Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-07-11
ON THE
A Hot Summer nay. and Its Ac.
Compartments.

During these warm days, while the
sun is at its meridian. there is very
little life or activity visible on the
streets. The business men attend to
their ordinary avocations, looking out
for a stray customer, or re~arranging
goods, but doing the work with as
little exertion as possible. The idlers
seek shady places on real stoops, or
on benches in front of saloons, and
there discuss current topics in langu.d
tones, interspersing their converse
tons with profane illusions to the
heat. Some old grizzled veteran who
has summered and wintered on the
Coast since the historic days of '49 and
80, pooh poohs the idea OF the present
weather being anything u of the or.
binary, and brings up "reminiscences of
early times, when the boys on Feather
river were working the bars under a
daily thermometric range of 100 in the
shade. Didn't nave to rustic for any
hrewood those days; all you had to do
was to set your pot of beans on one of
the fiat rocks by the river side, and let
the suns rays strike the old kettle
far and squa'r, and the "Chilis"
would bile in less nor 20 minutes.
Had To watch 'em mighty close to keep
'em from scorching. Why, the fish
that struggled up out of the Sacra-
mento during the night got cooked to
a turn the next day, and down OPP
posite Oroville you could get billed
salmon out of the river any time after
10 O'Clock in the morning. You'd see
the hotel keepers on the bank Just
afore dinner hauling them out, SO as
10 have a first course, you know;
mighty bigh-toned, we fellers were
them days" The crowd wore a skep-
teal look over these statements. but
were generally too lazy to dispute
them or enter into any refutation of
his Munchausen memories. Pos
sibly some prospector, fresh from the
wilds OF Arizona. would "call him.
with a remem orauce of Fort Yuma
or the Mohave Desert, or an emigrant
break in with a little talk about bar
vest fields in the West under a mid
summers sun, but as a general thing,
the old fellow monopolized the con
versdtion.
CHARACTERISTIC GROUPS.
Such weather as now prevails is pos
tive comfort to the Piutes. One sees
groups Of them IN every eligible cor
ner, stretched out at full length in the
LATEST of positions, their heads resting
in their squaws' laps, enjoying the del
icate attentions of their loving spouses,
who sOothe and calm their lords by
manipulating and toying with their
hair, or savagely pursue TO his chosen
lair the interchangeable aud ferocious Il.
Cdpitis. These unsophisticated Sho-
shones are not inclined to be back ward
or modest in their mutual endear-
ments, the broad light Of day witness
ing many tenuer scenes that their
white brethren prefer to enact in the
privacy OF their household.
Chinatown succumbs to the soporifc
influences engendered 10y the heat, and
an unusual quiet pervades their usual.
ly noisy domains. No stir is noticed
beyond the ubiquitous Celestial laun-
dryinan. who pensively squirts a
mouthful of water over the article of
clothing that occupies his attention,
and murmurs 10 his patron, "Muchee
hot"
Saloon keepers rather cotton to the
calori, influences, as man is a thirsty
being and seeks to feduce his temper.
ature to a normal condition by the aid
of sundry cool drinks suitable To the
season, and disburses
quarters in the effort. Ennis,
with an eye open for the main
chance, comes to the front with a
delicious article of ice cream, and per-
ambulates the back streets in search of
customers for the cooling compound.
In evident contrast with the persplring,
uncomfortable male sex, who abandon
all attempts at elegance and eschew
coats and collars, are the ladies who
appear on the streets. Charming sum
mer costumes of creamy lawns and
white linens encircle tLeir fair forms,
and they look As cool and com
Portable as if they were superior to all
climatic influences. How they man
age to preserve the effect in this hot
weather is zone of those things that
no teller can find out" AS the u
dips toward the western horizon, and
the shadow of tho hill climbs the
opposite mountain, the heat moder-
ates, and the sidewalks begin to assume
a lively aspect; the cooling zephyrs
blow down the canyon, laden with
Daimy perfumes and sweet odors oil
arsenic and sulphur, fresh from the
tall stacks of our furnaces; groups
gather i'm front of the saloons and dis
cuss the last exciting topic, fires, water,
incendiaries, ETC.; "A cloud OF dust,
borne on the wings of the evening
zephyr, watts them back to the shelter
of the houses, only to reappear on
its subsidence; each one c~onidentially
informs his neighbor that it has been
the hottest day of the season, a re-
mark repeated until it is worn thread
bare. Night closes down and shuts
out from view all further observation,
and the population seek their homes,
or amuse themselves in various ways,
until the hour of retirement closes the
days experiences.
Atlas Furnaces.
The Atlas furnaces will compIata the