Wichita eagle., 1886-08-21
WITH THE SETTING SUN.
Wichita People on the Pacific
Coast.
A Graphic Letter From Colonel Mil
ton Stewart to the Eagle.
To the Editor OF the Eagle:

SAN Francisco, Cal, Aug 18th, So
On the eve of my departure from this
city after an absence of nearly three weeks
from Wichita. most of the time being spent
here, l square myself for the purpose OF re
deeming promise made you to write up
the incidents of this trip for the EAGLE
Even at this late day | feel reluctant te
commence the performance of this duty
for the reason that the path | must go over
is a well trodden one to Wichita people
and there is absolutely nothing of the mar
velous left me to recount which has moi
been far better told by yourself and Others
about California But men see the same oh
iect oftentimes with eyes that do not SEE
alike. buoyed up with this hope | leave al
prelminaries to windward and proceed tC
give you the impression left on my mind OF
a country and people which since 1S49
when the California fever broke out in the
east, and depopulated rural towns of all tho
daring and adventurous spirits they con
tained, has held in allegiance a charm fol
me which the occasion of the national en-
campment of the G. A. r. has broken by
an actual realization of ali my day dreams
dating away back to the times when there
was no Pacific railroad, before the day even
when Horace Greeley took the historical
stage ride down a mountain pass, with
Hank Monck as chief engineer
Our party from Wichita numbered about
forty sight-seers, two of whom were forty
nincrs''-outside of these, none had ever
seen the sun 20 down across the Pacific wa
ters For myself, the trip through New
Mexico and Arizona, was a revelation. The
primitive condition of the country, whose
inhabitants for the most part live in one
story mud huts, such doubtless, as their re-
mote ancestors occupied, and such as the
barbarans and semi-civilized people of Asia
and Africa now occupy, is a marvel in the
nineteenth century in enlightened America.
In all the ride through this scope of cOun-
try the feeling was uppermost in my mind,
when beheld these rude structures, or saw
the natives cutting grain with a sickle and
threshing it out on the hard ground with
their ponies feet and winnow;ng it in the
wind as in the days of Ruth and Naomi,
that | was in some Oriental land looking at
civilization that was old when the wise men
saw the star in the east. And the more i'm
pressive this became when all cultivation
was left behind and we entered the vast do
main of sage brush yucca palms, cactus,
silence and drouth This country for the
most part answers to this description until
you approach the land tributary to Los
Angeles You pass at once from the desert
to the oasis. Los Angeles is more than an
oasis it is the garden of eden mOdernized,
with the wild beasts cast out and Adam
and Eve with numerous progeny and the
devil too. for the matter of that, all en-
gagged in horticulture
A. L. Austin, formerly of Wichita, con-
Quoted our party over many by and perhaps
forbidden paths, to where the orange trees
in symmetrical rows dropped their branches
with next years harvest, presenting to the
yearning palate, here and there, a golden
apple, sweet as honey, from last spring S
crop. AS we drove over the dusty roads
mile after mile small farms as a rule,
watercd by irrigation, met the eye, all OF
nearly all devoted to the cultivation OF
oranges, apricots, English walnuts and
grapes. Gee whiz! Austin took us to a
vineyard of 275 acres-the proprietor was
away and he told us to help ourselves
There was dozen Or more in the party
and in three minutes time every man anC
boy down to Uncle Johnnie Carpenter was
: staggering under a load of black Alhambr;
!, grapes that would have put Chinamar
on his metal to carry.
The people of Los Angeles met us witt
open arms. Our party being all prohibi
; tionists failed in taking in" all the wei
meant hospitalities of this generous people
for was told by an Emporia man that un
derneath the hall in which our whole part,
were served TO a sumptuous banquet wa
California wine on tap gratis. | think h
said something about beer also. Well, W,
were all sorry to leave the city of angels.
1t is the boss place to live cheaply and en-
joy life. There are number of Wicllit'
people residing here, among them Do
, Marshall, A. Granger, Packer and Mrs
Stul, nee Jennie Soulte
We made the run from Los Angelo
here via Barstow, in a day and a half, suf-
e fering good deal from heat in the grea
e Mojave desert and in the valley of the Sal
$ Joaquin This is broad and beautiful
1 expanse of level land. almost wholly givel
= up to wheat raising In crossing the Sierr
I Madre mountains the scenery was very i'm
a pressive. one feature being loop in tn
railway, said to be the finest feat in engl
r neering ever performed on this continent
e On arriving in this city we found every
q thing a jam, still there was ample provision
made for all. and inside Of two hours ou
: whole party was comfortably quartered il
different localities in the city. The pre-
cession. which marched through the street
of San Francisco for six miles or more, wa
in my judgment not equal to its predeccs
sor on the shores of the Atlantic last sun
mer. Kansas made much better display
as she was figuring for stake in the inter
est of Topeka, which was conceived i
e folly and resulted in total defeat