Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Clare Boothby
and PG Distributed Proofreaders
[Transcriber's note: The non-standard spellings of the original texthave been retained in this etext.]
1894
"Travel is the great source of true wisdom." —Bearensfield
To my amiable traveling companions,
Mr. S.R. James and family,
and
Miss Sarah E. Campbell,
this volume is affectionately inscribed
It has been the aim of the author: to combine a detailed narrative of hertrip by water to the White City with a faithful description of the evermemorable Columbian Exposition as far as possible consistent with thescope of this work. Every opportunity has been embraced by the writer toincorporate the historical events, scientific facts, and natural phenomenamost appropriate to the subject.
The author also acknowledges her indebtedness to the Lake Shore & MichiganSouthern Railway Co. as well as her obligations to the Winters Art LithoCo. in Chicago. She wishes to express her gratitude to the first-mentionedcorporation for having presented her with a map illustrative of the route;thus enabling the reader to trace the numerous towns and cities—on theErie Canal and three Great Lakes—whose history and attractions have beendepicted in this book.
The Lake Shore Route—selected by the Government to run the famous FastMail Trains—is the only double track line between Chicago, Cleveland,Buffalo, New York, and Boston.—During the existence of the White City,the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Co. placed in service specialtrains for the purpose of facilitating railway transportation between theeastern cities and the "Queen of the West." The "Exposition Flyer," whichaccomplished nearly 1,000 miles in twenty hours from Chicago to New York,an average of about fifty miles per hour, was certainly one of the fastesttrains in the World.
To the aid of the Winters Art Litho Co. the author owes her capability offurnishing this volume with a novel illustration of the World's Fair.—Agold medal was awarded to this firm for the excellence in their watercolor fac-simile reproductions and advancement in legitimate lithography.The credit of improvements in materially reducing the number of printings,and still maintaining excellence in results, was conceded to them by theJudges.—This company kindly permitted the author to use their copyrightof the revised and most correct Bird's Eye View of the Exposition Groundsextant, which gives the readers a very adequate conception of thatmarvelous creation that—while existing only for such a brief period—hasaccomplished its mission in the highest degree, and has opened a new erain the annals of modern progress.
SCHENECTADY, N.Y., December, 1893.