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BEYOND THE ROCKIES

A SPRING JOURNEY IN CALIFORNIA

CHARLES AUGUSTUS STODDARD

Editor of " The New York Observer," Author of
"Across Russia," "Spanish Cities," etc.

ILLUSTRATED

/k^£u2(yJ/V». (fi . \SraAAK

NEW YORK

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

1894

MARY PRIME STODDARD

WHOSE COMPANY IN THIS JOURNEY

AS IN

life's longer PILGRIMAGE

HAS DOUBLED ITS PLEASURES AND LIGHTENED ITS CARES

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED

THE AUTHOR

CONTENTS

I. South and West

PAOS

From Winter to Spring — Plans for Mexico nipped in the Bud
— A Raymond Excursion — Virginia and Tennessee —
Lookout Mountain — Its Scenes and Memories 1

II. From the Mountains to the Gulf
Birmingham and its Activities — Spring in New Orleans —
Beauty and Business — The Louisiana Lottery — Growth,
Enterprise, and Prosperity — Dr. Palmer and his Church . . 7

III. Along the Sunset Road
Louisiana and its Fertile Acres — Bayous and Rice-fields —
Galveston and its Beach — Houston and its Boom — Lit-

• . 14

erary Curiosities

IV. San Antonio de Bexar

The Border Fortress — A Thrilling History — The Alamo and
its Defenders — Scenes in the Town— The Jesuit Missions

— A Government Post and Evening Parade 19

V. Along the Rio Grande

Wild and Picturesque Scenery — The Town of Langtry — A
One-Man Government — Desert Views — Marathon and its
Greeks — Time at El Paso 24

VI. New Mexico and Arizona

The Town of Juares — Over the Border — Climate and Health

— Indian Villages — Sunday at Tucson — Its Schools and

80
University

vii

Vlll CONTENTS

VII. One of Our Indian Schools

PAGE

A Presbyterian Contract — Good Teachers — The Correct Idea
of Indian Education — Reports from the Government Super-
intendent ^ 35

VIII. Through the Desert to Paradise

Cacti — The Colorado River — Yuma and the Indians — Below
the Ocean — A California Riddle 44

IX. In California

Climate and Weather — Varied Productions — Inhabitants

— Riverside and its Oranges — Horticulture and its Results 60

X. Coronado Beach

A Narrow Escape — Fine Weather — A Luxury to live —
Acres of Wild Flowers — Beauty on Sea and Shore — Com-
fort and Good Company — Excursions — Blue Presby-
terianism 57

XI. Pasadena

Signing Tickets — Breaking a Train in Two — Ocean Views —
Meeting Dr. Ormiston — His Good Work — Friends in
Pasadena — A Big Rose-Bush — The Crown of the Valley

— A Model Town 64

XII. In the San Gabriel Valley

Excursions in the Valley — Lucky Baldwin and his Ranch —
Sunny Slope Vineyards — The Old Mission — A Mountain
Railroad — Easter Sunday at Pasadena 70

XIII. Thriving Towns

Los Angeles — A Flourishing City — Hills and Homes — Red-
lauds and the Smileys — The Boy who wanted to be a Civil
Engineer 77

CONTENTS IX

XIV. Santa Barbara

PAGE

Beautiful for Situation — An Earthquake — The Tale of a
Patron Saint — First Impressions — A Placid Town — Nat-
ural Beauties — A Winter View 82

XV. Roman Catholic Missions

The Padres and their Work — The Presidio and the Church —
How the Missions grew — A Short, Sad History — The
Lessons of the Past 89

XVI. Flower Festival at Santa Barbara

Multitudes of Flowers — Ten Thousand Roses on a Carriage
— A Flower Dance — The Floral Procession — The Mayor's
Proclamation 96

XVII. Pleasure-Days at Santa Barbara

The Mission CaSon — A Picnic at Ellwood — Monte Cito and
its Gardens — The Hot Springs — The Ojai Valley and San
Marcos Pass 104

XVIII. Ancient Spanish Houses

Carrillo Arguello and de la Guerra — Old Days in Santa Bar-
bara — Feasts and Weddings — The Chinese Colony —
Friends and their Work Ill

XIX. How we went to Yosemite

The Crown of California Scenery — A Wily Agent — Ruts and
Bogs — Fine Air and Hard Fare — An Amei-ican Jolting
Car — Mules and their Drivers — The Public and its
Servants 117

XX. The Yosemite Valley

Our Entrance — Wonderful Views — Manifold and Beautiful
Waterfalls — Precipices Thousands of Feet High — Mirror
Lake and Merced River — Did the Bottom drop out —
Grandeur and Triviality 123

CONTENTS

XXI. California Big Trees

Mariposa and Santa Cruz Groves — Comparisons and Meas-'''"'^
urements , joq

XXII. Hetch-Hetchy Valley
An Interesting Letter— The Canon of the Tuolumne — An
Indian Hiding Place — Fish and Game 137

XXIII. El Monte

Rough Travelling -Monterey — Its Foundation and History
— The Hotel del Monte— An Artificial Paradise — Flow-
ers, Shrubs, and Trees — A Priest's Monument — The Old
Oak — Pacific Grove — The Seventeen-Mile Drive — Seals,
Shells, Buffaloes, and Bears — Strange Cypresses .' 143

XXIV. In the Santa Clara Valley
Incidents at Santa Cruz — San Jos6 — Churches, Public Build-
ings, and Schools -Lick Observatory — Leland Stanford
Junior University — Palo Alto Stables — Training School

for Fast Trotters

155

172

XXV. San Francisco
Dana's Prophecy - Calif ornia Optimism - The Chinese Prob-
lem - A Curious and Composite City — Beautiful Suburbs
-A Visit to Chinatown — The Theatre and Opium Dens
-Chinese Men, Women, and Children - Sausalito, Ross
Valley, and San Rafael — A Sudden Squall — The Presby-
terian Seminary - Friends and Festivities - Sacramento. .

XXVI. Across the Sierra to Salt Lake
Sacramento to Cape Horn - Silver Mining - Among the
Snow-Sheds - Deserts and Indians - Great Salt Lake —
The Sacred Inclosure — Tabernacle and Temple — The
Lion House and the Beehive— A Thriving City — A
R6sum6 of Mormon History -The Creed and Government
of the Church — Fort Douglas jgj

CONTENTS XI

XXVII. Crossing the Rocky Mountains

PAGE

Wild and Grand Scenery — New and Wonderful Hot Springs
— Six Hundred Miles for Twenty-five Cents— Two Miles
up in the Air — Leadville, Colorado — The Collegiate
Mountains— Climbing Marshall Pass — Railroads as High
as Mount Blanc — Engines play Hide and Seek— The
Royal Gorge — An Engineering Feat — The Pittsburgh of
the West

192

XXVIII. Colorado Springs, Manitou, and Denver

The Invalids' Home— The Mineral Springs of Manitou —
" Garden of the Gods" — Helen Hunt Jackson's Grave —
Pike's Peak— Its Difficulties, Wonders, and Glories —The
Central City of the Union — Mines and Industries —Enter-
prising People — Daniel Webster no Prophet — The View
from City Park — Hospitality and Home Feeling — On to
the Exposition — Home Again 204

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

AN AVENUE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA . . • Frontispiece

THE LEVEE, NEW ORLEANS

THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO

INDIAN GROUP, ARIZONA "J"

CALIFORNIA ROSE GARDEN 50

.... 58

FLOWER FESTIVAL, SANTA BARBARA

BRIDAL VEIL FALL, YOSEMITE

FACING PAGK
. . 8

. . 20

RAMONA'S MARRIAGE PLACE, SAN DIEGO

PASADENA AND MOUNT WILSON

ROSE COTTAGE, LOS ANGELES

CO
SANTA BARBARA

CASTLE ROCK, SANTA BARBARA BAY 86

BELFRY OF SAN GABRIEL MISSION 90

OLIVE GROVE, COOPER'S RANCH 104:

OAK GROVE, NEAR GAVIOTA 108

119
OLD ADOBE, SANTA BARBARA 1^-

YOSEMITE VALLEY FROM UNION POINT 118

126

BIG TREES, SANTA CRUZ l'^2

CYPRESS GROUP, MONTEREY 154

LICK OBSERVATORY, MOUNT HAMILTON 164

ROUNDING CAPE HORN, SIERRA NEVADA 182

CASTLE GATE, ROCKY MOUNTAINS 192

pike's PEAK FROM COLORADO SPRINGS 204

*** The thanks of the Publishers are due Messrs. W. H. Jackson Co. of
Denver, Taber of San Francisco, and WntkinsofSan Francisco for the use
of photographs from which the illustrations in this book are made.

xiil

BEYOND THE ROCKIES
I

SOUTH AND WEST

FROM WINTER TO SPRING — PLANS FOR MEXICO NIPPED

IN THE BUD A RAYMOND EXCURSION VIRGINIA

AND TENNESSEE — LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN — ITS SCENES
AND MEMORIES

The streets of New York were piled high with
snow, and a bitter winter wind, which had been
blowing for the greater part of three months, made
our bones ache and our throats sore. The memories
of the Riviera, and Tangier, and Malaga began to
assert themselves, and the temptation to go by the
new Mediterranean route to a land of sun and
warmth was very strong. Yet we remembered the
oft-repeated question when in Spain: "You have
been in Mexico?" and the assertion made by an en-
thusiastic traveller, that Mexico was better worth
seeing than Spain, and that California as far sur-
passed the Riviera as the garden of Eden excelled
the Central Park. Let us go to Mexico, and come
home by California and the Chicago Fair. So plans
were made, and tickets were engaged, and March was

2 BEYOND THE KOCKIES

to come in like a lion, and drive us out to pastures
new and green.

When all w£is ready, the trunks packed, and the
key in the door, that friend and foe of travellers,
the electric telegraph, brought word that there was
an epidemic of typhus fever in Mexico, and that it
would be risky to make the tour. We sadly laid
aside Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico " and the other
interesting volumes with which we had been refresh-
ing our minds, and had nearly laid aside the care-
fully planned route through California, and deter-
mined to see the winter out, if it took all summer to
do it. But wiser counsels prevailed, and we turned
the key in the lock, spent two hours in driving over
frozen billows of mud and snow to the Central Rail-
road station at the foot of Liberty Street, and took
places in a Pullman car, which was to be our bed by
night and boudoir by day, for a pull across the
continent.

All experienced travellers had advised us not to
travel in Mexico without having a dining-car in the
train, and to secure that needful comfort we had
joined what is known as a " Raymond " party. This
is a conducted party of tourists who travel in a more
elegant and comfortable manner than the ordinary
parties with which the travelling public is familiar.
They have their own train, not crowded or common-
place, they go according to their own schedules,
and- have all the luxuries which can be furnished on
the route at their command. If the hotels are poor,
they use their own hotel, which is always first-class,
and their tickets and luggage and everything else

SOUTH AND WEST 3

which impede and irritate the ordinary traveller, are
cared for by experienced and agreeable attendants.
This is the theory of a "Raymond" excursion, and I
am bound to say that, allowance being made for the
accidents of existence, and the frailty of human
nature under the best circumstances, the practice
accords fairly well with the theory. Some things
will not always work harmoniously, and it so hap-
pened that the Boston part of the train was delayed
by a "lost Pullman," and by heavy snowdrifts, so
that the New Yorkers waited five hours in Phila-
delphia for the "slow coaches" from New England.
There is a calm and serene atmosphere about the City
of Brotherly Love which tends to reduce irritation
and lessen impatience, and so we welcomed our be-
lated friends with a smile, and dined together in
unity as we steamed on to Washington. Night
found us in the Shenandoah Valley, and morning
dawned upon us near the Natural Bridge. All traces
of snow were gone. The tender blades of grass were
just pushing through the earth, the clear air was
resonant with the songs of birds, and the rivers ran
full and yellow with the unfrosted and crumbling
soil. It was a great and beneficent change from icy
winter to the breath of early spring.

Through the day we journeyed on through Virginia
and Eastern Tennessee, spending an hour at Bris-
tol, which has the characteristics of a border town
between two states, groups of tall, lean, broad-shoul-
dered men lounging at corners, and rows of well-
splashed horses hitched in front of the main avenue
stores, while the trolley cars hissed and rocked along

BEYOND THE ROCKIES

the uneven track in the street. The churches were
the best buildings in the place. A few handsome
houses on the bluff gave evidence of wealth and
prosperity, while crowds of poorly clad negro boys,
loafing and loitering in the sunshine, formed another
element in the picture. At Morristown we came to
the familiar scenery of the road leading through the
Balsams into the Asheville Valley, where we spent
some pleasant weeks just a year before, and then we
came* to Knoxville, the large, thriving, and growing
town, which has one of the longest and most hon-
orable histories — civil, military, and religious — of
the towns in this region. We had elected to pass
by Knoxville, and to run to Chattanooga, and find
our first stopping-place on the summit of Lookout
Mountain, at the Lookout Mountain Inn, a new and
elaborate establishment in one of the grandest posi-
tions of the country. The building is new, and is
placed on the eastern face of the mountain. It has
a fine frontage of three hundred and sixty-five feet,
fully cleared, which commands an unsurpassed view
over the valley of the Tennessee, and is flanked on
either side by forests of oak and pine. In the
winter the air is clear and mild, and the heats of
summer are tempered by cool breezes which play
over the lofty mountain height. Rising seven hun-
dred feet above the valley in which the city of Chatta-
nooga lies, and twenty-two hundred feet above the
sea-level, with precipitous sides, it affords views of
exceptional grandeur and extent, and the panorama
IS remarkable for variety and beauty. From this
summit, portions of seven states can be seen, and

SOUTH AND WEST ^

here are some of the most famous battle-fields of the
Civil War. Far to the northwest, the blue outlines
of the Cumberland Mountains line the horizon, while
a multitude of lower peaks rise nearer m the land-
scape On the east lie Walden's Ridge and Sher-
man Heights, and then comes the famous Missionary
Ridge, backed by the Great Smokies which have
been made famous by the romances of Charles Egbert
Craddock. In front, the Tennessee River sweeps in
wide curves through a vast semicircular plain, and
the populous and busy town, with its converging
lines of railroad, is spread out as on a map before

the eye. , ^,

One is reminded here of Sherman, and Thomas,
and Grant, and Hooker; of the battles of Mission-
ary Ridge and Chickamauga, and of the terrible
struggle which has passed into history as "the battle
above the clouds." An old Confederate soldier acts
as guide to the tourist, and there are few of the
struggles of the Rebellion which have such a van-
tage ground from which their movements can be
pointed out and described to the visitor of to-day.
Lookout Mountain extends over the border-line into
Georgia, and along its rugged sides are points of
observation, each revealing wonderful views and
manifold attractions of woodland, water, and moun-
tain scenery. Two railroads climb the summit, one
by a series of zigzags which in ten miles moves four
times across the face of the cliffs, rising each time
about four hundred feet; the other is a cable road
which ascends directly from the valley up a steep
incline. A fine carriage road also brings the trav-

6 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

eller up in an hour, and connects with many excel-
lent drives over the country.

Far in the distance is seen the National Cemetery,
where, among costly and elegant monuments, lie four
thousand unknown dead whose graves are marked by
a single white stone, the memorials of a conflict
which, unlike most civil wars, has bound a people
more strongly than ever in national unity. Long
may it be before this broad and heaven-blessed land
shall again be bathed in blood ! Mutual self-respect,
honor, justice, and the nobility of the American
people are among the heritages of those years of war -,
have they not also taught us the value of mutual for-
bearance, national patriotism, and Christian love and
labor, to make a nation great?

FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE GULF

BIRMINGHAM AND ITS ACTIVITIES — SPRING IN NEW

ORLEANS — BEAUTY AND BUSINESS THE LOUISIANA

LOTTERY GROWTH, ENTERPRISE, AND PROSPERITY

DR. PALMER AND HIS CHURCH

From Lookout Mountain, with its picturesque
scenery and historic reminiscences, to the practical
and modern city of Birmingham, Alabama, is a
great change, but a ride of a few hours on the famous
Queen and Crescent Railway effected the transfor-
mation. Spring had not clothed the earth with fresh
garments, but here and there a peach tree bloomed
pink, and the white blossoms of the spiraea waved
in the mild breeze. Some ploughing had been done,
but for the most part all things in nature were await-
ing the touch of the enchanter to burst forth in ver-
nal loveliness. Birmingham, however, was all
alive. Its electric cars hissed along wide avenues,
hurling crowds of people through the town, and
making the air resonant with gongs and the whirr
of wheels. A mad " dummy " engine with two open
care, wildly tossing and heaving as if upon mid-
ocean, plunged up and down hill and valley, through
town and suburb, with tolling bell and shrieking

8 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

whistle, the load of passengers constantly changing ;
and the sidewalks were full of people, hurrying
hither and thither as if a section of Chicago had
been let loose in this Alabama town. There were
new buildings since a year ago, and more were be-
ing built, and it seemed as if we were in a paradise
of "drummers," and a place whence rest and quiet
had forever fled. It were better to sleep on the
rumbling train, which seemed slow beside this fast
town, and so the rising sun found us in the middle
of Lake Pontchartrain, seven miles of which are
crossed by this railway on a bridge of piles before
entering the city of New Orleans.

When I was in New Orleans just a year before, a
bitter " norther " had swooped down ujjon the city,
frozen the strawberries into bullets, and cut down
all the flowers and early vegetables. Under such
circumstances it was not easy to believe that March
was anything but a roaring lion, whether encoun-
tered on Boston Common or on the Mississippi
Levee. This year, I am assured, the spring is nor-
mal, and it is a very lovely season. The gardens
and dooryards of the handsome villas on St. Charles
Avenue and Prytania Street were full of roses,
climbing over arches, clinging to trellises, and
gathered into masses of color here and there on the
green lawns; beds of hyacinths and lilies, acacia
with its yellow hair, and the wax-like china-berry,
blooming amidst palms and oleanders; the fresh
green foliage of the liveoaks and the polished dark
leaves of the magnolia delighted the eye and filled
the air with fragrance. Our days were spent in the

FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE GULP 9

open, and with the blossoming spring the population
seemed to have a new character. Bright colors
flowed along the avenues as crowds of beautiful
women and girls, happy and laughing, gathered on
the promenades to shop, to chatter, to see, and to be
seen. Even the men had caught the tone of the
season, and for one black coat there were a dozen
gray or fawn-colored, and a flood of sunshine filled
the streets and sparkled all over the laughing waves
of the red and rushing rivers. The levees were
loaded with bales of cotton and boxes of sugar and
barrels of turpentine and rice, and great vessels were
discharging as well as loading cargoes.

There was a di-awing of the Louisiana Lottery
while we were in the city. Its days in Louisiana
and in the United States are numbered, and it will
be no longer a blot and a disgrace to American
civilization, though I fear that it will still reap
from its new rendezvous in Honduras a harvest of
victims from our country. It is a sad fact that, while
the lottery has been established in the South, it has
been largely supported by the North. At the recent
drawing, the capital prize was drawn in Boston, and
many of the other large prizes were drawn in such
cities as Cleveland, and Rochester, and Detroit. The
])assion for gambling is not confined by isothermal
lines, and rages as furiously in the staid and pious
state of New Jersey as among the Creoles of the
Gulf of Mexico. Great credit is due to the state
of Louisiana for ridding itself from the evil monster
that injured its reputation and its own people, while
enticing others to sin. This state is growing stead-

10 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

ily in those elements of character and conduct which
make political communities strong and great. The
city problem here, as elsewhere, is a hard one to
solve, but ^there is much salt in New Orleans, and
with the outgoing of the lottery one bad thing will
pass away. Some persons may imagine that the
drawings of the lottery are scenes of excitement, but
nothing could be farther from the truth. They are
as formal and businesslike as the announcement of
the prizes at a college commencement, and not half
as interesting as an auction sale. They take place
in the Opera House, and are attended by a moderate
audience. Upon a platform are two large wheels, in
one of which are the numbers, amounting to hun-
dreds of thousands. These numbers are inclosed in
little gutta-percha tubes. In the other wheel are
similar tubes containing the various numbers of dol-
lars which constitute the prizes. Thus, while there
may be tlrree hundred thousand tickets sold or given
out for sale at a drawing, there are only eleven hun-
dred and thirt3'--six prizes, varying from seventy-five
thousand to forty dollars. General Early, the Con-
federate general, sat beside one wheel; another man,
who has taken the place of General Beauregard since
his death, sat at the other wheel. Two negro boys,
blindfolded, stood between the two, and in the rear,
at a table, were clerks to record the drawings. After
a brief announcement of what drawing was to be
made, by General Early, in a thin and tremulous
voice, the wheels were turned by an assistant, and
opened. The blinded boy put his hand in and took
out one of the gutta-percha tubes. It was broken

FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE GULF 11

open by General Early, and the number called. We
will say that it was 11,271. The other boy put his
hand into the other wheel, drew out a tube, and
handed it to the representative of General Beaure-
srard. He broke the tube and read out three hun-
dred dollars. This result he announced, and a record
was made on the blackboard for all to see that No.
11,271 had drawn the prize of three hundred dollars.
The paper number and the paper bearing the dollar
marks were then fastened together, and passed to the
registering clerks. All this was done rapidly and
mechanically, from eight to twelve numbers being
called in a minute. Now and then a request was
made to turn the wheel. Then it was closed up,
and a strong man came forward and gave the great
circle a few turns, after which it was opened again,
and the drawing went forward as before. It took
several hours to draw the eleven hundred and thirty-
six prizes. Of course, all the rest of the numbers
remaining in the wheel failed to win, and were
summarily destroyed, and with them the hopes of
hundreds of thousands of men and women who had
bought tickets. Few are aware of the length to
which this gambling mania has extended, though
most pastors and physicians know some of its sad
results. I knew one man of good reputation, a
thrifty farmer, who was ruined by drawing a prize
of fifteen thousand dollars. Work had no more
charms for him ; he idled and gambled away his
time and money, and died a sot. I knew a repu-
table and respected physician who spent most of
the earnings of a large practice in the Louisiana

12 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Lottery, and left his family without a dollar, and no
one ever imagined how he could have made such poor
investments! The number of clerks who have de-
frauded their employers, and business men who failed
through the temptations of the lottery, would make a
long, sad list. Let us be thankful that if the ser-
pent is not killed, he will at least be scotched.

I said that there was steady growth in good and
strong elements in Louisiana. This is evident in
the many sound and valuable enterprises which are
set on foot in the state, its increase of railroad-
building, farming, and manufacturing, and also in
the enlargement and support of literary and religious
associations, schools, and churches. The Southern
people have a religious nature that responds to cul-
ture, and while there is a class that find pleasure and
excitement in the race course, the prize ring, and
kindred sports, these are not the representative
people any more than they are elsewhere. In the
closely seated pews of the First Presbyterian Church
in Lafayette Square on Sunday morning, when I
heard the venerable, but still strong, Dr. Palmer
preach an old-fashioned gospel sermon, eloquent,
powerful, and with pathetic appeal, I recognized the
saving element of such a city as New Orleans.
There was nothing sensational in the sermon, except
as truth vividly presented and clearly defined and
earnestly enforced is sensational. Dr. Palmer stood
upon the platform, and spoke like an orator pos-
sessed and mastered by his theme, and the audience
listened intently for nearly an hour with no sign of
restlessness or satiety. When the sermon was ended,

FEOM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE GULF 13

his assistant made a short prayer, and after a single
verse sung with full organ and by all the people, the
congregation, numbering from fifteen hundred to
two thousand people, streamed out into the square,
and went homeward in every direction.

Ill

ALONG THE SUNSET ROAD

LOUISIANA AND ITS FERTILE ACRES — BAYOUS AND RICE-
FIELDS — GALVESTON AND ITS BEACH — HOUSTON AND
ITS BOOM LITERARY CURIOSITIES

From New Orleans our course lay through the
southern portion of Louisiana. A large ferry-boat
takes the heavy Pullman train across the Mississippi
River to the station of the Southern Pacific Railroad
at Algiers. Great neatness and taste are shown
here, as also at all the road stations. Vines grow
over the buildings, and these stand in gardens of
semi-tropical trees and flowers. Through a well-
cultivated region, we come to the swamps where alli-
gators find their home, then to rice-fields, frequently
crossing broad bayous and mouths of the Mississippi.
Evidences of prosperity and profitable agriculture are
all about us. The lands of Louisiana yield under
cultivation from twenty-five to fifty bushels of corn,
from one to three hogsheads of sugar, per acre, and
one or two bales of cotton. Rice yields thirty to
seventy-five bushels to the acre, and is planted
broadcast in the lowlands, but in the highlands it is
sown in rows, and cultivated Avith the plough, being
cut by machinery and threshed like our wheat.

ALONG THE SUNSET ROAD 15

The sugar interests are very extensive, and absorb
a great amount of capital. I was most agreeably
disappointed at the fertility and excellent cultiva-
tion which the ride through Louisiana exhibited.
Evidences of thrift and industry were manifest
everywhere, in well-tilled farms, new and well-kept
buildings, and enterprise along the bayous and at
shipping ports. The scenery is varied and attractive,
and the journey to Texas one of the pleasantest por-
tions of our trip. The " Sunset " route leads through
Louisiana to the great state of Texas, the largest
state in the Union, containing two hundred and
seventy-four thousand square miles, and nearly two
and a half millions of inhabitants. It is three times
as large as the state of New York, and has a great
variety of soil and climate. And here let me say
that much allowance must be made for statements
about climate. Nothing is more fickle and uncertain
than weather, and fcAV persons think alike about it.
When, therefore, we read of regions where it is
never too cold or too hot, where it never rains or
blows, where earth is a paradise, and the heav-
ens a beautiful canopy throughout the year, it will
not do to accept these things literally.

During the days that we spent at New Orleans
and in Louisiana the sun was bright, the air was
mild and fragrant, all nature seemed to rejoice, and
the city to be merry in the general joy ; but when we
had passed through the state of Louisiana, and come
to Galveston, in Texas, it was almost winter.
" What is the matter with the climate ? " said I to
the livery stable keeper as I ordered a carriage to

16 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

drive upon the magnificent beach. His reply illus-
trates my remarks. " It was splendid weather yester-
day, but a 'blue norther ' came down last night and
froze us out." Before I had driven an hour on the
beach I was as cold as ever I got in the great New
York blizzard, though there was no sign of frost nor
flake of snow.

Galveston is a prosperous town on the Gulf of
Mexico, with several tributary railroads, and a large
importing and exporting business. Its large and
extensive warehouses, and stores of brick and stone,
and many elegant residences sit on the sides and
corners of wide streets laid out at right angles in the
deep sand, through which the horses drag their heavy
loads. One paved avenue gives access to the beach,
which is one of the finest in the world, extending
for forty miles along the Gulf of Mexico, hard,
smooth, of the finest white sand, and so gradual in
its slope as to render it a safe thoroughfare at all
times of wind and tide. At some points there are
clusters of summer houses with accommodations for
bathing, and a large hotel connected with Galveston
by an electric railroad invites the resident as well
as the traveller to the seashore and its delights.
The landlord said that it was never too hot for pleas-
ure there, because of the cool airs from the Gulf, but
when I asked him whether it was never too cool for
comfort, he admitted that the steam-pipes in the
dining-room and the big stove in the hall were
arranged in view of the not unfrequent invasion of
these mild shores by the "blue norther" during the
winter season. The gardens in Galveston had some

ALONG THE SUNSET ROAD 17

palm trees and manifold flowers growing in them,
and the place was attractive and pleasant with a few
exceptional features. The deep sand in the streets,
the hissing trolley roads, and the electric lights
which destroy the eyesight, are the disagreeable
things in an otherwise most agreeable town. The
inhabitants are well-to-do, thrifty, hospitable, and
intelligent, as all their works and ways most cer-
tainly prove.

We spent an afternoon at Houston. A greater
contrast could hardly be imagined than between
Houston and Galveston. I have described Galves-
ton. Houston is its opposite. It stands upon hills.
Its streets are dirty, unpaved, rough, and stony.
Bar-rooms abound; filthy, unkempt, and drunken
men loaf about the corners and swarm at the liquor
shops. Twelve lines of electric cars make travel
noisy and dangerous. Jaded beasts and rattletrap
wagons are drawn up at well-gnawed hitching-posts.
The shops are full of coarse and tawdry goods, and
the air is redolent of vile smells, and blue with
profanity and tobacco smoke. Upon a hill several
miles from Houston, under the name of Houston
Heights, another city is being erected.

It is two miles from the Harris County court-
house in Houston to the Houston Heights Grand
Boulevard, and thence the route of the electric cars
lies through the new town. Graded and paved and
sewered streets, supplied with water and electricity,
have been laid out through the forest upon the
heights. Specimen houses have been built, and lots
are for sale "at rates that defy competition," as the

18 BEYOND THE KOCKIES

clieap clothing stores say in their advertisements.
Fine stone and lumber, as well as sand, are close
at hand, and if I lived in Houston I should not delay
a single day in moving out to the new town. There
are several cities which have been recommended to
me by interested parties as desirable places to make
investments, but I certainly would not advise my
friends to bury their earnings in any town lots which
they do not know more about than I can tell them
about the plant and power of this new city. Texas
is fu large state, and there is much land in it to be
possessed. It is a rude state, albeit a powerful and
independent one. Its people fought for their inde-
pendence, and value it, and assert it in ways which
are not always agreeable to mild-mannered people,
and which contact with civilization will modify and
probably improve. The gospel of cleanliness, and
decent speech, and politeness, which obtains through
the old Southern states equally with the North, has
not spread completely over the "Lone Star," and the
language of comment and criticism, as used in the
daily press, does not indicate a high degree of in-
tellectual or moral culture.

SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR

THE BORDER FORTRESS A THRILLING HISTORY THE

ALAMO AND ITS DEFENDERS SCENES IN THE TOWN

THE JESUIT MISSIONS A GOVERNMENT POST AND

EVENING PARADE

A JOURNEY of nearly six hundred miles from New
Orleans brings the traveller to the large and inter-
esting city of San Antonio de Bexar (pronounced
Vayhar, and usually known as San Antonio), which
has about fifty thousand inhabitants, a thrilling his-
tory, and an active and prosperous present. Here
the old Spanish and priestly rule is represented by
ruined missions and churches ; the Mexican occupa-
tion is still kept in mind by that quarter of the town
inhabited by the black-haired, yellow race, with bead
eyes, piercing and restless. There they continue
their ancient customs, and eat their open-air suppers
of tortillas at midnight on the plaza. But the rest-
less and aggressive Anglo-Saxon, with his intensely
practical civilization, has made a show of the Alamo,
put trolley roads through all the avenues, built new
and elegant stone banks and public edifices for
municipal and government offices, and established
one of the largest and best appointed military posts

20 BEYOND THE BOCKIES

upon the continent. In a few years the Spanish
and Mexican character of the place will have passed
away, and American railroad and business enterprise
will have changed the romantic and historic town
into a thriving and busy modern city. At present
one can wander through the old missions, and think
of the struggles of the Jesuit fathers, hear from the
guide who lived through the epoch the story of how
the Alamo, the fortified mission of the Franciscan
monks, was lost and won, when Davy Crockett, and
Colonel Bowie, and Colonel Travis, with one hundred
and forty-seven other heroes, laid down their lives
in the old church, after killing und wounding in their
desperate defence more than six times their own
number; and easily trace the progress of events
Avhich made the Mexican province and the republic
of Texas a state in the great and powerful Federal
Union. The best historical sketch of San Antonio
was written by Sidney Lanier in 1872, and it in-
cludes in its finished narrative many things which
had never been grouped before.

San Antonio de Bexar was founded in 1712,
and four years later the Franciscan fathers began
to build their missions. Controversies with the
French, who owned and occupied Louisiana, con-
tinued for many years, but the Spanish rule was
arbitrary and severe. In 1744 the present church
of the Alamo was built, and the colonists and mis-
sionaries led a struggling existence for nearly half a
century more. Father Marest had declared, in 1712,
that the conversion of the Indians was " a miracle of
the Lord's mercy, and that it was necessary first to

SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR 21

transform them into men, and afterward to labor to
make them Christians." Massacres and experience
of bitter cruelties had taught them, as they have
taught other missionaries since, that the quality of
mercy has no place in the natural heart of the Amer-
ican Indian.

Years of warfare between Indians, Spanish, Mexi-
cans, and Americans followed, culminating in the
massacre, of which mention has been made, in 1836.
Then came a brief period of independence, and
finally the annexation of Texas, in 1845, to the
United States, since which time its progress has
been rapid in everything which makes a state power-
ful and prosperous.

San Antonio covers a large territory. The busi-
ness portion is closely built in every conceivable
style of architecture. An elegant bank building of
carved stone adjoins a dilapidated frame structure,
and handsome brick stores are flanked by sheds and
shanties or houses of sun-dried bricks. The main
square, on which stand the post-office, the Merger
Hotel, and the ruins of the Alamo Mission, has a
small park, with trees and flowers in its centre ; and
the square upon which the cathedral and the munici-
pal building stand is broad and handsome; but most
of the business streets are narrow, ill paved, and
pervaded by the obnoxious trolley. The residential
quarters occupy broad and shaded avenues, where
one and two story wooden houses stand embowered
in fragrant vines and trees, with an air of comfort
and rural quiet strangely contrasting with the central
district. Here the rich and hospitable inhabitants live

22 BEYOND THE EOCKIES

and entertain their guests in the midst of semi-tropi-
cal delights, for the climate of the place is agreeable
in winter, and not unhealthy though hot in summer.
Upon a rolling plateau north of the town is the
Government Post, one of the largest in the United
States, containing, howe.ver, at present, only about
six companies of troops, several thousand of the men
being on duty along the Mexican border. There are
two parade grounds, eacli surrounded by extensive
barracks and well-built officers' quarters, and a fea-
ture of the military life is the dress parade and mili-
tary drills which are constantly taking place. The
new post occupies one hundred and sixty-two acres,
and the main buildings surround a quadrangle six
hundred and twenty-four feet square, with a lofty
tower in the centre, from which a fine view of the
town, with the meandering river on its way to the
Gulf, is obtained. When the sun was westering, we
drove to the hill and saw the troops parade, their flag
still draped in black in token of respect to the soldier
President, R. B. Hayes, then recently deceased. It
was good in this outpost of our country to see the
discipline and drill of the American soldier, and to
know that though our army is only a little nucleus
of thoroughly trained men, yet it represents a force
of millions of patriotic citizens which could be
mobilized for defence at brief notice, — men who have
the courage, the capacity, and much of the training
which combine to make efficient soldiers. While
the memories of the war of the Rebellion last, there
will not be wanting brave and able defenders of the
American Union. Many distinguished men have
held command and served at San Antonio, whose

SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR 23

lives and doings form a part of history larger than
the department. They have worn the blue and the
gray uniform, but their devotion to military duty,
whether on the field of battle in the gaze of thou-
sands, or grappling with a redskin in the mesquite
wilderness, none may question. They have guarded
our Southern frontier, and aided by a gallant popula-
tion have settled the Indian question in Texas. San
Antonio in the past has had a rough and bloody
record; it seems now to have entered upon the pip-
ing times of peace, and an era of prosperity which
its struggles and effort well deserve.

There are many places about the town which will
interest the tourist. We drove two miles or more
along a pleasant road, between market gardens fed
with water by a long aeequia, to the Mission of the
Concepcion. The old church, with its quaint gray
towers and high-walled dome in the rear, is a very
respectable ruin, with many of its frescoes still visi-
ble, and its corridors and windows yet remaining,
and abundantly supplied with the thorny cactus as
a hindrance to the artist and the relic hunter. Fur-
ther down the river a couple of miles, is the Mission
of San Jos^ de Aguayo. These buildings are in
good repair, and regular services are held here, while
six miles further on is the San Juan Mission, now
little more than a heap of ruins. Resting in these
ruined buildings, one can dream of the conquests of
Spain in the New World, and reflect upon the won-
derful Providence which has brought so many of
these strongholds of superstition under the powerful
influence of a purer faith.

ALONG THE RIO GRANDE

WILD AND PICTURESQUE SCENERY THE TOWN OF

LANGTRY A ONE-MAN GOVERNMENT DESERT VIEWS

— MARATHON AND ITS GREEKS — TIME AT EL PASO

Four miles west of Del Rio, on the Southern
Pacific Railroad, the tourist catches the first glimpse
of the Rio Grande del Norte, and three miles farther
on is the beginning of the Grand Canon, on the bank
of the romantic river which geographically sepa-
rates Mexico and the United States. Wild gorges
between huge piles of limestone rocks, deep valleys
intersecting one another, queer conical hills and vast
amphitheatres succeed each other, and far below the
winding railroad track, the yellow waters of the
river combine to form pictures of beauty and gran-
deur which offer great attractions to the traveller. In
one of the wildest portions of the route, the train
halts to allow the passengers to climb into the
"painted cave," where curious deposits of limestone,
shells, and fossils, and flints abound, where I gath-
ered delicate maidenhair ferns and flowers, and from
which the view is superb. The cave is not a hole
in the ground, but a concavity in the mountain side,
from which one looks across the chasm where the

ALONG THE KIO GRANDE 25

river runs, and into a vast circular amphitheatre in
the distance, directly in front of the cave and scooped
out of the surrounding mountains. Seated in this
concave one could imagine the performance by giants
and genii of some colossal dramatic spectacle, or
grander yet, the assembly of a nation as at Sinai to
hear the solemn announcement of the law of God.
The air was pure and dry, and the voice could be
heard for a long distance, but no human assembly of
which there is any record has ever been gathered
here. The East with its holy places will ever be
the goal of the cultivated and reverential student,
while the natural wonders of the Western Continent
will inspire the imagination and delight the senses
of the sentimental and enthusiastic traveller. Be-
yond this cave the mouth of the Devil's River is
reached, and over a fine iron bridge of five spans of
one hundred and fifty feet each the railway crosses,
and continues to climb along the mountain and river
side.

For a considerable distance the road maintains a
lofty elevation on the bank of the Rio Grande, the
soil being dry and unfertile, till the town of Langtry
is reached. This town consists of one shanty, over
the door of which is painted " Jersey Lil3^" Within
was a single room, with a rude bar, a table covered
with empty whiskey bottles, a pile of bone " chips "
for poker-playing, and some stray playing-cards.
Several bottles had pieces of guttered candles stuck
in the cork-hole, and there was an odor of stale
tobacco about the room. One man owns this town-
ship, and is mayor, alderman, and chief of police

26 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

all in one. His methods of civil government, if they
may be judged by what lay around in the city hall,
are not very different from those of larger cities with
which we are familiar.

Most of the towns along the railroad are mere
names on paper, and water-tank stations. At San-
derson, we found a neat and good store, an estab-
lishment for rearing pug dogs, which seemed to be
thriving, and a school of five girls and one boy Avith
a sore face. All were very dirty and slovenly, and
the pale and hollow-eyed teacher, who was not much
cleaner than her pupils, excused the dirt and dis-
order because there had been no rain for five months.
Everything was dusty and dry, and there were no
signs of water except at the railway tank.

Vast circles of limestone hills were covered with
clumps of dry bushes and hundreds of dagger plants,
their central flowers of creamy white surrounded by
green fronds spiked at the end; and in some valleys
there was a short, fine grass plentifully mixed with
manifold and beautiful flowers. The sky was clear,
the air warm and pure, the landscape gray and
monotonous in the extreme. As we rode along, one
plain succeeded another, and one amphitheatre of
hills opened into another; sometimes cattle were
browsing where there was seemingly nothing to eat,
but the cattle, and mules, and horses, and pigs that
we saw all looked fat and healthy. Sometimes we
passed hours without any signs of life ; no birds even
hovered over the desert region. Then, suddenly,
herds of cattle would appear, and these almost
always indicated the presence of wells or pools of

ALONG THE KIO GRANDE 27

water. At one place there was a small menagerie ;
a bear, a Mexican lion, an eagle, and a coyote were
in rough cages; and to amuse the passengers the
bear was put through his programme of tricks. The
road continued to rise, and the heavy breathing of
the engine gave proof of the steepness of the grade.
We passed " Longfellow " and " Emerson " without
knowing it, but at " Marathon " we halted. Th&
inhabitants looked very much like ancient Greeks,
both in respect to the tawny color of their skin, and
the number of weapons which they carried, but we
did not stay to hear the news of any modern Ther-
mopylae. Still climbing, we reached the highest
point on the Sunset route, at Paisano, a point about
two hundred miles east of El Paso. This is also
the highest along the entire route between New
Orleans and San Francisco, being 5082 feet above
the level of the sea. The air is dry and rarefied at
this place, and one's breathing was perceptibly
quickened. At Langtry our elevation had been
1320 feet, and from Paisano we went down to a level
of 3713 feet, on which the town of El Paso is built.
The Rio Grande is seen again here, and can be crossed
by several bridges, but it is already, in this month
of March, a dwindling and rapidly drying stream.
El Paso stands at the junction of Texas, Mexico,
and New Mexico. It is a large town with handsome
public buildings, streets of shops, and many fine-
looking churches. It stands upon an extensive
plain, and circles of mountains appear in the dis-
tance. These peaks do not seem to belong to any
main chain, but are huge, disjointed ridges scattered

28 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

all over the country, and look like black icebergs
floating in a light gray sea. Their outlines are
rough and jagged, their sides are serrated ; at sunset
they are bathed in violet light, and resemble the
mountains of Greece. Sometimes they form a feat-
ure in the desert mirage, and seem to be islands in
mid-ocean, anon grouped and connected in a vast
mountain range, like the ramparts of the Rocky
Mountains. Then the mists will melt awaj'^, and
as grim sentinels they will march off, each to his
separate station. No part of the journey across the
continent can compare, for variety and magic of
scenery, with these sunsets upon the desert regions
of New Mexico and Arizona. The atmosphere is so
rare and clear, the effects of light and shade are so
strange, and the coloring of earth and vegetation, of
rock and sky, is so peculiar, that the general effect
is picturesque, and at the same time entirely unlike
anything to be seen elsewhere. El Paso is the place
where time changes. Mr. Johnston says that they
used to have at El Paso, an Eastern, Western,
Northern, and Southern time, a mountain, railroad,
local, Mexican, and mean time ; and not being satis-
fied with these, some one — probably of Aztec origin
— actually proposed having a sun time. " They had
so many hands on the town clock that a strike seemed
imminent at every hour. This state of things was
confusing to strangers ; they made all sorts of mis-
takes. A strange traveller, westbound, went to bed
one night at 9 p.m. by one clock and got up at 6
A.M. by another, and only had two hours to rest.
He paid his bill on Eastern time, and thereby

ALONG THE RIO GRANDE 29

saved his dinner. He managed to catch the east and
westbound trains both at one time, and finally found
himself a hundred miles south in Mexico, and it
took a mathematician, a watchmaker, and an old
sailor several hours to straighten him out." All
this is changed now. The time is moved two hours
back to San Francisco time when going west, and
two hours forward to New Orleans time when going
east. Of course the time is arbitrary, but arbitrary
measures are better than uncertainty, and in the
matter of time it is of great importance to know what
to expect.

VI
NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA

THE TOWN OF JUABES OVER THE BORDER CLIMATE

AND HEALTH INDIAN VILLAGES SUNDAY AT TUC-
SON ITS SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITY

Before leaving El Paso, we crossed the Rio
Grande into Mexico. There can be no greater
change than from the busy American town in
Texas, with its railroad activity and the civili-
zation of the nineteenth century making itself vis-
ible everywhere, to the mediaeval Spanish, Mexican,
Indian village of Juares, which lies across the
river. The only modern thing that enters the vil-
lage is a street-car from El Paso, and this is drawn
by a single mule, has Spanish lettering on its sides,
and is visited on every trip by a custom-house
officer, who either makes a profound bow or invites
the passenger to go with him to the court, according
to his temper and condition. Two youths who
offended his majesty by wearing back from Juares to
El Paso gorgeously trimmed Mexican sombreros,
were marched off to the justice, and paid fifty-five
per cent duty for their fun, while a venerable old
gentleman whose pockets were stuffed with Vera
Cruz cigai-s received only a polite bow and a free

NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA 31

pass. Once in Juares, and one might fancy himself
in the middle of Mexico, or even in some parts of
old Spain. Black-haired, tawny-skinned, keen-eyed
men, with leather leggings, and gay shawls over
their shoulders, and broad-brimmed, conical straw
and felt hats on their heads, lounged under the
scanty foliage of trees that seemed dying for want of
water; withered beggars danced and whined, "For
the love of God give us something;" the dust was
white and deep, the walls were whitewashed, the
houses were of -adobe, — sun-dried bricks a foot
square, — and the shops were little coops in which
the tradesmen sat and worked or bartered, much as
they do to-day in Tangier and Fez, or as they used to
do forty years ago in Cairo and Damascus. There
is an old church, with a tawdry image of the Virgin
and some wretched altar trimmings, built a couple
of hundred years ago, which contains richly carved
roof-beams, between which is an ingenious network
of small round poles arranged in a neat pattern.
The houses are all of adobe, and of one story. This
sun-dried mud makes a cool and dry house, and if it
is protected from water at the foundation, and at the
top by a projecting roof, it is an excellent structure,
cool at midday and warm at midnight, and well suited
to a climate where rain falls rarely and never for a
long time.

The climate of El Paso is not unlike that of
New Mexico, upon whose border-line it stands.
The rainfall is slight, and irrigation is needful
in order to raise anything; but water will make
any part of this desert to bud and blossom and

32 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

yield abundantly. The railroads have made the
town important ; for here the Denver and Rio Grande
comes in, and the International line enters Mexico,
while the Southern Pacific runs through from New
Orleans to San Francisco. Our stay was pleasant,
though brief, for the day was calm and warm, and
the experiences were novel. The general appear-
ance of the place is uninviting. As a health resort,
the altitude and dryness of air would be great recom-
mendations in some cases. Upon the other hand,
when the wind blows, the fine dust and sand whirl
about in clouds and penetrate everywhere through
crack and crevice. There is a variety of churches,
all well built, and the place has an air of active and
healthy business.

We cut across a corner of New Mexico in pursuing
our route. The territory has high mountain ranges,
among which lie fertile valleys and lofty table-lands.
The climate is dry, the rainfall slight, and in order
to successful agriculture, the land must be plentifully
irrigated. There are many mining industries here,
and ranches for stock-raising. Cliff dwellings are
found in some of the narrow valleys. They are
stone structures lodged upon a shelf of rock, with
an entrance from the top, and served as places of
defence, as well as dwellings.

The Pueblo Indian villages are built of a number
of adobe houses grouped together. The first story
has no openings except loop-holes. The second story
is reached by ladders, which can be drawn up on to
the terrace. Sometimes two or more stories are
arranged in this way, and it was probably both for

NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA 33

protection and to carry out the communistic ideas of
these Indians that this construction was adopted.
Coronado, three hundred years ago, reported finding
in New Mexico " very excellent, good houses of three
or four, or five lots high, wherein are good lodgings
and high chambers Avith ladders instead of chairs,
and certain cellars underground very good and
paved " ; and the style of architecture has not changed
since his time. A warm Sunday morning in March
found us at Tucson (which is pronounced Toosdn).
The power of the sun made the shade of cottonwood
trees grateful, even before breakfast, and by noon
the whole region glowed with dry heat like a furnace.
We found a cool place where the Sunday-school of
the Congregational church was waiting for the teach-
ers to come, and when the doors were opened, went
in and joined in the service. From this religious
assembly we drove over to the Indian school, and
had a pleasant interview with the managers and
teachers, of which we shall speak later. Tucson is
a favorite resort for persons afflicted with lung
troubles, but too stimulating for the majority of
nervous invalids. The air is excessively dry and
warm, being surrounded by hundreds of miles of
uninhabited deserts and mountains, no snow ever
falls, and the average number of days on which
rain has fallen for a period of ten years is forty-
two per year. One-half of these days were in mid-
summer, and the amount of rain was always small.
The town lies twenty-five hundred feet above the
sea-level, and the mountain scenery is grand and
interesting, including lofty heights and deep canons.

34 BEYOND THE EOCKIES

The game is not gone from this wild region. Quail
and duck and deer are abundant in season, and
there are wild animals within fifteen or twenty miles
of the town. There is an old mission of San Xavier
Del Bac about ten miles away, and it is not a
ruin like most of these Spanish establishments.
The successors of the old Padres still live there,
and conduct services for their dwindling Mexi-
can and Indian flock. The houses of the town
are chiefly built of sun-dried brick, whitewashed
upon the outside. A few are of red-burned brick,
including most of the public buildings. The gen-
eral appearance of the place is Mexican : the women
wear the mantilla, and there are Indians with long,
coarse black hair, often braided in tails or queues,
and offering pottery and baskets for sale. These
baskets are braided of willow and straw, and are so
firm and close that water can be carried in them.
For a sufferer from invalid lungs, there is no better
place than this Arizona town. It is hot and dusty,
the surrounding scenery is barren, and the advan-
tages of society and culture are few ; but there are
Protestant churches and good schools, a conservatory
of music, the Territorial University, and School of
Mines, and many things to induce literary and benev-
olent effort. Persons of robust health, or those
suffering from neuralgia, had better seek another
home, and in our great country, with its varied
climates and productions, there is a place for all
sorts and conditions of men.

VII
ONE OF OUR INDIAN SCHOOLS

A PRESBYTERIAN CONTRACT GOOD TEACHERS THE

CORRECT IDEA OF INDIAN EDUCATION REPORTS FROM

THE GOVERNMENT SUPERINTENDENT

We spent a Sunday at Tucson, in Arizona, and
accepted a polite invitation to visit the Indian Train-
ing School at that place. The buildings stand about
half a mile from the town, and consist of a girls'
home, a boys' home, a carpenter shop, laundry, and
hospital. These have cost about twenty thousand
dollars, and have been built by the Woman's Exec-
utive Committee of the Board of Home Missions of
the Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Howard Bill-
man has been for five years the superintendent, and
under his direction all the buildings, except the
girls' home, were built. He is assisted by his wife,
who was matron for one year, and she now largely
performs her husband's duties. Miss Pierson, of
Philadelphia, a daughter of Rev. Arthur T. Pierson,
D.D., Miss Ziegler, of Ohio, and Miss Timian, of
New York, are the teachers in intellectual work. S. P.
Pearson, of Lincoln, Nebraska, directs the carpenter
work. The work on all of the buildings except the
girls' home has been done by the boys under his

36 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

supervision. There are five ladies regularly em-
ployed as instructors and officers in various depart-
ments of the household, and also a boys' matron, a
farmer, and a supervisor. There were one hundred
and thirty-eight Indian children at the time of our
visit, of whom eighty were boys and fifty-eight girls,
and fifty of these were over fourteen years of age.
Last year there was an average of one hundred and
fifty-two pupils, which crowded the buildings so
that cots had to be placed in the school-rooms,
and even now the school-rooms have to be used as
sitting-rooms. The Indians are Pimas, Y^mas, and
Papagoes, all quiet and peaceable tribes ; the larger
portion are from the last tribe, whose reservation is
within nine miles of Tucson.

This school is a "contract" school. In the estab-
lishment of these schools, articles of agreement are
entered into annually by the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs and the officers of the Missionary Boards
of various denominations. The government binds
itself to pay one hundred and twenty-five dollars for
the year, for each Indian child who is housed, fed,
clothed, and taught according to the contract speci-
fications. The government has the right to inspect
the school, and to annul the contract if the board or
mission fails to carry out its provisions. The gov-
ernment's aid and responsibility stop here. Those
who establish the school must erect its buildings,
provide the teachers, obtain the land for cultivation,
farming implements, shops, tools, etc., and give
training in the school-room on five days and indus-
trial training on six days of each week, during ten

ONE OF THE INDIAN SCHOOLS 37

months of the year. They have entire liberty in the
management of the school, including authority to
settle the amount and kind of religious instruction
which shall be given. The superintendent of the
Tucson school is a man of ideas and of great force
of character, and this school is perhaps an excep-
tional institution. Certainly, the intelligence and
aptitude displayed by the pupils would warrant the
conclusion that they have been well taught. Mr.
Billman aims to introduce the leaven of the Gospel
among the people whose children are educated here
— not a Gospel of words, but a Gospel that induces
regeneration of heart and character in the individual,
which makes men and women careful, industrious,
and pure, useful members of the family, the com-
munity, and the state.

Mr. Billman says: "We take the Indian just as
he is — uncleanly often, untaught, indolent, as poor
as poverty can make him, and without backbone.
It is possible for him to be clean, to be clothed, and
to be fed. No one in this world owes him anything
whatever, except to teach him how he can be a man
and take care of himself. We are perfectly willing
to expend strength of hands, and brain, and heart,
in teaching him. We are not willing to do any-
thing for him which he can do for himself, or to give
him anything which he is able to get for himself.
We believe that Indian children have rights. A
command placed upon them is not simply an expres-
sion of the teacher's will, but an expression of what
is right, what is suitable. They are carefully treated
and nursed in sickness. The merchants of Tucson

38 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

will bear witness that if there is any inferior article
of food delivered for their consumption, it is not
done with the knowledge of the management here.
Bodily comfort is carefully considered in their cloth-
ing. Whatever they have beyond this, they are at
liberty to get in any honorable way they can.

" The whole aim of our work is thus to send out a
company of clean, industrious, self-respecting, self-
reliant, self-supporting, and righteous Indians, who
will till their lands, build homes for themselves,
and live in enjoyment of the fruit of their toil. We
shall be rejoiced if we can fit a few of the whole
number to become teachers and evangelists ; but we
are no longer so vain as to hope that the first genera-
tion can be sufficiently educated to become successful
lawyers, physicians, and ministers. Coming to us
as children, utterly ignorant of our language, of our
history and civilization, it is not possible in the
time that they remain in school to give them an
education that qualifies them for such callings. If
we aim to send out a generation of Indians who shall
endeavor to compete with the white men by living
by its wits and not by toil, we shall be grievously
disappointed. If we turn all our energy to the cul-
tivation of industry, manliness, and independence,
we may not realize all we hope for; but we shall
realize enough to vindicate the wisdom of our
methods."

These are sensible words, and Mr. Billman's ex-
perience with this Indian school, where industrial
training is happily combined with mental culture,
has shown the wisdom of such a course as he points

ONE OF THE INDIAN SCHOOLS 39

out. Indians who are taught that manual labor is
the lowest form of human work, are more ready than
most men to accept the teaching and avoid the work.
They soon lose the knowledge they held by a slight
grasp, relapse into indolence and uncleanliness, and
imitate the vices of civilization. Those, on the
contrary, who are taught habits of industry and
manual labor, become, in the course of time, useful
and happy members of the communities where they
live. Higher education may serve to help a selected
number of Indians, as of other races, to a better than
the common lot, but it still remains true for Indians,
as for the rest of mankind, that the best and happiest
condition is that in which daily toil furnishes occu-
pation for mind and body, and the means of liveli-
hood. In this connection it is gratifying to be able
to quote a part of the report of Rev. Daniel Dorches-
ter, then United States Superintendent of Indian
Schools, upon the Tucson Indian Training School.
Dr. Dorchester reports as follows : —

" San Diego, Cal., March 1, 1893.

" To the Hon. Commissioner of Indian Affairs^ Wash-
ington^ D. C :

"Sir: I have the honor to report that I visited
the Presbyterian Contract Indian School at Tucson,
Arizona, February 3d and 4th. The school is under
the superintendency of Rev. Howard Billman, who
is now suffering from painful nervous prostration,
the result of excessive labors in that enervating
climate. Mr. Billman has had charge of the school

40 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

from the beginning, or for about five years, and I
regard it as one of the very best and most successful
of the Indian contract schools. It has grown and
improved much since my visit in March, 1890. From
the beginning, the superintendent has been very
fortunate in obtaining pupils. He has never been
under the necessity of calling upon the Indian
agent, the Indian police, or the district supervisor
to bring children to his school. He has had more
applications every year than he could accommodate
— at the beginning of one year turning away more
than fifty. The school buildings have been enlarged,
doubling the accommodations of three years ago, and
still applicants are turned away.

" The Tucson school has several advantages. It
is quite near the homes of the Papagoes', their reser-
vation being only nine miles away; and large num-
bers of the Papagoes are scattered in the regions
adjacent and beyond the reservation. Tucson is the
market where they trade, and they can conveniently
see their children. This is a great point with Indi-
ans. The Indians have unbounded faith in Super-
intendent Billman. He is a wise and careful man,
and has always been particular to fulfil his promises,
gives the Indians good counsel, and helps them in
many practical ways. Notwithstanding the Papa-
goes are Roman Catholics, and Mr. Billman is a
Presbyterian, there has been no trouble between them
over religious matters, but a strong mutual confi-
dence. The school is very attractive, and its attrac-
tion is chiefly in the spirit of the superintendent and
the employes — a kindly, wholesome atmosphere.

ONE OP THE INDIAN SCHOOLS 41

Some schools have more spectacular exercises, but
this school attracts by its genuine Christian, intel-
ligent, and kindly influence. Even discipline is
administered in such a way as to strengthen the
hold on the pupils.

" This school, from the beginning, has had a good
class of teachers, among them the daughter of Rev.
A. T. Pierson. Miss Pierson is particularly suc-
cessful in object lesson methods, and possesses rare
tact. Two of the present teachers are new in their
places, and after more experience with Indian chil-
dren, will probably succeed. But few of the pupils
are very far advanced. Of the more advanced pupils
now in the school, most of them are not beyond divi-
sion in arithmetic, though a few are in fractions;
and some of them are studying 'Cornell's Interme-
diate Geography.'

"It is an interesting fact that the industries are
exceptionally prominent at this school. All the
buildings, save the one first erected, were made by
the boys, aided by the carpenters. They are nearly
all of adobe, but much better than the common Mexi-
can adobe buildings, well ceiled, with roofing of
lumber, and abounding in conveniences, such as we
are accustomed to find in our older communities.
Seven boys work regularly for one-half day in the
carpenter's shop, others mend shoes, others do turn-
ing, painting, glazing, pipe-laying, and general
repairing. About thirty boys work on the farm from
three to four and a half hours each day; others cut
wood.

" The school farm consists of forty-two acres, every

42 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

rod of which is excellent soil, well irrigated. A
good variety of vegetables is raised for the school,
and eighty tons of wheat and barley and barley-hay
were raised last year, which brings in the market at
this place twelve dollars per ton.

" Last year Mr. Billman hired one hundred acres
of land for the purpose of teaching the adult Papa-
goes lessons in farming, as well as to help them in
self-support. He brought in ten Papago families
from the desert, and put them into small temporary
houses near the leased lands, to cultivate them.
Agent Grouse gave some ploughs, and Mr. Billman
bought the seed and some harness, which latter he
loaned to the Indians. These people brought their
ponies for ploughing, etc. The schoolboys and
farmers were sent into the fields to work with and
show the Indians. To illustrate how the work
should be done, a heavy team with a large plough
was set at work, and the smaller Indian teams were
kept at work at the same time. In the early part of
the season, while the Indians were ploughing, sow-
ing, etc., Mr. Billman supplied them with subsist-
ence, keeping an account of the same. In due time
the grain was cut and baled, and Mr. Billman mar-
keted the grain, allowing the Indians half the hay.
After paying for their living during the season, each
head of the family had from thirty to seventy dollars
left. The care of this experiment, in addition to all
his other labors, was too exacting for Mr. Billman^
and his health seriously suffered, on account of
which he has been unable to repeat the experiment
this year.

ONE OF THE INDIAN SCHOOLS 43

" There is an excellent hospital, but the school has
few patients — none on the occasion of my visit —
and there is only about one death each year."

Mrs. Dorchester makes an additional report, giving
discriminating details of the girls' departments,
which are of equal interest. With such schools and
teachers, the Indian problem will gradually be solved.

VIII
THROUGH THE DESERT TO PARADISE

CACTI — THE COLORADO RIVER — YUMA AND THE INDI-
ANS— BELOW THE OCEAN A CALIFORNIA RIDDLE

The territory of Arizona is the southwestern cor-
ner of the United States. Its western boundary is
the Colorado River, which flows with a large volume
of water through Yuma to the Gulf of California,
and is one of the great rivers of America. The day
had been hot and dusty, and our journey, though
novel and interesting at first, was becoming monot-
onous. A small amount of desert is satisfying, and
our specimen had been very large. As the train
wound among dreary sand-hills, only to emerge upon
drearier plains dotted with huge cacti, thorn-bushes,
sage-brush, and mesquit trees, the heat became
intense, and we were indeed thankful that there was
no wind to raise sand-clouds, since even the motion
of the train enveloped the rear cars in wliirls of fine
dust. Far away to the west were purple hills, and
around us mirage-haunted plains.

On these plains and hills grow all kinds of cacti.
There are, in the three states of California, Arizona,
and New Mexico, more than one hundred species of
cacti, eight of yucca, and seven of agave. Among

THROUGH THE DESERT TO PARADISE 46

these, the most wonderful is the giant cactus, whose
green fluted columns, with grotesque arms and
thorny ridges, may be seen upon the high plains and
hills of the Arizona and California deserts. They
are huge, misshapen growths, deformities of nature,
without a single redeeming feature, yet they are not
without use to man. Though growing in a dry and
thirsty land, where no water is, they secrete a liquid
which is a fair substitute for the precious treasure,
and their thorns contain a resin of which the Indians
make torches. At this season (the early spring) a
beautiful pear-shaped and cream-colored flower grows
out among the thorny spikes, and later on fruit
ripens. This is edible for men, and is chiefly eaten
by birds. The " yuccas " are seen from San Antonio
to the Pacific. They are variously named, the
"Roman candle," the "Spanish bayonet," the
"Whipple!," and the "dagger plant" being some
of the names given to this ornamental and magnifi-
cent production. It grows on the dry and sandy
soil, and often seems to spring directly from a rock.
Its leaves are green reeds, sharp and thin, from two
to three feet long, and they spread out in every
direction around the stalk. This grows to the height
of twelve or fifteen feet, and is as large as a small
tree at the base and grows to a point. At about half
its height from the ground, little twigs begin to put
out, and upon these are hung with divine art multi-
tudes of little bell-shaped flowers. There are some-
times more than a thousand of these delicate bells
upon a single stem. In color, shape, and odor, the
flower resembles the tuberose, and the effect of these

46 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

lovely white yuccas, rising on their tall and taper-
ing stalk, from warlike nests of dagger-leaves, by
hundreds on the desert hills and plains, is weird and
beautiful by day or in the evening.

The agave^ or American aloe, is known to us as
the "century plant," but in warm climates there is
no foundation for such a name. Its roots and leaves
furnish, by distillation, a variety of strong liquors ;
its thorns are needles and pins, and its fibre is good
for firewood or paper-making. The Mexicans make
a popular drink called pulque by scooping out the
bud and leaving a natural bowl for the sap to flow
into. This liquid, whicli flows to the amount of a
gallon or more daily, is placed in vats and fermented.
Thus, instead of nourishing the beautiful flower which
blooms but for a brief season, the life-blood of the
plant intoxicates and stupefies Mexican drunkards.
To such base uses are God's choicest gifts applied!

All sorts of cacti grow in profusion on these plains
and mountains. Sometimes the plain is covered with
their ugly bristles and thorns, among which multi-
tudes of yellow and scarlet and crimson and red
flowers are sprinkled — beautiful gems of color pro-
tected by ten thousand poisoned spears. Every part
of the earth is full of the wonderful works of the
Creator, and even the barren desert declares in
might)^ and awful tones his great name.

From the midst of the Arizona desert we came
direct to Yuma, and then went down into the Cali-
fornia desert. But Yuma is a wonderful place, for
here the Colorado River, after its junction with the
Gila, comes pouring an immense flood towards the

THROUGH THE DESERT TO PARADISE 47

Gulf of California. The San Jacinto range of moun-
tains rises, six miles distant, to the height of ten
thousand feet, full of wild and rocky ravines, and its
serrated sides bear testimony to the floods which
pour down to swell the Colorado in the rainy season.
Vegetation watered by this great river is rich and
abundant here. The climate is reported as without
fault. The clear, bracing air of the timbered moun-
tains tempers the air of the valley, the mighty river
cools and freshens it, the canon of giant palms and
tropical verdure is close at hand, and the breezes of
the gulf, dried by their passage over the desert, give
refreshment without dampness.

The Colorado River rises in the territory of Wyom-
ing, on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains.
It gathers the streams of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah,
New Mexico, and Arizona. It flows across arid
table-lands, and through porous soils which evapo-
rate and absorb its Avaters, but it nevertheless is a
large and impressive stream as it sweeps past Yuma
to find its outlet in the Gulf of California. Plans
have been formed to make Yuma a great town, with
water, and light, and electric cars, and a huge hotel.
The surrounding country can be made fertile by irri-
gation. Oranges, lemons, figs, dates, grapes, and
pomegranates will all grow here, and ripen a month
earlier than in Southern California. The Yuma
Indians are peaceable, but unprogressive and indo-
lent. They hold a large territory of fine, unim-
proved land along the Colorado, which will doubtless
become the property of whit iettlers by easy pur-
chase, for a kind of paralysis seems to rest upon

48 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

these Indian tribes which prevents them from using
the opportunities for advancement which the United
States government now offers to them. Compulsory
civilization and education do not suit the Indian
nature, and the result of the settlement of this con-
tinent by white men has been disastrous to the
aborigines. They have been abused, and robbed,
and destroyed in the name of civilization and Chris-
tianity, though they were not a weak, an unintelli-
gent, or an ignorant race. Their own acts have
hastened their decline, but the chief responsibilitj'^
for their fate rests upon the government of the
United States, or, to put it more plainly and person-
ally, upon the American people who have taken their
lands, their game, and their lives. Some tardy
amends are being attempted among certain tribes,
but the waves of Anglo-Saxon civilization Avill in
another generation engulf and sweep away all rem-
nants of aboriginal nationality.

From Yuma we descend into what was once the
bed of the sea. Great heaps of sea sand shine in the
sunlight, and are swept by the winds hither and
thither. There seems little reason to doubt that the
ocean was once here, for there are great bodies of salt
now profitably mined near Salton, on the Southern
Pacific Railroad. From Cactus, near Yuma, which
is three hundred and ninety-five feet above the sea,
the road descends till it is two hundred and sixty-
three feet below the sea. A place called Flowing
Wells is five feet above the sea, then the traveller
comes to the margin of an inland sea, or an ocean
beach, and for sixty miles travels much farther be-

THROUGH THE DESERT TO PARADISE 49

low the ocean-level than at any point in the low
countries of Europe. It is thought that parts of
this salt desert may be reclaimed by irrigation, but
no attempts have been ma'de upon a sufficiently ex-
tensive scale to test the matter.

We went to sleep in the dry desert; when we
woke, a hard rain was pelting upon the roof of the
car, and on looking out of the window, a scene of
green and gold, washed by a downpour worthy of
the Atlantic coast, burst upon our astonished vision.
We were in California, in the midst of the wonder-
ful orange groves of Riverside, which have no equal
in the world. Piles of oranges lay on the ground as
far as the eye could see through the vistas of the or-
chards. The trees were laden with the golden fruit.
Huge eucalyptus trees in full and fragrant flower,
palms of all sorts, vegetation rank and rich and
green, and all the more impressive from the desert
dream from which we woke to this wonderful reality,
was all about us. This is California, the land of
gold, the paradise of climates, the home of health,
the retreat for the aged who would live forever, and
for the invalid who dreads to die. And it is rain-
ing as if another flood were coming, and is cold
enough to chill a salamander. Let us investigate.
I put on goloshes and a heavy mackintosh, and with
a big umbrella launched into the deep mud of my
first California town. It grew wetter and wetter,
muddier and muddier, and more beautiful every step
that I advanced. I walked an hour amid scenes of
tropical loveliness, flowers, trees, fruits; and came
back to the car as wet and cold as if I had been at
Coney Island in a March northeaster.

IN CALIFORNIA

CLIMATE AND WEATHER VARIED PRODUCTIONS IN-
HABITANTS RIVERSIDE AND ITS ORANGES HORTI-
CULTURE AND ITS RESULTS

In order to write truthfully and intelligently of
California, special regard must be had to its vary-
ing climate and unique situation. There is a rainy
season and a dry season ; daytime, when the sun is
hot, and there is little wind from sunrise to ten or
eleven o'clock; afternoon, when the wind comes up
and blows till near sundown ; then the night comes,
usually still, and always cold. The only feature of
weather that can be always relied upon, so far as I
have been able to ascertain, is the cool nights. The
day may be warm, windy, variable, or unchanged in
temperature and quality; the night will always be
cold. It may be dry enough to sleep in the open air,
but it will be cold enough to require several blank-
ets. Such curious conditions of climate, where
winter is warmer than summer, and where dense
clouds do not imply that rain is coming, where the
cold of the night more than averages the heat of day,
where some vegetation grows continuously the year
through, and other sorts pass through a period of

IN CALIFORNIA 51

growth, decline, and rest, entirely confuse the steady-
going observer on the Atlantic coast, who is accus-
tomed to the four seasons, — spring, summer, autumn,
and winter. A resident of Santa Barbara remarked
to me, that "the usual variation of temperature be-
tween midnight and noon was greater than between
winter and summer"; another one said, "When I
go out to make a call on a July afternoon, I always
wear my heavy overcoat." A friend who has been
here for a year told me that he was obliged to go in
his shirt-sleeves for comfort in December and Janu-
ary during the day, and that a fur wrap was not
uncomfortable when riding in the evening.

It is evident from such statements that California
has a climate of its own, and cannot properly be de-
scribed as the Italy of America, nor its coast com-
pared in its climatic conditions with the Riviera,
with Malaga and Southern Spain, or with Sicily.
It is a country by itself, lying betAveen the vast
watery mass of the Pacific Ocean and lofty ranges
of mountains, whose summits are snow-clad for a
large portion of the year. This comparatively
narrow region, which forms the state, has every
variety of altitude, from the moors which skirt the
seacoast, to the lovely little table-lands hidden far
up in the canons among the mountains. It has roll-
ing hills and broad levels, forests of liveoaks and
sycamores, and plains devoted to orchards and vine-
yards, to barley fields and gardens. It has rivers
like those of Sicily and Spain, with dry beds, except
when rain-storms come, which then become rushing
torrents with an immense volume of water that over-

62 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

flow land and sweep everything before them in their
resistless course. It has winds from the Pacific
Ocean and from the snow-clad peaks which divide
the continent, and one can no more predict when
they will blow, nor how long they will continue,
than Nicodemus could tell whence the wind cometh
and whither it goeth. It has not the climate, the
characteristics, nor the soil of any other country as
a specialty, but it is peculiar and unique in all these
respects. But one can find in different parts of this
large state, resemblances to many different regions,
and the productions of nearly all. Wheat as fine as
that of Minnesota grows here, and figs as delicious
as those of the south of France. Asparagus and arti-
chokes, oysters and shad, apples, peaches, and oranges,
potatoes and pomegranates, beans and bananas, are
natives in California. There is no better beef and
mutton in the world, and California horses, mules,
and asses are unsurpassed. Every kind of wood,
from the easily worked redwood to the tough live-
oak, grows in the state, though a large portion of
its area is destitute of trees, and building materials
of stone and brick are abundant.

The state has a heterogeneous population composed
of a large proportion of Americans, children of early
settlers, and emigrants from the East, mingled with
Indians, Mexicans, and Chinese; and colonies of
Danes, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Canadians, who
often live in isolated communities, continuing their
own customs, language, and religious habits and
associations. It is not possible for a traveller to
judge how far such conditions have influenced the

LN CALIFOENIA 53

growth and development of the state, but he can
understand the influences which have been most
potent in certain towns and districts, and the advan-
tages which have accrued to some sections on account
of the character of its settlement.

Our entrance to the state was at the town of-
Riverside, and though the day was cold, and the
rain fell in torrents, it was impossible not to recog-
nize the region as one of the most rich and abundant
orange-growing parts of the state. The crop was
ripening fast, and heaps of the golden fruit lay in the
orchards, while the trees seemed still to have heavier
loads than the branches could sustain. The fruit
grown here commands a high price, and is of fine
size and quality.

I shall never forget the time when, coming from
the African desert by way of El Arish, the caravan
reached Jaffa on the Mediterranean Sea, and wound
through narrow streets lined with huge baskets piled
high with large and luscious oranges. But even
the memories of that scene fade and pale before the
golden view of the Riverside orchards. When the
rain ceased and the sun shone out, the scene was
bewilderingly gorgeous. We became gradually
accustomed to orange orchards, to enormous piles of
fruit, to Chinamen gathering and washing and sort-
ing and packing oranges by hundreds of thousands,
but the first views of the orange garden of Riverside
will always remain as the type and standard of orange
culture and its attractions in Southern California.

Great companies, like the Earle Fruit Company,
purchase, pack, and ship the fruit in special cars

64 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

which hold three hundred boxes. They have
packing-houses along the railway to which the fruit
is brought. It is received and placed on large slant-
ing platforms, and by ingenious contrivances the
different sizes sort themselves. Chinamen rapidly
seize, and wrap, and place these in prepared boxes,
other Chinamen, using a simple machine, press
down and nail on the covers, and stack them for pack-
ing in the refrigerator cars. During the busy season
the work often goes on far into the night, as well as
all day. In 1891, the crop of Southern California
was about five thousand carloads, or a million and
a half boxes of oranges. In 1893, it was much
larger, for many trees had come into bearing during
the interval. Oranges, like all good things in this
world, need cultivation; and they repay care and
culture. Great care must be used in the selection
and growth of the trees. The orchards must be
ploughed and kept clear of weeds, water must be
abundantly and judiciously provided during the
long dry seasons, the trees must be guarded from
insects, and the limbs supported as the fruit matures ;
all the fruit must be hand-picked, cleaned, and dried,
fairly sized, well wrapped, and boxed.

The best fruit, the Washington navel orange
grown at Riverside, is a large, seedless orange of a
high color, skin of medium thickness, delicious fla-
vor, and much juice. It surpasses any fruit grown
in the Florida orchards, and is, to my taste, the best
orange in the world. The finest of this sort com-
mand, even here, from two to three dollars a box.

One never wearies of walking through the groves

IN CALIFORNIA 55

and driving along Magnolia Avenue, and seeing and
hearing of this delightful branch of horticulture in
the fragrant air and the warm sun of Southern Cali-
fornia. All is not gold that glittere, and golden
oranges do not always turn to gold in the pockets of
the fruit raisers, but the industry is a pleasant and
profitable one, and those who enter upon it with
sufficient capital, and pursue it with perseverance
and enterprise, are pretty sure of success.

Lemons are more difficult to raise than oranges,
the tree being more delicate and susceptible to frost.
If the lemons are picked before they are ripe, and
carefully cured, the skin grows thin, and the juice
increases greatly, and after a few months their value
is doubled or trebled. Lemons thus treated have
brought six dollars a box, and the market is never
overstocked. San Bernardino County, in which
Riverside is located, has nearly half of the lemon
trees of the state.

The raisin business has also an important centre
at Riverside, and the California raisins have now
taken the place in the United States of the imported
raisin to a large extent. A vineyard of raisin grapes
begins to yield by the third year, and by the fifth
year has reached its full yield of two hundred boxes
to the acre. This product has increased in Cali-
fornia from six thousand boxes to more than three
million boxes in twenty years, and it is still increas-
ing. Even as far north as Fresno, Noble Brothers
and the Fresno Home Packing Company do a large
and valuable business in this fruit. I have only
touched upon those fruits which make Riverside

66 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

a profitable as well as a beautiful place. The broad
streets bordered with palm trees, and shaded with tall,
swinging branches of eucalyptus trees; with miles
of homes in the midst of orange groves, and an intel-
ligent, happy, and prosperous population ; with good
schools, well supplied churches, and agreeable soci-
ety, make this a favorite town for visitors and resi-
dents. We were sorry to leave it, but the time had
come to move on, and we took the train for San
Diego.

CORONADO BEACH

A NARROW ESCAPE — FINE WEATHER A LUXURY TO

LIVE ACRES OF WILD FLOWERS BEAUTY ON SEA

AND SHORE COMFORT AND GOOD. COMPANY EX-
CURSIONS BLUE PRESBYTERIANISM

It was well that we did not linger longer in
Riverside, for the floods were out and travelling was
dangerous. Two hours after our heavy Pullman
train passed over the Southern California road from
Riverside to San Diego, bridges and embankments
gave way under the pressure of the waters, and
nearly a week elapsed before the damages were re-
paired. We were thankful that we had escaped
from disaster, and were housed in such a delightful
place as the Hotel del Coronado, across the harbor
from San Diego, on the shores of the Pacific, at Cor-
onado Beach. For a day or two after our arrival
there was rain and fog, and we began to think that
the climate of Southern California was beautiful only
in books. Then the sun came out bright, and though
mists partially shrouded the distant mountains and
lay far out upon the ocean, there was no more rain,
and tlie weather prophets declared that the "rainy
season " was over. There certainly seemed to be

68 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

water enough everywhere. It was impossible to
make any excursions to the Mission, to Tia Juana,
or to Point Loma, for bridges had gone away, and
fords had changed their bottom, and the roads were
gullied and washed beyond repair. But there was
no need for excursions in order to enjoyment. It
was a luxury to sit, on a March morning, with the
shade of a palm tree over one's head, and the warm
sun upon one s feet, and the cool breeze bringing the
ozone of the Pacific Ocean to the lungs, and to gaze
over the beautiful blue of the sea or follow the ex-
quisite curve of the shore, which has not inaptly been
compared to the famous Bay of Naples. After long
railway journeys through deserts and over mountains,
sleeping and eating in narrow quarters, and at the
rate of thirty miles an hour, we could appreciate the
spacious rooms, the manifold comforts, the varied
and excellent fare, the rest, recreation, and refresh-
ment of a first-class hotel. We were conscious, too,
of a new atmosphere, soft and balmy, and yet pure
and strengthening. For a few days after the rain,
there was a chill in the air which suggested snow,
like the wind that blows from the north in early
spring ; but after a little this was modified, and day
after day the thermometer marked sixty degrees, as
if it were fixed at that point, the sun came out clear
and bright, the wind blew steadily from the same
point, and Nature moved gradually forward all her
beautiful creations of tree and shrub and plant in
a wonderful procession. The fields were literally
carpeted with wild flowers : yellow daisies and pop-
pies in masses so dense that the hills seemed vast

CORONADO BEACH 59

heaps of gold, valleys so filled with the flowers of
the wild onion that one seemed to look upon a great
deposit of sapphires, the glowing red of the "paint-
er's brush " in a flaming line through greens so rich
and bright that their reproduction on canvas would
be pronounced an exaggeration. Wherever the eye
wandered there was beauty, from the aquamarine of
the sea, edged along the shore with a ruflled foam
crest of breakers, and higher up with a band of yellow
sand, to the flowery hills and meadows, the dark
mountains covered with the close foliage of the live-
oaks, the distant peaks glistening in their crowns of
snow, and over all a firmament of pure and ethereal
blue in which the sun blazed bright all day long, and
the moon and stars shone like radiant jewels by
night. The beach, twelve miles long, with its never
wearying play of waves ; or the smooth waters of the
Bay of 'San Diego, forming the foreground for a
picturesque view of the town built on hills, with tlie
mountains still further back ; or Point Loma, a huge
headland, at whose base stands the lighthouse that is
now used, and on whose summit rises the light-
house which has now been abandoned; and the wild
mountains down towards the Mexican border, offer
to the resident at Coronado Beach every variety of
scenery, while drives and excursions along the shores,
or inland to the valleys, furnish abundant means of
recreation. The botanist may here fill his herbarium
with new varieties of plants daily, and with seaweeds
rich and rare ; there are shells in great variety and
beauty upon the beaches for the conchologist to
gather and arrange, there are fish that are worth

60 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

catching, and no end of small game — hares, and
ducks, and quail — to be found within a short ride of
Coronado. A party which went from the hotel dur-
ing my visit had five days of capital sport, and
brought home a bag of more than seven hundred
game. Such hunts are frequent, and the table is
never without all kinds of game that are in season.
Coronado Beach is twelve miles long, expanding
into a plain at its northern end, which is opposite
San Diego. Upon the south front of the beach, and
close to the sea, the hotel has been built. It is a
building that covers four and one-half acres of ground,
and is a surprising combination of Spanish and
American ideas. The manifold angles and curves
of its many fronts, its bays and piazzas, bewilder the
eye, and one is at a loss to say whether it belongs to
anj' style of architecture. Within is a large hall,
which opens into an interior court like the Spanish
patio. This is laid out in paved walks, with flower
beds, in the midst of which are royal and date palms.
India-rubber trees, flowering shrubs, and climbing
vines. The house is full of flowers. Every public
room has ^its vases of roses, and lilies, and hyacinths,
and every table in the vast dining-room has for its
central ornament an exquisite bouquet. Provision
is made here for all sorts of people, for differing
tastes, and various degrees of physical strength.
Glass piazzas give an enclosed walk of a quarter of a
mile without turning; great tanks of salt and fresh
water invite those who desire to swim without the
risk of the surf to their pure depths ; delightful gar-
dens with exquisitely framed beds of flowers and

CORONADO BEACH 61

plants, and shady retreats, offer a lounging place to
the weary or feeble. Well-chosen walks, an ostrich
farm, a bewildering maze, bowling-alleys, and all
the indoor amusements which a well-appointed water-
ing place affords are here.

But the charm of the place is out of doors, under
the palm trees, by the seashore, on a horse or in a
carriage. Riding over the hills, into the canons,
breathing such air as our lungs in New York never
receive, rejoicing in the fact of existence, and feel-
ing no unpleasant reproach of conscience for doing
nothing except enjoj'^ the works and ways of God, we
pass our days, and have quite forgotten that there is
such a thing as news, or a condition of life where a
newspaper is a daily necessity. Such a place is
Coronado Beach, and those who go there pass their
time in such varied and delightful occupations.

One day, in choice company with an enthusiastic
artist and amateur photographers, we drove around
tiie coast to the headland which forms the entrance
of the land-locked harbor of San Diego. Sitting on
the hill-side, we could watch the Santa Rosa, one of
the largest steamers on the Pacific coast, as she made
her way through the channel near the shore for four
or five miles out to sea, and then doubled on her
track, rounded Point Loma and steamed northwards
on her voyage to San Francisco. Before us lay the
harbor and its shipping, and beyond the picturesque
town on sloping hill-sides ; at the right the long curve
of the beach swept down to the Mexican border; and
behind all, the outline of mountains was dimly seen,
through a haze like that which sometimes veils our

62 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

New England heights in the August days. The
artist's ready pencil seized the outlines and brilliant
colors of the scene, which will grow under his deft
fingers into a lovely painting, while many a sun
picture was taken by the cameras which will increase
the pleasures of memory in days to come.

Another afternoon found us visiting the old town
of San Diego, where the first wooden house in Cali-
fornia still stands. Its timbers were framed in New
P^ngland, and carried around Cape Horn to be erected
here. Not far distant was the residence of a com-
panion of Richard H. Dana, in his "Two Years
Before the Mast." He married and settled in San
Diego, and has only recently died, leaving a large
number of descendants, who are of a lighter color
than most of the people among whom they live.
There, too, is the church in which " Ramona, " the
heroine of Helen Hunt Jackson's novel, was married,
and some of the descriptions of scenery and customs
in that well-written and philanthropic book, had
their originals in this place. The old town is almost
abandoned, for speculation, which has done much
good and also much evil in California, invaded San
Diego not many years since. Land was laid out in
lots, from the highlands to low-water mark, and was
sold and resold until the "boom" burst. Then a
new town had arisen, hundreds of people had been
ruined, and many Eastern people had invested their
money in lots over whose rotting stakes the tide now
rises and falls daily. All over California there have
been similar experiences of speculation. There is
still much good land to be had in the world at rea-

CORONADO BEACH 63

sonable rates, and fortunes will not be lost anywhere
by judicious waiting.

We drove one day to the old Mission, whose adobe
walls are tumbling down, while near at hand is a
large Roman Catholic " contract " school, full of
Indian boys and girls. The priest had tried that
morning to cross the river in a wagon, but his horse
lost footing in the quicksands, kicked himself loose,
swam ashore, and left the "padre" sitting in the
vehicle in the middle of the river. From this ludi-
crous and somewhat dangerous position, he had just
been rescued by his pupils when we came upon the
scene. The old Franciscans made good selections
for their foundations, and builded better than they
knew in some cases. But most of their buildings
are now in ruins, and their day in California has
long been ended. Half a century ago, none but
Roman Catholics could reside in California, and
many English and Americans joined the Roman
Church in order to trade in the country. Now there
is freedom for every faith, and I attended service in
a Presbyterian church at Coronado, built as a memo-
rial, and heard as thorough a Calvinistic sermon as
ever was preached in Geneva or Edinburgh. Some
called the preacher "narrow," while others were
pleased that he was "true blue," and I was glad
that I could worship God in this far country after
the custom of my ancestors.

XI
PASADENA

SIGNING TICKETS — BREAKING A TRAIN IN TWO — OCEAN
VIEWS — MEETING DR. ORMISTON — HIS GOOD WORK

FRIENDS IN PASADENA A BIG ROSE-BUSH THE

CROWN OF THE VALLEY — A MODEL TOWN

If we were to see California, we must leave Cor-
onado Beach and begin our journey, for the state is
large, there are many beautiful and interesting places
to visit, and we were tourists and not home-seekers.
So we checked our trunks, paying a dollar each in
addition to our railway fares, to have them taken
from the hotel at the beach to the hotel at Pasadena.
In these new states, where the journeys are long and
hard, the railway companies are very strict, and care-
ful not to do any extra work without getting pay for
it. Railway officials and magnates, and their friends,
are treated munificently, but the ordinary traveller
pays his way at a high price for all that he receives.
The ferry-boat took us across the harbor to San Diego,
and we were at the station in good time. It was
well that we were, for there was a great crowd, and
the line to the ticket-office was long and, for the
most part, patient. There was one angry man. He
had waited for his turn to come, and had his own

PASADENA 65

and a friend's ticket in his hand. For some reason
not explained to me, but evidently familiar to the
crowd, each purchaser of a ticket was obliged to
sign his name on the ticket. Men, women, and chil-
dren had been handed a pen as they paid their fares
or showed their tickets, and each had inscribed his
name, which was a sort of tribute to the widespread
education of California. When this man's turn
came, he objected to signing. The ticket seller in-
sisted that it was necessarj^, and the man expostu-
lated. Finally he signed, and then wanted to sign
the other ticket for his friend, who was lame. This
could not be allowed. In a rage he exclaimed : " I
have travelled all over Europe, and never had to sign
a ticket." "Wall, you've got to sign it here,"
drawled the official, adding, in the most insulting
manner: "See here, gents, is a feller who's travelled
all over Urup!" The man saw that the sympathy
of the crowd was with the ticket seller, and so
marched off and hurried his lame comrade into the
Tine, where he stood for half an hour before his turn
came to sign.

Before this tedious operation was completed, the
train drew up. There was one specially coveted
"chair car," a clumsy contrivance for reducing the
misery of a railway ride. Having received early
information of this extra comfort, which could not
be secured beforehand, though it had to be paid for
afterwards, I covenanted with a powerful San Die-
gan to secure seats for us, which he did by dexter-
ously pitching our bags through the open windows
as the car slid by, leaping himself on the rear plat-

66 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

form, and installing the luggage before the scramble
began. We followed at our ease, and found our
Hercules, who surrendered his fortifications, re-
ceived his bribe, and retired to win other similar
victories. The day was hot, and the train was
crowded with people standing in the aisles, except
in the "chair car," for an excursion of an indepen-
dent order of Elks or Buffaloes, or some such society,
was going to the Capistrano Mission or to Oceanside
for a picnic. The load was so heavy that, in going
up a hill near one of the recent washouts, the train
broke in two, and a good many of the Elks were
landed at the bottom of the hill in some confusion,
but without any broken bones.

As we rode along, the landscape charmed and de-
lighted the eye. On one side was the Pacific Ocean,
the shore fringed with small islands and foam-
whitened reefs; on the other side were hills and
valleys covered with flowers, yellow poppies, blue
and yellow and white violets, daisies, and baby-blue-
eyes. Orange orchards and fields of barley of a
bright and brilliant green succeeded; then groves
of liveoak ; and beyond, the purple and black moun-
tain sides with their crowns of snow, which generally
remain till the middle of May. The ride was through
fine scenery, but the sun was hot.

A little after noon we reached Los Angeles, where
there was a change, and a hurried scramble for the
next train, as our train was late, and on taking our
seats, we found directly in front of us the Rev. Dr.
William Ormiston, the former pastor of the Collegi-
ate Reformed Church at Twenty-ninth Street, New

PASADENA 67

York. "And where have you dropped from, and
how do you do, my dear friends ! " was his hearty
greeting. We had a pleasant talk then, and after-
wards I visited him at his ranch at Azusa, and wan-
dered with him in his orange groves, which embrace
in all about one hundred acres, and sat with him in
his study till the evening shadows fell, purpling the
mountains, and then bore with me to my temporary
home a quantity of golden fruit, which kept the
lunch-basket full for several days. Dr. Ormiston is
the same warm-hearted, earnest man whom so many
of my readers have known, and he told me that no
Sunday passed that he did not break the bread of life
to some congregation, rarely in the large towns,
usually in some mountain glen, or on a ranch dis-
tant from any church. Several of these little con-
gregations have become organized churches, and have
pastors or preachers of their own. Much work of
this sort can be done and is done in California, and
it will bear spiritual fruit among these orchards and
vineyards in days to come.

When I was settled comfortably in the town of
Pasadena, I found that it was the residence or stop-
ping place of many friends. Here was the Rev.
Robert Strong, whose work in the systematic benev-
olence of their church has made him known to so
many Presbyterians. Here dwells also, not beneath
his own vine and fig tree, but beneath a climbing
" Gold of Ophir " rose-bush which in* one year had
more than fifty thousand blossoms, the Rev. A. M.
Merwin, some time missionary of the Presbyterian
Board in South America, and now superintendent of

68 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

the Board's work among the Mexicans of Southern
California. Palms and orange trees surround the
house, and its outlook is enchanting.

Pasadena, "the crown of the valley," was founded
just twenty years ago, by an association of gentlemen
from Indianapolis, in the northwest corner of the
San Gabriel Valley at the base of the Sierra Madre
Mountains. They intended only to raise oranges
and lemons, and they have builded a city wliich now
has a population of from ten to twelve thousand.
The city is built on high, rolling land, sloping
southward from the Sierra Madre Mountains towards
the sea, which is twenty-five miles distant, and on
the eastern bank of a clear mountain stream which
supplies all the water needed for irrigation or for
domestic uses. Mountains, only five miles distant,
rise in the north to a height of six thousand feet
above the valley, enclosing, with lesser peaks, the
great undulating plain of the San Gabriel River,
which stretches eastward for sixty miles.

Pasadena commands this prospect, and from some
of its heights offers glimpses of the Pacific. The
town is laid out in broad avenues and streets, mostly
rectangular, but some curving, notably the beautiful
Orange Grove Avenue. These are well paved, and
lined with man}'^ varieties of semi-tropical shade
trees, among which palms and eucalyptus are promi-
nent. The houses stand in orchards and gardens,
with a profusion of beautiful and fragrant flowers,
which are to be seen nowhere except in Southern
California. Some of the residences are costly villas
of elegant architectural design, like those of Profes-

PASADENA 69

sor Lowe and Governor Markham, but the majority
of houses in Pasadena are homes where culture and
refinement have their abiding place, in company with
contentment and happiness.

The character of the citizens of this town makes
it an eminently desirable place to live. The town
has not grown up hap-hazard, made up of drift-wood
and debris, but it was founded by intelligent Chris-
tian people, and this kind of people have added to
its population, and live there to-day. The people
all go to church on the Sabbath, and one-fourth of
the residents are church-members ; they are absolutely
destitute of a saloon or grog-shop ; they have one of
the best public libraries in the state ; they take pride
in having well-paved, well-cleaned, well-watered,
and well-lighted streets; they have six first-class
schoolhouses, with nine rooms in each, and out of the
ten thousand inhabitants fifteen hundred are enrolled
as scholars. About two thousand Eastern people
annually test the climate and pleasures of Pasadena,
and a proportion of these always become permanent
residents. The people are engaged in fruit growing,
trade, manufactures, banking, and too many of them
in real estate transactions. But as the land is sold,
and this city of twenty years of age settles into a
substantial and steadily growing town, the mania
for land speculation, which is developed in all young
communities, will give place to better employments.
Thus far, Pasadena has more than realized the ex-
pectations of its founders, and there are few places
in Southern California where better climate, and
water, and soil, and society, and civil and religious
privileges are combined.

XII
IN THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

EXCURSIONS IN THE VALLEY — LUCKY BALDWIN AND HIS

RANCH SUNNY SLOPE VINEYARDS THE OLD MISSION

— A MOUNTAIN RAILROAD — EASTER SUNDAY AT PASA-
DENA.

Pasadena is the centre from which pleasant
drives and mountain excursions and visits to ranches
and orchards radiate. Our days were not too many
for the plans which were made to fill them with
pleasure. The mornings often dawned with fog
lying over the landscape, as we see it in the river
valleys of New England in summer time. Such
mornings are troublesome to invalids, for the fog
comes from the Pacific Ocean, and is hurtful to the
lungs of the consumptive, and irritating to the
asthmatic. Before noon it is all gone, and the atmos-
phere is dry, and the sun warm. On a bright morn-
ing we took our places with an agreeable party that
just filled the three seats of a fine buckboard built
in Maine. The accomplished driver sat in solitary
solemnity upon a single high-perched seat in front,
from which he handled the reins and flourished the
whip with great dexterity over the backs of four well-
groomed bays that formed our team. They were all

IN THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY 71

sleek, handsome horses, fat as almost all the Cali-
fornia horses are, because of the excellence of their
food, but fleet of foot and showing excellent endur-
ance at a good pace for hours. Over roads that be-
come hard and smooth as soon as the rains cease,
between avenues of the rapidly growing eucalyptus
trees, which have been planted throughout Califor-
nia, in the fresh, delicious air full of perfume from
thousands of flowers, we spun along in the San
Gabriel valley. This valley has an area of about
three hundred and fifty thousand acres of arable land,
which is irrigated and sometimes devastated by the
San Gabriel River. The Sierra Madre Mountains
rise on the north from six to seven thousand feet
above the sea-level, and there are hills upon the
other sides which shut out violent winds. These
favored lands are occupied by the fruitful ranches of
many prosperous farmers, and among them are at-
tractive resorts, comfortable hotels, and mountain
camps, occupied by health and pleasure seekers from
all parts of the world. The frostless valley, with
orange groves and fine homes, at the foot of moun-
tains covered with snow in the winter and spring
months, and the Pacific Ocean in view from the
foot-hills about twenty miles away, is an ideal place
in which to live.

Among these residents is " Lucky Baldwin," whose
ranch is one of the show-places. This sobriquet in-
dicates his good fortune. In the garden near his
fine house stands the original one-man cabin which
he built many years ago, when he came to try his
luck in California. He now has fifty thousand acres

72 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

of the best land in the heart of the San Gabriel val-
ley, the best stock farm in Southern California, three
large and thriving hotels, one of which is in San
Francisco, and wealth of alj kinds. Such are the
possibilities in many parts of our great, fertile, and
growing country. Sagacity, industry, strength, and
perseverance are sure to gain success in connection
with these great opportunities. The men who fail
would fail anywhere, but the men who succeed would
not by any means be successful in our older and more
conservative communities. There are difficulties to
be overcome, and there is hard work to be done, and
judgment is to be exercised in California and Oregon
and Washington, as well as in Eastern places, but
the road to success is shorter and easier here.

" Lucky Baldwin " has fine flowing wells of pure
water, groves of planted trees, orange orchards that
yield him fifteen hundred dollars an acre each year,
cattle that take the prizes in Southern California,
and beautiful horses that have made a name east of
the Rocky Mountains. He gets his water from
Artesian wells, valley and mountain streams, and
from large storage reservoirs, dams, and pipe sys-
tems, having in operation many miles of irrigation
pipes of large size, and a complete system of reser-
voirs and pressure pipes for domestic use.

Oranges are his chief crop, but apples and cherries
and plums and grapes, grain, vegetables, and nuts,
swell the list of his agricultural products, and his
horses are many and beautiful. We visited the stalls
and admired the fine animals as the proud grooms
removed their blankets, and expatiated upon their

rsr THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY 73

pedigree and points. Some were playful as kittens,
while others were as sensitive as a high-born maiden.
All were cared for with vigilant attention, regularly-
exercised, judiciously clothed and fed, and treated
as animals should be who are worth thousands in
their own right, and other thousands which they
could earn for their fortunate owner.

From this ranch we drove to the " sunny slope "
vineyards, through acres of stumpy vines which were
just beginning to shoot, to the storage cellars, where
rows of huge casks and shelves of bottles full of
choice wine are kept. Men were busy putting up
orders for the Eastern market, and samples of the
various productions were at hand for buyers or tast-
ers. The wine of California has a strong fruity
taste, which is not acceptable to those who have been
long accustomed to the manufactured wines which
come across the sea. I have no experience in the
sample-room, and can only wonder at the cultivation
of the sense of taste which enables an expert to be-
lieve the story of two tasters at Heidelberg who disa-
greed about the contents of a huge tun of wine.
One tasted leather, and another tasted iron. When
the wine was drawn off, a rusty key with a leather
tag was found at the bottom of the great cask, and
the reputation of both of the tasters was established.
The California wine, as it comes from these ranches,
is pure and true juice of the grape, though I am told
that great quantities are sold which are afterwards
doctored to suit cultivated palates, and labelled with
the brands of popular French vineyards.

In one of the yards of this ranch a lot of Chinamen

74 BEYOND THE KOCKIES

were washing and brushing and sorting oranges,
chattering and laughing as they worked, under the
direction of an American inspector. They worked
rapidly and thoroughly, and the trays of fruit, as the
sun dried it, were carried off to the packing-house,
and thence in wagon-loads of boxes to the railway.

One of our drives took in the San Gabriel Mis-
sion, with its ancient chime of bells, wonderful
grapevine, and Mexican inhabitants. The contrast
between this sleepy Spanish village, with its rows of
wine-shops, adobe houses, and ancient air, with brisk
and thrifty Pasadena — prohibition, enterprising,
Protestant — was amazing. While we were at Pasa-
dena, Professor Lowe gave, one evening, a lecture,
with fine photographic views to illustrate a new at-
traction in the neighborhood. This is an engineering
enterprise whose object is to connect Los Angeles
and Pasadena with Wilson's Peak and the summit
of the San Gabriel range of mountains, upward of six
thousand feet above the sea. The road is completed
from Altadena along the higher foot-hills and up
through Rubio Canon, a distance of two or three
miles, and thence by a steep cable incline to the
summit of Echo Mountain, thirty-five hundred feet
above the Pacific. Here a large hotel, capable of
accommodating several hundred guests, is being
built. The place has already been occupied by
invalids who are greatly benefited by the tonic air,
and who have camped in the neighborhood for a num-
ber of years. The hotel occupies a commanding
position. From its verandas a wonderful view of
mountains, cultivated valleys, towns, and villages,

IN THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY 75

orange groves, villa residences, and distant ocean
greets the vision. About twenty miles of bridle
roads have been constructed from the Echo Moun-
tain House to neighboring summits, canons, cascades,
picturesque rocks, wooded ravines, ferny dells, and
other points of interest; and there will be no lack of
attraction for the tourist who is lifted to Echo Moun-
tain summit on the great cable incline. From the
latter point the railroad will be extended by easy
grades along the ridge overlooking Grand Canon
and through several mountain valleys to the summit
of Mount Lowe, the highest point visible from Pasa-
dena, where the great Summit Hotel will command
a horizon more than one hundred miles distant in
every direction.

Immediately north of Mount Lowe is the high-
est point in the range, known as Observatory Peak,
6723 feet above the sea, or about four hundred feet
higher than Mount Washington. It is reserved for
the site of a great observatory, and correspondence
is pending which, it is hoped, will secure for it the
construction of the largest telescope in the world.

We were at Pasadena on Easter Sunday. On
Saturday it seemed as if the flowers of a kingdom
had come into the town, so fragrant was the air and
so occupied with flowers were the people. Sunday
dawned bright and mild, and by ten o'clock the
streets were full of people on foot, on horseback, and
in wagons and carriages from the surrounding coun-
try going to the churches. Presbyterian and Metho-
dist and Baptist and Episcopal, all large and hand-
some houses of worship, were thronged with people.

76 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

and during the services a New England Sabbath still-
ness pervaded the place. All were filled and deco-
rated with choice flowers. The platform of the
Presbyterian church was bordered with several hun-
dred fleurs-de-lis, while immense masses of calla
lilies were banked around the organ rail, and the
pulpit was wreathed with rose vines, bearing hun-
dreds of choice and most fragrant flowers. This
Sabbath was well kept at Pasadena, and all the
churches were places of spiritual rest and joy.

XIII
THRIVING TOWNS

LOS ANGELES — A FLOUEISHING CITY — HILLS AND
HOMES — REDLAND8 AND THE SMILEYS — THE BOY
WHO WANTED TO BE A CIVIL ENGINEER

Los Angeles is the principal city in Southern
California. It is a great business centre, and has
been named as a possible capital of the state, if the
seat of government should be removed from Sacra-
mento. It has a population of sixty thousand, which
is constantly increasing. It is substantially built
upon a hilly region of country between the moun-
tains and the sea, and about fifteen miles from each.
Its broad and handsome streets are traversed by elec-
tric, and cable, and horse cars, the two former of
which run over precipitous hills, and far out into
beautiful suburbs. The private residences are pret-
tily placed on handsome avenues shaded by palms
and other trees, and usually have a well watered
lawn about the house and rose-bushes and flowering
plants around the piazzas. There is no ostentation
or appearance of great wealth in the city, but many
evidences of prosperity and comfort. The houses
of well-to-do people of the middle class extend for
miles from the centre of the town, all rendered easily

78 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

accessible to stores and shops and churches and
places of amusement by the swiftly running and well-
appointed cars of the various street railways. Eleven
steam railways centre at Los Angeles, of which two
are competing trans-continental lines. A large
ocean business is done through the ports of San
Pedro, Santa Monica, and Redondo. The latter
place is a great resort for recreation and sea-bathing,
and possesses an excellent hotel. The merchants of
Los Angeles do a large trade with the whole of
Southern California, and the whole surrounding
country produces in great abundance not only the
vegetables and fruits needed by a large city, but
enormous quantities of fruit, and much butter and
cheese for export. The town has a river which is
the source of much contention and even bloodshed.
Like all California rivers, it has the very bad habit
of breaking loose from its channel and flowing wild
in the most unexpected directions. Many a house-
lot and orchard have been swept away or covered
thick with stones and gravel by this erratic stream.
It now runs, for the most part, between banks of
solid plank, but it resents such treatment, and has
been known to get in behind the planking, and rip
the whole barrier to pieces in a night. People who
own property along the river, are at certain seasons
in a strait betwixt their desire to irrigate and their
fear of a flood; and quarrels about the use of the
river, where it should go, and where it may not be
permitted to run, are frequent.

In due time the whole matter of controlling tliese
wild streams, husbanding the water for dry times,

ROSE COTTAGE, LOS ANGELES

THRIVING TOWNS 79

and guarding against accident and ruin, will be
reduced to a system in California. Something of
this sort has been done at the new and beautiful set-
tlement of Redlands in San Bernardino County,
where the Smiley brothers have large holdings,
handsome houses, and fruitful ranches. I made a
pleasant excursion to the place, and was welcomed
by Mr. Smiley with his usual courtesy.

The day was fine, with a cool air and a hot sun.
One of my companions was a civil engineer who had
lived many years in California, worked many of its
mines and tramped over a large part of the state.
He expatiated upon the beautiful regions yet unde-
veloped, and pointed out sections of country which
would rival Redlands and Ontario if only capital was
put into them. He knew of thousands of acres of
woodland Avhich would make the fortunes of pur-
chasers, if they bought now, and built railways to
brinof the timber to a market. The conversation was
interesting and very instructive when taken in con-
nection with a subsequent interview with a small
boy. This youth, about as big as a pepper-box,
shared my seat for a while, and I asked him the
usual question : " What are you going to be when
you grow up?" He instantly replied, "Civil engi-
neer." Doubting his knowledge, I said, "What
does a civil engineer do?" As promptly as before,
he answered, "He puts sticks into the ground for
other folks, and says, 'Here's your land.'" That
boy will get on in California. He has the correct
idea of the " boom " which is the financial disease of
our whole Western country. I subsequently learned

80 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

that the boy's father was a painter, but he is far too
clever for such a trade. He's going to be a civil
engineer, and a future ruler in the Golden State.

There is still much land to be possessed in most
of the towns of Southern California, though the
towns are all laid out in lots, as if land were scarce.
On some of the best streets in Pasadena the lots for
sale were sixty feet wide by two hundred and twenty
feet in depth. These were worth from five hundred
to five thousand dollars and more, according to posi-
tion. The prices were not materially different in
other towns. Where the " boom " had struck and
not expended itself, prices rose like the tide, only
to recede in like manner; but the real-estate men
claim that this tide rarely goes back to the point of
beginning, and that there is a substantial gain in
values after each time of excitement. Certainly this
cannot be true of all the towns which have indulged
in speculation, though it may be the case with those
which are best situated and settled by solid people.

Redlands has been planted in a magnificent am-
phitheatre of mountains, far enough from tha sea to
escape the fogs of the coast, and upon hills which
receive the reviving influences of the snow-clad
ranges of mountains. The air is clear and pure
and dry, the sun is hot but never dangerous, the
water is clear as crystal, is stored in vast reservoirs
in the mountains, and conducted by careful engi-
neering to the town and through its orchards and
gardens.

The Smiley place is called "Canon Crest," from
its position, which overlooks the gorge through

THRIVING TOWNS 81

which the Southern Pacific Railroad winds its way,
and faces the gap in the mountains through which
the Santa F^ Railroad enters into California.

The snow-clad range uplifts its huge mass of
mountains in front of the rough hills which Mr.
Smiley, at the cost of many thousands of dollars, has
subdued and cultivated, and planted with fruit trees
and shrubs and flowers. A beautiful valley lies
below, through which the railway swings around in
a loop, and in the far distance, on a clear day, the
coast line and the shining waves of the great Pacific
Ocean are visible at the horizon's limit. The snowy
mountains, dark woods, and wild canons contrast
with cultivated slopes, beautiful meadows, and
flower-gardens in a picture of natural loveliness,
which is not rivalled even in this land of pictur-
esque beauty. Mr. Smiley found this place — which
once belonged to an old college friend of my own,
for many years a missionary in California — in his
journeys in behalf of the Indian tribes of our land.
It is a fitting reward of his philanthropy, that he
should own such a delightful winter ranch as one
result of his labors. Our days in Pasadena and its
neighborhood were filled with pleasures. But spring
Avas advancing, and we were forced to leave one beau-
tiful spot after another, not because their treasures
were exhausted, but in deference to that foe to all
idle travellers, the plan of our journey. Sometime I
mean to travel without a plan.

XIV
SANTA BARBARA

BEAUTIFUL FOR SITUATION AN EARTHQUAKE THE

TALE OF A PATRON SAINT FIRST IMPRESSIONS

A PLACID TOWN — NATURAL BEAUTIES — A WINTER
VIEW

Santa Barbara has been described as resting her
head upon the Santa Ynez Mountains, and bathing
her feet in the blue Pacific, and the description,
though poetical, is accurate; for the town extends
along a valley which lies directly between lofty
mountains and a low line of hills, and reaches down
to the sea. The main street of the town runs through
this valley, from the beach to the foot-hills of the
mountains.

The county, of the same name with the town, is a
section embracing that part of the coast of California
which runs east and west for about seventy miles,
and is of a width of tliirty-five miles from north to
south. The exceptional climate of Santa Barbara is
due to this curvature of the coast, to the parallel
range of mountains which keep ofif the north winds,
to a group of islands lying about twenty miles from
shore, which shield it from ocean storms, and to warm
currents of the Pacific. The southern part of the

SANTA BARBARA 83

county, forming the Santa Barbara valley, includes
a number of smaller valleys or canons, Carpinteria,
Montecito, Goleta, and Ellwood, and contains some-
what more than one hundred thousand acres.

The side from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara by
rail is very beautiful. The latter part is along the
ocean shore, and the views of the blue sea upon one
side, and into green valleys decorated with masses.
of yellow and blue and pink flowers upon the other,
were enchanting. One experience of the journey
was novel and startling. The train, after passing
through a long tunnel, was waiting the arrival of
another train from Santa Barbara, and the passengers
were lunching and walking around, when suddenly
the cars rocked to and fro as if they were going at
rapid speed on a curve, the chimney of the dining-
room in the station at Saugus fell down, the glasses
danced on the shelves and table, and everybody
started with a nameless fear. Some thought an
explosion had taken place, and others ascribed it to
the wind, but residents of California recognized an
undesirable acquaintance in the earthquake. Look-
ing up towards the hills, little clouds of what seemed
to be brown smoke were seen. In reality these were
clouds of dust which rose from the crevices and fis-
sures in the ground, caused by the seismic move-
ment. The shocks were slight and lasted only a
few seconds, but they were long enough to recall the
Scripture: "He looketh on the earth and it trem-
bleth; He toucheth the hills and they smoke."

There is a sketch of Santa Barbara, written from
a strictly ecclesiastical point of view, by a Roman

84 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Catholic priest, which gives with painstaking detail,
a biography of Saint Barbara, from whom the town
is named. She is said to have been a very beauti-
ful daughter of a tyrannous Nicomedian, named
Dioscorus, who was a satellite of the Roman Emperor
Maxirain. He hated and persecuted the Christians,
and when his daughter, who had been taught by the
famous Origen, implored him to have compassion
on them, he discovered that she, too, had become a
Christian. Full of fury, he threw her into prison.
But, according to our author, Barbara "preferred a
martyr's crown to a retraction of her vows and her
religion." She was condemned to death, and while
being tortured had a heavenly vision, and seemed
to have passed away. But as she revived, her
cruel father drew his sword and cut off her head,
upon which lightning and thunder burst forth, des-
troying Dioscorus and the nefarious executioner.
Father Gollell states that the head of Saint Barbara
may be found preserved as a relic for veneration in
the temple of All Saints in Rome, and that she is
the patroness of artillery, "for if by flashes of flame
and thunders the heavens defended her honor, with
the booming and belching of cannon may they, too,
repulse the attacks of unjust enemies." Thus far
from the lives of the saints! The Spaniards evi-
dently believed the tradition, and gave the saint's
name to the lovely town, which has an ideal situa-
tion on the gentle slope between the stately moun-
tains and the calm sea. The tops of these mountains
in the winter sometimes have a crown of snow, in
the spring the verdure is rich and velvety, and then
a gray mantle covers the landscape.

SANTA BARBARA 85

Our first days in the place were disappointing. It
was April, and we expected sunshine and warmth,
but in their place we had fog and cold. After a few
days of this sort the sun shone out, and thereafter
mild airs and bright sunshine were the characteris-
tics of the weather. Then we began to enter into
the quiet beauty of the place, and to enjoy the serene
influences which seemed to distil upon brain and
nerves, from the deep blue sea with the dim outline
of the distant islands, the restful strength of the
verdure-clad mountains, and the fruitful hills and
valleys near the town. Everything in Nature in-
vited to repose and calm enjoyment. No noisy cars
pervaded the streets; pavements, except one long
stretch of smooth asphalt, are unknown; the daily
train which came and went from the town, and the
occasional arrival at the pier of a coast steamer, were
the chief events. A wreck, twenty miles away, was
the great excitement of our visit, and the rescued
sailors, when they were brought to Santa Barbara,
occupied the attention of the citizens for a week.
The approaching floral festival gave pleasant occupa-
tion to residents and visitors, and simple enjoyments
filled the passing days. We could have been con-
tent to live this calm, sweet life while months drifted
placidly along, if there had been no calls from the
outside world, and it was difficult not to envy the
happy lot of some friends who had found here those
earthly moorings which will not be slipped till they
sail forth at the Master's bidding on that unknown
sea which rolls round all the world.

We had been told that Santa Barbara would re-

86 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

mind us of Nice, but the resemblance is slight.
There is a curving shore, and a blue sea, and a mild
climate, and the flowers and fruits which grow in
such an atmosphere as both places possess. But
there is none of the fashion and folly at the Cali-
fornia resort which make Nice so attractive and
exciting to those who love society and gayety.
Santa Barbara is as simple in its life and manners as
a New England village; there is no Monte Carlo
near at hand to cast its baleful shadow over social
life, and no foreign nobles to set an example of
extravagance and dissipation to an indolent and
yet restless community. There are none of the arti-
ficial improvements and expensive enjoyments which
characterize the great resort of the Riviera to be
found in this salubrious valley, where walks and
drives and picnics are the healthful pleasures which
occupy the time of residents and guests. The town
has one long and wide street, which begins at the
shore and ends in the midst of fields and gardens ;
and this is crossed at right angles by a number of
other streets. These are shaded with rows of pepper
and eucalyptus trees, and the houses stand in gardens
and groves. The few stores, hotels, and churches
are in the lower part of the place ; and as the ground
rises from the water, it is occupied with private
dwellings, a few of which are built on separate hills,
with some architectural elegance, and surrounded
with choice gardens. Every garden has its wealth
of shrubs and trees; roses and geraniums and helio-
tropes, which grow like moderate-sized trees, are
formed into hedges, or trained as vines to cover the

SANTA BARBARA 87

houses. Palms and camphor trees and shrubs,
which in New York are nursed in green-houses, flour-
ish on the lawns, and the greatest variety of fragrant
flowers embower and beautify and perfume the
place. These natural beauties are due, in large
measure, to the evenness as well as to the mildness
of the climate, and to the taste and cultivation of the
inhabitants. The sun never smites the place with
scorching heat; tornadoes and tempests, with deso-
lating winds and lightning strokes, do not devastate
the groves and gardens ; even the rains, which come
in torrents on some parts of the Pacific coast, fall
more gently here, and winter is the loveliest part of
the year, by the testimony of all who have lived in
Santa Barbara from November to May. " This is the
twelfth of January," writes a winter resident, *'an
average Santa Barbara day. Sitting in my room,
with doors and windows open, I see ever blooming
gardens in every direction, and hear the birds sing-
ing in the warm sunshine. Through my north win-
dow I see the foot-hills in their coat of verdure, while
through my south window I see the grand old Pacific
dotted with the Channel Islands, and the balmy
sea-breeze brings with it the murmur of the waves
as they break upon the hard sand of the broad beach
a mile away. In the gardens in the immediate
vicinity can be found lilies, heliotropes, fuchsias,
carnations, and fifty other rare and beautiful flowers ;
three hundred different kinds of roses ; almond trees
with their snowy blossoms, and orange and lemon
trees laden with their golden fruit. A stroll to the
canons would reveal myriads of delicately colored

88 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

wild flowers, and the farmers could be seen turning
the rich soil, making ready for planting."

This is a winter sketch of Santa Barbara, when
the rains come sometimes for several days at a time,
but generally in showers and at night, clearing off
bright and warm during the day, so that in all the
rainy season there are not more than ten or twelve
rainy days. Then the hills are clothed with green,
the landscape is aflame with the brilliant wild flowers,
the birds sing their sweetest songs, and it is a de-
light to roam over grassy hills, explore wooded
canons, and sit and rest by the brook which flows
from the mountain-side. Who would not rather
spend winter in suoh a place than among the ice and
snow of northern lands ?

ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS

THE PADKES AND THEIR WORK THE PRESIDIO AND

THE CHURCH HOW THE MISSIONS GREW A SHORT,

SAD HISTORY THE LESSONS OF THE PAST

The Spanish missions in California were organized
from 1769, and were established chiefly in fruitful
valleys along the coast from San Diego to Monterey.
The fathers usually made their selections of sites in
localities which had been previously chosen by the
native Indians. They were led to do this by their
appreciation of the knowledge which the natives had
of the best parts of the country, and by their pious
desire to be near to the settlements of those whom
they desired to convert. Thus at San Diego, at San
Juan Capistrano, at San Luis Rey, and San Gabriel,
as well as at Santa Barbara, San Fernando, San Luis
Obispo, San Jos^, and Monterey, they built their
massive adobe churches and monasteries, hung on
wooden frameworks their sweet-toned Spanish bells,
and began their work of tilling the soil and subju-
gating the Indians by their peaceful arts.

Most of the mission buildings in California were
arranged in the form of a hollow square. The church
building formed one side of the court or enclosure,

90 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

and a long corridor supported by stone pillars and
covered by a tiled roof, the other. The two remain-
ing sides were made up of dormitories, storehouses,
and workshops built against a high adobe wall.
These buildings were a long time in construction,
for there were few workers but unskilled Indians,
who knew only how to build their own rude huts;
and the wood used in construction had to be brought
from the mountains miles away.

The chief feature of these buildings is their mas-
sive character, which shows that they were intended
for places of defence, as well as for religious educa-
tion. Most of these buildings are now in ruins, the
open arches surround neglected court-yards over-
grown with weeds and wild flowers, and some of the
deserted rooms of the padres are used as stables for
asses. The orchards and vineyards which the Catho-
lic priests planted a hundred years ago are wild and
unfruitful, and years of abandonment have destroyed
these reminders of the early settlement of California,
almost beyond restoration. To the artist who was
our companion in travel, this outward ruin only made
the missions more picturesque, and his paintings
more valuable, and the younger members of the party
found the moonlight more attractive in a dilapidated
mission, than upon a hotel piazza. But it was sad
to reflect upon such results from so much zeal and
devotion. The padres are gone, and their work for
the Indians of these regions seems like water spilled
upon the ground; the missions are mostly falling to
decay, and, with one or two exceptions, there is little
promise that they will ever be revived or rebuilt.

BELFRY OF SAN GABRIEL MISSION

(

ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS 91

This conclusion is the sadder when we reflect that
no arbitrary measures and no tyranny of conquest
were employed fo civilize and Christianize these
people. The relation of the missionaries to the
Indians was always paternal. They were, indeed,
made to labor, and in time their position differed lit-
tle from that of slaves, but they were willing slaves.
They had cabins in villages near the missions, and
were employed on large farms and vineyards and
olive groves. Every morning they were gathered
at sunrise in the church to hear mass, and then after
breakfast they went forth to Avork. Following the
Spanish habit, which is well adapted to the country,
they rested three hours in the middle of the day, and
then worked till an hour before sunset. Then the
evening bell summoned the laborers to their supper
and to another service. Thus the days passed in
constant, but not exhausting, labor. The fathers
taught them simple rules of faith and duty, exhorted
them to industry and fidelity, and gave rewards to
the best and most conscientious workers. The rule
of the priests was beneficial so long as it lasted, but
it left no permanent impress upon the people. A
round of formal services, united with abundant ex-
hortation, is not enough .to lift a nation of heathen.
The Indians knew that while the fathers were kind
to them, it was that the}'- might use them to enrich
their order and enlarge their influence in the land.
They gave them service for what they got, but few
gave any love; and when the time of persecution
came, they fell away from those who had proved
themselves only selfish benefactors.

92 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Carmel Mission at Monterey has been restored,
and the Santa Barbara Mission has been repaired in
recent years. The history of the latter is of interest,
and it has been for a number of years a place of spe-
cial attraction to the numerous strangers who spend
their winters upon the California coast. Father
Junipero Serra, whose name will always be held in
sweet remembrance by the Catholics of California,
chose Santa Barbara for a Presidio and Mission, and
in April, 1782, he placed a cross there and blessed
it. Four years later, in 1786, the foundation of a
church was laid by his successor, which was not com-
pleted till 1794. The present structures were not
all finished till 1820. The mission then stood in
the midst of an Indian village ; on one side was a
large and well cultivated garden, and beyond a rich
vineyard. Large and fertile farms, belonging to the
Franciscans, stretched towards the sea and up the
canons into the mountains. From these mountains
a stone aqueduct brought down the waters of a
mountain stream, which was led through carved stone
fountains in front of the church into a large and
deep reservoir. There were bath-houses and grist-
mills and workshops supplied with water by the
aqueducts, and storehouses for the many products
of the orchards and fields. Statues of the saints
and apostles ornamented the church, and numer-
ous crosses were placed upon different parts of the
building. Time has dealt ruthlessly with these
decorations, and though the mission buildings are
complete to-da)% they are plain and unattractive.
But the situation is unrivalled. From the piazza in

ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS VQ

front of the church, or, better still, from the belfry,
a superb view of the mountains, the foot-hills, the
lowlands, and the picturesque town, the beach, the
blue channel of Santa Barbara, and the distant islands
which form a kind of breakwater for the surges of
the Pacific Ocean, can be seen to great advantage.
Here, when the Angelus rings out for morning or
evening prayer, a few priests dressed in coarse rus-
set robes, with a cord around the waist, and sandalled
feet, enter the church and go through a perfunctory
routine of worehip. At other times they milk their
kine, and cultivate in a rude fashion the once beau-
tiful garden, or they take male strangers through the
building, and humbly accept the trifling fee which
American charity bestows upon the successors of the
rich and powerful order of Spanish priests who
once ruled in luxury and pomp upon these shores.

The story of their downfall is a short one. In
1822 the Mexican government passed a law which
set the Indians at liberty, and suspended the reve-
nues of the priests. The act was repealed a year
later, but the priests had taken the alarm, dismantled
their churches, and fled. In 1833 the decree of
secularization was passed. This converted the mis-
sions into secular curacies, leaving to the priests a
house, and removing* the fathers. Then the missions
were handed over to commissioners, and the lands
ordered to be colonized. In 1837 the usurping gov-
ernor, Don Alvarado, plundered the missions, de-
stroying some of them. A number of unsuccessful
efforts were made to restore the clergy to their tem-
poralities, and in 1842 the Pope made California a

94 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

bishopric; while a year afterwards the governor of
the state authorized the restoration of the missions.
But most of the churches had been destroyed, many
had been sold, the lands had passed into other hands,
the day of the missions was over, and they are now
only parish churches. The lesson is instructive.
It is written all over the history of the Roman Cath-
olic Church. It can be read in Rome itself, which
within the memory of some of us was the intolerant,
proud, and tyrannous capital of an ecclesiastical
state. Wherever the Church turns from its legiti-
mate work of preaching the Gospel and nurturing the
flock of Christ, to aggrandize its ministers, to admin-
ister civil government, and to acquire political power,
it parts company with its Great Founder, who said :
"My kingdom is not of this world." Rome has
never learned this text, and all her acquisitions,
intrigues, and alliances, do but conduct her to an
ultimate and disastrous downfall. In the days of
her humble missionaries, she has often been an hon-
ored and useful instrument of divine Providence in
leading people out of a gross darkness ; but when in
her pride and power she has sought to rule the
nations, and make war in the name of Christ, ruin
and desolation have come upon her.

Sitting on the low platform in front of the church,
and gazing over the town to the sea, in the spring
of the Columbian year, I have often thought how
different would have been the history of our land,
had the power of Spain or France fastened a Roman
Catholic priesthood upon the territory of the United
States ; and have thanked God for the sturdy Prot-

ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS 95

estantism which was permitted to found our institu-
tions and secure our liberties. If we fully compre-
hended the blessing that we have received, and the
dangers which we have escaped through such a
providential guidance, we would be more vigilant
and faithful!

XVI
FLOWER FESTIVAL AT SANTA BARBARA

MULTITUDES OF FLOWERS — TEN THOUSAND ROSES ON A
CARRIAGE — A FLOWER DANCE — THE FLORAL PRO-
CESSION— THE mayor's PROCLAMATION

HOETICULTURE in the Santa Barbara valley is a
profitable industry. Flowers grow here with a pro-
fusion and beauty in size and shape unknown else-
where, flowering vines climb and cover trees fifty feet
in height. Fuchsias have the proportions of trees,
and beds of tulips and lilies and marigolds cover
acres. The cultivated plants are manifold, and the
wild flowers beyond enumeration. I have counted
seventy different species collected in a morning walk,
and the fields and mountain-sides are often purple
with lupines, yellow with daisies, orange with the
beautiful California poppies, deep blue with the wild
onion blossom, or light blue with the lovely baby-
blue-eyes. The common grass seems of a brighter
shade of green, and the plumes of the feathery pampas
nowhere wave with such grace and luxuriance.

It is not wonderful, then, that the residents of such
a flower-garden should delight in floral displays, and
that in the early spring, when Nature is most lavish
of these favors, they should have a festival and dedi-

FLOWER FESTIVAL AT SANTA BARBARA 97

cate some days to the floral deity. In 1893, the flower
festival occupied four days, and every endeavor was
made to make it more perfect and attractive than
those which had preceded it. Exhibitions have been
held for many years, but the first great festival was
held when President Harrison visited the Pacific
coast. This was so successful that it was determined
to make it a yearly attraction at Santa Barbara. In
1892 the second festival brought a large concourse
of visitors, and its success was complete. The profu-
sion of flowers was overwhelming. Ten thousand
fine roses were used in decorating a single vehicle.
A long procession of carriages, hidden beneath masses
of flowers, and ^filled with beautiful ladies in tasteful
and appropriate costumes, made a charming scene.
The festival was opened b}^ a "dance of the flowers,"
in which twenty-eight young ladies, each personat-
ing a flower, entered in sets of four, and to soft
music went through graceful movements. After
their simple dance, they advanced to the platform,
where were seated the invited guests, and laid at .
their fee't garlands and wreaths.

In order to make the festival even more attractive
the present year, the Flower Festival Association was '
organized. Its aim was not to make money, but to
make the festival more beautiful, and all the receipts
were used to make the floral display more complete;
in short, to develop and foster a love for the beauti-
ful. Prizes were offered for the most artistic deco-
rations, and the most prominent people among the
residents and visitors gave flowers and labor and
enthusiasm, to produce a memorable festival. The

98 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

shopkeepers entered into the plan with alacrity, and
vied with each other in the decoration of their build-
ings and windows. One store was covered with calla
lilies tastefully arranged in wire nets ; another was
hung with wreaths of oranges and lemons; othei"S
displayed columns of palm branches and arches of
roses, exquisite arrangements of pampas plumes and
fieurs de lis, and elaborate designs in all the colors
of the floral treasury of the place. When the pro-
cession moved up State Street, it passed between
rows of buildings adorned and decorated with flowers
and fruits, an architectural vista such as was never
seen in any town on earth before.

The procession had been preceded by a rose show
and exhibition of flowers in the Pavilion, the chief
assembly-room of the place. Besides the wonderful
display of roses here, there were many beautiful and
artistic combinations of plants and flowers which
delighted the crowds of visitors for many hours.
Another feature of the festival was a series of tour-
naments and games, and a flower festival ball, but
the interest of the occasion centred upon the grand
floral procession of decorated vehicles, and the battle
of flowers, both of which took place upon the second
day. The procession moved up State Street through
the lines of decorated stores, to the upper end, where
seats had been provided for about two thousand
people. These were well occupied, and each party
had brought huge baskets filled with small bouquets,
with which to engage in battle.

First came the marshals on prancing steeds, whose
saddles and bridles were covered thick with marl-

FLOWER FESTIVAL AT SANTA BARBARA 99

golds, or daisies, or purple Brodea, or roses, accord-
ing to the owner's fancy. They were followed by a
military band, which enlivened the occasion with
frequent music. Next came a large float trimmed
with roses and smilax, all of its sides being thus
draped. On a bed of white flowers were four conch
shells of pink roses, in which sat four little children
representing the four seasons — Spring with a green
dress and fruit blossoms; Summer in a pink dress,
with roses to match: Autumn in a yellow dress,
with fruit, red poppies, and grain; and Winter in a
white dress, with swan's down and white pampas
plumes. The next in order was an elegant float
entirely formed of marguerites and cypress, and on
this rested a boat completely covered with margue-
rites, as were also the oars and rudder, and the
anchor and chain at the bow. Eight flne grays, with
Russian collars of the same flowers, drew this device,
which contained a charming family group.

A large Yosemite coach, drawn by six prancing
black horses, was also decorated with these daisies,
more than seventy-five thousand being used for the
purpose. The harness and four outriders on gray
horses were adorned in the same style. Following
this was a farm wagon, whose sides were covered
with the purple flowers of the wild onion. It looked
like a mass of violets. Four snowy mules, trimmed
with lilac and purple, drew this vehicle, which was
filled with ladies and gentlemen dressed to represent
Spanish peasants. Then came the Monitor^ a boat
made of calla lilies, its rail formed of wistaria, and
a turret of Duchess roses. This turret revolved, and

100 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

seven little lads in sailor costume kept up a constant
fire of flowers, which was returned with interest by
the spectators. A tropical scene represented the
landing of Columbus. Palms and cacti and wild
vines covered the island upon which Columbus was
landing, and the whole effect was very realistic.
There was a Washington coach of the olden time,
with powdered dames and Continental soldiers inside,
while the outside was hung with garlands of wis-
taria and Duchess roses, which blended with the tree
moss that covered the coach panels. The wheels
were solid with moss and great bunches of roses
formed the hubs.

There was another coach trimmed with pampas
plumes of white, and a caleche enveloped in similar
plumes, dyed pink; a lovely phaeton covered with
Beauty of Glazenwood roses, each wheel represent-
ing an immense rose ; a surrey which was one solid
mass of marigolds, drawn by two jet-black horses
with marigold harnesses and reins; a carriage of
calla lilies and green ferns; another covered with
ivy and nasturtium vines interwoven ; a wagonette
entirely composed of white marguerites, in which
rode a beautiful mother and three lovel}'^ children ; a
carriage of red geraniums, and another of red and
white carnations. There were men and women on
horses whose trappings were all made of wreaths and
garlands, and men on bicycles covered with roses
and daisies and marigolds. The decorations were in
very great variety, and showed, in general, excellent
taste.

For two hours, these gayly decorated equipages

FLOWER FESTIVAL AT SANTA BARBARA 101

moved up and down the promenade, and for most of
this time the air was full of flying bouquets from
spectators to exhibitors in a pleasant battle, till the
roadway was as deeply covered with flowers as our
Northern streets are with the driving snow in a win-
ter's storm. At last the prizes were all assigned, the
flower baskets were empty, and amidst cheers and con-
gratulations, the beautiful procession broke up its
line, and drove off to the various homes of the per-
formers.

We have been in Nice at the annual battle of
flowers, and also at Marseilles, and several times in
Paris, but for profusion of flowers, variety and elab-
oration of design, and simple beauty, the Santa
Barbara festival surpassed them all. It was a lovely
sight, and as "a thing of beauty is a joy forever," it
will always remain a pleasant memory among many
others of this delightful town. Great crowds came
to enjoy the festival from all parts of California, and
many tourists arranged to be at Santa Barbara dur-
ing this week. Every hotel was full to overflowing,
and many private families had their houses full of
guests. As there is still a rough element in Cali-
fornia, the residuum of its population in the mining
days, some apprehension is naturally felt in view
of large and unusual gatherings. Such a feeling
must have influenced the mayor to issue the fol-
lowing proclamation, ^hich sounded strangely to
our Eastern ears. Perhaps, however, the mayor
knew better than we did what he was talking
about : —

i02 beyond the rockies

" Notice.

"Mayor's Office,^
" Santa Barbara, April 7, 1893. \

" TF. W. Hopkins, Marshal of the city of Santa
Barbara :

"Sm: You will use every effort and means in
your power and at your command, to keep out
of Santa Barbara all confidence operators, thieves,
thugs, house-breakers, sneaks, pickpockets, moll-
buzzers, burglars, gopher-blowers, tramps, and their
ilk.

"Should any of the above-enumerated characters
get into the city, you will cause their immediate
arrest, and hold until train time ; then escort to the
train with the admonition that, should they return,
they will be given the butt end of the law. Should
they return, arrest, and place against them a charge
of vagrancy.

"In other words, if necessity demands, exceed
your authority in giving protection to our people,
and our officials and citizens will uphold you.

"You will use more than ordinary caution and
diligence in having a general supervision over street
fakirs.

"You will instruct your s specials to give every
protection, not only to citizens, but to guests and
strangers within our city. •

"You will instruct all specials to extend every
courtesy to visitors ; giving prompt aid when called
upon, and immediate response to all information
asked of them, keeping in mind that the very repu-

FLOWER FESTIVAL AT SANTA BARBARA 103

tation of our fair city is in your hands and in the
hands of your officers. . R^^p.^^fully,

"E. W. Gaty, Mayor:'

I did not see a single "moll-buzzer," "gopher-
blower, " or " street fakir " in Santa Barbara during
my whole sojourn there, and I attribute it to this
proclamation, and wholesome fear of " the butt end
of the law."

XVII
PLEASURE-DAYS AT SANTA BARBARA

THE MISSION CA:&0N A PICNIC AT ELLWOOD — MONTE

CITO AND ITS GARDENS THE HOT SPRINGS THE

OJAI VALLEY AND SAN MARCOS PASS

Many delightful excursions can be made from
Santa Barbara. Some of the pleasantest are those
to the cafions, the heights of the Santa Ynez range,
and the ranches whose hospitable proprietors make
strangers and tourists welcome.

The nearest of these resorts is the Mission Canon,
which opens into the mountains just beyond the Mis-
sion. The road crosses the river, and then winds
through liveoak and sycamore forests, over hills and
ridges, following the course of that stream which
was once used by the Franciscans for irrigation,
and which now supplies Santa Barbara with water.

For the most part the valley is narrow and shut
in, but sometimes there are outlooks when the foot-
hills give way, and open the view over the fertile
mesa or table-land and the beautiful blue sea. Now
and then, level spaces and sheltered nooks, green
with herbage or brilliant with flowers, are found
along the road; in other places the hills rise pre-
cipitously among bare rocks, in whose crevices

104

PLEASURE-DAYS AT SANTA BARBARA 105

gnarled and twisted roots hold a few shrubs or tough
cedars. As one climbs higher, the verdure gives
place to bushes and brushwood, and higher still the
mountains are bare and rocky. We were glad to
have the cool shade of the oaks and sycamores to
walk in, as we climbed up the canon, delighting our
eyes with the masses of purple lupines and delicate
ferns and wild morning-glories which adorned the
banks of the river ; and were equally glad, when the
walk was over, to sit in the sunshine and rest,
breathing air laden with the perfume of the wild lilac
and roses, and an infinite variety of plants and flow-
ers. At the end of this canon there is a picturesque
waterfall, where the stream leaps seven times over
ledges of rock from one pool to another, and pours
down the smooth sides of the precipice in the midst
of wild and rugged scenery.

One day, with a large and cheerful party of young
and old, amateur photographers, water-color artists,
botanists, and simple pleasure-seekers, we drove
for a day's outing to Ellwood, known also as the
Cooper ranch. This lies in a valley called "La
Patera," which extends from Hope ranch to Gaviota
Pass, and is bounded on the one side by the Santa
Ynez Mountains, and on the other by the sea. The
road lies along the hill-sides of Hope ranch, among
which little Lake Fenton shines as a silver bowl.
On either side of the road are neat houses, and yellow
fields dotted with liveoak trees. The Hollister
ranch occupies both sides of the road for several
miles, and the house stands in a grove of fruit trees
— oranges, lemons, almond, walnut, olive, peach,

106 BEYONt) THE ROCKIES

nectarine, and others. A large table-land is used
for grazing, and the valleys which extend into the
mountains are under careful cultivation. In the
extensive gardens there is an avenue of palms, and
a great variety of choice shrubs and plants. The
" Glen Annie " palms are famous in the neighbor-
hood, and the ranch is full of interest and instruction.

Ellwood, which joins the Hollister place, and
which was our destination, comprises two thousand
acres in fine condition. It lies along the road for a
mile, but runs to the high foot-hills of the Santa
Ynez, and down to the ocean beach. We drove
through a long avenue of eucalyptus trees at the
entrance, and then through winding roads bordered
by orchards of various trees to the house and the
gardens, which were filled with choice plants and
innumerable roses and other flowers. The largest
india-rubber tree that I have seen in California was
growing here, and the Chinese gardeners were in-
dustriously watering and weeding the grounds.
Then we passed into a grove of grand old oaks and
wide-branching sycamores; near by were the mill
where the olives are pressed and made into olive oil,
the ovens for drying nuts, and the hives for honey;
and not far off were the stables and packing-houses.

All this was upon the way to the entrance of the
canon, where, amid a grove of liveoaks, was our
camping ground. The coaches were unloaded and
the party dispersed, the artists to make sketches
from points of vantage further up the caSon, the
botanists to gather specimens for their herbariums,
the youths and maidens to seek out shady and retired

PLEASURE-DAYS AT SANTA BARBARA 107

nooks, where they could repeat the sweet nothings
which make young life so joyous, some to climb the
hills and look upon the sea, and others to follow up the
stream under the gray sycamore trees, till its course
became too rough and steep for pleasure. In all
such companies there is a home-staying and unself-
ish element, that spreads the festive tablecloth and
arranges the welcome meal for the rest of the party.
Such were some of us, and here in the grove beside
a stream of fresh, cold water, with green foot-hills
on one side, covered with waving fields of barley,
and dark summits rising in another direction, and
the winding avenues of blossoming trees just before
us, the feast was prepared, decorated with manifold
and choice bouquets, and made inviting to tired and
hungry humanity by all those arts and devices which
gentle ladies know. In pure air, mild but invig-
orating, blending the best elements of mountain and
sea; with changing lights which made every hour a
different scene, and delighted while it distracted the
artist who tried to catch the atmosphere of the place ;
and with harmonious and intelligent company,' we
enjoyed the rest and refreshment and good cheer of
one of Santa Barbara's choice places. For hours we
rested here, and it was not until the westering sun
and the cooler breeze told us that the day was wan-
ing that we sought our carriages and were whirled
homeward by the fleet four-in-hands, whose equine
thoughts centred chiefly about their commodious
stables near the Arlington Hotel.

For a morning excursion, nothing is better than
the drive to Montecito. From Santa Barbara, one

108 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

may drive along the shore where the white surf line
fringes the blue Pacific, and look far out on its swell-
ing bosom beyond the dim forms of the rugged Chan-
nel Islands, till the haze conceals the immense
solitary region beyond, or he may take the inland
road to the little valley through vine-clad cottages
and orchards. Along the slopes, .where the bright
green grass contrasts vividly with the dark foliage
of the oaks, are many pretty cottages and some pre-
tentious villas, for the region is a favorite suburb of
Santa Barbara, and is justly prized for its exceed-
ing beauty. The southern part of the valley gently
slopes to the sea, while on the north and west are
the foot-hills, and above them the tall mountains
wooded nearly to their tops. The valley is made up
of many little vales, calm spots where one may woo
seclusion and commune with Nature undisturbed.
The largest ranch is at the entrance of the San Ysidro
Canon, and here there is an extensive orchard, and
vineyards producing excellent grapes for wine. A
boarding-house with half a dozen cottages has been
established here, and in one of these we found Miss
Susan Hale, of Boston, who claimed to be the dis-
coverer of this lovely place. No one who can appre-
ciate natural scenery and delicious climate would
question her taste and judgment in such a choice,
and, so far as I know, no one desires to contest her
claim to the discovery. There are other spots not
less beautiful, where all the resources of horticulture
have been lavished to beautify the place. Here we
saw many varieties of palms of great size and age ;
a sago palm from Ceylon; a silver tree, its leaves

PLEASURE-DAYS AT SANTA BARBARA 109

shining like burnished metal, from the Cape of Good
Hope; a tea plant from China; india-rubber trees
from South America; magnolia trees in bloom, and
hedges of Chinese lemons along the garden walks.
Beside these, there was an almost endless variety of
choice trees and shrubs, and a huge grapevine near
at hand large enough to shelter a goodly dinner-
party.

Another day .we climbed up the canon to the hot
springs. They consist of several hot sulphur and
arsenic waters, about thirteen hundi-ed feet above
the sea, which have been known to the Indians for
a long period, but were only brought to the notice
of Californians in 1855. We bathed in the sulphur-
ous waters and felt refreshed after a long scramble,
and then rested and lunched on the little plateau by
the hotel, where we overlooked lovely Montecito,
and watched with interest the San Francisco steamer
as she came down the coast and made fast to the
Santa Barbara pier. The hills among which we
strolled were full of holes, from which, our guide
said, rattlesnakes might be expected when the weather
grew warmer, so that this Eden has a real snake.
A young entomologist also showed me some very
large tarantulas impaled upon a long needle, and one
or two of the curious mud boxes with a trap-door at
the top, in which these venomous and disagreeable
spiders live. After such views of insect life, we
were careful about sitting on banks, even if wild
thyme did grow there, and preferred a hard chair to
a lounge upon a flowery mead.

Time and space would fail to enumerate the charm-

110 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

ing places which court the attention of the tourist.
Some of our associates went through the Ojai valley,
and were extravagant in their praises of the wonder-
ful beauties of " Oak Glen," where the boughs of the
trees form gothic arches; and others went to Santa
Clara, the home of " Ramona ; " and others of a more
practical turn investigated the oil wells in Wheeler's
Canon, near Ventura. We were content with nearer
excursions, and with one long and delightful day
on the San Marcos Pass, over which the road runs
to San Luis Obispo and Monterey. This was in-
deed a day of rare enjoyment in pleasant company,
far up on the mountains, in the pure, dry air and
sparkling sunshine, with a dozen wild canons be-
neath and around us, lower down the cultivated foot-
hills and the ranches of which I have written, then
the mesa or sloping table-land, the villages and the
azure ocean in the distance. I have seen nearly all
the winter resorts of California, and though I have
heard of fogs, and have felt chilly winds and varia-
ble weather at most of them, Santa Barbara and its
surroundings do most commend themselves to me.
When winter winds again begin to blow, I shall
draw the curtains, and put another log upon my
costly wood fire, and shutting my eyes, shall dream
of the peaceful and sunny slopes of the Santa Ynez,
and the happy and well-kept town which lies at its
base. Perhaps the dream may prove a reality after
all.

XVIII
ANCIENT SPANISH HOUSES

CABRILLO ABGUELLO AND DE LA GUERRA OLD DAYS

IN SANTA BARBARA FEASTS AND WEDDINGS THE

CHINESE COLONY FRIENDS AND THEIR WORK

There is one part of Santa Barbara which seems
out of harmony with its present life. It leads one
back into the old Spanish times, when the red-tiled
adobe houses were built, and the Castilians dwelt in
dignity and power on the California coast. This
place is but a stone's throw from the main street of
Santa Barbara, and Governor Carrillo's house may
still be seen on State Street. It is a long, low struc-
ture with a broad foundation of solid stone, and a
broad and cool veranda, where one might swing at
ease in a comfortable hammock. The outside walls
of the house are three feet thick, and the inner divi-
sions are at least two feet through; the window-seats
are as wide as the thickness of the walls, and the low-
studded doors have broad and ample thresholds.

All the rooms in this house are large, being wide
and long, although the ceilings are low. The doors
and windows are small, and the latter have heavy
wooden shutters. The floor was formerly of earth,
but use had made it as hard and smooth as stone.

,112 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

The walls were trowelled even, and red cedar win-
dow frames carefully set in them. The lower rooms
only are used, and the upper story exhibits the huge
adobe bricks and immense wooden tree trunks in
their natural state used for beams. These were laid
across from wall to wall to form the roof, and bound
together with rawhide thongs which show no signs
of decay after ninety years. Over the beams is a
layer of brush, and over that the tiles, which were
made and burned close at hand. After all these
years, this primitive building stands tight and
strong.

A part of the Carrillo House is used for a dwell-
ing, and the rest is occupied by the National History
Society. Here Spanish and Indian relics are pre-
served, but, after all, the house itself is the main
feature of attraction. Some of its windows are
glazed, while others have only rows of iron bars,
like the lower stories of the houses in Spain. The
walls of one room were covered with frescoes on a
ground of white plaster, a Moorish design. General
Frdmont arrived in Santa Barbara in December,
1846, and made this house and the adjoining one his
headquarters, because it was the largest, and in better
condition than any other.

The other house which General Fremont used was
built by Captain Arguello, who succeeded Carrillo.
He was made governor-general of California in 1815,
having been for many years commandant of the
Presidio. His house was one of the finest in old
Santa Barbara, containing thirty rooms, and was the
only residence which completely enclosed a large

ANCIENT SPANISH HOUSES 113

square in the style of the Spanish patio. The wood-
work was of Spanish cedar, and one of the door
frames, which is used in a shed near by, is richly
carved in a design of fluted columns.

The court-yard tempted Fremont to use it as an
enclosure for his animals. They had no regard for
the former owners or their traditions, and soon re-
duced the building to ruin, and now only a heap of
dilapidated adobe and some few carved beams
remain.

After Captain Arguello, came Captain Jos6 de la
Guerra, who held office for many years, during
which time Mexico became independent of Spain.
He was of a good Castilian family, and built the
house where the de la Guerra family still live, while
he was the commander of the Presidio. The house
was outside of the grounds, and had a chapel, whose
statues and paintings are still preserved in the parish
church. The bell tower has fallen down, but the
bells were rehung upon frames, and still call the
worshippers to matins and vespers.

Captain de la Guerra built this house in 1823.
It extends for one hundred feet on three sides of a
square, with a broad piazza and three wide flights of
steps. The roof is supported by slender adobe pillars,
the whole house being made of the same sundried
bricks plastered on the outside. The ends of the
house have broken somewhat, and are covered with
wood for protection, but the rest of the building is
in excellent condition.

In the old days, these court-yards and verandas
and rooms were the scene of lavish hospitality. The

114 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

guests assembled and danced on the piazzas and in
the court-yard on every day for a whole week. Every-
body was asked, and all were made welcome to the
feast which was spread for all under the shade of the
portico, or of the trees and vines. The relatives
were entertained in the salon, and the week of gayety
was long remembered. It is of this family that
Richard H. Dana speaks, in his "Two Years before
the Mast," when the mansion was not large enough
to hold the guests bidden to the wedding of Dofia
Anneta de la Guerra, the youngest daughter of the
grandee of the place, who married the agent of the
owners of the Pilgrim. The steward was ashore
three days making pastry, guns pealed out salutes,
and flags were run up, and the vessel was dressed in
colors, and a boat's crew rowed the officers ashore.
A few words from his journal will be of interest:
" At ten o'clock the bride went up with her sister to
the confessional, dressed in deep black. Nearly an
hour intervened, Avhen the great doors of the mission
church opened, the bells rang out a long discordant
peal, the private signal for us was run up by the cap-
tain ashore, the bride, dressed in complete white,
came out of the church with the bridegroom, fol-
lowed by a long procession. Just as she stepped
from the church door, a small white cloud issued
from the bows of our ship, which was full in sight,
the loud report echoed among the surrounding hills
and over the bay, and instantly the ship was dressed
in flags and pennants from stem to stern. Twenty-
three guns followed in regular succession, with an
interval of fifteen seconds between each, when the

ANCIENT SPANISH HOUSES 115

cloud cleared away, and the ship lay dressed in her
colors all day. At sundown, another salute of the
same number of guns was fired, and all the flags run
down. This we thought was pretty well — a gun
every fifteen seconds — for a merchantman with only
four guns and a dozen or twenty men.

" After supper the gig's crew were called, and we
rowed ashore, dressed in our uniform, beached the
boat and went up to the fandango. The bride's
father's house was the principal one in the place,
with a large court in front, upon which a tent was
built, capable of containing several hundred people.
As we drew near, we heard the accustomed sound of
violins and guitars, and saw a great motion of the
people within. Going in, we found nearly all the
people of the town — men, women, and children —
collected and crowded together, leaving barely room
for the dancers ; for on these occasions no invitations
are given, but every one is expected to come, though
there is always a private entertainment within the
house for particular friends. The old women sat
down in rows, clapping their hands to the music,
and applauding the young ones. The music was
lively, and among the tunes we recognized several
of our popular airs."

These scenes have passed away, never to return ;
the house still stands, and the family still lives
there. Around the house, and for a long distance
towards Montecito, were the gardens of the estate.
This was one of the most fertile parts of the whole
valley, well watered and productive. The gardens
were for pleasure as well as profit, with all sorts of

116 BEYOND THE KOCKIES

fruit trees and many flowering plants along the wind-
ing paths. Little now remains of these gardens of
delight except the palms and cacti, and an occasional
orange tree. The family are proud of their lineage,
and have occupied many important oflfices and trusts.
The builder and his son are buried here, and the third
generation dwell in Santa Barbara.

This grand old house is surrounded with small and
mean dwellings. These were built for soldiers and
Indians, and are now occupied by the Chinese, who
have invaded Spanishtown, erected their Joss in one
of the adobe mansions, and have occupied others as
shops. Their red posters flame in the windows, and
the sickening odor of their opium pipes pervades the
little rooms where they congregate. They are not
all heathen, for we attended the anniversary of the
Presbyterian Chinese Mission School on an April
Sabbath evening, and listened to a most interesting
programme of recitations, songs, and original ad-
dresses by Louis Fon, Tang Ting, Lee Ling, Gen
Yan, Quon Woon, Pon Sam, and other members of
the school under charge of Mrs. Bell. Rev. Dr.
Carrier conducted the exercises, and Mrs. Cheung
Wong played the organ and led the music. Some
of the speeches showed marked ability, and the school
is a successful one. It is a good work, and will help
to counteract the heathenism of the rest of the
Chinese population.

XIX

HOW WE WENT TO YOSEMITE

THE CROWN OF CALIB^ORNIA SCENERY A WILY AGENT

RUTS AND BOGS FINE AIR AND HARD FARE AN

AMERICAN JOLTING CAR MULES AND THEIR DRIVERS

THE PUBLIC AND ITS SERVANTS

The most exhausting, expensive, and impressive
excursion which the tourist in California can make
is doubtless that to the Yosemite Valley. When
made in the early spring, it is said to be a rougher
but more remunerative trip than later on. In the
old days of staging and horseback riding, this jour-
ney would have been only an incident in the usual
course of pounding, jolting, and stowing which our
fathers went through when they travelled by public
conveyance, and which some of us can remember as
items in our childhood. But such an excursion in
these days of Pullman cars and palace hotels is, to
say the least, a novelty. Until within a few yeai-s,
the Yosemite Valley had the monopoly of the sight-
seers in the far West. One who crossed the Rockies,
and did not climb down into the rock-ribbed valley
through which the river Mtrced runs, made a most
important omission, for painters and quill-drivers
had so advertised the wonders and beauties of Yo-

117

118 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Semite, that it was believed to be one of the greatest
sights in the world. Since the discovery of, other
canons in Colorado and Arizona, and the opening of
the Yellowstone Park, the pilgrimage to Yosemite
has somewhat declined, though it is still a famous
resort, especially for Englishmen and for American
excursionists.

Under ordinary circumstances, its grandeur and
beauty ought to repay the strong and enthusiastic
traveller for the rough riding and tough fare which
are the conditions of his visit.

We were in San Francisco about the first of May,
and were politely informed by the childlike and
bland agents of the only route by which the valley
is accessible at such a date, that the roads were in
fine condition, the snow all cleared away, the hotels
ready for business, and that we would be more
troubled with sun and dust than with snow and mud
upon our journey. The five feet of snow which we
afterwards passed through upon our road, the deep
ruts and quagmires in which the coaches and horses
plunged and wallowed, and the one cow in the valley,
which must have been fed chiefly upon ice-water,
somewhat shook our confidence in the agent's ve-
racity, and added to the surprises of the excursion.
But the superb air from the pine forests on the moun-
tains, the enchanting scenery of the valley, and the
company of ladies and gentlemen, who for the most
part made light of their miseries and privations, went
far to reconcile us to the deceptive conditions under
which we made our entrance. With some seasoned
travellers, and a merry party of young people, we

YOSEMITE VALLEY FROM UNION POINT

HOW WE WENT TO YOSEMITE 119

made our journey. It was long, rough, cold, and
hard, but it will always be a memorable portion of
our California pilgrimage, and grow more delightful
as distance lends enchantment to the view, and as
the infelicities and trials of the way fade out of sight,
and leave only the grand features and pleasant in-
cidents of the visit.

On a fine afternoon we rode from San Francisco
to Berenda, a station on the Southern Pacific Road,
where we anchored for the night. During the night,
the train of a New York millionaire and another
private car pulled up alongside, and in the morning,
bright and early, the trains started off for Raymond,
the last point of the railroad ride, and where coaches
are to be taken for the journey to the valley.

The conditions which make it easy to whirl a
train of parlor cars along the New York Central, do
not exist upon the railroad line between Berenda
and Raymond. This road winds, and climbs, and
dodges around and about, over and among hills and
valleys, the grades being steep and the curves sharp.
It was not wonderful, therefore, that the aristocratic
coaches with their large-wheeled engines soon got
stalled upon the heavy up-grades, and were com-
pelled to call upon the more practical freight engine
to help them over the road. At last, however, we
were all at Raymond, breakfasted, and were distrib-
uted in coaches. Eleven persons and a driver are a
load for each coach, and four horses or mules are
allotted to draw each company. The coaches are
single-deck vehicles of the old Concord thorough-
brace and axle pattern, some of them open, and others

120 BEYOND THE EOCKIES

supplied with a canopy. They are very stout and
heavy, and probably are among the hardest riding
vehicles ever invented by man. Every stone which
the wheels run over leaves its impress upon the
passenger, the ruts of the road sway the weighty
carriage like a ship in a heavy sea, the waterbai-s
along the course throw the rider from his seat as
surely as a bronco does, and the high wheels scatter
dust and mud upon the inmates of the coach without
distinction of position, age, or sex. The box seat
beside the driver is the most desirable place, but
when three occupy it, the iron rail does more than
protect the outside passenger, while the middle one
becomes intimately acquainted with the elbows of the
driver and the butt end of his whip-handle.

If the Jehu is an old-stager, his stock of informa-
tion, stories, and jests makes up for many side
thrusts and squeezes, and helps to pass the hours
when the lumbering vehicle creeps up hills, or rattles
and jumps down the steep inclines, often frightfully
near the edge of a precipice.

The "swells" managed to get most of the good
horses, so quiet people were provided with mules,
and my respect for these animals increased during
this trip. They can take more beating with less
result than any other beasts. Indeed, it became a
question, now and then, which of the two worked
the harder, the driver or the mules.

The sky was clear, the air chill, the waysides lit-
erally carpeted with yellow and blue and purple
flowers ; wild white lilacs, and the lovel}^ manzanitas
sending out a rich fragrance, and the bay bushes

HOW WE WENT TO YOSEMITE 121

adding their refreshing perfume. The prospect of
hill and vale widened every hour, as we rose higher
and higher, and the barometer began to mark the
thousands of feet which we had climbed above the
level of the sea. All day the teams toiled along,
each one doing its duty under lash and voice for
eight or ten miles, and then giving place to another.
Late in the evening we arrived at Wawona, where a
large house, well situated, offers accommodations to
guests. It was overcrowded, and late comers took
what they could get, but all were hungry enough to
eat the abundant supper which was provided, and
after roasting themselves before a huge log fire, were
ready to lie down in the cold beds, and sleep as only
the weary can. At break of day the travellers were
again summoned, not because they were in a hurry
to get on, but because the coaches were to make one
trip into the valley, and another out of the valley
within the twelve hours. There is altogether too
much of this style of business in this country.
Trains and boats and coaches are run, not for the
comfort and convenience of passengers, but to suit
the fancies of superintendents, or the economies of
the company. The American public is the most
long-suffering in the world, and pays large prices to
be dictated to and overrun by those who ought to be
its servants. From the railway porter, who treats
the ordinary traveller with contempt, up to the
president of the company, who takes the right of
way on a road of which he is only the head servant,
and through every branch of public service, the peo-
ple are treated as inferiors, and as possessing few

122 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

rights which officials or corporations are bound to
respect. My regard for some of the institutions and
customs of what we sometimes call " effete civiliza-
tions " is increased every time I travel in my own
country. The nobility of respectful, efficient, and
intelligent service impresses itself upon one who
marks its woful lack in this free and mighty inde-
pendent land, for it is far more honorable to do a
Jjiumble duty well than to swagger in a station whose
duties are regarded as servile simply because the}^
demand quietness, courtesy, and obedience. These
ideas are not much in harmony with the spirit of the
age, which is pushing, boisterous, intolerant of criti-
cism, and reckons it important to protest against
service as derogatory to manhood.

Arising, a long time before the sun, we hurried
through breakfast to accommodate the driver who
wanted to "make time," and were off. Through
mud and snow, over rough and bad roads, we were
jerked and jolted for five weary hours, and then,
through the white veil of a feathery snow-storm we
caught our first view of Yosemite, with its crags and
battlements, its rushing river, and its resounding
and beautiful waterfalls. When the flurry of snow
ceased, and the sun shone out, the mingled gran-
deur and beauty of the scene drew exclamations of
delight and enthusiasm from every lip; the weari-
ness of the way was almost forgotten, as the horses
whirled the coaches around the sharp curves, and then
five miles over the level floor of the valley, amid ever
increasing wonders, to the hotel at the upper end.
Here we were to rest for some days among the sub-
lime and glorious works of the great Creator,

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY

OUR ENTRANCE — WONDERFUL VIEWS — MANIFOLD AND

BEAUTIFUL WATERFALLS PRECIPICES THOUSANDS OF

FEET HIGH — MIRROR LAKE AND MERCED RIVER

DID THE -BOTTOM DROP OUT GRANDEUR AND TRIVI-
ALITY

It was afternoon of the second day of stage-riding,
and the third day from San Francisco, before we
reached the Yosemite Valle3^ Though the route
was full of varied interest, there was an amount
of physical pain and privation, of cold and hunger,
connected with the transportation, that made us re-
joice that the end of our pilgrimage was near. On
we drove through the forests of mighty trees. The
air was full of fleecy and feathery snow, which con-
trasted Avith the dark foliage of the evergreens. A
sudden turn in the road brought us to the steep side
of the great Yosemite Valley. Gusts of wind
drifted the snow-clouds back and forth, now re-
vealing and anon concealing the opposite side. For
a few moments the snow ceased, the sun shone out,
and' we caught our first view from Inspiration Point
of the falling waters, and towering rocks, and deep
ravines, and tree-covered heights, which mingle here

123

124 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

in a wonderful and beautiful picture. Then the
snowy veil was dropped again, and as we jumped and
jolted down the mountain-side, this veil swung back
now and then, giving glimpses of grandeur and
beauty all along the route. Soon we were below
the snow-clouds, and drove among green trees and
grassy meadows, and beside the pure waters of the
Merced as it hurried -down the canon.

The Yosemite lies in the heart of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains about one hundred and fifty miles due
east from San Francisco. Its Indian name means,
"full-grown grizzly bear," and has no special appli-
cation to the valley. The valley is distinguished
from all other valleys by its enormous depth, the
perpendicular walls which enclose it, and by the small
amount of debris at the base of these walls. It
seems as though it must have sunk down suddenly
from the midst of the table-lands which surround it.
But conjectures are vain. Whether it was washed
out b}'^ the streams, or ground out by the ice mills of
the glacial period, or whether the bottom fell out,
and where it fell to, and what made the hole that the
bottom fell into, are all points that have been care-
fully discussed, but never settled. But the fact re-
mains that here is a valley, wonderful not only in
depths and heights, but in its carved, water-quarried
recesses and mountain walls, that exhibit new beau-
ties in every receding angle and cloud-supporting
buttress.

During the spring and early summer, when the
yet deep snows of the high Sierra are melting rapidly,
there are many waterfalls pouring down the precipi-

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 125

tous sides of the valley. As the season advances,
several of these cataracts dwindle away until they
become almost imperceptible trickles of water. One
who has onl}'^ seen these torrents in their full and
majestic flow can with difficulty comprehend their
almost total disappearance. And one who looks on
their shrunken proportions in the late autumn has
even more difficulty in picturing to himself the cap-
tivating spectacle presented by the falls in their
season of power and splendor.

Our first object of interest, when we reached the
valley floor, was the Bridal Veil Fall. The road
comes close beside it. A stream of water flowing
through meadows and forests from a lake thirty miles
away, comes to the precipice with a width of forty
feet, and a depth that varies with the season of the
year. It leaps over the precipice and falls in filmy
folds down, down, nine hundred feet, upon rocks and
foaming waters. The wind floats out the wreaths of
spray, and in the afternoon rainbow circles form in
the hanging clouds of vapor, and the whole place
sparkles and gleams in the sunlight. Just opposite
the Bridal Veil Fall is a narrow band of water fall-
ing down the rocky wall of the valley which is called
sometimes The Ribbon, at other times Widow's
Tears, because it quickly dries up after the snows
have melted and Fall Creek, a tributary of the
Merced River, runs low. As we looked at the
stream pouring over the face of the rock, it could be
compared to nothing better than delicate lacework,
though the glass showed that there was a great
amount of water falling.

126 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Alongside the road, just beyond, are the Cathe-
dral rocks, which bear a striking resemblance to the
Gothic piles of England. Portions of these massive
towers, Avhich rise twenty-seven hundred feet from
the valley, have fallen, and lie scattered in massive
fragments at the base, and huge fissures in the rocky
pinnacles give evil omen of similar disasters. As
we look across the green and swiftly flowing Merced,
above the Widow's Tears, the immense mass of El
Capitan rises, forming the North wall. It is by far
the most imposing feature of tTie valley, four thou-
sand feet high, of a cream-colored stone, a sheer and
incurving precipice from base to top. The plants
and herbage which find a place everywhere in the
valley are so small upon El Capitan that the impres-
sion is produced of a simple stone structure, vaster
than the sphinx or the pyramids. It is the giant of
the place, a grand and glorious mountain of solid
stone. On the same side are three lofty and im-
mense pillars of granite, the highest of which equals
El Capitan in altitude. They are appropriately
named. Three Brothers, for the sons of the oldest of
the Yosemite chiefs, Tenaya. They keep watch
with El Capitan upon the north, while opposite, the
Sentinel stands three thousand feet high, forming
one of the finest features of the whole region. By a
curve in the valle}^ the Sentinel is brought into its
centre, and from either part he stands majestic,
lofty, and grandly formed, the guardian of this won-
derful treasure-house of Nature. From the base of
the Sentinel, the finest waterfall, which gives name
to the valley, is seen to great advantage. The

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 127

Yosemite River flows through granite walls, from
the lofty heights where snow lies more than half the
year, till it comes to the precipice far above the
forest line, where it pours over a deep and powerful
stream, which falls into a broad basin, boils for a
moment, and then plunges down, to repeat its action
once more before it reaches the valley. The first fall
is a sheer descent of one thousand five hundred feet,
but the whole height from summit to base is two
thousand six hundred feet. From some points in
the valley the three leaps seem merged in one vast
mass of milk-white foaming water, and seen in the
moonlight the effect is beautiful beyond description.
It is a favorite excursion, to climb by circuitous and
zigzag paths to the top of the precipice, and if the
wind be from the right quarter, so that one is not
drenched with spray, the views into the recesses of
the cataract are exciting and wonderful. One of the
numerous writers upon the place, after saying that
"Yosemite Falls by moonlight is a scene no artist
dare attempt to paint, no pen to describe," proceeds
to quote as follows : " As the night queen rides out
and a faint bar of light spans the chasm of the domes
upheld by shadows almost a mile high, she touches
gently the great falls of the Upper Yosemite, trans-
forming the falling crystals into meteors of burnished
silver, which the night wind whirls in wild, fantas-
tic wreaths against the frowning cliffs." That is
just about as we saw it by the light of a full moon.

The view from the Sentinel point, up and down
the valley, is magnificent. The northern view is
closed by Cloud's Rest, a lofty pile of granite which

128 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

rises six thousand feet into the sky, and upon its
awful summit there is often a fleecy cloud, which
gives name to the mountain ; nearer at hand are the
North Dome, Royal Arches, and Washington Column,
on the left, and Glacier Point, with its dizzy prom-
ontory, on the right; while between the two the
graceful Half Dome rises nearly five thousand feet
into the heavens.

At the other end of the valley there are beautiful
cascades, and the drive from Mirror Lake, where the
huge mountains are pictured in all their grandeur
on a calm day, down one side of the valley to the
cascades, and up on the other to the Stoneman
House, is never to be forgotten. Though Yosemite
is chiefl}'^ famous for the number and beauty of its
waterfalls, yet the walls which shut it in are so
stupendous in height and grandeur, and so varied
and wonderful in their outlines, and so harmonious
in their relations to each other that no one can look
long upon them without feeling their awful power.
Reverence for that which is so high and grand insen-
sibly grows upon the men whose soul is open to
impressions, and as excursions are made to Union
and Glacier points, to the Nevada and Vernal falls,
and into the recesses of the mountains, the sense of
the sublimity and glory of these works of God is
deepened and strengthened.

It is pitiful, in the midst of such sublime scenes,
to descend to the trivialities of ordinary experience,
and think so much of what kind of an ass one can
get to ride on to the Vernal and Nevada falls, whether
there will be enough milk to go around at table, and

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 129

how many trout will be served at supper; but all
travellers know that, even in the presence of the
grandest and most glorious works of God, the mind
of the average man does not commune with its
Maker unless these sordid questions are settled.
Our case was no exception to the rule. The hotel
was very crowded, there was only one private i-oom
with a fireplace, a solitary cow gave all the milk,
and the trout had no appreciation of how much they
were wanted. Yankee smartness and New York
extravagance vied with Chicago bluster in the effort
to come out ahead in the various problems of food,
accommodation, and transportation, and the modest
men and women, who only wanted their fair share of
comforts and blessings, were often poorly served, or
not served at all. The rule, " every one for himself,"
has its best illustration in such travels, and yet I
have known people who were very happy because
they had been able to prefer the comfort and con-
venience of others to their own, and such were some
of those who went to the Yosemite and spent the
week with us there.

XXI

CALIFORNIA BIG TREES

MARIPOSA AND SANTA CRUZ GROVES COMPARISONS AND

MEASUREMENTS

We were sorry to leave the Yosemite Valley for
two reasons. One was because it was unlikely that
we should ever look again upon those grand walls of
rock, those beautiful waterfalls, the lakes that mirror
the mountains, and the dark, green river of pure
water that flows through the verdant floor of the
valley. These things will be for memory to rest upon
and rejoice in through coming yeai-s, but they will
not be like the oft-repeated views of Niagara and the
White Mountains, nor even familiar friends as Mount
Blanc and many scenes of the Swiss Alps.

The other sorrow at leaving the valley was pro-
spective. A vision of future misery was before us.
There stood the red instrument of torture at the door,
with its huge wheels, and awful thorough-braces, well
named "rack," and falsely named cushions, as hard
as excelsior and leather could make them. And
there, too, sat the hardened sinner who was to propel
this barbarous construction over rock and rut, and
log and stone, through bog and snow and flooding
rivers, for the next two days. He sat firmly, as if

130

CALIFORNIA BIG TREES 131

made of cast-iron, with his sceptre, a long-lashed
whip, in his hand, ready to beat recalcitrant or de-
spairing beasts into a sense of their duty or a com-
prehension of their misery. We said farewell to
friends, entered the chariot, and climbed the rugged
mountain, lingering a moment at Inspiration Point,
and then braced ourselves for the unmitigated pun-
ishment of the next two days. There was to be one
interval of pleasure, in a new sight, and to that we
hopefully looked forward. The warm weather and
a gang of shovellers had opened the road to the Mari-
posa "Big Trees," and we knew that they were well
worth seeing. We slept at Wawona, sad and sore
after our rough ride, but responded to the thunder-
ing process by which we were awaked in the morn-
ing. It reminded me of the answer which the stout,
black stewardess of a Fall River boat once made to
my innocent inquiry, whether passengers were waked
to take the railroad train ? With much feeling she
replied: "We calls the parties, and pounds on the
doors, and rings a gong, and them that sleeps after
that is fortinit."

In the gray morning we wound up the steep road
for several hours, until we came to the turning which
led to the Big Trees. It is a ride of two hours up
to the grove, and the snow was from three to five
feet deep the last part of the way. My readers will
remember that this excursion was made early in the
month of May. By the middle of June it would be
difficult to find a snow-bank in the most sequestered
part of the grove.

"How shall we know when we come to the Big

132 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Trees?" asked the eager aspirant for knowledge
who accompanies every party. "You'll know 'em
when you see 'em," was the laconic reply of the mule
driver ; and so we did ; the great red and black mon-
sters needed no introduction. There they stood,
these giants of the forest, as they have stood for
thousands of years. Fires have roared and blazed
about them and burned their trunks and branches,
and literally disembowelled some of them so that you
can look up through them as through a tall chimney,
but their upper branches are full of life, and green
tufts of leaves crown their tops. The ice and snow
of a thousand winters have wrapped them around in
chilly embrace, and furious tempests have torn off
immense limbs, but neither fire, nor frost, nor win-
ter's furious storms, nor summer's glowing heat,
have done aught but reveal their sturdy strength,
their majestic and awe-inspiring character. They
have been named for states which are infants in age
compared with them, and for great generals whose
names will be forgotten long before these massive
trunks decay and their towering pinnacles are levelled
in the dust. They are the creations of One who is
without beginning of days or end of life ; and more
than any living and growing thing that I have seen
upon the face of the earth, they seem to partake of
the divine element of unchanging and continuous
existence. It is solemnizing to stand in the pres-
ence of living creatures which have existed ever since
Moses climbed into Sinai and communed with the
invisible God ; to see a growing crown of vigorous
leaves and branches on the head of a giant who was

BIG TREES, SANTA CRUZ

CALIFORNIA BIG TREES 133

a forest king when David reigned in Zion: to wind
a cord around a tree until it measures ninety-four
feet, and then to look up along the body of this
Grizzly Giant, beside whom Goliath w^ould be an
insect, and see his red right arm branch out six feet
in diameter, eighteen feet around, at the height of
nearly two hundred feet.

Figures give little idea of the size, and pictures
only an imperfect impression of the shape and col-
oring and grandeur of these trees. When I say that,
the snow being cleared away, a four-horse coach
could be driven through the living body of the tree
called Wawona, and that many of the trees are larger
at the base, and a hundred feet higher than the
Bunker Hill Monument, some comparisons may be
made. There are higher trees than these in Austra-
lia, but none that combine girth and height like the
Sequoia Gigantea, of the Mariposa and Calaveras
groves.

Mr. John Muir, who knows as much as any one
of the Big Trees, says of them : . " There is some-
thing wonderfully telling and impressive about
Sequoia, even when beheld at a distance of several
miles. Its dense foliage and smoothly rounded out-
lines enable us to recognize it in any company, and
when one of the oldest patriarchs attains full stature
on some commanding ridge, it seems the very god of
the woods. Full-grown specimens are about fifteen
or twenty feet in diameter, measured about the swell-
ing base, and about two hundred and fifty feet high.
Trees twenty-five feet in diameter are not rare, and
one is now and then found thirty feet in diameter.

134 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

but very rarely any larger. The grandest specimen
that I have measnred is a stump about ninety feet
high, which is thirty-five feet eight inches in diame-
ter, measured inside the bark, above the bulging
base. The wood is dull purplish red in color, easily
worked, and very enduring, lasting, even when ex-
posed to the weather, for hundreds of years. Fortu-
nate old trees, that have passed their three thou-
sandth birthday, without injury from lightning,
present a mount-like summit of warm yellow-green
foliage, and their colossal shafts are of a beautiful
brown color, exquisitely tapered, and branchless to
a height of a hundred and fifty feet. Younger trees
have darker, bluish foliage, and shoot up with tops
comparatively sharp."

In the lower grove, which we first entered, there
are about one hundred fine trees, and here stands
the "Grizzly Giant." The upper grove contains
three hundred and sixty-five big trees, and in that
grove stands the "Chimney," burned through from
base to point, and yet living and branching ; and the
tunnelled tree, through whose heart, as I have said,
the stage road has been cut. This tree is twenty-
seven feet in diameter, and the road which passes
through it is ten feet wide.

The bark of the Sequoia, which is sometimes two
feet thick, is of a dark, rich cinnamon tint, and is
channelled toward the base with vertical furrows.
The cones, which mature in about five years, are
about the size and shape of a turkey's egg.

Sequoia Sempervirens, or the redwood of the Coast
Range, is a near relative of the Gigantea, but they

CALIFORNIA BIG TREES 135

are never found together; the latter is found in the
region of the Sierra Nevada only, and the former on
the Coast Range. The redwood is one of the hand-
somest forest trees of California, and the Big Tree
Grove, near Santa Cruz, is the finest single group
of trees in California.

~ We had visited these before we went to the Yo-
semite, and were, therefore, in a measure prepared
for the sight of the Mariposa giants, but the largest
of the Santa Cruz trees is but seventy feet in cir-
cumference. In one of these, a tree called the
"Giant," three hundred feet high and twenty-one
feet across, General Fremont camped for several
days, in 1847, and there is an interesting photo-
graph of the general and a family party, hand in
hand, as they formed a circle around this tree many
years after. It took thirteen full-grown people, with
outstretched hands, to encircle the tree, and the
number does not seem to have been unlucky to the
tree or the measurers.

A fine specimen of a trunk made of genuine bark
was on exhibition at the Chicago Fair, and also
a pavilion made of the wood from San Mateo County.
The wood is plentiful in smaller growth, is easily
worked, finely grained, and of much value to the
state.

The peculiar growth of several groups in the Santa
Cruz Grove, standing, as they do, in a circle, with
their roots intermingling, seems to point to the
probability that they, gigantic as they seem, are but
younger children of some giant mother whose pro-
portions would have dwarfed them to pigmies. This

136 BEYOND THE KOCKIES

peculiarity of redwood growth is apparent every-
where in the forests of to-day ; no sooner has one of
the mighty ones fallen than there spring up around
its roots a circle of tall, young shoots, representing
all the features of the parent tree. Those who have
explored the "Big Basin," a vast tract of totally
unbroken virgin forest northeast of the mountain
village of Boulder, say that other groves showing
individual specimens quite as large as those here
described are to be found there.

There are a number of other groves of Big Trees
in California which we did not visit, but the Mari-
posa and Santa Cruz groups are as good types as can
be found, and are worth a deal of trouble and pains
to see. One can go to the latter grove with com-
fort; of the ride to the former and then out to the
railroad, my impressions are still vivid and painful;
but as it is " better to have loved and lost, than never
to have loved at all," so may I say, it is better to
have seen these wonders, though at such a cost, than
never to have looked upon them.

XXII
HETCH-HETCHY VALLEY

AN INTERESTING LETTER THE CAS^ON OF THE TUO-
LUMNE AN INDIAN HIDING PLACE FISH AND

GAME

While publishing letters from California about
the Yosemite Valley, I received a letter enclosing a
most interesting account of a visit made by Rev.
John D. Wells, D.D,, of Brooklyn, and four com-
panions, to the Hetch-Hetchy Valley, which has an
appropriate place in this volume. This valley is an
outlet of the canon of the Tuolumne, a stream which
runs for a part of its course parallel with the
Merced River, and has many and beautiful water-
falls and grand, overhanging cliffs. Hetch-Hetchy
is described as a smaller Yosemite, closely resem-
bling the famous valley in its main features.

" My Dear Dr. Stoddard : I send you an account
of a visit made by the Rev. Arthur Crosby, of San
Rafael, his son and two other boys, and myself in
the summer of 1887, to Hetch-Hetchy Valley, while
we were on our way to Yosemite. It may possibly
come in somewhere with your interesting letters
from and about California and its wonders, many of
which I saw.

137

138 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

"On the second day of May, 1887, I left home for
the Pacific coast. In the fall of that year I gave
four free lectures to my people, and others who cared
to hear them. One was on' ' The Valleys of Califor-
nia, especially Hetch-Hetchy and Yosemite.'

" I have read your letters with interest, following
you from place to place, and greatly enjoying your
incidents of travel, arid your vivid descriptions of
what, in many cases, I saw with my own eyes. But
you did not travel in a conveyance at your own dis-
posal, with good saddle-horses beside, for a whole
month. So we travelled, — two men, and three nice
boys about fifteen years old, and school companions.
Moreover, we camped under the open heavens with-
out rain or dew, visiting the valley whose name
heads this article, Yosemite, and the Calaveras big
tree groves, north and south.

" Not one in a thousand of excursionists to Yosem-
ite turns out of his way to visit Hetch-Hetchy.
The multitude go through by stage, and are impa-
tient of delay. I am not sure that any party but
ours — other than men in charge of sheep and horses,
and some Indians — had entered it for years, and I
learned after my lecture that some wide-awake sight-
seers, with time and money at their disposal, and
quite at home in the Sierras, were incredulous as to
the existence of the valley.

"We reached Crocker's, within twenty -two miles
of Yosemite, on Saturday, intending to push on to
the great valley that afternoon, but we yielded to the
earnest request that we would spend the Sabbath
there, and preach to people who seldom heard a

HETCH-HETCHY VALLEY 1B9

sermon. It was while there that we heard of Hetch-
Hetchy, and were strongly advised to visit it. Ac-
cordingly, Monday, June 13, we left at Crocker's all
superfluous belongings, and turned from the main
road abruptly to the north — with all our beasts —
for a drive and a ride of about nineteen miles, to a
veritable valley hid among the munitions of rocks,
and reached only by the obscurest of roads and the
hardest of trails. We lost our way more than once,
but it led us a charming route through woods, and
by lakes and natural meadows, to Ackerson's Ranch,
and after that to Hog Ranch, — still Hog Ranch on
the maps, though blooded sheep long since took the
place of swine.

" Then we packed our beds and provisions on Pet
and Prince, the saddle-horses, and bidding adieu for
the time to our teamster, and to Gee, our Chinese
cook, we two men and three boys, and jubilant Buck,
the dog, struck into the hard trail for a tramp to the
valley. We were in the higher, but not the highest,
Sierras. However, they were high enough for our
wind and muscle. It is one thing to climb eight or
ten thousand feet toward the stars, with iron horses
to puff and tug all the way up, while you sit at your
ease on cushioned seats, and quite another thing to
puff and tug for yourself. But there is no easier
way to reach the interesting locality of which I
write.

" Hetch-Hetchy Valley became known to white
men in 1867. Long before, it was a hiding-place for
Indians, and it is still visited from year to year by
Pah Utes for the purpose of gathering acorns from

140 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

majestic trees, under some of which we found shel-
ter from the sun.

" In the summer of 1873, the remarkable canon of
the Tuolumne River east and a little north of Hetch-
Hetchy was explored to Soda Springs, a distance of
about twenty-two miles.

" We enter the valley on the southwest, after hours
of toil, and feel at once the power of its mingled,
yet contrasted, beauty and grandeur. There are, in
fact, two valleys, the western — into which our trail
brought us by a sharp descent — being a mile in
length and from an eighth to the half of a mile in
width. It was the pasture ground of about twenty
mares and their colts, gleaming in the sunlight as
if groomed by an hostler every day.

" The eastern valley is about two miles long and of
ranging width, though nowhere more than half a
mile. It was the pasture ground of sheep, and is
parted from the western valley by a bold spur of
granite from the south, reaching quite to the Tuo-
lumne River. In this spur there is a depression
through which a path leads from valley to valley.

" Out of these narrow canons snow watera issue,
making up the Tuolumne that waters the valley as
a whole. Having done this service, and spread out
its beauty to the sun, it passes into a narrow gorge
at the west, — so narrow, indeed, that when the
water is high in the spring it is dammed up, and the
valley, from end to end, becomes a rock-bound lake.
Then, too, a large body of water from the melting
snows plunges over the lower rocks on the north,
a thousand feet, into the lake below.

HETCH-HETCHY VALLEY 141

" I have yet to notice three of the most striking feat-
ures of Hetch-Hetchy Valley. One is a perpendicu-
lar bluff on the north side, almost two thousand feet
high, bearing a remarkable resemblance to El Capi-
tan in Yosemite, which is thirty-two hundred feet
high.

"Another is a waterfall bearing the name of the
valley, and corresponding with Yosemite Fall. It
is seventeen hundred feet from top to bottom, though
not a sheer perpendicular drop.

" The third, and I think most impressive of all, is a
triple dome on the south side, springing, not like
the domes in Yosemite, from the stupendous walls
of the valley, but a majestic object by itself, of vast
diameter and height, forced up in plastic condition,
with a second smaller dome surmounting it, and a
third still smaller one surmounting the second. The
third is fractured, but worthy the place it holds on
the crown of a structure more majestic and enduring
than the pyramids of Egypt, — the very ' weakness
of God, ' in nature as in grace, stronger than men.

"After this it may seem almost like sacrilege to
add, that on the low pass between the two valleys,
we saw the remnants of a sheep killed two nights
before by a bear, and on a ride through the valley on
Pet, far to the east, at the only cabin occupied by
men, I saw the pelts of three sheep struck down at
midday, only a few hours later, by the same or an-
other bear.

" Moreover, the night we spent in the valley in the
open air with a roaring fire at our feet, was made
vocal, if not melodious and restful, by the unearthly

142 BEYOND THE KOOKIES

yawling of wild-cats that could not agree to be neigh-
borly, and were not willing to fight it out and have
done with it. In the afternoon of the next day we
repacked our blankets, and, repaid a thousand-fold
for our visit, began our climb toward the crest of the
rocks, up a winding and zizgag trail, and our tramp
down to Hog Ranch. We spent Tuesday night at
Hog Ranch, two of us sleeping in the house, and four,
including the teamster, in the barn. And when we
started for Crocker's, Wednesday morning, we were
hardly out of sight of the house before we missed
the road, so blind was the way, and went four miles
before we knew certainly that we were wrong. Of
course we were obliged to turn back and begin anew.

" On our way back to Crocker's, losing the trail, we
saw four beautiful deer, and although we got no
venison, we stocked our larder with two mountain
pigeons, nearly twice the size of our Eastern birds,
and a hundred and fifty trout from the middle fork
of the Tuolumne River.

" The next day we entered Yosemite, that wonder-
ful cathedral of God, down the graded road that
brought us to the base of El Capitan, and just
beneath the Royal Arches we camped two memor-
able days.

" Let me add that no one should go from Yosemite
to Hetch-Hetchy, but reverse the order, as Hetch-
Hetchy tones one's nerves for the awful depths and
heights of Yosemite. We were thankful that we
had seen the smaller valley and lower walls first.
"Yours sincerely,

"JohnD. Wells."

XXIII
• EL MONTE

ROUGH TRAVELLING MONTEREY^- ITS FOUNDATIOX

AND HISTORY THE HOTEL DEL MONTE AN ARTI-
FICIAL PARADISE FLOWERS, SHRUBS, AND TREES

A priest's monument THE OLD OAK PACIFIC

GROVE THE SEVENTEEN-MILE DRIVE SEALS, SHELLS,

BUFFALOES, AND BEARS STRANGE CYPRESSES

Travelling in California is laborious, for the
distances are long, the railroads winding, and their
tracks unsettled, and the food stations far apart.
The stage routes are over rough roads, where nothing
but the sublime scenery and pure air would compen-
sate for the jolting and jouncing to which the travel-
ler is subjected. Many people travel, both for busi-
ness and pleasure, and therefore trains, and coaches,
and hotels are crowded. Under such conditions the
traveller in California is fortunate to have some
places of rest where he can not only "take his ease
in his inn," but find all the comforts and luxuries
which he requires. There are a number of such
resorts in the state, notably at Coronado Beach, near
San Diego, at Redondo Beach and Santa Monica,
near Los Angeles, at Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz,
and last and most famous of all, the Hotel del

143

144 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Monte, near Monterey, on the Pacific, and a few
hours' ride from San Francisco. There, after our long
ride from Santa Barbara, having climbed the coast
line of mountains, dined at Mojave, and swung
around the fearful loop where the railroad doubles
upon itself at a dizzy height, and breakfasted from
our lunch-basket at Tracy, we came to anchor for a
long and satisfying rest.

Monterey is one of the oldest towns of California,
stretching along <he bay of the same name, with
adobe and brick and wooden houses, according to the
date of their construction. Here, eighteen years
before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Don Sebas-
tian Vizcaino landed with two priests and a body
of soldiers, and took possession of the country for
Philip III. of Spain. A cross was erected and an
altar raised, and the first mass celebrated on this
part of the coast. The place Avas named in honor of
the viceroy of Mexico, who was Count of Monterey,
and the projector of the expedition. Unlike the
New England landing, this at Monterey did not grow
into a settlement for more than a century and one-
half. In 1770, Father Junipero Serra, the founder
of the Franciscan missions on these shores, whose
name is still held in reverence and whose statue
adorns a hill at Monterey, established a misson here,
which was afterwards removed to Carmelo Valley,
five miles from the Bay of Monterey. The old stone
church then erected still stands, and beneath its
sanctuary repose the bones of the venerable Francis-
can and three of his associates. In 1813 the Span-
ish missions in California numbered twenty-one,

EL MONTE • 145

with annual revenues of two millions of dollars.
Then came their struggle with the Mexican Inde-
pendents, the downfall of Spanish authority in Mex-
ico, and with it the overthrow of the Franciscans,
in 1822, and, finally, the abolition of the missions
and the confiscation of their property in 1845.

In 1842, Commodore Jones, of the United States
Navy, seized Monterey and held it for a short time ;
then he apologized and withdrew. In 1846, Gen-
eral John C. Fremont was here with his expedition,
and in this same year of the Mexican War, Commo-
dore Sloat planted the stars and stripes on the old
Presidio and was appointed the military governor
of the territory. In 1850, California was admitted
into the Union, the state government was established
at San Jos^, San Francisco began to rise in business
and enterprise, and Monterey ceased to be more than
a health and seaside resort for the northern part
of the state. It has that character and reputation
now. Its weather is not so warm either in summer
or winter as in other parts of California farther south,
but the temperature is more even than can be found
elsewhere. The January average is fifty degrees
Fahrenheit, the July average sixty-five. In a period
of five years, 1887 to 1892, the temperature was only
four times over ninety degrees, and seven times at
the freezing point. It was a sagacious choice which
the Southern Pacific Railroad Company made of a
place to build a hotel which would refresh the trav-
eller with its salubrious atmosphere, while it charmed
him with its lovely surroundings. Probably no
greater success has been achieved in combining com-

146 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

fort, elegance, economy, and beauty in a seaside
hotel, than at the Hotel del Monte at Monterey. I
say this, not to advertise a place which for a dozen
years has been the delight of thousands of tourists
from all over the world ; whose vistas are familiar to
all lovers of art; whose gardens have merited the
encomiums of so great a botanist as Professor Asa C.
Gray, and of which the homely words of the Princess
Louise to the manager of the hotel express the opin-
ion of every guest : " You have the most beautiful
place, and the cleanest and the best-kept hotel that
I have ever visited in my travels."

What, then, are the charms of El Monte, besides
its moderate prices, its exquisite neatness, and its
dainty and delicious table ? Let me name a few of
them for the benefit of those who have not seen or
read of the place.

In 1880, the railroad company opened the hotel.
It is an immense building, occupying three sides of
a hollow square, so large that sunlight floods the
quadrangle all day long. Every room looks out
upon a beautiful garden, filled with the choicest of
flowers and plants and shrubs, and kept in perfect
order under the supervision of one of the most skil-
ful and practical gardeners in the world. No foreign
gardens that I have seen are finer or more varied,
more delicate or lovely, than El Monte. Nature
offers advantages of climate and soil which do not
exist in any other civilized regions of the earth, and
of these Mr. Clack, the gardener, has availed him-
self to the utmost. The building, with its spacious
halls and large public rooms, where comfort and,

EL MONTE 147

neatness are visible on every side, has wide verandas
and inclosed piazzas, many staircases and conven-
iences on every floor, airy and light rooms, parlors,
and music halls, and everything white and clean,
warm and well ventilated, restful to eye and ear
and brain. If I were a nervous invalid and craved
repose in the midst of a garden of delights, I should
come here and secure a room in one of the long
wings, and sit at the window and listen to the dis-
tant murmur of the waves on the bay-shore, or to the
song of the meadow larks on the lawns, and look out
upon the flower-beds, where art and nature have
worked together to produce most wonderful effects,
or into the depths of the forest of liveoak and lofty
pines, which were provided as the setting for this
grand palace of delights, till my weary brain was
flooded with quiet beauty, and life-giving and health-
producing impressions began to drive out tiresome
thoughts and wearying fancies. Many have done
so, and yet this is not so much a resort for the sick
and the invalid as a place of rest for the tired, a
temporary home for tourists and travellers, and a
resort for residents of the Northwest and of the Pa-
cific coast. Some guests come from the East, and
make the place their home during those months when
Boston, and New York, and Philadelphia are wrapped
in snow and vexed with wild winter winds.

"El Monte" means "the forest," and the Spanish
name is the simplest and most truthful that could be
given to the place, for while the hotel stands in a
large and lovely garden, the garden is encircled by
a forest of liveoak, pine, and cedar trees, of great

148 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

size and incalculable age. Here the strange and
distorted combinations of trunks and limbs which
characterize the California liveoaks, are gracefully
hidden or modified by sweeping draperies of moss,
or deftly guided ivy and myrtle vines. Vast lawns
of green myrtle, gemmed with large blue flowers,
stretch beneath the trees ; in the midst of a circle of
tall trees an Arizona garden with every variety of
cactus, from the smallest needle to the towering
yucca, and the wide-spreading aloe, suddenly ap-
pears; a curious and formally trimmed cypress
" maze " invites the vagrant pleasure-seeker to lose
himself in its verdant toils; a lake, curving about
beautifully wooded shores, offers boats safe and free
to all guests to navigate its hidden bays and verdur-
ous recesses ; concealed from view by dense thickets,
parties are playing tennis and croquet and bowls in
open courts with ample sunshine and abundant room.
About three hundred feet distant from the main
building, in a grand grove and garden, stands the
club-house, where gentlemen and ladies resort for
bowling and other indoor sports; while down by
the bay, a few hundred yards from the hotel, is the
glass-roofed bathing pavilion, where salt and fresh
water at any temperature are provided in great swim-
ming tanks, over which hang baskets of blooming
plants, and on whose decks stand tropical plants of
all sorts. These are some of the pleasant features
of this charming place, all of which may be enhanced
by agreeable company and a happy disposition.

That I may not be charged with exaggeration, let
me add the words of another writer upon the place.

EL MONTE 149

He says: "In the midst of the forest sits the Hotel
del Monte, with its one hundred and twenty-six
acres of garden, — the finest, the most gorgeous, the
richest, the most varied in all the world, the famous
gardens of Kew and Kensington not excepted. It
is not alone in summer that flowers bloom ; in the
middle of winter the grounds are lively with the
color of blooming roses, pansies, and countless other
flowers, while stretches of the tenderest plants, with
callas and heliotropes in prominent lead, are seen
on every hand. The marvellous ribbon beds, with
minute details of infinite variety of forms and com-
binations, exist in all their beauty throughout the
year, and the section called ' Arizona ' — made up
entirely of cacti, many of extreme sensitiveness to
cold — remains continually in prickly and rebellious
thrift. Ivy, honey-suckles, and nasturtiums grow
in rampant luxuriousness, kept in decorous limits
only by the free use of shears. In January and Feb-
ruary, the first grand burst of spring color comes in
the form of great beds of narcissus, tulips, crocuses,
crown imperials, and the whole long list of Holland
gems, arranged in beds of conventional design, in
ribbons of dazzling colors, in trefoils, hearts, and
every conceivable form. All the rare and beautiful
flowering plants of countries south of the equator
have found a congenial home in these grounds, and
as their native summers are coincident with our
winters, and as in their own countries they are
summer-blooming plants, the habit in time of bloom
which is a part of their nature, persists in transplan-
tation ; and this soft climate encourages this habit,

150 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

SO that during the winter montlis there may be seen
in this vast flower-garden, plants that exist nowhere
else in Europe or North America outside of some
isolated or cramped conservatories." The local con-
ditions for the culture of flowers are not equalled
in the world, and there are great stretches of blue
grass lawns between smooth and clean roads and
walks where the daintiest shoe would not be soiled.

Every place has its pleasant and special features.
El Monte is especially noted for the natural beauties
which capital and labor in a happy union have pro-
duced and gathered there. But there are outside
objects of interest which aid in making Monterey an
attractive and desirable place for rest and recreation.

There are short drives along the beach to the
famous old oak, whose gnarled and widespreading
branches cover half an acre, and under which a Sun-
day school could sit; or to the statue of Father Juni-
per© Serra, who landed at Monterey in 1770. This
statue stands on a high bluff overlooking the bay,
not far from the town, and was erected by the wife
of the late Senator Stanford. Or one can take the
street-car which runs through Monterey, goes on to
Pacific Grove, and ends at Lake Majella among the
sand-hills.

Pacific Grove was begun as a Methodist camp-
meeting ground. The pine forest and the delicious
sea air united to make the place attractive, and its
proximity to San Francisco added to its popularity.
It was laid out in lots, as Asbury Park and Oak
Bluffs and other Eastern places were, at first, and
tents and cloth shelters on wooden frames were set

EL MONTE 151

up. But as the place became known cottages were
built, then shops, and soon the population increased
beyond all expectation. Prices advanced, the Pa-
cific Improvement Compan}^ was formed, and took in
one section after another, till now the town covers
an area of more than two square miles, has many
handsome and expensive houses, good hotels, and
beautiful flowers and flower-gardens. The place is
noted for piety and prohibition. My driver said,
emphatically: "There's one place in California
where you can't get drunk." He seemed surprised
when I told him that there were other places of the
same character in the state. But though he had
driven a great many miles for many years, he had
not travelled far, and did not know as much as I did
about California.

Pacific Grove is not a place for Sunday carousals
and demoralizing sport. Its government is patri-
archal, and it is a home for the pious, the cultured,
and the gentle people who love to meet with the
Women's Chi-istian Temperance Union, the Chau-
tauqua Assembly, the Sunday-school Convention,
and similar assemblies. There are woodland sports
and sea pleasures near at hand for all who seek the
place, and I do not wonder that many persons come
from windy San Francisco to the calm and restful
pine forest which crowns this peninsula.

Just beyond the grove is a government lighthouse
built of granite on Point Pinos. There the huge
rollers of the western ocean swing their vast masses
over the rocks, and dash upon the sand whole gardens
of seaweed and clouds of spray. It is fascinating to

152 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

sit on Moss Beach and watch this roaring, seething
tide, and then to walk away into the dense woods
where one may see a deer and sometimes a wild-cat,
or to sit a little way from the sandy shore embow-
ered in roses and geraniums and fragrant lilies.

The Pacific Improvement Company, one of the
convenient names for the all-embracing Southern
Pacific Railroad, owns a tract of seven thousand
acres on this pine-clad point, and to bring the prop-
erty into notice, as well as to entertain its patrons,
it has constructed a beautiful drive which is called
the seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen mile drive,
according to the condition of the road, the horses,
and the driver. I have taken it under different cir-
cumstances, and am quite sure that it varies in length,
like the sea serpent. The route is through the town
of Monterey, then into the heart of Pacific Grove,
and on till near Moss Beach, which is left upon the
right as we come out upon the shore of the Pacific.
The views here are grand, and the ocean surf, when
the wind is favorable, is as fine as I have seen on
any coast. A short distance from the shore, a lofty
and jagged island of rock rises from the water. It
is covered with huge birds and seals. There are far
more of these curious creatures here than at San
Francisco, or at any point of the coast south of
Alaska. As no shooting is permitted, the seals are
tame, and it is a strange and interesting sight to
watch their clumsy motions out of the water and
their grace when in it. They fill the air with barks
which sound like the voice of a dog with a cold in
his head, and the gulls sing an appropriate soprano.

EL MONTE 153

The driver of the four-in-hand has- his curios to ex-
hibit. He has pointed out a lonely Chinaman who
lives on the rocks in a cabin made of rough boulders,
and sells shells and fish, and now he calls attention
to a marvellous gigantic ostrich, which is discovered
to be formed of two distant cypress trees ; then we
are introduced to Buffalo Park, where can be seen
that almost extinct animal, a grizzly bear, which de-
lights to play with a jet of water from the hose of a
fire engine, and beautiful collections of pressed sea-
weeds and polished shells.

The most interesting feature of the whole drive,
however, is Cypress Point. Here, and in this neigh-
borhood, there is a large number of the strangest
trees that a traveller has ever seen. They bear some
resemblance to the cedars of Lebanon, and also to
those of Southern Italy, but they are more wind-
twisted, gray, and weird than either of these. The
bluffs are crowned with these strange growths, their
roots and trunks clinging to and grasping rock and
crag with fierce tenacity and desperate strength, their
tops flat and spreading like an umbrella that shrinks
before the gale and yet defies it. They are unique
in their grotesque attitudes and grim resemblance
to martyrs and tortured captives. They will not
yield to their tormentors, nor bow down before them.
So far as it is possible, they will fulfil the laws of
their being, will grow towards heaven, and spread
out branches and leaves into the sunlight ; they will
live and not die, and bear their fruit according to
their kind. But the struggle, which has evidently
been going on for centuries, is a terrible one, and

164 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

they are wrenched and torn and distorted by winter
storms that have dashed upon them in wild fury after
a terrific race over four thousand miles of ocean, and
they are grizzled and gray with centuries of mist
and salt spray. Yet they stand here, moss-hung
monsters, giving evidence, according to some judges,
. that they are not of Spanish origin, that they are not
a growth from cedar of Lebanon seeds brought by
pious missionaries, but rather that they were old
when Christianity was young, and living long before
Columbus sailed from Palos. How these things are
discovered I do not know, but judging by their ap-
pearance, they are very venerable and afflicted trees,
and I felt profoundly respectful and sorry for them,
as I would for an aged Mohammedan undergoing the
bastinado.

We passed on to the long and sandy Pescadero
Beach looking out to Lobos Point, and then turning
towards Monterey, came to the crest of the ridge
which runs out from the mainland towards the waters
of Carmel Bay. The views from this ridge in every
direction are superb, and at a swift trot we swung
down over a fine road into the town and the grounds
of El Monte. We had been gone four hours, but we
lingered by the way. We tried it again in a light
wagon, and found that one can spin around the drive
in two hours, and also that a whole day is none too
long for a picnic.

This is but a sample excursion. One can find
pleasant company here, and many walks and drives
to pass the time. Among many agreeable leaves
that I turn in the book of memory, a very pleasant
one is inscribed. El Monte and Monterey.

XXIV

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY

INCIDENTS AT SANTA CRUZ — SAN JOSE CHURCHES,

PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND SCHOOLS LICK OBSERVA-
TORY LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY PALO

ALTO STABLES TRAINING SCHOOL FOB FAST TROT-
TERS

From Monterey we went to Santa Cruz. A beau-
tiful beach, fine fisliing, and flowers in profusion are
at this place, and on account of its mild and balmy
air and sheltered situation, it is a favorite resort in
winter for persons of delicate lungs. Here, too, Mr.
Sullivan keeps a capital hotel, and provides a rare
assortment of horses to take visitors to the "Big
Trees." My companion in travel has, for excellent
reasons, a decided antipathy to a skittish horse, and
also to a railroad-crossing on grade. Our drive from
Santa Cruz to the grove was for these reasons not
one of unmixed delight. Mr. Sullivan's pair was
badly matched. One horse sneezed as if afiflicted
with the asthma, and his mate became unmanageable
at every sneeze. The driver, with the imagination
of the far West, invented a story to account for the
peculiarities of his team, which cannot be reproduced
here. Suffice it to say that, between the sneezing

155 ,

156 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

of the horse and the apprehension of destruction at
raih'oad-crossings, which were frequent and danger-
ous, our drive through the grand scenery of the canon
was thrilling and disagreeable in the extreme. It is
better to take Lhe narrow gauge road to the "Big
Trees," stop an hour or two, and then go on through
the mountains to the Santa Clara Valley. This road
runs through fine scenery, and comes out from wild
mountain gorges into the beautiful and well culti-
vated region in which San Josd, one of the earliest
and most substantial of California towns, is built.

The town is the country seat of Santa Clara
County, and the chief city in the Santa Clara Val-
ley. It is at the northern end of the valley, and
only five miles distant from the southern arm of San
Francisco Bay. It was founded in 1777 by the
Spaniards, who had just established the Santa Clara
Mission. There is a population of more than twenty
thousand in the town, which is handsomely laid out
with fine private residences standing in well-kept
gardens, and costly and imposing public buildings.
There is a State Normal School finely situated in a
cultivated park of twenty-seven acres, a new city
hall of noble proportions surrounded by a beautiful
park, and the handsomest court-house in the State
outside of San Francisco. The churches are numer-
ous, and most of them have elegant and costly edi-
fices. Besides a public-school system which is said
to rival those of Eastern cities, there is the College
of Notre Dame, located in an inclosure of ten acres
within the city limits, and the University of the
Pacific, under the direction of the Methodist Con-

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 157

ference. Its numerous and elegant buildings occupy
twelve acres, and include an astronomical observa-
tory and a conservatory of music. On the site of
the old Santa Clara Mission, three miles from San
Josd, the Jesuits have a college, weH equipped with
libraries and philosophical and scientific apparatus.
Its chapel is the old church erected by the Franciscan
missionaries, and its garden, placed in an inclosed
court, is full of rare and beautiful plants. A fine
avenue, three miles in length, bordered by ancient
trees, connects Santa Clara and San Jos^. Electric
lights and railways contribute to the comfort and
convenience of the citizens.

At San Jos6 we spent several days, one of which
was the Sabbath. Several of the pastors were ab-
sent, attending the convention of the Young People's
Society of Clu-istian Endeavor, which was held at
Fresno. We found the pastor of the First Presby-
terian Church, Rev. Dr. Densmore, lately of Den-
ver, in his pulpit, and heard an eloquent sermon.
Every seat was occupied, and the services were warm
and hearty.

As I sat with the minister in his study in the
afternoon, there was a knock at the door, and a
young man came in. In a few words he told his
errand. A law had just been put in operation which
closed all the saloons in the city on Sunday. A
similar law had already closed the places in the
county outside, where liquor could be had. This
Sunday closing had driven all the frequenters of the
saloons into the streets. The parks were full of
young men lounging on the seats, and there were

168 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

crowds at every corner in the lower part of the town.
The young man had come to the pastor for help to
seize the opportunity to do these outsiders some
good. "I have got a melodeon and a man to play,"
said he, "and now I want some young men to go
with me and sing, and help conduct meetings in the
parks. There is a great chance to catch some fish in
the gospel net." The pastor thought so, too. He
looked through his notebook. " Most of my young
men are down at the convention at Fresno," said he;
"but there is Bissell, who can sing and pray, and
Walters, who is a fair speaker " ; and he rapidly named
a half a dozen others, giving their addresses, and a
word or two of advice. " Perhaps you can lead some
of them to our evening service," said he. With
thanks for the help received, the young Christian
went away, and there were a dozen extempore prayer-
meetings that night, in the parks and streets of San
Jos^. This is the way things are done in the West.
It is not necessary to have a religious debate in the
session every time an opportunity occurs to save
souls. The pastor is alive, the young people are
alive. Christians have to be alive, for the devil is
very much alive and still thinks that he has a pre-
emptive right upon the men of the Pacific slope.
But the Christian people are steadily gaining ground,
and those who have lived since 1849 know what
wonderful changes have been wrought.

One change, however, has not been for the better.
I refer to the Chinese immigration and its results.
Almost every city has a Chinese quarter, and it is
usually the worst place in town, filthy, densely pop-

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 159

ulated, full of opium joints, and a menace to physi-
cal and moral health. As I came from Dr. Dens-
more's study, a Chinese funeral was passing down
the street. There were from twenty to thirty car-
riages full of people beating a gong and scattering
pieces of paper along the highway to keep off the
demons. Behind the carriages came a wagon con-
taining baskets of food, and a live pig which was to
be offered to an idol, or to placate the supposed evil
spirits who were hostile to the departed.

It was a most repulsive spectacle of heathenism in
a Christian land, the most public and unpleasant
which had then met my eyes. Afterwards in San
Francisco I saw Chinatown in its full extent, and
also saw the faithful efforts which are being made
in schools and churches to convert the Chinese to the
Christian religion, and to deliver them from their
bondage to opium.

The distance from San Jos^ to the James Lick
Observatory on Mount Hamilton and return is fifty-
six miles. The trip is usually made in one day,
though some persons prefer to spend the night at
Smith Creek, seven miles from the Observatory,
where there is an indifferent hotel, and" thus divide
the journey. There is no accommodation for man
and beast upon the summit unless they belong to the
Observatory corps. An early start is needful, and
good company is essential in so long a drive.

The first four miles gradually ascend to the foot-
hills where the Observatory Road begins. This road
was byilt on a uniform grade, over mountain and
valley to the summit of Mount Hamilton. In

160 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

selecting Mount Hamilton as the site for the Observ-
atory, Mr. Lick made it a condition that the county
of Santa Clara should build to the summit a better
road than any in California. The condition Avas
faithfully executed at a cost of seventj'-eight thou-
sand dollars, and its grade was so carefully planned
that the rise is less than seven feet in the hundred.
In order to secure this grade, it was necessary to
wind along hill-sides and make sharp turns and long
reaches, so that the distance traversed is nearly three
times the direct line, and there are three hundred
and sixty-five curves. But there are few places in
the road where even a timid person would tremble,
and the road-bed is as smooth and well-kept as any
in the world.

Turning from the long avenue which leads to the
foot-hills, we began to ascend to the first station
where relays of horses await the coaches. At the
Grand View House a beautiful panorama of the Santa
Clara Valley is spread out. The Coast ranges of
mountains form the background, San Josd lies spread
out like a map, and between and beyond are the cul-
tivated ranches of the valley, lovely stretches of
woodland, orchards, vineyards, gardens, and little
villages. Soon we turn into Hall's Valley. Here
are shady nooks, and green slopes, and trickling
streams, and pictures of rural loveliness in rare vari-
ety. We pass two riders who are gathering in a
herd of cattle. They pay no attention to the road,
but ride up and down hill-sides and through streams
and woodlands to " round up " their horses or other
stock. They have the Mexican saddle on powerful

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 161

horses, the coiled lariat hangs on its horn, and with
their broad sombreros, and pistols in belt, they are a
good type of the Californian ranchman. At Smith
Creek Hotel, situated in a charming little valley,
there is a lunch for all who wish refreshment, and
pure spring water. This is seven miles from the
Observatory, but these seven miles are steeper, and
require at least two hours. The views are magnifi-
cent and constantly changing, and embrace the
rugged slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains ; the Bay
of San Francisco, whitened with many a sail ; and,
in the far distance, the glistening Pacific. In the
opposite direction the San Joaquin Valley spreads its
vast expanse to the foot-hills, beyond which rise the
snow-crowned summits of the Sierras. Nearly all
the way the dome of the Observatory is in sight, and
if the sun is shining, it glistens and flashes in the
clear air, at the turns of the road, deceiving the
traveller by its apparent nearness.

Mount Hamilton is twenty miles southeast of
San Jos^, and rises 4209 feet above the sea-level.
Professor Whitney says that from this spot more of
the earth's surface is visible than from any known
point upon the globe; and the translucent air and
freedom from atmospheric disturbance attest the
assertion that there are twice as many nights favora-
ble to observation as are known elsewhere.

James Lick was born in Pennsylvania, in 1796.
He was an eccentric man, but his gifts to the state
of California reached several millions of dollars, and
were for wise and beneficent purposes. He executed
a trust deed for the erection of the Observatory in

162 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

1874, died in 1876, and it was 1880 before work was
begun. It took eight years to level the summit,
> make the three million bricks for the buildings, con-
struct the telescope, build the dome, and equip the
Observatory.

The buildings stand in a park of 2581 acres, and
include a main building composed of two domes
connected by a long hall, with study-rooms, instru-
ment-rooms, clock-rooms, work-rooms, and a library.
The dome for the great telescope is at the south, and
rests on the top of a tower built into the solid rock.
The telescope cost two hundred thousand dollars.
Its tube is sixty feet long, and weighs four tons. It
rests upon an iron column thirty-seven feet high,
and is so perfectly adjusted that it can be turned to
any point in the heavens with ease and precision.
The body of James Lick is buried in a tomb beneath
the instrument.

The smaller dome and other buildings contain the
transit instrument and meridian circle, spectroscopic
and seismic apparatus, clocks and chronographs and
meteorological instruments, and suites of rooms for
the observers and their households.

Saturday evening is the time when the public is
permitted to look through the great tube, and there
is a large and curious crowd on such occasions. Our
visit was on a different day. There were with our
party about a dozen other visitors. We were met at
the door by the old janitor, who is certainly as eccen-
tric as ever Mr. Lick was, and who has been twice
sent to the insane asylum. Knowledge of astron-
omy, however, has not addled his brains. On enter-

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 163

ing the building, his remark made to the party in
general was, "You go in there'n' wait." The party
obeyed. As the wait was tedious, some left the
reception-room and began to look through the halls.
" What are ye straggling all round the building for? "
roared the old man. "Go in, I tell ye, and wait."
He was j)romptly obeyed. In due time, regulated
by some occult chronograph, we were taken through
the rooms by this rude guide. "That's Mr. Lick,"
pointing to his portrait ; " that's the road, 365 turns,
and cost seventy-five thousand dollars," pointing to
some plans; "them's meteors, shootin' stars, ye
know: won't be such anuther batch o' stars till
ninety-six," — this accompanied with a shove at a
series of photograplis. Then he led us to the stair-
case leading to the dome. When we were in, he
said: "Now sit down in a row, and I'll tell you all
about it, an' then you can ask questions." We sat
down around the circle, and listened to a string of
loose statements and large figures, interspersed with
orders to "keep still till I'm through." Then an
old lady timidly asked: "Was Mr. Lick a scientist;
did he know how to use instruments like these ? "
"No," said the guide, "he didn't know anj-thin',
not a bit more'n you do."

There were no other questions, the exhibition was
closed, and we took our carriage for the twenty-four
mile ride down the hill. But we had seen the big-
gest telescope in the world in its lofty observatory, .
and were satisfied. If we had not spent many nights
long years ago in sweeping the heavens with a small,
but useful instrument, and gazed thi-ough other tubes

164 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

in different parts of the world, it might have been
worth while to have waited in line on a Saturday
night to look through the Lick telescope for two
minutes, and then drive down the mountain at mid-
night. More than a hundred people do this every
week during the season, and are satisfied. The re-
marks on the hotel circular about "courteous guides "
at the Observatory were not borne out by our expe-
rience, which was amusing rather than instructive.

The staff of astronomers at Lick Observatory is
not adequate to the place. It comprises Professor
Holden, the superintendent. Astronomer and Secre-
tary Colton, and Professors Barnard, Schaeberle, and
Campbell, with a few assistants. These men have
done, and are doing, excellent work, but are alto-
gether overweighted. Professor Holden, besides the
duties of general superintendence and those con-
nected with the charge of forwarding the result of
each individual's work, is librarian, scientific corre-
spondent, and editorial supervisor of the publications
of the Astronomical Society. The great telescope
is used two nights by Professore Holden and Colton
for photographic purposes ; two nights it is employed
for spectroscopic observations, and two nights it is
used by Barnard and Schaeberle for miscellaneous
work. The meridian circle is in charge of the latter,
and the twelve-inch and six-and-one-half-inch tele-
scopes in that of the former. Professor Campbell
attends to the time service.

One of the latest enterprises of the Observatory was
the trip of Professor J. M. Schaeberle to Chile, to
observe the total eclij)se of the sun, on April 16th of

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 165

the year 1893. The funds for the undertaking were
supplied by Mrs. Hearst, of San Francisco. To
make these observations, the Professor had to travel
nearly twelve thousand miles; and through an un-
healthy country, where the transportation of his in-
struments was difficult, and the chances of success
were small. But all obstacles yielded to the patience,
perseverance, and skill of the enthusiastic astronomer,
and' he succeeded in making no less than fifty nega-
tives of the eclipse, eight of which were larger than
had ever before been secured of any eclipse. Such is
the enthusiasm of science.

The drive home from Mount Hamilton was shorter
in time than the ascent, .but fifty-six miles, even over
a good road, is a long carriage-ride, and we were
ready for rest and refreshment when we swung into
the grounds of the Hotel Vendome at San Jos^.

One of our most interesting days was spent at the
Leland Stanford Junior University. It was one of
the most perfect of California days in the month of
May when we drove over the Palo Alto stock farm,
a tract of seventy-three hundred acres which belongs
to the University. The noble gateway and the main
quadrangle, two dormitories, a mechanical depart-
ment, and a number of houses for the professors have
been thus far erected.

The. plan of Mr. Richardson was modelled from
the cloisters of the San Antonio Mission, and is not,
so far as completed, effective or impressive. The
main buildings form a low quadrangle, inclosing a
court 586 feet long and 286 feet wide. They are
built of a dull yellow sandstone, and covered with

166 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

red tiled roofs. On the inner side, the buildings
are connected by a fine colonnade, and the arrange-
ment of rooms is admirably adapted for the uses of
the University. Seen from a distance, the building
now looks like a vast manufactory, but the completed
scheme includes an outer two-storied quadrangle
with cloisters on the outside, a memorial arch, and
a chapel. The University was founded by Mr. and
Mrs. Leland Stanford, in memory of their only son,
who died in 1884. They endowed it with property
worth from twenty to thirty millions of dollars.
Three immense estates were conveyed to a Board of
Trustees, the principal to remain intact and the
revenues to be used for the establishment and main-
tenance of the University. These are the Palo Alto
farm, already mentioned, which was the homestead
of the Stanford family, and the largest horse-breed-
ing farm in the world; Vina ranch in Tehama
County, comprising fifty thousand acres, of which
four thousand are planted with vines, making it the
largest known vineyard ; and Gridley ranch in Butte
County, comprising twenty thousand acres of the
best wheat land in California.

The idea of the University, in the words of its
founders, " came directly and largely from our son and
only child, Leland, and in the belief that had he been
spared to advise as to the disposition of our estate, he
would have desired the devotion of a large portion
thereof to this purpose, we will that for all time to
come the institution hereby founded shall bear his
name, and shall be known as the Leland Stanford
Junior University."

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 167

The object of the Univei'sity, as stated in its char-
ter, is " to qualify students for personal success and
direct usefulness in life;" and its purposes, "to pro-
mote the public welfare by exercising an influence
in behalf of humanity and civilization, teaching the
blessings of liberty regulated by law, and inculcat-
ing love and reverence for the great principles of
government as derived from the inalienable rights of
man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

The nature, object, and purpose of the University,
as described in the deed of trust are, in brief: "A
university, with such seminaries of learning as shall
make it of the highest grade, where mechanical
training shall be given, and where agriculture in all
its branches, together with the studies and exercises
directed to the cultivation and enlargement of the
mind shall be taught. From the kindergarten to the
highest schools there will be no important branch of
art, science, or mechanics that will not be taught
here, and to these advantages male and female stu-
dents will be equally entitled." The school is non-
sectarian; the articles of endowment direct only that
the existence of an all-wise God, obedience to His
laws, and the immortality of the soul, shall be
taught.

The corner-stone of the first building was laid on
May 14, 1887, and on October 1, 1891, the Leland
Stanford Junior University was formally opened.
Dr. David S. Jordan was called from the Indiana State
University to be president. In his address on that
occasion Senator Stanford said : —

"I speak for Mrs. Stanford, as well as for myself,

168 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

for she has been my active and sympathetic coadjutor
and is cograntor with me in the endowment and
establishment of this university. In its behalf her
prayers have gone forth that it may be a benefactor
to humanity and receive the blessing of the Heavenly
Father. For Mrs. Stanford and myself this cere-
mony marks an epoch in our lives, for we see in part
the realization of the hopes and efforts of years ; for
you, faculty and students, the work begins now, and
it is to commemorate this commencement of your
labors that we are here assembled."

There were present at the opening a staff* of fifty
instructors and six hundred students, about one-
third of whom were women. In 1893 there were
eighty-two instructors and seven hundred and sixty-
four students, representing nearly every state in the
Union and every civilized country.

Since our visit, Mr. Stanford has died, but the
University will go on under the able management of
President Jordan, and with the fostering care of
Mrs. Stanford, whose chief interest in life centres
here.

We had letters of introduction to the president,
and he courteously conducted us through a number
of the class-rooms, including the chapel, gave us all
needful information, and then put us in the charge
of a polite assistant, who spent the morning in show-
ing us the manifold objects of interest in this new
and flourishing institution.

I am bound to say that, great as was the interest
of the party in the educational department of
the University, its chapel and lecture-rooms, the

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 169

art building and dormitories, a still greater inter-
est was developed by both ladies and gentlemen
when we drove to the Palo Alto stables and pad-
docks. There are eleven hundred trotting horses
and five hundred running horses here. The famous
"Electioneer," "Electricity," "Arion," and "Ad-
vertiser," were taken out of their rooms, and un-
covered for our inspection. Each horse has a groom,
and each groom is as careful of his animal as a
faithful nurse could be of a child. The horses are
kept in long rows of rooms, which are carefully padded
and kept perfectly clean. A variety of blankets and
clothes of different thickness, forming a complete
wardrobe, hang on the walls. Every detail of food
and exercise and temperature is carefully attended
to, and nothing omitted which would tend to pro-
duce the most perfect conditions of health and
growth.

From this view of some of the finest results of
training, we were taken into the training school for
trotting horses. Here we saw the method of teach-
ing which produces these results. A fine-bred colt
of six months was let into a ring by the groom.
The ring is an oval inclosure, roofed and lighted
from above, with a floor of soft earth. Its outer
portion is railed off with a low, firm rail, forming
the track where the horse is to trot. The trainer
stands in the centre of the ring with a long whip,
and such visitors as are allowed stand quietly with
him. The colt is first taught to walk around the
ring, then to move faster and faster, always on a
trot. The instant he breaks from a trot he is stopped

170 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

by the trainer's voice or whip, both of which are used
constantly. The animal is not whipped, but the
whip is his guide ; now it cracks behind to stimulate
his speed, now in front to bid him turn, now in the
ring centre to tell him to stop. The intelligence of
this horse, not yet six months old, was wonderful,
but when he went out, and one after another of the
yearlings came in, the exhibition became one of the
most interesting developments of animal culture
that I ever witnessed. The horses seemed to know
every word and motion of their trainer, and the pre-
cision of their motion, their beautiful carriage, and
almost intellectual perception of their own develop-
ment and education, made us ask involuntarily:
" Can the professors of the University get as good
work from their pupils as these trainers get from
their colts ? "

Afterwards we saw some of the famous racers spin
around the course where they are exercised, and
marked the care with which they were rubbed and
washed and clothed when they came in from trotting.

When the Rev. Dr. Irenseus Prime was once at-
tending a General Assembly in Kentucky, a good
Presbyterian, who was also the owner of a stock farm,
took him over to his place. Now Dr. Prime, like
some other ministers, was fond of a good horse, and
knew something of the different breeds of fine horses.
As he discoursed of the descendants of " Lexington "
and " Blackhawk " and " Eclipse " and of Morgan
mares, the elder became enthusiastic, and clapping
him on the shoulder, said : " Mr. Prime, a man that
knows as much about horses as you do, can have any

IN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 171

church he wants in Kentucky." It was a new quali-
fication for the Presbyterian pastorate, but there was
more in the compliment than a tribute to equine
knowledge. The man who thus interested the Ken-
tucky farmer on his own topic, had the versatility
and friendliness and true human sympathy that made
him always and everywhere at home, and in many
places his name is still a household word.

From the horses we went to the mausoleum built
for the resting place of the beloved son whose monu-
ment is the University. It is a beautiful little tem-
ple in a garden of plants and flowers. There Senator
Stanford has been buried, and it will be also the
ultimate resting place of the bereaved widow and
mother.

From these gardens we drove through vineyards
and orchards, and afterwards to Menlo Park, a
favorite residence of wealthy San Franciscans. The
evening found us, after our long journeyings in Cali-
fornia, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

XXV

SAN FRANCISCO

DANA's prophecy CALIFORNIA OPTIMISM THE CHI-
NESE PROBLEM A CURIOUS AND COMPOSITE CITY

BEAUTIFUL SUBURBS A VISIT TO CHINATOWN — THE

THEATRE AND OPIUM DENS CHINESE MEN, WOMEN,

AND CHILDREN 8AU8ALITO, ROSS VALLEY, AND SAN

RAFAEL A SUDDEN SQUALL THE PRESBYTERIAN

SEMINARY FRIENDS AND FESTIVITIES SACRAMENTO

More than fifty years ago, Mr. Richard H. Dana,
Jr., the Harvard student who made that memorable
voyage to the California coast in the brig Pilgrim^
which resulted in "Two Years before the Mast,"
wrote thus about San Francisco and its harbor : —

" We sailed down this magnificent bay with a light
wind, the tide, which was running out, carrying us
at the rate of four or five knots. We passed directly
under the high cliff on which the Presidio is built,
and stood into the middle of the bay, from whence
we could see small bays, making up into the inte-
rior, on every side, large and beautifully wooded
islands, and the mouths of several small rivers. If
California ever becomes a prosperous country, this
bay will be the centre of its prosperity. The abun-
dance of wood and water, the extreme fertility of its

172

SAN FRANCISCO 173

shores, the excellence of its climate, which is as near
to being perfect as any in the world, and its facili-
ties for navigation, affording the best anchoring
grounds in the whole western coast of America, all
fit it for a place of great importance; and, indeed, it
has attracted much attention, for the settlement of
'Yerba Buena, ' where we lay at anchor, made chiefly
by Americans and English, and which bids fair to
become the most important trading place on the
coast, at this time began to supply traders, Russian
ships, and whalers, with their stores of wheat and
frijoles."

Mr. Dana's prediction has been more than fulfilled.
The sand-hills where he gathered wood for the galley
fire are covered with costly dwellings; the shores
where he beached his skiff are lined with solid ware-
houses, and the harbor in which the Pilgrim and an
old Russian vessel were the largest craft, is now
filled Avith hundreds of full-rigged ships, ocean-
steamers, and vessels of all the maritime nations of
the earth who contribute of their wealth to increase
the resources of one of the most enterprising and
prosperous commercial cities in the world.

A writer for a prize offered by a Boston paper, thus
eloquently discourses upon some elements in the
greatness of this growing city. It has the true
California ring : —

"San Francisco is queen of the Pacific by the
divine right of natural supremacy. She is a city of
invincible necessity. The gold in the rocks and in
the rivers laid her foundation. The silver stream
from the mines of Nevada fostered her youth. Then

174 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

the rains turned their drops to grains of golden
wheat for her prosperity. Later the sunshine painted
its most brilliant hues on the fruit and imprisoned
itself in the vine for her well doing, while the soil
by mystic chemistry of air and light and water poured
into her lap with surpassing abundance the products
of every temperate and semi-tropical clime. Nearly
all the good fairies presided at her birth, and only
the one in charge of the climate was chary in gifts.

" The Golden Gate made the sand-hills of the bay
the predestined site of a great city. A cleft in the
rocks admits the boundless waters of the Pacific into
a sheltered basin forty miles in length by six to fif-
teen in width. There is not another harbor of any
size, excepting San Diego, on the entire coast line
from Valparaiso to Alaska. Two rivers tap the great
San Joaquin Valley and flow into the bay, bringing
to the city's doors the wealth of the interior. The
position of San Francisco enables her to take tribute
from sea and land. She commands the trade of the
Orient and the South Seas, of Alaska to the north,
and Central America to the south, with all the lands
between. Inland is the garden of the earth. She
sits at the portal and takes toll of the commerce that
enters seaward, and of the wine, the olive, the orange,
the raisin, and other fresh and dried fruits ; of the
grain, of the wool, and the precious metals that come
from the vast territory of which she is the commer-
cial sovereign. She is the distributing and shipping
point for a region more than twelve hundred miles
in extent, north and south, east and west. As yet
it is comparatively unoccupied. Who can predict

SAN FRANCISCO 175

the magnitude of San Francisco, when every fertile
acre of this magnificent domain is a sea of grain and
a forest of bloom?"

There are prophets who do not take this rose-
colored view of the future of the city of the " Golden
Gate. " They say that the march of empire is towards
Oregon and Washington, that no agricultural state
can ever compete with states which have great min-
ing and lumbering and manufacturing interests;
that San Francisco has ceased to be the distributing
centre for the trade of the Pacific coast, and will in
consequence cease to prosper. Such pessimists argue
that a city built on so many hills, with such a costly
and disagreeable method of transit as the cable-car,
must yield in comparison with cities of easier grades,
where wheeled vehicles can be freely used. It may
be needful for San Francisco to establish manufacto-
ries, and to level its hills, and rebuild upon a better
plan, but if these changes become necessities in
order that it may hold its place in a rivalry with
other towns, they will be made.

The large Chinese population, which is a fragment
of Asia, wedged in the heart of the city, is also
viewed by many as a serious menace to the prosperity
of San Francisco. A separate and isolated nation-
ality is here maintained, which nevertheless draws
its life and support from the American citizens.
American manufacturers and tradesmen cannot com-
pete with the Chinese, for the Chinese work twelve
and eighteen hours a day, and live upon the most
meagre fare. A large proportion of the Chinese use
opium, and they herd together in worse dens than

176 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

can be found in any of the degraded quarters of our
cities. They are industrious, peaceful, and most
useful as servants, porters, and in many subordinate
positions. They quaiTel and gamble, and foster
gross immorality among themselves, but their inter-
course with other people is mostly that of business.
Missions among them have little effect upon the
majority of the people, though those individuals
among them who become Christians are pious, benev-
olent, and sincere. Presbyterian and Methodist and
other missions have been useful in rescuing Chinese
girls from infamy, in establishing some small Chinese
churches on the Pacific coast, and in providing
lielpers and laborers for the fields in China. The
self-denial and patience of those faithful and veteran
missionaries who have labored among the Chinese
deserve the highest praise, but the mass of the Chi-
nese remains comparatively unaffected.

No one visits San Francisco as a tourist without
seeing Chinatown. It is a curious thing to see a
foreign city within an American city. But here is
a town of twenty thousand Chinese inhabitants in
tlie very centre of San Francisco. Whole blocks are
occupied by these Asiatics, who live and move and
have their being according to their own heathen, and
to us disgusting, customs. They literally swarm in
the precincts which they occupy. They crowd in
rooms and cellars and coops along the alleys, and we
saw a roost under a wooden awning where two China-
men manage to sleep and live, a place hardly large
enough for a small flock of pigeons. Every sort of
business and trade is carried on in these confined

SAN FRANCISCO 177

and contracted quarters. Of course the shops which
are designed to attract Americans and secure their
custom are roomy, well-lighted, and tastefully
arranged, but when we come to the Chinese stores
for Chinese customers, we find narrowness, crowd-
ing, dirt, and everything that is offensive to our
civilization. Scrolls of red paper covered with Chi-
nese characters, gaudy lanterns, and outlandish signs
cover the doors and windows of the shops; eating-
houses that display hideous and disgusting viands,
gambling dens and vile resorts are huddled together
in dreadful confusion. In the evening all the Chi-
nese male population seems to be divided between
the barbers and their victims. The Chinese are
shaved from crown to chin, including eyebrows and
ears, and when shaved they go to the theatre or to
the oj)ium debauch. We went to both places. The
theatre was crowded, and we were placed upon the
stage near the performers, to whom our presence
seemed of no sort of importance. One man beat a
huge gong, which combined with wind instruments
to deafen us. The actors talked in high, squeaky
voices, with many gestures and attitudes. The the-
atre was packed with a crowd of Chinamen intent
upon the play. Not a woman was to be seen, and
the actors taking women's parts were all men. The
plays go on evening after evening for weeks and
months, and are made up of life dramas, including
murders and combats and trials, and manifold epi-
sodes of Chinese life. Under the stage, and in the
cellar of the building, are the rooms where the actors
live, closely crowded together in ill-smelling and

178 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

dirty quarters. With a guide who knew the labyrin-
thine mazes of Chinatown, we visited the opium dens,
where wrecks of humanity lay on shelves of pine
wood smoking the nauseous drug. Some of the men
were lean and yellow skeletons, who seemed to have
hardly strength enough to fill their little brass pipes
with opium pills, and all the faces were repulsive
and painful to look upon. We were taken to see
one horrid old crone who was said to have occupied
the same den for twenty years or more; she was
blind and deformed and covered with rags, and in
the midst of vermin and vileness. Mrs. Mackay,
the wife of the many times millionaire, came after
us, and left twenty dollars in gold for this wretched
being, who is said to be a miser and have a miser's
wealth stowed away in her miserable den.

After such dreadful scenes, it was a relief to go to
the joss-house and see the idols to whom the Chinese
burn incense, and in an elegant and spacious apart-
ment to be served with delicious tea and a variety of
candies and sweetmeats. In a back room some Chi-
nese were gambling, and we watched the game for
a few minutes. There were two women in this room
and they were deeply interested in the game, laugh-
ing and clapping when the cards favored them, and
showing abundant signs of displeasure when the luck
went against them. The game was being played
around a table where a feast had been in progress,
and was evidently part of a festivity. Women are
not often seen in the streets, but there are plenty of
fat, short-legged, moon-faced children all over China-
town. They are dressed in purple and yellow and

SAN FRANCISCO 179

green garments, their faces contrasting strangely
with the wrinkled and drawn visages of their elders.

Chinese goods are very attractive to Eastern pil-
grims, and we invested much money in crepes and
silks and thin porcelain and bronzes, and were not
sorry to have done so when we came to give memen-
tos of our journey to our dear five hundred friends
at home.

To a visitor, San Francisco seems curious and
composite. All races and tongues mingle here.
Men and boys seem to be in a large majority, and
the tone of public life and manners is roughened by
the predominance of the male element. The great
number of wooden dwellings, even the costliest and
largest buildings being of this material, excites sur-
prise. The numerous cable-cars, sliding and climb-
ing in every direction with great rapidity and with
incessant ringing of gongs, over the many hills of
the city, give an air of noise and bustle to every part
of the town. The climate is disagreeable. The
mornings are usually pleasant, except in July and
August, when fogs prevail, but each afternoon a
high wind blows, whirling the sand and dust about
the streets, and this wind is often accompanied with
a chilly temperature which demands a fire in order
to be comfortable. But in spite of this drawback to
vSan Francisco as a residence, it is said to be one of
the most healthy and highly valued homes upon the
Pacific coast.

Some of our friends live in the suburb of Sausa-
lito, across the water from San Francisco. It is a
charming place, warmer than the city by several de-

180 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

grees, and sheltered from the winds and fogs which
come driving in through the Golden Gate from the
Pacific Ocean. We had a specimen of these winds
on our excursion. All the vessels at anchor were
blown from their moorings, the yachts were unable
to ride out the sudden gale, and small boats had to
make a speedy landing or be overturned in the bay.
On the heights of Sausalito we watched the tempest,
and were glad to be in safety and comfort with pleas-
ant company during such a war of the elements.
High winds are the bane of San Francisco, and in
August come also disagreeable fogs, that make rheu-
matic people ache, and give the blues to timid and
anxious souls. On the other side of San Francisco
lies Berkeley, where the University and the Deaf
and Dumb Institution are placed in the midst of
charming scenery and a lavish wealth of flowers and
verdure. It was a pleasant thing to see on each boat
that came to the city from the suburbs, bunches of
flowers in every hand, and often baskets of flowers
which were being brought over as presents to city
friends.

The Palace Hotel was our home while in San Fran-
cisco. It is a good enough hotel for any city in the
world, and its rooms are comfortable and convenient
beyond anything in this country outside of New York.

One afternoon we took the train for Sacramento,
and in the morning saw there the State House, and
all that was worth the traveller's time and patience.
It is not an attractive place, even though it is the
seat of government, and we were glad to bid it fare-
well and steam away into the fastness of the Sierra
Nevada, upon the homeward track.

XXVI
ACROSS THE SIERRA TO SALT LAKE

SACRAMENTO TO CAPE HORN SILVER MINING AMONG

THE SNOW-SHEDS DESERTS AND INDIANS GREAT

SALT LAKE THE SACRED INCLOSURE TABERNACLE

AND TEMPLE THE LION HOUSE AND THE BEEHIVE

A THRIVING CITY A RESUME OF MORMON HIS-
TORY THE CREED AND GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH

FORT DOUGLAS

We left Sacramento, with its costly Capitol, beau-
tiful parks, and Crocker Art Gallery, about noon, and
soon began to climb the Sierra Nevada. This name
means "Snowy Range." The range lies west of the
Rocky Mountains, and runs from Oregon, where it
is called "Cascade Mountains," to the southern part
of California. It is the western chain of the Cordil-
leras, and contains some of the highest peaks on the
continent, such as Mounts Whitney, Shasta, and
Corcoran, each of which is over fourteen thousand
feet high. The peaks which inclose the Yosemite
Valley are a part of this range, and its average eleva-
tion is from eight to ten thousand feet above sea-
level. The scenery is in the highest degree pictur-
esque, becoming grander as the road ascends. Cape
Horn was reached early in the afternoon. It is a

181

182 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

mountain promontory where the railroad doubles on
itself, passing around on a little shelf two thousand
feet above the American River, which winds its
silver thread in the deep valley. Far off to the right
is a ravine inclosed in mountain walls. In neigh-
boring gulches and canons, we saw. many traces of
mining operations; whole hills had been washed
away by the powerful hydraulic jets which had been
directed against them. Work was still going on in
a few places, though the profit of silver mining was
steadily declining.

With two, and sometimes three engines, our heavy
train, now divided into two sections, climbed up
the giant wall of the Sierra Nevada. We passed
through the magnificent scenery of Shady Run, Blue
[Canon, and Giant and Emigrant Gaps. In running
' one hundred and seven miles, we had climbed nearly
seven thousand feet, sometimes over very steep
grades. Before we reached the summit, snow-sheds
began to appear, and soon became practically contin-
uous. It was the month of May, and the mountains
were still covered deep with snow. We rode through
forty miles of these wooden tunnels, from whose
windows we could now and then catch glances of
wild wastes of snow-covered mountains, and at other
times of forests of pine and fir trees. Without these
sheds it would be impossible to operate the road in
winter. They are built in the most thorough man-
ner, often upon solid foundations of masonry, and
are separated by iron plates into sections, to guard
against the spread of fire. There are automatic elec-
tric fire alarms in one of the longest sheds, and an

ACROSS THE SIERRA TO SALT LAKE 183

engine with a tank close at hand is kept ready to
flood any section that should catch fire. The sheds
are patrolled and guarded in a careful manner.
Such attention is due not only to the passenger and
freight traffic which the road conducts, but to the
value of the sheds, which averages from eight toj
twelve thousand dollars per mile. Several miles,
where bridges and precipices made the construction
difficult, cost as much as thirty thousand dollars per
mile. The lover of picturesque scenery is grievously
disappointed as the train plunges into these utilita-
rian devices, but railroads are primarily for trans-
portation, and scenery holds a second place with
civil engineers and boards of directors. If we had
been crossing the Sierra Nevada in a winter snow-
storm, I fancy there would have been no words of
complaint about the long snow-sheds.

From Summit, the railway slides down the eastern
slope of the mountains, following the course of the
rapid Truckee River, until it reaches the great in-
closed continental plateau, an extensive level at a
height of four thousand feet above the sea. We
were now in the great and thinly settled state of
Nevada, a region of more than one hundred thousand
square miles, Avith a few moderate-sized towns and
many mining camps. It is the silver mining state,
and is full of bold and rugged mountains and wide
stretches of desert plain. The Southern Pacific
route from San Francisco to Ogden traverses four
hundred and fifty-six miles of this state, winding
among its snow-capped mountains and bringing the
benefits of civilization into its separated towns. At

184 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

some of the stations we saw Indians of the Shoshone
and Piute tribes, and at one place an Indian squaw
drove a brisk trade while the train waited, by exhib-
iting a pappoose to the ladies at ten cents a sight.
All day we journeyed through an uninteresting and
mostly desert country, a lonely and uninhabitable
waste. I had never realized that so much of the
United States was as truly a desert as the Saham.
It is said that only water is needed to make it all
arable, but this is a desperate need, for only the
snows of winter lodged in the far-off mountains can
furnish irrigation to these deserts. We talked of the
sufferings of the pioneers who crossed these wastes
to settle the Pacific Slopes, and of later emigrants
who came for gold and silver before the railways had
made the transit swift and easy, and most of us were
glad that we lived in these modern days. It is as-
tonishing how luxury and ease destroy even the
wholesome taste for romantic experience and adven-
ture. The kid-gloved and perfumed aristocrat whose
every want is provided for, in an "all around the
world " trip, may have a " good time " in his sense
of the word, but he misses many things that give
variety and zest to travel and make its reminiscences
a pleasure and delight.

Towards afternoon we came to Kelton, in the ter-
ritory of Utah, and soon began to see the shores of
the Great Salt Lake. This remarkable inland sea
occupies about three thousand square miles, being
ninety-three miles long and forty-three miles wide.
It is at an elevation of more than four thousand feet
above the ocean, is sixty feet deep, and has a number

ACROSS THE SIERRA TO SALT LAKE 185

of small islands and two of considerable size. The
water is very dense, being more than ten per cent
heavier than the ocean, and only surpassed by the
Dead Sea of Palestine in density. Bathers can float
with ease in its waters, but they are acrid and bitter
to the taste.

The sight of this expanse of water was an immense
relief after the dreariness of the desert. The moun-
tains surrounding the basin are picturesque in form
and curious in coloring. Here and there are bath-
ing places, but the shores are generally barren and
uninhabited, except by station masters or employes
of the railroad. We saw the Promontory Point,
where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Rail-
ways joined their iron bands, and where the last
spike of the great railroad enterprise was driven, and
then we sped away, with the noble Wahsatch range
of mountains confronting us like a wall, towards
Ogden, our point of detour in the visit to Salt Lake
City, which is forty miles to the south.

Most of the way the mountains were on one side
and the lake upon the other, and the scenery was
fine. All the Mormon country in the springtime
looked like the garden of the Lord, fruitful and
flowery, and showed careful cultivation. Now and
then a heavy cloud of smoke disfigured earth and
sky, where a huge silver smelter voided its chemi-
cal fumes into the atmosphere, but in general the air
was pure and the landscape inviting. Our train
drew up at a neat and well-kept station, where well-
horsed carriages were waiting in numbers to convey
us through the city of Brigham Young and his fol-
io wei-s.

186 BEYOND THE EOCKIES

From Ogclen we came to Salt Lake City. It was
a beautiful morning when we arrived at this town
with so strange a history, and took carriages to ride
through and about it. The city is situated four
thousand three hundred feet above the level of the
sea, in the same elevated valley containing the Great
Salt Lake, which lies fifteen miles westward. It is
protected by the lofty range of the Wahsatch and
Oquirrh Mountains, which rise many thousands of
feet above the town, at a distance of from fifteen to
twenty miles. On leaving the train, we first drove
to Prospect Hill, from which we could look down
upon the place and see the wide and rectangular
streets of the city shaded with trees. The business
blocks, hotels, and churches stand in the lower
part of the town, not far from Temple Block, which
is the sacred square of the Mormons. This square
contains ten acres, which are inclosed by a high
adobe wall, and within the inclosure stand the huge
mushroom-shaped Tabernacle, and the new Temple,
j which has just been dedicated. The Tabernacle has
1 a roof like a turtle shell or a mushroom, supported by
forty-four stone pillars. It is an immense, uninter-
esting building, capable of holding from eight to
twelve thousand people. The former number could
all be seated. Its acoustic properties are perfect.
We heard a whisper and a pin drop across the vast
space, and the performance for our benefit upon the
organ was a remarkable exhibition of sound effects.

The temple is a large and handsome building of
granite, with three lofty towers at each end. On the
highest tower at the eastern end stands a colossal

ACROSS THE SIERRA TO SALT LAKE 187

gilded angel. The interior is devoted to the secret
rites of the church. There is a large sea or baptis-
mal font, supported by bronze oxen as in Solomon's
Temple, and many costly and beautiful offerings.
Since the dedication — in 1893 — no Gentiles have
been allowed to pollute this holy place, but the Tab-
ernacle is used for many public purposes, and may
be entered by any one. The Assembly Hall is a
granite building in the southwestern part of the
grounds, and is used for religious services. It con-
tains wall paintings of scenes in Mormon history.
The grounds in which these buildings stand are
neatly kept and planted with trees and flowers.

This Zion of the "Latter Day Saints," as the
Mormons prefer to be called, is a pleasant and thi'iv-
ing place. Besides the Mormon temples, there are
churches belonging to the Gentiles, and among them
a sightly and attractive Presbyterian church is promi-
nent. The houses are mostly small, but very neat,
and many of them stand in gardens or orchards. The
Mormons are a thrifty people, and the farms and
mines and manufactures of Utah show conclusively
how prosperous the territory is, and how great a state
Utah might become, if it were freed from the domi-
nation of the sect whose cruelties and abominations
have disgraced the nineteenth century in this land.
Among the show-places in Salt Lake City are the
Lion House, one of the residences of the late Brigham
Young, which has a carved lion over the entrance ;
another called the Beehive House, which bears the
emblem of Utah — a beehive — on its front ; the Tith-
ing Storehouse, where the Mormons pay their tithes

188 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

in kind ; and Brigham Young's grave, surrounded by
an iron railing.

In the year 1844, the Mormons were driven from
Missouri and Illinois by an outraged public senti-
ment. Their prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother
Hiram were lynched in Carthage jail in the state of
Illinois on June 27, 1844, and after many disasters
and wandei'ings, the remnant, under the leadership of
Brigham Young, made their long and perilous pil-
grimage across the plains to Salt Lake City. Here
in the desert they found their "promised land," and
began to plough and plant, to irrigate and cultivate
the soil. Industry and perseverance have made the
Utah valleys productive and rich beyond all expec-
tation, and the Mormons have shown how the great
deserts of Western America can be made to blossom
as the rose. Mormon practices, under the name of
religion, have aroused against this people the hos-
tility of the nation, and their high-handed violation
of the laws of the country has brought them into
frequent collision with the government of the United
States ; but a copious immigration largely induced by
agents, and a concentrated form of government which
is of the most absolute type, have contributed to their
growth and prosperity. The territory of Utah was
organized in 1850, and Brigham Young became the
first governor. The territory would doubtless long
since have been admitted as a state, were it not for
the fear that the Mormons, if freed from the control
of the United States, would legalize polygamy and
revive the abominations which have only been re-
pressed by the strong arm of the general government.

ACROSS THE SIERRA TO SALT LAKE 189

The Gentile element is growing more and more
powerful each year, and as the territory lies in the
direct path of travel, its wealth and advantages are
becoming known. It is not unlikely that in a few
more years Mormon influence will so decline in com-
parison with the other elements in the territory that
Utah will be permitted to take a place in the sister-
hood of states.

Though the history of this sect has often been pub-
lished, a brief r^sumd from trustworthy sources may
not be out of place. Mormonism dates from 1820,
when Joseph Smith became interested in religious
matters during a revival in the town of Manchester,
New York, where he lived. He was a youth of four-
teen years of age, very thoughtful and conscientious.
He asked God to direct him to decide which of the
sects was right, and in answer saw a vision and was
told that all sects were wrong. In future visions he
was appointed to the priesthood of the Son of God, and
directed to restore the true church on earth, which
should last forever. He was also directed where to
find the inspired history of the aborigines of Amer-
ica, engraven in ancient characters on metal plates.
He was inspired to translate this into English, and
to publish it in 1830; from English it has been trans-
lated and published in many languages. This is the
Book of Mormon. A year previous, John the Bap-
tist had appeared to Joseph Smith and ])is compan-
ion, Oliver Cowdery, and ordained them to the
Aaronic priesthood; and in the same year, Peter,
James, and John appeared to them and ordained
them to the apostleship of the Melchisedec, or higher

190 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

priesthood. This is Joseph Smith's account of the
origin of Mormonisin. The Church of Latter Day
Saints was organized with six members, April 6, 1830,
at Fayette, New York, by Smith. Twelve apostles,
seventies, high priests, elders, bishops, priests,
teachers, and deacons have been since ordained to
the number of thousands. They have sent out agents
into many nations to proselyte, and have been espe-
cially successful in the British Isles and in Scandi-
navia. The baptized converts now number several
hundred thousand. The Latter Day Saints profess
belief in God the Father, his Son, Jesus Christ, his
atonement for sin, in the Holy Ghost, in faith, re-
pentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of
sins, the laying on of hands to impart the power of
the Holy Ghost, the resurrection of the dead, and the
judgment. They recognize divine authority as nec-
essary in the call and ordination to preach the Gospel
and administer the ordinances of the church. They
believe in the religious orders named above, also in
the revelations contained in the Bible, the Book of
Mormon, and other inspired books. They hold to
the sacredness and eternity of marriages. The)' look
for the building of Jerusalem and Zion, and the per-
sonal reign of Christ on earth as King of kings and
Lord of lords.

Such is a brief summary of the rise and doctrines
of this strange people. They are a sect gathered out
of many nations, mostly from the ignorant and super-
stitious, and from races of strong and animal pas-
sions. They have been governed and controlled
with great sagacity by leaders of acknowledged abil-

ACROSS THE SIERRA TO SALT LAKE 191

ity, who are always to be found for such service
among the children of men. Their belief is a mix-
ture of Judaism, Christianity, and animalism, and
their worship sentimental and devotional. Their
presiding officer in the church is now Wilford Wood-
ruff, with George Q. Cannon, who has been the terri-
torial delegate in Congress, and Joseph F. Smith as
his counsellors.

We did not care to linger long in such a city.
While it was yet early we drove beyond the city
limits to Fort Douglas, situated on a fine plateau
five hundred feet higher than the city. An electric
railway makes it easy for the soldiers to come into
town and for the residents to go out to the military
parades, but the Mormons have no love for the
United States troops, and the visitors at parade and
guard mounting are chiefly strangers. There are
more troops at Fort Douglas than at any other West-
ern military post. Among the soldiers on parade
was one company of Indians, which compared favor-
ably with the other soldiers, and seemed to have a
specially warlike appearance. By the reports of all
who have to do with them, trained Indians make
excellent soldiers. We loitered about the fort, lis-
tening to the music of an excellent band, and enjoy-
ing the extensive view from the parade ground, and
then drove back to town and took the train for the
Denver and Rio Grande scenic route.

XXVII
CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

WILD AND GRAND SCENERY NEW AND WONDERFUL

HOT SPRINGS SIX HUNDRED MILES FOR TWENTY-FIVE

CENTS TWO MILES UP IN THE AIR LEADVILLE,

COLORADO — THE COLLEGIATE MOUNTAINS — CLIMBING

MARSHALL PASS RAILROADS AS HIGH AS MOUNT

BLANC ENGINES PLAY HIDE AND SEEK THE ROYAL

GORGE — AN ENGINEERING FEAT THE PITTSBURGH

OF THE WEST

Our homeward journey from Salt Lake City was
resumed over the Denver, Rio Grande, and Western
Railway, and the stages of travel were so arranged
that we went through the grandest scenery of the
route by daylight. We followed up the Jordan
Valley for about fifty miles, passing through a well
cultivated region, and came to Prove, a Mormon town
situated on Utah Lake, a fresh-water lake whose out-
let is the Jordan River. From Provo the railroad
climbs by Spanish Creek over Soldier Summit, one
of the lower passes of the Wahsatch range. The
pass is named from the burial of a soldier of the
Confederate army here. We had risen more than
thirty-two hundred feet in the ninety-five miles that
we had traversed since leaving Salt Lake City, and

192

CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 193

were now about seventy-five hundred feet above sea-
level. The views were wild and grand, but not
extended, for we were travelling among high moun-
tains. The descent was along the valley of Price
River for seventy miles, and beyond the junction of
Price and Green rivers the road followed the Green
River for more than two hundred miles.

A striking feature of this part of the route is
found in the Price River Canon, where the gorge
narrows to a space barely sufficient for the passage
of the river, and two pinnacles of brilliant-colored
sandstone, rising to the height of five hundred feet,
form the entrance. So remarkable is the resem-
blance of this natural formation to towers of human
construction, that the name " Castle Gate " seems
most appropriate to the entrance to the deep and
narrow valley. All day we were among the moun-
tains, following the Green River. This is a majes-
tic and navigable stream which joins the Grand
River ninety miles below the town of Green River,
and the junction of these two forms the Colorado
River. On one side are the Roan Mountains, whose
cliffs are variegated in curious veins and lines, and
on the other side rise the San Rafael Mountains.
Beyond Utah the Colorado Desert opens before us
— dry, bare, and dismal. The fantastic shapes of
the Little Book cliffs relieve the monotony of the
way, but we were glad to arrive at Grand Junction,
from whence, following the left side of Grand River
through fantastic canons, long tunnels, and pretty
mountain vales, Ave came to a new and thriving
watering-place called Glenwood Springs.

194 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

Glenwood Springs is one of the largest of the
thermal springs of this section. The outflow of ten
of the larger springs is about eight thousand gallons
a minute, or twenty times as much as all the fifty-
seven springs at the Hot Springs in Arkansas com-
bined. A few years ago the place was a part of an
Indian reservation, and little was known of the
springs which have since made the region so famous.
The town is simply accessory to the springs. These
are situated at the junction of the Grand River and
Roaring Fork, in a picturesque valley, fifty-two
hundred feet above sea-level, surrounded by high
hills which are still covered with native forests.

A fine hotel, which can accommodate several hun-
dred guests, stands upon a terrace above the springs.
Below the hotel is the bath-house, which with its
pools and fountains cost several hundred thousand
dollars. The " Big Pool " is probably the largest
swimming pool of hot spring water in the world.
It covers more than an acre, and the waters are
freshly supplied from the hot springs, which pour
into the great enclosure two thousand gallons per
minute. From the midst of this great swimming-
pool a fountain of cold water rises with graceful jets.
The depth of the pool is gradual, from three and one-
half to five and one-half feet; the walls are of red
sandstone and the floor of smooth brick. The pool
is without a roof, and beyond the broad stone coping
there is a gravelled promenade. It is the custom of
the place for people to walk around the pool and
watch the bathers, and crowds may be seen in and
out of the water on any fine morning. Within the

CROSSING Tti:E ROCKY MOUNTAINS 195

elegant bath-house there are many private rooms
fitted with porcelain tubs, besides parlors and reading-
rooms and lounging-rooms. A physician also has
an office here, and is in attendance all day. In
addition to the tubs there are large private Roman
baths of porcelain and glass, supplied with hot and
cold showers, vapor cave baths, and every facility for
Russian and Turkish treatment.

While we were at Glenwood Springs, tAVO rival
roads were running excursion trains from Denver,
which is about three hundred miles distant. One
road carried passengers for a dollar; the rival sold
its tickets for twenty-five cents. Many inhabitants
of Denver thought that it was cheaper to travel than
to stay at home, and consequently the little town
around Glenwood Springs was crowded to repletion.
People who could not find beds slept on tables or
settees, and we saw wearied couples who had sat up
all night on chairs, thankful for shelter. As a natu-
ral result of such crowded excursion trains, the regu-
lar time-tables could not be maintained; there Avere
some minor accidents, and the risk of many more.
The hotels ran out of food and drink, and the prices
of things to eat advanced in proportion to their
scarcity. We were glad to have command of a well-
stocked Pullman train upon which we had enough
to eat and drink, and comfortable places to sleep.
But our time-table was interfered with by these
excursions, and also by several heavy landslides,
which are not unusual in the canons through which
the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad winds its Avay.

We left GlenAvood Springs about noon, and tray-

196 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

elled through the canon of the Grand River for
eighteen or twenty miles. Its rocky sides rise in
columns and battlements from two thousand to
twenty-five hundred feet in height, and the full
flowing river plunges and roars through this abj^ss.
The darkness of the chasm, into which sunlight
rarely falls, adds to the sublimity of the scene.
There seems to be scanty room for the railway and
the river, and one wonders at the hardihood which
built a railroad in such a place. After this sublime
experience, it was a relief to traverse an open and
rolling country for thirty miles before rej)eating our
emotions at Eagle River Canon. For thirty miles
or more the road climbs steadily, rising four thou-
sand feet in that distance, and reaching, at the Ten-
nessee Pass, a height of 10,440 feet above the sea.
The scenery of the first part of the route is most
majestic and interesting. We had come into the
midst of one of the largest mining camps in the
world. All along the almost perpendicular walls of
the canon, miners' dwellings were seen clinging to
the rocks; the debris of the shafts, stagings, water-
wheels, and mining paraj)hernalia met our view at
every turn ; the rocky heights, some of which were
of a deep red color, broken into curious forms of
gigantic birds and animals, or arranged in grand
architectural designs of Egyptian proportions; the
mountain peaks beyond that reared their dark forms
far up into the heavens ; the frequent waterfalls and
the vast mass of the yellow torrent whirling through
the gorge, joined to make the scene grand and im-
pressive. The caiion ended almost abruptly at the

CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 197

picturesque mining town of Red Cliff, and we
emerged into a more open, though very elevated
country. Lofty mountains densely wooded on their
slopes, sometimes bare and rough as they ended in
domes and peaks far above us, were seen on every
side, and among them the noble mountain of the
Holy Cross. The engineering of the road is magni-
ficent — it plunges through rocky spurs or winds
around them ; it doubles on itself and lifts its track
to seemingly inaccessible heights, whence the trav-
eller looks down with awe and wonder.

Passing by the Fremont Pass on a lower level, we
came to the Tennessee Pass, and here crossed the
Continental watershed at a height of nearly two
miles above the sea. After steaming a dozen miles,
we drcAv up at Leadville. Here all got out of the
train and began to walk about, but some of the party
at once felt dizzy, and many noticed an increased
action of the heart, due to the rarity of the air. This
town is finely situated at a height of ten thousand
two hundred feet, among lofty mountains, and lias a
population of ten thousand, most of whom are in-
terested in mining. It is an old town for this
region, having been founded in 1859, under the name
of California Gulch, and it was for many years one
of the richest gold- washing camps in Colorado. It
is said that during the first five years of its existence
five millions of dollars' worth of gold dust was
washed from the earth of this gulch. Then the
place was nearly abandoned for ten years, till in
1876, extensive beds of carbonate silver were dis-
covered, and a population reckoned as high as thirty

198 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

thousand rushed in. The name of " Leadville " was
given to the former "Gulch," and the annual yield
of silver from the Leadville mines has been, till
recently, about thirteen millions of dollars. We
made a brief stop at this "city above the clouds," as
it is sometimes called, and then commenced our rapid
descent through the valley of the Arkansas River,
between mighty hills, to Salida, where we stopped
for the night to rest and prepare for an excursion on
the next day to the famous Marshall Pass. These
days among the Rocky Mountains give a traveller
some conception of the wonders and novelties of
this vast mountain range. We have only begun to
explore its mysteries, to gather its wealth, and to
study its manifold and sublime features. The
future has much to reveal to the student and ex-
plorer in these rocky fastnesses which Wendell
Phillips eloquently called the "ramparts of freedom."

Salida is a small town beautifully situated on the
Arkansas River, commanding a grand mountain view.
From a small hill in front of the station, the three
" Collegiate " peaks of the Sawatch range. Mounts
Yale, Princeton, and Harvard, each more than four-
teen thousand feet in height and crowned with per-
petual snow, fill the western horizon. In the south
rise the snowy summits of the Sangre de Cristo
range, and Mounts Ouray and Shavano in the south-
west.

A special train was in waiting after breakfast to
make an excursion to the Marshall Pass. The road
went directly for the mountains, and soon was wind-
ing its way along steep embankments and shelving

CROSSING THE ROCIiY MOUNTAms 199

precipices. As the train drew near to the Poncho
Pass, Mounts Shavano and Ouray, peaks named in
honor of chiefs of the Ute tribe of Indians, became
most prominent. The narrow gauge road leads
towards Ouray. The mountain is fourteen thousand
feet high, and the summit of the pass is 10,852 feet
high. The road twists and turns, and doubles upon
itself, so that at some points three and even four
parts of the line seem parallel, until it comes out
directly at the base of the great snow dome of the
Ouray Mountain. The scenery on this road is of
the grandest sort. Long ranges of snow-covered
mountains, in cones and pyramids, all of which are
within a few hundred feet of the height of Mount
Blanc in Switzerland, greet the eye. Lower down,
wooded heights fringe the snow line, and elevated
valleys diversify the landscape. The prospect is not
dreary and desolate, but sublime and inspiring, and
the pass somewhat resembles the Stelvio Pass in
Italian Switzerland, where the roadway reaches a
height of ten thousand feet, and looks at once into
the regions of perpetual snow and the cultivated
valleys of the Tyrol.

The inevitable snow-sheds appeared as we ascended,
and the actual top of the Marshall Pass, the conti-
nental divide upon which so much eloquence has
been expended, is in the middle of a dingy construc-
tion of this sort. Here we were, sitting comfortably
on the very ridgepole of the continent. I seemed to
hear with new force those sermons and moral ad-
dresses which my youthful memory recalled, and of
which the Marshall Pass was the star illustration.

200 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

The drop of water on the summit of this pass may
be turned by the wind, by a tiny stone, by the slight-
est influence or obstacle to one side or the other of
the ridge. How vast the difference of experience
and result which hangs upon that alternative ! Flow-
ing to the east, it will join the fivers which fructify
the fertile ^ind far-extending continent, will water
cultivated and peaceful regions, will contribute to
inland navigation, to the development of valuable
industries, the prosperity of a nation, the blessing
of the world. Flowing to the west, after a wild and
turbulent plunge over precipices, through gloomy
canons, lashed into foam, dizzied in whirlpools, torn
by jagged rocks, out of sight in subterranean pas-
sages, or tortured by desert heat and hurried through
uninhabited and inhospitable tracts of earth, it will
bury a miserable existence in the lonely Pacific.
Such and so important are the turning-points, the
crises, in human lives, in national existence, in the
history of an enterprise or of an institution. The
simile is an admirable one, and it has been made to
do frequent duty ever since the Marshall Pass was
discovered. Doubtless it was used by orators and
essayists long before, but the Rocky Mountains gave
it a new prominence. And here we were, in such
a classic spot, under a sooty shed, and the poetic
drops were aggregating dirty pools along a cindery
railway track. We climbed out of the train and
found a door and a plank walk which led through
the snow to a wind-swept frame tower. The blood
mounted to the brain and tl^ ears buzzed as with a
dose of quinine while I climbed the staircase which

CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 201

lifted me to nearly eleven thousand feet above the
sea-level. The wind came rushing through the pass
like a cavalry squadron, bearing flurries of feathery
snow ; and the sun shone out, and far and wide the
mountain landscape glittered and glowed in its
beams. One does not care to stay long upon sum-
mits. They are briefly inspiring, but the work of
the world is done lower down and mostly on the
dull levels. Peter wanted three tabernacles on
Mount Tabor, but the Master paid no attention to
his remark, and the inspired narrator tells us that
Peter wist not what he said.

We came down more rapidly than we went up,
but with great care on the part of our engineer. He
used gravity as a motive power and steam for the
brakes. Our extra engine went ahead. It was a
pretty play of "hide and seek " around the curves,
and sometimes four terraces of the same tiack were
below us, the lower one directly in front, six miles
distant, and a thousand feet below. The maximum
grade of the railway is two hundred and eleven feet
to the mile, and there are curves that reach twenty-
four degrees in one hundred feet. From Salida to
Sargeant is forty-two miles, and one-half of the dis-
tance is taken up in crossing the Marshall Pass by
zigzags. We were at Salida in time for dinner, and
in the afternoon took one of the most picturesque
journeys which has been embraced in our tour, down
the Arkansas River. Five miles from Salida are the
Wells ville Hot Springs, which are celebrated for
their medicinal qualities ; thence the road meanders'
down through broad valleys, following the Arkansas

202 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

River. Gradually the mountains close upon the
river, which begins to rage and boil at its confine-
ment, and reaches the climax of its fury as it flings
itself into the jaws of the Royal Gorge. This is one
of the most wonderful scenes in the transcontinen-
tal route. The rocks tower to a perpendicular height
of twenty-six hundred feet, and through this defile
the heaped-up waters of the Arkansas River rush and
roar. It must have seemed madness to engineer a
railroad through such a pass, but the men who
planned the road have carried it out. The track is
carried on a bridge which is literally hung from the
smooth walls of rock on one side and braced by iron
beams from the opposite precipice. The only equal
engineering feat that I recall is where the Dalsland
Canal at Hoverud, in Sweden, is carried across a
river at a perilous height in an immense iron trough.
The sensation during the transit of the Royal Gorge
reminded me of my feelings years ago, when at the
canal crossing on the Dalsland. This, however, has
more elements of sublimity. The gorge is nar-
rower, the precipices are much more lofty and per-
pendicular, and the river is larger and more awful in
its fury.

Continuing down the Arkansas Canon, we came to
Canon City, where miners and stockmen have their
headquarters, where the climate is said to be perfect,
and the mineral waters excellent, and soon after
reached Pueblo. Pueblo is an active and hand-
somely built city, containing about twenty-five
thousand inhabitants. It is called the "Pittsburgh
of the West," and is the metropolis of south central

CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 203

Colorado, and a great railway junction. Rolling-
mills and iron works, and large smelters for the re-
duction of gold, silver, lead, and copper have been
established here, and it has also a large business in
agricultural products. There is nothing to detain
the traveller unless he is interested in metal and
mining industries, and after a short visit we re-
sumed our journey. From Pueblo to Colorado
Springs is one long panorama of magnificent scenery.
Through the whole distance majestic mountains,
broad plains sweeping eastward, and flourishing
towns meet the eye. The mountains of which Pike's
Peak is the prominent summit are always in sight.
It was the evening of a day full of wonderful enjoy-
ment among the great and awful works of the Creator,
which found us in the full civilization and rest of
one of the most famous health resorts of the nation,
— Colorado Springs.

XXVIII

COLORADO SPRINGS, MANITOU, AND
DENVER

THE invalids' HOME THE MINERAL SPRINGS OF

manitou " garden of the gods " helen hunt

Jackson's grave — pike's peak — its difficulties,

wonders, and glories the central city of the

union mines and industries enterprising

people daniel webster no prophet the view

from city park hospitality and home feeling

on to the exposition home again •

Colorado Springs is a town of ten or twelve
thousand inhabitants, handsomely laid out upon an
elevated plateau, about six miles from the base of
Pike's Peak. It has wide streets shaded with trees,
trolley railways running in various directions, a
great many handsome houses and fine churches, and
a population largely composed of people of delicate
lungs, who have found here a place where they can
live with comfort. The town was founded in 1871,
and it has been carefully preserved from the inroads
of manufactures. Colorado College is located here,
and the philanthropist, the late Mr. George W.
Childs, of Philadelphia, here founded a home for
decayed printers. There are educational institu-
tions, and the state asylum for the deaf and dumb

204

COLORADO SPRINGS, MANITOU, AKD DENVER 205

also here. No liquor saloons are allowed in the
place, and the Sabbath that we spent at Colorado
Springs had a New England character which was
quite refreshing after the experiences of many of
our Sundays. Rev. Livingston L. Taylor is the
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, a man of
health and power, and with his church is alive to
every hospitable and Christian duty, as well as
earnest in the proclamation of the Gospel.

There are no " springs " nearer to the town than
Manitou, about six miles away, where we passed
some pleasant days, but Colorado Springs is never-
theless the right place for invalids to live in. Its
climate is like that of the Engadine, but the moun-
tains are not so near, while to the east and south of
.the town spreads a boundless table-land which con-
tinually recalls the ocean on a calm, mild day. The
air is dry, the sunshine almost constant, and there is
no frost nor melting snow, nor any rain from Sep-
tember to April. The town is sheltered by the foot-
hills, except where the plateau extends on the soutli-
east, and enjoys the openness and fresh air from the
mountains; the soil is dry sand and gravel with a
layer of loam on top ; all water is brought from the
mountains, and the sewerage and sanitary arrange-
ments are excellent. There are many good phy-
sicians, excellent society, opportunities for riding,
driving, and out-of-door amusement, and all " the
facilities for comfortable and happy life. The cli-
mate is said to be especially suited to consumptives
or those who have a tendency to that disease. It is
also recommended for debility and nervous exhaus-

206 BEYOND THE ROCICIES

tion, but not adapted to the aged or to those who
have organic nervous or heart troubles.

Six miles from Colorado Springs, situated in a
small valley among the spurs of Pike's Peak, and at
the mouth of Ute Pass, is Manitou Springs. There
is not an acre of level ground in the valley, and the
hotels and dwellings are perched on terraces and hill-
sides. Through an opening in the hills the snow-
white crest of Pike's Peak is seen, and a cog-wheel
railway makes the ascent an easy matter for the
traveller. The springs are twelve in number, divided
into three groups, and are situated on the banks of
Fountain Creek, a stream that flows swiftly through
the centre of the village, or on Ruxton's Creek,
which comes from the Ute Pass. They have dis-
tinctive names, — Navajo, Shoshone, Manitou, Little
Chief, and Iron. The water is impregnated with
carbonate of soda, and is used for drinking and bath-
ing. All day long people may be seen drinking and
filling demijohns and bottles at the public fountains,
and sometimes family wagons stop, and while the
father fills the jug, the mother fills the numerous
children with the healthful liquid.

Between the towns of Colorado Springs and Mani-
tou, lies the far-famed "Garden of the Gods." Pho-
tographs and descriptions have made this place
familiar, but none of them convey the grotesque and
curious scene in its completeness to the mind. The
" garden " is a tract of about five hundred acres in
extent, inclosed by cliffs and hills, and thickly
strewn with immense masses of red and white sand-
stone in most odd and fantastic shapes. The imagi-

COLORADO SPRINGS, MANITOU, AND DENVER 207

nation runs riot in a place like this, and different
groups of the sandstone have been named for animals
and edifices and mythological monsters. A drive
through the garden affords any number of fine views
of the mountains and the table-lands, as well as an
acquaintance with the geological wonders of the
place ; and it is usually taken in connection with a
visit to Glen Eyrie, where General Palmer has pro-
duced a little paradise in the midst of the most fan-
tastic scenery. The neighborhood is full of places
of natural and personal interest. In one caiion a
beautiful red sandstone is quarried, in another there
are extensive silver mines, and high up on the moun-
tain-side of South Canon is the spot chosen by Helen <
Hunt Jackson for her burial-place. This celebrated
author loved the South Canon with its musical
Seven Falls, and often resorted to it for recreation
and musing, and in accordance with a desire fre-
quently expressed in life, that this should be her
last resting-place, she was buried here. It is a sad
and gloomy place for a lonely grave, marked only by
a pile of rocks which have been placed by literary
admirers and sympathizing visitors upon the sacred
spot. A drive up the Ute Pass, past Rainbow Falls
on Fountain Creek, brings the visitor to the Grand
Caverns, which contain fine formations of stalactites
and stalagmites and flowering alabaster. There are
also numerous fossils and bones of animals and men.
There are a number of chambers and halls extending
for nearly a mile underground, in some of which the
lime formation is still going on, and in all of which
the petrifactions are interesting and beautiful.

208 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

The great excursion from Manitou is to Pike's
Peak. This is one of the best known summits of the
Rocky Mountains. There is a carriage road which
ascends by a comparatively easy grade in seventeen
miles, a bridle-path, and a foot trail, all of which are
used, but the majority who now make the ascent do
so by the cog-wheel railway, which is about nine
miles long, with a total rise of seventy-five hundred
feet, an average of about eight hundred and fifty feet
to the mile. It takes two hours to reach the top,
and costs five dollars for the round trip. Major
Zebulon Pike, whose name the mountain beare, tried
nearly a century ago — in 1806 — to scale this lofty
height. He succeeded in reaching the top of the
neighboring mountain now called Cheyenne, but the
difficulties beyond seemed so great that the attempt
was abandoned, and he wrote that " no human being
could ascend to that summit." It was fifty years
before the ascent was known to be attempted again,
and then a regular trail was made, and now and then
a venturesome traveller scaled the mountain by this
long and dangerous route. After 1870, new paths
were made, and as the region had been much ex-
plored by miners and engineers, the ascent began to
be more frequently attempted. In 1889 the first car-
riage road was built up the north and west sides of
the mountain by frequent zigzags. By these ways
travellers could make the trip in one, two, or three
days, according to weather and strength. The idea
of an iron railroad was published in 1884, but it was
not realized until 1890. In October of that year a
golden spike fastened the last rail in the highest

COLORADO SPRINGS, MANITOU, AND DENVER 209

railroad in the world, and made it easy to go in half
a day to the top of this mountain, 14,147 feet above
the sea. The road begins in Engleman's Canon,
near the Iron Springs, and climbs through wild and
beautiful scenes, among forests, and ravines, and
waterfalls, to the Half-way House. Thence over a
level stretch, amid groves of pine and aspen, for
more than two miles, from which point superb dis-
tant vieAvs are obtained; the road then goes on to a
steep incline, at what is called Timber Line, 11,625
feet above the sea. A sharp turn is then made to
climb into the "Saddle," and a steep rise of about
eight hundred feet brings the train to the old gov-
ernment signal station, on the top of the peak.

Like most mountains, this veteran is coy and un-
certain ; snow-squalls and mists sometimes disappoint
the tourist; but the climate of the region is so fine,
the atmosphere so pure and dry, and the ascent so
easily made, that with a fair day at command, one
does not often descend unrewarded for his toil. The
view from the summit is of vast extent, embracing
the Buffalo Plains of Colorado, which stretch out
north, south, and eastward in a seemingly endless
level, like an ocean floor. Westward the eye roams
over hundreds of snow-mantled mountains, whose
peaks soar into the blue vault of heaven with every
variety of outline. If the one view is of a calm,
waveless ocean, the other view is of the same bound-
less ocean tossed by furious winds into huge masses
of black and white billows which leap against the
sky. Far below is the busy world and its clamor.
Only the firmament above is unmoved in its blue

210 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

and beautiful serenity. Looking into that clear
space, it seems as if we can realize the presence of
Him who sitteth on high above the floods of earth,
who holds fast the mountains, or at whose touch they
tremble and smoke ; who has filled these mountains
with gold and gems, and clothed them with majesty
and power; who has spread abroad through Nature
the evidence of His greatness, and among men the
proofs of His goodness, and who will one day fill the
whole earth with His glory.

' Denver is the central city of the United States.
It is a striking example of growth and prosperity.
Situated in the midst of an arid country fifteen miles
from the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, a
mile above the level of the sea, with no navigable
rivers or lakes, it has yet developed, from one family
living in a log cabin in 1857, into a city of one hun-
dred and fifty thousand inhabitants, which contains
many large, handsome, and substantial buildings,
tasteful pi'ivate residences and gardens, important
industries and valuable manufactures. Sunshine,
clear and stimulating air, the grand scenery of the
Rocky Mountains, and a soil that responded to irri-
gation are at the foundation of the success of Denver.
Next to these natural advantages, is its position in
the heart of a rich mining district. Nearly all the
known minerals exist in Colorado in happy distribu-
tion. Every valley where water is brought to de-
velop the richness of the soil, is bounded by hills
that contain either coal, iron, lead, copper, tin, zinc,
gold, silver, lime, and building-stone ; or deposits of
salt, borax, oil, asphaltum, and textile clays. This

COLORADO SPRINGS, MANITOU, AND DENVER 211

position made the town a railway centre, a depot for
supplies, and by natural growth, a city. Denver is
not a rough Western city. It has an air of business
and bustle, but not the reckless helter-skelter drive
of Chicago. It more resembles Cleveland or Buffalo I
than the "Windy City," and the citizen of New 1
York does not feel far from home among its people
or in its streets. The population of Denver was
gathered from the best of the settlers from the East.
They were young men of courage, good judgment,
and persistent energy, and they were also men of
good character. The town was aggressive and yet
conservative. Side by side with enterprising busi-
ness and vast industries rose attractive homes, and
commodious schools, well-equipped churches, and a
university which has grown out of Colorado Semi-
nary, founded in 1870, the same year in which the
first locomotive entered the city.

The unrivalled growth of the United States has
far outstripped the conceptions of our greatest states-
men. The speech of Webster in 1838, delivered in X
Congress upon the question of establishing a post-
route from Independence, Missouri, to the mouth of
the Columbia River, is one of the most striking illus-
trations of this statement. Daniel Webster opposed
the bill, and closed his speech as follows: "What
do we want with this vast, worthless area? this region
of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, shifting sands,
and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and prairie-dogs ?
To what use could we ever hope to put these great
deserts, or those endless mountain ranges, impregna-
ble, and covered to their very base with eternal

212 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

snow ? What can we ever hope to do with the west-
ern coast, a coast of three thousand miles, rock-
bound, cheerless, uninviting, and not a harbor on
it? What use have we for such a country? Mr.
President, I will never vol^ one cent from the public
treasury to place the Pacific coast one inch nearer to
Boston than it now is." It was a two months' jour-
ney in those years from Boston to where Denver
stands; we go now with ease and comfort in five
days. In the midst of the "shifting sands " of this
" worthless area " is the city of one hundred and fifty
thousand inhabitants which American enterprise has
built, not as a solitary Tadmor to show the poAver of
a tyrant, but in response to the demand of a great
people who have poured the waves of population into
and over the desert, and made it a garden of wealth
and beauty. We drove out through long and well-
kept avenues lined with hundreds of small but well-
built and neatly kept houses, to the City Park of
three hundred and twenty acres. This public place
is but partially laid out, but it gives promise of be-
ing a credit and a blessing to the city. From its
roads one can see on the west the unbroken line of
the Rocky Mountains, extending for nearly two hun-
dred miles from Pike's Peak on the south to Long's
Peak on the north, the summits crowned with snow.
The city, with its new state capital and fine resi-
dences around it, forms a grand panorama on the
east as seen from the park.

From the park we went to some of the smelting
works, and watched the processes with interest from
the time when the crude, crushed ore was dumped

COLORADO SPRINGS, MANITOU, AND DENVER 213

into wheelbarrows from the trains till, having passed
through a variety of changes, it came out in large
ingots of precious metal. The value of the ores
reduced here in a single year (1891) amounted to
twenty-four and one-half millions. A friend who
has made the mining regions of Colorado his home
for a dozen years, who knows all the mines and their
products, and who, as a practical engineer, is famil-
iar with these mineral industries, became our guide
and instructor in Denver. He made me at home at
the club, took me to see the assay of precious metals
and the many places of interest in the town, and,
with some other equally hospitable friends, aided in
the formation of pleasant impressions upon my mind ;
but had I known no one in Denver, I should soon
have made friends and found myself at home.

Here our tour of the South and West practically
ended. We were two days in reaching Chicago, but
the route was familiar, and our faces and thoughts
were turned towards the great Columbian Exhibi-
tion, then in the fulness of its glory. It has now
passed like the others which preceded it, among
which it was the largest and most wonderful. Its
beauties and peculiarities have been pictured and
described again and again, till all the reading world
knows them by heart. After a couple of weeks at
Chicago, on a summer day we arrived once more in
New York, with hearts full of gratitude for safety
and health through months of travel, and memories
stored with pictures, which, better than any photo-
graphs, reproduce for us the varied and instructive
scenes of this long journey in some of the grandest

214 BEYOND THE ROCKIES

and most beautiful parts of our broad land. He who
has drunk of the fountain of Trevi in Rome is sure
to return to the Eternal City, and so one who has
breathed the pure and delicious air of the Pacific
coast, and wintered in Pasadena, Santa Barbara, or
El Monte, longs to shake off the wintry snow from
his feet and seek once more the orange orchards,
the rose gardens, and the balmy breezes of the Golden
State, or the dry and exhilarating atmosphere of the
Rocky Mountains, I have long since said good-by to
those travelling companions with whom so many de-
lightful days were spent, and now as a guide, I say
adieu to the great company of readers and friends
whom I have personally conducted through the South-
ern and Western regions of our great country.

Norfajoot Prrgg :

J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith.

Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

DR. STODDARD'S OTHER BOOKS OF TRAVEL.

ACROSS RUSSIA

FROM THE BALTIC TO THE DANUBE.

IIjJjUSTItATEI). 12mo. 91.50.

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objects of interest, and writes about them in a way that cannot fail to
interest. We have had so many dark pictures of Russia lately that it
is a pleasure to get hold of a book that is to a certain degree optimistic.
The book is well illustrated." — The School Journal.

" The eyes through which we look in this pleasant volume of travels
are not unused to sight seeing, and the descriptions here given are
entertaining and happy." — Herqld and Presbyter, Cincinnati.

" The volume richly deserves a place among those welcome helps
that are bringing the most distant and unfrequented parts of the earth
near to our own doors." — Golden Rule, Boston.

SPANISH CITIES

WITH GLIMPSES OF GIBRALTAR AND TANGIER.

TJjLUSTHATED. 12mo. $1.50.

PRESS NOTICES.

" He fulfils the ideal of a delightful travelling companion, whose
conversation has informing qualities without being tedious, and whose
style has sparkle and flavor without froth." — New York Tribune.

" His style is direct, easy, and graceful, and his strong English sen-
tences have need of few adjectives to enforce their meaning. His
descriptions of places are concise and yet clear, and so markedly
elegant as to deserve more than usual commendation." — Chicago
Inter-Ocean.

"Dr. Stoddard's style is easy and flowing, and he gives us, not
merely a chronicle of where he went and what he saw, but he gives us
a series of delightful pen pictures of Spain and its people, their habits
and customs and modes of life. There are several excellent illustra-
tions which add much to the interest of the work." — Boston Daily
Advertiser.

"An unusually fresh and beautiful book of travel." — Brooklyn
Daily Eagle.

" A straightforward, unpretentious, interesting account of travel in
Spain, with interesting descriptions of cities, and passing notes of
Spanish life without tiresome statistics or historical rehashing." — The
Independent.

" A writer who has the power of seeing things as well as describing
what he sees. To read it is to take one of the most delightful trips
conceivable with a charming companion and raconteur. . . . The
illustrations are from photographs, and add very much to the attrac-
tiveness of the volume." — The Detroit Free Press.

" He knows well how to find the points and the persons of special
interest, and then understands how to make what interests himself
seem vivid and of similar interest to the reader. His style, while pure
and simple, is picturesque and easily appeals to the reader's imagina-
tion."— The Advance.

" Dr. Stoddard is a traveller who knows what he wants to see, and
sees it, and a writer who knows how to make his readers see what he
has seen. In this pleasant tour in Spain he saw the present and
recalled the past, and his sketches of what he saw gain an added
touch of romance from the glimpses he gives of what he remembered
of their former history." — The Evangelist.

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, Publishers,

743 and 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY.

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

867

386

Stoddard, Charles iiugustus
Beyond the Rockies

.,;-,-'l'.M..:'lf:6S

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