Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-10-17
THE FAR WEST.
lettings by the Way.
Correspondence Of the Bulletin.

| correspondence OF the DulteVn.
SANTA CRUZ. Cal, Oct. 5, 1878
If you look at the map of Califor
MIA, you will find this place marked
down as the county seat Of Santa
Cruz county, on the coast, south Of
Frisco. (San Francisco is so call.
ed here for shortness.) 1t is a beau.
tifal and picturesque village. and is
getting to be favorite resort of the
citizens of the metropolis, on &C.
count of the balmy and healthful
climate, being protected from the
northwestern winds by point of
the mountains jutting out into the
sea. The principal productions of
this country arc lumber, leather and
powder; some grain and fruit is
raised, and some wine is made, and
as 1 just went across the street I
saw some large and beautiful ripe
strawberries. They have them here
most of the year. The crops new
er fail here, as the fogs nightly
make dampness which is all that
California requires. Rain, rain,-
in the interior, is their cry, or, in
other parlance "irrigation," and it
is a part of the policy at present, to
get the country developed. Laws
that will appropriate funds to canal
the larger rivers for that purpose
and protect the small farmer; for
this is a terrible country for monop-
olists, and needs good deal of leg
islation against them. Think of
man owning a million acres OF land.
What can a hundred small farmers
do with him if he happens to own
most of the water of any large riv-
er. Mr.. HOLSTERS home ranch,
near Santa Barbara, contains 10000
acres, and one other ranch, 10000
acres. His son-in-law, who came
from the States in SO with 300
sheep, now owns three leagues Of
land down there too. Why, they
laugh at the small farms in Iowa.
Miller u Lax own a million acres
and cattle by the thousand, so many
in fact that they control the Frisco
meat market, which they principal
ly supply.
The thermometer for the past year
in this county, stood about thus:
The lowest, Sc, the highest 7S';
mean temperature 72'. How is that
for high? No frozen toes about
that, eh? The old poem could not
be recited to good advantage here,
but tor variety's sake I will put it
in.
ssTis Winter, and no more the breezes,
buzz among the budding treeses,
Whilst the boy with ragged trowses,
Shiv'ring, homeward drives the cOwscs.
Nearly frost bit are hisitoeses,
And bless my life, how blue his nose L."
If a person is located here in bu.
siness, he certainly should enjoy
himself. Churches are well repre-
scented in all the towns down here,
and man told me to-day that this
town has got very "Leligious
streak" over it, which / presume it
stood in need of. The Sabbath is
not kept as strictly as it might be,
in California. l presume some of
the folks will say that should be at
church instead of writing this, but
when l explain that l forgot to get
a clean dickey in Frisco, they will
excuse me, as this is dusty coun-
try, and days ride in a stage, is
worse than a week in a lumber yard
in Iowa.
The old Pacific Ocean is beau
tlful and am sorry, almost, that
l am not going to take a trip
thereon. Brother and l strolled
down to the beach, and laid down
and took quite a nap, in the sun too
between 2 and o'clock p. NJ think
ing with Byron
How happy they
Who, from the toll and tumut of their lives.
Steal to look down where naught but ocean strives
After sleeping some, eating grapes
and admiring the manner in which
old ocean dashed the rocks, throw
ing his spray to quite a height in
his anger at being stopped SO sud
denly, we returned to our hotel,
just i'll time for rest, read the pa
pers just from Frisco, and then
went into hash, demolished quite an
amount of mutton chop, sausage
sweet potatoes and other things,
then went an, got this paper, and
here I am.
My last letter was written in a
hurry towards the last of it, and
first thing / knew we were late for
the cars for St. Jose, so we went to
"Woodward's Garden" a great re-
sort for pleasure-seekers. 1t con-
tains specimens of all kinds of curl
osities Of nature and art. Seals,
sea-lions, monkeys, bears &C., in
fact, a full list Of animals, and a
beautiful aquarium under ground in
a sort of grotto. It has beautiful
tropical garden in which some of the
most beautiful flowers and plants
are shown; oranges, lemons, figs, ba-
nanas, almonds, grapes of all varie.
ties, and such plants as know moth
ing of, only they were very beauti
full. The Art Gallery is very beau
tiful, and pictures that one could
look at for a day are there. Their
the birds, alive and dead. Thous
ands of stuffed birds of all kinds
and beautiful beyond description
Antelopes, bears and all kinds O.
animals stuffed as well, specimen:
of rock from all parts of the world
and especially from Japan, a splen
did assortment, and bark from tn,
big tree, a big boa constrictoI
around tiger, and statues, and ev
erything else one can think of, to :
skating rink, vast ampitheatre
where they have skating on roller
not on ice, and music, lager bee
sc. We were at the theatre, ant
saw Miss Cathcart from Drur,
Zane, England.
| l have forgotten whether l spok
of it in my last, but we went to tn
State Horticultural Show, and say
some splendid fruit, plants, flowers
&c. 1 had just got to my ride aroun'
town in nv last. but had not tim