Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1923-11-29
LETTER SENT FROM
PACIFIC COAST STATE

memory of gorgeous and unsurpass-
ed beauty spread like a great pano-
ply over the forests of old Morgan
county, fresh in my mind, / started
for the coast promising many
friends to drop a line to your paper
for their entertainment. I will try
to be brief and mention only such
features as I think will interest
some of your readers. especially
those who have not visited the
lcoast.
] / took the Rock Island at Chicago,
after a brief visit with my two older
sons, and stopped for day with my
youngest son at Iowa City / went
then to Des Moines where the Tri-
State Medical society was gather
ing. Here | left my Oldest son VINO
would be joined on the morrow by
the Youngest who was the second
speaker on the program / could
not wait to hear him, and kept on
toward the coast without special
event till / reached Ell Paso This
is city of about 10000 1t is
center Of strange interest.
1t has been noted for it's skirmish-
es with the MeXicans its bootleg
SINS, oH1u6 SllilS anu IedulH6SS IOF
adventure. Close by, the road pass
es through high barbed wire fence
which extends about two miles on
each side and marks the border be-
tween the United States and Mexi-
co. We travelled for some time
/ in Mexico, through a flat SANDY
country dotted with little adobe
houses which are characteristic of
a;xt
| ed back again into the United
| States, and on to the Imperial Val
ley This valley lies 248 feet below
sea level. 1t gives one the impress
sion of being conveyed through
great sandy basin whose distant rim
is scarcely visible. The soil con-
sists of a fine sandy silt brought
down by the Colorado river ages
ago. It's great fertility, coupled
with the very warm climate, gives
| it unsurpassed agricultural advan-
tages. It's annual rainfall is about
" inch. Canals are dug from the
J Colorado river to supply water for
irrigation, The all American canal
| will be carried 20 miles further and
| supply vast section now untouch-
ed. The great dam which the gov
ernment will build to supply this
section with water and power, will
/ be 600 feet high and impound the
Colorado river. It will also protect
the valley from flood, It's present
protection is a frail wind elnbank-
ment. Seven states will share in
the benefits of this dam. Their
squabbles over it have recenIIy
been settled. Only an engineer can
fully understood the magnitude of
this stupendous problem. The water
! pressure at the bottom of this dam
will be over Is tons per square foot.
! Hence it is necessary to locate it
where the entire dam can be bedded
/ deeply in solid rock Another prob
lem probably more difficult is the
ultimate management of the silt
which is constantly swept down by
the stream. This river in volume of
water ranks fourth in the United
States Yet in it's lower course it
often quite disappears in places in
/ the sand.
1t affords great fascination to ad-
venturouS spirits who are constant
ly attempting to navigate it for
scientific and other purposes. 1t tears
it's way through the Grand Canyon
where it's fall is as great as 40 feet
per mile. The number of people who
| attempt that very daring and dan
| gerous voyage is constantly increas-
! ing. Some little idea of the future
| of the Imperial Valley may be gain
ed from the shipment OF last year.
During the cantaloupe season 900
car loads per day were shipped from
! this valley-mostly to the eastern
| markets; $50 car loads of lettuce
| per day-chiefly to the east. Many
| cantaloupes rotted because sufficient
| cars could not be furnished. The
| government has been experimenting
! with date culture here and has
demonstrated the superiority of the
date grown here over all others in
the world. All kinds of tropical
fruits are produced in great abun-
dance and perfection. On the Mex
ican side the product Is chiefly cot
ton. This cotton is of very superior
quality, longer and stronger in fiber
and for some reason wholly unmo-
Tested by the boll-weevil. Mile af-
ter mile We plunged through these
snowy fields of cotton. The ginning
season was on and the fields We're
thronged with Mexicans and mule
teams bearing these white treasures
to the gin. The cotton seed press
was busy pressing out the oil and
piling up the sacks of oil cake for
cattle. A good deal of this cotton
is carried over the new railway to
San Diego and carried by ship to
London through the Panama canal
We leave the valley and begin
the climb up the rugged mountain
toward Carisso Gorge. The tourist
visiting California should come over
this road and begin at the bottom
and then go up the coast. This
gorge is one of the most stupendous
pieces of natural scenery between
the seas. But little was remarked
of it until the last four years. In
fact it was but little known through
out the country, yet it is worth
trip across the continent. No words
will give an adequate conception of
it. 1t is like nothing else. One is
amazed at the awful weirdness and
gigantic proportions, as well as at
its fantastic grandeur. If John D.
Spreckles had sought a monument
to his genius and character, he
could have found nothing so ap-
propriate as this railway through
the crags of Carisso Gorge. Often
the peaks tower above the sinuous
track 1000 feet high Great bould-
ers threaten to topple down at every