Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-26
GLIMPSES OF THE WEST.
SIGHTS SEEN WHILE CROSSING
THE CONTINENT.

Hall Last Night on the Great EN-
pire on the Pacifio-Some of the Won
ders of the Country Beyond the
Rockies.
''Our Great Empire on the Pacific" was
the subject OF DR.. j. c. Eccleston's very
interesting lecture at Masonic hall last
night. In spite OF the cold and rain the
hail was well filed with an intelligent
and cultured audience. The lecture was
descriptive, historical, and anecdotal, and
was practical comment upon Horace
Greeley famous aphorism, young man,
20 West"
A map Of the United states west OF the
Mississippi river was thrown upon the
canvass from the stereopticon. Pointing
to it DR.. Eecleston remarked that the
man was not far wrong who bounded our
colossal territory by the pole, the equator,
the rising sun, and the day Of judgment.
Taking Connecticut as a unit, ne said it
is contained twenty times in Oregon,
thirty times in Dakota, forty times IN Cal
ifornia, sixty times in Texas, and one
hundred and twenty times in Alaska.
This country could give to every lndi-
Vidual of fifty millions nearly fifty acres,
! and to every person now living on the
globe over one and a half acres as home
stead. II has been customary TO speak
Of Missouri as the western limit Of
the country, but Missouri is really this
SIDE OF the centre and taking the range
east and west even san Francisco is east
OF the centre OF territory swayed by the
stars and stripes. The Island Of Attu, the
westermost Of the Alaskan groupe, is
farther west Of san Francisco than san
Francisco is west OF Maine. Forty New
Englands lie west Of the Mississippi.
1t is within 30 and 80 deg. OF north lati-
tude, where the greatest achievements Of
history have been wrought, France,
Spain, Italy, and lower Europe, Palestine,
Persia, Upper India, China and Japan,
Aesyria, Greece, Rome and Upper Egypt,
all lie within this historic zone, within
whose limits lie the United States.
Twenty-Five years ago a journey to the
Pacific coast was matter of weary
months. great d isconfeFt and real danger.
Now the tourist has the choice OF six diff
ferent routes, and can reach the Pacific
in six days with perfect comfort and
safety.
AS it is now winter, Or. EcclestOn took
his audience by the extreme southern
route by way Of New Orleans, San An
tonic, El Paso and Los Angeles. Starting
at the Red river he carried them
600 miles across the empire State of Texas
90 san Antonio. Horace Greeley called
Texas ssa land Of immense resources and
gigantic possibilities" 1t is six times as
large as the state of New York and If
peOpled as densely as Massachusetts
could support a population of 100000.
The first view OF the series Of over 100
with which the lecture was illustrated
was that of the Chief Plaza or square in
the city of San Antonio, every stone in
the pavement of which has been dyed
with patriot blood shed for liberty, and in
defense of the sacred Alamo, the ThermO-
pylae of America. The Alamo was once
a convent, but during the Texan reYolu
ton it was converted by the patriots Into
a fortress, where Davy Crockett and Col.
James Bowie, the inventor of the bowie
knife held at bay Santa Annals 10000
Mexican veterans.
Leaving san Antonio the lecturer car
ried his audience 600 miles further on to
EI Paso. Ell Paso, being at the junction
OF the three States-SOnOra, New Mexico
and Texas-and the terminus of the Mex
lean Central railroad, leading to the City
OF Mexico, is destined, the lecturer be-
lieves, to be one of the most important
railroad centres Of North America. Di-
rectIv across the Rio Grande from FL PasO
is the old Mexican town of El PasO del
NOrte. The bfbulOus part of the pOpula-
ton of EI PasO enjoy at least one very
unique advantage from residing upon
the Mexican frontier. In Ell
50 cents in American coin. at lei Paso
del NOrte, across the river, American
dollars are worth 50 cents in Mexican
.cOiu.
The lecturer related a very amusing
story OF an enterprising COW boy who
started out one morning from the Ameri-
can side with a Mexican dollar. Upon
reaching the Mexican town he took a
drink Of what they can down there chain
lightning. which cost him 10 cents. He
received IN change for his Mexican dollar
an American dollar. On his return to the
American side he took another drink and
received Mexican dollar In changefoT his
American BLAND" Repeating the drinks
at intervals during the day he closed up
business at night with the same dollar
that he started out with in the morning
and hat much too small for his head.
Leaving Ell PasO, the lecturer carried
his audience rapidly westward, glanciag
for moment at a group of the once IA
nous Pueblo Indians-pitiable relics Of
the powerful tribes that once inhabit-
ed the vast country as far north as Colo
radO-and their clustered villages, then
up among the famous prehistoric RUNE,
scattered over a large part OF Arizona;
through the plains above the CHA river,
WIN Cneif glgHublC ChCH, anu bnen on 10
the Colorado and into California, through
the volcanic region of San Diego, stoD-
ping Just long enough to look at the old
vine embOwered Spanish town of st. Ga
briel. with its ancient Mission church,
the bells Of which are fun of silver, and
still hang In the crumbling turret inst as
they were brought from spain 40 years
ago. Reaching Los Angeles the lecturer
drew picture of the ''City OF the Queen
OF the Angels and the beautiful country
that surrounds it, and then turning to
BIRDS eve view of California on the can
vass he pointed out the geographical fea-
lures of the State.
The Bay Of san Francisco is the only
harbor OF any Importance between Pan
anna and the Straits Of Juan Fuca, a dis
lance OF 5000 miles. Upon the point Of
peninsula is built the city Of San Fran
cisco. Up 90 1910 the town had popula-
ton of only 600 Indians. Now it has
100000 white people and $4,000 Chinese.
There are two topics, said the lecturer,
that the natiVe-bO San franciscan
does not like TO diecuss-e0rthQua and
the Chinese. The great MongOl evil exists
there in the shape of $4,000 men ana 5000
women. What to do with il is the most
momentOus questiOn--sOcially politically
and reiigiOusly --that the people OF the
Pacific slope can ever have 10 consider.
"l have seem" said the lecturer, "the in
famous Whitechapel region of London
that Dickens so powerfully depicted, but
there probably is not another spot on the