Beyond the Mississippi : from the great river to the great ocean : life and adventure on the prairies, mountains, and Pacific coast ... 1857-1867

Front matter

J

BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI:

FROM THE GREAT RIVER TO THE GREAT OCEAN".

CHAPTER I. Paoe

Westward and "Westward. American Wines of the West. The Great Muddy- River. Scenes along the Missouri. Terrors of Missouri Navigation. A Story of Steamboat Racing. Stopping to 'Wood Up.' Oration by a Steamboat Gambler. All Varieties of Passengers. Arrival in Kansas City. Encountering an Old Acquaintance. Border Ruffians in Kansas, 17

Chapter II

A Glance at Wyandotte, Kansas. How Frontier Cities are Begun. A Romantic Indian Legend. A City among the Rocks. On the Boiling Prairies. Travelers along the Road. A Bit of Yankee Ingenuity. How Lawrence was Pounded. And how it was Named. A Scene of Surpassing Beauty, 29

Chapter III

A War Reminiscence. Juries and Councils of War. Origin of the Kansas Troubles. Resistance to the Bogus Laws. Two Characteristics of the Struggle. Pree State Convention at Topeka. Lane's Power as an Orator. His Physical Endurance. His Speech in the Convention. Other Prominent Speakers. Reception of a Bogus Assessor. A Collection on First Principles. History repeating itself. ' Casting out the Vile Demon,' 39

Chapter IV

First Visit to Leavenworth. A Journey on Foot. A Night with a Kentucky' Squatter. The First Landing at Sumner. Atchison, Doniphan and Geary City. A Mania for Speculation. Difference between Fact and Fancy. A Real Estate Reaction. Rivalry of American Cities. An Encroaching Element. Vagaries of the Missouri, 53

Chapter V

Deadly Affray at the Polls. A Kansas Temple of Justice. A Murder for Money. A Mob Administering Justice. ' The Man with the Rope.' An Exciting Night Scene. Mormons Escaping to Kansas. The Land Sale at Osawkee. Border Ruffian Courts of Justice. A Quasi Declaration of War. Treason to be Put Down. Fallacy of Human Testimony. Governor Extinguished by Ridicule, . 64

Chapter VI

Wild Fruits of the Prairies. An Emigrant Family in Camp. Rain Increasing with Civilization. A Shrewd Speculator in Lumber. Within Prison Walls.

X

CONTENTS.

Last Treason Trial in Kansas. Traveling to a Convention. Siege of Hickory- Point. A Declaration by Buchanan. The Ballot or the Eifle. Rupture in the Democratic Party. Fifteen Whisky Punches, 77

Chapter VII

Night Rides on the Prairies. Seeking Shelter among the Indians. A Night with a Delaware Family. Origin of Indian Appellations. The Delaware Baptist Mission. Another Night's Lodging. Something about the Shawnees. Pottawatomie Funeral Rites. Origin of some Kansas Names. A Little Legendary Lore, 89

Chapter VIII

Governor Denver makes his Debut. And has a Spirited Reception. 'Wonderful Election Returns. To Vote or not to Vote. A Kansas Search-warrant. History of the Minneola Scheme. ' Mightier than the Sword.' General Lane receives his Friends. A Speech Nipped in the Bud. Governors plenty as Blackberries, 99

Chapter IX

An Imaginary City. 'What are your Politics?' Freaks of Political Highwaymen. Not much Room left. An Excitement at Lawrence. Jenkins killed by General Lane. An Adventurous Cat-fish. The Result of a Mis-step. Brave Father and Brave Son. A Most Inhuman Massacre. Le Marais du Cygne, . . . 109

Chapter X

A Party of Peace-makers. Before a Comfortable Fire. A Night at Osawattomie. Both Sides of the Question A Simple, Touching Story. The Great Guerrilla Chieftain. One of his Devoted Adherents. ' Catching a Tartar ' Illustrated. A Moment of Excitement. Uniting to Keep the Peace. An Address by Montgomery, 12q

Chapter XI

Feminine Smokers of Tobacco. Fever and Ague Experiences. Perplexing Usages of Words. Mysterious Slang Phrases Interpreted. Pearls and Returning Gold Seekers. Colonel Gilpin's Early Predictions. Rattlesnakes as Bed-fellows. Mysteries of Pre-empting Lands. Forms of ' Duplicates ' and Patents. ' Oaths are Words.' Borrowing a Child. An Ingenious Runaway Husband. A Clever Stratagem Spoiled. Fertility of the Hemp Region. Republican versus Black Republican, 131

Chapter XII

A Bit of Legislative Fun. Cost of Kissing a Chamber-maid. Easy Divorce in New States. Prisoners brought to Lawrence. An Unfortunate Hamilton. A Hard Country for Governors. Kidnapping of John Doy. His Rescue by John

CONTENTS.

xi

Pack.

Brown. Kansas Tapped by the Railway. The Luxuries of Modern Travel.

A Little Trip to Kansas, 147

Chapter XIII

'Great Stampede for the Mines. The Sufferings along the Route. 'Concord "Wagon ' or Stage Coach. St. Mary's Catholic Mission. Horace Greeley Taking a Tour. A Limited Stock of Groceries. A Model Letter of Introduction. A Specimen of Editorial Penmanship. Among the Antelopes and Buffaloes. A Jovial Prairie Micawber. Facts about the Buffalo. A Narrow Escape from Death, ■ 157

Chapter XIV

Horace Greeley's Wide-spread Fame. Half a Million of Buffaloes. The Curious Little Prairie-dog. Health and Strength of the Savage. Overturn of the Coach. A Night in a Cheyenne Village. Republican River under Ground. First View of Pike's Peak. Inspiring Presence of the Mountains. Denver City in its Infancy, 169

Chapter XV

Starting for the Gregory Diggings. Our Weary and Winding Way. In the Heart of the Mountains. First Reliable Report of the Mines. First Mass Meeting at Pike's Peak. Freaks of our Eccentric Mules. Our Most Extraordinary Landlord. ' Our Best Society ' in Denver. A Finished Specimen of a Gambler. An Unfailing Supply of Victims. The Turns of Fortune's Wheel. Almost one of Cooper's Heroes. A Visit from the Arapahoe Chief. A Conversation with Little Raven, 179

Chapter XVI

Little Raven as a Devotee. Indian Signals — Peace or Hostility. Expressive Features and Gestures. Ho, for the Mountains again! Death from the Mountain Fires. Evening Scenes among the Miners. The Gregory Diggings on Sunday. Intellectual, Argumentative Miners. Predictions of Gold and Agriculture. A Shrewd California Emigrant. Beauty of our Indian Corn, 193

Chapter XVII

The Great Missouri Iron Mountains. Quarrying out the Iron Ore. Twenty-seven Hundred, Fahrenheit. Warsaw's Last Champions — and Soap. Lynching in Springfield Missouri. Effect of the War upon Missouri. Conversations with the Settlers. The Great Neosho Lead Region. Subterranean Mining Scenes. Mode of Reducing Lead Ore. . Villages in Southwestern Missouri, 204

Chapter XVIII

Life at Fort Smith Arkansas. Cotton Picking in Louisiana. The Tale of an Inkstand Experiences in a Sick Chamber. Entering the Indian Territory. Among the Cherokees and Choctaws. Curious Hereditary Complexions.

Xll

CONTENTS.

Pace.

Novel Boarding School Freaks. Crinoline among Indian "Women. The Chickasaws lose their laws, 215

Chapter XIX

News of Broderick's Death. Frequency of Homicides in Texas. The Quaint Mexican Cart. Stopped by the Colorado River. The Fierce, Untamed Comanches. Signal Code among the Savages. A Plucky Little Texan Woman. On the Great Staked Plain. A Girl Stolen by Comanches. A Fatal Fondness for Pictures, 225

Chapter XX

Preaching Easier than Practice. The Colonel retires Disabled. First Line across the Continent. ' Out West ' on its Travels. Peon Labor iu New Mexico. A Kentuckian in Court. Street Pictures in Mexican Towns. A Native Meg Merrilies. An Aristocratic Castilian Gathering. Sunday Worship in the Cathedral, 235

Chapter XXI

From El Paso to Santa Fe. Adventures with the Apaches. Consumption of Red Peppers. Passing through Albuquerque. Arrival in Santa Fe. Highest Town in the Union. An Experience at Gambling. Curiosities and Horrid Trophies. Families of White Indians. Fascination of Border Life, 245

Chapter XXII

A Stray Printer and Journalist. A Ride with Kit Carson. His Hair-breadth 'Scapes. Hospitality of the Mexican. The Victim of a Biographer. All about Mexican Donkeys. The Rebellion of 1847. Curious Religious Customs of Natives. Mexican Peonage versus Slavery. Among the Pueblo Indians. Their Superstitions and Traditions. Strange Old Aztec Ruins. Geological Changes in the Country, > 256

Chapter XXIII

From Taos to Denver, Colorado. A Polyglot Landlord. Before the Sutler's Fire. Out-door Mountain Lodgings. Meeting a Plucky Pedestrian. An Unpleasant Sleeping Companion. A Herd of Spotted Antelopea Offerings to an Invisible Deity. Another Old Friend. Climate and Pulmonary Complaints. A Report of John Brown. End of Summer Journeyings, 269

Chapter XXIV

A Night with a Squatter. Killed in the Darkness. Reminiscences of Old John Brown. Yankees, Missourians and 'Cricks.' A Letter from John Brown. One of John Brown's Followers. An Extinguishing Retort. Along the Emigrant Road. Humors of Plains Travel. Our Pioneers and Self-government. An Illustration of Lynch Law. Gordon's Capture, Trial and Death. Wonderful Tenacity of Life, 281

CONTENTS.

xiii

CHAPTER XXV. Pack

A Summer Day in Denver. Best House in the Neighborhood. A Breakfast Party of Rovers. Newspapers, Churches, Hotels, Stores. Mint, Express-office and Coach. Curious Characters from Everywhere. A Stroll down Blake Street An Editor and a Count. A Grand Mountain Panorama, 294

Chapter XXVI

Little Raven Loses a Treasure. A Dentist Practices Strategy. A Hard Country for Editors. A Night at Apollo Theater. "Visit to Gregory Diggings. Punishing a Precocious Youth. In the Great South Park. A Memorable Summer Excursion. The Interesting Monument Region. Music in Underground Chambers, 3Q3

Chapter XXVII

Starting up the Mountains. Scenes of Picturesque Beauty. Nature's Terrible Convulsions. Dismal and Dreary Situation. Clouds Breaking once more. Fears of Fever and Delirium. All Vegetation left behind. On the Crest at last. An Indescribably Grand View. Four Territories— Four Great Rivers. Provisions Alarmingly. Scarce. Effects of the Five-days' Trip. Good Treatment for Invalids. The Trans-continental Pony Express, 313

Chapter XXVIII

Starting Westward again. Indian Murders and Depredations. Tornado near Fort Kearney. Press Dispatches on the Wing. One Dollar for a Newspaper. Grasshoppers Miraculously Destroyed. Ranch Eggs versus States Eggs. Lesson of Mountain Scenery. Gregory Diggings at Six Tears Old. A Curious Claim Controversy. Growth and Resources of Colorado, 327

Chapter XXIX

Virginia Dale— Lover's Leap. Smelling the Battle afar off. Indians a Little too Near. Wagon Three Inches too Wide. Chruch Butte and Fort Bridger. An Old Trapper's Story. . Three Mormon Wives— all Sisters. First View of Salt Lake Valley. Speeches and Responses — Hot Springs. Scenery of Wonderful Beauty. Eight Days among the Mormons. Miracles of the Telegraph. Frank Discussion with Brigham Young, 33g

CHAPTER XXX. '. The City of the Future. All the Jews are Gentiles. Personal Description of Brigham. An Hour in Brigham's School. Thirty Wives and Sixty Children. Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea. Sunday Service of the Mormons. Brigham's Great Theater. Dwellers among the Mountain-tops. Sagacity of the Mormon Leaders. Practical Workings of Polygamy. One Wife too many. Assassinations in Salt Lake City. Early Trials of the Pioneers. How the

Problem will be Solved 351

CONTENTS.

Chapter XXXI

From Salt Lake City "Westward. Eight Miles in Thirty Minutes. Irrigating the Sandy Deserts. Hardships and Perils of Explorers. Features of Austin Nevada. First View of Sierra Nevadas. A City set upon a HOI. Excitements in Mining Stocks. Richest Silver Mine ever Found. Curious Inventions of Miners. Four Hundred Feet under Ground. Ores Sent Abroad for Reduction. Five Hundred Millions per Annum,

CHAPTER XXXTI.

Carson City and Carson Valley. Earliest Officers of Nevada. Lake Tahoe, on Sierra Nevadas. Seven Thousand Feet above Sea-level. A Legend of Stage Driving. Thrilling Ride down' the Sierras. Reaching the Locomotive again. Sacramento— Arrival in San' Francisco. A Startling Catalogue of Events. Delightful Days in Plaeerville. The Rare Charm of California. Chinamen on the Pacific Coast. Among the' Hydraulic Miners. The "Wonderful Power of

Chapter XXXIII

Warm Climate of Pacific Coast. Scene of a California Story. The "Widow of John Brown. Spelling ' Yreka Bakery ' Backward. Reminiscences of General Grant. Noteworthy Points on the Road. Plentifulnesa of Babies. Portland Street and River Scenes. Excursion up the Columbia. Lincoln Grant and Sheridan. Curious Dalles of the Columbia. A Bit of Oratorical Fun. Northern Pacific Railroad wanted. A Couple of ' Little Stories,' 393

Chapter XXXIV

A Frontier1 Supreme Court. Oregon Pioneers Govern Themselves. Terrible Revenge on the Savages. The Rich Resources of Oregon. A Little more Oregon Cider. Forests of "Washington Territory. A Strange Forest Village. The America of the Future. Beautiful Scenery of Puget Sound. Under the British Flag, Features of Vancouver Island. American Rhetoric among the Britons. Fate of the Brother Jonathan, 40T

Chapter XXXV

Discovery of Yosemite Valley. View from Inspiration Point. Riding down the Zigzags. Hatchings and his Household. Trees and Walls of the Valley. Yosemite Fall— Highest in the "World. ElCapitan; Mount King; Mount Colfax. Bridal Vail; Vernal; Mirror Lake. ' The "Wonderful Round Rainbow. Grandest Scenery on the Globe. Eight Thousand Feet above Sea-level. Visiting the Mariposa Big Trees. Forty Feet in Diameter. A Forest Ingomar and Parthenia. Grizzly Giant— Thirty-four Feet in Diameter. A Grand National Summer Resort,

CONTENTS.

XV

CHAPTER XXXVI. Fags

Invited to Celestial Hospitalities. Sitting down to the Banquet. More than Three Hundred Dishes. Extracts from the Bill-of-fare. 1 "Wives won't Come.' Mr. Colfax and his Journey. My Friends Homeward Bound. California Politics as a Study. Features of California Society. American Wit and Humor. A String of California Stories, 435

Chapter XXXVII

The Haw Winds of San Francisco. A Climate Stimulating like Wine. Fires and Earthquakes Unavailing. Prejudice against the Chinese. Mission Mills; Church; Yosemite Views. California Quartz-mining and Farming. Grain, Vegetables and Fruit Trees. Mammoth Productions of California. Oranges, Vineyards and Wines. An Immense Private Enterprise. The San Francisco Newspapers. A Bit of Historical Record. Half an Hour in the Mint. The Great Pacific Railway, 4417

Chapter Xxxviii

Excursion on the Pacific Railroad. Twelve Thousand Chinese Laborers. Horrible Fate of the Donner Party. Engulfed by a Snow-slide. Establishing the Railway Route. Empty Travelers Fearless of Robbers. Fellow Passengers on the Desert. Once more in Salt Lake City. A 1 Destroying Angel ' on Journalists. The Salt Lake Poetess. A Few of her Early Stanzas. Pah Ranagat Silver Region. Colorado River and Big Canyon. The Novelties of Arizona, 461

Chapter XXXIX

From Salt Lake to Montana. On Waters of the Pacific. Hanged upon his own Gallows. Virginia Montana, and Alder Gulch. Scenes during the Flush Times. An Hour in the Hurdy-gurdy. Standing Astride the Missouri. A Visit to Helena. Curious Painting of Fort Union. Pitched from a Stage Coach. Costly Newspaper Publishing. Quaint Indian Translations. Vigilantes Administering Justice. Quartz on the Brain. A Great Future for Montana, 4^5

Chapter XL

Lewis and Clark's Great Expedition. Explorers given up as Dead. Build them a Monument! 'Help yourself to the Mustard.' Unerring Instinct of Beavers. Every Man's House his Castle. A most Wonderful Mirage. Visiting Great Shoshonee Fall. Enormous Portals of Lava. Fascination of the Deep Gulf. A Bloodless Idaho War. Unattractive State of Society. The Chinook Jargon. Scenes in a Great Quartz Mill, 490

Chapter XLI

-A Visit to Owyhee. Ruby City— War Eagle Mountain. Grinding Quartz versus Stamping. 'Italian Summers and Syrian Winters.' Into the Oro Fino Mine.

XVI CONTENTS.

The Great Poorman War. Much Capital Recklessly Squandered. Agricultural Capacity of Idaho. Robberies of Mail Coach. Among the Blue Mountains. A Night at Meacham's. Down the Beautiful Columbia. Lewis and Clark's Old Camping-ground. Our Quartz Regions Full of Interest, 504

Chapter XLII

The Telegraph always a Miracle. Ingenious Newspaperial Strategy. A Story of the Rebellion. Healdsburg and Foss-station. The Roar of the Geysers. Pluton River and Devil's Canyon. Grotto; Devil's "Wash-bowl and Kitchen. Witches' Caldron ; Crater; Vent Holes. The Wonders of California, 518

Chapter XLIII

Steamer-day ' in San Francisco. Finest Vessels in the World. Captains' Wives not Admitted. Gull, Albatross and Porpoise. A Lazy and Luxurious Existence. Six Hours in Acapulco. Earthquakes — A Droll War. No Vehicles nor Wagon Roads. Wonderful Beauty of the Nights. Arrival at Panama, . . 527

Chapter XLIV

Native Complexions and Costumes. The Old Cathedral at Panama. A Black Proverbial Philosopher. Lignumvitse Sleepers ; Cement Poles. Richest Vegetation in the World. Along the Panama Railway. Twelve Hours in Aspinwall. Discomforts on the ' Rolling Deep ' Experiences of the Passengers. Night in a Heavy Gale. End of Eight Months' Wanderings, 537

Chapter XLV

A Ride through Illinois. Atchison; Sumner; Leavenworth. Railway Ride to Topeka. A Political Convention again. Curious Retributive Justice. Omnivorous Grasshoppers. Farming by Machinery. Women Voting on School Matters. Lawrence; the Old Landmarks. Paola; the Border Counties. One Cent per Year. Kansas as a Farming State. Beautify the Dwellings. Peace Hath her Victories, 548