Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1916-02-04
"A Wonderful Trip
Across the Continent
written by NJ. a. oolaw)

marriage place of Ramona which
Aelen Hunt Jackson chose as her
heroine, and could have seen the
big bull fights in Old Mexico, but
they were pulled off on Sundays
When We left for Los Ange es,
we passed up through the most
productive country in the world;
the alfalfa which are often cut six
or seven times a year, and the
groves of oranges, lemons, peaches,
almonds, grapes and fruits of all
kinds in the green and ripe stages;
where they were picking, packing,
and shipping rain loads every day,
made us think t lat this surely was
the Eden of America.
We stopped in Los Angeles few
days with our old friend, James R.
Waybright and took in the sights
and wonders III and around this
beautiful hustling city.
1t really is the busiest town. in
America and has a population of
500, 900 and an ample water supply
which is brought by means of an
acuduct more than 240 miles at a
cost of over $40, 100000 At Pas
adena, the Battle of the Roses, is
held each New Years day, and en-
gagged in by men, women and chit
dren.
California produces about 5 of
all the fruits in the United States,
and more than SIS 100000 in gold
annually. She may boast of hav
ing the lowest and highest places
on the American Continent Salton
Sea is 2S7 feet lower than the ocean,
md Mt. Whitney 1852 feet above
The sea. Her history will be writ
en- in three chapters its discove
ry, the fabulous gold excitement,
and its recent wonderful develop
ment in groves Of oranges and lem
ons, showing their golden fruit
through their dark green verdure.
and its olive, fig and nut trees
with her immense fields of grain
and alfalfa.
The magnitude and beauty OF
her fruits and extensive vineyards
is one of the most sublime of earth
ly spectacles and makes it really a
thing of beauty and a joy for
ever" with its exquisite colorings.
Its fields of drying apricots,
spread out like beautiful carpet,
showing their vivid, golden colors,
is one of the pretty scenes not
likely to be forgotten. Truly its a
goodIy land, ahlaze with blossoms
and roses Bret Hart and Mark
Twain have made this country rich
with their immortal stories, and
the real estate men can tell you
the rest. y
We went to Elpaso, Texas by
way of Phoenix, Arizona AMI spent
day there and in OLD Nexico.
Things looked wnr-like, and Uncle
Sans army was there in large
numbers. We are more firmly con-
vlnced than ever that lis the duty
of this country to 60 down there
aud pacify those murderous ruff
fins, and if need be annex the
whole or part of the country.
We passed up through that rich
grazing country known as the Pan
Handle and the great herds of fine
white faced cattle, and hocks of
pure bred sheep, made US "sit up"
and think of the rich bluegrass
valley back at home. 1t is really
grand, immense and we fell in love
with it. We met Senator-elect Jor
dan in Staunton and he gave us a
minute description of this wonder
full grazing country where thous-
ands of cattle and sheep grazed at
large, the year round.
We would love to have a few
thousand acres down there, if it
weren't so close to the land of per
petual revolutions. We didn't like
it so we'll in Arizona and New Mex
leo. A great deal of that county
looks like a desert. Where they
had water, the alfalfa and fruits
looked surprisingly good, and we
remember of seeing a 1000 acre
field of nice grapes.
We, liked it fine in Oklahoma,
Kansas and Missouri, but it would
take us life time to tell YOU the
half those old tight wad farmers
and beautiful women said about
that wonderfully rich, and fertile
country. Corn grows so big and
high that chinch bugs get dizzy and
fall off before they get half way up
to the first ear; cattle eat so much
and get so big, they have to be
dipped twice year to stretch their
hides and kill the ticks. We saw
at the fair one bull that weighed
ONLY 300 lbs. and we won't swear
how much bigger they get in Kan
sas. The women grow fat and
beautiful and ride about in their
fine automobiles, booming the land