24 



WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 



I accepted the situation and had a fair 

 night's rest, and early in the morning went 

 into the depot at Los Angeles and attempted 

 to get my ticket validated for the train leaving 

 for home at 8 a. m. by way of the coast. After 

 considerable discussion of the request among 

 the railroad officials, I was told that I would 

 have to go by the valley route. As there was 

 a train for Fresno starting at 7:50 a. m., I 

 decided to leave by it and lay over at Fresno 

 and take the midnight train there for home. 



At first I was inclined to be vexed by the 

 decision of the railroad officials, but after the 

 train started I realized that many years had 

 passed since I had gone through the section 

 of the state between Los Angeles and Fresno 

 by daylight, and now I was going to see what 

 changes had taken place and the progress 

 made in developing the country in all that 

 time. I provided a book to read if the travel- 

 ing became uninteresting, but at the end of 

 my journey I found I had read but a few 

 pages, and these were scanned at the stations 



where there was some delay and the train 

 was not moving. Nearly every mile of the 

 way had its interesting feature, but what sur- 

 prised me greatest was the discovery that a 

 vast amount more of the territory had been 

 brought under cultivation than I had thought 

 probable or eVen possible. Even up in the 

 Tehachapi Pass, 4000 feet above sea level, 

 hundreds of acres of land embraced in a little 

 valley there had been planted in orchards and 

 in other ways was being made to produce the 

 necessaries and luxuries of life. 



In conclusion I may add that I arrived at 

 Oakland in good shape, well satisfied and 

 pleased with the southern trip. Yet when I 

 looked upon the green hills back of Oakland, 

 Piedmont and Berkeley, dotted with groves of 

 trees mantled with bright, new, fresh foliage, 

 I could not help thinking that in all my travels 

 I had not seen a landscape more pleasing or 

 a country more inviting to one who loves to 

 get into close ^jmmunication with nature. 



HONEY ANT, AS IT APPEARS WHEN INFLATED WITH HONEY, 

 STORED FOR FUTURE USE. 



