The morning times., 1897-01-10
LIFE BEYOND THE CLOUDS
Home Life on the Mountain Tops
of the Pacific Slope.
HOUSES OF STRANGE STONES
Some Of the Odd and Beautiful Sights
Seen by Health-Seekers and Sight
seers Trailing 5000 Feet Above
the ea-Fairyland Seen From
the Clouds. &E

The man who wrote Jack and the Bean
stalk biought fancy more nearly in touch
with fact than he VOTED of when he wrote
of mansion in the sky. Real men often
choose strange places for their dwellings
ii their habitations are not always built
with an eyeto orname ent, they atleast have
Joints for health and comfort. Way up
in The Sierra Madre range, along the SOUTH
ern coast of California, in the many canons
aud arroyas you will find houses or dwell
ing places built of every material that is
grown or manufactured by man.
Everything is utilized, even the depised
tin cans, when emptied of9their norish-
ing food or fruit are placed on end and
building walls constructed from them.
Headlight oil cans Strengthened out make
roofs for these primitive structures. Other
builders take the long cane whichabounds
in that section and weave il into mats for
the sides OF their dwellings. These mats
OF cane are fastened to corner poles, and
roof of long grass piled in layers makes
the covering of the structure.
In many of the beautiful towns scat
tered along these mountain ranges, the
cobble stones like those with which our
city's streets were once paved, are used
in the first story OF many beautiful
mansion. Being carefully collected from
the beds of the arroyas, with regard
to color, shape and size, they are en-
bedded in cement. and by the aid of the
mason's spoon-shaped tool the super
fluous sticky matter is scraped away be-
fore it hardens, and the Cubble stones
appear in n border of dark gray, a fitting
base to the noble structure which is reared
Other homes are small caves which, by
some convulsion of nature, have been
broken into the stony mountain side.
These have a rude structure of boards
in front, and the proprietnrs are never
troubled with leaky roofs. The inevitable
canvas home, or shelter tent, is found
everywhere Parties afflicted with rheu-
matism asth ma AMI general debility
seek these mountain homes, and live in
these rude structures all the year rounl
Enterprising men have formed compan-
les who have established permanent camps
for invalids on the mountain tops the only
means of access being over trail some
or miles long, and the only means of
conveyance being the lack Of BURT Or
a mule. These camps are beautifully
located and the scenery is grand and awe
inspiring These dwellers in the high
places of the earth, though nine miles from
civilization, overlook it all.
Unique Mountain Camps.
These stationary camps, erected after
much patient toll, are very unique Some
projecting point is blasted anti the rocky
ridge smoothed or leveled To admit OF the
construction of suitable buildings to ac-s
commodate the sightseers and healthscek
,I1 RI l,-,Sr
mountain ranges. Each visitoris asagneda
little house by himself 1t is about eight
feet by ten feet in size II has canvas sides
and a shingle roof The furniture OF this
mountain home consists OF n small tin
plate wood stove, woven Wire mattress
and bedding, and set of granite toilet
ware. The glowing heat OF the little stove
in the corner soon makes your habitation
comfortable, and, gathering yourself un-
der a heap of bed clothes, you are soon en-
loving a sleep thousands of feet above your
feIlow-men and nearer TO the source of
heat than you have ever been before.
Should you be fortunate enough TO awake
before sunrise and catch glimpse of the
great luninary as 1t rises above the high
est peaks and dispels the vapors which
hide YOU from the lower earth, you have
witnessed something really grand and ma
iestic. On one of the highest peaks OF the
Sierra Madre is located Camp Martin, a
popular resort of inyalids and tourists To
gain admission to this stronghold in the
mountains You must traverse trail scarce
" three feet in width, a distance of nine
miles.
Burros or mules are provided at the foot
of the trail, and to make the ascent three
hours are required The scenery is awe-in-
spiring, and as the traveller, mounted on his
sure-footed beast, makes his way around
the preciptous sides of the various ranges
lie must traverse to gein the summit, he
feels how insignificant a creature he is
and how great is his Creator. Half way up
the trail is an old mountaneer suffering
from asthma. He thinks he cannot breathe
anywhere else. So, perhaps, with the eS-
Ception Of two or three visits year to the
plain below, lie lives the year round in his
mountain hut, with cat and dog for COM
pany. Being an old prospector, he has
stored away sufficient dust to furnish him
with the necessaries OF life from the low
lands.
Freaks of Nature.
Horned toads and lizards dart in and
out among the beautiful ferns, and the
path is strewed with acorns Pure crys-
tai water, gushing from the rocks, is
refreshingly COOL and as you Journey
upward toward the clouds and see at
your feet canon after canon. with their
flowers and ferns, intermngled like a
vast carpet of natures handiwork, you
realize that you are being lifted out of
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