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 GMHERED WHILE fiLEANINS AFTER REAPERS. 
 
 
 •/el commencing in 1870, and cndi 
 
 in 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. C M. CHUKCHII.I 
 
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 1^ '.N FRANCISCO : 
 
 1874. 
 
 r'ntci-'- ; '■ year. 187' 
 
 I'hill, in the office of the Librarian of Congress: a 
 
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 GATHERED WHILE ULEANING AFTER REAPERS. 
 
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 Being Letters of Travel commencing in 1870, and ending 
 
 in 1873. 
 
 'y 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. Cp M. CHURCHILL. 
 
 -*•»- 
 
 SAN FKANCISCO 
 •. 187 4. 
 

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"LITTLE SHEAVES." 
 
 The G-olden State. 
 
 Here I am in the Golden Land, go well pleased 
 that, like the old Queen of Sheba, I exclaim, " The 
 half has not been told me." Leaving bleak, cold, 
 windy Chicago, so ill that I could not sit up, I began 
 to amend rapidly as I breathed the invigorating air 
 of the great plains. Arriving here after a most de- 
 lightful journey of six days, I have gained sufficient 
 strength to walk three miles without being unduly 
 fatigued. 
 
 Delightful as imagination had pictured the over- 
 land route, the reality of the beauty and grandeur of 
 the scenery exceeded expectation. Illimitable plains, 
 lofty, snow-capped mountains, and lovely, fertile val- 
 leys succeed each other, ever beautiful and ever vary- 
 ing. Among the mountain passes the snow was very 
 deep, but the snow-sheds prevent it from covering the 
 tracks, so that there is no danger. One of the snow- 
 sheds is twenty-eight miles in length. Time seemed 
 long as we passed through it, and we greatly regret- 
 ted that it hid the mountain view from our sight. 
 
 My first impressions of the Golden State are more 
 than fancy had painted them. To me the country 
 appears the most beautiful upon earth. The weather 
 is w^arm and mild. I am writing with o^^en doors 
 and window^s, the bright sun cheering me with its 
 vivifying rays, while I hear the hens cackle as they 
 do at home in early s^mng, (they lay eggs all winter). 
 The birds are singing and building their nests. The 
 grass is six inches high, and the foliage is beautifully 
 
4 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 green, yet people say the season is unusually back- 
 ward. 
 
 Sacramento Valley is called tlie Garden of Califor- 
 nia. Its soil is dark and fertile, and yields large 
 quantities of grain. Plowing and sowing were pro- 
 gressing at an immense rate as we passed through it. 
 The Californians do business on the high pressure 
 principle, and "push things" in a most wonderful 
 fashion. 
 
 San Jose contains 10,000 inhabitants. It is sur- 
 rounded by a mountain chain, shutting off the severe 
 ocean "breezes, and tempering the atmosphere so that 
 it is sufficiently cool to be bracing, and j^et not warm 
 enough to produce the debility of Florida. It is 
 clean, and has the nice look of a Northern city. 
 Owing to rapid immigration, real estate is held at a 
 high figure, though the cost of living is about equal 
 to that of the States. A macadamized road, hand- 
 somely shaded, three miles in extent, with a horse 
 railroad, connects San Jose with a pleasant suburban 
 village, greatly to the pleasure and convenience of 
 all, particularly tourists. 
 
 Its climate, at this season, is delightful. Though 
 rain frequently falls, the showers are always warm. 
 And though earthquakes occur often, people tell me 
 they "do not mind 'em but just let 'cm quake." Yet 
 I fancy^ they are more courageous after than during 
 the occurrence. The scenery is grand beyond des- 
 cription, and the soil produces an abundance of 
 *' edible tilings." 
 
 The people represent every nationality on the face 
 of the earth, yet ihey possess that true and frank hos- 
 pitality which boasts not of its deeds of kindness, like 
 unto the "chivalry." They say that nothing would 
 induce them to reside permanently in the States, yet, 
 when their "pile" is sufficiently great, they intend 
 visiting the homes of their nativity which memory 
 still fondly cherishes. 
 
 The theory of woman's rights meets with much op- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 position, but the broadest and most catholic latitude 
 is allowed it in practice. Three ladies are practicing 
 medicine here, one of whom has a surgical reputation, 
 and all are i^rosperous, proving that California flesh 
 is, after all, heir to disease, in sjnte of the climate. 
 Ladies engage in money making and business pur- 
 suits without attracting the envy or opposition or 
 contempt of the weak-minded of both sexes . If wo- 
 man will but earnestly walk onward in the path of 
 rectitude and duty, success will surely sooner or later 
 crown her efforts. 
 
 The weather during the entire month of January 
 has been remarkably lovely, warm and mild, clear 
 and sunny, reminding the tourist from "the States." 
 of the beautiful Indian Summer of home. The air is 
 cool and exhilerating, producing a stimulating effect 
 upon the nervous system. One experiences a slight 
 stinging sensation in lips, tongue and extremities, 
 like reaction of cold, but as the weather has not been 
 at all cold, scarcely chilly, it must be produced by the 
 warm sunshine succeeding the cool , bracing morning 
 air. The atmosphere possesses certain properties 
 which render the invalid wakeful, and it becomes 
 necessar}^ to coax and pet old Somnus ere he will 
 yield one his refreshing and soothing embrace. 
 
 The soil is as rich and dark colored as that of Wis- 
 consin, and is equally as fertile and productive in 
 wheat and other cereals, yielding a greater variety of 
 fruits, far surpassing those of that State in quality as 
 well as quantity. Wheat is the great staple. It is 
 now all sown. The farmers in this vicinity are some- 
 what anxious about this crop, owing to a deficiency 
 of the usual rains, and if the wheat does not attain a 
 certain growth before March, fears are entertained 
 that the crop may prove a failure. Potatoes are not 
 successfully grown in this otherwise productive val- 
 ley. Their growth being so rank that they are fibrous 
 and watery. Though in the mountain valleys they 
 are cultivated as weM as in any country of the world, 
 
6 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 Erin not excepted. The native shrubbery and the 
 manner of arranging gardens reminds one of the 
 Southern States. 
 
 The city is at present supplied by artesian wells, 
 but the City Fathers contemplate procuring a good 
 supply of soft water from a pure mountain stream in 
 the neighborhood. Windmills are the motive power 
 employed for all purposes of irrigation. To a stran- 
 ger they form a quaint addition to the California land- 
 scape, as they pump the water for moistening and fer- 
 tilizing hundreds of thousands of otherwise arid and 
 useless acres. 
 
 The almond tree belongs to the peach family. It 
 is now in full bloom. The flowers are very beautiful, 
 possessing the delicate tints of the peach-blossom. 
 Almonds grown here are remarkably fine, and j)ea- 
 nuts of a superior variety are abundantly produced . 
 
 Society in all newly settled countries is muchly 
 mixed. Almost every nation of the habitable earth 
 has its representative. While some are uncongenial, 
 one yet meets with many frank, intelligent, hospita- 
 ble people. Let the Southern chivalry boast as much 
 as they may of their vaunted hospitality, it is a mere 
 sham in comparison to the warm, true-hearted kind- 
 ness with which the AVestern people entertain the 
 stranger and the sojourner among them. As to dress, 
 every mode is fashionable, the latest Paris styles not 
 excepted. People drei<s just as they choose, without at- 
 tracting attention, though I must confess long swal- 
 low-tailed coats do appear mal-a-propos to the fast 
 Chicagoan, accustomed to the cur-tailed business suit. 
 Neither very light summer or heavy winter garments 
 are required, moderately warm clothing being suita- 
 ble the whole year. 
 
 Californians have a pet earthquake theory. They 
 declare thei?'- earthquakes are not volcanic, but en- 
 tirely atmospheric. As thunder and lightning do not 
 exist, they argue that the earthquake is an atmos- 
 pherical method of purifying the air, and they further- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 7 
 
 more assert that since 1812 but six lives have been 
 lost on the entire Pacific Coast, and that thunder and 
 lightning, winds and violent storms cause greater 
 destruction to life and property in the States, than 
 the earthquakes of the Pacific Slope. 
 
 Apparently there is little fear of earthquakes, yet 
 the buildings are constructed to guard against these 
 phenomena. They are built of wood, generally low, 
 one story in height, and broad on the ground, sur- 
 rounded with piazzas. The best recommendation for 
 a house is that it is "earthquake-proof." There are 
 many handsome blocks in San Jose . The roads are 
 hard, smooth and clean, rendering the drives most 
 delightful. 
 
 San Jose in June. 
 
 The floral wealth of San Jose is, at this season, 
 abundant beyond description. Though climbing 
 plants and several varieties of vines were green all 
 winter, they are of a brighter hue now. The few 
 roses which gladdened us in January and February, 
 are succeeded by a progeny as numerous as ever vary- 
 ing and beautiful. Double purple violets, hidden be- 
 neath the dark green foliage, perfume the air; large 
 gray pansies, fragrant carnations, myrtle blossoms, 
 and the numerous varieties of bridal wreath and spi- 
 rea, with drooping limbs studded with clusters of in- 
 finitessimal roses of snowy whiteness, greet one in 
 every direction, producing feelings of gratitude to the 
 Great Creator that He has thus beautified and adorn- 
 ed bounteous Mother Earth. Oranges are not culti- 
 vated in this valley, though all fruits, such as peaches, 
 apricots, almonds, etc., are grown in abundance with 
 little labor. The grapes are exceedingly heavy. They 
 are Fenian green now, and as the season advances 
 they will receive darker hues until, like humanity, 
 they become sear and yellow with age. Wheat is 
 the principal cereal, and is extensively cultivated, 
 producing flour of a superfine quality . 
 
8 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 The mountains, extending from east to west, form 
 one unbroken chain, while the northern and southern 
 horizon is bounded by hills and table-lands. The 
 mountains are covered with an emerald carpet, and 
 the scrub oaks on their heights attest their sterility, 
 while clear, silvery clouds crown their lofty peaks 
 like a halo. The table lands are luxuriant with grain 
 fields and meadows, and the white farm house upon 
 the distant hill, surrounded with its peach orchard, 
 presents a lovely landscape to the beholder — a land- 
 scape of mountained hills, valley and table-land, ster- 
 ility and fertility, like the characteristics of life. Hor- 
 rible tales of devouring lions and panthers are re- 
 hearsed to us, now and then, but as we have seen 
 neither, we are inclined to think they are mythical. 
 
 Five newspapers are published here, two dailies 
 and three weeklies. All of them compare favorably, 
 editorially and typographically with their Eastern 
 compeers. The public schools are graded, as in the 
 States. Their decipline, regarding both teachers and 
 scholars is strict. It is next to an impossibility for 
 an incompetent or inefficient teacher to find employ- 
 ment. I lately visited the primary department, and 
 was surprised to find it so progressive and well con- 
 ducted. I never saw so great a number of children 
 so universally well dressed, well behaved and well- 
 deciplined. 
 
 First Impressions of a California Earthquake. 
 
 On the 17th of February, 1870, at noon-day, I ex- 
 perienced my first introduction to a shock of Califor- 
 nia earthquake. I had been out enjoying my custom- 
 ary morning promenade, the weather being mild and 
 balmy as usual, and the face of nature appeared comme 
 a Vordlnaire, On entering my room, as I was re- 
 moving my bonnet and shawl, the building suddenly 
 began to rock, and the blinds shook and swayed to 
 and fro just like a steamer getting under way. I 
 caught hold of a table and steadied myself to regain my 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 11 
 
 responsible way, and yet enjoy only the political priv- 
 ileges of serfs and aliens, idiots, criminals and luna- 
 tics. 
 
 But the night is far spent and the day dawn is near 
 at hand, for there is one blessed editor here, in San 
 Jose, who issues no number of his paper without say- 
 ing a good word for the cause of right, and a grow- 
 ing change in public opinion is advancicg daily. 
 God bless him and all others who battle in the cause 
 of Equal Eights ! 
 
 Santa Clara. 
 
 This old Spanish town is so near San Jose that it 
 may be properly called one of its environs. Though 
 a western sjoirit of progress is here and there visible, 
 animating the natural indolence of her inhabitants, 
 the old, unprogressive Spanish element, with its ad- 
 herence to and veneration for all that has been and is, 
 is as yet the prevailing, one might say the dominant 
 one. Her climate is semi-tropical, and owing to the 
 near proximity of the Pacific, is subject to the brac- 
 ing ocean breezes, which in a measure counteract the 
 debility consequent upon all warm climates, and 
 though therefore very mild and agreeable, fails to 
 produce that stimulating oxygen so necessary to per- 
 sons who were born and reared in more northerly lat- 
 itudes . All the productions indiginous to the tem- 
 perate zones, and almost all those of the tropics, 
 flourish luxuriantly; so that owing to her genial cli- 
 mate, the fertility of her soil, and the characteristics 
 of her earliest settlers, Santa Clara, notwithstanding 
 Yankee immigration, hovers between effete conservat- 
 ism and living progression, stupidity and activity, 
 dullness and energy. 
 
 Among those institutions which attract the atten- 
 tion of the stranger and tourist is her Monastery, or 
 so-called Catholic College for boys and young men — 
 a very extensive and imposing structure, modeled 
 after the Doric and Corinthian style of architecture. 
 
12 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 It is built of adobe, with an external finish resembling 
 stone, and the great depth of its windows attest the 
 thickness of its walls, presenting a castellated and 
 port-like appearance, which impression the stranger 
 bears away with him, since it is impossible to obtain 
 information from its recluse and celibate inmates con- 
 cerning their educational system, the studies which 
 their pupils ]3ursue, or any other subject of interest 
 to a newspaper correspondent. The grounds sur- 
 rounding the college are very spacious, handsomely 
 laid out, and beautifully ornamented with trees, 
 flowering shrubs and the brilliant, blooming exotics 
 of the country. Long walks are covered with lattice 
 frames and densely shaded with grapes, while small 
 trellises are completely hidden by clementhis*, roses 
 and other climbers. A large aquarium, filled with 
 plants, fishes, turtles, frogs, etc , forms a source of 
 amusement and pleasing instruction, while fine statu- 
 ary, placed here and there among the trees, gives 
 classic beauty to the entire surroundings. The play- 
 grounds contain gymnastic apparatus, and chattering 
 parrots give the stranger the impression that the lan- 
 guage of the pupils is more characteristic of rude 
 frontier life and association, than of the educational 
 refinement of an institution of learning as munifi- 
 cently endowed as this one apjDears to be. "Dry ujd," 
 "You lie," "You bet," and other like ejaculations are 
 screeched from the throats of the feathery chatterers, 
 till one wonders if they hear nothing else to imitate, 
 or whether, from parrot perversity, they are incapable 
 of repeating aught except slang . Extensive orchards, 
 yielding almost every variety of fruit known to the 
 temperate and tropical zones, and well cultivated 
 kitchen- gardens give evidence that the gastronomic 
 tastes and wants- of the inmates of the community are 
 not neglected . 
 
 A great amount of wealth is invested in this institu- 
 tion, which was founded twenty years since. From 
 all that we could see and learn, it is not equal to the 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 13 
 
 more progressive schools of other countries, though 
 doubtless better adapted to the natures of those who 
 are educated there. 
 
 Silk Culture. 
 
 The importance of this industrial resource is con- 
 stantly augmenting, and already adds largely to the 
 wealth of those who pursue it. Owing to the want of 
 capital, proper machinery and management, the man- 
 ufacture of silk in this State, is not as 3^et a complete 
 success, but all the eggs of the silk worm which can 
 be produced find a ready market at four dollars au 
 ounce to the Italians and French; and even the Euro- 
 pean w-ar has not in the least affected their sale. The 
 eggs of the California- silk worm are said to be per- 
 fectly reliable and sure to produce worms. The dry 
 climate is the best ip. the world for the silk worm, 
 and the mulberry trees nourish like natives of the 
 soil. It is death to the w^orms to feed them upon wet 
 leaves. There are no extensive cocooneries in this 
 vicinitj) ; like tea plantations, they are more success- 
 ful when managed upon a small scale, and by a few 
 individuals who understand the business. 
 
 The wine interest of Southern California is im- 
 mense. It is estimated that the State contains 40,- 
 000,000 vines w^iich annually yield 40,000,000 gallons 
 of wine, and thousands of new vines are being yearly 
 planted. These statistics are discouraging to the ad- 
 vocates of temperance, but they are nevertheless a 
 fact. The red and white wines of Napa and Sonoma 
 counties, have a fine flavor, and the gYSLjyea are less 
 liable to rust and milldew than those of the wine dis- 
 tricts of the Rhine or Sj)ain, and are mostly exported. 
 Their yield during the past season is estimated at 
 1,000,000 gallons, which will sell for half a million of 
 dollars The price of all the native wines of the 
 State has advanced from 15 to 20 cts per gallon with- 
 in the past two months; probably the war has aided 
 in this advance, but be that as it may, wine culture 
 
14 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 is one of tlie main industrial resources of the State, 
 and will remain so while a market exists for it. 
 
 Lecturers from the East do not now reap the 
 golden harvest Avhich they did a few years since in 
 California. People are weary of this species of enter- 
 taining instruction, and complain of the high prices 
 demanded by lecturers. Though these are but half 
 what they were a few years since, when one dollar 
 per ticket was not thought unreasonable, yet now it 
 is seldom that an audience can be obtained at fifty 
 cents per ticket. The fact of the matter is, the great 
 mass of mankind perfer amusement to instruction, 
 and in order to make lectures financially successful, 
 the latter must become subservient to the former. Or 
 those lecturers who desire to instruct and elevate, 
 must themselves learn a lesson in self abnigation and 
 charge less for their services. 
 
 Mrs. Tracy Cutler has lectured in this portion of 
 California during the past winter on Woman suffrage, 
 and has been well received. She is a fine, fluent and 
 argumentative speaker, and an able champion of the 
 cause which she advocates. The disciples of the 
 Woman's Suffrage Cause, whether right or wrong, 
 are thoroughly in earnest. Whatever may be said 
 for or against the movement, it certainly is not a 
 dead issue, but alive, active and in a state of progres- 
 sion . Woman suffrage picnics, woman suffrage balls, 
 woman suffrage mass meetings are the order of the 
 day. Most of the members of suffrage associations 
 carry the constitution of their society with them 
 wherever they go, and obtain all the signers to it they 
 possibly can, and others are so thoroughly radical 
 that they pledge themselves to give all their social 
 influence and financial support to the friends of the 
 cause, and to use it against its opponents. Many of 
 the best men and women, and the most advanced 
 thinkers of the State are engaged in the movement 
 and are confident of its ultimate success. 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 15 
 
 Over the Mountains to Santa Cruz. 
 
 Leaving San Jose southwestward for Santa Cruz, 
 we make our transit by means of an old-fashioned 
 conservative stage-coacli, which, when one is not in a 
 hurry, and the weather is dry, mild and balmy^ and 
 road diversified by hill and valley, mountains and 
 streams, is a very agreeable way of travel. This val- 
 ley, is one of the most fertile in California, and unsur- 
 passed in picturesque scenery, with the excej)tion of 
 the Yosemite. Now, in the full meridian of Spring. 
 Nature has assumed her most attractive garb. The 
 wheat fields of the valleys and foothills give promise 
 of a fair harvest, though not as abundant as that of 
 the preceding year, while the foliage of the hills and 
 mountains is yet fresh and green, and brilliant-hued 
 wild flowers dot the level fields. Indeed, every vari- 
 ety of scenery greets the tourist's eye. The fertile 
 foothills furnish pasturage for immense herds of cat- 
 tle, sheep and goats ; the undulating slopes of the 
 hills are covered with brush and small timber ; and 
 then the mountain pass, with its deep ravines, its 
 yawning precipices and gigantic trees, which, while 
 it inspires the soul with the granduer of the mighty 
 works of the Great Creator, also produces the painful 
 effect of fear upon the nerves of the timid traveler. 
 The mountain gorges are often five hundred feet in 
 depth, while projecting rocks, with mammoth trees 
 growing from them, and bending over the precipice, 
 as if about to fall, meet one at every turn of a curve. 
 Now and then we pass over a plateau of table-land in 
 a very high state of cultivation. The air ascending 
 the mountains is bracing and delightfully fragrant 
 with the perfume of wild flowers and new-cut hay. 
 
 A short distance from San Jose two hospitable old 
 bachelor brothers are engaged in the cultivation of 
 grapes, pears, peaches and several varieties of small 
 fruits. Their grounds are beautifully and regularly 
 laid out with walks and drives, planted with shade 
 
16 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 trees and shrubbery, and adorned with a wealth of 
 flowers, while vine-clad arbours and rustic seats be- 
 neath umbrageous trees invite weary mortals to re- 
 pose. A.11 was kept with the order of a well-regula- 
 ted park and the neatness of an old maid's bureau 
 drav/ers. Our hosts were charmingly agreeable, and 
 did not in the least wear the orthodox forlorn appear- 
 ance usually imputed to old bachelors. Neither did 
 they express contempt for the feminine element, but 
 were ardent advocates of woman suffrage and her 
 highest education and elevation. Like all celebites 
 of either sex, except Catholic priests and nuns, they 
 cherished the ultimate hope of a happy life partner- 
 ship. As we bade our hospitable friends farewell, we 
 earnestly wished and devoutedly prayed that Heaven 
 might send them two loving, congenial spirits, and 
 that, united, they might become, as Parthenia ex- 
 pressed herself, like 
 
 " Two souls with but a single thouglit. 
 Two hearts that beat as one." 
 
 The mountain stage-drivers are peculiar characters, 
 and deserve a passing notice. They are very vete- 
 rans of their occupation, having driven for years on 
 the same route. In California vulgate, they never 
 gei foggy; which means that they are temperate — a 
 great and an unusual recommendation in this coun- 
 try. They are very trusty, possessing an accurate 
 knowledge of every step of the hazardous way, and 
 know something of interest about every spot. No 
 smoking is allowed inside or outside of the stage, so 
 that ladies can ride on the outside if they choose, and 
 obtain a perfect view of the natural scenery — a privi- 
 lege of which many avail themselves. The stages are 
 drawn by six horses, which are relieved every ten 
 miles. The mountain ascent is very laborious and is 
 slowly made, but the descent is rapid. Two oppo- 
 sition lines of coaches are running between San Jose 
 and Santa Cruz, and the price for the passage has 
 been reduced from three dollars to one dollar, afford- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 17 
 
 ing cheap pleasure and information to those who de- 
 sire to avail themselves of its advantages. 
 
 The mountain streams are well filled with trout. 
 Fishing parties are quite the fashion in the vicinity 
 of the trout streams — we ladies taking particular de- 
 light in following this indolently pleasurable pursuit 
 of Isaac "Walton. And as we return with long strings 
 well tilled with the speckled shiners, and enjoy the 
 delicious repast they afford, we feel well repaid for 
 sport b}'- which we captured these delicious speci- 
 mens of the tinny tribe. 
 
 Midway between San Jose and Santa Cruz there is 
 a place of entertainment for man and beast, kej)t like 
 the old-fashioned country taverns of the East. Here, 
 while we sumptuously fared, we were forcibly reminded 
 of Yankee Land. Keminiscences of home are ever 
 j^leasurable to the sojourner in a strange land, par- 
 ticularly when they appear in the form of a well- 
 cooked dinner, with the addition of a plate of well- 
 browned trout. 
 
 The descriptions by travelers of the mammoth 
 trees of California are no exaggerations. The weep- 
 ing willow grows to such an immense circumference 
 that one can drive a span of horses and wagon be- 
 neath the shade of its gracefully drooping branches. 
 The redwood trees attain such a gigantic size that our 
 tallest oaks are mere pigmies in comparison, and the 
 fir trees grow' as straight as reeds and so very tall 
 that one would suppose they intended to find their 
 level with the highest mountain tops. 
 
 The City of Santa Cruz, or Holy Cross, is delight- 
 fully situated uj^on the sea, at a distance of half a 
 mile from the bay of Monterey, and thirty-five miles 
 southwest of San Jose. It has 3,000 inhabitants. It 
 is quite a place of resort, as it possesses a fine beach. 
 Its bathing facilities are hardly equal to those of 
 Newport. 
 
 Its streets a-re fine and cleanly, and its hotels 
 commodious. Its stores are very countrified, dealing 
 
18 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 in every description, from crape shawls to codfish. 
 It possesses some manufactures and considerable 
 commerce. During last month the shipments of 
 home manufacture amounted to 1,500 barrels of lime, 
 15,000 kegs of powder, 2,000 reams of paper, 300 
 rolls of leather, and 6,000,000 shingles. Eoses 
 bloom here perpetually, and grapes yield a very 
 large harvest. 
 
 The editors of this city of the Holy Cross are a very 
 belligerent set, and resort to fists instead of pen and 
 ink to settle their difficulties. Whether this is owing 
 to the productiveness of the grape, or the general 
 climate, we are unable to tell, but certain it is, that 
 a little "unpleasantness" has resulted in their tem- 
 porary disfiguration greatly to the injury of their in- 
 dividual good looks, providing- that pen and ink are 
 the proper weapons of offense and defense for the 
 editorial fraternity, and are mightier than fists. 
 
 The flowing wells are a great curiosity. They are 
 bored like artesian wells, often two hundred feet deep, 
 and the water gushes and boils up and runs over, 
 yielding an abundant and constant supply. 
 
 California's greatest necessity is a foreign market. 
 She possesses facilities for supplying the whole Union 
 with fruits and vegetables, but the present rates of 
 transportation are so great that the producer loses 
 all his profits before his productions reach the mar- 
 ket. Each distinctive feature of farming is carried 
 on as a separate business here. One man devotes his 
 entire time and means to the culture of grain, another 
 to that of vegetables, a third cultivates grapes, a 
 fourth fruits, and a fifth cattle, etc. Owing to the 
 necessity of irrigation and the variety of soil and cli- 
 mate this becomes a necessity, and when a failure oc- 
 curs it becomes a very disastrous one. It is an easy 
 matter to make a livelihood in California, but as dif- 
 ficult to amass a fortune as in other countries. 
 
 Great apprehensions of a drought are felt in this re- 
 gion. Very little rain has fallen during the winter, 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 19 
 
 and the weather is as hot as August in Illinois, dur- 
 ing the day, though the nig'hts are cool and refresh- 
 ing. People have not forgotten the very disastrous 
 drought of 1864, when all the cattle died and the crops 
 perished, and are probably too apprehensive, for such 
 calamities do not happen often, and better prej^ara- 
 tions are now made to meet them, for the numerous 
 artesian wells will not fail, though the mountain 
 streams become parched and dry. 
 
 June Weather and Trade Winds. 
 
 Our June Aveather has been very warm during the 
 day, but the heat is greatly mitigated towards its 
 close by the trade winds, which never fail to blow 
 regularly from the north every afternoon, and render 
 our evenings and nights very cool and enjoyable. 
 One can always sleep well in this climate, a blessing 
 which nervous patients who have suffered from the 
 want of weary nature's sweet restorer can fully appre- 
 ciate. Linens, lawns, muslins, organdies, and in fact 
 summer clothing of any description can only be worn 
 during the middle of the day. As soon as the trade 
 winds arise the atmosphere becomes so cool that 
 heavy clothing, like broadcloths, merinos, even furs, 
 are not only comfortable but necessary to prevent tak- 
 ing cold. The cool evenings and nights, and the good 
 healthful sleejD, are so refreshing that the heat of 
 noon-day does not produce the debility of other warm 
 climates. In this respect the Pacific Coast has 
 greatly the advantage over the central and south At- 
 lantic Coast. 
 
 Cereal crops have been greatly injured by the 
 drought, so much so, that in some localities they will 
 not pay for the labor of harvesting. In the more 
 southerly counties the herbage is literally burned by 
 heat and drought, and herds of cattle are perishing 
 for want of food and water. These are mostly Span- 
 ish cattle, which are of a small and inferior breed, 
 and our progressionists say the country will be bene- 
 
20 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 fitted by being rid of them, even as a fire proves a 
 blessing when it sweeps away old, tottering, decaying 
 localities, and modern dwellings usurp their places. 
 The mortality among poultry is so great that eggs 
 and broiled chickens will soon become rarities. Scores 
 of biddies and chanticleers drop dead dail}^, owing to 
 the drought and the alkaliscent substances upon 
 which they are forced to feed, without a sufficient 
 quantity of water. 
 
 Grapes are growing finely; the clusters are round 
 and full, and give promise of an abundant harvest. 
 Their roots strike so deep into the earth that the 
 drought does not aftect them; in fact, dry weather is 
 beneficial to grapes, rendering them sweeter and more 
 free from rust and mildew. Raisins of excellent flavor 
 and superior quality are extensively produced, and 
 our Los Angeles oranges are far sweeter, larger and 
 more juicy than those of Florida, Cuba or Sicily. 
 We suffer much from dust, though perhaps no more 
 so than in other localities where no rain has fallen for 
 a long period of time. 
 
 Our flowing wells have proved as great a blessing 
 to us as the water which gushed from the desert rock 
 was to the thirsty Israelites. They continue to gush 
 and bubble and give forth their inestimable wealth of 
 fresh, sweet, pure water in abundance, without a 
 thought of the drought whose disastrous effects are 
 so manifest to those who are deprived of them. Little 
 pools of water collect about the wells, which the feath- 
 ered tribe scent from afar, and they come hither in 
 myriads to wet their thirsty little beaks and bathe and 
 flap their wings in the limpid stream. And then they 
 perch themselves among the boughs of our shade 
 trees and pour forth thgir songs of thanksgiving, to 
 which it is most pleasurable to listen. 
 
 Our aboriginal settlers were either Spanish or 
 French, and these have become so mixed with the 
 native Indian element that it is difficult to trace dis- 
 tinct types of either nationality. They are uneduca- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 21 
 
 ted, particularly the women, and their ignorance re- 
 acts on all. They speak no language correctly or 
 purely, but a jargon of all. The tourist who re- 
 marked that upon inquiring the nationality of a lady 
 and receiving the reply, '''Me no mttcho Francaisej 
 Englise, you het," describes their language correctly. 
 Still one recognizes the French by their politeness, 
 their neatness of dress whatever their surroundings, 
 their sociability and their general superiority to the 
 Spaniards, or old Calif ornians as they are termed. 
 These are not particularly neat, having a strong pen- 
 chant for oils, cayenne pepper, hard boiled eggs and 
 plenty of garlic. The ladies wear shawls upon their 
 heads, arc small in statue, and either grow to an 
 enormous embonpoint or wither and dry up until they 
 resemble Egyptian mummies. They are exceedingly 
 conservative, don't aj^prove of schools, and do just 
 af their grand-parents and great grand-parents did 
 before them, from father Noah down, the example of 
 which venerable patriarch they religiously imitate by 
 making free use of the fermented juice of the grape, 
 with the addition thereto of corn-juice in the form of 
 whiskey and other alcoholic beverages. They are gen- 
 erally unsocial, dislike progress and the Yankees, sell 
 their estates and emigrate to Mexico. 
 
 The religion of the old Calif ornians Lord Macaulej- 
 terms, "that fascinating superstition, which shall 
 nevertheless, be the prevailing faith when the tourist 
 shall sketch the ruins of Westminster Abljy from a 
 broken arch of London Bridge." Should this proph- 
 ecy prove true of London it will never apph^ to Cali- 
 fornia, for progressive ideas are storming the battle- 
 ments of ancient prejudices and superstitions, and 
 even the Catholic church cannot restrain the on- 
 ward march. The French do not jDermit their 
 religious scruples to interfere with their socia- 
 bility or their neighborly kindness; but it is 
 different with the Spaniards, who are ultra High 
 Church, believe none can obtain an immortal Elysium 
 
22 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 but themselves, and fear contamination from other 
 influences; hence they are unsocial and taciturn, and 
 liberal Christians assert that the greater their igno- 
 rance the greater their faith, but these are heretical 
 views, diametrically opposite to orthodox belief, and 
 must be judged accordingly. 
 
 The Chinese question is an all imj^ortant topic of 
 discussion with us, eliciting much argument, pro and 
 con. The Chinamen are quiet and inoffensive, tem- 
 perate and industrious, ingenious and imitative. 
 They learn to read and write our language rapidly; 
 their dress is neat, consisting of bifurcates, with a 
 blue cotton tunic or sort of shirt, stiffly starched and 
 smoothly ironed, a funny cloth shoe with a cork sole an 
 inch thick, and a hat. They labor cheaply at what- 
 ever their hands find to do, and so far so good. The 
 objections to them are: 
 
 1st. That self-preservation, which is the first law 
 of nature, viz: that no Caucassian can advantageously 
 compete with them, for a stewed mouse and a hand- 
 ful of rice per day will board a Chinaman, and a white 
 man requires something more expensive, substantial 
 and appetizing. 
 
 2d. They hoard all their earnings, investing very 
 little in clothing, living or real estate. All this cap- 
 ital is shipped to China, whither, living or dead, the 
 Chinaman returns. 
 
 Our two greatest draw^backs are our land monopo- 
 lies and our great want of a foreign market. The 
 farmers are buying up and holding thousands of acres 
 of our most valuable public lands, and holding them 
 so high that poor men cannot purchase cheap homes; 
 these speculators keep the country from imjDroving 
 as fast as it would if the poor man were not thus fet- 
 tered. The claim of Hutchings & Lamon to the Yo- 
 semite Valley was defeated at the last session of the 
 Legislature, the State thereby reserving this wonder 
 of nature in its pristine charms, and making it im- 
 possible for any land monopolist to control it and 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 23 
 
 make unjust extortions upon the tourist and visitor. 
 This at least is one move in the right direction. Our 
 great necessity of cheap transportation for cereals, 
 fruits and other productions is severely felt by our 
 producers. Owing to the necessity of irrigation, but 
 one branch of farming or grazing can be carried on by 
 one person; he then engages in it extensively and 
 with necessarily great expense, and when his produce 
 is ready for market finds no home consumers, and the 
 high tariff for transportation exhausts all his profits. 
 
 Summer Climate in San Jose. 
 
 Our summer climate here in California has been 
 extremely hot and dry during the past season; but 
 one little shower of rain fell in the latter j)art of July, 
 and though the ocean breezes cooled the atmosphere 
 at the close of day and at night, and were somewhat 
 refreshing, they failed to alleviate the weariness and 
 lassitude caused by the day's heat, or to cure the de- 
 sire to postpone all physical and mental labor till the 
 morrow, and when the morrow came to xoostjDone it 
 until cooler weather. The oldest settlers aver that 
 the past summer has been an unusually hot one, and 
 though that may be, still the climate of our " heated 
 term" loses its usual brain and muscle stimulating 
 properties, unless it be that what is brain stimulating 
 is also brain trying, and that the system, when reac- 
 tion occurs, is left in a more debilitated condition 
 than if the stimulant had not been employed. 
 
 Notwithstanding the drought, our crops were abun- 
 dant; though the yield of wheat was not as great as 
 in the season of '69, it is all sufficient and much 
 greater than was expected. California farmers ex- 
 pect a dry season occasionally, and are therefore so 
 well prepared for it that they do not suffer from its 
 effects as they did years ago, before they understood 
 the climatic changes of this coast. The grain which 
 failed to head well where the means of irrigation were 
 
24 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 deficient, was cut green and baled as we bale hay in 
 the East, producing excellent fodder. 
 
 Threshing grain is carried on as extensively and 
 expeditiously as everything else in this country. 
 Several threshing machines, accompanied by the 
 usual number of operatives or " hands " surround the 
 mammoth grain stacks and commence work, resting 
 only long enough to ^' take in food" for man and 
 beast. At night the men sleep in the field in near 
 proximity to the stacks, with no other bed than the 
 bare ground and a single blanket. As the air is warm, 
 perfectly free from damps and dews, ^nd not the 
 least danger of a shower, they sleep soundl}^ until 
 sunrise, when work begins again, and continues unin- 
 terruptedly until all is completed. 
 
 Grasses become sere and dry in midsummer, one 
 might say almost, from the effects of heat, and he who 
 does not understand the order of things in this cli- 
 mate would pronounce them burnt and worthless; 
 nevertheless, cattle eat, live and thrive upon them, 
 growing fat and slick as the season advances. Some 
 species of California grasses produce small burrs, 
 which fall upon and cover the ground when ripe. 
 These are very nutritive for cattle, and are eaten with 
 avidity by them. 
 
 We enjoyed summer fruits of almost every variety 
 and climate. Cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, al- 
 monds and oranges. The latter, though not as 
 abundantly produced as at Los Angeles, are large and 
 sweet. Berries of every variety abound in their season. 
 Elderberries are as large as good sized peas, and cov- 
 ered with a white liiist, giving them the appearance 
 of sugar-coated pills. Grapes are plentiful, large, 
 sweet and luscious, some of the clusters almost equal- 
 ing in size and plumpness, the pictured representa- 
 tions of those famous bunches found in the Promised 
 Land by the spies of the Children of Israel, which 
 were wont to make our mouth water in early child- 
 hood, as we beheld them suspended from a pole and 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 25 
 
 borne upon the brawny shoulders of the fault-finding- 
 Jews. Oar native wines are very sweet, the warm, 
 dry weather being hi<^hl\ adapted to the growth and 
 development of the grapes. As usual, our wiue- 
 makers claim that their wines are not intoxicating. 
 They certainly taste very sweet and palatable, and, 
 if never drank to excess, might not injure the cause 
 of temperance; but, jud^^ing from what we have seen, 
 we incline to the contrary opinion. Some large va- 
 rieties of grapes produce raisins equal to the best im- 
 ported Malagas, j^artii ularly those cultivated amid 
 the sheltei-ed valleys and foothills. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great productiveness of this 
 country, and the skilled ingenuity which her inhabi- 
 tants bring to bear ag.unst climatic disadvantages, ^^ e 
 have many serious drawbacks for which as yet no 
 remedy has been found. Not the least of these is 
 the damage done to crops by squirrels and gophers. 
 A.11 efforts to exterminate these destructive little 
 creatures have thus far been unsuccessful. The in- 
 jury wdiich they infiict upon fruits and grain is incal- 
 culable, and generally the richest districts are those 
 most infected by their depredations. Liberal offers 
 have been made for the discovery of some plan by 
 which these pests can be annihilated, but nothing 
 more afficacious than j^toison or cold has been discov- 
 ered, and squirrels multiply so raj^idly that even these 
 are of little avail. It is estimated that sixty thous- 
 and squirrels have been killed in Contra Costa county 
 since the 1st of January, and yet they seem thick as 
 ever. At the last session of the Legislature an act 
 w^as passed to encourage the destruciion of squirrels 
 and gophers in certain localities, and to provide a 
 bounty for the same, by authorizing the levy of a 
 special tax which shall constitute a Bounty ij'und. 
 Whosoever kills a squirrel is entitled to five cents for 
 the scalp and ten cents for a gopher. A citizen of 
 San Jose realized $120 from squirrel scalps in a short 
 time, yet they scamper over fields and orchards as 
 
 2 
 
26 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 numerously as ever. Squirrel killing in California 
 is like fly catcliiDg in preserving time in the States — 
 two living ones taking the place of the one which has 
 been killed. 
 
 Though abundant harvests crown the labors of the 
 husbandmen, and fruits, grain, vegetables and all 
 things edible are plentiful and cheap, there is less 
 material prosperity than one might expect in so pro- 
 ductive a country. Complaints of hard times are 
 general among miners, mechanics, laborers and busi- 
 ness men. "Why this is so, the students of social 
 science have not yet told us. Mining is particularly 
 dull in this vicinity. The Guadaloupe Quicksilver 
 mines, which wei'e prosperous eight years ago, fur- 
 nishing employment to 3,000 people, are now de- 
 serted, their costly smelting furnaces in ruins, and 
 their wonderful shafts left to decay — presenting a 
 picture of desolation, where activity and enterprise 
 once reigned. The cause for this is, that precious 
 minerals are no longer sufficiently abundant to re- 
 w^ard the capitalist and laborer. Bold robberies and 
 fearful murders occur fre(|uently among us, and it is 
 seldom that the perpetrators r.re brought to justice, for 
 they flee to the woods andmcuitains and hide there, 
 so that it is almost impossible* for the law to take its 
 course and punish them as the desen^e. 
 
 San Francisco. 
 
 San Francisco, to a stranger from the Prairie Land, 
 accustomed to the level, monotonous scenery of home, 
 is most delightfully situated. Portions of the city 
 being built upon picturesque hills, w^hich, like those 
 ' of St. Paul, Minnesota, have not been graded down 
 to make level streets, but left in their natural beauty, 
 present an undulating and pleasing prospect to an 
 admirer of varid scenery. These elevations aftbrd 
 excellent views of the city, the Bay crowded with 
 shii^ping, and the Golden Gate, w4th its open w^el- 
 come to the sea. The churches have fewer and legs 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 27 
 
 elevated steeples than those of the Eastern cities. 
 Probably they are constructed with reference tp 
 earthquakes, which, though claimed by scientific 
 men to be atmospheric instead of volcanic, neverthe- 
 less cause more damage to lofty than lower struc- 
 tures. The business houses are large and spacious, 
 for the Calif ornians like plenty of room, and that as 
 near terra firma as. possible. The merchants are 
 particularly fond of fresh air and sunshine, and many 
 of them transact a large portion of their business 
 upon the sidewalk. The scene from the Bay is en- 
 chanting to a lover of variety. The steamer "Colo- . 
 rado" is leaving for Panama, crowded with passen- 
 gers, flirting adieus with their handkerchiefs to their 
 friends on shore. A schooner too heavily or une- 
 venly laden with baled hay has upset, scattering her 
 cargo in every direction upon the blue waters, the 
 haj^ following the current and sailing away towards 
 the Pacific. White barges and water craft of every . 
 discription are being loaded and unloaded by people 
 of ever}^ hue and nationality. 
 
 As for the autumn climate of this city, whatever it 
 may be at other seasons, it is anything but salubrious 
 or agreeable to pulmonary or bronchial invalids, and 
 the sooner they make their exit from San Francisco, 
 the better for coughs and colds. Fogs are frequent 
 and xerj heavy, and have an inflammatory effect 
 upon throat and lungs, eyes and nose.. The cli- 
 mate of San Francisco, according to the testimony 
 of their meteorologists, is unlike that of any other 
 city in the world. It has essentially two climates, 
 and there is constantly a conflict between the land 
 and sea temperature for supremacy. The ocean 
 breeze partakes of the temperature of the Pacific, 
 which is about 53 degrees Fahrenheit the whole year. 
 From the Coast Range of mountains, near the Golden 
 Gate, there is a current of cool, damp air, of the 
 same temperature as the ocean, laden with misty 
 clouds, which linger near the base of the hills and 
 
28 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 penetrate the valleys around San Francisco Bay. 
 The land temperature is as nearly opposite to that of 
 the ocean as possible. It is generally hot and dry, 
 and the two climates acting upon each other produce 
 one which has no parallel anywhere. The extensive 
 territory lying about the Bay is within scope of these 
 two climates, and subject to their joint influence. 
 Though neither very warm nor very cold, and quite 
 stimulating to mental and physical energies, it is 
 nevertheless not the perfectly healthful climate which 
 invalids from the Atlantic States come in search of. 
 One chills so easily, and there are so many weather 
 changes it is almost impossible to dress properly to 
 meet them. Colds and catarrhs have been very prev- 
 alent this season, and pocket handkerchiefs, cough 
 drops, bronchial troches and every species of patent 
 medicines advertised for these afflictions are in active 
 and constant demand . 
 
 But the face of Nature here during the last days of 
 November is exceedingly charming. Scarcely a more 
 beautiful sight can be imagined than the sudden 
 cheerful change presented by the surrounding hills 
 after the first showers. These hills are treeless, and 
 their sharp peaks and deep gullied sides are covered 
 with a carpet of deep velvety green, which is their 
 winters garb. Plants and flowers flourish finely in 
 the open air, as no irrigation is now needed to keep 
 ihem in full growth and bloom. Ornamental plants 
 grow to a size unknown in Eastern cities. The cac- 
 tus variety attain a gigantic size, while the fuschias 
 are ten or twelve feet in height, and bloom pro- 
 fusely throughout the entire winter in the open air. 
 Geraniums of every variety, heliotropes, oleanders — 
 in fact all our Eastern house plants find their native 
 and congenial climate here. 
 
 San Francisco possesses numerous fine public 
 buildings. Among these is the Orphan Asylum, 
 which looms up from one of her hills like an ancient 
 feudal castle, its substantial stone walls being cov- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 29 
 
 ered with ivy and clambering vines, while the sloping 
 hillsides descending from it are green with the ver- 
 dure of grass and shrubbery. Her churches, school 
 buiklings and private dwellings are not excelled in 
 architectural beauty, or convenience and adapta- 
 bility, by those of her sister cities in the East. Five 
 miles east of the city is the Bo^^'s Industrial School, 
 a large stone structure having the appearance of a 
 great comfortable farm house, where a pleasant home 
 and a useful, practical education are given to the 
 homeless and unfortunate. 
 
 Business is generally dull, and will continue so, 
 while specie is the only currency in use. California 
 requires a paper currency before her national pros- 
 perity will equal that of the Atlantic and other West- 
 ern States. The liquor traffic is here as with the 
 whole nation the most money-making pursuit, and 
 w^hisky and stimulating and intoxicating beverages of 
 every description are the curse of this coast. Bleared 
 eyes, red noses, foul breaths and all the train of phy- 
 sical and mental evils which follow the daily use of 
 alcoholic beverages, are everywhere apparent. The 
 native born children have a fine physical develop- 
 ment, and were it not for the inheritance of intem- 
 perance, might in a few generations attain mankind's 
 primitive perfection in health and longevity. 
 
 San Francisco possesses many valuable manufac- 
 tories. The manufacture of silver plate of chaste and 
 elaborate designs and excellent quality is largely car- 
 ried on; woolen blankets, of soft, fleecy texture, and 
 shawls, gloves and hose are joroduced in such abund- 
 ance as to supply the entire home market. There is 
 great jealousy of eastern manufacturers who send their 
 productions here to find a market, and many con- 
 sider the Pacific Railroad as a detriment, since for- 
 eign manufactures now compete with and destroy the 
 profits of home industry in a greater degree, than when 
 commerce was entirely carried on by water. Silk 
 culture is becoming constantly more developed and 
 
30 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 quite profitable to the producer. The cocoons are of 
 much finer quality than those of Japan and China, 
 and though silk is not successfully manufactured 
 here, the cocoons find a ready market in France 
 and Italy. Before the late European war, France 
 alone used 10,000,000 cocoons per annum more than 
 she produced, and thus the market in this branch of 
 industry is not easily glutted, and as the silk worm 
 thrives well in California, and their cocoons find a 
 ready market, it is not improbable that her silk cul- 
 ture will in time become as valuable a resource as 
 her mines. 
 
 The Vernal Season on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 To Northern and Eastern sojourners the vernal 
 season here, in the metrop.olis of the Pacific Coast, is 
 already so far advanced that spring appears lost in 
 the gorgeous bloom pf mid-summer. The reign of 
 flowers is fully upon us and many of the earlier va- 
 rieties of annual roses ha've passed their season and 
 are covering the ground with their faded leaves, 
 while the later varieties and the perpetual bloomers 
 perfume the air and beautify the landscaj^e. Boquets 
 composed of all the more hardy roses, camelias and 
 japonicas. intermingled with fuschias and less choice 
 flowers, are abundant and decorate our stores, 
 churches and homes. Oranges and the fruits of the 
 season are coming into market too, as well as an end- 
 less variety of vegetables. The Chinese are very suc- 
 cessful in the cultivation of the latter as in all man- 
 ner of horticultural and agricultural productions. 
 They possess the faculty of making a few acres yield 
 as much as an American would yield from three 
 times the quantity of land. - Every inch of ground 
 is cultiviited, and their economy and parsimony is be- 
 yond everything. It is positively demoralizing to 
 humanity to see them reduce themselves to a level 
 wdth the brute creation and perform the ordinary 
 labor of mules or horses or other beasts of burden, 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 31 
 
 by carrying composts and fertilizers in huge baskets 
 suspended from rude neck yokes, to save expense. 
 All their vegetables are brought to market in this 
 manner, and they are really one of the peculiar in- 
 stitutions of this coast, as are the negroes of the 
 Southern States. It is curious to watch them in their 
 labors and especially in their homes, which for dense 
 population in limited space, may well be compared 
 to ant hills. Their unlimited perseverance makes 
 them successful in whatever they undertake. 
 
 Upon the long fiats extending along the Oakland 
 and Alameda shores, the Chinamen have extensive 
 fisheries and when they cast their nets, amid the 
 shoals of smelt and herring which abound here at 
 high water, they capture myriads of these shiners 
 with the same facility and ease and success which ap- 
 pears to crown all their ettbrts. When their boats 
 are filled with glittering heaps of fishes, then begins 
 the w^ork of cleaning, drying and packing; while so 
 engaged, the Chinaman lightens his toil by a low, 
 guttural song, which evidently cheers him and fills 
 his soul with pleasing dreams of his flowery home, 
 though to Christian ears, the noise he makes is not 
 only devoid of melody, but perfectly heathenish. In 
 the mines the Chinese work steadily and faithfully, 
 and where this industry is extensively carried on, 
 they are more reliable than miners of European na- 
 tionality. They have many curious ceremonies and 
 religious rites. Although all those who have the 
 means are buried in the lacd of their nativity, many 
 die here who are too poor or have no friends to send 
 their remains thither. They have a burial place pro- 
 vided for them in San Francisco, to which all ortho- 
 dox Chinamen make a semi-annual pilgrimage, for 
 the purpose of placing rice and other provisions upon 
 the graves of those of their countrymen who are 
 forced to sleep their last sleep in the land of the bar- 
 barians. They then bless or charm numerous pieces 
 of paper, tear these into small bits, and s(?ifitter them 
 
32 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 to the four parts of the compass, a -ceremony which 
 they believe exorcises and banishes evil spirits, and 
 prevents them from disturbing the repose of their 
 deceased friends. Twenty-five hundred celestials re- 
 cently participated in a ceremony of this kind. Hea- 
 thens as they are, yet are they by no means averse or 
 indifferent to the teachings of Christianity. Several 
 jDrotestant denominations have been very successful 
 in the work of proselyting, and a Chinese Sunday 
 school at Oakland is in a most prosi:)erous condition. 
 The ignorance, immorality and servility of the wo- 
 men of China, is the main obstacle to the elevation 
 of the Chinese as a people. Like the Mohamedan 
 nations of the East, and all heathen and barbarian 
 people, they believe women to be a lower order of 
 beings, without souls, to whom Paradise will be de- 
 nied hereafter, and whose sole earthly mission is to 
 minister to man and to serve him. For ages and 
 ages this slavery has existed, and the Chinawoman is 
 as perfectly satisfied with her condition as Madames 
 Sherman and Dahl>>-ren, and the Oberlin protestors 
 agaiust woman suffrage. Like these res]iected ladies 
 they regard the woman who is dissatisfied with her 
 condition as a most horrible and unnatural monstros- 
 ity, and the very few heroines that China has j^ro- 
 duced, are held up to posterity as models of sin and 
 inspirations of the spirit of evil. Polygamy is univer- 
 sal, and the highest ambition of woman is to be a 
 meek and humble consort to her husband, who is to 
 her, lord and master. 
 
 Manufactures are being constantly encouraged and 
 develoi^ed in San Francisco. Blankets and woolen 
 cloths are woven here, which cannot be excelled in 
 any portion of the world. The manufacture of silk 
 is not yet in a flourishing condition, owing to want of 
 capital, and to the great demand for cocoons for ex- 
 portation. Several glove factories are prosperous, 
 and promise to supplj^ not only the home market, but 
 portions of South America, the Pacific Coast States 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 33 
 
 and the Territories. Buckskins and dog skins are 
 commonly used, the former for working gloves, and 
 the latter for riding and driving gloves. The buck- 
 skins are sold in our markets in great quantities by 
 hunters and trappers, and are tanned at the different 
 tanneries in the vicinity of the city. Woolen gloves 
 of a very superior quality and finish, are extensively 
 manufactured for Montana, and the more northern 
 countries. Kid glove making will become profitable 
 in time, when more attention is given to the rearing of 
 goats, as yet, many so-called kid gloves are made of 
 lamb, squirrel, and even cat skins. The sewing of 
 gloves is generally done by woman, many of whom 
 work at their homes as in the factories. At one es- 
 tablishment thirty thousand pairs of gloves are made 
 annually, affording employment to hundreds of 
 people . 
 
 San Francisco is a city that awakens the sympathy 
 of the philanthrox^ist and humanitarian more fully 
 than any other of its size and natural advantages. 
 The constant influx of strangers, from all quarters of 
 the earth, and the numberless disappointed ones who 
 came hither with golden dreams, wdiich have never 
 been realized, and the commingling of many incon- 
 guous elements, the dearth of labor and the distress 
 consequent thereon, all touch the sympathetic heart. 
 Earnest workers are attempting" in various ways to do 
 good and aid the unfortunate, but thus far all that 
 has been done, is but to sow the seed, trusting here- 
 after to reap the harvest. 
 
 G-ilroy in March. 
 
 This little town is the present terminus of the 
 South Pacific Railroad, and in its raj^id growth re- 
 sembles all the young railroad towns of newly settled 
 countries. Like its northern sister. Young Deluth, 
 it was not in existence three years since, its present 
 site being at that time, one uninhabitable wilderness, 
 while now its population numbers tw^o thousand. 
 
34 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 Gilroy is laid out like Superior City and McGregor, 
 Iowa, that is, one continuous and exceedingly long 
 street, upon which all the business houses and the 
 most prominent private dwellings are located. For 
 a pioneer western town, it strikes the stranger as a 
 marvel of neatness. Its buildings are large and 
 capacious, occupying much space upon the ground, 
 nearly all one story in height, to render them less 
 liable to fall from earthquakes. 
 
 California develops precocious growth in all things, 
 "vegetables, fruits, trees, children and cities. This 
 rrpid growth exhausts vitality and leads to early decay 
 and often joremature death . Something of this is ap- 
 parent in Gilroy, whose sudden rise and progress 
 seem to have arrived at a stand-still point. Business 
 is very dull, and the tastefully arranged stores, 
 whose counters display to the best advantage every 
 variety of useful and ornamental wares, are lonely 
 and deserted, evincing the want of the one thing 
 needful to render trade active, viz, money. Capa- 
 cious stores, whose thick venetion shades close out 
 the cheerful light of our bright skies, attract many 
 customers; and looking at the signs above their doors 
 we read, "Sample rooms," and the nature of the 
 samples sold there is made manifest to the stranger 
 by the red noses and bleared eyes of the numerous 
 customers who patronize these "sample rooms," 
 which, like all the drinking saloons of California and 
 the entire West, do a flourishing business, and in a 
 measure account for much of the depression evident 
 in the useful and happier vocations of life, since they 
 lure their patrons to temptation and ruin, and unht 
 them for every good and noble purpose. 
 
 It is very pleasurable to turn from these well 
 patronized whisky shops and their degenerate pa- 
 trons, to the lovely natural surroundings of this 
 town. Ranges of majestic hills raise their misty 
 summits from all points of the compass, encircling it 
 like a beautiful verdure-crowned fortification of na- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 35 
 
 ture. Spring is far advanced, plowing* and planting 
 nearly over, and the hopes of a remunerative harvest 
 thus far are excellent. Fourteen miles from here are 
 located the Gilroy Hot Springs, celebrated in this 
 State for their medicinal properties. They are sul- 
 phuric, somewhat resembling the Warm Springs of 
 Little Rock, Arkansas, and are very efficacious for 
 rheumatic diseases, coughs, colds and liver disorders. 
 They are much frequented by invalids from this and 
 the neighboring States, as Gilroy is easily reached by 
 railway, and the last fourteen miles are accomplished 
 by stages which run regularly twice a week. 
 
 This vicinity is largely settled by people from the 
 South Atlantic and Gulf States with an intermixture 
 of a " right smart sprinkling" of enterprising Yan- 
 kees, and consequently the appearance of Gilroy is 
 more pleasing and progressive than that of the neigh- 
 boring Spanish towns. The Yankee element, like 
 the English language, having absorbed all others 
 until the individual identity of each is lost, the good 
 and evil of both, like tares and wheat, continue to 
 grow together. Thus an enterprising weekly news- 
 paper is published here, and churches and rooster 
 lights are both well patronized on Sunday, and 
 schools and drinking saloons on week days, and vice 
 and immorality, as in older communities, rear their 
 destroying heads amid virtue and purity. 
 
 The climate is very fine, never extremely warm or 
 severely cold, with a dry bracing air, clear sunny 
 skies and invigorating sea and mountain breezes. 
 
 From present appearances, cro^^s of fruit, grain, 
 grasses and vegetables promise an abundant harvest, 
 so that notwithstanding the general business depres- 
 sion, which is so severely felt here at present, theje 
 is no danger of starvation, and with the beautiful 
 semitropical climate and the few necessities of man- 
 kind, people can live pleasantly and happily, since 
 there is less strife in making haste to get rich, than 
 
36 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 in a more money-making and money-producing com- 
 munity . 
 
 Petaluma. 
 
 The whole area of territory comprised in Sonoma 
 county is greatly influenced in climate, productions, 
 etc., by its contiguity to the ocean, a considerable 
 portion of it forming the boundary coastline. Dense 
 and heavy fogs arise from the sea every morning, 
 creating a dampness and a dew which admirably 
 supply the place of rain, and serve at once to irrigate 
 and fertilize the soil, preventing those parching 
 droughts so destructive to crops, and so discouraging 
 to agriculturalists in more inland portions of the 
 State. Consequently the harvests of such cereals and 
 fruits as are acceptable to climate and soil are always 
 reliable. The nights and mornings are too cool for 
 the rapid growth required in the successful culture 
 of corn, preventing its development and maturity, 
 though the soil around the foot-hills is as fertile as in 
 Illinois and the more central States of the Union. 
 
 The summer and early autumn fruits yield so 
 abundantly, that trees break and split beneath the 
 burden of their delicious harvests. Peaches and 
 plums of manj^ varieties are exceedingly plentiful, 
 and in flavor and quality are unexcelled in any quar- 
 ter of the world. Apples become wrinkled and taste- 
 less after being gathered a short time. They are 
 largely imported from tiie Southern counties of Ore- 
 gon, where they grow and mature finely. 
 
 Petaluma, sixteen miles southward among the moun- 
 tains lies contiguous with a shallow stream or rather 
 arm of the ocean, of sufficient depth when the tide 
 is in, to be navigable for vessels carrying from sixty 
 to one hundred tons burden. It is a quiet, orderly 
 little place, with fewer whisky shops than the towns 
 and villages in its neighborhood. Most of the early 
 Spanise settlers have sold out and emigrated to Mex- 
 ico, and other congenial localities, and a diiferent 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 37 
 
 class of people taken their places. Consequently, 
 the cock and dog fights, which were formerly the 
 Sunday afternoon entertainments, have become ex- 
 tinct, and the seventh day is quiet and respected; 
 business in the police courts is dull, and peace and 
 order reign in the few bai'-rooms which yet remain. 
 A fine public library and two newspapers speak well 
 for the intelligence of this little community on the 
 Pacific. One of its drawbacks, however, is the great 
 scarcity of fresh water. Owing to the long drouth, the 
 cisterns are empty, and as the water from the stream 
 is salt, this precious element of life is brought from a 
 distance in casks, upon drays, and sold for seventy- 
 five cents per hogshead. The streets are sprinkled 
 with the salt water from the stream. Grass and 
 herbage are sere and brown, but here and there fine 
 patches of newly planted vegetables and fields of 
 cereals are green and fresh, being nurtured by the 
 heavy ocean fogs and dews. 
 
 The climate is cool and invigorating, and the damp- 
 ness of the fogs is not unsalubrious, its effects being 
 the same as in England, and its people greatly resem- 
 ble those of that island in color, complexion and form. 
 An old adobe house, formerly the home of an ancient 
 Spanish governor, is quite a curiosity. It was built 
 anterior to the ceding of California to the Union, and 
 has been used as a fort in the Indian wars. Now it 
 is a peaceable, dirty farm house; the cows are milked 
 within its courtyard, and poultry roost upon its 
 verandahs, w^hile the pigs are fed from troughs be- 
 neath, and their owners live within its thick mud walls, 
 all dwelling together in peace, like the happy family 
 of a museum. 
 
 Santa Rosa. 
 
 The capital of Sonoma county is situated on Santa 
 Rosa Creek, an arm of the Russian river, and is 
 reached by rail from Petaluma, sixteen miles south- 
 ward. Its population is two thousand, very similar 
 
38 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 in nature and characteristics to that of Healdsburg, 
 and the surrounding country. A fine park of live 
 oaks, directly in front of the court house, reminds 
 the tourist of Florida, and gives a tropical appear- 
 ance to the scene, both by their inviting and luxu- 
 rient shade, and the otherwise careless and ill-kept 
 appearance of the park. The court house, an old- 
 fashioned building of red brick, is surmounted by a 
 dome, ornamented with a marble statute of the God- 
 dess of Justice, with her blinded eyes and evenly 
 poised scales. An edifice for a Methodist College is 
 in process of erection, which promises when com- 
 pleted to become a fine, handsome structure. Its 
 cost is estimated at $20,000. 
 
 Saloons are as numerous and superabundant as in 
 every city, town and village throughout the length 
 and breadth of the country. Santa Rosa is extremely 
 dusty, as it is the only town of its size in the State 
 whose streets are not sprinkled, and in consequence 
 of the long dry season, the dust is over a foot in 
 depth and almost unendurable) trees and foliage have 
 a dull ash gray hue, and when the winds blows, its 
 clouds remind one of the dry sands of Sahara and 
 are nearly as suffocating. One newspaper is pub- 
 lished here, which, though Democratic in politics, is 
 progressive and liberal upon all the great questions 
 of the day, too much so, when compared with the 
 mental status of its home readers. The wheat crop 
 in this immediate vicinity has been very heavy, and 
 pecuniary prospects are expected to brighten, and 
 business to be lively, ''when wheat begins to move," 
 as they say here. 
 
 Healdsburg, 
 
 Is a beautifully^ located little town on the Eussian 
 River, in the central portion of Sonoma county. It 
 is nestled amid the mountains, and its ocean breezes 
 render its climate pleasant and very salubrious. It 
 numbers about one thousand inhabitants, and is con- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 39 
 
 • 
 
 nected by a railroad with Santa Rosa, the county seat 
 of Sonoma county. The lands in its vicinity are gen- 
 erally fertile, and are faraed for producing the best 
 potatoes in California. Though saline lands of a gen- 
 tle nature are found now and then, their stony, 
 glassy substances have no poisonous or destructive 
 effects upon the poultry who feed upon them, as in 
 other portions of the State. - Small cereals yield 
 largely, and even mature in protected localities. The 
 water of the mountain springs is deliciously cool, 
 soft and clear, and Mother Nature has bountifully 
 endowed the regions in the vicinity, far and near. 
 The character of much of the population is a serious 
 drawback to progressive growth. It is principally 
 composed of emigrants from Missouri and the South- 
 western States, who are not particularly enlightened 
 according to the ideas of Eastern progressionists. 
 They make it their boast that they "don't car to read 
 nothin' no how^;" are disgusted with common schools 
 and railroads, and "stuck-up Northerners," and 
 speak of "selling off" and "clarin' out" to "new" dig- 
 gins" in some unexplored wilderness where the Yan- 
 kee is not, and where they can end their conserva- 
 tive lives without being tormented by the progressive 
 institution of Yankeedom. Twenty-four miles from 
 Healdsburg are located the Geysers or wonderful Cal- 
 ifornia hot springs. In a tract of land embracing 
 about one square mile, many of these springs are 
 found, boiling and bubbling up from the bosom of 
 mother earth, antidotes for numerous diseases and 
 ailments which afflict her children. From some of 
 these, pure soda may be obtained, and others are 
 greatly impregnated with sulphur, epsom salts, cop- 
 j)eras, salt and iron. They are becoming quite a re- 
 sort, and have been visited during the past summer 
 by tourists and invalids from the States and other 
 portions of California. Their curative powers for 
 rheumatism, and particularly dyspepsia, are really 
 remarkable. Cases of the latter of twenty years 
 
40 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 standing have been cured by the use of these waters 
 in a week. There are also springs within three miles 
 of Healdsburg, possessing excellent curative proper- 
 ties, but not as celebrated as the Geysers. 
 
 Los Angeles. 
 
 Los Augeles, owing to its inland situation, pre- 
 sents an aspect of isolation to the tourist who visits 
 it for the first time. It is located 20 miles from San 
 Pedro Bay, an inlet of the Pacific, with which it is 
 connected by a railroad, which is the only one in the 
 State, at present, south of Santa Clara county. The 
 coast range of mountains, in proximity to the Pacific 
 extends through the entire length of Los Angeles 
 county in a northwestern and southeastern direction. 
 The city itself, is situated in an arid, alkaline valley, 
 clothed with a very scarce vegetation between it and 
 San Pedro Bay, which is the case with the exception 
 of small fertile tracts, in the entire surrounding 
 country. 
 
 This portion of Southern California corresponds in 
 climate to that of the south shore of Europe from the 
 Bosphorus to Gibralter. In clearness of sky, and in 
 mildness, equality of temperature it is said to surpass 
 the climate of the Italian and Spanish coasts, and 
 those whose heaven is always farther west, ever be- 
 yond the pale of advanced civilization, pronounce it 
 much more attractive. The mountain summits are 
 covered with snow, consequently the wind currents 
 which blow from them are cold, mitigating the natural 
 tropical heat. The influence of the trade winds, in- 
 land from the ocean, though they increase the heat of 
 summer and the cold of winter, are obviated by the 
 regular sea breezes which make the winters warmer 
 and the summers cooler. These varied natural causes 
 produce a really magnificent climate which may truly 
 be compared to a constant and beautiful spring. 
 
 Notwithstanding that large tracts of country are of 
 an alkaline nature, wholly barren, presenting a 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 41 
 
 white, desolate appearance, as if the earth had been 
 thickly dusted with flour, there are other more fertile 
 portions, which though quite as arid in appearance, 
 i^artake of the sandy qualities of the soil of Florida 
 and the coast districts of the West Indies. These 
 produce the fruits of the tropical and semi-tropical 
 climates, in great abundance. Oranges and raisins 
 are the principal productions. 
 
 Orange culture is a leading branch of industry. 
 The trees flourish in the open air like common or- 
 chard trees of the north, and the fruit ripens from 
 December to May, at a time when there are few 
 oranges from the Haiwiian or adjacent islands in the 
 California markets. Healthy trees in full bearing- 
 produce one thousand or more oranges a year, whose 
 marketable value is estimated at from two to live dol- 
 lars per hundred. The trees do not come to full ma- 
 turity before they are ten j-ears old, and will not 
 thrive in arid soil without irrigation. There are 
 many orange nurseries in this vicinity w^here hundreds 
 of thousands of young trees are sown and then 
 grafted before being transplanted into orchards. 
 The orange tree is not as hardy as is generally sup- 
 posed, at least not in this country, where it is not in- 
 digenous but imported, though with careful culture 
 it is becoming acclimated. Many perish in trans- 
 planting, and in the nurseries they are subject to the 
 attacks of gophers, which destroy them, and a bug 
 called the orange aphis which injures the leaves ren- 
 dering the trees barren and causing them to perish. 
 No method of killing this insect, or averting its de- 
 stroying ravages has as yet been discovered, like the 
 cut worm of northern climes, it comes, commits its 
 work of devastation and then disappears without any 
 known cause. The Los Angeles oranges are large, 
 sweet and luscious, excelling the Florida and Sicily 
 oranges in flavor and juciness. Their rind is thicker 
 and less smooth. Lemons, sweet and sour limes 
 flourish and produce abundantly. Their culture is 
 
42 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 similar to the orange and they are subject to the same 
 diseases and destroying influences. 
 
 Next to orange culture, the cultivation of the grape 
 is the leading agricultural industry of Los Angeles 
 county. The production of wines and brandies 
 amounts to thousands of gallons, and great quanti- 
 ties of fresh grapes are used in home consumption 
 and for exportation. The Tokay and Muscat wines 
 are produced superior to those in Europe, while Port, 
 Burgundy, Hock, Claret and Champagne are said to 
 be (by epicurian drinkers,) equal to the best vintages 
 of France and the Rhine valley. The Malaga grape 
 yields large, fine raisins, which command a ready 
 market and remunerative prices. The fig tree thrives 
 and yields abundantlj^ in those situations which are 
 on a level with the sea and exempt from the keen 
 ocean breezes. Dates, palms, olives, English wal- 
 nuts, almonds and peanuts thrive with little care and- 
 w^ell repay the laborer for their cultivation. North 
 of this city the country is unsettled and uncultivated, 
 and where alkali lands do not exist, is well adapted 
 to grazing purposes, though its liability to drought is 
 a great drawback. 
 
 The population like that of all South California, is 
 greatly mixed. Many nationalities and people find 
 representatives here. Our Southern ex-slaveholding, 
 aristocratic element, who believe that advanced civili- 
 zation can only exist where the masses are illiterate, 
 and hence subservient to the educated few, whose 
 mission it is to be the governing and thinking power as 
 is theirs to be the muscular and laboring power, and 
 who, like the old Bourbons, learn nothing and forget 
 nothing, have taken refuge here, where both climate 
 and surroundings are congenial. Among them are 
 many professional men, particularly lawyers. There 
 are Germans from the Khine land who cultivate the 
 grape. Italians and French engage in silk culture, 
 conservative Spaniards whose complexions and exte- 
 riors resemble the oil, the olives and the garlic of 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 43 
 
 of which they are so fond, and who have progressed 
 sufficiently to substitute cock fights for the famous 
 bull fights which were the delight of their chivalrous 
 ancestors ; plodding, blinking, almond-eyed China- 
 men, who engage in any and every pursuit, always 
 useful and moderately successful in whatever they 
 undertake; Mexicans, in whom the evil propensities 
 of Spaniard and Indian progenitors are inherent; 
 Jews, Englishmen and Irishmen, Digger Indians, and 
 a very small proportion of smart unadulterated 
 Yankees from " daown East," who as yet wield but 
 little influence among a population of five thousand 
 souls, composed of so many races and such comming- 
 ling nationalities. Not a single newspaper of ad- 
 vanced social, political or religious ideas is published 
 in the whole country. Thieves, vagabonds and crim- 
 inals from the " Upper Country," as the territory of 
 the North is called, infest a rendezvous in the moun- 
 f tain districts, and often make their way hither on 
 their route to Mexico, which is their terrestrial para- 
 dise. In consequence of their lawless depredations, 
 a vigilance committee has been organized, composed 
 of some of the leading citizens, who occasionally 
 hang a desperado or two on the piazzas or gate posts 
 of the old Spanish adobe houses, which seem especi- 
 ally constructed for that purpose. 
 
 Private and public buildings bear the impress of 
 Spanish nationality, being constructed of adobe, in 
 close proximity to each other, with the broad over- 
 shadowing piazzas, without which no Spaniard's 
 house is complete, and which are so connected that in 
 the rainy season one can promenade the whole length 
 of a street beneath their shelter. The gates to the 
 courts or outer yards of these buildings are a curio- 
 sity, reminding one of the Medieval ages, with their 
 great, pondrous gallows — like frame work, which 
 seem solely constructed for hanging business. There 
 are some handsome modern buildings, but the gene- 
 ral aspect of the city is Spanish. Notwithstanding 
 
44 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 the delightful climate of this portion of Southen 
 California, with its lucious fruits and abundance and 
 variety of wild game, it has many drawbacks, which 
 serve to intimidate the ardor and peace loving emi- 
 grant. Its isolated situation, with its barren tracts 
 of alkali, whose dust is very injurious to the eyes, its 
 mixed population, the frequency of brawls, street 
 fights and murders and the insecurity and immorality 
 consequent upon tropical latitudes, its liability to 
 severe droughts are all powerful causes which will 
 operate against the future developement of this land 
 of smiling skies whose olives and vines are emble- 
 niatical of a people who have never attained a high 
 or permanent degree of civilization and enlighten- 
 ment. 
 
 Upper Part of Nevada. 
 
 At Bloomfield the almond and peach trees are in 
 blossom. Five miles north, towards Moore's Flat, the 
 snow is so deep that a wheeled conveyance must be 
 changed for a sleigh, and the horses " slump" knee 
 deep at every step. "How is that for altitude?'' 
 One's eyes must be protected from the glare of the 
 sunshine upon the snow, or he may find himself 
 nearly blind from the effect. 
 
 There is ujDon the north side of these mountain 
 trees, a beautiful moss of the most delicate green. 
 This is an inch or two in length and appears like 
 hair, forming an over coat for the north side of the 
 tree to protect it from the snows and winds of winter. 
 
 It is a strange thing that the people in these min- 
 ing towns should kee^) such immense bull-dogs. 
 Nearly every other yard is ornamented with one of 
 these unhapj^y creatures, fastened to a stake. Owing 
 to the diligence and enterprise natural to this breed 
 of dogs, they are compelled to whine out a miserable 
 existence of imprisonment in the open air, literally 
 spoiling for an insurance agent or an itinerant book- 
 peddler. 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 45 
 
 The stj^le of this latter reminds me of a conversa- 
 tion I held to-day with a small boy about the size of 
 a bag' pudding, who was barefooted and engaged in 
 hunting patches of snow for a sled made of a dilapi- 
 dated washboard turned bottom upwards and bearing 
 the patentee's name. I will here state that I found 
 this boy as utterly incapable of sticking to a proposi- 
 tion and making a point, as some of our modern 
 lecturers. When interrogated as to who might be 
 the builder of his sled, he answered that *'he had a 
 shoestring in his pocket, and that he would rather 
 go to Uncle Abe's and get some gum.'' 
 
 Colfax. 
 
 The town of Colfax has now reached the age when, 
 like most of its mountain contemporaries, it lives 
 more in the past than the present or future. It is a 
 pretty lively place about train time; after that is 
 past, it relapses into a gentle slumber, like a family- 
 watch-dog after the occasion for excitement is over. 
 The people here think it vain to take a man's name 
 until he has lived his life, breathed his last, and been 
 carried out as dead as Julius Csesar. 
 
 I wish the United States would go to war with 
 some foreign power, the Kingdom of the Sandwich 
 Islands, for instance, Mexico or some of the South 
 American States, and make George Francis Train 
 the General. There is a class of men living in every 
 country who are only fit for a mark to shoot at, and 
 California has her share of this blear-eyed po23ulation; 
 men whose highest aim in life is to see how much 
 whisky or lagei; been they can hold. I had an en- 
 counter with a specimen the day I left Grass Valley. 
 This genius was bound to sit upon the seat with me, and 
 also that I should partake of the contents of his 
 whisky flask. To this I demurred and filed a stay of 
 proceedings . He seemed however, to recognize the 
 accepted fact that women only live by toleration in 
 communities, and that they travel entirely upon the 
 
46 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 strength of man's generosity and forbearance. He 
 gently reminded me of these facts, and when we 
 reached Colfax, he searched to find if I had a big 
 brother that he might thrash, while I went in search 
 of a warrant. Alas for justice in Colfax ! She has 
 the rheumatism, and is slow as molasses in January ! 
 Before I could get the papers made out, and com- 
 pleted with the legal formula, the train came and 
 carried this American voter where the '' woodbine 
 twineth," and I was cheated of that revenge so sweet, 
 especially to women. 
 
 A remarkable catastrophe occurred in Colfax a 
 short time ago. Two cats were inlaying upon the 
 railroad track, in front of the depot, when a train 
 came along, ran over them, and, strange to say, cut 
 the ears off both the cats, and one had his tail taken 
 off, while Providence, in His wisdom and mercy, 
 spared the caudal appendage of the other. This is a 
 fact, and the cats may be seen at any time in Colfax, 
 alive and well. 
 
 Colfax has also its regular brindle dog, with terri- 
 ble eyes and horrible teeth, grinning in a mouth that 
 has the appearance of being lined with red flannel. 
 O ! shades of Crockett — but Crockett was never an 
 insurance agent nor an itinerant book-peddler in a 
 mountain town of California. 
 
 Gold Ran. 
 
 Gold Kun has the appearance of being a very small 
 town. I am informed, however, that it polls as many 
 votes as Dutch Flat, and that it sustains as many 
 saloons. During the day, when the men are at work 
 in the mines, the place is as quiet as^ Quaker meet- 
 ing ; and if the Modocs we read of, were to attack 
 this town in the day time, it would be likely to sur- 
 render until the miners returned at night with picks 
 and empty bottles. Then it would be retaken, as the 
 Indians would fill themselves with fire water during 
 the day, and it would be an easy matter to pick them 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 47 
 
 otf at night, and throw the bodies into the miners' 
 flumes, where the water is so deep and runs so swift- 
 ly, that about a tliousand Modocs coukl be dis- 
 posed of in one night. Their corpses would go bob- 
 bing through, about, above, around, over and under 
 the Sierra Nevada Mountains ; and land the Lord 
 knows where, and Providence don't care. I have 
 fought this battle and conquered the enemy, and the 
 people of Gold Run are entirely ignorant of the 
 whole affair. 
 
 The hotel in this town is a good place to stop at ; 
 it is kept by a fair-haired Dane who endeavoi's to 
 make the traveling public a comfortable home for the 
 time ; the yards are nicely cleaned. The grounds 
 about these country hotels generally abound in old 
 boots, shoes, rags, hats, bones, oyster cans, cast oft* 
 paper collars and uncorked bottles. This mixture, in 
 all stages of decay, sends up a thousand odors to the 
 sleeping apartments of the wretched traveler, and 
 ' if it were not that his days are spent entirely in the 
 open air, he must surely contract the lame leg epi- 
 demic, the cerebro spinal meningitis, or perish tor the 
 want of breath . 
 
 The men of this place have called Scripture to 
 their aid, and justify themselves in working on Sun- 
 days as well as week days, by quoting that the Sab- 
 bath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 
 There has been a bible agent here holding prayer 
 meetings. This will do anaong women , for it is an 
 acknowledged fact that the gods will never hold wo- 
 men responsible for the work 3he j^erforms on Sun- 
 day. This agent said something of an unkind nature 
 to a woman about " His lambs that had been taken 
 to the upper fold." He also spoke of the woman as 
 a "dam," and of the shepherd, I awaited to hear if 
 he would mention the man's name in the figurative 
 sense. He said nothing more, but went his way and 
 shortly after I met him serenely sitting in the door of 
 
4S LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 a saloon — the great leveler of creeds and nationalities 
 when it comes to business. 
 
 An acquaintance of mine gives it as his opinion 
 that I have been atHicted with "catology from early 
 life." He might have added "dogmatics" also. 
 These animals form a part of our domestic institu- 
 tions. I love them aud sympathize with them, and 
 recognize their right to life, liberty and the pursuit 
 of happiness, j^roviding the happiness of the animal 
 does not depend upon annihilating my unfortunate 
 itinerate fraternity. 
 
 Gold Run has its remarkable dog. This creature 
 has taken a prejudice against milk venders. He 
 boards at the hotel, but has contracted with a respect- 
 able sow in a neighboring yard, to furnish him with 
 the lacteal fluid. This canine may be seen several 
 times a day taking his chances with the younger 
 members of the sow's family. 
 
 Dutch Flat. 
 
 Just now Dutch Flat appears somewhat like a huge 
 boquet of fruit blossoms, with mountain shrubs for 
 background, and this boquet has just been nicely 
 showered. The clerk of the weather concluded to 
 favor us at last with a downright good rain, and 
 everybody put on a smile of peaceful resignation; 
 even the frogs gave a concert at six o'clock last even- 
 ing. One of the most remarkable things about this 
 town is that it has a temperance hotel . A j^erson can 
 get nothing to drink in this house stronger than iresh 
 buttermilk, and it is such a tine, wholesome beverage 
 that if all the saloons kept it for sale lager beer 
 would speedil}^ fall into disuse. When I was sneez- 
 ing at the rate of sixteen times an hour, it was with 
 difficulty that the clerk of this hotel could be pre- 
 vailed upon to visit the neighboring bar and procure 
 a glass of rum and molasses that I might have a 
 " night cap " in order to raise a perspiration. 
 
 On the 18th inst. the men of Dutch Flat raised 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 49 
 
 money by a raffle to send a poor invalid home to his 
 friends in Canada. So much for humanity and un- 
 organized charity. 
 
 There are at present not less than four citizens in 
 this place who have lame feet or sore toes, and go 
 upon crutches. This scene reminds me of a picture 
 I used to see about forty years ago in ' ' Peter Par- 
 ley's Primary Geography." The engraving repre- 
 sented a fussy old pedagogue with a disabled foot 
 resting upon a chair. This wonderful cut was under- 
 lined with the following pathetic words of appeal : 
 " Take care, boys, do not run against my sore toe ; if 
 3^ou do I shall tell you no more stories." Some call 
 this a " frontispiece," but to me it was a " master- 
 piece," and I have asked nearly a thousand questions 
 of as many different persons, to ascertain if possible 
 how that old schoolmaster came to have a sore toe. 
 Could never find any one wise enough to give me any 
 reliable information upon the subject. Since then I 
 have looked upon sore toes as a mystery past finding 
 out. It would be well for Brother Taylor, tlie 
 founder of the "Champions of the Ked Cross," or 
 any individual of similar enterprise, to organize a 
 secret society known as ' ' The Order of The Great 
 Toe." The object of this order should be to mend 
 broken door-knobs, replace shattered window panes 
 and readjust the tuml^led down door steps of a poor 
 distressed brother. The sound members of this 
 order siould have no jurisdiction over thewidoA^s 
 and orphans of our afflicted brother, because he 
 might be alive and still not be able to be kicking. 
 
 What a loss to the Government that the job for ex- 
 terminating the Modocs was not let by contract for a 
 certain stipulation to Ben Holladay and Geo. Francis 
 Train. These individuals could not afford to take 
 from time to eternity to settle this little affair, as 
 they have something else to attend to. The Govern- 
 ment would then have been to no extra expense, the 
 
 3 
 
50 LITtLE SHEAVES, 
 
 probabilities are that if there had been more dispatch 
 there would have been less sweetness wasted upon 
 these desert heirs. 
 
 Blue Canon. 
 
 When the benevolent angel who spends most of 
 his time in naming- new places passed over this town 
 in his christening boat, he saw that it had the ap- 
 pearance of being draped with a thin blue veil. The 
 shrubs and trees showing through', made it look like 
 beautiful tracery or raised embroidery, so he con- 
 cluded to call it Blue Canon, and it has been known 
 by that name ever since. No one ever told by whom 
 the Book of Genesis was written, and I am not going 
 to say how I came by the above tradition. The frogs 
 here held a monotonous dialogue last evening. One 
 saying, " Will j^ou give credit! will you give credit?" 
 Another answering, in deep bass, " I will give credit, 
 I will give credit." A third, in a voice still " basser," 
 said, " Don't you give credit, don't you give credit." 
 Later in the evening, about the time honest folks re- 
 tire, I heard them say, " Get ujj, pay up, dry up " — 
 the last clause has reference to the weather, undoubt- 
 edly. This town, like its western neighbor, Alta, has 
 a good hotel, a telegraph office, a passenger and 
 freight dej^ot. Here endeth the first chaj)ter. 
 Directly in front of the hotel are forty Chinamen at 
 work, having been engaged all Winter cleaning the 
 track of snow and other obstructions. Now the 
 springy bank isiunning down in a liquid foam, and 
 would keep the track mostly covered but for these 
 miniature laborers. 
 
 They do so much remind me of the white headed 
 ants. When viewed in a mass, they seem so nearly 
 of a size, the sameness of their straw hats, and the 
 little fussy motion is very like ants or bees at work. 
 
 These men are paid twenty-eight dollars per head 
 a month, and board themselves. 1 am exercised oc- 
 casionally about the Chinese Question. I think it 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 51 
 
 would be well for the New York Herald to send Liv- 
 ingston Stanley to plant a Chinese colony in Central 
 Africa. This is represented by him to be a tine 
 country, and it would be just the place for the sur- 
 plus population of China. I am at a loss to know 
 whether the English claim Africa by right of discov- 
 ery, a la Livingston, or whether it belongs to the New 
 York Herald ; if it should be the latter, I suppose it 
 will in time be settled with some race of Democrats. 
 A girl eleven years of age, daughter of George 
 Coyan, fell into a miner's Hume and was carried 
 about five hundred yards, passing over two falls of 
 water in the meantime, one twelve, the other twenty 
 feet high. She at last caught hold of a bent and 
 crawled out without assistance, but was so stupefied 
 that she could not tell what had happened to her. 
 She has recovered from her bruises, and is now able 
 to attend school. She is a fleshy little dump, and 
 says she sat upright all the way on her perilous ride. 
 ; Grace Greenwood recommends this method to the 
 ladies of Washington, who desire to descend the 
 stone steps of that city, to gather up their skirts, and 
 slide, as being the only reliable mode of descent. 
 
 Tr^ickeQ. 
 
 Bidding adieu to Blue Canon and Placer county, I 
 find myself passing* through the shadow and the val- 
 ley of the Central Pacific's terrible bridges, shady 
 snow-sheds and dungeon tunnels. Through the oc- 
 casional streaks of light the inside of the tunnel may 
 be seen ornamented with several rows of telegraph 
 wires, looped up at equal distances with knobs of 
 black glass, or some material which is a non-conduc- 
 tor of lightning. I do not clearly understand how 
 the electric current can pass throuoh the pendent ici- 
 cles which hang like strings of fish upon the wires. 
 At length the summit is reached. Hei'e the track ap- 
 pears to take the form of a coil of rope, and in the 
 unwinding .descent the train dances the ' ' Money 
 
52 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 Musk " withDonnerLake. We first make a low bow in 
 order to look through the window of this little sheet 
 of beautiful blue, lying nearly hid between the mighty 
 hills. We are told that this lake is called " The &em 
 of the Mountains." Just then we lose sight of it, 
 for the train goes down the middle, bows, takes a 
 turn up the outside, swings around Donner Lake; in 
 going around one short curve the cars all balance to 
 their partners, take a grand promenade, and then we 
 make our last bow to the tranquil little sheet, and be- 
 hold the beautiful lake no more. The peaks of per- 
 petual snow look coldly down at this flirtation, while 
 I draw nearer to the stove and congratulate myself 
 upon the jDOSsibility of never needing another sum- 
 mer wardrobe. The wind comes from these snow- 
 clad mountains with the unpleasant breath of a 
 northern April, and is suggestive of croup, epizootic 
 and influenza. 
 
 We reached Truckee in time to see the immigrant 
 train, consisting of sixteen car-loads of happy, hope- 
 ful-looking people. The Truckee Republican has no 
 doubt informed you before this how the bachelors 
 surrounded the train. They really did behave like men 
 going to a fire in a lumber-yard. If a person took a 
 side view and kept the vision within a given range, 
 one could only see a long row of boots with the toj)S 
 all leaning toward the train . I surrounded the train 
 also, and in fifteen minutes had conversed with the 
 free-hearted, out-spoken North-Westerner ; had 
 received a suspicious grunt from the close-fisted Yan- 
 kee; a pleasant answer to all inquiries from a fair- 
 faced communicative Irish-woman, " just one month 
 to-day from Ireland, by way of New York," and a 
 vacant stare from a stolid Englishman, in ponderous 
 feet gear, tight, moleskin pants, close-fitting vest and 
 skull cap, carrying next his heart four large loaves of 
 bread . May the Fates prosper these people and blight 
 the hangman's crop in this State. California needs 
 something; perhaps that something is immigration. 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 53 
 
 For diligence in business, in mone^' -saving and 
 general industry, one of these new men will be worth 
 a dozen old Californians. There is a large band of 
 Indians strolling about this town. When I first saw 
 them it occurred to me that the Modocs might have 
 escaped and come to Truckee. I am informed that 
 these are entirely a different tribe, perfectly inoffen- 
 sive, although well posted upon Modoc affairs. Not 
 being subject to the game laws of the State, made by 
 the white man for the white man, they come here to 
 fish, and resort to any unlawful means to catch trout, 
 which they sell for money with which to gamble. 
 Playing cards seems to be about their only lesson in 
 Christianit3^ The squaws and children huddle to- 
 gether upon the lee side of a large boulder ; here 
 they j)lay cards from morning till night. Their gar- 
 ments are a kind of mottled grey, being composed of 
 goods of all colors. They wear red-cotton handker- 
 chiefs upon their heads, and remind me of the little 
 red-headed wood-pecker of the north, who spends 
 most of his time in tapping the hollow beach tree. 
 It was a wise provision of the Indian designer that 
 the squaws were not made to be very 2:)rolific. Who 
 ever heard of an Indian woman with nine small 
 children and one at the breast. Truckee has a female 
 barber. She is fat, fair, forty, and a success in the 
 business. All the men in that vicinity keep closely 
 shaved. Much praise is due the woman who dare do 
 a legitimate business, notwithstanding the barbarous 
 opinions of so-called civilized society. 
 
 Truckee has again been visited by the fire demon. 
 On the morning of the 6tli instant, at 3 o'clock, the 
 engineer of the westward bound train discovered the 
 fire and gave the alarm at the time the train was 
 about starting. The fire originated in the hay loft of 
 a livery stable. Although there was no breeze it 
 spread rapidly from one street to another. The 
 buildings being entirely of wood, the illumination 
 was complete, and one could see to read in any part 
 
54 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 of the town. The people of Truckee are evidently 
 accustomed to fires, or else there M^ere many stran- 
 gers present who were waiting for an introduction. 
 The crowd seemed to take the destruction of other 
 people's i^roperty with the most philosophical resig- 
 nation. I ap2)roached a placid looking individual 
 who was sitting in a chair (apparently provided for 
 the occasion) and suggested the propriety of remov- 
 ing soma wagons, step-ladders, cheese presses and 
 sundries that must have been of some value, and by 
 their removal would have prevented the spread of the 
 conflagration. This placid individual assured me 
 that he had seen larger fires in New York ; that he 
 was a member of a fire company in that cit}^; knew 
 how to manage fires; but was a stranger here. There 
 is a little engine running upon the road; it belongs 
 to the railroad compan}^ and is used in cases of fire 
 upon snow-sheds, bridges or railroad buildings. 
 This engine was brought by the railroad hands, the 
 alarm of fire sounded from its whistle, a piece of hose 
 was attached to the machine^ and the engine placed 
 beside a railroad tank. In this way the buildings 
 across the street were saved from the flames. The 
 road hands and a few interested citizens worked their 
 best, but did nothing more than prevent the fire from 
 crossing the streets. After the flames had finished 
 their work, and there had come a feeling of compara- 
 tive safety, the crowd repaired to the numerous 
 saloons in the vicinity in order to get a free treat as a 
 reward for their quiet and resigned deportment dur- 
 ing their neighbors* calamities. 
 
 The day following I met the placid New York fire- 
 man. He immediately recognized me as the person 
 he talked with on the night of the fire, and I com- 
 menced to relate the conversation of the previous 
 evening to some bystanders, supposing that all men 
 were willing to abide the truth and defend their own 
 positions, I was mistaken, however; this individual, 
 like most men, supposed that things seen by women 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 55 
 
 were as good as not seen at all. He manifested great 
 sensibility ; declared that he worked the whole time; 
 denied occupying a chair at all, and walked off mut- 
 tering something about "putting a head on, if a 
 man." 
 
 This individual was evidently ashamed of himself, 
 from the fact of having claimed the free drink with 
 the workmen who had really worked to save the pro- 
 perty of the proprietors. Heaven should be the im- 
 mediate home of all persons so much estranged from 
 earth's inhabitants as to stand cooly by and witness 
 the destruction of property without raising a hand to 
 assist in saving it. I am convinced that women 
 should become firemen — they are so much more ex- 
 citable than men that they would be liable at least to 
 make an effort to do something. Four horses were 
 burned while Providence, in his wisdom and mercy, 
 spared the life of an enterprising goat, also the life 
 of the toper who set the place on fire. I speak of 
 this goat as an enterprising one. I was an eye wit- 
 ness to one of his daring feats . Last Sunday a show- 
 man put a large yellow poster upon the side of a 
 boulder; this goat watched the posting j^rocess and 
 the man until the bill sticker was out of sight. The 
 goat then walked up to the poster, smelled it all over, 
 and no doubt came to the conclusion that everything 
 which grew upon rocks should be food for goats. It 
 was impossible to get a nibble from his then position, 
 BO he i^assed clear around the other side, mounted 
 the boulder and slid down fore feet first, tearing up 
 the paper in his. decent. He then turned deliberate- 
 ly around and commenced chewing the poster. 
 When he had about half devoured it he began to 
 shake his head and walked off. I suppose some of 
 the exaggerations of the advertisement were choking 
 him. 
 
 The water in this place not being corrupted by the 
 dirt from miners' flumes, is as clear as that of the 
 rivers in the Northern States. Immense trout are 
 
56 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 caught in Triickee, weighing all the way from one to 
 seventeen pounds. These creatures belong to the 
 finny, but not to the scaly tribes. Some travelers 
 stopping here have staid awake all night that they 
 might go fishing at 4 o'clock in the morning ; then 
 come home with a fisherman's luck, and buy the 
 trout of an Indian with which to appease a hunter's 
 appetite. Such is life. If men will spend their time 
 in civilized pursuits they cannot expect to excel in 
 barbarous occupations. Nearly every house in town 
 is ornamented with extensive fishing-tackle. 
 
 These fishes are caught and taken to Sacramento 
 and San Francisco, and sold for a large price. The 
 river of Sacramento might supply them with fish, but 
 the waters are so cloudy that it is doubtful if even 
 frogs can subsist therein. Lumber, wood, trout and 
 prisoners seem to be the principal exports of Truckee; 
 immigrants, Indians, grizzly bears and whisky its 
 principal articles of import. There is said to be 
 trains passing through here ever}^ day loaded with 
 immigrants, a few of whom tarry here. The Indians 
 come and go, " where no man knoweth," something 
 like a flock of garrulous crows. There was a travel- 
 ing showman, and he had with him an immense griz- 
 zly bear. The keeper bought four dozen loaves of 
 bread with which to feed Bruin. The number of 
 fishes I did not learn. This bear made a corner on 
 bread and created a panic in the market, and there 
 has been such inordinate haste on the part of dealers 
 to supply the demand, that bread in an underdone 
 state has been rushed upon the marl^t, and many of 
 the citizens in consequence are suffering from a raw 
 dough obstruction of the esophagus. This bear, not 
 content with making a corner on bread, went after a 
 side-saddle that was hanging in the corner of his 
 apartment, and endeavored to devour that. The 
 keeper forgot to mention the circumstance, to the 
 landlord at the time of his departure, and when the 
 proprietor of the bear's boarding-house discovered 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 57 
 
 the corner off the saddle it created another panic, and 
 he immediately telegraphed to the wary keeper to re- 
 turn and settle his bill. 
 
 Yesterday, in this place, an American voter became 
 very dizz}' from inibibin,^' the last-mentioned article 
 imported to Truckee. He stretched himself for a 
 doze just outside of the walk in front of a saloon. 
 Some benevolent boys saw him, and concluded that 
 he was dead and should be buried; so they set to 
 work, brought pine, cedar and spruce boughs with 
 which to cover him, as the robins brought leaves to 
 cover the "babes in the woods" — these evergreens 
 being emblematic of the man's everlasting verdancy 
 during life. After a mound had beeu made that bore 
 some resemblance to a funeral pile, two rough boards 
 were brought — one placed at the head,. the other at 
 the feet — each bearing this inscription : " John Frank 
 dei:)arted this life the 20tli of April, aged 49 years. 
 Peace to his ashes." During the obsequies an indi- 
 vidual approached the mound with a large tin pail 
 filled with cold water, with which to refresh the ever- 
 greens that had been placed about the head of the 
 deceased. The last I saw of this performance was 
 the dripping head of the defunct voter coming on a 
 level with the sidewalk. He was not at that time able 
 to articulate, but, like dear old Robinson Crusoe^ was 
 making an elfort to do so. 
 
 Boca. 
 
 Boca is a railroad station situated eight miles from 
 Truckee, on the C. P. R. R., and as far as brevity is 
 concerned is ajopropriately named. The principal 
 articles exported from this place are lumber, trout 
 and ice , this being the point whence the San Fran- 
 cisco and Sacramento markets are supplied with the 
 latter article. The ice-house is built convenient to 
 the track, and is 480 feet long and 40 feet wide. 
 This structure, with that of a wood-house 400 feet 
 long, presents a vast deal of roofing to the beholder. 
 
 / 
 
58 LITTLE SHEATES. 
 
 There is one steam saw-rnill running night and 
 day, one saloon ditto, one night Vv^atch, an express, 
 telegraph and postofiice, one dry goods store, a 
 boarding house and one fine residence. Every thing- 
 visible about this place is of the most combustible 
 nature, and if a fire were to get abroad, it could 
 scarcely do less than devour every dollar's worth of 
 psroperty. The inhabitants have taken extra precau- 
 tions to secure themselves against such a calamity. 
 Nearly every house or place of business has one of 
 Babcock's fire extinguishers placed upon a shelf in a 
 corner of the room. The saw-mill turns out thou- 
 sands of laths; these are set up in bunches to si-ason, 
 a hundred in a bunch, and cover considerable space. 
 These stacks resemble a miniature encampment of 
 Indians, teeps or wigwams seen in the picture books. 
 About fifty white men and thirty Chinamen are said 
 to be employed in tliis place. The scenery is rather 
 fine, although the mountains present a brown, barren 
 appearance. Still Boca is not so much unlike other 
 boquets as one might think at first sight ; the j^rinci- 
 pai difference being in the outward appearance. It 
 certainly possesses one of the main qualities of other 
 boquets, for it is fragrant with the delicious odors of 
 new pine lumber. The Truckee river comes mean- 
 dering through the mountains of this place, and hav- 
 ing ackled to its store the waters of one or two large 
 tributaries, is a much more dignified body than when 
 seen near the summit. It comes tearing, dashing, 
 roaring down its rocky course, and is what the En- 
 glish writers would call a " brawling mountain 
 stream." 
 
 Trout fishing is quite a business here ; eleven hun- 
 dred pounds of these delicious fishes were shipped 
 below to-day. 
 
 Reno. 
 
 "We leave that fragrant little Boca in a storm of 
 snow and rain. As we proceed eastward by the C. 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 59 
 
 P. E-. R., the mountain peaks become magnificent in 
 their moving mantles of transparant snows; and as 
 the mist is driven before the wind, it forms in long- 
 folds, reaching up and down the hight of the peak, 
 and suggests the idea of thinly clad ghosts Hitting 
 around these venerable piles, playiDg blind man's 
 buff, or hide and seek. Although it is late in the 
 season, many of these mighty elevations still wear 
 dresses with white groundwork, ornamented with 
 trees and shrubs of a very doabtful green. The 
 breath that comes from these distant hills would lead 
 one to believe that although the Polar doors had 
 been left ajar by Dr. Kane, they have not been closed 
 by Captain Hall. 
 
 At lieno the following morning the storm still con- 
 tinues- it has softened into a cold, disagreeable rain, 
 and instead of the ghostly folds of white, the moun- 
 tains are draped with ]nantles of purple mist. At 
 this point the Truckee river begins to prove its claims 
 to the dignified name of river; it shows its power by 
 branching out and surrounding little tracts of land, 
 forming islands, imitating some corporations in its 
 headstrong- way, to surround and hold all unclaimed 
 lands on its march to lake or ocean. Eenois situated 
 in a dry, barren section of country, everything hav- 
 ing a bleached appearance. The sidewalks are 
 bleached and full of holes. The Washoe zephyr, of 
 which Mark Twain makes mention, keeps the streets 
 with a fearfully swept appearance; these gusts of wind 
 literally scattering the old bojts and cast off paper 
 collars to the four winds. One of these zephyrs 
 caught me and I came near being scattered in the 
 same manner. The trimmings of ni}^ skirt answered 
 to the buckets of a dip water wheel, wdiich the wdnd 
 struck wdth such force as to cause a revolving motion. 
 I might have continued turning around until this 
 time, but the current concentrated all its force upon 
 my hat, and it rolled just as the plate did when the 
 dish went after the spoon. I do not think that any- 
 
60 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 thing but a fairy could have caught up v/ith it, but 
 that it lodged by a stick of timber, where it was made 
 to leap, dive, and dance a hornpipe by the merciless 
 zephyr. 
 
 All serene again in this part of the country. The 
 sun is shining on the contented face of nature as if 
 nothing had transpired different from the ordinary 
 course of things. It seems almost mockery for old 
 Sol now to overcome the clouds, come out and greet 
 with smiles the smoking earth, when nearly all kinds 
 of vegetation has been destroyed by frost, which his 
 timely presence might have saved. The people of 
 Beno sing the hymn that has the line in it that says, 
 " December's as pleasant as May.'' For three nights 
 the gardens were covered with all kinds of clothing; 
 in the dim light of the cold moon they aj^peared like 
 a congregation of sleeping camels or hunch-back 
 ghosts. The ever-present sage brush is the only 
 green thing not injured by the frost. This reminds 
 me of the terrible impatient expression of counte- 
 nance upon a little boy who was coming on the cars 
 to California. He became so tired of the everlasting 
 monotony of sagebrush, that he turned to his father 
 and said: " Papa, why don't the people cut down 
 this ugly weed?" His father answered, " Because 
 there are no j)eople living here, my son." " Well," 
 said the boy, in an impetuous way, they should cut 
 it down anyway if they do not live here." 
 
 For a few days i^ast, during the late storm, the 
 clouds have hung aroucdin such impenetrable black- 
 ness, that one would be led to think that this moun- 
 tain range was the nursery of all the great thunder 
 and wind storms for the whole continent. Yesterday 
 these clouds sent their peace commissioners, only a 
 few came, and those turned themselves wrong side 
 out to show their silver lining. Their presence with 
 this glorious sunshine brings to mind the story of the 
 rainbow that was set in the clouds to show to man 
 that the world should never be drowned again. There 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 61 
 
 is a peaceful beauty lingering around these sacred 
 royths that lend as much consolation to the imagina- 
 tion as the most philosophical truths do to the rea- 
 son. 
 
 The season of Spring in the country is the same in 
 disposition as that of which Thomas Hood, the poet, 
 sings. The skies are overcast with clouds, that send 
 their spleen upon the mountain peaks that are lying 
 nearest to them. All manner of breezes revel through 
 this valley — gusts, gales, simoons, whirlwinds, 
 nor' wester, sou'wester, and the zephyr. To-daj" we 
 have had a regular" sifter;" this means that the winds 
 have driven the dust through every available crevice, 
 and continues to sift sand and gravel upon the roof, 
 producing the sound of a violent hail-storm. Three- 
 fourths of the male population in this valley are 
 bald enough for Congress. I do not mean to insinu- 
 ate that wives are unusually violent upon this side of 
 the Sierras, on the contrary, women can carry very 
 little sail in this valley, but that this agitation of the 
 elements is unsurpassed this side of the desert of 
 Sahara. All kinds of vegetation (except the ever- 
 present sagebrush) presents the pale and feeble green 
 that characterizes' the pale and struggling vegetation 
 of a more northern climate. This valley, called the 
 Truckee Meadows, is said to be very fertile. The 
 land is mostl}^ under cultivation and held at a high 
 price. It is easily cleared of sagebrush, and when 
 once done is cleared forever, as this jDlant cannot bear 
 irrigation any more than the native Indians can civ- 
 ilization. As they have but little more rain here than 
 in California, the land must be irrigated. The means 
 for this are abundant, as the Truckee river and 
 Steamboat creek both pass through the valley. 
 
 The principal article produced upon these farms is 
 the alfalfa grass. Three crops of this grass can be 
 raised in one year. One acre will produce about six 
 tons in the three crops. The average market price is 
 twenty dollars per ton. This grass is said to be the 
 
62 ^ LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 richest and best known food for cattle, and, if per- 
 mitted, will kill tLemselves eating it, whether it is 
 green or dry. 
 
 There is an immense water power in this locality, 
 which will sometime be used for manufacturing pur- 
 poses; and as the wealth of the country increases, 
 Reno may become a very flourishing town of many 
 thousand inhabitants. It is the county seat of 
 Washoe count}^ and has a new Court House which 
 cost twent3^-seven thousand dollars. It has also a 
 very polite an I handsome set of officials, none more 
 so in two states, unless at Nevada City, California. In 
 the jail there are ten criminals, mostly for petty 
 offenses, there being but two indictable cases in the 
 lot. 
 
 AVhen men make boundary lines to a State, I should 
 think the}" would pay more attention to the natural 
 divisions. For convenience to all concerned, the Cal- 
 ifornia line should be drawn at the summit. Truckee 
 and everything east should be in Nevada, then this 
 State would get its share of criminals. California, 
 with its grand individuality, should be content with 
 the west side. When women get to running bound- 
 ary lines it will take several generations for them to 
 right the mistakes of their forefathers. The women 
 of Reno show their appreciation of being emanci- 
 pated from the Avash tub by making their social calls 
 on Monday morning. 
 
 Reno forms quite a little metropolis for those towns 
 and villages located some distance from the railroad. 
 Fifteen or tw^enty "prairie schooners" set sail each 
 day for these various points, all loaded with some kind 
 of merchandise — a compound of dry goods, solids and 
 liquids. These immense wagons are built so high at 
 the sides, that when a number of them are huddled 
 together in a yard, a little stretch of the imagination 
 will convert them into mineature vessels, lying upon 
 the dry docks for repairs. Th3 canvas covering, 
 always in a state of more or less delapidation, answers 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 63 
 
 to the reefed sails upon a disabled craft. These 
 ■wagons are drawn mostly by mules. I have a great 
 s^'mpathy for these poor creatures, because I believe 
 they have suffered from prejudice, big'otry and slander. 
 What a meek look of pious resignation these jDOor, 
 dear beasts always wear! I really believe that if one 
 of them kicks, it is because he knovv's that he is a 
 martyr to liian's avarice. With all the misrepresenta- 
 tions these poor creatures receive, men give them the 
 credit of being very intelligent and sagacious. In all 
 probability this fact is the prime cause of the kicking 
 ])ropeu!sity. I will keep a proper distance from these 
 creatures, however, simply because I do not expect 
 mules to know so much more than men do, that they 
 can discern their friends from their enemies. 
 
 The W^ashoe Indians that linger around this town 
 are gettinj> pretty w^cll utilized; the women are good 
 washers, and are freepiently employed to saw and split 
 wood in small Cjuantities; to carry water and perform 
 numerous little pieces of drudgery, for which they 
 receive refuse food from the white man's table; enough 
 to last for the day. It is seldom they are paid in 
 money for these little services, it being better econ- 
 omy for them to receive the broken food, as they get 
 a larger quantity and a greater variety than they could 
 buy at first witli the money earned in this w\ay. The 
 Indian men manifest a disposition akin to the mas- 
 cidme dignity of civilization. J hey do not come 
 around the houses looking for jobs, but hie them- 
 selves to the river to hsh, while the scpiaws provide 
 the daily bread and little relishes. These iDidian 
 women can not make line distinctions in conversation. 
 I do not think they clearly understand the difi'erence 
 between a falsehood and a joke. One of them said 
 to me that "all the while Mahalies in Virginia City 
 saw wood." She knew perhaps that I had never been 
 there, and knew nothing of tke peculiar habits of tlwui'', 
 "white Mahalies," and was not prepared to contradict 
 the statement- This Indian woman, without doubt, 
 
64 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 intended to impose upon my credulity. This was not 
 more barbarous in design than an act performed by 
 a long, lean, lank, crusty, rusty editor that I met the 
 other day, who told me that his name was "Ferguson." 
 I am credibly informed that this was a sell ; that there 
 is no such man in town. If the representatives of a 
 Christian people and the Christian press will set such 
 examples, what can we expect of the barbarous Wa- 
 shoe Indians who borrow their ideas from civilization. 
 
 The Sabbath school of Reno had a picnic on the 
 24th inst. , and quite unconsciously celebrated the 
 birthday of the English Queen. At the outset there 
 was a misunderstanding between the committee of 
 arrangements and the railroad men. The former had 
 agreed to give two hundred dollars for a train of pas- 
 senger cars, while the latter expected that amount for 
 one caboose and the remainder platform cars. After 
 some contention, the representatives of the road com- 
 promised b}^ accepting one hundred and forty dollars, 
 then all went well and merry as a marriage bell. The 
 party stopped at a distance of about twenty miles 
 from Eeno, near the celebrated Bowers' place. Here 
 they exchanged views, and sighs and glances, ate their 
 lunch, and returned home at six, tired enough to suit 
 the most fastidious. 
 
 The peoj^le of Reno are smiling at a late decision 
 of the Supreme Court of this State. One Mr. Lake 
 obtained a charter from the State Legislature for a 
 bridge which he had built, spanning the Truckee 
 river. One of the conditions of the charter was, that 
 no other bridge should be built within a mile of this. 
 In time the V. & T. R. R. came, and in its irresistible 
 and rapid march, crossed the river one-half mile from 
 the above mentioned bridge. The consequence was 
 that Mr. Lake sued for damages. The Sui^reme 
 Judges decided that a railroad bridge was not a bridge 
 but a structure. The people of Reno have concluded 
 that the railroad structure now crosses the bosom of 
 a lake. 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 65 
 
 The inhabitants of Reno, like those of all newly 
 settled 23 laces, have a tendency to lend and borrow. 
 In this locality alfalfa is legal tender. The publish- 
 ers of newspapers take grass in payment for subscrip- 
 tion, with occasionally a pup thrown in, diversified 
 with mule-shoes, trout, and cord wood. The girls 
 mitten their beaus, by insinuating that they may go 
 to grass. I sold a picture to the keeper of a corner 
 variety place, and received in payment a pint of fresh 
 buttermilk. Beggars in large cities have been known 
 to borrow a neighbor's baby in order to excite public 
 sympathy. In Reno they borrow and lend setting 
 hens, wiieelbarrows, sawhorse and sometimes wood — 
 the latter article they seldom return. The County 
 Court commences a session to-morrow. The expecta- 
 tion is that some of the cases of borrowing will be 
 decided illegal. All phrases of life are represented 
 here as in large communities . There are great men 
 and wise men. Those who boast of having descended 
 from some of the F. F. V's, w^hose forefathers would 
 not lie, and those whose forefathers for generations 
 have seldom been seen upright. There are persons 
 who rejoice in the following very significant cogno- 
 mens: "James Fisk," *' Bismarck," " Bombastese," 
 "Furiosa," and "Billet Doux!" Shades of Tom 
 Moore, think of going from the cradle to the grave a 
 living love messenger. 
 
 Leaving Reno. 
 
 Going eastward from Reno we have a beautiful 
 panorama of mountain scenery. There is an interest- 
 ing diversity in the picture which appears to glide 
 past the moving train. At one point, bare hills lift 
 their majestic heads, forming a hazy background for 
 the green, productive valley front. At another point, 
 and apparently but a short distance from the rich 
 valley, their frosty heads form a queer contrast with 
 the neighboring hills; still they do not "curl up and 
 die," in vulgar imitation, but wear the white covering 
 
66 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 which Nature gave them with the dignity of respect- 
 able old age. In one locality, within the range of 
 one's visioQ, may be seen the barren hills, fertile val- 
 leys, rugged rocks, snow-capjDed peaks, uniting 
 "January and May;" the placid lake, the smoking 
 spring, the former like transjoarent clouds at the foot 
 of the mountains; the latter like the smoke of ever- 
 lasting incense arising from the altars of the gods of 
 nature . 
 
 On the way from Reno to Franktown we pass de- 
 serted villages, ruined quartz mills and dilapidated 
 bath houses. The land upon which some of the most 
 important springs are located, has been in litigation 
 for a number of years; both parties being ruined with 
 the great expense of conducting a land law suit . Even 
 the winner could not go on with his business, his 
 habitation being burned by the incendiary, and the 
 heated soil for which so hotly they contested, is mostly 
 deserted. Now there is but indifferent accommoda- 
 tions for the afflicted who seek the troubled waters. 
 Last Sabbath I attended a picnic at the famous Bow- 
 ers Mansion, The house is most beautifully situated 
 at the base of a range of mountains, giving a magni- 
 ficent view of the farm in the valley, directly in front. 
 The slope is just about as one would desire. The 
 scene takes in Washoe Lake, which lies at the base of 
 the range' of hills across the opposite side of the farm 
 from the house. This lake and the scenery about it 
 is said to resemble the Sea of Galilee, although much 
 emaller. The fields look beautiful; the rich alfalfa 
 grass forms a dark green plush covering, in which the 
 cattle rejoice. They appear the very pictures of ani- 
 mal enjoyment. There are a number of Hill's fine 
 pictures in this house, among them one cattle scene; 
 but a thousand of Hill's cattle pictures could scarcely 
 compare with the animals upon a real hill. The 
 vegetation of Nevada resembles in kind and quality 
 that of the Northern States much more than the Cali- 
 fornia vegetation does. The above mentioned farm 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 67 
 
 and most elegant mansion are to be disposed of bj 
 lottery. The farm consists of one hundred and forty- 
 eight acres of as fine farming land as there is in the 
 State. This and the house will be drawn with one 
 ticket. This is a very fine location for a boarding 
 school for girls, and the accommodations are first- 
 class, both in the house and upon the grounds. The 
 house has all the modern conveniences and appliances. 
 There are green houses, bath houses, artificial lakes 
 and fountains. The baths are supplied with hot 
 water from Nature's boiling cauldron. I was never 
 tempted in the least to invest money in lottery tickets 
 before. Knowing as I do, that this lottery is not a 
 sham gotten up by a thieving company to swindle the 
 public; that all the prizes are desirable, I shall surely 
 invest, remembering an old adage, ''Nothing venture, 
 nothing gain." Putting this with the remarks of the 
 German who said a few more drinks of lager beer and 
 it will be "all de same." In buying tickets one can 
 also feel that they are helping "a poor, distressed 
 sister/' who is desirous of getting rid of an estate 
 which is rather a charge than a comfort to one about 
 to retire from active life. 
 
 I judge from a notice that I saw upon the door of 
 a place of public resort, that politics are not running 
 very high in this State just now. The contents of the 
 notice are as follows: *'Do not ask to borrow money, 
 if you wouJd spare yourself the pain of a refusal. '^ 
 It is very evident that several months will elapse be- 
 fore the next election. 
 
 Carson City. 
 
 The heated term has commenced at last. Since the 
 3d of July, how to keep cool has been all the cry. 
 The hot sand scorches one's feet and hourly brings us 
 in sympathy with Shadrech, Meshach and Abednego. 
 When the sun strikes fairly upon the wooden walks, 
 it threatens to set them in a blaze. Awnings are put 
 in order; parlors are made dark as prisons; wire doQrs 
 
68 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 and windows are in great demand; the Hoosier Fly 
 Cage is visible, and is said to be the only thing that 
 prevents the ice from being fly blown; the pigs lie in 
 their mud baths; poodle dogs^ithat have-not been 
 sheared, creep under the sidewalk; the voice of the 
 bird is silent as if listening for the Washoe-zephyr; 
 the perspiring voter freely imbibes his favorite bever- 
 age, quoting the Thomsonian theory, that it is neces- 
 sary to keep the inward heat higher than the outer at 
 any cost. A regular trade wind sets in every after- 
 noon, the same as it does upon the sea coast. This 
 wind is said to be manufactured upon the mountains, 
 for the especial comfort of the inhabitants of Nevada, 
 it is so much like San Francisco. It blows a regular 
 gale every afternoon with few exceptions, filling the 
 air with every conceivable transportable thing. Oc- 
 casionally there falls a few drops of rain, but for a 
 general thing the clouds are influenced to pour out 
 their copious draughts upon these venerable piles of 
 matter lying nearest to them. Many persons believe 
 the clouds can be induced to come nearer the vallej^s 
 with their coveted fluids, if groves of trees are ex- 
 tensively planted. It'must be a philosophical fact that 
 clouds are attracted by other matter, as they would 
 never cling to the hills as they are known to do. 
 
 These hot days cause this town of a thousand smells, 
 to send forth an effluvia which has become offensive - 
 . to the standing "boards," and for fear of cholera or 
 some other pestilence, they have concluded to sit. 
 Since this sitting I have observed one bonfire and one 
 garbage wagon. The authorities should issue a ipro- 
 clamation that every citizen shall clean up his premises 
 and the street or streets adjoining. Wagons should 
 be hired to cart away the trash, and be paid by the 
 State, if there is no city fund for that purpose. This 
 could be done under some special necessity act. 
 There are Indians and Chinamen by the scores, af- 
 fording abundance of cheap labor, each property 
 owner could employ and pay these people to do the 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. C9 
 
 sliOTeling, and this offensive stuff conld be dumped at 
 the foot of that snow-capped mountain and there left 
 to freeze. 
 
 The people of Carson are \evy sensitive. They are 
 apt to see things tlirouyh a (jh(!>f< darkly. They are 
 also inclined to be politic. This is perhaps owing to 
 the fact that it is the Capitol city, and the center of 
 politics. Some of them have hinted to me that even 
 truths should not always be freely discussed. I am 
 aware of this, and for the sake of liumanit}^ and love 
 of the Carsonites in particular, I have suppressed an 
 ocean of truths, hoping that time, a few more cases of 
 brandy and a few burial cases would bring them to a 
 sense of overwhelming duties. There is not a city in 
 America that has better facilities for bathing and 
 keeping clean than this beautiful little Carson, but 
 what does beauty amount to with soiled face and 
 person so unclean as to send forth unpleasant odors ? 
 What style of beauty pleases w^hen clothed in rags 
 and dirt ? There are many line buildings in Carson 
 and some stately structures. The Governor is a model 
 of personal excellence and genial affability. The 
 officials and business men in general are handsome 
 and polite. The women are fair and trustworthy. 
 The children are gay and haj)py, but I am informed, 
 reliably, that they would be more so if the school- 
 houses were better ventilated. O, Carson ! arise in 
 the might of thy strength and put thy streets in order, 
 for although the days of the epizootic are numbered, 
 the cholera may yet appear within thy limits ! Several 
 cases of illness have occurred where the symptoms 
 were exactly like those described in cholera, only it 
 yielded to vigorous medical treatment. I have heard 
 of none proving fatal, in fact did not care to investi- 
 gate, deeming it bad policy to know too much about 
 an unwholesome subject, 
 
 Carson passed quietly through the firey ordeal of 
 celebrating the nation's birthday. The explosion at 
 Virginia City spread a feeling of quiet sadness over 
 
^O Little sheaves, 
 
 the community. Few guns were fired; and but few 
 of those explosive abominations — fire crackers — were 
 heard throughout the day. 
 
 Old Abe Curry's ball was a success. This was 
 about the only thing done to celebrate the Fourth in 
 Carson. The day was very warm and still, there be- 
 ing only a sufficient breeze to keep the stars and 
 stripes flying. There was much drinking among a 
 certain class of voters, and occasionally a fight oc- 
 curred, just to show that there is fighting material 
 still left in the United States of Hamerica. 
 
 Carson has a whirligig for children; this is managed 
 by men, and turned by horse power; is covered with 
 canvass like a tent, and makes a pleasant and safe 
 place for juveniles during school vacation. There 
 are seated boxes which answer for carriages, and 
 wooden horses with bridles, fierce, terrible looking 
 steeds^ so that persons can ride on horseback or in a 
 carriage, in a fine procession going swiftly around 
 without the jar of a real vehicle. This city is soon to 
 have another newspaper published by R. R. Parkin- 
 son, the first issue will make its advent on Monday, 
 the 14th of July. 
 
 The weather in Carson resembles that of early 
 Spring or Autumn of a more northern climate. Al- 
 though it is June, a Summer month, the air is very 
 cool; some days the sky is overcast with clouds, but 
 like the shrew, they threaten what they never intend 
 to perform, for it is so arranged by the clerk of the 
 weather as to never rain here in Summer. There is 
 not a people living who have a better appreciation of 
 fine weather than the Carsonites . If the sun shines 
 a few hours in the morning and the elements remain 
 placid till noonday, everybody seems happy and ready 
 to greet others with one accord in regard to this all- 
 important topic. I do not feel bitter towards this 
 peo]3le because of their jDeculiar climate; on the con- 
 trary, give them credit for much jjhilosophical for- 
 bearance and constitutional endurance. Everybody 
 
LiTTLE SHEAVES. 71 
 
 keeps remarkably healthy, notwithstanding the un- 
 pleasant agitation of the elements (which may be 
 conducive to health) and the uncleanly condition of 
 the streets. The latter I am sure agrees with one 
 portion of the domestic institution, namely, the pigs. 
 They claim a stamping ground near my lodgings, 
 which remind me of the Chicago stock yards. These 
 creatures are numerous, fat and happy. They live in 
 the center of civilization, move in respectable society, 
 bathe in the chemical waters, recline upon c/ou/"?i beds; 
 what more could the most exacting pig require, even 
 at the hands of the great animal defender, Bergh ? 
 
 Carson City is not properly named. This place 
 should have had one of those good old English names, 
 either Windchester or Windham. There would have 
 been a shadow of appropriateness in such naming; as 
 it is, Carson means nothing, unless it be the hero of 
 one of Ned Buntline's frontier stories. Carson City, 
 like most towns of its age, has many structures in all 
 stages of respectability, and many in all stages of de- 
 cay. Upon visiting its back streets where the resi- 
 dences are located; one will observe a house present- 
 ing a fresh attractive appearance; thej^ard flourishing 
 with ever}' green thing. Upon the premises adjoining 
 may be found a ranch, or several pig styes, with con- 
 veniences for mud baths near the entrance of the 
 front gate. The streets and gutters abound in every 
 article of cast-off abomination to be found in a well 
 filled junk shop; and to make matters worse, they are 
 in all stages of decomjDosition. If the city fathers do 
 not make an effort and remove these street nuisances, 
 according to the Darwinian theory, the next genera- 
 tion will be born with turned up noses. Darwin in 
 his philosoj^hy, proves that every thing in nature 
 originates from some necessity. It does not require 
 any very great stretch of the imagination to conclude 
 how that style of proboscis originated, as it is a well 
 known fact that the above mentioned physiognomy is 
 most frequently met with among the unhappy deni- 
 
72 LITTLJ: SHEAVES. 
 
 zens of filthy back streets and wretched tenements. 
 So much for the Darwinian theory. 
 
 Rheumatism is about the only disease known to the 
 inhabitants of this locality; and it is my opinion that 
 if those who are subject to this complaint, and those 
 who are not, would wear flannel, and enough of it, 
 the year round, and use water as a beverage, this ter- 
 rible affliction would appear less frequently. 
 
 I think there must have arrived at Carson lately a 
 cargo of jews-harps, from the factjthat scarcely an In- 
 dian man or woman is to be seen but what is engaged 
 tuning one of these gentle instruments. The fat 
 "Mahalies" pass upon the street playing the harp and 
 screening their elbows from the jostling crowd. 
 Hleek looking Lo's sit in squads upon the sidewalk 
 discoursing sweet music, apparently supremely bles't 
 and happy. They must be happy or they could never 
 keep such a quantity of adipose tissue about them. 
 I am wondering if we, in our unbounded ambition 
 and undefined civilization, do not, upon the whole, 
 pay rather dear for the whistle; but then we might as 
 well be engaged in paying dearly as in doing nothing. 
 To be sure, in civilization we lose our health, and 
 teeth and our freedom; still if we are not so short- 
 sighted as to give up the first and most important 
 principles, we do not deserve to have them, and are 
 only fit for slaves. The only person that I ever en- 
 vied in my life was a woman who had a place with 
 her apple stand under a lamp post, on one of the 
 principal streets of the city of New York. She was 
 engaged for forty years or more in this occupation, 
 was happy, and had sense enough to realize it. Her 
 health was perfect, her teeth were sound, her appetite 
 good and her conscience clear. She was not obliged 
 to follow fashions, to eat with a fork, be bored to 
 death with small talk, or higgled into consumption 
 by Mother Grandy notions. In short, she escaped 
 all the miserable, brainless, contemptible bickerings 
 of what is called society. 
 
LITTLE SHEAVE8. 73 
 
 Carson is to have a grand public ball on the night 
 of the Fourth of July. This ball is to be given by our 
 mutual friend, Old Abe Curry, so that these favors 
 are curried, you see. The affair is to come oft' in one 
 of the spacious rooms of the new railroad structure, 
 fine buildings, I assure you; and when I get through 
 describing minor localities and the inhabitants there- 
 of, will give an account of the structures, as they 
 deserve some particular attention. 
 
 The people of this city have been somewhat agitated 
 lately over the attempted rape ujDon the person of a 
 little six-year old girl, by Judge Waitz, a well known 
 citizen, at present engaged in the United States Land 
 Office. Waitz is a short, heavily built man, of fine 
 personal appearance and captivating manners, has a 
 sugar-loafed head, however, broadest at the base, and 
 an unenviable reputation for "baser" qualities. The 
 child is a pretty little innocent of the Evangeline 
 modest type of beauty, not precocious in any respect, 
 but more like an infant than most children of her age. 
 The Judge has been examined by a court of his j^eers, 
 and of course acquitted honorably in the face of over- 
 whelming evidence against him. There was much 
 grumbling and some threats, and if the child had 
 been seriously injured, his fellow townsmen would 
 have paid little heed to the decision of his peers. The 
 editorial in the Appeal ai^pearing the morning follow- 
 ing the examination, read as do some of the defences 
 written for Henry Ward Beecher, leaving the reader 
 entirely at the mercy of his own opinions at last. 
 This man should not have been tried by a jury of his 
 peers, but by women, even as Laura Fair was tried 
 by men. Women should legislate and fix the penal- 
 ties upon this class of crimes entirely, as they are the 
 parties most interested. According to the late deci- 
 sions of the court in the case of Susan B. Anthony, 
 we are not citizens, never have been, and of course 
 are exempt from the duties devolving upon citizens. 
 
 4 
 
74 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 As I am not a citizen, I am going to have m}^ revenge 
 in punning those who do enjoy citizenship. 
 
 When a man's brains are the broadest at the base, 
 he is generally of the "baser" sort. Such baseness 
 should be projjerly treated and judiciously employed. 
 He should only be permitted to live in basements, to 
 engage in putting down base boards, in scrubbing 
 base, or teaching through base, should also be paid 
 off in the basest metals. Should be fed upon bass 
 cooked with a bass wood fire, thoroughly baked and 
 basted. His only amusements should be that of 
 playing base ball, or a bass viol, or that of hiding his 
 own baseness. He should only sing bass; should re- 
 cline in the shade of the bass wood. His wardrobe 
 should be basted, then if he continued to conduct 
 himself like "baste," and the evidence is not entirely 
 baseless, he should be sent to the Bastile and severely 
 bastinadoed or basted for his "bastilliness.'' 
 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Virginia Cit}'- has its share of landscaj^e beauty not- 
 withstanding nature's furniture is always dressed in 
 monotonous tufted brows. There is a beauty in the 
 scene that stretches far away through undulating val- 
 leys, as far as the eye can reach, without the obstruc- 
 tion of vegetation. Upon the other hand, there is 
 grandeur in these mighty sentinels who rear their 
 heads heavenward and keep a continual lookout over 
 the busy city and minor hills which dot like bubbles, 
 the surface of the valley landsca^pe. There is in one 
 view a brown sugar loaf, something for the eye to rest 
 upon, sweet in name, if not in nature. This loaf 
 seems to have been put up to drain, and the hone.y- 
 comb perforations may be seen at a great distance. 
 The Huids have been formed into a well defined 
 rivulet, with trees growing upon the banks, and many 
 other green things. So great is the altitude of the 
 city, that these trees look like patches of green moss, 
 or lettuce beds in the distant intervals. Gold Hill 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 75 
 
 and Silver City, from the railroad, suggest the idea of 
 a flock of wild geese alighting upon a barren hillside 
 for a rest from their fatiguing migration. Contrast 
 shows so plainly upon the brown background, that 
 the white spires of marble monuments in a cemetery, 
 reminded me of a flock of swans stretching up their 
 snowy necks as if preparing for a rise and a flight to 
 more congenial climes . The clouds occasionally form 
 themselves into a grand picture at sunset, just to re- 
 mind us that they pour out their cooling draughts 
 upon more favored lands. According to the opinion 
 of some philosophers, when the earth gets righted 
 upon her orbit, and assumes the j)osition originally 
 designed for her, that there will be more democracy 
 or equality of climate. This coast will then get her 
 share of dampness without drawing so heavily upon 
 old Bourbon. As it is hardly compatible with the 
 disposition of man to wait for the uncertain workings 
 of nature, or rather the theory of philosophers, I have 
 a suggestion to make. That is, that the Government 
 employ, at a living salary, George Francis Train and 
 the Clafflin family, to create a current which shall 
 knock the earth off its orbit, cause it to turn a sum- 
 mersault and reverse the poles, and trust to a kind 
 Providence to restore order and the desired equality 
 of climate. Without doubt Virginia City could fur- 
 nish the giant powder and nitro-giycerine, and the 
 subterraneous caverns where the explosives could be 
 planted. The melted lava needed for mixing comets 
 could be brought from South America in a balloon, 
 as it is not a safe commodity to put on board vessels: 
 This advice I give partly because I feel an affection 
 for a people who need more moisture, and partly from 
 the fact that I, as an individual, would like to estab- 
 lish a reputation for being a philosopher as well as a 
 political economist. This plan of knocking the earth 
 off its orbit, will be considered rash by some, but the 
 most conservative mind must admit that the idea is 
 grand and quite as practical as some of the new 
 
76 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 fangled social theories. It is my opinion that Vir- 
 ginia City is not an orphan, but that it has both 
 father and mother living, from the fact that the pigs 
 do not monoj)olize the streets and walks, making good 
 the saying, "Blessed are the orphans, for they have 
 no mothers to spank them." When I was in Carson, 
 a gentleman gave me a quit-claim title to four enter- 
 prising black pigs, about half grown. One morning 
 I discovered a hole in a bridge of sufficient capacity 
 to swallow up my pig family, the great fat mother 
 included, and it was near the rendezvous of these 
 Christian animals; I became anxious, and thought it 
 would be wise to complain to the City Fathers before 
 anything serious occurred. I looked in every saloon 
 in town, and at last found them in a basement, con- 
 templating an institution of long-necked bottles, all 
 more or less rheumatic and incapacitated for mending 
 bridges. The speaker of the party said plainly that 
 the building of those structures was quite as much as 
 the present adult felt able to contribute to the popu- 
 lace. That the rising generation must attend to re- 
 pairing roads and bridges. I heaved a sigh and 
 exclaimed. "How long, oh Lord! how long shall we 
 wait for the rising generation to attend to these little 
 matters ?" I sold out my interest in those swine and 
 left Carson considering it an unsafe city for stock 
 raising. 
 
 Virginia city and the surrounding country has a 
 character peculiar to itself. The country is entirely 
 minus vegetation, every latent seed in the soil hav- 
 ing been destroyed by the persistent efforts of old 
 Sol. The native Virginians stand broiling as if they 
 had, individually, constitutions suitable for martyrs. 
 The thermometer reaches ninety in the shade, and 
 boils over in the sun; I think it would be favorable 
 to hold protracted meetings of an orthodox nature, 
 as the least allusion to fire and brimstone would bring 
 the most indifferent audience en masse to the anxious 
 seat. The streets are dry and dusty, the bricks are 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 77 
 
 starting from their mortar fastenings, the shingles 
 upon the roofs curl up ready for the sparks that may 
 call that way, dogs and donkeys cease to move their 
 pendant ears, the ducks give a dry crackling quack, 
 geese have no saliva to loose in vain and idle hissing, 
 Canary birds have the asthma, the organ grinder has 
 long since dried up and blown away. A matronly 
 old cat was obliged to share the duties of wet-nurse 
 with a neighboring feline, in order to supply the 
 maternal wants of two little kittens. The most pre- 
 sumptions buftbon dare not advise his companions "to 
 dry up.'' It was reported that at o'clock p. m. 
 August 2d, the new water works would be completed; 
 at that time there commenced a brisk firing of heavy 
 guns which was kept up till midnight, if not longer. 
 Poor trembling little dogs crept beneath the furniture 
 for protection, thinking that the city was besieged, or 
 that it had taken another dose of nitro-glycerine. 
 The day following, everything was dry and warm as 
 before. The voter drew his moisture from a barrel 
 through a glass and straw as usual. The blood-thirsty 
 house bugs kept up their same diligent untiring- 
 search for game; even the transparent infant bug, no 
 larger than a pin head, and with his first tiny red 
 jacket, keeps pace in the chase with the tough 
 leather-colored old settler, who, with difficulty, can 
 be dispatched with hob nail or hatchet. I am afraid 
 from the foregoing facts, that the water works are 
 not as yet a success in Virginia. 
 
 This country is said to have much mineral wealth 
 concealed beneath its rough and uninviting surface, 
 and some of the more industrious natives are con- 
 stantly at work digging in these mines. It is difficult 
 to tell how they dispose of their wealth, as little of it 
 is used for solid attainments or permanent improve- 
 ments; without doubt, much of it is exchanged for 
 vulgar fineries, injurious stimulants and hurtful drugs. 
 I do not think the native Virginian a God-fearing 
 man, and often wonder why the people who discov- 
 
78 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 ered this ciUi'do not send missionaries here as they 
 do to the -ytmous islands of the sea. The Indians of 
 this localrtj have corrupted the white men by teach- 
 ing him how to drink, gamble and waste his time, the 
 same as -the heathen Chinese have corrupted the 
 Anglo Saxon of the Pacific Coast. 
 
 The native Virginians have some queer customs, 
 many of them not unlike those found in other coun- 
 tries. If they see a young girl on the street, and de- 
 sire that she should become a hoodlum, they persist 
 in calling her by that name, and treating her like a 
 hoodlum, until she is led to believe that she must be 
 a natural born sister of that order; else why should 
 men say so ? When in this state of mind, having no 
 self-respect, she can be easily prevailed upon to take 
 the veil of that order, if for nothing else than to get 
 out of sight of men and women who have endeavored 
 to make her what she is. You can see by this, that 
 like other families of the human race, the women have 
 too much regard for the opinions of the male. This 
 peculiar w^ay of making converts forms a considerable 
 feature in the religion of the native Virginian. 
 
 The women wear upon the tops of their heads a 
 pyramid of flax and foreign matter, almost a foot in 
 height, and immense rings in their ears made of sea 
 shells. This custom of wearing the hair in this man- 
 ner is said to be encouraged by the i^riests of the 
 hoodlum men, and which is called society, because it 
 is known to affect and suppress the feminine brain; it 
 is generally supposed that women with well developed, 
 healthy brains are dangerous to society. The women 
 have' another absurd custom; that of trailing their 
 drapery in the dust. "Whether this is a religious rite 
 performed as a kind of penance or an offering of their 
 Bnery to the gods, I have been unable to learn. I 
 am inclined to think, however, that it is done in pen- 
 ance, because most frequently practiced by a class of 
 women who have most need of penance. The cos- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. ' 79 
 
 tumes and manners of this peculiar people will be 
 continued in our next. 
 
 There has been quite a change in the Aveather in 
 this locality, so much so that the sober Virginian 
 sleeps under an additional blanket. The new water 
 works are now in a promising condition, still I do not 
 see the anticipated results. I expected to see the 
 grateful waters pour out of every faucet, as it did 
 from the smitten rock; to tear, rush, rumble, gurgle, 
 dash, plunge through every sink of iniquity, sewer 
 and gutter. Before the new water works were com- 
 pleted, many persons, in order to raise a moisture and 
 save the expense of a water bath, resorted to the use 
 of Dr. Monroe's Medicated Vapor Baths, which are 
 known to be so eli-ectual, as in ten minutes to distil 
 five gallons of Fredericksburg lager, through the 
 cuticle of an averaged sized Virginian. 
 
 Dr. Newton, the famous magnetic healer, is now in 
 this city. Whether this man has the power to ruin 
 all the cork leg* establishments, and crutch manufac- 
 tories, I cannot say, but certain it is, that he is heavily 
 charged with lightning, magnetism, fire and brim- 
 stone or some unknown agency. The feeling pro- 
 duced upon touching his hand, was a sharp stinging 
 sensation, the same as that caused by handling the 
 brass balls of a galvanic battery. The Doctor intends 
 visiting Grass Valley before leaving for his home in 
 the East. 
 
 I promised in my last to continue my description 
 of the Virginians, a most iDeculinr people, who man- 
 age to live in a country barren as the desert of Sa- 
 hara, both in water and vegetation. You have al- 
 ready been informed about how they manage to pro- 
 cure sufficient moisture with which to sustain life. 
 Their bread is brought from foreign countries. Think 
 of it ! There is not a single lettuce bed or wheat 
 field to be seen. The sound of the scythe or thresh- 
 ing machine has never vibrated this starving atmos- 
 phere. No wonder the air is thin; there is nothing 
 
80 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 for it to feed upon. When these people build a house 
 so high that it is considered unsafe, because of earth- 
 quakes or tornadoes, they demolish the upper stories, 
 thereby cheating the elements out of their prey. 
 "When they have occasion to punish a man for any 
 petit offense, such as murder in the second degree, 
 women stealing, kidnajDping, or such like, they confine 
 him in some dark, lonesome place, deprive him of 
 his accustomed beverages, so that his addled senses 
 return, and he has time to think. Sometimes it is 
 very difficult for him to escape from these places, still 
 if he does not succeed in getting away, they usually 
 give him his liberty for his pains, as the trouble of 
 using his brains and exercising his faculties in making 
 an escape is considered a sufficient punishment for 
 most light offences. In former times they frequently 
 resorted to the death penalty. Sometimes this pen- 
 alty was inflicted because a man killed his brother, 
 possessed too much money, and sometimes for bor- 
 rowing other men's wives. As there are no nat- 
 ural projections in this country by which a 
 man can be hanged by the neck, as done 
 in other places, they tie his feet, draw a 
 sack over his head, then throw him into some min- 
 ing shaft fifteen or eighteen hundred feet deep. 
 Here the prisoner is left to grope about in the dark 
 until he perishes from loneliness and thirst. If a 
 young lady desires to go to a foreign land for the 
 purpose of learning to make mud cakes, cook, or play 
 upon the hand organ, they give her what is called a 
 benefit. First of all they make her swear that she 
 is not in quest of a dilapidated crowned head, or 
 musty old duke, or any other fussy fossil of a foreign- 
 er, that she shall marry an American in America, or 
 forfeit her right to make Cjuilts after the pattern of 
 the stars and stripes, or to pluck the feathers of the 
 eagle with which to make downy beds. After she 
 has shown a willingness to abide the counsels and ad- 
 monitions of her countrymen, they all assemble at 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 81 
 
 some appointed rendezvous, each i^erson joaying an 
 admission fee. The sum of money i:)aid on this occa- 
 sion depends entirely uj^on the condition and lo- 
 cation of stock (strange to say, this is a stock- 
 raising community). If the stocks are upon the hills 
 they are more accessible and easier taken to market; 
 if the stocks are down in the valleys, they bring le.ss 
 money, consequently a scarcity of that commodity 
 prevails. The money raised in this way, the young- 
 lad}^ is exjDected to use in defraying her expenses to 
 another country', which she usually does, unless she 
 has a big brother who gets it away from her to spend 
 at the gaming table. The business men in some 
 localities place their signs upon the tops of their 
 buildings that they may be seen by those occupying 
 a higher position in the world . 
 
 On the 15th the sky became overcast with clouds; 
 it thundered constantly and threatened more than 
 considerably; sprinkled a little; finally, in the night, 
 showered quite earnestly. I think the clouds must 
 be attracted by the new water works, in this instance 
 verifying the text: "Where one has, more shall be 
 given." The water works are at last completed, and 
 said to be in good running order. Since the shower 
 the air seems much cooler, and even everything seems 
 to have taken a bath; nevertheless " down with the 
 dust " is all the cry among the natives of this peculiar 
 city. 
 
 The Virginians are extremely sensitive in regard to 
 attacks or insinuations made aga nst their reputation 
 for virtue and their knowledge of fine arts. This is 
 right — just as it should be. The very name Virginia 
 means a great deal, still I can not help thinking that 
 there was not much forethought exercised in naming 
 any of the towns and cities of the State of Nevada. 
 Carson should have been called AVindcheijtei.'; Vir- 
 ginia, Shaftsburg; Gold Hill, A-.ihan-tee. If space 
 permitted I could suggest several other very im23ort- 
 ant improvements, just to give you an idea how 
 
82 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 things will be revolutionized the morning that the 
 greens come uj) after women have been admitted to 
 citizenship. 
 
 The freedom of the j^i'^ss is somewhat restricted 
 among this j^eculiar people. Each newspaper office 
 is guarded in some way entirely unknown in other 
 countries. The editorial rooms of ilie Chronicle are 
 guarded on two of the cardinal point fs, at least that 
 would have been vulnerable but for great wisdom and 
 some generalship displayed by the inmates. In the 
 first place there is an entrance from Ciiic street where 
 it is fourteen feet from the ground to the doorstep, 
 and stairs have never been erected to unite the space . 
 The editor carries in his boot leg a ladder constructed 
 from guttapercha. After making hi^j a^:cent he draws 
 it up after him. Some have said his track I see, and 
 I'll pursue, but there is no use; this ingenious con- 
 trivance somewhat intercepts the scent of his pursuers. 
 Alexander Dumas would have delighted in such an 
 invention, that he might for a time have eluded the 
 pursuit of his creditors. There is an inside door 
 leading to the printing office. This door is without 
 latch or knob, nothing but a spring bolt, and when 
 the door swings to it fastens itself, and entrance from 
 without is quite impossible, unless by the friendly 
 aid of the editor. The former proprietor had a knob 
 to the door; this being removed leaves a small aper- 
 ture through which the inmates can take a birdseye 
 view of their visitors, and are enabled to tell Red 
 Riding Hood from the wolf, and they have the good 
 sense to always let Red Riding Hood in. The Vir- 
 ginia Enterprise has a brand new office, fitted up in 
 convenient shajje, everything savoring of pecuniary 
 prosperity', the effect of which has brought on brain- 
 less audacity. The entrance to this office is guarded 
 by the head and shoulders of a wolf, with sjDiritless 
 glass eyes, and formidable looking teeth; and this 
 wolf holds in his mouth a sprig of the shamrock. I 
 think this is to show that the Irish element can be 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 83 
 
 Republicanized or that the Republican party are fast 
 becoming Democratic in the offensive sense of the 
 term, and that in time, if not now, their oflences will 
 smell as rank to heaven as that of any party who have 
 become surfeited with power and plunder. The Gold 
 Hill News office is guarded with the stuffed skin of a 
 small English bull terrier, which goes further to 
 prove the proprietor's affection for a former friend 
 than to show that he has enemies which must be 
 driven away regardless of expense. This dog skin 
 was not put up to frighten women and children; they 
 are known to be friendly with little dogs. The wolf's 
 head in the Enterprise office was put up for this pur- 
 pose; surely it could be for no other, for it is a well 
 known fact that the male bore of our country is not 
 afraid of wolf heads, dog skins, creditors, the gallows 
 nor any other creature. 
 
 There has been a succession of showers in these 
 parts lately, and the weather is deiightfuliy cool. 
 The atmosphere has the peculiar Indian Summer haze 
 so common in the Northern States during the months 
 of September and October. Since the cool weather 
 commenced many persons seem troubled with a slight 
 inflammation of the palate, which, in some cases, ex- 
 tends to the nasal organ, causing an extraordinary 
 demand for pocket handkerchiefs. 
 
 Virginia is a curious city; the people have such an 
 underground way of doing business. There is very 
 little visible above ground here except men, smoke- 
 stacks and chimneys. They as a people are somewhat 
 Turkish in customs and manners. They chew, smoke, 
 swear, gamble and drink. The women seldom ap- 
 pearing on the streets, and when they do appear are 
 nearly always veiled. Notwithstanding the women 
 are seldom seen in public, the men say that their 
 morals are no better than those of the women of other 
 countries; and some of the vulgar men speak with 
 disrespect of their lawfully wedded wives. In this 
 they resemble the people of Turkey. Verily human 
 
84 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 nature is vastly alike the v^^orlcl over. There are 
 several paintings in this cit}^ that should have an ad- 
 ditional wardrobe for the sake of the masculine 
 modesty that unconsciously comes in the preseuce of 
 these pictures. It is surprising how men neglect to 
 guard the morals of each other, while the meanest 
 loafer among them is always more or less concerned 
 about the morals of the gentler sex. This zeal has 
 been carried to such an extent that men have been 
 known to make perforations in the walls of a lady's 
 sleeping apartment that they might defect any im- 
 proper associations; and women have been found who 
 were wicked enough to procure hose of suitable 
 dimensions and squirt a preparation of Cayenne 
 pepper and vinegar into the eyes of those zealous 
 moralists. 
 
 The stove jDipes of this city, like everything else, 
 are peculiar; they have aspirations. It is said that 
 if they are not as high as Mount Davidson thej will 
 not draw. These pipes have a fixture upon the top 
 something like a cross, and if persons were not better 
 informed they might think at first sight that this was 
 a Christian community, and that these crosses were 
 emblematic. It is nothing of the kind; it is only the 
 sign of a contract with zephyrs that play around 
 Mount Davidson that the}^ shall not enter the chim- 
 neys at the top, but at the sides. If the gusts came 
 iu at the to23 it might interfere with the draught, and 
 there is not a people living who make greater use of 
 this little monosyllable than the native Virginian. 
 They quaff their draughts and laugh; they cash their 
 drafts and quaff; they change their coats to avoid 
 the draught; and upon draught horses they'll bet 
 their pile. 
 
 The first two weeks after pay day the native Vir- 
 ginian is hap23y. Then he lives and does consider- 
 able business in the way of gambling, drinking, 
 betting, and having a good time generally* . After the 
 middle of the month, the nature of the " music " is 
 
IJTTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 85 
 
 entirely changed; the entire business of the commu- 
 nity becomes slack, and mone}'' almost ceases to cir- 
 culate. The native runs behind in rent, board, 
 liquor and laundry bills, and would be a bankrupt of 
 the worst kind but for the next month's installment, 
 which in some instances is sufficient to set matters 
 again to rights. 
 
 Carson in Autumn. 
 
 The winds of approaching Winter already begin to 
 tear through these barren valleys at an alarming rate, 
 threatening to annihilate the visible Avorks of man, 
 and if entire destruction is im^Dossible, to cover them 
 with native dust until their works are at least invisi- 
 ble. The clouds which gather around these hills are 
 grand be^'ond description when they assume the color 
 of a cluster of ripe grapes, and fairl}^ darken the sun 
 with their blackness, threatening to descend upon 
 these sons of the mountain and to set them afloat like 
 rats in a gutter. The mountaineers have learned to 
 look upon these awful clouds without fear or tremb- 
 ling, and only send up a silent prayer that the clouds 
 may pour their j^i'ecious drops through the atmos- 
 phere a sufficient length of time to lay the dust, 
 lately sent abroad by the thorough going zephyr. 
 
 The attempts of mother Nature in this vicinity, to 
 keep up appearances or an outward show in regard 
 to the change of the seasons is really distressing. 
 Those miserable little tufts of sage brush and other 
 desert shrubs, whose nearest approximation to the 
 color of vegetation is brown or blue — thebe shrubs, 
 actually putting on Autumn airs, have donned their 
 yellow Fall garb, without even the excuse of a frost 
 for changing their colors. Ihis elibrt reminds me of 
 the unseemly exertions of a miserable, impecunious 
 family to aj^pear in respectable suits of mourning at 
 the demise of an inebriate father, who, during life, 
 literally cursed his family, and at best encumbered 
 the earth much longer than was profitable. The 
 
86 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 miserable and unfortunate seem most anxious to 
 imitate others, although they may be least able to 
 do so. 
 
 Carson City has donned her Autumn apparel, and 
 is really lovely in her new costume. Her breath is 
 sweet with the perfume of falling leaves and ripe 
 fruits, and this October air brings with it a coolness, 
 a freshness and sweetness not found in the balm of a 
 thousand flowers. I have always known that Carson 
 was a beautiful young daughter of the desert hills; 
 have also known that in matters of personal cleanli- 
 ness her early education has been somewhat neglected. 
 Imagination, a Washoe zephyr and a suit of new gaily 
 colored garments have greatly improved her entire 
 appearance, besides making her presence very agree- 
 able. 
 
 The Rsno Fire. 
 
 Reno has fallen . She has at last managed to get 
 up a first-class fire, after many unsuccessful attempts, 
 and now lies in ruins after the manner of more east- 
 ern cities. The drawings representing the ruins of 
 Chicago or Boston will answer as well for Reno. I 
 never fully realized before that towns were made of 
 houses until these buildings took flame-colored wings 
 and flew away, leaving scarcely anything behind to 
 remind one of their former presence. The fire first 
 appeared at 10 o'clock at night, and as there is no 
 fire department in this city, the devouring element 
 had everything its own way entirely. Although the 
 weather was calm and the moon looked coldly down, 
 the fire continued to sjjread until it seemed as if there 
 would not be a match box left upon which to strike a 
 match and light a cigar. For about three hours there 
 seemed to be more confusion than terror. All kinds 
 of goods were hustled into the street, and miogled 
 in the strangest possible manner. In one instance I 
 observed a nest of cofiins standing in the middle of 
 the street; a large cheese had been placed upon these 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 87 
 
 " empty tenements," and the fire was fast converting 
 it into Welch rarebit, when some one came and de- 
 posited a lot of small fruit in the coffin. They were 
 then snatched from the flames, placed upon a cart 
 and driven to a j)lace of safet3^ The jaded mules 
 of the neighboring teamsters were pressed into ser- 
 vice for the night, and I cunnot imagine where all the 
 wagons came from . The stealthy Chinaman appeared 
 upon the scene, and frequently sought the shadowy 
 side of a building, in a suspicious state of inflation. 
 There were no lives lost and no one seriously injured, 
 and upon the whole I think it was the happiest fire 
 that I ever attended. Three engines were called for, 
 one from Wadsworth, a second from Truckee, and a 
 third from Cargon. They arrived at the ruins in time 
 to wet down the hot embers and prevent further trou- 
 ble in case the wind should rise. A telegraph opera- 
 tor in San Francisco continued to call the Eeno 
 operator, when the latter answered that the former 
 
 might go to a hot place, for he was too busy 
 
 fighting fire to answer questions. Most of the goods 
 were saved, and the peoj)le of Eeno do not feel dis- 
 posed to complain at trifles. 
 
 The morning after the fire, at about eight o'clock, 
 I entered the State Journal office, and found that it 
 had been literally riddled of its contents, although 
 it escaped from the flames. The front of the build- 
 ing was composed of glass doors ; these were re- 
 moved to a place of safety, leaving the entire end of 
 the house minus an enclosure. "Upon going to the 
 back part of the office I found the State Journal 
 asleep, lying upoa a trundle bed, his face and eyes 
 terribly swollen from the last night's excitement. 
 Seeing the trundle bed, my maternal instincts were 
 at once aroused. I drew the clothes over his should- 
 ers and left him alone with boots on the gable end 
 out of his office, the sun shining in where his press 
 was, his files disordered and scattered, and the Jour- 
 nal so tired and shattered, that he might have been 
 
88 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 kissed for his mother and would not have thought it 
 a bother. 
 
 There is one consolation amid all Reno's desola- 
 tion; that is, that satirists will not be able to locate 
 another bed-bng story in this town for the next thirty 
 days, as everything that was left standing was either 
 bed-bug proof or so much heated as to make them 
 untenable for this insinuating denizen. 
 
 Notes of Travel. 
 
 Leaving San Jose, northeastward from Sacramento, 
 we pass over one of the most beautiful and fertile 
 tracts of country the world possesses. Crossiug and 
 re-crossing Sierra Del Monte Diablo mountains, which 
 belon_!j:, properly speaking, to the Coast Range of the 
 California mountain system, the eye is delighted with 
 an ever-varying and most picturesque landscape. 
 Now level, undulating and fertile, then hilly and less 
 productive, becoming gradually mountainous and 
 very sterile, then suddenly crossing a clear, meander- 
 ing mountain stream, whose crystal waters reflect the 
 iron horse as he rapidly bears us across, bringing the 
 blessing of pure, sweet water to the inhabitants of its 
 valleys^while its banks bloom like a well cultivated 
 garden. 
 
 The waters of the San Joaquin river (pronounced 
 by the natives, San Waukeen,) are dark and muddy 
 with the soil which is swept into them from the min- 
 ing regions in the mounta ns. The San Joaquin val- 
 ley is a great grain producing district. Thousands of 
 tons of wheat are still awaiting shi]3ment, the home 
 market being glutted with bread-stuffs of every kind. 
 Plums figSj almonds and grapes grow abundantly. 
 The latter are pruned till they appear as though noth- 
 ing remained but the roots and a branch or two, yet 
 they very soon grow to vines and yield an abundant 
 harvest. Foreign markets are needed for California 
 fruits as well as grains. Such vegetables as beets and 
 carrots, grow to an enormous size, the former some- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 89 
 
 times Tveigliiiig fifty pounds. Tliey are unfit to cat 
 and are fed to cattle. The crops are looking well, the 
 rains having been all sufficient during the past season. 
 The grass has been twice cut. A great profusion of 
 wild fiowers bloom around the base of the mountains 
 and in the valleys. Among those the yellow violet, 
 with a dark center, and the California poppy are most 
 numerous. The latter are very poisonous, and the 
 cattle avoid them with that brute instinct which 
 teaches them their dangerous properties. 
 
 The experiment of importing cashmere goats prom- 
 ises to become a success in this valle3^ The goats 
 soon get acclimated, and will eventually become very 
 profitable to their owners. Great herds of cattle and 
 immense flocks of sheep and tine pasturage upon the 
 s"'"'nny sloj)es of the hills and in the mountain valleys. 
 The sheep are sometimes watched by a shepherd, who 
 appears to the tourist like a very picture of indolent 
 repose. As we saw one reclining lazily U2:)on a mossy 
 bank, resting his right arm upon his crook, we re- 
 called to mind a libelous anecdote of one of his con- 
 freres, an Alpine shepherd, which we cannot forbear 
 repeating. A traveler among the Alps relates, that 
 in his perigrinations he found a shepherd weeping 
 bitterly and api;)arently in great distress, and upon 
 inquiring what the trouble was, the shepherd replied 
 that he was very hungry. ^'WeUget up mj good 
 friend," said the traveler; " come with me and I will 
 attend to your necessities." " O, Good Sir," replied 
 the shepherd ; "if i choose to get up I could get my 
 own dinner, which is in that basket hanging in yon- 
 der tree. If you wish to do a kind act, please bring 
 it to me, for I have not energy enough to fetch it my- 
 self." "Not so, friend," was the answer, "if you 
 are too lazy to get up, why then starve." 
 
 The sagacious instinct of the shepherd dog is truly 
 wonderful. The utmost reliance can be placed upon 
 him, for he never neglects his trust, always keeping 
 the sheep within a certain limit and guarding them 
 
90 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 from wolves and other dangers. He certainly de- 
 serves an eulogistic encomium, for however indolent 
 his master may be, he is ever on the alert, and though 
 he may suffer the pangs of hunger, he has never been 
 known to attack, kill or eat a sheep . 
 
 Northeastward, nearly midway between San Jose 
 and Sacramento, we find the fine flourishing city of 
 Stockton. Its population is about ten thousand. 
 The State Lunatic Asylum and one or two other pub- 
 lic institutions are located here. Stockton is consid- 
 ered one of the healthiest resorts on the Pacific slope. 
 In its vicinity are numerous hot and mineral sj^rings, 
 which are recommended as potent cures for rheumatic 
 and neuralgia affections, disj^epsia, liver and kidney 
 complaints, etc., etc. Many invalids annually resort 
 thither in search of their lost blessing, health. 
 
 The location of Sacramento renders it unhealthy 
 and subject to agues, fevers, and all diseases of a 
 malarious nature. The sudden melting of the moun- 
 tain snow swells the rivers and creeks to such a de- 
 cree that the city and surrounding country are often 
 inundated, producing great destruction to life and 
 property, and additional malaria is caused by the re- 
 ceding of the waters. Notwithstanding these natural 
 disadvantages, and the dull times of which people 
 complain everywhere, Sacramento is steadily improv- 
 ing. Manj^ buildings are in process of construction, 
 some of which are fine palatial structures, but the 
 greatest number are modest, genteel, little cottages, 
 adapted to the wants of families who desire to live 
 pleasantly and keep out of debt upon a small income. 
 There is a pressing demand for dwellings of this de- 
 scription. Fine business blocks are also being- built. 
 The Odd Fellows' Temple is, with the exception of 
 the State House, the most costly and magnificent 
 structure in the city. 
 
 The new State House is not 5^et complete, but 
 gives architectural promise of elevating the tastes of 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 91 
 
 future law-makers of Modern Ophir. May their 
 habits be likewise elevated. We couldn't make out 
 any particular style of architecture, but concluded it 
 was built after a mixture of all styles. We endea- 
 vored to take an inventory of a small mountain of 
 whisky, wine and beer bottles and oyster shells with 
 which it was surrounded, but our mathematics failed 
 and we gave up the attempt in despair. Won't we 
 women have a time cleaning these Augean stables of 
 wine bottles, whisky bottles, beer bottles, cigar 
 stumps, broken pipes, tobacco juice, etc., etc., when 
 we vote and legislate. It's a fearful responsibility, O 
 California legislators, and though we shall assume it 
 with prayerful fear and trembling, we shall not hesitate 
 to do our duty when the hour arrives . 
 
 Her restaurants are one of the features of Sacra- 
 mento. These are numerous, generally cleaoly and 
 well kept. Many travelers and even resident fanii- 
 lies procure their meals here, as in Paris, Berlin, and 
 the European capitals. A masculine waiter receives 
 $40 per month and expenses, while the female waiter, 
 for doing exactly the same work, and doing it with 
 greater dispatch and more adaptability, receives $20. 
 What a comment upon the injustice practiced and 
 upheld by the voting towards the ?? on -voting citizen ! 
 
 But, " For the desert a fountain is springing," for 
 laws have been passed during the j)resent session of 
 the Legislature which make important changes in re- 
 spect to the rights of women. It is now provided 
 that the earnings of the wife shall not be liable for 
 the debts of the husband ; that the earnings and ac- 
 cumulations of the wife and her minor children, liv- 
 ing with or being in her custody, if the wife be living 
 separate or apart from her husband, shall be the sep- 
 arate property of the wife ; and that the wife if liv- 
 ing separate or apart from her husband, shall have 
 the exclusive use and control of her separate j)ro- 
 perty, may sue and be sued, without joining or being 
 
92 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 joined by her husband, and may avail herself of and 
 be subject to all legal process in all actions, includ- 
 ing actions concerning her real estate. 
 
 MISCELLA-ISTEOUS. 
 
 A Lady Farmer. 
 
 I am going to tell you a fact, that all woman's 
 rights women are not old, homely, and husbandless. 
 I have been up the country and found a woman who 
 is strong minded and at the same time beautiful, who 
 carries on a farm, attending to all the business the 
 same as a gentleman farmer. She raises fruits, 
 grapes, grain, cattle, horses and hogs, hires farm- 
 hands, manages and discharges them at pleasure, be- 
 sides attending the duties of her house. Her family 
 is large, still she entertains much company with an 
 ease and dignity that would grace a queen. After 
 dinner instead of showing us new dresses and bon- 
 nets, she took us to the hills to look at a fine drove 
 of " Dolly Varden " cattle. These creatures recog- 
 nized the voice of their mistress and came licking 
 around as if she had been Lot's wife. I placed my- 
 self in close proximity to a fence; not that I am 
 afraid of cows, but in^ case they should become too 
 personal in their attentions you know that a strong 
 minded woman could climb a fence. While we were 
 standing upon one of those beautiful foothills it oc- 
 curred to me that men could be compared to these 
 hills, which, viewed in the distance, apjpear to be of 
 more consequence than they really are . When one 
 comes close to them he finds each hill surrounded 
 with a smiling fertile valley, abounding in '' milk and 
 honey," " corn and vines." While the mountain ma- 
 jestically lifts its brown bald head like man, passing 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 93 
 
 for all it is worth, the rich teaming; valley below, like 
 the noble works of woman are overlooked. When it 
 came time for us to leave, she drove us to the depot 
 with a fine span of bays, handling the reins with the 
 firmness of a man and the grace of a truly beautiful 
 woman. "While we were enjoying the mountain 
 scenery she entertained us with stories of heart trials 
 which came upon her in other days, and how she 
 sought comfort in her bible and always found it. 
 This was related with that true womanly faith and 
 simplicity so charming at any time of life. And while 
 listening I could but think why did not the Gods 
 create a few more such strong minded women to make 
 glad the hearts of humanity ? If I were disposed to 
 worship any thing that moves in this mundane sj)here, 
 it would be a noble, free, independent practical 
 woman . 
 
 A Shocking Phenomenon, 
 
 About a mile and a half from Carson City, in a 
 northwesterly direction, there is a farm house that 
 was occupied for several years by a lady who has just 
 been telling me how much she was annoyed b}^ the 
 singular fact of having her cooking stove frequently 
 charged with electricity. One warm day in Summer 
 the fire had been permitted to go entirely out. The 
 lady, who was at this time in the garden, heard a 
 roaring noise from the stove, as if a brisk fire had 
 just been kindled with some light material. Think- 
 ing that some member of the family had lighted a 
 fire in her absence, she approached the stove, took 
 the griddle-lifter from a nail where it was hanging, 
 and attempted to raise the lid. The moment the lift- 
 er touched the lid, the lady received a powerful shock, 
 as from a galvanic battery. Knowing something of 
 the nature of this invisible force, she proceeded to 
 open the stove door with a stick of wood, when to 
 her astonishment there was no sign of fire inside. 
 The different members of the family were called to 
 
94 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 investigate, and each, to receive a shock, in order that 
 no one could think another laboring under any 
 strange or wild hallucination. The dinner hour came; 
 the stove continued to roar. At length hunger over- 
 came fear, and the lord of the house kindled a fire, 
 and as no fearful consequences ensued, the kettles 
 were placed upon the stove and food cooked as usual. 
 "When it was time to move the kettles from the stove, 
 the handles were found to be perfectly shocking, and 
 the female portion of the house thought it impossible 
 to move the stove furniture. Science and masculine 
 muscle were brought into requisition, and by placing 
 a piece of wood upon each side of the kettle or pan, 
 sufficient force could be brought to bear, to remove 
 the things off the shocking stove. This singular 
 phenomenon did not occur daily. It seemed most 
 frequent when the sky was overcast with clouds. 
 "Wires 'were passed around the pijDe to keep it in po- 
 sition, and a projecting end was seen to emit a blue 
 blaze whenever the stove was charged. This blaze 
 united with another wire. 
 
 An Explanation. 
 
 A correspondent called attention to a singular phe- 
 nomenon — that of a singing or buzzing stove, near 
 Carson. A roaring noise was lifeard about the stove 
 when there had not been any fire in it for hours, and 
 everything about it was heavily charged with elec- 
 tricity. This occurred most frequently when the 
 sky was overcast with clouds. The singularity of this 
 phenomenon lies solely in the fact that it occurred in 
 a valley, as it is of the same class as the phenomenon 
 known as the electric resonance of mountains, which 
 is not rare in high regions and yet not frequent. It 
 is very rare on plains or in valleys, however, and we 
 believe that the instance cited by our correspondent, 
 though insignificant as to extent, is the only case of 
 the kind on record. The electric resonance of moun- 
 tains (that is, the buzzing noise of the soil or rocks 
 
LlTtLE SHEAVES. 95 
 
 of culminant peaks,) to Avliich class of phenomena 
 the Carson incident belongs, is caused by a continu- 
 ous dynamic action, or an efliux of the electric fluid 
 toward the clouds b}^ the most salient terrestrial con- 
 ductors, (the stove, for instance) and bears no anal- 
 ogy whatever to lightning. On the contrary, when 
 this efflux takes place, \t sufficiently relieves the elec- 
 tric tension to prevent lightning from being formed. 
 Otherwise a "cloudburst" would follow, through 
 an electric explosion caused by contact of this efflux 
 with the dj^namic or more active electricity of the at- 
 mosphere. Treasure City, AVhite Pine county, at an 
 elevation of 9,U00 feet, is frequently visited by the 
 phenomenon mentioned by our correspondent, and 
 sometimes by the ^o-called galloping lightning, 
 known nowhere else except on prairies — a miniature 
 lightning resulting from the fact of an electrified 
 cloud grazing the surface and discharging itself by a 
 thousand sparks, v/hich are seen to run along the 
 smooth limestone. Cloud-bursts rarely occur over 
 forests or in low regions. AVhere timber grows, trees 
 act as conductors and dissipate static or terrestrial 
 electricity, whereas clouds heavily charged with ter- 
 restrial electricit}^ sweep over bald peaks of great ele- 
 vation, and, coming in contact with great quantities 
 of static electricity exuding from the bare ground 
 and rocks, a terriiic explosion takes place, electricity 
 is destroj'ed or precipitated into azone, and the wa- 
 tery vapor of the cloud, having no further support, 
 comes down in mass, to the great danger of life and 
 property. [So many fighters have been "after" us 
 lately on account of our Police Court items, that w^e 
 thought we'd go after old Lightning and see if he'd 
 come at us, and if he don't, our name will go down 
 to posterity associated with that of Ajax.] 
 
 The Religious Question. 
 As you aj^pear to be willing to give, occasionlly, 
 space in your journal for the promulgation of reli- 
 
9G LITTLE SfiEAVfig. 
 
 gious ideas, I will, with your permission, submit 
 some of my views upon this important question . I 
 will sa}^ in all humility, that I hope my individual 
 opinions will not tend to change the original plans 
 of the universe. It is a surprising fact that few, even 
 thinking people, seem to be capable of recognizing 
 never failing general princi^jles. The generally ac- 
 cepted ideas of all fanatics are the same ; all intoler- 
 ance for the opinions of others. This is a principle 
 of human nature coeval with man's existence. And 
 although I am. not a religionist of any order, still I 
 possess this same sjDirit of intolerance; am arbitrary, 
 profoundly so, as I can show you. At the same time 
 1 represent a class of people whose oj^inions deserve 
 the same hearing as is given to' others. I have no 
 objection to religionists propounding their several 
 views provided they observe appropriateness as to 
 time and place, and do not obtrude their opinions 
 upon mixed company, in private social life. I do 
 most earnestly protest against the custom of making 
 a bore of one's self by taking every opportunity of 
 piercing innocent, unsuspecting j^eople with unheard- 
 of religious views. If people must air their opinions 
 of God and the universe, let them call together an 
 audience of volunteers, who will submit to be bored 
 as taste or fancy may dictate, when the^^ have the 
 ordinary means of escape at hand. In publishing 
 one's ideas peoj^le can read or let the pai^er alone, 
 but in private life there is no escape from the open 
 battery of a fanatic, however distasteful. Here again 
 I assert that obtruding one's opinions uj^on others in 
 matters of religion is a breach of etiquette, and of 
 the principles of good breeding, and is a very disa- 
 greeable phase of semi-civilized life. I am willing 
 to forgive any man his religious opinions, let them 
 be what they may, if he will keep them to himself, 
 and permit his life to tell the story. 
 
LlTfLE SHEAVES. 97 
 
 G-rant in Peace. 
 
 The President wlio has committed no flagrant out- 
 rage upon the rights of the people, stands a better 
 chance to be elected to a second term of office than 
 his lirst — from this fact, that he has more power to 
 control votes through his established officials, and at 
 the same time is C[uite liable to receive a larger popu- 
 lar vote than at fiist. The great masses of humanity 
 are conservative and distrustful ; wisely and reason- 
 ably preferring to trust an officer who has been tried, 
 than to take the risks of experiments, when results 
 cannot be foreseen. The objection brought against 
 Grant by the organs of the opposing political l)arty 
 are of the most frivolous character, and are intended 
 only as an appeal to the prejudices of the unthink- 
 ing — as if it were a crime for a President to be an 
 admirer of horses and dogs, a disgrace to smoke 
 cigars and to keep one's mouth and ears closed to 
 small talk. What Grant's enemies deem his faults, 
 his friends esteem as his virtues. Every man who 
 keeps horses should appreciate them. They should 
 also treat the poor canice wdth that affection to which 
 he is entitled, if he deserves an existence at all. It 
 should be borne in mind that the people of this re- 
 public were in great agony of sjoirit at one time as to 
 who should lead them in battle — when Grant arose 
 from obscurity, let slip the horses and dogs of ^Car 
 and saved our Government ; and what man is there 
 in this country who has stronger claims to the peo- 
 ple's indulgence than Giant with his horses of peace, 
 his dogs of peace, his pij^e of peace, and he holding 
 his peace. 
 
 A Chapter of Questions. 
 
 I will endeavor to answer several questions after 
 the manner of my countrymen by asking a lew others. 
 Why is it that when men desire the influence or votes 
 of certain parties in politics, they neve? ask what may 
 
 5 
 
98 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 be the views of their constituents upon religion or 
 love matters? Why is it that in politics all men are 
 free and equal, while woman is expected to make such 
 distinctions as to ostracise those who believe differ- 
 ently upon religion and love ? Why is it that a man 
 may be one of the lowest dregs of a foreign nation — 
 may drink, smoke, chew, swear, gamble and whip his 
 wife, and even be guilty of the hitherto crime of hav- 
 ing a black skin, — and still be any man's equal at the 
 ballot-box ? Why is it that even unfortunate, low 
 and vulgar women have not the right to life, liberty, 
 and the pursuit of their own convictions and our 
 prayers and sympathies, the same as a corresponding 
 class of men V 
 
 Dr. Holland proposes to try a theory by which to 
 save the lives of thousands of men who perish yearly 
 with a loathsome disease. (Nothing said about women.) 
 Woodhull and Claliin are j)roposing a theory by 
 which to save thousands of women who yearly perish 
 from too much matrimony, or in other words, are 
 protected to death. (Nothing said about how it will 
 affect men.) They also desire to create a new race of 
 men. Did not Horace Greeley and Fowler and AVeJls 
 create a new race in their time ? and although it would 
 be like ' ' putting new wine into old bottles " to get a 
 new idea into their dear old heads now, I believe that 
 the race of men they created were suj)erior in many 
 things to those who preceded them; at any rate, they 
 have put away slavery, and cultivated their phreno- 
 logical bumps, and ujDon the whole are more liberal and 
 less bigoted than their grandfathers were. But, some 
 say Woodhull and Claflin are striking at the very 
 roots of our social institutions; well, suppose they 
 do; they can only stir the dirt a little, and in the end 
 that will be better for all concerned. Have not our 
 institutions been pruned, and pruned at the top until 
 they are decayed in heart, and dwarfed, fertilized and 
 forced, until our young men resemble musrhrooms and 
 our women worm-eaten fruit, which falls before ripe 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 9fi^ 
 
 from early precocity, and withers and decays early on 
 the hands of the disappointed husbandmen. The 
 thing is clear enough, that the right to govern and 
 free love, and the right to write works upon agricul- 
 ture, by custom and common consent, have been at- 
 tributed to man alone, and the right to a^ religious 
 belief belongs to that class w^ho have the most power 
 to enforce their dogmas upon others. As a people, 
 we begin to show signs of breaking down the old 
 feudal doctrine that might makes right. And why, 
 in the name of common sense, will intelligent women 
 cater to the prejudices of a set of pusillanimous old 
 fogies by writing and endorsing such an article as the 
 one referred, which has for its end and aim the 
 degeneration of any class of women. Have we not 
 orthodox neighbors who in their dear little Phari- 
 saical hearts not only keep themselves unspotted from 
 the world, but also from the so-called liberalists. 
 Now this is all right, and shows a disposition upon 
 the part of those people to do as near right as they 
 know how. But here we find some of those strong- 
 minded liberalists guilty of the same Phariseeism 
 towards another class of believers. This is not con- 
 sistent with the pretensions of that people, however 
 politic, and it is unfortunate that women, who have 
 brains enough to appreciate the political liberty of 
 their sex, should put themselves upon a level with 
 either such a class of politicians or religionists. 
 
 An Appeal to the Business Men of San Fran. 
 
 Cisco. 
 
 Knowing, as we do, that the business men of this 
 city have an interest in the good of all mankind, and 
 have every reason to believe womankind included, a 
 self-appointed representative of the latter ventures to 
 make an appeal to your philanthro^Dy : We desire that 
 more avenues of occupation be opened to women. 
 There are many coming to this country to escape the 
 severities of a rigorous climate, with the hope of re- 
 
100 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 covering healtli or prolonging life, by breathing the 
 pure air of this beautiful country. Many of these are 
 women who are depending upon their own efforts for 
 a living. Some of them wives, who are no less wor- 
 thy for being '^ help meets" that may say in the 
 language of the old English poet: 
 
 '< You buy one loaf, I'll buy two, 
 
 And we'll raise up our babies as other folks do." 
 
 Married women are not employed as teachers in the 
 public schools; nor can woman hold office, because 
 she is not a citizen. The poor working girl can 
 scarcely compete with the Chinaman in the work of 
 the household, and she takes to sewing as "drowning 
 people catch at straws." And the widow, who de- 
 pended upon the wash-tub for the support of her 
 family, is crowded into the business of dressmaking, 
 and that is, therefore, overfilled. We need more 
 room, more varieties of occupation. We are not be- 
 wailing the loss of those lowly occupations; on the 
 contrary, think they have fallen into proper hands. 
 We are perfectly willing that arduous labor should be 
 performed by masculine muscle and Chinese enter- 
 prise. Nor do we want to crowd men out of employ- 
 ment becoming their muscle or the dignity of man- 
 hood. We hear a great deal about men being wanted 
 to develop the resources of this country — intelligent 
 farmers, etc. Why not make better use of this mas- 
 culine element that is engaged selling tape behind 
 the counter? Why not employ women in shoe stores, 
 in books and stationery, dry goods, and as clerks in 
 the post office? Would it not be better to let women 
 fill these places than to become leeches on the com- 
 munity or an expense to their masculine friends ? 
 
 Confusion of the Anthonys, 
 
 When Susan B. Anthony proposed coming to Cal- 
 ifornia, she apprised some of her friends living here 
 of this fact; among others a gentleman residing at 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 101 
 
 one of the stations on the railroad over which Susan 
 must pass. This gentleman wrote to Susan, stating 
 that if she would signal from the car window when 
 she arrived at his station, that he would come on 
 board and take her to dinner, as there would be am- 
 ple time. 
 
 Now it came to pass that an excursion party was 
 returning from Salt Lake, and among this company 
 there came a Mrs. Anthony, who, unlike Susan B., 
 was plump and matronly, and carried the fruits of 
 her appearance in her arms in the form of a rollicking 
 baby about six months old. In the course of natural 
 events it became necessary to air an article of baby's 
 wardrobe, which was suspended from the car window 
 and the sash closed down to secure it. In due time 
 the train arriv^ed at the above-mentioned station, and 
 Susan's friend perceiving the supposed signal, came 
 on board, walked to the seat opposite the signaled 
 window, and took the lady's hand, calling her Miss 
 Anthony. The greeting was returned — not, however, 
 without a blank and a somewhat uncertain look from 
 the lady with the baby. At this juncture Susan's 
 friend urged the necessity of going immediately to 
 dinner, whereupon the lady remarked that her hus- 
 band would soon return with provisions for her, and 
 with a puzzled look of inquiry asked if there were not 
 some mistake. The gentleman replied, "Are you not 
 Susan B.Anthony?" "My name is Anthony, but 
 not Susan B.," answered the lady. " How came the 
 signal at the window then?" said Susan's friend. 
 "U," returned the lady, somewhat embarrassed, 
 " that is an article of baby's." It is needless to state 
 that the passengers smiled, and that this gentleman, 
 on his 'Way. tothe platform, put in some remarkably 
 good time. 
 
 Adventure wiih a Pepper. 
 
 Passing a green grocery I observed some young 
 peppers about the size of a minnow, but not having 
 
102 LITTLE BHEAVES. 
 
 the fear of the law before my eyes, surreptitiously 
 secreted one in my pocket without covering it with 
 paper, and made my way to the nearest restaurant 
 for dinner. I have frequently eaten the large kind 
 of peppers when green without any of the fiery con- 
 sequences, as they do not seem to contain much caloric 
 until it shines through the skin, imparting to it the 
 real blaze color. When in this state I would warn all 
 persons to beware of the pepper family entire. I cut 
 up this harmless looking little green bud, mixed it 
 with a salad, and with perfect confidence and great 
 satisfaction proceeded to take a mouthful. Shades 
 of Vulcan ! how it burnt. I gave it a pass or two 
 with my family grinders and swallowed it. Tears 
 would not have flowed more freely if I had taken a 
 coal of fire in my mouth. I manipulated my parching 
 tongue with the soft part of a slice of bread, dried my 
 tear with a napkin, not daring to trust the handkerchief 
 which had lain alongside of that treacherous pepper 
 when in my pocket. The waiter came to ask me 
 about fish. "Hie," said I, "no fish (hie); I am a 
 member of the Dashaways. Draw the curtain. 
 Grief hates the light. I will excuse you now (hie); 
 call at some future time (hie)." There was an ex- 
 pression in the waiter's countenance as if he had sand 
 in his eye . 
 
 I am now a firm believer in latent heat — do not in- 
 dorse Lord Bacon's theory that " heat in its essence 
 is motion ;" on the contrary I think heat in its essence 
 is a small red pepper. I have been looking in the 
 principles of chemistry for the chapter on heat, and 
 am surprised that there is nothing said about peppers 
 or the pepper family. The principal scources of heat 
 are said to be the sun, the fixed stars, chemical ac- 
 tion and electricity. I could never forgive those phi- 
 losophers for their stupidity if I did not flatter my- 
 self that I am the first person who has ever discovered 
 a latent hell in a red pepper. In all that has been 
 said of fire and brimstone and the Thompsonian the- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 103 
 
 ory, there has been do mention made of the torments 
 of capsicum. 
 
 To the Curious. 
 
 An intelligent public can have no possible interest 
 in one's private affairs, and persons who are good 
 judges of human nature well understand that ques- 
 tions "are only put with the view of getting something 
 about which to find fault. If one has a public life it 
 belongs to the public to discuss as freely as it may 
 choose ; but there should be an intelligent discrimi- 
 nation between what rightly belongs to the public, 
 and that which is sacredly private ; and it may be 
 added that an enlightened person can readily judge 
 between the two. It matters not whether our ac- 
 quaintances are married or single, in sickness or in 
 health, whether they believe in our God or Mother 
 Grundies, we should remember that as human beings, 
 they are entitled to our respect and sympathy, and 
 that the privacies of their lives should be as much 
 respected as their person or property. 
 
 "What I Know About Sugar Making. 
 
 In the month of March the farmers commence 
 their prejDarations ibr sugar making. Five hundred 
 or a thousand sap buckets (piled awa}^ in a store- 
 house for this purpose) are carefully looked over; if 
 any are found with bottoms displaced or hoops loose, 
 they are tinkered up and fitted for use. When the 
 season is far enough advanced, so that the snow melts 
 during the day and freezes quite hard at night, the 
 sugar maker goes forth to tap the trees in the sugar- 
 bush. An instrument called a gouge, made from an 
 iron bar about a foot long and two inches through, is 
 used for tapping. This is flattened at one end, fac d 
 with steel and shaped so as to cut a curved gash two 
 or three inches long. This gash is made crosswise 
 the tree and about three feet from the bottom. A 
 wooden spile, split out with the same instnunent, of 
 
104 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 the same length and shaped to fit the gash, is then 
 driven in; this serves as a conductor to carry the sap 
 into the bucket. 
 
 The camp-fire is then located. A couple of im- 
 mense logs are rolled to together, and polls with 
 stout crotches at the end are driven into the ground 
 near the fire pile ; a pole is then placed across, with 
 chains and hooks for the purpose of supporting the 
 kettles used in evaporating the sweet maple fluid . 
 Puncheons, barrels, hogsheads and large troughs are 
 brought in which to store away the sap. Great care 
 is taken in gathering the sap that it may not run to 
 waste. Teams can be sometimee used to advantage 
 in gathering sap, but most of the work must be done 
 by men, as horses or cattle cannot be diiven every 
 place in a forest of trees. The sap is evaporated as 
 rapidly as possible, for it sours as readily as milk, 
 aud but an inferior quality of gummy sugar can be 
 made from^ sap after a chemical change has taken 
 place. The sap does not rui] every day alike. The 
 direction of the wind, the temperature of the ther- 
 mometer and the different phases of the moon, all 
 serve to produce certain effects upon the trees, well 
 understood by the sugar makers. As the syrup 
 thickens it assumes a dark nut-brown color. This 
 comes from the dead leaves, coal, pieces of wood and 
 foreign matter accumulated b}^ boiling it upon an 
 open fire. If sap is boiled in a tin vessel upon the 
 stove the sugar will be very light and the syrup white 
 as honey. When the boiling fluid is thick enough to 
 grain it is poured into tin pans or birch baskets to 
 cake. When cold it is placed in a position to drain. 
 It will drip thick molasses until the cakes are much 
 lighter in color, and as dry as salt. As the time for 
 '' sugaring off*" apjDroaches, the young j^eople get in- 
 terested in the sugar bush, and many a loafer who 
 manifests little taste for the hardships and drudgery 
 of sugar making, will put in appearance upon " su- 
 gar off" occasions. It is the custom in some locali- 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 105 
 
 ties to send as a treat coils of this sweet placed upon 
 a freshly cut chip. The rate of mortality increases 
 among children during the sugar season. It is a dif- 
 ficult matter for loving mothers to keep the little 
 ones from getting so interested in the sugar business 
 that they can be kept at home. It is the season of 
 cold and damp and sudden changes, and if small 
 children do not kill themselves outright eating warm 
 sugar, they are liable to "set the Avorms to work" 
 or get the epizootic . 
 
 About Dogs. 
 
 I send this article to you hoping that the city au- 
 thorities will find it a duty to come to our immediate 
 relief. A convention of dogs nightly congregate in 
 a certain locality on Auburn street, and make the 
 night hideous with their f growling and fighting, and 
 greatly annoy the peaceable inhabitants of that lo- 
 cality. Some sentimental saphead has said, ''Let dogs 
 delight to bark and bite," as I do not find this sublime 
 stanza in either Blackstone or Mother Goose, I am 
 not willing to accept it as the Common Law of the 
 land, and am inclined to think it possesses more of a 
 theological than legal meaning. Whether these dogs 
 convene for the purpose of conspiring against the red 
 of the inhabitants in the neighborhood, or whether 
 it is to discuss the all-important feminine question, I 
 am unable to state. It is certain that they meet, 
 however, great dogs and small dogs; the thorough- 
 bred of the aristocrat, and the common cur of the 
 plebeian, all meet upon an equal footing — truly a 
 most Democratic assemblage. The writer of this has 
 exhausted all the ordinary means of a j^rivate citizen 
 in order to bring peace to the afflicted denizens of the 
 locality. I have thrown old boots and evacuated slip- 
 pers, my last bar of hard soap, and every available 
 missile to be found in the back yard of a well regu- 
 lated boarding house. I now desire to call the at- 
 
106 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 tention of the proper authorities to this dogged nuis- 
 ance, and hope we shall not be driven to the desper- 
 ate necessity of administering sedatives to those dogs 
 in person in self-defence. If there are no laws 
 to be found on our statute books to regulate 
 this thing, I shall have no objection to an extra ses- 
 sion of the legislature. 
 
 An Old Settler, 
 
 There is living in Grass Valley a fanous old cat 
 who is generally known by the significant cognomen 
 " Stump." This name was given him because of a 
 shortcoming of the caudal appendage. Stump has 
 also " bob ears." It is a matter of wonder to me why 
 he is not called by the latter instead of the former 
 name. This feline is an old resident of Grass Val- 
 ley, having lived in the place for the last fifteen years. 
 He is an immense creature. When I first saw him I 
 thought he must belong to the wild cat family. I 
 am told, however, that he is perfectly peaceable in 
 disposition, and that the scratches upon his nose are 
 only the results of exchanging love taps with his 
 neighbors. I came to the conclusion that his off- 
 spring were numerous, from the strong family resem- 
 blance to be detected in many of the j^oung felines in 
 the neighborhood. Stump does very little for the 
 family, I assure you ; he is like many men in this 
 respect — so afraid that he might do something for the 
 children of other cats that he will do nothing for his 
 own. The younger felines may thank the superior 
 industry and diligence of the mother cat, who is 
 generally equal to the task of rearing her offspring, 
 without assistance from relatives. I realize that cats 
 have always been terribly misrepresented and slan- 
 dered; but I am speaking only the truth when I say 
 that Stump frequents all the most popular saloons in 
 the vicinity. He may frequently be seen serenely sit- 
 ting on a beer keg or counter, looking as if he did 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 107 
 
 not care whether school kept or not. Dogs have few 
 rights or privileges which Stump feels bound to res- 
 pect. If one happens by on his way from the meat 
 market, Stump will pounce upon him and speedily 
 relieve him of all further responsibility of marketing. 
 Stump is recognized as one of the first settlers, is a 
 member of the society of " Old Prospectors," and is 
 treated with the acknowledged deference due an aged 
 bummer. He puts up, for the present, at Jeffry's 
 ** Snug Saloon." 
 
 Obituary of Old Stump. 
 
 We are now called upon to record the death of this 
 most worthy creature who was endeared to the sym- 
 pathizing hearts of this community by the mutual 
 associations of a long and eventful life. About fif- 
 teen years ago this cat was found by a townsman, in 
 a half-starved condition, just as he had been dropped 
 down from the moon or some unknown planet, after 
 the obscure manner of cats. He was " taken in," 
 fed and cared for in a way characteristic of the in- 
 habitants of Grass Valley; the results were, that in 
 a short time he became able to hunt for himself, and 
 in so doing, to contribute his share of general bless- 
 ings to the community by keeping rats, mice, small 
 birds, all vermin and dogs within the limited sphere 
 allotted them by nature. As Stump leaves behind 
 him many living friends and relations, it may be well 
 to mention some of his faults as well as his many 
 virtues. Misfortune, adventure, disappointment and 
 sorrow is the common lot of all creatures; most espe- 
 cially did this fall true to the early Californians, and 
 Stump shared the common adversities and peculiar 
 social reverses of many an early settler. His asso- 
 ciations were not always what they might have been. 
 He spent his last days in a saloon. His last rest was 
 upon a beer keg. It was a sad, although somewhat 
 interesting sight to see Stump, with other invalids, 
 taking his daily sun bath in the door of his favorite 
 
108 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 resort. He seemed to have an intuitive knowledge 
 of the common laws of health, and although a fre- 
 quenter of doubtful places, was known to be perfect- 
 ly temperate in his habits. Stump's early love-life, 
 like that of most of the old settlers, has been one of 
 many perils and hairbreadth escapes. The scars re- 
 sulting from these adventures he carried to his last 
 resting place. He was somewhat addicted to pro- 
 fanity, and would roll out terrible oaths, as cats are 
 wont to do when vexed by the green-eyed monster, 
 jealousy. 
 
 Notwithstanding his faults (and who has them not?) 
 he played well his part in life, and departed, having 
 the love and toleration of the entire community. On 
 the Gth of April Stump took an informal leave of his 
 old ' ' stamping " ground • he was found dead by Bob 
 Jeffrey, of the Snug Saloon. 
 
 When poor old Stump was stiff and cold, 
 
 Alas! said he, poor Stump was very old. 
 
 Jeff may have thought, but nothing more he said ; t 
 
 Just raised his hat and scratched his head , 
 
 Drew off his boots and went to bed. 
 
 Inconsistency. 
 
 I do not justify, but will defend any woman who 
 will victimize these men at their own games. Hence 
 a defence for Laura Fair ; and, think of it, from one 
 of her own^ex! O! what will come of man's strong- 
 hold—of his trite sayings that women do not defend 
 their sex? The reason I will give you, as I think I 
 can. Woman's time has been all occupied in the de- 
 fence of man. To keep him just respectable for the 
 childrens' sake was all that she could do, and at the 
 same time make her toilet on what was left from mis- 
 tress and the revenue on cigars and whisky. Wo- 
 man, so dependant on these erring lords, could scarce 
 afford to defend an erring sister. Besides, men fat- _ 
 
LITTLE SHEAVES. 109 
 
 ten on the frailties of the finer sex, and nothing suits 
 them better than to see them by the ears and hear 
 them railing one another. This is the fallacy that 
 every fault in woman goes to prove the superiority of 
 man. And now behold consistency ! If you'll ob- 
 serve, you'll hear these very men who are so dis- 
 tressed for woman's want of charity condemn the 
 feminine who dare write a defence for this unhappy 
 Laura Fair. 
 
 Some say that Laura Fair is bad. What means 
 this shallow twaddle ? Bad ? Bad ? For what, for 
 Heaven's sake ? What has this woman done that she 
 should merit death ? She lived with Crittenden with- 
 out the sanction of the law ; but are the law- makers 
 not greater than the law itself ? Have not these same 
 law-making men taught us from day to day, from our 
 very childhood up, that love of man is virtue, not a 
 vice — and that ' ' all things are fair in love and war ?" 
 This woman is a sample of wdiat your social system is 
 designed to make of any woman who will follow the 
 advice of men. Do not these very men who frame and 
 execute the law prove what I say most true, by keep- 
 ing wife and mistress too? The wife to raise the 
 children and to economize upon; the mistress as a 
 necessary friend when out from home. 
 
 Some say that it was not for love that Laura Fair 
 staid with this Crittenden. AVell, if it were not for 
 love, she is not guilt}^ of that so-called crime at least; 
 and if she staid with him for money, I am sure that 
 this accords with what men have always taught us — 
 to depend on them for means. They say 'tis little 
 that you need at most, and 'tw^ere better to depend 
 on us for that than to soil your dainty fingers. O 
 man! most noble creature that thou art! to thus jjro- 
 tect weak, defenseless woman. How touching is this 
 self-denial when he comes to this most trying trial, 
 to make an example of some woman for all mistresses 
 in common ; and if she kills a man in a hysteric fit 
 of jealousy she must be hanged, as warning to other 
 
<^ 
 
 110 LITTLE SHEAVES. 
 
 fairs that they must not indulge in hysteric fits. And 
 as for jealousy, 'tis unbecoming woman. McFar- 
 land's case will prove that this is one of marts prerog- 
 atives. O man! most noble hero! With what self- 
 denial he protects the wife and child at home, while 
 he goes bravely out to meet his deadly foe — King 
 Alcohol; and also braves the unknown throng to de- 
 posit his sovereign will, the ballot, and favors wo- 
 man in all dangerous seasons. Still he has been 
 known to hang her by the neck for treason. Perhaps 
 it was becavise she was old and feeble, and easier 
 caught for wearing petticoats, than was the leader of 
 the rebellion ; but being woman made the crime much 
 greater. 
 
 How does it come that San Francisco justice did 
 not execute the murderer of Carrie Diamond? How 
 does it come that scores of men have killed their 
 paramours and gone un whipped of justice ? It seems 
 to me that taking the life of a woman has been looked 
 upon as a matter of common occurrence, and if her 
 character could but be questioned man was justified 
 in slaying her. If man will but heed the advice that 
 he in arrogance bestows on woman to guide her 
 through the mazy trials of this life, he never need be 
 seduced from child or wife. That is, let these wo- 
 men alone ; stay out of all improper places ; take 
 their advances as an insult to his better man, and 
 cultivate life's graces. The customs of our social 
 life remove from man all moral responsibility — at the 
 same time give him all the power, socially and poli- 
 tically. It does not punish man for destroying her 
 morality, but woman must be condemned and hanged 
 for destroying his mortality . What if the customs of 
 our social life do not allow a woman an equal chance 
 in money-making operations. " She is not as 
 strong," is the excuse, and who ever heard of any 
 class of people who received protection because of 
 weakness. 'Tis strength that brings protection.