Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-06-11
For the Ellsworth American.
Our Trip.


! In the city, increased to $4,000 during the
summer, who come to the delightful old
/ town for its climate and ocean privileges.
/ Two or three of the citizens well-known in
/ Ellsworth had beard we were coming and
| such preparations, The whole street on
which they lived seemed engaged in ar
ranging programme for weeks stay on
| our part. 1t required all the courage
| could command to tell them we were 90
ing the next day. Their hospitality sur
| prised us all and we had been in California
week too. We drove out six miles to
the big trees" 1t was muddy, disa-
greeable drive, but we were repaid. A
little hotel with comfortable appointments
stands among the trees and directly In
front of it are several of these huge giants.
One was dug and burned out by Gen. Ere
mont's party in ls47 when he crossed the
/ country to take possession Of Monterey,
an old Spanish town on the coast. A rim
of wood about foot in thickness was left
next to the bark and so it is alive and thrift
ty In this improvised camp he made his
winter quarters. Five of us standing close
together only occupied small portion of
the room and Judge fifteen or eighteen
might stand comfortably within the com
partment. | did not measure it, but an
other standing close beside it run my tape
line out sixty six feet in going round it
and this at eight feet above the ground.
one large butt having eight or ten trees
growing from il thirty feet from the roots
is 80 feet in circumference. | can give
little idea of the extent Of the grove. We
walked perhaps half mile and they were
still beyond Us. The largest of them are
between 400 and 800 feet in height 3ue
comprehends it better when be remembers
that this is about one,third the height Of
Green Mountain
We left San Francisco for Portland, Ore
gon, the next night but one. These cities
are about as far apart Ellsworth and
Washington, ID. c. OF our ride up the
far-famed valley of the Sacramento | have
time to say but little. We passed the
wheat fields during the night, reaching Red
Z N'ih- ApA titdhAaNt- "AlSH NV NNdiS Az
was the northern terminus of the 5. 7. r.
! II. 1t is wild country from there north
We shall none of Us forget that morning
ride; We followed the river until noon. up.
up all the way. We got some idea OF the
continuous rise by the rushing river. No
where is it still: always a mad torrent run
| ming through csnons with mountains piled
/ on either side, then splitting TO form an is
| land and rushing on again. Trees along its
banks are green, some of them bountiful in
| blossom. As we rushed along, now across
the river. now through tunnel some one
At length exclsims What i that" The
afaole superintendent who chances to be on
board and answers all our tcnderfoot ques-
tons with the grace of 4 gentleman ex-
plains that it i Mt. Shasta that we but
hsd glimpse of. He tells Us not 10 be
impatient little later we Shall be rid
ing for hours near its base There I; is
away up amid the clouds, three miles above
sea level and two miles above its foothills
$50 feet Of snow has been measured at the
summit and during several years In which
no snow fell in the region round about, il
| remained white and cold as ever
shall not speak of the wonderful tri,
umphs Of engineering skill that we reached
soon. 1t is better told in hundred books,
but may tell you of a little picture that
| love to carry with me, seen later in the
day We had entered a level plain Of a
| few hundred acres, and all over it were
scores of mound-shaped hills differing in
size from that of small haystack to that
| of large building, round "a wheel at
the base ard carrying the same shape per
fectly TO the apex, these studding plain Of
level green; and little in the distance the
| tumhlng mountains crowned by the lofty
summit Of Shasta piled in cold and gray
sublimity above them all made an impress
! slen which though seen but for moment.
| like 10 recall can say little of Portland
or Of those other beautiful cities further
| north, Tacoma and Seattle except in a
| general way. because in this my last letter
| wish to answer few questions asked me
relative to the Pacific coast a. a country
| in which to earn livel hood. OF course |
| know all about it. why shouldn't |: | was
| there twenty days. Portland a thriving
| city Is especially impressed upon me be
/ cause Of the kind courtesy almost lavishcd
/ upon Us by two physicians now resident
! there, whom most of my readers know:
| snd Seattle, because our only seriou, hard
/ shf co., ba +ri,, -,
| Bragdon whom we left there. The beauti-
| ful structures with their modern architec-
tnre the splendid streets, the business en-
| ergy. the many resources of these three
| cities have all been told many times They
I can hardly be exaggerated yet | venture
| the opinion which will cover nv answer to
| one Of the foremost questions referred to
| above, that the cities of Tacoma and Seat
| tie must suffer for two or three years from
the tremendous excitement that has swept
them up the hill for the past few years.
I Watercd too much, mushroomed; do not
misunderstood me, How can they help
being great cities in tme?-lumber unlim-
| tied coal and iron inexbaustIble, agricul-
tHi al iaS4tiLitS uu~uI pfSStu toHiIltTtt ~
their front door. But they have been
- boomed"-''the saddest word of tongue
or pen'-sOme of US in Hancock county
| but forbear. They are paying huge
| percentage on eastern. not home capital.
When the natural resources creep up it
will be all right. Portland is not so; that
city has had speak advisedly-a more
natural growth Taking the other ex-
| treme, Southern California, as a country
| to live in, that man must be fastidious in
| deed who wants better; no winter. no
| thunder, no sunstrokes. As a business
| country il does not seem to me that it Of
| fers to the man who depends on his daily
| labor for livelihood any advantage over
| Maine or Massachusetts. But | believe
| the man with few thousand dollars, or
with profession, can fnd splendid op-
| portunity there. Agriculture or fruit
growing certainly pays there if given at
tention, and professional fees are beggar-
| ly east compared with those along the
whole coast. do not mean by this that
believe it wise for any man once well es-
tablished to try it again. There is always
| large risks and life is too short to begin