

PubUsbt Weekly at 118 Mlcblgan Street. 



91.00 a Yeai — Sample Copy Pree. 



37th Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 18, 1897. 



No. 46. 



IgP 



An Old Illinois Bee-Keeper in California. 



BT HON. J. M. HAMBAUGH. 



I have been a citizen of California for over two years, as 

 many are aware, and I have not since written a scratch for 

 the good, old, faithful American Bee Journal, and I will uow 

 say that should kind Providence spare my good health, I will 

 not be so derelict in the future. 



Chief among the causes of making so stupendous a change 

 was that of mine and wife's health. We first emigrated to 

 Pomona, Calif., bringing with us a carload of household goods, 

 or " emigrant outfit," as it was termed. Our trip was delight- 

 ful, and without incident of note. Of course Grand Canyon of 

 the Arkansas ; Salt Lake and the Temple; Leadville above 

 the clouds, falling snow and slush, the in the last days of 

 May ; Truckee, on the summit of the Sierra Nevadas, with its 

 40 miles of snowsheds ; Gate to the Garden of the Gods; 

 snow-capt mountains, etc., were incidents of great interest to 

 the family, and especially to the children, long to be remem- 

 bered. 



We arrived in Pomona June 4, 1895, moved into a small 

 cottage, and turned ourselves over to the mercy of the land 

 agents, speculators, etc. Of course, we were shown their 

 special line of goods, and their meritorious points were elab- 

 orately pictured up, to the extent that was calculated to en- 

 trap the untutored tenderfoot, to all of which we listened 

 patiently, occasionally making a note of the main points, and 

 especially that of a financial nature. For five long weeks we 

 were driven far and near, and were shown hundreds of beauti- 

 ful orange, lemon, prune, and mlxt orchards, and a more 

 lovely country the 'un never shone upon. But it seemed to 

 me that the prices askt, with the attendant expenses, were too 

 much for my limited finances. 



By chance, at Pomona, we fell in with a geatleman and 

 his wife, by the name of Andrew, who were but one week out 

 from Grand Island, Nebr., and by some unaccountable alEnity 

 we became quite close friends. Mrs. Andrew had an ac- 

 quaintance with whom she was in correspondence In San 

 Diego county, said correspondent urging them to come to that 

 place before purchasing property. Mr. Andrew and wife 

 yielded to their persuasions, and the first return mail on their 

 arrival bore a letter to me, urging me not to buy any property 



until I came and investigated the situation, which I did at the 

 very earliest convenience, and found a country not so thor- 

 oughly settled, hence better opportunities for development. 



I foiind all the natural resources here that are necessary 

 to make a country great— a diversified soil, calculated to suit 

 all kinds of mixt horticultural and agricultural pursuits ; a 

 thriving village of nearly 1,U(I0 souls, under city ordinance, 

 and an irrigation system ; a large, beautiful brick college, 

 costing nearly .§30,000; two-story brick school building, two 

 hotels, and two store buildings that would ornament a city 

 four times its size ; besides numerous other business houses, 

 churches, etc. I was kindly driven over the country by land 

 agents, and was very favorably imprest with the situation, to 

 the extent that I returned to Pomona, chartered a car, and 

 Mr. Andrew and myself put aboard our worldly efifects, and 

 billed them to this place. 



We came overland in our surrey, Mr. Andrew and wife in 

 their one-horse buggy, a distance of nearly 125 miles. The 



Hon. J. M. Hambauiih. 



first day we drove 65 miles, putting up at Capistrano; it was 

 here we had the most trying experience since our departure 

 from Illinois, and which came nearly resulting in the death of 

 our youngest child, Louis. He was taken very severely with 

 croup, and were it not for the timely effects of coal oil, we 

 would probably have lost him. 



The second night out we put up at Oceanside, and the 

 family for the first time were li'lled to sleep by the roar of the 



