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                          By the same Author.


A TREASURY OF THOUGHT. An Encyclopædia of Quotations from Ancient and
  Modern Authors. 8vo, full gilt, $4.00.

  The most complete and exhaustive volume of the kind with which we are
acquainted. The literature of all times has contributed to it, and the
range of reading necessary to its compilation is the widest.—_Hartford
Courant._

NOTABLE THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN. A Literary Mosaic. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Full of delicious bits from nearly every writer of any celebrity,
English, American, French, or German, early and modern, it is a
fascinating medley. When one takes up the book it is difficult to lay it
down, for one is led on from one brilliant or striking thought to
another, in a way that is quite absorbing.—_Portland Transcript._

PEARLS OF THOUGHT. Choice Sentences from the wisest Authors. 16mo, full
  gilt, $1.25.

  The first noticeable thing about “Pearls of Thought” is that the
“pearls” are offered in a jewel-box of printing and binding. The
selections have the merit of being short and sparkling. Authors, ancient
and modern, and of all nations, are represented.—_New York Tribune._

DUE WEST; or, Round the World in Ten Months. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  It is a book of books on foreign travel, and deserves to be in the
hands of all subsequent writers as combining just the qualities to give
the greater information and zest.—_Boston Commonwealth._

DUE SOUTH; or, Cuba Past and Present. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Full of information concerning the Bahama Islands, the Caribbean Sea,
and the island of Cuba. Of the finest and most extensive culture, Mr.
Ballou is the ideal traveler.—_Boston Traveller._

DUE NORTH; or, Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  The author has the tact to travel without an object; he strolls. He
sees things accidentally; you feel that you might have seen the same
things, under the same circumstances. He never lectures; rarely
theorizes. It is as useful to read him as it is enjoyable to travel with
him.—_Journal of Education._

UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS: or, Travels in New Zealand, Australia, and
  Tasmania. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Few persons have traveled so extensively, and no one more profitably
both to himself and the public, than Mr. Ballou.—EDWIN P. WHIPPLE.

EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH. Crown 8vo, $3.50.

  A remarkable compilation of brilliant and wise sayings from more than
a thousand various sources, embracing all the notable authors, classic
and modern, who have enriched the pages of history and literature. It
might be termed a whole library in one volume.—_Boston Beacon._

GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Mr. Ballou displays a broad and thorough knowledge of men of genius in
all ages, and the comprehensive index makes the volume invaluable as a
book of reference, while—a rare thing in reference books—it is
thoroughly interesting for consecutive reading.—_The Journalist_ (New
York).


                  HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO., PUBLISHERS,
                          BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

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                            THE NEW ELDORADO

                       A SUMMER JOURNEY TO ALASKA

                                   BY

                           MATURIN M. BALLOU


    I pity the man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba, and cry:
    “’Tis all barren!” and so it is, and so is all the world to him
    who will not cultivate the fruits it offers.—STERNE.

                            [Publisher Logo]


                          BOSTON AND NEW YORK
                     HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
                     The Riverside Press, Cambridge
                                  1889

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                            Copyright, 1889,
                         BY MATURIN M. BALLOU.

                         _All rights reserved._


           _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
         Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.

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                                PREFACE.

                                 --*--


The Spaniards of old had a proverb signifying that he who would bring
home the wealth of the Indies must carry the wealth of the Indies with
him. If we would benefit by travel we must take with us an ample store
of appreciative intelligence. Nature, like lovely womanhood, only
reveals herself to him who humbly and diligently seeks her. As Sir
Richard Steele said of a certain noble lady: “To love her is a liberal
education.” Keen observation is as necessary to the traveler who would
improve by his vocation as are wings to an albatross. The trained and
appreciative eye is like the object-glass of the photographic machine,
nothing is so seemingly insignificant as to escape it. Careless,
half-educated persons are sent upon their travels in order, it is said,
that they may “learn.” Such individuals had best first learn to travel.
Those who improve the modern facilities for seeing the world acquire an
inexhaustible wealth of information, and a delightful mental resort of
which nothing can deprive them. The power of vision is thus enlarged,
many occurrences which have heretofore proved daily mysteries become
clear, prejudices are annihilated, and the judgment broadened. Above
all, let us first become familiar with the important features of our own
beautiful and widespread land before we seek foreign shores, especially
as we have on this continent so much of unequaled grandeur and unique
phenomena to satisfy and to attract us. It seems to the undersigned that
perhaps this volume will have a tendency to lead the reader to such
conclusion, and certainly this is its primary object.

                                                            M. M. B.

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                               CONTENTS.

                                 --*--


                               CHAPTER I.

                                                                 PAGE

   Itinerary.—St. Paul.—The Northern Pacific Railroad.—
     Progress.—Luxurious Traveling.—Riding on a Locomotive.—
     Night Experiences.—Prairie Scenes.—Immense Grain-Fields.—
     The Badlands.—Climbing the Rocky Mountains.—Cinnabar.—The
     Yellowstone Park.—An Accumulation of Wonders.—The Famous
     Hot Springs Terrace.—How Formed.—As seen by Moonlight          1


                              CHAPTER II.

   Nature in Poetic Moods.—Is there Lurking Danger?—A
     Sanitarium.—The Liberty Cap.—The Giant’s Thumb.—Singular
     Caves.—Falls of the Gardiner River.—In the Saddle.—Grand
     Cañon of the Yellowstone.—Far-Reaching Antiquity.—Obsidian
     Cliffs.—A Road of Glass.—Beaver Lake.—Animal Builders.—
     Aborigines of the Park.—The Sheep-Eaters.—The Shoshones
     and other Tribes                                              20


                              CHAPTER III.

   Norris Geyser Basin.—Fire beneath the Surface.—A Guide’s
     Ideas.—The Curious Paint Pot Basin.—Lower Geyser Basin.—
     Boiling Springs of Many Colors.—Mountain Lions at Play.—
     Midway Geyser Basin.—“Hell’s Half Acre.”—In the Midst of
     Wonderland.—“Old Faithful.”—Other Active Geysers.—Erratic
     Nature of these Remarkable Fountains                          34


                              CHAPTER IV.

   The Great Yellowstone Lake.—Myriads of Birds.—Solitary
     Beauty of the Lake.—The Flora of the Park.—Devastating
     Fires.—Wild Animals.—Grand Volcanic Centre.—Mountain
     Climbing and Wonderful Views.—A Story of Discovery.—
     Government Exploration of the Reservation.—Governor
     Washburn’s Expedition.—“For the Benefit of the People at
     Large Forever”                                                47


                               CHAPTER V.

   Westward Journey resumed.—Queen City of the Mountains.—
     Crossing the Rockies.—Butte City, the Great Mining
     Centre.—Montana.—The Red Men.—About the Aborigines.—The
     Cowboys of the West.—A Successful Hunter.—Emigrant Teams
     on the Prairies.—Immense Forests.—Puget Sound.—The Famous
     Stampede Tunnel.—Immigration                                  57


                              CHAPTER VI.

   Mount Tacoma.—Terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad.—
     Great Inland Sea.—City of Tacoma and its Marvelous
     Growth.—Coal Measures.—The Modoc Indians.—Embarking for
     Alaska.—The Rapidly Growing City of Seattle.—Tacoma with
     its Fifteen Glaciers.—Something about Port Townsend.—A
     Chance for Members of Alpine Clubs                            73


                              CHAPTER VII.

   Victoria, Vancouver’s Island.—Es