Through Wonderland To Alaska

Author : Elia Wilkinson Peattie
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781330595190
Total Pages : 100 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (951 download)

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Download or read book A Journey Through Wonderland written by Elia Wilkinson Peattie and published by . This book was released on 2015-06-28 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from A Journey Through Wonderland: Or the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, With a Description of the Country Traversed by the Northern Pacific Railroad It was the merest chance that took me westward. 1 had never previously been 500 miles from New York - except, of course, to Europe. Everyone goes to Europe. The chance that made me journey westward was a business one; but other than business reasons made me glad to go. "If you ever get an ache of the heart," said a young Frenchman whom I once met, "take a long journey. Visit the Indian Ocean, for instance. There, wrapped in a pajama, one lies on deck at night, watching the swaying of the masthead and the twinkling of the stars - the languorous stars of those latitudes Time, space, and peace are all there is left of life, and the bitterness and weariness melt away from one, and seem to become a part of the mists in the blue distance. Take my word for it, there is nothing like a voyage 011 some solitary sea to cure the heartache." Thus, when it came about that business took me to Duluth, to Winnipeg, and St. Paul, I concluded to go farther-across the plains, the mountains, and to Alaska. I substituted Alaska for the Indian seas. Alaska, I confess, seemed a very long way off, for I had not, at that time, learned that distance is no actual quantity, but is determined only by the convenience or inconvenience that attends a journey. When I left my native city, however, the words "Duluth" and "Winnipeg" were without significance to me, and even St. Paul meant little enough. The first two days are indistinct in my mind. There arc circumstances under which a man can not enjoy even a Niagara. I could not hear its roar for the cooing of newly-married lovers, and considering n recent experience of mine, I naturally felt irritated. A few long days on the lakes followed, and I got a certain comfort out of them. It is true that I did not lie wrapped in my pajama while fanned by tropical and perfumed breezes. There were no tropical breezes, for one thing, and I had no pajama. As the oxygen got into my lungs, the morbidity went out of my soul, and I should have been almost happy but for a young lumberman on board, lie was a good-natured young man - indeed, he was too good-natured, for lie never looked at me without smiling. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.