Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

. . ACLL, Z,DITCR. Entered at the Postotlice at New berry, S. C., as second class matter. FRIDAY. AUGUST 18, 1905. The Press Party. August 9.-When I wrote last we were rocking along over the plateaus of New Mexico. All that day and night we were riding along at ar elevation almost as great as-the higfi est peak of our Blue Ridge with ranges of mountains as high agair piled on top of this. Part of the time we were winding along through these following through gorges and aroun< - cliffs the course of some river. The river, however, we had to take or faith, for none but the greates streams are flowing at this time o the year, and e%'n these are rathe; poor looking specimens in compari son with the importance on the map About midday on Saturday w< reached Williams, from -Mhich place a branch runs off to the Grand Can yon. We were scheduled to wai here an hour, and the party gratefu for every chance to escape from the car, spent the time in buying souve airs, looking at a small menagerie o native animals, and speculating or how people could possibly live in suck a -place. ,The feature of tlhis place i the saloons, the main street of th town having nothing on it but place of the kind. The cow boys lounge< around ready enough to talk to them but blushing like - debutantes wther ppoken to by the ladies of the party One sign here that caught the fan cy of some of -the crowd particularl: was "Life Saving Station and Thirs Parlor," at which place business seem ed to be flourishing. Of course I don' mean to suggest any connection, bu the train to the Canyon had starte< well on its way, when it was discover ed that representatives of two of th< most important papers had been lef behind, and it was only 'by strong representations to the conductor tha the train was stopped to allow ha n to catch up. As n-arrow as had bee' their escape, tiaere was yet a happy light in their eye, for which I do no undertake to account. The trip from this place to the Ca.n von was the roughest any of oi crowd had ever taken, and for thre< 'hours dhe whole party was bored t< death, especially as dinner had to b< delayed until we could reach th< Canyon, on account of this rough ness. But for this, there would hav4 been a stampede for the edge of rh< great gorge. The party, ihowever was conscientious enough and di< their duty by the meal, postponing enjoyment until they reache( O'Neill's Point by a hack, a distanc< o~f about two and a half miles fron the hotel. The hotel itself is right on :n brink, but from this point the rivel cannot be seen. The best view o the Canyon within easy reach of th< railroad is Rowe's Point to whici some of the party walked befor< breakfast on Sunday morning. Th< shortness or the stay made the trij :down into the Canyon impracticable This was a serious disappointmen and a great regret to most of us, bu the schedule having been arrange< long before, it could not be helped 'To attempt a description of thiw mighty phenomenon of nature woulk ibe impertinence in one vwhose brair was too stupefied 'by the grandue1 o~f the thing to even comprehend i: -for himself. I might say thi-s, how ever, that no picture can possibl3 portray this chasm, nor can any painting reproduce the matchlest -mingling of colors that succeed eac2 o:her,-reds and yellows, pinks anc greys, and greens of all shades and tints with a misty blue over the whole. Headlands and peninsulars run oul into the chasm. bays and inlets run in to the land. Jaggid peaks and spires mount upD from the vast floor of the Canyon; castellated turrets suggest fortifications which need no defenders, and amphitiheatres abound, wherein could sit by thousands awe struck spectators of this glorious spectacle were they only accessible. But the enormousness of the scene bids my pen hasten on to more trivi al places and leave behind the work on o mnipotent Creaor who so directed the waters of what looks like a little yellow stream, as to cre ate the sublimest scene which human eve can witness. - Back to \Villiams we came in the bright and bracing air of a Sabbath upon the Arizona plateau, and in the rocking, lurching car, with no ringing of church 'bells nor solemn peal oi organ, worship, was offered to Him, the work of whose mighty hands had just overawed us. At William- we were coupled oil behind the coach of Col. Hagee, gen eral superintendent of the Wabash system, which is one of the Goulc roads. Col. Hagee, on learning whc th-e party was, threw open h'is hand some private car to us. and many of us enjoyed the rare experience of smoking the finest of cigars which come wrapped up in tin foil. Al th'at afternoon and night we wer traveling through the barest and mos absolutely uninviting regions to b found anywhere this side of the deser of Sahara. When we passed over sections of the road where there had been recent washouts and where- th< bed had not been oiled with crud' petroleum, the whole party was made - wretched by clouds of penetrating suffocating, irritating, debilitating, ex I asperating alkali dust. It was almos maddening, and one of the most es timable ladies of our party was be wailing her rashness in ever leaving Newberry. Only thoughts of a dir in the Pacific the next day mad this part of the trip at all endurable The heat and the dust put sleep al most out of the question. This night of wretchedness, how ever, was succeeded by the 'bright ness of a California day. The palm and the ever-blooming geraniums - brilliant in hue, large and luxurian enough to form hedges, orange groves olive orchards, red roofe villas, built .in the cool Spanish styl of architect.ure,-all passed by u with kaleidoscopic rapidity, and afte l the desert were as grateful to us a a drink of cool water to a thirst) traveler. Nowhere are the benefits derive< from irrigation so clearly to be seer as here where short stretches of ab solute desert are sandwiched betweer gardens of fairy like loveliness All the way to Los Angeles we ran through a valley which draws its sup plies of water from the mountains or both sides of it. Great water compa nies are formed in which tihe lan owners are stockholders to irrigat4 the country, and when a man buys piece of land, he buys the water right with it. Only during certain hours i~ he allowed to let his water run, bu this is enough to cihange the deser into a wilderness of beauty. In thi~ country where rain comes only in th4 winter time and then in April shower the farmers absolutely control thei: seasons 'by this system of irrigation KWe reached Los Angeles soon aftei breakfast on Monday morning. W< were met at the train 'by Mr. Ketch uim, the representative of the South ern railway. to whom Col. R. W Hunt had wired that we were com ing. Mr. Ketchum wvas kindness itsel in giving us information and directing us to the train for San Pedro, twenty. seven miles away, whence a steam. er sails for Santa Catalina island twenty-nine miles out into the Pacifi< ocean. This island twenty-two miles long was bought by Banning Bros. for a sheep ranch: and back in the interiol of the island there are thousands upon thousands of these valuable ani mals, but it was found that there was a cove in it facing toward the east a direction from which never come -and protected on all sides by towering mountain peaks, so that the calm wa ters of this little bay are never ruf fled. These waters are so blue anc clear that tihe bottom can plainly be seen even at depths of fifty feet and greater. Upon this bottom growv all manner of sea feins, sea heather, cor al moss and iodine kelp, some branch es of which are- sixty feet long. amonmg which dart fish of every hue frm deep gold to brilliant -blue, and most beautiful of all the electric fish--gold with flashing purple spots on its body. Big fish and -little fish, and hundreds of them can be seen in these wonderful marine gardens. So won derful is this sight that a colo'ny has grown up in this cove. and winter :tl 4 ummer its wvaters are dlotted wit small craft, propelled by oars. very popular, and boat loads of smali boys come to mee: incoming steam ers. asking that coins be thrown out. for which they will dive, putting the money in their mouths. These boys have been burned brown as negroes. To such proportions has the enter prise grown, that Banning Bros. have been offered $3.000.000 for the property. They hold, however, for $20.ooo,ooo. The trip to Ca:alina and back over the smooth waters of the peaceful ocean is delightful. Those waters are much bluer tahan those of the Atlantic, and are a great deal more clear. In the evening we went about town, I and everyone was struck with the brilliant lighting of Broadway. Clus ters of lights, one large one surround ed by six smller ones, are placed a. 'frequent intervals on each side of street, there being 98 lights to each block, and the effect is beautiful. Mr. M. M. Clark, who holds an important position with the Los Angeles Elec tric company, which by the way has one of the most splendid plants in the world, looked us up and took many of the party to Chester Square, the most beautiful spot in the city, entered through gateways of lofty palms, and surounded by the houses of millionaires. Here plant life flour ishes with tropical luxuriance, and no wagons, or even carriages are allowed to enter. He also 'took us to his home, and gave each a sprig from the lemon and orange trees growing in his back yard, on each of which were clusters of unripe fruit. Mr. Clark is a nephew of Editor Appelt, of the "Manning Times," and is a native of Lake City. He tried to prevail on us to remain over another day and put a private car on the electric line at our disposal, should we do so. This would have given us a very beautiful trip of rmany miles to surrounding points of interest, and we regretted to be com pelled to decline. Leaving Los Angeles about 9 o'clock on Tuesday morning, we reached Santa Barbara just after lun cheon. Here a special car, for which Col. Aull had arranged, met us at the station and took us up 'to the Potter hotel, from the roof gardens of which a beautiful view of the Pa cific ocean and of the mountains, ris ing almost from the edge of the water, and of the -city could be obtained. The car then took.us to the Santa Bar4bara Mission, over a hunderd years old, where Franciscan monks, who seemed to be of S.panish origin, guard interesting relics and ring chimes from ancient bells .made by hand. The leather thongs which orig inally supported these bells are still there, but are reinforced by iron ihoops. Then back through the town by another way we Gent -to the hotel. This is one of the most beautiful to be, found anywhere. It has 8oo rooms and accommodates i,ooo guests. In winter it is full and in summer it has 400 or 5oo tourists. The grounds are a miracle of beauty, and the building is a striking specimen of Spanish architecture. This (hotel owns its own dairy farm, electric light plant. pigeon, sheep and cattle farms. At about half past s'x the party dined here, and the service was all that could 'be desired. Two of the party went fishing and brought back enormous bonita, wihich we enjoyed for breakfast this morn ing. There were no witnesses as to how they got the fish, so I shall not be responsible for any statement on that spoint. This bay we were told was a noted bathing place, but to anyone who has seen tihe beautiful beaches at the Isle of Palms. Wright'sville or Virginia Beach. it does not look attractive. It is rocky and abrupt, and the water is full of seaweed. The consequence was thgt only two of the party yen tured in. WVe wvere to leave Santa Barbara at 8 o'clock last evening, but the train was nine hours late, and at mid day WVednesday we are still 200 miles from San Francisco. where we should have been at 9 o'clock this morning. This wiKll cut us out of one of our three days' stay at the "Golden Gate." but as it is the first delay of any con sequence. we could hardly afford to grumble about it. We have just received a telegram from Rufus P. Jennings. Executive Officer California Promotion com mttee, stating that arrangements have been made for the party's enter tainment during one days' stay in COST. ~NOF Summel We have a smart and dainty mer Footwear, fords, Tans and that we are sellin; means a rare < persons desiring liable shoes for t $3.50 Shoes 3.00 2.50 2.00 I.50 " &c., When in nee Remer c.& G.S. A THE PLACE FOR R JNO. M. KINARD, 0. B. MA President. Vice The Comme Newberry Capital $50,000.00 - - - Does a General Banking E Pays 4 per cent, We Solicit Yot EIGHTH CAlF Choice Teqq' Expect ARRIVE TI While it lasts it goes for: Best Patent, Cotton, Best Half Patent, Cottc Best Straight -- We are having a big rur to remind the public we i and summer goods, havi nice new effects. Don't be misled by loud adverti and red hot prices, and a cornpa Moseley Bros. are in the lead, an< the place to trade. Some are cui of. They are just about getting i MOSEL SALE Shoes large, stylish, stock of Sum including Ox White ' Shoes g at cost. This )pportunity to stylish and re e least money. for $2.50 2.25 2.00 "f 1.50 1.20 &c. d of Shoes nber lowerCo ELIABLE GOODS ER, Z. F. WRIGHlT, resident. Cashier. rcial Bank , S. C. - Surplus $30,000.00 ~usiness. on Savings Deposits. r Account. . OF THAT ssee Flour d to IS WEEK. - - - - $5.60 n. - -4.75 - - - 4.65 on Flour. We want re leading in spring g full line, knobby, sements, we have the goods rison will convince you that: for an all round bill, and is :ting prices 10 to 25 per ct line with our prices then.2 EY BROS.