The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1915-12-03


restial paradise" Serves (ancieut
explorer
Not that | believe that. the high
est point is nayigable, whence these
currents flow; nor that we can mount
there; because | am convinced that
there is the terrestrial Paradise,
whence no man can enter, but ny
the will OF God'-Celumb to Fer
S1inand.
Many Of our Marietta people have
visited California. They know full
well its advantages and disadvant-
ages as well as its peculiar charm.
There are those who have not yet
Succumbed to California Fever"
they have yet to cross the plains
and see fer themselves what native
sons call The Land of Hearts De-
sire. A few remarks to them a.
bout life and conditions in this dis
tant State may be Of interest.
First bear in mind that up to
comparatively recent period the VAL
leys and plains of Southern Califor-
MIA were fer the most part the sandy
waste of the desert, then marvel at
the growth of these desert cities
when irrigation came and with its
magical finger transformed this land
into miles OF Orange and English
walnut groves, acres of olive trees
and peach orchards interpreted with
marvellous date palms, fields of cot
ton, sugar cane and vineyards TEEN
ing with choice grapes. Every fruit
and vegetable of the temperate zone
combined with all the products of the
tropics, flourish here side by side in
ranches that can't be bought for a
thousand dollars an acre Twenty
years ago they sold for a song.
Puebla de Sonora la Reina de Los
Angeles (Village of our Lady, Queen
of the Angels) is the correct name
of Los Angeles, commonly pronounced
by its people "Losang- it was es-
tablished in the 18th century by the
Spaniards as a supply station for
their various forts. In 1880 it was
still dreamy, little Spanish village
in the desert with population of
II, 200 grouped around the typical
Mexican Plaza and the old Mission OF
An loo 4
some ten miles away-the famous
Mission Of San Gabriel, noted for the
famous wines made by the Francis
can Monks. Anglo-Saxon ingenuity
brings irrigation to the desert, and
the little Spanish village loses much
of its picturesquencss but becomes
the metropolis of the Southwest with
a population of 100000 surrounded
by large fruit and vegetable ranches,
ats streets shaded with date palms,
graceful Eucalyptus, Pepper, Acacia,
Camphor and Live Oak trees, even
its curb stones blossoming with ge-
raniums and shasta daisies, a glor-
lous wealth of flowers and trees with
splendid parks every where Out of
this luXuriance of the tropics rise
the skyscrapers, church towers and
homes of the people with the ever
changing background of the Sierra
Madre Mountains, rising to the
height of 5000 feet above the city.
These were aptly termed the Mother
Range" by the Spaniards. They keep
the cold winds of the north from the
city. These mountains are masses of
colored rock mostly without verdure.
At sunset or sunrise they take on
brilliant coloring, their purple and
blue masses being splashed with
bright vermillion red and gold on the
highest peaks. They make a won-
derful picture with beautiful Los
Angeles in the foreground. Through
the midst of the City meanders the
Los Angeles river, a raging torrent
in the rainy season, but at present
writing, mild little mountain creeir.
1t is crossed by handsome Municipal
Bridges at various points The COM
mercial enterprise of the city has
made it oUtgrow its Mountain base
and it is reaching out, growing down
TO the sea and has annexed for its
port, the harbor of San Pedro former
~ IS miles away, now connected by
paved boUlevards, chief of which is
Vermont Avenue, a street as wide as
Pennsylvania Avenue and shaded
with beautiful Pepper trees and
palms the entire distance from the
mountains to the sea. A word about
he Pepper tree Probably the most
beautiful tree next 60 the palms in
Southern California 1t thriyes in
he dry soil OF the desert and needs
little moisture, growing nearly as
all as our southern oaks. 1t has
a bright green luHuTiant foliage with