New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-11-13
VRW PUBLICATIONS.
.,ovvvp LIFE IN CALIFORNIA.

MwAf
,..;i..ts which fell to the lot of the writer while
u.hipg fcrlorn experiment Of pioneer life soon
After the discovery of gold IN California Mrs.
vsynAsm sailed from NewYork in the Spring OF
sslo and after tedious and unpleasant voyage
.ovnd the Cape arrived at San Francisco in De
,euher. having been detained a month at Valparaiso
Nv the bad faith Of the master Of the weasel in which
.ae had made the passage as far as that city.
II was her purpose to attempt the cultivation OIL
farm in the interior and about the middle OF teo-
ruary abe took up her residence in the valley OF
san.a Cruz, near the old mission OF tina. name, on
Ne north side of Monterey Bay. She was accom-
panied by her two little sons female irieno' ana
lArmer. The house in which she was TO i've was
equally destitute of attractvencss and comfort. J.
was small cottage made of slabs, without foot OF
eeor or pane of glass or brick, or any thing III
ihe shape of stove or fireplace. The IRE was
made upon the ground leaving the smoke t" escape
according 'to its own sweet VIII. Inc 'al"
Aere the sonorous Spanish name OF " IL hancho Id
Ebertad,n and certainly possessed the advantage vi
situstion in delightful locality.
II was one of tbose peerless days, such as only
California Winter Affords with eloudless SKY ABOVE
She head and the earth piled with tenderest heritage
rpder The feet In the deep seclusion Of La Llberad
enioyed that silence and solitude which for day one
finds 10 welcome change from hustle and annoyance,
such had been our previous lot IN California only
The song Of BIRDS the bubbng OF the stream over tue
rosts OF the trees whose tops embower it, mingled with
me re eful shouts Of the delighted boys who are al
ready deep in the mysteries OF It's most secret places
greet my ear. The beating OF the distant surf
sstber aids than breaks the silence, and by
ascending gentle slope TO the right, look out on
pictare so filed with repose and beauty that whle l
gaze the hateful stir Of the world in which have lately
ka<v, va,x rod IN ia
no longer remember it. For the hour, forget that
life subjects the spirit to jar or discord and am only
conscious Of the harmony that fows from the generous
breast of nature into our own, when for happy mo,
ment she gets undivided audience OF it, Alas alao
that lapse of time should constantly separate tuch sea-
sons further and further apart IN our lives!
On either hand at short distance from the stream,
rise blls now beautifully rounded, now more abrdpt
and stern but all clothed with richest heritage which
beds Of cattle are cropping in silent satisfaction; just
back OF the house these bills approach each other SO
nearly, that what is & broad vale below bee a
deep ravine, with wooded banks, upon winch dozen
hall redwoods tower above their neighbors, and seem,
% my wondering eyes, to be penetrating the very
clouds In front the bills open generously to tle right
and left quite down to the large stream to which ours
tributary, and stretch around a broad sunny vale
that looks out upon the bay, the gentle swell Of
land much lower than the hills either side, on which
DE old Mission buildings stand. Beyond this, l
gaze upon the sparkling waters OF the great bay whose
surrounding coast is diversified by bill and pan cloud
and sunshine, 80 exquistely that l deem il fairy
scene, rather than portion of the real, peoped EARTH
The arrival of the first of March was the signal
kr the commencement of agricultural operations
The fences were in a dlapidated state The sward
was covered with a thick growth of clover and
ether grasses, and had not been turned for two
years. Everything was suited to strike dismay to
the hearts of the adventurers. They had no team,
no utensils but pow which had been brought from
San Francisco, and only the labor of one man.
TINT ofp had
been persuaded to deposit their funds with person
h San Francisco, from whom they were never able
10 withdraw a dollar. Calamties now thickened
apace The plow failed the first trial of break
Ing the sod. The farmer lost the OF one of his
hands, and was unable to work A neighbor was |
engaged to take his place, few acres were at |
length broken up, and several hands employed in
putting the seed into the ground. 1t was very
difficult 10 procure labor.
In California the relation that elsewhere exists be-
tween employer and employed is reversed. The man
who does not know but he might make hundred dol
lars per day at the mines is not likely to engage with
you at two three dollars, without causing you 70 feel
from time to time the favor he confers by staying.
Most Of the eating aborers 10 be picked up at this
tame either too infn in health to be able to 60
TO the mines, or too Incorporate to trust them
selves there. lnvalids, or drunken sailors, were
The staple Of the laboiing community. And, except
that one experienced, sometimes, intense annoyance
from their drunkenness and their ignorance of what
they were engaged in was not unamusiDg to watch
Their attempts to adapt themselves to new occupations
Do the man that was driving for him, who had been
come fifteen years on the northwest coast
"D-n the muer' exclaimed the fellew, "l could
drive whale well enough, but mule is critter l
oever could manage"
Not one Of the most worthless of them would
take less than two dollars day with his board,
aud he received less than three he felt that he had
conferred q great obligation, BY the middle of
June, the crop gave excellent promise, and liberal
Harvest might have been realized, but for an I'M
timely invasion of grasshoppers, which about that
time destroyed not less than half of the entire plant
ing in sixteen or twenty days. The prosperity OF
Every green thing on the soil presented tempt"
6on 10 the immense herds Of cattle that browsed in
he vicinity. For some weeks it fell to the lot OF
cur author to take the field against the besiegers
With the aid Of her little son, she succeeded with
great difficulty in repeing the attack Of the horned
and hungry foe. With the tinge Of romance that
solors her enterprise throughout, abe invokes the
soIsce Of poetry in the midst of her tolls.
How we toiled, raced, watched, and kept up an ac-
Give preventive service the outskirts not one of |
which iupregnsble, this narrative can never ade-
quately convey.
The empence on which tho new house wa to be
placed commanded the entire field and there, like
great but prudent general whose peaceful stan con-
sisted today of Lamarne with his Grazella, tc-nor
row of Whittier Bryant and again OF W Wordsworth,
Barrett Sterling, or the more pracuca oeirod,
had my station, sending out when PROMISED 70 DC
sufficient the small private force which was az my DIS
posal and at others when the emergency grew press
ing in several quarters or the attack was vigorously