alifomia 3^1 rional "^ ility )«< Mimm will '*it' ^" " ^ H -3 5( tr/ ^'' f ^tf/ ,-Sg*a>^ (JYrs.C?e/i/.Co///sj THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF E, C. Robbins o # -A.CADE OF MUIR OLACIER. ALASKA. o AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. cHew>6rk- 36631 Copyright, 1890, by Septima M. Collis. A WOMAN'S TRIP TO ALASKA BEING AN ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE THROUGH THE INLAND SEAS OF THE SITKAN ARCHIPELAGO IN l8qo SEPTIMA M. COLLIS (Mrs. General C. H. T. Collis) author of " a woman's war record."' Illustraied by American Bank Note Co. New York. NEW YORK CASSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY 104 &: 106 FoiRTH Avenue PREFACE. Iw the following pages I have not made even a pi"e- tence of writing a scientific or historical work. It is not of special interest to those for Avhom I write to know the exact pressni'e to the square inch which pro- pels the seas of ice as they furrow their way from the Arctic regions through the mountain gorges down to the softening influences of the Japanese stream, nor to trace the vicissitudes of Alaska from the voyages of Captain Cook down to the purchase by Mr. Seward in 1867, nor yet to familiarize themselves mth the etli- nology of the various tribes of Indians who inhabit the Aleutian Islands. All this has been better done than I could ever hope to do it. My sole object is to put on paper, for the benefit of others, the impressions made upon me by the voyage, and to explain how this delightful excursion can be enjoyed ^vithout the slight- est fatigue or discomfort, and at a tnfling expense. I want them to know, as I know, that the ship is a yacht, of which the Captain is the host, the passengers his guests, and the object of the cruise the pursuit of pleasure; and if I succeed in inducing my country- women to follow my example and postpone Paris and London, Rome and Vienna, the Rhine and the Alps, to some future day, they will always have reason to be grateful to me, and I shall always have reason to be satisfied with my effort. Septima M. Collis. Ko. 7;") West 7 1st Street, New York, Nov. Ttli, IhUO. Mrs. General Collis, New ^'ork City. Dear ^SEada^i : It ^v;i8 ii liandsome compliment for you to submit to me tlie 2'J"(^<>f^ <'f }'our fortli-coming book "^V AVoman's Trip to Alaska," every ^vord of Avhich I lia\'e read Avitli 2)i'ofit and pleasure, and I am sure it will influence thousands of touiists to visit oiu- own sublime regions in America before going to Europe. I profess to be some^^'llat familiar witli e\'erv route of travel between Xe\\' York, Puget Sound and Britisli Columbia, and can verify your faithful description as far as Queen Charlotte Sound. Thence to Sitka, Muir Glacier and Juneau, your ti*ip Avent beyond my i)er- sonal experience ; although I have conversed A\'ith many officers who have been there and beyond, all of A\hom will bear testimony to }'Our faithful descriptions. In reading youi' text I Avas impressed by yoiu" ap- preciation of the heroic achievements of our American j)ioneers Avho have brought the Pacific States Avithin easy reacli of tlie most delicate and refined of our Eastern people; that you describe the comfort and 2083211 real luxury of travel in tliat m^w reiiiou ; the excellent hotels and steamers equal, if not su[)erioi\ to those of the Atlantic Coast, and tlie chai'ities of our wealthy to save what is possible of the nati\es of our newly acquired territory, especially that of Mrs. Elliott F. Shepard, grand-daughter of Coinuiodore Vandei"T)ilt, at Sitka. I am sure this book will have a large circulation, that it will do much good, and will remain to you and youi' children a monument more lasting than marble or bronze. Affectionately your fi'iend, AVM. T. SHERMAN, (xeneial. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. How to Dress and What to Take. — Checking Baggage. — Trip over the Pennsylvania Railroad. — A Halt and a Dinner in Cliicago. — Minneapolis : its Flour-IMills, and its Beaiitiful P.uildings, Lakes, and Parks ........... i-g CHAPER 11. West from IMinneapolis. — Comforts of the Dining-Car. — Bismarck. — Previous Visit in 1883. — Grant, Villard, and Evarts. — Sitting Bull's Unpopularity. — The Bad Lands. — Marquis deMores's Unsuccessful Venture. — The Yellowstone River. — Indians, Cowboys, and Ever- changing Scenery. — The Wonders of the Yellowstone Park. — A Trip through it with President Arthur, General Sheridan, and Others, All Now Deceased. — Helena, Montana. — A Sunday Dinner on Board the Train. — Wonderful Trestles and Engineering. — Clark's Eork. — Lake Pend d'Oreille. — The Sportsman's Paradise. — Spokane Falls. — Miles of Uninteresting Sage Grass. — Moxie Farm. — An Amusing Visitor. — The Cascade Mountains. — Stampede Tunnel. — The Puy- allup Valley. — Arrival at Tacoma ....... 10-33 CHAPTER III. Tacoma of .Seven Years Ago. — Tacoma of To-Day. — Its Prosperous Population. — Culture and Refinement. — Lumber ^lills and Ship- ping. — Rapid Building. — "The Tacoma" Hotel. — Mount Tacoma, 34-44 CHAPTER IV. The Steamship Queen. — Her ^Vdmirable Appointments, — Obliging Offi- cers and Servants. — Captain Carroll and One of his Jokes. — Seattle. — Its Wonderful Growth since the Great Fire. — An Indian's Floating Residence. — Puget Sound. — Its Beautiful Islands. — Wonderful Young Cities. — Anacortes and P'airhaven. — Port Townsend. — Fresh Arrivals from San Francisco ........ 45-56 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. PACK Arrival at Victoria, B. C. — \\\ Eden of Flowers. — The English May- flower. — Exquisite Landscape. — Superb View of the Bay and Moun- tain Ranges. — Grand Sunset. — Civility of the Residents, — Dinner at the " Poodle Dog." — A Moonlight Tramp to the Ship . . . 57-66 CHAPTER VI. Up Early and on Deck. — Who Are the Early Risers ? — The Gulf of Georgia and Johnstone Straits. — Vancouver and San Juan Islands. — Snow-Clad Mountains, — More Picturesque Islands. — Breakfast. — Whales, Water-falls, Seals, and Porpoises. — A Most Enjoyable Day, —Wonderfully Transparent Water. ...... 67-75 CHAPTER VII. Arrival at Fort Wrangell. — Its History. — Meeting the Governor of Alaska. — The Totena Poles, — Their Meaning. — Curious Carvings by the Natives. — The Wretched Indian Homes. — Poverty, Filth, and Disease. — An Indian Woman's Life of Toil and Shame. — Infanti- cide, — Polygamy. — Indian Graves. — An Amphibious Hotel. — The Trip from Fort Wrangell to Sitka. — The Delta of the Stickeen River — Exquisite Scenery and Long-Continued Daylight. — Arrival at Sitka 76-88 CHAPTER VIII, Sitka, — So Much like Naples, — Mt. Edgecombe, — The Dilapidated Store- Houses. — Baranoff Castle : its Flistory and Reminiscences. — Lady Franklin and William H. Seward. — The Ceremony of Handing over Alaska by Russia to the United States. — The Journey of Civilization Westward around the Globe, — Indians and their Knick- Knacks. — Superstition against Photography. — Indian Adornments. — The Rancherie and its Horrors, — Princess Thom. — The American Shops, — The Russo-Greek Church, — Service by Archbishop Ma- dimir. — Wonderful Interior Decorations. — American Ladies at Sitka and How They Live. — The Indian River Walk, — The Blarney Stone. — Presbyterian Missions and Mrs, Elliott F, Shepard's Schools and Hospitals, — Wonderful Work of the Missionaries and Progress of the Pupils, — The Narrow Gulf between Barbarism and Civilization 89-124 CONTENTS. CTIAPTKR IX. J-AtiK 1 )eparture from Sitka. — Everybody Happy. — Thoroughly Satisfied %\illi the Day's Experience. — Suggestions for Improvement of Condition of the Sitkans. — The Thousand Islands and their Eoliage. — Mt. Edgecombe Again. — Tlie Fairweatlier Mountains by Twilight. — .V Night of Continuous Day. — .Vmazing Effect of Sunset and Sunrise. — The Dawn of the IMorning Finds Everybody on Deck. — Fields of Ice and Icebergs in Glacier Bay. — The Captain's Anxiety and Skill. — "Coffee?" "No, Thanks." — Description of Muir Glacier . 125-143 CHAPTER X. My First Sight of Muir Glacier. — The Spell-Bound Passengers. — What it Looks like. — Its Colossal Grandeur and Exquisite Coloring. — Break- ing off of the Front with Loud Detonations. — Impressions Made upon Previous Writers. — Ascent to the Top of the Glacier. — Its Dangers and Fatigues ........ 144-158 CHAPTER XI. Taking Ice Aboard. — The Lake of the Gods and Scidmore Island. — The Fairweathers by Daylight : Fairweather, Crillon, and La Perouse. — Divine Service on the Qiiecv. — Meeting the Pinta and Handing the Sailors their jSIail. — Douglass Island and its Gold Mines. — History of the Treadwell Mine. — Cheap and Profitable Mining. — A Quarry of Gold. — Juneau. — Prettily Located. — Its His- tory. — Great Depot for Furs. — Methods of the Indian Trader. — A Treasure Lost and Regained. — The Native Dances Given by an Alas- kan Showman. — Weird and Unique Performance. — Remarkable Cos- tumes of the Dancers. — The Shaman Dance .... 159-174 CHAPTER XII. Taku Inlet. — Up the Lynn Canal to Chilcat, above the 59th Degree of Latitude. — Auk and Eagle Glaciers. — The Davidson Glacier. — Kil- lisnoo and its Fisheries. — Wrangell Narrows and Clarence Straits. — The American Eagle. — Whale Food. — The Oulikon or Candle- Fish. — Schools of Whales in Search of Food. — Bute Inlet. — Fort Simpson, B. C. — A Post of the Hudson Bay Company. — Methodist Church. — Ravages of La Grippe. — Mourning and Tombstones. — "Muck a muck." — The Man-Eaters and Dog-Eaters. — Horrible Bar- barism before the Arrival of Mr. William Duncan and the Mission- aries. — Death in a Hut, and the Anguish of an Old Squaw . 175-1S5 CONTENTS. CHATTKK XITT. PAGE Metlahkatlali, B. C. — An Indian Village with a Good ("lovernment.^ — Their Written Constitution. — Their Industries and Mechanical YAu- cation. — Nanaimo. — A Game of Base-Dall. — Celebrated Coal Mines. — Recent Sad Calamity in One of Them. — Great Resort for Sports- men. — Splendid Fishing and Hunting. — Victoria Again, and the " Poodle Dog" Once More. — "Squimault and the Boating-Grounds. — Election-Day. — The Australian Ballot. — A Cause C^lebre. — Arrival Once More at Tacoma. — Off for the Vosemite . . 186-194 ILLUSTRATIONS By the American Bank Note Company^ of New York. The Muir Glacier — Frontispiece. Portrait of the Author — Gultekunst, Phila. Home of Hon. W. D. Washburn, Minneapolis, - - 7 Indian of the Plains — Photo, by Notman & Son, . . 9 Gen'l Grant at Bismarck, - - - - - 13 A Brief Halt, --_-... 14 Home of the Marquis de Mores, . . . . 17 Indians and Cowboys, .-__.. 18 Old Faithful — Photo. b\- Haynes, . . . . iq Yellowstone Falls — Photo, by Haynes, - - - - 20 President Arthur and Companions, - - - . 21 Marent Trestle — Photo, by Haynes, - - - - 24 Near Clark's Fork— -Photo, by Haynes, ... 25 Spokane Falls — Photo, by Haynes, . . . . 27 "Ah, There!" ------- 30 Cutting Timber in Washington— Photo, by Davidson, - - 32 The Wharves at Tacoma — Photo, by Davidson, - - 33 Tacoma— Photo, by Rutter, ------ 35 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma — Photo, by Haynes, - - 38 Mount Tacoma — Photo, by Rutter, - - - - 42 puyallup hop-pickers, ----- 44 "Give Her a Coat of Paint," - . . . . 48 Seattle — Photo, by Haynes, - . - . 50 Bishop Vladimir, ------- 55 A Bit of Scenery from the Deck, - . . - 56 Victoria — Pholo. by Maynard, - . ... 59 PAGE Victoria Hosi>italitv, ...... 62 All Hands on Deck, ------- 68 Scenery in the Gulk ok Georgia, . . - . 70 ------ 70 ------ 70 72 Johnstone Straits, -.---. 75 Fort Wrangeli., -...-.- 76 Totem Poles at Fort Wrangell — Photo, by Taber, - - 77 A Street in Fort Wrangell — Photo, b)^ Taber, - - - 78 Totem Poles at Fort Wrangell — Photo, hv Taber, - - 79 Indian Squaws at Fort Wrangell, - - . . 81 Indian Grave at Fort WRANciELL^from Photo, by Taliei, - 83 The Stickeen Delta, ------- 85 The Kodak Fiends, ------ 86 Sitka (from the Wharf), ------ 88 Sitka (from the Bay) — Photo, by Taber, - - . gi Portrait of William H. Seward, ----- 94 Lincoln Street, Sitka — Photo, by Taber, - - . g6 Group of Indians at Sitka, - - . . - 57 99 " " " ----- 100 " " " .... - lOI The Rancherie at Sitka — Photo, by Taber, - - - 102 Group of Indians at Sitka, ----- 103 The Rancherie at Sitka, ------ 104 Princess Thom, ------- 105 Group of Indians at Sitka, ------ io5 Interior of Indian's House at Sitka — Photo, by Partridge, 107 Greek Church at Sitka, - - - - - - no Interior of Greek Church — Photo, by Albertstone, . . 113 The Indian River at Sitka — Photo, by Winter, - - . 117 Group OF Indian Boys— Photo, by Winter, - - - 118 Mrs. Shepard's Training School, ----- 120 The Mission Children, ------ 121 The Museum at Sitka, ------ 124 Mission Children and Band, ----- 125 PAOh. On Deck ; leaving Sitka, ------ 126 A Night of Continual Day, . . - . . 129 Icebergs Ahead, ------- 131 In a Sea of Ice, - - - - - - - 132 Immense Floating Ice, -....- 135 MuiR Glacier at a Distance, ----- 143 A Bit of the Muir Glacier, _ - - . - 146 The Climb, -------- 154 The Top of Muir Gi.aciek — Photo, by I'lirtridge, - - - 156 On Top, ----- - - - 157 Canoe Race by Alaska Indians, ----- 158 Hoisting Ice on Board, ------ 159 The Treadwell Gold Mines, - - - - - 162 A Whole Quarry of Gold, . - . . . 163 Juneau — Photo, by Taber, -....- 165 Alaska Curios, ---.... 168 Indian Dances,- ---..-- 172 Indian Canoe, - - - - - - - 174 Indian with Thlinkjt Blanket, - - - - - 174 Davidson Glacier — Photo, by Winter, - - - - 177 Killisnoo — Photo, by Winter, . - . . - 178 The Mt. St. Elias Range, - - - . . iSo A Picture of Despair, ------ 185 Educated Alaska Indians at Home, . - - - 189 The Boating Grounds at Victoria — Photo, by Maynard, - 191 Map showing Route of the Steamer " Oieen," - 3d page cover |Y DEAR AMELIA : To visit Alaska ! This, as you know, liacl been a dream of many years. I liad listened enviously to those who had been there; I had read every thing within reach ^^ liidi had been Avritten about it; the more 1 ht^aiil and the more I read, the more I ho])ed. At last, most unexpectedly, just as I had completed my arrangements to spend my summer as usual at Sara- toga, the welcome words came from your father : " 1 will hav^e to start for Tacoma in a few days ; come along, and run up to Alaska." I don't think I slept any more quietly or soundly that night than did your little one when he hung up his stocking on Christmas eve. Oh, no ! Womanlike, I was mentally packing my trunk for the next few hours M'ith the many things w hich I felt sure would be indispensable to my comfort, and 2 A WOMAN'S TRIP TO ALASKA. having filled oue in tlie usual style to such an extent that the horrid thing wouldn't shut, I began to ask myself how little would be needed by your father, and whether he couldn't find room for a dress or two in his. I am not going to tell you what a blunder I made Avlien I really did lay out my stores for the campaign, but I am going to do my best to prevent you following so bad an example, if I can induce you to make the trip. Dress yourself at the start in a sensible, inexpensive cloth travelling suit, of ordinary warmth; let it fit comfortably and not fashionably (you know \vhat I mean). In addition, carry one, and only one, costume whicli will serve for church, dinner, theatre, or occasion of ceremony, for I assui'e you there are two oi- three places en route where the refinements and convention- alities of life are strictly ol:)served, and as you are a fair specimen of your sex, you will want to look up to the standard ; otherwise you will feel ill at ease. Of course you will take a proper supply of warm under-garments, and then be sure to add, if they are not already in your portmanteau, the following indispensables : A long fur-lined cloak and an ulster (not a heavy one), which can be put on in a hurry and made to counterfeit an entire costume ; otherwise you will be very apt to miss exquisite bits of the ever-changing scenery, because you "are Just lying down for a nap and are really not fit to be seen " when some kind friend calls you to run across to the starboard side to see a thousand feet of cascade, visible only for a few min- utes, as the boat speeds past it. A warm muff : you PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 3 will find lots of muffs on tlie ship, uo doubt, but the}' all keep their hands in their trousers' pockets, and you will sometimes wish you had pockets, too, unless you wrap your little fingers as I suggest. I would several times ha\"e given half the money your father had in liis purse if I had not left my little seal-skin muff' in the camphor closet at home. A pair of broad-soled, low- heeled shoes that have been already worn, \\\\\\ a few nails in sole and heel protruding just enough to impress the smooth surface of the crlacial ice. A lis-ht-weitJ^ht mackintosh, with hood. A pair of smoked glasses. A pair of powerful field-glasses. Do all this and you are fully equipped for the journey. Any thing else you take is simply impedimenta. As my journey fi'om the Atlantic to the Pacific was so thoroughly enjoyable and restful that I was really loth to leave the train when I reached Tacoma, I cannot better guide you than by telling the story of my own journey. Having procured our tickets over the Pennsylvania Railroad to Chicago, and thence over the Northern Pacific t(^ Tacoma, we next secured a drawing-room on the Pullman car to Chicago, and telegraphed to that city to secure one to Minneapolis (whei'e we intended to remain over one day). We next had our two trunks taken from our house at Eighty-sixth Street and Fifth Avenue the day before we started and checked through to Minneapolis by the Pennsylvania Kailroad Company for fifty cents each ; which, I think, was the gi'eatest amount of comfort and relief from anxiety that I ever purchased for a dollar in my life, especially ^vhen I 4 A nVA/A.VS TRIP TO ALASKA. found tlieiu siit'ely awaiting our comiug in that city, i-ead}' to be checked tlirougli to Tacoma at do ad- ditioDal cost. (lu fact I subsequently learned that they could have been checked thi'ough the whole dis- tance from my residence to Puget Sound for half a dollar each, if I had so desired.^ At 2 P.M., May 13, 1890, I find myself in the train at Jersey Cit}-^, westward bound for our destination — Alaska. At Philadelphia we wait five minutes, where you meet me for good-bye and hon 'voyage., to say nothing about a delicious box of bon-bons, and then I settle down to make luyself comfortable for the first day's journey. A¥e have a charming little compart- ment, one of those Pullman m,ultu7)i-i'n-parvo''':i ^v\\\' than the one which broiio;ht us from New York ; at all events, it has every thing that the most fastidious person could wish for, and when I com- pared it with the chilly, comfortless coaches in which I have been doomed to spend hours in Italy and Eastern Europe, I felt that those who gruml)le at the little co)}- tre-temps that sometimes happen even in the wonderful Pullman system are a most unreasonable set : onr com- partment is a cute little salon by day, where we are happy in the dolce far iiiente^ with our books, or in writing to those at home. We have every convenience, a cheerful and obliging porter, and when the white- jacketed waiter announces " supper is now ready in the dining-car," we simply ^valk through the vestibuled TLIR COM I' CRTS OF TRAVEL. ii passage-way to the next car and are politely ushered to a tea wliich would have done credit to any home in the land. Just tliink of a broiled salmon steak, excellent and well-cooked chops, delicious ^vaffles, strawberries, capital tea, and lots of other good things, if you preferred them, all for seventy-five cents ; add to this, if you \vish, a pint of Zinfandel (a California claret), and one dollar pays the bill. I really become so content and restful that I feel I could live here a month. Perhaps the men on the train miss their clubs in the evening, their billiards, or their rubber ; but, as far as I am con- cerned, I am happy that there are no shops, no dinner parties, theatres, or balls. I live to confess that I do not miss tliem. Think of it, I retire at nine o'clock, and sleep peacefully until eight. I have but one arriere pensee, one nightmare : will I grow fat on this calm, heart-full, and stomach-full life ? Yes, I have another : Avill the id^iquitous teu-months-old baby (there is always one to each car) yell in the night be- tween the intervals of paregoric ? It is Saturday morning. May 17th, and I have slept deliciously ; if the baby cried I was too unconscious to observe it, but al)out four in the mornins; I was awak- ened by a change in the temperature ; it had become intensely cold, and I made good use of the exti-a blanket. Upon arising I find we are out on the tree- less prairie, coated with a light fall of snow. For I should think two hundred miles we travel on in a straight line across this vast expanse of plain with no speck of foliage excepting here and there \vhere the 12 .1 iro.i/.i.vs iRir yv ma ska. settler is making :i fruitless effort t<> raise a few sti'ipliugs ; yet I am told that in a month these thousands of acres will be fresh and green with the young spj'ing wheat, and what no^\- is an uninteresting barren waste will then be a veritable cornucopia. What care I if the e}e does tire of the monotony of the plain, the horizon, and the occasional farmdiouse { it can turn to the little di'essino;-room with its ever\' convenience, its finely bevelled mirrors, tank of ice- Avater, marble basin with hot and cold Avater, and silver spigots, little shelves and trays in carved mahogany, adaptable to all the many necessities of a woman's toilet; a little hijou, which surely no man ever designed, unless he was a very, very much mar- ried man. Breakfast at nine — strawberries and cream, brook trout, broiled spring chicken, first-rate coffee. Think of it, and rememl^er the old days, when Ave had to be elbowed and trod upon by rude men in the rush to get to the counter of the wayside station and choke or scald ourselves in the effort to bring on an attack of dyspepsia before the conductor should shout '' All aboard ! " Think of doing this on hot days, on cold days, on rainy days, and on slippery days, and then com- pare it with the decent, respectable, healthful method of to-day : a table for two, take your own time, rational meal, and the train carrying you on to your destination at thirty miles an hour ; is n't it grand ? Breakfast finished, we find ourselves at Bismarck at 10 A.M., Avhere the train stops long enough to permit us to take a stroll upon the platform and look at a busy BISMARCK. 13 town built up on the trade incident to the great wheat country of which it is the centre. Here we hjse the society of two sisters of charity, who have been passengers from Minneapolis, bound on an errand of mercy. I am sorry they leave us, for I feel better always for the influence of their presence ; much as our faiths differ I have reason to have an immense regard, respect, and admiration for these dear good women, whose lives are full of sacrifice, immolation of self, and jiurity of heart. Bismarck is full of proud and tender memories for me. Seven years ago I leaned upon the arm of our great hero General Grant there as we walked together to the ceremony of dedicating the State House, followed by a column of distinguished men, among whom were Mr. Yil- iard, Mr. Evarts, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and others who were en route to the laying of the last rail to complete the great highway from St. Paul to the Pacific. Then, I rode over the Rocky Mountains in stages, ate terrible meals with all sorts and conditions of men, slept in the woods, got wet and dusty, frozen and l)r()iled, accoi'ding to the altitude to which we climbed, or from which Ave descended, and was more fatigued at the expiration of my four days' jolt than I would be in a Pullman car in a month. It was H A IFOMAN'S TRIP TO ALASKA. on this occasion at Bismarck that I was witness to an episode which is worth recording. Sitting Bull and his chiefs, but recently stained ^ith the blood of poor Custer and his intrepid band of follovv^ers, were osten- tatiously and indecorously paraded upon the 2)latf()]'iu erected for the speakers, and Sitting Bull conunenced a harangue in his native tongue, which was being in- terpreted, when the crowd below, no^v assembling and realizing \vhat ^v^as taking place, drove him with yells and hisses to the rear and called Grant to the front. I was in entire sympathy ^vith the crowd. The picture of the handsome Custer with his red scarf, as he dashed along Pennsylvania Avenue on his runaway horse at the grand review in AYashington in 1865, was before me, and so ^vas his murderer. There Av^as but one side to such a ques- tion. At all events I can- not work my- self up to any sympathy for the Indian. I have seen the no])le red man at home, Avith his filth and his vice, his dishonesty, his cunning, and A BRIEF HALT. {KodaU d by Atdhor.) liis general uu- HAND AN AND THE BAD LANDS. 15 reliability, and I am among those wlio believe he should be coerced into o-ood behavior and not tolerated as he is. Leaving Bismarck we cross the muddy Missouri on a new iron ])ridge, and in twenty minutes are at Mandan, where a chano-e of locomotives and conductors necessi- tates a halt of a quarter of an hour, giving us a chance to visit a curiosity shop of stuifed birds and beasts at stuffed prices, but as I have no use for these dust- and moth-catchers in my household, they tempt me not. Shortly we reach the " bad lands." I think the name belies them, for in addition to their l)eing weird, pictur- es(pie, and puzzling, they are good grazing lands, as I myself can testify, if good fat herds of cattle afford any proof. The topography is of the most marvellous formation, and the colors are equally wonderful : here you see an ashy-gray hill of elephantine form, there a red cone as perfect as though just from the moulder's hands, again a pyramid, and then dozens of cones and pyramids, and this continues for a hundred, nay, two hundred miles. Often these quaint forms recall to mind scenes in other lands : once from the car-window I recognized on tliis arid desert the tomb of Cecilia Metella on the Appian Way, with its beehive formation and its battlements. Now" and then you recognize wdiat you believe to be an extinct volcano with lumps of scoria at its base, yet this may be only the slag or refuse of the burning lignite, w^hich is fre(piently found and sometimes mined among these hills. AVhat struck me as the most remarkable feature of this won- derful and enigmatic formation, ^vas a series of well 1 6 A UVJ/AX'S TRIP TO ALASKA. delined lioi'i/oiital lines, a foot or two apart, which invariably marked the mounds or buttes, very much resembling the lines made upon the shore of a river by the rise and fall of the tide. Now I am not a geologist, nor gifted Avith much antediluvian or prehistoric lore, nor have I I'ead any scientist's ideas of what I am describing, but to me it looks as if at some very remote period this entire region was the bottom of one or more fresh-water lakes as large as Lakes Michigan and Erie, or as small as those which cover acres of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and that by some process of evaporation, or by leakage or failure of supply, they gradually dried up, leaving these water- marks upon tlie hill-sides to denote the periods of transition. At all events fossilized fish and shells are found here in abundance, and it is said that irrigation will make the soil productive. While 1 am thinking of it, how^ever, and perhaps wasting my time in conject- ui-e, we stop at Medora. Here is the wreck of a once thriving plant and settlement founded by Marcpiis de Mores, the husl)and of one of New York's I'icli l)elles, who conceived the idea that he could establish and suc- cessfully carry on at this place tlie business of raising and slaughtering cattle and sending the meat in refrigera- tor-cars to Eastern markets. He built a neat home, which can be plainly seen from the train, but after a serious altercation Avitli some of the cowboys, I'esulting in a traged}", in which tlie Mar(piis bore himself with considerable gallantry and nerve, he ultimately aban- doned the scheme and left the country. Yet I am told MARQUIS DK MORES' SCHEME. 17 by tlie people wlio should know best, tliat his plan was an excellent one, and will yet be carried out successfully, but lack of business experience and tact ^^■as the real cause of his failure. He established the fju-t, h()^vever, that cattle wouLl fatten here, and that they could readily be prepared for safe shipment to the Atlantic seaboard, or '' from ranch to table," as the Marcpiis epigrammatically styled it. He was a pioneer, and, like many others, perhaps a little ahead of his time. HOME OF THE MARQUIS DE MORES. {KodaFd hy Author.) 1 8 A UVJLLV'S TRIP TO ALASKA. Looking at his liouse and the dismal surroundings, you cannot lielp congratulating the Marchioness that the scheme was a failure. No wealth would compensate for such a life to one accustomed to tlie whirl of the metropolis ; cel^c va de sol it ^vas a terrible sacrifice. Another night of comfortable sleep and Sunday, May 18th, dawns upon tis Just as a spring day ought to — sunsliiny, pleasantly warm, and a clear sky. This is to be a day of laud- and water-scape, so we take our catnp-stools and our Kodak to the rear [Jatform and feast our better nature wdth a repast of the sublime and l)eautiful approach to the foot-hills of tlie Rocky Mountains. Here we have dashes of scenery to de- light the most exacting artistic taste — mountain and ravine, valley and stream ; in fact, for the next twenty- four hours the track follows the meandering course of the great Yellowstone River, ^vith its rapids and water- falls, its precipitous l)anks and rock-l)ound canyons, its Indians and its cowl)oys, — an ever-changing whirl of panorama, through ^vhich we pass so rapidly that before the oft-repeated echo of our shrill whistle has THE YELLOWSTONE PARK. 19 died away upon a scene of encliantment, another still more beautiful surrounds us, eft'acing all recollection of its predecessor, till the admiring eye and hungry soul become satiated with a kaleidoscopic confusion of the sul)lime. Asked now to select some gem for an artist from among it all, I should fail ; I couhl not par- ticularize an}^ special locality. If I had taken photo- graphs one upon top of the other every live minutes of that delightful day, and then made one composite pict- ure of the whole, it might faintly convey an idea of nature decked with her pnrple I'obes and sceptre as it lingei's in my memory while I Avrite. At nine in the morning Ave reach Livings- ton, and here I experience the first and only disappointment of my trip. This is the entrance to the Yellowstone Park. Seven years ago I left the train at this point and went off on the little branch road t<^ Cinna- bar, and thence seven or eight miles in a stage to the Mammoth Hot Springs. Oh, ye geysers, and you lovely canyon, with your marvellous waterfall, must I pass you all by as I hurry on to Alaska ? Alas, the ship will be waiting for me at Tacoma, and I have promised to be there. Dear old Yellowstone Park, I [^ see plainly your snow-clad mountains, I almost hear the roar of your hot fountains ; 'OLD FAITHFUL. YELLOWSTONE FALLS. " OLD FAITHFULr 21 " 01(1 Faitlifurs '' [unictu.'il coining and going is en- titled to better treatment than I am giving liim, yet I cannot tarry. Gladly would I walk there to feast upon those bright colors unseen and unheard of else\vdiere. Oh, for one look from the summit into the deep abyss whei-e soars the eagle, and for an honr beside those fathomless lakes of emerald mirrors and morning glories. But it must not be. I am exploring new fields. Au revolt'^ my old friend — so near and yet so far ; if my life is spared I have not seen you for the last time ; and yet we are such creatures of circumstances and conditions that I feel like exclaiming " Lasciate ogni spe- ranza vol die isrox entratey Only a few years ago I I'ode with President Arthur, and Gen- eral Sheridan, and x\nson Stager, and Captain Clarke, through the lanes and across the rivers of this wonder land. All gone ! Yes, this hour is one of sad memories and disappointments ; let me get back to the train and leave the past Ijehind. From Livingston and through the Bozeman tunnel \ve arrive at Helena, the most thriving and populous city of Montana, located in the centre of one of the richest minino; resfions in the country. I spent some days there upon my previous visit, and spent them very uncomfortably ; the accom- 22 A WOMAN'S TRIP TO ALASKA. modatioiis were uot fit for man or beast, much less for woman. All this, however, has changed since the com- pletion of the railroad, and it now boasts of an admi- rable hotel (the Broadwater) and a luxurious and mam- moth bathing-house. Leaving Helena we enter upon that wonderful system of railroad engineering ^vhich, I am told, is almost unequalled ; here we commence the real ascent of the Rockies, circling around the sides of the snow-capped hills and leaping from crag to crag, over trestle bridges of dizzy heights and wonderful construction, culminating in the Mullen tunnel, which marks the summit, and emerging upon a l)eautiful valley just at sunset ; abandoning the extra locomotive and rat- tling along at a lively pace on a down grade to Grarrison, where there is a branch road to Deer Lodge, a beauti- ful little town with a nice, clean, well kept hotel, which gave me shelter and rest after my stage ride over the mountains in 1888, and thence to Butte and Anaconda, famous for their rich copper and silver mines. At this point (Garrison's), therefore, we lost many of our convpagnons de voyage, who were destined for some of these places, and several of them to Salt Lake City. To-day, in the dining-car, we were treated to a din- ner which would have done credit to any first-class hotel in America, and which surpassed a great many dinners I have eaten in such so-called hostelries. I preserved the tJiemti and here it is in full : SYSTIUr OF IRRTGA TION. 23 DINNER, SUNDAY, MAY i8, 1890. I'otage a la Crc'cy, Consomme Macaroni, Filet of Trout Princesse, Potatoes, Dauphine, Cucumbers, Radishes, Olives, ])oiled Ox Tongue, Crenadins of V'eal, Ncapolitaine, Kromeskies of Lobster, a la Russe, Peach Fritters, wine sauce, Roast Beef, browned potatoes. Roast Chicken, stuffed, Cura9oa Punch, Roast English Snipe, Boiled Potatoes, Lima Beans, Cauliflower, Mashed Potatoes, Stewed Tomatoes, New Beets, Lettuce Salad, F'ruit Pudding, Sauce Labayon, Rhubarb Pie, Whortleberry Pie, Vanilla Ice Cream, Fruit, Assorted Cakes, Edam Cheese, French Coffee, Nuts. If passengers are not served to their satisfaction, the fact should be reported to the dining-car conductor. All meals 75 cents. I assure you it tasted just as good as it reads, and I en- joyed it thorouglily, epicure as I am. The country we are now passing througli — that is, between Livingston and Missoula, is a " dry section." It seldom rains liere, and though the rivers and creeks I'un full, they are cliieHy dependent upon the melting snows in tlie mountains for their su[)])ly of \\ater. This gaYe us an opportunity to see the method of irrigation adopted by the farmer to water liis croj)s ; it consists, as far as I could discover, in damming uj) the streams and carrying the water from tlie pools thus formed in little ditches to the grain fields; but the pools are only tapped at intervals wlienever the ground needs moisture, and I was told by an irrevei'ent passenger that this is a far more reliable system than that provided by nature in the shape of rain. Un- fortunately the run west from Missoula was made at 24 A IFOMAN'S TRIP TO ALASKA. iiiglit, and I was deprived of tlie satisfaction of once more eiijoyiug a sight of the wonderful trestles which cross the ravines over which our train passes in its descent to the western side of the Rocky Mountains; one of them, the Marent ti'estle, which bridges the mountains across the Coriaca defile, being two hundred and twenty -six feet high ; Avhich is best realized by look- ing at the houses and occupants t)f the ranch imme- diately beneath it, \\\\o present very tiny specimens of architecture and hunmnity. I am glad that all these structures are now l)uilt of sul)stantial iron ; for on my previous visit the creaking of the timbers under the weight of our heavy train was any thing but pleasant. ^■k . .. _-. - -. - -^~ - ■— :^.; = — ;^j.?^^-.v'*v -^s" ■-*■•*""*■ ^^'^TSj 'Z^^^^^-.^ -fer^fiJj^^sS. ^^ i W.. 1 . -^ i^r^^^'^''^'^-^^-*^*^-- MAKENT TRESTLE, 226 FEET HIGH. 26 A JfOJ/AX'S TRIP TO ALASKA. Oil the morning of May 19tb, looking out of the window at my bedside, I found myself emerging from tlie rocky scenery of Clark's Fork, and afterward traversino; the edge of a beautiful sheet of water ; so liurryiug with my toilet, I was soon out on the I'ear platform absorbed in the charms of a panorama en- tirely unlike the wild rugged mountain scenery of the day before. We w^v^ now on the banks of Lake Pend d'Oreille. Whether it gets its name from the French missionaries, who found the Indians indulging in tlie harmless fashion of wearing eai-rings, or \vliether the Indians named it themselves after acquiring a smatter- ing of French, I know not, but I do know that, though not '"'■ margined with fruits of gold," it ^vas, when I saw it, a clear lake, " glassing softest skies," and alto- gether lovely ; and it must be very large too, for we were running alongside of it for fully two hours. It is said to be tlie paradise of the sportsman, abounding in bear, elk, deer, pheasants, wild fowl, and trout, and I am told that in the months of Se})tember and October the season is at its best. Some of this big game, of course, I was not permitted to see, Init I can vouch for the trout, which I have eaten, and for the tliousands of wild ducks, which I have seen there. The town of Hope, w^here we again set our watches back one hour for the third time on our trip, is said to be the liead-(piarters foi" the devotees of gun and rod ; it j^ossesses a good hotel, experienced guides, dogs, and all tlie other mannisli tilings required on such occasions. SPOKANE FALLS. 27 Tlie next point of interest reached is Spokane Falls, and it is indeed a point of very great intei-est. We have no^v left Montana and are in the young, thriving State of Washington, and this town — pardon me, I should have said city — will give the Easterner an idea of ^^•hat can be accomplished by an industi'ious colony of Amei'ican citizens where nature lends them a helping hand. Seven years ago, at the request of Messrs. Cannon and 1 ' ' ij^rnP^^^^B i^ m ^gm iKi- ^ ^ r^ - - -J a a J ^^:- ■jMl^^^^ ^2. WBr.'m ifi i s m^M SPOKANE FALLS. Brown, two leading citizens of the place, I stopped over here a fe^v houi's (for we had a special train and loitered as we liked) to look at the magnificent water- fall. I do not think there were a dozen houses there at that time, yet to-day it boasts a population of over twenty thousand, all the result of utilizing the tremen- dous water-p()\ver of the "falls.'' I remember with 28 A IVaJfAX'S TRIP TO ALASKA. regret that upon tliat occasion these two gentlemen, then in need of money, though now millionaires, offered to sell their one-half interest in the watei* and the siir- I'oiinding land to your father for $32,000, but he did not avail himself of the opportunity; and yet five years later a fi'iend of mine gave more than this amount for less than half an acre of this same land, and sold it at an immense profit. Last year it was supposed to have suffered from an extensive conflagration which swept away the business part of the town, but to-day, as magnificent edifices of solid masonry are replacing the shanties of the past, the fire is conceded to have been a blessing. I believe the day is near at hand when Spokane will be a second Minneapolis, for it possesses both tlie water-powei' and the crops which have made the latter great. Up to this point, for three whole days the eye has seen so much that is new and startling, that it becomes ^veary just when the scenery grows flat and uninteresting; in fact the millions of acres of sage- gi'ass and sand through which we now pass affords us just the rest we need. I never fully i-ealized until now how true is the saving; that we may have "too much of a good thing," and if I took a nap from Spokane Falls to Pasco, it was l)ecause 1 needed it and was not missing any thing. When this desert is irrig^ated and becomes a o-arden of orchards and flower- beds, as is prognosticated by those who have the hardihood and self-denial to live there, I am willing to stay awake ; but really I sa\v nothing worth describing until passing through the promising towns of North AMUSING INCIDENTS. 29 Yakima and Ellensburg we commenced the ascent of the Cascade Mountains. It is worthy of mention, how- ever, that near Yakima is a very flourishing irrigated ranch, called the Moxie Farm, managed by Mr. Ker, which produces grapes and other fruit in great abun- dance and of the highest quality, and has proved so successful in the culture of tobacco that a manufactory has been established there, which is turning out what the men call " a high grade of cigar." Monotonous as w^as this day's trij), there w^ere many in- cidents W'hich amusingly broke in upon it — for instance, at supper w^e found a sti'anger, wdio had come aboard at Pasco, looking indigenous to the soil, agood deal of ^\■hich he carried upon his person ; he was evidently dazed by the society in wdiich he found himself, and did his best to adapt himself to the manners and customs of his fellow-passengers. Being handed a napkin, he care- fully surveyed the company, and finding that some of the men had tucked their bits of napery in under their chins (a vulgar habit, by-the-by), he promptly did the same, and then, entirely unconscious of the object of so placing it, buttoned his coat over it, much to our delight and edification. Then he ate literally of every thing on the bill of fare, and when thoroughly gorged stretched himself out and picked his teeth with a resounding smack, the proud possesser of a lordly ap- petite and a digestion which w^ould make countless thousands happy. iVnd Just here is a good place to say that sometimes coming late to our meals we find the colored porters seated at the tables taking theirs. A JIVJ/A.V\S TRIP TO ALASKA. It seemed strange at first to me, but I must do them the justice to say that they behaved in the most decorous manner, neither eating with tlieir knives, nor by any breach of etiquette or table manners doing the slightest thing to excite criticism ; on the contrary, they could give lessons to many of the boisterous gentlemen (?) travellers who constantly jostled us. Illustrating the straits to which the settlers are put upon their arrival out here, I cannot help sj^eakiug of a queer little temporary structure which I saw built over a pile of fire- wood alongside of a tool-house on the rail- road at Bad- ger. It con- -^ sisted of the show-bill of a circus and s(mie pieces of old matting propped up upon half a dozen sticks, and perhaps would not have attracted my attention, but I thought I sa^^' it move. True enough, just as the train moved on, a bright face emerged fr<^m beneath the show-bill, and, with a merry laugh, exclaimed " Ah, there ! " AVaving our adieus to the occupant of the improvised bed-tent, we Avondered how long it would take him, in a country like this ^vonderful State of Washington, to pass through THE CASCADli M0UX7^AIXS. 31 the stages ^vhicli sliould ])riiig him to the otium cum dignitate of a (^ueeu Aime cottage and a porch. Leaving Elleusbiirg we realize that Ave are coming to the end of our feast, and as night closes in on us we begin to look u[) sliawl-straps and grip-sacks, as we have to debark early on the morro^v. Unfortunately the Cascade Mountains were crossed during the night, and we missed the wonderful feats of engineei'ing ^vhi(']l liave made it possible for a train of cars to ascend and descend the Stampede Pass. I have seen it liowever, on another occasion. It is simply marvellous, and with the exception of bits of the Denver and Kio Grande route there is no spot on the continent where the majestic work of the Creator is so skilfully supple- mented by the ingenuity of man. For miles and miles you travel back and fortli on the sides of these im- mense mountains to accomplish in the end a progress of onh- a luile or so in a straic^ht line, looking' down from the car window on the right at the track you have just passed over, and looking up from the window on the left to that which you have yet to surmount, while the wild torrent of a river rushes and plunges under you and over you and all around you, as though in angry indignation at your invasion, and a million stalwart firs, immense in height and thickness, stand as they have stood for centuries awaitino; the doom whicli the little saw-mill in the valley is preparing for them. At the summit \ve enter the famous Stampede tun- nel, almost two miles in length, lit up by incandescent lights, in which Ave are imprisoned for eleven long. 32 A JJVJrAN'S TRIP TO ALASKA. very long minutes, and emerge to get a good view of the switchback road, which for the two years preced- ing the completion of the tunnel carried thousands of passengers to and fro over its perilous timl)ers without the loss of a single life. Here again we get a still better view of the intricate and difficult feats of en- o-ineering: than on the eastern side of the mountain, and here we find the pic- turesque Green River, which stays by us un- til we reach the level, broad Puyallup Val- ley, reno-wned for its wonderful )deld of hops. Earl}' in the fall the hop -fields of this prolific valley are a charming sight ; — the lofty vines being laden with the beautiful pale- green flower, which is plncked })y Indians who come long dis- tances in their ca- noes or on their ponies in their pic- turesque costumes TACOMA. 33 Avitli their ^(juaws, papooses and dogs, and camp like gypsies by the roadside, living on dried game and fish which they bring with them, and returning with enough coin to provide blankets and other necessaries fle. We reached it by rail along the grandly picturesrpie bank of the Columbia River from Pasco to Portland and thence, partly by boat and partly by rail, to Puget Sound. Thou2fh I was not rude enou2;li to confess it to m\ host, I do not now hesitate to say that it did not favorably impress me, and my thi-ee or four days' experience of its acconunodations and food were any thing but satisfactory. Its streets were unpaved and dusty, and as we drove through its principal thorough- fare our horses were compelled to meander around the 36 A WOMAN'S TRIP TO ALASKA. tree-stumps, still marking the recent existence of the primeval forest. There were then but three buildings of any pretensions in the place — a pretty Episcopalian church, a young ladies'* seminary, and a three-story brick store. The only object of interest Avas the Old Tacoma saw-mill, about two miles distant, and the little town surrounding it, excepting when the clouds lifted now and then to give a view of Mount Tacoma, which process of lifting, by-the-by, never took place while I was thei-e at that time, so that I l:)egan to believe its beautiful lines and its snowy hood were all a myth. Seven years have come and gone, and seven times live thousand people have come and stayed here since then ; not only stayed here, but they have prospered and grown rich, and their wealth is now invested in banks, manufactories, storehouses, handsome shops, one charming hotel and many others of less preten- sions, a univei'sity, two or three colleges, a dozen school-houses and as many churches, a beautiful thea- tre, and every thing that goes to make up urban life. Its society is simply delightful, composed of people from the larger Eastern cities, many of them young married folks, starting life and " growing up with the country," but carrying with them to their far Western homes such of the conventionalities and refinements of city life as best secure the amenities which are indis- pensable to well regulated society, omitting only those formalities which chill hospitality and dwarf courtesy and a;ood breedins^ into mechanism. " Come and dine with us to-morrow at seven " sounds so much better and heartier than " Mr. and Mrs. Status request the TACOJ/A. 37 pleasure," etc., etc., and yet when you sit down in one of those charmingly furnished homes your reception and your dinner are Just the same as you have ex- perienced in Beacon Street, Fifth Avenue, or Walnut Street. The china, the glass, the flowers, the napery, the cooking, and the wines would do credit to an embassy at Washington, and the guests you are apt to meet will generally have a store of knowledge quite as gratifying to the reason as the viands are to the palate. And what has brought al)out so wonderful a trans- formation in seven short years i is the question which uatui'ally suggests itself as I marvel at the busy throngs moving to and fi'o, and listen to the clatter of the mason and the carpenter, and the whistle of loc(^niotive and steamboat. Let us see : standing upon the prome- nade of " The Tacoma " and lookino: out over Commence- ment Bay, the first object to attract my eye is the immense lumber mill of the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company, completely covering a piece of laud half a mile long at the mouth of the Puyallu}) River, and giving enqdoyment in all its ramifications to five or six hundred men. Beneath the bluff upon which this promenade is l)uilt, I hear the rumbling and shunting of the hundi-eds of freight cars laden Avith stores from the East, which are here distril)uted over the vast area of country known as ''Puget Sound." Far out in the deep \vater are a dozen or more large ships waiting, I am told, for their tui-n to receive cargoes of lumber or coal or wheat for England, Aus- tralia, China, Japan, San Francisco, and South America: some of them have brought cargoes of tea from the 38 A IJ'OJ/AX'S TRIP TO ALASKA. Orient, others liave just discliarged iron rails aiul mer- cliaudise after a four iiiontLs' voyage arouucl Cape Horu. To the riglit I see the dense smoke and dis- tinctly liear tlie noises ^\ liicli come from macliine-sliops and foundries, and all around me I am sensible of a restless activity pervading the people, whose lives seem to be devoted to indefati arable toil. To a dweller in the East who has been tortured by the sIoav process of blasting and digging, of masoniy and carpentry, of plumbing and glazing and roofing, of papering and frescoing, ^vllich postpone one's occupancy of his new home until it becomes a question Avhether he will live long enough to get into it, it is a sensation to watch the evolution of a few loads of plank and boards into a pretty Queen Anne cottage, as happens every week in Tacoma ; in fact, I know of one case (that of Mr. \1L\V ul' lALll IC A\"L\U£. r A COMA. 39 and Mrs. C. P., a newly inui'iie