Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1873-08-13

hight of quite thirty feet-and more,
should say. One which adorns hand
some garden near the Occidental -
was the centerinG point of a beyy of
humming birds as ! passed it to-day.
The Australian gum tree fiourishes lux
uriantly IN this latitude, and the world
renowned great grape tree (Which l viii
describe in another letter) signalizes the
fitness of this soil and climate for the
growth of the vine. OF the orange
groves, the olive orchards, the almond
trees and such general botanizing as |
can handle easily | will also write in my
reyt-as | likewise will of the old Mis-
sion and its legends and ghostly friars
and OF this latter expect to tell some
stories of which the early chronicles do
not bear witness There is one thing will
not lie about, however: Santa Barbara
breeds the biggest and fercest tleas this
side of San Diego.
l shall in my next letter deal with
some scraps of fact, Or if not fact, what
passes for that sort of thing with me
when I travel. l am going to tell the
readers Of the APPEAL something about
the earlier legends of Santa Barbara;
and it is nothing more than what is due
to candor to say that in all probability
much of my information-pieked up at
odds and ends-gathered as old women
in Panama gather cigar stumps and
other materials for the making of cigar
ritos-bv the waysi1e-it is nothing but
fair, say, that l should admit. before
hand, that much of this information is
probably erroneous:-anyhow hope it
&c &c hmm
natural to be wrong and such hard work
to be always right that l rather avoid
the Infallibles just as certain not i'm
moral persons avoid the \. NJ. c. A.
Moreover, there is puritanism and
exactitude, statistical rigor, severe
and unbending virtue about being reli-
able and authoritative in your state
ments-and one who is duly freighted
with the fallible humanities cannot help
leaning toward the gentler and less siren
uous character of narrators-such as
your new acquaintance. the loquacious
and accommodating hickman who takes
you to see the sights; the roly-poly
Bridget who makes you welcome to your
new apartments in the hotel; the po-
litely inquisitive, but well informed per-
son who again convinces you by silent
eloqnence of performance that the ton
serial is one of the fine arts; and the
stout armed and CHEEKY African who i'm
parts to you the latest gossip while he
polishes your shoes, which he does in
professional way in small picture gal
lery of his own, gotten up without re-
gard to race, color or previous condition
Of servitude. These are some of my
generous and always ready informants;
and lazily and in a semi-depraved def
ance of the doubt about taking such evil
dence as theirs, accept it and cherish
it and chalk it down in openly confessed
preference of the more stately and pre-
tentious testimony of the Reliables.
There is always "nub " and Zest,
wire edge, and flavor of the supernat-
ural and improbable inherent in and
all through information de-
rived from these sources which has a
yamey taste and flavor of the open air
about it that is denied to the local schol- |
hrs and the formal records of the day. |
The truth about these old Spanish Mis-
,ions and PreSidiOs and ea,tdrcaderOs is |
,rosy enough, no doubt; no doubt it is |
commonplace and blended |
With much of conservative monotony and |
great mass of matter which is abom- |
nably probable; but let me write a peo-
,les' lies, and he may ladle out their |
hin and virtuous broth of truthful his
DRY who may. NJ.