The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-11-17
Feothill Farms Of California.

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upon it until it sounds very ridiculous.
Yet the pioneer men and women those
who have had enterprise enough to
move on-have IS q class been success
fol. Many of them know something
about the pinch of poverty. They
would not have moved on had thew
beemsin more comfortable circumstan-
ces. During the last five or six years 3
great deal has been written about the
| foothill farming, and much of the adj
vice given has been from those who
knew little about it. They have no re-
suits with which to fortify their theo-
ries. Not every man is the gamer who
goes to the foothills. He must isolate
himself from society, because in the
nature of things the foothills can never
be thickly settled. Here and there set
Elements will be sufficiently near to
form neighborhoods; that is, within a
+ radius of fivetor six miles there will be
enough settlers for a district school, a
voting precinct, and, perhaps, small
church. But if only pastoral in
dustries are prosecuted, even dis
trict school could mot be established.
nor post office in SO limited an area.
Here and there we have isolated in
stances where very attractive home
steadS are created in the foothills. The
owners are not rich, and perhaps nev-
er viii be. But they are prosperous in
8 small way. and, what is better, are
contented. One practical illustration
Of q theory goes great way.
The thousand of travellers who in
former years passed over the Santa
Cruz Mountains by stage will remem-
Der the long ascent of the dusty HI oun-
tain, part of the way skirting along
the Los Gatos. reaching a depression of
the summit at an elevation q about
1000 feet, and descending into a red-
wood forest ON the other side. About
the only settler seen for some miles af-
ter passing Lexington was Mountain
Charley" who kept the toll gate on
the summit and whose profile had been
somewhat disarranged by bear, q
circumstance of particular interest to
boys whose appetites had been sharp
ened by reading Pioneer Adams bear
stories. A single Spanish grant, the
San Augustine rancho, covered an i'm
mense tract from Monterey Bay to the
summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains a
little to the east and southerly of the
stage road. Westerly along the sum-
mits of the mountains. copses OF woods.
sunny slopes, bare hi1lsides, heavily
wooded ravines in which water ran all
the year. It was an unimproVed coun-
try. Here woodmen were found strip
ping tanbark, cutting cordwood or get
ting out shakes They made no
improvements and apparently wanted
none. y..- .s.--rs-s e =
This description would fairly apply
to all that mountainous country for q
quarter of q century. But within the
last six or seven years there has been a
remarkable change. It is ten or twelve
years since the earlier pioneer began to
plant small vineyards. These were re-
markably productive Some of the
best table grapes ever exhibited in this
market were grown very near the sum-
nit of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The
growth was slow until the new depar-
ture was made in viticultural interests
five or six years ago. There is now ia
the Santa Cruz Mountains. eastward of
the old stage road, on the northerly
/ end of the San Augustine ranch. one
of the most intelligent and prosperous
communities to be found in California
or anywhere on the Pacific coast.
Without making an accurate census,
we should say that something like one
hundred families and little way down
the slopes at elevations varying from
1900 to 1000 feet, and within a radius,
say, of six miles from Wright's. The
land which they occupy could have
been bought 4 few years ago at prices
ranging from $1.25 TO 81 an acre.
Much of it is waste land, and always
will be-that is, it is too rough for Vine
yards, although not SO rough Us that
which is now covered by some of the
more notable vineyards along the
Rhine. Nearly all the settlers have
vineyards ranging from five acres up to
forty and fifty acres. Only one of these
larger areas came under personal OBJ
servation. Besides vineyards, nearly
every settler has an orchard, with =
good variety of fruit trees. including
apple, peach, pear, plum, apricot and
prune. These orchards are remark
ably thrifty; hardly sign of destruc-
tive insects was noted although 1t was
reported that they had been found at
some points.
The dense foliage and vigor of these
trees was noticeable in all the orchards.
There is no irrigation, either in vine
ward or orchard, and none is ever need
ed. Orange trees were found growing
at several points. the fig was alreatiy
ripe, early apples and pears were fall
ing to the ground, and the plum trees
well loaded with fruit Most of the
orchards were. young, and not yet in
full bearing. and this might be said OF
many of the vineyards. But already a
considerable number of the latter are
yielding handsome revenue, some of
the table grapes finding their way to
the Chicago market. Here is noun
tain community of something like three
hundred persons living in great COM
fort, and with the promise of abundant
prosperity. on land which for quarter
of a century no settler wanted. There
are two school districts, place of pub
lie worship, a literary society. and two
summer hotels filled with guests during
the warm season. New homesteads are
being constantly created.
OF course the railroad has made
these mountain SUBMITS more accessi-
BILE, and has done much to accelerate
the progress of settlement. Near the
extreme southerly end of this noun
tain community Judge Miller, long a
Judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois.
and one of the pioneers in the settle
ment of the beautiful town of Rock
ford, H.. has an extensive vineyard and
I one of the shandsomest country resi-
dences in the mountains. This pioneer
is about seventy years old, but Is still
Young man in enthusiasm and vigor OF
mind, and rej ices in his mountain
| home, where he will be content to
spend the remainder of his life Here
is a practical illustration of what
may be done in the way OF 'foothlll