Unsigned letter from Harriet to Mary, Emily, Sarah, and Clara, February 4, 1903

noyes_c_cor_463.pdf

Dublin Core

Title

Unsigned letter from Harriet to Mary, Emily, Sarah, and Clara, February 4, 1903

Subject

Railroad travel--United States; Railroad stations--Ohio; Orphans; Adoption; Railroad accidents; Gold mines and mining; Royal Gorge (Colo.); Arkansas River; Smallpox; Wild horses; Indians of North America; Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)

Description

Hattie writes to her sisters about the journey back out west. She found friends at the depot and on the train. In Jacksonville, she met up with Sarah and her friends. They left early in the morning for Chicago. Harriet writes about the various individuals she met along her trip. She describes the farms of the midwest that pass by, all covered with snow. She complains of oppressive heat in the train compartments. She talks about the snowy rail trip along the edge of the Arkansas River. They pass houses plagued by smallpox. Eventually, she ends the journey in San Francisco.

Creator

Noyes, Harriet Newell

Source

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #4

Publisher

Unpublished

Date

1903-02-04

Contributor

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

Format

PDF

Language

eng (English)

Type

Text

Identifier

noyes_c_cor_463

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

Seville Wednesday Feby 4th 1903
My dear Mary [written vertically: and Emily Sarah & Clara]
I will commence
my letter where I bade you
good bye, by the fire in the
sitting room Wednesday
eve. Sarah and I have agreed
henceforth to try and extract
the sweet out of life, and
leave the bitter, but when it
comes to saying goodbye it seems
to be all bitter, and no sweet.
But no that is not true, we
have the sweet hope of a joyful
meeting if not here, [u] surely [/u] hereafter.
And God's loving care is over
us always, [u] everywhere [/u].
Notwithstanding the cold we
found several of our dear friends
at the depot. You already know
who they were, but it gives me
pleasure to write their names as
I recall their faces and their
parting words. Mrs Parker Mrs Easton
Mrs Beach, Miss Evelyn Gray

Miss Sadie McDowell. And
I was so glad to see Mrs Hannah
[?Pigern?] again. I had been thinking
of her, and that I should not
see her before leaving. Miss Frank
McDowell & Miss Mattie Miller
came on the train on which we left
so I had a parting glimpse of them.
We waited about two hours at Sterling
for the Erie train, then good-bye
to Emily and Clara and the long
journey Westward was commenced.
I could not sleep for sometime,
and woke frequently during the
night, and as it was coming day
light and we were nearing Chicago
the first thing I heard was that
we were an hour and a half late.
A transfer took me across the city
to the N.W. Depot where I procured my
ticket for San Francisco. As the
baggage had not arrived sat down
to wait for it after finding that
the train for Jacksonville would
not leave until 11-25. After waiting
for a time went again to the
Baggage Room and as it had not
yet come asked the Agent if he
could not give me the checks in
advance so that I need not wait longer

He said it would need to be
weighed and I must be there
to pay any change for extra
baggage. I told him I thought
there would be none as 350 lbs
are allowed on trans Pacific
tickets, and I felt sure I had
not more than that. After
seeing my steamer ticket he
gave me the necessary checks
to claim my baggage in San Francisco
and I then went on my way
across the city to another depot
to take the train for Jacksonville
The country was beautiful
there had just been an
ice storm and trees and
fields were covered with ice
which shone and sparkled in
the sunshine like diamonds.
You can imagine how beautiful
it was. Reached Jacksonville
a little after sunset and
found Sarah waiting for me.
We went directly to Mrs Turley's
and met several of Sarah's friends

there. After tea went in to see
Mrs Turley's son for a few
minutes then Sarah took me to
Mrs Taylor's I was very glad to
meet her she is much like her
sister Mrs Gilman whom we so
much loved. Her little girl Marian
is named for Mrs Gilman. There
were six sisters of only one brother
in their family and he has been taken
away. We afterwards called on
the Misses Hughes, and Mrs Morey.
After we returned to Sarah's room
Miss Wood, Miss Miller Miss Byrans
& Mrs Turley called. Sarah
felt that my visit would be
so very short she must prolong
it be going to Chicago to see
me off, and so after a few
hours sleep we rose and
prepared to take the early
morning train back to
Chicago and so the 5th of
February commenced for now
in Jacksonville.

Friday Feby 6th 2
Sarah and I left
Jacksonville just as it was growing
light. The cars were very warm, but
outside the air was cool and pleasant,
and the beautiful ice still covered
everything glistening in the morning
sunshine. A [u] little [/u] girl only seven years
old came in the train travelling all
alone. She had a card which she showed
to the Conductor on which was written
that she wished to go to Chicago. He
spoke to us about her saying that he did
not go through to Chicago and might
forget to speak about her to the other
Conductor and asking us to look after
her if necessary. Later we learned that
she was from a home for children in
Chicago and had been adopted by a
German and his wife. They had
already adopted three children who
had all grown up and married
and left them so they are ready to
commence again. The little girl was
evidently very fond of them and said
they were kind to her. They were sending
her to the city to bring back another little
girl as they wished to have two. She
expected the Matron of the Home to meet
her in Chicago. She seemed very young
to send on such a Mission. It was
left to her to decide, she was to bring
back the other girl if she liked her.
It was however I presume already

really decided for she knew her.
Her own name is Mina she is evidently
of German descent the other little girl's
name is Jessie. Jessie is a year
older than herself. I hope they will
have a nice time together and be a
comfort to their adopted parents. A lady
came on board the train later with
two little boys about 10 & 12 years of age,
and she took the little girl under her
care. She was very pleasant reminding
me a little of dear Edith Patton, and
the boys were fine little laddies. They
made me think of Edward and Henry
as they must have looked in "the long ago"
The elder had blue eyes and the
younger dark he looked a little like R.V.
The had both had typhoid fever had
been ill for three months. She said
she lost a little girl a year ago not her
own but a sisters, but said that she
had had the care of her, and could
not possibly have loved or missed
her more if she had been her very own.
The last we saw of the party she was
leading the little girl to the waiting
room. I hope she found the Matron
of the Home all right, but we know she
would look after the little girl in any
event. Once or twice during the day
her courage failed her and she
sought relief in tears, but the lady
cheered her up. Sarah recently met the
man who has charge of the Home
and he told her that 95 per cent
of those for whom they procure homes

prove very satisfactory which I
was glad to know When we
reached Chicago went directly to the
N.W. depot and procured my sleeper
and sent a telegram to Miss Butler's
sister at Colorado Springs. Then
took a street car and went across
to the other depot as Sarah wished
to see what arrangement she could
make there about spending the night
as there would be no train out to
Jacksonville leaving after mine at 6-30
The cars were so slow and we were
obliged to wait for one back so
long that when we returned the
afternoon was far spent. So we went
and had our last meal together, and
then sat down to wait for the 6-30
train. It was the same waiting room
where Martha, Emily, and Sarah waited
with me nearly ten years ago, and when
we went out to the train it seemed
very natural the same place and
looked like the same train standing
on the track. There was only a moment
and then the last good-bye was said
and I was starting out alone.
We passed through Cedar Rapids
about 11-30 and I thought of the friend
so near whom I would so like to
see, but I could only send her by
wireless telegraphy my good wishes and
goodbye, perhaps they reached her
in her dreams.

Saturday morning's light showed
us I was sleeping under a coverlet of
snow. The tracks of the ice storm
which made Illinois so beautiful
had all disappeared. We passed
mile after mile of cornfields which
must have been beautiful under the
summer sunshine, but now looked
rather dreary with the corn stalks
sticking up out of the winter snow.
Nearly all the corn fodder is left
standing and the horses and cattle
are allowed to help themselves.
It seemed as though it would
be rather cold food all covered
with ice and snow, but I hoped
they like it as well as we do ice cream.
A large rabbit came out and challenged
the train to a race, but although be
ran splendidly our iron horse came
out ahead, he did not give up the
chase however as long as we could see
him. The horses and cattle
standing in the snow looked very
disconsolate and unhappy, and
apparently with good reason. There
seems to be as a rule no provision
for shelter and usually they are
evidently expected to dig their food
out of the snow or go without and
the fields do not look as though they
would furnish any more for them
than on fields in Ohio in winter.

There is very little sage brush here
only a few specimens growing under
the friendly protection of the barbed
wire fence whose unfriendliness to other
forms of life makes it a protection to
the sage brush. I learned on the
train that 8-30 is the time for the
train to reach Denver and that I can
not reach Colorado Springs until about
midnight. Towards evening I was
glad to see that some of the cattle
were to be fed. Men drove wagons loaded
with hay along pitching it off at the side
and followed by long processions of
cattle hundreds, it seemed to me there
must have been thousands in some
of the herds. Some in the train were
talking of a ranch that we would
pass which has the largest barn in
the world. We hoped we would pass it
before night but did not so missed
seeing it. In the afternoon we came
in sight of the mountains. As the plains
are now all covered with snow the
contrast between them and the
snowy ranges is not so marked as at
another season. We were just
reaching Denver had passed
some of the light of the city when
the train suddenly stopped and
soon word was passed along that
the engine had broken down

We afterwards learned that what
had happened was that the front
axle of the tender had broken in two.
The heavy wheel from one end
had been hurled sixty feet from the
track, and then the tender had turned
diagonally and the broken axel had
torn up the rails on one side of the
track and bent the irons which
came in its way. It seems strange that
the cars kept the track and that we
felt no jar. We had been running 60
miles an hour but had slowed up as
we were nearing Denver. Everyone said
it was most fortunate that there were
no more serious results than a detention
of an hour or two. I did not hear
whether they replaced the tracks
under the tender or procured another
engine, but after a delay of about
two hours we began to move and
reached Denver about eleven-o-clock.
My train of course had left so I
inquired for a hotel, and went
to the Oxford near by where I was
furnished with a room which was
a great improvement in comfort
and temperature on the sleeping
car. It seems as though I have
been living in a furnace ever since
leaving Chicago & I certainly
feel as though I must be

cooked thoroughly enough to be
in a suitable condition to be served
up at a feast of cannibals I
cannot understand why the
travelling public [u] endure [/u] I suppose
they demand such intense
insupportable heat and just
outside is the delicious clear fresh
mountain air carefully excluded by
two thicknesses of glass. I have
thought many times of the man
who wished to have a pane of glass
broken out so that he could have
some air to breathe. Even at the
doors the space between the trains is
just as carefully enclosed so there is
not left even a "door of hope."
I had a few hours of comfortable
sleep and then took the train
for Colorado Springs. Mrs Fitting
had gone down to the train the
evening before and staid until
nearly midnight, but as I did not
come then did not know when
to expect me. As I got off the train
at Colorado Springs I was met by
a relation of Tom Grogran's, a
woman hackman. She took
my satchel which I had put with
me in the back seat and said
"Put it here [u] dear [/u] and you will
have more room." She was very talkative
and I found my credulity taxed
to the utmost to believe all that she
said. She told me she had been

in the hack of business for six years
had formerly lived in Detroit, her
husband died, she lost $90,000.00
ninety thousand dollars in mining
in Cripple Creek, her only daughter
went out to China as a missionary
when she was only [u] fourteen [/u] came
back five years later and died
Her troubles unsettled her mind
for about two years, and this
hack driving has been her only
salvation physically mentally
and financially. She said she
made eleven hundred dollars
last year between the end of May
and the first of Sept. I told her she
might come back and take me to the
train the next morning, but Mrs Fitting
keeps a horse, and said she
would take me herself. They tell
me that the hackswoman is quite
a character. Her first husband was
supposed to be dead, and she
married another who is now a
policeman. The first husband returned
but they arranged it in someway so
instead of having no husband it seems
she has two and doubtless much
of the rest that she told me was
equally untrue. I asked them if it
was considered all right to ride with her
and they said oh yes.

Sabbath afternoon went with
Mr and Mrs Fitting to the
Methodist church to which they
belong, and spoke twice to the
Sabbath School 648 in attendance
and afterwards to the Intermediate
C.E. Society. Miss Butler's mother
is not able to go to church often
which is a great deprivation to her.
Mr Fitting was at home while I
was there, had just returned after
four months spent in Nevada where
he has mining interests, employs
about forty men.
Monday morning Feby 9-
Mrs Fitting took me to the station
in time for the 10-30 train.
Colorado Springs is a beautiful city
and is happy in freedom now and
in the future from the liquor traffic.
All the land within five miles is sold
under deeds which prohibit the sale
of strong drink, and the owner forfeits
his deed if this clause is disobeyed.
A very little is sold by the drug stores
but they say an intoxicated man
is never seen on the streets. The city
is indebted to one of the first residents
Gen Palmer I think for this wise
and beneficent provision for its welfare.
In many respects it seems an

ideal city. Many of the streets
have Indian names. Cache la powdre
the name of the street on which
Mrs Fitting lives means Hiding place
for the powder and it is traditional
that the Indians in former times
secreted their powder there. It is
pronounced Cash-lay-powder. XX
The scenery on the Denver and
Rio Grande R.R. after leaving Colorado
Springs is magnificent not as beautiful
now as with all the rich color of the
summer time, yet it is grand
crowned with the snows of winter
The rail road through the
Royal Gorge is a perfect marvel
of engineering skill. It follows
the course of the Arkansas River
and some of the way the old
Stage coach road is in now.
One car was at the rear end of
the train and we went out and
stood on the rear platform
thus getting a better view Soon after
leaving the Gorge while going around
a curve we suddenly came to a
pause. We could look ahead
and see the engine which seemed
to be blowing off steam from several
points. We soon learned that the
end of a cylinder or steam [?chat?]

had blown out thus disabling
the engine. A man had started
to go two miles on foot for help, so
it was evident that our stop would
not be a short one. After what seemed
a long time another engine arrived
upon the scene and coming up in
the rear pushed us along in front
of it. Our poor engine looked rather
helpless and crest fallen being
pushed along at the head of its train.
When however after a time another
sharp curve showed us the head
of our train we found we had two
engines which seemed to be going
forward in excellent spirits. We
could not tell whether both were new
ones or if the new arrival had encouraged
ours to go on. It was nearly night
when we started again so we had
moonlight views. The thermometer
stood at 15° below zero, one of the brakemen
told us, but the air is so dry and pure
it does not seem cold as it is in Ohio
at that temperature. Horses and
cattle men standing out in the snow
and evidently had nothing to eat
except what they could find for
themselves under the snow.
Tuesday morning Feby 10th-
Soon after light we passed the
summit of the Mountains and
are now "over the range" and
going down the Western slope.

Yesterday the waters of the
Arkansas River whose winding
course we followed met us as we
climbed the mountains today the
streams are going down with us.
There is deep snow everywhere
This morning we passed a little
pack taking its winter's sleep under
the coverlet of snow, and here
and there just above the snow
we could read the signs "Keep
off the Grass." Occasionally we
plunge into the darkness of a
snow shed. There has been
more snow here and evidently
good sleighing. Wherever there
is hay and we see a stack that
some has been taken from the
inside looks perfectly fresh and green
does not seem to dry as with us
but looks as though it would be much
better to eat. We have passed
many miners cabins tiny little
dugouts which look like poor
substitutes for homes. At Salt Lake
City many of the passnegers stopped
off, but more than enough came
on to fill their places. We
reached Ogden about 2 P.M.
to find that our train from

the East had gone on and
not waited for us so there
was nothing for us to do but
wait several hours for another
In passing through Salt Lake
City the RR track ran for some
distance along one of the streets
and I noticed on so many of
the houses a placard marked
Small Pox so the city must be
suffering an epidemic of that
dreadful disease. While at Ogden
I thought I would go and call
on Dr and Mrs Wishard but
found upon inquiring that they have
removed to Salt Lake City.
The stay of two hours lengthened
out to four and it was six-o-
clock before the train came in
from the East which was to
take us in tow. The sunsets
in this Western land are very
beautiful, but not more so than
in Ohio.
Wednesday morning Feby 11th
found us in Nevada. Snow
still covers the ground but the
white coverlet is changed to a
patchwork quilt by the clusters
of sage brush which thrust their

heads out everywhere. We
passed an Indian village
this morning. About noon
reached Humboldt which I
have always remembered as such
a beautiful oasis in the midst
of Nevada's dreary wastes but today
it looks rather desolate with
its flowers and green grass
buried under the snow, and
the music of its fountain stilled
by the ice chains which
bind it. The next station
where we stopped for a short time
was Lovelocks the nearest railroad
station to the mining camp
in which Mr Fitting is interested
the mine is located about
thirty miles from the Railroad.
At Wadsworth farther West
an Indian with his squaw
and pappoose came to see
the train and pick up any
dimes or nickels that might
come in sight The Indian
could speak English fairly
well. He said of the baby,
"He sabee money all right.

He likes it you take it away
he cry." The pappoose was bound
on its cradle in the Indian
style. There is a beautiful
river now flowing beside the
railroad, and quite a growth
of evergreens which contrast
beautifully with the white
snow and relieve the dreary
outlook. If this country can
ever be properly irrigated
I suppose there is no doubt
that it will be very productive
There are still droves of wild
horses to be found here. Mr
Fitting told me about them
says it is a magnificent sight
to see them in action with
their heads held high and
their manes and tails flying
in the wind. By the way,
another good thing I heard
in Colorado was that the state
has passed a law that man
shall not in that state
barbarously mutilate their

horses' tails. I hope that all
the states will follow this wise
one's example. But to return
to the wild horses. Mr Fitting says
it is impossible to overtake them
with a trained horse and the
only way to catch them is to
entrap them driving them into
a place specially built for the
purpose. He counted seventy in
one drove that he saw. Some
persons make a business of catching
and training them. He selected
two beautiful ones a black and
a bay and a man caught and
trained them for him. He
caught the black one in about a
week, but it was three weeks before
he secured the bay, and then
he trained them for six months
but now they are a splendid
pair. Their foretops covered
their faces so they had to cut
them off and their manes & tails
are very heavy. He has driven
them sixty & sixty five miles
a day, and twenty eight miles
in between two & three houses
says they never seem to be
fatigued If you do not enjoy this
horse story tell Kate and Hallie

A Lady came on board at Salt
Lake City who occupies the berth
opposite mine. They are traveling
for her husband's health, he
suffers from asthma. She is
warmly interested in all
Christian work an earnest
Temperance worker. Her home
is in Kane Pa, named for
the family of Elisha Kent Kane
who reside there, that is for
his brother General Kane.
Elisha Kent Kane was never
married, but left all his
property and valuable curios
to a nephew who bears his
name. Another lady with
her little son is on the train
who is called to the bedside of
her father who she says cannot
recover. She only hopes that he
will be spared until she reaches
him her mother died a few
months since. Since we
left Salt Lake City our car
is quite well filled but I am
glad to have my section

undisturbed. It was not
quite so warm in the car
last night. The night before
the lady who has the berth
next mine had some apples
she had bought in the afternoon
in a little hand bag in her
berth. I suppose it must have
been near the pipes, and in
the morning the apples were
thoroughly [u] roasted [/u] so they had
burst open as though roasted
in an oven so you may imagine
what the temperature was.
She showed them to the porter
and I think he was convinced
that his passengers did not
need quite so much baking
at any rate he allowed his
oven to cool down a little
As I said before starting what
I dreaded most in crossing
the continent in the winter
would be the intense heat we
must suffer in the cars.
At Truckee where we
entered California a

little before dark it was
snowing very fast. In crossing the
Sierras we went through forty
five miles of snow sheds, but as
it was after dark we did
not miss the light. We
hoped we would not have
another night on the cars
but were so far behind time
that there was no help for
it so went to bed once more
hoping to wake up in
Oakland, as we did the
next morning. It was good
to step out into the fresh air
and on the ground again
after so many days in the
cars. These fast trains go
through without stopping long
enough for one to get off
anywhere, and the places
between the cars are all
closed up. We are obliged
to take our meals on the
trains, as there is no opportunity

to get anything to eat otherwise.
We left the train at Oakland
and crossed over the ferry
seven miles to San Francisco,
where I said goodbye to the
friends of a week, and
found a carriage to take me
to the Mentone giving my
checks to an agent who
promised to see my trunks
safely on board the China
the next day. The Mentone
I found located quite
near our Chinese Mission
in San Francisco so I felt at
home at once in my
"environment." I was very
glad to find letters from
home awaiting me and
very soon another was
brought in and before night
still another and the
next mornings mail also
brought me some messages
from far away "over land."



塞维利亚 1903 年 2 月 4 日,
星期三,
我亲爱的玛丽 [竖着写:和艾米丽莎拉和克拉拉] 我将在星期三晚上在客厅的火炉旁向你道别时开始写这封信。
莎拉和我已经同意从今以后尝试从生活中提取甜蜜,
离开苦涩,
但是当说再见时,
它似乎都是苦涩的,
没有甜蜜。
但不,
那不是真的,
如果不在这里,
我们肯定会在以后举行一次愉快的聚会。
上帝的爱永远在我们身上,
无处不在。
尽管很冷,
我们还是在仓库里找到了几个亲爱的朋友。
你已经知道他们是谁,
但是当我想起他们的脸和临别的话时,
我很高兴能写下他们的名字。
帕克夫人 伊斯顿夫人 海滩夫人,
伊芙琳·格雷小姐 萨迪·麦克道尔小姐。
我很高兴再次见到汉娜·皮格恩夫人。
我一直在想她,
在离开之前我不应该见到她。
弗兰克·麦克道威尔小姐和玛蒂·米勒小姐在我们离开的火车上来了,
所以我对他们有了临别之见。
我们在斯特林等了大约两个小时的伊利火车,
然后告别了艾米丽和克拉拉,
开始了向西的长途旅行。
有一段时间我睡不着觉,
晚上经常醒来,
天亮了,
我们快到芝加哥了,
我听到的第一件事就是我们迟到了一个半小时。
转机带我穿过城市到东北我在旧金山买票的车站。
由于行李还没有到达,
所以在发现前往杰克逊维尔的火车要到 11-25 点才会离开后坐下来等待。
等了一会儿又去了行李室,
因为还没有到,
所以问代理他能不能提前给我支票,
这样我就不用再等了,
他说需要称重,
我必须在那里支付额外行李的任何零钱。
我告诉他我认为不会有 350 磅的跨太平洋机票,
我确信我没有更多。
看到我的轮船票后,
他给了我必要的支票,
让我在旧金山领取我的行李,
然后我穿过城市去另一个车站乘火车去杰克逊维尔。
这个国家很漂亮,
刚刚下过冰暴和树木田野上结满了冰,
在阳光下像钻石一样闪闪发光。
你可以想象它是多么美丽。
日落后不久到达杰克逊维尔,
发现莎拉在等我。
我们直接去了特利夫人那里,
在那里遇到了莎拉的几个朋友。
喝完茶进去看特利夫人的儿子几分钟后,
莎拉带我去了泰勒夫人家,
我很高兴见到她,
她很像我们深爱的姐姐吉尔曼夫人。
她的小女儿玛丽安以吉尔曼夫人的名字命名。
他们家只有一个兄弟的六个姐妹,
他被带走了。
后来我们拜访了休斯小姐和莫雷夫人。
我们回到莎拉的房间后,
伍德小姐,
米勒小姐拜伦斯小姐和特利夫人打来电话。
莎拉觉得我的访问会很短,
她必须延长去芝加哥送我的时间,
所以睡了几个小时后,
我们起床准备乘早班车回芝加哥,
于是 2 月 5 日开始了现在在杰克逊维尔。
2 月 6 日星期五 2 天色渐亮,
我和莎拉离开了杰克逊维尔。
车里很暖和,
但外面的空气凉爽宜人,
美丽的冰层仍然覆盖着在早晨阳光下闪闪发光的一切。
一个年仅七岁的小女孩独自一人坐上火车。
她有一张卡片给指挥看,
上面写着她想去芝加哥。
他对我们谈到她说他没有去芝加哥,
可能会忘记与另一位指挥谈论她,
并要求我们在必要时照顾她。
后来我们得知她来自芝加哥的一个儿童之家,
被一个德国人和他的妻子收养。
他们已经收养了三个孩子,
他们都已经长大并结婚并离开了他们,
所以他们准备重新开始。
小女孩显然很喜欢他们,
说他们对她很好。
他们要送她去城里带回一个小女孩,
因为他们希望有两个。
她希望家庭主妇在芝加哥见到她。
她似乎很年轻,
就可以派出这样的使命。
由她来决定,
如果她喜欢另一个女孩,
她是否会带回她。
然而,
我想她已经真的决定了,
因为她认识她。
她自己的名字是米娜,
她显然是德国血统,
另一个小女孩的名字是杰西。
杰西比她大一岁。
我希望他们能一起度过愉快的时光,
并成为他们养父母的安慰。
后来一位女士带着两个大约 10 岁和 12 岁的小男孩登上了火车,
她把这个小女孩放在了她的照顾之下。
她很愉快地让我想起了亲爱的伊迪丝·巴顿(Edith Patton),
男孩们都是很好的小女士。
他们让我想起了埃德瓦和亨利,
他们一定是在“很久以前”看到的。
年长者有蓝色的眼睛,
年轻的黑眼睛,
他看起来有点像 R.V.两人都得了伤寒,
病了三个月。
她说一年前她失去了一个小女孩,
不是她自己的,
而是一个姐妹,
但她说她有她的照顾,
如果她是自己的,
就不可能更爱或想念她。
我们最后一次看到她带着小女孩到候诊室的聚会。
我希望她能顺利找到家庭主妇,
但我们知道她无论如何都会照顾这个小女孩。
一天中有一两次她的勇气失败了,
她流着泪寻求解脱,
但这位女士让她振作起来。
莎拉最近遇到了负责房屋的人,
他告诉她,
他们为他们购买房屋的人中有 95% 证明非常满意,
我很高兴知道当我们到达芝加哥时直接去了 N.W.仓库,
买了我的卧铺,
给科罗拉多斯普林斯的巴特勒小姐的姐姐发了一封电报。
然后乘坐一辆有轨电车去另一个车站,
因为莎拉希望看看她可以在那里过夜,
因为没有火车开往杰克逊维尔,
在我的 6 点到 30 点之后离开。
不得不等很久才回来,
以至于当我们回来时,
下午已经度过了。
所以我们一起去吃了最后一顿饭,
然后坐下来等6-30的火车。
这是近十年前玛莎、艾米丽和莎拉和我一起等候的同一个候车室,
当我们出门上火车时,
同一个地方看起来很自然,
看起来就像同一列火车站在轨道上。
只过了片刻,
就说了最后的告别,
我独自出发了。
大约 11 点到 30 点,
我们经过锡达拉皮兹,
我想起了那个离我很近的朋友,
我非常想见,
但我只能用无线电报给她我的祝福和再见,
也许他们在她的梦中到达了她。
星期六早上的光线告诉我们,
我睡在雪盖下。
使伊利诺伊州如此美丽的冰风暴的痕迹全部消失了。
我们经过一英里又一英里的玉米地,
在夏天的阳光下一定很美,
但现在看起来很沉闷,
玉米秸秆从冬天的雪中伸出来。
几乎所有的玉米饲料都留在原地,
马和牛可以自己吃。
看起来这将是一种相当冷的食物,
上面覆盖着冰雪,
但我希望他们喜欢它,
就像我们喜欢冰淇淋一样。
一只大兔子出来挑战火车赛跑,
虽然我们的铁马跑得很好,
但只要我们能看到它,
它就没有放弃追逐。
站在雪地里的马匹和牛群,
显得十分惆怅和不悦,
显然是有道理的。
似乎通常没有提供住所,
通常他们显然希望从雪中挖出食物或离开,
而这些田地看起来不像俄亥俄州冬季的田地那样能为他们提供更多的食物.这里的鼠尾草刷很少,
只有少数标本在铁丝网的友好保护下生长,
它们对其他生命形式的不友好使其成为对鼠尾草刷的保护。
我在火车上了解到,
8 点到 30 点是火车到达丹佛的时间,
而我要到午夜左右才能到达科罗拉多斯普林斯。
傍晚时分,
我很高兴看到要喂一些牛。
男人们开着满载干草的马车将干草放在一边,
然后是数百头长长的牛群,
在我看来,
其中一些牛群中肯定有数千头。
火车上的一些人在谈论我们将经过的一个牧场,
那里有世界上最大的谷仓。
我们希望我们能在晚上之前通过它,
但并没有错过看到它。
下午,
我们看到了山。
由于平原现在都被雪覆盖了,
它们与雪域之间的对比不像另一个季节那么明显。
我们刚到丹佛 刚刚经过城市的灯光时,
火车突然停下来,
很快就传来引擎坏了的消息,
后来我们得知发生的事情是招标车的前轴断成两半.一端的重轮被抛到离铁轨六十英尺的地方,
然后小轮子斜着转,
断掉的车轴把铁轨一侧的铁轨扯断了,
把挡在它路上的铁杆弄弯了。
奇怪的是,
汽车保持在轨道上,
而我们却没有感觉到震动。
我们一直以每小时 60 英里的速度跑,
但在接近丹佛时放慢了速度。
每个人都说,
最幸运的是,
没有比拘留一两个小时更严重的结果。
我没有听说他们是在招标下更换履带还是购买了另一台发动机,
但大约延迟了两个小时后,
我们开始移动,
大约到达丹佛十一点。
我的火车当然已经开走了,
所以我找了一家旅馆,
然后去了附近的牛津,
那里给我配备了一个房间,
这对卧铺车厢的舒适度和温度都有很大的改善。
自从离开芝加哥以来,
我好像一直生活在一个熔炉里,
我当然觉得我必须煮得足够彻底,
才能处于合适的状态,
才能在食人者的​​盛宴上端上桌。
我不明白为什么旅行的公众会忍受我想他们需要如此强烈的无法承受的热量,
而外面就是被两层玻璃仔细排除的美味清新的山间空气。
我曾无数次想到那个人希望打破一块玻璃,
这样他就可以呼吸一些空气了。
即使在车门处,
列车之间的空间也被小心地封闭起来,
甚至连“希望之门”都没有留下。
我有几个小时舒适的睡眠,
然后坐火车去科罗拉多斯普林斯。
费廷太太前一天晚上下火车去,
一直待到将近午夜,
但由于我没有来,
所以不知道什么时候能等到我。
当我在科罗拉多斯普林斯下火车时,
我遇到了汤姆·格罗格兰的一位亲戚,
一位女黑客。
她拿起我放在后座的书包,
说:“亲爱的,
把它放在这里,
你会有更多的空间。
”她很健谈,
我发现我的轻信到了极点,
以至于相信她所说的一切。
她告诉我她做生意已经六年了,
以前住在底特律,
她的丈夫去世了,
她在 Cripple Creek 的采矿中损失了 90,
000.00 九万美元,
她唯一的女儿在她只有14 五年后回来并去世了她的烦恼困扰了她大约两年的时间,
而这次黑客驾驶是她在身心上和经济上唯一的救赎。
她说她去年从 5 月底到 9 月 1 日赚了 1100 美元。
我告诉她她可能会在第二天早上回来带我去火车,
但菲廷太太养了一匹马,
并说她会带我去她自己。
他们告诉我,
hackswoman 很有个性。
她的第一任丈夫应该已经死了,
她嫁给了另一个现在是警察的人。
第一个丈夫回来了,
但他们以某种方式安排了它,
所以她似乎有两个丈夫,
而不是没有丈夫,
而且她告诉我的其余大部分无疑同样不真实。
我问他们是否认为可以和她一起骑车,
他们说是的。
安息日下午,
Fitting 先生和夫人一起去了他们所属的卫理公会教堂,
并在出席的安息日学校 648 和随后的中级 C.E. 协会上进行了两次谈话。
巴特勒小姐的母亲不能经常去教堂,
这对她来说是一个很大的剥夺。
我在那里的时候,
Fitting 先生在家,
他在内华达州待了四个月后刚回来,
他在那里有采矿业,
雇佣了大约 40 名员工。
2 月 9 日星期一早上,
Fitting 夫人及时带我到车站,
赶上了 10 点到 30 点的火车。
科罗拉多斯普林斯是一座美丽的城市,
现在和未来都因酒类交通而感到幸福。
五英里内的所有土地都根据禁止出售烈酒的契约出售,
如果不遵守此条款,
所有者将丧失契约。
药店卖的很少,
但他们说街上从来没有见过醉酒的人。
这座城市要感谢我认为的第一批居民之一帕尔默将军,
因为他为城市福利提供了明智而仁慈的规定。
在许多方面,
它似乎是一个理想的城市。
许多街道都有印度名字。
Cache la powdre 是 Fitting 夫人居住的街道的名称,
意思是藏匿粉末的地方,
传统上印度人将粉末藏在那里。
它发音为 Cash-lay-powder。
XX 离开科罗拉多斯普林斯后的丹佛和格兰德河 R.R. 的景色壮丽 不如现在绚丽多姿 夏日的绚丽色彩 却被冬天的白雪覆盖 铁路穿过皇家峡谷工程技能的完美奇迹。
它沿着阿肯色河的路线和旧的Stage Coach Road现在的一些方式。
一辆车在火车的后端,
我们出去站在后站台上,
这样可以更好地看到风景。
离开峡谷后不久,
我们在拐弯时突然停了下来。
我们可以向前看,
看到引擎似乎从几个角度都在泄气。
我们很快得知气缸或蒸汽聊天的末端已经爆炸,
从而禁用了发动机。
一个人开始步行两英里寻求帮助,
所以很明显我们的停留不会很短。
似乎过了很长一段时间后,
另一台发动机到达现场,
并在后方出现,
将我们推到了它的前面。
我们可怜的引擎看起来很无助,
头顶被推到火车头上。
然而,
过了一段时间,
另一个陡峭的曲线向我们展示了我们的火车头,
我们发现我们有两个引擎,
它们似乎在以极好的精神前进。
我们不知道这两个是否都是新的,
或者新来的是否鼓励我们继续前进。
我们重新开始时已经快到晚上了,
所以我们可以看到月光。
一位制动员告诉我们,
温度计的温度低于零度 15°,
但空气如此干燥和纯净,
看起来不像俄亥俄州那样冷。
马和牛人站在雪地里,
显然除了在雪下自己能找到的东西外,
没有什么可吃的。
2 月 10 日星期二早上——天亮后不久,
我们越过了山脉的顶峰,
现在“越过山脉”,
沿着西坡走下去。
昨天,
当我们爬山时,
我们沿着蜿蜒曲折的路线遇到了阿肯色河的水域,
今天溪流与我们一起下降。
到处都是厚厚的积雪 今天早上,
我们经过了一个小包,
在雪覆盖下冬眠,
在雪的上方,
我们可以看到“远离草地”的标志。
有时我们会陷入雪棚的黑暗中。
这里的雪更多了,
显然雪橇很好。
无论哪里有干草,
我们都会看到一堆从里面取出的干草,
看起来非常新鲜,
绿色似乎不像我们那样干燥,
但看起来吃起来会好得多。
我们已经通过了许多矿工小屋,
这些小屋看起来像是糟糕的房屋替代品。
在盐湖城,
许多过路人停下来,
但足够多的人来填补他们的位置。
我们在下午 2 点左右到达奥格登。
发现我们从东边来的火车已经开走了,
没有等我们,
所以我们无能为力,
只能等几个小时再等一趟在穿过盐湖城时,
RR 轨道沿着其中一条街道跑了一段距离,
我注意到许多房屋上都贴有标有天花的标语,
因此这座城市一定正在遭受这种可怕疾病的流行。
在奥格登时,
我想我会去拜访威沙德医生和夫人,
但询问后发现他们已搬到盐湖城。
两个小时的逗留时间延长到了四个小时,
六点钟,
火车从东边开来,
要带我们去。
这片西部土地的日落非常美丽,
但不比俄亥俄州更美。
2 月 11 日星期三早上,
我们在内华达州找到了我们。
白雪依旧覆盖着大地,
但白色的被单却被一簇簇的鼠尾草刷子变成了拼凑的被子,
它们的脑袋到处探出头来。
今天早上我们经过了一个印度村庄。
中午时分到达了洪堡,
我一直记得它是在内华达州沉闷的荒地中的一片美丽绿洲,
但今天它看起来相当荒凉,
鲜花和绿草掩埋在雪下,
喷泉的音乐被冰链静止了,
绑定它。
我们停了一小会儿的下一站是洛夫洛克斯火车站,
它是离Fitting先生感兴趣的采矿营地最近的火车站,
该矿位于距离铁路约30英里的地方。
在更远的西部的沃兹沃思,
一个印第安人带着他的女人和公鸡来看火车,
并捡起任何可能出现的硬币或镍币。
印第安人的英语说得很好。
他谈到婴儿时说:“他没钱。
他喜欢你把它拿走,
他哭了。
” pappoose 以印度风格绑在它的摇篮上。
铁路旁有一条美丽的河流,
长满了常青树,
与白雪形成鲜明的对比,
缓解了沉闷的景色。
如果这个国家能够得到适当的灌溉,
我想毫无疑问它会非常有生产力。
这里仍然可以找到成群的野马。
Fitting 先生告诉我关于它们的事,
他说看到它们昂首挺胸,
鬃毛和尾巴在风中飘扬,
这是一个壮丽的景象。
顺便说一句,
我在科罗拉多听到的另一件好事是,
该州通过了一项法律,
该州的人不得野蛮地切割马尾。
我希望所有的州都以这个聪明人为榜样。
而是回到野马。
Fitting 先生说,
训练有素的马不可能超越它们,
唯一的方法就是将它们诱捕到专门为此目的建造的地方。
他数了数,
他看到的一辆车里有七十辆。
有些人以捕捉和训练他们为业。
他选择了两个漂亮的,
一个黑色的和一个海湾的,
一个男人为他抓住并训练了它们。
他在大约一周内抓住了黑色的,
但在他获得海湾之前三周,
然后他训练了它们六个月,
但现在它们是一对出色的。
他们的前额遮住了他们的脸,
所以他们不得不把他们砍掉,
他们的鬃毛和尾巴很重。
他每天驱车 65 和 65 英里,
在 2 和 3 间房子之间行驶 28 英里,
他们说他们似乎从不疲倦 如果你不喜欢这个马的故事告诉凯特和哈莉一位女士在盐湖城上船,
她住在我对面的泊位。
他们为了丈夫的健康而旅行,
他患有哮喘病。
她对所有基督教工作都非常感兴趣,
是一位认真的节制工人。
她的家在凯恩帕,
以居住在那里的 Elisha Kent Kane 家族命名,
也就是他的兄弟凯恩将军的名字。
Elisha Kent Kane 从未结婚,
但将他所有的财产和珍贵的古玩都留给了一个以他的名字命名的侄子。
另一位女士带着她的小儿子在火车上,
她被叫到她父亲的床边,
她说她无法康复。
她只希望他能幸免于难,
直到她到达他身边,
几个月后她的母亲去世了。
自从我们离开盐湖城以来,
我们的车已经装满了,
但我很高兴我的部分不受干扰。
昨晚车里还不太暖和。
隔壁铺位的那位女士的前一天晚上,
她在铺位的一个小手提包里有一些她下午买的苹果。
我想它一定在管道附近,
早上苹果被彻底烤熟了,
所以它们像在烤箱里烤过一样爆裂开来,
所以你可以想象温度是多少。
她把它们拿给搬运工看,
我想他相信他的乘客无论如何都不需要这么多的烘烤,
他让烤箱稍微冷却一下正如我在开始我冬天穿越大陆时最害怕的事情之前所说的那样将是我们必须在汽车中遭受的高温。
在天黑前我们进入加利福尼亚的特拉基,
雪下得很快。
在穿越山脉时,
我们经过了 45 英里长的雪棚,
但由于天黑了,
我们并没有错过曙光。
我们希望我们不会再在车上度过一个晚上,
但时间太晚了,
以至于没有任何帮助,
所以再次上床睡觉,
希望在奥克兰醒来,
就像我们第二天早上所做的那样。
在车里呆了这么多天后,
再次踏上新鲜空气并再次踏上地面真是太好了。
这些快速的火车通过的时间不长,
足以让一个人在任何地方下车,
车厢之间的地方都被关闭了。
我们必须在火车上用餐,
否则没有机会吃任何东西。
我们在奥克兰下了火车,
跨过七英里的渡轮到旧金山,
在那里我和一周的朋友道别,
然后找了一辆马车带我去 Mentone,
把我的支票交给一个答应看我的行李箱的代理人次日安全登上中国大陆。
我发现的 Mentone 离我们在旧金山的华人传道部很近,
所以在我的“环境”中,
我立刻感到宾至如归。
我很高兴发现家里有信在等着我,
很快又收到了一封信,
在天黑之前又收到了一封,
第二天早上的邮件也给我带来了一些来自遥远“陆地”的信息。

Original Format

Letter

Citation

Noyes, Harriet Newell, “Unsigned letter from Harriet to Mary, Emily, Sarah, and Clara, February 4, 1903,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed March 29, 2024, https://noyesletters.org/items/show/536.

Output Formats