NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD. NOTES ON A SIX MONTHS' HOLIDAY TOUR ROUND THE WORLD.

Otago Witness, Issue 1858, 1 July 1887, Page 11

NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD. NOTES ON A SIX MONTHS' HOLIDAY TOUR ROUND THE WORLD.

(By W. M«H.)

No. XIII.

The Mohawk Vale— Valley of the HudsonNew York— Broadway— Brooklyn Bridge — "Buaffalo Bill "—Elevated Railways— Hotels and Buildings of New York-Gamb-ling in Stocks ' !

Taking leave of Niagara we join the cars fax Buffalo city, on Lake Erie, along the opposite, or Canadian,' shores of which we skirted a few evenings, ago when coming from Detroit. |At Buffalo, we are just in time to witness the closing ceremonies of a grand Fire Brigade Demonstration, where 1500 firemen march , in procession, headed by three armour-clad giants, veritable sons of Anak, each seven' feet high, exclusive of their "long-sleeved hats," as a fellow traveller facetiously designates their towering head gear.

Buffalo city lies immediately on the shores of the lake, and like Chicago, enjoys the additional advantage of a small river to lead $he shipping into the heart" of the city. It is the 1 largest and most populous of all the clanging towns and cities fringing the southern shores of Lake Erie, including' such busy centresj as Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, &c, each with its population of< from 50,000 to 100,000, Buffalo itself numbering about 150,000 souls.

After a hasty run round some of the more adjacent business blocks we take up the running once more, and this time by the . New York Central and Hudson River railroad, a splendidly equipped line of four complete tracks, two for passengers and two for goods, each with ,its own up and down line, thus precluding even the possibility of a collision. As the run from Buffalo city to New York is some 400 or 500 miles in length, the traffic which warrants four separate tracks and maintains the luxurious cars we ride in must be, as Dominie Sampson would say, "prodigious." Probably four such solid steel tracks running side by side for such a distance is unique among the railways of the world. The New York Central is the' fifth and last and certainly the best railway system; we sampled in our trip of nearly 4000 miles across the American continent — a trip completed without hitch or accident of any kind. '

We are now in the State of New York, and our way lies over the highly cultivated, thickly populated stretch of country bordering upon the southern shores of Lake Ontario, once the"happy hunting ground " of the red man — the Iroquois of the French, the Mohawks of the British — and the undisturbed possession of' the hardy trapper and daring moose hunter.

During the evening we pass in quick succession through, half a hundred busy towns of more or less importance, including such teeming centres of industry as Batavia, Rochester, Geneva, Syracuse, Rome, and Utica, all 50,000 souls or more, and some time during the night strike the Hudson river at Albany city, j'the capital of the State of New York, it being a peculiarity of many American states that .the political capital should be a second or thirdrate town. As in the far West, nothing impresses the traveller so much as the vastness of 'the country and the extent of unoccupied territory, co in the East it is the density of population and the' amazing number of large important cities — the very names of which were previously Unknown to him— that fills the New Zealander t

with astonishment.

After dark the tedium of the ride is much relieved by conversation with my vis-a-vis in the car, a good natured strapping young fellow of 6ft 4in returning from the Buffalo demonstration — although a giant in size he is only a boy in age, and as it is his first real outing from home (Utica) his wonder and delight is unbounded and his naivete quite refreshing after a pretty strong dose of Yankee "cuteness." He speaks glowingly of the demonstration, and enthusiastically of! the procession and mentions the three 7ft giants in tones of rapturous envy. When he presently learns that I have come all the way from Chicago he becomes interested in ' my travels, and 'still more so when it transpires that I have crossed the Rocky Mountains and the great Western prairies. His wonder grows, and his eyes expand when Salt Lake City is mentioned, and he has a thousand questions to ask about 'Frisco, but when he finally learns that I hail from the far distant shores of New Zealand, visions of naked savages and bloodthirsty cannibals intermingle with orange groves and waving palmtrees, and he sits dumb for several minutes in openmouthed amazement, most amusing to behold. Finally he gasps out "New Zealand! Oh, by jove ! I guess, mister, you are a man worth meeting." Then grasping my hand he proceeds to work my arm up and down as if he had a contract to pump out the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and— and— l was the pump !

On Saturday morning the first ftreak of dawn finds us traversing some of the lovliest scenery of the route — . Oh, sweet is the vale Where the mokawk gently glidei. and sweet indeed we find it on this bright summer's morn, when everything in the sylvan valley is bursting with life and beauty. On we speed down the valley of the Hudson and along the romantic banks of that noble river and, as the sun rises to light up its expansive waters tijl the unruffled surface shines like a sheet of burnished gold, to pour the warm sunlight on the wooded shore opposite, and to irradiate the dewbespangled foliage around us with all its wealth Qf jewelled splendour— a splendour surpassing the radiance of ,10,000 diamonds— nothing seems wanting to complete a picture as fair as the heart of man could desire to look upon. We arrive in

New York

in time for breakfast, and J spend the next four days tramming around and otherwise exploring the busy thoroughfares of the metropolis of America, one of the cities of the world. The first thing I did was to make a foolish attempt to walk the whole length of Broadway. After hearing so much of that celebrated thoroughfare I concluded that as a sort of preliminary canter and introduction to the sights and sounds of New York, Broadway on foot could not be beaten, so, after breakfast, I "started in" with all the ardour and enthusiasm of youth. Un:, fortunately for me I struck this main traffic artery pretty high up, and after walking leisurely along for an hour and a-half and still seeing the same^ unending rows of four and five-storeyed buildings ahead I became somewhat anxious and quickened my pace with a view of reaching the end without further delay. The sue was now blazing down hot and strong, and, for a golid hour more I spanked along', ex-

pecting every block' to' be, the l&sfj, perspiring freely at ' every pore, while ' speculative passers-by were turning round and flaying 6 to' 4 that I'was a "dark 'un" training for a mile race with .their champion Myers. By and by the endless stone pavement became harder and more blistering hot to my aching feet, and, l was fain to anchor under the grateful shade of a friendly lamp post and inquire of , the first policeman how much more of Broadway yet remained unexplored. On learning that there were two solid miles yet ahead, I wasguite " broke up," and aftar reflection, considered discretion the better, part of valour, and, taking advaritageof the adjacent city hall and municipal buildings, retired temporarily from the track to while away an Hour or so among interesting i relics of ".Boss Tweed, and ihe " Tammany Ring," finally.conapleting , my, tour of Broadwaylafce in the afternoon! I was subsequently \ informed that Broadway proper is only some five miles or six miles long. My own impression, however, is that in hot weather it is < at least 15 miles or 20 miles. . Brooklyn bridge and the Elevated railways are the ,Wo" sights '.'of New York,,and both- in their way are undoubted . triumphs of engineerng and mechanical skill.

The Brooklyn Suspension Bridge is one mile and an eighth in length, took' l4 or 15 years to build, and cost somewhere about 15 millions of dollars. The huge masonry, towers on each side of the river rise -to the height of 276 ft above high water, and from .their tops depend the thousand and one wire cables which support the various roadways, and give a look of airy lightness and graceful elegance to the whole structure. There are five different roadways over the bridge — viz., two for, cfible trams, two vehicle tracks, and a central grand promenade for foot passengers over a mile in length, and hung 110 ft above the river. To attain this elevation the approaches to the bridge start a long way back from the river, and you gradually ascend until you find yourself overlooking the tops of four and five storeyed buildings, and 100 ft above the traffic by the river bank. The promenade on the bridge is a favourite evening resort, and from the centre a most extensive river view on both above and below, is obtained, down by the docks and wharves the forest of masts and funnels speak of the , vast shipping trade, while nearer at hand, the river is literally alive, with steam ferries and other craft plying a brisk trade from bank to bank, or to and from Coney Island, Staten ' Island, and the other pleasure resorts opposite ' Jersey city, as the southern division of the metropolis is called. New York proper being practically an island, with Brooklyn on the one hand and Jersey city on the other. Taken altogether Brooklyn bridge is a magnificent and imposing sight, and with the railway track over Marshall Pass and through the Rocky Mountain canyons forms an enduring monument of American engineering skill and enterprise which fills the beholder with wonder and delight. '

Staten Island, above mentioned, is at the present time the centre of attraction, it being there that

" Buffalo BUI," otherwise Wm, Cody, bag established his mammoth show " The Wild West," wherein some 200 performers — picked Indian " Braves " and tried frontiersmen — give thrilling and lifelike representations of the more exciting phases; of frontier life, and in which they have all, more or less, individually participated. " Buffalo Bill " (who since, by the way, has become a " lion" of London society and a protege of Mr Gladstone's) has been a famous frontier scout, and with tomahawk and scalping kpife enacts over again a singularly heroic, singlehanded fight he himself had with a celebrated Indian Chief, and last night a general in the U. S. army (I forget the name) publicly testified that it was an exact and faithful representation of a mortal combat he had himself witnessed "Buffalo Bill" engage in— in the "good, old days" when venturing into the "Wild West" always kept one hand on their revolver and the other on the handle of their.scaip.

The Elevated Steam Hallways are a distinctive feature of New York tra£Bc t and the proprietors, The Railway Company, claim to carry 300,000 passengers daily over their 50 miles of aerial roadway. Certainly the car traffic of New York is enormous and it is a source of perpetual wonder to watch the constant stream of loaded horse-cars below — half a dozen in procession sometimes — while during certain hours of the day the steam cars overhead are packed to suffocation. , Although, doubtless, of immense use in relieving the street traffic,' the elevated railways in many parts overshadow and darken the streets, and to those householders whose apartments abut on the aerial roadway, the flying cars eternally rushing to and fro must be .an intolerable nuisance. In the broader streets a roy? of angle iron pillars support a single line of rails 20ft above each kerb, but in the ' narrow thoroughfare the' two tracks run side by side, forming a complete lattice-worked roof across theßtr'eet; double-barrelled iron stairways lead up to the elevated stations at the crossing of every three or four * blocks. .The cars run swiftly and smoothly, and the sensation of flying through mid-air, overlooking all other traffic, is novel and pleasing. , The" fare in the morning and evening (for the benefit of the working classes) is the same as the horse cars,, Scents ; but during the rest'of the day, lOcents. Few names are better, known than Henry' Ward Beebher and that of Dr de Witt Talmage, and to hear those two gifted orators speak was one of the anticipated pleasures of New York ; unfortunately, however, I hear neither. , On learning that Mr (since deceased) is absent on a lecturing tour in England, I make an early' start on 1 Sunday morning to, find Dr Talmage^ and after five miles of travelling, by car and a good deal of walking to and fro, arrive at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, only to find the doors closed and the reverend doctor absent in the country ! . The church was plosed for repairs the £rst time, so the verger said, for J4 years, so J was peculiarly unfortunate. Being now too jate to go elsewhere, I stay over in Brooklyn and haye lunch, and then journey out to Highbridge, a suburb on the picturesqueJbankß of the Harlem river, where the corporation waterworks are situated. The water supply for the city is carried across tte Harlem river by means of a tubular, bridge, which is further utilised as a sort of elevated promenade fpr foot passengers, Highbridge, I find, is a favourite Sunday and holiday resort for the foreign elements of New York, and a large Humher, probably 80,000 or more, principally : Germans, are spending Sunday afternoon among the pleasure gardens, adjacent to the bridge and reservoir, where cafes, casinos ,and brass bands abound in true continental fashion. •

On the Monday following my arrival I spent an interesting hour or two in the vicinity of ' , ' „

" Castle Gardens," .... where several hundred foreign immigrants, principally Italians, were being disembarked, and where a heterogeneous ' crowd of uncles and

aunts, sisters, and cousins nad assembled- to welcome their half -dazed comically-attired relatives. From Castle Gardens with its babel of sounds I took my way by-steam ferry to Brooklyn, and with the aid of the Elevated railways and horse cars, explored a considerable portion of that' 'quarter of New York. Brooklyn is densely populated and is mainly devoted to residential purposes, - but a there is, of course, a considerable amount of business in the main streets, and not a' few bustling manufactories up and down' the river. The soil on that side of the river seems barren and sandy, .and the, vacant lots and' surburban outskirts lbok very unattractive ; returning via Brooklyn Bridge I am in time to watch from that lofty stand the gradual lighting up of the twin cities as the "twilight deepens into night, and to once, more explore with unabated interest the length andbreadth, the depth andheighth of that marvellous structure which links those I , two throbbing centres together, and which may certainly rank as one of the worldfs wonders., ' As in San Franciso, the . . > . , '

. Hotels of New York are conducted in a style of luxurious magnificence, but upon the " European "as opposed! to to the " American " plan of 'Frisco and other' places. That is to say you pay Idol per day for a room and "feed" where, when, and how 1 you like, either in the palatial dining room of the hotel or in one' of the popular eating houses of the city, the cost being entirely ruled by individual gastronomic predilections, each item! on the menu being ticketed off at so many cents apiece. At the "Grand Union," where I am j staying — a five-storied 600-roomed palace— the prices are quite aristocratic ; a cup of tea' or coffee, for instance, costs 10 cents, a couple of eggs 25 cents, " sirloin steak," 40 cents ; " porterhouse steak" (whatever that is), 65 cents" "mutton chops," 35 cents, and bo on. ' At any of the best luncheon rooms in the city these, prices are, however, considerably discounted ; and frnit of all kinds is remarkably 'cheap, a course of apples, oranges, or bananas only cpst ing 5 cents ; -while for the same modest sum one is" supplied with about a quarter of an acre of "musk melon," or enough "maple syrup" to fill an empty Kanaka up to the brim. Many of the hotels and business blocks are massive structures, but the handsomest building in' all New York is, I think, the post office— a magnificent pile at the foot of Broadway ; while the loftiest building in the city is the office of the New York Tribune, which towers some nine storeys high, opposite the City Hall. The finest street is, of courss, Broadway, and the most disreputable one, Bowery, where notorious "gambling hells " and thieves' " dens " abound, and where on every hand flaming gin-palaces and flaunting vice holds undisputed sway. The Bowery is not supposed to be safe after nightfall, Unless to the -wayfarer who can " draw a bead " " right smart " with his •« shooting iron," but I passed through it once or twice after dark without molestation. • Strolling along Broadway one forenoon I chanced upon the Exchange, where ' Sharebrokers and Stock Speculators were up to their eyes gambling in stocks ; it was one of the strangest sights I ever saw. In the centre of a moderate-sized room, where a circular depression of three or four steps existed, stood ' or walked about 80 or 100 leathered-lun^ed, iron-tongued maniacs yelling like mad, spasmodically clutching each other by the arm, and anon waving their arms frantically to the otner fellow on> the opposite side of the circle. It iwas a perfect pandemonium ; nnd how the specula- , tors could detect the names and prices of -the ! scrip offered for sale or purchase I do not know — I hung across the rail which kept non-mem-bers back from the circle, and I sat with open ears up in the raised gallery for nearly an hour,' and although never more than 10ft or 15ft distant from the howling . crowd, I declare positively that I left without being able to catch or distinguish a single word that was uttered/ — unless I had actually witnessed it I could'not have believed such a thing was possible, and it was not an intermittent chorus of yells either, but a steady demoniacal roar which filled every nook and crany of the building, clothed 'the onlookers as with a garment, and rendered ordinary conversation altogether impossible. ' • Subsequently . I dropped into another and smaller exchange where petroleum oil stock was being brought and sold; but this wasaltogefcher on a different footing, for a large black board, ' ruled into colums, did all the talking and speculators after studying the changing figures on the board attentively walked up to the cashier's desk and handed in or received out dropsical rolls of paper currency in a mysterious, magical sort of way without hardly a word being uttered. The thing seemed so absurdly simple that I sat down, determined to fathom ,the mystery and clear a couple or four thousand dollars before lunch, but the attendant imp, by some hocuspocus,, changed the' figures so frequently that I could not get the " hang " of it, and eventually concluded that in the meantime I had better refrain from speculating in "Chicago Centrals," " Illinois Gamecocks," or the "Rasping Roarer of Pennsylvania."