The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-18

canon. now rast big oaks whose long armi
reached out over the stream. poy IA the
shspp pon oi metz esi IN Winter the ranch
neope arc literally shut oil from the world
the canon being flllsd with. roaring torren!
more uictuiesdus. che canon narrower and
deeper. then suddenly the trau passed through
hsS IF The TO great asa
valley Of delights, A more complete reyela-
ton could scarcely he imagined. passing from
OF pastoral beauty. The little valley appeared
to be about two iniles long and was covered
Nth vines loaded Ale Nth roening gTspres; IN
house Of French design with iron fences and a
high French roof. Near this was the dining
hail OF the iamily,a SEPARATE building; and
not faraway the workshops. barracks and mess
halls for the one hundred or more French.
e.nT Abe sw wsSs a.o he ons
garden luxuriant with semi-tropic verdure and
wineries filled with great tuns OF red and
more delightful scene than was presented by
this little French Italian colony one rarcl y
and The ow1sr, are Justly Proud 9 1T A.
thing served. executing tho champagne. was
made or raised on the island-a tribute to tho
richness Of this California island
The cIowning feature OF this group OF lei.
ands is tho caves On Santa Catalina there ls
one into which the writer has pushed 6ont
more. coming out at another entrance: but at
Santa Cruz Island the entire soaboard seems
BILE size. Everywhere along, shore they could
lie seen. some pufling and blowing. as though
some sea moaster vas guarding the PORTALS
and relenting the intrusion. some have very
small openings that can he entered only when
the lea falls away. the boat scuddinR In to find
q large and lofty room. The noises that come
Kissing and roaring from those dark unfath-
omed caves were startling. and we'll calcu-
lated to terrfy any one whose nerves were not
very strong. This was e. Decially true OF what
Ia known as the Painted Cave. near the Point
Dablo where there L. always heavy sea aud
is nearly always In rough water. and the great
arch OF the entrance stands out black upon tbe
face Of the clit1. small yacht could be sailed
into the entrance Of the cave. but 1t is always
entered BY small boats. and Is compared In
beauty to Capri.
As our boat entered. the gale outside sent a
long ground swell into the cathodral.like en-
trance. gently urging us into the dome. vi mich
rises. thirty or forty teet a h ana ne r, y
and varogated colors. giving its name 20 the
cave. The first room 10 perhaps thirty feet
and the richest II
color OF the rainbow can be seen here. as
though PAINTER had splashed HE colors on a
smooth IA glass and n marvellous blue then
green. then deepeuing to purple rs the boat
The second room was similar to the frat. but
darker: then came third. until We were con-
fronted with an openng nbout six feet across
most filed II. AS 1t Disappeared in the mys-
teri9us depths there issued sounds that made
the heart stand SILL. Az the wave struck inc
entrance the air escaped with a strange hiss
ing sound: then as 1t went rolling In. deem
smothered murmurinRs. hoarse Rroans. loud
detOnatio that shook the very mountain
were heard. accommodating acd reverberatina.
ever Increasing until pandemonium reigned
and one could almost imagine that u discharge
OF gnns had been fred
Waiting for a favorable oDportunity. the
boat was pushed through the narrow opening
and We entered n large and dark room OF un-
known height that seemed Nlled with weird
sounds which were shortly explained. Tho
almost human cries came from a herd Of sea
lions 10 some istant branch OF the cave. aud
the sucking. asthmatc noises were made by
the escaring air from tho tunuels. The
writer has been In some curious places under
water and earth. but this last chamber Of the
Painted Cave. rising and falling on an unseen
sea- the air filled with sounds and strange cur
rents OF air, gave an experience absolutely
new. The shores OF this leland are honey
combed with caves. the rock bsiEg soft and
POROUS and worn BY the action Of the sea so
that many curious and remarkable cham bers
and caverns can he entered In small boats.
one Of the most interesting caves on this
island has three entrances one upon the sea
and two upon land-and Is in reality an enor-
nous roacS supported hy titanic columns. II
these caves were on the Atlantic coast they
would he the resort for thousands. as they are
among tho great curlosities OF the country: as
1t is. they ate rarely seen except by the yachts
mel who In summer cruise among the ISL
ands and few tourists who make the trip
from Santa Barbara or Ventura.