On America

Monday, May 7. I saw an Indian attired in semi-European suit, and semi-Indian suit, leaning against a wall.  Wide deserts without plants nor trees. Unpopulated. Lonely place. Bare mountains. Sands. A big extension of white land, like chalk. Far from this desert can be seen some blue mountains. It was a fine day. It was warm, and there was still snow on the top of some mountains.

Tuesday, May 8. This is a beautiful morning.  We stop from place to place.  We are near Ogden. I believe with a good system of irrigation this place could be cultivated.  We are at Utah state, the 3rd state we passed over.  In approaching Ogden the fields are seen with horses, oxen, and trees.  Some small houses are seen from a distance. From Ogden to Denver. The clock is set one hour ahead of time. We are now beginning to see flowers with yellow color on the way. The mountains at a distance are covered with snow. The banks of Salt Lake are more beautiful than other things we saw. The mules are very big. There are mountains in the middle of the lake like the island of Talim in Laguna de Bay. We saw three Mormon boys at Farminton. There were sheep, cows, and horses in the meadows. This region is not thickly populated. A flock of ducks in the lake... Children greeted us at Salt Lake City. In Utah, the women serve at the table... We changed train at Ogden, and we still not have any change until Denver. In Provo I ate much for 75 cents.  We are passing between two mountains through a narrow channel.

Wednesday, May 9. We are passing through the mountains and rocks along a river; the river is noisy and its noise gives life to the lifeless territory. We woke up at Colorado, the 5th state we crossed over. At 10:30 we climb up a certain height, and this is why snow is seen along the way. There are many pines.  We passed through tunnels made of wood to protect the road against snow. Icicles in these tunnels are very bright which gave majestic effect. The porter of the Pullman Care, an American, is sort of thief. Colorado has more trees than the three states we passed over. There are many horses.

Thursday, May 10. We woke up in Nebraska. The country is a plain. We reached Omaha, a big city -- the biggest since we left San Francisco. The Missouri River is twice as wide as the Pasig River in its widest part. It is marshy... The train passed over the Missouri bridge for 2 and 1/2 minutes; the train goes slowly. We are now in Illinois.


Friday, May 11. We woke up near Chicago. The country is cultivated. It shows our nearness to Chicago. We left Chicago at 8:14 Friday night. What I observed in Chicago is that every cigar store has an Indian figure, and always different.


Saturday, May 12.  A good Wagner Car -- we were proceeding in a fine day. The country is beautiful and well populated. We shall arrive at the English territory in the afternoon, and we shall soon see Niagara Falls. We stop for some time to see the points that are beautiful; we went to the side below the Falls; I was between two rocks and this is the greatest cascade I ever saw.  It is not so beautiful nor so fine as the falls at Los Banos; but much bigger, more imposing... The cascade has various falls, various parts. We left the place at night. There is a mysterious sound and persistent echo.

Sunday, May 13. We woke up near Albany. This is a big city. the Hudson River which runs along carries many boats.  We crossed over a bridge. The landscape is beautiful; and it is not inferior to the best in Europe. We are going along the banks of the Hudson. They are very beautiful although a little more solitary than those of the Pasig... The Hudson is wide. Beautiful ships. Sliced granite rocks were paved along the railroads... There were beautiful houses between trees. Day fine. Our grand transcontinental trip ended on Sunday, May 13, at 11:10 A.am.