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 The Atlantic to The Pacific.
 
 LONDON : TRINTKD BY 
 
 SPOTTrSWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQt'AKE 
 
 AND PARLIAMENT STREET
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 NEVADA FALL — YO-SEMITE VALLEY
 
 The Atlantic to The Pacific. 
 
 WHAT TO SEE and HOW TO SEE IT 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN ERASTUS LESTER, A.M. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 THE VO-SEMITE I ITS HISTORY., ITS SCENERY, ITS DEVELOPMENT; 
 
 MEMBER RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ETC. ETC. 
 
 WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
 
 1873- 
 
 All rights reserz>ed.
 
 
 TO 
 
 THEOPHILUS E. SICKELS 
 
 CO 
 
 en 
 
 GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT AND ENGINEER OF THE UNION PACIFIC RAII Rl \ 
 
 fit ptmovo of 
 
 PLEASANT DAYS PASSED IN THE EAST 
 £^ AS WELL AS IN THE WEST. 
 
 28
 
 PREFACE 
 
 1" N the early spring of 1872 the Author, starting 
 from New York, undertook the journey from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific : and the following 
 pages contain the record of that journey. His 
 object has been to lay before his readers accurate 
 descriptions, which, if they should visit California, 
 may show them what to see and how to see it. It 
 may be said, without fear of contradiction, that 
 the tracts of country here described exhibit some 
 of the most beautiful and sublime scenery in the 
 world ; and these magnificent regions are practi- 
 cally unknown not only to Englishmen, but to 
 many Americans who are familiar with the 
 countries of Europe. To the latter he presents 
 his book in the hope that it may induce them to 
 undertake a journey which he has found most
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 delightful ; and the former he addresses in the 
 hope that English travellers visiting the United 
 States may not confine themselves to the Atlantic 
 cities, but extend their journey across the Rocky 
 Mountains to the wonderful scenery of California. 
 
 J. E. L. 
 
 London : July 4, 1873.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 ROUTES FROM NEW YORK TO CHICAGO . . i 
 
 The 'New York Central,' 3. The 'Erie; 5. The 
 ' Pennsylvania^ 6. The ' Baltimore and Ohio; 9. 
 
 CHICAGO 14 
 
 Changes in the City since the great fire, 1 5. What is to be 
 seen in Chicago, 16. 
 
 CHICAGO TO OMAHA 18 
 
 Council Bluffs, 22. Omaha, 23. The Missouri River, 
 25. The Railway Bridge, 26. 
 
 OMAHA TO SALT LAKE CITY . . . . 31 
 
 Cheyenne, 35. The Rocky Mountains, 36. Laramie, 38 
 
 THE MORMONS 42 
 
 Salt Lake City, 45. Tlie Mormon Community, 47. 
 
 SALT LAKE CITY TO SAN FRANCISCO . . 50 
 
 The National Bark of the Yellowstone, 51. Battle Moun- 
 tain Station, 55- Reno, 56. Virginia City, Nevada, 
 56. The Truckee Region, 59. Hydraulic Mining, 63. 
 Cape Horn, 66
 
 x CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 71 
 
 Seal Rock and the Sea Lions, 74. Vieivs of the City, 7S. 
 The Chinese, 88. Goat Island, 98. 
 
 THE GEYSERS 102 
 
 Napa Valley, 104. White Sulphur Springs, 106. Calls- 
 toga, 108. The Great Geysers, 1 10. 
 
 SANTA CLARA VALLEY 119 
 
 The City 0/ San Jose, 123. The New Ahnaden Mine, 12S 
 
 THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY 131 
 
 The Road to the Yo-Semite, 135. The Mariposa Grove of 
 Big Trees, 141. The Wonders of Yo-Semite, 145. 
 Inspiration Point, 148. The Yo-Semite Fall, 153. 
 A'evada Canon, 157. Flora of Yo-Semite, 1 62. Wheat 
 Farming in the San Joaquin Valley, 1 69. Stockton, 1 7 1 . 
 Advice concerning l/w Journey, 1 76. 
 
 THE OVERLAND TOUR REVIEWED . . .177 
 
 Its Cost, 178. Summer Weather in California, 179. 
 Season to make the Trip, 1 80. 
 
 CALIFORNIAN HOSPITALITY . . . .183 
 
 San Mateo County, 185. A Day with' Ralston, 1S7. 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND 190 
 
 A Hotel Car, 191. Incidents of the Journey, 192. 
 
 THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD ... 193 
 
 The Story of its Organisation and Construction, 194
 
 CONTEXTS xi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD ... 200 
 
 The Trans-continental Routes, 203. The Preliminary 
 Surveys, 204. 
 
 CALIFORNIA FOR SETTLERS 207 
 
 Agricultural Lands, 208. Southern California, 209. San 
 Diego, 2IO. Wine Growing, 213. General Views, 217. 
 
 COLORADO 219 
 
 The Territory, 220. Colonies, 221. Denver, 222. Golden, 
 225. Denver to the Mines, 226. Black Hawk and 
 Central, 228. Idaho Springs, 231. Miners' 1 Talk, 233. 
 77/t' i??'<? Grande Railway, 234. Kansas Pacific, 235. 
 7#<? Parks, 236. Society in Colorado, 238. 
 
 QUARTZ MINING 239 
 
 /« California, 239. /« Colorado, 241. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 77^' Routes to the Yo-Semite ...... 243 
 
 Elevation of Peaks and Passes in the Sierras .... 244 
 
 Mountains and Waterfalls of Yo-Semite .... 245 
 
 77^6' Yo-Semite declared a National Park .... 246 
 
 77a? Hetch-Hetchy Valley 248 
 
 The Trees and Plants of Yo-Semite ...... 250 
 
 History of the Discoi'ery and Settlement of Yo-Semite . . 253 
 
 Origin oj 'the Name Yo-Semite ...... 262
 
 xii CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Discovery of Gold in California ..... 266 
 
 The Pacific Railroads and l/ie Land Grants .... 269 
 
 The Alining Towns of California . . . . .271 
 
 Trees and Plants of Rocky Mountains ..... 275 
 
 Altitudes in Colorado . . . . . . .279 
 
 Ores purchased at Boston and Colorado Smelting Works . . 280 
 Denver Weather Record . . . . . . ,281 
 
 History of Mining in Colorado ...... 282
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Nevada Fall— Yo-Semite Valley . . . Frontispiece 
 
 Map of Railway Lines between the Atlantic 
 
 and the Pacific To face page 40 
 
 Yo-Semite Valley in Early Morning . . ,, 72 
 
 Tenaya Canon— Yo-Semite Valley . ,, 112 
 
 Cap of Liberty — Yo-Semite Valley . . ,, 152 
 
 El Capitan — Yo-Semite Valley . . . ,, 1S4 
 
 Yo-Semite Falls from Glacier Point . . ,, 20S 
 
 Plan of Yo-Semite Valley . . ,, 240
 
 Errata. 
 
 Page 169, line i,for (the Southern Pacific) read (Visalia Division) 
 ,, 221, ,, 4 from foot of page, for 1861 read 1871, 
 „ 223, ,, 15, for 6,250 read 5,250 
 ,, 225, ,, 6, for 1849 raft/ 1859, 
 
 Lester's Atlantic.
 
 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 THOSE who accompany me through the following 
 pages will find therein an account of the principal 
 points of interest to be visited in a journey, overland, from 
 the Atlantic seaboard of the United States to and through 
 the state of California, with various digressions by the^ 
 way in States and Territories on either side of the Rocky 
 Mountains. Such of my readers as are not already 
 familiar with the localities named are advised to consult 
 frequently a map of the country, in the course of the 
 narrative. The experienced tourist needs no urging 
 upon this point. Such travellers find that a little pre- 
 liminary study of the geography and history of the sec- 
 tions along their intended route often converts what 
 might otherwise have been a merely tiresome and un- 
 interesting journey into a pleasant and really valuable 
 experience. 
 
 Routes from New York to Chicago. — Towards 
 New York, as the metropolis of the United States, 
 
 B
 
 2 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 all railroad lines converge. It was for me, as it will 
 be for most others, the starting-point for the journey 
 overland. I took the usual route — that in which Chicago 
 and Omaha are the principal midway stations. Some, 
 for special reasons, go by way of St. Louis, thence reach- 
 ing the Union Pacific Railroad either by way of Omaha, 
 or, taking the Kansas Pacific Railroad, by way of Kansas 
 City and Denver. The Chicago route is the more direct 
 however, and is unquestionably better in all respects. 
 There are four separate routes from New York to 
 Chicago or St. Louis. These routes take their designa- 
 tions from those of the great railway companies which, by 
 the process of ' amalgamation ' or otherwise, have acquired 
 control of the lines lying between their own original 
 termini, and the distant points on the Mississippi River 
 and the Lakes. The most northerly of these routes is the 
 ' New York Central ; ' next, south of it, is the ' Erie ; ' 
 next, the ' Pennsylvania ; ' next, the ' Baltimore and 
 Ohio.' The respective merits of these several routes 
 need hardly be a subject for discussion, the standard of 
 carefulness in management of trains, speed attained, and 
 provisions for the comfort of passengers being as nearly 
 as possible the same in all. The choice of routes is 
 therefore usually determined simply by the inclination of 
 the traveller, who, as the lines traverse widely divergent 
 paths to their common termini, may prefer to view one 
 section of country, or one prevailing class of scenery, 
 rather than another. Without attempting to lead the 
 reader to a conclusion as to which route should be chosen,
 
 NEW YORK TO CHICAGO 3 
 
 some account of the prominent features of each seems 
 requisite. 
 
 The ' New York Central' Route. — The railroads com- 
 prising this route are the New York Central and Hud- 
 son River Railroad, to Buffalo ; and, thence, by way of 
 Cleveland, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Rail- 
 way, or, by way of Detroit, the Great Western Railway of 
 Canada and the Michigan Central Railway to Chicago. 
 The scenery to be viewed in the journey from New York to 
 Albany (144 miles), directly along the banks of the Hudson 
 River, has become celebrated as being among the finest in 
 the world. The River takes its name from Hendrik Hudson, 
 the Dutch navigator, who was one of the earliest explorers 
 of this part of the New World. New York City, 
 having outgrown the bounds of Manhattan Island, is 
 now extending itself for several miles along the banks 
 of the Hudson. Looking across the broad bosom of 
 the river, which is here about two miles wide, the 
 traveller's attention is attracted by the palisades ; the 
 high perpendicular cliffs, which form the western bank 
 of the stream, extend for about two miles, and are an 
 unfailing cause of wonder and interest. All along the 
 river on the eastern side lie country mansions and 
 cottages of the merchant princes and the old Knicker- 
 bocker families, the elegant retreats of thousands noted 
 for their wealth or for success in business, politics, or 
 literature. The landed estates are extensive and highly 
 cultivated. The river is navigable as far as Albany. 
 b 2
 
 4 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Beyond Albany, the traveller by this line passes through 
 the Mohawk Valley, famous as an agricultural region ; and 
 hence, as will be observed by reference to the map, he will 
 find a continuous chain of cities and large towns as far as 
 Niagara Falls. This is one of the most important, most 
 populous, and wealthiest sections of the Union. The 
 Erie Canal, the greatest public work of its day in America, 
 will be frequently seen on the way from Albany to the 
 Falls. New York is called the ' Empire State,' having 
 held a more numerous population, and, until the admis- 
 sion of Texas, having been larger, than any other state of 
 the Union. The controlling interest in the New York 
 Central and Hudson River, and other railroads, in this 
 state is owned by one man, Cornelius Vanderbilt, usually 
 called the ' Commodore.' From an humble beginning as 
 simple captain of a passenger boat on the Hudson River, 
 he has added to his wealth, during a long and busy life, 
 until now, at about seventy-five years of age, he is 
 regarded as one of the three richest men in America 1 — his 
 fortune being roundly estimated at $80,000,000, or 
 16,000,000/. The main line under his control, from New 
 York to Niagara or Buffalo, is 441 miles in length, has a 
 double track, and with its various branches and sidings is 
 845 miles of railroad. It is admitted to be one of the 
 best managed railroads in existence. The ' Commodore,' 
 by the way, is credited with the exertion of great energy 
 and ability in checking wastefulness in the operation of 
 
 ! William B. Astor, #200,000,000, or 40,000,000/. Alexander 
 T. Stewart, $50,000,000, or 10,000,000/.
 
 NEW YORK TO CHICAGO 5 
 
 the roads, in taking care to have no useless servants, and 
 in securing the highest possible dividends in the shape of 
 income from these great properties. 
 
 The ' Erie ' Route. — All the world, it may be safely 
 assumed, has heard something of the Erie Railway, the 
 management of its affairs in the days of Fisk and Gould 
 having been such as to secure for it a very undesirable 
 kind of notoriety. A greater amount of English capital 
 was absorbed in its construction than in the case of any 
 American railroad, with perhaps one or two exceptions. 
 For a long time after its completion it was a favourite 
 line ; the American travelling public resorting to it as a 
 more direct route between New York and Buffalo, and as 
 affording views of the singularly interesting scenery in the 
 semi-mountainous country in southern and south-western 
 New York — the region of the Catskills, the farther 
 Alleghanies, and the picturesque slopes drained by the 
 head-waters of the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers. 
 The road has been distinguished also by its broad gauge, 
 the width of its tracks and those of its principal auxiliary, 
 the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, being six feet, 
 while the prevailing gauge of American railroads is four 
 feet eight inches and a half. The broad gauge adds some- 
 what to the steadiness of trains in motion, and admits of 
 more liberal allowances of space to passengers in cars — 
 conveniences which are well appreciated by the Yankee 
 public, which is accustomed to enjoy a degree of luxury 
 in travelling to which the people of other nations are
 
 6 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 strangers. When, however, the Erie Railway was taken 
 into politics, under the Tweed regime, and when its 
 managers, driven by the exigencies of their speculations 
 in the Stock Market, began embezzling portions of its 
 earnings which should have been devoted to keeping in 
 good repair its tracks and equipment, prudent and well- 
 informed travellers, fearful of accidents or delays, avoided 
 this route. Under a new management, Erie is rapidly 
 recovering its good name and all its former popularity. 
 
 The connexions of the Erie Road, at its western 
 end, and their location with reference to it, give it some 
 peculiar advantages. Thus, just before reaching Buffalo, 
 the traveller may take the Atlantic and Great Western 
 Railway for Cincinnati or St. Louis ; the Lake Shore 
 and Michigan Southern Railway, for Chicago ; or by 
 Niagara, the Great Western Railway ot Canada, for 
 Detroit, and thence by the Michigan Central Railway 
 to Chicago. On account of these and other facilities 
 for distribution ot passengers, the Erie is called upon 
 to transport the greater part of the immigrants pass- 
 ing through New York to the West. The ' emigrant 
 trains,' as they are called, are run at a lower rate of 
 speed, and at much lower fares, than those used for 
 general travel. 
 
 The ' Pennsylvania ' Route. — The Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road is the giant rival of the New York Central — the 
 struggle between these two for supremacy overshadowing 
 other contests throughout the whole length and breadth
 
 NEW YORK TO CHICAGO 7 
 
 of the railway system of the United States. They are the 
 chief competitors for traffic between the Eastern and the 
 North-Western States, between New York and Chicago, 
 St. Paul, Omaha, St. Louis, San Francisco, and all the 
 regions of the Far West. The war between them is 
 waged in New York City, all through the broad states of 
 Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and beyond to the great plains ; 
 each seeking control of connexions and tributary lines 
 to the exclusion of the other. The Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road Company 1 represents one of the largest aggregations, 
 with the most compact organisation, of capital in the 
 hands of a few private individuals that has ever been 
 known to history. The road, as originally built and 
 operated, was less than 400 miles in length, its main line 
 extending simply from Philadelphia to Pittsburg — those 
 great cities lying at opposite ends of the state of Penn- 
 sylvania. The Company has acquired control, by purchase 
 or lease, of lesser and tributary lines on every side, so that 
 its branches ramify the state in every direction, collecting 
 the greater part of the product of the mines of coal and 
 iron for which Pennsylvania is noted all over the world, 
 as well as the products of her vast and fertile farming 
 districts, and of the ' oil region,' and distributing to all 
 parts of the Union the manufactures of her iron-furnaces, 
 rolling-mills, &c. It now owns, or controls by leases 
 
 1 I use this designation as synonymous with Pennsylvania Com- 
 pany, which is in fact a distinct corporation engrafted upon the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The same gentlemen manage the 
 two companies, and their interests are identical.
 
 8 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 (generally for ' 999 years '), about twenty separate railroads 
 in the state, the aggregate length of the tracks being 
 very nearly 1,700 miles. Needing outlets of its own to 
 New York, it has recently leased, ' in perpetuity,' the 
 railroads of the United Companies of New Jersey, ac- 
 quiring three separate lines across that state to New 
 York. Needing a direct connexion with Chicago, it built, 
 some years ago, the ' Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and 
 Chicago' Railway (370 miles). It controls connecting 
 lines to Cincinnati and St. Louis, contends with the New 
 York Central for the control of the Union Pacific Railroad, 
 is acquiring lines reaching out to the South- West, and is 
 chiefly supplying the means for the construction of the new 
 transcontinental road, the Southern Pacific, or, as it has 
 been more recently named, the Texas and Pacific Railway, 
 which is now in course of construction in Texas toward 
 the Rio Grande. The master spirit of this vast combi- 
 nation is Thomas A. Scott, the Vice-President of the 
 Company — younger by nearly twenty-five years than 
 ' Commodore ' Vanderbilt, but, like him, risen from a 
 very humble station in life, without the aid of inherited 
 wealth or family influence. 
 
 Pennsylvania is called the ' Keystone State,' taking its 
 name, it is supposed, from its location among the ori- 
 ginal thirteen colonies. In area and population it ranks 
 next after New York. The main line of the Pennsylvania 
 railroad traverses the state centrally, and therefore crosses 
 the successive ranges of the Alleghany Mountains, which 
 rendered the building of the road a work of vast labour
 
 NEW YORK 70 CHICAGO 9 
 
 and expense, and often involving difficult engineering 
 problems. As will be readily imagined, the scenery here 
 is exceedingly varied and pleasing, the prevailing out- 
 lines being rugged, bold, and picturesque. Philadelphia, 
 the second city in the Union as to population, is first in 
 amount of manufactures. Its streets are laid out with 
 perfect regularity, at right angles to each other. The 
 city is remarkable for the great extent of the area it oc- 
 cupies, the thrifty citizen generally taking care, in 
 building, to provide simply for the accommodation of 
 his own family, and to secure, if possible, a little inclosure 
 about his house for planting shrubbery. The area of 
 Philadelphia, with a population of 700,000, is 120 square 
 miles ; while New York, with a population of 1,000,000 
 covers only 22 square miles; and London, with nearly 
 4.000,000 population, occupies 125 square miles. Pitts- 
 burg is at the head of navigation on the Ohio River, is 
 the principal point of shipment of Pennsylvania coal an I 
 iron to the West and South, by rail and river, and is con. 
 spicuous for its iron and steel works. 
 
 T7ie ' Baltimore and Ohio' Route. — The traveller to 
 the West or South- West by this route goes by the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad to Philadelphia ; by the Philadelphia, 
 Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad, to Baltimore; by 
 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through Maryland, 
 Virginia, and West Virginia, to Parkersburg, on the Ohio 
 River (384 miles) ; thence by various lines to Cincinnati, 
 St. Louis, or Chicago, and beyond. Many tourists take
 
 io THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 this route in order to visit Washington, the capital of the 
 United States, which is reached by a detour of two 
 hours' journey. The Baltimore and Ohio route is mani- 
 festly less direct than those which have been named, and 
 cannot be said to present so great attractions for the 
 sightseer, unless he be specially interested in the section 
 traversed. The Baltimore and Ohio Company is in the 
 thick of the fray among the competitors for the patronage 
 of travellers by rail, and has been very successful in 
 securing control of connecting lines, both westward and 
 southward. Its affairs are ably administered, and its 
 President, John W. Garrett, holds an eminent position 
 among the railway magnates of the country. 
 
 These routes are to be regarded as not merely thorough- 
 fares for passenger travel between the East and West, but 
 as the great channels through which pour the overflowing 
 products of the Middle and Western States, seeking 
 markets in the cities of the seaboard, or destined for 
 shipment to foreign countries. They are the great 
 arteries through which surge the tides of travel and traffic 
 to and from the immense, basin-like interior of the 
 continent — a marvellously fertile and increasingly popu- 
 lous area, bounded on the east by the Alleghany Moun- 
 tains, and on the west by the Rocky Mountains, and 
 known as the Mississippi Valley. The westward-bound 
 traveller by either of the routes cannot fail to share the 
 general and strong impression of the magnitude of their 
 operations which grows from observation of their numer-
 
 NEW YORK TO CHICAGO n 
 
 ous and often overburdened trains, the long distances 
 traversed, the armies of employes, and the gigantic works 
 built for the crossing of rivers and mountains. The 
 ambition of their managers is, apparently, to bestride the 
 continent like a Colossus. Americans themselves are 
 sometimes startled when suddenly brought to contem- 
 plate some development, some evidence of far-seeing 
 design, in railroad combinations, involving the use of 
 capital amounting, it may be, to a hundred millions of 
 dollars for the launching of new lines through regions 
 where the Indian and the buffalo are still the principal 
 inhabitants. The railroads which thus thrust their 
 tentacles beyond the frontier (if there be any frontier 
 still remaining in America !) are simply acquiring a 
 growth commensurate with the advance of settled com- 
 munities across the continent. In earlier days, national 
 thoroughfares extended only from the Atlantic coast to 
 the Alleghany Mountains, or, like the Erie Canal, to the 
 Lakes nearest the coast ; and, later, the National Road 
 (a wide turnpike) extended hardly as far as Illinois. 
 Now, ' through ' routes must extend from ocean to ocean, 
 and the four main lines, previously described in this 
 chapter, in effecting consolidations with other lines to the 
 westward, or in building new ones in that direction, are 
 fulfilling what Americans are accustomed to call, with 
 profound significance, their ' manifest destiny.' The lines 
 from New York will find their parallels, on an enlarged 
 scale, in the Union and Central Pacific — already built — 
 and in the Northern Pacific, and Southern Pacific, which
 
 12 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 are now in course of construction. At present, however, 
 and for some years to come, the tourist who sets out 
 from New York for the Pacific coast will understand 
 that of the four routes named each will lead him to the 
 Union and Central Pacific Railroads. 
 
 I assume that my reader will determine for himself 
 which of the routes from New York is to be selected, and 
 that he will hasten forward with me to the less frequently 
 described regions of the West. He will, if he chooses, 
 embark from Boston rather than New York, making close 
 connexions thence to the main line of either route. He 
 may stop at Niagara Falls, if he takes either the ' New 
 York Central,' or the ' Erie' route. He should not omit 
 to see Buffalo, at the eastern end of Lake Erie, a great 
 grain mart, and one of the largest of interior American 
 cities. Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan he will discover to 
 be great and populous states, consisting chiefly of level 
 agricultural lands now and for long cleared of the chief 
 part of the forests which the farmer-settlers found there. 
 He will hear, along the way, of the wonderful prosperity 
 of Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo, Indianapolis, Columbus, 
 and other cities, the names of which, if a foreigner, may 
 be new to him, but which, by their populations ranging 
 from 50,000 to 100,000, will be found intitled to places 
 in history. If he passes through Toledo, he is sure to be 
 told of a ' reach ' of railroad extending 69 miles on his 
 way beyond that city in air line — claimed to be the longest 
 perfectly straight railroad division known. Fellow -pas- 
 sengers will be at hand to tell him, too, of great battles
 
 NEW YORK TO CHICAGO 13 
 
 between the whites and the Indians, only a little more 
 than half a century ago, in that region where now are to be 
 seen only peaceful farmhouses and fruitful fields — where 
 even the sight of a real Indian would now attract wonder- 
 ing crowds, among which would perhaps appear, leaning 
 on his staff, more than one veteran relic of the early 
 struggles. He will find cities and towns more numerous 
 than the wigwams of the aboriginal tribes, and a network 
 of railways extending and opening fanlike to the West. 
 
 The distance from New York to Chicago is about 
 900 miles by either route, or twice the distance from 
 London to Glasgow. The passenger express trains ac- 
 complish the journey in a little over thirty hours ; so 
 that, leaving New York in the evening, as is usual, one 
 arrives at Chicago on the second morning following. 
 The ' through ' trains are all provided with drawing-room 
 cars and sleeping-cars — those 'American institutions' 
 which, for the first time in the history of civilisation, have 
 rendered travelling as comfortable as staying at home. 
 
 Thus much respecting the journey over the familiar 
 ground of the Eastern States. I have not attempted in 
 the preceding pages to present such a direct narrative of 
 my personal experiences and observations as I contem- 
 plate for the journey beyond Chicago. I have hoped to 
 present, even at the risk of being thought tedious and of re- 
 stating many well-known facts, a brief preliminary sketch 
 which may prove of some interest to the general reader, 
 rather than of special value to the actual tourist. The first
 
 14 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 stage of the overland trip terminates at Chicago, at which 
 wonderful young metropolis it is well to tarry a day. 
 
 Chicago. — I arrived at Chicago on May 7, 1872, on 
 my way across the continent. In frequent previous 
 visits I had learned to know the city thoroughly, and 
 cavilled less and less against the self-asserting spirit of 
 her citizens, who are usually accused of rather frequent 
 proclamations of her greatness. They boast of her as 
 the prodigy of the Western World ; and, even in her 
 destruction by the conflagration of October, 1871, they 
 seemed to forget their misfortunes in exulting that it was 
 the greatest bonfire on record. Now, a few months after 
 the fire, I often lost my way while wandering through 
 the ruins of streets once perfectly familiar to me. I could 
 not but pay hearty tribute of admiration to the astonish- 
 ing energy and hopefulness of a people who had evidently 
 recovered so promptly from the shock of their heavy 
 calamities, and were already busily occupied in clearing 
 away the wreck of one city in order to build a new and 
 finer. One of their first resolutions after the fire was 
 to re-arrange the various business districts, to assign for 
 the more important purposes of shipping and jobbing 
 houses valuable spaces which had previously been occu- 
 pied by long rows of private residences studded with 
 churches, to bring ships and stores, railway-stations and 
 warehouses, as close together as possible, and generally 
 to reform errors incident to the early spasmodic and 
 irregular growth of the city. Next, they determined, in
 
 NEW YORK TO CHICAGO 15 
 
 rebuilding, to build better than before, to consider 
 rather how to render their houses absolutely proof 
 against future fires than to dazzle the beholder with 
 merely elegant exteriors. These resolutions, mind you, 
 from a people supposed to be overwhelmed by financial 
 losses ! I had the evidence of my own eyes as to the 
 seriousness of their intentions, and as to their own con- 
 fidence, and the confidence of the capitalists of the 
 Eastern States, in the future of the city ; for, while 
 remnants of the fire were still sullenly smouldering be- 
 neath masses of debris in some quarters of the city, the 
 stately fronts of permanent new buildings were already 
 rising in more eligible locations. There is no lack of 
 goods and supplies to fill the new buildings ; for, though 
 Chicago had no money to buy with, the Eastern mer- 
 chants and manufacturers freely credited her, and the 
 abundant agricultural products of the North- West flowed 
 still, as a matter of course, and in unabated streams, to 
 her ample wharves and storehouses. Among changes 
 in business locations, which I observed with interest, 
 and which may be equally interesting to anyone who has 
 ever visited Chicago, was the removal of the principal 
 dry goods houses to places farther from the Lake by half 
 a mile or more — the congregation of the banks in State 
 Street — the appropriation of Wabash Avenue, throughout 
 its extent of almost three miles, for business houses 
 instead of residences and churches, giving it a relative 
 importance greater than that of Oxford Street and 
 Holborn in London, and only comparable with that of
 
 1 6 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Broadway in New York — and the occupation of all the 
 streets running west between Lake Street and Van 
 Buren Street by magnificent and substantial trade struc- 
 tures, instead of unsightly frame dwelling-houses. The 
 astonishing growth of Chicago does not appear to have 
 been checked by its recent disaster. Its population is 
 now 400,000, spread out over a perfectly flat area of 223 
 square miles (nearly twice as large as the area covered 
 by London), and with a surface which is but a few feet 
 higher than the level of the Lake. 
 
 The visitor to Chicago should not fail to see the 
 great hotels ; the tunnels under the River, the stock- 
 yards, a regularly laid-out and well-built wooden city, the 
 inhabitants of which are vast droves of cattle, sheep, 
 and hogs ; the immense storehouses and ' elevators,' 
 which are planned upon a scale worthy of the greatest 
 grain market of the world ; the water-works, the reser- 
 voir of which is the cool and pure depths of Lake 
 Michigan itself, beneath which, to points about two 
 miles from shore, two tunnels have been dug and pro- 
 tected from within with brick and cement so as to serve 
 for water-pipes for the supply of the city ; and the various 
 fine suburban parks and drives. An added pleasure in 
 sight-seeing at Chicago is derived from the fact that the 
 whole city is laid with wooden pavements, on which 
 vehicles pass swiftly and almost noiselessly to and fro. 
 The greatest marvel of Chicago is, however, the people 
 themselves. They have need to work fast to accomplish 
 so much as they do, and to the eye of a stranger they
 
 THE 'NORTH-WEST* 17 
 
 seem to carry even into their pleasures their habits of 
 rapid execution, manifesting everywhere a restless in- 
 domitable spirit. 
 
 The ' North- West,' a section of rather indefinite bound- 
 aries, but generally understood to include the states of 
 the Upper Mississippi Valley, is rapidly becoming the 
 most populous portion of the Union. Illinois now 
 disputes with Ohio the position of third in rank as to 
 population among the States. Wisconsin, Iowa, and 
 Minnesota are growing at an equal pace, and to their 
 vicinity the ' centre of greatest population ' is tending. 
 In the recent new apportionment of representation in the 
 American Congress, the North-West was declared to be 
 entitled to some twenty more representatives than 
 before. 
 
 Amazed and delighted with the prodigious increase in 
 population, power, and wealth of this region which has 
 so lately been reached by the tides of civilisation, I 
 would gladly devote more space to the multitude of 
 easily-ascertained facts, which even the transient visitor 
 soon acquires, concerning the country and people. It 
 will suffice, however, if I succeed in inducing my reader 
 to inquire further, either by making the tour himself, 
 or by referring to works designed especially for the 
 description of these states. We are now to enter upon 
 the second stage of our journey — that from Chicago to 
 Omaha, f the gateway to the Far West.' 
 
 c
 
 1 8 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Chicago to Omaha. — We have choice of three 
 routes by which to reach the Union Pacific Railroad at 
 Omaha (or at Council Bluffs, which is on the east bank 
 of the Missouri River, and lies opposite Omaha). These 
 routes are by railroads forming continuous lines across 
 the states of Illinois and Iowa, namely, the ' North- 
 western,' the ' Burlington and Quincy,' and the ' Rock 
 Island.' There is no ground for preference of either of 
 the three, so far as I know, as they all convey the 
 passenger to their common terminus in equal time and 
 equal comfort. By agreement between their managers, 
 the profits of ' through ' business are divided propor- 
 tionately, and they do not compete against each other, 
 but are combined against the more southerly routes on 
 which passengers are conveyed by way of St. Louis. The 
 ' North-Western ' crosses the Mississippi at Clinton ; the 
 ' Rock Island ' at the city of Rock Island ; and the 
 ' Burlington and Quincy ' at Burlington. 
 
 Desiring to see that section of Iowa along the line 
 of the ' North- Western,' I chose that route, embarking 
 in the night express train at 9.45 P.M. I found a 
 cleanly and comfortable sleeping berth ready for my occu- 
 pancy, and giving the porter directions to call me when 
 we reached the Mississippi River, I soon went to bed, 
 and, in evidence of the satisfactory character of the 
 arrangements for travellers in America, will add that I 
 was soon fast asleep. The day was just breaking in the 
 east when I looked out of the car-window. We soon 
 reached Fulton, and crossed the river to Clinton. The
 
 CHICAGO TO OMAHA 19 
 
 bridge is in two sections, an island about the centre of 
 the river dividing it. The first section is of iron, the last 
 of wood, and both together more than a mile in length. 
 This point is about 2,000 miles from the mouth of the 
 river, which is navigable for more than 400 miles farther 
 North. 
 
 From Clinton to Mount Vernon we pass through the 
 ' garden of Iowa.' The comfortable brick and frame 
 houses, the well-built barns, the fences, the sleek cattle, 
 all betoken thrift and wealth. Here the land is rolling, 
 well watered, and as productive as on the prairies of 
 Illinois. They say here, that when a farmer gets his 
 lands paid for, and a little ahead, he builds a brick 
 house. This section is the fairest I have seen during the 
 journey. It reminds one of the country seen in passing 
 from Liverpool to London. 
 
 Cedar Rapids, a large town on Cedar River, is a busy 
 place, where are good facilities for water-power. Leaving 
 it, we reach again prairie-lands, and we pass for 200 miles 
 through a purely agricultural region in which wheat is 
 growing finely and the farmers are busily planting their 
 corn. At one place there were more than 100,000 
 bushels of the surplus of the previous year's crop of corn 
 piled in temporary cribs along the line of the railroad to 
 be shipped East. 
 
 Marshall, a town of some importance, 289 miles west 
 of Chicago, was the terminus of the road until the Union 
 Pacific was begun. From here to Council Bluffs we pass 
 through prairies where plough has never been, and with 
 
 c 2
 
 2 o THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 only here and there a dwelling. Along the old stage-road 
 you see the ' schooners,' as they call the emigrant wagons, 
 wending their way West. The classes which adopt this 
 style of ' moving West ' include large numbers who, used 
 to free roving in pursuit of deer, squirrels, and other 
 game, now complain that the Middle States are becoming 
 ' too thickly settled ' for them. Others are offshoots of 
 thrifty families, now turning pioneers as their fathers were 
 before them. The liberal policy of the Government in 
 giving farms to actual settlers tempts them to abandon 
 the older settlements, where the increase of population 
 renders it impossible for every one to have a hundred or 
 more acres of land of his own. 
 
 There was upon our train a gentleman, some eighty 
 years old, who emigrated to the North- West before there 
 were any states called Ohio, Illinois, or Indiana ; and to 
 hear the old pioneer recount his adventures was very 
 interesting. He was now going upon a journey to the 
 West, to visit some of his grandchildren, of whom he had 
 twenty-eight scattered through the country around. 
 
 Although I have described somewhat in detail my 
 journey over the North- Western Railroad, I would not 
 thereby give my readers any intimation that this route 
 should be chosen in preference to either of the others 
 mentioned. The Rock Island route takes tourists 
 through populous sections of the States of Illinois and 
 Iowa and the city of Des Moines, the capital of the last 
 named State. The Burlington and Quincy has a delight- 
 ful country and the largest cities and towns along its
 
 HOTEL AND PALACE CARS 21 
 
 line. The roads composing this last route are unsur- 
 passed in the United States for their good management 
 and the elegance and comfort of their cars. Attached to 
 the express trains are hotel-cars, in which you have 
 cooked and served for you a dinner, and of which you 
 partake while the train is speeding on at thirty miles in 
 the hour. To one who has never seen these modern 
 contrivances in railroad travel, they are of unusual 
 interest. Such a car is very ingenious in its arrange- 
 ment. It contains a kitchen — the existence of which 
 would not be detected by any unpleasant odours — wherein 
 is a cooking range, a sink with hot and cold water, a 
 wine closet, a china closet, and provision lockers. It 
 can carry stores for forty people during a journey from 
 Chicago to San Francisco, and is supplied with 1,000 
 napkins, 200 table-cloths, 400 towels of different kinds, 
 ample bed-linen, &c. &c. The commissariat is as ample 
 as can be wished, and the tables will seat forty persons. 
 By day you can write comfortably at a table, in a room 
 closed off if you wish, or lounge in easy arm-chairs, or 
 stretch yourself out at full length on a sofa, while by 
 night these arm-chairs and sofas are transformed into 
 beds, upon which you cannot fail to sleep soundly. The 
 cars are heated by hot-water pipes, are thoroughly venti- 
 lated, made with double windows, and so constructed 
 that the noise of the train is almost entirely overcome. 
 The introduction of hotel and sleeping-cars upon American 
 railroads has made travelling almost as comfortable as 
 staying in one's own drawing-room.
 
 22 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Council Bluffs, the seat of Pottawattamie County, 
 Iowa, is situated about three miles east of the Missouri 
 River. It contains some 10,000 people, and is the oldest 
 and largest in Western Iowa. Formerly, and as early as 
 1846, it was called Kanesville, and was peopled chiefly 
 by Mormons. From the circumstance that here the 
 explorers Lewis and Clarke held a council with the 
 Indians, it was named, in the Charter of Incorporation, 
 Council Bluffs ; but the people round about always call 
 the place 'The Bluffs.' It is the western terminus of the 
 three great railroad lines before named, and has made a 
 hard fight with Omaha for the eastern terminus of the 
 Union Pacific. 1 
 
 The several newspapers published here, a seminary for 
 young ladies, a high-school, good district schools, and 
 many fine churches, all contribute to the welfare of the 
 people. 
 
 There are two good hotels — the ' Ogden ' and the 
 ' Pacific,' the latter of which is more centrally located ; 
 indeed, one is at a loss to understand why the ' Ogden ' 
 was placed so far away from the business portion of the 
 city. 
 
 The main portion of Council Bluffs is built upon the 
 How lands bordering the river • but the finer residences 
 
 1 Since the above was written, the President of the Union 
 Pacific Railroad Company has announced, under date of May 
 2 9> 1873, that the Company will fix its depot and general 
 offices at Omaha, and has directed the immediate construction of 
 the necessary buildings.
 
 THE CITY OF OMAHA 23 
 
 are situated in the shady ' glens ' among the hills which 
 rise in rear of it. Its present site is some two miles 
 back from the river-bank. Of the early Mormon town, 
 which was located about a mile to the eastward, there 
 remains hardly any other vestige than a solitary log-house. 
 
 Omaha is situated about 50 feet above the river at 
 high- water mark, and contains a population, according to 
 the Census of 1870, of nearly 17,000. It was the first 
 capital of the state, as it was indeed the first settlement 
 made in the territory. A. few squatters were here in 1854, 
 one of whom some time in that year was appointed post- 
 master, and immediately opened an office ' in the crown 
 of his hat.' Riding over the prairies, or strolling about 
 the infant settlement, he would deliver the letters which 
 had collected in the ' office.' The town began to spread 
 in 1859; and the commencement of the Union Pacific 
 gave it fresh means for increase, and day by day it grew 
 at wonderful speed. Stores and houses, hotels and 
 ' saloons,' were erected ; and a few months saw the 
 straggling settlement a busy city, overcrowded with 
 adventurers. All the material for the building of the 
 railroad was shipped from here. As the road pushed 
 West, the villages which were established along its line 
 took away the floating population. The subsequent 
 growth of Omaha was for the most part substantial, 
 though rather unhealthily rapid, and the ideas of many 
 of her citizens as to her prospects proved to be unduly 
 inflated.
 
 24 THE A TL AX TIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 The streets are broad, and laid out at right angles 
 and the ground rises from the river in such pretty un- 
 dulations, that the location could not be bettered in 
 many a mile around. There are some very fine brick 
 structures already erected, several business blocks, the 
 new Grand Central Hotel, and the high-school building 
 on Capitol Hill. The latter, when completed, will be 
 one of the finest brick buildings that I have seen in 
 the West. The hotel building is creditable, and already 
 $350,000 have been expended upon it; but it is a sad 
 financial failure. George Francis Train early took up 
 his abode here, and harangued and shouted, until he 
 thought he owned all the land in the city ; and the 
 people, in their infatuation, became thoroughly imbued 
 with his wild ideas. He erected a great hotel, called the 
 Cozzens House, but it is now closed, and it would seem 
 that the dreams and hopes of ' this modern philosopher ' 
 were not to be realised. But, notwithstanding all this, 
 the place is a wonderful example of what can be done in 
 this country in the way of city building in the short space 
 of eight years. 
 
 About three miles north of the city are located the bar- 
 racks of the Government troops, belonging to the military 
 ' Department of the Platte,' in which this section is in- 
 cluded. This is a fine place to see the elite of the city, 
 who drive out on pleasant days to witness the reviews. 
 
 They have here such thunder and lightningas we are not 
 accustomed to at home. One morning I was awakened 
 by deafening thunder, and a more marvellous display
 
 THE MISSOURI RIVER 25 
 
 of lightning flashes than I had before seen. Not in one 
 part of the heavens, but from horizon to zenith, it was 
 one lurid flame. The rain poured in torrents for more 
 than an hour, and streets and squares were flooded. 
 I thought it a great storm ; but the clerk of the hotel 
 called it only a ' baby shower,' and assured me that I 
 ' ought to be here sometimes to know what a thunder- 
 shower is.' I was aware that they had everything upon a 
 large scale in Omaha, but was not aware till now that 
 they could boast this ' the most thundering city upon the 
 globe.' 
 
 I once heard two gentlemen — one from New York, and 
 one from Philadelphia — praising each the advantages of 
 their cities ; and, after exhausting all arguments, the 
 Philadelphian retorted, ' Look here ! Now, I would 
 rather be a lamp-post in Philadelphia than an alderman 
 in New York.' So for me, I had rather be almost any- 
 thing in an Eastern town than a citizen of Omaha. 
 
 The Missouri River flows by the city, but is of little 
 service as a highway of commerce. It is a capricious 
 stream, changing its channel so often that it has be- 
 come a common saying, that you never know where 
 to find it in the morning ; and this fact, with the fre- 
 quent and sudden changes in the depth of water, causes 
 the ferry and steamboats (of which I have seen two in 
 the river) to seek new moorings daily. As there are no 
 wharves, the boats are run high and dry upon the banks 
 for the purpose of landing freight and passengers— -not
 
 26 THE ATLANTIC 70 THE PACIFIC 
 
 a pleasant way for passengers, but no doubt economical 
 for the steamers. This river is navigable more than 2,000 
 miles above this city at the high stages of water ; but the 
 railroads are fast taking the place of river service ; and a 
 few years more will see the steamers on the upper waters 
 entirely withdrawn. It is a remarkably muddy stream 
 at all seasons, and at its junction with the Mississippi its 
 waters discolour those of the latter stream, changing them 
 to its own cloudy yellow hue. 
 
 The Railway Bridge. — The Union Pacific Company 
 has recently built an iron bridge over the Missouri River, 
 between Council Bluffs and Omaha, which is regarded 
 as one of the finest in the world. I obtained from T. E. 
 Sickels, Esq., the engineer under whose direction the 
 bridge has been built, the following information in regard 
 to its construction. 
 
 Although erected upon principles heretofore applied, 
 still, in the details, it has some peculiarities ; and the 
 whole structure has a grace and lightness, without the 
 want of seeming strength, seldom seen in bridges of 
 this class. The plans were recommended by Gen. Gren- 
 ville M. Dodge, well known as the former chief engineer 
 of the Union Pacific Railroad ; but the bridge has been 
 erected under the direction of Mr. Sickels since his elec- 
 tion to that position. To the latter gentleman, therefore, 
 belongs the honour of having erected the bridge, making 
 it a success in every way, and that, too, at a saving of 
 more than $100,000 from its estimated cost.
 
 RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER THE MISSOURI 27 
 
 The plan of the bridge comprises eleven entirely dis- 
 tinct spans of iron superstructure (each span 250 feet in 
 length), elevated 50 feet above high water, and supported 
 on three stone masonry abutments and eleven piers, 
 formed of cast-iron columns %\ feet in diameter, filled 
 with cement masonry. The foundations of the abut- 
 ments and the piers extend to the bed-rock underlying 
 the sand, which is found at an average depth of 60 feet 
 below low water in the river. Each span has a play of 
 2\ inches for expansion and contraction. The original 
 plan has been so modified as to provide for the use of 
 the bridge for highway travel on the same level with the 
 track of the railway ; and wrought-iron has been substi- 
 tuted for cast-iron in the columns above high water. 
 
 In September 1868 a contract was made for sinking 
 the iron columns, and the work was begun in February 
 1869 ; but, for various causes, the work was delayed, and 
 afterwards entirely suspended until April 187 1, when 
 work was again commenced, which has been prosecuted 
 since with great vigour ; and, aided by the long continu- 
 ance of the ice last winter, the bridge was completed 
 sooner than was anticipated. The frozen river furnished 
 a secure foundation for the transportation of the heavy 
 iron-work, and for the erection of the ' false work,' as it 
 is termed, which holds in place the iron-work until it is 
 fastened securely. The superstructure is of the plan 
 known as ' Post's truss,' and is made of wrought-iron. 
 
 Those portions of the iron columns below water were 
 cast in sections of ten feet each, having internal flancres
 
 2S THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 at the ends ; and, by means of bolts passing through 
 them, the sections were securely fastened together. The 
 ends of the sections were faced off in a lathe ; and a red- 
 lead joint was used to make them air-tight. The wrought- 
 iron portion of the column (above high water) is also in 
 sections of ten feet, the sections being fastened together 
 with rivets. The thickness of the iron in this portion 
 varies from half an inch at the bottom to three-eighths of 
 an inch at the top. The thickness of the cast-iron por- 
 tion is i^ inch. 
 
 The columns were first sunk as far as possible by the 
 application to the top of the column of a weight con- 
 nected with a lever. The water was then expelled from 
 within the column by the pressure of air forced in by a 
 steam air-pump ; and the sand within was excavated by 
 labourers down to about two feet below the bottom of 
 the column, and taken out in small bags or buckets at the 
 top. The air pressure was then withdrawn, and the 
 column sank to a depth varying from 6 inches to 1 8^ feet, 
 according to the character of the materials through which 
 the column was passing. The latter distance was the 
 greatest descent made by any column in twenty-four con- 
 secutive hours. 
 
 This process of sinking iron columns is similar to that 
 which has been largely used in Europe and India for like 
 purposes, and for a few bridges in this country. By no 
 other known method can subaqueous foundations be 
 obtained with equal certainty and economy, where the 
 depth necessary to secure stability is very considerable.
 
 RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER THE MISSOURI 29 
 
 The system is especially applicable to the construction of 
 foundations for bridges across rivers like the Missouri, 
 where the river-bed is composed chiefly of sand, and is 
 liable to scour to depths of 50 or 60 feet. In the 
 process of excavating sand from within the columns, 
 lignite rotten-wood and bones of animals were found at 
 the depth of 50 feet below water, showing that the river- 
 bed has been scoured to that extent at least. 
 
 The upper surface of the rock, in every case where the 
 columns reached it, was found to be worn smooth, pre- 
 senting an appearance very similar to the effect produced 
 on rock by the attrition of sand under great pressure. 
 For greater security, the rock at the base of the columns 
 was in every instance excavated to form a recess into 
 which the column was sunk, whereby any horizontal 
 motion of the base of the columns is effectually prevented. 
 
 The difficulties which were anticipated in sinking the 
 columns were surmounted as fast as they arose, so that 
 the work was in nowise delayed. In seven days, one of 
 the columns was sunk to its rock-bed at a depth of 72 
 feet, the greatest depth to which either of the eleven 
 columns was sunk being 82 feet. 
 
 The greatest pressure to which the men working in the 
 columns were subjected was 54 pounds per square 
 inch in excess of the atmosphere ; yet from this extreme 
 pressure, which is beyond precedent in works of this 
 character, no injury or inconvenience resulted to the 
 labourers. The bridge operations have fortunately been 
 free from serious accidents to life or property. It was
 
 30 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 apprehended that the exposure of the labourers in the 
 iron columns to an atmosphere condensed to three times 
 its normal pressure might produce paralysis too severe, 
 in some cases, to yield to medical treatment ; but 
 experience has proved that injuries to a person are not 
 necessarily more frequent in the prosecution of work of 
 this peculiar character than in works of a different kind, 
 but of like magnitude. There have been employed in 
 all some 500 men, 250 being the average number; and 
 ten steam-engines have been required for hoisting, ex- 
 cavating, driving air-pumps, &c. 
 
 To connect the bridge with the main track of the 
 railroad on the west side of the river, a branch line of 
 road 7,000 feet in length has been constructed. From 
 the river bluff to the west abutment, a distance of 700 
 feet, a timber trestle-bridge, 60 feet in height, has been 
 built, around the timbers of which dirt is being filled as 
 fast as possible : so that, in a short time, a handsomely- 
 formed embankment will be made, which, on the river- 
 end, is faced by a stone wall for some 15 feet up the side. 
 The east approach will be by a continuous grade i-£ 
 mile in length, commencing on the Council Bluffs table- 
 land, and ascending, at the rate of 35 feet to die mile, to 
 the east end of the iron bridge. The total quantity of 
 embankment in this approach is 550,000 cubic yards, 
 which is now almost completed. 
 
 The weight of the superstructure is a ton per lineal 
 foot. It is capable of sustaining a weight of ten tons 
 to the foot, in addition to its own weight ; but it is not
 
 OMAHA TO SALT LAKE CL7Y 31 
 
 intended that a greater load than two tons to the foot shall 
 at any time be brought upon it. A train of the heaviest 
 locomotives would weigh about 1^ ton to the lineal foot. 
 Each wrought-iron piece of the superstructure was tested 
 with a tensile strain of five tons to the square inch of 
 sectional area, before being accepted ; and this strain is 
 as great as any portion of the bridge will be required to 
 endure under a load of two tons to the lineal foot. 
 
 The total cost of the bridge has been, in round 
 numbers, $1,750,000; and, although trains have been 
 running over it since spring, still the work goes on. It 
 is hoped that a few months will see the structure com- 
 pleted in every detail. 
 
 This bridge is the link which completes the chain 
 binding together the oceans. Even after the rails were 
 joined at Promontory (now a station on Central Pacific 
 Railroad, fifty-two miles west of Ogden), still the 
 Missouri had to be passed by a ferry. Now the passage 
 is made over the bridge in the cars of the 'Transfer 
 Company.' This Company was formed for the pur- 
 pose of transporting passengers and merchandise across 
 the bridge. By the payment of a stipulated sum to the 
 Transfer Company, freight is taken to the Far West with- 
 out breaking bulk. 
 
 To Salt Lake City. — At Omaha our journey upon 
 the Union Pacific Road begins. But one train leaves 
 daily, running through to the Pacific. Taking a section 
 in a Pullman car, we are entitled to enjoy a drawing-
 
 32 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 room by day and a bed by night. These cars are 
 comfortable, cleanly, and the attaches, for the most 
 part, polite and accommodating. A throng of strange 
 faces are around us ; and all are busily engaged in pre- 
 parations for the journey. 
 
 For three or four miles we pass along the bluffs upon 
 which Omaha is built, and then push out into the open 
 prairie, the fertile lands of Nebraska. A vast plain, dotted 
 here and there with trees, stretches away upon every 
 side. Upon this broad prairie, at long intervals, the 
 cabin of the hardy frontiersman is seen, and now and 
 then a sturdy yeoman, with team of four, breaking up the 
 rich soil for the first planting. 
 
 We pass Gilmore, and reach Papillion, where the train 
 from the West awaits us upon the siding. Running 
 along the Elkhorn River, we soon come in view of the 
 hills to the South- West, which bound the Platte Valley ; 
 and, just before reaching Fremont, we catch our first 
 view of the Platte River, along the banks of which, now 
 upon the left, and then crossing to the right, we keep our 
 way as far as North Platte. The old emigrant road 
 followed this valley, and crossed the river at old ' Shinn's 
 Ferry,' near the station of Lone Tree. 
 
 Our day's journey brings us to Grand Island, a town 
 named after an island in the Platte. About 1,000 people 
 are gathered here, many connected with the railroad. 
 This is an ' eating station.' So far, our ride has been 
 pleasant ; and the passengers have generally become 
 acquainted with each other. In our car we have the
 
 OMAHA TO SALT LAKE CLTY 33 
 
 genial Langford of Montana, who has graphically 
 described the wonders of the Yellowstone Valley; a 
 corps of engineers going out upon the line of the 
 Northern Pacific Railroad to push forward that highway 
 through that hitherto unexplored region ; several ladies 
 from my own New England city ; gentlemen from New 
 York and Boston, Chicago, and other cities — all enjoy- 
 ing with high spirits the novel experiences, and praising 
 the pure and exhilarating air of the plains. 
 
 Two other Pullmans are ahead of our car, each filled 
 with tourists. As the evening came on, the ladies and 
 gentlemen of the ' Berger-family Troupe ' visited our car, 
 and gave us a concert, both vocal and instrumental. 
 Our car contains an organ, in as good order as the 
 jarring will permit, for our entertainment. 
 
 Music sounds upon the prairie, and dies away far over 
 the plains ; merry-making and jokes, conversation and 
 reading, pass the time pleasantly till ten o'clock, when 
 we retire, to awake in the morning far out on the plains. 
 
 While in Europe, I was often asked if I had seen a 
 ' wild Indian ' — one who carried a tomahawk, painted 
 his face, and wore feathers in his cap. Of course, having 
 rarely been, to my knowledge, within a thousand miles of 
 one of them, I could give but a faint idea of a ' wild 
 Indian ; ' and even here I have not been helped by the 
 sight of the few ' Pawnee ' who came around us at Grand 
 Island, saying, ' Good squaw ! ' ' Good Injun ! ' ' Give 
 five cents ! ' 
 
 We have passed through the length of the state of 
 
 D
 
 34 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Nebraska, over whose broad acres the fleet antelope 
 runs, and the little prairie-dog digs its holes, and makes 
 its cities. The broad valleys furnish immense grazing- 
 fields ; the river-bottoms, rich farming-lands j and the 
 high ground along the road, sites for towns and villages. 
 As the railroad advanced from Omaha, each halting- 
 place, for a time, became the terminus, and was the 
 point where congregated all the roughs and desperadoes. 
 A large town would grow up in a few weeks, and in as 
 short a time pass away, and the deserted houses and 
 cabins now tell of departed glory and ruined business. 
 
 Through the state we follow along near the path over 
 which the pioneers of 1848 pushed on to the gold-fields 
 of California, their track being marked here and there by 
 the solitary graves of those whose strength failed. 
 
 Between the settlers of the prairies and the Omaha 
 people there is, it seems, a singular antipathy which is 
 somehow connected with a supposed willingness on the 
 part of Omaha to manage the affairs of the rest of the 
 state. The farmers tell you of the great sins of the 
 ' Omahogs ; ' and in the city they sing their own praise, 
 and speak of all the state outside as peopled with 
 ' Nebraskals.' 
 
 At Antelope, 451 miles west of Omaha, we have 
 our first view of the Rocky Mountains, whose snow- 
 capped peaks rise high above the Black Hills, often 
 hiding themselves in the clouds. To these mountains 
 we look anxiously, as they seem impassable ; and we 
 await with eager eye to behold the triumph of the
 
 OMAHA TO SALT LAKE CLTY 35 
 
 engineer who has laid the track for the iron horse over 
 their very summit. 
 
 Many who have written of their journey have praised 
 the ' eating stations,' as they are called ; but I have found 
 so far the food ill cooked and poorly served. A free ticket 
 to dinner may have found aroma in the cup of chicory, 
 comfort in the burned steak, and solace in the black 
 bread. The Company would favour its patrons by re- 
 forming this part of their service. Still, do not take a 
 lunch-basket ; for it is always in the way. A man who 
 had such an institution, from which every now and then 
 was taken the rich food for the repast, to the evident 
 discomfort of the other passengers, with a devilled ham, 
 a devilled chicken, a devilled turkey and all the fixings, 
 tired at last with carrying about the great basket, ex- 
 claimed, ' Wife, I wish all these devilled things were to 
 the Devil r 
 
 Cheyenne. — We now enter the young Territory of 
 Wyoming. We have passed through the Lodge Pole 
 Creek Valley, which abounds with herds of antelope, and 
 where are found deer, bears, and wolves. Just before 
 we reach Cheyenne, we see directly before us the Rocky 
 Mountains, lifting their huge, dark sides against the sky. 
 Fifty miles to the south of Hillsdale, on the South Platte 
 River, is the often-described Fremont Grove of cotton- 
 wood-trees. 
 
 Cheyenne is the terminus of the second division of 
 the road (the first extending to North Platte), and is
 
 36 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 also the junction of the Denver Pacific Railroad. A few 
 houses around the de'pot, the Company's buildings, and 
 a few scattered over the plain, form the city, where, a 
 few years ago, a defiant mob held sway, and all the 
 roughs from the States found a home. It is five hundred 
 and sixteen miles from Omaha, twelve hundred and sixty 
 from Sacramento, and a hundred and six from Denver. 
 On July 4, 1867, a single house stood on the site of the 
 city, which afterwards, at one time, had six thousand 
 inhabitants. Two newspapers are published here. The 
 people tell you that this is to become a large city, and 
 their expectations will doubtless be realised, though after 
 a longer interval than Western hopefulness is usually 
 prepared for. The abandonment of Fort Russell, a 
 military post which is supplied from Cheyenne, would 
 abate much of the present prosperity of the town, but it 
 must, for a long time, remain the distributing de'pot for 
 freight destined for Colorado and New Mexico. 
 
 The Rocky Mountains. — Leaving Cheyenne, we at once 
 begin the ascent of the slope of the Rocky Mountains, by 
 a steep grade ; two engines, with difficulty, drawing our 
 train up the mountain-side. 'We pass the quarries in 
 Granite Canon, twenty miles from Cheyenne, at 7,298 
 feet elevation. Wild, rugged, and grand are the peaks 
 which surround us. On every hand float great masses 
 of vapour, through which, now and then, appear the 
 snow-clad mountain-tops. It is a sea of fleecy clouds, 
 to which we seem so near, that we could reach the
 
 OMAHA TO SALT LAKE CLTY 37 
 
 floating mass. To the south-west, above a broad, dark 
 line, rise the sunlit sides of Long's Peak. I now realise 
 the truthfulness of Bierstadt's paintings of the scenery of 
 these hills. The dark, deep shadow, the glistening 
 sides, and the snow-capped peaks, with their granite 
 faces, the stunted growth of pine and cedar, have been 
 faithfully reproduced on his canvas. Snow-banks twelve 
 feet deep are at the road-side ; and in the ravines be- 
 tween the mountains are seen huge heaps of snow and 
 ice. By slow stages we reach Sherman, at an elevation 
 of 8,242 feet above tide-water — the highest portion of 
 the Union Pacific line, and the highest railroad elevation 
 in the world. A severe storm prevails ; and, if one 
 should desire to paint Desolation, here is the scene for 
 him. The necessities of the road alone keep a few 
 people about the station. In the distance are seen 
 Long's and Pike's Peaks, with the Elk Mountains to the 
 north. Though the air is here so rarified that there is 
 some difficulty in breathing, yet, while the train waits 
 the time may be profitably occupied in walking about 
 the station, observing the different rock-formations and 
 the little mountain-flowers, which, with their tiny blooms, 
 greet the eye of the tourist, reminding him of their more 
 gaudy sisters which dwell in the valleys. The profusion 
 of blossoms in the plateau, called Laramie Plain, contrasts 
 with the sterility of the plains beyond. We have here 
 more than 300 distinct varieties of flowering plants, 
 
 From Sherman to Laramie the train runs without 
 steam, down a grade of forty-seven and a half feet per
 
 38 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 mile, under the control of the air-brake. Dale-Creek 
 Bridge is a noble piece of trestle-work, one hundred and 
 twenty-six feet high, spanning a picturesque valley, 
 through which trickles the creek. Now the fantastic red 
 sandstone rocks appear, rearing their spires, domes, and 
 castles from 500 to 1,000 feet above the road-bed. The 
 water, having washed away the loose material, has left 
 the hard rock, whose form has named a station, — Red 
 Buttes. To the south we see the Medicine Bow Moun- 
 tains, among the deeply serrated sides of which are the 
 springs that feed the Laramie River. 
 
 Laramie, the Western terminus of one of the five 
 divisions of the road, and the proposed site of extensive 
 railroad-shops, is a busy place. It is the natural outlet 
 of the Laramie Plain, a well-watered and fertile expanse, 
 which is now opened up as a great grazing field, over 
 which thousands of cattle roam. Several churches, 
 schools, and a newspaper, tell of prosperity. 
 
 Laramie is the place where sat the first legally-organized 
 jury of women on record, in the history of the trial and 
 decision of causes under the forms of law. It is said 
 that they all invoked Heaven's aid in making up their 
 verdict. How far the household duties were neglected 
 during the trial is not told ; but their obedient husbands, 
 who staid at home to mind the children, sang away the 
 hours with, — 
 
 Nice little baby, don't get in a fury, 
 'Cause mamma's gone to sit on the jury.
 
 OMAHA TO SALT LAKE CLTY 39 
 
 At Laramie the Company have erected a capacious 
 hotel-building, which has become a favourite stopping- 
 place for tourists, who are not obliged to hurry over the 
 road. At this station, and all West of here, we shall see 
 the ' John Chinamen ' as road-hands. We pass Lookout, 
 Rock Creek, Como, from each of which places the rolling 
 prairies stretch far away. Then we strike into the coal- 
 country. At Carbon Station some 300 men are employed 
 in mining coal for shipment as far East as Omaha. 
 During the night we pass out of this region ; and morn- 
 ing finds us upon the banks of Green River, where begins 
 the Little Laramie Plain. Green-river Station is now a 
 deserted city, but was once a noted station on the over- 
 land road, from which point many an exploring expedi- 
 tion has started forth. We get a poor breakfast here. 
 The sun has risen brightly, and lights up the deep ravines 
 through which we are to find our way down into the Salt 
 Lake Basin. The country hereabouts is very uninviting, 
 barren hills and sage-bush land meeting the eye on all 
 sides. Passing Bryan station, the next, Granger, is in 
 Utah territory. 
 
 On the way from Granger to Evanston it was arranged 
 to hold religious services, the day being Sunday. Friends 
 from the other cars come into ours, and with the con- 
 ductor, porters, and train-men, fill every seat. The 
 Episcopal service appropriate for the day is read by one 
 of the passengers. After this a sermon is read. The 
 hymn, 
 
 When, Lord, to this our western land,
 
 4 o THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 is then read ; after which a select choir, composed of 
 members of a troupe of travelling minstrels sing, — 
 
 Nearer, my God, to thee, 
 
 and several other familiar tunes, closing with our national 
 hymn. Our services lasted nearly two hours ; and the 
 closest attention was given by all, the extraordinary cir- 
 cumstances of the occasion certainly detracting far less 
 than might have been expected from its solemnity. 
 
 We dined at Evanston, from bountifully-spread tables, 
 and were soon after at Wahsatch, which is the entrance 
 to Echo Canon. Passing through a tunnel 770 feet long, 
 we enter the North Fork. Around, the hills rise abruptly 
 on every side, the gloomy canons dividing them. We see 
 the towering, castle-like rocks which stand up out of the 
 hills ; we rush on through the ever-narrowing canon until 
 it becomes only a mere gorge, down which Echo Creek 
 dashes, marking out the track for the road. It seems 
 that God himself had designed this to be the gateway 
 through which we were to enter the valley. Castle Rock, 
 Hanging Rock, Pulpit Rock, frowning cliffs and receding 
 hills, come in view as the train speeds its way. At the 
 narrowest part of the ravine, on the top of the cliffs, may 
 still be seen the fortifications erected by the Mormons in 
 the year 1857 ; and, close to the brink, the huge bowlders 
 intended for the destruction of our troops, but, happily, 
 never used, and now only marring the landscape — monu- 
 ments of folly. 
 
 Away to the south now in full view are the snow-clad
 
 Ed-w^'WeUe
 
 • 
 
 c
 
 OMAHA TO SALT LAKE CITY 41 
 
 Wahsatch Mountains, among the springs of which the 
 Weber River takes its rise, flowing thence into Salt Lake, 
 near Ogden. As we come to the river, it seems that 
 there is not room enough for both railroad and river, so 
 narrow is the pass; but man has conquered, the very 
 mountains furnishing a safe road-bed. Echo City is just 
 beyond this narrow pass ; and as it is the centre of a 
 fertile region, with the several rivers furnishing fish in 
 abundance, the place seems destined to gain some im- 
 portance. 
 
 Weber Canon is now entered ; and for miles the track 
 is laid along the banks of a dashing, foaming, angry 
 stream. High mountains bound this ravine on each side, 
 and in many places the road-bed is cut out of the hillside. 
 Every step presents new wonders. The rocks, apparently 
 from the effect of volcanic action, have assumed peculiar 
 forms ; the strata, in some places rising vertically from the 
 hills, like huge walls. These serrated rocks at one point 
 are called ' The Devil's Slide.' 
 
 A thrifty pine, of giant form, marks 1000 miles west 
 from Omaha. There it stands, a solitary sentinel, telling 
 to every passing traveller the same tale of home far away. 
 Occasionally, we catch glimpses of the peculiar yellow 
 stone which has rendered famous large sections far to the 
 North. Granite, slate, conglomerate, sandstone, and 
 limestone, are also seen. 
 
 Just where the river is forced between two great walls 
 of rock into a foaming, boiling current which rushes 
 madly on, the road crosses the stream, and we soon
 
 42 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 emerge into the fertile plain of Salt Lake Valley. The 
 Wahsatch Mountains are now passed, and we see on 
 either side the well-tilled farms of the Mormon settle- 
 ments. A short ride takes us to Ogden, a town of 4,000 
 souls, mostly Mormons, and the point of junction of the 
 Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads. I had de- 
 cided to visit Salt Lake City, on my way westward, and as 
 Ogden is the point of connexion with the Utah Central 
 Railroad, leading to Salt Lake, I here quitted the pleasant 
 company of those who had been my fellow passengers for 
 three days. Some few of them decided, however, to 
 join me in visiting the city of the ' Saints.' We reached 
 our destination in a journey of thirty-six miles, which was 
 accomplished in two hours, the railroad traversing a 
 southerly course along the shore of the Salt Lake. 
 
 The Mormons. — As we approach Salt Lake City the 
 first object which meets our view is the huge roof, oval 
 in form, of the tabernacle; then the groves of trees, bloom- 
 ing in almost tropical luxuriance ; and then, as we draw 
 nearer, the adobe houses of the farmers ; and, when 
 within the city limits, the cottages of the people, nestled 
 among their apple and peach orchards. 
 
 In the mellow twilight of the Sabbath day, the great 
 snow-clad mountains, whose weird forms rise on every 
 side of the valley ; the houses of the rich Mormon trader ; 
 the cottages surrounded by luxuriant gardens ; broad 
 streets, along either side of which rippled a little brook- 
 let ; long blocks of stores ; the walls of the Mormon
 
 SALT LAKE CITY— THE MORMONS 43 
 
 houses of worship, with the people who abide here going 
 and coming, — these are the sights we see in riding from 
 the de'pot to our hotel. 
 
 In journeying across the Continent, it is better to 
 remain over for a few days in this city, as well for rest, as 
 to see this interesting place, and also to make preparation 
 for the balance of the trip ; for, if not already provided 
 therewith, a little gold will be required to pay for meals 
 and other unavoidable expenses. The ' Walker House ' 
 here has 130 rooms, and is reputed to be the best hotel 
 west of Chicago, on the overland route. The Townsend 
 House is the Mormon hotel, and is also favourably re- 
 membered by tourists who have lived there. 
 
 Refreshed by rest and sleep, we start out to ' do ' the 
 city. It lies upon a spur of the Wahsatch moun- 
 tains, the northern part being well upon the 'bench,' 
 from which a glorious view is had of the rest of the town 
 and adjoining country. It was settled July 24, 1847, by 
 Brigham Young and his followers, who, driven from 
 Nauvoo, in Illinois, had pushed westward through the 
 wilds of what is now Iowa, and across the plains, through 
 the mountain defiles, into this valley. This band of re- 
 ligious zealots soon organised a government, calling their 
 State ' Deseret ' 1 electing Mr. Young president, — a title 
 and office which he holds to this day. 2 As is well known, 
 
 ' This name signifies the land of the honey-bee. 
 
 - At a general convention of the Mormon Church held in May 
 last, Mr. Young resigned all his civil offices, but still remains as 
 the head of the Church.
 
 44 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 he was Governor of Utah for several years, until 1857, 
 during which time he did much towards developing the 
 Territory, whose 65,000 square miles include farm-lands, 
 great inland seas, wild mountain-ranges, and rich mines 
 of gold, silver, lead, and iron. The Valley in which this 
 city is situated is bounded on the east by the Wahsatch, 
 and on the west by the Oquirrh mountains, through 
 which deep canons extend, the only doors of ingress and 
 egress. To the East are Emigrant and Parley Passes, 
 through the former of which the Mormons came into the 
 Valley. As we came out of Echo Canon, the old stage- 
 road left the railroad, and turned off to the south, follow- 
 ing the Weber River, and entering the Salt Lake Valley 
 by the first mentioned canon. 
 
 Standing in the main street, and looking south-east, we 
 see Little Cottonwood Canon, where is located the Emma 
 Mine, which is now considered the richest argentiferous 
 galena deposit in the world. To the west we see Brigham 
 Pass, where are mines rich in golden treasure. Puss 
 Valley mines are well known ; and, indeed, every canon 
 and every mountain-side present great inducements to 
 the adventurous miner. From all the streets, the moun- 
 tains are seen, some snow-capped all the year ; and from 
 some points the lake and River Jordan are in view. The 
 hills are well wooded ; maple, pine, and oak abounding. 
 There is also abundant sandstone, which is a good build- 
 ing material, and a hornblende granite, of which they 
 are constructing the 'Temple.'
 
 SALT LAKE CITY— THE MORMOXS 45 
 
 Salt Lake City. — The streets are all at right angles, 
 broad, well- shaded, and to some extent graded. Many 
 good and substantial structures have been erected ; and 
 the dwellings which contain the 2 2. 000 people are com- 
 fortable and neat, some of them being elegant mansions. 
 Outwardly, comfort and prosperity are seen. The stores 
 are well stocked with merchandise ; and not only can 
 you find the needful, but Luxury has gathered many of 
 her votaries around her here, to the peril of the young 
 Mormon girls and boys. The church people try to pre- 
 vent their Gentile brothers from opening shops within 
 the town, which they trusted Nature had so defended that 
 they would alone occupy it, undisturbed by those not of 
 their faith. That the Mormons may know their friends, 
 by an edict of the church a sign is placed over the stores, 
 upon which is painted a large eye, with the words, ' Holi- 
 ness to the Lord. Zion's Co-operative Mercantile 
 Institution.' Here the followers are expected to trade. 
 
 Fortunately, next morning after our arrival was to be 
 May-day for the children, and a good Mormon said to us, 
 
 ' I wish you would go down and see if poly-ga-mous 
 children are not as good as mono-ga-mous children ' (as 
 he spoke it). Of course we went to see the 6,000 school- 
 children with their parents start upon their excursion. 
 No better chance could be offered to see these people in 
 their holiday garb ; and we must admit they seemed 
 happy : certainly they looked well ; and nothing occurred 
 to remind us of their peculiar customs. Said a good 
 bishop of the church, ' This happy sight is the result of
 
 46 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 our religious faith.' In vain did we look for those woe- 
 stricken faces which had been described to us, and for 
 the signs of degeneracy in the children. 
 
 The Mormon tabernacle is a huge building, 250 feet 
 long by 150 feet wide, with forty-six stone columns, from 
 which springs the roof, probably the largest self-sustaining 
 ceiling in the country. On entering the building, the organ, 
 second to but one in the United States, first attracts our 
 attention ; next, the astonishing number of the plain pine 
 seats on the floor and in the galleries. There is said to 
 be sitting-room for 14,000 ; probably 10,000 can be com- 
 fortably seated. Immediately in front of the organ is a 
 desk or pulpit, raised very high, where Brigham sits, 
 and from which he preaches ; next below, one for the 
 counsellors, then one for the bishops, then the dea- 
 cons ; and on either side of the platform are the seats 
 of the ' seventies.' There is little paint, as yet, inside 
 the building : so that all looks cold and uninviting. The 
 doors are so arranged, that the people can depart in a 
 few minutes from all sides of the structure. 
 
 In the ceiling we noticed numerous little holes, and 
 asking our Mormon friend their use, were told that 
 through them chains could be let down, to which scaf- 
 folding was attached when they wished to make repairs : 
 thus much expense is saved in the operation, as the ceiling 
 is 65 feet from the floor. 
 
 The Mormons are trying to build a 'temple ' also, but 
 the work is advancing very slowly. If they complete it 
 according to the plans, they will have a piece of architec-
 
 SALT LAKE CITY— THE MORMONS 47 
 
 ture to boast of. Until the opening of the railroad, all 
 the stone used in building the ' Temple,' was hauled by 
 ox-teams, some 20 miles, over a mountain road. It is to 
 be 100 feet high, and, upon the ground, 99 by 1865 feet, 
 with towers and spires at each corner. 
 
 The Mormon Community. — Brigham has a large and 
 valuable plat of ground enclosed with walls, within which 
 are his various houses, called ' The Bee,' 'The Lion,' &c, 
 his school-house, and other buildings. His farm is not 
 so well cultivated as we expected to find it ; and some 
 of his followers, if not as good at ' scheming,' are far 
 better at ' farming.' The theatre, the council-house, the 
 city hall, and university are all stone buildings, of some 
 architectural finish. There are several newspapers pub- 
 lished here, of none of which can we say much in praise. 
 Several religious denominations have established missions 
 here, all of which, we were told, are flourishing. The 
 Protestant-Episcopal Church has founded St. Mark's, 
 and has just completed a fine stone chapel, where 
 services are held regularly. For the religious purposes 
 of the Mormons, the city is divided into twenty wards, 
 in each of which meetings are held, presided over by a 
 bishop ; and for political purposes also, these divisions 
 are preserved. The people of each ward, both Mormon 
 and Gentile, are presumed to govern the schools, which 
 in theory are independent of the Church ; but, as the 
 Mormons are so largely in the majority, they exercise, in 
 fact, the control. The schools are free to all upon the
 
 48 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 payment of a small tuition-fee for their support. The 
 Sunday schools are held in the same buildings. 
 
 We took pains to call upon Mormon gentlemen, hear 
 their views, and observe their customs. All of them 
 attributed their recent troubles to the rumsellers, who at- 
 tempted to break down their license system established 
 by the city government. The sum fixed upon as the 
 price of a license, was three hundred dollars per month, 
 to be paid at least three months in advance, — terms to 
 which the dealers were not inclined to accede, hence the 
 troubles. The Mormons do not attempt to conceal their 
 satisfaction at the recent decision of this business in their 
 favour by the Supreme Court ; but none of the leaders 
 spoke in any defiant tone, and all attribute their deliver- 
 ance to divine interposition. We heard their arguments in 
 favour of polygamy in extenso. In answer to our direct 
 question, they admitted that their wives were often un- 
 happy when a new one came into their husband's house. 
 
 A ride about the city is inspiring ; the views are grand, 
 the scenery delightful, and the roads in fair condition. 
 As the houses of the Mormons are passed, the number of 
 his wives may be known by the number of front-doors, 
 although the wealthier have houses in different parts of 
 the town, and farms in the country, each presided over 
 by a favourite wife. 
 
 The water, which is conducted from City Creek through 
 
 , the streets of the city, furnishes a good supply for use 
 
 and irrigation, and gliding along on either side, enclosed
 
 SALT LAKE CLTY—THE MORMONS 49 
 
 by grassy banks, gives to the streets an air of coolness 
 even under a summer's sun. 
 
 Brigham Young is, of course, the ' lion ' to be seen. 
 By favour of his secretary we were introduced to him. 
 He is a well-preserved, good-looking man of seventy-two, 
 with frank, open face, and the air of a gentleman ; 
 above the ordinary stature, and, in brief, one who 
 would be selected from the many as one of talent. His 
 address is good, and he is fluent in speech. In manner 
 he shows that suavity which makes and keeps friends. 
 
 He has taken a prominent part in the public improve- 
 ments in the Territory ; organising lines of stages, ex- 
 presses, a telegraph ; building railroads ; and opening 
 avenues of communication between the various settle- 
 ments. He is beloved by his followers, and has a con- 
 trolling voice in all their affairs. 
 
 Thus much must be said. Still we do know that life 
 was for a long time unsafe in the Territory ; that Gen- 
 tiles were forbidden to open mines or carry on trade ; 
 that even the Mormons themselves were forbidden to 
 prospect for gold and silver ; that secret ' councils ' were 
 held, and that men were missed from their homes ; that 
 people were warned out the Territory ; and that the 
 ' Danite pill ' was too often administered. Had Brigham 
 taken the course to invite immigration, Utah would 
 now have been a bright star in the constellation of 
 States, her lands ablaze with the fires of smelting furnaces; 
 and the hills would have echoed with the noise of the 
 mills, crushing out the wealth of her mountains. Her 
 
 E
 
 50 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 resources would have made her, probably, the first in 
 mineral richness of all the States in the Union. 
 
 The railroad is certainly working some changes : the 
 richness of her mines, the fertility of the soil, and the 
 salubriousness of climate are calling in new people ; 
 fresh impulses to trade and development are given ; 
 churches and school-houses are making their way, and a 
 new party is being formed. A gentleman who has lived 
 in the Territory four years told me that a great change had 
 taken place among the Mormons themselves, respecting 
 the theory and practice of polygamy, within that time. 
 There are probably, at this time, 130,000 people in the 
 Territory, two-thirds of whom are Mormons, and of 
 whom, again, one-third do not believe in or practice 
 polygamy ; and their number is increasing. 
 
 Salt Lake to San Francisco. — At Ogden we 
 take the cars of the Central Pacific Railroad, continu- 
 ing our journey. We have the Great Salt Lake to our left, 
 and on our right the great mountains, from the sides of 
 which the roadbed has been hewn, and far up the faces 
 of which can be seen the marks which fix the height of the 
 once even larger inland sea than that which we now look 
 upon. Hot springs are in view, clouds of sulphurous vapour 
 rising from them. Passing through fine farming lands, 
 now rich in promising crops of wheat, barley, and corn, 
 we reach Willard City, near which are many evidences of 
 volcanic eruptions in extinct craters. We reach in suc- 
 cession the thriving Mormon town of Brigham City, and
 
 SALT LAKE TO SAN FRANCISCO 51 
 
 Corinne, 1 on the west bank of the Bear River. The 
 latter place has already grown into some importance as 
 the distributing depot for Montana ; and, as it is situated 
 in the midst of a fine farming country, there is here the 
 
 1 The National Park of the Yellowstone. — At present, and until 
 the completion of the Northern Pacific, or a railroad north-west 
 from Cheyenne, the Yellowstone country is reached from Corinne, 
 as the nearest railroad point. This national park includes the falls 
 and cascades of the Yellowstone, the great lake of the same name, 
 and the unequalled geysers, which are situated in the valley of that 
 river. This domain, the scenery of which rivals in some respects 
 the Yo-Semite, has been by act of the American Congress made for 
 ever a 'place of public resort and recreation.' Tourists from all 
 parts of the world will be attracted here, whenever better modes of 
 conveyance are furnished ; and even now, every summer, there are 
 those with a liking for rough frontier life who make the journey. 
 All who have visited the Yellowstone country express themselves as 
 amply repaid for the privations which it entailed, by a view of those 
 wonderful developments of nature. 
 
 The great falls in the river are 350 feet in perpendicular height, 
 and in other parts of the stream there are rapids and cascades equal 
 to those of Niagara. The Yellowstone Lake is undoubtedly the 
 most elevated sheet of water of like extent on the globe. It lies at 
 an elevation above the sea of 8,337 feet, is 25 miles long, and from 
 70 to 80 miles in circumference. It is situated within the terri- 
 torial limits of Wyoming, upon a broad plain between two spurs of 
 the Wind River Mountains. The waters of this lake are so warm 
 that they do not freeze in winter, but not so warm or so charged 
 with sulphur as to prevent the existence of fish in them, although, 
 from the many near-by hot sulphur springs and geysers, streams 
 flow into this lake. 
 
 The geysers in this section can be counted by many hundreds, 
 throwing columns of hot-water and mud into the air to the height 
 of from 60 to more than 200 feet. These geyser fountains are 
 from five feet in diameter down to a few inches. Often large 
 stones, mingled with mud and smaller stones, are thrown high in the 
 
 K 2
 
 52 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 foundation of a healthy growth. Stages start from here 
 to Virginia City (358 miles) and Helena (482 miles) 
 daily. 
 
 The next interesting point is Promontory, where the 
 track-layers of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific met 
 in completing the two roads. This was the scene of the 
 ceremonies, grand yet happy, solemn yet full of gaiety, 
 which took place at ' the driving of the last spike.' The 
 actual junction of the two roads is five miles west of 
 Ogden, although the latter place is now the apparent 
 union. The proposed new depot buildings will be 
 erected at the point designated by Act of Congress as the 
 junction. 
 
 From the hills here the best view is to be had of the 
 Great Salt Lake, which stretches away to the South, a 
 vast sea. This lake is 150 miles long, and 45 wide ; con- 
 
 air and scattered in all directions. Pools of boiling water and 
 springs of sulphurous vapour meet the tourist at every step. 
 
 N. P. Langford, one of the explorers of this section, thus closes 
 an account of these geysers : — 
 
 1 They are but a reproduction, upon a much grander scale, of the 
 phenomena of Iceland. A wider field for the investigation of the 
 chemist than that presented by the geysers may be found in the 
 many-tinted springs of boiling mud, and the mud volcano. These 
 were objects of the greatest interest to Humboldt, who devotes to a 
 description of them one of the most fascinating chapters of 
 " Cosmos." It would be rash for us to speculate where that great 
 man hesitated. We can only say that the field is open for explo- 
 ration, illimitable in resources, grand in extent, wonderful in variety, 
 in a climate favoured of Heaven and amid scenery the most stu- 
 pendous on the continent.'
 
 SAL7 LAKE TO SAN FRANCISCO 53 
 
 tains several mountain-like islands, as Church, Antelope, 
 Fremont, Stansbury, and others of less size. Of these 
 islands, one is stocked with horses, one with cattle, and 
 another with sheep. The waters are so impregnated with 
 salt, that a person easily floats upon the surface. There 
 flow into this sea the waters of Weber, Jordan, Bear, and 
 other rivers ; and yet there is no visible outlet. Its waters 
 are reduced by evaporation ; and in the summer the salt 
 that is left along the margin is carried away by wagon- 
 loads. Some people assert that there is a hidden 
 stream, which continually flows from the lake ; but one 
 fact remains to be explained, — how the waters are now 
 some 12 feet higher than when the Territory was settled, 
 fields where the early pioneers planted their grains being 
 now under the waters. 
 
 Further along in Utah, we pass through the ' Great 
 American Desert,'— a vast waste of about 60 miles 
 square, which without doubt, was at some remote day, 
 the bed of a vast saline lake. Beyond this we mount the 
 long rough ridge of the Goose-creek Range, the presence 
 of a vegetation, which becomes more and more abun- 
 dant as we advance, indicating that we are out of the 
 Desert. A few miles on, we find ourselves at Toano, in 
 Nevada, where the second division (the Humboldt) 
 begins. The station is so located, that in time it must 
 become a distributing point for several mining-districts. 
 The road now begins to climb Cedar Pass, toward which 
 the emigrants of former days looked with longing eyes, and 
 through which they toiled after enduring the hardships and
 
 54 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 exposures of their march across the Desert. Through 
 the pass we enter the Humboldt Valley. The country 
 around looks very dreary ; the stream is a mere muddy 
 brook ; there is some snow still upon the ground ; the 
 air is cold, the sky cloudy : so we resign ourselves to a 
 day of very uninteresting travelling, only brightened by 
 the hope of soon reaching the Sierras. We stop now and 
 then at stations, the positions of which seem to us strange, 
 but which we suppose to be determined by the proximity 
 of towns or the wants of the railroad. The valley of the 
 Humboldt river is a fertile section, but is sparsely settled. 
 The river, rising in the mountains of the same name takes 
 a westerly course of some 250 miles. Near the station 
 called Brown's, we see the ' Sinks of the Humboldt,' — a 
 series of lakes into which the Humboldt and other rivers 
 flow, but which have no visible outlet. During the rainy 
 season these lakes are all united, becoming a sheet of 
 water, which covers several hundred square miles. 
 
 All day long we have run through a very unpromising 
 -country, unpeopled and unknown. Such stations as are 
 required for the service of the road must be erected at 
 the proper intervals along the line. Winnemucca is such 
 a one, for here a division begins ; and the employes of 
 the company are almost the only residents. Night still 
 finds us out in these vast wastes. As to-morrow is to be 
 one of grand sight-seeing, we must console ourselves 
 with the reflection that the tameness of this part of our 
 journey is to prepare us for the passage of the wonderful 
 Sierras. A good night's rest refreshes us ; and an early
 
 SALT LAKE TU SAN FRANCISCO 55 
 
 hour sees us up, and looking around to find out our 
 position, as the mariner out upon the ocean daily takes 
 his ' observations.' 
 
 Humboldt Canon, the next noted point, does not 
 possess the interest that is found in either Weber or 
 Echo Canon ; but still, at some points, there is a 
 grandeur which impresses us as we look up its bleak, 
 brown, naked walls. These rock-faces rise so high, and 
 press the foaming river so close, that we seem to be rush- 
 ing into an abyss, out of which there will be no escape. 
 We observe here and there seams of iron ore and 
 copper, which tell of the riches held in store by these 
 brown old hills. Red Cliff, the highest point, is a nar- 
 row gorge, about twelve miles in length, which seems to 
 have been opened by Nature that we may pass, though 
 she grudged us the needed space for river and road- 
 bed between the frowning crags. 
 
 Battle- Mountain Station, the freigh ting-point for a 
 large mining-district, lies in a barren, clayey country, 
 with little to see save dark hills far away, and the 
 bunch-grass scattered over the plain. The station- 
 house is a creditable frame building ; and by cultivation 
 and irrigation a good garden has been made to the west 
 of the hotel, and a fountain throws up its sparkling waters, 
 — a refreshing sight to the weary traveller who has just 
 passed over the barren wastes. From this station the 
 names of all Westward bound passengers are telegraphed 
 to the San Francisco papers.
 
 56 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 During the night, we entered' the Valley of Truckee. 
 The river of that name has its rise in Lakes Tahoe and 
 Donner, and flows by two branches, until, near a town 
 named from the river, they unite, and empty into 
 Pyramid Lake. I refer to this little valley, only ten 
 miles long and about two wide, because here ic was that 
 the early pioneers, both themselves and teams exhausted 
 and nearly dead from their toils in the desert, found a 
 resting-place, where green fields furnished food for their 
 horses and cattle, and where cooling waters and shady 
 trees gave them strength and hope. 
 
 Reno, a somewhat ' noisy ' place, deserves special 
 mention. It is situated 1,620 miles west of Omaha, and 
 154 east of Sacramento. This lively town is said to 
 contain 2,000 inhabitants, has a little paper called ' The 
 Crescent,' and vaunts itself upon its greatness. 
 
 What gives to Reno its importance is, that it is the 
 nearest point on the Central Pacific Railroad to one of 
 the great silver-mining districts of Nevada. 
 
 Virginia City, Nevada. — Twenty-one miles almost due 
 south of Reno, on the side of Mount Davidson, at an 
 elevation of more than 6,000 feet, is situated Virginia 
 City, and, adjoining it so closely that one cannot tell the 
 dividing line, is Gold Hill. These two mining towns 
 have become well known wherever mining shares are 
 bought and sold. They together contain more than 
 20,000 inhabitants, three-fourths of whom dwell within
 
 VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA 57 
 
 the corporate limits of Virginia City. In the summer of 
 1857, Joseph Kirby discovered gold at the base of Mount 
 Davidson in the sand and gravel which had been washed 
 down from the mountain, and for two years he, with a 
 few others, continued to work these ' placers.' On 
 February 22, 1858, the first quartz claim was located by 
 James Finney. He was known among the miners as 
 1 Old Virginia,' and as the section became peopled and 
 mines were opened, the settlement took its name of 
 Virginia City, in honour of the old miner. In June 
 1859, rich deposits of silver were discovered by Peter 
 O'Reilly and Patrick M'Laughlin, in making an excava- 
 tion into the hill as a basin to hold water to be used in 
 their placer mining. 
 
 These early-acquired rights becoming more valuable 
 by development of the mines, a man by name of 
 Comstock sought to purchase the titles of those miners 
 who were in possession. He succeeded in acquiring 
 most of the rights in what has since proved the richest 
 silver-bearing quartz vein in the world, and the ' Com- 
 stock Lode ' has become famous in the money centres 
 of Europe as well as America. This lode extends in an 
 irregular and broken vein along the mountain side for 
 25,000 feet, at some points having a width of 200 feet, 
 while at others the walls nearly close up. The untiring 
 hand of the miner has already made the hill look like a 
 honey-comb, and he has carried his shafts under the city 
 in all directions. Upon this lode are now located 
 seventy claims, bearing familiar names on the share list,
 
 58 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 as Gould and Curry, Savage, Hale and Norcross, Yellow 
 Jacket, Belcher, Crown Point, &c. 
 
 From Verdi, we enter the Truckee Canon, toiling up 
 the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas. Presently, and 
 while we are in the depths of the canon, we cross the 
 western boundary of Nevada, and enter the ' Golden 
 State,' whose borders soon greet us with hills covered 
 with grand old trees, with grassy levels along flowing 
 streams, with the pleasing song of birds, a cooling breeze, 
 and a clear sun. 
 
 Truckee, a bustling town, is our first stopping-place. 
 In the midst of a heavily-timbered country, its wealth is 
 in its saw-mills, turned by the waters of the Truckee river, 
 and huge piles of boards and timber now encumber the 
 ground and block up the streets. The town is elevated 
 5,845 feet above tide-water, contains between 2,500 and 
 3,000 people, and has a newspaper (the Tribune), schools, 
 and churches. The houses are all built with regard to 
 the snows of winter, traces of which are even now seen 
 in great drifts upon the northern sides of the buildings 
 and lumber-piles. 
 
 Here we enter upon the Sacramento division of 
 the Road ; and, having improved the thirty-minutes' 
 stop in looking about the place, the bell summons 
 us to our seats in the train, which from this point is to be 
 drawn by two powerful engines up the steep sides of 
 the hills to the summit of the Sierras.
 
 EASTERN CALIFORNIA 59 
 
 The Truckce Region. — From Truckee to Summit, in a 
 distance of 15 miles, the road rises nearly 1,200 feet, 
 or about 80 feet to the mile — a grade sufficient to 
 require the most powerful engines to draw the cars. Our 
 pace is slow indeed ; but we must bear in mind that we 
 are now doing what, a few years ago, the engineers them- 
 selves despaired of accomplishing — crossing the Sierras 
 in a railroad car. 
 
 The morning sun is casting his early beams upon the 
 landscape, lighting up the great pines and firs, causing 
 the snow-clad mountains to glisten, the tumbling waters 
 of the river to sparkle, and the surface of Donner Lake, 
 seen now and then between the hills, to shine like a 
 mirror. Eleven miles beyond Truckee we enter a canon 
 called Strong's, and climb its tortuous course, rising higher 
 and higher, until we see far below us the lake, the line of 
 the road, and hills which, a little while since, presented 
 themselves to us as apparently impassable barriers. We 
 now enter a line of well-built sheds, covering the track, 
 and framed, boarded, and braced to protect them against 
 the fierce snows. From openings in the sides we catch 
 glimpses of a landscape so lovely that we all regret 
 that necessity compels the erection of these ugly sheds, 
 so dark and gloomy, for most of the way, that we cannot 
 tell shed from tunnel. Some Yankee will find a way to 
 open this beautiful landscape to view during the summer ; 
 while in the winter the road shall be protected from 
 those great, drifting snows for which the Sierras are so
 
 60 THE ATLANTIC TO THE FACIFIC 
 
 noted. 1 Even as we are passing (May 16), the snow 
 still remains in huge piles against the sides of the sheds, 
 while all along inside it lies in a drift from two to four 
 feet deep. After snorting and puffing, whistling and 
 screaming, for an hour and a quarter, our pair of iron 
 horses stop in the snow-sheds at the station called 
 ' Summit.' Here we have a good breakfast, well cooked 
 and fairly served ; although we could not expect to find 
 so many waiters as are required to attend a rush of 
 passengers, with appetites sharpened by mountain air and 
 a long ride, all with one voice calling, ' Steak ! coffee ! 
 bread ! trout ! waiter ! a napkin ! ' Even a company of 
 regulars would be somewhat disconcerted at such a con- 
 fusion of commands. 
 
 Looking about the station, a single building perched 
 here upon the mountain, we perceive that near by are 
 many higher hills, peaks of the Sierras, whose bare and 
 craggy sides lift themselves one upon another until their 
 tops, snow-clad, are lost in the clouds. Here these 
 great granite hills form the ' divide ' which determines the 
 course of many mountain streams, all of which to the 
 West, by many windings, find their way to the Sacramento. 
 
 The descent of the mountains begins at Summit, and 
 from our elevation of 7,042 feet above the sea we make 
 a down-hill run to Sacramento valley, distant 105 miles, 
 and generally elevated only 250 feet above the sea. No 
 steam is now required in moving the train ; it is propelled 
 
 1 These sheds have, since the above was written, been fitted with 
 reat doors, which will be opened during the summer.
 
 THE PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA Ci 
 
 down the steep grade by its own momentum, and the 
 brakes are applied to prevent the speed from becoming 
 too great. By the breaking of a wheel or an axle we 
 should be hurled down into the chasm below. No train 
 is sent from Truckee without having the air-brakes as 
 well as the hand-brakes and every other precaution against 
 accidents, attached to the cars. With all the care and 
 all the devices for controlling the train, great risk is run 
 upon such a fearful grade, but your car glides so quietly 
 and steadily that unless you look out of the window 
 nothing unusual would be perceived. 
 
 From Summit to Dutch Flat (38 miles) we descend 3,639 
 feet, and to Colfax (51 miles) 4,621 feet — grades which, 
 only a few years ago, were considered insurmountable. 
 As we glide along, we catch occasional glimpses of the 
 Yuba River dashing between the hills ; and, further on, 
 the Bear River, winding its way towards the Pacific. 
 Losing sight of these views, we soon reach the head 
 waters of the American River, and, passing several un- 
 important stations, we reach Emigrant Gap, where the 
 old road, so long and weary to the pioneer, crossed the 
 mountains. By a tunnel we pass under the old trail, and 
 rush on down towards the valley ; and, after a ride of 
 about a dozen miles, we enter the Great American Canon. 
 Here, between almost perpendicular walls 2,000 feet 
 high, the river, hard pressed by the hills, roars and 
 tumbles, impatient of restraint. So smooth and sharp- 
 cut are the sides, that we can stand upon the brink, and 
 look down into the waters. From the cars, occasional
 
 62 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 views, grand and imposing beyond description, rivet our 
 attention. We stop a few minutes at Dutch Flat — a 
 pretty town of miners, whose cabins are adorned with 
 tidy gardens and little orchards. 
 
 How differently are we crossing these mountains from 
 the emigrants of even a few years ago ! Then, inch by 
 inch, the teams toiled to gain a higher foothold, or toiled 
 equally hard to keep a foothold, as, inch by inch, they 
 climbed down the rugged passes ; now in luxurious 
 coaches, with horses of iron, with a skilled engineer for a 
 driver, we are carried along in comfort. Then and now ! 
 Who of us on this train can know of those toils and hard- 
 ships? and who of those pioneers could have dreamed 
 that this day the steam-engine would be crossing the 
 Sierra Nevadas ? 
 
 The tunnels and snow-sheds continue for 31 miles; 
 the longest tunnel being 1,659 f eet > an d many ranging 
 from 100 to 800 feet in length. 
 
 The snow-sheds upon this road are entirely different in 
 their construction from those on the Union Pacific : here 
 they are framed and erected as permanent structures, at 
 a cost of about 10,000 dollars per mile. Knowing that 
 the snow falls here from 16 to 20 feet deep, and that 
 great avalanches of snow and ice rush down from the 
 mountains into the valley, we can understand the neces- 
 sity for these structures. They are so built — either 
 with sharp, sloping roofs, or against the side of the 
 mountain — that the snow passes over them, while the 
 trains, as through a long tunnel, pass in safety. Precau-
 
 HYDRAULIC MINING 63 
 
 tions are taken to prevent fires and accidents, watchmen 
 being stationed at frequent intervals, with water and an 
 engine always in readiness. 
 
 Hydraulic Mining. — All along the road now, for miles, 
 we see little ditches filled with running water. These 
 are dug around the sides of the hills, tapping the river 
 near its source, where perpetual snows furnish a constant 
 supply, and are carried on and on to the various mining 
 ' claims ' below in the valleys. These claims are located 
 upon what is known as the Blue Lead, which extends 
 from Gold Run, a few miles beyond, through Nevada 
 County, into and through a part of Sierra County, and con- 
 stitute the best large ' placer-mining ' district in the State. 
 The whole tract was, without doubt, the bed of a once 
 large mountain stream, which has piled up these great 
 beds, within which are the fine particles of gold, worn 
 away from the great quartz mountains by the action of 
 the water upon them. Petrified trees are now found like 
 those growing upon the hills around — pines, oaks, the 
 manzanita, the mahogany, and others — in this peculiar 
 formation, which is from one to five or six miles in width. 
 From these ditches the water is taken in a ' telegraph,' 
 which is a long, narrow flume of wood, extending out 
 over the claim ; to this hose with a nozzle is attached, 
 from which the water spouts in a constant stream, and is 
 by the miners directed against the hillside. By this 
 action the soft dirt is washed away from the gravel, and, 
 forming one liquid mass, is carried through a ' tail-race •
 
 64 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 into long flumes, often miles in length. Within these 
 flumes are placed ' riffles ' — little slats attached to the 
 bottom of the flume, for arresting the gold, which by 
 its own gravity seeks the bottom. Along the flumes, at 
 intervals, are stationed men, who throw out the large 
 stones and pieces of rock from which the dirt has been 
 washed. When the ' riffles ' are supposed to be full, the 
 water is turned off, and the dirt, which contains the par- 
 ticles of gold, is taken out. 
 
 The next process is the use of the ' long torn,' which 
 is a sheet-iron box with a duplicate bottom extending 
 diagonally over a little more than half the box, This 
 secondary iron plate is perforated with holes ; and under 
 it, in pockets made by two cross-slats upon the bottom, 
 is placed the quicksilver. This ' long torn ' is now at- 
 tached to a sluice-way, and the water turned through it. 
 The dirt which has been taken from the riffles is shovelled 
 upon this perforated plate ; the particles of gold fall 
 through, and unite their atoms with the quicksilver. 
 This process of throwing the dirt upon the plate, washing 
 away the sand and rock by the flowing water, and the 
 taking up of the gold by the quicksilver, is continued 
 until the ' quicksilver is full,' as they term it. Then the 
 amalgam is removed, placed in a retort, heated to some 
 480 Fahrenheit ; when the quicksilver is sublimed, 
 and passes away in a vapour, leaving the gold. 
 
 Of course such mining is very expensive (vast sums 
 having been laid out in building the ditches and flumes), 
 and can never be an economical mode ; for, with every
 
 HYDRAULIC MINING 65 
 
 precaution, much of the gold is carried away. After the 
 last riffle is passed, the ' slum,' as it is called, is carried 
 into the streams which empty into the great Sacramento, 
 the waters of which are now muddy and dirty from the 
 vast amount of sand, clay, and loam washed into it, as 
 each miner, by his ceaseless labour, wears away the hills 
 and the mountains, and carries them by his flumes into 
 the rivers. It is a strange sight to look around and see 
 what this constant flow of water has done in so short a 
 time ; and then we are enabled to understand some of 
 those great changes which Nature has wrought by her 
 rivers flowing on for ages and ages. 
 
 Since the miners began their work in California in 1849, 
 they have levelled hills, often 300 feet in height and hun- 
 dreds of acres in extent, and carried them into the 
 valleys ; they have denuded whole counties, and now only 
 the waterworn surface and jaggy sides of the bed-rock 
 are to be seen ; they have turned the course of great 
 rivers and dug their beds over and over ; they have 
 thrown the surface of the plains into ridges ; and all this 
 for the gold which they held. 
 
 I have described what is called ' hydraulic ' mining, 
 and which is to-day one of the chief industries of the 
 State. Often water is brought from 100 to 150 miles, to 
 be directed against the side of a hill which the miners 
 suppose to contain gold, or to cover a bed of ' pay dirt,' 
 as they call auriferous earth. So long as gold is found, 
 just so long will there be men who will put capital into 
 the enterprise.
 
 66 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 In the earlier days all the miners used simple devices, 
 as the 'cradle,' the 'pan,' &c, by which they accom- 
 plished the results I have described, of separating the 
 gold from the earth. This was called ' placer ' mining, 
 and is the term used still to designate mining upon a 
 small scale and with rude devices. When a river-bed or 
 a stratum of ' pay-dirt ' has been dug over and the gold 
 taken out, the mass which is left has received the name 
 of ' tailings.' All through the State to-day, the Chinamen 
 are again going over these heaps of dirt and stones — the 
 tailings — and by their patient and careful toil are finding 
 gold enough to give them a living. These instances are 
 almost the only ones of ' placer ' mining in these days. 
 ' Hydraulic ' mining is not as extensively carried on as 
 formerly, and as I have said, ' placer ' is almost entirely 
 abandoned. Quartz mining is the form now prevailing, 
 and this is described in a subsequent page. 
 
 But we are nearing that famous ' tumble ' down the 
 mountain, called ' Cape Horn ; ' and we must stop our 
 talk upon mining and miners, and observe the grandeur 
 and beauties of our ride for the next few miles, that my 
 readers may know how to ' double the horn.' 
 
 Cape Horn. — People who are naturally timid shrink 
 from looking out of the cars down into the deep chasm 
 en our left, or up upon the dark, bleak mountains which 
 all around rear their craggy, snow-capped crests far into 
 the very clouds. Even the cunning Indian failed to
 
 THE PASSAGE OF THE SIERRAS 67 
 
 make a trail directly across this hill. As we round the 
 hill, we see far, far below us, the river, which looks like 
 a little brook; and what appears to be a little plank 
 spanning it, is really a large turnpike bridge. We turn 
 sharply to our right, and lose sight of the river ; and as 
 just across the chasm we see the road-bed, seemingly 
 within a stone's throw, we look anxiously for some way 
 to reach the other side. As we move along the brink of 
 the precipice, we look down a thousand feet into the 
 valley below. Gliding slowly on, a turn to our left 
 brings us upon a trestle 878 feet long and 113 feet high, 
 which is to take us safely over this gorge, and to the road- 
 bed which we saw so near us, yet so unattainable. When 
 this section of road was built, the Chinamen were lowered 
 down by ropes from the mountain peaks, and in this 
 position gradually hewed out a foothold ; the foothold 
 enlarged to a working-place ; and the working-place, 
 after much labour, to the road-bed over which we are 
 passing in safety. No one can view this point without 
 being struck with the herculean labours which accom- 
 plished this result, and without rejoicing that American 
 skill and energy directed it, and thus in the passage 
 of the Sierras achieved the triumph of railroad engi- 
 neering. 
 
 While we have been looking, admiring, and wonder- 
 ing, we have reached the pretty town of Colfax. As 
 this is the point for distributing freight for Grass Valley, 
 Nevada, San Juan, Little York, You Bet, and other
 
 68 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 mining towns and camps, the company has erected large 
 and substantial depots for the merchandise, which is 
 taken by ' fast freight expresses ' (four-horse wagons 
 carrying a light load, and driven at a rapid rate by 
 relays of horses) to all the interior points. Stages also 
 are ready at the station to convey the passengers and 
 mails. 
 
 Eighteen miles further on, we stop at Auburn, the 
 county seat of Placer County, containing a thousand 
 people and many neat and substantial buildings. 
 Although the place has no air of business, still the houses, 
 seen from the cars, indicate home-comfort in their neat 
 and well-kept gardens and orchards. We pass for some 
 dozen miles the scenes of early mining operations, where, 
 even now, some of the ' old settlers ' may be seen at 
 work. 
 
 At Rocklin, the Company has a machine-shop and 
 round-house, which are built of handsome granite found 
 near by. As we leave this place, the foot-hills of the 
 great mountains, down whose sides we have been picking 
 our way, are left behind us ; and, although the land is 
 still rolling, we see beyond the plains of the American 
 River Valley. We make good time over the meadows, 
 across the marsh-lands of American River upon trestle- 
 work, and the river itself upon a bridge of wood, and 
 now are in the suburbs of Sacramento, the ' Queen City 
 of the Plain.' Orchards and gardens are upon either
 
 SACRAMENTO TO SAN FRANCISCO 69 
 
 side ; flowers send us choice perfumes ; the fig-tree lifts 
 its great green leaves to the sun ; the soft balmy air fans 
 our cheeks — all telling us of Summer. What a change ! 
 Only a few hours ago we were up in the snows of the 
 Sierras, so cold that we needed a fire in the cars, and our 
 overcoats on besides ; now we are in the land of flowers 
 of almost tropical luxuriance. 
 
 Passing the great brick repair-shops and de'pots for 
 supplies of the Company, we are soon taken into the 
 station upon the banks of the Sacramento River. Until 
 the year 1870 this was the western terminus; but the 
 completion of the Western Pacific to San Francisco 
 brought about the union of the two roads. The distance 
 from here to Omaha is given at 1,770 miles; and from 
 here to San Francisco, by way of Oakland, 138 miles. 
 
 As we stepped from the cars upon the platform, what 
 a scene presented itself ! Here are gathered persons of 
 every nation, speaking every tongue — a jargon of lan- 
 guages. Here were merchants and mechanics of the city 
 and the country; old miners from the 'diggins;' 
 fashionable belles who were to take the cars for the city 
 near the ' Golden Gate ; ' young men ' with no particular, 
 occupation;' old men 'waiting for a chance ' — altogether 
 the most cosmopolitan people I have ever met. As the 
 train waits thirty minutes, we pass around among the 
 people, observe them and their ways, talk to some, and 
 ask the price of the nice fruits and flowers. 
 
 At the stations along the Central Pacific, as persons 
 entered the train, they would inquire of those they met,
 
 70 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 1 Are you bound for Frisco ? ' Here everyone is inquir- 
 ing of his friend, ' Are you going to the Bay ? ' We see 
 some substantial stores and blocks along the street front- 
 ing the river. The great State House, with its lofty 
 dome, stands out from the other buildings ; but, save 
 these, we see little of the city. 
 
 Here the ' overland express ' is made up, with several 
 coaches added ; and we push out of the station, and run 
 for some distance along the river. We soon begin to 
 see what looks strange to a Yankee ; that is, the wind- 
 mill pumping water into a large tank, built sometimes 
 upon the house, often upon the barn, and oftener upon 
 stilts. Fine vineyards skirt the road ; and great fields 
 of wheat stretch away from the river. 
 
 Crossing the great bridge over the San Joaquin River, 
 we push on through a rather uninteresting country. 
 Occasionally we catch a view of Mount Diablo far away 
 towards the Pacific, and the snow-caps of the Sierras far 
 behind us. Just ahead we see high hills, which seem to 
 offer another barrier to our progress ; but our train winds 
 itself along, twisting in and out through this coast-range, 
 until it finds its way out by Livermore Pass. 
 
 Presently the station Niles is announced, which is the 
 junction of the San Jose' branch. It is now too dark to 
 see the country ; and we can only wait to hear the glad 
 sound — Oakland ! While we are wishing, the conductor 
 cries out ' Oakland ! ' and many passengers prepare to 
 leave at this ' Brooklyn ' of the Pacific coast. The train 
 reaches the boat which is to carry us across the Bay of
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 7' 
 
 San Francisco, by running out for some two miles upon 
 trestle-work to the deep water ; and while we are slowly 
 crawling over this bridge, I collect my ' traps ' and 
 prepare to leave this ' car-home.' As soon as we reach 
 the deck of the ferry-boat we peer into the fog, trying 
 to get a glimpse of the lights across the Bay. We 
 are told that the cold wind which blows in our faces, and 
 the fog which hangs over the Bay, are quite frequent in 
 summer, usually coming up in the afternoon. A sail of 
 twenty minutes brings us to the wharf at ' City Front,' 
 whence we are driven to the hotel. Here we find rooms, 
 all in proper order, awaiting us ; for Ave had done what 
 every one should do — telegraphed the day before for 
 accommodations. 
 
 San Francisco. — I had expected to find San Francisco 
 a busy, bustling city, where every one jostled against his 
 neighbour in his hurry to and fro upon the business 
 streets ; but in a walk, on the morning after my arrival, 
 down Montgomery towards California Street, I was struck 
 with the absence of bustle and all confusion, although past 
 the hour for beginning general business. The brokers 
 and bankers all wore a look of despair, and men were 
 assembled in little knots here and there upon 'the Wall 
 Street' of the Pacific. An inquiry disclosed the fact 
 that stocks had been tumbling for the past few days, and 
 threatened a further decline. On Friday of the previous 
 week (May 10), the prices of almost all mining stocks 
 had fallen at a rate unknown before — in one case from
 
 72 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 $1,900 to less than $300 per share, and made it a day to 
 be remembered hereafter as the 'black Friday.' Men 
 who a few days before were millionaires were now bank- 
 rupts. The clouds hung dark and heavy over financial 
 circles ; and despondency and gloom filled the houses of 
 bankers and brokers. A friend and myself made an 
 estimate of the aggregate depreciation of the stocks upon 
 the market up to noon that day ; and our footings showed 
 it to be not less than $47,000,000. Of course this 
 tremendous fluctuation in value had a depressing in- 
 fluence upon all branches of business, in a community 
 which is chiefly dependent upon mining interests. The 
 shock was doubtless all the more severely felt because, as 
 one may learn without a very long stay here, business has 
 been overdone, and is now toiling for a legitimate basis. 
 
 During a walk along Kearney Street, a fashionable 
 thoroughfare, I observed a strange sight — two ladies 
 coming down the street, the one dressed in a suit of thin 
 lawn with hat telling of summer-time ; the other dressed 
 in a gown of dark, heavy cloth, and with a long fur cloak 
 on, and hat and costume telling of a New England 
 winter. I seemed to be the only person who remarked 
 this strange contrast — this evidence, on the one hand, of 
 distrust, and, on the other, of perhaps undeserved confi- 
 dence in the climate. 
 
 The architecture of the principal streets is very peculiar, 
 ornate, and often grotesque. To accommodate them to 
 earthquakes, the ' Friscans ' build their blocks and houses 
 rarely more than two stories high, and often only one.
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 73 
 
 The prevailing material used is the redwood, painted ; 
 but, when the owner can afford it, the exteriors are 
 covered with elaborate iron and wooden ornaments, in 
 such excess as to become ugly. 
 
 The people whom one meets are extremely polite and 
 affable, and ready to show you about their city, of which 
 they are very proud. The weather is supposed to be that 
 of a fair May day ; the thermometer is about 65 , and, 
 when out of the sun, you are a little uncomfortable ; and 
 it is so desirable to have the sun in this climate, that you 
 see in the advertisements of houses to let, &c, a promi- 
 nent announcement that ' the rooms are sunny.' 
 
 I was warned to prepare for the wind; and, in my 
 walks took with me an overcoat, which by three o'clock 
 proved most serviceable. Looking over the hills to the 
 west, you see huge banks of fog rolling in towards the 
 city; and the cold ocean wind, surcharged with fog, 
 rushes upon you like an evil spirit. I shivered and 
 hurried, and walked down streets lying in opposite 
 directions ; but still the same spirit was upon us, until I 
 was driven into the hotel to take refuge before a glowing 
 coal-fire in the grate. This they tell me is a fair sample 
 of their summer weather. One may get used to it, but 
 the first experience is very unpleasant. It is utterly out 
 of the question to sit out of doors during the evening : 
 little inclination is felt to walk or ride out, unless business 
 or urgent social calls demand it. 
 
 A good dinner at your hotel does much to dispel the 
 gloom which an afternoon's fog creates ; and the confi-
 
 74 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 dent assurance with which the ' Friscans' tell you that these 
 are their unpleasant days, and invite you to wait for their 
 pleasant season, compels one to be satisfied, and enjoy 
 what there is of blessings before him. 
 
 Seal Rock and the Sea Lions. — No one has seen this 
 city, at least in the estimation of ' Friscans,' until he has 
 been to the Cliff House and seen the seals. No matter 
 how cold are the blasts which blow in from the Pacific ; no 
 matter how fearful are the showers of sand, or even how 
 angry look the skies, the Cliff must be seen ; and a drive 
 over the Cliff House Road is indispensable to a proper 
 reception into this wonderful town. At breakfast, upon 
 my first morning in the city, I was asked, ' Have you 
 been out to the Cliff? ' Therefore, on the second day 
 after my arrival, I made this pre-eminently necessary 
 excursion. The drive of a little more than a mile 
 through the city was a kind of martyrdom. The fine sand 
 from the hills round about fills the air, and, borne upon 
 the Pacific blasts, cuts the face until we cry for quarter. 
 These sand-hills were blown up from the ocean beach ; 
 and their position seems to be constantly changing. The 
 streets often run through these sand-banks ; and, if you 
 plough through one, you then can understand what a 
 sandy road is indeed. In places, where the streets have 
 been graded and macadamised, the sand comes in, and 
 repossesses itself of its old quarters, covering side-walk and 
 carriage-way, door-step and front gardens. 
 
 By dint of courage and perseverance we succeeded in
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 75 
 
 getting beyond the city street proper, and upon the 
 famous road. As there were races at one of the agri- 
 cultural parks, the road was unusually lively and gay; 
 and we had the pleasure of seeing the 'fast nags.' The 
 road is nigh three miles long, and has a hard, smooth 
 carriage-way, in width some 60 feet, and a trotting 
 track-way of some 40 feet ; and the whole is kept in 
 most perfect order from the funds received at the gate. 
 the toll being four ' bits ' 1 each carriage. As a road, it is 
 of great merit. The drive is almost wholly without 
 interest, unless it be to watch the varied surface of the 
 great sand-banks made by the wind, or look over a field 
 and observe the ripples and the changing colours in the 
 sand which has been blown up from the beach. The 
 road takes a sharp grade down towards the beach, and, 
 by a very nicely curved way, you are let down to the 
 level of the Cliff House Piazza; and a short distance 
 more brings you down upon the sandy beach. 
 
 The Cliff House is a wooden structure built out over 
 the rocks, and has evidently been enlarged as business 
 increased. It is neither pretty in its architecture nor 
 inviting in its appearance ; but inside ihe house creature 
 comforts are dispensed with lavish hand. Standing upon 
 the veranda looking out to the ocean, you have, a little 
 to your left, the great Seal Rock, whereon disport the 
 sea lions — now crawling up the rocks, their sides dripping 
 with the foam; now stretching themselves out in the 
 
 1 A ' bit ' is an old silver ninepence ; and so the toll is a silver 
 half-dollar each carriage.
 
 76 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 sun ; and now rubbing their sides with their fins, which 
 serve them as paddles, hands, and feet ; or now again 
 lashing the rocks with their tails, all the time growling, 
 or rather howling. Their antics afford much amusement 
 to the people who throng this popular resort. 
 
 Among the lions which have grown old and ill-looking, 
 in the service of entertaining with their strange freaks 
 and pranks the populace of this fun-loving city, is one 
 whose eyes now squint from over-feeding, who seems to 
 rule the rock with the greatest bravado, and is called 
 ' Old Ben Butler.' For the peace and good of the other 
 lions, may ' old Ben ' soon take his last leap into the 
 sea ! 
 
 To our left is Gull Rock ; further around are the 
 Headlands, and to the right, the gate called Golden, 
 through which all the commerce of this port must enter, 
 and through which our ships seek a path to China and 
 Japan. The hills, where they are of rock, rise majestic- 
 ally from the sea ; and with the air free of fog, and at 
 setting sun, a beautiful picture is seen here, and this 
 narrow roadstead found to have been rightly named the 
 ' Golden Gate.' For miles, you may ride along as pretty 
 and sandy a beach as you could desire. The ocean 
 dashing at your feet, or surging against the projecting 
 rocks, tells us of our ' other ocean ' — the blue Atlantic. 
 Navigators called this the ' Pacific ' because its waters 
 were so calm ; but they only knew of its Southern cha- 
 racter. Then they had not been far enough North to 
 determine whether California was an island or the main-
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 77 
 
 land ; and, indeed, upon early maps which I have 
 seen, it is laid out as an island. If you desire to test the 
 ' pacific ' nature of its waters, you are told that a voyage 
 North, to Portland, Oregon, or to Alaska, will settle the 
 question ; and you will only wish that Drake, and his 
 compeers, had sailed further North before they named 
 this great ocean, the Pacific. Its waters about San 
 Francisco are evidently not so blue as those of the 
 Eastern coast, neither are they so clear ; but this, un- 
 doubtedly, is caused, to a considerable extent, by the 
 mining, which sends down into the Bay so much soil and 
 decomposed rock. 
 
 A delightful drive took us back over the road, and 
 through some of the best-built streets of the city, to our 
 hotel, as thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of the 
 Cliff House, and the famous road leading to it, as is a 
 hazed Freshman into the great mysteries of college life. 
 Let not anything here written deter you, however, from 
 taking this drive, lunching at the Cliff House, and taking 
 a sight of ' Old Ben Butler,' should he still live to torment 
 his enemies, and disgust his friends, when you visit 
 California. 
 
 On the morning of my first Sunday in San Francisco I 
 was awakened by the sounds of martial music and the 
 tramp of soldier}''. For a time I thought it was the 
 Fourth of July. From the hotel-window I saw no less 
 than three military companies, each with a band, march- 
 ing on their way to some picnic. The side-walks were
 
 78 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 thronged, by eight o'clock, with men with wives and 
 children, oftener, perhaps, with their sweethearts, hurry- 
 ing to the boats, the cars, the ' buses,' and every sort of 
 conveyance which would take them to some ' place of 
 resort,' or into the adjoining country. The horse-cars 
 were all placarded with advertisements of shows and 
 performances at ' Woodward's ' and the ' City Gardens,' 
 the theatre and the circus. Used to the staid customs 
 of our New England cities, I was a little bewildered at 
 these sights, but was told that Sunday was the great 
 holiday for the people — perhaps to-day a little more 
 parade ; but still that every pleasant Sunday takes the 
 people into the country, to the islands in the Bay, or to 
 that greatest of all great places — Woodward's Garden ; for 
 Woodward is the California ' Barnum.' He is better 
 known among the mining population of California as 
 the proprietor of the What Cheer House. Later in the 
 day I found that there was a large church-going popula- 
 tion, and by service time the city became as quiet, and 
 was all day as orderly, as any in the East. 
 
 Views of the City. — As is well known, San Francisco 
 is greatly exercised of late about the occupation of Goat 
 Island, and the building of a rival city on the Oakland 
 side of the Bay ; and I must say that, to one unac- 
 quainted with the early history of the city, the site where 
 Oakland is built seems the place for the great city of the 
 Pacific. The deeper water-front of the early days deter- 
 mined the commercial superiority of the site selected,
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 79 
 
 aided, and perhaps assured, by the Spanish mission - 
 church and fortifications, then already established. The 
 city has moved away from the deep-water-front, and is 
 finding its commercial marts far to the South, where they 
 must fill out into the Bay for the wharves, that ships 
 may have protection from the gales which at some 
 seasons of the year prevail. 
 
 Oakland Wharf is a favourable point from which to get 
 a panoramic view of the city and harbour. The wharf 
 extends out so far into the bay, there is nothing to ob- 
 struct the vision. The atmosphere is so much clearer 
 than in England, that one accustomed to that foggy air, 
 is surprised to find his range of vision so extended and 
 the outlines of objects brought out with such distinctness. 
 
 From this point, looking west, you have, just by that 
 huge rock which rises from the water about a mile from 
 the end of the bridge, called Goat Island, and which has 
 given so much trouble, the roadstead which leads out 
 into the Pacific, through the Golden Gate. To the left 
 rises Telegraph Hill, whereon, in early days, the beacon- 
 light was placed, and at the foot of which the early 
 miners pitched their tents, and began their city. For 
 many years the business portion of the city lay at the 
 very base of this hill, with the tents and cabins of the 
 new-comers far up its sides. It seemed to me, now, that 
 I could see the scattered tents of the primitive town, and 
 the good ship 'Niantic,' in charge of Capt. Brewer of 
 Boston, gracefully sailing up the Bay, to become the first 
 hotel of the city. I saw the little settlement increase
 
 So THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 from hamlet to town, and from town to city. I saw her 
 people gathered in the plaza, witnessing the fights of the 
 bull and the bear. I saw ships flying the flags of every 
 nation coming to the new-found harbour, bearing the 
 living freights, and carrying away the golden treasure. 
 
 Now the city has stretched away to the South, — as far 
 as Mission Bay, and to the West two miles, and more, 
 towards the Ocean. The place where the ' Niantic ' 
 used to lie is now covered by a large brown-stone block 
 of stores ; and to the East, for nearly a mile, the Bay 
 has been filled in to find deep water, and the whole space 
 covered with large, and, in many instances, substantial 
 storehouses. Around Telegraph Hill decay has attacked 
 both the buildings and the dwellers therein ; the stores 
 have been emptied of their merchandise ; and but little 
 now remains to tell of the bustle and noise of the early 
 settlement. The plaza has been inclosed by a neat iron 
 fence, and beautified with trees and shrubs, to remain 
 for ever a park, to which the old inhabitants love to come 
 and think over the scenes of early days. As you look 
 upon the city, you see the shipping, with flying banners, 
 at the wharves, war-vessels riding at anchor, then long 
 lines of storehouses which cover the low land West to 
 Montgomery, next the Mansard roofs of Montgomery 
 and Kearney Streets, and above them the clock-tower on 
 the Chamber of Commerce, on California Street, come 
 in view. Rising above the city is the bald form of 
 Telegraph Hill, and, to the South, the house-capped 
 sides of Russian Hill. Further to the South is Lone
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 81 
 
 Mountain, where they have laid out a cemetery ; and 
 then the land stretches away in a gentle slope to Mission 
 Bay, with the foothills separating the ocean from the Bay 
 to the West. To the extreme South are the China 
 Docks ; and away down the Bay is seen the dry dock 
 and South San Francisco. The open sea is not visible, 
 as the city is situated upon the Southernmost of two 
 ridges, or arms, which jut out towards each other, cutting 
 off the view seaward, and leaving only a narrow pass 
 between them, thus forming the ' Golden Gate.' To the 
 West of all rise the great sandhills, over which we must 
 pass to reach the ocean. In the summer months, 
 generally, a fog-bank, after ten o'clock in the morning, 
 hangs over the Western suburbs, ready to be taken over 
 and upon the whole city by the trade-winds, which 
 prevail at this season of the year. 
 
 Montgomery Street, running from Telegraph Hill, 
 South, to Market, is the principal business street. 
 Kearney, the next street West, and parallel with it, is 
 attracting the shopkeepers whose trade is with the 
 women. New Montgomery, which was to be an exten- 
 sion of the old street of that name, and upon which one 
 front of the Grand Hotel is erected, was an unfortunate 
 enterprise for its projectors, many of whom have been 
 ruined. 
 
 The streets in the business portions of the city have 
 wooden pavement ; those in the sparsely settled portions 
 are macadamised. The sidewalks are nearly all of plank, 
 save upon the principal business streets, where all kinds of 
 
 G
 
 82 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 walks may be seen. Many of the streets are so steep, that 
 it is with difficulty that one can drive up or down them, 
 Clay Street being a pretty good test even for pedestrians. 
 The horse-cars are compelled to make long detours 
 around these hills ; and, even then, four horses are often 
 required to draw a car up the grade. 
 
 I cannot speak very favourably of the architecture of 
 the city. Around the old adobe church of the Mission 
 Dolores many of the old clay houses still remain, 
 bearing the marks of a century. The dwellings are 
 not generally elegant, and stately mansions are rare. 
 Small, one-story, three-roomed houses are occupied by 
 the people. Recently some fine private houses have 
 been erected ; but all seem very unhomelike in their 
 exterior appointments. The public buildings are so 
 out of proportion, that they exhibit no architectural 
 beauty. House-builders seem to have accepted the situa- 
 tion, — that every October the earth will quake, and that 
 masonry will crack, and ceilings and chimneys will fall : 
 hence they have sacrificed taste to a style which they call 
 ' earthquake proof.' The great hotels — the Lick and the 
 Grand — present long and somewhat imposing fa fades; 
 the Occidental has the most harmonious front, but is 
 considered too high for that ' peculiar institution,' an 
 earthquake. The newer buildings are of wood ; and all 
 are covered with ornaments, to such an extent that they 
 become often very repulsive. The structure which the 
 Bank of California has erected for its offices, although 
 neither large nor pretentious, is, to my eye, the best
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 83 
 
 specimen of graceful and classical architecture. The 
 Treasury Building of stone, in the Doric style, has just 
 been completed, and compares favourably with the 
 Government buildings of other cities. The new City 
 Hall is not far enough advanced to decide its merits, 
 although the plans show a very elaborate, but still very 
 ornate design. 
 
 The churches in their architecture are not as a whole 
 pleasing. Several new ones, among them Dr. Stone's in 
 Post Street, are fair in their proportions ; but there is in 
 them all a lack of harmonious blending of materials used, 
 and in the adjustments of the lines of gables, windows, 
 and doors. The Episcopal church is almost ugly in its 
 appearance ; Calvary is better, but has the look of an 
 opera-house. The church which the lamented Starr 
 King designed, and in which his society still worship, has 
 a pleasing and harmonious Gothic front. This edifice 
 also in its interior finish and arrangements shows the 
 cultivated taste, as well as the wisdom, of its architect. 
 Just outside this church, within the little yard, sep- 
 arated from the street by an iron fence, and beneath 
 the shade of a Monterey cypress, is the sarcophagus 
 which holds the cherished dust of Starr King. New 
 England gave of her best when she sent this eloquent 
 divine, in the trying hours of need, to the Pacific. 
 He infused his own life and teachings into a people 
 who now hold his name in honour, and revere his 
 memory, telling their children of him whom they 
 loved so well. This done, his mission seemed ended. 
 
 g 2
 
 84 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 The memory of his life and his recorded utterances 
 remain a perpetual legacy to the people of the state of 
 his adoption as well as to those among whom his labours 
 began. 
 
 In riding about San Francisco, one is amazed with 
 the luxuriance of foliage and blooms which are seen in 
 the gardens. Hedges made with the fish geranium ; 
 fuchsias trained against the house, reaching above the 
 windows, or in a tree, with stem four inches in diameter ; 
 the century-plant in full bloom ; the tea roses, pelar- 
 goniums, and the choicest pinks, all growing out of doors 
 without protection — such are some of the sights. There 
 is a lack of shade-trees along the streets ; but in the 
 gardens I saw the pepper-tree, with its delicately- 
 fashioned leaves ; the cypress, with its feathery foliage ; 
 the eucalyptus, from Australia, which grows very fast, and 
 is said to rival in size the sequoia (of which species are 
 the ' big trees ' of California) ; the fig ; the several 
 varieties of palm ; and choice evergreens, the arborvitae, 
 the cedars, and many other trees, all growing in luxuri- 
 ance. As there are no grasses indigenous to this region, 
 much difficulty has been found in making lawns ; but 
 some of the southern grasses, like Kentucky red-top, 
 the Timothy, together with the white clover, have been 
 made to grow upon prepared soil, with constant irriga- 
 tion ; for even here a windmill is almost as common, 
 and certainly as useful, as in Stockton. The lawns, how- 
 ever, are not like those which give to the English 
 country places their special charm. As you look at these
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 85 
 
 plants and trees, growing the year round, it seems that 
 they must be tired, and need a Northern winter to sleep 
 away a part of the year. 
 
 The schools I found much better than could have 
 been expected. By the kindness of the superintendent, 
 I was enabled to visit several of them. The scholars 
 are much further advanced at the same age than with us. 
 They excel in the languages. We found children of ten 
 to twelve years speaking quite fluently French and 
 German, and those, too, who hear only English at home. 
 They show great talent for the drama. In the render- 
 ing of selections from the authors, they not only spoke 
 well, but acted well, and brought into play acces- 
 sories in costume and furniture in a manner creditable 
 to an Eastern Amateur Dramatic Society. Much promi- 
 nence is given to instruction in instrumental and vocal 
 music. 
 
 There is in the city but very little manufacturing of 
 any kind. The Mission Woollen Mills are now, by the 
 union with the Pacific Mills, and by using Chinese labour, 
 enabled to keep their machinery running. The market 
 being so limited, they are forced to produce a great 
 variety of fabrics, among which the ' Mission blanket ' 
 is justly celebrated the world over. Some few shoe- 
 factories are carried on with Chinese labour ; aside from 
 these, but little is done : and Chicago — now so near, 
 since the railroad was completed — is made to supply 
 what the city ought to produce within itself. The click 
 of machinery, the hum of the loom, and the puff of the
 
 86 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 steam-engine, all are lacking, which make Eastern cities 
 so full of life, and which tell that within our workshops 
 are being fashioned the most curiously-formed products, 
 both useful and ornamental, which other States will need 
 in exchange for the farmer's grains and cattle. 
 
 As is well known, California, unwisely as it seems to 
 us and, now, to very many of her people, refused a paper 
 currency, and has to this day used only gold and silver. 
 That they are now learning that a paper note, when duly 
 honoured, is more convenient for use than coin, is at 
 last acknowledged by the bankers and merchants in the 
 demand for a national gold bank, which has recently 
 been established, and whose issues, in lieu of coin, are 
 eagerly sought for by the people. 1 The smallest piece 
 of money used, after the early custom of using gold-dust 
 ceased, was an old ninepence (twelve and one-half cents), 
 which was always called a ' bit.' A quarter of a dollar 
 was a ' two-bit piece,' a half dollar a ' four-bit piece,' &c. 
 Now that this coin has departed, and the nomenclature 
 as well as practice remains, a great difficulty is ex- 
 perienced. If you buy anything for a ' bit,' and hand a 
 quarter of a dollar in payment, they return you ten cents 
 in change, which would be, as they say, ' taking the long- 
 bit ; ' the ' short bit ' being a dime. A person who 
 tenders a dime for a ' bit ' is stamped as a mean man, 
 and is avoided : so, what is demanded is, that you 
 should try to pay about equally long and short. No 
 
 1 Two Note Banks are now doing business, and others are pro- 
 jected.
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 87 
 
 nickels 1 are seen, and very few silver half-dimes. The lead- 
 ing bankers, I think, are now satisfied that it would have 
 been better to have adopted our common currency ; and, 
 if this State had done so the difference between gold 
 and greenbacks would have been long ago made up by the 
 general confidence in our paper. I discover two reasons 
 which determined the course : first, as the people had 
 always been accustomed to gold coin, never having used 
 paper currency, it was a difficult matter to effect a 
 change ; and, secondly, it must be said, although I 
 regret it, that there was a large and very influential 
 minority who were favourable to the South during the 
 late civil war, and averse to the use of the ' war-issue ' of 
 currency. The bank of California is the leading financial 
 institution, wielding an immense influence, and presided 
 over by Mills and Ralston so ably, that it has the con- 
 fidence of the entire financial world. 
 
 The street-cars are of all sorts and sizes,— two-horse 
 cars, four-horse cars, and one-horse cars ; and the prices 
 for riding in these conveyances vary, like the cars, from 
 three cents up to seven cents. As there is little small 
 silver and no cents in use the passenger is forced to ac- 
 cept tickets in settlement of the balance of the dime (ten 
 cents) which he has presented the conductor, for his ride. 
 The consequence is, that, after you have been in 
 ' Frisco ' a few days, you have a collection of car- tickets, 
 which, for variety in shape, colour, and printing, cannot 
 
 1 American five -cent pieces.
 
 88 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 be surpassed. The roads do not generally exchange ; but 
 the three-cent line takes a seven-cent ticket of any other 
 company. How the people submit to such inconveni- 
 ence, it is hard to say ; but I suppose a horse- railroad 
 company is substantially of the same genus in ' Frisco ' 
 that it is in — say Boston. 
 
 ' Fighting the Tiger ' is the phrase used for gambling. 
 In the early days of the city, all the people spent their 
 nights around the gaming-table, and with the miners, even 
 although they have now become rich, the love of Faro 
 remains. There are in the city numerous dens where you 
 can loose your money almost surely, although Californians 
 boast of their ' square-game.' What was once done openly 
 is now carried on in defiance of law. With the old 
 population gaming is a pastime, and they stake their 
 money with that recklessness which is born of becoming 
 suddenly rich, and with the numerous prizes in gold- 
 mines still undrawn. Admittance to a Faro Bank is easily 
 obtained, and as a warning in nearly all the dens you will 
 see hanging upon the wall a tiger's head with open jaw, 
 ready to seize his prey. Once having ' bearded the lion ' 
 they say this becomes only a pleasing picture — a wall 
 decoration. 
 
 The Chinese. — If evtr there is a study which repays 
 one, it is to learn of this curious people, who, transplanted 
 from their ' native heath,' are trying in this foreign land 
 to preserve the customs of their country. Meeting with
 
 THE CHINESE 89 
 
 many difficulties, suffering much, working hard, they 
 still succeed in maintaining their own ' Joss House,' 1 their 
 own theatre, and in not mixing at all with the white 
 race. There are, at present, more than twelve thousand 
 in San Francisco. Although there are large monthly 
 arrivals, the demand for their labour in the country keeps 
 the average very nearly the figures stated. They swarm 
 in the section around Sacramento Street, and are 
 scattered throughout the city. For the most part, they 
 are sober, kind, and submissive, and in certain places 
 they are exceedingly valuable as servants. It is the 
 custom here to have a Chinaman as chambermaid ; and 
 your cook is ' John,' who — arrayed in neat blue tunic, 
 with pigtail, black and neatly braided, reaching to the 
 heel of his thick, cork-soled slippers, and whose big 
 trousers at least hide ungraceful legs — goes about his 
 work without bluster, and sends to your table dishes 
 exquisitely prepared. Your dinner is served by a ' little 
 John,' in tunic as white as snow ; and your garden is 
 weeded by another, in a hat so large, that, looking down 
 upon it, you see no 'John,' or any thing else save 
 bamboo braided into a peculiar shape. 
 
 The Chinese have monopolised the laundry business ; 
 and in this they excel. You see around the city little 
 signs over little doors in little buildings, upon which is 
 printed ' High Lung, Washing and Ironing ; ' ' Hup Lee,' 
 ' Quon Lee,' ' Hi Boo,' or ' Le Chung,' either one of 
 
 1 The name given to their temples of worship. There are three 
 rival houses in the city, but within they appear exactly alike.
 
 90 THE ATLANTIC TO THE TACIEIC 
 
 whom will come for your linen, and return it in a short 
 time nicely prepared, and at very low prices. Chinese 
 servants quit without notice, or without giving any 
 reason for so doing ; but, aside from this, a large 
 majority of them are faithful at their work, quick in 
 learning and exceedingly neat. 
 
 They are addicted to gambling ; but theirs is the only 
 fair game that I ever knew to be practised for this 
 purpose. It is simply this : A grave-looking Chinaman 
 called the umpire sits at the head of a long table, before 
 him a large heap of checks or chips, round, with a hole in 
 the centre : a handful of these is taken up, and laid 
 away nearer the centre of the table. Upon the left of 
 the umpire sits the banker, who now wagers something, 
 from his bank, — seldom over fifty cents, — that there is 
 either an odd or an even number in the heap. Some 
 one of the crowd now wagers as much money as the 
 banker against him. If any other one bets, then the 
 banker must advance the same amount ; the money 
 being laid upon a little board marked off into squares. 
 The customers use representatives of money ; while the 
 banker lays down coin. When all are done, the umpire, 
 with ivory stick slowly draws the checks one by one 
 from the pile, and places them in twos back in the large 
 pile. The experienced eye of the Chinaman, long before 
 they are all drawn away, will detect whether the number 
 is odd or even, and so whether he has won or lost. This 
 causes a general talk in a most animated manner.
 
 THE CHINESE 91 
 
 After the games are closed the patrons of the establish- 
 ment settle for their checks. 
 
 The banker would seem to have no advantage, save 
 a small fee which is charged for the privileges of the 
 house ; and, if people 71111st gamble, the plan of the 
 Chinaman is highly recommended. It is by far fairer 
 than the modes adopted and practised in that great den 
 at Saratoga, or at any other gambling-saloon, if I am 
 rightly informed by ' those who have been there.' Bret 
 Harte's Chinaman had evidently learned all his tricks 
 from some old Californian, who, being about ready ' to 
 pass in his checks,' was willing to tell others ' how it 
 was done.' 
 
 Many of them are intelligent, and come from home 
 with a knowledge of simple English words : all of them 
 know how to read in their native tongue, to count, and 
 to keep accounts. I made the acquaintance of many 
 Chinese gentlemen, not only of intelligence, but of 
 culture, and whose friendship I prize. 
 
 The Chinese live very frugally ; rice and pork forming 
 their chief food, with chickens, of which they are passion- 
 ately fond, when they can get them ; and often their last 
 ' bit ' goes for a bit of chicken. Tea is their favorite 
 drink. 
 
 We lunched one day at the fashionable Chinese res- 
 taurant, and, for the first time in our lives, learned what 
 a good cup of tea is. We could not use the chop-sticks, 
 so we could not eat rice ; but we took from a tray, 
 filled with nice-looking food, which was brought us, some
 
 92 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 very delicate cake with almonds in it. This was the 
 place where the wealthy Chinamen lived ; but in the 
 other restaurants the food looked good : but of course, 
 as in all such communities, there were places where you 
 would not believe that anything deserving the name of 
 food could be obtained. At night the great mass of 
 them huddle together in the smallest space. 
 
 They keep innumerable little shops. The doctor has 
 his filled with all sorts of barks, leaves, and berries ; the 
 tea-man has his teas ; the grocer has his supply of China- 
 packed goods, including jars of the choicest ginger ; the 
 butcher has his stall full of the most curiously cut bits of 
 pork, often smoked black, chicken, and fish ; the clothier 
 has his tunics, trousers, hats, caps, and slippers. The 
 great tea-merchants have simply an office, as they deal 
 only in large quantities direct from China. There is 
 among them an artist, who paints in oil, or photographs 
 with Chinese accessories, doing creditable work. Their 
 theatre is a favorite place of amusement ; and the piece 
 which is now on was begun at the opening of the house, 
 years ago, and will occupy many years more to complete 
 it : hence the necessity of going often to keep up an 
 interest in the play. This ' China Theatre ' is situated in 
 Jackson Street, and is one of the strangest sights in the 
 city. Words would fail to describe the grotesque scene 
 inside the house. Of the playing there is no standard 
 of comparison — it is wonderful, exceptional, indescrib- 
 able. 
 
 Their 'Joss-houses' are attended daily but especially
 
 THE CHINESE 93 
 
 wpowfcte days. Here they have their hideous images of the 
 good, the evil, the pretty princess, the man cast out of 
 heaven, the great prince, &c, before all of whom the 
 sandal-wood taper is kept burning, and dishes of food in 
 great abundance are placed for the gods to eat. Adorn- 
 ments of odd designs cover the sides and ceilings of the 
 rooms ; and a great bell, which is beaten at times of 
 worship, stands near the door. These temples are pre- 
 sided over by a soothsayer, who sits in his little room 
 adjoining the door, and writes out the teachings of the 
 gods. As he works he mutters to himself the words of 
 the legend. Around sit other Chinamen engaged in 
 hearing the will of the god whose image is in sight. 
 
 The whole of the Chinese religion is simply this, 
 stripped of its form of development : They believe that 
 there are two spirits,— the good and the evil. The good 
 cannot do harm in any way ; as it is good, it can do only 
 good : but the evil, while it cannot do good, may not do 
 bad ; so they try to appease the evil spirit, that it may not 
 exercise its terrible power. This they do chiefly by keeping 
 him well fed, and by following certain rules of life, which 
 traditions from the old philosophers have taught them to be 
 the proper way to live, that after death, if the evil spirit 
 does not come, they may dwell in peace and happiness. 
 But in heaven, constant care must be taken lest they may 
 be cast out, like the man whose image is always set up in 
 their Joss-house as a warning. There is a deep philosophy 
 in their religion, which Confucius gave them, and which, 
 with the lapse of time, they have not lost. The Chinese
 
 94 THE ATI. LYTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 are honest, — a trait which seems to be a part of their 
 natures. A close study of them for five weeks leads me 
 to hope that we shall soon have them more numerously in 
 the East, not to come into opposition to any form or kind 
 of labour nor to injure any class, but to take their places side 
 by side with all, and do their share of the labor, which is 
 far more rapidly increasing than are the hands to do it. 
 As soon as the present labouring-classes of the East un- 
 derstand them, they will cease their opposition, and allow 
 them to take such places as they are fitted for. When 
 we consider the grape-growing interests of California, 
 we see how advantageous they have been, saving from 
 utter ruin an enterprise of which now the whole country 
 is proud, and continuing it in prosperity where no other 
 people could or would work. 
 
 So my voice is for the Chinaman, praising his virtues, 
 and dealing leniently with his many faults. 
 
 Before closing what I have to say about San Fran- 
 cisco, mention ought to be made of the hotels. No city 
 is better supplied. The four large houses — Grand, Lick, 
 Occidental, and Cosmopolitan — offer pleasant homes. 
 As the Grand is new, it is filled with tourists ; the wide- 
 spread reputation of the Occidental brings all the busi- 
 ness-men to its halls ; while the Lick is a great family 
 boarding-house, whose magnificent dining-room used to 
 be thronged with the elite of the city. Hotel life is not 
 so general as it was formerly ; and, the supply being 
 greater than the demand, hotel property is at a sad
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 95 
 
 discount just now. It is often stated that you can live 
 cheaper in this city than elsewhere ; but this applies 
 specially to food, for clothing and rents are higher than 
 in the East. 
 
 The Californians are, as a class of people, very hos- 
 pitable and free, live easily, and spend their money with- 
 out stint. Such a people demand places of resort ; and 
 they have them in this city in every form, — gardens, 
 theatres, circuses, saloons, skating-rinks where a polished 
 floor takes the place of ice, and restaurants where choice 
 viands are set before you. Liquor-drinking is here 
 perfectly open and free ; and the bars are fitted up in the 
 most elaborate and costly manner, with choice woods 
 worked into the artistic panels and mouldings, with 
 mirrors of costly plate, and with all the appurtenances of 
 the bar in pure silver. There are at all the bars, during 
 certain hours, free lunches ; and in some places on and 
 near California Street, you can, by purchasing a glass of 
 wine for two bits (twenty -five cents), obtain a good 
 dinner. It seemed a contradiction that a man could 
 make profits and carry on such an establishment ; yet 
 they succeed, and are making fortunes for their pro- 
 prietors. During the whole day, drinks are dispensed ; 
 but the price is always the same, — twenty-five cents. 
 There are other places where a dime is charged, and 
 where the lunch is less elaborate. All are carried on in 
 the most orderly manner. 
 
 In the East, we drink behind curtains and screens ; 
 here in a room cameted with Brussels, and furnished
 
 96 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 with velvet cushioned chairs, and open to the street by 
 plate glass windows and doors. During my whole 
 sojurn here, only a few intoxicated persons have been 
 seen. These facts are stated, not to favour the use of 
 liquor, but that some lessons may be drawn to aid 
 the suppression of an evil which has become such a 
 curse. 
 
 The city is too young to have many libraries, picture- 
 galleries, or museums. The Mercantile Library and the 
 Mechanics' Institute are both creditable, and offer to their 
 members the advantages of pleasant reading-rooms, and 
 well-filled libraries. The patronage given to them shows 
 a growing interest among the people for reading. 
 
 ' The Pioneers ' is a society composed of all those who 
 landed in California prior to the first day of January, 1850. 
 It has a fine hall, offices, reading-rooms, library, &c, in a 
 building owned by it on Montgomery Street. Here are 
 preserved the trophies of the early days of California ; 
 the old ' bear-flags ' adorn the walls ; and in these 
 rooms are nightly gathered those whose names and 
 deeds are closely connected with the founding and early 
 history of the State. It was a rare treat to visit the 
 rooms of this society, there to meet the very men of whom 
 I had read, and hear from their own lips of the struggles 
 and hardships which surrounded the birth of the State, 
 and those still harder struggles which freed the country 
 of the desperadoes and ruffians who so long infested the 
 Pacific Coast. 
 
 The Bohemian Club is composed of the artists and
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 97 
 
 literati of the city. Their kindness in giving me the free- 
 dom of their elegantly-furnished rooms added much to the 
 comfort and happiness of my visit. In their cosy parlours, 
 every afternoon, after business, and during the evening, 
 are gathered genial spirits ; and the hours glide away so 
 pleasantly, that all cares are forgotten, and upon the 
 faces of all hang 
 
 ' Wreathed smiles, 
 Such as Hebe brings.' 
 
 Who could fail to be happy with the Bohemians ? May 
 success and prosperity attend the club ! for, without it, a 
 visit to this city would be robbed of much of its interest. 
 They seem to carry into practice the German saying, ' He 
 who creates a laugh creates forgetfulness; and he who 
 creates forgetfulness distributes oblivion.' 
 
 I had the great pleasure of attending, on the evening 
 of June 18, the first reception of the Art Association. In 
 well-appointed rooms on Pine Street, which the Associa- 
 tion have fitted up for a permanent gallery, were gathered 
 the artists and their friends, a brilliant assembly, to view 
 the pictures. The pictures were not numerous, and 
 many seemed badly hung : still, for the first reception in 
 a new city, and so far from the great art centres, it was 
 very creditable. Bierstadt, who is staying at San Raphael, 
 a few miles from the city, is represented by ' Mt. Hood ' 
 and 'Cathedral Rocks in the Yosemite.' His 'Mt. Hood ' 
 is a grand picture, and full of those pleasing ' bits of 
 painting ' which he can so well put upon canvas, — as in 
 this, the herd of deer browsing and feeding upon the 
 
 H
 
 98 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 margin of the quiet lake. Thomas Hill, who is for the 
 present here, sends ' A View from Point Lobos,' in which 
 you see the great waves of the Pacific dashing against the 
 cragged rocks and among the deep caverns of the shore. 
 Kidd, formerly of Albany, but now located here, gave 
 two very pleasing pictures, of which one, ' A Dead Mule 
 on the Prairie/ was, in drawing and detail, a capital 
 work. Brooks sent two exquisitely-painted salmon, and 
 several still-life pieces. Loomis placed upon the walls a 
 landscape, which, though it failed to attract much atten- 
 tion, still was as choice coloring as any of those exhibited. 
 A picture by this artist in another place, and some pencil- 
 drawings, gave us much satisfaction. If I mistake not, 
 Mr. Loomis has charge of the drawing in some of the 
 public schools. Irwin presented a portrait of the poet 
 Miller ; and Champion and Tojetti also contributed por- 
 traits. These, with a large number of old master-pic- 
 tures, said to be originals, from the collection of the late 
 Mr. Pioche, together with a few pieces of sculpture, 
 formed the chief art attractions. I speak of this exhibi- 
 tion to show what a cultivated taste exists in the city. 
 Although young, San Francisco can rival many of her 
 older sisters in the fame of her artists, and this, the first, 
 general exhibition of the Artist Association was a success 
 beyond the expectations of its promoters. 
 
 Goat Island.— Undoubtedly you have known some- 
 thing of the great excitement which has stirred this city, 
 caused by ' The Goat Island Scheme,' as it is termed, and
 
 SAN FAANC/SCO 99 
 
 the question of ceding Mission Bay to the Central Pacific 
 Railroad Company. Rather than take anything at second 
 hand, I had an interview personally with Gov. Stanford, 
 and took occasion to discuss this matter. The city, as I 
 understand (it being almost impossible to find any two 
 who alike state their grievances), feels alarmed, lest if 
 Congress should grant the railroad company even the use 
 of Goat Island, it would be immediately levelled down, 
 and a city, as a rival to this, be built there, and all the 
 freights over the railroad be transhipped at its wharves, 
 that the China steamers would make their terminus there, 
 — all having a tendency to lessen the importance of San 
 Francisco. The completion of the railroad has injured 
 business, and hence lowered the value of real estate. New 
 York now is within seven days of here, and other markets 
 proportionally near. Buyers instead of being forced to 
 San Francisco, now find their way to the great metropolis, 
 and other Eastern cities. This feeling of depression only 
 makes the people the more sensitive to any thing which 
 may injure their city. They have a committee of one 
 hundred, with chairman and secretary specially charged 
 to look after the interests of the community. 
 
 The Mission Bay matter is this : The city gave to the 
 company the land of this Bay to be filled out to a deep- 
 water-front, to the extent of some sixty acres ; and 
 through this tract streets and avenues had been surveyed 
 and plotted. The company asked the board of super- 
 visors to pass an order giving it those streets and alleys. 
 The resolution as worded was rather indefinite ; and the 
 h 2
 
 ioo THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 people think, that, under this cover, it is endeavouring to 
 obtain a perpetual grant of this bay and India and China 
 basins, freed from all streets. So much for the people's 
 side of this fight, the magnitude and bitterness of which 
 can hardly be conceived by one who has not been here. 
 
 Gov. Stanford says, ' The bill now pending before 
 Congress asks that Goat Island be appraised, and rented 
 to our company ; the government to reserve the right to 
 repossess themselves at any time. The fight has arisen 
 more between the land speculators at Ravenswood on 
 one side, and Saucelito on the other ; and the city 
 between is made the apparent antagonist of the company. 
 By a new road we can reach Oakland in about 87 miles 
 from Sacramento ; the road now through Livermore Pass 
 being 137 miles. For this reason, we want Goat Island, 
 that we may level down its outer edges, and erect store- 
 houses thereon. It will bring us a mile nearer our busi- 
 ness in the city, — Mission Bay. From here to our business, 
 we should be obliged to use a ferry, as we do now to 
 Oakland Point. Goat Island is a barren rock 3S0 feet 
 high, situated in the bay about 4 miles from the Oakland 
 shore, and its nearest point only five-eighths of a mile 
 from the present wharf from which the ferry starts. We 
 intend to approach the city of San Francisco by three 
 main lines, — one from Humboldt, Oregon, and all west 
 of Sacramento, centering at Saucelito, and thence by 
 ferry to the city ; all east of Sacramento and the great 
 valley of the San Joaquin, to Oakland as now ; the 
 southern roads, including the Southern Pacific lines, by
 
 SAN FXANCISCO 101 
 
 rail direct to the city by way of San Jose. As a general 
 principle, business must reach the city by the shortest 
 and most direct route, and by the easiest grades. It is 
 folly for the people to say that we intend to level Goat 
 Island, and build a city there. It would not pay us to do 
 it : our business ,is in San Francisco. We have already 
 real estate and improvements there valued at more than 
 4,500,000 dollars, and this city is our terminus ; and there 
 never has been any intention of making any other place 
 or places the real terminus of our roads. This whole 
 panic, which has so disturbed the people, is a foolish, un- 
 necessary, and wicked plot ; and those who are aiding 
 this excitement, which is so injurious to the trade and 
 prospects of the city, are criminally to blame. I have 
 faith in San Francisco and her people : I shall oppose 
 them only so far as self-protection of our road is required, 
 believing, that, in time, they will see the right, and under- 
 stand the motives which have actuated me, and the 
 officers of the company, in the course which we have 
 pursued.' 
 
 Thus rests this quarrel, which is and has been so in- 
 jurious to both city and company. 
 
 Although I find that the dreams of the people about 
 the effect of the railroad across the continent have not 
 been realised, although all business is stagnated, lands 
 less valuable than before, business-property sadly depre- 
 ciated, and the people disheartened, still San Francisco 
 is plainly destined, by a slower but steadier growth, to.
 
 102 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 march on to a grand national importance. The great 
 valleys will send to her storehouses their unmeasured 
 yield of wheat; energy, and better knowledge of the 
 manner of working the mines, will force the mountains to 
 yield up their treasure ; the wine-growing interest will add 
 to her wealth ; the South will contribute its varied fruits 
 and nuts ; ships from China and Japan must find here a 
 port ; and soon, I have no doubt, Australia will send her 
 mails and treasure to this port, to be conveyed across 
 the continent to the steamers at New York. Thus it is 
 that San Francisco must ever remain the mistress of our 
 Western ocean. 
 
 I take my leave of San Francisco by addressing to her 
 these beautiful words of her own poet, Bret Harte : — 
 
 ' Serene, indifferent of Fate, 
 Thou sittest at the Western Gate. 
 
 Upon thy heights so lately won 
 Still slant the banners of the sun. 
 
 Thou seest the white seas strike their tents, 
 O warder of two continents ! 
 
 And, scornful of the peace that flies 
 Thy angry winds and sullen skies, 
 
 Thou drawest all things, small or great, 
 To thee, beside the Western Gate.' 
 
 The Geysers. — On May 23 I set out for a tour 
 through Napa Valley to the famous hot springs. Taking 
 the 4 o'clock boat, I had a delightful sail through the bay 
 to Vallejo. As we leave the city, we pass in sight of the
 
 THE GEYSERS, NAPA VALLEY 103 
 
 Golden Gate and Fort Point, alongside of Alcatraz and 
 Angel Island, thence through the Straits of San Quentin 
 into the Bay of San Pablo. This is a broad expanse of 
 water, bounded on all sides by high hills, save to the 
 north-east, where Mare Island forms the harbour of 
 Vallejo, and where begin the Straits of Carquinez, open- 
 ing into Suisun Bay, into which empty the great rivers 
 Sacramento and San Joaquin. Upon Mare Island are 
 erected the buildings connected with the Navy-yard of 
 the United States Government, including extensive ma- 
 chine-shops and other workshops, a hospital, storehouses, 
 a magazine for powder, and houses and quarters for the 
 officers and men. In the river facing Vallejo have been 
 built fine docks and wharves, which make safe landings 
 for the largest vessels ; while the harbour is of a size 
 sufficient to accommodate all the fleet of the country if 
 necessary. Here lies the old ' Kearsage,' whose crumbling 
 frame and rotting timbers could now ill stand a battle, 
 but whose every plank has been made famous by that 
 memorable fight with the Alabama. 
 
 Vallejo lies a little way from the landing, has the only 
 steam-elevator in the State, some good buildings and 
 many poor ones, and looks very old. It is only kept 
 alive by the trade of the soldiers and sailors ; but its 
 people still cherish a fancy that it is to be a great city. 
 Of this place I cannot speak much praise ; for, with all 
 its natural advantages of a fine harbour and government 
 patronage, it seems to be asleep — almost dead. Near the 
 city is the terminus of a railroad called the California
 
 104 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Pacific, which is by far the pleasantest route between 
 Sacramento and San Francisco. 
 
 Napa Valley. — This is one of the most beautiful and 
 fertile of those great plains which lie between the moun- 
 tain-ranges of this State, being the eastern one of three 
 — Sonoma, Petaluma, and Napa — which start from the 
 bay, and take a general north-west course. From Vallejo 
 to Napa City the road follows Napa River. The coun- 
 try around is pleasing, the ranches well farmed, and the 
 buildings better than in most parts of the State. This 
 Valley is productive in wheat, barley, corn, and grapes, 
 yielding immense crops. Napa City has about 4,000 
 people, lies upon the west bank of the river, is well laid 
 out, contains many stores, two banks, has two daily 
 papers, and is one of the most flourishing towns. A 
 little steamer runs up to it from San Francisco. The 
 climate is very agreeable : the cold winds of San Francisco 
 are here modified into soft and balmy breezes. About 
 five miles from the city are soda-springs, where they dip 
 up soda-water, put it into bottles, surcharge it a little 
 more with gas collected from the spring, and send it 
 away to be drunk by all. No fountains, no sulphuric 
 acid, no limestone and intricate machinery, are here 
 needed to manufacture soda ; for Nature has her own 
 laboratory, where she makes this 'delicious drink.' I 
 found in one of the gardens here finer roses, and by far 
 finer pinks (both carnation and picotee), than I ever saw 
 growing in the open air. Here were all the tea-roses,
 
 NAPA VALLEY 105 
 
 great beds of verbenas, and pinks in almost endless 
 variety, and in size equal to Henderson's choicest blooms. 
 There was also a fine collection of conifers, among them 
 the Sequoia, as well as many deciduous trees. All that 
 is needed to make this one of the handsomest of gardens 
 is a good lawn of fresh-growing grasses. The roses of 
 Napa are the finest I have found ; the foliage entirely free 
 from all insects and worms, and giving, I am told, blossoms 
 every month in the year. 
 
 I next visited St. Helena and Calistoga. The ride to 
 the first-named town is even more interesting than that 
 to Napa. The grape-lands begin here ; and we see 
 vineyards of twenty, fifty, and even a hundred acres, now 
 in all the luxuriance of setting fruit. Large wine-houses 
 are seen along the line ; and extensive farmhouses dot 
 the landscape, embowered among the beautiful trees for 
 which this Valley is famed. Many of the wealthy 
 ' Friscans ' have their summer residences here, where 
 they are protected against the cold winds which make 
 the city climate so disagreeable, especially in summer. 
 Among the many fine places, that of Woodward's seemed 
 to be superior in its appointments and the great neatness 
 which prevailed in every department. I noticed that 
 in some places the apple-orchards were badly stripped 
 of their leaves by the caterpillar, but was told that it was 
 quite uncommon. As we go North, the Valley narrows 
 so perceptibly that it seems an easy walk between the 
 hills which bound it on either side. All things con- 
 sidered, this is the best farming-section which I have seen.
 
 106 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 White Sulphur Springs. — At the pretty little town of 
 St. Helena we take a carriage for the Springs. They are 
 some two miles up a beautiful canon ; and, as I drove 
 up to the hotel, I felt assured that I had found the gem 
 of California resorts. There are nine of these springs, 
 the largest one of which discharges 6,144 wine gallons per 
 day. They were first discovered in 1850, having been a 
 favourite resort for the Indians, where they came to drink 
 or to bathe in their warm waters. Around the pools, where 
 the water gushes from the ground, the Indians erected 
 little huts of skins and barks, and in them sweated them- 
 selves in the hot sulphur vapours. The waters of these 
 springs are warmer than most of the sulphur springs of 
 Europe. They contain, beside sulphur, carbonate of 
 lime, magnesia, sulphate of soda, salt, lime, &c. Many 
 sufferers from rheumatism and skin diseases told me they 
 found great relief by the use of these waters. 
 
 From the surrounding heights fine views are had ; and 
 the various trails which have been cut lead by easy grades 
 to the tops of mountains and along steep precipices. 
 The canon in which the springs are located is a little 
 gulch between hills, in which there is little room to spare, 
 for the hotel buildings occupy nearly all the space. The 
 hillsides are occupied by pretty cottages and sleeping- 
 houses ; for here they build summer hotels upon a plan 
 which an inclement climate would forbid. The hotel is 
 a building containing the office and a common parlour, 
 adjoining neatly-arranged bath-rooms, into which the 
 waters from the spring are conducted ; across the drive-
 
 WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS 107 
 
 way is the dining-room, and to the right the billiard-hall ; 
 the kitchens are farther back ; and up the gulch are 
 several buildings, each divided into three sections, for 
 sleeping-rooms. To the left of the hotel, on the plateau 
 (upon which stood the finest summer hotel in the State, 
 but which was unfortunately burned), have been erected 
 some dozen single cottages. All the occupants of these 
 various cottages take their meals at the common dining- 
 hall, or gather in the common parlour after dinner, but 
 can at any time remain in their own cottage as quietly 
 and as secluded as they desire. The grounds are laid 
 out with taste ; and the most scrupulous neatness is 
 shown on every hand. Up the gulch a little way is a 
 grove of seven redwood-trees, the only specimens of this 
 tree in many a mile — the only ones I have found since 
 leaving the Trackee region in the Sierras. A stream 
 runs through the estate, in which there is good fishing. 
 
 The genius of the place is Mr. John Bremberg, whose 
 position is express-agent, telegraph-operator, writer of the 
 bills of fare, catcher of butterflies, superintendent of the 
 baths, general helpmeet for everybody, and charged with 
 the important duty of making every one happy. To 
 attend to all his duties, of course, John is kept busy ; and 
 he rushes here and there, he sweats and foams, but 
 always has a kind word for all. For now it is some little 
 child who wants John to help at her play, and he goes ; 
 now some old lady wants John to come and pack up her 
 trunk, and off he goes ; or some ' Spanish beauty ' comes 
 for John to go for a walk, and protect her against snakes,
 
 10S THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 and he goes willingly. He keeps a medicine chest, which 
 has gained him the title of ' doctor ; ' and, as he peers 
 over his gold-bowed spectacles, he does really look wise. 
 
 Calistoga Springs. — From St. Helena, a ride of nine 
 miles brings us to the town, Calistoga, the derivation of 
 which is easily perceived — calis, ' hot,' and toga, ' a 
 garment.' The name was given by a gentleman who 
 had received benefit from the numerous hot sulphur 
 springs here. The ' Little Geysers,' as they are called, 
 were used by the Indians, who erected their sweating- 
 huts, here also. The railroad terminates here ; and 
 the train which starts from Vallejo upon the arrival 
 of the boat which leaves San Francisco at 4 p.m. 
 reaches Calistoga at 8 in the evening. Hence are 
 wagon-roads, which traverse the great defiles in the 
 mountains, up to the Great Geysers, the Clear Lake, 
 the Petrified Forest, and Mount St. Helena. This 
 mountain rises 4,360 feet above the plain, and was 
 named by the Russians in honour of Helena, the mother 
 of Constantine the Great. A valley near by, and in 
 which the Spanish permitted the Russians of Alaska to 
 come and raise their wheat, is still known as Russian 
 Valley. The town has no other importance than as the 
 railroad station for the ' Springs,' which is undoubtedly 
 the 'Saratoga' of the West. Here, as at White Sulphur, 
 we have a hotel, and a great number of pretty cottages, 
 the Revere, Occidental, Adelphi, Delevan, &c, arranged 
 in a circle around the central building. Over the springs
 
 CA LIS TOGA SPRINGS 109 
 
 have been erected fantastic structures, which mar the 
 landscape, but which have been built to please the fancy 
 of the proprietor, Sam Brannan, as he is familiarly called. 
 Mr. Brannan was one of the early pioneers, and has 
 done as much as any one man to develop the resources 
 and advantages of the State. In conversation, he charms 
 you with interesting descriptions of the olden times. 
 To him alone is due whatever Calistoga and its surround- 
 ings are to-day ; and with lavish hand he has tried to 
 make the place beautiful. But his trees, plants, and 
 vines, gathered from every quarter of the globe, have 
 been a failure ; for no plant the roots of which extend 
 more than a foot into the ground will grow here, owing 
 to the heat as well as to the mineral deposits. 
 
 Every kind of a bath which Mr. Brannan ever saw, 
 read of, or heard of, he has here reproduced ; and it 
 would seem that, by the number, he had counted up the 
 numerous ills of life, and for each prepared his panacea. 
 People from all over the State, and of course all tourists, 
 come here to spend a few days in a climate genial and 
 warm, ranging from 50 Fah. at night to 86° at noon, and 
 but seldom varying from these figures. 
 
 The drives through the grounds are delightful. A 
 close examination of the springs reveals their wonderful 
 character ; for here are waters from cold to boiling, 
 pouring from the earth within a circuit of an eighth of 
 a mile, and each spring different in the component parts 
 of the water. There is one spring the waters of which, 
 by adding a little pepper and salt, are said to become
 
 no THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 chicken-soup — at least with as much ' chicken ' in it as 
 most hotels use in these days. 
 
 The Great Geysers. — We are now to visit, by a stage- 
 coach ride over the mountain-road, the greatest 
 wonder of this region. We find that the engineer who 
 built that road, Mr. William Patterson, is to go over it 
 to-day ; and we gladly accompany him. We are to be 
 driven in a four-horse coach, by an experienced driver, 
 who does not yield the ribbons even to Foss, that 
 knight of the whip, known all over California. Punctually 
 at 7 we are off, a jolly company of eight, for the 
 wonderful mountain which is on fire ; and away through 
 the village we dash. The first ten miles of the road are 
 through a wild and broken country, with hardly a habita- 
 tion in sight. So far, we are on a county-road : we 
 change horses, and strike off upon a run over the 
 mountain-road proper, and our interest begins. Around 
 the sides of the hills we wind, and up the rocky faces of 
 mountains, where a track has been blasted out of the 
 solid rock, just wide enough for a single carriage. There 
 are places where, if the wheel should turn from its 
 course one-half a foot, the carriage would plunge down 
 a precipice from 2,000 to 3,000 feet. As Ave ride along, 
 the difficulties which beset the workmen upon the road 
 are pointed out and explained ; and at every step a new 
 interest is excited, new views obtained, and new dangers 
 successfully passed. This road was built in 1869, at a 
 cost of $2 2,000. Its length is seventeen miles. The highest
 
 THE GREAT GEYSERS m 
 
 grade is one foot in eight ; but the average is one foot in 
 ten. Calistoga is 400 feet above the sea ; the summit 
 of the road is 3,600 feet ; and the plateau, upon which 
 stands the hotel at the Geysers, is 1,700 feet. 
 
 Reaching the summit, we stop to look at as grand a 
 spectacle as eye ever beheld. In front, far, far below us, 
 we see the line of the great Russian Valley ; but the 
 mountains beyond seem so near that, at this altitude, the 
 plain of the valley is lost sight of. Around us on every 
 side rise hills piled one upon another; mountain succeeds 
 mountain ; the clouds, fleecy and white, as they scud 
 over our heads, seem within reach. Magnificent flowers 
 have made our ride charming ; the lupins, the geraniums, 
 and mountain daisies greet us ; while the ceanothus, in 
 many colours, adorns the hills. The madrona with its 
 curious bark, the manzanita with its curious-coloured 
 wood, the several varieties of oaks, firs, and cedars, 
 all line our track, and offer here and there refreshing 
 shade. 
 
 Our pace up to this point has been slow ; but now 
 even the horses seem to know that the rest of the way 
 lies down hill ; for at the word they prick up their ears 
 and start upon a run ; the driver screams and cracks his 
 whip ; the horses catch the excitement, and are soon 
 going at a twenty-mile gait. For the whole eight miles 
 down there is no quarter-mile where, for that distance, 
 the road is straight, but it winds and twists, makes ox- 
 yoke curves, crosses dashing brooks, by dancing water- 
 falls, and over yawning ravines, always seeming to you
 
 ii2 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 that its end has come, but always finding some way out. 
 The eight miles have been done in some thirty minutes ; 
 and we are nearing the hotel, where we are to rest for the 
 night within sound of the hissing and roaring steam of 
 the Great Geysers. The genial German, Susenbeth by 
 name, always called ' Susey ' for short, is at the piazza to 
 welcome us, and help us shake ourselves free of dirt and 
 dust, and assures us that there is no danger from the 
 volcanoes which are easily imagined under our very feet, 
 and ready to burst forth. 
 
 As we were running down the mountains, with our 
 well-trained team at their speed, and guided by ' Corneil 
 Nash,' I said to him, ' Are you not sometimes afraid ? 
 and how do timid ladies like to ride in this manner ? ' 
 ' Perfectly safe, sir,' said our knight. ' Driven here nine 
 years, and no accident. Guess I'll land you at the hotel 
 all right.' 
 
 Our dinner was ready by the time we had the dust 
 brushed from our clothes, and were in trim for table; and, 
 with appetites sharpened by our ride, we filed into as 
 uninviting a dining-room as you could imagine. The 
 walls were of rough boards, whitewashed ; and even 
 these were made to look more ugly by hanging upon 
 them the advertisements of several insurance companies, 
 some of which we knew to be no more since the Chicago 
 fire. Our food was an attempt at the preparation of 
 French dishes. There was an abundance of it ; but, oh, 
 what peculiar concoctions ! Still they all had splendid 
 names. As I told you, ' Susey ' is a German ; his people
 
 mw?*%m ^
 
 THE GREAT GEYSERS 113 
 
 around him are the same ; and his cook is probably of 
 the same nationality, but with French aspirations in 
 cookery. .man always makes a poor show at imi- 
 
 tating a Frenchman ; and a Gasthalter who attempts to 
 become a maltre iV hotel does it at the peril of reputation. 
 The food satisfied our hunger — so much in its favour — 
 and we felt ready to explore the steaming and hissing 
 gorge which lay in front of us across the brook. 
 
 To give an idea of our location, imagine a long building 
 with a verandah in front, from each end of which, but 
 upon opposite sides, extend other buildings, connected 
 with the main one by covered passages. In one of these 
 is the general parlour, in the other the dining-room ; while 
 the main building contains the sleeping apartments, which 
 are arranged in two stories and on the two sides, those 
 above as well as below being entered from the verandah. 
 Standing in front of the main building, and looking west, 
 we have the whole extent of Pluton Canon in view. 
 Geyser Canon crosses it at right angles, just a little way 
 from the hotel, and is far the larger, a river called Pluton, 
 finding its course through it. All the near-by country 
 is mountainous ; and upon the sides, and even around 
 the springs, grow in luxuriance the oak and many woody 
 shrubs, together with the madrona and manzanita. Just 
 at the head of Pluton Canon a rock juts out into the 
 gorge, which has received the name of 'The Pulpit.' 
 Here the canon divides ; and to the right and left rise 
 hills, with sides in places as precipitous and straight as 
 the walls of a building. Looking far away, hills succeed 
 
 1
 
 ii4 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 hills ; while behind rises a great mountain with the 
 euphonious name of the ' Hog's Back.' 
 
 At about 4 p.m. we started, under the conduct 
 of a guide, to explore the canon, and to take a near 
 view of these wonderful springs. While the sun shines 
 in the gorge, the steam which issues from the earth is 
 dissipated by the heat ; but in early morning the whole 
 canon is filled with the clouds of steam, which roll 
 through the gorge, giving it a grand and awful appear- 
 ance. Crossing Pluton River, we find ourselves at the 
 bottom of the .canon, which at this point is some 
 35 feet wide, but which narrows, as we look up its 
 whitened surface for half a mile, at an angle of some 
 45 degrees. There are about 200 fountains, or springs, 
 where steam, to a greater or less extent, issues from 
 the ground. The guide having given to each a long, 
 stout stick, we step upon the bed of mineral deposits, 
 which was once a steaming geyser, but the residuum 
 of which has for years been bleaching under the suns 
 and rains of the recurring seasons. The first spring is 
 the Alum and Iron, the temperature of which is 97 
 Fahrenheit, and around its sides are incrustations of iron. 
 A little further on we find a spring containing Epsom 
 salts, magnesia, sulphur, iron, &c. — a highly medicated 
 compound, and which has been named the Medicated 
 Geyser Bath. Around us we see beds of crystallised 
 Epsom salts. We pass in order Boiling Alum and Sul- 
 phur Spring, Black Sulphur, Epsom Salts Spring, and 
 Boiling Black Sulphur, which roars unceasingly. By
 
 THE GREAT GEYSERS 115 
 
 far the largest is the Witches' Caldron, the diameter of 
 which is about 7 feet, and the waters of which boil 
 and bubble, sometimes being thrown 2 feet into the 
 air. It is said that all attempts to find a bottom have 
 failed. We next reach the Intermittent Geyser, which 
 sometimes throws up boiling water 15 feet in the air, 
 but which was moderately calm the day we visited the 
 canon, the water being thrown only 3 or 4 feet. The 
 Devil's Inkstand is a small spring, out of which flows 
 a liquid which is a good substitute for ink, and has 
 the quality of being indelible. It is a custom to dip the 
 end of your handkerchief into this spring, that you may 
 carry away the ineffaceable mark of your visit. 
 
 We are walking over ground which is honeycombed 
 by extinct geysers ; and often our feet sink ankle-deep . 
 into the mineral deposits; or, again, we place a foot 
 where the ground is too hot for comfort. As we are 
 obliged sometimes to cross a space where the very earth 
 seems on fire, and to step from stone to stone, between 
 which are boiling, steaming openings, from which arise 
 sulphury fumes so strong as almost to stifle you, it is hard 
 to persuade yourself that you are not in the realms where 
 old Pluto holds sway. 
 
 The most wonderful (if one can be placed above 
 another) of these springs is the Steamboat Geyser. It 
 is on the left, and raised 10 to 15 feet above the 
 canon level. From its many apertures issues steam, re- 
 sembling in look, and especially in sound, the blowing 
 off of steam in a steamboat. Around this spring, for 
 
 1 2
 
 n6 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 some distance, are evidences that once the spring or 
 springs extended over a much larger space. Just beyond 
 this we reach the rock called ' The Pulpit,' which we saw 
 from the verandah. We climb up there : the guide fires 
 a pistol to let those at the hotel know that we have 
 reached this place in safety. At this point, the canon 
 makes a division, and we take the right. From these 
 positions we have an extended view of the canon down 
 its length ; and all these springs — even the Steamboat 
 Geyser,the Witches' Caldron, and those boiling, sulphurous 
 fountains — are seen from above, and, as we gaze, it 
 seems impossible that we could have made our way up 
 among them to this place. 
 
 We pass on over the Mountain of Fire, which is 
 covered with orifices from which once poured fire and 
 steam ; and around us, within the space of, say, one 
 mile in length, and a few rods in width, we see strata of 
 sulphur, Epsom salts, alum, copperas, yellow ochre, mag- 
 nesia, cinnabar, ammonia, nitre, tartaric acid, etc. A 
 little further on, we find the Indian Spring, where the Red 
 men used to bring their sick to be healed, and where 
 were found the rude sweating-huts erected by the natives. 
 Here, in 1S69, Edwin Forrest received great relief from 
 the use of the waters. The Eye Water Spring has also 
 effected many cures for weak and inflamed eyes. 
 
 Next a great whistling attracts our attention ; and, with 
 the guide, we hasten on, and soon come to a small aper- 
 ture, from which the issuing steam is carried into a small 
 iron pipe made like a boy's whistle, which is thus made
 
 THE GREAT GEYSERS 117 
 
 to screech fearfully. At this point we perceive that we 
 have been nearing the hotel, although now at a consider- 
 able elevation above it, and some distance away. A fine 
 view is had of the surrounding hills ; and, after a rest, we 
 make our way down the sides of the mountain, to Geyser 
 Canon, and along the river to a bridge which spans it, 
 and over this to the hotel. 
 
 The guides who accompany us have a fashion of giving 
 the name of every spring as in some way connected with 
 the Devil — as, Devil's Kitchen, Devil's Office, Devil's 
 Punch-Bowl, and many more in equally bad taste. I 
 have avoided these names. If those who have control 
 over this property would have the canons surveyed and 
 mapped, with the location of the principal springs, and 
 give them names which would designate their properties, 
 much would be done towards making them more gener- 
 ally known and deservedly popular. 
 
 As soon as we reached the hotel, I asked the proprietor 
 if he could tell me who discovered these springs. 
 ' Elliott,' he said, ' was the name ; and upon an old 
 register, the first the house had, I will show you the 
 entry in his own handwriting.' Taking from a desk an 
 old book, and turning over its pages, we found, under 
 date of April 1847, the occasion of a visit of Elliott to 
 the springs, the following : — 
 
 ' William B. Elliott was the first known visitor to the 
 Geyser Springs, when out on a bear-hunt, and now re- 
 sides at Clear Lake.' 
 
 Under this a friend has written, in trembling hand —
 
 n8 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 ' Poor fellow ! was killed by the Indians at Pyramid 
 Lake, May i860.' 
 
 Thus is told the simple story of the discovery of these 
 wonderful geysers, and the death of the hardy hunter, 
 who modestly calls himself ' the first known visitor.' 
 
 In regard to the causes of these phenomena two 
 theories are advanced — one that they are produced by 
 purely chemical action, and the other by volcanoes. The 
 latter hypothesis requires evidences of volcanic action 
 in the hills and mountains around ; and the former 
 seems to attribute to chemical force greater power than 
 we had supposed could be thus produced — as in the 
 great boiling caldron, or in the spring whose waters are 
 sometimes thrown 10 or even 15 feet into the air. As I 
 have before said, the most impressive view of the canon 
 is had in early morning, just as sunlight appears. 
 Then the whole gorge is filled with billowing vapour, 
 and with the noise of the escaping steam, and the sul- 
 phurous odours. It is indeed a fearful spot at this time. 
 
 There is another road to the Geysers, by way of 
 Healdsburg and over the summit of the mountain called 
 ' Hog's Back.' By this route more extended views of 
 Russian Valley and River are obtained. The best 
 advice to the tourist is, to go by one road and return by 
 the other. This mountain journey is among the most 
 famous of those made in California, and those who have 
 been to the Geysers will relate in glowing terms their 
 experiences with Foss and his ' six-in-hand,' and of hav-
 
 THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 119 
 
 ing made such sharp turns in the road that the ears of 
 the leaders were for the time being lost to sight. 
 
 Reaching the town again we more fully realise the 
 mountain solitude which we have left — a place where 
 the Creator has made it impossible for man to build his 
 cities or for people in great numbers to congregate — a 
 spot inviting to the sick, where springs and fountains 
 pour out health-giving waters. 
 
 Santa Clara Valley. — My visit to the hot springs was 
 followed by a brief sojourn in ' Frisco,' after which I set 
 out (May 29) for the Santa Clara Valley to the south- 
 ward. As soon as we were out of the suburbs, the fer- 
 tile farms of San Mateo County were seen upon either 
 side of the line. We are now going in a south-easterly 
 direction, along a narrow ridge of land, which pushes 
 north towards a similar jutting spur, which extends to the 
 south, and separates the Bay of San Francisco from the 
 Pacific. As we pass along the low stretch of shore to 
 the East, towards the bay, we have on the West the hills 
 of the Sierra Monte Diablo range, which hide from view 
 the ocean. 
 
 A few miles out we pass directly through the great 
 farm of D. O. Mills, Esq., President of the Bank of Cali- 
 fornia ; on the right, just upon the foot-hills, stands his 
 palatial residence, built of brick, in the style of the French 
 Renaissance, surrounded by conservatories, which are a 
 necessity with us, but here more for ornament, as it is 
 only for a few weeks, during the great rains, that any
 
 1 20 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 plants, even those in pots, require protection. Near the 
 track are situated his extensive barns, milk-houses, and 
 other necessary farm buildings, up to the doors of which 
 a ' siding ' has been run, so that the milk from this great 
 dairy can be taken directly from the barn upon the cars, 
 to be transported, in a very short time, to the city. Away 
 to the East a beautiful reach of low, marshy meadow in- 
 tervenes between us and the waters of the Bay. The 
 whole farm gives proof of unbounded wealth ; and it seems 
 a good omen that Mr. Mills sees fit to carry on this mag- 
 nificent farm, improve the breed of cattle and horses, by 
 experiment decide the most useful crops, and by his ex- 
 ample teach others how to till the ground, that health 
 and plenty may come to the people of the State. 
 
 Our train draws up at a station called Belmont ; and, 
 as we had been told that this was the station nearest 
 ' Ralston's royal mansion/ we looked around in hopes of 
 seeing that house; but it is so situated among the foot- 
 hills that it cannot be seen from the road. When I 
 describe an entertainment given to a party of ladies and 
 gentlemen at this mansion, and of whom I had the good 
 fortune to be one, I hope to make you acquainted with 
 the house and grounds, and know something of the 
 sumptuousness of the private life of a rich Californian. 
 
 We now enter the Valley proper by making a little 
 turn eastward ; and at once we see that Ave are within 
 one of Nature's great parks. This Valley has been often 
 called the ' garden of the State ; ' but we would rather 
 term it the ' park.' The greak oak-trees, both the black
 
 THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY 121 
 
 and the live oak, stand in all their majesty upon the 
 plain, and from their branches hang the mosses, just as 
 you see them in the States bordering the Gulf of Mexico. 
 They are scattered through the fields just as the landscape- 
 gardener would desire them, but in an order which he 
 always fails to get whenever he tries his hand at imitating 
 Nature's planting. The grasses look greener and fresher 
 than anywhere else that we have seen in the State ; and, 
 although we do not see a great variety of flowers, we 
 do have the yellow blossoming mustard-plant, covering 
 acres in one mass of gold. We see wheat-fields of 1,000 
 acres — that is, with no fence between, and the only breaks 
 being dead-furrows ; orchards of apple, pear, peach, and 
 nectarine, of great extent ; as well as plantations of 
 English walnut, almond, cherry, and fig. From this 
 valley come as fine strawberries as are produced in the 
 State ; and we visited one strawberry-patch which con- 
 tained sixty acres, the vines covering the ground almost 
 entirely. Oats, barley, and, to some extent, corn, thrive ; 
 and the potato produces large tubers, but the quality is 
 not as good as in sections further to the north. The hay 
 made from the wild oats and the volunteer crops — that is, 
 grain which grows from the droppings from the last 
 planting (they have here none of our grasses), is con- 
 sidered very nutritious ; and the fields which we visited 
 yielded immense returns. One field upon which we went 
 was being cut for the second time ; and the farmer said 
 he should obtain one more crop before the drought suc- 
 ceeded in killing all sreen thinsrs.
 
 122 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 The villages through which we pass have a look of 
 thrift ; and the many fine grounds and elegant mansions 
 which are seen along the line convince us that here 
 ' wealthy Friscans ' love to make their homes. Back 
 from the railroad, the spires and housetops of the old 
 town of Santa Clara appear in view ; and, after a ride of 
 three miles, we arrive at the city of San Jose, which is 
 located in the very heart of the valley, and just fifty miles 
 from San Francisco. 
 
 The Spanish had their military post, called the Presidio, 
 near the entrance to the Bay in 1776. which is now 
 within the limits of San Francisco. The commander of 
 the post in 1777 resolved to make an agricultural settle- 
 ment near the mission which had already been estab- 
 lished at Santa Clara some ten months, and accordingly, 
 on November 29 of that year, made a beginning en the 
 banks of a creek, which they had named Guadaloupe : 
 but the early settlers were much annoyed by the floods 
 which overflowed the banks of the creek and destroyed 
 their property ; so they moved their town to the North. 
 All that is now left of the ancient town is one large store- 
 house, and the Halls of Justice, both built of adobe, and 
 now in a very dilapidated condition. In 1797 the town 
 had changed its location and occupied the present site. 
 All this was in the time of Charles IV., when all that 
 section, of which California is only a part, belonged to 
 the crown of Spain, and was ruled by a governor, who 
 with soldiery kept the Indians in subjection. The name 
 given to the new town was El Pueblo de San Jose de
 
 THE CITY OF SAN JOSE - 123 
 
 Guadaloupe. In 1814 there were only twenty dwellings ; 
 and the only foreigner (that is, not a Spaniard or Indian) 
 was John Gilroy, a Scotchman. In 1831 the population 
 was 524; and, as late as 1834, there were in all the town 
 only twenty foreigners. In 1 844 arrived the first party 
 of Americans from Missouri ; and in 1 846 another party 
 of 120, commanded by Fremont, reached this valley, and 
 came to the city. On July n, 1846, Capt. Thomas 
 Fallon took possession of the town in the name of the 
 United States. It was the first capital of the State ; and 
 here the legislatures of 1849 and '50, and 185 1 and '52, 
 were held. After this the capital was removed to Sacra- 
 mento. San Jose has now a population of about 14,000, 
 and is increasing faster, proportionally, than any of the 
 cities. Although the loss of the capital was a severe 
 blow to the little town, still it grew slowly, as the centre 
 of a rich farming section. People seeking a pretty town 
 to reside in, after they had ' dug from the earth a fortune,' 
 came here ; and soon the community was one where 
 existed great individual wealth — a position which it still 
 retains. 
 
 The streets are broad, laid out at right angles, and 
 mostly well graded. The city is well supplied with 
 water ; as in most parts, by sinking an artesian well, the 
 water rises several feet above the surface — a pleasing 
 substitute for windmills. The depth of these wells does 
 not average more than 30 feet. This gives to San Jose' 
 peculiar advantages, as water in California is the great 
 desideratum during a large part of the year. The build-
 
 i2 4 T&E ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 ings were very commonplace till within a year or so, 
 during which time several fine blocks have been erected, 
 doing credit to the enterprise of the citizens. The Court 
 House is the finest public building (save the Capitol at 
 Sacramento) which we have seen in the State. The 
 State Normal School building, built of wood, in the 
 Corinthian style, is the finest, as well as the largest, 
 wooden building in the State. It is to be ready for oc- 
 cupancy in about a year ; and when the park around it is 
 laid out, and planted, the whole will have a very showy 
 effect. The Academy of Notre Dame is located here, 
 and, as a school for young ladies, is of much celebrity. 
 The Auzerais House is a good hotel, in a pleasant 
 position, where a Yankee, by name Churchill, will see that 
 you are well cared for, at prices which are moderate. 
 
 In the old part of the town, near the Halls of Justice, 
 we found the old plaza, where the bull-fights used to take 
 place ; and scattered through the city are many old 
 Spanish families, the members of which look, even now, 
 as if they would relish 'just one rTIore bull-fight.' There 
 still remain many of the old adobe houses ; but, for the 
 most part, the residences of the people are not only com- 
 fortable, but in many instances elegant. The grounds 
 sunounding many of the residences are very finely laid 
 out, and the planting done with good taste and judgment : 
 of all which we saw, those of Gen. Negley pleased us 
 most ; and when we were told that, nine years before, 
 they were within a great field, and that most of the trees 
 had been only three years planted, we were perfectly
 
 THE CITY OF SAN JOSE 125 
 
 amazed. But we must bear in mind that here the seasons 
 are so much longer, that the trees and plants can make 
 much larger growth, which, when compared with the 
 season in our North Atlantic cities, gives probably three 
 times the growth in a year ; and with many plants the 
 proportion would be still greater. 
 
 The Alameda is the road connecting the cities of San 
 Jose and Santa Clara. It is about three miles long and 
 was laid out by the monks, who planted upon each side 
 of the way trees (the willow, oak, and sycamore), which 
 have now become very great, so that, for a great part of 
 the way, their branches interlace above your head, offering 
 a grateful shade. Tradition tells us that the monks used 
 to walk over from Santa Clara and gather the Indians at 
 San Jose around a cross which they had erected there, 
 and tell them of God and the Bible : it is also said that 
 the work of collecting and planting the trees was done 
 by the converted Indians. By the kindness of Major 
 George R. Vernon, formerly an officer in the army, 
 who resigned to give his whole attention to his extensive 
 farm, we were driven about the city, and over the Ala- 
 meda, rendered historic by the old monks of the mission, 
 who wended their way on foot over this very ground to 
 carry ' good news ' to the Indians. I care not what was 
 their creed ; to them belong honour and thanks for the 
 self-sacrificing spirit which led them to the holy work of 
 converting the savages. To this day the good they
 
 126 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 wrought remains, and through them this great section 
 was opened for the advance of civilisation. 
 
 Our drive over this famous road prepared us to 
 retrace our steps next day and visit the town and mission 
 of Santa Clara. The town is old and dilapidated, without 
 any appearance of business or even thrift. There are 
 still remaining many old adobe houses, built by the 
 Spaniards and Mexicans. In one which we visited we 
 found some dirty, ignorant Mexicans, unable to speak 
 English, and with only the rudest implements for house- 
 keeping; in ashed adjoining the old house, enveloped in 
 rags and filth, lay an old woman ; and in another part of 
 the house, in a room without windows or fireplace, was a 
 woman with several children. These people are descend- 
 ants from the proud Castilian and the native Indian — 
 a deplorable race, and more hated by the few pure-Mood 
 Spaniards who still survive the misfortunes which have 
 overtaken their rule in America than by the Americans 
 themselves. Many of the men live in the saddle, and get 
 their food and blankets from the occasional sale of a 
 pony, or some odd property which they have secured in 
 way of trade. They disdain all work and love a nomadic 
 life. Even the young boys show great expertness in the 
 use of the lassoo. 
 
 Being tired of looking about the town, we called at the 
 entrance-door of Santa Clara College, and were ushered 
 into a neatly-furnished parlour. We had not waited long, 
 when a priest called, whom we afterwards found to be the 
 learned Rev. Prof. A. Cichi, through whose untiring efforts
 
 THE SANTA CLARA COLLEGE 127 
 
 this institution has now one of the most extensive 
 collections of philosophical apparatus in the whole 
 country. He said he was ready to show us around the 
 college; and we visited the several recitation-rooms, the 
 laboratory, the museums, in all of which every ' appliance 
 of learning ' was to be found. We were taken into the 
 dormitories and the dining-halls, where the greatest 
 neatness was apparent ; into the rooms of the debating 
 society, and the great hall fitted up with the accessories 
 of the theatre, as well as into the various rooms for the 
 teaching of special studies, as photography, mining, &c. ; 
 through the beautiful gardens, where now are growing 
 the fig and olive trees planted by the early missionaries 
 and under whose shade the ' brothers ' were now walking 
 as they recited to themselves the words of their prayers, 
 and willed their thoughts from things temporal to those 
 of 'the life to come.' From the garden Ave went into 
 the old adobe church, built very narrow, but very 
 long, as the early builders knew only how to lay beams 
 across from wall to wall, instead of sustaining the roof 
 upon a truss. The interior of the church is, of course, 
 very rude ; and the old altar is still there, around which 
 the ' brothers ' and their converts have often knelt. 
 The old paintings brought from Spain still adorn the 
 walls ; and some of the painting and colouring upon 
 the ceiling is just as it was originally. The sides of the 
 buildings have been incased in wood to preserve them ; 
 and above the old tile-roof another has been placed 
 to keep out the rain. This church is much better
 
 128 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 preserved than the old Mission Dolores in San Francisco, 
 which we visited ; for, while there much that is modern 
 has been introduced, here all is old, nothing new. The 
 same three bells — a Spanish custom — are still rung at 
 morning and evening. 
 
 The mission is very old, older by far than the town ; 
 but the college was not founded till 1855, by Rev. John 
 Noblii. Since its birth it has been very prosperous, 
 being patronised by all denominations, as the studies 
 are so arranged that a" Protestant is in no way debarred 
 from the privileges of the school. The average number 
 of scholars is about 200. 
 
 The New Almaden Mine. — Seven miles from San 
 Jose this famous quicksilver mine is found. A stage 
 runs to the mines, but it is far better to go by private 
 carriage. The road is pleasant, and is lined with the 
 most magnificent sycamore- trees which can be imagined, 
 their great branches stretching 30 feet from the trunk, 
 and resting themselves upon the ground, with gnarled 
 forms which tell of antiquity. Every one of them is 
 a study for an artist. We soon enter a defile in the 
 Santa Cruz Mountains ; and, as it narrows, we come 
 within the property of the company. Passing the church, 
 the residence of the superintendent and the neat cottages 
 of the miners, we drew up in front of the hotel — a long 
 one and a half story stone building, into the rooms of 
 which you pass directly from the side-walk. In front of 
 us are the offices and smelting-furnaces of the company,
 
 THE NEW ALMADEN MINE 129 
 
 together with shops and various buildings required in the 
 production of quicksilver from the cinnabar ore. We are 
 now in the part of the property called the ' Hacienda.' 
 
 The superintendent of the works offering us every 
 facility for seeing the property, we proceeded first to one 
 of the furnaces which was in operation. It is built of 
 brick strapped with iron, and has five openings along its 
 sides. From a platform above it is charged ; that is, the 
 reddish ore called cinnabar is packed into the fire- 
 chamber : this is connected with the other chambers by 
 long pipes, which gradually recede from the influence of 
 the heat, and at last find an opening far up the sides of 
 the hills in a chimney, out of which pour the poisonous 
 vapours of arsenic. 
 
 The ore is heated above 480 Fahrenheit, when the 
 quicksilver in it is sublimed \ and passes along into the 
 chambers and flues, and, as it is separated from the other 
 substances, is gradually cooled, until it is precipitated, 
 and runs from the chambers in little globules into a 
 trough extending around the sides of the furnace, and 
 which, by its inclination, carries the quicksilver into a 
 large receptacle, which looks like an old-fashioned set iron 
 boiler, and from this it is dipped, weighed, and poured 
 into the flasks, which are made of cast iron, hold 56 
 pounds, and are closed by a thread-cut stopper. Having 
 seen this part of the work, we next drove, by one of the 
 finest mountain-roads that could be made, up to the 
 mines and villages on the hill. The grade is so adjusted 
 that heavy loads are drawn up the mountain-sides and 
 
 K
 
 130 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 the ore taken down to the shutes, through which it slides 
 to the level of the furnaces. As we rode up we found 
 two villages of miners — one <of Mexicans and one of 
 Welsh and Cornish miners. The entrance to the mine 
 is a great dark hole, through which you pass, and grope 
 around for several thousand feet within the hill. A car 
 brings up the ore ; and under a long shed it is cleaned 
 and assorted, and prepared for the furnaces. Down 
 about 700 feet below the old mine another opening has 
 been made ; and very rich ore is now taken out. There 
 is, of course, much ore which is very rich, but which 
 is too fine to pack ; this is mixed with clay, made into 
 bricks, and in this shape they furnish a good lining for 
 the furnace, and the quicksilver is saved. 
 
 The houses perched about on the steep mountain-sides 
 looked as if they would tumble down from their elevated 
 positions. Children were playing about the schoolhouse 
 which the company had established, and where a good 
 school is maintained. A well-stocked store supplies the 
 miners ; and those whom we saw at work, and going to 
 take their turn in the mines, were a hardy set of fellows. 
 The whole property told of present good management ; 
 and I could see no reason why some of the dreams of 
 the early owners had not been realised ; but large pro- 
 perties are the prey of those who work alone for their 
 own interests, unmindful of the stockholders, who, as a 
 rule in such companies, are only consulted or troubled 
 when a new assessment is to be called for. 
 
 The property owned by the company is large, its
 
 THE Y OS E MITE 131 
 
 landed estate is extensive, its machinery costly ; and it 
 would seem that they possessed every appliance for 
 making the ore yield large returns in cash to be divided 
 among the holders of the stock. 
 
 Yo-Semite. — ' How shall we go ? ' is the question asked 
 by the tourist as soon as he begins to talk of visiting this 
 renowned Valley. There are agents for the different 
 routes, who, of course, decry all save their own. For 
 two weeks I canvassed the merits of the various routes, 
 talking with those who were almost daily returning from 
 the visit. The time of making the trip is very important ; 
 for, if you desire to see the waterfalls in their glory, you 
 must go in flood-time — that is, just at the breaking-up of 
 the snows, when everything seems turned to water ; for, 
 be it remembered, the waterfalls of the Yo-Semite are 
 made from streams swollen by the melting snows, and 
 later in the season many of them dry up entirely, while 
 all become only a mere trickling compared with their 
 volume at flood-time. If the waterfalls are a secondary 
 consideration, then it is much more easy and pleasant to 
 make the journey across the mountains in July or August 
 after the roads have become free from snows. 
 
 The Yo-Semite is situated a little south of east from 
 San Francisco, and, in a direct course, is distant 155 
 miles ; but to reach the Valley we must travel at least 
 250 miles. 
 
 The three routes are denominated ' Merced and Mari- 
 posa,' ' Coulterville,' and ' Chinese Camp and Big-oak 
 
 K 2
 
 132 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Flat.' By the first, we have the great Mariposa Grove 
 of Big Trees within five miles of the line ; by the second, 
 the shortest saddle-ride ; and, by the latter, we visit the 
 Calaveras Grove. 
 
 Of one fact there can be no doubt — that is, that you 
 should go into the valley on one side and out of it upon 
 the other ; for thus you have new and inspiring scenery 
 and fine views while accomplishing a journey which, of 
 necessity, is very hard and tiresome. To see the ' big 
 trees ' in the Mariposa Grove, we chose to enter the 
 valley by way of Clark's, or the first route, and return by 
 the way of Coulterville ; although, if time had permitted, 
 we should have taken the other route, and visited the 
 Calaveras Grove upon our way. 
 
 On the afternoon of June 6 we left San Francisco for 
 our journey, taking along with us only such luggage as 
 seemed necessary, and arranging our dress ' to rough 
 it.' The train leaves the city at 4 p.m., and reaches 
 Lathrop, on the line of Sacramento, at about 8.30, 
 where we change cars, and start up the San Joaquin 
 Valley to Merced City, which lies some fifty miles to 
 the south. After a slow and tedious ride we reached 
 the unfinished city and the unfinished hotel, named 
 ' El Capitan.' The genial landlord — Bloss by name — 
 gave us the very best accommodation that he could 
 under the circumstances, even sleeping cars being drawn 
 up on the side-track to accommodate the guests. My 
 unfurnished room, and the excessively hot, oppressive 
 atmosphere, were not very inviting surroundings for the
 
 THE CITY OF MERCED 133 
 
 first night on the way ; but I resolved not to complain of 
 any reasonable hardship, leaving that to the young city 
 belles, of whom you always meet more than a comple- 
 ment for comfort upon such expeditions. 
 
 The morning found us early looking about the settle- 
 ment. Four months ago there was not a house in sight 
 from the spot where the hotel now stands. This great 
 house was erected by the Central Pacific Railroad Com- 
 pany to accommodate the tourists to the Yo-Semite. It 
 is four stories high, 115 by 40 feet, with two wings 
 and broad piazzas, and to be furnished with all modern 
 improvements. Its cost will be over $75,000, and the 
 furniture $40,000 more. The railroad offices are all in 
 the building. Merced is made up of three large livery- 
 stables, a dozen saloons, and any number of un- 
 occupied city lots. It is the centre of many mining 
 villages — as Mariposa, Bear Valley, Hopeton, and many 
 others — to nearly all of which daily lines of stages start, 
 which, together with the many carriages departing for 
 and arriving from the Yo-Semite, make lively times at 
 morning and evening about the hotel. 1 
 
 There are in the place, all told, about 300 people ; 
 and one good citizen who had taken up his resi- 
 dence here persisted in telling us of this ' pup of city,' 
 and assured us that, when it got grown, it would astonish 
 us with its ' barking and growling.' 
 
 I strongly advise tourists to arrange for a private con- 
 
 1 The hotel has since been completed, and is spoken of by 
 tourists with much praise.
 
 134 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 veyance from here, for the stages are often overcrowded, 
 go by longer roads to leave the mail, and are not so 
 comfortable in any respect. 
 
 At the appointed time, 7 o'clock, we are off for the 
 foot-hills, which in the distance bound the great valley of 
 the San Joaquin on the east. For about twenty miles 
 we pass vast fields of wheat and barley, covering the 
 earth on all sides as far as the eye reaches, only relieved 
 here and there by the cabin of the rancher, or a little 
 growth of timber along the banks of some creek. The 
 grain, which is now ripened, or nearly so, looks fine ; and 
 the fields which have been ' headed ' are yielding immense 
 crops — by far greater than any previous year in this 
 valley. 
 
 Beyond these grain-fields we strike into the gravelly 
 country which lies at the entrance to the foot-hills — vast 
 rolling fields, which Nature has made the home of the 
 sheep and goat ; and now these great pastures are well 
 stocked with these wool-producing animals. This region 
 gives us a good idea of the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevadas. 
 During our ride our driver has grown familiar, aided, no 
 doubt, by the contents of a small bottle ' which he 
 occasionally takes from his pocket, and, drawing the cork 
 with his teeth, manages to keep his team in motion and 
 at the same time empty some of the liquid into his mouth. 
 He tells his history — his life upon the ' box,' the ups and 
 downs which have checkered his career, and describes the 
 people who live at the ranches we are passing. Some of 
 these stories are ' big ; ' but we are in the land of big
 
 THE ROAD TO YO-SEMITE 135 
 
 things, no wonder a stage-driver's yarns (never lacking in 
 wonders) should here partake of the general character of 
 immense size. He with grave face informs us that the 
 region is exceedingly healthy. ' Die ! ' he says, ' no one 
 out here would ever die, if it wasn't for whisky and 
 doctors.' He, not liking the last mode, had evidently 
 adopted the first-mentioned course to end his days within 
 the time appointed for mortals. 
 
 As we come in among the hills our attention is attracted 
 by the great ledges of sandstone which project from the 
 surface, and often rise in the form of spires or domes, or 
 in fantastic shapes, giving to the landscape peculiar 
 beauty. This change is very agreeable ; for the fields of 
 ripening grain become very tiresome to the eye, as do 
 also the great sheep-pastures, relieved only by the moving 
 herds. There is here a rock-formation which is worthy 
 of note. The strata of slate stand at almost right angles 
 to the underlying sandstone, and crop out of the ground 
 in shape like grave-stones, covering the sides of the hills 
 with a seeming ' city of the dead.' The rock-croppings 
 are called 'buttes;' that is, according to colour of the 
 rock — red buttes, white buttes, &c. A few trees are seen 
 and acres of the chaparral. The most common tree is 
 the Pinus sabiniana. 
 
 Our first stop was at Indian Gulch, a mining-camp, 
 once quite a settlement ; but as gold has become scarce, 
 it has dwindled down to a little dilapidated village of a few 
 Italians and a few negroes. 
 
 A mile or so beyond this village we enter the great
 
 136 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Mariposa Estate, owned by a company bearing that name. 
 The stock of this company, by its fluctuations, has ruined 
 more men, and has especially been the cause of the fall 
 of more bank-officers, than any other in the long list of 
 those ' doubtful commodities ' which they sell to the bulls 
 and the bears who. frequent Wall and Threadneedle 
 streets. 
 
 We take our course over the road through the estate, 
 and are very must interested in observing Chinamen 
 mining in the gulches. They erect a little sluiceway into 
 which they shovel the dirt, and wash away the coarser 
 portion : that which is left is then put into a ' pan,' as 
 they call it, which is filled with water ; and, by a peculiar 
 twisting of it, the contents are made to revolve, till gradually 
 the specific gravity of the gold causes it to settle to the 
 bottom, and the refuse dirt to go over the side of the pan. 
 Here we also saw the rocker, one of the utensils used in 
 mining which has never been improved upon, and is to- 
 day just as it was in the early days of California placer- 
 mining. It takes the place of a sluice, and is more 
 economical in the use of water. The chief mining on the 
 Mariposa Estate is, however, quartz. The stamp-mills 
 are the largest and most costly of any in the State. 
 
 Our driver says presently, 'Do you see those grave- 
 stones ? ' ' Yes.' ' W-a-a-1, now I tell you, you can always 
 know you are coming to a town when you see them things ; 
 they always stand up first, to let you know they have got a 
 grave-yard. I have seen the same thing East ; and I tell 
 you I have known 'um out here, when they lay out a new
 
 THE CITY OF MARIPOSA 137 
 
 town, to kill a man to start a graveyard ; for you see, 
 here nobody dies of his own accord.' Soon after which 
 odd announcement of our approach to it, we enter the 
 old town of Mariposa — once a thriving city, now a 
 crumbling, ruined place. All the people of standing have 
 left here ; and only a few shop and saloon keepers, and a 
 large number of miners, and I was told some desperadoes, 
 remain. It is a sad story which the city tells of hopes 
 blasted, of fortunes lost, and of glory for ever gone. 
 
 Along the main street I saw brick and stone houses, 
 with iron shutters and richly ornamented fronts, all now 
 wholly deserted. On a hill at one end of the town is the 
 jail, built of hewn stone, which must have cost a vast sum 
 in the early days when it was erected, but it is evidently 
 too large and too costly for the present town. There are 
 two churches, but when I inquired of my friend about 
 the creed to which they held, he carefully explained to 
 me that 'they .don't go now.' Mariposa is only one of 
 many towns in California which depended wholly upon 
 gold-mining, and when the placers had been worked out, 
 their prosperity vanished and decay came upon them. 
 
 A stay of an hour, and we were off again, in a mountain 
 wagon drawn by two horses, for White and Hatch's, where 
 we are to stay over night. The ride in the cool evening 
 air of the mountains was refreshing after the dust and 
 heat of the plains. Three hours brought us to our desti- 
 nation. As soon as we stepped upon the piazza, we were 
 assured of a good supper and a clean bed ; for the marks 
 of a Yankee housekeeper were ' hung upon the outer
 
 138 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 walls.' We were not long in finding out that these people 
 came here from Maine some twelve years ago, erected a 
 saw-mill, and went into the lumber business ; they began 
 by entertaining a few stray travellers at long intervals, but 
 the tourists to the mountains increasing, they were forced 
 to enlarge their little house ; and by successive additions, 
 they have now quite a ' tavern,' where you are so kindly 
 received by Mrs. Hatch, who spreads for you such a table 
 of good things that Yankees are satisfied; and when 
 they are pleased, who in the world is left to find fault ? 
 
 A refreshing sleep prepared us for an early start ; and 
 by a delightful drive among the hills, under the shade of 
 huge pines, we are taken to Clark's. The road leaves 
 White's and Hatch's at an elevation of 3,000 feet, 
 ascends Chowchilla Creek, and crosses the divide at an 
 elevation of 5,800 feet, between the waters of this creek 
 and the Merced. When we reach Clark's, we are at an 
 elevation of 4,100 feet, and on the banks of the South 
 Merced River, which, with swift current, flows near the 
 house. The river is now at flood between 75 to 80 feet 
 wide, clear as crystal, and is tossed in foam by its rocky 
 bed as it speeds along to join the north fork in the Yo- 
 Semite Valley. Mr. Galen Clark, from whom this ranch 
 is named, is one of the pioneers of the section, who came 
 into the country as early as 1S53, and in 1855 settled on 
 this farm. His first tavern was a tent, the ground his table, 
 and tin plates served for China. At night the camp-fire 
 was lighted, and around it his guests wrapped themselves 
 in blankets, and slept. In a year or two he built a log-cabin,
 
 CLARK'S RANCH 139 
 
 had three-legged stools and a pine table, with a tent for 
 a dormitory, which in those days were luxuries indeed. The 
 increase of travellers forced him to erect larger and more 
 substantial buildings ; now there are good accommoda- 
 tions, which the prolonged visits of tourists attest. Mr. 
 Clark, in his early days, was a great hunter, and is still a 
 dead-shot with his rifle. He is plain in his habits, a lover 
 of nature, and keeps up the custom of nightly lighting the 
 camp-fire, and gathering his friends about it to talk over 
 ' the days that are gone.' 
 
 During the afternoon of the day of our arrival, there 
 came galloping into the yard on a mustang an old Indian, 
 with a white silk handkerchief about his head, pantaloons 
 of great size and white in color, a flannel blouse, and a 
 striped shirt. Dismounting, he walked with the gait of 
 age directly to the piazza where we were sitting, and 
 greeted Mr. Clark with the utmost cordiality. Mr. Clark 
 addressed him as Capt. John, and spoke to him with 
 great kindness. After a little conversation in broken 
 English and Spanish, Mr. Clark told us that he was a 
 chief of the once powerful tribe of Indians called ' Fresno,' 
 was on his way for a visit across the mountains, and over 
 to Mono Lake. After much difficulty, Capt. John was 
 made to understand that we lived about three thousand 
 miles away, and ' on the other ocean ; ' and, with a face 
 full of animation, the old man said, ' Whew ! too muchy 
 far — old Injun.' 
 
 No, indeed! neither he nor any of his tribe will ever 
 see that ' other ocean ' of which the soothsayers had told
 
 140 THE ATLANTIC TO THE TACIFIC 
 
 them around the council fires. They are fast passing 
 away, and soon they will be numbered with their brothers 
 of the Atlantic, while the tribes in the great middle 
 ground will survive but a few years longer the calamities 
 which have overtaken the red-men, dwellers by either 
 Ocean. 
 
 A singular interest attaches to him, as he was one of 
 the Indians who guided the first white men into the 
 valley. The Indians in 1850 being very troublesome, 
 and having a stronghold far up the mountains, a com- 
 pany, under command of Capt. Boling, started in pursuit 
 of them, and under the guidance of friendly Indians, with 
 their chief, Te-na-ya, were taken into the wonderful 
 valley ; and for the first time white men looked upon 
 some of the grandest scenery in the world. So long as 
 I staid at Clark's, Capt. John and I were good friends ; 
 and he would often exclaim ' I sarva you,' meaning that 
 he could understand me. At night, when the Indians of 
 the little settlement near the house returned with their 
 trout, and sold them to Mr. Clark, reserving only enough 
 for supper, we visited their camp, and observed their 
 mode of cooking them. A hole is dug in the ground, and 
 a fire made therein ; and, while the coals are glowing, 
 they are raked away, the fish put in and covered with 
 them, and thus cooked. From the meal made from dried 
 acorns they make a kind of paste, which they call bread, 
 and which, from a water-tight basket, they eat with their 
 fingers. Capt. John so urged us to eat with them, 
 that we tried the fish, and found them delicious ; but the
 
 THE MARIPOSA GROVE OF RIG TREES 141 
 
 paste was beyond us. Our table was the earth ; our 
 knives and forks were our fingers; and we sat in a reclin- 
 ing position on our table, the whole lighted up by the fire, 
 which was blazing near by. As the Indians ate, they 
 grunted at each other — their language being a succession 
 of grunts. 
 
 The Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. — The grove is 
 reached over a trail of some four miles from Clark's ; but 
 the ' rounds,' in visiting both the upper and lower groups 
 of trees, and in the return, make a horseback ride of a little 
 more than twelve miles. Our horses and mules, bridled 
 and saddled, were led up by eight o'clock ; and the select- 
 ing and assigning of animals immediately began. The 
 ladies were first mounted for the trip. For me, I preferred 
 a mule, as being surer footed, and, looking among them, I 
 selected one, not the best-looking, but well built. When 
 I jumped upon his back, he turned a queer countenance 
 towards me, and for some moments seemed to consider. 
 then whirled round several times, and then looked at me 
 again. Notwithstanding his suspicious conduct at first. 
 he soon proved to be 'as good a mule as mule could be. ; 
 For my whole stay in the mountains I kept him, called him 
 ^Esculapius, treated him kindly, rested and fed him ; and, 
 were I to go again into that region, I should look for that 
 mule, which I trust will ever be well used. 
 
 I noticed one thing — that those who bragged most of 
 their horsemanship made the poorest show when they 
 were upon the animals. One poor child, who talked
 
 142 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 loudly of his experience, and who tried to be very nice, 
 came to grief, sprawled in the dirt ; for his mule per- 
 sisted in not being led in a city way. No one pitied him, 
 for he had put away all pity by his course. The ladies 
 also showed the same fact — that much bragging, or 
 even Eastern horse7<:w//rtwship, don't always succeed in 
 conquering a mustang pony or a mountain mule. 
 
 But, all ready ! and we are off over the trail for those 
 wonders in the vegetable world. If we had not read 
 of those bigger trees, we should have been satisfied with 
 those about us — the hotel standing in a grove of trees from 
 6 to 12 feet in circumference, and from 125 to 175 feet 
 high, mostly pines. The trail is a very pleasant one, being 
 up the side of a hill, under the shade of those magnificent 
 great pines and spruces which cover the Sierras far up 
 their sides. About an hour and a half was occupied in 
 reaching the ' Upper Grove,' as it is called. These 
 groups of big trees are at an elevation of about 5,500 
 feet above sea level — in a little valley, a sort of depres- 
 sion in the side of a ridge. 
 
 Congress has made a reservation about two miles 
 square, which includes the two distinct groves of these 
 trees, and has declared this a national park. The Upper 
 Grove contains just 365 trees of this species, over one 
 foot in diameter ; while in the Lower Grove, which is 
 situated to the south-west of the first mentioned, the trees 
 are more scattered, and less in number. 
 
 For a long time, a learned discussion was carried on 
 both in France and England as to the name to be given
 
 THE MARIPOSA GROVE OF BIG TREES 143 
 
 this tree ; but now, by consent of all, it is named Sequoia 
 gigantea. It is undoubtedly a twin-brother of the red- 
 wood {Sequoia scmpei'vircns), of which the major part of 
 the trees in the great Sierra forests is composed. 
 
 The trees have signs placed upon them, giving each a 
 name, as Grant, Lincoln, Lesseps, the Twins, the Sisters, 
 Pluto's Chimney, &c, but which have not, and should 
 not, become popular. The highest in this grove is 272 
 feet ; the highest in the Calveras Grove is 325 feet ; while 
 the largest known tree in circumference in the world is 
 here in the Lower Grove ; and there are in all, in the two 
 groups, 125 trees, each over 40 feet around. The trees 
 which are found intermingled with the big trees are 
 the pitch and sugar pines, the Douglas spruce and white 
 fir, together with the bastard cedar, which nearly 
 resembles the Sequoia. 
 
 The great tree in the southern portion of the grove is 
 the one known as the ' Grisly Giant,' which is 93 feet 7 
 inches in circumference at the ground, and 1 1 feet above 
 is 64 feet 3 inches. It is at the base over 31 feet in 
 diameter. Its branches are as large as our largest elms, 
 many being fully 6 feet in diameter. Desiring to take 
 home something which would show the size of this tree, 
 we stretched a cord around it as nearly as we could 5 feet 
 from the ground, making no allowance for the decrease 
 in size by the burning on one side ; and this cord (which 
 I now have, as well as the measurements of two others) 
 measures just 92 feet 8 inches in length. The age of this 
 tree is variously estimated ; but it is safe to say (from the
 
 144 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 data of those which have fallen) that it is fifteen hundred 
 years old. Through a fallen trunk, which was hollowed 
 by decay and fire, we rode on mule-back ; and into 
 another tree, still growing, but into whose side the fire 
 had worked, I rode and turned my mule round. There 
 was one where the fire had made a rent directly through 
 the tree, large enough for us to ride through, and it was 
 still growing, its top showing no signs of decay. These 
 are great vegetable wonders ; and probably no trees ever 
 found have created so much comment as these, all the 
 scientific journals of the world having given them full des- 
 criptions and reviews. We lunched amid these giants of 
 the mountain forests, and let our thoughts contemplate 
 the wonders of Nature, thankful that we had been privi- 
 leged to behold them. 
 
 We returned somewhat tired with our first experience 
 in mule-back riding over a mountain-trail ; but, neverthe- 
 less, the lighting of the camp-fire found us with the 
 ranchers, listening to their stories. Passing the door of 
 the parlour later in the evening, a city belle said to me, 
 ' I should not think you would like to stay with those 
 rough men.' Surprised at first at the extreme ignorance 
 shown by this lady — only a specimen of the great 
 majority who make such trips — I could only tell her 
 that Mr. Clark was a gentleman ; that his son was a 
 recent graduate of Yale College ; that Mr. Moore 
 (now the business partner with Mr. Clark) was a 
 man of great information ; that \ had derived much 
 knowledge from the conversation ; and, by mingling
 
 THE WONDERS OF THE YO- SEMITE 145 
 
 with them, I had learned their mode of life. If a 
 person can travel through our Great West, and associate 
 as he ought with the people, and have any respect for 
 fashionable pretensions afterwards, I deem him beyond 
 hope ; for here the Governor of the State dresses in home- 
 spun, and the sturdy ranchers and men of business forget 
 the colour of their shirt, if it be only clean. 
 
 The Wonders of the Yo- Semite Valley. — We made an 
 early start from Clark's for a long saddle-ride into the 
 Valley. There were many to go, and every horse 
 and mule was brought into requisition. By a bridge 
 we cross the South Fork of the Merced River ; and 
 by a trail, ascending very rapidly, we reach the plateau, 
 which lies between the main river and the branch 
 mentioned. A journey of six miles brings us to a creek 
 named Alder, along which the trail leads to its source in 
 a great mountain-meadow. We have now reached an 
 altitude of 7,100 feet above the level of the sea, or nearly 
 1,000 feet higher than Mount Washington, i^-mile above 
 tide-water. To know just what a mountain-trail is, you 
 must follow one ; but some idea can be had by imagin 
 ing the roughest road you ever went over, and by far 
 more crooked than any cow-path in the old pastures, and 
 then narrow it down to a way just wide enough for one 
 animal to pass, and then set this path at an inclination 
 little less than perpendicular, then across it throw occa- 
 sionally a snow-drift ten feet deep, and you can know 
 something of the trail which we are going over to-day 
 
 h
 
 146 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 (June 10). Up here in the mountains it is early spring ; 
 the snows are melting ; the streams are swollen ; and, in 
 the spots where the snows are gone, the grass is just 
 springing up. There must have been an immense quan- 
 tity of snow here ; for the drifts, packed hard enough for 
 us to pass over the crust, are from 6 to 10 feet in depth ; 
 and the ground in the shadows of rocks and trees is still 
 ' clothed in the white.' A trail is peculiar ; it follows the 
 path first struck out, even though further, and takes great 
 pains to go a long way around a fallen tree or a rock, 
 when the labour of a few hours would open a new path ; 
 but still there is something fascinating in following the 
 windings of our narrow road. 
 
 The character of the trees has changed ; and now we 
 have those which delight in these elevated places, as 
 Pinus contorta, Picea grandis, Picea amabilis : of these 
 the forests of the high Sierras are formed. The early 
 flowers, too, are blossoming, and opening their bright 
 eyes to the sun ; but it is too early in the season for the 
 floral beauties which later cover the ground, and make 
 you forget the frosts and the snows. 
 
 By one o'clock we reached a place called ' Mountain 
 View Meadow ' — a great basin, as it were, in the moun- 
 tains, whose lofty peaks rise on every side, covered with 
 snow. We are now in the high Sierras, and are brought 
 face to face with the grandest mountain-range on the 
 continent. We lunch at the Mountain View House, a 
 pretentious name for a log-cabin and one small frame 
 house, with partitions made of cotton cloth. The pro-
 
 THE SIERRA NEVADA RANGE 147 
 
 perty is owned by one Peragoy, who came from Baltimore 
 to the Mariposa country to dig gold. Stock-raising takes 
 him into this meadow during each summer ; and Mrs. 
 Peragoy takes charge of lunching travellers to and from 
 the valley, and she does it well. For her the mountains 
 have no charm, the great meadow in which she lives no 
 beauty ; but a well-set and well-loaded table, with well- 
 paying guests around it, who call loudly for extras, is to 
 her the grandest sight upon which her eyes can rest. 
 
 From Peragoy's the trails diverge ; one entering the 
 valley by Inspiration Point, and the other by Glacier 
 Point. The country between is rolling ; now rising in 
 sharp ridges, and now settling back into a pretty meadow, 
 where the grass is springing up, offering abundant food 
 for cattle during the few weeks that they are free from 
 snows. In crossing these meadows, now filled with sur- 
 face water, often my mule would plunge to his knees ; 
 and in his efforts to get out, the mud would fly at a great 
 rate ; or, in crossing a creek which seemed shallow, down 
 he would sink, and my feet would find water, to my dis- 
 comfort. The highest point which we reach upon the 
 trail is 7,400 feet above the sea ; and at this altitude the 
 air is so rarified it is impossible to walk or run at any 
 speed ; and until one has become accustomed to it, care 
 should be taken not to exert one's self, as evil results 
 often follow. 
 
 We will pause here to add a general description of the 
 range of mountains up the sides of which for several days
 
 148 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 we have been climbing. It is known as ' Sierra Nevada,' 
 and is limited to California, extending from Mount Shasta 
 in the north to Tejon pass in the south — a length, as esti- 
 mated, of 550 miles. Beyond Mount Shasta this range, 
 with greatly diminished elevations, stretches away through 
 Oregon and Washington Territory under the name of the 
 ' Cascade Range/ while from Tejon pass they become 
 assimilated with the Coast Range geographically ; but 
 still, to the geologist, the two ranges retain their respective 
 characteristics. Eighty miles is given as the average 
 width of this mountain range, the western slope of which, 
 by a gradual descent, finds its level on the shores of the 
 Pacific ; while the eastern is more abrupt, rising from the 
 great basin up to the lofty peaks, within a space of a few 
 miles. Deep gorges have been ploughed through this 
 range, which are denominated passes. 
 
 Inspiration Point. — We now catch glimpses of the 
 huge walls and towering peaks which rise upon the 
 farther side of the Valley ; and a mile or so takes us 
 to that famed spot, Inspiration Point. Here we get 
 our first view of a portion of the Valley. Dis- 
 mounting, we walk out upon the jutting rocks 3 and 
 then opens to our view the enchanting, awe-inspiring 
 scene. The sun is just sinking behind the granite hills 
 which rise in the west ; in front of us, seemingly but 
 a little way off, but really more than a mile, the Bridal 
 Veil throws its white, flowing robes over the face of 
 Po-lio-no, and, falling C30 feet from the top of the rock
 
 INSPIRA TIOM POINT 149 
 
 to the river, breaks into a great cloud of spray. We 
 are far above this fall. On our left rises the huge form 
 of El Capitan, almost perpendicularly, 3,300 feet above 
 the level of the Valley. This rock the Indians called 
 Tu-tock-a-mu-la, which signifies the cry of the crane as 
 it sweeps down into the Valley from the top of this rock. 
 In the distance, where the Valley seems to close up, we 
 see the North and South Dome, the latter of which rises 
 nearly 5,000 feet above the Valley ; while away up 
 among the very clouds we see the great peaks called 
 Lyell and King, and Cloud's Rest, and many more, but 
 which, from this point, appear like one great mountain, 
 up the sides of which you can climb into and above the 
 clouds, up to those shining orbs, the stars. Below us, a 
 small part of the Valley level appears, dotted over with 
 great trees, and through which a river flows, its waters 
 sparkling in the sun. 
 
 To attempt to describe the grandeur of this scene 
 would be folly ; to tell of the feelings of awe, of hu- 
 mility, of reverence, which are here aroused, is all that 
 can be done. Inspiration Point gives the most enchanting 
 view of the Yo-Semite. While from other points we have 
 a more extended view, from this the landscape is clothed 
 in more beauty. Enraptured by the scene, we all lingered 
 long after our guides told us that darkness would come 
 on before we reached the hotel. 
 
 The Valley is about six miles long by from half a mile 
 to a mile and a half in width ; its area is nearly level,
 
 150 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 and its sides rise almost perpendicularly from the sur- 
 face, the rock being solid granite of the finest grain. 
 It is sunken almost a mile below the general level of the 
 mountain region just around it; and the general direc- 
 tion of this depression is north-east by east, until near 
 its upper end, where it makes a sharp turn, and divides 
 into three canons, up through which wild gorges we 
 can climb to the higher Sierras beyond. 
 
 Prof. Whitney, State geologist of California, calls the 
 Valley 'a gigantic trough/ and sums up its charac- 
 teristics as follows: 'The principal features of the Yo- 
 Semite, and those by which it is distinguished from all 
 other known valleys, are : first, the near approach to 
 verticality of its walls ; second, their great height, not 
 only absolutely, but as compared with the width of the 
 Valley itself ; and, finally, the very small amount of talus 
 or debris at the base of these gigantic cliffs. These are 
 the great characteristics of the Yo-Semite, throughout its 
 whole length ; but besides these, there are many other 
 striking peculiarities and features, both of sublimity and 
 beauty, which can hardly be surpassed, if equalled, by 
 those of any mountain valleys in the world. Either the 
 domes or the waterfalls of the Yo-Semite, or any single 
 one of them even, would be sufficient in any European 
 country to attract travellers from far and wide in all direc- 
 tions. Waterfalls in the vicinity of the Yo-Semite, 
 surpassing in beauty many of those best known and most 
 visited in Europe, are actually left entirely unnoticed by 
 travellers, because there are so many other objects of
 
 THE YO- SEMITE VALLEY 151 
 
 interest to be visited that it is impossible to find time for 
 them all.' > 
 
 We will start down the trail ; and we must make a 
 steep climb of 2,970 feet before reaching the bottom of 
 the Valley. At each step of the way we have new and 
 inspiring views presented to us. A little way down, we 
 have the spot where Bierstadt made his sketches for 
 his great picture ; and, a little off the trail, the spot 
 where Hill found the view which to him seemed grandest, 
 and which he has transferred to canvas not only in outline, 
 but in spirit. As we approach nearer El Capitan, we 
 are impressed with its massiveness; and, as it stands 
 out into the Valley, it seems to present a sharp edge of 
 granite, but is really very wide. At points the trail is very 
 steep, and of course some care must be taken to avoid 
 accident ; for although guides say there is no danger, still 
 a misstep of your animal would surely cause serious 
 trouble. 
 
 On our right is the Bridal Veil Falls, which we now 
 begin to look up to, instead of down upon it, as we 
 did at Inspiration Point. On our left we have a fall 
 called Virgin's Tear, a little more than 1,000 feet high ; 
 but this fall dries up as the season advances. We 
 pass in our journey Cathedral Rock, 2,660 feet high ; 
 the Spires, which are distinct granite columns, rising, as 
 their names indicate, some 500 feet, and, as the sun 
 brings out their lines and forms, they are of rare beauty. 
 
 1 Yo-Semite Guide Book, published by order of the Legislature 
 of California j Whitney, State Geologist, pp. 53, 54.
 
 152 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 On the other side are those rocks, rising one over and 
 above the other, called by the Indians Pom-pom-pa - 
 sus, or ' Leaping Frog Rocks,' from their resemblance 
 to three frogs, but which are named in the survey ' The 
 Three Brothers.' The highest of these rises 3,830 feet. 
 As we approached the Bridal Veil, its beauty increased ; 
 and as the wind swayed its mass of foaming spray, 
 losing itself among the tall trees which grow at its base, 
 it seemed like the flowing of a long white veil. There 
 seemed to be a dozen streams running from this fall 
 into the Merced. Leaving the rest of the party, some 
 of us rode up among the trees, and got quite near the 
 base of the fall, at least where the spray came over us like 
 a shower of rain. It was a weird spot just as darkness 
 came on ; and the sound of the wind striking the column 
 of water made it all the more awful. The Indians as they 
 came here gave to the fall the name of ' The Spirit of 
 the Night Wind,' in their language Po-ho-no. 
 
 A mile brought us to the first hotel, Leidig's ; and a 
 little further on we came to Black's, where we had de- 
 termined to stay. The roar of the great Yo-Semite Fall 
 was heard ; and in the moonlight we could see the spray. 
 To the back of the hotel the great tower-like rock rises, 
 which is called ' The Sentinel Rock ; ' and the house 
 where we are has the name ' New Sentinel Hotel.' Too 
 tired to eat, and with minds crowded full of the incidents 
 of the day, we soon retired, to be lulled to sleep by the 
 roar of the ' Great Grisly Bear,' as the Indians called the 
 great waterfall just on the opposite side of the valley.
 
 THE YO- SEMITE FALL 153 
 
 Before the sun rose, we were out watching for its first 
 beams in the Valley, and were amply repaid for our 
 early start. In the Valley it was quite dark ; but the 
 spires and pinnacles of the surrounding mountains were 
 gilded with the morning rays ; and as the sun rose 
 higher, his beams glided over the rocks, and gradually 
 slid down their sides, bringing out in bold relief their 
 forms marked and scarred by time, until at last his full 
 rays burst in glory upon the whole Valley, causing rocks 
 and trees and waterfalls to shine and sparkle in his light. 
 Nothing could be more beautiful ; and those who persisted 
 in remaining in bed till the breakfast-bell rang lost one 
 of the most beautiful views of Nature which we enjoyed 
 in the Valley. 
 
 In the early morning, or just at sunset, we have the 
 best view of the Yo-Semite Fall. This is probably the 
 greatest attraction in all the Valley, and in height 
 (2,634 feet) surpasses all other known waterfalls in 
 the world with like volume of water. It is formed 
 by a creek of the same name, which heads ten miles 
 away, in Mount Hoffman, and is fed by melting 
 snows. It has its bed in solid granite, and, where 
 it pours over the rock, is from 20 to 40 feet in vvidth, 
 and from two to three feet in depth, with a current 
 of a mile an hour. Where it pours over, the granite 
 is polished so smooth, that it is dangerous to step 
 upon it. The fall is divided into three parts ; the first a 
 vertical descent of 1,500 feet, where it strikes upon 
 a shelf, which makes back nearly 2,000 feet from the
 
 154 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 front of the lower cliff ; and, by a series of cascades, 
 it finds its way down (the descent being, in a perpendi- 
 cular, 626 feet) to the edge of the cliff, where it makes a 
 final plunge upon a pile of debris, and by rivulets is 
 carried into the Merced. The volume of water is too 
 great to be broken by the fall ; and the wind has such an 
 effect upon it, that it sways the foaming mass, so that it 
 widens out, before it reaches the shelf, to some 300 
 feet in breadth, at flood-time. As it tumbles from the 
 cliff, it falls in rocket-like masses, which whirl around in 
 their course. By this motion air is collected, and as the 
 great mass of water and air falls upon the flattened shelf 
 of granite, a sound like the report of a cannon is heard 
 through the Valley. The view of this fall varies very 
 much in different positions ; in some it appears like one 
 continuous fall without break ; in another the cascades 
 appear between the two perpendicular falls ; and from 
 any point, whether near, or across the valley (here more 
 than a mile in width), the sight is amazing, and far more 
 enchanting than Niagara. 
 
 We next set out for Mirror Lake. The trail brings us 
 soon to a centre of business — Hutchings's Hotel, Smith's 
 Cosmopolitan Saloon, a store, the photographic gallery of 
 Hazeltine, the telegraph office, &c. These structures are 
 somewhat rude. All elaboration is omitted, as the 
 materials of which they are built, and with which they are 
 furnished, were brought over the mountains from Coulter- 
 ville upon pack-mules. Near Hutchings's we cross the 
 Merced upon a bridge which ought to span the river ;
 
 THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY 155 
 
 but the water is so high, that, when we get at the end of 
 the bridge, we are only across the main channel, and our 
 animals go leg-deep in the water over a great meadow. 
 Soon the Valley narrows between lofty mountains. On 
 the left we have the Royal Arches, Washington Column, 
 and that great dome-shaped mass of granite rock called 
 the North Dome. At this point the Valley divides into 
 three canons — Tenaya, through which a branch of the 
 Merced of that name flows ; the Nevada, or middle one, 
 through which the main Merced flows ; and the right 
 hand, or that to the south-west, the Illilouette, through 
 which the South Fork flows. 
 
 A little way up the Tenaya we come to a great mass 
 of broken granite rock, evidently the moraine of a 
 glacier ; and, climbing over this, we find that it has 
 dammed up some of the waters of the river ; and this 
 they call 'Mirror Lake.' At the proper time of the 
 day, the reflexions in the water are undoubtedly fine; 
 but to call it a lake is a misnomer, and the great num- 
 ber of mosquitoes make it a very uncomfortable place. 
 Mirror Lake is a humbug, and does not pay for the time 
 and trouble of getting to it. To our right we have 
 South or Half Dome, which is the loftiest and most 
 imposing rock which belongs to the Yo-Semite. It 
 rises 4,737 feet above the river. It is perfectly inac- 
 cessible to man. On the side towards Tenaya Canon, 
 for more than 2,000 feet down its side, it presents 
 a perpendicular face of smoothly cut granite. This 
 rock and the North Dome consist of concentric layers,
 
 156 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 a form not uncommon in the Sierra Nevada, where 
 Professor Whitney tells us that the dome-shaped forma- 
 tion is developed upon a grander scale than in any other 
 granite region with which geologists are familiar. 
 
 On our way we visited a ranchero of Merced Indians, 
 and had a chance to see the squaws pounding acorns 
 into meal ; and some of the men, who deem it a disgrace 
 to work, but are willing to be supported by others. 
 I will add a story which has credence in the Valley. 
 A tall, gaunt-looking Yankee, is said to have made his 
 appearance here one day, and offered his services to the 
 proprietor of the mule-trains. Although he had never 
 been in the Valley, he declared that his experience in the 
 mountains would enable him to follow the trail, and his 
 study of the map of the Yo-Semite would make him 
 familiar with the points of interest. Pete — for that is his 
 name — talked so plausibly, that at length a bargain was 
 struck ; and he started off with a party. Good judgment 
 took them safely into the Valley, and Pete had a ready 
 answer to all questions. Coming to those three great 
 rocks which I have described as looking like three frogs, 
 some of the party inquired their name. ' Them are the 
 Missouri Sisters,' said Pete, with an air of confidence ; 
 ' and ain't them handsome ones ? ' The party reached 
 Hutchings's all right ; and, after tea, Mr. Hutchings, 
 while discoursing upon the beauties of the grand scenery, 
 alluded to ' Those three huge rocks which lie one upon 
 another, which we call the Three Brothers.' At this, 
 one of the party suddenly looked up in amazement, and
 
 YO-SEMITE VALLEY. NEVADA CANON 157 
 
 cried, 'Why, Pete, you told us they were the Missouri 
 Sisters.'' Pete, ever ready, answered, ' Hang it ! no one 
 can keep track of Hutchings's names, for he changes 
 them every week.' 
 
 And these popular nameg do change, and often have 
 no significance at all. How much better it would have 
 been to have preserved the old Indian names which have 
 been handed down from generation to generation, and 
 each of which had some appropriateness ! And even the 
 word ' Yo-Semite,' which is retained, is Anglicized ; for 
 the Indian pronounces it ' Yo~ham-e-ta,' and it signifies 
 the most awful thing to him — a great grizzly bear, 
 
 Nevada Canon. — Vernal and Nevada Falls are among 
 the most pleasing of all the waterfalls. To reach them, 
 we leave the Valley proper at the point where the three 
 canons begin. Our way lies up the middle one, Nevada 
 Canon, where flows the main river. The Merced, in 
 coming from the high mountain-plateau down into the 
 Yo-Semite, makes a descent of more than 2,000 feet 
 in two miles; and, besides the roaring cascades, we 
 have the two falls mentioned. We follow up the river, 
 and, after a ride of a mile or more, cross the Illilouette, 
 which is a stream about 20 feet in width, but shallow. 
 Here we go over an immense deposit of huge angular 
 granite blocks, which, undoubtedly, have been torn from 
 the mountains by some great ice-floe. The trail rises 
 very rapidly, and follows the tearing and surging river, 
 which you perceive, from the inclination of its bed, must
 
 158 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 flow at a fearful rate. We soon arrived at the first fall, 
 which has received the popular name of Vernal, but 
 which the Indians called Pi-wy-ack, or Sparkling Water 
 — a name which has some appropriateness. The height 
 of the fall is 400 feet, as nearly as can be measured ; for 
 the great body of water which flows over this squarely-cut 
 'step,' as it were in the canon, is broken into spray, 
 which rises nearly half as high as the fall. As the sun 
 shines upon this fall, beautiful rainbows are produced. 
 One loves to linger about this spot, climbing up the 
 rocks within the spray which is thrown by the fall on 
 every side. Around the falls, where the moisture covers 
 the rocks, cryptogamous plants thrive ; and here a col- 
 lection of mosses could be made, which would be very 
 valuable. 
 
 In a little more than two miles, by a very steep trail, 
 along a sharp ridge, we reach Nevada Fall. This is a 
 grand sight, the volume of water being very large ; and 
 by a projecting rock, just at the edge of the lip of the 
 fall, a whirling motion is given to the central volume of 
 water. At the foot, the spray is thrown in all directions, 
 upon and among the great trees which grow near. This 
 fall is 600 feet high ; and the river between the falls 
 descends 300 feet. 
 
 To our left rises a mass of rock, which stands alone in 
 its grandeur. It is about 2,000 feet high, and has several 
 names, but the one generally adopted is ' Cap of Liberty.' 
 Two days before we visited the spot, a large slide took 
 place, which levelled great trees, filled up gorges, and,
 
 THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY 159 
 
 for many rods around, filled the air with flying stones ; 
 and to-day we have everything covered with granite-dust. 
 Those who chanced to be here at the time described the 
 scene as grand, yet producing extreme fear ; for the very 
 rock where they were shook under their feet. 
 
 While in Nevada canon, we lunched at the little house 
 kept by Albert Snow and his wife, Yankees from Ver- 
 mont. Although there were more than 100 at the 
 little inn, Mrs. Snow gave all enough, and won great 
 praise for excellent care of her guests. 
 
 Grace Greenwood (Mrs. Lippincott) was here, and 
 many other people from the east ; and all seemed to 
 drink in the beauties and sublimity of the scenes about 
 them. 
 
 Whoever visits the Yo-Semite Valley should find and 
 become acquainted with John Muir, the scholar and 
 enthusiast, who has seen more of the Valley and adjacent 
 country than any other white man. Visiting the Valley 
 about four years ago, he became so much impressed with 
 its grandeur and sublimity, that he returned home, closed 
 up his business, and then took up his permanent resi- 
 dence here ; and for three years, now, he has ' been 
 reading this great book of nature,' as he says. Our 
 evenings we spent in his little cabin ; and one night the 
 clock struck three in the morning before we ended what 
 to me was a most instructive discussion, upon the different 
 theories which have been advanced to account for the 
 formation of the Yo-Semite.
 
 160 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 The theory advanced by Whitney never did satisfy 
 me ; and the more I observed, the more doubts arose ; 
 and from Mr. Muir facts enough were obtained to lead 
 me to believe with Agassiz, that all such deep-ploughed 
 gorges have been made by immense ice-floes. It seems 
 strange that so few of our scientific men have visited the 
 Valley, and made a thorough examination ; for, so far, 
 only superficial glances have been made, and crude 
 theories are the result. This Valley is upon so much 
 grander a scale than any other yet found, that geologists 
 have shrunk from advancing a theory grand enough to 
 explain it. Until we can describe an ice-floe broader 
 and deeper by a thousand times than any now known, 
 and shall find its terminal moraine in the great valleys of 
 the Sacramento and San Joaquin, we shall fail to discern 
 in the Yo-Semite, one of Nature's grandest works. 
 
 Another person who must be seen is Mr. John Lamon, 
 who was the first white man to take up a permanent resi- 
 dence in the Valley. He came into it and selected a few 
 acres as early as i860 ; and, for a number of years, he 
 has staid during the winter in the Yo-Semite. He has 
 set out and cultivated a fine orchard of apple-trees, has 
 a strawberry-patch, and raises some vegetables. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Hutchings has lived in the Valley since 
 1858 ; during the summer he keeps his hotel, and seems 
 bound to make money. As is well known, Congress 
 ceded this Valley, and the territory back from the line of 
 the rocks (one mile all around), to the State of California, 
 to be for ever preserved as a park. Commissioners were
 
 THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY 161 
 
 appointed, who began their work of making a plan of the 
 valley-level and hills around, and issuing instructions to 
 those who had already settled, or proposed to settle in 
 the Yo-Semite ; but nothing has ever been done, as 
 through the efforts, principally of Mr. Hutchings, all 
 their plans have been thwarted ; and he is continually 
 urging the legislature and Congress to recognise his 
 private claims, and give him in fee 160 acres of that 
 which is manifestly intended for a nation's park. Remiss- 
 ness on the part of some one exists ; for there should 
 be a good carriage-road, at least, into the Valley ; 
 good hotel accommodation should be had, and the 
 prices to be paid should be regulated. The State should 
 take the matter in hand, that many of the incon- 
 veniences which now attend a journey to the Valley may 
 be removed. 1 
 
 There is a new trail opened this year up to Glaciej 
 Point, from which position a more extended view is 
 obtained of the Valley than from any spot now acces- 
 sible with any reasonable exertion. Year by year new 
 paths will be made ; and it is impossible to go upon 
 any trail, or upon any of the mountains, without finding 
 new views, and each with its own elements of beauty. 
 
 We were disappointed in not being able to reach 
 Cloud's Rest and the higher Sierras, but the snows pre- 
 
 1 By the efforts of the Union and Central Pacific Railroad Com- 
 panies, a carriage-road has been made into the Valley on the Mari- 
 posa side, and which, as we go to press, is opened for use. 
 
 M
 
 1 62 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 vented us ; and those who had attempted the ascents 
 were of opinion that another week would pass before the 
 snows would be packed hard enough to allow a passage 
 over the crusts. It must be borne in mind that, as 
 the summer's sun rises over these mountains, the snow 
 becomes an icy mass so firmly packed that it will sustain 
 the weight of a mule and its rider. In this way, during 
 late July and August, they go over beds of snow from ic 
 to 20 feet in depth, and often even deeper, in both the 
 Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 During our stay in the Valley, we were every hour 
 filled with a sense of the grandeur of the scenery ; and 
 we could only regret when at last the morning came for 
 our departure ; and we promised ourselves that, should 
 life and health permit, we would again visit this enchanting 
 spot, and satiate ourselves with its glories. 
 
 Flora of Yo-Scmite. — The most pleasing flower was the 
 great masses of what we call swamp-cheese (Azalia 
 occidcntalis), whose blossoms were both superb and 
 deliciously fragrant. On the banks of the river we find 
 Hellcnium grandijlorum, whose flowers are yellow, and 
 very showy. In a little pond, yellow pond-lilies are seen, 
 and ferns in great variety, and, in the swampy meadows, 
 some very peculiar and rare sedges, or coarse grasses. 
 The principal trees are alder (Alnns viridis), Douglas 
 spruce (Abies Douglasii), Balm of Gilead poplar (Fopulus 
 balsamifcra), yellow pine (Finns ponderosa), the cedar
 
 THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY 163 
 
 (Libocedrus decurrcns). Among the shrubs are the Cormts 
 Nuttallii, Rubus JYittkanus, the manzanita (Arctostaphylos 
 glauca), the wild rose (Rosa blanda). In sandy places we 
 have several varieties of pentestemon, the Frangula Cali- 
 fornia, the brake (Pteris aqiiiiind), the Spraguea um- 
 bellata, together with many smaller and less characteristic 
 flowers and shrubs, covering the ground in patches. 
 
 To get out of the Valley as we had proposed, we had 
 to cross the river in a flat-bottomed boat, called ' The 
 Ferry,' and pass directly around the face of old El 
 Capitan. By a very sharp grade we make our way to 
 the top of the hill ; the trail being about four miles and 
 a half from Black's to the foot of the hill, and two miles 
 and a half to the top, and the ascent equivalent to a 
 vertical rise of more than 3,000 feet. At a sharp turn in 
 the path we meet a party coming down into the Valley. 
 Here is a case for a compromise, for one of the parties 
 has to turn back. After some parleying, it is left for the 
 guides to decide; and all, save a woman 0?' two, acquiesce. 
 To add further to our difficulties, a little further on we 
 meet a drove of four wild cattle, being driven into the 
 Valley ; and here is danger, which is averted by the quick 
 movements of the Mexican lad who is driving them. 
 Spurring his horse out of the trail, he gets in ahead of the 
 cattle, and drives them on the rocks above us, allowing 
 us all to pass in safety. At length the top of the hill is 
 reached, and we are at the house well known as Gentry's 
 
 M 2
 
 1 64 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Station. But they have christened a new addition ' Alta- 
 mont Hotel,' which will do for tourists and strangers ; but it 
 will always be called Gentry's by the old ranchers and 
 hunters of the region, as well as by the drivers who bring 
 their stages to this point. 
 
 This is the end of the carriage-road on this side of the 
 mountain, whether you come by way of Coulterville or 
 Big Oak Flat. After a good dinner, we were off upon 
 our return trip. 
 
 Seven miles brought us to Crane Flat. The village 
 consists of a large barn, two frame houses, and a saloon • 
 the latter being the popular resort of travellers. As our 
 team was tired out by their drive the day before, we were 
 obliged to stay over night ; and Mrs. Ann Gobin, who 
 keeps the inn while her husband looks after his 15,000 
 sheep, took good care of us with the accommodations 
 which she had. Enough to eat there was ; but, as the 
 buildings have few partitions, there was some difficulty 
 in arranging beds for a large company. 
 
 We were told that the South Tuolumne Grove of Big 
 Trees was within three miles from this place, and we 
 resolved to see them. Arranging with Master Gobin to 
 conduct us in the morning, we retired early ; for break- 
 fast was announced to be ready at six, and the stage to 
 be off at seven. An uncommonly early start ; and we 
 were soon among the tall sugar-pines, which, in the gray 
 light of morning, seemed like sentinels keeping watch of 
 the surrounding hills. To add to the interest of our
 
 YO-SEMITE TO MERCED 165 
 
 walk, just as we entered the forest where the Sequoia 
 were, our guide sang out, ' Keep this way ! for there's 
 a grizzly's hole ; ' and, not caring to encounter one of 
 these fellows, we did ' keep this way ' in good earnest. 
 The trees stand upon the northerly slope of the hill, in 
 a sheltered position ; and, although not so large as those 
 at Mariposa, still there are some specimens which, for 
 beauty of form, are unsurpassed by any others. There 
 is a stump left of a partly-burned tree, which must have 
 been 23 feet in diameter. 
 
 The trees are scattered, but the grove is worthy of a 
 more extended examination than we could give it. We 
 made our way out to the carriage-road which has recently 
 been completed through this section, which we followed 
 back to the house, where we arrived rather late for break- 
 fast, and only in time for the stage which was to take us 
 on to Merced. 
 
 Our road hence is a narrow way, built around the sides 
 of the hills, and, by a steep grade, takes us down to the 
 San Joaquin Valley. Our continual fear is that we may 
 meet a carriage coming in the opposite direction, and, as a 
 rule, our fears become facts. A few miles on, in seem- 
 ingly the worst place, we met an up-stage. ' What will 
 they do ? ' cried the ladies ; and the men, unused to such 
 incidents, looked troubled. A few words between the 
 drivers seemed to put things to rights ; for the driver of 
 the up-stage began to unhitch his horses, accomplishing 
 which, he drove the horses by our stage, and gave them
 
 1 66 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 in charge of one of the passengers ; then he made the 
 people in his wagon get out, and pass on ; then they 
 drew the carriage along with two of the wheels down the 
 bank, and a half-dozen of us holding it up to prevent it 
 tumbling down into the valley several hundred feet. In 
 this position, our stage passed slowly by ; the ?//-stage 
 was drawn up again upon the road, the horses attached, 
 the people seated, and went on. Along all the mountain- 
 paths here and there is seen the wreck of a stage or 
 some vehicle, sometimes many hundred feet below in 
 the valley, sometimes overturned by the roadside ; and 
 very frequently is seen a carcass of a horse or mule, 
 which, falling by the way, has been killed, its whitening 
 skeleton telling of the toilsome journeys. 
 
 About noon we reached Pechart's Ranch, upon which 
 is Bower Cave. This cave is in a limestone formation. 
 The rock, having been worn away by subterranean 
 streams . until it was too slight to hold up the super- 
 incumbent mass, has fallen in, carrying with it the trees 
 and earth, so that now, in the bottom of this great hole, 
 are four large trees which fell with the earth. Some little 
 crevices in the rock can be explored ; a little pool of 
 very transparent water is there, upon which a little boat 
 floats ; and this is the ' Cave.' Lady Franklin visited 
 it in 1862, and we in 1872 ; but, notwithstanding this, I 
 cannot recommend anyone to make much exertion or 
 delay to visit Bower Cave. 
 
 At about six o'clock we reached Coulterville, distmt
 
 YO-SEMITE TO MERCED 167 
 
 from Crane Flat thirty-three miles. This place was 
 named after a man who was an early miner, amassed a 
 great fortune, which he spent in gambling, and at last 
 died poor. It is a dead place, and decay and stagnation 
 are seen on every side. It lies on the great quartz vein 
 of the State ; and some fine stamp-mills have been 
 erected in the vicinity, but to-day they are all still. 
 We are at an elevation of 1,800 feet, and on the 
 middle ground between foot hills and mountains. We 
 visited in the evening Mr. Adolph Sinning, who in 1850 
 left Germany, and came to the Mariposa country. Un- 
 successful as a miner, he again turned his attention to 
 his trade as a worker in nice woods ; and, in his little 
 shop and house (for he lives entirely alone), we saw 
 some of the finest work in wood which we ever found. 
 Specimens of his handiwork have been sent over Europe 
 and this country. He remains here to be near to the 
 trees which give him his finest woods, which he fashions 
 into exquisite forms of boxes, tables, canes, &c. 
 
 To insure our reaching Merced in time for the train in 
 the afternoon, it was arranged to start by 5 a.m. We 
 had a meagre breakfast ; and, from our experience at 
 Coulterville, I would advise everyone to arrange not to 
 remain here over night until a better house is opened, for 
 the treatment which guests receive is a general complaint. 
 The early start got us well on our way before the sun was 
 high enough to trouble us with heat ; but the latter part 
 of our way was hot, dusty, and tedious. We came out
 
 168 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 of the foot-hills a few miles south of the point where we 
 entered them. 
 
 About one o'clock we drove into the lively village of 
 Snelling, the seat of Merced County, situated on the 
 Merced River, which is here a beautiful stream, and 
 would furnish good* water-power if there was any demand 
 for it. We found the Gait House a good place to get a 
 dinner. A few miles out, crossed the river upon a ferry. 
 It was such a ferry as is seldom seen in America, and is 
 called a ' tidal ferry.' A stout cable is stretched across 
 the river ; and the boat, by means of ropes and 
 hawsers, is held to the cable, attached by a tackle-block 
 in which is a large pulley which rolls along the cable. 
 The boat is pushed into the stream, headed just right, 
 the hawsers secured ; and the current pushing down the 
 boat which is held, carries it swiftly towards the op- 
 posite bank. The apparatus was crude ; the boat was 
 managed by two men, one a Chinaman. As the boatman 
 was not at his post when we drove up, but in his house, 
 a long distance away from the river, it took a deal of 
 noise from our driver to rouse the fellow up, who, when 
 he came, complained of being taken from his dinner. 
 This delay nearly lost us our train at Merced. 
 
 By urging our horses, and especially the driver, by the 
 promise of an allowance over regular wages, we were en- 
 abled to reach the city of Merced just as the train was 
 starting; and without delay we changed our coach for 
 the cars, and were soon on our way towards the main line
 
 WHEAT FARMING 169 
 
 from Sacramento to San Francisco, which this road (the 
 Southern Pacific) leaves at Lathrop. 
 
 As we again looked over the vast San Joaquin plain, 
 so level, and so different in character from the country in 
 which, for two weeks, we had lived, we could not but ex- 
 claim — 
 
 Level leagues forsaken lie — 
 
 A grassy waste extending to the sky. 
 
 A few weeks ago, the land was covered with ripened 
 wheat, from which now the heads had been cut, leaving 
 the straw standing on either side as far as the eye could 
 reach. 
 
 Wheat Farming in the San Joaquin Valley. — The 
 soil of the San Joaquin Valley looks like sand, and 
 is, in fact, a pulverized and decomposed granite, 
 ground into dust by the ice-floe which made the Yo- 
 Semite. The custom is to begin to plough as soon as 
 the autumn rains begin. Gang-ploughs having seven 
 blades are used, and immediately behind them follow the 
 seeders, also drawn by horses, which drop the seed, 
 cover, and roll, at the same time. Nothing more is done 
 to the field till the grain is ready for the harvest. They 
 plough and plant almost to the ripening of the first 
 sowing ; and this plan, year after year, is followed. 
 When the grain is ripe, they run a header through the 
 field. This is a great cutting-machine, which simply 
 clips off the heads of the grain. The horses push it along,
 
 i7o THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 instead of dragging it ; the grain is carried upon an apron 
 into the wagon, which follows alongside of the header ; 
 the heads are carried to convenient piles, where a steam- 
 engine is driving a threshing machine, which leaves the 
 grain perfectly clean and ready to be put at once into 
 bags and sent to market. Here no rains interfere with 
 the harvest. The straw is all burned off ; and, by the 
 time the ground is cleared, the rains begin (early in 
 October), and the ploughs are started. 
 
 Mr. John Mitchell, the largest farmer in California, 
 owns between 50,000 and 60,000 acres in this valley, 
 and, this year, had above 30,000 acres in wheat alone. 
 His ranch is divided into sections of different sizes ; 
 and upon each he has houses and barns, and a raticher, 
 to whom he furnishes seed, and takes one-half the crop. 
 Of these sections, or small ranchos, he has about 100. 
 and spends his time in riding in his buggy, drawn by 
 a team of fine bays, from house to house, and directing 
 the work on his vast domain. His income from his lands 
 this year will be not less than $250,000 or 50,000/. 
 
 The average yield of wheat in this valley will be but 
 little mere than ten bushels per acre ; although those 
 ranchos which were well ploughed and seeded will yield 
 twenty bushels per acre, and in a few instances more. 
 The price of wheat, at the time of which I speak, was two 
 cents per pound at the ranch. 
 
 Our excursion to the Yo-Semite region terminates in 
 our approach by way of Merced to Stockton. The
 
 THE CITY OF STOCKTON 171 
 
 pleasant party of tourists who have casually come to- 
 gether prepare to separate for their various destinations, 
 and manifold regrets are expressed. Long shall I re- 
 member the trip, and my desire is now far greater than 
 before to go and spend a summer among the wonders of 
 the Yo-Semite. 
 
 ft would be a pleasing task to describe the beautiful 
 flowers which are seen in this journey. In going to such 
 an elevation, all the seasons are found. In the San 
 Joaquin Valley, it was autumn ; the plants had blossomed, 
 produced their seed, and were at rest. Up the moun- 
 tains a short distance, it was midsummer, and the earth 
 was covered with bright flowers. At an elevation of, 
 say, 5,000 feet, it was early spring ; the plants were just 
 pushing out of the ground ; and, at 7,000 feet, it was 
 winter, the snow still covering the earth. All these 
 gradations in plant-life are seen in a ride of, say, two 
 days. The flowers of the mountains of California are 
 very brilliant in colour, the yellow prevailing to a great 
 extent, seemingly, as Grace Greenwood prettily said, ' to 
 let us know that yellow gold is under them.' 
 
 Stockton. — We re-enter the San Joaquin Valley, and 
 shortly find ourselves at this ' city of windmills.' It is a 
 port of entry ; has a line of steamers to San Francisco, 
 which come up the San Joaquin River and into the 
 slough (always pronounced here s-l-u), upon which the 
 city is situated. Among steamboat men this place is 
 always called 'Slu-city.' Imagine a kind of channel
 
 172 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 making up from the main river, with a dozen sloughs 
 emptying their (usually stagnant) waters into it, with long 
 wooden bridges (often only for foot-passengers) over 
 them in all directions, with buildings erected upon' the 
 ridges of dry land between these sloughs, with a short 
 line of wharf along the main channel, a place which 
 seems to be all under water, with stagnant pools breeding 
 miasma, a few good buildings, but mostly poor old struc- 
 tures, and upon each a fantastic windmill, and you have 
 the city of Stockton. It contains about 10,000 people ; 
 is the outlet of the great San Joaquin Valley, but has 
 been greatly injured by the railroad, which goes by, instead 
 of through, the city, as it ought to have done. Once its 
 trade was large ; but now it has dwindled away, and the 
 city seems ' under a cloud,' as well as under water. It 
 is so badly situated, so injured by the railroads, and so 
 unhealthy in summer, that I cannot see any good reasons 
 to anticipate a large future growth. It is too near Sacra- 
 mento, the State capital, and has not in itself any elements 
 which will command prosperity. As a winter residence, 
 Stockton is peculiarly favourable to invalids who are in- 
 juriously affected by sea air, even although always mild. 
 The climate is singularly like that of Naples, with few 
 extremes, and is especially dry. Its accessibility, its 
 good hotels, and good society, commend it as a winter 
 home to those seeking a mild climate. 
 
 At the western extremity of the city begin the /«/<?-lands, 
 which stretch away to the West to the very horizon. 
 These are formed by the overflow of the great rivers
 
 THE CITY OF STOCKTON 173 
 
 called San Joaquin and Sacramento, and consist of soft, 
 porous soil, thoroughly saturated with water. There are 
 bayous which make far into these lands, many of them 
 quite deep, but all of which have the title ' slu.' Covering 
 the country for miles, and growing in the porous soil, is 
 the rush called tide (tu-la), which attains a height of from 
 5 to 8 feet. In August, when the river has become low, 
 and has drained these vast areas, and the plants have 
 become somewhat dry, the steamboat-hands have a 
 custom of firing them along the banks of the river ; pro- 
 ducing fires rivalling those of the Western prairies. 
 Experiments are being tried for reclaiming these lands, 
 under the patronage of the State. An immense dike is 
 made around a number of acres, keeping out the water ; 
 and one season dries the soil sufficiently to allow of its 
 being ploughed, and in the next season it is fit for planting. 
 I was told that satisfactory crops of wheat had been 
 raised ; but the farms seem better adapted for raising 
 vegetables for the San Francisco market. The work is 
 done by Chinamen ; and I know of no other class of 
 labourers who could be found to go into such a country, 
 and survive the dangers of disease to which they are ex- 
 posed ; but they seem to be destined to be the power 
 which shall reclaim these vast acres, and fit them for 
 cultivation. 
 
 We lingered on the tule-lands one day until the sun 
 went down, and beheld the most gorgeous sunset we 
 ever looked upon. Talk of the Italian sunsets ! of 
 those in New England in the Indian summer-time ! —
 
 174 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 they cannot be compared with those which are seen upon 
 the banks of these rivers. The moisture which rises from 
 the lands offers its innumerable particles as so many re- 
 flectors, all increasing the brilliancy of the scene. As the 
 sun sank in this sea of mist, his parting beams were shot 
 far up towards the zenith, seemingly striving to catch 
 the rising beams which the morning brings from the 
 east. 
 
 During our stay we visited the Insane Asylum, where 
 were collected a larger number of patients than in any 
 similar institution in the world. On the day of our visit 
 there were more than 1,300 at the institution. By the 
 politeness of Dr. Titus, physician in charge, we were 
 enabled to make an extended examination of the asylum ; 
 and, in company with Dr. Langdon, we visited all the 
 various wards, and beheld insanity in all its forms of 
 development. 
 
 The great excitement under which the people live — 
 especially those who gamble in stocks — produces terrible 
 wrecks of the nervous system. That there is a climatic 
 tendency to over-excitement, and consequent waste of 
 nerve-power, is very evident. The physicians give the 
 causes which lead to insanity in the State, as — 1st, Dis- 
 sipation ; 2nd, Business losses ; 3rd, Homesickness ; and 
 all aggravated by the climate, and, of course, developing 
 more readily in persons with an hereditary tendency 
 towards the disease than in others. The institution is 
 greatly overcrowded, and it is a very serious question 
 how the insane poor are to be cared for in the State.
 
 INSANE ASYLUM AT STOCKTON 175 
 
 When it is considered how great is the floating popula- 
 tion, it can be understood how great is the responsibility 
 resting upon California to take adequate care of this class 
 of unfortunates. Having visited all the wards in both the 
 male and female asylums, and all the departments of 
 administration, I must bear witness to the general order, 
 neatness, and attention to the comfort of the patients, 
 shown throughout ; and this, too, when the buildings are 
 so overcrowded, that cots are nightly placed in the halls, 
 transforming them into dormitories. As we went from 
 ward to ward entirely unannounced, and when not ex- 
 pected, if, on the part of the various attendants, there 
 had been any serious neglect in their duties, I should 
 have discovered it without doubt ; but I must say that I 
 saw little of which to complain, save what was too evi- 
 dent — that there were more patients than could be pro- 
 perly and conveniently cared for. 
 
 A steamer leaves Stockton daily for San Francisco ; 
 and I resolved to enjoy a sail down the San Joaquin on 
 our return to the ' Golden Gate.' For six miles we go 
 down the slough, which is narrow, and, at low water, 
 unnavigable ; and then, by a turn so sharp that the stern 
 of the steamer goes ' high and dry ' upon the mud bank, 
 we shoot out into a wider stream, the main river ; and by 
 the most crooked of all crooked streams — often so narrow 
 that you could step from the steamer upon the banks, 
 then so shallow that the keel would drag in the mud — 
 we make our way through the great 'grass ' fields ; for
 
 176 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 seemingly the vessels which we see all around us, the 
 river being crooked, and the sloughs so numerous, were 
 sailing through the grass. The steamers are propelled by 
 double horizontal engines, driving side-wheels ; for often 
 it would be an impossibility to turn, unless they could 
 work one wheel, while the other acted as pivot. 
 
 We made several stops at places where the work of 
 reclaiming these lands was being carried on. At sundown 
 we came out into Suisun Bay, into which flow the two 
 great rivers Sacramento and San Joaquin, which, for 
 several miles back, are separated only by a narrow strip of 
 land so low that you see plainly from one river the sloops 
 and steamers in the other. We make a landing here, and 
 take in coals from the lately discovered deposits of Monte 
 Diablo. From Suisun Bay our course lies down through 
 San Pablo Bay to San Francisco, and soon I am again 
 comfortably quartered at the Lick House. 
 
 Advice. — I commend to visitors to the Yo-Semite these 
 rules, based upon my experience, in travelling among the 
 mountains : — Dress warmly, but in clothes which you are 
 not afraid to have soiled. A woollen shirt is desirable ; 
 and wear English walking-shoes, rather than boots. Over 
 your shoulders, and tied quite tightly about your neck, 
 wear a white silk handkerchief; for, although the air 
 is cool, the rays of the sun at high altitudes often 
 produce very injurious effects. Avoid drinking much 
 snow-water, and allay thirst with a bit of biscuit until 
 a spring is found. Do not descend from a high alti-
 
 THE OVERLAND TOUR 177 
 
 tude to a low one suddenly, as congestion of the lungs 
 is the effect. Always choose a mule instead of a horse, 
 as they are surer footed. Above all, never complain 
 because you do not have city comforts, but be contented 
 wherever you may be, assured that nothing is had with- 
 out some work and hardships. And by all means let me 
 urge you to map out well your journey before starting ; 
 understand where you are going, and what ought to be 
 seen ; arrange for your whole trip, with reference to cost 
 of conveyances, guides, horses, mules, tolls, and all 
 charges as far as can be, and thus you will be saved many 
 inconveniences and annoyances. Many were the disap- 
 pointments which I saw occasioned by not considering 
 the journey before it was undertaken. 
 
 The Overland Tour Reviewed. — Its Cost. — Either 
 through ignorance, or to influence people to undertake 
 the journey, estimates have been made which were so 
 far from the facts, that I cannot well understand how 
 they were computed. I did not follow those which I 
 had seen, and that, too, in respectable journals ; for I 
 found, when I inquired about the mere cost of car-fare 
 and living on the way, that the estimates were wrong. 
 I may as well state here the results of my experience. 
 The figures which I shall give will be liberal, for I did 
 not refuse myself any comfort, but will not include extras 
 or sundries. It must be borne in mind that after you 
 enter California your payments are made in gold ; and, 
 while I was in the State, the value of greenbacks fluctu- 
 
 N
 
 178 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 ated from 88| to 92^ ; but, as a rale in trade, they are 
 taken at ninety cents on a dollar. Actual experience is 
 the best teacher ; and my figures will be a safe guide to 
 one whose wants are simple, but who believes that a 
 first-class hotel is the cheapest place to stop at, and 
 wants the best of the market, although he never ' calls 
 a hack ' to ride a block, and never has an item upon 
 his hotel bill denominated 'extras' or 'sundries.' The 
 amounts are reduced to currency. 
 
 Expenses. 
 
 For car-tickets from Boston to San Francisco, and return, #286 00 
 For sleeping-berths (Pullman-cars) . . . . 32 00 
 
 For meals ......... 40 00 
 
 For Salt Lake City, and return to Ogden . . . 6 00 
 
 For three days' board, at #4 . . . . . . 12 00 
 
 For two weeks in San Francisco, #3 per day (in gold), and 
 for porters, hacks, and horse-car rides, $1 more (parlours 
 and fires extra) . . . . . . . . 65 00 
 
 For the Geysers, and return (4 days) .. . . . 35 00 
 
 For San Jose and Santa Clara»(3 days) . . . . 20 00 
 
 For the Yo-Semite. and return (2 weeks), including all 
 
 charges . . . . . . . . . 150 00 
 
 For travel upon the railroads of California per mile . 05 
 
 For hack-rides the charges are five times our own for 
 same service, and payable in gold. For the short excur- 
 sions to Oakland, Alameda, Mare Island, Vallejo, San 
 Raphael, &c. ........ 25 00 
 
 For trips in Southern California (Los Angeles) . . 150 00 
 
 For Lakes Donner and Tahoe . . . . . 50 00 
 
 For Virginia city (Nevada) . . . . . . 30 00 
 
 For Colorado, Denver, Golden, Idaho Springs, and the min- 
 ing-country at Black Hawk and Central, allowing two 
 weeks ......... 200 00 
 
 By allowing 4r. for one dollar and then adding ten per cent, for 
 xchange, the cost can readily be computed in English coin.
 
 SUMMER WEATHER IN CALIFORNIA 179 
 
 From which data it is seen that a round trip, including 
 the chief points of interest in California, will cost about 
 $800 ; and $1,200 can be profitably spent by including 
 Nevada, Colorado, and Utah ; and these places ought 
 not to be omitted. 
 
 Weather. — We had been enjoying the usual cool 
 weather of summer at San Francisco, when on Wednesday 
 morning, June 19, the thermometer suddenly rose to 92 
 Fahrenheit, which, for this city, was extreme ; and, 
 dressed in winter-clothing, one suffered much : but all 
 advised no change of dress, for they said a sudden 
 change would soon come. By noon telegrams came 
 pouring in from all parts of the State of great heat, as at 
 Napa City 107 , and San Jose 104 . That day over, the 
 next was warmer, and 96 was reached — a higher figure 
 than a record of eleven years showed, and many said 
 higher than ever before. So you see, the great wave of 
 heat which swept over the East, overpowering so many 
 in our great cities, also swept over the West in unpre- 
 cedented fierceness. On Friday, about noon, the 
 change did come, and indeed suddenly ; for, seemingly 
 in an hour, an overcoat was needed, and by sundown 
 we required a fire in the hotel parlour. 
 
 This is their summer weather ; in the winter, it is 
 more equable, with no fogs. 
 
 The Season to visit California.— -The rains begin about 
 October 1, and, with an intermission of a few weeks in 
 
 n 2
 
 I So THE ATLANTIC TO 7 HE PACIFIC 
 
 January and February, continue till March ; from which 
 time, to October again, they have no rain at all : hence 
 this is a state of either mud or dust, with short seasons 
 of extremely delightful weather. The plants and trees, 
 instead of resting in winter by means of frosts, rest 
 here in late summer by means of drought. Before I left 
 the State (late in June), many plants, and some of 
 the trees, had already completed their growth, and 
 having ripened their seed and wood, were at rest. On 
 most of the deciduous trees, the old leaves remain until 
 pushed off, as it were, by the new ones. So many 
 months of drought, as can be imagined, from the lack 
 of rain in England for even two weeks, make every- 
 thing extremely dry, and to see a green thing is 
 delightful ; so that, in the small gardens, constant irriga- 
 tion is resorted to, to keep a little grass green, and the 
 trees and the shrubs in leaf. 
 
 The roads, during the rainy season, are almost impas- 
 sable by reason of the mud, and, in the summer, by the 
 dust, which, I apprehend, is far more disagreeable than 
 mud, if my experience with it gives any data for a 
 judgment. It is of the utmost importance, then, that 
 the journey to California be made at the proper season. 
 And this is my advice : — Leave the Atlantic coast 
 about the first of April, as then the snow-storms of the 
 Rocky Mountains are over, and go direct to San 
 Francisco, which make, as a Frenchman would say, your 
 point d'appui. Spend at least two weeks in looking 
 about the city and immediate vicinity ; and, if you
 
 THE SEASON TO VISIT CALIFORNIA 1S1 
 
 propose a trip to Los Angeles and Southern California, 
 go there first, and then return to the city. Make your 
 excursion through the Santa Clara Valley, and to the 
 Geysers. By this time the trails will be open to the 
 Yo -Semite ; and to this famed place it is best to go 
 early, that those wonderful waterfalls may be seen in 
 their majesty. From a month to six weeks (as you go to 
 Southern California, or not) will thus be fully employed. 
 
 Returning over the Central Pacific, from Truckee, visit 
 Lakes Donner and Tahoe ; and from Reno go to 
 Virginia City and the great silver mines of Nevada. 
 Either of these excursions will occupy three days fully. 
 From Ogden, go down to Salt Lake City, which will be 
 in her lovely Spring dress, and the Wahsatch range still 
 snow-clad, where two or three days ought to be spent, 
 and more if the mines are visited. 
 
 At Cheyenne, on the Union Pacific, leave the main 
 line for the journey through Colorado ; make a stay of a 
 few days at Denver, and then go to Golden ; from which 
 point start by private carriage for the great mines and 
 smelting-works and stamp-mills at Central, Georgetown, 
 Blackhawk, and Nevada City. A narrow-guage railroad 
 is now completed up Clear-creek Canon, to Central, so 
 that the whole distance can be made in the cars. The 
 canon abounds in beautiful scenery throughout its entire 
 length. But either in going to or returning from Central 
 City, the journey ought to be made over the carriage-road, 
 it being one of such unusual interest. If time permits, the 
 ' Parks ' in the mountains can be visited, and many other
 
 182 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 interesting points. Two weeks, at least, should be spent 
 in Colorado. 
 
 At Omaha a stop should be made to look over the 
 city, and also to examine the great iron bridge over the 
 Missouri River at this point. There are several places 
 in Iowa and other Western States, where a little time can 
 be spent very profitably on your way back to the east ; 
 or, say, to Niagara Falls, where you arrive just as the 
 season begins, and where I have many times found the 
 ' International ' one of the choice houses, where to take 
 a good rest. 
 
 To citizens of the United States a trip to California 
 is far more pleasing than one to Europe : they are 
 all the while in their own country, and with people 
 speaking their own language ; and the places visited 
 are of far more beauty and interest. The round trip 
 cannot be made any more cheaply than a trip to London 
 and Paris in the summer ; but if, of the many thousands 
 who every year go to Europe, more would go to Cali- 
 fornia, or even to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, 
 they would be far better pleased and much more in- 
 structed. To enjoy Europe properly, a certain know- 
 ledge of languages is required ; but almost every one can 
 find enjoyment in our Great West. To some, her vast 
 resources will be most pleasing ; to others, her grand 
 scenery will be a full enjoyment. Travelling is made as 
 comfortable as can be, saving only a few inconveniences 
 on the longer roads ; and many of these will be remedied 
 during the year.
 
 CALIFORNIAN HOSPITALITY 183 
 
 These words were written especially tor American 
 readers, but they contain good advice to my English 
 friends. In visiting the United States they are all the 
 time among English speaking people, and under the pro- 
 tection of a Government allied to their own by every tie 
 of sympathy and International policy. The passage of 
 the Atlantic is now made quite a pleasure-trip, and when 
 they journey in the States, from what I have said they 
 must be assured of comfort and as interesting scenery as 
 can be found on the European Continent, and on a 
 scale incomparably grander and more magnificent. 
 
 Californian Hospitality. — Sunday morning, June 23, 
 came in with a warm and genial atmosphere, entirely free 
 of fog. Such a day is rather uncommon in San Francisco 
 during the summer months ; and, to find a warm climate, 
 the people are accustomed to go to the valleys, as up 
 through Napa to Calistoga and White Sulphur Springs, 
 or down through the Santa Clara, to the various charming 
 villages and towns, or the palatial homes which are 
 scattered all through San Mateo County. At one of these 
 homes we are to spend the day, and enjoy the hospitality 
 of its genial host. Eight o'clock found us all on board 
 the train, which traverses the Santa Clara Valley, and 
 over a road which they are pushing on as fast as possible 
 to be one link in a Southern line which is to cross the 
 continent. The Central Pacific Company have named 
 this one of their many lines the Southern Pacific. We 
 are to go to a station named Menlo Park, where Mr.
 
 1 84 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Ralston is to meet us. On our trip down I had an 
 opportunity to chat with Mr. James Lick, one of the 
 richest and largest real-estate owners in California, who 
 built the famous Lick House. Mr. Lick early went to 
 Mexico, and during the years 1848-49 wended his way 
 north, and reached San Francisco. He at once began 
 to purchase lands, and year by year found himself grow- 
 ing rich beyond the dreams of the greatest enthusiast 
 of the newly-founded city. He is a widower, of exces- 
 sively plain habits and dress ; lives in his log-cabin on a 
 rancho near the city of San Jose ; carries a dilapidated 
 carpet-bag, and wears a dilapidated hat ; walks instead of 
 rides ; and, when he visits the city, finds his wants 
 supplied in the poorest room, and with the simplest fare, 
 in his great hotel. By trade he is a cabinet-maker ; has 
 a fine mill, where he works a little, but finds his chief 
 enjoyment in cultivating his garden, where he collects 
 trees from all parts of the world, plants them, and cares 
 for them tenderly. In speech he is not fluent, but talks 
 with intelligence ; in carriage he is awkward, and there 
 is nothing to indicate a man of talent. His wealth is 
 counted by millions ; yet he leaves the management of 
 his property mostly to others, and does not seem to be 
 conscious of his vast possessions. He is not what you 
 would call a miser, yet he prefers not to spend any of 
 his money for what most of us deem comforts in this 
 world. He has one son, a farmer in one of the great 
 States east of the Rocky Mountains, who will inherit his 
 vast wealth.
 
 EL CAPITAN— YO-SEMITE VALLEY
 
 SAN MATEO COUNTY 185 
 
 A ride <of about an hour brings us to the station, 
 where Mr. Ralston receives us kindly, and asks us to a 
 seat in his carriage. Our party consisted of Superinten- 
 dent Sickels, his wife and two daughters, Grace Green- 
 wood, Mrs. Mitchell, and myself. Mr. William C. Rals- 
 ton is a man rising forty, of stout build, with a counten- 
 ance and air which tell of the hospitality and cheer which 
 he loves so well to bestow. He is free from all affecta- 
 tion ; and you at once forget the money-king, and see 
 only the genial gentleman. 
 
 The carriage was built upon the English style, with 
 seats lengthwise, a raised seat in front, and with the 
 usual attachments of a brake, which is indispensable for 
 the hills. To it were harnessed four bays of perfect form, 
 and full of spirit. As soon as we were all seated, Mr. 
 Ralston himself took the reins, and at a word the horses 
 started at a lively pace. 
 
 We were in a beautiful country — a great park, by 
 Nature formed and planted. The roads, although dusty, 
 were wide, and as we passed by we could see the houses 
 among the low-branching live oaks, which are the pride 
 of the county. 
 
 It was too late for the flowers; the grain, too, had 
 ripened, and, in most parts had been cut. After a short 
 ride, we were drawn into the grounds of Milton S. La- 
 tham, where no expense had been spared to make the 
 place attractive. We visited the stable, which, for size 
 and splendour of finish, we never saw surpassed. The 
 beautiful woods of California had been used, and these
 
 1 86 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 had been finely polished ; while all the fittings and ap- 
 purtenances were in keeping. It seemed to be just 
 completed ; and, in unpacking the furniture which was to 
 be placed in the servants' quarters above, the men had 
 set the small mirrors in the stalls, one in each; upon 
 which one of the ladies remarked : ' Yes, indeed, this is 
 the finest stable I ever saw ; for don't you see they have 
 furnished each horse with a mirror to make his morning 
 toilet by?' The new mansion house here is not yet 
 completed ; the former one having been, I believe, de- 
 stroyed by fire. 
 
 From here we were driven to the fine estate named 
 ' Valparaiso Park,' owned by F. D. Atherton, Esq. Mr. 
 Atherton met us upon the piazza ; and, having given the 
 ladies over to those of the house, conducted the gentle- 
 men through his fine grounds, where orchards of almond, 
 nectarine, English walnut, apple, cherry, and fig, were 
 growing, having been planted only three years. The 
 cactuses {cactacccc) seemed to delight in this situation ; 
 and one plant had attained the height of fifteen feet, and 
 was stout enough to sustain itself. The finest tree not 
 indigenous to the place was the pepper-tree, near the 
 house, the feathery foliage of which was swayed by the 
 slightest breath of air. The great oaks, with their ex- 
 tended branches, from which hung the moss in graceful 
 tassels, dotted the extensive grounds ; and flowers, mag- 
 nificent in colour, and in a profusion unknown to our New- 
 England gardens, made the air fragrant, and gave to the 
 place exquisite beauty.
 
 A DAY WITH RALSTON 187 
 
 It was too lovely a spot to leave so hurriedly ; but Mr. 
 Ralston summoned us for a ride towards his own man- 
 sion. Our party had now been increased by Mr. and 
 Mrs. Samuel Lawrence of Boston, and Stephen Masset, 
 Esq., well known as ' Jeemes Pipes of Pipesville/ whose 
 pleasant bon mots gave a zest to our other pleasures during 
 the rest of the day. 
 
 A Day with Ralston. — It was a delightful drive 
 which took us towards the village of Belmont — the 
 neaiest railroad point to Ralston's home. Passing over a 
 well-built road, through the town, which is regularly laid 
 out, and where are many pretty cottages, we reach 
 'Glenwood,' our destination. The first object which 
 meets our view is the neat building where gas is pro- 
 duced for lighting the house, out-buildings, and grounds. 
 Mr. Ralston shows us his stables, where twenty-one 
 horses await their masters summons, with grooms suffi- 
 cient to care for them. One thing was noticeable about 
 the stables, which told something of the character of 
 its owner — that, while the utmost neatness prevailed, it 
 was not over-nice, as was the first stable we visited to-day. 
 The inside is kept freshly whitewashed; and the carriages 
 seem arranged for instant use, instead of show. 
 
 At the house, the party was welcomed by Mrs. Ralston, 
 whose gracious manners soon taught us to feel at home, 
 and that the house was made to live in, and all the 
 splendid and costly things surrounding us to be not only 
 looked at, but handled. I should judge that the house 
 was not built at once, upon a matured plan, but was the
 
 1 88 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 outgrowth of required accommodation. A dining-room, 
 drawing-room, and library, surrounded on three sides by 
 a gallery, with windows extending from floor to ceiling, 
 with the kitchen and laundry in the rear, and built directly 
 into the hill, with a beautiful corridor at the top of the 
 main staircase, from which the chambers open, while 
 over the kitchen is a large but as yet unfinished banquet- 
 hall, comprise the main house. It is of wood, painted 
 white, and is placed in a very sheltered position among 
 the foot-hills of the coast-range of mountains, on the side 
 towards the bay. Fine pictures, costly bronzes, and 
 other works of vertu, are scattered about in defiance of 
 all conventional taste ; but their very freedom gives a 
 pleasing and hospitable air to the house. 
 
 At twelve, breakfast was announced ; and, for nearly 
 two hours, the courses of delicately-prepared food were 
 brought in, while conversation and gaiety filled up the 
 intervals. After breakfast particular pains were taken to 
 conduct us to the kitchen, and show us the Chinese 
 cooks, who prepared the food of which we had partaken. 
 Here a chief cook with two assistants presides, while 
 Chinamen do all the general housework. The steward 
 is a coloured man ; the waiters are white men, probably 
 Frenchmen ; and these, together with the help employed 
 out of doors, make some twenty-five. Such an estab- 
 lishment, conducted in an orderly manner, would be a 
 wonder in the East, and with our present service system 
 quite impossible. The same order and conduct on 
 the part of the servants prevail here daily, as I am
 
 A DAY WITH RALSTON 189 
 
 assured by those who have spent several days together 
 at the mansion. I was strongly reminded of an English 
 country house. 
 
 To me the most beautiful development of Eng- 
 lish life and character are the country homes scat- 
 tered over the smiling land where reign so much peace, 
 plenty, and virtue. England has a stronger bulwark 
 of national life and prosperity in these, than in all 
 her navies and all her armies. Would that in America 
 we had more such homes ! Our cities are growing at the 
 expense of the country. Home ties are forgotten in the 
 rush for wealth, and our people are finding themselves 
 with riches but without health and cultivated tastes to 
 enjoy them. I must end this digression, and continue 
 my narrative. 
 
 We were next taken to view the estate. From the 
 eminences we had beautiful views of the surrounding 
 country. Leaving Ralston's at three o'clock, we passed 
 from one fine estate to another, charmed with the beau- 
 tiful gardens and parks around the houses. We also 
 drove through the place where lives Hay ward, the ruler in 
 the stock-board, who, by the recent fall in stocks, found 
 himself raised by millions — almost the only one who 
 profited by that terrible calamity which overtook the 
 ' dwellers in California Street.' 
 
 When the Boston Board of Trade and their friends 
 returned from San Francisco, all we heard of for some 
 time was the praises of their entertainment by Mr. Raiston ; 
 and I must own that they could not war-praise the 
 elegant manner in which the hospitality of Glenwood was
 
 190 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 dispensed. I have described our visit thus minutely, that 
 my readers might gain an idea of the mode in which 
 rich Californians entertain their friends ; for, although 
 Mr. Ralston's receptions are more princely, still there 
 are many others who outdo our Eastern magnates. 
 
 Homeward Bound. — Finally leaving San Francisco 
 on June 23, we are soon under full speed towards 
 Sacramento. Having disposed of our traps, we look 
 around to see if all our friends are here. Superintendent 
 Sickels has Grace Greenwood (Mrs. Lippincott), and 
 Joaquin Miller the poet, as guests for the journey. Our 
 car is the directors' car of the Union Pacific Railroad. 
 It is very large and heavily built, probably weighing 
 more than three ordinary passenger-cars. In one end is 
 a complete kitchen, a range, racks for dishes, an ice-box, 
 a sink, &c. ; next, and separated from the kitchen, are 
 sections, two on each side, like the Pullman, which can 
 be transformed into beds at night ; next — another par- 
 tition dividing, and occupying, say, one-third of the car 
 — is the drawing-room, dining-room, and by night a 
 sleeping-room. An extension-table occupies one corner ; 
 and on either side is a sofa ; and a sideboard upon each 
 side of the door towards the kitchen, above each of which 
 is placed a mirror. Beyond this is another room as large 
 as the kitchen, where is placed the heating apparatus ; 
 and on the side is a rack of six rifles, and drawers for 
 ammunition — probably added as a defence against the 
 Indians, — now only required for game of other sorts.
 
 A HOTEL-CAR 191 
 
 There are small and well-appointed toilet-rooms par- 
 titioned off ; and all the sections are covered with a 
 heavy Brussels carpet. The rear platform is surrounded 
 by a railing, making it a safe place where to sit and 
 observe the country. At night the car is well lighted ; 
 and the windows are double, to keep out dust as well as 
 the cold. It rests on many springs ; and the trucks have 
 six wheels each, so that ease and comfort are secured. 
 Our stores are ample. Tom Cornish is to act as 
 general manager, while Henry Foure is to preside in the 
 kitchen ; and, as they are well trained in the manage- 
 ment of a hotel-car, no doubt we shall be well cared for. 
 
 We are again in Sacramento, which has arisen from 
 the devastation of floods and fires, and is to-day probably 
 the handsomest city in the State. As all the railroad 
 grandees live here, of course much has been done by 
 them to make this a centre of various railroad lines, and 
 add material wealth by the establishment of the work- 
 shops and car-shops of the Central Company. The 
 streets are wide, the buildings in many instances very 
 fine, the trees and herbage magnificent in their almost 
 tropical luxuriance ; and the energy and business enter- 
 prise of its citizens very notable. The capitol is to be a 
 grand edifice, a pride of the whole State. The city is 
 growing very fast both in population and wealth ; and 
 none of those evidences of overgrowth are seen here, 
 which are so lamentably shown in San Francisco. 
 
 Along our journey over the Central we found no new 
 interest, save to notice how successfully the trees and
 
 192 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 plants had been grown in the lands just about the 
 stations in the great desert, which had been subjected to 
 irrigation. Facts and experience are fast proving that 
 the lands which a few years ago were thought entirely 
 incapable of cultivation can be made to grow many of 
 the usual vegetable products of the West. There were 
 some apple-trees which were growing very finely indeed 
 at Battle- Mountain Station, in soil which had heretofore 
 been pronounced entirely incapable of sustaining plant 
 or tree. 
 
 We found good company in a ' Pullman ' with our train. 
 The second night on the road we arranged a little 
 entertainment in our car, and invited the ladies and 
 gentlemen from the other cars into our improvised 
 music-hall. The exercises consisted principally of reci- 
 tations, with delineations of the characters by Grace 
 Greenwood ; and the name assures the success of the 
 renderings. The young ladies sang for us. 
 
 The next morning, at Ogden, we make the usual 
 change of cars, and began our journey on the Union 
 Pacific. It requires some time to make up the train for 
 the East, as all the baggage is changed, as well as the 
 mails and express matter. It would seem that the cars 
 ought to be run through ; but I am told that the 
 distance between Omaha and San Francisco is too great 
 to keep a car in continued motion. 
 
 The Story of the Central Pacific. — Having 
 finished our round trip over the Central Pacific ; now
 
 THE CENTRAL PACIFIC 193 
 
 let us tell the story of the building of this road, and say 
 a few words about its management. Those who have 
 told this story heretofore have selected one of the few 
 men who were the promoters of the enterprise, and 
 eulogized him, often to the disparagement of the others ; 
 but I will try to do all justice, and state the part which 
 each took in the great scheme, out of which was evolved 
 the railroad, which, in its passage of the Sierras, stands 
 to-day a triumph of engineering skill. 
 
 Five men, entire strangers to the building of railroads, 
 promulgated, fostered, and carried to a successful issue, 
 this important enterprise. Stanford was the governor of 
 the State, but before that was a wholesale grocer ; the 
 two Crockers were dealers in dry goods ; and Hunt- 
 ington and Hopkins were hardware merchants. They all 
 lived in Sacramento, then a small inland town, which had 
 a precarious existence between fire and flood. In that 
 city, at No. 54 K Street, may be seen to-day the sign 
 ' Huntington and Hopkins.' It is a store for the sale 
 of hardware, and the business is still pursued in about 
 the same style as in the early days of the enterprise. 
 It was in a back room of this store, where the gentlemen 
 named used to meet to pass away their evenings, that 
 they organized their company. They early perceived the 
 necessity for a road, talked it over night after night, till 
 they became so ' filled with the faith,' that even though 
 they had small means and few friends, they thought 
 they could build the road. They resolved to act ; and 
 they began in earnest, although upon a small scale, to 
 
 o
 
 194 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 develope a plan. The time of which we speak was 
 1856-58 ; and the road only existed in the dreams of 
 these enthusiasts, who, in the far-off future, saw the iron 
 horse snorting over the snow-clad Sierra. Engineers of 
 repute had said that the mountains could not be passed ; 
 and, whenever a Pacific Railroad bill was presented to 
 Congress, these reports were conned over ; and the very 
 idea of a road amid these almost everlasting snows was 
 ridiculed by grave senators. 
 
 Probably what gave the greatest impetus to the enter- 
 prise was the bold assertion of the engineer, Theodore 
 judah, who was engaged to build the Sacramento Valley 
 Road, and who was so earnest in his declarations that a 
 track could be laid across the mountains, that he was 
 called ' Pacific-Railroad Crazy.' He at last so gained 
 the confidence of the people directly about him, that, 
 by much solicitation, he raised a subscription of fifty 
 dollars to enable him to make a survey. This was the 
 real beginning of the work. Having made a partial 
 examination, he became more fully convinced of the 
 correctness of his declaration ; and, by a little more 
 aid, he proceeded with his surveys, until he proclaimed, 
 that, by way of ' Dutch Flat,' he had found a long and 
 easy ascent of the mountains. He called public 
 meetings of citizens of the mining villages along the 
 route ; and gradually the inhabitants became convinced 
 of the practicability of the road, although the scheme 
 seemed so unlikely to succeed, that all the banks and 
 bankers, as well as the moneyed men, kept aloof from it ;
 
 THE CENTRAL PACIFIC 195 
 
 for they had little faith in the ' Dutch Flat Swindle,' 
 as it was called, the five men first mentioned being about 
 the only ones who were ready to give their money and 
 stake their fortunes in the enterprise. 
 
 We can imagine all kinds of difficulties to be met and 
 overcome ; and by no means the least was the ridicule 
 heaped upon the enterprise, especially by the bankers. 
 In the city of San Francisco there was not a dollar raised ; 
 and the great express company (Wells, Fargo, and 
 Company), the steamship lines, and all the various 
 stage lines and river steamship companies, vied with 
 each other in their opposition to building a railroad. 
 The laws of the State of California, under which any 
 company must act, were very illiberal towards corpora- 
 tions and the stockholders; and the people stood aloof from 
 the scheme, leaving a few bold spirits to work out the 
 problem, and reap the rewards which have followed from 
 the completion of the line — large, surely, but only just. 
 
 Another turning-point in the life of the enterprise was 
 when, at a meeting of gentlemen at Governor Stanford's 
 house, in i860, after much and earnest discussion, and 
 all seemed upon the point of flagging, Mr. Huntington 
 rose and said, ' I will be one of eight or ten to carry 
 out this scheme.' New life was infused ; new purposes 
 were awakened ; and seven bold spirits put their names 
 to a compact to pay all expenses for three years, to 
 complete surveys, estimates, plans, &c. 
 
 Of these seven, Judah, who had been the prophet sent 
 from afar to show the people of California the way over
 
 196 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 their mountains towards the Atlantic, had no money, and 
 soon afterwards died. To Judah must be awarded 
 much praise ; for it was a bold spirit which could, in the 
 face of such ridicule, still proclaim what to him seemed 
 not only possible, but easy of accomplishment. He was 
 a pioneer — a mind which perceived before others ; one 
 who lived outside of the circumstances which surrounded 
 him. He took a grand step forward in railroad engineer- 
 ing, like Brunei in steamships, or Lesseps in canals. 
 Another of the little band became disheartened, and 
 fell by the way ; leaving only the five whom I have men- 
 tioned—Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins, and the two 
 Crockers. 
 
 They organised their company with the first-named 
 as president, the second as vice-president, and the third 
 as secretary and treasurer — positions which they still 
 hold, managing with marked ability the affairs of the 
 company. This was in i860. The passage of the 
 Pacific Railroad Bill by Congress gave this little com- 
 pany an assured life ; and each fell naturally to work in 
 his particular sphere. The usual fortune of railroad 
 enterprises was apparent : they resolved to reap 
 themselves the advantages of their early planning and 
 patient toil. They established their offices at 54 
 K Street, where they are to-day, and began work i?i 
 detail, considering well each step, and surmounting the 
 difficulties as they arose. Stanford— full of genuine 
 good sense, a man of vigour and determination — was at 
 the head, and did valiant service in the State. Hopkins
 
 THE CENTRAL PACIFIC 197 
 
 — the man of figures and calculations, who had made his 
 business successful by calculating every cost — now ap- 
 plied the same careful calculations to this larger scheme ; 
 and Huntington — intrepid, with innate honesty, of good 
 address — went to Washington, New York, and other 
 cities, to negotiate bonds, buy material, and make the 
 people of the East know that the road was to be built, 
 and that they must lend their money to do it. He suc- 
 ceeded ; and, for materials for construction, he exchanged 
 bonds, which were guaranteed by the personal endorse- 
 ments of the promoters of this grand, yet, at that time, 
 hazardous enterprise. All the iron, and a large portion 
 of all the material, had to be brought from the Atlantic 
 cities, round Cape Horn, by a long and tedious voyage ; 
 the prices were fluctuating by the war ; the bonds which 
 the government issued to them fell to a low figure in 
 gold ; and thus circumstances seemed to frown upon this 
 plan for a railroad over the mountains which would serve 
 to supply a new trade which had arisen between Sacra- 
 mento and Nevada, as well as for a link in a grand trans- 
 continental line. 
 
 Several times their money was all used up ; and then 
 individual pluck was shown, and a few men were paid by 
 each ; and so the work was kept on. Each contract was 
 looked to closely, and its terms were scanned ; for 
 these men were daily pledging every dollar they were 
 worth, as well as their honour and reputation. These 
 facts I state thus minutely, that they may be compared 
 with the circumstances attending the building of the
 
 19S THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 other road which forms the Pacific line. Many were the 
 obstacles which they encountered ; and much credit is 
 due to Grey and Montague, the engineers who made the 
 plan and laid the grades, as well as found the way to 
 take huge locomotives over the mountains by ox-teams, 
 and make a road-bed with snow-banks from ten to 
 twenty feet deep around them. Upon the Alkali Plains 
 they were obliged to bring water and fuel many miles, 
 and to find men to do all this work. Chinese were brought 
 over, and, to the number of several thousand, lent their 
 toil to tfrs great undertaking. 
 
 The Central Company, of course, as they made success 
 sure, found many friends ; and, after all the great diffi- 
 culties were passed, many were ready to aid them with 
 money. This company pushed east as far as it could, 
 and, as it approached the westward marching line of 
 the Union, shot by it, on towards the Atlantic ; and 
 here came a warfare to determine where the two roads 
 should meet. Congress had to interfere, and fix upon 
 Union Junction, five miles west of Ogden, as the place of 
 union. At length the year 1869 saw the road completed. 
 
 The Central Company are now the owners of the whole 
 railroad system of California, and are pushing their lines 
 in all directions. The California and Oregon line is 
 being pushed north through the great Sacramento Valley, 
 around Mount Shasta, on towards Portland, there to join 
 the railroad system of Oregon. To the south, through 
 the Santa Clara and San Joaquin Valleys, they have the 
 Southern Pacific, which is to reach Los Angeles, and
 
 THE CENTRAL PACIFIC 199 
 
 thence on to the Colorado River. The California 
 Pacific has pierced the Napa Valley ; and the Sacra- 
 mento Valley Road is pushing east into the mountains. 
 
 In the prosecution of these various enterprises, the 
 Company is spending some half-million of dollars per 
 month ; and the whole machinery of this vast corporation 
 is so nicely adjusted, and works so smoothly, that all 
 these plans are being successfully carried out at once. 
 Montague is still the chief engineer; Grey has charge of 
 the Southern Pacific ; while the same officers who were 
 long ago first elected to their positions retain their places. 
 Mr. Towne, the general superintendent, is a gentleman 
 who admirably fills his place — one of the most responsible 
 and important of the many. 
 
 I was told that the company had in its employ within 
 the State of California over 7,000 men, which seemed 
 at first a large number ; but when we consider how 
 many lines of road are under construction, and how 
 vast is the business of the through line, I am not so sur 
 prised. The road-bed is in good order ; the snow-sheds 
 are all permanent structures ; the rolling-stock is of a fair 
 grade, but not as comfortable as the Union Pacific ; and 
 what was painfully noticeable was, that the conductors 
 were not so obliging and gentlemanly as they should have 
 been. An air of arrogance was shown, which seemed to 
 say, ' that, until a southern road is built, this is the only 
 train for San Francisco, and we graciously allow you to 
 ride in our cars.' Competition will no doubt remedy 
 this, but it is an evil which should sooner be removed ;
 
 200 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 for some day in this country, as it has been in England, 
 it will be decided that railroads are to be worked for the 
 public, and for their benefit and accommodation. Cor- 
 porations and monopolies, cliques and combinations, 
 may, for a time, oppress and hinder the people; but there 
 always comes a day when the public assert — and assert- 
 ing, maintain — their rights. 
 
 The Union Pacific. — As we leave Ogden. we begin 
 our journey upon the Union Pacific Railway, whose 
 history lacks all romance, and is only distinguished in 
 the vastness of the undertaking, the great amount of 
 capital required, and the energy which the managers 
 showed in surmounting obstacles and carrying their road 
 over a mountain range which the Engineers had declared 
 impassible. The road was completed, and trains were 
 running seven years before the law required, and before 
 the best friends of the enterprise had dared to hope. 
 Although the road was a Government necessity, still it 
 never would have been accomplished within the time 
 allowed by the Act (1876), had not individuals given to it 
 their energies and their lives. In riding over the road we 
 were struck with the seemingly unnecessary turns and twists 
 upon some of the plains, where a straight course could 
 have been taken. An engineer who laid many of these 
 grades told me, that, in many places, the line might have 
 been shortened. At least one is forced to the conclusion 
 that the road was built upon the principle that ' one good 
 turn deserves another ; ' for, if there was a necessary
 
 THE UNION PACIFIC 201 
 
 curve, another was made, even if of no seeming use. 
 With the large amount in bonds and lands which the 
 government gave this company, it is not surprising that 
 they should make the road-bed as long as convenience 
 would allow. 
 
 We were struck with the smoothness of the track since 
 the repairs, always made in Spring, had been completed ; 
 and the vast amount of work which had been done since 
 Spring was apparent. The rolling-stock is in good order, 
 and the cars are far more comfortable than those on the 
 Central Road. The depots and station-buildings are 
 commodious ; and, in some instances, they seem to be 
 built upon expectation of what will be required. We, of 
 course, should expect many blunders to have been made, 
 the wrong locations selected for repair-shops and round- 
 houses, sidings not where they should be, &c. ; but, upon 
 the whole, we are surprised and amazed that the work 
 could have been done so nearly right for the requirements 
 of the road. 
 
 The snow blockade in the winter of 187 1 caused serious 
 trouble ; but the almost incredible exertions of Superinten- 
 dent Sickels and his assistants saved the lives of those in 
 the trains, and supplied the passengers, so that they suffered 
 only delay. The winter was exceptional ; and, if there 
 had been only snow on the track, they could have cleared 
 it away ; but the snow and sleet together formed a mass 
 which was nearly as solid as ice, weighing, in many places, 
 thirty-six pounds to the cubic foot — a mass against which 
 the powerful engines contended in vain. This year they
 
 202 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 were fully prepared to contend with the snows ; and, 
 although they have been very deep and badly drifted, no 
 delay or serious trouble has been occasioned ; and it is 
 probable that a blockade for any considerable time will 
 not again occur. 
 
 We were very agreeably surprised at the uniform 
 courtesy and kindness of the conductors and their men ; 
 and, from lady-passengers especially, I heard remarks of 
 admiration of the gentlemen who passed through the trains, 
 as well to see that all were comfortable as to collect 
 ticket?. 
 
 Now that I have spoken of the good points, let me 
 note some of the failings. In the first place, some 
 arrangement must be made to check the baggage through 
 from Chicago to San Francisco. We Americans demand 
 that the companies look out for our baggage. In Eng- 
 land your baggage is never checked ; such a thing is un- 
 known. There you place your portmanteau in a car 
 which they call the luggage-van ; and, when you arrive 
 at your destination, it is thrown out, and you must ' go 
 for it,' or some one else will. 
 
 Next, the inconvenience of dealing with that Transfer 
 Company at Omaha must be remedied. The passage 
 of that treacherous stream, the Missouri, caused more 
 hard words to be spoken than can be erased from the big 
 book for many a day. 
 
 Some of the proprietors of the eating-stations 
 ought to be promoted to higher callings, for they are 
 evidently above hotel-keeping. The best table was
 
 THE TRANSCONTINENTAL ROUTES 203 
 
 found at Evanston, and it was kept by a coloured man ; 
 and the next were at Laramie City and Sidney. 
 
 The Union Pacific Company own 149 powerful loco- 
 motives, 40 passenger-cars, and some 2,000 freight-cars, 
 the number of which is being increased as business 
 demands. In every passenger-train which is made up to 
 run through, there are from two to four ' Pullmans,' 
 which relieve the company from owning a large number 
 of passenger-cars. 
 
 Daily new discoveries of resources are made along 
 the line : coal and iron exist in great abundance, and 
 useful minerals in large quantities. The great variety 
 and extent of these discoveries excite the wonder even 
 of those who have often passed over the road. 
 
 I will add, by way of recalling the history of this 
 ' grand thought ' of laying a track across the continent, a 
 list of the different surveys which were made for a route, 
 but none of which were followed as the exact line. These 
 surveys furnished the groundwork of all the plans, and 
 were the means through which we became acquainted 
 with our ' western country.' 
 
 Transcontinental Routes. — The Preliminary Surveys. — 
 Mr. Asa Whitney was the first man to call public at- 
 tention to a railroad to connect the Mississippi with the 
 Pacific Ocean. Between the years 1846-50 he ad- 
 dressed meetings of citizens, sent memorials to State 
 legislatures, and petitioned Congress. The first plan 
 was to begin at Prairie du Chien on the great river, cross
 
 204 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 the Rocky Mountains by South Pass, and reach the 
 ocean at Vancouver's Sound. The first incentive for 
 the road was, of course, to furnish the government with 
 transportation ; next to make a highway for Asiatic 
 commerce. The rapid settlement of California furnished 
 another strong argument in 1850 and succeeding years. 
 Benton of Missouri was a zealous advocate of the 
 scheme, both in the senate and before the people. After 
 much labour and many defeats, the friends of a railroad 
 obtained, in March 1853, an appropriation of $150,000 
 to defray the expenses of surveys ; and accordingly six 
 companies were formed, and began the work. As from 
 these exploring parties all the information was obtained 
 upon which all future plans were matured, it is well to 
 recall the routes taken by each, and note the results 
 attained. In the thirteen quarto volumes published by 
 Congress all the reports are found, and elaborate illustra- 
 tions of scenery, flora, and animals. 
 
 The first expedition was led by Governor Isaac I. 
 Stevens, formerly of the army, on the line of the forty- 
 seventh and thirty-ninth parallels of north latitude. It 
 consisted of four separate parties. One, under Governor 
 Steven's personal supervision, penetrated from St. Paul 
 westward towards the mouth of White Earth River, thence 
 by the prairies lying along the Missouri River, to the Rocky 
 Mountains, and among the passes of that region. 
 Another, under Capt. McClellan, U.S.A., began at Fort 
 Vancouver on the Columbia, explored to the north-east- 
 ward, examining the passes of the Cascade Range, and
 
 THE TRANSCONTINENTAL ROUTES 205 
 
 then eastward to join Governor Stevens. Another party, 
 under Lieut. Donalson, U.S.A., examined the Missouri 
 from its mouth to the Yellowstone, where a junction was 
 made with that under Governor Stephens. The fourth 
 party, under Lieut. Saxton, U.S.A., conducted a recon- 
 naissance from Fort Walla-Walla to the Bitter Root 
 Valley. The second expedition was on the line of the 
 thirty-eighth and thirty ninth parallels, and was com- 
 manded by Capt. Gunnison, U.S.A. It started from 
 Westport, Mo., and followed the valleys of the Kansas 
 and Arkansas Rivers to the Rocky Mountains. After 
 carefully exploring the savage region between the Sangre 
 del Cristo Pass and Sevier Lake, a portion of the party, 
 including Capt. Gunnison, was massacred by Indians. 
 The command devolved upon Lieut. Beckwith, who 
 proceeded to Salt Lake City, where he received in- 
 structions to extend the exploration westward upon the 
 line of the forty-first parallel. This he did in the fol- 
 lowing spring, crossing the Sierra Nevadas near Fort 
 Reading, and thence following the valley of the Sacra- 
 mento to San Francisco. The third expedition, com- 
 manded by Capt. Whipple, U.S.A., was on the line of 
 the thirty- fifth parallel. It started from Fort Smith, 
 and took the route by the valley of the Canadian River 
 and Auton Chico to Albuquerque ; thence it proceeded 
 westward by Zuni, the valley of the Colorado Chiquito, 
 the valley of Bill William's Fork, the valley of the Mo- 
 have and the Cajon Pass, to San Pedro on the Pacific. 
 The fourth expedition, under Lieut. Williamson, U.S.A.,
 
 206 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 was fitted out at San Francisco, and passing up the San 
 Joaquin and Tulare Valley, explored the region about 
 Walker's, the Tejon and other passes, and portions of 
 the Mohave and Colorado Rivers. The fifth expedition 
 was over the western half of the line of the thirty-second 
 parallel, and was commanded by Lieut. Parke, U.S.A., 
 who was detached from Lieut. Williamson's party 
 for the purpose. It proceeded by way of Warner's 
 rancho to Fort Yuma, and up the Gila to the Pimo and 
 Maricopa villages, thence by way of Tuscon and Dona 
 Anato El Paso. The sixth expedition was on the eastern 
 half of the line of the thirty-second parallel, and was 
 commanded by Capt. Pope, U.S.A. It started from 
 El Paso, and proceeded in almost a straight line east- 
 ward to Preston, on Red River, passing through Gauda- 
 loupe Mountains, crossing the Pecos at the mouth of 
 Delaware Creek, and traversing the Llano Estacado for 
 a distance of 125 miles. 
 
 These explorations fully demonstrated the practicability 
 of a road, save over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Addi- 
 tional appropriations were urged, and in 1854 $190,000 
 were voted. Other parties were organized ; and two of 
 them more fully explored the Sierra and Coast ranges, 
 while the third examined the means of obtaining water 
 for railroad purposes. 
 
 However unsatisfactory these various reports were in 
 details, they furnished the groundwork upon which to 
 build the plans which were to be matured, and afterwards 
 carried to a successful completion — the union of the
 
 AGRICULTURAL LANDS OF CALIFORNIA 207 
 
 Atlantic and the Pacific by a band of iron, over which 
 the locomotive should whirl, carrying along its precious 
 freights. 
 
 California for Settlers. — The Agricultural Lands. 
 — I append the following extracts from Mr. Nordhoffs 
 book, which gives the best general view of the country 
 which I have ever met with. 
 
 The greater part of the farming lands of California lies in 
 the two large valleys of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, 
 including the Tulare. The Sacramento Valley is forty miles 
 wide, bounded on the West by the Coast Range, and on the 
 East by the Sierra Nevada. It is an immense fertile plain, con- 
 taining about 5,000,000 of acres, becoming mountainous in 
 its Northern part, but having avast area of fertile land, much 
 of which never needs irrigation, and produces fine crops in 
 the driest years. In the spring of 1 871, when a drought pre- 
 vailed all over California, I saw a field of oats of 1,000 acres 
 at Chico on the California and Oregon Railroad, so high 
 that I could and did tie the oats over my head. 
 
 Northern California — namely, the Sacramento Valley and 
 the counties which lie on the same parallel with it — has a 
 climate mild compared with that of our Eastern States ; but 
 it has frosts and some light snows, and the semi-tropical 
 fruits do not flourish there, except in certain favoured locali- 
 ties. Southern California, which includes the San Joaquin 
 Valley and its extensions, the Tulare and Kern Valleys, as 
 well as the sea-coast counties parallel with these, is the real 
 garden of the State. 
 
 At Stockton begins the San Joaquin Valley, which has an 
 area of about 7,000,000 of acres. This stretches from Stock- 
 ton to the Tejon Pass, a length North and South of 300 
 miles. It has, without including the foot-hills, an average
 
 2CS THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 width of 40 miles, or, with the foot-hills, which contain ex- 
 cellent land, 50 miles. With the foot-hills on each side and 
 the smaller mountain valleys, this region has over 18,000,000 
 of acres of land, of which not less than 10,000,000 are sus- 
 ceptible of highly profitable cultivation. The plains alone 
 contain nearly 7,000,000 acres of land, of which less than 
 700,000 were cultivated last year. 
 
 . . . The San Joaquin, Tulare and Kern Valleys, in- 
 cluded in the general term of San Joaquin, form the ' new 
 country' of the State. Its soil is the richest, its plains are 
 the broadest, its climate is semi-tropical ; and in it already 
 the orange, cotton, ramie, the sugar-beet, as well as corn 
 and wheat, and the other cereals, have been grown. 
 
 What is needed in Southern California especially is a 
 system of irrigation, and already capitalists are making 
 investments in ditches and canals, from which they will 
 receive a profit, as well as the farmer who takes the 
 water from them upon his lands. 
 
 The merits of California for any other purpose than 
 mining, even its own people have been slow to discover. 
 As placer-mining has slowly given out, the people appa- 
 rently believed that the State was again to be abandoned 
 to wild cattle and horses. Now they are slowly being 
 convinced that agriculture will pay. Plains, which were 
 treeless and almost bare of any vegetation, have been made 
 to yield fifty to eighty bushels of wheat, and the same 
 persons are now as amazed at the agricultural wealth of 
 California as they were at her richness in gold and silver. 
 The State can to-day be said to be a country where 
 mining has been exhausted and agriculture has not 
 become general. The true wealth of California is in her
 
 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 209 
 
 productive soil. She only wants people to come within 
 her borders and win the prizes from her soil, as golden 
 as those which her mines formerly gave. 
 
 Southern California. — This designation is rather inde- 
 finite, but it seems to include all that part of the State 
 which lies to the south of Stockton, but for the purposes 
 of this paragraph I refer more particularly to the country 
 south of Visalia. Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa 
 Barbara, and San Bernardino, are the principal cities, and 
 their names indicate their Spanish origin and character. 
 This part of the State is especially interesting to the in- 
 valid, but is also attracting the actual settler, as the 
 processes of farming, especially irrigation, and growing 
 of tropical fruits as well as the vine, are becoming 
 better understood. San Diego is the most promising 
 city, more especially since it has been made the termi- 
 nus of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Its climate is 
 the mildest and the sunniest in winter of any of the 
 coast towns. The scenery for thirty miles around has 
 some attractions, but is very monotonous. The streets 
 are bare of trees, although broad ; the shops are well 
 supplied with merchandise, and the hotel and private 
 boarding-houses are uncommonly good. The society is 
 high-toned, and as a residence for the months of 
 December and January cannot be surpassed, hardly 
 equalled, on either continent. It is reached by 
 steamer from San Francisco. San Bernardino is situated 
 seventy miles from the sea, is highly esteemed as a 
 
 p
 
 2io THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 residence by many who have tried the place, but unfor- 
 tunately is without ample accommodation for visitors. It 
 lies in a great plain, surrounded on three sides by 
 mountains. It is reached by stage or carriage in sixty 
 miles from Los Angeles. By an examination of a map 
 of California it will be seen that the coast line at Point 
 Conception makes a sharp turn to the east, and Santa 
 Barbara lies beyond this trend of the coast, facing 
 directly south, and completely protected from all the cold 
 sea breezes. The position can only be described by the 
 word ' charming,' and all tourists ought to visit the old 
 town. The climate is amazingly equable and mild. Los 
 Angeles is the largest of the Southern cities ; it lies 
 twenty-three miles from San Pedro, which is its sea-port, 
 and with which it is connected by a railroad. The city 
 will soon be connected with San Francisco by rail, but 
 at present it is reached by steamer. The old Spanish 
 town lies at one end of the city around the old Mission 
 church, founded in 1781 ; then the business streets, and 
 beyond these the new section occupied by the Americans. 
 It is noted for its fair climate, sweet oranges, and excellent 
 wine. A week spent in the city will be enjoyed to the 
 full. 
 
 I make the following extracts from the diary of Bishop 
 Kip, of his visit to San Diego in February 1873, as pub- 
 lished in the 'Spirit of Missions,' a magazine of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States for 
 May last. 
 
 . . . We sailed in the steamer Mohongo. The bar was 
 rough as we went out of the Golden Gate, and most of the
 
 SAJV DIEGO 2ii 
 
 passengers disappeared. But at noon the next day the sea 
 was perfectly smooth, the rolling of our steamer had ceased, 
 and the weather continued calm and beautiful till we reached 
 San Diego. Most of our passengers are going to San 
 Diego. Of those in the cabin thirty-two are to land here, 
 and only fourteen go on to Panama. The beauty of the 
 climate is becoming known, and the place is a resort for 
 invalids. Of these we had a number on board, whose fearful 
 coughing suggested a doubt whether they had not waited too 
 long for this change of climate. We reached the wharf on Sun- 
 day morning at seven o'clock, where we were met by the Rev. 
 Mr. Chetwood and Mr. Evans, a kind friend, whose guests 
 we were to be at the hotel where he resided. This place has 
 one great advantage in the Horton House, admirably adapted 
 to the wants of invalids. With its broad airy halls and 
 sunny rooms, it furnishes exactly what they need, and might 
 adopt for its name one of the queer titles which the Chinese 
 in their own country, bestow upon some of their hotels — the 
 ' Hotel of Accomplished Wishes.' 
 
 This is every year becoming a more important point. 
 The number of those who resort here for health or to escape 
 the Eastern winter will be each year increasing. They come 
 from every State on the Atlantic coast and in the West. 
 
 Monday. — The climate is perfectly delightful, reminding 
 me of that at Sorrento, in the neighbourhood of Naples. We 
 are sitting to-day with our windows open. 
 
 . . . It was at Old San Diego, four miles distant, that I 
 performed my first service in this diocese, in January 1854. 
 Our steamer had been wrecked opposite this port, and after 
 going on shore in a tornado, and crashing there for a whole 
 night, during which we expected her to go to pieces every 
 time she struck, as soon as the boats could live in the 
 breakers we were landed. I went up to the old Spanish 
 
 p 2
 
 212 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 town of San Diego, where for a week my family were the 
 guests of Don Juan Bandini. The following Sunday a room 
 was procured, and I held service. Three years ago I held 
 service there again, when Rev. Mr. Wilbur was Missionary, 
 and a Sunday-school was organised by him, the Superinten- 
 dent of which came every Sunday from New Town. But 
 the American population was so small that they found there 
 was too little material to keep it up. 
 
 Tiiesday. — We drove over to Old San Diego. It is within 
 sixteen miles of the Mexican line, most of the houses being 
 adobe — sun-dried brick — one story high, and built, as all 
 Spanish towns here are, about a plaza or square. This 
 answers, on Sunday afternoons, for the place in which to 
 hold the bull-fights, which are still kept up. The American 
 population, always small, has been diminished since New 
 Town was founded, until scarcely any are left. 
 
 We drove on, seven miles, to the old Franciscan Mission, 
 founded just a century ago. It is a beautiful drive up the 
 valley, until at its end we find the Mission buildings on a 
 rising ground. Like all places selected by the old Padres, it 
 is remarkable for the beauty of its situation. There is a 
 wide view for miles down the whole length of the valley, 
 while directly in front the grove of old olive-trees planted by 
 the Fathers, by their silvery whiteness of foliage, contrast 
 beautifully with the green of the palm-trees dispersed among 
 them, which give so tropical an air to the scene. 
 
 The buildings, with adobe walls 4 or 5 feet thick, present 
 a front of about 250 feet, at the end of which is the church. 
 When I first visited the place, in 1854, the buildings were 
 entirely uninjured. The church, particularly, seemed just as 
 it was left by the Padres. The pulpit was standing, and it 
 might at once have been used for service. Afterwards, 
 Government took it as a military station, and of course 
 everything was altered by the troops. Now that it has been 
 again abandoned, it is almost in ruins. The stately old
 
 WINE- GR WING 2 1 3 
 
 church has had a floor built through it, making it two stories, 
 until you can hardly trace its original form. The uncovered 
 adobe walls melt away by degrees in every rainy season, 
 and, in a few years more little will be left but a pile of 
 ruins. This was the first Mission established by the Fran- 
 ciscans in California. . . . 
 
 Every time I visit Southern California, I am impressed 
 more deeply with the idea of its future importance. In a 
 few years, when the Southern Pacific Railroad, through 
 Texas to San Diego, is finished, there will be a perfect rush of 
 people from the South-western States. The advantages of 
 soil and climate will be every year more fully recognised. 
 
 Already 
 
 We hear the tread of pioneers — 
 
 Of nations yet to be — 
 The first low wash of waves where soon 
 Shall roll a human sea. 
 
 The part of California which I have thus described 
 contains the only tropical climate of which the United 
 States can boast, and it is a tropical climate without the 
 usual penalties attached thereto. Persons seeking 
 such conditions will find Southern California the most 
 favoured spot upon this earth, for here the English race 
 find a congenial home, surrounded by all the wealth of 
 the tropics, and where they enjoy the robust health of 
 the North. 
 
 Wine-growing. — It is often said that in a few years 
 California will produce wine and brandy for the world. 
 The area on which the vine can be grown is very large — 
 thirty-five out of the forty-four counties having success- 
 fully produced wine. The larger part of the wine is,
 
 ?I4 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 however, produced in Sonoma, Napa, Los Angeles, El 
 Dorado, Yuba, Solana, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Tulare, 
 and Sacramento counties. With the perfect climate of 
 California which ensures the ripening of good crops 
 every year, it is not surprising that even within a few 
 years a great business should have been established. Its 
 magnitude is not conceived by those who have not been 
 in the State, and journeyed through the counties men- 
 tioned. 
 
 On a pleasant June afternoon a number of gentlemen, 
 who had taken up their homes in San Francisco as music- 
 teachers, started upon an excursion to the cliffs around 
 the Golden Gate. As they walked on, they picked by 
 the roadside some fully-ripened grapes, which they took 
 along with them to add to the completeness of their 
 luncheon. Afterwards one of the party, as they sat upon 
 the cliff partaking of the grapes, called the attention of 
 the others to the similarity in appearance of the Mission 
 grapes which they were eating, to some of the varieties 
 which grew in Germany, and from which they themselves 
 had assisted in making wine. This little circumstance 
 turned Kuhler and Flohling from musicians into wine- 
 makers. They began their experiments with the Mission 
 grape, and in 1854 they had a few barrels of wine. As 
 an evidence of the rapid increase of this enterprise, we 
 find the great house of Kuhler and Flohling now occupying 
 extensive premises, and sending out hock, claret, sherry, 
 muscatel, and port wines and brandy, of such qualities as 
 have made them well known in the trade.
 
 WINE-GROWING 215 
 
 How the Mission grape was introduced in California 
 has been a subject of much discussion ; but it seems to 
 have come from Spain, among the raisins brought by the 
 old Padres, and to have taken kindly to the soil, and 
 either by propagation from cuttings, or by natural seed- 
 ing, to have spread itself over the central part of the 
 State. Other than a reasonable theory, nothing can be 
 said with exactness about the Mission grape and its in- 
 troduction. 
 
 Colonel Agoston Haraszthy early took a great interest 
 in the introduction of foreign varieties of the vine into 
 California ; and having proved beyond a doubt that the 
 barren hills of Sonoma would grow the grape, the State 
 of California commissioned him to go to Europe, make 
 examination of the vineyards there, collect cuttings and 
 seedlings of the best varieties, and report the results. 
 During the years 1856 and 1857 he introduced nearly 
 300 distinct varieties into California. As was expected, 
 not all of these proved successes, although I was told 
 that so far not a variety had been found which would not 
 flourish in Sonoma Valley ; but as to fruiting, there was 
 great difference. 
 
 Spreading over the State we have now a large number 
 of acres given up to the vine, but only a very small per- 
 centage of the land adapted for their growth has as yet 
 been planted. The elder Haraszthy did not live to see 
 the enterprise, to which he had given his fostering care 
 and the best days of his life, become an established 
 business ; but his sons are reaping the reward of their
 
 216 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 father's zeal and knowledge. One son is a member 
 of the house of Landsberger & Co., who are carrying 
 on the most extensive business in the production of 
 champagne and sparkling wines. By the politeness of 
 Mr. Haraszthy we were shown the various processes, and 
 were amazed to see such vast quantities of wane stored 
 away for future use. The demand upon this house far 
 exceeds their capacity to supply, and but little of their 
 wine finds its way east of St. Louis. 
 
 At first it was thought that wine-growing would be 
 overdone, and, as a business, would not be remunera- 
 tive ; but, year by year, it is proven that the demand in- 
 creases much faster than the supply. True, there are 
 many things to be learned — the hitherto wasteful mode of 
 obtaining the juice, the care of the receptacles, and even 
 much in the treatment of the vines, must be reformed. 
 The wine product of 7,000,000 of gallons for 1872 will 
 be increased within a few years to double that quantity, 
 by the fruiting of vineyards already planted. 
 
 Land suitable for grape culture can be purchased at 
 from 1/. to 5/. per acre, according to location and state 
 of the land. The number of acres usually taken up are 
 twenty-five to thirty-five, unless the vineyardist desires 
 to have steady help ; then he can increase his number of 
 acres according to his capital. 
 
 At the end of the third year, the vineyard will have 
 cost for ploughing, planting, the cost of the vines, fencing 
 and cultivation, 10/. per acre. This year, a small return 
 from the vines may be expected, say 2/. per acre. After
 
 WINE- GR WING 2 1 7 
 
 this, each year the vines will pay an increased profit. A 
 very bad feature, as it seems to me, and one to be re- 
 medied as soon as possible, is, that each vineyardist is 
 expected to make his own wine ; and to do this he must 
 have a cellar and all the appurtenances, which, for a thirty- 
 acre vineyard, will cost at least 600/. I learn from trust- 
 worthy sources that some capitalists are about to erect 
 cellars at convenient points, where they will receive the 
 wine on storage, in casks furnished by the company. But 
 when the business becomes systematised, no doubt the 
 grape-grower will be able to sell his fruit direct to large 
 wine-makers, and thus save himself the outlay for a cellar, 
 &c. &c. I was informed that a fair estimate of profit on 
 the investment in a vineyard, in a good location in Cali- 
 fornia, would be, at the end of five years, 12/. per acre, 
 from which must be deducted interest upon the money 
 invested. 
 
 The Chinese do the work in the vineyards. Without 
 them wine-growing could not be carried on. 
 
 The raising of grapes, and making them into raisins, 
 will no doubt increase from its infancy to-day, into an as- 
 sured success, and add another to the many sources of 
 wealth in California. It is not, then, too visionary to assert 
 that within a decade this State will grow the wine for the 
 whole world. 
 
 Gene?-al Views. — On every side in California are evi- 
 dences of hopes blasted, and many, very many, of those 
 who seek the West would do better in the East ; but, on
 
 21 8 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 the other hand, in every city and town, and all through 
 the fertile valleys, were men who had braved the hard- 
 ships of a new settlement, and were at ease in handsome 
 properties. Of all the vast throng who early pushed 
 across the plains, only those of the greatest physical 
 strength succeeded in reaching their destination. Along 
 the whole way are seen the graves of those who fell in 
 their struggles to reach the land of gold. The cities and 
 larger towns of California are overcrowded ; the mining- 
 camps are filled to repletion ; and those who depend 
 upon mining have a precarious living; for Chinamen, 
 who can fare luxuriantly on ten cents a day, have come 
 in to reduce wages, and even to dig over again the earth 
 from which the American has extracted the gold as 
 cleanly as he could afford to do. The agricultural 
 lands are still open, and Mother-earth, year by year, 
 yields her abundant harvests ; but ranching is so different 
 from Eastern farming, that it is only through many 
 failures that the agriculturist has learned how to win her 
 favours. The vineyard offers more inducements, and 
 lands seemingly unfit for planting have been found well 
 adapted for growing grapes. The wine interest has now 
 become a very important industry. In this department 
 it has only been after many years of trials and failures 
 that success has been achieved, and Chinamen have 
 come in to do all the work in the vineyard ; indeed, 
 they can fairly be said to have saved the wine-growing 
 interests from irretrievable ruin. 
 
 I would not draw a picture which would induce anyone
 
 COLORADO 219 
 
 to expect that anywhere in California he could command 
 success by the asking. If he goes to the shores of the 
 Pacific, he must work ; and working will anywhere bring 
 its rewards. To the man of leisure, made independent 
 by invested property, no portion of this earth has more 
 attractions than California, wonderful in her scenery, un- 
 paralleled in her trees and plants, pleasing in her varied 
 climates, and with a people noble in their hospitality. The 
 great ease and comfort with which the journey is made 
 over the Union and Central Pacific Roads warrants us 
 in advising all, even those in delicate health, to make 
 a visit to the Golden State. If there was nothing of 
 interest at the end of their journey, they would be fully 
 repaid by the pleasure and instruction gained by a ride 
 over these two railroads, across vast prairies, over a great 
 desert, and along the 'gold diggings.' Beyond these 
 roads, you have the Yo-Semite, with the sublimest sce- 
 nery which man has yet beheld — of waterfalls higher and 
 grander than all others, a valley unique in ail its sur- 
 roundings, and in its huge granite hills, rugged and iso- 
 lated ; all furnishing a series of pictures which should be 
 seen by everyone who can spare the time and has the 
 means. 
 
 Colorado. — The way into Colorado from the Union 
 Pacific is through Cheyenne by the Denver Pacific Rail- 
 way. The length of this road is 106 miles, and the 
 first steps towards the building of it were taken in
 
 220 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 1867. The capitalists of Denver, and, in fact, the whole 
 Territory of Colorado, gave to this important enterprise 
 their hearty support ; and so liberally did they subscribe 
 for the stock, that, with the aid of Eastern capital and in- 
 fluence, on December 16, 1869, 58 miles from Cheyenne 
 to Evans were opened ; and on June 22, 1870, the first 
 passenger-train went over the whole length of the road. 
 
 It was a pleasant June afternoon that we coupled our 
 car to the train on this road, and started for Denver. 
 As Cheyenne is in the extreme south of Wyoming, and 
 our course lies almost due south, we are not long in 
 running out of that Territory and into Colorado. Soon 
 after leaving Wyoming, the Rocky Mountains come into 
 view, stretching away to the west and south as far as the 
 eye can reach. Long's Peak, a majestic mountain, rises 
 prominently before us, with snow-clad summit. 
 
 Colorado is bounded on the north by the Territory of 
 Wyoming and the State of Nebraska ; on the east, the 
 State of Kansas ; on the south, New Mexico ; and on 
 the west, by the Territory of Utah. In shape, it is nearly 
 square, embracing an area of 105,708 square miles, or 
 67,653,120 acres. 
 
 Colonies. — A ride of 56 miles from Cheyenne brings 
 us to Greeley — a thriving settlement, which, although 
 not yet two years old, gives evidences of substantial 
 growth, and an assured increase. It is the centre of the 
 ' Union Colony,' which purchased lands in the valley of 
 the Cache a la Poudre River, and on the Denver Pacific
 
 GREELEY AND EVANS 221 
 
 Railway, half way between Denver and Cheyenne, in 
 1870. The population is not far from 2,000 ; number of 
 buildings, 500 ; and there are about 50,000 acres of land. 
 Number of acres now under irrigating canals, 30,000 
 (said canals being respectively 12 and 27 miles long) ; 
 number of acres under plough at present, about 5,000 ; 
 water-power canal two miles long and 30 feet wide. 
 The soil is unsurpassed for fertility, and all kinds 
 of crops are grown. There are five churches, two 
 lyceums, one Masonic lodge, one Odd Fellows' lodge, 
 one Good Templars' lodge, four schools, and a large 
 graded school-building of brick, in process of erection. 
 There are about twenty stores and shops, a grist-mill, and 
 other mechanical industries. The trade with the valleys 
 is large, and constantly increasing, while the town and 
 country are rapidly growing. There will, undoubtedly, 
 soon be other railroads centring at this place, bringing it 
 into closer communication with other cities and towns. 
 One peculiar feature is, that there is no liquor sold in 
 Greeley ; and in all the deeds of land given, a covenant 
 is inserted forever forbidding its sale. As a natural 
 consequence, there are no billiard or other saloons along 
 the streets. 
 
 A few miles on, we come to Evans, the central 
 town of the St. Louis Western Colony, planted here 
 March 15, 1861, where the railroad crosses the South 
 Platte River. The character of this place is very dif- 
 ferent from that of Greeley. The thrift and neatness so 
 conspicuous there is wanting here. Liquor is sold at
 
 222 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Evans ; and, if that is the cause, temperance lecturers" 
 would only have to take their hearers over the Denver 
 Pacific Railroad to make them all converts. The colony 
 has 60,000 acres ; and, so far as prosperity goes, it stands 
 well with the other settlements. 
 
 Denver. — But we push on, and just after six o'clock we 
 reach Denver, ' queen city of the plain.' It is the county- 
 seat of Arapahoe County, and the capital of Colorado ; 
 is situated on the Platte River, at a point where Cherry 
 Creek forms a confluence with that stream. It is the 
 most important city West of the Missouri River, East of 
 the mountains, and has already a population of well-nigh 
 20,000. A stroll about the town on the evening of our 
 arrival gave us the impression of a lively place, quiet and 
 orderly, and a June atmosphere that was delightful. Our 
 car has been switched upon a siding, and we shall make 
 it our hotel while we stay in Denver. 
 
 The following details as to the history and situation of 
 Denver may be of interest. In 1858 a few emigrants 
 named the place Auraria, from the fact that gold was 
 found a few miles east— on Cherry Creek. This early 
 settlement comprised what is now called West Denver. 
 As the settlement increased, it was called St. Charles, 
 afterwards Denver. The city government was organised 
 Dec. 19, 1859. In 1863, on April 19, a fire swept 
 through the city, destroying property valued at a 
 quarter of a million. Again, in 1864, on May 19, 
 the city was destroyed, but this time by a flood. The
 
 THE CITY OF DENVER 223 . 
 
 next year the Indians so blockaded the city that 
 the inhabitants were nearly starved ; but it has sur- 
 vived all these early catastrophes, the men who had 
 settled there seeming only the more resolute and deter- 
 mined as the hardships increased. Within the last five 
 years she has taken mighty strides forward, and is a 
 centre cf a great and increasing trade. The streets are 
 broad and well kept ; the private dwellings are neat and 
 comfortable ; and churches and school-houses are scat- 
 tered through the city. There is here a seminary for young 
 ladies, which has a reputation beyond the Territory. 
 
 The city lies on the Platte River, at the junction 
 of Cherry Creek, thirteen miles from the base of the 
 mountains, which offer great protection against the fierce 
 winds. Raised 6,250 feet above the sea, in a delightfully 
 mild climate, it is near the western border of that great 
 plain which, from the Missouri River, stretches westward 
 for 600 miles to the base of the Rocky Mountains. 
 Larimer is the principal street ; and upon it are many 
 fine blocks of stores, built of brick, stone, and iron. 
 There are several hotels in the city which offer pleasant 
 homes to the tourist. 
 
 Standing in the main street of the city, and turning to 
 the west, we have a mountain-view which is unsurpassed 
 on the continent. To the North we have Long's Peak, 
 and the hills stretching away to Cheyenne ; in front of 
 us we have Gray's Peak ; and away to the South we have 
 Pike's Peak, and the hills towards the Arkansas River. 
 The length of this range of mountains is more than 200
 
 224 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 miles ; and when you bear in mind that many of them 
 
 are more than 14,000 feet above the sea, are snow-clad 
 
 the whole year, and that the clouds rest far down their 
 
 sides, you can gain some idea of the grandeur of the 
 
 scene. 
 
 We lingered long, looking at these mountains. They 
 
 were enchanting, as the morning sun in his journey from 
 
 the Atlantic reached their snowy sides, and made them 
 
 sparkle in his beams : they were even more enchanting 
 
 when — 
 
 Came still evening on, and twilight gray 
 Had in her sober livery all things clad. 
 
 The people of Denver, as a class, are intelligent and 
 thrifty ; and there is much wealth accumulated among 
 the citizens. No city of its size is better supplied with 
 newspapers ; and their character is high-toned and cul- 
 tivated, which cannot be said of the papers published in 
 many a Western hamlet. We found the citizens hospit- 
 able and kind, and from many we received especial 
 favours. 
 
 William N. Byers, editor of 'The Rocky Mountain 
 News/ the leading paper of Colorado, took the first 
 printing-press into the Territory during the Pike's Peak 
 excitement. He has now one of the most complete 
 printing-offices in the West. Spending an evening at his 
 hospitable home, we were greatly interested in the de- 
 scriptions which he gave of the Pike's Peak excitement, 
 when so many thousands toiled across the plains to this 
 section in search of that ever-luring but ever-vanishing
 
 THE CITY OF GOLDEN 225 
 
 phantom — a fortune. Such struggles as were then made 
 to find and hold ground which covered the golden treasure 
 seem now almost superhuman. The crowd which gathered 
 was estimated at from 15,000 to 20,000 ; and how few 
 of that company found their fortunes ! The late Horace 
 Greeley visited this scene of excitement early in 1849, 
 and upon a pleasant Sunday addressed the crowd as- 
 sembled, where is now built the city of Black Hawk. 
 There were probably gathered 10,000 people within sight 
 of the spot where he stood. This excitement which had 
 become so intense gradually died away, partly by new 
 ' diggings ' being found in other sections, and partly by 
 the people who had come to dig gold turning to agricul- 
 ture, and scattering themselves through the territory. 
 
 Golden. — Seventeen miles almost due west of Denver 
 lies the pretty town of Golden, nestled among the foot- 
 hills of the main range of the Rocky Mountains. It is 
 the county-seat of Jefferson County, and contains a 
 population of some 2,000 souls. There are two huge 
 mountains of basaltic rock, called North and South 
 Table Mountains, so situated as completely to shelter the 
 thriving hamlet from the winter winds. It is one of the 
 oldest settlements made in the Territory, and lies upon 
 both sides of Clear Creek — a position determined by 
 gulch miners, who for a long time found gold in paying 
 quantities along the banks of the creek. We reached 
 this town over the Colorado Central Road, by its eastern 
 division ; and our hotel has been opened on a high bank 
 
 Q
 
 226 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 east of the town, of which, from the car-windows, we have 
 a fine view. 
 
 The Colorado Central Railroad leaves the Kansas 
 Pacific about a mile from Denver, and runs 16 miles 
 west to Golden and the entrance to the canon, down 
 which rushes Clear Creek ; which canon is found to be 
 the only route by which the great mining section which 
 embraces the cities of Black Hawk, Central, Idaho, and 
 Georgetown, can be reached by rail. The road is already 
 graded several miles up the canon, and the work is 
 pushed on as fast as possible. The Union Pacific has 
 taken this company under its fostering care, and it must 
 become a very important line. Much credit for its success 
 is also due to the officers of the company and the chief 
 engineer, Capt. Edward Berthoud. 
 
 Our walk about the town has given us great pleasure; it 
 is so prettily located, the scenery so fine, the people so 
 hospitable. The place is a good one for the tourist to 
 make his point d'appui, for here carriages and saddle- 
 horses can be had for the various trips into the mountains. 
 There is a good hotel, called the Golden House ; and the 
 way in which the proprietors keep it entitles them to 
 larger and more extended accommodation. 
 
 From Denver to the Mines. — The stages leave Golden 
 every morning, upon the arrival of the train, for the 
 mining- towns. We are now at an elevation of 6,200 feet. 
 When we reach Central, which is the principal point in 
 the mining district of Clear Creek Canon, we shall be
 
 GOLDEN TO CENTRAL CITY 227 
 
 8,300 feet above the sea-level. The distance by carriage- 
 road is 24 miles ; so you can see we are to go up hill 
 by a pretty steep grade. 
 
 On leaving the city we soon entered a narrow defile in 
 the mountain, following a road which lay along the bank 
 of a little brook. The June days had covered the hill- 
 sides with beautiful flowers ; and, as we rode by, many 
 familiar blossoms seen in our own gardens appeared here 
 and there. By a toilsome journey we reached the summit 
 called Gray's Hill, from whence a peculiarly charming view 
 is had, and thence down to the banks of North Clear 
 Creek, up which we wended our way to Black Hawk City. 
 We were much charmed with the mountain meadows, and 
 the majestic growths of timber through which our road lay. 
 There was a kind of romance in the ride : for up Clear 
 Creek Canon they were just completing the laying the track 
 of a narrow-gauge railroad, alongside a roaring stream — 
 an event which was to change the mode of going from 
 the plain up to the mining-camps — now very toilsome and 
 slow. 
 
 It had always been considered impossible to construct a 
 railroad up to the mines ; and in the earlier days of the 
 Territory, the legislature, as is the wont of such august 
 bodies on the last day of the session, used to pass an- 
 nually a bill constituting all the clever spirits of the capital 
 a company to build a railroad up Clear Creek Canon. 
 What they then deemed impossible is to-day an accom- 
 plished fact; and the steam-engine is puffing up the 
 steep grade into the heart of the mountains. To no one 
 
 Q2
 
 228 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 man is this enterprise so much indebted for its success 
 as to Superintendent Sickels of the Union Pacific, who 
 has directed all the vast undertaking. 
 
 Black Hawk is the first reached of the towns which 
 lie closely joined in the canon. Here is the office of the 
 Boston and Colorado Smelting Works, over which Pro- 
 fessor Hill, formerly of Brown University, presides with 
 great ability. These extensive works are more generally 
 known as ' Hill's Smelting Works.' The professor, besides 
 knowing how to make the ore give up its gold, is said to 
 know how to rule a people — hence he is the mayor of the 
 city. We spent an hour with Professor Hill in looking 
 over his works. 
 
 We rode through the city, and presently were told we 
 were in Central. I have no doubt the mayor knows 
 exactly where the line between the two cities is ; but I 
 would wager all the gold in Colorado, if I had it, that 
 even he, in a dark night, could not find it. This settle- 
 ment is known by the names of Black Hawk and Central 
 City. 
 
 To form an idea of the place, you must imagine two 
 huge mountains with almost perpendicular sides ; a 
 rushing mountain stream, the bed of which had been 
 dug over and over, and thrown into irregular heaps ; a 
 narrow street, with a walk on one side wide enough for 
 a single file (if all are going in the same direction), the 
 houses set along either side of this highway, close to- 
 gether, and their doors opening directly into the streets ; 
 little shops and little stores ; little banking-offices and
 
 BLACK HAWK AND CENTRAL 229 
 
 lawyers' signs, with smelting-works and stamp-mills just 
 behind these houses (all now still) ; up the sides of 
 these mountains, houses perched one above the other, 
 with long steps to reach them, where dwell the miners ; 
 and, further up, the little sheds which cover the entrances 
 to the mines, with this canon widening out a little at its 
 upper end, where there are several cross streets lined 
 with buildings, and a huge brick hotel, the ' Teller 
 House,' looking down upon you from the shelf of solid 
 rock upon which - it stands, and which was made by 
 blasting, with no trees or shade — then people the towns 
 with from 5,000 to 7,000 persons, and you have the cities 
 of Central and Black Hawk. It is a peculiar settlement 
 — the love of gold alone keeping people up in this high 
 mountain region — and is by far the largest community in 
 the world dwelling at so high an altitude. 
 
 By walking up the hillsides, you can find places where 
 the ore has been taken out from between walls of solid 
 granite — small seams which have been entirely excavated, 
 and down which you can look, and observe the peculiar 
 formation. The opening would perhaps start as wide 
 as your hand ; then it would widen out to several feet ; 
 then again, narrow, and so on until the vein was entirely 
 lost. This last condition the miners cali ' petering out ; ' 
 when a mine peters out, it is done for. And my notion 
 is, that a great deal of the stock owned in the East must 
 be in petered-out mines ; for I never heard of a dividend 
 having been seen in these parts. 
 
 The mines are very numerous, and many of them ex-
 
 230 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 ceedingly rich. Mining is a very attractive business ; 
 and so long as there is fair probability of working mines 
 to advantage, there will be found plenty of men to en- 
 gage in that industry. Colorado yields now from 5,000,000 
 to 7,000,000 dollars in gold and silver per year ; and the 
 rate of production will in a very few years be increased to 
 25,000,000 or 30,000,000 and grow from that to an in- 
 definite figure. That result only awaits better and more 
 general means of transportation throughout the moun- 
 tain-districts, more abundant labour, and cheaper supplies. 
 Gold and silver are her principal articles of export ; and 
 the amount has been sufficient, from the first settlement 
 of the country, to keep the balance of exchange always in 
 her favour. The better means of transportation are now 
 at hand ; and I was assured by Professor Hill that many 
 mines which now were unworked would pay well when 
 the railroad could be used to transport the ores to some 
 place where fuel could be had cheaply. 
 
 We arranged to return to Golden by way of Idaho 
 Springs, which lie upon the South Fork of Clear Creek. 
 We had to climb up over the ' divide ' separating these 
 streams ; but the grand and magnificent views which we 
 obtained amply compensated our trouble and labour. 
 Several points reached by us were more than 10,000 feet 
 above the sea-level. When we had gained an elevated 
 point, from which we saw those mountains which Bierstadt 
 had painted in his famous picture, entitled ' A Storm in the 
 Rocky Mountains,' we could see the road which led to
 
 IDAHO SPRINGS TO GOLDEN 231 
 
 the ' springs,' just at the foot of the hill, to reach which 
 by carriage we must go a long way back, and, by a cir- 
 cuitous route, get down to that level. 
 
 On our way we came to a spring, and near by a little 
 log-cabin, from which came an old gray-haired man, with 
 whom we at once began a talk. Said he, ' Haven't you 
 heard my name mentioned in these parts ? ' We assured 
 him that we had not been long in the mountains ; he 
 quickly caught at this, and said, ' Ah ! I see. Looking for 
 claims. Now, I tell ye I have got some of the richest leads 
 you ever saw, and I will sell. 'em cheap.' We assured him 
 that we were not in search of mining properties — a fact 
 which seemed to little suit him. Here lives this old man 
 alone, protecting his various claims, and patiently waiting 
 for some one to come and buy his property — a possessory 
 right — for this is all he has to sell. All through these 
 mountains you see many such characters, who are eking 
 out their lives in dreams of wealth. 
 
 Idaho Springs, which we now reached, were known to 
 the early miners, and were a favourite place of resort long 
 after all the gold had been dug from the bed of the creek 
 which flows near. There is still standing the great pine, 
 its branches still offering refreshing shade, under which, 
 for many months, was the great tent, the popular saloon 
 of the section, and over the entrance to which was painted 
 in large letters, ' Saints' Rest' By all means go to 
 Idaho Springs, and at the Beebe House you will find 
 pleasant accommodation. Many Eastern people find 
 their way up into these mountains during the summer.
 
 232 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 A few miles from this point the enterprising community 
 of Georgetown finds a home, sheltered on all sides by 
 high mountain peaks. Here are extensive smelting- 
 works. And a pleasant and profitable excursion is made 
 to the town, over a mountain-road. 
 
 Our ride back lay along the creek for many miles, 
 the bed and banks of which have been dug over 
 and over for the gold. After leaving the creek we 
 struck into the mountain-meadows, and through rich 
 farms and pastures. Fresh and green were the fields, 
 luxuriant the trees, pure and crystal-like the streams. 
 As we enter Golden from this side, we pass by the 
 great coal-deposits, from some of which they are now 
 digging fuel ; also great beds of fire-clay, from which 
 bricks are made, and sent as far away as Utah ; and high 
 ledges of a peculiar limestone, which makes a good 
 building-material. Truly Nature has favoured this spot. 
 It seems that here must be erected the great reduction- 
 works which shall receive the ore from the hills above, 
 and separate the pure gold from foreign substances. 
 
 We were much pleased with a visit to the pioneer paper- 
 mill of the Territory, where various kinds of wrapping- 
 paper are produced, and where have been made exten- 
 sive experiments with the soap-weed ( Yucca angustifolia), 
 which covers the hill-sides. This plant resembles the 
 threaded yucca ( Yucca filamentosa) of our gardens. So 
 far, the manufacture has not proved a success ; although 
 we brought away with us a specimen of fair paper, which 
 was made wholly from this weed.
 
 MINERS' SPEECH 233 
 
 It was arranged that a large party should go up Clear 
 Creek Canon to examine the grading which had been 
 already done for the road-bed. The canon is narrow, 
 and the river is a raging torrent, pouring over a steep 
 and rocky bed. The walls are high, and the rocks often 
 fantastic in appearance. The formation is volcanic, the 
 strata being thrown into confusion. The trees are tall 
 and thrifty, the June flowers magnificent. The road 
 seems taken from the river-bed by walling its waters into 
 a narrower channel. In some places a great amount of 
 heavy blasting has been done ; and to get around the 
 mountains, and up the tortuous canon, the road is, of 
 course, very crooked. The work so far has been a 
 success ; the road-bed has stood the spring freshet, and 
 the iron will be laid at once. Before we left Golden, the 
 iron began to arrive ; and, since our return East, the 
 track has been pushed forward, until now you can take 
 the cars at Golden, and be landed at Central City. By 
 another season Idaho Springs and Georgetown will be 
 accessible by rail. 
 
 During one of our walks about Golden, passing a little 
 church, we inquired the denomination. The answer was, 
 ' Hydraulic Presbyterian.' It was some time before we 
 could make out that it was a Baptist chapel. There 
 are other peculiar expressions current here. You often 
 hear a man say, ' I'll put a caribou head on you,' which is 
 equivalent to saying that you will give a man a beating. 
 ' Plumb ' is a word which is always used to intensify, as
 
 234 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 ' plumb sure,' ' plumb good,' &c. If a man fails in busi- 
 ness, ' he has gone up the flume,' or ' he has petered out.' 
 When they catch a thief, they 'corral' him. When a 
 person dies, ' he passes in his checks.' I was shown the 
 tree to which, in earlier days, they used to hang the 
 offenders ; and my friend said : ' You see that tree yonder? 
 well, I have seen many a rascal pass in his checks there.' 
 If while a man is absent from his land or his mine, 
 another comes in and takes possession, he 'jumps the 
 claim,' as they say. ' You bet,' is on everyone's tongue ; 
 and it seems to take the place, to some extent, of the too 
 common oaths. I might go on, but these specimens may 
 suffice, of the peculiar speech of the people living in these 
 mining-camps. 
 
 There is a narrow-gauge road called ' The Denver and 
 Rio Grande Railway,' which runs south, and is now com- 
 pleted as far as Pueblo on the Arkansas River. 
 
 It opens up a magnificent region of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. Fertile plains and productive valleys are opened 
 by this road, which, before many years, will reach Santa 
 Fe in New Mexico, and thence on to the city of Mexico. 
 
 The project of its construction was first started in the 
 autumn of 1870, and in November of the same year a 
 company was formed. The parties interested went to 
 their work with much vigour. The President of the 
 Company, General W. J. Palmer, had by frequent and 
 extensive surveys of the mountains become thoroughly 
 acquainted with the routes, and comprehended the diffi-
 
 RAILROADS FROM DENVER 235 
 
 culties which must be met and surmounted in the con- 
 struction of a road upon the proposed route. He was 
 led to examine the system of narrow-gauge roads, and, in 
 company with others visited England, and made exami- 
 nation into the working of such roads, as well as the cost 
 of their construction and equipment. Becoming fully 
 convinced of the advantages of this narrow-gauge system 
 for mountain regions, they decided on a three-foot gauge. 
 The next autumn witnessed the completion of 76 miles, 
 and now more than 100 miles are finished, and the work 
 is going on. The wisdom of the decision has been amply 
 proved in the diminished cost of the work and economy 
 in running. It is found that just as the disadvantages 
 for the construction of a broad-gauge road increase, in 
 a like proportion do the advantages of this system become 
 manifest. This line of road crosses a summit or ' divide,' 
 which is exceeded in elevation only by Sherman on the 
 Union Pacific Railroad. 
 
 An excursion from Denver over this road, making 
 stops along at the points of interest, especially Colorado 
 Springs, will amply repay the time required. This road 
 goes by the title of ' Baby Railroad ' in Denver and along 
 the line. From Denver there is also a line east (the 
 Kansas Pacific) to Kansas City, and thence across Mis- 
 souri to St. Louis. This route is a favourite with tourists 
 from St. Louis and the south-east. It passes through a 
 country famed as the home of the buffalo ; and in the 
 spring and early summer large herds are seen from the cars 
 — a sight which compensates for a journey of many miles.
 
 236 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 From what I have thus stated, it will be seen that 
 Denver is an important railroad centre, and before many- 
 years, Golden also will be a city from which will diverge 
 many important lines. 
 
 The climate of Colorado is proverbial for its mildness 
 and remarkable healthfulness. There is no steady and 
 intense cold. Almost every day in winter, in the 
 middle of the day, the most delicate can be out of doors. 
 On many days you may sit by an open window, and look 
 upon the mountains to the West covered in snow far 
 down their sides. 
 
 Parks. — A peculiar feature in the topography of 
 Colorado is its great mountain-locked parks. They are 
 wide basins, or depressions, with surface and soil more 
 or less similar to that of the plains, but entirely sur- 
 rounded by lofty mountains. Their elevation is from 
 7,000 to 8,000 feet above the sea. They are well watered 
 and abundantly timbered, have a delightful climate 
 throughout most of the year, and are exceptionally 
 healthful. All abound in mineral springs and minerals 
 in great variety. Owing to their great altitude, they are 
 adapted to the culture of the hardier agricultural products 
 only. 
 
 Beginning in the south, the first is San Luis Park, 
 drained by the Rio Grande del Norte, which flows south, 
 and then south-east, into the Gulf of Mexico. The San 
 Luis is the lowest and the largest of the parks. It has
 
 THE PARKS OF COLORADO 237 
 
 been settled for many years by Mexicans, and has a 
 population of 8,000 or 10,000 people. 
 
 South Park (Valla Salada of the Spaniards) comes next. 
 It gives rise to the South or main Platte, which flows into 
 the Missouri. The park is crescent-shaped, with the 
 outer curve to the west. It is 20 to 40 miles wide, 
 and 60 or 70 miles long — a vast meadow, which 
 supports thousands upon thousands of cattle. Its rim 
 abounds in gold and silver mines, and rich gold placers 
 are worked in many parts of it. 
 
 Middle Park is the next, equally divided by the 
 fortieth degree of latitude. It is drained to the west by 
 Grand River, and thence, by the Great Colorado, to the 
 Gulf of California. The exit of the Grand is by a canon 
 of sublime depth and awful grandeur. The outline of the 
 park is irregular, but nearly circular; and it is about 50 
 miles in diameter. Projecting spurs of the lofty moun- 
 tains enclosing it shoot far out toward its centre. It 
 is yet unsettled, and the most delightful summer resort 
 imaginable for those who want to go beyond the restraints 
 of civilisation. 
 
 North Park is near the north boundary of the Terri- 
 tory, and gives rise to the North Platte, which flows first 
 towards the north, and then east to the Missouri. It is 
 a little circular basin, 20 or 30 miles in diameter, the 
 most timbered and loftiest of them. It has no settle- 
 ments, and but few visitors ; but its natural attractions 
 are not excelled. 
 
 The parks are separated from one another by narrow
 
 238 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 but lofty ranges of mountains. The entire chain can be 
 easily traversed from north to south, or from south to 
 north, and presents the most varied, romantic, and 
 beautiful scenery. 
 
 Society in Colorado. — It was an agreeable surprise to 
 find a highly cultivated society in these remote communi- 
 ties. The mining-towns have a mixed population — a set 
 of hardy fellows, whose mission seems to be to level the 
 great mountains. They all hold ' claims,' or ' leads,' and 
 to hear them talk, you would think them rich beyond the 
 dreams of Croesus. Indeed, in these communities, I 
 would like to see a resident who did not own a ' claim.' 
 He would indeed be a man uncontaminated with gold. 
 In the larger communities — like Denver, Golden, and a 
 few others — there is an air of New-England cultivation 
 and thrift, rarely found in Western cities. In Denver 
 there is a class of retired miners who have become rich, 
 and sought the capital to enjoy their well-earned repose. 
 They are apt to be somewhat rough in their ways, 
 clumsily striving, however, to adapt themselves to the 
 customs of the civilised life to which they were so long 
 disused. The reply said to have been made by one of 
 them to a Presbyterian minister, who applied for patron- 
 age for a private school which he had opened, was : ' I 
 don't know much about religion anyhow ; but I tell you 
 I'm orthodox to the backbone, and my children must go 
 to an orthodox school. I can't buy your claim to-day. 
 Good morning, sir ! ;
 
 QUARTZ MINING 239 
 
 Quartz Mining in California and Colorado. — In 
 Colorado quartz mining has almost entirely superseded 
 placer and hydraulic mining. In California however, hy- 
 draulic-mining is still carried on upon a gigantic scale in 
 some sections, where vast sums of money have been ex- 
 pended in bringing a supply of water to the claim. Placer- 
 mining was the earliest mode in which the loose gold was 
 removed from the surface-soil by means of the inexpensive 
 rocker, pan, &c. Hydraulic-mining is placer-mining on 
 a gigantic scale ; and, while the first mode is but little 
 practised now, the latter is carried on, in many localities, 
 at a profit. On the road to the Yo-Semite, you will find 
 Chinamen at work with those early inplements, rocker, 
 pan, &c. ; and from the Central Pacific Railroad, at Gold 
 Run, you can see an example of hydraulic-mining in the 
 valley below the road. Quartz-mining is now, however, 
 the general mode of obtaining gold. Many veins or 
 leads where former owners have lost vast sums of money 
 are now, under new and more economical management, 
 paying largely. All through the mountains of California, 
 and in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Montana, &c, are great 
 stamp-mills pounding out the gold from the rock. The 
 rock, in these States— pure quartz, through which is 
 mingled gold and silver — is blasted out, and is run 
 through a crusher, which reduces it to small pieces. 
 Then it goes to the ' stamps.' For these water must be 
 had in abundance, and is generally brought in a flume 
 into the mill, where it empties into the ore-trough, and is 
 conducted out through a race. There is a heavy frame-
 
 240 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 work of timber, and long, upright sticks, to the end of 
 which a heavy iron face is attached ; which sticks are 
 made to work up and down in guides. A shaft — upon 
 which are cam-pulleys, or, generally, merely a bar inserted 
 through the shaft — is made to revolve by means of steam 
 or water power, and, by the cam-motion, raises the 
 stamps ; and, letting go, the stamp falls with force to the 
 bottom of the box. The box extends the whole width of 
 the framework, and into it is shovelled the crushed ore : 
 and the stamps pound away upon the stone and dirt in 
 the water, which is made thick and muddy. On the side 
 of the box towards the race are holes along the whole 
 length, out of which the muddy water flows into a gutter, 
 which carries it to a spout in the middle, from which it 
 runs into the race. There are large copper plates which 
 cover the bottom of the race. Upon them is spread a 
 thin coating of quicksilver, which takes up the gold as 
 the water flows over it. There are several of these plates, 
 which are placed one after the other down the race; and 
 at the end of the last is a blanket, made of wool, and 
 through which the water flows. When it is thought that the 
 quicksilver has absorbed all the gold that it will take, the 
 plate is removed, and the amalgam is scraped off, and a 
 fresh coating of quicksilver is put on. Occasionally the 
 blanket is rinsed out in a tub of water, which is poured 
 back again into the box. The gold is taken from the 
 amalgam by subliming the quicksilver, as before de- 
 scribed. 
 
 There are some stamps where the quicksilver is
 
 QUARTZ MINING 241 
 
 placed in the box in liquid form, and the whole mass of 
 ore, water, and quicksilver, is agitated until an amalgam 
 is formed. By this process water is saved — a deside- 
 ratum in some localities. 
 
 I saw a stamp-mill just like the one above described 
 at Black Hawk, in operation upon ore composed of 
 quartz and gold and silver. But a majority of the Colo- 
 rado ores cannot be worked in this manner at all ; for if 
 the sulphides of iron or copper are present, then a very 
 different process must be resorted to. Here lay the 
 cause of failure of so many mining enterprises in Colo- 
 rado. In California, they say that professors and students 
 have always failed as miners, and that only practical 
 miners have been successful. But here it was a profes- 
 sor, trained in a college laboratory, who found out by 
 patient toil and study just what was required, and 
 brought success out of a seeming ruin. At the Boston 
 and Colorado Smelting Works, at the head of which is 
 Professor Hill, you can see the ores of Colorado success- 
 fully reduced. The ores from the mines are purchased by 
 samples, which are nicely assayed, and the value per ton 
 thus determined. The ores are then placed in large 
 heaps, in form of a pyramid, over a loose pile of fire- 
 wood. A match is applied ; and, as the mass becomes 
 heated, the sulphur is set free and burns out. This 
 process is called roasting ; and the sulphur supplies fuel 
 for some three months in piles of the usual size. In 
 making up a pile, the coarse is packed first, and over the 
 outside the fine ore is covered. When the ore is freed 
 
 R
 
 242 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 from the sulphur, it is crushed, and is smelted in a 
 furnace in a similar manner to iron ore. The product is 
 a matte, which is composed of iron, copper, gold, and 
 silver. In this form it is transported to Swansea, Wales, 
 where the final reduction takes place. 
 
 Large works are being built at Georgetown, and others 
 projected at Golden, to deal with these ores ; and if they 
 succeed, the mining-interests of Colorado will brighten, 
 and those Eastern people, who now have only a stock- 
 certificate to show, may not, after all, have made so poor 
 an investment when they invested in a gold-mine. 
 
 Here ends the story of my journeyings. I trust my 
 writing has not been amiss ; for I have had before me 
 continually one aim — to give only correct information 
 that would aid my readers in planning a trip from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific, that they might know what to 
 see, and how to see it.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE ROUTES TO THE YO-SEMITE. 
 
 I. — VIA MARIPOSA. 
 
 From San Fransisco, by rail, over the Central Pacific Rail- 
 road, to Merced City. 
 Thence by stage or carriage to Mariposa, forty-two miles, 
 to White and Hatch's, eleven miles, to Clark's fourteen 
 miles. 
 Thence on horseback, to Alder Creek, six miles and a 
 half; to Empire Camp, three miles; to Inspiration 
 Point, five miles, or to GlacierPoint, seven miles ; from 
 Inspiration Point to the Hotels, seven miles and a half 
 to eight miles, or from Glacier Point, six miles and a 
 half to seven miles and a half. 
 Note. — A carriage road having this Spring been completed into 
 the Valley, this part of the journey by a longer route can be made 
 on wheels. 
 
 II. — VIA BIG OAK FLAT. 
 
 By rail to Stockton, and on to Copperopolis,. thence by 
 stage or carriage, via Chinese Camp and Big Oak Flat, 
 to Gentry's ; thence by horseback down a steep trail to 
 the Valley, seven miles and a half. 
 
 III. — VIA COULTERVILLE. 
 
 By rail to Merced City; thence by carriage, via Snel- 
 ling's to Coulterville; thence vid Crane Flat to Gen- 
 try's, and by horseback into the Valley, seven miles and a 
 half. 
 
 R 2
 
 244 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Notes. — From Clark's, the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees is 
 reached on horseback by a journey, in going and returning, of four- 
 teen miles. 
 
 The whole distance from San Francisco is not far from 250 
 miles. 
 
 Deal only with principals, or their authorised agents. Do not 
 let the drivers carry you out of the way to serve hotel-keepers. A 
 private carriage is generally more agreeable than the mail-stages. 
 Go into the Valley by way of Mariposa, and out by one of the other 
 routes. 
 
 TABLE OF THE ELEVATION OF PEAKS AND 
 PASSES IN SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Feet 
 Mono Pass ......... 10,765 
 
 Sonora Pass . . . . . . . . .10,115 
 
 Silver Mountain Pass ....... 8,793 
 
 Carson Pass ......... 8,759 
 
 Johnson Pass ........ 7,339 
 
 Georgetown Pass . . . . . . . .7,119 
 
 Donner Pass ........ 7,056 
 
 Henness 6,996 
 
 Yuba Gap ......... 6,642 
 
 Mount Whitney ........ 15,000 
 
 Red State Peak ........ 13,400 
 
 Mount Pass ......... 13,227 
 
 Castle Peak ........ 12,500 
 
 Silver Mountain ........ 10,934 
 
 Wood's Peak ........ 10,552 
 
 Pyramid Peak ........ 10,120 
 
 Downieville Buttes ....... 8,400 
 
 Onjumi 8,378 
 
 Note. — These elevations are taken from the Reports of the 
 Geological Survey of the State of California. 
 
 The Central Pacific Railroad crosses the Sierras by Donner Pass, 
 and the road-bed at the summit is 7,042 feet. ; so that the original 
 level of the pass was lowered only 14 feel, and the actual cutting- 
 away was probably even less than that.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 245 
 
 MOUNTAINS AROUND THE YO-SEMITE. 
 
 Height, 
 Popular Name Indian Name Signification feet 
 
 ■n, ,^ -r t 1 1 f The Cry of the 
 
 El Capitan • . Tu-tock-a-mu-la, • „ 
 
 I Crane . . 3,300 
 
 _, , , , „ , f Poo-see-nah ~i A large Acorn 
 
 Cathedral Rocks < _, , , _ . & , , 
 
 L Chuck-ka . J Cache . . 2,660 
 
 ™ ,, , ™ f Mountains playing 
 
 Three Brothers . Pom-pom-pa-sus, < o 
 
 I Leap-Frog . 3,830 
 
 Sentinel Rock . Lo-ya . . A Signal Station 3>°43 
 
 r, 1 a 1 t- / An Indian Baby- 
 
 Royal Arches . To-coy-oe . < _ . „ 
 
 3 3 I Basket . . 1,800 
 
 Washington ~1 Hunto ; The Watching Eye 1,875 
 
 Column . J 
 
 „ , _ _ . . f The Goddess of the 
 
 bouth Dome . Te-sai-yak . < 
 
 L \ alley . . 4,737 
 
 Rocks near YoO Um . mo . The Lost Arrow 3,000 
 
 Semite Fall J 
 
 Glacier Point, Pa-til-li-ma 3. 2 °° 
 
 Mount Watkins 3,9°o 
 
 Cloud's Rest 6,034 
 
 Cap of Liberty, 4,°oo 
 
 Mount Starr King 5, 6o ° 
 
 Note.— The Valley level is 4,000 feet above the ocean, which 
 add to elevations given of the mountains to find their altitude. 
 
 THE WATERFALLS. 
 
 The Bridal Veil 
 Yo-Semite 
 Vernal 
 Nevada . 
 South Fork Fall 
 
 Po-ho-no 
 Yo-ham-e-ta 
 Pi-wy-ack . 
 Yo-wy-ye 
 Il-lil-ou-ette 
 
 Spirit of Night- Wind 630 
 Great Grizzly Bear . 2,634 
 Sparkling Water . 350 
 Twisting Water . 7°° 
 The Beautiful . . 600 
 
 Note. — For comparison— Niagara Falls are 164 feet on the 
 American side and 150 on the Canadian side. Mount Washington, 
 6, 224 feet. A mile, 5, 280 feet.
 
 246 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIP1C 
 
 THE YO-SEMITE DECLARED A NATIONAL 
 PARK. 
 
 In 1864 Congress enacted, that the 'cleft, or gorge,' in the 
 Granite Peak of the Sierras — estimated in length fifteen 
 miles, with its various spurs and canons, and one mile back 
 from the edge of the precipice on all sides — be granted to 
 the State of California ; ' that the said State shall accept 
 this grant upon express conditions that the premises shall be 
 held for public use, resort, and recreation ; shall be inalienable 
 for all time ; but leases not exceeding ten years may be 
 granted for portions of said premises.' Under this act, and 
 that of California confirming and accepting the trust, 
 commissioners were appointed, who took possession of the 
 valley. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Hutchings has resisted their right to take 
 possession, and resorted to the law courts, as well as to 
 legislature and Congress. Upon a final hearing of this 
 cause before the Supreme Court of the United States, and 
 after full consideration, the Court has made its decision, 
 confirming the grant to California, and declaring the title of 
 Hutchings void. They lay down the following law, which, 
 applied to the facts relative to all the settlements now made 
 there, settles the matter beyond all question, and thus makes 
 this Valley a national park. 
 
 SUPREME COURT, U.S. 
 
 No. 435. December Term, 1872. 
 
 J. M. Hutchings, Plaintiff in Error \ In Error to the Supreme 
 v. > Court of the State of 
 
 F. F. Low and others, Commissioners, &c. J California. 
 
 1. A party, by settlement upon lands of the United States with a 
 declared intention to obtain a title to the same under the pre-emp- 
 tion laws, does not thereby acquire such a vested interest in the
 
 APPENDIX 247 
 
 premises as to deprive Congress of the power to divest it, by a grant, 
 to another party. 
 
 2. The power of regulation and disposition over the lands of the 
 United States, conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, only 
 ceases, under the pre-emption laws, when all the preliminary acts 
 prescribed by those laws for the acquisition of the title, including 
 the payment of the price of the land, have been performed by the 
 settler. When these prerequisites have been complied with, the 
 settler, for the first time, acquires a vested interest in the premises 
 occupied by him, of which he cannot be subsequently deprived. 
 He then is entitled to a certificate of entry from the local land- 
 officers, and ultimately to a patent for the land from the United 
 States. Until such payment and entry, the pre-emption laws give 
 to the settler only a privilege of pre-emption in case the lands are 
 offered for sale in the usual manner ; that is, the privilege to purchase 
 them, in that event, in preference to others. 
 
 3. The United States, by the pre-emption laws, do not enter into 
 any contract with the settler, or incur any obligations, that the land 
 occupied by him shall ever be put up for sale. 
 
 They simply declare by those laws, that, in case any of their 
 lands are thrown open for sale, the privilege to purchase them in 
 limited quantities, at fixed prices, shall be first given to parties who 
 have settled upon and improved them. The legislation thus adopted 
 for the benefit of settlers was not intended to deprive Congress of 
 the power to make any other disposition of the lands before they are 
 offered for sale, or to appropriate them to any public uses. 
 
 6. The act of Congress of June 30, 1864, granting the Yo-Semite 
 Valley and the Mariposa Big-Tree Crove to the State of California, 
 passed the title of these premises to the State, subject to the trust 
 specified therein, that they should be held for public use, resort, and 
 recreation, and be inalienable for all time.
 
 248 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 HETCH-HETCHY VALLEY. 
 
 For the benefit of those tourists who desire to extend their 
 journey, and behold more of the beautiful scenery of the 
 Sierras, I will mention Hetch-Hetchy Valley. It is reached 
 by a good mountain-trail from Hardin's Ranch, which is 
 situated on the route to the Yo-Semite by way of Big-Oak 
 Flat. A visit to this valley will amply repay the time and 
 fatigue, and show that, out of the usual routes of travel, 
 there is scenery grand and imposing — another valley which is 
 almost another Yo-Semite. 
 
 Mr. John Muir thus describes it, as seen in his visit there 
 in November last : — 
 
 'This valley is situated on the Main Tuolumne River, 
 just as Yo-Semite is on the Merced. It is about three miles 
 in length, with a width varying from an eighth to half a mile. 
 Most of its surface is level as a lake, and lies at an elevation 
 of 3,800 feet above the sea. Its course is mostly from East 
 to West ; but it is bent northward in the middle, like Yo- 
 Semite. At the end of the valley, the river enters a narrow 
 canon, which cannot devour the spring floods sufficiently 
 fas-t to prevent the lower half of the valley from becoming a 
 lake. Beginning at the west end of the valley, where 
 Hardin trail comes in, the first conspicuous rocks on the 
 right are a group like the Cathedral Rocks in Yo-Semite, 
 and occupying the same relative position to the valley. The 
 lowest member of the group, which stands out well isolated 
 above, exactly like the corresponding rock of the Yo-Semite 
 group, is, according to State Geological Survey, about 2,270 
 feet in height. The two highest members are not so sepa- 
 rate as those of Yo-Semite. They are best seen from the 
 top of the wall, a mile or two further east. On the north 
 side of the valley there is a vast perpendicular rock- front 
 1,800 feet high, which resembles El Capitan of Yo-Semite.
 
 APPENDIX 249 
 
 In spring a large stream pours over its brow, with a clear 
 fall of at least 1,000 feet. East of this, on the same side, 
 is the Hetch-Hetchy Fall, occupying a position relative to 
 the valley like that of Yo-Semite Fall. It is about 1,700 
 feet in height, but not in one unbroken fall. . . . The 
 wall of the valley above this fall has two benches fringed 
 with live-oak, which correspond with astonishing minuteness 
 to the benches of the same relative portion of the Yo-Semite 
 wall. . . . The surface of Hetch-Hetchy is diversified 
 with groves and meadows in the same manner as Yo-Semite; 
 and the trees are identical in species. . . . We have no 
 room here to discuss the formation of this valley : we will 
 only state as our opinion that it is an inseparable portion of 
 the great Glacier Canon of the Tuolumne, and that its level 
 bottom is one of a chain of lake-basins extending through- 
 out the canon, which have been, no great time ago, filled up 
 with glacial drift. The Yo-Semite is a canon of exactly the 
 same origin.'
 
 250 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 TREES AND PLANTS GROWING IN AND 
 AROUND THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 Adiantum pedatum. 
 
 Aspidium argutum. 
 
 Acer macrophyllum. 
 
 A. glabrum. 
 
 Aconitum nasubum. 
 
 Alnus viridis. 
 
 Abies Douglasii • . . The Douglas fir. 
 
 Azalea occidentalis . . . The swamp cheese. 
 
 Arctostaphylos glauca . . Manzanita. 
 
 Adenostema fasciculata. 
 
 Boykinia occidentalis. 
 Bahia confertiflora. 
 
 Calamagrostis canadensis. 
 Cheilanthes gracillima. 
 Comandra umbellata. 
 Chcenactis achilloefolia. 
 Cystopteris fragilis. 
 Cornus Nuttallii. 
 Ceanothus integerrimus. 
 C. divaricatus. 
 
 Epilobium angustifolium. 
 
 Frangnla Californica. 
 
 Glyceria nervata. 
 
 Hulsia brevifolia. 
 Hellenium grandiflorum. 
 Hosackia grandiflora.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 251 
 
 Lilii 
 
 Libocedrus decurrens. 
 
 Many varieties. 
 
 Nuphar ad vena . 
 
 Philadelphus Californicus. 
 Pinus ponderosa 
 
 P. contorta 
 
 P. aristata. 
 P. Jeffreyi. 
 P. Sabiniani . 
 P. Lambertiana. 
 P. Coulteri 
 Picea grandis. 
 
 Populus balsamifera . 
 
 Phragmites communis. 
 Pellcea densa. 
 P. Bridgesii. 
 P. mucronata. 
 Polypodium Californicum. 
 Pentstemon laetus. 
 Pteris aquilina 
 
 Quercus lobata 
 
 Q. Ganyana 
 Q. densiflora 
 Q. sonomensis 
 Q. chrysolepsis. 
 Q. vaccinifolia. 
 
 Rudbeckia Californica. 
 Rhamnus Menziesii. 
 Rubus Nutkanus 
 Rosa blanda 
 Rhus diversaloba. 
 
 The common yellow pond lily. 
 
 The yellow pine. 
 r The pine found in the highest 
 <. belt of vegetation in the 
 I Sierra. 
 
 Sugar pine. 
 
 The pine with the largest cone. 
 
 f Balsam-poplar, mistaken for 
 I cotton-wood. 
 
 The brake seen in New England. 
 
 /The burr-oak ; looks much like 
 I the New-England elm. 
 
 White-oak. 
 
 Narrow-leaf oak. 
 
 The black-oak. 
 
 The raspberry. 
 The wild rose.
 
 25 l THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Sequoia gigantea . . . The big tree. 
 
 S. sempervirens .... The redwood. 
 
 Sidalcea malvceflora. 
 
 Sphagnum .... Peat moss. 
 
 Spraguea umbellata. 
 
 Silene compacta. 
 
 _ , _ , , „ ,., /The laurel, the wood of which 
 
 Tetranthera Cahfornica . . < . . . 
 
 I is capable of a high polish. 
 
 Veratrum Californicum. 
 
 Notes. — It will be observed that most of the trees and plants 
 named are not found east of the Mississippi. In the flowers, yellow 
 will be found to be a prevailing colour. There are many poisonous 
 plants and shrubs, especially a shrub-oak ; and care must be taken 
 to wear gloves when collecting specimens. The guides know little 
 of botany ; and the popular names vary so in different localities, 
 that it is hard work to identify the plants. 
 
 [ trust my readers will not lose their collections as I did. I had 
 brought together many specimens, and had arranged them very care- 
 fully in the bureau in my room at the hotel, placing them nicely for 
 preservation. One day soon after, when going to my room, I met 
 the chambermaid on the stairs, and she said : ' I gave your room a 
 good cleaning to-day, sir ; and I took all the dry leaves and things 
 out of your bureau.' ' Where are they ? ' I exclaimed, a feeling of 
 pain coming over me. ' I threw them away, sir ! ' I tried to ex- 
 plain to her their value to me ; but no doubt that chambermaid is 
 
 to-day at a loss to know why ' the man in No. ' filled up his 
 
 bureau 'with dry leases and things.' 
 
 The attempts to introduce California plants into the gardens East 
 of the Rocky Mountains have been for the most part failures ; 
 and, even in flower-houses, they do not seem to thrive.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 253 
 
 HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLE- 
 MENT OF THE YO-SEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 After the first excitement of gold-mining was over, the men 
 who had come into the State with the intention of remaining, 
 turned to the pursuit of farming. A landed estate was termed 
 a rancho, which has become now ranch by corruption, and 
 the owner a rancher. Some of these settlers took up lands 
 in the great valleys in which flow the two great rivers of the 
 State, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, along the banks 
 of their tributaries, the Tuolumne, the Merced, and the 
 Fresno. Above the foot hills which bound these valleys on 
 the East, on the sides of the Sierra Nevadas are many mea- 
 dows. These are situated in valleys, and are so protected 
 by the surrounding hills, that during the summer months 
 they are covered with a rank growing grass, which is a sweet 
 food for cattle and sheep. 
 
 As early as 1850 many pioneers had settled in the San 
 Joaquin valley, and having collected their herds of cattle, 
 they sought for them food during the dry summer. Thus 
 early they began to drive them up into the mountains and 
 into the pastures as the grass in the plains became dry and 
 dead. Trouble soon came from the Indians, who, scattered 
 about among the mountains, began their depredations . The 
 losses and trouble became so great that the ranchers formed 
 themselves into a company — a guard for common safety. 
 
 As a natural result, there grew out of this organisation a 
 military company. It was composed of the hardy ranchers 
 and sturdy miners from the near-by diggings, who avowed 
 their purpose to be, either to drive the Indians from the 
 country or themselves die in the attempt. In the country 
 around were many tribes — the Monos, the Merceds, the Yo-
 
 254 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Semites, and others, 1 the latter probably not a distinct tribe, 
 but composed of defeated parties from several tribes who had 
 taken refuge in the great valley. These gave the settlers 
 the most trouble, and against them their power was chiefly 
 used. 
 
 Skirmishing and fighting became general along this part 
 of the Sierras. The whites would drive the Indians far up 
 into the mountains, but they would always lose track of 
 them, the Indians taking refuge in some fastness the en- 
 trance to which they could not discover. Thus f jr some 
 time these skirmishes went on between the parties contending 
 for the mastery. The whites became more emboldened, and 
 pushing further into the mountains, discovered that the 
 retreat into which the Indians took themselves was a vast 
 gorge, a sight of which they obtained from a near-by peak. 
 Those who had seen this place of retreat told wonderful 
 stories about it upon their return to the plains. Undoubt- 
 edly this was the first time white men had ever obtained 
 even a glimpse of this wonderful scenery, and it is not sur- 
 prising that those who composed the company should have 
 given such a description of the gorge as to lead others to 
 desire to see it. This was late in the summer of 1850. 
 During the rainy or winter season the ranchers talked over 
 the discovery, and talking only magnified the stories, which 
 spread into the mining camps, and at night around the camp- 
 fires many were the wonderful tales related, and many were 
 the plans formed for exploring the ' mountain retreat ' the 
 next season. A great excitement was raised in the adjacent 
 settlements, so that when spring came it was no difficult 
 task for Capt. Boling to organise his company of picked 
 men, to make an expedition into the mountains both for the 
 purpose of exploring the valley or gorge, and to exterminate 
 
 ' Chook-chan-cie, Po-to-en-cie, Noot-cho, Po-ho-ne-chee, Ho- 
 na-chee, Chow-chilla.
 
 APPENDIX 255 
 
 the Indians, so that they would not trouble the settlers during 
 the coming planting-time. March 1851 saw the company 
 fully organised and equipped, and ready to start. They 
 called to their aid Te-nei-ya, an old chief, who had always 
 been friendly to the whites. He led the band of explorers, 
 and knowing the trail, a few days' march brought them into 
 that valley which we now know as ' Yo-Semite.' Imagi- 
 nation can only paint the scene, as those hardy ranchers, led 
 by the old and friendly Te-nei-ya, stood upon the edge of 
 the mountains which form the sides of this wonderful valley. 
 The romantic wildness and sublime grandeur of the scene 
 spread out before them must have overpowered them, even 
 though made of ' stern stuff.' 
 
 It is related that at one time on the way Te-nei-ya failed 
 the whites, and they were forced to call to their aid another 
 friendly Indian, Cow-chit-ty by name, who led them on and 
 has to this day remained friendly. 
 
 A few days of imprisonment brought Te-nei-ya and his 
 followers to terms, and as he was chief of the most powerful 
 tribe, the whites kept good watch that he did not betray 
 them again. He, ever after his humiliation, remained friendly, 
 and conducted the company to the edge of the valley. 
 
 It is related that the Indians were terribly disheartened 
 by this to them unceremonious invasion, and, after a little 
 skirmishing, made peace with the men who had found the 
 way into this retreat which had for so long been their secure 
 hiding-place. 
 
 The story of the visit of the Indian chief, Jose Jerez, a 
 name more Spanish than Indian, under charge of James D. 
 Savage, to San Francisco, the offence given the chief, and 
 the manner in which he and his people avenged it, is told 
 quite graphically by Mr. Hutchings. 1 To these incidents he 
 
 1 See ' Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California,' &c. J. M. 
 Hutchings, of Yo-Semite, 1870. N. Y.
 
 256 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 gives, I apprehend, too much prominence in the train of 
 circumstances which led to the discovery of the valley. 
 
 As the Indians kept their peace, there was no occasion for 
 the whites to push farther into the mountains, and for a 
 year or more little was done towards exploring the Valley. 
 Little seems to have been said about the discovery outside 
 of the country immediately around. To the renewed excite- 
 ment in the finding of gold all turned their attention, and 
 for a time forgot the wonderful scenery, which had been 
 viewed only in part. 
 
 The killing of two miners in or near the Valley in the 
 summer of 1852, led to the fitting out of a second expedition. 
 This time the miners from the Mariposa country furnished 
 the men, and they styled themselves the ' Mariposa Bat- 
 talion/ They pushed into the Valley, attacked the Indians 
 without mercy, killed many, and drove out the rest. These 
 last took refuge with the Monos, who dwelt by the lake of 
 the same name upon the Eastern side of the Sierras. We are 
 told that the tribes afterwards fought among themselves, and 
 that the Monos almost entirely exterminated the Yo-Semites, 
 Upon the return of the soldiers, each had his story to tell, 
 some of which obtained quite a circulation through the 
 State, but were generally discredited, being looked upon 
 as the ' yarns of a traveller.' They were not given to exag- 
 geration if they were as moderate in all their estimates as in 
 giving the height of the Yo-Semite Fall, which they reported 
 as being 'more than 1,000 feet high.' That of the mountain 
 peaks they gave at about half their real altitude. 
 
 To find a good reason for the tardiness with which the 
 stories of the towering cliffs, the magnificent waterfalls, the 
 great trees and the wonderful scenery in and around this 
 Valley, spread through the State and found their way into 
 the Eastern press, is difficult. It can only be explained by 
 the extraordinary excitement which existed about gold, the 
 restlessness of the people, who rushed from place to place as
 
 APPENDIX 257 
 
 the stories of newly-found 'diggings' reached them, and the 
 general distrust with which all the more sober part of the 
 people there, and all Eastern people, accepted the stories 
 which were told of California. At all events several years 
 passed away before much was known of the Yo-Semite. 
 
 What little had become known with any accuracy was 
 communicated by Dr. L. H. Bunnel, who had been a 
 member of the celebrated ' Mariposa Battalion.' He had 
 looked upon the scenery with artist-eye, and was a true 
 lover of Nature. He was a gentleman of extended know- 
 ledge, and succeeding in winning the confidence of the 
 Indians who accompanied them, and whom he met on the 
 way, he obtained from them all the information which he 
 could respecting names of the waterfalls, the mountains, and 
 the valley itself. To him is due the name given to the 
 valley. His accounts of what he had seen gradually attracted 
 attention, and few names are so closely connected with the 
 history of the valley. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. J. M. Hutchings, with a small party, made 
 the first excursion into the valley. He was led to the place 
 by the stories of the wonderful scenery which had reached 
 him, and to obtain material for his series of papers illustrat- 
 ing the scenery of California. A second party of sixteen 
 persons from the town of Mariposa made a visit the same 
 year to the valley. The reports made by these tourists, and 
 the descriptions which now found their way into the press, 
 made the year 1856 memorable in opening the tiavel to the 
 Yo-Semite. A trail was cut on the Mariposa side, and it 
 may be said that by the next year pleasure travel was fairly 
 began. 
 
 Of course these early visitors were forced to carry with 
 them a full set of camp equipage, and the condition of the 
 roads and the trails up the mountains made the journey one 
 of hardship, and in many places very dangerous. As tourists 
 began to turn their steps towards the valley, persons, whose 
 
 S
 
 258 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 aim was to turn a penny into their pockets, began to try to 
 meet the wants of these travellers. In the autumn of 1856 
 the first house was built, and was for many years known as 
 the Lower Hotel. The building is still standing, and forms 
 a part of the hotel now known as the New Sentinel. In the 
 Spring of 1857 one Hite erected a canvas house some half 
 a mile further up the valley from the Lower Hotel. In the 
 Spring of 1858 was erected the building which now forms 
 Hutchings' Hotel. Messrs. Hite and Beardsley were the 
 owners, and for a season they kept it as a hotel. It was 
 continued by different parties— Peck, Longhurst and others — 
 till 1864, when Mr. Hutchings assumed the business which 
 has since been continued by him. The Lower Hotel was 
 kept successively by John Reed in 1857, by one Cunningham 
 from 1858 to 1 86 1. In 1863 G. F. Leidig took it and kept 
 it till 1870. In 187 1 Leidig erected a new hotel an eighth of 
 a mile further down than this, which he is now keeping. 
 In 1857 a small building was erected to be used as a 
 store-house above the site of the present Hutchings' Hotel. 
 All these, save the Leidig's new hotel, which I have men- 
 tioned, were rude structures made from rough boards, 
 without plastering, and with partitions made of cloth. Every- 
 thing at this time had to be brought upon the backs of mules 
 or horses from fifty to sixty miles, and over the roughest of 
 rough mountain trails. In 1871 Mr. John Smith erected a 
 building in which he opened a saloon, bath-rooms, a barber's 
 shop, &c, for the accommodation of guests. In 1S72 Mr. 
 Hutchings added a new building to his hotel, which is used 
 as a dormitory. Several small unfinished buildings are 
 scattered through the Valley, used for various purposes, as 
 photographic galleries, telegraph office, a store, &c. The 
 houses and buildings of J. C. Lamon are situated at the 
 upper end of the Valley. These comprise the buildings so 
 far erected in the Valley, and all of them are rude struc- 
 tares, affording only a poor protection against storms.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 259 
 
 The first white man who took up his residence in the 
 valley was Mr. J. C. Lamon. From his own lips I learned 
 the following facts of his life. He was led to the Valley 
 from hearing the wonderful stories about it while at work 
 in the mines in the Mariposa country. In 1859 he made his 
 first journey into the Yo- Semite. He was perfectly en- 
 raptured by the place, and his first impulses were to make it 
 his home. He staid during the summer, and made some 
 considerable progress in exploring different parts of the 
 Valley and the country immediately around. He fixes the 
 day that he reached the Valley as either the 18th or 20th of 
 April, 1859. The next year he returned to the Valley with 
 the full determination to make it his permanent abode, and 
 began to clear up a piece of land, erect a log cabin, set out 
 trees, &c. In the winter he lived among the various towns 
 down among the foot-hills, as Mariposa, Coulterville, and 
 the mining camps. He returned the next season, and 
 having completed his house he has since resided there 
 during Winter as well as Summer. For several years he 
 spent the long Winter alone in this vast solitude, with little 
 of animate life around him. Even the Indians seek other 
 places to pass the Winter — the birds fly away to the lower 
 valleys — the deer go down nearer the dwelling-places of man. 
 He told me that the scenery was so grand, so ever-changing, 
 that he could not feel lonesome. Occasionally as he would 
 think of himself alone in this Valley ,.with impassable barriers 
 of snow between him and the settlements, he would offer up 
 a prayer that he might be protected against sickness and 
 suffering, for with health he found ample resources of happi- 
 ness. For two years he had an occasional companion in the 
 person of James Wilmer, and as he was an early inhabitant 
 of the valley, a record of his life ought to be preserved. 
 
 Coming down the Mariposa trail, just as you reach the 
 level of the valley, you pass a large tree, around the trunk of 
 which are some rough boards, standing with inclined sides.
 
 260 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 This rude structure of boards covers a great opening in the 
 tree which fire has made. The space within scarcely allows 
 a man to lie with extended limbs. The guide tells you that 
 the hermit lived here, and that he died in the valley, and was 
 buried near the banks of the swift -flowing Merced. This is 
 all he can tell. Of his name, his history, his motives, he can 
 say nothing. Wilmer was from New York. There terrible 
 and unrelenting adversities and domestic troubles coming 
 upon him, he sought in the great mountain solitude escape 
 from his cares. He lived in this rudely-constructed shelter 
 and spent his time in fishing and hunting. All the solicitations 
 of Mr. Lamon that he would come and share his cabin with 
 him were politely refused ; ' for,' said Mr. Lamon, ' Wilmer 
 showed his good bringing up, and I think he was born a 
 gentleman.' At long intervals he would spend a day at 
 Lamon's cabin, and then talk of his past life. Letters came 
 to him from his friends, and then he would become very 
 low-spirited. He grew more and more dejected and sad, 
 ceased to find any oblivion in his fishing-rod and rifle, and 
 often told Lamon that he had fully resolved to take his own 
 life. He had not been seen for a longer time than usual ; 
 the Indians as they came to the cabin said, 'White man 
 gone, we no see him ; ' and so Lamon started for the rude 
 shelter at the tree, with a sad heart. There was no one there, 
 and nothing to indicate where Wilmer had gone. Next day, 
 while searching the river, he found the body thrown upon 
 the rocky bank. Thus ended the life of James Wilmer, 
 whose grave made that day was the first for a white man in 
 that weird solitude. There is, however, a tradition that the 
 two miners killed in 1852 were buried at the foot of the Bridal 
 Veil Fall, but I could not learn that this was well authenti- 
 cated. 
 
 Thus is narrated the story of the discovery and settlement 
 of the Yo-Semite. So far little has been done to mar the 
 beauty of the scenery. The decision of the court, giving to
 
 APPENDIX 261 
 
 the commissioners power over the lands granted as a park, 
 will cause many changes to be at once made which will im- 
 prove the accommodation for tourists. The opening of the 
 carriage road into the valley, while it robs the journey of 
 much romance and adventure, also saves much fatigue and 
 delay. No doubt modern improvements will soon find their 
 way into Yo- Semite.
 
 262 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE NAME YO-SEMITE. 
 
 Before dismissing the Yo-Semite, I must refer to the or- 
 thography of this name as well as its signification. The 
 discussion has been extended, and some of the points brought 
 out are of much interest. The Indians know the place as Ah- 
 wah-nee, and it is strange that this was not adopted. The 
 Indian name for the Falls spelled as nearly after their pro 
 nunciation as possible would be Yo-ham-e-ta. or Yo hem-e-ta. 
 The present name seems to have gained currency during the 
 Summer of 1851 and is retained, though several attempts 
 were early made to change it. Dr. L. H. Bunnell is pro- 
 bably the first man who recorded the name of the Valley, 
 and his orthography is that now in use. In vain I have 
 searched among the books upon California and the Valley 
 for some solution of this problem, but all leave it by saying 
 it is impossible to tell how the name came into use. All 
 inquiries into the adoption of names of places bring to light 
 certain historical facts, and to the student it is of much 
 interest as well as profit to pursue such investigations. The 
 following seems to me a solution of this vexed question. 
 
 It has been suggested that this name was that of the most 
 .-powerful tribe of Indians, who had given to the country about 
 their name, but this has been disapproved by historians of 
 the early wars with the natives, and. in fact, the Yo-Semites 
 were not a distinct tribe, 1 but the Indians who dwelt in the 
 valley were composed of defeated parties from several tribes, 
 and this name has rather been in later days given this band 
 of outcast warriors than theirs to the valley. 
 
 It is well known that the Indian sees in every mountain, 
 
 1 See Dr. Bunnell's ' Indian Wars,' Hutchings' Magazine, &c.
 
 APPENDIX 263 
 
 and tree, in the waterfall, and in every weird spot, a spirit or 
 nymph, whose life is enwrapped in this outward form. In 
 the waterfall at the entrance to the Valley he saw the spirit 
 of the night wind ; in the mountain called South Dome he 
 saw the goddess of the Valley ; in the trees he found nymphs 
 who exercised a certain power over him. The whole race is 
 very imaginative, and given to the contemplation of things 
 supernatural. Those who have lived among them till they 
 have learned their traditions, their customs and habits of 
 thought, tell us that certain of them travel from tribe to tribe, 
 and around a council fire tell the most wonderful stories of 
 their origin, the visits of the great spirit to earth, the great 
 battles of their tribe, in which the genii which preside over 
 their fortune took part. They point you to Mount Shasta, as 
 the wigwam where the great spirit dwells, to little Mount 
 Shasta where lives the grizzly bear, the father of all Indians, 
 with his god-wife. He imagines smoke rising from the 
 wigwam fires within these mountains, and on their side he 
 sees plainly the print of the feet of the great spirit, made 
 when he came down the mountain. 
 
 It was perfectly natural, then, that the Indian should find 
 a pervading spirit in the Valley That which struck him as 
 the development, as it were, of this spirit, was the great fall, 
 which seemed grand and awful to his untutored mind ; and 
 this he called Yo-ham-e-ta, and as this spirit of the grand 
 and awful pervaded all the Valley, he found Yo-ham-e-ta at 
 every step, for mountains and waterfalls all were grand and 
 imposing. It was also in perfect accord with his nature that 
 this spirit should be that which to him is the most awful 
 thing known — a great and full-grown grizzly bear. He has 
 implicit belief that every Indian who leads a wicked life is to 
 become a grizzly bear, doomed to live among the snowy 
 mountains, where there is no deer for his food. His heaven 
 is a place where he can lie all day in his wigwam, and deer 
 will come to his door to be made into venison. It was
 
 264 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 then, I repeat, in accord with his nature to find the spirit of 
 the great grizzly bear in the valley — to him Yo-ham-e-ta. 
 The name of the locus or the place, then, was Ah-wah-nee, 
 and the spirit of Ah-wah-nee was Yo-ham-e-ta. 
 
 For the orthography it is more difficult to account. We 
 know that the Spaniards, as they gradually spread them- 
 selves over the country, mingled with the native tribes, and 
 that there grew up a race in California called Mexicans. 
 Their language is mostly Spanish, but somewhat modified 
 by the Indian. Long intercourse with the Spaniards also 
 had taught the Indians many new words. The children of 
 the mingling of these races speak to-day peculiar dialects. 
 Since settlements were made by Americans, this race has 
 died out or been driven out of most of the towns. You can 
 see that all these circumstances had much influence upon 
 the language of the several peoples. The s and z sounds are 
 quite wanting in the Indian dialects, and in the words now 
 used by the Indians which have these sounds, they have 
 been modified by or taken entire from the Spanish. It is 
 one of the most difficult tasks to put into English letters the 
 words and names of the Indians, for among the members of 
 a single tribe each individual has a pronunciation different 
 from the other. This influence of the Spanish upon the 
 speech of the natives is very apparent, and the difficulty in 
 spelling Indian words is forcibly proven by a single trial. 
 
 It is said that when the Americans made their way over 
 into the valley, the Indians in their despair cried out what 
 seemed like Yo-sem-i-te. Dr. Bunnell first gave this ortho- 
 graphy, and he supposed it to be the Indian name of the 
 Valley. Later investigations showed it to be not the name 
 of the Valley, but of one of the waterfalls, or rather a cor- 
 ruption of that name. All through the State we see the 
 laboured attempts on the part of the whites to get rid of 
 the Indian names. They early began to hate the natives, 
 and this hatred became so fierce that they would not even
 
 APPENDIX! 265 
 
 allow a name to remain to remind them of the Indian or any 
 of his race. All that was Spanish they retained and cherished, 
 and even if any Indian name became early attached to a 
 place, later years would see the word so changed that little 
 of the original would be left. The Indian name Yo-ham-e-ta 
 may have been thus treated, although the early date at which 
 we find the present orthography given indicates that it had 
 its origin in an attempt to put into English letters the spoken 
 word of the Indians. 
 
 The very thing that those natives of the forests, who for so 
 long had found a secure retreat in this, to them Ah-wah-nee, 
 where the spirit Yo-ham-e-ta found its home, would do when, 
 with ruthless march, the invaders came upon them, would be 
 to cry to that spirit to protect them and the place where 
 they dwelt. The white men caught the word and put it as 
 nearly as they could into English letters, so that upon their 
 return to the settlements they gave the name, each pronounc- 
 ing it, as nearly as he could, as they had heard it. All have 
 now acquiesced in this orthography, and there would be little 
 use to try to make current another name, if, indeed, any 
 other would be better. Let it remain and perpetuate the 
 traditions of the poor Indian who saw in this awful and 
 sublime scenery that mighty spirit which was ever before 
 him — the dread grizzly bear !
 
 266 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 The origin of the name California and its signification have 
 been the subject of much discussion. 1 To the curious it 
 presents a field of investigation full of interest and profit. 
 The history of the Spanish Settlements in North America, 
 and the accounts given by the early English navigators of the 
 Pacific, will be brought into requisition. 2 For myself, while 
 thus engaged, I chanced upon an ancient record of the finding 
 of gold in California, earlier indeed by many years than any 
 which I had before read. The name of John A. Sutter will 
 always be mentioned in connexion with finding gold on 
 American River, as the first discoverer. He was an early 
 pioneer to the Pacific country, took up a large tract of land, 
 and built a fort as protection against Indians. He erected a 
 mill, and in the race which conducted the water upon the 
 wheel, the gold was found, and hence, from his ownership of 
 the property, his name is commonly given as the discoverer. 
 There was in his employ a man by name James W. Marshall, 
 who attended to the working of this mill. One day he was 
 at work clearing out the race, and came upon a deposit of 
 what appeared to be gold. He was several days in satisfying 
 himself of its purity, and having done so he showed it to 
 Sutter, whose property was thus made of fabulous value. 
 They agreed to keep the matter secret, but such fortune was 
 too good to be kept quiet, and soon a great army of men 
 were on their way across the plains to California. As the 
 news spread over the Atlantic, from every city and town 
 
 1 See 'Annals of San Francisco,' &c, p. 23. Soule, 1855. 
 N. Y. 
 
 - See ' History of California.' Robert Greenhow, Translator 
 and Librarian to the Department of State, Washington ; also 
 ' Memoirs, Historical,' &c., by same. 1840.
 
 APPENDIX 267 
 
 in Europe sturdy men set out for this new El Dorado of the 
 West. The old miller who so soon became a miner long ago 
 died, but his discovery was followed by the astonishingly rapid 
 growth of the State which has been described in these pages. 
 
 By examining the old record we shall observe how 
 quaintly is told a much earlier discovery of the metal, although 
 it was not so thoroughly tested as to make the facts certain. 
 I will copy first the title to the old book. It is a very rare 
 volume, and was found in Colorado, where it was taken by a 
 French gentleman who many years ago emigrated to that 
 territory. 
 
 "A Voyage Round the World by the way of the Great South 
 Sea. Performed in the year 1719-20-21-22 in the Speed- 
 well of London, of 24 guns and 100 men (under His Majesty's 
 Commission to cruise on the Spaniards in the late war with 
 the Spanish Crown), till she was cast away on the Island of 
 Juan Fernandez in May 1720; and afterwards continued in 
 the Recovery, the Jesus Maria, and Sacra Familia, &c. By 
 Capt. George Shelvocke, Commander of the Speedwell, 
 Recovery, &c, in this expedition. MDCCXXVI." 
 
 The author then makes the following record : — 
 
 " As to the bounds and extent of California our geographers 
 have never yet been able to determine either by their own 
 observations or information from others, whether it is an 
 island, or a part of the continent of North America." 
 
 He gives his reasons for not trying to determine the 
 above facts thus, and speaks of what he thought was gold. 
 
 " It would be perhaps more a satisfaction to the curious 
 than any real advantage to us ; since it would be much the 
 same to us whether it be an island, or a part of the continent 
 if we had any advantageous views of making any settlements 
 there. 
 
 " The eastern coast of that part of California, which I had a 
 sight of, appears to be mountainous* barren, and sandy and 
 very like some parts of Peru ; but nevertheless the soil about
 
 268 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Puerto Seguro, and (very likely in most of the valleys) is a 
 rich black mould, which as you turn it fresh up to the sun 
 appears as if intermingled with gold-dust, some of which we 
 endeavoured to wash and purify from the dirt ; but though 
 we were a little prejudiced against the thoughts that it would 
 be possible that this metal should be so promiscuously and 
 universally mingled with common earth, yet we endeavoured 
 to cleanse and wash the earth from some of it, and the more 
 we did the more it appeared like gold ; but in order to be 
 further satisfied, I brought away some of it, which we lost in 
 our confusions in China. But be that as it will, it is very 
 probable that this country abounds in metals of all sorts, 
 though the inhabitants had no utensils or ornaments of any 
 metal whatsoever, which is no wonder, since they are so per- 
 fectly ignorant in all arts." 
 
 We might speculate upon the changes which would have 
 come over this country, had the fact become settled. The 
 ' confusions ' may have lost to England the State of Califor- 
 nia ; for if her people had learnt that treasure was to be 
 found there they would have soon made their way across the 
 seas, driven out the Spaniards, and unfurled their flag in 
 token of government. 

 
 APPENDIX 269 
 
 THE PACIFIC RAILROADS AND THE LAND 
 GRANTS. 
 
 FOR the better protection of settlers over the ' West ' — a word 
 used to designate all the territory between the Mississippi 
 River and the Pacific Ocean — Government had for many years 
 been establishing a system of Military Posts and Forts. The 
 trouble, expense and delay in transporting the troops to these 
 various stations, first impressed upon the officers of the 
 Government the necessity for a railroad, and time only 
 increasing this need, it became absolute. The precipita- 
 tion upon the country of the civil war only augmented, indeed 
 made conclusive, the arguments which had been advanced in 
 favor of a highway which should connect the States upon the 
 Atlantic with those upon the Pacific. With the doubts which 
 existed in the minds of eminent engineers as to the possibility 
 of crossing the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, with 
 the vast wastes of plain and desert, with hostile Indians on 
 every hand, it is no wonder that even energetic people should 
 hesitate. No wonder that grave senators and eloquent repre- 
 sentatives should oppose a bill which should sanction by law 
 so hazardous an undertaking. Urgent, absolute necessity 
 alone overcame the objections which were offered. 
 
 In 1862 and the 37th Congress, an Act was passed entitled 
 1 An Act to aid in the Construction of a Railroad and Tele- 
 graph Line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and 
 to secure to the Government the use of the same Jor postal, 
 military and other purposes? This Act was approved by 
 President Lincoln July 1, 1862 — an Act which, although the 
 dark clouds of war hung thick over the country, was hailed 
 with delight by the people. 
 
 After several amendments a Bill was at last passed making
 
 270 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 land grants of every alternate section of land for twenty 
 miles on each side of the line. This would give 20 sections 
 of 640 acres each, or 12,800 acres for each mile. 
 
 The length of the road from Omaha to Sacramento is 
 1776-18 miles, making the whole land grant in number of 
 acres 22,735,104, of which the Union Pacific have 13,295,104 
 and the Central Pacific 9,440,000. 
 
 The United States gave the Companies the right of way 
 though all the public lands besides, and in aid of the work 
 issued 30-year 6 per cent, bonds, for which the Government 
 took a lien upon the road-bed and property. The bonds were 
 divided and apportioned as follows: — 
 
 Union Pacific, 52578 miles, bonds at $16,000 per mile. 
 Central, yiS ,, ,, ,, 
 
 Union, 363-602 ,, $32,000 ,, 
 
 Central, 580-32 ,, ,, ,, 
 
 Union, 150- ,, $48,000 ,, 
 
 Central, 150* ,, ,, ,, 
 
 Total, amount ofbonds $53, 121,632: Union Pacific, $27,236,512 ; 
 Central Pacific, $25,885,120. 
 
 Government also guaranteed the interest on a like amount 
 of first mortgage bonds issued by the Companies. 
 
 The total cost of the two roads was in gross $190,000,000, 
 or 38,000,000/. 
 
 Note. — I refer those who would like to investigate this subject 
 further to — 
 
 Reports upon Railroad Routes to the Pacific, 13 vols. 4to. issued 
 by the Secretary of War U.S. Washington, D.C. 
 
 Volumes of the Congressional Globe, 37th Congress, 1862, etseq. 
 
 The Reports of the Congressional Committees on the Pacific 
 Railroads in the same, from 1862 to the present. 
 
 New Tracks in North America. Bell, London, 1869, pp. 237- 
 281.
 
 APPENDIX 271 
 
 THE MINING TOWNS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 TOURISTS will naturally desire to visit some of the towns, 
 where they can observe closely the various operations con- 
 nected with gold-mining, which is such an important industry 
 of California. This can be done by leaving the main line 
 of railroad at any station in the mining-region and going a 
 little way into the country. Indeed, on the main line of 
 the Central Pacific are several towns, where almost the only 
 occupation of the people is gold-digging. 
 
 A short description of some of these towns, and sugges- 
 tions as to the routes to be taken, will not be out of place. 
 Dutch Flat, which lies in a hollow near the station, of same 
 name on the main line of Central Pacific, is an important 
 town of 2,000 inhabitants, where the chief pursuit is mining. 
 Three miles to the north-west is Little York, a mining-camp 
 of 500 people ; and six miles on You Bet, of about same size ; 
 and eight miles further Red Dog, another camp. These 
 are all located in what is called the Blue Lead section, and 
 are easily accessible points, where to study both the opera- 
 tions of mining and the life of the miners. Near the station, 
 Gold Run, two miles west of Dutch Flat, can be witnessed 
 hydraulic mining. Even as you ride along the railroad 
 the numerous flumes for conducting the water to the mines 
 are seen. Thirteen miles north of the station called Colfax, 
 and which is thirteen miles to the west of Dutch Flat, is Grass 
 Valley, which is to-day the most important mining-town in 
 the State. It contains about 6,500 people. Quartz-mining 
 is the mode, and the numerous ' stamps ' at work, and 
 the richness of the rock in gold, have given the town the im- 
 portance of having produced more gold than any other. In 
 1850 it was first discovered that the rock was gold-bearing,
 
 272 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 and next year the first mill was set up, and increasing from 
 that time, they are now numbered by scores. The most 
 approved and costly machinery and appliances in mining 
 have been introduced. The town is fortunate in having good 
 hotels, and the tourist will find here much that will interest 
 and instruct him. Four miles from Grass Valley on Deer Creek 
 lies the old settlement called Nevada City, and which is the 
 seat of Nevada County. The town has 4,000 inhabitants, 
 good hotels and good society. As within a few miles of 
 the town in any direction may be seen extensive mining 
 operations, both hydraulic and quartz, I doubt if there is a 
 more advantageous spot from which to set out upon excur- 
 sions among the towns of this section of the State. 
 
 An excursion of much interest can be made from Sacra- 
 mento to the North as far as Marysville, over the Oregon 
 division of the Central Pacific, which is in course of con- 
 struction through the Sacramento Valley. Marysville, the 
 county seat of Yuba county, which takes its name from Yuba 
 river, is one of the most prosperous towns in the State, and 
 is ranked fourth in commercial importance. It contains a 
 population of 8,000, and is growing rapidly. In the county 
 around Marysville there are twelve quartz mills and twenty- 
 six companies owning water-rights for hydraulic-mining. By 
 the same road you go to Yuba city, on the eastern bank of 
 Feather River, an interesting old town and the seat of Sutter 
 County. From the hills adjoining the site of the city is had 
 one of the most magnificent views of mountain scenery in 
 the whole State. Away to the North rises Mount Shasta, to 
 the height of 14,440 feet, and although 220 miles away 
 stands in full view, its dark sides crowned with a wreath of 
 white snow ; to the West the peaks of the Coast Range come 
 in sight; to the South the Contra Costa mountains, and Mount 
 Diablo overtopping all, while from the North to the extreme 
 South stretches the snowy line of the Sierra Nevada. 
 
 A trip over the Sacramento Valley Railroad cannot well be
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 273 
 
 omitted. This line pierces the Sierra Nevada, and was the 
 first railroad built in California. A journey of twenty-five miles 
 brings us to Folsom, on the South bank of the American River, 
 and where may be observed placer-mining still carried on to 
 some extent. The railroad terminates at Shingle Springs, 
 and from here a stage ride of 12 miles brings us to Placer- 
 ville, the seat of El Dorado county. This town has un- 
 common interest, for it was only eight miles from here that 
 gold was first discovered in January 1848. From Placerville, by 
 stage or carriage, the old town of Sonora is reached. This 
 town was once a prosperous city, but now its glory has de- 
 parted, and it is called a decayed town. Its beautiful climate 
 remains, and so do the old lovers of the place. They say at 
 Sonora, ' If you visit the town you will want to stay, and if 
 you stay two weeks you will stay all your life.' The people 
 here seem contented with the delicious climate, and the cheap 
 and easy living which they obtain. The great brick and 
 stone stores and warehouses are no longer used, the grass is 
 growing in streets which once were busy marts of trade, 
 property is depreciated to five per cent, of its former value, 
 and still there are people who prefer to remain in the old 
 townwith all its misfortunes than move to a more prosperous 
 place. Sonora is only one of many Californian towns which 
 have fallen into decay when the gold was gone. The people 
 have not as yet learned to cultivate the soil, and those who 
 remain obtain a precarious living by panning over again 
 the ' tailings,' and thinking of the days which have gone. 
 
 On the journey to the Calavaras Grove of Big Trees a 
 short visit ought to be made to Mokelumne Hill (accent on 
 second syllable), which is the seat of Calavaras county, and 
 was one of the earliest mining settlements, having had its 
 birth in 1848. Many historical incidents are connected with 
 this town, and much that is old and primitive in mining can 
 still be seen in the vicinity. 
 
 Mariposa, another decayed mining town, is on the road 
 
 T
 
 274 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 from Merced to the Yo-Semite, and is full of interest in making 
 observation of mining operations. Bear Valley, seven miles 
 from Mariposa, is another town of importance as the head- 
 quarters of the Mariposa Company. At the office of this 
 Company information as to visiting different parts of the 
 property can always be obtained. 
 
 I might add more, but the points which I have mentioned 
 are sufficient to direct the tourist, who will find at any of the 
 places referred to, people who will gladly give him the local 
 history of the town and aid him in making excursions into 
 the country. These old towns are all full of interest. Customs 
 and habits of the old mining days, when what was said at 
 a miners' meeting was the law, have been preserved. Spots 
 will be pointed out where gold enough in a few months was 
 taken out for a nation's ransom, and he will find remaining 
 some of the old settlers who seem to be living still in those 
 prosperous days.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 275 
 
 TREES AND PLANTS OF THE ROCKY 
 
 MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The following list contains the principal trees and plants 
 found in these mountains ; and for its completeness I am 
 indebted to Capt. Berthoud, Chief Engineer of the Colorado 
 Central Railroad. 
 
 Abronia fragrans. 
 Acer circinatum 
 A. negundo 
 Achillea millefolium 
 Aconitum reclinatum . 
 Aetata rubra . 
 Aira pallens 
 Allium trifloruin 
 Alnus incana 
 Amelanchier alnifolia 
 Amphicarpzea monoica 
 Anemone multifida 
 A. Virginiana 
 Aquilegia cenilea 
 Arabis falcata 
 Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 
 Arenaria 
 
 Argemone Mexicana 
 Arnica Montana . 
 Artemisia canadensis 
 Aster Novse-Anglioe . 
 Astragalus caryocarpus 
 A. filifolius. 
 A. hypoglottis. 
 A. mollissimus. 
 A. Plattensis. 
 
 Vine maple. 
 
 Box elder. 
 
 Common yarrow, or milfoil. 
 
 Monk's-hood. 
 
 Red baneberry. 
 
 Red -grass. 
 
 Onion, or leek. 
 
 Speckled alder 
 
 June berry. 
 
 Wild-hog peanut. 
 
 Many-cleft anemone. 
 
 Wind-flower. 
 
 Blue columbine. 
 
 Rock-cress. 
 
 Trailing arbutus. 
 
 Sandwort, several varieties. 
 
 Mexican poppy. 
 
 Arnica. 
 
 Wormwood, white sage. 
 
 Common New-England aster. 
 
 Milk-vetch.
 
 276 
 
 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Berberis aquifolium 
 Betula glandulosa 
 
 Mahonia, blue barberry. 
 Rocky-mountain birch. 
 
 Ceanothus ovalis 
 Cerastiura arvense . 
 Cheiranthus Cheiri 
 Chimaphilla maculata 
 Clematis Viorna . 
 
 C. Virginiana . 
 Convolvulus arvensis 
 Corallorhiza multiflora 
 Corydalis aurea . 
 Cypripedium candidum 
 
 Delphinium album 
 
 D. menziessi 
 Dodecatheon meadia 
 Draba verna 
 
 Echinospernum Lappula 
 Ellisia Nyctelea. 
 Epilobium spicatum . 
 Erigeron compositum. 
 Erysimum cheiranthoides 
 Euphorbia corollata . 
 
 Frasera Carolinensis 
 
 Gilia fragrans. 
 G. pulchella. 
 G. rosea. 
 Glyceria. 
 
 Ipomoea leptophylla. 
 
 Jamesia Americana 
 
 Lilium Canadense . 
 
 New-Jersey tea, or red root. 
 
 Field chickweed. 
 
 Wall-flower, yellow. 
 
 Princes'-pine. 
 
 Leather-flower. 
 
 Common virgin's-bower. 
 
 Bindweed. 
 
 Coral-root. 
 
 Golden corydalis. 
 
 White lady's-slipper. 
 
 White larkspur. 
 Larkspur. 
 American cowslip. 
 Whitlow grass. 
 
 Stick-seed. 
 
 Willow-herb. 
 
 Worm-seed mustard. 
 Flowering spurge. 
 
 American columbo. 
 
 Mountain shrub. 
 Wild yellow lily.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 277 
 
 Linnsea borealis 
 Linum Boottii 
 L. percum . 
 Lippia cuneafolia . 
 Lithospermum longiflorum. 
 Lupinus perennis 
 
 Malva moschata 
 Mentha borealis . 
 M. piperita 
 M. viridis . 
 Mertensia 
 Mimulus Jamesii . 
 
 Moneses uniflora 
 
 Nasturtium palustre 
 Nycterum lobatum . 
 
 CEnothera . 
 Obione canescens. 
 
 Pentstemon ceraleum 
 Phlox Drummondii 
 
 P. Subulata . 
 Polemonium ceruleum 
 Populus angulata 
 P. grandidentata 
 P. tremuloides 
 Primula farinosa . 
 P. rosea. 
 
 Ranunculus 
 Rhus aromatica 
 R. typhina 
 Ribes aureum 
 Rubus Nutkanus 
 
 Twin flower. 
 Yellow flax. 
 Blue flax. 
 Foe-fruit. 
 
 Wild 
 
 lupine. 
 
 { 
 
 Musk mallow. 
 Horsemint. 
 Peppermint. 
 Spearmint. 
 Lungwort. 
 Monkey-flower. 
 A very fragrant mountain 
 flower. 
 
 Marsh -cress. 
 Yellow-weed. 
 
 In varieties. 
 
 Beard -tongue. 
 
 A showy annual of 
 
 gardens. 
 Moss pink. 
 Valerian. 
 Bitter poplar. 
 Cottonwood. 
 American aspen. 
 Primrose. 
 
 Buttercup. 
 Fragrant sumach. 
 Staghorn sumach. 
 Buffalo or Missouri currant. 
 White flowering raspberry. 
 
 Sedum luteum 
 
 Stone moss.
 
 278 
 
 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Silene acaulis . 
 Sida coccinea 
 Spira;a opulifolia 
 Spiranthes cernua 
 Thermopsis Montana 
 Tradescantia Virginica 
 Verbena Aubletia 
 V. bracteosa. 
 Viola cucullata 
 V. palmata. 
 V. pubescens. 
 V. rotundifolia. 
 
 Yucca angustifolia 
 
 Moss catchfly. 
 
 Red-flowering sida. 
 
 Meadow-sweet. 
 
 Ladies'-tresses. 
 
 Yellow pea. 
 
 Spiderwort. 
 
 Verbena. 
 
 Violet — Heart's-ease. 
 
 Soap-weed, resembles our 
 garden Yucca, Y. Jilemen- 
 tosa. 
 
 Note. — Many of the above plants will be recognised as favour- 
 ites in Eastern gardens. There are many plants not as yet identified 
 and named, as there has been no complete flora made of the United 
 States West of the Mississippi. Tourists will observe how much 
 more brilliant the blossoms of the same plant are up on the moun- 
 tains than in the valleys. In the higher belts of vegetation, Nature 
 has constructed her plants and trees to adapt them to their situation.
 
 APPENDIX 279 
 
 TABLE OF ALTITUDES IN COLORADO. 
 Taken from the most Accurate Surveys. 
 
 Feet 
 Denver ......... 5,250 
 
 Golden .......... 6,200 
 
 Central City ........ 8,300 
 
 Idaho .......... 7,Soo 
 
 Georgetown ......... 8,450 
 
 Caribou .......... 9,200 
 
 Boulder 5,55° 
 
 Greeley .......... 4,750 
 
 Cheyenne ......... 6,041 
 
 Colorado City ......... 6,350 
 
 Pueblo 4,400 
 
 Trinidad 5, 800 
 
 Tarryall 9,9°o 
 
 Fairplay 10,000 
 
 Twin Lakes 9,000 
 
 Hot Springs in Middle Park 7,7°° 
 
 Boulder Pass 11,700 
 
 Berthoud Pass 11,020 
 
 Argentine Pass I3) 000 
 
 Breckinridge Pass 1 1, OOO 
 
 Long's Peak 14,3°° 
 
 Gray's Peak 14,251 
 
 Mount Lincoln ........ T 4,3°° 
 
 Mount Harvard ........ I4, 2 7° 
 
 Mount Yale . I4,°78 
 
 Pike's Peak 14,216 
 
 Summit of Divide where Rio Grande Railway crosses . 7,040 
 
 The extreme limit of timber-growth in this region is usually 
 about u,ooo feet above the sea, though, upon favourable ex- 
 * t 4
 
 280 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 posures, it occasionally extends some hundreds of feet higher. 
 Elevations above that altitude all come under the common 
 term of ' snowy range,' or ' snowy peaks ; ' and they hold more 
 or less snow upon them all the year round. They number, 
 in Colorado, thousands of peaks, and hundreds of them are of 
 about the average height of the highest enumerated. It is 
 doubtful whether the loftiest have ever yet been measured. 
 Lakelets for ever covered with ice are common among their 
 craggy summits. 
 
 ORES PURCHASED AT BOSTON AND 
 COLORADO SMELTING WORKS. 
 
 The Boston and Colorado Smelting Company — better known 
 as Prof. Hill's — at Black Hawk, during 1872, purchased the 
 following amounts of ore : From Clear Creek County, 2,100 
 tons, for which $320,000 were paid ; from Gilpin County, 
 6,950 tons, for which $178,000 were paid; and from Park 
 County, 600 tons, for which $88,000 were paid ; making a 
 total of 9,650 tons, and $586,000. This amount of ore was 
 reduced to 640 tons of matte, which was shipped to Swansea, 
 Wales. The average yield of the ore treated in 1871 was 
 $80 per ton ; and, estimating it at the same this year, the 
 product of the works for 1872 have been $788,000. This 
 would give an average value to the matte of about $1,230 
 per ton.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 281 
 
 COLORADO.— WEATHER RECORD AT DENVER 
 
 
 Highest 
 
 Lowest 
 
 Mean 
 
 Rain and 
 Melted Snow 
 
 January . 
 
 58 
 
 -26 
 
 227 
 
 •84 
 
 February . 
 
 64 
 
 —9 
 
 347 
 
 •29 
 
 March . 
 
 78 
 
 4 
 
 39'4 
 
 2-44 
 
 April 
 
 83 
 
 25 
 
 49 
 
 2- 3 S 
 
 May 
 
 80 
 
 35 
 
 61 -3 
 
 3'2I 
 
 June . 
 
 97 
 
 49 
 
 69 
 
 1-58 
 
 July . . . 
 
 93 
 
 54 
 
 7i 
 
 2-42 
 
 August 
 
 94 
 
 52 
 
 72 
 
 171 
 
 September 
 
 90 
 
 35 
 
 62 
 
 1-47 
 
 October 
 
 88 
 
 19 
 
 53-6 
 
 1-30 
 
 November ' . 
 
 69 
 
 —5 
 
 35 8 
 
 •81 
 
 December . 
 
 60 
 
 —8 
 
 28 
 
 •32 
 
 The rainfall in 1870 was 12-65 inches ; in 1871, 12-53 inches ; 
 and, in 1872, 18-77 inches. 
 
 NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD. 
 My readers must be aware of the existence of this Com- 
 pany and informed of its object to connect the great Lakes 
 with the Pacific Ocean. Their plans for the future ; the 
 work already done ; their land grants and the resources and 
 characteristics of the country through which the line passes, 
 are all set forth in the publications of the Company, which 
 are easily obtained in London, of Jay Cooke, McCullough 
 & Company. 
 
 TEXAS AND PACIFIC RAILWAY. 
 This Company propose to connect the great Southern 
 cities of the United States with the Pacific Ocean at San 
 Diego in California. The line passes through Texas, New
 
 282 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California, opening for 
 settlement a vast area of favourable country. This Com- 
 pany has for its President Thomas A. Scott, of the Penn- 
 sylvania Central, under whose leadership success is assured. 
 Parts of the line are already under construction. 
 
 HISTORY OF MINING IN COLORADO. 
 
 The General Features of the Mining Region, its Situation 
 and Extent. 
 
 The region now embraced within the limits of Colorado first 
 began to attract public attention in 1858. A party of miners 
 from Georgia, under the leadership of Green Russell, are 
 credited with the first gold discovery in what was then known 
 as the ' Pike's Peak Country.' This discovery was made on 
 Dry Creek, a few miles south of the present site of Denver, 
 and was followed by others on Cherry Creek, and at different 
 points along the Platte River above the confluence of these 
 two streams. Reports of these discoveries, of course greatly 
 exaggerated, were not long in reaching the Missouri River; 
 and, immediately thereafter, excited gold-hunters began to 
 wend their way towards the new Eldorado. The trials, 
 vicissitudes, and sufferings of these early pioneers, have fur- 
 nished abundant material for most thrilling history. 
 
 The progress and development of the mining-interests 
 of this region are thus described by a resident in the mining- 
 districts. 
 
 The first important gold discoveries were followed by a 
 large influx of population to the mining-region. During 
 the first two years operations were confined to the placers 
 in various localities, and to the washing of surface dirt of 
 a few gold lodes near what is now Central City. 
 
 During the succeeding year, explorations were rapidly and 
 widely extended ; and discoveries were made, at intervals,
 
 APPENDIX 283 
 
 throughout the whole foot-hill region, from Wyoming (then 
 Nebraska) on the north, to New Mexico on the south — a 
 distance of more than 300 miles. This mining-region has a 
 width varying from 40 to 60 miles, hence including about 
 15,000 square miles. Subsequent explorations and develop- 
 ments have established the following facts relative to this 
 great mining-region of Colorado, viz., — 
 
 First, that the plain country adjacent to and along the 
 entire length of the Eastern base of the mountains is under- 
 laid with inexhaustible beds of coal, of the lignite class, 
 which is of such superior quality as to adapt it for all 
 requisite uses, whether for steam, smelting, or domestic 
 purposes. Some of these coal-deposits are found in hori- 
 zontal, others in vertical beds, varying in thickness from 15 
 inches to 15 feet. Bordering these coal-measures are depo- 
 sits of fire-clay, equal in quality to any in the world, and in 
 quantities sufficient to supply the wants of the nation. The 
 same belt furnishes supplies of limestone, sandstone, gyp- 
 sum, and iron ore. This is the outlying belt of the mineral 
 region. 
 
 Second, that the lower foot-hills, for a distance of 10 or 
 20 miles from the plains are traversed by copper-bearing 
 veins, in nearly all of which a trace of gold or silver, or of 
 both, is found, and in paying quantities in some of them ; 
 and, 
 
 Third, that at the back of these, extending to the Snowy 
 Range, and including some districts beyond the range, are 
 found the great gold and silver-bearing veins, which, together 
 with the placers, have hitherto constituted the bullion-produc- 
 ing source of Colorado. These veins extend East and West, 
 showing many changes of character in different localities, 
 and are believed to exist along the range, with possibly 
 some interruptions, from the Northern to the Southern boun- 
 dary of Colorado. Previous to 1865, the region of country 
 immediately surrounding Central City was the great gold-
 
 284 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 producing section, by its placer and lode-mines. The 
 only other sections of Colorado which produced gold were 
 Park, Lake, and Summit Counties, where rich placer- 
 mines were and are yet worked successfully. The mines 
 worked in these sections were gold-mines, producing gold 
 containing but little silver. In 1865, however, rich silver 
 lodes were discovered in Summit County ; and in 1866 
 others in Clear Creek County, more particularly in the 
 vicinity of Georgetown. The latter have so steadily increased 
 in production as to make them the great rival of the gold- 
 mines of Gilpin County in the production of the precious 
 metals. In 1870, in Boulder County, silver-lodes were dis- 
 covered, and are worked to this day successfully. In 
 the autumn of 1871 extensive deposits of silver-ore were 
 opened up in Park County ; also gold and silver mines in 
 Conejos County. 
 
 Nearly all the gold veins carry a large amount of silver; 
 many of the silver veins carry some gold ; and others carry 
 copper, lead, and zinc. A large area of the mineral region 
 has not yet been explored, and new discoveries are made 
 every year. 
 
 Lack of an economical and intelligent system of mining, 
 lack of reasonable and adequate reduction-works, excess of 
 prodigal and unscientific experiments, and lack of railroad 
 facilities, have, in times past, militated against the profits of 
 mining in Colorado. All these impediments have either 
 disappeared, or are rapidly disappearing. Mining has been 
 systematized, and is conducted far more economically than 
 hitherto. The cost of reducing refractory ores has declined 
 from $75 to $25, or 15/. to 5/. per ton. The completion of 
 extensive smelting-works, already projected at the base of 
 the mountains, will make a still further improvement in 
 this particular. Railways are completed, and in operation, to 
 and along the base of the mountains, and are in process of 
 construction to the very heart of the mining centres.
 
 APPENDIX 285 
 
 Finally, unlike many other mining regions, this entire belt 
 is well wooded and watered. Situated under the shadow of 
 the Snowy Range, it is refreshed by summer showers ; and the 
 streams are constantly swollen during the summer by the 
 melting snows. The thousand little valleys among the foot- 
 hills up to the Range are fertile ; and the grassy glades 
 afford the finest pasturage in the world. The season is short 
 for the cultivation of cereals ; but soil and climate are un- 
 excelled in adaptation to the dairy, the growth of vegetables, 
 and culture of small fruits. 
 
 Gilpin County, the smallest in extent of all the counties, 
 and, perhaps, least adapted to agriculture, had, during the 
 past season, 1,320 acres of land under successful cultivation ; 
 this apart from the grazing-lands. 
 
 Aside from this belt, which has been briefly outlined, there 
 are known to be deposits of gold and silver in the parks 
 and beyond the Snowy Range. There may be mines as rich, 
 perhaps richer, to the West of the region described than any 
 yet discovered within it. That region is yet to be explored 
 and prospected. 
 
 In addition to the mines above noted, there are, in various 
 parts of the Territory, soda and salt springs, from which an 
 almost unlimited yield might be derived, and some of which 
 have already been made available. As soda and salt are 
 both used in the reduction of ores, their presence in the 
 Territory is of great importance in connexion with the 
 mining-interest. When it is taken into consideration that 
 Colorado has had no other exportation than from her mines, 
 since the settlement of the Territory, it cannot fail to impress 
 the reader with their immense wealth, and how important an 
 influence their present highly-successful developments are 
 having on her rapid and unexampled growth and pros- 
 perity. Their present yield has been nearly doubled in the 
 past two years.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 A GRICULTUKAL Lands of California, 207 
 a\ Alameda, 125 
 Almaden Quicksilver Mines, the, 128 
 Appendix, 243 
 Auburn, 68 
 
 BATTLE Mountain Station, 55 
 Big Trees, 141, 164 
 Black-Hawk, the city of, 229 
 Bluffs, Council, 22 
 Bonds of Pacific Railroads, 270 
 Bower Cave, 166 
 Buffalo, the home of the, 235 
 Burlington Route, 21 
 Byers, William N., 224 
 
 CALIFORNIA, the season of the year to make the journey, 179 
 ,, Summary view of, 217 
 
 , , for settlers, 207 
 
 Calistoga, the 'Saratoga' of the Pacific, 108 
 Canon, the great American, 61 
 Cape Horn, 66 
 Cedar Rapids, the city of, 19 
 Central, City of, 229
 
 288 INDEX 
 
 Central Pacific, the story of its Organisation and Construction, 193 
 
 Cheyenne, 35 
 
 Chicago, 14-16 
 
 Chinese, the, 88 
 
 Clark's Ranch, 139 
 
 Clear Creek and Canon, 233 
 
 Cliff House and the Road, 75 
 
 Colorado, 219 
 
 ,, Altitudes, 279 
 
 ,, Weather, 281 
 
 ,, Mining, 282 
 
 ,, Central Railroad, 225 
 
 ,, ,, ,, up Clear Creek Canon, 227 
 
 ,, Geographical limits, and location of, 220 
 
 ,, Climate and Parks of, 236 
 
 ,, Society in, 238 
 
 ,, Ores, Treatment of, 241 
 Corinne, the town of, 50 
 Council Bluffs, 22 
 
 Coulterville to Merced, Stage ride back through, 167 
 Crane Flat, 164 
 
 DENVER, First view of, 222 
 ,, Its history and situation, 223 
 ,, Pacific Railroad, 219 
 ,, Road from, to the mines, 303 
 Devil's Inkstand, the, 115 
 
 Discovery and Settlement of Yo-Semite Valley, 253 
 Donner Lake, 59 
 
 ECHO and Weber Canon, 40, 41 
 El Capitan, 133 
 Elliott, William B., 117 
 Erie Road, the, 5 
 
 Evans, the town of, and its characteristics, 221 
 Evanston, 40 
 Expenses of journey, 178
 
 INDEX 289 
 
 T^ASHIONABLE people travelling, 144 
 
 GATE, the Golden, 76 
 Gentiy's, the trail up to, 164 
 
 Georgetown, 232 
 
 Geysers, the Great, no 
 ,, the steamboat, 115 
 ,, the ride up to the Great, 109 
 
 Goat Island, 98 
 
 Golden, the city of, 225 
 
 ,, Mechanical enterprises of, 232 
 
 Gold, the discovery of, in California, 266 
 
 Greeley, the town of, 220 
 
 HERASZTHY, Col., 215 
 Hetch-Hetchy Valley, 248 
 Homeward Bound, 190 
 Hospitality, Californian, 183 
 Hotel Car, A, 21 
 
 Humboldt River, and the Sinks of, 54 
 Hudson River, 3 
 
 Hutchings, J. M., 157, 160, 246, 257, 258 
 Hydraulic mining, 63 
 
 IDAHO Springs, 231 
 Insane Asylum, Stockton, 174 
 Inspiration Point, 148 
 Iowa, a ride through Northern, 19 
 
 J 
 
 URY, the Woman, 38 
 
 K 
 
 ING, Starr, a tribute to the memory of, 83 
 Kip, Bishop, the Views of, 210 
 U
 
 290 INDEX 
 
 LAMON, J. C, 1 60, 259 
 Land Grants, 269 
 Laramie, City of, 38 
 
 ,, Great and Little Plains of, 39 
 
 ATARIPOSA, 137 
 
 ,, Grove of big trees, 141 
 
 Merced City, 133, 167 
 Mining towns, Peculiar speech at, 233 
 
 ,, ,, How to reach them, 271 
 
 ,, in Colorado, 2S2 
 Missouri River, 25 
 
 ,, „ Bridge, 26 
 
 Mitchell, John, 170 
 
 Mormons, the, their houses of worship and schools, 42 -47 
 Mormon Community, 47 
 Mountains, the Rocky, 36 
 Mountain view, Grand, 224 
 Muir, John, 159 
 
 NAPA- VALLEY, 104 
 ,, city and its gardens, 104 
 Nevada Canon, 157 
 
 „ Falls, 158 
 New York, State of, 4 
 Niagara Falls, 12 
 Northern Pacific Railroad, 281 
 North West, 17 
 North Western Railroad, 19 
 
 OAKLAND, 70 
 Ogden, 42 
 Omaha, the city of, 1 8-23 
 Overland trip reviewed, 177 
 
 lACIFIC Union, the, 31, 269 
 
 ,, Railroad, the Union, how it was built, 200
 
 INDEX 
 
 Pacific Railroad, the building of the Central, 19^ 
 
 ,, Railroads and Land Grants, 269 
 Park, National, the Yo-Semite declared a, 246 
 Pennsylvania, State of, 8 
 Philadelphia, the City of, 9 
 Preliminary Surveys, 204 
 
 291 
 
 Q 
 
 UARTZ-MINING in California, 239 
 ,, ,, in Colorado, 240 
 
 R ALSTON'S, a day at, 187 
 Reno, 56 
 Rock Island Route, 20 
 Rocklin, 68 
 
 Routes, the several from the East to Chicago, 1 
 ,, New York Central, 3 
 ,, Erie, 5 
 ,, Pennsylvania, 6 
 ,, Baltimore and Ohio, 9 
 
 SACRAMENTO, the city of, 69 
 ,, a ride from, to Oakland, opposite San Fran- 
 
 cisco, 70 
 Salt Lake City, Situation, people, and buildings of, 45 
 Salt Lake, the, 53 
 San Diego, the city of 211 
 San Francisco, arrival in, 71 
 
 the seal rock and the sea lions, 74 
 
 Sunday in, 77 
 
 impressions of, 78 
 
 what is seen from Oakland Wharf, 79 
 
 streets of the city of, 81 
 
 architecture and churches of, 82, 83 
 
 gardens, plants, and trees of, 84 
 
 school and manufacturing interests of, 85 
 
 banks and currency of, 87
 
 292 INDEX 
 
 San Francisco horse-cars in, 87 
 
 ,, ,, the Chinese in, 89 
 
 ,, ,, hotels, people, and amusements of, 94, 95 
 
 ,, ,, art and the artists of, 97 
 
 , , ,, the future of, 101 
 
 Santa Clara College, 127 
 ,, „ city of, 126 
 ,, ,, valley of, 119 
 San Jose, city of, 132 
 Seal Rock and the lions, 74 
 Sherman, 37 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains, 145 
 
 , , , , , , elevation of peaks and passes of, 244 
 
 Smelting Works, Prof. Hill's, 2S0 
 Snow sheds, 59 
 Southern California, 209 
 Southern Pacific, 281 
 South Tuolumne big trees, 165 
 Stockton, 171 
 
 Sulphur Springs, white, 106 
 Summit Station, 61 
 Surveys, the several, made to determine the routes for a railroad, 204 
 
 TRANSCONTINENTAL Routes, 203 
 Travelling in California, 1 76 
 Tenaya Canon, 155 « 
 
 Trees and plants in Vo-Semite Valley, 250 
 
 ,, ,, of Rocky Mountains, 275 
 
 Truckee region, the, 59 
 Tule Lands, 173 
 Tuolumne, South, grove of big trees, 165 
 
 u 
 
 NION Pacific, its construction, &c, 200 
 Utah, future of, 50 
 
 VERNAL Falls, 
 Virginia city, 
 
 'ERNAL Falls, 158 
 57
 
 INDEX 293 
 
 WAHSATCH Mountains, 41-44 
 Washington, the city of, 9 
 Weather in California, 179 
 West, advice to those intending to go, 218 
 Wheat farming, 169 
 White sulphur springs, 106 
 Winegrowing, 213 
 Wyoming, territory of, 35 
 
 YELLOWSTONE, the Park of the, 51 
 Vo-Semite, to the, 131 
 
 Valley, routes to the, 131 
 
 trails from Clark's into the, 146 
 
 wonders of, 145 
 
 Fall, the, 153 
 
 the flora, 162 
 
 Valley, flowers, trees, and shrubs of, 162 
 
 routes to, via Mariposa, 243 
 
 ,, to, via Big-Oak Flat, 243 
 
 , , to, via Coulterville, 243 
 Valley, mountains around the, 245 
 the waterfalls, 245 
 the, declared a national park, 246 
 Valley, trees and plants growing in and around the, 250 
 
 ,, the road to, 135 
 
 ,, Inspiration Point, 147 
 
 ,, advice about the trip, 176 
 
 ,, origin of the name, 262 
 Young, Brigham, 49 
 
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