Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-03-29

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VisaHa, Californis, March 81, 1870
Ny Dear Sir:-I, have long neglected to
write you about our visit to the ''land Of
gold," as l promised to do; but found
myself wholly unable to write with any de-
gree Of certainty about anything at frs.
eight, and good discretion prompted me to
wait until l might more fully acquaint my
self with the strange things Of this strange
land. All things seem to meet with
strange metamorphosis in their transfer
from "the states" TO the Pacific slope. For
instance; the symetrical apple tree Of the
east loses it's naive beauty and grows as
though it were in. q world Of chance. The
limbs shoot out "like mad'' in unseemly di.
rections, sometimes horizontally and some
times directly toward the earth. In the
valley the bark of the apple tree is gener
ally overgrown with moss. The fruit is
quite palatable but not as good as that
grown in the foot-hills. In the hills the
trees do not wear 90 great defornity but
even there it requires careful pruning to
train them in anything like pleasing
shape. The apples growa in the foot hills
are very fne in appearance and quality. A
Estates" man will never recongnize the
peach tree in California, "a we'll as many
other trees that so familiarly greet him
at his old home. An oak tree does
not wear the oak leaf, but rather
the diminu i've leaf Of the laurel. Some of
the oaks assume the appearance of the
weeping willow, their long, slender branches
hanging quite down to the ground. The
sun shines with strange mellow light that
We are wholly unused to. Spring puts on
AA<ssrasa sebss i'm. when we are looking
strongest for winter : and, al In an, II re-
quires time for one fully to convince him
self that he is not lost in dreamland.
Our passage overland was an uneventful
one. and I cannot say that any of our party
desire to make the trip again. For dis
tance Of nearly two thousand miles along
tho Pacific railroads there is but little arabic
land, and, for more than thousand milee
there is emphatically none. Gravel, grease.
wood, alkali, sagebrush, catcus, sand and
rocks, make up the grand whole. Now and
then band of antelope may be seen, with
here and there very lean rabbit, eking
out miserable existence for no other ap-
parent pur pose than to feed solitary buz.
zard that sits upon lonely peak-said buz
zard having long since become too poor to
croak, from the scanty supply Of his COM
missary.
On arriving at the Sierra Nevada noun
sains happy change is experienced. The
dark green foliage Of the stately pines forms
q sharp contrast with the thousand miles Of
waste just passed and ON nearing the summit,
though it is early in October, We 60 dashing
through the light, beautiful snow at merry
rate till We suddenly round "Cape Horn"
and beh I'D literal garden Of Eden before
us. 1t almost turns one wild with delight
to pass 90 suddenly from the arctic shows
down into the semitropio valley Of the
Sacramento.
In the great California basin are many
deciduous trees, but they do not always drop
their leaves in autumn as do such trees in
the east, but, if the fros.s. should not come
a 10 sometimes the case, theold leaves may
remain on till the new ones crowd them of
in the winter. In consequence of this the
trees appear green the whole year. The
present winter has been the hardest known
to the oldest inhabitant, aud ye. have no,
seen more than one fourth of an inch Of ice
at any time. 1t has been hard upon some
of the semi-tfopical fruits; yet the orange
crop ripens from Dscsmber till April and
California oranges are 90 plentiful in the
market as to be sold for 1.-TWO bits" dozen
In the foothills aud on the mountains The
live oak is very common and is beautiful
tree, as it is evergreen and carries very
dense f,liage. The sun doe,
not penetrate through it, and
as there il generally no rain for about
nine months in the year these trees furnish
all that is required in the way Of : tent fol
the camper. During The remaining thret
months he will require house, even If il
should not rain, ss it sometimes become'
diragreeably cold 10 this american Italy.
would reduce my outdoor life to al,
months in the year il I we're to consul. m,
own comfort.
This land 10 . strange mixture Of good
bad and indifferent. There arc portions o
tho state In which there is absolutely n'
coil. while other portions posscss soil a