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MY NATIVE LAND.

The United States: its Wonders, its Beauties, and its People; with
Descriptive Notes, Character Sketches, Folk Lore, Traditions, Legends
and History, for the Amusement of the Old and the Instruction of the
Young.

BY

JAMES COX,

Author of "Our Own Country," "Missouri at the World's Fair," "Old and
New St. Louis," "An Arkansas Eden," "Oklahoma Revisited," Etc.

  "Breathes there a man with soul so dead
   Who never to himself has said,
      This is my own, my native land."

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED.

1903

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

OUR NATION'S BIRTH.

The Story of Liberty Bell--Impartial Opinions on the Revolutionary
War--The Shot that was Heard Around the World--The First Committee of
Safety--A Defeat which Equaled a Victory--Washington's Earnestness--To
Congress on Horseback--The First 4th of July Celebration.

CHAPTER II.

THE WITCH OF SALEM.

A Relic of Religious Bigotry--Parson Lawson's Tirade against
Witchcraft--Extraordinary Court Records of Old Puritan Days--Alleged
Supernatural Conjuring--A Man and his Wife both put to Death--Crushed
for Refusing to Plead--A Romance of the Old Days of Witch Persecution.

CHAPTER III.

IN PICTURESQUE NEW YORK.

Some Local Errors Corrected--A Trip Down the Hudson River--The Last of
the Mohicans--The Home of Rip Van Winkle--The Ladies of Vassar and their
Home--West Point and its History--Sing Sing Prison--The Falls of
Niagara--Indians in New York State.

CHAPTER IV.

IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY.

The Geographical Center of the United States, and its Location West of
the Mississippi River--The Center of Population--History of Fort
Riley--The Gallant "Seventh"--Early Troubles of Kansas--Extermination of
the Buffalo--But a Few Survivors out of Many Millions.

CHAPTER V.

THE MORMONS AND THEIR WIVES.

The Pilgrimage Across the Bad Lands to Utah--Incidents of the
March--Success of the New Colony--Religious Persecutions--Murder of an
Entire Family--The Curse of Polygamy--An Ideal City--Humors of Bathing
in Great Salt Lake.

CHAPTER VI.

THE INVASION OF OKLAHOMA.

A History of the Indian Nation--Early Struggles of Oklahoma
Boomers--Fight between Home-Seekers and Soldiers--Scenes at the Opening
of Oklahoma Proper--A Miserable Night on the Prairie--A Race for
Homes--Lawlessness in the Old Indian Territory.

CHAPTER VII.

COWBOYS--REAL AND IDEAL.

A Much Maligned Class--The Cowboy as he Is, and as he is Supposed to
be--Prairie Fever and how it is Cured--Life on the Ranch Thirty Years
Ago and Now--Singular Fashions and Changes of Costume--Troubles
Encountered by would-be Bad Men.

CHAPTER VIII.

WARDS OF OUR NATIVE LAND.

The Indians' Admirers and Critics--At School and After--Indian Courtship
and Marriage--Extraordinary Dances--Gambling by Instinct--How
"Cross-Eye" Lost his Pony--Pawning a Baby--Amusing and Degrading Scenes
on Annuity Day.

CHAPTER IX.

CIVILIZATION--ACTUAL AND ALLEGED.

Tried in the Balances and Found Wanting--Indian Archers--Bow and Arrow
Lore--Barbarous Customs that Die Slowly--"Great Wolf," the Indian
Vanderbilt--How the Seri were Taught a Valuable Lesson--Playing with
Rattlesnakes with Impunity.

CHAPTER X.

OLD TIME COMMUNISTS.

Houses on Rocks and Sand Hills--How Many Families Dwelt Together in
Unity--Peculiarities of Costumes--Pueblo Architecture and Folk Lore--A
Historic Struggle and how it Ended--Legends Concerning Montezuma--Curious
Religious Ceremonies.

CHAPTER XI.

HOW CUSTER LIVED AND DIED.

"Remember Custer"--An Eye-Witness of the Massacre--Custer, Cody and
Alexis--A Ride over the Scenes of the Unequal Conflict--Major Reno's
Marked Failure--How "Sitting Bull" Ran Away and Lived to Fight Another
Day--Why a Medicine Man did not Summon Rain.

CHAPTER XII.

AMONG THE CREOLES.

Meaning of the word "Creole"--An Old Aristocratic Relic--The Venice of
America--Origin of the Creole Carnivals--Rex and his Annual
Disguises--Creole Balls--The St. Louis Veiled Prophets--The French
Market and other Landmarks in New Orleans--A Beautiful Ceremony and an
Unfinished Monument.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE HEATHEN CHINEE IN HIS ELEMENT.

A Trip to Chinatown, San Francisco--A House with a History--Narrow
Alleys and Secret Doors--Opium Smoking and its Effects--The
Highbinders--Celestial Theatricals--Chinese Festivals--The Brighter Side
of a Great City--A Mammoth Hotel and a Beautiful Park.

CHAPTER XIV.

BEFORE EMANCIPATION AND AFTER.

First Importation of Negro Slaves into America--The Original
Abolitionists--A Colored Enthusiast and a Coward--Origin of the word
"Secession"--John Brown's Fanaticism--Uncle Tom's Cabin--Faithful unto
Death--George Augustus Sala on the Negro who Lingered too long in the
Mill Pond.

CHAPTER XV.

OUR NATIONAL PARK.

A Delightful Rhapsody--Early History of Yellowstone Park--A Fish Story
which Convulsed Congress--The First White Man to Visit the Park--A Race
for Life--Philosophy of the Hot Springs--Mount Everts--From the Geysers
to Elk Park--Some Old Friends and New Ones--Yellowstone Lake--The
Angler's Paradise.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE HEROES OF THE IRON HORSE.

Honor to whom Honor is Due--A Class of Men Not Always Thoroughly
Appreciated at their Worth--An Amateur's Ride on a Flying
Locomotive--From Twelve Miles an Hour to Six Times that Speed--The
Signal Tower and the Men who Work in it--Stealing a Train--A Race with
Steam--Stories about Bewitched Locomotives and Providential Escapes.

CHAPTER XVII.

A RAILROAD TO THE CLOUDS.

Early History of Manitou--Zebulon Pike's Important Discovery--A Young
Medicine Man's Peril and Final Triumph--A Health Resort in Years Gone
By--The Garden of the Gods--The Railroad up Pike's Peak--Early Failures
and Final Success--The Most Remarkable Road in the World--Riding Above
the Clouds.

CHAPTER XVIII.

INTO THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH.

The Grand Cañon of the Colorado--Niagara Outdone--The Course of the
Colorado River--A Survey Party Through the Cañon--Experiences of a
Terrible Night--Wonderful Contrasts of Color in the Massive Rocks--A
Natural Wall a Thousand Feet High--Hieroglyphics which have Never been
Deciphered--Relics of a Superior Race--Conjecture as to the Origin of
the Ancient Bearded White Men.

CHAPTER XIX.

OUR GREAT WATERWAYS.

Importance of Rivers to Commerce a Generation Ago--The Ideal River
Man--The Great Mississippi River and its Importance to our Native
Land--The Treacherous Missouri--A First Mate who Found a Cook's Disguise
very Convenient--How a Second Mate got over the Inconvenience of
Temporary Financial Embarrassment.

CHAPTER XX.

THROUGH THE GREAT NORTHWEST.

The Importance of Some of our Newest States--Romantic History of
Montana--The Bad Lands and their Exact Opposite--Civilization Away Up in
the Mountains--Indians who have Never Quarreled with White
Men--Traditions Concerning Mount Tacoma--Wonderful Towns of the Extreme
Northwest--A State Shaped like a Large Chair--The Falls of Shoshone.

CHAPTER XXI.

IN THE WARM SOUTHEAST.

Florida and its Appropriate Name--The First Portions of North America
Discovered by White Men--Early Vicissitudes of its Explorers--An
Enormous Coast Line--How Key West came to be a great Cigar Town--The
Suwanee River--St. Augustine and its World-Renowned Hotel--Old Fort
Marion.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Statue to Minute Man
Interior of Independence Hall, Philadelphia
Tomb of General Grant, Riverside Park
A Memory of Rip Van Winkle
The Exact Center of United States
Brigham Young's Grave, Salt Lake City
Chief Rain-in-the-Face and his Favorite Pony
The Cowboy as He Is
Civilized Indians
An Uncivilized Savage
The Belle of the Pueblo
Custer Battlefield and Monument
The Old French Market at New Orleans
The Prettiest Chinese Woman in America
Yellowstone Falls
In and Around Yellowstone Park
A Marvel of Magnificence
Climbing Pike's Peak by Rail
Hieroglyphic Memoirs of Past Ages
A Fin de Siecle Pleasure Steamer
Whaleback Steamer on the Lakes
Two Views of Mount Tacoma
A Restful Southern Home

MY NATIVE LAND.

CHAPTER I.

OUR NATION'S BIRTH.

The Story of Liberty Bell--Impartial Opinions on the Revolutionary
War--The Shot that was Heard Around the World--The First Committee of
Safety--A Defeat which Equaled a Victory--Washington's Earnestness--To
Congress on Horseback--The First 4th of July Celebration.

It was not until April 19th, 1775, that the shot was fired which was
"heard around the world." But the struggle for American Independence was
really started nearly a quarter of a century earlier, when on the
afternoon of August 27th, 1753, Liberty Bell was rung to call together
the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania.

In the old days of town meetings, training days, town schools and
Puritans, bells took a more prominent part in public affairs than they
do to-day. It was usual to call the people together for purposes of
deliberation by means of a village or town bell, and of these bells the
one to which we refer was the most important and interesting. Liberty
Bell is well named. It was ordered in the year 1751, and it was
delivered a year later. Shortly afterwards, it cracked, and had to be
recast, but in June, 1753, it was finally hung in the Pennsylvania State
House at Philadelphia. It has never been removed from the building
except on two occasions. The first of these was in 1777, when it was
taken to Allentown for safety, and the second in 1885, when it was
exhibited at New Orleans.

This bell, which sounded the death-blow to tyranny and oppression, was
first rung to call together the Assembly, which immediately resolved to
insist upon certain rights which had been denied the colonists by the
British Crown. Eighteen months later, it was again rung to announce the
meeting at which the rights of the colonists were sternly defined and
insisted upon. In 1765, it convened the meeting of the Assembly at which
it was resolved to be represented at the Congress of the Colonies in New
York, and a month later it was muffled and tolled when the "Royal
Charlotte" arrived, bearing the much hated stamps, whose landing was not
permitted. Again it rang muffled, when the Stamp Act went into
operation, and when the people publicly burned stamp papers. In 1768,
the Liberty Bell called a meeting of the men of Philadelphia, who
protested once again against the oppression of government without
representation. In 1771, it called the Assembly together to petition the
King of England for the repeal of the duty on tea, and two years later
it summoned together the largest crowd ever seen in Philadelphia up to
that date. At that meeting it was resolved that the ship "Polly," loaded
with tea, should not be allowed to land.

In 1774, the bell was muffled and tolled on the closing of the Port of
Boston, and in the following year it convened the memorable meeting
following the battle of Lexington. On this occasion 8,000 people
assembled in the State House yard and unanimously agreed to associate
for the purpose of defending, with arms, their lives, liberty and
property against all attempts to deprive them of them. In June, 1776,
Liberty Bell announced the submission to Congress of the draft of the
Declaration of Independence, and on July 4th of the same year, the same
bell announced the signing of the Declaration. On July 8th of the same
year, the bell was tolled vigorously for the great proclamation of
America's Independence. The tolling was suspended while the Declaration
was read, and was once more rung when that immortal document had been
thus formally promulgated.

In April, 1783, Liberty Bell rang the proclamation of Peace, and on July
4th, 1826, it ushered in the year of Jubilee.

The last tolling of the bell was in July, 1835, when, while slowly
tolling, and without any apparent reason, the bell, which had played
such an important part in the War of Independence, and in the securing
of liberty for the people of this great country, parted through its
side, making a large rent, which can still be clearly seen. It was as
though the bell realized that its great task was accomplished, and that
it could leave to other and younger bells, the minor duties which
remained to be performed.

This is not a history of the United States, but is rather a description
of some of the most interesting and remarkable features to be found in
various parts of it. It is difficult, however, to describe scenes and
buildings without at least brief historical reference, and as we present
an excellent illustration of the apartment in which the Declaration of
Independence was signed, we are compelled to make a brief reference to
the circumstances and events which preceded that most important event in
the world's history.

As we have seen, the conflict between the home country and the colonies
commenced long before there was any actual outbreak. As Mr. Thomas
Wentworth Higginson so graphically expresses it, the surrender of Canada
to England by France in 1763 suddenly opened men's eyes to the fact that
British America had become a country so large as to make England seem
ridiculously small. Even the cool-headed Dr. Franklin, writing that same
year to Mary Stevenson in London, spoke of England as "that stone in a
brook, scarce enough of it above water to keep one's shoes dry." A
far-seeing French statesman of the period looked at the matter in the
same way. Choiseul, the Prime Minister who ceded Canada, claimed
afterwards that he had done it in order to destroy the British nation by
creating for it a rival. This assertion was not made till ten years
later, and may very likely have been an afterthought, but it was
destined to be confirmed by the facts.

We have now to deal with the outbreak of a contest which was, according
to the greatest of the English statesmen of the period, "a most
accursed, wicked, barbarous, cruel, unnatural, unjust, and diabolical
war." No American writer ever employed to describe it a combination of
adjectives so vigorous as those brought together by the elder Pitt,
afterwards Lord Chatham. The rights for which Americans fought seemed to
him to be the common rights of Englishmen, and many Englishmen thought
the same.

On the other hand, we are now able to do justice to those American
Loyalists who honestly believed that the attempt at independence was a
mad one, and who sacrificed all they had rather than rebel against their
King. Massachusettensis, the well-known Tory pamphleteer, wrote that the
annals of the world had not been deformed with a single instance of so
unnatural, so causeless, so wanton, so wicked a rebellion.

These strong epithets used on both sides show how strangely opinions
were divided as to the rebellion and its causes. Some of the first
statesmen of England defended the colonists, and some of the best known
men in the colonies defended England.

The City of Boston at this time had a population of about seventeen
thousand, as compared with some half a million to-day. In its garrison
there were three thousand British troops, and the laws of Parliament
were enforced rigidly. The city suffered temporary commercial death in
consequence, and there were the most vigorous efforts made to prevent an
open outbreak of hostilities. In January, 1775, a conflict was barely
averted at Marshfield, and in the following month the situation was so
strained at Salem that nothing but great forbearance and presence of
mind on the part of the colonists prevented bloodshed. The Boston
massacre of less than five years before was still uppermost in men's
thoughts, and it was determined that the responsibility of the first
shot in the war, if war there must be, should rest with the Royal
troops.

Accordingly, the colonists accepted insult and abuse until they were
suspected by the British troops of cowardice. One officer wrote home
telling his friends that there was no danger of war, because the
colonists were bullies, but not fighters, adding that any two regiments
ought to be decimated which could not beat the entire force arrayed
against them. But the conflict could not be long delayed. It was on
April 18th, 1775, that Paul Revere rode his famous ride. He had seen the
two lights in a church steeple in Boston, which had been agreed upon as
a signal that the British troops were about to seize the supplies of the
patriots at Concord. Sergeant Monroe's caution against making
unnecessary noise, was met by his rejoinder, "You will have noise enough
here before long--the regulars are coming out."

Then he commenced his ride for life, or, rather, for the lives of
others. We all know the result of his ride, and how church bells were
tolled and signal shots fired to warn the people that the soldiers were
coming. It was a night of tumult and horror, no one knowing what
brutality they had to expect from the now enraged British soldiers. The
women of the towns, warned by the pre-arranged signals, hurried their
children from their homes, and fled to farm houses, and even barns in
the vicinity. Before daybreak the British troops had reached Lexington
Green. Here they found Captain Parker and 38 men standing up before
twenty times that number of armed troops, indifferent as to their fate,
but determined to protect their cause and their friends. The Captain's
words have passed into history. They took the form of an order to the
men:

"Don't fire unless you are fired on; but, if they want a war, let it
begin here."

History tells us of few such unequal contests as this. The troops fired
on the gallant little band, and seven of their number were killed. The
fight at Concord followed, when 450 Americans met the British troops at
the North Bridge, where

    "Once the embattled farmers stood,
  And fired the shot heard around the world."

The British detachment was beaten back in disorder, but the main body
was too strong to be attacked. The minute men, however, made a most
magnificent fight, and at the close of the day they had killed 273
British soldiers, only 93 of their own number being among the killed or
missing.

Thus commenced the War of Independence, the event being described by Dr.
Joseph Warren in a document of sufficient interest to warrant its
reproduction in full.

"The barbarous murders committed on our innocent brethren," wrote the
doctor, "have made it absolutely necessary that we immediately raise an
army to defend our wives and our children from the butchering hands of
an inhuman soldiery, who, incensed at the obstacles they met with in
their bloody progress, and enraged at being repulsed from the field of
slaughter, will, without the least doubt, take the first opportunity in
their power to ravage this devoted country with fire and sword. We
conjure you, therefore, by all that is dear, by all that is sacred, that
you give all assistance possible in forming an army. Our all is at
stake. Death and devastation are the instant consequences of delay.
Every moment is infinitely precious. An hour lost may deluge our country
in blood, and entail perpetual slavery upon the few of your posterity
who may survive the carnage. We beg and entreat, as you will answer to
your country, to your own consciences, and, above all, as you will
answer to God himself, that you will hasten and encourage, by all
possible means, the enlistment of men to form an army, and send them
forward to headquarters at Cambridge, with that expedition which the
vast importance and instant urgency of the affair demand."

Two days after the fight, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety resolved
to enlist 8,000 men, an event which our old friend Liberty Bell
celebrated by a vigorous tolling. All over the colonies a spirit of
determination to resist spread like lightning, and the shot that was
heard around the world was certainly heard very distinctly in every nook
and corner of New England, and of the old Atlantic States. Naturally,
there was at first a lack of concentration and even of discipline; but
what was lacking in these features was more than made up for by bravery
and determination. As John Adams wrote in 1818, the army at Cambridge at
this time was not a National army, for there was no nation. It was not
even an army of the United Colonies, because the Congress at
Philadelphia had not adopted or acknowledged the army at Cambridge. It
was not even the New England army, for each State had its separate
armies, which had united to imprison the British army in Boston. There
was not even the Commander-in-Chief of the allied armies.

These anomalies, of course, righted themselves rapidly. Gage's
proclamation of martial law expedited the battle at Bunker Hill, which
was brought about by the impatience of the British troops, and by the
increased confidence among the colonists, resulting from the fights at
Lexington and Concord. It is true, of course, that the untrained
American troops failed to vanquish the British army at Bunker Hill, but
the monument at that spot celebrates the fact that for two hours the
attacks of the regulars were withstood. A prominent English newspaper
described the battle as one of innumerable errors on the part of the
British. As William Tudor wrote so graphically, "The Ministerial troops
gained the hill, but were victorious losers. A few more such victories
and they are undone." Many writers have been credited with the
authorship of a similar sentiment, written from the American standpoint.
"It is true that we were beaten, but it will not take many such defeats
to accomplish a magnificent victory."

What began to be known as the great American army increased in strength.
It was adopted by Congress, and George Washington placed in command.
Under the historic elm tree at Cambridge, Mass., which was the scene of
so many important councils in the first hours of the life of the United
States, he assumed the authority bestowed upon him with this office, and
a week later he held a council with his officers. He found some 17,000
men at his command, whom he described as a mixed multitude of people
under very little discipline.

William Emerson, grandfather of the great poet, in a soliloquy on the
strange turn events had taken, said "Who would have thought, twelve
months past, that all Cambridge and Charleston would be covered over
with American camps and cut up into forts and entrenchments, and all the
lands, fields and orchards laid common, with horses and cattle feeding
on the choicest mowing land, and large parks of well-regulated locusts
cut down for firewood. This, I must say, looks a little melancholy. It
is very diverting to walk among the camps. They are as different in
their look as the owners are in their dress, and every tent is a
portraiture of the temper and tastes of the persons who encamp in it.
Some are made of boards and some of sailcloth; some partly of one and
some partly of the other; again, others are made of stone and turf,
brick or brush. Some are thrown up in a hurry, others curiously wrought
with doors and windows, done with wreaths and withes, in the manner of a
basket. Some are proper tents, looking like the regular camp of the
enemy. In these are the Rhode Islanders, who are furnished with tent
equipages and everything in the most exact English style. However, I
think this great variety is rather a beauty than a blemish in the army."

As was to be expected, there was more or less of a lack of harmony and
unity among the companies of men collected together to form an army to
fight for liberty. History tells us that there was even a little
jealousy between the four New England colonies. There was also a good
deal of distrust of Washington. It was argued that at least one-third of
the class from which he came had Tory and Royalist inclinations, and
what guarantee had they that Washington was not one of their number?
Washington himself found that those who styled themselves in old country
parlance "The Gentry," were loyal to King George rather than to the
colonies, and while his own men were inclined, at times, to doubt the
sincerity of the Father of his Country, the very men with whom he was
suspected of being in sympathy were denouncing him with vigor.

Washington, to his lasting credit be it said, was indifferent both to
praise and censure. Seeing that discipline was the one thing needful, he
commenced to enforce it with an iron hand. He declined any remuneration,
and gave his services freely to the cause. He found himself short of
ammunition, and several times he lost a number of his men. In the spring
of 1776, Washington went to New York with his Continental army. Here he
found new difficulties, and met with a series of mishaps. The failure of
the advance into Canada during the winter had hurt materially, but the
bravery of the troops in the Carolinas came as a grand encouragement.

We need not trace further the progress of the war, or note how, through
many discouragements and difficulties, the cause of right was made to
triumph over the cause of might. We will pass on to note a few of the
interesting facts in connection with the signing of the Declaration of
Independence. To-day, our Senators and Congressmen travel to the
National Capital in Pullman cars, surrounded by every luxury that wealth
and influence can bring them.

In the days of the Continental Congress it required a good deal more
nerve to fulfill one's duty. The delegate had to journey to Congress on
horseback. Sometimes he could find a little country inn at which he
could sleep at night, but at others he had to camp in the open as best
he could. Frequently a friendly warning would cause him to make a detour
of several miles in order to escape some threatened danger, and,
altogether, his march to the capital was far from being triumphant.

At this particular period the difficulties were more than usually great.
The delegates arrived at Philadelphia jaded and tired. They found stable
room for their horses, made the best toilet possible, and found their
way at once to Independence Hall, where opinions were exchanged. On the
7th of June, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia submitted a series of
resolutions, under the instructions of the Virginia Assembly--resolutions
which, it may be stated, pledged the colonies to carry on the war until
the English were entirely driven out of the country. Congress declared
deliberately that the United States was absolved from all allegiance to
the British Crown, and it then proceeded to burn its bridges, by
declaring the expediency of taking effectual measures for forming foreign
alliances. John Adams seconded the resolutions, which were not passed
without debate.

Delegates from New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina opposed the
proposition very vigorously, one member stating that it required the
impudence of a New Englander for them, in their disjointed state, to
propose a treaty to a nation now at peace; that no reason could be
assigned for pressing this measure but the reason of every madman--a
show of spirit. John Adams defended the resolutions, claiming that they
proclaimed objects of the most stupendous magnitude, in which the lives
and liberties of millions yet unborn were infinitely interested.
Finally, the consideration was postponed, to be passed almost
unanimously on July 2d. John Adams was most enthusiastic over this
result, and, writing to his wife on the subject, he said:

"The 2d day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the
history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by
succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be
commemorated as a day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God
Almighty, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time
forward, forevermore."

But although the day referred to by John Adams saw the thirteen colonies
become independent States, it is July the 4th that the country
celebrates. On that day the Declaration of Independence was promulgated.
This marvelous document was prepared by Jefferson in a small brick
house, which then stood out in the fields, but which is now known as the
southwest corner of Market and Seventh Streets, Philadelphia. It is
situated within about four hundred yards of Independence Square. In his
little room in this house, on a very small writing desk, which is still
in existence, Jefferson drafted the title deed of our liberties. He
wrote without reference of any kind, merely placing upon paper the
succession of thoughts which had been paramount in his mind for years.
In the original document, as submitted by Jefferson, there appeared a
stern condemnation of the "piratical warfare against human nature
itself," as slavery was described. This was stricken out by Congress,
and finally the document, as amended, was adopted by the vote of twelve
colonies, New York declining to vote.

We give an illustration of the Interior of Independence Hall. Here it
was that the Declaration was signed. According to some authorities the
signing did not take place on July 4th, while according to others it
did. Some records seem to show that fifty-four of the fifty-six names
were attached to the parchment on August 2d. Jefferson frequently stated
that the signing of the Declaration was hastened by a very trivial
circumstance. Near the Hall there was a large stable, where flies
abounded. All the delegates wore silk stockings, and were thus in a
condition to be easily annoyed by flies. The heat was intolerable, and a
tremendous invasion by the little pests, who were not retarded by fly
screens or mosquito bars, drove the legislators almost frantic, and
caused them to append their signatures to the document with almost
indecent haste.

However this may be, the Declaration was finally signed, and Liberty
Bell proclaimed the fact to all within hearing. John Hancock, we are
told, referred to his almost schoolboy signature with a smile, saying
that John Bull could read his name without spectacles. Franklin is said
to have remarked that they must all hang together, or else most
assuredly they would all hang separately--a play upon words showing that
the patriot's sense of humor was too admirably developed to be dimmed
even by an event of this magnitude.

There were rejoicings on every hand that the great act had been
accomplished. A very pleasing story tells of how an aged bell-ringer
waited breathlessly to announce to waking thousands the vote of
Congress. This story has since been denied, and it seems evident that
the vote was not announced until the following day, when circulars were
issued to the people. On July 6th, the Declaration was printed in a
Philadelphia newspaper, and on the 8th, John Nixon read the Declaration
in the yard of Independence Hall. On the same day, the Royal Arms over
the door of the Supreme Court Room were torn down, and the trophies thus
secured burned.

The first 4th of July celebration of which we have any record, took
place two years after the signing. General Howe had left the city
shortly before, and every one was feeling bright and happy. In the diary
of one of the old patriots who took part in this unique celebration,
appears the following quaint, and even picturesque, description of the
events of the day:

"On the glorious 4th of July (1778), I celebrated in the City Tavern,
with my brother delegates of Congress and a number of other gentlemen,
amounting, in whole, to about eighty, the anniversary of Independency.
The entertainment was elegant and well conducted. There were four tables
spread; two of them extended the whole length of the room; the other two
crossed them at right angles. At the end of the room, opposite the upper
table, was erected an Orchestra. At the head of the upper table, and at
the President's right hand, stood a large baked pudding, in the center
of which was planted a staff, on which was displayed a crimson flag, in
the midst of which was this emblematic device: An eye, denoting
Providence; a label, on which was inscribed, 'An appeal to Heaven;' a
man with a drawn sword in his hand, and in the other the Declaration of
Independence, and at his feet a scroll inscribed, 'The declaratory
acts.' As soon as the dinner began, the music, consisting of clarionets,
hautboys, French horns, violins and bass-viols, opened and continued,
making proper pauses, until it was finished. Then the toasts, followed
by a discharge of field-pieces, were drank, and so the afternoon ended.
On the evening there was a cold collation and a brilliant exhibition of
fireworks. The street was crowded with people during the exhibition.

"What a strange vicissitude in human affairs! These, but a few years
since colonies of Great Britain, are now free, sovereign, and
independent States, and now celebrate the anniversary of their
independence in the very city where, but a day or two before, General
Howe exhibited his ridiculous Champhaitre."

Independence Hall remains to-day in a marvelous state of preservation.
At the great Centennial Exposition, held to celebrate the hundredth
anniversary of the events to which we have alluded in this chapter, tens
of thousands of people passed through the room in which the Declaration
of Independence was signed, and gazed with mingled feelings upon the
historical bell, which, although it had long outlived its usefulness,
had in days gone by done such grand proclaiming of noble truth,
sentiment and action. Up to quite a recent date, justice was
administered in the old building, but most of the courts have now been
moved to the stately structure modern Philadelphia is now erecting at
the cost of some $16,000,000.

Independence Hall and Independence Square are lovingly cared for, and
visitors from all nations are careful to include them both in their tour
of sight-seeing while in this country. Within the Hall they find old
parchments and Eighteenth Century curiosities almost without number, and
antiquarians find sufficient to interest and amuse them for several days
in succession. Every lover of his native land, no matter what that land
may be, raises his hat in reverence when in this ancient and
memory-inspiring building, and he must be thoughtless, indeed, who can
pass through it without paying at least a mental tribute of respect to
the memories of the men who were present at the birth of the greatest
nation the world has ever seen, and who secured for the people of the
United States absolute liberty.

The illustration of the interior of Independence Hall on page 17, was
furnished for use in this work by the National Company of St. Louis,
publishers of "Our Own Country," a large work descriptive of a tour
throughout the most picturesque sections of the United States. The
letter-press in "Our Own Country" was written by the author of this
work, and it is one of the finest tributes to the picturesqueness of
America that has ever been published. Other illustrations in this work
were also kindly supplied by the same publishing house.

CHAPTER II.

THE WITCHES OF SALEM.

A Relic of Religious Bigotry--Parson Lawson's Tirade Against
Witchcraft--Extraordinary Court Records of Old Puritan Days--Alleged
Supernatural Conjuring--A Man and his Wife both put to Death--Crushed
for Refusing to Plead--A Romance of the Old Days of Witch Persecution.

Among the curiosities of New England shown to tourists and visitors, is
the original site of some of the extraordinary trials and executions for
witchcraft in the town of Salem, now known as Danvers, Mass. Looking
back upon the events of two hundred years ago, the prosecution of the
alleged witches appears to us to have been persecution of the most
infamous type. The only justification for the stern Puritans is the fact
that they inherited their ideas of witchcraft and its evils from their
forefathers, and from the country whence most of them came.

One of the earliest precepts of religious bigotry was, "Thou shalt not
allow a witch to live," and from time immemorial witchcraft appears to
have been a capital offense. It is on record that thousands of people
have, from time to time, been legally murdered for alleged intercourse
and leaguing with the Evil One. The superstition seems to have gained
force rather than lost it by the spread of early Christianity. As a
rule, the victims of the craze were women, and the percentage of aged
and infirm women was always very large. One of the greatest jurists of
England, during the Seventeenth Century, condemned two young girls to
the gallows for no other offense than the alleged crime of having
exerted a baneful influence over certain victims, and having, what would
be called in certain districts, "hoodooed" them.

In Scotland the craze was carried to still further lengths. To be
accused of witchcraft was to be condemned as a matter of course, and the
terrible death of burning at the stake was the invariable sentence. Most
of the victims made imaginary confessions, preferring to die at once
than to be tortured indefinitely. In the year 1716, a wealthy lady and
her nine-year-old daughter were hanged for witchcraft, and even thirty
or forty years later the records of Great Britain are sullied by another
similar case of persecution.

These unsavory records are given in order to correct a misapprehension
as to the part the old Puritans took in the persecutions. Many people
seriously believed that the idea of witchcraft, as a capital offense,
originated in Salem, and attribute to the original witch-house the
reputation of having really given birth to a new superstition and a new
persecution. As we have seen, this is entirely erroneous. The fact that
the Puritans copied a bad example, instead of setting a new one, should,
at least, be remembered in palliation of the unfortunate blot upon their
otherwise clean escutcheon.

In the year 1704, one Deodat Lawson, minister at Salem during the last
sixteen or seventeen years of the Seventeenth Century, published a
remarkable work, entitled "Christ's Fidelity, the only Shield against
Satan's Malignity." In this work appears a record of the so-called
calamity at Salem, which the author tells us was afflicted, about the
year 1692, "with a very sore and grievous infliction, in which they had
reason to believe that the Sovereign and Holy God was pleased to permit
Satan and his instruments to affright and afflict those poor mortals in
such an astonishing and unusual manner."

The record of Parson Lawson is so realistic and emblematic of the times
in which he lived, that we reproduce some of his own expressions. Thus,
he says, "Now, I having for some time before attended the work of the
Ministry in Salem Village, the report of those great afflictions came
quickly to my notice, the more so, because the first person afflicted
was in the minister's family, who succeeded me after I was removed from
them. In pity, therefore, to my Christian friends and former
acquaintance there, I was much concerned about them, frequently
consulted with them, and (by Divine assistance) prayed for them; but
especially my concern was augmented when it was reported at an
examination of a person suspected for witchcraft, that my wife and
daughter, who died three years before, were sent out of the world under
the malicious operations of the infernal powers, as is more fully
represented in the following remarks. I did then desire, and was also
desired by some concerned in the court, to be there present that I might
hear what was alleged in that respect, observing, therefore, when I was
amongst them, that the case of the afflicted was very amazing and
deplorable, and the charges brought against the accused such as were
grounds of suspicion, yet very intricate and difficult to draw up right
conclusions about them. They affirmed that they saw the ghosts of
several departed persons, who, at their appearing, did instigate them to
discover such as (they said) were instruments to hasten their death,
threatening sorely to afflict them if they did not make it known to the
magistrates.

"They did affirm at the examination, and again at the trial of an
accused person, that they saw the ghosts of his two wives (to whom he
had acted very ill in their lives, as was proved by several
testimonies), and also that they saw the ghosts of my wife and daughter
(who died above three years before), and they did affirm that when the
very ghosts looked on the prisoner at the bar they looked red, as if the
blood would fly out of their faces with indignation at him. The manner
of it was thus: Several afflicted being before the prisoner at the bar,
on a sudden they fixed all their eyes together on a certain place on the
floor before the prisoner, neither moving their eyes nor bodies for some
few minutes, nor answering to any question which was asked them. So soon
as that trance was over, some being out of sight and hearing, they were
all, one after another, asked what they saw, and they did all agree that
they saw those ghosts above mentioned. I was present and heard and saw
the whole of what passed upon that account during the trial of that
person who was accused to be the instrument of Satan's malice therein.

"Sundry pins have been taken out the wrists and arms of the afflicted,
and one, in time of examination of a suspected person, had a pin run
through both her upper and lower lip when she was called to speak, yet
no apparent festering followed thereupon after it was taken out. Some of
the afflicted, as they were striving in their fits in open court, have
(by invisible means) had their wrists bound together with a real cord,
so as it could hardly be taken off without cutting. Some afflicted have
been found with their arms tied and hanged upon a hook, from whence
others have been forced to take them down, that they might not expire in
that posture. Some afflicted have been drawn under tables and beds by
undiscerned force, so as they could hardly be pulled out. And one was
drawn half way over the side of a well, and with much difficulty
recovered back again. When they were most grievously afflicted, if they
were brought to the accused, and the suspected person's hand but laid
upon them, they were immediately relieved out of their tortures; but if
the accused did but look on them, they were immediately struck down
again. Wherefore, they used to cover the face of the accused while they
laid their hands on the afflicted, and then it obtained the desired
issue. For it hath been experienced (both in examinations and trials)
that so soon as the afflicted came in sight of the accused, they were
immediately cast into their fits. Yea, though the accused were among the
crowd of people, unknown to the sufferers, yet on the first view they
were struck down; which was observed in a child of four or five years of
age, when it was apprehended that so many as she would look upon, either
directly or by turning her head, were immediately struck into their
fits.

"An iron spindle of a woolen wheel, being taken very strangely out of an
house at Salem Village, was used by a spectre as an instrument of
torture to a sufferer, not being discernible to the standers by until it
was by the said sufferer snatched out of the spectre's hand, and then it
did immediately appear to the persons present to be really the same iron
spindle.

"Sometimes, in their fits, they have had their tongues drawn out of
their mouths to a fearful length, their heads turned very much over
their shoulders, and while they have been so strained in their fits, and
had their arms and legs, etc., wrested as if they were quite dislocated,
the blood hath gushed plentifully out of their mouths for a considerable
time together; which some, that they might be satisfied that it was real
blood, took upon their finger and rubbed on their other hand. I saw
several together thus violently strained and bleeding in their fits, to
my very great astonishment that my fellow mortals should be so
grievously distressed by the invisible powers of darkness. For certainly
all considerate persons who beheld these things must needs be convinced
their motions in their fits were preternatural and involuntary, both as
to the manner, which was so strange, as a well person could not (at
least without great pain) screw their bodies into; and as to the
violence, also, they were preternatural motions, being much beyond the
ordinary force of the same persons when they were in their right minds.
So that, being such grievous sufferers, it would seem very hard and
unjust to censure them of consenting to or holding any voluntary
converse or familiarity with the devil.

"Some of them were asked how it came to pass that they were not
affrighted when they saw the Black-man. They said they were at first,
but not so much afterwards. Some of them affirmed they saw the Black-man
sit on the gallows, and that he whispered in the ears of some of the
condemned persons when they were just ready to be turned off--even while
they were making their last speech.

"Some of them have sundry times seen a White-man appearing among the
spectres, and as soon as he appeared, the Black-Witches vanished; they
said this White-man had often foretold them what respite they should
have from their fits; as, sometimes, a day or two or more, which fell
out accordingly. One of the afflicted said she saw him in her fit, and
was with him in a glorious place, which had no candle or sun, yet was
full of light and brightness, where there was a multitude in 'white,
glittering robes,' and they sang the song in Rev. v, 9. She was both to
leave that place and said: 'How long shall I stay here? Let me be along
with you.' She was grieved she could stay no longer in that place and
company.

"A young woman that was afflicted at a fearful rate had a spectre appear
to her with a white sheet wrapped about it, not visible to the standers
by, until this sufferer (violently striving in her fit) snatched at,
took hold and tore off the corner of that sheet. Her father, being by
her, endeavored to lay hold of it with her, that she might retain what
she had gotten; but at the passing away of the spectre, he had such a
violent twitch of his hand as it would have been torn off. Immediately
thereupon appeared in the sufferer's hand the corner of a sheet, a real
cloth, visible to the spectators, which (as it is said) remains still to
be seen."

It was proved, the records of the time continue, by substantial
evidences against one person accused, that he had such an unusual
strength (though a very little man) that he could hold out a gun with
one hand, behind the lock, which was near seven foot in the barrel,
being such as a lusty man could command with both hands, after the usual
manner of shooting. It was also proved that he lifted barrels of metal
and barrels of molasses out of a canoe alone; and that, putting his
fingers into a barrel of molasses, full within a finger's length,
according to custom, he carried it several paces. And that he put his
finger into the muzzle of a gun which was more than five foot in the
barrel, and lifted up the butt end thereof, lock, stock and all, without
any visible help to raise it. It was also testified that, being abroad
with his wife and his wife's brother, he occasionally stayed behind,
letting his wife and her brother walk forward; but, suddenly coming up
with them, he was angry with his wife for what discourse had passed
betwixt her and her brother. They wondering how he should know it, he
said: "I know your thoughts," at which expression they, being amazed,
asked him how he could do that, he said: "My God whom I serve makes
known your thoughts to me."

Some affirmed that there were some hundreds of the society of witches,
considerable companies of whom were affirmed to muster in arms by beat
of drum. In time of examinations and trials, they declared that such a
man was wont to call them together from all quarters to witch-meetings,
with the sound of a diabolical trumpet.

Being brought to see the prisoners at the bar, upon their trials, they
swore, in open court, that they had oftentimes seen them at witch
meetings, "where was feasting, dancing and jollity, as also at devil
sacraments, and particularly that they saw such a man amongst the
accursed crew, and affirming that he did minister the sacrament of Satan
to them, encouraging them to go on in their way, and that they should
certainly prevail. They said, also, that such a woman was a deacon and
served in distributing the diabolical element. They affirmed that there
were great numbers of the witches."

With such sentiments as these prevailing, it is not at all remarkable
that the alleged witches were treated with continual and
conspicuous-brutality. One old lady of sixty, named Sarah Osburn, was
hounded to death for being a witch. The poor old lady, who was in fairly
good circumstances, and appears to have been of good character, was put
upon her trial for witchcraft. For three days, more or less ridiculous
testimony was given against her, and a number of little children, who
had evidently been carefully coached, stated upon the stand that Mrs.
Osburn had bewitched them. She was called upon by the court to confess,
which she declined to do, stating that she was rather a victim than a
criminal. She was sent to jail, and treated with so much brutality that
she died before it was possible to execute her in the regulation manner.

Bridget Bishop was another of the numerous victims. The usual charges
were brought against her, and she was speedily condemned to death.
Before the sentence was executed, the custom of taking council with the
local clergy was followed. These good men, while they counseled caution
in accepting testimony, humbly recommended the government to the speedy
and vigorous prosecution of such as "had rendered themselves obnoxious
by infringing the wholesome statutes of the English Nation for the
detection of witchcraft." Following this recommendation, double and
treble hangings took place, and there was enough brutality to appease
the appetite of the most vindictive and malicious.

Perhaps the most extraordinary record of witchcraft persecution at the
end of the Seventeenth Century was that of Giles Corey and his wife
Martha. The singular feature of the case is, that the husband had been
one of the most enthusiastic declaimers against the unholy crime of
witchcraft, while his good wife had been rather disposed to ridicule the
idea, and to condemn the prosecutions as persecutions. She did her best
to prevent Giles from attending trials, and one of the most serious
charges against her was that on one occasion she hid the family saddle,
so as to prevent her lord and master from riding to one of the
examinations.

This attempt to assert woman's rights two hundred years ago was resented
very bitterly, and two enthusiastic witch-hunters were sent to her house
to entrap her into a confession. On the way they made inquiries, which
resulted in their being able to patch up a charge against the woman for
walking in ghostly attire during the night. When the detectives called
at the house she told them she knew the object of their visit, but that
she was no witch, and did not believe there was such a thing. The mere
fact of her knowing the object of their visit was regarded as conclusive
evidence against her, although a fair-minded person would naturally
suggest that, in view of local sentiment, her guess was a very easy one.
The poor woman was immediately arrested and placed on trial. Several
little children were examined, and these shouted out in the
witness-stand, that when the afflicted woman bit her lip in her grief,
they were seized with bodily pains, which continued until she loosened
her teeth. The chronicles of the court tell us, with much solemnity,
that when the woman's hands were tied her victims did not suffer, but
the moment the cords were removed they had fits.

Even her husband was called as a witness against her. His evidence does
not appear to have been very important or relevant. But another witness,
a Mrs. Pope, who appears to have been an expert in these matters, and to
have been called at nearly every trial, took off her shoe in court and
threw it at the prisoner's head, an act of indecorum which was condoned
on the ground of the evident sincerity of the culprit. The poor woman
was condemned, as a matter of course, and when she was removed to jail,
a deputation from the church of which she was a member called upon her
and excommunicated her. She mounted the ladder which led to the gallows
with much dignity, and died without any attempt to prolong her life by a
confession.

The fate of her husband was still more terrible. Notwithstanding his
zeal, and the fact that he had given evidence against his own wife, he
was arrested, charged with a similar offense. Whether hypnotic
influences were exerted, or whether the examining justices merely
imagined things against the prisoner, cannot be known at this time. The
court records, however, state that while the witnesses were on the
stand, they were so badly afflicted with fits and hurts, that the
prisoner's hands had to be tied before they could continue their
testimony. Unlike his wife, the poor man did not deny the existence of
witchcraft, and merely whined out, in reply to the magistrate's censure,
that he was a poor creature and could not help it. The evidence against
him was very slight, indeed, and he was remanded to jail, where he lay
unmolested, and apparently forgotten, for five or six months.

He was then excommunicated by his church, and brought before the court
again. Sojourn in jail seems to have made the old man stubborn, for when
he was once more confronted by his persecutors he declined to plead, on
the ground that there was no charge against him. An old obsolete English
law was revived against him, and the terrible sentence was pronounced
that for standing mute he be remanded to the prison from whence he came
and put into a low, dark chamber. There he was to be laid on his back,
on the bare floor, without clothing. As great a weight of iron as he
could bear was to be placed upon his body, and there to remain. The
first day he was to have three morsels of bread, and on the second day
three draughts of water, to be selected from the nearest pool that could
be found. Thus was the diet to be alternated, day by day, until he
either answered his accusation or died.

On September 19th, 1692, death came as a happy relief to the miserable
man, who had begged the sheriff to add greater weights so as to expedite
the end. This is the only case on record of a man having been "pressed
to death" in New England for refusing to plead, or for any other
offense. There are a few cases on record where this inhuman law was
enforced previously in England, but it was always regarded as a relic of
mediaeval barbarity, and the fact that it was revived in the witch
persecutions is a very significant one. After his death, an attempt was
made to justify the act by the statement that Corey himself had pressed
a man to death. This justification appears feeble, and to be without any
corroborative testimony.

Another very remarkable witch story has about it a tinge of romance,
although the main facts actually occurred as stated. A sailor named
Orcutt, left his sweetheart on one of his regular voyages, promising to
return at an early date to claim his bride. The girl he left behind him,
whose name was Margaret, appears to have been a very attractive,
innocent young lady, who suffered considerably from the jealousy of a
rival. Soon after the departure of her lover, the witch difficulty
arose, and the young girl was much worried and grieved at what happened.
On one occasion she happened to say to a friend that she was sorry for
the unfortunate witches who were to be hanged on the following day. The
friend appears to have been an enemy in disguise, and, turning to
Margaret, told her that if she talked that way she would herself be
tried as a witch. As an evidence of how vindictive justice was at this
time, the poor girl was arrested by the sheriff on the following day, in
the name of the King and Queen, on a charge of witchcraft. The young
girl was led through the streets and jeered at by the crowd. Arrived at
the court, her alleged friend gave a variety of testimony against her.
The usual stories about aches and pains were of course told. Some other
details were added. Thus, Margaret by looking at a number of hens had
killed them. She had also been seen running around at night in spectral
attire. The poor girl fainted in the dock, and this was regarded as a
chastisement from above, and as direct evidence of her guilt. She was
removed to the jail, where she had to lie on a hard bench, only to be
dragged back into court the following day, to be asked a number of
outrageous questions.

With sobs she protested her innocence, but as she did so, the witnesses
against her called out that they were in torment, and that the very
motion of the girl's lips caused them terrible pain. She was sentenced
to be hanged with eight other alleged witches two days later, and was
carried back, fainting, to her cell. In a few minutes the girl was
delirious, and began to talk about her lover, and of her future
prospects. Even her sister was not allowed to remain with her during the
night, and the frail young creature was left to the tender mercies of
heartless jailors.

A few hours before the time set for execution, young Orcutt sailed into
the harbor, and before daybreak he was at the house. Here he learned for
the first time the awful calamity which had befallen his sweetheart in
his absence. At 7 o'clock he was allowed to enter the jail, with the
convicted girl's sister. At the prison door they were informed that the
wicked girl had died during the night. Knowing that there was no hope
under any circumstances of the sentence being remitted, the bereaved
ones regarded the news as good, and although they broke down with grief
at the shipwreck of their lives, they both realized that, to use the
devout words of the victim's sister, "The Lord had delivered her from
the hands of her enemies."

The record of brutality in connection with the witch agitation might be
continued almost without limit, for the number of victims was very
great. Visitors to Danvers to-day are often shown by local guides where
some of the tragedies of the persecution were committed. The
superstition was finally driven away by educational enlightenment, and
it seems astounding that it lasted as long as it did. Two hundred years
have nearly elapsed since the craze died out, and it is but charitable
to admit, that although many of the witnesses must have been corrupt and
perjured, the majority of those connected with the cases were thoroughly
in earnest, and that although they rejoiced at the undoing of the
ungodly, they regretted very much being made the instruments of that
undoing.

CHAPTER III.

IN PICTURESQUE NEW YORK.

Some Local Errors Corrected--A Trip Down the Hudson River--The Last of
the Mohicans--The Home of Rip Van Winkle--The Ladies of Vassar and their
Home--West Point and its History--Sing Sing Prison--The Falls of
Niagara--Indians in New York State.

Residents in the older States of the East are frequently twitted with
their ignorance concerning the newer States of the West, and of the
habits and customs of those who, having taken Horace Greeley's advice at
various times, turned their faces toward the setting sun, determined to
take advantage of the fertility of the soil, and grow up with the
country of which they knew but little.

It needs but a few days' sojourn in an Eastern city by a Western man to
realize how sublimely ignorant the New Englander is concerning at least
three-fourths of his native land. The writer was, on a recent occasion,
asked, in an Eastern city, how he managed to get along without any of
the comforts of civilization, and whether he did not find it necessary
to order all of his clothing and comforts by mail from the East. When he
replied that in the larger cities, at any rate, of the West, there were
retail emporiums fully up to date in all matters of fashion and
improvement, and caterers who could supply the latest delicacies in
season at reasonable prices, an incredulous smile was the result, and
regret was expressed that local prejudice and pride should so blind a
man to the actual truth.

Yet there was no exaggeration whatever in the reply, as the experienced
traveler knows well. Neither Chicago nor St. Louis are really in the
West, so far as points of the compass are concerned, both of these
cities being hundreds of miles east of the geographical center of the
United States. But they are both spoken of as "out West," and are
included in the territory in which the extreme Eastern man is apt to
think people live on the coarsest fare, and clothe themselves in the
roughest possible manner. Yet the impartial and disinterested New York
or Boston man who visits either of these cities speedily admits that he
frequently finds it difficult to believe that he is not in his own much
loved city, so close is the resemblance in many respects between the
business houses and the method of doing business. Denver is looked upon
by the average Easterner almost in the light of a frontier city, away
out in the Rockies, surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery, no doubt, but
also by grizzly bears and ferocious Indians. San Francisco is too far
away to be thought very intelligently, but a great many people regard
that home of wealth and elegance as another extreme Western
die-in-your-boots, rough-and-tumble city.

This ignorance, for it is ignorance rather than prejudice, results from
the mania for European travel, which was formerly a characteristic of
the Atlantic States, but which of recent years has, like civilization,
traveled West. The Eastern man who has made money is much more likely to
take his family on a European tour than on a trip through his native
country. He incurs more expense by crossing the Atlantic, and although
he adds to his store of knowledge by traveling, he does not learn matter
of equal importance to him as if he had crossed the American continent
and enlightened himself as to the men and manners in its different
sections and States.

Nor is this sectional ignorance confined, by any means, to the East.
People in the West are apt to form an entirely erroneous impression of
Eastern States. The word, "East," to them conveys an impression of dense
population, overcrowding, and manufacturing activity. That there are
thousands and thousands of acres of scenic grandeur, as well as farm
lands, in some of the most crowded States, is not realized, and that
this is the case will be news to many. Last year a party of Western
people were traveling to New York, and, on their way, ran through
Pennsylvania, around the picturesque Horse Shoe Curve in the
Alleghenies, and along the banks of the romantic and historic
Susquehanna. A member of the party was seen to be wrapped in thought for
a long time. He was finally asked what was worrying him.

"I was thinking," was his reply, "how singular it is that the Republican
party ran up a majority of something like a hundred thousand at the
election, and I was wondering where all the folks came from who did the
voting. I haven't seen a dozen houses in the last hour."

Our friend was only putting into expression the thought which was
indulged in pretty generally by the entire crowd. Those who were making
the transcontinental trip for the first time marveled at the expanse of
open country, and the exquisite scenery through which they passed; and
they were wondering how they ever came to think that the noise of the
hammer and the smoke of the factory chimney were part and parcel of the
East, where they knew the money, as well as the "wise men," came from.
The object of this book being to present some of the prominent features
of all sections of the United States, it is necessary to remove, as far
as possible, this false impression; and in order to do so, we propose to
give a brief description of the romantic and historic River Hudson. This
river runs through the great State of New York, concerning which the
greatest ignorance prevails. The State itself is dwarfed, in common
estimation, by the magnitude of its metropolis, and if the Greater New
York project is carried into execution, and the limits of New York City
extended so as to take in Brooklyn and other adjoining cities, this
feeling will be intensified, rather than otherwise.

But "above the Harlem," to use an expression so commonly used when a
political contest is on, there are thousands of square miles of what may
be called "country," including picturesque mountains, pine lands which
are not susceptible of cultivation, and are preserved for recreation and
pleasure purposes, and fertile valleys, divided up into homesteads and
farms.

It is through country such as this that the River Hudson flows. It rises
in the Adirondack Mountains, some 300 miles from the sea, and more than
4,000 feet above its level. It acts as a feeder and outlet for numerous
larger and smaller lakes. At first it is a pretty little brook, almost
dry in summer, but noisy and turbulent in the rainy seasons. From
Schroon Lake, near Saratoga, it receives such a large quantity of water
that it begins to put on airs. It ceases to be a country brook and
becomes a small river. A little farther down, the bed of the river falls
suddenly, producing falls of much beauty, which vary in intensity and
volume with the seasons.

At Glens Falls the upper Hudson passes through a long defile, over a
precipice some hundred feet long. It was here that Cooper received much
of his inspiration, and one of the most startling incidents in his "The
Last of the Mohicans" is supposed to have been enacted at the falls.
When Troy is reached, the river takes upon itself quite another aspect,
and runs with singular straightness almost direct to New York harbor.
Tourists delight to sail up the Hudson, and they find an immense
quantity of scenery of the most delightful character, with fresh
discoveries at every trip. Millionaires regard the banks of the Hudson
as the most suitable spots upon which to build country mansions and
rural retreats. Many of these mansions are surrounded by exquisitely
kept grounds and beautiful parterres, which are in themselves well worth
a long journey to see.

Beacon Island, a few miles below Albany, is pointed out to the traveler
as particularly interesting, because four counties corner upon the river
just across from it. The island has a history of more than ordinary
interest. It used to be presided over by a patroon, who levied toll on
all passing vessels. Right in the neighborhood are original Dutch
settlements, and the descendants of the original immigrants hold
themselves quite aloof from the English-speaking public. They retain the
language, as well as the manners and customs, of Holland, and the
tourist who strays among them finds himself, for the moment, distinctly
a stranger in a strange land. The country abounds with legends and
romances, and is literally honeycombed with historic memories.

The town of Hudson, a little farther down the river, is interesting
because it was near here that Henry Hudson landed in September, 1609. He
was immediately surrounded by Indians, who gave him an immense amount of
information, and added to his store of experiences quite a number of
novel ones. Here is the mouth of the Catskill River, with the wonderful
Catskill Mountains in the rear. It will be news, indeed, to many of our
readers that in these wild (only partially explored) mountains there are
forests where bears, wild cats and snakes abound in large numbers.

Many people of comparative affluence reside in the hills, where there
are hotels and pleasure resorts of the most costly character. During the
storms of winter these lovers of the picturesque find themselves snowed
in for several days at the time, and have a little experience in the way
of frontier and exploration life.

The sunrises in the Catskills are rendered uniquely beautiful by the
peculiar formation of the ground, and from the same reason the thunder
storms are often thrilling in character and awful in their magnificence.
Waterfalls of all sizes and kinds, brooks, with scenery along the banks
of every description, forests, meadows, and lofty peaks make monotony
impossible, and give to the Catskill region an air of majesty which is
not easy to describe on paper.

Every visitor asks to be shown the immortalized bridge at Sleepy Hollow,
and as he gazes upon it he thinks of Washington Irving's unrivaled
description of this country. He speedily agrees with Irving that every
change of weather, and indeed every hour of the day, produces some
change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains, and they are
regarded by all the good wives far and near as perfect barometers. When
the weather is fair and settled they are clothed in blue and purple, and
print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky, but, sometimes, when
the rear of the landscape is clear and cloudless, they will gather a
hood of gray vapors which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will
grow up like a crown of glory.

Here it was that Rip Van Winkle is supposed to have lived and slept, and
astonished his old friends and neighbors, and their descendants. The
path along which Rip Van Winkle marched up the mountain, prior to his
prolonged sleep, is shown to the tourist, who hears at his hotel, in the
conveyance he hires for the day, and among the very mountains
themselves, countless local legends as to Rip Van Winkle, and as to the
percentage of fact and fiction in Washington Irving's masterly
production.

If he is antiquarian enough to desire it, he can be shown the very spot
upon which Rip Van Winkle laid himself down to sleep. Local opinion
differs as to the exact spot, but there is so much faith displayed by
the people that no one can doubt that they are genuine in their beliefs
and sincere in their convictions. The tourist can also be shown the site
of the old country inn, upon the bench in front of which Rip Van Winkle
sat and astonished the natives by his extraordinary conversation, and
his refusal to believe that a generation had elapsed since he was in the
town last.

The chair upon which Dame Van Winkle is supposed to have sat, while she
was berating her idle and incorrigible lord and master, is also shown to
the visitor, and the more credulous ones gaze with interest upon a
flagon which they are assured is the very one out of which Rip Van
Winkle drank. The only thing needed to complete the illusion is the
appearance of the old dog, which the man who had so grievously overslept
himself was sure would have recognized him, had he put in his
appearance.

It is almost impossible to outlive one's welcome in the Catskill
Mountains, or to wear one's self out with sight seeing, so many are the
novelties which greet the gaze. The Catskills are abounding with
traditions quite as interesting and extraordinary as the Rip Van Winkle
story. They were known originally as the "Mountains of the Sky," a name
given them by the Indians, who for so many generations held them in
undisputed possession. Hyde Peak, the loftiest point in the Catskills,
was regarded by the Indians as the throne of the Great Spirit, and the
Dutch settlers who crowded out the Indians seem to have been almost as
generous in their superstitions and legends. These settlers dropped the
name, "Mountains of the Sky," and adopted the, to them, more euphonic
one of the Katzberg Mountains, from which the more modern name has been
adopted.

The village of Catskill deserves more than a passing notice. It is the
home of a large number of well-known people, including the widows of
many men whose names are famous in history. The old Livingston Manor was
located near the village, and a little farther down is Barrytown, where
the wealthy Astors have a palatial summer resort. A little farther down
the river are two towns with a distinctly ancient and Dutch aspect. They
were settled by the Dutch over two hundred years ago, and there are many
houses still standing which were built last century, so strongly did our
forefathers construct their homes, and make them veritable castles and
impregnable fortresses.

Another very old town on the Hudson is the celebrated seat of learning,
Poughkeepsie. Of this, it has been said that there is more tuition to
the square inch than in any other town in the world. The most celebrated
of the educational institutions at this point is the Vassar College, the
first ladies' seminary in the world, and the butt of so many jokes and
sarcasms. Poughkeepsie is not quite as old as the hills above it, but it
is exceedingly ancient. Here was held the celebrated State convention
for the ratification of the Federal Constitution, in which Alexander
Hamilton, Governor Clinton, and John Jay, and other men of immortal
names took part.

It is only comparatively recently that the first stone building erected
in this town was torn down, to make room for improvements, after it had
weathered storm and time in the most perfect manner for more than a
century and a quarter. At Newburgh, a few miles farther south, an old
gray mansion is pointed out to the visitor as Washington's headquarters
on several occasions during the Revolution. Fortunately, the State has
secured possession of the house and protects it from the hands of the
vandal.

This wonderful old house was built just a century and a half ago. A
hundred and twelve years ago Washington's army finally disbanded from
this point, and the visitor can see within the well-preserved walls of
this house the historical room, with its seven doors, within which
Washington and his generals held their numerous conferences, and in
which there are still to be found almost countless relics of the
Revolutionary War.

While sailing on the Hudson, a glimpse is obtained of West Point, the
great military school from which so many of America's celebrated
generals have graduated. West Point commands one of the finest river
passes in the country. The fort and chain stretched across the river
were captured by the British in 1777 (two years after it was decided
that West Point should be established a military post), but were
abandoned after Burgoyne's surrender. The Continental forces then
substituted stronger works. West Point thus has a history running right
back to the Revolutionary War, and the ruins of Forts Clinton and
Montgomery, which were erected in 1775, are in the immediate vicinity.

There are 176 rooms in the cadet barrack. There is no attempt at
ornamentation, and the quarters are almost rigid in their simplicity and
lack of home comfort. Not only are the embryo warriors taught the
rudiments of drill and warfare, but they are also given stern lessons in
camp life. Each young man acts as his own chambermaid, and has to keep
his little room absolutely neat and free from litter and dirt of any
kind.

The West Point Chapel is of interest on account of the number of tablets
to be found in it, immortalizing many of the Revolutionary heroes. A
winding road leads up to the cemetery, where are resting the remains of
many other celebrated generals, including Winfield Scott. The State Camp
meets annually at Peekskill, another very ancient town, replete with
Revolutionary War reminiscences. It was settled in the year 1764 by a
Dutch navigator, from whom it takes its name. Another house used by
General Washington for headquarters is to be found near the town, as
well as St. Peter's Church, in which the Father of his Country
worshiped.

Tarrytown is another of the famous spots on the Hudson. Near here
Washington Irving lived, and on the old Sleepy Hollow road is to be
found the oldest religious structure in New York State. The church was
built by the Dutch settlers in the year 1699, and close to it is the
cemetery in which Washington Irving was interred. Sunnyside, Irving's
home, is a most interesting stone structure, whose numerous gables are
covered with ivy, the immense mass of which has grown from a few slips
presented to Irving by Sir Walter Scott.

A sadder sight to the tourist on the Hudson, but one which is of
necessity full of interest, is the Sing Sing Prison, just below Croton
Point. In this great State jail an army of convicts are kept busy
manufacturing various articles of domestic use. The prison itself takes
its name from the Indian word "Ossining," which means "stone upon
stone." The village of Sing Sing, strange to say, contains many charming
residences, and the proximity of the State's prison does not seem to
have any particular effect on the spirits and the ideas of those living
in it.

Still further down the Hudson is Riverside Park, New York, the scene of
General Grant's tomb, which overlooks the lower section of the river,
concerning which we have endeavored to impart some little information of
an interesting character. Of the tomb, we present a very accurate
illustration.

While in New York State, the tourist, whether he be American or
European, is careful to pay a visit to the Niagara Falls, which have
been viewed by a greater number of people than any other scene or wonder
on the American continent. This fact is due, in part, to the admirable
railroad facilities which bring Niagara within easy riding distance of
the great cities of the East. It is also due, very largely, to the
extraordinary nature of the falls themselves, and to the grandeur of the
scene which greets the eye of the spectator.

The River Niagara is a little more than thirty-three miles long. In its
short course it takes care of the overflow of Lakes Superior, Michigan,
Huron and Erie, and as it discharges the waters of these lakes into Lake
Ontario, it falls 334 feet, or more than ten feet to the mile.

The rapids start some sixteen miles from Lake Erie. As the river channel
suddenly narrows, the velocity of the current increases with great
abruptness. The rapids are but a third of a mile in length, during which
distance there is a fall of fifty-two feet. The boat caught in these
rapids stands but a poor chance, as at the end of the torrent the water
dashes down a cataract over 150 feet deep. The Canadian Fall passes over
a rocky ledge of immense area, and in the descent leaves a space with a
watery roof, the space being known as the "Cave of the Winds," with an
entrance from the Canadian side. The Canadian Fall has a sweep of 1,100
feet and is considerably deeper than the other.

It is little more than a waste of words to endeavor to convey an
impression of the grandeur and magnificence of Niagara. People have
visited it from all parts of the world. Monarchs and princes have
acknowledged that it exceeded their wildest expectation, and every one
who has gazed upon it agrees that it is almost impossible to exaggerate
its grandeur, or to say too much concerning its magnitude. Even after
the water has dashed wildly 150 feet downwards, the descent continues.
The river bed contracts in width gradually, for seven miles below the
falls, where the whirlpool rapids are to be seen. After the second fall,
the river seems to have exhausted its vehemence, and runs more
deliberately, cutting its channel deeper into the rocky bed, and
dropping its sensational habits.

Some writers have hazarded an opinion that, as time changes all things,
so the day may come when Niagara Falls shall cease to exist. Improbable
as this idea naturally sounds, it has some foundation in fact, for there
have been marvelous changes in the falls during the last few
generations. About two hundred and fifty years ago a sketch was taken of
Niagara, and a hundred years later another artist made a careful and
apparently accurate picture. These two differ from one another
materially, and they also differ greatly from the appearance of the
falls at the present time. Both of the old pictures show a third fall on
the Canadian side. It is known that about a hundred years ago several
immense fragments of rock were broken off the rocky ledge on the
American side, and, more recently, an earthquake affected the appearance
of the Canadian Fall. Certain it is, that the immense corrosive action
of the water, and the gradual eating away of the rock on both the ledge
and basin, has had the effect of changing the location of the falls, and
forcing up the river in the direction of Lake Erie. Time alone can
decide the momentous question as to whether the falls will eventually be
so changed in appearance as to be beyond recognition. The lover of the
beautiful and grand, and more especially the antiquarian, sincerely
trusts that no such calamity will ever take place.

The history of the Indians in New York State is a very interesting one.
Prior to the discovery of America by Columbus, the section of country
including a majority of New York State and the northern portion of
Pennsylvania, was occupied by the Iroquois, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas,
Cayugas and Senecas. These formed the historical Five Nations, of whom
writers of the last century tell us so much that is of lasting
importance. These tribes were self-governed, their rulers being selected
on the hereditary plan. There was a federal union between them for
purposes of offense and defense, and they called themselves,
collectively, the "People of the Long House." This imaginary house had
an eastern door at the mouth of the Mohawk River, and a western door at
the Falls of Niagara.

Bashfulness was not a characteristic of these old-time red men, who had
a special name of many letters for themselves, which, being interpreted,
meant "Men surpassing all others." They trace their origin from the
serpent-haired God, Atotarhon, and other traditions attribute their
powers of confederation and alliance to the legendary Hiawatha. They
built frame cabins and defended their homes with much skill. Their dress
was chiefly made out of deer and elk hide, and relics still in existence
show that they had good ideas of agriculture, tanning, pottery, and even
carving. They were about 12,000 strong, and they appear to have been the
most powerful Indian combination prior to the arrival of the white man.

They were powerful in war as well as comparatively sensible in peace.
Their religion was, at least, consistent, and included a firm belief in
immortality. They maintained what may be termed civilized family
relations, and treated their women with proper respect. Their conduct
towards the white men was much more friendly than might have been
expected, and almost from the first they displayed a conciliatory
attitude, and entered into alliances with the newcomers. They fought
side by side with the New Englanders against the French, and the hostile
Indians who allied with them, and in the year 1710, five of their
sachems or legislators crossed the Atlantic, and were received with
honors by the Queen of England. In diplomacy they did not prove
themselves in the long run as skillful as the newcomers, who by degrees
secured from them the land over which they had previously exercised
sovereign rights.

The survivors of these Indians have not sunk to as low a level as many
other tribes have done. It is not generally known in the West that there
are on the New York reservations, at the present time, more than 5,000
Indians, including about 2,700 survivors of the once great Seneca tribe.

The State of New York is about the same size as the Kingdom of England.
It is the nineteenth State in the Union in point of size, possessing
area of more than 49,000 square miles, of which 1,500 square miles is
covered by water, forming portions of the lakes. Its lake coast line
extends 200 miles on Lake Ontario and 75 miles on Lake Erie. Lake
Champlain flows along the eastern frontier for more than 100 miles,
receiving the waters of Lake George, which has been described as the
Como of America. The lake has a singular history. It was originally
called by the French Canadians who discovered it, the "Lake of the Holy
Sacrament," and it was the scene of battles and conflicts for over a
hundred years.

The capital of the Empire State, with its population of such magnitude
that it exceeds that of more than twenty important foreign nations, is
Albany, which was founded by the Dutch in 1623, and which has since
earned for itself the title of the "Edinburgh of America." Compared with
New York City it is dwarfed in point of population and commercial
importance.

Of the actual metropolis of the great Empire State it is impossible to
speak at any length in the limited space at one's command. Of New York
itself, Mr. Chauncey Depew said recently, in his forcible manner,
"To-day, in the sisterhood of States, she is an empire in all that
constitutes a great commonwealth. An industrious, intelligent, and
prosperous population of 5,000,000 of people live within her borders. In
the value of her farms and farm products, and in her manufacturing
industries, she is the first State in the Union. She sustains over 1,000
newspapers and periodicals, has $80,000,000 invested in church property,
and spends $12,000,000 a year on popular education. Upward of 300
academies and colleges fit her youth for special professions, and
furnish opportunities for liberal learning and the highest culture, and
stately edifices all over the State, dedicated to humane and benevolent
objects, exhibit the permanence and extent of her organized charities.
There are $600,000,000 in her savings banks, $300,000,000 in her
insurance companies, and $700,000,000 in the capital and loans of her
State and National banks. Six thousand miles of railroads, costing
$600,000,000, have penetrated and developed every accessible corner of
the State, and maintain, against all rivalry and competition, her
commercial prestige."

CHAPTER IV.

IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY.

The Geographical Center of the United States and its Location West of
the Mississippi River--The Center of Population--History of Fort
Riley--The Gallant "Seventh"--Early Troubles of Kansas--Extermination of
the Buffalo--But a Few Survivors out of Many Millions.

Kansas is included by most people in the list of Western States; by many
it is regarded as in the extreme West. If the Pilgrim Fathers had been
told that the haven of refuge they had selected would, within two or
three hundred years, be part of a great English-speaking nation with
some 70,000,000 of inhabitants, and with its center some 1,500 miles
westward, they would have listened to the story with pardonable
incredulity, and would have felt like invoking condemnation upon the
head of the reckless prophet who was addressing them.

Yet Kansas is to-day in the very center of the United States. This is
not a printer's error, nor a play upon words, much as the New Englander
may suspect the one or the other. There was a time when the word "West"
was used to apply to any section of the country a day's journey on
horseback from the Atlantic Coast. For years, and even generations,
everything west of the Allegheny Mountains or of the Ohio River was "Out
West." Even to-day it is probable that a majority of the residents in
the strictly Eastern States regard anything west of the Mississippi
River as strictly Western.

There is no doubt that when Horace Greeley told the young men of the
country to "Go West and grow up with the country," he used the term in
its common and not its strictly geographical sense, and many thousand
youths, who took the advice of the philosopher and statesman, stopped
close to the banks of the Mississippi River, and have grown rich in
their new homes. It cannot be too generally realized, however, that the
Mississippi River slowly wends its way down to the Gulf of Mexico well
within the eastern half of the greatest nation in the world. At several
points in the circuitous course of the Father of Waters, the distance
between the river and the Atlantic Ocean is about 1,000 miles. In an
equal number of points the distance to the Pacific Ocean is 2,000 miles,
showing that whatever may be said of the tributaries of the Mississippi
River, and especially of its gigantic tributary the Missouri, the
Mississippi is an Eastern and not a Western river.

We give an illustration of the point which competent surveyors and
engineers tell us is the exact geographical center of the United States
proper. The monument standing in the center of this great country is
surrounded by an iron railing, and is visited again and again by
tourists, who find it difficult to believe the fact that a point
apparently so far western is really central. The center of the United
States has gone west with the absorption of territory, and the Louisiana
purchase, the centenary of which we shall shortly celebrate, had a great
effect on the location.

The center of population has moved less spasmodically, but with great
regularity. A hundred years ago the City of Baltimore was the center of
population, and it was not until the middle of the century that Ohio
boasted of owning the population center. For some twenty years it
remained near Cincinnati, but during the '80s it went as far as
Columbus, Indiana, where it was at the last Government census. At the
present time it is probably twenty or thirty miles west of Columbus, and
in the near future Fort Riley will be the population, as well as the
geographical, center.

Fort Riley is an interesting spot for civilian and soldier alike. Having
been selected by the Government as the permanent training school for the
two mounted branches of the service--the cavalry and light
artillery--its 21,000 acres have been improved at lavish expense. It
seems really remarkable that so metropolitan a bit of ground could be
found out on the plains, where, though civilization is making rapid
strides, and the luxuries of wealth are being acquired by the advancing
population, it is unusual to find macadamized streets and buildings that
can harbor a regiment and still not be crowded. Yet such are some of the
characteristics of Fort Riley Reservation, and the newness of it all is
the best evidence of the interest the War Department has taken in its
development. Many of the recently erected buildings would grace the
capital itself. Nearly $1,000,000 have been expended in the past four
years in new structures, all of magnesia limestone, and built along the
lines of the most approved modern architecture, and of a character which
insures scores of years of usefulness.

The fort is situated on the left bank of the Kansas River, near the
junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill Forks. It was first laid out
in 1852, and has ever since been one of the leading Western posts.
Located, though it is, far out on the Kansas prairies, it has,
particularly in late years, been fully in touch with the social life of
the East, through the addition of new officers and the interchange of
post courtesies.

The post, as it stands to-day, consists of officers' quarters, artillery
and cavalry barracks, administration buildings, sheds, hospital,
dispensary, etc., scattered over 150 acres of ground. The Kansas River
is formed just southwest of it by the union of the Smoky Hill and
Republican Forks, and the topography for practice and sightseeing could
not be surpassed in the State. Five miles of macadamized streets,
150,000 feet of stone and gravel walks, six miles of sewers, four miles
of water and steam heating pipes, leading to every room of each of the
sixty buildings, make up the equipment, which is, of course, of the
highest quality throughout. All the stone is quarried on the
reservation, and is of lasting variety, and makes buildings which bear a
truly substantial appearance. The Government has an idea toward
permanency in its improvements.

The history of Fort Riley has been one of vicissitudes. When it was laid
out in 1852, it was at first called Camp Center, but was changed to its
present name by order of the War Department in honor of General B. C.
Riley. In 1855, the fort suffered from Asiatic cholera, and Major E. A.
Ogden, one of the original commissioners who laid out the reservation,
who was staying there, nursed the soldiers with a heroic attachment to
duty, and himself fell a victim to the disease. A handsome monument
marks his resting place. He was a true soldier hero, and his name is
still spoken in reverence by the attaches of the post.

Another notable feature of the reservation is the dismantled rock wall
to the east of the fort, which is all that now remains of the once
ambitious capitol building of the State of Kansas. It has a strange
history, being the "Pawnee House," in which the Territorial Legislature
met in the early ante-bellum days, confident of protection by the
soldiers from the roaming Indian bands infesting the prairies.

A famous dweller at the fort for two decades was old Comanche, the only
living creature to escape from the Custer massacre on the side of the
Government. He was the horse ridden by an officer in that memorable
fight, and by miracle escaped, after having seven balls fired into him.
He was found roaming over the prairie, after the massacre, and was
ordered put on the retired list, and stationed at Fort Riley, where for
twenty years he was petted and cared for, but never ridden. His only
service was to be led in processions of ceremony, draped in mourning.
Now that he is dead, his body has been preserved with the taxidermist's
best skill, and is one of the State's most noted relics.

The fort has been of unusual interest of late. In addition to the
maneuvers of the school for mounted service, in which the soldiers have
been regularly drilled, engaging in sham battles, throwing up mimic
fortifications, fording the rivers, etc., the War Signal Service has
been conducting some interesting experiments. The Signal Service has had
its huge balloon, which was exhibited at the World's Fair, at the post,
and its ascensions and the operations put in practice have proved very
attractive and instructive.

The new riding hall, or cavalry practice building, makes it possible for
the training school to go on the year round, regardless of the weather.
It has an open floor space 300 feet long and 100 feet wide, making it an
admirable room for the purpose.

The Fort Riley troops are always called on when there is trouble in the
West. They have put down a dozen Indian uprisings on the plains, and
only a few months ago were sent for to keep order in Chicago during the
railway strikes. From this trip, four old members of the post were
brought back dead, having met their fate in the bursting of a caisson,
while marching along a paved street.

The fort is the great pleasure resort of Kansas. The late commanding
officer, Colonel Forsyth, now General Forsyth, is much given to
hospitality, and the people of the State take great pride in the post's
advancement and its victories. During the summer, on several occasions,
the national holidays especially, the soldiers "receive," and excursion
trains bring hundreds of visitors from every direction, who are
delighted to feast their eyes on real cannon, uniforms and shoulder
straps. They are entertained royally. Drills, salutes, sham battles and
parades, occupy every hour of the day, and in the evening the drill
floor becomes a dancing place for all who enjoy the delights of a
military ball.

The history of the fort has been, in a measure, that of the Seventh
Cavalry, which for nearly two decades has had its residence there, and
become identified with the spot. The Seventh Cavalry dates its glory
from before the days of the intrepid Custer, whose memory it cherishes.
It has taken part in scores of Indian battles--indeed, there has not,
for years, been an uprising in the West in which it has not done duty.
Its last considerable encounter was at Wounded Knee and Drexel Mission,
where the Custer massacre was in a degree avenged. Here it lost
twenty-four of its members, and a magnificent granite monument has been
erected at the fort to their memory. It bears the names of those who
fell, and tells briefly the story of their bravery.

In the Wounded Knee battle, on the plains of Dakota, during the closing
days of 1891, the four troops of the regiment were treacherously
surprised by the Sioux, and because, after the attack, Colonel Forsyth
ordered a charge, resulting in the killing of many of the savages, he
was suspended by his superior officer, General Miles, for disobedience
of orders, which were not to fire on the enemy. An investigation,
however, amply justified his action, and he was reinstated in charge of
his post as before. Early in November, 1894, on the promotion of General
McCook to be Major General, Colonel Forsyth stepped up to the Brigadier
Generalship, and his place at Fort Riley will be taken by Colonel
Sumner. There is a rumor, however, in army circles, that the old Seventh
will be stationed in the far Northwest, and the Fifth Cavalry will
succeed it as resident regiment here. The post has become so closely
identified with the fortunes of the former regiment that it will seem
strange to have any other troops call it home.

There are usually at the fort three squadrons of cavalry, of four troops
each, and five batteries of light artillery, engaged in the maneuvers of
the school for mounted service, which has its headquarters for the
entire army here. The principal object of this school is instruction in
the combined operations of the cavalry and light artillery, and this
object is kept steadily in view. The troops of each arm form a
sub-school, and are instructed nine months in the year in their own arm,
preparatory to the three months of combined operations. Thus the
batteries are frequently practiced in road marching in rapid gaits; the
Kansas River is often forded; rough hills are climbed at "double quick,"
and guns are brought to action on all sorts of difficult ground, with
the result that, when the combined operations begin, the batteries may
be maneuvered over all kinds of obstacles.

Among the plans of the future is one, which was a favorite with General
Sheridan, of making Fort Riley the horse-furnishing headquarters for the
entire army. The location being so central, it insures the nearest
approach to perfect acclimation of animals sent to any part of the
Union. Two plans are being contemplated for the accomplishment of this
object. One is to make it a breeding station; the other is to simply
make it a purchasing station, which shall buy of the farmers of the West
the horses needed by the army, and train the animals for regular use
before sending them to the various posts.

Present plans also include an increase in the number of soldiers
stationed at Fort Riley to 3,000. If the proposed increase in the
standing army is carried out, there may be more than that. The
Government evidently has faith in the location of the fort. While it has
abandoned and consolidated other stations, it has all the time been
increasing its expenditures here, and the estimates for the next year
aggregate expenditures of over $500,000, provided the Appropriation
Committee does its duty. There are plans of still further beautifying
the grounds, and the addition of more turnpikes and macadamized roads.

The State of Kansas, and especially Geary and Riley Counties, in which
the fort is situated, reap a considerable benefit from its location. The
perishable produce of the commissary department comes from the country
around. Hundreds of horses are bought at round prices, while the soldier
trade has sent Junction City, four miles west, ahead of all competitors
in Central Kansas for volume of business and population. Naturally,
Kansas is glad to see Fort Riley a permanency, and hopes that it may be
made the Government's chief Western post.

Kansas has been spoken of as the most wonderful State in the Union, and
in many respects it is fully entitled to its reputation in this respect.
It has had enough discouragements and drawbacks to ruin half a dozen
States, and nothing but the phenomenal fertility of the soil, and the
push and go of the pioneers who claim the State as their own, has
enabled Kansas to withstand difficulties and to sail buoyantly through
waves of danger into harbors of refuge. In its early days, border
warfare hindered development and drove many most desirable settlers to
more peaceful spots. Since then the prefix "Bleeding" has again been
used repeatedly in connection with the State, because of the succession
of droughts and plagues of grasshoppers and chinch bugs, which have
imperiled its credit and fair name. But Kansas remains to-day a great
State, with a magnificent future before it. The fertility of the soil is
more than phenomenal. Kansas corn is known throughout the world for its
excellency, and at the World's Fair in 1893 it took highest awards for
both the white and yellow varieties. In addition to this, it secured the
gold medal for the best corn in the world, as well as the highest awards
for red winter wheat flour, sorghum sugar and apples. Indeed, Kansas
soil produces almost anything to perfection, and the State, thanks
largely to works of irrigation in the extreme western section, is
producing larger quantities of indispensable agricultural products every
year.

The very motto of the State indicates the early troubles through which
it went, the literal interpretation being "To the stars (and stripes)
through difficulties." The State is generally known now as the
"Sunflower State," and for many years the sword has given place to the
plowshare. But the very existence of Fort Riley shows that t his was not
always the condition of affairs. Early in the Eighteenth Century, French
fur-traders crossed over into Kansas, and, later on, Spanish explorers
were struck with the possibilities of the fertile plains. Local Indian
tribes were then at war, but a sense of common danger caused the
antagonistic red men to unite, and the white immigrants were massacred
in a body. After the famous Missouri Compromise of 1820, and the
Kansas-Nebraska Act of thirty years later, the slave issue became a very
live one in Kansas, and for some time the State was in a condition
bordering upon civil war. The convention of 1859, at Wyandotte, settled
this difficulty, and placed Kansas in the list of anti-slavery States.

Some ten years ago, after Kansas had enjoyed a period of the most unique
prosperity, from an agricultural standpoint, the general impression
began to prevail that the State was destined to become almost
immediately the greatest in the nation. Corn fields were platted out
into town sites, and additions to existing cities were arranged in every
direction. For a time it appeared as though there was little
exaggeration in the extravagant forecast of future greatness. Town lots
sold in a most remarkable manner, many valuable corners increasing in
value ten and twenty-fold in a single night. The era of railroad
building was coincident with the town boom craze, and Eastern people
were so anxious to obtain a share of the enormous profits to be made by
speculating in Kansas town lots, that money was telegraphed to agents
and banks all over the State, and options on real estate were sold very
much on the plan adopted by traders in stocks and bonds in Wall Street.

The greed of some, if not most, of the speculators, soon killed the
goose which laid the golden egg. The boom burst in a most pronounced
manner. People who had lost their heads found them again, and many a
farmer who had abandoned agriculture in order to get rich by trading in
lots, went back to his plow and his chores, a sadder and wiser, although
generally poorer, man. Many hundreds of thousands of dollars changed
hands during the boom. Exactly who "beat the game," to use the gambler's
expression, has never been known. Certain it is, that for every man in
Kansas who admits that he made money out of the excitement and
inflation, there are at least fifty who say that the boom well-nigh
ruined them.

Kansas is as large as Great Britain, larger than the whole of New
England combined, and a veritable empire in itself. It is a State of
magnificent proportions, and of the most unique and delightful history.
Three and a half centuries ago, Coronado, the great pioneer prospector
and adventurer, hunted Kansas from end to end in search of the precious
metals which he had been told could be found there in abundance. He
wandered over the immense stretch of prairies and searched along the
creek bottoms without finding what he sought. He speaks in his records
of "mighty plains and sandy heaths, smooth and wearisome and bare of
wood. All the way the plains are as full of crooked-back oxen as the
mountain Serena in Spain is of sheep."

These crooked-back oxen were of course buffaloes, or, more correctly
speaking, species of the American bison. No other continent was ever
blessed with a more magnificent and varied selection of beasts and birds
in forests and prairies than was North America. Kansas in particular was
fortunate in the possession of thousands of herds of buffaloes. Now it
has none, except a few in a domesticated state, with their old regal
glory departed forever. When we read the reports of travelers and
trappers, written little more than half a century ago, and treating of
the enormous buffalo herds that covered the prairies as far as the eye
could reach, we wonder whether these descriptions can be real, or
whether they are not more in the line of fables and the outgrowth of a
too vivid imagination.

If, thirty years ago, some wiseacre had come forward and predicted that
it would become necessary to devise means for the protection of this
enormous amount of game, he would have been laughed out of countenance.
Yet this extraordinary condition of affairs has actually come to pass.
Entire species of animals which belonged to the magnificent fauna of
North America are already extinct or are rapidly becoming so. The
sea-cow is one of these animals; the last specimens of which were seen
in 1767 and 1768. The Californian sea-elephant and the sea-dog of the
West Indies have shared a like fate. Not a trace of these animals has
been found for a long time. The extinction of the Labrador duck and the
great auk have often been deplored. Both of these birds may be regarded
as practically extinct. The last skeleton of the great auk was sold for
$600, the last skin for $650, and the last egg brought the fabulous sum
of $1,500.

Last, not least, the American bison is a thing of the past!

It has been historically proven that at the time of the discovery of
America, the buffalo herds covered the entire enormous territory from
Pennsylvania to Oregon and Nevada, and down to Mexico, and thirty years
ago the large emigrant caravans which traveled from the Eastern States
across the Mississippi to the gold fields of California, met with herds
of buffaloes, not numbering thousands, but hundreds of thousands. The
construction trains of the first Pacific Railroad were frequently
interrupted and delayed by wandering buffalo herds.

Today the United States may be traversed from end to end, and not a
single buffalo will be seen, and nothing remains to even indicate their
presence but the deep, well-trodden paths which they made years ago.
Rain has not been able to wash away these traces, and they are counted
among the "features" of the prairies, where the bisons once roamed in
undisturbed glory. It was a difficult task for the Government to gather
the last remnants, about 150 to 200 head, to stock Yellowstone Park with
them, and to prevent their complete extinction.

Undoubtedly, the buffalo was the most stupid animal of the prairies. In
small flocks, he eluded the hunter well enough; but in herds of
thousands, he cared not a whit for the shooting at the flanks of his
army. Any Indian or trapper, stationed behind some shrubs or earth hill,
could kill dozens of buffalo without disturbing the herd by the swish of
the arrow, the report of the rifle, or the dying groans of the wounded
animals. A general stampede ensued at times, which often led the herd
into morasses, or the quick-sand of the rivers, where they perished
miserably. The destruction was still greater when the leader of the herd
came upon some yawning abyss. Those behind drove him down into the deep,
and the entire herd followed blindly, only to be dashed to death.

The very stupidity of the bison helped to exterminate the race, where
human agency would have seemed well nigh inadequate.

Among the large game of the continent, the bison was the most important,
and furnished the numerous Indian tribes not only with abundant food,
but other things as well. They covered their tents with the thick skins,
and made saddles, boats, lassoes and shoes from them. Folded up, they
used them as beds, and wore them around their shoulders as a protection
against the winter's cold. Spoons and other utensils for the household
could be made from their hoofs and horns, and their bones were shaped
into all kinds of arms and weapons. The life and existence of the
prairie Indian depended almost entirely upon that of the buffalo. There
is no doubt that the Indians killed many buffaloes, but while the damage
may have been great, there was not much of a reduction noticeable in
their numbers, for the buffalo cow is an enormous breeder.

Conditions were changed, however, when the white man arrived with his
rifle, settled down on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and began to
drive the aborigines of the American continent further and further West.
With this crowding back of the Indians began that also of the buffalo,
and the destruction of the latter was far more rapid than that of the
former.

It was about the middle of the Seventeenth Century when the first
English colonists climbed the summits of the Allegheny Mountains.
Enormous herds of buffalo grazed then in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and in the famous blue grass regions of
Kentucky. How fast the buffaloes became exterminated may best be
illustrated by the fact that, at the beginning of the present century,
the bison had entirely disappeared from the eastern banks of the
Mississippi. A few isolated herds could be found in Kentucky in 1792. In
1814 the animal had disappeared in Indiana and Illinois. When the white
settlers crossed the Mississippi, to seek connection with the
territories on the Pacific coast, the buffalo dominion, once so vast,
decreased from year to year, and finally it was split in two and divided
into a northern and southern strip. The cause of this division was the
California overland emigration, the route of which followed the Kansas
and Platte Rivers, cutting through the center of the buffalo regions.
These emigrants killed hundreds of thousands of animals, and the
division became still greater after the completion of the Union Pacific
line and the settlement of the adjacent districts.

The buffaloes of the southern strip were the first to be exterminated,
particularly when the building of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad facilitated entrance to the southern range.

Aside from the pleasure and excitement from a buffalo hunt, the yield
was a rich one, and troops of hunters swarmed over the Western prairies;
buffalo hunting became an industry which gave employment to thousands of
people. But human avarice knew no bounds, and massacred senselessly the
finest game with which this continent was stocked. The dimensions to
which this industry grew may best be guessed when it is stated that in
1872 more than 100,000 buffaloes were killed near Fort Dodge in three
months. During the summer of 1874, an expedition composed of sixteen
hunters killed 2,800 buffaloes, and during that same season one young
trapper boasted of having killed 3,000 animals. The sight of such a
slaughter scene was gruesome to behold. Colonel Dodge writes of it:
"During the fall of 1873 I rode across the prairie, where a year ago I
had hunted several herds. At the time we enjoyed the aspect of a myriad
of buffaloes, which were grazing peacefully over the prairies. Now we
rode past myriads of decaying cadavers and skeletons, which filled the
air with an insufferable stench. The broad plain which, a year ago, had
teemed with animals, was nothing more than a dead, foul desert."

Mr. Blackmore, another traveler, who went through Kansas at about the
same time, says that he counted, on four acres of ground, no less than
sixty-seven buffalo carcasses. As was to be expected, this wholesale
and, indeed, wanton slaughter brought its own reward and condemnation.
The price of buffalo skins dropped to 50 cents, although as much as
$3.00 had been paid regularly for them. Moreover, as the number of
animals killed was greater than could be removed, the decaying carcasses
attracted wolves, and even worse foes, to the farmyard, and terrible
damage to cattle resulted.

The Indians also were disturbed. "Poor Lo" complained of the wanton and
senseless killing of the principal means of his sustenance, and when the
white man with a laugh ignored these complaints, the Indians got on the
war-path, attacked settlements, killed cattle and stole provisions, thus
giving rise to conflicts, which devoured not only enormous sums of
money, but cost the lives of thousands of people. When the locust plague
swept over the fields of Kansas and destroyed the entire crop, the
settlers themselves hungered for the buffalo meat of which they had
robbed themselves, and vengeance came in more ways than one.

The extermination of the buffalo of the southern range was completed
about 1875; to the bisons of the northern range were given a few years'
grace. But the same scenes which were enacted in the South, repeated
themselves in the North, and the white barbarians were not satisfied
until they had killed the last of the noble game in 1885. When the
massacre was nearly over, a few isolated herds were collected and
transported to Yellowstone Park, where they have increased to about 400
during the last few years, protected by the hunting laws, which are
strictly enforced. With the exception of a very few specimens, tenderly
nursed by some cattle raisers in Kansas and Texas, and in some remote
parts of British America, these are the last animals of a species, which
two decades ago wandered in millions over the vast prairies of the West.

CHAPTER V.

THE MORMONS AND THEIR WIVES.

The Pilgrimage Across the Bad Lands to Utah--Incidents of the
March--Success of the New Colony--Religious Persecutions--Murder of an
Entire Family--The Curse of Polygamy--An Ideal City--Humors of Bathing
in Great Salt Lake.

About half a century ago one of the most remarkable pilgrimages of
modern times took place. Across what was then, not inaptly, described by
writers as an arid and repulsive desert, there advanced a procession of
the most unique and awe-inspiring character. History tells us of bands
of crusaders who tramped across Europe in order to rescue the Holy Land
from tyrants and invaders. On that occasion, all sorts and conditions of
men were represented, from the religious enthusiast, to the ignorant
bigot, and from the rich man who was sacrificing his all in the cause
that he believed to be right, to the tramp and ne'er-do-well, who had
allied himself with that cause for revenue only.

But the distance traversed by the crusaders six or seven hundred years
ago was insignificant compared with the distance traversed by the
pilgrims to whom we are referring. In addition to this, the country to
be crossed presented difficulties of a far more startling and
threatening character. There was before them a promised land in the
extreme distance, but there intervened a tract of land which seemed as
impassable a barrier as the much talked-of, but seldom inspected,
Chinese Wall of old. There was a region of desolation and death,
extending from the Sierra Nevadas to the border lines of Nebraska, and
from the Yellowstone to the Colorado Rivers. A profane writer once
suggested that the same Creator could hardly have brought into existence
this arid, barren and inhospitable region and the fertile plains and
beautiful mountains which surrounded it on all sides.

Civilization and irrigation have destroyed the most awful
characteristics of this region, but at the time to which we are
referring, it was about as bad from the standpoint of humanity and human
needs as could well be imagined. Here and there, there were lofty
mountains and deep cañons, as there are now, but the immense plains,
which occupy the bulk of the land, were unwatered and uncared for,
giving forth volumes of a penetrating alkali dust, almost as injurious
to human flesh as to human attire. Here and there, there were, of
course, little oases of comparative verdure, which were regarded by
unfortunate travelers not only as havens of refuge, but as little
heavens in the midst of a sea of despair. The trail across the desert,
naturally, ran through as many as possible of these successful efforts
of nature to resist decay, and along the trail there were to be found
skeletons and ghastly remains of men whose courage had exceeded their
ability, and who had succumbed to hunger and thirst in this great,
lonesome desert.

That no one lived in this region it would seem superfluous to state.
Occasionally a band of Indians would traverse it in search of hunting
grounds beyond, though, as a general rule, the red man left the country
severely alone, and made no effort to dispute the rights of the coyotes
and buzzards to sole possession.

Along the trail mentioned, there advanced at the period to which we have
referred, a procession which we have likened, in some respects, to the
advance of the crusaders in mediaeval days. Those who happened to see it
pass described this cavalcade as almost beyond conception. The first
impression from a distance was that an immense herd of buffalo were
advancing and creating the cloud of dust, which seemed to rise from the
bare ground and mount to the clouds. As it came nearer, and the figures
became more discernible, it was seen that the caravan was headed by a
band of armed horsemen. The animals were jaded and fatigued, and walked
with their heads low down and their knees bent out of shape and form.
Their riders seemed as exhausted as the animals themselves, and they
carried their dust-begrimed guns in anything but military fashion.
Behind them came hundreds, nay, thousands, of wagons, of all shapes and
builds, some of them entirely open and exposed, and others protected
more or less by canvas tilts. These wagons seemed to stretch back
indefinitely into space, and even when there was no undulation of the
surface to obstruct the view, the naked eye could not determine to any
degree the length of the procession. Near the front of the great
cavalcade was a wagon different in build and appearance to any of the
others. It was handsomely and even gaudily decorated, and it was covered
in so carefully that its occupants could sleep and rest as secure from
annoyance by the dust as though they were in bed at home.

Instead of two broken-down horses, six well-fed and well-watered steeds
were attached to the wagon, and it was evident that no matter how short
had been the supply of food and water, the horses and occupants of this
particular conveyance had had everything they desired. The occupant of
this wagon was a man who did not look to be more than thirty years of
age, but whose face and manner indicated that he was in the habit of
being obeyed rather than obeying. A great portion of his time was
occupied in reading from a large vellum-bound book, but from time to
time he laid it on one side to settle disputes which had arisen among
some of his ten thousand followers, or to issue orders of the most
emphatic and dogmatic character.

This man was Brigham Young, the successor of Joseph Smith, and the
chosen Prophet of the Mormons, who were marching across the desert in
search of the promised land, which they were informed had been set aside
for their purpose by the Ruler of the Universe.

We need not follow the fortunes and misfortunes of the zealous, if
misguided, men and families who followed their leader across the great
unwatered and almost unexplored desert. No one knows how many fell by
the wayside and succumbed to hunger, exhaustion or disease. The bulk of
the column, however, persevered in the march, and, through much sadness
and tribulation, finally arrived at a country which, while it was not
then by any means up to expectation or representation, at least
presented facilities and opportunities for living. When the great
valleys of Utah were reached, men who a few months before had been
strong and hardy, but who now were lank and lean, fell on their knees
and offered up thanksgiving for their deliverance, while the exhausted
women and children sought repose and rest, which had been denied them
for so many long, wearisome days.

But there was no time to be wasted in rejoicings over achievements, or
regrets over losses. The virgin acres before them were theirs for the
asking, or rather taking, and the Mormon colony set to work at once to
parcel out the land and to commence the building of homes. Whatever may
be said against the religious ideas of these pilgrims, too much credit
cannot be given them for the business-like energy which characterized
their every movement. A site was selected for what is now known as Salt
Lake City. Broad streets were laid out, building plans and rules
adopted, and every arrangement made for the construction of a handsome
and symmetrical city. Houses, streets and squares appeared almost by
magic, and in a very few weeks quite a healthy town was built up. Those
who in more Eastern regions had learned different trades were set to
work at callings of their choice, and for those who were agriculturally
disposed, farms were mapped out and reserved.

Fortunately for the newcomers, industry was a watchword among them, and
a country which had been up to that time a stranger to the plow and
shovel was drained and ditched, and very speedily planted to corn and
wheat. So fertile did this so-called arid ground prove to be, that one
year's crop threw aside all fears of further poverty, and prosperity
began to reign supreme. Had the Mormons confined themselves to work, and
had abandoned extreme religious and social ideas, impossible in an
enlightened age and country, they would have risen long before this into
an impregnable position in every respect.

But polygamy, hitherto restrained and checked by laws of Eastern States
and Territories, was now indulged in indiscriminately. The more wives a
member of the Mormon church possessed, the greater was his standing in
the community. The man who had but two or three wives was censured for
his want of enthusiasm, and he was frequently fined heavily by the
church, which was not above levying fines, and thus licensing alleged
irregularities. Some of the elders had more than a hundred wives each,
and these were maintained under relations of a most peculiar character.

At first the polygamous tenents of the church did not cause much comment
on the outside, because the Mormons were so shut off from civilization
that they seemed to occupy a little world of their own, and no one
claimed the right to censure or interfere with them. Gradually, however,
there became a shortage of marriageable women, and this resulted in
mysterious raids being made on neighboring settlements. Wanderers upon
the mountains spoke with horror of mysterious tribes of men who wandered
around engaged in acts of plunder, and from time to time strange women
appeared in the towns and settlements.

Like so many other bands of persecuted men who had fled from their
oppressors in search of liberty, the early Mormons soon adopted the
tactics of which they had complained so bitterly. The man who refused to
obey the orders of the church, or who was in any way rebellious, was apt
to disappear from his home without warning or explanation. He was not
arrested or tried; he was simply spirited away, and no mark or sign
proclaimed his last resting place. The Danite Band, or the Avenging
Angels, came into existence, and some of their terrible deeds have
contributed dark pages to the history of our native land.

It is not to be supposed that acts such as these were approved
indiscriminately by the newcomers. Occasionally a mild protest would be
uttered, but it seemed as though the very walls had ears, for even if a
man in the bosom of his family criticised the conduct of the church, his
doom appeared to be sealed, and he generally disappeared within a few
days. Occasionally a family would attempt to escape from Utah, in order
to avoid compliance with laws and orders which they believed to be
criminal in character, as well as contrary to their preconceived notions
of domestic happiness and right. To make an attempt of this character
was to invite death. In the first place, it was almost impossible to
traverse the surrounding mountains and deserts, and even if these
natural obstacles were overcome, the hand of the avenger was constantly
uplifted against the fugitives, who were blotted off the face of the
earth, on the theory that dead men tell no tales.

On one occasion, a man left his home in Utah in the way described,
because he declined to bring home a second wife. Brigham Young, in the
course of his pastoral calls, entered the comfortable house occupied by
the family, and called upon the man to introduce to him his wives. He
was one of the few men who, while in every other respect a zealous
Mormon, had declined to break up his family relations by bringing a
young wife into his home. The mother of his children informed the
Prophet with much vehemence of this fact, and in words more noble than
discreet assured him that no effort of his could disturb the domestic
relations of the house, or make her husband untrue to vows he had taken
twenty years before.

The Prophet was too astounded to lose his temper, but turning to the
happy husband and father, he told him in stentorian tones that unless
within one month he complied with the orders of the church, it would
have been better for him had he never been born, or had he died while on
the terrible march across the Bad Lands and the alkali desert. That the
Prophet was in earnest was evidenced by the arrival the following day of
some of his minions, who brought with them more explicit directions, as
well as the names of certain young women to whom the man must be
"sealed" or "married" within the time mentioned by Young.

No idea of complying with this order ever occurred to the head of the
house. He knew that his wife would far rather die than be dishonored,
and he himself was perfectly willing to sacrifice his life rather than
his honor. But for the sake of his four children he determined to make
an attempt to escape, and accordingly, a few days later, the family,
having collected together all their available and easily transported
assets, hitched up their wagon and drove away in the dead of night.
Their departure in this manner was not expected, and was not discovered
for nearly forty-eight hours, during which time the refugees had made
considerable progress over the surrounding mountains. They maintained
their march for nearly a week, without incident, and were congratulating
themselves upon their escape, when the disaster which they had feared
overtook them.

They were camped by the side of a little stream in a fertile valley, and
all were sleeping peacefully but the elder boy, who was acting as
sentinel. His attention was first called to danger by the uneasiness
displayed by the horses, which, by their restless manner and sudden
anxiety, showed that instinct warned them of an approaching party.
Without wasting a moment's time, the young man hastily aroused the
sleepers, who prepared to abandon their camp and seek refuge in the
adjoining timber. They had barely reached cover when a party of mounted
armed men rode up. Finding a deserted camp, they separated, and
commenced to scour the surrounding country. One of the number soon came