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diff --git a/old/63172-0.txt b/old/63172-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5e8eb60..0000000 --- a/old/63172-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6279 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Pacific Coast Vacation, by Ida Dorman Morris - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: A Pacific Coast Vacation - -Author: Ida Dorman Morris - -Release Date: September 10, 2020 [EBook #63172] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A PACIFIC COAST VACATION *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness, Craig Kirkwood, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - -Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end. - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: MRS. JAMES EDWIN MORRIS.] - - - - -A PACIFIC COAST VACATION - - - BY MRS. JAMES EDWIN MORRIS - - _Illustrated from Photographs Taken En Route - by James Edwin Morris_ - - THE Abbey Press - PUBLISHERS - 114 FIFTH AVENUE - LONDON NEW YORK MONTREAL - - * * * * * - -Copyright, 1901, by THE Abbey Press - - * * * * * - -Dedicated to Alaska’s Beautiful Daughter, - -MISS EDNA MCFARLAND - -Linked in my memory of those sea-girt shores where snow-crowned -mountains tower like castles old; where wild cataracts hurl their -waters down rugged cliffs to the sea; where sea gulls mingle their -cries with the rushing torrents; where frost giants stride up and down -the land; where the Aurora flames through the long winter nights, will -ever be the name of this gifted daughter of Alaska. - - - - -FOREWORD - - -If you ask what motive she who loved these scenes had in essaying to -portray them with pen and camera, she would reply that like the Duke of -Buckingham, when visiting the scene where Anna of Austria had whispered -that she loved him, let fall a precious gem that another finding it, -might be happy in that charméd spot where he himself had been. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - FOREWORD - - CHAPTER - - I. AUF WIEDERSEHEN 1 - - II. PLENTY OF ROOM 34 - - III. OFF FOR ALASKA 46 - - IV. FIRST VIEWS 59 - - V. FURTHER GLIMPSES 72 - - VI. GOLD FIELDS 85 - - VII. MUIR GLACIER 91 - - VIII. SITKA 103 - - IX. ALASKA 116 - - X. FAREWELL TO SKAGWAY 129 - - XI. WASHINGTON AND OREGON 137 - - XII. OFF FOR CALIFORNIA 160 - - XIII. SAN FRANCISCO 173 - - XIV. CALIFORNIA FARMS AND VINEYARDS 187 - - XV. YOSEMITE 191 - - XVI. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 210 - - XVII. HERE AND THERE ON THE COAST 217 - - XVIII. WALLA WALLA VALLEY 224 - - XIX. HISTORICAL REFERENCES 228 - - XX. YELLOWSTONE PARK 236 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - Junction of the Mississippi and Black Rivers 9 - - Falls of Saint Anthony 11 - - Falls of Minnehaha 13 - - Old Fort Snelling 15 - - Roadway, Soldiers’ Barracks, Fort Snelling 17 - - Entering the Cascade Range 35 - - Lava Beds in Washington 37 - - Tangle of Wild Fern in a Washington Forest 39 - - Mount Rainier 41 - - Street in Tacoma, Washington 45 - - Parliament House, Victoria 51 - - Gorge of Homathco 53 - - Light House, Point Robert 55 - - Fjords of Alaska 57 - - Fishing Hamlet of Ketchikan 59 - - Fort Wrangel, Alaska 63 - - Chief Shake’s House, Fort Wrangel 67 - - Entering Wrangel Narrows 71 - - Douglas Island, Looking Toward Juneau 73 - - Silver Bow Cañon, Juneau. (_By permission of F. - Laroche, photographer, Seattle, Washington_) 75 - - Old Russian Court House, Juneau 77 - - Street in Juneau 79 - - Greek Church, Juneau 81 - - Indian Chief’s House, Juneau 83 - - Summit of the Selkirk Range, at Head of Yukon River. - Old Glory Waves Beside the British Flag 85 - - The Skagway Enchantress 89 - - Skagway, Showing White Pass 91 - - Muir Glacier (section of) 93 - - Greek Church, Killisnoo 99 - - Kitchnatti 101 - - Sitka--Soldiers’ Barracks, Old Russian Warehouse and - Greek Church on the right, Indian Village on the - left, Russian Blockhouses Beyond, and Mission - Schools in the Distance. (_By permission of - F. Laroche, photographer, Seattle, Washington_) 103 - - Indian Avenue, Sitka 105 - - Blockhouse on Bank of Indian River, Sitka, Alaska 107 - - Rapids, Indian River, Sitka 113 - - Where Whales and Porpoises Poke Their Noses Up - Through the Brine 119 - - Steamer Queen Leaving Juneau 133 - - Alps of America 135 - - Government Locks on the Columbia River 143 - - Rapids, Columbia River 145 - - Farm on the Bank of the Columbia River, Below the - Dalles, Oregon 147 - - Scene on an Oregon Farm in the Willamette Valley 151 - - Roadway in Oregon 153 - - Climbing the Shasta Range 163 - - The Highest Trestle in the World, near Muir’s Peak, - Shasta Range 165 - - Mount Shasta. (_By permission of F. Laroche, - photographer, Seattle, Washington_) 167 - - Street Scene in Chinatown, San Francisco 177 - - Museum in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 181 - - Early Morning, Yosemite Valley 189 - - Wawona Valley 191 - - Oldest Log Cabin in the Sequoia Grove, Mariposa - County, California. Old Columbia in the Foreground 193 - - Half Dome and Merced River 195 - - Merced River, Yosemite Valley 197 - - Yosemite Falls 199 - - El Capitan 201 - - Bridal Veil Falls and the Three Brothers (solid rock) 203 - - Mirror Lake, Sleeping Water 205 - - Yosemite Falls, Showing Floor of the Valley 207 - - Sunrise in Yosemite Valley 209 - - Entering Hell Gate Cañon 233 - - Liberty Cap and Old Fort Yellowstone 235 - - Hotel Mammoth, Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park 237 - - Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone Park, Just Before - an Eruption 239 - - Yellowstone Lake 241 - - Camping on the Shore of Lake Yellowstone 243 - - Paint Pots on Shore of Yellowstone Lake 245 - - Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone 247 - - Gibbon River Falls 249 - - Micky and Annie Rooney 251 - - * * * * * - -A Pacific Coast Vacation - - - - -CHAPTER I AUF WIEDERSEHEN - - -Off to see the land of icebergs and glaciers; the land I have often -visited in my imagination. It seems but yesterday that the first -geography was put into my hands. O, that dear old geography, the silent -companion of my childhood days. - -The first page to which I opened pictured an iceberg, with a polar -bear walking right up the perpendicular side, and another bold fellow -sitting on top as serenely as Patience on a monument. - -“What was an iceberg? What were the bears doing on the ice and what did -they eat? Was that the sun shining over yonder? Why didn’t it melt the -ice and drop the bears into the sea? No, that was not the sun, it was -the aurora borealis. Aurora? Who was she and why did she live in that -cold, cold country, the home of Hoder, the gray old god of winter?” - -The phenomenon of the aurora was explained to us, but to our childish -imagination Aurora ever remained a maiden whose wonderful hair of -rainbow tints lit up the northern sky. - -We talked of Aurora, we dreamed of Aurora, and now we are off to see -the charming ice maiden of our childhood fancy. - -Off to Alaska. For years we have dreamed of it; for days and weeks -we have breakfasted on Rocky Mountain flora, lunched on icebergs and -glaciers and dined on totem poles and Indian chiefs. - -Much of the charm of travel in any country comes of the glamour with -which fable and legend have enshrouded its historic places. - -America is rapidly developing a legendary era. Travel up and down the -shores of the historic Hudson and note her fabled places. - -The “Headless Hessian” still chases timid “Ichabods” through “Sleepy -Hollow.” “Rip Van Winkle,” the happy-go-lucky fellow, still stalks the -Catskills, gun in hand. The death light of “Jack Welsh” may be seen -on a summer’s night off the coast of Pond Cove. “Mother Crew’s” evil -spirit haunts Plymouth, while “Skipper Ireson” floats off Marble Head -in his ill-fated smack. - -With a cloud for a blanket the “Indian Witch” of the Catskills sits on -her mountain peak sending forth fair weather and foul at her pleasure, -while the pygmies distil their magic liquor in the valley below. - -“Atlantis” lies fathoms deep in the blue waters of the Atlantic, and -the “Flying Dutchman” haunts the South Seas. - -We have our Siegfried and our Thor, whom men call Washington and -Franklin. Our “Hymer” splits rocks and levels mountains with his -devil’s eye, though we call him dynamite. - -Israel Putnam and Daniel Boone may yet live in history as the Theseus -and Perseus of our heroic age. - -Certainly our country has her myths and her folk lore. - -In time America, too, will have her saga book. - -Yonder, Black Hawk, chief of the Sac, Fox, and Winnebago Indians, made -his last stand, was defeated by General Scott, captured and carried to -Washington and other cities of the East, where he recognized the power -of the nation to which he had come in contact. Returning to his people, -he advised them that resistance was useless. The Indians then abandoned -the disputed lands and retired into Iowa. - -Just north of Chicago we passed field after field yellow with the bloom -of mustard. Calling the porter I asked him what was being grown yonder. -He looked puzzled for a moment, then his face lighted up with the -inspiration of a happy thought as he replied: - -“That, Madam, is dandelion.” - -“O, thank you; I suppose that they are being grown for the Chicago -market?” said I, knowing that dandelion greens with the buds in blossom -and full bloom are considered a delicacy in the city. - -“No, Madam,” answered my porter wise, “I don’t think them fields is -being cultivated at all.” - -I forebore to point out to him the well kept fence and the marks of the -plow along it, but brought my field glasses into play and discovered -that the disputed fields had been sown to oats, but the oats were being -smothered out by the mustard. - -Wisconsin is a beautiful state. Had the French government cultivated -the rich lands of the Mississippi valley and developed its mineral -resources as urged by Joliet, Wisconsin might still be a French -territory. But all his plans for colonization were rejected by the -government he served. A map of this country over which Joliet traveled -may be seen in the Archives de la Marine, Paris, France, to-day. - -The soil is light and farming in Wisconsin is along different lines -from that of her sister state, Illinois. In every direction great dairy -barns dot the landscape. Corn is grown almost entirely for fodder. The -seasons here are too short to mature it properly. In planting corn for -fodder it is sown much as are wheat and oats. - -The principal crops of this great state are flax, oats, hops, and I -might add ice. Large ice houses are seen on every side. Much of the -country is yet wild. Acres of virgin prairie just now aglow with wild -flowers, take me back to my childhood, when we spent whole days on the -prairie, “Where the great warm heart of God beat down in the sunshine -and up from the sod;” where Marguerites and black-eyed Susans nodded -in the golden sunshine, and the thistle for very joy tossed off her -purple bonnet. - -Here and there in northern Illinois and Wisconsin kettle holes mark the -track of the glaciers that once flowed down from the great névé fields -of Manitoba and the Hudson lake district. - -In traveling across Wisconsin one is reminded of the time when witches, -devils, magicians, and manitous held sway over the Indian mind. - -Milwaukee is a name of Indian origin,--Mahn-a-wau-kie, anglicized into -Milwaukee--means in the language of the Winnebagoes, rich, beautiful -land. - -According to an Indian legend the name comes from mahn-wau, a root of -wonderful medicinal properties. The healing power of this root, found -only in this locality, was so great that the Chippewas on Lake Superior -would give a beaver skin for a finger length piece. - -The market place now stands on the site of a forest-clad hill, which -had been consecrated to the Great Manitou. Here tomahawks were belted -and knives were sheathed. Here the tribes of all the surrounding -country met to hold the peace dance which preceded the religious -festival. At the close of the religious services each Indian carried -away with him from the holy hill a memento to worship as an amulet. - -It was the greatest wish, the most passionate desire of every Indian to -be buried at the foot of this hill on the bank of the Mahn-a-wau-kie. - -Recent investigation has shown that Wisconsin was the dwelling place of -strange tribes long before the advent of the Indian. - -The Dells of the Wisconsin river was a favorite resort of the Indian -manitous. Yonder is a chasm fifty feet wide, across which Black Hawk -leaped when fleeing from the whites. He surely had the aid of the -nether world. - -In this beautiful region, hemmed in by rugged bowlder cliffs, lies a -veritable Sleepy Hollow. In a dense wood back of the cliff stands the -mythical “lost cabin.” Many have lost their way searching for it. The -strange thing about it is that they who have once found it are never -able to find it again. Weird stories are told about it. Its logs are -old and strange, different from the wood of the dark old forest in -which it stands. There are stories afloat that it is haunted by its -former inhabitants, who move it about from place to place. - -At the foot of this rugged cliff lies Devil’s lake. At the head of this -fathomless body of water is a mound built in the form of an eagle with -wings outspread. Here, no doubt, lies buried a great chief. Nothing is -left in Wisconsin to-day of the Indian but footprints,--mounds, graves, -legends and myths. - -At Devil’s Lake lived a manitou of wonderful power. This lake fills the -crater of an extinct volcano. Now this manitou, so the tale runs, piled -up those heavy blocks of stone, which form the Devil’s Doorway. He -also set up Black Monument and Pedestaled Bowlder for thrones where he -might sit and view the landscape o’er when on his visits to the earth. -These visits have ceased, since the white man possesses the country. -One day this wonderful manitou aimed a dart at a bad Indian and missing -him, cleft a huge rock in twain, which is now known as Cleft Rock. At -night, long ago, he might have been seen sitting on one of his thrones -or peeping out of the Devil’s Doorway watching the dance of the frost -fairies or gazing at the aurora flaming through the night. - -Every night at midnight Gitche Manitou appears in the middle of the -lake. - -In days gone by a strange, wild creature, known as the Red Dwarf, -roamed the region of the great lakes, haunting alike the lives of red -man and white. - -The snake god, the stone god, the witch of pictured rocks, were-wolves -and wizards held sway in that charméd region where San Souci, Jean -Beaugrand’s famous horse, despite his hundred years, leaped wall of -fort and stockade at pleasure. - -[Illustration: JUNCTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND BLACK RIVERS.] - -At LaCrosse we crossed Black river into Minnesota and shortly after -crossed the Mississippi. LaCrosse, although French, originally, means -a game played by the Indian maidens on the ice. The heights on either -side of the Mississippi river remind one of the Catskills along the -Hudson. Indeed, the scenery is very similar. You easily imagine yonder -cliffs to be the palisades. Here, a spur of the Catskills range and the -little valley between might be Sleepy Hollow. But you miss the historic -places--Washington’s headquarters, Tarrytown, West Point and others. -Like forces produce like results. When you have seen the Hudson river -and its environs you have seen the upper Mississippi. - -St. Paul and Minneapolis form the commercial center of the North. -Although the ground freezes from fifteen to sixteen feet, the concrete -sidewalks and pavements show no effect of the touch of Jack Frost’s icy -fingers. The street-cars here are larger and heavier than any I have -ever seen. Then, too, they have large wheels, and that sets them up so -high. This is on account of the snow, which lasts from Thanksgiving to -Easter, good sleighing all the time. - -The French and Indian have left to this region a nomenclature -peculiarly its own. There is Bear street and White Bear street. In the -shop windows are displayed headgear marked Black Bear, White Bear and -Red Cloud. There are on sale Indian dolls, Indian slippers, French -soldier dolls, Red Indian tobacco, showing the influence still existing -of the two peoples. One sees many French faces and hears that language -quite often on the streets and in the cars. - -The falls of St. Anthony are at the foot of Fifth street in -Minneapolis. The water does not come leaping over, but pours over -easily and smoothly in one solid sheet. On either bank of the river are -located the largest flouring mills in the world. Not a drop of the old -Mississippi that comes sweeping over the falls but pays tribute in -furnishing power for these mills. Huge iron turbine wheels that twenty -men could not lift are turned as easily as a child rolls a hoop. - -[Illustration: FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY.] - -On the site of these mills long ago were camped the Dakotas. They had -just come down from another village where one of the men had married -another wife and brought her along. The woman was stronger than the -savage in wife number one, and when the Indians broke camp and packed -up their canoes and goods for the journey to the foot of the falls, the -forsaken wife, taking her child, leaped into a canoe and rowed with -a steady hand down stream toward the falls. Her husband saw her and -called to her, but she seemed not to hear him and she did not even turn -her head when his comrades joined him in his cries. On swept the boat, -while the broken-hearted wife sang her death-song. Presently the falls -were reached. The boat trembled for a moment, then turning sideways, -was dashed to pieces on the rocks below. - -Minnesota was the land of Gitche Manitou the Mighty and Mudjekeewis. -Mackinack was the home of Hiawatha and old Nokomis. There Gitche -Manitou made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Indian Garden of Eden. -One day Manitou or Great God made a turtle and dropped it into Lake -Huron. When it came up with a mouth full of mud, Manitou took the mud -and made the island of Mackinack. - -As we steamed up the Mississippi to the falls of Minnehaha we had a -good view of the bank swallows in their homes in the sandstone banks -along the river. The action of the air on sandstone hardens a very -thin crust on the surface, and when this is scraped off one can easily -dig into the bank. The swallows are geologists enough to know this and -hundreds of them have dug holes in the perpendicular walls. Here the -chattering, noisy little cave-dwellers fly in and out all day long, -flying up over the cliffs and away in search of food or resting in the -shrubbery which grows in the water near by. It is a pretty sight to see -the happy little fellows skim the water. It makes you wish that you, -too, had wings. - -At the entrance of Minnehaha park we were greeted by a merry wood -thrush, whose voice is melodious beyond description. There he sat on a -swaggy limb not ten feet from us. We were familiar with his biography -and recognized him by his brown and white speckled coat. We advanced -cautiously. We had come six hundred miles to see him and I think he -knew it, too, for when we were so near that we could have taken him in -our hands he recognized our presence by nodding his graceful head first -this way, then that, and sang on. We spent some ten minutes with him, -then “_bon voyage_” he sang out as we passed on. - -[Illustration: FALLS OF MINNEHAHA.] - -Three miles above Minneapolis are the beautiful falls of Minnehaha, -Laughing Water. These falls are beautiful beyond the power of my pen to -describe. The water does not pour over, but comes leaping and dancing, -like one great shower of diamonds, pearls, sapphires and rubies. The -vast sheet of water sixty-five feet high reminds one of a bridal veil -decked with gems and sprinkled with diamond dust. - - “Where the falls of Minnehaha - Flash and gleam among the oak trees, - Laugh and leap into the valley.” - -It was here that Hiawatha came courting the lovely maiden Minnehaha. -The falls are surrounded by a government park. Hurrying along through -glen and dale, looking for the falls, we met a party of young ladies -who were having a picnic in the park. - -I accosted one of them, “Beg pardon, Mademoiselle, can you tell me -where to find the falls?” - -She looked astonished for a moment. “The falls of what?” - -“The falls of Minnehaha.” - -“O, I don’t know; never heard of her,” replied my maiden fair as she -turned and tripped away. - -It has always seemed so strange to me that people living near places of -interest are oftentimes ignorant of the fact. - -We next met a youth of some fourteen summers, who knew the history of -St. Paul, Minneapolis and their environs. He could tell you all about -the big mills, the soldiers, the barracks and old Fort Snelling. He -knew the story of Minnehaha, too; had been to the falls hundreds of -times, and knew the Song of Hiawatha as he knew his alphabet. Gitche -Manitou had but to set his foot on the earth and a mighty river flowed -from his tracks. Mudjekeewis was a great warrior, but Hiawatha was -his hero. It was with genuine regret that we bade good-by to this -interesting youth. - -[Illustration: OLD FORT SNELLING.] - -Our next visit was to old Fort Snelling, three miles out from St. -Paul. This fort was built in 1820. It is round, two stories high -and is constructed of stone. The old fort, of course, is not used -now. The regular soldiers stationed here are located in delightful -quarters. The barracks are just beyond the old fort. The hospital is a -large, commodious building of stone. The parade field is a delightful -bit of rolling prairie. The barracks are quite deserted now, most of -the regiment being in the Philippines. Only a small detachment of -twenty-five troops remains to take care of the property. Fort Snelling -was the rendezvous of the Chippewas and the Sioux in the old days of -Indian occupation. - -While the two tribes smoked the pipe of peace and made protestations of -friendship they might not intermarry. - -At one of these meetings a Sioux brave won the heart of a Chippewa -maiden. Their love they kept a secret, but when the tribes met again -at old Fort Snelling a quarrel arose among the young warriors which -resulted in the death of a Sioux. - -The Sioux fell upon the Chippewas with the cry of extermination. - -In the midst of battle lover and loved one met, but for a moment. They -were swept apart and the young warrior knew that the fair maiden lived -only in the land of shadows. - -There dwells in the river at the falls of Saint Anthony a dusky Undine. -She was once a mermaid living in a placid lake, longing for a soul -which the good Manitou finally promised her upon her marriage with a -mortal. The mortal appeared one day in the form of a handsome Ottawa -brave, and to him the beautiful mermaid told her tale of woe. The two -were wed. The mermaid received her soul and the form of a human, but -her new relatives disliked her. They quarreled over her and at last the -Ottawas and the Adirondacks fought over her, and threw her into the -river. There she lives to this day, thankfully giving up her soul for -the peace and quiet of a mermaid’s life. - -This is the home of the pine and the birch. The white melilotus grows -rank in the byways of Minneapolis. - -[Illustration: ROADWAY, SOLDIER’S BARRACKS, FORT SNELLING.] - -The horse may not have to go, but the bicycle has surely come to stay. -A unique figure on the streets of St. Paul is a window washer, black as -the ace of spades, mounted on a wheel. Rags of all sorts and conditions -hang from his pockets. He carries his brushes aloft _a la_ “Sancho -Panza.” He rides up to the curbstone, dismounts, leans his steed -against the curb, washes his windows and rides away at a pace that -would make Don Quixote’s sleepy squire open his eyes in amazement. - -A beautiful morning in June finds us aboard the Great Northern Flyer, -bound for the Pacific coast. We were soon up on the river bluffs. Here -is some fine farming land, the only drawback being the lack of well -water. The geological formation is entirely different from that of -Indiana and Illinois, where water may be had on the bluffs as easily as -lower down toward the riverbed. Here the underground water current lies -on a level with the bed of the river and a well must go down five or -six hundred feet through the bluff before water is obtained. - -Our route here follows the Mississippi, which in places is jammed with -rafts of logs on their way down to the saw mills. Each log bears the -owner’s mark. One sees many logs, big fellows worth ten or fifteen -dollars, which have slipped from their rafts and like independent boys, -get lost in all sorts of places. - -George Monte was an Indian lumberman of the north. He worked at a chute -where the logs were floated down to the river and held back by a gate -until it was time to send them through _en masse_. When all was ready -the foreman ordered the log drivers to open the gate. One chilly night -the order came to open the gate. The night was dark and the men drew -lots to see who should attempt the dangerous feat. Monte drew what was -to him the fatal slip. Without a word he opened the door and passed -out into the night. The jam was broken and the logs passed through, -but hours passed and Monte failed to return. Then his companions went -in search of him. Investigation showed that the big gate which sank -by its own weight when the pins had been removed, was held by some -obstruction. The object was removed with long spike-poles and proved -to be the mangled body of Monte. The chute was soon abandoned, for -every night at midnight his ghost walks the banks. His moans can be -distinctly heard above the swish and lap of the water. - -On the Coteau des Prairies (side of the prairies) in Minnesota, -pipe-stone, a smooth clay, from which hundreds of Indians have cut -their pipes, forms a wall two miles long and thirty feet high. In front -of the wall lie five big bowlders dropped there by the glaciers. Under -these bowlders lies the spirit of a squaw, which must be propitiated -before the stone is cut. This quarry was neutral ground for all the -tribes. Here knives were sheathed and tomahawks belted. To this place -came the Great Spirit to kill and eat the buffalo of the prairies. -The thunder bird had her nest here and the clashing of the iron wings -of her young brood created the storms. Once upon a time, when a snake -crawled into the nest to steal the young thunderers, Manitou, the Great -Spirit, seized a piece of pipe stone and pressing it into the form -of a man, hurled it at the snake. The clay man missed the snake and -struck the ground. He turned to stone and there he stood for a thousand -years. He grew to manhood’s stature and in time another shape, that of -a woman, grew beside him. One day the red pair wandered away over the -plains. From this pair sprang all the red people. - -From St. Paul to Fargo not a stalk of corn was to be seen, but there -was field after field of fine wheat. This part of Minnesota is much -more thickly settled than immediately around St. Paul and Minneapolis. -Morehead in Minnesota and Fargo, across the line in Dakota, are -thriving towns. The country here looks like Illinois. The lay of the -land is the same and groves and houses dot the landscape. Here dwelt -the Dakota tribes from which the states of Dakota and Minnesota take -their names. Here came Hiawatha and his bride, Minnehaha, whom he won -at St. Paul when the tribe was visiting that country, for Minnehaha was -a Dakota girl, you remember. - -Hiawatha’s fight with his father began on the upper Mississippi and the -bowlders found there were their missiles. Hiawatha fought against him -for many long days before peace was declared between them. - -The evil Peace Father had slain one of Hiawatha’s relatives. He engaged -him in combat all the hot day long. They battled to no purpose, but the -next day a woodpecker flew overhead and cried out, “Your enemy has but -one vulnerable point; shoot at his scalp-lock.” Hiawatha did this and -the Peace Father fell dead. Taking some of the blood on his finger the -victor touched the woodpecker on the head and the red mark is seen on -every woodpecker to this day. - -Dakota as well as Wisconsin has her Devil’s Lake, about which hang -many legends, but unlike that of Wisconsin the Great Spirit, Gitche -Manitou, does not appear in the middle of it every night at twelve -o’clock. - -Indians as well as whites believe in a coming Messiah. In 1890 a frenzy -swept over the northwest, inspiring the Indians to believe that the -Messiah, who was no less than Hiawatha himself, and who was to sweep -the white people off the face of the earth, would soon arrive. Dakota -was the meeting ground of the tribes. Sitting Bull, a Sioux chief, told -them in assembly that he had seen the wonderful Messiah while hunting -in the mountains. He told them that having lost his way, he followed -a star which led him to a wonderful valley, where he saw throngs of -chiefs long dead, as they appeared in a spirit dance. Christ was there, -too, and showed him the nail wounds in his hands and feet and the place -where the spear pierced his side. Then the old rogue returned to his -people and taught them the ghost dance, which caused the whites so much -trouble. - -Dakota is a beautiful state. The land along the route of the Great -Northern railway lies more level than in Minnesota. The crops are -looking well in this region. There seems to be but one drawback to -farming here and that is the famous Russian thistle imported a few -years ago. The principal crops are oats, barley and wheat. Rye bread -is plenty and good, too. Out there on the broad cheek of the Dakota -prairie the weeds are holding high revelry. Some of the same old weeds -we have at home and many which are new to the writer. Wild ducks build -their nests in the tall grass of the ponds just as they did in Illinois -thirty years ago. - -At Minot, Dakota, we set our watches to Mountain time, turning them -back one hour. We arrived at Minot at 11:10 P. M., remained fifteen -minutes and left at 10:25. At 9:15 o’clock the sun was just sinking in -the west. It does not get dark here, only twilight. At 10 o’clock the -moon came up and we bade good night to Saturday. - -Sunday we spent in the Bad Lands of Montana. “Hell with the fires -out” is the popular name given to the Bad Lands in the wild, fearless -nomenclature of the west. It is an ancient sea bottom. The lower strata -is clay and the one above it is sand. They are wild and rugged beyond -description. The action of the air, wind and storm have worn them into -towers, citadels and fantastic peaks. - -The highly colored scoria rocks crop out here and there, adding a -beauty of their own. Summer and winter, long before the advent of the -white man the coal mines in this region were burning. Looking down into -the fiery furnace one may see the white-hot glow of the coal and the -heated rocks glowing with a white heat. Rattlesnakes wriggle through -the short grass. Quails and grouse fly up and away. - -There is a banshee in the Bad Lands whose cries chill your blood if you -happen to hear her, which I did not. She is most frequently seen on a -hill south of Watch Dog Butte, in Dakota, her flowing hair and her long -arms tossing in wild gestures, make a weird picture in the moonlight. -Cattle will not remain near the butte and cowboys fear the banshee and -her companion, a skeleton that walks about and haunts the camps in the -vicinity. Leave a violin lying near and he will seize it and away, -playing the most weird music, but you must not follow him, for he will -lead you into pits and foot falls. The explanation of all this is the -phosphorus found in this vicinity, which glows in the night air. - -Standing Rock agency is the best known of our frontier posts. The rock -from which the post takes its name is only about three feet high and -two feet in width. This rock was once a beautiful Indian bride who -starved herself to death upon her husband marrying a second wife. After -her death the Great Manitou turned her to stone, and here she stands to -this day. - -Glasgow, Montana, lies in the midst of the Sioux reservation. Like the -Spartans of old, these warriors of the plains dwell in tents during a -part of every year. Just beyond the town tepees now dot the landscape -where for a brief space the red man forgets the things taught him by -his white brother and resumes his old wild ways, but at the approach -of winter he abandons his tent and returns to his log cabin and to -civilization. - -The Indian costume is a mixture of savage and civilized dress, looking -more like that of the Raggedy Man than any other. - -Blackfoot is a village in the heart of the Blackfeet reservation, lying -just west of that of the Sioux. These people, like the ancient Greeks, -reverence the butterfly. - -“Ah!” exclaim these red children of nature when they see one of these -Psyches of the prairie flitting from flower to flower over the green -meadow, “ah, see him now. He is gathering the dreams which he will -bring to us in our sleep.” - -If you see the sign for the butterfly which is something like a maltese -cross painted on a lodge, you will know that the owner was taught -how to decorate his lodge, in a dream by an apunni,--butterfly. A -Blackfeet woman embroiders a butterfly on a piece of buckskin and ties -it on her baby’s head when she wishes to put it to sleep. Wrapped in -their blankets the Indians stood about Blackfoot village as we came in -reminding us of Longfellow’s address to “Driving Cloud:” - - “Wrapt in thy scarlet blanket, I see thee stalk through the city’s - Narrow and populous street, as once by the margin of rivers - Stalked those birds unknown which have left to us only their - footprints. - What in a few short years will remain of thy race but footprints? - How canst thou tread these streets, who hast trod the green turf of - the prairies? - How canst thou breathe this air who hast breathed the sweet air of - the mountains?” - -When one has trod the velvety green turf of the prairies and breathed -the sweet air of the mountains he is quite ready to sympathize with -“Driving Cloud.” - -The government schools for the Blackfeet Indians are located in a -valley beyond Blackfoot village. The schools are conducted exactly as -our public schools are, only that the Blackfeet children must go to -school ten months in the year. Think of that, boys and girls. During -July and August these dusky redskins get a vacation, which they spend -with their parents and for the time being return to the savage state. -The agent told me they were always quite wild upon their return to -school after two months of hunting, fishing and living in tepees. - -Now and then a fine covey of quails or prairie chickens flies up and -away. How glad they would make a sportsman’s heart! - -With our glasses we see easily two hundred miles in this rarefied -atmosphere. I discovered several coyotes running along a ledge in the -Bad Lands that I could not see at all with my naked eye. The Sweet -Grass mountains, sixty miles away on the Canadian line, loom up so -plainly that they appear to be only two miles distant. With the aid of -the glasses we could see the vegetation and rocks on the sides of the -mountains quite plainly. - -The United States geological survey reports Montana the best watered -state in the Union. It has more large rivers than all of the states -west of the Mississippi combined. Milk river is five hundred miles -long. This valley is one of the finest in Montana. Here irrigation is a -perfect success. - -Here one sees the cowboy in all his picturesqueness. The saddle is your -true seat of empire. Montana cattle bring a big price in the Chicago -market. The top price paid in 1897 was five dollars per hundredweight, -and was paid to George Draggs for a shipment from Valley county. I -would almost be willing to live in the Bad Lands if I might always -have my table supplied with the juicy mountain beef which we have been -eating since we arrived at St. Paul. - -This is a fine sheep as well as cattle country. - -Montana is not all sage brush, coyotes and rattlesnakes. - -Montana has according to the report of the secretary of the interior -seventy million acres of untillable lands. A great portion of this land -can be reclaimed by irrigation. - -We passed the Little Rockies sixty miles to the north (the distance -looked to be only about two miles). The Bear Paw mountains are west -of these. The Indians are very superstitious about the mountains. The -great spirit, Manitou, they tell us, broke a hole through the floor of -heaven with a rock and on the spot where it fell he threw down more -rocks, snow and ice until the pile was so high that he could step from -the summit into heaven. - -After the mountains were completed, Manitou by running his hands over -their rugged sides, forced up the forests. Then he plucked some leaves, -blew his breath upon them and gave them a toss in the air and lo they -sailed away in the breezy blue birds. His staff he turned into beasts -and fishes. The earth became so beautiful he decided to live on it and -starting a fire in Mt. Shasta he burned it out for a wigwam. - -An interesting part of life on the plains is the prairie dog and his -town, the streets of which were not laid out by an engineer. Each dog -selects the site of his home to suit his taste. The houses are about -the size of a wagon wheel, almost perfectly round. As the train whirls -by they sit on top of their houses looking much like soldiers standing -guard. The dogs are three times as large as a gopher and of a pale -straw color. As one walks toward them, down they go through the door, -but they are very curious and presently back they come for another -look. They are agile and graceful in movement. One handsome fellow lay -on the projecting sill of a house basking in the sun. We approached -very near before he saw us. The flies were annoying him. He shook his -head and blinked his eyes at the flies, paying little attention to us. - -The wild flowers of Montana are as abundant and beautiful as those of -the Alps, and more varied. Shooting stars greet the spring. Dandelions -abound but do not reach full rounded perfection. The common blue -larkspur, however, revels in the cool air and warm sunshine. The little -yellow violet which haunts the woods in the eastern states makes -herself quite at home here. Blue bells nod and sway in the breeze, -little ragged sun flowers turn their faces to the sun and mitreworts -grow everywhere. - -Along the shady streams wild currants flaunt their yellow flags while -hydrangea, that queen of flowers, lends a shade to the violets blooming -at her feet. Wild roses strew the ground with their delicate petals. -Stately lilies, their purple stamens contrasting strangely with their -yellow petals, are abundant. The most dainty of this fair host is the -golden saxifrage, and the most delicate gold thread, whose dainty, -slender roots resemble nothing so much as threads of pure gold. - -At Havre, Montana, the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry came -aboard. They are stalwart colored soldiers who will do credit to -the uniforms they wear. They go to San Francisco, where they take -transports for Manila. The good-bys at the station between the soldiers -and their friends and relatives were pathetic indeed. Not one of the -brave fellows but acted a soldier’s part. - -Just as the train was pulling out a handsome girl ran along one of the -cars to the window calling out to her sweetheart: - -“O, lift me up till I kiss you again.” - -We were glad when two big black hands came out through the open window -and strong arms clasped the maiden for a moment. - -Every heart beat with the same thought; how many of these brave men -would return from the deadly Philippines? - -We were proud of the Twenty-fourth when they bade good-by to their -friends at Havre; we were proud of them when they marched up the -street at Spokane; we are proud of them still. - -The officers of this regiment are white. They and their wives came into -our car. - -The conversation was enlivened with tales of camp life. When a private, -one officer was greatly annoyed by the Indians, who came day after day -to sit in the shade of his quarters, when having been on night duty he -wanted to sleep. He bought a sun-glass and when they began talking he -would sit down at the window and carelessly with the glass draw a focus -on one of his tormentor’s feet. With a yell worthy an Indian with the -bad spirit after him he would bound away, followed by his companions. -Soon they would return, when the glass would be brought into play with -the same effect. At last the Indians came to believe the house haunted -and our captain was no longer troubled by his red brothers. - -After forty miles of mountain climbing we reached the summit of the -Rockies. At nine o’clock we were still in the mountains and the sun was -still shining. - -The smallest owl in the world has his home in these mountains. It is -the Pigmy owl, but you must look sharply if you see him as he flits -from limb to limb and hides in the dense foliage. The Rocky Mountain -blue jay is not blue at all. His coat is a reddish brown, he sports a -black-crested cap and has black bars on his wings like his Illinois -brothers. - -Flowers, ice, snow and mountain torrents spread out in one grand -panorama. Fleecy white clouds not much larger than one’s hand float up -and join larger ones at the summit of the peaks. There is no grander -scene on earth than this range of snow-capped mountains spread out in -mighty panorama, peak after peak and turret after turret glistening in -the golden sunshine against skies as blue as those of Italy. - - “Come up into the mountains--come up into the blue, - Oh, friend down in the valley, the way is clear for you; - The path is full of perils, and devious, but your feet - May safely thread its windings, and reach to my retreat. - The mountains, oh, the mountains! How all the ambient air - Bends like a benediction, and all the soul is prayer. - How blithely on this summit the echoing wind’s refrain - Invites us to the mountains--God’s eminent domain. - Oh, soul below in the valley where aspirations rise - No higher than the plunging of water fowl that flies, - Come up into the mountains--come up into the blue; - Leave weary leagues behind you the lowland’s meaner view, - The autumn’s rotting verdure, the sapless grasses browned, - Come where the snows are lilies that bloom the whole year round. - Here in the subtle spirit of all these climbing hills, - Man may achieve his dreaming, and be the thing he wills.” - - --_Joseph Dana Miller._ - -When one has felt the inspiration which the air of the mountains gives, -he feels that he may achieve his dreaming, may be the thing he wills. - -Ten o’clock found us going down the western slope of the Rockies in -the twilight. Daylight comes at two o’clock in the morning. All along -the track over the mountains are stationed track walkers, who live -in little shacks. Before every train which passes over the road each -walker goes over his section to see that all is well. - -All the Indians east of the Rockies located the Happy Hunting Ground -west of the mountains and those west of the divide thought it was on -the eastern side, and that every red man’s soul would be carried over -on a cob-web float. - -At Spokane we turned our watches back another hour. We are now in -Pacific Coast time. - - - - -CHAPTER II PLENTY OF ROOM - - -There is plenty of room in the great Northwest. For twenty-five years -to come Horace Greeley’s advice “Go west,” will hold good. Charles -Dickens once said that the typical American would hesitate to enter -heaven unless assured that he could go farther west. “Go west.” Surely -these are words to conjure with. “Go west,” thrills the blood of youth -and stirs the blood of age. - -The tide of immigration is turning this way. No matter what your trade -or profession, there is room for you here. - -Agriculture, the supporting pillar in the temple of wealth of any -nation, stands in the front rank in Washington and Idaho, the soil -being wonderfully productive. Stock raising, dairying and fruit farming -are carried on with great success. But the great mining interest must -not be forgotten. The annual rainfall varies from thirty-five to sixty -inches. A healthful climate meets one in almost every part of these -great states. Malaria is practically unknown. As to scenery one may -have here the sublime grandeur of Switzerland, the picturesqueness of -the Rhine and the rugged beauty of Norway. - -The lava beds of eastern Washington are wild and barren as to rocks, -but the soil is very productive when irrigated. The lava is burned -red in many places. Castle after castle with drawbridge, turrets and -soldiers on guard, all of solid rock, greet the eye. Column after -column stand hundreds of feet high. - -[Illustration: ENTERING THE CASCADE RANGE.] - -The Cascade mountains surpass the Rockies in grandeur and ruggedness -of scenery. We crossed on the Switch Back. This is by “tacking,” as a -sailor would say. We had three engines, mammoth Moguls, one forward, -the other two in the rear. There are but two engines in the world -larger than these. - -To explain more fully we went back and forth three times on the side -of the mountain until we reached the summit, then down on the other -side in the same manner. Going up we made snowballs with one hand -and gathered flowers with the other, tiger lilies, perfect ones one -and one-half inch from tip of petal to petal on tiny stalks five -inches high. Blackberry vines run on the ground to the summit of the -mountains. They creep along like strawberry vines. They are in bloom -now and the berries will ripen in time. - -The snowfall last winter on the summit was one hundred and nine feet. -Miles of snowsheds are built over the road and men are kept constantly -at work keeping the tracks clear of snow and bowlders. Five huge -snow-plows are required, all working constantly to keep the sixty-six -highest miles clear. The fall of snow for one day is often four feet. -The Great Northern road is putting a tunnel through the mountains now, -and will thus do away with the Switch Back. Eight thousand men work in -the shafts night and day. They have been at work two years and expect -to finish in 1901. - -For hours we traveled above the clouds and at other times we passed -through them and were deluged with rain. Magnificent ferns grow -everywhere on the mountain sides and towns and villages are to be seen -frequently. - -[Illustration: LAVA BEDS IN WASHINGTON.] - -Descending the mountains we came to the Flat Head valley, the scenery -of which is wild and rugged enough to suit the taste of the most -imaginative Indian. The Flat Head river, a wild, raging, roaring -torrent which sweeps everything before it as it comes leaping down the -mountains, flows peacefully enough in the valley. Here water nymphs -bathe in purple pools, yonder fairies and fauns dance on the green. - -On the trees we see such signs as “Smoke Red Cloud,” “Chew Scalping -Knife,” “Drink Smoky Mountain Whisky,” “Chew Indian Hatchet,” “Chew -Tomahawk,” “Drink White Bear.” - -Wenatchee valley is famous for its irrigated fruit farms. A great -variety of fruits is grown. Water is easily and cheaply obtained. -Mission District is another fine fruit valley. The interest in -agriculture is growing. Bees do well here. If you do not own all the -land you want come west where it is cheap, good and plenty. The country -is rapidly filling up with settlers. We passed fine wheat lands that -stretch away across the country to Walla Walla. Men are now coming in -to the wheat harvest just as in Illinois they come to cut broomcorn. -But they are a better looking class of men. One sees no genuine tramp. -There is no room for him here, there is too much work and he shuns -such districts as one would a smallpox infected region. - -SEATTLE.--The first white men to explore this coast was an expedition -under command of Juan de Fuca, a Greek pilot in the service of the -Viceroy of Mexico. They explored the coast as far north as Vancouver -island in 1592. Two hundred years later Captain George Vancouver, of -the British navy, made extensive explorations along this same coast. -The first overland expedition was commanded by Lewis and Clarke. -The next was also a military expedition and was commanded by John -C. Fremont. The first people to settle in the country were the fur -traders. The first mission was established by Dr. Marcus Whitman at -Walla Walla in 1836. It was Dr. Whitman who rode to Washington, D. -C., leaving here in December, and informed the government of the -conspiracy of England to drive out all the American settlers and seize -the country. The first town was Tumwater, founded in 1845 by Michael -Simmons. These are some of the people who helped make Washington. - -General Sherman said, that God had done more for Seattle than for -any other place in the world. It is destined to be the Chicago of -the West. The largest saw-mills in the world are located here. The -population is about eighty thousand and the increase is rapid. The -University of Washington, supported by the state, is grandly located -in Seattle. The Federal government has a fine military station twelve -miles out of the city. - -[Illustration: TANGLE OF WILD FERN IN A WASHINGTON FOREST.] - -At every turn Indian names meet the eye. We steamed down the bay on -the Skagit Chief to the city park, where we lunched at the Duramash -restaurant. In the shop windows Umatilla hats, Black Eagle caps and -Ancelline ties are offered for sale. - -Ancelline was an Indian princess, daughter of Seattle. Seattle was -chief of the Old Man House Indians. These Indians had a big wigwam in -which the entire tribe lived during the winter. They called this the -Old Man House and the tribe took its name from this house. There is but -one family of these Indians left. - -The Indians on this side of the mountains have never received any -support from the government. They are much more industrious than their -red brothers on the other side. There are many tribes here and many -of them are quite well to do in the way of lands and money. All talk -English but prefer to speak Chinook. - -Nokomis was an old Indian woman who did laundry work for a family in -Seattle with whom I have become acquainted. Nokomis was exceedingly -stubborn. She would permit no one to tell her how to wash for had she -not washed in the creeks and rivers all her life? This old woman was -somewhat deaf and when directions were being given her she could not -possibly hear and continued the work her own way. But when the mistress -would say, “Come Nokomis, have some coppe (Chinook for coffee) and muck -amuck (Chinook for ‘something to eat’),” she never failed to hear, -though this was often said in a low tone of voice to test Nokomis’s -ears. - -Wheat in this section easily goes fifty bushels per acre. The root -crops, potatoes, turnips, onions, carrots, beets and parsnips yield -enormously, with prices fair to good. The fruits are fine and prices -good. Strawberries sell here now three quarts for twenty-five cents. -The fruits go to Alaska, Canada and east to Montana and Minnesota. -Stock and poultry do well here and supply eastern markets at good -prices. Another industrial resource in which many are engaged is -fishing. The cod, halibut, oyster, crab, shrimp, whale and fur seal -yield fine profits. Canned fish go to the Eastern States, to Europe, -Asia and Australia. The timber, coal, iron, gold and silver industries -are well represented. - -There is one industry that is not represented here at all, and that is -the window-screen industry. There is but one fly in Seattle; at any -rate I have seen but one. Meat markets and fruit markets stand open. -The temperature has averaged sixty-two in the shade for several days. -It is quite hot in the sun, however. - -If you are out of a fortune and would like to make one, come to -Washington. - -[Illustration: MOUNT RAINIER.] - -Mount Rainier is the highest peak of the Cascade Range and the most -beautiful. Though standing on American soil it bears an English name, -that of Rear Admiral Rainier of the English navy. The local name was -for years Tacoma, but in 1890 the United States board of geographic -survey decided that Rainier must stand on all government maps. - -The people of Washington speak lovingly of this splendid peak which was -smoking so grandly when the Pathfinder found his way into this country -fifty years ago. - -From its summit eight glaciers radiate like the spokes of a wheel down -from which flow as many rivers. Its ice caverns formed by sulphur vent -holes in the crater, its steam jets, its moss draped pines, its dainty -vines and hemlocks, its grassy vales, where wild flowers are swayed -by the breath of the glaciers, its beautiful lilies, remind one of -“Aladdin’s” journey through the wonderful cave in search of the magic -lamp. - -Here blows the heather and the shamrock. - - “With a four-leafed clover, a double-leafed ash, and a greentopped - seave, - You may go before the queen’s daughter without asking leave.” - -There stands fair Daphne, changed to a laurel tree. - -In the legends of the Silash Indians Mount Rainier has always been -held as a place of superstitious regard. It was the refuge of the last -man when the waters of Puget Sound swept inland, drowning every living -thing except one man. Chased by the waves, he reached the summit, where -he was standing waist deep in the water when the Tamanous, the god of -the mountain, commanded the waters to recede. Slowly they receded, but -the man had turned to stone. The Tamanous broke loose one of his ribs -and changing it to a woman, stood it by his side, then waving his -magic wand over the two, bade them to awake. Joyfully this strange Adam -and Eve passed down the mountain side, where they made their home on -the forested slopes. These were the first parents of the Silash Indians. - -In the very center of the Cascade range stands another mountain of -equal beauty, Mount St. Helens. - -Washington is the home of the genuine sea serpent. He makes his -headquarters in Rock Lake, where he disports himself in the water, -devouring every living thing that ventures into it or dares to come on -the shore. Only a few years ago he swallowed an entire band of Indians. - -Expansion seems to be the law of our national and commercial life. -Beyond the placid Pacific are six hundred million people who want the -things we produce. China and Japan furnish a market for our wheat. The -cry now is for more ships to carry our produce to Asia, Australia, to -islands of the Pacific and to Alaska, not to speak of the Philippines. -Manila is the center of the great Asiatic ports, including those of -British India and Australia. Our trade with the Orient is growing and -Manila will make a fine distributing depot. These eastern countries use -annually over eighty-six million dollars’ worth of cotton goods and -nearly forty million dollars’ worth of iron and steel manufactures. -This we can produce in this country as cheap if not cheaper than in any -other country. Seattle is the best point from which to export, as the -route is shorter than from San Francisco. - -The battleship Iowa is in dry dock here. I should liked to have been a -marine myself and have stood behind one of those big guns when Cervera -left the harbor of Santiago. And now I’d like to train that same gun on -the anti-expansionist and send him to the bottom of the sea, there to -sleep with the Spaniards and other useless things. Officers and marines -alike are proud of their ship and delighted to explain the mechanism of -the guns. - -We took a steamer over to Tacoma one morning, where we had the pleasure -of seeing the North Pacific steamship Glenogle, which had just arrived -from Japan, unload her cargo. She brought two thousand tons of tea, -over two thousand pounds of rice, two thousand and twelve bails of -matting, two hundred and eighty-six bails of straw braid, one -hundred and thirty-nine cases of porcelain, two hundred and eighty-five -packages of curios, three thousand packages of bamboo ware, silk goods -and a multitude of small articles made the load. She had forty Japanese -passengers for this port, and left forty-five at Victoria. - -[Illustration: STREET IN TACOMA, WASHINGTON.] - -The air was fragrant with the odor of roses and beautiful pinks. - -On the street we met a party of Indians in civilian dress, wearing -closely cropped hair and moustaches. - -Tacoma pays ninety dollars per ton for copper ore from Alaska. - -Returning across the bay we met a flock of crows on the flotsam and -jetsam which floats down from the saw-mills. Their antics reminded me -of a party of school boys playing tag. At the steamer’s approach the -leader gave a warning caw and they were up and away before the steamer -struck their floating playground and scattered it to the waves. - -At sunset the reflection of the sun-lit clouds on the waves and the -fire and glow of the sparkling water, now ruby red, changing to -turquoise blues and emerald greens, make a scene delightful to the eye -of one who loves the sea. - - - - -CHAPTER III OFF FOR ALASKA - - -“All aboard!” At ten o’clock we steamed out of the harbor of Seattle -and headed toward Alaska, the land of icebergs, glaciers and gold -fields. Seattle sat as serenely on her terraced slopes as Rome on her -seven hills. The sun shone bright and clear on the snow-capped peaks of -the Cascades. Mt. Tacoma stood out bold and clear against the sun-lit -sky. - -We steamed at full speed down Admiralty Inlet. - -At noon we stop at Port Townsend, the port of entry for Puget sound. -One sees at all these coast towns many Japanese, some dressed in nobby -bicycle costumes, leading their wheels about the wharves, others -wearing neat business suits and sporting canes. The less fortunate -almond-eyed people are here too, dressed in the garb of the laborer, -but it is to the former, the padrone, that the American employer goes -for contract labor. - -In any case the laborer pays his padrone a per cent. of his wages. - -It holds true the world over that “some must follow and some command, -though all are made of clay,” as Longfellow puts it. - -We are soon out on the ocean, where it is all sea and flood and long -Pacific swell. - -All up and down the picturesque shores of Puget Sound live the Silash -Indians, who to-day dress in American costumes and follow American -pursuits. One sees them on the streets of the cities and towns. The -Silash, like the ancient Greeks, peopled the unseen world with spirits. -Good and evil genii lived in the forest; every spring had its Nereid -and every tree its dryad. They believed the Milky Way to be the path to -heaven; so believed the ancient Greeks. - -One beautiful day there gleamed and danced in the sunshine a copper -canoe of wonderful design. Down the sound it came. When the stranger -whom it carried had landed he announced that he had a message for the -red man, and sending for every Silash, he taught them the law of love. -The Indian mind is slow to adjust itself to new thought. Such ideas -were new and strange to these children of nature. When this beautiful -stranger about whose head the sun was always shining, told them of the -new, the eternal life in the world beyond, they listened with deep -interest, but the savage was stronger than the man in the red skins and -they dragged the stranger to a tree, where they nailed him fast with -pegs in his hands and feet, torturing him as they did their victims of -the devil dance. - -Then they danced around him until the strange light faded from his -beautiful eyes. Slowly the radiant head dropped and life itself went -out. A great storm arose that shook the earth to its very center. Great -rocks came tearing down the mountain side. The sun hid his face for -three days. - -They took the body down and laid it away. On the third day, when the -sun burst forth, the dead man arose and resumed his teaching. The -Indians now declared him a god and believed in him. - -Year by year the Silash grew more gentle and less warlike, until of all -Indians they became the most peaceful. My readers will readily see that -this is a confused tale of the Christ. - -Another fantastic tale of this region is that of an Indian -miser who dried salmon and jerked meat, which he sold for -haiqua,--tusk-shells,--the wampum of the Silash Indians. Like all -misers, the more haiqua he got the more he wanted. - -One cold winter day he went hunting on the slopes of Mount Rainier. -Every mountain has its Tamanous, to which travelers and hunters must -pay homage. Now the miser, instead of paying devotion to the god of -the mountain, only looked at the snow and sighed, “Ah, if it were only -haiqua.” - -Up, up he went, and soon reached the rim of the volcano’s crater, and -hurrying down the inside of the crater he came to a rock in the form of -a deer’s head. With desperate energy he flung snow and gravel about. -Presently he came to a smooth, flat rock; summoning all his strength, -he lifted the rock. Beyond was a wonderful cave where were stored great -quantities of the most beautiful haiqua his eyes had ever beheld. - -Winding string after string about his body, until he had all the haiqua -he could carry, he climbed out of the crater and started down the -mountain side. But the Tamanous was angry. Wrapping himself in a storm -cloud, he pursued the miser, who buffeted by the wind and blinded by -the snow and darkness, stumbled on, grasping his treasure. The unseen -hands of the god clutched him and tore strand after strand from his -neck. - -The storm lulled a moment, but returned with renewed energy; the -thunder and lightning increased; again the unseen hands held him in -a vice-like grasp. Strand after strand the angry god tore from the -miser’s grasp, until by the time he arrived at the timber line but one -strand remained; this he flung aside and hurried on down the mountain. -Not one shell remained to reward him for his perilous journey. Weary -and foot-sore he fell fainting in the darkness. When he awoke his hair -was white as the snow on the mountain’s brow. He looked back at the -snow-crowned peak with never a wish for the treasures of the Tamanous. -When he arrived at his home an aged woman was there cooking fish. In -her he recognized his wife, who had mourned him as dead for many long -years. He dried salmon and jerked meat, which he sold for haiqua, but -never again did he brave the Tamanous of Mount Rainier. Thus ends the -weird tale of Puget Sound. - -Clearing this port, our course lay across the straits of Juan de -Fuca, named for the Greek explorer before mentioned. The green slopes -of the beautiful San Juan islands now came into view. - -We landed at Victoria, the capital of the province of British Columbia, -at eight o’clock in the morning. The city was still wrapt in slumber. A -cow placidly munching grass in the street, looked at us inquiringly. We -met a dejected looking dog and presently a laborer going to his work. - -[Illustration: PARLIAMENT HOUSE, VICTORIA.] - -A handsome hotel occupies a commanding site, but the doors were closed. -Not a store was open. The government buildings, naval station and -museum are the only places of interest. - -The Island of Vancouver is composed of rock and sand. All along the -shore are magnificent sea weeds, ferns and club mosses, growing fast to -the rocky side and the bottom of the sea. Many of these plants break -loose and go floating about. - -Imagine a perfectly smooth, flexible parsnip, from twenty to fifty feet -long, with leaves of the same length like those of the horse radish in -form, but the color of sapless, water-soaked grasses, and you have a -kelp. Coming toward you head on, the long leaves floating back under -it, you have a miniature man-of-war. - -The fortifications for the protection of the harbor are submerged. You -would never suspect that below that innocent looking daisy covered -surface great guns were ready at a moment’s notice to blow you and your -good ship to atoms should her actions proclaim her an enemy. - -Farther up the coast Exquimalt, the most formidable fortress on the -American Continent, occupies a commanding site. - -We were glad to retrace our steps to the steamer and shake from off -our feet the dust of that sleepy old town, which never felt a quiver -when “Freedom from her mountain height unfurled her standard to the -air,” and shake off too that strange feeling which possesses one when -treading a foreign shore. - -All day long Mount Baker of the Cascade range has stood like an old -sentinel, white and hoary, to point us on our way. - -Fair Haven and New Whatcomb, the terminus of the Great Northern railway -for passenger traffic, are delightfully located on the coast. These -towns are growing rapidly. The population is now twelve hundred. The -largest shingle mill in the world is located here. It turns out -half a million shingles every ten hours. The saw-mill turns out lumber -enough every day to build five ten-room houses, while a tin can factory -turns out a half million cans a day. - -In time Fair Haven and New Whatcomb will be two of the most beautiful -towns in Washington. The streets are broad. Green lawns surround -handsome homes and pretty cottages. - -At noon we passed the forty-ninth parallel, the boundary line between -the United States and the British possessions. What a vast expanse of -territory had been ours had we adhered to our determination to maintain -the fifty-fourth parallel. “Fifty-four, forty or fight,” we said, but -gave it up without a blow. - -Forty miles across from Vancouver lies the busy collier town of -Nanaimo. The Indians discovered the coal fifty years ago. On the knoll -near the coal wharves, there is a beautiful grove of madronas. In the -surrounding forest gigantic ferns and strange wild flowers grow in -great profusion. Berries are plentiful and game abundant. - -At Cape Mudge we bid farewell to the Silash tribes. Cape Mudge -potlatches are famous for their extravagance. In 1888 a neighboring -tribe was worth nearly five hundred thousand dollars. The British -Columbia legislature prohibited potlatches and in one year their wealth -decreased four-fifths. The prohibition of potlatches quenched their -desire to accumulate property. - -[Illustration: GORGE OF HOMATHCO.] - -The wild gorge of Homathco is the result of the relentless glaciers. - -In Jervis Inlet is a great tidal rapid, the roar of which can be heard -for miles. It is considered the equal of the famous Malstrom and -Salstrom of Norway. - -At Point Robert we pass the last light house on the American coast. The -stars and stripes floated from the flag staff. With a dash and a roar -the white crested waves tumbled on the beach. With a last farewell to -Old Glory, we steam ahead and for six hundred miles plow the British -main. - -[Illustration: LIGHT HOUSE, POINT ROBERT.] - -The scenery becomes more wild, savage, grand and awful. Snow-clad -mountains guard the waterway on either side. Such Oh’s and Ah’s when -some scene of more than usual grandeur bursts upon our view. A canoe -shoots out from yonder overhanging ledge. The glasses reveal the -occupants to be four Indians out on a fishing expedition. - -Nearly every one of our three hundred passengers was interested in -the first whale sighted. “O yonder he goes, a whale;” “O, see him -spout;” “Now look, look!” “Ah, down he goes.” Then everyone questions -everyone else. “Did you see the whale?” “Did you see our whale?” “O, -we had whales on our side of the boat,” and adds some one, “They were -performing whales, too.” Then the gong sounds for dinner and the whale -is forgotten in the discussion of the menu. - -Many of our passengers are bound for Dawson City, Juneau and other -Alaskan points. One hears much discussion of the dollar, not the -common American dollar, but the Alaskan dollar, which seems to be more -precious as it is more difficult to obtain. - -Here are young men bound for the frozen field of gold who could carry -a message to Garcia and never once ask, “Where is he ‘at?’” “Who is -he?” or “Why do you want to send the message, anyway?” Young men with -backbone, muscle and brains, who would succeed in almost any field. - -From Queen Charlotte’s sound to Cape Calvert we were out on the -Pacific. Old Neptune tossed us about pretty much as he liked, although -Captain Wallace, who, by the way, is a genial gentleman and a charming -host, assured us that we had a smooth passage across this arm of the -old ocean. Many suffered from _mal de mer_. - -Wrapped in furs and rugs, we sit on deck, enjoying the panorama of sea -and sky. Sun-lit mountains, white with the snows of a thousand years -and green-clad foot hills covered with pines as thick as the weeds on a -common. Here and there in a wild, dreary nook the glasses revealed an -Indian trapper’s cabin. Here he lives and hunts and fishes. When he has -a sufficient number of skins he loads his canoe and skims across the -water, it may be eighty or a hundred miles, to a town, where he trades -his furs and fish for sugar, coffee, tea, and the many things which -he has learned to eat from his white brother. He is very fond of tea -and rum. He does not bury his dead, but wraps them in their blankets -and lays them on the top of the ground, that they may the more easily -find their way to the Happy Hunting Ground. Then he builds a tight -board fence five or six feet high about the lonely grave and covers -it tightly over the top to keep out the wild animals which roam the -mountain sides. A tall staff rises from the grave and a white cloth -floats from its pinnacle. We sighted one of these lonely graves on the -top of a small island on our second day out, and were reminded of that -other lonely grave in the vale of the Land of Moab. - -[Illustration: FJORDS OF ALASKA.] - -Bella Bella is an Indian town located on Hunter island. The houses are -all two-story and nicely painted. There is nothing in the aspect of the -town to indicate that it is other than a white man’s town, though the -Indians who reside here were once the most savage on the coast. On a -smaller island near by is a cemetery. Small, one-roomed houses are the -vaults in which the bodies are placed after being wrapped in blankets. -Here we saw the first grave stones. They stand in front of these vaults -and are higher. On them are carved the owner’s name and his exploits in -hunting or war in picture language. - -The Silash Indians are very gentle and kind. If you are hungry they -will divide their last crust with you. If you are cold they will give -you their last blanket. They wear civilized dress, fish and hunt and -are quite prosperous. Many hops are grown in the State of Washington -and in the fall these Indians go down in their canoes to pick hops. -They are preferred to white pickers, because of their industry and -honesty. - -Saturday night we crossed “Fifty-four forty or fight” and Sunday -morning found us in Alaska. - -[Illustration: FISHING HAMLET OF KETCHIKAN.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV FIRST VIEWS - - -We visited the Indian village of Ketchikan. The Episcopalians have a -mission at this place. The teacher is an able young woman. A young -lady, a handsome half-breed Indian girl, came upon the wharf to meet -someone who came on the boat. Her carriage, language and manner were -those of a lady. We landed some freight at this point. The freight -agent was a half-breed Indian, quite good looking and a gentleman. - -New Metlakahtla is a most attractive village on the Annette Islands. - -The Metlakahtlans are the most progressive race in Alaska. Mr. Duncan -visited the United States in 1887, enlisting aid for the Indians. Henry -Ward Beecher and Phillips Brooks became champions of his cause. - -The government at Washington assured Mr. Duncan that his people would -be protected in any lands which they might select in Alaska. - -In the spring of 1887 four hundred Metlakahtlans crossed to the Annette -Islands. - -These enterprising people print their own newspaper. They have a -photographer. The silversmiths, woodcarvers and bark weavers do a large -business on tourist days. - -The salmon cannery ships from six to eight thousand cases a year. There -is a government school and a boarding school for girls. On steamer days -the Indian band plays on a platform built on the tall stump of a cedar. - -These people, all Christians, have all subscribed and faithfully live -up to a code of rules, called the Declaration of Residents. - -The inhabitants are greatly disturbed over the discovery of gold on -these islands. The white man discovered the gold and now he wants the -islands. Will the government keep faith with the Metlakahtlans? - -Now let me tell the boys and girls what our vessel has down in her -hold. Our boat, The Queen, is three hundred and fifty feet long and -draws twenty-five feet of water, so you see she has a big hold down -below her decks. There are twenty big steers going to Juneau to be made -into beef; two big gray horses going to Dawson to work about the mines -in the Klondike and when winter comes to be killed and dried for meat -for dogs, as there will be no feed for the horses in the Klondike when -winter sets in and the grass dies. A sad fate. They are gentle horses, -poking their noses into your hand as you pass for an apple, peach or -bit of grain. There are five hundred chickens down there, too, going -to different points in Alaska. Two little Esquimaux pups, worth one -hundred dollars each, are also here. Their mother, which was killed -by the electric cars at Seattle the day before we sailed, cost four -hundred dollars. The little curly-haired fellows play and tumble about -very much like kittens, then suddenly they remember their mother and -set up such a pitiful wail. - -There is also a big, black Husky aboard. He is a cross between an -Indian (not an Esquimaux) dog and a wolf. He is a big, heavy fellow, -large of head, strong of limb and feet widened in muscular development -wrought in his race by generations of hard service in this rugged -climate. He is valued at three hundred and fifty dollars. He will pull -three hundred pounds and travel forty miles a day over ice and snow, -being fed but once a day on dried fish. - -The most curious and by far the handsomest dog aboard is a Malamute. -He is a beautiful dog. His furry coat is heavy and his fine ears stand -erect. For actions, manners and affection for his master he is a fine -specimen of the canine tribe. His walk is somewhat of a stride like -that of the bear. - -His owner, who lives in Chicago, is aboard. He paid three hundred -dollars for the dog and took him home, but it is too warm for him in -Chicago, so he is taking him back to Alaska. - -There are many cases of oranges, lemons, peaches, apples, apricots -and plums and tons of groceries of all sorts for Skagway, Dawson, -Juneau, Sitka and other Alaskan points. Also many pounds of dressed -beef, mutton, flour, cornmeal, oatmeal and canned goods. There are one -thousand cases of oil, lots of dry goods and many miners’ outfits. So -you see there is quite a traffic up and down this coast. - -As we steam steadily on toward the home of Hoder, the stormy old god -of winter, the air grows colder, the scenery more wild and strange. -Snowclad mountains, sun-lit clouds resting on their peaks and veiling -their sides, blue sky and sparkling water make a scene which may be -imagined but not described. - -[Illustration: FORT WRANGEL, ALASKA.] - -Alaska is the aboriginal name and means “great country.” It was at the -request of Charles Sumner that the original name was retained. Seven -million two hundred thousand dollars for a field of stony mountain, -icebergs and glaciers! Had Seward gone mad? Ah, no. He builded wiser -than he knew. Alaska is nine times the size of the New England States -and cost less than one-half cent per acre. - -The northwest coast of Alaska was discovered and explored by a Russian -expedition under Behring, in 1741. Russian settlements were made and -the fur trade developed. - -The climate is no colder than at St. Petersburg and many other parts -of Russia. The warm Japan current sweeps the coast and tempers the -climate. Sitka is only three miles north of Balmoral, Scotland. The -isothermal line running through Sitka runs through Richmond, Va., -giving both points the same temperature. The average summer temperature -is fifty-two degrees and the average winter weather thirty-one degrees -above zero. - -The average rainfall at this point is eighty-two inches. Native grasses -and berries grow plentifully in the valleys. The chief wealth of the -country lies in its forests, fish, fur-bearing animals and mines. -The forest consists of yellow pine, spruce, larch, fir of great size, -cypress and hemlock. The wild animals include the elk, deer and bear. -The fur-bearing animals are the fox, wolf, beaver, ermine, otter and -squirrel. Fur-bearing seals inhabit the waters along the coast. Salmon -abound in the rivers. - -It is one of the secrets of the rebellion that the large sum paid -to Russia for Alaska was to compensate her for the presence of her -warships in our harbor during the early days of the Civil War, thus -helping to prevent English interference. - -Fort Wrangel is delightfully located on the green slopes of the -mountains. It was once a Russian military post and takes its name from -the Russian governor of Alaska, Baron Wrangel. - -Here are some fine totem poles. Totemism is a species of heraldry. -Their whales, frogs, crows, and wolves are no more difficult to -understand than the dragons, griffins, and fleur-de-lis of European -heraldry. The totem pole of the Alaskan Indian is his crest, his -monument. The totem is his clan name, his god. He is a crow, a raven, -an eagle, a bear, a whale, or a wolf. It is the old story of Beauty and -the Beast. The beautiful raven maiden may live happily with her bear -husband. - -Every Indian claims kinship with three totems. The clan totem is the -animal from which the clan descended. There is a totem common to all -the women of the clan. The men of the clan have a totem and each -individual when he or she arrives at manhood or womanhood chooses a -totem sacred to him or herself. This totem is his guardian angel and -protects him from danger and harm. The Alaskan Indian believes the -eagle to be the American man’s totem and the lion and the unicorn the -two totems of the Englishman. - -The civilized races of antiquity all passed through the totem period. -Our Indians all had their totems as their names indicate, Blackfeet, -Crow and Sioux. Totems are common to all savage races, but the Alaskan -Indian is the only North American who erects a monument to his totem. - -While the totem protects the Indian the Indian is in duty bound to -protect his totem. He may neither kill nor eat his own totem, but he -may with impunity kill the god of another. If you kill his totem he -will be grieved and sorrowfully ask, “Why you kill him, my brother?” - -These people were evolutionists long before Darwin. There are no -monkeys, however, among the totems of the Alaskan Indians. - -When an Indian marries he takes his wife’s name, the name of her clan -totem. The children, too, belong to the mother’s totem, and, of course, -take her name. The wife is the head of the family, managing it and -transacting all the business. - -These Indians and all the Indians of southern Alaska are Tlingits. -Tlingit means people. There are many traditions among them of a -supernatural origin; one to the effect that the crow in whom dwelt the -Great Spirit lived on the Nass River, where he turned two blades of -grass into a man and a woman. This was the first pair from whom sprang -all Tlingits. They have tales of a migration from the southeast, the -Mars River country. Their propitiation of evil spirits, their shamanism -and their belief in the transmigration of souls, all point to Asiatic -origin, yet there is no tradition among them of any such origin. Once, -many thousands of snows ago, a Tlingit stole the sun and hid it, then -nearly all the people died, but the crow found it and placed it in the -sky again. After this the tribe increased. - -The Tlingit idea of justice is something of a novelty. The code, -however, is short; an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, is -always strictly demanded. A Tlingit once shot at a decoy duck, but he -made the owner pay for the shot used. A young Indian stole a rifle and -accidentally killed himself with it. His relatives made the owner pay -for the dead thief. If a patient dies under a doctor’s care he pays for -him. - -Before the advent of the white man shamanism held sway. When a Tlingit -fell ill he sent for his medicine man, who by incantations cured him, -or failing that, accused some one of bewitching his patient. The wizard -or witch was tortured and put to death, after which the sick Indian -recovered or died, as the case might be. - -Captain E. C. Merriman, of the U. S. Navy, destroyed the power of the -shaman by rescuing the accused and punishing the shaman. - -The shaman spends the greater part of his life in the forest, fasting -and receiving inspiration from his totemic spirits. A concoction of -dried frogs’ legs and sea water give him power to perceive a man’s -soul--the Tlingit woman had no soul then--escaping from his body and -to catch it and restore it to the man. - -The Tlingits practiced cremation, but the body of a shaman was never -cremated, it would not burn. It was always buried in a little box-like -tomb. The body was wrapped in blankets and placed in a sitting posture, -surrounded by the masks, wands, rattles, and all the paraphernalia of -the office of a shaman, ready for use in the heaven to which he had -gone. - -The missionaries have destroyed faith in the shaman and broken up the -practice of cremation. - -[Illustration: CHIEF SHAKE’S HOUSE, FORT WRANGEL.] - -At Fort Wrangel we called on the chief. He has the tallest and the most -handsomely carved pole in the Indian village. - -There are three kinds of totem poles. The family totem pole, which is -erected in front of the home. On it are carved figures representing the -totems of the family, the wife’s totem always surmounting the pole and -the husband’s next below. Then appear totems of other members of the -family. - -The death totem pole is erected at the grave. On it are engraved the -totems of the dead man’s ancestors, as well as his own. The third class -of poles are erected to commemorate some remarkable event in history -of the tribe or of the man. These poles may be seen up and down the -coast from Vancouver to Yakutat. - - “And they painted on the grave-posts - Of the graves yet unforgotten, - Each his ancestral totem, - Each the symbol of his household, - Figures of the bear, the reindeer, - Of the turtle, crane and beaver.” - - --_Longfellow._ - -The fine flower of the native races of the coast are the Haidas. They -are taller and fairer, with more regular features than any of the -Columbian coast tribes. They are aliens to the Tlingits, differing -from them mentally and physically, in speech and customs. The Tlingits -call them “people of the sea.” They were the Norsemen of the Pacific -shores; the coppery Erics and Harolds, who sailed the blue waters of -the Pacific, sweeping the coast, attacking native villages, Hudson Bay -Company posts, and the settlements of the whites. The harbor at Seattle -was a place of rendezvous. - -The origin of this daring race is a mystery. They hold many traditions -in common with the Aztec and Zunis of Mexico. Marchand identifies them -with those whom Cortes drove out of Mexico. Many of their images are -similar to silver relics found in the ruins of Guatemala. - -These people bear a resemblance to the Japanese. They have Japanese -words in their language; they sit always at their work and cut towards -them in using tools, which are much like those in use by the Japanese -to-day. They have also many modern Apache words in their speech, while -their picture writing is similar and in many cases the same as that of -the Zunis. - -Their own legend of their origin runs in this wise: During a great -flood when every living thing on the earth perished, a few people -floated to the tops of the mountains in canoes, which they anchored -with heavy stones. The water rose so high, however, that they at last -were drowned. - -The only living thing to survive the flood was a raven. When the waters -had subsided he flew down to the coast, where the waves dashing on the -rocks sent forth a noise as of thunder. Presently he heard the cry of -babies; directly a huge shell came rolling in on the sandy beach. The -raven opened it and out came a strange people. In thankfulness for -their deliverance they have made the raven their clan totem. - -These people make baskets and mats to-day exactly like those made by -the natives of the Islands of Polynesia, while their carving, in which -they excel all other tribes of the North, resembles the sculpture of -ancient Egypt. - -Totem poles originated with these people and spread from them to other -tribes with whom they came in contact. They practiced cremation and -their death totem poles are always hollow, making a receptacle for the -ashes of the dead. - -The earliest explorers found these people living in houses built of -heavy, hewn logs, and planks hewn out and neatly mortised. The houses -were covered with a hip roof, supported by heavy rafters and thatched -with an odd sort of shingle, clipped or hewn out of the logs. On the -plank floors were mats made from a rush which grows on the islands. - -The old Hydahs were a warlike people, who were ever waging battle with -the fierce Chilkats. - -[Illustration: ENTERING WRANGEL NARROWS.] - - - - -CHAPTER V FURTHER GLIMPSES - - -Wrangel narrows is one of the finest scenic passages along the coast -of Alaska. The magnificent range of snow-covered mountain peaks, the -green-clad slopes on the shore and the Stickine delta compose as -noble a landscape as one will see anywhere in the world. The sunset -and sunrise lights in the narrows and on the snowy, cloud-wreathed -mountains are marvelous pictures of beauty, beyond the power of pen or -brush to portray. - -At low tide broad bands of russet hued algae border the sea-washed -shores. Giant kelp break loose from their moorings and go floating -about, their yellow fronds and orange heads contrasting strangely with -the intense green of the water. The Indians say these kelp are the -queues of shipwrecked Chinamen. Many eagles build their nests in the -trees, while myriads of seagulls skim the water. - -The scenery of the Stickine river is equally grand. Three hundred -glaciers drain their waters into this river. - -The tourist meets the first tide water glacier in the Bay of Le Conte. -The Stickine Indians called it Hutli, Thunder Bay. Here, they say, -dwells Hutli, the Thunder Bird. To their imaginative mind the cracking -of the ice and the noise of the falling icebergs, is the cry of Hutli, -and the roar of the falling water the flapping of his huge wings. - -In Lapland the guardian spirit of the mountains is known as Haltios. - -[Illustration: DOUGLAS ISLAND, LOOKING TOWARD JUNEAU.] - -Juneau is located at the foot of Mt. Juneau, which is more than three -thousand feet high. It is snow-capped and delicious water comes pouring -down the mountain sides. Juneau is a newly built town and is the -largest on the coast. It has a population of thirty-five hundred. Just -below the town is a village of Taku Indians. Back of the village are -the grave houses. Here we find totem poles and Indian offerings to the -spirits. Steamers bring to this wharf fruits and vegetables. Radishes, -lettuce and onions, also rhubarb, look tempting in the gardens. Juneau -is the home of many miners and prospectors. The chief mining interest -in this vicinity is the Treadwell mines, located on Douglas island, -just across Gastineau channel from Juneau. The ore runs from two -dollars and twenty cents to four dollars per ton only, but the water -power coming from the mountains makes the working of the mines cheap, -so that the company is enabled to pay large dividends. Hundreds of -sacks of gold, nearly free from rock, lay day and night on the wharves, -waiting for the steamers to carry it away to the stamping mill. On the -wharf at Treadwell lay twenty thousand dollars. - -The mill spoken of is the largest in the world. It runs eight hundred -and eighty stamps day and night. There is enough ore in sight to run -the mill twenty-four hours a day for thirty years. The mountains are -being literally blasted down and carted away. The Indians work in the -mines, but they cannot compete with their Anglo Saxon brothers, they -earning only about half as much. They will not trust the white man over -night, hence are paid at the close of each day. - -The Indians wear citizens’ clothes and carry watches. Many of them -sport canes when walking about the streets. The women and girls do -the family washing on the rocks in the mountain streams. One little -black-eyed, brown-faced witch who said her name was Troke Lewis, was -washing handkerchiefs on a big rock over which the water poured. She -paused to talk to us, a cake of soap held high in one hand, while with -the other she held her handkerchiefs down in the cold water on the rock. - -Just around the cliff, back of Juneau, lies the beautiful Silver Bow -cañon. - -[Illustration: SILVER BOW CAÑON, JUNEAU. By permission of F. LAROCHE, -Photographer, Seattle, Washington.] - -There are plenty of fine fish in the bay. Salmon, trout and eels -abound. The writer caught a trout weighing ten pounds and an eel -weighing one pound. - -Skagway is located on the Lynn canal at the foot of Mt. Dewey, which -rises sheer fifty-five hundred feet above the sea. The climate is -very mild, the thermometer never being known to register over six -below zero. A veritable Ganymede sends down a vast supply of the most -delicious water. Skagway is the coming city of Alaska. It will be to -Alaska what Chicago is to the Middle Western States, what St. Paul -and Minneapolis are to the Northwest and what Seattle is to the North -Pacific coast. Streets are being laid out and other improvements are -going on. Log cabins covered with tar paper are being replaced by -more substantial buildings. People are coming here to stay and the -representative inhabitants of this youthful town are men and women of -refinement and culture from the Eastern and Middle States. - -At Skagway all sorts of vegetables are growing in the gardens, lettuce, -radishes, onions, potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes. - -We spent the Fourth of July in this place. Congressman Warner invited -us to join him and the senatorial party for the day. We went to the -summit of the Selkirk mountains, to the head of the Yukon River on the -White Pass and Yukon railway, after which the party was entertained in -Skagway. - -[Illustration: OLD RUSSIAN COURT HOUSE, JUNEAU.] - -Observation cars were especially prepared for the party. These -consisted of flat cars around which run a railing. The seats were -reversable and ran lengthwise of the cars. Thus you might view the wall -of granite along which you were passing or reverse the seat and behold -the wonderful things to be seen in the pass below, where the march of -Civilization has left her trail, cabins, mining camps, amidst snow and -flowering mosses, tin cans, cracker boxes; and last but not least, -horses and mules just as good as when they lay down to their last -sleep in these wilds. - -The run to the summit was made in two hours. Over the same route men -and pack mules plod along three weeks. Only in places is there much -vegetation on these granite mountains. Toward the summit blackberries -are in bloom. They are perfect plants only two inches high, each plant -sending out two or three branches loaded with bloom. Dwarf pines and -tufts of grass grow in the crevices of the rocks and on the sides of -the mountains, where a little soil has found lodgment. - -The White Pass and Yukon railway, which was opened in February, now -runs trains over the summit to Lake Bennett. Work is being pushed -rapidly forward to the final destination, Ft. Selkirk, Northwest -Territory. The distance from Skagway to the summit is sixteen miles. -The road was blasted out of solid granite all the way and is a -wonderful feat of engineering skill. - -There are the usual curves and loops, but these are not sufficient to -overcome the steep grade which rises two hundred feet to the mile. The -road rises thirty-two hundred feet in the sixteen miles. At one place -the train was run up into a ravine on a Y. The engine was uncoupled and -coming in behind us pushed the coaches up to the summit. - -The ice bridges all through the mountains are in good repair, the -turbulent streams flowing under them with a dash and a roar of the -Selkirk’s own. - -All along the way to the summit is visible on the opposite side of the -pass, the foot trail of the Indians. This narrow path lies along the -sheer cliffs, dropping suddenly into deep ravines, then almost straight -up the precipitous side of the mountain. - -An enterprising company has built a wagon road to the summit, but a -nervous person had best run his carriage on more level ground. This -road stands on end in many places. It runs along level enough for a -foot or two then takes a header into a ravine, presently it winds over -a frail bridge which the spuming torrent below threatens every minute -to wreck. - -[Illustration: STREET IN JUNEAU.] - -The wagon relegated the trail to oblivion. Then came the railroad and -travel and commerce deserted the wagon road. Here they lie, the foot -trail on one side, the wagon way on the other, and just above the road -way, the railway. Three path ways: that of the untaught, unskilled -Indian, that of the enterprising pioneer and that of the modern -engineer, traverse this play ground of the Titans. - -At the summit of the mountains Old Glory waves beside the British flag. -Several British red-coated police are on duty at this point. They live -in one-room frame houses covered with sail cloth. - -The Yukon river rises at this point and flows four thousand miles into -Behring Sea. Just now the head is a bank of snow from which we made -snowballs. - -The railroad will shortly be completed to Lake Bennett. From that -point, with the exception of White Horse rapids, is a clear, unimpeded -water route to Dawson City, in the heart of the Klondike. - -From the Dawson City _Midnight Sun_ we learn that this metropolis of -the Northwest Territory is quite a busy place. - -Hundreds are leaving for the Cape Nome country by every steamer, and -many are making the trip in open boats. - -A disastrous fire occurred on the hill back of Dawson on Wednesday -last, when about forty cabins were destroyed by the blaze. In many -cases the entire contents were destroyed, while some few were enabled -to save their outfits. The fire caught from a small bonfire down -near the Klondike, and in the first ravine up that stream. It ran up -the hill to the trail, and then burning down towards the ferry, also -destroyed half the homes on the lower side of the trail. The loss is -estimated to reach about five thousand dollars, and fell on a class who -could ill afford the loss, some being left absolutely destitute. - -Scows and boats through from Lake Bennett began arriving in great -numbers the last of the week, and are continuing to do so. - -Trunks and bandboxes are taking the place of dunnage bags heretofore -brought into the country. Every steamer is unloading cords of them. - -Men who during the winter were spending hundreds of dollars over the -gambling tables are now looking for a chance to work their passage out. - -The suspicious actions of two strangers over on Gold Run has caused -gold sacks to be guarded more carefully. - -Two men while poling a boat up the river, were overturned near the -mouth of the Klondike, losing a valuable kit of tools. The men were -picked up by a boat pushed off from the river bank. - -[Illustration: GREEK CHURCH, JUNEAU.] - -The grand opera house, built by Charles Meddows, is to be the finest -building in Dawson. It is three stories high. The auditorium has a -seating capacity of two thousand and a double row of boxes, forty-two -in number. - -From present indication Dawson will celebrate the Fourth of July as it -was never before celebrated. Citizens of Canada are as eager supporters -of this movement as are those of the States. There was a public mass -meeting held in June at the A. C. warehouse, when there was about five -hundred people present, and an executive committee appointed. Since -then the different committees have been appointed and are meeting even -better support from all quarters than expected. - -The foreman of the Gold Hill mine saved from his washup a thousand -dollars’ worth of handsome nuggets. Over these he kept a jealous eye -continually until last Friday. Between seven and eight o’clock that -evening he went to a neighboring cabin to bid good-by to Sam Miller, -who was preparing to return to the States. During his temporary absence -some sneak thief entered the cabin and cutting open a valise secured -the sack of nuggets, but in his haste overlooked fifteen hundred -dollars in dust lying near by. - -We learn that a responsible firm is organizing a properly conducted -express company, which will be prepared to carry parcels, gold dust, -and attend to commissions. Thus a long felt want will be supplied in -connection with Dawson’s dealing with outside points. - -The foreman of the Eldorado is doing the finest piece of mining yet -seen in the Klondike. A passer by would think that his large force -of men was laying off a baseball ground, so level is the entire five -hundred-foot claim being stripped for summer sluicing. - -Cards are out announcing the marriage of two of Dawson’s most prominent -young people. - -A beautiful baby girl born over on Bonanza claim the other day is -considered the most valuable nugget on the claim. - -[Illustration: INDIAN CHIEF’S HOUSE, JUNEAU.] - -Patrick O’Flynn, a prisoner serving a six months’ sentence, escaped -Thursday and has gone, nobody knows where. He, with other prisoners, -was carrying water from the Yukon when he bolted among the tents along -the river bank, mingled with the crowd and was lost sight of. One -hundred dollars reward was promptly offered for information leading to -his capture. - -The Yukon has been steadily rising for the past week, and the high -water mark is not yet reached. Water is backed up in the Klondike, -overflowing the island. - -This little city came near having a Johnstown flood last winter. An -eye witness thus describes how the ice went out at Dawson. The river -had been frozen all winter. When a few warm spring days came, the -melting ice and snow in the mountains sent down immense volumes of -water the strain of which the ice could not long withstand. All day the -people stood helplessly about discussing the situation. A flood seemed -inevitable; the greater part of the city was in danger of being swept -away; until three o’clock in the afternoon the situation was unchanged, -the ice gave no evidence of going. - -Suddenly and almost simultaneously all along the city front the ice -was seen to commence moving. A steamboat whistled and the cry went up, -“The ice is moving,” and thousands of spectators rushed to the river -bank just in time to see it go. The dancing masses of huge pieces -of ice weighing tons upon tons, reared high in the air and tumbling -over each other as they fell, presented a most beautiful spectacle. At -ten o’clock it jammed and raised the water about three feet, doing no -damage except smashing the wheel of the steamer Nellie Irving. In ten -minutes the jam broke and the next morning the river, which the day -before was frozen solid across, was entirely free except for blocks of -floating ice from above. - -Last year ice jammed and, backing the water up, flooded the town, doing -much damage. - -[Illustration: SUMMIT OF THE SELKIRK RANGE, AT HEAD OF YUKON RIVER. OLD -GLORY WAVES BESIDE THE BRITISH FLAG.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI GOLD FIELDS - - -The United States Geological Survey has gathered a volume of -information on the subject of the gold fields of Alaska. The object -of the expedition was to discover the source from which the gold of -the Yukon placer mines was derived. A belt of auriferous rocks, five -hundred miles long and from fifty to one hundred wide, runs from the -British Territory across the American line at Forty Mile Creek. It is -the opinion of the Geological Survey that the gold deposits of Alaska -will rival those of South Africa. - -Returning to Skagway the gentlemen of our party were entertained at -a banquet given by the members of the Chamber of Commerce, in their -building. - -The ladies were invited by Mrs. Bracket to her lovely home where a -delightful luncheon was served. The leading ladies of Skagway were -met at the home of our charming hostess to bid us welcome to their -enterprising little city. - -An employe of the engineering department of the White Pass and Yukon -Railroad is at the Portland hotel. He came in from Cariboo Crossing to -celebrate the Fourth, and recuperate from a hard trip up the Watson -river and along the foothills of the mountains to the Fifty Mile river -below White Horse Rapids. Most of the country through which the party -traveled is entirely new to map makers and no signs of trails, mess -debris, chopping or other evidences of a previous visitation could be -found. As a consequence a number of streams and lakes were discovered. -Of the latter some are quite large and are teeming with large lake -trout. The latter were caught in large numbers by throwing a common -pickerel trotting hook, attached to a line, out into the lake and -hauling it ashore. It was seldom that a cast failed to land a fish. -Artificial flies had no attraction for them. In appearance these fish -look very much like the mountain trout of Puget Sound, but are much -lighter in color. The topographer of the party says they are identical -with the trout found in the Adirondack lake regions. - -The head chainman killed a huge brown bear, which, after being shot, -made a furious charge upon him and was only laid low when but a few -feet away from his slayer. - -The lower lands of this country are almost entirely devoid of rock. The -soil is an ashy sand patched with powdered limestone stretching over -the country in white patches like alkali lakes. On the Forty Mile river -declivity the country is cut up with huge pot-holes. Many of these -contain lakes of the purest water, that gleam in the sunlight in green, -azure and dark blue according to their depths and shades. A curious -peculiarity of these lakes lies in the fact that their outlets and -inlets are subterranean. They receive their supply from the bottoms of -lakes above and their overflow percolates through their lower banks to -lakes below. - -The country swarms with ducks, snipe and other water fowl. It is now -the breeding season and ducks followed by broods of ducklings may be -seen along the edge of every sheet of water. Much fresh sign of bear, -moose, mountain sheep and cariboo were seen throughout the country, but -the noise attendant upon the progress of the party along the line of -their journey, gave all the big game a good opportunity to get out of -sight. - -The open coulées and plateaus of this country are waving with luxuriant -bunch-grass, rye-grass and redtop, but the mosquitoes are in such -untold numbers and so violent in their attacks that the pack horses -of the party were too worried to receive much benefit in grazing. In -places are woodlands of large spruce and tall lodge-pole pines, but -most of the timber is scrubby and fit only for fuel. - -No indications of mineral could be seen. - -The night before the Fourth a large flag was planted on top of Mt. -Dewey. The town was decorated with bunting and flags. Well dressed -people thronged the streets. An oration was delivered from the grand -stand and foot and horse races lent zest to the sports. - -The town has two fire companies. These exhibited their hose-carts and -ran a race, making an exhibition of their skill in handling the hose. -Water is plenty, as it comes down the mountain side in a vast volume -from a lake near the summit of Mt. Dewey and is piped over the town. - -[Illustration: THE SKAGWAY ENCHANTRESS.] - -While the town looks and is new there was nothing to distinguish the -celebration of the national holiday from the same day in the States. - -We are now above the line of night. It is as light as day all night. No -light is needed as one can read at any time of night without it. The -sun scarcely sets in the west until it rises in the east. At Summit -lake, which is at the top of the mountains, there is no night at all, -it being in latitude sixty north and longitude one hundred and sixty -west. - -The display of the aurora borealis each night is a scene never to be -forgotten. Night after night the whole northern sky is aflame with -a light akin to sunlight tempered by moonlight and enriched by the -splendor of the rainbow’s glorious hues. The Tlingit Indians believe -the aurora to be the ghost-dance of dead warriors who live on the -plains of the sky. - -The Skagway enchantress is a figure in stone high up on the mountain -side resembling a woman. Her flowing garments resemble those of a -stylish Parisian gown. The Indians formerly crossed the mountains at -this point, Chilkat Pass, but this witch long ago enchanted the trail, -so that it meant death to follow it. The Indians now turn aside here -and follow the White Pass. - -High above the enchantress’s head a bear, whose head is plainly -visible, stands guard over her. - -If you look long enough on a moonlight night you can see the -Enchantress move, but she cannot leave the mountain. She cannot come -down, yet Chilkat Pass remains enchanted. - -[Illustration: SKAGWAY, SHOWING WHITE PASS.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII MUIR GLACIER - - -The sun shone bright and warm, but a cold wave swept over the glacier. -It was the beautiful Muir glacier. - -We left the steamer in a little boat and were rowed to the shore, -landing on the sandy beach. High on the sand lay an Indian canoe, a -dug-out. Near by a party of Indians wrapped in their scarlet blankets -squatted on the sand. They had come to meet the steamer and sell their -toys, baskets and slippers. - -A little black eyed boy had a half dozen young seagulls, in a basket, -great awkward squabs. Their coats were a dirty fuzzy down like that of -a gosling, sprinkled over with black dots. Their big hungry mouths and -frowsy coats gave no hint of the beautiful birds they would be when -they grew up. - -When I paused to look at the birds their owner regarded me with -interest as he sat with the basket hugged to his breast. Then the -young merchant held one up for my inspection, with the remark, “hees -nice bird.” - -“Yes,” said I, “hees very nice.” I had no thought of buying a seagull. -What would I do with it? Then I remembered a little invalid boy whom I -thought might be pleased with a pet seagull. - -“How much you give?” inquired my little Indian boy. - -“How much will you take?” - -“Two bits.” - -So, I paid down my two bits and picked up my baby seagull. Then my -little merchant spoke up, “Him want basket?” - -“Yes,” I said, “I think that I want a basket.” - -The basket was paid for and my enterprising little Indian tucked the -baby gull in with a wisp of sea weed and handed him to me with the -remark, “Him all right now.” - -How that gull did squawk when he found himself all alone in a big -basket. What cared he that I had purchased for him the prettiest basket -on the beach? He wanted his brothers. When we arrived on the deck of -the steamer I hurried my gull down to the steward and gained admission -for him to the cook’s department, where he was cared for the -remainder of the voyage. - -[Illustration: MUIR GLACIER (SECTION OF).] - -It is something of a novelty to be seated at the base of a glacier -in July. From the Chilkoot to the source of the Yukon river is only -thirty-five miles, but the intervening mountain chain is several -thousand feet high and bears numerous glaciers on its seaward side. -Forty miles west of Lynn canal and separated from it by a low range -of mountains is Glacier bay, and at the head of one of its inlets -is the far-famed Muir glacier. It is one of the many fields of ice -which stellates from a center fifteen miles back of the Muir front -and covers the valley of the mountains between the Pacific and the -headwaters of the Yukon river. Nine glaciers now discharge icebergs -into the bay. All of these glaciers have receded from one to four miles -in the past twenty years. Kate Field says, “In Switzerland a glacier -is a vast bed of dirty air-holed ice that has fastened itself like a -cold porous plaster to the Alps. In Alaska a glacier is a wonderful -torrent that seems to have been frozen when about to plunge into the -sea.” There they lay, almost free from debris, clear and gleaming in -the cold sunshine of Alaska. The most beautiful of them all is the -Muir glacier. It is named in honor of John Muir, who visited Alaska -in company with Mr. Young, the Presbyterian missionary, in 1879, -and discovered it. This glacier extends straight across the fiord, -presenting at tide water a perpendicular wall two hundred to four -hundred feet above and seven hundred and fifty feet below the surface, -making a solid wall of ice a thousand feet high and three miles wide. - -I cannot do better than to give Prof. Muir’s own description of this -wonderful _mer de glace_: “The front and brow of the glacier were -dashed and sculptured into a maze of yawning chasms, ravines, cañons, -crevasses, and a bewildering chaos of architectural forms, beautiful -beyond description, and so bewildering in their beauty as to almost -make the spectator believe he is reveling in a dream. There were -great clusters of glistening spires, gables, obelisks, monoliths, -and castles, standing out boldly against the sky, with bastion and -mural surmounted by fretted cornice and every interstice and chasm -reflecting a sheen of scintillating light and deep blue shadow, making -a combination of color, dazzling, startling and enchanting.” - -This is nature’s iceberg factory. The “calving” of a berg is a -wonderful sight and one never to be forgotten. Avalanches and great -blocks of crumbling ice are continually falling with a crash and roar -into the sea, while spray dashes high and great waves roll along the -wall of the glacier, washing the blocks of floating ice upon the sandy -beach on either side of the great ice-wall. The great buttresses on -either side as they rise from the sea are solid white, veined and -streaked with mud and rocks, but farther in near the middle of the wall -the color changes to turquoise and sapphire blues, blended with the -changeable greens of the sea. - -The upper strata of a glacier moves faster than the lower and is -constantly being pushed forward, producing a perpendicular and at -times projecting front. A piece of the projecting front breaks off -and falls with a heavy splash into the water, then up it comes almost -white. Now a piece breaks from the lower and older strata and comes up -a dazzling green. Again a deafening roar as of artillery and a huge -piece of ice splits off from top to bottom of the sea wall and goes -plunging and raving like a great lion to the bottom of the sea, then up -it comes slowly, a berg of dazzling rainbow hues. Such a one, as big -as all the business houses in a village, floated toward the beach and -the outgoing tide left it stranded there. We ate a piece of it, ice -thousands of years old, and drank water from a cup or pocket in its -side. - -The beach is strewn with rock, pebbles and bowlders carved by the icy -hand of the glacier. Along the beach near the glacier, just above high -tide, in the rocks and sand grow lagoon grass, laurel and beautiful -clarkias. These brilliant purple flowers are named for Prof. Clarke, -who first studied and classified them. They are sweet scented and -belong to the evening primrose family. - -The Tlingit Indians believe that mountains were once living creatures -and that the glaciers are their children. These parents hold them in -their arms, dip their feet into the sea, then cover them with snow -in the winter and scatter rocks and sand over them in summer. These -Indians dread the cold and always speak the name Sith, the ice god, -in a whisper. They have no fear of a hades such as ours. To them hell -is a place of everlasting cold. The chill of the ice god’s breath is -death. He freezes rivers into glaciers and when angry heaves down the -bergs and crushes canoes. When summer comes the ice spirit sleeps, but -the Indians speak in whispers and never touch the icebergs with their -canoe paddles for fear of awaking him. - -Once upon a time glaciers plowed over Illinois. Manitoba and Hudson Bay -were then great snow and ice fields, down from which swept the glaciers -over the United States south to the Ohio river. Great rocks and -bowlders were carried along and deposited here and there on the broad -prairies. Many of these rocks and bowlders may still be seen in central -Illinois, still bearing the marks of the glacial slide. - -An odd old character in our neighborhood used to tell us children that -those big flattened bowlders were left there for the good people to -stand on when the world should be burned up. “Would they get hot?” we -asked. “Oh, how could they when they had lain years in the heart of a -glacier?” To all of our questions as to how he knew he always turned a -deaf ear. - -Our sailors rowed out and with ropes captured an iceberg which they -said would weigh five tons and with rope and tackle hauled it aboard -and put it down in the hold. Then they captured a second one not quite -so large and after it was safely stored away we weighed anchor and -steamed out of the beautiful bay, afloat with icebergs, many of them -being larger above water than our ship. But one disappointment met me, -not a polar bear was in sight. - -A nunatak is an area of fertile land surrounded by ice. One of the -finest on the Alaskan coast is Blossom island. It is quite a large -tract of rich land covered with forest and brilliant flowers. - -When Mr. Young (before mentioned) was missionary to the Hoonah Indians -they appealed to him to pray to God to keep the glaciers from cutting -down the trees on the bays putting into Cross sound. They said their -medicine man had advised them to offer as a sacrifice two of their -slaves to the ice god, but this they had done without any effect. They -were greatly disappointed when Mr. Young told them that he could do -nothing to prevent the glaciers destroying their forests. - -[Illustration: GREEK CHURCH, KILLISNOO.] - -Passing Cross strait we go down Chatham strait. Our next stop is -Killisnoo, a small fishing hamlet on Admiralty island. The largest cod -liver oil factory in the world is located here. The Northwest Trading -Company established a fishing post here in 1880. Chatham strait is full -of cod. The fish are artificially dried. The natives receive two -cents apiece for a five-pound fish. Many fish are packed in salt. Our -steamer took on many hundred pounds of dried and packed fish. Cod liver -oil is made in the factory. Each barrel of fish when pressed yields -three quarts of oil valued at twenty-five cents to thirty-five cents -per gallon. The refuse of fifty barrels of fish when dried and powdered -yields one ton of guano worth thirty dollars. This is shipped to the -fruit ranches of California and the sugar plantations of the Hawaiian -islands. Great vats of oil stand in rows under the shed of the factory. - -There is a little fish here called the candle fish. It is almost all -oil. For a light the natives impale this fish on a stick and light the -fish. It burns with a sizzle and sputter but makes a good light. - -This is a beautiful island. The gardens are now at their best. -Everything grows luxuriantly. Fine strawberries, currants and -gooseberries are grown. Beds of royal purple and golden pansies in -dewy splendor adorn the yards and gardens, great broad faced beauties -measuring from two to two and a half inches across. - -Here we met our first Alaskan mosquito. He is about the size of our -glow flies. His bite is something to remember. It leaves a miniature -snow capped mountain on your face. - -The Indians say that once upon a time, many thousand of snows ago, he -was a giant spider, but a wicked manitou tossed him into the fire one -day where he shriveled up to his present size. The bad manitou thought -him dead but when the fire burned low he escaped and flew away with a -live coal in his mouth which he carries to this day. Since he could not -be revenged on the manitou he takes his vengeance out on man. - -Arachne, fair mortal, at Minerva’s fateful touch shrank and shriveled -into a spider. - -The student of Indian myths will be impressed before he carries his -researches very far, with the likeness of many of these legends to the -mythologies of the old world. - -[Illustration: KITCHNATTI.] - -These Indians, the Kootznahoos, claim to have come from over the -seas. They deny any relation with the Tlingits. They were the first -Indians to distill hoochinoo, which carries more fight and warwhoop -to the drop than any other liquor known. It is made from a mash of -yeast and molasses, thickened with a little flour. They were great -fighters and murdered the traders as soon as the Russians left. In -1869 Commander Mead shelled the village and took Kitchnatti prisoner. -He was taken to Mare Island, California, and confined for a year. -The tribe now numbers only five hundred souls. They are a peaceable -people and follow fishing for a livelihood. Many of them are employed -in the fish factory on the island. Kitchnatti is still the recognized -chief, and is very proud of his position. He meets all the steamers -coming in and is delighted to meet the officers of the vessels, all of -whom are kind to him. He is quite vain in his dress, wearing a silk -hat, long coat, black pantaloons and slippers. He also sports a cane, -which is a sheathed sword. He claims descent from ancestry as old as -“yonder granite mountain” which stands across the strait. His state -dress consists of a crown made of goat horns and a tunic made of red -felt trimmed with fur. Over his door he has posted his escutcheon, -which some one has translated for him into English. It reads, “By the -governor’s permission and the company’s commission I am made the Grand -Tyhee of this entire illabee.” - -On a green slope stands a Greek church, established by the Russian -government. The priest lives in a tiny cottage next door. - -At the wharf a dozen little Indian boys, dressed in sweaters and -overalls, displayed much energy and skill in helping to unload the -freight which was landed at this point. The first officer gave them -fifty cents apiece when the work was completed and away they went to -spend it, American boy like, at the candy store. - -One of the most interesting things that I saw in the village was a -little papoose taking his bath in a big dishpan on the front veranda. -He did not like it at all and kicked and screamed but his mother -without a word proceeded with the bathing. - -Just off Killisnoo the steamer anchored several hours to give the -passengers an opportunity to try deep-sea fishing. Some fine halibut -were brought aboard. Then we weighed anchor and steamed toward the old -town of Sitka. This ancient capital of the Romanoffs is the seat of the -territorial government of Alaska. A strong effort is being made by the -mining interest of Juneau to move it to that point. - -[Illustration: SITKA.--SOLDIERS’ BARRACKS, OLD RUSSIAN WAREHOUSE -AND GREEK CHURCH ON THE RIGHT, INDIAN VILLAGE ON THE LEFT, RUSSIAN -BLOCKHOUSES BEYOND AND MISSION SCHOOLS IN THE DISTANCE. By permission -of F. LAROCHE, Photographer, Seattle, Washington.] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII SITKA - - -Sitka is beautifully located at the foot of the mountains and commands -a fine view seaward. The streets are not regularly laid out. Everyone -appears to have chosen the site that pleased him best, regardless of -his neighbors. Many of the buildings are old. At every turn one is -made aware of Russian architecture. Several blocks from the wharf and -directly in the middle of the street stands the Russian orthodox church -of St. Michaels. The interior is richly decorated. Many rich paintings -adorn the walls. A handsome brass chandelier hangs from the ceiling. -Massive brass candlesticks stand on either side of the door. The -interior is finished in white and gold, and the inner sanctuary where -women may not enter is separated from the church proper by fine bronze -doors. - -The Sitka Mission and Industrial School was established by the -Presbyterian board in 1878. There are now enrolled sixty-four boys and -forty-six girls. School continues nine months of the year. The boys -and girls occupy separate buildings. The forenoon the pupils spend -in the school rooms and the afternoons the girls spend in the sewing -room and the boys in the shops. The superintendent called a bright boy -about twelve years of age and asked him if he could show me about the -grounds and through the workshops while he conducted a larger party in -a different direction. “Yes sir,” and with a touch of his cap to me, -led the way to the carpenter shop. Two young men busy at work at a long -bench touched their caps and a “Good afternoon, madam,” greeted me. -“Yes madam, I am a carpenter,” proudly replied one of the young men to -my question. He was about eighteen years old, while his companion was -only sixteen. In this shop the pupils make tables, chairs and all sorts -of furniture. I was next conducted to the tin shop, where besides pots -and pans, stoves are made out of sheet iron and scraps of any old thing -that is left over. All of the stoves in the school buildings are made -in this way. My young Indian guide next conducted me to the shoe shop. - -[Illustration: INDIAN AVENUE, SITKA.] - -The schools are having vacation now, so the shops are not running -a full number of pupils. The conductor and two pupils were at work, -the former on fine shoes and the latter on heavy Klondike boots. Each -boy has his own cobbler’s bench and a full set of tools. A third -boy was sauntering about the room making himself familiar with his -surroundings. The conductor of the shop told me that this lad had -chosen the shoe maker’s trade and was to begin work on the following -morning. - -The boys all greeted me with a smile of welcome when I entered and -bade me good-by when I departed. My guide said that the paint shop was -closed, but he explained to me the object of the shop and the work -done there. When I asked him if he had chosen his trade he politely -explained that he had only been in the school a year and that he had -not decided what he would like. The pupils enter for five years, -the parents or guardian signing a contract to that effect. My guide -conducted me to the gate, where I thanked him for his kindness. He -gracefully touched his cap and said: “Good-by madam, I was glad to show -you about.” - -All of the dormitories, play rooms and school rooms are models of -neatness. In the girls’ building the bread was just being taken out -of the bake oven. Thirty loaves was the day’s baking. The boys make -the bread and put it to rise. The girls mould it out and bake it. The -Indians are very proud of the school and come of their own accord -seeking admission for their children. This school is making these -Indians self-supporting and consequently prosperous. One sees many -bright faces among them and the younger people are happy and contented, -with nothing in their dress or manner to distinguish them from young -white Americans of the same age. In an old blockhouse located on a -rocky prominence overlooking the sea some of the boys of the school -spend the evening hours in band practice. They played until eleven -o’clock on the parade ground without a light, reading their music by -twilight. The selections were choice and well rendered. They played -“Star Spangled Banner” as an opening piece. Sitka is rightfully proud -of her Indian band. The Indian is given his chance in this land of the -midnight sun and he is making the most of his opportunities. - -[Illustration: BLOCKHOUSE ON BANK OF INDIAN RIVER, SITKA, ALASKA.] - -Opposite the Mission on the bank of the Indian River is a large square -rock called the Blarney-stone, which dowers the kisser with a magic -tongue, but never a four leafed shamrock in all the merry dell with -which to weave a magic spell. - -The Sitkans, like all native races have a mythical legend as to their -origin. - -Two brothers, twins, lived in paradise. One of them ate a sea cucumber. -It was the one forbidden fruit. The paradise became a wilderness. The -brothers were starving when a band of roving Stickines came that way -one day and pitying them left them wives to care for them. - -From one of these pairs sprang all the Kaksatti, the Crow clan. From -the other descended all the Kokwantons, the Wolf clan. - -The legends of these Indians as well as all other tribes in this -country, contain a full account of the landing of Columbus. The news -was carried overland from post to post and tribe to tribe by runners. -The history of the tribe at Sitka runs back five hundred years. Beyond -that period they have no record and frankly say that they have no -authentic account of their origin. - -Their stature, their industry, their faith in the shaman, their belief -in transmigration of souls, all point to Asiatic origin. Their word -for water is agua, much like the Latin aqua. - -The Mission and Training schools have transformed these savages, whose -ancestors murdered the intrepid Muscovites, into frontier fishermen, -boatmen and loggers. - -An Indian never willingly consents to have his photograph taken, -because, when you have a picture of him, he firmly believes that you -have power over his soul. The educated Indian, however, is fearless of -the camera. - -The Kletwantans and the Klukwahuttes, two branches of the Frog clan, -are at variance over the erection of a totem pole and have gone into -court to settle the matter. The Klukwahuttes are the true aristocrats -of Indian society in Sitka. The Kletwantons are the wealthy members of -the real Indian four hundred, but having made their money in fish and -oil, are considered upstarts by their more aristocratic brothers. The -Kletwantons decided to build a new home for the chief and to set up -an elaborately carved and decorated totem pole. The eyes of the frog -which was to surmount this wonderful pole were to be twenty-dollar -gold pieces. A grand potlatch was to be held when the pole was ready -to set up. All of the Indians up and down the coast, from Juneau, -Killisnoo, Skagway, Ft. Wrangel and Bella Bella, were invited, but the -aristocratic Klukwahuttes were left out. Did they sit down and quietly -ignore this insult? No indeed. They told their wealthy brothers in true -American style what they thought of such conduct, and the matter would, -no doubt, have been dropped here had not the wealthy fish oil makers -denied that the Klukwahuttes belonged to the Frog clan at all. Upon -this things grew so warm that the missionary appealed to the district -attorney to aid him in making the Indians keep the peace. Then the -disgusted Klukwahuttes went to him asking for an injunction to keep -the pretended Frogs from holding the potlatch and setting up the pole. -He replied to them that he would take the case upon them paying him -a retainer of five hundred dollars, feeling sure that would end the -matter, well knowing that they could not raise the money. Petitioned -again he reduced his fee to two hundred and fifty dollars, feeling -quite sure that they could not raise even that amount. But he reckoned -without his host. In less than two hours the leading men of the -Klukwahuttes filed into his office, carrying goat skin bags and pouches -filled with money and counted out the two hundred and fifty dollars in -small coins, no coin being larger than a fifty-cent piece. The attorney -was obliged to keep his word and take the case. The injunction was -issued restraining the oil makers from building the house and setting -up the totem pole. The potlatch, however, was held. - -When the Juneau Indians arrived in their canoes off the shore the chief -stood up and chanted their traditions to prove that they belonged to -the Frog clan and were rightfully invited. When he had finished the -leaders of the Klukwahuttes, who were standing on the beach, recited -their traditions to prove that they and not the Kletwantans were the -true Frogs. The Klukwahuttes, however, made no disturbance during the -feast. Later the Kletwantans employed a young Boston lawyer who was -stopping at Sitka and sued the Klukwahuttes for damages. Not wishing to -be outdone by the aristocratic Klukwahuttes, they at once paid their -lawyer a retainer of two hundred and fifty dollars. There the case -rests. The lawyers are trying to settle it out of court. - -On an eminence which commands a fine view of the harbor and the town, -stood the Baranhoff castle, which was burned a few years ago. It did -not in the least resemble a castle. The picture makes it look like an -old country inn. The ruins are still visible and the two flights of -steps leading to it still exist. Around this historic ground cluster -the scenes and incidents of the past century. The castle, like the -island on which it stood, took its name from the Russian governor, -Baranhoff, who in the early part of the century ruled the people with -an iron hand, beginning with the knout and ending with the ax. - -Not one of the intrepid Muscovites who landed here in 1741 were left to -tell the tale of their capture and execution by the native Sitkans. In -1800 another party arrived and placed themselves under the protection -of the Archangel Gabriel instead of trusting to the power of gunpowder -and stockades. They too were massacred and their homes destroyed by -fire. Baranhoff was at once sent out by the Russian government. He -erected the castle and stockade, withdrew the town from the protection -of Gabriel and placed it under the protection of the Archangel Michael. - -This old castle was once the home of nobility and the scene of grand -festivities. Here princes and princesses of the blood royal ate their -caviare, quaffed their vodka and measured a minuet. It was in this -old castle that Lady Franklin spent three weeks twenty-five years ago -when in search of her husband, Sir John. It was here that W. H. Seward -spent several days when on a trip to Alaska after its purchase from -Russia, through the sagacity of himself and Charles Sumner. At one -of the windows sat the beautiful Princess Maksoutoff weeping bitter -tears as the Russian flag was lowered for the last time. On the 18th -of October, 1867, three United States warships lay at anchor in the -bay. They were the Ossipee, Resaca and Jamestown, commanded by Captains -Emmons, Bradford and McDougal. Each vessel was dressed in the national -colors, while the Russian soldiers, citizens and Indians assembled upon -the open space at the foot of the castle carrying aloft the eagle of -the czar of all the Russias. At a given signal the American navy fired -a salute in honor of the Russian flag, which was lowered from the staff -on the castle. After a national salute from the Russian garrison in -honor of our flag, the stars and stripes were hoisted to the top of the -old flag staff. - -The Russian parade ground has been converted into a base ball -ground, where Indian and white teams contest for honors. - -The native races of Alaska are slowly dying out. The bright light of -civilization is always the death doom of savagism. - -[Illustration: RAPIDS, INDIAN RIVER, SITKA.] - -The most beautiful natural park in the world lies just above Sitka, on -the banks of the Indian River, which rises in the valley between the -mountains and winding down, empties into the sea. - -Here are the greenest of pines, cedars and firs. The grasses and mosses -are the brilliant green of the tropics. A neat suspension foot bridge -swings clear of the water from buttress to buttress. The shallow, -murmuring, sparkling water bathes the brown roots of shrubs and trees. -Great cedars lie prostrate, covered with short green moss. Giant firs -are draped with a delicate sea green moss, which hangs in festoons and -pendants from branch, limb and trunk. The pine tops sigh softly the -music of the seas. - -Sunny banks are yellow with the familiar cinquefoil, the blossoms of -which are five or six times as large as they are at home. In open -glades the ground is white with cornells, and tiny dogwood shrubs -growing from two to five inches high. The wild purple geranium -brightens sunny glades, while the mountain spiraea, the most beautiful -of all spiraeas, bends and sways in the breeze. - -Thickets of salmon berry and wonderful mazes of strange ferns meet -one at every turn. One of the handsomest bushes in the park is the -magnificent Devil’s Club. There are great thickets of them twenty feet -high casting an enticing but dangerous shade. The dainty green leaves, -as large as dinner plates, rear their heads aloft, umbrella-like. The -stems, limbs, and trunk are covered with thousands of tiny poisonous -prickles, which work deep into the flesh, making ugly sores. - -Down on the beach are the graves of Lisiansky’s men, who were killed by -ambuscaded Indians while taking water for their ship, in 1804. - -Friday evening we weighed anchor and steamed out of the harbor. The -beautiful bay, with its beautiful islands, slowly receded from view and -we bade farewell to the historic old town of Sitka. - -Hamerton, in his charming work on Landscape, says: “There are, I -believe, four new experiences for which no description ever adequately -prepares us, the first sight of the sea, the first journey in the -desert, the sight of flowing molten lava, and a walk on a great -glacier. We feel in each case that the strange thing is pure nature, as -much nature as a familiar English moor, yet so extraordinary that we -might be in another planet.” - -I would add a fifth, sunset at sea. Earth holds nothing more fair, -nothing more beautiful than sunshine. - -A little while ago the sky was blue, flaked with fleecy white clouds, -the snows on the coast range lay sparkling like diamonds in the sun, -the forest lay dark and green on the mountainside, the sea gray and -blue by turns; but now a change comes over nature’s moods, the clouds -glow, the snows take on brilliant hues, the dark old forest grows -darker, the sea shimmers and sparkles, a flaming molten mass. - -The imperial sunset throws its red flame afar, ’till the land, the sea, -the mountains, the sky, the very air it incarnadines in one grand flame -of scarlet. Long, long will the beholder remember that glorious sunset -at Sitka. - - - - -CHAPTER IX ALASKA - - -A friend of the writer who owns mines at Cook’s Inlet thus describes -his voyage north along the coast to Unalaska: - -We were now aboard the Excelsior. About noon the next day we put out to -sea and saw no more island passages such as we had seen while aboard -the Queen. - -Our first stop was at Yakutat, an Indian village on the Yakutat Bay. -This bay is only an indentation of the coast, curving inward for about -twenty miles. The whole force of the Pacific sweeps into it. Landing is -both difficult and dangerous. In the bay are always many icebergs from -the glaciers at its head. - -Great excitement prevailed here in 1880 when gold was discovered in -the black sand beaches. The rotary hand amalgamators were used and -as much as forty dollars per day to the man was often realized. The -miners, however, had reckoned without their host; the Yakutat chief, -who suddenly developed financial ability worthy of his white brother, -exacted licenses and royalties from the miners. - -This black sand mine was not yet exhausted when a tidal wave heaped the -coast with fish. These decayed in the hot sun and the oil soaked down -into the sand. The mercury would not work and the miners moved to a new -beach, but again a tidal wave ruined the mines by washing all the black -sand out to sea. Yakutat was then deserted by the miners. The Indian -women of this village are the finest basket weavers in Alaska. - -Soon after leaving Yakutat we sighted Mt. St. Elias and the Malispania -glacier. The Indians call it Bolshoi Shopka--great one. This snow-clad -mountain, nearly four miles high, beautiful as Valaskjalf, the silver -roofed mansion of Odin, is a most magnificent sight. Such grandeur, -such solidity, such poetry of color,--the white peak kisses the blue -heaven,--such solitude. Like the golden few of earth’s great ones, it -stands alone, isolated by its very greatness. - -The Malispania glacier which flows down from a great névé field in -the mountains, is said to be the largest glacier in the world. It is -nearly one hundred miles long and thirty-five miles wide where it pours -into the sea, and rises four hundred and fifty feet above tide water. - -Orca, on the shore of Prince William’s Sound, lies snuggled up under -the rugged cliffs, which rise sheer thousands of feet high. From the -woods beyond a noisy river goes leaping down the rocks to the sea, -where its power is chained to run the machinery of a cannery. That -other Orca was a powerful sea dragon, especially fond of a seal diet, -but this Orca preys only on the salmon. - -Our next stop was at Valdes, where two years ago two thousand miners -started for Copper River, to prospect for gold, but they were doomed -to disappointment, as yet no gold has been discovered on this river. -Many and sad are the tales of hardships endured by these miners. Some -worked their way up the Copper River and down Tanana River to the -Yukon, but by far the greater number returned to Valdes destitute. Many -of the miners lost their lives on the Valdes’ glacier. In going to -Copper River they had to travel eighteen miles across this treacherous -glacier. Nine men lost their lives here last winter. - -[Illustration: WHERE WHALES AND PORPOISES POKE THEIR NOSES UP THROUGH -THE BRINE.] - -At Valdes is located a government expedition under the command of -Captain Ambercrombie. The object of this expedition is to study the -topography of the country and to make surveys. The government is doing -much to aid stranded miners to reach Seattle. For thirty days’ work -they are paid five dollars and given a free passage to that city. - -Prince William Sound is a fine body of water. It is almost surrounded -by land. Abrupt mountains rise seemingly out of the sea. It is deeply -indented by fiords and inlets running back from ten to twenty-five -miles. On the south it is protected by mountainous islands. In coming -out of this sound we passed around Mummy Point, into the ocean. -Presently we came to the Seal Rocks. They were alive with seals. When -the engineer blew the whistle they went plunging into the sea, making -a great splash. Whales and porpoises bob their noses up through the -brine--descendants, no doubt, of that gallant crew of Tyrrhenian -mariners changed by angry Bacchus to dolphins in that dusky old time -when the gods held sway over nature’s forces. - -From here to Cook’s Inlet we had rough sailing. Neptune was out on a -lark. We realized fully that he was king of the sea and that we were -his timid subjects. - -The crowning glory of Alaska’s natural attractions is Cook’s Inlet. -Sheltered by a great mountain wall on the west, its shores enjoy -delightful summer weather. Only the pen of a Milton or the matchless -brush of a Turner could paint this fair empire of earth, sea and air. -Glacier after glacier, frozen to the cold breast of the mountains, lay -glistening in the sunshine. The finest waterfalls in Alaska leap from -rugged cliffs and go singing to the sea. - -A grand panorama of snowy peaks, smoking volcanoes, forested slopes, -grassy glades bright with flowers and fertile valleys, lend enchantment -to this wild Arcadia of the North. Goethe truly says: “Him whom the -gods true art would teach, they send out into the mighty world.” - -Moose graze in the open glades, mountain goat and sheep leap from -cliff to rock and away. Extensive level plateaus line both shores of -the inlet, which will make fine grazing country some day in the near -future. The grass grows luxuriantly and in many places reaches a height -of six feet. We traveled up the inlet seventy miles to a branch of the -inlet known as the Turnagain Arm, which is from five to eight miles -wide and enclosed by high mountains. These mountains are covered with -timber at the base. Tall grass covers the mountain side to the height -of three thousand feet, sweet grass for all the flocks of some future -Pan. - -We landed at Sunrise, which is the largest city on the inlet. It has a -population of one hundred and fifty, mostly miners. Hope, twelve miles -away, has a population of seventy-five miners. Fine vegetables grow -here. A storekeeper has a small garden. His potatoes are as fine as -any grown in the states, some weighing one and one-half pounds. He has -cabbages weighing seven pounds, and turnips weighing eleven pounds. -Beets, peas and other vegetables are as fine as grown anywhere. People -who have lived here during the winters say that the temperature rarely -falls twenty degrees below zero, and that the winters are dry and -without blizzards. - -Moose, mountain goat and wild sheep furnish the towns and camps with -meat, which is usually bought from the Indians, who are good hunters, -but very superstitious. They are afraid of a giant who, Odin like, -rides from mountain to mountain on the wind, killing every Indian whom -he finds traveling alone. White men don’t count, so if you wish to -employ a guide to accompany you on a hunting expedition you must also -employ a brother Indian to protect him, or he “no go.” - -Farther south along the coast a black dwarf haunts the mountains, -making life miserable for lone Indians. His arrows, like the magical -spear of Odin, never miss their mark. - -In the mountains north and west of the inlet a giant floats his birch -canoe on the wind, from peak to peak, seeking lone Indians, whom he -slays with the canoe paddles. This wonderful canoe, like that good ship -of Frey, always gets a fair wind, no matter for what port its oarsman -is bound. - -This portion of the inlet, Turnagain Arm, is a treacherous bit of -water. The highest tides rise fifty feet. Then there is the bore, which -runs up just as the tide comes in, rising eighteen to twenty feet -perpendicularly. - -No boat can live in it. The tide usually comes in three great waves, -one right after the other. The water is thick with mud, ground up by -the glaciers at the head of the Arm and brought down by the streams. - -There will be some good placer mines in Cook’s Inlet when the country -is properly opened, but it has hardly been prospected as yet, owing to -the difficulty in sinking shafts to bed rock on account of the water -coming in so rapidly. It is necessary to go through bed rock to the -glacier channels below for the main deposits of gold. - -By timbering the shafts the water may be kept out. The soil and gravel -taken out of a shaft which has just been sunk averages only twenty-five -cents per cubic yard, but the owners intend to go through the rock to -the channels below, where they expect to strike a rich vein, make their -fortunes and return to civilization. - -There is usually a light freeze about the middle of September, after -which the weather is fine until the last of November. - -The king of volcanoes in this region is Iliamna. Steam and smoke issue -from two craters at the summit of the snow-clad mountain. During an -eruption this giant shakes the earth to its very center. - -This wonderful estuary was discovered by Captain Cook, on the natal day -of Princess Elizabeth, May 21, 1778. He took possession in the name of -her majesty, and buried his records in a bottle at Possession Point. -Vancouver searched for these records in vain. - -Tramways, stone piers and decaying buildings speak in unmistakable -language of busy scenes during Russian occupation. - -Five hundred miles west of Sitka, on the shore of Kadiak, one of the -emerald isles of the Alaskan coast, is St. Paul, the first capital of -Alaska, and the center of the fur trade established by Shelikoff and -Baranhoff. - -The natives say that many summers ago the Kadiak Islands were separated -from the mainland by a very narrow channel. One day a big otter -attempting to swim through was caught fast. He struggled until he -widened the Shelikoff Strait, when he swam triumphantly through. A bad -Indian and his dog sent adrift on a big stone turned into the largest -Kadiak, on the shore of which St. Paul is located. The Kadiakers are -descended from the daughter of a great chief of the north, who, with -her husband and dogs, was banished from her father’s lodge. - -The forest on these islands consists of a few scattered groves. The -grass, shrubs and mosses bathed in a perpetual fog are so brilliantly -green as to dazzle the eye. - -The dug-out canoe disappears here and boats of sea lion and walrus -skins stretched over frames of drift wood lightly skim the blue waters -of the cold sea. - -As we steam along through sunshine and fog, past glaciers, mountains -and fiords, “so wide the loneliness, so lucid the air,” we are reminded -that the Ancient Mariner sailed the blue Pacific. Now the sun drops -into the sea, lighting it up with a luminous glow. With a tremor and a -sparkle the purple waves glimmer red, now shadow to a violet hue, and -now to a crimson blue. - - “Tries one, tries all, and will not stay - But flits from opal hue to hue.” - -The volcanoes of Alaska! What a grand, what a wonderful panorama, as if -you had rubbed Aladdin’s lamp. Expectation stood in awe when this giant -upheaval was in progress. Enwrapped always in the mellow haze of white -smoke and blue atmosphere, the cold clouds kissing their white brows, -these sentinels old, like Wordsworth mountain, “look familiar with -forgotten years.” - -The prince of them all, Shishaldin, rises nine thousand feet, trailing -his white robes in the blue sea. - -The seventy islands of the Aleutian chain lie along the coast for -thousands of miles. These islands are treeless, but green with Arctic -grasses and mosses. - -At Unalaska the Russians have a nicely built church. These Greek -churches have no pews, the congregation standing and kneeling during -the service. The priest in charge of this church speaks no English. -These churches all pay an annual tribute to the patriarch in Moscow. -This is all un-American. The Mary Lee Home, a Methodist mission, has a -small school here. - -The Aleuts, a kind, gentle people, suffered much at the hands of their -Russian masters in the past. The Aleuts living in sod huts are the -Crofters of America. - -The fine flower of the fauna of Alaska is found in the valley of the -Koyukuk River. Here tusks and bones of mastodons are found imbedded in -the sand banks and gravel bars. - -Since the discovery of gold in Alaska the Indians have saved many -lives. Born and reared amidst these wild surroundings, where winter -white and hoary stands ever at the gate of the North, wagging his -shaggy beard, they have partaken of the very nature of their own rugged -mountains. The long Arctic nights and the intense cold have given -these people hearts of steel and muscles of iron. - -Are you ill? Are you starving? No mountain is too high, no snow too -deep, but one of these heroes will climb the one or plunge undauntedly -through the other to bring you succor. - -In the chilly Arctic sea there lies a mysterious island, the home of -the ice goblin, who kicked it loose from, no one knows where, so the -legend runs, and towed it to its present location. - -Its mountains are the highest, its gorges the deepest, and its fields -and fiords the grandest in the world. - -It was a most magnificent island before the goblin stole it and dragged -it away into the great ice fields of the North. It was clothed in rich -verdure. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and gay butterflies hovered over -them. - -This was not at all to the goblin’s taste, so he threw a sheet of ice -over mountain, field and fiord. In his ice castle on the summit of the -loftiest peak reigns the great ice goblin, sending out storms over sea -and land, and pouring ice, snow and glaciers down over the island to -his heart’s content. - -In the Arctic region a dark cloud called the “loom of the water” -overhangs where ever there is clear water. - -The Arctic sea! The land of the midnight sun! What a fascinating -subject! What an inexhaustible field for those three happy brothers, -the poet, the painter and the scientist! The land of jötums, penguins -and ice packs. The land where night kisses morning. The realm of -bright-haired Aurora and sable-robed Niobe. - -Returning along the self same route the mind never tires nor the eye -wearies of the matchless scenery. Like a moving panorama, grand, -austere, majestic, sublime. Here reigns Vidar, the god of silence. - -Magnificent fiords indent the coast. The dark mountains rise to a vast -height, their snow crowned peaks standing out clear and sharp against -the blue sky. - -Glaciers like huge giants clasp the mountains in their frosty arms, -while their tears course down the mountain’s weather-beaten cheek. - -Here and there a fleecy white cloud envelopes the summit of a mountain. -A silvery thread comes creeping out over the rocks, loses itself in the -pine forest on the slopes, emerges and with a boundless sweep plunges -into the ocean. - -All this wild scenery from base to peak stands mirrored in the -sea-green water of the fiord. - - - - -CHAPTER X FAREWELL TO SKAGWAY - - -At Skagway quite a number of miners came on board, bound for home. One -hears from them many sad tales of the Klondike. One man aboard is dying -of consumption and scurvy, contracted in the mining region. A purse is -being made up to enable him to reach his home in Toronto, Canada. He -hopes to live to see his wife and child. An impromptu entertainment in -the salon netted one hundred and fifty dollars for the sick miner. - -Another tale not quite so pathetic is that of Mike McCarty, of San -Francisco. He bought a claim and paid all the money he possessed for -it. When he went to have the lease recorded he was told that it was not -legal, that the property was not his, but still belonged to the Queen. -“Damn the Quane,” said Mike, “I bought it and paid me money for it. The -Quane has nothing to do with it at all.” Then he was informed that some -one had sold the claim to him under false pretense and besides losing -it he would get three months’ imprisonment for insulting the Queen. -“Faith and how could I insult the Quane when I niver see her?” queried -Mike. “All right,” said the magistrate, “you go up for three months and -the claim still belongs to the Queen.” “Damn the Quane,” said Mike, -as he was taken away to his cell. Mr. McCarty is on his way home, a -ragged, penniless, but a wiser man. - -These miners are bringing down a great deal of gold. One man who has -made sixty-five thousand dollars in mining is taking two children to -Seattle to be educated. - -One lady has her bustle stuffed with paper money, another her dress -skirt interlined with five and ten dollar bills. - -Gold may be converted into paper money in Dawson City at the rate -of fifteen dollars per ounce. Its actual value runs from sixteen to -eighteen dollars per ounce. - -Living is quite high at Dawson, owing to the long distance over -which freight must be carried. Coal oil sells at seven dollars for a -five-gallon can, bread at fifty cents a loaf, beefsteak at two dollars -a pound, candles at one dollar each. This is an item in household -expenses, as during the winter months it is twilight only from eleven -o’clock in the morning to two o’clock in the afternoon. Candles are -used for lights in the mines. - -There is plenty of gold in Alaska, but one must go equipped to -withstand the winters and prepared to work his claim properly. Mining -in Colorado and California is not mining in the Klondike. For various -reasons mining in the Klondike is much more expensive than in either of -the other places. The British mounted police are very vigilant, so that -miners lose but little by thieving. - -We arrived at Juneau at eleven o’clock at night. The sun having just -set it was still daylight. Nearly the entire population was at the -wharf, eager to learn the news of the outside world. We repaired to -the opera house, where we attended an impromptu political meeting. -The mayor presided and Judge Delany, judge of Alaska under Cleveland, -set forth in a forcible manner the needs of Alaska. The speaker said -that this rapidly growing child seemed to be somewhat neglected by -legislators, mainly because Congress does not know her needs. “First -of all,” said he, “we want the boundary line settled. We want every -foot of land called for in our treaty with Russia in 1867. Until -the discovery of gold in the Klondike England had never questioned -her treaty made with Russia in 1825. But when gold is discovered up -comes England and plants her flags on our territory. Our government -sent out troops and forced them back to the original line. Now let -Congress settle it once for all. It interferes with business and -until this question is settled we don’t know where we are ‘at.’ Next -we want better school facilities. In Juneau we have two hundred and -forty children of school age and room for only forty. This state of -things exists all over Alaska. If Congress will give us half as much -attention as is bestowed on the seal we promise to ask no more. We want -some sort of government. We have no government and are not represented -in Congress. Next we want more judges and more courts, instead of one -judge and one district as now. We think that Alaska should be divided -into three districts.” - -Congressmen Warner, Dazill, Payne and Hull replied in short speeches -and the meeting adjourned just at dawn, one o’clock. The opera -house is lighted with electric lights and heated with a furnace. It -has a parquet, dress circle and boxes, and is a model from an -architectural point of view. The acoustic properties of the hall are -beyond criticism. - -[Illustration: STEAMER QUEEN LEAVING JUNEAU.] - -Leaving Juneau to carry on the struggle of leading Alaska to statehood, -we board our good ship, the Queen, weigh anchor, and sail away. - -The upper deck is the salon, the reception hall, the library. Here we -leave our steamer rugs and chairs. Here we come for a better view of -the mountains and the sea. Here we meet our friends. Here we may take -a book and, snugly ensconced, pass a quiet hour. Many of us, however, -found it difficult to read a single line or to enjoy our rugs and -chairs for long at a time, for just as your companion has tucked you -all snugly in, exclamations of surprise and delight from some other -part of the vessel lures you away, as the ship turns her prow this way -and that, now steaming straight ahead, as if she meant to knock that -mountain from its seat, and now quickly changing her course, giving us -a magnificent view down a fiord. - -Everyone is reading, “David Harum,” and their comments are quite as -interesting as the book itself. - -Sweet Sixteen--“O, I do just love John and Mary, but that stupid old -David is so tiresome.” - -A critic--“Literature, indeed. Where’s the plot? You couldn’t find it -with a telescope.” - -A judge--“Served his good-for-nothing brother just right.” - -Pious looking old gentleman--“Good man, David, but he lacked religion.” - -Business man--“Too soft hearted; ought to have kicked that idiot Timson -out long before he did.” - -An old farmer lays down the book and laughs until the tears roll down -his weather-beaten cheeks. “Now, there’s a man as is a man. Knows all -about farmin’ and tradin’ horses, he, he; traded horses myself, he, he, -he; best book ever read, he, he, he.” - -The first interesting sight to greet us on our way south was a group of -small rocky islands, where more than a hundred eagles were fishing. Out -they would fly by twos and threes, seize a fish in their talons, return -to the rocks and proceed to eat him. - -From Dixon’s Entrance to Milbank Sound lie the Alps of America, a -double panorama of unbroken beauty two hundred miles in length. Green -slopes reflected in greener waters. The shores rise perpendicularly -from a thousand to fifteen hundred feet, above which snow-clad -mountains rise as high again. Tall trees climb and cling to these rocky -walls like vines and cascades come gliding out from snowbanks and go -hurrying and singing to the sea, some like delicate silver threads -winding down, others dashing mountain torrents. - -[Illustration: ALPS OF AMERICA.] - -Late in the evening a mist Jötun rose out of the sea and enveloped us, -and the ship lay at anchor for several hours. The next morning the sun -shone clear and bright. The clouds lay on the water like a veil of rare -old lace flecked with pearls, diamonds and sapphires, caught up here -and there by unseen hands and wreathed about the mountains’ snowy brows. - -Scene after scene of wild beauty greets the eye at every turn of the -vessel’s prow. Wild deer and fawn come down to the water’s edge and -stand gazing at our ship. We ran into a school of whales disporting -in the water and scattered them right and left. Flock after flock -of wild ducks skim the water, to light in yonder cove. Flock after -flock, battalion after battalion of wild geese swing along overhead, -led by an old commodore, giving his commands with military precision, -“Honk, honk,” until the very air quivers with their joyous shouts and -greetings. The cormorant is your true diver. Down he goes, a ripple, -and the water is smooth again. While you are lost in speculation as to -where he will reappear up he comes in some placid spot away beyond. If -you guess that he will come up at your right he is sure to appear much -further to your left. If you guess that he will remain under water two -minutes he is likely to remain five. In fact he never does the thing -you expect of him at all, but like Thoreau’s loon on Walden pond, he’ll -lead you a merry chase if you board your canoe and attempt to follow -him. - - - - -CHAPTER XI WASHINGTON AND OREGON - - -Seattle is now full of people on their way to Alaska, principally -tourists, as the miners are now all coming down to rest or visit with -relatives and to make preparations to return to the Klondike for the -winter. Now that the Yukon and White Pass railroad is completed over -the mountains to Lake Bennett the trip thus far is made in about four -hours which formerly required four weeks over a rough, rocky mountain -trail. Freight rates are much cheaper than when the Indians carried the -freight over at twenty-five cents per pound. Living will be cheaper in -the Klondike and more mines will be worked. Success or failure waits -on the mining industry as well as every other, and the man who would -succeed in the field must study the business thoroughly. - -From a scientific point of view Alaska is certainly a wonderful -country. From the point of development and commerce it gives promise -of becoming an important State. The possibilities in the way of -development of its mineral resources and fisheries are incalculable. - -Seattle is deeply interested in the boundary question. This city -conducts the bulk of the northwest trade to Alaska and were England -given a port at Lynn canal, Seattle would feel it keenly, as would -Washington and other Western States. Congressman Warner says we have -nothing to concede to Great Britain in the way of territory. That we -stand on the right of possession acquired by the Russian purchase. -England is anxious indeed to lay hands on the Porcupine mining -district, which is considered as rich as the Klondike. - -Traveling south from Seattle, we enter the grazing and fruit-growing -district. Cattle graze on the hill-sides while the fruit farms occupy -a more level tract. The fine cherries, known as the Rocky Mountain -variety, are ripe now. There are three varieties; the sweet, the sour -and the blood-red, seen in our market. The currant farms are of equal -interest. The currants too are ripe. Boys and girls are employed as -pickers. They enjoy the work and consider it great sport. The luscious -fruit is placed in baskets and carried to the manager, who measures it -and sets down the amount opposite the picker’s name. The fruit is much -larger and juicier than in the Eastern States. - -Portland is the center of the hop belt. A hop field is quite as -interesting, from a financial point of view, as a field of broom-corn. -If the crop is a success it pays and pays well, but if a failure from -blight or worm, it is likely to bankrupt the owner. So you see that -a hop ranch is an interesting speculation. The fields themselves are -beautiful, indeed. The varied shades of green, from the darker hues of -the older leaves to the delicate sea green of the new tendrils as they -wreathe themselves about the tall poles, or twine about the wires which -in many fields run from pole to pole, forming a beautiful green canopy -from end to end of the large fields. Not the least interesting part of -the hop ranches are the store and dry-houses. The hops are dried by hot -air process, and are then baled and ready for shipment. King Revelry -holds high carnival in the hop districts when the hops are ripe. -Everyone looks forward to this harvest with the greatest of pleasure. -The invalid, because he would be healed by the wonderful medicinal -qualities of the hops; the well because he would have an outing and -be earning good wages at the same time; the boys and girls, because -it is their annual festival of frolic and fun; a time of camp-fires, -ghost stories and witch tales. The real old-fashioned kind that chills -your blood and makes you afraid of the dark and to go to bed lest the -goblins get you “ef you don’t watch out.” The pickers camp in the -fields and along the road sides. The hops are picked and placed in -trays. Each picker may have a tray to himself or an entire family may -use one tray. When the trays are full they are carried to the warehouse -where they are weighed. - -Plank roads abound in Washington. One-half of the road is laid down in -a plank walk, which is used when the roads are muddy, so that when the -roads dry they are ready to travel without that wearing-down process -which is so trying to the nerves of both man and beast. - -Oregon is the most important state in the Union from an Indian’s point -of view, for it was here that the first man was created. It is needless -to say that he was a red man, and his Garden of Eden was at the foot of -the Cascade mountains. That was long before the bad Manitou created the -white man. - -Portland is a larger city than Seattle. There is more wealth here -too. This city is the outlet for the immense crops of wheat raised -in southern Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The fine peaches, plums, -cherries, currants and apples grown here find their way to eastern -markets. Wood is so plentiful and cheap here that every man has his -wood-pile. (The little coal used on the Pacific coast comes from -Australia.) The enterprising wood sawyer rigs a small steam saw mill on -a wagon, drives up to your door and without removing the mill from the -wagon saws your wood while you wait. - -An interesting feature of river life in Portland is the houseboat, -moored to the shore. Sometimes they are floated miles down the river -to the fishing grounds. Most of them are neat one-story cottages and -nicely painted. Nearly always there is a tiny veranda where flowers in -pots are blooming. - -An aged couple lives in a tiny houseboat, painted white, which is -moored apart from the others. A veranda runs across the front of the -boat and there are shelves on either side of the door. They have a fine -collection of geraniums and just now the entire front of their water -home is aglow with the blooms. Misfortune overtook these people and -they adopted this mode of life because of its cheapness. Another boat -was moored under the lea of the steep bank. Up the side of the bank a -path led to the top, where the children have built a small pen from -twigs and sticks. Inside the pen are five fat ducks, a pair of bantams -and a pig. - -Portland is the third wealthiest city for its size in the world. -Frankfort on the Main takes first rank and Hartford, Conn., second. The -climate is delightful. In summer the average temperature is eighty, -with always a cool breeze blowing from the sea or the snow-capped -mountains. - -The trip up the Columbia river to the dalles is a continuous panorama -of beautiful scenes. On each side along the densely wooded shores are -low green islands. Here and there barren rocks fifty to one hundred -feet high stand, sentinel like, while over their rugged sides pour -waterfalls. Ruskin says that “mountains are the beginning and the end -of all natural scenery.” This wonderful river inspired Bryant’s “Where -rolls the Oregon,” Oregon being the former name of this river--the -Indian name. - -[Illustration: GOVERNMENT LOCKS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER.] - -James Brice paid a tribute of admiration to the superb extinct -volcanos, bearing snow fields and glaciers which rise out of the -vast and somber forest on the banks of the Columbia river and the -shores of Puget Sound. The Oregon chain of mountains from Shasta -to Mount Tacoma is a line of extinct volcanos. A peculiar basaltic -formation three hundred feet high stands at the gateway to the white -capped Cascades of the Columbia river. Here a Lorelei might sit -enthroned and lure to death with her entrancing music, sailors and -fishermen. The Cascades are so dangerous that the government has built -locks at this point, through which every boat passes on its way up or -down the river. The Indian legend as to the origin of the upheaval in -the bed of the river now called the Cascades runs in this wise: Years -ago when the earth was young, Mount Hood was the home of the Storm -Spirit and Mt. Adams of the Fire Spirit. Across the vale that spread -between them stretched a mighty bridge of stone joining peak to peak. -On this altar “the bridge of the gods,” the Indian laid his offering -of fish and dressed skins for Nanne the goddess of summer. These two -spirits, Storm and Fire, both loving the fair goddess, grew jealous of -each other and fell to fighting. A perfect gale of fire, lightning, -splintered trees and rocks swept the bridge, but the brave goddess -courageously kept her place on this strange altar. In the deep shadows -of the rocks, a warrior who had loved her long but hopelessly, kept -watch. The storm waxed stronger, the altar trembled, the earth to its -very center shook. The young chief sprang forward and caught Nanne -in his arms, a crash and the beautiful goddess and the brave warrior -were buried under the debris forever. The Columbia now goes whirling, -tossing and dashing over that old altar and hurrying on to the sea. The -Spirits of Storm and Fire still linger in their old haunts but never -again will they see the fair Nanne. The Indian invariably mixes a grain -of truth with much that is wild, weird and strange. It was Umatilla, -chief of the Indians at the Cascades who brought about peace between -the white man and his red brother. He had lost all of his children by -the plague except his youngest son, Black Eagle, his father called him, -Benjamin the white man called him. Black Eagle was still a lad when an -eastern man built a little schoolhouse by the river and began teaching -the Indians. A warm friendship sprang up between teacher and pupil. One -sad day Black Eagle fell ill with the plague. Old Umatilla received -the news that his son could not live, with all the stoicism of his -race, but he went away alone into the wood, returning at the dawn of -day. When he returned Black Eagle was dying. - -[Illustration: RAPIDS, COLUMBIA RIVER.] - -Slowly the pale lids closed over the sunken eyes, a breath and the -brave lad had trusted his soul to the white man’s God. - -The broken-hearted old chief sat the long night through by the corpse -of his son. When morning came he called the tribe together and told -them he wished to follow his last child to the grave, but he wanted -them to promise him that they would cease to war with the white man -and seek his friendship. At first many of the warriors refused, but -Umatilla had been a good chief, and always had given them fine presents -at the potlatches. Consulting among themselves they finally consented. -When the grave was ready, the braves laid the body of Black Eagle to -rest. Then said the old chief: “My heart is in the grave with my son. -Be always kind to the white man as you have promised me, and bury us -together. One last look into the grave of him I loved and Umatilla too -shall die.” The next instant the gentle, kind hearted old chief dropped -to the ground dead. Peace to his ashes. They buried him as he had -requested and a little later sought the teacher’s friendship, asking -him to guide them. That year saw the end of the trouble between the -Indians and the white race at the Dalles. - -The old chief still lives in the history of his country. Umatilla is -a familiar name in Dalles City. The principal hotel bears the name of -Umatilla. - -On either side of the river farm houses, orchards and wheat fields dot -the landscape. - -Salmon fishing is the great industry on the river. The wheels along -both sides of the river have been having a hard time of it this -season from the drift wood, the high water and the big sturgeon, -which sometimes get into the wheels. A big sturgeon got into a wheel -belonging to the Dodon Company and slipped into the bucket, but was too -large to be thrown out. It was carried around and around until it was -cut to pieces, badly damaging the wheel. Now the law expressly states, -as this is the close season for sturgeon, that when caught they must be -thrown back in the water. “But what is the use,” inquires the _Daily -News_, “if they are dead?” - -[Illustration: FARM ON THE BANK OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER, BELOW THE -DALLES, OREGON.] - -A visit to a salmon cannery is full of interest. As the open season for -salmon is from April first to August first, the buildings though large -are mere sheds. The work is all done by Chinamen. The fish are tossed -onto the wharf, where they are seized by the men, who carry them in and -throw them on to long tables, chop off their heads, dress them and hold -them, one fish at a time, under a stream of pure mountain water, which -pours through a faucet over the long sink. Next they are thrown onto -another table, where other Chinamen cut them up ready for the cans, all -in much less time than it takes to tell about it. The tin is shipped in -the sheet to the canneries and the cans are made on the ground. - -Astoria, the Venus of America, is headquarters for the salmon fishing -on the Columbia River. Joaquin Miller described it as a town which -“clings helplessly to a humid hill side, that seems to want to glide -into the great bay-like river.” Much of it has long ago glided into the -river. Usually the salmon canneries are built on the shores, but down -here and on toward the sea, where the river is some seven miles wide, -they are built on piles in mid stream. Nets are used quite as much as -wheels in salmon fishing. Sometimes a hungry seal gets into the nets, -eating an entire “catch,” and playing havoc with the net. Up toward the -Dalles on the Washington side of the river, are three springs. These -springs have long been considered by the Indians a veritable fountain -of youth. Long before the coming of the white man they carried their -sick and aged to these springs, across the “Bridge of the Gods.” Just -above Dalles City lies the dalles which obstruct navigation for twelve -miles. Beyond this point the river is navigable two hundred miles. -Here, too, legends play an important part. - -When the volcanoes of the northwest were blazing forth their storm -of fire, ashes and lava, a tribe known as the Fire Fiends walked the -earth and held high revelry in this wild country. When Mount Rainier -had ceased to burn the Devil called the leaders of the tribe together -one day and proposed that they follow nature’s mood and live more -peaceably, and that they quit killing and eating each other. A howl met -this proposal. The Devil deemed it wise just at this moment to move on, -so off he set, a thousand Fire Fiends after him. Now his majesty could -easily whip a score of Fiends, but he was no match for a thousand. He -lashed his wondrous tail about and broke a great chasm in the ground. -Many of the Fiends fell in, but the greater part leaped the rent and -came on. A second time the ponderous tail came down with such force -that a large ravine was cracked out of the rocks, the earth breaking -away into an inland sea. The flood engulfed the Fiends to a man. The -bed of the sea is now a prairie and the three strokes of the Devil’s -tail are plainly visible in the bed of the Columbia at the dalles. - -Just across the river from Dalles City on a high bluff, stands a four -story building, the tower in the center running two stories higher. -The building stands out there alone, a monument to the enterprise of -one American. He called it a shoe factory, but no machinery was ever -put in position. After the pseudo shoe factory was completed false -fronts of other buildings were set up and the rugged bluffs laid out in -streets. An imaginary bridge spanned the broad river. Electric lights, -also imaginary, light up this imaginary city. The pictures which this -genius drew of his town showed street cars running on the principal -streets and a busy throng of people passing to and fro. As to the shoe -factory, it was turning out thousands of imaginary shoes every day. Now -this rogue, when all was ready, carried the maps and cuts of his town -to the east, where he sold the factory and any number of lots at a high -figure, making a fortune out of his paper town. - -From Dalles City across the country to Prineville in the Bunch Grass -country, a distance of a hundred miles, the country is principally -basalt, massive and columnar, presenting many interesting geological -features. Deep gorges separate the rolling hills which are covered -with a soil that produces bunch grass in abundance. This same ground -produces fine wheat and rye. This is a good sheep country and wool is -one of the principal products. - -Crater Lake is haunted by witches and wizards. Ghosts, with seven -leagued boots, hold high revelry on its shores on moonlight nights, -catching any living thing that comes their way and tossing it into the -deep waters of the lake, where the water devils drag it under. - -[Illustration: SCENE ON AN OREGON FARM IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY.] - -We spent two delightful days on an Oregon farm near Hubbard, thirty -miles south of Portland. - -We drove from Hubbard in the morning to Puddin river. The bridge was -being repaired, so we walked across, our man carrying our traps. We had -just passed Whisky hill when we met our friend Mr. Kauffman and his -daughter, driving down the road. We were warmly welcomed and after an -exchange of greetings we drove back with them to their home, where we -partook of such a dinner as only true hospitality can offer. - -Mr. Kauffman owns three hundred acres of fine farming land. There is no -better land anywhere on the Pacific coast than in this beautiful valley -of the Willamette river. Beautiful flowers and shrubs of all sorts in -fine contrast to the green lawn surround the house, which is painted -white, as Ruskin says all houses should be when set among green trees. -Near by is a spring of pure mountain water. In the woods pasture beyond -the spring pheasants fly up and away at your approach. Tall ferns nod -and sway in the wind, while giant firs beautiful enough for the home of -a hamadryad lend an enticing shade at noontime. - -If any part of an Oregon farm can be more interesting than another -it is the orchard, where apple, peach, plum, pear and cherry trees -vie with each other in producing perfect fruit. Grapes, too, reach -perfection in this delightful climate. One vine in Mr. Kauffman’s -vineyard measures eighteen inches in circumference. The dryhouse where -the prunes are dried for market is situated on the south side of -the orchard. No little care and skill is required to dry this fruit -properly. - -Wednesday morning we reluctantly bade good-by to our kind hostess -and departed with Mr. Kauffman for Woodburn, where we took the train -for Portland. The drive of ten miles took us through a fine farming -district. Here farms may be seen in all stages of advancement from the -“slashing” process, which is the first step in making a farm in this -wooded country, to the perfect field of wheat, rye, barley or hops. - -Arriving at Woodburn we lunched at a tidy little restaurant. The train -came all too soon and we regretfully bade our host farewell. - -The memory of that delightful visit will linger with us as long as life -shall last. - -[Illustration: ROADWAY IN OREGON.] - -There are few regions in the West to-day where game is as abundant as -in times past. Yet there are a few spots where sport of the old time -sort may be had, and the lake district of Southern Oregon is one of -these. Here, deer and bear abound as in days of yore, while grouse, -squirrel, mallard duck and partridge are most plentiful. - -Fort Klamath lake is a beautiful sheet of water, sixty miles long by -thirty wide. Among the tules in the marshes the mallard is at home, -while grouse and nut brown partridge by the thousands glide through -the grass. Fish lake speaks for itself, while the very name, Lake of -the Woods, carries with it an enticing invitation to partake of its -hospitality and royal sport. - -Travel is an educator. It gives one a broader view of life and one soon -comes to realize that this great world swinging in space is a vast -field where millions and millions of souls are traveling each his own -road, all doing different things, all good, all interesting. - -In our journeyings we have met many interesting people, but none more -interesting than Miss McFarland, whom we met on our voyage up the -Columbia river. Miss McFarland was the first American child born in -Juneau, Alaska. - -Her only playmates were Indian children. She speaks the language like -a native and was for years her father’s interpreter in his mission -work. She has lived the greater part of her life on the Hoonah islands. -The Hoonah Indians are the wealthiest Indians in America. Having all -become Christians they removed the last totem pole two years ago. - -Reminiscences of Miss McFarland’s childhood days among the Indians of -Alaska would make interesting reading. - -The old people as well as the children attend the mission schools. One -day an old chief came in asking to be taught to read. He came quite -regularly until the close of the school for the summer vacation. The -opening of the school in the autumn saw the old man in his place, but -his eyes had failed. He could not see to read and was in despair. Being -advised to consult an optician he did so and triumphantly returned with -a pair of “white man’s eyes.” - -Upon one occasion Miss McFarland’s mother gave a Christmas dinner to -the old people of her mission. It is a custom of the Indians to carry -away from the feast all of the food which has not been eaten. One old -man had forgotten his basket, but what matter, Indian ingenuity came to -his aid. Stepping outside the door he removed his coat and taking off -his dress shirt triumphantly presented it as a substitute in which to -carry home his share of the good things of the feast. - -These Indians believe that earthquakes are caused by an old man who -shakes the earth. Compare this with Norse Mythology. When the gods -had made the unfortunate Loke fast with strong cords, a serpent was -suspended over him in such a manner that the venom fell into his face -causing him to writhe and twist so violently that the whole earth shook. - -When Miss McFarland left her home in Hoonah last fall to attend Mill’s -college every Indian child in the neighborhood came to say good-by. -They brought all sorts of presents and with many tears bade her a long -farewell. “Edna go away?” “Ah! Oh! Me so sorry.” “Edna no more come -back?” “We no more happy now Edna gone,” “No more happy, Oh! Oh!” “Edna -no more come back.” “Oh, good-by, Edna, good-by.” - -Every Christmas brings Miss McFarland many tokens of affection from her -former playmates. Pin cushions, beaded slippers, baskets, rugs, beaded -portemonnaies. Always something made with their own hands. - -Miss McFarland’s name, through that of her parents, is indissolubly -connected with Indian advancement in Alaska. - -One meets curious people, too, in traveling. In the parlor at the -hotel one evening a party of tourists were discussing the point of -extending their trip to Alaska. The yeas and nays were about equal when -up spoke a flashily dressed little woman, “Well,” said she, “what is -there to see when you get there?” That woman belongs to the class with -some of our fellow passengers, both men and women who sat wrapped in -furs and rugs from breakfast to luncheon and from luncheon to dinner -reading “A Woman’s Revenge,” “Blind Love,” and “Maude Percy’s Secret,” -perfectly oblivious to the grandest scenery on the American Continent, -scenery which every year numbers of foreigners cross continents and -seas to behold. - -One of our fellow travelers is a German physician who is spending the -summer on the coast. He is deeply interested in the woman question in -America. He is quite sure that American women have too much liberty. -“Why,” said he, “they manage everything. They rule the home, the -children and their husbands, too. Why, madam, it is outrageous. Now -surely the man ought to be the head of the house and manage the -children and the wife too, she belongs to him, doesn’t she?” - -“Not in America,” we replied, “the men are too busy, and besides they -enjoy having their homes managed for them. Then, too, the women are too -independent.” - -“That is just what I say, madam, they have too much liberty, they are -too independent. They go everywhere they like, do everything they like -and ask no man nothings at all.” - -My German friend evidently thinks that unless this wholesale -independence of women is checked our country will go to destruction. -The war with Spain does not compare with it. I am wondering yet if our -critic’s wife is one of those independent American women. - -Just below Portland on the banks of the Willamette river and connected -with Portland by an electric street railway stands the first capital of -Oregon, Oregon City, the stronghold of the Hudson Bay Company, which -aided England in so nearly wrenching that vast territory from the -United States. - -This quaint old town is rapidly taking on the marks of age. The -warehouse of that mighty fur company stands at the wharf, weather -beaten and silent. No busy throng of trappers, traders and Indians -awaken its echoes with barter and jest. No fur loaded canoe glides -down the river. No camp fire smoke curls up over the dark pine tops. - -The Indian with his blanket, the trapper with his snares and the -trader with his wares have all disappeared before the march of a newer -civilization. The camp fire has given place to the chimney; the blanket -to the overcoat; the trader to the merchant and the game preserves to -fields of waving grain. - -The lonely old warehouse looks down in dignified silence on the busy -scenes of a city full of American push and go. - -All the forenoon the drowsy porter sat on his stool at the door of the -sleeper, ever and anon peering down the aisle or scanning the features -of the passengers. - -What could be the cause of his anxiety? Was he a detective in disguise? -Had some one been robbed the night before? Had some one forgotten to -pay for services rendered? Had that handsome man run away with the -beautiful fair haired woman at his side? Visions of the meeting with an -irate father at the next station dawned on the horizon. - -The train whirled on and still the porter kept up his vigilance. - -It was nearly noon when I stepped across to my own section and picked -up my shoes. The sleepy porter was wide awake now. His face was a -study. For one brief moment I was sure that he was a detective and that -he thought he had caught the rogue for whom he was looking. - -“Them your shoes, Madam?” said he approaching me. - -“Yes.” - -“Why, Madam, I’ve been waitin’ here all mornin’ for the owner to come -and get ’em.” - -Ah, now I understood. He was responsible for the shoes and he thought -that they belonged to a man. Fifty cents passed into the faithful black -hands and my porter disappeared with just a hint of a smile on his -face. - - - - -CHAPTER XII OFF FOR CALIFORNIA - - -We left Portland on the night train for San Francisco. I took my gull, -the Captain we called him, into the sleeper with me. He was asleep when -I placed his basket under my berth, but about midnight he awoke and -squawked frightfully. - -I rang for the porter but before he arrived the Captain had awakened -nearly every one in the car. Angry voices were heard inquiring what -that “screeching, screaming thing,” was. - -An old gentleman thrust his red night capped head out of his berth next -to mine and angrily demanded of me where that nasty beast came from. -When I politely told him he said he wished that I had had the good -sense to leave it there. Then he said something that sounded dreadfully -like swear words, but being such an old gentleman I’ve no doubt that my -ears deceived me. - -At any rate it was something about sea gulls in general and my own -in particular. His red flannel cap disappeared and presently I heard -him snoring away up in G. Now my poor gull only squawked on low C. -After that the Captain traveled in the baggage car with the trunks and -packages. - -Traveling south from Portland one passes farms and orchards until the -foot of the Sierra Nevada range is reached. Most of the farms are well -improved. Many of the orchards are bearing, while others are young. - -Here and there in the mountains are cattle ranches. These mountains are -not barren, rugged rocks like the Selkirks of Alaska. Here there is -plenty of pasture to the very summit of the mountains. - -Wolf Creek valley is one vast hay field. Up we go until the far-famed -Rogue River valley is reached. This noble valley lying in the heart of -the Sierras reminds one of the great Mohawk valley of New York. - -Ashland is the center of this prosperous district. The Southern State -Normal School is located here. - -The seventh annual assembly of the Southern Oregon Chautauqua will -convene in Ashland in July. This assembly is always well attended. -Farmers bring their families and camp on the grounds. The program -contains the names of musicians prominent on the coast. Among the -lecturers are the names of men and women prominent in their special -fields. Frank Beard, the noted chalk talk lecturer, will be present. So -you see that the wild and woolly west is not here, but has moved on to -the Philippines. - -When the passenger train stops at the station of Ashland a score of -young fruit venders swarm on the platform, crying plums, cherries, -peaches and raspberries at fifteen cents a box. When the train-bell -rings fruit suddenly falls to ten cents and when the conductor cries -“All aboard” fruit takes a downward plunge to five cents a box, but the -fruit is all so delicious that you do not feel in the least cheated -in having paid the first price. “Look here, you young rascal,” said a -newspaper man, who travels over the road frequently to one of the young -fruit dealers, “I bought raspberries of you yesterday at five cents a -box.” “O no you didn’t, mister, never sold raspberries at five cents a -box in my life sir, pon honor.” In less than three minutes this young -westerner was crying “Nice ripe raspberries here, five cents a box.” -“Why,” said I, “I thought you told the gentleman that you never sold -berries at five cents a box.” “No, Madam, I didn’t, pon honor,” and the -little rogue really looked innocent. - -[Illustration: CLIMBING THE SHASTA RANGE.] - -Leaving Ashland with three big engines we climb steadily up four -thousand one hundred and thirty feet to the summit of the range. - -The Rogue River valley spreads out below us in a grand panorama of -wheat, oats, barley fields and orchards. Down the southern slope the -commercial interest centers in large saw-mills and cattle ranches. - -Off to the east lie the lava beds where Gen. Canby and his companions -were so treacherously assassinated by the Modoc Indians under the -leadership of Captain Jack and Scar Faced Charley. - -Crossing the Klatmath River valley the dwelling place in early days -of the Klatmath Indians, the engines make merry music as they puff, -puff, puff in a sort of Rhunic rhyme to the whir of the wheels as they -groan and climb three thousand nine hundred feet to the summit of the -Shasta range. There is something wonderfully fascinating about mountain -climbing. Whether by rail over a route laid out by a skilled engineer; -on the back of a donkey over a trail just wide enough for the feet -of the little beast, or staff in hand you go slowly up over rocks and -bowlders, or around them, clinging to trees and shrubs for support. The -very fact that the train may without a moment’s notice plunge through -a trestle or go plowing its way down the mountain side; the donkey -lose his head and take a false step; the shrub break or a bowlder come -tearing down the rock-ribbed mountain and crush your life out, thrills -the blood and holds the mind enthralled as a bird is held enchanted by -the charm of the pitiless snake. - -Throughout the mountains mistletoe, that mystic plant of the Druids, -hangs from the limbs and trunks of tall trees. - -It was with an arrow made from mistletoe that Hoder slew the fair -Baldur. - -All day long snow-covered Mt. Shasta has been in sight and toward -evening we pass near it on the southern side of the range and stop at -the Shasta Soda Springs. The principal spring is natural soda water. -This is the fashionable summer resort of San Francisco people, who come -here to get warm, the climate of that city being so disagreeable during -July and August that people are glad to leave town for the more -genial air of the mountains. - -[Illustration: THE HIGHEST TRESTLE IN THE WORLD, NEAR MUIR’S PEAK, -SHASTA RANGE.] - -It certainly is odd to have people living in the heart of a great -city ask you during these two months if it is hot out in the country. -“Out in the country” means forty or fifty miles out, where there is -plenty of heat and sunshine. At Shasta Springs, however, the weather -is cooler. The climate is delightful, the water refreshing and the -strawberries beyond compare. Boteler, known as a lover of strawberries, -once said of his favorite fruit: “Doubtless God could have made a -better berry, but doubtless God never did.” - -Just beyond the springs stand the wonderful Castle Crags. Hidden in the -very depths of these lofty Crags lies a beautiful lake. This strange -old castle of solid granite, its towers and minarets casting long -shadows in the moonlight for centuries, is not without its historic -interest, though feudal baron nor chatelaine dainty ever ruled over it. -Joaquin Miller, in the “Battle of Castle Crag,” tells the tale of its -border history. - -Not far away at the base of Battle Rock a bloody battle was once fought -between a few whites and the Shasta Indians on one side and the Modoc -Indians on the other. - -[Illustration: MOUNT SHASTA. By permission of F. LAROCHE, Photographer, -Seattle, Washington.] - -The Indians of California say that Mt. Shasta was the first part of the -earth created. Surely it is grand enough and beautiful enough to lay -claim to this pre-eminence. When the waters receded the earth became -green with vegetation and joyous with the song of birds, the Great -Manitou hollowed out Mt. Shasta for a wigwam. The smoke of his lodge -fires (Shasta is an extinct volcano) was often seen pouring from the -cone before the white man came. - -Kmukamtchiksh is the evil spirit of the world. He punishes the wicked -by turning them into rocks on the mountain side or putting them down -into the fires of Shasta. - -Many thousands of snows ago a terrible storm swept Mt. Shasta. Fearing -that his wigwam would be turned over, the Great Spirit sent his -youngest and fairest daughter to the crater at the top of the mountain -to speak to the storm and command it to cease lest it blow the mountain -away. She was told to make haste and not to put her head out lest the -Wind catch her in his powerful arms and carry her away. - -The beautiful daughter hastened to the summit of the peak, but never -having seen the ocean when it was lashed into a fury by the storm wind, -she thought to take just one peep, a fatal peep it proved. The Wind -caught her by her long red hair and dragged her down the mountain side -to the timber below. - -At this time the grizzly bears held in fee all the surrounding country, -even down to the sea. In those magic days of long ago they walked -erect, talked like men and carried clubs with which to slay their -enemies. - -At the time of the great storm a family of grizzlies was living in the -edge of the forest just below the snow line. When the father grizzly -returned one day from hunting he saw a strange little creature sitting -under a fir tree shivering with cold. The snow gleamed and glowed where -her beautiful hair trailed over it. He took her to his wife who was -very wise in the lore of the mountains. She knew who the strange child -was but she said nothing about it to old father grizzly, but kept the -little creature and reared her with her own children. - -When the oldest grizzly son had quite grown up his mother proposed -to him that he marry her foster daughter who had now grown to be a -beautiful woman. - -Many deer were slain by the old father grizzly and his sons for the -marriage feast. All the grizzly families throughout the mountains were -bidden to the feast. - -When the guests had eaten of the deer and drank of the wine distilled -from bear berries and elder berries in moonlight at the foot of Mt. -Shasta, when the feast was over, they all united and built for their -princess a magnificent wigwam near that of her father. This is “Little -Mt. Shasta.” - -The children of this strange pair were a new race,--the first Indians. - -Now, all this time the great spirit was ignorant of the fate of his -beloved daughter, but when the old mother grizzly came to die she felt -that she could not lie peacefully in her grave until she had restored -the princess to her father. - -Inviting all the grizzlies in the forest to be present at the lodge of -the princess, she sent her oldest grandson wrapt in a great white cloud -to the summit of Mt. Shasta to tell the Great Spirit where his daughter -lived. - -Now when the great Manitou heard this he was so happy he ran down the -mountain side so fast that the snow melted away under his feet. To -this day you can see his footprints in the lava among the rocks on the -side of the mountain. - -The grizzlies by thousands met him and standing with clubs at -“attention” greeted him as he passed to the lodge of his daughter. - -But when he saw the strange children and learned that this was a new -race he was angry and looked so savagely at the old mother grizzly that -she died instantly. The grizzlies now set up a dreadful wail, but he -ordered them to keep quiet and to get down on their hands and knees and -remain so until he should return. He never returned, and to this day -the poor doomed grizzlies go on all fours. - -A wonderful feat of jugglery, but a greater was that of the Olympian -goddess who changed the beautiful maiden Callisto into a bear, which -Jupiter set in the heavens, and where she is to be seen every night, -beside her son the Little Bear. - -The angry Manitou turned his strange grandchildren out of doors, -fastened the door and carried his daughter away to his own wigwam. - -The Indians to this day believe that a bear can talk if you will -only sit still and listen to him. The Indians will not harm a bear. -Now for the meaning of those queer little piles of stones one sees so -frequently in the Shasta mountains. If an Indian is killed by a bear he -is burned on the spot where he fell. Every Indian who passes that way -will fling a stone at the fated place to dispel the charm that hangs -over it. - -“All that wide and savage water-shed of the Sacramento tributaries to -the south and west of Mt. Shasta affords good bear hunting at almost -any season of the year--if you care to take the risks. But he is a -velvet-footed fellow, and often when and where you expect peace you -will find a grizzly. Quite often when and where you think that you are -alone, just when you begin to be certain that there is not a single -grizzly bear in the mountains, when you begin to breathe the musky -perfume of Mother Nature as she shapes out the twilight stars in her -hair, and you start homeward, there stands your long lost bear in your -path! And your bear stands up! And your hair stands up! And you wish -you had not lost him! And you wish you had not found him! And you -start for home! And you go the other way glad, glad to the heart if he -does not come tearing after you.”[1] - -Downward from Mt. Shasta flows the Sacramento river. For thirty miles -it goes tumbling over bowlders and granite ledges on its way to the -sea. In mid-summer the Sacramento cañon is a paradise of umbrageous -beauty, a region of forest and groves, of leafy shrubs, delicate ferns, -mosses and beautiful flowers, of roaring, tumbling rivers, shining -lakelets and dancing trout streams. - -Up in the mountains the dewberries are ripe. They are about the size -of currants, but farther down the slope they are larger. Blackberries -are also plentiful, also the black raspberry, called by the Indians -succotash. - -The coniferous forests of the Sierra Nevada range are the most -beautiful in the world. Here, where the granite domes which are so -striking a feature of the Sierras, we find the most beautiful little -meadows lying on the tops of the dividing ridges or on their sloping -sides. These meadows are all aglow with wild flowers, rank columbines, -stately larkspur, daisies and the lovely lupines, beds of blue and -white violets, many strange grasses and beautiful sedges, and the glory -of them all, the lily. - -The magnificent sunset of the mountains, the afterglow resting on their -summits, the many clouds of various hues, borrowing the tints of the -rainbow, - - “That glory mellower than a mist - Of pearl dissolved with amethyst,” - -resting on the snowy peaks, lend an enchantment to the scene that might -entice the elf king Oberon himself and all his crew of Pixies and Imps -back to earth. - -Doubtless God might have created a more magnificent range of mountains -than the Sierras, but doubtless God never did. - - “If thou art worn and hard beset - With sorrows thou wouldst forget, - Go to the woods and hills.” - - --LONGFELLOW. - -“There ain’t nothing like fresh air and the smell of the woods. There’s -always a smell from trees dead, or living, and the air is better where -the woods be.” - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] JOAQUIN MILLER, _A Bear Hunt in the Fifties_. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII SAN FRANCISCO - - -The Pacific slope has a wonderful flora which has been but little -studied. Here wonderful ferns and laurels grow the whole year round. -With few exceptions all the plants are new and strange. One of the most -beautiful trees on the coast is the madrona, graceful and stately, -its red trunk contrasting oddly with its green foliage. The dandelion -is here but puts on such airs and graces that unless you are quite -familiar with him you would never take him for the common weed he is -at home. He grows several in a cluster on a delicate stem twelve to -fifteen inches long. He is the pale yellow of California gold. His -white head when he goes to seed is more frowsy than with us, and the -seeds are a little different in shape, but he wings himself over onto -people’s lawns with the agility and grace of his Illinois brother. - -There are many points of interest in San Francisco and not the least -of these is China Town, which has a population of thirty thousand -people. A Chinese school is a place of interest. The boys (girls are -not sent to school in China Town) stand at long tables running across -the room. The pupils all study aloud. Besides their books each pupil is -provided with a small camel’s hair brush and a pot of ink with which he -writes out his lessons in the characters of his native language. The -paper used is very red, while the ink is very black. This is a priest’s -school and these little almond-eyed Orientals in their quaint caps and -gowns are all studying for the priesthood. They laugh and whisper too, -when the teacher’s attention is engaged elsewhere, just like American -children. One boy painted a Chinese character on another’s face, then -they all laughed and the first boy wiped it angrily off. The teacher -had not seen it, so no one was punished. The teacher, a fine looking -man in the native dress of his country, with a few strokes of his brush -painted for us on red paper an advertisement of his school. Teacher and -pupils bowed a good morning as we departed. - -[Illustration: STREET SCENE IN CHINATOWN, SAN FRANCISCO.] - -At the Christian Mission the Chinese minister, a man of much -intelligence, greeted us cordially, asking where we were from. He -knew where Chicago was and something about it. He was sorry that the -services were over and asked us to come again next Sunday at ten -o’clock. - -The tea house, which is the club room, is the finest oriental club -house in America. The beautiful tables and chairs are all inlaid with -marble and pearl. - -The Joss House, which is the temple, is magnificently adorned and -decorated. A cup of tea, which of course evaporates, is kept setting -in front of the god, but his worshipers believe he drinks it. Lamps -and incense are kept burning all the time to keep the evil spirits -away. The worshipers come and go at all hours. No regular services are -held except at New Years and on feast days. Upon request, however, the -priest will accompany an individual to the temple and conduct services -for him. - -The home of an aristocratic Chinaman is full of interest to an -American. In the home in which we visited everything except the -chairs came from China, and these looked oddly out of place against -the background of rich oriental draperies, and the quaint costumes of -our hostess and her daughter. Our hostess was a large woman, but she -proudly displayed her tiny feet, the mark of true aristocracy. She -hobbled bravely about on these feet only four inches long and did the -honors of her house. - -When in exchange for the compliment of seeing these aristocratic -feet I quite as proudly thrust out my American ones encased in No. 6 -broad-soled mountain climbers, the dear lady bowed and smiled, but made -no comment. The six-year-old daughter of the house was suffering the -tortures of having her feet bound. When the Chinese become Christians -they abandon this practice. - -In an opium den an old smoker showed us how he smoked the fateful drug. -He first took a large lump of opium on a long needle and holding it in -the flame of a candle, burnt the poison out of it, then thrust it into -the cup of his long pipe, the tiny opening of which he held near the -lighted candle, sucking the blue smoke into his lungs and exhaling it -through his nostrils. - -In the drug store the druggist was putting up a prescription for a sick -Chinaman who was standing near. He took down four different bottles and -took some roots out of each. Telling the man to make a tea of them -he tied them up and handed them over the counter and received his pay. -There were lizards and toads there also to be made into medicine. - -In the jewelry store four goldsmiths were at work making rings, -bracelets and earrings, all by hand. - -In the market all sorts of fish and birds were offered for sale. A big -fat pig roasted whole looked tempting indeed. Beans, which had been -kept damp until they had sprouted, the sprouts an inch to two inches -long were ready to be made into a tempting salad. There were baskets of -green watermelons the size of an orange. - -This being Sunday the streets were thronged with Chinese in native -holiday dress, who sauntered leisurely along or gathered in groups -chatting away in their native tongue. Their long queues tied with black -ribbon hung down the back or were tucked into the side pocket of the -tunic. Here and there an Oriental who had imbibed some of the American -energy hurried along dressed in the somber business suit of the -American, his closely cropped hair, mustache and American shoes making -a strange contrast to the groups on the corner. - -There is no Sunday in the calendar of these almond-eyed Orientals,--the -stores, markets and opium dens were all open. - -Presently the weird music of the Salvation Army broke on our ears. -Down the street came the Chinese Salvation band, dressed in American -costume, the leader carrying the American flag. - -When the first Chinese came to California the Indians were very curious -about them. A dispute arose among them as to what country the strangers -might hail from, and whether or not they were Indians. - -The Indians, wise as the Puritans of old, would apply the water test. -If the accused swam they were witches, if they drowned they were -innocent. - -One day a party of Indians met a party of Chinamen approaching a little -stream. - -The strangers approached the bridge and started across. The Indians too -filed across and meeting the Chinamen in mid-stream pushed two of them -into the angry, spuming current below. The test was conclusive. They -could not swim. They were _not_ Indians. - -In the fire department are exhibited two queer old engines. One was -purchased in New York in 1849 and brought around the Horn. The other is -a hand engine a little more modern in make. These engines are carefully -guarded and never taken out except on rare occasions. - -Down toward the wharf there stands a quaint old building, the -material for which was brought around Cape Horn in 1850. This was San -Francisco’s first hotel. - -In the wild days of the early history of this little adobe city, -nestled among the dunes and sand hills, Mount Diablo looked down on -weird scenes on the plaza in front of this old hotel. Here the famous -vigilance committee meted out justice to rogue and outlaw alike. - -In the early history of California the eighth day of July, 1846, stands -out conspicuously. On that day the Brooklyn dropped her anchor off the -island of Yerba Buena, the “good herb,” and flung the Stars and Stripes -to the breeze. At noon Captain Montgomery unfurled the American flag on -the plaza. - -In that good ship came a party of pseudo Mormons, under the leadership -of “Bishop” Brannan, the valiant leader of the Vigilance Society. This -colony of Latter Day saints brought stout hearts, keen wits, strong -arms, pluck, plenty of money and a printing press. Later they quarreled -with their bishop and went to law with him and thus gave up their -scheme of Mormon colonization and made sport of Brigham Young himself -in their tents on the beach. - -But they gave to San Francisco her first newspaper pledged to eschew -all sectarian dogmas; her first prayer meeting and her first trial by -jury. A wonderfully progressive people, those Mormons of the sand dunes. - -Washington Bartlett, the first alcalde of Yerba Buena, changed the name -to San Francisco. - -The name of John C. Fremont stands for California as does that of Dr. -Marcus Whitman for Oregon. - -We called on the astrologer. When our horoscopes were cast and our -future told us, we bade adieu to China Town. - -The Golden Gate park is a perfect bower of beauty, a fine piece of -landscape gardening. - -[Illustration: MUSEUM IN GOLDEN GATE PARK, SAN FRANCISCO.] - -In the center of the park stands the Hall of Art, a handsome building -of Egyptian architecture. From the display in the relic department -one easily reads the history of early days in California. - -In the department of statuary the loveliest figure was one in the -beautiful carrara marble of Merope who was cast out of heaven because -she fell in love with a mortal. - -A plaster cast of the head of David after the colossal statue by -Michael Angelo set in place in Florence in 1504, attracted much -attention. - -Michael Angelo had his troubles like other mortals. When his David was -placed in position the mayor of Florence objected to the nose of the -statue, saying it was too large. Angelo, perceiving that his critic’s -position gave him a poor light on the figure, took a handful of marble -dust, a hammer and a chisel and climbing to the head of the statue gave -the nose a few taps, at the same time letting fall the dust. The mayor -without changing position declared the nose perfect. - -The Second Oregon had come home: Early in the morning the commanders -were instructed to get their men ready to march to the barracks. Ten -minutes later the regiment was on the wharf, the men wearing the blue -shirts, brown trousers and leggins which they wore when charging -through the jungles and over the rice fields in the Philippines. The -mascot detachment was not so easily landed. - -“Here, Walker, take this monkey,” shouted a corporal. - -“Grab that goat quick, he is going overboard.” - -“Lend me a hand here, you privates; let’s get this menagerie ashore,” -commanded the officer of the day. - -Order reigned about two seconds when “Monkey overboard” turned order -into chaos. Twenty men rushed to the edge of the wharf and strenuous -efforts were made to save the life of the little brown fellow who had -toppled off the gang plank. Ropes were carried from every corner of the -wharf, but the efforts of the men were unavailing and the monkey lost -his life. The other monkeys, the parrots, the dogs and the goat were -safely landed. The goat chews tobacco and eats it too. - -The Oregon band struck up “Home Sweet Home” in quick time and the march -to the Presidio began. - -For an hour or more a man near me had been talking in a pessimistic way -about the war. He said this Philippine scuffle didn’t amount to much -anyway. What did we want with their old islands, anyhow? We ought to -return them. It was a violation of the constitution to keep them. - -Ten minutes later he was saying, “I can’t stand it,” as platoon after -platoon went by with decimated ranks. One platoon had left nearly every -man in the Philippines. - -There were others who “couldn’t stand it.” “Home Sweet Home” sounded -like a mockery. Up the street trudged these boys in blue, travel -stained and weary, bearing the flag with holes in it, holes made by the -death-winged bullets of the Filipinos. How gaunt and sick they looked. -War had not been play with them. Not many cheers were heard. There were -more “God bless you boys” than “Hurrahs.” - -Other bands may play better, other bands may play louder, but none ever -played more effectively than the Oregon. - -Three big flags flung their folds to the ocean breeze as the regiment -marched up the street. One of them was a dazzle of blue and gold and -one bright and new, but one was the real Old Glory, torn by shot and -shell, raveled and frayed by the Philippine winds. It was the battle -stained, tattered emblem of our country’s honor that received the -heartiest cheers and warmest welcome. This was the flag that brought -the mist before the eyes and brought to the mind Decatur’s noble toast. -“Our country. In her intercourse with foreign countries may she always -be right; but right or wrong, our country.” - -On stretchers borne by the ambulance corps came the sick and wounded. -A great contrast, these war-worn soldiers, to the spick and span Sixth -Cavalry which escorted them. - -Right royally did the Queen of the Golden Gate welcome home Oregon’s -noble sons. - -Passing the Examiner building nearly a million firecrackers which -decorated the building, hanging in great loops and festoons, were -set off. In the midst of this noise some one threw out a big bouquet -of American Beauty roses. A soldier caught them and sniffed their -fragrance. “They’re American Beauties, boys,” he said and passed them -on. Up and down the line went those roses, each man burying his face in -them for a moment, then passing them on to his brother. When they had -passed the rear line they were handed to the next platoon, and so they -went on down that battle-scarred line. - -The little Filipino boy, Manuel Robels, who accompanied the boys home, -caught nearly every eye as he trudged along, a sawed-off Mauser rifle -over one shoulder and an American flag over the other. Flowers were -showered on him too. - -Out at Van Ness street General Shafter sat on horseback with his staff, -to review the troops. - -Just beyond the place of review a company of wee tots with military -hats and lath guns stood at the edge of the side-walk and presented -arms. All that gallant regiment, from the colonel to the little -Filipino boy, returned the salute of those patriotic tots. - -Thus the noble Second regiment of the Oregon Volunteers marched out to -the Presidio and to Fame’s eternal camping ground. - -The Presidio, now the United States barracks, was established by the -Spaniards in 1776. Little dreamed they that out of this camp would come -one hundred years later a conquering host. - -The camp is delightfully located on the bay north of the city. The -grounds include a thousand acres. The officers’ quarters are neat, cosy -cottages. The long porches and verandas of the barracks are covered -with vines and roses. Rows upon rows of flowers such as only grow in -this moist climate decorate the walks on either side. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV CALIFORNIA FARMS AND VINEYARDS - - -What temperament is to a man, that climate is to a country. The climate -of California is one of the most delightful in the world. - -California possesses the wealth of two zones. The ocean current gives -it a temperate climate and the mountain ranges intercepting and -reflecting the sun’s rays give California a climate distinctly her own. - -Fine fruit farms surround San Francisco for fifty miles. Irrigation, -combined with a genial climate, produces the delicious fruit for which -California is justly famed. In the vineyards the vines are pruned low, -from two to four feet high. The Leland Stanford vineyard is one of the -finest on the coast, the low pruned vines with their dark green leaves -and rich purple fruit making a fine contrast to the red brown soil. - -California produces more wine to the acre than any other country in the -world. The best American wines come from Sonoma county, the Asti of -America, where a thousand foothills are planted in choice wine grapes, -and where nature supplies all the moisture necessary to perfectly ripen -the fruit. - -The vines are planted eight feet apart, intersected by wide avenues, -down which the wagons pass in gathering up the boxes into which the -pickers have tossed the ripe grapes--only well ripened grapes make good -wine. Many of these roadways are lined on either side with olives, -palms and other semi-tropical plants. - -The pickers are mostly Swiss and Italian, men of practical experience -in their own countries. They work in groups and keep up a running fire -of jest and fun; ever and anon a happy heart breaks out in native song. - -Pitchers of rude crockery are scattered about filled with wine for the -workers. - -From San Diego to Dutch Harbor wine flows freely, but yet there is no -drunkenness to speak of. - -[Illustration: EARLY MORNING, YOSEMITE VALLEY.] - -The interest in a vineyard centers in the winery and the wine cellars. -The grapes are first picked from the stems, then thrown into the great -crushers, the juice flowing away through flumes to the fermenting vats. -Asti boasts the largest wine-tank in the world. It is dug out of the -soft stone which abounds in this country and lined with a thick layer -of cement. - -No less interesting is the cool, fragrant wine cellar. Here immense -casks made of red wood stand upright, holding some of them, thirty -gallons of wine. - -When California was wild, the entire state was one sweet bee garden. -Wherever a bee might fly, within the confines of this virgin -wilderness, from forest to plain, from mountain to valley, from leafy -glen to piny slope, chalices laden with golden nectar greeted him. - -Those halcyon days of our humble brown friend are past. The plow and -the sheep have played havoc with those once beautiful gardens. Now the -lonely bee who would his trade pursue must fly far afield. - -Traveling east and south from San Francisco, the fruit ranches are soon -left behind and we enter the wheat district. Here we find no irrigation -ditches. Every farm has a wind-mill, which pumps water for the stock -and also for the orchard and garden. The yield of wheat is low, -averaging only about twenty-five bushels to the acre. - -This wheat is not used in the United States, being of a lower grade -than Minnesota and Dakota wheat. It is shipped to the eastern markets, -China, Japan and the Philippines. - -We traveled one hundred and fifty miles through this district during -the harvest. The combined harvester and thresher, drawn by forty mules, -cuts a wide swath, threshes the grain at once, sacks it and dumps it on -the ground ready for shipment. The wheat ripens during the dry season -and so thoroughly that it can be threshed immediately after cutting. As -the farmer has no fear of rain at this time of the year, he lets the -sacks lie in the field until he is ready to sell. - -The islands of the San Joaquin river are wonderfully fertile and many -of them are under cultivation. The uncultivated islands produce every -year a dense growth of bulrushes. Efforts have been made to utilize -these in various ways. - -[Illustration: WAWONA VALLEY.] - - - - -CHAPTER XV YOSEMITE - - -Leaving the San Joaquin valley and its vast wheat fields we take the -stage at Berenda and head direct for the snow-capped Sierras. Gold -mines now claim attention and we stop at Grub Gulch. “The diggins” -here are not very rich and we journey on over the low foot hills to -King’s Gulch, where a rich quartz lode is being profitably worked by -electricity. - -The drowse of a July noontide is in the air. Rattlesnakes wriggle -through the short, dry grass. The Indians say that for every man a -rattlesnake kills he gains a rattle. Most minds become panic stricken -at the sight of a rattlesnake. Not so poor Lo, he slays his enemy and -counts his rattles. - -Three hundred miles southeast of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada -mountains lies the beautiful valley of Ahwahne, where Diana herself -might deign to follow the chase, for noble game roam these Arcadian -wilds, where giant sugar pines and silver firs lend beauty to the -landscape. - -Higher up and nearer the heart of the mountains lies another lovely -vale called the Indian’s Wawona, where dwelt Naiads, Fauns and all -their kindred tribe, - - “Upon a time, before the fairy broods - Drove Nymph and Satyr from the prosperous woods, - Before King Oberon’s bright diadem, - Scepter and mantle clasp’d with dewy gem. - Frighted away the Dryads and the Fauns - From rushes green and brakes and cowslipped lawns.” - - --KEATS. - -Here Jove himself treads not and forbears to hurl a thunderbolt. - -A bird’s flight beyond this playground of the fairies, deep in the -shady wood of the great sugar pines of Mariposa county are the giant -Sequoias, “the big trees.” The Indians called them Waw Nonas, Big Trees. - -Five thousand years ago they struck their tiny roots deep into the soil -of the mountains. Before Columbus was born they tossed their giant -branches against the mountain storms. They have seen the passing of the -Indian and the coming of the white man. - -[Illustration: OLDEST LOG CABIN IN THE SEQUOIA GROVE, MARIPOSA COUNTY -CALIFORNIA. OLD COLUMBIA IN THE FOREGROUND.] - -In the æons of past centuries there were about thirty species of this -genus scattered over the earth. In Asia fossilized specimens of -cones, foliage and wood have been found. To-day there are but two -living specimens of these trees on earth, the _Sequoia gigantea_ and -the _Sequoia sempervirens_, or redwood. The former are to be found only -in the Sierras, while the latter grows only on the Coast range, and all -in California. The largest tree in the Sequoia grove in Mariposa county -measures one hundred and eighty feet in circumference and three hundred -and sixteen feet in height. - -This, the largest tree in the world, has been named Columbia. - -The YoSemite, the most wonderful of all valleys, lies hidden deep in -the heart of the Sierras. It detracts something from the romance of -the musical Spanish when one learns that YoSemite is only Spanish for -grizzly bear. The first white men to enter the valley were looking for -bear, not scenery. - -This wonderful valley, this marvelous gorge, “touched by a light that -hath no name, a glory never sung,” is a puzzle to geologists. It is a -granite-walled chasm in the very heart of the mountains. The solid rock -walls have split in half, one-half dropping out of sight, leaving only -this beautiful valley to tell the tale. - -Down the dark, frowning walls, which rise sheer from three to five -thousand feet, plunge numerous waterfalls which leap two thousand feet -at a bound. Through the valley flows the Merced river. Its water, clear -as crystal, is full of that most delicious of all fish, mountain trout. -A more pellucid stream does not flow on this continent. Up in the -mountain the Merced river is a wild, roaring torrent, but through the -valley it flows placidly over its white pebble bed, bathing the brown -roots of the trees that fringe its banks. The trout float lazily along, -leaping up to catch the insects that fly over the water, or sleeping -in quiet pools and shady nooks along the bank. Here the cook drops his -line out of the kitchen window and hooks trout for our breakfast. - -The air is fragrant with the odor of many blossoms. The murmur of -YoSemite falls lulls one to sleep as it goes leaping down five thousand -feet over the granite wall to the pool below, clashing with spray the -flowers that bloom on its banks. - -YoSemite is truly a valley with little suggestion of the cañon about -it. The Half Dome towering high above almost conceals the trench of the -river, and the gorge of Tenaya creek. Several thousand broad acres -spread out in a level tract on its long narrow bottom. - -[Illustration: HALF DOME AND MERCED RIVER.] - -El Capitan is the monarch of the world of rocks. A solid mass of -granite, towering skyward three-fifths of a mile, barren except for one -lone tree, an alligator pine, one hundred and twenty-seven feet high, -growing on a narrow ledge, in a niche a thousand feet above its base. -Its rugged face, one and one-half miles across, kissed to a soft creamy -whiteness by the suns of summer and the snows of winter. That is El -Capitan, the wonder of the world. The Indians call it Tutockahnulah, in -honor of their greatest chief. - -Scarred and hoary, the Three Brothers stand like severe hierophants, -looking down into this mysterious vale. - -That marvel of lakes, Mirror lake, called by the Indians Sleeping -Water, adds beauty to this wonderful valley, so placid, so clear the -water that the rocky wall and every tree and shrub on its banks lie on -the bosom of the water as if reflected in a mirror. - -“Aloft on sky and mountain wall are God’s great pictures hung.” - -The legend of the lovely falls called Bridal Veil runs in this wise: - -Centuries ago there lived in this valley one Tutockahnulah and his -tribe. One day while out hunting, he met the spirit of the valley, -Tisayac. From that moment he knew no peace. He neglected his people and -spent his time in dreaming of lovely Tisayac. She was fair, her skin -was white and the sun had kissed her hair to a golden brown. Her eyes -reflected heaven’s own blue. Her silvery speech like a bird’s song led -him to her, but when he opened his eyes she vanished into the clouds. - -The beautiful YoSemite valley being neglected by Tutockahnulah, became -a desert and a waste. When Tisayac returned she wept at the sight of -her beloved valley. On the dome of a mighty rock she knelt and prayed -the Good Manitou to restore the valley. In answer to her prayer the -Great Spirit spread the floor of the valley with green and smiting the -mountains broke a channel for the melting ice and snow. The waters went -leaping down and formed a lake. The birds again sang and the flowers -bloomed. The people returned and gave the name Tisayac to the great -rock where she had knelt. - -[Illustration: MERCED RIVER, YOSEMITE VALLEY.] - -When the chief came home and learned that Tisayac had returned to the -valley his love grew stronger day by day. One morning he climbed to -the crest of a rock that towers three thousand feet above the valley -and carved his likeness on it that his memory might live forever among -his people. There is to this day a face on this rock, but whether -carved there by the hand of man or by nature in some of her wild moods, -remains a mystery. - -Resting at the foot of the Bridal Veil Falls, one evening Tutockahnulah -saw a rainbow arching around the form of Tisayac. She beckoned him to -follow her. With a wild cry he sprang into the water and disappeared -with Tisayac. Two rainbows now instead of one tremble over the falling -water. - -At the upper end of the valley stands a giant monolith two hundred feet -in height, called by the Indians, Hummoo, the Lost Arrow. - -Many thousands of snows ago before the foot of white man had trod these -romantic wilds there dwelt in this valley the Ahwahnes, the fairest of -whose daughters was Teeheeneh. Her hair, black as the raven’s wing, -unlike that of her sisters, fell in ripples below her slender waist. -Her sun-kissed cheeks and teeth like pearls added beauty to a form -graceful as that of a young gazelle. - -Kossookah, the bravest and handsomest warrior of his tribe, came a -wooing the beautiful princess, wooed and won her. - -All that delightful summer time these two, favored of the gods, rambled -over the mountains. - -The wild torrents sang of the love of Kossookah, the brave, for -Teeneeneh, the beautiful. The river murmured it; the lonely mountains -echoed the refrain; the very leaves of the trees whispered it; the -plumy children of the air gossiped about it, while each sun of the -starry sky repeated the story. - -Time sped on golden wings, the mountains took on autumn tints, winter -was approaching. Every member of the tribe lent a hand to assist in -building a wigwam for the fair princess and her knight. - -[Illustration: YOSEMITE FALLS.] - -The nuptials were to be celebrated with many ceremonies and a great -feast. Teeheeneh assisted by her companions would grind the acorns into -flour for the wedding cakes and gather nuts, herbs and autumn leaves -with which to garnish and decorate the tables; while Kossookah with -the chosen hunters of his tribe would scale the cliffs or climb the -walls of the cañon to the mountain fastness in search of game. - -The primitive home is completed. Kossookah and his braves depart. At -set of sun he will repair to the head of the YoSemite falls and report -the success of the hunt to Teeheeneh who would climb the rocks to the -foot of the falls to receive it. - -The messenger was to be an arrow to which Kossookah would attach -feathers of the grouse. From his strong bow he would speed it far out -that Teeheeneh might see it, watch for its falling, recover it and read -the message. - -The day was propitious. Seldom did an arrow miss its mark. Evening came -and the hunters had more game than they could carry down in one trip. - -Long ago in another clime Plautus said, “whom the gods love die young.” - -Kossookah, proud of his success, repaired to the edge of the cliff -beyond the falls, prepared the arrow, set it against the string of -buffalo hide, stepped forward, when the cliff began to tremble and went -down, carrying the brave Kossookah with it. - -Long and lovingly did Teeheeneh wait for the signal. Night wrapped the -mountains in gloom, but still Teeheeneh waited and wondered. Could -Kossookah be dead? Had the chase led him so far away that he could not -return in time to keep his word to Teeheeneh? He might even now be -coming down the Indian cañon. - -This new thought lent hope, and hope wings to the flying feet of -Teeheeneh. From rock to rock, from ledge to ledge she sped with -tireless feet, escaping many perils she reached the foot of the cliff. - -Finding no trace of Kossookah she paced the sands all the long weary -night, hoping against hope that every hour would bring some tidings of -her beloved. - -The pain at her heart increased with the hours, as she sang in the low -soft voice of her race a passionate love song. The gray dawn found her -still pacing the sands. - -Now, like a deer she springs over the rocks and up the steep ascent to -the spot from whence the signal arrow was to wing its way to her feet. - -[Illustration: EL CAPITAN.] - -Ah, there were tracks in the sand, his tracks, but her call was -answered only by the echo of her own sad voice. A new fracture -marked a recent cleavage in the rocks. Could it be, Oh, Great Spirit -could it be that her beloved had gone down with the rocks and perished. -Her heart was almost stilled with agonizing fear. She faltered a moment -only. Gathering courage she leaned over the edge of the cliff. There, -stilled in death, lay the form of Kossookah, in a hollow at the base of -the monolith. - -The shock had cleared her mind. Hastily and with steady hands now she -builds a signal fire on the rocky cliff. The fire by its intensity -interpreted in the light of Indian signal fires, calls for aid in -distress. Slowly the hours drag by. At last help arrives. Young -saplings of tamarack are lashed together, end to end, with thongs of -deer skin. When all is ready Teeheeneh springs forward and begs that no -hands save hers shall touch her beloved dead. Slowly strong hands lower -her to the side of the prostrate form of Kossookah. - -Kissing the pale lips of the dead warrior Teeheeneh unbinds the deer -thongs from about her own body. Silently and deftly she winds them -about the prostrate form of Kossookah. At a signal from Teeheeneh the -lifeless body is drawn up. Again the improvised rope is lowered. -Teeheeneh nervously clutches the pole, puts her foot in the rawhide -loop and waves her hand as a signal to be drawn up. - -Long and silently she gazes into the once love lit eyes of her dead -hero. Her slight body sways and trembles like a reed swept by the -wintry wind. Still silent, she sinks quivering on the bosom of her -beloved. Gently they raise her, but her heart had broken and her soul -taken its flight. - -The fateful arrow was never found. The Indians say that it was spirited -away by Teeheeneh and Kossookah and kept by them as a memento of their -plighted troth and the close of their life on earth. - -On gossamer floats, their souls were carried, by unseen hands over the -mountains to the Elysian Plains beyond, where there are no pitfalls and -no broken hearts. - -Hummoo, the Lost Arrow, still stands, a monument to the brave Kossookah. - - See, “In The Heart of the Sierras,” by J. M. Hutchings. Mr. Hutchings - lived twenty-five years in the YoSemite Valley and knows this, the - most beautiful, wild, and romantic spot on the American Continent, in - all its varying moods of summer calm and wintry storm, and writes of - it with a loving and sympathetic touch. - -[Illustration: BRIDAL VEIL FALLS AND THE THREE BROTHERS (SOLID ROCK).] - -Of all the beautiful places in the world for a schoolhouse, surely “The -Valley” is the most beautiful. One rarely hears YoSemite on the coast. -It is always with a lingering caress in the voice, “The Valley.” A -dainty little white schoolhouse stands in a grove on the border of a -glade. Here school is in session six months of every summer. The valley -is only seven miles long and one and a half miles in width at its -widest point. - -There are usually only five or six children of school age in the -valley, but in the spring and summer people come into the valley to -spend the summer. Many camp while others live at the hotel and in -cottages. In many instances their children have left their home school -before its close, and in order to make their grades for the ensuing -year, attend “The Valley School.” - -Here the student of botany may find dainty asters, tiny wild peas, -larkspur, monkey flowers, great ferns, the leaves two or three feet -long; wild poppies, delicate sunflowers, purple gilias and broad faced -primroses. Fiery castillèjas lend color to gray rocks and shady nooks. - -Stately pines, silver firs and graceful tamaracks stand massy, tall -and dark, make a landscape Mercury himself might pause to behold, no -matter how urgent his errand. - -The Manzanita trees are now loaded with fruit. Manzanita is Spanish for -little apple. The fruit of the tree is a perfect apple about the size -of a gooseberry. Leather wood, a strange shrub naked as to leaves but -abloom with bright yellow blossoms grows up in the mountains. - -For the student of zoology there are the bears which have their dens in -the rocks a short distance from the school. Wild deer and lion roam the -mountains, while trout disport themselves in the Merced river near by. - -The student of astronomy may see the sun rise five times every morning, -and the White Fire Maiden, by mortals called the moon, lights up -YoSemite falls and the north wall of the valley long before she appears -in the blue sea above. - -The student in trigonometry will easily find a summer’s work, the -geologist a life-time study, while the anthropologist will be -interested in the few Indians who inhabit the valley. - -The valley is not without its early history when white man and Indian -fought for supremacy. - -[Illustration: MIRROR LAKE, SLEEPING WATER.] - -One of the brightest pupils in the primary class is a little Indian -girl. This daughter of the red man reads well and is very proud of her -accomplishment. She learned the multiplication table before the other -members of her class, but does not apply it so readily. - -“Tempus Fugit,” we bid farewell to YoSemite, lovely vale, and take the -trail over the mountains. The hour was morning’s prime. - -Up we go three thousand feet, mules, guides and tourists, over a -narrow trail that runs along the rocky ledge of the gorge. The purple -atmosphere hangs like a veil over the wild cañon down which sweeps -the Merced river, dashing and sparkling over rocks, tumbling over -precipices or placidly flowing over its smooth rock bed. - -Far above a red flame swept and we caught the odor of Calypso’s fire of -cedar wood. The rising smoke mingled with the blue haze above, while -the fire swept on, leaving only the blackened, charred remains of the -once green forest to tell the tale. - -Naiads danced in the sunny water and once methought I heard the soft, -low strains of a flute played by a faun in the cool shadows of the -trees which overhang the river’s brink. - -Not a faun did we see, however, but we met a fool, forsooth, a motley, -merry fool. This fool had a silken scarf draped about his foolish head -to ward off the warm glances of Old Sol as he peered down the gorge to -see what the fool was about. He tripped lightly along, did this merry -fool, slipping past the sturdy little mules and their riders on the -trail so narrow that one foot of the rider hung over the gorge below, -so narrow in many places that one misstep of the faithful little beast -meant death to himself and his rider. Past the forty tourists went this -untiring fool, frightening the animals and alarming their riders with -his strange headdress. - -Where were the guides? Right there saying things about the fool, -quieting the animals and calming the fears of their riders. - -When this remarkably agile fool had reached the head of the caravan, -down he would drop in the shade of a tree, his feet dangling in the -dust of the trail, his Turkish headdress fluttering in the breeze, -again causing the weary climbers to pause. Not every animal paused to -look at the fool, the older ones were wiser. - -[Illustration: YOSEMITE FALLS, SHOWING FLOOR OF THE VALLEY.] - -The blue sky, the odor of the pines and the falling, gurgling, -murmuring water lent an enchantment to the air, which made us forget -the fool, but for a moment only. Here he came again. Untiringly he -followed us to the summit of the mountains, eight thousand feet above -the sea, where the soft ambient soothes like a benediction, and the -soul uplifts in prayer. - -As these high altitudes make many people ill we were advised to carry -with us a bit of the joyful. Arrived at the summit a dainty flask -slipped from the folds of a lady’s gown and fell to the earth with a -thud. One of the guides picked it up and gravely presented it to the -owner with the remark, “Madam, you have lost something valuable.” - -As we stood looking down through the blue mist into the YoSemite below -us--a landscape that would have delighted the heart and eye of a -Homer--a quaint old lady who had braved the trail that she might view -the valley from glacial point, exclaimed: - -“It’s lovely, ain’t it? Heaven don’t need to be no purtier and I don’t -reckon it is, do you? Purty name, too, but I never kin remember whether -it’s Yo-se-mite or Yu-summit.” - -A personally conducted party arrived just ahead of us. Mr. Personally, -as we dubbed the conductor, was a gentleman, so he informed us, of -many qualities. His voice was loud and commanding, he was exceedingly -voluble, and from the manner in which he hurried his party about I -should say that he was a man of much energy. - -He came flying into the ladies’ private boudoir regardless of the -confusion of shirt waists, ties, collars and riding habits that were -flying through the air, commanding the ladies of his party to hasten to -the dining-room for luncheon. - -That repast served, Mr. Personally Conductor ordered up the stages -which were in waiting to take us down the mountains on the other side. -After ordering everyone else to stand back he ordered his party to -“climb in,” which they meekly did. - -We sat under a clump of silver firs thoroughly enjoying the scene -and calm in the consciousness that as the transportation company had -carried us to the top of the mountains it was in duty bound to carry us -down, either by stage coach, mule back or by rope and tackle, over the -rocky ledge and drop us three thousand feet to the valley below. - -[Illustration: SUNRISE IN YOSEMITE VALLEY.] - -Two coaches were filled with “personally conducted” when the third -drove up to the veranda. Mr. Personally not being in sight the -driver requested us to take seats in the coach, as it was growing late -and time we were off. - -A brilliant man of our party, a New York lawyer, had just taken a seat -by the driver, when that remarkable conductor appeared and sprang into -the seat between them, pushing at Mr. Lawyer and calling lustily for -Dr. Bluker, who was a member of his party. The doctor responded and -grabbed our lawyer friend by the leg, attempting to pull him down. - -Mr. Lawyer turned to Mr. Personally, saying, “I don’t know who you are -sir, but--” - -“I am a gentleman, sir,” hastily replied the conductor. - -“Ah,” exclaimed the lawyer at this astonishing bit of news, “I am -always glad to meet a gentleman,” and at his wife’s solicitation bowed -gracefully, relinquishing the seat to Dr. Bluker, a college president -who for the moment might have been taken for Sitting Bull, chief of the -Sioux. - -Ah, good people, - - “A chiel’s amang you taking notes, - And, faith, he’ll prent it.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - - -The descent lay through groves of pine and cedar, beds of beautiful -flowers, grassy glades, mountain brooks, tiny lakes, springs of ice -cold water, and acres and acres of azaleas. - -In the center of a green glade lay a big brown bowlder surrounded by -flowers. Just under the side of this bowlder was a spring of ice cold -water. - -Just as the sun was sliding down the western horizon beyond the -snow-capped peaks we arrived again in Wawona valley, where the evening -was spent in telling stories and relating adventures. - -“When in London recently,” said our lawyer friend, “Chauncey Depew told -this story: - -“At a hotel where he was dining the waitress said to a young man, ‘We -have blackberry pie, peach pie, plum pie, strawberry pie and custard -pie.’ - -“‘Bring me some plum pie and some peach pie, yes, and I’ll take some -blackberry pie.’ As the waitress turned to fill the order the young man -called her back, ‘You may bring me some strawberry pie, too.’ - -“‘What’s the matter with the custard pie?’ inquired she. - -“The next morning Mr. Depew met a young Englishman on the street, who -complimented him on his speech, saying that he really liked it very, -very much, you know, but he would like to ask him one question, ‘What -was the matter with the custard pie?’” - -When the laugh had subsided a young lady in a pink shirt waist leaned -forward in her chair, and looking earnestly at the lawyer, softly -inquired, “Well, what was?” - -In the laugh which followed, the Englishman’s stupidity was lost sight -of in astonishment at that of the American girl. - -“Excuse me,” said a well dressed lady to me one morning at the hotel in -Wawona, “I am a little hazy on my geography, but what I want to know is -this--if I go to Denver will I be in Colorado?” - -After a week’s fishing, dreaming and resting in this beautiful valley, -we returned to the coast. - -All up and down the Pacific coast as well as the islands of the sea -are wonderful floating gardens. These gardens are composed of kelp, -which attached to the bottom and to the rocks, grows from fifty to -one hundred feet long, throwing out broad leaves and balloon-like air -bulbs which support them. A perfect forest of broad green leaves rise -upward, presenting a sharp contrast to the blue water in which they -grow. Gracefully turning with every movement of the water they are -among the most strikingly beautiful objects of salt sea. When near the -shore these huge plants assume an upright position and become floating -gardens in very truth, through which vessels plow with much difficulty. - -The entrance to the bay at Santa Barbara is a perfect maze of floating -sea-weed. The leaves are covered with patches of color, representing -parasitic animals, or plants, greens, reds, purples and yellows, a -perfect maze of color. - -Delicate sea anemones looking exactly like their namesakes on land. The -slightest noise causes them to close up, withdrawing their tentacles, -and presently blooming out again. - -Here are tiny plant-like animals growing in shrub-like forms. -Wonderful jellyfish, too, fill the ocean at night with a phosphorescent -light. - -In place of birds and insects in a sea garden we find shell animals, -crabs and fishes clinging to the leaves. Along comes a big octopus -throwing out his eight sucker-lined arms in search of food. Disturbed, -he throws out an inky fluid, and while you are searching the black hole -for him, he slips away. Yonder comes a nautilus holding his shell high -over his head, crawling lazily along. Black-hued echini, bristling with -pins and needles which, waving to and fro, ward off their enemies. Fish -of all sorts and sizes inhabit the sea garden. The beautiful gold and -silver fishes gliding in and out remind one of the birds flitting from -tree to tree. In comes a big fish, the king of the bass, and the “small -fry” scatter right and left. At night these strange gardens are aglow -with phosphorescent lights. - -Los Angeles has been having a succession of earthquakes. - -The houses in San Francisco as well as other coast towns are built to -withstand earthquake shocks. On this account very few brick are used. -An earthquake hotel is advertised. In this city, too, one may eat -Pasteurized ice-cream without fear of the deadly ptomain. - -An orange, as every one knows, is a difficult fruit to eat gracefully, -but I’ve learned how to do it in this land of the citron. A gentleman -assured me that the only proper place to eat an orange was in the -bathtub. - -Up and down the length of this coast I’ve not been able to get a decent -lemonade. Very few places serve that drink at all. Drinks there are -plenty, but no lemonade. Now I know what those warnings mean which hang -up in every stateroom on the steamers: “Passengers strictly prohibited -from getting into bed with their boots on.” - -California is rich in stories of her early days. Just east of San -Francisco lies a narrow valley bordering on the bay of San Pablo. The -first white man to enter this valley was one Miguel and his wife, who -named it El Hambre (Hunger) valley. - -Miguel built an adobe hut and planted a garden. Later he started to -San Francisco, for supplies. Madam Miguel remained at home to tend the -garden. Miguel would return in three weeks and all would be well. - -Time passed slowly to the lonely woman. When the three weeks had -passed Emilia packed a burro and started out on the trail which her -husband had taken. At night she tethered the burro and rolled in her -blanket slept by the roadside. Dawn saw her on the trail. The third day -her burro neighed and was answered by a donkey which proved to be that -of Miguel. Hurrying on she found her husband lying on the roadside, -dead. She remained there until the sun set, then covered him with a -blanket and returned home. - -Later some traders wandering through the valley found her skeleton in -the garden. The adobe still stands in the now new town of Martinez. - -Dick Brown, miner of Misery Hill, was a sort of recluse, who never made -any friends among the miners of the Eldorado of the west. - -One day while out prospecting, a landslide carried him down the valley -and buried him beneath it. His body was recovered and buried, but his -ghost walked nightly at the foot of the old shaft. - -A lazy, seemingly good-for-nothing sort of a fellow, Wilson by name, -began work in Brown’s mine. It was a good mine and paid Wilson well -until some one else began working it. Every morning there was evidence -that some one had been at work during the night. - -One night Wilson loaded his rifle and waited for his nightly intruder. -Hearing a noise he started to follow it up. - -What was that on yonder tree, which glowed with a phosphorescent light? -Wilson crept nearer. There, tacked on a big tree, was a notice, “D. B. -his mine. Hands off.” - -A moment later the notice was gone. As he passed on he heard the water -flowing through the sluice and the sound of a pick in the gravel. There -stood Dick Brown. Wilson raised his rifle and fired. A yell, and the -ghost of Dick Brown came flying after him as he ran down the hill. - -The next morning a pick and shovel were found by the roadside bearing -the initials “D. B.” cut on the handle of each. Wilson deserted the -claim, but the sluice on Misery Hill ran on for many years. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII HERE AND THERE ON THE COAST. - - -Leaving San Francisco, a sail of twenty-five miles brings us to the -grimly fortified island of Alcatraz, the watch dog of the Golden Gate. - -Forty miles inland lies the beautiful Napa Valley. Farm houses and -villages dot the landscape. Orchards, vineyards and fields of waving -grain heighten the natural beauty of this Rasselas Valley, rich in -groves of oak trees from which depend festoons of mistletoe, meadows -and running brooks. - -At the head of this valley stands Mount St. Helena, once a center of -volcanic action. Wasnossensky, the Russian naturalist ascended to its -summit in 1841, and named it in honor of his empress, leaving on the -summit a copper plate bearing the name of himself and his companion. - -The Russians, with a view to commercial and political aggrandisement, -did a great deal of exploring in California in the early days of her -history. - -By stage we travel through the Napa Valley to the geyser fields. -On either hand are groves of redwood trees, cousins of the Giant -Sequoias. In the springtime the odor of the buckeye fills the delicious -morning air, just now the handsome eschscholtzias, commonly called the -California poppy, brighten the meadows. Here and there lichen stained -rocks lend a deeper tone to the landscape. - -Through this valley of strange wild beauty we arrive at the Devil’s -Cañon. The nomenclature of this weird place is something audacious and -one wishes that he might change it. Here the hero of the cañon has his -kitchen, his soup bowl, his punch bowl, and his ink pot. In this spring -you might dip your pen and write tales of magic that would rival those -of India. - -Here, one dreary night, a lonely discouraged miner who had lost -his way, sat in meditation, when presently a strangely clad figure -approached him. The dark face wore a sinister expression, black eyes -sparkled under villainous brows. - -“Ha, ha, ha,” laughed the stranger when he discovered the miner. - -“What would’st thou? Riches? Sign here and they are thine, or thou -may’st toss me into yon caldron.” - -Flinging aside the long black cloak that enveloped his figure he stood -forth, his scarlet robes gleaming a fiery red in the black night. - -“Sign here,” and dipping his fire tipped pen into the ink pot he thrust -it into the hand of the astonished miner, presenting a scroll of -parchment for the signature. - -“Ha, ha, ha,” came in tones diabolical, as the fortune hunter seized -the pen in his eager grasp. Knowing better how to wield the pick than -the pen he seized the scroll and--made the sign of the cross. - -His Satanic Majesty gave an unearthly yell, seized the pen and scroll, -and disappeared leaving his ink-pot behind. - -The prevailing rocks are metamorphic, sandstone, silicious slates and -serpentine. The stratification dips sharply to the bed of Pluton Creek. - -There are no spouting geysers here, only bubbling springs, but springs -of beauty and interest. Here lies one, its waters a creamy white, and -yonder another whose waters are deeply tinged with sulphur, while -those of its neighbor are as black as the contents of that bottle -the undaunted Luther flung at the head of his Satanic Majesty on that -memorable day. - -The waters of these springs boil over and mingle as they flow away. -Steam jets hiss and sputter continually. Of the many strange springs, -pools and caverns, the Witch’s Caldron is perhaps the most remarkable. -A very pit of Acheron, this huge cavern in the solid rock, seventy feet -in diameter, is filled to an unknown depth with a thick inky fluid, -that boils and surges incessantly. The waters of these springs, rich -in sulphur, iron, lime and magnesia are said to rival in medicinal -qualities those of all the famous German Spas. - -The geysers are due to both chemical and volcanic action; to water -percolating down through the fissures of the rocks until it comes in -contact with the heated mass of hot lava; and to water percolating -through the mineral deposits. - -Suffice it to say that you have not seen California until you have seen -the Napa Valley, and taken the trail to Mount St. Helena and the geyser -fields. - -The very air of this delightful country is rife with bear stories. -Stories in which the bear quite as often as the hunter comes off -victor. - -A cowboy, newly arrived in California, went out on a bear hunt. He went -alone. He wanted to kill a grizzly. - -He soon found his bear and lassoed him, but Bruin, contrary to his -usual custom of showing fight, took a header down a cañon, horse and -rider in full pursuit. - -Upon nearing the foot of the ravine the bear fell down. The horse fell -down and the man tumbled down on top of the grizzly which so frightened -him that when the three untangled themselves he set off up the cañon, -and the man let him go. Glad, glad to the heart that he was gone. - -Assyria had her winged bull, Lucerne has her lion, and California has -her grizzly. - -The grizzly stands for California, and only awaits some future -Thorwaldsen to perpetuate him on the walls of his own rock-ribbed cañon. - -The Indians of California were possessed of many strange superstitions -when the Franciscan Fathers established missions among them. - -The Fathers called it “devil worship,” but to the simple childlike mind -of these primitive people it was a sort of hero worship, and the wild -child worshiped on despite the Fathers. - -The worship of a god known as Kooksuy was one to which the Indians held -with great tenacity. The monks had forbidden the worship of this deity, -so Kooksuy had to be worshiped in secret. - -A lonely, unfrequented place in the mountains was chosen, and a stone -altar was raised to Kooksuy. This consisted of a pile of flat stones -five or six feet in height. - -It was the duty of every worshipper to toss something onto the altar as -an act of homage. This act was called “poorish.” - -A Kooksuy altar was a curious affair. The foundation of stone was -frequently hidden under a mass of beads, feathers and shells. Even -garments and food found their way to the throne of this strange deity. -Thus the altar continued to rise for no Indian would dare touch a -“poorish” offering. - -The priests destroyed the altars and punished the worshipers, but that -did not destroy their faith in their god. - -At the missions every Indian retired when the evening bell rang. When -the good alcalde made his rounds they had counted their beads and shut -their eyes. Ten minutes later half a dozen dusky forms might be seen -creeping stealthily along in the shadows of the buildings. Arriving at -the chosen spot a big fire was built around which the faithful Indians -danced calling on their god in a series of weird whistles. - -Kooksuy never failed to appear in the midst of the fire in the form -of a huge white dragon, but with the destruction of his altars, the -neglect of his worshipers and fear of the white man Kooksuy appeared -less frequently and finally his visits ceased entirely. - -According to the Indians the Great Manitou threw up the Sierra Nevada -range with his own hands. Then he broke away the hills at the foot of -the lake and the waters drained into the sea through the Golden Gate. - -The clouds rested on the water and the setting sun lit up the Golden -Gate with the glory of the sea as we steamed across the bay and bade -adieu to the land of Pomona and her citron groves. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII WALLA WALLA VALLEY - - -Walla Walla is so named from its abundant supply of water. Many little -streams run over the surface and many more under ground. This valley is -noted for the richness of its soil, which is decomposed lava, and its -wonderful climate. This delightful climate is shorn of its harshness by -the magical breath of the Chinook wind. - -The principal crop here is wheat. A Walla Walla ranchman never thinks -of planting anything else. The soil is so easy of cultivation that all -he needs to do is to plow the ground, sow the wheat and go fishing -until it is ready to harvest. Wheat brings him wealth and prosperity. - -Every year one-half of a ranch is allowed to lie fallow, but an -Illinois farmer would rotate crops instead. The fallow fields, however, -are kept perfectly clean and free from weeds. - -During the rainy season the soil, which is rich in potash and -phosphoric acid, stores up moisture sufficient to mature the wheat. -Only three pecks of wheat are sown to the acre, as the grain stools -very much. - -The average farm contains six hundred acres, but there are many ranches -of from a thousand to fifteen hundred acres. - -For cutting the grain the old-fashioned header is used, also the -ordinary reaper and binder, but the combined harvester and thresher is -the king of reapers. It is drawn by from twenty-five to thirty mules, -cuts the grain, threshes it, sacks it, and dumps it on the ground ready -for shipment. - -Wheat averages from twenty to thirty bushels to the acre. Some years -the average is much higher. In 1898 wheat went sixty bushels to the -acre. - -The price of land runs from thirty dollars to sixty dollars per acre. -Comfortable homes and green orchards dot the landscape. The orchards, -however, must be irrigated. The Blue mountains supply plenty of water -for this purpose. - -At the experiment stations established throughout the semi-arid -regions of the west, investigation of the excessive alkali in the soil -is being carried on. - -In many regions of California and Utah large tracts of irrigated land -are practically non-productive because of the presence of an excess -of alkali. Investigation has proven that this is due to excessive -irrigation. When water is applied to the soil it brings to the surface -when it rises, the salts. - -In seeking a remedy for this evil the experiment stations have -demonstrated that in most instances crops do not require nearly so much -water as is usually applied to them. Working along practical lines in -the solution of this, to the West, great problem, the stations hope -eventually to show just what quantity of water a given crop in a given -locality requires. - -The establishment of this truth will save much land now under ditch and -extend the area of irrigation by demonstrating that more land can be -supplied with water from the available supply. - -In Montana, Idaho, Washington and the semi-arid districts of other -states experiments are being carried on in the line of forage plants. -In these states success has been quite satisfactory with the cow pea, -which is usually planted with oats. Red clover flourishes as well here -as in the East. - -Success in farming depends upon a thorough knowledge of soil, climate -and rainfall. The farmers are coming to depend upon the experiment -stations for much of this knowledge. - -Agriculture was early practiced in this valley, the Walla Walla region -proper being part of the old Oregon country. The Hudson Bay Company -established posts at the junction of the Walla Walla and Columbia -rivers, at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia river and at Fort Colville in -the Colville valley, north of the present city of Spokane. With these -people agriculture and the fur trade went hand in hand. In 1828 seven -hundred bushels of wheat were raised at Fort Vancouver and in 1829 -seventy acres were under cultivation at Fort Colville. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX HISTORICAL REFERENCES - - -Just as a Bede Bible and a “quart of seed wheat” saved the British -Isles to Christianity; so “the Book” and another “quart of seed wheat” -carried in by the Reverend Spalding, saved Oregon to the United States, -notwithstanding the Russian Bear, the British Lion and the bull of -Alexander the VI. in which he delivered over all North America to Spain. - -“Good old times those were when kings thrust their hands into the New -World, as children do theirs into a grab bag at a fair, and drew out a -river four thousand miles long, or an ocean, or a tract of wild land -ten or fifteen times the size of England.” - -The king of Spain sold Louisiana to France for money to buy his -daughter a wedding present and for one brief while France had hopes of -planting her lilies in the Walla Walla Valley. France, however, had met -her Waterloo in America, on the Plains of Abraham. - -Then came England denying the validity of the old Franco-Spanish title -under which we claimed the Oregon country, but the same policy that -lost to Great Britain her thirteen colonies, lost to her this princely -domain. - -American and English settlements contrasted strangely. The one emigrant -came with his traps and snares, the other with his plow and quart of -seed wheat. The one came for the fortune which he might carry out of -the country, the other to make a home for himself and his children. So, -the English trapper with his snares and the Indian with his pogamoggan -retreated before the advance of American civilization. - -In 1836 Mrs. Whitman, wife of Dr. Whitman, wrote from Fort Vancouver -that the Hudson Bay Co. had that year four thousand bushels of wheat, -four thousand bushels of peas and fifteen hundred bushels of oats and -barley, besides many root vegetables, also poultry, cattle, hogs and -sheep. - -The metropolis of the valley is Walla Walla. It is a well-built town -having a population of several thousand. Many of the stores and -business blocks are of brick. Its streets are wide. In the suburbs is a -military post, also a college established by the Congregational church -in honor of Dr. Marcus Whitman, the well known missionary who was -massacred at his mission near Walla Walla in 1847. So died the brave, -patriotic Whitman. - -In 1813 England, basing her claims on Drake’s discoveries, captured -Astoria and for years kept her hands on the Oregon country, to be -thwarted at last by one brave American. - -The story of Marcus Whitman’s life should be enshrined in the heart of -every school-boy in America. - -From the busy thriving city of Spokane, the center of the agriculture -empire of the Pacific Coast, to Missoula along the headwaters of the -Columbia is a most interesting journey. High above, the grim Cascades -rear their shaggy heads. Magnificent pines lift their crested heads -skyward. The Columbia, “rock-ribbed and mighty,” sweeps on, now -placidly, now whirling and eddying, tossing its waters up in foamy -spray, now breaking into white cascades, beautiful as Schauffhausen -on the noble Rhine. The rugged rocks along the shore are hidden by -festoons of grape and wild honeysuckle vines, while the bright salmon -berry adds a touch of color. - -Here is a bit of western fiction, a study in evolution that would -interest a Haeckel. These berries falling into the water float away -into brown pools and shady nooks and there change into the red fish -known as salmon. - -The gentleman who told me this wonderful tale of magic assured me that -it was true, and that the Fish Commission had made a report of it. Like -the tale of the banshee, however, he had never seen it but he knew -people who had. - -Scientific errors should be corrected, so I will give you the facts -about the salmon trout. It was that mischievous god Loke, who to escape -the vengeance of Thor hid himself in a cave, but when he heard the -thundering voice of that noble god, - - “He changed himself into a salmon trout - And leaped in a fright in the Glommen.” - -Slippery as a salmon is a common adage in Norseland. - -The most beautiful spot in this region is Lake Pend d’Oreille. The -scenery of this lovely lake rivals that of Lake George. Its blue waters -bathe the brown feet of rugged mountains. - -It is early morning on Lake Pend d’Oreille; the mountain breeze, -the gentle swish of the water as it laps the shore, the white, -graceful-moving sail-boat all entice you for a day’s fishing. Tired of -this sport you sail over and rest under the wonderful Blue Slide. The -mountain bordering on the lake at this point has crumbled away, sending -down its bowlders into the lake. From the boat you look up a smooth -incline plane two thousand feet, above which rises the precipice itself -another thousand feet. The slide is covered with a pale blue clay, -while the precipice itself is a mixture of granite and clay tinged with -iron. Large pines grow on the very edge of the precipice. - -The junction of Clear Water and the Snake rivers in Idaho is a place -of historic interest. We are now in the country traversed by Lewis and -Clarke. - -The history of the great Northwest is wonderfully fascinating. The -history of no part of this great territory is more tragic than that of -Montana. Her savage tribes, her cosmopolitan population called into -existence by her fur trade and mining industry, all combined to produce -in Montana a peculiar phase of civilization, but she has beaten dirks -and bowie knives into plowshares and now follows the gentle arts of -peace. A magnificent mountain range, lovely valley, beautiful river -and a delicate, graceful flower--Bitter Root. Bitter Root is the state -flower of Montana and lends its name to the river, mountains and valley -of its native heath, growing most luxuriantly in Bitter Root valley. - -This valley is one of the most beautiful as well as the most productive -in the state. Lying at the eastern foot of the Bitter Root Mountains -it is shielded from the cold, west winds. The climate is fine while -the soil in most places is rich and deep. Timothy and clover grow -luxuriantly. Baled hay brings from seven to ten dollars per ton at the -railroad station. Dairy farming and poultry raising are profitable -industries. Butter sells at forty cents per pound in the winter and -twenty cents in the summer. Eggs bring the same price. Butte, Helena -and other mining centers supply the market for Bitter Root Valley. - -Bitter Root orchards are immune from disease. The leas ophis has -appeared but as yet has done no injury. Bitter Root Mountains were the -stronghold of the Nez Perce Indians. - -[Illustration: ENTERING HELL GATE CAÑON.] - -Hell Gate cañon is one of the most picturesque in the Rocky Mountains. -It is wild and beautiful. Its fir-clad slopes rise thousands of feet -high. A lion steals stealthily along, noiselessly as Fear herself, owl -answers owl from the tall trees, and soft shadows lend enchantment to -the light of the pale moon that hurries you along like Porphyro’s poor -guide on the eve of St. Agnes, with agues in your brain. - -Deer Lodge lies in a beautiful valley, sun-browned now, with just a -hint of autumn’s grays and purples. - -John Bozeman was a noted frontiersman in the early days of Montana. -His name is perpetuated by Bozeman’s pass, Bozeman’s creek and -Bozeman city, all in Gallatan valley. This valley, once the bloody -battle-ground of the Blackfeet, the Bannacks, the Crows and the Nez -Perce Indians is now one of the widest known and best cultivated in the -state. - -Helena, the capital of Montana, is a thriving, prosperous city. Through -the Gate of the Mountains we enter a little valley called Paradise. -Like a beautiful dream this lovely valley lies in the cold bosom of the -rugged mountains; which, looming high above, shield it from the wintry -blast. - -[Illustration: LIBERTY CAP AND OLD FORT YELLOWSTONE.] - -Mighty cañons, rock-ribbed, gloomy and dark, have been gouged out of -the very hearts of the cold, gray mountains that pierce the blue of -heaven. But this sun-lit vale, too fair for the abode of man, lies just -as nature left it, blue canopied, the cool green grass and murmuring -Yellow Stone. - -The Devil in a merry mood one day, coasted down the mountain at -Cinnebar, scorching blood red a wide, smooth slide that would delight -the daring heart of a tobogganist. - - - - -CHAPTER XX YELLOWSTONE PARK - - -The artist may paint you a bit of sky, a little water, a few trees, and -mayhap a bluebird or a merry brown thrush, but can he paint the gently -moving restless air or the storm that sweeps down the mountainside, the -murmur, the ripple, the roar of the river, the whir of the bluebird’s -wing as it rises to flight, or the thrush’s song? - -It is beyond the power of brush or pen to paint the wilderness, the -beauty, the weirdness, the awful grandeur of this land of Malebolge, -sulphurous pits and boiling lakes, a fit dwelling place for Minos, -infernal judge; the elusive beauty of a playing geyser, the iridescent -sparkle of the water as it leaps the rocky precipice and pours down -the mountain’s great throat, or the diabolical scene of the famous Mud -Geyser where,-- - - “Bellowing there groaned - A noise, as of a sea in tempest torn - By warring wings. The stormy blast of hell - With restless fury drives the spirits on, - Whirled round and dashed amain with sore annoy. - When arriving before the ruinous sweep, - There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans.” - -With horrible groanings the thick sulphurous mass is driven against the -sides of the deep crater. - - “Wherefore delay in such a mournful place? - We came within the fosses deep, that moat - This region comfortless, the walls appeared - As they were framed in iron, we had made - Wide circuit ere we reached the place where loud - The mariner (guide) vehement cried - ‘Go forth, the entrance is here.’” - - --DANTE. - -[Illustration: HOTEL MAMMOTH, HOT SPRINGS, YELLOWSTONE PARK.] - -We had circled the Mammoth Hot Springs, down a way by a ladder we -entered the Devil’s kitchen. This is a defunct geyser. The way was -dark and the air hot as the heat penetrated the walls from the Hot -Springs. The water of these springs is rich in minerals, copper, iron -and sulphur. As the water boils over and evaporates it leaves deposits -on the rims fretting them with a delicate frost work of varied and -beautiful hues. Cream and salmon deepening into rich shades of red, -brown, green and yellow. - -The Cleopatra Spring is one of the most beautiful. Located on a mound -forty feet high and covering an area of three-quarters of an acre, -the deep blue water, the sparkling white basin with its pale yellow -frost-fretted rim rivals the touch of the artist’s brush. - -Just below the springs the broad level tract in front of the United -States barracks covers a treacherous burnt-out area. We were standing -on a veranda of the hotel observing the maneuvers when one of the -cavalry horses broke through the thin crust. His rider recovered him -and they were off before the treacherous ground gave way. A rope was -brought and the soldiers lowered one of their comrades, who dropped -thirty-five feet before he struck a landing place. Investigation showed -the entire platte to be dangerously honeycombed. - -Through the Golden Gate we enter Kingman’s Pass. The stupendous walls -of golden yellow rock rise sheer hundreds of feet high on either side. - -Just as we turned a point in the road such “Ohs” and “Ahs” as the -Rustic Falls of the Gardener River burst on our sight. The river falls -sixty feet into a series of shallow basins of moss covered rock. To -the sides of the basin cling wavering ferns and delicate spray-kissed -flowers. - -The most wonderful mountain in the world stands on the shore of Beaver -Lake. A glass mountain of pure jet black glass, rising skyward in -basalt like columns from one hundred to two hundred and fifty feet. The -black glass streaked here and there with red and yellow glistens in the -sunshine as peak and pinnacle catch, imprison and reflect the sun’s -rays. - -Large blocks have become detached from time to time forming a glass -slide into the lake. Obsidian is a species of lava. Pliny says this -glass was first found in Ethiopia, but the only glass mountain in the -world stands on the shore of Beaver Lake. The Indians used this glass -for arrow heads and in making sharp-edged tools. - -The swampy, lily-padded margin of Beaver Lake is haunted by wild -geese. This lake is the beaver’s own. These industrious little animals -constructed it by damming up Green Creek for a distance of two miles. -Some thirty dams sweep in graceful curves from side to side each having -a fall from two to six feet. - -[Illustration: OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER, YELLOWSTONE PARK, JUST BEFORE AN -ERUPTION.] - -The geyser basins are places of unusual interest and beauty. No scene -in the park is lovelier than these areas of bubbling pools, boiling -lakes and steaming geysers, at sunrise, when the columns of white -steam, tinged to a roseate hue by the rising sun, ascending against the -background of dark green pines. Presently,-- - - “There came o’er the perturbed waves - Loud-crashing, terrible, a sound that made - Either shore tremble, as if a wind - Impetuous, from conflicting vapors sprung, - That ’gainst some forest driving with all his might, - Plucks off the branches, beats them down, and hurls - Afar; then, onward passing proudly sweeps - His whirlwind rage, while beasts and shepherds fly.” - - --DANTE. - -Thus warned we moved away just as Old Faithful shot his boiling waters -skyward. - - “Ask thou no more - Now ’gin rueful wailings to be heard. - The gloomy region shook so terribly - That yet with clammy dews chill my brow. - The sad earth gave a blast.” - - --DANTE. - -And steam and water shot up a column two hundred feet high. The Giant -Geyser was playing. - - “We the circle crossed - To the next steep, arriving at a well - That boiling pours itself down a foss - Sluiced from its source.” - - --DANTE. - -This well is the formidable Excelsior Geyser which pours its waters -into the Fire Hole River. - -[Illustration: YELLOWSTONE LAKE.] - -The Paint Pots are springs which boil incessantly their pasty clay, -which boiling over hardens, building up a rim around the pot. In one -group of seventeen pots are as many different colors. - -The center pot is a pearl gray, while grouped about it are smaller pots -of various shades of pink, gray, chocolate, yellow, red, lavender, -emerald and sapphire blues and white, mortar thousands of years old -that would make the heart of a plasterer glad. Here is a plaster which -when hardened, whether by sun or fire, never cracks. - -Of a somewhat different character are the chocolate jugs on the banks -of the Fire Hole River. These springs are rich in iron. The sediment -hardens as the water pours out, building up gradually a brown jug-like -cone. - -The Blue Mud Pot is quite as interesting as the Paint Pots. Its -circular basin is twenty feet in diameter. The mud is about the -consistency of thick plaster. This mud pot presents a beautiful picture -as the puffs of mud burst with a thud-like noise giving off perfect -little rings which recede to the sides of the crater. This spring is -strongly impregnated with alum. In this vicinity is a spring of pure -alum water and several of sulphate of copper. - -These springs are clear and deep, having beautiful basins, the rims of -which are lined with incrustations of brilliant colors. - -In a gloomy wood we came to the Devil’s frying pan, a shallow, hot, -boiling spring which sputters, sizzles and hisses equal to any -old-time, three legged skillet, sending out sulphurous odors that would -delight the nostrils of Lucifer himself. - -Hell’s half acre is quite as interesting as its name. Here in times -gone by Excelsior Geyser shook the earth. - -One lovely morning we mounted to our seats in the stage coach, the -driver cracked his whip over the heads of the leaders, six creamy white -horses pricked up their ears, sprang forward at a gallop and we were -off to the Continental Divide. - -We had just crossed a glade where deer were grazing when a hail storm, -a mountain hail storm, overtook us. In five minutes the ground was -white, the hail laying two inches deep, and such hail, an Illinois hail -storm is tame in comparison. - -The horses plunged forward, the hail was left behind, and we paused on -the Great Divide. Down from this watershed the waters flow east and -west. - -The lovely Lake Shoshone comes into view and presently we are standing -on its shore looking down through its blue waters. The elevation of -this lake is greater than that of its royal neighbor, the Yellowstone. - -[Illustration: CAMPING ON THE SHORE OF LAKE YELLOWSTONE.] - -This most lovely of all American lakes, the Yellow Stone, is perched -high in the very heart of the mountains, its blue waters lapping the -base of cold, snow-capped peaks, rivals in beauty the far famed Lake -Maggiore. - -On these beautiful shores fair Nausicaa with her golden ball might have -deigned to tread the mazes of the ball-dance. - -The elevation of this lake is marvelous for its size. Drop Mount -Washington, the highest peak in the White Mountains, into the center of -it and the summit would be swept by a current half a mile deep. - -This lake affords royal sport. Here are the most beautiful fish in the -world, the rainbow trout. - -Through a pine-clad gorge flanked by high bluffs the impetuous -Yellowstone River makes its way until it leaps the great falls and -plunges down three hundred and fifty feet to the cañon below. - -On the sides of the spray-washed walls grow mosses and algæ of every -hue of green, ochre, orange, brown, scarlet, saffron and red. On rugged -peaks are brown eagles’ nests. - -The Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone, would you describe this marvelous -gorge, language is inadequate, words are poor. - -Would you paint it, on your palette place all colors yet produced by -the ingenuity of man. Mix them with rainbow drops. The pale faced moon -will lend a shade, the stars another and the sun still another as he -drops blood-red down through the mists of the sea. Stir and mix with -matchless skill until you have of colors half a hundred and shades as -many more. Now boldly dash the stupendous walls, castles, pinnacles, -turrets, columns, and minarets where already they are gleaming a bright -vermilion as they from Vulcan’s fiery furnace issued long ago. - -When you have these colors fixed let Phaethon drive down the gorge in -his chariot of fire leaving behind the gleam and the glow of it. - -[Illustration: PAINT POTS ON SHORE OF YELLOWSTONE LAKE.] - -Here, the Sioux chiefs, crouching by their camp fires muttered their -griefs and their woes. Here Rain in the Face cried out in revenge, -revenge on the White chief with the Yellow Hair. - -Yonder lay Sitting Bull with his three thousand warriors hidden in -cleft and cave. Into the fateful snare dashed the White chief with his -pitiful three hundred men. Like a mountain torrent Sitting Bull and his -braves swept down upon that gallant band, and but one was left to tell -the story of the Little Big Horn, but one to tell of the gallant stand -of Custer and his brave men. - -Only two survived of all that noble band, one, Curly, the half-breed -scout, and the other, “Comanche,” the horse of Captain Keogh. Comanche -was found several miles from the battle field with seven wounds. He -recovered and the secretary of war detailed a soldier as his attendant. - -Here, too, the Crow took revenge when driven back by the white man. -Here they peopled the boiling, hissing springs and the steaming geysers -with evil spirits, while beyond the mountains lay the Happy Hunting -Ground. - -A small remnant of this band gathered at the head of the Grand Cañon -and there resolved with Spartan courage to die rather than be removed -to a distant land there to die of homesickness and longing for the blue -sky and the breath of the sweet air of their beloved mountains. - -They built a raft and set it afloat at the foot of the Upper Falls -feeling the peace and security that the mountains give, but they were -rudely awakened one morning by the sharp crack of the white man’s -rifle, the soldiers were upon them. Hastily boarding their raft they -pushed it out into mid-stream. The strong current gathered the craft -tossing it and pitching it onward on its foamy crest. The soldiers gaze -in wonder, forgetting to fire. On, on, faster whirls that frail craft -while above the wild roar of the water floats the death song. - -Beyond, yawns a chasm three hundred and fifty feet deep, the death -chant is lost amidst the roar of the mighty torrent. The hardened -soldier shudders as that lone adventurous craft, freighted with the -remnant of a powerful people, is gathered in the arms of that mighty -torrent, hurled over the brink and dashed to pieces on the cruel rocks -below, where the Maid of the Mist washed white each red man’s soul. - -[Illustration: GRAND CAÑON OF THE YELLOWSTONE.] - -On June twenty-seventh last, word was telegraphed over the country -that a new geyser had burst forth from an old crater about fifty feet -from the famous Fountain Geyser. The eruption played from two hundred -to two hundred and fifty feet high. - -Tired, stage tired, we were snug in comforts and blankets and -sound asleep one night in August at the Fountain hotel, when about -twelve o’clock gongs sounded, bells rang and porters went running -about pounding on the doors and crying, what seemed to our sleepy -imagination, “Fire,” but presently we heard distinctly the words, the -new geyser is playing. “The new geyser is playing,” went echoing down -the corridors. - -In ten minutes every tourist was out, in all sorts of costumes from -blanket to full dress, either shivering on the long veranda or hurrying -down to the basin to see the new geyser play, and right royally he did -it, too. - -Upward into the black night shot a stupendous column of water three -hundred feet high. The porters were the first to arrive and playing -their red calcium lights on the wonderful body of falling water gave us -a display of fire and water that must be seen to be appreciated. The -now flaming vermilion column rose steadily upward, seemingly through -the red glare three hundred feet, the delicate, rose colored steam -rising much higher, swayed in the breeze, now falling, now lifting, now -floating away into the black night a rosy cloud. - -The hotel cat hurried to the scene of action but lost his bearings and -stood fascinated by the magic scene, the hot spray falling about him -until some one picked him up and carried him out of danger. - -In the reception hall of this hotel an old fashioned fireplace filled -with glowing pine logs sent out showers of welcoming sparks. A big -green back log sang again the anthem of the wild storm-swept mountain -forest, while outside the rain came down in torrents. - -The most wonderful features of the Rocky Mountains lie within the -confines of Yellowstone Park. The world’s oldest rocks, granite, -gneisse and basalt are found here. Later dynamic action held sway and -the region became the center of mountain building on a grand scale. -Rocky beds tossed up and down. Next came the reign of Vulcan. Fire -held sway. Volcanic materials overflowed the region. Next came the ice -age, when glaciers plowed down the mountain sides. Just now the -hydrothermal agents are most active. - -[Illustration: GIBBON RIVER FALLS.] - -After miles of mountain climbing and five hundred more of staging in -the heart of the Rockies, through groves of pine firs, spruce and -cedar, along streams and lakes bordered by aspen, willow and wild -flowers, through glades and glens, ravines and gorges, one begins to -get some idea of the vastness, ruggedness and grandeur of the mountains -and the delicacy of the climate. One begins to understand how in -average summer temperature of sixty degrees pinks, geraniums, orchids, -mosses, roses and lilies, alternately bathed in sunshine and snow, -bloom on, reaching a perfection beyond that of our prairie flowers. - -The mountain thistles are beautiful beyond compare. The delicate purple -blossoms are borne on slender stems, the dainty green leaves touched -with white, drooping gracefully, give the plant more the appearance of -an orchid than of the common weed it is. - -Over in Hayden valley roam fifty head of buffalo, all that is left of -that royal band, the fine for killing one of which is five hundred -dollars. Deer and elk roam ravine and mountain side, sleek, fat -fellows that make you glad that they are under Uncle Sam’s protection. -We passed a group of deer in a wooded ravine, their smooth coats -shining like satin in the sunshine as they gazed at us out of pathetic -brown eyes that had something of the human in them. - -“I couldn’t kill one of them innocent creatures if the law permitted -me,” said the driver, who was an old mountaineer and loved the things -of the mountains. - -Now and then one sees a mountain lion. The less noble game abound also, -the fox, martin, beaver, woodchuck and gopher. Ground squirrels run -about the hotels and camps in search of food. Under our window one -evening three of these little animals were having a tug of war over a -bread crust. The crust at last divided, one lost his hold and the other -two ran away with the spoil. - -The gray squirrels are very numerous, showing little fear of the -passer-by as they run along playing tag or race up and down the trunks -of great trees. - -The Rocky Mountain quail differs from our own in being larger and -having a crest on its head. - -Both Black and Cinnamon bear haunt the vicinities of the hotels and -camps in search of food. A big black fellow was pointed out to us one -morning who had stolen a ham from one of the camps the night before. -The ham had disappeared and there stood Bruin waiting for a chance -to steal another. One of the men walked up to him and gave him a -slice of bacon, which he took from his hands. When he had eaten it he -looked inquiringly about for more. This time the meat was hung up in -a tree. Bruin sniffed the odor, located the bacon, climbed the tree, -knocked the meat down and came down and ate it. Then he sat down on his -haunches, folding his paws and looking up at his new-found friend as if -asking for more. - -[Illustration: MICKY AND ANNIE ROONEY.] - -At the Fountain hotel are two cubs, Micky and Anna Rooney. They are -very fond of sugar. When offered any food they stand up and reach out -their paws for it or they will take it out of your hand. - -Micky is a happy rollicking fellow, but Anna is more sedate, quick of -temper and free in the use of her paws when angry. When offended she -climbs to the top of her pole and sitting down on the board nailed -there refuses to come down for anything less than a lump of sugar. - -As these bears are still mere babies they are fed milk from a bottle. -They stand up, clasp the bottle in their paws and proceed to drink the -milk through a hole in the cork. - -One evening something was wrong with Micky’s bottle. While the -attendant was fixing it Micky dropped on his haunches, folded his paws -across his chest, holding his head first on one side then on the other, -looking very wise the while. The attendant being somewhat slow, Micky -dropped to the ground but never once took his eyes off that bottle. -While Micky was waiting for his supper Anna had finished hers and was -thrusting her paws into the pockets of the attendant in search of candy -and sugar. - -At another hotel was a Bruin and her two babies. When these youngsters -refused to enter the bath tub provided for them the mother would coax -them to the edge of the tub, push them in, hold them down and give them -a good scrub. - -The National Park should be extended one hundred miles farther south to -the Black-Hole country. The park game descends to the Black-Hole during -the winter where the hunters lay in wait for it. In this way park -buffalo were nearly exterminated. - -Of the natural wonders of the world our country possesses namely: -Niagara, Yellowstone Park, Yosemite, Grand Cañon of the Colorado, and -the Glacial Coast of Alaska. The Mammoth Cave might take sixth rank, -but leaving it out we will not go to Europe, but to the Himalayas for -one and to the Andes for the other. - -The petrified forests are equally as interesting as the geysers. -Southwest of Pleasant Valley is a small grove of petrified trees. Near -Hell-roaring Creek is a massive promontory, composed of conglomerates, -and numerous beds of sandstones and shales. Throughout these strata are -numerous silicified remains of trees. Many of the trees are standing -upright just as they grew. - -On the northern side of Amethyst Mountain is another section of strata -nearly two thousand feet high. The ground here is strewn with trunks -and limbs of trees which have been petrified into a clear white agate. -In one place rows of tree trunks stand out on the ledge like the -columns of an old ruin. Farther down the mountain side are prostrate -trunks fifty feet long. The strata in which these trunks are found is -composed of coarse conglomerates, greenish sandstone and indurated clay. - -These strata contain many vegetable and animal remains. Branches, -roots, snakes, fishes, toads and fruits. Among these petrified objects -one finds the most beautiful crystallizations of all shades of red -from the delicate rose to a deep crimson. As to the trees the woody -structure is in many cases well preserved. - -Just beyond the eastern boundary of the park lies the Hoodoo region of -the Shoshone Mountains. Here, in the very heart of the old Rockies the -banshee, ghosts and goblins of all the region round about hold high -jinks. - -The scenery is wild and rough. The Goblin Mountain itself is over ten -thousand feet high and a mile long. The storms of ages have carved the -conglomerate breccia and volcanic rocks into the most strange, weird -and fantastic shapes. - -The vivid imagination of the Indian sees in these gigantic forms, -beasts, birds and reptiles. Here a couchant tiger and there the huge -figure of a Thunder Bird. Yonder a hungry bear sits on his haunches -waiting for a passing Indian. In the moonlight strange spectral shapes -seem to pass in and out these weird labyrinths. The rocks are all -shades and colors. Mysterious sounds in the air above add interest to -the most weird scene in the Rockies, a fit setting for the witch scene -in Macbeth. - -In yonder dark cavern the huge cauldron might boil and bubble as the -fire lights up the faces of the sinister three who stir the grewsome -mess, while around yon black bowlder stealthily steals guilty Macbeth. - -Which of the grand scenes do I treasure the most? I do not know. I -cannot tell. Each in turn holds, fascinates, and enthralls the mind. -Each becomes in the language of Keats: - - “An endless fountain of immortal drink, - Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.” - -THE END - - * * * * * - -BY THE SAME AUTHOR. - -The Travels of a Water Drop - -is a volume of sketches, studies from nature. The travels and -adventures of this particular Water Drop are so interestingly written -that it ought to occupy a prominent place in children’s classics. Each -sketch in the book is a gem in its way. For scientific accuracy and -literary beauty this little volume is recommended to nature lovers. -Cloth, small 12mo. Fifty Cents. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -The single footnote has been moved to the end of its chapter. - -Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are -mentioned. - -Punctuation has been made consistent. - -Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have -been corrected. - -Both Skaguay and Skagway appear in the original text, and the spelling -Skaguay has been standardized to Skagway. - -Both Wrangle and Wrangel appear in the original text, and the spelling -Wrangle has been standardized to Wrangel. - -Both “Blackfoot village” and “Blackfeet village” appear in the original -text, and the spelling “Blackfeet village” has been standardized to -“Blackfoot village.” - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Pacific Coast Vacation, by Ida Dorman Morris - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A PACIFIC COAST VACATION *** - -***** This file should be named 63172-0.txt or 63172-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/1/7/63172/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness, Craig Kirkwood, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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