Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1913-10-29
PASADENA PIONEER.
Grasshoppers and Coyotes Bothered
Early Settlers.

NE EAHAuNHh NALL s1teAFs M . kNA%Ak -
sue, devoted its department OF ''stories
Told by Pasadena Pioneers to g.
Wooster, Hancock county man who
went to Pasadena in 1875. Mr.. Wooster
Was appointed deputy sheriff OF Pasa-
dena in 1879, befng the first consta-
bulary officer there. His chief trouble
Yves not with traffic ordinances, bat with
grasshoppcrs.
.sThe grasshoppers we're tere by the
million he says. .srhey ate everything
in sight, even the tops of the orange trees.
I had little orchard OF oranges, and when
the hoppers got through With il there
wasn't leaf on the trees nothing but
| tied psper bags over them and let the
leaves grow out until they filled the bags
fnsi just like head Of cabbage. Then |
took the bags of and let the trees grow
up,
"we used 10 build big fires TO Kill of
the grssshoppers, blaze on zach side of q
swarm, and drive them into II. The
heat and the smoke would kill millions OF
the little pests, until they were thick all
over the ground.
al could look out from my little house
W here the Hotel Green nov stands-every
morning, and see the flock OF turkeys that
sherman washburn owned out eating
avenue. II was fine for the turkeys, but
pretty hard on US who owned crops and
trees.
Coyotes used 10 bother us consider
ably, too. | remember the first night
came, July s, 1878, slept in the Martin
cottage. / only had grass hammock aud
a travelling shawl for covers, and nearly
froze before morning. had to get up and
go outdoors aud walk around to keep
warm at all II seemed as IL there were a
million coyotes bowling that night.
~ came out by way OF the isthmGs, be-
cause my health was too poor to risk the
overland trip. One funny thing that hap
penencd on that trip ives in connection
with a stowaway on the steamer. There
were three of them that started out with
US, but one, a German, was found in the
harboE and sent ashore. Another was
sailor by profession, and 80 when be was
found he went to sailorizing. But the
third man, an irishman. managed to get TO
Colon. Then the question arose as to how
he was TO get across the isthmas. We
were all interested, and We watched him.
There were couple OF Irishwomrn on
the train, and they wore the full skirts
fashionable in those days. The Erish
ssowsway crawied under q seat and the
two women sat down, one on each side -
it was a double seat, and their big skirts
hid the man. The conductor weoi
through and never saw thing.
"when il came to getting 90 the ship,
the freshman went oat In the lighter that
took the regular passengers to the steamer
A friend Of his went on board. and then
took his ticket that ha bad to Show at the
gsngway, rolled il up, and tossed IL over
TO the man in she boat. The officials
didn'i zee anything that happened. 20 the
ssowaway got all the way to san Fran
cisco without being caught.
when came ever TO Pasadena got a
wagon with six horse team, and loaded
il with the ihmber Tor my house, my
stove snd trunk, aud got on myself We
drove over 10 the iapd had boughl--ten
acres on the present Hotel Green property
and there built my little shauty. It
had just walls and a piece of root over
my bed. and there lived all summer.
"For provisions rode over to Los
Angeles on my Indian pony, which was
originally named Robin, bot which the
boys called Rosinante, after Don
Quixote's horse. had a two- - aeelsd
cart and fastened the ihills to the saddle.
riding the horse nyseli when there wss a
load in the cart, Indian fashion.
al vas pretty sick man when / came
here-couldn't work more than half an
hour al time. ] had bronchial trouble,
but few months OF living in the oren
air and roughing il cured me. Once had
bad time with rheumatism. 1 was
'baehing' it in my little shack, and came
down with an attack. couldn't move
couldn't even get anything to est or get
to the door to call help. At last man
aged to crawl 10 the door after two days
OF heiplessness, and called Mr.. Wore, who
was passing by. He came in and fixec me
up.
"For long time we had to get even
bread from Los Angelss -- those OF us
whose cooking was mostly gems and
biscuits. Finally we got woman here TO
bake bread for US. but for a good while
we-or |, al least - lived on bread and
bacon, and such frontier provisions.
II paid SIS an acre for my land on sout b
Fair oaks-so5o for the whole tract. When
sold II in few years more than dou bIed
my money. Land Was good investment
In those early days, II we held on to 1,
long enough.