Connecticut western news., 1879-04-23
Dr. sceville in California.

SANTA BARBARA, CAL. March 24th.
 My letter of to-day will be descriptive oi a httle trip Into the county l ha0 the pleasure of taking last week. Dr. Kuox was summoned to visit a patient fifty miles distant. over the Santaness mountain into Santaness Valley, and 1 gladly accepted hls kindly invitation to accompany hIm. In order to reach hIs patient as soon as possible, we shortened the distance about ten miles, by going directly over the moun- tam, commencing the ascent about nine o'clock a. n., and ID azle-Zag course, wend- ed our way to the sumI0it. where we aI- rived about oue o'clnc6 p. m. After taking 8 survey of the valley, the clty of Santa Bafv. and the ocean, which lay three thou sand feet below us, we commenced uul descent on the other side of the mountain in like Zig-Zag course. The scenery was grand beyond discr1ptlon. Sometimes Ro- ing on the brow of the mountain, where, by a single misstep one would be precipi-' tated hundreds ot feet below. Reaching the foot thereof about four o'clock, or per- haBs half an hour later, we left the man road, and with a guide crossed Capt. Moores ranch to his house. a distance Of about SIX miles from the base of the moua-- tain. The following morD1ng the doctor was obliged to return home, but as the family proposed my remaining with them few days, l d1d so. Five days com pleteo' my visit here, and a very pleasant visit it was too, assure you. l enjoyed much looking over bis ranch and converslng with O having travelled the world nearly over both by sea and land, and has now settled down on a fifteen thousand acre ranch :; has just completed bnilding in Santa Barbara tnat has cost him nearly eighteen thousand dollars, where he ex poets to spend most of his tune. It is now sheep shearine tune. He has five thousand sheep, and em- ploys nIne regular shearers who will aver age fifty sheep per day apiece :: one man to mark them, one to tle up the fieeces, one to sacks tn glVe checks, one to sweep and pick up after the shearers, and one to tend the f1ocks outside. The business is done by regular system. Shepherds be has, who tend his hocks night and day. One man Ill tend about two thousand, driving them to diff ferent parts of the farm to feed, and a night puts them into a corral, having bls tent near by where he sleeps. His flock le now small compared With that of former years. Two years ago they had no raln there, consequently, DO feed. Their sheep and cattle died, and they are not vet fully restocked. The Capt. told me he lost over eight thousand horned cattle, beside the lambs Of hls f1ocks. He took hatchet aud killed two hundred lambs, hoping to save some of the old ones by so doing. He kept ten or twelve men employed at that time, choDping down the live oaks for the stock to browse upon. Thousands of cords DOW lie scattered over the fields to decav.-Mv route home was by what IS called Gavista Pass. It IS about twelve miles farther, but easier getting over the mountain. They carried me to Gavlsta, where I spent the night. taking the stage the next morning
 Going from Sautaness Valley to Gavista We ascend more gradually than by the other route, but by alIAe winding, zIg-zag course. Arriving at the summit we find a gor.e ol natural opening. through winch we pass, caused probably by water, as there IS
 stream which we crossed seventeen times in going down the mountain. The rocks on either side ot thls g"rge are abont one thousand feet Ligh, almost perpendicular. thInk tue country between Gavista and Santa Barbra as fine as can be founG on the globe. It lies between the foothills and che ocean. Average width one halt mile, with occasional canons. Clover a foot high aud thick as a mat, and DO feEees. Or. the route of forty five miles only eIgbt or ten houses. --
 Thlnk shall start for my eastern home in about two weeks. JOHN ScOytLLE,