Ag “LET EVERY STEP BE AN ADVANCE.” VOL. 1. Ghe Trans-Continental, Published Daily on the Pullman Hotel Express, Between Boston and San Francisco. W. R. STEELE, Editor. “ALE ABOARD FOR SAN FRAN- CISCO.”” A few common words quickly spoken at the departure of a railway train,—ap- parently a very common event. And yet those brief and simple words, pro- nounced,on Monday morning, May 23, 1870, near the site of the Coliseum in Boston, are properly entitled to no un- important and significant position in history, among those short utterances that have preceded or marked great changes or eras. One “yes” spoken by Helen to Trojan Paris was, perhaps, scarcely heeded when said, but its con- sequence was a ten-years’ war. The nod of a Belgian peasant to Napoleon I., and the “Up guards and at them,” from his opponent, we have been told, on an eve- ning in June resulted in the final act of the annihilation of an empire. monosylables spoken in peace, and for peace, may mean as much or more: a single one flashed from Newfoundland to the Irish shore told the world that science had achieved one of her greatest triumphs: one signature, and an act was consummated that made millions free, And those words, “all aboard for San Francisco,’ spoken on that May morn- ing in Boston, are certainly, in their significance, worthy of attention for at least a moment. They mean, not alone that travellers are to cross a broad con- tinent, but that the most magnificent train produced by American art starts upon its passage—the longest ever yet attempted by an entire train upon any And Niagara Falls, May 24, 1870. one of those iron roads now become the highways that bear the rule of the world,—a passage over the longest con- tinuous line of rails operated by any na- tion. They mean that the farthest East and the farthest West of the Republic, though almost four thousand miles apart, exchange a friendly visit by a single ride; they mean the completion of a commercial route that can, and will influence the trade of the world; they mean that the visibie line is unbroken that binds a great nation—that hearts and memories dwelling around Ply- mouth Rock and old Faneuil Hall, are closer to those at the Golden Gate; that homes on New England shores and warmth of the native hearthstones and sympathies of those who are there, are grown nearer and, we trust, may be dearer, to those on the once far off Pacific Coast, In the Campo Santo at Pisa are shown | massive links of a huge iron chain with which, we are told, Genoa once, during war, closed the Pisan port, and after- wards exhibited within her own walls during the first year of Italian indepen- dence, caused to be displayed in the Holy Field of Pisa, spontaneously re- stored to that city as a perpetual sign of fraternal affection and of indissoluble concord and union. And now, in the New World, we are permitted to see all means of civil strife, but the product and reality indeed of peace and of cordial alliance,—visible bond that joins the ex- tremes of the continental Republic. Work of strong arms, of skillfnl hands, and of wise heads, may we, during our great ride along it, see it with pleasure, regard it with honest pride, and accord it due appreciation. And in the good old words, once expressed on papers of transportation, we, in the trans-conti- as emblems of the conquest; but finally, | the links of a far mightier chain, never | | | } No. 1. nental train say sincerely, Goa speed all to the destined port, and bless the build- ers and those who ride. gp —Inecidents of this trip gladly wel- eomed, and promptly chronicled. Com- munications, if from parties not on the train, must be sent by telegraph. The TRANS-CONTINENTAL always travels in advance of the mails. Weare hungry forincidents. Remember brevity, please, and pass forward the items, ——_—__——_—— — Messrs. George M. and Albert B. Pullman accompany our train from Bos- ton to Chicago, and we are pleased to learn that the latter will accompany us all the way to California. ne a pe — Forty miles an hour is fast. There- fore the TRANS-CONTINENTAL is ditto Though its dimensions are diminutive it is bound to keep up with its big brothers ema ren —Five thousand Bostonians came to the old Coliseum grounds to cheer and wave adieus to parting friends on Mon- day morning. ep —APullman Palace train is a triumph of civilization,