The Lamar register., 1893-07-15
THE HOME OF RA.o..A.
Oran-, blossoms Ob-ain the Mssters
O~er Garden Flowers

between the reranda anil the
river meadows ali was garden. orange
grove ami almond orchard. on either
hand stretched away other orchards
peach apricot. pear. apple and
pomegranate. and beyond these vine
Yards Nothing was to be seen bat
verdure, bloom or fruit at whatever
time of the year you sat on the sem
ora's south veranda-"
This is from Helen Hunt Jackson's
story of Ramona, the first American
novel;" which the authoress located
in IA delightsome place." says the
San Francisco Examiner.
The Carmelos ranch, the scene Of
Mrs Jackson's inspiration. is to-day
just as it was when the authorizes
stopped there for rest and wrote the
book that gave her more fame than .
lifetime devoted to sketches had
done. Saugus. the Moiave station
nearest Carmelos, is not pretty. and
the change from the barren Alkah
plains. capable only of cactus growth.
to the verdure and beauty which
marks the Santa Clara river valley.
is SO sudden as to border on . transit
tion to fairyland. Mrs Jsckson's
faithfulness to detail was SO perfect
that no visitor can be disappointed in
the setting of the story.
1t was in May that Mrs. Jacks on
visited Carmelos and it was in May
that the story of Ramona" began.
and it is in May that Carmelos' glor-
les are most predominant In this
month the hills are covered with
eschscholtzias and brodea in daring
but harmonious com mbinations, the
orchards give sweet-scented premon-
ltion OF the luscious fruits to come,
while the wild mustard attains its
greatest height, SO that the good
padre. as he wcnds his way up tho
valley. is concealed by the waving
network of yellow blossoms
The ranch is now the property Of
the Del Vale family. and 10 one OF
the best specimens remaining of the
representative home OF the half bar
barrie. half elegant, wholly generous
and careless men and women Of de-
gree in California in the first half OF
the present century.
The owners maintain 40 old
Spanish style scrupulously. Nothing
is changed or new, and the house.
maids still wash the linen in the
brook beneath tho willows on tho
same fat stones that served for
scrubbing boards before the conquest
The house is white without, and the
square made by its three walls ts
filed with a grove of glossy orange
trees. The old benches ON the veran-
das facing on the court are still in
place. and their shining. well-worn
seats bear testimony to the love Of
the original inhabitants for the open
air.
The thick buttress-supported walls
resemble an eighteenth century for
tress but for the clambering vines
which cling lovingly to the adrbe
bricks and relieve them Of ~
naturally forbidding aspect
Tho .'delightsome place" IN Ra-
mona was the south veranda. eighty
feet long and the widest Of them all
All the flowers characteristic Of Cali
fornia. cacti in all forms, passion
vines and yucca predominating. grow
| in this garden in front of this ideal
lounging place. not forgetting Gen.
tury plants, which have lived to
OkOOEh 4uo OQOF OI 0FouRo ana
lemon blossoms is all pervading and
persistent, and quite overpowers tho
scent of the garden now l. even
such as have their birth = / being
on the brink Of the cesselessly play
ing fountain.
The private chapel Of the estate Is
at the west end Of the court 1t Is
Of adobe, like all the buildings, vet
OF Gothic architecture. q type not IA
miliar TO the early Californians II
is enshrined in olive trees which ap-
pear to have made their growth in
sympathetic moonlight. Near it il
the frame of bells from old Spain,
formerly devoted entirely to worship
summons. Now only one sounds the
Angelus; the others are devoted to
noting the hours Of labor and calling
the children to their school tasks.
But one OF the white wooden crosses
remains
1t is remarkable to writers how
closely and faithfully Mrs. jackson
adhered to the scenes of CarmeIos in
her writing. The disappointment to
the visitors is in the fact that no
real Ramona is to be found.
They can scarcely believe that the
realism ends with the setting OF the
picture. and that the figures lived
only in the authors Imagination.
Every one who comes asks for Ramo-