The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-14
THE TOURISTS PARADISE
Strange and Picturesque Spanish
Scenes and Customs.
WHERE SAMENESS IS MISSING
The Happy. Indolcnf. Life Of the Early
Settlers Of Southern California
Portrayed In Charming FASH
ton-Au Event of Interest.
Special Correspondence of The Tribune.

Special Correspondence of The Tribune.
| Los Angeles, Feb. ..-One of the COM
! plants made by the tourists in the
! United States Is that there is so much
sameness from one end of the country
| to the other and so little of historical
| interest to be found. Everything, they
! say. Is new and monotonous. This Is
| undoubtedly one of the main reasons
why so many Americans travel across
| the Atlantic every year, to seek relaXa-
| tion and change among the, historic
! spots of Europe.
There is at least one section of the
United States to which this criticism
does not apply. There Is no part OF
the j nited States not excepting New
England. whose history. during the
| past $50 years, has been so varied and
interesting as that of California. cspe-
| cially Southern California. for il was in
, this section that early activity was
most strongly manifested kaleido-
4 scopic changes have taken place. un-
| paralieleo In the rest of the country
Since its discovery. California has been
under four flagS-under Spanish rule,
under Mexican rule. under a prorision-
al American governmeht ana has be-
come u statr in the Union. oIt has had
\ missionary era. during which hides
and tallow were the chief products. and
a mining era: and now Il has Il horti-
cultural era, which has come to stay.
FIRST SETTLEMENT.
Although the California coast had
been explored by Spanish navigators
! as far north as latitude 40 deg. during
the sixteenth century. no attempt was
made to occupy this section until
1863. I'm which year Don Casper de
pnctnl. having laff 1vnt I'm
Sierra at San Diego to found a mission.
pushed northwest TO re-discover the
bay of Monterey. With soldiers.
priests and servants, there We're sixty
four persons I'm the party. ON reach
ing what is now known as the Los
Angeles river, in the southern part
of the present site of the city of Los
Angeles. they gave the river the name
| of Porciuncula. after the famous Fran
ciscan convent of Italy. Following
the river up, they camped on Aug. =
about where Sonoratown is now. and
celebrated the feast of Neustra Sonora,
Ia Reyna de Los Angeles-Our Lady.
the Queen of the Angels. From this
fact The town founded on the same
spot eleven years later took its name.
This may therefore be said to have
been the first celebration of the Fiesta
de Los Angeles. now an annual event,
all over the continent. The first cele-
bration was. however, purely reli-
gious affair. far different in that re-
spect from the modern fiesta.
1t was a custom of Spanish explor"
ers to name their camping places, or
special geogra phical features they dis
covered, after the name Of the. saint
in the church calendar of the day they
We're there. In this manner it Is near
1,1 al.
calendar, to trace the exact course of
the explorers uD the coast.
FIRST WHITE MEN.
Portola and his party were the first
white men upon the ground where Is
now the city of Los Angeles, but they
found at this place village of the
Cahnilla Indians. The party only re-
mained q day at this point, and it
was not until Sept. 4. 1881, that the
city of Los Angeles was founded, as a
Spanish colony, by order of Governor
de Neve. Eleven families-Spaniards,
Indians, mulattoes and n negro-com-
posed the early population of Los An
seles--a very mixed crowd. Not one
of them could read or write. and only
one of them had a trade. They were
very poor. otherwise they would not
have come all the way from Mexico
to work for $40 month. The colonists
first built mud-roofed dwellings around
the old plaza. which is still the geo.
graphical center of the city. although
the center of business has moved near
ly half a mile away in southwest
erly direction. An irrigation ditch was
taken out from the river, and the low
lands were cultivated The colOnists
prospercd from the start. Their crops
We're large and their cattle multiplied.
The government had furnished each
family with oxen, horses, cows, tools.
etc, payment for which was deducted
from their wages
1t was an easy-going, dolce far niente
sort of life that was led by the few
white inhabitants of Southern Cali
fornia during the mission era. In the
earlier years of that era the settle
ments We're confined to the missions, a
chain of which had been built uD by
the perseVering pety Of the fathers.
from San Diego on the south to the
northern part of the state.
RAPIDLY DEVELOPED.
In less than sixty years from the
founding of the mission of San Gabriel
which occurred in l,Tl. the herds of
neat cattle, bands of horses. and hocks
of sheep and goats of the three mis-
sions of this county. covered the major
part of the land in Los Angeles county,
and parts Of the San Bernardino noun
tain range.
In those days the ranch life was not
confined to the country. 1t prevailed
in the towns. too. There was not a
hotel in San Francisco or Monterey, or
anywhere in California. till 1916. when
the Americans took the country. The
priests at the missions We're glad to
entertain strangers without charge
They would give you u room i'm which
to sleep. and perhaps Il bedstead. with
hide stretched across it. and over
that you would spread your blankets.
At this time there was not in Cali
foFnia any vehicle except a rude Cali
fornia cart. The wheels We're with
cut tires. and were made by telling an
oak tree and hcwinS 1t down til it
made solid wheel, nearly Il foot thick
on The rim. and little larger where
the axle went through.
The houses Of the SPANISH people
We're hnilt of adobe. and We're ronfel
with red tiles. They were very COM
Portable. cool in summer and warm in
winter. The clay used 10 make the .
bricks were dark brown not white nor
yellow, Us in Mexico. Cut straw was
mixed with the clay, and trodden to- |
gethrr by the Indians when the I