Chapter X: Part 10

Returning from Pali, we went to the Punch Bowl and Diamond Head, an extinct volcano. Next, we took a long drive along the sea front to the beautiful hotel called Moana, where we met friends. The ride led through one of the principal residence streets, and we noticed beautiful homes with their extensive grounds and profusion of palms, shrubs, and flowers. We also saw the former palace of the Queen, which is now reserved as the Governor's residence. We then went to Young's Hotel for lunch, and, after that, visited some minor points of interest and some shops, returning to the steamer in the late afternoon, feeling that Honolulu was indeed one of the beauty spots of earth. On reaching the ship, it seemed as if every passenger--man, woman, and child--was decorated with long wreaths of flowers reaching to the ground; the flowers are ruthlessly pulled to pieces and strung together to tempt the tourists. It was really a very beautiful sight, but unfortunately the flowers soon faded.

The day following we saw the battle fleet, only about two miles distant, _en route_ for Yokohama; there were fifteen war-vessels, and it was indeed a wonderful spectacle.

We arrived in the harbor of San Francisco at noon on July 14th, and, after the usual delay with the health officer, we were soon in the throes of the custom house, and it was an ordeal never before experienced. We had been told by the steward on the steamer that we must strictly follow the regulations laid down in the circular issued by the Government, December, 1907. I paid the penalty of my honesty, and the law was strictly enforced. I said to the custom house officer: "The lady opposite was through nearly an hour ago." He remarked: "She probably told a good many lies." And that was the consolation I had; having paid my duty in a resigned frame of mind, believing in a protective tariff, I departed.

The view of the harbor as we entered had seemed quite as it was of old, and indeed its beauty impressed me more than ever before; but, as I left the wharf and drove along some of the streets of the earthquake-stricken city, there was a heartache, so much of wreck and ruin was evident. My companion, who was in San Francisco two years before, told me that the renovation seemed wonderful,--an opinion in which I concurred after arriving at the St. Francis Hotel, for there were fine blocks newly built in the vicinity.

I remained a few days in San Francisco, and visited certain familiar points, most of my friends being out of the city in the month of July. I went across to the beautiful suburb of Oakland and visited some shops which seemed to me quite equal (except in their buildings) to those of old. No one can visit San Francisco at the present time without being impressed with the energy and enthusiasm displayed and by the amount of work being accomplished.

I left on July 20th, over the Shasta route of the Southern Pacific. This way is so widely known for its beauty of scenery that it seems unnecessary to attempt any description. Mt. Shasta wore a smiling face the morning of our arrival, the recent heat wave having melted much of the snow that crowns its rugged summit.

Portland has a splendid location, with mountains and the sea alike accessible, broad streets, and an unusually fine residence portion. Mt. Hood was, however, wreathed in smoke on account of the prevailing forest fires. The railway journey from Portland to Seattle is not lacking in interest, as there is varied scenery the entire way.

A week in Seattle revived the impression of three years since, but the city has made wonderful progress meanwhile, not only in growth of population but in important public buildings and in the wealth of private residences, particularly on the heights for which Seattle, like San Francisco, is famous. Mt. Rainier was shrouded in mist and smoke, but Puget Sound and Lakes Washington and Union added unusual features to the landscape setting.

A detour of a day to Tacoma showed another beautifully located city high above Puget Sound, which, having once been very prosperous, passed through a reactionary stage, but is again alert and vigorous. Tacoma has also fine buildings and attractive homes, and a great future lies before it.

The railway journey from Seattle to Bellingham--about one hundred miles--is interesting, for until we reach Everett we have Puget Sound to our left and forests to our right, only broken at a few points by small towns. Then we lose sight of the Sound until within a few miles of Bellingham. The next reach of intervening waterway is termed Bellingham Bay, and it furnishes a setting for a city situated both on hills and lowland, withal very picturesque, Mt. Baker near in view and the Selkirk range dimly visible. Bellingham is really a combination of four towns, Whatcom, Fair Haven, Sea Home, and South Bellingham; it is a city of about thirty-seven thousand inhabitants. The unifying process is going on, and in a few years its separate identity will be forgotten, for with its large interests--lumber and the salmon fisheries (here are located the most important establishments in the world for the canning of salmon)--Bellingham has a future before it, and my sojourn there is fraught with many pleasant recollections of courtesies received, aside from the good cheer of my daughter's home.

The State of Washington, with its fine climate, great forests, and fertile soil, supplemented by natural beauty of landscape, proved a revelation to me.

My way eastward lay over the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Three years previous I had passed days in the Canadian Rockies; so Vancouver, Glacier, Field, Laggan, and Banff recalled familiar associations, while the intervening scenery had lost none of its exciting interest. Certain it is that you rarely find finer mountains, either at home or abroad.

A few hours' stay in St. Paul and the renewal of some pleasant associations, and I was speeding homeward, arriving in Milwaukee early on the morning of September 30, 1908, almost a year from the time of my departure.

In closing let me quote an extract, written eight years ago, on a return with my daughter from over a year's absence abroad (including the Western Orient): "Gazing on the lake front at Juneau Park and looking onward to the terraced slopes of Prospect Avenue, then on to the sky line of the water-tower, I exclaimed, 'No fairer scene has met my vision.' At which sentiment the bronze statue of Solomon Juneau before me seemed to nod approval, as a Founder should."

THE END

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Realizing from personal experience, as well as from observation, that the mosques are too hurriedly visited and too little understood, an attempt at classification has here been made, as well as to give them a certain setting. This may prove a reminiscence to those who are familiar with the mosques, and an incentive to investigation on the part of those who are yet to visit Cairo.

[2] In 1877 Delhi acquired prominence as the place where H.M. Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. The magnificent Coronation Durbar of H.M. King Edward VII of England was also held there by Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, on January 1, 1900.

[3] This seeming repetition refers to a second Pearl Mosque.

[4] Buitenzorg divides the honor with Batavia of being a capital, and its beauty of location and fine climate (seven hundred feet above the sea-level) make it a favorite resort, as well as the centre of the wealth and fashion of the island. In Buitenzorg one might linger on indefinitely and never count the days.

[5] There has been a yearly revenue of $20,000,000 for some time.

[6] Mr. Macheeda proved himself worthy of his descent from the Samurai; always a gentleman and a perfect guide.

[7] For a full and picturesque account of this process, the reader is referred to Kipling's "From Sea to Sea."

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Transcriber's Note:

Every attempt has been made to preserve the author's variant spelling and punctuation. Obvious spelling error's or place name references have been corrected as shown below:

Page Author Transcriber
32 crediulous credulous
32 beleve believe
72 Dteb-Fatehpur-Sikri Fatehpur-Sikri
72 Shiah Mahal Shish Mahal
83 superstitition superstition
101 Kyank taw Gyi Kyauk Taw Gyi
116 Conemara Connemara
126 pinkahs punkahs
151 chicona chichona
166 Water Castel Water Castle
171 kimona kimono
190 cerain certain
200 Nuen Tang Nuen-tung
266 China Japan
330 mavellous marvellous