Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-30
A Sunday Tour Of 0bser-
yatiOn.
THE EFFECTS OF THE RAINS,
What Can be Seen from a Cable
Car-The Damage Hardly
Noticeable.

over the various lines under the control
Of the Los Angeles Gable Company,
noticing carefully the evidences of the
severe rainstorm which prevailed up to
Thursday last.
Turning toward Boyle Heights, First
street presented an aspect but little
different from what it does after short
rain. The paved portions of the street
were dry and in good condition. Look
ing south on Los Angeles and San Pedro
streets, they seemed like pretty poor
places for teams, with their entire width
filed with black mud. Alameda street
looked as dry and innocent as if it had
not been veritsble river on Tuesday
night. Arrived at the bridge over the
river, the lack of life at the Santa Fe
depot was very noticeable. Just south
of the bridge occurs a long break in the
levee, while further down could be seen
the two iron bridges at Seventh and
Ninth streets, looking sad and lonesome
with their eastern approaches entirely
gone. To the north, few loose timbers
at the end of the Also bridge are all that
indicate the CAVERN which occurred
there. while the cid reliable-covered
bridge looks only the better for the
thorough washing it received.
First street beyond the bridge seems
little the worse for the rain. Clean
cutters and dry wster-courses through
the unoccupied land below chow that
much water flowed there, but the street
itself is not Injured. The Heights seem
not to have gotten rid of their super
Aous water with that rapidity of which
the residents boast. The streets were all
very muddy and many large puddles
were observable in every depression. At
the power house the machinery was all
shining and in good order, but the floors
bore evidences of recent soaking, and the
boiler room had well-deined water
mark on it's walls indicating the height
to which the flood rose on Christmas
morning.
Beyond the power houses the corner of
Breed street is badly washed, leaving
the wooden curbing standing unsup.
ported. Soto and Matthews streets are
deeply quilted and cut up. From the
top of the hill little beyond Mott street
view was obtainable that is worth much
to see. The bright green of the open
ground, dotted with beautiful residences,
seemed to stretch away to where tbs
foothills rise, shaded from brilliant green
to dark green and black, while beyond,
sharply defined against the unclouded
blue eky, were the higher mountain
tops, dazzlingly white with their caps of
Snow,
A house near Saratoga street has the
- l., f.-
beautiful pepper trees. The loss did not
prey on the minds of the children appar-
emily, for number OF boys were ob-
served here trying to persuade youthful
calf to go through gate, the calf resist
ing like the incarnation of obstinacy,
while the boys shouted with laughter and
pulled at every place they could get
hold of the animal. The cemetery,
looking peculiarly bright and attractive
for go suggestive place, brought the car
to the end of journey in this direction.
Next, after returning to town, the
Grand-avenue line was taken. With the
exception of considerable mud on Sew
snth street and deep hole washed out
under fence at the corner of Olive
street, this line presented little that is
worthy OF special mention. The power
house gives little evidence of the amount
of water which it contained on Christ.
mas morning. The avenue shows that
there was considerable water there re-
Gently, but it has all run off and left the
roadway and sidewalks in good condi-
tion.
The blue line, out Washington street,
showed only bad place TOR teams on
account of mud, and street car track
with the sand all washed from between
the ties, but the beautiful grounds of the
handsome residences out that way look
30 much better for the rain that the
trifing damage done to the driving sinks
still further into insignifcance.
The Ninth and Seventh-street lines
exhibited the greatest damage due to the
rains, which consisted mostly in quilted
streets, and sidewalks filed with pits
and pools.
Then, following the crowd the re.
porter went out over the Downey-
avenue line to the river. San Fer
nando street is always muddy for two
or three weeks after a rain, and is no
worse than usual. At the Downey.ave-
nue. bridge the crowd alighted and hur-
ried off to watch the men at work on the
railroad bridges. They could be seen
from the bridge working like bees on
the temporary structure at the Santa Fe
bridge-a structure that reminded the
sightseer of the days when he, as child,
built pig pens out of the kindling wood.
From here, too, could be seen the
sageing floor of the Buena Vista-street
bridge, where two of the iron supporting
pillars we're broken by the timbers of the
Santa Fe railroad bridge early Christ
mas morning, as we'll as the crooked
cement pier further out, which everyone
thought would take an earthquake to
dislodge. The two breaks in the levee
on the east side of the river, by the
Glendale depot, are also visible, as we'll
as the deep holes which the water
gouged in the embankment back of each
break. Looking south, the larger break
in the East Side levea, where the
embankment is entirely gone behind it,
between Downey avenue and Kuhrts
street, comes to view. Beyond ths
Kuhrts-street bridge another cluster OF
busily working men are visible, with the
almost completed temporary bridge for
the Southern Pacific rapidly taking shape
beneath their hands.
The sight seers stick to the river, and
truly they were right, for East Los An.
geles, as far as it can be seen near the
car lines, suffered but little from the
storm.
The last trip was over the Kuhrts-
street line, and aside from few small