ere, my traveling
companions making their headquarters at Portland.

When visiting Tacoma and Seattle our party had been increased to
the number of seventeen gentlemen, some of them connected with the
army, some with the railroads, and others who joined us in our
progress around the waters of Puget Sound and strait of Juan de
Fuca. These waters furnish perhaps the finest harbors in the world.
They are deep, with high banks rising in some places to mountains,
and capable of holding all the navies of the world. In a military
sense Puget Sound can be easily defended from an enemy coming from
the sea, and, though the country is mountainous, it is capable of
sustaining a large population in the extensive valleys both east
and west of the coast range. I have visited this portion of the
United States on three occasions, and am always more and more
impressed with its great importance and its probably rapid increase
of population and wealth. I will not dwell longer on this interesting
trip.

We left Portland on the 7th of June and proceeded on the Northern
Pacific railroad to Tacoma. On the train we met Charles Francis
Adams, Jr., with a party of railway managers, and in Tacoma we met
an old friend, a gallant and able officer, General John W. Sprague,
formerly from Erie county, Ohio, and more recently connected with
the Northern Pacific Railway Company. On Sunday, our party, including
Mr. Adams, dined with General Sprague. We had not as yet been able
to see Mount Tacoma in its glory, as it was constantly shrouded by
clouds. In the course of the dinner, Mr. Adams said humorously to
Mrs. Sprague that he had some doubts whether there was a Mount
Tacoma, that he had come there to see it and looked in the right
direction, but could not find it. I saw that this nettled Mrs.
Sprague, but she said nothing. In a few moments she left the table
and soon came back with a glowing face, saying, "You can see Tacoma
now!" We all left our places at the tables and went out on the
porch, and there was Mount Tacoma in all its glory. The clouds
were above the head of the mountain and it stood erect, covered
with snow, one of the most beautiful sights in nature. Mr. Adams
said: "Tacoma--yes Mount Tacoma is there and is very beautiful!"

On the 9th of June we visited Victoria in British Columbia. On
our return we stopped at Port Townsend and Seattle. I received
many courtesies from gentlemen at Seattle, many of whom had been
nativ