Tuesday, June 19, 1888 I breakfasted at the Brevoort house very comfortably (but rather expensively) Oh Lord! I wish I didnt like the best things. After breakfast I went around and saw Mary and Calvert. J. T. had not been there since and Mary felt sure he had gone home. I wanted Mary to go down to see the "Wild West and Buffalo Bill" but she did not care to as she was very busy so as it was a fine breezy day I went up after Eastman Johnson and he agreed to go. We were to meet at the Staten Island ferry at 1. Meanwhile he had a little work to do and I went to the Yandell gallery to see the summer collection of pictures and also to see Miss Durfee. She was not there. Some of the pictures were to me simply idiotic. One of Homer Martins called a "Waterfall" was worse than bad and many of the things were utterly wanting in the first elements of beauty as I regard beauty. I should be ashamed to put my name to some of the crude and hasty daubs there. I went to the Century and wrote Miss Durfee a note telling her what two small pictures she might have for her Round Lake exhibition and as a consequence I was a little late at the Staten Island ferry where Eastman was awaiting me. We had a nice sail down to the island. Buffalo Bill was on board, a fine large handsome man. We went by train to Evastina and all for 10 cents. We looked about among the tents and the horses for a while and had a little talk with the old scout who piloted Brigham Young to Salt Lake and got seats for 25 cents extra on the grand stand. The whole thing was extremely interesting and there was an air of genuineness about it all which made it very satisfactory. They had in the act representing an Indian attack upon a stage coach, the identical stage coach which originally ran from Cheyenne to Deadwood and which had literally been baptized with fire and blood. It was driven by a man who was a contemporary of "Hank Monk" a famous plains driver. Old Rice (I think that was his name) the scout who first piloted Brigham Young to Salt Lake, rode out side and a man who had frequently performed the real service rode on horseback as outrider. It was all historic, dramatic and most intriguing. We came home in company with Bierstadt whom we met there. He tried to find Buffalo Bill to introduce us to him. He says he keeps his sketch box down there and goes down nearly every day to make sketches as he is painting a Buffalo hunt. I dined at Marys with her, Calvert and Downing. About 10 o'clock I went around to the Century as Bierstadt and Eastman said they would come there. Bierstadt came but Eastman did not. Saw Perry, Bradford and Maynard and Mr. Hay[?]. Did not go to my room until midnight.
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