I have a pleasant recollection of a reception given at the Dirigo club. The gentlemen present were not all young men, though they chose to regard themselves as such. Major Chamberlain delivered a brief address of welcome, in which he referred to the "martial services of General Sherman and the pacific achievements of the Senator," and drew a comparison highly complimentary to both of the brothers. William W. Morrow, Member of Congress, formally welcomed me as a guest of the club and delivered a short but eloquent speech. I made a brief reply and then the company was served with refreshments, entertained with music and had a free and friendly time. The reception was a decided success as was to be expected from the high reputation of the club.
On the 27th of May we started northward towards Sacramento and Portland, Oregon. Senator Leland Stanford was kind enough to furnish us a car and accompanied us to his ranch at Vina. We stopped at Chico long enough to visit the ranch of John Bidwell, containing 20,000 acres. He met us at the station and we were soon conveyed to his mansion such as is seldom built on a farm. We drove through orchards of peach, apricot, cherry, apple, pear and almond trees, while in his gardens were all kinds of berries and vegetables. After this brief visit we proceeded along the line of railroad to Vina, the extensive possession of Senator Stanford, containing 56,000 acres. Here is said to be the largest vineyard in the world, 3,600 acres. On leaving Mr. Stanford we proceeded to the terminus of the railroad, from which point we crossed the coast range of mountains in a stage, and were for three days in sight of Mt. Shasta. This mountain rising from the plains stands out by itself 14,400 feet above the level of the sea. Between Shasta and the Sierras proper there is no continuity, nor is there with the coast range. More properly it is a butte, a lone mountain. Shortly after leaving Southern's the castle rocks came in view, the highest and boldest mountains in close proximity, or within our view. Shasta was crowned with snow, the snow line beginning 7,000 feet from its base. The scene all day had been rugged and bold, and as we traveled by the Sacramento River, here a rapid mountain stream, its waters rushed along the rocky bottom, now confined within narrow banks, now widening out into a wide deep bed as clear as crystal and cold and pure. For thirty miles of our travel that day we had been in a good timbered country. Within a circle of fifty feet in diameter we counted a dozen pines, every one of which would have yielded ten to twelve thousand feet of sawed timber. Flowers of the richest colors were found in the woods, and the range afforded feed for thousands of cattle. At Southern's we took a spring-top wagon in which to ride sixteen miles over the mountains. We spent three days in the journey between Delta, California, and Ashland, Oregon, the two ends of the railway approaching towards each other. I recall it as the most charming mountain ride I ever took. While crossing the mountain I occupied a seat with the driver and much of the time I held the reins. The ascent of the Siskiyou mountain was very tedious. Much of the way the load was too heavy for our six horses to pull, and many dismounted from the coach, among them the driver; the reins were placed in my hands and we transferred most of the baggage from the boot to the body of the coach. So we climbed the Siskiyou 5,000 feet to the summit of the pass. Then on a gallop, with the coach full, we turned downward. At one time, as the lead team turned a sharp curve, it was nearly opposite the stage. Down, still down, and on the full gallop, we arrived at Ashland on the evening of the 31st of May, and remained there one day.
On the 1st of June we followed the line of the Willamette valley, a productive region for the cultivation of wheat and other cereals. At Albany we were met by Governor Moody and Secretary Earnhart, who welcomed us to Oregon. With these officials we went to Salem, the capital city of the state. My visit in Salem was a very pleasant one and I was especially indebted to Governor Moody for his courtesy and kindness. On the morning of the next day, the 2nd of June, we left Salem and rode down the valley to Portland. This, the principal city of Oregon, then contained a population of nearly 40,000, of whom 6,000 or 7,000 were Chinese. It was the natural head of navigation of the Columbia River, and was a flourishing handsome city of the American type, in this respect unlike the cities of California. General Miles was then in command of the military district, with his residence at Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory. The military post of Vancouver was then on the north bank of the Columbia River, but a few miles from Portland. Mrs. Miles is the daughter of my brother Charles, and I remained with their family in Vancouver during my two or three days stay there, my traveling companions making their headquarters at Portland.
When visiting Tacoma and Seattle our party had been increased to the number of seventeen gentlemen, some of them connected with the army, some with the railroads, and others who joined us in our progress around the waters of Puget Sound and strait of Juan de Fuca. These waters furnish perhaps the finest harbors in the world. They are deep, with high banks rising in some places to mountains, and capable of holding all the navies of the world. In a military sense Puget Sound can be easily defended from an enemy coming from the sea, and, though the country is mountainous, it is capable of sustaining a large population in the extensive valleys both east and west of the coast range. I have visited this portion of the United States on three occasions, and am always more and more impressed with its great importance and its probably rapid increase of population and wealth. I will not dwell longer on this interesting trip.
We left Portland on the 7th of June and proceeded on the Northern Pacific railroad to Tacoma. On the train we met Charles Francis Adams, Jr., with a party of railway managers, and in Tacoma we met an old friend, a gallant and able officer, General John W. Sprague, formerly from Erie county, Ohio, and more recently connected with the Northern Pacific Railway Company. On Sunday, our party, including Mr. Adams, dined with General Sprague. We had not as yet been able to see Mount Tacoma in its glory, as it was constantly shrouded by clouds. In the course of the dinner, Mr. Adams said humorously to Mrs. Sprague that he had some doubts whether there was a Mount Tacoma, that he had come there to see it and looked in the right direction, but could not find it. I saw that this nettled Mrs. Sprague, but she said nothing. In a few moments she left the table and soon came back with a glowing face, saying, "You can see Tacoma now!" We all left our places at the tables and went out on the porch, and there was Mount Tacoma in all its glory. The clouds were above the head of the mountain and it stood erect, covered with snow, one of the most beautiful sights in nature. Mr. Adams said: "Tacoma—yes Mount Tacoma is there and is very beautiful!"
On the 9th of June we visited Victoria in British Columbia. On our return we stopped at Port Townsend and Seattle. I received many courtesies from gentlemen at Seattle, many of whom had been natives or residents of Ohio, and among them Governor Squire, who had read law in Cleveland and was admitted to the bar in Mansfield, where I resided. Among other events we were tendered a reception and a banquet at Tacoma, at which seventy persons sat at the table. I was introduced in complimentary terms and expressed my surprise at the rapid growth of Tacoma and Seattle and that part of our country. It was a wonder, I said, that such a scene could occur in a place that had so recently been without an inhabitant except Indians, and where, but a few years before, the Walla Wallas and the Nez Percés were on the war path and General Miles was in pursuit of them. I referred to the unrivaled body of water, Puget Sound, and said that in the geography of the world it was not equaled. I referred, also, to the coal fields and other elements of wealth scattered through the then territory. I carefully avoided the subject of the rivalry between Tacoma and Seattle, but after all I found there was no ill-will between the two places. Speeches were also made by Governor Squire, Mr. Adams, General Miles and others.
We returned to Portland on the 12th of June, but before that we visited Astoria, looked into the great industry of salmon packing, and were greeted by quite a number of old Ohioans. On our return we visited Walla Walla and there saw wheat growing that yielded fifty bushels to the acre. We remained over, also, at Spokane Falls, then a mere village with a few houses, since become quite a city.
General Miles and I drove in a buggy from Spokane to Fort Coeur d'Alène, a military post which he wished to visit and inspect. It is situated on a lake which is famous for the abundance of its fish. From there we took the cars to Helena, where we remained a day, and then proceeded to St. Paul, where we arrived on the 21st of June. Here again we found the interviewer, who wanted to know my opinion about Cleveland, the silver question, the Chinese and various other topics. I pleaded ignorance on all these matters, but told the reporter that if he would call upon me in the course of a month I would be able to answer his questions.
From St. Paul we went to Milwaukee and there crossed Lake Michigan and thence by rail to Grand Rapids, where I had a number of acquaintances and some business. We then proceeded by way of Detroit and Sandusky to our home at Mansfield about the 24th of June.