Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-21
A PLACE OF WEALTH IN AGRl-
CULTURE AND MINING
Farmers Dig Wells and Curse Rocky
Formation Now Known to Contain
GoId-District Attracting At
tention of Mining Experts

Elbert Hubbard is sponsor for the
statement that imagination is taking
the halter off your thoughts and CIV
ing them a good kick behind. What
would he say if he lived in California
where active Imagination is a slug
gard, by comparison, with the real
facts-and their beauties-of everyday
life. To live III California and bask
in the fragrance of its flowers, to
prosper in the munificence of the yield
of mother earth, to learn the songs of
birds that teeter on the leaves of
to its highest top sparkle, and fill i'm
aginations place with it's fullest i'm
aginings grown real. And fifty years
go California was little else than a
desert.
Gold 1t was that brought the Span
ish expeditions that didn't find it, and
that same elusive-and for that reason
the more sought-metal brought the
American expeditions that did find it
as Americans usually do, no matter
what their quest. The forty-niner is
held in respectful memory in California,
for despite the fact that he came in the
desert schooner, cursing and fighting
his way, he made 1t possible for some
of us to come later in Pullman cars to
live under the civilizing effects Of law
and order.
San Francisco, grown too great for
destruction, and Los Angeles made too
solid for panics, owe their fitness for
striving against elements and depres-
sion, to the 'gunf1ghter' and bad
man. of our early history. And those
cities but typify the hardness of this
state, second only to Texas in size.
They but tell, in larger figures, of the
solidity, made of indurance, of the
smaller communities of the state; for
California has its prosperous small
towns where panic is regarded as a
term necessary to the regular conduct
of the public prints.
Rancho Rincon del DiabIo
To select town in California, which
may aptly typify the states progress,
is not an easy task. The illustration
must be a picture of what the state
was, what it is and what it is capable
of becoming. So the little 1900 popula-
ton town of Escondido, in SaE Diego
county, is placed directly before the
spotlight and is exhibited as "our best"
Rancho Rincon del Diablo means cor
ner of the devils ranch and was the
first name borne by the Escondido Sec
ton. Just why the Spaniards so named
It is not clear, unless it is because Kit"
Carson had devil of a time trying to
escape annihilation at the hands of the
Mexicans back in the forties. 1t was
three miles from Escondido where his
unfortunate detour around the river
bend brought his command face to face
with superior numbers of Mexican
troops, who routed them and sent them
pell nell to camp on starvation peak"
OF course, American like. he found a
way to success, and in a day or two he
was at it again, helped to victory by
the marines he brought from San
Diego, whence he had gone under COW
er of the night. Thus Escondido be-
came the scene of one of the last bat
ties of the Mexican war.
Is History to Repeat?
Historical references are of necessity
unsatisfying when told in brief news
paper style and they lead from the
subject in hand. 1t would seem that
Escondido must repeat, in part at least
the gold mining success of Califor-
MAS early history. In fact, Escondido
ante-dates the 40 excitement ~ at
least fifteen years. 1t is a matter or
continuous local history that the prop
ertv now known as the Cleveland-Pa-
cific has been operated by various own
ers for seventy-five years, and 1t is
legendary that the Spanish friars oper-
ated in this section prior to that time
and that they extracted from that prop
erty a substantial part of the $3OO,OOO
known to have been mined from the six
claims which constitute the Cleveland
Pacific holdings. The "tailings" left by
the poems, who were sworn to secrecy
by the friars, are being cyanided at the
company's mill at the present time.
This land was never located but was
a part of the original Mexican grant
which was made valid by our govern
ment to the extent of 1900 acres. The
bill was passed during the administra-
ton of President u. S. Grant and was
signed by him in 1872.
This one property is cited because of
it's known working age. There are 9TH
er mines, and still others in process of
making.
Escondido is destined to become a
great mining district notwithstanding
the determined agricultural bent of the
ranchmen-or farmers. The farmer who
damned as a nuisance the gold bearing
rock that impeded his progress in dig
ging well at Bear valley, eight miles
away, may on a near day join forces
with the business men of Escondido in
their efforts to acquaint the world with
their riches.
This Escondido section is going to
surprise the mining fraternity when its
extent is finally known. 1t is not the
high-grade, pockety ore that the wiser
mining men seek, but the great bodies
of free milling ores such as made Jo-
hannesburg, in South Africa, the mecca
for enterprising British capitalists and
the source Of blatant British fortunes.