Another Summer: The Yellowstone Park and Alaska

In Short

This book is a firsthand, chronological account of a nine-thousand-mile journey undertaken by a group of travelers in 1892. Beginning in New York, the narrative follows their transit through the American West to Yellowstone National Park, their northward steamship voyage to Alaska, and their eventual return via the Canadian Pacific Railway. Written with the straightforward observation recommended by Ruskin, it serves as a historical snapshot of an era defined by rapid industrial expansion, the birth of national parks, and the burgeoning comfort of luxury rail and steam travel.

The Story

The narrative begins on June 17, 1892, at New York’s Grand Central Station, where the author and his companions set off on an ambitious multi-leg itinerary. The first major stop is Yellowstone National Park. The group experiences the park’s rugged beauty through the lens of a traveler who is both impressed by the natural wonders—the geysers, the "Paint Pot," and the roaring falls of the Yellowstone River—and mindful of the frontier conditions. The party encounters unpredictable roads, fords rivers, and observes a landscape where military patrols enforce conservation, marking an early chapter in the history of American park management.

After departing the park, the travelers make their way to the coast, arriving in Portland, Oregon. There, they marvel at the city's growth, reflecting on its transformation from a wilderness encampment in 1845 to a bustling modern hub of 66,000 people. The group then proceeds to Tacoma and Seattle, where they note the fierce commercial rivalry between the two cities and the rapid integration of electric streetcars and massive architecture into the Pacific landscape.

The centerpiece of the voyage is the trip north along the coast on the steamer Queen. The journey is punctuated by awe-inspiring visits to the Muir Glacier, where the passengers watch massive icebergs calve into the sea, and to Sitka, where the author encounters both local Indigenous communities and the efforts of American missionaries. The voyage is not without incident; the Queen experiences a minor accident, and the author documents the gritty realities of gold-mining operations at Treadwell. Throughout the maritime leg, the passengers pass the time by sharing stories, including a dramatic account of a shipboard mutiny and an amusing, cautionary tale about a traveler’s unfortunate encounter with a dog in Constantinople.

The return journey takes the party eastward on the Canadian Pacific Railway. This final segment of the trip is marked by the majestic scale of the Canadian Rockies and the hospitality of the railway’s grand hotels. However, the author’s health falters after an over-indulgence in a sulphur bath at Banff. His recovery in Winnipeg is complicated by a smallpox scare that triggers regional quarantines and travel restrictions. Despite these late-stage hardships, the group eventually resumes their journey, passing through Minneapolis and Chicago—where they view the nearly completed buildings of the World’s Columbian Exposition—before finally returning to the East Coast. The account concludes with a reflection on the ease of modern, Pullman-car travel, contrasting the comfort of the final leg with the rigors of the preceding two months.

How It Unfolds

The transcontinental start The party departs New York for St. Paul, noting the immense architectural growth of the Midwest and the varied characters encountered on the rails.

The Yellowstone wilderness The author explores the park’s geothermal activity and canyons, highlighting the physical challenges of travel and the presence of U.S. soldiers patrolling the reservation.

Pacific coast growth The group arrives in Portland and Washington state, observing the rapid transformation of the frontier into modern cities with advanced cable and electric infrastructure.

The voyage to Alaska Aboard the steamer Queen, the party navigates inland seas to reach the Muir Glacier, witnessing the dramatic natural forces of the north and visiting missionary outposts in Sitka.

Mining and storytelling The travelers tour gold mines at Treadwell and trade personal anecdotes during the voyage, capturing the social atmosphere of 19th-century pleasure travelers.

The Canadian return The final leg follows the Canadian Pacific line through the Rockies, where the author’s health declines, forcing a period of recuperation amid regional disease outbreaks.

The People

The book focuses primarily on the author and his companions, who act as representatives of the burgeoning middle-to-upper-class tourist class of the late 19th century. The author is an observant, pragmatic narrator who balances a wonder for nature with a keen interest in technological progress. His sister and various travelling companions serve as his support system, particularly during his illness in Winnipeg.

He also describes the people he encounters in his travels: the disciplined U.S. soldiers acting as park rangers in Yellowstone; the "bright and intelligent" students at the Presbyterian mission in Sitka; and local figures like the Honorable Benjamin Stark, who provides the author with historical context on the rapid settlement of Portland. A particularly memorable figure is the anonymous "Captain," who regales the group with his harrowing tale of survival during a whaling mutiny, adding a layer of adventurous, rough-hewn history to the otherwise genteel narrative. These individuals, whether accidental acquaintances or fellow travelers, help define the author’s perception of the vast, changing continent he is crossing.

In Its Own Voice

"The more I think of it, the more I find this conclusion impressed upon me, that the greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it saw in a plain way."

The author begins his preface by citing Ruskin to justify his modest, descriptive approach to travel writing.

"I think we saw in this basin as many as twenty large spouting geysers, and hundreds of boiling springs, many of them of surprising beauty."

This observation captures the author’s sense of wonder while visiting the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone.

"The ice is forced up into hillocks and ranges, wet, slippery, and difficult to travel on."

The author provides a precise, unadorned description of the physical reality of trekking across the Muir Glacier.

What It's Really About

The book is fundamentally about the shrinking of the American continent through industrial technology. It explores the tension between the pristine, untamable nature of the West—represented by the volcanic activity of Yellowstone and the calving glaciers of Alaska—and the desire to make these landscapes accessible and legible to the modern traveler. Underlying the narrative is a constant questioning of how quickly the "wilderness" can be mastered, measured, and marketed. The author is fascinated by the speed with which forests are turned into cities and mountain passes are conquered by iron rails, yet he remains deeply aware of the fragility of the human body in these vast spaces, whether due to the threat of physical accidents, the unpredictable movements of wild animals, or the vulnerability of the traveler to disease and the elements.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of tourism, the Gilded Age, or the late-19th-century American perspective will find this a fascinating document. It reads like a personal diary, unburdened by modern sentimentality, offering a clear-eyed view of how people of that time moved through the world. The prose is functional and direct, which provides a refreshing, historical clarity.

Readers should be prepared for the period-specific attitudes; the author’s observations of Indigenous people and his reflections on the "civilizing" influence of schools and missions are deeply rooted in the paternalistic assumptions of the 1890s. Additionally, the text reflects a time when travel was physically taxing and often uncomfortable, even for those with means. There is a sense of "boom-town" enthusiasm that might strike a modern reader as naive, given what we know today about the environmental consequences of such rapid expansion. However, the book remains a compelling, granular look at a moment when the North American frontier was still in the process of becoming a unified, accessible experience. It is a quiet, steady record of a trip that feels both vast in scale and intimate in its daily details.