The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-12-12

thrive together For health, freedom
from the Communicating influences of the
town, and opportunities for learning use
full labor, have moved my family up
to these wonderful heights
1t is a journey of three miles, down a
descent of thirteen hundred feet, to the
station on the narrow gauge. The depot
lies at the bottom of an immense canon,
INTO which the sun shines for but little
while each day. Close to it yawns the
black opening of the great tunnel, IL
miles in length. 1t has been very costly
in money and life, and Is yet unfinished.
The gangs of Chinese labOrers. who have
been all night drilling and blasting,
come forth into the morning air to make
/ room for other laborers. The great ro-
tary steam and air pumps, whose duty it
is to draw the explosive fire-damp out
of the tunnel. keep on whirring night
and day.
The train traverses the gorge, running
at rapid rate down heavy winding
grades. At last 1t shoots out upon the
broad plains of Santa Clara valley. We
pass through beautiful succession
of orchards and vineyards, and 1 am in
my room at the Normal school before
eight O'Clock, having come tWenty-three
miles to my place of work. This is my
daily journey.
However, the day is not wholly spent
in classroom work. Away up in Gala
veras teachers institute is in session,
and lecturer is wanted. At halfpast
three, am at Oakland, and the night is
passed at Stockton. At half-past six in
the morning we are steaming toward
the great Snowy wall of the Sierras
The branch railroad terminates at Mil
ton. This is a doleful and hopeless
little town, founded upon a dry. wind
swept plateau of rock. From this place
a stage coach carried us twenty-five
miles to San Andreas, the county seat of
Calaveras.
This whole country has been dug over
and over. The Chinese have completed
what the Argonauts began. Farming
and gardening seem hardly possible
here. The surface of the earth is almost
all alike, either lava, slate rock, or wash
ed gravel. There are everywhere noun
tains covered with pale, delicate, nut
pines. A few cattle and angora goats
are seen, but the country Is mainly an
empty Wilderness. The mining process
has destroyed its scanty valleys, and
only ruin and emptiness remain.
. There is still much gold here, but it lies
deep under the hills, and can
only be reached by costly and
laboriouG processes. Large cOmpa-
MES do the work. The day of sudden
fortunes is over. The product of gold is
not one-third as much as it formerly was.
The little towns are often almost empty
and ruinOus.
We are in Bret Harte's country, OF the
ghost of il. Eldorado. once a painted
and braze.l harridan, is settling down
into very frowsy and mal-odorous
corpse. In tillable regions of the noun
tains higher and more settled life is be
ginning. Do you remember "The Spell
az p 10
full James: Angels camp now
is not much like Bret Harte's
memory of it. Its principal teach
er is lady from Boston, full of
science, sentiment and "culcha" 1 de
tccted her reading Tennyson's Lovers
Tale" in the institute. 1 took a walk
upon the celebrated dam which has
made the Yuba so famous and found
dwelling beside it people marked by
learning, good breeding and refinement.
The old California is passing away and
new on is slowly rising. We have not
yet begun to feel the business BOOM"
and enterprise languishes; but our turn
is coming. A new Italy and Greece in
one is yet to rise here Ey the Pacific.
II. B. n.