Another Summer: The Yellowstone Park and Alaska

OUR long trip to Alaska and return, nine thousand miles in all, commenced on June 17, 1892, at the Grand Central Station, New York. Arriving at Chicago the next afternoon, we obtained a good view of the great exposition buildings from our car windows as we passed along the lake front. Shortly afterward we were dumped down at the wretched sheds of the Michigan Central Railroad. It rained very heavily, and ourselves and hand baggage were somewhat wet passing a short distance to a carriage. We soon crossed the Chicago River to the Northwestern Depot, boarded the train, which left at 11 p.m., and arrived at the beautiful modern city of St. Paul at 1 p.m. the next day. The Hotel Ryan was found to be very comfortable, and everything in and around the city is bright and cheerful. Great business activity, and immense and costly buildings are especially noticeable.

Running along the streets are great numbers of spacious and elegant cars drawn by cables. We hailed a passing one, got in, and went slowly and carefully through the crowded streets, up and down hills, with great speed and ease, into the country for some miles, passing many elegant private residences, as costly and fine as any to be seen in any city in the world—notably one built and occupied by Mr. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railroad, now about completed to the Pacific Ocean, whose name you hear mentioned often as one of the great railroad magnates of the West. The streets are clean, the sidewalks wide, the front yards of the houses crowded with beautiful plants and flowers, and in all respects we concluded that St. Paul is a most delightful city.