The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-05-03
A REMARKABLE QUEST
EXTENDING EVERYWHERE, .
WHICH KEPT MISS ADELlA GATE
OF SAN FRANCISCO TRAVELIN(
IN EVERY CONCEIVABLE MANNE
FOR TWENTY YEARS
BY Agnes Foster Buchanan

IT GREAT deal has been written
and more has been said OF the
hardships men have endured in
the accomplishment Of great
purposes Stanley. Livingstone and
Peary faced all things. suffered all
things. sacrificed. AN things. To reach
tae has-ens where they would BE-.
But stanley. Livingstone ard Peary
were r1en-strong and vigorous-en-
dowed. 10 a certain degree at least, by
nature win the physique and energy
10 meet the burdens and dangers Of
thefr- undertaking.
Il; Was in .tho- centennial year, how
ever. that MISS adelia Gates. artist and
hotahis,. began Nor travels and van
derines which for nearly 20 years we're
continued in the face Of almost insur-
raountable difficulties. Her object was
ID study and paint all the wild flowers
az the world. A herculean, and az frst
slsnee an .inlpossible. task for one frail
= woman Miss Gates is small of stature.
.snght. and intensely feminine in her
appearance.
But Miss Gates early life was not
one Of ease. nor one that was calcu-
lated 10 make her uncertain, coy or
hard. 10 please The daughter of
New York state farmer. she found her,
self al rs reaching ii. q country school.
hslping her father 70 pay OF a heavy
mortgage on has farm. From then: IN
I'll she vas 81 she worked at all sorts
o. things with. the same object IN view
she served her time in the mills in
Lowell. Mass, as factory girl. Years
after. q lady IN England advised her
quietly and with good intention that IL
che were Miss Gates she would say
nothing o. her having been a factory
girl ~Why2'' asked Miss Gates. Wei.
you see. mere in England. factory girls
do not snoBnt- 10 anything snd-are
Hot very well thought Of" Then
said Miss Gates; Il an proud 70 be able
p 10 tell them OF 2 country where things
are different And she die. much to
the distress OF her hostess.
Then for = while she made bird cages
ana rat traps. and it. was during this
period that she~latd the foundation OF
her knowledge Of Latin. While she
twisted the. wire into shape she pored
over amo. amss; 'auat-znd it's pretty
bird cage. .oT the rat trap as the object
.of the verb.
Miss. Gates had always wanted to go
~ college: but It was not until she
was . that she found herself in a
financial position 10 carry out the plan
rhe ueXt four. years ef her life were
spent in ANTIOCH college, Ohio and
after her degree was. awarded there
wore - sears spent travelling about
with q foster child.
$50 u was NOT NATL 1876 that she
-fqgnd herself free from the respo1sibil-
sites r-hich one after another had
c-aiIhed her time and thoughts She
thal started. on her tour OF the world:
Sae travelled absolutely alone, and
was. -therefore@ subject 70 no ones
W-4lns. 10 special conductor OF q spe-
sias-7- Conducted tour guided her van
der1ngs oyer the well beaten path
th0usa uds had rrsverssd before. She
saDte6 70 do Europe" indeed. but not
along any stipulated route nor at the
p. behest OF dlctatoriaf time tables.
II she could with convenience take
2 train 70 z given point she did not
despise its services. but IL she couldn't
she got there somehow. So, in the
high mountsins. of Colorado. she was
Deguiled into the. higher attitudes one
day. in search. Of some .rubens deli
ciosus She went higher and farther
than she had thought necessary. and
siill the blossoms were some hundred
seet above her. She took OF her shoes
p and stockings, scrambled up and was
JUST within reaching distance Of her
Frize- wheh sire dropped her basket.
which bounded nlerrily down hill.
touching only the high places and de-
posting first : shoe and. then stock
ir.S on trees and projecting rocks as
b went There was nothing 70 do but
m crawl painfully and slowly home. ar
f-r- =. <rae
SIt.-she had secured and painted the
;. rslbens deiiciosus.