New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-07
OLD SPANISH MONTEREY.
THE srrrpy uoLIOW OF THE WEST.

LIFE ON A EPANltl- AMtIlthN bhNNi'
fspou AN OCCASIONAL coRREsPoSDENT or THE rRtnuNE
| S,xFpfycIsco. Nov l5.-The principal objects OF
interest about Monterey aside from itself ana us
| ucople are the beaches and the old Carmel Mis-
! sion the latter being the second in age OF the
| Roman Catholic mission churches III the cta'S'
Monterey is built on the inner side OF n small pen
| insula so that one NAV wander for ten mics alohg
| fine ocean beach, and still be only five miles III a
direct line from the starting point. One OF the oese
walks il along the beach 10 the left of the town IL
| is such walk as one may enjoy IN few places III
! this country To the right Is the Bay OF Monterey
! deeply blue, and placid rs n mill pond. Inc roau
| winds along the shore, here constantly broken by
picturesque little headlands, each standing guard
! over q smooth stretch of snowy sand, that, like
| Scbiller's mountain lake invites to the bath" III
striking across field you come upon the furnaces
and kettles OF the Monterey whale fishers. Inc
large boats lie under sheds rooted with pine
bonqhs. and bear evidences Of little service. The
| kettles are Shiny with grease, while one II llled
with light brown scraps of refuse bluDber whlch
have been only partly boiled. over the whole
| place hangs vile odor-a cross between the smell
of n bone-boing establishment and n soap factory
| Near the kettles is stout oak post its surface
deeply groovcd Ivy the ropes to which whales nave
been attached The company does little business
now: whale oil has come to be Of small value IN
l
years ago il was no uncommon sight TO see the
boats 20 ont in the morning and return before
midday with two or three largo whales. Then
there was life in the old fireworks, and II the
breeze came in from the bay. Monterey enjoyed an
odor only to he compared to the smell waited from
Hunters Point over Murray Hill when the wind Is
east.
A CELESTIAL FISHING VILLAGE.
A half mile beyond and the Chinese fishing vii
/ .tt,,. az ttrst fhtl lut a.
mon the shore Of lovely little bay At long range
there comes to ones nosirls an ancient and hahy
smell and this grows stronger the place Is APP
preached 1t consists of dozen houses, inhabited
bv five or six families. Several boats were drawn
up on the shore but the men were far out upon the
bay their latccn sails just visible IN the distance
Two unspcakably dirty women were spreading the
sailed fish upon,lon latticc-work ilakes" Inc
children play Ing about the doors OF the houses were
fthicr than their mothers In one house tho
family were seated ut their morning meal about a
small table. 4 dark looking poridgc hiicd big
bowl. and each had smaller bowl with wooden
spoon in lien of the usual chop-sticks. The FISH
that were drying on the fakes were cod, bass and
founders, many Of them only half grown few
large cod were spread out upon the boulders along
/ the beach ready market is found on this coast
for dried fish at 10 cents per pound, but the bulk OF
| tbese fish arc shipped To China. The Chinese
| fishermen reject nothing They utilize everything
that comes to their finely woven nets and the re-
suit is that they have seriously damaged the hshlng
| near Monterey and promise in time to ruin 1t Mt
! tcrly. Around this camp spread at least a ton
| of fish, and my companion, who was familiar WIN
| the place said that it was a poor day for sl too
Camp, like this are scattered all along the coast to
| San Diego, and are doing great damage to the fish
ing The Italians, who used to have monopoly
of this business have been compelled to retire. as
he who attempts to compete with the Chinese in
variably goes to the wall.
SOME BIS or SHORE LIFE.
About mile further along the coast, broken here
| by many little headlands and many lovely little
| bays is the Methodist campmccting grounds,
known as the Pacific Grove Retreat. 1t has an adj
| mirablc site. looking ont upon the bay and shell
tered by large pines. No services were held Mt this
! time but the camping parties seemed to be taxing
an unrcgcncrate relish in sea bathing. gathering sea
ferns and moss and digging abalone shells. An
other half milo brings one to the lighthouse and
the true ocean beach. Along this tho pedestrian
NAV wander for miles and find his reward in strik
inr views or if of scientific tastes by the MOSES
| and sea grasses which he will find among tho heaps
of kclp on the beach 1t is n famous coast for sea-
weed. frequently one finds a huge weltcring mass
of kelp looking like family OF giant black snakes.
twisted and knottcd together while the tapping of
thc waves gives TO the whole mass the sinister APP
pearance of life. II is not unircquent to find great
ropcs of this kclp twenty feet long. and near the
root as thick as ones arm Here, perhaps, You will
meet a family of Indians returning from an ex-
pedition after the notsam and etsam of the sea.
They have discovered the value of MOSES and
| shells and they also know the advantage of being
! first To CLEAN the field. They pass along III single
| file ragged, mkcmpt and dirty. darling suspicious
glanccs at the stranger from under Their shocks OF
Two bold hcadlands iut ont into the ocean from
this beach Point Pinos and Cyprus Point. The
! former owes its name to the shaggy pine forest
which comes down to the shore. the latter to the
| low gnarlrd Expresses that extend even TO the cX
| trcmity of the point one tree being rooted in the
crcvces of the rock-a solitary bit of life which
| only makes the dcsOlatiOn of the shore more pro-
found. This low cypress is distinct species aud is
| found i'm no other part of the coast. beyond Cy
! press Point the beach is not pleasant strollng
place. 1t il broken and rocky. that by the time
| The pedestrian has wcathcred the Point he is not
avcrsc 10 striking across To the town by one OF the
| many trails which the returning herds have marked
| out through the woods.
RURAL CALIFoRNI, IN FACT AND FANCY.
Carmel Bay, the OLD mission. and Point Lobos--all
well worth a visit-are reached the most readily
by the road that skirts the coast. This climbs the
! hill back OF Monterey. and gives magnificent
birlseye view of the town. the crescent bay, and,
on clear days, of Santa Cruz, twenty miles across
| the water. The walk is monotonouS, for the little
variety in the fields that line the way consists in gra
dations of barrenncss. The soil is wrctchedly poor,
and for two miles there is not n single farmhouse,
the leagues of grazing land dotted with clumps of
| live oak, forming part of an old Spanish ranch.
| Roads and lands like this very common in Cali
| fornia. The Eastern idea of the state is land
| flowing with milk and honey, with sleek kline knee
deep in clover and fruit trees bending under their
rich burdens This description will apply only to
| n few favored spots At least onc-halt the state is
| a barren waste which can only he redeemed by
| costly irrigation. To an Eastern man. it Is the
| abomInati0n Of dcsolaton of which the prophet
| Daniel speaks. There are none OF the homr-like
| iaimhouscs winch line the roads of New-York and
Ohio. for little kinship exists between the ranch
| aud the farm. The California ranch is run purely
for money: seldom is any coin spent on the orna-
| mental fruit is raised by very few the Farmers
live poorly, seeming to take on that spanish indo