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FOOT-PRINTS OF TRAVEL;
OR,
JOURNEYINGS IN MANY LANDS,
BY
MATURIN M. BALLOU.
_Armado._ How hast thou purchased this experience?
_Moth._ By my journey of observation.--SHAKESPEARE.
BOSTON, U.S.A.:
PUBLISHED BY GINN & COMPANY.
1889.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by
GINN & COMPANY,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TYPOGRAPHY BY J. S. CUSHING & CO., Boston, U.S.A.
PRESSWORK BY GINN & CO., Boston, U.S.A.
[Illustration: Frontispiece. CAPTAIN COOK, THE DISCOVERER.]
PREFACE.
In these notes of foreign travel the object has been to cover a broad
field without making a cumbersome volume, to do which, conciseness has
necessarily been observed. In previous books the author has described
much more in detail some of the countries here briefly spoken of. The
volumes referred to are "Due-West; or, Round the World in Ten Months,"
and "Due-South; or, Cuba Past and Present," which were published by
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., of Boston. Two other volumes, namely,
"Due-North; or, Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia," and "Under the
Southern Cross; or, Travels in Australia and New Zealand," were issued
by Ticknor & Co., of the same city. By the kind permission of both
publishers, the author has felt at liberty to use his original notes in
the preparation of these pages. It should be understood, however, that
about one-half of the countries through which the reader is conducted in
the present work are not mentioned in the volumes above referred to. The
purpose has been to prepare a series of chapters adapted for youth,
which, while affording pleasing entertainment, should also impart
valuable information. The free use of good maps while reading these
Foot-prints of Travel, will be of great advantage, increasing the
student's interest and also impressing upon his mind a degree of
geographical knowledge which could not in any other way be so easily or
pleasantly acquired.
M. M. B.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Crossing the American Continent.--Niagara Falls.--Utah.--
Representatives of Native Indian Tribes.--City of San
Francisco.--Sea Lions.--The Yosemite Valley.--An Indian
Hiding-Place.--The Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.--Chinatown
in San Francisco.--Through the Golden Gate.--Navigating
the Pacific.--Products of the Ocean.--Sea Gulls.--Harbor
and City of Honolulu. 1
CHAPTER II.
Discoveries of Captain Cook.--Vegetation.--Hawaiian Women
on Horse-back.--The Nuuanu Valley.--The Native Staff of
Life.--The Several Islands of the Group.--Resident
Chinamen.--Raising Sugar-Cane.--On the Ocean.--Yokohama,
Japan.--Habits of the People.--A Remarkable Idol.--Tokio,
the Political Capital.--The Famous Inland Sea of
Japan.--Nagasaki.--Products and Progress of Japan. 16
CHAPTER III.
Through the Yellow and Chinese Seas.--Hong Kong.--
Peculiarities of the Chinese at Home.--Native Women.--City
of Canton.--Charitable Organizations.--Chinese
Culture.--National Characteristics.--Sail for Singapore.--A
Water-spout.--A Tropical Island.--Local Pen-Pictures.--The
Island of Penang.--An Indolent Native Race.--The Cocoanut
Tree.--Palm Wine.--Tropical Fruits. 32
CHAPTER IV.
Crossing the Indian Ocean.--The Island of Ceylon.--Harbor
of Colombo.--The Equatorial Forest.--Native Costumes.--
Vegetation of Ceylon.--Prehistoric Monuments.--Departure
for Australia.--The Stars at Sea.--The Great
Island-Continent.--The Gold Product--Divisions of the
Country.--City of Adelaide.--Public Garden.--West
Australia.--Melbourne, Capital of Victoria.--Street
Scenes.--Chinese Quarter. 44
CHAPTER V.
Gold-fields of Australia.--Kangaroos.--Big Gum Trees.--
Largest Trees in the World.--Wild Bird Life.--
Gold-seeking.--City of Sydney.--Botanical Garden.--Public
Institutions.--Sheep-raising.--Brisbane, Capital of
Queensland.--The Aboriginal Race.--Native Legends.--The
Boomerang.--Island of Tasmania.--How named.--Launceston.--
Hobart, the Capital.--Local Scenes.--A Prosperous Country. 62
CHAPTER VI.
Embark for New Zealand.--The Albatross.--Experiments with
Sea Water.--Oil upon the Waves.--Geography of New
Zealand.--Mineral Wealth.--City of Dunedin.--Public
Schools.--Native Cannibals.--Christchurch.--A Wonderful
Bird.--Wellington, Capital of New Zealand.--Habits of
the Natives.--The Race of Maori Indians.--Liability to
Earthquakes.--A Submerged Volcano in Cook's Strait. 81
CHAPTER VII.
City of Auckland, New Zealand.--A Land of Volcanoes.--
Suburbs of the Northern Metropolis.--The Kauri-Tree.--
Native Flowers.--The Hot Lake District.--A New Zealand
Forest.--A Vegetable Boa-constrictor.--Sulphurous Hot
Springs.--Fiery Caldrons.--Indian town of Ohinemutu.--
Typical Home of the Natives.--Maori Manners and
Customs.--The Favorable Position of New Zealand.--Its
Probable Future. 93
CHAPTER VIII.
Arrival in India.--Insect and Reptile Life.--Madura.--
City of Trichinopoly.--Car of Juggernaut.--Temple of
Tanjore.--Travelling in India.--Madras.--Street Dancing
Girls.--Arrival at Calcutta.--Cremating the Dead.--A
Fashionable Driveway.--The Himalayan Mountains.--Apex of
the Globe.--Tea Gardens of India.--A Wretched
Peasantry.--Ancient Ruins.--City of Benares.--Worship
of Animals.--Cawnpore.--Delhi.--Agra.--A Splendid Tomb. 105
CHAPTER IX.
Native City of Jeypore.--Poppy and Opium-raising.--
Bombay.--The Parsees.--The Towers of Silence.--Historical
View of India.--Voyage to the Red Sea.--Cairo, Capital of
Egypt.--Local Scenes.--The Turkish Bazaars.--Pyramids of
Gizeh.--The Sphinx.--The Desert.--Egypt, Past and
Present.--Voyage to Malta.--City of Valetta.--Church of
St. John.--Gibraltar.--View from the Signal
Station.--English Outposts. 122
CHAPTER X.
Tangier, Capital of Morocco.--An Oriental City.--Slave
Market.--Characteristic Street Scenes.--Malaga, Spain.--A
Neglected Country.--Grenada.--The Alhambra.--The Banished
Moors.--Cordova and its Cathedral-Mosque.--Madrid, Capital
of Spain.--Museo Art Gallery.--Sunday in the Metropolis.--
Toledo.--The Escurial.--Burgos.--San Sebastian.--
Bayonne.--Spain, Past and Present.--Bordeaux.--Rural
Scenery in France. 141
CHAPTER XI.
City of Paris.--Sunday in the French Capital.--The Flower
Market.--Notre Dame.--The Morgue.--Père la Chaise.--The
Story of Joan of Arc.--Educational Advantages.--City of
Lyons.--Marseilles.--Nice.--Cimies.--Mentone.--The
Principality of Monaco.--A Gambling Resort.--Mediterranean
Scenes.--Over the Corniche Road.--City of Genoa.--Marble
Palaces.--Italian Navigation.--The Campo Santo or
Burial Ground. 164
CHAPTER XII.
Port of Leghorn.--Ancient City of Pisa.--Remarkable
Monuments.--The Bay of Naples.--Neapolitan Beggars.--A
Favorite Drive.--Out-of-door Life.--Vesuvius.--Art
Treasures of the Museum.--Pompeii.--Environs of
Naples.--Rome, the "Eternal City."--Local Scenes.--Artists'
Models.--Favorite Promenade.--The Coliseum.--St.
Peter's.--Florence and its Environs.--Art Treasures.--Home
of Dante and Michael Angelo. 181
CHAPTER XIII.
Venice.--The Gondola.--On the Grand Canal.--Venetian
History.--Piazza of St. Mark.--Cathedral of San Marco.--The
Campanile.--Academy of Fine Arts.--Doge's Palace.--Tombs
of Titian and Canova.--Milan.--The Wonderful Cathedral.--
Original Picture of the Last Supper.--Olden City of
Pavia.--Innspruck, Capital of the Tyrol.--Among the
Alps.--Salzburg, Birthplace of Mozart.--Industries
of German Women. 200
CHAPTER XIV.
Vienna, the Northern Paris.--Art Galleries and Museum.--
Prague, Capital of Bohemia.--Ancient Dungeons.--Historic
Mention.--Dresden, Capital of Saxony.--The Green
Vaults.--Berlin, Capital of Prussia.--Hamburg.--Copenhagen,
Capital of Denmark.--The Baltic Sea.--Danish Progress.--
Thorwaldsen.--Educational.--Palace of Rosenborg.--The Round
Tower.--Elsinore and Shakespeare's Hamlet. 215
CHAPTER XV.
Gottenburg, Sweden.--Intelligence of the People.--The Gotha
Canal.--Tröllhatta Falls.--Christiania, Capital of
Norway.--Legal Code.--Public Buildings.--Ancient Viking
Ship.--Brief Summers.--Swedish Women in the Field.--Flowers
in Arctic Regions.--Norwegian Lakes.--Animals of the
North.--Mountains and Glaciers.--A Land of Fjords, Cascades,
and Lakes.--Dwellings situated like Eagles' Nests. 233
CHAPTER XVI.
Bergen, Norway.--Local Products and Scenes.--Environs of
Bergen.--The Angler's Paradise.--Tröndhjem.--Story of King
Olaf.--A Cruel Imprisonment.--Journey Northward.--Night
turned into Day.--Coast of Norway.--Education.--The Arctic
Circle.--Bodöe.--The Lofoden Islands.--The Maelström.--Hardy
Arctic Fishermen.--The Polar Sea.--Varied Attractions of
Norway to Travellers and Artists. 247
CHAPTER XVII.
Peculiar Sleeplessness.--Tromsöe.--The Aurora Borealis.--
Short-lived Summer.--Flowers.--Trees.--Laplanders and
their Possessions.--Reindeers.--Customs of the Lapps.--
Search for Whales.--Arctic Birds.--Influence of the Gulf
Stream.--Hammerfest.--The Far North Cape and the Polar
Ocean.--The Midnight Sun.--Stockholm, Capital of Sweden.--
Royal Palace.--Historic Upsala.--Linnæus, the
Naturalist.--Crossing the Baltic and Gulf of Finland. 261
CHAPTER XVIII.
Åbo.--Helsingfors, Capital of Finland.--Remarkable Fortress
of Sweaborg.--Fortifications of Cronstadt.--Up the Neva to
St. Petersburg.--Grandest City of Northern Europe.--Street
Scenes in Russia.--Occupations of the Sabbath.--The
Drosky.--Royal Palaces of the Tzar.--Noble Art Gallery.--
Celebrated Library.--Public Monuments.--Winter Season. 275
CHAPTER XIX.
Palace of Petershoff.--Peter the Great.--Religious
Denominations.--On the Way to Moscow.--Through the
Forests.--City of Tver.--The Volga.--Water-ways of
Russia.--Picturesque Moscow.--The Kremlin.--Churches.--
Cathedral of St. Basil.--Treasury of the Kremlin.--Royal
Robes and Crowns.--A Page from History.--University
of Moscow.--Sacred Pigeons.--Prevalence of Beggary
in the Oriental Capital. 288
CHAPTER XX.
Nijni-Novgorod.--Valley of the Volga.--One of the Great
Rivers of the World.--Famous Annual Fair-Ground.--Variety
of Merchandise.--A Conglomerate of Races.--A Large
Temporary City.--From Moscow to Warsaw.--Wolves.--The
Granary of Europe.--Polish Peasants.--City of Warsaw.--
Topography of the Capital.--Royal Residences.--Botanical
Gardens.--Political Condition of Poland.--Commercial
Prosperity.--Shameful Despotism. 298
CHAPTER XXI.
Munich, Capital of Bavaria.--Trying Employments of the
Women.--A Beer-Drinking Community.--Frankfort-on-the-Main.--
Luther's Home.--Goethe's Birthplace.--Cologne on the Rhine.--
The Grand Cathedral.--Antwerp, Belgium.--Rubens' Burial
Place.--Art Treasures in the Cathedral.--Switzerland.--
Bâle.--Lausanne.--Geneva.--Lake Leman.--Vevay.--Berne,
Capital of Switzerland.--Lucerne.--Zurich.--Schaffhausen. 310
CHAPTER XXII.
London, the Metropolis of the World.--Some of its
Institutions.--The Tower of London.--Statistics of the Great
City.--Ancient Chester.--Rural England.--Stratford-on-Avon.--
Edinburgh, Scotland.--Remarkable Monuments.--Abbotsford.--
Rural Scotland.--Glasgow.--Greenock.--Across the Irish Sea
to Belfast.--Queen's College.--Dublin, the Capital of
Ireland.--Grand Public Buildings. 321
CHAPTER XXIII.
Nassau, New Providence.--Trees, Flowers, and Fruits.--Curious
Sea Gardens.--The Finny Tribes.--Fresh Water Supply.--Tropical
Skies.--The Gulf Stream.--Santiago de Cuba.--Cienfuegos.--Sugar
Plantations.--Cuban Fruits.--Peculiarities of the Banana.--
A Journey across the Island to Matanzas.--Inland
Experiences.--Characteristic Scenes.--The Royal Palm. 334
CHAPTER XXIV.
Discovery of Cuba by Columbus.--The Native Race.--Historical
Matters.--Headquarters of Spanish Military Operations in the
West.--Invasion of Mexico by Cortez.--African Slave
Trade.--Peculiarities of the Caribbean Sea.--Geography of
the Island of Cuba.--City of Matanzas.--Havana, the
Capital.--The Alameda.--The Cathedral.--Military
Mass.--A Wonderfully Fertile Island.--Reflections. 349
FOOT-PRINTS OF TRAVEL;
OR,
JOURNEYINGS IN MANY LANDS.
CHAPTER I.
The title of the book in hand is sufficiently expressive of its purpose.
We shall follow the course of the sun, but diverge wherever the
peculiarities of different countries prove attractive. As the author
will conduct his readers only among scenes and over routes which he
himself has travelled, it is hoped that he may be able to impart a
portion of the enjoyment experienced, and the knowledge gained in many
foreign lands and on many distant seas.
Starting from the city of Boston by railway, we pass at express speed
through the length of Massachusetts from east to west, until we arrive
at Hoosac, where the famous tunnel of that name is situated. This
remarkable excavation, five miles in length, was cut through the solid
rock of Hoosac Mountain to facilitate transportation between Boston and
the West, at a cost of twenty years of labor and sixteen millions of
dollars; a sum, which, were it divided, would amount to over five
dollars per head for every man, woman, and child in the State.
By a continuous day's journey from Boston, we reach Niagara late at
night. The best view of the falls, which form the grandest cataract on
the globe, is to be enjoyed from the Canada side of the Niagara River.
In the midst of the falls is Goat Island, dividing them into two unequal
parts, one of which forms the American, and the other the Horse Shoe
Fall, so called from its shape, which is on the Canada side. As we gaze
upon this remarkable exhibition of natural force, a column of vapor
rises two hundred feet above the avalanche of waters, white as snow
where it is absorbed into the skies, the base being wreathed with
perpetual rainbows. A canal, starting from a convenient point above the
falls and extending to a point below the rapids, utilizes for mill
purposes an infinitesimal portion of the enormous power which is running
to waste, night and day, just as it has been doing for hundreds of
years. It is well known that many centuries ago these falls were six
miles nearer to Lake Ontario than they now are, making it evident that a
steady wearing away of the rock and soil is all the time progressing.
The inference seems to be plain enough. After the lapse of ages these
mammoth falls may have receded so far as to open with one terrific
plunge the eastern end of Lake Erie. Long before the Falls are reached
we hear the mighty roar which made the Indians call the cataract
Niagara, or "the thunder of the waters." On leaving here, we cross the
river by a suspension bridge, which, from a short distance, looks like a
mere spider's web. Over this the cars move slowly, affording a superb
view of the Falls and of the awful chasm below.
But let us not dwell too long upon so familiar a theme. After a day and
night in the cars, travelling westward, Chicago, the capital of
Illinois, is reached. About sixty years ago a scattered tribe of the
Pottawatomies inhabited the spot on the shore of Lake Michigan, where is
now situated the most important capital of the North Western States. In
1837 the city was formed with less than five thousand inhabitants; at
this writing it has nearly a million. Such rapid growth has no parallel
in America or elsewhere. This commercial increase is the natural result
of its situation at the head of the great chain of lakes. In size it is
a little over seven miles in length by five in width, giving it an area
of about forty square miles. The city is now the centre of a railroad
system embracing fifteen important trunk lines, forming the largest
grain, lumber, and livestock market in the world. One hundred and sixty
million bushels of grain have passed through its elevators in a
twelvemonth.
On our way westward, we stop for a day at Salt Lake City, the capital of
Utah, some sixteen hundred miles from Chicago. The site of the present
town was an unbroken wilderness so late as 1838, but it now boasts a
population of twenty-six thousand souls. The peculiar people who have
established themselves here, have by industry and a complete system of
irrigation, brought the entire valley to a degree of fertility
unsurpassed by the same number of square miles on this continent. It is
not within our province to discuss the domestic life of the Mormons. No
portrait of them, however, will prove a likeness which does not clearly
depict their twofold features; namely, their thrift and their iniquity.
Contact with a truer condition of civilization, and the enforcement of
United States laws, are slowly, but it is believed surely, reducing the
numbers of the self-entitled "saints." Mormon missionaries, however,
still seek to make proselytes in France, Norway, Sweden, and Great
Britain, addressing themselves always to the most ignorant classes.
These poor half-starved creatures are helped to emigrate, believing that
they are coming to a land flowing with milk and honey. In most cases any
change with them would be for their advantage; and so the ranks of
Mormonism are recruited, not from any truly religious impulse in the new
disciples, but through a desire to better their physical condition.
From Utah, two days and a night passed in the cars will take us over the
six hundred intervening miles to San Francisco. The route passes through
the Sierra Nevada Mountains, presenting scenery which recalls the grand
gorges and snow-clad peaks of Switzerland and Norway, characterized by
deep canyons, lofty wooded elevations, and precipitous declivities. At
the several railway stations specimens of the native Shoshones, Piutes,
and other tribes of Indians are seen lazily sunning themselves in
picturesque groups. The men are dirty and uncouth examples of humanity,
besmeared with yellow ochre and vermilion; their dress consisting of
loose flannel blankets and deerskin leggings, their rude hats decked
with eagle feathers. The women are wrapped in striped blankets and wear
red flannel leggings, both sexes being furnished with buckskin
moccasins. The women are fond of cheap ornaments, colored glass beads,
and brass ear-rings. About every other one has a baby strapped to her
back in a flat basket. Men and squaws wear their coarse jet-black hair
in long, untidy locks, hanging over their bronzed necks and faces. War,
whiskey, and want of proper food are gradually blotting out the
aboriginal tribes of America.
San Francisco, less than forty years of age, is the commercial
metropolis of California, which State, if it lay upon the Atlantic
coast, would extend from Massachusetts to South Carolina. It covers a
territory five times as large as the whole of the New England States
combined, possessing, especially in its southern division, a climate
presenting most of the advantages of the tropics with but few of the
objections which appertain to the low latitudes. The population of San
Francisco already reaches an aggregate of nearly four hundred thousand.
Owing its first popular attraction to the discovery of gold within its
borders, in 1849, California has long since developed an agricultural
capacity exceeding the value of its mineral productions. The future
promise and possibilities of its trade and commerce defy calculation.
The Cliff House, situated four or five miles from the centre of the
city, is a favorite pleasure resort of the population. It stands on a
bluff of the Pacific shore, affording an ocean view limited only by the
power of the human vision. As we look due west from this spot, no land
intervenes between us and the far-away shore of Japan. Opposite the
Cliff House, three hundred yards from the shore, there rises abruptly
out of the sea, from a depth of many fathoms, a rough, precipitous rock,
sixty or seventy feet in height, presenting about an acre of surface.
Sea-lions come out of the water in large numbers to sun themselves upon
this rock, affording an amusing sight from the shore. These animals are
of all sizes, according to age, weighing from fifty to one thousand
pounds, and possessing sufficient muscular power to enable them to climb
the rock, where a hundred are often seen at a time. The half roar, half
bark peculiar to these creatures, sounds harsh upon the ear of the
listeners at the Cliff. The law of the State protects them from
molestation, but they quarrel furiously among themselves. The sea-lion
belongs to the seal family and is the largest of its species.
A week can hardly be more profitably occupied upon our route than by
visiting the Yosemite Valley, where the grandeur of the Alpine scenery
is unsurpassed, and where there are forests which produce giant trees of
over three hundred feet in height and over thirty in diameter. The
ascent of the mountain which forms the barrier to the valley, commences
at a place called Clark's, the name of the person who keeps the hotel,
and which is the only dwelling-house in the neighborhood. The stage is
drawn upwards over a precipitous, winding road, by relays of six stout
horses, to an elevation of seven thousand feet, leaving behind nearly
all signs of human habitation. A mournful air of loneliness surrounds us
as we creep slowly towards the summit; but how grand and inspiring are
the views which are seen from the various points! One falls to analyzing
the natural architecture of these mountain peaks, gulches, and cliffs,
fancy making out at times well-defined Roman circuses; again,
castellated crags come into view, resembling half-ruined castles on the
Rhine; other crags are like Turkish minarets, while some rocky ranges
are dome-capped like St. Peter's at Rome. Far below them all we catch
glimpses of dark ravines of unknown depths, where lonely mist-wreaths
rest like snow-drifts.
Nestling beside the roadway, there are seen here and there pale
wild-flowers surrounded by vigorous ferns and creeping vines, showing
that even here, in these lofty and deserted regions, Nature has her
poetic moods. Birds almost entirely disappear at these altitudes,
preferring the more genial atmosphere of the plains, though now and
again an eagle, with broad spread pinions, is seen to swoop gracefully
from the top of some lonely pine, and sail with unmoving wings far away
across the depth of the valley until hidden by the windings of the
gorge. Even the presence of this proud and kingly bird but serves to
emphasize the loneliness of these silent heights.
[Illustration: MIRROR LAKE, YOSEMITE VALLEY.]
By and by the loftiest portion of the road is reached at what is known
as Inspiration Point, whence a comprehensive view is afforded of the
far-famed valley. Though we stand here at an elevation of over seven
thousand feet above the plains so lately crossed, still the Yosemite
Valley, into which we are gazing with awe and admiration, is but about
three thousand five hundred feet below us. It runs east and west,
appearing quite contracted from this great height, but is eight miles
long by over one in width. On either side rise vertical cliffs of
granite, varying from three to four thousand feet in height, several of
the lofty gorges discharging narrow but strikingly beautiful and
transparent water-falls. Upon descending into the valley, we find
ourselves surrounded by precipitous mountains, nearly a score in number,
the loftiest of which is entitled Starr King, after the late clergyman
of that name, and is five thousand six hundred feet in height. But the
Three Brothers, with an average height of less than four thousand feet,
and Sentinel Dome, measuring four thousand five hundred feet high, seem
to the casual observer to be quite as prominent, while El Capitan, which
is about three thousand three hundred feet in height, appears from its
more favorable position to be the most striking and effective of them
all. Eleven water-falls of greater or less magnitude come tumbling into
the valley, adding to the picturesqueness of the scene. Of these several
falls, that which is known as the Bridal Veil will be sure to strike
the stranger as the finest, though not the loftiest. The constant
moisture and the vertical rays of the sun carpet the level plain of the
valley with a bright and uniform verdure, through the midst of which
winds the swift-flowing Merced River, adding completeness to a scene of
rare and enchanting beauty.
It was not until so late as the year 1851 that the foot of a white man
ever trod the valley, which had for years proven the secure hiding-place
of marauding Indians. In their battles with the whites, the latter were
often surprised by the sudden disappearance of their foes, who vanished
mysteriously, leaving no traces behind them. On these occasions, as was
afterwards discovered, they fled to the almost inaccessible Yosemite
Valley. Betrayed at last by a treacherous member of their own tribe, the
Indians were surprised and nearly all destroyed. There is scarcely a
resident in the valley except those connected with the running of the
stages during the summer months, and those who are attached to the
hotel. It is quite inaccessible in winter. An encampment of native
Indians is generally to be seen in the warm months, located on the
river's bank, under the shade of a grove of tall trees; the river and
the forest afford these aborigines ample food. For winter use they store
a crop of acorns, which they dry, and grind into a nourishing flour.
They are a dirty, sad-looking race, far more repulsive in appearance
than the lowest type of Spanish gypsies one meets in Andalusia.
In returning from the Yosemite to San Francisco, let us do so by the
road leading through the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. These forest
monarchs are situated in a thickly wooded glade hundreds of feet up the
slope of the Sierra. We find one of these trees partially decayed
towards its base, yet still alive and standing upright with a broad,
lofty passage-way through its entire trunk, large enough for our stage,
laden with passengers inside and out, to drive through. Though time has
made such havoc with this trunk, it still possesses sufficient vitality
to bear leaves upon its topmost branches, some three hundred feet above
the ground. It is curious that these enormous trees, among the largest
upon the globe, have cones only about the size of walnuts, with seeds of
hardly a quarter of an inch in length. There are trunks lying upon the
ground in this remarkable grove which are believed to be two thousand
years of age; and others upright, and in growing condition, which are
reckoned by their clearly defined annual rings, to be thirteen hundred
years old. The region embraced in what is known as the Yosemite Valley
has been ceded by the National Government to the State of California, on
the express condition that it shall be kept inviolate in its present
wild and natural state for all time.
The streets, alleys, and boulevards of San Francisco present a panorama
of human interest rarely excelled in any part of the world. How
impressive to watch its cosmopolitan life, to note the exaggerated love
of pleasure exhibited on all hands, the devotion of each active member
of the community to money-making, the prevailing manners and customs,
the iniquitous pursuits of the desperate and dangerous classes, and the
readiness of their too willing victims! It is the solitary looker-on who
sees more than the actors in the great drama of every-day life. Above
all, it is most curious to observe how the lines of barbarism and
civilization intersect along these teeming avenues.
There is a district of the city near its very centre, known as
Chinatown, which is at total variance with the general surroundings. It
requires but a slight stretch of the imagination after passing its
borders to believe one's self in Canton or Hong Kong, except that the
thoroughfares in the Asiatic capitals are mere alleys in width, shut in
overhead and darkened by straw mats, while here we have broad streets
after the American and European fashion, open to the sky. They are,
however, lined with Chinese shops, decked in all their national
peculiarities, exhibiting the most grotesque signs, while the windows
are crowded with outlandish articles, and the whole surrounded by an
Oriental atmosphere. This section is almost entirely peopled by
Mongolians, and such poor abandoned men and women of other nationalities
as seek among these repulsive surroundings to hide themselves from the
shame and penalty of their crimes.
It is not proposed in these Foot-Prints of Travel to remain long on this
continent. Americans are presumed to be quite familiar with their native
land; so we will embark without delay upon a voyage across the Pacific
Ocean to Japan, by way of the Sandwich Islands. Once on board ship, we
quickly pass through the Golden Gate, as the entrance to the spacious
harbor of San Francisco is called, steering south-southwest towards the
Hawaiian group, which is situated a little over two thousand miles away.
The great seas and oceans of the globe, like the land, have their
geographical divisions and local peculiarities, varying essentially in
temperature, products, and moods; now marked by certain currents; now
noted for typhoons and hurricanes; and now lying in latitudes which are
favored with almost constant calms and unvarying sunshine. By a glance
at the map we shall see that a vessel taking her course for New
Zealand, for instance, by the way of the Sandwich Islands, will pass
through a tract of the Pacific Ocean seemingly so full of islands that
we are led to wonder how a ship pursuing such a route can avoid running
foul of some of the Polynesian groups. But it must be remembered that
the distances which are so concisely depicted to our eyes upon the map,
are yet vast in reality, while so mathematically exact are the rules of
navigation, and so well known are the prevailing currents, that a
steamship may make the voyage from Honolulu to Auckland, a distance of
four thousand miles, without sighting land. When Magellan, the
Portuguese navigator, first discovered this great ocean, after sailing
through the straits which bear his name, he called it the Pacific Ocean,
and perhaps it seemed "pacific" to him after a stormy voyage in the
Caribbean Sea; but portions of its surface are quite as restless and
tempest-tossed as are the waters of any part of the globe. The Pacific
measures nine thousand miles from north to south, and is ten thousand
miles broad between Quito, South America, and the Moluccas or Spice
Islands. At the extreme north, where Behring's Strait divides the
continents of Asia and America, it is scarcely more than forty miles in
width, so that in clear weather one can see the shores of Asia while
standing on our own continent.
It is an eight days' voyage by steamship from San Francisco to Honolulu,
giving the traveller ample time to familiarize himself with many
peculiarities of this waste of waters. Occasionally a whale is sighted,
throwing up a small column of water as it rises at intervals to the
surface. A whale is not a fish; it differs materially from the finny
tribe, and can as surely be drowned as can a man. Whales bring forth
living young; they breathe atmospheric air through their lungs in place
of water through gills, having also a double heart and warm blood, like
land animals. Flying-fish are frequently seen, queer little creatures,
resembling the smelts of our northern waters. While exhibiting the
nature of a fish, they have also the soaring ambition of a bird.
Hideous, man-eating sharks are sure to follow in the ship's wake,
watching for some unfortunate victim of a sailor or passenger who may
fall overboard, and eagerly devouring any refuse thrown from the cook's
galley. At times the many-armed cuttlefish is seen to leap out of the
water, while the star-fish, with its five arms of equal length, abounds.
Though it seems so apparently lifeless, the star-fish can be quite
aggressive when pressed by hunger, having, as naturalists tell us, a
mysterious way of causing the oyster to open its shell, when it proceeds
gradually to consume the body of the bivalve. One frail, small rover of
the deep is sure to interest the voyager; namely, the tiny nautilus,
with its transparent covering, almost as frail as writing-paper. No
wonder the ancient Greeks saw in its beautifully corrugated shell the
graceful model of a galley, and hence its name, derived from the Greek
word which signifies a ship. Sometimes a pale gray, amber-like substance
is seen floating upon the surface of the sea, which, upon examination,
proves to be ambergris, a substance originally found in the body of the
sperm whale, and which is believed to be produced there only. Scientists
declare it to be a secretion caused by disease in the animal, probably
induced by indigestion, as the pearl is said to be a diseased secretion
of the Australian and Penang oysters. Ambergris is not infrequently
found floating along the shores of the Coral Sea, and about the west
coast of New Zealand, having been ejected by the whales which frequent
these waters. When first taken from the animal it is of a soft texture,
and is offensive to the smell; but after a brief exposure to the air it
rapidly hardens, and then emits a sweet, earthy odor, and is used in
manufacturing choice perfumery.
The harbor of San Francisco abounds in big, white sea-gulls, which fly
fearlessly in and out among the shipping, uttering defiant screams, or
floating gracefully like corks upon the water. They are large, handsome,
dignified birds, and are never molested, being looked upon as
picturesque ornaments to the harbor; and they are also the most active
of scavengers, removing all sorts of floating carrion and refuse which
is thrown overboard. The gulls one sees off the coast of Norway are
numbered by thousands, but they are not nearly so large as these bird
monarchs of the Pacific. A score of these are sure to accompany us to
sea, closely following the ship day after day, living mostly upon the
refuse thrown out from the steward's department. In the month of
October, 1884, one of these birds was caught by the passengers upon a
steamship just as she was leaving the coast of America for Japan. A
piece of red tape was made fast to one of its legs, after which it was
restored to liberty. This identical gull followed the ship between four
and five thousand miles, into the harbor of Yokohama. Distance seems to
be of little account to these buoyant navigators of the air.
On approaching the Hawaiian group from the north, the first land which
is sighted is the island of Oahu, and soon after we pass along the
windward shores of Maui and Molokai, doubling the lofty promontory of
Diamond Head, which rears its precipitous front seven hundred feet
above the sea. We arrive at the dawn of day, while the rising sun
beautifies the mountain tops, the green slopes, the gulches, and
fern-clad hills, which here and there sparkle with silvery streamlets.
The gentle morning breeze blowing off the land brings us the dewy
fragrance of the flowers, which has been distilled from a wilderness of
tropical bloom during the night. The land forms a shelter for our
vessel, and we glide noiselessly over a perfectly calm sea. As we draw
nearer to the shore, sugar plantations, cocoanut groves, and verdant
pastures come clearly into view. Here and there the shore is dotted with
the low, primitive dwellings of the natives, and occasionally we see
picturesque, vine-clad cottages of American or European residents.
Approaching still nearer to the city of Honolulu, it seems to be
half-buried in a cloud of luxuriant foliage, while a broad and beautiful
valley stretches away from the town far back among the lofty hills.
The steamer glides at half speed through the narrow channel in the coral
reef which makes the natural breakwater of the harbor. This channel is
carefully buoyed on either side, and at night safety-lamps are placed
upon each of these little floating beacons, so that a steamship can find
her way in even after nightfall. Though the volcanic origin of the land
is plain, it is not the sole cause of these reefs and islands appearing
thus in mid-ocean. Upon the flanks of the upheaval the little coral
animal, with tireless industry, rears its amazing structure, until it
reaches the surface of the waves as a reef, more or less contiguous to
the shore, and to which ages finally serve to join it. The tiny creature
delegated by Providence to build these reefs dies on exposure to the
air, its work being then completed. The far-reaching antiquity of the
islands is established by these very coralline formations, which could
only have attained their present elevation, just below the surface of
the surrounding sea, by the growth of thousands of years. This coral
formation on the shores of the Hawaiian group is not peculiar to these
islands, but is found to exist in connection with nearly all of those
existing in the Pacific Ocean.
The lighthouse, placed on the inner side of the coral reef, is a
structure not quite thirty feet in height. After reaching the inside of
the harbor of Honolulu, the anchorage is safe and sheltered, with ample
room for a hundred large vessels at the same time, the average depth of
water being some sixteen fathoms. The wharves are spacious and
substantial, built with broad, high coverings to protect laborers from
the heat of a tropical sun. Honolulu is the commercial port of the whole
group of islands,--the half-way house, as it were, between North America
and Asia,--California and the new world of Australasia.