San Andreas independent., 1858-08-14

The beauty and glory of Spring are de-
parted. There is no trace of green shrub or
bright wild flower, upon the hill or in the val
ley; the morning-glory and the violet have
withered upon the stem; the song of the syl-
van warbler is hushed in the grove; the earth
is clad in her sombre livery of grey, and the
blue sky is saddened by an autumnal drapery
of heated dust and smoke; the leaf upon the
live-oak hangs motionless, and the listless
herds seek protection beneath its grateful
shade; the brooks and rivulets are dry. and
the quail begin to congregate in the willows
and reeds that surround the mountain springs
II, after shaking your thirst at one of those
springs, you observe the "lay of the land"
certain narrow, well-beaten trails will be no.
ticed leading from the water, out into the hills
In every direction, like the rays of light re-
nected from the sun, or like the spokes that
branch out from wagon-hub-these are the
paths of the rattlesnake, and this is his oasis
as well as yours. All animated nature now
fees from the wrath of the sun. The fact is,
that luminary has advanced fifteen days
travel into the constellation Sirius-we are in
the midst of dog-days"-a period which SUI
perstition has invested with wonderful charms
1t was school-boy story that whoever went
INFO the water in "dog days." would be smit-
ten with boils; it is universal belief in the
rural districts of the south h-west, that single
cut with an axe, penetrating the sap, will kill
the largest forest tree, if administered in the
middle of dog days." it is the period for
hydrophobia among CANNES in the North, and
for fatal epidemics among bipeds in the South
Blessed are those who in this ill omened
time, can flee away to the mountains" and
dwell with faun and dryad in the thick shade,
where the moss never withers, and the cool
waters flow in ceaseless murmurs. This is
the time to explore the glens and canons of
the Sierras to play the decetful fly upon the
treacherous hook, and snatch the wary trout
from his crystal home among the shaded
waters by the root of the willow to track the
grizzley to his rocky haunts; or bring down
the grouse from his hiding-place in the thick
dark foliage of the fir. Yonder to the east
ward, where that light cloud lazily rises to
the riew over the sun -parched hills, on the very
summit of the Sierra Nevadas, lies, quivering
and rippling, as the breeze kisses its tranquil
waters, lake clearer than Leman or Como,
and cold as the everlasting glaciers that crown
the " monarch of mountains Seated on its
banks in mid summer the sultry hours will |
not vex you. The green sentinels of thou
sand years are around you, overlooking the
destines of two worlds; the eglantine still
lends its fragrance to the breeze, and the lilly
blooms by the water-side. Here the wild deer
has sped on the approach of ofsummers from the
sultry plains, and daily he tipples from the
lake a purer and sweeter draught than julep
or cobbler, or smash, or the choicest wines of
France or Spain. Nature has so beautifully
diversified and harmonized her empire that
the loveiness of spring, though smitten down
in many places by the scorching breath of
summer, is never entirely swept from our
prasp-even California summer is not with
out its beauties. After sunset, we have a
neyer-failing east-wind that cools the atmos-
phere, and sings most pleasantly among the
branches of the trees; then appears the most
gorgeous starlit canopy, and exhausted anima-
ton RECEIVERS and renews its vitality for the
coming battle of another day,