The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-31
Written for TIE SUNDAY CALL.

prised and pleased with what you see.
Within the last two years | have dutifully
rrudged over The hills and plains around
New York, Washington, Chicago, Omaha,
st. Louis, Los Angeles and several
considerable towns of smaller size and
less note. Books of travel are stupid in
deed compared with what an idle rambler
sees on such excursions. II lie has good
eyes and reasonably good legs he can walk
around the suburbs and back into town,
and tell the natives more about the city in
five minutes than they had learned in all
their lives. | had nurse in New York
VINO had been in the business in that city
for thirty years, going from house to house
and nursing the sick. and yet | had
10 tell her the course OF Harlem River. But
this leads me TO remark that San Francis
cans are not so green. They know more
about their environs than do the denilens
Of any city have been over, except Los
Angeles. Ana yet l venture to say that
after four months of soiourn in the Vicinity
! could show the great majority of them,
within thirty miles of town, scenes of
beauty and grandeur which would be new
ana amazing TO them. When Robert Louis
Stevenson was here, bent on an errand
similar TO mine, "thin-legged, thin-chested,
slight unspeakably, neat-fu0ted and weak
fingered" as the poet has described him, he
went north a hundred miles TO hide and
rest and then came out and published his
" SIyeradO SQuatters." Indeed, it is a
nice trip 10 the SonOma County GeySers.
but my fayoTIte haunts are in another dlrec-
ton.
The whole coast is pretty, from the Cliff
House at San Francisco to the Cliff Drive
at Santa Cruz. Considering its beauties 1t
is too little knOwn-leSs perhaps than any
pleasure ground adjacent to the city. Some
are familiar with it, or 1t could not properly
be called pleasure ground. Its Halfmoo
Bay, its Pebble Beach, its Messy Beach, its
Pescadero, its Pigeon Point Lighthouse
and its big basin OF gigantic trees have all
been heard of, but no railroad leads there,
and only those are familiar with them who
have the courage to stage it or the means
TO GO CAMPING.
Taking the train at the corner of Third
and Townsend streets, you go to San Ma
teo. l took the morning train at $50.
This connects with the stage at San Mateo,
and from there you have drive across the
mountains to SpanlshtOwn, passing on
your way the immense reservoir Of the
Spring Valley Water Company, which
looks like a mountain lake and supplies a
large part OF the city's water.
At Spauishtown you are on the coast.
The stage stops for dinner and gives you
ample time. Perhaps you Will be told, as
l was. that the place was SO named from
the fact that II really was Spanish town
originally. Inasmuch as the same name
might fsartne same reason have been APP
piled tiEAv other old town in the State,
yol make q note here at the threshold of
your journey. The chances are that after
looking it over you will say that of all the
Spanish towns you have seen in the State
this quaint and curious hamlet best BELTS
the name. At any rate you Will say that
no Spaniard need be ashamed of 1t.
From SpanishtOwn southwark along the
coast you will find all you want Of the
weird and wonderful. To your left will be
the mountains, with cottages and groves OF
giant TedwOOdS, crIss-croSsed with fences,
On your right Is the ocean, with shore
line of wondrous beauty. Across your path
way, from the mountains to the sea, runs
every mile or two trout stream OF roman
tic outline and drowsy murmur. Follow 1t
ND and you are soon lost in a grove OF red
woods, compared with which any tree east
of the Rocky Mountains is scrub. Trees
80 feet high, ten or a dozen feet through,
are as thick as hoop-pOleS on land
as near to San Francisco as one
end of Chicago is to the other.
l have had no greater surprise in Cali
fornia than these two, that the big trees
stand SO thick on the ground and so close to
San Francisco. You might see bigger
seuuoias in Calaveras, MariDosa or Tulare
County. But a tree one rod IN diameter
and twenty rods in height is big enough for
either the iumberman or the ordinary sight
seer. And you can find bigger trees than
that between Sutro Heights and Santa
Tie shore itself is billy most of the way
As You drive over the hills you get views
of Undesirable grandeur. Such beaches,
such cliffs, such rocks, such caverns, sucn
miles of surf, you may have seen, but
haven't. At the Doble ranch, below Half
moon Bay you may leave the road, drive
through the barnyard gate and across
pasture, and there you will see sea hon
locks which beat those at the GIN House
ara fan n : m a Z 4
sea lions and they are more easily seen. l
never tire of watching them. Many one
has been cuught here for the menaserles.
A SUMMER STROLL
On the beach will give you young sea lion
TOR pet aud if you like, you may proceed
at once TO pet him. He will bark at you.
but he wont bite. His parents might, II
haps, a ton apiece. By the way, attention
should be called to a bad practice of natives
OF tourists at this point They shoot the
sea lions. Anybody could shoot one who
could shoot the side of a barn if he was
inside and had the door closed, so there is
no sport in it. The monstrous carcasses
float ashore and fill the air with stencil. Is
there no law TO prevent such wantonness ?
or is the trouble in the enforcement OF the
law? The last time 1 was there the fine
beach az the mouth of Tunitas Creek was
strewn with half dozen carcasses OIL all
sizes in all stages of decompositioD.
1unitas Creek is said TO be named after a
plant which abounds at its mouth, and
which has long, thick, aeshy leaf and an
asteT-lke flower. The stage road crosses
the creek on bridge appropriately called
the Long Bridge, Near by is the Gordon
Chute, one oil the wrecks of old landings so
familiar to the people down that coast.
The great warehouse is still there, and the
deserted cottages OF the superintendent and
employees. The old pier, disconnected from
IN and siblp ia weird
skeleton as ever stretched its arms across a
western ocean sky at sunset.
Follow tine windngs of the cliff at this
point and you will sec some two dozen
caves, from one to six rods deep, which you
NAV penetrate at low tide, but into which
the water rolls and churns and thunders at
high tide. You may hear the story OF the
three sea.lion catchers whom the tide
caught in one OF the deepest OF these caves
and held there all night. From these cllfts
l had fine view of several whales quite
near to shore, and have generally been Tor
tunate enough TO sight one or two.
All that country is fine hunting ground.
AS for fish, you can get all the trout you
want and also surf fish and other sea fish,
CLAIMS and mussels abound.
county road has been surveyed through,
which, when completed, will give short
line from the great Stanford University to
as pretty spot rs there IS on the coast. 1t
follows down Tunitas Creek to the long
bridge at the old Potter ranch. where stands
the ideal cottage by the sea-"
Pescadero Is too well known to require
description, but its Pebble Beach ought to
be seen. There is something wild and awe
inspiring in the peculiar formation of the
great rocks over which the water dashes.
One would not suppose that so nat shore
could be so grand. There was
NO SAND ON THE BEACH
When | was there-nothing but clean peb-
bles. 1t was like walking on bin OF
beans. They are several feet deep. You
Will see the tourist lady or gentleman
stretched at full length and paving the
beach over for gems. Patience and skill
are pretty sure to win fine collection
Within few miles of Pescadero you may
bury yourself in virgin forest OF red
woods untouched by the ak. 1 nave seen
train-loads Of tourists 20 wild over a
elump of saplings.
Go with me from San Francisco to Santa