The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1875-07-03
2niscellaneous.
H.. ..... oRIGrNAL
GAINER OR GOMEZ.
SHOWING THAT THERE MAY BE SOMETHING IN A
NAME.

i GAINEK OR GOMEZ.
SHOWING THAT THERE MAY BE SOMETHING IN
l. NAME.
L. by Il. B. LEWIS.
John Young, editor and sole proprietor of the
San Diego Herald, had been a warm friend OF
mine for upwards OF four years. We had met
upon one of the Pacific Mail Steamers, when
we were en- route Tor the Pacific Coast in the
year 1856, and had struck up friendship
which seemed likely to terminate only with
our lives Our objects in visiting the land of
gold, il we could be said to have had any def
mite objects at all, were totally different; for l
came fresh from the tutelage of an Eastern
University, with my brain freighted down
| with the weight OF Blackstone & Coke (no pun
intended and had, for my ultimate intention,
the practice of law in view. He had been con-
! nected with some of the New York daily news
| papers as reporter, sub-editer, or whatever po-
! stion happened to open, Tor some years past,
and had imbibed taste tor journalism. A
| neat little LEGACY from deceased uncle for
| whom he had been named, changed the cur
| rent of his thoughts however. Not that he pro-
| posed to abandon the profession which had so
| many charms for him, but now, that he had
/ the means to run paper on his own account,
he felt that new country was the proper field
| for him to work in-hence his immigration to
| California. u
l, upon my graduation from college and re-
turn to my native city of Philadelphia, found
| the profession had chosen was SO Overrun
| that might reasonably look forward to good
| FIVE years of obscurity and inaction. Being
possessed OF an active, ambitious, and wlthal,
somewhat restless nature, the prospect was far
| from pleasing. The civil strife which had just
been brought to close, had left business al
fairs in a very depressed condition and thrown
NIAvy 40
world, amongst others, many lawyers who had
come back covered with glory, and SCARED
| by numerous wars" to reclaim former fine prac-
tees or else open offices for the first time, and
| with the renown and prestige which their valor
in battle would give them, literally "goDble
csa ahS with aesTs
gNt sNffttl IL pj9fEsased by NY close eonnpsms9s
ment there. The death of my father couple
of wears previously had left me in possession OF
| comfortable patrimony, and my mother nav
| ing died when / was mere chlld, leit me no
| other home ties than my sister Allce, VINO, al
| the time of my departure from the East, was
Young miss of fourteen, just commencing her
boarding school life. To be sure had some
oualms of conscience at leaving her, but then
| I saw her placed under the care OF an excel
| lent lady, the principal OF the school, VINO
promised to act the very mother to her; SO
| banished my fears and left my pretty little
sister with an afectionate kiss, telling 4er tnas
| when she became an accomplished lady would
send for her.
Upon our arrival in San Francisco our hrst
care was to look about US and select good
boarding house, for we had upon our trip up
| the coast decided to remain In or near the
Golden City and prospect" Our prospecting,
however, was of very different character from
that usually INDUCED in by gold hunters OF
| curiosity seekers Our plan was to lie about
the principal hotels, or wherever we would be
likely to meet men fresh from the interior, and
nv using our ears, or exercising the pumping
process, ascertain about what would be the pest
locality for a newspaper ne an and a lawyer 10
drop into.
At first, glowing accounts came to us OF Sac
ramento, and thither we posted only 70 my ou a
dreams dispelled by the intense heat ana ac-
comparing mosquitoes. Then the gaudy col
orine of Virginia City, Nevada, situated direct
| lv an ton of the famous Comstock Lode, which
has made so many fortunes and alas! ruined
so MANY, dazzled our visions and lmpelled us
to its mountainous slopes. But the 1eaI!uliy
demoralized state of society, the cheap estlma-
ton in which life was held, the apparent con-
tempt of law and order amongst the inhabitants
of this essentially mining town, drove us back
to our landing place to rest and think.
For several weeks we had been in state OF
inaction, and my friend was seriously enter
tanning proposition OF partnership IN one o.
the coastwise steamer from Wilmington drove
all thoughts of locating permanently IN OLD
Frisco effectually out of our heads.
Lettering into the billiard saloon of the Occi-
dental Hotel one morning, was accosted by
well dressed man, wearing verltable Mexican
sombrero, who desired to nave Polnteo GUT &c
him the best livery stable in town, as he want
ed to drive out to the Cliff House. "You will
pardon me, stranger" he said, "but just ar
rived here Yesterday after an absence OF eigh'
> wears, and this city has altered so materially
that wouldn't recognize it for the little town
left behind. Why bless you, SIR he con.
tinued, "when started down country IN 81
this street wo are on now Montgomery street
l'only extended FIVE or six squares, and where
the What Cheer House now stands, was where
| the steamers landed. Seems funny, don't 1T
that nearly all the ground south OF Montgome
nv street is made, in fact that the bulk OF thu
business portion of the city is upon mad'
That the Mantle Hotel is built upon the hull o
y the schooner of that name, which came here II
| yery early days, and having nothing to trelgh
. her back rotted and sunk at the dock. Rattle
~ a peculiar sort of a cellar that would make,
imagine. Well, we'll, the changes that do oc
: cur in new country in Jew years are won
! derful. Alcatraz Island, now bristling fort
was, upon my arrival, barren, shapeless rocl
\ thrown up out of the bay, and seemingly de
signed by Nature for the object to which tn
handiwork of man has applied it. Sancelito i
intended for a park, l understand. Ange
Island shows frowning cannon and doubles
Goats Island will meet the same fate. Tele
graph and Rincon Hills will disappear, and tn
1t old lookout upon the crest OF the first, whlcl
g has been used to signal the approach OF vessei
e for these many years, will become thing o
n the past. There is no doubt about it," contlnu
s. ed my entertainer, "that this country Is tn
l. garden spot of the United States. l tell ysu
sir, if you were once to pay visit TO Los AN
= gelos county you would become go fasclnate
with the country that you would never want
leave it," -,
We had been walking along during this enc
sided conversation and finally arrived at o sta
ble where nv new friend ordered span an
urged me to accompany him. owe pick u
our friends very hastily in this country.
said, noting my hesitation at accepting iavo
from total stranger, and laughing, sometime
drop them as suddenly"
His frank, easy style and winning manner
won upon me that after few faint remon
strances found myself seated by his side an
we were bowling merrily behind spankin
pair of trotters out the we'll trodden road tina
leads to the Cliff House. | found william
Loessring (such he informed me was his name
J. to be man of culture and refinement, who ma
emigrated to California in '53 when youn
man only eighteen years old, having in III
possession very little money bat Plentiiu
stock of hope, energy and a willingness to roug
Ia il. The money gave out quickly, the other oil
= not. "Although," said he, ~ had enough har
n luck for the FIRST few years to discourage m