The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-05-03
The Pike In CalifOrnia-Ruined by
Chinese Cheap Labor.

t"s"'SS Shs"P
The Pueba de los Angeles town
OF the angels-is not in its present state
very angelic place. IL is irregularly
built, the older part having but one
principal street, at one end of which,
however, stands a building-the Tenn
pie block-which both for size and ex-
cellence of architecture is worthy of
San Francisco or New York. If you
walk down this street you will be sur
prised at the excellence of the shops
and the extent Of some of the ware
houses, and will see abundant signs of
real and well founded prosperity
which will surprise you if you have
listened TO the opinions of San Francis
cans about this metropolis Of Southern
California. In fact, Los Angeles has
many of the signs of prosperous bust.
ness center its hackmen cheat you; its
police is inefficient its streets are dirty,
and its roughs but recently got up
riot, in which, as you will remember, a
number Of Chinese were brutally assas-
sinated. An ex-militia General this
morning drove me in his carriage
through street uncommonly squalid,
and looking as vicious and as wretched
as Five Points in New York. Here and
there were doors still closed and pierced
with bullet holes; windows with the
glass broken; adobe walls with rusty
blotches, as though blood had been
spattered upon them.
The "Pike" has, find, tolerably
large representation in Los Angeles
county, as well as in its neighbor, San
Diego. The Pike ought to be a Nilsson
rian, but there are also Texas Pixies,
and in fact the name has been applied
In this State to the wandering,
gipsy.like Southern poor white. Your
true Pike is a squatter; an invader of
other peoples rights. He owns
rifle, lot of children and dogs, wife,
and if he can read, law. book, 4" said
a lawyer. describing this creature TO
me; she moves from place to place, as
the humor seizes him, and is generally
an injury TO his neighbors. He will not
work, but he has great tenacity of life,
and is always ready for law suit" 81
found a Pike the other day killing and
sailing hogs, and actually hauling the
salt pork off to sell il" said gentleman
in whose company we were discussing
these people. Surely that was an in
dustrious Pike" said !. eyes, but,
confound it, they were my hogs" he
replied, with natural wrath at the re.
collection.
Near San Diego Pike family were
pointed out TO me who had removed
from Texas to California, and back to
Texas, four times. They were now 60.
ing back home again to please " the old
woman," who, it seems, had had a fit of
inconsistencies. They travelled in an
old wagon drawn by an old pair of
broncho or native horses, and would
probably be six or eigh. months on the
road. OF course they lived off the
country, and probably lived as we'll on
their travels as when they were settled.
You hear endless droll stories about
these Pixies. In one county in this
State. which contains large number Of
them, some San Franciscans who own
property there desired to help the peo
pie make certain improvements. They
called meeting by public printed no.
tice, TO be held at the school house, In a
district containing about two thousand
inhabitants. few days after this no
tice was put up, one Of its signers re-
ceived note from lawyer in this dis
trict, telling him that mistake had
been made in the call, as the district
had no school house. Very WELL"
said the amazed San Franciscan, ave
will build them school house; it will
improve our property" But to this the
leading Pixies objected when it was pro-
posed, on the ground that the ringing
of the school house bell scared all the
deer away. "As soon as he hears a
piano." said an old resident to me, the
Pike sells out and moves away"
The Pike is the Chinaman's enemy.
He does no work himself, and naturally
hates the patient industry of the Chi
nese. OF course, if you ask him, he tells
you that he is ruined by Chinese
cheap labor " " GU could no more get
these fellows TO work than you could
get grssshoppers out of vineyard"
said farmer to me but they sit in
the saloons and growl about the unfair
of the Chinese. One Chi
naman is worth whole regiment Of
them"