Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-08-22
NOTES OF TRAVEL.

| opecH'l Surfesponuenceo OF gazette ana Journal.
San francisco. Gal. Aug. 8. My first
view OF the Pacific Ocean was from the
outpost Of San Francisco, the Cliff
House. The hotel overhangs the bay,
the surf dashing on the rocks under Its
verandah. 1t faces the Golden Gate,
where cliffs on either side guard the
entrance to the bay. just inside these
are the rocks where, in sight of home.
the kio de JaneiIo went down. To the
north lies the fort on the site of tho
Presidlo, where .'louking seward DER
the.5hndhills stood the fortress, old and
quaint where the oommandante's
daughter waited for the lover who never
returned, though "every day some hopo
was kindled, flickered, faded, and went
out. Not a stones throw from the
hotel. on a group Of salt incrusted rocks
a colony of seals were lazily sleeping,
one row and then rousing sufficiently
70 push his neiRhbor off into the water.
The rock alone was dark with gulla.
Ragged aand hills, dotted with sage
and glowing with yellow peoples and
on which are few bleak, melancholy.
looking houses, ,interpose between the
ocean and the city, but do not mauaee
to screen it from the chill mists that
are driven 10 by the trade winds at this
season and whips through its streets.
Inc air is raw and nipping, but hardly
severe enough to justify the furs so
| generally worn, though not uni
versally, thin shirt waists being almost
as common. The effect Is odd OF seeing
o sealskin coat worn along the street
| against background OF flowers Of
which all sorts bloom riotously in Cali.
fornia. Walls are hidden by geraniums
and roses, there are hedges of fuchsias;
heliotrope, climbing the walls in solid
masses Of perfume and humming with
bees. The prevailing color Of wild
flowers IN California is yellow and the
State emblem is the yellow poppy.
Evon the wheat fields hare a more
golden hue than elsewhere, and the
sunset skies shade from lemon to orange
tints.
10 the beautiful Golden Gate park
where the San Franciscans have made
some of their sandhills yield green
grass, trees and flowers, they have a
vast aviary, an enormous wire cage
enclosing acres of ground with trees
and shrubbery. fountains and running
| rills among which binds of all sorts
make their homes. 1t made one wish
tnat II all birds cannot have real
| Nt'.oNphh pfCy nave b1lS ngXt
thing to it, for they can take long
| flights and hide in the shrubbery from
too pryinR eyes and build theft nests
10 secluded g. OTIS. Canaiies, thrushes
and other sweet singers filed the place
with constant song. | was amused
with a quarrel between parroauet and
an English sparrow. The latter for
once had his match he stood his
ground for awhile like true Britop,
but at last backed down and flew away
visited Mission Dolores, the Oldest
church IN California, built of adobe,
with tiled roof. The ceiling OF rough
beams, is rudely painted in crude
colofsi but the old frescves and bias.
reiisfa showed more advanced art, and
over the entrance hung three silver
bells.
Ignoring the rumors of bubonjc
plague, smallpox, &c., in Chinatown, /
explored Its ri cesses where the Chinese
live such life ns they might in China
amid all their native SURROUNDINGS.
The streets swarmed with them, mostly
IN native costume, few in European
dress, and sUme half and half, but all
with q pigtail more or less 10 evidence.
Inc women Wear trousers and shoes
with soles. curved like boat's keel
put the Astounding children, in their
understandable costumes, were the most
interesting. In the joss hoses incense
burns always before their idols. The
church vessels were massive, the decora
tlons gorgeous In an adjoining room,
winch might be called the vestry. four
Ohlnamen were gambling. There are
some large 81 f>s with tine assert
ment OF china and curios at elastic
prizes that shrink in proportion as the
hoped-for purchaser nears the door.
Among the prominent firms are Hang.
HING Oo., Sue Lee Wo & Co., Sing
Long, Wing Fat Chung, &c. In front
OF the provision stores hung small pigs
tnat had been roasted whole, the skin
seorcned to a crisp In the appoved style
described by Charles Lamb. Another
faVorite Wand seemed to be potato
sprouts, bleaohed in the dark. The
san Franciscans say the 'hestbep
Cninee' is cleaner and more desirable
citizen than many of the Christians
surrounding them and many favor the
repeal of the Exclusion Act. prinoi.
pally because domestic heIos il soaroe
and Chinese make good servants. There
is little home life in San Francisco.
Nearly all families live in hotels, or do
light housekeeping. taking their meals
at restaurants. In the beginning this
napit arose largely from the difficulty
10 obtaining help, but has now become
matter OF preference, the women
liking the easy, irresponsible way of
living and the freedom it gives 10
follow pleasure, unchecked by responsi-
binties. The character OF the reople
must deteriorate by such a general lack
OF home life, but in the meantime the
tourist profits by the proyerbial iii
WIND for restaurants are many and good
and their prices low.
The ride from San Francisco tn
Monterey Is through q rich farming
country; there are miles Of wheat fields
and vineyards, OF fields OF potatoes.
onions and sugar beets, of peach, near
apple and cherry orchards. Their annie |
orchards, though more thrifty, are less
picturesque than ours; one sees no |
motherly, old apple trees, "lookinR as
II tney had seen trouble" with their |
gnaried limbs and boughs perforated by |
woodneokers, but only young, straight |
trees OF uniform size, and with the Soil |
around and under them carefully cult. |
vatedi not blade of grass or weed
visible, Ierhaps one secret of their |
thriftiness. The live oaks dotted over
the meadows gives a park-liKe effect.
The Hotel del Monte, or the grounds
surrounding it, are worth a long
Journey to see. This latter include III, |
acres Of varied landscape beauty grours
OF giant live oaks with trailing green
moss banging from their gnsrled.
twisted limbs, immense palm trees
pepper trees, with airy, feathery foliage
oeus OF gorgeous unfamiliar tropical