By Water to the Columbian Exposition

A personal travel narrative recounts a water journey from the Erie Canal through the Great Lakes to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, blending descriptive scenes of canal towns, Niagara Falls, and lake passages with detailed tours of fair attractions. The writer records accommodations aboard a steam yacht and the company of congenial companions, supplements travel anecdotes with historical and scientific observations, and surveys exposition highlights from national and foreign pavilions to specialized buildings devoted to manufactures, agriculture, industry, art, education, and ethnographic displays. Illustrated maps and lithographs accompany practical route information and financial and statistical notes about international expositions.