The Mississippi—St. Paul—Minneapolis—Le Mars—Sioux City—Life on the Rail—Muddy Missouri—Kansas City—Old and New Friends.

May 24th.—At 6 A.M. we were aroused from our slumbers by the rattling of the train over the Mississippi bridge near La Crosse, 195 miles from Milwaukee, which is on the east bank of the river.

All next day through a country of great fertility, with many orchards, green pasturage, and fields of wheat and maize, and we were fain to believe that night had hid at least an equal richness from our view.

On the highway of the Central Illinois Railway there is an enormous extent of the richest soil. One may pass miles and miles, day after day, I am told, over prairie land covered with rich grass and vegetation. An emigrant with a strong arm, a strong head, and a little money, pushing far afield out of the beaten track, can still, it is said, secure in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, land which in a few years will yield a rich return for his investment and his labour. But it is not, from all I could hear, quite a paradise to live in, nor will the emigrant, at least at the outset, complain of the roses lying too thickly under him. There are broken men here as well as in other parts of the world, but they are "lazy, ne'er-do-weels; they drink and smoke and pass their lives in front of the bar-rooms, liquor saloons, and gambling shops." Some of them deny that the description applies to them; they attribute their ill-fortune to natural causes—to the terrible winters which seem to destroy all life, at times covering the country with snow, which melting, swells the rivers, which sweep over the fields, depositing a thick mud on the surface or carrying away the crops. As to the existence of a winter of great intensity and duration there can be no dispute; but neither man nor cattle succumb to its effects. On all sides, however, we were assured that the cold is not comparable to that which we experience in England, unless there is a strong wind which causes evaporation. How the emigrant can support these long and dreary winters in his log shanty, where fuel is not too plentiful, I am at a loss to understand, unless it be indeed true that the cold, no matter what the thermometer shows, is not so cold as it is in Europe. But, without jesting, there is concurrent testimony from settlers with whom we spoke, that they can go about without inconvenience when the thermometer marks twenty or thirty degrees of frost; and the same fact is reported in Manitoba of Western Canada. It is, they say, the dryness of the air which mitigates the severity of the cold.

The names of places in Wisconsin are often of French or Indian origin, smacking of the old days of exploration and the chase—Prairie du Chien, Portage, Tomah, &c. We did not see much of the country between Milwaukee and La Crosse, but now we roused ourselves to make amends for our forced neglect by diligent observation from the windows.

The iron horse has borne the travellers nearly 200 miles without a check, over canals, rivers, and rich fat lands, and we are now entering on a picturesque region. For many a long mile we ran by the side of the Father of Waters, which hereabouts has traits reminding one of the Rhine, doubled or trebled in breadth, it is true; its broad and turbid waters, now several feet above its ordinary level, are confined by high wooded banks and sharp bluffs. Winona, rich in timber-rafts and many masts—a little inland river port, with a show of steeples and public buildings, won our regards for a moment, and farther on the Mississippi opened out into a grand sheet called, I think, Lake Pepin. At the summit of the bluffs the great prairie lands begin, and after a run beneath these finely contoured natural battlements of two and a half hours along the bank of the stream, the line of cliff seemed to recede and open up, and we caught a glimpse of the green headlands, flattening out into rolling treeless plains—"There is the Prairie"! The River Division of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway over which we travelled has not always to congratulate itself on its vicinity to the river, nor to think its lot has been cast in pleasant places. The great inundation in which the Mississippi and Missouri did so much mischief left plentiful and numerous traces of its power along our route. At 9 A.M. we crossed the river by a fine bridge to the left bank. In half an hour more the steeples, chimneys, and elevators of St. Paul, 409 miles from Chicago, were in sight, and at 10 A.M. the special stopped at the platform, where General Sibley, whilom governor and almost the father of the country hereabouts, the mayor elect, and a deputation, were waiting to receive the Duke, to whom they were introduced by Mr. Merrill, the manager of the railroad.

We were always "taken charge of" by somebody or other—at least we were told so in the newspapers—but our friends do their spiriting so gently that we are not aware of the surveillance. At St. Paul the party was "in charge" of the Chamber of Commerce.

General Sibley, Mr. Rice, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Noyes, and Messrs. Drake were so anxious to show us over the town that we were at once embarked in carriages and driven through the very wonderful and interesting streets of this creation, away to Dayton's Bluff, over the river, from which there is a very fine view up and down of the city and the valley. Nothing can give one a more vivid impression of the vast progress in the West, that has been made in countries which were once in the hands of the Red Indian, than to go as we did in company with an original settler like General Sibley and hear his stories; to see the lines of commodious and elegant villas standing in well-planted grounds, with greenhouses, conservatories, and gardens in long procession, and in the usual rectangular formation of American suburbs, and to hear that but a few short years ago sanguinary encounters were taking place between red men and white, close at hand. He told us of the terrible incursion of Indians under Little Crow in 1862, by which this State and Dacotah were plunged in mourning, and of the brilliant little campaign in which he destroyed the invaders and broke their power for ever, and it was difficult to imagine that such deeds as he described had been perpetrated not many marches distant by such enemies only nineteen years ago. St. Paul is not to be described in a few lines, and as we listened to General Sibley's account of its rise, and looked at its streets, and shops, and public buildings, it was only the material evidence before our eyes which enabled us to grasp the fact of such a wondrous growth; and the population is said to be nearly 60,000, and to be fast increasing. The capital of Minnesota spreads itself out on both sides of the Mississippi, which is here 2200 miles from its mouths below New Orleans. The principal buildings are on the left bank. The people, without being troublesome or pressing, were interested on the new arrivals, and more than one British flag was visible in the street. The streets were exceedingly dusty, which is not an uncommon circumstance in American towns, and is not to be wondered at either, and I think we were all very glad to reach the Metropolitan Hotel for a little rest and a bath before lunch at 11 o'clock. There was yet much to be done, as we had to visit Minneapolis, 10 miles distant, driving by Summit and University Avenues.

Minneapolis would well deserve a separate chapter to itself if I could give it. It is a "twin city," for St. Anthony is linked to it, and it boasts a university, an opera-house, an academy of music, fine public buildings, an AthenÆum, a public library, many churches, and the broad streets are lined with shade-giving trees and fine shops and houses; and yet it was as late as 1837 that the United States obtained by treaty from the Sioux the right of settling in the country at all; and the city of St. Paul is partly built on the piece of land which was obtained by a Canadian named Pierre Parent in the same year, and which he sold for 16l.! And now the hum of life, the thunder of machinery, the smoke of factories, fill the valley. The Mississippi groans under the masses of timber and innumerable keels. How much to admire! what energy! what enterprise! But how nature suffered from it all! The Falls of St. Anthony turned into the overflow of a canal lock! The great river converted into a sewer laden with manure and sawdust! The lovely landscape defaced by hideous mills, elevators, factories! How the poets should rage, and the plutocrats rejoice!

An hour had been spent in the drive round the city, an hour and a half more in the excursion by road to the rival greatness of Minneapolis, another hour was devoted to taking a leisurely view of the Falls of St. Anthony (which were artificial and disappointing), and an inspection of Mr. Washburn's great mills worked by the captive river.

On our way back the party made a halt to take a glance at Minnehaha, the "laughing water" (Oh, Mr. Longfellow! How could you?)—a pretty little cascade enough as we saw it—in a deep wooded dell, about half the height of the Fall at Powerscourt; beset, too, with photographers and harpies. Still, we did our duty. The Auditor and others descended to the bed of the rivulet, crossed it, and walked round behind the Falls in due course, and struggled up to the top triumphant. Then we went back by a different route to Minneapolis, feeling we had well filled up a very hot, dusty, and profitable day of honest labour, with many a pleasant incident to boot.

In addition to the trade, commerce, and agricultural riches of Minnesota there is yet very good sporting to be found, and those among us who were given that way were much exercised by the accounts we heard of good shooting not far distant, and of unrivalled fishing—of woods filled with deer, of prairies swarming with "chickens," of rivers and lakes boiling with trout! However, one of the gentlemen with us goes away every year to Canada for his fishing, so it must be better there than in Minnesota. The cold in winter is admitted to be intense, but the people are healthy, and there are several resorts for invalids in much favour in the State. There is a considerable State debt, respecting which we heard and read discussions in which the word "repudiation" was mentioned but generally repudiated. After all it is only about 1,600,000l. for city, town, county, school, district, and State. These, however, are very risky subjects for those who are not well acquainted with every detail to dwell upon, and as far as I could learn the development of the State up to the present time may be taken as a measure of its future progress. Governor Sibley told me he recollected the time when the population was only 6000—he puts it down at 1,000,000 to-day.

May 25th.—We were, I find it recorded in my diary, up and "packed" at 7 o'clock and had an early, breakfast. "The party started from St. Paul at 8 A.M., and made a desperate attempt to leave Mr. Close, who was our very arch guide, and one of its members behind, but it was ignominiously defeated and the train brought to a standstill at five miles out from the city, where it had to wait till our special engine and car completed the journey and filled up the establishment." It was in this wise. I wanted to buy a candlestick, for in most American hotels there is only gaslight or petroleum lamps in the bedrooms, and Mr. Close, who had come to St. Paul to conduct us over his farm, set out with me to find an ironmonger's shop. "Don't lose your way," said the good-natured landlord as we left the hotel. No danger of that! Was I not in the hands of a local expert? We turned into a shop, where the gentleman behind the counter let us have the run of the establishment till I found what I wanted, 10 cents = 5d., so Protection does not render tin candlesticks very expensive, any way. And then we sauntered to the station. A number of people were coming up from it as though they had been looking at something. We walked down to the platform and inquired for the special. The porter, pointing with his finger to a bridge far away across the river down below, said slowly, "I guess she'll be about there. She went off five minutes ago." Mr. Close tackled the occasion at once—the station master was hunted down, the telegraph set to work, an engine and a carriage were prepared, and amid much objurgation from our friends, connected with imaginary dangers from collision, &c., we were delivered over to the conductors, who had never missed us, or thought we were in the train.

The district from St. Paul towards Council Bluffs, traversed by the train in which we were journeying to-day, presents every temptation to the agriculturist, but on looking at the map which showed the squares of land belonging to the railway and those at the disposal of the State, we had occasion to ascertain that all the plots (the 620-acre squares adjacent to the line) were disposed of, or only to be had at a very considerable increase on the normal rates. I cannot tell how many small settlements we passed on our way till we halted at the station where Messrs. Close have been carrying on for some time their farming operations. The general character of the country was that of an undulating plain covered invariably with thick, coarse grass and seamed with deep watercourses, which in England, indeed, would be called rivers, by the sides of which grew trees and dense vegetation. The houses and stations were of wood, and I do not think that I saw a stone or brick building for many miles.

One of the objects of the detour made north-westwards from Chicago to St. Paul was to pass through Iowa and Wisconsin, and to gratify the desire expressed by the Duke as well to see a country of such great natural fertility and resources, as the process of turning the virgin soil. An opportunity of doing this was to be afforded to us by the Messrs. Close, well-known on the river in times gone by as accomplished oarsmen, who now own large farms in the West. They have in their own occupancy a tract of 42,000 acres, which they intend to divide into farms and on it to build about one hundred houses for their tenants and found a colony, which has indeed been for some time in progress. The party got out near the station of Sibley on the St. Paul and Omaha Railway, where the train stopped, and drove to one of the farms, Le Mars, twenty-five miles from Sioux City, which was inspected with great interest by the Duke and his agricultural friends, as the plough was then turning soil that never had yet been touched by the hand of man. The figures furnished by Messrs. Close show good results; they are quite willing to welcome any gentleman desirous to try his fortune out West as a tenant, on conditions which they will communicate, the general principle being that the tenant and the landowner should be in co-partnership, the returns of the occupant's farming to be divided in certain proportions between him and the owners, until such time as the former becomes absolute proprietor. There are several gentlemen already engaged in this way, and we heard of persons coming from districts in Ireland, Scotland, or England, who had associated together for mutual help and support, and of those it was said that fair success was so far crowning their struggle. For struggle it is, even under most favourable circumstances. At first the conditions of life are hard; what would be considered at home privations, in the matter of food, drink, and living, by the class furnishing these emigrants, has to be endured or the fight must be given up; and it is not until after some years that a little ease can be indulged in, the comforts and the necessaries of life secured, and the tension of constant effort to make even virgin soil yield adequate resources be unknown. Here, as elsewhere, capital is needed. The possession of it ensures a good start, a patient toleration of present mischiefs with the assurance of a better time to come.

After the inspection of part of the farm, the Duke and his friends returned to the train and continued their journey. In traversing the immense expanse of prairie-land which lies between the boundary of Minnesota and Sioux City, the traveller is struck by the paucity of houses. The Sioux City and St. Paul Railway has, however, a great future before it. If the statement of Mr. J. H. Drake, land commissioner at St. Paul, Minnesota, be true, and I see no reason to doubt it, a million acres of unsurpassed farming and stock lands are at the disposal of the "wide, wide world," if it has money in its pockets, with the certainty of a magnificent fortune out of that investment. The system of location of lands is very well known, and any one who wishes to gain full information respecting it cannot do better than procure one of the maps which the St. Paul and Sioux City Railway will send with pleasure, and which exhibits the lots in the possession of the State, and those which the Company have disposed of, or hold over for purchase, numbered. The districts are laid out in squares of 640 acres (5200 square feet to the front); but arrangements can be made by which 40 acres of land can be purchased. Each block alternates with a block of the same size belonging to the State. The shaded squares on the map indicate that they are the property of the Company. Each shaded block is numbered; and the intending purchaser has only to fix upon the line in which it is situated and give the number, and he will procure all the particulars respecting it. But I fear that if it be adjacent to the railway, he will find he has been forestalled, for the land-speculators have been very active, and in Minnesota good prospects are not often to be had at a low price.

A number of ponds, attaining in some places the dimensions of lakes of very considerable size, and worthy of the names they bear, were visible from the railway; one indeed—Heron lake—resembling an inland sea. It is 326 miles, by the Iowa division of the Illinois Central Railway, from Dubuque to Sioux City on the Missouri; all along the Sioux City and St. Paul Railway, the Black Hills branch to Woodstock, the Sioux Falls branch to Valley Springs, and the Rock River branch there are blocks of 640 acres belonging to the Company, apparently well watered if they be like those through which we passed, abounding in rich grasses and wide-spreading meadows; so that if there be not some reason at work, in climate or the like, which prevents an accumulation of settlers, I cannot see why Jackson county, Wattowa, Nobles, Ocecola, Lyon, and other counties, should not be densely settled, at no distant period, by a thriving agricultural and pastoral community.

I confess my head could not hold the statistics which were driven into it only to come out again. It is 117 miles to St. James, and we took about four hours to do the distance, so that the speed left nothing to be complained of. But all the time of our journey, the kind gentlemen who accompanied us poured out information in a copious stream respecting the value of the lands, the fortunes of lots, and the particulars as to the little towns we passed through. Notable was it, however, that at the smallest of these there was sure to be a school-house and some place of worship, whatever the sect might be. But the names, I confess, left few memories behind them: Kasota junction, Mankalto, Christal, all become mixed up with Madelia and St. James when I try to recollect them.

We reached Sioux City at 9.20, continuing our journey all night, and slept in the train, which travelled pretty smoothly.

The easy natural way in which we all "turn in" now at the end of the day would make one suppose it was almost our normal state of life. In fact it is a cruise on wheels, a yachting excursion on iron waves rolling over the land, and this is becoming more lively as we approach the Missouri. There is a cloudy lining to the brightness of the prospect hereabouts. The rivers have been playing havoc, and we are obliged to read in the papers of great mischief by flood and storm, of cyclones and fires, damage to crops and property, and loss of life. Other things we read too. "Right Royally Received! Handsomely Entertained! They Express Admiration of the Wonderful Development and Beautiful Scenery. They Still Think Their System of Railway Management the Best. The Ducal Party Dine!" The climate must have a strange effect on us all. The Duke is a veritable Proteus in dress and looks. Sir H. Green is a man so various that he seems to be "Not one but all mankind's epitome." Mr. Stephen glides steadily through the columns of description with a fair share of commendation and uniformity. I have suddenly become bald, Mr. Neale is a universal favourite, though there is some tendency to resent his reluctance to admit the American system is better than the L. & N. W. R. Mr. Bickersteth and the Auditor and Mr. G. Crosfield are subjected to much modification of description. Crockett has whole paragraphs of apocryphal matter all to himself, but our conductors and drivers are uniformly mentioned in terms of respectful admiration in the local journal.

One paper under the heading of "Cousin George, With Other Distinguished Members of The Foreign Branch of Our Family," gives an account of the party which is certainly minute enough, for the writer, having described the Duke's appearance and dress, observes that "on the little finger of his right hand was a seal ring worn smooth;" but perhaps the description would have been more caustic had not the Chronicler or Dispatcher been propitiated by the admission "that the palace-car was exceedingly elegant, and that nothing like it existed on any of the roads in England."

The interviewers in the Western cities were not as numerous as they were at New York, but there was still a fair demand for information respecting the object of the Duke's visit. It is strange that America, which floods Europe with travellers and sightseers, should be represented in the press at home by gentlemen who want to know why a party of English people have come to the United States. Their descriptions of our personnel, if sometimes flattering, were, as I have said, variable, and the Duke of Sutherland has been represented as "a merry little man," "a tall, grave, serious gentleman," "of aristocratic mien and attire," "of plain aspect and unpretending dress," "with a limp," and with "a swift, strong stride," &c. Most of us were subjected to observations, generally in a kindly spirit, even in the case of the person to whom the papers still attach the soubriquet of "Bull Run Russell" (myself to wit), which was given to me because, twenty years ago, I had the misfortune of being obliged to write an account of a strategic movement of the Federal army, from the advance upon Richmond back upon the Potomac, in which I was involved.

May 26th.—At 10 in the morning we found ourselves at the great DepÔt between Council Bluffs and Omaha, where a long delay ensued, whilst arrangements were being made to defeat the attempt of the river Missouri to obstruct us, by effecting a detour of some seventy miles to Creston, whence we were to work over the damaged rails to Kansas City, where we intended to arrive and to sleep at 9.30 P.M. I do not think I should like to creep along an inundated line, with the Missouri close at my flank, every day in the week, but it was very interesting for once in a way, and the engineer was especially commended for his skill in driving us over such an exciting railroad.

The recent inundation in the West, of which we had heard in the Eastern States, had done fully as much mischief as was reported. Looking from the station, mud and slime, trunks of trees, and debris of all kinds, as far as the eye could reach, told of the ruinous extent of the overflow. For more than 200 miles the railway had suffered severely; in some places the "track" had been completely submerged or destroyed. But the gentlemen who had charge of our movements were not to be beaten by even Missouri in full flood, and arrangements were made for the train to circumvent the enemy by a wide sweep round its flank to a point of junction of the line with the railroad to Kansas City. The detour enabled us to see a country of extraordinary fertility, but the liability to such floods must seriously interfere with its attractions as a permanent residence or for profitable farming. The train reached Creston at 12.30, and continued its course immediately, running over a line which had been hastily repaired, and was by no means pleasant to travel over for long intervals. At 3.15 we were at Bolcklow—ninety-four miles from Kansas City—and in an hour and three-quarters came out upon the great river Missouri at a "cut-off" where it was flowing in a stream of liquid mud three miles broad, carrying with it branches, trees, fences, straw, and corn. It was indeed very gingerly work to drive the engine, which at times threatened to slide from under us into the stream, and the boldest held his breadth for a time, when, coming to a very bad bit, and looking out ahead, we saw the engineers anxiously consulting with the directors of the train, and felt the labouring of the engine as it rose up and down over the uneven line. Unless I had witnesses to corroborate my statement I should be loth to aver that on several occasions the rails have sunk so much that when the train was passing over them the end of one carriage was tilted up at a considerable angle to the roof of that which followed it! Winthrop Junction is forty-eight miles from Kansas City, but we did not arrive there until 6.30, having been all that time getting over the ground from Bolcklow. Thenceforth the anxieties of the journey became aggravated instead of lessened; the line was worse and worse, and the interest deepened low or rose high as the engineer, failing to surmount a sharp rise up to the level of the line, over a sort of hole into which we had fallen, reversed the engine, then put on steam, and with a great struggle succeeded in getting into position again. It is quite as well our friends of the London and North-Western had this little experience of western travel ere they left. This was to be the last night that we were all to consort together, for the party was now about to break up into two divisions; Messrs. Crosfield, Bickersteth, and Neale returning to New York on their way home, the Duke, Sir H. and Lady Green, Mr. Stephen, Mr. Wright and I going on to San Francisco; and at dinner in the train, in the middle of the contending emotions which were occasioned by the conditions under which we were continuing our course to the West, the Auditor made a feeling little speech which touched the heart and gained the assent of the company, and healths were proposed.

"Coates's House," Kansas City, on which we descended late at night, is not exactly the hotel a fastidious or exacting person would select as an abiding place if he had one experience of it. Moreover, there was a convention at Coates's House. We have been much exercised by "Conventions," dropping upon them at unexpected times and places—"Conventions" of doctors, of druggists, of railway conductors; and these being in possession, and masters of the situation, were always the most favoured guests. A stranger accustomed to have his own way in his inn, and to have his orders attended to with dispatch, might perhaps have his temper ruffled by the divine calm of the coloured citizens who officiated as helps, or by the haughty composure of the landlord, probably a warrior of renown, and assuredly a "colonel," at the very least who did not complaints or importunities. Quoth British railway director to mine host at the office:—"There is no looking-glass in my bedroom, and I can't find any basin and ewer." To whom the lord of Coates's House:—"Well, I've done the best I can for you! There are ladies sleeping on the floor! And if you don't like what you get here, there are other hotels in Kansas City, and you can go to them if you please." Director collapsed. But he appeared clothed and in his right mind in the morning, and I do not think the Colonel meant to be at all uncivil. Perhaps a party of ten coming in after hours, each demanding a separate bedroom, is considered as a disturbing and aggressive element, to be promptly sat upon and repressed. Next morning we were all up and downstairs betimes. An ample breakfast was well served by white women, aided by "darkies," in the public room, and then came the leave-taking with Mr. Bickersteth, Mr. Crosfield and Mr. Neale, the friends and companions with whom we had been living and travelling day and night, since the 23rd April, in harmony, which was not marred for an instant even when there were discussions concerning the programme, or small conflicts of wishes. The regret of which the outward and visible sign was only a deal of hand-shaking and simply expressed good wishes, based on the harmony of our mutual relations, was sincere. We saw our friends off on their journey to New York, and bade good-bye to Mr. Whelpley our conductor, Mr. Whitfield the baggage-master, who had been with us all along, and to the steward and excellent valetaille of the train, to whose care we were very deeply indebted for our comfort.

We were now transferred to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa FÉ Railroad Company. Mr. White, representative of it, who took charge of the Duke and his party, was certainly an admirable selection in all respects, as we had every reason to acknowledge every day and night of the many weeks we were so fortunate as to enjoy his society and profit by his quiet thoughtfulness. Mr. White is one of those Americans—the modern types in all his good qualities of Juvenal's Greek—whom no one, after a short experience of the versatility of their talents—quick, sagacious, bold yet cautious, with a keen eye for character and much quiet humour, full of decision and resource—would be surprised to hear of as candidates for the highest office. He brought with him Mayor Anderson, a railway official who had wide experience of campaigning in the Civil War, and who carried about in his person a leaden memento of battle, which had no effect on his animal spirits, or, I am glad to add, his bodily health; Mr. Jerome, an officer of the Chicago Railway; and Mr. Townsend, correspondent of the Field, to the readers of which he is known, under the name of "St. Kames," as the author of lively papers. We left Kansas City at 11.30, in a complete little special train consisting of two luggage and two saloon and sleeping cars, simply perfection in finish, elegance, and internal arrangements, with kitchen, cooking apparatus, dining and sitting saloon, harmonium, tables covered with bouquets of choice flowers, thanks to Mr. Pullman.