Chicago Mayor Harvey Doolittle Colvin, receiving an immediate reply from Grant. He sat for a portrait by photographer Thomas Houseworth, and granted a parting interview to the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco's enthusiastic reception for the dark-skinned monarch was less than a decade after the American Civil War had divided the nation over the issue of enslavement of persons of color. Giving non-white people equal access to public accommodations would be fought through legislatures and courts for years to come. The African-American newspaper Pacific Appeal noted the irony and speculated, "... there has either been a sudden abandonment of colorphobia prejudice, or an extraordinary amount of toadyism to a crown head by the San Francisco American people." The royal party boarded three private cars provided by the rail company on December 5, and began their trip across the continent. In addition to Dominis, Kapena, Mayor and Peirce, the king's official party now included Schofield, Wherry, and Lieutenant Commander William H. Whiting, a junior officer of the Benicia. From that point forward, writer Joseph Irwin accompanied the royal party as an embedded journalist for The Daily Alta California. Train trip across America (December 5–11, 1874) The train passed through Sacramento, then through Nevada, by way of Winnemucca, Battle Mountain and Elko. They continued through Ogden, Territory of Utah to Fort Bridger, Territory of Wyoming, where they were entertained by the 4th Infantry Division band. Their train stopped at the Laramie depot on December 8 for a reception at the Railroad Hotel in Cheyenne, hosted by Governor John Allen Campbell. Among the dignitaries at the hotel were associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Wyoming Joseph M. Carey, and Colonel Thaddeus H. Stanton. In Omaha, the train was met at the depot by an estimated 5,000 people, and accorded a 20-gun salute under the direction of General Edward Ord. They remained long enough for Mayor Champion S. Chase and the Omaha City Council to give them a personal tour of the city. At Aurora, Illinois a boisterous crowd cheered as the train passed through their town on its way to Chicago. During a late-night layover in Chicago on December 10, the king's cars were switched over to another line going east. On December 11, just after midnight, the train pulled through Fort Wayne, Indiana, and reporters from The Fort Wayne Sentinel boarded in hopes of being granted an audience.