Chapter 3
NABY YARD, NEW YORK, APRIL 30. I hope you will have got our letters sent off by the ship's boat the night before we were allowed to land, as though we arrived in the quarantine harbor at seven o'clock, it was too late for the Custom House and medical officers to inspect us. We therefore had to lay to, and only moved up to the wharf about eight o'clock the next morning. We were greeted
by a most kind letter of welcome, and the first thing we saw, as we got to the dock, was the Navy Yard tug, with the Commodore and Daughters on board to receive us, and thanks to them we had no difficulties or bothers. The Custom Housemen went through the form of opening two of our boxes and inquiring into the age of our saddle, which had been used, but looked terribly new, hardly as if it had been in wear six months, which is the
given period for things to pass in free of duty. We then steamed round New York through much shipping and under a most marvelous new suspension bridge, which is to join New York and Brooklyn to the dockyard, where we had another most hearty reception from our hostess. They had all been in a fidget at our being so many days late, and directly the ship was telegraphed off to Sandy Hook the last night, in spite of the pouring rain, the Commodore
had gone down in the tug to the quarantine harbor to try and get us off. Since our arrival we have been doing New York, and are woefully disappointed in the size of the streets. Fifth Avenue I expected to find a Parisian boulevard with trees lining the sidewalks instead of houses of all shapes and sizes, which are good inside, judging by one of the large ones we went to see, but nothing much from the outside. Daylight in the streets is almost
shut out in the city part of the town by the endless telegraph wires and advertisements hung across, to say nothing of the elevated railroads built on iron girders, which circulate round at the height of second-floor windows. We have made a good deal of use of the railroad. It is pleasanter than our underground, the atmosphere being rather clearer, though at first it is startling to see the twists and curves the trains give to get around the corners
of the streets, and to watch the moving of objects at about forty feet below you. I am not at all surprised people do not care to drive much, as tramways pass through every street almost, and are all so badly paved that paint and springs would suffer. The ferry boats which ply between the cities, starting every five minutes from different wharves, astonished us most. Wagons, carriages, and etc., all drive on twenty at a time, and three
or four hundred foot passengers, the latter paying two cents per passage. On the whole I think we have seen almost everything that is to be seen. We spent an afternoon in the Central Park, lunched at both of Delmonico's restaurants, dined at the invitation of our banker at Pynnerds, where the roses were lovely, the centre bouquet measuring two feet across, and each lady having different coloured bunches on her serviette. A play at Wallach's, theatre
both pretty and well ventilated, and a most splendid exit, the stalls on the same level as the street—the whole place seemed to empty itself in about five minutes—and a day's expedition to Staten Island, from which we had a lovely view of New York, its surroundings, and the whole harbour. Tomorrow we are to go for three nights to Washington, returning here to start westwards on Monday, though everybody tells us we are going too early
in the year. The spring in Manitoba has been very late. A, riding on the 26th of April, says they are just starting work, but cannot do much at present on account of the water from the melted snow not having run off. The rivers have broken up. The Red River carried away one of the two bridges at Winnipeg. He happened to be in town at the time, and although he didn't see the bridge go, saw it afterwards and the jam. The ice was blocked for about
a mile above, tumbling all over the place, making the river rise about ten feet an hour, washing out all the neighbouring houses. It lasted about ten hours, then crash it all went, floating quietly down the stream, the water receding at the same time. There has been so much snow this year, which makes everything backward, but it is all gone in a week. It must be quite marvellous how quickly it disappears, as going from one farm to the other, distance
about seven miles, starting at four o'clock a.m. with the thermometer showing 20 degrees of frost, when the sun got up it was so hot he, A, couldn't get back. Next morning, starting equally early, he only travelled two miles. The snow was so soft, and the horses sank at every step above their knees. He was trying to take a sledge-load of hay over to his boyed farm. The cattle there, having run very short lately, they even had to take some of the
thatching, which was of hay, off the roof of the stable to feed the animals. We may have difficulty in getting up to Winnipeg, as the railroad is washed away within about 80 miles of the place, and the passengers are transferred to a steamer, which takes them 20 miles to another train. There was a fear of famine in Winnipeg, as no provisions could be got up. Lots of immigrants, when they saw the water, turned back.
Good night. We have packing to do to be off early in the tug which takes us over to Jersey City to catch our train to Washington at ten o'clock, on the Pennsylvanian Railway. The Commodore's son, who is home on leave, goes with us, and we have many introductions. We are bidden to a reception at the White House, and have been vainly endeavouring to get into some of our hostess's smart gowns, but, alas, they are all too short, so we shall have to
be content with our own black fowlyards.
