JDH informs his wife, Lady Hyacinth Hooker, of his latest travels around the United States of America. He & his party camped at La Veta Pass in the Rocky Mountains to explore the forest for plants. The travelling party consists of: Dr Asa Gray, Lady Jane Loring Gray, General Richard Strachey, Lady Jane Maria Strachey, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden & Dr Robert Henry Lambourne. From La Veta they travelled by rail & wagon to Fort Garland, a remote military garrison, & then ascended Sierra Blanca; the highest mountain in the Rockies at 14,500 feet. He describes the ascent: hard work cutting their way through Aspen & Pine forest & sleeping out in the cold. They then travelled by train past Pueblo to Colorado Springs & by coach to Manitou [Springs] at the foot of the mountains close to Pikes Peak. It is a popular resort for invalids & here JDH met Dr [Samuel Edwin?] Solly an acquaintance from London. Next they will go to George Town [Georgetown] & ascend Gray's Peak, then to Cheyenne on the California rail line. JDH longs for news from home, any letters sent have gone astray. He wishes Hyacinth were with him but the travelling is expensive and uncomfortable for ladies. The conditions are tiring but JDH is learning 'an enormous deal'.

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Whilst staying in Salt Lake City JDH & Asa Gray made a botanical excursion to the Wahsatch [Wasatch] mountains & saw the 'Emma Mine'. Comments on the significance of the mountain flora to understanding plant distribution; they found plants that connect the Flora of Colorado & Utah with that of California. Went from Salt Lake City to Ogden where the Stracheys left for England. Stracheys were to return by train via Cheyennes, Omaha, Chicago, Niagara & then on the Hudson to New York & ship to England. JDH went on through the salt desert region to Reno & Carson City, the region is hot & treeless but irrigation allows cultivation of crops. JDH, Gray & Hayden visited Virginia City in mountains full of gold & silver mines, around which towns grow up, as in a gold rush. Lists some of the richest mines' yields. Briefly discusses the mining processes & machinery used for processing quartz & ores, also the conditions the miners work in underground. Gold & silver are the currency of the towns. Many thousands of people have been ruined trying to make a fortune from mining a lode which turned out to be small & the mountains are full of prospectors. Next JDH & party go to Silver City, across the mountains to Yosemite, Calaveras Groves & on to San Francisco The last of JDH's work in the United States of America will be in the forests of the Pacific coast. He has collected plants across the continent from East to West representing an excellent achievement in geographical botany. It has been tiring work & JDH longs to be home with Hyacinth Hooker, his wife.

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