San Andreas independent., 1856-12-13
Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-Six.


Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-Six.
The year eighteen hundred and fifty-six
is nearly over like the embers in the CRATE,
it is fast dying out Spring, with its gentle
moisture, it's vigorous freshness, its dewy
beauty has come and gone. Summer, with its
gorgeous coloring and scorching heat,
flowers of countless hues, and mellow fruit,
fast ripening into full maturity, has been
and is no more Autumn with its golden
fields Of yellow grain lying PROSTATE before
the sickle Of the reaper, and its orchards,
where the trees bend beneath the weight
of the rich, luscious apples and generous,
juicy peaches, has past; all have lived
their short life, have been as brilliant tab
leaux in the grand drama of nature and
are gone. Now, Winter is upon us,-not
here as in the old Atlantic homes, where
the chill winds are shrieking and penetra-
ting through the cracks and seams of the
family dwelling, as though to mock the
comfort of the cheerful hearth No bleak
and desolate snow storm covers the face of
Nature here with its feecy mantle all Gre
alton is yet BRIGHT and glowing, fresh and
beautiful. True, the clouds shed their
pearly drops and moisten the earth, but to
us the rain is full Of poetry it brings with
it prosperity. The Winter, whom we
recognize, is glorious old fellow, fat and
rosy, full of genial humor not parched
and scar, shivering like skeleton, or bear
ing the impress of death we hail him as
an old friend who brings with him his
annual Christmas box, the welcome rain,
gladdening the hearts of all. Our Winter
is a. jolly old boy; SO jolly that nature
laughs to see him come, and puts on her
choicest apparel to welcome him in The
hillsides and plains offer him choice bo-
quets of sweetest flowers; the valleys and
gulches pour forth their golden treasures
at his bidding. Winter is to US but the
return of Spring, full of life and anima-
ton, the most welcome of the seasons.
But still the year is dying, in splendor
it is true, but yet melting into eternity
How much of human hope and human
sympathy-life with it's countless lights
and shadows, happiness and misery, honor
and degradation, purity and corruption,
all that goes to make up the programme
of the comic-tragedy of life, is involved
in its history Hearts broken by suffer
ing or rejoicing in happiness, friends uni
ted or discovered, noble natures, mis-ap-
pretended and unappreciated, souring in
proud reserve sudden elevation or sud
den depression, virtue and vice, health
and sickness, prosperity and adversely, all
form the tout ensemble Of the worlds his
tory for eighteen hundred and ffty-six.-
Some have been sgathered to their fathers"
in the bosom of their families, surrounded
by friends and relatives others have per-
ished in misery OF degradation; hearts that
once beat high with generous impulse
have been collapsed and corroded many
who once trod the paths of vice have be-
come virtuous and happy. There have
been two sides to every picture-the gloo-
my and the cheerful, the good and bad,
beauty and deformity; the same passions,
the same feelings, the same variations that
characterized former years, have existed
and passed away in eighteen hundred and
ifty-six.
So much for the world. AS a nation
how have we progressed? In the march
OF intelligence science, in literature,
In art, we have been among the foremost
We have prospered in our commerce our
clippers manned by American crews, trav-
erse the fathomless oceans from India to
England, and from pole to pole. They
have borne the ivory and spices of India
and the furs of Russia-the silks of China,
the cotton of England, and the ivory of
Guinea. From North to South, from East
to West, has American commerce spread,
until we are connected with all nations
and all languages. In internal affairs
in our governmental machinery-we have
not been so fortunate; still we have seen
the dawning Of a bright day-and the
future is before us. Altogether our pro-
gress has been satisfactory and in most
respects has equalledi if not exceeded that
of former years
In our young and growing State much
has been done. True there is no greater
prospect of our most pressing want, the
Railroad, being satisfied now than there
was years ago. Our postal facilities have
not been improved nor our Custom House
taxes reduced As many of our citizens
have lost their lives through government
neglect as usual twice as many more have
wrecked their hopes and become sick and
suffering, or have died in the vain pursuit
OF chimera in Nicaragua. Still the in
ternal condition of California is improved.
Our educational facilities have been IN
creased-our agricultural and mineral re-
sources developed. As many rapid for
tunes have not been made as in preceding