The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1902-02-21
CALIFORNIA.
A Letter from the Land Of Fruits
and Flowers

w w AAo MALI ~ . " w SOAS StNluS
short description Of his journey
to California and his present sur.
roundings in that state:
Long Beach, Cal, Feb. 10, 1902.
w. w. DowNIE,
Editor of HERALD-ADvANCE:
On leaving South Dakota when the
thermometer is twenty or thirty below.
going to California, it is great salts
faction to realize that you are going
will in your Imagination, feel the
warm rays of the sun and it will help
one to some extent keep warm if the
car is cold and you are partly freez-
ing to death.
One will not see much of interest,
leaving Kansas City in the evening,
until the next morning when you will
find yourself on the western edge of
the great state of Kansas. We soon
commenced to climb the easterly slope
and enter the territory of New Mexico.
We kept climbing up and up, until we
reached an elevation of over ten
thousand feet. 1t takes two powerful
engines to push our train of five or
six coaches to it's summit, and then it
is a fine ride down the western slope,
over great gOrges and mighty trestle
works, through beautiful valleys,
around great mountains with many
herds of cattle and sheep feeding on
their sides; down, down we go until
we reach the old city of Las Vegas.
In the evening, leaving the train here,
we take side trip up the canyon to the
Montezuma hotel. The elevat here
is about seven thousand feet and it is
a favOrite resort for consumptives
who come here to lengthen the thread
of life few days longer. Sitting on
the piazza, in the hot sun, the ther-
mometer eighty five or ninety, one can
look up the canyon one hundred rods
and see the men at work putting up
ice for the railroad company. They
expect to put up over four hundred
cars this season. The stream up the
canyon is damned across many times,
and the high bluffs on either side al
lows the cold wind to come down and
do it's work without having the sun to
interfere.
Continuing our trip, we pass
through the old historical cities of
Trinidad and Flag Staff, and make
our next stop at Williams, where we
take the train in the evening for a
side trip to the Grand Canyon of
Arizona. 1t is sixty-nine miles dis
tant and we get there sometime between
ten and eleven o'clock. A more weird
sight one cannot imagine than to look
into that fearful chasm in the night
time as the wind comes moaning down,
as if it had some evil news to tell us.
| was glad to retire: but when [ knew
that we were less than twenty feet
from that fearful depth sleep was
simply out of the question, as l al
most imagined that the building and
all were sliding down, down to those
unknown depths below. l was glad to
get up and wait until daylight should
make it's appearance and put an end
to those fearful imaginations. This
mighty gorge is two hundred and
seventeen miles long and fourteen
miles wide, and over one mile in
depth, and one must see the canyon to
get any true idea of it. In 1869 Major
J. w. Powell undertook the explora-
tion of the river, starting from Green
River City, on the Green River, in
Utah. He had nine men and four
boats when he started on May oath:
August Both he landed at the mouth of
the Virgin river, having come one
thousand miles by the river channel,
and having lost two boats and four
men. One of the men weakened and
left the expedition at an Indian
agency before reaching Arizona: the
other three, after braving the terrors
of that frightful journey for weeks,
deserted and were killed by Indians
on the Colorado plateau. Powell's
story of this trip is remarkable and
fascinating narrative, and was OF the
greatest possible scientific value, for
it definitely established the location
and grandeur of the most marvellous
geological prodigy known to man.
John Hance, the famous guide, is still
there and can probably tell you more
about the cany on than any man living.
Continuing our journey we pass
through the Needles in the evening.
1t is SO hot here in summer that men
receive extra pay from the railroad
company and are provided with free
ice, and many other concessions are
granted. The next morning we pass
through the Calhoune pass and soon
find ourselves in the great San Gabriel
valley, within forty or fifty miles OF
Los Angeles. We are interested in
the beautiful groves of oranges and
lemons on either side OF the road.
Los Angeles is the destination of most
of the tourists and from here they 90
out in all directions.
We found Long Beach a fine little
city of three or four thousand inhab-
itants. It is some twenty miles from
Los Angeles, situated in a crescent
fronting the south. San Pedro, three
or four miles to the right, is where the
United States government is spending
several millions of dollars in making
it deep water harbor. They are
putting out three lines of breakwater,
and when completed it will allow the
| largest vessels to land. All of the
lumber and good deal OF the heavy
| freights come in there now.
Catalina islands are some thirty two
miles in the distance, although one
would not think they were over five or
| six miles of.
All tie driving and bicycling
here at Long Beach is done down by
| the waters edge, when the tide is out.
The drive is some ten or twelve miles
long. The sand Is so hard that q
heavy load can be drawn on it with
-