Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-01-11

Mrs. s. X. SAKE sends a letter to
the California Resources giving
her impressions of our city, from
which we make the following quo
tations:
On the third morning after leav-
ing San Francisco we landed at
santa Monica, where we tarried
day to enjoy the sea-bathing, and
to imagine ourselves at Long
Branch, an easy thing to do, except
that, of the two watering. places,
Santa Monica has O much finer
beach, and 10 extremes of climate,
and although at the present time
its sanguine hopes of eventually
becoming great city are in abey-
auce, one would hardly hazard
reputation as a soothsayer in pre-
dieting for 1t bright and prosper
GUS future.
From Santa Monica an hours
ride, by rail, brought US to this
modern Hesperides, whose orch
ards and vineyards, "rooted in a
golden soil, bear golden frui:-
age"
Los Angeles is lovely city,
scattered over six miles square,
AMI embracing within its munici-
pality, many fine orange groves
and grape vineyards. The city
claims to have $4,000 angels. Cos
mopolitan and Heterogeneous to
degree, almost every nation under
the sun has its representative here.
The Hebrew, the Italian, the Ger.
man, the Frenchman, the African,
the Chinese, the Indian Sqaaw,
with her papoose peering over her
shoulder, the Sister of Charity in
her white bonnet, the Spanish
Sefiorita casting furtive glances
with her handsome black eyes out
from under the closely drawn
shawl, jostle each other daily upon
the not too commodious or we'll
kept sidewalks. The streets are
ample, aud kept most scrupulously
clean by chain-gang of prisoners.
But the symmetry of the city is
greatly impaired by the residue of
adobe huts, built by the primitive
settlers. But the march of pro-
grass has overtaken them, and
Temporal nutdntur is written upon
their mud walls. The edict has
been spoken, that these uncouth
landmarks of former age and
people, must abdicate, in favor of
more modern style of architecture;
the wild and luxuriant castor-beau
and cactus, give place to their fair
err sisters, the rose and the lily, the
olive and the vine.
There Is some complaining of
having suffered from drought here
during the past season, but a drive
to the old San Gabriel Mission,
and from thence through the heart
of the handsomest, richest and
most productive valley in the State,
does not suggest to the beholder u
cause for complaint of any nature.
Green fields of wheat and waving
patches of alfalfa hedged in with
lime trees, greet the eye in every
direction, while there is no lack Of
corn and other cereals.
Leaving the San Gabriel valley
and passing over to the Compton
and Florence region, on the VIII.
mington branch of the Southern
Pacific Railroad, we enter upon the
"artesian belt" There are
now in the vicinity of
Compton, between two and
three hundred artesian wells.
Besides these, there are several flow
Ing wells at Florence, near
which place is the farm and resi-
dence of Gen. Shields. But as I
did not intend this to be lengthy
letter, 1 will forbear dilating upon
the Generals $50 acres of squashes,
yielding 5000 tons, planted at a cost
of 81, 200, and sold for 5000, leav-
ing net profit of 81 sou; nor will l
dwell upon the merits of Gospel
Swamp, where lands even in this
dry season, are said to produce loo
bushels of corn, and to yield fifty
tons of squashes to the acre. Surely
Los Angeles is a most prolific ooun-
ty, and will doubtless fulfill the
most saDguine predictions in its ia
vOr.