t one way
had to be selected, and the choice at last fell on the Delaware and
Hudson, the Erie, Rock Island, the Denver and Rio Grande, and the
Southern Pacific roads. This route was deemed most feasible, and one
that would give a special opportunity to pass through cities and
places famous in the history of the Nation, which otherwise could not
be visited without great expense and consumption of time. It enabled
one also to travel through such great States as Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada, as well
as central California. As the return journey had also to be determined
before leaving home, the writer, desirous of visiting the coast towns
of California south of San Francisco, and as far down as San Diego,
the first settlement in California by white men, arranged to take
the Southern Pacific Railway and the direct lines with which it
communicates. In travelling over the "Sunset Route," as the Southern
Pacific is styled, he would pass across the southern section of
California from Los Angeles, through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and
Louisiana, the line over which President McKinley travelled when he
made his tour in the spring of 1901. From New Orleans, by taking the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad, he would journey through southern
Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and so back through Ohio from
Cincinnati, and across Pennsylvania into the Empire State, over the
Erie and the "D. & H." Railways. By the "Sunset Route," too, the
writer could avail himself of the privilege of going into the country
of Mexico at Eagle Pass, and so down to the City of Mexico, famous
with the memories of the Montezumas and of Cortez and furnishing also
a memorable chapter in our own history, when, in September 1847, the
heights of Chapultepec were stormed by General Pillow and his brave
followers.

The journey from beginning to end was one of delightful experiences,
full of pleasure and profit, and without a single accident or mishap.
This is largely owing to the excellent service afforded and the
courtesy of the railway officials, who were ready at all times to
answer questions and to promote the comfort of the passengers. The
obliging agent of the "D. & H." Railway in Saratoga Springs made all
the necessary arrangements for the ticket, with its coupons, which
was to take me to and fro; and baggage checked in Saratoga was found
promptly, and in good condition, on my arrival in San Francisco. H