EDltion ^c TLuje CALIFORNIA AND ALASKA AND OVER THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY. By William S. Webb, M.D. Elegantly printed in quarto ; size 8x ii inches. Con- tains 190 pages of text, printed upon the finest vellum paper, and sumptuously bound in full morocco. But ^00 copies printed. I25.00. The volume contains 4 full-page etchings and 88 photo- gravures. The etchings, which are india proofs, are : Mission of San Luis Rey, Cal. By C. Y. Turner. Muir Glacier, Alaska. By R. Swain Gifford. North Arm, Biscotasing Lake. By J. C. NicoLi., Lake Louise, tiear Laggaji. By R C. Minor. Among the 88 full-page photogravures will be found the following : On the Coast, near Monterey. Seal Rock Covered with Seals, near Monterey. Yosemite Valley , from Artist's Point. Glacier Point, ^,200 feet, Yosemite Valley. Vancouver , from Canadian Pacific Railway Docks. Douglas Firs, on Vancouver Tozun-Site. Floating Ice, near Muir Glacier Typical View along the Coast of Alaska. Great Glacier, Canadian Pacific Railway. Canadian Pacific Railway Station and Moutit Sir Donald Glacier. Hermit Range, fro fn Hotel, Showing Canadian Pacific Railway Station. Lower Kicking Horse Canyon, near Golden. " Dr. Webb affords a vivacious description ofthe country traversed, as well as of the personal experiences of the travelling party. His chronicle is ample, entertaining, and valuable." — The Sun. G. P, PUTNAM'S SONS, New York and London. YOSEMITE FALLS. popular lEMtlou California and Alaska AND OVER THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY BY WILLIAM SEWARD WEBB SECOND EDITION ILLUSTRA TED ^' G. r. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK LONDON 27 WEST TWENTV-THIKU STREr'f 27 KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND ■Cbc 1knicI?erbocf;cr press 1891 . .... J > , 'j '" < , j' > > J ) ) 3 i J 1 > ' > ' • J > 3 ' ' ' J ' ' ' ' P^ln.l.-j r^ \H 3 \ COPYRIGHT, 1890 BY WILLIAM SEWARD WEBB Ubc Iknlcljcrbocfccr ipicse, mew 13orf! Electrotyped, Printed, and Bound by G. P. Putnam's Sons INTRODUCTION. IN accordance with a time-honored custom, 1 must, at the outset, explain in a few words why this work is given to the pubHc. In the winter of 1888-9, ^ determined upon taking a trip with my family across the conti- nent to the Pacific coast, and from thence to the city of Mexico. A few friends were in- vited to accompany us on our journey. The intention was to be absent about three months and a half, and the ist of March, 1889, was agreed upon as the starting-day. But the severe illness of my daughter, which began but a few days prior to our time for leaving, disarranged all our plans, and the day of departure was postponed until the first week in April. The more I thought of this proposed jour- ney, the more interesting and important it seemed to me in the prospective. For, to me 3G596i A'' vl Jnirodiiction. •) at least, it was something more thiin a trip of pleasure, as, indeed, it could ngt but be to any business man. '^The journey would cover the most interesting portion of our country — a stretch of territory that is not only the pride of every native of the United States, but the subject of never ceasing wonder on the part of the countless number of educated foreigfners who come to our shores with the special pur- pose of journeying over the same ground. Following up this line of thought, I deter- mined that an expedition of such interest, in which I should enjoy the society not only of my own family but of some of my most valued friends, was worthy of special and unusual preparation. Then it was that I conceived the Idea of organizing a private train for the party, to include a baggage-car. a dining-car, and two special cars. This train was to run what railroad men call "special" from start to finish, i.e., it was to be entirely independent of time-tables, starting when we wished and running at any rate of speed we might elect. Of course, under such a scheme the party would be relieved of any anxiety they might otherwise have had in regard to making connections. Litroductioii. vii There were twelve in the party, to wit : Mrs. Webb, Frederika, Watson, and ''Toots"; Mr. and Mrs. Purdy, Dr. McLane, JuHan Kean, George Bird, my brothers Louis and Frank, and myself. The unavoidable delay caused by the illness of my daughter, already referred to, found the season so far advanced when the time came to start that we were obliged to omit our visit to the city of Mexico. We decided, however, that immediately after leaving Omaha we would travel to the southward and eventually reach the warm climate of Southern California. A journey like this, interesting under ordi- nary conditions, would seem to be especially noteworthy for the manner in which it was performed, and, on that account, worthy of beinof chronicled. Hence it is that I have seen fit to give an unpretentious and, I trust, not entirely uninteresting story of our travels, supplemented by illustrations which will be found helpful as interpreters of the text. The literature on the subject of the western part of our country is quite large, and I am indebted to several writers for the verification and amplification of certain facts, which came to my notice generally during the journey — viii Introduction. more particularly to the excellent works of Brace, Bowles, Harper, Nordhoff, and Simpson. It is said that " travelling is no fool's errand to him who carries his eyes and itinerary along with him." We certainly took good care to carry our eyes with us, making the best use of them that we could, and our itinerary was practically laid out months before we com- menced our undertaking, which, at the close, we found to have been full of wisdom and pleasure. It is to be hoped that the reader will receive, at least, a reflection of these pleas- ant experiences in a perusal of the following pages. William Seward Webb. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. How We Travelled PAGE I CHAPTER H. From New York to Omaha CHAPTER HI. Denver and Colorado vSprings i6 CHAPTER IV I The Parks of Colorado CHAPTER V. Santa Fe CHAPTER VI. Santa Monica 23 29 39 IX X Contents. CHAPTER VII. Los Angeles. .... l-AGE • 45 CHAPTER VIII. Monterey ..... 53 CHAPTER IX. The Missions . 68 CHAPTER X. ^ The Yosemite Valley . . . 8i CHAPTER XI San Francisco ..... 103 CHAPTER XII. San Francisco : The Chinese Quarter i 18 CHAPTER XIII. Northern California and Mount Shasta . . . . . .130 CHAPTER XIV. Montana . . . . . .140 Contents. xi CHAPTER XV. PAGE "The Garden of Montana" . . 154 CHAPTER XVI. From St. Paul to Manitoba . .162 CHAPTER XVH. Mountains and Gorges on the Cana- dian Pacific Railway . . .181 CHAPTER XVHI. From Kamloops to Vancouver . .198 CHAPTER XIX. In Alaskan Waters . . . .210 CHAPTER XX. In Alaskan Waters (Concluded) . 224 CHAPTER XXL Victoria — Winnipeg — H unting Ex- periences ..... 240 CHAPTER XXII. From Winnipeg, Homeward Bound . 256 ILLUSTRATIONS. YOSEMITE FALLS ....... THE SPECIAL TRAIN ...... A CORNER IN THE " ELLSMERE " . . . . OLD SAN MIGUEL CHURCH, SANTE FE, NEW MEXICO SOUTH PASADENA, SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS, AND HOTEL ..... A STREET IN LOS ANGELES A FARM TEAM, NEAR MONTEREY THE PALMS OF GLENANNIE ON THE COAST NEAR MONTEREY THE LAKE AT MONTEREY OLD MISSION CHURCH NEAR MONTEREY MARIPOSA GROVE BIG TREES . THE DEAD GIANT DIAMETER, 30 FEET S INCHES GLACIER POINT, YOSEMITE NEVADA FALLS .... MANITOBA COWBOY THE SPECIAL TRAIN AT FIELD MOUNT STEPHEN, CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY FROM THE TOTE ROAD NEAR MOUNT DONALD STONY CREEK BRIDGE ..... SKETCH NEAR GREAT GLACIER xiii Facin" Frontispiece. I 3 30 RAYMOND Facing 42 46 57 58 61 63 69 84 Sg 93 96 167 177 178 183 185 1S7 Facing Facins^ Facins^ XIV Illustrations. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY STATION AND MOUNT DONALD GLACIER Facing CANADIAN PACIFIC STATION, FROM THE GLACIER HOTEL THE NARROWS, BISCOTASING LAKE .... SKETCH ON THE NORTH ARM, BISCOTASING LAKE . AT SAILOR BAR BLUFF, BELOW SPUZZUM RED-SUCKER TUNNKL, CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY ROADWAY IN STANLEY PARK, VANCOUVER . . Facing INDIAN RIVER CANYON, FROM " PINTA " ANCHORAGE, Facing SCENE IN INDIAN TOWN, SITKA ...... INDIAN chief's GRAVE, ALASKA .... Facing RUSSIAN BLOCK-HOUSE, SITKA ...... FLOATING ICE, NEAR MUIR GLACIER . . . Facing SKETCH ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY IN ERASER CANYON SHOWING THREE TUNNELS .... VIEW NEAR BANFF .... ALASKAN GAME, KILLISNOO NEPIGON BAY, FROM NEPIGON STATION SKIRTING NEPIGON BAY . JACKFISH BAY .... Facing 1 88 191 193 195 203 205 206 210 225 226 231 234 243 245 254 257 260 261 CALIFORNIA AND ALASKA 111 11 1 1 ' 1 1 i> i' ' ,'» 'ill FROM NEW YORK TO CALIFORNIA AND ALASKA CHAPTER I. HOW WE TRAVELLED. The special train of four cars in which we made our journey was probably the most thoroughly equipped and most luxurious one that has ever been used by a party of trav- ellers. On that account the reader will be interested in a description of it. The first car was what is called a "combi- nation car." The forward part of it was used for the storage of baggage ; next to this apart- ment was a sleeping-room for the cooks and ' c r 'f re 'r' ' ', 2 77? Califoriiia and Alaska. porters. After this a bath-room, and next adjoining a large smoking- or drawing-room, at one end of which was a Chickering piano, and at the other a desk, a complete library, and proper compartments for guns, fishing- rods, and sporting paraphernalia. This smok- inor-room was intended as a sitting-room for the gentlemen of the party during the evening or daytime. This car, called " Buffet No. 60," was kindly loaned to me by Mr. John Newell, President of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company. The dininof-car came next. All the tables had been taken from it, and in their places an ordinary dining-table, side-tables, etc., had been put in, the same as in a house. Next came a car I had formerly used as a special car, the " Mariquita," which had been remodelled into a nursery-car, and which was occupied by Mrs. Webb, the three children, two nurses, and a maid. Last of all was my new private car " Ellsmere." This was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Purdy, Dr. McLane, Mr. Louis Webb, Mr. George Bird, Mr. Julian Kean, Mr. Frank Webb, and myself. In the Buffet car and the " Ellsmere," re- spectively the first and last cars of the train, Haw IVe Travelled. were large gongs, which could be rung from any of the cars ; these were used in the day- time to call servants from one part of the train to the other, and were to be used at night in case of an attack by highwaymen. There '>. CZ^ C.ci^^-^^ i^-t±^ o/^d'^M-^-'t^ ' have been cases heretofore where trains, like stage-coaches of old, have been " held up " and their occupants compelled to deliver up their valuables at the urgent request of some des- perate border ruffian. Such instances are, of 4 To California and Alaska. course, not very common in the present ad- vanced state of Western civilization, but we thouo^ht it advisable to follow the Irishman's suesfestion — " it is better to be sure than sorry," — and we were consequently well pre- pared to give any such intruders a warm reception. Our crew of men on the train during the daytime was in charge of Colonel Oscar Eastmond, who had served in the United States army during the war, and since then had been holding the position of con- ductor. On our road to the Pacific coast we had one of Pinkerton's best detectives, who took charge of the train at niorht. After leav- ing the Pacific coast, Colonel Eastmond took charge of the train at night, and slept in the daytime. The cooking on board our train was in the hands of two of the oldest and best-tried cooks on the road, and eight of the best por- ters were selected for the party. The train was also so arranged as to be heated by steam from the eno-ines. Through the kindness of Mr. Van Home, of Montreal, a new steel steamship, belonging to the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company, and which, about this time, had just arrived on the How We Travelled, 5 Pacific coast, was chartered for a two weeks' cruise in Alaskan waters. She was entered as the writer's yacht in the Yacht Chib, and car- ried his yachting colors during the cruise. Our start from under the 45th Street bridge at the Grand Central Depot, in the great me- tropolis, was marked by more than the ordi- nary excitement which usually attends events of that kind. A large number of friends had gathered there to see the party start out, and to wave their parting salutes as they called out " a pleasant journey and a safe return " — a journey which was to take us four times across the continent, up into the land of seals, and through the British dominions. CHAPTER II. FROM NEW YORK TO OMAHA. We arrived at Niagara Falls on Sunday morning, the 7th of April. We spent some time in admiring the scenery, which was of course not new to us, and with which the reader is probably familiar. The Falls of Niagara are beautiful at all times, but there was something in the rich, golden sunrise of that lovely April morning which lent an addi- tional beauty to the view. The sight of such a sunrise recalled our early reading of " Childe Harold " : The morn is up again, the dewy morn, With breath all incense, and with cheeks all bloom, Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn, And living as if earth contained no tomb, — And glowing into day. We started for Detroit at a few moments past five in the morning, our first stop being From Netv York to Omaha. 7 at St. Thomas, one hundred and fifteen miles from the Falls, where we changed engines. The distance from St. Thomas to Windsor, one hundred and eleven miles, we ran in one hundred and seven minutes. At Windsor, where the transport was in waiting and where we were transferred to the Detroit side, our first mishap occurred. In taking the train ofi* the transport the coupling between the " Mariquita " and the dining-car was broken. This caused a delay of three quarters of an hour. From Detroit to Chicago our running time was faster, if any- thing, than on the Canada Southern divi- sion, the indicator at one time reofisterinof a speed of sixty-nine miles an hour. Between Niles and Michigan City, a distance of thirty- six and a half miles, we covered in the remark- able time of thirty-two minutes, including one stop for grade crossing, which occupied at least two minutes. We arrived at Kensinof- ton, near Chicago, at 5.6, having made the run from Suspension Bridge to Kensington, four hundred and ninety-seven and a half miles, in eleven hours and eleven minutes, not including the delay of three quarters of an hour at Detroit. All switches were spiked, 8 To California and Alaska. and all freight and passenger trains side- tracked to enable us to make this fast run. Notwithstanding the remarkable speed at which we travelled, none of the party realized the rapid rate at which we ran all day. In thinking over these wonderful perform- ances of locomotive speed we are reminded of the phenomenal growth and development of the railway in the last century. It seems almost incredible that the first locomotive, in- vented in London only eighty-five years ago, could not make steam, and could neither travel fast nor draw a heavy load. The first loco- motive in this country was run in 1829, and operated by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, connecting the coal mines with the canal. That same year Peter Cooper experi- mented with a little locomotive, and once re- lated, with great glee, how, on the trial trip, he had beaten a gray horse attached to another car. On our arrival at Chicago our division superintendent, Mr. Spoor, and a number of railroad men were waitinof to meet us. The party, with the exception of the children, went to the Richelieu Hotel, where we dined. In the meantime the train was sent on the From JVciv York to O^naha. 9 belt line to the Chicago and Northwestern Depot. We left Chicago a little after eight o'clock Monday morning, April 8th, and arrived in Council Bluffs, four hundred and ninety-three miles from Chicago, in about twelve hours, the quickest time that has ever been made between these two points. As on the Michi- gan Central, the road was cleared, and the switches were spiked the entire distance. We had only one engine with the same engineer all the distance from Chicago to Council Bluffs. This circumstance is remarkable, for the distance has never been covered before in one run by one engine. The officials of the road, however, had spare engines at different points, fired up with crews in waiting to take the place of ours should anything give out. A master mechanic was also sent all the way through with the train, in order to be in readi- ness should any accident occur to the engine. Our engineer, not beino- accustomed to the last three divisions of the road, had a pilot over each division, and was thus enabled to keep up his high speed. On our arrival at Council Bluffs, through some misunderstandincT, the Union Pacific lo To California and Alaska. Railroad had an engine and crew ready to take us throucrh "special" to Ogden, they having conceived the idea that it was our intention to go directly through to the Pacific coast via the Union and Central Pacific lines, and had arranged to give us a very fast run to the coast. There is no doubt that had we eone by their line we should have made the quick- est time from ocean to ocean that has ever been made, or is likely to be made for years to come. Mr. Orr, their representative, met us at the Union Depot, and taking special en- gine and car we went with him to see the city of Omaha, returning late in the evenine. Council Bluffs is one of the oldest towns in Western Iowa. As early as 1846 it was known as a Mormon settlement and called Kanesville, a name which it retained until 1853, when the Legislature granted a char- ter designating the place as the City of Coun- cil Bluffs. The city includes within her corporate limits about twenty-four square miles, and the surrounding country is rich in farming land. PVom the appearance of the country we passed through at this time we were reminded that springtime was at hand. In various sec- From Neiv York to Omaha. 1 1 tions we saw the farmers ploughing-, and the o^rass startino- out of the oTound. The soil was of a dark color, evidently of sufficient richness to be independent of a fertilizer. One does not wonder that farmers in this sec- tion of the country can raise from forty to forty-five bushels of corn to the acre. When we entered the State of Iowa, which we did after passing Fulton, the large amount of stock, especially cattle, seen on every farm, was particularly noticeable. At every town between Chicago and Omaha there were groups of people at the various stations, ranging in numbers from fifty to five hundred, waitinor to see our train o-q throucrh. For it was known all along the line of the road that our excursion party was coming, from the fact that the switches at all stations had been spiked, all trains side-tracked, and employes of the road near the several stations had been placed with white flags at the different cross- ings just previous to the passage of the train. These peculiar preparations, of course, brought an inquiring crowd about, who waited to see our train pass through. The city of Omaha, to which point our spe- cial train was taken on the morning of the 12 To California and Alaska. 9th, furnishes a striking example of Western growth and enterprise. Each time that the visitor stops here he finds some new evidence of improvement. Portions of the town that, but a few months before, were barren plains, are laid out in streets and lined with substan- tial houses of fine appearance. The railroad terminals and properties near the depot serve to indicate that this city is one of the most important railroad centres of the West. Omaha was settled in 1854, when a few squatters fixed upon this section for their residence, the country at that time being a part of the Territory of Nebraska. The sit- uation of the town commands for it an ex- tensive trade with the West. The shops of the Union Pacific Railroad, the smelting works for refining silver ore from the mountains, and manufactories of various kinds give employ- ment to many mechanics and laborers. The bridge across the Missouri, built by the Union Pacific Company, and costing over a million dollars, is one of the finest structures of the kind in the country. It stands sixty feet above high-water mark, and has, besides a railroad track, a street-car track and a wagon way. From New York to Omaha. i o The ride from Omaha to Kansas City was through a part of tlie country which was new to most of us, and full of interest. We fol- lowed the river route the whole distance to Kansas City, passing the city of Leavenworth, one of the largest and most flourishing towns in the State, surrounded by one of the richest agricultural regions in the valley of the Mis- souri. In 1853, only thirty-six years ago, the site of this city was covered with hazel-brush, and wolves roamed about the country unmo- lested. Now it has schools, churches, acade- mies, and theatres. It is the headquarters for outfitting government supply trains for West- ern posts, and has a very large trade with the Territories. The government farm, located here, is one of the largest and most productive in the country. Fort Leavenworth, two miles from the city, is situated on a bluff one hundred and fifty feet high, and was established in 1827. Connected with the fort is stabling for eight thousand horses and fifteen thousand mules. Our stop at Omaha was made particularly agreeable and noteworthy from the fact that, soon after our arrival, Bishop Worthington of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska called upon us, and took the ladies of the party for a drive 14 To California and Alaska. around the city. We did not have such a pleasant experience at Kansas City. Through some misunderstanding on the part of the railroad officials, our train, instead of being taken into the depot, was left in the freight yards. As a result of this arrangement, the ladies were deprived of the pleasure of visiting various points of interest in the city. Some of the gentlemen of the party, with considera- ble difficulty, managed to find their way to the passenger depot, and rode about town in the well-known cable cars. Thoug-h Kansas City was settled in 1830, it was twenty-five years before it began to improve and increase in population. After the breaking out of the war its commerce was almost ruined, but with peace came prosperity, and since 1865 its ad- vance has been marvellous. Kansas City has the honor of having built the first bridge across the Missouri, which it did at a cost of one million dollars. Soon after our arrival at this place the Pinkerton night-watchman reported for duty — his services being considered necessary from Kansas City to San Francisco. When passing through Topeka, on the At- chison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, Mr. From New Yoi'k to Omaha. 15 Robinson, the General Manager of the road, called upon us and, on behalf of the President of the company, extended to us the use of his company's line on our Western trip, cour- teously adding that arrangements had been made to make our trip as pleasant as possible. The country through which we passed at this time, though very flat and sparsely popu- lated, seemed admirably adapted to farming. The appearance of the farms and buildings showed that the people enjoyed more than the usual degree of prosperity peculiar to pastoral life. A notable sight served to recall the past history of this country, and place it in sharp contrast with the present — this was the old cattle trails used by ranchmen in driving their cattle from Texas and the South into Montana, Wyoming, and Dakota, before railroads had been built to perform such service quickly and cheaply. Sitting in our luxuriously appointed palace-car, and noting this point of interest, topfether with the overland wagfon roads used in former years, we could not but recall the vast progress that has been made of late years in furnishing transportation facilities for a journey across the continent. CHAPTER III. DENVER AND COLORADO SPRINGS. We reached Pueblo, the chief city of South- ern Colorado, on the evening of April loth, where we were delayed for two hours, owing to a wash-out. The Spanish-speaking people and the French hunters and trappers who lived in this section before the march of improvement began, gave queer-sounding names to the moun- tains, streams, and the small settlements as they began to be formed. Pueblo is a sample ; but when the early settlers came they soon changed all this, and the brakemen on the Western roads certainly have cause to be thankful that plain Anglo-Saxon names have replaced the queer titles that were common in the early days. It was so cold coming up the grade over the mountains that we had to build fires in all the cars, but when we reached Denver we found the weather warm and pleasant. Our stop at i6 Denver and Colorado Springs. i 7 this point was made more agreeable from the fact that we received our mail, which had come over the Union Pacific line from Chicago. We sent a mail-bagf East with letters from all parties to relatives and friends at home. The chronicler of the expedition had talked into a phonograph a diary of the experiences that had befallen the party since starting from New York. The cylinders containing this ma- terial were included in the outgoing mail, and were in such a shape that they could be trans- cribed by a clerk into " every-day English." Denver has a right to lay claim to the title " Queen City of the Plains " ; it is to-day one of the largest and, in many respects, one of the handsomest towns in the West. Twenty years ago its population was only fifteen hun- dred ; to-day it has over eighty thousand inhabitants. Thirty years ago the inhabi- tants formed an odd social mixture. There were refined and educated men from the Eastern towns, and there were rough and dis- reputable characters, hailing from the purlieus of our QT-reat cities and the roucrh settlements of the far West, all animated with one pur- pose — the search for gold. In 1873 Denver suffered from the financial disaster which had 1 8 To California and Alaska. been felt in the East, and in 1875 and 1876 it was visited with the grasshopper plague, which resulted in a great loss of crops and the with- drawal of a large amount of capital from the banks. After these clouds of adversity came the sunshine of prosperity, only two years later, in 1877, when the export of beeves was the largest ever known. Two years ago the real-estate sales amounted to $29,345,451, an increase of eighteen millions over those for the year 1886. Though Denver is a thorough, go-ahead, practical city, where money and business en- terprise are highly appreciated and made the most of, it is claimed that the town contains more resident college graduates than any other town of the same size in the United States. It makes no pretensions to be a literary cen- tre ; the class of literature found in its whole- sale and retail book-stores, however, shows it to be abreast of the culture of the day. Denver may be called the commercial centre of Colorado, and, in some respects, resembles the thriving town of Springfield, Massachu- setts. It is situated on a series of plateaus, fifteen miles from the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The selection of the site was Denver and Colorado Springs. 19 made by accident. The early gold-hunters who went into the State found a few grains of gold in the sandy bed of Cherry Creek, a small stream that flows into the South Platte River near the town. The hunters called the place Auraria, a decidedly appropriate cogno- men. When it became known that o-old had been found in this vicinity, hunters came from all parts of the States as well as New Mexico, and it became, even for those times, a thriving settlement, where hunters and miners could replenish their stores and complete their out- fits for expeditions into the mountains. As a matter of fact very little gold was found here, but the adventurers kept up the delusion of the fabulous richness of the mountain placers as long as they could. When the bubble finally burst, the town was named Denver, in honor of Col. J. W. Denver, who was then the Governor of Kansas, in which all this mountain region was at that time included. Fifteen railroads to-day centre in Denver. The Union Depot would be a credit to any of our well-developed Eastern cities. It is con- structed almost entirely of stone quarried in the State, and is 503 feet long by 69 feet wide. The central tower is 165 feet high, and con- 20 To California and Alaska. tains an illuminated clock. An idea can be formed of the immense amount of railroad traffic carried on in this structure when it is stated that over two hundred thousand pieces of baofSfaee are handled within its walls in the course of a year, Denver is practically supported by the three great industries, mining, agriculture, and stock- raising. Though silver was not found until 1870, the yield of that metal in 1886 was nearly $17,000,000. Ore is sent to the city not only from Colorado but from New Mexico and Old Mexico, Montana, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and South America. Of six million acres of ao;ricultural land in Colo- rado, two thirds have been taken up, and mil- lions of dollars are invested in raising cattle and sheep. The city itself has a very inviting appear- ance. We drove through its handsome streets, and admired the beautiful residences and buildings to be seen on every hand, not for- getting that this wonderful development was the growth of the last twenty-five years. After seeing everything of interest in the city, and obtaining certain necessary supplies, we left for Colorado Springs. This is a beauti- Denver and Colorado Springs. 21 fill city, charmingly situated at the foot of Pike's Peak. When Lieutenant Zebulon Pike was ordered, in 1806, by General Wilkinson, to explore the region between Missouri and the frontier of Mexico, he described the great peak, saying that it "appeared like a small blue cloud," He named it Mexican Mountain, but afterwards, in honor of his bravery, it was given the name of Pike's Peak. It may not be generally known that we owe the existence of Colorado Springs to a railroad company — or rather, to the National Land and Improvement Company, which was started by the Denver and Rio Grande Railway Com- pany. This organization purchased a tract of land, five miles distant from the Springs, and spent large sums in laying out broad streets and planting along their sides rows of cotton- wood trees. It expended forty thousand dol- lars for the construction of a canal so that water could be broucrht to the town. In order to develop the place, it gave a valuable build- ing lot for church purposes to each of the Christian denominations. Each deed of land provided a heavy penalty in case liquor should be sold, or otherwise disposed of, on the premises. 2 2 To California and Alaska. How far these temperance principles are carried out at the present time, we do not know. We have heard, however, that when a man wants his beer, he gets a certificate of membership in a "beer" club, thus becoming a shareholder, and the law cannot prevent him from using the beverage. Colorado Springs is noted, far and near, as a health resort, and, during the summer months, its hotels are crowded with health- seekers from Western Kansas and Southern California. In the winter season many New Yorkers and residents of our laree Eastern cities are seen on its streets. Accordinor to competent medical authority, the climate and waters are good in cases of nervous exhaustion, bad circulation, defective nutrition, and ma- laria. The climate is also said to be good for consumptives, setting the healthy processes of life going with increased vigor. Persons who are affected with heart trouble, however, are not advised to visit this section of the country. CHAPTER IV. THE PARKS OF COLORADO. On the morning of April 12th, soon after breakfast, our party divided, some starting in carriages, and some on horseback, for Manitou and the Garden of the Gods, others taking a different direction. Manitou, much to the deHght of its resi- dents, has gained the name of the Saratoga of the West. It is about five miles from Colorado Springs, and has grown from a small settlement of log cabins to a good-sized village. It lies at the base of Pike's Peak, and seems perfectly hemmed in by surround- ing hills, and altogether shut off from the outside world. The air is very fine, and the waters are said to be a cure for rheumatism, liver troubles, blood poisoning, and diabetes. It seems that the Indians of Colorado, in early times, were in the habit of using these waters 23 24 To California and Alaska. when they felt the need of a tonic. The bene- ficial effects of the climate and the waters are illustrated by the saying of the Western man, that he was kept there simply as an example of what the country would do for a man, add- ing, that he came from Chicago on a mattress. " The Garden of the Gods " is the fanciful title which has been bestowed upon a valley of small dimensions, lying about four miles from Colorado Springs, Its special features are a number of shelf-like rocks, upheaved into perpendicular position, some of them rising to about three hundred and fifty feet in height. The road enters the Garden throusfh a narrow passage-way, between two towering but narrow ledg-es of cliffs. This entrance is called the gateway. The rocks are mostly of a very soft brilliantly red sandstone, although one ridge of cliffs is of a white sandstone. Some of the foot-hills in the vicinity are sur- mounted by similar upheavals, forming ridges of serrated rock, while round the main cliff in the valley are separate spire-like columns. These rock formations for years have been a feature of peculiar interest to the geologist. These parks are really nothing more than large fertile valleys, shut in by the spurs or The Parks of Colorado. 25 branches of the Rocky Mountains, North Park, which Hes in the extreme northern part of the State, has not been thoroughly explored and settled, owing to its remote situation and colder climate. Its forests abound with bear, deer, and other wild game, and it is a favorite resort for the adventurous sportsman. Middle Park is directly south of North Park, and is surrounded by Long's Peak, Gray's Peak, and Mount Lincoln, each from thirteen thousand to fifteen thousand feet higfh. Its territory is made up of forests and large, ex- pansive meadows, among the grasses of which will be found wild flowers of nearly every hue. South Park lies below. It is surrounded by high mountains, and its climate and scenery are delightful. San Luis Park, in Southern Colorado, is about twice the size of the State of New Hampshire. In its centre there is a beautiful lake, and its mountains are covered with for- ests of pine, fir, spruce, oak, and cedar, and large meadows which produce a rich growth of grasses. Cattle obtain the most wholesome subsistence on the grasses of the plains below, and medicinal springs are found in every direction. 2 6 To California and Alaska. Monument Park, which is reached by the Rio Grande and Denver road, Is so called from its resemblance to a vast cemetery containing monuments of a departed and lonor-fororotten race. These monuments are composed of a very close conglomerate, sur- mounted by a material of darker color and harder texture. Two of our party, on this occasion, with an engine and one of our cars, took a trip up the Colorado Midland Railroad, over the moun- tains, as far as Green Mountain Park. This is a beautiful, sequestered little nook, and con- tains a summer hotel, surrounded by green and well-kept lawns. There is a fountain, too, and the whole appearance of the place is in striking contrast with the cold peaks of granite and snow that surround the settlement. On our return we took up the rest of the party at a way station, and all returned to Colorado Springs. The scenery on the Colorado Midland road is extremely fine, and the journey was espe- cially interesting, from the fact that we saw some wonderful specimens of engineering work. The bridges and viaducts on this road are truly remarkable. In places the grade is The Parks of Colorado. 27 from two hundred and eighty to three hundred and ten feet a mile. The curves are very fre- quent ; the road-bed winding first through a tunnel, then passing over a precipice across gorges, all the time pursuing a serpentine course, now twisting this way, now that, in making the ascent of the mountain. So steep are the gfrades that not more than twelve freight cars are allowed to go down the moun- tain with one engine, and six of these are required to be equipped with air brakes. As the railroad pursues its winding way along the side of the mountain, the passengers can look down into the eoree below, and see the old road which the Forty-niners used in their perilous trips across the continent to the gold-fields. Many travellers, it is said, were waylaid and killed in this section by the Indians ; and many others lay down to die, utterly worn out with fatigue, after their long and unsuccessful wanderincrs in search of the precious metal. From Colorado Springs we went to Pueblo. At that place, through the courtesy of the offi- cials of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, an observation car was placed at our disposal, and we made a run over their line of about 28 To California and Alaska. forty-four miles to Canyon City, through the Royal Gorge, in which the Arkansas River runs. In many places the sides of the canyon through which this stream fiows are so close that the only way a railroad could be built there was by putting rafters from one side to the other and suspending the track from them over the surcjinsf torrent beneath. Our party enjoyed this trip very much, and returned to Pueblo in time for dinner. Mr. Drake, Superintendent of the Atchison, To- peka, and Santa Fe Railroad, now left us, having been in our company two days ; he had shown us all the points of interest along the route. CHAPTER V. SANTA FE. On the morning of April 13th we left Trin- idad with one enormous consolidated loco- motive and one mogul locomotive, and started over the Raton Ranee. The crrade at this point is very steep, and it took these two heavy engines to haul our train over. A little over thirty years ago, " the Army of the West," then under command of General Kearny, marched over almost the same route the railroad takes to-day. When the soldiers crossed the Raton Mountains they were often obliged to drag the wagons up with ropes on one side, and let them down on the other in the same way. At the top of the mountains we passed through a lono- tunnel and then commenced the descent of the western slope. The tunnel is approached on either side by a very heavy 29 30 To California aiid Alaska. grade, and in some places shows singular seams or streaks of coal in its inner walls. Mr. Dyer, Superintendent of the New Mex- ico division of the Santa Fe road, had joined us at Trinidad, and very kindly pointed out to us the objects of interest. We arrived at Las Vegas (which, in English, means " the meadows") about noon. It is at this point that passengers leave the train for the Hot Springs, about seven miles distant. ot- f ■ SI? Illf The old Plaza, a short distance away from the railroad station at Las Vegas, is said to Santa Fe. 31 look about the same as when General Kearny, after crossing the mountains, stood there and made an address to the Mexican people. There is an ancient church with a rude cross in front. A large singular-looking three-story building also attracts the attention of the visitor. This is a hotel evidently of a rather primitive pattern. A certain witty traveller once stopped here, and the landlord assured him that he had slept in the same bed which, centuries ago, had been occupied by Montezuma. In a burst of confidence the landlord also added that he intended soon to put an additional story on the structure. " I told him," said the traveller, " that he 'd better put a new story on the kitchen, and another coat of whitewash on those slats I slept on." The weather in this section was warm, al- most summer-like. As we receded from the country we had just been visiting, we looked back and saw the snow-capped mountains to the north of us, in the distance. As we jour- neyed to the south their towering icy peaks gradually grew smaller and smaller, and when we finally gained a complete entrance into the Southern land, they seemed like mere specks on the horizon. 32 To Califoj^nia and Alaska. At Lamy, where we arrived about two o'clock, we left the main line and ran up to Santa Fe, reaching the quaint old city in a little over an hour. Our party there divided, some taking- carriao^es and others walking- and start- ed out to see the town. The most enthusias- tic traveller would not call it a very inspiring place. The evidences of extreme poverty, dirt, and squalor were met with on every side, and these the bright sun and genial climate seemed rather to enhance than to modify. Poverty, when seen in some portions of a tropical climate, is neither sad nor dishearten- ing, but there was something about the ap- pearance of the poor of this town that was peculiarly depressing to the visitor. In a large public square we noticed a number of improvements being made by a gang of con- victs, who were guarded by keepers stationed around the fences, seated on boxes or other improvised seats, each one with a heavy Win- chester rifie across his lap. While in this part of the country we can- not fail to recall the fact that in 1527a Spaniard, landing in what is now Florida, made an over- land journey which occupied him nine years, passing through the country now known as San fa FL 2,Z New Mexico, and finally reached the City of Mexico. We have already alluded to the enterprising soldier and explorer, Z. M. Pike, who did much to start the profitable trade over what for years has been known as the Santa Fe Trail. This old town, and the settlement adjacent to it had, up to that time, been dependent upon Mex- ico for the various supplies they needed. Four men who started in 1812, animated by the spirit of commercial enterprise, reached Santa Fe in safety, but they did not get back home until nine years later, having been imprisoned on some pretext or other. In the following year, however — 18 13, — the famous Santa Fe Trail was really opened. It is about eight hundred miles in length, and remains very much to-day as it was half a century ago, when the necessities of commercial intercourse led to its being opened. The first traders used mules or pack-horses in carrying their merchandise, and it was not until 1824 that it was deemed advisable to employ wagons in the traffic. After this method of transportation was introduced, the amount of trade increased wonderfully. The initial points were towns on the Missouri 34 To California and Alaska. River, about one hundred and fifty miles west of St. Louis. What a motley group of char- acters must have gathered at these centres in the early days of travel across the plains ! Of course there were traders, adventurers, plenty of that class of men who have failed in nearly every undertaking, and who may be called " the misfits " of life ; there were young men who came from the East to the new country, ready to take their chances in almost any kind of speculation ; and there were old men who thought, as their lives were going out toward the setting sun of existence, their fortunes might as well tend in the same direction, and, singular to say, there were many invalids who believed that this rough journey across the plains, with its open-air life and excitement, might be to them a means of regaining the health they had lost. The quaint wagons, or "schooners," as they came to be called, were at first drawn by horses, then mules, and finally by mules and oxen. A party or caravan would number about one hundred wagons, and would be divided into four equal sections, each in charge of some responsible man. At night the caravan would come to a halt, form a Santa Fe. 35 hollow square, and each member, in turn, would be obliged to mount oruard. If these lay soldiers could have stood up together, the sight of them would surely have furnished a greater fund of amusement than Falstaff's raesred band of warriors, for here were men representing not only all degrees of fortune, but all the leading nationalities, some of them, durinof their midnicrht visfils, as brave and tempestuous as the lion-hearted Richard, others exhibitine the amusing- cowardice of Bob Acres. In addition to the merchandise, each wagon carried a good supply of staples, flour, sugar, coffee, and bacon ; for fresh meat they de- pended upon killing buffaloes along the route. One of the most interestinor thinors we saw as we came down the Raton Range through a pleasant valley, was the large " Maxwell Grant." representing one and three-quarter million acres. While we were passing through this section, we saw thousands and thousands of cattle roaming about, and twice during the day our train ran into a number of them that had broken through the wire fence, unfortunately killing a few of the poor creatures each time. It was a strange sight, also, to see beautiful ante- o 6 To California and Alaska. lope occasionally dart up close to the track, and then scamper away at the sound of the locomotive whistle. Our journey over the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe road we found very interesting on account of the beautiful scenery along the route. The mechanical and working condition of the road, also, was far better than we had expected to find it. Its motive power is cer- tainly equal to that of any road in the Eastern States, and, as far as could be seen, it is kept in perfect repair. A word or two about our domestic life upon the train, to which, by this time, we had be- come thoroughly accustomed. It certainly seemed strange to us, while travelling through a wild and desolate country, to listen to the notes of the piano in the buffet-car, which we found the pleasantest of lounging places, as we spent nearly every evening after dinner there singing and playing, the ladies generally retiring about ten, the rest of the party about eleven, after talking over what we had seen during the day. It was a long journey for children to under- take, but they remained perfectly well, and it was surprising to see how quickly the little Santa Fe. o^y ones became used to the motion of the train. For two or three days after we started, it was a matter of considerable difficulty for them to maintain their equilibrium in their journeys about the car ; this was particularly the case with the baby. They had many a fall, which, however, in the excitement of the journey, they took with much good-nature, and it was not long before they could navigate about their swift-moving nursery with as much con- fidence as the oldest railroad conductor on the road. It was a matter of great good-fortune to us that we broup^ht the dinino-room car, for there was scarcely a meal at which there were not present one or two guests. On various divi- sions of the roads we travelled over, we enter- tained the officials who showed us so much courtesy, and it would have been utterly im- possible to have, cooked for such a large party in the kitchen of either the " Ellsmere" or the " Mariquita." We found, too, that our stores held out well, which was a matter to be thank- ful for, as it would have been very difficult, in fact impossible, to get some of them in the sparsely settled country through which we passed. We received telegrams from home 38 To California and Alaska. every day, and were thus kept en rapport with the domestic scenes we had left, and we were careful to send dispatches quite as often to the members of our respective families. CHAPTER VI. SANTA MONICA. Owing to some misunderstanding-, we were delayed in getting a crew on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, and lost considerable time on this account. This was the only road we had been over which did not provide a division superintendent to call attention to the scenery and point out the objects of interest. The country was flat, and deserted-looking, and the train meandered through it over a poor road- bed at a slow rate of speed. As we came over the Arizona divide down to the Colorado River, the scenery was very fine. When we crossed Canon Diablo, the gruesome remem- brance came to us that but two weeks before that time a train was " held up " by robbers. While singing hymns on Sunday evening, at a station where the train stopped to take water, an old resident of the neighborhood 39 40 To California and Alaska. came to our buffet-car, the door of which had been left open on account of the heat. He received a pleasant greeting, and apologized for his intrusion by saying that he wanted to hear us sing the hymns and play the piano, as the music was something he never heard out there ; it was thirty years since he had been in any part of the country where religious tunes were sunof. The scenery near a point called Flag Staff was very peculiar and different from anything that we had seen on this road thus far. An hour or so before reaching this point, we en- tered a large grove of yellow pine-trees through which we rode until we reached the station mentioned. We passed through the Mojave Desert early on the morning of Monday, April 15th; as there was a very heavy dew the night before, we fortunately did not suffer from the dust to any extent. This desert must truly be a terrible place to pass through on a hot summer's day. With the exception of the stubbly cactus, not a particle of vege- tation of any kind can be seen as far as the eye can reach. On our arrival at Barstow, the officials of the California Central Railroad gave our train Sa?ita Jllonica, 41 a fine run over the San Bernardino Moun- tains. In the hicrh altitudes which we trav- ersed we passed through snow near the summits of the hilltops ; then, coming down the mountain (the grade being one hundred and ninety feet per mile ;) we gradually entered a beautiful green and fertile valley. The town of San Bernardino, which was an old Mormon settlement, is located here, and just before entering it, we passed through an orange crrove covered with a wealth of beau- tiful flowers. The o^rass in the fields was growing luxuriantly, and the contrast between the cold and desolation of the mountain heights we had just left and the beautiful valley we were entering was truly remarkable. The whole valley is walled in by bold and precipitous mountains formed of soft, white stone, giving them the appearance of white sand. Fruit of all kinds grows in abundance, particularly the orange and the lemon. From San Bernardino we took the Cali- fornia Southern road to Los Angeles, passing through Pasadena, celebrated for its orange and fruit groves ; the temptation to stop here was very great, but had to be resisted. At Los Anofeles the aeent of the Central Pacific 42 To California and Alaska. Railroad Company met our party, presenting a very kind letter from Mr. Towne, the Gen- eral Managfer, who urered us to make our own plans for travelling over his road, stating that every convenience would be at our command, and adding that we should not hesitate to call upon him for any service we wanted. An engine and crew were placed at our disposal immediately with orders to remain with us as long as we required their services. We left at once for Santa Monica, a charm- ing watering-place on the coast but a few miles distant. It was here that we obtained our first view of the Pacific Ocean, the sight of which served to remind us more strongly than could a glance at our itinerary of the vast amount of territory we had covered ; for it was only nine days before this that we had left the Grand Central Depot in New York, and felt the warm hand-pressure of our friends who had bade us good-bye. Considering the number of nights we did not travel, and the number of days spent in visiting different points of interest, the trip had been truly re- markable. We had cause to be thankful, also, that there had been no accidents of any im- portance, and that all our party were In the Q Z < o z z O o Pi < z w o t/2 Santa Monica. 43 enjoyment of perfect health. Every part of our train, up to this time, stood the trip re- markably well, with the exception of the brake shoes, the wear upon which was so severe coming over the Raton Range, that they had to be renewed later on. On our arrival at the sea-coast the children expressed their joy by scampering on the beach, and one of our party visited the swim- ming-baths in the vicinity. The air was de- lightful, and blossoming roses and flowers could be seen in the beautiful garden in front of the hotel. Santa Monica, though a small town, is beau- tifully located, and has been called the Long Branch of the Pacific coast. Its population is very largely increased during the summer months. The hotel, a magnificent building, standing against a mountain side, is owned by the railroad company. The upper stories open upon the bluff, and the lower floors upon the beach. During our stop here our train stood on a platform overhanging the Pacific Ocean at the edge of the bluff. We remained here until after dark. The nigfht was clear and the moon shone brightly over the waves as they chased each other toward the beach. 44 To California and Alaska. The landscape was beautiful, and recalled those lines of " The Culprit Fay": 'T is the middle watch of a summer night, The earth is dark, but the heavens are bright, Naught is seen in the vault on high But the moon, and the stars, and the cloudless sky, And the flood that rolls its milky hue, A river of light on the welkin blue. What might have been a serious accident aroused our party quite early the following morning ; a servant notified us that the dining- car was on fire, and the crew could not put it out. The fire extinguishers had been used, but not with entire success. It was not until a portion of the roof, which was discovered to be very hot had been cut through that the flames burst through the aperture. The fire raged with considerable violence, but was quickly extinguished when once the source of the trouble had been found. The accident was caused by the use of soft coal in the kitchen range. We left Santa Monica at eight o'clock in the mornino- and arrived at Los Angeles after about an hour's ride. CHAPTER VII. LOS ANGELES. On reachinor Los Angeles, a number of mechanics, who were in waiting, promptly re- paired the damage to our car, and the party went to a hotel for lunch. Los Angeles is the oldest and largest city in Southern California. It is situated in a narrow valley, on a river named after the town, and is about twenty-two miles from the sea. Along the banks of this river, for miles, are vineyards and orange groves, which are the pride of the place. The town has grown wonderfully during the past few years, on account of its reputation as a health resort. Here and there may be seen one-story houses, built in the Spanish style, their flat roofs cov- ered with asphaltum, which abounds in the neighborhood. There is a rich tin mine at Temescal, about sixty miles distant, and the 45 46 To California and Alaska. San Gabriel placer gold mines lie about twenty miles to the northeast. The business portion of Los Angeles is quite handsome, and it is only in the Ameri- can portion of the town that the streets are laid out with that painful regularity common to most American cities. The original Span- ish quarter, not now, however, occupied by many members of that nationality, is separated from the American-built part of the town by what is called the ''plaza" adjoming a good- sized hotel. There are large mercantile houses, bank buildings, and pretentious-looking hotels that line the broad main street, the regularity of which is occasionally broken by the appear- ance of a small adobe house. The oranee-trees at Los Angfeles bear at Los Angeles. 47 from seven to ten years of age ; from the age of twelve until they cease bearing they are said to average twenty dollars per tree per annum. At this rate, sixty trees to the acre, allowinof one thousand orancres as the average yield per tree, would give a gross result of twelve hundred dollars. Trees, in well-kept orchards, occasionally average fifteen hundred oranges each. It is said that an American settler has a grove in this place containing two thousand trees, which, when sixteen years old, averaged fifteen hundred oranges per tree, and has con- tinued to yield about the same each year since. Another man had a erove of sixteen hundred and fifty trees, some of which bore as many as four thousand oranges, the average being fif- teen hundred to the tree. Among" other fruits that are raised in this section are apples, walnuts, pears, peaches, pomegranates, figs, nectarines, and olives. The income from EncrHsh walnuts is estimated at from six hundred to one thousand dollars per acre ; from olives, at from two hundred to five hundred dollars ; the vineyards will pro- duce from ten to fifteen thousand pounds per acre. The olive is propagated by cuttings from ten to fifteen inches long, the slips being 48 To California and Alaska. put into the ground perpendicularly about six or eight inches apart. The trees bear in four or five years, but they do not produce a full crop until they are ten or twelve years old; they continue to yield, however, until they are very old. Trees that are threescore and ten years old will bear one hundred gallons of olives ; the average yield is about twenty-five gallons per tree. If the olive is to be pickled, it is gathered before it is ripe ; we get the phrase " olive-green " from the looks of the fruit at this time, for when ripe it has a ma- roon color, and looks very much like a damson plum. When the unripe fruit is gathered it is placed in tight barrels or casks, through which water is allowed to percolate ; then it is put in strong brine, and is ready for use in a few days. The methods for manufacturing the oil are being improved upon every few years, and, even in their crude state, were an advance on the old Jewish plan, which seems to have been to tread out the oil with the feet. Seventy trees to the acre should yield about one thou- sand four hundred gallons of berries, and twenty gallons of berries yield about three ofallons of oil, which is worth from four to five dollars per gallon, wholesale. Los Angeles. 4q California olives are said to be better than the foreign fruit, because they have more sunshine and a richer soil. An olive orchard will yield about nine hundred dollars gross per acre. There is one old olive-tree near Santa Barbara that is thirty years old, and that has yielded forty-eight dollars' worth of oil for several years in succession. A grove of old olive- trees, which was planted by Spanish mission- aries, seventy years ago, is still a source of income to its owner. * It is said that the largest grape-vine in the world grows about three miles from Santa Barbara, and a pleasant story is told about how it came to be planted. At the end of the last century a young Spanish lady started from Sonora on horseback to visit the country in question. Just before leaving, her lover broke from a neighboring grape-vine a branch, tell- ing her to use it for a riding-whip. When the young woman arrived at the end of her jour- ney, being of a more sensible turn of mind than most young people passing through the sentimental stage of life, and wishing to pre- serve the gift of her lover, she planted the slip in the ground. The vine, according to the story, appears to have been quite as thrifty as 50 To California and Alaska. the far-famed been-stalk we heard about in our childhood, for it attained immense proportions, and astonished the natives. The trunk is four feet four inches in circumference. After reaching the heicrht of eieht feet from the ground it sends out its branches, which are trained on horizontal trellises supported by posts ; so that the vine which started from a riding-whip is made to cover an area of five thousand square feet. Its annual yield for many years has been from ten to twelve thou- sand pounds of grapes. By a singular coinci- dence, a fig-tree grows near by, over which a portion of the vine extends, so that literally the owner of this vineyard could sit down under her own vine and fig-tree. The lady died when she was one hundred and thirteen years old. Much of the past beauty of this vine was destroyed when a portion of it was sent to the Centennial Exhibition a few years ago. It would have been pleasant, if we could have spared the time, to have remained longer in this section, one of the most interesting parts of the State. Southern California in- cludes seven counties : San Diego, San Ber- nardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Bar- bara, San Luis Obispo, and Kern. These Los Angeles. 5 1 counties contain about fifty thousand square miles, or more than thirt}' milHon acres of land, and represent nearly one third of the territory of the whole State. San Diego, the farthest county to the south, is large enough to be a principality. Gold was found in the Isabella Mountains, forty-two miles northeast of the town of San Diego, in 1870, but the ore did not turn out to be very rich. Twelve miles from the town, which is five hundred miles from San Francisco, and twenty-five from Los Angeles, a stone monument, erected by the government, indicates where the terri- tory of the United States ends and that of Mexico beofins. San Bernardino County, the largest in the State, consists in a great measure of dry and desert-like valleys, and inaccessible mountains. As already stated, there was a Mormon settle- ment here in 1847, ^^'^ it was abandoned by those people in 1856, when they went to Salt Lake City. What Southern California can do for the industrious immigrant is illustrated in the settlement called Anaheim, located twenty miles south of Los Angeles. This place was founded by an association of Germans in 52 To California aiid Alaska. 1857 ; the land, consisting of eleven hundred acres, being divided into fifty lots of twenty acres each, having a space in the centre for local improvements. The party, at the out- set, consisted of fifty members, all Germans, of different occupations and persuasions. The land was a barren plain, and cost two dollars per acre. The lots were fenced in by planting willows, sycamores, and poplars, and one half of each lot was set out in grape-vines. For three years Indians and Mexicans were hired to do the work, the stockholders pursuing their regular vocations at home. An irri- ofatinof canal seven miles lonof was excavated, together with subsidiary ditches, thus securing the thorouoh irrigfation of the whole tract. In i860 the assessments were all paid in, the lots were assigned in a drawing, and the owners took possession and went to w^ork. Ten years later a million grape-vines were growing, most of them bearing fruit, and there were ten thousand fruit-trees on the place. The popu- lation numbered four hundred, and the village contained a public school, a post-office, and a church. CHAPTER VIII. MONTEREY. We left Los Angeles at three o'clock on the afternoon of April i6th, making a pleasant run to Mojave, where we passed the regular passen- ger train on Its way to San Francisco. It was a beautiful, clear moonlisfht nlcjht, and the scenery, coming down the mountain, was so magnificent, that we res^retted we had not started three hours earlier. The weather was so warm that we could keep the car doors open, and sit in the observation-room in the rear of the train, all lights having been put out. The odor and freshness of the vegetation, as we passed through the valleys, was something exquisite, and long to be remembered. With the beauty of the night, the magnificent scenery, and the fragrant exhalations from the surround- ing country, the hour was very late before we retired. 53 54 To Califor?iia and Alaska. When we awoke in the morning, about half- past six o'clock, it Avas in the middle of one of the most beautifid and luxuriant valleys we had ever seen. We had read much about the beauties of California, but the richness, the luxuriance, the boundless wealth of the vegeta- tion which we saw in this section was something- far beyond even our greatest expectations. To be sure, we saw the country at its best, for we arrived there in the height of the spring sea- son ; it would scarcely be possible, however, to imagine any natural scene of this kind which could be more beautiful. Leaving the main line at Lathrop we went to Niles, from there to San Jose. The famous Almaden Mines are located about fourteen miles from San Jose. The view from the mountain at this place is full of wildness and beauty. There are elevated peaks to be seen in every direction, and the green hillsides are marked by the tracks made by sheep and goats, which love to feed upon the sweet grass and wild oats. The mountain road is bordered by flowers of a crimson and glowing hue, the Mexican sage, the wild gooseberry and currant, the scrub-oak, and poison-oak — a little shrub dangerous to touch, — and a profusion of un- Monterey. 55 known foliage, rich in coloring and luxuriant of growth. The miners and their families live in cabins and huts, of various sizes and degrees of comfort, built upon the broken surface of the mountain in a very irregular and pictu- resque manner. The ore from which quicksilver is procured is called cinnabar, and was worked by the Indians for the vermilion powder it contained, with which they used to paint their persons. A Mexican officer, in 1846, bribed the Indians to show him the location of the mines. A Mexican company was formed, named after the most valuable mines of mercury in the world — the Almaden Mines, in the province of La Mancha, Spain. The shaft of the mine runs hundreds of feet straight down into the earth, and the ore is brought up in iron-bound buckets. The men descend to their work, and come back again to the tunnel leading to the mouth of the engine-room, by means of the bucket. The tunnel is very dark, and its walls drip with damp. Among the miners are many Mexicans, who have considerable skill and ex- perience in this kind of work ; and there are also English, Welsh, Scotch, and Irish among the workers. 56 To California and Alaska. After a delay of half an hour at San Jose, we started for Monterey, at which point we arrived about ten o'clock. The place charmed us at once, being one of the finest we had ever seen. We had all been talking of the beauties of Southern California, of the fruits of Los Angeles, of the beach at Santa Monica, of the richness of the country around San Bernardino and Pasadena, but the charms of Monterey exceeded anything we had thus far seen. The walks and drives throucrh the Park were delightful, and the place, as a health resort, undoubtedly has no equal in the country. We were very pleasantly located on the sec- ond story of the Hotel Del Monte, facing the south, our rooms all being sunny, and our comfort provided for in the most thoughtful manner by the hotel proprietor. We met here several invalids, who spoke most enthusiasti- cally of the health-restoring properties of the place. They told us how they had stopped at Thomasville, the Hot Springs, at Las Vegas, Pasadena, and other places, of how they had suffered there in one way or the other, and added that after they arrived in Monterey, and had been there a few days, they felt as if they were on the sure road to health. Every- Monterey 57 thing at this place tends to make one feel cheerful and hopeful. We noticed that the number of healthy people far exceeded the contingent of invalids, which is a very impor- tant factor in the cure of disease, and there were none of those depressing surroundings which are so often met with at the regular health resorts. The bathing pavilion connected with the hotel is certainly a wonder in its way. It is ^~,-^ /^tnK, /^ O OS O < p 2 < The Yoseinite I a//e)'. 85 For six months in the year it is warmed by a tropical sun and refreshed by the bahiiy air of the Pacific. In winter, its roots have a warm covering- of snow ; and it is said, of some of these trees at least, that the ground never freezes beneath them. In fact, they have got nothing to do but to grow ; and it is interest- ing to note that this species is not wearing out, for youne trees can be seen crrowino" vigorously. We say young trees, meaning about four hundred years old, because the monsters themselves are over two thousand 86 To California and Alaska. years old. One of the largest of these is the Grizzly Giant. It is one hundred and seven feet in circumference, and in the thickest place thirty-four feet in diameter. The first branch is nearly two hundred feet from the ground, and is eight feet in diameter. The writer took a number of photographs of these trees, and several views in the immediate neighborhood. From these the illustrations which appear in this book were made. Most of the laree trees have special names attached to them. Many are named after the States ; others are named after celebrated men, such as Longfellow, Lincoln, Grant, Ferdinand de Lesseps, George Washington, Daniel Webster, W. H. Seward, and Andrew Johnson. It seems a little in- congruous that the names of these modern celebrities should be attached to trees whose chief claim to recognition, aside from their size, is their great age, — trees that existed be- fore Titus besieged Jerusalem, which were the contemporaries of an Attila, or a Constantine, and which bid fair to live when the names they bear shall have faded into oblivion. In- congruous though it may be, however, it is gratifying that the names they bear are those of Americans. The pertinence of this remark The Yose7nite Willey. 87 will appear, when I mention that the first British botanist who saw the trees, had the monumental assurance to christen them JfV/- lingtonia, although years before they had received the name of ]]^ashingtoiiia. British botanists still call the trees Wellingtonia, and will probably continue to do so for their own satisfaction. Probably a quarter of the trees in all the groves are over twenty-five feet in diameter ; the stump of one of them, thirty-two feet in diameter, has a house built over it. Five men worked twenty-five days with pump-augers before they could cut it down. The stump is cut five feet from the ground, and a party of 88 To California and Alaska. thirty-two have danced on it at once, not counting the musicians and spectators, who filled up part of the space. Twenty feet in length of this log would make forty-nine thousand feet of boards, which would be worth several thousand dollars. One of these trees has been tunnelled, and a road built through it, so that coaches can drive inside. When standingr underneath it the leaders' heads are just outside the arch of the tree at one end, while the end of the coach is just outside the arch at the other. This, perhaps, will give a better idea of the enor- mous diameter of these trees than any arith- metical statements. The width of the open- ing through this tree is sufficient to allow two stages to pass each other inside the tree. The Faithful Couple is about twenty-eight feet in diameter, reaches seventy feet out of the ground, and forms into two trees on one stem ; the faithful couple of trees having, in reality, but one life, a kind of Siamese-twins existence, and being but one. The only tree which approaches the Sequoia in size and grandeur is the Eucalyptus of Australia, which is from eighty to ninety feet in circumference. After we had gratified our curiosity with The Yosemite J^alley 89 regard to the Big Trees, we returned to Wa- wona, where we took another stage and a fresh set of horses and started at once for the valley. On this drive we had three changes of horses, and the scenery was simply grand. The ride was rather a rough one, but the views to be obtained were well worth the cost of the journey. We alighted from our coach at the world-renowned Inspiration Point, which is a little green plateau, about twenty feet square, on the very verge of the south- west wall of the valley. The view from this situation, once seen, can never be forgotten. It embraces what mieht be called the whole 90 To California and Alaska. gamut of the natural and magnificent ; you see mountains, rock, perpendicular ledge, towering spires thousands of feet high, snow-clad mountains, bald peaks peering into the blue vault of heaven, barren domes of gray granite, water-falls, cascades, and brooks, green fields, and winding streams, — the whole Yosemite is here seen at one glance. There was a shelv- ing rock, upon which we were instructed to creep cautiously to the edge. It is no wonder that the first glance makes some weak persons giddy, especially when they are exhausted by the long ride. The beauty of the scene is indescribable in words ; the experience might be compared to a person looking over the edge of a grand cyclorama, executed on a magnificent scale, containino- all manner of natural effects, and absolutely perfect in artistic execution. The party were particularly impressed with El Capitan, which is, indeed, the most promi- nent attraction to the eve when comlno- down the mountain-side into the valley. This mountain, called, in English, the Great Chief of the Valley, although not so high, by several thousand feet, as some of its giant neighbors, is remarkable on account of its isolation, its The Yosemite Valley. 91 breadth, its perpendicular sides, its bold, de- fiant shape, and its prominence as it stands out hl^e a great rock promontory. It is three thousand three hundred feet in heieht, and the beholder stands in mute astonishment as he views its massive proportions. The Yosemite Valley was discovered in the spring of 185 i, by a party under the command of Major James Savage, who, at the time, was pursuing a number of predatory Indians, who made it their stronghold, considering it in- accessible to the whites. The name Yosemite was given to it in the belief that it was the Indian term for grizzly bear. The valley proper can hardly be called a valley ; it is in reality a rift in the earth's surface. It may be described as a chasm, varying in width from one mile to ninety feet, with granite walls from one thousand to four thousand feet hieh. Masses of detached rock stand, in their soli- tude, like giant obelisks ; others have been split from top to bottom as though by a thunder-bolt. Through the windingrs of the valley flows a river, cold as ice and clear as crystal, its source apparently being from the clouds above. There is luxuriant vegetation, and the extreme of barrenness, the softest 9 2 To Califorjtia and Alaska. carpet-moss and grassy lawns, the great ferns and wild roses, alternating with huge scattered rocks, where not even the lichen will cling. The traveller will note how the sunbeams brighten the summits of the giant mountains ; how the sunshine creeps down the sides of the cold walls, fillino- the valley with floods of golden glory, made brighter by the contrast of patches of deep shade, for there are some spots here which the sun never reaches — cold, and damp, and always dripping ; and there are gorges with arms wide-open, as if forever to court the orb of day. Briefly stated, the chief features of the val- ley are its perpendicular walls, their great height as compared with the width of the val- ley, and the small amount of debris formed at the base of these gfiorantic mountains of rock. The general opinion is that these great moun- tains of rock have been gradually rent in twain from dome to base by some volcanic action and the chasm thus made widened by further volcanic action to its present width. The valley is one vast flower-garden ; plants, shrubs, and flowers of every hue cover the ground like a carpet ; the eye Is dazzled by the brilliancy of the color, and the air is heavy The Yoseniite J^alley. 93 with the fragrance of a million blossoms. There are trees of five and six hundred years' Je growth, of immense height, and yet in com- parison with the vast perpendicular clefts of rock they look like daisies beside a sycamore 94 To California and Alaska. of the forest. One interesting writer on the subject of the Yosemite advances the theory that it is possible that the spot may have been the Eden of Scripture. On the morning of the 26th we all, with the exception of Dr. McLane, left the hotel on horseback for the trail to the top of Glacier Point. This is considered one ot the most dangerous trails in the valley. At two or three places half-way up the mountain the wall on one side was actually perpendicular, and the path, not over two feet wide, was held up by a few small stones, any one of which if loosened would roll thousands of feet below. It was a matter of much concern to us that one of the ladies became very much frightened at this stage of the journey. If she could hold on to her horse, and retain her senses, we knew that all would be well, because the intelligent ani- mal would not go over the cliff. It was utterly impossible for her escort to be of any assist- ance, as, at this point, there w^as scarcely suf- ficient space for a rider to stand alongside his horse. Before coming to the dangerous place on the homeward journey, the lady dismounted and walked with her companion nearly to the foot of the mountain. California mustangs are The Yoscmite Valley. 95 the horses used in this kind of service. They feed on oat-straw or mountain pasture, and can withstand very hard usage. The Spanish sad- dle is used, with high peaks before and behind ; the stirrups are covered with huge leathers which fall five or six inches below the feet, and the legs are protected by broad leathern shields. On the afternoon of the day we made our trip to Glacier Point some of the party made a trip to Nevada Falls. Dr. McLane and the writer, procured a wagon and drove to the Yosemite Falls, and other points of interest In the valley. The Yosemite Valley is situated on the Merced River, in the southern portion of the county of Mariposa, one hundred and forty miles a little southeast from San Fran- cisco. At times this river flows along in a grave, respectable sort of fashion, then leaps over a precipice a hundred feet high, or more, then tumbles and foams its way through a de- vious course around massive rocks as large as a house. Sometimes it hops, skips, and jumps over its rocky bed apparently in playful mood ; sometimes its noise is almost deafening, some- times soft and low and musical to the ear. It flows on the western slope of the Sierra Ne- vada, midway between its eastern and western g6 To California a?id Alaska. base, and in the centre of the State, measuring north and south. It is a narrow stream en- closed in frowning- aranite walls, risinof with almost unbroken and perpendicular faces to the dizzy height of from three to six thousand feet above the green and quiet valley beneath. During the rainy season, and when the snows melt, streams are formed on the precipices, shaping themselves into cataracts of beauty and magnificence surpassing any thing known in mountain scenery. Looking up the valley, from the foot of the Mariposa trail, El Capi- tan is seen on the left, and on the right, the Cathedral Rocks and a beautiful fall called the Bridal Veil, which jumps, in sportive glee, a distance of nearly one thousand feet into the valley. Long before the water reaches its rocky bed it is transformed into mist, and when the wind blows gently it is wafted hither and thither, sometimes forming itself into a thin veil, sometimes closing as if to hide its purity. The Cathedral Rocks on the east are nearly three thousand feet in height, and look like isolated church spires of solid granite, with rocky sides gently sloping from the base to the pinnacle, with no signs of vegetation on their rugged sides. As yet, no human foot NEVADA FALLS. The Yosemite Valley. c^'] has stood on that barren eminence. The Vir- gin's Tears Creek, directly opposite the Bridal Veil, is in a deep recess of the rocks near the lower corner of El Capitan. Farther up the valley is the group of rocks known as the Three Brothers, or " Mountains Playing Leap- frog." Looked at from below, the peculiar shape of these three rocks give them the ap- pearance, very much, of three frogs in the act of going through the performance indicated. The Yosemite Falls — three in one — are farther up the valley. The water dashes with great force over the rocks and plunges into a vast basin of rock beneath. Gathering strength, it again leaps forth, and falling between the North Dome and the Three Brothers, takes its final plunge of six hundred feet into the valley. The roar of the falls is heard at all times, but in the quiet and darkness of the night it seems as if the very earth were being rent asunder. There are no falls in the world that equal these in size and maofnificence. N ia^ara is two hun- dred feet high, but here is a fall more than ten times as high, and the renowned Staubbach of Switzerland is not to be compared with it. At the foot of one of the mountains is Mirror Lake, a pure, clear, cold body of water which 98 To California and Alaska. reflects, as in a looking-glass, the towering bat- tlements of rock above. To reach the Vernal and Nevada Falls the traveller rides through a valley carpeted with bright-colored, fragrant flowers, and is obliged to cross the river Merced. At the base of the Sentinel Dome is the Vernal Fall or Cataract of Diamonds. The fallinof cloud of white foam leaps over its rocky bed into a fearful declivity, makinof a tumultuous noise to which the roar of Niagara is as the sifrh of the south wind. For half a mile below the falls the stream looks like one mass of foam. The Nevada Fall is twice the height of the Vernal, and is the grand- est of all the falls in the valley. There is an obstruction on the north side of the fall, which causes a division of a considerable volume of water, and makes it tumble by itself in mad cascades, that come leaping and dancing down the rocks. Visitors find no difficulty in going up to the very foot of the fall, where they can gaze at its magnificent power, and listen to its stupendous roar, until they are fairly drenched with the spray. The hotel at which we stopped at this point in our journey, although well-built and com- fortable in some respects, is as badly kept as Yoseinitc J al/cy. 99 any place of the kind we had ever seen. This is very unfortunate, because if it were properly managed the natural surroundings are such that visitors would be tempted to remain several days in the locality, instead of getting through their sight-seeing, and leaving the place as quickly as possible. When travellers first began to come to this section, the " hotels," as they were grandiloquently called, were nothing more than inns, where the ac- commodations were of the rudest possible description. We left the valley at half-past six on the morning of April 27th. The weather was cold, but bright. As we came past Inspiration Point we grave one last look at the orrand scenery which had been to us such a source of pleasure for two days. We drove out the entire distance of sixty-four miles, and arrived at Raymond about five o'clock in the after- noon. Through the courtesy of the stage company at Wawona, the writer of the party secured a buck-board wagon, and, with his wife, drove all the way to Raymond, having one chanofe of horses. We were all sflad to get back to our car ; by this time it seemed to us, in a certain sense, like a permanent resi- lOO To California and Alaska. dence, and so far as the cuisine was concerned, in looking back upon our hotel experiences in the valley, there was certainly " no place like home," for the table at the hotels did not be- gin to compare with our own. At half-past six o'clock the train left for Berenda. It was composed of a dozen freight cars, two Pullman sleepers, our car, and a coach. Half-way to Berenda, at one of the local stations, through the mistake of one of the switch-tenders, a switch was left open. Fortunately, the engineer was not running over twenty miles an hour at the time, and was able to prevent a serious accident by the immediate use of the air-brakes. We were all at dinner when the accident happened, and when the train brought up with a tremendous jerk, it almost upset everything on the table. On ofoinof out it was discovered that the ena-ine had run on a siding directly into a lot of freight cars, sendinor some of them on to the main track ahead, knocking others off their trucks, and altogether making a pretty bad wreck. It took us over half an hour to clear the main line of debris, before our journey could be resumed. While driving out from the valley, we had 3 ) > ^^> T ■> 3 1 = H . , 3 5 J 1 3 ) ' 3,3 3'3 Yoseuiite I alley. 3 •"3'3 ;'' ^ - ' ' -? 3 ' '3' 3 lOI very cool and comfortable weather. On our arrival at Raymond we were surprised to learn that the people in that vicinity had been suffering from the heat. The evidence of the torrid state of the atmosphere was also to be seen on our car, the paint upon which had peeled off in many places, while the inside sash on the sunny side had been blistered by the heat, taking the varnish completely off. '-^^ While going into, and coming out of the valley, we saw large quantities of quail, and our driver informed us that during the season the hunting is very good. We also passed a ' c r 1 02 77? California and Alaska. flume, of which an illustration is given here- with. This flume is built of plank and carries logs and boards to a distance of seventy miles. It is about two feet high, two feet wide, and eight inches deep, with flaring sides, and the water runs through it at quite a rapid rate. When it crosses ravines or winds around the mountain-side, it is supported on trestle-work The lumber is sawed some distance up in the mountains, bound together in bundles of seven or eight planks, then let into the flume, and floated down stream to the railroad station. The part of the flume shown in the picture carries lumber down to Madera, a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad, one hundred and eighty-five miles from San Francisco. CHAPTER XI. SAN FRANCISCO. Early on the morning of April 28th we left Berenda on the express, and arrived at Oakland about nine o'clock. We found an engine waiting for us, which immediately took our car and ran us special to Monterey, where we arrived about three in the afternoon. The children were all well, and overjoyed to see us, and listened with unfeigned pleasure to the stories we had to tell them of the wonders we had seen. Our return was made pleasanter from the fact that we found three mail-bags awaiting us, and it took us several hours to reply to the generous batch of correspondence we found on our hands. On the following morning, Monday, we re- sumed our old habit and started immediately for the swimminor-bath. In the afternoon, the writer eneaeed a buofSfV, and drove out to 103 I04 To California and Alaska. a ranch twenty-eight miles from Monterey. CaHfornia ranches often consist of thousands of acres, and are conducted on a very large scale. The word " ranch " has come down from the early Spanish occupancy, and is found, in some form or other, all over the State ; farm-hands are called " ranchmen," and a man is " ranching " horses when he takes them to pasture. We will take one ranch of sixteen thousand acres as a specimen. It ex- tends about four miles along a river, and there is not a field through which there does not run a living- stream : these streams come down from the mountains. A flouring mill of great capacity is on one part of the ranch, and its wheels are kept running by the water from one of these streams. Between three and four thousand acres are sown with wheat and bar- ley, and, by aid of machinery, twelve hundred bushels of wheat can be made ready for the mill in one day. The whole process of thresh- ing, cleaning, etc., is gone through with in the field, and the grain at once put into sacks. Fifty horses or mules and about twenty men are employed from November until March, in making the ground ready, using the latest and most approved agricultural machinery. The Sail F^^ancisco. 105 laborers live on the place in a house at a little distance from that of their employer. Wild oats grow of their own accord, and six hundred head of cattle live on parts of the ranch not under cultivation. Then there are twelve hundred hogs, and fourteen thousand sheep, the latter having a shepherd for each two thousand of their number. We bade adieu to Monterey on the morn- ing of the 1st of May, taking our special train. At Menlo Park we were met by the bo)'s — Louis, Frank, and George Bird — who had remained at San Francisco in order to see the town, under the guidance of the Pinkerton detective, who, being an old Californian, was specially qualified to act as a guide. Louis brought some beautiful roses that he had pro- cured for us in San Francisco, and a number of flowers of the same species were also handed us by a resident of Menlo Park, after our arrival. After lunch we took carriages and rode out to Governor Stanford's stock farm. Through some misunderstanding, every one connected with the place, including Mr. Marvin, the manager, was absent. But after a little trou- ble we succeeded in getting a groom to show io6 To California and Alaska. us some of the horses. We saw " Electioneer," and some of the stallions, together with the celebrated yearling, " Electric Bells," owned by Miller and Sibley, and for which they paid in December, 1888, thirteen thousand five hundred dollars. He is a beauty, and very well-developed, and the groom assured us that his racing future was full of promise. After visiting the stables, we drove over to the University buildings which Governor Stanford is erecting to the memory of his son. The main building is after the Spanish style of architecture, only one story high, and with tiled roof. It is in the form of a square, with a continuous arcade or colonnade running around it inside. The interior square is con- nected with the outside by four large arches under each side of the building. These struc- tures occupy about four acres of ground, and when we were there a large body of men were at work on the premises, while others were engaged in grading and preparing the sur- roimding grounds. Menlo Park is beautifully situated at the foot of a mountain, the last of the sea-coast range. It is thickly wooded, and looked more like a park than any place of the kind we had Sail Francisco. 107 ever seen. The roads are kept in superb con- dition, and the profusion of flowers we beheld was somethino- wonderful. We drove through Governor Stanford's property, and saw his house and grounds ; also the large vineyard connected with it. Near his place, on the site where he intended to build a house. Governor Stanford has erected a mausoleum to the memory of his son. After our drive we re- turned to the car and left at once for San Francisco. Subsequently we had the pleasure of meeting the Governor ; also Mr. C. P. Huntington, who was about starting for New York. The Governor talked freely about horse-raising, and one could see that he was thoroughly enthusiastic on the subject. You cannot walk about the City of the Golden Gate without thinkine of its wonder- ful growth and recalling its early history. Only forty years ago men were living on this very spot, for the most part in tents and shanties. Some adventurers formed part of the population, but they were soon exter- minated. Although there was an utter ab- sence of the refinino- influence of women, eood women were held in profound respect. Life and property were secure though locks and io8 To Califoi^nia and Alaska. bars were unknown, and men trusted their money to people who a few hours before had been stranofers to them. There was not a school, or a Protestant church, but men read their Bibles in their homes. The discovery of eold chanfred this condition of affairs, and brought to the locality the scum of the whole world — -convicts from Australia ; the vaga- bonds of large European cities ; the toughs from New York, and " plug-uglies " from Philadelphia ; desperadoes from Central and South America ; outcasts from the South Sea Islands, and pariahs from all over the world. All kinds of crimes were common, and no man's life or property was safe. Then came the " Vigilance Committee," and the reiorn of swift justice, and finally San PVancisco became one of the most quiet, law-abiding, well- o:overned cities in the world. San Francisco is fameci for its restaurants. It is said they number about four hundred, and that forty thousand people daily take their meals at them. They are of all grades and prices — from the " Poodle Dog," where a dinner costs from two and a half to twenty dollars, down to the Miner's Restaurant, where it costs only forty cents. There are also a large number Sa7i Francisco. 109 of French, German, and Italian restaurants where one may get a good breakfast for half a dollar, a lunch for twenty-five cents, and a dinner, a la carte, including claret, for seventy- five cents. A tenderloin steak (and the beef is said to be of an excellent quality), potatoes, bread and butter, and a cup of coffee, will cost fifty cents ; a lamb chop, potatoes, bread and butter, and coffee, twenty-five cents ; salmon, bread and butter, an*;: St", ^i^ -^L^--<^«t--^ : scenery in this part of the country is certainly more magnificent than anything we had dreamed of. As we neared the summit, an altitude of five thousand three hundred feet above the sea, Castle Mountain was seen ahead, a sheer precipice five thousand feet high, surmounted with turrets, bastions, and battlements complete, and partly snow-capped. 12 I 78 To California a? id Alaska. At the summit we passed by a small lake called Summit Lake, in which were vividly reflected the surrounding mountains. About half a mile east of this point, the water, as it trickled down the mountain side and entered the ditch on the side of the road, could be seen to divide, part running to the east and part to the west. From here our descent was rapid, as we crossed the deep gorge of the Kicking Horse. Here the scenery is sublime, even terrible. Looking off to the north you behold one of the grandest mountain valleys in the world, stretching far away in the dis- tance, with great white glacier-bound peaks on either side. On the left of the track you see the double head of Mount Stephen, eight thousand feet above the valley, and get an occasional glimpse of Cathedral Mountain. The grade from the summit is so steep and perilous at this point that a heavy consolida- tion engine was put on ahead of our loco- motive, and we were taken down at a speed of not over ten miles an hour. Every mile or so there is a switch to a track leading up the mountain side ; in case anything should occur to make the train unmanageable, a switchman MOUNT STEPHEN, CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY. From St. Paul to Manitoba. i 79 stands ready to open the switch, stop the train in its downward course, and send it up- hill, where it would soon stop. At Field, at the foot of Mount Stephen, is an excellent hotel managed by the railway company. It is a favorite stopping-place for sportsmen. Rocky Mountain sheep, goat, and grizzly bears are to be found in larsfe numbers in these mountains. We remained here a few moments, and the writer took a view of our train, with Mount Field in the distance ; an attempt was made to take it with Mount Stephen in the distance, but the latter acclivity was too higrh. Leaving Field we crossed the Otter Tail River, then the Beaverfoot at the left. The Otter Tail Mountains rise abruptly to an immense height, while to the south, to an im- measurable distance, the Beaverfoot Mountains can be seen. The river and railway here enter the Kicking Horse Canyon, which rapidly deepens, the walls, an easy stone's throw from either side, rising vertically thousands of feet. The railway runs for twelve miles down this grand chasm, nowcrossing over to ledges cut out of the solid rock, twisting and turning in every i8o To California and Alaska. direction, while towering cliffs almost shut out the sunlight, and the roar of the river and cars is increased a hundredfold by the echoing walls, until the train, running out into a valley, suddenly emerges into daylight. CHAPTER XVII. MOUNTAINS AND GORGES ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY. After we passed through the Kicking Horse Canyon and entered the valley we saw before us the Columbia River, a stream of great width, moving northward, and obtained our first glimpse of the celebrated and long-looked- for Selkirks, which had so often been the sub- ject of our conversation, and which we had long been anxious to see. Our expectations in regard to their grandeur were not to be dis- appointed, for on the day we saw them they presented a noble appearance, as they seemed to rise from their forest-clad bases, and lifted their ice-capped heads high into the sky above. In form they are simply incomparable, and as they stood there in their matchless majesty, bathed in the glow and warmth of the after- noon sun, they called forth expressions of the i8i t82 To California ami Alaska. highest admiration from e^very member of the party. The Canadian Pacific Railway is divided into four divisions — the Eastern, the Ontario and Atlantic, the Western, and the Pacific. At Donald, which is the beeinnine of the Pacific Division, we changed engines, and had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Marpole, the Division Superintendent of the road. Here, too, we were compelled to bid good-by to our friend Mr. Niblock, who had accompanied our party from Swift Current, and had kindly given us details and descriptions of the scenes through which w^e had passed, and which, in some measure, and it is feared but imperfectly, have been transferred to these pages. Donald is charmingly situated on the Co- lumbia River, within the very shadow of the Selkirks. The headquarters of the mountain division is located here, with the repair shops, etc. At this point the traveller changes to " Pacific time " — the time goes back one hour. Leaving Donald we crossed the Columbia River and entered the Selkirks, going up Beaver River and crossing it on the ricrht side Mountains and Goro-es. i8 of the mountain. The ascent was commenced at Bear Creek, one thousand feet above Beaver Riven At this point a magnificent view is had of Beaver Valley, which extends off to the south until it is finally lost in the mountains. From here a long- line of the higher peaks of the Selkirks is seen, cul- minating in that lofty mountain, Sir Donald. The railroad here as- cends the banks of Bear yore Ao/ijTj Creek at a sfrade of one hundred and sixteen feet to the mile. The construction of this part of the road is a triumph of engineering skill ; many narrow gorges in the mountain side, the pathways of avalanches, had to have the bridges over them protected. The most noticeable of these 184 To Calif orjiia and Alaska. bridges was the Stony Creek bridge, the highest structure of the kind in the world, the distance below the rails beine two hundred and ninety-five feet. We found, upon inquiry, that the great difficulties of the railway com- pany from snow in the winter season occur from Bear Creek and the Summit, and a simi- lar distance down on the other side. These bridges are protected by heavy logs, built in the shape of angular piers, and so placed in the ororcre as to break the slide of snow and subdivide it ; in that way its force is lessened, and it is guided away under the bridges. The snow-sheds, which we entered not far from here, cost the company over $3,000,000. They are open on the side for the purpose of admit- ting the light, and are completely equipped with hose, etc., to be used in case of fire, and are guarded by men day and night. These sheds are built of heavy squared cedar timber, dove-tailed and bolted together, backed with rock, and fitted into the mountain side in such a manner as to bid defiance to the most terrific avalanche. As we ascend the mountain. Bear Creek is gradually compressed, by Mount Macdonald on the left and the Hermit on the right, into Mountains and Gorges. 185 one narrow deep ravine, which forms a con- tracted portal to Rogers' Pass at the summit. As our train emerwd from the snow-sheds, Mount Macdonald was seen towering a mile and a quarter above the railway to an almost vertical height, its numberless pinnacles pier- cing the very zenith. As Mr. Van Home says ^m:m. in describing the scene : " Its base is but a stone's throw distant, and it is so sheer, so bare and stupendous, and yet so near, that one is overawed by a sense of immensity and mighty grandeur. This is the climax of mountain scenery. In passing before the face of this gigantic precipice, the line clings 1 86 To California and Alaska. to the base of Hermit Mountain, and, as the station at Rogers' Pass is neared, its clustered spires appear, facing those of Mount Mac- donald, and nearly as high. These two match- less mountains were once apparently united, but some great convulsion of nature has split them asunder, leaving barely room for the railway." This pass was named after Major A. B. Rogers, by whose adventurous energy it was discovered in 18S3 ; previous to that time no human foot had ever been planted on the sum- mit of this great central range. The pass lies be- tween two lines of huge snow-clad peaks. The pass on the north side forms a prodigious amphi- theatre, under whose parapet, seven or eight thousand feet above the valley, half a dozen glaciers may be seen at once, and so near that their shining green fissures are distinctly visible. The chans^ringr effects of licrht and shadow on this brotherhood of peaks, of which The Her- mit and Macdonald are the chiefs, can never be forgotten by the fortunate traveller who has seen the sunset or the sunrise tinting their battlements, or has looked up from the green valley at a snow-storm, trailing its white cur- tain along their crests, with perchance a snowy Moiiiitaijis and Gorges. 1S7 peak or two standing' serene above the harm- less cloud. The line of peaks connecting' Macdonald with Sir Donald stretches to the south, their rear slopes having been visible in ascending the Beaver. This pass-valley has been reserved by the government as a national park. «w,^i^ y^W^Z^ ^-iiiXatUA^ Leaving Selkirk Summit, the road com- mences to descend the mountains, and off to the right is seen, for many miles far be- low, the deep valley of the IlHcilliwaet, which makes its way westward, following a devious 1 88 To Calif cn'-7iia and Alaska. course throueH the mountains. The hne of the railroad can easily be traced, until it finally reaches the bottom of the valley by a series of extraordinary curves, doubling upon itself ao-ain and aeain. Some views of this portion of the road are oiven. Directly ahead is seen the Great Glacier of the Selkirks, a vast plateau of sloping ice, extending as far into the mountains as the eye can reach. It is claimed by the Pacific Railway people that this glacier is as large as all the crlaciers in Switzerland combined. We passed in front of the snow-sheds on an outer track, which is provided so that travel- lers may view the scenery in summer, and ar- rived at Glacier Station. The train remained at the station about half an hour, and, as we did not have time enough to visit the Great Glacier, our party all left the train and took a stroll in the woods. The hotel here is a very handsome building, after the Swiss chalet style, and is owned and managed by the rail- road company. It serves not only as a dining- room for passengers, but also as a pleasant summer resort for sportsmen and tourists. Owing to the heavy grades here, and all through the mountains, the dining-cars are ■> .5-'/-*.. '* i ^J- i-^A "itii.^ -?' .Jv'^ «">««l 1 15fi' 1^ ' -^^"lBP!||l»Wi li. CANADIAN I'ACIKIC RAILWAY STATION AND MOUNT DONALD GLACIER. Mountains and Gorges, 189 not run on the through trains, as they make the trains too heavy ; but the railroad com- pany have provided, at proper distances and at the most interesting and convenient places where the scenery is the finest, comfortable hotels, where passengers are able to get an excellent dinner, the trains stopping at such stations between one half and three quarters of an hour. Passeno-ers are also allowed to remain two or three days at a station, or lie over for a train. The Great Glacier is about half a mile distant from the hotel, and only a hundred feet above the level of the building ; a good path has been made to it, so that its exploration is quite practicable and easy. The water for the fountain in front of the hotel is furnished by piping a stream coming out from the Great Glacier. This stream also furnishes water for the hotel and railroad. The aeent of the hotel informed us that game is very abundant in the mountains near by, the local- ity being especially celebrated for the big- horn sheep or mountain goat ; Canada bears are also killed here during the season. Elk, deer, and other game, however, are not found at quite such altitudes. A tame Canada bear was chained to the piazza of the hotel ; he 190 To California a?id Alaska. had been caueht in the mountanis five months before we saw him, and his antics furnished considerable amusement to passengers during their stop at the station. Leaving the Glacier House, the road makes a rapid descent to the celebrated loop of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The line makes several startling curves and twists, crosses the valley, then doubles back to the right a mile or more to within a stone's throw of the track, then, sweeping around, crosses the valley again, and at last continues down the dell parallel with its former course. On looking back, the railroaci track is seen on the mountain side, cutting two long parallel gashes in the moun- tain, one above the other ; far to the left, and still higher above on the other side of the val- ley, is seen the giant snow-shed, just below the summit near Roarers' Pass. At Illicilliwaet we crossed for the first time the Illicilliwaet River. The stream is very small here, but the water is exceedingly turbulent and of a pea-green color, caused by glacial mud, but it rapidly clarifies ; its source is said to be in the interior of the Great Glacier, The scenery is very wild, as the gorge through which the river runs is very deep at places, and filled ]\To7inf(U}is and Gorges. 191 with the o'lo-antic forest-trees for which British Columbia is justly noted. At Albert Canyon the train often runs along- the brink of several remarkably deep fissures in the solid rock, the walls of which, on each side, rise to a height of one hundred feet, and at the top . /g ^ are very heavily wooded. The ^- \ l^^^^l river is fully three hundred feet ^.li| -'1^' '-'■ S| below the railway, and is com- pressed into a boiling flume not more than twenty feet wide. We had our train stop here for a few minutes, while we walked up and down the track viewing this truly remarkable freak of nature. The depth of the water must be very great, as the gorge through which it flows is very narrow, and the volume of water flowinof throucrh it is enormous. 192 To California and Alaska. At Revelstoke, a railway divisional point on the Columbia River, we changed engines. We had seen the Columbia River on the other side of the Selkirks at Donald ; since then it had made a detour around the northern ex- tremity of the Selkirks, while the course of the railroad is directly across the mountains. At this point the river is not only larger, but is one thousand and fifty feet lower down, than at Donald. From this point it is navigable southward some two hundred miles, down to the United States boundary, where it expands into a number of lakes, around which there is said to be a beautiful and fertile country, where opportunities for sport are also unlim- ited. According to the railway officials this co.untry has been rarely visited by sportsmen ; miners are about the only people who have ever penetrated its unknown recesses. Koote- nay Lake and Valley are both reached from this point. After leaving Revelstoke we crossed the Columbia River upon a bridge about half a mile loner and entered another ranee of moun- tains by Eagle Pass. The railway officials call particular attention to this pass, which is so deep-cut and direct that it seems to have MoimtaiJis and Gorges. 193 been purposely provided for the railway in compensation, perhaps, for the enormous diffi- culties the engineers had to overcome in the Rockies and the Selkirks. The highest point the railway is compelled to reach in crossing this range is only five hundred and twenty-five feet above the Columbia. At the summit four •!7, '; : ■> -i' <^, beautiful lakes are passed in quick succcession, each one occupying the entire width of the valley, and forcing the railway on the moun- tain side in order to pass them. This valley is filled with a dense growth of immense trees, indigenous to this coast — spruce, Douglas fir, hemlock, cedar, balsam, and many other varie- ties. 194 To California and Alaska. At Craigellachie, twenty-eight miles from Revelstoke, the last spike was driven in the Canadian Pacific Railway on the 7th of No- vember, 1885, the railroads from the east and west meeting here. At Sicamous, situated on the great Shuswap lakes, we reached what is said to be the centre of one of the best sport- ing regions on the Canadian Pacific line. Northward, within a day's journey, caribou are said to be very abundant. Within thirty miles to the south the deer-shooting is prob- ably unequalled on this continent, and the lakes are celebrated for their lartre trout. The London Times has well described this part of the line: "The Eagle River leads us down to the Great Shuswap Lake, so named from the Indian tribe that lived on its banks, and who still have a ' reserve ' there. This is a most remarkable body of water. It lies among the mountain ridges, and consequently extends its lonof narrow arms along- the interveninof valleys like a huge octopus in half-a-dozen di- rections. These arms are many miles long, and vary from a few hundred yards to two or three miles in breadth, and their high, bold shores, fringed by the little narrow beach of sand and pebbles, with alternating bays and Mountains and Gorges. 195 capes, give beautiful views. The railway crosses one of these arms by a drawbridge at Sica- mous Narrows, and then goes for a long dis- tance along the southern shores of the lake, running entirely around the end of the Salmon arm." Sicamous is the station for the Spal- lumsheen mining district and other regions up rA%\N<^ L4Kt the river and around Okanagan Lake, where there is a large setlement ; steamboats ascend the river thirty miles, and a railway is pro- posed. " For fifty miles the line winds in and out the bending shores, while geese and clucks fly over the waters, and light and shadow play 196 To California and Alaska. upon the opposite banks. This lake, with its bordering slopes, gives a fine reminder of Scot- tish scenery. The railway in getting around it leads at different and many times towards every one of the thirty-two points of the com- pass. Leaving the Salmon arm of the lake rather than eo a circuitous course around the mountains to reach the southwestern arm, the line strikes through the forest over the top of the intervening ridge [Notch Hill]. We come out at some 600 feet elevation above this ' arm,* and eet a maenificent view across the lake, its winding shores on both sides of the long and narrow sheet of water stretchinor far on either hand, with high mountain ridges for the oppo- site background. The line gradually runs downhill until it reaches the level of the water, but here it has passed the lake, which has nar- rowed into the [south branch of the] Thomp- son River. Then the valley broadens, and the eye, that has been so accustomed to rocks and roughness and the uninhabited desolation of the mountains, is gladdened by the sight of grass, fenced fields, growing crops, hay-stacks, and good farm-houses on the level surface, while herds of cattle, sheep, and horses roam over the valley and bordering hills in large numbers. This is a ranching country, extend- Mountains and Gorges. 197 ing far into the mountain valleys west of the Gold Range on both sides of the railway, and is one of the garden spots of British Columbia. . . , The people are comparatively old set- tlers, having come in from the Pacific coast, and it does one's heart oood, after havine passed the rude little cabins and huts of the plains and mountains, to see their neat and trim cottages, with the evidences of thrift that are all around." Many of our party compared the scenery around Shuswap Lake to the country about Lake George, but the landscape in the former locality is on a very much larger and grander scale. CHAPTER XVIII. FROM KAMLOOPS TO VANCOUVER. We remained at Kamloops one night, that being a divisional point, and after changing engines early in the mornintr we started for Vancouver. Kamloops now has a population of about one thousand. It was settled years ago as a Hudson Bay post, and is the principal town in the Thompson River valley, and the largest that the traveller passes through until he arrives at Vancouver. The Thompson River is seen here ; many steamboats ply up and down the stream, and we noticed a number of saw-mills along the shore. The Chinese are largely em- ployed here to do the rougher sort of work. The grazing on the hills in the background is said to be very fine. Cattle are left out-of- doors all winter, the climate being very much milder than it is two or three hundred miles 198 From Kaviloops to Vancouver. r 99 westward. Kamloops is the supply point for the large ranching and mineral country to the south, which is reached by stage lines running semi-weekly from the town into the districts beyond. Just after leaving Kamloops the river widens and forms Kamloops Lake. The railroad crosses to the southern shore, now entering a tunnel, now passing over a trestle, in a way to remind the traveller very much of the Dela- ware and Hudson road on the west shore of Lake Champlain. As the lake narrows into the river the railroad enters a series of tunnels. From this point to Port Moody on the Pacific coast the road was built by the Dominion Gov- ernment and transferred to the railway com- pany in 1886. While the road-bed of this sec- tion is very well built, the sides and slopes of the same are not full)' protected, and the company are constantly troubled with landslides from above, and the sinking of the track from below, owing to the "quicksandy" nature of the soil. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company claim a million dollars or more from the orovernment in order to make this portion of the road equal to the rest of their line. It certainly did ap- pear to our party as a very inferior kind of 200 To California and Alaska. work compared with what we had seen on the part of the Hne we had travelled over. The scenery on this portion of the road and along the Thompson River is at first very wild and picturesque, but soon becomes exceedingly un- interesting. There is very little vegetation to be seen on either side of the river — nothing, in fact, but round-topped, treeless, and water- cut hills, the color of which varies from the richest yellow to a reddish-gray, or iron-ore, with here and there a few masses of olive-iireen color, caused by the scanty vegetation. Shortly after leaving Kamloops Lake, as the train went round a curve, where the bank overhung the track, and we were all standing on the plat- form, we were suddenly startled by a large bird which alighted near to us, and settled on the railing of the platform. We were so sur- prised that, for a few moments, we did not realize what it was ; it proved to be a large partridge. Had any of us been quick enough we might have caught it without any trouble ; as it was, when we attempted to catch it, it fiew off Into the brush. We stopped the train, and getting our shot-guns started in pursuit, thinkinof that there mieht be other eame in the neighborhood, which would have proved a very From Kamloops to Va^icouvcr. 201 palatable addition to our larder. We had no success, however, though the little incident afforded us considerable diversion. At Lytton, at the confluence of the Thomp- son and Fraser rivers, the scenery is very errand. Six miles below here our train crossed the Fraser River, a steel cantilever bridge being at that point. The scenery here be- came wilder as the gorge deepened and the size of the river increased. The banks were steep and rugged, their tops covered with a dense growth of trees. The old government road continues along the Fraser River, twist- ing and turning about, now passing under the railroad, then along by its side, sometimes many hundred feet above the road until, at Cisco, it is forced to the height of over one thousand feet above the river. It is said that the width of the road here is not sufficient to allow two teams to pass, and that it is held in place by iron rods, or bridge-trusses, in- serted in the mountain side. Mr. Marpole informed us that it was not uncommon to see Indians on the projecting rocks down at the water's edge spearing salmon, or capturing them with scoop-nets ; the salmon are dried on poles and sold to 202 To California and Alaska. Chinamen. Along the river on the sandy- channel piers Chinamen and Indians are occa- sionally seen washing for gold, and many of the inhabitants on the banks of the stream eain their subsistence from what little crold they find in washing the gravel. They are a lazy, thriftless class of people, washing for gold two or three days in the week, and living on the proceeds for the remainder of the time. This road was originally built by the gov- ernment of Columbia for the convenience of miners above Lytton, where enormous quanti- ties of gold were originally taken out by washing. At North Bend we stopped to change engines, and all the party got off the train and visited the hotel, which is owned by the railroad company ; here we saw another tame brown Canadian bear, which afforded the children ereat amusement. Durinor the day we stopped the train at many points along the Fraser River, where the line crosses large canyons, on trestles. The scenery from North Bend to Yale, twenty-six miles, has been described as not only intensely inter- esting, but startling, even " ferocious." The volume of water in the river being so large, Fro7ii Kaniloops to J Vancouver. 203 and the walls at the sides coming out close tocrether, the stream is compressed into a roannof torrent. At Spuzzum the government road crosses the chasm by a suspension bridge, at the side I. of the railway b r i d Of e , and keeps close to it all the way f-^'fh^^^r to Yale. Here the railroad runs through a series of five or six tunnels. It should be stated that this government road has been rendered almost absolutely valueless for wagons, from the fact that, wherever the railroad crosses it, no means have been provided for passing the road, either above or around the railway ; pack- trains can now cross, but they are compelled 204 To California and Alaska. to climb steep trails in order to get around these places. Yale is at the head of navio-ation on the o Fraser River. At New Westminster Junction there is a branch line to the important town of New Westminster, a town of some five thou- sand inhabitants, on the Fraser River, about eight miles distant. When we passed through here, this road was being constructed to Seattle, and it was expected that before long through connection by rail could be had with that town. We reached Port Moody, at the head of Burrard Inlet, about two o'clock on the after- noon of May 17th. At one time this was the last station of the railroad, and, on that account, was quite a settlement ; but it is now very much dilapidated and run down, owing to the terminus havlnof been removed to Vancouver. As the railroad sweeps down here to the shore, we could once more see the Pacific coast and salt water, an outlook which was truly refresh- ing- after such a continuous stretch of mountain scenery. Snow-tipped mountains were to be seen on the other side of the inlet, beautiful in outline and color, especially so on the after- noon when we saw them in the sunlight. Here and there, at Intervals, on the opposite coast, From Kandoops to Vancouver. 205 saw-mills and villao-es were to be seen. At one or two of the villages there were ocean steam-ships at the wharves being loaded with ^^ M? '^^-t:^^' ../\\ ^T# '.^v',^- fe f* ;^e^ s C-P7?^ the celebrated Douglas fir, which is sent to all parts of the world. These trees are found twenty, thirty, and even forty feet in circum- ference. Our speed on this particular day was neces- sarily slow, owing to the fact that this section of the road is considered very dangerous, and ?o6 To California and Alaska. is about tlie only part on which any accidents ever occur ; at one moment the road-bed over- hangs the river, on trestle-work or embankment, and the next moment enters a short tunnel, only to reappear again on another trestle. After our arrival at Vancouver, Mr. Harry Abbott, the General Superintendent of the western end of the road, called upon us with his wife, and extended to us the courtesies of the road at this terminus. On the morningf after our arrival we took a carriap'e and drove over the town, oroingr through the new park, which promises some day to be one of the wonders of the coast. The trees here are enormous, and the growth might be called a primeval forest, which it really is, with the underbrush taken out. Vancouver, the Pacific terminus of the rail- way, is comparatively a new town, and reminds one of the orrowth of such Western towns as Duluth or Great Falls. Until May, 1886, its present site was covered with a dense forest. The following July a severe fire swept away every house in the place but one ; all the build- in^Ts now standing have been erected since that date. The hotels, business blocks, and resi- dences are of the most approved architecture, KOADWAY IN STANLEY PARK, VANCOUVER. Front Kamloops to Wincoiiver. 207 and would be a credit to any city In the United States. Laree and extensive wharves have been built by the railroad company and private corporations, and the town promises to de- velop Into one of the future cities of the Pacific coast. The paved streets are well laid out, and lighted with electricity. A plentiful supply of pure water Is brought through large pipes, laid across the harbor, from a spring In the mountains on the other side of the sound. The country to the south of Vancouver has many fine farms, and Is said to be well adapted to fruit-growing. Many parties remain here for the shootlno- and fishlncr both of which are excellent, and can be had by making short ex- cursions into the mountains towards the north. A reofular line of steamers leaves Vancouver every day for Victoria, fortnightly for Japan, Yokohama, and Hong-Kong, and twice a week for Seattle, Tacoma, and other Puget Sound ports. The city Is beautifully located on a slight eminence, overlooking the sound, with Burrard Inlet on the north. About one o'clock on the afternoon of May 1 8th, the Islander y which had been engaged for our party, steamed into the harbor, having just come from Victoria In the morning. This 2o8 To California and Alaska. vessel was a twin propeller boat, two hundred and forty feet in length, forty-two feet beam, and sixteen feet draught, with tremendous power, and was capable of making about nine- teen miles an hour. Captain John Irving, the manager of the line, had charge of the vessel, and our pilot for Alaskan waters was the veteran Captain Carroll, the most celebrated pilot on the Pacific coast, who was one of the pioneers, and had made one hundred and seventy trips to Alaska. He had become very wealthy, and was largely interested in mines, etc. We had also a very old pilot, an employe of the steamship company ; from the nautical point of view we considered ourselves very well provided for. The accommodations for passengers were ample ; the boat had about one hundred state-rooms, the manager's room being large and roomy, and the other apart- ments very comfortable. The greater part of the afternoon was occu- pied in placing our baggage aboard and in getting thoroughly and comfortably settled. About half-past four o'clock we cast off from the wharf and started on our trip to Alaska. The weather was all that could be desired, neither too warm nor too cold, bright and Froju Kaniloops to I aucouvcr. 209 sunny, and a fair omen of the journey we were about to make. We took the cooks and stewards with us, and left the rest of the crew on the train. The weather was so fme that we were able to sit on the upper deck until dinner-time and at ten o'clock at nio^ht it was lio-ht enough for us to read a newspaper on deck. The view of Mount Baker, with its snow-capped peak, in the distance about sunset, was magnificent. 14 CHAPTER XIX. IN ALASKAN WATERS. On the niorht of the iSth we sailed throueh Discovery Passage, where at places there is hardly room for two steamers to pass each other, and mountains rise up abruptly on each side. At half-past nine on the morning of the 19th we reached Alert Bay, and from there steamed on northward, passing the north end of Vancouver Island, out into Oueen Charlotte Sound, Although the wind was blowing lightly at the time there was quite a heavy swell ; it took us only two hours, however, to Sfo across. We then entered Fitzhueh Sound, passing Calvert Island and Hunt Islands. On reaching the end of the channel we left Burke Channel on our ricrht, and went throuo-h the Lama Passage, passing between Campbell and Lendenny islands, where the scenery was very fine. 210 o < oi O X u 2 < < Z o 3i z o z ai > z a z In Alaskaii Waters. 211 About a quarter before six we arrived at Bella Bella and anchored for the night ; this is a small fishing village on Campbell Island. The scenery here was remarkably grand and bold, the passage, in many places, not being an eiehth of a mile wide, thouo-h the water reaches a depth of from one hundred and thirty-one to one hundred and fifty fathoms. After supper one of the quarter boats was lowered and Dr. McLane, with two or three of our party, went ashore to call on the agent of the Hudson Bay Company and the mis- sionary. We found that the agent was absent at Vancouver and the missionary was making a visit to the interior. Bella Bella consists of some forty or fifty log-huts occupied by In- dians, who gain their subsistence principally by fishing. We were informed that most of the male inhabitants were at work at the canneries, and there were not over five or six men remaining in the village. While crossinof Milbank Sound the next morning, we felt the motion of the sea quite considerably. It commenced raining in the morning and rained nearly all day. Passing north of Milbank Sound we took the western passage between Swindle and Cone islands. 212 To California and Alaska. passing nearly through Tohiiine Channel, Graham Reach, Fraser Reach, leaving Prin- cess Royal Island on our left. Nearly all the morning, on our right, we passed large water passages, or reaches, up which we could look many miles and see that they were lined on either side by very high and precipitous moun- tains, perhaps not a quarter of a mile apart. All the information the captain could give us about these narrow waters was that they were unexplored, and there was no telling how far inland they might extend. Passing through McKay Reach, we entered Wrifjht Sound. On our rieht were Dou^^las Channel and Verney Passage ; both these waters have been somewhat explored, and ex- tend for many miles back into the country. The mountains on both sides of these passages are, according to the government chart, from three to five thousand feet high, but, in point of fact, many of these waters hav^e not been explored to any great distance. Sailing from Wright Sound and going north, we passed through Grenville Channel, leaving Pitt Island on our left and the Countess of Dufferin ranee of mountains on our rieht. The mountains on each side of this channel Ill Alaskan ]Vaters. 2 1 3 are about three thousand feet high, and are very heavily timbered with evergreens. The scenery was picturesque in the extreme. In the afternoon we passed through the Arthur Passage (Kennedy Island being on our right), and through Chatham Sound. As we passed through the sound the weather com- menced to clear, and before long the sun came out. Bearing to our right we arrived at Port Simpson at half-past six o'clock. This is a Hudson Bay post, the last English post before entering Alaska, and we found it to be one of the most interestinof we had seen for some time. The Hudson Bay Company's agent, whom we met, was a very genial person ; he invited us up to the company's store, and showed us all over the premises. The main store is built of logs, and was constructed some sixty years ago ; part of the old stockade is still standing, and on one corner of it, up in the air, is one of the old turrets, the sides having slits for mus- ketry, which were to be used by the occupants to defend themselves aofainst the Indians. The old powder magazine was built of stone, and is now used by the Hudson Bay officer for a dairy. The agent had all sorts of goods in his 2 14 To California and Alaska. store. We bought some Winchester rifle car- tridges, of which we were a httle short, and some very old-fashioned spoons carved out of horn. We looked over a stock of skins and furs, but did not buy any. The steward took this opportunity to lay in a supply of fresh milk and eggs. The atrent told us that the climate in this section is exceedingly agreeable throughout the year, although the place is in the latitude of 54° 35' ; he said that the flowers in his gar- den blossomed in January. Everything sur- rounding the company's store was in the most admirable order ; the stockade and buildings were all neatly whitewashed, the grass care- fully trimmed, and the walks free from weeds. At onetime Port Simpson was one of the most important posts of the Hudson Bay Company, but of late years it has become a very insignifi- cant place. The Indian village outside of the walls of the post is very small, and in a very poor and needy condition. The prices paid for furs by the Hudson Bay Company are, of course, higher now than they were some twenty or thirty years ago, and the profits on them are very much less. On the other hand, it must be taken into considera- In Alaskan IVaters. 2 1 5 tion that it was formerly necessary to keep at least six or ten armed men here all the time to defend the post against the Indians ; and fur- ther, that supplies can be landed here now at one tenth of the price charged for them thirty years ago. The agent told us that he thought the company made as much out of the post as formerly, owing to the decreased cost of run- ning the station, which he believed more than offset the lower price obtained for the furs. About half-past three o'clock on the morn- ing of May 2 1 St we left Port Simpson and entered upon the Alaskan Territory, passing on our left Annette and Gravina islands. In the afternoon we entered Wrangel Narrows, leaving on our right, some thirty miles away. Fort Wrangel, on Wrangel Island. This was one of the prettiest spots we had yet seen. The hills on either side of the Narrows were not so remarkably high, but the shores were exceedingly picturesque, and looked as though they were covered with a great deal of vegeta- tion. There is thick, rich, green grass on both sides, above high-water mark. We saw here a great many ducks and geese, and a countless number of eagles. After passing through Wrangel Narrows, we entered Frederick 2 1 6 To Califor?iia and Alaska, Sound, a beautiful sheet of water, and on our right saw, for the first time, Patterson's Glacier, and also a lanj^e amount of floatino^ ice. It was about dark when we passed this glacier. No one point in all our journey through this Sitkan Archipelago seemed invested by nature with so much ei'andeur as Prince Frederick Sound. Here the mountains of the mainland run down abruptly to the water. The scenery in this wilderness of Lower Alaska was cer- tainly unique and unrivalled. At one time our ship was in a lake, at another in a river, and then in a canal, with walls towering above us right and left to an almost dizzy height, and channels runnino;- off into unknown and unex- plored regions. And yet, upon this vast ex- panse of water a sail or boat rarely is seen. There is a deathly stillness, interrupted now and then by the screech of an eagle, or the flight of ducks frightened at the approach of the vessel At the head of these channels are countless ravines and canyons filled with gla- ciers, from which pieces are constantly broken every day. It is estimated that there are five thousand individual glaciers in Alaska, from which, constantly, pieces are broken and silently find their way down to the sea. In Alaskan Waters. 2 1 7 On the morning of May 2 2d we woke as the boat was about entering Peril Straits, an intricate part of the waters to navigate, but pretty well buoyed out. The scenery from here to Sitka, where we arrived about half-past nine o'clock in the morning, was exceedingly fine. This place, the capital of Alaska, is an old Russian settlement, and was, at one time, a prosperous and lively town ; at present it has the appearance of a half-sleepy, indolent vil- lage, giving one the impression of general decay. As the boat nears the wharf a cluster of buildings Is seen to the right ; the buildings are the Castle, the Custom-house, and Bar- racks. This Castle of Barranore was once celebrated for the lavish hospitality of Its occupants, — elegant dinners and extravagant balls ; to-day it is a dilapidated-looking build- ing of large size. Notwithstanding Its abso- lute neglect and abandonment to decay and ruin, It was so substantially built that it will be years before it will disappear entirely. All Americans who travel in this section wonder why our government does not put It In repair, and use it for the government headquarters, as such a building is badly needed. The Castle is one hundred and forty by seventy feet, and 2i8 To California and Alaska. is three stories high. As a rule, the United States keeps a war vessel here during the summer months ; at the time of our visit she was at Mare Island Navy Yard undereoine repairs, and Lieutenant Turner was in charge of the forty marines, who were temporarily located in the old barracks. Alaska has been in the possession of the United States since October i8, 1867. The country was bought through negotiations car- ried on by William H. Seward, who was at that time Secretary of State. The wits of the period made merry over the acquisition, just as wits in former days made m.erry over our acquisition of Louisiana and Florida. Secre- tary Seward justified his action on the ground of the new country's natural wealth in timber, fisheries, minerals, and fur-bearing animals ; also on the ground that it would neutralize the power of Great Britain in the North Pacific and render the annexation of British Columbia possible in the future. " Alaska," said he, " may not be so valuable as we deem it ; but you cannot deny the value of the gold regions of the Cariboo country and Fraser River, the coal mines of Vancouver's and Queen Char- lotte's islands, and the unrestricted possession In Alaskan Waters. 219 of the maenlficent Straits of Fuca. All these, following manifest destiny, will be ours in time ; besides," said he, " we owe a deep debt of gratitude to Russia for her unvarying friend- ship through long years, and for her kindly sympathy during the sorest of our national trials — the ereat rebellion." The sum of $7,200,000 was paid for Alaska, and it is estimated that the few mines near Juneau are worth more than that sum to-day. The Governer of Alaska, Hon. A. P. Swine- ford, has made interesting reports in regard to the resources and prospects of this new and remarkable country. He says that two years ago the population was estimated at about fifty thousand inhabitants ; of this number thirty- five thousand were classed as wholly uncivilized. Very little has been accomplished in the way of agricultural development. Here and there a ranch has been started for the orrowingf of root- crops, while in nearly all the settlements vege- table gardens are maintained with very little labor. There are larg-e areas of excellent grazing lands in the Territory, but very little has been done in the way of stock-raising. At nearly all the settlements on the Kodiak Islands and in Cook's Inlet white and creole 2 20 To California and Alaska. people keep cows and make their own butter ; the Governor sees no reason, except the ab- sence of a market, why Alaska might not rival Montana or Wyoming in the raising of stock. The great island of Kodiak comprises a geo- graphical area of about five thousand square miles. Considerable progress has been made in the development of the mineral resources of the Territory, There is a large stamp-mill on Douglas Island, the largest plant of the kind in the world, its output of gold bullion being estimated at not less than $150,000 per month. New discoveries of valuable mines are con- stantly being made, especially in Southeastern Alaska. It is pretty well established that other min- erals besides gold and silver are abundant in various parts of the Territory. A large vein of very rich copper ore has been found on Kodiak Island, and large bodies of the same metal in its native state are known to exist on Copper River. Petroleum is found in differ- ent sections, while at Cape Prince of Wales, the most westerly point of the continent, there is a plentiful supply of graphite in the adjoin- ing mountains. Amber exists In large quanti- ties, and sulphur is found in connection with In Alaskan ]Vatei^s. 221 the numerous volcanic peaks and extinct craters. Discoveries of iron, cinnabar, and mica are recorded. Marble abounds ; there is every evidence of the existence of valuable slate beds ; fire-clay is found In connection with the coal seams ; and kaolin is among the discoveries reported. There is said to be coal enough in Alaska, and of the very best quality, to supply the wants of the whole of the Pacific slope for centuries, and it is prophesied that the time will soon come when the product of her mines will find other and wider markets than those of the Pacific coast alone. There are vast forests of valuable timber in the back country, but there are not more than half-a- dozen saw-mills engaged in cutting lumber, and they only partially supply the local demand. The fisheries of Alaska form an important industry. There are seventeen salmon can- neries In operation, some of them very large establishments, and nearly all having salting houses In connection. The codfishing fieet is steadily Increasing, and halibut Is being sent to Eastern cities In refrigerator cars. In 1888 twelve thousand tons of salmon were pre- pared for the market. The fur trade is also an Important industry. 2 22 To California and Alask a. There are thirteen pubh'c schools in the Territory, located respectively at the principal towns, and the Industrial Training School at Sitka is in a very flourishing condition, though not accomplishing, it is said, all that might reasonably be expected ; the boys are taught carpentry and cabinet-, boot-, and shoe-making, while the girls are instructed in housekeeping, sewinor knittingr cookino-, and dressmaking. The average rainfall in Sitka and its imme- diate neighborhood is about forty-eight inches; about one third of the year there is no rain. The weather is not very cold in winter, the thermometer rarely reaching zero on the coast. The mean temperature for the year is about forty-four degrees. January and February have the lowest record — 29° 2' ; August highest — 56° 4'. Ice rarely forms to a thickness of six inches, and yet in summer the weather is not warm enough to ripen any grain. The months of June and July are generally clear, dry, and free from rain. The fall and spring are the rainy seasons. The comparatively mild tem- perature in this high latitude is accounted for by the existence of a great current of warm water, resembling our Gulf Stream, which, sweeping along the coasts of Japan and Asia In Alaskan Waters. 223 to the northeast, crosses the Pacific, and washes the northwest coast of America as far down as the Bay of Panama, where it again diverges to the westward and forms the ereat equatorial current of the Pacific. At the head of Cross Sound are five larg-e o^laciers that are formed far back in the coun- try on the slopes of Mount Fairweather and Mount Crillon, the former, 14,708 feet high, the latter 13,400. The remarkable indentation and almost end- less length of this coast, the thousand islands, the immense number of mountains, large and small, the maze of rivers through which the traveller passes, make this journey incom- parable with any other which could be made. We had often heard about the wonders of a trip to Alaska, but were more than surprised at the remarkable character of the scenery we saw, especially the water-ways, which the writer has deemed worthy of being so fully described. CHAPTER XX. IN ALASKAN WATERS (Concludec '■ij. Probably the most interestlno- feature of life in the vicinity of Sitka is the Indian vil- lage a short distance outside of the town ; Lieutenant J. E. Turner was kind enough to show our party through this settlement, which was certainly very unique. After enterlnof an old orate we turned to the left and passed in front of a long row of cheaply built houses fronting on the beach, the canoes and fishing paraphernalia belonging to each hut being drawn up on the beach in front thereof. Each house is numbered, and the village is under the strict surveillance of an officer of the Navy. As we had found at Bella Bella, most of the Indians were off fishing or en- ofaeed in work at the canneries ; in the winter, when they are all at home, the population numbers about eight hundred, and the town then presents quite a lively appearance. 224 Ill Alaskan Waters. 225 It may be well to mention here a certain peculiar kind of fish which is quite plentiful in Alaskan waters ; it is called the candle-fish, and is about the size of a smelt, which it re- sembles in appearance, being small and having x^--^ ... ^- ^::i^^ >^ bright silvery skin and scales. It is caught by the Indians on bright moonlight nights. They use for this purpose a large rake, some six or seven feet long, with teeth of bone or sharp-pointed nails. This rake has a handle, and while one Indian paddles the canoe close to the " shoal of fish," the other sweeps the rake through the dense mass, bringing up gen- 15 2 26 To Calif 07'jiia and Alaska. erally three or four fish impaled on each tooth of the rake. The canoes are soon filled, and the contents being taken on shore, the squaws proceed to skewer the fish on long sticks, passing these sticks through the eyes until each one has as many as it will hold, when the whole are suspended in the thick, smoky atmosphere at the top of the hut, which dries and preserves the fish without salt, which is never used by the Indians. When dry, the candle-fish are carefully packed away in boxes of dried bark. The traders of Port Simpson catch these fish in nets, salt and dry them in the usual manner practised by the whites ; and when this is properly done no fish are more delicious than the candle-fish, the only trouble being that they are so rich that one soon tires of them. To use them as candles, a piece of wick or dried pith is passed through the fish with a bod- kin of hardwood, and the tail being inserted in a cleft-stick or junk-bottle, the wick is lighted. The fish burns with a clear, steady flame. In point of wealth and power, after a few Indian chiefs, the most important person in the village is Mrs. Tom, a woman of orreat im- portance and influence among the natives. INDIAN chief's GRAVE, ALASKA. In Alaskan Waters. 227 She is worth about $40,000, and, in that sec- tion of the country at least, is considered a wealthy woman. We made her a visit, and found her not only willing to exhibit to us her large collection of curiosities, but anxious to part with many of them for a proper pecuniary consideration. Her house consists of three rooms, one of them very large. At the time Lieutenant Turner and our party made our visit she was not presentable, but called out to us that we should amuse ourselves by look- ing over her furs until she could prepare her toilet. She was not long in making her ap- pearance, when she opened her trunks, searched in various recesses, and brought forth any num- ber of trinkets and curious articles, which she offered for sale. We made a number of pur- chases, including some very fine otter skins and a Chilcot blanket. We were told that she left the settlement for the Aleutian Islands every year in a large boat well stocked with provisions and articles that she knows will be appreciated by the Indians ; these she trades away for rich furs and curiosities which she knows she can readily sell to the Americans who visit Sitka. These journeys sometimes keep her away for three months at a time. 2 28 To California and Alaska. Mrs, Tom's ideas of matrimony are cer- tainly very liberal ; she has almost any number of husbands, but rarely keeps one over two or three years, when she discharges him and purchases a new one. After we had made the purchases from her we requested her to send the articles to the steamer and we would pay the money to the husband who brought the package. She evidently had a very pessimistic opinion of man's honesty, for she quickly re- plied that, as the amount due was quite a large sum, she wished, if we had no objections, that we would pay her " cash down " on the spot, saying that she would feel easier than if she had to wait for one of her husbands to bring it back to her. While this book is going through the press the writer has noticed some curious statements in a New York journal on the polyandrous women of Alaska. A member of an expedi- tion that is surveying the boundary line between Alaska and Canada says that he has met tribes on the upper Yukon River where it is not uncommon for the women to have two or more husbands. This custom also prevails in Eastern Thibet and among the Mongols of the Tsaidam. It is accounted for In Alaskan Heaters. 229 by the fact that, on account of the barren nature of the soil and the general poverty of the people the brothers in a family will agree to have only one wife among them ; while one brother is absent on a trading jour- ney another remains at home and looks after the live stock, the "mutual wife" manacjincr the household. Amone the Alaskan Eskimo a man is entitled to as many wives as he can get, but in parts of the country where women are scarce two or more men live In a hut with one woman. It is stated that polygamy is only practised among rich and prosperous savages, while polyandry is practised by the poorer peoples, from necessity rather than choice. After lunch we stopped a few moments at Lieutenant Turner's rooms and then visited the Presbyterian Mission, where we saw the Shepard workshop, established by Mr. and Mrs. Shepard when they were here two years ago. We were much interested in the old Greek church. It is a rather gaudily deco- rated building, painted in green and gold after the Eastern fashion, wnth maenificent regalia and appointments for its rather lengthy but imposing service. Some of the old houses 230 To California and Alaska. presented a very quaint and time-worn ap- pearance, being probably some hundreds of years old. While we were here the boys of the party had very good luck fishing off the bows of the boat, catching some very fine black bass and halibut. The fishingr and deer- shooting in this vicinity are said to be very good. The Russian-American Company, once such an important factor in Alaskan life, com- menced its existence in i 799 and was formed on the same plan as the Hudson Bay Com- pany ; a body of Russian traders and mer- chants, however, had existed long before that date. Between 181 2 and 1841 the Russians had settlements in California, at Ross and Bodega, and they named the principal stream in that part of the country Russian River. In the latter year Captain Sutter, the famous Californian, purchased the company's settle- ment for $30,000, which was finally abandoned when it was found more convenient to pur- chase from the Hudson Bay Company on Vancouver Island. It is said that when the Russians occupied Sitka their houses were not models of cleanli- ness. Some of them were in the habit of In Alaskan Waters, 231 keeping poultry in the rooms over the sleep- ing-chamber, and as the little windows were never opened except at long intervals the odor was not very captivating. Pigs and ^^^i?| --V 'A goats at that time, were allowed to roam the streets at their own sweet will and took full advantage of their unrestricted liberty. '' ^ '? To Call for 711 a and Alaska. ^ o We left Sitka on the afternoon of the 2 2d of May. All the acquaintances we had made begged us to remain over until the next day, promising that they would arrange an Indian war-dance in the evening, but our time being limited we were obliged to take our departure. The mission band came down to the dock and gave us a serenade just before we sailed away. We ran until about dark, when we entered Peril Straits and anchored in Fish Bay for the night. At three o'clock on the followine morningf. May 23d, we left Fish Bay in Peril Straits, passed through the rapids, and out into the open sound, bound for Glacier Bay. We went through Chatham Strait, leaving Admiralty Island on our right, going around Port Au- gusta, and passing by Port Frederick, Port Adol- phus, and Bartlett. The waters in this region are totally unexplored. After we entered Chatham Strait bound for the north. Captain Carroll remained in the pilot-house, as there were no soundings, and he was the only man on board who had >iver been throusfh these waters before. We were constantly meeting large floes of ice, and the vessel had to cut throuiJ-h them. Some of the iceberg-s must In Alaskan JJ^atei^s. 233 have been fully three or four hundred feet square, and of proportionate mass. At this time the weather was extremely dis- agreeable ; the wind was cold, and a fine mist was falline all the time. The climatic condi- tions, combined with the bleak-looking appear- ance of the country, devoid of all vegetation, was anything but cheerful, but it helped us to realize what a dreary and desolate journey a trip to the Arctic regions must be. As our vessel was built entirely of steel, we were, of course, obligfed to exercise unusual care in sailing ; if we had run on a rock, or into an iceberg, it would probably have made a hole in her, and sunk her at once. This was one of the first iron vessels that had ever been through these waters ; Captain Carroll re- marked, however, that he felt very much safer with a good wooden vessel, because in case she sprung a leak he would be able to patch It up. We had rain almost steadily from the time we started, though now and then the weather would clear up for an hour or so. As it was almost impossible to go out on deck, we were forced to amuse ourselves in the cabin by playing cards and backgammon for hours at a time. 234 ^'^ California and Alaska. In the afternoon, as we neared the Muir Glacier, we met large fields of floating- ice. As we travelled towards the north the scenery changed entirely ; there were no signs of vege- tation to be seen, the whole surrounding coun- try was one mass of rocks, while the waters were dotted with barren and desolate islands. We arrived at the Great Glacier about four o'clock in the afternoon. We ran up very close, then drifted back, and threw out anchor on the east shore. A boat was lowered, and some of the party went ashore, and walked up over the glacier. Pieces of this icy mountain were falling away repeatedly, the noise of their falling being similar to the sound of heavy artillery. During the whole of this particular afternoon there was not a period of five minutes during which we did not see or hear large pieces of ice falling, the masses being so large sometimes that they caused the vessel to rock. We anchored at this point all night, leaving about half-past three o'clock the following morning, as soon as we could see. We travelled south to Ainsley Island; here, in- stead of ofoinof down through Chatham Strait, as we did when we came up, we turned around and went north, towards Lynn Channel, bear- W U < ►J o B z w" u o g O 1-1 In Alaskan Waters. 235 ing off sharply to our right round Admiralty Island, eoine throuorh Stevens' Passao^e, then back aeain between Dougflas Island and the mainland to Port Douglas. We arrived at Douelas about two o'clock in the afternoon. It had rained steadily all day, and we had not been able to see any of the mountains ; at times the fog was dangerously thick. After tying up at the wharf, our party went through the celebrated Treadwell Mine, which has the largest stamp-mill in the world ; it is owned principally by Mr. D. O. Mills, and some gentlemen of San Francisco. We passed through a tunnel into the mountain, and en- tered the mine. The ore is all of a low grade, and is worth about ten dollars per ton. It is taken out by the use of Sargent drills worked by compressed air. The ore is quar- ried the same as any ordinary stone, after which it is all put into the crusher, and then into the stamp-mill. We spent two hours in this mine, after which we went across to Juneau, where we were obliged to fill the tank of our steamer with water. We remained there until seven o'clock In the evening. Juneau enjoys the distinction of being one of the dirtiest towns we had yet 236 To California and Alaska. seen. The place was full of people, one hun- dred and sixty having arrived on the last trip of the Ancon, drawn to the locality on account of the great mining excitement which existed there at the time. Only a few days before we arrived, a party struck, about thirty miles south of the town, a rich silver ore, which assayed $160 per ton. While at Juneau, at the special request of a young lady in New York, who Is much interested in the work, we called upon Miss Matthews, who is in charge of the Presbyterian Mission here. While mak- ing this call we saw a young bear cub In the street ; we purchased it, and had it taken on board the boat, where it greatly amused the children. We left the dock at half-past three in one of the heaviest rains we had so far seen. A short distance from here we passed Bishop's Point, and If we had had more time would have turned off Into Taku Inlet, and sailed up to a very large glacier which is at the head of it. As we passed through Stevens' Passage we left Holcomb's Bay on our left. The old pilot we had on board told us that some twenty years ago, while he was sailing in this vicinity as mate on a vessel, the ship anchored In Alaskan lVate7's. 237 here one nieht and did some trading with the Indians, There was some misunderstandinor between the captain and the chief of the tribe, and the captain, in some way, insuhed the Indians. That nio-ht the savao-es boarded the ship, and talcing possession, completely stripped her, the crew barely escaping with their lives. At nine o'clock, on the morning of Saturday, May 25th, the clouds broke away as we were entering Prince Frederick Sound, coming through Stevens' Passage from Juneau. We here retraced our steps through Wrangel Nar- rows, and, after leaving the narrows, bore off to our left for Fort Wrangel. In the sunshine on this day the country looked beautiful, and It was the first opportunity we had had for many days to take a really good photograph. On our arrival at Fort Wranorel, at half- past one, every one went ashore. The town consists of about forty or fifty Indian houses, two missions and stores, and two or three houses in which a few white people live. Fort Wrangel is chiefly celebrated for its totem poles, of which the accompanying sketch will give a very good idea, as it will also of the street and stores. We understood that there 2-.8 To California and Alaska. was a large cannery about thirty miles north of this place, but we did not have time to visit it. After spending an hour and a half on shore, we started on our way to Vancouver, The bear which we obtained at Juneau proved to be a great source of pleasure to the children. He grew tame very rapidly, and became quite a pet. Sunday, May 26th, was the first really pleas- ant day we had had since leaving Vancouver, more than a week before. As already stated, we had had an hour or two of sunlight at times, but this particular Sunday was lovely from beginning to end ; there was not only an absence of rain, but the weather was so mild In Alaskan Waters. 239 that we were all able to sit on the deck throughout the entire day. On the same even- ing, however, as we were crossing Charlotte Sound, about half-way over, it began to rain very hard, and by eight o'clock it became so thick that we had difficulty in finding our way into the narrows beyond. We looked forward eagerly to our arrival at Vancouver the fol- lowing day, as we expected to find there mail and telegrams ; for the ten preceding days we had had no chance of receiving any communis cation from our friends. CHAPTER XXI. VICTORIA— WINNIPEG— HUNTING EXPERIENCES, We arrived at Vancouver about five o'clock on the afternoon of Monday, May 27th, and found there a large number of mall-bags, tele- grams, and packages awaiting us. We re- mained until eight o'clock, removing our spare baggage and attending to necessary corre- spondence, when we left for Victoria, which we reached, after a pleasant run, during the night. After breakfast, in the morning, we went to the office of the Northern Pacific Express Company, and found there two lost mail-bags, which we should have received at Lake Pend d'Oreille. In the morninor ^ve took a drive around the town ; in the afternoon some of the party took a steam launch and made a trip to Esquimalt and the English naval depot, while the rest drove over there in car- 240 HiiJitiug Experiences. 241 riages. The roads on the island are excellent, being macadamized as they are in England. A number of English men-of-war are stationed here, among them some of the latest and most approved ironclads. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia, and is in the southern part of Vancouver Island. Erom the city one has a fine view of the Olympia Mountains, just across the straits In Oregon, and, to the east, snow-capped Mount Baker. There is one railway on the island, and it leads to the mountains, the coal- fields, and to the harbor of Nanaimo. Eine deposits of anthracite coal are said to exist in the far interior of the western portion of the island. During- the summer months a steamer leaves Victoria every two weeks for Alaska. The climate is much like that of the south of England. On our return from Esquimalt we all met at the Islander, and through the courtesy of Captain Irving enjoyed a sail up the " Arm," a beautiful inlet from the sea, both shores of which are lined with handsome villas, occupied by wealthy residents of Victoria. We returned to the boat in time for dinner, and immediately afterward started for Van- 242 To California and Alaska. coiiver. Instead of following a direct route we ran around to Esquimalt Harbor, and sailed in amono- the Encjlish ironclads, thus getting a very good view of the fleet. Our trip on the steamer Islander was charm- ing and was thoroughly enjoyed, much of our pleasure being due to the kindness and courtesy of Captains Carroll and Irving, both of whom took special pains to describe the various points we visited. During the ten days we were on board the steamer, our life was comfortable in the extreme. There was no part of the boat which w^e were not wel- come to visit, and most of the men, when not below with the ladies, spent the greater part of their time in Captain Irving's apartment, or in the pilot-house. Although we thoroughly appreciated the grandeur, magnificence, and novelty of the scenery we had witnessed during our ten days in Alaskan waters, yet we were all quite agreed that, weird, strange, and grand though it might be, it did not begin to equal what we had seen on the Canadian Pacific road near Mount Stephen when we crossed the Rockies, or Mount Macdonald when w^e journeyed over the Selkirks. Hunting Experiences. 243 On our return to Vancouver, on the morn- ing of May 29th, we found our special train backed down upon the wharf, ready to receive us for our homeward trip. Everything was im- mediately transferred from the boat to the cars. We had intended stopping over at Shuswap Lake to fish, but w^e received word from Mr. ^ Marpole that the flies and mosquitoes •^ i were bitino- faster than the fish ; he >Ke.i;cli. or\ the CPRy — FRAStf? CANON-SHonrpNC. 3ruw«El.S i . ^^^^i^^ ^4M »«fl^^- informed us it would be better to continue directly to Banff. Our train really looked better now than on the day we started from New York ; the trucks of the cars had all been overhauled and painted. Mr. Abbott did all he possibly could for our comfort. 244 -^'' Califoriiia and Alaska. The ride up the Fraser River Canyon was extremely interesting- ; the scenery seemed to be even more beautiful than it did the day v^e journeyed down. We arrived at the junction of the Thompson and Fraser rivers about three o'clock in the afternoon, and reached Kamloops Lake about seven o'clock, just as we were about sitting down to dinner. None of us before had realized what a beautiful sheet of water this is. We reached Kamloops about nine o'clock, where Mr. Marpole and his master mechanic met us. As it rained very hard on the morning of May 30th, we abandoned our intention of going to the Glacier, and rode directly through to Banff. As we passed through we were unable to see Mount Macdonald owing to the fog and mist hanging over it ; but the scenery going up from Macdonald, alongside of the Kicking Horse Canyon to the summit under- neath Mount Stephen, seemed to us even grander than it did on our outward trip. We arrived at Banff about four o'clock, where we took carriages and drove to the Hot Springs, and afterwards to the Hotel Banff, which is kept by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Here we had an excellent dinner, after which we Hunting Experiences. !45 walked to the Bow River and then back to the cars in the even i no-. Banff is a station for the Rocky Mountain Park of Canada. This park is twenty-six miles long, about ten wide, and embraces the valleys of the Bow, Spray, and Cascade rivers, Devil's-Head Lake, and many mountains be- yond. The hotel here is kept by the railroad ...V. 'T^'^!^^ '" company in the finest !)#»''' v^" ' and most approved style. It was as good as any hotel we stopped at on our journey, almost equalling the hotel at Monterey. The building is beautifully lo- cated on the side of the mountain overlook- ing the Bow River Valley, is supplied with every modern convenience and luxury that one could wish for, and is kept open during the entire year. 246 To Califor7iia and Alaska. Many excursions are made from here into the mountains by sportsmen, who can readily obtain the horses and camping outfits necessary for a two or three weeks' sojourn. The moun- tains surroundinor Banff averaofe in height from seven to ten thousand feet. Devil's-Head Lake is situated at the very foot of Fairholme Mountains, in the very heart of snow-capped mountains, its shores rising perpendicularly out of the water with little if any vegetation upon them. The depth of the lake is in pro- portion to the height of the mountains at its sides. We had heard that very large trout were to be obtained in this lake, and conse- quently had made arrangements to drive out there in two wagons. As it was early in the season we were not able to obtain many boats ; a few of the party went out, however, and after an hour's fishing Mr. Kean returned with a forty-two-pound lake trout. This locality is particularly celebrated for big-horned sheep, and mountain goats are common on the neio^hborinor heights. The Sulphur Springs at Banff are highly appreciated by invalids. The air here is soft and balmy, and the records show that the winters are not as severe in the valley as one HtLiiting Experiences. 247 might be led to expect. The government has built excellent roads, running in different direc- tions, all through the valley and up the mountain sides. A good livery is kept at the hotel, where horses and carriages can be ob- tained for excursions in the vicinity. Bridle- paths have also been cut to quite a distance in the mountains. A party could stay a couple of weeks here with very great profit, not only on account of the shooting and fishing, but for the pleasure that w^ould be derived from excur- sions to the different points of interest. We stopped for a few minutes about ten miles farther east, at Anthracite, a place where discoveries of anthracite coal have been made. From that point we did not stop until we reached Calgary, where we remained about half an hour, at the request of the mayor and some of the prominent citizens, and enjoyed a drive around the city. Calgary can be com- pared to the town of Great Falls, in Montana ; it seems to be similarly located, and will eventually become a distributing point for the mines and mountain re^rion surroundino- it ; it is understood that this is now the case with regard to the Northwest and Mackenzie River country. The growth of this town 248 To California and Alaska. within the past four years has been something phenomenal. From Calgary we hurried on eastward until, about sundown, we reached Medicine Hat, situated on the Saskatchewan River. This place is the home of Mr. Niblock, through whose energy enough funds have been raised to build a large hospital for the railroad people. The station at Medicine Hat is one of the prettiest buildings on the prairie ; the experi- mental o-arden in front of the buildiuij in the summer time is one mass of flowers. We left Medicine Hat at half-past six on the evening of May 31st, taking with us Mr. Niblock's assistant, Mr. Coon, his celebrated duckinor doe " Punch," and another door which we borrowed from a grentleman in Medicine Hat. We ran slowly during the evening, so timine ourselves as to sfet within about half a mile of Goose Lake at three o'clock in the morning. The train was stopped here on the main track, Mr. Coon having with him a telegraph instrument with which he tapped the wires and kept all east- and west-bound trains out of the way. We then had coffee, and the gentlemen of the party started with their guns and walked up the track, just as Hu7iting Experiences. 249 day was breaking. As we neared the lake, which lay to the south, we could hear geese and ducks, as well as many other kinds of wild-fowl, making an incessant squawking and calling. When we reached the lake we found it fairly alive with geese and ducks of every description ; snipe, yellow-legs, and avecet were there in myriads. Owing to the easy manner in which wild-fowl can be killed here, the lake has been nicknamed, by Mr. Van Home, "Blind-hunter's Lake"; he truthfully contends that all a man has to do is to gfo there, fire off a gun, and he is sure to hit something. It must be added, however, that this remark only applies to the gunning season. As it was the close of the season, and our party only desired to obtain a few specimens of game, to be mounted in Winnipeg, we separated, some of us going to the north side of the lake, while others went to the opposite side. About half-past six we returned to the railroad track, at the north end of the lake, each with a few specimens of almost every kind of wild-fowl. All the party then went back along the track, and signalled for the train to come up, when we got on. We made a run for a short distance until we came to another part 250 To California and Alaska. of the lake, where a number of swan were seen. We stopped the train, and two of the party tried to stalk them, but found it im- possible to get near them, as the swan would invariably get up just before the sportsmen were within gun-shot distance. At Rush Lake we made another stop. This is, probably, the finest shooting lake on the line of the Cana- dian Pacific ; wild-fowl shootinor is said to be better here than anywhere else along the road. After spending a half-hour at this lake, we all returned to the train and had breakfast. While waiting at the siding at this lake we were passed by the west-bound Continental. From Rush Lake to Winnipeg we made no stop, except to change engines and take water. We arrived at Winnipeg about eleven o'clock in the evening, having made exceptionally good time. The following day, Sunday, the second of June, the weather was bright, clear, and quite warm. Shortly after breakfast the American Consul called upon us, and we arranged with him for a. visit to Governor Shultz. Some of the party took carriages and drove to church. In the afternoon the children all took a Hiuitiug Experiences. 251 drive, and the men of the party visited Mr. Hines, the taxidermist, and left with him a number of heads and specimens that we had procured in the Rocky Mountains and else- where, such as moose, elk, and the black- tailed deer. The writer had the pleasure of capturing one of the largest moose heads that had ever been seen in that section of the country ; also quite a large elk head. We all enjoyed our visit in Winnipeg, es- pecially our call upon Governor Shultz, whom we found to be an exceedingly agreeable per- son. He was very anxious, not only to hear about our trip to Alaska, but also to give the writer information in reofard to the Mackenzie River Basin country, of which he had made a study, having been a member of a commission, appointed some years ago by the Canadian Government, to make a report on the subject. He kindly furnished us with a copy of this document. He was very anxious that some time in the near future the writer should make up a party and visit the Mackenzie River, following it down to its outlet. He explained that this scheme was quite practicable, pro- vided the writer could obtain a letter from the Hudson Bay Company giving him the right 252 To California and Alaska. to use their boats on the river or its tribu- taries, wherever they might be found ; and he, very kindly, gave the assurance that he could obtain such a letter. Such a trip, he estimated, would occupy about five or six months. Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, is situ- ated at the junction of the Red and Assini- boine rivers, both of which are navigable by steamships. For many years this city has been the chief post of the Hudson Bay Com- pany, and to-day that company carries on a very large business with the people in the reeions to the north and west. As it was Sun- day we were not able to visit the warehouses of the Hudson Bay Company, and could only see them from the outside. They look more like large military barracks than the buildings of a private company. Governor Shultz informed us that in former years the Hudson Bay Com- pany were government, counsel, and every- thing else to this part of the country ; that they made their own laws, and even conducted the trials. He also informed us that very few people believe Lord Lonsdale ever penetrated the Arctic region as far as he claimed he did ; in fact, that reports from Hudson Bay officials Hi tilting Experiences. 253 said that no such person had ever been at cer- tain posts, and that it was next to impossible for him to have gone over to Mollesten's Land, or even to the eastern Arctic coast oppo- site ; besides, the trip from here westward to the Yukon would have required a longer period. The city is situated on a level plain ; the streets are very broad, and the buildings mostly of brick. Within the last few years the town, of course, has grown very rapidly, owing to the Canadian Pacific Railway passing through it, and the Manitoba Railroad reachinof it from the south. Many branches of railroad now centre here. The Hudson Bay Company have a railway, which, when we were at Winnipeg, was completed as far as Shoal Lake, forty miles to the northwest. The depot of the Canadian Pacific Railway in this city is a hand- some and imposing building, and is the divi- sional headquarters for that part of the road from Port Arthur to Donald, a distance of 1,454 niiles ; this is called the Western Division. The land offices of the Canadian Pacific Rail- way are also located here. In conversinof with the taxidermist, Mr. Hines, and his son, both of whom are ardent 254 To California and Alaska. sportsmen, they gave very interesting accounts of the game that can be found north of Winni- peg, at Lake Winnipeg. This game includes moose, caribou, bear, and, in the fall, any num- ber of ducks. They also informed us that the facilities for getting to the hunting grounds were very good. The sportsman could follow the Hall River nearly the whole distance, part of the way by steamboat and the rest of the way in canoes, making it exceedingly easy to take plenty of supplies. The country is said to resemble very much the Adirondacks or the lake region of Minnesota, from the fact that for miles and miles the hunter can go from one o o z tn < O z Hunting Experiences. 255 lake to another, oftentimes without havine to make any carry, while at others he would only have from one to three hundred feet carry to make. They told us, also, that the grounds for camping are excellent ; in fact, from their account we came to the conclusion that a trip there during the months of September or October would amply repay any sportsman. CHAPTER XXll. FROM WINNIPEG, HOMEWARD BOUND. We left Winnipeg at three o'clock on the afternoon of June 2d, arriving at Rat Portage about sundown. The scenery west from Lake Winnipeg was very similar to what we had seen the two preceding days, until we approached Rat Portage, when there were some very picturesque views and numerous rock-bound lakes that we passed, many of which were studded with small islands, and were very pretty. We arrived at Port Arthur about six o'clock on the morning of June 3d, first stopping at Fort William. The ride by moonlight the night before was through scenery different from anything we had seen heretofore. The road twisted and turned around many low hills, across small lakes, winding down rivers, running all the time through an exceedingly 256 From Winnipeg, Homezuard Bound. 257 picturesque country. The effect of the moon- light, now and then falling upon these beauti- ful lakes, of which there was almost a continu- ous line, was so pleasing as to induce many of the party to sit out on the rear platform until quite late in the evening. If we had not been in a hurry to reach Nepigon, where the party proposed to have some fishing, we would have stopped over at Winnipeg until the morning, in order to enjoy this scenery, which, though it was not grand, was exceedingly beautiful. We arrived at Port Arthur, more commonly called Prince Arthur's Landinor at about eiofht o'clock in the morning, and remained there until the Indians, who were to accompany us on our fishing tour, arrived from F'ort Wil- liam, about half-past one. We procured a 258 To California and Alaska. box-car for the canoes. The morning was occupied in visiting various stores, and pur- chasing provisions and needed articles for the four or five days' camping trip up the Nepi- o-on. We also went down to the docks, and went through one of the fine steam-ships of the Canadian Pacific Company, which ply be- tween Port Arthur and Owen's Sound. Both this place and Fort William are noted for havine a ercat number of larp-e orrain elevators. The extensive docks at Port Arthur are also a notable feature of the place. The steamship that we took here was a passenger boat, fitted up with every modern luxury and convenience. The engine-room was so arranged that visitors, instead of being warned away by the sign " No Admittance," were permitted to go through almost every part of it. These boats were built on the Clyde, in Scotland, and the different pieces brought to this country and put together at Lake Superior. The principal freight carried by them is grain. Directly across the bay from Port Arthur is Thunder Cape. Behind this cape is Silver Islet, noted for having yielded fabulous amounts of silver ore. On the Western From IVinnipcg, Homeward Bou7id. 259 Division, west of Port Arthur, " Central " time and the twenty-four-hour system are used. East of Port Arthur, Eastern time and the old twelve-hour system are used. We made the short run from Port Arthur to Nepigon, and immediately on our arrival went down the Hudson Bay Company's coast, and called on Mr. Flanagan, the head ofificial of that company. He had been notified by Mr. Van Home to have everything ready for us in the way of necessary supplies ; also canoes and Indians, We procured from him another boat, some Indian tents and blankets, and the party started up the river. It consisted of Messrs. Kean, Purdy, Frank Webb, and George Bird. The writer and Dr. McLane had arranofed to remain with the ladies and children while the other members of the party made their trip up the river. We had heard that the Nepigon had been pretty thoroughly fished, owing to its accessibility, and we were told that by going on to Jackfish we would find a number of streams, both east and west, that could easily be reached, and where the fishing was very good. We arrived at Jack- fish about sundown. The road from Nepigon to Jackfish sweeps around the north shore of 26o To California and Alaska. Lake Superior, and represents a section of the railroad upon which some of the heaviest work on the entire line had to be done. The scene changes constantly, the road sometimes going over deep, rugged cuttings, viaducts, passing through tunnels, and sometimes on the very face of the cliff. One or two miles of road over which we passed cost the company nearly S^ 202 Main Library LOAN PERIOD 1 HOME USE RETURN TO the circulation desk of any University of California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY BIdg. 400, Richmond Field Station University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS • 2-month loans may be renewed by calling (510)642-6753 • 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books to NRLF • Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW ^ ^ J — 'Ai <^ .:?7^^% i^ -e^ . •• ^^. 'M^i '^H -Inn ^ U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES ^ coeaamm? ■^ ""^ r^-^C^^I^^l^^ Xv V UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY '^■''U'*' i.^lM^t'^l^^i^ . ^..m. ^ w^,# ^*^^ M#^ "V^ rj."^. '^m"^ i'.'^«"(«'. i^*-''-^. ^^a^"/-