Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-06-12
What Pennsylvania Thinks Of California

First impressions! May they be most
lasting, because of their pleasantness.
Coming down from the snow sheds
and five feet deep snow-drifts of the
Sierras into the flower-studded valley
of Sacramento, the contrast was most
delightful, especially after the severe
Winter of 1S75-severe even in West
ern Missouri, where your correspond
ent hybernated. Next to the luxuri-
ance of flowers, the evergreen oaks
and the many varieties of MOSES on
rocks, trees and fences, raised in our
mind the question, wha. is moss? and
what it's cause? Will some scientist
answer? Sacramento City was bright
and its public buildings beautiful. We
hope to visit it again.
San Francisco, the great shipping
port of the State, did not impress us
favorably at first, a snOw-storm and
high wind making it cold and uncom-
Portable. An old citizen said 1t was
the first snow he had seen in the city
in eighteen years. 1t simply spitted
snow. Later and longer visits to San
Francisco improved our opinion of its
endurableness as a place of residence.
What Alleghaney City is to Pittsburg
and Brooklyn to New York, and Ev-
anston to Chicago, that
OAKLAND
Is to San Francisco. We visited Rev.
Mr.. Anthony, pastor of the M. e.
Church, the Grand Central Hotel and
sundry mills in Oakland. The State
University is located four miles from
this city. Napa City, Calistoga, st.
Helena, Oakland, Stockton, Coulter
vile, Modesto, Merced City, Santa
Barbara and San Gabriel Mission were
''doneu in tourist style. We fingered
longer at Yosemite Valley, gazing at
its wonderful nights, climbing on foot
it's craggy cafiOns and drinking in. per
capacity, its many waterfalls. Doubt
less, Yosemite is the grandest public
park in the nation.
La Grange was our "Alhambra,o
(here we rest) Ell route to and from
Yosemite. Here we met five cousins
we had never seen before, and an old
schoolmate. Here we studied placer
mining by hydraulic power and rock
er and examined one ditch seventeen
miles long, four feet deep, six feet
wide and costing 100000 We did not
catch the gold fever during our visits,
either here or in the quartz mines up
the mountains.
BOWER CAVE,
A great natural curiosity, is on the
Mclean road to Yosemite, twelve
miles above Coulterville and two miles
below Hazel Green, on the North fork
of the Merced river, which river fur
nishes fine mountain trout for the Wis.,
itors to the cave. 1t is now in charge
of M. Louis Pechart, who, with the
proverbial politeness of the French
man, showed us the sights, gave us
good specimens of petrifactions and
furnished table and water for our
lunch. The cave is 165 teet long, ITO
feet wide, III feet deep (40 of which is
full of clear, cold water) and within
$50 yards of the hotel. Entering the
top Of the cave, you descend by an ar
tificial stairway, Sc steps, to the floor
of an open-top apartment, where pic
mic parties frequently lunch. From
here yougo by boat to several caverns.
By twenty-eight steps lou ascend to
Devil Hole, which you explore with
lighted candles. Among the figures
formed by petrifactions are: Petrified
stumps, double heart, human head
and skull, monkey head, eagle head,
kitten, Chinese shoe, bake oven, chin
ney, church organ and pulpit. 1t is
interesting to the student to observe
the formation of stalactites and sta
lagmites constantly going on. -Four
maple trees are gro wing in sky-lighte ell
apartments. The present inhabitants
of the cave are mountain squirrels
and trout, bats, Lizards aud swallows.
Tradition makes this cave hiding
place of the highwayman, Joaquin.
LOS ANGELES.
In Southern California, Los Ange-
les, "the New Italy," "City OF An