h wore his
hair unshorn. He was thoroughly loyal during the war, and was
compelled to leave Texas and remain in Ohio until after the war
was over, when he returned and published a newspaper, and was kindly
treated by his Texas neighbors. In his paper, he said that receiving
a telegram from me at six o'clock, at his residence, just before
the arrival of the train, he hurried to the Union Depot, and there
had the satisfaction of meeting our party. He said that his chief
regret at the delay in receiving this telegram was that he did not
have time enough to give notice to his neighbors, who would have
been glad to give us an ovation. He went with us as far as Fort
Worth, and we had a chance to revive the memories of early times,
when we were schoolboys at Mount Vernon, Ohio.

We arrived at El Paso and Paso del Norte, the first a Texan and
the second a Mexican town, opposite each other on the Rio Grande
River, which, from its mouth to this point, is the boundary line
between Mexico and the United States. El Paso must, in all human
probability, become a place of great importance. From there we
proceeded to Deming and entered Arizona. Here we began again to
hear of rich mines, of thriving mining towns, and of the inexhaustible
ores of silver and gold, but how much was truth and how much
exaggeration we had no means of knowing. From the cars the whole
country appeared to be a wilderness. Arizona, as viewed from the
cars, does not present a pleasing prospect, though we heard that
back beyond the mountains on either side were plains and valleys
irrigated by mountain streams, where perennial grasses existed and
grain was raised. We passed through Tucson, the capital of the
territory. It is an old city, having been in existence, it is
said, 300 years. Here we saw fields of barley, wheat, rye and
timothy, and a large orchard, all enriched by irrigation. We soon
crossed the Colorado River and entered California.

From Yuma to San Bernardino is an absolute desert. For over one
hundred miles the track is one hundred feet, or more, below the
level of the sea, and the country is absolutely naked of bird or
grass. At San Bernardino we entered California proper, and there
found a beautiful country, with nothing to obstruct the view, the
California mountains being on the right all the way into Los Angeles.
Upon my arrival in this city I was pleasantly surprised. I had
been there thirteen years before, but everything was c