n 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