The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-07
WONDERS OF CALIFORNIA.
IT IS 4 GREAT COUNTRY IN MORE
 WAYS TH.1N ONE.


 Mountains and Rivers Miles Away Clearly
 Seen in the Rare Atmosphere.
 California is a great country in more ways than one. Some things look twice as big as they really are; others look twice as small. This is owing probably to perfect order of dispro- portion. The piazza on most of the houses Is twice as big as the house it. self The grain grows several feet higher than the little squatty fence that surrounds the field. The men are usually long legged and the horses short legged, and the feet of the aver age rider almost touch the ground.
 After spending few weeks in the ''valley," country of magnificent distances" where you can go out and count the windmills of every ranch within ten miles you want to go up into the foothills where the valleys are small and the hills high, and you'll feel cramped little. Eastern people can't appreciate the size of things they see in this country, especially the scenery. The atmosphere Is so clear that every thing looks to be right at hand, and some of the ideas of distances are as ridiculous as those formed by land-lub- bers after they get on the water
 The tourist was affected this way one morning when be found himself in lit- tie hole in the foothills, surrounded by steep hills clothed with chaperal and crowned with pines.
 He sat on the front porch with the resident and went on at an awful rate. He told the resident that he didn't see how he could breathe in such place in the summer time; bad enough any time, summer or winter; couldn't see more than a mile in any direction; should want to get out somewhere so he could look around a. little and see his neighbors. Nothing so grand as to live in the presence of some great land- soape. Sorter enlarges a mans spirit and gives him broader view of life. Broader the landscape, broader the man. "Now when I'm at home" said he, T can look around on most any of my neighbors; can look a good twelve miles to the south; can't see much look ing north; got one old mountain though; sticks up a little in the west on clear day, and 1t will take you all day to drive to it, and you'll want to put up when you get there and save the climb until the next day"
 "Yes, I know how you feel" said the resident, Been just that way myself Yer see yer come here in the night right from the valley where yer can look erround some, and when yer come out in the mornin and look erround things look strange like. But if yer want ter see some scenery, why, I can show you little; it ain't nothing much only the Sacramento valley, and the Buttes and one thing and another. Do yer feel like takin' a little stroll over on the other side of Irish Ravine hill there? It ain't more'n two miles,"
 This met the approval of the tourist and together they sat out.
 Guess we won't lug the gun along; probably won't see anything worth shootin'," said the resident
 They passed down through a level valley cut in places by deep gullies which they were obliged to jump.
 Can't get a horse to go within six feet of one of those gullies," said the residents 'If you'll notice they're mostly two or three feet wider at the bottom than they are at the top, and the horses know it and are afraid it will cave with 'em." "I thought you said we wouldn't see anything worth shooting" cried the tourist, triumphantly pointing towards the chaperal thicket which came down | to the base of the hill.
 "Nothin' but a jackrabbit," replied | the resident contemptuously. "They l come down here to the edge of the bush | to get thawed out mornin's; get kind CT stiffened up 1ayin' out nights I guess, and they ketch the sun there in good | shape See more'n dozen of 'em there some mornin's. I don't bother 'em any. The old dog comes out once in while and sorter limbers 'em up little Now if I wanted game and something that I could eat I'd come out early and catch some quail as they come out of that live oak there by that spring. They camp there nights, more'n four hun dred of 'enl."
 T should think you'd have some of them" said the tourist.
 q do,'. sententiously replied his com panion.
 They now began to ascend by a mar row rocky road, through thickets of manzanita on one side and chaperal on the other both interspersed by the stately pitch pine and the more humble digger pine.
 Now can you tell me, said the tour ist," why it is that there's chaperal OF one hill and manzanita on the other? Don't they ever get mixed up?" That first question I cant answer. I know that ever since I have been here there's always been chaperal on Irish Ravire hill and on Pine hill it was all Y anzanita. But over there back of us" and the resident turned and pointec| to- ward high hill to the east, "that hill { that my boys climb when they go to school, there's every kind of bush that { I know of that ever grew in these { parts, but usually it's all one or the S other, and they both bout hold their ' own" I They had now by steady climbing { reached a level sort of place. a pass, C
 II !