PREPARATION 13

drink—they had so far thought water made for frogs
and brutes, and tea for Chinese. But when left to
themselves on the broad American plains while making
for San Francisco, as there was at that time no
railway line through Canada, the difficulties inherent
to travelling in a strange land blessed (?) with an
unknown language were soon in evidence.

Among the accomplishments which the youngest
of the trio had endeavoured to acquire, was some
initiation into the intricacies of the English language.
He did know some of it as you learn it through books,
and his companions—who knew none at all—were
persuaded that he had mastered it. Hence there was
constant recourse to his services as interpreter, at a time
when he found the Yankee twang and precipitate dic-
tion often above his capacity.

They thus crossed the United States, seeing a few
Indians at the western stations and at least one of their
historic resorts, Fort Laramie, then an aggregation of
dirty low huts. After which they had to swallow
clouds of the fine sand of the Great American Desert,
wonder at the queer sights of Salt Lake City, and slide
down, at a tremendous rate, the western slopes of the
Rocky Mountains.

As no railway line extended north in the direction of
British Columbia, they had to wait four or five days at
Archbishop Alemany’s residence in San Francisco,
pending the return of the boat which was to take them
to Victoria, British Columbia. This meant a second
sea voyage, much worse than the first, along the
so-called Pacific coast, where they were rolled right and
left for the space of five days. They arrived at Vic-
toria, on the outskirts of the promised land,'” early

The vicariate apostolic, or infant diocese, to which they were
sent, did not comprise Vancouver Island.