189a 



GLEANIIS'GS IN BEE CULTURE. 



629 



RAMBLE NO. 90. 



AT BRODBKCK S ; DKVIL S CANYON. ETC. 



It would be a very Interesting study for some 

 patient antiquarian to looli up all the various 

 names, formations, and peculiarities of the 

 thousands of canyons in this great State. Like 

 " Old Mortality" among the graveyards of wScot- 

 land, he would grow gray before he could com- 

 plete thi^ j(jb. Tn this State, among the various 

 distinguished pfisonages whose names are at- 

 tached to canyons is that of the Devil. Devil's 

 Canyon has its entrance near thf> town of San 

 Bernardino; and from the number of saloons, 

 and wickedness generally, in that ancient town, 

 I should judge that the canyon was rightly 

 named, and fully occupied by his satanic majes- 

 ty. I had some curiosity in relation to that 

 canyon, and. in answer to my many questions 

 in relation thej'eto, a resident of the country 

 near said that its wild and rough nature was 

 one reason for its name; and. furthermore, that 

 it was a very unlucky place in which to travel. 

 Deaths and serious accidents had been of fre- 

 quent occurrence ; hunters have been found 

 dead, or with broken limbs: horses have sud- 

 denly died ; dogs utter long and unearthly 

 howls, and animals of all kinds have a subdued 

 aspect. My informant said that he never went 

 through the canyon without^a mishap of some 

 kind, and he regarded it as an evil locality. 





Although Devil's Canyon bears such an unen- 

 viable reputation, it has no visible manifesta- 

 tions of its nearness to the infernal regions be- 

 low; but if we travel a little distance to the 

 east, and climb into the mountains, we find all 

 these visible manifestations ; and hot water, 

 steam, and sulphurous fumes greet us on every 

 side ; but here, instead of stumbling upon mis- 

 fortune at every step, the traveler finds plea- 

 sure; and If an invalid, he finds healing for his 

 disease ; and the portion of the earth upon 

 which we stand is widely known as the Arrow- 

 head Hot Springs. The name is derived from 

 an immense Indian arrowhead embossed, as it 

 were, upon the almost perpendicular side of the 

 mountain — the mountains here having an ele- 



vation of several thousand feet. The great 

 sign. 1360 feet long and 450 wide, is plainly visi- 

 ble from nearly all portions of the valley below, 

 and from the Santa Ana Mountains, 30 miles 

 away. As a curiosity it is as great as the " Old 

 Man'" on Mount Washington, in New Hamp- 

 shire, or the " Holy Cro.ss " in the mountains of 

 Colorado. This sign was here when the white 

 man first made his appearance upon the scene, 

 and it is supposed to have been made by Indi- 

 ans hundreds of years ago to indicate tin; loca- 

 tion of the springs, which were held in high re- 

 pute by them for their healing powers. It is 

 also '^aid that the Mormon chief. Brigham 

 Young, had a vision of this region, and sent a 

 body of his followers to make a settlement here. 

 They were instructed to travel until they should 

 find the figure of an arrowhead upon the side of 

 the mountain. After much hardship in cross- 

 ing mountain and desert the weary emigrants 

 found the sign and a permanent restingplace in 

 the fertile valley below. Thus San Bernardino 

 came into existence as a Mormon town, and 

 there is still enough of the element here to sup- 

 port a church of the Latter-day Saints. 

 ■ Ever since 1 entered the valley, nearly two 

 years ago. I had desired to visit the pl.^ice, and 

 render my impressions to your readers through 

 camera and pen. Our friend Mr. Brodbeck. of 

 Los Angeles, having located an apiary in the 

 immediate vicinity. I have taken the first op- 

 portunity after the busy .season to pay my re- 

 spects to him and Mrs. B. in their new and ro- 

 mantic home. 



Mr. B. met me at Arrowhead Station, and at 

 the first glance I found that outdoor life had 

 given him a good healthy tanned skin, and I 

 felt that he was one of us; and it also seemed 

 more appropriate to talk bees with him out 

 where the bees were humming than it would be 

 in a drygoods store. 



It required but a few minutes to find that Mr. 

 B.'s horse was made after the^same plan as Mr. 

 Mclntyre's, and it was necessary to push on the 

 lines some in order to get him along. The own- 

 er also, like Mclntyre, is a very indulgent driv- 

 er, and Prince had nearly his own way, and he 

 seemed to enjoy it, for it was a very warm day. 

 It is a pleasure to say right here, while I think 

 of it. that bee-keepers, as a general rule, and so 

 far as my observation goes, have good horses, 

 and they show good treatment. Truly, the bee- 

 keeper is a merciful man. 



When we left the station I remarked that it 

 was about a mile to the point of the arrowhead. 



" Yes," said Mr. B., " it is a good three miles, 

 with some sharp grades to get up at that;" and, 

 sure enough, our journey proved that, in this 

 case, as well as in many others in this country, 

 the vision is no guide with which to judge dis- 

 tance. When we arrived upon the mesa, near 

 the point of the arrowhead, we found that the 

 hotel, which you can also see from the valley, is 

 a very commodious and elegant building, pat- 

 ronized by tourists and invalids from all parts 

 of the world. It has been establisluid several 

 years, and the grounds are finely shaded with 

 gum and pepper trees, while the open spaces 

 are beautified with various-hued flowers found 

 only in this climate. The manager of the in- 

 stitution. Dr. W. Chapman, looks to the com- 

 fort and well-being or his many visitors. The 

 elevation of 200<J feet above sea-level, shaded 

 walks, the sound of rushing water in the can- 

 yon below and in the fountain near the hotel 

 make it a desirable retreat from the heat and 

 dust of the valley. From the hotel veranda a 

 magnificent view is obtained, and the many 

 thriving towns over a great area of country are 

 plainly visible. We find here, close by. a cold- 

 water and a hot-water canyon. The e,xtremes 

 meet in one common canyon below the hotel 



