The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-03-11
LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.
SAN FRANCISCO, February 25th, 1876


SAN Francisco, February 25th, 1876.
| have spared you any inflction from
this edge of creation for several months,
but l can hold in no longer; your time has
come; not that l have anything to say and
know how to say it, but the scribbling itch
has again affected me, and | must write.
Editors write because the Devil is after
them with his cry of copy" and man
whom / know very well writes sometimes
because the devil is in him and must come
out in that manner. Now that | have got
fairly started on this letter l am at a loss
what to write about. Shall it be the ''Chi-
nese Question:" You do not understand
that yet, and do not feel like an instructor
in ethnology and political economy to-day.
Shall it be the great horse race here on the
22nd? No, guess not; for, no doubt you
have all lost your money on the wrong
horse, and don't want your pocket feelings
narrowed over any more. n. b. 1t was
"put up job Shall it be the great ocean
current that swings down by our shores,
giving us eternal Spring? o, no, certainly
not; 60 to your biographies and find it out
for yourselves. Shall it be that we are eat
ing strawberries, bananas and oranges at
this time of year, and all grown here?-
Well, | think not; being SO far away you
could not get any of them, and l won't
put you in distress by hankering after them.
You see am overlooking with benevoence
in fact this overflow is necessary, be-
cause if the current should turn inward its
sweetness might sour. Shall tell you of
the emigration that is pouring in upon
California from the whole world, and of
the rich people of the East who are NOV
| ing here to live in Goods country" the
balance of their days? No, not now, be-
cause it is a thrice, told tale, and you can
take it all as fact. Shall I tell you of how
many million bushels of wheat we will
have for export this season? No, that is
not necessary; just add five millions to last
years figures, and you will have it
Haven't got last years fgures?" So
much the worse for you; get them if you
are curious about the matter. Shall | SEN
timentalize over our big squashes, cab
bages, and beats? (Mr. Printer, if you
be angry with YOU. o, no, 6" not for Joe,"
| if he knows it. You are excused for the
present; but your time is coming. Shall |
grow spooney over our salmon, cod, shrimps,
oil fcl, nd cha lie n no
use, l couldn't, and that's an end to it.
Shall tell you of our glorious ocean beach
where the grand old Pacific forever thun-
ders and seethes and roars, and how when
we've make a stranger spend all his cash
we drive him into the quicksands and leave
him there and call it an accident? No, of
course not; firstly and foremost, because
old Pacif. can represent herself when
aroused, and because, secondly and hind,
most. l don't want to discourage rich fel-
lows from coming over to see US, even if
they are strangers and we take them in.
| Shall | enlarge on that sweet and viItuous
portion of our dearly beloved San Fran
cisco yclept the Barbary Coast? No, no,
it is too good a harvest for some of our
citizens when the honest miner and the
gentle granger come to town to see the
elephant, which aforesaid elephant they
see bigger than a haystack or dump pile
before the next day; and besides would
not discourage hard working and ingeni-
Gus class of our fellow cut-throats. It's
all in the way of business, you know
Shall l spoil good paper by telling you of
our rich men, our land sharks, our bonanza
miners, our hot water fish, our city water
which costs families more than bread .
No. it would be useless; you wouldn't be-
licve it; :. would be labor thrown away; it
would be ,.me lost; You would put me
down as conspicuously inexact. Shall |
picture to you how it means business when
it rains out here about this time of year,
or how the sun runs on the high pressure,
| full stroke, open port, principle over in our
valleys during the hot months, and how
continuously cool and even it is right here
in Yerba Buena EXCUSE me, sir, | should
have written the modern and not the an
cient name of our city. No, the subject is
too big for the present. Wait till feel
eloquent some day, and can fire up and go
up the grade under full head of steam,
and drive the fiery stecd into the station in
grand style. Shall advise all your read
ers to come to California right away?
Well, it would be right good time, for
the walking is good now. Still, wouldn't
insist on their coming, because, Mr.. Editor,
although they don't pay you their sub
scrptions, some of them are real whole
souled people, and | know you would be
sorry if their hair was lifted on the sage
and alkali plains of Nevada or Wyoming.
Shall well, the Devil beshrew me if
haven't sent you four pages of stuff with
out ever coming to the point of the letter,
which was. Wouldn't you like to know?
g To be continued in our next
Yours for the truth, S. P,