Evening star., 1895-03-19
LECTURES OF TRAVEL
The Geographic Society Starts a
Novel Idea.
LECTURE TRIP OVERLAND
The Journey From Atlantic to
Pacific Embraced.
COURSE BEGUN YESTERDAY

/ The National Geographic Society set out
I yesterday on its proposed excursion by way
| of the lecture platform from Washington
| to San Francisco and back. The excursion
| includes upward of 250 Washington people.
| many of whom are we'll known in scientific.
| official and social circles. The tickets are
| elaborate affairs, with seven coupons, the
| first of which was taken up yesterday on
| the occasion of the half-hour lectures by
| DR.. David T. Day and Mr. G. K. Gilbert of
| the geological survey. the former having
| as his topic Across the Appalachians'' and
| the latter "a Side Trip to Niagara Falls"
| The lectures are delivered in the hall of
| Columbian University Mondays and Fri
| days, beginning at AIS pm. The second
| coupon calls for lecture from Prof. Edo
| ward Orton on the journey from Pittsburg
to st. Paul. and by Mr.. Walter Weed on
| the region from ST. Paul to Yellowstone
Park. The third coupon is made to cover
| the distance from the park to Sacramento.
Mr.. E. T. Perkins describing the trip down
| the Columbia, Mt. Rainier and Portland,
| Ore. and Mr. ]. S. Diller the journey from
Portland, including Crater lake and Mt.
| Shasta, to the city of Sacramento. The
| fourth coupon embraces a description of
| Sacramento, the Golden Gate, Yosemite
| and San Bernardino, by Mr.. Arthur p. Da-
across the deserts to San Francisco noun
| tain, Arizona, by Major Powell. The fifth
coupon. Monday. April l, is given up to the
Grand Canyon Of the Colorado and Sonora,
Mexico. by Messrs. Charles D. Walcott and
w. J. McGee.
Over the Mountains.
The sixth covers the trip across the
| Rocky mountains, by Prof A. H. Thomp-
son and NJ. F. H. Cushing. The seventh
entities the holder to comprehensive idea
of the country between Denver and the
Potomac. Mr.. F. H. Newell describing the
trip from Denver to Pueblo. down the Ar
kansas river and across the plains to ST.
| Louis, and Major Jed Hotcakiss the itin-
erary from st. Louis to Washington,
| through the coal fields. through the farms
and over the mountains of the old domin-
| ion. with side gimpses of the famous caves
| of Kentucky and Virginia.
The first lecture called for in this novel
and interesting course was given yester-
day afternoon at the Columbian University
| Hall by DIR. David 7. Day on the Journey
| from Washington to Pittsburg. The lee
turer spoke In part as follows:
Into the Mountains.
Now riding along the Susquehanna to
| Harrisburg. and farther to Peters noun
! tain. we have cro ssed the great Cumber-
| land valley and have left the western edge
of the Piedmont plateau and entered what
is really valley system. across which the
| road runs to the western edge of the Allie
gheny mountains. for the central portion
| of the Appalachian mountains. which should
he a crest, is here valley. with the Blue
Ridge for an eastern margin. and the Allie
gheny front as the western side. The
region between has, as we know, by lateral
pressure. been converted into a series of
great ridges and valleys. This North
mountain which we see is characteristic of
| the system. AS we look back it extends
| for twenty miles or more in 4 straight, un-
| broken ridge Of singularly even height. In
| fact. it looks like some old wall railroad
embankment recaptured by nature, by fts
dense green covering. OF such mountains
as these We will see no more until we re-
turn to the Appalachian. Elsewhere our
mountains will be grand and rugged peaks.
but these beautiful, even, wooded ridges,
with their foliage. which changes, not only
with the effects of the frost in the fall, but
even more beautifully from light to dark
green. with the clouds passing overhead.
1t is this feature, together with the blue
Juniata on the left which has changed the
| fashion of car building and evolved obser-
walton cars. We must think as we
| these ridges that their geological structure
| is not only interesting for it's scenic attrae-
| tionS, but this Medina sandstone, whose
! er during character has capped these ridges,
| stards up in the air after all the softer
| rocks have been washed away: ,
ut is interesting to notice. as the train
| winds among these mountains that the
| sides of the road are not wild forests. but
| series of well-developed thrifty towns and
populated valleys; this is strange, consider
| ing the rugged character of the ridges
| pass. If we cross the Alleghenies in some
| other region this is not true to the same
! extent and for this reason we must think
| of peculiar combination of thrifty Con-
| necticut farmers. with persistent Scotch
| Irish iron-makers. which led to this de-
| velopment. For our Indian predecessors
| had thrived here as we'll as their Scotch
| Irish followers. They were vigorous and
| enterprising. There are more historical
| points than mile stones, and more monu-
| ments of massacres than block signal sta
| tions along the railroad. AS a prominent
| example. let us leave the line for study
| of the Wyoming valley, some distance to
| the north. This valley, the first struggle
| of the white man with the Indians, was
| made by settlers from Connecticut. few
| of whom had told the story of the valleys
| wonderful fertility to their eastern rela-
| tives. The struggle was short and the
| Indians conquered; twenty of the settlers
| were massacred. and the rest found their
| way back to Connecticut, only to return
| the next fall to find that these lands. in
| cluded in the Plymouth grant as part of
| Connecticut, had been bought from the
| Indians by PENIS followers, and were in
| the possession of the Pennsylvanians. The
| result was persistent warfare for the pos.
| session of this valley in which the Connec-
| ticut settlers won again and again, and it;
| was finally decreed that they should con-
tinue in peaceful possession In the Sec.
ond year of the revolutionary war, when
| the young men Of the valley had gone off
to service, the British and Indians, to-
gether, entered the valley and the famous
| Wyoming massacre resulted"
But already anthracite coal had been
| discovered. and its use gradually spread in
blacksmiths forges and households. The
Industry grew. and in this development
orce more the valley subjected to
murder. and. although not on a large scale,
mere menacing for the community than
any that had preceded it. This was due to
the Molly Mcguire organization, which
found it's headquarters here in Wilkesbarre.
| They laid their secret plots down in the
mines. waylaid unpopular bosses in the
darkness of the tunnel, until they threaten
| ed the destruction of the entire industry.
Fortunately, there were two men with the
necessary courage and cunning to face this
condition of secret murder. and successful
ly battle with it-Eckley B. Coke and
Franklin Gowen. No one in the anthracite
region will ever forget the memorable day
when these two men. bearing, together
with Pinkerton, this whole investigation,
defied the power of. this Organization in
open court. and brought the leaders to
| Justice.
This Wyoming alley is typical one Of
| the anthracite coal fields. In the short
| time we have left it is impossible to do
more than call your attention to the fact
~ -, ,,;I