USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > Los Angeles, a guide book comp > Part 5
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82
LOS ANGELES-IN AND ABOUT
From Willow Station the line leads along the south beaches to Balboa. It passes through the great sugar and beet country, through fig orchards, vegetable and chicken ranches, across the San Gabriel river to Alamitos Bay- just five miles east of Long Beach. Here is a rare feature of the Pacific Coast-a still-water bay, which is admirable for fishing. The next beach, Brighton, has a large pleas- ure wharf and a wide stretch of sand, unequalled for bath- ing. Sunset Beach, just fifty minutes from town, is ab- solutely safe because there is no undertow and is espe-
cially delightful because of the exquisite scenic conditions. Just beyond Sunset Beach is Bolsa Beach, the station of the Bolsa Chico Gun Club.
Following the line of the shore, the road comes into Huntington Beach, one of the prettiest resorts along the coast. This is only one of the many places named for the well-known railroad founder and friend to Los Angeles. Henry E. Huntington. An attractive town, it is destined to become not only a noted resort, but a prominent manu- facturing center as well. Lying on a gently sloping mesa, it rises from an elevation of twenty-six feet to a height of one hundred and fifty feet, and terminates in a series of small hills on which have been built dainty homes in
83
HUNTINGTON BEACH
the midst of terraced gardens. They overlook the fertile Santa Ana valley, from which carloads of celery and other farm crops are shipped to the outside markets. The celery is grown on the wonderful peat lands of Smeltzer, which are very productive and yield all varieties of crops in abundance.
The climate and good water supply of Huntington Beach make it particularly adaptable to home life the year around. The Southern California Methodists have chosen it as their summer camping grounds and have a $10,000 auditorium beauti- fully situated in a thirteen-acre park.
Beyond Hunting- ton Beach is New- port, one of the old- est beaches of the southern coast. Be- fore the Pacific Electric road was A Celery Field built, the inhabitants of the interior towns of Orange and Riverside Counties had established a permanent cot- tage population there. The coast channel sweeps in close to the shore, enabling steamers of heavy draft to tie up to its very substantial wharf. The beach is one of the finest in the country; shelving gradually, it gives shal- low water far out into the ocean, which insures delightfully warm and invigorating bathing. Newport is the port of entry for Santa Ana-the metropolis of Orange County. Its principal industry is walnut growing, and the hand- some ranches surrounding the town prove extremely profitable.
Three miles from Santa Ana is the pretty town of Orange, and beyond that is Anaheim, founded about fifty years ago by a colony of Germans. It has always been prosperous. The railroad goes up by the orange groves
84
LOS ANGELES-IN AND ABOUT
of Fullerton to the Quaker colony at Whittier. Not many years ago this was simply a vast barley field and is now one of the most prosperous little settlements of the state.
There is an abundance of water and every year are shipped hundreds of carloads of fruits and vegetables, walnuts, and berries. Whittier School of Friends is a very success- ful college, well endowed and offering full courses in sci- ence and letters. The Whittier State School, an industrial institution for both sexes, is a model of its kind. It has its own printing plant, and its cadet band is one of the best in this section. The old hacienda where Pio Pico brought his bride in the early days, still stands just within the town of Whittier.
85
PASADENA
INLAND TOWNS
Nestling in the foothills about Los Angeles are pleasant little home towns and points of interest not to be neglected by the traveler. Electric car lines make all of these easy of access. It H takes less than half an hour to go from the center of the Los Angeles busi-
ness district into peaceful Pasadena. The road runs past the factories and gas works, the railroad yards and across the river, past the Church of the Angels county hospital, where the "short line" branches off. Further on we pass the oil region, Sycamore Grove, thrifty Highland Park, the Church of the Angels and Garvanza,
situated on the brink of the Arroyo Seco where the road crosses on a trestle high above the trees that spring from the ancient water course.
86
LOS ANGELES-IN AND ABOUT
On the other side is the Cawston Ostrich Farm. It looks like a beautiful grove of live oak trees and creeping vines, where the scent of roses mingles with that of the orange blossom. Just inside the enclosure can be seen the most awkward and ungainly of birds. The ostrich, with his little flat head and his big starey eyes, perched on the top of a long sinuous neck six or seven feet above the ground, is not a beautiful object as he struts about on his long, bony legs with his foolish wings on his football body. It is well that he enjoys the distinction of being the largest and most valuable of the feathered tribe, otherwise he would be the most ludicrous. Twenty years ago Mr. Cawston brought over from South Africa as an experiment fifty of the best African birds and started a farm in South Pasadena. Since then he has added some fine Nubian specimens, and today there are four hundred on the farm. These birds are proud and bear distinguished names. There are
General and Mrs.
Grant, Admiral
Dewey, Mr. and
Mrs. McKinley, and
other noted persons.
The lady bird dresses in a somber drab, but the male is
gorgeous in black
and white plumage. Both of them de-
light in a varied diet, and it is interesting to watch the oranges and tennis balls, nails and any bright article of jewelry bumping its way down the long throat. At the farm the feathers are plucked carefully, sorted and made up at the Cawston
87
MT. LOWE
factory, which turns out probably the most beautiful os- trich plumes in the world.
Pasadena proper is some few miles beyond the Ostrich Farm. This well-known mecca of wealth and health, the crown of the valley, has a perfect climate, in- vigorated by the sea breezes and protected from fog by the rugged Sierra Madres. In early days it was the Rancho San Pasqual, given by Padre Zalvidea to Señora Eu- lalia Perez de Guillen. Today it is one of the most beautiful residence cities in the country-charming homes hide in gay gardens or are surrounded by terraced lawns, and long, shaded drives wind out into the level country.
Leaving the plain, the road begins to ascend the steeper gradients and sweep past the poppy fields and out into the freshness of the high hills. The track winds among the great shoulders of the mountains, skirting the precipitous sides of canyons until suddenly it plunges into the cool green depths of Rubio, where it stops in front of the pavilion 2,000 feet above the sea. Above the pavilion and Rubio Canyon is one of the most picturesque and beautiful spots in the mountain. What from the valley seemed barren is now covered with rich verdure-trees and ferns and flowers, trailing vines and the "witching tangle of the maiden hair" grow among the rocks. There are dainty water falls and big stone formations, large chasms and a mirror lake.
From Rubio up the incline to the summit of Echo Moun-
88
LOS ANGELES-IN AND ABOUT
tain is 45,500 feet. The incline is 3,000 feet in length and makes a direct ascent of 1,400 feet; that is, it rises sixty- two feet in going forward one hundred feet. The cars are permanently attached to an endless cable of the finest steel, thoroughly tested to a strain of one hundred tons, and are so balanced that in ascending and descending they pass each other at an automatic turnout mid- way on the incline. The cars are absolutely safe, never under any circum- stances loaded to excess, and are so arranged as to keep passengers al- ways on the level. The view from Echo moun- tain is suberb. Here is located the observatory and the World's Fair searchlight of three mil- lion candle power. The beam of light is so pow- erful that a newspaper can be read for a dis- tance of thirty-five miles and the rays can be seen one hundred and fifty miles on the ocean. It is of great value in mete- orological work.
The electric road which winds to Alpine Tavern starts up from Echo Mountain and presents a diversity of views. The road climbs up the sides of the mountain in graceful curves and at one point on the road, by looking up and down the steep sides, nine different tracks can be seen rising one above the other. One of the features of con- struction is a bridge which spans the canyon and rounds a mountain peak, thus forming a complete circle.
89
MONROVIA
lt skirts the vast depths of Millards Canyon and passes through Granite Gate. At times it runs through groves of gnarled and knotted oaks or by great pines whose rugged sides are grown with moss. The terminus of the track at Ye Alpine Tavern is 5,000 feet above sea level. A trail starts from here three miles in length, winding to the summit, 1,100 feet above. from which the view is un- surpassed. Many who take this trip once come back to explore the glaciers and canyons and to watch the ever-
changing panorama, "looking southward to the sunlands. where the valley of San Gabriel slopes in beauty to the main."
Along the route to Monrovia are many beautiful sections of the San Gabriel valley. Splendid homes and fruit and agricultural colonies are scattered through this section. It is often called the "Orange Grove Route" for the sweet- scented, brilliant-fruited trees line the car track on both sides. Beyond there are stretches of pasture, with cattle grazing peacefully under the scraggly live oaks, and country roads guarded by stately eucalyptus and graceful pepper trees. At Arcadia a tally-ho waits to carry tour- ists through the famous ranch of Lucky Baldwin. This vast farm, 54,000 acres, embraces orange groves, the ranch house surrounded by artificial lakes and pools in the midst of majestic palms, and the drooping boughs of the weeping
90
LOS ANGELES-IN AND ABOUT
willows. At the stables are to be seen the best thorough- bred horses in the West, all with records for their fleet- ness. The old log cabin, a relic of the lovely days, is still standing. Monrovia, just beyond, has wonderful agri- cultural possi- bilities just beginning to be realized. It has the beauties and natural advan- tages of the foothill country, a good water supply and an equable climate, which make it one of the most popular of the inland towns.
The historic San Gabriel Valley contains many small towns of beauty and interest, guarded on the north by the rugged Mother mountains, with the rolling Puente hills on the south and far away the perpetual snow-capped peaks of San Jacinto, and the old mission San Gabriel founded a century and a half ago still lingers as a mark of the early civiliza- tion. It is one of the best preserved of all the missions and contains many interesting old fres- cos, hand colored images and paint- ings which were brought to this country from Spain. The old bells still chime forth the Angelus and peal the summons to mass. Originally there were six of them; two are now gone, brought from
91
GLENDALE
Spain and traded in hides, beeswax and tallow. The im- mense grape vine planted by the mission fathers has grown to be one of the largest in the world.
In strange contrast to this is the modern manufacturing town of Dolgeville. Where what was once a large winery
has been
turned into a
factory for the manufac- ture of felt.
There is also a
large steel trunk and pipe factory, about which a model village has grown up.
Indian Pottery
Taking the route which skirts the old San Fernando Valley and traverses one of the big agricultural sections of Southern California, we pass through Tropico, Glen- dale and Casa Verdugo. The early market gardeners and berry raisers reap rich harvests from the prolific crops, and many of them have paid for their lands through the sale of the products raised. Tropico, the home of the straw- berry, is in the heart of this prosperous community where every advantage is offered to the home seeker.
Glendale, in the eastern part of the valley, beautifully situated for commercial activities and home comfort, can point to a fertile soil of varied capacity, delicious spring water, an incomparable climate, splendid oiled roads,
92
LOS ANGELES-IN AND ABOUT
modern churches, schools and public buildings, and a bril- liant future. There the berry industry has grown from two acres planted with berries in 1899 to 650 acres in
1906, all the vines being made to produce to their greatest bearing capacity.
Casa Verdugo is at the end of the line-a quaint Mexi- can restaurant, the sole remnant of the San Rafael Rancho.
This was a part of the grant from the Spanish crown in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo, who had at one time the fin- est vineyards in the country. The Ver- dugos were typical Spanish gentlemen; they scorned land titles and surveys, and in selling a piece of land would de- termine its boundaries by a sweep of the hand; "from there to there" they would say, until American progress has claimed the vast estates for the commercialism of today.
ALONG EL CAMINO REAL
HE old road traversing California from its first mission at San Diego and connecting it with the other twenty missions, going through the three pueblos and four presidios, was called El Camino Real, the King's Highway. At the present time, for most of the way from San Diego through Los Angeles to San Francisco, the Camino Real survives as a county road. Picturesque guide posts bearing facsimiles of the old mission bells mark the way, and where once gray-robed friars trudged on their errands of love and mercy, now brilliant-hued motor cars speed their honking way.
Junipero Serra founded the first mission in Alta California, the first evidence of civilization north of Mexico, at San Diego in 1769. A little bit later he dedi- cated San Carlos Borromeo at Monterey, the then most north- ern point of Spanish exploration. Between these two, missions were established at frequent intervals and still others were founded beyond Monterey, until in only half a century after the founding of the first mission there was a cordon of twenty-one, just one day's journey apart.
The work of building these was done by the Indians under the directions of the fathers. It is hard for us of today to realize the close bond that existed between the early Franciscans and their "Indian children." The na-
93
94
ALONG EL CAMINO REAL
tives of the land were the devoted slaves of the invaders, and it was not until civilization had further advanced that the Indians suffered and grew to fear their conquerors. From the padres the Indians learned industry; they learned how to plow and till the fields; how to plant and garner crops of grain, which they had never seen or heard of. They learned how to build roads; how to construct bridges; how to fashion bet- ter houses and, best of all, they learned the use of stone and mortar in making the fine old mission buildings, impressive now even in their decay. What they must have been in those early days when the Franciscans held full sway can only be im- agined. In 1800 the padres, less than fifty in all, had 13,500 Indians under their con- trol, and of these rude, ignorant, useless savages they made saddlers and tailors, millers and candle makers, black- smiths and silver- smiths; made them masters of craft and artisanship. Then the missions were the center of all life for all the people. Neither the presi- dios nor the pueblos were as busy nor as prosperous as the missions, nor did they contribute as much to the good of the country in wealth or food or entertainment. It was only after the secularization of
95
THE MISSIONS
the missions and the coming of the hated Americanos that the towns grew and flourished.
To the missions all travelers went. At the missions all travelers stopped. Everyone was made welcome and
given the best the church afforded as long as he wished to stay, and when he left, a horse was provided for him, if his own were tired or disabled. There were special rooms set aside for chance guests, and special orchards -"travelers' orchards"-gar- dens where guests were free to go, while those in the in- ner sanctuary were accessible only to the padres.
Drawing up before a mis- sion a visitor was met by two Indian pages, one to take his horse and the other to con- duct him to his room, and it was seldom that the monot- ony of the monks' gray gowns was not relieved by the gay trappings of some dashing caballero, resplen- dent in bright clothes and
96
ALONG EL CAMINO REAL
jeweled ornaments, or by a grave señora in her laces and silks. These were joyous care-free times, when all were friends and no thought was taken beyond the day that was bright and sunny. Now there remain only pictur- esque ruins, and it is only through the efforts of indi- vidual enthusiasts and the work of the Landmarks Club that these evidences of Span- ish civilization will be pre- served for future generations.
It was a great blow to the patient padres when the or- der of secularization fell upon them that took away their churches, their lands. their homes and their "chil- dren"-all that they had la- bored for and held dear.
In 1830, Governor Echeandia, who was opposed to the missions, succeeded in providing for their gradual trans- formation into pueb- los and for making each Indian a share- holder in the lands and cattle, but it was in 1833, under Gen- eral Jose Figueroa, who opposed the act, that the Mexi- can Government confirmed the act as outlined by Echeandia. When the padres knew that the political manipulation would result in their losing the mis-
97
SECULARIZATION
sions, they began at once to convert all their cattle and stock, as far as possible, into money. General Vallejo
San Diego de Alcala
himself says that "in the missions of San Gabriel, San Fernando, San Juan Capistrano and San Luis Rey, they killed by contract with private individuals, during the years 1830, 1831, and 1832, more than sixty thousand head of cattle, from which they saved only the hides. The pecuni- ary wealth of the missions in their primitive days, which were more productive, was sent out of the country to Spain, Mexico or Italy. This I know; and presume, and even believe, that all of it arrived safely at its place of destination." After the friars had gone, the property wasted away; the padres returned to Mexico and their neophytes scattered in towns and villages or worked on the lands of those who had despoiled them of the best they ever
98
ALONG EL CAMINO REAL
had. From this time on the buildings have decayed, for they were of no use for other purposes and they had no value, except as relics of a romantic period of history.
San Diego de Alcala was founded in 1769 by Junipero Serra, who had been planning and working on the estab- lishment of a spiritual empire in Alta California. In dedi- cating San Diego, his hopes were beginning to be realized. It was not easy to travel in those days, either by land or sea, and it was only after enduring hardships and priva-
tions that soldiers and priests arrived at San Diego, and, although many were sick and the Indians were not over cordial, Father Serra sent Portola and Father Crespi to found Monterey on July 14, and then two days later, with his small band of sailors and soldiers, he set up the cross in a rude hut of branches and reeds and celebrated mass, the curious Indians watching attentively the astonishing ceremony. The bell hung in a tree; the sound of musketry took the place of an organ; the smoke of the camp fire in lieu of incense; and above this rude chapel the royal standard fluttered in the breeze. It was thus that Alta California was taken possession of "for God and the King." To all this the Indians offered no resistance, until late in August when they showed signs of insurrection
99
SAN DIEGO
when the servant of Father Serra was killed, but they were soon calmed by the patient monks.
It seemed that in the early part of the next year, the
Ramona's Marriage Place
mission would have to be abandoned on account of lack of funds, but on the day set for forsaking the little wood- land church, seemingly in answer to the fervent prayers of Father Serra, a boat was descried approaching the harbor, and as if by miracle, four days later the San An- tonio from La Paz entered the port, and the future of the Franciscans in California was assured. All this took place in what is now Old Town, San Diego. The ruins of the mission are some five or six miles from the city, and before them still stand the two palms that have known all the glories and trials of the work of the fathers. Alongside the ruins is a modern building where Indian girls are educated. Father Ubach, the padre Gas-
LOFC
100
ALONG EL CAMINO REAL
para who married Alessandro and Ramona, was for many years the head of the school. His death occurred only a short time ago.
San Diego, the town, stands upon a slope that rises from the water to the summit of a broad mesa. In front
the bold promontory of Point Loma juts into the sea, overlapping the low, slender peninsular Coronado, and between them lies the harbor. This harbor was originally called San Miguel by Cabrillo. Fifty years later Sebastian Vizcaino, sailing by, named it in honor of St. James. From that time until the founding of the mission under Father Serra-three quarters of a century-there is no record of any white man entering the Bay of San Diego. Like all California cities, San Diego has changed under the American rule of industry and prog- ress. The gover- nor has taken in- terest in her devel- opment, and has ex- pended millions of dollars in improving La Jolla the harbor, and thus making it, with its magnificent light-house, the safest on the coast.
There are all kinds of delightful trips out from San Diego, the leading one being through National City and Chula Vista, where is the largest lemon grove in the
101
SAN LUIS REY
world. Over the border into old Mexico, Tia Juana- just over the line-is not as quaint and interesting as it was before it was destroyed by flood, but there is a
Mexican custom house and strange little stores where only Mexican curios and cigars can be purchased. La Jolla is a bit of coast with miles of fantastic bluffs, sculptured by the waves and winds into curious shapes and figures.
About eighty-five miles from Los An- geles on the Santa Fe road is the mis- sion of San Luis Rey de Francia, one of the last of the missions, built after the death of Presi- dent Serra in 1798, under the direction of Father Lasuen, who succeeded Serra as President of the Franciscans in California. The mis- sion was named in honor of Louis IX of France, who was a member of the Tercer order of Franciscans. San Luis Rey is always associated with the memory of Padre Peyri.
102
ALONG EL CAMINO REAL
who was so beloved by the Indians, and Padre Zalvidea (the Padre Salvierderra of Ramona) spent a great deal of his time there.
The mission itself stands on a slight hill rolling up from
1
the river and fertile valley, on which pastured many thou- sand head of cattle and sheep in the days of the early fathers. No other mission had so fine a church nor was there one so beautifully decorated. The Indians, under Father Peyri-there were 2,870 of them-delighted in the superb gold and silver of the chapel and altar. The building even now in its semi-ruined condition is ma- jestic and imposing. From the river and the valley and from the hill just back of Oceanside, the bel- fry tower, from which in the early days came the sound of the eight bells calling the Indian to service, may still be seen rising above the long arched corridors, and as we come closer we can see the perfectly propor- tioned dome over the chapel. Beautiful San Luis Rey!
103
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
It was only thirty-five years after its dedication that the order for secularization was passed and the fathers knew their Indian children no more.
San Juan Capistrano of tragic memory was unfortunate even in its founding. In 1775 the site for the new mission was selected and the name chosen. Padres Lasuen and Amurrio erected the cross and celebrated mass in a hut made of the boughs of a tree, but news was received of the revolt of the Indians at San Diego and the padres after burying the bells followed the soldiers to help to pacify the Indians, and it was not until 1776 that the mis- sion, dedicated to the warrior priest who fought so val- orously at Belgrade against the Moham- medans, was per- manently estab- lished. Captain Rivera, under orders from the viceroy at Mexico, detailed ten soldiers to accompany the priests and with the usual ceremonies the mission was founded at the place where
104
ALONG EL CAMINO REAL
the bells had been buried the year before. Serra, now President of the Franciscans in California, explained to the Indians the purpose of the priests in coming among them. It is said that "while the In- dians of the other missions were in the beginning very anx- ious for bodily com- forts, those of San Juan were solicitous only for baptism, asking it most ear- nestly of the missionaries and finding the time for pre- liminary instruction too long." The mission was on high
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