Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1878-04-25

| "Queer Old place, San Diego is
but pleasant place in which t.
spend month or two-I mean it,
the old town that's queer and tn
new town that's pleasant. Tw'
towns there, you know. The oil
town is built of adobes, and all thu
houses have roofs Of tiles, and GU
there they tell you about old Padre
Junipero, the old cock that bull
the Mission, way back in 1859, Of
somewhere along there. The new
town has wide streets aud many
fine buildings, and big hotels, anu
there they talk to you about Tom
Scott and the Texas Pacific rail
road. They have big ideas about
some things, those San Diegans,
but wlthal are jolly good lot
fond of excursions OH their bay,
and fishing, and dancing, and fun
and frolic In general. But ips the
worst place for pelicans ever saw.
San Diego ISL
We were in q crowded car, whirl-
ing down around the many curves
of Senator Sharon's "crooked rail.
roadn from Virginia City toward
Carson. The speaker was a we'll
dressed, brisk-leoking young fell
low, who had the air of q drum
mer, or commercial traveller of
some kind. He had "chipped in"
as above upon some one speaking
of San Bernardino, or some place
down that way.
At the mention of the pelicans,
several persons in seats near the
young man opened eyes that before
had been half closed, and looked at
him inquiringly; but he remained
silent. He saw that he had at last
said something that those around
him wished to hear about, and,
having gained this advantage, was
determined that before he proceed.
ed further some one should so far
condescend to notice him as to ask
him about the pelicans.
When he ut last partly closed his
eyes and settled himself back in his
seat, as though there was nothing
more to be said about the pelicaDs,
u MISUNDERSTANDING old gentle
man, who occupied seat facing
him, said: Well, my young
friend, what about the pelicans of
San Diego?"
"Worst 1 ever saw" sententlous-
ly remarked the young man.
"In what respect? l never heard
of pelicans bothering any one."
"Then you have never been at
San Diego"
II never have; but I've been in
other places where there were peli-
cans. Pve seen thousands and thou
sands of them, and they never dis
turbed me.n
"You didn'. give them cause.
You just 60 down to San Diego and
get out among them; see If you
dom have trouble with 'em then.',
do you mean the waterfo wi
called the pelican-the bird ?"
"Of course 1 do. What else could
I mean ?"
"Well, / thought at first you
meant the bird, then 1 didn't know.
The word is sometimes used in IL
slang way, you know" And the
old gentleman slightly colored, and
looked about to see If the converse.
ton was attracting attention
among the passengers.
II don't know about any slang
said the young man.
1.-THE only pelicans l know much
about are the pelicans at San Die.
go, and they are little the worst I
ever saw"
$50 numerous ?"
Numerous! / should say so!
They never die, and they never
kill them, and l candidly believe
that there are old pelicans down
there now that were there when
that old Portuguese navigator the
San Diegans are always talking
Jean lRodrigues Cobril-
10, 1 believe they call him-tirst
discovered their bay, in 1912, or
thereabout. And such q queer
taste as they havew
"Taste! You don't mean to say
that you tried to eat them?"
"Eat them! 1 said nothing
about eating them. l mean their
own taste-their taste for music"
The old gentleman slyly looked
around to see If the conversation
was being generally listened to-
evidently not desiring to appear
conspicuously gullible. Few per-
sons seemed to be giving heed to
what was being said, and the old
fellow, after coughing slightly,
and lsisurely wiping his mouth
with his handkerchief, said, in
careless way, and as though he
took but little interest in the mat.
ter: "Their taste for music?"
"Yes.O
"What! Pelicans have taste
for music?"
1.-THE pelicans of San Diego have;
l can't say that l ever observed it
anywhere else."
"How-in what way? Tell us all
about it," cried the old man,
off all his assumed indif-
ference. "You have said so much
about the pelicans of San Diego,
now tell us, pray, how they act,
and in what respect they di fer
from other pelicans."
~ can't tell you that they are
different from other pelicans; l
don't know but all pelicans would
act so under the same circum-
stances. l only know in certain
respects the pelicans of San Diego
are the worst | ever saw"
"Worst, but how the worst?
You have been saying that all the
time,p and the old man seemed a
little inclined to become snappish.
"Why, the craziest fools after
music-music makes 'em lose the
little sense Nature has endowed
them with"
swell, / don't see how that
could make any trouble, and 1
should think such taste proved
them to possess more than the or
binary amount of bird Intelligence