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WESTWAED BY RAIL 



A JOUENEY TO SAN FRANCISCO AND BACK 



AXD 



A VISIT TO THE MORMONS. 



BT 



W. F. RAE. 



SECOND EDITION, 



WITB A SEW INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



LONDON : 
LONGMANS, GREEN, 

1871. 

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All rights reserved. 



AND CO. 



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9 



Ik 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 



TO THE 



SECOND EDITION. 



■•o^ 



This chapter has been prepared for the present 
edition with the view of furnishing a continuous 
account of the moVe interesting changes which 
have occun-ed since Westward by Bail was pub- 
lished, and of obviating the necessity for making 
alterations in its text, or encumbering its pages 
with foot-notes. The new particulars, and the 
corrections of statements no longer literally accurate, 
relate : — 

Firstly, to the vicissitudes of the Mormon Settle- 
ment since the Pacific and Utah Railways rendered 
it easily accessible to the travelling public, enabled 
its inhabitants to leave the Territory of Utah, if 
they desired it, and exposed Mormon society to 
the direct influences of strangers disapproving of 
the Mormon Creed and disbelieving in the infalli- 

4 2 



iv INTKODUCTOKY CHAPTER TO 

bility of President Brigham Young; also, to the 
progress during the past year, and to the position 
at the present time, of the Mormon propaganda 
in England and Scotland ; 

Secondly, to the recent extension of Gold and 
Silver Mining in the States of California and Nevada 
and in the Territory of Utah due, in large measure, 
to the introduction and employment of British 
capital under the control of Joint-stock companies 
having their head quarters in this country ; 

Thirdly, to the development of traffic across the 
Pacific Railway and to the character of the new 
facilities for intercommunication, via that railway, 
between Europe, New Zealand, Australia, the 
Sandwich Islands, China, and Japan. 



I. 



My anticipation that the Mormon organization 
would not speedily collapse after the opening of the 
Pacific Railway, and the completion of the branch 
line to Salt Lake City, has been fully realized. 
The personal influence of President Brigham Young, 
though frequently in jeopardy, has not yet been 
destroyed, or even materially weakened. His saying 
that he did not " care ^ anything for a religion 
which could not stand a railroad," was an index 



THE SECOND EDITION. V 

that he had truly estimated the strength of the fasci- 
nation which the religion whereof he is the High 
Priest, exercises over its votaries. Nevertheless, 
his trials have been numerous and severe. Contrary 
to opinions very generally entertained, the schism, of 
^hich I witnessed the beginning and of which I have 
narrated the origin and progress in Chapter XI., has 
proved far more annoying than dangerous. The 
"Godbeites," as the members of the Church of 
Zion are commonly called, threatened for a timq to 
shake President Young's temporal power to its foun- 
dations. They allied themselves with the Gentiles 
prior to the first municipal Elections held after 
the formal establishment of their church. It was 
feared that this coalition would occasion the defeat 
of the candidates countenanced and supported by 
the Mormon priesthood. At this critical juncture, 
the Mormon ruler displayed his wonted tact and 
energy. lie suddenly made a move for which his 
opponents were entirely unprepared and by which 
they were virtually check-mated. In obedience to 
his orders a Bill conferring the suffrage upon 
women was prepared and introduced into the Legis- 
lative Assembly. This Bill was rapidly passed 
through the several stages and immediately after- 
wards received the Governor's assent. As the Act 
is a short one, I shall quote it unabridged: — 



a 






vi INTKODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

■ 

" Section I. — ^Be it enacted by the Governor and 
Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, 
that every woman of the age of twenty-one years 
who has resided in this temtory six months next 
** preceding any general or special election, bom or 
" naturalized in the United States, or who is the 
" wife, widow, or the daughter of a native-born or 
" naturalized citizen of the United States, shall be 
entitled to vote at any election in this Territory. 
Section II. — All laws or parts of laws conflicting 
with this Act are hereby repealed." 
Many women, united to the Brigham party by ties 
more sacred than mere political affinities, recorded 
their votes in favour of the candidates acceptable 
to the Saints. President Young's triumph was 
complete. The coalition candidates were defeated 
by a majority so large and compact as to demonstrate 
the futility of renewing tlie struggle till some 
radical change occurred in the attitude of the con- 
tending parties. Indeed, the Church of Zion has 
proved to be an ominous demonstration on the part 
of perverts rather than a serious obstacle in the 
path of the Mormon leaders. Had the Godbeites 
been bolder in their innovations they might have 
succeeded better in their objects. The champions 
of the Church of Zion are liable to the imputation 
of having been moved to rebellion by considerations 



THE SECOND EDITION. vii 

of pelf rather than of prmciple. It was not till 
President Young founded co-operative stores^ which 
had *^ Holiness to the Lord" for their motto, and 
monopoly for their privilege, that Mr. Godbe, the 
head of a large retail establishment, was moved to 
call in question his temporal authority. Mr. Godbe's 
own revolt and that of his colleagues was no mere 
secession for conscience sake. 

As a logical and necessary consequence, the 
Godbeite movement in vindication of Uberty to buy 
and sell led to an accompanying re-action against 
the narrow exclusiveness of the predominant Mormon 
doctrines. The members of the Church of Zion 
profess a form of Mormonism in which the com- 
mercial principles of Free Trade are associated with 
professions of Charity to all men. Other Mormons, 
however, who constitute the vast majority of the 
Saints, prefer a system of doctrine which draws a 
clear line of demarcation between the sheep and the 
goats. They glory in the thought that mankind is 
divisible into two classes, the one class consisting of 
uncompromising Mormons who will enjoy ever- 
lasting bliss in Heaven, the other class of stiff-necked 
Gentiles who will suffer to all eternity in Hell. 

The two sons of Joseph Smith are making much 
greater progress than the leaders of the Church 
of Zion. They offer to those who join the " Re- 






vi INTKODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

" Section I. — ^Be it enacted by the Governor and 
Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, 
that every woman of the age of twenty-one years 
who has resided in this territory six months next 
^* preceding any general or special election, bom or 
'^ naturalized in the United States, or who is the 
" wife, widow, or the daughter of a native-born or 
" naturalized citizen of the United States, shall be 
" entitled to vote at any election in this Territory. 
" Section 11. — All laws or parts of laws conflicting 
" with this Act are hereby repealed." 

Many women, united to the Brigham party by ties 
more sacred than mere political affinities, recorded 
their votes in favour of the candidates acceptable 
to the Saints. President Young's triumph was 
complete. The coalition candidates were defeated 
by a majority so large and compact as to demonstrate 
the futility of renewing the struggle till some 
radical change occurred in the attitude of the con- 
tending parties. Indeed, the Church of Zion has 
proved to be an ominous demonstration on the part 
of perverts rather than a serious obstacle in the 
path of the Mormon leaders. Had the Godbeites 
been bolder in their innovations they might have 
succeeded better in their objects. The champions 
of the Church of Zion are liable to the imputation 
of having been moved to rebellion by considerations 



THE SECOND EDITION. vii 

of pelf rather than of principle. It was not till 
President Young founded co-operative stores, which 
had *' Holiness to the Lord" for their motto, and 
monopoly for their privilege, that Mr. Godbe, the 
head of a large retail establishment, was moved to 
call m question his temporal authority. Mr. Godbe's 
own revolt and that of his colleagues was no mere 
secession for conscience sake. 

As a logical and necessary consequence, the 
Godbeite movement in vindication of liberty to buy 
and sell led to an accompanying re-action against 
the narrow exclusiveness of the predominant Mormon 
doctrines. The members of the Church of Zion 
profess a form of Mormonism in which the com- 
mercial principles of Free Trade are associated with 
professions of Charity to all men. Other Mormons, 
however, who constitute the vast majority of the 
Saints, prefer a system of doctrine which draws a 
clear line of demarcation between the sheep and the 
goats. They glory in the thought that mankind is 
divisible into two classes, the one class consisting of 
uncompromising Mormons who will enjoy ever- 
lasting bliss in Heaven, the other class of stiff-necked 
Gentiles who will suffer to all eternity in Hell. 

The two sons of Joseph Smith are making much 
greater progress than the leaders of the Church 
of Zion. They offer to those who join the " Re- 



viii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

organized Church of Christ of the Latter-day Saints," 
what they style original and unadulterated Mor- 
monism. All the innovations introduced by President 
Young, they reject and condemn as unauthorized 
and inadmissible. Polygamy they stigmatize as an 
invention of the Devil. David and Alexander 
Smith are continuing their mission with such marked 
and increasing success as to render it probable that, 
if Mormonism should eventually be included among 
the acknowledged religions of the World, they will 
occupy the foremost rank in its hierarchy. 

Far more menacing to President Young's supre- 
macy than intestine quarrels and schisms in the 
Church has been the course pursued latterly by the 
United States authorities. No special legislation 
has armed these authorities with new and excep- 
tional powers. On the contrary, when Mr. CuUom 
introduced a Bill into Congress designed as a 
measure for the suppression of Mormonism, the dis- 
like to the measure was very general, and the Bill 
was first modified and then abandoned. Nothing has 
been done beyond repairing gross errors of omission. 
The law is now inij)artially administered in Utah by 
a Governor and Chief Justice whom it has been 
found impossible to bribe, cajole, or intimidate. 
Governor Shaflfer, who was appointed by President 
Grant to rule over the Territory, resolved upon 



THE SECOND EDITION. ix 

putting an end to the illegal practices which his 
predecessors had tacitly sanctioned, or intentionally 
conniyed at. One of his first acts was to prohibit 
all unlawful gatherings of the Mormon Militia. 
This force President Young had been accustomed 
to treat as if it were under his exclusive controL 
AVhen the Governor's proclamation appeared, an 
intimation was given that it would not be obeyed. 
But the opposition exhausted itself in bravado. A 
oonflict with the United States authorities, which 
must have terminated in the discomfiture of the 
Mormons, was wisely eschewed. The Militia 
obeyed the Governor's orders. 

Another blow, directed against the absolute 

supremacy of President Young and his colleagues, 

wag dealt by Chief Justice McKean. He refused 

to peimit the Mormon Courts of Law to exercise a 

jurisdiction which, with the connivance of his less 

upright predecessors, they had usurped and abused. 

The change was equivalent to a revolution, yet the 

change itself simply consisted in extending fair play 

to Gentile and Mormon alike, and in treating both 

as equals before the law. A practical lesson was 

soon administered to the disbelievers in the reality 

of the new order of things. Some rioters, instigated 

by the City authorities, attacked and destroyed the 

contents of a liquor store kept by a Gentile. In 



X INTKODUCTOKY CHAPTEE TO 

former times the Gentile would have obtained no 
redress. Now he applies to the United States 
Courts for damages. Having proved his case^ 
the claim was admitted. Moreover^ the City au- 
thorities were fined heavily for having originated 
and fomented the riot. Since then, no similar 
breach of the peace has occurred. 

Two decisions of Chief Justice McKean have 
caused consternation throughout Mormondom. 
The one relates to the naturalization of aliens, the 
other to the appropriation of land. The Chief 
Justice has declined to naturalize any alien openly 
living with more wives than one in wilful defiance 
of an Act of Congress. Moreover, he has de- 
clared that cei*tain donations of public land, made 
by the Legislative Assembly, are null and void. 
Should his ruling in these two cases be upheld by 
the Supreme Court of the United States on appeal, 
then the Mormon leaders will have been subjected 
to a heavy blow and great discouragement. 

The last census returns show the total population 
of the Territory of Utah to be 86,786. This is 
much under the estimate given by me at page 129. 
In Salt Lake City there were 17,246 persons when 
the census was taken. This, too, is much below the 
calculation of the citizens themselves. 

With regard to another matter about which much 



THE SECOND EDITION. xi 

curiosity prevails and many erroneous guesses have 
been made, I can now supply correct information. 
This relates to the number of President Young's 
wives and children. In a sermon recently preached 
by him in the Tabernacle and reported verbatim in 
his organ the Deseret News he broaches and settles 
the point in the following terms : — " A great many 
*' men and women have an irrepressible curiosity to 
" know how many wives President Young has. I 
" am now going to gratify that curiosity by saying, 
*' ladies and gentlemen, I have sixteen wives. If I 
^* have any more hereafter, it will be my good luck 
"and the blessing of God. *How many children 
" * have you. President Young ? ' I have forty-nine 
" living children, and I hope to have a great many 
"more." The burden of the sermon, from which 
this extract is made, is the necessity for exercising 
faith, and several examples, drawn from Mormon 
history and experience, are given of the power of 
faith. The preacher's confident expectation that 
his fanuly will yet be largely increased may be added 
to the numerous illustrations he has afforded of faith 
in himself. He is upwards of seventy years of age. 
The clearest proofs of the strength of the Mormon 
organization and the surest tokens that the Pacific 
Bailway has not seriously damaged it as a religious 
movement, consist in the permanence and persistency 



xii INTKODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

of the Mormon eiForts to gain proselytes. During 
the year 1870 many missionaries laboured in all the 
States of the Union, but without achieving a striking 
result. The mission to Great Britain, on the other 
hand, was then, and has continued to be, most 
gratifying to its promoters. At the annual Con- 
ference held in Birmingham during that year, it 
was announced that there are 10,000 Mormons in 
the British Isles, and that these represent 21 Con- 
ferences, or districts, over each of which an Elder 
presides. In London there are eight branches. 
One hundred elders, about forty priests, twenty 
teachers and thirty deacons are constantly at work 
in the Capitol of England preaching and propagating 
the religion whereof Brigham Young is the prophet. 
The difficulty of procuring any of the handbills 
circulated among the class likely to supply converts, 
and the interest attaching to these documents con- 
stitute my excuse, if excuse be required, for re- 
printing one : — " Invitation ! A great and marvel- 
" lous work has come forth, to which we invite your 
" serious attention. God, who, in former times, 
" revealed himself to the Prophets, has spoken to 
" man with his own voice in this present day ! Angels, 
" who, in ancient days, brought messages from 
" heaven to earth, have again visited this planet, and 
"have re-opened that communication with the 



THE SECOND EDITION. xiii 

" Eternal world which has been so long cut off I 
"Jesus of Nazareth^ who was slain on Calvary, but 
" raised from the dead by the power of the Father, 
" has again manifested himself, and has re-organized 
" his Church with inspired Apostles, Prophets, &c., 
" after the ancient patteru, and has commissioned 
" his servants to go forth and prepare the way for his 
" second coming, which is nigh at hand. These words 
" are true and faithful ; and God will bear witness 
" of them, by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, 
"to all who receive this Gospel insincerity. If you 
"wish to hear more concerning this important work, 
" which is the entering in of * the dispensation of the 
"* fulness of times,' attend our meetings." 

Such an appeal as the foregoing is calculated to 
meet with a hearty response from certain sections of 
English society. To the uneducated, whose religion 
is a vague reminiscence, and to the half-educated, 
who are unable to understand why the utterances 
of prophets and the working of miracles should have 
ceased with the publication of the Bible, the 
Mormon offer of a supplementary Gospel and a con- 
tinuous revelation is irresistibly attractive. When 
such persons attend the meetings of the Saints, they 
are easily convinced and converted. The Mormons 
know well the power of hymns to influence and 
excite a congregation. It is difficult for the most 



XIV INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

callous and cynical to remain unmoved while a 
company of earnest men and women is fervently 
singing such a hymn as the first in the Mormon 
hymn-book^ of which this is the opening verse: — 

** The morning breaks, the shadows flee; 
Lo ! Zion*8 stundard is unfurrd, 
The dawning of a brighter day 
Majestic rises on the world." 

The Mormons know also that direct, homely, and 
brief appeals are more effectual in arousing enthusiasm 
and warming the heart than the most exhaustive and 
argumentative discourses. Their preachers skilfully 
adapt themselves to their audiences. They promise 
that under the Mormon dispensation there shall be 
no more vice or crime, no more tribulation or repin- 
ing, no more grinding of the poor by the rich, nor 
envying the rich by the poor. During life they are 
to d\7ell together in unity as brethren, and after 
death they are to enter and reign in Heaven. 
Moreover for the Mormons is to be reserved the 
terrestrial triumph and the rare delight of possessing 
the eailhly Zion where the ingathering of the nations 
is to take place, and whence the Millennial morn is 
to dawn upon the world. Who can wonder that 
promises and prospects like these should prove 
efficacious in adding to the number of the Saints 
many a toiling labourer who wishes to better his 
worldly lot and many a serious artisan who believes 



THE SECOND EDITION. XV 

that he inhabits the city of Destruction, and is 
willing to go on pilgrimage to Salt Lake City that 
he may win a heavenly crown I 

In Scotland, as well as in England, the emissaries 
of President Young labour diligently and not without 
effect. At the annual Conference held in Glasgow 
during the past spring, many interesting and 
significant details were given of Mormon doings and 
aims. Nineteen branches were represented. In 
Glasgow alone there are eighty-five elders, fifty-six 
priests, forty teachers, and twenty-three deacons. 
Since the preceding annual meeting, sixty converts 
had been added to the Church of the Saints and 
were duly baptized by total immersion in the Clyde. 
The Conference was addressed by Elders who had 
come as missionaries from Utah. Their discourses 
betrayed no fears as to the success and stability of 
the organization over which President Young holds 
sway. The following extracts from the address of 
Elder G. W. Grove contain an enunciation of the 
Mormon view about this country: — "Here men 
" build cities, invent machinery and imagine great 
paintings, but they are spiritually ignorant and 
enveloped in gross darkness. But to that land 
" whither others are tending Christ's messenger had 
" come forty years ago to prepare the way and lay 
" the foundation of a mighty empire which would 



€€ 
€€ 



ss 



XVi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

^^ swallow up all other kingdoms, and in a few 
years Christ himself would suddenly burst upon 
them in all the ineffable splendours of his divinity.** 
I pray God that your children would be rescued 
from this British Babylon, where bad men rule, 
and sent to those happy valleys that live in peace 
" under the sway of the Apostles." Elder Elredge, 
who also had travelled from Utah to preach the 
Mormon gospel to the benighted inhabitants of the 
British Isles, was still more emphatic in denouncing 
the land wherein he was a sojourner. According to 
him it is " as far from being civilized as Hell is from 
" Heaven." He boasted that drunkenness, profane 
swearing, and the sin of great cities are unknown in 
the happy valleys inhabited by the Saints. For the 
same reason that Homer could call the Ethiopians 
blameless without incurring rebuke. Missionaries 
from Salt Lake City are unchecked when maintain- 
ing that their mountain home is an Earthly Paradise. 
Perhaps, when the truth is more generally diffused 
throughout this country, these Missionaries will be 
less sweeping in their assertions. They deal very 
discreetly with the dogma of Polygamy. In the 
Tabernacle at Salt Lake City it forms the burden 
of nearly every sermon. The Missionaries prefer 
to dwell upon other topics. They find that converts 
are more easily made by promises of farms than of 



THE SECOND EDITION. xvii 

wives. Sometimes they advocate plural marriage in 
a waj which satisfies those who are better philan- 
thropists than logicians. To them they triumphantly 
offer Polygamy as a panacea for prostitution. When 
too late, the converts discover that Salt Lake City 
has its sins as well as the British Babylon ; that^ if 
the Mormons are Saints in name^ they are not 
precisely Saints in fact. 

In Chapter X. I have given an account of a 
mission branch of the American Episcopal Church 
established in Salt Lake City for the purpose, not 
only of caring for the spiritual welfare of the Gen- 
tiles, but also of re-converting the Mormons. The 
progress of the Mission ought to satisfy its promoters. 
A spacious Church has been built for the accom- 
modation of a congregation which is multiplying 
daily. The school opened by the Rev. Mr. Foote is 
attended by increasing numbers of pupils. When I 
last wrote there were 1 30 children on the school-roll ; 
since then an additional hundred has been added. 
It is but fair to state, on the other hand, that the 
Mormons are displaying a laudable desire for the 
spread of education. The Deseret University, 
though of recent origin, has been very successful. It 
is a most creditable seminary for the advancement of 
learning. There are three distinct courses of training, 
the classical, scientific, and commercial. Degrees are 

a 



X 



xviii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

conferred for proficiency in each. The Commercial 
Course is chiefly preferred and is certainly the most 
worthy of note. The class-room^ in which the 
students are trained to become merchants, is divided 
into sections representing the practical working of 
all mercantile undertakings. The student is taught 
by example how to conduct mercantile corre- 
spondence, despatch telegrams, insure projierty, 
recover compensation for injury or loss. A postal 
and telegraphic department, a banking and insurance 
office, are managed alternately by one division of the 
students and utilized by another. The result is that 
the student who has been trained here leaves the 
University an adept at all mercantile transactions. 
WTien he enters a merchant's office he is qualified 
for more difficult and responsible work than copying 
letters and affixing postage stamps to envelopes. 
Indeed, it has been found that a Commercial graduate 
of the Deseret University can undertake, without 
further instruction or experience, any of the duties 
connected with a mercantile career, and can even 
fill some of the highest posts in a mercantile house. 

Conspicuous among recent events in the Territory 
of Utah has been the mining mania at Bingham 
Canyon, a spot about twenty-five miles to the south- 
west of Salt Lake City. The influx of Gentile 
miners, and the enrichment of the Mormons them- 
selves, are expected to precipitate a crisis " in the 



THE SECOND EDITION. xix 

history of the Saints. The nature^ extent, and 
influence of this episode in Mormon annals naturally 
fall to be considered in the succeeding section of 
this chapter. 

ir. 

Readers of English newspapers might suppose 
that, during the past year, numerous rich stores 
of gold and silver had been discovered for the first 
time in Nevada and California. The truth is the 
majority of the mines about which much has been 
w^ritten are of old date, and the greatest novelty 
relating to them is the fact that English capitalists 
have become willing to purchase them with the 
avowed intention of developing their resources. 
Several years ago, American sellers of valuable 
mining properties had considerable success in England. 
The ** Washoe Mines," the " Imperial Silver 
Quarries," and other ventures were transferred from 
American to English hands for a consideration 
rendering the bargain one of which the American 
vendor had no reason to complain. It ultimately 
became necessary to wind up these promising under- 
takings. Of the first it has been publicly said that 
'' it was as easy to drive a carriage through the 
Rocky Mountains as to make the Washoe mine 
pay." These failures, coupled with the panic of 

d2 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 



1866^ effectually closed the English Market for a 
time against mining ventures in the United States. 
Recently, however, English capitalists have either 
become less circumspect and prudent, or else 
American owners of mining properties have grown 
more ingenious and plausible, for the eagerness 
of the former to purchase such properties is only 
equalled by the readiness of the latter to part with 
them. The prices of these mines vary from fifty 
thousand to two hundred thousand pounds. So 
numerous are the English Companies which have 
already been formed to purchase and work mining 
properties in the United States, that to give a 
complete list would require much space. It is no 
exaggeration to estimate the Capital sunk in these 
undertakings at upwards of a million and a half 
sterling. The following list of companies, few of 
which have been in existence for more than a year, 
may prove alike interesting and instructive : — 



Name of Company. 
Birdseye Creek (Califcmia) 
Eberhardt and Aurora (Nevada) 
Kclipse (California) . 
Exchequer (California) 
Pacific (California) 
Sierra Buttes (California) . 
South Aurora (Nevada) 
Sweetland Creek (California) 
Tuolumno (California) 
Utah (Utah) . 



Capital subscribed in England. 

. £60,000 

. 235,000 

. 100,000 

60,000 

. 105,000 

. 225,000 

. 300,000 

60,000 

80,000 

. 100,000 



Total . £1,325,000 



THE SECOND EDITION. xxi 

The names of many other companies would have 
to be added to the above list were it put forward as 
authoritative and complete. For the present, the 
shareholders in nearly all thesecompaiiies have reason 
to rejoice. One of them, the " Pacific," is at heavy 
discount, the fully paid up shares of £7 each not 
being saleable for more than £3, but the majority 
command large premiums. Shares in the '' Eber- 
hardt and Aurora," for example, have been saleable 
at £40, the original price being £10. As I have 
given some details about this extraordinary mine in 
the Chapter on " Nevada and its Silver Treasures," I 
return to the subject in order to add some fresh facts. 
Since that chapter was written a volume of great 
scientific and general interest has been published. 
This is the " United States Geological Exploration 
of the Fortieth Parallel," compiled by eminent 
Geologists and mining Engineers at the request of 
the Secretary of War. Full and minute informa- 
tion respecting the mineral districts of Nevada are 
contained in that valuable and handsome volume. 
Writing about the White Pine district generally 
and the Eberhardt mine in particular, Mr. A. 
Hague says, that though " described as a ledge or 
true * fissure ' vein, and held under laws that apply 
to that form of deposits," yet this "is a matter 
concerning which intelligent men hold conflicting 






xxii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

Opinions." Mr. Hague's own opinion is that the 
White Pine mines are mere arbitrary deposits of 
silver ore, deposits which are sometimes of marvellous 
richness but are, as a rule, fluctuating and uncer- 
tain in quality. He adds that this particular 
deposit **is probably the most remarkable occurrence 
of horn-silver on record. In the early days of its 
development, channels or courses of ore were 
passed through that were almost solid horn-silver. 
A lump of ore was shown to the >vriter weighing 
** several hundred pounds, apparently composed 
" almost entirely of this material. One lot of ore 
" of 22 tons, taken out during the firet summer's 
" work, had an average assay value of over 5,000 
** dollars per ton." No such treasure-trove now 
rewards the patience of explorers. The average of 
the yield per ton has fallen as low as 40 dollars. 
After ore to the estimated value of half a million 
sterling had been extracted from this mine it was 
sold, along with some other properties, to an English 
Company for :£100,000. Another property, the 
" South Aurora," was next disposed of for £200,000. 
Both have paid dividends. But it is the vendors of 
these mines who deserve the most cordial congratu- 
lations. They have brought their goods to an ex- 
cellent market. As might have been expected, 
their example has been widely followed. They 



THE SECOND EDITION. xxiii 

have discovered a vein in BritiBh pockets which is 
nearly as remunerative^ and promises to be quite as 
lasting, as any yet worked in the entire State of 
Nevada. 

It is worthy of not^ that one of the obstacles to 
successful mining at Treasure Hill has latterly been 
overcome. Water, which formerly cost as much as 
wine elsewhere, is now obtainable in abundance and 
at a moderate price. A company formed in San Fran- 
cisco has erected the White Pine Waterworks. The 
outlay for water still forms no unimportant item 
in the expenses of many mining companies, the 
amount paid for the supply of each stamp being 
five shillings daily. The shareholders in the Water 
Company are more fortunate, on the whole, than 
the shareholders in the majority of the mines. 
While the Americans do not hesitate to sell their 
** claims ** to Englishmen, they are careful to retain 
control over enterprises which, like the White Pine 
Waterworks, are attended with little risk and 
usually yield large dividends. When capital has to 
be found for the prosecution of such undertakings, 
it is quite unnecessary to resort to the London 
market. The Americans deserve no blame for acting 
in this way. Such conduct betokens their shrewdness 
and foresight. Censure cannot fairly be cast on those 
who are merely chargeable with keeping possession 



xxiv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

of the most lucrative concerns, or employing les8 
keen-witted persons to pull their chesnuts out of the 
fire. 

Not till, in the opinion of the American investing 
public, mining in California and Nevada had been 
nearly "played out," did the desire to part with 
promising properties to English adventurers become 
intense and general. In the official reports from 
which I have already quoted, it is said that " there 
is a decided falling off in the yield of the rock [at 
White Pine] as compared with earlier returns.'* 
When the enlightened jmblic of the White Pine 
district learned that the " Eberhardt" mine had been 
acquired by an English Company, the general 
opinion, and perhaps the general hope, as expressed 
in the language of the locality, was that the " Bri- 
tishers had been bilked." I was frequently struck 
with the prevalence of the belief in the Western 
States, that English capitalists were mere children 
whom an enterprising American could dupe with per- 
fect ease. It is generally acknowledged that the 
" Eberhardt" mine was not sold till it was thought to 
be exhausted. The company which has acquired it 
derives its profits, not from that mine, but other 
properties. Similar good fortune will hardly be the 
lot of every other company. 

Intimately connected with this subject is a 



THE SECOND EDITION. XXV 

mystery about which I have written at length in 
the chapter on San Francujco and to which I recur 
again^ less with the view of providing a final solu- 
tion^ than of advocating the exercise of caution and 
hinting a useful warning. Granting that the rate 
of interest is higher in the United States than in 
the United Kingdom, it does not necessarily follow, 
as has frequently been asserted and assumed, that 
capital is ever lacking when a speculation is hopeful, 
or that American capitalists are reluctant to embark 
their funds in speculative enterprises. Money is 
not scarcer in America than in Australia. In both 
countries mining industry flourishes. Mining com- 
panies crowd the Stock-Exchange lists of Melbourne 
and San Francisco. When a company cannot be 
formed in either city to work or ** develope" a par- 
ticular mine the reason is that, in the opinion of 
those best capable of arriving at sound conclusions, 
the terms of purchase are too onerous, or the 
prospects of success are infinitesimal. The ore may 
be very rich, yet the cost of labour may be dispro- 
portionately high. Difficulties inseparable from 
working the mine, difficulties which those only who 
are personally acquainted with the locality can 
thoroughly appreciate, may deter all prudent and 
well-informed persons from having any pecuniary 
share in it. An experienced and trustworthy 



xxvi INTBODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

English miner ivho crosses the ocean to Inspect and 
report upon this mine may be fully justified in 
giving a glowing account of its position and pros- 
pects^ and in stating that the representations made 
as to its richness are neither ill-founded nor over- 
strained. On the strength of this independent and 
impartial rei)ort, English capitalists may think 
themselves fortunate in securing possession of such 
a property at any price. For a brief period every- 
body will be satisfied. The vendor will congratulate 
himself on having exchanged a glorious uncertainty, 
in the form of problematical gold or silver under- 
ground, for an absolute and pleasing certainty in 
the form of a handsome balance at his bankers. 
The shareholders, believing in the promises of future 
cent, per cent, dividends, will refuse to part with 
their shares except at large premiums. The general 
public, in its anxiety to secure an interest in the 
"good thing" of which they hear such brilliant 
tales, will readily buy the shares at any premium 
which may be demanded. Probably a satisfactory 
dividend is declared very soon after the transfer of 
the property. Foreign and colonial mines, which 
have been sold for a large sum, frequently enter the 
dividend list with wonderful rapidity. Judicious 
vendors of doubtful concerns leave behind them 
some reserves which may instantly become available. 



THE SECOND EDITION. xxvii 

Indeed, it is a common condition of the sale of mines 
that the vendor is to be paid his price partly in 
cash and partly in paid-up shares, these shares not 
being transferable till a ten per cent, dividend at 
least has been declared. Obviously it is the vendor's 
interest to secure an early payment of the minimum 
dividend. Moreover, the speedy payment of it 
proves of great service to him. He can not only 
get rid of his shares, but he will dispose of them to 
the greater advantage on account of the excitement 
caused by the apparent success of the company. 
Once he has ceased to have any interest in the 
mine, it matters nothing to him should the first 
dividend prove the last. When the shares are 
unsaleable in the market, the shareholders may be 
startled to learn that the mine was, in American 
phrase, a " Wild Cat Concern." If the knowledge 
were more widely diffused throughout England that 
in Australia and the United States, as in Cornwall 
itself, the best and safest mining enterprises remain 
in the hands of local capitalists who thoroughly 
know their business and who seldom, if ever, allow 
a really sound mining investment to leave the 
country, the present traffic in " Wild Cat Mines " on 
the London Stock Exchange would be far less 
brisk, and far lees damaging to the future peace and 
profit of credulous and covetous English investors. 



xxviii IXTKODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

In the Temtory of Utah the mining fever is now 
raging with as great fury as it once raged in the 
State of Nevada. My ac([uaintance " Slim Jim " 
(see page 337) was right in thinking that this 
locality had not received adequate attention from 
miners like himself. It is not true, however, that 
the discoveries of gold and silver mines are matters 
of yesterday. During the past three years some of 
the mines, which the owners would readily transfer 
to English capitalists, have been worked quietly and 
successfully. Whether they have been partially or 
entirely exhausted will be learned, perhaps, at the 
cost of English speculators. President Brigham 
Young, who ought to know something of the 
country, has put on record a prophecy which 
has as good chance of fulfilment as any which he 
ever made. He predicts that " for every dollar 
gained here, there will be ten dollars sunk." Per- 
haps he is prejudiced. Certainly, for mining in all 
its phases, he has an avowed distaste. His opinions 
on the subject are clearly expressed in the following 
extract from a recent sermon : — " We are not anxious 
to obtain gold : if we can obtain it by raising 
potatoes and wheat, all right. * Can't you make 
" * yourselves rich by speculating ?' We do not wish 
" to. * Can't you make yourselves rich by going 
" *to the gold mines?' We are right in the midst 
" of them. ' Why don't you dig the gold from 






THE SECOND EDITION. xxix 

"'the earth?' Because it demoralizes any com- 
" munity or nation on the earth to give them gold 
"and silver to their heart's content; it will ruin 
" any nation. But give them iron and coal, good 
" hard work, plenty to eat, good schools and good 
" doctrine, and it will make them a healthy, wealthy, 
" and a happy people." President Young has often 
spoken with less plausibility than when he uttered 
the foregoing words. To those who know what a 
mining camp in Western America really means, 
his feeling of aversion to mining will appear 
neither unnatural nor unreasonable. The abode of 
the Saints in this locality may not have been a 
perfect type of an earthly Zion. It now bids fair, 
however, to be transformed into an earthly Pande- 
monium. 

Bingham Canyon is the chief point of attraction 
for the miners. Here a miner's "city" is rapidly 
springing up. Within a single month two hotels, 
eight stores, and forty private houses have been added 
to it. The " Emma " lode from which precious metals 
to the value of £300,000 had been extracted, recently 
changed hands for 1,500,000 dollars. A Comi)any 
was soon established in London to work a property 
from which an annual return of £100,000 is promised 
and for which the sum of £90,000 was paid. If the 
return be ever made, the price given is a mere trifle. 
In the case of this mine, as of all mines, the certainty 



INTRODUCTORY CIL\PTER TO 

of having to make the payment is the onlj matter 
about which neither mistake nor dispute can exist. 

I have purposely confined my observations on 
American mining, in its relation to English investors, 
to the operations now in progress throughout Utah, 
Nevada, and California. Were not the subject too 
wide for my present scope, I could write much in 
the same strain with reference to Colorado, Montana, 
Idaho^ and Arizona. But I should produce an 
erroneous impression were I to maintain that all the 
investments of English capital which have now been, 
or may hereafter be made in American mines are 
sure to end in disappointment and loss. It is more 
than probable that some of the enterprises will prove 
extremely profitable. Out of the numerous Gold 
mines possessed and worked by English companies 
in Brazil and Australia a small proportion may be 
classed among lucrative undertakings. It would be 
unreasonable to infer that the same result may not 
be repeated. Herein, however, is the source of the 
greatest danger. Our brilliantly successful mine 
excites hopes which are never gratified, and makes it 
easy to palm off a certain number of spurious un- 
dertakings. The shareholders who have received 
large dividends in the one, are foremost in sub- 
scribing: for shares in the others. Thus, in the lono* 
run, the gain is neutralized, and, when too late, 



THE SECOND EDITION. xxxi 

many bitterly repent them of their rashness and folly. 
The moral is that tainiog everywhere and under all 
circnmstances ia a lottery. Unless the public of 
this country should be fortunate beyond all prece- 
dent or expectation, the existing mania for embarking 
capital in American mines will terminate in the 
majority of the blanks falling into English hands 
and the majority of the prizes passing into American 
pockets. 

III. 

The bright anticipations formed by patriotic and 
sanguine citizens of the United States when the 
Pacific Railway was completed have been very im- 
perfectly fulfilled. Commerce between Europe and 
Asia has not yet been wholly diverted from other 
channels and made to follow the new route across 
the Continent of America. Indeed, for trading 
purposes the Suez Canal has proved a formidable 
rival to the Pacific Railway. It is true that light 
and perishable commodities, such as tea and silk, can 
be advantageously transmitted, vifl San Francisco, 
from the far East to New York. But the higher 
cost of freight, coupled with the expense of transfer 
from ship to railway, will always retard the develop- 
ment of through goods traffic in this direction. 
Moreover, an important link in the railway system 



xxxii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

is still wanting. The M:88ouri has not yet been 
bridged. But the work of building the bridge has 
been actively prosecuted since English capitalists 
subscribed for " Omaha Bridge " bonds. Notwith- 
standing this drawback the Pacific Railway has been 
the means of facilitating internal traffic. It is largely 
employed for conveying to the markets of New 
York and Boston the exquisite fruits of California. 
In return for splendid peaches, pears, and grapes, 
the delicious oysters of tlie Eastern States are sent 
to tickle the palates of Califomian lovers of good 
living. 

While miscalculations as to goods traffic may have 
excited disappointment, the passenger traffic^ on the 
other hand, has been in excess of the highest 
estimates. The route across the Continent is 
becoming the favourite means of inter-communica- 
tion. Those who have to journey between Europe, 
Asia, New Zealand, and Australia, avail themselves 
of this new route to the East In addition to the 
established lines of steamers between San Francisco 
and British Columbia, Mexico, China, and Japan, 
two lines of direct steam communication now link 
that port with the Sandwich Islands and New 
Zealand. One of these lines is under contract with 
the Government of New Zealand, Australia, and the 
United States to carry the mails. As an induce- 



THE SECOND EDITION. xxxiii 

ment for selecting this route passengers are told that 
they are certain of enjoying a yaried and interesting 
trip. They are told, moreover, that tihey will be 
oonveyed between England and Japan in 38 days, 
between England and China in 44 days, between 
England and New Zealand in 42 days, and between 
England and Australia in 47 days. 

Not only is the through passenger traffic assuming 
larger proportions, but the passenger traffic across the 
Atlantic is likewise increasing with great rapidity. 
One result of this is that competition between the 
Atlantic steam ship companies is leading to improve- 
ments in the carrying capacity and the comfort of 
Atlantic steam ships. Every new vessel added to 
the Cunard, Inman, Guion, National, Anchor, or 
Allan fleet, is either more commodious or more con- 
veniently arranged than any previous one. The 
day is not far distant when the ^^ Great Eastern" will 
cease to be a Leviathan among steamers. A Com- 
pany recently formed to carry goods and passengers 
between Liverpool and New York, has placed 
steamers on the ocean compared with which some of 
the notable vessels of a very recent period are but 
pigmies. This is called the " White Star Line." 
The steamers of this line have other merits than 
mere size. Their internal arrangements are on a 
new model. The Saloon and State-rooms being 

b 



xxxiv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 

placed amidships^ first-class passengers are released 
from the discomfort occasioned by too close 
proximity to the screw propeller. This change is 
one which deserves to be not only applauded^ but 
generally adopted by the designers of new passenger 
steamers. Having had a trip in one of the vessels 
of another company which is strenuously and success- 
fully competing for the favour of English and Ameri- 
can travellers^ I can bear personal testimony to the 
fact that the shortcomings with which I have' charged 
the Cunard Company are entirely absent from the 
steamers of the North German Lloyd^ which sail 
from Bremen, but also carry passengers between 
Southampton and New York. Every luxury which 
any passenger can desire is to be obtained on board 
a North German Lloyd Steamer. 

This reference to the various Atlantic steam ship 
companies, which is made with a view to complete 
the information given in Chapter XXV., would be 
imperfect did I omit to note the advantages of the 
Allan Line. This Company, established a few 
years ago to ply between Canada and England, has 
gradually risen to a prominent place among the lines 
which cross the Atlantic. Its success is wholly 
due to Canadian enterprise, and is a subject about 
which Canadians are entitled to speak with pride. 
For those who wish to make the journey in the 



THE SECOND EDITION. xxxv 

shortest possible time from this country to San 
Prancisco, the attractions of the route across the 
ocean in an Allan steamer and through Canada in 
a Grand Trunk railway car are unrivalled. If the 
season be summer^ the sail upon the St. Lawrence 
constitutes in itself a special inducement to select 
this route.* 

I shall most appropriately conclude this chapter 
by expressing my gratification that the opinion 
expressed at page 390 has been entirely justified by 
the action of the Joint High Commission. Every 
well wisher to his country, on either side of the 
Atlantic, must rejoice that a problem pregnant 
with serious complications has been solved in such 
away as to bind together the two great English 
speaking nations of the world in amicable and in- 
timate union. All who value the permanence of 
that auspicious connexion must desire that the 



* I had intended supplying a list of the fares charged by the 
several steam ship and railway companies. But, as this information 
is already obtainable elsewhere, I content myself with indicating 
where to look for it. All the information that the intending 
tniTeller can require, is to be found in a volume entitled Our Ocean 
Highways, compiled by Mr. Dempsey, and published by Mr. Stan- 
ford. Through tickets by all the lines of steamer and railway to 
San Francisco, and to the ports in steam connexion with it, are 
procurable at the of&ce of Messrs. H. Starr & Ck>., 22 Moorgate 
SCzeet, £.C. 



XXXVl 



INTRODUCrrOEY CHAPTER. 



common language should never be put to any other 
use than to express kindly sentiments^ or to settle 
misunderstandings in friendly debate. If this be 
done, then^ to employ the admirable words of 
General Schenck^ the American Minister, ^^ It is 
" hard to tell to what a degree of influence, political, 
«' moral, and social, the two countries may not arrive. 
'^ God forbid that we should ever unite our forces 
<« for any purpose that is not right morally, poUti- 
'^ cally, and socially. But if it come to physical force 
^^ and we unite with each other, we shall then form 
^^ an association which will prove irresistible." 



WESTWAED BY RAIL 



I. 

FBOM THE MERSEY TO THE HTTDSON. 

Before abbiving at the station^ it is sometimes 
necessary to pass through an ordeal as trying as 
^ encountered during the course of an expedition 
by rail. The distance to be traversed, the cha- 
racter of the conveyance, the space of time within 
which to catch the train, are considerations which 
have all to be taken into account, and of which 
each may contribute something towards rendering 
the traveller anxious and uncomfortable. My pre- 
liminary journey was neither short nor easy. Prior 
to travelling * Westward by Rail,' I had to traverse 
three thousand miles of a stormy ocean, and 
undergo the chances and changes incident to a 
voyage extending over ten weary days. By many 
persons a trip across the Atlantic is regarded as a 
commonplace and uninteresting excursion. Ac- 
cording to them, it is as much a thing of everyday 

B 



2 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

occurrence as the passage of the Channel or a sail 
up the Rhine. It is true that^ with a memorable 
and immortal exception^ a narrative of a voyage to 
America has ceased to inspire universal and abiding 
interest The unknown sea has been transformed 
into the ocean highway. Yet to those who make 
the voyage for the first time, the sensation is as 
novel and impressive as it was to the daring 
mariners ..ho unveiled the mysteries of an un- 
explored deep, and dazzled mankind with the spec- 
tacle of a new world. In the hope of noting a few 
particulars not wholly devoid of general interest, I 
venture to repeat what is in the main an old and a 
hackneyed tale. 

About nine o'clock one Saturday morning, to- 
wards the end of August 1869, 1 formed one of a 
group on the deck of the tender Satellite^ which 
was to convey the passengers for New York from 
the Prince's Landing-stage to the Cunard steamer 
Chinuy lying at anchor in the Mersey. On an- 
other tender the luggage was being piled up without 
delay. Porters, staggering under the weight of 
huge trunks, portmanteaus, and leathern bags, fol- 
lowed each other in rapid succession. This was 
no new sight, but it differed in one respect from 
everything of the sort which I had witnessed else- 
wJiere. Nearly every passenger seemed to be the 



FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 3 

possessor of one of those cane-bottomed arm-chairs 

which are arranged so as to fold together till they 

are nearly flat. These chairs I had seen exposed 

for sale in several of the Liverpool shops^ but I did 

not even imagine that they formed a necessary part 

of the outfit of those who sailed across the sea. 

Greatly to my surprise^ I learned that those who 

failed to bring their own chairs could not expect to 

be comfortably seated on the deck of a well-found 

Cunarder. This piece of information diminished 

my respect for the company which boasts of never 

having lost a letter or a passenger^ and which makes 

its reputation an apology for charging more than 

any other for a passage across the Atlantic. 

Soon after stepping on board the China^ I gained 
another item of knowledge^ which would have been 
very useful^ had it not been acquired too late. A 
rush was made to the saloon by those passengers 
who knew the importance of being the first to per- 
form the simple ceremony of affixing their cards to 
the places at table which they wished to occupy 
during the voyage. Those who omitted to do tiiis^ 
or who were ignorant of the advantage of being 
ranked among the first comers^ were doomed to the 
discomfort of sitting where the unpleasant effects 
caused by the rotation of the screw-propeller were 
even more to be dreaded than the motion of the 

b2 



4 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

steamer as she pitches^ when the waves are dashing 
against her bows, or when she rolls heavily under 
the influence of cross seas. In this case, however, 
the law of compensation operated in a manner which 
afforded a grim pleasure to the disappointed. Those 
who had established a claim to the best seats did 
not always appear to occupy them. Circumstances 
over which they had no control frequently forced 
them to remain in their berths or on the deck while 
feasting and mirth prevailed in the saloon. 

After the China had steamed a short distance 
down the river she was stopped, in order to allow 
a tender, bearing the latest despatches, to come 
alongside. Several persons who had embarked at 
Liverpool now went on shore in this tender. There 
were the usual painful scenes which occur when 
partings take place between those who cannot see 
each other for a long interval, or who are doubtful 
about meeting again. A demonstration, of a marked 
and unusual kind, made it evident that a passenger 
of note was on board. As he stepped forward to 
acknowledge the greetings of those about to depart, 
and lifted his hat to return them, the noble features 
of a great American poet were recognised by many 
persons, who congratulated themselves on the good 
fortune which had accidentally made them the 



FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 5 

fellow-travellers of Mr. Longfellow, on his return 
home, after a protracted sojourn in Europe. 

The first evening at sea was unmarred bj any of 
the discomforts which frequently attend those who 
go down to the sea in ships. Every one ate, 
drank, and made merry. There were many children 
on board the steamer. As they gambolled about 
the deck, much more to their own satisfaction than 
to that of their elders, the more cynical passengers 
remarked that the Irish Channel was almost too 
smooth and the breeze too light. The fineness of 
the weather enabled us to view the coast of Wales 
to great advantage. Places were pointed out 
where large ships had gone to pieces during the 
raging of the terrific storms of winter. For the 
present these dangerous headlands were gazed at 
with pleasure by those who delighted to view with- 
out risk the bold, rugged outlines of stupendous 
cUffii, which are generally the terror of the sailor, 
but were now objects to be admired. At an early 
hour on Sunday morning the steamer reached 
Queenstown, where, after a detention of ten hours, 
the last mails were embarked ; and then the voyage 
across the ocean may be said to have really begun. 
Rounding the south coast of Ireland, the long 
Atlantic swell imparted to the steamer an amount 



6 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

of motion which cast down the spirits of the bad 
sailors whose hearts had beat high at the hope of a 
Toyage devoid of suffering, because made across a 
sea as placid as a land-locked bay. Still, the move- 
ment was not sufficiently great to produce incon- 
venience to the most timid or sensitive. Never 
have I witnessed a more beautiful spectacle than 
that which was presented at nightfall. It was one 
which no poet could adequately reproduce in words, 
nor any painter in colours. The grand Atlantic 
waves were slowly heaving with a long and mea- 
sured motion; the full-orbed moon was set in a 
serene and cloudless sky, and the wind was still. 
The spray, raised by the steamer's prow swiftly 
cleaving the dark blue water, fell back in a shower 
of fire, or fitfully flashed along the steamer's sides 
in a stream of dazzling light. As the moon's ivory 
beams quivered upon the agitated water in the 
vessel's track, and mingled with one of the phos- 
phorescent flashes on the crests of tiny waves, the 
combination of colours thus produced was magical 
alike in variety and vividness. These effects, being 
not continuous, but intermittent, a watchful eye 
had to be kept for a glimpse of unexpected beauties. 
Far on into the night did many passengers gaze on 
the attractive and novel spectacle, and sate their 
eyes with its loveliness. It was one which they 



FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 7 

might never again behold daring a passage across 
the Atlantic. 

On the morrow the scene changed. The angry 
coursers of Neptune were careering over the deep^ 
and spending their fury against the steamer's stout 
sides. Strong head-rwinds retarded her progress. 
By not a few^ life on the ocean was found to be 
vexation of spirit^ a burden too terrible to be borne 
without murmuring. The noisy children of the 
preceding day were now lying like logs in outrof- 
the-way comers ; passengers who had been jubilant 
as to the prospects of the voyage now shook their 
heads and bemoaned their lot. The attendance at 
meals was agreeably select. 

The state of things during the remainder of the 
voyage cannot be set forth more truthfully as 
regards the majority of the passengers than in the 
words which the late Lord Jeffrey wrote in his 
journal when crossing the Atlantic in 1813. Ac- 
cording to him, the pleasures of a voyage were : — 
Imprimis : Oppression and intolerable sickness, cold- 
ness, loathing, and vertigo. Secundo : Great occa- 
rional fear of drowning, and penitence for the folly 
^ having come voluntarily in the way of it. 
^<^io : l^ere is the impossibility of taking any 
exercise, and the perpetual danger of breaking your 
™h8 if you try to move from your chair to your 



8 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

bed^ or even to sit still without holding. Quarto : 
An incessant and tremendous noise of the ship 
groaning and creaking, cracking and rattling — to 
say nothing of the hissing of the wind, and the 
boiling and bubbling of the sea. Quinto: The 
eternal contact of the whole crew, whom you hear, 
see, feel, and smell, bj day as well as by night, 
without respite or possibility of escape; crying 
children, chattering Frenchmen, prosing captain, 
and foolish women, all with you for ever, and no 
means of getting out of their hearing. Sexto : The 
provoking uncertainty of your fate, now going 
150 miles in one day on your way, and then taking 
seven days to 100; the agreeable doubt whether 
your voyage is to last three weeks or three months. 
Septimo : The horrid cooking, and the disgusting 
good appetites of those who are used to it Octavo : 
The uniformity and narrowness of your view and 
its great ugliness.' Jeffrey adds, that there arc 
twenty other items which might be mentioned, but 
these are enough. 

Two of the distinguished contributors to th< 
renowned * Review ' of which Jeflfrey was the dis- 
tinguished editor, were more fortunate than he 
and they regarded a voyage not as an affliction \a 
be dreaded, but as an opportunity for profitabL 
reading and careful composition. When Sir Jame 



FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 9 

Mackintosh went to India he learnt German, and 
pursued a regular course of study while on board 
ship ; and on his return voyage he studied meta- 
physical problems, penned sketches of historical 
characters, and composed the introduction to his 
projected ' History of England.' Macaulay is said 
to have turned a similar opportunity to account by 
adding a thorough acquaintance with the works of 
St. Chrysostom to the vast stores of his miscella- 
neous knowledge. 

Those among my fellow-passengers who were 
in good health seemed to care little about im- 
proying their minds. They smoked; played at 
cards ; watched the heaving of the log ; speculated 
as to the length of the run made during the 
twenty-four hours ; were assiduous in eating all the 
five copious repasts provided between eight in the 
morning and nine at night, and were ready to 
initiate novices into the mysteries of * cock-tails.' 
Some of them were able to communicate pieces 
of information much more curious than useful. 
The peculiarities of English custom had been 
carefully noteid by an American gentleman, who 
pinmed himself upon the accuracy and extent of 
his attainments. He expressed to me his surprise 
at the continued existence in England of relics of 
a more barbarous age. One monopoly he regarded 



10 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

as peculiarly obnoxious. This was the assumed 
necessity of a wedding-ring being stamped by the 
Goldsmiths' Company in order to render the mar- 
riage contract valid and binding. When I assured 
him that^ not only was this notion a pure fiction, 
but that two persons could be legally married in 
England without a wedding-ring being used at all, 
he shook his head incredulously, and expressed his 
opinion that I was not well ^posted' as to the 
practices and laws of the country in which I lived. 

The sceptics as to the utility of daily newspapers 
would change their views after they had been a 
week at sea. For the first day or two the several 
passengers have some personal topics about which 
to converse ; but these are soon exhausted, and the 
dearth of ideas becomes painfully evident. Gloomy 
dulness characterises some, while a childish queru- 
lousness is manifested by others. Their minds 
being no longer occupied in discussing the rise and 
fall of stocks, the ins and outs of politics, the 
guilt or innocence of the last alleged criminal, are 
now concentrated on counting the hours which 
must elapse before they will again set foot on 
shore, or else busied in finding fault with every 
imaginable thing. As soon as the pilot brings 
newspapers on board, the scene changes. Tongues 
that had been still, or had been moved only to 



FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 11 

ntter complaints^ now wag cheerfully and pleasantly 
.gain. The alteration is bo great as to be mar- 
Telloos. If permanently deprived of newspapers, 
Englishmen and Americans would become as taci- 
turn as Turks. 

When the voyage was drawing to its end, a no- 
tice was posted up outside of the saloon, to the effect 
that the Government of the United States required 
every passenger to fill up a form with particulars 
as to age, occupation, last legal residence, purpose 
in visiting America, and as to whether or not this 
was the first visit. Such an intimation took the 
majority by surprise. If it had emanated from the 
despotic Government of Russia, or from the Go- 
vernment of the police-ridden kingdom of Prussia, 
no surprise might have been exhibited. Despots 
are fond of asking impertinent questions, and are 
wont to act as if travellers ought to be placed in 
the same category as the plague, and treated ac- 
cordingly. While the war lasted, the Government 
of the United States was justified in resorting to 
the obnoxious passport system, and treating every 
stranger as a foe or a spy in disguise. Happily, 
this excuse cannot be urged now that treason has 
been extinguished and the Union has triumphed. 
The Americans on board were as much puzzled and 
uinoyed as the visitors to the land of freedom. 



12 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

They used vigorous terms in characterising what 
was simply an indefensible demand. Thej were the 
more angry because they knew that a similar inter- 
ference with liberty of action does not take place 
when a steamer nears the coast of the United King^ 
dom^ and they disliked the comparison which could 
be drawn to the disadvantage of their own country. 
The last day of the voyage being nearly as fine 
as the firsts a large number of passengers mustered 
on deck and occupied seats at table. To all ap- 
pearance^ they had suffered severely. Their pale 
faces and tottering steps were unmistakable tokens 
of the bitterness of the ordeal through which they 
had passed. A newly-married pair, who had chosen 
to make a wedding-trip to America, instead of pay- 
ing the customary visit to the continent of Europe, 
excited general commiseration. Their first ten 
days of matrimony had been the reverse of blissful 
and satisfactory. Of the two, the gentleman was 
the more thoroughly prostrated. He resembled 
one who, having been smitten with a malignant 
fever, had barely escaped with his life. An elderly 
American lady was in some respects a spectacle 
still more deplorable. From the moment that the 
steamer had begun to rock, she felt convinced that 
her death was imminent Nearly every time that 
the vessel lurched and pitched she believed that a 



FROM THB MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 13 

catastrophe was at hand. Her husband vainlj 
tried to reassure her. He began hj speaking 
Boothing and inspiriting words, but without success. 
Appeals to her common sense were in like manner 
disr^arded. Nor did strong and threatening lan- 
guage have any better result. In truths the poor 
lady was thoroughly unnerved^ and had temporarily 
ceased to be able to control herself. The sight of 
land gave her a certain relief^ but her longing to 
be safely on shore again was intensified by the 
prospect. 

The approach to New York by sea has been eulo- 
gised in glowing terms^ yet nothing that has been 
said or written outstrips the reality. The most 
hi^i-flown anticipations are gratified to the full. 
After Sandy Hook is passed, the panorama on 
either side is most beautiful. On the right, the 
shore of Long Island, with its white beach and 
lows of neat houses, may be perceived in the dis- 
tance. On the left, the luxuriant foliage and the 
dark green vegetation remind the English traveller 
of the richest and most charming rising grounds in 
Kent The water is studded with steamers and 
tailing vessels. In the distance are islands covered 
with verdure, and in the background are the masses 
of redbrick buildings which constitute the chief 
pty of the Empire State. Conspicuous among the 



14 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

various structures is a towering edifice^ imposiiig in 
outline and white in colour. I was told that thie 
was the office of the New York Herald. There if 
something alike significant and appropriate in the 
fact that the office of one of the most enterprising 
among American newspapers should be the most 
conspicuous object beheld by the stranger who ap- 
proaches New York from the sea. 

The landing-stage of the Cunard steamers is at 
Jersey City, on the side of the river immediately 
opposite to New York. To pass his efiects through 
the Custom House is the traveller's first task. This 
office is as dingy and uncomfortable a place as any 
one of the sort to be met with elsewhere. Thinking 
that the rules which were in force here resembled 
those of the Custom Houses of the Old World, I 
first hunted for my luggage, and then, having found 
it, waited patiently till an officer was disengaged. 
On appealing to one who was unemployed, I was 
told that, before the examination could take place, 
I should have to fill up and sign a paper describing 
the various articles I had with me. I went to the 
official who gave out and countersigned those papers. 
He was seated, quietly smoking a cigar, and indis- 
posed to say much in response to those who plied 
him with questions and requests. He was addressed 
as 'Judge.' He certainly did not display any 




FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 15 

interest in the proceedings^ or show much con- 
cern for those who were most anxious to obey his 
orders. Afler glancing at and countersigning my 
paper^ he returned it^ and then I had little trouble 
in getting the examination completed. Varying and 
contradictory statements have been made about the 
conduct of the American Custom House officers. I 
wag told that they were the most exacting^ over- 
bearing, and detestable of any upon earth. My 
own experience did not bear out this opinion. They 
seemed to be overworked. So many articles being 
liable to duty, the search they make must neces- 
sarily be minute. The examination of my luggage 
was most thorough; but of ill-manners, or of an 
intentional desire to give annoyance, I could not 
detect a trace. Indeed, a Prussian Custom House 
officer would not only have given me more trouble, 
bat he would also have dgne his part in a way which 
proved that he gloried in the opportunity to be 
disagreeable and inquisitorial. Nor would he have 
acted like his American brother, and helped to re- 
fasten the articles which had been laboriously opened 
for his inspection. If this officer expected to receive 
a bribe for neglecting his duty, or a gratuity for 
skowing civility, his manner belied his thoughts. It 
may be that these officials are corrupt, and that a 
money present will cause them to be conveniently 



16 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

shortsighted. But the persons who should share 
the blame are those who tempt them to betraj their 
trust Several of my fellow-passengers^ who had 
various effects on which duty was chargeable, 
boasted of the immunity which they had purchased 
for a sovereign. If a tithe of what I heard were 
true, then the utmost vigilance of the officers is 
required in order to circumvent the stratagems of 
dishonest travellers. An English acquaintance, who 
meant no harm, but whose manner was a little too 
abrupt to please the officials of the Republic, had 
some reason to complain of the treatment he re- 
ceived. He was a solicitor, of high standing and in 
large practice, who had determined to improve his 
holiday by paying a hurried visit to the United 
States. He would as soon think of smuggling as 
of committing the smallest breach of professional 
etiquette. An officer, who was too astute by half, 
fancied that this gentleman had resolved upon sur- 
reptitiously importing watches into the Great Re- 
public. Being sharply questioned as to whether or 
not he had more than one watch in his possession, 
my acquaintance, astonished at the query, replied 
in a manner that seemed to confirm the suspicion 
which his demeanour had excited. To his surprise 
and annoyance, he was ordered to step into a room, 
where he was subjected to a minute personal search. 



FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 17 

The natural conclusion is that an American Custom 
House has its good and its bad side ; that the offi- 
cers are neither wholly immaculate nor uniformly 
unbearable; that the warning against being too 
precipitate ought to be carefully observed there; 
that patience and courtesy go a great way towards 
ensuring considerate treatment ; that much depends 
on the temperament^ the manners, and the appear- 
ance of the individual and not a little on the merest 
chance whether a traveller shall denounce all con- 
nected with it in the harshest terms of opprobrium, 
or speak of its officials as persons who discharge a 
difficult duty in a rational and defensible manner, 
and admit that they are neither much superior nor 
vastly inferior to Custom House officials all over 
the world. 

There is nothing strange or foreign to English 
eyes in New York when beheld for the first time. 
The impression made on the traveller who, after 
having crossed the straits of Dover and landed at 
Boulogne or Calais, sees French soldiers in their 
national uniform, workmen in their blue blouses, 
servant girls in their neat white caps ; who notices 
the peculiar arrangement of the shops, with prices 
marked in a foreign currency and signs printed in a 
foreign tongue ; who hears the people on every side 
conversing in a language which he never heard 

C 



18 WESTWABD BY KAIL. 

spoken before, is an impression far more startling 
and lasting than that which his mind receives after 
the long voyage of three thousand miles is over 
and he alights in the streets of New York. If the 
feeling be one of disappointment at the absence of 
marked novelty in the spectacle, it is dispelled as 
soon as he enters one of the monster hotels for which 
America is fiunous. He then becomes conscious of 
the fact that Liverpool and London, Edinburgh and 
Dublin are indeed far away, and he discovers that 
any experience he may have gained when travelling 
through France, Germany, and Italy avails him 
nothing. All the arrangements are new to him : he 
is emphatically an ignorant and bewildered foreigner 
in an English-speaking land. Fortunately, he has 
not much trouble in learning the ways of the house. 
The arrangements are as simple as they are com- 
plete. Many of them are admirable. They are 
designed so as to combine the maximum of comfort 
to the visitor with the minimum of labour on the 
part of the servants. Grumblers who would stig- 
matise Paradise as a detestable place of abode if it 
differed in petty details from the land of their birth, 
have written bitter things about the hotels of New 
York and have been far too successful in mislead- 
ing and prejudicing the .English readers of their 
books. The truth is that in the Old World there 



k 



FROM THE MERSEY TO THE HUDSON. 



19 



ve royal palaces in which the occupants are less 
luxuriously housed and enjoj a smaller share of 
life's minor comforts than would be their lot if they 
Bojoumed in the splendid and well-appointed hotels 
which have been erected in the United States for 
the reception and use of the Soverdgn People. 



c2 



20 WBSrWABD BY RAIL. 



II. 

NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO: THE ROUTES 

TO THE WEST. 

When I first saw New York it did not appear to 
roe a foreign city in the same sense as Paris^ or 
Frankfort, or Milan. A closer and more leisurely 
examination produced a different impression. To 
walk along Broadway recalls a walk aloug Kegent 
Street, but it also recalls a walk aloug the Bue 
de la Paiz. What seems to be English is rivalled, 
if not outdone, by what is unmistakably French, 
while many things have neither a French, nor an 
Euglish impress. The architectural effects are ex- 
traordinary in their variety. The want of simpHcity 
and repose is as marked as the absence of a dis- 
tinctively national style. Everyone has apparently 
followed the bent of his fancy, and the straining 
after originality has led to a confusion of ideas and 
a clashing of aims. 

All nationalities seem to have sent their repre- 
sentatives to this city. Half the languages of 
Europe are spoken by the motley gathering. The 



NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO. 21 

English tongue is in the ascendant; but the eye 
fails to see many figures or faces to match the here- 
ditary language. The ladies are dressed after the 
latest French mode^ yet the fashion of their apparel 
is the only thing they have borrowed from Paris. 
Their looks are native to the soil^ and to call them 
good is not to speak of them in language suffi- 
ciently eulogistic The men are dressed vdth a 
regard for appearances which is more conmion in 
Paris than in London. There is none of the uni- 
formity in their attire which is akin to monotony. 
All do not seem to have been condemned^ by a law 
which cannot be gainsaid, to wear the same hideous 
hat The ' wideawake ' is as conmion as the 
* chinmey pot ' and the mixture of the two produces 
a pleasing effect. 

The purity of the air is delicious. If a dwelling 
be built of marble, or brick, or stone, the beholder 
has no difficulty in pronouncing as to the nature of 
the material, and has the satisfaction of duly appre* 
dating the whiteness of the delicate marble, the 
warmth of the brick, the solidity of the stone. The 
principal streets are broad : the principal squares 
are spacious. The several Avenues which run 
parallel to each other throughout the greater part 
of the city are so wide that the tramways which are 
laid in them do not in the slightest degree interfere 



22 WESTWARD BY SAIL. 

with the traffia For the passage of all oonyejanceH 
there is room enough and to spare. At ihe upper 
end of the city is the Central Park. This public 
ground covers an area of more than 800 acres. It 
is laid out in a style resembling the Bois de Bou- 
logne rather than Hyde Park and Kensington 
Grardens. Several years hence when the trees shall 
have attained their full height the Central Park will 
be second to no other place of the kind. 

Quite as remarkable as the cosmopolitan aspect 
of New York streets is the contrast between the 
different portions of the city. The business quarter 
has a finished and substantial look ; the offices seem 
as if they had been built for some time. Proceed- 
ing westward the several edifices are evidently 
built for show and are apparently of comparatively 
recent date. In the former case the buildings have 
a money-making impress upon them : in the lattei 
the stamp of the successful millionaire is unmis- 
takeable. From the fine mansions of the rich in a 
fashionable Avenue^ the transition is rapid to the 
miserable shanty of the Irish squatter. At the 
one end gorgeous carriages roll along : at the othei 
geese are feeding among the grass.* Another con* 
trast is that between the splendour of the buildings 
and the wretchedness of the pavement. The streets 
are filled with ruts. For this the City Fathers arc 



mSW TORE TO SAN FBANGISOO. 23 

KTerelj censured; but they can afford to brave the 
indignation of their fellow-citizenB so long as they 
are permitted to hold office and to deal with the 
funds at their disposal in the manner most pleasing 
to themselves. 

In my opinion scant justice has yet been done to 
New York on the whole. It has its drawbacks^ as 
lus every city on the face of the globe^ but it pos- 
sesses excellencies which more than outweigh them. 
The man of business finds it as good a centre for 
his operations as London. The pleasure-seeker 
can amuse himself as well as in Paris^ while men 
of letters and students of art affirm that the pros- 
pects of New York becoming an honoured home 
of literature and art grow brighter every day. 

Before beginning my journey by rail from the 
Atlantic coast to the Pacific slope, I had to ascer- 
tam various particulars as to the route. There was 
no difficulty in purchasing a through ticket In 
most of the hotels and in numerous shops the 
tickets of any railway in the United States can be 
bought. Although the Pacific railway is constantly 
spoken of as a line which actually runs between 
New York and San Francisco, yet this is merely a 
conventional way of stating the fact that there is 
communication by rail between the two cities. A 
traveller can journey in a railway carriage from 



24 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

Dover to Inverness, but there is no such thing as a 
Dover and Inverness Railway. He has the choice 
of two lines of rail between Dover and London, 
of three between London and Edinburgh and of 
two over a part of the remainder of the route. K 
a stranger to the country, he may be embarrassed 
with this variety and be at a loss what selection to 
make. So it is at New York. The stranger sees 
innumerable advertisements in which Union Pacific 
Railroad is conspicuous, but in which the names of 
various lines are enumerated as being in connection 
with it. He reads in one that the ' Allentown Line ' 
is the shortest and the best; in another that the 
' Great Central Route ' is indisputably without a 
rival ; he may even see the advantages of the ill- 
fated Erie Railway extolled to the skies. As the 
fare in all cases is the same the puzzle consists in 
ascertaining the respective merits of the competing 
lines. He learns that in any event he must first 
reach Chicago. If, as is possible, the name of 
Niagara has an attraction for him and if, as is very 
natural, he is curious to become acquainted with 
the far-famed * Pullman's Cars,' he will probably 
decide upon travelling by the * Great Central 
Route ' and in doing so he will have no reason to 
repent of his decision. Should time be no object, 
he cannot do better than ascend the Hudson River 



NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO. 25 

in a steamboat to Albany and enter the train there 
instead of at New . York. The scenery of the 
Hudson haa been highly lauded^ but not over- 
praised. It is quite as romantic as that of the 
Bhine. In the autumn the aspect of the woods on 
the river's banks and heights clothed in the gor- 
geous tints of that season is a spectacle of wonder- 
ful beauty. The vine-clad hills between Coblentz 
and Bingen^ when seen at their best, cannot match 
the Hudson in its most picturesque parts. Nature 
has done much for .that river. One thing, however, 
is wanting to render it as famous as its European 
rival; the Hudson has not yet had its Byron. 
While no great poet has rendered it attractive by 
his inspired verse, a steamboat company has endea- 
voured to create an interest of a more prosaic and 
more practical kind. The steamers which ply 
between New York and Albany are marvels in 
their way. To call them ^floating palaces' is not 
the language of hyperbole, but is the simple truth. 
Let me suppose that the ' Great Central Route ' 
has been chosen and that the traveller bound for 
tihe Far West starts from New York in the evening 
by the Pacific Express. On the morning of the 
following day he arrives at Rochester, where 
' Pullman's Palace Cars ' are attached to the train ; 
he gets a good view of Niagara Falls as the train 



26 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

slowly crosses the bridge over the boiling rapids, 
sees a large portion of the Western section of 
Canada, and then, after having passed two nights 
and one day in a railway carriage and traversed a 
distance of 900 miles, he arrives at Chicago. 

The lines of Railway over which this train runs 
are the Hudson River, the New York Central, the 
Great Western of Canada, and the Michigan 
CentraL The present was the first occasion on 
which I had travelled over the Great Western of 
Canada. By Canadians I heard this line very 
highly praised. Like the Grand Trunk it has been 
constructed with English capital and belongs to an 
English company. Its shareholders are much more 
fortunate than the investors in the Grand Trunk, 
inasmuch as, while the directors of the Great 
Western declare dividends, the directors of the 
Grand Trunk apologise year after year for their 
inability to do likewise. The reason is that the 
Great Western runs through a dividend-producing 
country and has enjoyed an immunity from the 
trials which have crippled the hands of the mana- 
gers of the Grand Trunk. 

The misfortune of the latter is, that, owing to 
various circumstances, it has been a bone of conten- 
tion between opposing political parties. One side 
has upheld and assisted, while the other has de- 



NEW YOBE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 27 

nonnoed iL Having had to look to the Govem- 
ment for assbtance^ its managers have heretofore 
been compelled to keep on good terms with the 
Ministry of the daj^ and have more than once as- 
sented to propositions which, if wholly free agents, 
they might have declined. As a natural conse- 
qnence, not only has the company had to make 
many sacrifices, but its efforts to give satisfaction 
have proved futile. Of late years the company 
has endeavoured to break away from an aUiance 
which has proved the source of injury and discord. 
It would be an exaggeration to say that Canadians 
have ceased to revile the Grand Trunk ; yet it is 
certain that the desire to give it fair play is more 
generally manifested now than at any former period 
in its history, while its prospects are brighter and 
more encouraging than they have ever been before. 
Its more fortunate competitor, the Great Western, 
has had no trials of an equally severe kind to 
endure. The losses occasioned by the depreciated 
American paper-money have been the chief draw- 
backs to its prosperity during the past few years. 
It is a dividend-paying line. Probably in conse- 
quence of this it is in many respects superior to 
others which have considerable difficulty in pro- 
curing the capital requisite for the purpose of 
keeping the permanent way in good repair and 



28 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

condition. The train whirls along the Great 
Western line not only at a rapid rate^ but also 
without the immoderate jolting and oscillation 
which are common incidents on Canadian and 
American railways. 

Hamilton is the first Canadian city of note at 
which a stoppage is made. Situated at the western 
extremity of Lake Ontario, and having communi- 
cation by water and rail with the principal cities of 
Canada and with the capitals of the Easteiii States of 
America, the city of Hamilton has many chances in its 
favour. It has prospered hitherto, notwithstanding 
the mistakes made by those of its citizens who, in 
their eagerness to advance, incurred an amoimt of 
indebtedness which they found it difficult to dis- 
charge to the perfect satisfaction of many English 
bond-holders. However, the days of rash specula- 
tion are said to have passed away, and the lessons 
learned have been profitable. At Hamilton station 
the passengers dine, with the exception of those 
who are so fortunate as to have secured seats in the 
Hotel Car attached to the train. The occupants of 
this car take their meals ' on board.' I had heard 
much said in praise of ' Pullman's Palace Cars,' but 
I was unprepared for the reality. The first trip in 
one of these cars forms an epoch in a traveller's life. 
To one accustomed to English railway carriages 



NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO. 29 

they are speciallj welcome. The contrast between 
the waggon in which Roderick Random journeyed 
to London and a modem carriage is not much 
greater than the contrast between life on the rail in 
an English first-class carriage and in a Pullman's 
car. In order to form a fair notion of the character 
of the latter it is but necessary to recall the descrip- 
tions of those luxurious saloon carriages which the 
directors of our railways have had constructed for 
the use of the Queen. No Royal personage can be 
more comfortably housed than the occupant of a 
Pullman car, provided the car be an hotel one. 
In the train by which I travelled, one out of the 
three sleeping cars was of the latter description. 
The Hotel Car is divided into sections, forming state 
rooms, wherein parties of four can be accommodated. 
Between these rooms are seats arranged in the 
usual way. At the rear is a kitchen, which, though 
small, contains every appliance necessary for cook- 
ing purposes. There are water tanks, in which is 
stored a supply of water for washing and drinking 
sufficient to last the journey. A wine cellar con- 
tains the liquors which are likely to be in demand, 
and an ice-house preserves ice for the gratification 
of those who prefer cold beverages. At stated 
intervals the conductor walks round, taking the 
passengers' orders, who make their selections from 



30 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

the bill of fare. The choice is hj no means snulL 
Five different kinds of bread, four sorts of oold 
meat, six hot dishes, to say nothing of eggs cooked 
in Beven different ■wa.ys, and all the seasonable vege- 
tables and iruite, form a variety &om which the moat 
dainty eater might eauly find something to tickle 
his palate, and the ravenous to satisfy his appetite. 
The meal is served on a table temporarily fixed to 
the side of the car, and removed when no longer 
required. To breakfast, dine, and sup in this style 
while the train is speeding along at the rate of 
nearly thirty miles an hour, is a sensation of which 
the novelty is not greater than the comfort. An 
additional zest is given to the good things by the 
thought that the passengers in the other can must 
rush out when the refreshment station is reached, 
and hastily swallow an ill-cooked meal. It is pro- 
posed to constmct dining cars which will be at dw 
service of all who travel by the train, and when 
this is done, the limit to improvement will almost 
have been reached. Yet it would be a mistake to 
assign any bounds to the poesibilitiea connected with 
railway travel in the United States, and in the 
Western States in particular. No prejudices exist 
against novelties, nor are the directors of the several 
companies able to scorn the demands of the travel- 
ling public for increased comforts and conveniences. 



NEW TOBK TO SiS FRANCISCO. 31 

S many nilwayB nm between the same points that 
competition fiwcee each company to outbid its rivals. 
In other conntries reductt(m of the fares would be 
the course adopted under lilce circumstances. Here, 
the lowness of price is less considered than the 
amount of comfort obtainable on a particular line, 
as well as the shortness of the time occupied hj the 
joamey. Thna the rivalry has taken the form of 
providing cars resembling that described, and thus 
it is that railway travelling in America is assuming 
the form of Inznry tempered by accidents. The 
wonder is that more accidents do not happen. 
Many of the railways are single lines, hence the 
risks are multiplied as the traffic increases. The 
probability of a wrecked train being ignited by 
the burning embers scattered from the stove adds 
another horror to the prospect. Still, when due 
allowance is made for all things, it must be admitted 
that the comparatively small number of railway 
accidents is very remarkable. 

Meantime, the train has been speeding on its 
oonrae towards Chicago. Paris has been left behind, 
a place of which the name alone recalls the capital 
of France. More familiar to an English ear is 
Ijondon, vrith its river Thames and its Middlesex. 
At last Windsor is reached. This is the frontier 
town of this part of Canada. The river Detroit 



30 WESTWABB BY BAIL. 

the bill of fare. The choice is by no means smalL 
Five different kinds of bread, four sorts of odd 
meat, six hot dishes, to saj nothing of eggs cooked 
in seven different ways, and all the seasonable v^e- 
tables and fruits, form a variety fSrom which the most 
dainty eater might easily find something to tickle 
his palate, and the ravenous to satisfy his appetite. 
The meal is served on a table temporarily fixed to 
the side of the car, and removed when no longer 
required. To breakfast, dine, and sup in this style 
while the train is speeding along at the rate of 
nearly thirty miles an hour, is a sensation of which 
the novelty is not greater than the comfort. An 
additional zest is given to the good things by the 
thought that the passengers in the other cars must 
rush out when the refreshment station is reached, 
and hastily swallow an ill-cooked meaL It is pro- 
posed to construct dining cars which will be at the 
service of all who travel by the train, and when 
this is done, the limit to improvement will almost 
have been reached. Yet it would be a mistake to 
assign any bounds to the possibilities connected with 
railway travel in the United States, and in the 
Western States in particular. No prejudices exist 
against novelties, nor are the directors of the several 
companies able to scorn the demands of the travel- 
ling public for increased comforts and conveniences. 



KEW YOBK TO SAN FRANCISCX). 31 

S many raflways nm between the same points that 
competition forces each company to outbid its rivals. 
In other countries reduction of the fares would be 
the course adopted under like circumstances. Here, 
the lowness of price is less considered than the 
tmount of comfort obtainable on a particular line, 
as well as the shortness of the time occupied by the 
journey. Thus the rivalry has taken the form of 
providing cars resembling that described, and thus 
it is that railway travelling in America is assuming 
the form of luxury tempered by accidents. The 
wonder is that more accidents do not happen. 
Many of the railways are single lines, hence the 
risks are multiplied as the traffic increases. The 
probability of a wrecked train being ignited by 
the burning embers scattered from the stove adds 
another horror to the prospect Still, when due 
allowance is made for all things, it must be admitted 
that the comparatively small number of railway 
accidents is very remarkable. 

Meantime, the train has been speeding on its 
course towards Chicago. Paris has been left behind, 
a place of which the name alone recalls the capital 
of Frande. More familiar to an English ear is 
LfOndon, with its river Thames and its Middlesex. 
At last Windsor is reached. This is the frontier 
town of this part of Canada. The river Detroit 



32 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

Beparates the United States from the Dominion, and 
across it the train is transported on a large flat- 
bottomed steamer. From Detroit the journey is 
made on American soil through the State of 
Indiana and of Illinois. The country as seen from 
the window of the railway carriage is not prepos- 
sessing. The land may be very fertile, but it is 
certainly very swampy. Many of the farmhouses 
must be unhealthy places of abode. Contrary to 
Bicardo's theory of rent, the least valuable lands 
would appear to have been first brought under 
cultivation. When Lake Michigan comes in sight, 
the objects that arrest attention are the sand- 
hills, which, for a considerable distance, line its 
shore. These heaps and flats of sand give to the 
lake a maritime aspect, which the waves rolling 
shorewards tend to increase. Indeed, it is hardly 
possible to realise the fact of these huge sheets of 
water forming no part of the great ocean. The 
vessels which navigate them are to all appearance 
the same as the vessels which sail across the 
Atlantic, while the storms on these lakes are as 
terrific and disastrous as any which make the open 
sea the theatre of ruin and terror. Finally, the 
train runs in front of handsome dwellings, which not 
only represent Chicago, but which line one of its 
most fashionable avenues. A man appears who sells 



NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO. 



33 



tickets to those who purpose going hj omnibus to 
an hotel, the price being half a dollar. He also 
takes charge of the luggage checks. By taking a 
check from him in exchange for that procured at 
starting, the traveller finds his luggage safely 
deposited at any address he may give. In this way 
much subsequent confusion and inconvenience are 
saved. At the station, a notice in a conspicuous 
place arrests the attention of the traveller. It is a 
warning against -lending money to strangers. This 
excites a suspicion adverse to the sharpness, and 
favourable to the generosity of the travelling public 
in America. 



34 WESTWARD BT BAIL. 



III. 

THE GARDEN CITY, 

If the Michigan Central Railway express train 
arrives punctually at Chicago there is no difficulty 
in continuing the journey towards the Pacific 
Seventy-five minutes are allowed for getting from 
the station of arrival to the station of departure. 
In my own case the times of the trains did not 
correspond ; the one train had started an hour before 
the other arrived. This was not the only illustra- 
tion in my experience of a want of punctuality on 
the part of American railway companies. My 
fellow-passengers took the disappointment very 
quietly, regarding the shortcoming as a matter of 
course. This failure involved a delay of twenty- 
four hours, as there is but one through train daily 
over the Pacific line. As I had intended to make 
a brief sojourn in Chicago, I was even more uncon- 
cerned than my philosophical fellow-travellers. 

By the residents Chicago is often styled the 
' Garden City.' Both its citizens and its admirers 



THE GARDEN CITY. 35 

sometimes claim for it the still more dignified title 
of the * Queen City of the West,' or the * Queen 
City of the Lakes.' The pride they take in it is 
extreme, and the language in which they express 
their feelings is high-flown. This appears quite 
natural to the traveller who has journeyed from 
England to the United States in order to witness 
the marvels which human. industry and energy have 
wrought on the surface of the vast American con- 
tinent. Books and newspapers may have prepared 
him for an extraordinary spectacle, yet neither 
tables of statistics nor any printed statements can 
enable him to realise the grandeur of the impression 
produced by a stay, however short, in the modem 
city of Chicago. With a sensation of incredulity 
hardly to be repressed, he listens to the stories 
which tell of the city's foundation and history. 
Forty years have not yet elapsed since the site of 
palatial dwellings was distinguished from the sur- 
rounding wilderness by a log fort, in which two 
companies of soldiers were stationed for the protec- 
tion of a few traders who collected furs from the 
Indians in exchange for trinkets. In those days 
civilized men regarded a visit to the shores of Lake 
M^^l'igftTi much in the same light which many per- 
sons now regard a visit to the sources of the Nile. 
Those who made the journey had to brave the 

D 2 



36 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

attacks of ferocious animals ; had to face the perils 
incident to an inhospitable and uncultivated region; 
had to live in constant dread of an attack firom 
Indians more deliberately cruel than any beast, and 
more crafty than any other enemy in human shape. 
The wild men and wild animals have both dis- 
appeared. The land which once yielded a pre- 
carious subsistence to the hunter now repays the 
skilful farmer one hundred-fold. Where weeds 
formerly throve in rank profusion, peach trees are 
now heavy with precious fruit. A city of palaces 
has taken the place of a few miserable hovels. 
Similar transformations have occurred in other parts 
of the globe. Venice and Holland do not fall short 
of Chicago as evidences of what man can achieve in 
his struggle with rugged Nature and hostile ele- 
ments. Yet the growth of either city was the work 
of many years, as well as of much toil ; whereas 
Chicago has waxed great and famous within the 
memory of men still living, and not yet old. If 
another Queen Scheherazade were compelled to re- 
hearse a tale of enchantment for the gratification of 
an exacting husband, she might find in the au- 
thentic story of the rise of Chicago materials which 
would produce a result as striking as that caused by 
a recital of the fabulous doings of Aladdin. 

Although figures convey but an imperfect notion 



THE GARDEN CITY. 37 

of the wonders performed by the spirited and enter- 
prising inhabitants of this city, yet, in default of a 
better medium through which to supply information, 
they must be employed. In 1830 the population of 
Chicago was about 100 persons, of whom a small 
proportion was white, the majority being black men 
and half-breeds. It was incorporated as a city in 
1837, when the census was taken, and the number 
of inhabitants found to be 4,170. Ten years later 
the number was doubled ; twenty years after its in- 
corporation it contained 100,000 citizens, and at. 
this moment the estimated number is 300,000. 
Nor is there any prospect of a stoppage in the rate 
of increase. In every quarter hundreds of work- 
men are labouring at the erection of new houses or 
the substitution of larger for smaller dwellings. 
Nor is the rapidity of the city's growth less extra- 
ordinary than the way in which natural obstacles 
to its progress have been confronted and overcome. 
Situated on a low-lying part of Lake Michigan's 
shore, it was found to be very unhealthy. In order 
that neither damp foundations nor bad drainage 
should breed malaria in any of the houses, the 
entire business quarter of the city was elevated 
eight feet above its original level. This was done 
without interference with domestic comfort, stop- 
page of traflSc, or injury to trade. While houses 



38 WESTWAKD BY BAIL. 

and shops T^ere rising upwards, families slept se- 
curely in their beds^ sat at ease in their rooms^ took 
their meals as if the even tenour of their lives was 
undisturbed, while merchants conducted their daily 
business, and the public made their daily purchases. 
For some years complaints had been made about 
the lack of good water for drinking purposes. The 
water supply obtained from the Lake was adequate 
in quantity, but was by no means wholesome. This 
was owing to the place from which it came being 
near the shore, and, in consequence of this, being 
contaminated with the sewage and refuse accu- 
mulated not far off. It was resolved in 1864 to 
remedy this defect by means of a tunnel carried 
under the water for a distance of two miles, and 
open at its farther extremity to the pure water of 
the Lake. Three years afterwards the new water- 
works were in active operation, and they are ca- 
pable of supplying 57,000,000 of gallons daily. 
Even this is hardly sufficient, and it is proposed to 
build a second tunnel. In addition to the supply 
from this source there is a large quantity of pure 
water obtained from two Artesian wells, one of 
which is 700 and the other 1,100 feet deep. An- 
other great work is the Washington-street Tunnel, 
an undertaking quite as noteworthy as the tunnel 
under the Thames, which used to excite the admi- 



THE GARDEN aTY. 39 

ration of country cousins and intelligent foreigners. 
Finding that the amount of traffic in the Chicago 
liyer seriously impeded traffic over the bridges^ 
which had to be opened whilst vessels were passings 
it was determined to construct a tunnel under the 
river, and a short time after the project had been 
mooted the work was executed. 

The rapidity with which Chicago has attained to 
the commanding position now held by it in the esti- 
mation of Americans is due to the way in which 
opportunities have been turned to account quite as 
much as to any natural advantages it has enjoyed. 
The situation is certainly a most favourable one. 
There is communication by water from this city 
to the Gulf of Mexico and to the mouth of the 
St Lawrence. The lines of rail which centre here 
embrace fifteen trunk lines, and they run to every 
part of the Union. Agriculture flourishes in the 
vicinity, and the farmer finds in Chicago both a 
market where his grain always commands a price, 
and a storehouse, whence he draws whatever he re- 
quires for the purposes of husbandry or for the 
comfort of his home. There is thus a continuous 
current of produce streaming through Chicago on 
it8 way to the consumer in the Eastern States or in 
Great Britain. How speedily the trade in grain 
has been converted from an insignificant industry 



40 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

into an industry of unprecedented importance^ let 
the following facts bear witness. In 1838 the ship- 
ments of grain were 78 bushels ; in 1848 they were 
3,001,714 bushels; in 1858 they were 20,035,166 
bushels; in 1868 they were 67,896,760 bushels. If 
these figures did not appear in olBScial returns of 
unquestioned correctness, they would be read with 
incredulity. As it is, they excite wonder, and this 
is intensified when it is found that in other depart- 
ments of commerce, such as the trade in cattle and 
lumber, the like progress has been made. Not long 
ago Cincinnati took the lead of every city in the 
Union as the place where the largest numbers of 
pigs were slaughtered, salted, and packed for ex- 
portation. On this account, the city was commonly 
known by the name of Porkopolis. But, if the 
statements of the citizens of Chicago are to be ac- 
cepted, the glory of Cincinnati has passed away, 
and the Garden City must henceforth be regarded 
as the one which lovers of bacon and ham are bound 
to honour. 

The abundance, excellent quality, and moderate 
price of peaches, apples, and other fruit sold here in 
the autumn excites the admiration of the visitor. 
In some streets the pavement is encumbered with 
boxes of fresh peaches. I learned that these are 
produced in the southern part of the State of 



THE GARDEN CITY. 41 

Slinois. The soil and climate of that locality 
render fruit-growing as profitable there as it is 
in the southern parts of Germany. During the 
strawberry season five cars filled with strawberries 
arrive at Chicago daily. When the peaches are 
ripe the supply sent to market every morning fills 
twenty cars^ each carrying five hundred boxes of 
peaches. Egyptian Illinois is the name of this pro- 
lific fruit-beaiing region. Intersected by railways, 
the market is within easy reach of the cultivator's 
door. It is seldom that a crop fails, the climate 
being equable and temperate. Thousands of acres 
are still to be had by the settler. When I add that 
thia land may be purchased for less than 21. the 
acre, I have said enough, I think, to excite the 
desire of many to possess and cultivate it. 

Material prosperity and rapidity of growth have 
made Chicago a city of note, yet other things have 
made it a city of influence. Its newspapers are 
quite as remarkable and worthy of praise as its 
splendid streets and magnificent buildings, its ex- 
tended commerce and public works. Among the 
magnificent edifices which, in different parts of the 
United States, are monuments of successful jour- 
nalism, the office of the Chicago Tribune commands 
admiration. Situated at the comer of one of the 
principal thoroughfares, it impresses the beholder 



42 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

by the effectiveness of its architectural design^ and 
this impression is not weakened by the fact that 
it is built of white marble. As a newspaper, the 
Chicago Tribune exercises a vast and beneficent 
authority throughout the West. Its columns are 
singularly free from those offensive personalities 
which, in the United States, are too frequently con- 
sidered the lawful weapons of the journalist. Its 
articles are at once pointed in tone and scholarly 
in style. A supporter of the Republican party, the 
Tribune is at the same time an energetic and 
astute upholder of free trade. It is the ablest re- 
presentative in the press of that large and compact 
body of shrewd Western agriculturists which calls 
in question the justice of taxing the people at large 
in order to give the manufacturers of Pennsylvania 
and Massachusetts exceptional facilities for doing 
business on a large scale, and accumulating fortunes 
with unprecedented speed. The Chicago Times 
is the democratic organ. Like its political rival, it 
is ably edited and well written. The Chicago 
Evening Journal is another of the more important 
newspapers. An attempt has recently been made 
to add a monthly magazine to the periodical 
literature of the Western States. The Western 
Monthly is well supported both by men of letters 
and the reading public. The founders of this maga- 



THE GARDEN CITY. 43 

zine said that their design was to develope ' Wes- 
tern Intellect and Enterprise' and to enable the 
people of the West to keep pace with those of the 
East in * the great literary race of the Age.' They 
saw no reason why their literature as well as their 
grain should not be shipped to points across the 
Atlantic. As yet the grain is the better appre- 
ciated of the two^ but the day may come when the 
literature will be more heartily welcomed than it 
now is. Judging from one point of view, it might 
be thought that in their feverish chase after wealth 
the citizens of Chicago had become indifferent to 
religious observances. Their favourite journals ap- 
pear on Sundays as well as on the other days of 
the week. This is opposed to the practice not only 
of England, but of the Eastern States of America 
also. In the principal cities there are Sunday news- 
papers, but as a rule the daily journals are not pub- 
lished on Sunday. Here, on the contrary, the 
Sunday copies of the Tribune and the Times 
are much sought after, and contain an extra quan- 
tity of attractive matter. Yet while newspapers 
are in demand, the churches are not deserted. As 
a church-going people the citizens of Chicago will 
bear favourable comparison with the inhabitants of 
any city wherein the forms of religion are rigidly 
observed. The churches are very numerous. Some 



^ 



44 WESTWAKD BY RAIL. 

of them are fine specimens of modem ecclesiastical 
architecture. 

What a traveller values most in a strange city 
are good hotels, fine buildings, well stored shops, 
and well kept streets. In Chicago he will find all 
these things. The Sherman and the Tremont House 
are the principal hotels, and both are equal to the 
best hotels of the East They both are on a par 
with other American hotels as regards the difficulty 
experienced by the passing traveller in getting a 
bed. Throughout the United States and Canada 
the demand for hotel accommodation is one which 
seems to be insatiable and perpetual. On inquiry, 
the weary and astonished traveller learns that the 
state of things which gives him so much annoyance 
is the rule, that the revolving seasons exercise no 
influence on the huge and anxious crowd hurrying 
from one hotel and from one railway-station to 
another. At certain periods of the year an increase 
in the number of visitors to any American city of 
importance is perfectly naturaL In the autumn it 
is customary for each State to hold its annual fair. 
These fairs, unlike those of the Old Country, have 
for their object the exhibition of the industrial pro- 
ducts of the several States. The annual conven- 
tions, held for social and political purposes, likewise 
contribute to swell the throng of those who desire 



THE GARDEN CITY. 45 

hotel accommodation. Another and exceptional 
gathering made the Chicago hotels crowded with 
viflitoiB during my stay. A large party then stopped 
here on its way from California to the States of 
the East. This party was no ordinary collection of 
excursionists bent upon enjoying a holiday and see- 
ing sights. It was composed of persons taking to 
themselves the credit of being the pioneers of civi- 
lization in California. Each one had gone to the 
Pacific coast in 1849, with a view to better his con- 
dition, and each boasted of having made California 
one of the richest States and brightest stars in the 
Union. Th5 reception of this party was enthusi- 
astic. The party itself was an illustration of the 
benefits conferred by the gigantic undertaking 
which supplied the link required to unite the 
Pacific and Atlantic with an iron highway. A 
printed list of the names and occupations of the 
excursionists gives evidence of their representative 
character. They had come not only from cities of 
note like San Francisco and Sacramento, but also 
from others less known to fame, such as Benecia 
and Stockton, Colfax and Elko. Men of every 
position in the social scale had associated together 
to testify that they had laboured for a common 
purpose in bygone days. Newspaper editors, me- 
chanics, farmers, carpenters, state senators, hotel- 



46 WESTWAKD BY RAIL. 

keepers, miners, policemen, druggists, shepherds, 
bricklayers, undertakers, merchants, and one artist, 
composed the motley gathering. The occasion was 
a memorable one, for it was the first on which the 
people of the Pacific had been brought into formal 
and fraternal contact with their brethren in other 
and remote parts of the Continent 

The way in which the streets are kept is credits 
able to the city authorities. There is still room for 
improvement ; yet, when the condition of those in 
New York is borne in mind, the streets of Chicago 
seem very good. Special and praiseworthy atten- 
tion is shown to the safety of the foot passengers 
who cross over crowded thoroughfares. Policemen 
are stationed to see that the street is not monopo- 
lised by conveyances, to the danger and annoyance 
of pedestrians. These guardians of public order 
discharge their duty with an impartiality which 
merits praise. It is too often the custom, and in 
New York it is the rule, for policemen to be atten- 
tive to young and gaily dressed ladies, and to suffer 
all others to shift for themselves. To quacks selling 
nostrums the police are not a terror. These char- 
latans ply their trade on the footpath in complete 
security, and with a success which is only too great. 
Among the crowd of poor labourers surrounding 
them they find credulous listeners and an easy prey. 



THE GARDEN CITY. 47 

I saw one of these impostors doing an enor- 
mous business within a stone's throw of a leading 
hoteL His dress was that of a gentleman, and 
his manners and language were far superior to 
those of an itinerant vendor of the London streets. 
He had a pill which would annihilate every 
known malady^ and an oil which would assuage 
every pain. As an inducement to buy the pills and 
the oil he presented the purchasers of either with 
an infallible cure for corns and bunions. This 
seemed to give* satisfaction to his audience, for 
numbers exchanged their greenbacks for his rub- 
bish. Another branch of imposture flourishes here 
in the evening. In one street large numbers of 
mock auctions are publicly held. The business of 
many auctioneers appeared to be the same, that is, 
to sell watches and tell lies. Their energy and 
boldness could hardly be surpassed. Some used 
phrases which sounded new and strange to my ears. 
One made a point of assuring his hearers that the 
particular watch he had to sell, was ^ Equal to 
anything on the top of Grod's Kingdom Come.' 
Another, whose appearance and accent proclaimed 
the Yankee, and who failed to attract persons into 
his room, assured the spectators at the door, that 
whatever money he got after that hour he would 
distribute in charity. Dutch auctions were also 



48 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

going on, but, as far as I could judge, with less 
success than the others. Many of the articles for 
which twenty dollars were asked had to be laid 
aside for lack of a bidder at four. 

As the chief halting place between New York 
and San Francisco, the future of Chicago promises 
to be even more brilliant and extraordinary than 
its maryellous past. Its traders have already 
secured many new customers; its merchants have 
found new spheres in which to transact a lucrative 
business. To its markets additional supplies of 
valuable produce are now brought over the Pacific 
Railway. Thus the wealth of its citizens will in- 
crease with multiplied rapidity. Certainly, those 
who live here must have much money at their com- 
mand if they would enjoy the ordinary comforts, to 
say nothing of the luxuries of life. House rent is 
very high ; clothing is very expensive. A married 
couple, whose income is 1,000/., would hardly be 
numbered among the well-to-do citizens of this 
community. But, while the cost of living is great, 
the opportunities for growing rich are exceedingly 
numerous. None but the idle starve : none but the 
stupid die poor. The Garden City is the paradise 
of the modem man of business. Compared with 
the bustle of Chicago, the bustle of New York 
seems stagnation. 



49 



IV. 

ACROSS THE PRAIRIE, 

From Chicago^ on Lake Michigan^ to Omaha^ on 
the Missouri Biver^ the distance across the Prairie 
is about 500 miles. This journey has to be made 
in order to reach the Eastern terminus of the 
Union Pacific Railway. The question which per- 
plexes the traveller is * which of the several routes 
shall he select ? ' He has three lines of rail from 
which to choose. There is, first, the Chicago and 
North Western; second, the Chicago and Rock 
Island; and third, a composite route passing over 
the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and other lines. 
In advertisements, it is said that the first is much 
more direct than the lower route, that the second 
is a hundred miles shorter than the lower route, 
thus leaving the third at the bottom of the list. 
Indeed, that anyone would voluntarily and know- 
ingly travel by the third is absurd. A glance at the 
map suffices to show that it runs out of the direct 
course. However, the ticket agents often succeed 
in persuading the unwary passenger to buy a 

£ 



48 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

going on, but, as far as I could judge, with less 
success than the others. Many of the articles for 
which twenty dollars were asked had to be laid 
aside for lack of a bidder at four. 

As the chief halting place between New York 
and San Francisco, the future of Chicago promises 
to be even more brilliant and extraordinary than 
its marvellous past. Its traders have already 
secured many new customers; its merchants have 
found new spheres in which to transact a lucrative 
business. To its markets additional supplies of 
valuable produce are now brought over the Pacific 
Railway. Thus the wealth of its citizens will in- 
crease with multiplied rapidity. Certainly, those 
who live here must have much money at their com- 
mand if they would enjoy the ordinary comforts, to 
say nothing of the luxuries of life. House rent is 
very high ; clothing is very expensive. A married 
couple, whose income is 1,000/., would hardly be 
numbered among the well-to-do citizens of this 
community. But, while the cost of living is great, 
the opportunities for growing rich are exceedingly 
numerous. None but the idle starve : none but the 
stupid die poor. The Garden City is the paradise 
of the modem man of business. Compared with 
the bustle of Chicago, the bustle of New York 
seems stagnation. 



49 



IV. 

ACROSS THE PSAIRIE. 

From Chicago, on Lake Michigan, to Omaha, on 
the Missouri Biver, the distance across the Prairie 
is about 500 miles. This journey has to be made 
in order to reach the Eastern terminus of the 
Union Pacific Railway. The question which per- 
plexes the traveller is * which of the several routes 
shall he select ? ' He has three lines of rail from 
which to choose. There is, first, the Chicago and 
North Western; second, the Chicago and Bock 
Island; and third, a composite route passing over 
the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and other lines. 
In advertisements, it is said that the first is much 
more direct than the lower route, that the second 
is a hundred miles shorter than the lower route, 
thus leaving the third at the bottom of the list. 
Indeed, that anyone would voluntarily and know- 
ingly travel by the third is absurd. A glance at the 
map suffices to show that it runs out of tiie direct 
course. However, the ticket agents often succeed 
in persuading the unwary passenger to buy a 

E 



50 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

ticket which answers their purpose rather than 
suits the passenger's convenience. I met more 
than one passenger who had been imposed upon in 
this respect. As a matter of fact the Chicago and 
North Western is the shortest line. Its rival, the 
Chicago and Rock Island, holds out the induce- 
ment that, ' this company build and run their own 
elegant sleeping coaches and palace day cars, and 
have no worn out rails to run over.' Moreover, the 
Chicago and Rock Island station in Chicago is one 
of the handsomest and most commodious buildings 
of the kind in the United States. I mention these 
things so that those who wish to form an opinion 
for themselves may do so. For my own part I 
preferred a seat in a Pullman's palace car on the 
North Western. I have already given a descrip- 
tion of his hotel car. Before leaving this city, 
which is the headquarters of Pullman's Palace Car 
Company, a few additional particulars may appro- 
priately be furnished. 

About six years ago, Mr. Pullman first con- 
^structed one of the cars which have made his name 
famous throughout the Union. Before that time 
he had made experiments on a small scale, and of 
an imperfect character. Their success emboldened 
him to fresh efforts. Instead of confining himself, 



ACROSS THE FRAIREB. 51 

as at first, to providing sleeping accommodation for 
night trains, he devised an arrangement which 
combined comfortable sleeping berths at night with 
luxurious seats by day. He appealed to the eye as 
weU as to the sense of comfort, furnishing his cars 
with artistic and costly materials. As much care 
was spent in decorating them as is expended in 
decorating the dwellings of the rich. Nor were 
any of the appliances omitted which could render a 
railway journey agreeable. The perfected car was 
a combined drawing-room, dining-room, and bed- 
room on wheels. That no expense was spared is 
proved by the fact that the cost of a single car 
exceeded 5,000/. sterling. But it was not enough 
to lessen the tedium and misery of a long railway 
journey by merely providing softly-cushioned seats 
by day, clean and most comfortable beds at night, 
and well-cooked meals for those who chose to 
order theuL The Western railroads over which 
these cars were destined to run had sometimes 
been constructed far too hastily to be smooth. In 
England, and in America also, the smoothness with 
which the train speeds along is in proportion to 
the care with which the rails have been laid, and 
to the completeness of the permanent way. The 
problem for Mr. Pullman was how to diminish 
jolting on rough roads. He solved the problem by 

B 2 



62 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

giving more attention to the wheels and springs 
of his cars than the engineers had given to the 
rails, the joints, and the sleepers. The springs of 
a Pullman's car are so well adjusted that the oscil- 
lation, which would be unbearable if the springs 
were imperfect or badly contrived, is reduced to a 
minimum. By emplojring double windows, con- 
structed so as to render rattling impossible, noise 
is prevented, while dust and cold air are excluded. 
Arrangements of a very satisfactory kind have 
been made for heating and ventilation. These 
cars are run over the several railways on terms 
agreed to between the companies and the pro- 
prietors of the cars. The passengers pay an extra 
fare for a seat in one of them. The result has 
been profitable to both, while the risk of loss to 
the companies is infinitesimal. The business having 
grown too large for Mr. Pullman to manage alone, 
he transferred it to a Joint Stock Company in 
1867. He is both president and general manager 
of the company. The shareholders have no reason 
to complain of their investment. They receive a 
monthly dividend of 1 per cent., while the reserve 
fund is increased by a like amount. When the 
citizens of Chicago shall desire to devote a small 
portion of their enormous fortunes to commemorate 
the services of their distinguished men, they would 



ACROSS THE PRAIBIE. 53 

act wisely in subscribing liberally to erect a monu- 
ment to Mr. Pullman. If an Englishman would 
earn the gratitude of the large body of railway 
travellerB let him emulate Mr. Pullman's career. 
He would thus revolutionize railway travelling in 
England, and at the same enrich himself beyond 
the dreams of avarice. 

Once a day the through train for the Pacific coast 
starts from Chicago. The advertisements announce 
the starting of two trains ; but the traveller who 
rashly starts by the evening one finds that he must 
spend a night at Omaha. Let it be supposed that, 
having taken his ticket by the Chicago and North 
Western Kailway, he arrives at the station in time 
to get his luggage ' checked ' and to take his place 
in a Pullman's palace car at 10.15 in the morning. 
The bustle and confusion are greatly in excess of 
what would occur at a well-managed European 
railway station. Labour is very scarce here, con- 
sequently the services of a multitude of porters are 
dispensed with. The passenger must do for him- 
self what porters do for him elsewhere. If he be 
experienced he will have no more luggage than he 
can move unassisted. This implies that he has no 
incumbrances to whom he must be polite and atten- 
tive. On such an occasion as this the solitary 
and compassionate man has good reason to rejoiee 



54 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

in his loneliness, and to pity those who are accom- 
panied by ladies. When the struggle to get the 
luggage ^ checked ' is crowned with success, the 
traveller who has engaged and paid the extra 
charge for a seat in a palace car takes possession of 
it This seat he retains throughout the journey. 
It is absolutely reserved for him. At night the 
seat is folded down on either side, blankets, and 
clean sheets, and pillows are arranged in due order, 
a curtain is drawn in front and a sleeping berth is 
thus formed. The berths in the cabins of many 
fiue steamers are less comfortable than the berths 
in these cars. 

When the moment for departure arrives, the 
conductor calls out * All aboard.' The engine 
gives a low and not unmelodious whistle, the ear- 
piercing screech of our engines being happily un- 
known in America, and the train starts for the 
journey across the Prairie. It may be useful to 
give some hints as to the terms employed by tra- 
vellers on American railways. In the United 
States as in other countries, fluency in speaking 
the language of the people is an art to be acquired 
if possible. If he would avoid being singular, the 
English traveller will say ^ railroad ' instead of rail- 
way, ^ track ' instead of line, ' car ' instead of car- 



ACBOSS THE PRAIRIE. 55 

riage, * depot,' * freight-train/ * baggage car ' instead 
of station, goods train, and luggage van. Luggage 
consists of so many ^ pieces ' ; it is not registered 
but ' checked.' If a portmanteau forms part of it, 
the portmanteau must be spoken of as a ^ valise/ 
Nor must luggage be asked for, or referred to under 
any other name than that of ^ baggage.' Over the 
blunders made by Englishmen, who use the word 
luggage, I once heard an American gentleman 
make merry in the presence of his countrywomen. 
He told them how, when in England, he had been 
surprised at the ignorance of the railway porters, 
because they asked him if he had any luggage. 
In France, on the contrary, he considered that 
their standard of education was far higher. By 
them the word ' baggage ' was always employed. 
He explained that the French had borrowed the 
word from the Americans. Probably he would 
have some di£Bculty in meeting with a Frenchman 
who would agree with him in so thinking. 

The arrangement of the seats in a Pullman's car 
is such as tempts the several occupants to become 
acquainted. As a rule the Americans are not a 
loquacious people when travelling by rail. But in 
their case, as in that of persons of other nationali- 
ties, the fact of being closely associated together 
for a long journey tends to encourage good fellow* 



56 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

ship. Towards EngUBhmen they are dispoeed to 
be very reticent. The following reason is assigned 
for this. A notion is prevalent that the majority 
of English travellers visit America solely in order 
to accumulate materials wherewith to fill volumes 
with sneers and abuse. That such a belief is base- 
less cannot be maintained by anyone moderately 
well versed in the English literature of travels in 
America. More than one of my travelling com- 
panions had a story to tell of unpleasant personal 
experience of the John BuUism which is so offensive 
to foreigners. One of them related how, having paid 
all the attention in his power to an English fellow- 
passenger, he naturally expected to hear an expres- 
sion of admiration for some of the sights pointed 
out But he had laboured in vain. Everything was 
pronounced good in its way, but far inferior to 
what might be seen in England. In the hope of 
succeeding at last, he remarked that the moon, 
which shone so brightly that small print could be 
read by its light, must rival that of the Old 
Country. The reply was that the moon was not 
at all bad for America, yet that the spectacle was 
far inferior to what is beheld on a moonlight night 
in England. This is but one of many stories of 
a like kind told to me by those who seemed as 
much surprised as gratified at my disposition to 



ACROSS THE PRAIRIE. 57 

admire what was really praiseworthy in the country, 
the scenery, and the people. I protested, not with- 
out success, against the notion of regarding every 
traveller as a paragon of cultivated taste and 
refined manners, as a man whose opinion ought 
to be accepted without hesitation or challenge and 
as one who truly typified his countrymen. Nor 
was it di£Bcult to turn the tables by representing 
the doings of some American travellers in Europe. 
Having seen notorious members of the ^ Petroleum ' 
and ^ Shoddy ' aristocracy of the United States ex- 
cite the amazement of Frenchmen and Germans 
by their lavish expenditure, their bejewelled per- 
sons, their coarse talk, and their overbearing de- 
meanour, I was in a position to ask whether it 
would be fair to judge all Americans by the 
standard of these personages, and pass sentence 
of condemnation accordingly. 

Among the passengers occupying the car in which 
I had a seat were two or three well qualified to 
speak with authority on matters relating to parts of 
the Union widely separated by distance, and differ- 
ing greatly through the operation of natural or 
accidental circumstances. One was a large manu- 
facturer of machinery in Philadelphia. The firm of 
which he was a member had supplied locomotives to 
nearly all the railway companies in the land. He 



58 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

avowed himself a strenuous upholder of the law 
which, by imposing protective duties, enriches the 
manufacturer at the expense of the farmer. It was 
curious to find in him, as .the employer of two 
thousand artificers, the counterpart of many English- 
men who boast of the number of ^ hands ' in their 
pay. To him, as to them, the dreaded and intoler- 
able bugbear was trade-unionism. But in his case 
the grievance assumed a new aspect. Between him 
and his workmen the bone of contention had been, 
not the rate of wages, but the employment of English 
labour. He told me that he had been coerced into 
dismissing Englishmen with whom no other fault 
could be found than the cardinal and inherent defect 
of their nationality. He was one of the very few 
Americans I met who had a harsh word to say 
against the Patent Laws. Like certain English 
manufacturers he longed for their abolition, on the 
ground that these laws tied his hands and fettered 
his actions too tightly, conferring on poorer men 
rights which they sometimes used to the detriment 
of their richer brethren, who were ready to turn the 
workmen's inventions to their personal advantage, 
and treat the ingenious poor as convenient and 
serviceable tools. Another passenger, who resided 
in Alabama, and who in days not long gone by had 
treated his darker fellow-man as a chattel, was 



ACROSS THE PRAIRIR 59 

in many respects a more genuine liberal than the 
wealthy manufacturer of Philadelphia. This gentle- 
man was a planter who had fought in the rebel 
army, and had suffered severely in personiand estate. 
About the result he manifested no bitterness. The 
issues of the war he frankly and unreservedly ac- 
cepted. In his opinion the question alike of seces- 
sion and of slavery had been finally settled against 
the South. His chief desire was to cultivate cotton 
again, and his hope lay in the labour of Chinamen. 
More prescient than his fellow-planters, this gentle- 
man had purchased ten thousand acres of land in 
Nebraska prior to the outbreak of hostilities be- 
tween North and South. He was now on his way 
to inspect and deal with this property. A third 
passenger was a merchant in Omaha. He had 
intense faith in the future of the young city, which 
but yesterday was an outpost in the wilderness, and 
is now the mart of an increasing trade. Two ladies, 
travelling alone, were members of the friendly group 
formed in the car by the accident of neighbourhood. 
The one was going to rejoin her husband at Omaha ; 
the other was bound for San Francisco on the same 
errand. At nightfall this little party produced 
materials for a pleasant supper out of its joint re- 
sources. Patriotic and complimentary toasts were 
drank in excellent Califomian wine. Loyal and 



60 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

rebel songs were suDg, and the merriment was con* 
tinned till the conductor interfered on behalf of the 
other passengers, who, having retired for the night, 
did not wish their rest disturbed. 

In order to give clearness to the narrative of this 
trip it is necessary to return to tiie starting point 
and ask the reader to imagine the train speeding 
along, after having left the Chicago Station behind. 
For many miles westward the line traverses the 
plains of Illinois. On eitiier side the eye rests 
upon neat farmhouses, embosomed in trees which 
the settier had planted at tiie time he built his habi- 
tation. Not far from Chicago an Artesian well is 
pointed out, and a story is told respecting its dis- 
covery which the believers in Spiritualism would 
accept as testimony in favour of their views, and the 
disbelievers would cite as condemnatory of them. 
A short time ago a Spiritualist had a communication 
to the effect tiiat if he sank a well in a particular 
locality he would ' strike oil.' Full of faith in the 
message, he set to work, heedless of the scoffs of his 
neighbours. Foot after foot he bored downwards, 
but without achieving the promised end. Yet he 
did not despair of success, and he boldly expended 
what money he had in the prosecution of the under- 
taking. Still tiiere was no sign of oil. At last, 



ACBOSS THE PRAIBIK 61 

however, a stream of liquid rushed to the surface, 
and his hope of success waxed strong. A reaction 
took place in his mind as soon as the liquid was 
tested, for it proved to be pure water. Instead of 
discovering a spring of oil, the explorer had sunk 
an Artesian well, and thus, although he had not 
wasted his substance in vain, yet he had performed 
no marvellous feat. It is possible to sink an Ar- 
tesian well without the intervention of the spirits. 
Farther west, and on the other side of the line, I 
saw what appeared to be a nursery garden devoted 
to the growth of young trees. The young plants 
were in ordered rows, and disposed with a special 
view to regularity. A fellow-traveller who knew 
the country and its customs, told me that my sup- 
position was erroneous. The spot was the chosen 
site of a future city. It is thus that speculators 
plan out and prepare the way for the settlement of 
uninhabited tracts of suitable land. Not only do 
they plant the trees destined to overshadow the 
footpaths on which unborn children will play, but 
they also give names to the streets, and even set 
apart sites for imaginary buildings. All these things 
are carefully noted in a map which is shown to the 
seekers after new abodes. They buy lots where 
their fancy dictates, and sometimes find on arriving 
to take possession that they are the first and the 



62 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

only inhabitants. The trick is not a new one. It 
was played upon Martin Chuzzlewit when he 
determined to make his home in what he thought 
was a new and rising city, but which proved to be 
an old and dismal swamp. 

Five hours after leaving Chicago, the train 
reaches the bridge which crosses the Mississippi. 
This bridge is nearly a mile in length, and is con- 
structed partly of wood and partly of iron. The 
structure has a very unsubstantial appearance, and, 
as it creaks and sways while the train passes over 
it, the contingency of an unwelcome descent into 
the deep and rapid stream beneath is one which 
flashes over the mind. Once across the bridge, 
the Westward-bound traveller enters the young, yet 
flourishing State of Iowa, a State in which count- 
less settlers may find pleasant homes on its rolling 
prairies. On either side, as far as the horizon, a 
few farmhouses alone serve to break the monotony 
of the prospect. To these vast tracts the epithet 
which Homer affixed to the sea may not inaptly 
be applied. They are literally * unharvested,' await- 
ing the touch of industry to yield up their teem- 
ing treasures. The long, rank grass which waves 
on their surface, rots for lack of a mower to gather 
it in, or is converted into dust and ashes when 
the spark falling from the passing locomotive, or 



ACROSS THE FBAIRIE. 63 

thrown by the heedlesB wanderer^ kindles the 
flame which no human power can extinguish. The 
spectacle of a prairie on fire is one of infinite 
grandeur. For miles on every side the air is 
heavy with volumes of stifling smoke, and the 
ground reddened with hissing and rushing fire. 
The beholder can willi difficulty apprehend the 
possibility of the mass of flame being quenched 
till the entire country had become a barren and 
blackened waste. Much depends upon the strength 
of the wind as well as the quarter from which it 
blows. A lull will stay the conflagration, while 
a sudden change, by reversing the direction of 
the fiery waves, will sweep them back over the 
tract which they have devastated, and thus lead 
to their own extinction. A scene less impressive, 
but far more enjoyable, is that of the moon flood- 
ing the silent prairie with silvery light. The 
smallest object then stands forth in bold relief and 
fixes the attention. Innumerable wild flowers per- 
fume the air. The senses are at once quickened 
and overpowered by the impression of illimitable 
space. As the mind is awakened to the thought 
that those who people these vast tracts of fertile 
land will enjoy a freedom hardly less complete, 
while far better ordered than that of the wanton 
^rfhQze, balmy with perfume, it is not difficult to 



64 WESTWABD BY RAn 



u 



understand the proneness to exaggeration^ which is 
the characteristic of the Americans of the West, 
and to sympathise with their opinions of countries 
in which an untrodden wilderness is an impossi- 
bility, and every acre is cultivated like a garden. 
Nor is it unpatriotic to feel a longing that the 
thousands who earn precarious livelihoods in the 
United Kingdom by tilling the soil, of which their 
taskmasters are the lords, could be transported to 
a locality where the strength of their arms would 
not only win for them a comfortable subsistence, 
but would also enable them to become possessors 
in their own right of the soil which yields them 
their daily bread. If the Dorsetshire labourer, 
who hardly knows what it is to taste butcher's 
meat, or the Irish peasant, whose ambition is to 
possess a bit of land, could be convinced of the 
lot which he might enjoy as a settler on the prairies 
of Iowa, the former would soon cease to serve and 
reverence the squire, and the latter would turn 
his face to the setting sun with the feeling which 
the Mahomraedan cherishes for the city of Mecca. 

The picture is a bright one, but it would be 
unnatural were it unrelieved by shade. The State 
of Iowa has its drawbacks, in the shape of swamps, 
as well as its treasures, in the form of rolling 
prairies. Fortunately the prairie predominates over 



ACIK'SS Till-: PKAIKIi:. Cu') 

the swamp. From ea>t to west this State extends 
287 miles, and it is 210 miles in breadth. At its 
western extremity the line of the Chicago and 
North Western Kailway passes through one of the 
worst swamps in the whole State. A few days 
previous to my journey the rain had swollen the 
waters^ and the rails were inundated. The train 
went along at a snail's pace. It was a puzzle to 
comprehend how the rails kept their places and 
the sleepers upheld their burden. The latter were 
resting upon what appeared to be liquid mud. It 
was well that they remained unbroken. Had they 
given way^ the consequences would have been 
disastrous. When asked by an anxious and timid 
passenger what would happen were the road-bed 
to sink altogether^ the conductor answered, ' Guess 
the cars would go to hell's bottom.' These swamps 
are veritable quicksands. Whatever enters them 
is engulphed for ever. As it happened, the only 
serious mischief was a detention of the train. Since 
then I have learned that the company has profited 
by the warning, and has renewed the line at this 
part in, such a way as to render a recurrence of the 
danger almost an impossibility. Several miles be- 
fore Council Bluffs, the station on the eastern bank 
of the Missouri, is reached, a fine view is had of 
Omaha^ on the western bank. The prospect is 

F 



66 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

deceitful^ as is not unfrequently the ' case when 
cities are viewed from a distance. Situated on a 
rising ground^ Omaha appears to be a city with 
fine streets and stately buildings. Seen more 
closely, the streets are found to be straggling and 
the buildings common-place, with but few excep- 
tions. One of the disenchantments for which the 
traveller by this line must be prepared, occurs when 
he has to be transported across the Missouri from 
Council Bluffs to Omaha. The accounts he may 
have read of palace cars running through from 
New York to San Francisco must have led him to 
underrate the discomforts to be faced and borne. 
One of these is changing from car to car and rail 
to rail. A short time ago I read in the JVew 
York Tribune a glowing account of the luxurious 
way in which a party had travelled without change 
of cars from Sacramento to New York. • That 
this was the rare exception I learned before leaving 
Chicago ; but I did not know that the arrange- 
ments were still incomplete for transporting pas- 
sengers in comfort across the Missouri River, and 
my ignorance was shared by many of my fellow- 
passengers. On arriving at Council Bluffs, we 
found omnibuses in waiting at the station. The 
morning was cold and raw. But a small proportion 
of the passengers could get inside seats, the re- 



ACROSS THE PRAIRIE. 67 

roainder having the option of either sitting on the 
roof among the luggage^ or else being left behind. 
In itself the seat on the roof was not objectionable^ 
provided the time occupied were brief. As nearly 
an hour was thus spent^ the feeling of satisfaction 
at having got a seat at all was supplanted by a 
feeling of annoyance at the treatment received. 
Through deep ruts in the mud the omnibus was 
slowly drawn by four, horses to the river's bank^ 
^i thence on to the deck* of a flat-bottomed 
^^^Mner. Seated there, a good view was had of 
the Missouri. It has been called mighty, which it 
doubtless is, considered as a stream, jet the appella- 
tion of * Big Muddy,' which is current here, is the 
<>ne which more truthfully characterises it. The 
hanks are masses of dark mud, resembling the 
heights which line the sea coast at Cromer, in 
Norfolk, and just as every high tide undermines 
and crumbles away the latter, so does the river's 
corrent sweep away portions of the former. The 
peculiarity of the Missouri is the shifting character 
of its current. Now and then it suddenly abandons 
its old bed, scooping out a new one an hundred 
yards distant. A fellow-traveller who had seen 
it a month previously said that since then the river 
had shifted its course, and that what was now a 
vast bed of mud had then formed the river's 

f2 



68 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

channel. The erratic career of this rirer is giving 
sad trouble to the railway company. There is no 
certainty that any particular spot chosen for the 
landing-stage will continue available for the pur- 
pose from hour to hour and from day to day. 
There is a plan for erecting a bridge over the Mis- 
souri^ but the difficulty of finding a solid founda- 
tion has hitherto proved insurmountable. The bed 
and banks of the river are quicksands of great 
depth. These physical obstacles will probably be 
overcome, but the cost of success must assuredly 
be heavy. Moreover, the question of labour is one 
which adds an element of complication to the 
problem. It is proposed to bring Chinamen from 
California in order to build the bridge. To this 
the Irishmen already employed make vigorous ob- 
jections, threatening terrible things should their 
protests be unheeded. There is too much reason to 
fear that when the unoflFending Chinamen arrive 
they will be the victims of dastardly outrages. 

The first thing which catches the eye on reach- 
ing the western bank of the river is a small shanty 
in which liquors are sold. On the one side are 
the words, ^ First Chance ; ' on the other, * Last 
Chance.' Regardless of the risk of getting some 
vile compound bearing the name of whisky, many 
rushed to avail themselves of the opportunity, and 



ACBOSS THE PRAIBIE. 



69 



the enterprising proprietor had reason to congratu- 
late himself on having founded his bar on Missouri 
mud. Through this mud the onmibus laboured 
slowly^ the outside passengers being advised by the 
driver to move about from one side of the roof to 
another^ in order to guard against upsetting the 
overladen vehicle. A general feeling of relief was 
nianifested when the station of the Union Pacific 
^way was reached. From this point the tra- 
veller really begins his trip over the great railway 
^kich Americans justly class among the grandest 
«nd most wonderful achievements of modern times. 



70 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 



V. 

OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, 

Omaha is one of those American cities which seem 
to spring up, flourish, and wax great in the twinkling 
of an eye. Its history dates from 1854. In that 
year a few squatters fixed their residence in this 
section of what was then the Territory of Nebraska, 
which was regarded as in the heart of the Far West. 
Situated on the bank of the Missouri River, at a 
point almost equidistant between the Atlantic and 
Pacific Oceans, Omaha had many natural advan- 
tages, and these have been turned to profitable 
account since the Pacific Railway has furnished the 
opportunity. Certain it is that the city's prospects 
are bright. In 1860 the population did not exceed 
1,883; now the number of inhabitants is estimated 
at 20,000. There are many manufactories within 
its bounds, one distillery, and several breweries. In 
the year 1868-9 the sales of the merchants were up- 
wards of a million and a quarter sterling. Like most 
American cities it possesses two daily newspapers, 



OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 71 

the one the Republican the other the Democratic 
organ. Four other journals are published at longer 
intervals. Of schools, both public and private, 
there is abundance. The churches are fifteen in 
number. There are eleven hotels, of which one or 
two are first-class establishments. That this pro- 
gress should have been made within the space of a 
few short years is not only marvellous, but inspires 
hope that the city's future will be a great and an 
enviable one. Although the chief city, Omaha is 
not now the capital of the State of Nebraska. When 
it was the capital, its enterprising citizens built an 
imposing State House, a structure which can be 
seen for many miles on all sides, and one which is 
an ornament to the city. However, for reasons,, 
unknown to me, Lincoln city, a place of far less 
note and importance, was made the capital in 1868. 
A story is told of the postmaster which illustrates 
the changes made here during the past few years. 
Mr. Jones, one of the first squatters, was appointed 
to the office of postmaster in the autumn of 1854. 
At that time there was no office, while letters were 
rarities. The letters which did come were kept by 
the postmaster in the crown of his hat till he met 
their owners, or • till their owners claimed them. 
Those who expected letters had to look sharply 
after this official, and had sometimes to go long 



72 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

distances over the prairie in order to make the 
necessary inquiries of him. Only fifteen years have 
elapsed since this primitive state of things was the 
rule, and the post-office has expanded from a hat 
into an office wherein six clerks are employed. 

The early history of the Pacific Railway is sur- 
rounded with obscurity, and is the subject of 
controversy. The claimants for the honour of 
having first mooted the project and of having the 
most materially furthered its progress are very 
numerous. It cannot be disputed, however, that 
John Plumbe a Welshman by birth and a natu- 
ralised American, began a vigorous agitation in 
1836 in favour of carrying a railway across the 
Continent. He lived till after the gold discoveries 
had been made in California, and he used them as 
additional arguments in support of his pet scheme. 
As the tide of emigration flowed towards the Pacific 
slope and as States and Territories of vast impor- 
tance were being founded beyond the Rocky 
Mountains, it became a national necessity to obtain 
easy means of communication between the East and 
the West. That many men of weight and ability 
should have advocated the construction of a railway 
is merely what might have been expected under 
circumstances such as these. 



OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 73 

In 1853^ Congress voted funds wherewith to con- 
duct a survey in order to ascertain which was the 
best route. Two routes were traced out and the 
particulars concerning each were detailed in reports 
which fill thirteen large volumes. The greatest 
difficulty consisted in agreeing as to whether the 
more northerly or the more southerly was the pre- 
ferable one. The representatives of the Northern 
and Eastern States supported the former^ while the 
representatives of the South preferred the latter. 
The result was a discussion which promised to be 
interminable. Had it not been for the outbreak of 
the war this great undertaking might still have 
remained a project. But the war^ which was 
destined to settle several controversies in a decisive 
way^ brought this one to a sunmiary close. The 
isolation of California was percived to involve 
a peril to the Union. To construct the trans- 
continental railway was regarded as a strategic 
move. Those who had favoured the extreme 
southerly route were no longer able to take part 
in the debates of Congress^ nor was Congress then 
in a position to decree the construction of a railway 
through the southern part of the States. Hence, 
when in 1862 the scheme came up for practical 
settlement the present route was approved of on 
the ground that, despite some drawbacks it was on 



74 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

the whole the most feasible one which could then 
be selected. 

Two Companies were empowered by Congress to 
undertake the work, subject to certain conditions 
and in return for certain advantages. The Union 
Pacific Company was to begin at Omaha and pro- 
ceed Westwards, the Central Pacific Company was 
to begin at Sacramento and proceed Eastwards 
and both were to continue operations till a junction 
was effected. The estimated cost was one hundred 
millions of dollars, or about 20,000,000/. In aid of the 
undertaking subsidies of bonds, on which the interest 
w^as guaranteed, and grants of land along the line 
were awarded by Congress. The bond subsidy was 
divided into three sections. For the most level 
portion the rate was sixteen thousand dollars per 
mile; for the portion more precipitous, thirty-two 
thousand dollars, and for the mountainous portion 
forty-eight thousand dollars, per mile. The total 
subsidies of this character have been fifty-eight 
million eight hundred and forty thousand dollars. 
Interest on bonds to a like amount has also been 
guaranteed. The land grants consist of every 
alternate section for twenty miles on each side of 
the line, that is at the rate of 12,800 acres per mile. 
It is calculated that of these grants the Union 
Pacific has become entitled to an aggregate of 



OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 75 

13,875,200 acres^ and the Central Pacific to 
8,832,000. Much of this land is valueless, but 
a large proportion is of excellent quality. The 
time may come when by the sale of the land the 
Companies will realise an amount sufficient to re- 
coup them for the greater part of their outlay, and 
thus the shareholders will have acquired a most 
lucrative property for an almost nominal sum. But 
the individual advantages which may hereafter be 
reaped no one should grudge. The prospective 
gain to the Companies is a mere trifle when com- 
pared with the immediate and tangible benefit 
which has already been conferred on the country. 
Less wise than some of the other provisions was one 
inserted in the charters in furtherance of the policy 
of Protection which was rampant at the time when 
Congress legislated for this railway. It was pro- 
vided, under the penalty of forfeiture of all the 
privileges conferred, that every pound of manufac- 
tured iron used in the construction of the line 
should be of home make. This was done at the 
instigation and for the personal enrichment of the 
iron-roasters of Pennsylvania. Several American 
gentlemen with whom I conversed on the subject 
censured this arrangement in stronger terms than I 
care to reproduce. The bargain was unfair to the 
nation. The result of it has been to add at least 



76 WESTWABD BY EAIL. 

twenty million of dollars to the cost of construction. 
Nor is this lavish and needless expenditure the 
worst part of the arrangement The iron is ad- 
mitted to be at once more costly and less perfect 
than that which the Companies might have imported 
from Europe had their charters permitted them the 
free exercise of their discretion. 

Quite as noteworthy as the fact of the line 
having been constructed at all^ is the speed with 
which it was completed. On the 5th November^ 
1865, the first sod of the Union Pacific Railway was 
turned near the Missouri River, and within a short 
distance of Omaha. In less than four years after- 
wards the line was completed, the ceremony of 
driving the last spike having taken place on the 
10th May, 1869. When it is considered that the 
length of one portion is 1,084 miles, the rapidity 
of construction almost staggers the most credulous. 
It is true that the line is a single one, that the 
stations are temporary structures, and that the 
bridges are built of wood, yet this does not render 
the enterprise the less extraordinary. 

Passing from statistics about the Union Pacific 
to an account of personal experience of the rail- 
way, let it be supposed that the forenoon train is 
about to start on its long journey of more than 



OVER THE BOCKY MOUNTAINS. 77 

1^000 miles from the terminus at Omaha to the 
station at Promontory^ which is the eastern termi- 
nus of the Central Pacific. Confusion reigns 
supreme here^ as at most American railway stations. 
Excited passengers are rushing about in quest of 
the luggage which, despite the system of * checking,' 
is often going astray or getting out of sight. 
Frantic efforts are made to attract the attention of 
the baggage clerk, and to induce him to attach the 
necessary check to the trunk or portmanteau, which 
^as at length been discovered. Those who get 
this part of their business over proceed to the 
office in order to secure berths in Pullman's sleep- 
ing car. The number of these berths is limited 
and bitter is the disappointment of those who fail 
in obtaining one. The prospect of spending ^- 
veral nights in an ordinary car is enough to depress 
the mind and daunt the courage of the hardiest 
traveller. Having had the good fortune to be 
among those who had secured berths by telegraph, 
I was able to hear the exclamations of the disap- 
pointed with pleasant equanimity. As a class, the 
passengers differed greatly from those with whom I 
journeyed to Omaha from Chicago. Some were 
old Califomians returning home after a visit to their 
birthplaces in the Eastern States. Others were 
taking the overland route to San Francisco, in 



78 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

order to compare its comforts with those of the 
route across the Isthmus of Panama. A consider- 
able proportion consisted of adventurers bound for 
California to seek their fortunes^ and a very few 
were travelling for their pleasure. To nearly 
every one the journey is a new one, partaking of 
the character of a daring enterprise. Some who 
profess to be well informed mis-spend their time 
in endeavours to excite the fears of the timid and 
the apprehensions of the excitable. They enlarge 
on the dangers incident to a line constructed too 
hurriedly. They draw ghastly pictures of perils 
to be faced in the event of the wild Indians putting 
obstructions in the way of the train, and attacking 
the passengers. It is possible that these tales 
promoted the sale of insurance tickets. An agent 
of a railway insurance company walked through 
the train before it left the station, and vigorously 
canvassed the passengers. Many of them had 
already made this provision for accidents. Indeed, 
the Americans are too shrewd a people to omit 
making arrangements in view of the consequences 
of a railway accident. In * Appleton's Handbook 
of American Travel ' the last piece of advice given 
in the intrnduction is, ^ Having laid in your neces- 
sary supplies, it only remains for you to insure 
yourself against accident by sea or land.' The 



OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 79 

reader of this is not unnaturally induced to ask 
himself whether, if pleasure travelling in the United 
States be regarded as fraught with so much danger 
it is not wiser to stay at home. 

Four miles after leaving Omaha, the first stop- 
page is made. The journey 'is now fairly begun 
and every one is on the look out for new scenery 
and strange adventures. As mile after mile is left 
behind, the remark is very generally made that the 
surrounding country, instead of being wild and 
desolate, is rich and filled with settlers. Farm 
houses and tilled fields are seen on both sides of 
the line, and this spectacle is a common one 
throughout a large tract of the State of Nebraska. 
The Platte river is the first object of interest which 
breaks the monotony of the plains. Along the 
south bank of this river runs the old emigrant 
road for many miles. The train of white-covered 
waggons, called ^ Prairie Schooners,' drawn by teams 
of oxen, might in former days be seen stretching 
as far as the eye could reach. At long intervals 
the sight of one or two of these waggons recalls 
the bygone times, when a trip across the plains took 
as many months as it now takes days, and was 
seldom accomplished without the loss of several 
cattle, and of a few human lives. The magnitude 
of the trade carried on over the plains may be 



80 WE3TWABD BY BAIL. 

understood from the fact that nearly 7,000 men 
regularly earned their liying as teamsters. Glad 
though the drivers of these teams were to keep near 
the Platte River as long as possible* they were by 
no means pleased with the river itself. Its channel 
is continually shifting, and its bed is treacherous 
sand. Looked at, the river seems one of those 
noble streams destined by nature to bear heavily- 
laden vessels on its bosom. In breadth it averages 
three-quarters of a mile. The water is turbid, and 
its depth seldom exceeds six inches. But while it 
has these drawbacks, it is nevertheless the silent 
agent of innumerable blessings to this section of the 
country. The valley through which it flows is 
fertilised by its waters. Luxuriant vegetation and 
clumps of trees attest the course of the stream. 
Without this river the valley would be a waste ; 
with the river the valley only awaits the hand of 
man to be transformed into a garden. 

The first real sensation is obtained at Jackson, 
a small station an hundred miles west of Omaha. 
Here many of the passengers see genuine Indians 
for the first time — that is, men who live by hunting, 
and who glory in getting scalps. They are Paw- 
nees. We are told that they are friendly Indians, 
being supporters of the United States Government. 
They may be friendly at heart, but they are blood- 



OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 81 

thirsty in appearance. They probably consider 
themselves civilised^ for each carries a revolver in 
a belt strapped round his waist. That they are 
staunch adherents to old traditions is proved by an 
inspection of their encampment. Outside the tents 
are poles stuck into the ground. From the tops of 
these poles^ wisps of hair flutter in the breeze. The 
seeker after knowledge naturally asks the meaning 
of these things. His belief in the friendliness of 
the Pawnees is not strengthened when he is in- 
formed that the wisps of hair are trophies of victory 
which have been cut from the heads of vanquished 
foes. The Indians, whose advance in civilisation is 
manifested by the addition of the revolver to the 
Bcalping-knife, are not persons for whom it is pos- 
sible to entertain great admiration. Their ac- 
quaintance is more to be avoided than courted. 
Seen at a distance they are picturesque additions to 
the landscape; when met by the defenceless tra- 
veller they prove to be brutal monsters. The chief 
testimony given in favour of the Pawnees is that 
they are better than the Sioux, and that they are 
always ready to demonstrate their loyalty to the 
Union by murdering the Sioux without mercy. 
How to deal with the Indians is one of the most 
complex among the problems with which the Go- 
vernment of the United States has to deal The 

o 



82 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

desire is to treat them with perfect fairness^ and to 
strain many points in their favour. But the con- 
duct of the Indians themselves is the frequent bar 
to a uniform adherence to a policy of gentleness* 
The stories of Indian outrages^ which are told by 
the settlers on the plains, excite indignation and 
inspire revenge in the breasts of the most humane. 
It is true, on the other hand, that the settlers have 
been guilty of many barbarities. They maintain, 
however, that if they slaughter Indians it is always 
in self-defence, or in retaliation for some intolerable 
and unpardonable outrage. The Indians, they say, 
not content with slaying white men in cold blood, 
must needs torture their victims with every refine- 
ment of savage brutality. Were it a mere question 
of shooting* the men with whom they came into 
contact, or against whom they had a grudge, the 
white men would have less complaints to make. 
It is the practice of torture, rather than the com- 
mission of murder, which displeases and provokes 
them. Certainly, if but one half of the stories be 
true, the hatred borne by the white men against 
the Indians is not without excuse. It would be 
well, however, before coming to a decision, to learn 
the Indian version of the case. 

At Grand Island station the train stops, and the 
passengers are allowed half an hour for supper. 



OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 83 

On leaving this place the traveller is told that if of 
a religious turn of mind he may bid good-bye to 
schools and churches^ and keep * his eye peeled ' for 
buffalo. The next two hundred miles run through 
the tract crossed by the buffalo herds on their mi- 
grations from South to North. However^ the ex- 
pectation of getting a sight of these denizens of the 
plains is one which is more frequently excited than 
gratified. Since the opening of the railway the 
buffaloes have shunned this district. They may 
return to it again^ as it is not uncommon for them 
to leave a particular spot and then revisit it after 
the lapse of two or three years. Stilly the days 
of buffalo-hunting are numbered. As the country 
becomes settled^ the bunch grass, which is the 
favourite food of the bufiiEdo, gives place to the com 
plant. Already the newspapers of these districts 
are protesting against the wholesale slaughter of 
buffaloes by sportsmen. When the time arrives 
for preserving wild animals, the moment of their 
extinction is not distant. To the passengers by 
this train the presence or absence of buffalo herds 
loattered little, seeing that the favourite feeding- 
grounds of these animals were passed during the 
night. The event of the succeeding morning was 
halting at Cheyenne city for breakfast. This is 
one of the towns which sprang up during the con- 

o 2 



84 WiiaSTWABD BY RAIL. 

struction of the railway. In Jvlj, 1867» there was 
but one house here. At present there are 3,000 
inhabitants in Chejenne. The population has been 
as large as 6,000. It was what is here styled a 
' rough place/ that is to say a miniature hell upon 
earth. Thieves and gamblers, murderers and pro- 
stitutes, were numbered among its ' prominent citi- 
zens.' But the day of its orgies is passed away ; 
the scum of the population has moved off to other 
pastures, and the streets of Cheyenne are as quiet 
as the streets of other Western cities in which law 
has conquered license. The breakfast supplied at 
the railway-station deserves a word of praise. It 
was a plain but wholesome meal, and it had the 
charm of novelty in the shape of antelope steaks. 
The flesh of the antelope is most palatable, the 
flavour being something between the flavour of 
venison and beef. The animal is a hardy one, and 
it might easily be acclimatised in England. 

The scenery from this point onwards is tame and 
ttninteresting. In every direction the limitless 
plains extend to the horizon. Here and there a 
tuft of wild flowers relieves the monotony of the 
grass flats. A herd of antelopes bounding along is 
a sight most welcome to the fatigued eye, while the 
rare spectacle of two Rocky Mountain sheep, with 
wild aspect and long twisted horns, excites specula- 



OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 85 

tion as to how they had wandered so far from their 
native haunts. Dead oxen bj the wayside bear 
witness to the passage of an emigrant train^ and to 
losses sustained by its members. At Hazard^ a 
station beyond Cheyenne> is a little mountain tarn. 
A few miles farther on^ small patches of white in 
the crevices of the rocks cause the statement to be 
made that the country of alkali dust has been 
reached at last. This^ however^ is contradicted. 
The patches in question prove to be traces of snow. 
It is true that the sun shines brightly overhead^ 
and that the winter has not yet begun. Neverthe- 
less, the intense coldness of the air excites general 
remark. The explanation is simple. We are 
nearing the highest point of the line. Since leav- 
ing Omaha the ascent has been gradual, but con- 
tinuous. We have ascended nearly 8,000 feet 
above the sea level, and the height gained is amidst 
the peaks of the Rocky Mountains on which snow 
always rests, and where not a day throughout the 
year passes without the fall of a larger or smalle> 
quantity of snow. The purity of the air is extreme. 
Objects many miles distant seem as if they were 
but as many feet removed from the spectator. 
With diflBculty do the lungs become fully inflated, 
so great is the rarity of the air. As mile after mile 
is traversed the ground is more steep. Cuttings 



86 



WESTWARD BT BAIL. 



through the rocks have be«i made to reduce the 
incline. The strain on the engine beoomes greater; 
the speed of the train is diminishedi until the ascent 
is finally made^ and the train halts at Sherman, 
a railway station of which the elevation exceeds 
that of any in the world, it being situated 8,235 
feet above the level of the sea. 



^ 



\1 



VI. 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE GBEAI SALT LAKE. 

Sherman station, the highest point on the 
Pacific Railway, is in the Territory of Wyoming, 
the youngest among the Territories of the United 
States. It was named after the Valley in Penn- 
sylvania which is known in history as the scene of 
a horrible massacre and which lives in poetry as 
the abode of Campbell's * Gertrude.' Wyoming 
Territory has already attracted the attention of the 
world on account of the social and political reforms 
of which it has been the theatre. Here the enfran- 
chisement of women has not only been conceded, but 
the logical results have been accepted. Women have 
been empanelled as jurors, and even entrusted with 
the discharge of judicial functions. 

Some writers strongly advise the traveller to 
make a halt at Sherman station. The inducements 
held out to him are mountain scenery, invigorating 
air, fishing, and hunting. A sojourn among the 
peaks of the Rocky Mountains has the attraction of 



S8 WESTWARD EY RAIL. 

novelty to recommend it. Life there must be, in 
every sense of the word, a new sensation. But 
some sensations are undesirable notwithstanding 
their undoubted freshness. That splendid trout 
swarm in the streams near Sherman admits of no 
dispute. Yet the disciple of Isaac Walton should 
not be tempted to indulge rashly in his harmless 
and charming sport. It is delightful to hook large 
fish ; but it is less agreeable to be pierced through 
by arrows. Now, the latter contingency is among 
the probabilities which must be taken into conside- 
ration. A few weeks prior to my journey, one of 
the conductors of the train by which I travelled 
learned, by practical experience, that fishing amid 
the Rocky Mountains has palpable and painful 
drawbacks. Having taken a few days' holiday, he 
went forth, fishing-rod in hand, to amuse himself. 
While whipping the stream in the innocence of his 
heart, he was startled to find himself made the 
target for arrows shot by wild Indians. He sought 
safety in flight, and recovered from hi» wounds 
to the surprise as much as to the gratification 
of his friends. His story did not render me de- 
sirous of sharing his fate. The trout-fisher might 
employ his leisure to greater advantage elsewhere 
than in the Territory of Wyoming. The sportsman 
runs fewer risks and would fare much better. If 



BOCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 89 

%e sallied forth to shoot antelopes^ elk^ or deer, he 
^^i%ht return unpieroed by arrows and laden with 
,^ame. The Indians are bold and forward enough 
^ presence of a man carrying a fishing-rod, but 
they keep at a very respectful distance from him 
^ho is armed with a repeating rifle. The accom- 
modation at Sherman is not luxurious. It is a place 
consisting of a few buildings erected for the use of 
the railway o£Scials. 

The scenery around Sherman is bleak and wild. 
Several famous peaks are said to be perceptible in 
the far distance. I have read a statement to the 
effect that Long's Peak, one of the principal 
mountains of Colorado, 75 miles to the South- 
west, and Pike's Peak, 165 miles to the South are 
* both plainly visible.' To the North, Elk Moun- 
tain is ' another noted landmark,' about 100 miles 
distant. It is possible that these mountain tops 
may have been discerned in a vision by the com- 
pilers of guide books. To the eye of the ordinary 
and unimaginative traveller they are invisible. 
What he does see to the left of the line looking 
westward is the snow-capped range of the Wahsatch 
mountains. On the right are rough and irregular 
elevations dotted over with dark pines. These are 
the Black Hills of Wyoming. A huge mass of red 
rock stands forth here and there on the solitary 



88 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

novelty to recommend it Life there must be, in 
eveiy sense of the word, a new sensation* Bnt 
some sensations are undesirable notwithstanding 
their undoubted freshness. That splendid trout 
swarm in the streams near Sherman admits of no 
dispute. Yet the disciple of Isaac Walton should 
not be tempted to indulge rashly in his harmless 
and charming sport. It is delightful to hook large 
fish ; but it is less agreeable to be pierced through 
by arrows. Now, the latter contingency is among 
the probabilities which must be taken into conside- 
ration. A few weeks prior to my journey, one of 
the conductors of the train by which I travelled 
learned^ by practical experience, that fishing amid 
the Kocky Mountains has palpable and painful 
drawbacks. Having taken a few days* holiday, he 
went forth^ fishing-rod in hand, to amuse himself. 
AVTiile whipping the stream in the innocence of his 
heart, he was startled to find himself made the 
target for arrows shot by wild Indians. He sought 
safety in flight, and recovered from hi& wounds 
to the surprise as much as to the gratification 
of his friends. His story did not render me de- 
sirous of sharing his fate. The trout-fisher might 
employ his leisure to greater advantage elsewhere 
than in the Territory of Wyoming. The sportsman 
riins fewer risks and would fare much better. If 



ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 89 

he sallied forth to shoot antelopes^ elk^ or deer^ he 
might return unpierced bj arrows and laden with 
game. The Indians are bold and forward enough 
in presence of a man carrying a fishing-rod^ but 
they keep at a very respectful distance from him 
who is armed with a repeating rifle. The accom- 
modation at Sherman is not luxurious. It is a place 
consisting of a few buildings erected for the use of 
the railway officials. 

The scenery around Sherman is bleak and wild. 
Several famous peaks are said to be perceptible in 
the far distance. I have read a statement to the 
effect that Long's Peak^ one of the principal 
mountains of Colorado^ 75 miles to the South- 
west, and Pike's Peak, 165 miles to the South are 
* both plainly visible.' To the North, Elk Moun- 
tain is ' another noted landmark,' about 100 miles 
distant. It is possible that these mountain tops 
may have been discerned in a vision by the com- 
pilers of guide books. To the eye of the ordinary 
and unimaginative traveller they are invisible. 
What he does see to the left of the line looking 
westward is the snow-capped range of the Wahsatch 
mountains. On the right are rough and irregular 
elevations dotted over with dark pines. These are 
the Black Hills of Wyoming. A huge mass of red 
rock stands forth here and there on the solitary 



90 WESTWARD BY HAIL. 

plains. Most welcome to eyes wearied with the 
savage grandenr of the scene, are the patches of 
purple and jellow wild flowers which flourish amidst 
the short brown grass. It is with a feeling of relief 
that Sherman station is left behind. The train 
descends by its own weight the rapid incline which 
leads to the Laramie Plains. Three miles west- 
ward of Sherman the line crosses Dale Creek on 
one of those wooden bridges which appear so un- 
substantial, yet are said to be so strong. It is 
650 feet long and 126 feet high. The trestle work 
of which it consists resembles the scaffolding erected 
for the purpose of painting the outside of a London 
house. An enthusiastic writer terms this bridge 
' the grandest feature of the road/ and commends it 
for its ' light, airy, and graceful appearance.' The 
contractors are said to boast of having erected it in 
the short space of thirty days. It is not stated how 
many days the bridge will bear the strain almost 
hourly put upon it. More than one passenger who 
would rather lose a fine sight than risk a broken 
neck breathes more freely, and gives audible ex- 
pression to his satisfaction, once the cars have 
passed in safety over this remarkable wooden struc- 
ture. Downwards speeds the train, at a pace which 
makes one shudder at the consequences of an acci- 
dent. In twenty miles the descent of a thousand 



KOCKY MOUXTAIXS TO TUK GREAT SALT LAKi:. 91 

feet is accomplislied. No steam power is employed. 
On the contrary, the brakes are tightly screwed 
down alike on the locomotive and the cars. At 
Laramie City a halt of thirty minutes is made, and 
a good meal is provided for the hungry passengers. 
We are now in the midst of the Laramie plains, 
reputed to be the finest grazing land in this part of 
the Continent Here thousands of buffaloes used 
to feed and wax fat. With the exception of Texas, 
no place can Be found where cattle may be fattened 
at a less cost. As we proceed onwards the plains 
widen on either side, and the mountain ranges re- 
cede into the distance. We are again on the rolling 
prairie, but not such a prairie as is to be found in 
the States of Illinois and Iowa. The sage-brush 
plant b^ins to show itself. This constitutes the sole 
Tegetation of the arid and desolate tract which is 
known by the name of the Great American Desert. 
The only thing alleged in favour of the sage-brush 
is that^ when used as a medicine, it is a specific for 
ague. If the malady were as common as the plant 
is plentiful hardly a human being would escape a 
seizure. Millions of acres are covered with sage- 
brush. On the right of the line is a small sheet of 
water, to which the name of Como Lake has been 
given. In nothing but the name does it recall the 
famous Italian Lake, yet the prospect is a pleasing 



I 



92 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

relief to the monotony of the surroanding waste. 
Carbon station is one very important in reality, 
though apparently insignificant. Here the com- 
pany's workmen made a discovery which has helped 
to fill the company's coffers. During the construc- 
tion of the line a seam of coal was cut through. 
This was literally a godsend. It had been feared 
that all the fuel used along the line would have to 
be transported from the remote East. In this 
locality wood is very scarce, and the carriage of 
coal would have been costly. However, the dis- 
covery of a coal-field at Carbon settled the fuel 
question at once and for ever. The quality of the 
coal is first-class, and the quantity is practically un- 
limited. Two hundred tons a day are extracted 
with ease. Not only is the coal burned in the loco- 
motives, but it is also supplied to the stations along 
the line, being sent as far eastwards as Omaha. Nor 
is this the only coalfield which has been discovered 
and worked at a profit. In other parts of the Terri- 
tory large fields of coal have been proved to exist, 
while iron ore of the richest kind abounds in the 
vicinity of the coal. Thus the Black Hills which 
have been regarded as yielding nothing but dark 
pine and have been more notable heretofore for 
their picturesqueness than their mineral treasures, 
may hereafter become the centre of an industry in 



BOCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 93 

coal and iron as important as any upon this Con- 
tinent From this point the line passes through 
elevated land on either side^ till a wild gorge is 
entered a few miles to the east of Fort Steele. The 
mountains which stretch away from the mouth of 
the gorge seem designed to guard its entrance. 
They have the look of battlements carefully wrought 
ud prepared to withstand a siege. The beholder 
naturally expects to see sentinels keeping watch on 
the top, and cannon protruding over the sides. It 
ifl difficult to believe that these escarpments have 
Wn cut by no mortal hand, but are due to the 
action of the warring elements on the friable red 
lock. At Fort Steele there is a garrison of four 
companies. All around is barrenness and desola- 
tion. Nothing but sage-brush covers the ground. 
The pools of water are bitter with alkali Great 
enthusiasm or a high sense of duty can alone render 
life here other than a perpetual burden. At Raw- 
lings Springs a stoppage is made for supper, and a 
few miles farther on the backbone of the Continent 
is reached and crossed. This point is 191 miles 
west of Sherman, and 1,034 miles distant from Sacra- 
mento. The height above the level of the sea is 
more than 1,000 feet less than at Sherman, yet the 
configuration of the country is such as to constitute 
this the watershed, whence the stream which runs 



^ 



94 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

East falls into the Atlantic^ and the stream which 
runs West falls into the Pacific 

At an early hour the following morning the 
passengers are roused to take breakfast at Wahsatch. 
This place has a bad reputation. I was told that 
' out of twenty-four graves here^ but one held the 
remains of a person who had died a natural deaths 
and that was a prostitute who had poisoned herself.' 
I give the statement in the words of my informant. 
It was evidently his opinion that suicide was per- 
fectly natural under the circumstances ; and possibly 
he was right. The line is now in Utah Territory ; 
the land we now see is the land of the Mormons^ 
and the people are Saints in name. Moreover^ this 
part is the most striking and picturesque of any on 
the Union Pacific Railway, for the line runs along 
Echo and Weber Canyons,* passing by the Devil's 
Slide, passing through the Devil's Gate. It was in 

* As the word ' Canyon * will occur several times, I may now 
explain its meaning and defend the form of spelling which I hare 
adopted. The word which is a Spanish one, and as such is spelled 
Canon^ signifies a ravine. Here it is always used to denote those 
sudden depressions in the ground, the sides of which descend sheer 
down to the depth of from two to six thousand feet, which are com- 
mon in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. Some persons 
write the word in its Spanish form ; others spell it ' Kanyon,* while 
the most general method of spelling it is Canyon. I have thought 
it best to spell the word in the way which renders its correct pro- 
nunciation easy, and to conform, at the same time, to the practice of 
the megority. 



ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 95 

Echo Canyon that the Mormons determined to make 
a stand against the army commanded by General 
Johnson^ which President Buchanan sent to subdue 
them in 1857. They fortified the pass on the 
system which barbarous tribes adopt to withstand 
the passage of regular troops through mountainous 
countries. At the height of a thousand feet above 
the bed of the Canyon^ huge rocks were heaped 
Qp in readiness to be hurled down upon the soldiers 
toiling along below. But the experiment was not 
tried. General Johnson negotiated instead of 
fighting, assented to the Mormon demands instead 
of insisting upon the acceptance by them of the 
terms he was sent to enforce. This was the be- 
ginning of the temporising policy which, since then, 
has characterised the dealings of the United States 
(rovemment with the Mormons. 

While passing through these Canyons the pas- 
sengers are eagerly watching the points of interest 
which abound. The platform of an American 
railroad car is well adapted for the sight-seer. 
Although passengers are forbidden to stand on the 
platform^ yet the rule is one to which the excep- 
tions are numerous enough for the convenience of 
all who choose to run a little risk. Adequately 
to depict the spectacle is hardly possible. It is 
pre-eminently a grand one. It recalls the magni- 



96 WESTWABB BY BAIL. 

ficent sight to be witnessed between Botxen and 
Verona when the railway passes near to the g^ 
gantic piles of rock which have been fitly entitled 
The Gateways of the Alps. Beneath our feet the 
Weber river rushes along in tarbulent might. At 
one moment the line skirts the margin of deep, 
dark pools. At another a bend removes the river 
into the distance, and then the attention is fixed 
on some huge chasm in the rugged mountain side. 
Where the pass narrows stands a solitary pine 
bearing the name of the 1,000 mile tree. It was 
so named because it was the first tree of any size 
which the constructors of the railway met with 
while they were carrying the line westward from 
Omaha. High up on the distant mountain slopes 
are beautiful tufls of a red shrub, and in the clefts 
of the rocks are a few stunted trees, but with 
these exceptions the whole scene is wild and barren. 
Not far from the tree just mentioned is the Devil's 
Slide. This resembles the wooden structures, down 
which the trees cut on mountain heights are shot 
to the river below, only this slide is fashioned by 
Nature's hand out of solid rock. Swiftly does 
the train speed along the Canyon, until emerging 
from the narrow space between the sundered rocks 
which is called the Devil's Gate, the Great Salt 
Lake is discerned in the distance, and the view of 



EOCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 97 

a luxuriant valley is in pleasing contrast to the 
Erowning rock and foaming river. The train stops 
at ITmtah. Here Mormon lads sells peaches and 
Mormon women tempt the ladies in the train to 
purchase gloves which they have tastefully em- 
broidered. 



98 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 



VIL 

VISIT TO THE MORMONS : THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 

The Pacific Railway runs through Utah Territory 
and Bkirts the northern end of the Great Salt 
Lake. From the nearest railway station to the 
City of the Saints the distance is about forty miles. 
A branch line, called the Utah Central Eailroad, 
has now brought Salt Lake City into communica- 
tion by rail with .the principal American cities of 
the East and West. When I made the journey, 
the visitor to the capital of Mormondom had to 
leave the Union Pacific at Uintah station, and to 
take a seat in one of the stage coaches of Wells, 
Fargo, & Co. The coach which meets the train is 
what is styled a * Concord Coach.' It has seats 
for nine persons inside and for at least five on the 
roof. The inside seat for three is placed crosswise 
between the two doors. Those who occupy it are 
not only cramped, but are exposed to disagreeable 
pressure from the knees of the passengers behind, 
as well as to inconvenience from the feet and leirs 
of those facing them. To suffer this during five 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 99 

hours, the time occupied by the joumej, is bad 
enough, yet this is not the worst. The road itself 
is unique of its kind. To rival it would be diffi- 
cult; to surpass it impossible. In badness it is 
pre-eminent. Execrable is the strongest epithet 
in the language for a road having no redeeming 
points. This word, however, serves but feebly and 
inadequately to describe and stigmatise the road 
between Uintah station and Salt Lake City. 
There are innmnerable ruts and depressions in it 
Huge stones interpose obstacles to the smooth 
passage of a vehicle. IS the occurrence of the 
ruts were more uniform, and the arrangement of 
the stones more regular, less complaint might with 
justice be made. But the perverse combination of 
the two is utterly unbearable. On one side, at 
short distances apart, is a rut a foot deep, on the 
opposite side is a row of stones a foot high. As 
the four horses harnessed to the coach draw it 
rapidly over those rough places, the effect is that 
of a sudden luirch and stunning blow produced 
simultaneously. The swing to the one side, which 
follows the sinking of the wheels, bumps the pas- 
sengers against the sides and against each other, 
while the jar of the other wheels against the stones, 
throws their heads against the roof or their backs 
against the front or rear of the coach. Thus they 

H 2 



i 




100 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

learn, in a way alike practical and unpleasant, the 
import of the threat to beat a man into a jellj or 
to break every bone in his body. On reaching 
their destination the passengers have good grounds 
for charging the company with a species of assault 
and battery. That no steps have yet been taken 
with a view to obtain redress for physical injuries 
sustained during the drive is probably due to the 
fact that every one who has survived the ordeal 
must be so thankful that he has escaped with his 
life as to have no disposition to foster vindictive 
feelings against his fellows. It is a standing 
miracle that the driver sticks to his post. Judging 
from the one who drove tlie coach when I was among 
the passengers, I should say that the risks run 
and the jolting undergone had a souring effect on 
the temper, and a saddening influence on the mind. 
A more surly, ill-conditioned, and taciturn driver I 
never met before. The chief point in his favour 
was his determination to keep his cattle going at 
full speed. When we halted to change horses, and 
were detained a few minutes beyond the allotted 
time, he told the outside passengers to hold on 
firmly, as he meant ^ to go ahead like greased 
lightning.' As the road before us looked even 
worse than that behind, this intimation seemed 
equivalent to a threat of extra sufferings about to 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 101 

be inflicted. On the other hand^ the warning was 
accepted with gratitude. It was better to have 
one's misery shortened in time^ even if intensified 
in d^ree^ than to have it protracted as well as 
extreme. To this hour, I am amazed that the 
wheels and the framework of the coach remained 
nnbroken and unstrained. 

The trials by the way did not hinder my ad- 
miring the surrounding scenery. The road runs 
along the mountain valley which stretches from the 
outlet of Weber Canyon to the Wahsatch Moun- 
tains, southward of Salt Lake City. The ground 
on the right is a continuation of the great valley, 
and in the distance the vast Lake glitters under 
the rays of the bright sunlight. Around our path 
to right and left were hundreds of stunted shrubs, 
among which dwarf oaks had the leading place. 
Among the scanty herbage were numerous ant- 
hills, rising to the height of at least three feet and 
having the ground at their base carefully cleared 
for several inches. On the mountain slopes were 
masses of a dwarf maple. As the maple leaves 
were brilliant with the autunmal tints, the appear- 
ance of the variegated mass was at once picturesque 
and charming. Several farms are visible from the 
road, and the fields give distinct token of careful 
cultivation. Everywhere is to be seen evidence 



fiS WESTWABD BY SAIL. 

relief to the moDotoujr oi the Burrounding waste. 
Carbon stattoD is one very important in reality, 
though apparently insignificant. Here the com- 
paay'a workmen made a discovery which has helped 
to fill the company's coffers. Daring the constnic- 
tioD of the line a seam of coal was cut through. 
This was literally a godeeud. It had been feared 
that all the fuel used along the line would have to 
be transported from the remote East. In this 
locality wood is very scarce, and the carriage of 
coal would have been costly. However, the dis- 
covery of a coal-field at Carbon settled the fuel 
question at once and for ever. The quality of the 
coal is first-class, and the quantity is practically un- 
limited. Two hundred tons a day are extracted 
with ease. Not only is the coal burned in the loco- 
motives, but it is also supplied to the stations along 
the line, being sent as far eastwards as Omaha. Nor 
is this the only coalfield which has been discovered 
and worked at a profit. In other parte of the Terri- 
tory large fields of coal have been proved to exist, 
while iron ore of the richest kind abounds in the 
vicinity of the coal. Thus the Black Hills which 
have been regarded as yielding noUiing but dark 
pine and have been more notable heretofore for 
their picturesqueness than their mineral treasures, 
may hereafter become the centre of an industry in 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 103 

seen the gardens and dwellings of the capital of 
Mormondom. The aspect of the city from this 
point is that of a large country village. No build- 
^i except the Tabernacle, stands forth to give an 
ur of importance to the cluster of houses, and the 
Tabernacle, when viewed from afar, cannot be 
called imposing. In appearance it resembles a 
gigantic dish cover. Besides, the number of houses 
u not large enough to adequately fill up the fore- 
pomi of the extensive landscape. The valley in 
^hich the city lies is on a huge scale, and the 
^ange of snowy peaks in the background rivets the 
^ye more forcibly than the handful of white houses 
^bosomed in trees. On nearer approach the first 

• 

^pression is deepened. The width and length of 
^e streets are disproportioned to the buildings 
^hich line their sides. In Main-street are some 
Wdsome structures, but these are the rare ex- 
ceptions. 

The thought now predominating over all others 
is one of thankfulness that the moment of release 
from the torments of the stage coach is at hand. 
Seldom has a hotel seemed so truly a place of re- 
fuge as did the 'Townsend House,' in which my 
travelling acquaintances and myself found accom- 
modation. This is a Mormon hotel, the landlord 
rejoicing, or the reverse, in the possession of three 



104 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

Thrives. It has the reputation of being one of the 
best houses in the citj^ but this reputation is based 
less on its intrinsic merits than on the circumstance 
that it is kept hj a Mormon^ and that^ conse- 
quentlj^ it affords the inquisitive stranger an op- 
portunity of learning something as to the practical 
working of the peculiar institution in which Mor- 
mons glory. Without enlarging on a topic to which 
I have already referred^ a topic^ too, of which the 
interest is happily locals let me here simply mention 
that if any reader has an enemy whom he would 
like to torture in the most refined yet cruel way, 
he can attain his object by persuading him to go to 
the Townsend House in the autumn. The flies 
vnll worry him to death in the course of a few 
weeks. They render the enjoyment of a meal 
wholly impossible. Every dish is seasoned with 
dead files ; the hands, heads, and faces of the visi- 
tors are covered over with living ones. The land- 
lord is the gainer, for many persons prefer to leave 
the table long before their appetites are stayed, 
rather than sit through a meal to be the sport and 
the victims of the fiies. The files do for the tra- 
veller what the physician did for Sancho Panza. 

The plan of Salt Lake City is that on which 
nearly every American city is built. There is a 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 105 

main street^ with which others run parallel, and 
from which side streets branch off at right angles. 
The majority of the shops and stores are in the 
principal street. On manj of the stores is a sign- 
board^ with the following inscription. At the top 
are the words, ^ Holiness to the Lord/ underneath 
is painted the All-seeing Eye, and then follows 
the announcement, ' Zion's Co-operative Mercantile 
Institution.' These stores were opened several 
months ago for the purpose of keeping the business 
of the place exclusively in the hands of the Saints. 
The device is one of the many expedients of Brig- 
ham Young for retaining his hold over the Mor- 
mons, and for driving away the Gentiles. Among 
the latter are included the Jews, of whom several 
are engaged in business here and who are num- 
bered among the Gentiles, while the Saints are 
classed with the sinners. At the northern end of 
this street are the Tabernacle, the Tithing-office, 
the Endowment House and the residence of Pre- 
sident Young. Within the enclosure of the present 
Tabernacle are the foundations of the structure 
destined to be the Tabernacle of the future. The 
stone employed is a beautiful grey granite, and 
every part has been planned with a view to solidity. 
Bat the progress is very slow, and no one professes 
to expect that the building will be speedily, if ever. 



96 wKrrwAKD by rail. 

ficent sight to be witnessed between Botzen and 
Verona wbea the railway pasaeB near to the ^- 
gandc piles of rock which have been fitly entitled 
The Gateways of the Alps. Beneath our feet the 
"Weber river rushes along in turbulent might At 
one moment the line skirts the margin of deep, 
dark pools. At anotlier a bend removes the river 
into the distance, and then the attention is fixed 
on some huge chasm in the rugged mountain side. 
Where the pass narrows stands a solitary pine 
bearing the name of the 1,000 mile tree. It was 
so named because it was the first tree of any size 
which the constructors of the railway met with 
while they were carrying the line westward from 
Omaha. High np on the distant mountain slopes 
are beautiful tufts of a red shrub, and in the clefts 
of the rocks are a few stunted trees, but with 
these exceptions the whole scene is wUd and barren. 
Not far from Hie tree just mentioned is the Devil's 
Slide. This resembles the wooden structures, down 
which the trees cut on mountain heights are shot 
to the river below, only this slide is fashioned by 
Nature's hand out of solid rock. Swiftly does 
the train speed along the Canyon, until emerging 
from the narrow space between the sundered rocks 
which is called the Devil's Grate, the Great Salt 
Lake is discerned in the Stance, and the view of 



BOCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 97 

a loxDriant valley is in pleasing contrast to the 
frowning rock and foaming river. The train stops 
at Umtah. Here Mormon lads sells peaches and 
Mormon women tempt the ladies in the train to 
purchase gloves which they have tastefully em- 
broidered. 



TraSTWABD BY RAIL. 



VII. 

VISIT TO THE SfOBMOSS : THE CITY OF THE SAHfTS. 

The Pacific Railway ruoB through Utah Territory 
and skirts the northern end of the Great Salt 
Lake. From the nearest railway station to the 
City of the Sunte the distance is about forty miles. 
A branch line, called the Utah Central Kailroad, 
has now brought Salt Lake City into communica- 
tion by rail with .the principal American cities of 
the East and West When I made the journey, 
the visitor to the capital of Mormondom had to 
leave tlie Union Pacific at Uintah station, and to 
take a seat in one of the stage coaches of Wells, 
Fargo, & Co. The coach vrhich meets the train is 
what is styled a ' Concord Coach.' It has seats 
for nine persons inside and for at least five on the 
roof. The inside seat for three is placed crosswise 
between the two doors. Those who occupy it are 
not only cramped, but are exposed to disagreeable 
pressure from the knees of the passengers behind, 
as well as to inconvenience from the feet and legs 
of those facing them. To sufier this during five 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 99 

boon, the time occupied hj the journey, is bad 
enongb, yet this is not the wont. The road itself 
is unique of its kind. To rival it would be diffi- 
cult; to surpass it impossible. In badness it is 
pre-emiueut. Execrable is the strongest epithet 
in the language for a road having no redeeming 
points. This word, however, serves but feebly and 
inadequately to describe and stigmatiBe tlie road 
between Uintah station and Salt Lake City. 
There are innumerable ruto and depressions in it. 
Huge stones interpose obstacles to tiie smooth 
passage of a vehicle. If the occurrence of the 
ruts were more uniform, and the arrangement of 
the stones more regular, less complaint might with 
justice be made. But the perverse combination of 
the two is utterly unbearable. On one side, at 
short distances apart, ia a mt a foot deep, on the 
opposite side is a row of atones a foot high. As 
the four horses harnessed to the coach draw it 
rapidly over those rough places, the effect is that 
of a sudden lurch and stunning blow produced 
simultaneously. The swing to tbe one side, which 
follows the sinking of the wheels, bumps the pas- 
sengers agunst the sides and against each other, 
while the jar of the other wheels against the stones, 
throws their heads against the roof or their backs 
against the firont or rear of the coach. Thus they 



100 WESTWAED BY RAIL. 

leam, in a way alike practical and uspleasant, the 
import of the threat to beat a man into a jelly or 
to break every bone in his body. On reaching 
their destination the passengers have good grounds 
for charging the company with a species of assault 
and battery. That no steps have yet been taken 
with a view to obtain redress for physical injuries 
sust^ned during the drive is probably due to the 
fact that every one who has eurrived the ordeal 
must be so thankful that he has escaped with his 
life as to have no disposition to foster vindictive 
feelings against his fellows. It is a standing 
miracle that the driver sticks to his post. Jud^ng 
from the one who drove the coach when I was among 
the passengers, I should say that the risks run 
and the jolting undergone had a souring effect on 
the temper, and a saddening influence on the mind. 
A more surly, ill-conditioned, and taciturn driver I 
never met before. The chief point in his favour 
was his determination to keep his cattle going at 
full speed. When we halted to change horses, and 
were detuned a few minutes beyond the allotted 
time, he told the outside passengers to hold on 
firmly, as he meant 'to go ahead like greased 
lightning.* As the road before as looked even 
worse than that behind, tfiis intimation seemed 
eijuivaleut to a threat of extra sufferings about to 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 101 

be inflicted. On the other hand, the warning was 
accepted with gratitude. It was better to have 
one's misery ehortened in time, even if intensified 
in d^ree, than to have it protracted aa well as 
extreme. To thia hour, I am amazed that the 
wheels and the framework of the coach remained 
unbroken and unstrained. 

The trials by the way did not hinder my ad- 
miring the surrounding scenery. The road runs 
along the moontain valley which stretches &om the 
outlet of Weber Canyon to the Wahsatch Moun- 
tains, southward of Salt Lake City. The ground 
on the right is a continuation of the great valley, 
and in the distance the vast Lake glitters under 
the rays of the bright sunlight. Around our path 
to right and left were hundreds of stunted shrubs, 
among which dwarf oaks had the leading place. 
Among the scanty herbage were numerouH ant- 
bills, rising to the height of at least three feet and 
having the ground at their base carefully cleared 
for several inches. On the mountain slopes were 
masses of a dwarf maple. As the maple leaves 
were brilliant with the autumnal tints, the ap[>ear- 
ance of the variegated mass was at once picturesque 
and charming. Several farms are visible from the 
road, and the fields give distiuct token uf careful 
cultivation. Everywhere is to be seen evidence 



102 WE3TWABD BY ILUL. 

that die people of these parts are hard-workiDg and 
enei^etic. The first meal eaten irithin sight of 
Salt Lake was got at a little roadside station. 
This erection is of a mde and temporary character, 
being one half wooden hut and one half canvas 
tent. More noticeable than the dwelling in which 
we sat, and the food set before us, was tbe multi- 
tude of house-flies which seemed to have taken 
{HMsession of every spot. The tablecloth was black 
with them. They swarmed over every dish as soon 
as the cover was removed, nor did they confine 
their attentions tomeat, or milk, or sugar. They 
justified Mr. Ruskin's remark that house-flies are 
black incarnations of caprice, by settling upon and 
seeming to enjoy pickles as much as a lump of 
sugar, or the fresh face of a stranger. Never before 
could I realise the terror which must have over- 
spread the land of Egypt when the plague of flies 
was sent to soften the hard heart of Pharaoh. It 
added to the discomfort of the moment to learn that 
the visitation was not exceptional, that the flies 
were quite as numerous and tormenting in the city 
to which I was hastening. After the lapse of about 
five hours and when the heat, and dust, and flies, 
and jolting had maddened and exhausted the pas- 
sengers, a sudden turning in the road brought 
relief to every mind, for in the distance could be 



THE CITY OF THE aAIHTS. 103 

seen the gardens and dwellings of the capital of 
Mormondom. The aspect of the city &om this 
point is that of a lai^e country village. No build- 
ing, except die Tabernacle, stands forth to give an 
air of importance to the duster of houses, and the 
Tabernacle, when viewed from a&r, cannot be 
called imposing. In appearance it resembles a 
gigantic dish cover. Beudea, the number of houses 
is not large enough to adequately M up the fore- 
ground of the extensive landscape. The valley va 
which the city lies is on a huge scale, and the 
range of snowy peaks in the background rivets the 
eye more forcibly than the handful of white houses 
embosomed in trees. On nearer approach the first 
impression is deepened. The width and length of 
the streets are disproportioned to the buildings 
which line their sides. In Main-street are some 
handsome structures, but these are the rare ex- 



Tbe thought now predominating over all others 
is one of thankfulness that the moment of release 
from the torments of the stage coach is at hand. 
Seldom has a hotel seemed so truly a place of re- 
fuge as did the ' Townsend House,' in which my 
travelling acquaintances and myself found accom- 
modation. This is a Mormon hotel, the landlord 
rejoicing, or the reverse, in the possession of three 



104 WESTWAED BY BAIL. 

wives. It liaa the reputatioii of being one of tlie 
best honaes in the city, but tliifi reputation is baaed 
less on its intrinsic merits than on the circumBtance 
that it is kept by a Mormon, and Uiat, conse- 
quently, it affords the inquisitive stranger an op- 
portunity of learning something as ta Uie practical 
working of the peculiar inatitution in which Mor- 
mons glory. Without enlai^ing on a topic to which 
I have already referred, a topic, too, of which the 
interest is happily local, let me here simply mention 
that if any reader has an enemy whom he would 
like to torture in the most refined yet cruel way, 
he can attain his object by persuading him to go to 
the Townsend House in the autumn. The flies 
will worry him to death in the course of a few 
weeks. They render the enjoyment of a meal 
wholly impoanble. Every dish is seasoned with 
dead flies ; the hands, heads, and faces of the visi- 
tors are covered over with living ones. The land- 
lord is the gainer, for many persons prefer to leave 
the table long before their appetites are stayed, 
rather than sit through a meal to be the sport and 
the victims of the flies. The flies do for the tra^ 
veller what the phyaician did for Sancho Panza. 

The plan of Salt Lake City is that on which 
nearly every American city is built. There is a 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 105 

mun street, with -vrhich otiiers run parallel, and 
from which side streets hranch off at right angles. 
Tlie majority of the ehops and stores are in the 
principal street. On many of the stores is a sign- 
board, with the following inscription. At the top 
are the words, ' Holiness to the Lord,' underneath 
is painted the All-seemg Eye, and then follows 
the announcement, ' Zion's Co^peratiTe Mercantile 
Institution.' These stores were opened several 
months ago for the purpose of keeping the business 
of the place exclusively in the bands of the Saints. 
The device is one of the many expedients of Brig- 
bam Young for retaining his hold over the Mor- 
mons, and for driving away the Gentiles. Among 
the latter are included the Jews, of whom several 
are engaged in business here and who are num- 
bered among the Gentiles, while the Saints are 
classed with the ainnera. At the northern end of 
this street are the Tabernacle, the Tithing-o£Bce, 
the Endowment House and the residence of Pre- 
sident Young. Within the enclosure of the present 
Tabernacle are the foundations of the structure 
destined to be the Tabernacle of the future. The 
stone employed is a beautiful grey granite, and 
every part has been planned with a view to solidity. 
But the progress is very slow, and no one professes 
to expect that the building will be speedily, if ever. 



106 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

finished. The existing Tabernacle is an oblong or 
egg-shaped structure, devoid of ornament, and 
wholly destitute of beauty either in proportion or 
outline. It is said to have accommodation for 
8,000 persons. This is an exaggeration. A friend 
who carefully estimated the available space assured 
me that there is not room for more than 5,000 
sitters. At the one end is a very large organ, now 
in course of construction ; on a raised platform at 
that end are benches for the elders and rulers of the 
Church, the President and his twelve apostles 
having places in the centre. In front of their pew 
are barrels containing water. After the water has 
been blessed, it is handed about in tin cans to every 
person in the congregation. A sip of this water 
and a morsel of bread constitutes the ceremony of 
taking the sacrament according to Mormon rites. 
Alongside of the Tabernacle is a small structure 
similar in shape and arrangement, wherein service 
is generally held. The Tithing-office and the 
house, or rather houses, of Brigham Young, are in 
no respect remarkable. Indeed, very little can be 
seen of them, as they are surrounded and shut in 
by a high wall. The official room of the President 
is small and simply furnished. On the walls within 
the entrance are portraits in oil of the twelve 
Apostles. As likenesses they may be good; as 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 107 

works of art they are hideous. In appearance, the 
President of the Saints is not prepossessing. He is 
above the middle height, is portly in person, has a 
large head, and a visage which betokens the man of 
firmness rather than of intellect. His large mouth, 
heavy lower features, and sensual expression pro- 
claim in unmistakable signs his fondness for a 
ritual which, by consecrating polygamy, gives free 
scope for indulging in every whim and freak of 
passion. He has the look of a determined man, 
and the character of being an obstinate one. Ac- 
cording to the saying of an admirer, ' all hell could 
not turn him,' once he had made up his mind. 
About the secrets of his harem I have nothing to 
reveal. Many of his children and some of his wives 
I have seen, but I am unable to say how many of 
both he claims as his own. Nor do I believe 
all the tales about Brigham Young and his harem 
which have been published for the edification of 
English readers. Even if accurate particulars could 
be obtained, it does not follow that they should be 
communicated to the public. What passes in the 
privacy of the domestic circle should never be dis- 
closed for the gratification of vulgar curiosity ; and 
this rule, which has the sanction of public opinion 
when a man has one wife and a few children, 
should be as uniformly observed and as rigorously 



108 WESTWARD BY KAIL. 

* 

enforced when the man's wives are manj and his 
children numberless. To pander to a morbid love 
for scandal is nearly as unpardonable as are the 
worst practices of the most heartless polygamist. 

Next in importance to the Tabernacle^ if it be 
not an adjunct to it^ is the theatre. This is a stone 
building which would do credit to many cities of 
greater importance. It will hold at least 1,500 
spectators. Were it lit up with gas, the house 
would present a striking spectacle on a crowded 
night. But as the lighting is accomplished hj 
means of petroleum lamps, it has a gloomy appear- 
ance. This may be remedied hereafter, as there is 
a project to establish gas-works here. The pit is 
divided into family boxes, or rather benches, in 
which a Mormon may surround himself with his 
wives and children. "Whether the arrangement be 
intentional or accidental I know not, but the cus- 
tom seems to prevail for one or two out of the 
several wives who accompanied most of the men 
to wear * poke bonnets,' resembling those which 
Quaker ladies wore in former days. The wearers 
of those bonnets are either elderly, or else ill- 
favoured in features. The younger and comelier 
wives have fashionable hats on their heads. It is 
worthy of note that female beauty which is the 
rule throughout the United States is the exception 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. 109 

in Salt Lake City. Some of the girls have charm- 
ing faces, but the wives of the Saints are not over- 
burdened with good looks. In a long box at one 
side of the theatre were seated many girls of dif- 
ferent ages, and they were said to be the Presi- 
dent's daughters. Brigham Young himself occupied 
a stage box, his last wife keeping him company. 
The others could look up from the pit and envy 
their preferred rival. About the performance I 
witnessed, I shall say but little. The occasion was 
a special one, it being a ' Grand complimentary 
benefit tendered by the citizens of Salt Lake to the 
Great Tragedian Neil Warner.' This actor was de- 
scribed in the advertisements as a ^ great English 
tragedian.' In what part of England he acquired 
his fame I am ignorant, yet I must admit that his 
physical power was extraordinary. He roared and 
gesticulated through the part of Sir Giles Over- 
reach with a robust vigour and fire altogether ex- 
ceptional, and he performed a death scene in a 
manner which perfectly exemplified the difficulty of 
dying naturally upon the stage. When recalled 
after the fall of the curtain, he apologised for not 
mnkJTig a lengthened speech, on the ground that no 
noan could be expected to have much breath or any 
voice left after exertions like those through which 
he had gone. None of the regular members of the 



110 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

company, some of whom acted in a way tliat was 
truly praiseworthy, were sommoned before the cur- 
tain. Although the audience testified by loud and 
prolonged applause their admiration for the strength 
of Mr. Warner's lungs and for the yehonence of 
his gestures, yet I oyerheard remarks made by 
individuals which were not wholly complimentary 
to him, and these remarks led me to think that a 
few Mormons are judges of good acting. The 
newspaper critics were as greatly pleased with the 
performance as modem dramatic critics are with 
theatrical performances of a sensational type. In 
the Salt Lake Daily Telegraph of the following 
morning it was said that Neil Warner 'is the 
greatest actor we have ever seen and a splendid 
career awaits him.' The Deseret Evening News 
wrote that the delineation of the part of Sir Giles 
Overreach 'was a perfect triumph, and we think 
could not possibly be excelled.' It seems clear, 
then, that Salt Lake City is a blissful abode for 
English actors with powerful lungs and boundless 
pretensions. 

When the moon does not shine, the streets of 
Salt Lake City are wrapt in darkness, street lamps 
being unknown luxuries there. It is the boast of 
the Mormons that, in the streets of their capital, 
the scandalous sights of other cities are never wit- 



THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. Ill 

nessed ; that drunken Mormons never stagger along 
the pavement^ and that the female harpies^ of whom 
drunkards are the natural victims^ are unknown 
curses. There are four bars at which liquor is 
sold^ and of these the Gentiles are said to be the 
patrons. Tem^ierance is enjoined by President 
Young, and he has the credit of practising what he 
preaches. He can do this the more easily, if report 
speak truly. Avarice and lust are the vices which 
master him to the exclusion of all others. It is not 
surprising, then, if he has no love for strong drinks. 
But I cannot give his followers credit for being as 
abstemious as himself. Not all of them are over 
mastered by avarice and lust. Neither is it credible 
that all the persons daily fined for drunkenness, are 
ostracised and calumniated Gentiles. It is not 
strange that, apart from other considerations, in a 
city destitute of lamps, nocturnal vice should not 
flaunt in the streets. Put out the lights in the 
Haymarket or in Broadway, and the leprosy of 
great cities would be concealed, though not extir- 
pated. On the other hand, the darkness which 
prevails in Salt Lake City by night furnishes a 
convenient cloak for the enforcement of what the 
Mormon leaders eulogise as righteous retribution 
and the horrified Gentiles denounce as brutal 
murder. 



112 



WESTWARD BY RAIL, 



I neither accept without reservation all the harsh 
things said hj the Mormons and the Grentiles re- 
specting each other^ nor do I doubt that there maj 
be some foundation for their mutual dislike and 
recrimination. The eagerness of the Mormons to 
extort praise from the visitors to their Zion is very 
noteworthy. They are ready to trumpet forth 
their own merits, and to charge all alleged, or de- 
monstrated shortcomings upon the Gentiles. The 
Gentiles, in turn, do not hesitate to sing their own 
praises. Which of the two is in the right consti- 
tutes the problem that has been the subject of warm 
controversy, and of which the desired solution has 
not yet been discovered. 




113 



VIII. 

THE MORMONS AT HOME. 

The Mormons have been highly praised for their 
industry and skill in converting the desolate Salt 
Lake Valley into a region of fruit trees and corn- 
fields. This praise is subject to qualification. It 
is true that they have planted trees and sown grain 
where rank herbage seemed the natural product of 
the soil ; that their peaches and apples are well fla- 
voured ; that their com is excellent in quality. But 
it is likewise true that the soil and climate of Salt 
Lake Valley combine to render gardening and farm- 
ing easy and profitable occupations. Irrigation is 
the one thing needful, and to irrigate the thirsty land 
is here the merest child's play. The country is inter- 
sected with streams of fresh water descending from 
their sources among the mountains to fill the lakes in 
the lower ground. On the borders of these streams 
a vegetation far more luxuriant than that of the 
parched plains indicates the course to be adopted by 
him who would till the soil in the hope of reaping a 
harvest. Of these hints the first settlers took full 

I 



114 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 

advantage, and the result is seen to-daj in the 
acacias which line the streets of the citj, and the 
orchards which surround the houses. No miracle has 
been wrought here. They only will marvel at the 
spectacle who are unaware of the simplicity of the 
process. Yet there is a valid excuse for the ex- 
aggerated eulogiums which certain visitors to Salt 
Lake have passed upon Mormon intelligence, fore- 
sight, and perseverance. Before the railway made 
the journey comparatively easy, the visitor who 
crossed the plains underwent so many hardships and 
passed through a country so sterile in appearance 
that, on reaching Salt Lake City, he overrated the 
achievements of the Saints, because he argued that 
the country with which they had to deal resembled 
in reality, as well as in look, that through which he 
had toiled. Hence it was, that when the Saints 
bound for their terrestrial Zion arrived at Emi- 
grant's Gap, from which they saw the neat houses of 
their brethren in the faith on the slope at their feet, 
and beheld the Great Lake towards which hundreds 
of streams meandered through the pleasant fields, 
they were so overcome with the unwonted sight as 
to fall on their knees in an ecstacy of admiration 
and shed tears of joy. I have not heard of one 
among the thousands who have arrived here since 
the opening of the Pacific Railway, and who have 



THE MORMONS AT HOME. 115 

entered the city by the road which I have described, 
manifesting a particle of the like enthusiasm. The 
first impression made by any city depends altogether 
on the point of view. Now that Salt Lake City 
can be seen nnder a new aspect, it is less fasci- 
nating in appearance, and is far less remarkable as 
an example of a great work accomplished under 
difficulties, than when it was the haven of the dispi- 
rited emigrant and wearied traveller. Thousands 
who never heard of Joseph Smith, and who would 
scout the pretensions of Brigham Young, have over- 
come quite as many obstacles, and performed as 
great feats of courage and endurance when founding 
and erecting cities in the Western States and Terri- 
tories of the American Union, as the enthusiasts who 
have made for themselves homes in this splendid 
and fruitful Valley. The history and progress of 
Chicago and San Francisco approach the miraculous 
far more closely than the building of Salt Lake 
City. 

It has suited the purposes of the Mormon leaders 
to make the most of the persecution to which they 
have been subjected, and of the triumphs they have 
achieved. By magnifying their work they have in- 
stilled into the minds of their ignorant followers a 
confidence in their power to vanquish any dangers 
which may again menace the Church of the Latter 

J 2 



116 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

Day Saints^ or bode ruin to the social organizatioii 
of which BrighaiD Young is the founder and the 
head. In this respect^ the writings of some travellers 
have been of great service to them. Taking the 
people at their own valuation^ these writers have 
contributed to increase the confidence of the people 
in their own resources. The extent to which they 
are self-deluded is almost incredible. Speaking to 
more than one Mormon as to what would happen 
were the United States Grovemment to put down 
polygamy with a strong hand^ I always received the 
reply that if the contingency occurred the Mormon 
army would fight to the death in support of the 
cornerstone of the Mormon faith. Pressing the 
question home^ and asking what a few thousands 
could possibly do against the force which would be 
arrayed on the other side^ I was assured, with a con- 
fidence of tone and manner which denoted implicit 
belief in the assertion, that the Lord would indu- 
bitably arise to the help of his servants in their hour 
of need, just as he had done in former days when 
their very existence as a community was in extreme 
jeopardy. It will facilitate the understanding of 
what I am convinced is the true state of the case 
if I indicate what I believe to be the conclusion 
arrived at by recent travellers in Mormondom, by 
whom works of undoubted attraction have been 



THE MORMONS AT HOME. 117 

written for the enlightenment and amusement of 
readers in the United Kingdom and the United 
States. 

The impression left on the readers of these 
Tolumes must have been that Salt Lake City is a 
place which cannot well be matched for beauty of 
site and amenity of climate ; that it carries off the 
palm from all other cities as the abode of a united^ 
peaceftil^ and prosperous people ; that the industry 
of its inhabitants bears fruit in the material com- 
forts which they enjoy ; that their devotion to their 
spiritual leaders amounts to a passion ; that their 
belief in their eccentric creed knows neither doubt 
nor shadow of turning ; that they stand shoulder to 
shoulder against those who question the veracity of 
their Prophet, and deny the inspiration of their 
sacred books ; that, living as they do, they enjoy an 
amount of happiness greater than what falls to the 
share of other dwellers on the earth, and that they 
feel and express a confidence in securing an incal- 
culable amount of happiness in the world to come, 
such as few mortals cherish, and a still smaller 
number venture to avow. At one time all this 
may have been said with a semblance of truth. 
Indeed, I have been assured that had I been here 
a few years sooner, I should have held opinions 
similar to those expressed by earlier visitors. This 



118 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

is another waj of saying that the golden age of 
Mormonism has passed awaj. Whenever persons 
begin to talk of a happier past, thej are unable to 
weigh existing facts with impartiality, and to argue 
questions of the moment with perfect coolness. 
For my own part, I am sceptical as to the har- 
mony which is said to have prevailed among the 
Mormons. I have conversed with some who have 
been excommunicated, and with some who have left 
the Church in disgust, as well as with firm believers 
and good Mormons. The doubters having proved 
rebellious, were summarily dealt with. In their 
case rebellion meant a disinclination to submit to 
the arbitrary sway of Brigham Yoimg. The latter 
is at once despot and high priest. He interprets 
the law as written in the Book of Mormon, and he 
compels the acceptance of his interpretation. To 
Mormons, freedom of thought or of action is as 
impossible as to idiots or slaves. Their whole duty 
consists in thinking as they are enjoined, and doing 
as they are told. When the Mormon Gospel is 
preached in Europe, little is said about dogmas, and 
much is said about farms. The believers arrive at 
Salt Lake in the hope that they will soon attain 
independence by the sweat of their brows. A piece 
of land is made over to them on conditions which 
they deem light. The price is to be repaid in 



THE MORMONS AT HOME. 119 

instalments ; and one tenth of their earnings is to 
be handed over to the Church. Assistance is af- 
forded them to build a house of wood or of sun-dried 
bricky here called * adobe/ and to stock and culti- 
vate their land. For all this they have to pay in 
money or in kind. If things go well with them^ 
they soon succeed in placing themselves in a posi- 
tion of comparative comfort. They can live on the 
produce of their land ; possibly, they may be able 
to take unto themselves several wives and to main- 
tain a numerous family without apprehending bank- 
ruptcy or the workhouse. Yet, despite all this, 
they do not grow rich. Of food they may have 
abundance while continuing destitute of money. 
Here it is that the shoe pinches. The arrange- 
ments of Brigham Young are admirably adapted 
for keeping the majority of his followers obedient to* 
his will. So long as they can neither buy nor sell, 
but must supply their wants through the primitive 
agency of barter, it is hard for them to become 
strong enough to challenge his claims. The pay- 
ments he makes are calculated in dollars ; but in- 
stead of paying his creditors in cash, he hands them 
orders on the Tithing-oflSce, where grain, firewood, 
flour, or other necessaries of life, can be had at the 
option of the holders. Some payments are made in 
Salt Lake notes, which are current in the Territory 



120 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

only. Men who nominally receiTC ao much m day 
for their labour huTC told me that the Tery sight of 
United States money is a rare one to them. They 
get wherewith to sostain life, but they cannot lay 
up that store against a rainy day which the thrifty 
labourer loves to accnmolate. These persons are 
virtual prisoners in Utah Territory. Without 
money they cannot escape from the house of 
bondage^ and of money they are almost bereft. 
Now and then one of the dissatisfied class does 
that which leads to his excommunication and the 
practical confiscation of his property. As soon as 
he is cast out of the Church or voluntarily secedes, 
the whole power of the Church is exerted to crush 
him. Good Mormons are forbidden to give him 
shelter, to associate with him, to trade with him. 
The great object is to expel him from Utah. 
Should this end be attained, then the outcast is 
obliged to begin life again, after his hopes have 
been blighted, with his labour expended in vain, 
and his experience gained to no good purpose. 

If there be one point on which Americans and 
Englishmen are thoroughly agreed, and about which 
they are justly entitled to boast, it is that their 
homes are sanctuaries, and their houses castles; 
sanctuaries into which no stranger can enter un- 
bidden ; castles into which no stranger can demand 



THE MORMONS AT HOME. 121 

admission. To the true Mormon, this notion of 
home is foreign. I do not now allude to his do^ 
mestic arrangements, nor shall I allege that happi- 
ness is wholly impossible where polygamy is the 
rule, or maintain that filial duty and parental love 
are virtues which never flourish where several 
wives contend for a husband's affection, and flocks 
of children have claims on his tenderness. How 
these matters are managed, and what is the^actual 
result, a stranger may imagine, but cannot discover. 
As far as he can ascertain, a Mormon household is 
in no respect exceptional ; the wives appear to him 
the same as the ladies who preside over the house- 
hold of a Gentile, while the children are as great 
torments or as great pets as the children whom he 
has seen elsewhere. The fallacy to which several 
writers have succumbed consists in supposing that, 
because nothing in such a household grossly offends 
the eye or shocks the senses, therefore the system 
of polygamy is unobjectionable, and that the Saint 
whose ' creed is singular and whose wives are 
plural,' is a personage worthy of unstinted praise. 
As well might the inference be drawn that, because 
man and wife usually say smooth things to each 
other in the presence of third parties, and because 
children sometimes conduct themselves with pro- 
priety in the presence of strangers, the former have 



122 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

no private differences of opinion^ and the latter are 
never nnrulj and disobedient. Frankly admitting 
the domestic affairs of the Mormons to be mysteries 
which none but the initiated can fathom and into 
which strangers have no right to piy, let me confine 
myself to that part of their social arrangements 
with which all the world may become acquainted, 
and let me repeat that a home, in the English and 
American sense of the word, has no existence 
among the Saints of the Great Salt Lake. For 
example, should a Bishop or other person in autho- 
rity knock at the door of a Mormon house in his 
diocese, he must be admitted without question, and 
his orders must be obeyed without hesitation, under 
a heavy penalty- Should he think that the floor 
ought to be scrubbed, or the kettle polished, or any 
alteration made in household arrangements, he has 
but to give the order, and the command is obeyed. 
The despotism of Mormonism, as taught by Brigham 
Young, is temporal as well as spiritual. Nothing 
is left to the free will of the people. Everything is 
done in obedience to a decree. The phrase * Thus 
saith the Lord ' is always uttered by the leaders 
when they desire to impose their decisions on their 
credulous followers. Marriage itself is not always 
an affair of choice and inclination. If it be thought 
expedient that a man should add to the number of 



THE MORMONS AT HOME. 123 

his wives^ he is advised to take another, and advice 
of this kind cannot be disregarded with impunity. 
President Young tolerates no difTerences of opinion 
between himself and his flock. He has been elected 
bj them, and he considers it his prerogative to 
govern them with a rod of iron. Universal suf- 
frage, exercised by the ignorant, has placed him 
where he is, and he interprets universal suffirage, as 
others have done in Europe, to mean the preroga- 
tive to act without scruple in pursuance of his per- 
sonal ends. 

With the Mormons, Sunday is emphatically a day 
of rest. Every shop is closed. The Tabernacle is 
filled with worshippers. There is a morning and 
an afternoon service, and in the evening each ward 
has its meeting, over which the ward Bishop pre- 
sides. The service begins with a hymn, sung by 
the choir with an organ accompaniment. In the 
singing the congregation does not join. The ma- 
jority turn in their seats and stare at the singers. 
A prayer is then offered up. The prayers which I 
heard consisted of the invocation of blessings upon 
the Mormons, their rulers, their homes, their fields, 
and their families. A special blessing was invoked 
on behalf of Brigham Young and other Mormons 
in authority. Not a word was said on behalf of 
the Government and the President of the United 



124 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 

States. I heard two sermons, both of which were 
harangues about things in ^neral ; the only special 
doctrines enunciated and enforced by repetition, not 
by argument, being that the Mormons were Gbd's 
chosen people, and that Polygamy was a divine 
institution. Mormonism has now entirely resolved 
itself into preaching that polygamy is the one thing 
required in these latter days to regenerate and 
sanctify a world steeped in wickedness. If the 
Mormons are in the right, then none but the 
followers of Mahomet and Brigham Young deserve 
the title of civilized beings, and enjoy the privilege 
of counting upon entering and reigning in Heaven. 
It must be allowed that their religion is a bold 
attempt to make the best of both worlds. 

On the same day that I h^ard religion preached 
according to Brigham Young, I also heard an ex- 
position of the doctrines of pure Mormonism as 
revealed to Joseph Smith, proclaimed by him to 
the people, and now upheld and inculcated by his 
sons. David and Alexander Smith are here on a 
mission to rescue the Mormons of Salt Lake City 
from the hands of President Young. They stated 
openly in a crowded hall that the doctrines of the 
latter are *foul, false, and corrupt' They de- 
nounced him as an impostor; they charged him 
with usurpation. No Gentile has ever uttered more 



THE MORMONS AT HOME. 125 

stinging phrases against the chosen leader of the 
Saints than were given vent to in the course of an 
hour by these two men. Moreover, they cited 
authentic documents in support of their statements. 
They proved, from the accepted Mormon books, 
that polygamy, instead of being enjoined as a duty, 
was formally condenmed as a crime. While Joseph 
Smith was yet alive certificates to that effect were 
signed by men and women of influence in the 
Church. Some of these men and women are now 
among Brigham Young's staunchest adherents. 
Judging from remarks openly made by some of the 
Mormons present, it appeared that these facts were 
alike new and puzzling to them. They were evi- 
dently at a loss what to think and whom to trust. 

In a conversation which I had with one of Joseph 
Smith's sons, the following was the explanation 
furnished of the apparent contradiction. Nothing 
in the Mormon Scriptures can be interpreted as 
sanctioning polygamy. The assertion that Joseph 
Smith had more wives than one is a calumny pro- 
pagated by those who wish to have a religious 
sanction for the gratification of their lusts. Enmia 
Smith, who was the Prophet's wife, stoutly denies 
that she ever had any rival in her husband's love. 
In opposition to this, Brigham Young offers to 
prove that the murdered Prophet had several wives. 



126 WE3TWABD BY RAIL. 

Furthermore, he cites a revelatioii made to Joseph 
Smith on celestial marriage, which oertainlj charao- 
terises a plurality of wives as the great privilege of 
the Saints. But, then, dense obscurity surrounds 
the transmission of this important document Joseph 
Smith may have received it from Heaven ; but how 
did Brigham Young get it from Joseph Smith ? It is 
said that the paper on which the Prophet inscribed 
the revelation was snatched from him and burnt, 
but that Brigham Young was so fortunate as to 
havci procured a transcript of it prior to its destruc- 
tion. Be it noted that President Young makes no 
formal pretensions to the office of prophet. He is 
too much occupied with other matters, to have any 
leisure for prophesying. Besides, some experiments 
he once made as a prophet proved very disastrous. 
He has benefited by the lesson. What he now 
preaches is preached on the authority of Joseph 
Smith. The responsibility is thus shifted on to the 
shoulders of the deceased. It is obvious that the 
living priest has a great advantage over the dead 
prophet ; because, while the latter printed his doc- 
trines, the former claims to have been the recipient 
of other doctrines to be spread abroad at a con- 
venient season. Several years after the Prophet's 
murder, Brigham Young thought that the con- 
venient season had arrived for proclaiming polygamy 



THE Mormons at iiomk. 127 

^ »lonr,na of tlic Cluircli of the Latter Day Saints. 
Accordingly, in 1852 he told the people that he 
^^d in his custody a revelation sanctioning plural 
^^^^arriage. The statement was accepted with satis- 
faction, and from that date uncompromising Mor- 
'^^ong have regarded polygamy as the basis of their 
^^^ed and the best part of their system. 

3 anticipate the query: *How can liberty of 
't^^eech be pronounced impossible throughout the 
"** ^rritory of Utah when two sons of Joseph Smith 
*^^ thus permitted to beard President Young in his 
^^^^^mghold, to repudiate his doctrines, to denounce 
"^^^ conduct ?' The answer I return is that which I 
^^^e received from more Mormons than one. By 
"^^Tgham Young, the sons of Joseph Smith are 
**^ tensely hated. He would rejoice if they could be 
^^tnoved out of his path. He has refused to allow 
^«Xem to oflSciate in the Tabernacle, while according 
^'Us privilege to the preachers of every other reli- 
S^oos denomination. Indeed, one of the brothers 
Wd me that on the very Sunday when the pulpit 
of the Tabernacle was formally closed against both 
of them, it was occupied by a Methodist minister to 
whom free scope was accorded as an expounder of 
the Christian Gospel. Others, far less obnoxious 
than these two men, have disappeared in a mys- 
terious way, or have been found shot to death by 



128 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

bullets^ or beaten to death by clubs. Mormons are 
pointed out to whose charge these murders have 
been publicly laid, but no one has ever been 
brought to justice, nor is it believed that the cul- 
prits will ever receive the punishment they deserve 
so long as crimes committed at the instigation of 
Mormon leaders, and in furtherance of the Mormon 
cause, are regarded as highly meritorious. But 
the Destroying Angels dare not serve David and 
Alexander Smith as they served Dr. Robinson. 
As the sons of their revered Prophet, the people 
look upon them with respect, and listen to them 
with attention. That these men should go about 
unmolested, and preach undisturbed, is the only 
proof I have discovered of the existence of a public 
opinion in Utah. This discovery would have been 
far more welcome and valuable had the manifesta- 
tion of opinion given token of a latent love of fair 
play and free speech, instead of proving the exist- 
ence of an undercurrent of superstition in the un- 
cultured and fanatical Mormon mind. 



129 



IX. 

MORMON MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES. r<^ 

In few American cities are the nationalities of 
England and Wales so largely represented as in 
the city of the Great Salt Lake. The English 
visitor who makes the acquaintance of Mormon 
bankers, merchants, journalists, and hotel-keepers 
is surprised to find them well versed in the do- 
mestic affairs of the Old Country, and he learns 
with increased surprise that by birth they arc his 
countrymen. Nor are his countrywomen less nu- 
merous, if far less fortunate. When questions are 
asked about the wives of distinguished and poly- 
gamous Saints, one of the answers is that most 
of them are Englishwomen. Of other European 
nationalities there are several representatives, 
those from Denmark and Norway being in the 
majority. Out of the 150^000 citizens of Utah 
Territory at least three-fourths have emigrated 
from Europe. As many as 4,000 European Latter 
Day Saints are said to cross the Atlantic yearly, 
in order to cast in their lot with their brethren 



130 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

beyond the Rocky Mountains. In no oonntiy has 
the success of the Monnon missionaries been so 
great as in England, because in no other country 
has the like liberty of action been accorded to 
them. Elsewhere, they have fared badly on ac- 
count of the obstacles put in their way by intole- 
rant mobs, or despotic Governments. The record 
of their missionary enterprise is a chequered story 
of struggle and failure. 

Regarded as a whole, the labours of the Mor- 
mons to win proselytes supply the strongest proofs 
which can be desired of their indomitable energy 
and steadfast endurance. No sooner had the Church 
of the Latter Day Saints been established in the 
United States than missionaries were despatched to 
make converts to the new religion. England was 
the earliest field wherein Monnon missionaries la- 
boured, and is the one in which they have reaped 
the richest harvests. In 1837, no less than eight 
Mormon Elders went forth to preach to the English 
people. They began at Preston, in Lancashire. 
Before many months had elapsed, they had dissemi- 
nated their views throughout the United Kingdom, 
the result being that 1,500 persons were baptized 
into the community of the Saints. Three years 
afterwards, others, of whom Brigham Young was 
one, took part in advancing the mission on English 



MORMON MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES. 131 

soil. They preached for upwards of a year and 
founded branches of the Mormon Church in all 
the more important cities from London to Edin- 
burgh; they set up a printing press; they esta* 
blished an emigration agency; they published the 
Book of Mormon, the Book of Doctrines and Cove- 
nants ; they issued 60,000 pamphlets and the first 
Tolume of the MUlenial Star, 

The next experimcBt of a lika kind was an 
attempt to bring the Children of Israel within the 
fold of the Church of the Saints. With a view to 
effect this^ a mission was despatched to Jerusalem, 
but it had to be abandoned in despair. The Isles 
cif the Pacific were next selected as the theatre of 
a missionary crusade. Upwards of 1,200 natives of 
the Society Islands were baptized in 1843 and the 
prospects were hopeful, till the French assumed the 
Protectorate over these Islands. In 185 1« not only 
were the Mormon Elders expelled and forbidden 
to return, but the French also 'eompelled the 
native converts to discontinue their worship.' The 
Sandwich Islanders are said to have been as trac- 
table converts and firmer adherents; yet, as no 
statistics are given, the actual results in their case 
must be left to conjecture. Among the French, 
the work of conversion received a check from the 
police. The Elder who went to Paris in 1849 

X 2 



I 



132 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

oomplained that his haods were tied owing to the 
stringency of the laws. Eyentually, the Prefect 
of Police forbade the preaching of the Mormon 
gospeL Nor was Germany a Lind in which the 
Elders received a welcome. One of them was 
' expelled by the authorities of the Free City* of 
Hamburg.' In Prussia, the missionaries fared very 
badly. Two of them, who arrived at Berlin in 1853, 
^ found that it was impossiblie to preach or publish 
the truth of the Latter Day Work in consequence 
of religious intoleration. These Elders wrote to 
the King's Minister of Public Worship for per- 
mission to preach, but were immediately summoned 
before the police court and catechised as to the 
object of their mission. They were ordered to leave 
the kingdom next morning, under penalty of trans- 
portation.' The opposition in Austria was equally 
bitter. After spending some months in learning 
the German tongue Elders Pratt and Ritter had 
to relinquish their undertaking and leave Vienna, 
because they found themselves unable, * in conse- 
quence of religious intolerance,' * to open the door 
for the proclamation of the Gospel ' in Austria. 
In Denmark, a missionary was more fortunate ; but 
one who ' proceeded to Sweden, and endeavoured 
to introduce the work there ' * was summarily 
banished.' The Swiss looked askance at Moi^ 



MORMON MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES. 133 

monism. The Elders were non-plussed bj a twofold 
hindrance to their progress in Switzerland. ' Some 
of the cantons would not allow publishing, but 
allowed preaching ; others prohibited preaching, 
but would allow publishing, and some would not 
allow either.' Only one attempt was made to 
convert the inhabitants of South America from the 
errors of their accustomed ways to the errors of 
the Mormon creed. Two Elders went to Chili in 
1851, ' where they remained several months, not 
having the opportunity of even teaching in private, 
except in violation of the most rigid laws.' Being 
obliged to return to California, one of them re- 
mained there for some time and, with a result which, 
as it is unrecorded, cannot have been wholly satis- 
factory, ^ continued to preach and teach until he 
returned to Utah.' The Chinese were appealed to 
m April, 1853. The Mormon missionaries to 
China did not get farther than Hong Kong. They 
decided that, as a civil war was raging, it would 
be unwise to undertake a journey into the interior. 
Moreover, the Chinese with whom they conversed 
did not appear to be a promising people on whom 
to expend their energies. ^ The inhabitants told 
them that they had not time to ^^talka" religion. 
The way soon opened for them to return to San 
FranciBCO^ which they did in August.' 



134 WESTWABB BY RAIL. 

Very interestiiig and not a litde instnictive is 
the tale of the attempts made in the colonies and 
dependencies of Oreat Britain to gather in converts 
to the Mormon fold. In South Australia^ New 
South Wales, Tasmania and New Zealand the 
success seems to have been most complete. On the 
other handy the missionaries met with palpable re- 
bufis in Hindostan, Ceylon, South Africa, and the 
West Indies. They went up the Ganges, visited 
Simla, laboured in Bombay and the adjacent coun- 
try, but without effect The zeal they displayed 
failed to produce the expected impression. Their 
explanation runs thus : * Finding the Hindostanees 
destitute of honesty and integrity, insomuch that 
when converted and baptized they would for a few 
pice join any other religion, and finding the Euro- 
peans so aristocratic that they were hardly ap- 
proachable, they left the country, after having 
travelled to all the principal stations of India, 
where frequently they were ordered out of canton- 
ments and had to sleep in the open air, exposed to 
that sickly climate, to poisonous reptiles and to 
wild beasts.' In Ceylon they suffered severely not 
only through the unwillingness of the people to 
hearken to them, but also because the people and 
the priests refused to open their doors, or give them 
food, unless they were well pud. At Cape Town, 



MORMON MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES. 135 

rioters broke up their meetings^ but in the country 
difitricts ^ they obtained a foothold and commenced 
to baptize.' What they endured in Jamaica cannot 
be better told than in their own words : ' They 
called upon the American Consul^ Mr. Harrison, 
who adrised them to hire a hall and announce 
public preaching, as the laws extended toleration to 
all sects, which they accordingly did; but a mob 
numbering one hundred and fifty persons, gathered 
around the building and threatened to tear it down 
were these Polygamists, as they termed the Elders, 
permitted to preach therein. Unless the Elders 
could give security for the price of the hall the 
landlord objected to their holding meeting. The 
Elders informed him that they were not there to 
enforce their principles upon the people — to quell 
mobs, nor to protect property, but to preach the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who were willing to 
hear. The Elders got away from the Island safely, 
though while they remained they had to run the 
gauntlet, and two of them were shot at by a negro.' 
Two missionaries to British Guiana were quite as 
hardly dealt with, for they were refused passages 
by the shipping agents and had to return to the 
United States without even setting foot on the 
shore which they desired to reach. The authorities 
at Gibraltar treated the Elders as if they were 



136 WfiBTWABB BY RAIL. 

persons of bad character, and summoned them to 
appear in the police court as soon as they landed on 
the Bock. Elder Stevenson who had been bom 
there maintained his right to remain ; Elder Porter, 
however, was ordered to leave. The Governor pro- 
hibited Elder Stevenson from preaching Mormon- 
ism. * He, however, remained over a year and 
baptized several amidst threats, prohibitions and 
constant opposition. He also endeavoured to open 
up the work in Spain, but was not permitted hj 
the authorities.' In no British possession does the 
success of the missionaries seem to have been 
greater than in Malta. What the Mormons say 
about their doings in that Island has a special in- 
terest for Ens:lish readers. As the official account 
is not long, I shall give it unabridged: — ^ In 1853, 
Elder James F. Bell was sent from England to 
Malta, where several were baptized. Upon the 
breaking out of the Crimean war, the interest in 
the work was broken off, still a few of the soldiers 
in the British regiments that landed there obeyed 
the Gospel. There originated from this mission 
three branches of the Church, viz. : one in Flori- 
anna, Malta; a second, called the '^floating branch,'* 
in the Mediterranean, which consisted of sailors 
belonging to her British Majesty's ships the Belle- 
rophon^ Trafalgar^ Vengeance and Britannia ; a 



MORMON MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES. 137 

thirds the expeditionarj force branchy in the Crimea; 
the latter conBisted of brethren belonging to the 
30th, 41st, 93rd and 95th British regiments. A 
few of the members of these branches lost their 
lives in the Crimean war.* * 

The great success of the Mormon missionaries in 
England and Wales is partly due to the fact that 
the people to whom they appealed were for the most 
part grossly illiterate or fanatical. While the success 
they have had is not a matter for national congra- 
tulation, yet the toleration which was afforded to 
them, standing out as it does in contrast to the in- 
tolerance and inhumanity of which the missionaries 
were the victims in nearly every other land, is an 
honour to this sea-girt home of free thought and 
free speech. The Elders enjoyed fair play in Eng- 
land. The result has been that their zeal prevailed, 
and converts were multiplied. If the consequence 
is distasteful, the fault lies on the shoulders of those 
who have neglected the paramount duty of edu- 
cating the people. Owing to the large number ol 
converts who have gone from England and Wales 

* These detailB ezplainiDg the missions of Mormondom have not> 
M far as I know, been preTiously published in England. They haTo 
the merit of being authentic as well as novel. I hare compiled the 
aeeount from that contained in a pamphlet published in July 1869 
at Salt Lake City. Its author is President George A. Smith, the 
Official Historian of the Church. 



138 WESTWARD BT BAIL. 

to their earthly Zion beyond the Bockj Moimtains, 
Salt Lake City bean a close reBemblance to an 
English settlement in America. Those who have 
been instrumental in gathering together this multi- 
tude of English men and women are all native-bom 
Americans. New England is the mother of Joseph 
Smith: President Brigham Young is a genuine 
Yankee ; both being natives of the State of Ver- 
mont. The ablest and most trusted colleagues of the 
President are his fellow-countrymen. Indeed, not 
the least extraordinary among the mysteries of the 
Mormons is the circumstance that, while the native- 
bom Americans are in the minority, and the people 
elect their leaders, the men certain to be elected, 
and as certain of re-election, are nearly always 
Americans by birth. While several of the Mor- 
mons are emphatically strangers and foreigners in 
this land of freedom, yet it is indisputable that in 
its inception and its growth, its organisation and 
its energy, Mormonism is thoroughly and entirely 
American. If the very existence of Mormouism be 
a cause of grief to England, its wider spread and 
increasing strength imperil principles dear to every 
patriotic citizen of the United States. In its pre- 
sent form it is a despotism. Brigham Young is the 
embodiment of that ' one man power' which Ameri- 
cans view with the deepest aversion and consider 



MORMON MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES. 139 

as utterly antagonistic to the principles of genuine 
Republicanism. Yet a fear of persecuting men for 
what thej allege to be their religion makes many 
hesitate and hang back who would otherwise be 
Bwifb to act. On the other hand^ it must be diffi- 
cult for American statesmen to sit unmoved at the 
Bpectacle of the laws made by Congress openly 
violated, wilfully derided, and treated as utterly 
impotent within the Territory of Utah. As a subtle 
and triumphant conspiracy against the harmony of 
the Union and the supremacy of Congress, Mor- 
monism is an evil too momentous to be Regarded 
with indifference or neglected altogether. 



^ 



140 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 



1 MORMOmSM ON IT8 TRUL. 

Two attempts^ differing in character and aim, have 
been made to control and temper the intolerance of 
dominant Mormonism. Seven years ago the United 
States Government established a military post' 
within a few miles of the city, and in a position 
well suited as a base for offensive operations. It 
was hoped that the presence of soldiers at Camp 
Douglas would tend to inspire confidence among 
the dissatisfied and timid inhabitants of the Valley, 
while acting as a check upon the conduct of the 
Mormon leaders. These expectations have not been 
fulfilled. The leaders themselves make merry over 
the policy of the Government They say that the 
camp does no harm to them, but that, on the con- 
trary, they make money by supplying the troops 
with stores on most remunerative terms. The other 
attempt was made about three years ago by a mis- 
sionary society connected with the Episcopal Church 
in America. A mission was established in Salt 
Lake City. The missionaries were deputed to labour 
among both the Gentiles and Mormons resident there. 



MORMONISM ON ITS TRIAL. 141 

The Rev, Mr. Foote, who was charged with mia- 
sionary duty, has worked with great vigour and in 
the teeth of great odds, to disseminate the tidings 
of the gospel of peace among a people prone to 
manifest hatred towards all who think differently 
from themselves, and who regard with unfeigned 
aversion all efforts made to substitute the tender- 
ness of Jesus for the terrors of Jehovah. Not a 
few Mormons have voluntarily joined the Episcopal 
Church. As a rule, however, those persons who 
can no longer believe in the revelation proclaimed 
by Joseph Smith, or submit to the tyranny of 
Brigham Young, cease to entertain any religious 
belief whatever and relapse into unreasoning in- 
fidelity. In addition to holding the regular services 
of his church, the Kev. Mr. Foote has established 
a school for the education of the children growing 
up without any care being taken for their instruc- 
tion. When this school was opened, two years and 
a half ago, the number of pupils was sixteen. 
When I visited it the number on the roll was one 
hundred and thirty. Of these children a small 
proportion has been sent by Mormons who have 
the rare courage to think and act for themselves. 
But this is done in opposition to the commands of 
the Mormon chiefs. They threaten the parents 
with the pains and penalties which the Church has 



142 WESTWABD BT BAIL. 

in store for the chaBtiBement of her disobedient 
members. As may be supposed, thej are Terj 
anxious to let the Bev. Mr. Foote feel the weight 
of their displeasure for eoming amongst tiiem and 
converting their followers. Nothing is more re- 
markable about Mormonism than the wrath of its 
professors against those who induce Mormons 
seriously to reconsider their opinions. While nearly 
every Mormon is a pervert from some other religion, 
and while the Saints number among their trials the 
hindrances put in the way of their proselytising^ 
they are bigoted opponents of any attempts to 
preach another religion to their own people. It is 
true that the pulpit of the Tabernacle is professedly 
thrown open to the clergymen of all sects. Several 
have availed themselves of the opportunity to 
address the congregation, and give their version 
of the Scriptures. But the result has been the 
reverse of edifying and satisfactory. I heard 
Mormons relate with great glee how a clergyman 
of the Church of England had accepted Brigham 
Young's invitation to preach, had appeared in his 
surplice and Oxford hood, and how, at the succeed- 
ing service, the President having taken a white 
table cover, placed it over his shoulders, and bur- 
lesqued the clergyman amid the hearty laucrhter of 
his flock. As the head of the Mormon Church 



HOEMONISM ON ITS TRIAL. 143 

always has the last word, the advantage gained foy 
preaching to his congregation is not on the side 
of the recognised opponents of Mormonism. The 
liberty of preaching in the Tabernacle means simply 
license to become a laughing-stock. 

Neither the presence of soldiers at Camp Douglas, 
nor the pastoral efforts of the Bev. Mr. Foote, can 
be considered adequate to counteract the disregard 
of law and the denial of justice to which the Saints 
are addicted. As general statements seldom convey 
a clear impression of the nature of abuses, let me 
cite two cases in support of my allegations. One 
of these is the case of Dr. Bobinson. He had 
become the proprietor of a piece of land, a mile to 
the north of the city, on which were hot sulphur 
springs. These springs were reputed to be of great 
medicinal value. It was thought that their curative 

• 

powers would attract invalids, and that whoever 
had the control over them would grow rich. De- 
siring to occupy this position, the city authorities 
laid claim to them, on the ground that the land in 
question was within the city's boundary. Dr. 
Bobinson resisted this demand. Appeal was made 
to the law courts, and the decision was favourable 
to Dr. Bobinson. He was warned that persistence 
on his part would prove dangerous ; but these hints 
did not intimidate him. One night after he had 



144 WBSTWABD BY BAIL. 

gone to bed a knock minunoned him to hia door, 
where he was addressed by two or three men, who 
begged him to come to the help of a man who had 
fallen and broken his leg. He went forth, taking 
a revolver with him, as was his wont. A few hours 
afterwards he was found lying a few yards finom his 
own house coyered with wounds, and with a large 
gash on his head caused by the blow of a blunted 
weapon. The attack had been sudden and unez- 
pected, for his loaded revolyer was in his pocket. 
The object of the assassins was not plunder, for his 
valuables were untouched. A Gentile who helped 
to remove the dead body from the place where it 
was found to the house of the deceased, told me 
that Mormons who recognised the features refused 
to lend any assistance. They knew that the mur- 
dered man was highly obnoxious to the Church 
Authorities and they seemed to look upon his death 
by violence as the natural consequence of his con- 
duct. A large reward was offered for the appre- 
hension of the murderers. They are still at large. 
It is the general belief that the suspected murderers 
are living in Salt Lake City, and that they would 
be brought to justice if there were a tribunal before 
which they could be indicted with the certainty of 
the law being enforced. As it is, a Mormon jury 
never convicts a Mormon who had sinned in the 



MORMONISM ON ITS TRIAL. 145 

interests of his Church. But, if slow to punish a 
Mormon, the courts of Utah are ready to punish an 
erring Gentile. A soldier who had become entitled 
to his discharge when at Camp Douglas, and had fL 
right to the piece of land promised by the Govern- 
ment of the United States to those who had served 
their country duri;ng the war, elected to settle at 
Salt Lake, and received from the United States 
authorities the land which he had earned. Not 
long after taking possession and building himself a 
small dwelling, the city authorities began to survey 
his land preparatory to selling it in small lots, 
alleging that the whole of it was city property. 
The discharged soldier threatened to assert his 
rights and to punish intruders. No heed was paid 
to his protests. Unfortunately for himself, he broke 
a law of the Territory forbidding the sale of spirits 
without a licence. For this offence he was imme- 
diately prosecuted. There being no doubt as to 
his guilt, the amount of fine to be inflicted was the 
only matter for consideration. It had been cus- 
tomary in similar cases to fine the offenders twenty- 
five dollars. In his case the penalty imposed was 
five hundred dollars, with the alternative of six 
months' imprisonment. As the culprit could not 
pay this crushing fine, and did not wish to languish 
in prison, he assented to an official proposal to 

L 



146 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

suspend legal proceedings on oonditicm of his 
leaving the city within four and twenty hours. 
Thus the authorities rid themselves of a man who 
was an obstacle to their projects. They sold his 
land in lots of five acres. Perhaps the day may 
come when the purchasers of these lots will find 
that a title from the authorities of Salt Lake City 
is worthless in presence of a prior and perfect title 
from the Gt)vemment of the United States. 

The Territory of Utah is a scandal to America, 
because the impartial administration of justice does 
not prevail within its limits. The Government 
ought to tell the Mormons — * Believe what you 
please, retain whatever religious convictions you 
have formed, consider polygamy the cornerstone 
of your system, and teach that doctrine to your 
children, but do not break and despise the laws of 
which you disapprove. We do not mean to wound 
your consciences, or to trench on matters of a 
purely religious character, yet we purpose enforcing 
the Acts which Congress has passed for the well- 
being of all American citizens.' What the answer 
of the Mormons would be to this simple enuncia- 
tion of a just policy can be inferred from their own 
writings. In the Salt Lake Daily Telegraph for 
October 17, 1869, the question is discussed, and a 
reply is made beforehand to the argimients which 



MORMONISM ON ITS TRIAL. 147 

may be used in Congress. The writer says that 
« The right or wrong, the morality or immorality 
of polygamy is, in our opinion, no question for 
Congress to deal with, it cannot deal with it. The 
only question is, what are the rights of a people 
under a Republican form of government? Shall 
Columbia be the home of the Turk, the Parsee, the 
Japanese, the Chinese, and the inhabitants of the 
Eastern Hemisphere, as well as those of the North- 
em Hemisphere P Let the citizens of the whole 
world come to this glorious land, and let them 
worship whom they choose, and how they may. 
Let their faith be undisturbed — they are account- 
able only to their Maker, and not to man.' It is 
possible that the Mormons themselves would object 
to the logical application of these principles. If 
any Thugs, escaping fix)m the exterminating hand 
of Colonel Sleeman, had emigrated from their 
Indian jungles to the Utah valleys, there to fit 
themselves for Heaven by strangling defenceless 
travellers, the deeds of violence conmiitted by them 
would hardly be pardoned by the Mormon leaders 
even if justified on the ground that their religious 
creed enjoined the commission of murder in order 
to win Heaven. Nor is it necessary, even for the 
sake of argument, to conjure up the shadows of a 
bloodthirsty tribe which was once the scourge and 

L 2 



148 W£8TWAR]) BY RAIL. 

terror of Hindostan. The Mormons liave at'iheif 
own doors examples of the crimes men maj ooimnit 
in the name of religion. The Savage who supposed 
that he will be a * big Indian ' in the happy hunting 
ground beyond the grave, if he only sncceed iir 
stealing many horses and collecting many scalps^ 
acts on the supposition that religion consists in 
being a wholesale thief and murderer. He is halT^ 
a Mormon in one respect. To increase the number 
of his wives is, in his eyes^ a bounden duty. But 
there is no subterfuge about his inclinations in this 
matter. What he does is performed for reasons 
which are at least straightforward and intelligible. 
He honestly avow^s that in adding squaw to squaw 
he is indulging his inordinate lust and at the same 
time multiplying the number of his docile servants. 
He never pretends that religious zeal is a defence 
of plural matrimony. The Saints who uphold 
polygamy on religious grounds^ would act wisely in 
imitating the candour and consistency of the wild 
Indians. The Mormons are selfish, as well as very 
illogical. They will not extend to others the privi- 
leges which they claim for themselves. They assert 
the right to worship God after their own fashion, 
yet do their best to exclude from Utah all who 
reject the Book of Mormon. They demand to be 
let alone just as the Southern slaveholders did. 



:\K>KM0NISM ON ITS TPJAL. 141) 

Their treatment uf a Geutlle, who prefers the same 
request to them, resembles the treatment accorded 
to the Abolitionist who formerly upheld the right 
of free speech at the South. What the Mormons 
desire at present is the admission of Utah into the 
UnioiL They have several times petitioned Con- 
fess to that effect, but in vain. If raised to the 
dignity of a State, Utah would be more than 
<ver under the domination of the Mormon leaders. 
jSo long as it continues a Territory, Congress is 
entitled to legislate for it, and many desire that 
^this power should be exercised. It is within the 
Jurisdiction of Congress to alter the boundaries 
^f Territories and to create new ones. Thus the 
present State of Nevada was carved out of the 
Territory of Utah in 1861. In like manner, the 
Territory of Colorado comprises a portion of what 
once belonged to Utah. This process of division 
and subdivision might be continued with advantage 
until Utah were absorbed altogether. As citizens 
of a new Territory or of an adjacent State, the 
Mormons would be unable to overpower the Gen- 
tile majority arrayed against their illegal practices 
and disloyal acts. If treated in this manner Brig- 
bam Young would be more effectually checkmated 
than if brought face to face with the overwhelming 
military organization of the United States. 



150 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

It is commonly supposed that the opening of the 
Pacific Railway or the death of Brigham Young 
will speedily lead to the annihilation of Monnonism. 
The visitor to Salt Lake City, who makes the 
necessary inquiries, must, pronounce these expecta- 
tions to have a very imsubstantial basis. By the 
Mormons themselyes, the railway is not r^arded 
with dread. It may be that, as the New York 
Herald has pithily remarked, ' Railroad oommunir 
cations corrupt good Mormons;' but this has yet 
to be demonstrated. According to Brigham Young 
the facilities for intercommunication by rail are 
certain to prove advantageous to the Church. He 
has informed his flock that he encouraged the con- 
struction of the Pacific Railway in order that the 
Gentiles might be the more easily converted. That 
he spoke seriously when he said this cannot readily 
be credited. Yet it is worthy of note, that in 
1852 the Legislature of Utah sent a memorial to 
Congress, signed by Brigham Young as Governor, 
praying that a railway might be constructed across 
the Continent, and assigning many very forcible 
reasons in support of the proposal. In the number 
of the Salt Lake Daily Telegraphy from which I 
have already quoted, it is said : — * The opening up 
of this mountainous country, by the Pacific Rail- 
road running through it, was expected to bring in a 



MORMONISM ON ITS TRIAL. 151 

great multitude of strangers, and by their settling 
down in the country and mixing with the Mormons, 
it was presumed that the question of polygamy 
would be quietly disposed of by the force of Chris- 
tian example and the election ballot box. Since 
the opening of the railroad there has been a large 
influx of visitors to the city; but we have not 
heard of a single Gentile family that has come to 
reside among us, and, from the general current of 
information that reaches us, we think the opposite 
is the disposition. Some who have resided here 
have left the Territory, and more are preparing to 
leave as early as they can dispose of their business 
and property.' The writer of the foregoing lines 
is quite correct in saying that there is no proba- 
bility of Gentiles occupying the Mormon Territory 
to the exclusion of the Saints. The arrangements 
for rendering this impossible are too complete to be 
upset by the railway or any similar agency. That 
a sudden change will follow the decease of Brigham 
Young is doubtful. "When Cromwell died, the im- 
mediate dissolution of the Commonwealth which had 
been expected as a thing of course was delayed for 
some months. The chances are in favour of the 
place of President Young being occupied by a suc- 
cessor quite as skilful, unscrupulous, and powerful as 
himself. He is the leading spirit of to-day, but his 



152 



WESTWABD BY BAIL 



counsellors are men "not inferior to him in boldness 
and execatiye ability* More than one of them 
could at any moment step forward and fill the post 
he might vacate. The hold which these men have 
oyer their followers is the true source of their 
supremacy. The ignorance of these followers can- 
not be paralleled save in the cases of the French 
peasantry. Their fanaticism is proportioned to 
their ignorance. To wait till they are neither 
ignorant nor fanatic is as foolish as was the conduct 
of the Roman rustic who waited for the stream to 
exhaust itself by running. 



153 



XI. 

BICKERINGS AMONG THE SAINTS. -\ 

During my visit to Salt Lake City the Saints 
^ere thrown into consternation by the announce- 
ment in the Tabernacle that some of the most 
notable among their number had been suspended 
from the enjoyment of Church privileges. This is 
the preliminary to excommunication. One of these 
erring brethren was Mr. Stenhouse, the editor of 
the iSalt Lake Daily Telegraph. Bom at Dal- 
keith, near Edinburgh, and a convert from Presby- 
terianism to Mormonism, he had given strong proofs 
of his devotion to the religion propounded by 
Joseph Smith. He was one of the enthusiasts who, on 
foot, had made the terrible journey across the plains 
from the Missouri to Salt Lake, drawing a hand- 
cart containing all his worldly possessions. He had 
gone as a missionary to Switzerland and to England, 
and gained many proselytes. As the husband 
of three wives, he had committed himself to the 
version of Mormonism promulgated and upheld by 
Brigham Young. He is supposed to have offended 



154 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

by not being as ardent a supporter of the Presi- 
dent's temporal power as of his spiritual preten- 
sions. Another of the suspended brethren was Mr. 
Godbe, a Londoner by birth, the proprietor of a 
large ' store ' in Salt Lake City, and a man of re 
puted wealth. He had devoted a considerable 
portion of his substance to founding the Utah 
Magazine. In this publication the infallibility of 
the President has more than once been disputed by 
implication, and its conductors have even had the 
temerity to call in question the wisdom of his 
policy. Mr. Harrison, one of the editors of the 
magazine, was included among the number of the 
censured. Mr. Stenhouse submitted to the rebuke, 
and has made his peace with the Church. This can 
be done by making an unqualified admission of 
error, recanting the condemned doctrines, and pre- 
ferring a humble request for pardon. The Mor- 
mons have borrowed some formulas from a Church 
more ancient than their own, and, like it, advancing 
claims to collective infallibility. Mr. Godbe and 
. Mr. Harrison, remaining stubborn, have been for- 
* mally excommunicated. As the Bull of Excommuni- 
cation is not a lengthy document, and as it is 
certainly a curious one, I shall quote it entire : — 
•To whom it may concern. — This certifies that 
William S. Godbe, E. L. T. Harrison, and Eli B. 



BICKERINGS AMONG THE SAINTS. 155 

Eelsey were cut oiF from the Church of Latter 
Day Saints on Monday, the 25th day of October, 
1869, for harbouring and spreading the spirit of 
apostacy. — William Dunford, Clerk of Council.' 

The following official explanation and warning 
was issued contemporaneously with the decree of 
excommunication : — * To the Letter Day Saints : 
Our attention has been called of late to several 
articles which have appeared in the Utah Maga- 
zine, a weekly periodical published in this city. 
An examination of them has convinced us that they 
are erroneous, opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, 
and calculated to do injury. According to the 
practice in the Church, teachers were sent to labour 
with the editor and publisher, to point out to 
them the evil results that would follow a persist- 
ence in the course they were pursuing. This did 
not have the desired effect, and they have since 
been tried before the High Council, and after a 
thorough and patient investigation of the case, it 
was found that they had imbibed the spirit of 
. apostacy to that degree that they could not any 
longer be fellowshipped, and they were cut off from 
the Church. 

* The Utah Magazine is a periodical that, in 
its spirit and teachings, is directly opposed to the 
Work of Opd. Instead of building up Zion and 



156 WESrWABD BT BAIL. 

uniting the people, its teachings, if carried oat» 
would destroy Zion, divide the people asunder, 
and drive the Holy Priesthood from the earth* 
Therefore, we say to our brethren and sisters in 
every place, the Utah Magazine is not a periodi- 
cal suitable for circulation among or perusal by 
them, and should not be sustained by Latter Day 
Saints. 

'We hope this will be sufficient, without ever 
having to refer to it again, 

' Brigham Young, George A. Smith, Daniel H. 
Wells, Orson Pratt, Wilford WoodruflF, George 
Q. Cannon, Joseph F. Smith.' 

I have not yet said anything about Eli B. 
Kelsey, who is among the exconmiunicated. He 
was one of the High Council by which the heretics 
were tried and sentenced. When the votes were 
taken it was found that he alone was in the mino- 
rity. For having thus hindered the Council from 
coming to a unanimous vote he was summarily 
dealt with as one who had harboured ' the spirit of 
apostacy.' Such is the Mormon notion of free dis- 
cussion and fair play. 

The result has been that the schismatics have 
founded a new church under the name of the 
Church of Zion. The leaders of the movement 
allege that they are directly inspired from above, 



BICKERINGS AMONG THE SAINTS. 157 

that they have been incited to action by commu- 
nications from departed spirits. At a public meet- 
ing called to hear their programme^ Mr. Harrison 
averred that 'Heber d Kimball^ Joseph Smith 
(whose identity was vouched for by the angels)^ 
Peter, James and John, and Jesus himself had 
come and talked with them ; they did not see the 
faces, but they saw the heavenly light and dis- 
tinctly heard voices, and during a long series of 
those direct and celestial visitations they had had 
revealed to them not only a grand system of theo- 
logy, which will be developed in due course, but 
all the great principles connected with this globe 
from the beginning to the time when it shall be- 
come celestialized.' To the statements made by 
the founders of the Church of Zion a short and 
simple answer was returned by the leaders of the 
Church of the Latter Day Saints. In their 
opinion the Devil had done it all. The revelations 
of which Messrs. Harrison and Godbe were the re- 
cipients had proceeded directly from the Author of 
Evil. In a sermon delivered by Orson Pratt in 
the Tabernacle, the whole matter was discussed for 
the edification of the orthodox and the confusion 
of the spiritual rebels. * The preacher explained 
that at first the revelation made to Joseph Smith 
was scoffed at, and then the Prophet was persecuted 



s 



158 WESTWABD BY SAIL. 

and murdered. But^ the Saints still continuing to 
increase in numbers and in power, ' the Devil found 
that they could not be put down by persecutiony 
he took another turn and said '' I will show them 
that the world can have revelation enough," ' Thus 
it was that what are called Spiritual Manifestations 
were produced. He was the more certain about 
the complidtj of Satan in the movement, because 
some of the revelations said to have been made to 
Messrs. Harrison and Godbe by King Solomon were 
at variance with statements in the Book of Mor- 
mon. Whether the Devil had or had not any hand 
in the schism is a matter about which the public 
in England and America will doubtless manifest 
contemptuous indifference. Some may console them- 
selves with the contemplation of the consequences 
which are said to ensue upon the falling out of 
rogues. Yet they will all note with satisfaction the 
confession made by Mr. Tullidge, one of the editors 
of the Utah Magazine and an adherent of the 
new sect. He states in a printed document that 
^ our leaders have reduced the people to an absolute 
temporal bondage, and the genius of a prophetic 
and spiritual work has died out of their adminis- 
tration ' and that * the Saints in Utah for nearly 
twenty years have been entire strangers to their 
former spiritual power.' As the leaders and sup- 



BICKERINGS AMONG THE SAINTS. 159 

porters of this movement are polygamists either in 
fact or theory, the limit of the change for the 
better, which they are likely to effect, will soon 
be reached. Most significant of all is the aversion 
manifested by them for the temporal authority of 
Brigham Young. They have felt that they must 
either become the bond slaves of the President, or 
else must assert their right to individual action. 
It may be anticipated that after emancipating them- 
selves from the personal tyranny under which they 
have groaned, they will not long remain in sub- 
jection to the spiritual supremacy of their former 
head. The ^ spirits ' with whom they hold commu- 
nication may tell them that ^ plural marriage ' is 
an invention of the Devil, and then the real struggle 
between the men who think that to advance is 
imperative and those who maintain that adherence 
to the old formulas is a duty, will begin in earnest 
and may end in revolutionizing Mormonism. 

This schism is the more ominous on account of 
the willingness displayed by « its leaders to make 
common cause with the Gentiles in matters of a 
secular kind. Unfortunately, the combined forces 
make but a poor display of strength. It is clear that 
Brigham Young has an overwhelming majority at 
his back, and that the yearly additions to the number 
of the Saints contribute to swell his majority. 



160 



WESTWARD BY BAIL. 



Fanaticism is the roainspriiig of nearly all those 
who leave Europe for Utah. In the eyes of these 
persons Brigham Young is a model ruler. They 
are unfriendly to smooth courses and conciliatory 
action and they have natural affinities with those 
who adopt a policy of intolerance and extermina- 
tion. Having the fanatical and the ignorant obe- 
dient to his will and feeling sure that the annual 
immigration of 49OOO persons will add to the ranks 
of his followers more recruits than are required to 
fill up the vacancies made by deserters^ Brigham 
Young has still a warrant for regarding the new 
schism with comparative equanimity and some 
reason for believing that he has not yet ceased to 
be master of the situation. 



161 



XII. 

UTAH SCENERY, 

From the petty squabbles of discordant and rabid 
Mormons it is a relief to turn and gaze upon the 
panorama of natural beauties which, from dawn to 
sunset, is provided for the enjoyment of the dweller 
in Salt Lake City. Some of the noteworthy 
characteristics of the city are by no means unique. 
The streams of sparkling water which flow through 
the streets, the trees which shade the pathways 
and the ample gardens in which the houses stand 
are not more bright, abundant, and attractive than 
those of the Pyrenean town of BagnSres de 
Bigorre. But with this exception, comparison is 
hardly possible. The site as a whole is in- 
comparable. 

The elevation is 4,000 feet above the sea level. 
If not absolutely rainless, the region is one in 
which the rainfall is scanty. Hence the air is 
almost free from floating vapour, and the sky is 
seldom obscured by masses of cloud. The extreme 
purity of the atmosphere renders the new-comer 



162 WESTWABIX BY BAIL. 

inexpert at calculating distances* The mountain 
slopes, which seem as if they were but a few yards 
from the city, are in reality sereral miles distant. 
But, if this miscalculation is sometimes disappoint- 
ing, other effects due to the same cause are all 
the more impressive. The outlines of the far-off 
peaks and ridges, declivities and clefts are dis- 
tinctly visible in every line of rugged contour or 
soft undulation. 

Turning from the range of snow-ciested moun- 
tains on the east of the city, another range is dis- 
cernible across the valley beyond the western shore 
of the Great Salt Lake. The valley is more than 
forty miles broad. It is intersected by the Jordan 
which runs from Utah Lake several miles to the 
South and is absorbed in that inland sea of salt 
water, from which there is no outlet and in which 
there is no life. The valley appears to be wholly 
covered by the sage-brush which is worthless as 
food or fodder. Where this plant is abundant the 
chances are that nothing else will flourish in the 
bitter earth wherein it thrives. Here, however, 
the rich and nutritive bunch-grass is found also. 
Thus these plains are excellent grazing land for 
cattle. 

By accident I learned that this valley had a 
special attraction for the archsBologist. Indian 



UTAH SCENERY. 163 

burial mounds of great antiquity arc situated in its 
midst. These mounds contain the relics of tribes 
which are now extinct, having been driven away 
or exterminated by the Indians who, in their turn, 
have had to give place to the Mormons. An 
English friend, a visitor like myself to this city 
and, unlike me, a well skilled archaeologist, heard 
the tidings with delight, and made instant arrange- 
ments for a visit to the mounds. On enquiry, we 
learned that few persons knew their names, far 
less their history, and that hardly one cared a straw 
about them. The driver of a conveyance between 
the hotel and the city baths, professed to know 
where they were situated ; he told us that the dis- 
tance to them was eight miles and that his fare 
for the journey would be about one pound sterling. 
Closing with his terms, we started off on our quest. 
Taking the road which runs west, and crossing 
the Jordan, we then proceeded in a south-westerly 
direction. On our way we saw the half-finished 
canal which was undertaken at the command of 
Brigham Young with a view to repress discontent 
by finding employment for idle hands, and was 
also designed by him to prove* that the age of 
miracles had not departed. If the canal had 
been finished and had served the intended purpose 
of bringing water from the Jordan to the city, 

M 2 



164 WBBTWABD BT BAIL. 

then a miracle would indeed have been wrought, 
for the water of the Jordan would hare nm uphill! 
After being driyen about in different directions 
•across the plains, the driver told us that the mounds 
had changed tbeir position. Certainly, no trace of 
them could be perceived* We questioned men 
who were tending cattle, and got some hints for 
our guidance. They had never seen Indian 
mounds, but they had heard of sand-Jiills. As 
these were the mounds in question, we ascertained 
where they were situated, and at last, we readied 
them. It was evident that they were not natural 
formations. The labour of a few hours proved to 
us that they were in reality the places of sepulture 
of an ancient Indian tribe. Flint spear heads, 
flint arrow-heads, stone implements and fragments 
of rude pottery ware, we disinterred from the sand. 
As the means at our disposal for making a thorough 
search were very imperfect and as the time in 
which to conduct it was very short, the total num- 
ber of articles discovered was but smalL All of 
them were found in the larger of the three mounds. 
It was something, though not much, to have satis- 
fied ourselves as to the fact that in the Valley of 
the Great Salt Lake there are monuments of the 
buried past, and that the extinct Indians who once 
were the masters of this region have left behind 



UTAH SCENERY. 165 

them lasting records of their customs and their 
character. 

The Indians who once lived here first passed 
away ; others of fiercer manners and greater spirit 
occupied their places ; the latter being now 
forced to acknowledge the superiority of a still 
more valiant and powerful race^ have become the 
dependents of the white men, and are themselves 
gradually disappearing from the earth. The Mor- 
mons have annexed Utah to the Territory of the 
pale faces ; they have instituted a form of govern- 
ment according to their fancies ; to all appearance, 
their wills are law here, nevertheless an autho- 
rity stronger than their own is the actual lord of 
this place. Two miles to the east of the city, the 
stronghold of the real, though quiescent superior 
over this Territory is situated. On a plateau, to 
which the ascent is gradual but continuous, the 
troops of the United States are encamped, and the 
artillery of the United States is in position. The 
'sconce' which Dugald Dalgetty persistently ad- 
vised Sir Duncan Campbell to erect 'upon the 
round hill caUed Drumsnab ' could not have been 
placed in a more commanding position than Camp 
Douglas is for the purpose it was designed to 
subserve. Behind it is a mountain chain rising to 
a great height, before and below it is the capital of 



\ 



166 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

Mormondom. The dty could be shelled so ts to 
become a heap of ruina in an hour ; while the camp 
could be defended by a small force against the 
largest attacking party which is ever likely to be 
led against it. For any other purpose than that of 
a permanent and significant demonstration this 
camp has never been employed. Much tyranny and 
injustice may still be perpetrated under the shadow 
of the flag which is the symbol of liberty and 
equal rights^ yet excesses such as once prevailed 
have been impossible since the United States troops 
have been encamped here. The Mormon leaders 
sneer at the folly of those who formed and garri- 
soned Camp Douglas^ but while doing so they also 
hesitate to give the signal for deeds of bloody retri- 
bution to the Destroying Angels whom they once 
employed to murder in the name of the Lord for 
the consolidation of the Church. 

The Gentiles who reside in Salt Lake City and 
the stranger who temporarily sojourns there^ enjoy a 
sense of security while within the lines of the camp 
which they never feel within the city's boundaries. 
Looking down from this place of vantage upon the 
dwellings of the Saints, they can with difiBculty 
give credence to the best authenticated stories of 
the acts of violence with which the Mormons are 
charged. Even if no camp were there the spectacle 



UTAH SCENERY. 167 

would absorb them to the exclusion of any other 
thought. The view of the distant Pyrenees from 
the Place Boyale at Pau and the view of the 
Alpine range from the pinnacle of Milan Cathedral 
are among the most justly famed of European 
prospects. Neither is superior to that from this 
spot. In the foreground is the city with its houses 
and orchards ; in the middle distance is the broad 
valley through which the Jordan winds to the Lake^ 
while in the background is the large sheet of water 
with a bold range of mountains rising from its 
farthest shore till their summits mingle with the 
clouds. When the sun, sloping slowly to the West, 
sinks down behind these mountains the sight re- 
sembles a dream of fairyland. Mountain, Lake, and 
Valley are decked in a gorgeous robe of purple and 
gold. The Lake with its clusters of -small islands 
resembles a glowing sheet of burnished steel, 
studded over with precious stones. These ineffable 
glories of sky, and earth, and water are visible but 
for a brief space, vanishing almost as soon as seen. 
The long English twilight is unknown here. For a 
few minutes after the sun has reached the horizon, 
a delicate rosy tint suffiises the sky ; then the ex- 
piring day suddenly darkens into night, and the 
firmament is ablaze with stars. 
Descending the mountain slope towards the city^ 



168 WESTWABD BY RAH 



*, 



I forgot for the moment the reputation it bore. 
That man could be vile where Nature was so 
lovely appeared impossible. But the reality soon 
became apparent. Meeting and conversing with 
an acquaintance in the streets, observing him ner- 
vously glancing from side to side in order to see if 
we were watched and being told by him not to 
speak loudly lest eavesdroppers were within earshot, 
I was forcibly impressed with the fact that the 
Mormon system was inquisitorial as weU as despotic. 
Nor was this opinion modified when, on arriving at 
the hotel, I recognised the hang-dog features of 
one whose duty, as I was credibly informed, con- 
sisted in following the footsteps of strangers and 
spying out their doings. I could not help thinking 
that the scenery of Utah was defective in one par- 
ticular. In some parts of the Bocky Mountains, 
where villains congregate, justice is vindicated in a 
summary manner by hanging the detected criminal 
from a branch of the nearest tree. Photographs of 
these executions are labelled ^ Bocky Mountain 
Scenery.' If criminals met with their deserts in 
Utah, opportunities would soon be furnished for 
taking similar photographs from life. 



XIII. 

THE PAST AND THE FUTUBE OF liOSMOmSlt. 

Ingenious theobieb have been adTonced to explain 
the origin and succesa of Mormonism. Attractive 
pictures have been liouied of Mormon sodety , and 
plausible reasons put forth in defence of the most 
reprehen^ble of Mormon practices. A sweeping 
condemnation has, in like manner, been passed upon 
the Saints: it has been denied that they possess 
a single good quality, or that they are at all 
better than the savages whom they have displaced. 
If the best that has been said about them be true, it 
does not entitle them to universal esteem. If the 
worst be well founded, if they are indeed hypocrites 
and rogues, soiu: fanatics and intolerant bigots, the 
blame lies at the doois of those who, by unjustly 
and cruelly persecuting them, laboured to make 
them what they are. Had not Joseph Smith won 
the crown of martyrdom, Brigham Young might 
never have governed as a despot. 

When the Angel Moroni disclosed to Joseph Smith 
the reputed secrets which the Prophet commtmi- 
cated to the world in the Book of Mormon, the 
minds of the younger men in America were pre- 



170 WESTWABD BT RAIL. 

pared to hearken to a revelation. Almost contem- 
poraneously with the prophetic utterances of the 
first high-priest of the Latter Day Saints, Mr. Owen 
proclaimed to the citizens of the United States his 
scheme for achieving universal happiness by group- 
ing mankind in parallelograms. The exdtement 
which this proposal occasioned was due to the 
avidity of the public for any hints which might clear 
the way for the regeneration of the world. A like 
eagerness to experiment with the theories of Fomder 
was afterwards manifested. Joseph Smith had this 
enormous superiority over other speculators that, 
in addition to indicating the path towards a more 
perfect state, he provided a new religion as a solace 
for those who, having been buffeted by the waves 
of doubt, could find no anchorage for their faith* 
Moreover, his religion had the merit of being a 
complement to that which was generally accepted, 
giving precision to what was questionable, widening 
the boundaries of what was narrow. The heaven 
which he pictured was a heaven which human 
beings desired all the more strongly because it 
was but another and a more perfect representation 
of the world in which they lived. To tiie believers 
in him was afforded the supreme satisfaction of an 
immediate display of spiritual powers and a present 
experience of spiritual beings. They were con- 



THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF MORMONISM. 171 

vinced that the Deity had returned to earth and 
exhibited himself anew on their behalf. 

Desiring to profit by the privileges accorded to 
the Saints, thousands enrolled themselves under the 
banner of Joseph Smith, patiently submitting them- 
selves to his command in the hope of winning the 
rewards promised to the faithful and the obedient. 
When these votaries accompanied him to the Far 
West and there formed themselves into a Society 
under the name of the Latter Day Saints, they 
merely did what others performed when they con- 
stituted themselves into ^ Conununities,' and settled 
on lands purchased with a view to afibrd them scope 
for carrying out in practice the social theories which 
they had accepted as panaceas for all the ills of 
which society was the prey. That nearly all these 
communities were soon dissolved was directly due 
to bankruptcy and was indirectly caused by the 
absence of a tie sufficiently strong and lasting to 
bind them together. Their religion saved the 
Latter Day Saints from sharing the fate of Owen's 
' New Harmony ; ' of the many phalanxes in which 
Fourier's speculations were reduced to practice ; of 
Brook Farm where the transcendentalists of New 
England made a vigorous but futile attempt to 
demonstrate the right manner in which to purge the 
world of corruption preparatory to ushering in the 



J 

4 



t 
* 

m 
.. f. 



.> mm ,\ (>-('j)li Smith was the li 
The loiiuh (Iwcllcrs in Misso 
a^aiiitt him and compelled hi 
their settlement. Fleeing to I 
treated with a barbarity equa 
worthy. The law proved to tl 
tection^ but a snare. Again anc 
soned on paltry pretexts, but h 
not believe in his innocence ev 
proclaimed by a Court of Just 
which he was last immured pent 
another trial was broken open bj 
was foully slain in cold blood. H 
of immediately dispersing in dii 
selves together with increased 
solved to dare and endure everyi 
of a faith which they regarded 
admiration on account of tKo i« 



THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF MORMONISM. 173 

rather than submit to the debasing bondage which 
would have been their lot had the King of France 
become master of Holland. 

Having arrived at the Valley of the Great Salt 
Lake and assured themselves that the parched 
desert and the towering mountain were insuperable 
barriers against the inhumanity and intolerance of 
their foes, they began to live in the way which 
seemed the best according to their lights. 

If the Mormons had never learned what it was to 
battle with difficulties almost superhuman and to 
obtain a triumph almost miraculous, they might 
have speedily cooled in their devotion for the creed 
they had adopted, or interpreted the accepted doc- 
trines in diverse ways. But the fires of persecution 
liad strengthened their faith. They not only be- 
lieved implicitly in the divinity of their martyred 
Prophet, but they were disposed to interpret his 
revelations in the manner most consonant with their 
personal experience. They considered themselves 
as the Chosen People with whom God was ever 
present and against whose enemies God was always 
ready to fight Just as the Puritans smarting 
under the atrocious discipline of the Star Chamber 
readily adopted as their own the fulminations of the 
Old Testament against the wicked in authority, and 
were only too ready, when opportunity ofiered, to 



^ 



174 WESTWASD BY BAIL. 

smite with the Bword of Gideon^ and conrider the 
reeking battlefield, on which their fees weltered in 
bloody as a pleasing sight in the eyes of the Almighty, 
so did the Mormons incline to give effect to all the 
harsh threatenings of the Bible and to regtoA aa of 
no account the admonitions to be slow to wrath and 
abounding in mercy. 

The spirit with which they were ready to reaist 
attack from without was displayed in the woiks 
that were requisite in order to render their position 
secure and their existence easy. They laboured 
at their daily tasks as if they were vindicating their 
sincerity and demonstrating their piety. Under 
the double incentive of religious enthusiasm and 
individual requirements they built houses, planted 
fruit trees, tilled fields and reaped harvests. Even 
if no ignoble ambition animated their souls, the 
circumstances in which they were placed furnished 
an irresistible stimulus to exertion. For none of 
them was any way of escape from the Valley open, 
and, unless all toiled to the uttermost of their 
powers, to none was subsistence certain. What 
was effected under these conditions, all Utah bears 
witness. 

With comparative security and unlocked for 
prosperity came a longing for compensation as a 
reward for their patience under privations, bravery 



THE PAST AND THE FUTUEE OF MORMONISM. 175 

in the face of obstacles^ victory over great odds. 
No longer apprehending the attacks of declared 
enemies^ they desired to evince that they were a 
peculiar and an exceptional people working out 
an intricate problem in a new sphere. In their 
eyes the Old Testament had gradually become an 
authority of great weight : its statements had com- 
mended themselves to their minds ; when^ then^ it 
was proposed to adopt as their own the rules of 
the Patriarchs respecting marriage the proposition 
met with general acceptance^ because it chimed in 
with the prevailing sentiment. Whether Brigham 
Young had really received from Joseph Smith the 
* Revelation on Celestial Marriage ' which he pro- 
mulgated in 1852 was not a circumstance scanned 
too closely by those to whom the revelation was 
addressed. To be different in all things from the 
Gentiles was dear to the hearts of the persecuted 
Latter Day Saints. The indignation which the 
Gentiles have displayed towards those who openly 
practised Polygamy has tended more than anything 
else to confirm the Mormons in their notion as to 
the divinity of plural marriage. 

Mormon principles have triumphed all along the 
line ; yet, in the thoroughness of the victory, lurks 
the greatest peril to the cause. The high-handed 
measures which commanded cheerful assent while 



176 wnarwASD by bail. 

the danger lasted^ have been regarded with ayersioa 
and haye excited antipathj sinoe the lame has ar- 
rived for enjoying llie froitB of ocmquest. To the 
vigour and foresight of Brigham Young, and to 
the daring and devotion of colleagaea not infeiior 
to him in ability, the Mormons are ahnost whoDj 
indebted for their prosperity. But, even while 
acknowledging this, they hesitate to yield uni- 
form respect and implicit obedience to those who 
originally guided tlieir footsteps and sustained their 
efforts. They see that the leaders have had their 
reward in the form of positions of honour and of 
large possessions. These leaders cling to the 
authority which they have acquired or usurped. 
They will not relinquish it save under compulsion* 
Hundreds refuse to submit to its exercise. Thoee 
who have stood forth and challenged the claims of 
Brigham Young, who point out his shortcomings^ 
who contest his right to demand that he shaU 
be blindly obeyed, and who ridicule his preten- 
sions to be infallible, elicit sympathy and aid from 
among the mass; and the warfare which once was 
waged by the Gentiles against the Mormons pro- 
mises to be succeeded by an embittered strife 
between Mormonism and Brigham Youngdom. 

Under these circumstances what should be the 
course of Congress, what the attitude of the Go- 



THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF MORMONISM. 177 

vernment of the United States ? Interference with 
Mormonism as a system of religion is above all 
things to be deprecated. It does not follow, how- 
ever, that everything which assumes the cloak of 
religion should be connived at, tolerated, or ap- 
proved. If a minority were to contend that a 
divine revelation authorised them to pick pockets 
and cut throats, the majority would rightly reply 
that they were empowered by law to imprison 
thieves and hang murderers. The same argument 
applies to such a case as that of the Mormons as 
far as Polygamy is concerned. To marry several 
wives is alleged to be a part of the Mormon reli- 
gion. The majority may retort that their religion 
pronounces Polygamy illegal and, in a country 
like the United States^ where the supreme law is 
the will of the majority, the Mormons must either 
convert the majority to their views, or else suffer 
the penalty provided for law-breakers. No Ameri- 
can citizen is entitled to complain of persecution 
when the law is impartially administered. 

To be just and fear not; to enforce the law 
which is no respecter of persons ; to treat the erring 
Mormons as citizens of the United States who 
have no royal claim for exemption from the penal- 
ties which other wrongdoers must pay, but whom, 
ut the same time, it would be iniquitous to single 



I— • 



178 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

out and sacrifice on the unhallowed altar of reli- 
gious fanaticism, is the sacred duty incumbent on 
Congress, is the imperative mandate of the execu- 
tive authorities. The original and crying grievance 
of the Mormons was that justice had invariably 
and intentionally been denied them. They were 
exiled from Missouri, they were expelled from 
lUinois because an unjustifiable prejudice had been 
excited to their detriment. No Act of Congress 
had they infringed, nor had they denied the supre- 
macy of the law of the land. In turn they have 
become violators of statutes and ruthless persecu- 
tors ; the Gentiles have suffered at their hands in- 
dignities quite as unbearable and injuries nearly 
as unpardonable as those which they underwent .at 
the hands of the Gentiles. The fountain of justice 
is tainted in Utah : the juries and judges are cor- 
rupt or biassed. A righteous policy requires that 
these gross abuses should be extirpated and that 
in the eye of the law Mormon and Gentile should 
be absolutely equal. To accomplish this should be 
the endeavour and aim of American statesmen and 
rulers. That more than this should be undertaken 
or achieved, no right-thinking man will desire. 

• 
If Salt Lake Valley were to become the home 
of a really free people, it would be one of the 



THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF MORMONISM. 179 

glories of the American Union. Its situation is 
unrivalled in this part of the Continent. A tem- 
perate climate blesses the inhabitants with good 
health; a fruitful soil yields them food in abun- 
dance. The surrounding mountains are rich in 
minerals ; the multitudinous streams are alive with 
fish. Nature has designed this valley to be a ter- 
restrial paradise : hitherto^ the doings of man have 
frustrated, rather than forwarded the designs of 
Nature. 

My statement of actual facts will probably pro- 
duce an impression very different from that made 
by the brilliant but misleading pictures with which 
preceding visitors to the mountain home of the 
Mormons have delighted the public. As no two 
persons ever see the same thing in precisely the 
same light, so any two travellers may widely differ 
in their estimate of an institution or their opinion 
of a people. It is quite true, as several writers 
have averred, that President Brigham Young in- 
culcates on his flock as a paramount duty that of 
labouring with their hands, and he does this with 
the greater success, inasmuch as it is certain that 
those who will not work must starve. So far, I 
agree with certain other visitors to Utah. Rather 
than note the points of disagreement in detail let 
me give by way of conclusion the summarised 

k3 



180 WfiErrWABD BY SAIL 

resultB of my own obserratioii. I fiyimd die 
Mormonfl as a body, Tory backward and ignonnt 
when compared with the other dwellen on the 
American continent* I found them lelnotant to 
embody their thought! in words, afraid to apeak 
their minds lest they should be punished for giVing 
utterance to what was obnoxious to those in hij^ 
places. The leaders and rulers of the Monnons are, 
for the most part, slirewd and detennined Yankees 
who exercise a control oTcr the multitude as grind- 

* Mr. Hortce White, one of the most distiogiiished memhen of 
the American Press, gires as the result of his enquiry into the work- 
ing of Mormonism an opinion similar to mine, and supports it with 
examples which, I think, merit quotation : — ' I happen to know a 
Norwegian settlement in Wisconsin, whose original constituents 
were as ignorant and de^erately poor as anj Mormon immigrants 
from Wales or Denmark, and who hare been in occupation of the 
soil about the same length of time as the Utah Mormons. They are 
to-day more than seyenty-fire per cent, in adyanoe of the Mormons 
in point of intelligence, wealth, culture, and everything which goes 
under the name of cirilization, aud they haye neither gambling 
shops nor grqg shops, nor houses of prostitution licensed, or un- 
licensed, among them. They had no better start in America than 
the Mormons. They have no better market for their crops. If they 
had a rather richer soil to begin with, it was not so good in the long 
run, for while the crops in Wisconsin are subject to constant vicissi- 
tudes of climate, those of Utah are unfailing and enormous in their 
yield.' * Returning to my Norwegian friends on Jefferson Prairie, 
Wisconsin (and I might point with equal force to the Swedish settle- 
ment at Oalva, Illinois, or to the Hollanders of Iowa), we find that 
Mormonism, so far from advancing the physical condition of the 
common people, has kept them from making the advancement to 
which the bountiful earth and sky have constantly invited them.' — 
I%e Chicago IVUmne, 16th July, 1869. 



THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF MORMONISM. 181 

ing and despotic as that of the worst tyrants in 
history. Neither Jew nor Christian can safely and 
easily establish himself in Utah^ either for the sake 
of pleasure or for the purposes of trade. All non- 
Mormons are subjected to a system of persecution 
skilfully organised and conducted with a view to 
their expulsion from the Valley of the Great Salt 
Lake. 'In the Territory of Utah I found a parody 
on the religion of the Bible and of the Koran^ 
sanctioning and prescribing the treatment of 
women^ not as intellectual human beings, but as 
mere human toys. Having had this experience, I 
am unable to accept, as a reply to all objections 
and a counter-balance to all drawbacks, the incon- 
testable facts that President Young preaches the 
gospel of labour, and that Mormon orchards yield 
annually many thousand bushels of large ripe 
peaches and rosy-cheeked apples. 



182 WESTWABB BT BAIL. 



XIV. 

THE GREAT SALT LAKE TO TEE 9REAT AMERICAN 

DESERT. 

To ENTEB the can of the Union Pacific Bail- 
way after haying paid a visit to Salt Lake City is 
like setting foot on one's native soil after sojourning 
among a strange people in a foreign land. The 
habits and modes of thought of the Mormons and 
the social atmosphere in which they live are alien 
to the visitor who has neither special sympathy with 
their creed, nor is predisposed to admire their 
customs. Seated in the cars again, he feels himself 
free to speak his mind without dread of being mis- 
understood and without danger of giving offence. 

After leaving Uintah and proceeding Westward, 
Corinne is the next station of note. Passengers 
bound for the Territory of Montana, which lies to 
the north of Utah, leave the train here, and take 
the stage coach. Montana has the reputation of 
being a second California. Although a Mormon 
town and almost exclusively subjected to Mormon 
influences, yet in Corinne a most vigorous and un- 



GREAT SALT LAKE TO GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 183 

relenting warfare against the Saints is waged by 
Mr. J. H. Beadle, the editor of the Utah Daily 
Reporter. In Salt Lake City this could not be 
done. The Mormon leaders would soon find means 
for silencing a declared foe to their system and 
scoffer at their pretensions. Certainly they would 
be justified in protesting against the virulent lan- 
guage of their critic. In a leading article, the 
Mormons in authority are likened to men ^ who 
would rob their grandmothers of their spectacles 
and sell their frames for silver.' The principal 
Saints whom the mass of the ignorant people of 
Utah almost worship, are represented as * a lot of 
New England Yankees out on a speculation with 
not the least speck of moral or honest sentiment in 
their whole composition. They are out here lord- 
ing it over a lot of foreign amverts who are here 
made peasants and slaves to these Yankee masters. 
With such men to obtain absolute sway over an 
ignorant and bigoted people, can we expect any- 
thing else than that these leaders should be what 
they are — crafty swindlers and licentious monsters?' 
When the editor leaves Corinne for other parts of 
the settlement he does so at the risk of his life. 
He has more than once experienced harsh treatment 
at the hands of exasperated Mormons. It is pos- 
sible that his voice will one day be silenced by 



184 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 



such irresiBtible and congenial Mormon arguments 
as bullets from a reyolyer or blows from a dnb. 

After passing Corinne^ aronnd which the comitrj 
is fertile and well-cnltiyated, the line runs through 
a barren tract, skirts the shore of the Great Salt 
Lake, and ascends the ride of Promontory Moun- 
tain. The gradients here are Tcry steep, and the 
cuttings in the rock must have been made with 
much expenditure of toil and money. Two trestle 
bridges are crossed, a sharp curve is rounded, and 
the station of Promontory is reached. This is the 
Western terminus of the Union Pacific, and the 
Eastern terminus of the Central Pacific Railway. 
Here it was that the ceremony of uniting the two 
sides of the Continent by rail was performed on the 
10th of May, 1869. The point of junction was 
then the subject of controversy, and has not yet 
been finally settled. The present arrangement is 
the result of a compromise. The two companies in 
their anxiety to earn as much as possible of the 
Government subsidy, carried their respective lines 
as far as an hundred miles to the east and west of 
Promontory. These unfinished roadways are still 
to be seen side by side with the completed line. 
As one result of the disagreement, there are few 
through trains. In general the passengers have to 
change carriages, secure fresh sleeping berths, and 



OR£AT SALT LAKE TO GRK\T AMERICAN DESERT. 185 

get their luggage moyed from one train to the 
other. Two hours arc allowed for this^ as well as 
for taking a meal. There is usually ample time to 
stroll through the town and see the sights. The 
town is built partly of canvas and partly of wood, 
and has but one street. The signs are hardly in 
keeping with the structures to which they are 
attached. Over a shanty is painted in large letters, 
* Pacific Hotel,' and over a tent, ' Club House.' 
One of the wooden dwellings attracts notice on ac- 
count of the neatly arranged muslin curtains within 
the window. Unlike the others, it has no sign- 
board to indicate its purpose, but a glance through 
the open door satisfies the curiosity of the passer- 
by. He sees two or three smiling females ready to 
Extend welcomes to whoever will enter in. This is 
(Characteristic of all these rude settlements in the 
^ild Western country. In a canvas town, the 
^bode of women with few scruples to overcome and 
do characters to lose is as distinguishable, and as 
ti^uch a thing of course, as the gambling hell and 
the drinking saloon. Of drinking saloons there 
hre many at Promontory ; but* there is only one 
gaaibling hell as far as I could learn. This one is 
<luite enough for the place. In its way the hell is 
Unique. The object of its keepers is to entice the 
passengers halting here to try their luck. With 



186 WESTWABD BT SAIL. 

this view agents are sent to the ndgUMfOziiig 
stations, where they take thdr plaoes in die ean, 
and enter into conversation with the ooeapants. 
Of course, as soon as the train stops at Promontory 
these agents lead the way to the gaming taUeu 
Nor have they far to go. It is in the open air, 
within a few yards of the line. The game played 
is three card Monte. It is as simple as tiiimblerig. 
Three cards are laid out in line with their ftces 
downwards. Let it be supposed thftt these are a 
Jack, a King, and a Queen, the denomination of 
the cards making no difference — the dealer will 
then challenge any one to point out one of them, 
say the Jack. A stake of a twenty dollar gold 
piece depends on the event In front of the card- 
dealer is a pile of these gold pieces. He addresses 
the on-lookers as follows : — * Gentlemen, you have 
your eyes against my hand. ' You see how I place 
the cards,' moving the three backwards and for-' 
wards, and then laying them in a row. ' Now 
will bet any one of you that he does not point ou 
the Jack ; if he does so at the first chance he win 
his money, if he fails he loses it.' One of the by--^ 
standers inquires if he will bet without touching the^ 
cards, to which the reply is, * Certainly, sir ; I will J 
bet anything, from 20 to 100 dollars, that you do 
not point out the Jack.' The speaker steps for^ 



GREAT SALT LAKE TO GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 187 

ward eagerly and excitedly, places a 20 dollar gold 
piece on the table, and points to a card, which, 
when reversed, is seen to be the right one. He 
gets his 20 dollars, which he clutches, and then 
makes off rapidly, as if surprised and delighted at 
his good fortune, carrying off, also, the winning 
card in the excitement of the moment. The card- 
dealer calls upon him to return the ^ ticket,' adding, 
* By golly. Sir, you have beaten me this time, but 
you are as welcome to the money as if you had 
worked hard for it.' This is repeated several times, 
the keeper of the table invariably losing. Indeed 
the game seems absurdly easy, as there is always a 
small black speck on the back of the winning card, 
and every onlooker thinks it a certainty to point 
out this card. At last, after the dealer had lost re- 
peatedly, a man came out of the tent behind the 
table saying, * Come now, partner, you had better 
stop ; this won't do.' To which he replies, * By 
golly I will play till I lose every cent I have in 
1:lie world. I must win nine times out of ten, and 
X am ready to bet any gentleman 100 dollars that 
l^e does not point out the right card this time.' 
"Xhe truth is the men who had staked and won 
"Were what we call confederates, and what are here 
Oalled * cappers.' They certainly played their parts 
exceedingly well, and would have imposed on any 



188 WESTWABp B7 SAIL. 

Other set of spectaton than one compoied of old 
Californiaiis, who are too knowing birds to be 
caught by the chaff of cardsharpers. Thej are well 
acquainted with the trick of the game. I saw a 
poor German baker^ destitute of esq^erience and 
endowed with but little sense^ dispossessed in a few 
minutes of all that he had in his pockets. The 
trick consists in being able to deceive the spectator 
by shifting the small black speck on the back of the 
cards in such a way as to make him point to the 
wrong one. When the betting is real the ' Bank ' 
never loses. I have been told that the winnings on 
some days are as high as 1^700 dollars. It is the 
passengers who alone become dupes, and the emi-* 
grant trains yield the most plentiful harvest. A^ 
* capper ' with whom I conversed supplied me with- 
what he deemed a defence of the ^institution.^ 
This * capper ' strongly urged me to try my luck.. 
I thanked him for his recommendation and ex- 
pressed my deep regret at my inability to con- 
tribute an adequate amount to the gains of the 
Bank. I told him that I should not forget his 
advice^ if at any future time I might be possessed of 
more money than I could easily squander, and that, 
rather than get rid of it aU by throwing it out of 
the window, I should reserve a portion wherewith 
to visit Promontory station and lose the remainder 



GREAT SALT LAKE TO GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 189 

at three card Monte. Thereupon he changed his 
tone> and said that the keepers of the table had 
been harshly treated by the press, had been called 
robbers and other hard names, whereas they were 
honest, straightforward men who laboured hard in 
order to earn their living. He added that the play 
was perfectly fair to those who took part in it. 
This was perfectly true if fairness consisted in 
uniform winning on the one side, and uniform 
losing on the other. He told me, moreover, that 
many emigrants had come to Promontory, had lost 
all they had, and had been kindly treated by these 
calumniated hell keepers. Their charity, he said 
with an accent of candour and an air of kindliness 
which would have done credit to the most practised 
adept in professional philanthropy, was conspicu- 
ously displayed towards those whom they had 
beggared, for they gave them a sum sufficient to 
pay their journey to their destination, or to keep 
them during the journey. I modify while trans- 
lating his language, which was rather highly 
c»easoned with vigorous and sonorous expletives. 
Although the small population of this place is com- 
posed for the most part of roughs and gamblers, 
^ith the admixture of a female element quite as 
obnoxious, yet the peace is tolerably well kept on 
account of the awe felt for the railway officials. It 



190 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

is tacitly understood that open lawlessness or any 
serious (disturbance would end in the clean sweep of 
the whole nest of scoundrels. If those who had the 
power were at once to begin the cleansing process, 
they would do a service to all travellers over this 
railway. 

^ Pullman's palace cars ' do not form part of 
the ordinary tnuns on the Central Pacific Railway. 
That company has what it calls 'silver palace 
cars/ of which the name Is the best part They 
are very inferior when compared with those of 
the Pullman Company. Besides, the system of 
management is far less perfect. In Pullman's 
cars there is a conductor whose duty it is to see 
that the passengers are properly cared for, and 
under him are coloured servants, one being attached 
to each car. The Central Pacific Company's cars 
are in charge of a coloured man, who also acts as 
attendant. This double part is generally done 
badly. The opinion prevailed throughout the train 
that at least one of these coloured gentlemen would 
suffer rough usage some day at the hands of ex- 
asperated passengers. His insolence and inatten- 
tion were unbearable. He was certainly the wrong 
man for the place. The conductors of Pullman's 
cars are patterns of good officials. They are hand- 
somely paid. They hold office on the condition that 




GREAT SALT LAKE TO GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 191 

no complaint is preferred against them, instant dis- 
missal being the consequence of any well-founded 
charge. It is this, among other things, which has 
rendered Pullman's Car Company a splendid com- 
mercial success. 

If the cars of the Califomian Company are in- 
ferior to those of its rival, the Califomians are 
entitled to a large share of the praise due to 
those who constructed this railway. A few words 
may fitly be expended in stating what they did. 
Several years ago, when Sacramento was a much 
smaller place than it now is, some of its most 
intelligent residents convinced themselves of the 
feasibility of carrying a line of rail across the lofty 
and snow-capped Sierra Nevadas. At their own 
expense they had a survey made. A route was fixed 
upon, plans were drawn up, and the details of the 
project elaborated. Throughout the state of Cali- 
fornia the scheme became so popular, that to be a 
' railroad man ' was one of the best claims where- 
with to secure the votes of electors. A state charter 
was formally obtained, and the promoters went to 
Washington to urge the measure upon Congress. 
This was in 1862, when the nation was alive to 
the necessity of facilitating intercourse with the 
Pacific States, in order that the perils to which the 
Union was then exposed might not be rendered 





192 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 

more formidable in character or more extended in 
range. The desire of Califomia to have the rail- 
way constructed was thns in unison with the hetrt- 
felt aspirations of the Eastern States. Aooordinglyi 
the assent of Congress was given to the pn^ 
posed scheme^ and the pecuniary aid of the Grovem- 
ment pledged to carry it into effect HoweveTy 
forty miles had to be completed before any monej 
could be claimed from the Government, and these 
forty miles ran up the steep slopes of mountains 00 
lofty as apparently to defy the science of the most 
skilful and sanguine engineer. Yet the formidable 
obstacles were vanquished one after another, and the 
prophets who predicted failure, and the cynics who 
styled the scheme a swindle, were put to open 
shame. The Califomians allege that, while their 
section of the line presented the largest number of 
engineering problems to solve, it is far the better of 
the two. They might add that had they not ba* 
the advantage of the cheap and efficient labour ^^ 
Chinamen it would still have been a grand proj^^» 
or else but slowly advancing towards completion. 

Meantime the train has been careering over <^*® 
Central Pacific Railway, and along the shore ^ 
the Great Salt Lake, thus affording to the p^^ 
sengers a splendid view of that magnificent sheet ^^ 
water, as well as of the bold mountain peaks whi^'' 



GREAT SALT LAKE TO GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 193 

^noompasB it. The proepect is one to be enjoyed 
and remembered. But it is the only glimpse of 
scenery^ worthy of special note; on which the eye 
rests with pleasure. We are still within the Ter- 
ritory of Utah. Promontory Point, where the 
junction was formally made between the railways 
of which the starting points were Sacramento and 
Omaha, Is in that Territory. The Mormons con- 
structed more than an hundred miles of the railway, 
and Brigham Yoimg is said to have enriched himself 
by the way in which he manipulated the contracts. 
Yet, on the memorable day when the line was 
finally completed and officially opened, the very 
existence of the citizens of Utah was unrecognised, 
if not forgotten. The Governor of Arizona was 
present and brought with him a silver spike as 
the contribution of the dwellers in his remote Ter- 
ritory. The State of Nevada also sent a silver 
spike, fashioned by the hands of one himdred citi- 
zens. Some munificent citizens of San Francisco 
contributed two golden spikes, as an offering on 
behalf of the State of California, while the last 
' tie ' or sleeper was a beautiful piece of Califomian 
laurel. The ceremony of driving the last spike was 
marked by an incident to which a parallel will be 
sought in vain among the many extraordinary feats 
of modem times. The hammer with which the 

o 



194 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

blows were given was connected to a wire in direct 
communication with the principal telegraph offices 
throughout the Union. Thus the instant that the 
work was consununated the result was simulti^ 
neously saluted on the shores of two great Oceans 
and throughout the wide expanse of a vast con- 
tinent by the roar of cannon and the ringing of 
bells.* 

Several miles westward of Promontory station, 
the line traverses what, properly speaking, is the 
Great American Desert. This is supposed to be 
the bed of an inland sea. In barrenness it rivals 
the Desert of Sahara ; in desolation and dreariness 
it cannot be surpassed. A coating of alkali dust 
gives to it the appearance of a snow-covered plain. 
But snow is far less intolerable than the alkali. 
Where it abounds nothing of service to man or 
beast can live. Shoe-leather is burned by it as by 
quicklime. The minute particles which float in the 
air irritate the throat and lungs as keenly as the 

* Lest any carious traveller should waste his time in seeking for 
the precious spikes and the valuable sleeper, I may state that they 
were removed almost as soon as laid, and that pieces of ordinary 
wood and iron were substituted for them. But these, however, did not 
long remain intact. The hoarders of relics hacked the sleeper into 
splinters in the course of a few minutes, and attacked the last rail 
with a vigour which had the effect of rendering it worthless. The 
sleeper had to be renewed three times and the rail once in the 
course of a week. Even then, credulouB visitors were still busied 
in catting mementoes of the ' last tie.' 



GRSAT SALT LAKE TO GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 195 

steel dust which cuts short the lives of Sheffield 
needle-grinders. Long before Elko is reached, a 
station 200 miles distant from Promontory, the 
passengers in the train fervently pray to be de- 
livered from this corrosive and ubiquitous alkali 
dust. 

Soon after the opening of the railway, a party, ot 
which ex- Senator Ben Wade was one, made this 
journey. Complaints were rife about the discom- 
forts experienced on this section of the line. Wish- 
ing to make the best of what could not be remedied, 
the Mark Tapley of the party remarked that with 
plenty of water to lay the dust and congenial com- 
panions, the Great American desert would be, not 
only endurable, but delightful. Whereupon the 
ex-Senator observed : — * With plenty of water and 
good society. Hell would not be a bad place to live 
in.' 



2 



196 w£srrwAia) by bail. 



THE HVMBOLDT RIVER ASD PLAIXS. 

Afteb passing through the Great American Desert 
the sight of a running river and luxuriant vegeta- 
tion is most enjoyable. The stream which freshens 
and fertilises this region is the Humboldt^ having 
its source in the mountains of that name^ and flow- 
ing westwards for about two hundred and fifty miles. 
Along the banks of the river Humboldt is a thick 
fringe composed of willow trees and a variety of 
shrubs. It is characteristic of this part of the 
country that as soon as the land is irrigated almost 
any plant or vegetable can be grown upon it. The 
climate is genial. If it were not for the lack of 
rain millions of acres might be at once brought 
under cultivation. Hence the extreme value of 
the tract adjacent to a stream of water large enough 
to supply all that is required for the purposes of 
irrigation. When the emigrants formerly traversed 
this route, they timed their halting places so cs to 
be within easy reach of a river. In many places 
thfice are numerous pools of water ; but for the 



TnE UUMP.OLDT RIVER AND RLAIN'S. 197 

most part these are so strongly impregnated with 
alkali as to be even more undrinkable than sea 
water. The alkali water bums the tongue^ inflames 
the throat, irritates the stomach. Those who essay 
it will agree with the American writer who says : — 
^ Taste it at the first opportunity, and you will wish 
that the first opportunity had come last, or that it 
never had arrived.' An animal will die of thirst 
sooner than drink a drop of it. Yet men have been 
known to struggle against an impending death from 
thirst and exhaustion by painfully swallowing small 
portions of this bitter water. Happily these trials 
are no longer among the dangers which beset the 
traveller across the Great American Desert and the 
Humboldt Plains. The railway has changed all 
that. Where there is no drinking water on the 
spot, it is brought by train. In several places tanks 
have been erected for containing a supply of water 
suflScient to meet all ordinary wants. 

In the midst of the Humboldt Plains is the town 
of Elko, at which the train makes a long stoppage. 
This is one of the mushroom towns which abound 
to the west of the Rocky Mountains. It contains 
three thousand inhabitants. What Sacramento and 
San Francisco were twenty years ago, Elko is said 
to be at the present moment. It is laid out in 
streets^ and these streets are lined with shops and 




^ 



198 WESTWARD BT RAIL. 

dwellings. As names^ Comxiiercial-Btreet, Main- 
street, RailroadHStreet sound weU^ while First, 
Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Streets oonyey 
the notion of an American city of size and import* 
ance. But it is one thing to read of those streets, 
and another and very different thing to walk in 
them. They are as much entitled to the appellation 
of streets as are the spaces between the booths of a 
country fair. Nor are the shops, houses, and public 
offices at all more imposing than the booths erected . 
in a night for the business of a day. The thorough- 
fares are neither paved nor macadamised. They 
are as primitive in character as the pathways be- 
tween the tents on Wimbledon Common when the 
Volunteers are encamped there. The foot pas- 
senger walks among alkali, and as he moves along 
he raises a cloud of dust which whitens and damages 
his clothes, and excoriates his nostrils. Over the 
fronts of shops constructed of wood, canvas, or 
a combination of both, are signs intimating that 
everything the pedestrian wants is to be had within. 
If he enters one of these pretentious ' stores ' he will 
find that with money, and plenty of it, he has at his 
command whatever he can desire, from a box of 
pills to a bottle of champagne, and from a cigar to 
a pot of blacking. On the outside of some huts is 
a board with the inscription that a lawyer or a 



THE HUMBOLDT RIVER AND PLAINS. 199 

doctor may be consulted within. One of these huts 
has these words painted above the door in large 
black letters : — ' OflSce of the Elko Independent^ 
A newspaper office in such a locality specially 
attracts the attention of anyone to whom newspaper- 
offices are places of personal interest I regret that 
the time at my disposal was insufficient to visit this 
home of journalism in what was little better than a 
wilderness. I was fortunate enough, however, to 
succeed in procuring a copy of the Elko Independent. 
It is published twice a week ; is printed on good 
paper ; its leading articles are quite as well written 
as those which grace the columns of an English 
provincial newspaper, while its advertisements are 
fraught with instruction of a new and curious kind. 
That the price of a copy should have been one 
shilling surprised me less than the fact that the 
Journal was published at all, and was supported by 
the small population of this primitive town. 

One of the advertisements was very noteworthy. 
It was worded as follows : — * Ung Gen, Chinese 
Doctor, Silver-street, between Fourth and Fifth, 
£lko, will attend professionally to all who may 
require his services. Having been engaged in a 
steady practice for several years, he is prepared to 
cure all diseases that may come to his notice.' This 
vras not, as sceptical readers may suppose, an adver- 



200 WESTWAItD BY RAIL. 

tifling trick. Chinese doctors are not shams here, 
bnt living realities^ and, in their own way, useful 
members of sodely. In some parts of the Union 
mock Indians impose on the credulous^ and de- 
ceive the unwary. At Saratoga, for example, the 
Indian camp is inhabited by persons bearing strong 
physical resemblances to Irishmen of pure blood 
and obstreperous patriotism. Around Niagara Falls 
the Indians have a very theatrical appearance. 
Their names and dresses alone recal the wild abori- 
gines of America. But the Chinese in these parts 
of the American continent are genuine natives of 
the Flowery Land. They have been the chief 
constructors of the Pacific Bailway. They are the 
most docile and trustworthy of servants. Along the 
line I saw squads of them at work. At this place 
they are so conmion as to attract no notice. Many 
of them were making their way through the crowd 
on the platform of the station. Four or five women 
and a few children were the momentary objects of 
interest, for Chinawomen are but seldom seen in 
public. Not less curious than the advertisement of 
the Chinese doctor, whose ' steady practice for se- 
veral years ' had prepared him ^ to cure all diseases,' 
was that of a firm of druggists. This firm inti- 
mated not only that it was ready to supply all 
drugs and to prepare all prescriptions, but also 



THE HUMBOLDT BIVEB AKD PLAINS. 201 

that it had on hand * a large stock of paints^ oik, 
window -glass, castor oil ; also a large assortment of 
fishing lines and hooks of all kinds/ Another an- 
nooncement may be repeated for the benefit of 
future yisitors to Elko. In it the keeper of the 
'White Pine Saloon' informs his patrons that — 
' The most delicate fancy drinks are compounded by 
skilful mixologists in a style that captivates the 
public and makes them happy.' Turning from the 
advertising to the leader columns of the JElko In^- 
dependent, I find that the Democratic party is 
honoured with its support, and that the Chinese 
are the objects of its aversion. A proposition for 
excluding Chinese labour, without openly perse- 
cuting Chinamen, deserves mention on account of 
the malicious ingenuity which inspired it. The 
writer points out that it is characteristic of the 
Chinese to desire that their remains should be in- 
terred among the graves of their ancestors, and that 
to le buried in a foreign land is repugnant alike to 
their religious sentiments and patriotic feelings. 
Taking advantage of this, it is proposed to make it 
a penal offence ' to disturb the remains of the dead 
after burial, and to attempt to carry away from our 
shores the mortal remains of one of that people, and 
the good work of excluding them is accomplished.' 
From conversations with fellow-travellers I learned 



202 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

that the aversion to the Chinamen is very general 
on the Pacific slope of the continent. The Chinese 
I saw along the line appeared to be hard-working 
and good-tempered beings, ready to interchange 
words with whoever would converse with them in 
the broken English which they understand, and de- 
lighted when a passenger who had lived in China 
gave utterance to a word or phrase in their native 
tongue. One or two Chinamen entered the train 
here. Among them was a merchant who had 
amassed a fortune, who spoke English fluently, and 
who conversed intelligently on most subjects. He 
was not allowed a seat in the best cars, but was con- 
demned to occupy a place in the emigrants' cars. 
All his money could not conquer the prejudice 
against his tribe. Though the negroes have been 
emancipated, yet the spirit of caste still works mis- 
<5hief in America. Indeed, as an American writer 
has forcibly remarked : ^ The spirit of " Native 
Americanism " is but a thinly disguised aristocracy 
of birth.' Perhaps no two persons in the motley 
group on the platform at Elko station were more 
helpless and misplaced than a Frenchman and his 
wife. They were evidently very poor, were mise- 
rably clad and dirty, and downcast in spirit. They 
hardly knew a word of English, and those about 
them were ignorant of French. Their desire was to 



THE HUMBOLDT RIVER AND PLAINS. 203 

get to the silver mines in as cheap a way as possible, 
being under the delusion that if they once reached 
the mines their fortunes were as good as made. 
This was the second French couple I met in this far 
away region. The other wretched pair had taken 
up their abode in Salt Lake City, with a view to 
deal in furs. Both had been fix)m ten to fifteen 
years in America, and the husband alone could 
make himself imperfectly understood. His wife spoke 
French only. They uttered warm expressions of 
satisfaction when they found one with whom they 
could converse in their own language. Unfortu- 
nately the pleasure was not reciprocal, seeing that 
this unhappy couple took advantage of the opportu- 
nity to pour forth a long and by no means interesting 
account of their sufferings and their disappoint- 
ments. The couple at Elko thought less about 
telling their story than about finding a team of 
mules wherewith to start for the silver yielding 
region. They were clearly directed whither to go, 
but when last I saw them as the train moved off, 
they were walking in the wrong direction in a state 
of hopeless bewilderment. 

What gives importance to this place is the fact 
that the road to the White Pine mining district 
branches off at Elko. This district is about 125 
miles south of Elko, and is almost due east of 



204 



WE8TWABD B7 EAIL. 



^Irgixda City, where the ezcitanent with legaid 
to silYer mining in Nevada first broke out, and b,U 
tracted general notioe. The reputation of White 
Pine had been achieved in a very abort tame. In 
February, 1869, the population of the district was 
reckoned at four hundred people ; five months later 
it had increased to twenty thousand. The domi* 
nant topic in every conversation is the silver mines 
of this State. Let me pause in the descriptioii of 
my journey to furnish a brief account of the diver 
mines of Nevada. 



205 



XVI. 

THE STATE OF NEVADA AND ITS SILVER TREASURES, 

Pbiob to 1861, what is now known as the State of 
Kevada formed part of the Territory of Utah. The 
Mormons were in the minority and the Gentiles 
were dissatisfied with their own condition. Having 
resolved upon separating themselves from the Mor- 
mons, the Gentiles met together, passed resolutions, 
and formed a territorial organization. Congress 
approving of their conduct, gave validity to the 
arrangements they had made. The President ap- 
pointed a Governor over the new Territory. The 
nimibers of the citizens rapidly increased: their 
ambition prompted them to desire admission into 
the Union and, on Congress giving the necessary 
consent, the semi-independence and the valuable 
privileges accorded to a State became, in 1864, the 
portion of Nevada. 

As early as 1859 discoveries of silver in Nevada 
had attracted the notice of adventurous miners in 
all parts of the West. Ten years had then elapsed 
since the gold excitement in California startled and 
fascinated the world. The Califomian quartz mines 






<{()I(1 (lust had Ix'cn >iftc'(l 
1\) these disappointed an 
news tliat silver was even 
than gold had ever been ii 
with great joy, and an imn 
the new PotosL The yiel 

lode was such as to verif 

• 

highflown statements, and 
guine hopes. Virginia Cii 
was built within easy rea« 
whole district was honej-coi 
estimated value of the gol 
this district during ten y 
sterling. Sixteen millions 
to be the gross annual yield, 
yet the proportion of actu 
The net profit is understoo 
half a million nf rl/^lio*^ "^ 



NEVADA AND ITS SILVER TREASURES. 207 

Comstock lode at the depth of 2,000 feet The 
distance to be driyen is four miles. Mr. Sutro is 
the projector of the tunnel, and it has been named 
after him. Opinions are divided as to the merits of 
the enterprise. Its very magnitude is regarded by 
some as an insuperable bar to its success, while more 
daring and confident spirits predict the brilliant 
triumph of the gigantic undertaking. It is not 
necessary to be a practical miner, an experienced 
engineer, or a volunteer prophet to state that the 
Sutro tunnel will either beggar its promoters, or else 
be the means of converting each of them into a 
Croesus. 

To the east of Virginia City another district rich 

in silver deposits attracted miners in 1862. This is 

called the Reese River district. The mines in it do 

not yield large quantities of ore, but the ore found 

in them is of a superior class. Austin City is the 

chief town of this locality. But the spot which at 

present surpasses all others, which has been more 

tlian a nine days wonder, and the theatre of an ex- 

^tement which tends to increase rather than abate, 

*^hich has been the haven of miners disgusted with 

tiie reality elsewhere, and is one of the most notable 

^mong the many rich repositories of silver treasure 

in the State of Nevada, bears the name of White 

iPine. 



208 VESTWiiBD BT RAIL. 

This district which lies dae eut of Ti^pnia City 
was first ' prospected * hy some adrenturoas Boinen 
who left Austin Citj in the spring of 1865 with the 
design of carefully exploring untrodden wilds in the 
hope of making their fortunea. With such men the 
old saw, that the sea contains as good fish as have 
been taken out of it, is at once an artide of futh 
and a stimulus to action. While thoroughly coin- 
ciding in the spirit of the saying they have ma- 
terially altered its wording. Instead of sea, they 
read stream or flat or mountain slope, and for fish, 
they substitute the words golden dust or auriferous 
quartz, chloride of silver or argentiferous stone.- A 
pickaxe is their 'open ses&mg.' Wherever their 
keen and skilled vision detects traces of mineral, 
there the rending blow is struck and the stone 
detached to be tested by a rude chemistry, or sub- 
jected to the rapid and decisive scrutiny of eyes 
quick to discern and admire the true ore and 
trained to reject the dross. During many months 
of hard toil continued with indomitable vigour, and 
of trying privation borne with nn6inching spirit, 
did they prosecute their search. Spring melted 
into summer and summer faded into autumn before 
the prize was won. They then satisfied themselves 
that what is now known as Treasure Hill cont^ed 
incalculable stores of precious minerals. On the 



NEVADA AND ITS SILVER TREASURES. 209 

10th of October they assembled together^ made 
speeches and passed resolutions whereof the gist is 
contained in the mining records of the locality. 
The entry runs as follows : ' A company of miners 
met on the above day for the purpose of forming a 
district. Motion made and carried that this district 
be known as White Pine District — bounded on the 
north by the Bed Hills^ and running thence south 
to a point whence the mountains run into a foot- 
hill, thence east twelve miles^ thence north, and 
thence west to the place of beginning.' The district 
thus mapped out had no attraction of scenery or site 
to recommend it. The trees which grow in the val- 
leys or on the moimtain sides are few in number and 
small in size. Desolation and sterility dominate the 
landscape. Nor is the absence of beauty compen- 
sated for by balmy winds and genial skies. All the 
year round the air is chilly, while, during the long 
months of winter, storms rage with incredible fury. 
The blast sweeps along charged with snow, and dust, 
^nd gravel. Those who suffer this ordeal are justi- 
Ced in believing that the demons of the storm have 
chosen as their appropriate home the bleak and 
l^arren mountains of Nevada. A name originaUy 
^iven to a thick white mass of cold vapour which 
Sometimes veils the mountain tops and sometimes 
fills the valleys is employed to characterize these 



210 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

terrible storms. Tell a miner acquainted viA 
White PiDe that you have had to face the Po- 
go-nip and he will at once know that oil your 
powers of endurance have been put to the test. 
The strength of tbe faacination produced by the 
silver deposits at White Pine is measured by the 
fact that the miners persevere in extracting the 
valued metal despite the terrors and the trials of 
the Po-go-nip. 

Hamilton City, Shermantown, and Treasure 
City, are the principal centres of busiDCSS in the 
district of White Pine. Many other names of 
' cities ' might be mentioned, but the ' cities ' them- 
selves are names and nothing more. They are 
glibly uttered by speculators : they figure in books 
and maps ; but the greenhorn will search for them 
in vain. A new-comer desiring to Uam some par- 
ticulars about a city, questioned a mmer who, on 
the strength of a month's residence in tbe neigh- 
bourhood, had a claim to the title of one of the 
oldest inhabitants, and received the reply that the 
city * was about as large as New York, but was not 
built up yet.' Those which have been ' built up' 
are mere a^regates of miserable shanties and pri- 
mitive tents. To coustruct a wooden dwelling is 
nearly as expensive here as it is to erect a marble 
palace elsewhere. Treasure City, perched up near 



NEVADA AND ITS SILVER TREASURES. 211 

the summit of Treasure Hill at an elevation of nine 
thousand feet above the level of the sea, is in close 
proximity to one of the richest of the White Pine 
mines. This is the Eberhardt, which is to White 
Pine what the famous Gould and Curry is to 
Virginia City. Not till the spring of 1868 was it 
vigorously worked and since then the returns have 
been prodigious. Its value has been rated at 
millions : at one time a purchaser acquired it for 
twenty-five dollars. A trustworthy writer has 
given the following sketch of the appearance of the 
mine underground : — * At the door a pack train of 
Mexican mules are being loaded with the precious 
ore for the mill two miles to the south-west, and 
two thousand feet lower down. In the shed men 
are busy at a great pile of brown, blue, red, green 
and black rock, breaking it to pieces and sorting it, 
the richest being thrown aside for the crucible, and 
the rest going into the sacks to be packed away to 
the mill. There is a princely fortune in this pile of 
ore, which to the uninitiated eye is but a heap of 
broken rock fit only for building walls or macada- 
mizing public streets. Over one of the hoisting 
shafts there is a large wooden bucket with a rope 
and rude windlass such as you might see on the 
prospecting shaft of the poorest miner. It has served 
for hoisting all this wealth to the surface. In this 

p 2 



V 



212 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

bucket we descended into the mine. A long, narrow 
chamber, with dull, dark walls, and a few men at 
work \nt\i pick and gad, were all that the first 
glance revealed, and there was a momentary feeling 
of diitappointment. A closer inspection showed that 
the walls, the ceiling, the floor, were silver; even 
the very dust on the floor was silver. This lump 
will yield five dollars a pound, this six, this seven, 
this eight, and this, which will flatten like lead 
under the hammer, is worth within a fraction of ten 
dollars a iK)und. They tell us that there is a million 
dollars worth of silver piled up before our eyes in 
this gloomy cavern, and such is indeed die fact.'* 
Keystone, Aurora, and Virginia, are the names of 
other productive mines. It is dangerous, however, 
to speak eulogistically of any mine, for before the 
ink is drv in which the words arc written the mine's 
reputation may have been blasted beyond redemp- 
tion. To-ilay its richness is the theme of evcrv 
tongue and tlie envy of all who have no share in it> 
while to-morrow hardly a soul will deign to notice 

• 

the concern which, in the slang of tlie locality? i* 
* played out ' or * busted.' Not only are tlie blank* 
more numerous than the prizes in the great lottery 
of silver mining, but the prizes often become con- 
verted into blanks. The miner makes what he caU^ 

* Mp. a. S. Evjins, in Overland Monthly for March, 1869. p. 279- 



NEVADA AND ITS SILVER TREASURES. 213 

' a strike ; ' he has found the hidden treasure ; his 
fortune, he now thinks, is made. Suddenly he dis- 
covers that the ore is ' refractory ' and will not pay 
to work, or the lode which sparkled with metal first 
becomes 'disordered' and then disappears. Mo- 
derate success will not suffice to enable him to live 
easily and accumulate wealth. He may work for 
others and receive 12. daily; but this barely enables 
him to subsist. In the early days of mining here, 
the prices of the commonest articles were exor- 
bitant, while the sums charged for others were pro- 
hibitory. Rich men could alone afford to be ill, and 
all who fell ill were not rich. A doctor's fee would 
have ransomed a captive out of the hands of blood- 
thirsty Greek brigands. Laudanum sold at 5s. a 
drop. A single pill cost 2/. For extracting a 
tooth 10/. were charged. Even the trivial luxury 
of a cup of tea could not be enjoyed for less than 
1/., while the man who wished to eat an egg had to 
pay 158. for the treat. Competition has now lowered 
prices, but there are several things which still com- 
mand comparatively high sums. There is no water 
in Treasure City; every drop consumed there has to 
be brought in barrels up the steep mountain side, 
and a gallon costs as much as a gallon of wine on 
the Rhine or the Rhone. There is little wood in 
this district: a bundle of sticks costs one pound 



214 WESTWAUD BY RAIL. 

Sterling. When these things are duly oonaideredi 
it will not seem strange that the profits of those who 
work what are reputed to he the richest mines should 
be neither great nor lasting. 

Although thousands will waste their substance 
and their strength in developing the silver mines of 
Nevada, yet the returns from these mines will pnn 
bably sufiice to double or quadruple the silver 
bullion of the world. That State has already pro- 
duced as much silver as all the mines of Peru. What 
has been done within the brief space of a few years 
is but a trifle compared with what may hereafter be 
accomplished. There are numerous mountain slopes 
and Canyons yet untested in which many an Eber- 
hardt mine may be discovered, or another Com- 
stock lode laid bare. Nor of adventurei-s willing 
to risk all on the venture is there any lack. Per- 
haps the capitalist who is not addicted to 8]>ecu- 
lations which differ in name only from staking 
money on the chance of a dice-box, on the roll of a 
ball, or on the colour of a card drawn at random 
from a pack, will act wisely if he watch rather than 
aid in the developement of the Nevada mines. 
Those who are on the spot may effect a profitable 
investment : those who are at a distance must trust 
to the representations of others ; must rely upon the 
reports of assayers ; must believe that the s{>ecimens 



NEVADA AND ITS SILVER TREASURES. 215 

shown to them really represent the character of 
the mines which they are asked to purchase. The 
following story, despite its exaggeration, is fraught 
with a useful moral. When new discoveries were 
being made daily, the first duty was to get the 
specimens assayed. If the result were encouraging 
the claim would at once command a high price. 
One of these assays was too satisfactory. Accord- 
ing to the assayer's report the proportion of silver 
in the stone was rather more per ton than if the 
whole had been solid silver, while it was added that 
gold to the value of 39 dollars was also contained 
in it. ' Considering that the specimen assayed was 
a fragment of a grindstone, the effort of the assayer 
was terrific' ' 



216 WBSTWABD BY RAIL. 



XVII. ' 

ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA8. 

For 200 miles to the west of Elko the scenery con- 
tinued to be monotonous, consisting of wide barren 
plains bordered by mountain slopes. The Humboldt 
river, with its banks fringed with shrubs and plants, 
and the land for some distance on either side afford- 
ing grazing ground for herds of cattle, alone gave 
a slight variety to the scene. Now and then a 
prairie wolf slunk aside as the passing train startled 
it from its lair. More than one rude monument 
was pointed out to me as indicating the spot where 
a foul murder had been perpetrated or a bloody 
combat had been waged. It was in this locality 
that the Indians made a savage onslaught on those 
engaged in constructing the line, murdering, scalp- 
ing, and plundering several white men. Some 
Indians were among the passengers by this train. 
I was told that they are carried gratis. In return 
they sometimes help to heap wood on the. tender 
at the appointed stopping-places. They were Sho- 
shones, and were said to be very peaceable. With 



AcK<^ss Tin: sn:Ri:A m-a'apas. 217 

their vermilloii-staiiied cheeks, their hiiik black hiiir, 
th^m low foreheads^ prominent noses, and sensual 
mouths, and an expression akin to the expression of 
a brute rather than that of a human being, they 
were as unprepossessing looking mortals as ever 
were seen in reality, while the very reverse of the 
Indians depicted in works of fiction. Indeed, the 
contrast was equivalent to a revolution between the 
doings of Eagle Eye, Little Hawk, South West 
Wind, and other warriors, now that they heaved 
billets of wood on the tender and when they scoured 
these plains with a view to achieve some deed of 
daring, and with a dislike deemed insuperable to 
perform anything that was simply useful None of 
them had any scruples about asking and accepting 
alms. The squaws, who were far more hideous 
than the men, and the children, who were both ugly 
and naked, pestered the passengers for money or 
eatables. It was the rare exception for them to 
have anything to sell. 

An American train resembles a steamer in this, 
that all the passengers are thrown together in a way 
which is impossible when they are cooped up in 
compartments as on an English railway. Every 
carriage communicates in such a way that it is pos- 
sible at any moment to enjoy a welcome change 
by walking from end to end of the train. In my 



218 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

car there were several Califomians on their way 
home after a visit to their native places in the 
Eastern States. One of them had several bottles of 
choice old Bourbon whisky with him^ and he was 
persistent in asking his acquaintances to ' take a 
drink.' The whisky bottle was produced as early 
as six in the morning, and was passed from hand to 
hand at short intervals till the hour came for going 
to bed. The number of drinks must not be taken 
as a criterion of the extent of drunkenness. A sip 
of liquor constitutes a drink. It is the form rather 
than the effect which seems to give pleasure. The 
Westerners and Califomians hold that, not to drink 
at all is the mark of a milksop, while to drink too 
much demonstrates a fool. One passenger could 
hold his own with most men of his years in drinking, 
smoking, shooting, and driving a bargain. He told 
some stories, which I should hardly have credited 
had they not been confirmed by independent and 
impartial testimony. He was thirty years old, and 
had seen more of life in all its aspects than many 
bold adventurers of double his age. More than one 
fortune he had made and squandered. He was 
now bound for California, with 150 dollars in his 
pocket, determined to enrich himself again. Every- 
thing by turns he had essayed ; among others, the 
business of an auctioneer in Salt Lake City. 



ACROSS THE SIEBRA KEVADAS. 219 

During four years he had driven a roaring trade 
among the Mormons by selling to them at high 
prices the second-hand and old-fashioned silks and 
satins disdained by the fashionable world elsewhere. 
Although a Gentile, he yet had succeeded in gain- 
ing the good graces and pocketing the spare cash 
of the Mormons. Judicious bribery and judicious 
reticence had commended him to the leaders among 
the Saints. Yet, while keeping his mouth shut, 
he did not shut his eyes also. Many exanjiples of 
Mormon cruelty and tyranny had been witnessed 
by him, and these he detailed in a way which 
chilled the listener's blood. Another American, 
who had come from a two months' residence at Salt 
Lake City, was brimful of stories similar in kind. 
To their tales I attributed the greater credit, be- 
cause they tallied in the main with what I had 
learned from personal observation of the practical 
working of Mormonism in the valley of the Great 
Salt Lake. It is noteworthy that no American who 
has visited Utah is a defender of the system in 
operation there. They all regard the Mormons as 
unworthy and dangerous citizens. The opinion 
seems universal that Congress must speedily legis- 
late for Mormonism, not as a peculiar system of 
reUgion, but as a permanent conspiracy against 
equality and the impartial administration of justice. 



220 WESTWABB BY RAIL. 

Towards morning there was a oommotion among 
the passengers. A sudden shock roused all from 
their slumbers. Many were greatly frightened, but 
no one was seriously hurt. A severe shaking was 
the only result of what proved to be a colludon 
with a herd of cattle. The engine and tender had 
been thrown off the rails. Two oxen were crushed 
to death. Fortunately, the ground on either side 
was level ; had the accident taken place farther on, 
where the embankment was very steep, the con- 
sequences might have been disastrous. As it was, 
a detention of eight hours between Wadsworth and 
Clarks' Station and the loss of breakfast were the 
only sufferings to be borne. Before many minutes 
had elapsed energetic steps were taken to replace 
the engine on the rails. The necessary appliances 
were at hand, and were put to their respective uses. 
This was not the only proof of the completeness 
of the arrangements for such a contingency. A 
telegraph clerk was in the train, and he had an 
instrument for tapping the wires. In the course of 
a few minutes the requisite connections were made, 
and messages were telegraphed to the stations East 
and West. An hour did not pass away before 
two locomotives were on the spot What was still 
more important, the passage of trains over the line 
was stopped. As the line is a single one, the 



ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVaDAS. 221 

timely warniog thus given by telegraph doubtless 
helped to avert the danger of other collisions. 
Some passengers were indisposed to forego their 
breakfasts without an effort to provide a substitute. 
There was plenty of beef alongside the line, and 
the sage-brush could be used for fuel. What more 
natural then, they argued, than to light a fire and 
cook a steak ? The sage-brush was soon in a blaze, 
but the meat could not be procured with equal 
rapidity. Cutting through an ox hide and carving 
out a steak with a pen-knife was a task which 
baffled the passenger who made the attempt. 
While the ineffectual endeavour was being made, 
the fire threatened to produce serious consequences. 
The fiames rushed along in the direction of the 
t:elegraph posts and the cars. A German gentle- 
man of greater pluck than prudence had ignited 
tJie sage-brush, and he became ludicrously alarmed 
£it the results of his act. He rushed about in 
frantic consternation, making energetic attempts to 
atamp out the fiames. His vigour in undoing the 
mischief he had caused, led to the scorching and 
permanent injury of his boots and trousers. 

Eight hours after the collision had occurred, the 
engine was replaced on the rails and. the train was 
put in motion again. Not long afterwards the base 
of the Sierra Nevada range was reached, and the 



i 



222 WESTWAED BY RAIL. 

ivearying sight of plains covered with alkali and 
sage-brush was exchanged for picturesque views of 
mountain slopes^ adorned with branching pine trees, 
and diversified with foaming torrents. This was a 
gratifying relief, as well as a fascinating prospect 
An anecdote is told of a lumber-man, who jour- 
neyed from his native State of Maine to seek his 
fortune in the State of California. He was ex- 
tremely taciturn and depressed in spirits during the 
journey across the plains. When these mountains 
came in sight, and his eyes rested upon the familiar 
pine trees, he gazed earnestly for a moment, then, 
rising to his feet, exclaimed, ' Thank God, I smell 
pitch once more ; ' and then, sinking back into his 
seat, he wept for joy. 

Reno is the last halting place of importance 
during the Westward journey through the State of 
Nevada. It is within a few miles of Virginia City, 
the headquarters of the miners who work the 
numerous silver and gold mines in this district. 
Here, as at other similar places, a large number of 
passengers left the train and a new set entered it 
The amount of the local passenger traffic was far in 
excess of my expectations. Indeed, the proportion 
of through passengers is very small when compared 
with the number journeying from one intermediate 
station to another. Near Boca, which is 127 miles 



ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADAS. 223 

distant from Sacramento, the line crosses the 
boundary that separates the State of Nevada from 
the State of California. The Califomians rejoiced 
when the train entered their State, and spoke with 
pleasure about soon basking in the sunshine which 
has made the Pacific slope a modem Garden of 
Eden. The ascent now becomes very steep, and 
two engines are employed to drag the train. At 
short intervals there are strong wooden sheds of 
about a thousand feet long, erected to guard the 
line against destruction from what we call ava- 
lanches, and what here are called ' snow slides.' 
Indeed, these sheds are very much like tunnels. 
They have been constructed at a vast expense, and 
in a solid manner. It has yet to be seen how far 
they will subserve their purpose. They have the 
drawback of interrupting the view of some of the 
most romantic scenery on the line. The glimpses 
one gets are just sufficient to tantalise and not 
prolonged enough to satisfy. The view of Donner 
Xiake is the most charming of them all. This lake 
is picturesquely situated in a gorge of the Sierras. 
It was once the theatre of a terrible tragedy. An 
emigrant party, travelling to California in 1846, 
"Was overtaken by the snow within eight miles of 
Bonner Lake. The party, which was composed of 
men, women, and children, numbered eighty in alL 



224 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 



They were blocked in hj snow drifts and were 
compelled to encamp and wait for the retom of 
spring. Long before the winter was over and gone^ 
their stock of proyisions was exhausted* the cattle 
had aU been killed and eaten and even the hides 
had been devoured hj the half famished party. 
Then came the bitter struggle between absolute 
starvation and a resort to cannibalism. The desbe 
to live triumphed over every other consideration 
and the bodies of the dead became the sustenance 
of the survivors. While this horrible tragedy was 
being enacted, an event happened which has given 
rise to much speculation among the believers in 
supernatural occurrences. A hunter named Blount 
living in California beheld in a dream the situa- 
tion and condition of the suffering party. The 
impression made on him was so intense that he 
mentioned the circumstance to other hunters who 
were well acquainted with the region around Don* 
ner Lake. They told him that his description 
tallied with the reality. This intelligence had the 
effect of making him resolve upon doing what he 
could to rescue the snow-bound emigrants. Being 
joined by others he went to their rescue and had 
the satisfaction of saving nearly thirty out of the 
eighty. The survivors were frostbitten and crip- 
pled ; but their physical condition was less deploiv 



Ik 



ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADAS. 225 

able than their mental state. They had lived upon 
human flesh till they acquired a liking for it. One 
of them was detected smeared with blood and fur- 
tively roasting a woman's arm, after the supply of 
other food was ample. Such a story furnishes 
confirmation of the saying that truth outstrips fic- 
tion. It is more puzzling and revolting than any 
which the modem writer of sensational novels 
has yet produced for the gratification of depraved 
tastes. 

Summit Station, though the highest point on this 
line, is not so high as Sherman Station on the 
Union Pacific, It is 7,042 feet above the level of 
the sea. This represents not the altitude of the 
Sierra Nevada range, but only the elevation of this 
mountain pass. Above the station the peaks of the 
mountains tower cloudwards. The scene is one of 
Unprecedented grandeur. Owing to the delay 
Caused by the accident I have described, the speed 
of the train had been increased. The engine-driver 
had been running extra risks in order, as the Ame- 
ricans phrase it, to ' make time,' so as to arrive ^ on 
time.' The descent was thus made with exceptional 
rapidity. Prom Summit Station to Sacramento the 
distance is 105 miles. Between these places the 
descent from a height nearly half as great as that of 
Mont Blanc to fifty-six feet above the sea level has 

Q 



226 WEETTWABB BY RAIL. 

to be made. The velocity with whioh the tndn 
rushed down this incline, and the suddenness with 
which it wheeled round the curves, produced a 
sensation which cannot be reproduced in words. 
The line is carried along the edge of dedivitieB 
stretching downwards for two or three thousand 
feet, and in some parts on a narrow ledge which had 
been excavated from the mountain side hj men 
swung from the upper parts in baskets. The speed 
under these ciroumstances seemed terrific. Tlie 
axle-boxes smoked with the friction, and the odour 
of burning wood pervaded the cars. The wheels 
were nearly red hot. In the darkness of the night 
they resembled discs of flame. Glad though all 
were to reach Sacramento, not a few were specially 
thankful to have reached it with whole limbs and 
unbruised bodies. 

The charm of the last few hours is indescribable* 
It owed its effect to the striking contrast between 
the experience of the past and the pleasure of the 
moment To nothing can it eo aptly be compared 
as to that impressive passage in the inspired vision 
of the great Italian poet which tells how, after 
having painfully traversed the circles of Hell, he at 
last entered the * dolorous realm ' ribbed in ever- 
lasting ice, then issuing forth through an outlet, he 
returned to the ^ bright world,' beheld the beauteous 



ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADAS. 227 

sights of Heayen^ and saw the stars again.* But a 
few hours ago we were passing through a region in 
which desolation reigned supreme ; a region of sage- 
brush and alkali dust^ of bitter water and unkindly 
skies. Still more recently the icy winds of the 
snow-crowned Sierras had chilled us to the bone. 
The transition was sudden and the transformation 
magical The sun descended in a flood of glory 
towards the Pacific Ocean, while the train was 
spinning down the ringing grooves of the mountains. 
The canopy of azure oyerhead, unflecked by a cloud 
and spangled with myriads of brilliant stars, sur- 
passed in loveliness the brightest and most serene 
sky which ever enchanted the dweller on the 
luxuriant shores of the blue Mediterranean. No 
Italian air was ever more balmy, nor evening breeze 
through vineyard or olive grove more grateful to 
the senses than the soft wind which, tempered by 
the coolness of the distant ocean and odorous with 
the rich perfumes of the neighbouring plains, now 
fanned our cheeks and gave a fresh zest to life. 
The journey is not yet over. San Francisco is still 
upwards of a himdred miles to the west. But the 
Rocky Mountains, the American Desert, and the 

* ' Tanto ch* io yidi delle cose belle, 

Che porta il Ciel, per un pertugio tondo : 
£ quindi iiBcimmo a riveder le stelle/ 

h^femOf canto zzzir. lines 137-9. 

q2 



IKCtQd M,„^ l,^^^jj^^ ^ 



229 



XVIII. 

THE CAPITAL OF THE GOLDEN STATE. 

The passengers by the train in which I journeyed 
across the continent of America 'missed connec-> 
tions ' at Sacramento. This is the American way 
of stating that the train which arrived did not cor- 
respond with that which departed. The accident 
which I have described was the cause of this. Had 
the train been punctual the passengers need not 
have rested for the night at Sacramento^ as they 
might have continued their journey without pause 
lill San Francisco was reached. Howeyer, they 
liad no choice. For better or worse a night had to 
I>e passed at Sacramento^ the capital of the State of 
Califomia, and 125 miles distant from the chief and 
^ost notable city on the Pacific Coast. For my 
^'^rn part I had intended to stop here on the way 
W^estward, in order to see something of the most 
Remarkable among the cities of California. 

My first personal experience of a Califomian 
hotel was partly a severe trial and partly a new 



230 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

pleasure. The trial consisted in the demands made 
upon me by hospitable acquaintances ; the pleasure 
in practically learning how persistent and expansive 
was Califomian good-fellowship. I accompanied 
my travelling acquaintances to the hotel for which 
they vouched. One of them had been a member of 
the Legislature of California, and was consequently 
well acquainted with Sacramento, the seat of ^ the 
legislature of a thousand drinks.' A few minutes 
after my companions and myself had inscribed our 
names in the hotel-register it was proposed that 
we should ' take a drink.' This proposition was 
received with general approvaL As a stranger, I 
could neither object with good reason nor retire 
with courtesy. The * drink ' was duly enjoyed by 
the several members of the party. Hardly was the 
libation at an end than the friend of one of those 
present made his appearance. After a hear^ 
greeting to his friend, the ceremony of introducing 
those who were strangers to him was performed 
with the accustomed solemnities. Then followed 
the invitation, ' Let us take a drink.' Again were 
healths pledged and glasses emptied at the hotel 
bar. The gratification was slightly diminished this 
time, seeing that the night was advancing, and the 
hour for supper was nigh. But remonstrance was 
useless, and would have been regarded as unsocial. 



THE CAPITAL OF XHE GOLDEN STATE. 231 

Under these ciieiiixistances cheerful Bubmission is 
more comBMndable and wise than flat refusal and 
nnmiMinrrlj opposition. But a third and greater 
trial was at hand. Fresh introductions were made, 
and new invitations to take a drink were proffered. 
With as good a grace as I could command, I sub- 
mitted to an ordeal which was now becoming serious 
and unpleasant. Happily, tbe end to the trying 
and novel welcome had Arrived. Each one was 
now permitted to go his own way and make his own 
arrangements. 

In no respect was my experience exceptional. 
Tbe custom of the country is to drink as often as 
possible. The bar-keepers ingeniously speculate 
on this predilection of their fellow-citizens. It is 
conmion to find a ^ free lunch ' and a free supper 
provided in the more important Califomian bar- 
]x>oms. Any one may walk in and take luncheon 
or supper gratis. He has several courses from 
i^hich to choose, or he may take a portion of each. 
Soup, fish, made-dishes, joints, and vegetables, are 
on the bill of fare of a ^ free lunch.' At the free 
supper the variety is equally great. In both cases 
the viands are good in quality, are well cooked, and 
are served by attentive waiters. Although no 
charge is made, yet it is understood that every one 
who partakes of either meal must take a drink 



232 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

afterwards. He need not take more than one^ nor 
pay more for this than a quarter of a dollar — ^that 
is, one shilling. This is the price charged for all 
drinks, from a glass of lemonade to a glass of cham- 
pagne. The most common drink is 'whisky 
straight,' in other words, raw whisky. Each person 
helps himself from a bottle presented to him. Not 
merely is the quantity taken yery trifling, seldom 
exceeding the contents of a liqueur glass, but a 
small tumblerful of iced water is always handed by 
the bar-keeper along with the bottle and glass, and 
is generally sent after the whisky by the drinker. 
It is the small portion taken and this subsequent 
draught of water which enables the operation to be 
repeated very frequently without inebriety being 
produced. Probably the climate has something to 
do with the result. This is the general belief. 
Whatever be the explanation, I entertain no doubt 
as to the fact that in California there is less 
drunkenness in proportion to the amount of drink- 
ing than in any other State in the Union, or in any 
place <^ corresponding size and population in the 
world. 

As a city, Sacramento is less remarkable for what 
it is than for what it has survived. The conduct of 
the inhabitants of Salt Lake City is often cited as 
illustrative of an energy almost miraculous, of a 



THE CAPITAL OF THE GOLDEN STATE. 233 

faith almost unparalleled. But the trials of the 
Saints, though grievous, and their triumphs, though 
meritorious and laudable, have neither surpassed, 
nor do they merit more eulogy than those of the in- 
habitants of Sacramento. More than once fires and 
floods have destroyed their city and impoverished 
them. Yet the citizens never lost heart along with 
their fortunes. They re-built their ruined dwell- 
ings; the devastated streets they re-made. On 
each occasion their city became more beautiful in 
appearance and more commodious in fact. At 
present the. entire city is in process of transforma- 
tion. All previous efforts having proved futile to 
protect the locality from inundation when the rains 
flooded the surrounding plains and the snow melted 
in the distant mountains, a new and more venture- 
some course was resolved upon, and has since been 
pursued. The expenditure of capital upon embank- 
ments was suspended, and the elevation of the city 
to a height ten feet above its original level was 
b^un. The immediate result is neither picturesque 
in appearance, nor agreeable in reality. Some of 
the streets have been entirely raised to the pro- 
jected level. Others are in course of being elevated 
to a corresponding height. For these reasons a 
walk along the pavement, if prolonged for some 
distance, means the ascent and descent of sudden 



234 WE8TWABD BT RAIL. 

slopes. I have used llie word payement, but thiB ia 
a misnomer here, lliere being notfaiog which pre* 
ciselj tallies with the word as used by ns. In this 
case the American term ' side-walk ' is at once ap- 
plicable and correct. That part of the street which 
would be covered with payingHEitones in an English 
city or town is often composed of wooden plaokiqg 
in the towns and cities of America. Jk Ihe Far 
West, where wood is often dhesper than stone, 
wood naturally gets llie preference. When the 
xaia does not fall, and where snow is unknown, this 
wooden pavement is unobjectionable. In Sacrsr 
mento it is employed under the most favourable 
conditions. A projecting roof springing from the 
sides of the houses overshadows and shelters the 
pavement. Thus a sort of arcade is formed, an 
arcade quite as effective, and far less gloomy, than 
the arcades which are peculiar to Turin and Bayonne. 
Although I have SMd so much about wooden 
pavement, I am yet far from wishing it to be sup- 
posed that Sacramento is chiefly a city filled with 
unsubstantial and temporary wooden structures. 
Some of the houses and shops are built of wood, 
but the majority of the shops and dwellings are 
constructed of brick, or stone, or iron. Many of 
the more recent erections are both ornamental and 
solid in appearance and character. The niunber of 



THE CAPITAL OF THE GOLDEN STATE. 235 

buildings now being erected affords unmistakeable 
evidence that Sacramento is a prosperous and rising 
city. To it, more than to ahnost any other Cali- 
fomian city, the opening of the Pacific Bailway has 
imparted a new and a vigorous life. It was here 
that the first advocates of this railway dwelt, and 
planned, and toiled. Their energy materially 
helped to arouse their countrymen to energetic 
efforts in furtherance of the grand and ambitious 
project. At the period of my visit a banquet was held 
to celebnte the successful completion of the scheme. 
The speakers on that occasion hmi mo hiwititinn 
in appropriating to themselves, their fellow-citizens, 
their city, and their State, the major share of the 
credit for what had been accomplished. A few short 
extracts from the speeches delivered on this occa* 
sion may not only prove interesting, but will serve 
the purpose of showing the styl^ of Califomian 
oratory, and displaying the tone which the citizens 
of Sacramento adopt when their own affairs and 
those of other persons are under disougsion. In 
response to the toast, ^ California, a young giant 
refreshed with new wine,' Lieutenant-Governor 
Holden said, ' Suffice it for me to say that our skies 
vie in beauty with those of far-famed Italy ; our 
valleys surpass in richness the famous Valley of the 
Nile ; our plains in productiveness the sunny plains 



236 WESTWABB BT BAIL 

of France; our Sierra Neyadasyfbr beanfy and 

grandeur of scenery, surpass lliose of the mountains 

of Switzerland. Who would not be a Califcnniaa? 

Why, sir, we have the bravest men, the handsomest 

women, and the fattest babies of any place under 

the canopy of heaven.' A passage in another 

speech I copy in order to show that the bravest 

men may blunder when indulging in the luxury of 

quotation after dinner. The toast proposed was 

the health of Admiral Farragut The speaker, a 

Mr. Curtis, told his audience that the admiral was 

well qualified for practically inculcating the lesson 

first imparted to England by the gallant Perry, 

who, on the North-Westem Lakes, ' met the enemy 
and taught them another motto than the one they 

had 80 long cherished that : 

' BritanDia needs no bulwarks 
To frown along the steep ; 
Her love is on the mountain wave, 
Her march is o'er the deep.' * 

This original and novel version of an old song was 
accepted by the company as correct, and was not 

* It may be useful to give, as a contrast to the version of Mr. 
Curtis, the original by Thomas Campbell : — 

' Britannia needs no bulwarks, 
No towers along the steep ; 
Her march is o'er the mountain-waTes, 
Her home is on the deep.' 



THE CAPITAL OF THE GOLDEN STATE. 237 

rejected by the newspapers as inaccurate. Indeed, 
the State Capital ReporteVy in which I read these 
speeches, headed the report with an introduction 
wherein the ability which its reporters had dis- 
played in furnishing a trustworthy version of the 
several speeches was singled out for special com- 
mendation. The last extract I shall give relates 
to a topic in which the speaker was more at home : 
— ^ Mr. Chairman, — It is not necessary that anyone 
should speak for Sacramento. I am no speaker, 
but Sacramento requires no speaker. There was a 
time, in the long ago of her history, when every 
son of Sacramento was required to work, and act, 
and speak for her. But, thank God, that day has 
gone by ; the wheel of time rolled on with a velo- 
city that amazed and entranced, while it cheered 
and gladdened. The devastation of fire and flood 
swept over her, but she arose. Phoenix-like, from 
her ashes, and the heart of every Sacramentan wells 
up with joy and gladness at the brilliant prospect 
of her future. The beautiful City of the Plains, 
nestling in her grandeur in the bosom of the valley, 
coquetting with the mountains and smiling on the 
sea, robed in Kepublican simplicity, modest and 
unpretending, constantly growing in wealth and 
importance, cultivating a pure and enlightened 
Christian civilization, has attained a proud position 



238 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 

among the cities of llie Union. With her elements 
of greatness and grandeur, her gallant sons, her 
working men, her oosy cottages, her stately man- 
sions, her I&PP7 homes, her lovely daughters, her 
comely matrons, her churches and public schools, 
her looms and anvils, her mechanics and artizans, 
all speak in eloquent and thrilling tones of her 
present importance and future greatness. Her 
swift coursers of internal trade, whizzing through 
valley and canyon, over hill-top and mountain, 
rousing dreamy nature, and awakening glad echoes 
all over the land; all — all attest her enterprise, 
and proclaim her the Queen of the Golden State.' 
This luxuriant rhetoric is temptingly open to criti- 
cism ; but to criticise is not my business at present 
Yet I may note in passing that the ridicule which 
it was thought had sufficed to finally extinguish 
the Phoenix, has simply had the effect of compelling 
that miraculous bird to migrate to the Pacific Slope, 
there to prove serviceable to orators who use me- 
taphor to conceal their lack of wit. Certainly, 
nothing that I have yet said, or may hereafter say, 
in praise of Sacramento will be thought worthy of 
attention alongside of this glowing picture. While 
it was still vividly imprinted on my mind, it was a 
shock to read on a placard in the streets — 'We 
should all vote against Negro and Chinese sufiSrage.' 



THE CAPITAL OF THE GOLDEN STATE. 239 

These words do not represent the utterances of a 
knot of foolish and shortsighted politicians ; if that 
were the case it would be unfair to cite them. Un- 
happily, thej express the opinions of the majority 
in this State; they form the watchword of the 
political party which has won the victory at the 
polls. In this city the Chinese constitute a con- 
siderable proportion of the inhabitants. They are 
the most hard working among the labourers who 
earn their daily bread by their daily toil. They 
are to be seen in every street bearing heavy 
burdens suspended from the two ends of a pole, 
which rests on one of their shoulders. They act 
as waiters ; they are the most conscientious of shoe- 
blacks. Sign-boards over small shops announce 
that within Hung Lee or Sam Wah does washing 
and ironing, and repairs clothes with neatness. 
Through the open doors or windows these China- 
men may be seen scrubbing, starching, and ironing 
linen with a care and industry which not even a 
Parisian blanchisseuse could surpass. To all appear- 
ance their services are indispensable. That they 
should be obnoxious to those who cannot labour as 
cheaply is not surprismg. The Irishman detests 
the competition of cheap negro labour; the negro 
is jealous of the Chinaman ; if the energy of monkeys 
could be utilized, all of them w6uld probably unite 



i 



240 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 

in denouncing the unfaimeflB of eaxphyiDg labour 
which required no direct monetary compenflation. 
But the validity of the reason for persons of higher 
position regarding Chinamen with intense ayersion 
is not so easily discovered. As members of the 
community, the Chinese are acknowledged to be 
remarkably sober, singularly industrious, ezoepdoiH 
ally quiet in demeanour, strict observers of the law. 
They do what ihey are commanded; Ihey refrain 
from what is forbidden. It is indisputable that 
their labour is a great boon to the entire com- 
munity. It is not so clear that the Democratic 
party will Bucceed in their one-eyed policy of keep- 
ing the Chinese in perpetual subjection, and treating 
them as social and political Pariahs. 

Although no longer as busy a city as it was 
when the gold fever was at its height, Sacramento 
is still, and must continue to be, a place of great 
commercial importance. The Pacific Railway has 
been a great boon to it. As the western terminus 
of the Central Pacific it enjoys special advantages. 
The manufactories and machine shops of the com- 
pany are situated here. Several hundred men are 
employed in constructing cars, in putting together 
and repairing locomotives. Other industries are 
successfully carried on. Three flour mills, capable 
of supplying 1,200 barrels of flour daily, are at 



THE CAPITAL OF THE GOLDEN STATE. 241 

work within the city's bounds. A woollen mill is 
being erected^ and a company has been constituted 
for manufacturing sugar from beet-root. Among 
other strange notices, I remarked a sign-board 
with the inscription, * Coal and Ice Dep6t.' Ex- 
cepting for cooking purposes coal is not in great 
demand, while the consumption of ice is very large. 
As the climate is mild a supply of ice cannot be 
procured in the vicinity at any season of the year ; 
consequently, the ice used must be brought from 
the mountain lakes, many miles away. Of churches 
and of both public and private schools, there are as 
many as the most exacting could desire. Notwith- 
standing the partiality of the Califomians for drinks, 
they profess to be as proud of the character of a 
church-going people, and wish to be thought quite 
as desirous that their children should be educated as 
are the natives of New England itself. The press 
of Sacramento is a recognised power throughout the ' 
State whereof it is the capital. One newspaper, 
the Sacramento Daily Union, is extremely well 
conducted. It aspires to be independent of party, 
making the interests of the conmiunity at large and 
of the country as a whole the objects of its especial 
care. I understand that its circulation extends far 
beyond the limits of the city, and that its opinions 
exercise great weight throughout California. There 



\ 



242 WESTWAKD BY KAILu 

are, of course, the usual party organs and, like 
purely party organs in America, they are both 
rabid and indiscriminate upholders of llieir respeo- 
tiye sides. As the seat of the State Legislature, 
this city has an element of importance in addition 
to those I have named. A new State House has 
just been completed. This is built on the conven- 
tional pattern of American Capitols. It has been 
decorated in a style of great splendour. 

After all that I have said about this dty, it may 
be a surprise to read that the number of its inhabi« 
tants does not exceed between twenty-five and 
thirty thousand. It is the more noteworthy, then, 
that it should merit so much attention. A glance 
at the spacious streets stretching away on all sides 
for long distances leads the beholder to suppose 
that, as the area of the city is large, the number 
of its citizens must be large also. The majority of 
the houses have gardens attached to them. Kows 
of stately trees line many of the streets. The 
vegetation is on a scale of tropical richness. The 
weeds appear to be shrubs, and the shrubs resemble 
small trees. Other pests besides weeds abound 
here in rank profusion. The mosquito curtains 
which closely surround the beds are significant 
tokens of the prevalence of a form of insect life 
with which most persons would gladly dispense. 



THE CATITAL OF THE GOLDEN STATE. 243 

When it is considered that not many years ago 
Sacramento was the haunt of the most reckless and 
depraved of the earth ; the temporary home of men 
who came to dig for gold, and who lavished the 
gold of which they became possessed in riotous 
living and in the vilest profligacy, the marvel is to 
find how thorough has been the change, how com- 
plete the purification. The streets of Sacramento 
are as quiet at night as the streets of Boston. A 
Maine Liquor Law is unknown, drinking customs 
are in the ascendant, yet drunkenness is not the 
vice of the majority. Whereas formerly every man 
carried a revolver, and used it on the smallest 
provocation, or even out of mere wantonness of 
brutality, it is now the exception to go armed, and 
the rare exception to hear of dastardly murders 
having been committed either in passion or cold 
blood. At night the streets are ablaze with gas 
and guarded by vigilant policemen. The peace is 
strictly preserved, and the lawless stand in terror 
of the judges. One relic of the olden times still 
survives. Graming, the miner's favourite pastime, 
flourishes in defiance of the law, or, perhaps, with 
the connivance of the authorities. It is true that 
the gaming hells are not places of resort into which 
the stranger is allured by publicity, or which the 
passer by, if uninitiated, can detect without diflS- 

B 2 



244 WE8TWABD BY BAIL. 

cultj. A thin veil of mysteiy BiiRoimdB tliem. 
But the secret is one which everybody can fath(Hn 
at the cost of a drink. All the bai^keepers can 
point out where the hells are situated, and can 
generally tell, moreover, which of ihem is honestly 
conducted, and which is a den of sharpers. Nor is 
the entrance into any one of them attended with 
much trouble. The Cerberus at the door is easily 
propitiated. The game played is * Faro,' a game 
which was the delight of English gamesters a cen- 
tury ago. In the United States llie operation of 
staking one's money in a gaming hell is called 
* Fighting the Tiger.' I witnessed the ceremony 
for the first time at Sacramento. Though the 
name of the game played is different, yet the result 
is identical with that which follows when money is 
staked at Baden-Baden or Homburg. As I was 
informed that the same spectacle of ^Fighting the. 
Tiger' might be witnessed on a grander scale at 
San Francisco, I shall defer my account of the 
exhibition till after visiting the chief and the most 
renowned among Califomian cities. 




245 



XIX. 

8ACBAMENT0 CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 

The western terminus of the Central Pacific Rail 
way is at Sacramento. This city occupies the place 
at one end of the line which Chicago does at the 
other. Just as several routes lead from New York 
to Chicago^ so are there more routes than one be- 
tween Sacramento and San Francisco. For the 
third time is the traveller embarrassed by variety. 
He may select one out of two railways, or he may 
elect to take the steamer. His ticket gives him the 
option of a land or water journey. The difference 
in time is trifling. As nothing worth speaking of 
was gained by continuing my journey by rail, I 
decided upon completing it by water. Besides, I 
could return by train, and thus see more of the 
country than if, on both occasions, I had traversed 
the same route. 

The California Steam Navigation Company's 
steamer leaves Sacramento at two in the afternoon, 
arriving at San Francisco at ten o'clock the same 



luriiislicd 111 tlu" stvK.' : 
spli'iidid dnnviiiix-rninn. 
mcnade lor those who 111 
In the soft couches the si 
in hand^ while those whc 
with closed eyes may do 6 
chairs. The dining saloon 
the vessel. This is a lofty 
■ ment. During the day the 

large windows ; after night 
it as brilliant as if the sun 8 
this saloon can be enjoyed s 
of the absence of the foul i 
sphere which render the saL 
steamer an earthly purgator 
to infer from appearances th 
are not seated in the dini 
American hotel. On fli" 'i' 



SACKAMENTO CETY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 247 

state-room may be had for a small extra payment. 
With the French the phrase * English comfort ' has 
taken its place in the vocabulary of thosie who desire 
to express or typify what are deemed perfect ar- 
rangements for procuring and partaking of what 
constitutes the acme of bodily enjoyments An ac- 
quaintance with the railway carriages and the 
steamers of America provokes a doubt whether in 
the construction of either the exacting and comfort- 
loving Englishman has not been rivalled by those 
who are on the high-road to becoming his superiors. 
I do not maintain that the steamer Yo-Semite^ by 
which these remarks have been suggested, is on the 
whole a model craft. The boats on the River 
Hudson, and those which ply between New York 
and Newport, are far more noteworthy as examples 
of floating palaces. Even the less famous steamers 
which make the passage between Boston and Port- 
land are quite as complete and comfortable places of 
temporary abode as the steamers on the River 
Sacramento. What specially impressed me was to 
find a similar degree of excellence in this depart- 
ment of travel obtainable within sight of the At- 
lantic and within a few miles of the Pacific, as well 
as on the majestic rivers which form liquid and 
silent highways between the inland States and the 
two Oceans which wash the shores of the Continent. 



248 WESrrWARI) BY BAH. 

At night the brilliant Ughts on these •teamen give 
to them the aspect of fire-«hip8. At all times thej 
are hardly less dangerous than floating powder ma- 
gazines. This is their bane, as comfort is tiieir 
characteristic. Costly decoration is freqnentiy in- 
dulged in at a disregard for safety. The saloon is 
far more perfect tiian the engine-room. The 
machinery is better adapted for show than use^ the 
boUers being very inferior to tiie berths. One ef 
the passengers on the Yo- Semite told me that' a 
year or two ago an explosion had taken place whilst' 
he was on board, that many passengers were killed, 
and several maimed for life. This intelligence 
damped the spirits of some who heard it. Others 
argued that the fact of such an accident having oc- 
curred once was favourable to a safe voyage. My 
own feeling was one of indifference. After travel- 
ling for thousands of miles over roads reputed to be 
dangerous, the chances of an accident taking place 
cause but little concern, the accidents themselves 
being looked upon as parts of the programme. 

At Sacramento, where the river of that name is 
joined by the American river^ the united streams 
form a broad but shallow sheet of water. Not far 
trom this point the memorable discoveries of gold 
were made in 1848. It is not true, as has been 
supposed, that this was the first time the existence 



SACRAMENTO CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 249 

of gold in California had been demonstrated. Many 
years prior to these discoyeries the Indians were in 
the habit of bringing small parcels of gold dust from 
the interior to the coast, and selling them to the 
masters of the vessels which then came for cargoes 
of hides. Mr. Dana, the well-known author of 
* Two Years before the Mast/ who visited the 
Pacific coast in 1836, relates that among the cargo 
which the Alert carried to Boston was a small 
quantity of gold dust. He adds that rumours of 
gold discoveries were then current. These, how- 
ever, attracted little or no attention. It is no longer 
possible to procure gold with as little labour and 
trouble as at the period of its discovery. The gold 
digger's occupation is not gone, but transformed. 
Instead of washing the precious metal out of the 
sand and mud of the streams, he has now to make 
elaborate arrangements for excavating from the 
depths of the river bed or from the sides of the 
mountains the earth throughout which the glitter- 
ing and valuable dust is interspersed. What is 
called hydraulic mining has had the greatest success 
in this part of the State, just as in other parts 
quartz-crushing has become the rule and the source 
of wealth. This hydraulic mining consists in divert- 
ing a powerful stream of water against the deposits 
of earth on the mountain slopes, and separating the 



250 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

metal from the semi-fluid mass which descends into 
suitable tanks. The earth or mud, or mixture of 
both, after haying been carefully sifled, is thrown 
into the stream which runs into the river. The 
result of this is to add large deposits to the river's 
bed, and to cause the swollen stream to flood the 
surrounding country. This is the principal reason 
why the recent inundations have given the citizens 
of Sacramento and the inhabitants of the Sacrar 
mento Valley so much annoyance. The bed of the 
stream has become disproportionately high for its 
banks. Towards the winter, when the dry season 
is many months old, and the season when tlie rain 
falls has not arrived, the shallowness of the river 
occasions much inconvenience. The breadth of the 
river at Sacramento is equal to that of the Thames 
at Greenwich. But the numerous shoals seriously 
impede navigation. The water is of a dark brown 
colour. For several miles below Sacramento the 
scenery is very monotonous and unattractive. The 
view from the Scheldt below Antwerp bears a great 
resemblance to what may be witnessed here, with 
this difference — that no conspicuous object, like the 
fine spire of Antwerp Cathedral, attracts the at- 
tention and gives variety to the prospect. The 
banks appear to have been undermined by the swift 
and strong current. They are covered down to the 



k 



SACRAMENTO CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 251 

water's edge with a rank and unpicturedque vege- 
tation. The land, though devoid of natural beauties, 
is yet of the richest and most valuable character. 
If little more than semi-liquid mud, it is a soil in 
which anything will grow, provided the recurring 
inundations are checked. At present, cultivation 
is hardly possible here. Kising and falling with 
the varying height of the river, the fields cannot be 
tilled with ease, nor the harvest reaped with cer- 
tainty. A house built upon it is reared on as 
imperfect a foundation as a house built upon trea- 
cherous and unstable sand. To other drawbacks, 
that of unhealthiness must be added. Conspicuous 
among the natural products of this virgin soil are 
huge reeds, many of which attain to the height of 
ten feet^ These are similar to the bulrushes of 
Scripture among which the infant Moses was con- 
cealed. Here they are called * Tules.' The ground 
whereon they flourish is known by the name of the 
* Tule Lands.' Millions of acres of this land could 
be turned to profitable account if efficient embank 
ments were erected. The pure vegetable mould 
which constitutes the soil, coupled with the faci- 
lities for inexpensive irrigation, present every re- 
quisite for the growth of rice. The reclamation of 
these Tule Lands is one of the problems which the 
agriculturists and capitalists of California are long- 



252 WESTWABD BT BAH*. 

ing and labouring to solve. ExperimentB liaTe 
been made hj them, but without success, owing, 
it is said, to the imperfect nature of the works 
executed. If the Dutch had control over this land 
they would soon win it from the river, while if the 
Chinese were allowed to cultivate it they would 
soon convert it into remunerative rice-fields. What 
some Californians do is to discuss the course to be 
adopted, and to set fire to the ' Tules * once a year. 
The spectacle of these fires is magnificent. I was 
fortunate enough to witness the sight. The thick, 
shiggish volume of smoke rose grandly into the 
air, and was wafted slowly away by the gentle 
breeze. A purplish red tint gave to the canopy of 
smoke a strange and beautiful aspect. I have seen 
a prairie on fire in the State of Iowa, but the sight 
was infinitely less imposing than the blazing * Tules' 
on the banks of the Sacramento River. After 
nightfall the effect produced resembled that which 
those can picture who have seen the furnaces of the 
Black Country or of Belgium belching forth flames 
in the darkness of a starless and moonless night, 
and illuminating the surrounding country with a 
lurid glare, only that in this case the flames were 
rolling and raging in an unbroken mass, extending 
over what appeared to be a limitless tract of 
country. The bon-fire was the largest and grandest 



SACRAMENTO CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 253 

I ever witnessed. I should have preferred, how- 
ever, to have seen the * Tule lands ' yellow with 
harvest to seeing them the theatre of a gigantic 
conflagration. 

While the steamer Yo-Semite was descending 
the Sacramento River, I learned some interesting 
particulars, from passengers with whom I conversed, 
relating to the agricultural capabilities and customs 
of California. My informants were practical 
farmers, and, like farmers in other quarters of 
the globe, grumbled bitterly at their lot But 
their grievances were not the grievances of un- 
certain weather and untractable soil which vex the 
hearts and try the tempers of English farmers. As 
regards the weather, they had no reason to com- 
plain. They could make their arrangements with 
perfect confidence that no outward change in tem- 
perature nor any untimely shower of rain would 
blight their prospects by ruining their crops. 
During certain months of the year they know that 
rain will fall; during the remainder of the year 
they can count upon uniformly fair weather. In- 
deed, the Califomian farmer is sure of reaping, in 
due season, the crop whereof he sows the seed. 
He is under no apprehension that if he omits to 
house his grain for a day the consequences may be 
fatal to his hopes* On the contrary, he may post- 



254 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

pone his harvest-home from day to day, and from 
week to week, with comparatiye impumtj. . His 
sheaves will not rot on the fields, owing to the 
moisture with which, after too long exposure in our 
fickle climate, they are certiun to be saturated. Of 
sheaves, indeed, he knows nothing. The ears of 
com are clipped from the stalks hj a machine, and 
gathered into heaps until the time for thrashing 
them arrives. The straw is wasted altogether, 
being got rid of as an incumbrance, instead of being 
treated as a source of profit It is set on fire. 
As the ash produced by its combustion partially 
and imperfectly subserves the purpose of manure, the 
process is a wasteful as well as barbarous one. The 
excuse for it is, that labour being scarce a loss must 
be incurred at some stage or other of the agricul- 
tural processes. If there were more hands to do 
the work much less waste would be occasioned. 
This, then, is one of the grievances of the Cali- 
fomian farmer. He is ready to pay farm labourers 
as much as a skilled mechanic is paid at home. 
What a Dorsetshire peasant gets for a week's 
labour he would readily receive in California for 
the labour of a single day. Moreover, he would 
be well fed and comfortably lodged, treated not as 
a servant but an equal, and expected to prove 
himself something nobler than a drudge touching 




SACRAMENTO CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 255 

his hat in abject submission to the squire, and 
listening meekly to the parson. To all who are 
willing to engage in field-work, the Western 
prairies of America and the vast plains of CaUfomia 
offer inducements such as can hardly be over- 
estimated or exaggerated. But those who are 
ignorant of farming, and who cannot or who will 
not toil with their hands, had better stay at home. 
It is true that they may starve in England, but it 
is quite as probable that such persons will starve in 
the United States. Next to procuring plenty of 
labour — not cheap labour, be it remarked, for he 
is both willing and able to pay good wages — the 
Califomian farmer desires to purchase cheap imple- 
ments of husbandry. This is but another way of 
stating that he is a Free-trader to the backbone. 
He finds that Liverpool is the best market for his 
grain, and he argues that no obstacle should be 
interposed to hinder his getting in return cheap 
machinery and tools from England. These state- 
ments are not put into the mouths of imaginary 
farmers, but are the statements actually made to 
me by men with whom I conversed. More than 
one avowed that his conversion to Free Trade was 
a thing of yesterday, and had its basis in self- 
interest. Until California became a large grain- 
producing country, the injury wrought by a high 



256 WESTWARD B7 RAIL. 

protective tariff did not direotlj affect its inhabi- 
tants. They are otherwise-minded now, became 
they feel that they are the victims of a policy which 
enriches a section of the American people at die 
cost of the agricultural population of the country. 
The Califomian farmers are at one with the fkrmeii 
of Illinois and other States in desiring the pro- 
clamation of Free Trade as the policy of the nation. 
Moreover, what these men desire will probably be 
brought to pass, because they bid fair to become 
the majority at the polls. 

Eighty miles below the city of Sacramento the 
Joaquin joins the Sacramento River, and the united 
streams flow into the Bay of Suisun. This bay is 
connected with the Bay of San Pablo by the Straits 
of Carquinez. On the right of the outlet from the 
Bay of Suisun is the town of Benicia, celebrated in 
Europe as the dwelling-J)lace of the * boy ' of that 
name, and notable here as the former capital of 
California. It is no longer a thriving and advancing 
place. The wharf seems falling into decay. The 
number of inhabitants is rated at 600, yet it 
still continues to enjoy a reputation of an enviable 
kind. Its schools are well-conducted and are 
largely patronised. The only law school of which 
California boasts is among the noted seminaries of 
learning that adorn Benicia. On the opposite side 



SACRAMENTO CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 267 

of the bay may be discerned Mount Diablo, a 
solitary eminence amid the surrounding plains. In 
its vicinity are extensive coal pits. The coal raised 
here is of excellent quality ; but it has one great 
drawback. The volume of dense black smoke 
emitted firom the ignited coal is much larger than 
is agreeable and desirable. A steamer or a loco- 
motive, in the furnaces of which this coal is burned, 
is distinguishable at a considerable distance by the 
blackness and quantity of smoke issuing from its 
funnel or chimney. About 1,000 tons monthly 
are raised from the pits, and the surrounding towns 
and cities are beginning to use this coal in pre- 
ference to that which is imported, and which is 
necessarily more expensive. The depth of water 
at Benicia is great enough to permit of ocean 
steamers sailing up to the wharf. Even the gigantic 
boats of the Pacific Steatn Navigation Company 
can be brought here for repairs, the company's 
foundry and machine-shop being situated at this 
place. The passengers who, at this season, descend 
the river in steamers, are rejoiced when Benicia is 
reached, because they no longer have reason to 
dread detention owing to the vessel running aground 
on the Hog's Back, or any of the other shoals 
which render the navigation of the river precarious 
and unsatisfactory. The Yo-Semite took the ground 

8 



258 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

more than once ; fortunately, however, the enpnee 
were powerful enough to move her into deeper 

water again. 

After passing through the Struts of Carquinex, 
which are eight miles in length, the Bay of Sin 
Pablo is entered. This baj is fifteen miles broad 
and twenty long, and opens at its lower eztremitj 
into the great bay on which San Francisco is situ- 
ated. The Sim set while the steamer was ploughing 
her way through those noble sheets of water. The 
sky was of a brilliant blue, and not a cloud £mmed 
or concealed its brightness. As the sun rapidlj 
sank behind the range of moimtaius which lines the 
coast of the Pacific the horizon was flushed with a 
soft rosy light, which the eye, accustomed to the 
varied splendours of the masses of golden and purple 
clouds that constitute the glory of a sunset in a 
Northern clime, Wews with an admiration mingled 
with wonder. The rapidity of the change from 
bright sunlight to pale starlight was still a novelty 
to me. Of twilight, that charming isthmus between 
the glare of the day and the gloom and mystery of 
night, there was hardly a trace. Scarcely had the 
last glimpse of the lord of light been caught than 
the deep blue heavens were glittering with stars. 
It is probable that the strangeness of the lovely 
spectacle made it more fascinating to me than to 



SACRAMENTO CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 259 

other passengers on board the steamer. To them 
it was literally an every-day occurrence. Each 
returning evening resembles this one, and they were 
not excited by a sight which was stale and common- 
place to them. Moreover, they had an excuse for 
preferring the shelter of the cabin to a seat on the 
open deck. The breeze from the Pacific blows at 
nightfall with a coolness almost too great for those 
who have been oppressed by the heat of the day. 
Besides, a slight swell made the Yo-Semite rock 
with more violence than was perfectly agreeable to 
the majority of the passengers. She was now 
traversing the waters of San Francisco's unrivalled 
bay, and the waves rolling in through the Golden 
Gate demonstrated to the incredulous that the 
Pacific has breakers which are a match for the 
billows that rear their crests on the most stormy 
seas. About fifteen miles intervene between the 
wharf at San Francisco and the outlet from the Bay 
of San Pablo. At a considerable distance from the 
landing-place a fine view of the city is obtained. 
Seen as I saw it for the first time the appearance of 
San Francisco is enchanting. Built on a hill slope, 
up which many streets run to the top, and illumined 
as these streets were with innumerable gas lamps, 
the effect was that of a huge dome ablaze with 
lamps arranged in lines and circles. Those who 

8 2 



260 WESTWAED BY BAIL. 

have stood in Princes-street at night, and gased 
upon the Old Town and Castle of Edinbnrgh, csn 
form a very correct notion of the £urj-like spectach. 
Expecting to find San Francisco a citj of wonden, 
I was not disappointed when it seemed to mj €jeB 
a citj of magic^ such a citj as Aladdin might htte 
ordered the genii to create in order to astonish ind 
dazzle the spectator. I was warned by those lAam 
personal experience of the city had taught to dis- 
tinguish glitter from substance, not to expect tint 
the reality of the morrow would fulfil the promiN 
of the evening. Some of the parts which now ap- 
peared the most fascinating were said to be the 
least attractive when viewed by day. Still, the 
panorama was deprived of none of its glories by 
these whispers of well-meant warning. Those who 
wish to have a favourable impression when they 
first behold San Francisco are strongly advised to 
view it from the deck of a steamer when the fuU- 
orbed stars twinkling overhead are almost rivalled 
by the myriads of gas-lights illuminating the land. 

If this spectacle be poetry the landing is prose. 
The din and bustle soon recall the errant mi0^ 
from aerial flights of fancy to the harsh realities ^^ 
terrestrial life. A Babel of tongues rises from H^^ 
crowded landing-stage as soon as the steamer h-^ 
been moored. Hardly has the passenger set fcr^^ 



SACRAMENTO CITY TO THE GOLDEN GATE. 261 

on shore than he becomes the prey of men intent 
upon earning a gratuity by doing, or professing to 
render, him a service. The importunities of the 
toutets, porters, and cabmen are not only quite as 
tormenting as those of their brethren at Calais or 
Boulogne, but this bidding for employment is also 
in marked contrast to what prevails in other Ameri- 
can cities. The stranger who disembarks at New 
York has to oak the hangers-on at the wharf to 
carry his luggage, and he might have Icmg to wut 
before they voluntarily pressed their services upon 
him. It cannot be doubted that the stories which 
once were true about the independence of the 
dwellers in San Francisco have ceased to be appli- 
cable and characteristic. At one time a new arrival 
is said to have offered a shabbily-dressed man a 
dollar to carry his bag a short distance for him. 
He received the reply, ' I will give an ounce of gold 
to see you carry it yourself.' The new-comer 
thereupon acted as his own porter, returned and 
claimed the ounce of gold, which he received, and 
was in addition treated to a bottle of champagne, 
for which his entert^ner had to pay tlie value of 
another ounce. At present the tables are turned, 
and the supply of labour is in excess of the demand. 
I bad not long to wait before I discovered that if 
certiun kinds of labour were abundant, the prices 



262 WESrrWABI) BY BAIL. 

paid for labour generally were exorbitant. AU 
payments in California are made in coin^ and they 
are nearly as high as the corresponding payments 
made elsewhere in depreciated 'greenbacks.* A 
drive through the streets disenchanted me as to the 
fairy-like character of the city. Indeed, the streets, 
private houses, shops, warehouses, and hotels jtn- 
sented no remarkable and exceptional appearance. 
The journey had been made too rapidly to make 
the aspect of a large and populous city a thing to 
be beheld again with spedal satisfiu^on. Amcfog 
the marvels wrought by the Pacific Kailway is the 
comparative annihilation of ideas as to distance in 
the minds of those who travel by it across the 
continent of America. Some time elapses, after 
arriving at San Francisco, before the fact is fully 
realized that New York is three thousand and 
Chicago two thousand miles distant The traveller 
who has come thus far thinks it but a trifle to 
continue his journey in the track of the setting 
sun, even though aware that he would have to 
sail for ten or twenty days before finding a halting- 
place at Honolulu, or Yokohama, or Hong KoDg. 



263 



XX. 

THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 

The Golden Gate was one of the many important 
discoveries made by Sir Francis Drake. He spoke 
eulogistically of tlie bay into which that opening 
in this rockbound coast furnished an entrance, and 
in token of his gratification with the surrounding 
country he named it New Albion. The Spaniards, 
however, were the first settlers in Califomia. Till 
the year 1847, what is now known as San Francisco 
was called Yerha Buena. In like manner, Sacra- 
mento bore the name of Nueva Helvetia, Even 
these names are being forgotten, just as all traces 
of Spanish settlement are gradually dying out 
When Mr. Dana came here in 1835, but a single 
wooden shanty occupied the site of the present city 
of San Francisco. As long ago as that year, and 
when the value of this place had not been ascer- 
tained, Mr. Dana made the following entry in the 
diary, which, under the title of * Two Years before 
the Mast,' was given to the world in 1840: — *If 



264 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

California ever becomes a prosperous country^ this 
bay will be the centre of its prosperity. The 
abundance of wood and water; the extreme fer- 
tility of its shores ; the excellence of its climate, 
which is as near to being perfect as any in the 
world, and its facilities for navigation, affording 
the best anchoring grounds in the whole western 
coast of America — all fit it for a place of great 
importance.' This prediction deserves to be ranked 
with the most successful specimens of fulfilled pro- 
phecy. Ten years later the population had in- 
creased from one man to an hundred and fifty 
souls. According to the most recent estimate the 
inhabitants of San Francisco now number 170,000. 
This rapidity of growth is wonderful ; yet it is not un- 
exampled in the United States. Other things than 
the increase of the population and the enlargement 
of the city have made the growth of San Francisco 
an event without a parallel, either in America or in 
any other quarter of the habitable globe. Its name 
had become synonymous for all that was most 
shameless in profligacy, for all that was basest in 
depravity, for all that was wanton and brutal in 
ruffianism. In the open day men were murdered 
with impunity. At night the property of the citi- 
zens was at the mercy of the lawless. The scum 
of Polynesia, desperadoes from Australia, bullies 



THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 265 

and blackguards from the wild State of Missouri^ 
Spanish cut-throats from the cities of the Pacific 
Coasts dissolute women and reckless adventurers 
from the slums of Europe, congregated in San 
Francisco, and there plied their several avocations 
and followed their devious courses in defiance of 
the prohibitions of a law which had lost its terrors 
for them, and in disregard of any other check save 
the revolver or the bowie knife. At that time, San 
Francisco was one-half a brothel, and one-half a 
gaming hell. There came a crisis in the annals of 
the city when the action of the law was forcibly 
impeded, in order that the reign of law might be 
restored. As the old Romans submitted to a Dic» 
tator, so did the citizens of San Francisco tempo- 
rarily and voluntarily submit to a dictatorship, 
under the name of a Vigilance Committee. This 
body discharged the fourfold functions of police, 
judge, jury, and executioner. A short shrift and 
a lofty gallows was the fate of the criminal whom 
they took in the act of committing robbery or 
murder. The remedy was strong and dangerous. 
But the symptoms were so threatening as to in- 
spire fear lest what men call civilization should 
cease to exist, and no peril incurred in applying 
the remedy was comparable to the risk of allow- 
ing the disease to spread and become intensified. 



266 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 

Never, perhaps, in the history of the world did the 
result more completely justify the means employed 
than in the case of San Francisco. The Yigilance 
Committee discharged its duties with nnrdent- 
ing severity so long as professional thieves and 
systematic murderers were at large triumphing in 
their crimes. As soon, however, as order was 
restored, the Yigilance Conmiittee decreed its own 
dissolution, and the dispensers of smnmary justice 
hecame conspicuous for their obedience to the ad- 
ministrators of the law. From being a by-w<»rd for 
its lawlessness and licentiousness, the city of San 
Francisco has become, in little more than ten years, 
as moral as Philadelphia, and far more orderly than 
New York. 

With the knowledge of what San Francisco had 
been, and unacquainted by personal observation 
with what it had become, my first walk along its 
streets on the morning after my arrival was one of 
peculiar interest. I went along Montgomery-street, 
which is the Regent-street and Lombard-street, or 
Broadway and Wall-street, of this city. It is 
lined with handsome shops. The pavement is 
crowded with pedestrians, the majority of whom 
have the anxious look and the hurried gait of 
business men, while the minority are ordinary sight- 
seers, or persons who walk therein in order to be 



THE QUEEN aXY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 267 

seen. Bankers' offices are very numerous. Their 
windows are filled with the paper-money of all 
nations^ from the plain white notes of the Bank of 
England to the elaborately figured ^greenbacks' 
of the United States. These * greenbacks' are 
not current in California. The State stretched its 
legal rights to the extreme point of refusing to 
accept as currency what Congress had proclaimed 
legal tenders. Nothing passes current here save 
gold and silver coin. Even the nickel and copper 
cents of the Eastern States are unknown. They 
are looked upon as curiosities. Men wear them on 
their watch chains just as some Englishmen wear 
* spade' guineas. On my arrival at the hotel, a 
Califomian who had brought some of these coins 
from the East was besieged with inquiries for them. 
Many persons had never seen one, and to them 
they were as great novelties as African cowries 
would be to us. Small sums are reckoned in ^ bits/ 
which are imaginary coins having the nominal value 
of twelve and a half cents. Indeed, the absence 
of single cents causes something worse than con- 
fusion. A newspaper costs ten cents. Suppose 
that a quarter dollar, equal to twenty-five cents, 
is presented in payment for the newspaper, the 
seller will probably return a dime, which is equal 
to ten cents. Thus fifteen cents have been paid 



268 WSSTWABD BT RAIL. 

instead of ten. His excwie will be that he baa not 
any half dimes, these coins being eztramely aoaroei 
In California this is taken as a thing of coozae by 
the natives and the reddents. The Tiaitony how* 
ever, are apt to r^;ard it as an imposition. The 
gold coin generally current is the twenty-doUac 
piece. It is about the size of half a orown^ is 
worth nearly five pounds sterling, and is a very 
beautiful coin. The inhabitants, who are aooos- 
tomed to high prices, part with these coins fiur 
more readily than we part with soverdgns. In 
addition to paper money and specie, the windows 
of the offices of the bullion dealers usuaUy contain 
a display of specimens of gold or silver ores. These 
are said in the labels affixed to them to be very 
rich in the precious metals. But statements of 
this sort seldom impose on old and experienced 
Califomians. About the richness of lodes they 
are as sceptical as cynics are about the existence of 
imalloyed and genuine patriotism. Just as, with 
many, ^patriot' has become a synonyme for im- 
postor or place-hunter, so has a lode of great 
reputed value come to be regarded by the mass 
of Califomians a. worth little more than a large 
property in the moon. The difficulty consists in 
ascertaining with certainty whether or not the 
specimens have been really found in a particular 



THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 269 

spot, whether they fairly represent the lode, and 
whether, if they have been dug out of the ground 
in question, they had not been discovered by those 
who, like the diggers in the * Antiquary,' had con- 
cealed the specimens for the purpose of duping the 
credulous. To prepare a mine in such a way that 
it may appear to be extremely rich in valuable 
mineral is called ^salting' it. At this art many 
persons in California, Nevada, and Montana are 
practised adepts, and the desire of the majority is 
to escape falling into the trap ingeniously and care- 
fully baited for them. When these things were 
explained to me, I ceased to wonder at the reluc- 
tance of the capitalists here to secure for themselves 
shares in the gold and silver mines, which were 
offered for sale on the most advantageous terms. 

At its northern end Montgomery-street extends 
to the top of a steep hill. The latter portion is so 
precipitous that carriages cannot ascend it. A 
flight of steps enables the foot passenger to mount 
with comparative comfort. From the top a com- 
manding view is had of the bay, the opposite coast, 
and the business quarter of the city. I was sur- 
prised to see the greater part of the lower town 
enveloped in a dense cloud of &moke. A large 
number of tall chimneys were emitting volumes of 
smoke such as in London would entail heavy fines 




270 WESTWABB B7 BAIL. 

on their proprietors The reason was that Mount 
Diablo coal is burned in the fbrnacea, and ihiB ooal» 
as I have already said, has the drawback of giraig 
forth much black smoke during combustion. The 
darkness and dinginess of die city surprised me 
less, knowing, as I did, that die coal was in finih» 
than did the sight of so many mannftctories, I 
had supposed San Francisco to be a second Liyep- 
pool : I was not prepared to find that it was also a 
second Birmingham. 

On inquiry I learned that die inhabitants of thii 
city take pride in the fact that the manufactories 
of California are sufficient to meet nearly aU the 
requirements of her citizens. There are several 
woollen mills here. The magnitude of the work 
done in these mills may be inferred when I state 
that in one the amount paid in wages is SfiOOL 
monthly, and that upwards of one million and a 
half pounds of the raw material are annually con- 
verted into woollen fabrics. Indeed, the blankets 
and flannels of Califomia deserve a reputation even 
more extended than that which they enjoy. In 
fineness of texture they resemble the delicate hand- 
wrought fabrics for which Shetland is famous^ 
rather than the corresponding articles produced by 
machinery in English mills. As railway wrappers 
and overcoats this blanket material is much in 



THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 271 

vogue here, and certainly there is nothing I have 
seen which can be said to surpass it. In these 
woollen mills the operatives are chiefly Chinese. 
In some, employment is given to hundreds of 
women ; but the rule is to employ Chinamen in 
the proportion of two-thirds to that of one-third 
white men. The boots and shoes which the Cali- 
fomians wear are not merely home-made, but the 
leather is a home product also. One large esta- 
blishment, ^ The Pacific Tannery and Boot and Shoe 
Factory,' combines the double business of preparing 
the leather and working it up for wear. This is a 
marvellous change since the day when the raw 
hides were shipped in order to be carried to New 
England, returning after many days in the form of 
boots and shoes ; and what adds to the wonder is, 
that little more than thirty years have elapsed 
since the period when the only commerce of Cali- 
fornia was the export of these raw hides. The 
cotton mills are less flourishing than the woollen 
ones. The supply of home-grown cotton is but 
smalL A large quantity is imported from the 
Atlantic States, and it is employed in producing 
the coarser varieties of cotton goods. In other 
departments of industry an activity not less notable 
is persistently manifested. There are saw manu- 
factories which rival those of Sheffield ; locomotive 



# ■ ^«> 



272 WE3TWABB BT RAIL. 

and Bteam-engine works which oompare fiiTonnbly 
with those of Philadelphia and Newcastle ; rolling 
mills, which are admitted to be most complete in 
their arrangements. The iron safes, mannfactnred 
by one firm, have a high reputation, and are said 
to defy alike the ingenuity and force of tlie 
burglar. J£ I mentioned all the mechanical in- 
dustries which flourish here, I should fill a long list 
with names and descriptions. Suffice it, then, to 
say that the most important are well represented, 
and that aU are fiourishing. 

In addition to the manufactories just named, and 
in which San Francisco is the competitor with 
many cities in America and England, there are 
branches of industry in which California has entered 
the lists with France and Germany, with Italy and 
Asia. One of these is silk culture. It has been 
proved that * silk raising ' is possible throughout the 
entire State, from the mountains on the east to the 
sea shore on the west, and from Arizona Territory 
on the south to the State of Oregon on the north. 
The climate is said to be so favourable to the pro- 
cess as to lighten the labours of those who have to 
superintend it, and that one person in California 
can do the work of six in Europe. If the state- 
ments made are trustworthy, and if the end should 
not belie the promise of the beginning, there is good 



THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 273 

ground for the prediction that the State of Cali- 

fomia will yet become the largest silk-producing 

• 

region in the world. Silk- weaving has already been 
attempted, and machinery for carrying on operations 
on a large scale is in course of construction. The 
success of the silk culture has been placed beyond 
doubt. But the cultivation of the tea plant and the 
production of tea are still in the experimental stage. 
I found no fears entertained as to the result. 
Hitherto all has gone well. The Japanese, who 
have come hither to cultivate the tea plant, have 
succeeded as far as they have gone, the plants having 
thriven as rapidly as could have been desired, and 
giving promise of yielding a satisfactory tea crop 
when they come to maturity two years hence. The 
culture of the vine, like the production of silk, 
has passed out of the domain of experiment, and 
acquired rank among the most remunerative and 
successful of Califomian industries. Looking east- 
ward across the bay, extensive vineyards and 
orchards may be discerned. On inquiry, it is as- 
certained that year after year the area of land 
devoted to the growth of vines is extending in 
various parts of the State. Most pleasing of all 
is the fact that the land thus devoted to the grape 
has not been withdrawn from the corn plant. It 
resembles those patches of soil which, on the banks 

T 



274 wiasrrwABD by bail. 

of the Bhine, cairaot be used for any other piiipoBe 
than to grow vines, and which as yineyaids are 
valuable beyond measure. Before being set apart 
for vine-growing purposes the land here is valued at 
25 cents the acre; after the vines have come fo 
maturity its value rises to more dollars than the 
cents for which it was purchased. A notion of the 
extent of the wine trade may be formed firom this, 
that the estimate for 1868 was seven millions of 
gallons of wine as the product of the vintage. In 
1869 the yield was expected to be larger siilli 
though 1869 is not considered a good year. 

The Jesuit missionaries first planted vines in 
California^ and the wine made from tliese grapes is 
by no means the worst among the wines produced 
now. Nevertheless, in 1861 the State authorities 
resolved upon importing cuttings from the vines 
in the most celebrated wine-producing districts of 
Europe, and hundreds of different varieties were im- 
ported. Of these 250 are now in fruit-bearing con- 
dition, and all of them have retained their European 
characteristics, with this exception, that here the 
grapes ripen more thoroughly, and are richer in 
saccharine matter than the grapes of Europe. 
Among the Califomian wines are some resembling 
sherry, madeira, claret, hock, burgundy, port, and 
champagne. The sparkUng wine is distinguishable 




THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 275 

from the best among French champagnes only in 
being newer and less perfectly matured. None 
have those drawbacks which render Cape wines 
unpopular. I do not wish it to be supposed that 
all the wine made in California is palatable and 
pleasant. The first bottle I tasted in a San Fran- 
cisco hotel was disagreeable and disappointing. I 
have been told, however, that two systems prevail 
here, and that the results of each diifer widely and 
materially. The one consists in making wine from 
the grapes grown in the vineyard possessed by an 
individual or a company, the other in purchasing all 
wine of a certain quality and standard from the 
growers, and then preparing it for the market. The 
latter is the practice of the most notable firms in 
the wine-growing districts of France and Germany. 
The large establishment in Jackson-street, San 
Francisco, of which Mr. Landsberger is the head, 
is conducted on the European model. For the pro- 
duction of what he honestly calls sparkling Cali- 
fornia wine, Mr. Landsberger has already made 
himself a name. It is but two years and a-half 
since he first began to supply this wine, and he now 
produces 12,000 bottles monthly. For other wines, 
such as port and white and red Sonoma, the monthly 
demand is equal to five hundred dozen. The spark- 
ling wine is his greatest triumph. Were it not so 

T 2 



276 WEBTWABD JtT BAIL. 

new, it might be noiked wiUi ■ome of tba Wet 
European vintages. Chinamen are employed in the 
several stages of mannfactmre. They are not qniok 
workers, but they are painstaking and tnutworthy. 
Whatever they do is done thoroughly. One ad^- 
vantage this establishment has over those on the 
Rhine, the Moselle, and in the Champagne dis- 
trict, consists in dark underground cellan being 
dispensed with, the several processes being oairied 
on and the rows of bottles stacked in large and lig^ 
and airy apartments. A change in the barometer is 
not dreaded. No precautions have to be taken to 
keep the temperature from suddenly rising too high 
or as suddenly falling very low. This adds to the 
ease with which the operations can be carried on, 
while it conduces to the perfect maturing of the 
wine. A few years hence the wines which have 
been made and kept here will rival if not far surpass 
the wines imported from Europe. They have the 
attraction of cheapness as well as that of genuineness 
and excellence in quality. They cost one-half less 
than imported wines. Strange to say, notwithstand- 
ing all these recommendations the chief market for 
Califomian wines is not the State of California. 
They are readily purchased in Chicago and New 
York^ while in San Francisco they are not half so 
popular as the more expensive, but not better wines 




THE QUEEN CITY OF TJECE PACIFIC COAST. 277 

which have been brought from Europe, and which are 
sold at a high price. At present wheat is the only 
native article of produce which is exported to Eng- 
land on a large scale. The trade is still in its infancy. 
Not till very recently did the farmers of California 
learn that Liverpool was the best market for their 
grain. On account of its extreme dryness and its 
general superiority over the grain of other countries, 
the wheat grown in California sells at a higher 
price than the wheat which is grown elsewhere. This 
discovery has stimulated production. In 1860 the 
wheat crop was 5,928,470 bushels. It was more 
than double this amount in 1865. In 1866 it 
amounted to 14,080,752 bushels. It may now be 
rated at twenty millions of bushels, with the proba^ 
bility of indefinite and continuous increase. Thanks 
to Free Trade the poor of London are not only 
blessed with a cheap loaf, but they are certain to 
have the farmers of icy Russia competing with the 
farmers of sunny California in order to supply them 
with wheat. 

A walk through the markets of this city suffices 
to convince the visitor that in this State the neces- 
saries of life are furnished in unexampled profusion, 
and on a most extensive scale. Fish and game 
are plentiful and cheap. All the common fruits 
and vegetables are to be had for a trifle, while fruits 



278 WE8TWABD B7 RAIL. 

which are luxuries elsewhere are here witfaiii the 
reach of the multitude. Nor is this abundance the 
most noteworthy circumstance. The change from 
summer to winter is discerned with difficulty in the 
market-place. As far as the supply of v^petables 
and of most fruits is concerned there is neither 
seed-time nor harvest. In this faroured city pota- 
toes are always new, and strawberries always in 
season. The size of many products of the garden 
and orchard iA gigantic The huge turnips, cab- 
bages, pears, and apples which at home form the 
subjects of paragraphs during the dull season, are 
here substantial and purchasable realities. Now 
and then an unusually large natural product is sent 
to the newspaper offices of San Francisco for the 
inspection of the proprietors. I was in the office 
of the Alta California when some stalks of Indian 
com which had been grown at San Diego, a locality 
which wiseacres had pronounced unsuited for the 
growth of the plant, were examined and measured. 
The tallest were 17^ feet; the others were 15. 
Fancy a field covered with stalks like these ! Yet 
it would not be more extraordinary than the groves 
of trees at Mariposa or Calevaras, of which the 
trunks are 30 feet in diameter and 300 feet in 
height Indeed, everything is on a large scale here. 
The Bay is 50 miles long ; the steamships which 



THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 279 

ply between this port and China or Japan are of 
4^000 tons burden; some farms cover an area of 
30,000 acres. A farmer, when speaking to me 
about his affairs, incidentally mentioned that he was 
then holding 120 tons weight of wheat in the hope 
that prices would rise at Liverpool. He mentioned 
this not as a boast, but merely as a piece of informa- 
tion. Indeed, the contrast between the Californians 
and the New Englanders is very marked. The 
latter are remarkable for ingenuity in detail. They 
beat the world in producing machines which enable 
one man or woman to do the work of many hands. 
The Californians have invented no machine for peel- 
ing apples or shelling peas, but they have carried a 
railway over the Sierras, have filled up a portion of 
their great Bay, in order to add new wharves and 
streets to San Francisco, and have levelled hills, in 
order to make the streets of that city more con- 
venient and the dwellings more commodious. 

The public buildings are not objects of great 
note, yet several of the banks and merchants' offices 
are noble erections. Four of the hotels are equal 
in size and arrangement to the largest and best 
appointed hotels in New York. The churches are 
the most striking and imposing edifices in the city. 
The Jews of San Francisco have erected one of 
the finest synagogues in the United States. There 



280 WfiSTWABD BT BAIL. 

are two Roman Catholic Cathedrala. All the best 
known sects of Protestants have their own places of 
worship, the churches of the Episcopalians being 
the most attractivcj and the Episcopalians them- 
selves forming the most numerous sect Thej 
occupy the place in California which the Umtarians 
occupy in New England. I confess to have been 
surprised to find the press of San Frandsco not 
merely flourishing, but meriting a eulogy -whkik 
cannot justly be conferred on the press of New 
York as a whole. The articles in the Alia Cafi- 
forniay for example, are animated by a praiseworthy 
spirit of impartiality, and are singularly free from 
blemishes due to the prejudice which hinders the 
comprehension of anything outside the writer's 
narrow sphere of personal experience and limited 
observation. Having complex problems to solve 
with relation to China and Japan, and finding that 
these problems are treated by the journalists of the 
Eastern States in a flippant and foolish style, the 
journalists of San Francisco are not prone to regard 
the opinions of the New York papers on subjects 
of general concern as worthy of implicit confidence 
and unalloyed respect. Unfortunately, the journals 
of New York are supposed in Europe to represent 
the American press, and the least reputable of these 
journals is generally, though erroneously, considered 



THE QUEEN CITY OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 281 

to be the leader of that press. In addition to the 
Alta Califomiay there is the Bulletin^ also a first- 
class paper^ while the Morning Call is a journal 
filled with chit-chat and gossip, retailed with a view 
to piquancy and effect, and without marked con- 
sideration for the rules of etiquette and the canons 
of good taste. Among weekly journals, the Golden 
City and Sunday Mercury are what Americans 
would call ^ real live papers.' A monthly magazine 
entitled the Overland Monthly has recently been 
established. Already, it is acknowledged to be one 
of the best among American periodicals. Severa 
English periodicals of repute are infinitely inferior 
to it. With considerable difficulty could many 
magazines be named which are both better written 
and more worthy of being read through from the 
first page to the last. Its articles on the affairs of 
China, Japan, and of the Pacific slope, are filled 
with details which are invaluable. Having become 
acquainted with the press of this city, I am disposed 
to concur with the compiler of a guide-book, who, 
after naming the several journals, and indicating 
their character, thus concludes his remarks: — *If 
among these papers you can find nothing to suit 
you, nothing new, why, then, we advise you to read 
the Bible, and profit by its teachings.' 
When the citizens of San Francisco are anxious 



282 WESTWABD BY SAIL. 

to exchange the air of the city for that of the open 
country^ they can easily gratify their longing. If 
they sail across the bay to Ahimeda or Oakland, 
they are in a beautifal country and surrounded by 
new scenes. Santa Clara and Saa Matteo, on the 
south, can be reached by rail, and there sights which 
recall the magic gardens of the Arabian Nights 
may be beheld and enjoyed. A shorter and more 
popular excursion is to the Cliff House, which is 
five miles distant from the dty, and built on the 
shore of the Pacific Ocean. In front of the house 
may be seen the sea lions, a species of seal, gam- 
bolling on the rocks, over which the heavy ocean 
swell rolls and foams. In the house itself a pleasant 
meal may be enjoyed. Indeed, the Cliff House is 
to San Francisco what the Trafalgar at Greenwich 
is to London, and what Taft's at Point Shirley is to 
Boston. 



283 



XXI. 

THE • TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAK FRANCISCO. 

Oke afternoon, after having been treated to drinks 
at the bar of the Cosmopolitan Hall by Californian 
friends, I had some interesting talk with a gentle- 
man to whom I had been introduced, and with 
whom, as with several others, I had formed a drink- 
ing acquaintance. He was a man of middle age, of 
quiet demeanour and pleasant manners. He re- 
sembled a gentleman who had retired from business 
after having made his fortune as a banker or a 
solicitor. Like the rest of his countrymen he con- 
versed with fluency on the most various topics, from 
the prospects of gold-mining to the nature of the 
Alabama claims. He resembled his countrymen 
also in being ' as * cocksure about everything ' as 
Lord Melbourne asserted that Macaulay was. I 
had previously been fortunate enough to make the 
acquaintance of distinguished lawyers, and of one 
who was about to leave the bar for the career of 
diplomacy, having been appointed United States 



284 WE8TWABD BT BAIL. 

* ■ ■ 

Minister at an Eastern ocrart Between -these 
gentlemen^ one of whom now ooeuptes the highest 
judicial office in the gift of the dtiaens 'of Smi 
Frandsoo, the Minister to whom I have r e fer red^ 
others who were considered notable men hy their 
fellow-countrymen, snd the gentleman of agreeable 
talk and smooth demeanour, no external dtSerisnoe 
was perceptible. Shortly before parting he told me 
that he was engaged in the pasteboard busineaa, 
and that I might possibly Hke to yisit his establisb- 
ment. As I had come here in order to see every* 
thing of a novel and interesting kind, I expressed 
my readiness to pay a visit to his pasteboard manu- 
factory. Perceiving that I had misapprehended 
him, my acquaintance entered into an explanation, 
in the course of which he asked me if I had ever 
heard of Faro, and if I knew the meaning of 
* Fighting the Tiger.' Soon afterwards I learned 
that I was conversing with the keeper of one of the 
most notable among the gaming hells of San Fran- 
cisco. He was a prosperous man and a respected 
citizen. He courteously invited me to visit his 
establishment, which, he said, I should find open all 
the night He added that he would rather I did 
not play, as he should regret were I to lose money 
after having come at his invitation. These kindly 
sentiments I reciprocated, assuring him that he 



•TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 285 

would not grieve more bitterly and sincerely than I 
should were I to lose my money while madly en- 
gaged in * Fighting the Tiger.' The following 
description of what I saw will give a fair notion 
of these banks as a whole, without reference to any 
particular one. 

Admittance into a Faro Bank is not always a 
matter of course. At Sacramento, indeed, the one 
which I visited was accessible to any who ascended 
the stairs leading to iU All of them appear to be 
on the first floor, both in Sacramento and San 
Francisco. The visitor rings a bell, and before the 
door is opened he is generally reconnoitred through 
a small aperture or grating. As soon as the 
guardian is satisfied, either from appearances, or 
from personal knowledge, or from the inspection of 
a card in the proprietor's handwriting, that no ob- 
jection exists, the door is opened, the visitor takes 
a few steps forward, and is brought face to face 
with the ^ Tiger.' He sees what he is told is a 
Faro table. This table is small, and will not ac- 
commodate more than six or eight persons. The 
dealer occupies one side, and sits with his back to 
the wall. Facing him, one of the players holds a 
marking-board, on which the cards, whereof the 
chances are exhausted, are scored for the informa- 
tion alike of the players and the lookers-on. A 



286 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

double row of cards, with the faces uppermost^ is 
fastened to the table. On these cards the stakes 
are placed. The cards in play are dealt from a 
small box which holds them, so that but one at a 
time can be separated from the pack. Two cards 
are dealt in succession — the one being put along- 
side the box, the other a little way from it. The 
card which falls either near to, or away from the 
box determines the result of the stakes in the row 
of cards nearest to or farthest from the dealer. 
Indeed, the game is but a complicated Blind 
Hookey. It is, perhaps, even better adapts for 
ensuring the loss of money on the part of the 
players than Roulette or Rouge-et-Noir. I was 
told that the diflSculty of cheating is greater at Faro 
than at other games of chance, and this consideration 
has tended to render it popular. The Califomians 
may be great gamesters, but they naturally prefer a 
game played with some regard for fairness, or one 
which they style a ^ square ' game. In some of the 
rooms I visited the coloured photo-lithograph of a 
Bengal tiger's head was affixed to the wall above 
the dealer, and facing the players. The blood-shot 
eyes, the rows of sharp fangs visible through the 
half-parted jaws, the general aspect of infinite 
ferocity which marks the tiger about to pounce 
upon his prey, were all effectively rendered in this 



•TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 287 

picture. It was at oiice a symbol and a warnings 
yet the hidden meaning excited no thought, and the 
implied menace no dread. 

As a rule, money was not staked. The dealer or 
banker sells ivory counters to the several players. 
These counters are of different colours and sizes, so 
as to represent different values. I suppose the 
reason for using counters to be the evasion of the 
law against playing for money. In all the hells the 
costume of the keepers and dealers, or rather the 
absence of it, was the same, shirt sleeves being their 
full dress. Those who superintended the game also 
sat without their coats. The shirts of all were 
spotless. The superintendents, dealers, and game- 
sters all smoked cigars. Nor were their manners 
more formal than their apparel. All the company 
seemed to be on terms of intimacy ; each one not 
only addressed the other by his Christian name, but 
as Tom, Dick, or Harry. What conversation there 
was consisted of trivial remarks of a personal kind« 
Between the dealers and the players there appeared 
to exist a perfect understanding that the work in 
hand was pure matter of business. A player some- 
times uttered an ejaculation to the effect that his 
luck was bad, and received from the dealer a few 
pithy words of commiseration. The losers, who ap- 
peared to be in a large majority, took their mishaps 



288 WE3TWABD BY RAIL. 

most philosophicaUy, while the rare winnen did not 
exult in their good fortune. Indeed, ' Fighting the 
Tiger' in San Fnmcuoo seems to be a pastime 
which, if neither harmless nor praiseworthy, cannot 
fairly be denounced as firaught with immediate evU 
consequences. Were I to venture on an explana- 
tion of this, I should attribute it to the fact that 
those who play at Faro have acquired their money 
very easily and rapidly, and know that if they 
would but take the like pains they might again 
enrich themselves by speculation, or by drawing a 
prize in that lottery which here goes by the name of 
gold and silver mining. To such persons, and 
under these conditions, gaming is almost a matter of 
course. It is simply another form of the every-day 
life which men of business consider natural and 
legitimate. It cannot be said that there are extra- 
neous provocations to spur on the jaded gamesters. 
In some of the hells a supper is provided, but this is 
merely what their frequenters can get gratis at 
nearly every bar- room. A drink may be had for the 
asking ; but this, again, is not a special incentive, 
but a part of the ordinary social arrangements. 
Califomians do not seem happy unless they are 
either taking drinks or treating their friends and 
acquaintances to them. That they should find 
drinks provided for them in the gaming hells is 



* TIGERS * AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 289 

pierely what they consider themselves entitled to 
expect I believe that the law forbids gaming, and 
I have been informed that the aknount of gaming 
indulged in now is but a fraction of what was 
openly permitted a few years ago. What goes on 
at present is supposed to be continued in defiance 
of the law. Perhaps the authorities wink at what 
they cannot entirely repress, and make no sign so 
long as public scandal is eschewed. One of the 
keepers of a Faro Bank told me that the police had 
sometimes put the law in force against him, but 
that the only serious result was a payment by him 
of 1,000 dollars as a fine. This diminished his 
profits, but neither this penalty nor any other 
punishment entailed the closing of his establishment 
and his own ruin. Lest it be supposed that the 
prevalence of gaming proves the utter demoralisa- 
tion of the Califomians, I must add that Faro 
Banks are to be found elsewhere throughout the 
Union, and that in no city are they more flourishing 
than in New York. I have described them as they 
exist in San Francisco and Sacramento, because 
they are among the sights of these places. * Fight- 
ing the Tiger ' is an occupation which is usually 
conducted without any bloodshed, with but little 
loss of temper, and with no more marked result 
than that of furnishing a practical illustration to 

u 



290 WESTWABB BT BAIL. 

i 

the old saw that foob and their money are soon 
parted. 

While assured that I might enter a gaming hell 
without dread of piekpockets, sharpen, or bullies^ I 
was told by the same persons that to explore the 
Chinese quarter was a very different and &t more 
dangerous undertaking. Sir Charles Dilke relates 
in his ' Greater Britain/ that when he went tfarongfa 
this quarter he was accompanied by two detecti¥es» 
who, if they uded his researches, also acted as a 
drag on his movements. Holding the opinion that 
when the gratification of curiosity, not the prosecu- 
tion of business, is the object, guides are incum- 
brances, I resolved upon seeing as much as I could 
without presenting my introduction to the police 
authorities, and availing myself of the aid which 
they would doubtless have rendered with readiness 
and courtesy. An experienced Califomian of my 
acquaintance, whose company I requested, spoke in 
strong terms of the folly of running the risk pro- 
posed, and refused to join me. I thought then that 
he exaggerated the danger, in the same way that 
dwellers among the Alps and the Pyrenees are 
wont to exaggerate the peril of crossing a glacier or 
scaling a mountain, and now I feel convinced that 
I was right. 

In every street Chinamen are to be seen engaged 



k 



* TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 291 

in some occupation of a menial kind. They may 
be met with ascending the stairs of the hotels with 
baskets filled with clean linen ; in some hotels they 
officiate as servants. According to a return made 
to the State Legislature, the number of Chinese on 
the Pacific slope is 89,500. What proportion of 
them inhabits San Francisco is a matter of un- 
certainty. Some persons estimate it at thirty 
thousand. But, though San Francisco is not a 
very populous city, yet, as it covers a vast area, 
thirty thousand Chinamen might be quartered in 
one of its long streets or spacious squares without 
attracting general notice, or without being often 
seen by the pedestrian walking along the principal 
thoroughfares. Let any one, however, turn acci- 
dentally or intentionally to the left after traversing 
Montgomery-street almost to its northern extre- 
mity, and he is suddenly transported into a new 
region. A few steps behind him are the shops, 
dwellings, manners, apparel and language of Eng- 
land and America, while before his eyes are the 
people, the shops, the houses of the natives of that 
curious and over-populated land, which is meta- 
phorically styled Flowery or Celestial, and in 
simple speech is called China, or Cathay. My first 
visit to the Chinese quarter was made by daylight. 
I entered it without design, having no exact know-. 

V 2 



292 WE8TWAB]> BY BAIL. 

ledge of the locality in tvliich the Chinese had made 
their homes in this. oily. The effect was as startling 
as the transformation scene in a pantoomne, with 
this difference, that the personages are neither 
fairies nor sprites, neither princes nor princesses in 
difficulties, beings of unearthlj mould gifted . with 
supernatural powers. Nor did the Chinamen 
whom I saw resemble down, pantaloon, or colum- 
bine in dress or demeanour. Thej were clothed in 
plainly- cut blue tunics, had straw or doth cover- 
ings on their heads, and shoes on their feet resan- 
bling slippers down at the heels. The shops were 
adorned with pendent flags bearing inscriptions in 
Chinese. An entire street was filled with these 
strangely decorated and as strangely arranged 
shops. In some of them merchants of the highest 
respectability do business, and accumulate wealth. 
The articles they sell are the best of their kind, 
and as these merchants are satisfied with small 
profits, the low prices attract purchasers. Other 
industries than those of dealers in tea, silks, lac- 
quered ware, and porcelain are carried on in a 
humbler style by men of less ambition and capital. 
Ii\ cellars which are certainly dark, and probably 
unhealthy, silent Chinamen may be seen washing 
or ironing clothes, manufacturing cigars, or shaving 
the heads of their countrymen. Here and there a 



'TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 293 

shoemaker is actively engaged in making the semi- 
slippers which the Chinamen wear, or else repairing 
old ones with extraordinary neatness and patient 
care. Now and then a butcher^s shop, filled with 
joints of new shape, attracts attention, while cook- 
shops, filled with prepared viands, which, if savoury, 
are very uninviting, are also very plentiful. At 
the comer of a street I remarked a lofty stone 
building, which proved to be a Chinese hotel. As 
no objection was made to my entering it and 
inspecting the arrangements, I had an opportunity 
of seeing the Chinaman at home. Within the door 
on the right a porter or clerk sits with a book 
before him corresponding to the visitor's book of 
other hotels. When I saw him he was engaged in 
making out the accounts of the several occupants, 
and producing bills which were long in a material 
sense, inasmuch as they were written lengthwise 
on narrow strips of paper. Opposite to where he 
sat was what appeared to be a kitchen combined 
with a butcher's and poulterer's shop. Plucked 
fowls with long yellow necks were suspended in 
rows by their heads, pieces of meat were affixed to 
hooks, while beneath were vegetables of various 
kinds. I was told that the visitors purchase their 
own provisions, and either cook them or employ 
some one to do so. The Chinese have the reputa- 



294 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

Hon of excelling as cooks ; they are called the 
French of the East. They take a great deal of 
jiaios in preparing the several dishes, and they excel 
in sauces. To those unaccustomed to their ways 
one thing they do excites surprise, ^^'hether they 
season a dish or sprinkle a shirt preparatory to 
ironing it, they adopt tlie same method of proce- 
dure. This consists in filling their mouths with 
water, and squirting the required quantity over tlie 
garment. In cooking, they do not, as I sup[X)scd 
they did, simply spit into the dishes they prepare, 
but they season them by mixing the condiments in 
their mouths, and then ejecting as much of the 
'seasoning as they think necessary. Those who 
employ Chinese cooks will relish their meals all the 
more heartily if they never enter the kitchen when 
they are at work. The accommodation in this hotel 
is not luxurious, nor is the furniture sumptuoiu. 
A few wooden benches serve as seats, and wooden 
shelves are couches hy day and beds at night. 
Every inch of room is turned to account. The 
common saying about being packed as closely as 
herrings in a barrel expresses, vrith but slight ex- 
aggeration, the manner in which the Chinamen are 
packed in this hotel. It appears large enough to 
contain about two hundred persons ; as many as 
twelve hundred are said to occupy it daring the 



'TIGERS* AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 295 

busy season. That some do not die of the effects 
of the overcrowding is a marvel. But it is even 
more credible that the mortality should not be 
enormous from this cause alone than that anyone 
should be able to inhale the indescribably horrible 
smells for an hour, and live. 

Not far from this hotel I passed an alley wherein 
crackers were exploding, and small bonfires burn- 
ing. The inhabitants appeared to be making 
holiday. The women were gaily dressed, and had 
wreaths of artificial fiowers on their heads. I 
fancied that a wedding was being celebrated. A 
Chinaman, however, told me that the day was 
Sunday, and that the crackers were being let off, 
the fires lit, and the dresses worn, in honour of the 
day. At more than one doorstep a ceremony was 
performed which bore a resemblance to the heathen 
sacrifices of antiquity, whereof descriptions have 
been handed down to us. A tray was brought, on 
which were three cups filled with liquid, a small 
quantity of rice, several pieces of coloured paper, 
plaited into patterns like the summer ornaments of 
a stove, and a few slender sticks like the spills 
used for lighting lamps or cigars. These sticks, I 
was told, were sacred to * Jossy.' They were first 
ignited and placed upright at the comer of the 
tray, then the coloured papers were set on fire, and, 



296 WESTWABD BY BAIL. 

while ihej biased, eaoh of the enpa was emptied 
over them in Buocesuon. Lastly, the rioe was 
scattered abroad to different parts of the compass. 
Although the intelligent Chinaman to whom I 
spoke told me that the daj was Sunday, yet I have 
reason to suppose that he used this word for laok 
of a more suitable one wherewith to give an ex- 
planation of the occurrences. I learned afterwards 
that the ceremony was one in which the Chinese 
indulge whenever they think it necessary to lay 
the deviL Of the infernal powers they stand in 
great terror, and propitiate them with offerings 
like those described. But if this be the case, it is 
still possible that the desire to enjoy a holiday and 
make high festival combine to render the operation 
of laying the devil one for which they are not sorry 
to have an excuse. Some of the more practical 
and frugal Chinamen signify their disapproval of 
this tendency by saying that there is ' too muchee 
debbil in Califomy.* 

The Joss House which I visited is in the 
building set apart as the Chinese Hospital. The 
room in which the idol is enthroned in state, with 
lights burning before it, is a dingy apartment 
When I entered no priest nor any attendant was 
present. An iconoclast might have done his worst 
with impunity. On passing through the rooms set 




•TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANaSCO. 297 

apart for the sick I was surprised to see most of 
the patients at work. The ChiDese do not accept 
illness as an excuse for idleness. So long as a 
patient can move his hands and his feet he is made 
either to carry water, chop wood, or perform some 
other task. It was pitiful to see the haggard in- 
mates struggling over their occupations. Many- 
were in the last stage of consumption, and several 
were cripples. If the disgusting stories current 
about the medicines used are well founded, the 
death of all the patients who take them is what 
might be expected. For a time Chinese doctors 
were the fashion. But an analysis of the medicines 
they prescribed and supplied has rendered them far 
less popular. The ingredients were found to be 
chosen rather on account of their rarity and nasti- 
ness than for any other apparent reason. These 
doctors are not afflicted with modesty as to the 
nature of their powers. At the entrance to an 
alley I saw a sign-board projecting from the side of 
the house, and intimating that ^ Dr. Hung Ly 
cures all diseases upstairs.' In the newspapers 
those doctors advertise regularly. Thus may be 
seen among other announcements one to the effect 
that Dr. Jay Hon Chung, graduate of the highest 
medical college of China, has opened an office in 
Washington-street : — * The most obstinate and pain- 



\ 



298 WE8TWABD BY RAIL. 

fill chronic diseases treated with entire success, and 
cures guaranteed. Dr. Jaj Hon Chung will make 
no charge for medical advice to those who are too 
poor to pay for the same.' These doctors have 
rapidly and thoroughly imitated the style of adver* 
tising quacks in England and America. Perhaps 
it is in order to compete with them successfully 
that the quacks who trade on human credulity ia 
California are, if possible, even more audadous in 
their statements than their brethren elsewhere. A 
gentleman of majestic stature, whose h^ad was 
adorned with long (lowing locks, who styled himself 
* The King of Pain,' was harvesting dollars when I 
arrived at San Francisco. He professed not only 
to cure all diseases, but also to inform the patient 
of his malady without asking any questions. Like 
others of his tribe, he had a specific for the cure 
of every malady with which human beings are 
afflicted. In disposing of this he displays an 
amount of ingenuity which casts into the shade 
the advertising tricks in which English quacks are 
adepts. Dnving through the city in a handsome 
carriage, he halts now and then, and makes a short 
speech. A^Tiile he is retailing some of the miracu- 
lous cures which he has effected, a passer-by having 
the appearance of a sailor, or a mechanic, stops and 
exclaims, ' What's that you say about Boston ?' 



•TIGERS 'AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 299 

The quack replies, *Sir, I have just told these 
gentlemen bow Mr. John A. Jones, a prominent 
citizen of Boston, was cured by a single bottle of 
this specific afler all the other doctors had given 
him up.' *Well, sir, that's so. I come from 
Boston, and I know that Mr. Jones was cured by 
a bottle of your medicine.' This independent 
testimony induces several among the audience to 
give the ' King of Pain's ' specific a trial. He 
then drives off, when he can no longer exchange 
his bottles for the dollars of dupes, and the farce is 
played over again in another quarter of the city, 
the confederate, of course, chan^ng his attire and 
his story. It is clear that the Chinese quack 
doctors will have a hard struggle to keep them- 
selves abreast with their American competitors. 

At night, when I strolled through the Chinese 
quarter again, the spectacle was more curious. 
The pavement was crowded with Chinamen talking 
incessantly and in loud tones. Entire alleys were 
filled with small houses, at the open windows of 
which painted female faces were clustered, and 
whence invitations, couched in broken yet very 
broad English, were sent to every male passer-by. 
The theatre is easily found by those who listen for 
the sounds of gongs and cymbals. A quarter of a 
dollar is charged for admission. As a rule the 



300 

Chinew are disinclined to admit foreigners into ' 
their theatre. The doorkeeper has to be propi- 
tiated before he will admit tbat a seat is to be bad. 
loflide, the houee is arranged after the manner of 
lecture rooms. Bows of seats slope upwardg from I 
the pit to the opposite wall, and above this is i4 
gallerjr. The orchestra is at the back of the eta^l 
■nd ia ctuspoeed of three or four performers, whoa 
keep up an incessant clashing of cymbals and ' 
beating of gongs. The noise is overpowering. 
When all the performers have momentarily left 
the stage, the unmelodious and ear^rending soonds 
are diminished in rolume ; but, when the per- 
formerfi come forward and begin to speak, the 
gongs are beaten and the cymbals clashed with 
increased vigour. It seemed as if the object of 
the members of the orchestra was to drown the 
voices of the players. In order to defeat this 
design the players yelled at the top of their voices. 
Never before did I hear musical instruments made 
to give forth louder and more discordant noises, 
and human throats utter words in equally shrill 
tones. As to the merits or demerits of the piece 
I can say nothing. The first act had been per> 
formed several months ago, and the last would not 
be reached till several months hence. Regarded 
kunmply as a pantomime, it was a curious and clever 



'TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 301 

performance. Some of the scenes required no 
explanation in words. The love passages were^ so 
to speak^ emphasized in a manner which rendered 
the meaning intended to be conveyed almost too 
clear. The difficulty consisted in detecting the 
line which separated acting from reality. Feats of 
agility and trials of strength were common. The 
single combats were horribly real; spear-thrusts 
being delivered with wonderful energy, and sword- 
cuts made with such rapidity, that they could only 
be eluded by the exercise of a practised eye, and 
by extraordinary dexterity of fence. When the 
actors chased each other along the stage, impedi- 
ments were surmounted in the style of the circus. 
Over chairs and tables they vaulted, turning sum- 
mersaults in the air before alighting on the ground. 
They fell heavily, no spring-board or mattress 
being placed to aid them in jumping and to break 
the force of the fall. How they escaped with their 
ribs whole and their legs unbroken is incompre- 
hensible. The costumes and make-up of the actors 
were very good. They always entered by the 
right door, and made their exits by the leflb, each 
entrance being a sort of triumphal procession. It 
was but seldom that the audience testified their 
satisfaction with the performance. The attention 
was rivetted on the stage, not a sight being missed 



302 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

or a sound lost. Nearly everyone had a Manilla 
cigar or a cigarette in his mouthy and all smoked 
with a deliberation which demonstrated a desire to 
enjoy to the full the pleasure of the moment. 

The Chinese have their own gaming hells. The 
stakes are small, but the players never cease till 
they have lost everything. Lotteries are also plen- 
tiful. A thousand chances can be bought for a 
dollar. The tickets fill a small volume and are 
beautifully ornamented by hand. The highest prize 
is a thousand dollars. Near the Chinese quarter, 
and in the streets leading from it, are streets wherein 
more danger is to be feared than among the Chinese 
themselves. Nearly every house is tenanted by 
women who, scantily dressed in gaudy apparel, stand 
on the door steps or at the open windows, proclaim-* 
ing their profession by look and gesture. Under- 
ground dancing saloons are numerous, and in them 
are to be seen what are here significantly styled 
* pretty waiter girls.' These saloons are but traps 
baited and set for the unwary. They are the relics 
of San Francisco in bygone days, when its very 
existence was a scandal. The Vigilance Committee 
did invaluable service in cleariug it of the thieves 
and murderers who were then a terror to the peace- 
able and well-disposed citizens. There is still plenty 



' TIGERS ' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 303 

of work for the police to perform in the interest of 
decency and good manners. 

What impressed me most in the Chinese quarter 
was not any particular phase of life and novel kind 
of house, church, shop, hotel, or theatre, but the 
general aspect of the place, and its inhabitants 
regarded as a whole. In China itself the like 
number of people dwelling, doing business, and en- 
joying themselves in the same way, would not pro- 
duce a similar impression. The force of contrast 
operates with irresistible effect. At one moment I 
am in Kearney-street or Montgomery- street, sur- 
rounded by tokens of Western civilization, and a 
few minutes afterwards I stand in what is a small 
section of an actual Chinese city. It is impossible 
for the most cursory observer to witness these 
things and to fail being struck with the fact that 
their continued existence involves the solution of a 
great problem. Of this the citizens of San Fran- 
cisco are perfectly conscious. What they have done 
hitherto towards finding the desired solution does 
not entitle them to unstinted praise. At present, 
Chinese labour is as much a necessary of their exist- 
ence as the clothes they wear. In private houses, 
John — all Chinamen being called John — is a far 
better servant than Biddy. He takes lower wages ; 
he is temperate, honest, and respectful; he does his 



304 WESTWARD BY RAIL 

work nrith extreme care, whcUier it consists in 
washing dishes or nursing babies, scrubbing 6oors 
or waiting at table. Iktanufiictories would have to 
be closed, vineyards euSTercd to run wild, and many 
railways would continue to be projects, were there 
no Chinamen to watch tlie spindles, tend the vines, 
cut the Bleepere, build bridges, and lay the rails. 
Chinamen, however, are chargeable with the unpar> 
douable fault of being Chinamen. The shape of 
their eyes, the hue of their skins, the cut of their 
clothes, nay even their virtues, such aa prudence, 
patience, abstemioiii-nosi-, attachment to the land of 
their birth, a desire that their bones should be laid 
amidst the bones of their ancestors, are all regarded 
aa disabilities unfitting them for being treated as 
rational human beings. It is considered dangerous 
to stand on the platform of a streetcar, and pas- 
sengers are prohibited from standing there. Yet 
Chinamen and Chinawomen are compelled by a 
regulation of the company to stand on this platfona, 
and are forbidden to sit inside. This barbarous and 
disgraceful regulation exceeds in wickedness the 
prohibitions which in other days excluded the negro 
from the street and the railroad car. It is illiberal 
to refuse to take the Chinese as passengers, bat to 
carry them at the same rates as other paesengen 
and to make them occupy places which are auppoeed 



'TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 305 

to be dangerous can hardly be characterised in 
language sufficiently strong. Attempts have been 
made to subject them to the bitterest injustice of 
which men can be the victims. In courts of law the 
evidence of Chinamen has been proclaimed inad- 
missible. They might be wholly in the right, and 
yet be adjudged as wrongdoers. There was nothing 
to prevent a non-Chinaman entering a house inha- 
bited by a Chinese family, committing robbery, 
rape, or murder in the presence of several wit- 
nesses, and being held by the court to be innocent 
of any offence against the law. Happily this 
monstrous violation of the rights of the individual, 
which the statutes of California sanction, will not 
be possible in the future. I had the satisfaction of 
learning that Ah Hund, who was defendant in an 
action which came before a court of law during my 
stay in San Francisco, and who, if not permitted to 
testify, would have been robbed of his property, 
was placed in the witness-box, in accordance with 
the judge's ruling that the Fourteenth Constitu- 
tional Amendment, while extending equality to the 
negro, likewise entitled the Chinaman to sue for 
justice, and ensured that he would not sue in vain. 
That the Supreme Court of the United States will 
confirm this decision if appealed against, is regarded 

X 



306 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

as certain. In any case, however, the Fifteenth 
Constitutional Amendment will be an effectu&l bar 
to the repetition of iniquitous proceedings like 
those in question. How far the efforts made by 
the Democrats, who are now the majority here, to 
persecute and expel the Chinese will prove success- 
ful remains to be seen. The Alfa California, which 
is an upholder of the Union rather than a mere I 
organ of party, has made a bold and finn stand in 
favour of justice to the Chinaman. In one of many 
articles on the subject it remarks that if the 
Chinese were expelled, the value of landed property 
would at once decline 25 per cent. ; that if they 
were excluded, the act would be a token of bar- 
barism ; and that not only unreatncted intercourse 
with China, but also kind treatment of the Chinese, 
is demanded by the spirit of the ^e. Furthennore, 
it is said that the old war cry of '.America for 
Americans ' is out of date, and there is no proba- 
bility that ' America for Irishmen ' will be substi- 
tuted. It is unquestionable that Chinese labour is 
ft great boon to California. It is reasonable that if 
the Chinamen obey the taw they should be protected 
by the law. Fortunately, the statesmen of America 
have recently succeeded in rendering it all but im- 
possible to desecrate the grand principles of the 
^■ublic by persecuting men on account of acci- 



•TIGERS' AND CHINESE IN SAN FRANCISCO. 307 

dents of parentage, and establishing a class of 
Pariahs in the great home of a people in whose eyes 
rank is but a trivial distinction, and who glory in 
maintaining that birth alone neither entails disgrace 
nor confers honour. 



z 2 



WESTWAJID By EAIL. 




xxir. 

CHARACTEItianCS OF CALIFOSSIASS. 

Among the earliest questions put by an AmericAn 
lady or gentleman to a traveller fi-om England who 
lands at BoEton, New York, or Baltimore this one 
is certain to be included : — ' How do you tike 
America?' If, however, the traveller should first tread 
the sacred soil of the Union when stepping ashore 
at San Francbco, he will as certainly be asked: — 
' What do you think of California?' In the former 
case, the reply is expected that America is a great 
country ; in the latter, that California is a paradise. 
The observer to whom the second inquiry has been 
addressed is soon led to think that the love of the 
CalifomiaDB for their country has been absorbed 
in a singular and exceptional aifection for their 
State. They sometimes appear to consider the old 
Bear flag as noble an ensign as the national Stars 
and Stripes. They talk as if ' the States ' were mere 
adjuncts to California, satellites revolving round 
their sun. This sentiment is more excusable than tfae 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CALTFORNIANS. 309 

inflated provincial arrogance which puts the native 
streamlet on a par with the foreign river; which 
rates the native hills as the equals of distant moun- 
tains ; which regards the native village as the centre 
and Qieasure of the universe. The frog would never 
have striven to match the ox in size had the frog 
been less contemptible. Were California a small 
and insignificant State the exaggerated provin- 
cialism of its inhabitants would be simply ludicrous 
It is, however, the reverse of paltry and despicable. 
So extensive is its area that twenty such States as 
Massachusetts could be carved out of it. The popu- 
lation is small, yet it exceeds that of the old State 
of Connecticut. San Francisco alone contains more 
citizens than the entire State of Rhode Island. In 
the State of California there are 65,000,000 of acres 
which can be brought under tillage, and as yet not 
more than three per cent, of the whole has been 
cultivated. Within the ample bounds of this large 
and fertile State 20,000,000 of people can be ac- 
commodated with pleasant homes. The soil yields 
everything which human beings require to support 
and ameliorate existence. All the metals which 
men value most highly can be procured in abun- 
dance and disposed of at a profit. The rivers swarm 
with fish ; the woods are filled with game ; the fields 
are alive with the savoury birds which, in less 



310 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 

favoured localities^ are the luxuries of the rich. 
The climate is as glorious as that which must have 
prevailed in those ^ summer isles of Eden lying in 
dark purple spheres of sea/ which the poet has 
depicted as the regions of perfect terrestrial beauty 
and happiness. That the dwellers in a State lavishly 
endowed by nature and incontestably superior to 
many other States in the Union^ should be prone to 
forget that they are the least part of what they see 
and enjoy^ is by no means unnatural^ yet it fairly 
lays them open to criticism. 

Indeed^ the Califomians have so thoroughly iden- 
tified themselves with their State as to be among 
the greatest self-deceivers on the Continent of 
America. They appear to live under the delusion 
that the rich gold mines, the unrivalled grain, 
the magnificent fruit, the delightful climate are all 
creations of their own. Tell them that gold is 
quite as abundant in Australia, that nature has 
been as kind to dwellers on other portions of the 
globe, and they will appear to think that an afiront 
is intended. Add that in some respects they are 
not the equals of others who inhabit this Continent, 
that the culture and polish of New England are 
not among their adornments, that they pay a dis- 
proportionate respect to material when compared 
Mitli intellectual achievements, and they will repel 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CALIFORNIANS. 311 

the charges as malignant calumnies. In shorty 
Califomians In general will marvel at the temerity 
of the daring speaker or writer who ventures to 
assure them that, even If they live In a paradise, 
they are not wholly without spot or blemish. 

It Is hardly possible to reside for a day In 
California without hearing some reference made to 
the 'Pioneers.' To have come here In 1849 is 
held to be a mark of distinction like that accorded 
in Massachusetts to the Puritans who crossed the 
ocean In the Mayflower and like that awarded In 
England to the descendants of those who crossed 
the Channel with William the Norman. In Europe 
the spirit which originally led to the formation, and 
still sanctions the continuance, of orders of nobility 
Is the same as that which prompts the pioneer- 
worship of Califomians. The spelling of 'lord* 
may be greatly varied without altering the actual 
result The Virginians had a form which. If clumsy 
In appearance, answered the purpose nearly as well 
as any other. The man who. In the Old World, 
would be dubbed a viscount or a baron was known 
in the Old Dominion as an F. F. V., that Is, he 
belonged to one of the First Families In Virginia. 
It Is probable that the two-fold effects of war and 
emancipation may prove fatal to the continuance 
of this petty form of aristocracy. Yet so long as 



312 WESTWARD BY BAH,. 

ihe ' Pioneers ' of California are regarded as excep- 
tional men, the Great Republic will coDtinue to 
have specimens on a small scale of the antiquated 
arrangements which its enlightened citizens regard 
as the bane of the Old World, These ' Pioneers " 
are aristocrats at heart if not in name; they are 
' nobles ' in their own estimation. If to have settled 
in California in 1849 be admitted to be so meri- 
torious as to command admiration, the children of 
the ' Pioneers' will claim siiperioritj' over others on 
the ground that their fathers were the most distin- 
guished citizens in the State and thus a hereditary 
hallucination will be propagated. 

It was at Chicago that I first had the grati- 
fication of seeing several of these remarkable 
' Fioneers.* A deputation arrived there with a 
view to fraternise with their Eastern brethren and 
exhibit themselveB as examples of Califomian 
greatneBS. They were welcomed with the wannth 
shown towards conquerors returning home afler 
the performance of heroic exploits. Had the 
' Pioneers ' saved the Union single-handed thar 
presence could hardly have aroueed greater enthu- 
siasm. It was also my good fortune to become 
personally acquainted with some of these eztraor' 
dinary men. They described California in a way 
which led me to suppose that the country must be « 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CALIFORNIANS. 313 

modern Eden. If they had added that it was Eden 
after the fall they would have guarded themselves 
against exciting expectations which were doomed 
to be unfulfilled. By omitting to do this they led 
me astray. They assured me that the citizens of 
California were the superiors of all others on the 
Continent^ were endowed with every excellence of 
character which adorns and exalts mankind. Their 
achievements, I was emphatically told, had been 
unparalleled in grandeur and unequalled in im- 
portance, while all that had been perfoimed and 
all that was now rendered easy and possible had 
its source in the conduct and character of the 
* Pioneers.' Such is the gist of the statements to 
which I listened with attention. If I do not accept 
them as wholly accurate, it is because I have failed 
to substantiate them by an examination of the fsLCts. 
Moreover, granting the truth of the allegations, I 
am reluctantly obliged to challenge the propriety 
of the homage of which the * Pioneers ' are the 
willing and gratified recipients. They went to 
California in order to get riches: they succeeded 
in their object; that their enrichment must be 
pleasing to them is quite in the nature of things. 
But to bow down before them because they have 
been successful is simply to revive the worship 
of the Golden Calf. When a man makes a for- 



314 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

tune, he is not necessarily transformed Into a demi- 
God. 

Two qualities, I was told, distinguished the 
citizens of San Francisca They were generous to 
a degree almost unique, and noted for hospitality 
beyond the rest of the world. Among my intro- 
ductions were some to gentlemen who, by com- 
mon consent, were ranked as representative men, 
citizens who occupied prominent positions as mag- 
nates and millionaires. Soon after my arrival I 
presented my introduction to one of these gentle- 
men. He was a banker, and I thought it natural 
that he should be rich ; he was an ornament to San 
Francisco, and I deemed it a matter of course that 
he should be estimable. His reception of me sur- 
passed any which I had received from the many 
affable Americans whose acquaintance I made In 
a similar maimer. To call it cordial is but imper- 
fectly to characterise it. Everything this gentle- 
man could do to serve me he professed himself 
anxious to perform. His country-seat, his horses 
and his carriage were placed at my disposal with 
an alacrity which was startling. It resembled 
nothing so much as the sham politeness of the 
Spaniard who asks the stranger to consider himself 
the proprietor of all his possessions, and who never 
for a moment thinks that he will be taken at his 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CALIFORNIANS. 315 

word. I am sorry to have to record as the result 
of experience gained not only from this case^ but 
from others, that among the legacies of the 
Spaniards to the Califomians the peculiar Spanish 
views about hospitality have been included. It so 
happened that I had no occasion for availing myself 
of the banker's services, and was unable to put 
his kindness to the test Shortly before my de- 
parture, I called to thank him for his courtesy and 
to express regret at my inability to profit by his 
liberal offers. Fancying, apparently, that I had 
come to ask him to give effect to his promises, he 
appeared strangely oblivious as to having seen me 
before ; but, no sooner had I explained my errand, 
than his countenance cleared, the former cordiality 
of manner returned, and he emphatically expressed 
a hope, of which I perfectly understood the mean- 
ing, that he might have the pleasure of seeing me 
the next time I visited San Francisco. 

If the Califomians were less addicted to eulo- 
gising themselves, they might be praised more 
unreservedly by strangers. It is wise policy for 
the citizens of a new State to imitate the custom 
of the inhabitants of Tasmania and New South 
Wales and studiously refrain from provoking in* 
discreet and minute inquiries. That society in 
San Francisco and Sacramento should be composed 



316 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

of heterogeneous materials, and that the ' prominent 
citizens ' should not always be conspicuous for their 
high breeding and their learning ought to excite no 
aatonishnient. The gold discoveries acted as a 
magnet which drew to the same spot a mixed 
crowd of adventurers. Some came to dig for gold; 
others fo get gold in exchange for goods, for their 
personal charms, for their profeasional advice. In 
this keen struggle the most illiterate and unscrupu> 
loiia had a great advantage over the scholar and the 
man of honour. The men who achieved the greatest 
success were in some respects changed for the worse.' 
If vulgar and commonplace before, their rapidly 
acquired riches served to render these failings still 
more obvious. Their greatest gain consisted in the 
training which had made them self reliant to a 
degree which is unattunable except by those who 
have lived in a community where Judge Lynch 
administers the wild justice of revenge, and where 
n bullet from a revolver or a stab made by a 
bowie-knife is the only argument potent enough to 
command instant acquiescence. The dwellers in 
cities well guarded by policemen know nothing of 
what it is to inhabit a mining camp swarming with 
robbers and murderers. Those who have passed 
through the ordeal have gained an experience like 
that of the hunter who has lived for years by the 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CALIFORNIANS. 317 

produce of his rifle, and has executed the double 
task of shooting the game wherewith to sustain life 
and guarding himself against being shot by Indians 
who hate and pursue him as they do a wild beast. 
The hunter's career generally unfits him for living 
in the society of his fellows : he prefers a lonely but 
active life in the forest or on the mountain to a 
dreary and monotonous existence amid the solitude 
of a great city. This was not the case with respect 
to the gold-hunters. Having suddenly grown rich, 
they were eager to enjoy the luxuries which money 
can purchase. They imported into the city the 
manners and customs of the camp. To order 
drinks for * the crowd ' was the habit of a hospitable 
Califomian miner : to give drinks to their acquaint- 
ances is the habit of the prosperous Califomian 
citizen. A gentleman who was pointed out to me 
enjoyed immense popularity in San Francisco. He 
was very rich. His greatest merit, as far as I 
could learn, consisted in this, that sometimes he 
expended 500 dollars a day in treating his friends 
to drinks. When, then, Califomians vaunt about 
their hospitality they mean that they are the most 
liberal with their whisky of any people on earth. 

It would be an error, however, to regard the 
Califomians as spend-thrifts. While parting osten- 
tatiously with their money, they are perpetually 



318 westwaud by hail. 



; slircn-dest I 



anxious to amasa more wealth. The i 
Yankee cannot excel them in looking after the 
main chance. They seem to think that the whole 
duty of man consists in getting money. But to 
employ their accumulated wealth in a way whieh 
will benefit the less fortunate, cannot be numbered 
among the objects of their ambition. Many stories 
of unpardonable niggardliness are current. One of 
the best authenticated relates to ' The Mercantile 
Library' of San Francisco. Seventeen years ago 
the lovers of literature resolved upon founding a 
library here which should resemble tlie puhlio 
libraries which do credit to the generous foresight 
of the inhabitants of the principal cities in the 
Eastern States. This collection of books and periodi- 
cals is large and valuable ; the building wherein it 
is stored is a noble stnictttre. Yet the existence 
of the association itself has been a never' ending 
• struggle with poverty. The stranger who vi^ts 
the library learns with amazement that the managen 
* cannot point to one bequest or donation, save by 
some kind-hearted actor, masician or lecturer, the 
proceeds of whose generosity have been devoted to 
the purchase of new books.' The undertaking was 
originated and has been sustained by a few private 
citizens, ' most of them young and dependent on 
tiller daily employment for a livelihood.' It is 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CALIFORNIANS. 319 

added, by the unimpeachable authority from which 
the foregoing quotations have been made, that 
* these facts, so creditable to the literary culture of 
San Francisco, are less so to the intelligent libe- 
rality of her millionaires.'* Until these millionaires 
shall have ceased to be living incarnations of purse- 
proud selfishness, it will be permissible, when de- 
scribing them, to employ the stinging sarcasm oi 
Burke, and say that the ledger is their Bible and 
Mammon their God. 

Happily, there is another and a brighter side to 
be contemplated. Although the lowest form of 
materialism is the creed of the majority, and Dives 
alone commands general respect, yet in California 
there is a small and precious leaven of men who 
cultivate letters and art with pure affection, and 
who promise to become masters of their craft. I 
visited a gallery of paintings by Califomian artists, 
and saw enough to warrant the belief that the land- 
scapes of the Pacific slope will hereafter be worthily 
reproduced on canvas by artists who have lived 
among the scenes they portray. The desire and 
ability to do this have been unmistakeably mani- 
festo J. Of material there is no lack. That California 
will hereafter be illustrated by its artists as well as 
enriched by manufacturers and merchants is one of 

* 7^ Alta California, 8rd October, 1869. 



i 



320 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

the most cheenDg among the possibilities of the 
future. In literature the harvest bids fair to be 
sooner ripe and more copious. The number of 
books of native growth is but small ; yet the capa- 
city for producing books bright with the charm of 
originality and impressed with the stamp of home 
production has been clearly demonstrated. Two 
years ago a magazine entitled the Overland Monthly 
was first issued by an enterprising publisher of San 
Francisco, and that magazine has already taken 
rank with the best periodicals which America pro- 
duces. Were a competitive examination instituted^ 
the Overland Monthly might even take high honours 
among the magazines which do credit to England. 
It is entitled to the rare distinction of beinof readable 
from cover to cover and yet to be able to maintain 
its place without being propped up by an instalment 
from a novel. The short tales in it are noteworthy 
alike for artistic treatment and freshness of subject. 
They are based on actual experience of life at the 
gold diggings ; hence they have the attraction of 
displaying new varieties of existence and new types 
of character. It is probable that their authors were 
educated men who joined in the rush to California 
in the hope of succeeding better by wielding pick- 
axes than they had done by the exercise of their 
pens. Whether they were disappointed or not in 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CALIFORNIANS. 321 

their immediate design^ it is certain that they gaineJ 
much profitable experience which they are utilizing 
for literary purposes. These productions are not 
the only coinage of note from the intellectual mint 
of California. The critiques on current literature 
are quite refreshing in their genuineness, and very 
effective pieces of writing. The conventionalities 
of literary cliques do not seem to hamper and 
emasculate the writers. Having opinions of their 
own to express, they couch them in plain and 
straightforward language, and they appear to write 
with a thorough knowledge of the subjects which 
they discuss. Many literary oracles of greater age 
and pretensions, give forth feebler and more uncer- 
tain sounds and do less towards maintaining a high 
standard in literature, than the Overland Monthly, 
In support of these opinions and in justification of 
this praise I ought to cite examples. If I could 
do so within moderate limits, I should have no 
difficulty in substantiating my case. The discern- 
ing readers whose curiosity is piqued, or whose 
scepticism is aroused, can easily ascertain how far I 
have written at random, and whether I have strewn 
flowers of eulogy in error. If they turn to the 
Overland Monthly and judge for themselves they 
will have their reward, for they are certain to dis- 
cover therein much of which the originality will 

T 



322 WESTWARD BY KAIL. 

afford them pleasure even should they be unable to 
admit the relative excellence and absolute supe- 
riority of the magazine as a whole. 

The Pacific Railway has been regarded as an in- 
strument designed to advance the prosperity of San 
Francisco and to multiply the attractions of Cali- 
fornia. As regards the people themselves that 
means of intercommunication will prove fraught 
with results quite as important Their comparative 
isolation has led to the growth of a local pride 
hardly justified by facts and not deserving of ad- 
miration. The young men who left their homes in 
the Eastern States twenty years ago^ and are now 
wealthy citizens of Califomia^ have remained prac^ 
tically ignorant of the changes which, during that 
long interval^ have been wrought in the cities of 
their birth. They have not known that progress 
has moved with giant strides in New York, St. 
Louis, and Chicago as well as in San Francisco 
and Sacramento. They compare what they see 
around them with what they imagine to exist else- 
where and they glory in their achievements. Now 
that facilities for travel enable them to draw just 
comparisons, their self-importance may possibly re- 
ceive a shock and the * Pioneers' may soon be 
deposed from the high pedestal which they have 
occupied in the estimation of themselves and their 



CHARACTERISTICS OF CAUFORNIANS. 323 

neighbours. In reality there is no more merit in 
having been a ' Califomian Pioneer ' than in draw- 
ing a prize in a lottery. The holders of prizes 
deserve congratulations^ but no honour. Having 
made money these men may think that they have 
earned glory. The folly is not theirs so much as 
of the simpletons who accede to a ridiculous de- 
mand. 

Nature^ which has already done much for Cali- 
fomia^ will doubtless do as much to render the race 
which is being moulded here a splendid branch of 
the human family. The physical conditions under 
which human beings exist in this favoured region 
are well adapted for imparting to them the qualities 
which lead to greatness in all departments of exer- 
tion. A century hence it is probable that the 
Califomians wiU be a power in the Union and 
will make their influence felt throughout the world. 
As their intrinsic merit becomes more tangible their 
shortcomings will afford less ground for comment 
When they have stronger reasons for boasting, they 
will leave to others the task of trumpeting forth 
their praises. 



T 2 



324 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 



XXIII. 

THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 

The boldest figures of speech used by poets hardly 
outstrip the figurative names which have been con- 
ferred upon cities and places. It is difficult to 
fathom the reason for calling the harbour of Stam- 
boul the Golden Horn and the entrance to the Bay 
of San Francisco the Golden Gate. There is 
nothing auriferous about either. With regard to 
the latter, however, there is an explanation which 
justifies the title. Along the Pacific coast a range 
of mountains rises to the height of five thousand 
feet. The bank of fog, which nearly always broods 
over this locality, seldom ascends above the summits 
of these mountains. The only break in the rock- 
bound barrier forms the inlet to the quiet waters of 
San Francisco Bay. When the fog is dense and the 
sky obscured without, the sun shines brightly and 
the sky is clear within. The eflTect observed, upon the 
gap being reached, is that of a mellow golden haze. 
Hence the origin of the appellation. The sailors who 
came hither long before the discovery of the famous 
^old diggings or the advent of Califomian * Pioneers ' 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 325 

rejoiced when they could distinguish the glittering 
yellow veil which indicated that the desired haven 
had been reached, and they were nearly as en- 
chanted at the sight as they would have been if the 
rocks between which they sailed were in truth portals 
of solid gold. If the earlier mariners who approached 
this coast had, on landing, ascended the mountain 
known by the name of Tamalpais, or Table Rock, 
and beheld the detested fog rolling beneath their 
feet and gazed on the beautiful prospect around 
them, they might have entertained thought^s iden- 
tical with those of the storm-tossed wanderers when 
arriving at the land of the Lotos Eaters. Indeed, 
the spot itself under circumstances such as these 
could not be described more fittingly and beauti- 
fully than in the choice lines which are among the 
most finished that Tennyson ever penned : — 

' We have had enough of action, and of motion we, 
Roird to starboard, roll'd to larboard, when the surge was seething 

free, 
Where the wallowing monster spouted his foam-fountains in the sea. 
Let us swear an oath, and keep it with an equal mind. 
In the hollow Lotos-land to lire and lie reclined 
On the hills like Gods together, careless of mankind. 
For they lie beside their nectar, and their bolts are hurl'd 
Far below them in the valleys, and the clouds are lightly curl'd 
Round their golden houses, girdled with the gleaming world.' 

' Surely, surely, slumber is more sweet than toil, the shore 
Than labour in the deep mid-ocean, wind and wave and oar ; 
Oh rest ye, brother mariners, we will not wander more.' 



326 WKTWAKD BY RAIL. 

The Spaniards who first settled here were indeed 
little better than Lotos- Eaters. They lounged 
through existence. But their successors are men of 
more vigorous race and less tranquil temperaments. 
The Cftliforniana of whom Sir George Simpson 
wrote in 1846 that they were indolent and good- 
for-nothing, have been displaced by CalifomianB 
whose fault is not want of energy and whose delight 
does not consist in folding the hands and dreaming 
like the sluggard. Had they done nothing else than 
construct the more difficult jwirtion of the railway 
across the Continent, they would have vindicated 
their claim to be among the most enterprising and 
dauntless of mortals. 

The completion of that railway has phtced San 
Francisco almost midway between two Easts. If 
the traveller embarks in a steamer bound for China 
or Japan he will be carried towards that ancient 
and far East which is associated in our minds with 
all that is gorgeous in coloimng, marvellous in 
story and romantic in adventure. Having jour- 
neyed ' Westward by Iliul ' the traveller is thus 
enabled to reach this East while following in the 
track of the setting sun. As I had attained the 
limit assigned to my present journey, nothing re- 
mained but to retrace my steps. While doing so 
and turning my back upon Asia I was able to 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 327 

proceed over what is to the CaliforniMifi a 'new 
route to the East,' to «n East far younger than the 
other yet more mature, not peopled with imaginary 
genii like the other, but the home of men who have 
yoked fiery dragons to their ehai*iots and tamed the 
lightning to do their bidding. The Asiatic merely 
imagined a Sindbad and an Aladdin. In England 
and America hundreds of Sindbads and Aladdins 
exist who, without professing to work wonders, 
eclipse the achievements of the fabled heroes of 
romance. 

By poetic licence the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans 
are said to be imited by an iron highway ; but, in 
reality, there are several breaks in the line and one 
of the greatest is here. It is possible to pass from 
the extreme East to the extreme West in a railway 
carriage, just as passengers might be transported 
from Charing-^ross to the Northern Station in Paris 
or Brussels, provided the carriage were embarked 
on board a steamer and ferried across the Channel. 
Moreover, in this case it is possible for the water 
journey to be avoided altogether, for a railway runs 
between San Francisco and San Jose, and San 
Jose and Alameda. Yet, though this route is prac- 
ticable, it IS as roundabout and inconvenient as that 
from London to Portsmouth by way of Brighton. 
The rule is to cross the Bay in a steamboat, and to 



328 WE3TWABD BT BAIL. 

enter the train at Vallejo, Oakland, or Alameda. 
The crossing occopies nearly an hour. Starting at 
a quarter past seven o^dock in the. mornings the 
view from the steamer's deck is far-reaching and 
splendid. A good notion of the extent of the Bay 
and of the quantity of the shipping is thus ob- 
tained. The city itself is seen to advantage. Its 
greatest drawback is also perceived with distinct- 
ness. Although the sky is clear overhead, yet the 
greater portion of the city is shrouded in smoke. 
The volumes of dense black smoke issuing ficom the 
chimney-fitalks of innumerable furnaces^ dim the 
brightness of the sky^ and darken the streets and 
buildings. The effect produced by a London fog 
is hardly less unpleasant. If a choice had to be 
made between an occasional fog and perpetual 
smoke, the fog would certainly be regarded as the 
lesser evil. At the landing stage of Alameda, the 
train of the Western Pacific Railway is in readi- 
ness to transport the passengers to Sacramento. 
The line is here carried for a considerable distance 
on piles. Were the train to run off the rails, the 
carriages would fall into the water below. This is 
a contingency which will occur to any one who 
looks out of the carriage window, and speculates as 
to results. But another and a greater danger seems 
impending when the solid earth is traversed. The 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 329 

oscillation of the carriages is very great. They 
swing from side to side in a way resembling the 
rolling of a screw steamer. The inequalities of the 
surface cause shocks like those which shake a 
steamer when a head wind and sea rush and dash 
against her bows. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine 
that rails have been laid at all^ or that, if laid, they 
have been bolted to the sleepers. A worse line I 
have never travelled over. It is nearly as rough 
and unpleasant as the common roads which, in the 
wilder parts of the Western country, seem to hj^ve 
been traced in the beds of watercourses and to have 
been unprepared for traffic by the exercise of en- 
gineering skill. The scenery along the line is not 
so attractive as to divert attention from the cha- 
racter of the line itself. The ground is undulating 
for the most part As the winter rains had not yet 
fallen when I passed, the fields and trees and shrubs 
were of a monotonous dull brown, while the dust on 
the roads was about a foot deep. More than once 
I have spoken in terms of praise of the Califomian 
climate, and I have, perhaps, omitted to make some 
necessary qualifications. Properly speaking there 
are three climates in California — the climate of the 
sea-coast, of the plains, and of the mountains. San 
Francisco has this advantage, owing to its situa- 
tion, that when the sun shines most brightly a cool 



330 WESTWAKD BY RAIL. 

breeze blows in-shore through the Golden Gate. 
This wind has the great advantage of bracing the 
system, which otherwise might become debilitated 
by uniform warmth. The best proof that I can 
give of the actual superiority of the rliiiff of San 
Frmncifloo, tcfter allowance has been made for draw- 
backs^ consists in the fact that neither men nor 
women require to wear clothing specially adapted 
for summer or winter. The ladies wear dresses 
differing in texture and colour, in order to follow 
the fashions which are set elsewhere, but for all the 
purposes of clothing these dresses do not vary. At 
times, however, the transition from the extreme 
warmth of the day to the coolness of the night is 
sudden and trying to sensitive constitutions. To 
all appearance the children are healthy and robust. 
Their rosy cheeks are a great contrast to the trans- 
parent skins and pale complexions of New England 
children. If the child be a criterion of the man, the 
native-bom Californians will hereafter be fine speci- 
mens of humanity. 

Proceeding inland to the country intersected by 
the railways which run to Sacramento, the climate 
becomes far hotter. Yet, though less temperate it 
is not so tropical as to interfere with the easy and 
profitable cultivation of the soil. In the plains and 
valleys the year may be divided into spring and 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 331 

summer. Winter and autumn are mere names 
there. Kain falls in November, not rain like the 
torrents of water which fall in tropical climes, but 
gentle showers, like those which on a fine spring 
morning in England cool the air and moisten the 
parched ground. From December to April the 
Califomian may plough and plant. At the end of 
June his crops are ripe ; he may then cut the grain, 
and haying done so, he may allow it to remain on 
the field till October. No bam is required to shelter 
the sheaves which are about to be thrashed ; every- 
thing may be done in the open air within the time 
above-mentioned. Excepting during the season 
when it rains, all operations may be conducted in 
the open air, and animals need not be piit under 
cover. The plains of California are a paradise for 
the farmer. In the mountains there are two seasons 
also, but these are winter and summer. Snow falls 
and ice forms on the slopes of the Sierra Nevadas. 
There are some localities in which the cold is per- 
petual and where the snow never melts. To the 
Califomian the choice of climate and of scenery is 
as great within the compass of his own State as it 
is within the limits of Europe. Among the Sierras 
he has the glaciers and the mountain peaks, the 
gorges and the grand scenery of Switzerland; in 
the plains he finds the rich fields and the rivers 



332 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

of mid- F ranee ; while along the sea coast all the 
glories of the Mediterranean are reproduced on a 
grander scale, and in larger numbers- 
Six hours after leaving Alameda the train stops 
at Sacramento, the terminus of the Western Pacific 
Railway. The only intermediate station of im- 
portance is 8U)ckton, a place of 10,000 iuliabitante, 
and the centre of the grain trade of tlie surrounding 
region. It is also the B[)ot whence supplies are 
derived for the inii»rtant gold-mining industry at 
Mariposa. At Sacramento the passengers hound 
eastwards take their seats in the train of the Central 
Pacific. Immediately after leaving Sacramento the 
ascent of the Sierras h^ina, and the difficulties 
surmounted by those who made the railway are 
fully realised. At the end of fifty miles the eleva- 
tion of the line is 2,400 feet above the level of the 
sea; when one hundred and five miles have been 
traversed the height reached is 7,000 feet This 
great and sudden rise towards the clouds is accom- 
panied by a great fall in the temperature of the air. 
The transition is trying to the delicate chest, and 
is borne with difficulty by the most robust. Indeed, 
the journey eastward taxes the system more than 
that towards the west In the former case the land 
of perpetual sunshine is exchanged for variable 
weather and murky skies. It is not surprising that 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 333 

those who have lived in California should be re- 
luctant to leave it, and after having gone elsewhere 
should long to return thither. In the train were 
several passengers who had migi*ated to California 
from the States to the east of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, in those days when gold discoveries attracted 
thousands to the Pacific slope. These men are now 
availing themselves of the railway to visit what 
they call * the States,' and to see their relations 
once more. Nothing so strikingly illustrates the 
comparative isolation in which the inhabitants of 
California have lived, as the way in which they 
speak of themselves, not as Americans, but as Cali- 
fornians. Even the passengers who had not been 
* Pioneers,' who had gone to the Pacific coast a few 
years ago in quest of health or fortune, were nearly 
as enthusiastic as the older inhabitants. One who 
held a high position in the medical staff of the 
Western army throughout the war, and whose 
health had been shattered by his labours, told me 
that after a trial of two years he had resolved to 
abandon his home in Wisconsin and practise his 
profession in the exquisite climate of San Josd. 
He was now on his way eastward, in order to com- 
plete the necessary arrangements. But there is 
another side to the picture. I conversed with others 
who had visited San Francisco in the hope of 



334 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

finding lucrative employment there^ and who were 
returning home disappointed and dissatisfied. The 
labour market is overstocked with young men fitted 
to do the work of clerks^ and with professional men 
generally. Such persons are warned against seek- 
ing in San Francisco that which they cannot find 
in New York or London. There is room in Cali- 
fornia for thousands of emigrants, but these emi- 
grants must be prepared to engage in manual labour, 
and especially in agricultural pursuits, if they 
would escape starvation. For the man who can 
rear vines or do farm work, and who has a small 
amount of capital at his disposal, there is no 
place in the world where he can make for himself 
a comfortable home and accumulate money more 
easily and certainly than the State of California. 
He can purchase excellent land for 5*. an acre, 
and can enjoy what a Sovereign, condenmed to live 
in less favoured parts of the world, cannot com- 
mand — a climate which keeps him in good health, 
lightens his toils and enables him to reap what he 
has sown. I have insisted on the advantages to be 
enjoyed in California as respects climate, because 
this is the chief consideration in the matter of 
bodily comfort, as well as the chief agent in making 
a nation. That the praises I have vented on the 
Califomian climate are not exaggerated may be 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 335 

inferred from this circumstance. It was some time 
after settlers had flocked here from other parts of 
the American continent and from Europe before 
the honey bee was introduced. This useful little 
insect soon made itself at home^ and filled hives 
with honey. After a year or two had elapsed the 
store of honeycomb was diminished to a minimum. 

■ 

The bees found that as flowers were in bloom all 
the year round there was no necessity for laying 
up a large supply of honey against a barren and 
blossomless winter season. Consequently, arrange- 
ments had to be made to deal with the bees as with 
hens, abstracting the honey in small portions in 
order that the formation of the honeycomb might go 
on uninterruptedly. Perhaps it may prove interest- 
ing to add what I have learned at second-hand, but 
from unprejudiced sources, that the highest eulo- 
giums passed upon the soil, sky, and climate of 
California are literally applicable to Vancouver's 
Island also, and that if Americans are to be con- 
gratulated on having such a Garden of Eden as 
California among the States of the Union, the 
English people are quite as fortunate in numbering 
Vancouver's Island among the possessions of Great 
Britain. My informants were Americans, who did 
not conceal their desire to substitute in British 
Columbia the Stars and Stripes for the Union Jack. 



334 WESTWARD BY RjUL. 

finding lucrative employment there, iuid who were 
returning home disappointed and disBatislied. The 
labour market is overstocked with young men fitted 
to do the work of clerks, and mth professional men 
generally. Such persona are warned against seek- 
ing in San Francisco that which tliey cannot find 
in New York or London. There is room in Cali- 
fornia for thousands of emigrants, but these emi- 
grants must be prepared to engage in manual labour, 
and eepecifllly in agricultural pursuits, if they 
would escape starvation. For the man who can 
rear vines or do farm work, and who has a smaU 
amount of capital at his disposal, there is no 
place in the world where be can make for himself 
a comfortable home and accumulate money more 
easily and certainly than the State of California. 
He can purchase excellent land for 5*. an acre, 
and can enjoy what a Sovereign, condemned to live 
in less favoured parts of the world, cannot com- 
mand — a climate which keeps him in good health, 
lightens his toils and enables him to reap what he 
has sown. I have insisted on the advantages to be 
enjoyed in California as respects climate, because 
this is the chief consideration in the matter of 
bodily comfort, as well aa the chief agent in making 
a nation. That the praises I have vented on the 
Califomian climate are not exaggerated may be 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 335 

inferred from this circumstance. It was some time 
after settlers had flocked here from other parts of 
the American continent and from Europe before 
the honey bee was introduced. This useful little 
insect soon made itself at home, and filled hives 
with honey. After a year or two had elapsed the 
store of honeycomb was diminished to a minimum. 

■ 

The bees found that as flowers were in bloom all 
the year round there was no necessity for laying 
up a large supply of honey against a barren and 
blossomless winter season. Consequently, arrange- 
ments had to be made to deal with the bees as with 
hens, abstracting the honey in small portions in 
order that the formation of the honeycomb might go 
on uninterruptedly. Perhaps it may prove interest- 
ing to add what I have learned at second-hand, but 
from unprejudiced sources, that the highest eulo- 
giums passed upon the soil, sky, and climate of 
California are literally applicable to Vancouver's 
Island also, and that if Americans are to be con- 
gratulated on having such a Garden of Eden as 
California among the States of the Union, the 
English people are quite as fortunate in numbering 
Vancouver's Island among the possessions of Great 
Britain. My informants were Americans, who did 
not conceal their desire to substitute in British 
Columbia the Stars and Stripes for the Union Jack. 



i 



336 westwahd by kail. 



1 

so valiiabl^^ 



It is hardly creditable that a posseasion so v 
Bhould be almost disregarded. Thoee who are con- 
cerned ill the organization of emigration from Eng- 
land might do their fellow-countrj-men a service by 
iDYCstigating the advant^es of settling in British 
Columbia. 

These subjects formed the topics of conversation 
between myself and several passengers by the train, 
I have recorded tbcm in preference to repeating 
for the second time particulars about the route 
itself. It n*ns as iinjileasant in snme parts and a^ 
enjoyable in others as on the previous Journey. Tl}e 
season being more advanced, the cold was more 
intense. Thus another discomfort was added U> 
those which render the alkali plains the dread and 
torment of the traveller. While crossing these 
plains, and while still in the State of Nevada, 
several minere entered the trun at one of the sta- 
tions. They, too, were bound East, in order to 
see their friends. Some of them were wild in aspect, 
as well as rough in speech. From one of them I 
obtained some interesting particulars respecting the 
present state of the silver mining region. He car- 
ried a revolver and bowie-knife strapped round his 
waist, and a bottle of whisky in his pocket. When 
going to his sleeping berth on the njg^t that he 
entered the car, an open display was made of the 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 337 

deadly weapons^ and a distinct token was given of 
the whisky bottle having been called too frequently 
into requisition. Early on the following morning 
as I was standing on the platform of the car^ and 
watching the sun rise^ this ^gentleman' made his 
appearance^ and^ after a few preliminary remarks, 
disked me to ^ smile.' I had learned by experience 
that this is the slang phrase for ^ taking a drink.' I 
^ smiled ' all the more readily because the morning 
was intensely -cold, the pools of water being coated 
with ice. In the course of a few minutes this miner 
told me his name, his history, and his intentions. 
He became the more communicative when he dis- 
covered that I was personally acquainted with one of 
the ^ prominent citizens ' of Austin City, Nevada, a 
gentleman with whom he had been allied in some 
mining enterprises. He told me that he was known 
by the nickname of ' Slim Jim,' that he had crossed 
the plains when quite a youth, had ' made his pile ' 
by lucky hits at mining, was now about twenty 
years of age, was bound for Chicago, in order to 
pay a visit to his parents, and that he purposed re- 
turning in the course of a few weeks in order to 
* prospect ' certain parts of the Territory of Utah 
which had not, in his opinion, received sufficient 
attention. Like all the miners with whom I formed 
a temporary acquaintance he had many specimens 

z 



338 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

of ore in his pockets. He carried them for the 
avowed purpose of showiug them as samples to 
those who might be disposed to buy a share in some 
of his mines. He insisted upon my accepting some 
of tJiese specimens, which were certainly very rich 
in silver. There was nothing disinterested in this. 
I had been favoured in a similar way on many jh*- 
vious occasions of a like nature. In this part of 
the United State* it is as common to advertise by 
distributing pieces of gold quartz or silver ore as it 
is in others to give away handbills of some nostrum 
for healing diaeaaea. 

At Promontory Station, the sharpers, whom I 
have already described,* were still actively plying 
their nefarious trade ; and at the other stationB in 
the Territory of Utah, Mormon girle and boys were 
as asaiduoua aa formerly in diepoaing of both fruit 
and hand-wrought gloves to the pasBengers. The 
scenery had lost none of its aridity or sublimity. 
The great Salt Lake still presented a spectacle of 
wonderful impressiveness, the Weber and Echo 
Canyons produced an impressbn of even greater 
majesty and wildness than when I passed through 
them earlier in the year. On reaching the Xiaramie 
Plains a change came over the scene, for the snow 
began to fall heavily, and the landscape was draped 
• 8«c p. 180. 



THE GOLDEN GATE TO THE AMERICAN ATHENS. 339 

in white. This gave a variety to the prospect, and 
rendered the hills more imposing in appearance. 
On the other hand, it retarded the progress of the 
train. The engine became unequal to its task, and 
two hours were consumed in passing over the dis* 
tance of four miles. This detention led to a break 
in the arrangements. The line being a single one, 
the rule is for a train which is behind time to lose 
the right to the road, and the result is, that it must 
stop at the appointed sidings till the trains coming 
in the opposite direction have passed along. Thus 
it happened that when Omaha was reached, the cor- 
responding train on one of the railways running 
east had left, and the passengers who had through 
tickets over that line had to pass the night at 
Omaha. Others who, like myself, were bound for 
Chicago by the North Western, were able to con- 
tinue our journey, as the train had waited our 
arrival. In due time we arrived at the chief city of 
the Western States, and continued our eastern 
journey amidst a snow-storm. I now learned the 
advantage of having the cars comfortably heated by 
hot air stoves. In an English railway carriage this 
ioumey would have been disagreeable beyond mea- 
sure, if not fraught with serious consequences to 
health. As it was, the Pullman car in which we 

s 2 



* 1 



340 WK9TWABD BY SAIL. 

travelled was as comfortable as the best wanned 
room in an English house. 

The superiority of these cars is rendered the 
more apparent when th6 traveller has to exchange 
seats in them for those which run over the lines in 
the States of New iTork and Massachusetts. At 
Albany the carriage which go to Boston are sepa- 
rated from those which go on to New YorL 
Springfield and Worcester are the chief places of 
note between Albany and Boston. The former is 
the seat of the United States ArsenaL Near the 
latter is Lake Quinsigamond whereon the annual 
boat races are contested between the Universities of 
Harvard and Yale. The scenery along the line is 
varied and picturesque. The abundance of wood 
and water seems a fine feature in the landscape to 
those who have just crossed the treeless and arid 
plains in the heart of the Continent. This contrast 
is alike great and pleasing^ but it is neither greater 
nor more gratifying than that between the capital 
of Massachusetts and the largest city on the Pacific 
slope, between Boston with its classic memories, its 
long-established order, its intellectual triumphs, and 
San Francisco with its lawless episodes, its tardy 
submission to the reign of law, and its feverish chase 
after material riches. 



i 



* § 



341 



XXIV. 

BOSTON CITY AND HARVABD UNIVERSITY, 

Sevebal yisitobs to the Capital of Massachu- 
setts have been struck with its resemblance to an 
English city. Its inhabitants deem the likeness 
creditable^ and seem flattered when it is detected 
and praised. The similarity, however, is purely 
superficial, being confined to the irregular arrange- 
ment of the streets, the form and colour of the 
houses. These things are but as rouge on the skin 
of a beauty and of a wig on the head of a beau. 
They are accidents and not essentials, external 
marks which do not typify the hidden and ani- 
mating essence. In those things which differentiate 
one city from another Boston is unlike any other 
city in either the Old World or the New. Bostonians 
have better reason to rejoice in the points of dissimi- 
larity than in those of resemblance. They have 
substantiated a claim to the honourable title of 
the Athenians of America; they are members of 
the select and glorious company which, while not 



342 WESTWARD BY BAIL. 

despising wealth and material prosperitj^ yet oounts 
such things but as dust in the balance and oon- 
temptible dross unless the riches are gilded witfi, 
intellect and the success is ennobled by the pursuit 
of a lofty ideal. They are in the van of that form 
of civilization which is distinctively American and 
of which the mission and the pride consist in de- 
monstrating to a sceptical and sneering worid thai 
the most uncompromising and perfect BepubHcamsm 
tends to elevate rather than to vulgarise, to beautify 
rather than to tarnish, to quicken the pulse of 
generous self-sacrifice rather than to repress all the 
finer feelings of human nature, and enshrines in 
men's minds, as the only idols to which homage can 
fitly be paid, the highest form of social breeding 
and the most finished patterns of mental culture. 

Boston is notable among the cities of the Union 
for its purely English origin and its genuine 
American development. Those who first settled 
here were English to the backbone, and they were 
the flower of their generation. According to them 
there was something more to be desired than the 
favour of a Prince and the highest worldly honours. 
They prized as a second heritage of their race the 
right to exercise their opinions without reference to 
what they considered were the corrupted tests of 
degenerate men, and to regard the present world 



BOSTON CITY AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 343 

as an arena in which the pure in heart were destined 
to strive for a heavenly crown. In thus thinking 
they were directly opposed to the predominant 
notions of their age. Their whole life was a revolt 
against the existing authorities and accepted canons 
of interpretation. It was to preserve themselves 
unspotted from the world that they crossed the 
Atlantic^ and when they set foot on Plymouth 
Rock they brought with them the prolific germs of 
the ideas whereof the Constitution of the United 
States is the accurate and logical expression. From 
the beginning they manifested an irrefrangible re- 
solve to do what they believed to be right and to 
dare everything when giving practical effect to their 
convictions. Unfortunately for the minority among 
them, the majority were too confident that they were 
the sole repositories of the truth. There is some- 
thing ludicrous as well as sad in the interference ex- 
ercised with regard to the concerns of the individual. 
This was, however, nothing more than the necessary 
product of their education, combined with the fruit 
of their theories. To stigmatise the Puritans of 
New England as petty despots is not to blame them 
with exceptional severity ; but to make the charge 
and overlook or disregard the explanation is to 
become their accomplices. They could not shake 
off the influence of old traditions or emancipate 



< k 



344 WESrWABD BT SAIL. 

themselveB from tiie yoke of evil cnrample in a day 
or a year. They had Eved in England^ idiere tbe 
ways of the Tudor and Stuart antooratB had beoonie 
examples which it was deemed right to copy» so 
long as the end in view waa reconcilable with SocqH 
tore. Their fathers had taught them to obey 
decrees which prohibited certain persons from wear- 
ing apparel of specified colours and patterns^ and 
eating food of a particular kind. They knew that 
even the High Court of Parliament had not re- 
spected the sanctity of the coffin^ but had enjoined, 
under a heavy penalty, that the dead should be liud 
in their last home wrapped in a woollen shroud. 
When these men had the power, they abused it after 
the fashion of those whom they had been trained to 
respect. Under the pretext that certain acts were 
snares of the Devil and abominations to the Lord, 
they put in force a hateful system of interference 
with personal freedom. The Pilgrim Fathers were 
undoubtedly sincere, but they had the misfortune to 
be mistaken men. In due time their blunders were 
perceived and atoned for. The claims of the indi- 
vidual conscience were recognized as being subject 
to no other appeal than to the individual him- 
self. The affidrs of what was really a straight- 
laced theology, but was supposed to be religion, 
were eventually severed from the affairs of State. 



BOSTON CITY AND HAEVAED UNIVERSITY. 345 

Yet with this separation the ardour for promul- 
gating and enforcing what was considered the truth 
did not wax cold or die out. The Puritan spirit 
survived the intolerant Puritan creed. The cause 
for which the enlightened progeny of the original 
settlers combated was happily in complete accord 
with the precepts of world-honoured sages and the 
conclusions of the greatest among philosophers. 
In vindication of the immortal principles which 
prescribe how absolute justice should be executed 
between man and man, the citizens of Boston 
were the chief instigators and the heroes of two 
decisive and embittered conflicts^ the first of which 
established the independence of their country, the 
second justified that independence by annihilating 
slavery. 

There is much in the early history of the settlers 
in New England that seems to us utterly contemp- 
tible. The incessant wrangling about religious 
dogmas and human duties, which constituted their 
daily occupation during many years, appears to the 
men of the nineteenth century quite as frivolous and 
foolish as the controversies of the schoolmen. Yet 
the talk was not all empty, nor were the discussions 
all aimless. They necessarily implied and compelled 
an acquaintance with subjects which education 
could alone impart, and the controversies engen- 



346 WESTWABD BY R.UL- 

dered by the pulpit led to the foundation and matO' 1 
tenance of the school. The man who could not 
read was a useless member of society. It wafi felt 
that, in order to promote the objects which were 
generally admitted to be laudable, the education of 
the young wae indispensable. Hence an impetus 
was given to teaching which outlasted the sjiecial 
reason whereon it was based. It became as miich a 
matter of course that the youth of Massachusetts j 
should cultivate their intellects as that they should j 
learn how to handle a gun or guide the plough. 
The result is now beheld in the positioD which 
mental attainments have enabled the citizens of 
Boaton to acquire despite the disproporttoQ of 
numbers and wealth. Their weight in the councils 
of the Union is due to their indisputable superiority 
in culture and learning. 

Coming as I did from San Francisco, where 
culture is the exception, to a city where it is the 
rule, the transition was impressive and noteworthy. 
On the Pacific coast I found that the men of wealth 
cared for nothing but to heap up money, and would 
not even ud in helping those who were labouring 
to stock a library with the treasures of the mind. 
Within sight of the Atlantic the reverse was the 
fact Merely to name the libraries in Boston would 
fill mactt space, while to describe all that the 



' BOSTON CITY AND HARVARD UNXVERSITY. 347 

wisdom of the civic authorities and the munificence 
of individuals have done towards promoting the 
acquirement and increase of knowledge would re- 
quire a volume. If then I would give any illus- 
tration of my statement, I must confine myself to a 
single case. Nor is it difficult to do this satisfac- 
torily. Recent events have made the name of 
Harvard a familiar one to English ears. An account 
of what Harvard has been and now is may then be 
welcome to English readers, while serving as an 
example of the manner in which the citizens of 
Massachusetts have honoured and advanced the 
higher departments of learning. 

Earl Bellamont, Governor of Massachusetts, said 
in his message to the General Court in 1699, ^ It 
is a very great advantage you have above other 
provinces, that your youth are not put to travel for 
learning, but have the Muses at their doors.' This 
was intended as a high compliment to Harvard Col- 
lege, then the chief seminary of sound learning on 
the North American Continent. That college was 
neither young nor undistinguished at the time the 
Governor wrote. It was then sixty-three years old, 
and had been presided over by some of the most 
distinguished among the many able men who were 
engaged in founding on land reclaimed from the 
wilderness, and haunted by savages and wild beasts. 



348 WESrWAKD BT SAIL. 

m new and a n^ktj England. Sixteen yean after 
tlie Fi%rim Fadien dMnbaiked at Flymoiillt 
Bodcy tlie Lfigislatare cf die eolony cf MiiwiciTiii 
setts Ba J lesolred to cataUiak a eoUcge. A anm 
of monej was act apart ftr die pofpoae. Thisreao- 
ludoD was as remaikable as it was wise and Ugli- 
spirited. In one cf tlie great i^eechea of die late 
Mr. Eyeretty the or caa ien was josdy eulogised as 
the first ' on indudi a people erer taxed diemaelTes 
to found a place of education.' The same renowned 
orator fmther said that Harrard College 'was an 
institotion established by the people^s means for the 
people^s benefit/ and he was able to make the 
proud boast that at no period had Harvard ever 
been ^indebted to the Crown for a dollar or a 
book.' Yet Harvard owes a debt to England and 
Englishmen which she has never ceased to acknow- 
ledge with undissembled gratitude. The Rev. John 
Harvard, an English clergyman, who emigrated to 
America, took up his abode in the colony of Massa- 
chusetts, and died iu 1638, bequeathed his library 
and the half of his fortune to the infant institution. 
The example was speedily followed, and money 
flowed in on all hands. Not long afterwards the 
name of the locality was changed from Newtown 
to Cambridge, in honour of the many Cambridge 
graduates, who, like Mr. Harvard, had thrown in 



BOSTON CITY AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 349 

their lot with the settlers. It has been estimated 
that in 1638 there was one Cambridge graduate to 
every 200 or 250 inhabitants of the New England 
villages. Hardly less memorable than this is the 
fact that the American offshoot from the grand old 
University which has done so much for the cause 
of English liberty, sent forth the earliest protest 
made in America against pusillanimous submission 
to the tyranny of the civil magistrate. Among the 
records in which the alumni of Harvard still take 
delight is one chronicling how, in 1743, Samuel 
Adams, when taking his degree, maintained the 
thesis, ^ that it was lawfiil to resist the Chief Magis- 
trate if the State cannot otherwise be preserved.' 

It is not my design to write an elaborate his- 
torical sketch of the career of ^the University at 
Cambridge,' as Harvard College is designated in 
the constitution of the State of Massachusetts. 
Such an account would contain many statements 
not wholly creditable to those who, in bygone days, 
were in authority here. Like other seats of learn- 
ing Harvard has had its share of jealousies fomented 
by rivalry and of dissensions having their root in 
theological differences. These, however, have neither 
checked the growth nor lessened the popularity of 
the University itself. Besides, they are events of 
days which have passed away, and possess little in- 



350 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 



anUquarjr, | 



terest for any one but the hiftonun or the anUquarjr, 
Nevertheless, before procfieding to speak of Har- 
yiird as she now is, a few extracts from official 
documents illustrative of what ghe was in olden 
times may prove useful and interesting. As in the 
Btatuteg of our English universities, so in those of 
Harvard many of the provisions are admirable, 
while others appear harsb to modem readers, and 
ndiculous to modem students. For example, it is 
ordained in ' The Laws, Liberties, and Orders of 
Harvard College,' dated 1642-6, that the students 
* shall be slow to speak, and eschew not only oaths, 
lies, and uncertain rumours, but likewise all idle, 
foolish, bitter, scoffing, &o^y, wanton words, and 
offensive gestures;' that * none shall pragmatically 
intrude or intermeddle in other men's affiurs ;' and 
tliat ' no scholar shall buy, sell, or exchange any- 
thing, to the value of sixpence, witJiout the allow- 
ance of his parents, guardiaoD, or tutors.' The last 
proviso seems to have been framed with a view to 
stifle that love for bargaining and bartering with 
which New Englanders have long been credited. 
The following is in still more direct opposition to 
tlie practical spirit which is universally regarded 
as the leading characteristic of Americans : — ' The 
scholars shall never use their mother tongue, except 
that in public exercises of oratoiy, ot such like. 



BOSTON CITY AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 351 

they be called to make them in English.' In the 
orders issued by the overseers in 1650 there is the 
following prohibition against the use of tobacco : — 
^ No scholar shall take tobacco unless permitted by 
the president^ with the consent of their parents or 
guardians, and on good reason first given by a phy- 
sician, and then in a sober and private manner.' 
Quite as curious as these obsolete regulations are 
the successive changes which Harvard's motto has 
undergone. On the College Seal, made in 1642, 
the simple, yet significant word ' Veritas' was alone 
engraved. Subsequently, this was exchanged for 
the motto ' In Christo Gloriam,' and finally the 
present one was adopted, which is ^ Christo et 
Ecclesice.' On the outside of one of the halls a 
facsimile in stone of the original seal is to be seen. 
The first four letters are inscribed on the inside of 
two open volumes ; the last three are on the outside 
of a third volume. This has been ingeniously ex- 
plained as indicating ' that no one human book con- 
tains the whole truth on any subject, and that in 
order to get at the real end of the matter we must 
be careful to look on both sides.' While nearly 
everything has undergone some change or a com- 
plete transformation throughout New England, the 
University at Cambridge is substantially the same 
now in spirit and fact as it was two centuries ago. 



352 WESTWARD BY HAIL. 

Old buildings remain to show to the present genera- 
tion what manner of ediSces their forefathers erected 
and occupied. In the proximity of halla over whicli 
centuries have passed are modem edifices in the 
style of a period which thinks quite as highly of 
ornament as of utility, or rather which strives to 
combine them both. Most striking among the 
latter is the library. This is a substantial stone 
building in the plain Gothic style. It contains 
nearly 200,000 volumes in every department of 
literature, the collection of scientific works being 
Tery lai^e, and the collection of punphlets being 
exceedingly valuable. Just as one Englishman 
gave a stimulus to the good work of founding Har- 
vard College, BO have other Englishmen contributed 
to increase the treasurea of its library. The atten- 
tion of the visitor from England is pointedly called 
to the munificent benefaction of Mr. Hollis, of Lin- 
coln's Inn, an Englishroan who, in the last century, 
enriched the library with hia own splendid collection 
of books. His name, along with those of other dis- 
tiuguished donors and notable men, may be seen in 
conspicuous parts of the principal room. No hin- 
drances are put in the way of non-students profiting 
by this fine library. With a liberality which can- 
not be too strongly commended or too widely imi- 
tated, the University authorities have treated their 



BOSTON CITY AND HAVARD UNIVERSITY. 353 

library as the common property of thirsters after 
knowledge, and have rendered access to it very easy 
to all respectable persons. Speaking generally, it 
may be said with truth that the system in operation 
at Harvard is the same as that prevailing in our 
Universities at home. One of the differences is the 
method of teaching, which resembles that in vogue 
at Edinburgh and other University cities of Scot- 
land. The students are more youthful than English 
undergraduates, and the professors teach more than 
they lecture. Another essential difference is the 
custom of regarding all the students who have 
entered during the same year as belonging to one 
class. The class does not cease to exist when the 
University course is at an end. An honorary secre- 
tary is elected, whose duty consists in compiling a 
catalogue of the several members, with a short bio- 
graphy of each. Once a year every one who thinks 
fit to do so forwards such particulars as he may 
deem interesting to his classmates. These records 
are preserved, and when the class dies out the 
whole of the documents are deposited among the 
University archives. Being printed for private cir- 
culation only, the class lists are more minute in 
their details than they might be were the informa- 
tion communicated to the public. Judging from 
those which I have been permitted to inspect, I 

A A 



354 WESTWAED BY RAIL. 

may affirm with perfect confidence that the public 
does not always lose much which is really valuable 
by being kept in ignorance of what the members of 
each class think of themselves and of each other. 
If many of the facts communicated are worthy of 
record, others are so trivial as to merit obUvion. 
Amateur theatricals combine with boating to give 
the students scope for the display of their powers in 
other fields than those of science and the arts. 
How far proficiency on the stage contributes to a 
student's success in afler life is a problem as diffi- 
cult to solve as that which relates to the value of 
rowing as an element in University education. As 
the result of investigation, it may be asserted that 
the average number of reading men at Harvard is 
the same as that at the Universities of Europe. All 
the world over, a large proportion of young men 
has a decided taste for that kind of work which can 
with difficulty be distinguished from play. 

A notice of Harvard would be as incomplete 
without a reference to the Porcellian Club as a 
notice of Oxford or Cambridge would be in which 
the Union Debating Society held no place. This 
and the Hasty Pudding Club, an association for 
performing amateur theatricals, are the two lions of 
Harvard. The Porcellian Club is hardly a place of 
resort for those who cultivate the intellect at the 



BOSTON CITY AND HAVARD UNIVERSITY. 355 

expense of the body. It is a very mundane and by 
no means unpleasant institution. The list of active 
members is small, owing in part to the largeness of 
the annual subscription. The great desire of every 
student is to become a member of it, or, in default, 
to learn what its members really do and enjoy. As 
the doings of the club are shrouded in secrecy, many 
curious stories are current on the subject. All 
that can be said by a stranger who has been privi- 
leged to step behind the scenes is that the mysteries 
are rites which can be practised without much 
labour, and yield a pleasure which is fraught with 
no unpleasant consequences. On the whole, the 
alumni of Harvard have good reason to glory 
in their ancient University. She has proved the 
fruitful mother of great men and of patriotic citi- 
zens. The roll of her teachers is studded with 
famous names. To the energy and enthusiasm of 
her teachers and graduates much of the vigour dis- 
played in the heroic struggle for American inde- 
pendence, and much of the foresight and wisdom 
manifested by the framers pf the American Consti- 
tution, are unquestionably due. Nor did the second 
great contest, when the issue between justice and 
tyranny was again fought out in the war which 
slaveholders began and in which slavery was ex- 
tinguished, find the University at Cambridge an 

A A 2 



356 vrmrffAKD by rail. 

imcoiicerDed spectator. There is eometlimg irre- 
sistibly touching in the stories, told without osten- 
tatioD but with justifiable pride, of the students who 
went forth to serve as eager volunt«ers in the ranks 
of the great National army. Of these many fell on 
the battlefield, others perished in the camp, while 
few lived to return home unscarred and sound in 
limb. 

In one respect, the Harvard College of to-day is 
far in advance of what it was two centuries since. 
For those who profess different creeds there is now 
a latitude and kindly toleratioti such as the early 
Puritan settlers neither practised nor understood. 
In other respects the transformation has been com- 
plete. The unbending and gloomy Calvinism of 
the first settlers has been repudiated by their de- 
scendants. While all reli^ous sects are repre- 
sented here, the religion of the majority is that 
liberal, tolerant, and rational creed which is pro- 
fessed by Unitarians. 

If Harvard University owes much to the English- 
man who bequeathed to her tiie larger portion of 
his substance — a gift she has amply acknowledged, 
to use the late Mr. Everett's words, by giving to 
' an unknown stranger a deathless name ' — she has 
also done much to conquer the admiratioQ of all who 
speak and honour the English tongue. WMe the 



BOSTON CITY AND HAVABD UNIVERSITY. 3.^7 



alumni of Harvard demonstrate their daring and 
prowess in friendly rivalry with their English 
brethren^ it is meet that the latter should visit the 
oldest and most famous among the Universities of 
America, for by so doing they would find much to 
admire, something to learn, and many things in 
which to glory. 



■WESTWARD BY RAIL. 



XXV. 

SEW YOBK 20 EUSTON SQUARE. 

The Pacific Kailway was primarily designed 
to link the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the United 
States. That passengers and produce should be 
carried with the greatest poaaible speed between the 
principal cities of California and Oregon and those 
of the Middle and Eastern States is what everyone 
who had at heart the development of the internal 
resources and the commerce of the country felt 
naturally bound to further. The railway is a means 
towards the accomplishment of the desired result. 
But it has also been regarded as an instrument for 
the promotion of a still grander object. It is sap- 
posed to be destined to revolutionize the commerce 
of the world by affording increased facilities for 
the reciprocal transference of goods and passengers 
between China, Japan, Australia, and Europe. The 
nearest way from Paris or London to Yokohama, 
Shanghae, or Sidney is said to lie across the 
Atlantic, the Continent of America and the Pacific 



NEW YORK TO EUSTON SQUARK 359 

Ocean. An important element in any calculation 
relating to the subject is the certainty of the journey 
being completed within a specified time. This 
matter is one still open to speculation. There is 
no question that, if existing arrangements were 
carried out to the letter^ the value of the new route 
would be demonstrated. For my own part I cannot 
maintain that the traveller who puts his trust in 
time-tables, whether these relate to steam-boats or 
railway trains, exhibits a well-founded confidence. 

When I journeyed from New York to San 
Francisco the time occupied was nearly a day longer 
than the allotted period. The same thing occurred 
on the return journey. The traveller whose destina- 
tion is not New York but London must take note of 
another consideration. He probably has a decided 
preference for one out of the many lines of steamers 
which make the passage across the Atlantic. If 
forced by circumstances to be economical, his chief 
desire will be to travel at the cheapest rate, yet he 
may not wish to forego comfort. If he be one of 
the favoured few who need take no thought about 
money, he will probably yearn to secure his per- 
sonal safety. The outlay necessary to secure a 
first-class passage ranges from thirteen guineas to 
twenty-six pounds, according to the Company which 
is patronized. Although a steamer is said to sail 



360 



WrarWAED BY RAIL. 



daily from Isew York, yet ttere is generally th« I 
interval of a week, and Bometimes of a fortnighVl 
between the days of sailing of the vessels belonging^ 
to a particular Company. When these facts aro'd 
duly considered it becomes clear that to journey 1 
from San Francisco to London with entire satisfao> J 
tion in the space of eighteen days is a feat much \ 
more easily performed on paper than in reality. 

^VTien New York is the place whence the traveller 
begins his Atlantic voyage, the opportunitieB for 
examining the steam-ships of the several shipping 
lines prior to engaging a berth are greater than 
those which can be enjoyed elsewhere. The vesaelB 
which eul from Bremen and Hamburg, Brest and 
London, Liverpool and Glasgow, all take ap thdr 
moorings at one of the wharves on the North River. 
To those who are unbiassed by national prejudices, 
and uninfluenced by pecuniary considerations or 
personal preposBessions the variety of choice is almost 
too great. First comes the Cunard line widi its 
high fares and high reputation. Second on the list 
is the Inman line which ia struggling to rival the 
Cunard by making more rapid voyages, and which 
charges lower fares. The Guion and the National 
lines are of more recent date and rely for patronage 
rather upon lownees of chaise than upon rapidity 
of passage. The steamers of these lines sail to 



NEW YORK TO EUSTON SQUARK 361 

Liyerpool, touching at Queenstown. Those of the 
Anchor line touch at Londonderry, on the way to 
Glasgow. The steamers of the Hamburg and New 
York line touch at Plymouth and Brest when 
voyaging between the cities of which the names 
form its designation^ while those of the North 
German Lloyd touch at Southampton on the way 
between New York and Bremen. The London 
and New York line has a fortnightly service between 
the Thames and the Hudson, while the Compagnie 
Transatlantique conveys passengers between Brest 
and New York. In this list the name of an 
American steamship company does not appear, for 
the conclusive reason that no such company exists. 
The carrying trade as well as the passenger traffic 
across the Atlantic is in English, German, or 
French hands ; even the mails of the United States 
being transported in foreign vessels. That this 
should be the case is due not to deficiency in enter- 
prise, but to the ascendency of a system which is 
supposed to give protection to the native industry 
and to the shipping interests of the American people. 
At present the shipbuilders of the Clyde can supply 
iron steamships at lower prices than the ship- 
builders of any other part of the world. Nearly all 
the companies named above have had their vessels 
built on the banks of the Clyde. Even the French 



362 WESTWABD BY RAIL. 



to purchast^ 



efaipowner bos found it profitable to 
British-built iron steamers. But the Anierican 
shipowner cannot do this if he would. Conse- 
quently, he is at a disadvantage when compared 
with his foreign rivals. They are free to make 
contracts which redound to their pro6t, while he is 
BO carefully protected against using his oivn dis- 
cretion as to be helpless to perform that which he 
deems the best for himseli. The political freedom 
enjoyed by the citizens of the United States has 
made their country the envy of less favoured nations 
and one of the wonders of the world. When the 
enlightened policy of free exchange shall be substi- 
tuted for the mediEeval policy of protection, not only 
will the condition of the American people be vastly 
improved, but the progress of their country will be 
even more rapid than it has been, while the admira- 
tion of those who watch and welcome its advance 
will be all the greater and all the more sincere. 

A countryman and travelling companion, whose 
attachment to the flag and liking for the Cunard 
line were too strong to be overcome by the tempta- 
tion of novelty even when presented in the form 
of German steamers famed for the comfort of their 
arrangements, having resolved to return home in 
the Cuba, I took my passage in that steamer also. 
It is noteworthy how those who frequently croea the 



NEW YORK TO EUSTON SQUARE. 363 

Atlantic acquire preferences for certain steam-ships. 
They do this for the same reason that a traveller re- 
turns to the hotel at which he is specially welcome 
because there he is personally known. An Atlantic 
steam-boat is but a floating hotels and acquaintance 
with those who are permanently on board ensures 
an amount of attention for which the new-comer 
looks in vain. Some Americans who were among 
my fellow passengers spoke strongly in favour of 
the Cuba. They had sailed in her at different 
seasons of the year and when on board felt less 
apprehension for their safety than when in other 
steamers or when in a railway train. She had not 
a reputation for speed ; but she was a good seaboat. 
Starting an hour after the Coleradoy a vessel belong- 
ing to the Guion line, we had an opportunity of 
seeing which was the more rapid sailer. The 
struggle was not a long one, nor was the race hotly 
contested. In nautical phrase the Cuba walked 
away from the Colerado. 

The incidents of the voyage were too unimportant 
to merit special notice. Most striking of them all was 
an Atlantic gale lasting two days. The prodigious 
mass of water which unceasingly rolls over the lofty 
rocks at Niagara is supposed to convey one of the 
best examples of irresistible power to be seen in 
Nature. I cannot but think, however, that the 



364 WESTWARD BT HAIL 

ocean heaving and foaming under the influence of a 
gale is a spectacle quite as imposing and mftjestic* 
Tlie mighty sweep of the limitless waves appears 
fraught with ruin to everything in their path. As 
the infuriated wind shrieks and battles with the 
rising billows, the insignificance of man is the 
thought which takes possession of the mind only to 
be expelled however by the proud reflection that the 
powers of the air and the water are put at defiance 
by the vessel which triumphantly keeps her course 
and thua demonsti-ates the perfection of man's handi- 
work and extent of human resonrces. 

The progress of inTention has given to man the 
empire over the sea, but it has not yet enabled him 
uniformly to enjoy his triumph. To but a email 
minority ia it given to take pleasore in a eea-voyage 
and to laugh at the very notion of being painfully 
affected by the motion of a vessel. Dr. Chapman 
has proclaimed that if his remedy of applying ice, 
enclosed in an India-rubber bag, to the spinal oord 
were universally adopted by those who are subject to 
sea-sicknesB, the malady would be almost unknovm. 
But the Buflerers commonly refuse to adopt any 
plan which does not accord with their own views. 
Each one has his private panacea. On board the 
Cuba I witnessed some experiments in this line 
which were at least novel. One passenger Iiad im- 



NEW YORK TO EUSTON SQUARE. 365 

plicit faith in port wine, freely administered. He 
bore bravely up for two days and then was seen no 
more. Another had perfect confidence in hot West 
Indian pickles mixed with potatoes. Of this com- 
pound he ate heartily and he alleged that it did him 
good. Appearances prompted another conclusion. 
A third said that there was nothing like marmalade 
and of this he took large quantities after every meal. 
More noteworthy than the remedies themselves was 
the childlike belief which those who employed them 
manifested in iheir efficacy. K sea-sickness could 
be cured by faith, then sea-sickness ought never to 
affect a large number of persons. The majority, 
however, generally learn by agonizing experience 
that Neptune is a deity neither to be offended with 
impunity nor propitiated with ease. Nowhere but at 
sea can the minority who are always well, practically 
appreciate the nature of the satisfaction which, ac- 
cording to Lucretius and Rochefoucauld, is the 
most perfect that human beings can enjoy, the satis- 
faction of being in rude health and entire comfort 
while others are living pictures of woe, and are bear- 
ing witness by their acts to the truth of Sir Thomas 
Overbury's saying that the sea is a ' moving misery.' 
It is so common to praise the steamers of the 
Cunard Company, and ihese steamers are in many 
respects so admirable, that the duty of pointing out 



365 WESTWARD BY RAIL, 



^ 



defects has beeu considered too invidious a one t6 
he discharged willingly. In consequence of this 
the managers of that company may remain entirely 
ignorant of minor, but not unimportant, complaints 
made by passengers in their steam-boats. One of 
these is not applicable to the Cunarders alone, yet 
that ia no excuse for the arrangements of these 
steamers being open to the strictures which I am 
about to make. When the passage-money is paid, 
the steward's foe is professedly included in the 
amount. This plan commends itself to most per- 
sons, aa it saves trouble and obviates annoyance 
should the contract be rigidly carried out on both 
sides. In reality, however, the payment is a sham, 
or an imposition. If no steward's fee were in- 
cluded in the passage-money, a saving would be 
effected to the extent of at least one sovereign. 
The cabin steward, the saloon steward, and a per- 
sonage calling himself boots, all make it clear that 
they expect fees. Payments made under these 
circumstances are simply black mul levied in 
modem guise. It is reasonable that if extra trouble 
be given, an extra payment should be made ; but in 
no case should money be handed directly to the 
servants. The purser is the proper person through 
whose hands permissible gratuities should pass, or 
a box might be provided to contain the sums which 

Ik ' 



NEW YORK TO EUSTON SQUARK 367 

might be contributed voluntarily, the total being di- 
vided pro rata among all those entitled to share in 
the distribution. There are other matters which the 
company would do well to consider with a view to 
rendering their steamers as comfortable as they are 
safe. What these are I shall not specify ; if the com- 
pany desire to learn further particulars, let them send 
an agent during one voyage, and report what the pas- 
sengers say openly and without reticence. It would 
be wise not to treat these things with contempt, for 
competitors are pressing close on the heels of the 
Cunard Company. In many points of detail the 
steamers of the German lines are arranged with 
far more consideration for the convenience and com- 
fort of passengers, than are the finest among the 
Cunarders. 

On arriving at Euston* square after a journey 
which, if not unbroken, was yet very rapidly made 
from San Francisco to London, the mind naturally 
dwells on the railway which has rendered such a 
journey possible. Regarded as a whole the Pacific 
Railway is a great triumph of engineering skill and 
patriotic enterprise. It will contribute as much to 
consolidate and perpetuate the Union as the most 
splendid and thorough of Grant's victories, either 
as soldier or statesman. 

Even more satisfactory than the fact that the 



368 WESTWARD BT R4IL. 

Pacific Railway has virtually opened out a new coun- 
try, as well as pro\'i<led a new route to the East, 
is the stimulus it has given to continue and estenij 
the work of which its originators were the daring 
and devoted pioneers. A second line through 
Kansas will soon be completed, thus opening up the 
country to the south of the present one, A third 
line is in contemplation which will open up the 
country to the north of it, bringing traflSc from 
Lake Superior to the mouth of the Columbia River. 
In this rivalry ihe Canadians are about to take 
part. A line has been projected which will bring 
Halifax as near to Victoria as New York is to San 
Franciaco. This line will traverse the Dominion of 
Canada from ocean to ocean and render millions of 
acres of the richest land in the known world acces- 
sible to the emigrant and adapted for the settler. 
As a route to the East, the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
way will shorten the distance between Liverpool 
and Hong Kong by 700 miles, compared with any 
other railway traversing the Continent of America. . 
Thus, the three greatest enterprises of recent years 
— the Atlantic Cable, the Pacific Railway, the 

- Suez Canal — are of inestimable value as examples 
as well as achievementa. The success in each case 
has led to the proeecution of undertakings which 

^^uld otherwise have loqg continued to be mere 



NEW YORK TO EUSTON SQUARE. 



369 



projects, exciting the derision of the foolish and the 
doubts of the prudent. It is a good omen for the 
future of humanity that England, France, and 
America, should have become vigorous rivals in 
works far more worthy to be praised than the com- 
petition which aims at covering the sea with iron- 
clad men-of-war, and the land with soldiers armed 
to the teeth, works of which the good is never in- 
terred with the bones of those who have aided in 
their achievement, but survives and operates to 
make the race of man happier by rendering the 
globe more habitable. 



B B 



W^rrWAED BY SAIL. 



XXVI. 

mruBssioys AND opariom of AMErtiCA. 

' What do you think of America ? ' ' How did 
you Jike the Americans?" These two queatioua 
were frequently put to me, after returning home 
from the United Slates. Possibly, tlie readere of 
the foregoing pages may not object if the substance 
of the replies which I made, is appended to this 
volume by way of conclusion. The answers which 
I shall furnish must necessarily be short and super- 
ficiaL All that I profess to do is to note one or 
two salient points and comment on some unmistake- 
able peculiarities. To do more would fill a volume. 
Adequately to do as much, within the narrow com- 
pass of a few pt^ea, is a task of do small difficulty. 
Great interest has always been felt throughout 
the United Kingdom about the condition and 
destiny of the vigorous off-shoot which has rapidly 
waxed great on the American continent. In order 
to gra^y this natural and praiseworthy curiosity 
many English travellers have paid visits to the 
United States and placed on record their experi- 
ences and their prognostications. Unfortunately the 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 371 

anxiety to compose a saleable work has been more 
apparent than the determination to produce a fair 
and accurate one. Hence it is that English books 
of travel in America are for the most part either 
bundles of prejudices artistically arranged, or else 
deliberate caricatures skilfully drawn. 

The circumstance that the Americans are living 
and active incarnations of modern liepublicanism, is 
an element in the calculation which has had undue 
influence in moulding the conclusions of some Eng- 
lish visitors to their land. Even among educated 
men in the United Kingdom there lurks the silly 
and baleful notion that all English-speaking Ke- 
publicans are dangerous animals ; semi-lunatics or 
utter knaves; human gorillas imperfectly tamed 
and wholly uncivilized. For the Republicans of 
antiquity and for Republics which have foundered in 
the seas of time are manifested true admiration and 
fervent sympathy. Nor is it impossible to find 
several persons of note who will admit that French- 
men and Spaniards are justified in preferring a 
Republican form of government to a cruel and 
grinding despotism. 

In the case of the Swiss an exception is always 
unreservedly made. The patriotism which inspired 
the fabulous deeds of AVilliam Tell, the proximity 
to a mountain so famous as Mont Blanc, or some 

B B 2 



372 WESTWARD BT BAIL. 

ocxnilt reason, bus surrounded the Swiss willi a halo 
of romance, and caused those who abominate the 
very name of a Republic to approve of such a Re- 
public as that of Switzerland. The reasons com- 
monly assigned for the approbation bestowed upon 
the fonn of government in existence among the 
Swiss are that Switzerland is a small country-, is 
sparsely populated, is inhabited by a frugal and 
industrious people, ajid is very mountainous. These 
reasons are deemed conclusive, chiefly because they 
nrc supposed to justify the remnrk that, in a country 
of vast area and containing a population as large as 
that of the United Kingdom, the Republic esta- 
blished there is either a ■ bubble ' destined to burst, 
or the precursor of anarchy. I have been unable 
to discern a tittle of evidence confirmatory of these 
views. The tokens of failure do not lie on the 
surface. It is impossible for any one who is not 
the slave to foregone conclusions to travel through 
the United States and converse with persons of 
every rank in the social and intellectual scale 
without becoming convinced that the system of 
government prevailing there, a system which Has its 
basis in the possession of brains and disregards 
altogether the accidents of birth, is a system at 
once popular and efficient, and that, if imperfect in 
minor details, it is as a whole a finely devised and 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 373 

carefuUy co-ordinated scheme for the government of 
the people by the people. 

This opinion will be regarded in some quarters 
as rank heresy. It does not accord with the con- 
clusions of many able writers. The statements of 
some recent travellers may be used to refute my 
conclusions. These travellers would be entitled to 
the greater weight as authorities if they had proved 
themselves capable of arguing logically and desirous 
of chronicling facts with impartiality. One of them 
passed an adverse judgment upon Bepublican insti- 
tutions because he got a bad bed-room in the best 
New York hotel and because he detested the street 
and railway cars. Another writer has insidiously 
endeavoured to discredit the Great Republic by 
giving unfair prominence^ in his description of what 
he strangely christened * New America,' to some 
abnormal phases of pseudo-religious life, and by 
inducing his readers to infer that the most dis- 
creditable and profligate aberrations of sexual 
relationship constitute all that is characteristic of 
American society. Still more recently, a gentleman 
who journeyed over a large portion of the world in 
order to test mankind by a new standard, has drawn 
a ghastly picture of the Republic of the West. 
In the opinion of this writer, wherever pew-rents 
are charged, there everything is out of joint. 



Rvllv luinnlr- niiiy yrl 
c.m.naii.l of iiiviTtivc uiiil 
to work more niii-chicf t 
repair. 

While conTinced as t 
chievous character of man; 
United States, I am rei 
American citizens act in 
misunderstanding and pre 
ineolent assumption of 
offends not a few. In i 
perfection of the system 
by their predecessors, th( 
wantonly revile the syst 
While on the one hand, 
ibe Old World dislikes ai 
inherent defect is their n 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 375 

frequently manifested on both sides to be captious 
and critical rather than to study and comprehend, 
the rea(Unes8 to decide on insufficient data, the dis- 
like to make allowance for unavoidable imperfec- 
tions. Each is apt to be offended if the expected 
flattery be withheld. Both naturally resent what is 
styled good advice, but which in reality is veiled 
malice. This kind of good advice is hardly less 
dangerous than the proverbial good intentions. If 
administered too freely, or inopportunely, it creates 
a hell of which the existence cannot be excused by 
saying that the supply of pavement is ample. 

The English traveller in America has reason to 
take special note of the hotels. They materially 
differ from what he has seen either at home or on the 
Continent of Europe. For convenience of arrange- 
ment the first-class American hotel is imrivalled. 
Everything the visitor may require is within his 
reach. Shops of various kinds are generally in 
communication with the spacious entrance hall, 
while within that hall is an office whence telegrams 
may be sent off, and where railway tickets may be 
purchased. In one respect the English first-class 
hotel is preferable. It generally has, what the 
American has not, a reading-room containing, in 
addition to the daily newspapers, the weekly 



376 WESTWARD BY RAIL, 

journalB, monthly magazines, and quarterly reviews. 
The reading-room in an American hotel is meagrely 
supplied with newspapers, the frequenter being 
expected to buy hia newspaper or periodical at the 
adjoining book-stall. Another drawback is tliat 
the American hotel la designed as much for the 
accommodation of the lounger as for the reception 
of the traveller. The idle public of the city makea 
free use of the entrance hall and reading-room, 
monopolizing the fireplace in winter and the seats 
near the window in summer. As a rule, baehelora, 
and married men travelling without their wives, get 
the worst rooms in all hotels ; but in an American 
hotel they are treated with marked disrespect. The 
rooms set apart for them are in striking contrast 
to those which married couples are allowed to 
occupy without paying more for the superior ac- 
commodation. Making this fact the foundation of a 
theory, the ingenious speculator might advance a 
new explanation of the early marriages for which 
Americans are remarkable. 

Travelling by rail has become very luxurious in 
several States, while, in others, it is a very fatiguing 
means of locomotion. The Western States are 
gradually teaching those of the East to carry pas- 
sengers from place to place in perfect comfort. 
M^othing can be less agreeable than the ordinary 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 377 

American railroad car : no carriage is more admi- 
rable than the car which has given to Mr. Pulknan 
wealth and fame. Why an English railway com- 
pany should not try the experiment of running 
some of these sleeping or drawing-room cars is a 
mystery to which I can find no clue. If it be said 
that the distances are too shorty I answer that five 
hours in a railway carriage need not necessarily be 
hours of torture. The journey between London 
and Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Inverness 
is surely long enough to warrant the employment 
of the improved carriage. Such a carriage is used 
when the Queen journeys from Windsor to Bal- 
moraL Now, that provided for her use is neither 
more sumptuously decorated, nor more commo- 
diously arranged than the best of Mr. Pullman's 
cars. To travel in them involves payment of an 
additional charge. This extra fare is cheerfully 
paid in America. Is it probable that Englishmen 
would refuse to buy luxury on the rail if they had 
the option ? Besides, the system has been found 
to be not only popular but remunerative. The 
shareholders in * Pullman's Car Company ' receive 
dividends at the rate of 12 per cent. If one of 
these cars were shown at the Exhibition of Works 
of Utility to be held next year at South Kensing- 
ton, the English public would blush to perceive 



378 WEsrrWABD BY RAIL. 

Uiat in tluB matter they have heen surpassed, and 
vrotiM fitrm an opininn most favourable t« the spirit 
and enterprise of the active citizens of Clucago. 

The observant and unprejudiced visitor wlio ha§ 
spent a few dava in the United States begins 
to doubt the correctnees of what he has read 
ab<^ut the manners and appearance of the peo{)le. 
After the experience of a few weeks his new 
nations become more precise and appear still more 
plausible. The result of a few months' travel and 
scrutiny is to Iran-irorm his earlier views altogether 
and make him feel that, in trusting certun tra- 
vellers, he has been the victim of misplaced con- 
fidence. As for the repulsive Yankee of the novelist 
he is nowhere to be met vrith in the flesh. He has 
apparently been evolved out of the novelist's con- 
sciousness. The typical American has not yet 
been sketched with the writer's pen or the artist's 
pencil. This is not surprising, for the task is one 
of which the difficulty is only second to that in- 
volved in portraying the typical European. The 
external marks and latent vanatioos which separate 
and characterise Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans, 
Spaniards, and Italians are scarcely more distinctive 
than those which separate the native of Maine from 
the native of South Carolina ; the native of Ohio 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 379 

or Illinois from the native of Connecticut ; the 
native of Massachusetts from the native of Texas, 
California, or Oregon. All of them are citizens 
of the United States, but each is an American 
with a difference. The type must include and 
express both the points of agreement and the points 
of dissimilarity, and I repeat that such a type has yet 
to be exhibited to the world by the word-painter or 
the draughtsman. If Mr. * Punch ' would make a 
note of this he might hereafter gratify his admirers 
not only with exquisitely drawn cartoons, but also 
with a typical American as true to nature as is his 
typical Frenchman or German. 

It is as great a blunder to group Americans 
under one category as to confound the Highlander 
of Skye with the Cornish miner, the London cock- 
ney with the Dublin Irishman. No one acquainted 
with the French would regard the Frenchmen who 
perambulate Regent Street or Leicester Square as 
worthy representatives of the quick-witted, mer- 
curial and polished Parisians, while able to trace 
a likeness between them and the swaggering and 
boastful Gascons. Now the discrimination to be 
exercised in such a case as this should also be dis- 
played when opinions are passed upon Americans 
travelling in Europe. Some of them have no claim 
whatsoever to represent their country. Probably " 



380 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

they have become enriched by speculation. The 
discovery of a petroleum spring or the jiossession of 
a fat army contract may have suddenly filled their 
pockets to overflowing. They have got wealth, but 
no manners ; they have the desire to sliine, but can- 
not do BO at home. The best American society is 
as esclusive as tliat of London, Paris, or Vienna. 
Foreign adventurers may gain admittance into it ; 
but the native upstart is carefully excluded. Tlie 
latter has no choice but to seek in Europe that 
which he cannot obtain at home. In the twofold 
capacity of a rich man and an American citizen be 
is welcomed everywhere; his bad-breeding being 
laid to the charge of Bepublicanism ; his wealth 
being attributed to the possession on his part of 
extraordinary abilities. At the fashionable water- 
ing places of Germany during the summer and 
at the fashionable resorts in the south of France 
and Italy during the winter these men, accom- 
panied by their underbred wives and ill-bred chil- 
dren, are to be seen in all the glory of upstart 
millionaires. Highly paid couriers rob them and 
translate for them. They occupy the most expen- 
sive rooms in the hotels ; eat the delicacies which 
are not in season ; drink wines of the rarest vintage. 
They are the targets for criticism and scorn ae they 
loll in splendid carriages alongude of their wives 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 381 

resplendent in dresses of the newest fashion and 
gUstening with gems of great price. These men 
can sign their names and write intelligible letters. 
Newspapers they can read and enjoy. But of cul- 
ture they are bereft, and of manners they have not 
even a varnish. To regard these blustering and 
unattractive members of the * Petroleum' or * Shoddy 
Aristocracy' as anything but Americans in name, is 
to err in a way of which the grossness cannot be 
adequately apprehended by anyone who has not 
visited the United States and formed the acquaint- 
ance of Americans in the land of their birth. 

The notion prevails that the Americans are far 
too free and easy in manner to please the tastidious 
stranger. It is true that they often shake hands. 
This, however, is a custom which has no special sig- 
nificance. It resembles what the French designate 
* hat-politeness.' An American cordially shakes 
hands with those whom he does not care to meet on 
terms of intimacy. Introductions are made with great 
formality ; utterance is given to the pleasure which 
it gives the one to make the acquaintance of the 
other, while, should they see each other again, they 
may appear to be perfect strangers. In the Western 
States the old English custom of interspersing sen- 
tences with * Sir,' a custom which, in high-bred 
Eastern circles, has almost died out, is still in force 



* 



382 WESTWARD BY HAIL. 



ic the mark m 



and the observance of it supposed to be t 
of good breeding. 

Eogliab words are oflen used in America to sig- 
nify something different from that which they con- 
vey to an English ear. A list of these words would 
show the inevitable change wliich is being wrought 
in the language. These alterations in meaning, 
accompanied by deliberate alterations in spelling, 
must sooner or later make the order which the 
Emi>eror Nicholas, when enraged against England, 
gave to substitute the teaching of American for 
English, one which it will he easy to obey. For 
my own part I am unable to side with those who 
profess to be shocked at the alleged deterioration of 
the English langui^e in America; nor can I see the 
propriety of taking the people to task on account of 
their accent. A great deal too much has been made 
of this trivial detalL In itself it is a matter of no 
moment whatever. Moreover, neither aide will 
convince the other, nor will denunciation of the 
American accent alter it one iota. The American 
climat« has attuned the American voice. Nor is 
the accent uniform. It varies in different States. 
In New England the voice is sharp and shrill ; in 
the South slow and liquid; in the West deep- 
toned and resonant Indeed, the differences in this 
respect are as notable as those which exiet between 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 383 

the accent of a Londoner, of a native of Dublin, of 
a native of Edinburgh. The like variation is ob- 
servable in other countries also. The pronunciation 
of a Parisian is in marked contrast to that of a 
native of Alsace, Provence, or Auvergne. A 
trained ear has little difficulty in noting the pecu- 
liarities of accent which distinguish the native of 
Hanover from the native of Frankfort or Leipsic, 
Berlin or Vienna. There is nothing new, though 
there is something very contemptible in interna- 
tional jealousies being cherished on account of the 
way in which the identical language is spoken by 
those who owe allegiance to different flags. Yet the 
aversion which Frenchmen exhibit to the Swiss 
and the Belgians is partly due to the supposition 
that the French of Geneva and Brussels is a bastard 
tongue. 

There is, however, another side to the question 
which has been wholly overlooked. Strangely enough 
the purists who are displeased with the accent and 
English of Americans have taken no thought of 
the consequences which might ensue were it impos- 
sible to tell an Englishman from an American as 
soon as either had uttered a few words. Sometimes 
this difference is so slight as to escape detection, 
and then Americans hear statements which are 
more frank than flattering. When the war raged 



384 WESTWAKD BY R.\IL. 

certain northern gentlemen of great influenco ii 
counciU of the nation were travelling for their 
health in Europe and were thus brought into con- 
tact with thoee eccentric British tourists who excite 
the wonder of foreigners and are a disgrace to their 
country. The latter being ignorant of the nation- 
ality of those witli whom they conversed in their 
mother tongue gave expression to sentiments which 
did not increase the admiration of tbe Americans 
for the part played by the United Kingdom. Mis- 
adventures of this kind have bad reanlts much more 
BeriouB than might bav& been expected. So far 
from regretting that the language spoken in the 
United Kingdom should not be the exact counter- 
part of that epoken in the United Stat«s, I am cer- 
tain that, the greater the divergence within reason- 
able limits, the better will it be for all parties. 

From points about which travellers differ, it is a 
pleasure to turn to one about which there has been, 
and must be perfect unanimity. The beauty of the 
women is without the pale of controversy. It cannot 
be likened to the beauty for which English girls 
are deservedly and univerBally admired ; for which 
Italian maidens have been immortalized on canvas 
or in verse ; for which the sprightly damsels of 
France and the coquettish ladies of Spain have won 
applause and by means of which they have made 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 385 

conquests. If I were to select a particular locality 
in the United States, I might truthfully compare 
the type of beauty predominant there to that of a 
particular country in the Old World. But America 
is a world in itself. Within the bounds of the 
Kepublic of the West are all the climates which 
give diversity to Europe, from Home to Copen- 
hagen and from London to Madrid. Where cli- 
mates vary, female faces vary also. In New England 
may be seen those delicately chiselled features and 
transparent complexions which in Europe are cha* 
racteristic of the fascinating beauties of the North. 
In the Southern States the imperious and indolent 
Spanish women, with their amorous eyes and raven 
hair, have been reproduced at the distance of many 
thousand miles from Andalusia and Castile. Let 
the traveller cross the continent till the Pacific 
slope is reached, and there the soft and delicate 
beauty of Italy, combined with an intelligence 
wholly American and a physique wholly English, 
delights and surprises him. Nor are good looks the 
sole dower of American girls. They are more 
French than English in the acuteness with which 
they argue. They are passionately fond of the fri- 
volities of existence, yet they follow with interest 
the course of the graver topics of the day. On poli- 
tical questions they are ready to take sides, and 

c c 



386 WESTWARD BY RAIL. 

they discuss the issues involved ia a controversy 
with zest and iind ere landing. Their patriotiem ia 
not n prorcssion, but a passion. The intensity of 
their devotion to their country imparted super- 
human vigour to the struggle when North and 
South faced ench other in battle array. The women 
of the South were the soul of the Confederacy. The 
women of the North saved the Cnioo. If the 
women of America were more kindly disposed to- 
wards England, the relations between the two coun- 
tries, nt this moment, would, be more cordial uid 
more secure. 

While misunderetandings are rife in Europe about 
the American people, mistakes quite as serious are 
commonly made with regard to the American press. 
The opinion of the entire country is supposed to be 
represented by the press of New York, or rather by 
a few New York newspapers. At one time there 
was an excuse for entertaining such an opinion, but 
that time has long since passed away. No one 
American newspaper is entitled to the rank of a 
national organ. Each espreases the views of well- 
defined sections; of particular interests; of indi- 
viduals whose personal crotchets inspire respect or 
excite curiosty. 

In thia respect the press of New York differi 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 887 

essentially from the press of London. The news- ' 
papers which guide and instruct Englishmen are in 
no sense of the word the organs of those who con- 
duct them. One editor may give place to another 
without any variation in the courses of The Times^ 
The Daily NewSy or The Standard. Under all 
circumstances and at all conjunctures The Times 
will strive to mirror the public opinion of the 
moment ; The Daily Netcs will uphold the doctrines 
of progress ; The Standard will defend and repre- 
sent the principles of conservatism. On any given 
question the line which each is sure to take may be 
predicted beforehand with a confidence amounting 
to certainty. A sudden and unexpected conversion 
would be fatal to the newspaper's reputation. The 
positions of each may vary, while the relative dis- 
tance between each remains unaltered. To employ 
Macaulay's illustration; — the tail may appear to 
have taken the place of the head yet the space 
between the head and tail is the same to an hair's 
breadth. 

Newspapers like the New York Times, Tribune, 
and Herald are managed on a plan totally dif- 
ferent. The conductor of each is known to the 
public. The opinions of the editor constitute the 
policy of the paper. When Mr. Raymond was 
alive^ the side which the New York Times took 

c c s 



WESTWARD BY RAIL. 



"1 



during a presidential campaign, or on a question of 
national policy, was the side wliicli Mr. Rajinond 
was known to favour. Should Mr. Horace Greely 
crown his noble career by an honourable recanta- 
tion of Protectionist heresies. The Tribune would 
at once become the ardent apoBtle of Free Trade. 
When Mr. Bennett has a friend to serve or a 
grudge to revenge, The Herald ia a powerful in- 
etrument for giving effect to his wish in either case. 
What injures an American journal the most is not 
inconaistency, bat iil-flnceess in coUecttcg news. 
Readers are indifferent to the tone or quality of the 
leading article so long as the latest intelligence is 
complete and trustworthy. The telegraphic de- 
spatches which, in our newspapers fill a column, 
often fill an entire page in an American newspaper. 
Owing to the personal nature and local infiuence of 
these journals many false impressions are made on 
those who, in Europe, look to any one for an index 
of national opinion. If the desire be enterttuned 
to trace the current and estimate the character of 
American thought by studying the press, the re- 
search must not be confined to a single New York 
journal, or terminale when all the journals of that 
city have been scrutinized, but must be extended to 
the leading journals of Boston and Philadelphia, of 
Richmond and Cincinnati, of Chicago and San Fran- 



mPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 38& 

ciscOy and even then it will be wise to hesitate . 
before pronouncing a decision which may be yitiated 
by the error of mistaking a part for the whole. 

Nothing gratified me more than the feeling of 
kindliness towards the Old Country which I found 
pervading the American people. The bitter and 
undying animosity about which much has been 
written exists on paper only, or in the distempered 
minds of irreconcilable Fenians. In this particular 
the press is not a faithful exponent of the public 
sentiment. A disposition to construe in the worst , 
sense all the actions of the United Kingdom and to 
discredit her on every occasion and in every ima- 
ginable way^ is certainly the characteristic of the 
press of New York. I believe this to be mere 
sound and fury wholly devoid of significance. It is 
the relic of a traditionary policy, rathfer than the 
token of a living and active hostility. To find a 
parallel to it, we have not far to seek. Long after 
the English people were on a footing of amity with 
the French, the tone of the press towards France 
was little more friendly and complimentary than in 
the days when it was the bad fashion to style 
Frenchmen our hereditary foes. The change in 
public opinion has now been responded to by the 
press of England, while that of France, reluctant to 
allow old jealousies to subside into oblivion, still 



390 WE3TWABD BY BAIL. 

harpB on the imaginary plots and intrigues of per- 
fidious Albion. 

The AmericauB certainly entertain tlie belief that 
the United Kingdom has often been unjust towards 
their country and was wilfully unkind in the hour 
of her Bore tribulation. Moreover, there is an in- 
disposition on their parts to give a cool hearing to 
any explanations which may serve to render the 
grievance of America less clear and substantiaL 
That the matter can have two aides is what few 
Americans readily admit : that the one party should 
be altogether in the wrong and the other altogether 
in the right seems to them a defensible position to 
assume. Notwithstanding a state of things alike 
painful and complicated, I consider that it is within 
the power of English and American statesmen to 
find the key of the puzzle and to agree to an 
arrangement which would both settle existing dif- 
ferences in an honourable and equitable way, and 
also ensure increased harmony in the future.* 

That an amicable adjustment of grievances and 
a close alliance in opinion and policy should be ef- 
fected between the United Kingdom and the United 

■ Thii ii not the pt»c« to discuu in drtail the problems vhich 
clutter rouod the AlHb&ma claimi. Beoides, I hurt done to tlse- 
wbere. Aaj Trader vho cares to learD the nature of m j raacliuiou* 
hai but to turn to the Witimintier Btviiw for January, 1870, and 
read ao article Kititled ' Americao Clainu on England.' 



IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS OF AMERICA. 391 

States must be the ardent desire of any one who^ 
like myself, being fondly attached to his own country 
and glorying in her renown, has had the advantage 
of traversing the greater portion of the magnificent 
continent of America, has enjoyed special opportu- 
nities for witnessing the working of the government, 
and has profited by conversations with all sections 
and classes of its energetic and high-spirited in- 
habitants. 



THE END. 



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npoTTiswoora ▲«]> cOn nw-STmixT sqvabb 

An PABLIAMBITT 8TBBBT 



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