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