The Republican journal., 1909-07-22
William Tell

there, but having seen so many since,
similar or more SO, the spell did not come
on again. But there was one more sight
for me that had not encountered Fanny
where else, and that was the large black
crickets There were millions Of them.
The side walks were covered and they get
into houses and stores Fand Eyou cannot
walk the streets at this season of the
year without stepping on them. The
mosquitoes can out do the New Jersey
kind and not half try The Colorado river
runs through the city, carrying to the
Gulf of California % feet 4 inches of
water with width there of an eighth of
mile Some one of your readers may
not know this river was tapped for irri-
cation purposes -four years ago land the
outlet grew large so fast in the loose
earth that the water got beyond their
control, and before it was stopped the
lob had cost three million of dollars. 1t
made new sea on the map called the
Salton sea, in California, sixty miles long
by 20 to 80 miles wide The Southern
Pacific r. R. had to move their tracks
back and set it on stills several times.
This same Salton sea is 264 feet below
the level of the Pacific ocean, SO if the
water of the ocean should find way
through the people would have to be good
Il
was the same as before to Los Angeles,
without many new features; but there is
one | must speak of. left Yuma in the
evening. 1t was l04 in the shade that
dav and the cars would have made good
incubators until within 100 miles of Los
Angeles, where the temperature chang
ed 30 degrees and it was so cool that
we were obliged to close every window
in the car. And from there to Los An
geles the temperature was IS in the
shade all day, and it has been the same
for two weeks except for about three
days when the mean temperature was
rs and II. While the east has been
resulted, not person here has been al
fected at all by heat, and when the sun
goes down you want a wrap to keep com
Portable in sitting out of doors; and this
is Southern California. Never a thun-
der shower here and no tornadoes.
Farmers leave their hay and grain out IN
the open fields until they get ready to
take it in. The last rain was the night
of June 18th. One thing | want to speak
of is the low price of berries of all kinds
three boxes for 10 cents, five boxes
Is cents; blackberries, strawberries and
raspberries, take your choice. Potatoes
are $3.50 a bushel. That is where you
beat US; but oranges will offset potatoes.
They are any old price. The Elks are
about to visit Los Angeles and they will
be able to verify or contradict my story
of Southern California. Having made
the rounds of the ten western States
from Ell Paso, Texas, Denver, Colorado,
and Billings, Montana, and seen some
very beautiful sights and visited all the
principal cities, | have selected Los
Angeles for my future home. Now,
one word more. Raisins are raised here
in large quantities and are sold by the
car load for two cents pound. There is
wine vineyard near here of over ZOO
acres. Things grow here II months in
the year except alfalfa, which grows
during nine months.
hope to see some more good old State
of Maine people here, where you will
find hundreds who had dropped out of
sight and perhaps been lost track of.
There is much more that could be said,
but space in the good old Republican
Journal is valuable.
Yours, ]. X. Brown,
formerly of Liberty, Maine.
Los Angeles. California.