Elma MacGibbon

“ Now, my friends, you can realize my feelings in the second city I had visited in Oregon.
Salem is beautifully situated on the Willamette river, about fifty miles south of Portland, and is one of the state capitals that succeeded in getting all the principal state public buildings located there. I visited the insane asylum, where, at that time, eleven hundred and eighty-five persons were being cared for, with every possible comfort. They have beautiful grounds, magnificent buildings, with large bakery and butcher shop combined. A little to the right is the orphans home. ”

“ It was a charming sight to pass through the immense wheat fields; the grain yields of this country are marvelous.
After I had made some pleasant acquaintances, I returned to Uniontown, Washington. From there I was driven to Lewiston, Idaho, a distance of nine miles. The last four miles of the way has a drop of over two thousand feet, and during the four miles Lewiston seemed right at our feet, on account of the road winding down the hill, snake fashion. At times the outlook seemed so dangerous that it caused one to hold one's breath, but I held on to the carriage seat instead. ”

“ In the vicinity of Kalispell are numerous sawmills, the largest being at Somers, at the head of Flathead Lake, also a very extensive pickling plant for the preservation of ties. I enjoyed many delightful drives through the immense wheat farms and inhaled the perfume from the many fruit trees then in bloom. I will always have a warm feeling and pleasant memories for the happy time and many friends I have made in Kalispell. Fifteen miles northeast is Columbia Falls, where is located the Soldiers' Home of the state, which cares for the infirm who once defended our country. ”

“ It being the Glendive annual fair week, I noticed that the people certainly know how to enjoy themselves on such occasions, with their horse-racing and ball games. As I sat on the balcony of the hotel and watched the numerous carriages, taking passengers to and fro from the fair grounds, and there were many on horseback, I thought of the places that I had visited, and it gave me more pleasure than in any town I had visited, to see the Glendive citizens celebrate, for every time I have been here, I found them all happy and having a good time. They are a bright, energetic class of people. ”

“ There I will commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Lewis and Clarke explorations of the glorious West; when people will congregate from every nation to enjoy Oregon's delightful climate and witness the great prosperity and advancement of the yet young country. ”

“ We Butte smoke-eaters do not get our fruit that way. Albany is supplied with a woolen mill and flour mills, an iron foundry, and is an important railway center, besides considerable shipping being done on the river. It is no dream that the citizens of Albany are the most sociable, happy, and contented people that I have had the pleasure of meeting on the continent, and the town is a paradise for any one wishing to make a life-long home. ”

“ This car affords visitors a luxurious and quick way of seeing Washington, and viewing from comfortable, restful environments the public buildings, the grand boulevards, the residences of noble men of the past and of the present, the beautiful parks, the magnificent monuments, the picturesque Potomac river, the quaint negro scenes on market days, the historic spots and the twentieth century business sections of the city. ”

“ And as I had found practically an entire city from Washington to Boston, I decided that some of the people should go beyond the Missouri, to the Rockies or the Pacific Coast, and get their ideas enlarged and advance with that bright and enterprising class of people, that are pushing ahead and building up the most prosperous section of our nation. ”

“ Lifting my eyes aloft, I viewed the encircling hills that nature has placed there to make this valley a paradise. Fruit is grown here on an extensive scale. Strawberries, cherries, apples and prunes are nature's favorites, and she bestows a lavish care on them. ”

“ I spent my New Year festivities at Albany, and a new one on me was to see bands of sheep grazing in the large fields of winter wheat. I thought the good-natured farmers had forgotten to put up their fences, but was informed by a friend that this was customary, and if not done, the growth would be so great that there would be an abundance of straw, with less return of wheat. After a short sojourn here I went back to Portland, starting east over the Oregon Railway & Navigation to Hood river. ”

“ I arrived at Boston, the capital and largest city in the State of Massachusetts, and fifth city of the nation. Boston is one of the chief commercial and literary cities of America; has an extensive foreign and coasting trade, with numerous steamship lines and is the terminus of many railroads. While here I visited all the important and interesting parts of original Boston, Charleston, Somerville, Back Bay, Cambridge and Brookline. ”

“ Washington, D. C., the Nation's Capital.
The wealth and love of the American people contribute to the increasing glory of the Queenly Washington, such a visit as mine sets the heart on fire with greater devotion, broadens the conception of our country's greatness and quickens into action our lofty patriotism.
One pleasant afternoon I enjoyed a delightful tour of the city on the "Seeing Washington Car," and heard explained a thousand points of interest during my twenty-five miles of sightseeing. ”

“ At Baker City I had a home feeling from again being among rich and valuable mines, there being many rich gold producing properties tributary to the city.
Stock raising on a large scale has been conducted here, and today great herds of cattle and horses roam at will over these seemingly boundless ranges, and thousands have been shipped and are continually being shipped yearly, from the extensive surrounding ranges of Eastern Oregon. From here a branch line extends to Sumpter and Whitney, bringing in the ore from the rich mines of the Blue Mountains. ”

“ While in the city I stopped at Hotel Vancouver, owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and for attention and grandeur around the entire hotel, with its spacious dining room, nothing better can be found. ”

“ It was a perfect sight to see the immense quantity of wool in sacks ready for shipment. The wool buyers were here from as far east as Boston, and all the sheep owners in the country, and it certainly did make things lively. I finally bade adieu to this stirring community and turned my face westward to Miles City, the oldest town in eastern Montana, where General Miles was at one time stationed, and from whom the town received its name. It has been for years the greatest cattle shipping town in the state, and also an important depot for the shipment of sheep and wool. ”

“ Cliffs of volcanic origin, mountains of petrifactions beautiful waterfalls, hills of brimstone, snow-capped peaks, charming valleys with thousands of natural curiosities, make this the wonderland of the world. ”

“ On the 28th day of September, 1898, I arrived in the City of Portland, Oregon, after a journey of eight days from the Atlantic coast, this being my fifth trip across the American Continent. My husband, or Mac, as he is usually called, met me on the banks of the Columbia river, at the town of Kalama, State of Washington. As the entire train is placed on the ferryboat, I got out to view the beautiful river, remaining there until we reached Goble, on the Oregon shore, where the train pulled off the boat for my destination. ”

“ Three of the largest rivers in the United States, the Missouri, Yellowstone and Columbia, have their sources in the Yellowstone Park. Yellowstone Lake, fifteen by twenty miles in size, is the largest body of water, at an altitude of 8,000 feet, in America. The other lakes are Shoshone, Lewis and Heart Lakes. The falls of the Yellowstone are most magnificent. The Grand Canyon, ten miles long, with an average depth of over a thousand feet, is one of the most brilliantly colored landscapes in existence. The geysers outclass anything in the world. ”

“ Winter here is a most charming season, and the long sunny days of summer are succeeded by cool nights. Aided by irrigation, immense quantities of fruit are raised yearly. Across the Snake river, which is spanned by a long steel bridge, is the town of Clarkston, Washington, with Asotin a short distance up the river. These are fruit sections. Southeast on the elevated bench lands, is the town of Grangeville, in the wheat section.
Lewiston is the out-fitting and business city for the mines of Central Idaho, and the location of the State Normal School. ”

“ Seattle, the metropolis of the State of Washington, is situated on Elliott Bay, on the eastern shore of Puget Sound. Its population has doubled in the last five years, caused by the wonderful influx of Alaska gold, as it is the headquarters for outfitting, and controls the trade of Alaska and the Yukon territory, and is also the base of supplies for the Puget Sound navy yard. It has the best navy dry-dock on the Pacific Coast and the largest dry-dock in the United States. ”

“ Tacoma has numerous saw mills and an enormous business in the manufacture and shipment of lumber. Here is the country of big trees; unsurpassed in size are the fir, cedar, pine and other timber used for the manufacture of shingles and lumber. Across the Sound is the lumbering town of Shelton. There are numerous coal mines adjacent, the principal ones being at the towns of Carbonado, Wilkeson and Pittsburg.
Near here are the great fruit sections of Puyallup, Buckley, Auburn, Sumner and Orting, all increasing the immense trade of Tacoma.
The hunting and fishing are practically unlimited. ”

“ Here, on the banks of the Missouri river, is destined to be one of the largest manufacturing cities of the west, with its gigantic water-power, that can be so easily utilized through its numerous natural and continual chain of falls, the largest being Great Falls, from which the town takes its name. ”

“ Chicago is the second city in the United States, made so by its energetic citizens and the enormous trade on the Great Lakes, in addition to its railroads, extending in every direction over the continent. ”

“ Cleveland, Ohio, has important steamboat and railroad traffic, with large oil refineries, iron and steel manufactories.
Toledo, on Lake Erie, has a fine harbor with important commerce.
I pass through the manufacturing town of South Bend, Indiana, on to Chicago, having a very pleasant trip over the New York Central, and Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroads, where the finest equipped Pullman sleeping and parlor cars, the most delicious and appetizing meals were served in the dining cars, and the employes devote their entire time, giving every attention and comfort to its many passengers. ”

“ At American Falls is another power plant. Here I again cross that noted Snake river and stop at Pocatello, the second city of Idaho.
Pocatello is the great division headquarters for the Oregon Short Line system, and where immense railroad shops have been constructed to handle the business extending east and west, north and south from Butte to Salt Lake City. The road crosses here nearly at right angles. It has a State school, substantial business blocks and commodious homes. Pocatello has valuable mines in the vicinity and the whole section is engaged in stock raising. ”

“ There are lumber industries carried on here, and extensive flour mills, and while the climate is in every respect all that could be desired for the growth of both winter and summer wheat, the fertility of the soil is such as to make it incomparable. The entire country and its citizens are continually busy sowing and harvesting their wheat, storing it in large warehouses, whence it is shipped to the Pacific Coast markets and from there to Asiatic and European countries. ”

“ Louis.
After a delightful trip of over two months, in the warm and moist climate of the Pacific Coast, I arrive back home to find snow, and as usual the smoke. But for all we have the disagreeable smoke caused by the smelters, from which we get the fumes of arsenic and sulphur, it still seems to be invigorating, and gives activity to the brain, for the people of Butte show more life than I find elsewhere, and there is more stir than in any city in America, according to its population. ”

“ The city is at the head of navigation of the Hudson river, and is one of the most interesting in America, with its commerce passing through its "open door" down the historic Hudson river, through the Erie canal and over the New York Central lines. ”

“ Montana has every reason to be proud of its state capitol, which is located in the eastern part of the city on a plat of ten acres, donated to the state. The building is two hundred and fifty feet in length by one hundred and thirty in width. From the center of the building rises the dome, which is covered with copper and crowned by the statue of liberty. Arrangements have been made for planting the entire ground with trees, which will, with growth, give a pleasant appearance. ”

“ At Brunswick, terminals and railroad yards of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, is where General Meade's army recrossed the Potomac on the return from the battle of Gettysburg to Washington.
Point of Rocks is one of the most picturesque sections of Maryland. Here the railroad leaves the Potomac river, having been in companionship for nearly one hundred and fifty miles. During the civil war this part of the country was constantly occupied by both armies, crossing and recrossing the Potomac at this place, occasioning many skirmishes. ”