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Twain's party crossed the Cascades, on the switchbacks, in about two hours. It took six more hours to reach Seattle.

Native Americans were pretty much gone from the area, the Treaty of Point Elliott was one of the major instruments in their removal and confinement in reservations. Some did, however, retain fishing rights.

Seattle had become the western terminus of the Great Western railway, reaching the city in 1893. Four transcontinental railways jostled for position along the waterfront. Japan's Nippon Yusen Kaisha shipping line contracted with the Great Northern in 1896 to begin regular steamship service between Seattle and Japan. J.J. Hill soon had his own ocean liners, the Minnesota and the Dakota, carrying passengers and goods from Smith Cove to China, Japan and the Philippines.

Twain's party transferred to the "Little greyhound of Puget Sound", the Flyer. Twain was not impressed with the baggage handlers. They arrived in Tacoma at five o'clock. The ladies remain there while Major Pond and Twain travel to Portland, Oregon.

The Northern Pacific ran from Seattle to Kalama, where a steam ferry crossed the Columbia River, to Goble.

They reached Portland at 8:22 to find the Marquam Grand packed with a waiting audience and Standing Room Only signs. They depart Portland at 11 am the next day and travel to Olympia. They are both back in Tacoma on the 12th and the entire party in Seattle on the 13th. By the 14th they are in Whatcom, an area that will become Bellingham.

Twain had a bad cold and his throat was in poor condition, but he lectured at the Lighthouse Theater, the fourth floor of a building with no fire escapes.

On the 15th, they are in Vancouver. Because of bad health and other delays, they remain in Vancouver until August 20th, arriving in Victoria around midnight. There he gives two lectures and a speech at a supper club.
August 23, Friday, Sam, Olivia and Clara depart Victoria B.C. on board the R.M.S. Warrimoo, bound for Australia and a journey around the world.

The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the nominal Native American tribes of the greater Puget Sound region. in the recently formed Washington Territory (March 1853), one of about thirteen treaties between the U.S. and Native Nations in what is now Washington.The treaty was signed on 22 January 1855, at Point Elliott, now Mukilteo (Muckl-te-oh ), Washington, and ratified 8 March and 11 April 1859.

Twain's party transferred to the "Little Greyhound of Puget Sound", the Flyer upon arriving in Seattle. Twain was not impressed with the baggage handlers. They arrived in Tacoma at five o'clock. The ladies remain there while Major Pond and Twain travel to Portland, Oregon.

Clemens aboard the steamer Flyer. Seattle. August 8
Mark Twain Archive, Elmira College courtesy of Kevin Mac Donnell, Austin, Texas.

Flyer was the first vessel ordered by the Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation Company, a concern formed by Capt. U.B. Scott and others, which already controlled the fast sternwheeler Telephone on the Columbia River, and on Puget Sound, the then new and fast sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert as well as the express passenger boat Fleetwood.

Kalama was entirely a Northern Pacific railroad creation. It was unofficially born in May 1870 when the Northern Pacific railroad turned the first shovel of dirt. Northern Pacific built a dock, a sawmill, a car shop, a roundhouse, a turntable, hotels, a hospital, stores, homes. In just a few months in 1870, the working population exploded to approximately 3500 and the town had added tents, saloons, a brewery, and a gambling hall. Soon the town had a motto: "Rail Meets Sail".

[From: The Pacific Railroad Preservation Association]

The Northern Pacific line from Tacoma to Kalama began service January 5, 1874 and included runs between Portland and Kalama by steamboat on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.

Clemens aboard the U.S.S. Mohican. Seattle, Washington. August 13
Mark Twain Archive, Elmira College courtesy of Kevin Mac Donnell, Austin, Texas.

Clemens aboard to USS Mohican, Seattle

 

Twain had a bad cold and his throat was in poor condition, but he lectured at the Lighthouse Theater, the fourth floor of a building with no fire escapes.

Clemens and reporters. Hotel Vancouver, British Columbia. August 17
Mark Twain Archive, Elmira College courtesy of Kevin Mac Donnell, Austin, Texas.

Clemens and Reporters

 

Clemens, Clara, and Olivia aboard the S.S. Warimoo. Victoria, British Columber. August 23, 1895
Clemens aboard the S.S. Warimoo. Victoria, British Columber. August 23, 1895
S.S. Warimoo sailing for Australia, August 23, 1895

Departing Victoria

Mark Twain Archive, Elmira College courtesy of Kevin Mac Donnell, Austin, Texas.

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