Travel Books

The most complete work on the British Colonies in North America is the Summary historical and political by William Douglas, of which the second improved edition was published in London, 1760, in two 8vo. volumes. That doctor collected material for many years and was in America, and gives valuable intelligence, especially of the Colonies he visited, but his book has no system. Prof. Kalm has much that... more...

PREFACE. This letter from the President of Bowdoin College is printed as an appropriate preface to the pages which follow. I thank you for the advanced sheets of the "Bowdoin Boys in Labrador." As Sallust says, "In primis arduum videtur res gestas scribere; quod facta dictis sunt exaequanda." In this case, the diction is equal to the deed: the clear and vivacious style of the writer is... more...

CHAPTER I THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH LINE TO RUSSIA—SAILING OF THE FIRST SIBERIAN EXPLORING PARTY FROM SAN FRANCISCO. The Russian-American Telegraph Company, otherwise known as the "Western Union Extension," was organised at New York in the summer of 1864. The idea of a line from America to Europe, by way of Bering Strait, had existed for many years in the minds of several prominent telegraphers,... more...