While the climate of the Southwest is
characterized by abundant sunshine and a
low degree of relative humidity, it has
periods of considerable moisture precipitation.
In winter this takes the form of snow
in the northern and central portions of New
Mexico and Arizona (which lie at an elevation
of 5000 feet and more above sea level).
The snow, however, except upon the mountains,
disappears rather rapidly under the
hot sunshine of midday, so that the traveler
has a fair chance to sandwich his trips between
the storms. The mid-year precipitation
of rain is generally during July and
August, and throughout all parts of both
those States it descends usually in severe
electrical storms. These occur as a rule in
the afternoon and pass quickly, but while
they last they are apt to be very, very wet.
They are the occasion of sky effects of cloud
and rainbow wonderful enough to compensate
for whatever discomfort the rain may
cause. In most sections the summer temperatures
are on the whole agreeable, but in
the much lower altitudes of parts of southern
Arizona and New Mexico, desert conditions
largely prevail, with a degree of heat in
summer that is trying to sight-seers.
In Southern California climatic conditions
differ greatly from those east of the Colorado
River. The coast year is divided
naturally into a dry season and a wet—the
latter normally extending from October or
November to April or May. From about
mid-spring to about mid-autumn no rainfall
whatever is to be expected, except in the
high mountains where there are occasional
thundershowers during summer. The winter
precipitation comes usually in intermittent
rain-storms of perhaps two or three days’
duration (on the higher mountains these
come as snow), the intervening periods
generally characterized by pleasant, sunshiny
days and by nights with temperatures
(particularly during December and January),
not infrequently as low as 30 degrees
Fahr. These minimums, however, rarely
hold over an hour or so; and curiously
enough, though they result in early morning
frosts, only the tenderest vegetation is killed,
the mercury rising rapidly after sunrise; so
that a great variety of garden flowers bloom,
and many vegetables mature, in the open
throughout the winter. A marked feature
of the California 24 hours is the wide difference
between the temperature at midday
and that at night, amounting to 35 or 40
degrees F. This condition is fairly constant
and to be counted on daily. Similarly there
is a very marked difference between shade
and sun. A respectful regard for this fact
will save the traveler many a bad cold. In
summer, though the mercury may run well
up into the 90’s and sometimes even to over
100 degrees, the accompanying relative
humidity is low, so that it may be said that
as a rule one suffers less from heat on the
Pacific Coast than on the Atlantic at a dozen
degrees lower.
In the matter of expenses, Southern California
has had a wider experience in catering
to tourists than Arizona and New Mexico
and its facilities are now thoroughly systematized,
so that the average man may, if he
chooses, live there about as cheaply as at
home, or he may have the most luxurious accommodations
at the larger resorts on a basis
that only the very wealthy are familiar with.
European plan is that most in vogue in California
hotels, and the one most satisfactory
for the traveler, who, in his rambles, often
finds himself at meal-time far from his
hostelry. Unless you want to pay more, you
may calculate on $1.00 to $1.50 a night for a
comfortable room. In Arizona and New
Mexico the sparser settlement of the country
results in plainer accommodations, but the
rates are reasonable—room $1.00 a day and
up; American plan rate under normal conditions
about $3.00 a day. At many points
in these two States the railways conduct
hotels for the accommodation of their
patrons, and they are, in my experience, uniformly
good.
The charge for saddle-horses varies
greatly. In out-of-the-way places where the
horses range for their feed, ponies may be
had for a dollar a day; but at the popular
resorts, the rent of a good mount is generally
in the neighborhood of $3.00 a day; it may
be even more. There is a similar irregularity
as to automobile rates. The latter are
largely influenced by the character of the
trip, as 50 miles on some roads would involve
greater expense to the owner than 100 miles
on others. A return of $15 or $20 a day
for a car is not infrequently considered satisfactory,
but harder trips naturally necessitate
a much higher charge. In bargaining
for transportation in the Southwest, where
it may be a day’s journey between stopping
places, it is well to remember that the lowest
priced is not always the cheapest. It pays
to pay for responsibility.
[1]In 1883 New Mexico enterprisingly celebrated a so-called
300th anniversary of the founding of Santa Fe, basing that
function on the assumption that Antonio de Espejo, who
made an extended exploration of the province in 1582-3,
had planted a colony there. But there is no evidence whatever
that he did.
[2]The name commemorates the first Catholic Archbishop of
Santa Fe, John B. Lamy (1850-1885), an apostolic man much
beloved by the New Mexicans, to whom he appears to have
been a true spiritual father.
[3]General Lew Wallace, while governor of New Mexico,
wrote the last three books of “Ben Hur” in the old Palace.
“When in the city,” he informed a correspondent, as quoted
in Twitchell’s “Leading Facts of New Mexico History,”
“my habit was to shut myself night after night in the bedroom
back of the executive office proper, and write there till
after twelve o’clock.... The retirement, impenetrable
to incoming sound, was as profound as a cavern’s.”
[4]An establishment of the Archaeological Institute of
America, which maintains schools also at Athens, Rome and
Jerusalem. The Santa Fe school has for years conducted
research work among the ancient remains in the Southwest,
Guatemala, and other parts of the American continent. In
connection with this, it holds annually a field summer school
open to visitors.
[5]The climate is part of Santa Fe’s cherished assets, the
atmosphere being characterized by great dryness. In summer
the heat is rarely oppressive, and the nights are normally
cool and refreshing. During July and August frequent
thunder showers, usually occurring in the afternoon, are to
be expected. In winter the mercury occasionally touches
zero, and there is more or less of wind and snow interfering
temporarily with the tourist’s outings; but the sunshine is
warm and the snow melts quickly. Autumn is ideal with
snappy nights and mornings and warm, brilliantly sunny
mid-days.
[6]The traveler should be warned that Indians as a rule
object to being photographed. Originally they had an idea
that ill fortune attended the operation, but the objection
nowadays is usually grounded on a natural distaste to being
made a show of, or the desire to make a little money. In
the latter case, they may succumb to the offer of a dime if
they cannot get 25 cents. It is only just and courteous to
ask permission of the subject (putting yourself in his place).
This is particularly needful at dances. Sometimes photographing
these is not tolerated; in other cases, a fee paid
to the governor secures a license for the day.
[7]About 10 miles beyond Tesuque is the pueblo of Nambé,
prettily situated under the shoulder of the fine, snowy peak,
Santa Fe Baldy, with the lovely Nambé Falls not far away.
The Indian population is barely 100 and the village is becoming
Mexicanized. Its saint’s day is October 4, when
the annual fiesta occurs.
[8]Population about 275. Its public fiesta is held August 12.
[9]James Mooney, “The Ghost-Dance Religion.”
[10]You may, if you choose, do Taos from Santa Fe in
your own or a hired automobile via Tesuque and San Juan
pueblos, giving a day each way to the journey. Nambé,
San Ildefonso and Santa Clara may be included by slight
detours, but the time in that case must be stretched.
[11]Col. R. E. Twitchell quotes a tradition of the Taos people
to the effect that they came to their present home under
divine guidance, the site being indicated to them by the
drop of an eagle’s feather from the sky.
[12]The skulls of the Cliff Dwellers indicate them to have
been a “long-headed” race, while the modern Pueblos are
so only in part. It is likely, therefore, that the latter
Indians are of mixed stocks. There is, however, abundant
traditionary evidence that certain clans of the present-day
Pueblos are of Cliff descent.
[13]Pronounced
Pah´ha-ree-to, and meaning
little bird.
[14]Recto day loce Free-ho´les, i. e.,
brook of the beans.
[15]From Santa Fe to the Tyuonyi and return may be made
by automobile in one strenuous day, including 2 or 3 hours
at the ruins. It is better, if possible, to board at the ranch
in the cañon for a few days, both for the purpose of examining
the ruins at leisure and making some of the interesting
side trips from that point; notably to the Stone Lions of
Cochití, unique examples of aboriginal carving on stone,
and to
La Cueva Pintada (the Painted Cave) where are
some remarkable symbolic pictographs. Arrangements should
be made with the ranch in advance by telephone.
[16]An ecclesiastical order existent in rural New Mexico,
probably deriving from the Third Order of Saint Francis,
and distinguished by practices of self-flagellation for the
remission of sins. They are particularly active during Lent,
when they form processions, beat themselves with knotted
whips, strap bundles of cactus to their backs, and walk barefoot
or on their knees over flint-strewn ground, bearing
heavy crosses. Some of their exercises are held at the
crosses on these hill-top
calvarios (calvaries). The Catholic
Church discourages their practices; but they possess considerable
political power in New Mexico and of recent
years the order has become regularly incorporated as a secret
fraternity under the State law.
[17]L. Bradford Prince, “Spanish Mission Churches of New
Mexico.”
[18]The original form of the name is Alburquerque, given in
honor of a Duke of Alburquerque, who was viceroy of New
Spain at the time the place was founded as a
villa in 1706.
[19]The name Isleta means “islet,” given, according to
Dr. F. W. Hodge, because formerly the Rio Grande and
an arroyo from the mountains islanded the pueblo between
them.
[20]The church authorities, it should be said, do not endorse
this tradition. Father Zepherin Engelhardt, the historian
of the Franciscans in the Southwest, tells me that there were
other missionaries named Padilla besides Padre Juan, and
the burial of one of these in the church at Isleta, may have
given color to the story.
[21]Pronounced
bair-na-lee´yo. It is a diminutive of Bernal,
and the place was so named because settled by descendants
of Bernal Diaz, a soldier of Cortés and contemporary
chronicler of the conquest of Mexico. It was at Bernalillo
that De Vargas died, in 1704.
[22]Including a score or so descended from the Pecos tribe
who moved to Jemes in 1838 from Pecos Pueblo. This now
deserted pueblo (whose ruins have lately been systematically
excavated and whose fine old Mission church, visible from
the Santa Fe transcontinental trains, has undergone some
careful restoration) may be reached by conveyance from the
Valley Ranch near Glorieta station on the Santa Fe. In
Coronado’s time Pecos was the most populous town in the
country. It is called Cicuyé by the old chroniclers.
[23]The nearest railway station to these lakes is Estancia on
the New Mexican Central.
[24]Harrington, “The Ethno-geography of the Tewa Indians.”
[25]Papers of the School of American Archaeology, No. 35.
[26]Popular tradition persistently associates gold-hoarding
with the Franciscan Missionaries throughout the Southwest,
ignoring the fact that the members of the Seraphic Order
were pledged to poverty, and had small interest in any
wealth except the unsearchable riches of Christ, to share
which with their humble Indian charges was their sole
mission in the wilderness. As for the New Mexico Indians,
they knew nothing of any mineral more precious than turquoise.
[27]Paul A. F. Walter, “The Cities That Died of Fear.”
[28]Apropos of these ruined Missions, it is interesting to
know that the construction was undoubtedly the work of
women—house-building being one of the immemorial duties
and cherished privileges of Pueblo womankind.
[29]Paul A. P. Walter, “The Cities That Died of Fear.”
[30]The Manzano range reaches an elevation of 10,600 feet
here.
[31]The formation is that known throughout New Mexico
as a
mesa (Spanish for
table). Such flat-topped hills—high
or low—have been brought into being by the washing away
in ancient times of the surrounding earth.
[32]New Mexico rural roads are in a certain Mark Tapleyian
sense ideal for motorists. Traversing unfenced plains, as
they often do, if they develop bad spots the motorist turns
aside and has little difficulty in scouting out a detour. After
a rain, however, they are gummy and slippery in adobe
country until the sun hardens the clay, which it does rather
quickly.
[33]Some of the Acomas in despair, threw themselves from
the cliffs and so died rather than surrender. A stirring
account of the storming of Acoma will be found in “The
Spanish Pioneers,” by Chas. F. Lummis.
[34]Remarkable for its light weight and ornamentation with
conventionalized leaf forms, birds, etc. Unfortunately the
education of the young Indians in Government schools is
causing a decline at all the pueblos in this purely American
art.
[35]The reader, curious to know what is on top of Katzimo,
is referred to an article, “Ascent of the Enchanted Mesa,”
by F. W. Hodge, in the Century Magazine, May, 1898.
[36]Strictly speaking Laguna is the mother pueblo in a
family of seven, the other half dozen being summer or
farming villages scattered about within a radius of a few
miles, so established to be near certain fertile lands. Some
of these, as Pojuate, are picturesque enough to warrant a
visit, if there is time. The population of all 7 is estimated
at about 1500.
[37]For a lively account of this authentic bit of history, the
reader is referred to the chapter “A Saint in Court” in
Mr. C. F. Lummis’s “Some Strange Corners of our
Country.”
[38]Gallup is also a principal shipping point for Navajo
blankets. Travelers interested in this aboriginal handiwork
will here find large stocks to select from at the traders’
stores.
[39]In the southwestern corner of Colorado. Here are
hundreds of prehistoric dwellings built in the cañon walls
representing probably the finest and best preserved architecture
of the unknown vanished races that once peopled our
Southwest. Government archaeologists, who have a particularly
warm regard for the Mesa Verde, have been making
careful excavations and restorations here for years, and
have mapped out a program that will consume many more.
The so-called Sun Temple, excavated in 1915, apparently a
communal edifice for the performance of religious dramas,
is the only one of its kind so far brought to light in the
United States. (See “Sun Temple of Mesa Verde National
Park,” by J. W. Fewkes. 1916, Gov’t Printing office.) A
public camp for tourists is maintained near the ruins during
the summer months, the high elevation (8500 feet)
rendering snow likely at other seasons. The nearest railway
station is Mancos, Col., on the D. & R. G., whence an auto-stage
runs to the Park camp.
[40]The most famous is the Shálako which occurs annually
about December 1, largely a night ceremony of great impressiveness.
The central figures are giant effigies representing
divinities, whose motive power is a Zuñi man hidden
within each. They enter from the plain at dusk, and to the
plain return the next morning, after a night of dancing
and feasting by the people.
[41]For some of the adventures of this famous couple, see
F. H. Cushing’s, “Zuñi Folk Tales.”
[42]Reports of the Secretary of War, Senate Ex. Doc. 64,
First Session 31st Congress, 1850. A more illuminating account
of the Rock is given by Mr. Chas. F. Lummis in
“Some Strange Corners of Our Country.” An able supplement
to this is a paper by H. L. Broomall and H. E. Hoopes
in Proceedings of Delaware County Institute of Science,
Vol. I, No. 1, Media, Pa.
[43]There were poets among the Conquistadores. A printed
source relied upon by historians for authentic particulars
of Oñate’s tour of conquest is a rhymed chronicle by one
of his lieutenants, Don Gaspar de Villagrán. I believe New
Mexico is the only one of our States that can seriously
quote an epic poem in confirmation of its history. This New
Mexican Homer, as H. H. Bancroft calls him, printed his
book in 1610 at Alcalá. A reprint, published in Mexico a
few years ago, may be consulted in public libraries. The
original is one of the rarest of Americana.
[44]The Spaniards, whose avenging expedition Lujan’s cutting
upon El Morro records, never found Letrado’s body,
the Zuñis having made way with it. Earnestly desiring some
relic of the martyred friar, the soldiers were rewarded by
seeing in the air a cord which descended into their hands,
and this was divided among them. So says Vetancurt, old
chronicler of Franciscan martyrdom in New Mexico.
[45]Pronounced not as though it rhymed with
jelly, but
chay
(or less correctly
shay) rhyming with
hay. The word is a
Spanish way of recording the cañon’s Navajo name Tse-yi,
meaning “among the cliffs.”
[46]To him, more than to any other man, is ascribed the
credit of saving the Navajo blanket industry from being
hopelessly vulgarized by ignorant and unscrupulous dealers.
[47]“Navaho Legends,” by Dr. Washington Matthews.
[48]Automobiles must be left at Chin Lee, where horses
for exploring the cañon may be had, if arranged for in
advance.
[49]Botanically,
Phragmites communis, common throughout
the United States in damp places. It was through the hollow
stem of one of this species divinely enlarged, that the
Navajos and Pueblos came up in company from the underworld
into this present world of light. So at least runs
the Navajo Origin legend.
[50]The origin of the Navajo blanket is picturesque. At
the time of the Spanish conquest, the tribe was too insignificant
to be mentioned. It grew, however, rather
rapidly, and in raids upon the Pueblos took many of the
latter prisoners. From these (the Pueblos had long been
weavers of native cotton) they picked up the textile art;
and then stealing sheep from the Spaniards, they inaugurated
the weaving of the woolen blanket. Only the women
of the tribe are weavers, and Doctor Matthews states that
in his time, some 30 years ago, they did it largely as an
artistic recreation, just as the ladies of civilization do embroidery
or tatting.
[51]The place of emergence is fancied to have been in an
island in a small lake in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern
Colorado.
[52]Dr. W. Matthews, “Navaho Legends.”
[53]The nearest railway station is McCarty’s, from which it
lies 12 miles to the northeast.
[54]The classic work on Navajo customs and myths is
“Navaho Legends,” by Dr. Washington Matthews—a U. S.
army surgeon who resided on their Reservation for years.
To a sympathetic attitude towards the race, he added the
practical qualification of a thorough knowledge of the language.
[55]Other routes from railroad points are from Winslow,
Ariz., 80 miles to the First Mesa or 75 miles to the Second
Mesa; from Cañon Diablo, Ariz., 75 miles to the Third
Mesa; from Holbrook, Ariz., 90 miles to the First Mesa.
The routes from Gallup and Holbrook possess the advantage
of avoiding the crossing of the Little Colorado River,
which becomes at times impassable from high water.
[56]A variant of this pueblo’s name is Shongópovi.
[57]The population of the Hopi pueblos is approximately:
Walpi, 250; Sichúmovi, 100; Hano, 150; Mishong-novi, 250;
Shipaulovi, 200; Shimapovi, 200; Oraibi, 300; Hótavila, 400;
Pacavi, 100. Another Hopi village (until recently considered
a summer or farming outpost of Oraibi) is Moenkopi, 40 miles
further west, with a population of about 200.
[58]Hopi, or Hopi-tuh, the name these Indians call themselves,
means “the peaceful,” a truthful enough appellation,
for they suffer much before resorting to force. By outsiders they
have often been called Moki, a term never
satisfactorily explained, except that it is considered uncomplimentary.
[59]The myth has to do with the arrival of the Flute clan
at Walpi bringing with them effective paraphernalia for
compelling rain to fall. The Walpians opposed the entrance
of the stranger, and this is symbolized in the ceremony
by lines of white corn meal successively sprinkled by
priests across the trail, as the procession advances towards
the village.
[60]The inhabitants of Hano are not pure Hopi, but descended
from Tewa Pueblos of the Rio Grande region, who
took up their residence here after 1680, invited by the Hopis
as a help against Apache depredation. Though these Tewas
have intermarried with their Hopi neighbors, they are
proud of their distinct ancestry, have preserved their own
language, and still practise some of their ancient religious
rites.
[61]Mr. F. L. Lewton investigated and described this species
as
Gossypium Hopi. Smithsonian Institution, Misc. Coll.
Vol. 60, No. 6.
[62]This name is not Spanish or Indian for anything but
just a playful transmogrification of Adam Hanna, an old
time Arizonian who once lived there.
[63]U. S. Geological Survey’s Guide Book of the Western
United States, Part C.
[64]Report on the Petrified Forests of Arizona, Dept. of Interior,
1900.
[65]The cracking of the wood in recent years has lately required
the bolstering up of this interesting petrified bridge by
artificial support, so that venturesome visitors may still
enjoy walking across it.
[66]This is also readily reached from Holbrook station on
the Santa Fe railway, where conveyance may be obtained.
The distance from Holbrook is 18 miles.
[67]Automobile service may be had at Adamana for a number
of points of interest within reach. Among these are
the fine pueblo ruins of Kin-tyel (Wide House) 48 miles
to the northeast—a village believed to have been built by
certain clans of the Zuñis in their prehistoric migrations.
[68]The name is said to date from a certain Fourth of July,
some 60 years ago, when a party of emigrants camped on
the site of the future town and flew the Stars and Stripes
from a pole erected in honor of the National holiday.
[69]Those of Walnut Cañon, about 10 miles southeast of
Flagstaff, are especially easy of access. For particulars concerning
the cinder-cone ruins (9 miles northeast of Flagstaff
and also 12 miles east) the student is referred to Dr. J. W.
Fewkes’s descriptions in the 22nd Annual Report, Bureau
of American Ethnology, pp. 35-39.
[70]The name commemorates “Old” Bill Williams, a noted
frontiersman of the 1830’s and ’40’s, identified with Fremont’s
fourth and ill-fated expedition, which Williams undertook
to guide across the Rockies and failed because of
the snow and cold. A tributary of the Colorado River also
bears his name.
[71]About 10 miles eastwardly; a remarkable little volcanic
mountain with a cratered summit, the glowing red rock of
which it is made up giving the upper part of the mountain
the appearance at any time of day of being illumined by the
setting sun. It may be made the objective of a pleasant
half day’s trip from Flagstaff.
[72]“The Hopi,” Walter Hough.
[73]H. H. Robinson, “The San Francisco Volcanic Field,”
Washington, 1913.
[74]The varied tints of the Painted Desert are due to the
coloration of the rocks and clays which form its surface.
Some additional tone is given at times by the vegetation
that springs up after rainfall.
[75]These two together with a third called Inscription
House Ruin (20 miles west of Betata Kin and so named
because of certain Spanish inscriptions upon it dated 1661)
form what is called the Navajo National Monument. At
Kayenta, a post office and trading post of Messrs. Wetherill
and Colville some 20 miles southeast of Betata Kin, pack
outfits and guide may be secured to visit these ruins. Dr.
J. W. Fewkes’s description, Bulletin 50, Bureau of American
Ethnology, should be consulted for details.
[76]The Red Rock country is also reached via Cornville and
Sedona by conveyance from Clarkdale on the Verde Valley
branch of the Santa Fe Railway, or from Jerome on the
United Verde railroad.
[77]The name commemorates that lieutenant of Coronado’s,
Don Pedro de Tovar, who in 1540 visited the Hopi villages,
where he learned of the existence of the Grand Cañon, and
carried the news of it back to Coronado at Zuñi.
[78]The exact spot of this first view is not known—the point
that today bears the name of Cárdenas being a random
guess.
[79]The first complete exploration of the river cañons was
made in 1869, by an expedition in charge of Major J. W.
Powell, the noted ethnologist and geologist. He had boats
especially built for the trip. It was an undertaking of
supreme danger, forming, as Mr. F. S. Dellenbaugh says
in his interesting “Romance of the Colorado River,” “one
of the distinguished feats of history;” for not one of the
pioneering party could have any conception of what physical
obstacles were before them when the boats set out at the
Cañon’s head into the unknown. Powell was a Civil War
veteran and had but one hand. He made a second and more
leisurely trip in 1871-72.
[80]Bright Angel is the name given by the first Powell expedition
to a creek entering the river here from the north;
its bright, clear waters being in striking contrast to a turbid
little tributary discovered not long before, which the men
had dubbed “Dirty Devil Creek.”
[81]It is not a true salmon. Dr. David Starr Jordan identifies
it as
Ptychocheilus lucius, and it is really a huge chub
or minnow. There is a record of one caught weighing 80
pounds; more usual are specimens of 10 and 12 pounds.
[82]An interesting trip with the Grand Cañon as a base
is to Cataract Cañon, a side gorge of the Grand Cañon
about 40 miles west of El Tovar. The trip may be made by
wagon to the head of the trail leading down into an arm
of Cataract Cañon, but the final lap—about 15 miles—must
be on horseback or afoot. At the bottom is the reservation
of a small tribe of Indians—the Havasupais—occupying a
fertile, narrow valley hedged in by high cliffs of red limestone.
There are numerous springs and the water is used
to irrigate the fields and peach orchards of the tribe. These
Indians are much Americanized, and live under the paternal
care of a local Government agency. A feature of the Cañon
is the number of fine water falls. To one exquisite one,
called Bridal Veil, it would be hard to find anywhere a
mate. A camping trip eastward from Grand View along
the rim to the Little Colorado Junction may also be made
a pleasant experience, rendered particularly glorious by the
desert views.
[83]Jerome is reached by a little railway from Jerome Junction
on the Ash Fork and Phoenix division of the Santa Fe;
Clarkdale, by a branch from Cedar Glade on the same
division. The Clarkdale branch threads for much of the
way the picturesque cañon of the upper Verde River.
[84]There is, however, no evidence of volcanic action in the
vicinity; so the depression—deep as it is—is doubtless the
result of solvent or erosive action of the waters of the
Well. (J. W. Fewkes, 17th Ann. Rep. Bureau of American
Ethnology.)
[85]17th Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology.
[86]The climate is noted for its mildness and salubrity.
There is a local saying, “If a man wants to die in San
Antonio, he must go somewhere else!”
[87]Pronounced
ah´la-mo, Spanish for cottonwood. The name
was probably given from cottonwoods growing near by. The
Church of the Alamo was erected in 1744.
[88]The reader, curious for details of the San Antonio
Missions, as well as items of local secular history, is referred
to Wm. Corner’s “San Antonio de Béxar.” He will
also be interested in a picturesque sketch of San Antonio
as it was nearly half a century ago, by the Southern poet
Sidney Lanier, who in quest of health passed the winter
of 1872-3 here, and here made his resolve, faithfully carried
out, to devote the remainder of his life to music and poetry.
The sketch is printed in a collection of Lanier’s essays
entitled “Retrospects and Prospects.”
[89]These three Missions were originally located about 15
years earlier on sites some distance from San Antonio.
Scarcity of irrigation water is given as one important cause
of their removal in 1731 to the banks of the San Antonio
River.
[90]Silver and gold gave it its start. Its name is believed
to be due to a huge bowlder or globe of silver weighing
300 pounds, found there in 1876.
[91]Pronounced
Too-son´. It is the name applied by the
neighboring Papago Indians to a mountain at the west of
the present town, and according to Dr. W. J. McGee, means
“black base.” Tucson’s first appearance in history seems
to have been in 1763, as an Indian village whose spiritual
needs were served by the missionaries of San Xavier del
Bac. In 1776 a Spanish presídio was established here, and
the little pueblo became San Agustin de Tucson. An
edifice, originally a church dedicated to St. Augustine but
now a lodging house, still faces the old Spanish plaza of
the town.
[92]“An escutcheon with a white ground filed in with a
twisted cord ... and a cross on which are nailed one
arm of Our Saviour and one of St. Francis, representing the
union of the disciple and the divine Master in charity and
love. The arm of our Lord is bare while that of St.
Francis is covered.” (Salpointe, “Soldiers of the Cross.”)
[93]Engelhardt, “The Franciscans in Arizona.” The diaries
of Garcés are marked by naïve charm and simplicity. One,
translated and elaborately annotated by the late Dr. Elliott
Coues, has been published under the title “On the Trail of
a Spanish Pioneer.”
[94]It stands on the west (opposite) side of the river from
the railway, a fact that may be fraught with trouble; for
the river, which is ordinarily insignificant enough to be
crossed on a plank, is capable of becoming after storms a
raging flood 200 feet wide and 20 deep. Under such circumstances,
it is the part of wisdom to motor from Tucson.
[95]In the sanctuary were interred, and I suppose still repose,
the bones of the Franciscan Padres Baltasar Carillo
and Narciso Gutierres, whom Archbishop Salpointe in his
“Soldiers of the Cross,” credits with being the supervising
builders both of the present church of Tumacácori and that
of San Xavier.
[96]Dr. F. W. Fewkes gives this and several other folk tales
concerning the Casa Grande in the 28th Report of the
Bureau of American Ethnology, which should be consulted
for an exhaustive account of the ruin and the Government
excavation work.
[97]The following all-day trips are especially recommended:
1. To Redlands, in the San Bernardino foothills, one
of the most beautiful of California towns, and Riverside
with its famous Mission Inn (about 145 miles the round,
including the ascent of Mt. Roubidoux), traversing a
beautiful orange and lemon district and paralleling the
stately Sierra Madre, whose highest peaks are snow-capped
in winter. (If there is time for another day this
trip may be extended in winter or spring to include the
run to Palm Springs in the desert, 50 miles beyond
Redlands. This is particularly enjoyable in March and
April when the wild flowers of the desert are in bloom—a
surprising and lovely sight. There is a good hotel at
Palm Springs, but it is safest to arrange ahead for accommodations).
2. To Mission San Juan Capistrano (about 120 miles
the round), one of the most interesting and poetic in
its half ruin of the old Franciscan California establishments.
The road traverses the rich agricultural districts
tributary to Whittier and Santa Ana, and a portion of
the extensive Irvine, or San Joaquin Ranch (about
100,000 acres). A detour may be made to include Laguna
and Arch Beaches and a run (over an inferior road) of
ten miles overlooking a picturesque rock-bound bit of
Pacific surf.
3. To Mount Wilson Peak (50 miles the round, but
includes 9 miles of tortuous mountain road with a grade
as high as 23% in one or two spots). On this peak
(6000 feet above the sea) are situated the buildings of
the Carnegie Solar Observatory, which, however, are not
open to the public. The views from the peak are very
beautiful. The trip can also be made by public auto-stage.
There is a hotel at the summit.
4. To Camulos Rancho (95 miles the round), a good
example of the old style Spanish-California ranch,
utilized by Mrs. Jackson as the scene of part of her
novel “Ramona.” It is situated in the Santa Clara
Valley of the South. A stop may be made en route at
Mission San Fernando. The return trip may be made
by way of Topanga Cañon and the seaside town of Santa
Monica, if an extra hour can be given to it.
Half-day drives in the vicinity of Los Angeles are too
numerous to be itemized here, but the following may be
mentioned:
1. To the Mission San Fernando by way of Hollywood
(famous for its beautiful homes, and latterly as the
capital of “Movie-land”) and through the Cahuenga
Pass, returning via the Topanga Cañon, the beach and
Santa Monica.
2. To Sunland via Alhambra and Santa Anita Avenue
to the Foothill Boulevard, Altadena, and La Cañada,
returning via Roscoe and Tropico.
3. To Mission San Gabriel, returning by way of
Pasadena’s famous residential districts of Oak Knoll and
Orange Grove Boulevard, thence over the Arroyo Seco
Bridge and past the Annandale Country Club, back to
the city.
4. To Whittier and the citrus-fruit belt of the San
Gabriel Valley via either Turnbull or Brea Cañons (the
latter picturesque with oil derricks) returning by the
Valley Boulevard.
[98]“The California Padres and their Missions,” by C. F.
Saunders and J. S. Chase.
[99]The San Marcos road has some stiff grades and should
only be traveled by experienced drivers.
[100]For a more detailed account of the tourist attractions in
Southern California, reference is made to the author’s
“Finding the Worth While in California.”
