MINNESOTA.
The Mississippi -- St. Paul -- Minneapolis -- Le Mars --
Sioux City -- Life on the Rail -- Muddy Missouri -- Kansas
City -- Old and New Friends.
_May 24th._--At 6 A.M. we were aroused from our slumbers by the
rattling of the train over the Mississippi bridge near La Crosse, 195
miles from Milwaukee, which is on the east bank of the river.
All next day through a country of great fertility, with many orchards,
green pasturage, and fields of wheat and maize, and we were fain to
believe that night had hid at least an equal richness from our view.
On the highway of the Central Illinois Railway there is an enormous
extent of the richest soil. One may pass miles and miles, day after
day, I am told, over prairie land covered with rich grass and
vegetation. An emigrant with a strong arm, a strong head, and a little
money, pushing far afield out of the beaten track, can still, it is
said, secure in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, land which
in a few years will yield a rich return for his investment and his
labour. But it is not, from all I could hear, quite a paradise to live
in, nor will the emigrant, at least at the outset, complain of the
roses lying too thickly under him. There are broken men here as well
as in other parts of the world, but they are "lazy, ne'er-do-weels;
they drink and smoke and pass their lives in front of the bar-rooms,
liquor saloons, and gambling shops." Some of them deny that the
description applies to them; they attribute their ill-fortune to
natural causes--to the terrible winters which seem to destroy all
life, at times covering the country with snow, which melting, swells
the rivers, which sweep over the fields, depositing a thick mud on the
surface or carrying away the crops. As to the existence of a winter of
great intensity and duration there can be no dispute; but neither man
nor cattle succumb to its effects. On all sides, however, we were
assured that the cold is not comparable to that which we experience in
England, unless there is a strong wind which causes evaporation. How
the emigrant can support these long and dreary winters in his log
shanty, where fuel is not too plentiful, I am at a loss to understand,
unless it be indeed true that the cold, no matter what the thermometer
shows, is not so cold as it is in Europe. But, without jesting, there
is concurrent testimony from settlers with whom we spoke, that they
can go about without inconvenience when the thermometer marks twenty
or thirty degrees of frost; and the same fact is reported in Manitoba
of Western Canada. It is, they say, the dryness of the air which
mitigates the severity of the cold.
The names of places in Wisconsin are often of French or Indian origin,
smacking of the old days of exploration and the chase--Prairie du
Chien, Portage, Tomah, &c. We did not see much of the country between
Milwaukee and La Crosse, but now we roused ourselves to make amends
for our forced neglect by diligent observation from the windows.
The iron horse has borne the travellers nearly 200 miles without a
check, over canals, rivers, and rich fat lands, and we are now
entering on a picturesque region. For many a long mile we ran by the
side of the Father of Waters, which hereabouts has traits reminding
one of the Rhine, doubled or trebled in breadth, it is true; its broad
and turbid waters, now several feet above its ordinary level, are
confined by high wooded banks and sharp bluffs. Winona, rich in
timber-rafts and many masts--a little inland river port, with a show
of steeples and public buildings, won our regards for a moment, and
farther on the Mississippi opened out into a grand sheet called, I
think, Lake Pepin. At the summit of the bluffs the great prairie lands
begin, and after a run beneath these finely contoured natural
battlements of two and a half hours along the bank of the stream, the
line of cliff seemed to recede and open up, and we caught a glimpse of
the green headlands, flattening out into rolling treeless
plains--"There is the Prairie"! The River Division of the Chicago,
Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway over which we travelled has not always
to congratulate itself on its vicinity to the river, nor to think its
lot has been cast in pleasant places. The great inundation in which
the Mississippi and Missouri did so much mischief left plentiful and
numerous traces of its power along our route. At 9 A.M. we crossed
the river by a fine bridge to the left bank. In half an hour more the
steeples, chimneys, and elevators of St. Paul, 409 miles from Chicago,
were in sight, and at 10 A.M. the special stopped at the platform,
where General Sibley, whilom governor and almost the father of the
country hereabouts, the mayor elect, and a deputation, were waiting to
receive the Duke, to whom they were introduced by Mr. Merrill, the
manager of the railroad.
We were always "taken charge of" by somebody or other--at least we
were told so in the newspapers--but our friends do their spiriting so
gently that we are not aware of the surveillance. At St. Paul the
party was "in charge" of the Chamber of Commerce.
General Sibley, Mr. Rice, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Noyes, and
Messrs. Drake were so anxious to show us over the town that we were at
once embarked in carriages and driven through the very wonderful and
interesting streets of this creation, away to Dayton's Bluff, over the
river, from which there is a very fine view up and down of the city
and the valley. Nothing can give one a more vivid impression of the
vast progress in the West, that has been made in countries which were
once in the hands of the Red Indian, than to go as we did in company
with an original settler like General Sibley and hear his stories; to
see the lines of commodious and elegant villas standing in
well-planted grounds, with greenhouses, conservatories, and gardens in
long procession, and in the usual rectangular formation of American
suburbs, and to hear that but a few short years ago sanguinary
encounters were taking place between red men and white, close at hand.
He told us of the terrible incursion of Indians under Little Crow in
1862, by which this State and Dacotah were plunged in mourning, and of
the brilliant little campaign in which he destroyed the invaders and
broke their power for ever, and it was difficult to imagine that such
deeds as he described had been perpetrated not many marches distant by
such enemies only nineteen years ago. St. Paul is not to be described
in a few lines, and as we listened to General Sibley's account of its
rise, and looked at its streets, and shops, and public buildings, it
was only the material evidence before our eyes which enabled us to
grasp the fact of such a wondrous growth; and the population is said
to be nearly 60,000, and to be fast increasing. The capital of
Minnesota spreads itself out on both sides of the Mississippi, which
is here 2200 miles from its mouths below New Orleans. The principal
buildings are on the left bank. The people, without being troublesome
or pressing, were interested on the new arrivals, and more than one
British flag was visible in the street. The streets were exceedingly
dusty, which is not an uncommon circumstance in American towns, and is
not to be wondered at either, and I think we were all very glad to
reach the Metropolitan Hotel for a little rest and a bath before lunch
at 11 o'clock. There was yet much to be done, as we had to visit
Minneapolis, 10 miles distant, driving by Summit and University
Avenues.
Minneapolis would well deserve a separate chapter to itself if I could
give it. It is a "twin city," for St. Anthony is linked to it, and it
boasts a university, an opera-house, an academy of music, fine public
buildings, an Athenæum, a public library, many churches, and the broad
streets are lined with shade-giving trees and fine shops and houses;
and yet it was as late as 1837 that the United States obtained by
treaty from the Sioux the right of settling in the country at all; and
the city of St. Paul is partly built on the piece of land which was
obtained by a Canadian named Pierre Parent in the same year, and which
he sold for 16_l._! And now the hum of life, the thunder of machinery,
the smoke of factories, fill the valley. The Mississippi groans under
the masses of timber and innumerable keels. How much to admire! what
energy! what enterprise! But how nature suffered from it all! The
Falls of St. Anthony turned into the overflow of a canal lock! The
great river converted into a sewer laden with manure and sawdust! The
lovely landscape defaced by hideous mills, elevators, factories! How
the poets should rage, and the plutocrats rejoice!
An hour had been spent in the drive round the city, an hour and a half
more in the excursion by road to the rival greatness of Minneapolis,
another hour was devoted to taking a leisurely view of the Falls of
St. Anthony (which were artificial and disappointing), and an
inspection of Mr. Washburn's great mills worked by the captive river.
On our way back the party made a halt to take a glance at Minnehaha,
the "laughing water" (Oh, Mr. Longfellow! How could you?)--a pretty
little cascade enough as we saw it--in a deep wooded dell, about half
the height of the Fall at Powerscourt; beset, too, with photographers
and harpies. Still, we did our duty. The Auditor and others descended
to the bed of the rivulet, crossed it, and walked round behind the
Falls in due course, and struggled up to the top triumphant. Then we
went back by a different route to Minneapolis, feeling we had well
filled up a very hot, dusty, and profitable day of honest labour, with
many a pleasant incident to boot.
In addition to the trade, commerce, and agricultural riches of
Minnesota there is yet very good sporting to be found, and those among
us who were given that way were much exercised by the accounts we
heard of good shooting not far distant, and of unrivalled fishing--of
woods filled with deer, of prairies swarming with "chickens," of
rivers and lakes boiling with trout! However, one of the gentlemen
with us goes away every year to Canada for his fishing, so it must be
better there than in Minnesota. The cold in winter is admitted to be
intense, but the people are healthy, and there are several resorts for
invalids in much favour in the State. There is a considerable State
debt, respecting which we heard and read discussions in which the word
"repudiation" was mentioned but generally repudiated. After all it is
only about 1,600,000_l._ for city, town, county, school, district, and
State. These, however, are very risky subjects for those who are not
well acquainted with every detail to dwell upon, and as far as I could
learn the development of the State up to the present time may be taken
as a measure of its future progress. Governor Sibley told me he
recollected the time when the population was only 6000--he puts it
down at 1,000,000 to-day.
_May 25th._--We were, I find it recorded in my diary, up and "packed"
at 7 o'clock and had an early, breakfast. "The party started from St.
Paul at 8 A.M., and made a desperate attempt to leave Mr. Close, who
was our very arch guide, and one of its members behind, but it was
ignominiously defeated and the train brought to a standstill at five
miles out from the city, where it had to wait till our special engine
and car completed the journey and filled up the establishment." It was
in this wise. I wanted to buy a candlestick, for in most American
hotels there is only gaslight or petroleum lamps in the bedrooms, and
Mr. Close, who had come to St. Paul to conduct us over his farm, set
out with me to find an ironmonger's shop. "Don't lose your way," said
the good-natured landlord as we left the hotel. No danger of that! Was
I not in the hands of a local expert? We turned into a shop, where the
gentleman behind the counter let us have the run of the establishment
till I found what I wanted, 10 cents = 5_d._, so Protection does not
render tin candlesticks very expensive, any way. And then we sauntered
to the station. A number of people were coming up from it as though
they had been looking at something. We walked down to the platform
and inquired for the special. The porter, pointing with his finger to
a bridge far away across the river down below, said slowly, "I guess
she'll be about there. She went off five minutes ago." Mr. Close
tackled the occasion at once--the station master was hunted down, the
telegraph set to work, an engine and a carriage were prepared, and
amid much objurgation from our friends, connected with imaginary
dangers from collision, &c., we were delivered over to the conductors,
who had never missed us, or thought we were in the train.
The district from St. Paul towards Council Bluffs, traversed by the
train in which we were journeying to-day, presents every temptation to
the agriculturist, but on looking at the map which showed the squares
of land belonging to the railway and those at the disposal of the
State, we had occasion to ascertain that all the plots (the 620-acre
squares adjacent to the line) were disposed of, or only to be had at a
very considerable increase on the normal rates. I cannot tell how many
small settlements we passed on our way till we halted at the station
where Messrs. Close have been carrying on for some time their farming
operations. The general character of the country was that of an
undulating plain covered invariably with thick, coarse grass and
seamed with deep watercourses, which in England, indeed, would be
called rivers, by the sides of which grew trees and dense vegetation.
The houses and stations were of wood, and I do not think that I saw a
stone or brick building for many miles.
One of the objects of the detour made north-westwards from Chicago to
St. Paul was to pass through Iowa and Wisconsin, and to gratify the
desire expressed by the Duke as well to see a country of such great
natural fertility and resources, as the process of turning the virgin
soil. An opportunity of doing this was to be afforded to us by the
Messrs. Close, well-known on the river in times gone by as
accomplished oarsmen, who now own large farms in the West. They have
in their own occupancy a tract of 42,000 acres, which they intend to
divide into farms and on it to build about one hundred houses for
their tenants and found a colony, which has indeed been for some time
in progress. The party got out near the station of Sibley on the St.
Paul and Omaha Railway, where the train stopped, and drove to one of
the farms, Le Mars, twenty-five miles from Sioux City, which was
inspected with great interest by the Duke and his agricultural
friends, as the plough was then turning soil that never had yet been
touched by the hand of man. The figures furnished by Messrs. Close
show good results; they are quite willing to welcome any gentleman
desirous to try his fortune out West as a tenant, on conditions which
they will communicate, the general principle being that the tenant and
the landowner should be in co-partnership, the returns of the
occupant's farming to be divided in certain proportions between him
and the owners, until such time as the former becomes absolute
proprietor. There are several gentlemen already engaged in this way,
and we heard of persons coming from districts in Ireland, Scotland,
or England, who had associated together for mutual help and support,
and of those it was said that fair success was so far crowning their
struggle. For struggle it is, even under most favourable
circumstances. At first the conditions of life are hard; what would be
considered at home privations, in the matter of food, drink, and
living, by the class furnishing these emigrants, has to be endured or
the fight must be given up; and it is not until after some years that
a little ease can be indulged in, the comforts and the necessaries of
life secured, and the tension of constant effort to make even virgin
soil yield adequate resources be unknown. Here, as elsewhere, capital
is needed. The possession of it ensures a good start, a patient
toleration of present mischiefs with the assurance of a better time to
come.
After the inspection of part of the farm, the Duke and his friends
returned to the train and continued their journey. In traversing the
immense expanse of prairie-land which lies between the boundary of
Minnesota and Sioux City, the traveller is struck by the paucity of
houses. The Sioux City and St. Paul Railway has, however, a great
future before it. If the statement of Mr. J. H. Drake, land
commissioner at St. Paul, Minnesota, be true, and I see no reason to
doubt it, a million acres of unsurpassed farming and stock lands are
at the disposal of the "wide, wide world," if it has money in its
pockets, with the certainty of a magnificent fortune out of that
investment. The system of location of lands is very well known, and
any one who wishes to gain full information respecting it cannot do
better than procure one of the maps which the St. Paul and Sioux City
Railway will send with pleasure, and which exhibits the lots in the
possession of the State, and those which the Company have disposed of,
or hold over for purchase, numbered. The districts are laid out in
squares of 640 acres (5200 square feet to the front); but arrangements
can be made by which 40 acres of land can be purchased. Each block
alternates with a block of the same size belonging to the State. The
shaded squares on the map indicate that they are the property of the
Company. Each shaded block is numbered; and the intending purchaser
has only to fix upon the line in which it is situated and give the
number, and he will procure all the particulars respecting it. But I
fear that if it be adjacent to the railway, he will find he has been
forestalled, for the land-speculators have been very active, and in
Minnesota good prospects are not often to be had at a low price.
A number of ponds, attaining in some places the dimensions of lakes of
very considerable size, and worthy of the names they bear, were
visible from the railway; one indeed--Heron lake--resembling an inland
sea. It is 326 miles, by the Iowa division of the Illinois Central
Railway, from Dubuque to Sioux City on the Missouri; all along the
Sioux City and St. Paul Railway, the Black Hills branch to Woodstock,
the Sioux Falls branch to Valley Springs, and the Rock River branch
there are blocks of 640 acres belonging to the Company, apparently
well watered if they be like those through which we passed, abounding
in rich grasses and wide-spreading meadows; so that if there be not
some reason at work, in climate or the like, which prevents an
accumulation of settlers, I cannot see why Jackson county, Wattowa,
Nobles, Ocecola, Lyon, and other counties, should not be densely
settled, at no distant period, by a thriving agricultural and pastoral
community.
I confess my head could not hold the statistics which were driven into
it only to come out again. It is 117 miles to St. James, and we took
about four hours to do the distance, so that the speed left nothing to
be complained of. But all the time of our journey, the kind gentlemen
who accompanied us poured out information in a copious stream
respecting the value of the lands, the fortunes of lots, and the
particulars as to the little towns we passed through. Notable was it,
however, that at the smallest of these there was sure to be a
school-house and some place of worship, whatever the sect might be.
But the names, I confess, left few memories behind them: Kasota
junction, Mankalto, Christal, all become mixed up with Madelia and St.
James when I try to recollect them.
We reached Sioux City at 9.20, continuing our journey all night, and
slept in the train, which travelled pretty smoothly.
The easy natural way in which we all "turn in" now at the end of the
day would make one suppose it was almost our normal state of life. In
fact it is a cruise on wheels, a yachting excursion on iron waves
rolling over the land, and this is becoming more lively as we approach
the Missouri. There is a cloudy lining to the brightness of the
prospect hereabouts. The rivers have been playing havoc, and we are
obliged to read in the papers of great mischief by flood and storm, of
cyclones and fires, damage to crops and property, and loss of life.
Other things we read too. "Right Royally Received! Handsomely
Entertained! They Express Admiration of the Wonderful Development and
Beautiful Scenery. They Still Think Their System of Railway Management
the Best. The Ducal Party Dine!" The climate must have a strange
effect on us all. The Duke is a veritable Proteus in dress and looks.
Sir H. Green is a man so various that he seems to be "Not one but all
mankind's epitome." Mr. Stephen glides steadily through the columns of
description with a fair share of commendation and uniformity. I have
suddenly become bald, Mr. Neale is a universal favourite, though there
is some tendency to resent his reluctance to admit the American system
is better than the L. & N. W. R. Mr. Bickersteth and the Auditor and
Mr. G. Crosfield are subjected to much modification of description.
Crockett has whole paragraphs of apocryphal matter all to himself, but
our conductors and drivers are uniformly mentioned in terms of
respectful admiration in the local journal.
One paper under the heading of "Cousin George, With Other
Distinguished Members of The Foreign Branch of Our Family," gives an
account of the party which is certainly minute enough, for the
writer, having described the Duke's appearance and dress, observes
that "on the little finger of his right hand was a seal ring worn
smooth;" but perhaps the description would have been more caustic had
not the Chronicler or Dispatcher been propitiated by the admission
"that the palace-car was exceedingly elegant, and that nothing like it
existed on any of the roads in England."
The interviewers in the Western cities were not as numerous as they
were at New York, but there was still a fair demand for information
respecting the object of the Duke's visit. It is strange that America,
which floods Europe with travellers and sightseers, should be
represented in the press at home by gentlemen who want to know why a
party of English people have come to the United States. Their
descriptions of our _personnel_, if sometimes flattering, were, as I
have said, variable, and the Duke of Sutherland has been represented
as "a merry little man," "a tall, grave, serious gentleman," "of
aristocratic mien and attire," "of plain aspect and unpretending
dress," "with a limp," and with "a swift, strong stride," &c. Most of
us were subjected to observations, generally in a kindly spirit, even
in the case of the person to whom the papers still attach the
_soubriquet_ of "Bull Run Russell" (myself to wit), which was given to
me because, twenty years ago, I had the misfortune of being obliged to
write an account of a strategic movement of the Federal army, from the
advance upon Richmond back upon the Potomac, in which I was involved.
_May 26th._--At 10 in the morning we found ourselves at the great
Depôt between Council Bluffs and Omaha, where a long delay ensued,
whilst arrangements were being made to defeat the attempt of the river
Missouri to obstruct us, by effecting a detour of some seventy miles
to Creston, whence we were to work over the damaged rails to Kansas
City, where we intended to arrive and to sleep at 9.30 P.M. I do not
think I should like to creep along an inundated line, with the
Missouri close at my flank, every day in the week, but it was very
interesting for once in a way, and the engineer was especially
commended for his skill in driving us over such an exciting railroad.
The recent inundation in the West, of which we had heard in the
Eastern States, had done fully as much mischief as was reported.
Looking from the station, mud and slime, trunks of trees, and debris
of all kinds, as far as the eye could reach, told of the ruinous
extent of the overflow. For more than 200 miles the railway had
suffered severely; in some places the "track" had been completely
submerged or destroyed. But the gentlemen who had charge of our
movements were not to be beaten by even Missouri in full flood, and
arrangements were made for the train to circumvent the enemy by a wide
sweep round its flank to a point of junction of the line with the
railroad to Kansas City. The detour enabled us to see a country of
extraordinary fertility, but the liability to such floods must
seriously interfere with its attractions as a permanent residence or
for profitable farming. The train reached Creston at 12.30, and
continued its course immediately, running over a line which had been
hastily repaired, and was by no means pleasant to travel over for long
intervals. At 3.15 we were at Bolcklow--ninety-four miles from Kansas
City--and in an hour and three-quarters came out upon the great river
Missouri at a "cut-off" where it was flowing in a stream of liquid mud
three miles broad, carrying with it branches, trees, fences, straw,
and corn. It was indeed very gingerly work to drive the engine, which
at times threatened to slide from under us into the stream, and the
boldest held his breadth for a time, when, coming to a very bad bit,
and looking out ahead, we saw the engineers anxiously consulting with
the directors of the train, and felt the labouring of the engine as it
rose up and down over the uneven line. Unless I had witnesses to
corroborate my statement I should be loth to aver that on several
occasions the rails have sunk so much that when the train was passing
over them the end of one carriage was tilted up at a considerable
angle to the roof of that which followed it! Winthrop Junction is
forty-eight miles from Kansas City, but we did not arrive there until
6.30, having been all that time getting over the ground from Bolcklow.
Thenceforth the anxieties of the journey became aggravated instead of
lessened; the line was worse and worse, and the interest deepened low
or rose high as the engineer, failing to surmount a sharp rise up to
the level of the line, over a sort of hole into which we had fallen,
reversed the engine, then put on steam, and with a great struggle
succeeded in getting into position again. It is quite as well our
friends of the London and North-Western had this little experience of
western travel ere they left. This was to be the last night that we
were all to consort together, for the party was now about to break up
into two divisions; Messrs. Crosfield, Bickersteth, and Neale
returning to New York on their way home, the Duke, Sir H. and Lady
Green, Mr. Stephen, Mr. Wright and I going on to San Francisco; and at
dinner in the train, in the middle of the contending emotions which
were occasioned by the conditions under which we were continuing our
course to the West, the Auditor made a feeling little speech which
touched the heart and gained the assent of the company, and healths
were proposed.
"Coates's House," Kansas City, on which we descended late at night, is
not exactly the hotel a fastidious or exacting person would select as
an abiding place if he had one experience of it. Moreover, there was a
convention at Coates's House. We have been much exercised by
"Conventions," dropping upon them at unexpected times and
places--"Conventions" of doctors, of druggists, of railway conductors;
and these being in possession, and masters of the situation, were
always the most favoured guests. A stranger accustomed to have his own
way in his inn, and to have his orders attended to with dispatch,
might perhaps have his temper ruffled by the divine calm of the
coloured citizens who officiated as helps, or by the haughty composure
of the landlord, probably a warrior of renown, and assuredly a
"colonel," at the very least who did not complaints or importunities.
Quoth British railway director to mine host at the office:--"There is
no looking-glass in my bedroom, and I can't find any basin and ewer."
To whom the lord of Coates's House:--"Well, I've done the best I can
for you! There are ladies sleeping on the floor! And if you don't like
what you get here, there are other hotels in Kansas City, and you can
go to them if you please." Director collapsed. But he appeared clothed
and in his right mind in the morning, and I do not think the Colonel
meant to be at all uncivil. Perhaps a party of ten coming in after
hours, each demanding a separate bedroom, is considered as a
disturbing and aggressive element, to be promptly sat upon and
repressed. Next morning we were all up and downstairs betimes. An
ample breakfast was well served by white women, aided by "darkies," in
the public room, and then came the leave-taking with Mr. Bickersteth,
Mr. Crosfield and Mr. Neale, the friends and companions with whom we
had been living and travelling day and night, since the 23rd April, in
harmony, which was not marred for an instant even when there were
discussions concerning the programme, or small conflicts of wishes.
The regret of which the outward and visible sign was only a deal of
hand-shaking and simply expressed good wishes, based on the harmony of
our mutual relations, was sincere. We saw our friends off on their
journey to New York, and bade good-bye to Mr. Whelpley our conductor,
Mr. Whitfield the baggage-master, who had been with us all along, and
to the steward and excellent _valetaille_ of the train, to whose care
we were very deeply indebted for our comfort.
We were now transferred to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railroad
Company. Mr. White, representative of it, who took charge of the Duke
and his party, was certainly an admirable selection in all respects,
as we had every reason to acknowledge every day and night of the many
weeks we were so fortunate as to enjoy his society and profit by his
quiet thoughtfulness. Mr. White is one of those Americans--the modern
types in all his good qualities of Juvenal's Greek--whom no one, after
a short experience of the versatility of their talents--quick,
sagacious, bold yet cautious, with a keen eye for character and much
quiet humour, full of decision and resource--would be surprised to
hear of as candidates for the highest office. He brought with him
Mayor Anderson, a railway official who had wide experience of
campaigning in the Civil War, and who carried about in his person a
leaden memento of battle, which had no effect on his animal spirits,
or, I am glad to add, his bodily health; Mr. Jerome, an officer of the
Chicago Railway; and Mr. Townsend, correspondent of the _Field_, to
the readers of which he is known, under the name of "St. Kames," as
the author of lively papers. We left Kansas City at 11.30, in a
complete little special train consisting of two luggage and two saloon
and sleeping cars, simply perfection in finish, elegance, and internal
arrangements, with kitchen, cooking apparatus, dining and sitting
saloon, harmonium, tables covered with bouquets of choice flowers,
thanks to Mr. Pullman.