CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1903-02-26
VACATION NOTES

San Diego, Cal. February 90. '03
Colorado people are usually disap-
pointed in the winter climate uf Cali
fornia. Coming here from the froz-
en-, cold, soggy weather of the east,
California is a paradise, but it does
not compare so favoiably with Color
ado, especially with Canon City wea-
ther. The air is damp here and when
the thermometer gets down to 32,
which it does occasionally, it makes
one shiver. In fact one shivers here
before it gets down that cold. Very
few houses here are heated well and
some not at all and this makes one no.
tice the low temperature more readi-
ly.
The coal problem here is one that
would scare Canon City person We
think We are being held up i'll Canon
because the coal trust has put coal mp
to 50. 75 a ton. Here coal is Sl2 a ton
in ordinary times. Most people buy
it by the gunny sack full. and a sack
which weighs less than n hundred
pounds, am told sells for 10 cents.
/ was a little disappointed in the
general appearance of this country.
l had forgotten, | suppose, that this
is country of irrigation like Colora-
do, and that the country is only greer
and luxuriant when the hand of man
has directed the irrigating bitches.
When it is uncultivsted the general
appearance of the land is not very
much unlike that of Colorado. The
average tourist rather expects 10 see
the whole unoccuped domain covered
with fields of palms and tropical flow
ers and forests of magnolias, oleand
ers, and sweet scented jessamine. The
cultivated portions of California how
ever, are as near like paradise as are
the ideas of the land owners. il their
ideas are backed up by good sized
pocket books.
/ stopped for few hours ut Baker
field, the center of the big oil neld.
From what 1 could find out the oil
here is not SO valuable as that found
in our own country. A number of
the big buyers here are buying on
contracts at 10 cents barrel while
the market is now only about 20 or 30
cents / was told that there are $50
paying wells here and that the aver
age yield is 800 to 400 barrels q day.
My informant assured me that in the
former field nine out Of ten OF the
wells put down prove to be paying
wells. This is very high percent
age, as in the best part Of the Flor
ence field they would be glad to find
six paying wells out Of ten put down.
Tehe wells are only from 800 to l. 300
feet deep and one SMALL power engine
will pump from six to twelve wells.
Land which few years ago was
worthless cannot now be bought for
g, 900 an acre.
In Los Angeles they have oil wells
right in the city, and all around it.
In one very good under section the
oil derricks nre in all the yards.
Very often two or three derricks will
be ON one small lot. Land owners
lease the oil right on royalty. As an
example of what they get, was told
one man who had small home place
with three wells on the place was
getting $75 monthly for the oil. He
had gotten more in the beginning but
the oil was decreasing. Oil is be-
coming quite factor here as fuel.
They use it for any purpose for which
coal is used for, both for heat and
power. Most Of the trains are being
run now by oil and it is found to be
cheaper and more convenient than
coal.
The Hoods Sarsaparills barns and
fences look Just the same in Califor-