The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-02-23
The Story of Kaweah.

The story Of the foundation Of the little
communlstic society OF Kaweah and OF it's
failure Is full OF pathos. MS IL is told by one
Of the colonists. Mr.. BuRNErrE G. HAS
xELL. In the Examiner OF San Francisco.
On the slopes of the Sierras. on the west
ern border Of Tulare county. ut the head
waters Of tho north fork OF the Kaweah
River. two miles above the San joaquin
Valley. there stretches IL great forest OF
pine and fir aud redwood. public land which
in 1885 was open to entry. but was SO in
accessible that though surveyed it had
remained untouched and unclaimed even
by lumbermen. The climate was agreeable.
the soil fertile. and near by were untold
treasures. us it seemed. of marble and min
erals. Toward this mountain slope and
lonely plateau, that had been declared by
previous explorers worthless and inacccssi-
bic. a little band OF enthusiasts. forty-three
In all. iourneyed in 1885 from San Francisco
and filed their claims in tho county town.
VisullH. In tho valley.
Some three miles down the cafIOn OF the
North Fork thess colonists established the
little tent town OF Advance. and lived there
from April. 1887. until December. 1889. when
they removed six miles further down the
river to- aweGh, built of rough lumber and
tenting. The present population OF tho
colony Is about fifty, hut IL has been rs high
~ two hundred: and altogether probably
three hundred members Of tho associa-
t.On have ut different times visited or
lived upon the land. These people were
almost all Of American birth. and came from
every part OF the country. There were ed
ucated men aud men wholly uneducated.
Darwipists and Spilitunlists. farmers and
artasts. There were dress reform cranks
and phonetic spelling fanatics. word purists
and vexotarians. 1t was Il mad. mad world.
and being 30 small the madness was the
moro visible" The inspiring motive OF the
settlement was tho practical application,
apparently. Of the theories expounded
and illustrated SO allurinRly OF late
Mr.. EDWARD Bethany. The leaders
OF tho company believed In the possibility
sof abolishing poverty and fancied that
mankind. as they expressed 1t. was "suf-
nciently civilized to change environment at
once. rssdspt itself without delay to new
loroas. and conquer the subtle spell OF he
redity In ono generation" The process OF
sboiishing poverty seemed a problem easy
70 solve. All that was necessary was to get
)snd free. 90 - to abolish the landlord tax
ion tools and soil. Then tho labor they COM
sasnded was to be applied to producing
some commodity which from Its natural
scarcity would command q market: and In
order TO avoid the cost Of transportion to
ind locality where that market was at
their doors. They must provide their own
medium Of exchange to avoid the necessity
Of interest; and cooperation was essential
: In order to keep alive the sacred dame OF
human brotherhood.
All these conditions seemed to be met at
Ksweah. There was the land free: there
was the nature-given treasure Of lumber.
wood. marble. and minerals. There was
ths fertile but treeless valley reaching to
The fork Of the river. where teemiDg pop
slataon would soon furnish the market for