In the city are works with immense steam power, and from these
works endless cables revolve throughout the city, under the roads, in
various directions. In the bed of the tramway is a groove, under which
is the cable, revolving at a great speed. The driver of the car lets
down his grip, which tightly holds the cable, and, of course, the car
starts at full speed, and is carried along by the cable. When the driver
wants to stop, he lets go his grip on the cable and applies his brake.
Some of the hills in San Francisco are very steep, and the first
sensation in riding on the outside front seat, while going full speed
down a sharp declivity, is certainly novel, with no apparent motive
power, and no apparent means of stopping. The speed, of course, is
always the same, whether up or down hill, or on level ground. Telegraph
Hill is 394 feet high, Clay Street Hill 376 feet, and Russian Hill 360
feet. A San Francisco Sunday is painful to one accustomed to our English
ways; travelling in every form, and buying and selling are very
prevalent. The Y.M.C.A. have a large building there, and get large
meetings. I attended one gathering, which I addressed shortly.
San Francisco is described as having "the mildest and most equable
climate known to any large city in the world." January is the coldest
month, and the mean temperature then is stated to be 50 deg.
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