Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-08-27

improvements. Many of the property
holders along the line are already en-
gagged in grading the streets in front
of their premises to make them con-
form to the level of the road and track.
Further Improvements will soon be
made by planking good portion of
the road-bed especially the curves.
Another car will soon be placed upon
the track, thus securing regular de-
partures from each end of the line
every twenty minutes. About eight
thousand passengers were carried over
the line last month and the number is
steadily increasing. All of the re-
naming unsold shares of stock in the
road some two hundred in number
were yesterday taken by two gentle
men, and within week nearly one
half of the entire stock has changed
hands by way of investment. Alto
gether, the road seems to be in a
f1ourishing condition.
Ex-senator Maclay reports the fol-
lowing items of interest to our eve-
ming cotcmporary concerning the new
town of San Fernando: "He says that
the van of a colony of forty families
| from Santa Cruz, who are removing
to the ranch, have arrived. This col
ony has secured $4,000 acres of good
grain land, and will plant the entire
area in barley next Winter. He also
| leased 5000 acres to parties who will
| plant the land to grain on shares, he
| to furnish the sacks. A gentleman
hxr f1ar Of rrix rod fatIy
| days ago from Denver, Colorado, and
| has purchased 200 acres, which he will
| SOW with barley, and will lease some
300 acres more, which he will plant to
wheat. The Senator assures us that
he will have every available foot of
| the ranch plowed and planted to grain
| the next season, and that he will not
| wait for the rains, but commence
| plowing in the first of September. He
| believes in thorough plowing, and
| placing the land in condition so that
| it will receive the greatest advantage
| from the rainfall, be it great or small.
Mr.. Maclay says he has offered Mr..
| Carreras the entire olive crop of both
| orchards at the Mission to start his
olive oil refinery.
Geo. Smith, well-known teamster
of our city, has just returned from the
Panamint district, whittier he has
taken y load of machinery for the
new quartz mill building at that
place. Mr.. Smith reports the district
in promising state of activity. The
quartz mill built by Jacobs & Co. will
be completed and in operation in
few days. A specimen of ore taken from
a ledge belonging to this firm looks
very rich, and has, it is claimed, de-
| posits of pure silver. Another ledge
! recently purchased by Senator Jones
I is said to be even richer than this. A
Mr.. Johnson who owns a ledge in the
district, was offered $1,000 for his
claim a few days ago, but refused it.
Mr.. Smith is enthusiastic in his
praise of Mr.. Jacobs, who, he says,
paid him an equivalent of six cents
per pound for his freight by supply
| ing provisions, horse shOeing, etc.
Messrs. Pearles & Co., at the BoraX
Lake, also favored the freighters with
provisions and water. Mr.. Smith
thinks that our merchants ought to
| patroniZe our teamsters at home, in
stead of sending goods by rail to San
| Fernando.
M. J. Banks, a notorious character,
who has repeatedly been before the
Courts on charges of murder, arson,
and like eccentricities, came into the
city last Monday and got on a ram
page. He went to the house of Peter
Nieson, ostensibly in search of one
| Smith, against whom he held
! grudge, and while there became so
demonstrative as to smash up most of
the furniture in the house and frighten
it's occupants away in fear of their
lives. Finally he tired of this
diversion and went to Smiths house
which is few miles beyond the city
limits. He did not find his enemy
there, however, but Mrs. Smith his
wife, who was lying in bed quite i'll.
After frightening the woman nearly
into Mysteries, he went on to the next
house where he found the man for
out of the house, the desperate set
upon his unsuspecting victim, and
after beating him over the shoulder
with a shot gun which he carried,
leveled the piece upon him, and made
some savage threats against his life.
Smith finally succeeded in slipping
away and made his escape. Such men
as this Banks, when they cannot get
justice from a jury, ought to have it
outside of the Courts in double meas
ure.
The attempts of the young of Los
Angeles to establish literary society
not having been successful heretofore,
an effort is now being made to effect
an organization upon a substantial
basis. The first meeting for this pur-
pose will be held in Lawlor Institute
building on Friday evening. The
room will be well lighted, and care
full effort made to insure a pleasant
evening. Several ladies and gentle
men have promised to assist in prOvid-
ing literary entertainment, and DR..
Lucky has kindly consented to pre-
side. If a sufficient interest be man
ifested, it is purposed to discard the
old organization entirely, electing new
officers and framing new constitu-
ton throughout. With the large
number of persons of literary tastes it
contains, Los Angeles can easily main
tain lyceum whose meetings shall
be considered one of its especially at
tractive features, and which shall rank
as one of its permanent institutions.
If the present movement be properly
sustained, why shall it not be the ini-
tial in this direction? A cordial inVi-