kable harbor and the surrounding
country. It was apparently a good site for a great city. Fresh
water was the great want and rain-falls were rare, but it was
claimed that an ample supply of water could be had from the hills.
The real obstacle to that site, as a terminus for the railroad,
was the mountains east of San Diego, which, upon a survey, were
found to be extremely difficult, and this turned the route to Los
Angeles, over natural passes and through the beautiful region of
San Bernardino.

We returned, by boat, to San Francisco, and soon after turned our
way eastward. We stopped at Reno, and went by rail to Carson City,
the capital of Nevada. It was then an embryo town. From there we
went to Lake Tahoe, one of the finest bodies of water on the earth.
Its clear, cold waters filled a natural basin in the midst of the
Nevada range of mountains, which was supplied by the melting snows.
We then returned to Carson City, ascended, by rail, an inclined
plane of high grade, to Virginia City. Most of the party descended
into the mines, but I was prevented from doing so by an attack of
neuralgia, a complaint from which I never suffered before or since,
caused, as it was said, by the high altitude and thin air. Here
I met several natives of Ohio, who had sought their fortunes in
the far west. They were very kind to the party and to myself. It
got to be a common remark, that Ohio has everything good in the
west. I could answer that they all seemed to deserve what they
had. I was disposed to be proud of them and of my native state,
but soon after, on the way east, we heard of an atrocious murder
committed by two Ohio men. This turned the tables on my native
state, and I was compelled to confess that bad men came from Ohio
as well as from other states; but, if so, Ohio people excelled in
the atrocity of their crimes as well as in the excellence of their
merits!

Our next stopping place was at Salt Lake City. Whatever opinion
we may have of the religious creed and dogmas of the Mormons, we
cannot deny the industry and courage of that sect in building up
a city in a wilderness where natural conditions seemed to forbid
all hope of success in such an enterprise. And yet there it was,
a well-ordered city laid out with squares, avenues, streets, and
reservations for schools, churches and other public uses, with
water introduced in great abundance. All the needs of city life
were provided, such as stores, markets and