Wichita eagle., 1889-10-24
ghe aqlieta aaiIu gao Thursday BOrniuo @etobr "a
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
POETIC PARADISE PAINTED EY AN
ENRAPTUHED EASTERNER.

| 3Gs:A. ----s.s
A Lovely Valley Filled with the Songs of
| Birds Bees and Frogs-The Old Town
Where Ramona Was Izarried-Look Out
for the Rainy Season at San Diego.
! "Thoughts are things" So say the Chris
tan scientists, and SO say l, as !, out Of pure
charity, watt you few of these delicious
sunbeams which are at present reducing my
collar to state Of lnIpness, better imagined
than described And as for my tenper-well,
viii admit that this heat is one thing that
can and does ruffie my otherwise angelic tenn
per. l am inclined to adopt, if possible,
| Amelie Rives' notion-to ''put myself beyond
myself"
This valley, nesting among the eternal
| hills is one Of natures loveliest spots. Wild
| flowers are abundant in the wales, and some
| are bold enough to climb way up the stony
| hills. There is soft haze lowering around
| the more distant mountains, which suggests
the thought of heaven stopping to earth. The
sun rules supreme in perfectly cloudless sky.
| This is the land OF dreams and dreamers.
Who of the people here have not dreamed Of
| conquered worlds and longed for other worlds
to con9uerl
And Outlines cruel fate stretches out bis
deathlike fingers and taps the idle dreamer;
be wakes of a sudden and reaches for his
wealth, but it has vanished. He will not have
it thus, and, as we do il sleep, turns on the
other side and dreams it all over again We
| viii leave the idle sleeper and return to Es-
conddo AS its name implies, it is hidden;
hidden away from the noisy world, and some
think hidden from prosperity. It, like most
Of Southern CALIFORNIA; small towns, is
strictly prohibition, and quiet reigns to such
an extent that strangers arriving here lose
track of the days and begin to count their
fingers to try and make it Sunday when the
week is but half spent. If this be like Sun
day it makes one sad to think that every
day1l be Sunday by and by" l will want
| that occasional Saturday afternoon" won't
youa
BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.
There are charming drives all around here.
Within half an hours drive you can reach
the San Pasquale and Bear canyons, alike as
to picturesque scenery. Here are the live
oaks, 80 numerous in the southern states and
all species of ferns grow in profusion- The
mountain streams glide down over beds of
rock and moss, and now and then leap down
tiny precipice, forming a sparkling water
fall. Are you aware that nature is little
frealsy in Southern California? The rivers
the Los Angeles, the mighty San Gabriel,
the Escondido, etc.-are all, as the children
say, turned upside down. We thought Rider
Haggard little extravaganza in his discovery
of en- underground river, but it is a fact
Rider, 90 to the head of the class!
The air we breathe is laden with sweetest
melodies Birds, bees and bullfrogs unite
their voices in praise of this ''stn kissed" vale
One of the ladies from our hotel, while driv-
ing the other day, suddenly exclaimed: ''Ah!
isn't that lovelya Hear those sweet little
birds singing, just Like spring." Congratula-
tions are an order for Mr.. Froggie. fancy
heard his wings sprouting then and there. 1t
is needless to remark that it was the lady's
first visit to California. and she was from
Minneapolis.
Fifteen miles from here is the old Pala mis-
sion Right here let me say that Ramona
had nothing to do with this mission. Al
though | am led to believe that her lover,
Alessandro attended mass here during his
boyhood, for this was the nearest mission to
the Femecular canyon, where ne and his IA
Their lived. Perhaps you are not aware that
Californians are SO devoted to Ramona that
they have tho poor child, living, being mar
ried, and dying in every part Of the state.
Time has dealt harshly with this old monu-
ment of the faith, and its crumbling arches
echo tho inoeesant screech of the owls that
have for years sought shelter there. The
owls are not the only inhabitants of this old
mission, the roses have here found a home,
planted no doubt by the good old fathers a
century ago. They have, like true soldiers,
stuck to their post, and none can call them
deserters They have grown in such profu-
sion, that, not content with climbing up the
old adobe walls and clinging to the ruined
arches, they creep in through the paneless
windows and scatter their fragrant petals on
the earthen floor. Natures incense to her
ever present God. These are the old fash
Toned roses whose praises Whitcomb Riley
has sung. in one of his poems he says: Il
like EN- cause they kind O sorter make fell
Ter like lem"
TRIP TO SAN DIEGO.
Not long ago l took trip to San Diego,
which is thirty five miles southwest of here.
What is now called "Old Town" is over
century old, and is interesting, in a way, to
tourists. The old mission, where Ramona
was married this is positive fict, saw the
records and group Of date palms are the
only attractions. The present city was
founded eighteen years ago. and is situated
on the mainland side of San Diego bay, hav-
ing one OF the finest harbors in the world.
Directly opposite this city is Coronado. Two
years ago this was wilderness and now the
residences are numerous, ard Hotel del Cor
onada, of world renown, graces the PENN
sula- Having crossed the bay on the ferry
You drive to the hotel AS you approach the
entrance you are impressed by the peculiar
architecture. 1t is partly Queen Anne style
and partly that of the Ehzabethan era. 1t
is built so as TO form a court within. which
is $50 by $50 feet in dimension. Tropical
plants were blooming in perfection, and laden
tho air with perfume, while fountains play
INCREASINGLY. The interior of the hotel is
simply charming. l will not try your pa
tience by describing it in full. There is
lovely beach here and surf bathers have
every opportunity of enjoyment in that line.
The climate is warm and moist. Indeed
everything looks CHEEKY about Coronado,
save the managers who seem to be decidedly
blue. You ssk the reason? 1t is simply this.
The help outnumbers the guests. The truth
of the matter is, al of southern California is
as dead as H-ul,et's father Don't be alarmed,
his ghost can't como back. He was real
estate man, and necessarily differed from
Little George" in one particular. 4 rerci-
full providence won't permit his return bod
ny or otherwise
If you are ever tempted TO 90 TO San Diego,
beware of the ''rsainy season. it comes end
goes at viii, 50 you had better learn to swim,
in case Of an emergency. l am from the east,
and therefore TO be believed ] am neither
for nor against California, but. like some Of