CONTENTS
[CHAPTER I.]
OUR NATION'S BIRTH.
The Story of Liberty Bell--Impartial Opinions on the Revolutionary War--The Shot that was Heard Around the World--The First Committee of Safety--A Defeat which Equaled a Victory--Washington's Earnestness--To Congress on Horseback--The First 4th of July Celebration.
[CHAPTER II.]
THE WITCH OF SALEM.
A Relic of Religious Bigotry--Parson Lawson's Tirade against Witchcraft--Extraordinary Court Records of Old Puritan Days--Alleged Supernatural Conjuring--A Man and his Wife both put to Death--Crushed for Refusing to Plead--A Romance of the Old Days of Witch Persecution.
[CHAPTER III.]
IN PICTURESQUE NEW YORK.
Some Local Errors Corrected--A Trip Down the Hudson River--The Last of the Mohicans--The Home of Rip Van Winkle--The Ladies of Vassar and their Home--West Point and its History--Sing Sing Prison--The Falls of Niagara--Indians in New York State.
[CHAPTER IV.]
IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY.
The Geographical Center of the United States, and its Location West of the Mississippi River--The Center of Population--History of Fort Riley--The Gallant "Seventh"--Early Troubles of Kansas--Extermination of the Buffalo--But a Few Survivors out of Many Millions.
[CHAPTER V.]
THE MORMONS AND THEIR WIVES.
The Pilgrimage Across the Bad Lands to Utah--Incidents of the March--Success of the New Colony--Religious Persecutions--Murder of an Entire Family--The Curse of Polygamy--An Ideal City--Humors of Bathing in Great Salt Lake.
[CHAPTER VI.]
THE INVASION OF OKLAHOMA.
A History of the Indian Nation--Early Struggles of Oklahoma Boomers--Fight between Home-Seekers and Soldiers--Scenes at the Opening of Oklahoma Proper--A Miserable Night on the Prairie--A Race for Homes--Lawlessness in the Old Indian Territory.
[CHAPTER VII.]
COWBOYS--REAL AND IDEAL.
A Much Maligned Class--The Cowboy as he Is, and as he is Supposed to be--Prairie Fever and how it is Cured--Life on the Ranch Thirty Years Ago and Now--Singular Fashions and Changes of Costume--Troubles Encountered by would-be Bad Men.
[CHAPTER VIII.]
WARDS OF OUR NATIVE LAND.
The Indians' Admirers and Critics--At School and After--Indian Courtship and Marriage--Extraordinary Dances--Gambling by Instinct--How "Cross-Eye" Lost his Pony--Pawning a Baby--Amusing and Degrading Scenes on Annuity Day.
[CHAPTER IX.]
CIVILIZATION--ACTUAL AND ALLEGED.
Tried in the Balances and Found Wanting--Indian Archers--Bow and Arrow Lore--Barbarous Customs that Die Slowly--"Great Wolf," the Indian Vanderbilt--How the Seri were Taught a Valuable Lesson--Playing with Rattlesnakes with Impunity.
[CHAPTER X.]
OLD TIME COMMUNISTS.
Houses on Rocks and Sand Hills--How Many Families Dwelt Together in Unity--Peculiarities of Costumes--Pueblo Architecture and Folk Lore--A Historic Struggle and how it Ended--Legends Concerning Montezuma--Curious Religious Ceremonies.
[CHAPTER XI.]
HOW CUSTER LIVED AND DIED.
"Remember Custer"--An Eye-Witness of the Massacre--Custer, Cody and Alexis--A Ride over the Scenes of the Unequal Conflict--Major Reno's Marked Failure--How "Sitting Bull" Ran Away and Lived to Fight Another Day--Why a Medicine Man did not Summon Rain.
[CHAPTER XII.]
AMONG THE CREOLES.
Meaning of the word "Creole"--An Old Aristocratic Relic--The Venice of America--Origin of the Creole Carnivals--Rex and his Annual Disguises--Creole Balls--The St. Louis Veiled Prophets--The French Market and other Landmarks in New Orleans--A Beautiful Ceremony and an Unfinished Monument.
[CHAPTER XIII.]
THE HEATHEN CHINEE IN HIS ELEMENT.
A Trip to Chinatown, San Francisco--A House with a History--Narrow Alleys and Secret Doors--Opium Smoking and its Effects--The Highbinders--Celestial Theatricals--Chinese Festivals--The Brighter Side of a Great City--A Mammoth Hotel and a Beautiful Park.
[CHAPTER XIV.]
BEFORE EMANCIPATION AND AFTER.
First Importation of Negro Slaves into America--The Original Abolitionists--A Colored Enthusiast and a Coward--Origin of the word "Secession"--John Brown's Fanaticism--Uncle Tom's Cabin--Faithful unto Death--George Augustus Sala on the Negro who Lingered too long in the Mill Pond.
[CHAPTER XV.]
OUR NATIONAL PARK.
A Delightful Rhapsody--Early History of Yellowstone Park--A Fish Story which Convulsed Congress--The First White Man to Visit the Park--A Race for Life--Philosophy of the Hot Springs--Mount Everts--From the Geysers to Elk Park--Some Old Friends and New Ones--Yellowstone Lake--The Angler's Paradise.
[CHAPTER XVI.]
THE HEROES OF THE IRON HORSE.
Honor to whom Honor is Due--A Class of Men Not Always Thoroughly Appreciated at their Worth--An Amateur's Ride on a Flying Locomotive--From Twelve Miles an Hour to Six Times that Speed--The Signal Tower and the Men who Work in it--Stealing a Train--A Race with Steam--Stories about Bewitched Locomotives and Providential Escapes.
[CHAPTER XVII.]
A RAILROAD TO THE CLOUDS.
Early History of Manitou--Zebulon Pike's Important Discovery--A Young Medicine Man's Peril and Final Triumph--A Health Resort in Years Gone By--The Garden of the Gods--The Railroad up Pike's Peak--Early Failures and Final Success--The Most Remarkable Road in the World--Riding Above the Clouds.
[CHAPTER XVIII.]
INTO THE BOWELS OF THE EARTH.
The Grand Cañon of the Colorado--Niagara Outdone--The Course of the Colorado River--A Survey Party Through the Cañon--Experiences of a Terrible Night--Wonderful Contrasts of Color in the Massive Rocks--A Natural Wall a Thousand Feet High--Hieroglyphics which have Never been Deciphered--Relics of a Superior Race--Conjecture as to the Origin of the Ancient Bearded White Men.
[CHAPTER XIX.]
OUR GREAT WATERWAYS.
Importance of Rivers to Commerce a Generation Ago--The Ideal River Man--The Great Mississippi River and its Importance to our Native Land--The Treacherous Missouri--A First Mate who Found a Cook's Disguise very Convenient--How a Second Mate got over the Inconvenience of Temporary Financial Embarrassment.
[CHAPTER XX.]
THROUGH THE GREAT NORTHWEST.
The Importance of Some of our Newest States--Romantic History of Montana--The Bad Lands and their Exact Opposite--Civilization Away Up in the Mountains--Indians who have Never Quarreled with White Men--Traditions Concerning Mount Tacoma--Wonderful Towns of the Extreme Northwest--A State Shaped like a Large Chair--The Falls of Shoshone.
[CHAPTER XXI.]
IN THE WARM SOUTHEAST.
Florida and its Appropriate Name--The First Portions of North America Discovered by White Men--Early Vicissitudes of its Explorers--An Enormous Coast Line--How Key West came to be a great Cigar Town--The Suwanee River--St. Augustine and its World-Renowned Hotel--Old Fort Marion.