Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-09-19
WONDERFUL
CALIFORNIA.
From Les Angeles to San Fran.
cisco a Fairyland.
SOIL RICH, CLIMATE PERFECT.

Scenery Along the Ocean shore-The
Sugar Beet lndustry-Where Science
Assists Nature to Do Her Best.
Correspondence Of the Yorkvills Enaulres.
SAN Francisco, Cal. September g.
Leaving Los Angeles at $50 yesterday
afternoon, I arrived here early this
morning and have been running around
pretty much all day. principally on the
electric cars.
This Is Admission Day." and gala
occasion. The banks and all the other
more important business places are
closed: but the city Is probably more
lively than It would be otherwise.
Barnum and Bailey's greatest on
earth" has been here for a week, and
it has succeeded in making known the
fact that II Is In town: Admission
Day" Is the cause Of the general sus-
ne sion of business: but 1t will have to
be conceded that the greatest on
earth" is the principal attraction.
| The Britt Nelson prize fight Is going
on at Colima a few miles outside of
the city. The people here call 1t a
"glove contest" and scoff at the idea OF
there being anything wrong about 1t.
The town however Is wild over the out
come and there are thousands Of people
gathered around the bulletins at the
offices Of the Examiner. Chronicle and
Call. I stopped a while to watch the
crowd. Maybe I had some curiosity
about the fight also: but that don't
matter. When the bulletin man wrote,
commencement of round l." there
went up a shout that was wild and
woody. and the crush grew greater and
greater until the announcement Of
Nelson as the victor.
AS yet 1 have not seen a great deal
In San Francisco that seems to be Of
striking interest The town Is very
much like any of the larger cities along
the eastern seacoasts. The harbor Is
full of craft of all kinds from all parts
of the world. including the great
steamers Of the Pacific Nail and Orien-
tai and Occidental lines. like the new
Manchuria and Mongolia, or the Doric
aid Coptic. have been Of more than
half a mind to go to Honolulu; but /
wanted to make the trip either In the
Manchuria or the Mongolia, and as
both of these ships are now on the
other side coming this way. I find 1t
impracticable to wait.
| While l was unable to distinguish a
Mormon from Gentle In Salt Lake
City. I beg leave to observe that there Is
no trouble about telling the difference
between an American and a Chinaman
In San Francisco. There are thousands
Of Cinnamon here. most Of them dressed
in characteristic fashion with their
long queues hanging down their backs.
The queues Of some Of these fellows,
after making a turn or two about the
tops Of their heads reached to the
calves Of their legs. Many Of the Chi
namen are light colored Intelligent
looking fellows. who make acceptable
servants, and who get along very nice.
ly in business.
II only felt equal to the undertak-
ing, / would be delighted to describe
southern California, especially be-
tween Los Angeles and San Francisco.
did not see 1t all. Dark overlook me
before I reached San Francisco. But
saw enough to convince me that this
Is truly a most wonderful country. The
people here claim that in many parti-
culars It is. unsurpassed In the world
and / am prepared to believe Ii.
| Running out from Los Angeles. the
railroad soon strikes the shore Of the
ocean and then for miles and miles Its
course Is directly along the beach. On
one side the great waves Of the Pacific
roll to within twenty feet Of the track
and on the other side rise ranges OF
mountains to a height Of from 1000 to
5000 feet. Lying here and there among
the foothills. and between the peaks
are beautiful valleys that are covered
with eternal verdure. and all along.
everywhere are farms, gardens and or
chards, the like of which are probably
to be found nowhere else In the world.
1t never rains here, or II 1t does II Is
very seldom. The ocean breezes play
In the tops of the mountains. and the
mountains protect this sheltered strip
from the hot winds Of the great deserts
beyond. The land has to be irrigated; ;
but this Is a matter Of but little diff
Guilty. The hundreds Of mountain
streams furnish all the water that Is
necessary not only for irrigation; but
for power with which to drive all the
machinery that can be needed on the
farm.
| While the country between Los An
geles and San Francisco Is equal to the
production Of any crop grown outside
of the tropics and everything to Its
grandest perfection, 1t Is a fact that
each one of the valleys seems best
adapted to some particular kind OF
crop, and science has been able to dis
cover the particular agricultural or
horticultural crop for which each Is In
tended.
Some distance out from Los Angeles,
I began to notice cars loaded with a
peculiar looking commodity that was
unable to identify. From the quick
glimpses to be had from the swiftly
moving train, thought the cars were
piled up with bones or cattle horns;
but after a while the train came to
stop at Oxnard and there the myster-
ious freight was Identified as sugar
berts. peeled and chewed one Of the
beets. 1t had a sweet taste but was
much coarser than the beet we grow
in our gardens. I understand that
V hen the beets are ready for harvest,
the growers go over the ground and
cut the tops off with a machine made
for the purpose. Then they take them
up, and ship them on the cars.
The town Of Oxnard, a thriving COM
munity Of about 1000 people, sur
rounded by 14,300 acres Of beets, stands
where there was nothing but a grease
wood desert four or five years ago. 1t
! is striking Illustration Of the capacity
Of California soil, and the ease with
which II may be converted into gar