[On Millard Hotel stationery]

Omaha, Neb, June 23, 1885

My dear Charlie: -- I have been on the go so much that it has got near the 25th of June, your starting day, before I knew it. I intended to write you from St. Paul but finding that Mr. Adams had to stay there 2 or 3 days two of us took the opportunity of making a trip in a Mississippi steamboat and a circus we did have too. You had better try that on your return trip. Take the boat at St. Paul and get off at Savanna, only 138 miles from Chicago. It is well worth while for it is quite old fashioned and in my experience quite novel. I am glad you are going to the N.W. You will find Columbia River the best worth seeing of any river in the U.S. From above Dalles to Portland it is superb. You want to get up early so as to see the river rushing through the black rocks with Mt. Hood rising like a pure [page 2] white pyramid in the background and a camp of Indians in the foreground. Puget Sound is fine on account of the Mountains. We went all over it in a special boat. Hunt up Mr. Dodge the supt. of the navigation and introduce yourself. He is a first rate fellow. I think he is often at Tacoma. At any rate he is easily found. At Seattle if you stop, kill a newspaper man for me. He stole a letter of mine to publish. A young banker named Kittinger is a good fellow and will show you the reporter to kill for me. Victoria is the best worth seeing of any town up that way. You will like it. I’m awfully sorry to have missed you. If you had only been there we would have had a glorious time.

We are off for Colorado in a day or two. I expect to get to New York by the last week in July. I have letters from England saying my family got there all right. We have a beautiful house there which we intend to occupy summers only. Come over and write a novel! I hope this will catch you before you leave. Write me! Care J.R. Callaway Gen Man U.P. R’y, Omaha

With much love

Thine

Frank