ON AMERICAN SOIL 199 



and consequently very dejected and compelled to look for 

 temporary employment that may stay the tide till St. 

 Peter opens the channels of relief. The Northern mines, 

 on the contrary, are filled with snow and ice, which makes 

 the working of them impossible, though many of the min- 

 ers, who have spent the winter here, are preparing al- 

 ready for another season of hard work and uncertain 

 results. Such is life in the Wild "West. 



Meanwhile, I have made the best of the beautiful 

 weather by taking little excursions into the surrounding 

 country, which, though picturesque in places, cannot be 

 called beautiful. The surface is hilly and sandy, covered 

 with shrubbery and here and there interspersed with 

 marshes, which are mostly to be found along the bay; 

 weeds and impenetrable shrubbery grow in abundance 

 and harbor large numbers of snakes and other reptiles, 

 as well as wolves and even bears. Sea fowls nest there 

 in fabulous quantities. The closer to the city, the more 

 the clearing of the creeks for the purpose of draining has 

 progressed. 



One of the finest spots just outside the city is Monte 

 Dolores, a hill of about twelve to eighteen hundred feet 

 in height; from its summit, which it is not difficult to 

 reach, the visitor has a beautiful panorama before him: 

 San Francisco with its fine harbor and the Golden Gate; 

 the bay with its attractive islands on one side and the 

 Pacific Ocean, in all its majesty, on the other. There is 

 a boulevard, laid out with planks, which leads from the 

 Mission Dolores to the foot of the hill and is frequented 

 on Sundays by pleasure seekers, promenading families, 

 ladies in elegant carriages, people on horseback, all bent 

 upon enjoying the sights which Mother Nature presents. 

 "Were it not for an occasional redman (Indian) or the ever 

 present yellow Mongolian with his long, coal black queue, 

 one would fancy one's self transported to one of the much 

 sought promenades of a German city, for instance, the 

 ever memorable Hamburg boulevard leading to Blank - 

 enese (which I have described elsewhere) instead of being 

 on the far away "Western coast of North America. I won- 



