East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-01-02
ENDLESS SUMMER
LETTER FROM j. IL. WOOD,
AT LONG BEACH, CAL
Graphic description of California Cit
les and Sccnes--Mecca of Umatilla
County People Is Most Beautiful
Winter Climate on the Earth-Los
Angeles Vividly Described.

Angeles NNluil ltsCf1Deu.
The following interesting letter
from Long Beach, Cal. is published in
this weeks Weston Leader.
1t is from j. H. Wood of Weston,
and is interesting to Umatllla county
people because so many of them now
winter in southern California:
Long Beach, Cal, Dec. 30, 1904.
To the Editor of the Leader:
/ started for San Francisco Novem-
ber 81 on the steamer Columbia. The
voyage was nice enough until we
crossed the bar and were tossed about
upon the heaving bosom of old Ocean.
With the rocking of the boat a queer
sensation seized upon me-often de-
scribed in the case of others. but
never understood until one himself
experiences 1t. could not and did
not eat single meal until we arrived
at San Francisco. December six
days of fasting and emptiness l was
faint and dizzy for two days after l
got ashore, and when 1 entered
building 1t seemed to rock like ship.
San Francisco is lively place. 1t
buzZes and huns with its congested
populace, like a hive of busy bees 1t
is all jammed together-the residence
districts as we'll as the business CEN
ter-the streets are narrow and the
street car system poor Soon after
arriving l was rudely awakened at
midnight My bed shook and the win
dows ratified. 1t was an earthquake
and one sufficiently shocking tor
me.
took trip to Oakland with an ex-
cursion crowd and travelled about S4
miles for ST. After crossing the bay
took street car at Oakland and
went out to Berkeley. / never before
saw such magnificent buildings as
comprise the state university, and they
are surrounded by a beautiful land
scape. The grass and trees are green,
flowers a-bloom, and one is reminded
of summer time at home. The uni
versity has $500 students, and VIII
liam Randolph Hearst gave this great
institution a theater that seats 10000
people.
Going to Piedmont l saw the finest
park of its size, L presume, in the
world. 1t contains about 40 acres,
lavishly beautified. AT Hayworth,
about 10 miles from Oakland down
the bay. saw the best orchard had
ever looked upon. The soil there is
very rich and is valued at about $500
an acre. l refrained from buying a
quarter section,
My next jaunt was to Los Angeles,
about 500 miles south of San Francis
co. We travelled through San Joaquin
valley. 200 miles long and lao wide.
They call it farming country, but
could see nothing to justify the de-
scription. The improvements seemed
TO be many years old and the buildings
had hard times look.
Crossing a mountain range at night
we dropped down upon Los Angeles
In the morning. AS nearly as l can
see, the soil around Los Angeles is
all sand. 1t doesn't look as though it
would sprout black-eyed beans, even
with irrigation, and they are short of
water around Los Angeles. They
have to irrigate by means of artesian
wells. Los Angeles has about 140.-
600 population and is kept up by the
people who go there to winter. 1t is
dirty town, and 1 got out of there
and went to Long Beach, 16 miles
south of Los Angeles.
Electric cars run from Los Angeles
to Long Beach every 90 minutes. and
the angels" come here on excursions
every Sunday from ten to fifteen
thousand strong. Its normal popula-
ton is about 5000. Long Beach is
nice. quiet place of recreation--a
clean city and dry" one, where you
cannot buy a glass of beer. The city
water is artesian and tastes Of sui
phur. rs good for person-bettei
than beer, perhaps. There is batl
house here containing a pool of sail
water fresh from the ocean. and oi
course, one can also take a dip in the
sea itself. Summer weather obtains
here in mid-winter. The mercur,
| registers 75 above In the middle oi
the day. But two inches of rain hal
fallen in year, yet they raise al
kinds of vegetables and fruits ON irri
gated land, and the trees never droI
their leaves nor change their dress o
green. Strawberries and cream form
a noteworthy and delicious portion o
. my daily menu.
A pier 1000 feet long and ranglnI
I 60 f., h.