The Oskaloosa herald., 1907-12-26
ROBT. DOAK'SLETTERS
Interesting escription Of People
And Places.
san Diego, Cal, Dec. 20

san AttChof SNi.f ADN~- ~.
Dear Herald Family: AS the holi
days are approaching, and this vii
be the last letter will write for th'
Herald this year, viii extend uni
versal Christmas and New Years
greeting to all Herald readers. Wheel
any one of its many readers readi
this letter, imagine it's meant person
ally for you. Anyone so unfortunate
as not to read the Herald may no
know when the holidays come. W.
are enjoying plenty OF sunshine herr
and there has not been day since my
arrival, Nov. 4th, but what the sur
has shone. There have been lgn
rains at FIVE different times, once lat'
in the evening, three times at night
and once early in the morning, bu
they have never kept the sun from
shining most OF the day. Tourists
are coming and going. The financia
situation for awhile stopped travel tt
some extent. but that has passed, anc
II ii were not for the tax OF the SO
cialist element here. You would hardly
know anything had happened.
There are many funerals here.
don't hear OF much sickness, but i
can be credited largely to the mum
Der Of inyalids that come here, think
ing that any corpse can be brougnt
to life in this land of sunshine and
flowers There Is an undertaker's es
Establishment, by the name of Johnson
who once lived at Emory place east
of Indianapolis, Iowa, that is neal
where room. have seen as many
as three funerals from there in day
The services are not conducted al
the churches, as in Iowa. On &C
count of so many diseased persons
that talk over the telephone and hav
ing their mouths near the transmitter
SO that disease is inhaled into the
lungs OF others. a discovery has been
made that they can place their hand
over the transmitter aud talk al
arms length, or place the transmittel
TO any part of the body and have good
service. This discovery was made in
California. but there are many that
are from Missouri.
made a trip the past week to La
Jolla, about twelve miles north OF
San Diego, on the beach. There are
some caves here that go in under a
high projection of rocks. but on ac,
count of the rough waves that dash
in against the rock the entrance can
not be made from the ocean. A tun.
mel has been made from the top OF
the rock down $50 feet, and one has
to descend by means of a ladder.
Tourists are charged twenty-five
cents for the privilege of going down,
When the tide is coming in and the
waves come against the rocks, water
is thrown far into the caves. There
is another place called the Devil S
Slide. wnere by an improvised ladder
two hundred feet in length. one can
descend on a massive pile OF rocAs
large and small. The waves beat
here against the rocks and the water
would be thrown twenty feet high
near this point. The water m the
ocean was very deep, ranging from
six hundred to three thousand feet
/ made another trip across the pay
10 Fort Rosecrans. where the party
went ashore and inspected the fort
and the submarine mines lnat are
made to be used in case Of emergency.
We got aboard and went out, passed the
lighthouse at the point of Point Iona,
passed out about four miles into the
ocean in the direction of Coronado
and Dead Mans Island, that are in
Old Mexico. The water getting rough
we changed our course and landed
back at San Diego. The distance we
made was twenty-tnree miles. The
trade here is improving, but a large
per cent of trading done is at the no,
ton stores. which are large and many
of them. tourists purchasing many
things and sending them all over the
United States to their friends. There
are many stores Of five. ten and tif
teen cent counters.
The post office is one Of the very
busy places. You have to line NJ
here for mail at the general delivery
at the money order window. at the
stamp window and the registry win
dow. See over twenty at one time
waiting their turn. and since the near
approach of the holidays, it's kept that
way from morning till night at the
registry window.
took In the sights at the large
sawmill here. where all of the latest
machinery is in use. Inc logs are
drawn up from the raft in the bay by
machinery and when at the proper
pace are kicked on onto platform
from there by large iron kickers, are
thrown onto a carriage and sawed w
into lumber without being touched by
hand. The lumber is carried away
from the saw by machinery, sized up
all scraps go from one place to an
other and any pieces that will make
lath are sawed for that purpose in
different lengths. or short lumber OF
any kind Lastly the slabs, mostly
short pieces of sap and bark, go into
a circular saw and are sawed up into
short stovewood. dumped into wagons
and hauled away. ] watched the work
OF this mill for about thirty minutes
and they sawed more lumber in that