Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1847-05-15
LETTERS FRom cALIroHSiA.
MoNrENEr, California, Nov. I, le46.


Gentlemen :-In wishing to give you all the
true information 10 my power respecting Cali.
fornis cannot avoid mentioning lie productions
Of many various kinds Of exquisite fruits. In
fact, California from one end 10 the other, 10
capable of being metamorphoeed into perfect
orchard. .t ...r ..
There are twenty.one Missions in Upper
California, and each OF them have one or two
large orchards, consisting OF from four to ten
acres ofland. All Of these oobards are full Of
fruit trees, of different kinds and classes, and
notwithstanding they have had no care taken
of them for the last six or eight years, (many
Of them orc not 70 much ss fenced in) s,i they
yield fruit in abundance, and Ia my certain
know ledge, none of these fruit trees heve been
pruned. OF attended TO in any manner what.
ever (unless TO strip them oftheir fruii) for the
space Of ten years.
Besides the orchsrcs, which contain apples |
and pears Of various kinds. pt aches. pomogrates
plunns, nec,srines. and 10 the more southern
part Of the Territory. oranges in abundance.
They have each. with the exception Of two mig
! sions, one or two large vineyards. which pro.
ducc both the blue grape and the Muscatel in
the highest perfection the vine. some indi.
viduals take tho trouble to pvune every year.
and in the month Of September gather 'he rich
clusters. which very amply rewards them for
their trouble. s
November 9Th, ls46 In the yesr 1926 Ca.
liforna was overs,ockrd with horses. and horn
ed cattle, and sheep; and the natives consider
ing horses Of less value than sheep or horned
., cattle. killed off many thousands Of the former
that room might be LETT. and pasture for the O.
,her kinds They would mike large pens near
some wood, and then twenty or thirty men
would muster, and trive in horses and mares
by hundreds. and sttet picking ou, such Of them
ss they considered to be Of tho best quality, they
lsssoed and s,rsnried the re,naipdcr.'
In the year 1927. Csp,ain Jededish Smith
came into this country overland from ST. Louis,
ard bought three hundred and ninety seven
head Of horses and mules, Of the best kind that
could be found in the country; and only one
horse amongst then cost as high ss fifeen dollars
the average price he paid for them wsssbou,
nine dollars .-..-.. .-.l ID .-.r.-l
In 1920 some New Mcxicans came here, md
Sought many hundreds Of mares, al the low
price Of fifty cents each. and among them were
some very splendid animals; the following year,
the wild Indians began to stesi horses from ths
settlements. and between these. and the New
v.da eho 1ion,o hav honvH left
literally without horse 10 saddle. a.t r.
Bu. still, California, rich in all her prodUc
= ,ions, has resource. which with some attention
8 from government. may bs name inexbsus,ible.
Il, On the Tulares plains are numbers us will
i horses and mars. think may say, wilbou
9 the least exsgeeralicn, ,hs, have seen on It.:
. plain in the course Of two days travel, fort!
II thousand wild horses and mares, and smongs
D them are some as noble looking snmals eve
d saw in my life. These for the last fftcel
y yesre have formed a complete nursery of horse
}. tov California. But the natives, who have nc
J. fur,hovght whatever, and have no feeling fo
W dumb animals. IL they are allowed BY the nu,hc
rites to act as they have been doing for the las
y zen or 6teen years, will soon destroy this Who'll
2, race of useful animals. The people here forr
re in parties Of eight or ten men. and 60 and cate
2 as many of these horses as they can they a.
I'd generally gone ten or fifteen days, and shoul
they through mistake catch mare. they imms
IN distely slaughter her from mere wsnonnes
es And in the months Of April and May. which
ID The time the mares are breeding, they very o
'e ten start . band ~ from two hundred 10 atho,
," sand head. and as they run them hard, III
as young colts are either rampled down or len b.
o. hind, end oil ,huse 70 e! are killed in the nigh
by wolves or !nxes consequently Il may ess'l
be conceiv, d how many hundreds Of each yea
: breed are loe, aud destroyed in this manner
sr Noptmber stA. ls48.--Perhsps there is n
ut county in the world. generally speskin!
et where the inhabitants are so much on hors'
en- back. 90 in CahE,rnis, OF where there sre be
0; ter riders-snd il may almost literally be sa
'rs the, msoy OF them are born on horseback. ss
~ shall show in the sequel. '.-
N. We msy likewise slnost say that they Al
70 married on horseback, for the day the ,narrise
~ contract 10 agreed on between the parties II
he bridegrooms first care is 10 bog, buy, OF borfo
ed and sometimes steal. the best horse that can
10 found in his district; at the same time,
~ some of these means, he has TO get saddl
w. With silver mountings about the bride, and Il
ter overlesthers Of the saddle must be embroidere
ns II matters no, how poor the parties may be, Il