The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-03-18
PEOPLE PRAYED FOR RAIN.
DnOUTM N CALIFORNIA CAUSES
SUFFERING AVN DIsASTER.
TYen Dying ~ sssrvatten-Dasks
Dau Because Farmer Cssaot
Pay Thesr Debfs-Resief NJ Last.

The news tina. at last rain mas fallen
throughout the state Of California is GER
tain1y good news.
For afn,ost swc years the fields and or
chards the vineyards and gardens. and
even the pastures os the mountain sides
In thar stzte have lain burned and brown
beneath a cloudiess sky and q blazing san.
until IL almost seemed that the view taken
OF the situation by the eiergyrnen OF Los
Angeles was the correct oae, and thai the
Great Ru.er u the Universe ~ss punish
ing the people OF the Golden State.
To dseliers in this favored land. a de-
scriptson Of the great drouth in Ealifor-
MIA. extending through isss and thus far
into 1879 will read much as the story OF
the plaques which sacred history describes
- being visited upon the children sof
Israel.
A farmer In Washington can hardly re
olize condition OF things which would
make u necessary for him 10 go out and
shoot his horses and cows and sseep, rath
er than stand by and watch them die OF
starvation.
Yet such was the condition nf AFFAIRS in
many counties In California no longer
than week ago. In one case girl who
lived on a farm left her an inheritance
by her parents. with her own hands killed
no less than twenty head of horses which
were dying for want Of food
Up IN the mountains hundreds of sheep
we're slaughtered and hundreds more died
Of hunger.
Thousands Of acres of wheat and other
grain showed nothing bnt brown stubbie
burned by the sun until unfit even for
feed
The trees in the orchards failed to bloom
and the vines in the vineyards lay like
ufeless sticks OF drisswood-
The outlook was more than gloomy In
many towns the church people 50. aside
. day OF prayer for rain. The merchants
and the banks suffered even more than
did the farmers, for long loans held In
hope OF payment were realized to be DOOM
ed to default. A panic In bussness OF all
kinds was not alone imminent. but was
On No less than five banks In San Luis
Obispo, Psso Robes and Ventura closed
their doors this week. just before the rain.
and mercantile houses ali over the state
are known to be tottering under the loans
made to farmers which II was expected
the crops. OF 1859 would pay In whole or In
part
But the rain has come at last. and .
crust or two OF the loaf viii be saved, de-
spite the drOuth. but IT Will not be the
bread that vas hoped for and expected by
the farmers. merchants and flnanciers OF
California this year. Such crops as they
viii have will be a tenth OF the usual
yield and they will pay accordingly.
enough. probably. 10 tide over the corning
season without distress and place them I'm
. position TO recoup by the harvesis Of
1860. This view Is, Of course. based upon
the belief that In the fall and winter OF
- and 100. sufficient rain Will fall on the
plains sufficient snow fall in the noun
S~S~ A.. H.
Bu, should there be floods. as there
often are In that. land OF plenty. the story
OF the close OF the century may be even
worse for the land OF sunshine.
The portion OF California that suffered
most from the drouths OF iSls and 1891 was
what Is known a. Southern California. To
tire ordinary sojoufner In that land. South
ern California means all the territory south
OF San Francisco To the Mexican or Ari-
coma lines. hut caiifornians call Southern
California the San Joaquin valley and al
the vast area lying south OF the Tehaehap:
range OF mountains.
The irouth AFFECTED heavily the Santa
Clara valley. with its olive. apricot. nee
tarine and other orchards the feed lands
In Monterey and other COUNTIES adjacent
Ia the Sacramento valley. with It's hum
dreds Of thousands of acres Of grain, but
where the bllgh, of the suns rnerc;Iess rays
fell heaviest Was on the grain ilelds. the
rsssin vineyards and orchards of the great
Saa Joaquin valley, and the orange and
lemon groves OF the farther southland
about Los Angeles.
The San Joaquin valley f. In Itself an
empire, rich beyond compare by gifts OF
nature. whose value + augmented an hua-
drsdfoid by the ingenuity OF mar. Here.
between the Sierra Nevadas on the east
and the Coast range mountains on the west
along the banks OF the San Joaquin river
OH either s,le. stretch away the gram fields
until the foothills Of the mountains are
reached. There are the orange groves. the
figs and ponaegYanaie~ Farther south are
the raisin vinegar ribs and ins.rmngied acres
% the vines That bear the life blood OF the
ruby wines
Nestled all along through this valley are
the villages and towns. centers Of trade
and round about them orchards sweep an
I'll II = feast for the eye IN ordinary sea-
sons ~ Jet II rest upon the valley In lis
harvest.
In the valley OF the San joaquin are the
counties 81 San joaquin. ssanlslauS, Mer-
red. MADEIRA. Fresno. Taiare KINGS ard
Kern. These if the valley proper and
the counties bordering upon them, whose
domains reach into the mountain peaks are
looked upon as aliens
tntt recently :he valley was divided into
the east ana west stvS hv the Southern
Pacific railroad. Nearly an The good land
lay on the east s.Se 81 the railroad and
u was accordingly thtckly settled whs'.
the west side Was lsts IA sock AMI pasture
met and the occasional setter who ~as
willing 10 sighs the alkaa with irrigation
Through the valley runs ,As san Joaquin,
T0esaaine. Mercei Cheschlila ENesns
Kings, kRweah ard Kern rivers Use ma
'crsty e the streams are rivers hy c0ur~
,ess en the usp, HAT 0ne ~ them ~ nav
lgaels. the San Joaquin. ansi that fog only
portion 81 Is aeEgth, fTcs0 Stockton
wSete Il joins tAs Sacramento. 10 the bay
Al The T-vers depend npoa ths SHOWS 81
the mountains ser their volume - water.
~s;n slight Increase IL drainage from tAe
plains Win an ordinary FatafaH these
rivers - tae Summer tpimgllg away - mere
tt0eks IN ~ sth saa depth In wears q,
dTeafA saey susosHt - netting ana have
amounted - roIhisg a. water Sasppsying
streams Eer afisrsss; IaetS for the 3TFsw4-
'sea Sys,eass tor jso wears,
Fr~saa. Kern and ether csHas'ss Sc, Sc