WEDNESDAY, MAY 26th.
Everybody is astir in good time this morning, for we are soon to bid adieu to this great city of the far Northwest, where we have been so kindly treated and royally entertained. The warmhearted brothers of Mt. Hood Division No. 91, O. R. C., along with the officers of the different transportation companies, will long be remembered for their generous manner toward us. “Views of Portland, Oregon, and the Columbia River,” a beautiful pamphlet souvenir issued by Mt. Hood Division, was presented to each member of our party, and is highly prized. In connection with the pamphlet is “a ticket of welcome” of coupon form, and is quite lengthy, but all right, the first clause of which reads, “This contract with coupons attached entitles the holder to a hearty welcome and a first-class reception on entering the State of Oregon, and the courtesies of the Southern Pacific Company, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, and the Northern Pacific Railway.
| R. Koehler, | E. P. Rogers, |
| General Manager S. P. | A. G. P. A., S. P. |
| E. McNeill, | B. Campbell, |
| Pres. & Mgr. O. R. & N. | Traffic Mgr. O. R. & N. |
| W. H. Hulburt, | J. W. Kendrick, |
| G. P. A., O. R. & N. Co. | Genl. Mgr. N. P. Ry. |
| J. H. Hannaford, | C. S. Fee, |
| Genl. Traffic Mgr. N. P. Ry. | G. P. A., N. P. Ry.” |
There are five clauses in the contract. The last clause reads, “The Reception Committee will not be responsible for the loss of any diamonds (kings and queens excepted), baggage, meals, or sleep on this run.
| J. M. Poorman, | J. W. Crocker, |
| Sec. & Treas. | C. C. |
| “Mt. Hood Division No. 91, O. R. C.” | |
There are six coupons, each reading to and fro over a line between different points of interest, and bearing at the bottom the name of the superintendent over whose line it reads. The whole is a nicely gotten up affair and a valued addition to our collection of souvenirs.
We leave here at 8.45 A. M., and the hour of departure being at hand (as is always the case), a number of our new-found friends are at hand to see us off. All along our route we have been constantly reminding the people who we are by a yell we give in concert, with a vim that would drown the racket of a college football team; and now, gathered in a bunch, we let go:—
“Who are we? O. R. C.
“Pennsylvania employé.
“Rah! rah! boom—ah!” The ladies of our party are ready and let go:—
“Who are we? Who are we?
“The wives and the daughters of the O. R. C.
“Rah! rah! boom—ah!”
And now the cooks and waiters gathered at the windows and on the platform of the “Lafayette” let go:—
“The cooks and the waiters of the O. R. C.
“Rah! rah! boom—ah!”
With all this din ringing in their ears the good people of Portland see our train pulling away from their beautiful station. As they wave their adieus we pass from their sight on a run of 146 miles over the Northern Pacific Railway to Tacoma, Wash. N. P. engine No. 617 is drawing us, managed by Engineer F. W. Bockerman and fired by H. Deam. The conductor is Henry Buckley and the brakemen are H. Harkins and Tom Martin; Mr. Martin is a young man from Chester County, Pennsylvania, who has come West to seek his fortune, and has accepted the position of a brakeman with the expectation of rising in the ranks, and we wish him success.
From Portland to Goble, 39 miles, we follow the Columbia River, which is very high, and much of the low land is submerged. We can see buildings surrounded by water that have been vacated, and we are reminded of the El Paso flood. We look beyond this desolating waste of water and in the far distance can see the glistening summits of Mt. Hood and Saint Helens. Reaching Goble, our train is run on to the great ferry steamer “Tacoma,” transported across the Columbia River to Kalama, and into the State of Washington. Leaving Kalama, we pass through a fine farming country, where agricultural industries seem to be extensively carried on. After passing Centralia, which is a flourishing town of about 3000 inhabitants, we have a splendid view of Mt. Rainier for several miles while we sweep across the Yelm prairie. A short stop is made at Roy to pick up Brothers B. W. Johnson and S. H. Ewalt, of Mt. Tacoma Division No. 249, O. R. C., who are members of committee on entertainment, and who promise to show us the city of Tacoma after our arrival there. The country through here seems to be rich in natural resources, for bordering the fertile valleys can be seen heavily timbered hills and here and there a coal mine in operation.
Arriving in Tacoma at 4.40 P. M. Eastern (1.40 P. M. Pacific), we are immediately taken out by Brothers Johnson and Ewalt to see the town and are joined by A. F. Haines, passenger agent of Northern Pacific Railway, Capt. A. Thompson, of the Portland Oregonian, C. P. Ferry, Esq. (who bears the distinguished title of “Duke of Tacoma”), and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, L. Ceasar, Esq., president of Tacoma Bank and a member of the Board of Trade. The first place we visit is the County Court House. “This,” says Mr. Ferry, “is one of the finest buildings in Tacoma, which, you know, is the county seat of Pierce County. We had to have a court house and thought we would build a good one; it cost $400,000.” We amused ourselves looking through the museum located in this building, many of the relics and works of art having been contributed by Mr. Ferry, who collected many of them in foreign countries through which he has traveled. We spent half an hour in the Court House and then entered into a street car, which took us a much-enjoyed ride through the city to Point Defiance Park.
To form a true conception of a Washington forest one has but to visit this wonderful park. Such majestic trees we never saw before, many of them six and eight feet in diameter and estimated to be 300 feet in height, great
pines and cedars, natural growth of the soil, and amongst them, growing in wild profusion, great ferns six feet in height. In inclosures can be seen deer, elk, and bear, natives of the wilds. Through this great forest park bridle paths lead in all directions, and about 80 miles of bicycle track is built. The park is situated on a high eminence overlooking Puget Sound. By a series of steep paths and stairs we descend to the beach. The sound is a great body of water with hardly a ripple on its surface. A half hour is spent here gathering pebbles and shells, and then we head for the smelter, half a mile up the beach.
A boathouse furnishes rowboats for those who want them, and a number avail themselves of this opportunity to avoid a tiresome walk. Those who walk ascend again the steps and steep pathway, and going along the forest walk they arrive at the smelter the same time as those who rowed. We are taken through the great hot, smoky building and shown the treatment ore receives in all its stages from the smelter to the crucible. This immense plant, owned and operated by the Tacoma Smelting and Refining Company, handles gold, silver, and copper ore, and has an annual output of over $900,000. A train of cars await us when we emerge from the works, flat cars, fitted up with seats for the occasion; upon these we climb, and find as we are slowly taken along the sound front that no conveyance could afford a better view. Tacoma has 12 miles of a water front, upon which splendid wharves, great warehouses, monster elevators, immense saw and flour mills are built, the whole 12 miles being lined with industries of this character.
This trip over, we return to our train and find dinner awaiting us, after which our train is run to the steamboat landing and we are taken aboard the “City of Kingston,” belonging to the Northern Pacific Railway, for a trip of 28 miles to Seattle. We can hardly realize as the boat leaves the wharf that our visit to Tacoma is over, so rapidly were we hustled along; but we are highly pleased with the treatment we received and feel that Tacoma is a wonderful place and her people will make her still more wonderful by their thrift, their push, and activity. They have our best wishes for their future progress and advancement.
The “City of Kingston” is a splendid boat and rides like a feather over the waters of the sound, and from the expressions of delight on every hand it is evident our people are enjoying the trip. The boat is in charge of Engineer G. H. Lent and a gentlemanly purser, who have won the goodwill of our party by kindly allowing us the freedom of the boat and showing us through many of the elegantly-furnished state rooms with which the boat is equipped. Arriving at Seattle, we are loaded in a large cable car and taken through the city for about four miles and back again. It is so dark we cannot see the town and can only enjoy the ride. We are taken to the station, where we wait for half an hour for our train to arrive, which has been sent from Tacoma to overtake us. We are all pretty thoroughly tired out, and are glad when at about eleven o’clock our train arrives, and we are soon making ourselves comfortable inside. M. M. Davis, Esq., a press representative of Seattle, and Conductor Thomas Doyle in search of an “item” gave us a short call just after our train came over from Tacoma. Brother Reagan and “Alfalfa” are the only ones I see as
I leave the “refreshment corner” in the “combined” to seek repose in the “Marco.” Our train is still standing at Seattle and the hour is close to midnight.