Chicago, the great metropolis of the Northwest, with its multitude of
railroad lines, and its enormous commercial interests, is most naturally
the point of departure for east-bound tourists. Travelers from
localities west of Chicago will desire to tarry in the city for a brief
period, to visit its water-works, the grand exposition building, and the
variety of other objects of interest which render the place attractive
to strangers. In carrying out this purpose, they will find the hotel
accommodations of the city to be second to none in America. The Grand
Pacific, Palmer, Clifton, Briggs, Sherman, Merchants, and a host of
others of good repute, invite the tourist to share their hospitalities,
with the assurance of regal fare and sumptuous accommodations. For full
information in regard to Chicago hotels and their terms, the reader is
referred to the _Daily National Hotel Reporter_, which gives reliable
and complete advices on this subject.
The limits of this work forbid even a mention of the many objects of
interest to be seen in Chicago; and having to do with the city only as
the starting point for our tourist, we next settle the question as to
the route by which our Eastern journey is to be performed. Keeping in
view the important points of speed, safety and comfort, together with
the attractiveness of the scenery _en route_, we find the claims of