144 Recreations of a Sportsman 



1812 nearly destroyed it, but the lotus land is 

 still there, the mesas with their countless wild 

 flowers in midwinter, and, not least, the trout 

 stream, the Kio San Juan, flowing musically on 

 to the distant sea. 



Near the San Luis River not far away, is the 

 fine old ruin of San Luis Rey de Francia, built 

 by Father Lasuen, in 1798. This soon became 

 one of the most prosperous of all the missions, 

 and in 1826 boasted two thousand eight hundred 

 and nine neophytes, and was the centre of life 

 and native activity. The San Luis was rich in 

 trout, and just over the Santa Margarita range 

 was a large laguna abounding in water-fowl, the 

 region being particularly blessed. 



In following the coast of California north- 

 ward beyond Points Arguello and Concepcion, 

 one comes to a long beach where the waves pile 

 in many rows, and over the dunes is a little 

 laguna which in winter, the time of rains, cuts 

 a way to the ocean through the drifting sand. 

 The laguna is the mouth of the Santa Ynez 

 River, which drains the mountains of this range 

 that face the sea here for miles, forming one of 

 the most attractive portions of the Coast Range. 

 The little laguna is a favorite haunt of the silver 

 trout w r hich comes in from the sea in spring and 

 winter: a fine game fish attaining a weight of 

 twenty pounds. This is almost its southern 

 limit, and as these lines are written the laguna 



