Excerpt from Crofutt's Trans-Continental Tourist: Containing a Full and Authentic Description of Over Five Hundred Cities, Towns, Villages, Stations, Government Forts and Camps, Mountains, Lakes, Rivers, Sulphur, Soda, and Hot Springs, Scenery, Watering Places, Summer Resorts

The author, being naturally modest, the writing of a Preface comes exceedingly difficult. But, Custom and Fashion - the Geni-na that has transformed God's best gift to man into the shape of a dromedary - has forced us to the effort.

It would be truly marvelous if there were no errors to be found in this book - a book of positive statements - which covers a scope of country over two thousand miles in extent, and hundreds of miles in width - a vast empire, as it were - a country that Only a few years ago was almost Wholly unexplored and unknown to the white race. But since the completion of the Pacific Railroad, it has been occupied by over half a. Million of the most adventurous, active, honest and progressive white people that the world can produce - people that are build ing cities, towns and villages as though by magic; prospecting, discovering and developing the great treasure chambers of the continent; extending our grand system of railroads all over the country, like a vast net-work or engaged in the cultivation of the inexhaustible soil, which is literally causing the wilderness to blossom like the rose.

Where such mighty changes are taking place so rapidly, it would indeed be a. Wonder if some of the numberless improvements that are in progress were not omitted. Yet we think there are few, if any, of sufficient importance to be of interest to the tourist, but what some mention can be found at the proper place in this volume of the guide, but from the limited space the descriptions are necessarily short, ouly touching on the most important facts.

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.