I
Stayed Over The Sunday (26 Hours) In New York, Leaving On Monday By The
First Overland Train, And After
Calling at innumerable stations, and
staying 14 hours at Chicago and Council Bluffs, to "make connections"
(i.e., catch other
Trains), and staying 52 hours at San Francisco, I
arrived at Merced at 10.23 on Monday night, December 8th, i.e., say 16
days 6 hours after leaving Liverpool. Had I have left Liverpool by the
Wednesday instead of the Saturday steamer, I should not have needed to
have stayed over Sunday in New York, and, of course, there would be no
necessity for a settler to stay at San Francisco (I had to meet my
clients there); therefore, deducting these two stoppages of 78 hours, or
3-1/4 days, it would give 13 days to Merced in the winter season. In
fine weather the journey could be made in less time; some steamers, in
the summer and autumn months, have crossed from Liverpool to New York in
about six days, so that the journey could be made, in favourable
circumstances, in say 12 to 13 days, but we may safely put it at 14
days.
I went by the Northern Prairies and Rocky Mountains, and returned by the
longer route of Southern California, the Desert of Arizona, the Plains
of Texas, through the sugar and cotton districts of the Southern States,
and thence, via New Orleans and Washington, back to New York.
Thus, after remaining eight days at Merced, where I was fully engaged
each day in inspecting the lands for sale and the country around for
many miles, and after allowing for stoppages on the return journey over
Sundays, and waiting three days at New York for the Cunard steamer
"Servia," I reached Liverpool on January 4th, and was back again in my
office on Monday, January 5th, being six weeks, one day and 22 hours
from the time I rose from my chair in my office to the time I was
sitting in it again.
=Across America.=
LONDON TO CHICAGO.
Travelling in generations past was an important event in one's life, but
now a journey across an ocean and a continent is a very commonplace
affair. Books of travel used to be read with avidity, but now that so
many persons travel, and the wires keep us in touch with all the world
every day, the history of a journey is a small event, and one which to
those not specially interested would scarcely perhaps be read;
nevertheless, as some of my readers may have to go over some of the
ground I have recently traversed, I have no doubt that a reference to my
journey to California and back would be of interest to them, and
therefore I will give up some time and space to the subject.
This little record of my journey may perhaps be better received if I
state that I am not a novice in travel, and that before I had turned
twenty-one years of age I had been to Australia (calling en route at
Pernambuco in South America), and that while in Australia I visited
Melbourne, Sydney, Geelong, King George's Sound, besides various inland
towns and gold fields, including Bendigo, Castlemaine, Tarrangower,
Fryer's Creek, Forest Creek, Campbell's Creek, Tarradale, Maryborough,
etc., and various other places, and sheep and cattle stations. From
Australia I went to Aden (the inland town) and up the Red Sea to Suez,
returning to Australia, and thence to England. Since I commenced
business in England, in 1859, I went in 1862 to St. Thomas' in the West
Indies, thence to Aspinwall, across the Isthmus to Panama, thence to
Acapulco in Mexico, on to San Francisco in California, and thence to
Vancouver Island, returning by the same route as far as Aspinwall,
whence I went to New York. In 1865 I went on business to Russia.
Arriving at the ancient city of Pskov, I proceeded across country to the
estate of my client, the Count Bogouschefsky, at one time private
Secretary to the Emperor Nicholas (grandfather of the present Czar).
Some of these travels were attended with a good deal of adventure; but
my recent journey from England to California and back, 13,774 miles, in
six weeks (including all stoppages), was all work, for my time was
occupied continuously in reading up the country, learning from old
settlers, and making notes of what I saw, some of which I have found
room for in the following pages.
On November 22nd, 1890, I was at work in my office in Lincoln's Inn
Fields, whence a cab depositing me at Euston, the 10.10 express train
soon ran me down to Liverpool (201 miles), whence a steam "tender" took
me from the landing-stage to the Cunard steamship "Etruria," some two
miles off, where I was soon comfortably located in my "state room" (No.
42).
It was nearly 5 o'clock before we got away, and the next day found us at
Queenstown Harbour, where we lost considerable time in waiting for the
mail. At length the mail, which was a heavy one, was safely on board,
and off we went, head on to the Atlantic. During that night of the 23rd
we experienced a heavy gale; big seas broke over the forecastle, and
flooded the decks below, through the ventilators. The A.B.'s declined
venturing on the forecastle to unship these great ventilators, and so
the engines had to be slowed down, and the ship stopped; the ventilators
were then unshipped, and we proceeded. The night was a bad one, and the
next morning we had not got through it, and as a consequence the decks
were like lagoons; but presently we had run through it, or it had run
away from us, or had expended its energy, and we were in comparatively
smooth waters, and had a comfortable run to New York. Nothing of
particular interest occurred during the passage. I sought and found the
old American settlers amongst the passengers, and obtained from them all
the information I could of the country, and especially the State to
which I was going.
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