The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1869-12-02
Letter from California.

y
graphical brother. Mr. Tom B. OTTERsoE,
of Los Angeles, California Mr.. O.. as very
many of our readers are well aware. is
Cambria county boy. and one whorn we had
the pleasure of first initiating into the mys-
teries of the cart preservative of all arts >
when we were connected with the Crusader
establishment at the Summit. "a this county.
That he has doue no discredit to our teach
ings is evident from the fact impaired for
our own private information. that he can,
if need be, put up l.500 ems per hour, and
has earned as much as $G8 35 per week as
compositor on a daily morning paper in that
State. His letter abounds with much else
that would he interesting to his friends in
this county. but as we cater to many who
do not know him, we forbear publishing his
communication entire. The extracts given
betoken our young friends ability to write
pleasing and interesting sketches of that far
off Eldorado, and we hope that our readers
will be treated TO many more of like charac-
ter from his prolific aud entertaining pen.-
The present letter bears date, Los Angeles.
Cal. Nov. IA. 1869" 1t may not be amiss
to say that our friend Tom. is married and
has settled down to the earnest duties Of life,
and his reference to his vineyard indicates
that he has acquired more worldly posses
sions than has his cold boss, ;" we having nei-
ther vineyard, house yard or anv other yard
Of three feet in circumference. But "sich ia
| life," and we rest content.
| THE COUNTRY.
| At the time OF the conquest of Mexico by
that chief of buccaneers aud fltbuEters, Her
nandez (erroneously given as Ferdinand) pe
n r.
| that there such place as California, but
were entirely iRnocent of any definite knowl
| edge of its extent or resources. They were
! aware TX at the country was inhabited by race
of shlitless lin more senses of the word than
| one) and indolent savages, who knew nothing
| whatever of the arts of even semi civilized ma
| tions. They depended for subsistence on the
| game which abounded so plentifuly the
| plains or pampas OF the favored region and
as there was absolutely no winter. they were
not compelled to lay in supplies therefor Du-
| ring the summer season, which was in fact the
! greater part of the year. they luxuriated in an
| Eden-like costume, unless there n scarcity
Of leaves /; in which event, still Eden, before
| the fall
AT that time hundreds of thousands of mus
tang horses roamed at will over the broad plains
| of Southern California especially, and by
| dexterous use of the lasso (Which, by the wav
| appears to be natural to all natives of this re
| gion } they succeeded in demonstrating some
| of these animals, and in course of time they
became so plentiful that they came to be used
! as the 'circulating medium" Of the country -
| For instance: You, perhaps, being the possess
or of more energy than had fallen to my lot,
| have succeeded in erecting an ''adobe" house,
! (sun dried brick, each sixteen inches square. J
| / want your house, so | say to you "QuantGs
cavalla quiera usted para su casa p Perhaps
| you will say, "Cincuento," (fftyl; so ] dive
! that number of horses into your corral and the
| aalo * r,lafn No L.
! then-no ''iufernal" revenue stamps-no red
tape of any kind. Such arrangement was
as reIgiously a. hered to as though it had pass
ed through all the circumlocution offices in the
| country.
At the time Of which write there was not
/ single seaport definitely known on the coast of
| Cal. .sHrnia, although we have a seaboard of
| something over one thousand miles. Vessels
| OH exploring expeditions once in 4 while touch
| ed at various points on the coast for water
| But the California coast Was absolutely terra
| incognita until the arrival of the real pioneers
of all this country-ti franciscan Brothers
| who established what are known as Missions.
| These were built as nearly forty niles part as
possible. These good men reclaimed the In
dians f ON their useless, or worse than useless.
! lives, taught them the arts Of civilization. and
made of them human beings at least They
established schools, which they taught them
selves opened workshops in which they i'm
| parted knowledge of various mechanic srts (;
and eventually succeeded, by the aid of Indian
| labor, 10 erecting some of the finest church ed
| ifices to be seen on the American continent
| They had the most beautifully laid out grounds
| and the finest orchards. Oranges, LINES, lem
| ons, figs, grapes, pomegranates, pears, apples,
| eaches apricots, plums, and in f4ct all the
| productions of the frigid. temperate and torrid
zones appeared to have found a congenial eli
mate here. and Sprang up as if by magic.
| have now some vines in my own vineyard
IL IL RoI
| and they bore this year average of about
| twenty pounds OF fine grapes to the vine.
Wine here IS cheaper, if that were possible,
| than water, although We have an aburda of
both. Splendid white or red California wine
costs four bits $50 cts per gallon; grapes cost
| "a C. per lb.; apples, C pears, lc., figs, (off
| the tree.) u c.; ETC., etc.
Some nine years ago happened to be at the
Mission of Santa siais, (that ~ is dis
tnct letter in the Spanish alphabet, and you
can make it by cutting light line in an "f %
thus f. it is pronounced "enya ~ and you
may rest assured that was surprised at hear
! ing the entire Mass service sung in Latin by an
Indian choir. Santa AgIais is one of the very
few Missions of California that has escaped the
| desOlating iconoclastic hands of the Mexican
Congress of sixty four years ago.
When the Franciscans came here they found
as fair country as the God of Nature had ever
smiled upon, and they used every means in
their power to utilize it. Their labor. tn cir
| learning and their zeal were freely and willing
| ly given to the work. and they succeeded in
evolving order out of the vast chaos which had
hitherto existed here. Among these holy men
| were professors of all arts and all sciences
Engineers were detailed to bring water from
almost inaccessible canons. with which to irri-
gate the generous vineyards; and am person
ally cognzant of one "zanja," or water ditch,
thirty eight miles long.
The entire city of Los Angeles is irrigated
by means of these zanjas, or artificial water
canals, and the same may be said of all the old
Spanish towns. And this leads me to speak OF
THE ANTIQUITY OF ARTIFICIAL IRRIGATION
AS far back as the time of Moses the process
of irrigation carried on, and there are some
passages descriptive thereof in the Old Testa
ment. 1t is also described by Philo, the Jew
ish philosopher of Alexandria. in his works on
Egypt. and is the first and most tedious meth
cd known. The Assyrians and Babylonians