THE ISLE OF SUMMER 49 



balloons this mine might be made to pay, as an ordi- 

 nary balloon with a cubic foot capacity of 750,000 

 feet of gas, propelled by a fifty-horse-power engine, 

 could lift twenty-eight tons of ore at a load out of 

 this cafion and deliver it at Avalon, or anywhere else 

 for that matter, if all we hear about the conquest of 

 the air is true. 



Santa Catalina is tunnelled by shafts in various 

 places. One was discovered, accidentally, on Avalon 

 Bay a few years ago, and is now used as an oil storehouse. 

 The next cafion to Descanso bears another, on the 

 beach, and on the west end miners have made numer- 

 ous caves. 



The serpentine, or verd antique, quarries at Empire 

 Landing supply a valuable substitute for marble, and 

 their product is used in many buildings of Los Angeles. 

 The fine fireplaces in the Hotel Metropole at Ava- 

 lon are made of it, and all over the island ollas, or 

 mortars, have been found, made of this stone by the 

 ancient owners of Pimugna, who carried on an impor- 

 tant trade with the mainland in these utensils. 



