The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1870-06-02
From California.
LETTER FROM FRED. W. HAwLEY.
VIsAsIA, TULAsE County,
Nav 10Th 1870.

LETTER FROM FRED. W. HAwLEY.
VIsAsIA, TULAsE County,
May 10th, 1870. I
Dear Parents Its my desire in
writing TO you, to give correct inn
prcssions OF the country that l have
travelled over. But to do justice to
the three hundred miles between this
place and Los Angeles, would be
next to impossible. l will try, how.
over, and come as near the truth as
q man can, when bones ache from
moro memory of the weary hours
spent in reaching this point. Los
Angeles 's a pleasant place, and the
orange groves, and high state Of cul-
tivation which surround it, make it a
lovely spot to dwell in. But one
will weary OF even Orange groves /;
so it was with US, and we were anx-
ious to bid farewell to new made
friends and start on our trip North
ward. Had we only known what
was before us, no inducements could
have been sufficiently strong to force
US to start. But start we did, and l
think that l am now able to give
travellers some advice in regard to
travelling over the deserts and noun
tains of Southern California. But as
you don't expect to visit the region
of WOO, won't bother you with my
idea Of q correct outfit. Nor shall I
try to write a detailed description of
the trip. Two hundred miles Of tho
distance from Los Angeles to this
place, is over a dry, burnt up desert,
| sometimes the road being hard, and
the wheeling good, but tho greater
part of the way tho wheel sinks
down into the hot sand two or three
inches, making tho pulling hard and
consequently the progress very slow
and tedious. Vegetation on these
deserts is limited to Cactus and
Grease wood, a low, forbiding look
ing bush. The Cactus of a dozer
different varieties, grow very large
and firm. In garden, as specimens
Of q strange and peculiar plant, they
would be worth looking at, but her,
their shaggy bodies and awkward
looking limbs and leaves, actually
grow hateful to tho eye, and yot
would give moro for one acre o.
green grass, than all the red ane
yellow Cactus flowers that evol
bloomed.
There was one redceming feature
in our five days ride. Crossing
tho Sierra Nevadas, was truly
magnificent. One part of tn,
road near the top of the mountain
winds for nearly two miles arount
the craggy and abrupt side of higl
mountain peak. In many places tn
road is not over ten feet in width
no where is it over twenty feet
should your team make a misste]
or become frightened, and plung
into tho abyss below, they would fol
hundreds of feet, so abrupt is tn
side of the neutrality-suspicious. strik
ing, and would then bound off intt
the air to fall hundreds of feet
again. 1t was a fearful ride, beyond
my power to describe. Both of us
became dizzy, and no money could
have induced as to drive our team
down the road we had just come up
Arriving at the top of the noun
tain tho air was extremely cold, and
the view magnificent. l wish l coult
describe it, but l can't, l amt up Il
tho thing, and can only say, that
never saw anything half so grand.
| From the main mountain range t,
this place there is not one redeemin,
feature. Theroad runs through foo
hills and sandy plains. The Who'll
country is burned up; what littl
grass there is, or was, is burned to
crisp. We have gun but found n,
game; also plenty of fishing tackle
but found no streams to fish in ex
cepting Kern river. Hero we trie,
our luck ; l ca6ght throe clubs ant
ono sucker; Dan hooked big fish
and in his frantic efforts to land tn,
game slipped into tho river, he los
his fish but caught duck-ing
A fat man slipping into a river is
funny sight. l laughed, but Da,
couldn't see it. We leave this plac
In the morning for MarPosa, whore
you will hear from me again.
Your affectionate Son.
+. w. HAwLEY.