CALIFORNIA—UPPER AND LOWER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6261, 10 December 1881, Page 7

CALIFORNIA—UPPER AND LOWER.

♦ [BY AN AMERICAN' TRAVKLI.ER.J Qs the morning of the scvcntocth "lay aftoi onr departure from Yokohama, Japan, we step fi" om * ne door of the social hall upon the broad expansion deck of our noble ship, CitV of Pckin, to 15ml a view presented to ol ir vision corroborating tlic officer's statement of the previous day that "to-morrow we shall enter the Golden Hate of the San Francisco harbour." The bare nut-brown hills before us are altogether too characteristically Californiau in their nature to be mistaken. 1/ we had needed other evidence to convince us that the mariner's needle and nautical skill of our captain had not proved us false, and about to precipitate us upon some unknown coast, after our voyage of over -toOO miles, the si;;ht of the ivell-known Seal Rocks and Cliff Mouse was eiicmsh. These were soon passed, and now ire are entering the narrow gate to a most excellent harbour. The pilot had already boarded our ship, to assist in conducting her =ifely through the channel and over its soine'what shallow bar. The little fortified island of Alcatraz was next passed, and now the great city of the West, the metropolis of the Pacific coast, with its canopy of smoke, its innumerably and precipitous hills and blnff>. its streets and tiers of shops and homes, indicative of thrifty manufacturing and mercantile enterprises, and of comfort, elegance, and prosperity, stood before us in full view. To be sure, the surrounding hills appear decidedly dry and st-rile, but with the advent of the -winter rains will come a complete metamorphosis in this respect. As we approach the docks we find the Australian steamer is occupying the mooring our ?hip is to take in the afternoon, so we iirc obliged to land in the compriiv's lighter. .As the small craft leaves the colossal sides c: the Fekin, the crew of the latter send up ih.r-e hearty cheers, which cheerful nriicit o:ily addt one more to the many pleasant fe.itures o f a voyage which will ever be remembered as one of the most enjoyable we have passed upon the waters. It was, of . ■ourse. not unattended with the ups and downs peculiar to a salt-water trip, but the weather had been, on the whole, line, and the company perhaps exceptionally congenial, and it was not without regret we bade adieu to our fellow-passengers, with whom our acquaintance had been so brief, and yet so intimate. As we stepped once more upon te.rnt ftrma, it was to be confronted with a corps of ens-•om-house officers, who politely extracted from us the 50 per cent, duty due the Government on whatever porcelain or laequer ware souvenirs we may have brought from the land where their manufacture and deoor.ition are so perfectly understood. We are now to remain three weeks and a half within the limits of the city and its environs, exveptini: the time occupied in a rlyi-.iLj trip outside of the snburban surroundin;:? proper: down throuch the vallevs of SaV.t.i Clara an.l Pas Bcnito, to the 'little towr.s of Hollister and Watsonville. and thence, from the former plp.ee. twenty miles irrt'.ht. by stable conveyance into the mountain- wh eh divide these comparatively small l>\it rich wheat valleys from the wonderful S.;:i Joaquin. The valley and mountain ;j'!!e!'y is heautifu!, but the time of the year ir.'i wcath.tr somewhat unpropitious. A who lias experienced a did, drizzling :.v.:\ \:i the central portion of t'ae State, and ■••i- :-■ 'ted tile genuine winter-curve tine backs an! hp.s shambled along through the streets ::' the country towns with a pound—more or !;js—of adhesive adobe soil ornamenting his >»■■!. begins to realise that —at least, by the Ca'ifornian journals—the climate and resources are sometimes moderately over- :.;:■■■!. If this is not convincing evidence th.it California has its unpleasant features as Te'.! as its charms, let him avail himself of the rirst opportunity to listen to the conver■i:ion of a company of farmers or rane.hcen. and note the anxiety with which they ixk forward to the advent of the harvest ;?ason. Will the ploughing, the sowing. :he harrowing, which are now progressing or completed, prove fruitful labours ? Shall *■: iiave a full crop, half crop, or no crop at ill ? One seems to be as probable as the c-:hi-r. Eighteen or twenty inches of rain ■■-•v.ild, under ordinary circumstances, ensure :s r>. good crop : a drought bring a complete ii:l'.:re—neither are improbable. People leaving good homes in the East should remember that their funds of money, muscle, m<l patience are as liable to be as severely treed here as in other States. But we will return for the present to our pleasure and health resorts, by advising all tourists who San Francisco to take the beautiful sail -pthe Bay to Mare Island, where you may ~?:t the navy yard and shops of the Go"ernment. In the city you ?ee the muchr;?.'l of and oft-frequented Chinese quarters, fhere perhaps twenty thousand Chinamen -ve. do business, and worship in the characteristic Chinese manners; "Nob Hill," 'here the palaces of the railroad priHce3 cist a shade, as far as splendour is consmed, over the many other private and ■:i!atial residences ; drive through the Golden 'jsto Park, which is in its infancy, but eon■jiiis much that is to be admired, including :s conservatory, where the rarest plants from many climes are tastefully arranged ; '.ontinuc your drive to the famous Cliff Ho-.se, where, but a few rods away, an intolerable baud of seals may be seen dis-vjrti:-,g in the waters and i-asking upon the .•land rocks. Leaving the Seal Rocks, with their strange and interesting denizens, you aonld visit Lone Mountain —the cemetery " the city—where, by reading the varied :':iriptions upon the stones, you may form •'.me idea of the cosmopolitan nature of the :op'i!ation of the State, the fame of whose nM-diggings has drawn miners from every -iinrter of tiie globe. Tiien there are Woodward's Gardens and many other attractive a , ', otherwise interesting features to detain Se tourist many days in this metropolis. An fall months are the pleasantest of the r.r: in San Francisco. There seems to be a ■:*■ weeks intervening between the aftertoo!! visitations of the boisterous winds r hic:i invade the city ami threaten to relieve :'ju of all loose wearing apparel, if not the fiir of your head, as you round some corner 3 certain exposed localities, and the comof the winter rains proper, when Krliaps, excepting a few light blows and an Mcasional spring-like shower, the most de- - At: ul weather prevails. The city lias a sr jn'ler:ully equal climate ; that is, there is ■"-■mparatively no difference between the ~ean temperature of summer and winter, thsrc is a decided cifference on an ;l: ;':=t day between the conditions of the j-nosphore in the morning and afternoon. r 1 the iiiorning you may take a walk or -rivfi wiring a linen duster and similar <-i;:r.or-likij coverings, but in the afternoon ■}}x<:k winter overcoat, or, if a lady, aseal-j-in sa<jrii;e, will often be found conducive "t '■'■ not necessary for comfort. LOWER CALIFORNIA. i; E«t it is not my purpose to dwell upon f resources of this metropolis, either for or pleasure, but leave the subject as v!!i" j; i l - v - as we did the c,t .y itself on tlie ■''•a of November, after a visit of three and weeks. We left its bustle all the *-ore gladly as our faces were turned to- «"■« the sunny South ; towards the duties which in winter may well be chris•siieu the Kdeu of the Golden State, but in _ammer containing plains and valleys dry «W parched, and might, with equal propriety be termed its Sahara ; not that this • appearance in summer is uni- _ rsal, but certain it is where irrigation is tent reSo m t0 Or where naturo ha 3 nofc ex " favoured it, the mesa, or tablei tnnn l \ 1 ?- k , om fresh or beautiful to look L!? f • J? ls e Eden ' Lower CaUfora* '1 .' Oii _~« . «rdant, au\ x velvcty oi \ ; a trange gro*?. a»dla, best or o! 1 "9 cJies and summer-like and healthiu\ ■ ' .here « are now to visit. For this pur- '-« ve board the ferry-boat El Capitan, and iM n across the Bay to the Oakland wharf, ■ ; we enter one of the elegant silver |S i cars of tlie Southern Pacific railroad, 9 iiu'l no difficulty in arranging ourselves fl traps comfortably and conveniently for 9 ridt of 47 miles. As we emerge from Be station we soon discover the cHects of ■ ie recent rains upon the surrounding H ountry are noticeable and beneCc ial - A ■ voided trace of verdure is visible, provinj m "at the germs of vegetation, so l° n 2 la » M orinaat have been forced into the new lit. m nati≤ to clothe the hills and valley 8 ™" 1 ; 9 Ss far more beautiful garb. A ; s tn ' M rain passes along the shore of the Bay i 9 :a{ over the hills to the left presen" itself B il:Jated to bring to our minds :t-leasautest recollection o£ ocf aj'Partur em -.{ this busy city of'the F»>" \Vcat—i 9 Aous sunset, painting the sky in th ■ kercund of the hills, rtill, at that di£ « oce, brown and somewUt sombre, witl most gorgeous colours. '\ ■ .THE SAN JOAQUIN'VaLLEY. S =k and darkness soon follow, and th "is of the hour whea we ar ve a H "p brings with it a vsuum t hieh i H • torily dissipated in tie diu.- jg-rooi.

lof the station. This necessity attended to we take a peep at the old brown grizzlj brain incarcerated within some iron bars oi the platform, resume our seats in the rollinf parlour, and are soon whirled steadily, nol especially rapidly, through the night, aiit ir the great wheat valley of California—tht e San Joaquin—through the valley where r " fortunes are made and lost, come and gc '■ with the drops of rain, each drop being the ° more precious on account of the uncertainty ! " as to the number of its followers. Drought v in this valley is not unusual, and all whe 11 have made any study of the resources of tlie 11 State know well the consequences. ' As for the scenery, well, I believe the e railroad company has timed a wise schedule r in allowing its passengers to sleep during s the passage of the train through this valley ' at this time of the \ear. Even to the e touritt, this valley is, to a certain decree, r interesting for a space. Its vastness alone e renders it so, but a. refreshing sleep enables s you to appreciate and enjoy all the more '•* readily the varied and beautiful scenery ' which awaits you for the morning. Several ' hours before breakfast we commence the r ascent of the Tehnchapi Pass. Fifteen tunncU 5 we counted as we passed through them in nom- ' parativcly rmick succession, and, I believe, ■' we had already passed two before we awoke. ' As we near the summit we find we are in f close proximity to light layers of slow. As ' we approach the "loop" we take possession I of the rear platform to enable us to view tlie J intricate windings of the track. We pass > through a short tunnel, make a gradual 1 ascent completely around a cone-shaped hill, 3 and presently find we are riding directly 1 over instead of through the same tunnel. 1 Here certainly, if at no other point, can a person realise to some degree the wonderful " engineering skill displayed in the eonsttuc- ; tion of the Southern Pacific Road. ; The puffing of the locomotive and the creaking of wheels indicate we are ascend--1 ing a heavy grade. At the summit we reach au altitude of 39G4 feet above sea level, and then comes the gradual descent; at first through a narrow valley, where occasional bands of sheep and horses are seen, but soon widening into a vast desert of ssnd, sagebrush, and thousands of tall, ungainly palms or cactus trees. Mojava, the breakfast station, is situated in the midst of this wilderness, but its table is evidently supplied from some far more fruitful soil, all the better appreciated after our early rising and draughts of fresh mountain air. Leaving Mojava. we rapidly approach the San Fernanda Range, or spur of mouutains, and in due time enter the tunnel, C9G7 feet in length. Here, although none of our party chanced to be Presidents or ex-Presidents, we again showed ourselves upon the rear platform, and watched the form of a man, who entered after us on foot, grow gradually smaller and more indistinct, till at the end of a mile it assumed a diminutive, shapeless, mummv-like appearance. This was the last excitement till we arrived withiu the limits of the principal city of the South—the "City of the Angels'"—a distance of about 470 miles from San Francisco, and inland 10 miles from the little seaside resort, Santa Monica, and the ocean.