Recollections of My Life and Reflections on Times and Events During It: A Memoir by Father W. J. Howlett Main Menu Introduction Table of Contents Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Other Writings by Father W. J. Howlett Timeline Howlett Family Tree William J. Howlett Family Tree Maps and Geography: Howlett's First Trip West Fr. Howlett moved with his family to Denver when he was a child, and then moved to St. Thomas Seminary in Bardstown, KY several years later. This map recounts the path he took to get to both places. Maps and Geography: Howlett's European travels Fr. Howlett traveled far and wide during his trip to Europe. Here is a map of the places he recorded visiting. Maps and Geography: Howlett in Paris, 1872-1873 This map shows the locations that Fr. Howlett mentioned visiting while in Paris, France. Maps and Geography: Howlett in London, 1874 This map shows the locations that Fr. Howlett mentioned visiting while vacationing in London, England Maps and Geography: Colorado Missions with Terrain Fr. Howlett's Colorado mission locations, with Colorado terrain. Index Acknowledgements Contributors' Biographies HIST 394 at CUA, Spring 2020

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          The day was spent in various sports, and a dramatic performance was given by the girls under the direction of the Sisters. There was no piano for the girls, although the boys had a brass band. The other exercises were just about what one would expect in a white school. I visited the workshops of the boys and found all the skill of the trades shown in carpentry, blacksmithing, harness making, shoe making, tinning, and other trades, and the work was all of superior quality. It was said that the freighters in the Flathead region got all their harness and saddles from the missions, for they knew they were getting the best material and the best work.
            
          My first view of the Columbia river was at Pasco Junction and I must confess that it was disappointing. It was just a broad river flowing through a wide plain covered with sagebrush. I saw it in a different light a few days later at Portland, when I looked down upon it from the height above that city on the Williamette, with miles of its length in view in the broad expanse of city, of forest, and plain and mountain scenery, from Mount Tacoma, looking like a vast barrier shutting in a new world to the southeast where Mount Hood pierced the sky like a snow covered pyramid.
            
​​​​​​​          Down through Oregon the scenery was not new to an old mountaineer but it was not without interest, and I entered California through the long tunnel under the summit of the Siskiyou range down past Mt. Shasta, and the Shasta Springs that spout mineral water high in the air. It was like the soda water of Manitou, Colorado, but far more abundant. I traveled on down to Sacramento, and to the upper end of the Bay of San Francisco, where we crossed on a ferry that took the entire train and landed it on the opposite side a mile away to continue its way to Oakland.
          
​​​​​​​          San Francisco was not then what it is now. It was a busy city but had its limitations. Between it and the Cliff was a stretch of sand dunes that moved with every wind. Mayor Sutro had begun reclamation east from his fine mansion on Sutro Heights and his gardens where he had to stake down the grass to give it time to take root. The Cliff House, Scal Rocks and the wide Pacific were sights, and my old fellow students of Paris. Father Flood, Cummings, and O’Connor, were hosts to receive me and make my stay enjoyable. Menlo Park, San Jose and Palo Alto were visited. The grounds of the Stanford estate were open to the public except the residence of Mrs. Stanford, the privacy of which the public was requested to respect. Stanford University was then only its beginnings, but was gathering its students in goodly numbers already. Taken all in all, San Francisco was a wonderful city where the fabled East came to mingle its romance with the gigantic civilization of the busy west.
            
          The Union Pacific railroad from San Francisco to Salt Lake City is a long stretch of travel, and if I were to travel it again I would try to make as much of it as possible during the night-time. The long dreary passage of the desert would then be unfelt. It was dreary on the Northern Pacific from Spokane to Paco, where miles and miles of sagebrush make up the scenery, but from Keno to Humboldt one longs for the sight even of a sagebrush to relieve the monotony. Garson and Humboldt lakes are but stagnant pools that seemed to be avoided by both beast and bird. Humboldt station was the only relieving feature of the day, 

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  1. Table of Contents Rebecca Lemon