River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-09-18
CALIFORNIA LETTER.
REmASDs. Sept. 10. 1890.

It's fashionable here as we'll as con
ducive of comfort to take SUMMED
outing so we've just had one of tw,
months duration.
| Redlands is, without doubt one o
the most desirable places in which I,
live that exists between seas, bu
when about July LIST "0ld Sol" steam
ed up for drying peaches and apricots
ripening grapes and building orange:
| it became slightly warm for comfort
and we hied us to the mountains
taking up our abode meath huge PINE
tree in the Santa Ana valley, about Is
miles northeast of Redlands and 5000
feet above sea level. Now pine trees
are not great rarity to citizens OF
northern Wisconsin nor is the barren
sandy soil on which they grow, but
the surrounding scenery, modes of
mountain navigation &C., may have
some elements of novelty. If you
want to take the trip just come to
Redlands seme fine morning after
breakfast and ask for Thurman.
There are two others either of whom
would do as well, bat Thurman is a
landmark. III you do not recog.
nize him from the description the first
person you meet can point him out to
you. He stands 6 1T. without a crook.
His bones, muscles and vitals The has
no fat weigh 100 lbs. He wears a
shaggling fringe of reddish brown
beard, and one front tooth. Tied in
front of leading grocery you'll find
the stage team, Mig and Coaly. Now
Mig and Coaly are not exceedingly
promising in appearance but under the
stimulating influence of Thurman and
the raw-hide they get there at the rate
of four miles an hour, mp grade 200 ft.
to the mile over road the equal of
which for sand and roughness does
not exist in Pierce Co., dragging near
ly double their own weight of human
freight and groceries. For the first
two miles the route lies on Sylvan
Boulevard along the bank of Mill
Greek zanjA pronounced 'sanky'') un.
der huge alders, cottonwoods, and
sycamores, whose shade unites with
the tortuous course. and merry dance
of mountain waters, bright, pure and
sparkling To make this one of the
pleasantest drives i'll Southern Califor-
MIA.
To beguile time Thurman will re-
late no blood curdling experiences, or
impossible personal exploits, but the
childlike simplicity with which he
states an occasional fact in intervals
of muscular exertion on Mig and Coaly
is refreshing indeed. my rancho is
just mile and half beyond that
point" said Thurman at $50 A. M. as
he pointed at a projection at the
mouth of Mill Creek canon. Now any
body but Californian would know
that he could walk to that point in As
minutes but you'll journey on behind
the ''galloping blacks for two whole
hours before you enter the canon and
lose sight of Redlands. Attitudes are
just as deceptive. You'll be asking
Thurman to let Mig and Coaly rest
while you "mount yon knoll'' then
he'll have to patiently inform you that
''yon knoll is at least thousand feet
above the canon and very snug climb
for trained mountaineer.
But if your sight was deceived in
one way before entering the canon
your general sense will suffer as badly
in the opposite extreme afterward.
After 1880 you'll journey on and on,
mile after mile, you'll say, but you'll
reach Turman's at noon for all that,
and mile and half with five hun
bred feet rise accounts for a pretty
good half hours journey with Mig and
Coaly. At Humans you will eat
one of the meals of your life, for
everything is well prepared and you'll
have an appetite. Dinner completed,
betake yourself to little glen in front
of the house, throw yourself in ham,
mock, and take in the beauties of the
scenes. Before you stands Mt. San
Bernardino. Its snow-capped summit
contrasting strangely with the June
you are enjoying and the August you
have just left behind. Over you is a
dense shade of alder and cottonwood,
at your feet the ice cold waters of
Mill Creek IA little larger than the
Kinnickinnic) leaping from boulder
to boulder, foaming with the soapy
Wilderness and filling the air with
deafening noise. Thurman is out get
ting I'D the burros, for you are to bid
farewell to Mig and Coaly and the
coach and mount the strangest imagin-
able medium between mule and Da-
kota jack-rabbit. Next to Thurman the
burro train is the most important and
interesting feature of the trip. 1t
consists of anywhere from twelve to
twenty of these tiny coaches and the
baggage, freight, mail and passenger
conyeyances move amongst each 9th
er with true western freedom. The
burro is an epitome of the standard
gage mule or, if you prefer, an Elzevir
edition bound las you'll agree on ac.
quaintance) in raw-hide, but his head
takes more the form OF home-cured
ham, his legs have gasrpipe stiffness
and uniformity of grit, three features
voice. patience and ears are not drawf'
ed with general organism. The first
is a sterile cross between the homliest
sound you can imagine and the most
melancholy noise you can't; the second
is scarcely ruffled by the most vigorous
application of whip and spur: the
the monstrous ears flap to the breeze
like unreefed sails all the while keep
| ing time to his very considerable pace
On the whole this animal has been
very much abused aud misrepresented
and we are glad to have so able an
exponent OF burro habits as Thur
man at our hack while we correct one