A journey with the sun around the world

Contents

CONTENTS.

Chapter I. — Departure Westward from Cleveland — Booking Agencies — Chicago to Denver — Denver Incidents — Denver Cathedral — A Denver School — Colorado Springs — " Pike's Peak " — Manitou— The " Garden of the Gods "—The Royal Gorge ------ 19..28

Chapter II. — Pueblo — Florence — The Royal Gorge — Leadville — Glenwood Springs — Salt Lake City — The Famous Mormon Buildings — The Mormon Tabernacle — The Great Salt Lake — "Mother Shipton's Prophecy" - - - 29-36

Chapter I. Departure Westward From Cleveland — Meeting Op Old

FRIENDS — THOMAS COOK & SONS — CHICAGO TO DENVER —

DENVER INCIDENTS — COLORADO SPRINGS — " PIKE'S

peak" — MANITOU — THE GARDEN OF THE

GODS — DECEPTIVE DISTANCES.

Sunday, January 16, 1898, was an eventful day for me. I spoke my farewell from the pulpit, and the children sang a pathetic parting song, two of the verses of which follow:

"Some day you'll wander back again

To where the old home stands, Where loving hearts wait 5'our return

From distant foreign lands.

Your little ones will pray for you

Where'er your footsteps roam, That guardian angels may attend

Till you are safe at home."

The words and the sweet and pathetic voices of the children reached all hearts. One strong man said : " I could have stood the rest well enough, but when those children began that hymn I had to look for my handkerchief as well as the others."

At 11 p. m. I motioned my final adieu from the car platform to the friends who waved their farewells as the train moved from the Union Station in Cleveland out into the darkness. I had started on my tour around the world. I felt lonesome as I looked at the strangers around about me, and realized that I would meet many such and even more strange in the strange lands I was about to visit. I felt a little apprehension of the dangers that might be revealed in

20 Booking Agencies.

the long journey by land and sea, as I ventured alone to circle the globe. But I knew that many prayers would be said for my safe return, and I trusted in Him who

"Rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm."

Early the next morning I was surprised in the Wagner by a touch on the shoulder accompanied by the greeting, " Good morning." On looking around I found myself face to face with my friend, Rev. J. T. O'Connell. I felt that I had not yet left home. Father O'Connell had boarded the train at Toledo at 2 a. m. for the purpose of seeing me off at Chicago. We spent the day together in the " Windy City."

Who has not heard of the around-the-world tourist agents, Thomas Cook & Sons? I had not arranged for my transportation, so I visited their Chicago office. For a part of my trip I was told that my ticket would cost $799.96. The omission of the four cents reminded me of a bargain day in a dry goods store. But I was not a shopper, so I resisted the temptation to biuy. I asked the manager, " How much v/ould the ticket cost me were I to postpone the purchase until I reach San Francisco?" He replied in a rather severe manner: "It would cost you, sir, $200 more than I ask."

This appeared to me so preposterous that I stopped the negotiations. Gaze & Sons could not give me any figures until they communicated with the New York office. I told the Burlington agent of what Cook & Son had said in regard to the extra charge from San Francisco if I waited to buy my ticket there. He said that such a claim was ridiculous.

Dr. Beeman, of "Pepsin Gum" fame, whom I met at the Auditorium, said : "Don't go abroad with Cook's tickets. I would not go an inch on them. People abroad will look down upon you if you travel with them."

"Why, doctor," I replied, "many good people travel on such tickets and find it convenient and money saving."

Chicago to Denver. 21

"Well, don't you do it," he replied. Of course the doctor has that independence which wealth gives. At any rate, I remained quite fancy free as to routes and agencies.

Father O'Connell saw me off when the train left at 10:30 p. m. As he bade me good-bye I wished I had his company on my circuit of the globe. His act was kind and thoughtful and self-sacrificing. I appreciated it and also the unexpected presence of the valued friends Vt'ho saw me off the night of my departure from Cleveland.

The sleeping car fare, with stops at Denver, Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City, cost from Chicago to San Francisco $14.50. I tell this for the guidance of those who may wish to race with the sun around the world.

The ride from Chicago to Denver was uneventful. At one station, however, there was quite a crowd giving a joyful " send off " to a newly married couple who boarded our train. I escaped the rice and the old shoes.

At 7 o'clock Tuesday morning I arrived in Denver. I had requested the porter to call me at 5 o'clock. I hoped to see grand sights on the mountains, but it was dark. Daylight came only at the outskirts of the city. My first impressions were not favorable. The little one-story and apparently one-room houses Math stove-pipes protruding through the roof indicated that poverty was not absent from the Silver State. The depreciation of sUver no doubt had a bad effect on the business of Colorado.

Denver, however, loomed up stately and substantial, with good business blocks and finely paved streets.

I boarded a car and asked the conductor : "Do you pass a Catholic Church? "

"Do I pass the Capital Church?" he asked.

" Well," I said, " that is a new name, and a good name for it, but I asked : 'Do you pass a Catholic Church?' "

" Oh, yes," he replied ; " we pass near St. Leo's."

22 Denver Incidents.

I got off there, and was in time to celebrate the regular Mass at 8 o'clock.

The pastor, Rev. Wm. A. O'Ryon, had a funeral to attend at 9 o'clock. By the way, the funeral was that of a young man from Ohio. He had gone for his health to Denver, but had died of a hemorrhage among strangers. I did not learn his name, but I thought of his struggle for existence and the sad ending of his young life far from home. I saw the funeral as it approached the church. There were only two carriages.

After Mass I took breakfast in the pastor's house. With me at the table was a fine, well-preserved old gentleman. He was introduced to me as the father of the pastor. His name I learned was Mr. Michael O'Ryon. He lived at Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland. He came to this country to visit his sons. Father William O'Ryon, of Denver, and Father O'Ryon, of the Monitor, San Francisco, Cal. He told me that Father O'Ryon, of San Francisco, was his youngest child, and that Father Maher (I think that is the name) of Notre Dame, was a brother-in-law. I asked Mr. O'Ryon if he would not like to live in this country.

" Indeed 1 would not. If I was told that I would have to live here for six months I would die of homesickness in a month. I will be back in Ireland, please God, before another month."

"Then," I said, "you will be back in Ireland before I get there."

" Well," he said, " when you get to Ireland of course you'll go to the ' Abbey of the Holy Cross.' Call then on my daughter, Mrs. Thomas Maloney, who lives there, and I am not far away."

I told him of my proposed trip. I found the old gentleman remarkably well acquainted with the geography of my

Denver Cathedral. 23

tour, the climates and the habits of the people. I hoped to meet him at Cashel.

I called at the office of the Colorado Catholic to see Father Malone, its vigorous editor. I found that he had gone to Colorado Springs to meet with the State Board of Charity, of which he is a member by the appointment of the Governor of the State.

I called on some Cleveland friends. Some I found at home, and others had taken a day off to go "Around the Loop," the most picturesque and fascinating of Denver's many beautiful suburban trips.

Some of those upon whom I called had worked out in Cleveland. They were good representatives of the faithful, zealous and generous "working out" girls. The girls who work out deserve, as a class, commendation and honor. They are obliged on many occasions to "fight the good fight" for the teachings of the faith. Their good example often brings light to those who have no other beacons to point out Catholic doctrine. Their generosity to the Church, according to their means, is proverbial.

The Cathedral is on a very prominent street and in the business center. But it is one of the poorest, the gloomiest and the smallest Cathedrals that I ever saw or expect to see. I told the pastor as much. He said that six years before they had been offered $200,000 for the property. The Bishop would not sell. Bad times came. Then they could not sell. They were paying $7,000 in interest and $2,000 per annum in taxes. The debt was large. The Bishop was absent, collecting to tide matters over, and he was often absent for months engaged in the same disagreeable duty. But they expected to sell for $150,000. We are all fallible in our judgments and have not the gift of prophecy.

Noticing a bicycle on the porch, I asked if any of the priests rode. I found that they did.

24 A Denver School.

Father Casey asked : "Do you ride?"

I hesitated, as my mind went back to the previous September, when I had a fall from the Avheel which nearly ended my life, and I said : "Well — yes, I — I can ride."

"Then," said Father Casey, "we can go out after awhile for a spin. I will get you a wheel and we will both go."

I immediately pleaded an excuse — had not time, etc. Really, I was somewhat afraid that the ride might keep me too long in Denver — that I might miss the train and get into a hospital.

Subsequently, I visited the Jesuit Fathers at the Church of the Sacred Heart. I called at the school for the purpose of seeing one of the former teachers in St. Bridget's, Sister Mary Eustelle. I went with her to visit the different rooms, and found a large number of children in attendance.

The school building is unique. It is a large brick building. The plan and construction are novel, but practical. The teachers liked it very much. The school is two stories high. Four school rooms and the hall are on the first floor. The ceiling of the hall is on a level with the ceilings of the four school rooms on the second floor. All the school rooms are corner rooms. There are three entrances. The main entrance is used only on occasions when the hall is opened for public entertainments. The other entrances are on either side. All the school rooms open into the hall. Those on the first floor are on a level with the hall floor, those on the second floor open into the spacious gallery which extends around three sides of the hall. This arrangement gives a fine, high hall, the entrance to which is on the first floor of the building. There are cloak rooms' and also an ofl^ice room. This hurried description may convey some new ideas to pastors who contemplate building a school.

Colorado Springs was the next place on my program. On consulting my watch I found that I had only twenty-five

Colorado Springs. 25

minutes to go a mile and a half to the depot and get a transfer to reach it. After walking a block I missed the car. I then tried to visit the Jesuit church, but found it locked. I got into the basement chapel, and found it dark and uninviting. I got the next car, missed the transfer, but got to the depot and stepped into the coach as the conductor shouted : " All aboard."

Colorado Springs is a charming place, seventy-five miles from Denver. The streets are wide, the buildings substantial, the hotels are large and well kept, the population is up to the twenty thousand mark and the altitude of the town is six thousand feet above the sea, being some eight hundred feet higher than Denver. There is much wealth in the place, a number of millionaires making this delightful town their home. The owners of Cripple Creek mines live here. Cripple Creek is about ten miles away as the crow flies, but about fifty miles ofl^ as the locomotive goes.

I took the trolley for the " Glockner Sanitarium," which is about two miles out. Mrs. Glockner built the sanitarium as a memorial to her husband. After some years of superintendence, she became acquainted with the Sisters of Charity of Cedar Grove, near Cincinnati, and offered them the sanitarium. They accepted, and are now in charge. The building is of brick, spacious, well constructed and finely finished, and is beautifully situated.

I arrived at the sanitarium about 7 p. m. Sister Mary George, formerly of St. Bridget's, Cleveland, was one of the Sisters who care for the inmates — the invalids who come here especially for the cure of pulmonary and kindred troubles. I found two young priests among the patients, Rev. Thomas Cummings from the East, and Rev. Father Zagar from Marquette. The next morning after Mass we breakfasted together and then went to one side of the house to view Pike's Peak. There it stood, apparently only one-half

26 ''Pike's Peak."

mile away, while in reality it was ten miles off. It is fourteen thousand seven hundred and fourteen feet high. It is covered with snow, and while it was pleasant below and so mild that I rode in an open car, a snow storm was taking place on the summit of the Peak.

Distances are very deceptive in the clear atmosphere of the region. I was told of a visitor who thought he would take a morning walk to the mountain which appeared so near. Not returning long after the promised time, his friends went to search for him. They found him standing by a draining ditch and preparing to disrobe. They thought him crazy, and inquired the reason of his action.

" Why, I must swim over that river," he said. '

"River!" they said, "it is only a ditch, and you can step across it."

" You may think so, for so it appears, but I've learned not to go by appearances in these parts."

Pike's Peak is one of the memories of my boyhood. Well do I recollect the excitement caused by the discovery of gold on this mountain. The cry, "Pike's Peak or bust" went up and swept over the land. Many sold out in our neighborhood and started for this Eldorado. Many who went with exultant hope never reached as near as I then stood to that mighty mountain. How little then I ever expected to stand at its base and view its vast proportions, much less to ascend to its lofty summit, which some one has called " The roof of the world."

" Over the mountains of the moon,

With lantern and bravado,

Rode ever}^ knight,

With sword bedight,

To land of Eldorado." —Ballad.

There is a cogwheel railroad, constructed in 1890, from Manitou to the summit of Pike's Peak. Between the rails in

Manitou — The Garden of the Gods. 27

the center of the track extends the cogway. Into this the cogwheels of the engine press. The incline at places is very steep. Sometimes a bridge at a dizzy height spans a yawning chasm. But what a view from time to time breaks upon the vision! I saw the clouds below the summit. The city looks no larger than a single square when viewed from the top of Pike's Peak.

Father Cummings and I, after viewing Pike's Peak and its wonders, paid a flying visit to the Garden of the gods and to Manitou Springs. This is the great watering place of the West. It nestles at the foot of Pike's Peak, and has springs of health-giving water. I enjoyed a drink from the famous Ute Iron Spring. The scenery is magnificent and picturesque, and many fine hotels give entertainment to the crowd of guests. The Sisters of Mercy have a sanitarium there. A Catholic church, nicely situated, attracted my attention.

" The Garden of the gods" covers two thousand acres or more. The rocks of red sandstone tower aloft in almost every conceivable shape, some representing castles and creatures of land and sea.

Nor far from Pike's Peak on the eastern slope of the Cheyenne Mountain, above the waterfall, is the grave of one of America's most remarkable women, Helen Hunt Jackson.

Who of us- has not read both the prose and poetry of'H. H."?

" For here in nature's arms there lies asleep One who loved nature with a passion deep. ' '

Time was on the fly, and I had to tear myself away from the attractions of Colorado Springs and hasten on my way to the Pacific.

The Royal Gorge,

ROYAL GORGE, COLORADO.

Pueblo — Florence. 29

Chapter II

PUEBLO — FLORENCE — THE ROYAL GORGE — LEADVILLE — THE GREAT DIVIDE — MOUNT OF THE HOLY CROSS — GLEN- WOOD SPRINGS — SALT LAKE CITY.

Pueblo, forty-five miles distant from Colorado Springs, was reached at noon on Thursday. Pueblo has a population of fifty thousand, and is the second city of Colorado. The great steel works and the smelting works there are said to be second to no plants of the kind in the world. We got a glimpse of the famous Mineral Palace, a permanent structure for the exhibiting of the mineral* resources of the State. Pueblo is a stirring business center.

At Florence, thirty-two miles west of Pueblo, I noticed many oil well derricks. The brakeman told me that oil was discovered there as early as 1888, and that some of the wells produce five hundred barrels a day. At Florence connection is made with the Cripple Creek Railroad. The Cripple Creek mining town is forty miles from Florence.

As we passed Canon City, the next station to Florence, I noticed a commotion among the passengers. I then remembered that Canon City is the gateway to the grand canon of the Arkansas — the " Royal Gorge," — the most magnificent and awe-inspiring natural wonder in the Rocky Mountain range, if not in all America.

Having anticipated our approach to the '' Royal Gorge," I and an old gentleman were the first on the platform of the last car. We had to get out in order to look up and take in the entire magnificence of the "Gorge". Our places were envied by the pressing crowd behind. For seven miles there

Thp: Royal CtOrge.

OUT OF THE CREVISE, ROYAL GORGE.

The "Royal Gorge" — Leadville. 31

we stood, awe stricken and silent. No language can describe the magnificence of the canon. We could not but wonder how the engine was making its way through the cyclopean walls that rise in precipitous reaches to such dizzy heights that the eye with difficulty measures the stupendous spectacle. As the train wound in and out following the current of the river, the precipices more than half a mile high, appeared to be falling and ready to annihilate us. The old man by my side, whispering, asked me : " How high are those walls?" I answered : "Over two thousand six hundred feet." In many places there are fissures which make me fear for the future.

At one point the walls approach each other so closely that there is only space for the river. A bridge has been constructed lengthwise with the stream and suspended from iron trusses. The "Royal Gorge" is the climax of grandeur.

We passed through the famous town of Leadville. It has a population of twenty thousand inhabitants, and is unique among the cities of the world, being over ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is completely surrounded by high, snow-covered mountain peaks. As a rich mining district Leadville is known the world over. From 1879 to 1892 its yield of precious metals amounted to $170,000,000.

After leaving Leadville we reached the Tennessee Pass, the water-shed, or the Great Divide. We there found all the streams running westward, and "we knew that we were on the Pacific slope.

A short distance beyond the pass is the famous Mount of the Holy Cross. There on the granite bosom of the mountain rests the emblem of the Christian faith. The cross is perfect in its proportions. The snow is deposited in a vertical canon and on a transverse ledge. Owing to its sheltered position the snow does not melt in those ledges

32 Glenwood Springs — Salt Lake City.

when it disappears from the rest of the mountain. The sight is awe-inspiring.

Glenwood Springs, still further on, is the great health resort of the Rockies. Every sixty seconds two thousand gallons of water at a temperature of 120° Fahrenheit gush out of the earth and pour into the big bathing pool which covers more than an acre of ground.

The canon of the Grand River which is entered at the station called " The Castle Gate," is much like the "Royal Gorge," longer and more varied, but not so terribly magnificent.

Friday I reached Salt Lake City. I left the train to stop over in that far-famed place. Who has not heard of Brigham Young and his debasing doctrine? The Roberts episode in Congress has of late called attention to the Mormon doctrine. While the Gentiles have entered " the promised land " of the " Prophet," the Mormons are still numerous and powerful, though less ostentatious in proclaiming their unchristian tenets.

I stopped at the Knutsford hotel. It being Friday I asked for fish and eggs. These were not to be had. After dinner I w^ent to the office and asked the clerk: "Is this not the best hotel in Salt Lake City?"

"Yes, sir."

" Well, then, it appears to me that you ought to have fish and eggs for your Catholic guests on Friday."

At supper I got fish and eggs. When I was a boy I often read in a country store the sign : " If you don't see what you want, ask for it."

I was reminded of the story told of an Irishman at a hotel table on a Friday. It appears that he was not aware that fish could be had by giving an order for it. A priest sitting next to him had fish. After some deep contemplation, the man reached over and lifted half of the fish onto his own

The Famous Mormon Buildings. 33

plate, saying to the priest : ''Do you think no one has a soul to save but yourself?"

I wandered around Salt Lake a good deal to get a good knowledge of the city. While on a street car a lady left her place and came over to me and said in surprise :

"Why, I declare, isn't this Father McMahon?"

Before me stood Mrs. W. A. Banks, of St. Agnes' parish, Cleveland, and formerly a member of St. Bridget's parish and choir. Our pleasure and surprise were mutual. Mrs. Banks introduced me to her friend, Mrs. Gunn, a resident of Salt Lake, a very affable and intelligent lady. Together we called on Bishop Scanlon, and had a pleasant visit. The Church there is growing in strength. When the Bishop first came to Salt Lake he found only six individual Catholics. There was only one small church and a chapel. The priests live with the Bishop. They have a fine site for the future Cathedral on Brigham street.

We then went to the famous Mormon buildings, the Lion House, the Amelia House, the Temple, the Tabernacle and the Assembly Hall. These three buildings stand in " Temple Block," a square containing ten acres, surrounded by a wall fifteen feet high and five feet thick. The Temple cost $3,500,000. It is two hundred feet long, one hundred feet wide and one hundred feet high, with four towers,- one at each corner, two hundred and twenty feet high. The walls are ten feet thick, gradually diminishing to six feet thick. It is built of snow white granite from Cottonwood Canon, about fifteen miles away. The stone was all cut to a pattern at the quarries and numbered so as to fit each into its place.

An old Mormon in a lodge at the entrance gave us this information. He recited, school-boy like, a piece on Mormon principles, and misquoted and misinterpreted the Bible while doing so. He said that we could not enter the Temple. No

The Mormon Tabernacle.

one but a baptized and a practical Mormon could do so after the dedication. A Catholic lady who had been in the Temple just before the dedication said it reminded her of a large hotel. In the basement is the large baptismal font, supported by twelve large carved figures of oxen.

THE MORMON BUILDINGS.

We then went to the Tabernacle, wh^re we were admitted without delay. It is built wholly of iron, glass and stone, with the exception of the interior finish. It is two hundred and fifty by one hundred and fifty feet, and one hundred feet high to the center of the roof. It is spanned by a single mighty arch unsupported by a pillar. The walls are twelve feet thick. There are twenty huge double doors for entrance and exit. It has an immense gallery and seats thirteen thousand people. So perfect are its acoustic properties that a whisper or the dropping of a pin can be heard

The Great Salt Lake. 35

in all parts of the auditorium. This was demonstrated to our satisfaction while we stood in the gallery, the furthest possible point away from the gentleman who whispered, rubbed his hands, dropped the pin, etc. I also whispered back. People should not whisper secrets or unwelcome criticisms in that building.

The Tabernacle organ cost, we were told, $100,000. The price, I think, was exaggerated. It is fifty-eight feet high, has fifty-seven stops, and two thousand six hundred and forty-eight pipes. The choir numbers from two hundred to five hundred.

Assembly Hall, in the same enclosure, is built of white granite, is of Gothic architecture, and seats two thousand, five hundred.

After leaving the Tabernacle we went to visit Holy Cross Academy. There we had the pleasure of meeting Sister Mary Blanche, who was well known to many in Cleveland as Miss King. She formerly taught school at the Immaculate Conception Church in Cleveland, and hailed from Ravenna. She was glad to see us, and inquired with interest of Mgr. Thorpe, Rev. G. P. Jennings and Rev. J. T. 'O'Connell.

The academy is a fine building and the school was flourishing. An aunt of Father Zahm was the superioress.

The Great Salt Lake is one hundred miles in length and twenty-five wide on an average. It has many fresh water inlets and has no known outlet. Its average depth is twenty feet and it is four thousand two hundred and fifty feet above the sea. Its water is six times as salt as the ocean. The human body can not sink in it, but will stick up out of it like a fishing cork. Here in its season persons can enjoy the finest sea bathing more than one thousand miles from the ocean.

The Mormons, under the leadership of Brigham Young, went there in 1846 from Nauvoo, Illinois. They gave Scrip-

36 "Mother Shipton's Prophecy."

tural names — Holy Land names — to the rivers, the lakes and the valleys.

"Mother Shipton's prophecy," which became familiar years ago, is said to fit this place :

"When the desert shall grow green, When ships shall there be seen ; When fresh water streams shall pour Into Salt Sea, evermore, And the sea shall salter grow, Then the sons of men shall know That the time is drawing near When the world shall disappear."

Sacramento. 37

Chapter III

SACRAMENTO — THE STATE CAPITOL — A KNOCK-DOWN — RUSH FOR THE KLONDHvE — SAN FRANCISCO — THE GOLDEN JUBILEE — A DRIVE WITH FATHER YORKE — FATHER WYMAN, C. S. P. — FRANCIS- CAN FATHERS — ABOARD SHIP.

After leaving Salt Lake City the next stopping place was Ogden. There I had to wait for a Pacific train from 10 p. m. to 2:30 a.m. That was a long and dreary wait, and the night was very cold. A man near me said that he wished he knew how to pass the time quickly. I told him that I once heard of a good way to have the whole winter pass quickly.

" How?" he asked.

" On the 1st of December give your note for $500, to be paid in four months."

Sunday morning I found that the train was over two hours behind time. That would bring me into San Francisco too late to celebrate or to hear Mass. So at 7 o'clock I left the train at Sacramento. I went to the Cathedral where I was kindly received and celebrated Mass at 8 o'clock. The Cathedral is a magnificent church, built of stone and brick. Its architecture is Roman. Its dimensions are two hundred and eight by one hundred and fourteen feet and sixty high. It contains four hundred pews and has two galleries across the church. The higher gallery contains the organ. I do not remember to have seen a finer sanctuary. It appeared to me to be more spacious than that of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.