Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-05-05
From the P0cs1ic Slope.

1t is 1904 miles west of Omaha and 4,340 1eet
above sea level 1t is the western terminus OF Tue
Union Pacific and the eastern terminus OF the
Central Pacific Railway. and here we leave the
Denver & Rio Grande and take the Central Pa
cifc for Sacramento. The passenger traffic is SO
enormous at present, that the Central Pacific,
after receiving the Union Pacific and Denver d
Rio Grande trains at Ogden, is divided into two
sections. of some twelve coaches each, with dou-
BILE headers to each train. We get up in the
morning at Tulasco, 6O7 miles from San Francis
co, and see nothing but barren, dreary, treeles5
waste all around US and are informed that this
is a sample of the country we have been running
through all night.
At3:9O p NJ HUMBOLDT is announced, with 20
minutes for lunch, which after fast of hours
we do ample justice to This town we were all
delighted with, and is really ''an Oasis in the
desert" BY means ola fine artesian well, Hum
bolt and vicinity is irrigated and we were tod
that there were some good ranches in the neigh
borhood Mining is also carried on to some ex-
tent in Humboldt Canyon few miles northwest.
Some 80 miles north of Humboldt are immense
deposits OF SULPHUR and we have been thinking.
that when the elements shall melt with fervent
neat, the VAST Q6poSlto VI sulphur III LNSNNt1'
will add fuel to the flames and greatly acceler-
ate the melting process. Here, the first growing
trees are to be seen since leaving Ogden, q dis
lance of $50 miles. In this barren region we
pass several streams of water, but are informed
that they all lose themselves in the sands of the
desert. Even the Humboldt river, of which we
have read SO much about, is lost in Humbolt
lake, and is never afterwards found there being
no outlet to the lake.
We retire for the night at 10 o'clock, where
vegetation all around US is apparently dead, and
when we get UP at next morning. we ind we
have jumped from winter to summer in hours.
We have passed the crest of the Sierra Nevadas,
and are plungirg down through the mountains,
whilst all around us is heavily tlmbered and
mostly pine; but very little is seen for distance
of70 miles on account 0 tunnels and snow-sheds,
for we are scarcely out of one until we are into
another.
We stop 10 minutes at Truckee, 209 miles from
San Francisco. Here there is quite an extensive
lumber trade carried on, and is the first town
where John Chinaman has got solid foothold.
After getting through the mountain, we are
running through the foothills down to Sacra-
mento, through lovely country, though very
broken, but all around US is green grass, green
trees and flowers of all hues and colors blooming
in endless profusion, aud the air is filed with
the fragrance ofthe orange blossom.
We are at Sacramento about 10 A. NJ. and after
registering at the Western Hotel, we go out on
the hunt after the Noack brothers, sons of our
esteemed townsman Chas. J. Noack We had
no difficulty in finding them, and they were
highly pleased to see US. The ''Noack boys
have fine jew Try store OF one ofthe prominent
streets and seems % be doing a fine business.
but we only saw two of the boys, as one of them
was at WatertOWn on visit. We accidentally
happened to meet Prof. Atkinson, formerly of
Oshkosh. Wis, who kindly showed US through
the capitol and pleasure grounds around it.
This, far Outstrips any capitol building we have
ever seen, not on account of its dimensions but
on account Of its architectural beauty and rich
ness of finish and when we enter the Assembly
room and Seuate-chamber, it requires no logic
to convince US that we are in a gold producing
country. The pleasure grounds around it are
fine and far surpasses anything Of the kind we
have ever seen. We next visit the art Gallery"
built, furnished and equipped by MIS- E. B.
Croker, one of CALIFORNIA; millionaires, who
has made gift CT it to the state, in memory of
her husband. The building is not of colossal
dime nsions but is elegant and in point of artist
zeal finish, is even more elaborate, if possible.
than the capitol. The ornamental grounds
around it are fine, and altogether cost $3.50 900.
AT P. NJ. we board the Southern Pacific train
for Los Angeles, 462 miles distant from San Fran
CISCO and we have only about two hours of
daylight, can say but little of the San Joaquin
Valley through which we run all night, but
what we did see OF it was certainly fine, and we
hope to see more of it on our return
We get up next morning, heading for the Te-
hachapi mountains, apparently not more than
10 or Is miles distant from their base but we ride
two long hours before we enter the canyon.
through which flows the Caliente Creek. Here
our elevation is 1920 feet above the Pacific
Ocean, and we have to rise ., 7S4 feet more in
running twenty-seven miles to the summit.what
is called ''Tehachapi Pass" From Caliente
station to Tehachapi, we run through IA tunnels,
and emerging from tunnel number six we are
just six miles from Caliente by rail, and we look
down the side of the mountain to Caliente GOO
feet below US, and only one mile distant as the
"crow flies" We shoot out of tunnel number
nine and inside of ten minutes, we run right
over the same tunnel. but some S6 feet above the
track i'll the tunnel. This is what is called .sthe
loop" and is making railroad under Difficult
ties,
Tehachapi Summit is at last reached, being $50
miles from San Francisco and 4,026 feet above
sea level. The summit appears like broad
plain, and on the right, there is small lake
which would not be worth mentioning, were it
not for the saline qualities of its waters and we
are told that by digging down a few inches on
its shores, excellent rock salt is found White
Rock Greek runs INTO this lake, and like many
of the lakes in Utah, has no outlet. We now
commence the descent by entering ''Cameron's
Canyon" whose granite walls rises sometimes
1000 feet on either side. On leaving the channel
which we have followed through tie canyon, it
suddenly disappears, leaving patches of salt and
alkali ia Its dry bed.
Here, new object of interest presents itself.
in the shape of species of Cactus. which grows
from ten to twenty feet high, and its trunk
Is sometimes fifteen inches in diameter. Being
no exception to the Cactus family, it has no
beauty nor symmetry, except when it is in bios
som: and the trunk has numerous layers of
fibres which run spirally. and each layer is at
an angle to the next The bark of this peculiar
tree is removed after being cut down. and the