brick alone, its construction consumed thirty-one millions. All outer, inner and partition walls from base to top are of solid stone and brick, built around, within, and upon a large skeleton of broad iron-wrought bands, thickly bolted together and of such immense size as to have required 3000 tons for this purpose The Golden City. 277 alone. Thus the building is really duplex a huge self-sup- porting frame of iron, of enormous strength, within massive walls of firm-set brick and solid stone. The outer and visible walls are proof against fire ; the inner and invisible frame secures against earthquake. 6 The supporting columns, within and without, are of iron ; the cornices of iron and zinc. Four artesian wells having a tested capacity of 28,000 gallons an hour, supply the great 63O,ooo-gallon reservoir under the central court, besides filling seven roof tanks holding 130,000 gallons more. Three large steam fire-pumps force water through forty-five 4-inch wrought-iron upright fire-mains, reaching above the roof, distributing it through three hundred and twenty-seven 2j-inch hose-bibs and 15,000 feet of fire-ply carbolized fire-hose, thus doubly and trebly commanding every inch of the vast structure from roof to basement, within and without." There seems to be every precaution taken to prevent a fire spreading, should it once arise, as the prospectus proceeds to show. "Electric fire alarms, self-acting, instantly report at the office the exact locality of any fire, or even of extra- ordinary heat in any parlour, bed-room, closet, hall, passage, stairway or store-room. Special hotel watchmen regularly patrol all parts of the building every thirty minutes, day and night Besides all these precautions a fire-proof iron staircase, enclosed in solid brick and stone and opening through iron doors upon every floor, ascends from basement to roof. Every floor has its exclusive annunciator, and its own tabular conductors, carrying all letters for the post-office directly to the main letter-box in the general office. A pneumatic despatch tube instantaneously conveys letters, messages or parcels to and from any point on the different floors. Two thousand and forty-two ventilating tubes open- ing outward upon the roof from every room, bath-room, and closet, ensure constant purity and thorough sweetness of air in every part." Entering the hotel from New Montgomery-street, a carriage- * The Palace Hotel is not the only building in San Francisco that is braced together with iron bands, so as to keep the whole structure compact and proof against a convulsion of Nature. Many of the shops and warehouses are similarly built, and, moreover, are built entirely of iron, which is painted the colour of masonry. 27 8 Through America. way of 44 feet in width (and a sidewalk) expanding into a circular driveway 52 feet in diameter, brings us into the Grand Central Court, 144 feet by 84 feet, which is surrounded by colonnades. Standing in this court and looking up and around GRAND CENTRAL COURT, PALACE HOTEL. the sight is most imposing. Story upon story does the giant structure tower aloft, broad open balconies facing each story, till an immense iron-framed glass roof is reached, which covers jn the whole court, Palms and other exotics grow in pots The Golden City. 279 around this court ; many rocking-chairs (and spittoons) lie concealed amongst the palms ; a music pavilion, too, there is, where the hotel band occasionally plays on an afternoon, discoursing "Nancy Lee," "Pinafore," and other popular selections from the Old Country. From the central court broad passages lead to the two outer courts, each of these passages measuring 22 feet by 135 feet, each, too, having a carriage-way from the street measuring 20 feet in width. There are several shops in the hotel. Thus we have, inside, an establishment for cleaning, scouring, dyeing and repairing gentlemen's clothing ; a tailor's store, by one J. Kavanach ; ditto, by one W. Roberts ; a book and newspaper store ; a Japanese store ; a bric-a-brac collec- tion, with many fossils and old clothes ; a trunk and port- manteau store ; another book store ; another tailor's store, by one J. Roberts probably rival brother to the other Roberts ; besides a tourists' agency or office for obtaining round-trip tickets for visiting the Yosemite Valley and Big Tree Groves ; and a telegraph office. Then there are billiard rooms and bath-rooms, and rooms devoted to perfumery and hair-cutting, where cropping is done on an expensive and lordly scale where you can, if you choose, go and pay a dollar-and-a-half for being shaved, cut, and shampoo'd ! Inever was more surprised in my life than when I was asked to pay one dollar for subjecting myself to the first and last of these operations. And after my locks had been arranged to the barber's satisfaction, I had to ta.ke up the brush and spoil all his little game by re-arranging my hair Christian-like in the manner that I am generally accustomed to wear it, instead of having it all stuck up in front like a fan much to the barber's mortification, no doubt. Returning to the Grand Central Court, large folding doors on the left lead into the hotel office a wide, free and open space 65 feet by 55 feet; and this is the part of the building that a new-arrival will first seek out in order that he may report himself and be allotted his apart- ments. Here, behind a long counter, he will find stationed the " boss " gentlemen of the hotel, such as the proprietor, the chief clerk, etc., who will hand him the visitors' book and request him to write his name in it This done 280 Through America. and the apartments allotted and the key presented, as many negroes as are required will seize hold of his baggage and bear it away to the lift, so that it may be conveyed upstairs, while another negro will attend on the new-arrival personally, conduct him to the lift and ascend with him to his apartments. There are five lifts or " elevators " communicating with the different floors, ascending rapidly and noiselessly to the top of the building even to the roof, where are promenades for obtaining a bird's eye view of the city. We found these ele- vators the greatest possible convenience, for the staircases, though plentiful, dodge all about the building. Twice did we assay to descend by the stairs from our rooms, and on both occasions we became utterly bewildered. The domestics up- stairs consist of Chinamen and negresses. The former dust about and keep the passages clean, the latter attend to the cleansing of your chamber. Chamber, did I say ? We have each a suite of six apartments ; and in this hotel there are exclusively for guests, seven hundred and fifty-five suites of apartments above the ground floor! Not seven hundred and fifty-five single apartments, as the hotel prospectus would lead one to imagine when it says there are so many hundred rooms. But here your "room "means so many apartments ; to take our own case, for instance. We have each a large sitting-room, also another room in which to receive friends, a bedroom, a little lavatory, a closet, and a bath-room. Our bedrooms have each a marble fireplace and a 6-ft. pier-glass, besides two gas lamps, a large dressing-table fitted with drawers, and a 5-ft. looking-glass. In our sitting-rooms are blue, velvet-covered arm-chairs, mahogany writing-tables, 3-jet chandeliers with gas reading-lamps attached, etc. Many of the sitting-rooms are 20 feet square, and there are none less than 16 feet square. Every room has its electric bell, and is liberally supplied with gas. There are, altogether, thirteen dining and breakfast- rooms. From the Grand Central Court access is obtained to the main breakfast-room, which is no feet by 55 ; and this leads into the grand dining-room, which is 150 feet by 55. Other dining-rooms including the children's are upstairs, on the second floor ; also the ladies' drawing-room, 84 feet by 40. The waiters at table are all "colored/ 5 and are The Golden City. 281 presided over by a generalissimo, who, himself a darkie, sees that the darkies under him are brisk in their movements and zealous in their attentions. He also graciously receives the guests as they enter the room, and conducts them to 'seats according to his fancy. There are 156 coloured waiters in this hotel that is, more than in any other hotel in America, except the Grand Union at Saratoga. The charges of the Palace Hotel are as follows : Room with board, i6s. or 12s. per day ; room without board, 4^. per day. If you select the first of these amounts you are given a splendid suite of apartments on the first, second, or third floors. If you select the second or last, you are put on the uppermost floor, or, if not on this, on the one below it. But in neither of these cases do you pay for anything extra unless you like to play billiards, or have your hair cut, etc. ; and then you will have to pay pretty dearly ! Pleasant walks and drives in the immediate vicinity of San Francisco are few and far between ; indeed there is only one, and this, again, can scarcely be called pleasant at this time of the year, when the dust lies about the roads some inches in depth, rendering it impossible to move very far without in- curring the risk of being completely smothered. The excur- sion referred to is one of seven miles to the Cliff House, which is an hotel built on a cliff overlooking the sea, where are to be seen some hundreds of seals sprawling about on rocks close in shore. As this excursion is a favourite one of the people of the Golden City it may be as well to say a little about it. The horse- car can be taken for some miles, the rest of the distance being completed by " stage." The last part of the journey is mostly up hill, along the very dustiest of roads, and several large cemeteries are passed on the way. It is worth while walking through one of these cemeteries if it is only to see the magnificent fuchsias and geraniums, the palms, cactuses, etc., which grow in them so luxuriantly. As the Cliff House is approached, a fine view is obtained of the rock- bound coast in the direction of the Golden Gate. Fogs are very prevalent here, and when one does arise it is hard indeed for a vessel to hit upon this narrow, one-mile-wide inlet to the bay, even with lighthouse assistance. The Cliff 282 Through America. House reached, about a couple of hundred yards from the shore can be seen the object of one's visit. A few low rocky islets, and upon them hundreds of seals, some lying motion- less, basking in the sun, others wriggling themselves one over another, more, too, struggling in the water with the tide in their endeavours to reach their companions on dry land an ugly collection of brown ungainly monsters, silent amongst themselves, except now and then when a solitary " bark " is heard from some creature who happens to be roughly pushed about by his sleek, unmannerly neighbour. These seals are protected by legislation, no person being allowed to fire off a gun in the vicinity of the rocks under a penalty of 3