mr: 



(;i-HANiN(;s IN moi; ci'i/riMiK. 



wlioii \v«> staiUHi. it was ([uict t'lioiiph for any 

 Sunday when \vc left tli(> city; and if I liad any 

 inisfiiv iiiiis alumi starting on tiiat day 1 had 

 none aflcf 1 liad liccn out a frw lumrs. and only 

 wisiifd tliat all of tiu>si' wlio wcic iahorin^ and 

 in the pui-;nit of (jncstionabic aninscnK'nts on 

 tilt' Sahliath wcio sailing out upon the oc(>an 

 wlit'it' all is so quiet, sn ni-aud. and so soul- 

 inspiiiiiii. As wi- passed through llii' (Joklcn 

 (Jatf till' fot; was rolliiif; in from tlic ocean; and 

 land, tlioujrli unite near on either side, cinild 

 not be stMMi. Tli(» hoarse fog-horn on the steam- 

 ship would blow ever> few moments, and an 

 answer would come from another dee|)er-toned 

 horn on some dangerous point on the shore. 

 We soon experienceil a chanpe. however, and 

 knew we were out upon the broad ocean, from 

 the rise and fall of our shij) as she encounlfiied 

 the regular ocean-swells. The fog rose after a 

 few hours, and the steamer was out about 2."> 

 miles from the shore, and kept about that dis- 

 tance while between siojjping-ijoints. It was 

 a pleasant sensation to stand i)n the highest 

 deck at the stern of the vessel, and look forward 

 and see the prow rise and fall as we went over 

 the swells. The sea-gulls kept ns company. It 

 is said they can tell when meals ai'e in progr(>ss 

 from the savory smells that arise from the culi- 

 nary department. However this may be, hun- 

 dreds of them were always on hand to dive and 

 S(iual)ble for the refus(> that was thrown over- 

 board after every meal. 



A small amount of shipping is seen on this 

 coast compared with the Atlantic. Many large 

 cities in tiie East make an enormous coast 

 trade; but their absence here, of course, dimin- 

 islies the number of shijis; and from the barren 

 wastes of treeless moiuitains all along the coast 

 it will never reach great magnitude. 



Our state-rooms were well provided with all 

 appliances neces,sary to aid a person to become 

 seasick; but tlie sea was so even-tempered, so 

 pacific, that none on board were thus afflicted. 

 If there were any, they kept it very quietly to 

 th«'niselves. 



Tiie long quiet hours of the day were passed 

 by many in their state-rooms, reclining in their 

 berths, "reading or sleeping, mostly the latter, 

 for some people think they can sleep better in 

 the day time when they don't want to than in 

 the night when they do want to. This fancy, 

 perhaps, holds good in other places as well as 

 on shipboard. In the evening there was a 

 gathering in the grand saloon. Some one leads 

 on the organ, and several gospel hymns are 

 sung; and. did you imagine it. my friends? 

 those hymns are sung all across our land, under 

 every condition of life, in the city and in the 

 camp; and in the most uiie.Kpected places .some 

 favorite air will be wafted to your ear. Who 

 shall say the tiny seed is not taking root in the 

 apparently l)arren ground ? After the songs. 

 we listen to the fat and jolly captain who is 

 entertaining a group of ladies by telling them 

 that no one is seasick except those who are 

 scared; that men are more liable to be seasick 

 than ladies; that the average man"s hair would 

 stand on end when the waves l)egin to roll. 



A sedate man in the corner wanted to know 

 how a woman's hair could stand on end when 

 it is always tied down. He said that, while it 

 was perhaps a historical fact that a woman's 

 hair never stood oji end. theri^ wc^re also men 

 whose hair never became erect. He further 

 said that no high waves or lions, nor even 

 ghosts, could affect him. There was a prospect 

 of some betting on the subject; but as no lions 

 or ghosts were just then handy, that scheme 

 was dropped. Someone then procei-ded to in- 

 vestigate the man's head. when, lo and behold! 

 the man was baldheaded. The laugh went 

 merrily round: but the captain insisted that. 



though liald. a man could have the same sensa- 

 tions, which, to all intents and purixtses, were 

 tlie same as though he had the liair of a Sam- 

 son. So the paradoxical (|Uestion is ojien for 

 deliate: "("an a l)aldhea(led man liecome so 

 freightcned as to make his hair stand on end?" 



"CANT MAKIO MV ll.VIH STAND ON f:Nl>." 



There are but few islands in sight until we 

 near the port of Santa Barbara. About 2.5 miles 

 out from this ()oint are the islands of Santa 

 Cruz, Santa Rosa, and several smaller islands. 

 Santa Cruz is the largest, and it has been sug- 

 gested that this would be a good location upon 

 which to breed a pure strain of bees, as the 

 selection would receive no interference, the 

 location being completely isolated. There are 

 no bees upon these islands; and if the many 

 fogs would not interfere, the plan may some 

 time be tried. These islands are .something of 

 a resort for pleasure-seekers, and on their 

 shores are found seals and beautiful shells. 



San Pedro is the port for Los Angeles. Our 

 vessel could not run up to the wharf, so several 

 hours were spent in hoisting outa great amount 

 of freight upon a lighter, and lighter and pas- 

 sengers were towed to port by a small propeller. 

 Twenty miles by rail, and I arrived in the beau- 

 tiful city of Los Angeles. 



Having corresponded with Mr. Brodbeck, the 

 secretary of the Southern California Bee-keep- 

 ers' Association, 1 desired to become personally 

 acquainted with him. and found him w<'aring 

 his life away in the dry-goods establishment of 

 Mr. Coulter. The next morning tlte Association 

 met in the W. C. T. U. hall. This may be a late 

 date to report the proceedings; but as they 

 were very '" uneek." and were described by the, 

 local press as a bamfuzzled crowd, a few words 

 in relation thereto inay be admissible. 



Several of the leading bee-keepers desired to 

 change the Southern into a Slate organization. 

 The secretary, with the consent of a majority 

 of the executive board, issued a call to that 

 effect. The president, however, had a very 

 fatherly interest in the old organization, and. 

 soon after the mi'eting was called to order, it 

 was evident he meant to light it out on that 

 line, even if it occupied the entire time of the 

 convention. After a long struggle a vote was' 

 taken, and the State lost by one vote. The 

 treasurer then took up the call issued by the 

 secretary, clause by clause, and gave our genial 

 friend particular (its. In the last clause of the 

 call, the secretary stated that " Rambler" would 

 be there; but as the constitution of the associ- 

 ation was so narrow as to admit only those who 

 had an ownership in bee.s, the treasurer becanie- 

 so excited over this " Rambler" portion that lie 

 figuratively slammed the door in the Rambler's 

 face, and exclaimed that no Rambler should 

 get into that convention as long as he had 

 power to prevent it. The secretary and the 

 Rambler kejit perfectly sweet; and when the 



