SAN FRANCISCO TO NEW YORK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 705, 26 August 1870, Page 4

SAN FRANCISCO TO NEW YORK.

The Otigo {Daily Thnes publishes the following letter from Mr. William Melbuish. It is dated New York, June 24. :— . - ■ As an old resident of Dunedin, who haß just taken a trip across the continent of America by rail, I take the liberty of Bending a little advice for the benefit of otherß who may intend taking the same route. The voyage to San -Francisco by. steamer would be pleasant '- enough provided proper vessels were, laid on ; but euch Bteamers as the City of Melbourne and the Wonga'Wonga are totally unfitted for the purpose. We were cramped^ smothered, badly fed, and dirty. A few days in, San Francisco, at ope of the excellent hotels in/that city, is necessary before starting by the rail. On landing- there,- you are pestered by agents of four different companies to purchase tickets for the journey across, and every one asseverating thafe^his particular route is the, best. , I" made; many, enquiries so as to npiake sure, and was taken in at last. : The line, was, made westward -from Omafaft by two companies. East ward ijrom ' ; San ■Francisco by the Central factific . i; pomj)any . to thence ithe ituion r.-Paeiac Com pany tip Omaha. Here font 3ines i>ranch off to Chicago. •fAla : far as' Omaha the Hue is a single one ; [the fare is^ fijed, and likely to- regain so ; ,Jbut jconsideraVle competition ex ißts with the other companies. I tpok my 'ticket through to $6s Xfc^ypiity V^ApH and'before I reached ith^re, }the. fare ,had dropped 7dols ; . ll would itherefore advise, .the traveller ttf -take his 'ticket to Ogden. 1 thence;' to , Omaha,. and thence, if he \ likes, he can", take i.'a through 'ticket to New York. He, however, should i take the precaution to ace his coupons

run regularlyirom one company's terminus or depot to another, as he will have to pass over many lines. The best route, and the only really pleasant one, by which the best and prettiest section of the country is to be seen, is from Omaha to Chicago, by the Chicago, Sock Island, and Pacific Bailroad. The traveller should stay in Chicago a short time — it is a grand city — then proceed by the Michigan Central to Detroit, from Detroit to Niagara Falls by the Great Western, and from Niagara to New Tort, by the New York Central, via Albany. At Albany the steamboat can be taken to New York, and the beautiful scenery of the river Hudson seen to perfection. If the through ticket be taken to Albany, and the steamer taken from thence, 6s is saved in the fare. By the rail, which skirts the river, many pretty glimpses are obtained. The trains all through stop three times a day for meals. The time allowed is 25 minutes, and the charges are, breakfast and supper 3s each, and dinner 4s, except on the desert, where all meals are 4s, and very good ; the hotel cars are attached twice a week. The cost for meals right through from San Francisco to New York is 40dols, equal to £8. Sleeping cars run with every train ; a section in one must be taken, as the first-class carriages are constructed so as to prevent any person from lying down — elbowed Beats to contain two persons sitting close on either side, with a passage down the middle, through which the conductor or somebody is always passing. Sitting upright for seven days and nights, in the motion, is beyond endurance. The sleeping cars are divided in sections, each one has two double seats vis A vis. At night the attendant— a darkey — slides the seats together and folds down the backs, making a sofa six feet long by three wide, on which he puts a good thick hair mattrass, feather pillows, clean sheets and rug. Overhead a hinged shelf is let down— ship-berth fashion — on which a similar bed is made. Heavy rep curtains are hung on plated rods all round, and in each section there are a looking-glass, a lamp, and a portable table ; also a spittoon. The seats are covered with rep or velvet, and the floor is carpeted. In each carriage there are separate dressing-rooms — one each for ladies and gentlemen — containing washstands, clean towels, iced drinking water, &c. All the fittings, are plated, and on that account are called " silver palace sleeping cars." The cost is 12s per night for one upper or one lower berth ; the whole section, for married couples, 245. Two ladies or two gentlemen are put in a section, and the b)ack attendant. expects, a gratuity. Boot-cleaning is la per , pair. As far as Chicago only one train runs for the 24 hours, so there is no dodging the night. From thence they are more frequent. I send you a map. The ride is most delightful. The scenery changes from the grand and sublime in the wild Rocky Mountains to grassy plains, dreary desert, smiling homesteads, pretty farms, orchards, villages, towns, rivers, lakes, waljerfallSjj&c., &c, likea kaleidoscope^, something fresh' /every minute, ; and never tiring. ', .Very little risk is run ; the drivers are extremely careful ; the ascents and descents are gradual and eaßy, every bridge, cutting and , embankment . is ■'■' slowly gone over ,at. • the = rate •of four miles an hour. The -greatest speed is 25 ; mi.lesr-^the average lß. . Gow ploughs are fixed to every engine, wh^ich gently slide off any obstruction. We ran into four bullocks in a curved cutting, killed' three, and never felt the shock. The train waftstopped vvithin its own length. TJie only real danger is from the Indiana through one section. They have a lot ofWestern roughs, outlawed; from every State, living with them. They ,hay ; e, tried to ,etop the luggage trains, for plunder on several occasions, but have not succeeded in doing so. On the night we were passing through the, State. pf : Nebraska— the country of jthe ; Cheyenne ariH Sioux— on a dead level plain, near North . Platte, a party ol them , were : , , sqiei* by ' the driver arranged on each side of the line : it being bright moonlight. He and his men put on steam and crouched down. Directly, a volley of bullets waß fired at the engine, breaking all the circular glass windows which pro-

tecfc the drivers in front, and two' bullets came through the. carriages, one into the mail car and one into the baggage. The conductors, who are well armed, let fly the charges in their revolvers, with what result was not known. Fortunately no one in the train was touched. This was the first time a passenger train had been attacked. Companies of soldiers are stationed all along the line. At the next station some were sent back to fight the Indians. There is no fear of the snow in the winter, as snow sheds and fences are erected on all parts likely to be blocked. There is a snowshed tunnel 40 miles long on the summit of the Sierra Nevada. I came through in the last of May and first of June. Weather hot all the way. Baggage can be checked the whole distance, and access had to it at all times— train in motion or not. Only a small bag is allowed in the car. Drafts should be bought on London and sold in the San Francisco at a profit. Gold only is used as far as Ogden ; after that nothing but paper, which can be bought at the ruling prices. It is now 112£, Not a coin except copper and plated cents, from one to five, the size of a farthing, is to be seen in the United States — nothing but scraps of paper, bank notes, very dirty and ragged, from five cents value upwards — miserable money. Everything in New York is high in price. I see Tittle but imported goods, the same as we get in the colonies. A necktie, the Dunedin price of which would be 2a 6d, here costs 8s; common muslin puggaree, Is 3d in Dunedin, 6a ; and so on. Hotel board is from 3 dols.