THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
&#:*
OUR PARTY AT THE MIDWINTER FAIR AT
SAN FRANCISCO
i. M. 2. Myself. 3. Mr. S., our guide. 4. Mr. H. Neville.
Frontispiece
A ROUND TRIP IN
NORTH AMERICA
LADY THEODORA GUEST
With Illustrations from the Author's Sketches
LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD
26 & 27 COCKSPUR STREET, CHARING CROSS S.W.
1895
I DEDICATE THESE RECORDS
OF A HAPPY HOLIDAY
TO MY
MANY FRIENDS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
WHERE THEIR
UNIVERSALLY WARM WEI-COME
AND
SPONTANEOUS KINDNESS
MADE ME FEEL AT HOME AMONGST
MY COUSINS
LIST OF CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA ... I
II. BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 25
III. WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER .... 41
IV. IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 62
V. UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY. 78
VI. SAN FRANCISCO ......... go
VII. MONTEREY IOQ
VIII. YO SEMITE VALLEY . . . . . . . IIQ
IX. NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 149
X. ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC 167
xi. ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA . . . . . . .178
XII. CANADA 195
XIII. THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC ...... 219
XIV. FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA . . ... 238
XV. HOMEWARD BOUND ........ 258
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
To face
Plate page
I. OUR PARTY AT THE MIDWINTER FAIR AT SAN FRANCISCO
Frontispiece
II. THE " PARIS," OF THE AMERICAN LINE .... 9
in. THE "WILDWOOD" AND "LAWRENCE" . . . . 25
IV. IN THE GARDEN OF THE GODS, COLORADO . . . 64
V. PIKE'S PEAK, THROUGH THE GATE OF THE GARDEN OF
THE GODS . . . 69
VI. THE SEAL ROCKS, FROM CLIFF HOUSE, CALIFORNIA ... 94
VII. CYPRESS POINT, MONTEREY, ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN . Ill
VIII. IN YO SEMITE VALLEY : THE SNOW-COVERED " CLOUD'S
REST" . 129
IX. THE YO SEMITE VALLEY : THE BRIDAL VEIL FALLS ON
THE RIGHT EL CAPITAN OPPOSITE . . . .134
X. THE VERNAL FALLS OF THE MERCED . . . ."136
XI. MOUNT SHASTA, IN CALIFORNIA 154
XII. PORTLAND, OREGON . . . . . ' . . . 158
XIII. QUEBEC IN EARLY MORNING, FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE . 224
XIV. THE NATURAL STEPS, ON THE MONTMORENCI RIVER . 226
XV. FALLS OF THE CHAUDRIERE, IN LEVIS, CANADA . . 228
XVI. THE NATURAL BRIDGE, IN VIRGINIA 248
The flower figured on the cover is the " Cyclobothra," referred to
on page 712
CHAPTER I
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA
FROM various agricultural reasons, hunting came to
its last sad day even earlier than usual this spring
(1894), and we found that we should have time for a
good long excursion before the hot weather set in.
Where to go was a question soon settled, for we had
several tempting invitations from friends in distant
countries, and above all one of long standing, which
we had always hoped to accomplish at some time or
other, and this seemed the very best possible moment
for a visit to America.
The Chicago World's Fair was over last year,
therefore one might hope that crowds had thronged
there then, and that the number of travellers going
West would be fewer this year in consequence. So
with 110 delay, our passages were taken on board
the Paris, for April i4th, and our "party" made
up ; this was not a long affair, as it consisted only
2 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
of our two selves, one friend, Mr. H. Neville, and
Byatt, my maid. Our friend, Mr. F. T., was
" cabled " to expect us on the 2ist, and the morning
of Saturday the i4th found us at Southampton,
examining with curiosity and content the suite of
state-rooms which were to be our home for a week.
These were delightful, two cabins in one, a large
bathroom adjoining, and plenty of room for chairs
and tables, and opening on to the promenade deck.
This might be called " misery made easy," to one
apprehensive of mal-de-mer. We deposited our
hand-bags and strolled about the ship till near twelve
o'clock, when, the London train having come in, our
English friends departed, and at 12.10 we left the
pier, ten minutes late, as it had taken that time to
haul down the flags and roll up the red cloth, with
which the Paris had been decorated in honour of
H.R.H. the Duchess of Albany, who, with her two
little children, had been inspecting the ship.
My brother-in-law had introduced us to his
friends, Mr. and Mrs. G., who were returning to
America, and they were most kind to us, inviting us
at once to their table for the whole voyage for our
meals ; and, as he is the great man on this line, their
kindness meant a great deal, and converted what
might have been a dull voyage into the semblance
of a most cheerful visit. With them were their
daughter (about fifteen), their doctor, and his secre-
tary, and Mr. C., all most pleasant people and full
of fun. The ship was not full, there being only about
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 3
a hundred saloon passengers, besides second-class
and some four hundred emigrants, but the vessel is
so enormous one is absolutely unaware that the
latter are there at all. The Paris is 10,794 tons,
five hundred and eighty feet long, and sixty- three
feet wide, and our average speed was four hundred
and sixty-eight miles in the twenty-four hours.
The rain, which had fallen all the morning, soon
ceased, and the afternoon was fine enough to allow
of chairs on deck, and the English coast receded
prettily in fading haze, the last glimpse being
afforded by the revolving light on the Eddystone,
after which I betook myself to my berth with very
serious doubts as to when I should leave it.
On Sunday I did not go to breakfast, nor, indeed,
did any come to me till late in the day. There was
a service on board in the morning, in the saloon,
which was fairly well attended. The time has an
odd way of gaining about forty minutes in the
twenty-four hours, which is a great worry to one's
watch, as one has to be constantly putting it back,
and no real gain to oneself in the way of prolonging
life, as we shall catch it all up again on the return
voyage. It was still rather rough on Monday,
though the sea gradually went down, and on
Tuesday it was calm and lovely, and after break-
fasting in the state-room I got up and was on deck
before M. had finished his more elaborate meal
below. It was pleasant to sit in the sun and sketch
views of the sea, which was monotonous and calm,
4 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
so calm that in this big ship there was but little
motion fast as we go, about twenty miles an hour,
and we are now only about six hundred miles
from Newfoundland and in the iceberg region. I
am very anxious to see one, yet hardly dare to wish
it, as it involves danger. The Britannic, of the
Cunard line, passed us on her homeward way, and
signalled that she had met no ice.
We had luncheon at one o'clock ; and the meals are
always amusing, not only on account of the clever
sparkling talk, but, this being an American line, one
may always meet a surprise in some new dish, and
to-day it took the form of " sea-pie." After it we sat
on deck till it grew damp and misty, and then Mr.
G. invited us to his room, opposite ours, and he and
M. and I had a most interesting long talk, chiefly
on America and its possible development into
English country life. Mrs. G. joined us, and we
talked on till time to prepare for dinner at 6.30.
To-day our fish was halibut, a very white, rather
substantial fish ; and we wound up with pineapple,
served as it should be all the rind very carefully
taken off, then torn with a fork, never cut, and sent
up in delicious rough blocks, full of juice ; so much
nicer than our dull slices. This evening it grew
rather thick, and the melancholy fog-horn sounded
all night ; the Captain only got half an hour's sleep.
It is wonderful how little life there is in mid-
Atlantic ; to-day we were, I suppose, in about the
middle of the open ocean, though not half way
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 5
through the voyage till to-night. We have only
seen two sailing vessels, one steamer, and a few
gulls, and nothing else ; sometimes they see whales
spouting, but they did not spout for us.
Wednesday was a glorious day ; the fog cleared
off, and the sun broke out on a sapphire sea, spark-
ling with diamond-spray. The white crests to the
waves became smaller and fewer, and by twelve
o'clock, when Mr. G. was ready to take us below, it
was possible to walk with ease and confidence. He
had promised to show us all over the ship, and led us
first, by a lift, to the stores, which were filled with
everything that is necessary and even luxurious, to
feed some thousand people for a week. There were
separate rooms, which looked like frosted caves, for
the butter and cream the latter in long rows of
hermetically sealed bottles for the meat and game,
and for the fruit, apples, bananas, and pineapples.
The kitchen was a contrast in temperature, and was
presided over by a very hot and amiable Irish cook,
with two French ones, and four more assistants.
In the bakehouse there were an enormous quantity
of little loaves, ready baked, in long rows, for the
one hundred and sixty firemen and forty-five sailors,
who will want them for their five o'clock tea this
afternoon. The crew, including stokers, &c., num-
ber about four hundred, all told.
Our little procession next visited the steerage, and
saw the emigrants' quarters ; many are Norwegians
and Swedes, but there were some from almost all
6 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
nations ; they have every comfort, and their quarters
are really very nearly as good as ours are on the
smaller Norsk steamers, and quite as airy and
clean ; they are very well fed too, and but for an
apparently superfluous quantity of babies, they
looked very comfortable. The second-class saloon is
very handsomely fitted, and rejoices in the possession
of a pianoforte.
We made one hundred and forty miles southing
since noon yesterday, so we ought to be getting
warmer, and we are a little. One can't help making
a great point of meals on board, and I always scan
the bill of fare with interest for the new dishes ; to-
day we had " chicken-pot pie," with which we became
intimately acquainted afterwards, and always met
as a friend ; " head cheese " looked mysterious, and
on Mr. G. sending for some for me, it appeared in
the likeness of very good brawn ; indeed we live in
the lap of luxury, or, as M. expresses it, " like
fighting cocks."
" Where is that champagne ? " said Mr. G.
wearily.
" Coming, sir, coming," answered the head
steward nervously. " I've sent two men after
it."
" Then now, send one woman. Is the champagne
man dead ? " he continued, as nothing came.
" No, sir, no, Mr. G. ; but they can't get the cork
out."
" Never mind the cork ; take the bottom out."
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 7
After a cheery luncheon we went up to Mr. G.'s
deck cabin and looked through a splendid book of
photographs of Constantinople and the inhabitants
thereof, which Mr. Terrell, the U. S. Minister to Turkey,
brought to Mrs. G. He was returning to Texas for
a short holiday. Just before dinner Mr. C. saw a
number of little birds struggling in the water,
small and black, with white breasts ; and as they
are known to be brought down on icebergs, and left
floating when the ice goes down, there have pro-
bably been some here quite recently ; the sea water
too this evening was only seventeen degrees Fahren-
heit. It was a little rough at night, and I woke up
between whiles, as I was rolled against the edge of
the berth and back again ; but it was not worth
staying awake for.
Thursday the iQth was quite a rough morning ;
the ship and everything in it was rolling about a
good deal, and M. had left the ink-bottle open
overnight. They sent me up some " corn bread " for
breakfast, which, however, I did not much fancy,
preferring the rolls, which are excellent, and more
in harmony with those of the ship. At luncheon
we tried " maple sugar," which is like a refined
treacle, and may be eaten on bread or with
puddings. We made a splendid passage yesterday,
doing five hundred and four miles in the twenty-
four hours, and are now due south of Newfoundland
which screens us from all possibility of icebergs
and on a level with the north of Spain. There was
8 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
a beautiful moon to-night, but it is not warm enough
to remain on deck after dinner.
On Friday I woke early, and found my watch had
struck work, so waited for bells ; four bells soon
rang, and I lighted the electric light, and read the
" History of America ; " and I know much more
about the American War now than I ever did
before. At 8.10 there was a commotion, as the
engines thoroughly and entirely stopped, and we
slowed down to a walk ! I looked through my port,
and saw H. N. rush on deck in a dressing-gown and
slippers ; M. followed, in a shooting coat ; other
people in waterproofs, and similar scanty attire
and all wildly excited.
And a pilot came on board !
It was a cold grey morning ; a sympathetic
stewardess brought me a milk-jug half full of cream
with laminae of ice throughout it, which she
" thought I should like, as I was pretty well." The
day passed pleasantly as usual, and after dinner we
assisted, as audience, at a concert given by some of
the passengers, who good-naturedly sang songs, for
the benefit of sailors' orphanages on either shore.
It lasted till ten o'clock, and we turned in, really
sorry to think that our delightful voyage was
practically over.
Saturday morning the 2ist, about four A.M., the
engines stopped ; it was dark, but the noisy fog-
horn soon told the reason. Much whistling and
ringing of bells followed, and we lay-to in a thick
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 9
fog till near eight, when we went down to breakfast.
Mr. C. came down with the news that the Campania,
the largest ship afloat, two thousand tons larger than
ours, was in sight, coming out of New York Harbour
and passing Sandy Hook ; so we all hastened to see
her, and to get our first sight of America. Felt like
Columbus, and hurried through the last meal to get
on deck, and found the fog had lifted, and left a
pale grey sea with a dark grey shore. We soon
steamed through the Narrows, protected by a great
fort on either hand, and, with Staten Island's low
green shores on the left, and the busy town of
Brooklyn on the right, cast anchor in the Bay.
From out of a crowd of shipping a little yellow
quarantine boat glided up to us, to pass our
emigrants. This took about half an hour, and then
we slowly steamed up the great Harbour of New
York. That city itself lay on the right, and Jersey
city on the left ; while a colossal Statue of Liberty,
three hundred feet high, presented to the States by
the French Republic, crowned an island, and seemed
to command the harbour. Some of the buildings were
picturesque, but they were mostly warehouses, and
the beauty lay in the rich colouring, expanse of water,
and the life of the ferry-boats, and tugs, and sailing
vessels, with which it was crowded.
It was a slow business bringing the big ship up to
the wharf, and amusing to watch the crowds of people
on the landing-stage, waving handkerchiefs and hats,
and our fellow-passengers responding. Suddenly a
io A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
vision of chocolate and gold shot in between us and
the shore, and this was Mr. F. T. arriving in a
special boat to meet us. I had not seen him for
eight years, but knew him directly he stepped on
deck, and he welcomed us most cordially.
Meantime Mr. and Mrs. G. were greeted by their
two sons and their daughter-in-law, and many
acquaintances, all of whom were introduced to us,
and we stood on deck talking, and watching the un-
lading for some time. At last, about twelve o'clock,
we left the Paris, walking up the gangway into an
enormous building where the Customs House Officers
were regaling themselves by tossing over the
luggage, including shirts, pictures, and the trousseau
from Paris of a young lady at San Francisco, on to
the floor. To us they were very kind, and after
chalking some cabalistic signs on our boxes they let
us go scot free, and Mr. T. soon led us downstairs
and into his chocolate-and-gold ferry-boat, where
chairs were arranged at the stern, and we were
whizzed across the Harbour in a manner that
recalled vividly the little steam launches of Stock-
holm.
Arrived at Jersey City, we found a special train
waiting, with Mr. T.'s own private car attached.
It contained a room, with numerous armchairs and
a fire-place. A bedroom opened out of it, and
presently, when the luggage was all on board, we
discovered, with great satisfaction, that it comprised
a dining-room also, and a kitchen beyond ! A
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA u
luncheon-table was laid for eight, and the meal
was as complete and as social as heart or appetite
could wish, though the rattle and noise of the train
made conversation rather difficult. So did the bones
of the fish an excellent local one, called shad, but
possessing such a large and complicated and curved
anatomical system, that I don't think the fish itself
can ever know where its bones ought to lie.
The journey was not long, nor was the scenery
striking. We were soon out of Jersey City, crossing
some of its straight streets, and then into New
Jersey, a flat country overgrown by coarse, reedy
grass, with the trees still leafless and brown. We
crossed the Delaware River at Trenton, a fine,
broad river, very picturesque higher up, but here
merely wide, with flat banks. Trenton has two
merits : they make very pretty china, and it was also
the scene of one of Washington's famous battles,
where he defeated the Hessians by his little ruse of
crossing the river on the ice, which took them by
surprise, and crowned him with glory, in 1776, just
after Christmas.
We soon rattled into Philadelphia, and stopped
there a few minutes for the young Gs. to take leave
of their parents, as they were returning to New
York, and to attach the engine to the other end of
the train, to run us out to Merion, Mr. T.'s station,
where, in another ten minutes, it pulled up, and we
all got out, except Mr. and Mrs. G., who live five
miles further on. It was with real regret that we
12 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
took leave of them and their nice daughter, but we
shall see them again.
It was delighful to get out of the train into the soft
spring air, and we enjoyed the five minutes' drive up
to Mr. T.'s house ; passing two lovely Magnolia
trees in full flower ; one white, one pink. After a
talk in the pretty drawing-room, and some welcome
tea given us by Miss T. and her aunt, Miss C., while
waiting for the luggage to arrive, we were taken up
to our rooms. Mine was a lovely one, all pale green
and pink ; the walls decorated with silver, with a
silver cornice which runs over on to the ceiling ; three
windows which open easily and wide, white and
gold furniture and cut-glass washing things ; beauti-
ful old prints on the walls, and roses in Venetian
glasses all about. Upstairs M. has a big room
with a long window and window seat, in which
we established ourselves for a nominal rest, but
were too tired to sleep ! So he unpacked, and I
sat and watched the birds. For, to my joy, I
had no sooner got there, than an entirely new
pair of birds walked up the approach road, and
hopped around on the lawn. They had bright
red breasts, reddish-brown backs, and black heads,
with very perky manners and rather sharp voices.
The coloured footman who came in, told us they
were the American Robin, 1 * and that they had
just arrived from the South, for, as their name
indicates, they are migrants, and allied to our Black -
* Merula migratoria.
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 13
birds. Very handsome birds they are, nearly as
large as our song Thrushes. I was very fortunate,
for presently on to a branch of one of the large
leafless Chestnut trees in front flew a pair of small
Woodpeckers, with their unmistakable heads, red,
but with backs in brown bars, like game birds. By
dinner-time fatigue was more overwhelming than
before, but out of consideration for our probably
giddy condition after the voyage, Mr. T. had
invited no strangers, so the party was small. A
most recherche dinner in an artistic room did us
good, but they kindly let me retire before eleven
o'clock.
The next day being Sunday, we drove to church
at Bala, about a mile off, passing several country-
houses like our host's, each in its own garden and
lawn, and surrounded with trees ; but with no
property beyond that attached, and with no fence
from the road. This strikes one very much at first,
for where there are gate-posts, which is not often,
they do not put gates, and the division between
the garden and the road is generally a beautifully
kept strip of turf, or an ornamental hedge of Honey-
suckle, or of Pyrus Japonica, which was in beauty
just now.
There were innumerable waggons and buggies
with very good horses, ah 1 going the same way,
indeed quite a string ; but we had no difficulty in
getting to our seats, though M. was immediately
routed out of his by an autocratic old lady of
14 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
ninety, who then directed Miss C. to button her
gloves.
It was a good service, similar to ours, though
varying a little in details, the Royal parts of the
Litany being of course omitted. The sermon was
for the poor of the cities, but I have yet to be con-
vinced that there are any poor there or elsewhere,
for not a semblance of a cottage or a farm have I
yet seen hardly a cow !
We drove back, strolled about the garden, and
stalked the birds ; a pair of Sandy mocking birds
causing some excitement. The only absolutely
English bird they have is the Sparrow ; the first
pair were imported some fifteen years ago, to eat a
particular kind of caterpillar. They now overrun
the continent. So do the caterpillars. And they
bind up the stalks of their young trees with rags,
like sore fingers, to baffle these caterpillars, who
would otherwise soon be the death of them all.
In the afternoon, Mr. T. drove us in his wagonette
with a pair of very handsome trotting horses, to
call on the Gs. about five miles off, who gave us tea
and a warm welcome, but we had to hurry back, as
we were to dine early. Mr. and Mrs. C. C. were
the only visitors both very agreeable people ; she
was a niece of Motley the historian, author of " The
Dutch Republic," whom we knew so well formerly
when he was U.S. Minister in London.
After a pleasant dinner came the evening in " the
cabin." This is a little wooden house close by,
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 15
containing 1 two rather large rooms, decorated and
lined with Mr. T.'s sporting trophies. Amongst them
is an enormous tarpon, from the Gulf of Mexico, and
the rod and gaff that finished him. He weighed
one hundred and twenty-four pounds. This beats
salmon fishing ; even M.'s sixty-four-pounder of the
Namsen must grow pale before that. There were
also a fine moose-head from Canada, antlers of deer,
elk, and bear- skin rugs, and a fox's brush from the
Blackmore Vale. Then six men from the orchestra
at Philadelphia discoursed most excellent music, on
piano, 'cello, and violins, really beautifully, for some
two hours, while we sat by a glowing fire of pine-
logs from Florida, with bright yellow flames, re-
minding me of our rowan-wood fires in the chilly
evenings in Norway.
Monday 23rd was a fine bright morning,
though the weather is certainly cooler than what
we left in England, in spite of our being so much
farther south. The lilacs here are hardly out, the
principal flowering shrubs in the gardens being For-
sythia suspensa, magnolias, and Judas trees. To-
day a long drive had been projected for us, as Mr.
C. had kindly invited us to his stud farm, some fifteen
miles off, and duly drove up about eleven o'clock
with his four-in-hand, to take us to it. The coach
was worthy of the Magazine at Hyde Park, and the
team also brown wheelers and bay leaders, the
former very powerful, as they had need to be, for in
places the roads are heavy and hilly ; though as a
16 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
rule, the main roads are well made and very hard,
and the by-roads hardly better than tracks.
Mr. C. had already come five or six miles from
Philadelphia, therefore at the end of another five he
changed horses, and we went on through Berwyn,
and past the Dover Hotel, a pretty spot, where
people come out from the city to get fresh air in
summer-time. Always ascending, at the end of ten
miles or more we came to the crest of a hill, and
looked down on a wide rich cultivated valley, with
a brook, Chester creek, running through it, and it
looked very pretty and green and English, fading
off into soft brown woods against the sky. We
looked across them to where there was a sort of
opening, and this was Valley Forge, where
Washington encamped with his army through one
bitter winter.
We drove some way along the valley, and arri-
ving at the farm, I climbed down from the box, the
rest of the party also dropping off the roof, and we
went into the house, which was empty of everything
save appliances, the young ladies of the party
having engaged to do all cooking, the materials for
which they had brought with them. They were
ably assisted by H. N., while Miss C. and I wan-
dered about in search of the picturesque, and of
wild flowers, which were, as yet, very few. After
luncheon, which did the chefs great credit (espe-
cially one dish of chopped cabbage, soaked in hot
vinegar and hot cream, and served cold), we
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 17
started off again, in two little carriages or waggons,
the two young ladies and Mr. C. on their horses,
and went to the stud farm, where we saw the
horses, " Cadette " and " The Bard," and a very clever
cob, and many mares and young ones in paddocks
fifteen thoroughbred yearlings together in a field.
Then we went up to the race- course, where they
galloped a horse in training ; the girls larked over
some fences, and Mr. C. took M. in a buggy, behind
an old trotter, who, in spite of his twenty-five years,
showed what a mile in 2' 40" meant. Returning
to the house, we soon resumed our seats on the
coach as before, and with a fresh team turned
homewards, changing en route to the morning
team. It was a fine interesting long drive, and Mr.
C. made it very pleasant. He breeds horses exten-
sively, and has done some racing ; but racing, he
says, has now gone down to the depths of lowness
and blackguardism, so hardly any gentlemen engage
in it. In some places they have races every day,
merely as a vehicle for betting, and they are there-
fore of no use or advantage for the encouragement
of breeding good horses.
He has, like all our friends here, been much in
England, and has driven four-in-hand all over it.
He is an admirable whip, with first-rate horses ;
two of the wheelers this turn were English, but
they have but little need to import harness horses.
I saw very few flowers ; one white one looked
from the coach rather like a large anemone, and I
1 8 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
tried to find out the name ; somebody suggested a
daisy, but they then dismissed it as "a weedy "
their generic name for all wild flowers. We got in
about six o'clock and swallowed some Japanese tea,
which, when quite strong, was clear and white as
water ; it seemed foolish to put cream and sugar in,
but the flavour was distinct and excellent, and very
refreshing.
To dinner came Dr. and Mrs. T. and Mr. B., the
former well known in the scientific world, and a
great authority as an oculist ; and, like most clever
men, especially agreeable and kind. Mr. B. is one
of the committee of the Local Hunt, and will arrange
about our seeing the hounds on Wednesday. After
they left we sat up some time discussing our plans
and journey ; as, however pleasant our time here,
and affording us a really necessary rest after the
voyage, we are beginning to feel we ought to be
getting on.
The next day was to be devoted to Philadelphia,
and so to ensure it we managed to start very late
for the train, and only just had time to get into it,
as the trains here do not stop at the stations one
minute longer than is required for one set of passen-
gers to tumble out, and for the others to scramble
in, and on they glide, quite noiselessly, and with no
signal : luggage they seem to have none. Tickets
can be taken in the train, which also saves time.
The carriages are, as every one knows, long cars,
with a double row of red velvet seats down each
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 19
side of a gangway in the middle. They are all
windows, generally open, but it is no use wasting
attention on either dust or draughts in America.
We rattled into the town in about twenty minutes,
and pulled up in the very fine station, whose span roof
is, I believe, the largest in the world. We walked up
Broad Street, but not the whole length of it, as it
extends for fifteen miles through the heart of the
city. The part we did see was amusing, from the
number of the black population, the fruit shops,
rich in colour from bananas and oranges, the bustle
and " push," as they aptly call it, that is going on
everywhere, and the quantities of electric cars,
which take possession of the centres of almost all
the streets, leaving narrow sides only for carriages,
which, however, are not numerous, as these electric
cars, horse cars, and cable cars, take all the traffic.
We went into some shops, which are extremely
large, going very far back, and about four Bond Street
shops could easily be put into any one of them.
The jewellers' stores (as I must forget the inappro-
priate word shop) were very pretty, and they like
you to stroll around ; also the book stores, where
you find every book that ever was published in
London, and some very nice editions, beautifully
bound, of the old standard works.
The Independence Hall is very interesting. In
front of it is a fine statue of William Penn, the
founder of the town. He came over from England
in 1682, with a following of Quakers, and purchased
20 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the site from the Indians, and in two years' time the
population amounted to two thousand. Their de-
scendants still adhere to their Quaker customs, and
it is pleasant to hear how the old families still use
the " thee " and " thou " in intimate circles. William
Penn's little house is carefully preserved by the
State, and has been moved from its original position
in Letitia Street to a suitable spot in the Park. It
is only a little building, two windows and a door
wide, but from this little beginning has sprung a
city, the third largest in America, twenty- two miles
long and some eight wide. It has now burst its
limits, and has spread across the Delaware arid
Schuylkill rivers, which formerly bounded it.
Inside the Independence Hall is the room where
the Continental Congress met, on July 4, 1776, and
adopted the Declaration of Independence, which was
proclaimed the same day to the public, from the
steps. The furniture they used a large plain table
and some solid chairs remains there. In another
room hangs a great bell, the Bell of Liberty, which
rang on the occasion, and, proclaiming the Freedom
of America, cracked with joy in doing so. There
are many other relics of more or less interest. The
wings of the Hall are used as law courts and
municipal offices. Behind it is a square, some-
what formally laid out, but with some good beds of
tulips and hyacinths.
We then went to luncheon at a quiet hotel, but
to get there we went up a long street in a horse car,
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 21
which was perpetually filling, and never emptying,
so that I thought it might burst. However, we got
out at last at the hotel, where Mr. T. and some
more ladies joined us. (I never saw so many ladies
as there are in America, all young and with grey
hair, and most cheery.) Then Mr. T. took M. away
to the bank to arrange our money matters, and
Miss C. and I drove the carriage having come in
for us to a china shop, where we did not find the
Bellique china they make at Trenton, and were
soon joined by the rest of the party, and went to a
few other shops. But driving is not pleasant in
these towns ; the pavement is very rough, we
nearly had our horses beheaded by an electric car,
and enormous waggons, carrying freight of all kinds,
nearly deafen you. Some of the streets are named
after trees, such as Chestnut Street (the most
fashionable) and Walnut, Filbert, and Spruce Street,
which are gracefully referred to in a line in Long-
fellow's " Evangeline," which had hitherto had no
meaning to me.
" In that delightful land which is washed by the De La Ware's
waters,
Guarding in sylvan shades the name of Penn the Apostle,
Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream the city he founded ;
There all the air is balm, and the peach is the emblem of
beauty,
And the streets still re-echo the names of the trees of the
forest,
As if they fain would appease the dryads whose haunts they
molested."
22 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
We drove round the square, where all the best
people live, and it was then pleasant to turn into
the park, which is lovely, with very pretty un-
dulating ground, well dressed with trees and flower-
ing shrubs ; broad drives and rides, with many
smart buggies and waggons, and " mashers " ; two
of whom passed us, driving a pair of perfectly
matched trotters, harnessed very close together, and
going an immense pace, with a graceful easy swing.
In front of the pole, they have, instead of our pole
chains, a bar, which is strapped to the points of the
collars, so the horses get a perfectly even pull on
the pole ; and their driving whips have no lash, but
are straight, and like prolonged cutting whips.
This buggy passed us ; but soon after, we passed
it, stopped, swung round against the side of the
ride, with a rein broken, and looking very sur-
prised and helpless. Their horses generally, I
believe, stop with the voice, which was no doubt
how they had avoided a smash.
As we passed the conservatories on our left, the
view on the right was very striking. A foreground
of river (the Schuylkill) below us, with its bridges
and brown trees, with a very delicate touch of
bright green here and there, and rising behind it
the whole length of the fine city, with a very broken
outline, executed in shades of blue-grey. It was a
view to remember. We came into an avenue of
maples, which, when green, must be lovely, and
soon turned into the familiar lanes and roads leading
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO PHILADELPHIA 23
to Mr. T.'s home. I was a little tired, and wanting
also to write some letters, they kindly sent me up
my tea by one of the silent-footed black footmen,
and I wrote till dinner. For which, arrived Mr.
and Mrs. C. H. he has just been elected Provost
of Philadelphia College Mr. C. of New York, and
Dr. H., who arrived late. In the evening Mr. T.
produced a complete schedule of our route. First
we are to devote two days to Baltimore and
Washington, then to spend Sunday at Dolobran,
and on Monday start for the Far West.
Wednesday morning M., I and H. N. spent in
the garden, I sketching the house, and they reading
and strolling about. In the afternoon we drove to
the kennels our party was increased by Mrs. F.,
who had arrived the evening before, and Mr. B.
all of whom went in the wagonette. Miss T.
drove H. N. in her pony carriage with a pair of
pretty little ponies. It was a drive of some nine
miles to the Radnor Kennels. Mr. Mather is the
M.F.H., and as M. had sent him out some hounds
last year, we were curious to see them again. We
found the huntsman, Loader, son of Loader of
the Crawley and Horsham, expecting us, and the
hounds in very good kennels, with a large field
and shady trees round them. It all seemed very
English and natural, and it was delightful to be
amongst hounds again. " Sanguine " knew us
perfectly, though the younger ones could not be
expected to do so. They had also a large draught
24 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
from the Belvoir, and some six or eight couple of
the genuine American hounds, to supply music. They
are odd-looking beasts, possessed, one should say,
of every fault a foxhound can have. No bone,
hare feet, much on the leg, but with noses and
tongues that cannot be beat. Very black, as a rule,
though some are white, and with wonderfully long
ears, narrow heads, speaking eyes, and absolute
skeletons, for, feed them as you may and must, you
cannot get any flesh on their bones. They rejoice
too in the oddest names, such as Wash, Spot, Scout,
Jeff, Dick, Jim, Dido, Topsey, Nance, and so on.
M. was delighted, and could not tear himself away ;
and our poor ladies sat, patient, but, I fear, writh-
ing ; for it turned out that afterwards we were due
to tea with a lady, half-way home, at five o'clock, and
it was well past six when we left the kennels, so it
was found we could only drive to the door, and not
go in, but make our excuses and hasten home to
dinner, for which there was to-day no company.
In the evening Mr. T. gave us our last instructions,
interlarding them with most amusing stories ; so he
kept us in fits of laughter till past midnight ; having
previously, however, received a visit from Mr. and
Mrs. G. on their way from a wedding at New York.
They came to secure us for Saturday next, and we
go there after excursion No. i. We have been
trying to pack all day, and between two places
have got rather mixed, as most of our luggage goes
straight from here to Dolobran in our absence.
CHAPTEK II
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON
ON Thursday the 26th we began our travels, and
going by the ordinary train to Philadelphia we
changed there into our private car, which is now
to become our home. We parted with regret with
our kind friends, who had come to see us off, and
then explored our car, by name the " Davy
Crockett." Davy, though unknown to me till now,
was a hero of the Californian and Mexican War.
There is some little variety in these private cars,
but as this and our subsequent one, the " Wildwood,"
varied only in details, one description will serve for
both. At the extreme end is a covered platform,
which you step on to, as you get into the train ; off
it, is, so to speak, the front door, through which you
enter a sitting-room, all windows, with a sofa, two
luxurious armchairs, and a table ; a large looking-
glass, book-shelf, little hammocks for papers, maps,
and so on, and lamps. Out of this goes a narrow
passage having on the right our bedroom, and a
bath-room adjoining ; next a large dining-room, six-
teen feet by ten, in which we had all our meals. It
26 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
had a sofa at this end; a writing-desk and table
at the farther end, formed a sort of partition beyond
which were two sofas, which made into two beds at
night. Next came the kitchen and servants' room,
and another door, a way in and out of the car.
Curtains and partitions divided the dining-room at
night into a bed at this end for my maid ; the two
further sofas accommodating H. N. and our sub-
sequent philosopher, friend, and animated guide-
book, M. S., leaving room for a full-sized dinner-
table in the middle, and one or two of our luggage
boxes, and chairs, &c., around. The total length of
the " Wild wood " was sixty- two feet.
For this tentative journey we had only our three
selves, my maid, Lawrence, our invaluable waiter,
and Byard the cook ; also, for a certain distance,
Mr. T.'s own black servant, who was to see that all
was right with the car, and to ascertain, I really
believe, how we enjoyed ourselves, and report on his
return to Mr. T. Never was such kindness and
protection as we were surrounded with ! for all this
car is to be entirely to ourselves, and is, consequently,
Elysium.
Having thoroughly explored it, we sat in the
"observation car" and watched the scenery, which
was. wooded and pretty, and we frequently crossed
large rivers; the "Gunpowder" and the " Susque-
hanna " were perhaps the widest, the railway bridge
over the latter at Havre de Grace being a mile long,
and over the former, I believe, even more. Newark,
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 27
too, is a town of some size, and one of the numerous
academies is located here.
It only took two hours by this express train and
certainly the expresses on the Pennsylvanian line are
wonderful, so smooth, punctual, and fast to reach
Baltimore.
Having arrived at the station, a gentlemen who
had sent in his card, stepped in. We were not very
clear who he was, but feeling sure he must be one
of the many guardian angels sent out after us,
always by Mr. T.'s means, we shook hands all round,
and introduced each other right and left, as usual.
He presently led the way to an open carriage with
a black coachman and a pair of smart dark-brown
horses, and proceeded to take us a drive through a
very handsome city : every house has white marble
steps, as clean as a new pin ; above the steps are red-
stone, white-stone, or red-brick houses, adorned with
much rich and effective carving, which can be seen
to advantage, as the streets are very wide and
nearly all edged with rows of trees. The first wide
street we crossed led up to a fine pillar with a statue
of Washington on the top, and traversing a few
more, we arrived at a pretty square, Mount Vernon
Place, decorated with fountains and flowers, and got
out at the house of Mr. Walters, who gave a party
to-day, for which we had an invitation.
A large number of people, unknown to us, were
assembled, and Mr. Walters, an oldish man, received
us kindly in a long gallery, and introduced us to one
28 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
or two people ; and we had enough to do to look at
the exquisite collection of pictures in that gallery,
and of china, Japanese bronzes, and other curios,
including some lovely Chinese glass, in other rooms.
He had some good English pictures a fine Turner
(of Venice) and one or two Briton Rivieres, and some
modern French ones, arid a very good portrait of
himself by a French artist.
What delighted me much was a case of the most
beautiful jade I have ever seen very large pieces,
and most exquisitely carved, as fine as the two fine
boxes that lurk in a corner of the King's Palace at
Stockholm, and which I always remember with envy.
While looking at these, Sir Julian Pauncefort, our
Ambassador at Washington, came up and introduced
himself, and offered us every kind of civility.
A friend of my brother-in-law's also claimed
acquaintance, and gave me some ice, as the refresh-
ment room was almost too crowded to penetrate,
though H. N. and M. fortunately did, and got some
terrapin soup, and would have given me some had
I not eaten the ice first, and thought one would not
do after the other ; but it was a pity, as it was the
last day of terrapin. Terrapin is the great and
costly luxury of the States, and thereby hangs a
tale.
An English Lord something was staying with
some Americans, who in his special honour had
secured terrapin, at a guinea an inch probably.
When it was handed round the black waiter put the
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 29
plate down before the visitor, who pushed it back
with " No, thank you."
" Terrapin, my lord," said the well-drilled
waiter.
" None, thank you."
" But, my lord, it's terrapin."
" Yes, yes, I know ; none, thank you."
" But, my lord, it's terrapin" said the agonised
man.
" All right ; no, thank you," was still the in-
different answer.
" My God ! it's terrapin ! " said the black in
thorough despair.
After an hour or so well spent among so much
fine art, we returned to nature, and were driven
past the well-kept Eutaw Gardens up to the park,
which is thickly wooded and very pretty, em-
bellished with what appears to be a large lake, and
is one of the five great reservoirs that supply the
town. The Dogwood trees,* with their pretty flat
narcissus-like flowers, were fully out ; there were
also Judas trees and shell magnolias, and at one
spot two exquisite little vistas over the water across
the city ; the trees are cut into a great tall narrow
arch, and you see the view through it, like a Gothic
window.
From here we wound down again to the station,
and left it with the impression that Baltimore is a
most fascinating, handsome, livable, sunny town,
* Cornus Florida.
30 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
with a southern look about it, as many darkies as
whites in the streets, and a rich perfume of lilies
pervading it.
We left it about 3.30, and went at once into a
tunnel four miles long, and in an hour were at
Washington. We got out of our car and walked
along an interminable platform, escorted by another
gentleman who put us into a landau and dis-
appeared, but left orders behind him, for we were
taken straight along some wide asphalted streets,
and in about ten minutes were dropped at the door
of the Arlington Hotel, where rooms were ready for
us, including a large and airy sitting-room, well
stocked with rocking-chairs ; and bedrooms and
bath-rooms.
Notes and invitations were awaiting us on the
table, and in five minutes we received a visit from a
singularly charming and attractive young lady, Miss
E,. C., who arranged to take us to-morrow morning
to the Capitol, where her father would show us the
Senate Houses, before the luncheon to which Mr
and Mrs. McL. have invited us. We then thought
we would go out, and were just starting, when Mr.
Judge D. called and offered his services, and gave
us an introduction to the curator of the Smith-
sonian Museum.
We then put ourselves in an open carriage, and
were driven about the town, which is essentially an
aristocratic and residential one, and of which the
crowning beauty is the Capitol, a beautiful classical
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 31
building of snow-white stone, which might be
marble, surmounted by a dome on which is the
bronze figure of Liberty, twenty feet high. It
stands splendidly, being in itself the focus of all the
great avenues of the town which lead up to it, and
from the terrace commands a magnificent view of
the city, with the broad Potomac beyond, and
immediately in front, the Washington Monument,
an obelisk five hundred and fifty-five feet high, of
pale grey stone the highest building in the world,
except the Eiffel Tower.
We drove through a park with interesting plants
and trees, all carefully labelled, but when H. N.
jumped out to read the name of one I particularly
wanted to know about, the label was blank. We
passed the White House, a handsome building with
good conservatories, and went on through many
fine streets ; but every now and then, between large
and handsome residences, there may be seen a little
tiny cottage of perhaps two windows' width and
two stories high, and somewhat tumbledown ;
these belong to original proprietors, who are holding
on till they get their prices, or perhaps because they
do not care to leave their ancestral halls, however
small. They contrast curiously with their stately
neighbours. Some of the streets are very long, and
simply fade out of sight in the far distance.
Glimpses, too, of the Potomac, here and there, come
in prettily ; but always beautifying and crowning
each view are either the marble Capitol or the
32 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
delicate Obelisk, the soft grey colouring of which
against a pale yellow sunset sky was remarkable.
It was very hot here, and on Friday morning when
Miss C. called for us, the drive to the Capitol in the
sunny streets was almost oppressive, and the more
striking as the trees are very late, and the foliage as
yet gives no shade.
We climbed up the immense flight of marble steps
to the entrance, stopping to admire the famous
bronze door which was designed by Rogers, cast
by von Mtiller at Munich, and depicts the history
of Columbus. There are two other bronze doors,
but this centre one is the finest and is seventeen feet
high. We were looking at the fine eastern view
towards the new and magnificent library which
is nearing completion, when Senator C. joined us,
and showed us first the Senate, where an excited
member from Kentucky was reading a long speech
on the Wilson Tariff. The new tariff is exercising
all their minds just now, and trade is almost
paralysed till they settle it one way or other. This
gentleman was answered very calmly by a senator
on the other side, which only seemed to make him
still more angry. It was difficult to grasp at first
that the Republicans are the moderate side, while
the Democrats, now in power, are more like our
Radicals.
We sat on open seats round the outside of, and
above, the Senate, so that we could see and hear
everything. The Senate is in a semicircular room
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 33
about a hundred and twelve feet long by eighty
wide, and is presided over by the Vice-President ; the
Democrats being ah 1 on his right, and the Republicans
on the left, all seated in very nice armchairs, with a
little desk in front of each. There was a curious little
clapping of hands going on all the time in various
spots, which was puzzling, till Mr. C. explained that
any member wanting anything, claps his hands, and
a messenger boy steps up to him for orders. There
were a number of these boys flying about.
Mr. C. explained to me the whole system of repre-
sentatives and senators ; and after about a quarter
of an hour there he took us on, through some very
handsome passages, to another semicircular chamber,
formerly the Senate chamber, but now the Supreme
Court room, smaller than the other, being only about
seventy-five feet long, and answering to our Court of
Appeal. It has some fine Ionic columns of Potomac
marble, and in it a case was being argued ; but not
understanding the subject we did not stay there long,
but went on to the House of Representatives a
splendid room, a hundred and forty feet long by
ninety- three wide ; and here they were very busy
passing Bills, chiefly Pension Bills ; clerks, seated
under the Speaker who was an English -born man,
Mr. Crisp were reading themselves hoarse, and
they seemed to pass several without opposition, till
all of a sudden there was a difference of opinion.
So the Ayes sat down, the Noes were counted, and
the Ayes had it.
c
34 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
The House then resolved itself into a Com-
mittee ; the Speaker, looking very glad, left the
chair ; we left ours, and walked on to see the
Library a pile of confusion, for they have no room
for the volumes for which the new separate build-
ing is preparing a befitting home. The view of
the town from this, the west front, is very fine,
all the great avenues radiating from it in every
direction. We then parted with Senator C. and,
resuming the carriage, drove back to our hotel,
leaving it again directly, to walk the few steps to
Mrs. McL.'s house, and a beautiful house too, in
I Street. The streets here are named after the
letters of the alphabet one way, and the numerals
the other.
We found our host and hostess in a long room, of
which yellow was the prevailing colour, subdued by
pictures and ornaments of every kind, which faded
in the distance in a large dining-room. They soon,
however, took us into another dining-room, where
we begun with a welcome cup of tea, and going on
through shad, Turkey and champagne, and the
national dish, ice-cream, ended in pine-seeds. The
latter were excellent, and came from a ranche
in California, being simply the seed of the pine-
trees dried and sweetened. Mr. and Mrs. McL.
were charming people, and wanted to do everything
that was kind for us. We sat a little after lunch-
eon, and after they had shown us the miniature
coach in which their small and only son of eight
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 35
drives four ponies in hand, we took leave ; and
our next object being the Smithsonian Museum, we
drove there, and spent a profitable time during a
heavy thunderstorm. Mr. Smithson, who made this
fine collection, was an Englishman, an offshoot of the
Smithson family with which the Dukes of North-
umberland were connected. He was a man of great
taste and learning, and this museum, which he be-
queathed to the State, is greatly esteemed, and other
branches and annexes have been added to it. It has
a good collection of stuffed birds, and here I found
that the lazy common birds popularly called Crow-
Blackbirds are Purple Grackles. The secretary, in
the absence of the curator, Dr. Langley, showed us the
National Museum, containing models of the various
Indian tribes, which are valuable as without doubt
all those tribes must die out in the course of years
specimens of Mexican pottery, of which some of the
forms are good ; also Washington's swords, and other
relics from Mount Vernon. There were some fine
groups of buffalo even more extinct than the
Indians, and better worth preserving moose, and
other animals, in great cases, in another depart-
ment.
The rain poured in torrents as we came out, and
the air was like a vapour-bath ; the inhabitants are
already thinking, " If this is April, what shall we be
in July ? " This is an even year, in which the Parlia-
mentary session is long ; on the odd numbered
years it ends in March. Generally the question is
36 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
solved by the ladies flying with their children to
the seaside or some cool place, leaving the unhappy
legislators to their business, and such comfort as
iced drinks in empty houses can afford.
We had hardly sat down, and were waiting for
dinner, when the proprietor came hastily up, and,
with a face of awe, said the British Ambassador
had called to see us. So we went to a drawing-
room, and he made us such kind offers of dinners
and drives that it was quite a pity that, going, as
we were, the next day, we could accept nothing. We
then resumed our dinner discourse, which included
terrapin after all ! It is a boiled tortoise, and tastes
like turtle ; so, though a day late, I have realised
this highly prized dish.
Next morning our kind friend, Miss C., again
called for us, and we all walked to her house to pick
up her friend, Miss L., and with her we went on the
short distance to the White House, where Mrs. Cleve-
land, the President's wife, had arranged to receive us
at 12.30. Crossing a sort of corridor we went into
a circular room of a bluish hue, and almost directly
into an inner drawing-room, where Mrs. Cleveland
met us at the door and gave us a cordial welcome.
She is tall, rather large, and decidedly handsome,
about twenty- seven, I fancy, and much younger,
I am told, than the President. She was, as all
these Washington ladies are, tres bien mise, and
talked very pleasantly about the city and Coxey's
army, which is marching on Washington, but is now
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 37
expected to end in a " fizzle " ; and none of the big
people are alarmed about it, though of course they
do not like the disaffected feeling which it exhibits.
Still, Mrs. Cleveland said, she had just sent her
children out for a drive, and wondered how long she
could do so with safety. After a talk we took leave
of her, and dropping our handsome young ladies at
their door, we returned to our hotel with no time to
spare, and at once drove to the station to find our
" Davy Crockett," to which Lawrence conducted us.
And at two we left Washington, catching another
glimpse or two of the dome of the Capitol as we
railed by express back to Philadelphia. We arrived
there about six, and were met by young Mr. G., who
escorted us to Haverford Station, and thence to
Dolobran, past the lovely hedge of Pyrus Japonica
in full flower, with which his land is bordered, and
to the house, where Mr. and Mrs. G. were awaiting
our arrival in the porch, as they call the verandah.
Soon after, we had dinner in their handsome dining-
room, and amongst other things there was a dainty
dish of soft-shelled crabs, which are esteemed a great
delicacy, as the unhappy animal is caught at the
moment of changing its shell, when it falls an easy
prey, as it sticks in the mud and cannot move for
some two or three days, and cannot even pinch in
self-defence.
The next day, being Sunday, we drove off to
church, leaving Mr. G. regretting that " they had a
stupid habit of having their service on a Sunday,
38 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the only day he was at home." The church was
about half a mile off, and we had the same string
of carriages that we had seen at Bala last Sunday,
and our pew was more handsomely found in fans
than in hymn-books. The sermon was long, which
was Miss G.'s wise reason for a general objection to
going at all.
After church we had a visit from Mr. T., who had
ridden over, and found us playing in the stables
with an Airedale terrier, which P. has taught to
follow her everywhere, even up and down a ladder
to the loft, which he does with great care and
doubtful enjoyment. Mr. T. brought us our last
orders for our trip to the West. We walked
on to Mr. G.'s farm, where he has a pretty little
herd of Guernseys, and a great nasty bull of doubt-
ful temper, so they never go in to him, shutting
him out in his yard when they go into his bedroom,
and vice-versa. There was a beautiful spring, which,
by a wheel, supplies the house with water and
makes a watercress-bed. The wheel is worked by a
little stream which comes down the hill, and its
edge is adorned by a plentiful growth of a lettuce-
like looking plant, which they call the skunk-
cabbage, from its resemblance in smell to that low
animal. M. saw a snake flop into a pond, and out
of that pond Mr. B. G. and I fished a cobnut that
had fallen in. We tried a bit, and found it exactly
like a walnut in taste. In a bit of wild ground
above I found several new wild flowers : a very
BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON 39
pretty Adder's tongue,* 1 some " Quaker Ladies," t
refined little white and lilac flowers, a pretty Arum,!
Podophyllin plants, and several more. There were
also the Sassafras tree, with its sweet-smelling stems,
and the Dogwood.
Arrived at the house, we found the buggy wait-
ing, in which Mr. G. drove me, the others following
in the carriage, and P. riding, first to Mrs. C., who
lives nearly opposite ; here we found H. N., who
had been teaching the young ladies of the house
the art of making Devonshire cream, and thence
we all went to Mr. T.'s, where we found a large
party at tea. Returning home, Mr. G. let his horses
trot, and they could go a wonderful pace ; the dust
and pebbles were such that I had to keep my eyes
quite shut and my mouth nearly so, and could only
just gasp :
"Isthis2' 3 o' / ?"
" Not quite," he said ; " perhaps 2 ; 4o"."
The young lady following tried to keep her horse
trotting, but very soon had to break into a hand
gallop.
He then diverged from the road into some very
pretty lanes, or " dirt roads " as they call them,
with several " thank you, ma'ams," in them. These
are scoops across the road for the water to run off,
and crossing them in these light carriages you
make an involuntary bow ; whence the name. One
* Erythronium Americanum. J Ariscema triphyttum.
t Houstoma ccerulea. PodophyUin peltalum.
40 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
misses at first the English hedges, there being
nothing of the sort here ; fields are divided by
snake fences split rails in a zigzag with no gates,
so the hunting is one succession of high timber
jumps ; and along the very top of these rails the
American hounds will follow a fox like a cat,
where an English one would struggle through, or
blunder over, and lose the line. We came in just
in time for dinner, at which there was a large family
party ; and after dinner one of the ladies sang ;
and they all told stories one against the other, all
of which, alas, I have forgotten.
CHAPTER III
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER
ON the last day of April, Monday, we started on
our real travels, or excursion No. 2. Mr. G. drove
us down to Haverford, and saw us off in our new
car, the "Wildwood," which was attached to a
9.10 train. It is rather better than the "Davy
Crockett " being a little larger, more convenient
and steadier, an important point, as we shall sleep
many nights in it. In it came two of Mr. T.'s
people, his secretary Mr. H., and Mr. B. ; they
went with us to the first station, to see that all
was right, and introduced Mr. S., who, Mr. B. said,
we should find " a lovely man," and indeed he
proved so. He it was who was to be our guide,
philosopher, and friend, and to organise everything
for us ; in short, to show us America.
Our luggage is all arranged in the car, so that
everything is accessible, which is in itself a great
convenience. We are amply provided with guide-
books, railroad folders, and maps, a large one on
a roller being fixed in the dining-room, with our
projected route lined out in red.
42 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Our train went rapidly on through a well-cultivated,
pleasant country, all farms, and small woods, like
Chester Valley, where Mr. C.'s farm was, looking
quite like England, but for the ugly snake and rail-
fences. There were large fields of last year's " corn " ;
the dried stalks of the maize remaining very untidily
in the ground ; also some tobacco, grass, and wheat-
fields.
The sides of the track were very exciting, as there
were quantities of large white flowers, and bunches
of lilac ones, but there was no telling what they
were ; the Judas trees edging every wood were,
however, unmistakable, and looked beautiful. At
Harrisburg, our train became a special, as Mr. T.
can do what he likes on the Pennsylvania Rail-
way, and considered that we should be too late,
if we went by the ordinary one, to see anything of
Pittsbursf. We had our luncheon in the car
O
early, so as to be free to enjoy the lovely scenery
which commences shortly after leaving Harrisburg,
and where the track crosses a fine bridge, three
thousand six hundred and seventy feet long, over
the Susquehanna. It is wide and rather shallow,
with beautiful islands in it, some of them rocky,
some covered with green, and breaks into perpetual
rapids and little sparkling falls. After a time it
left us, and we followed the winding course of the
Juiiiata for a hundred miles or more, to the very
base of the Alleghanies ; and all the way the scenery
is most picturesque, and even grand, as the moun-
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 43
tain background is seen all the time, and the pass
through the Tuscarora Gap (so-called after the
Tuscarora Indians,' whose territory it was) is mag-
nificent. The foothills are all clothed with chest-
nut trees and firs, fringed with the Judas trees, their
bright pinky purple masses contrasting with the
fresh green, and at times almost golden, foliage of the
maples, and the wreaths of white blossom on the
apple, pear, and cherry trees.
At Altoona we left the Juniata, whose beauties
are the theme of many sentimental songs ; and this
town is in itself a wonder, for in 1850 it was still
primeval forest, where now is a city of over 30,000
inhabitants, and the site of all the enormous machine
works of the Pennsylvanian Railway.
The line now began the ascent of the Alleghanies,
and a most wonderful piece of engineering it is,
especially the eleven miles before the tunnel at the
top ; it is so steep it takes double power to get the
train up, and descending on the other side, the
distance is run without steam, the pace being regu-
lated by strong brakes. The Horse Shoe Curve is
especially extraordinary, being a curve in that shape,
but so sharp and so steep the lines appear almost
contiguous, though one is much higher than the
other, as they wind round the sides of a sort of bay in
the mountain. The summit of the mountain is pierced
by a tunnel over three thousand feet long, and on
the other side is Cresson Springs, a summer health
resort. Here, having ascended the whole way from
44 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Altoona, the line descends a little, and the grandeur
of the scenery was over, though it was still pretty.
We had our five o'clock tea to-day in the middle of
the Alleghanies, and we sat outside on the open
platform all through the fine ascent. It is cool
there, and the private cars being always (if possible)
hooked on to the end of the train, you have a per-
fectly uninterrupted view the whole way, though
you are certainly liable to get coal dust in the
eyes at times.
After a time we came to the scene of the great
catastrophe of May 1889, when the Conemaugh
River burst its banks, and overflowed and swept
away the town of Johnstown, destroying thousands
of people and much property. Many engines of this
line were washed away, and it took more than nine
days to get the track in working order again.
Shortly after this the white flowers appeared
again in such royal profusion that I got quite anxious
about them, so presently the special train, going
forty miles an hour, pulled up short, the guard went
running back along the track, followed by the brake-
man with a flag ; both men disappeared up a bank,
and in less than four minutes I was in possession of
a large bunch of beautiful white flowers, which
proved to be Trilliums.* But it was real sport that
a train should stop to pick a flower !
We soon arrived at a black country, and having
dined on board with great success though one has
* Trillium grandiflorum.
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 45
to be careful that the things don't shake over we
arrived at seven o'clock at Pittsburgh. Here we
were put into an open carriage which was ready, and
were sent out like children for a drive to keep us
quiet, while the car was cleaned and dusted, and
put into a siding for the night. It is a fearful town
of manufactures and ironworks, and we were driven
to a point above the river (the Alleghany), whence
we looked down on Vulcan's forge, great smelting
works, all flames and cascades of sparks and smoke.
Then up and down long streets, riotous with electric
and cable cars and their whistles and beUs, and rolling
across the horrible tramways which catch the wheels
and sway the carriage as if it would come in two.
The cable cars are the worst, as they keep up a per-
petual underground buzzing noise.
The driver, though Irish, was not communicative,
but he pointed out one rather smart-looking house.
" Do you want to know who lives there ? It's
Charley Clark."
Darker and darker it grew, and still we wandered
down one gloomy street and up another, till at last,
after many perils from cars, we found ourselves at
the station, where Mr. S. received us, and led us to
our " Wildwood." I observed how dangerous the cars
seemed, but he said there was no real danger in them :
" None at all, though they do kill a good many
children."
It was now nine o'clock, but by the Central time,
which we here take up, only eight, so we again gain
46 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
an hour to our lives. Rejoining the car, we found
Mr. W. of the railway, waiting our return, and
ready to take us back some three miles to a side
station where we were to pass the night. He took
leave, and we took cocoa, and then packed ourselves
into very comfortable beds, converted from sofas in
our absence. They had also taken two doors off
their hinges to admit my trunks not that they
are so big, but the doors are so narrow. Nothing is
difficult here ; everything is done. For instance,
yesterday, becoming aware of the immense dust in
the train, M. expressed a regret that we had not
provided ourselves with some white cotton washable
gloves ; to-night, when we returned, there were half
a dozen pairs lying on the sofa. They are a very
clever protection from the dust, which is para-
mount.
We slept well, though often waking up with the
idea that we should be late for church, as all the
station engines have a bell on them, which they
ring whenever they move, and which sounds exactly
like the single bell of the village church. May-
day found us leaving Pittsburg, first crossing the
Alleghany river on a fine bridge. Near where we
had passed the night, they have a thing I don't
know what to call it, but can only describe it as a
bridge at an angle of about 40, up and down which
they run cars, like spiders, over the railroad, on
the principal of " one come up, t'other go down."
We travelled all day through Ohio : very pretty
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 47
cultivated country, with enormous cornfields, undu-
lating pastures, and a few cows and fewer sheep.
Occasional streams, but no large rivers. A lovely
bird perched on one of the telegraph wires, probably
an Oriole, of which there are several kinds ; this one
had a bright orange red throat, white back, breast,
and tail, and a black head. There was also a
chestnut bird with white in its tail, probably a
Sandy mocking-bird. It dropped into a cornfield
like a lark. For luncheon to-day, or rather dinner
for we have our principal meal in the middle of the
day, to get the fires out early we had Catauba wine
made of the strawberry-flavoured Californian grape,
and praised in song by Longfellow. Also the egg-
fruit, cut in slices, fried, and served as vegetable ;
and " string beans," which resembled a larger form
of our French bean.
At three o'clock we arrived in Columbus, where
the train waited for the passengers to take refresh-
ment, so we took exercise, walking up and down
what in England would be the " platform," only
that there is none. Trains and platform alike
are all on an asphalt floor, and you may walk
when and where you please amongst them, the
tolling of the engine bell when it moves being con-
sidered sufficient protection. But there is nothing
to notify when it is going to move, so unless you
look out and are in your car in time, you have to
" scratch gravel," as they significantly term running
for it. It is the same at all the village stations ;
48 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the train glides up the main street, ringing its
bell, and things get out of the way as they can.
In Ohio the sale of all drink is absolutely pro-
hibited (so it was lucky we had secured our Catauba
beforehand). After leaving Columbus we crossed a
very pretty river, the Sciote, with wonderfully clear
reflections, and we partook of our five o'clock tea
to-day somewhere in the centre of Ohio. We left
that State late in the evening, and entered Illinois,
stopping an hour at Indianopolis, where the noises
frightened sleep the perpetual clanging of the
engine bells as they kept passing and repassing,
whistling, screaming and shouting, in addition to
the ordinary rumblings of trains, near and distant ;
however Morpheus defied them all at last, and after
a good night morning broke on the great, wide,
dirty yellow waters of the Mississippi, which flowed
beneath us, and as we breakfasted we entered the
town of St. Louis.
This was originally the principal trading-post of
the fur trade on the river, and was the centre of the
French territory of Louisiana, taking the name of
St. Louis in 1764, but it was not till 1803 that it
was ceded to the United States, and became one of
them under the name of Missouri. To explore it
was now our business, and we were soon in an open
carriage, driven as usual by a nigger, and on the
way to the great brewery of Anhauser-Busch. Mr.
Busch himself showed us over the whole concern :
first the process of bottling the beer, mainly by
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 49
machinery, then labelling it, by the hands of little
boys who were nearly as quick as the machines ; a
lift took us up to a height commanding the town
and river, and their own works, extending over a
hundred and sixty acres, and employing two
thousand two hundred hands ; and on this floor
were the enormous vats of burnished copper for
making the beer ; but all on mosaic floors, and more
like show than work, being so very bright and
polished and decorated.
We again descended to the ground floor, or
first, as they generally call it here, to see an
enormous refrigerator, as big as a house, which
they had prepared for the Chicago Exhibition, but
it was refused admittance as too large. Above
this they make ice in oblong boxes under the floor,
and it was pretty to see the blocks slide out of their
cases, and run alone round a sloping iron causeway
and deposit themselves quite gently in long rows
below. Next we found ourselves seated round a
table in a kind of hall, and a foaming tankard of
beer was handed to each of us. This at eleven
A.M. was embarrassing, to say the least, but we all
did our best to look as if we liked it, and wished we
could have kept it till dinner.
Mr. Busch's private stables, coachhouses, and
stablemen's billiard-room having also been shown,
we left ; and thanking our guide for his politeness,
he assured me I might now say I had seen the
largest brewery in the world. I have no doubt he
50 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
was right, and am quite sure that he thought he
was.
A four miles drive, through the city chiefly,
though we now and again skirted a kind of suburb
where the condition of the roads and the depth of
the ruts was astonishing took us to the Tower
Grove Park ; very pretty grounds, with some
effective statues in it of Shakespeare, Columbus and
Humboldt and through it to Shaw's Gardens ; a
botanic garden made by a philanthropic Mr. Shaw,
who left it, and a large legacy to maintain it, to the
State. It is well kept up, and has some fine con-
servatories, which contained many good plants that
we knew, and it appeared that those we did not
know they did not either, for labels when wanted
were conspicuous by their absence. At the very
end was a glorious house, entirely of the cactus
tribe ; cereus, opuntias and agaves, chiefly from
Mexico, and some of the former several feet high,
and all in the best possible tenue.
Looking out of these houses we saw several Sandy
mocking-birds, and presently heard them sing a
very clear cheerful song, and found their nest on
the top of a small tree. There were also Catbirds*
of a greyish-brown colour, with slate coloured backs ;
and native Sparrows, smaller than ours, and of a
more elance shape. Several black and white Wood-
peckers, and a couple of Flickers ;t and later on, as
we were driving through another park, a vision of
* Galeoscoptes Caroliniensis. t Coloptes auratu*.
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 51
vivid scarlet flashed over our heads, and a splendid
red bird alighted on a branch of one of the tall oak
trees. It was, I believe, a scarlet Tanager,* and we
were in luck to see it, as they are not very common,
and certainly most beautiful.
This Forest park is the largest in the city,
containing over thirteen hundred acres, and several
lakes ; and a pretty stream, the Des Peres River,
meanders through it. It has a small zoological
garden, where the most obvious inhabitant was a
melancholy-looking caged peacock, with an in-
different bad tail. It seemed a pity to leave these
lovely parks, our best chance of seeing the birds of
the district, but it was a long way back to the city,
and might have been any length, as one of the
streets is thirteen miles long, and the town itself has
a river frontage of twenty miles, and averages nine
deep ! And all this the growth of little over a
century.
At an enormous Southern hotel, we had luncheon,
which included prairie chicken, or " roast sage
hen," as the menu had it, tasting like grouse. One
might have thought it out of season, but that is
a detail. The national dish, ice cream, was not
wanting. Visiting a chemist's shop (in the hotel),
the poor ignorant creatures had not an idea what
sal volatile was, but rose to comp. tinct. of
ammonia, producing a yellow liquid, which in other
respects resembled the real thing.
* Pyranza erythromelax.
52 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
We next, at the imminent peril of our united
lives, walked along a street to do some shopping.
H. N. nearly met his fate against an electric car,
but was saved by a timely policeman, the only one
I saw. We passed boot shops called " ladies' fine
foot wear," in search of a dry goods store, meaning
a draper's. We found one at last, though there
are many more stores for gentlemen than for ladies,
and there are some of " notions,' 1 which I take to be
fancy goods. Walking being a source of danger,
we got into a carriage and drove down to the river,
and finding on what they call the Levee (we might
call it wharf) one of the Mississippi steamers, quite
accessible, we walked on board ; an affable negro
stepped forward and showed us all over it, and it
felt like a living illustration of Mark Twain's books.
There were, I think, three decks, all painted white,
built in tiers, and covered with rows of red chairs ;
the boats are all " stern wheelers," are very high,
and draw very little water, and run up and down
to New Orleans. It would have been very nice to
have taken this trip, but it would have upset our
programme, disconcerted the red line drawn on our
roller-map, and probably have been too hot for
comfort on the Gulf of Mexico.
So instead, we drove on to the top of the great
St. Louis Bridge, which cost ten million dollars to
build, and making the railroad below, is used as a
causeway above for carts and carriages. It is a
fine outlook up and down that enormous, but not
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 53
beautiful river, for a dirtier one, as regards colour,
does not exist. The shores are somewhat flat and
sandy, but I believe the discoloration is chiefly due
to the Missouri, which comes in some twenty miles
higher up, and pollutes the stream with the mud
of the Montana and Dakota plains.
Thence, our time being nearly up, we returned to
the station, but the "Wildwood" not being yet
brought in, we waited a short time in the waiting-
room where H. N. sat down on a live baby and
watched an amusing crowd of many colours. Mr. S.
soon found us and the car, and putting the former
into the latter, went off himself to wire all over the
place, in consequence of a suggested change ; viz.,
that we should omit Kansas City altogether, one
large town being very like another ; and, by going
on straight through it to-morrow, we should gain a
day at Colorado. A delightful exchange.
The local newspapers, one of which is daily
brought to us, are really very original ; the headings
are so funny : such as, " She left his house early,"
or, " Will he do it again ? " omitting the nouns, and
giving a hint of the sensational. Some of the para-
graphs are peculiar ; this was how one ran in the
St. Louis Globe:
"To win a bet of $25 Miss Josie Sheehy, after
removing her spring bonnet, dived in street dress
into the tank of the Olympic Swimming Baths in
San Francisco. Miss Sheehy was dressed in a
54 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
tailor-made street gown and wore blue kids. The
bet originated in the remark of a young man, that
'girls are cuckoos at swimming, anyway.' Miss
Sheehy swam out promptly after the header, and
the money was handed to her. The young man
who lost it went to the nearest corner and drank
six seltzers sour to brace him up."
Another was headed
"SHE SPORTED EIGHT KOH-I-NOORS.
" Tacoma, Wash., May 2. The industrial army,
through Mrs. Jumbo Catwell, has made another
appeal to the Northern Pacific for a train to carry
the army to St. Paul, offering $10,000 for it. General
Traffic Manager Haunaford refused to consider the
proposition. The sympathisers then paraded the
streets. Mrs. Jumbo Catwell, wife of the ' General/
led the parade with three other women. She wore
eight large diamonds and a nobby spring suit."
We left St. Louis about eight o'clock by the Mis-
souri Pacific Railway, and travelling on through the
night through the State of Missouri, we reached
Kansas City early in the morning, and managed to
wake about six A.M., being anxious to get a first
glimpse of
" Where the mighty Missouri rolls down to the sea."
(Which, begging pardon of that patriotic song, it does
Hot, as it flows into the Mississippi some thousand
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 55
miles to the north of the sea.) There it was, a great,
wide, mud- coloured river, with flat banks on the
north, and an enormous dark red town extending
for miles on the southern shore. The latter has no
special points of interest, being a very busy trading
town, eighteen lines of railway converging in it ; and
a pall of smoke overshadowing the whole, we were
glad to be leaving it.
During our breakfast we were attached to the
Burlington line, -and taken, hind side before, to
St. Joseph, a large station, called in familiar
railway parlance St. Joe. Here our car was
reversed, and we resumed our proper position with
our observation car at the rear of the train, and our
view unimpeded. They had not time to do this at
Kansas, as it takes a little time to turn these cars
round, and is done on what they call a Y line. We
now had a clear view of the whole State of Nebraska,
for though St. Joe was due north of Kansas, we now
turned east and went along the southern border of
the State, skirting for some way the flat valley of
the Republican River. This is one of the great
ranche States, the source of the enormous meat
supplies which from Kansas City go east, collected
from Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, and
Texas also. All the morning the track went through
horse and cattle ranches small wooden houses with
fenced yards (or corrals), with cattle, horses, and
pigs in them, or grazing in the enclosed, rather
undulating, land round them. It was exactly the
56 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
same all the way to Wymore, and reminded one
of all the accounts of ranche life that one had read
about.
The track here is a single line, and looks as if it
was just dropped down on a flat bit, where all is
nearly flat ; and all you see is the close row of
sleepers, and two little lines of rails that fade into
silver threads in the perspective ; no fence of any
sort or kind, on either side, and the engine bell
clangs as it passes a house, or crosses a road, but
both houses and roads are few and far between.
We re-crossed the Missouri by a magnificent
bridge at Rulo, and it took a fine turn there, sweep-
ing southwards, bordered by sand on which is a low
growth of stunted, bright green, poplars. At Rock
Falls we watched, with glasses, a picturesque mob
of cattle being driven slowly along by two cowboys
with tremendous stock-whips. They made a great
feature in the landscape, and as one or two of the
beasts broke away occasionally in the wrong direc-
tion, the men had to gallop and round them up. No
doubt their instincts were right, and led them to
rebel against heading for the depot, as their
probable destination was Armour's packing-house at
Kansas City, where death by machinery was a sad
contrast to life on the sunny pastures of Nebraska.
Some timber was being hauled along by teams of
oxen ; and quaint figures on horseback with wide
Spanish hats, wooden stirrups, and enormous spurs,
enlivened the foreground. At Wymore, called by
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 57
courtesy a town, the cars were stopped, and as the
passengers were allowed twenty minutes for refresh-
ments, we got out and exercised ourselves on some
rather reedy grassy ground ; posted a letter, which I
have no reason to believe ever arrived ; looked at a
wild lot of twenty-one yearling bulls in a van, and
resumed our journey about two o'clock. The fence-
less railroad continued through a fenceless prairie.
The great Indian corn-fields look very dreary, as
they are only wide stretches of grey brown soil
with the rotten stalks of last year's growth sticking
up forlornly at various angles, for the new corn
will not be planted here till June.
As for the cows, they owe their lives to such
brains as they may have, for there is nothing to
keep them off the track, and I was glad to reflect on
the cow-catcher on the engine, as it makes it safer
for us, and better, though perhaps not always
pleasant, for the erring cow. They say one does
occasionally get under the engine, and it is quite
enough to " ditch " it.
About five o'clock our tea came in, in the middle
of the prairies, and with it a wire from Mr. T.
to inquire how we were getting on !
The course of the Republican River, which we
still followed, was pretty, as the river was clear and
blue, and was fringed with trees and shrubs in their
fresh spring foliage, alders and willows chiefly. It
sometimes widened out into flat swampy ground,
in which were various kinds of duck and teal ; and
58 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
at the station of Republican we held converse with
a small and ragged boy, who said that three Pelicans
had been shot on the river within the last fortnight,
and sold for $i each, to be stuffed. At a smallish
town, called Oxford, they hooked our car on to
another train, and we went to bed in Nebraska, and
soon, being asleep, entered Colorado, and next
morning we found that what we thought was six A.M.
was really five, owing to our having made another
change of time, and gone back an hour again. This
is mountain time, and we have yet another hour to
gain before we reach the Pacific. It is wonderful
how well and restfully one sleeps in the car, in
spite of its rattling and jerking on through the
night, very different to the trains in the highlands
of Sweden, where, from the discomfort of the car-
riages, sleep is an impossibility. These trains are
quieter now than when our travels began, for being
a single line there is but little traffic, and only a
few of the gigantic freight trains pass sometimes ;
but they wait for us on a siding, and seem endless
in length ; some are certainly over half a mile long,
on the Pennsylvanian line especially. Yesterday we
were on the Burlington route ; to-day, at Denver, we
shall change to the Denver and Rio Grande line.
When we woke thus early it was to gaze on a
most bare, hopeless, flat, treeless prairie, stretching
as far as the eye could reach, in shades of yellow,
grey and dull brown ; here and there a distant
group of horses, or cattle, and not unfrequently in
WESTWARDS BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 59
the foreground- the whitened skeleton of some lost
beast. One cow lay dead, with her horns and head
tied up in a barbed wire fence. There is a good
deal of that injurious invention in use all over the
States. It was a fascinating landscape, in all its
monotony, and I watched it, and M. too, till suddenly
he said :
" There's a sand-hill there, look ! "
I looked he looked again : it was a glimmer of
the far-off Rocky Mountains ! Enchanted, I rushed
to the observation car to sketch. Though so early,
attentive Lawrence brought me my tea, and pointed
out that a little rough growth by the side of the
track was all cactus plants ! And so it was
quantities of little Opuntias, singly, or in groups and
clusters. I made two hasty sketches, but they poorly
conveyed the mysterious effect of the first glimpse of
that distant chain. Very small, rough outlines of
snowy peaks, then a broad band of purple haze, and
then the prairie ; but as we got nearer and nearer to
Denver, shapes and outlines loomed faintly through
the mysterious haze, and by seven o'clock, when we
reached the station, the whole magnificent line
of snow-capped mountains was revealed on the
horizon, rising abruptly from the plain, and fading
into all the most lovely shades of soft greys and
lilacs, as in the north they grew smaller and smaller ;
while west and south they seemed almost close, and
were startling in their grandeur.
It was difficult to tear oneself away from this
60 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
glorious view of almost two hundred miles of
mountain chain, with Long's Peak, and Pike's Peak,
and many others of name unknown, but of beauty
of outline and colouring indescribable. But we had
to make the most of our time at Denver, and
walking through a spacious station-house, recently
burnt almost to the ground, we got into an open
carriage like a small char-ci-banc, which they call
a " Surrey," and with the square roof supported
on iron uprights, so well known in all tropical
pictures, and of which we now appreciated the
utility. The town itself is pretty and cheerful,
consisting of good-sized villa-like houses, surrounded
with very green, very much-watered grass, and
some flowers, and every street bounded and
finished westwards with the view of magnificent
blue and snowy mountains. After driving through
the streets, we went to a high point above the town,
which commands a fine view of the whole range,
and the fifteen miles of flat valley which extends
from the town to the foot-hills. It was a kind of
old cemetery, and on it were growing any quantity
of Opuntias in bud, for the yellow flowers were not
fully out ; but there was a lovely white starry
flower, rather like a large squill, though only about
two inches from the ground, growing all over the
place. We took some of it to a nursery garden,
where we next called, and the man said it was called
a spring crocus, but was no more a crocus than he
was. He did not look like one at all.
WESTWARD BY ST. LOUIS TO DENVER 61
He had some very pretty Mexican primroses,
which he says grow wild, and also Gazanias, in
California ; and the best Clematis coccinea I have
ever seen ; it was so covered with its scarlet flowers
as to be quite effective. We then went in search
of some photographs, though they do scant justice
to this lovely place. Mr. S. went away tele-
graphing, and we went also to deliver a letter of
introduction to a gentleman here, given us by a
friend in England ; but the gentleman was not easy
of access as first he lived on the seventh story,
and then, he was at present in New York.
All meeting again at the station, we re-entered
the " Wild wood," which is always like getting home,
to press and dry such flowers as had been collected ;
and after a visit from Mr. Cundy, one of the officials
of the Rio Grande Railway, our train glided on,
without a word of warning, as usual, precisely at
1.40, for a most beautiful journey, all parallel to the
foot-hills of the Rockies.
CHAPTER IV
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
LEAVING Denver behind us, we ascended some
way till we had risen seventeen hundred feet, and
reached the Divide, and Palmer's Lake at the
top of it. This elevation is formed by a spur of
the Rockies, and makes a division in the watershed
from north to south, all the streams running either
north to the Platte, or south to the Arkansas, as it
wends its way to the Mississippi. The correct pro-
nunciation of the Arkansas river is quite different
to the English view of it. The accent should be on
the first syllable, and the last is pronounced saw,
not sas. The scenery here is very striking, the
rocks resembling crags and castles, culminating in
high rugged pine-clad peaks ; and at one station,
aptly called Castle Rock, the rock makes a most
peculiar upthrust on the summit of a conical hill,
looking quite like an old Martello tower at a little
distance. There are some quarries of red sandstone
near there, and the rocks themselves are a mixture
of red sandstone and grey granite. Whenever there
was a flat by the side of the track it was broken by
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 63
the burrows of the prairie dogs,* and we saw many
of these nice little neat animals sitting upright, and
then scuttling away at the noise of the train to join
their companions, Coquimbo Owls and Rattlesnakes,
who are said to share their homes. Beyond these
flats stretched acres and acres of rich pasture, grass
and Alfalfa t the green of which is quite the most
brilliant green possible stocked with herds of
grazing cattle and troops of horses. Descending
the southern slope of the Divide, we ran into
Colorado Springs station about four o'clock, and
sending luggage for two days up to the Antlers
Hotel, we got into an open carriage to drive to
Manitou.
The streets or avenues of Colorado, which we
passed through on the way, are edged two or three
rows deep with Cottonwood trees, which, however,
cannot be old, though of good size, for Miss Bird
remarks, when she visited it in 1877, "No place
could be more unattractive, from its utter treeless-
ness," and now it is " with verdure clad " through-
out, and the home of many birds, especially the
Meadow-lark ,J a larger bird than our Lark, with a
conspicuous yellowish breast and a black spot
on it. He has a sweet, short song, which he invari-
ably gets on the top of a post, or a low tree, to
execute.
Manitou is a queer little place in the hills, about
* Spermophilus Ludovicianus, also called the " Wish-ton- Wish."
( Medicago Sativa. J Sturnella Magna.
64 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
six miles from Colorado Springs and four from
Colorado City, another little town, which a month
or so after our visit was almost washed away by the
disastrous floods that nearly ruined this beautiful
section in June. There are (at Manitou) some
famous effervescing soda and iron springs, of which
we drank, and also some stores of pretty Rocky
Mountain stones, like real gems, of which we made
purchases, for the sake of their local interest more
than their intrinsic value, though the Mexican
turquoises run the Persian ones very close for
colour.
We drove on through a beautiful mountain
road to the famous " Garden of the Gods," a most
strange place, consisting of a sort of wide, almost
circular valley, hemmed in by mountains, with
masses of grotesquely shaped, vividly coloured red
sandstone rocks cropping up all over it in points,
pinnacles, and cliffs, some of them three hundred
and fifty feet high ; while a low growth of bad
scrub oak, rough grass, and brown earth, make the
untidy foundation out of which these strange bright
pinky-red masses tower up. H. N.'s observation
was, " Were he the gods, he should dismiss the
gardener " ; and certainly it might be better kept,
though . the road which goes right through these
five hundred acres was in fair order, and led to the
Gates of the garden, stupendous masses of red sand-
stone, three-quarters of a mile round.
From here white rocks take the place of the red,
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 65
and guard the road to Glen Eyrie, the house of a
General Palmer, engineer, I believe, of the Rio
Grande Railway, and in his garden are more
magnificent red rocks, like cathedral spires. In an
angle of one of the cliffs was an eagle's nest, very
high up, but plainly visible.
From here we had a very pleasant evening drive
back to the hotel, along a high terrace road com-
manding a view of the eternal hills on the right,
crowned by the snowy point of Pike's Peak ; and
on the left an enormous expanse of limitless prairie,
where they say you may ride one hundred and
twenty miles on end and not see a tree. Our
driver had been a cowboy, and amused M. with his
experiences, and showed him the ranche of a great
stock-farmer who owned 75,ooo head of cattle.
They brand the beasts and let them run wild,
rounding them up every spring to select the fat
ones for sale, and to brand the calves much, it
seems to me, as they do in Australia.
We saw a Flicker or two (a handsome kind of
Woodpecker), more Meadow-larks, and two lovely
Blue-birds. The ground is covered with a white
useless-looking sort of flat grass, which they call
Buffalo grass, and is dotted all over with quantities
of Yuccas, with tall clumsy flowers no good to
anybody. On a public-house was painted " Barley
water and bad cigars," and in our hotel was hung a
conspicuous board with the words " Hop to-night.
Guests invited." A simple form of invitation, which
66 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
must have saved much trouble in the writing of
cards ; as simple as the form in Norway, where,
when a dance is projected, word is sent up the
valley by the postman.
The following day (Saturday, May 5) found us
breakfasting below at an early hour, in the large
dining-room, served by ebony waiters, for we had
to reach Manitou by nine o'clock. We had the
same Surrey, but a different pair of very fast bay
horses, driven by the same driver, Martinez, a Peon
(i.e., a Spaniard born in Mexico), who drives in
summer a six-in-hand coach to the summit of Pike's
Peak. This summit we were now to gain, in a cog-
wheel railway train.
Arrived at the station of the Pike's Peak Railway,
we got into a long car, where Mr. S.'s foresight
had reserved the front seats, and we had an un-
obstructed view forward the whole way up, as the
engine, a giraffe-shaped thing, goes behind and
pushes the train up the steep grade.
The pass is unspeakably grand. It first ascends
Eagleman's Canon, a narrow ravine with enormous
granite boulders projecting from the rocky walls on
either side, some looking as if they were only just
balanced on the solid face of the mountain, and
might, or must, fall at any minute ; glowing in tints
of red, pale yellow, and warm grey, with mosses
and lichens, and pines, and a pretty cascading
stream, breaking into little cataracts now and then,
close below us. The falls of Minnehaha were small
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 67
but graceful, and recalled Longfellow's " Hiawatha "
at first ; but it seems they have nothing to do
with it, and are only (rather stupidly) named
after the real falls, which are miles away, near
St. Paul's.
A little further on, about half-way, the car
stopped, and we all got out for a few minutes in
the hope of finding wild flowers; but there were
none, only rocks, lichen, and some dwindling fir-
trees. Getting in -again, we were laboriously pushed
on by the engine, up the steep road in front, till we
gradually found ourselves leaving all vegetation
behind, and reaching " timber line," with nothing
above but grey and red granite rocks, a few lively
little Chipmucks,* and snow. A little spring of water
was a solid mass of icicles, and from having been
very warm below, we were glad of such cloaks as we
had with us, even in the car.
The snow in one or two places had been freshly
cut through this morning to clear the rails, and was
left standing in walls by the side of the train, and as
high as its top, and indeed at one spot the engine
had to put on extra speed to cut through the drift
which was deep over the near rail. Some spades
and workmen were on board to dig us out, should
that have proved necessary. Very slowly, and by
eleven o'clock, we completed the eight miles of
ascent, but the scenes we passed through were so
glorious that going slowly was an advantage ; and
* Tamiat Listen.
68 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
by the time we reached the summit we were seven
thousand feet above Manitou and 14,147 above the
sea.
The effect of the rarefied atmosphere was such
that on getting out of the train one man fainted
dead away, and was only revived by his companions
rubbing snow on his face. M., expecting to feel very
bad also, watched all his symptoms, and considered
himself giddy. H. N. looked very bad, and felt so ;
so did most of the fellow travellers, some twenty-
four in number.
I could not discover any sensations whatever, so
at once sat down on a structure of old sleepers,
which lifted me out of the snow, and in a small
sketch-book tried to convey a reminiscence of the
most enormous landscape I ever saw in my life.
Range upon range of crimson granite mountains
crowned with snow-capped peaks, surrounded us,
and seven thousand feet below lay the boundless
prairie, like a greyish-yellow sea, with the blue
shadows of clouds passing over it, and without any
horizon line, for it merely melted away into the sky.
While far, far below, and looking like a pale hurdle,
or a small gridiron, lay the town of Colorado Springs,
nestling close to the base of the mountain ; and high
up, and close before us were the auriferous rocks of
which Cripples' Creek was one, afterwards famous
from the strike there ; and one lady in the company
took occasion, when it was pointed out, to mention
loudly that she was acquainted with the Mayor of
PLATE V
PIKE'S PEAK, THROUGH THE GATE OF THE GARDEN OF THE GODS
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 69
Cripples' Creek, and distinctly took rank there-
upon.
We passed about three-quarters of an hour on the
top, and found a lonely grave, covered with pieces
of granite, and a stone stating that there was buried
"Ellen Keefe, who died in 1876, having been eaten
by mountain rats."
We saw two blue Jays, several Chipmucks,* and
some Gophers,t but there is little life in these cold
regions.
The engine, in front this time, took the train down
at a slow jerky trot, and we reached Manitou at one
o'clock, where Martinez awaited us, and drove us
back quickly in the hot lower air to our hotel ; so
we had done thirty miles by luncheon, for which
we were more ready than it was for us. However,
tout vient a point, a qui sait attendre ; and after a
time it came and went.
By three o'clock we were ready for another drive, in
the same Surrey and a pair of greys, and we soon
covered the distance to the gate of the Garden of
the Gods, where my maid and I were flung out on
to a burning sandy soil ; and, while the rest of the
party took a drive round, I hastily set to work to
draw the great red sandstone gateway, with Pikes'
Peak showing in the distance. I completed this
roughly, and began another, still more fascinating,
when I saw the carriage returning, and as they were
ready to go on to William's Canon, I had to undergo
* Tamias Listen . f SpermaphiUus Franklinii.
70 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the usual artistic tortures, and forego drawing, for
the sake of not losing the sight of other scenes.
Past Manitou, its refreshing waters, and charming
little shops, we went, and turning to the right,
entered suddenly a very narrow, very wonderful
canon ; a road went through it, just wide enough for
the carriage, winding in and out of massive grey
rocks. Wild gooseberries (which fruit is indigenous
here) and yellow-flowered currant trees, lined the
road here and there, but generally it was precipitous
rocks on both sides. We drove slowly up it for over
a mile, the rocks so high above we could only see
the tops by turning our heads upside down, and half-
way up was an opening into a great cave. Below
this we arrived at a cul de sac with just room for
the carriage to turn, and then Martinez set his
horses off at a trot, and they trotted down this
narrow twisting road as hard as ever they could pelt,
winding round the sharpest curves, where an inch
wrong would have caught the wheel on the rocks
and sent us all to glory, bounding over rocks and
ruts, till I laughed, and it really was fun. I never
saw better driving.
Then followed the usual way home, always under
the shadow of the great mountains ; and we passed
some people camping out, with tents, and horses
tethered by the side of them, under the Cotton-wood
trees. So we came in, after a never-to-be-forgotten
day, for certainly the ascent of the morning was a
revelation in the way of fine scenery, and we were
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 71
really in luck, as this line to Pike's Peak has only
been " operated " for the last week, and this a month
earlier than usual ; indeed, it has only been in exist-
ence about two years.
In order not to lose a chance or a minute, and at
the suggestion of Martinez, we arranged to start
early for a drive on Sunday morning, our last day
at Colorado. So, rising at six, and snatching a cup
of cocoa and an egg apiece, M., H. N. and I set off
before seven in a " two-seated Surrey," and had a
most beautiful and cool drive to the Cheyenne
Mountain, passing through a more cultivated dis-
trict before reaching it, with a quantity of large
Cotton-wood trees, their very vivid green just
beginning to tell in the landscape, and, mingling
with occasional dark old pines, making a beautiful
effect. Coming to the exquisite dark blue and lilac
mountain, we shot into the deep shadow of the
canon, and a most lovely scene opened before us.
Rocks of any height, crowned with pinnacles and
points, on either side ; a lovely rushing river on one
hand, a narrow width of firs and alders on the other,
a fair road the whole way along for a mile or more,
rising all the time, till we reached a point where a
carriage could go no further, and we continued on
foot along a little path till we came to the base of
the Seven Falls.
These are the exquisite Cheyenne Falls three of
them in sight, and the other four, owing to a slight
turn in the angle of the rock, out of sight from
72 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
below. The lower three afforded sufficient occupa-
tion for my impatient fingers, while M. and H. N.
climbed a long staircase to get a view of the others,
which came tossing down a red precipice in great
beauty. I could only make an unfinished scratch,
with a tint or two of colour, before they were back
again ; but I know by previous experience what
a treasure every line or touch is, when one gets
home.
These lovely cascades fall into, and indeed make,
the stream, whose course we had followed all along
this, the North Canon. We now drove down it
again, full trot, as yesterday, to explore the other, or
South Canon, similar as a whole to this one, but I
thought even more grand ; but each thing seems more
lovely than the last. A different road brought us
back, passing a club and polo ground, and a network
of electric lines ; several four-horse waggons with
miners were going up to their gold mines in the
mountains by a steep difficult-looking track.
Martinez had engaged to bring us back to our
car by 10.30, but it was so much before that when
we reached Colorado Springs, that we had time to
go and see his stables, an immense wooden building,
one hundred and ninety feet by seventy-five feet,
containing one hundred and twenty-five horses, in
four long rows of stalls, with a very narrow gang-
way between two rows of heels. But the air was
quite fresh and sweet, and the horses were all per-
fectly quiet, good-tempered, and kindly treated, well
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 73
kept, in good sleek condition ; when past work they
turn them out, and never sell them.
These one hundred and twenty-five horses were
looked after by eighteen men ; they were all Ameri-
can-bred (except one broncho), and about fifteen-
two or -three in height.
A lift led to a floor above, where all the car-
riages are kept ; and every carriage is taken up and
down by the lift. There were Surreys of all sizes,
Buckboards, Waggons, and Buggies of all descrip-
tions ; the open ones all having the square " lids "
so necessary for the sun. All was beautifully clean,
and though they were perpetually harnessing, and
taking horses and traps in and out, there was no noise
or scuffling on the part of horses or men. After a
good look round, we drove down to the " Wild wood,"
and, wishing Martinez good luck, re-settled ourselves;
and, as it was not absolutely time to start, there
were a few precious minutes in which to tint my
pencil sketches, which threatened to rub out ; as the
one thing one cannot do in the car while moving, is
to write, scarcely to sketch, and we had to watch
for the few stationary minutes at stations to write
up journals or prepare letters for the post. At eleven
o'clock we started, and we also started a dejeuner a
la fourchette, for which we were all ready, as the
excessive dust makes one perpetually thirsty, and as
perpetually dusty.
We now began the most beautiful journey, one
to be remembered every Sunday of one's life. First,
74- A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
it was lovely to watch a fresh range of mountains
appearing gradually on our right in the distance ;
as the Cheyenne faded in the north, this range,
behind Florence, became more and more distinct ;
first the snow-tips, then the purple mountains,
in every shade and variety of lilac and mauve, then
the foot-hills. There was rather a rich plain on
the east of us, as far as Pueblo, with many ranches,
and good pasture and streams.
This town itself, apart from the beauty of its
situation, is not of much interest to travellers being
the centre of the great petroleum and mining
region ; it has also large smelting and Bessemer steel
works. Leaving it, our route took us westward
again to Canon City, and two miles beyond it we
all settled in chairs on the outside platform as the
train rushed into the Royal Gorge in the Grand
Canon of the Arkansaw. No words can describe the
grandeur of this pass. For about eight miles the
Arkansaw River has cut for itself a passage through
gigantic walls of granite, which tower up on either
side some three thousand feet, in many places so
absolutely perpendicular that they almost seem to
hang over the line and the river, the latter dis-
puting possession with the railway, which winds
round headlands of dark red granite, the river
foaming beside it in tawny waves,
" Like the mane of a chestnut steed,"
and rushing madly over its rocky bed, whilst we
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 75
seem entering a mere fissure in the crags. Narrower
and darker it grows, till there appears to be abso-
lutely no space for the track, which, by a marvel of
engineering skill, is now suspended on the side of
the cliff by steel girders morticed into the solid
rock, and so actually overhangs the torrent. At
other places, where there was no room for both, the
track robs the water, and is laid on the bed of the
river, which is walled back to make way for the
interloper. Where occasionally the gigantic ravine
widened out a little there grew, here and there, tall
solitary pines, standing like sentinels by the side
of the rushing river, whose noise overwhelmed that
of the train and made itself heard in useless remon-
strance. This continued till we again emerged into
full sunshine on the other side of the pass ; and it is
difficult to believe that there is anything much
finer in the world. The alternations, too, of glowing
sunlight as it caught the fantastic points which
crowned the crags, and the deep, dark shadows
below, and the indescribable beauty of the rich
reds and cool greys of the colouring, made scenes
which enriched for ever one's collection of memory
pictures.
The glare and dust w~ere such that we could not
stay out on the platform after this glorious phase of
a wonderful journey ; but we came in and called for
help, which arrived in the form of one of Lawrence's
trays of frosted glasses of iced lemonade.
Watching the scenery every minute, we traversed
76 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the narrow valley of the Upper Arkansaw, and on
the south-west had views of the magnificent ser-
rated peaks of the snowy range of the Sangre
de Cristo, before reaching Salida ; while on the
right front, or to our north-west, extend the
splendid range of the College Mountains. Crowned
with perpetual snow, these peaks of the Rockies,
called after their colleges, Harvard, Yale, Prince-
town, &c., remind one of the Alps, but are in
many ways finer, and more varied in their majestic
forms.
The Ouray, an extinct volcano, and named after
an old Indian chief of fame who ruled the district,
comes slowly into the landscape ; also Shaveno,
equally grand. Passing through the Gunnison
country, the richest mining district, and where the
Elk Mountain range, another of the many spurs of
the massive Rockies, conceals treasures untold of
gold, silver, and iron, we arrived towards evening at
Leadville, the heart of the silver El Dorado discovered
in 1878. It is the great mining camp of the West,
and is also the highest town in the world (except
one in, I think, Mexico) being 10,200 ft. above the
sea.
Near here is the Mount of the Holy Cross, which
at the summit has a never-fading large white snow
cross on it, very distinct and remarkable in the
summer ; but as yet, the conductor told us, there is
too much snow to distinguish its outlines.
Later in the evening we traversed another pass,
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 77
the " Eagle Pass," but it was getting too dark to
distinguish the details, and we could only feel the
grandeur, and mingle it with the recollection of the
day's wonders. We next crossed " the Great Divide ""
in a long tunnel, having just passed the source of the
Arkansaw, the river that had accompanied us so
long ; it rises in a large swamp, at a great eleva-
tion, and is formed by the melting of the snows.
The watershed changed, and as we emerged from
the tunnel another river took up the running, flow-
ing this time westwards to the Pacific.
A large Eagle flew heavily overhead to-day, and
several great Hawks and Buzzards ; there was also
one beautiful bird, of smaller size, black all over
except his back, which was a gorgeous orange-
scarlet. During the morning, at Colorado, we saw
a very fine Butterfly, like a giant Fritillary; but
nowhere have we seen the Colorado Beetle !
M. sat up late to see by starlight the Canon of
the Bio Grande ; the moon, unluckily, was too
young to be of use, and I went to bed, wearied out
with staring, with all my eyes and soul, at exquisite
wonders since seven A.M. He told us afterwards
that while he was out on the platform a shower of
stones came down on the roof, and he could dimly
distinguish a great piece of rock which fell on the
rails close behind the train, large enough to have
done us serious damage had it not missed the car by
two feet so we had a narrow escape.
CHAPTER V
UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY
HEAVEN only knows what glories we may have
passed in the night, but the morning (of Monday,
May 7th) found us rolling rapidly along a dead flat,
with a beginning of a line of rocks, rising, like Ehren-
breitstein, out of it. This rocky background and
sandy foreground, continued for some time, con-
stantly varying in detail and often in character :
grey, and even white rocks, alternating with red ;
then opening into richer plains, green with Alfalfa
(like Lucerne), where any streams provided the
necessary irrigation ; and now and then a golden
reddish foreground, from stunted willows, changed
the colouring a little. Lavender-like " Sage brush "
grows nearly everywhere, but the alkali plains we
began in this morning are absolutely bare, and
cannot raise even that.
They look unspeakably dreary, and white, with
round shiny spots that look almost like ice, where
the alkali has been condensed by the sun, and not
a living thing is to be seen on them here and
there a skeleton, or a few bones. Leaving this
UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY 79
Colorado desert, the track again commenced to
ascend, and after a long toil up the Wasatch range,
showing that we were still in the confines of the
Eockies, it reached the apex at a point .called
Soldiers' Summit, an altitude of some seven thou-
sand five hundred feet.
H. N.'s aneroid was our informant as to many of
these heights, or was at all events called in to confirm
the statements of the conductor or the guide-books :
such high trials were rather hard upon it, and we
were afraid it. would suffer, like the Somersetshire
farmer's telescope. The old man, remarking to a
friend at a local race meeting, that the gentry
nowadays had glasses for both eyes, he added he
" had had one once, for one, a right good one it was,
but now it was no use at all no, not to nobody."
" Why not ? " asked the friend.
" Well," he said, " it were a good one I could
see miles wi' 'en I could see, plain, the steeple of
the church five miles off. But missus's son John, he
borrowed 'en, and he tried to see the steeple of
t'other church, ten miles off" and tried, and tried,
and couldn't. And that strained it, and it were
never of no use any more no, not to nobody."
Shortly before reaching the summit we passed a
narrow defile called Castle Gate, recalling somewhat
the gate of the " Garden of the Gods." Two huge
pillars, or walls, of red rock, nearly five hundred feet
high, project like ramparts from the cliffs behind
them, and almost close the road, leaving but a
8o A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
narrow space for railway and river, which just
squeeze through side by side ; the stream tosses
and falls over a rocky bed, and its moisture clothes
the banks with verdure, and the lower part of the
rocks have also a growth of dark pines, contrasting
finely with the red granite above. Then comes the
summit, near which we saw an enormous flock of
thousands of sheep being driven along a mountain
path, and the moving line they made seemed
absolutely interminable.
Towards midday we entered the rich valley of
Utah. Glowing with rich green, and surrounding a
lovely lake the Utah Lake. It is well watered with
clear streams, and resembles a well-kept garden, for
fruit trees and vineyards grow, as well as cereals,
and testify to the industry and agricultural know-
ledge of the Mormon farmers, whose neat well-built
houses stud it closely.
Mountains surround and shelter it ; the Wasatch
we were leaving behind us, on the east ; and opposite,
on the west, lay the distant Oquirrh range ;
Mount Nebo, snow-covered and majestic, rising
higher than all.
All day we had been travelling through Utah.
It is a territory, not one of the States, for the
population is too numerically small to entitle it to
send a member to the House of Representatives.*
* In July, two months after our visit, another star was added to the
" Star-spangled banner " of America, and Utah was admitted as one of the
United States.
UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY 81
Both yesterday and to-day snow had been lying
in patches by the sides of the track, showing how
deep it must have been, for the air is hot as summer,
and in the " Wildwood " we complain of the heat
(possibly the more, as the slightest audible complaint
produces an iced drink).
We dined before one, that we might be free the
moment we arrived at the Salt Lake City ; and that
is one of the innumerable advantages of the car ;
the amount of time that is saved by the judicious
arrangement of meals, for, as here, immediately on
arrival, we are ready to step into the " Surrey " that is
waiting at the edge of the track, to take a drive
through the town.
Mr. S. had also arranged for a recital on the
organ in the Tabernacle at two o'clock ; so we had
time to get an idea of the town and its wide tree-
bordered streets before that hour. We then found
ourselves walking through the beautifully kept
grounds surrounding that curious building. In
shape it is like an egg, the roof inside being
what you would expect to see were you, yourself,
an unhatched chicken. It is white, and dotted
with electric lights two hundred and fifty feet
long by one hundred and fifty wide and seventy
high.
It was designed by Brigham Young, is built of
wood, and, by a fluke, has perfect acoustic qualities.
We went to the furthest end, while the man who
did the honours remained where he was, and
82 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
whispered, dropped a pin on a rail, and rubbed his
hands all of which we could hear perfectly.
The organ is said to be the largest in the world
except one, and was also, like the Tabernacle, built
on the spot. Nobody could tell me which the still
larger one was ; so, like many other things, we took
it on trust. However, I suspect it is at Sydney.
The organist, Professor Daynes, stepped up to the
organ and played very beautifully, but not long, for
the organ suddenly " went out." So we went down,
and were introduced, and thanked him for what he
had done ; and he explained that the organ is blown
by water-power, and that just now the people use
so much for sprinkling their lawns and gardens, that
the supply often falls short.
Presently he said he would try again, and he did,
and with better success. He was a great artist,
and the organ was a magnificent one ; never did
" Angels ever bright and fair " sound more pathetic
or lovely.
Next we drove off to the " station " to go by train
to the Salt Lake, some fifteen miles off. To my
amusement, the station was a little train consisting
of an engine and an open car, seating about 100
people, drawn up in the middle of a street. Our
carriage drove close up to it, for us to step from it
on to the step of the car, and so up into one of
these draughty seats, through which a good strong
breeze was blowing. I believe there was a ticket-
office somewhere near, as Mr. S. disappeared and
UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY 83
returned with a handful ; and we soon started,
going some little way through the streets, with the
engine tolling (prematurely, I think, for any it may
kill), and by degrees into great salt marshes, sur-
rounded on almost every side by grand snow-clad
mountains.
The effect of the salt was most curious ; they
utilise a great deal of it, and masses stand up in
sort of flat haystacks, in the middle of a glittering
swamp. A troop of horses, guided by a cowboy,
galloped away from the train, and quantities of sea-
gulls sported round.
We pulled up at the end of about twenty minutes
on a pier, and all the people dropped off the sides
of the car, and hastened into a large wooden pa-
vilion, commanding fine views of a most delicate
green lake, ninety miles long, with snow mountains
in the distance, and exquisite dark blue islands in the
middle. I seized a chair and got a hasty sketch, while
the rest wandered about, but the allowance of twenty-
five minutes was not liberal for that wonderful lake ;
one of the marvels of which is, that while quantities
of fresh- water rivers pour into it, there is no known
outlet, and its intense brackishness remains un-
altered. At the end of this too short visit, we
returned as we had come, and again hopped off the
train right into our carriage, which was close enough
to catch us (American horses having as a rule no
special objections to trains, or anything else of that
sort), and we went on to drive further about the city.
84 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
At a corner house was a neat-looking old lady
talking over her garden gate to a friend, and this,
the driver told us, was B. Young's favourite and
thirteenth wife, Amelia ; the nineteenth, and last,
being Anne Eliza. We also went to see the out-
side of his house, the Bee-hive, where some six or
seven wives lived with him (the others lodged out) ;
and his graveyard, hardly big enough for all the
family, as he left forty-six children, and 22,000
dollars apiece to each of them. Polygamy is now
against the law.
They have built themselves a very fine temple,
which took forty years to complete, and into which no
Gentile may go ; so we were out of it. We found a
book store and a curio shop, but not much in either ;
and then went for a longer drive to Fort Douglas,
some two miles above the town, a barrack and garri-
son ; the driver had ascertained by telephone that
there was to be a parade at seven, so we timed our
arrival there to the moment. Nothing whatever
was stirring, and there was no sign of any parade ;
so we reluctantly concluded that they must have
meant seven next morning, if at all ; and therefore
drove back, the richer for a most beautiful view look-
ing down on the city, and its wall of mountains, and
the lake losing itself against a glowing sunset sky.
Also, for a large handful of delightful wild flowers,
which we got, in some fear of rattlesnakes, on a
rough bit of ground near the fort. The driver said
it was too early in the year, and, we thought, too
UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY 85
late in the evening, for these reptiles to be out.
The best flowers were clusters of pink single Dian-
thus, which were abundant.
The streets of the town are very wide, and have
the telegraph posts down the centre, the rails for
electric cars close to them, so that there is plenty of
room left at the sides for carriages, under the shade
of the plentiful Poplars which border them. Except
the two or three principal shop streets, the houses
are low, and small, and have grass and gardens
before them, with plenty of Peach, Apple, and Lilac
trees, the latter wafting refreshing perfume across
the streets. Driving back to the " Wild wood," we
passed the house of a poor madman, quite harm-
less, and weU known. Years ago, his bride was
coming out to him from Europe, and died on the
way. He still expects her daily, and his house
is covered all over with the quaintest little deco-
rations flags, flower-pots, shells, and little draperies,
to which he continually adds little trifles, to please
her. Daily he waits for her, sitting lonely under
his porch : but
" She cometh not, he said."
A reporter came down in the evening to inter-
view us, but Mr. S. staved him off ; and instead, we
interviewed some horrible-looking, dirty, miserable
Indians, of the Ute tribe, who were hanging about
the station. They were a degraded-looking, hope-
less lot, in rags, with no picturesqueness ; and had
86 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
a stupid, almost idiotic expression of countenance,
which quite destroyed any sentiments of chivalry
about them, which might have lingered in my mind
from the days of Cooper's novels. The United
States Government is very fair towards them, and
does what can be done to educate and maintain
them ; but restricts them, wisely, to certain reserva-
tions, where they are supplied with food, and all
they need ; and will probably not give much more
trouble ; for the rising which took place some few
years ago, and resulted in the massacre of Major
Ouster and his men by the Sioux, was in great
measure caused by abuses, and the injustice of
underlings in the Government service, and is not
likely to happen again. Happily, I think, the
tribes are dying out from illnesses and epidemics, and
this is surely not to be regretted.
At midnight we left Utah, and in the darkness of
night skirted the eastern and northern shores of the
Great Salt Lake. At Ogden our " Wild wood " and
our unconscious selves were transferred to the
Central Pacific Railway, and in its care pursued our
journey along the north of the Great American
Desert, which we had not quite left when we woke
in the morning. The same sort of hopeless vast
plain greeted our opening eyes, the same growth of
dust-covered Sagebrush, and colourless distance
bounded by low sandy hills, and glimpses of snow-
topped mountains receding in the north-east.
There are, it seems, four venomous beasts on these
UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY 87
prairies first, the Tarantula, the enormous spider,
ten inches across, on high legs, like a crab ; and if he
chooses to bite you, you die. Next, the Millepieds,
nine inches or so long, like a centipede. If he runs
over you, and you pretend to like it, all is well ; but if
you express the slightest objection to his freedom of
action, he curls himself up, like a cantering cater-
pillar, sticks a few of his thousand feet into you,
and you die. The third is an obnoxious monster,
something like' a lizard, called, as far as I can
remember, a Kilomonster, who behaves in the
same sort of way, with the same result ; and,
finally, the Rattlesnake. This latter reptile does not
seem to weigh at all on the minds of the Aborigines,
as they say if you let them alone they will not
attack you, and they do not try to destroy them.
A Rattlesnake coils up and throws himself at you,
but as he always announces himself by three distinct
rattles of his tail, and then can only fling himself
his own length, and quite straight, it is supposed to
be easy to avoid him. I am sure, though, if I had
successfully avoided one, I should go straight home.
His bite is not death, if you can get enough raw
whisky and swallow it neat, right away.
Little as they mind Rattlesnakes, they have a
spite against our English Sparrow, as they say he
drives all their gorgeous birds away ; and as the
trees at Utah were full of their untidy nests, and
pretty birds are now rare, there, where once they
were plentiful, this accusation is probably true.
88 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
The Sparrows little know that in the Birds Protec-
tion Act, which in many of the States Pennsylvania
especially is very strict both as to birds and eggs,
their name is entirely omitted.
At Ogden the clocks went back another hour, so
we have now got to Pacific time, where we shall
remain a fortnight or more. These changes are
very puzzling, and it is so odd to find one has got
up an hour before one has. It would have been a
help, though, to the young lady who, coming down
very late for breakfast, and was asked by her father
how it happened, explained that she had forgotten
to get up.
We had to-day a long and weary way through
Nevada : nothing but alkali plains of unspeakable
dreariness, and the dust was astonishing. We got
out at one of the stations and looked at our outside,
and should hardly have recognised the chocolate
" Wild wood," for it had turned white ; and so had the
whole train. Everything one touched was gritty ;
and one swallowed, and imbibed, and breathed it, all
the time. Certainly Nevada is a hopeless State !
The mountains only showed their heads at great
distances, and there was little or no variety in the
character of these plains all day. Some unkind rail-
way official had attached his private car in the night
to the rear of ours, and so spoilt our view, but on no
possible day could it have mattered less.
I tried to paint some of the Utah flowers, but it
is most difficult to write or draw in the perpetual
UTAH, THE SALT LAKE CITY 89
shaking of the train,, and the stops at stations are
few and far between. Here the " stations " generally
consist of only one shanty and one store, a cowboy
or two on rather mean-looking ponies, and some of
those miserable dirty Indians with papooses. Why
the latter live (or indeed why they should live) I
cannot conceive. The hair of these Indians is
horrible excessively thick and coarse, black, not
reaching more than to the shoulders, and straight
and stiff, and their expression absolutely animal.
We rolled on in the dust into the dark, and the
moon got up some few days old, with "the old moon
in her arms," very bright and clear ; the stars were
bright too, but inside the car there was not much
to do, as the lamps are not good enough to read
small print by, and we went " early to bed," intending
also "early to rise," to see Sacramento and the
entrance to San Francisco.
CHAPTER VI
SAN FRANCISCO
,A.ND certainly when we put this purpose into effect,
the change was striking and delightful. Instead of
barren lands, there were great stretches of grass
being made into hay, varied with tracts of fruit
trees, streams with large green swamps with plenty
of ducks on them, and herons at the edges ; while at
the well-built stations were gardens with palms, bana-
nas, and a wealth of roses of all shades. So plainly
visible to the eye is the difference between^California,
which we were now in, and its neighbour States.
One can understand the longing of the more
central States to get to this, the garden of America ;
and a New York friend was telling me that she was
talking to a man very near this part who was saving
up all his money in order to "go west." She added :
" I couldn't think at first what he meant, for to my
mind we had pretty well got to the jumping-off
place already."
We stopped a few minutes at Sacramento, a large
town, but lying very low, so that its fine capitol,
after the style of the one at Washington, makes but
SAN FRANCISCO 91
little effect. Next we went through the smaller
town of Benicia, possibly the birthplace of "the
Benicia Boy," of prize-ring fame, but apparently
forgotten here ; and after this we came to the Straits
of Carquinez, which, being too wide for a bridge,
American ingenuity had to get over some other way.
A mammoth ferry-boat was therefore brought into
play, and the train, divided into three divisions,
which are run side by side on to this enormous barge,
with very little "del ay is carried bodily over, landed
quite smoothly, hooked together again, and sent on
its way. As the boat can transport forty-eight
loaded freight cars at one time, our passenger train
is child's play to it ; but it certainly is not the least
of the marvels of this marvellous land ! During the
crossing we slipped out of our car, and climbing
some steps, reached a little elevation in the boat,
from which we could look down on the roofs of the
train, and watch the two great engines of eleven
hundred horse-power as they took us, in some
twenty minutes, across the fine expanse of water.
This boat of four thousand tons, is four hundred
and fifty feet long by one hundred and sixty wide.
In a few minutes more, after passing enormous
lumber-yards crowded with logs and piles of timber,
we drew up at the end of Oakland Pier, which goes
for over two miles, straight out into the water of
San Francisco Bay.
Immediately on stepping out of the car, we walked
along a platform, and up some stairs, and soon found
92 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
ourselves in a ferry-boat overlooking the magnificent
bay. A soft mist enveloped the city, three miles
off, but the yellow-green Goat Island, with white
goats on it, lay close in front ; and as we skimmed
quickly over the bay, we could see that the city was
set on a hill, and at the foot of it lay the loveliest
line of mauve light marking the boundary of land
and sea. Two minutes more, and we landed, and
were driven through wide busy streets to the Palace
Hotel. And what a palace it would make ! what an
English country-house !
Driving into a spacious court, and crossing a large
hall, a lift takes us to our rooms, au quatrikme.
They have their best apartments high up, thus avoid-
ing noise and dust, with the invariable cool bath-
room attached, and as every thing, and body, goes up
and down by lift, height is really no detriment.
We settled ourselves, and our "laundry," as they
call it, went to the wash, and we started for a drive
along the town, where, once clear of the central
business streets, every little house is wreathed in
Roses, Abutilons in high bushes, Marguerites white
and yellow, Fuchsias in tall shrubs, with profusions
of Thrift and Cinerarias, all bordered with great
Eucalyptus trees, some in tufty flowers, and Palms :
one street was bordered entirely with the latter.
Thence into the park such a park, beautiful with
Palms, Palmettos, different kinds of Eucalyptus,
Habrothamnus in large bushes of heavy red, scarlet
Clianthus Damperii, lovely blue Ceanothus azureus t
SAN FRANCISCO 93
Cannas red and yellow, tall spiky Monbretias, Broom
yellow and white, Escalonias more like trees than
shrubs, with their bunches of pink flowers contrast-
ing with the shiny dark green foliage, and under all
carpets of Mesembrianthemums of a brightness such
as I never saw before. Those of the Riviera cannot
hold a candle to them. They were simply like flat
pieces of the brightest shades of pink velvet, from
the palest rose madder to the deepest crimson.
There, too, was a large conservatory : splendid
plants of Philodendrons, Fan, and other Palms, but
not much in flower, except one graceful creeper, the
Quisqualis Indica. Some plants, whose names I
wanted to know, had blank labels or none at all ;
all the others were clearly inscribed. It was a
beautiful house, and its great height allowed ample
room and verge enough even for the rampant
Monstera deliciosa to throw up its enormous per-
forated leaves at its own sweet will ; but I noticed
none fruiting.
Outside was a little flock of Peacocks, whose sweet
squalls sounded homelike though perhaps I
ought not to say flock, but rather, as Washington
Irving tells us to call it, a muster of Peacocks.
Leaving these houses, we got again into the
carriage, and drove on over a mile or two of open
sandy ground, covered with blue Lupins and yellow
ones, in great close tufts, scenting the air heavily.
We were soon in sight of the Pacific Ocean, rather
misty in the distance, but an exquisite green in the
94 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
foreground. Winding round a cliff, we stopped at
the Cliff House for luncheon, and there, to my great
delight, was a balcony, and close in front the famous
Seal Rocks near enough to see plainly troops
and numbers of those amusing beasts, and to hear
them roar as they rolled about, and raised their
ungainly heads, and occasionally flopped into the sea
off their rocks. These rocks were three in number,
two black ones, and the centre a white one, higher
than the others. The black one on the right was
most covered with these creatures, and I sat down
at once to try and draw them, in spite of the
counter- charms of luncheon, which was ready all
too soon. I disregarded it for a time, and went on
most happily, till I had secured a sketch, from which
I was torn at last by the rival but inferior attractions
of cold chicken, and then we continued our drive,
happy to think that, as these seals are protected
by law, they are safe from the gun of the tourist.
Next we visited the Sutro Gardens, on the cliff
above, and here, stopping for a moment at the en-
trance, I saw something flutter over a bright bed of
red geranium ; looking again, I saw a Humming-
bird ! One of the dreams of my life had always
been to see a Humming-bird, and if Kingsley had
not already appropriated the expression, I, too,
should have called this chapter " At Last ! " I flung
myself out, and ran to the little gem, and there it
was, fluttering and humming, sucking each flower
with its bill, slender as a thread, and quivering so
SAN FRANCISCO 95
that you could not see its wings, till away it flew,
looking no bigger than a dragon-fly. It was not a
very gorgeous one what is called the " ruby-
throated," * from the glittering crimson chest that
enlivens a brownish body, but it was my first. In
another way we had luck here, for I believe it was
the very next day that the proprietor closed his
gardens to the public ; they are very pretty ones, and
here again the masses of Mesembrianthemum carpets
are wonderful to" behold ; pale ones below, and a
richer crimson kind wreathing the rocks.
From here our drive continued over some rather
wild uncultivated ground, overrun with wild
flowers Iris, dark and light blue ones, dwarf blue
Lupins, as well as the higher kinds, and many other
flowers too small to identify from the carriage.
The views, all the way, most beautiful : the Pacific
on our left, the fine hills surrounding the bay on our
right, and in front the headlands of the "Golden
Gate," which we now dropped down upon, and
which is the beautiful entrance of a beautiful har-
bour. The Golden Gate opens directly to the
sunset, with a strong old fort on the south side,
and a fine rocky hill (Mount Tamalpais) on the
north. Magnificent mountains too form a chain of
protection round the entire bay, in the centre of
which is the fortified Alcatraz Island, with a light-
house on the top, due east of the Golden Gate.
Driving back to the town, we saw four or five
* Trochilus Colubri*.
96 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Californian quails, with the quaint feather that
hangs forward above their beak, and making their
unmistakable whistle.
San Francisco is a very hilly town : some of the
streets are almost perpendicular, and one wonders
how vehicles can get up them without slipping
backwards all the time. They have electric and
cable cars, as everywhere ; but the streets are so
wide they are not as objectionable as in many
towns. We caught sight of a horse rearing and
bounding so uncontrollably in a cart I am sure he
must have come to a bad end, but we got out of
sight too soon to see what happened. They have
very handsome high-spirited horses in most of their
conveyances, and a bad or worn-out one is a rare
sight. They breed such quantities, and they are
so cheap, there is probably no inducement to use
inferior ones. They always leave their tails un-
trimmed, and as soon as the eye gets accustomed
to it, these long sweeping tails look rather well.
We took our Kocky Mountain stones to be set
at Shreve's the jeweller's, and then came in to dine
at six, as there was an evening before us ; and
a strange one it proved !
At eight o'clock we set out under the guidance,
not only of Mr. S., but also of a detective, or at
any rate of a man conversant with the Chinese
tongue, to explore China-town, the oldest part
of the city being now given over entirely to that
celestial race. A few minutes in an electric car
SAN FRANCISCO 97
took us to the district, whence on foot we walked
up a street amongst Chinese shops, seeing and
meeting only Chinese chiefly men, but a few
women also here and there. The shops were princi-
pally barbers, as they are, as a race, all the world
knows, very particular about their pigtails. What
struck me most was what very good artists they must
be as a nation, for every Chinese we met I felt
sure I knew ; he was so exactly like his counterpart
on the screens and fans I had seen all my life his
attitudes, his dress, his hair, his eyes, were iden-
tical ; and as they are not at all noisy, there was
not even any striking novelty in sound. The guide
took us first down a dark gangway, which seemed
to lead some way under ground, to a house which
was only a little square room, not much over six
feet square ; with one small recess where a sort of
shelf acted as a bed ; and here lived five people. A
little girl of ten, with jade bracelets to avert mis-
fortune, and gold bangles to ensure health, and
otherwise covered with a kind of cotton coat and
beads, was requested to sing ; when, rather to my
horror I own, she squirmed out a verse of a hymn,
" Jesus loves me." I don't believe she had an idea of
the meaning, but had been taught the words, by
rote, by a missionary. She sang a Chinese song
next, with much more verve, and was very sharp
about the value of her bracelets, which she put at
ten dollars each.
We were next taken to a terrible place ; an
98 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
opium den ; down a long underground dark passage
to a place that looked like a wine-cellarj or still
more a mushroom house, all shelves, with a passage
between them. They were in three rows, I think,
one over the other, and in these shelves lay crea-
tures huddled up, smoking opium. Each had a
long pipe, and a little lamp ; and, with perfect
indifference to us, heated and rolled up his little
balls of opium, which were put into the pipe,
and, after two or three ecstatic whiffs, had to be
renewed. Our guide said, a few words, which
were merely to ask if it was good, and Johnny
languidly agreed. It certainly was rather horrible ;
but in no way as degrading a sight as that of the
ordinary European drunkard. The smell of the
opium was too nasty, so that we were glad to get out,
and into the street again : but we were not in fresh
air for long, for soon on the other side, we plunged
into another dark and very narrow passage, to a
den where resided another uninviting family group ;
and then to the theatre. To reach the latter we
had to climb up one or two step-ladders, only about
fifteen inches wide, and then found ourselves on the
stage. Chairs were put for us by the scene-shifter
at the side, and we sat down to watch the perfor-
mance ; or rather part of it, as one piece occupies
about a month, from five o'clock to midnight every
evening. They have long historical plays, chiefly in
dumb show, though occasionally the actors indulge
in a howl or two.
SAN FRANCISCO 99
They are robed in richly embroidered dresses, and
the chief art of their best actor, a young man acting
the Queen, seemed to lay in the handling of two
Argus pheasants' tail feathers, which, starting like
horns from the head, bent round in a graceful curl,
to the waist. She indulged in a fine frenzy at
times, whirling round and round, and cutting her
rival's head off ; the latter went head over heels,
and promptly came to life again. Horrible, deafen-
ing, music was going on all the time ; the back of
the stage being occupied by the orchestra, who
made frightful noises with the banging of cymbals
and gongs, and no other instruments. The curious
part lay in the wrapt attention of the large audience ;
all dressed in dark blue linen, and all staring fixedly
at the stage ; the men below, the women above in
galleries. They say they attend night after night
regularly, and delight in it. So true it is that one
man's meat is another man's poison. However, it
was still possible to meet on common ground, and
that we found at a restaurant opposite, when tea
a la Chinoise was served to us in egg-shell
covered cups. Holding cup and cover tight, you
pour out what tea you want into the saucer, and,
creamless, drink it from that ; but you may add
powdered sugar to taste, and with chopsticks, eat
almonds and litchis.* The latter were very nice,
and not so dry as those we get in England. As
we looked at the kitchen, the guide put his fingers
* Nephdium Litchi.
ioo A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
in a little box, and pulled out a pinch of thread-like
gelatine, which he gave me. This was the bird's
nest material, for the much prized birds' nest soup.
Hardly enough, I fear, for my next dinner-party
at home.
We th^n asked for the bill, and, leaving the hall,
hung with coloured lamps and Chinese draperies
and paintings, we went downstairs to pay it ; an
ancient Celestial was making it out, with knitted
brows, and a paint brush, held perpendicularly, and
Indian ink. He signed it, and I kept it, more in
the light of a curiosity than of a receipt. At a shop
hard by I secured a jade bangle, and trust its magic
influence for good, in which the Chinese so firmly
believe, and which gives it such great value in their
eyes, may have a beneficial effect on my luggage ;
and also a netzuki, to add to my collection at far-off
home, some embroidered handkerchiefs, and several
tiny little China plates (nearly all of which were
broken ere they got to England so the jade forgot
to look after them). Next we were led to a joss-
house, where, in a temple richly decorated with gold
and colour, divers gods were worshipped, and a little
offering to any one whose special attribute appears
likely to be of use in a dire emergency, and a turn
of the prayer-wheel will probably ensure relief if
not success. A lamp of sandal wood oil was burn-
ing before each of the images of these strange
deities.
We bought a sweet smelling box of sandal- wood
SAN FRANCISCO 101
chips, and departed for a druggist's store, where " the
doctor " in attendance was requested to make up and
give us a prescription. He did so, the object being
to make us waterproof and fireproof as a total result.
But the individual ingredients had separate virtues
besides. There was saffron for consumption, dried
locusts for sore eyes (this we thought might be of
service to H. N., who has had a weak one), bark for
strength ; and, as he flung these on a sheet of paper
on the counter, h'e said that if he added a sea-horse
it would be fifteen cents more ; but as it was for
dyspepsia, we considered it indispensable. There
were a few more ingredients, but all were wrapped
up together ; and when we propose to make our-
selves fireproof and so on, we are to boil all slowly
and drink the result. The witches of Macbeth
will be nothing to it ! We brought the packet and
the bill, which he wrote very fast, safe home for
future use. We were not sorry to leave this opium-
smelling district of the Heathen Chinee behind us,
and get home to our Christian rooms and profound
repose, feeling, thankfully, that, should it not prove
convenient in the future that we should visit Hong
Kong, Pekin, or Canton, we really know quite
enough about them now for all practical purposes.
All the washing or " laundry " all over America
is done by the Chinese, and in all the large towns are
shop signs of " Ching Fou " or " Sing Chou," taking
in washing. They are quiet busy people as a rule,
harmless, very industrious, and living on very little.
102 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
We have got now to the loth of May, and are
having lovely hot weather. The climate here is
reckoned very good, though so variable that on one
side of a street you may walk with the coat or cloak
on your arm that it will be absolutely necessary to
wear on the other ; but the winters are not cold,
nor as a rule are the summers too hot. We drove
out in the morning to a few shops, and then to see
the fire brigade arrangements. In a long room or
hall, with wide doors giving on to the street, and
running back some way, stands the engine ; on either
side a horse, loose, in a sort of stall, with merely a
chain in front of its chest, a snaffle bridle and
headpiece only on. The harness, complete, is
suspended in front of the engine, and the instant the
alarm bell rings, the chains drop, the horses walk of
themselves to their places each side of the pole, the
harness falls, the collars are attached by a snap at
their chests, while the rest drops on all by elec-
tricity. The driver drops from the dormitory above,
through a hole in the floor close to his head, on to
his box ; the other firemen slide down a smooth
steel pole, and the whole thing is ready to gallop off
in one minute. There was a great seventeen-hand
grey, who was very friendly and sensible, another
grey, and two blacks. They have some eighteen
years old, but the vile pavement of the streets ruins
their feet, and in some of their shoes they can only
put two nails. They certainly seem to treat their
horses well, and their coats show beautiful condition.
SAN FRANCISCO 103
We drove out after this to the Midwinter Fair,
just like an ordinary exhibition, and full of the trash
of many countries ; several rooms full of pictures,
of which the Russian ones were by far the best.
There were some telling sea-pieces, portraying the
troubles and difficulties experienced by Columbus in
the Atlantic Ocean, by one Aivasolsky, but I am not
sure about the spelling of his name. More shops ; a
bad luncheon in a pretty situation, during which a
rope dancer walked from one end of the square of
buildings to the centre on a very high rope, enough
to make one giddy to look at. He dropped his
slippers en route (or en rope), but whether by
accident or design I never made out. We went
next to a fine panorama of the Kilauea Volcano, in
Hawaii, very effective and imposing, and resembling
the infernal regions. Then to the streets of
Cairo, and, getting very tired, we were not sorry
to find ourselves again in those of San Francisco,
hastening home, in order to be ready about 6.30
to attend the Californian Theatre close by, where
we had a varietes performance, part of which
we had seen at Stockholm two years ago. It
was clever, and I shah 1 always remember with
regret that I slept soundly through the first half
hour.
On the 1 1 th of May we left this delightful hotel,
which, though enormous, is not oppressively so, and
there was a nice row of shops in a sort of covered
entrance to the main street, amongst them a book
104 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
shop, which we frequented. The waiters here,
contrary to the general rule, were white, in
black clothing ; generally they are black, in white
clothing, arid excellent waiters the latter make,
though sometimes we, too, have to do our share
of waiting.
Leaving the station in the " Wildwood," which had
been thoroughly cleaned inside and out, we had a
lovely journey, though not seeing much of the
Pacific, which lay on our right, as we were going
south to Monterey, stopping on the way at Menlo
Park. To get there, the railway (the Southern
Pacific) goes through, near San Mateo, for a long
way, a lovely avenue of tall Eucalyptus and Cypress
trees, from eighty to a hundred feet high, which
any one might indeed be proud to possess. It was
most picturesque, and afforded beautiful shade from
a glowing southern sun.
The edges of the track were spangled with wild
flowers of all shades and colours, and the station of
Menlo Park, which we reached at twelve o'clock, was
overhung with fine Palms and Palmettos, under the
shade of which our carriage was waiting. We
had a letter of introduction to Mrs. Leland Stanford,
the owner of this place, and so drove along a road
bordered with white Acacia in full flower ("Locust
trees," as they call them here) and Live Oak (our
Ilex). They were both magnificent, the former
dropping snowy blossoms all over us, and the latter
splendid old trees, with short thick trunks, and
SAN FRANCISCO 105
enormous heads of dark green foliage. Turning off
the high road, the carriage stopped in front of a
handsome mausoleum, where lie buried the remains
of the late owner and his only son ; the lady's name
is also inscribed there ready !
Near it was a most lovely Cactus garden, contain-
ing every variety of Cactus. The Pineapple ones
clustered in yellow fruits, the Opuntias were covered
with single orange blossoms, and tall Cereuses were
there also. Amongst them were running lively
little lizards, while overhead sung and fluttered most
beautiful birds crimson- breasted Linnets, singing
merrily ; Canaries, as they are called, or Briar-birds,
bright yellow little things ; and an exquisite un-
known one, with a metallic pinky-purple head, and
yellow breast with black lines on it, but it was
difficult to get near enough to see what he and
many more really were. It was so lovely it was
grievous to leave it, but we had to go on to call at
the house, to which we drove under Locust trees,
Sequoias, Catalpas, Paulo vinas, and great "Buck-
eye " trees, with large dark green leaves and quan-
tities of flower spikes like refined Horse-chestnut
flowers, and above all, and over all, and everywhere,
Roses !
Nobody was at home, and nobody answered the
bell ; so, while H. N. patiently pulled at it, M. and I
wandered about, and came on a lovely Rose garden,
bordered with Lemon trees in flower and fruit,
smelling too deliciously ; Fuchsia trees, and Colum-
106 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
bine, and other familiar flowers, and real good grass
round it all.
Failing all admittance, we took our letter and
cards to the Stud Farm, stopping by the way,
though, to see a great college which this poor lady
is founding in memory of her son. M. went to look
in to a museum, while H. N. and I watched a family
of very handsome Woodpeckers, with red heads and
black and white wings, who had a nest stuck in the
eaves of a wall, like a swallow's, but of a larger
shape ; also whole troops of butterflies on shrubs of
Budleia globosa. I caught one, but they were so
numerous and so apathetic it was no great triumph.
Next, at the Stud Farm, which has lately been
rather reduced, they have now over five hundred
mares and foals, and they showed us some of their
principal horses, " Azmor," " Truman," " Whips,"
and I think we did not see " Pelo Alto," their great
pride, as I believe he was dead, but we saw his
descendants. They are sharp, clever shaped horses,
generally dark bay or brown, standing fifteen-two
or less, and all famous trotters, with various records
of 2! 20" or 2 / 5o", and so on. It would have been
interesting to have ' stayed longer and seen more,
but time was flying, and we had not too much to
spare to drive back to the " Wildwood," in which we
had just settled when a train came up and took us
on, at its tail, through the rich valley of Santa
Clara, the fruit garden of California.
On the left lay the soft blue Diavolo Mountains,
SAN FRANCISCO 107
and the Santa Cruz range on the west ; and on both
sides of the track, fifty or one hundred acre fields,
some of Onions, some of Pear trees bordered by Figs,
Peach trees, Cherry orchards, and Potato fields, all
in vast succession. All the way, too, on every inch
of uncultivated ground were masses of wild flowers,
and some of the grassy slopes were as blue with the
light blue of the dwarf Lupin as our fields and woods
at home are with Bluebells, reminding one of
Tennyson's lines r
" Sheets of hyacinth,
That seemed the Heavens upheaving thro' the earth."
Herds of cattle, troops of horses, and occasionally
mounted men with the high peaked Mexican saddle,
lasso, large wooden stirrups with pointed leather
guards, and enormous spurs, enlivened the landscape,
and we were almost sorry when about six o'clock the
train stopped at the little station of Del Monte,
about a mile north of Monterey.
Here the " Wild wood " was detached ; we got out
at leisure, and sending up luggage for two nights to
the hotel, we went up ourselves on foot. The walk
led us through magnificent Pines the " Monterey
Pine," one of the most graceful and Cedars, edged
with flowers ; plenty of Foxgloves amongst them,
but unlike ours, in so far that at the apex of each
long stalk of pendant flowers was an upstanding
one of the same material and colour, like a cup or
campanula. I thought the first one I saw was a
mistake, either of its own or mine; but no, they
io8 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
were all alike. Never were such flowers ! Blazes
of Heliotrope on the hotel up to the first-floor window,
Banksian Roses, red Roses, white Roses, Clianthus,
and Abutilons up to the door, and almost into the hall
where a great fire looked really comfortable, for the
day was now no longer hot.
We walked along about a mile of wide, bright,
clean, crimson carpeted corridors, with large win-
dows framed in flowers, to get to our rooms, which
were all en suite, and large and nice. To dinner we
walked back the same mile, and found it in an
immense white hall, a hundred and sixty feet long,
the pure white relieved only by polished wood
window fittings.
CHAPTER VII
MONTEREY
WAKING early the morning after our arrival at Del
Monte, I got between the blind and the window to
watch the birds in the garden, and was rewarded by
seeing a pair of Blue-birds hopping on the grass
below ; with black heads and sapphire backs. At
ten o'clock we set out in the usual Surrey for a drive,
and found to our surprise a misty morning and
quite a cold day ; such a one as might have seen
the death of Victor Galbraith recorded by Long-
fellow, when he says
" Under the walls of Monterey
At daybreak the bugles began to play,
Victor Galbraith ! "
We drove through that interesting old town, the
capital of California when that territory was wrested
from Mexico by the United States, and it was here
that Colonel Fremont first raised the stars and stripes,
and took possession for his country of one of the
richest and most luxuriant of the States. The town
is now very quiet, and has but little trade, even
a once brisk one in oil having dwindled to nothing,
i io A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
since the whales took it into their heads, some seven
years ago, to visit the bay no more. Thence
through Pacific Grove, another little town, and
" health resort," and a place of religious meeting of
various persuasions. H. N., catching the word "meet-
ings " from the lips of the driver, went off on a wrong
tack, and asked when the races would commence ?
Here we soon entered a fine forest of Live Oak, and
Monterey Cypress, enormous gnarled old trees with
immense stems, and all the cones growing on the
trunk, with no footstalks, or on the main branches.
The wild flowers soon became so exciting we all
got out, one after the other, and gathered handfuls.
The principal underwood was Ceanothus azureus, in
full bloom. All the flowers were new, except the
familiar Pimpernel, but there were varieties of Dip-
sacus, wild dwarf Roses, a delicate little pink Mallow,
scores of yellow Asters and Buttercups, yellow
Daisies, and what they call Indian Pink, executed
in scarlet flannel, and with no resemblance to any
form of Dianthus whatever and everywhere, the
Californian Poppy, now adopted as the State
flower, and neither more nor less than the golden
Eschscholtzia of our childhood's gardens ! We
also saw one specimen of a very pretty Dog's-tooth
Violet,* with several heads on one stalk, pink
with black points. Exquisite swallow- tailed Butter-
flies too, and magnificent copper ones, were flying
tantalisingly in front of us.
* Erythronium.
MONTEREY in
After some five miles of forest we emerged on the
sea coast ; the Pacific, in a soft blue haze, with no
definite horizon line, and a low rocky shore, and
close by, on the rocks at sea, any number of Seals.
We could see them well with our own eyes, but
better still with H. N.'s field-glasses, and most
amusing they were. A little further on we came to
Cypress Point, a low headland overlooking sea and
coast, and there on the crest of a wave was a
whole shoal^ of Sea Lions, with their heads up out of
the water, roaring loudly, and coming towards the
shore. It was impossible to resist watching them.
A little further on was another colony of Seals,
chiefly Leopard seals, much lighter in colour than
the others, some being quite white. Every rock
too was crowned and crested with innumerable
Cormorants, and a few Gulls. Some of the " Shags "
flew by with a great fish in their beaks.
The ocean was calm, the waves small, and the
tide low, as we reached the shell beach ; and we
wandered along it in search of Venus's ear shells,
which are here to be found. H. N., however, was
the only lucky one, and he picked up a beauty,
some eight inches across, and two smaller ones , all
glowing in mother-of-pearly, rainbow colours. The
Chinese pick them up, and sell them, or we should
have found more, no doubt.
Driving on again, we left the coast and resumed
the forest ; gradually ascending, we skirted a deep
ravine whose sides were clothed with Ceanothus, and
ii2 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
American Currant in fruit, the rich smell of the
leaves, however, still perfuming the air.
The driver pointed out a new and beautiful flower
which he said was called " Cyclobothra " and was
peculiar to this part, and San Mateo. I don't know
how far he may be correct, but he seemed to have
picked up a good deal from people, and said a
botanist told him the name of this one, and how to
spell it. It is a very delicate, globular, three-
petalled flower, growing just like a Fritillary and
the white blossom is perhaps an inch in diameter.
I gathered it and painted it when I got home, but
could learn no more about it except that the
genus is allied to Calochortus.
He also pointed out several blue Jays, with
crested heads and sapphire and turquoise plumage :
others, a little less brilliant, were I suppose, the
hens ; they were noisy birds, like our jays. There
were also some Highholders,* chestnut-coloured birds
with white backs, allied to Woodpeckers , and many
ground Squirrels, active little beasts, who live in
holes in the ground.
In the forest was also a great deal of the beauti-
ful but malevolent Poison Oak ; it has vivid and
tempting green foliage, and clings round the trunks
of other trees, like ivy. At first you think it the
very thing to complete and perfect a bouquet, but
when you learn its evil qualities, you give it a wide
berth. To some people it is most deadly, and t its
* Colaptes auratus.
MONTEREY 113
very proximity will bring out a rash and irritation
that it takes days to cure ; others are only affected
on handling it, and there are people who say they
can touch it with perfect impunity. It would be a
dangerous experiment, though, for a stranger, and
one we did not feel inclined to make. Returning
through Monterey, we stopped a moment to look
into the picturesque old Spanish mission-house,
founded some hundred and twenty years ago by the
Franciscans, and 'built with adobe walls ; and some
slight attempt at external painting, though quite
plain within.
Many of the little houses were built in the
Spanish style, with these adobe walls all decorated
more or less with flowers. In one of the gardens
was a great Datura,* covered with white trumpet
blossoms.
It was now three o'clock, and all hopes of luncheon
at the hotel being over, we drove straight to the
" Wildwood," and Lawrence, being fortunately at
home, soon spread light refreshments ; and I hastened
to my press, made of blotting-paper and an enormous
atlas, to dry the many new wild flowers; and de-
posit our cones and shells in the various nets that
hang round the car for such purposes. We then
walked up to the gardens, which are so lovely!
Tropical, or sub-tropical, which you please, but full of
Palms in flower, Cordelynes, Aloes, Seringa, Labur-
nums, Westerias ; with large bushes of Abutilons,
* Datura arborea.
H4- A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
red Habrothamnus, Metrosideros (or the bottle brush
plant), with its red brushes all up its stalks, Golden
broom, Peach, Almond, Ceanothus, of course, fine
Cacti, and many other flowering trees and shrubs.
One little garden there was, the special delight of
the ruby- throated Humming-birds, and there were
any number of these dear little things, fluttering and
humming, and making their shrill little chirps over
the Habrothamnus trees, putting their tiny bills
carefully into every pendant flower, and never twice
into the same ; but it is in and out in one second,
and they hum softly all the time, twittering in a
great temper if another flies too near them. They
were exquisite in the sunshine ; not only were their
red throats most brilliant, but, as the light caught
their backs, they shone with a fiery lustre. They
are not shy, and you can get a good look at them
as they hover under a bunch of flowers, but they fly
so quick the eye catches a passing flash, and it is
gone. We came in reluctantly, as the evening was
getting cold, and dinner was getting ready, but
one grudges losing a moment of such a garden as
this.
Next day we started again for the same drive,
intending not to be hurried by a vain effort to
return to luncheon. We took a basket with us, and
stopping first to see a watery recreation ground,
where the inhabitants all swim like mermaids in
warm water, in compartments, with an audience
sitting around, we went on into the forest again.
MONTEREY 115
To-day, instead of a flower hunt, M. and Mr. S.
engaged in a big butterfly chase. The enormous
yellow ones flopped lazily about, and looked as if
they would fall an easy prey, but they quite baffled
their pursuers, and showed they could go a good
pace if pressed, and our "bag" consisted only of
two small ones and one dragon-fly. The latter was
yellow ochre coloured, and had too much body to be
pleasant to preserve.
We drove on to the beach, where I had hoped to
make a sketch, and sat down on the rocks for the
purpose. But there was too little sun and too much
wind, so, after a turn at some low black rocks and a
lilac and grey sea, I desisted, and joined the others,
who were doing better in Venus's ear shells, or
" Abelones," as they are called by the natives. It
was very difficult, amusing, scrambling in the rocks,
especially impeded as I was by a variety of wraps,
for I had got a cold ; but it was worth a struggle
to pick up with one's own hands some of these grand
shells one had admired from childhood, and after a
time I was rewarded with a good find in a deep
fissure in the boulders ; it takes a great pull to get
them out, they stick so fast in the rocks, and some
of them have the abelones still in them, which is
more than one bargains for. We made a really
good haul at last of big ones, in their glorious
colours ; all the curls of the semicircular edge of
the shell turning the same way, and they say it is
always so here, those in the China seas turning the
u6 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
other. I don't know how far this may be correct,
but I believe these shells are peculiar to the Pacific
Ocean, i
Presently a sort of sea fog came up, almost like
rain, so, instead of a picnic on the rocks, we had one
a little farther on under the shelter of the strange old
Cypresses, which are more like Cedars of Lebanon
than anything else. Some are mere skeletons, gaunt
and white, with not a leaf; others, with wild con-
torted stems, look dead, but have heavy, thick,
dark green heads. Under one of the latter we did
very well, and a great crested Blue-jay came and
chattered round us, ready to pick up the bits we
might leave him. Having finished, we resumed our
seats in the carriage and went on, with beautiful
rocks and bays of the sea on the right ; and, the
weather clearing, there came a gleam of sun and
light and colour on the hills across one bay, never to
be forgotten. Around us now and then were open
park-like places, with cattle feeding, some wild look-
ing ones, with buffalo blood in them, though a pure
bred wild buffalo is now a thing of the past. All this
ground within the circuit of the "eighteen-mile
drive " belongs to the hotel ; the hotel itself, I
believe, and everything about it, belonging really to
the Southern Pacific Railway Company.
We wound up by leaving our shells in the " Wild-
wood," and walking up thence to the hotel. On the
way we stopped to admire the horse of a gentleman
who was riding down, and he at once stopped, too,
MONTEREY 117
and offered M. a ride, and got off to press him to try
the horse. It was a very handsome black-brown,
about fifteen-two, and twelve years old, and worth
thirty dollars i.e., 6. He had very small silver
stirrups, and a martingale adorned with large ivory
rings. We asked him to show us his paces, and,
like every man in the old world or the new who
shows a horse, he at once trotted clean out of sight
and disappeared. We did not await his return,
having to get up to the hotel for dinner, immedi-
ately after which we walked down again to the
"Wildwood" to sleep on board.
The next morning we left Del Monte about seven
o'clock, though we did not get up till the usual
time ; and nine o'clock found us breakfasting in
the station of San Jose (pronounced in the Spanish
way, the J an H, and the accent on the second
syllable).
It was very comfortable inside the " Wildwood,"
and pouring with rain without, so we scarcely left it
all day, as I had a bad cold ; and we lost nothing
special by so doing, as we had to wait for an even-
ing train to pick us up and take us to Barenda. I
was very busy drawing (a recollection of one of
yesterday's lovely views), coughing, reading, and
sneezing. M., H. N., and Mr. S., went out into the
town, and brought back a panacea for colds ; a cele-
brated decoction of cod-liver oil, wild cherry, and
various poisons, which they administered to Mr. S.
and me in large spoonfuls, and I believe it cured us
u8 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
both. M. also brought me a complete copy of Long-
fellow's works, which I wanted, as he mentions so
many of the lands and rivers we are seeing ; also
last, but not least, a consignment of letters from
home, quite three weeks old.
CHAPTER VIII
YO SEMITE VALLEY
WE left San Jose at five o'clock, and ran for eighteen
miles through a land flowing with milk and honey,
in the form of fruit-trees and vegetables. At six
we reached Niles, where the scenery changed. We
traversed a narrow gorge, and emerged on a rolling
moor, on a rising grade, and twisted in and out, and
round the giant mounds of dark-coloured mould,
partly grass grown, till darkness and driving rain
hid all from our view ; and we reached Barenda at
ten, and passed the night in the station.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 15, we rose
early, leaving Barenda at six, and passing over an
undulating plain, we arrived at seven at Raymond,
by which time we were finishing breakfast. As we
did so, we watched with curiosity a large vehicle
more like a great boat on wheels than anything else,
with charabanc seats on it ; to this were attached
four horses, and it presently drove up to a sort of high
wooden platform outside the railway station, from
which it became possible for us, by the exercise 0f
great skill and agility to reach the box seats, which
120
had been reserved for us for weeks. The driver
was a roughly got-up young man, in a sombrero,
and large brown gauntlet gloves ; of a melancholy
and taciturn manner. Next to him sat I, on a high
seat, with my feet swinging in the air, till happily
large bags of mails were thrust in, and served as a
footstool ; and M. next me. Behind us were the
rest of our party. Our seat was not absolutely
uncomfortable as soon as I was balanced by the
mails ; otherwise there was nothing between me
and fate, in the shape of the wheelers' backs, and
a very low pole swaying between them, on to
which I quite expected to be precipitated at any
moment ; or by any jerk ; and the number and
violence of those jerks are not to be forgotten,
even now.
However, as we swung up a desolate, sandy
track for it could hardly be called a road we got
accustomed to the motion, which really was a novel
experience ; and the birds, flowers, trees, and
scenery were beyond anything interesting.
There were many Woodpeckers, gorgeous Orioles,
brilliant screaming Blue-jays, and, as the sun gradu-
ally came out, and dispersed the mist and clouds
which at first were threatening, the drive com-
menced deliciously, but it was certainly cold.
There were some Dogwood trees in flower, and
much Chaparral ; and Manzonita, (the latter seems
to me identical with our Arbutus, but grows all over
the hills like brushwood ; ) Leatherwood trees, with
YO SEMITE VALLEY 121
substantial yellow flowers, like enormous Primroses,
all over them, and Buckeyes.
We climbed slowly up the mountain, a ridge of
the Sierra Nevadas, having left the rich corn lands
of the valley ; and, ascending the rocky hill sides, we
reached Depelas, where we changed horses, and
then went on amongst Buckeye trees which gradu-
ally changed to Pines ; and so to Grub Gulch, a
name worthy of Bret Harte's wildest stories ; and
with some miners loafing about, who looked as if
they had come out of his pages. It is in itself a
pretty place, in spite of its unromantic name, and is
surrounded by a mining district, one of the gold-
mines being worked by electricity.
Going on all the way at a slow trot, though more
generally at a walk, the four horses pulled and
tugged our so-called " stage " round dangerous turns,
up steep pitches, and down sudden declivities, cross-
ing noisy little streams by insecure looking bridges
till, at about 1.30, we reached Ahwahnee (or "the
little valley "), and we were not sorry to climb
down from our dizzy height, having been jolted and
tossed about 011 that box since eight o'clock. Some
of the company had got down and walked about, in
the few minutes occupied by changing horses, but it
would have been so almost impossible to get back,
had I done so, that it was more prudent not to
move at all. At the regular stopping-places, they
have a sort of high platform of wood, and the men,
who drive splendidly, bring their teams up to it so
122 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
neatly that the descent is quite easy ; and we gladly
got down here, to find a warm fire, in a sitting-
room, and a capital luncheon ready. We were not
allowed to dawdle over it though, for in less than
an hour the stage was round again, and " All
aboard " was the cry.
We began ascending as soon as we started, and
our flowering trees were now all left behind, giving
way to magnificent Cedars, Sugar Pines, and Yellow
Pines, straight as a dart, some two or three hundred
feet high, with trunks like tortoiseshell ; Digger
Pines with feathery soft blue foliage ; and at first
many Oaks, Live Oaks (Ilex), Black Oaks, with their
early shoots of a most delicate pink, and White
Oaks. Our track, no wider than was absolutely
necessary, wound up the mountains on a sort of
terraced road, with very sharp turns, returning on
themselves, but higher each time, looking down
on Ahwahnee on its rich green plateau, surrounded
entirely by the Pine-clad hills.
We went chiefly at a walk, but the coach swung
round these curves with a fine disregard of safety ;
once our hind wheels were just over the edge, and
we were as nearly as possible over, making Mr.
S.'s blood run cold, as he had once seen a horrible
overturn on this road, though he did not tell us
the details till after we were safe back in the
" Wildwood." There was much snow in the blue
distance before us, but we did not for some time
appreciate the fact that we should have to cross it,
YO SEMITE VALLEY 123
and that the snow would be a great hindrance. It
had fallen here all Monday while descending in
rain at St. Jose.
We took from Ahwahnee a team of thickset
strong white horses, one of which, soon after start-
ing, performed a series of most absurd bucks, like a
jocund cow. This was a heavy long, toilsome stage ;
we had done twenty miles before luncheon, and had
now to complete the forty-four ; but the first ten
took two hours and three-quarters, for after wind-
ing nearly to the top of the first spur of the Sierras,
we got into the snow, and the roads became so
frightfully heavy it was all the horses could do (cow
and all) to pull us up. They were staunch and
game, luckily, but it was very slow work ; the
roads, usually light and dusty, were heavy and dull,
and every step was an effort. All the time we were
working through forest, the magnificent Pines be-
coming grander and more stately as we got higher
and higher ; the birds and flowers rarer. Masses of
granite broke through the ground, in majestic dis-
order, and on we went, always with a precipice
below on one side, and the rocks rising abruptly
above the road on the other ; and with these awfully
sharp turns to swing round, and rivers to cross by
bridges, or fords ; but the latter were always easy,
the streams flowing shallow and wide over the road.
At one point, when it was beginning to get dark, we
suddenly saw, by the light of the moon, that a
great round boulder had detached itself from the
124 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
hill above, and planted itself in the road. Was
there, or was there not, room for the coach between
it and the precipitous edge? The driver thought
there was, and went on ; but he did not reckon on
the near leader shying at it violently, nearly push-
ing the off one down the bank, and it took the full
power of the break, and all the steadiness of the
wheelers, just to swing us past in safety.
The snow got more universal, and, from scattered
streaks, became a white expanse, and it was with a
sense of relief that we found ourselves at the
summit, with four miles of descent only, to get into
Wawonah ; and this, with four fresh horses, did not
take long. We had changed the greys at a quarter
to five, and came to our sixth and last relay just
before seven. We ought to have got in at five but
from the dreadful condition of the roads, we were
two hours and a half late, and it was 7,30 before
we drew up at Wawonah (the " Big tree.")
The last excitement, a mile before arriving, was
the Snow plant ;* a deep red flower reminding one
more of an Orobanche or a Hyacinth than anything
else, that grows up through the snow, and is not
common. It is a grotesque thing, about six or eight
inches high, a conglomeration of largish red flowers
clustering close round a white stalk, and seems
almost of a fungoid nature.
There were several specimens of it under the
Pines, and seeing them, the driver stopped, and
* Sarcodes sanguined.
YO SEMITE VALLEY 125
H. N. gallantly sacrificed himself and his boots,
plunging into the snow to get them for me.
We also passed the largest Yellow Pine, a giant
among giants, nine feet in diameter, as we swung
down full trot by the light of a bright moon into
the little valley in which is placed Wawonah a
tidy little White Inn, where we had very cold rooms,
a rather small supper, and a grand fire, in a sort of
hall, round which everybody crowded, drivers in-
cluded ; and perhaps they needed it most. M. was
much struck by the fact that though there was a
bar, there was little or no evidence of drink ; no
sale of " half-pints " going on, and no tall beer
glasses about.
We were not sorry to go to bed, and I, at any rate,
was very tired and jolted to bits.
Next morning we resumed our journey, struggling
again on to the same coach, at six A.M. punctually.
We had an older driver, of much experience,
Joe Ridgeway by name, and we wanted all
his wisdom, for the road became, almost from the
start, absolutely horrible. The snow lay, a white,
unbroken expanse, to right and left of us, and
all along the track, too, except where the wheels
and horses of one buckboard, had opened it out a
little. We had a good team of horses, luckily,
and they pulled gallantly, but had to stop and
rest every few minutes to recover their wind
and their legs, which kept slipping away from
them. There were a few birds, chiefly Wood-
126 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
peckers and Snow-birds* ; and the scrub was
chiefly Chaporral, Manzonita, and Mahogony (not
the timber tree, but a low, green, straggling bush).
The Snow-birds became more numerous as we
ascended ; they are pretty, sharp little birds, with
white breasts and tails, and black heads. Magnifi-
cent Pines, Sugar and Yellow Pines, surrounded us,
and Cedars, the dead branches of the latter fringed
with the most exquisite light yellow-green moss,
which glowed like sunlight and contrasted vividly
with the snow with which ground and trees were
alike covered.
We had not travelled above an hour or two when
the warmth of the sun began melting it, and, loosen-
ing its hold on the branches, it came thundering
down in great masses, with a dull thud on the white
carpet below, followed by a shower bath of silver
spray beautiful to look at, but too nasty to feel, as
much came down on us, and some of the snow-balls
hit very hard, besides making one rather wet, as
there were lumps of ice in them, which stuck to our
coats and cloaks. The people behind us had the
usual " lid " over their heads, but we were unpro-
tected, and I did not dare open an umbrella from
respect for the driver's eyes. Still our view was
undoubtedly finer than theirs, and il faut souffrir
pour etre belle, and, with this snow, and the jolts,
we did suffer.
We had another excitement, too, which they were
* Junco hyemnalis.
YO SEMITE VALLEY 127
spared, for after changing horses at " Eight-mile
Station/' to another white team, there came the
very worst part of the road, right over another spur
of the Sierras. The snow balled, the horses were
slipping and sliding all over the place, when down
went the near leader on his back, the off one shied
from him, and the break gave him time to recover
himself, as he rolled and scrambled up, landing
right in his harness, and going on as if nothing had
happened. We only did from two to two and a half
miles an hour this stage, so very bad was it, and
even then the wheelers were down three times on
their knees ; everlastingly the great lumbering stage
creaked and groaned on its way, up long weary
winding hills, with splendid vistas of blue distance
every now and then ; on terraced roads, over rattling
timber bridges, swinging round corners with eternity
six inches below ; through streams which sparkled
and danced over the track, and round great masses
and shoulders of rock, till we got to Grouse Creek.
Here we changed horses, and one of the new
leaders, twenty years old, was the most perfectly
shaped horse we had seen yet ; a bay, turning roan
with age, but full of quality. He trotted and swung
along at a level easy pace (or gait, as they call it
here), while the heavy wheelers behind him were
galloping ; for we were now out of the worst of it,
and had occasionally some miles of descent, where
they make up for lost time.
About one o'clock we got our first glimpse of the
iz8 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
far-famed Yo Semite Valley ! A vision of silver grey
rocks of immeasurable height, and a valley far, far
below us. Down the face of a rock we wound, with
jolts turning four times, then coming into a long,
straight incline, with more jolts just before us, a
magnificent fall over an edge of rock, the Bridal
Veil falls, eight hundred and sixty feet high, break-
ing into three lovely rippling streams at its base ;
on we dashed through them, and straight on some
six miles more through a dead flat, luxuriant green
and golden valley ; all trees, flowers, birds, and
rippling water, and the soft music of cascades,
everywhere ; and no snow at all. Our last four
miles of rapid descent had left it all behind, and we
seemed to have come with one jump from winter
into summer.
Such scenery, too ! First these graceful Bridal
Veil falls ; then " The Widow's Tears," the " Cathe-
dral Rocks," great giants ; " the " Spires," slighter
at the top, and their exquisite falls. On the left
towered the enormous yellow, round-headed rock
"El Capitan," four thousand feet high, and just
beyond the Yo Semite Falls, two thousand six
hundred feet high the upper part one thousand six
hundred feet, four hundred feet the next, and six
hundred feet the last leap below.
It was enchantment ; and the extraordinary effect
of this rich dead flat valley, some eight miles long by
one and a half wide, entirely hemmed in by the most
precipitous rocks, from three to four thousand feet
PLATE VIII
To face p. 129
N YO SEMITE VALLEY : THE SNOW-COVERED " CLOUD'S REST
YO SEMITE VALLEY 129
high, was beyond what I had ever imagined, much
as I have read of it.
But no description can ever do justice to. it,
any more than copies and photographs can to the
Madonna di San Sisto. Every minute was a
picture and a joy, and when we drew up, at
about 1.30, at the platform of Stoneman's Hotel, I
was almost dazed with delight mentally, and stiff as
a rock bodily, never having moved since six A.M.,
and having had to sit tight all the time.
Thanks to the prevoyance of Mr. S., who always
has everything ready, we found a suite of nice
clean rooms prepared, opening on to a verandah,
with these glorious rocks all round, and the murmur
of the eternal waterfalls also luncheon. We were
thankful to breathe unshaken, eat, drink, and get
warm, and look round. Then we had a stroll in the
sun near by, and I began a sketch from a bridge
over the rippling Merced, a lovely river which runs
smoothly enough through the valley itself, but comes
raging into it out of the mountains down the most
magnificent falls, and leaves it in a turmoil of cas-
cades and rapids at the lower end, before throwing
itself, some way further on, into the San Joachim
river, which takes it to the sea at San Francisco's
Golden Gate.
Before going to bed we watched a bonfire, which
they light nightly at Glacier Point, some three
thousand two hundred feet close above us, and
before it has quite done burning, they give it one
130 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
emphatic kick, and down the whole thing tumbles ;
as this point almost projects over its rock, which is
perpendicular, the effect is that of a waterfall of
fire, or a flight of rockets upside down.
After our seventy-four-mile drive we were pre-
sumed to require a good rest, and were to sleep as
long as we liked next morning, with the result that
I woke up entirely at six o'clock, and, going to the
window, saw such a lovely effect of early sunshine
and shade over the higher Yo Semite Falls, that I
quietly got my drawing things and sat happily at
this view till eight o'clock ; then lounged down to
breakfast with the others, and found that Mr. S.
had already walked to the Mirror Lake, some two
miles off. We then set out in a topless Surrey, and
had a most exquisite drive down the valley by the
west bank of the lovely Merced, the road we had
arrived by running parallel to this one the other side
of the river. Lovely Woodpeckers were flying about,
Orioles, Blue-jays, Linnets with crimson breasts,
Snow-birds,* and Tomtits (or Chickadees), and one
with an orange head and a bright yellow body
I suppose he was some kind of Oriole. And such
butterflies : swallow-tails, black and white, yellow
and black, and black velvet edged with brown, and
a thousand other colours ; and endless flowers, per-
fectly bewildering. On through the valley, descend-
ing towards the end of it ; and here the river
changed its character from peace to war, and went
* Junco hyemnalis.
YO SEMITE VALLEY 131
rushing and tossing and foaming over the emotion-
less rocks and boulders, in cascades of surpassing
beauty. Here and there, sheltered by majestic
rocks of grey granite, there were little still pools, in
one of which we saw an Indian fishing. As we
pulled up to try and see what he caught, he snatched
up his line and ran off like a hare, into the trees,
out of sight ; they distrust the whites, and I suppose
he feared our taking a shot at him, though we had
nothing stronger to do it with than H. N.'s opera-
glasses.
A little farther, there opened out a beautiful view
of the Cascades, very fine falls, whose waters form,
below, a tributary to the Merced. I sat down to
sketch them, and passed an hour very happily,
which the driver thought very peculiar, not to say
stupid ; as from ten minutes to fifteen are all that
are usually meted out to tourists ; and this quite
threw out all his calculations.
H. N. held an umbrella over me to keep off the
sun, while M. and Mr. S. walked slowly back, and
when we overtook them, we found Mr. S. had got a
fine collection of butterflies, eight or ten, transfixed
on his opal pin, and also a little dead Humming-
bird, which he found, just killed, I believe, by M. in
mistake for a butterfly which he knocked down and
lost ! We then had to go home, Mr. S. in much fear
for our luncheon, which they do not serve, if they can
help it, after fixed hours ; but a good-natured waiter
supplied us amply. After this we had half an hour
132 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
for reflection, passed in the verandah, enjoying and
swallowing in every bit of the charming view a
foreground of picturesque ponies and mules, capari-
soned for any one who wants a ride ; and when not
wanted, they set off for their stable, a quarter of a
mile or so off, full gallop and quite alone. Beyond
them a bit of grassy ground with some shrubs, and
then these fine straight Pines, and the rocks towering
up on every side beyond them. But there was more
to be seen and done ; so we soon set off for a stroll
in the direction opposite to our morning's drive, and
towards the Mirror Lake. Stopping first to admire
the gyrations of a harmless snake in a pool of water,
we crossed the Merced by a pretty bridge, and went
along a driving road, till we reached such a pretty
view of the valley of the Tenaya Fork (one of the
three branches of the river), that I sat down to
sketch the Pines and mountains, till ants and flies
were too much for me, and, having waited and sought
in vain for my protectors, 1 left a notice on a cleft
stick, to the effect that I had gone home ; and
dawdled slowly in, bearing a nearly finished sketch.
They came in about five minutes after me, and
thought it like ; so I am fortunate in having made
three to-day, which will help to make up for the
many days when I made none. I started with a
resolution to make at least one, of some sort or kind,
every day : a rule which the rude waves of the
Atlantic, and the subsequent dust of the desert,
made impossible of accomplishment. This was
YO SEMITE VALLEY 133
a lovely day, and a most complete contrast to the
wintry journey through Alpine snows so recently
accomplished.
On the 1 8th we were to be up betimes, to see the
sun rise over the Mirror Lake ; so, getting up at six,
we were ready to start at seven for the short drive
to this lovely little lake, a kind of tarn in the hills,
and really made by a widening-out of the Tenaya
Fork. We left the carriage at a point where it could
go no further, and 'walked along a little stony path
by the side of the lake, waiting for the sun to appear
over the top of the rock, about five thousand feet
high, or rather for its reflection, which appears first,
in the water below. It does not much matter
which, for the water is so clear and the reflection
so absolutely true, that, if you stood on your head,
one would do perfectly for the other.
We stayed about half an hour, and the sun did
all that was expected of it and we returned,
hungry, to breakfast. After it we again drove
down the valley the same way as yesterday, to a
point whence there is a view of the lovely Bridal
Veil fall, and, in a manner, of the length and
breadth of the whole valley ; a most desirable
sketch for giving an idea of this wonderland. But
at the end of about an hour " a change came o'er the
spirit of my dream," the clouds gathered, and even
two drops of rain came ; so all the romance of light
and shade were gone. I gathered up my pencils
and brushes, M. the implements with which he had
134 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
been preparing the little Humming-bird for stuffing ;
H. N. collected himself; and we drove back to
luncheon, the clouds looking wicked, and threaten-
ing to spoil our afternoon. (And I never finished
that drawing till I got to our place on the shores of
the Namsen, in Norway, which we reached exactly
three weeks after leaving New York : and when I
unpacked it there, I found very little to do to it,
having, I suppose, stopped at the right moment
before any harm was done.)
So it was with doubt that I arrayed myself in a
" divided skirt," the property of thehotel all my own
riding things being in the " Wildwood," seventy-four
miles off for the ride we meditated up a canon to
see the otherwise inaccessible falls, in which the
Merced rushes down, from a plateau at the top of
the mountains. However after a shower it looked
better, and we went out, to the camping-ground of
the riding horses. Here I found a chestnut pony
allotted to me, with a crimson velvet side-saddle ;
for M. (in deference perhaps to his liking for greys)
an old white horse, with a high peaked Mexican
saddle; a bay for Mr. S., while the guide rode
a mule, and H. N. his own legs. We started at a
'lope along the flat, the " gait " they prefer, crossed a
bridge, and then started up the canon, by a steep
track winding up the face of the left hand rock,
while below us roared the foaming river, and away
on the right stretched out the long sloping canon of
the Illilouette, which makes the South, or third,
YO SEMITE VALLEY 135
fork of the Merced. Up we climbed, quite slowly ;
and with my ridiculous dress, and absurd saddle,
which had a broken third pummel, I felt very
funny ; but not as much so, I suppose, as M., for I
presently heard his voice behind me shouting to the
guide, who was in front,
" What am I to do with the horse ? "
He preferred walking, and the wary old grey
soon settled the question, as it at once turned round
and trotted or 'loped home, with M.'s coat on his
saddle. On we went, higher and higher, and part
of the way was very steep, and also narrow, for,
meeting a party riding down, it was necessary to
edge close to the rock, where the path widened a
little, to get room enough to pass safely.
However, it was nowhere bad enough to give one
the horrors ; and it was so fine and grand, right in
the heart of the mountains, with the great Illilou-
ette ravine, and the deafening noise of waterfalls on
every side ; and after a mile and a half or more
appeared the magnificent white sheet of the
" Vernal Falls," which we got our first sight of
crossing a bridge far above the turmoil of waters.
It is a wide fall, like an apron, one unbroken
mass of white, three hundred and thirty-six feet
high ; and falling amongst rocks, it comes down,
hundreds of feet more, in a broken, boiling con-
fusion of rock and water, under the bridge. Per-
psndicular rocks edge it, and perpendicular rocks
again crown it, and soar above in soft faint colour,
^^ * *
i 3 6
into the sky ; diminutive Pines edge the rock over
which come the falls, and grow down the steep
sides, but the great yellow and grey masses above
are bleak and bare.
We got off just beyond the bridge, and, leaving
the ponies, walked along a steep path till we got
nearer, and, sitting down for two minutes on a damp
rock, I made a pencil sketch, just to recall to mind
the outlines of this imposing scene. Walking back
to the ponies, we got on again, and, M. and H. N.
preceding us on foot, we returned in, unluckily,
very heavy rain, which quite prevented our further
explorations up the canon. There were some very
sweet Bay-trees, on the way down, and some Dog-
wood still in flower. When we got to the flat Mr.
S. and I left the walkers and 'loped in, as the
rain was coming freely through my divided skirt.
We got off at the door, and the absurd ponies,
realising that they had done
" The trivial round, the common task,"
set off and galloped home as fast as they pleased ;
and an inquiry elicited that M.'s had long ago done
the same thing, with his coat, which was restored
to him later.
We were pretty wet, and could not venture out
again, so, while M. devoured a borrowed newspaper,
I sat down and put some colour into my pencil sketch
till dinner disturbed us, and after it we sat below a
little, talking to a lady and her son and daughter
PLATE X.
To face p. 136
THE VERNAL FALLS OF THE MERCED
YO SEMITE VALLEY 137
just arrived from Ceylon and Japan, who, some
years ago, had passed some weeks at our place in
Norway.
The old Indian names of these localities are far
better than their modern ones, and it is a thousand
pities they should be disused. The valley was
discovered about the year 1850, by some Americans
who were in pursuit of Indians on whom they
wished to be avenged for some aggression ; and
the Indians always disappeared in this locality. How
or where was for some time a mystery, and it was
longer still before the track used by them into the
valley, and still called "the Indians' path," was
discovered. It is almost impassable, and is on the
side opposite to the present access. It reminds me
so much of the valley in which the Australian
Kellys drove their lifted cattle, so well described in
" Robbery under Arms," and where they remained
for so long in perfect safety.
The name of Yo Semite itself means " the large
o
Grizzly Bear," none of which are now found in the
valley, though they abound in the mountains outside
it, and we saw the skin of one which had recently
been shot, ten miles from Wawonah.
The Yernal Falls were called " Pi-wi-ack," meaning
cataract of diamonds, though I venture myself to
doubt the accuracy of this, for what could North
American Indians know of polished diamonds ? The
name of the Bridal Veil Pohono, or Spirit of
the Evil Winds is far more probable ; and so is that
138 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
of the great rock "ElCapitan," which was "Tu-tock-
a-nu-la," or the " Great Chief," and they delight to
show you on the pale smooth yellow face of that
enormous rock a black outline with a great resem-
blance to an Indian in his war-paint and feathers.
Some Digger Indians still inhabit the valley, and
live in peace in their wigwams ; they are adepts at
fishing, and the hotels buy all they catch, but their
life in the long winters must be hard and dreary.
They make collections of Acorns and thatch them,
and they look like pointed beehives raised far from
the ground, so as not to be lost in the snow. There
were many beautiful grey Squirrels to be seen, rather
larger than our brown ones, and making the rich
grey and white furs so much worn in England.
They had splendid brushes, and it seemed a pity to
kill them, but they say they are good to eat, so they
are useful for both purposes.
Next morning, after looking at some pretty draw-
ings which the travellers from Japan showed us, we
drove once more to the Mirror Lake, and I sat on a
rock and began a sketch, but my sketch was too
ambitious, including as it did the lake, a great yellow
Pine, and the " Clouds' Rest," six thousand feet
high, and covered with eternal snow, and I had to
leave it unfinished, as Mr. S. could allow no more
time, and by twelve o'clock we were back at the
hotel, whence we despatched the "Yo Semite
Tourist " to friends at home, announcing our arrival
at Stoneman's Hotel.
YO SEMITE VALLEY 139
At one o'clock we re- embarked in the stage, which,
with the safe old driver, Joe Ridgeway, was ready
to start. I never in niy life was so sorry to leave
anything as to leave this place, with the certainty
of never seeing it again. A month would have been
all too short for it ; for, for scenery, birds, butterflies
it is in the well-named Mariposa, or butterfly,
country and flowers, it is a naturalist's paradise,
and an artist's, for every inch is a picture ; and never
to be forgotten is the beauty of the Merced (or
" Grace "), whether in its still pools, its turbulent
cascades and rapids, or majestic falls in the heart of
the Sierras.
We were not arranged quite as before in the stage,
for I gave my seat by the driver to H. N. and
sat behind with Mr. S. and Byatt ; and found
I was much less shaken, but had also less view.
It was a little cloudy in the morning, and we
feared rain, if not snow, but happily escaped both.
We wound slowly up the hill, seeing for the last
time all the fine rocks we seemed to know so well
the great Dome, and the half Dome behind the
Hotel, and Glacier point ; passing the great Yo
Semite falls, " The Maiden's Tears," the" Lost Falls,"
which trickle over the summit, disappear midway in
the air, and collect themselves again below ; the
great triple-headed rock they call " The Three
Brothers," but which the Indians thought resembled
frogs, and called " Pompompasas" or the "Leaping
Frog Rocks," and then " El Capitan ;" while, on the
140 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
other side, we saw for the last time, the Sentinel
rock, like a gigantic watch-tower, the Cathedral
Spires and Rock, and the lovely Bridal Veil, and
slowly wound up the mountain road that winds out of
the valley, a long, dead pull ; leaving all this magnifi-
cence behind us. As we took our last look at it, after
travelling for two hours and three-quarters, a lovely
little Humming-bird perched on the top of a young
Pine-tree, but flew off, with its merry little twitter,
before we could level the glasses at it.
From the top of the hill we trotted on, and
changed horses at " Grouse Creek ; " and from there
the journey was rather wearisome, for the roads,
though quite free from the snow, were heavy, owing
to recent local rain near the " Eight-mile Station,"
and one of the chestnut leaders was down and up
again, before any one knew anything was the
matter.
The great Pines, with their floating trimming of
sunny moss, impress themselves more and more on
one's mind, but there was not much underwood, only
Snow Brash, and Chink-o-pin and some more of
the Red Snow Plant.
We drew up at seven o'clock at the door of the
Wawonah hotel, one of the horses shying violently
at the entrance, swaying the coach all across the
road. It was probably the smell of a camp of
Indians close by ; and no wonder ; but it was well
it happened there, and not in the very narrow road
we had just left.
YO SEMITE VALLEY 141
We found better, because warmer, rooms ready for
us this time : and after supper would gladly have
retired to them ; but we were first conducted
to the studio of a painter, one Mr. Hill, who
had made some effective pictures of Yo Semite,
chiefly from one point of view ; and he said the
autumn was the best time for colour there ; and no
doubt he was right. He had various curiosities hung
round his studio ; Wasps' nests, hideously large ;
dead Rattlesnakes ; skins of Coyotes, Squirrels, and
Wild Cats, and other engaging beasts ; some flowers
beautifully dried by his daughters, retaining their
colours ; and one of them showed them to us ; with
maidenhair fern, which grows hereabout. There was
also the head of a Black-tailed Deer, of which we had
seen a pretty group of Hinds and Fawns in the forest
in the course of the drive. I also saw a Brambling,
and this morning in the valley, we found plants of
the Wild Ginger,* its great handsome leaf entirely
hiding the brown flower, which, growing close to
the root, hardly shows above the surface of the
ground.
On Sunday we were up at a quarter to six. The
people in the hotel who were going to Yo Semite
being loudly called at 4.30 made the office of calling
us who were going the other way at 5.45, rather
superfluous. We started at seven o'clock with a
long day before us, but the beloved " Wild wood "
at the end of it ! We were arranged this morning
* Asarum Canadense.
142 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
in much lighter " stages" and four, more like simple
char-a-bancs, and no luggage, as we were first to see
the big trees of Mariposa M. and I were on the box
as originally, and our driver was the same we had
before on this road, nephew of the older man ; the
road was the same, too, as far as the "Four-mile
Station " where we diverged to the left, and, still
ascending for another four miles, we reached the
grove of big trees. I had expected to find them
grouped together on a plateau ; but this was by no
means the case ; they were in the thick of the forest,
and dotted about singly in the midst of the various
Pines we had hitherto considered of unexampled size,
but which were now dwarfed. Winding down a
slight declivity and passing over a little streamlet,
we caught sight of the first two, standing like giant
sentinels at the entrance to their precincts and
others we passed, and yet more ; for the road is
cleverly engineered, so as to show most of these
mighty achievements of undisturbed nature.
The enormous red trunks stand out amongst the
other pines like towers amidst houses and so
vast are they, that when we got one of the four-
horse stages to stand parallel to one of them
the whole coach and horses could not reach the
verge, and one could see that the trunk extended
beyond the hind wheels and in front of the leaders'
noses.
This Mariposa grove forms part of a grant
made by Congress, to be set apart for public use,
YO SEMITE VALLEY 143
resort, and recreation, for ever ; the area so pre-
served covers two square miles, and contains over four
hundred of these Sequoia gigtmteas. Many are over
three hundred feet high, and the largest in this
group, " The Grizzly Giant," is ninety-four in circum-
ference, which makes its diameter about thirty-one
feet ; its first branch, which is two hundred feet
from the ground, measures six in diameter. One
prostrate giant, half-burnt, and lying full length
amongst the ferns and grasses, shows that its total
height must have reached four hundred feet, and its
diameter forty ! There do not appear to be many
quite young trees amongst them, but they vary in
size, and of some the trunks are under fifteen feet
across, so one may hope that for centuries yet these
primeval groves may remain to crown the mountain
with glory ; for here we are two thousand two
hundred feet above Wawonah, and on the crest of a
mountain ridge.
The cones of these Sequoias are not large ; nothing
like the size of those of the Sugar and Yellow Pines,
of which abundance lay on the ground, a foot or
more in length. They are a representative of a
family of trees which have their nearest relative in
Japan, and the name they bear was given by Asa
Gray, the botanist, in honour of Sequoyah, the
Cherokee chieftain. Besides the Sequoia gigantea
there is another species, the Sequoia semper vir ens t
which exists in forests along the seaward side of
the coast range from San Francisco bay, northward,
144 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
for over one hundred miles. It is these forests
which furnish the celebrated red wood lumber,
and many specimens of them rival their big cousins
of Mariposa and Calaveras in size, and are often found
over two hundred and fifty feet high.
These, and the ridge of the Fresno Grove, we saw
in the distance only, and we regretted that a
visit to Calaveras was impossible, as it is a separate
excursion, and would have taken too much time.
The trees there are of much the same size as those
we saw, and fewer in number.
As a final bouquet of fireworks, we were driven
through the great tree that stands across the road,
and under the archway ruthlessly cut through it
the whole coach and horses stand protected, while
the thick green cypress-like head of the tree testifies
to its vitality and vigour, in spite of the reckless
treatment to which it has been subjected. The
melancholy thing in all these forests is the perpetual
evidence of the action of fires, which have done so
much injury, and even these noble specimens have
not escaped unscathed. Prairie fires, and forest fires,
and camp fires have left their marks everywhere,
and the blackened trunks and leafless heads some-
times extend for acres, and give an air of incredible
desolation.
Having stopped for a moment under this perforated
tree, so well known by views and photographs, but
none the less real and wonderful, we left the grove
of mammoths, and trotted quickly back down hill
YO SEMITE VALLEY 145
to the Four-mile Station, and there left the lighter
and rather uncomfortable traps, to resume the usual
stage, which, with the luggage, was waiting for us.
There are always two, and we had the second, which
is in some ways safer, as the first very nearly had
a serious accident two days ago ; a horrid bicycle
coming carelessly round a corner frightened the
leaders off the track, and as nearly as possible upset
the whole thing ; and, though they escaped an
actual smash, they were in very considerable diffi-
culties. In fact there is no doubt that the whole
expedition was one of considerable risk and danger,
and Mr. S. was very thankful when we were all
safe through it, and back at Raymond.
Again the mails served as a footstool as we
resumed our drive through the forest ; but it was
far easier than when we came, for the coach was a
new one, and therefore ran much more smoothly,
and the roads being in far better condition, the jolts
were less trying.
Getting lower and lower, we lost the splendid
Pines by degrees, but flowers were plentiful, and even
in these few days many more were out ; and before
we reached Ahwahnee, about one o'clock, the side of
the road was an absolute garden, quite pink with
Godetias, which were all over the place, varied with
exquisite sky-blue patches of Nemophilas, dwarf
scarlet Lychnis, Eschscholtzias, and the red flannel
Indian Pink, besides quantities more of which I did
not know the names. It was so curious to find all
146 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
our treasured garden flowers growing wild in this
untrimmed luxuriance.
At Ahwahnee were large bouquets of Godetias, of
which the landlady let me have as many as I liked.
We also found luncheon, and after it started again
to cross, for the last time, the remaining crest of the
Nevadas. We had a grey team, slow but strong,
and were rather before our time, so the driver good-
naturedly stopped now and then for H. N. to jump
down and get me some of the rarer flowers, especially
one lovely and delicate white one, with a dab of
brown velvet at the base of each of its three petals
the "Mariposa Lily," as they call the Calochortus.
So, revelling in scenery, birds, and flowers, we
toiled on to Grub Gulch, where by some stupidity
no fresh team had been left for us, and, to the fierce
but laconically expressed indignation of our driver,
the greys had to go on up five more weary miles of
hill. Though so angry, he was kind to the horses,
and did not hurry them, as luckily we still had time
in hand. We saw most interesting birds. As usual,
plenty of Woodpeckers of the black and white kind ;
but to-day also, and only on this occasion, we were
so fortunate as to see a solitary specimen of the great
black Woodpecker.* A large bird, coal black, and
Woodpecker shape, with a crimson-crested head ; he
was clinging to the trunk of a black oak, not far from
us. There were a couple of great black Buzzards on
the branch of a dead tree, King birds,t and Doves,
* Dryocopus Martiun. t Tyrannus tyranna.
YO SEMITE VALLEY 147
who scarcely took the trouble to fly out of our way ;
and Babbits, like ours, which they call " cotton tails,"
and which are smaller than their "Jack rabbits."
Many Chipmucks, too, and a man passed with a grey
Squirrel he had shot. The country gradually became
tamer, though the flowers were wonderful to the
end. Buckeye trees, with their delicate white spikes
of flower, magnificent Live Oaks, White Oaks, and
Digger Pines, and as we got quite down large
stretches of corn covered the country ; and sad,
indeed, it was to find ourselves leaving the mountain
ranges, now fading into blue distance, still speckled
with snow, and it was hard to believe we had been
on and beyond them so lately. I had a splendid
handful of flowers Mariposa Lilies, blue Gentian,
Nemophilas, lovely pink flowers besides the Godetias,
of unknown names, Larkspurs, scarlet Lychnis,
Mallows, a small, sweet, yellow Honeysuckle, Lilac
Thistles, the large white-leaved Milk plant, Bears'
clover, white Mint, and quantities more, to dry and
paint.
At 6.30 exactly, we delivered the mails at the
Baymond post-office, flung out a captious old lady
at the inn, almost our only fellow passenger, and
were ourselves flung out on to another platform
close to our dear car, which, with Lawrence to
welcome us, we were delighted to see again.
We were dusty and thirsty, so he ministered to
our wants with a clothes brush externally, and iced
lemonade within, and we re-arranged ourselves in
148
A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
our homelike quarters, dined, and presently went to
bed ; but not to sleep. We moved on at eight o'clock
and, reaching Fresno, about eleven, were kept awake
by what sounded like Indians singing war-songs
around us, with a perpetual chorus of "cold boiled
eggs." However, they were, I believe, only itine-
rant vendors of the same ; but they kept up a
horrible noise for ever so long.
CHAPTER IX
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON
TRAVELLING on through the remainder of the night,
we arrived at about eleven on the morning of the
2ist at Oakland pier, once more. Embarking, as
before, in the ferry-boat, we had a refreshing breeze
as we crossed the harbour to get to San Francisco.
Landing, we got into an open fly and pair, and
rattled into the horrible, wide, crowded, ill-paved
streets. First, to the Palace Hotel ; then to another
office, where I got a letter from my child, dated
April 25 then to a saddler's for carriage whips, a
glover's for gloves, a bookshop for books on native
flowers ; and to the fire-engine station, where we
saw a repetition of the electric drill we had seen
here before. Then to a " dry-goods store" for a bit
of lace ; and to a photograph store, where M. and
H. N. were such a time, and the people were so
slow, it made us get to the hotel, for luncheon, full
twenty minutes late. Here the waiters were slower
still, so we ate to time, and then rushed to Shreves',
where we collected our little commissions, and I got
my Mexican turquoises set as a ring ; and then we
150 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
had to hurry to the ferry to catch the 3.30 boat,
which we just effected.
A Japanese family got on board, with a little
child most gorgeously dressed ; in an apple green
silk coat, edged with rows of pink and lilac ribbon,
a very smart bright reddish purple skirt underneath,
wonderful shoes, and its black hair most elaborately
done in a boat shape, on wires, woven with rows
and rows of beads and pearls at the back, the
manner and fashion of which would have perplexed
a court hairdresser. It CQuld just trot along, and
was led by the hand by its mother in a dark purple
coat, and similar shoes.
There were also two little Gentile children on
board, school-girls, with their books, about eleven and
thirteen years old ; so I asked them questions about
their education, which they are to complete in Paris !
They seemed to be ordinary children, trades-
people's probably ; and I was amused when they
promptly rounded on me, and inquired where I was
going, and what I was doing, and so on.
The little sail back was lovely, for, whichever way
you take it, whether looking at Contra Costa, or
through the Golden Gate, or northwards to the
hills, that bay is exquisite.
Landed, we called at the " "Wild wood " to deposit
our little parcels, and then went a ten minutes'
train journey into Oakland, and were presently set
down in the beau milieu of Broadway, their princi-
pal street, with no more fuss or effect than if we
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 151
were stepping out of a hansom. Close by was an
open carriage waiting, into which we were handed
by a truly magnificent negro, black as night itself,
in a very Sunday-going suit, surmounted by a
shiny chimney-pot hat, with a very wide curly
brim, and a rose such a rose ! inches in diameter,
and deeply red, in his button hole ; he was one
of Mr. S.'s myrmidons. Mysterious and useful,,
they crop up at every point. The carriage pro-
ceeded to take us a little pleasure-drive through
this town of gardens. All little residences ; wood-
built villas, wreathed in flowers ; crimson and
scarlet with Geraniums, Roses, Nasturtiums and
Abutilons, Palms and Eucalyptus, everywhere ; and
each villa had its little square of the greenest grass,
with marble edges, and decorated steps, and these
luxuriant flowers. There were Locust and Pepper
trees, too ; and for a bouquet we were driven
through the garden of one Mr. Smith, who benevo-
lently allows it, and such a show of flowers as he
had I never saw : all that the others had, and
Cannas besides, and two beds of Gazanias alongside
the drive, like a Persian carpet with an orange
ground, as they were studded in a pattern with low
palms, and bordered with a hedge of pale pink Roses
in full bloom.
' As we drove back to Broadway we passed two
young ladies going out for their ride, on good look-
ing horses, in divided skirts ; very much divided,
as they rode astride; this seems rather in vogue
152 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
here (as well as in the Sandwich Islands), for we
saw one or two more taking exercise in the same
fashion in the streets of San Francisco.
It was about six o'clock when we returned to the
place of the train station, I cannot call it and
after a few minutes spent in looking in at the shop
windows, it pleased a train to come up the street
and pause as we got in, and then it took us to the
Oakland Pier station, and we had only a few steps
to walk to regain our car, which in our absence had
been dusted and cleaned out.
Dinner was soon administered to us, and after it
I began to realise, what I had not had time to do
before that I was very tired after the tremendous
drive from Yo Semite. For it was a great exploit, and
combined much fatigue with some danger, and one
could not help feeling that there was always a
possibility of being " held up " by highwaymen, as
well as a great probability of an upset. However,
we escaped, and were thankful ; and it was pleasant
as the train moved on, after seven o'clock, to sit at
the windows and think it over, as well as watch the
passing scene. The sun was setting behind the
mountains on the west side of the bay in a golden
glow, justifying the title of the "Golden Gate."
The hills themselves were dark purple, and the calm
water of the bay reflected a little of the orange and
green sky, and then melted gradually into deep dark
indigo blue, broken by the little white ripple of its
wavelets, on a dark seaweedy shore.
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 153
Half dreamily I watched it, and thought what a
heavenly close it was to our heavenly fortnight in
California, and looked round to my companions for
sympathetic emotions. M. was sitting very upright
on a high jumpy sofa, frowning over a penny paper
by the light of an indifferent lamp overhead, while
H. N. was less hopelessly busy, it's true, but his eyes
were too firmly closed for me to attempt any con-
versation. So true it is, as I read in a book some-
where, that "when you soar into the regions of
romanticism, you must leave the men behind."
While we were in the valley, the " Wildwood "
had remained stationary at Raymond ; and Lawrence,
it appears, had amused himself by playing about with
Rattlesnakes, of which he said there were plenty.
He killed one, and afterwards showed me the rattle ;
it was about two or three inches long, and consisted
of twelve flat horny rings, which rattle when you
shake them, and he says the snake grows one every
year after he is two years old ; so his was fourteen.
On Tuesday we woke early to watch the pretty
panoramic landscape that seemed to be moving
before our eyes green trees clothing high banks,
and between them and our single line of railway
flowed the beautiful Sacramento River, dancing over
rocks and stones, clear, sunny and bright. By its
side were large bushes of Azaleas in full flower, white
and yellow, and white and pink ; and very sweet,
for when we stopped at the station of Castle
Crags, H. N. bought me a big bunch from a small
154- A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
boy. This was a fine point, with high rocks in the
distance, and is, I believe, a " summer resort" of the
happy San Franciscans, who in the way of Nature
have certainly little left to wish for.
Here Mr. Crockett's car, which had been hung on
to ours through the night, detached itself, and we
again had our observation platform to ourselves.
We sat out upon it nearly all the morning, amidst
most exquisite scenery, crossing and recrossing
the lovely river twenty times ; fine woods and hills
of beautiful outline all around us, till suddenly we
caught sight of a most glorious snow-covered peak
an enormous white mass rising abruptly above the
deep green woods, pointing far up into the cloudless
blue sky. This was the great Mount Shasta,
14,400 feet high.
At Soda Springs the train pulled up, and there
were the prettiest falls. Flowing over beds of
emerald green moss in little fountains, suddenly
there sprouted up out of these moss-grown rocks a
great jet of water twenty feet high, one perpendicular
fountain of soda water ! H. N. rushed for a glass to
taste it, and I for a sketch-book to sketch it, while
M. ran to get a handful of the exquisite moss. It
was a moment of great surprise and excitement,
and these clear jets of sparkling water for there
were two of them glittering like diamond spray
against the dark background of bank and fir-trees,
and shooting up into the bright sunshine, made one
of the pictures one shall remember.
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 155
We hardly could spare time to attend to some
lovely rippling rapids on the other side of the road,
for ten minutes was all they could allow us, and we
soon had to climb our car steps again and resume
our beautiful journey ; Mount Shasta being a splen-
did object for many hours, for we had it first on our
north, a hundred miles off; then east, when it was
most fully extended before us, its snow-white top
fading into rich purple and violet below ; then
south, when the magnificent form was, I think, most
stately of all, for it stood up, an isolated point,
nothing approaching it in height or dignity. In-
deed, it appears higher to the eye than other peaks
of the same elevation, for the level from which
we see it is so nearly that of the sea that the
whole 14,000 feet and more seem to be all its own,
whereas many other mountain tops may be the same
height from the sea level, but possibly are only about
half that distance from the already high ground where
the beholder stands. This is often the case in the
Rocky Mountains.
Mount Shasta is exceedingly broad at the base,
covering a circumference of seventy-five miles, and
its crater (for it is an extinct volcano) is nearly a mile
in diameter, and fifteen hundred feet deep. Much
lower, on the south-west, were some very curious
dark-pointed hills called the Black Buttes, said to be
of solid lava, no doubt the result of one of its erup-
tions. The lower foothills of the Cascade Mountains
came into view further north, and we saw with great
156 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
regret the last of California, taking leave of it about
four o'clock in the afternoon as we entered a long
tunnel, and emerged at the other end in Oregon.
I was sorry to leave California. I have passed
without doubt, the most beautiful fortnight of my
life there, and a thoroughly happy one too.
We had now to cross the Siskiyou Mountains,
and our descent from them into the rich Oregon
valley below was rapid, and, from an engineering
point of view, most extraordinary. We crossed
ravines on very high trestle bridges, and wound up
the mountains, and slid down them, by roads which,
describing immense horse-shoe curves, returned
upon each other at different elevations. Our train
was divided in two, and as we went up a hill we
could see our other half, far, far below us, going in
the opposite direction. After crossing those high
trestle bridges, one always saw a workman appear,
apparently out of a hole in the ground, and walk
very carefully along the bridge examining it closely
and minutely ; by the side of the permanent way on
projecting beams were barrels, full of water ; both
men and barrels being there in the same view, to
extinguish promptly any sparks which the engine
might have left as it passed ; yet in spite of all
their precautions fires are but too frequent. There
were some enormous snow-sheds too, that we passed
under to-day, roofed in, and perhaps a quarter to
half a mile long ; and they made a most curious
effect, for their semi-darkness was illuminated by
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 157
" slantingdicular " rays of light, which came through
small holes in the roof, and can only be described as
if luminous rain had been suddenly arrested and
fossilised. As the train moved on, and the angles of
falling light varied and crossed each other, it was
most striking ; and one regarded it rather as a bit
of " unearned increment " in the stores of beauty.
Having descended into Oregon the vegetation
seemed to change a little, as there were fewer Pines,
and those not so "grand ; more deciduous trees, Oaks,
Laurel magnolias, and still Eucalyptus trees, with
their handsome soft bunches of white flowers.
Quantities of blue, purple and white Iris ; and pro-
lific vegetable gardens ; and as evening closed over
us we were speeding along a wide, flat, well- watered
valley.
About eight on the morning of May 23, we arrived
at Portland, and, having breakfasted on the car,
for once without the usual anxiety of the tea and
coffee and other comestibles being jolted over the
table-cloth, we were placed, in the lightest of cloaks,
and the hottest of suns, in a carriage with its in-
valuable lid ; and had a drive through a prosperous,
very hot town, of a red colour, with the bluest of
rivers, the Willamette, running through it up a
winding steep road into the park. The road was
adorned at every turn with orders to drivers not to
let their horses go out of a walk, and, as it was a
kind of corkscrew, and the heat melting, nobody
was likely to infringe the rule. A very sleepy,
158 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
angry sea-lion was sighing over the stupidity of his
human (or inhuman) owners, who had chosen a
tropical day like this to clean out his bath, and
left him flopping and gasping on the sandy, dusty
path, which surrounded the waterless abyss which
he ought to have been in.
The park, when we got there, seemed to consist
chiefly of a sort of terminal apex of long grass,
round which were some cages of racoons, monkeys,
and a few birds, drowsy with the heat. There was
also a magnificent view, which, though almost too
hot to wield a paint brush, I sat down on the
ground to attempt. Below was the wide-spread
town, which claims to be a great seaport, in
virtue of the proximity of the enormous Columbia
River, but from here it gives no idea of such a
thing : in the middle runs the Willamette, with a
few small masts and sails visible ; beyond, flat plains
dotted with trees and houses, bounded by very blue
hills so blue that cobalt fell flat, and cobalt green
and cyanine had to help above them an enormous
white conical mountain rose, dead white, without
line or shade of any kind, into the cloudless blue
sky. This was Mount St. Helen's ; while away to
the right, above an important building, the Jewish
synagogue, rose a twin peak, Mount Hood. The
latter we had seen from a long way off ; the former
I got into my sketch.
Looking up after a time, I descried H. N. on the
box of our carriage, his figure, and that of the driver,
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 159
forming a pyramid shape, as they leant against each
other, both fast asleep ; both horses asleep also M.
was partly watching the playful racoon, and with the
other eye reading his favourite daily local paper.
Two excellent Chinese ladies in the usual dark,
brown, purplish coats, came and sat on a seat close
by, and slowly fanned themselves ; exactly as they
do on handscreens. It was all so pretty that, the
thermometer being ninety in the shade, and I being
in the shade alsoj I was loth to disturb them all, and
to propose going on. But there was yet much to
see ; so we drove back at a pious walk as requested,
down the hill again and into the town, where the
houses still have gardens, with Roses and Clematis,
but the Palms, alas ! are gone. It has not the
Southern feeling of the other towns, and, certainly,
we are now some four hundred miles North of San
Francisco, so we must say good-bye to tropical
vegetation, unless we have time to throw in a bit of
Virginia at the end of our travels.
We were hot, happy, and thirsty ; so. after selecting
some photographs, and buying a bit of orange- wood
to paint on, at an artist's shop, we voted it was time
for luncheon, and so went to the " Portland Hotel,"
a very pretty one, to seek it.
These hotels are certainly more attractive than
those of Europe. They have so much " open
ground," in them, balconies and verandahs, and
broad passages, which widen out, as rivers do
into lakes, and are decorated with taste, with
160 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
palms and flowers, and are consequently full of
fresh air and sweetness. The luncheon was per-
haps not so eatable as drinkable, for the meat is
generally tough, but the iced drinks are always
nice. The dozen little dishes in which each person's
dinner is arranged round their central plate is well-
known to history, and always reminds me of a
locket ; a central gem, set in pearls.
After this refreshment, we went for a drive along
the side of the river ; which was excessively wide
and pretty, almost in flood, flowing very heavily,
and apparently slowly, round its bright green
islands.
We stopped at a place called the White House,
where I made a sketch from a balcony, M. and
H. N. visited some horses, we all interviewed a
perfectly tame bear, and an imperfectly tame
" chow." Then we had to return, as we were to
be back in the " Wild wood " by five o'clock ; and here
we found Mr. S. awaiting us, as he had been
busy planning our future, and reporting our past,
and had not gone the afternoon drive with us.
Our car was now attached to the Northern
Pacific, and we left the Southern Pacific, which is
so beautiful, that even on the matter-of-fact rail-
way-folders, they call it the "sunset route." Our
line followed the course of the Willamette for
about half an hour, till, at Kalama, it joins the
Columbia. The union of these two is a curious
sight, for the very wide Columbia comes rippling
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 161
arid flowing in like a sea, making angry waves in a
defined line, as it comes at an acute angle against
the oily waters of the Willamette, which continues
its firm, calm course for some little way unmoved by
its impetuous brother. It took some time to cross
it, for like Carquinez straits, it had to be done in a
steam-barge. I could not see much, except out of
a corner of one window, as it happened to be diffi-
cult to get out of the car, from the three lines of
carriages being closely packed, but M. and H. N.
scrambled down, and were soon busy negotiating
with a little sailing-boat that landed, laden with
fish, just as we reached the further shore. It had
been pretty to watch it coming across, almost paral-
lel with our big barge, like a butterfly passing a
crow ; and M. and H. N. were as pleased with their
fresh five-pound Columbia salmon as if they had been
starving, instead of living in the lap of luxury !
Our train was quickly and cleverly hooked
together again, by an engine with ever clanging
bell, our car at the rear, and we went on by
the side of the Cowlitz a tributary of the
Columbia for some way ; and we sat out on our
platform in the cooler evening air, watching the
stars, which were there, and waiting for the moon,
which was not. About ten o'clock or so I went to
bed, and slept well, and I wish the frogs had, too ;
but the noise they make is appalling, and outdoes
that of the train.
We were now in Washington State, and in the
1 62 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
region which goes by the name of the " New North-
west," as its beauties and riches have only been
comparatively recently brought into notice. It has
magnificent forests of Fir, Hemlock, Cedar, Pine,
Spruce, and all the hard woods, too ; so that it is
one of their most productive lumbering districts ; its
mineral wealth is also great, for there is gold to be
had, Silver, Iron, Copper, and everything else, in-
cluding Cinnabar and Graphite ; nor are its fishing
interests to be despised, as we knew by that
Salmon.
We had now the prospect of an unbroken week
in the " Wild wood " ; by no means a disagreeable one,
as it was like seeing a permanent panorama without
the worry of the shilling admission.
In the night we passed the edge of Puget Sound,
and we went right round Mount Rainier, another of
tne conical peaks, and the most northerly, of the
Cascade mountains ; therefore we are now working
east again. Waking about four o'clock on the morn-
ing of the 24th, we found ourselves going through a
forest of burnt and fallen trees, of which there are
so many. They look desolate and dreary, some
ravaged by recent fires, with absolutely no under-
growth ; others, where burnt trunks stand up to
any height, like black-armed skeletons, with con-
siderable growth of young firs around them, some
twenty or thirty years old.
As it was but four, I went to sleep again, to wake
at a more Christian hour, amid fresh scenery, some
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 163
Sage brush again, and, fast recedingin the distance, the
last glimpse of Mount Rainier. At the first station
M. rushed out, and brought in a beautiful handful
of Iris, and a pink flower like a circular Cleome, but
quite new. There were red, white, and blue flowers
in brilliant and tantalising masses, which we could
not get, though Mr. S. and H. N. risked their
lives most gallantly at the stations, and brought me
in others, which kept me busy drawing all the
morning. Most difficult it is to draw when the
train is shaking you and your subject from side to
side ; the heat so great you are nearly melted, and
it, withered ; while the dust makes paper and colours
alike gritty.
We began breakfast to-day with grape fruit, like
an acid orange, which has an amiable habit of squirt-
ing fountains of juice all over you as soon as a
spoon goes near it. It is very refreshing and cool,
and, like everything else, including the tea, comes
up iced. They begin breakfast here with fruit
always, and go to chops or chickens afterwards
I suppose, to lay the dust. After breakfast I took a
lesson in the making of lemonade, which Lawrence
excels in.
The country changed now and again, but was on
the whole rather desolate, without any special point
of interest, though at one of the stations we saw a
few Indians ride by, on rather ragged but active
ponies, but no feathers in their ugly hair, which was
covered by respectable felt hats.
164 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
There were very few birds to be seen ; a few
Grebes on a lake, and some Ducks. The Yakima
river was the only one of any size ; rather a dirty
stream which joined the Columbia river just before
we recrossed the latter ; this time, at Pasco, on a
fine bridge. At Rathdrum I got a rapid sketch of
a fine wild stretch of country, and it represents a
wide extent of greenish yellow plain, bounded by
the tops of white and lilac mountains ; and here we
left Washington, and entered Idaho.
Two paragraphs in the Oregon Gazette of to-day
(May 24) are good specimens and worth recording.
One is headed
A VERY LOUD SMELL.
" In referring to the big whale which was recently
stranded at Yaquina bay, the Newport News says
that it is a hundred feet long with a smell twice
that length, and was found two miles up the river.
It is supposed to be a young one, about ninety years
of age, and had been dead three or four years, as it
had commenced to decompose."
Another runs as follows :
" Of course the Columbia is booming, and a splen-
did stage of water prevails. River pilots have no
trouble now in bringing vessels up, or taking them
down."
We crossed several ravines on these skeleton-
looking trestle bridges, and several lakes and
NORTHWARDS, THROUGH OREGON 165
streams in flood, so much so, that we were
partly prepared for a disagreeable rumour, as we
neared Hope, that there was a " wash out " ahead.
At Sandpoint we came to a really beautiful lake,
and, as the sun was setting, the colours and outlines
of the mountains surrounding it were glorious.
It was " Pend Oreille," some forty-five miles long
and fifteen wide, and we first crossed the extreme
end of it, on a high trestle bridge, and then skirted
it the whole way, swinging at a great pace round
some very sharp curves, and rushing into the station
at Hope, at seven o'clock, only to learn that the
report was true, and that we could not go any
further ; that the train coming west was equally
stopped on the other side, and that two breakdown
gangs were gone or going to the rescue. But if it
is true that the whole bridge over a ravine some
eight miles on is swept away, it must at least be
many hours before it can be rebuilt ; and may be
days, if the waters continue to rise.
We felt rather in a scrape, and were, if possible,
more thankful than ever that we had no re-
sponsibility ; the cloud of anxiety, as varying
reports came in, gathered on Mr. S.'s brow, but
was not reflected on ours. We had only to sit
still in the " Wildwood," well provided with books, a
replenished larder, and nothing to complain of,
having every comfort ; and, if not detained too long,
we may yet catch up our programme at Chicago ;
and if the worst comes to the worst, we may find a
1 66 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
back door of escape, by going back to Spokane, and
thence get east by another line. We had our even-
ing meal ; the ubiquitous John Chinaman loafing
around and admiring us ; and then enjoyed the
luxury of being able to write up journals and letters;
which is impossible while moving.
Hope is a very small place, full of " saloons "
shooting and otherwise ; and Mr. S. did not advise
our taking a walk in it in the evening, so we
gave a loose rein to our fancy, and a shot fired in a
pot-house close by, later on, enabled us to surround
it with any one of Bret Harte's tales of Roaring
Camp. The view over the lake would have been
lovely, and a solace in itself; but the railway officials,
quite regardless of art, pushed us alongside another
train, and we could see nothing but its unlovely
form. I omitted the mention of an enormous
troop of horses which we saw this morning, being
driven slowly over the plains by a couple of men.
riding. They looked very picturesque, and the
number of them, horses, mares, and foals, was im-
mense ; there must have been many hundreds, and
there were very good-looking ones amongst them,
all apparently in good condition ; but the train went
too fast for H. N. and me to complete our selection
for next season's hunting:.
CHAPTER X
ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC
NEXT morning (the 25th of May) we woke in con-
siderable uncertainly as to what was to become of
us ; got up at seven which was eight, as here
Pacific changes to mountain time, and watches have
to be put on an hour breakfasted, and received
various reports as to possible progress ; the general
tendency being that the bridge was nearly repaired,
that the train going west would pass first, and would
pass us ; that we should go on in an hour, and so on.
However, the hour proved a long one, and from
asking, with hesitation, whether we should have time
to visit the Chinese steam laundry, quite close by,
to settling down at the dining-room table for an
hour or two of drawing, was an easy transition.
The former was admirable ; everything was done
by steam washing, ironing, and mangling under
the guidance of three or four Chinese, who laughed
in their usual good-natured way when we said " Good
morning, John ; " and let us look at everything.
I then came in and set to work to wash (and dress)
my sketches, and hearing a train I said to myself,
" Hurrah, here's the west-going train at last."
168 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
But not at all ; for H. N. rushed in, shouting,
" Here's a wild engine ; come quick."
I ran out in time to see it going off at top speed,
the way we had come. It was the station engine,
which was standing on the line doing nothing, when
the coming train came in full swing, and hit it ;
this opened its " throttle," so letting the steam
on, and away it went at all rates, and must
have had a high time of it round all those curves !
Accounts differed as to whether the engineer
jumped off, or was not on ; anyhow, the engine went
off without him, and he was left lamenting ; it would
exhaust itself, they thought, and come to a stop, in
some sixteen or seventeen miles. The amusing thing
was to see the excitement of the spectators, who all
swarmed on the top of the stationary train, and
stood staring on the roof. Workmen and labourers ;
Pullman cooks in costume, from our train ; brake-
men ; Chinese from the laundry and everywhere else,
in white jackets and blue legs ; officials in semi-
uniform ; and newspaper boys ; and it was funny to
see them all drop off again afterwards.
Leaving the engine to its fate, we moved on, at
last, before twelve o'clock, and in some eight miles
arrived at the cause of all the trouble. The place
was not a ravine, but a very broad, wide, stream,
called (and rightly) Lightning Creek, which came
down in a torrent from the mountains with immense
force, and had displaced the flat wooden bridge, on
which we, at the slowest of paces, passed gingerly
ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC 169
over, safely. But the water was even then roaring
and raging over the planks on which the sleepers
were laid, and numbers of workmen were stand-
ing on floating logs close by, to make room for us.
The whole of this Northern Pacific line is laid
very low, and often follows the edges of rivers
with only just width enough for the single line
between the water and the hills; so, when, soon
after this, Lightning Creek was passed, the engine
emitted fearful shrieks, and slowed down to a
walk, we, of course, thought something else was
up (or down). Looking anxiously out, we saw
an old grey mare and foal, contentedly jogging
along on the track, close in front of the engine,
the conductor trotting along on foot after her ; for
some little way he could not get her off, as swamps
on the right and rocks on the left gave her no
chance. However, she presently descended on to a
grassy bit on the right, and we then crossed a very
fine long bridge, over a wide full-to-overflowing-
river called " Clark's Fork," which empties itself
into the Pend Oreille Lake. We followed the
course of it for a long way ; it was bringing great
quantities of trees and branches from the hills,
and as they came swirling down with great
rapidity, and as the water flowed close up to our
wheels, we expected that they might prove dan-
gerous ; but happily they caused no interruption,
except at Beaver creek, which flowed into the river
under a bridge, on which was a crane, occupied in
170 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
hauling away a dam of floating logs ; so this had to
move out of the way before we could proceed ; and
delayed us another half-hour.
We were chiefly amongst rivers and floods all
day, the former very pretty and wild ; mountains,
too, were constantly visible in the back-ground ; the
" Cabinet Mountains," part of the Rockies, on the
north of us, and "Shoshone" on the south all far
too beautiful to miss, and our detention at Hope did
us really a good turn, for we should otherwise have
passed through all this by night. Some of the Flat-
head Indians in that Reservation, which we passed
through before reaching Missoula, rode by, robed in
red blankets on red saddle-cloths, and looked very
picturesque and effective, as they were not too near.
We went very slowly nearly all day, as they were
evidently rather in doubt as to the safety of the
bridges, some of which were still wet from recent
overflow. I felt in no hurry, as there were charm-
ing flowers everywhere, and at one time the road-
sides were in chequers of blue and yellow, from
Doronicums and dwarf Larkspurs.
Towards evening, as we approached a station
called Arlee, we saw part of a train standing on a
siding with armed guards surrounding it, and the
cars crowded with ill-looking men ; just beyond it
tents, and a number of soldiers in the camp. The
train, it transpired, contained dynamiters they had
just captured, and they had orders to shoot any who
attempted to escape ; they had given some trouble
ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC 171
shortly before, and their guards had had to wire for
the military, who had just come, and, rather to my
suprise, were negroes, in a grey uniform. In a
railway shed adjoining were a hundred and eighty
of Coxey's army who had violated the law by
attempting to storm a train near Hope, and so were
similarly guarded. From the glimpse one had of
them, through a door half-opened for air, it looked
rather like the Black Hole of Calcutta, and I was
not sorry to think, as we moved on, that we were
leaving them all well behind.
We had passed miles and miles of burnt woods and
charred pine trees to-day, and I tried to sketch them
in the afternoon, the blue lines of rails fading into
a point, in the perspective of distance ; a great white
mountain rising beyond them, and these Forests of
the Dead on either side ; just here and there a
lumberer's cottage or shed, with, perhaps, a child and
a dog ; and a strangely lonely life they must lead !
Sometimes one saw a man fishing in the streams, of
which we crossed many, and one wondered where on
earth he came from. It was very hot to-day :
indeed, the heat was quite trying. After Arlee, we
ascended some four thousand feet, and it took two
engines to drag us up, but on the summit it got
cooler, and we sat out on our platform till ten
o'clock, enjoying the swing down the pass at some
sixty or seventy miles an hour, into a green un-
dulating plain below, more like our English downs
than anything I have yet seen ; only the mono-
172 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
tony was broken here and there by great Pine-trees,
standing up singly, or in occasional small groups.
We had crossed a small piece of the State of
Idaho in the morning, and were now in dusty Mon-
tana, and happily passed through a good bit of it
during the night ; for when we got up on Saturday
morning we opened our eyes on Livingstone and the
tine snowy spurs of the Rockies which surround it.
They are very fine here, rising in abrupt sharp peaks,
and one longed to see more of them, especially as
only fifty miles south of us lay the tantalising
Yellowstone Park, which is not yet free from ice and
snow, and consequently the hotels are not open, and
we cannot see it ; it is sad, as I believe it is quite
as fine as Yo Semite, and larger.
Livingstone is a big place, and by it flowed the
Yellowstone River, a dirty flood, whose course we
followed all day, till, towards evening, it left us at
Glendive, to run northwards into the Missouri.
The country was pretty and interesting as long as
we were in view of the Rockies, but about midday
we saw the last of them, perhaps for ever !
About eighty miles from Livingstone we crossed
the Big Horn river near Fort Ouster, and near there
happened the terrible tragedy of July 15, 1876,
when Ouster and his three hundred were destroyed by
the Sioux ; a massacre atoned for by the slaughter of
Sitting Bull, the grim old chief, and hundreds of the
tribe. Not all, though, for old Rain-in-the-Face
lives, and, nearer St. Paul's, we discovered that he
ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC 173
and several of the Sioux wer in the train in a
carriage by themselves going to some show in New
York. We went to see them, and found twenty-
one of them ; the chief himself with a stolid coun-
tenance, and many porcupine quills about him ; a
young half-caste squaw with two papooses was not
so bad-looking, and the men were mostly very tall
and well set up, much smarter and cleaner, and
apparently possessed of more intelligence, than the
miserable specimens we saw in Utah. The women
were extremely ugly, with wide faces, and their
horrid hair. Very dark "redskins" these are, and
covered with ornaments of quills and beads and
leather fringes. Rain-in-the-Face fought in the
Ouster fights, and helped in the massacre of the
whites, and also took part in the subsequent defence
when Sitting Bull fell, and the whites were avenged.
It recalled Longfellow's verses, which are so com-
paratively little known they will bear quoting here :
In that desolate land and lone,
"Where the Big Horn and Yellowstone
Roar down their mountain path,
By their fires the Sioux chiefs
Muttered their woes and griefs
And the menace of their wrath.
" Revenge ! " cried Rain-in-the-Face ;
" Revenge upon all the race
Of the White Chief with yeUow hair! "
And the mountains, dark and high,
From the crags re-echoed the cry
Of his anger and despair.
174 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
In the meadow, spreading wide,
By woodland and riverside,
The Indian village stood ;
All was silent as a dream
Save the rushing of the stream
And the blue jay in the wood.
In his war-paint and his beads,
Like a bison among the reeds,
In ambush the Sitting Bull
Lay with three thousand braves,
Crouched in their clefts and caves,
Savage, unmerciful !
Into the fatal snare,
The White Chief with yellow hair
And his three hundred men
Dashed headlong, sword in hand ;
But of that gallant band
Not one returned again !
The sudden darkness of death
Overwhelmed them, like the breath
And smoke of a furnace fire ;
By the river's bank, and between
The rocks of the ravine
They lay in their bloody attire.
But the foemen fled in the night,
And Rain -in-the- Face, in his flight,
lUplifted high in air,
As a ghastly trophy, bore
The brave heart that beat no more
Of the Chief with yellow hair !
ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC 175
Whose was the right and the wrong ?
Sing it, O funeral song,
With a voice that is full of tears,
And say that our broken faith
Wrought all this ruin and scathe
In the year of a hundred years.
After Ouster the scenery became rather monoto-
nous, varied with wide open plains, with flocks of
cattle, and large troops of horses. A man was
galloping along to- round up one of the latter, and
had to ride all he knew- to get to the head of them.
The day was much cooler, and after yesterday's heat
it was pleasant to sit out on the platform and watch
the Bad Lands, of which, as they began about Miles
City, we saw a good deal before night closed in and
hid the dreary expanse. It is a horrible district of
grey washy clay, water-swept into strange forms,
with grotesquely shaped ravines, and wide dry
stream beds, and no pasture of any kind. They
extend into North Dakota, which we crossed partly
in the night. These strange dreary formations of
clay rocks are even more extraordinary, I believe, in
Wyoming, which lies to the south-west of us. They
extend also into South Dakota, and are not every-
where as hopeless as here, for in places the land is
not entirely lacking in fertility, as there is some
good loam in it ; but as a rule they are sandy, and
covered with a soft sort of sandstone that the water
works into round boulders.
Some miles south of Bismark (where we awoke on
176 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the following morning) there is a river, a tributary
of the all-devouring Missouri, called the Cannonball
Biver, and its name is derived from these numerous
round sandstones with which its banks are covered.
But all round this district peculiar formations
characteristic of the Bad Lands are met with, sug-
gesting that this area was once a forest, later a great
salt sea, then a plain ; each representing a long
period of time, probably. In places there are
found pillars apparently of clay, but the hearts of
them are petrified trees, and the Indians regard
them with reverence, believing them to be the
bodies of their departed squaws. There was a
lovely sunset, with an orange and pink sky, which
threw up in great relief the intensely blue and per-
fectly level horizon, broken only by abrupt edges
which gave the land the aspect of a series of terraces.
We made up in time to-day about two of our lost
seventeen hours, but I fear we shall never catch
thirteen of them, as we can only hope to retrieve
two more to-morrow.
Our car being where it is, at the very end, we
have a clear view of the strange country we are
leaving, and the effect this evening was so odd, as
the railroad runs very straight, and we could see
it for several miles, without a curve in it. The lines,
when the sun was getting low, looked like two silver
threads, with nothing in the way of rails or ditch or
fence between them and the open country. Cows
and horses stray on it at their own sweet will ; and
ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC 177
I have a strong suspicion that the engine's cow-
catcher did knock an old cow off the line in the
evening. We often have to stop for them by day.
Query : What happens in the dark ?
We passed two " stations " this evening ; each con-
sisted solely of an upright post supporting a cross
board, on which a name was printed in large letters
not a building, or a sign of one, far or near ; but
they were further dignified by the usual notice
further on, " One Mile to Station." Possibly a town
may follow in course of time ; but it rather reminded
me of the man who, intending to build a house, put
up a front door, which remained by itself for a year
or two, till he subsequently surrounded it by a
cottage.
M
CHAPTER XI
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA
HAVING passed Medora and fairly entered Dakota,
I entered my bed, and before morning we passed
Mandan, where we leave mountain, and take up
central, time, so that when we woke at eight it was
really nine, on the morning of Sunday, May 2 7.
At some of the stations we passed, Geneva for
one, there were a few horses and waggons grouped
near a little church which little churches, and the
houses around, are like toys made of wood and
painted, and then dropped down anywhere on the
grass ; and most of the houses are like old ladies and
have false fronts ; to give them importance, I sup-
pose, the ordinary compass-roofed cottage presents a
square face to the person who happens to stand
right in front, but a step to the side reveals the fact
that the upper part is a wall only.
The country, especially east of Jamestown, on
the James River, was one great wheat-field. One
of its ranches, they say, is fifteen thousand acres
in extent, and employs fifteen reaping-machines at
once with four horses to each, so heavy is the crop.
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 179
I think it is in this part, too, that they say they
plough straight ahead all the morning and come
back along the next furrow in the afternoon. There
were some good Oak-trees, no Pines, and plenty of
irrigating rivers. The train gave us no time,
though, to
Pause, and purchase heads of arrows
Of the ancient arrow-maker,
In the land of the Dacotahs,
Where the falls of Minnehaha
Flash and gleam among the oak trees,
Laugh, and leap into the valley,
for, being behind time already, we could not, as we
had hoped to do, drive to see the " Laughing Water "
which is very near St. Paul's, and for which the
very artificial appearance of the Falls of St. Anthony
at Minneapolis are a bad substitute.
The Mississippi expends great energy in making
these falls, which are just at the entrance to the
city. They rush down a sort of semi-artificial
slope at different angles, and make much foam
and turmoil in a great basin below.
Over them were flying, after the manner of
swallows, some very large, long-winged, black birds,
like magnified swifts hawking for flies. They call
them locally Bullbats, and a subsequent visit to a
museum explained to me that they were Goat-
suckers.
From Minneapolis we had eleven miles to run to get
to the twin city, St. Paul's, across the river. We did
180 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the distance at the rate of sixty miles an hour ; but
all in vain ! For though we did get to St. Paul's at
8.20, it was just as the last Chicago train was
leaving ; and, though the Burlington line had
promised to wait for us, it, too, left just before we
arrived ; and perhaps in its worldly wisdom it was
right, for it would have taken fully an hour to get
the car's couplings altered before we could be hooked
on to a fresh line. This operation takes place
nearly every time we come on to a line operated by
a different company ; but, fortunately, the gauge
seems to be the same all over North America, so
there is no impediment that an hour or two's labour
cannot overcome.
We felt rather as if we had won a race but were
disqualified for having gone out side the post, or some
similar trifle. It was disappointing, but very likely
will not matter in the long run. We were run off
with by a tolling engine into a yard, arid here, after
they had done hammering and smashing at the
couplings, we slept in peace and quiet and darkness
till seven o'clock, when we were fetched out of the
yard and attached to the 7.40 train for Chicago.
May 2 8th. When we returned to consciousness
we found ourselves coasting a beautiful and very
blue lake Lake Peppin twenty miles or so long ;
and, almost without noticing any change, we left its
shores for those of the Mississippi, a wide clear river,
as yet uncontaminated by the Yellow Missouri, and
in flood, for the trees were in it up to their waists,
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 181
some nearly to their shoulders ; and, being in their
first spring green, the contrast was excessively
pretty. Corn-fields, in which the Indian corn was
just coming up, were frequent, but in point of fact
the river occupied all one side of us all day. We
had left Minnesota the other side of St. Paul's, and
were now in Wisconsin, looking over the river to
Iowa.
Shortly before we got to a place called Waterman
the conductor strolled into our car, and told us that the
next station was in possession of Coxey's army, and
that it was quite possible that they would make an
attempt to capture the train. He thought that
they might not venture, however, as our train car-
ried the mails, and the penalty for stopping a mail-
train would probably deter them. As a matter of
fact, we ran into the station pretty fast, and pulling
up very short, the mails were flung out, and we
went on again, after a scarcely perceptible pause,
passing through the dirty-looking crowd who
covered both platforms, but who did not, happily,
interfere with us. They would not have been
agreeable travelling companions, judging by the
expression of their faces and the yells with which
they greeted us.
There were many small towns, all occupied in the
lumber trade ; enormous baulks of timber floated in
the river, while the piles and masses of it on the
shore were enormous : the floating masses were
o
packed so close, it looked as if you might walk
1 82 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
along them any distance. Beyond this, which con-
tinued till about four in the afternoon, there were
no special features in the scenery, and the principal
excitement was occasioned by a pair of very pretty
birds, a little smaller than Thrushes, clothed in
black, with gorgeous orange and gold epaulettes,
nicknamed the " Soldier blackbird ; " * and great
depredators in the rice-fields of Carolina. They, and
a Canary, as they call the yellow American Gold-
finch,t sat on the telegraph wires for us to admire
them.
At Savannah the lovely river left us, but we were
there for some minutes, much interested in watching
the quick movements of a " stern-wheeler," as it
came swinging down the Mississippi ; while another
came up the river, towing a large raft. We then bore
more east, between green fields, Oak woods, and sun-
shine, but happily not great heat, to-day. Towards
evening we came into a small town, where a great
commotion was going on volumes of smoke and a
fire-engine galloping along a street indicated the
cause ; but we were not quite easy till we moved
off, as it was known to be a ruse of the Coxeyites
to get up a fire near a station, thus drawing off the
official attention from the approaching train, while
they lifted the rails. However, we again got off
without being " held up," and went on unmolested.
There was a beautiful sunset, all crimson, pink, and
grey, which, as usual, foretold rain ; we watched it
* Agelaius PJuKniceus. f Spinus tristis.
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 183
from the platform, where we sat till it got quite
cold, and soon after ten o'clock we ran into Chicago ;
and lay to for the night in the station, amid much
ringing of bells and howling of engines.
On Tuesday we woke early, and dressed hastily,
having promised Mr. S. that we would breakfast
before eight ; as he was anxious to get us out,
both to make the most of our time, and also that
they might have enough in which to overhaul the
" Wild wood," and clean and dust it in our absence.
The latter was particularly to be desired, as, in our
long trip from the West, of six days and nights
without leaving it, dust had accumulated in layers.
So by 8.30 we were all ready, and so was a close
carriage for unluckily it was raining and we drove
off to Armour's packing houses.
It was about an hour's drive, through the tall,
busy, crowded streets of this busiest of American
cities ; occasionally having to stop for a train as
it glided across one or other of the streets ; then
into the unattractive suburbs, where, though the
little houses had grass around them, the fashion of
flowers was not. Palms and Bananas are left
behind us, and only a few Guelder Roses, here and
there, were left. Eventually we came into a different
district, where cowboys were riding about ; houses
gave place to enormous numbers of cattle-pens,
in rows and rows, nearly full of cattle, in various
states of rage, discomfort, or philosophy.
In a sort of long court the carriage stopped, and
1 84 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
M. got out, obtained a guide, and inquired if
ladies went the rounds. The answer being yes,
I got out too, and began the tour. However, in
less than ten steps I thought it would not do, as
it was dirty and unpromising ; in two more M. sent
me and Byatt back ; a consideration for which I
shall ever feel grateful to him.
We sat in the carriage ; and a pocket full of
letters from home which Mr. S. had obtained for
me just as we started, helped to pass the three-
quarters of an hour till M. and H. N. returned.
They had seen all they wanted (and more, I
should think !) from seeing the bullock, or pig,
caught and killed, and all the subsequent process
carried out by machinery, to packing up the joints
for sale and distribution over nearly the whole of
North America ; as this and Kansas City are the
two great meat centres.
I was glad when they came back, and we drove
on, through Washington Park, to the site of the
World's Fair, the great Columbia Exhibition of last
year. They are now pulling down most of the
buildings, but many remain, and, though in a
crumbling condition, show enough beautiful
architecture to fill one with regret at their loss.
They were made of lath and plaster, and when the
latter goes, and exposes the former at all angles, it
rather takes off from the dignity ; especially when a
graceful figure poised on one foot on the top of a
ball, rather like John of Bologna's " Mercury," has
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 185
acquired a tilt, and looks as if falling from a height
in its over-anxiety to say, " Bless you, my
children."
One building is, happily, to remain permanently
a souvenir and sample of a glorious whole ; but it
was really quite sad to see the rich decorations and
ornaments and cornices, and pediments in colour,
and silver, all exposed to the rain, and crumbling to
pieces. Even these erections cost so much to build
and maintain for a year, that the whole thing was
scarcely a financial success, and, had they been solid,
ruin must have rewarded the venture. An enormous
wheel, larger, of course, than any other that ever
was, looked most foolish, sticking up alone in the
air, with a large piece broken out of its circle.
Leaving the fair ground its lakes, figures and
fountains we returned to the town, passing the
edge of Lake Michigan, looking grey and vast,
and drove on to see the Dearborn Monument,
a group put up in memory of a massacre by the
Indians in 1 812, of which a Mrs. Helm and her child
were the only survivors ; saved by the timely inter-
vention of a chief called Black Partridge, who is
depicted in the group as in the act of knocking
down the Indian, who was also in the act of knock-
ing her down ; and really it cannot have been much
comfort for her to live, when she turned round and
contemplated the features and expression of her
deliverer. The tree under which all this happened
grew close by till lateh r , when it was blown down,
1 86 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
and is now lying prone in the garden of Mr. Pullman
(of the cars) who has a nice house close by. - The
Pullman works are here ; so here, I suppose, the
invaluable " Wild wood " first saw the light.
To go into the history of Chicago of how it
began in 1804 ; in 1850 had a population of thirty
thousand ; in 1 890 of a million ; of how it has been
burnt by fires, swept by storms, tried by strikes,
and how it has always jumped up again like a
trodden daisy ; and how it now covers twenty-four
miles one way and eleven the other would be to
copy the pages and usurp the privileges of a guide-
book.
Besides, people might not agree with us in
thinking seven or eight hours long enough to see it
all in ; but we did that very fairly by going next to
the Auditorium, and on to the top of a tower
attached to it, in a lift. The lake was misty, and
the town smoky, otherwise the view would have
been very fine. So we did not spend much time
there, and, finding that it would be too late to go on
to Lincoln Park, we went to a photograph shop,
drove up and down Wabash Avenue, and one or
two more streets ; M. went to a knife shop, for a
particular kind of knife he had seen in use here.
When he got it, he found it was made in England,
and the man of the shop told him that they could
nowhere get steel good enough for the purpose,
except from Sheffield. We looked at some of the
fearfully tall houses, some two and twenty stories
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 187
high, and then went " home " i.e., to the railway-
station in Van Buren Street, of the Lake-shore,
Michigan and Southern line, where our dear car was
ready ; and thankfully and hurriedly got into it
about half-past two.
We left about three, going for a little way along
the southern end of Lake Michigan on our way to
Niagara, and passing through a part of no less than
six States before we got there, viz., Illinois, Michi-
gan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
It was not a warm afternoon, though the rain had
ceased, and we settled ourselves inside the car ; they
had just put up a new lamp in it (the old one had
St. Vitus's dance), and we could see to read quite
comfortably till the usual time for going to bed ;
during the night we skirted Lake Erie, which I
never could see, though I got up three times and
looked everywhere for it.
On the soth we woke at seven, which became
eight, as we had arrived at Buffalo, where time again
steals a march upon us. We puffed and jangled up
and down the station for a bit, finally starting,
hindside before, for Niagara, which we reached about
breakfast-time. Having finished that meal in the
car, we adjourned to an omnibus, which was drawn
up on the rails, anywhere, close to our car steps,
for the convenience of ourselves and luggage, and
then took us to the Clifton House Hotel ; a short
distance, but in that space the full majesty of the
great Niagara Falls was revealed to us. On the
1 88 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Suspension Bridge, as we crossed from the United
States into Canada, we had the finest view of it.
The Horeshoe Falls on the Canadian side were an
exquisite green and a mass of foam, but the Ameri-
can ones, which are straight, turned over in a tawny
yellow shade, and masses of foam also. They were
grand, but with a grandeur that did not surprise me,
and it was only afterwards that the full beauty
grew upon one.
" Thou dost speak
Alone of God, who poured thee as a drop
From His right hand, bidding the soul that looks
Upon thy fearful majesty be still,
Be humbly wrapp'd in its own nothingness
And lose itself in Him."
MRS. SIGOURNEY'S Niagara.
At the hotel, which is surrounded by nice wide
verandahs to both stories, we settled ourselves in
our rooms, looked with approving eyes at the big
bath-room attached, and then went out for a drive.
Recrossing the bridge, we went to the first point
of the American Falls, where the great mass of
turbulent tossing water dashes close past us, foams
with yellow and golden lights over the perpendicular
edge, and falls roaring below.
" Here," the driver gently adds, " is where the
suicides step over."
As if they were recognised performers.
Thence to Goat Island, the massive rock, which
divides the river and breaks it into the two falls.
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 189
During a sharp hail-storm we walked down some
rather slippery steps and planks, to a rocky point
whence we looked into the great chasm which forms
the Horseshoe Falls. We longed for sun a lovely
gleam came, and made a perfect rainbow beneath
us ! It was difficult to leave, so great is the fascina-
tion of this enormous mass of moving water.
Next, but a little way further on, we again got
out, walking along wooden bridges over the rapids
above the falls, to three sister islands in succession ;
and from the bridges, as well as from various points
on these little islands, you look with more and more
surprise at what appears to be a hill of water,
perpetually surging down upon you ; and you
almost ask yourself why it does not all come down
at once. I thought these acres of cascades and
rapids even more astonishing than the actual falls ;
which pictures and panoramas have given one an idea
of; but I had no conception of a river resembling
repeated shores of an angry sea.
These sister islands were fascinating. Little rocky
paths wound about them, bordered with Maple,
Balsam, Mulberry, and black Walnut trees, as green
and fresh as possible, though there were not many
flowers. Pink Crane's-bill, the inevitable Dandelion,
a bright scarlet Columbine, and Podophy Hum,* whose
large leaves make the children call it the umbrella
plant, were nearly all I noticed. On Goat Island is
a considerable growth of Sumach.
* Podophyllum peltatum.
190 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
From here we resumed our carriage, and drove
through the town to a point some way off below the
Falls to see the whirlpool a corner containing sixty
acres of mad water, whirling and twisting down.
From here we returned towards the big falls, passing
a wood bright with a pink undergrowth of the large
Crane's-bill, much of the "False Solomon's Seal,"*
and some few plants of the real one t in flower. We
stopped at the Lower Cascades (in which Captain
Webb was drowned while trying to swim them), and
to see them well we had to descend the face of the cliff
some two hundred feet in a lift enclosed in a perpendi-
cular chimney, which very much spoils the appearance
of the landscape ; but everything here is spoilt in a
way, by the shops of trash, and the clamorous people
who beset you at every point, inviting you to buy
all the things you could not possibly wish for. The
one thing we did wish for was our luncheon. So
Mr. S. kindly took us home, and restored us, be-
fore starting again for the town to see a meagre
little military display which they keep up to com-
memorate the war of 1861. Better forgotten, I
should have thought. A little body of soldiers
parade the place, and, first visiting the cemetery
to fire volleys over the graves of those who fell,
they then march back to the monument in the
town, which was cheerfully decorated by quantities
of very small flags (such as are stuck on wedding
* Smilacina racemofta.
t Polygonatum biflorum.
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 191
cakes), and there they read out the roll-call of the
dead. But there was a want of dignity and feeling
about it all ; and the field-officers in command all
wore different uniforms and billy-cock hats. After
they dispersed, which they did by getting into a
railway train drawn up quite handy, we drove on
to the cemetery, our horses shying like anything
at the electric cars that flitted playfully by ; and
how they escape accidents I cannot think.
The cemetery .was not very large, but has a
carriage-drive all amongst the tombs ; leaving it,
we came back over the Suspension Bridge, a marvel
in itself (and so it should be, for you pay for the
privilege at every turn) ; past the hotel and into
the Queen's Park ; and along it, till we were lost
in a fog made by the spray of the fall and had
to turn back and go up a hill by a very rough road
(and their roads are rough), till we had, from the
top, a very fine view, looking down on the river
and the Falls, before the former divides, and where
it glides calmly in blue serenity, and suddenly
dashes into, lines and lines of breakers and cascades,
till all culminates in the misty foam of the Horse-
shoe Falls. It was cold and grey and nasty, and
threatened rain, but we drove a little further, to
the scene of a battle-field, Lundy's Lane (another
miserable shop-trap for the unwary), and then home,
which was, we suddenly found, quite close, so we
must have gone a long way round something, to get
there so slowly. When we came in I tried a sketch
192 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
from my window, but my sketch-book was all too
small. We went down to supper before eight, and
Mr. S. and H. N. told stories of conjuring and
hypnotism against each other, for ever so long.
The next morning was dull and wet looking, so
my attempt to sit out and get a souvenir of this
wonderful place was soon frustrated. After much
trouble had been taken to arrange chairs, cloaks,
etc., in a suitable spot just in front of the hotel, and
I had sketched in my subject, and begun the colour,
the clouds took it in hand themselves and spotted
the paper all over, so that my sky looked as if it
had got the measles. I snatched it up, and with
paint brushes, boxes, and cloaks all between my
fingers, ran in to the shelter of the verandah, which
had just the same distance, but not the same fore-
ground. Nor did this last long, for at twelve
o'clock, we all started in an electric tram which took
us to the whirlpool and dropped us there where
we did not want to be dropped and left us a whole
half-hour till another tram came up (with an
English party on board), and we went on along the
course of the Niagara River, which after all, is some-
what hidden by trees, to Queenstown, opposite Lewis-
ton, and just short of where the river empties itself
into Lake Ontario.
Here we waited seven minutes, and all crowded
round a man fishing for Bass with minnows ; there
being no other more worthy object just there for
observation. General Brock's monument, erected
ST. PAUL'S TO NIAGARA 193
on the spot where he and his aide-de-camp fell in
1812, is rather higher up on the hill, and we passed
it coming and going. It is curious how well these
electric cars climb hills, and ours soon pulled us up,
and back to the hotel again in time for luncheon ;
which was acceptable both for its own sake and for
warmth, as the air was quite cool, not to say cold.
After luncheon they went off again in another
car, in the other direction, and then to the town,
where M. got me a- capital Indian blanket, made by
the Navaho Indians, in Arizona, a stuffed Balti-
more Oriole, and some other relics as souvenirs.
Meantime, I had what my heart had longed for, a
good undisturbed sit on the balcony, finishing my
sketch, which I completed about five o'clock ; much
to my dissatisfaction, but it was too cold to go on with
it ; and no paper that any paper-mill has yet turned
out is large enough to do justice to such a subject.
There were bits of green light in the Horseshoe
Falls, and rainbows in the American ones, that
were enough to drive one wild.
After dinner we sat reading in a room below, by a
fire, the first we have seen for some weeks. Then we
prepared for an early departure to-morrow by an early
turn-in to-night. Our Niagara time has been rather
spoilt by the inferior weather, for, though we have
seen everything, it was without the sunshine which
it much wants to perfect its beauty and to give it
the rich colouring of which our imaginations had to
supply a good deal. It is all in a small space, the
194 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
surroundings are not fine, and it is much spoilt by
its cockney treatment a contrast, in that respect,
to the unimpaired wildness of Yo Semite ! I think
the upshot of my mental reminiscence of Niagara
will be that it is a marvellous mass of water, but
that it has no other advantage ; no fine scenery, no
fine weather, and no fine flowers.
CANADA
WE left Clifton House Hotel at eight next day, and
drove down to the " Wildwood," which was in the
station, and got on board in soaking rain. If this
weather continues our scenery will be spoilt. We
hung about and dawdled considerably, and finally got
off about ten o'clock on the Canadian Trunk Line,
passing through some thoroughly English scenery,
rain included, till we got to Toronto, about one o'clock.
We went for a drive about the town, in a very slow
old carriage, which dawdled us to the Queen's
Hotel (for letters), to the Bank, up and down some
streets of exquisite commonplace respectability, with
a few electric cars, chiefly empty ; a few people
passed who seemed in no hurry, and some
" residence " streets looked more dead than alive.
The driver, who was rather deaf and entirely stupid,
seemed to think that our taste lay in iron bridges,
for he drove over as many as he could, till he came
to one which he said was the largest and finest of
all, but as it had been " washed out" he could not
take us over it. Much disappointed, naturally, we
196 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
turned round, and had some difficulty in persuading-
him to take us to the Government buildings, which
are the chief thing to see in Toronto, and, passing
the College, Observatory, and a fine Library, we came
to the new Parliament buildings, which ought to be
handsome but seem to have just missed that feature,
and are very massive, ponderous, and solid, in a rich
dark red stone and a kind of indescribable architec-
ture, with sloping roofs and little squashed domes.
We looked into a Roman Catholic church, de-
corated in a very poor style of second-rate painting,
and even the candles were the worse for wear. The
best and handsomest things in the town are, perhaps,
the Horse-chestnuts, with which it is abundantly pro-
vided down every street. From the top of a tower
there was a wide view of the town and the Lake
Ontario ; the latter boundless as the sea, and of a
grim, grey colour ; and the former really very large
and looking much better from a height. It has
1 80,000 inhabitants, though we had seen so few of
them ; the streets are long and straight, and the
houses mostly low and with flat roofs, why, I cannot
think.
When we got down again to the carriage we were
all so cold we decided to walk home, which we did,
trying, by the way, three photograph shops before
we could get any worth having, and they were only
moderately good. We wanted them more as re-
collections than for the real beauty of the place.
There was real beauty, though, and intrinsic merit
CANADA 197
in the cups of hot tea with which Lawrence wel-
comed our return to the car. Happily, we found it
where we had left it, and, by carefully avoiding
engines, picking our way through puddles, and
holding up umbrellas, we managed to arrive there
fairly dry, about five o'clock.
We are most fortunate in having effected our trip
when we did, for there have been fearful rains in
the West, and what with these, and the melting of
the snows from the mountains, several of the lines
of railway we have been over are now impassable. At
Colorado and Pueblo, on the Rio Grande Railway,
the floods are terrible ; and our beautiful Arkansas
River has broken several of the bridges. Near
Salida the railway is blocked by landslides and
wash-outs also ; Denver, the home and hope of all
consumptives, is completely isolated, all trains above
and below it being stopped ; and there is a big
wash-out between Colorado Springs and City, and it
is feared the latter will suffer greatly ; the strikes, too,
at Cripple's Creek and other places in that district, are
assuming a serious aspect. More, in the North- West, in
Washington and British Columbia, it is even worse ;
the Frazer is still rising, and the flood there threatens
to be more destructive than that of 1 882. Near there,
at Annacis Island, Government steamers have been
sent to rescue the ranchers and have saved many
lives, but the whole stock of the farms has, in many
cases, been swept entirely down the rivers, which
means total ruin ; and it is now a week since the
198 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Canadian Pacific has run a train through to the
West. From Spokane, which we passed eight days
ago, on the Northern Pacific, they report that the
whole town of Concunelli has been swept away.
We were, indeed, most fortunate to have escaped
these perils with only the slight inconvenience of
the seventeen hours' delay at Hope from the wash-
out at Lightning Creek, for even under our eyes
the great Willamette and Columbia rivers, Clarke's
Fork, and the Mississippi, had risen far above their
proper limits.
After our supper in the " Wild wood," M. and
H. N. and Mr. S. went out to enjoy a happy half-
hour at a panorama they had detected close by.
They found the building, but the panorama itself
was not at home, the owner having shut up and
gone away, in disgust at getting no spectators.
Meantime we were moved about a few feet in the
station yard, and a pretty little view of the lake
was revealed, so I sat down to a five minutes' sketch ;
but this small allowance was reduced to less, as a
thoughtless engine brought up a long empty car,
and dropped it and left it exactly between me
and my view. Irritating ; but I was soon consoled
by seeing M. walk home, as fast as was consistent
with dignity, in a long black waterproof, and an
increasing rain, which soon brought H. N. and Mr. S.
in also, with no dignity, but as sharp a run as ever
they could manage.
It poured in torrents all the evening, and we sat
CANADA 199
still in our armchairs, while Mr. S. added to our
meagre knowledge of American politics and educa-
tion, till nine o'clock or so, at which hour we ought
to have started for Ottawa, but there is not so much
" push " here, I think, as there is over the border,
and we go off more leisurely, and when convenient.
I suppose it poured all night, for it certainly was
pouring still when we opened our eyes on the 2nd,
and felt there could be no hurry about getting up.
So we dressed leisurely, and breakfasted, without
jolts, in a station ; for we had arrived about seven
o'clock at Ottawa. At ten o'clock our carriage
appeared, but it was quite too wet to start, though
it presented the enticing appearance of a real old-
fashioned London coach. We felt we ought to have
Lawrence and the cook to stand up behind it,
especially when the driver assured us it would hold
six inside ! After a bit, the weather improved a
little, and we drove up to the town, to the Russell
Hotel, then to the Government buildings, over which
we were shown.
There is nothing very striking about the interior.
The Senate House is all red, carpets and decoration,
while the Legislative Assembly is green. The
debates, though generally carried on in English, are
sometimes conducted in both languages ; and a
Member may make a speech in English and be
answered by a representative of the Opposition in
French. There was a Game Law Bill lying about, a
copy of which I begged, and very strict the law is,
200 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
both here and at Quebec, and also in Pennsylvania,
(and probably in other States also, though I had no
opportunity of knowing). They entirely prohibit
taking the nests of wild birds, and also regulate a
close season for the protection of all birds such as
Perchers, and song birds of all kinds, with some few
exceptions (such as the impudent little English
House Sparrow), from the ist of March to the ist
of September. The refined little American Song
Sparrow is carefully included in the reserved list,
together with all the lovely Red and Blue birds,
Finches, and Titmice of this sensible country. The
period and manner of taking all game birds and
beasts, Cariboo, Deer, Beavers, Otters, and so on, is
also limited under severe penalties.
The passages and corridors are small and some-
what dark, but some of the rooms are rather
handsome, and contain many portraits of late
Speakers and Governors-general. The guide took
us to the Library, where the librarian, Mr. Griffin,
was very courteous and showed us many points of
interest, and gave us much information. He is,
naturally, very proud of his fine library, and boasts
of having some books which even the British
Museum has not. It is a large octagon room lined
with red pine, and the books are beautifully
arranged all round, so that he can put his hand on
any one at a moment's notice, and carry it off to
his own room close by, to consult, and settle any
disputed point, as he promptly did in one case for us.
CANADA 201
The Speaker of each house has his own set of
living rooms, which we saw next, and envied the
lovely views which the windows command. The
course of the Ottawa River can be traced for a long
way, through the fine overhanging woods, till both
lose themselves in the distant hills, which to-day
were partially veiled in misty clouds. The Governor-
general's house lies half-hid in the woods, about
two miles off.
Resuming our ponderous coach, we were next
driven through rather handsome streets to the
outskirts of the town, to a bridge crossing the
Ottawa, whence we looked down into the Chandriere
Falls. They are fine and wide, but so utilised as saw-
mills that you get no good coup- d' ceil of them at
all. Quantities and masses and piles of lumber
line the union of land and water and destroy the
beauty of both. Just at the far end of the bridge
is an unearthly-looking place, a separate dirty fall,
splashing into a sort of whirlpool, which they call
Hell's Hole : nothing that goes in ever comes out,
but is whirled downwards.
From here we drove about the town a bit, to
various points, finally landing at the hotel for
luncheon ; and from it we walked out afterwards to
find one Colley, who proved to be Tolly, and had
the photographs we wanted. We secured some
pretty good ones of the Parliament Houses, and the
river, and also of the Rideau Falls, which we now
meant to go and see in the hour we had still avail-
202 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
able. However, when we returned to the hotel the
ponderous coach was not there, so we stepped into
an electric car, and were whizzed through the town
an excellent way of seeing 1 it quickly into the
suburbs, past the top of the Bideau Falls, which,
like the others, are too much in the town to be really
beautiful, on to a point-de-vue, where the thing
stopped, and allowed a few minutes for us to look
at the view of the country just above a lovely reach
of the river ; it loses itself in a very rich-looking
landscape, with low well-wooded mountains beyond ;
but nature was still cloudy, though trying to be
fine.
We were soon whizzed back, and it is quite funny
to feel the car cantering along the rather uneven
rails, and swinging round the corners of the country
roads ; the whole trip occupied half an hour, and
would have taken three times that in the coach.
We were deposited somewhere quite near the
station, which we left at 4.30 on our way to
Montreal. We travelled for four hours through
the still English-looking country of green fields ;
and the woodlands, which in autumn have the
glowing colouring for which Canada is famous.
Arriving soon after eight o'clock at Montreal we
got out, and walked along a sloppy platform to
a row of flies, much like the well-known and
familiar London cab. M. and I, and Byatt, and
my bag got into one ; H. N. and Mr. S. and other
bags following in another, and we drove along an
CANADA 203
endless labyrinth of shiny streets to the Windsor
Hotel. We found comfortable rooms, with the
usual bath-rooms, which are so good an addition
in all the American hotels, and seem to pervade
Canada as well as the States.
Hearing that there was a play going on, not far
off, M. and H. N. and Mr. S. went off instantly
to it, and were rewarded by considerable enjoyment
of the thrilling situations in the last acts of " A
Fool's Paradise.""
We awoke on Sunday to a finer morning and
drove to the eleven o'clock service at the Christ
Church Cathedral, not far off ; and heard the usual
morning service, in a big plain church, not very
large, and rather dark, performed by a slow, in-
audible old clergyman, who omitted the litany and
droned through a thirty-minutes sermon. We
came out about 12.40, and, all our energies and
faculties being set upon showing H. N. the town,
as it is, unluckily, his last day with us, we all
jumped into a street electric car ; and were prome-
naded first to one end of the town and then to the
other ; the latter part, on to a bridge over the St.
Lawrence, being the prettiest.
In the afternoon we went out again on foot, and
walked some way along the principal street, St.
Catherine's, to a crossing where a car picked us up,
and took us up a very steep incline, at a gradient
of about seventy-five degrees, I believe, up the face
of Mont Real (whence the name of the town).
204 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
It was objectionably steep, I thought, but the
cable did not break before we got up the seven
hundred feet, and we were landed in safety on the
top of the hill, which we proceeded to walk round,
and gloat over the glorious views which we got in
sparse peeps only, till we arrived at a platform
whence there was a splendid panorama of the town
below us. The wide, blue St. Lawrence flowing
slowly past it, with flat distant shores ; on either
side groups of low mountains executed in shades
of blue and violet; the "Green Mountains" far
away in front ; and behind us, to the South, the
" Adirondacks." The river here is about two miles
wide, and, with the help of the Ottawa, makes a
complete island of Montreal. Formerly its Indian
name was " Hochelaga," which in 1640 gave place
to "Ville Marie," a hundred years after Jacques
Cartier had first settled on the spot, and, I believe,
named the hill. Jacques Cartier is therefore the
local Columbus and hero, and gives his name to
many spots in the neighbourhood.
The town, as we looked down upon it, was of
an almost unbroken pink colour, with grey roofs ;
the only exceptions being the great grey Roman
Catholic Cathedral (copied from St. Peter's at
Rome) and the new grey City Hall and Post Office ;
otherwise all is blushing in pinky red. The popu-
lation, which thus began with Jacques Cartier alone,
has, in three hundred and fifty years, increased
to over 216,000 ; of which a great proportion is
CANADA 205
French ; and, indeed, only one-third are English-
speaking people. The prominent church towers
and steeples break the outlines very gracefully,
and our hotel in Dominion Square is also a fine
building, to which we now directed our steps ; for,
finding it was not a very long walk, we decided
not again to peril our lives in the fearful cable
car that had brought us up ; so we ran, and slipped,
and slid, down a very steep path, made easier by
many steps, till *we found ourselves at the hotel
doors, in such good time that instead of going
in, we went on across the handsome square, to the
great Roman Catholic church, where a mass was
going on. We heard some very fine music, smelt
some very nice incense, and stayed till all was over,
and the officiating priest had been escorted away,
under a white satin and gold parasol which was
held over him till he was out of sight. Had we
stayed a little longer still, we should have wanted
brown satin umbrellas held over us, as we recrossed
the square, for it began to rain, and soon came on
heavily again, after having been a real fine day.
At dinner we had some of what they called " Mara-
schino Punch," but it was very poor sport, being
merely water ice flavoured with weak maraschino
and too much sugar. They always have sherbet
(or water ice) with their meat. We were all very
sad at having come to the end of H. N.'s last day,
and Mr. S. did not cease twitting him with how
he would miss the comforts of the car ; a fact,
206 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
of which he was only too well aware, and he had
taken a sorrowful leave of the "Wild wood" last
night.
On the fourth we got up early, breakfasting at
seven, and then we took leave of H. N., who was to
go to-day by train to Albany, by steamer down the
Hudson to New York to-morrow, in time to embark
on the Paris on the sixth. The sorrow of parting
was rather intruded on by the supposed loss of my
umbrella, which caused everybody to fly in all direc-
tions in search of it, and meanwhile it was discovered
in the fly with us, close to me, where it ought to be.
For we left first, an hour before he did, and drove
down to the Canadian Pacific station, where we
found the "Wild wood" in a more accessible spot
than where we had left it, and Lawrence smiling a
welcome.
M. asked him if he had had a quiet time.
"Well, indeed, sir, we've been looking around
pretty lively, to get all fixed up neat again."
And neat and clean it was ! After a few minutes
we were off again, at the rear, as usual, of the train,
and had a pleasant journey ; more or less, along the
shores of the great river, with green fields divided
by rail fences, and pretty woods of Oak, Maple,
Balsam, and Sumach. These fields are sometimes
mere narrow strips, which look very senselessly
small, but are often the extent of the owner's
property, as land is inherited by all the sons of the
proprietor, who may himself have had a good large
CANADA 207
field, but, divided amongst four or five heirs, it
dwindles into these foolish little strips. The land-
scape broke into low hills as we neared Quebec,
which we reached about three o'clock, after a seven
hours' journey, for some part of which we had sat
on the platform outside, as it was very sunny and
bright, and not cold a pleasant return to our former
good weather.
Arrived at Quebec, we were ready to go and
explore the town, though Mr. S. was too busy to
accompany us, as he had to go and make definite
arrangements for our trip to the Saguenay, which
broke new ground to him. We set off in a fly, and
were driven along very quaint, narrow streets, and
then up very steep ones, to Dufferin Terrace, a wide,
boarded one, in front of the Chateau Frontenac
Hotel, and having a most lovely view of the harbour ;
the town of Levis opposite, and the very wide river
going North to the sea, and some soft, lovely moun-
tains beyond ; the hills also stretching away to the
South-west and making a most magnificent land-
scape. Behind us came first the hotel, a very pic-
turesque building, and a little further, a tall, grey
obelisk in memory of Wolfe and Montcalm, who
both fell at the siege of Quebec in 1759, and who,
enemies in life, but united in death, are thus held
in equal honour.
Next we went to the citadel, on the summit of
Cape Diamond, and were handed over to the
guidance of a soldier of the Canadian Militia, an
208 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Irishman, who showed us all the points of interest,
beginning with the King's Bastion, with an enormous
sixty-five-pounder which they used to fire daily at
noon. But a lamentable circumstance happened
some four years ago, which was attributed to the
concussion, and they never fire this gun at all now.
A tremendous landslip occurred just below the end
of the bastion, and an enormous rock rolled from the
end of the terrace, and buried completely, in one
instant, the houses by the river and their occupants,
to the number of forty-seven. Our driver, a rather
amusing French Canadian, told us all this on the
terrace, and seemed anxious that we should poise
ourselves on the tips of some iron railings that we
might see better where the houses were and are not.
Fearing to follow the fallen rock, without the same
historical results, we were contented to lean over
more gingerly.
To return to our guns. They now fire a smaller
one at noon and at 9.30 P.M., so the citizens have no
excuse for letting their clocks go wrong. There was
in the middle of a sandy courtyard a little gun,
looking like the great-grandchild of the big one ; it
was captured by the English at the battle of
Bunker's Hill, in 1 75 5, and is made of bell- metal, and
looks green and innocent.
From another bastion we looked down on the
steep, grass-grown slope below the fortification, up
which the English, led by Wolfe, advanced in the
dark to scale the heights, to reach the Plains of
CANADA 209
Abraham, where the French, under Montcalm, were
encamped. A post stuck in the ground marks the
precise spot where Wolfe was struck down by a
French sentinel ; but he recovered himself and fought
his battle, only to be shot dead in the moment of
victory, just after Montcalm, too, had been mortally
wounded. A low stone pillar, with a helmet and
sword at the top, and the inscription,
" Here fell Wolfe Victorious 13 September, 1759,"
marks the spot.
The plains are still scored with the traces of the
redoubts and entrenchments which surrounded the
French army, though they are now a large, flat,
peaceable expanse of thick green pasture. A gloomy-
looking prison lies between them and the town, and
still nearer to Quebec are the handsome Government
buildings, where the business of the State of Quebec
is carried on.
Looking down on the river from the bastion, they
also point out a bend in the St. Lawrence that is called
Wolfe's Creek, where he left his ships and disem-
barked in the dead of night the five thousand men who
achieved the victory that cost him his life, and allowed
him to see so little of Canada after his long voyage
across the Atlantic ; for, as I understand, he had only
quite recently arrived from England, so that the
French were completely taken by surprise. My
historical recollections, being revived by the Irish
soldier and the Canadian driver, may, perhaps, not be
210 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
absolutely reliable in all details, but they make a
very connected story, which is confirmed by the
monuments.
To expiate any untruths he may have inadver-
tently told us, I suppose, the driver next tumbled
us out at the door of a Roman Catholic church, and
the streets are so curiously sloping at the sides, we
did, very nearly, literally slip out. It was a white
and gold church, but with no incense, no music, and
very little ornament. The next one to which he
took us was the Cathedral, and this was much richer
and more ornate, and would have been handsome,
but for being too narrow in its proportions. It was
all grey and gold.
Having exhausted the town, and ourselves, we
were swung down the steep street, aptly called "Rue
c6te de la Montagne," which we had crawled up,
and deposited at the door of the station ; finding our
" Wildwood " in a very nice quiet corner outside it,
in a sort of retired street.
We comforted ourselves with hot tea while
awaiting Mr. S.'s return, which however soon took
place, and he drove up in a little caleche, the funniest
carriage I ever saw, and peculiar to Quebec. It
holds two people inside, is drawn by one horse, and
is shaped like a quite round basket on C -springs.
He has arranged all our trip capitally, and found
all the railway officials most kind and courteous.
We settled down for the evening, feeling it a real
luxury to be in our dear car, which means at home,
CANADA 2 1 1
and yet not be shaken to bits all the time. We
took such advantage of the unusual stillness in the
way of writing up journals and letters, that I began
to fear the ink would not hold out. We sleep on
board " all aboard " is the cry for " take your seats,
please " and go on to-morrow morning. Having
passed a good and very quiet night, we were up by
eight o'clock, to see the view as we left the city.
Stepping out on to the platform to enjoy the sight
and smell of a lovely morning in spring for it is
only spring here, though we had summer last week
we became aware of a wedding-party on the
platform, very much dressed out, and awaiting the
bride with handfuls and bags of rice. Presently
there appeared in their midst an excited little
woman in drab, and an anxious youth in a top hat,
who were duly pelted, after they had kissed and
hugged every soul on the platform. Such an
amount of kissing I never saw before, anywhere.
We were soon on our way, attached to a composite
train, freight and cars, as there is not traffic enough
to run many trains on this line, the Quebec and
Lake St. John Railway. The journey was pretty
from the beginning, going at first through a little
cultivated grass land, but soon getting into a region
of stunted Fir-trees, evidently now only recovering
from the long snows of winter ; there was an under-
growth that looked like Bilberries, and a good deal
of Fern, but it all had a very Northern look, and
reminded us much of Norway. A little further on,
2i z A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the hills got higher and wilder, and we crossed
many lovely rivers, and the Falls of the Jacque
Cartier, a salmon river, were simply lovely. Two
streams seemed to meet, and tumble into each
other's arms, and then go on together whirling and
valsing over the rocks, glancing in sunshine and
sparkling spray. A blue lake, Sergeant Lake, is
wonderfully pretty, encircled by green trees and
Firs, which come down to the very edge of the
water ; and we wound slowly up the Lawrentian
Mountains, between forests, sometimes green, some-
times broken by great grey rocks, till we got to the
Biviere-a-Pierre junction. Here they put our car
right side up, by running us round a triangle of
rails ; for hitherto we had been travelling backwards,
this was much nicer, as it made our platform avail-
able again.
We were now entering the Cariboo country ; a
network of trout rivers and woods full of game.
Soon there appeared a most beautiful river, the
Batiscan ; for about thirty miles it flowed by the side
of the railroad and was simply magnificent, all
rapids and cascades, with a great smooth pool for a
short way, but all white with bubbles from the wild
cataracts above, which we could see and hear for
miles. It was a wild, wide, raging torrent, and
at certain rocky turns and twists was perfectly mad.
Its deep brown smoothnesses were delicious in the
middle of rolls and wreaths of white foam. This
river, which flows into the St. Lawrence below
CANADA 213
Quebec, rises in the beautiful Lac des Grandes Isles,
which we skirted. It is about twenty miles long
by eight wide, and is famous for its excellent fishing.
It is full of attractive and very green islands, with
sandy beaches. Some fishermen in our train were
persuaded by the landlord of the little inn to get
out and make a stay there, before going on to
Roberval, and I fancy they were quite right to do
so.
The valley was narrow as long as we were follow-
ing the course of the Batiscan, high rocks were
on our right, and similar ones defended the other
side of the river, itself varying from three to six
hundred feet in width, so that, though not quite
a ravine, there was generally not much space to
spare besides what was occupied by the river and
our tortuous railroad, which had to follow all the
windings of the stream. After midday, however,
all this changed, and we entered, and traversed
for miles and miles, a most desolate country the
sad result of forest fires, one of which devastated
the whole district only some two years ago ; and
the conductor of our train told me that it was
blazing fiercely as they came through it, and they
had to rush the train through at full speed to
escape with their lives. Such an aspect of dead
country I have nowhere else seen, for, this fire
having been so recent, even the underwood had not
had time to recover at all, and the great black
trunks of the trees rose out of a soil nearly as
2H A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
charred and black as themselves. About thirty years
ago there was an even worse and more extraordi-
narily rapid fire, over this same district, which burnt
up every tree, and neither beast nor bird escaped.
It was not till we got in sight of the great St.
John's Lake, and nearly to Chambord, that the
landscape recovered a more cheerful aspect. The
train had stopped at Lake Edward station for the
passengers to snatch a hasty dinner, and M. and
I. wandered a little way in search of flowers, but
found only a few, and those Norwegian friends,
such as Dwarf Cornel,* Trientalis,t and the Maian-
themum Canadense, for which, small as it is, I can
find no simpler name. Indeed, there was much
to-day both in vegetation and scenery that recalled
Norway. We subsequently passed a tread-mill
being worked by a horse, who looked most dread-
fully bored. They were making use of it to bore a
hole in the ground.
St. John's Lake, whose Indian name is Pikona-
gami, appeared in sight long before we reached the
terminus. It is about forty miles in diameter every
way, of a most curious colour, a dark purplish red,
with waves like the sea ; and it affords wonderful
fishing, as the Ouananiche lives in it, and gives
excellent sport, as well as excellent eating. The
theory is that it is a salmon which never gets down
to the sea ; but it does not exceed four or five
pounds weight, as a rule.
* Cornus Canadensis. f Trientalit Americana.
CANADA 215
" The Wild wood " was the first car of its kind
that had penetrated so far north, and I believe it
was a question with the authorities at Quebec
whether its great length would allow of its traver-
sing safely some of the sharp curves along the
Batiscan valley. But they spared no trouble to
ascertain this, and indeed their courtesy throughout
was extreme, for they arranged and altered their
usual schedule so as to enable us to see as much
as possible of the "beauties of the counties of Quebec
and Chicoutimi. That our car was a novelty was
evident by the astonished scrutiny of one of the
men who looked over the train when it pulled up at
one of the stations.
" Whatever is this ? " he said, " something that's
never been on our line before."
And he walked round it, looking it up and down
as if he expected it to turn into something else
under his eyes.
Passing Chambord junction, and leaving the bulk
of the train there, the engine ran our car up to the
Roberval Hotel, and dropped us at the bottom of the
garden.
On purpose to accommodate us, the freight cars
were detached before this, I believe, in order to get
us up to Roberval an hour before time and, equally
to oblige us, they kept another train waiting from
about five o'clock to 7.30, in order that we
might have an hour and a half to dine at Rober-
val and eat Ouananiche. Just before reaching it,
216 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
the engine pulled up on a bridge, as the conductor
wished to point out the great falls of the Ouiat-
chouan, a magnificent mass of foam and misty spray
in the beau milieu of the green woods ; the Ouiat-
chouan river there, widening into a tarn, and falling
two hundred and eighty feet, resumes its character
as a river below, and flows into the great red lake
close by.
It was six o'clock when we got out of our car,
and walked up the garden to the hotel, where they
were expecting us, only the waiter explained we
had come too soon, as he had not had time to put his
collar on. However, we got over that, and, with
his collarless help, I established myself in an upper
room, and had nearly half an hour to attempt
a sketch of this bewildering lake, before dinner
and its Ouananiche were ready. This was an
unusually large allowance of time, but never was
a subject so perplexing or so subversive of all the
rules of painting ; as the water, which is generally
expected to be blue, or white, or reflective, was
a dark, turbulent, opaque red. How to make the
difference, therefore, between land and sea, and
add atmospheric distance to the hills, and execute
an elaborate evening sky, in so short a time, was
a problem which was only partially solved, when
two or three waiters, in turn, came to fetch me for
the Epicurean meal below.
It certainly was excellent, and the fish was worthy
of its renown. As soon as dinner was over and we
CANADA 217
looked out again at the weird lake, we saw the
engine return with our " Wild wood," into which we
stepped, and at Chambord were attached to that
patient train, going on through the semi-darkness of
the Northern night to Chicoutimi.
There was something very fascinating in the wild-
ness of our whole journey to-day, for, though we
could not see them, we knew that several kinds of
Deer, Beavers, Otters, grey and black Foxes, besides
Ermine, Sable, and Minx, all inhabit the country
around St. John's Lake ; that formerly it was the
centre where the great councils of the Indians used
to assemble the Hurons, Algonquins, and the
Montagnais, and hither came also from the North
the diminutive but highly skilled race the Nasqua-
pees of Ungava, who could smell fire from afar, and
to whom spirit-rappings revealed the unknown
that into this lake flow vast rivers from the North
a fine wild, partly-explored, sporting country and
from the West, such as the Ashuapmouchuan, the
Mistassini, the Peribouka, and the Matabachuan ;
while only the Saguenay flows out.
The outfall of the lake into this river, where much
of the fishing takes place in canoes, forms a series of
seething rapids, which continue, with brief interrup-
tions, to Chicoutimi, a distance of forty miles, and
the head of the steamboat navigation. And here it
was that we arrived in the night, and "lay to" in
the station till early morning.
We were told that the steamer, the Saguenay,
2i8 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
was coming up on a tide, and the captain had
promised to blow his whistle, and then allow us half
an hour to dress. So we had everything ready to
jump into our clothes, and of course I woke too soon
and thought I could hear it. However, at 3.5 there
was no mistake about it, and up we got, and were sur-
prised to find the sun well up before us ; and broad
daylight was shining as we got on board a fair-sized,
very hot steamer, lying close to the railway station.
The main cabin, like a long corridor, was roasting,
being all heated with very hot air a contrast to
that out of doors on deck, which was frosty and
nippy. After a brief examination of our quarters
and of the scenery which at that point offered
nothing very remarkable, though it included a
bishop's palace, and some fine, though partially in-
visible, falls at Chicoutimi itself we decided to sleep,
if we could, and at once. So I got two quiet hours
in my berth, while M. slept on a sofa in the hot
cabin, and we both woke finally about seven o'clock
in Ha ! Ha ! Bay.
CHAPTER XIII
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC
HA ! HA ! BAY is very pretty, with low rocky shores
overgrown with Very bright green willows and some
firs. We sailed on at about eight knots an hour,
and after breakfast below came up before nine o'clock,
just at the beginning of the fine scenery which is
made so much of ; and for some miles it certainly was
excessively pretty, though not so melodramatically
grand as the books make out. It is a wide river,
regarded as a sort of split of volcanic origin in the
Lawrentian mountains, of very dark water, with two
or three fine headlands, some eighteen hundred feet
high, especially Capes Trinity and Eternity ; and in
the bay between them the rocks come down perpendi-
cularly into the water ; and the river is, they say,
fathomless.
There is rather a curious optical delusion there ;
the steamer appears to go so close to the rocks as it
skirts the bay, that you almost expect them to touch,
and yet a stone, thrown from the boat and well
directed by a man's strong arm, fails to reach the
rocks, and falls vexatiously short, with a splash, into
the river.
220 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
There are some lovely views, especially on the
southern shores, where we pass St. John's Bay and
the mouth of the Little Saguenay ; and finally at
Tadousac, a hundred and forty miles from the
" Great Discharge " (as they call the point where it
leaves its parent lake), where, through a mighty
chasm in the mountains, it flows into the stately
St. Lawrence. It is nearly two miles across at this
outlet, and yet a very little way from it you look
back and can hardly see the break that it makes, so
quickly and compactly do the mountains close up
upon it.
We reached Tadousac about midday, and, as
the boat waited there an hour, which indeed
seemed its usual allowance at every stopping-
place, we got out for a refreshing, but hot, walk,
to explore a Roman Catholic church, supposed
to be the oldest in America ; it had much of the
dirt, though none of the charm, of antiquity, about
it. Its situation was lovely, on high ground over-
looking the wide St. Lawrence, and itself overlooked
by the higher round hills known as the Mamelons
of Tadousac. Returning from our dusty explora-
tions we passed a cottage garden and caught sight
of a lovely pink Cyprepedium* in flower. It was
the Moccasin Flower, which grows all over this
part of Canada, and southwards to North Caro-
lina : but is becoming alarmingly rare in settled
neighbourhoods, and, like the Indian whose name it
* Cyprepedium Acaule.
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 221
recalls, it loves primitive forests, and the deep
seclusion of mountain fastnesses. It cannot be
forgotten, once seen, with its large flower nodding
at the summit of its stalk, its rose -pink lip veined
with deeper red like a delicate silk bag. I longed
to gather and paint it, but it was private property,
so I reluctantly left it ; and subsequently virtue had
its own reward, a rare but gratifying event.
Shortly before we reached Tadousac, M. had made
friends with a particularly charming patriarchal old
gentleman, with snow-white hair. He proved to be
Mr. John McLaren, a Scotchman, originally from
Perth, and still at the age of eighty- one an active
ranger of these forests, and full of wonderful know-
ledge of them. They had a pleasant talk, but too
short a one, as his mind was stored with forest lore,
which one would have loved to have heard more of.
Tadousac was his destination, but before they parted
M. and he exchanged souvenirs, and we are not to
forget to send him a good walking-stick from the
land of his ancestors, which he has long been
wishing for. He says that after these terrible forest
fires have desolated his beautiful woods, a growth
of hard wood invariably follows from the ashes of
the soft.
Re-embarked on our vessel, she went straight
ahead, across the St. Lawrence for twenty miles, to
a place called Riviere du Loup ; a pretty village.
M. and Mr. S. got out for exercise to pass the
waiting hour, but, having already had a two-mile
222 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
walk in a rather hot sun, I was well content to sit
still and amuse myself by a sketch.
We were lucky in having a really lovely day, with
exquisite lights and shades, over this immense river,
which might be the sea, as far as both ends are
concerned, though the sides are bordered with
picturesque hills and islands, in delicate shades
of blue and purple. The river is a tidal one very
nearly to Quebec, and there is a great deal of motion
and pretty ripple on the surface, though not enough
to be perceptible on the steamer. It took us two
hours and a half to reach our next point, Murray
Bay, some eighty miles down the river from Quebec,
and, having had our last meal, and finding we were
to stay there till ten o'clock, we set out for a walk.
We wound up a hilly high road, bordered with
real good grass, scarlet Columbine, and sweet wild
Violets ; then by a track past an uninhabited house,
and up a little footpath through a Fir wood, carpeted
with dwarf Cornel, and at last began to wonder
where we were going to. However, there was
nothing for it but to go on and up till we could at
least see out ; before very long we emerged on a
road, and wandered along it a little way collect-
ing flowers, when suddenly my maid came
to me :
" Here are two pretty pink ones, my lady."
I nearly screamed. " Cyprepediums ! Where did
you get them ? "
" Close by, and I think there are some more."
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 223
I flew to the corner, and there amongst Ferns and
grass was a nice little settlement of lovely ones,
growing wild. So now I have gathered a wild
Orchid, as well as seen a Humming-bird ! We
gathered flowers and roots, and blessed the
steamer's delay that gave us this rare opportunity,
and repaid my honesty of the morning.
Now, however, we had to get back to the Bay,
which we did by walking down a long hill overlook-
ing it, and watching a great shoal of Herrings,
pursued and surrounded by some enormous white
fish, who kept showing themselves on the top of the
water, and looked immense from where we were
" Marsouins " the natives call them ; we called them
Herring- whales.
At a deserted hotel, where we went in the vain
search for photographs, we found nothing alive but
Frogs, who were singing sweetly ; for it had not
yet " opened " for the season. Murray Bay is, it
appears, a summer resort, and then the uninhabited
house and the empty hotel are filled with the rank
and fashion of Canada.
Canada, by the way, seems to be derived from
the Iroquois word Canatha, a collection of wig-
wams; and as they pronounce "th" hard like a
"d," it is at any rate a probable origin. From the
Frogs, we walked down steep wooden steps to the
pier, and, having escaped death at the hands of
two fierce dogs who threatened our lives with much
noise, we regained our steamer at about nine
224 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
o'clock, after a delightful two hours' stroll. We sat
and stood about on deck, admiring the view, which
in the fading light was mysterious and pretty ; and
before we went below, the crescent moon came out,
and was pretty too, and recalled the last time we
had watched a young moon on the plains of
Nevada. We finally retired to our berths, which
were really not so uncomfortable as many, and
during the night we continued our journey, so that
waking at five A.M. on the 7th of June we found
ourselves in sight of Quebec.
It was a lovely approach to Quebec, and it
loomed in front of us, in a delicate uniform grey of
the softest shades ; so I got my book, and made a
grey sketch of it from the windows of the deserted
cabin. Subsequently I finished dressing ard before
seven o'clock we left the Saguenay in the port,
and walked up the steep hill to the " Chateau
Frontenac " just above. A porter carried our
modest luggage, and we soon arrived at the hotel,
wanting our breakfast. Our wants were soon (and
handsomely) supplied, and by nine o'clock we were
ready to set out for a drive ; Lawrence had in the
meantime arrived with the rest of our bags from
the " Wildwood." He had brought it back from
Chicoutimi yesterday, " dead-head " as they call it
(which means empty), and arrived here in the even-
ing. So, knowing it was there, and safe, Mr. S.
was happy again ; for it had been rather an experi-
ment altogether, and it would have been dreadful if
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 225
it had caught on a curve and got " ditched " in the
Batiscan.
But to resume our drive from Quebec to the
Montmorenci Falls ; we went first across a long
bridge over the beautiful Charles River which passes
on one side of Quebec, and on through a village
smelling of Lilacs, and much decorated with flags, in
honour of some Roman Catholic observance ; passing,
on our right, an old building, half barrack and half
farm, where General Wolfe and his army spent the
night preceding his ill-fated victory. In about
eight miles we came to the Montmorenci River,
where we got out, and walked along a well-kept
woodland walk to a height, whence we looked
across a chasm to the well-known Montmorenci
Falls.
They are some two hundred and fifty feet high,
and come shear over the brow of a cliff, headlong
into the St. Lawrence.
The grey and red cliffs, over which the river falls
in an unbroken sheet of white and fleecy foam, are
bare, and severe, and grand.
There were steps down one side of the rock, by
which you could reach the shore if you wished it,
but I preferred stopping half-way, and I had a quiet
half-hour, in which to make a rough unfinished
sketch. M. had a still quieter time, as when I
came up to rejoin the party I found him fast asleep;
so we ruthlessly shouted "all aboard" and woke
him up, as there was yet much to see. We were
226 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
all, I must admit, most desperately sleepy this
morning, after two broken nights, and took it in
turns to drop off, even in the carriage.
Rejoining the latter at the little inn where it had
put up, we were driven for about a mile, by a very
rough road, across some fields, including a bridge
made of a few boards thrown alongside each other,
and in no way fastened, to the top of a little narrow
path which led down a bank, and down which we
shortly found ourselves slipping and sliding till
we came to the edge of the river, which here goes
through a most curious formation of steps the
Natural-steps, they call them : and most curious they
are. The whole of the rocks, on either side of the
stream, being apparently a series of steps and ledges,
the channel of the river is much contracted by them,
and the water rushes through in little cascades, and
the rocky steps tower above it and almost close it in.
It is impossible to describe it, but it is certainly one of
the prettiest things we have seen, and I was vexed
to have no finished sketch of it ; especially when I
thought it over afterwards. Colour, form, and all
surroundings were most inviting ; but time and
also the very wet rocky ledges we had to climb
about on to see it well offered impediments.
Scarlet Columbine was growing all over on the
rocks, and with masses of large blue Dog Violets,
made an admirable foreground.
Home, however, we had to go, again driving
through the Lilacs and spring flowers ; and we seem
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 227
to have gone back some weeks since leaving sunny
California.
We returned to the hotel, and got a hasty lunch-
eon, while our driver went to change his horses,
and we were ready, when he was, for a fresh start to
Lorette, a village possessing a waterfall. Before
we got there, however, rain came down amain, a
great thunder-storm swept over the hills and en-
veloped us in the edge of it ; luckily no more, but
that was enough- to obscure the view both of the
Falls and every thing else for awhile ; as we had
to shut the carriage to keep the rain out, and
so kept the view out also. We got a fair idea of
the Falls, but the driver mixed up waterfalls with
waterworks, and wasted time taking us to the
latter, where, except perhaps to hydraulic and
scientific minds, there was absolutely nothing to
be seen. We saw huts of the Huron Indians, and
could easily imagine the occupants. It cleared
before we got back to the Chateau Frontenac where
I "descended," M. and Mr. S. going on to explore
a few shops. We had a short evening, being so
sleepy we could hardly keep our eyes open long
enough to see the way into bed.
Friday, June 8, and a lovely morning ! I had
rather hoped to get up early to sketch the beautiful
harbour and hills from my window, but slept too
well, and too late, and had time for nothing, be-
fore starting at 9.30 to drive to the Chandriere
Falls, some ten miles away. We had the same
228 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
carriage and driver, who professed to know his
way, but before we got far it became evident that
he only knew in a general way in what direction
they lay, and that nobody ever went to them ; and
we pursued an anxious course, first crossing,
carriage and all, by the ferry to Levis, and thence
along very pretty roads, the St. Lawrence on
our right, and fine rocks on the left overgrown with
the scarlet Columbine* which seems to be the
prevailing weed of this part of the world. It has
long slender straight spurs, and very long yellow
stamens like tassels. The driver asked his way
here and there, and we traversed successfully the
French-looking village of Etchemin, with its little
waterfall, which appeared to be executed in lengths
of yellow spun sugar. For nine miles we went on,
in uncertainty, till we found we had passed the
turn to the Falls, which we could hear plainly, and
arrived at the Chandriere river, above them.
Driving back about a mile, we got out at the house
of an old French farmer, and, under his friendly
guidance, walked across several green fields, with no
path, or trace of one, till we got to a view so fine
it took one's breath away ! Magnificent falls, right
opposite to us, one hundred and twenty feet high
and three hundred wide, raging and tearing, in
white and tawny foam, into a black and tawny
abyss below ! The finest, loveliest thing I have
seen yet ! More beautiful than Niagara, though of
* Aquilegia Canademis.
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 229
course not so vast, with such a blue wide cascading
river above it, and such a black raging current
below ! We were on a sort of cliff, and by a slight
curve in the river, almost in front of it, and were
deluged with spray where we stood ; but there was
nothing for it but to draw, spray and all, or not at
all ; so they got me a dead old tree to sit on, and a
dead old branch for my feet, and I did all I could,
but it would have taken six hours and three
sketches to do it justice. It is simply glorious,
and the Falls seem to splash and curl over each
other at varying angles in a manner quite different
to the usual fashion of waterfalls ; and the effect
was picturesque beyond measure dark brown still
pools in the crevices of the hard grey rocks, con-
trasting with white foam and silver spray ; and
the colours in the abyss below were indescribable
and baffle both pen and paint brush.
I went on till I, and paper, and paint, were all
saturated alike, and then summoned the rest of the
party, who had patiently and kindly wandered
about ; and we walked back with the old farmer,
who told us the history of his forty years' life there,
and wondered a little, as I did much, that his fine
Falls were not more known and visited. It was sad
to leave them ; but we had to get home to luncheon,
as all our shops had been left to the last few hours
of this afternoon. We hunted up some fairly good
photographs, but not one could we find of the lovely
Chandriere Falls, so my unfinished sketch became
230 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
our only souvenir. Then we went to a very amusing
fur shop, La liberte, where, besides a sort of play-
ground for stuffed Bears, old and young, and brown
and white ; Arctic Foxes, white and silver, etc., there
were other things of furry interest, and of much the
same nature and price as at Brunn's at Throndhjem,
or the fur shops in London, with which this man is
in constant correspondence. As a complimentary
purchase I got some sealskin slippers and Indian
curiosities, but it was not worth cumbering our-
selves with large things ; and so we went on to see
the Laval Museum.
Their gallery of pictures was a marvel ! Seeing
in the catalogue one with the name of Salvator
Rosa attached, I went to look for it, and found
some gay peasants playing cards on a tree trunk,
all in a light and airy tone that was enough to have
made that gloomy old master turn in his grave*
Their natural history was better than their art, for
their birds, though badly stuffed, were at least
original. It did not take us long to go through it,
luckily for the venerable curator, who was, I think,
so surprised at having visitors at all, that he quite
forgot himself, and very good-naturedly let us
in after it was closed. A book shop, which had
nothing that we wanted, was our last quest, and then
we went back to the " Chateau Frontenac " to dine ;
and as soon as that ceremony was completed, we
drove down the steep town to the Canadian Pacific
Station, and found our car ready to welcome us.
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 231
A precious hour before starting was devoted to
pressing the Cyprepedium and other flowers, and
writing up this journal. At half-past ten the train
just glided out of the station without a word, and
we travelled all night, by the road we had travelled
before, back to Montreal, which we reached about
six in the morning of June 9th.
We breakfasted in our stationary car, and about
nine o'clock we got into a fly and drove to the
Grand Trunk Station, got into the luxurious olive-
green velvet armchairs of a parlour car, which, to
our amusement, we had to ourselves all the w^ay to
Cornwall, as nobody got in, except the train con-
ductor and the Pullman conductor, who reclined com-
fortably in the vacant chairs and read their papers.
The scenery was green and pretty, especially the
little woods we frequently passed through, but the
perpetual rail fences are rather stiff and ugly. The
sides of the track were swampy and grew Blue Iris,
Yellow Water Lilies, and a white flower like a stout
Wood Anemone. We reached Cornwall in two hours.
It is a town of some eight thousand inhabitants,
and any amount of cotton mills. We drove up and
down its rectangular streets for twenty minutes,
and were then taken to the Rossmore Hotel,
where luncheon was administered to us. We were
then picked up again and driven to a pier, where
we sat or strolled in the sun for half an hour, till
at 1.15 the Corsican arrived from Toronto and took
us on board.
232 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
There were already a good many people on the
fore part of the ship, so Mr. S. appealed to the
captain, who kindly invited us on to his upper deck,
where we were soon comfortably established on
chairs, with an unimpeded outlook. It was sunny
at first, though it clouded a little after, and was not
too hot ; indeed, later it got quite cool on our windy
elevation. The first two hours were occupied in
steaming through the Lake of St. Francis, a great
widening of the St. Lawrence, for twenty miles ;
the width ranging from five to eight miles. We
then got to Coteau, and took a pilot on board, first
swinging through a rather narrow bridge ; at least
it seemed narrow through the piers, as the bridge
itself was opened out to let us through. Then came
the Coteau Rapids, a wide stretch of broken water,
all foaming and cascading, down which we swung
very beautifully, between the green islands ; and
then went on through another calm spell of the
wide river two to three miles wide, with very flat
low shores.
We passed a steamer towing an enormous raft of
timber, four feet of it under water, and Indians upon
it, as when they get to the Rapids the steamer lets
go, the rafts divide, and the Indians steer them
with long poles as best they can. There were some
pretty French villages on the shores, and Indians
in their canoes here and there. Then came in quick
succession the " Cedar," " Split Rock," and " Cascade
Rapids," quite exciting and most beautiful, all of
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 233
which we shot to the captain's own admiration.
" A pretty lively gait, that," was his remark.
I don't know that it added much to our sense of
security to see him now and then whisper to Mr. S.,
to point out the exact rock on which the Columbia,
Magnet, and other vessels had struck ; and where
his own ship, two years ago, took fire. He had
only just time to run it ashore, and by the super-
human exertions of himself and crew, not only were
all the passengers saved, but their luggage also.
The poor men themselves lost everything they
possessed, and got no compensation, and hardly
thanks ; and a wretch of a woman actually claimed
damages because one of her trunks got wet and her
Sunday gown injured when she ought to have
been too thankful to have escaped with her life !
She was not English, happily.
After these three rapids, there was another stretch
of calm water, and we could see the triple-headed
hill above Montreal getting nearer and clearer as we
approached the Lachine Rapids, last and finest of all.
We swung magnificently down them, and then had
the good luck to see another steamer do the same
thing behind us, which made us realise more fully
the danger of the exploit. She came a tremendous
pace after us, and it was really a fine sight.
We got to the harbour and were landed by about
seven o'clock, went up to the Windsor Hotel, dined
quickly, and went off to the play to see " Charley's
Aunt."
234 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
The next morning being Sunday, we walked to a
church close by the hotel in the same square, and
found a better service than the one we had experi-
mented on last week. After our recent excursion
to the wilds of Lake Pikouagami and its forests, the
beautiful verses which came in the Psalms for the
day rang with peculiar meaning
" All the beasts of the forest are mine,
And so are the cattle on a thousand hills,
All the fowls upon the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are in my sight."
After the service we walked back, and started
afresh directly to visit the kennels of the " Montreal
Hounds ; " they were not two miles off, and almost
in the town. The huntsman is Nicholls, and the
whip, his brother ; both from Cornwall, near Truro.
Both were intelligent and keen, and they had a
wonderfully good pack considering the disadvan-
tages they are under some forty-three couple. Some
they breed here, but they have a draft out from
England nearly every year. The pack was
established in 1826, and the present M.F.H., Mr.
Allen, has had them about four years. They hunt
the Island of Montreal, so their boundary is well
defined, and no disagreement about digging their
neighbour's foxes possible. They begin cubbing on
the 1 5th of August, and that lasts one month ; then
regular hunting commences in the middle of
September, and lasts till the snow stops them, at
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 235
the end of November, or perhaps it may run into
the early part of December ; so their season is short,
and their tally too, six or seven brace constituting
a good season.
o
The hounds seemed in excellent health and first-
class condition, good-tempered, and very fond of
their huntsman, whose manners with them were
very good. He seemed much pleased to have a call
from an English M.F.H., visitors from the old
country being rare events for him. Their country
is almost all timber-jumping, large woods, and no
small covers ; in one part they have some big banks
and ditches, but the rule is these perpetual rail
fences, with no gates, only bars, and no time to pull
them down. The runs rarely exceed thirty or forty
minutes, and the terriers always run with the
hounds.
Wire is a trouble to them, and nearly all of it is
that cruel abomination the barbed stuff. Indeed,
there is a nasty network of it creeping all over
America.
We looked over nearly every hound ; " Nimrod,"
perhaps, the pick of the basket, but " Shiner,"
" Wharton," " Falcon " and his sisters " Fatal " and
" Fatima;" and " Gadfly" and " Sheriff" were not
far behind him. We lingered over them as long as
we could, but had to get back to the hotel soon
after two o'clock to write some letters, and in-
tended to hear some music at the Roman Catholic
church ; however, we missed it, and only met a
236 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
procession of hideous old nuns walking away ; some
in crimson, some in drab ; and rows of wretched
little children, marshalled along by a horrid-looking
old witch of a nun ; I did pity them. The musical
scheme having thus collapsed, we went back,
finished our letters, dined at six, and regained the
" Wildwood " at seven, in order to leave Montreal
at half-past by the Grand Trunk Railway. In it,
we received a ten minutes' visit from the M.F.H.
Mr. Allen, to have a little hound talk. When we
moved on the first remarkable feature was the
enormously long bridge by which the line crosses
the St. Lawrence. It is two miles long, less one
hundred and fifty feet, and boxed at the top to
keep the snow out, and cost " shekels " out of
number to build. The next was the most horrible
series of jolts we have yet experienced ; one extra
fine one shot my maid right out of her berth on to
the dining-room table. They were partly caused,
we found afterwards, by a hitch in attaching a
private car to the end of ours. It was occupied
by our friend Mr. C., and M. proposed calling on
him, but was told he was fast asleep. He must
have been one of the seven sleepers to have borne
all that.
Lake Champlain was quite lovely by moonlight ;
we skirted it for some way, and I watched it from
my berth, repeating the refrain,
" My own, my beautiful Champlain,"
THE SAGUENAY AND QUEBEC 237
which was all I could remember, of a poem by
Margaret Davidson, which had fascinated my child-
hood, and I used to think then, if I could only see
Champlain with my own eyes, I should be happy for
ever.
Certainly, these travels will go far to make me
so. The edges of the railway helped my poetical
mood, for they were all spangled with blue steel
spots, a series of glowworms, very brilliant and
large ones.
CHAPTER XIV
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA
ON Monday we woke about seven, to find we had
dropped Mr. C. and arrived at Albany. We left
the car at eight o'clock after an engine had taken
the " Wildwood " right up to the quay, so we had
only to walk on board a fine river steamer, the
New York. Never was anything like the courtesy
of all these railway officials, and I doubt if we ever
knew all the steps and time and trouble that they
saved us.
We had left Canada in the night, and traversed
Vermont, and had now Massachusetts and Connec-
ticut on the east of us, as we sailed down the
Hudson River ; with New York State and Penn-
sylvania to the west. A delightful state-room, all
windows and armchairs, was reserved for us on
board, but we spent most of the time on the upper
deck, occupied with the view, and the necessity of
edging our chairs perpetually into the shade, as the
glare and heat were tremendous, and the wind
dead aft, so the only breeze was what the ship
herself made.
239
There were quantities of ice-houses along the
shore, at first looking like immense granaries, with
passage-ways, executed in open work, down to
barges or vessels lying below them. Along these
little passages I thought I could see several little
white terriers running ; but soon discovered they
were blocks of ice sliding down on their own ac-
count, by a little momentum given them at starting,
which sends them flying towards the barge, a slight
ascending undulation towards the end steadying
their impetuosity at the last moment, and prevent-
ing their getting cracked or chipped as they fling
themselves on board.
These great ice stores were not to be seen many
miles below Albany, as the quality of the ice
deteriorates further South. The little town of
Hudson was most pretty in itself and in its situa-
tion, and I got a hasty sketch of it from the state-
room window, as the glare on deck was too great for
drawing ; though of motion there was none.
It was perfectly delightful ; but after all, one is
human, and, having breakfasted before seven, we
waxed desperate by twelve, and begged Mr. S. to
allow us an early luncheon. We had it in an airy
saloon, with the usual accompaniment of iced drinks,
and we could watch the shores all the way.
About three o'clock the scenery, hitherto pretty,
became fine, as we entered the highlands of the
Hudson. Very high hills rose on the West the
Storm King and Crow's Nest, with Breakneck and
2 4 o A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Mount Taurus opposite ; the river became rather
narrower and wound round these majestic spurs of
the Catskill Mountains in lovely curves. These
mountains had bounded our Western view for many
miles, and we now seemed suddenly to dive into
the heart of them. Rounding one, a promontory
appeared before us, on which was Westpoint, the
well-known military academy, the seat of education
of nearly all the famous American generals, and
which Charles Dickens calls " the fairest among the
fair and lovely highlands of the North river." In
the midst of it was a scaffolding round some build-
ing, and on the top of the tallest upright pole sat an
Eagle. As we got further down and through the
hills, the banks were still pretty, and enlivened on
the Connecticut side with many smart residences,
surrounded with trees and gardens. One was pointed
out to us as having been Washington Irving's, and
General Grant's tomb was also visible. On the
opposite shore were the fine rocks called the
Palisades, which guard the river like ramparts for
twenty miles, and are fully three hundred feet high.
Their name describes them, and gives an idea of their
vertical formation.
As we approached New York the navigation
increased on the river, and the Mary Powell steamed
rapidly past us. She is, I believe, acknowledged
to be the fastest steamer in the world. Also we
met a picturesque procession of three tugs, towing a
conglomeration of barges, about fifty in number, and
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 241
as it was washing-day on board of them, all the
clothes, of many colours, were hanging out to dry,
and made a picture in themselves as they floated
heavily by. Our captain was very courteous, and
gave us every facility for seeing all that could be
seen, besides affording us all the information we
wished for. He told us that the river is entirely
frozen over in winter with ice eighteen inches thick,
and that his ship only runs during the four summer
months.
I went below to our room about four o'clock for tea
and shade, but came up again to watch our entrance
to New York Harbour. It rejoiced in just the same
pretty grey colour as on our arrival, and this entrance
from the North is nearly as fine as the other through
the Narrows. It was crowded with shipping, steam-
ers, sailing-boats, and ferry-boats, some of the latter
hurrying about with detached fragments of trains in
them, and bales and goods of every sort and kind.
We were " on time," as they call punctuality here,
and, indeed, rather before than after, so taking a
friendly leave of our captain, we went below and
stepped ashore, and in two minutes more were on
board a ferry-boat, in company with a crowd of
people, vans, and horses, steaming across the harbour
for Jersey City and the Pennsylvanian Railway
Station.
But our day was not over, for our " Wildwood "
having come down " dead-head " on the railroad, we
walked down a long platform, and were again at
Q
242 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
home. After a little delay, spent in enjoying an
iced Orange Flower drink, insipid but cold, we
started afresh, and sat outside the car enjoying the
ninety-mile journey to Philadelphia, which was
accomplished in about two hours and a half.
In amusing contrast is the sentence in C. Dickens's
diary in 1 842, when he says : " The journey from New
York to Philadelphia is made by railroad, and two
ferries, and usually occupies between five and six
hours."
So we have now completed the circle, and
returned on June 1 1 to the point whence we
started on April 30, and have made a circle of just
over 10,000 miles in exactly six weeks.
The heat of the day had been excessive, and
when I looked into my room in the car, I found a
wax hand-candle which lives there, in a most
ridiculous position ; the wax had fainted from the
heat, and, bending over in a gentle curve, was rest-
ing the point of its wick on the table. It had to be
taken to the refrigerator to be set up again ; but it
never was really strong after that.
The cool evening was charming after the burning
heat, and the whole air was lovely, for the bright
steel coloured stars, which I at first thought were
glow worms, took to flying up in the air, and
revealed themselves as brilliant and countless fire-
flies.
At Philadelphia, in spite of the lateness of the
hour, we held a sort of levee, and received visits
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 243
from many friends, old and new, who most kindly
came to see us. After about an hour there, we
went on, travelling all night, awaking at Harrisburg
at five A.M. on Tuesday morning. We looked out
at the view and watched for ever so long the
Alleghanies in the distance, and the Shenandoah
valley, in which lovely district we soon found our-
selves, pulling up at about eleven o'clock at Luray
in Rappahannock County.
Here we got into an open carriage and drove
about a mile to the entrance of the caves of Luray.
But at the entrance we stopped suddenly, arrested
by an immense noise of insects ; a loud hum, very
shrill, and another noise which made M. say :
" But what bird is that ? "
"All Locusts," was the answer; "they make both
noises."
Hundreds and hundreds there were of them, great
things like Hornets, all over the trees, flying from
branch to branch, clinging to the trunks and stems,
and making such a noise as no other insects could
equal, with the odd different note every other
minute. They looked malicious, but are harmless.
They call them " Pharoahs " or the " seventeen-year
Locusts," and say that it is true that they appear in
the different districts every seventeen years only
and that it is exactly seventeen years since they
were seen here (so we were in luck, and had timed
our visit well).
They stay for forty days, and never hum after
244 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
five P.M. There is a legend that their appearance
foretells War, and that they carry a capital W on
their wings ; and so they do, for the matter of that,
for the yellow veining on the white gauze wings,
takes that shape, as in many other less prophetic
insects. We caught two or three to take home
they ceased humming before five o'clock.
But now we had to visit these remarkable caves ;
quite as curious, they say, as the Mammoth Cave of
Kentucky, and less fatiguing, as you have to walk
many miles to see the latter, whereas here you have
only to descend some steps, and you find yourself
almost immediately in the most marvellous labyrinth
of passages and caverns, faintly illuminated here and
there by magnesium lights.
Masses of stalactites, stalagmites, and helictites
of the most fantastic forms, grotesque beyond
description, meet the astonished eye. The guide
goes in front with a board constructed to hold any
number of tallow candles, which throw an uncertain
light around, and a great quantity of certain tallow,
too. The caverns are immense ; one of them is one
hundred feet high, and from its roof is suspended
the most enormous stalactite in the world. To
quote Mr. Hovey's description of them, he says ;
" The stalactite display exceeds that of any other
cavern known, and there is hardly a square yard on
the walls or ceiling that is not thus ornamented.
The old material is yellow, brown, or red, and its
wavy surface often shows layers like the gnarled
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 245
grain of costly woods. The new stalactites growing
from the old, and made of hard carbonates that had
already once been employed by nature, are usually
white as snow, though often pink, blue, or amber-
coloured. The size attained by single specimens is
surprising. The Empress column is a stalagmite,
thirty-five feet high, rose-coloured, and elaborately
draped." The smaller pendant stalactites are in-
numerable, some pointed, but mostly in folds and
elaborate convolutions, like shells and drapery.
Some are like alabaster scarfs, and so thin and
delicate as to be almost transparent. In one
cave called the Cathedral, the stalactites have a
musical resonance, and the guide, with little sticks,
could play quite a tune, and imitate a peal of
bells.
They are a hundred and sixty feet below the
surface, were only discovered some fifteen years ago,
and our walk through them was from a mile and a
half to two miles ; and we might have done more,
but were satisfied at the end of that time to return
to the light of day. This light was burning hot,
and in point of temperature the caverns had the
advantage, being always, they say, about 54
Fahrenheit ; and the walking was easy and dry,
with no excessive difficulties or crawling places.
Two Beetles* were busy near the entrance rolling
a ball of clay, nearly as big as themselves, and quite
as big as a hazel nut, to a place of safety. It con-
* ScardbcEus Sacer.
246 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
tained their precious egg, no doubt, and we did not
attempt to spoil sport by interference.
I made a hasty sketch, in gasping heat, from the
balcony of the house of our guide. He had been a
carpenter, and was heart and soul and generally
body, too in these caves ; an intelligent and
respectable man, though, perhaps, he would not have
come under the witness's description, who, in a trial,
was asked by the judge :
" You say you think Mr. X. a respectable man ? "
" Yes, my lord, I do."
" Well, now, can you give us any idea what you
mean by a respectable man ? "
" Oh yes, certainly. I mean one who keeps a
gig-"
After luncheon in the car, we went for a drive to
the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. And
such a drive ! Along a sort of lane with edges
mosaic'd by wild flowers, enlivened by Blue-birds,
and a lovely Red bird not the Scarlet Tanager, but
of a more orange red. A grove of Kalmias was
quite too much for us, and we all got out and
gathered handfuls of those lovely flowers, whose
sparse growth in English gardens gives no idea of
their natural luxuriance. They grew in a little wood
sloping down to the road, which there crossed a
stream, and along the edge of it was crawling a little
land Tortoise, with a turtle's beak and large red
eyes. We picked it up and carried it home, its little
legs clawing the air in vain remonstrance all the
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 247
way ; and as soon as we deposited it in the card,
board box which was to be its future home, it laid
a neat white egg ! Our drive was limited by time,
and we only got so far up the Blue Ridge as to have
a view of blue warmth and beauty over a rich un-
dulating country. Classic ground, too, for all over
this part of Virginia raged the fierce war of 1863.
And as a relic I brought home a beautiful butterfly
executed in orange, inlaid with mother-of-pearl-like
spots, which Mr. S. caught for me. 1
We passed a pleasant evening in the car, sur-
rounded by the blue hills, and, as they faded away
in the darkness of an almost tropical night, the air
was enlivened by myriads of "Lightning bugs,"* who
circled around. At midnight a train came down
from the north, caught us up, and at seven next
morning dropped us somewhere in the middle of
Virginia, between a ploughed and a green field, on
a siding. The Blue Ridge was still bounding us
on the east, and great banks clothed with fine
timber trees, with farms and civilisation and
cultivation, had surrounded us for the last hour or
more, during which I had been awake, devouring
all I could of this our southernmost point. At nine
we were ready to go out in a carriage which was
ready for us, under a tree, in a kind of track through
the field hard by, as we were about half a mile from
the station, in a quiet well-chosen spot. We had
about three miles to drive to the Natural Bridge
* Fire-flies.
248 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
Hotel, crossing a beautiful river, the James, on our
way there.
Leaving carriage and cloaks at the inn, we
walked by a pretty path with many steps, with a
little cascade trickling down over rocks on the left,
to the edge of the creek ; and there was the
marvellous Natural Bridge before us.
It is a wonderful effort of Nature. An archway
of solid rock, two hundred feet high, and sixty wide.
A glowing red colour chiefly, but streaked with
dark grey in places ; somewhat wider towards the
upper part, and forty feet deep at the top (where a
key-stone should be in a bridge). Below it flows the
little Cedar Creek, murmuring over its rocky bed,
and by its side a most enticing little footpath, along
which we wandered for a mile and more. But first
we stopped to take in the wonderful effect of the
arch before we passed on below it, and it was
difficult to realise that it was so entirely untouched
by hand of man. It belongs to General Parsons*
and is entirely private ground, but he generously
opens it to the public.
Through it you see the beautiful banks of fine
trees which border each side of the creek, and in
spite of the heat we could not resist walking on and
on. We passed under magnificent trees, and the
loveliest undergrowth of weeds, most of them
entirely unknown to me, except the larger Smilax,
* This gentleman was shot dead shortly after we left America by some
ruffian, from motives of private spite, as he was walking in his grounds.
PLATE XVI
To face p. 248
THE NATURAL BRIDGE, IN VIRGINIA
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 249
Columbine leaves, Podophyllin, and exquisite ferns.
It was a delicious stroll, and, as wonders never cease
in America, we stepped aside three steps up a rough
path, and, looking into the mouth of a cavern, we
saw " the Lost River " a great stream of water,
rushing past, which one can see in the half-darkness,
and no one knows whence it comes or whither
going. Mr. S. had brought a glass in his pocket,
and gave us some of the water to drink colourless,
clear, and tasteless, and deliciously cold. It was so
nice in the heat !
We continued our stroll along the path some way
further, till we crossed a little bridge made of three
planks on two prostrate fir-poles, as they mostly
are, with a rail or two of Cedar, smelling hot and
rich ; and here, before us, was a graceful little fall,
the " Lace Fall."
Further we could not go ; so we retraced our steps,
picking up some bits of the sweet- smelling Cedar
(recalling Solomon's Temple), as far as our first view
of the Natural Bridge ; and here, in a shady summer-
house, consisting of a roof and a seat and no walls,
I sat and drew for a happy hour, till we all became
so hungry and thirsty we had to go up to the hotel
for some luncheon.
We had it in a sort of airy pavilion, and it is
impossible to say how many glasses of iced tea we
consumed. Food was a secondary consideration,
but it was a comfort to contemplate the large jug,
like a washing-stand pitcher, in which the tea was
250
brought in ; there were also goblets of rich cream ;
after this, we adjourned to our rooms above, their
windows opening on to a verandah, where we sat
and rested a little, till M. and I struggled to our
feet, feeling it sinful to lose a moment, with so much
beauty within reach, and we wandered down the
lovely glen again, and nearly to the end of it.
Such trees ! Oaks of all kinds ; the Black Oak
with enormous leaves ; I gathered one at random
and brought it home, eleven inches long by seven
wide ; beautiful Tulip trees, or Tulip-poplars as they
call them, in full flower ; Black Walnuts, Sassafras,
with its curious leaves in three different shapes, and
sweet-smelling wood ; Chestnuts, Sycamore and
Locust trees, Virginian Cedars, and a few Beech.
To-day also we saw fine specimens of the Catalpa or
" Cigar Bean tree." It was covered with its beauti-
ful white flowers, with the finely pencilled red-brown
spots inside ; and its popular name comes from its
seed-pods, some fifteen inches long, and narrow,
which boys love to smoke as cigars.
There were also grand Mulberry -trees and Wild
Cherries and Persimmons, whose sour fruit is uneat-
able till the first frost has passed over it. Whence
the sa} r ing, describing a disagreeable old maid, " She's
as sour as Persimmons before the frost."
Again we looked with lingering admiration at the
Great Arch, under which fly everlastingly to and
fro, little brown-backed Martins, whose white chests
flash in the sunlight.
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 251
We were back at the hotel by five, rejoining Mr.
S., and started for a drive, first to the top of the
bridge, and very fine it was, looking perpendicularly
down to the creek two hundred feet below us and
finer still when a pair of Cardinal Grosbeaks *
flew across and fluttered about in the trees opposite.
They are gorgeous, scarlet-crested birds, and most
beautiful songsters. To see all this we had to leave
the carriage and walk a little way ; though the high
road goes over the arch one has no idea of it, so
overgrown are the edges and so wide the causeway.
Going on through the forest we passed under
magnificent specimens of the various trees before
mentioned, which the soil and climate of Virginia
bring to the greatest perfection. The driver took
the carriage under one of the many Tulip trees, and
was able to reach a handful of the fine flowers, which
are larger and handsomer than those we see in
England. There were charming birds too, in plenty ;
the King t bird, whose scientific name is given him
from his pugnacity in the breeding season, when
Eagles, Hawks, Crows, and Jays tremble before him,
and fly for a mile or more to escape the dives which
his hard little beak makes at their heads and backs.
He is a great friend to the farmers, and we saw one
hovering over the field in pursuit of the grass-
hoppers which are his favourite diet his only
fault being a fondness for Bees, whence he is some-
times called the Bee Martin.
* Cardinalis Cardinalis. t Tyrannus tyrannus.
252 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
There were Cow Troupials * too, whose lazy ways
with respect to their eggs resemble those of our
Cuckoos the Yellow Warblers,t Chipping Sparrows
and Vireos, having to do duty as foster-mothers.
Most of the birds, however except the Vireos will
eject the egg, if laid in their nest before any of their
own are there ; and so great is the annoyance of
the Yellow-bird at the intrusion, that there have
been frequent instances of her having built over the
Cow-bird's egg, leaving it, as it were, on the ground-
floor, and hatching oif her own on the first story.
The egg is too large for some of these little birds to
move, and they always make the best of a bad job
and sit on it, if laid after some of their own, and the
worst of it is that the foreigner always hatches off
first.
We drove to the top of a rising ground called
Mount Jeafferson, and as we went up, watched a
great game of Baseball, which was being played
with much energy on a green park-like expanse. It
is the favourite game here, and takes the place of
our English Cricket, which is only popular in a few
localities. From the crest of the hill we had a fine
extensive view of the mountains round us, and of a
thunder-cloud above us, which soon came down, and
we had nothing for it but to drive back to the
" Wild wood" as fast as we possibly could ; and got
well wet in doing so.
The storm passed off while we dined, and ate the
* Molothrus liter. f Dendroica (estiva.
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 253
complimentary dish which Byard had prepared to
do honour to the last day a real English plum-
pudding, as good as could be made !
We spent the whole evening, which was not
much the cooler for the storm, sitting on the plat-
form, watching the exquisite " Lightning Bugs " as
they circled and flashed around, and listening to the
melancholy note of many " Whip -poor- Wills," * who
began with the twilight and went on incessantly,
from the plantations near the railway. They repeat
the words very plainly and regularly, with a drawling
accent on the first word, reminding one of a plane at
work.
But alas ! we had to complete our destiny, and at
nine o'clock a train from the south came by and
picked us up ; and so farewell to " Whip-poor- Wills "
arid Locusts, and all the tropical delights that we
had thus touched the fringe of. We travelled on
through the night, back the way we had come,
as far as Riverton, where we branched off for
Washington.
When we got up on the i4th of June we were
going through a highly cultivated country, dotted
with farm-houses, " Corn " fields, and very black
niggers ploughing between the plants that race
is much darker here than those we saw further
north ; and the little children might be executed in
coal, they are so black and shiny.
Our train drew up at Washington at half-past
* Anstrotomus vociferus.
254 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
eight. We had had a great wish to see it again,
and so carry away a fresh impression of this
beautiful town to my mind, the third most
beautiful, putting Venice and Stockholm only
before it. We were soon in an open carriage,
driving to the park, which is in full and luxuriant
foliage now, and the change from when we were
here before, some six or seven weeks ago, is magical.
The large Magnolias are in full flower, and so are the
Catalpas ; and the Horse Chestnuts are gone to seed.
In the conservatories are some fine Palms, an
Anona, which has not yet fruited ; and a variety of
Banana, unluckily one I did not know, was not
labelled, nor did any gardener appear to know the
name of it. At the foot of the Washington
Monument, we got out, and got into the lift, which
was somewhat crowded, and up the interior we
slowly ascended, to the height of five hundred
feet.
The ascent occupied some ten or twelve minutes
and gave time to read the inscriptions cut on
various stones, sent by each State as a mark of
respect to the great man of the country. I
thought the one from Virginia simplest and finest :
" Virginia, who gave Washington to America,
gives this granite to his monument."
At the top, fifty feet from the apex, the lift
stopped and we walked round an internal platform,
looking, from windows on the four sides, at the
bird's-eye views of the beautiful city and the broad
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 255
Potomac. The view of the country round was very
extensive, reaching as far as the eye could range,
and immediately below the radiating avenues had
a very striking effect. I was glad we went up,
especially when we had come down, as I hate lifts.
There was an old man of seventy-six in the party,
and he too was very proud of himself as we de-
scended safely, for it seemed he had gone up more
particularly to defy his family, who disapproved of
his venture, and had begged him not to attempt it.
We then took a comprehensive turn round the
town to revive our recollections of it, and certainly
the summer foliage was beautiful, but it quite closed
in some of the views of the lovely Capitol. The
Senate was sitting, as its flag waving over it
announced, but the other House was not. This
United States Flag is certainly a very handsome
one, with its white star for each State, and the red
and white stripes below.
Our next call was the post-office for the " P.D.Q."
stamps, and then the jeweller's, where we got some
of the pretty silver buckles and combs so much
in fashion, and carried back our treasures to the
car, in which we re-embarked about twelve o'clock ;
and at a quarter-past we left Washington, having
much enjoyed over three hours there, and found
the " Wild wood " most horridly bare, Byatt having
spent the morning in packing up everything we
possessed. Books, drawing things, papers, and
pamphlets, all cleared away. Desolation reigned,
256 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
and nothing was left but the Virginian butterfly,
which M. manipulated on a cork bed in an extinct
chocolate-box, in company with a marvellous insect
with antennae three times his own length ; and two
deceased " Lightning Bugs."
Luncheon followed this suitably melancholy
operation, and we ate it in sadness, and railed on
along the north of the Chesapeake Bay, through the
tunnel under Baltimore, and into Philadelphia by
3.40. Mr. H. met us, and thrust some letters
and congratulations into the car ; an engine took us
by the hand, and, instead of our having to wait
there as we expected, thirty or forty minutes, we
were just whirled out at once, by special, over the
Schuylkill, through the town, and in ten minutes we
were drawn up alongside the well-known Merion
Station, and in the arms of our friends Miss T. and
Miss C., who were there to receive us, full of
welcome and kindness.
But it was a sad moment of partings, for we had
to take leave of Mr. S., whose kindness, prevoyance,
patience, and help, had never failed us for six weeks ;
of Lawrence, who with cool drinks and smiling
willingness and constant attention had forestalled
all our wishes ; of Byard, the cook, an excellent chef,
to whom we owed much ; and, lastly, of our dear
"Wildwood" itself!
Never, no never, shall we have such a good time
again.
Seven weeks of moving panoramas of wonder and
FROM CANADA TO VIRGINIA 257
beauty, which must be seen to be believed, and of
which my descriptions are feeble and weak, all
surveyed from our armchairs, with no trouble, no
fatigue, no responsibility, no anxiety of any kind !
Over 11,000 miles of rail way- travelling and miles
untold of driving besides, without an accident or a
semblance of one. No contretemps of any kind,
except the little delay at Hope from the "Washout,"
which did not matter the least ; lovely weather, and
universal kindness and courtesy from man, woman,
and child.
No wonder we were sorry it was over ! Nowhere
but in America can one experience such luxury, and
I quite sympathised when Lawrence said :
" The Americans just idolise this kind of travel-
ling."
CHAPTER XV.
HOMEWARD BOUND
STILL casting lingering looks at the " Wildwood,"
which had been our home for so many weeks, and
whose photograph Mr. S. promised us, we drove up
to the house. " Hughie," who drove, and the chest-
nut, who drew, seemed quite familiar, and the rooms
we returned to looked just as if we had never
left them ; even the same robins whistled a chirping
welcome ; and we had tea in the verandah, whose
straw chairs and red cushions made me more in love
with verandahs than ever. Mr. T. was away at a
big dinner given by Mr. C. at his farm, so we were a
quiet party and not a late one.
Friday was a lovely morning, and there was some-
thing delicious in the American air, like a perpetual
smell of spring. We had a new sensation a morning
with nothing special to do or to see and though we
still heard the clanging of the engine-bell, it was
without the usual accompaniment of jolts. I took
the opportunity of turning out my portfolio, and
was thankful to find the sketches were as many as
they were enough to quite cover two small beds,
HOMEWARD BOUND 259
and three little sketch-books nearly full besides all
of them scrambled at ' the time, but delicious
souvenirs most of them, too, except eight or nine
Yo Semite ones, done in defiance of the jolting of
the car, or in the two minutes' lull at the stations.
Mr. F. T. had,, to go early to New York, and in
the afternoon Miss T. took us again to the Radnor
Kennels, where M. wanted to go to have another
look at the American hounds. Loader had them all
out in the grass yard for us to see, and Mr. B., one
of the committee, met us there and gave us tea on
the verandah of the clubhouse after the inspection.
As we were going away his carnage (called a break-
cart) came up, too, and strange was the shape of it.
It was suggested that I should have a drive in it,
which he invited me to do ; so in fear of my life, and
to the imminent danger of my backbone, as there is
absolutely nothing to prevent your tumbling out
backwards at the smallest jerk, I got into the seat
beside him, and in spite of peril had a very pleasant
drive to a point where our routes diverged, and I
got again into Miss T.'s carriage, the richer by
another new experience.
We came home just as Mr. T. himself arrived
from New York, and had a most pleasant evening,
as we had much to talk over.
On the 1 6th, M. went out early to see a quantity
of trotters exercise on the track, about two miles off.
Their pace now is much accelerated, and he saw
two, whose record is 2! 4" and 2' 5" respectively.
260 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
They stand about 1 5-3 or 16 hands as a rule, and, he
said, worked very steadily and quietly. He re-
turned about ten o'clock, and, as I had had a bad
night, we had a quiet day, and a hot one. At
seven, we drove off in an open carriage to dine with
our friends at Dolobran. They were so glad to
see us again, it was delightful. We met Senator
and Mrs. C. from Washington, and some more
friends, and, after a charming evening, had a de-
lightful and cooler drive home by the light of a
full moon, the road redolent with Honeysuckle
hedges ; the Ailanthus and Catalpas in full flower.
Sunday it was voted quite too hot to attempt
church, so we lounged and loitered, talking in
the verandah, till after four, when Mr. T. took M.
and me for a drive to the Park of Philadelphia, part
of which, especially the bit on the far side of the
Schuylkill river, is excessively pretty, shaded as it
is by very fine trees Catalpas, Ailanthus, Oaks,
Black Walnuts, and here and there the Mist tree,
as they call the Rhus Cotinus, and endless varieties
of Maples.
We had a pleasant party of neighbours to dinner,
and in the evening there was music in the cabin,
as when we were here before. Senator and Mrs. C. r
who had come to dine, had to leave rather early,
as they were going on to Washington, sleeping in
their car, and awaking in the morning at home.
Such are the luxuries and time-saving powers of
America.
HOMEWARD BOUND 261
On Monday the i8th we took leave of all our
kind friends, and departed for Philadelphia by an
ordinary train, changing there into another private
car, "The Coronet," which took us to New York.
Arrived there, Mr. T.'s man started us in a carriage
for a drive, and took Byatt and the luggage by the
elevated railway to the Waldorf Hotel.
We went to a quantity of shops and wound up
with an evening drive through the Central Park,
which is beautiful, full of fine trees and well-
arranged water. They seem here to understand so
well the art of dressing and preserving the wild-
ness of nature, and rendering it accessible without
spoiling it. Rocks, hills, and even rabbits, were
all mingled with fashionable drives, and wide, well-
kept roads ; and wild and tame flowers had an
equal chance.
Some of the carriages and turnouts were absurd
and ridiculous, but I believe we have just missed
the season, so, though we saw some of the rank and
fashion of New York, we also saw a great deal that
was neither. When we had dressed for dinner
a new difficulty presented itself. We neither of us
had the least idea of the address of the friends
we were to dine with. Mr. B. had asked us person-
ally and by wire ; the latter, though we had kept it
most carefully, had somehow got itself lost, and
we had to hunt the house up in a guide-book, in
time to get to dinner very late !
We found only Mr. and Mrs. B. and their friend
262
Mrs. P., all charming people, and we had a most
agreeable dinner and evening : rather a long even-
ing, as Mr. B. took M. off to show him a new club,
and his own new house, in process of erection, but it
did not seem long, as they were so kind, and the
rooms so full of lovely things, and curios Japanese
carvings, pictures, and miniatures, by Isabey, Cos-
way, and Le Brun ; so time flew, and I had no idea
how late it was when we left for the drive home, up
the long length of Madison Avenue to our very
hot hotel. It was a most oppressively hot night !
On the 1 9th of June, we got up early, in great
heat, and were ready to go out at nine, when Mr.
R., sent by Mr. T., whose kindness still overshadowed
us, called to take us out in a tug-boat for a trip.
We drove to the pier, and embarked on the very
same chocolate-and-gold Belvedere that had met
us when we landed from the Paris just two
months ago. The water was certainly the only
place where one could breathe to-day, and we had a
lovely trip all about the harbour, and past Hoboken,
Jersey City, the Governor's Island and up the
East river to the Navy yard and Blackwell Island,
where the great Almshouses, Workhouses, and
Hospitals are, all built of granite, quarried on the
Island by the convicts.
While off the Navy yard, a heavy thunder-cloud
rolled up, and as it soon came down in violent rain,
we took advantage of the necessity of being under
cover to have luncheon in the cabin ; after which M.
HOMEWARD BOUND 263
and Mr. R. walked up Wall Street to the Bank ; and,
rejoining me soon on the boat, we returned to the
pier whence we had started, and after waiting till
the worst of the storm was over, Mr. 1{. got us a
carriage, and we drove to a good many shops
winding up with another turn round the park-
coming in at six, which gave us not too much time
to stroll down to Delmonico's, the historical restau-
rant, where M. and I dined together, and very
comfortably, at the corner of Madison Square and
Fifth Avenue. We then came back to another hot
night ; so hot, that it went far to comfort us in the
thought that this was the end of our trip, which
would have been, otherwise, quite a heart-breaking
reflection.
On Wednesday, June 2 1 st, we left the Waldorf,
and its gold pianofortes and small rooms, without
regret, and after a kind visit from Mr. B. we drove
the whole length of Broadway in a fly, with our
luggage, for which we paid one pound ; so it looks
as if Broadway were very long : it is four miles I
believe. Getting out into a scuffling crowd of
anxious people and eager porters, we gradually and
thankfully got ourselves and all our luggage into
stateroom No. 5 on the New York, sister ship to the
Paris and as like her as two peas.
Mr. B,. came to see us safe off; Mr. G. and his
son to wish us good-bye, and his son-in-law too :
and very sorry we were to say it ; and long shall we
remember the friendship, and wonderful care and
264 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
kindness, that made our trip " a thing of beauty
and a joy for ever."
We watched the receding American coast, as we
steamed through the Narrows, about eleven o'clock,
into a smooth oily sea, homeward bound, after a
perfectly successful two months, in which we had
traversed parts of twenty-four states, two provinces,
and one district, as follows :
States : Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado,
Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho,
Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Maryland, Vir-
ginia, Delaware, and Utah. Provinces : Ontario
and Quebec. District : District of Columbia.
Mrs. B. sent me a most lovely box full of red and
yellow roses ; they kept quite fresh through the
voyage.
About four o'clock in the afternoon we ran into a
slight fog, and we had that melancholy fog-horn
blowing, at intervals, all the evening. We loitered
on deck, getting cooled down, till past ten, when I
turned in. M. remained there till twelve, and,
having watched a sailing ship pass by in the moon-
light, he came into the cabin. I was asleep when
he came in, but was suddenly awoke by a most
fearful crash, and the most tremendous noise I ever
heard, and almost before I could realise where I was
I saw M. rush by, full dressed, I felt the engines
stopping, heard the sailors running about, and was
HOMEWARD BOUND 265
looking out of my porthole, when M. came back,
saying very quietly :
" Something has happened, I am not sure what,
but get some things on quick, and come out."
In two minutes I had my boots on, and some
wraps, and was on deck. Caught sight of M., who
then said there had been a collision, but he thought
we were not in immediate danger. A sailor came
up from below at that moment, and said there was
no water in the hold, which was reassuring.
The collision had occurred on the starboard side,
and, crossing over to port, we saw a great long black
object on the water, stationary, and with no visible
lights, though presently she hoisted a masthead
light and we could discern the outline of a big
steamer. I watched, expecting to see her disappear
altogether, and there was a rumour that we were
sending a boat to her. All were ready, but none
went for the sea was so absolutely calm, that we
soon got under weigh again, and were able to get
very near her, as she lay on the water like a log.
A flare was lighted and a very powerful hoarse voice
shouted out to her : " Ahoy-y-y."
A strong quavering voice came over the water :
" Ahoy-y-y."
" What vessel is that ? " was our next question.
"The Delano" was the answer, with a question
as to us.
" The New York. Do you want any assist-
ance ? "
2 66 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
" No-o-o-o," was shouted in answer.
The question was repeated, and answered with
rolling emphasis.
So far all was well, and meantime our deck
became spotted with the oddest figures all in the
equivalents to dressing-gown and slippers, and all
in the most horrible fright, catching at every pass-
ing sailor, and asking most incoherent questions ;
however, there was no panic, and no screaming ; all
the women comparing notes as to how much they
were " scared," and the men the same, in all lan-
guages.
However, it was 110 wonder they were alarmed,
and we had much cause for thankfulness ; for the
scars that were left in our ship were considerable ;
strong iron bars and staunch ions bent about like
bits of ribbon, and rents torn in the deck ; but
happily it all happened well in front of the engines,
and, though some of the steering-gear was injured,
they said it would not affect the working of the
ship, and that we should be able to continue our
course safely.
One of the passengers consulted M. as to what
was to be done, wildly imagining " that we, the
passengers, should have to decide," but fled confused
from the emphasis with which M. assured him that
" he was not the captain," and that all decisions
rested with the captain only.
The other ship was more injured than we were,
for she left both her anchors, and her figurehead, on
HOMEWARD BOUND 267
board of us. A great part of the terrific noise was
occasioned by one of the anchors having caught
in our gear and running her cable out, before it
broke loose.
It certainly was a fearful noise, and, occurring just
ahead of our deck stateroom, we heard it to the
full. It was hard upon M. not seeing it, as he had
only left the deck five minutes before it occurred,
and yet, had he been forward, he might have been
hurt, the whole thing seems to have been so com-
pletely sudden ; and why it happened at all nobody
knows, and I suppose we never shall know. It
does seem so odd, that, with the whole of the
Atlantic Ocean to come and go upon, and no fences
or boundaries anywhere, two ships, both most
anxious to avoid each other, should meet in that
deadly way.
I call it very bad driving.
Nobody was hurt, happily, on our ship, at any
rate, and it was not till we got home and read the
account of the collision in the Times that we knew
that the Delano was a Baltimore steamer, returning
there from Rotterdam. She reported herself as
having come into collision with us after midnight,
" when two hundred miles off the coast of Massa-
chusetts. The New York was steaming at the rate
of nineteen knots, and the Delano at ten knots, so
the vessels came together with a great crash,
striking each other obliquely. The bows of the
latter are seriously damaged ; there is a large hole
268 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
in them, and several plates have been bent and
twisted. The bulkheads alone saved the vessel."
If she had had a straight stem she must have cut
us down to the water's edge. We loitered on deck
some little time, till they asked us to go in, as they
were going " to clear away the wreckage, and
things might tumble about."
So as we were again well on our course, I tumbled
into my berth, and slept well.
Next morning we woke to find another hot day,
and a perfectly calm sea of the most exquisite
sapphire-blue, with hardly a speck of white in it ;
and the great ship glided on, disregarding the
wound in her side, which was made as tidy as they
could, and only the broken freeboard, broken davits,
and a damaged boat, and scars and scrapes for a
length of twenty-seven feet, and great pieces of
bent iron sticking out, betrayed last night's com-
motion.
The whole voyage back, after this eventful night,
was so calm and smooth, that there was never a
moment in which we could not stand or walk any-
where with perfect ease. Not a single meal did I
miss, or embark on with the slightest hesitation ;
nor, I fancy, did any one of the three hundred and
seventy-four saloon passengers. The ship was
absolutely full. The Yale athletes were on board,
keeping themselves in condition for their trials of
strength and skill with Oxford, by means of skipping-
ropes, and games of quoits and shuffle-board. The
HOMEWARD BOUND 269
Cinderella troupe, too, were there, and enlivened our
evenings by two clever and amusing performances,
which was not only very good-natured to the pas-
sengers, but also of substantial use to the orphan
homes, for whose benefit they realised the satisfactory
sum of forty- five pounds.
Some of their songs had the melodious accompani-
ment of the fog-horn, as well as the pianoforte, as
we had a certain amount of fog at intervals, but not
enough to be troublesome, though it made the
horizon too near to be pleasant at times. I was
watching a sail at one moment which had rather
an unusual shape, so I asked a passing officer of the
ship what a distant iceberg would look like. " Oh,"
said he, with contempt, " that isn't ice ! you'd
smell it."
He passed on too quickly for me to ask him what
it would smell like, but I suppose he reaUy alluded
to the much lower temperature that would surround
it ; and, as the water to-day was 67 Fahrenheit,
there was no fear of the proximity of ice.
Midsummer-day chanced to be rather cooler than
the preceding ones, and in the evening, after dinner,
we had a long lounge on deck, watching the phos-
phoric lights round the ship, which were beautiful
and brilliant, especially in the shadow of the steamer.
On Wednesday, June 27, we found ourselves in
sight of the English coast, just seven days since we
saw the last land at Sandy Hook ; and very bright
and pretty the channel looked with the fishing-boats
270 A ROUND TRIP IN NORTH AMERICA
off Penzance and Torquay dancing on the green
waves, and the white-sailed yachts in the Solent.
The luggage from the hold kept crowding the decks
as we came up Southampton Water ; and it is
indeed a wonder that out of that mass of boxes every
man at last gets his own. At a quarter to five we
were alongside the wharf, and with a little patience
our boxes grouped themselves into a heap at our
feet, and were very soon at the railway station, where
we arrived quite too late to get home; but the glamour
of the American, to whom nothing is impossible, was
over us, and a special brought us to our own door by
nine o'clock.
The news of the collision had preceded us, and
our people were wound up to a pitch of real enthu-
siasm which led them to take our horses out of
the carriage and pull us up to the house, under
triumphal arches and flags, to the joy of my child,
and the applause of all the little dogs, thus giving
us a welcome which we had never expected would
greet us at
THE END.
Printed by BALUNTYNE, HANSON & Co.
London and Edinburgh.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
AY 06 1905
Form L9-20m-7,'61(C1437s4)444
3 115800982 1470
E
168
G93r
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