Delia Locke Diary, 1880-1884

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Delia Locke

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Page 138

1881. July 20. Wednesday. Wrote postal home, and at night receiving another postal and letter from Ida about schools which seemed to require an immediate answer, I wrote another postal & Mr. Pascoe took it to the Office in the evening. This afternoon he and I visited together the cemetery and saw there the grave of the first white settle in the Valley - John C. Layman (James C Lamon) - a native of Virginia - aged fifty seven years. There are only one or two other graves. We walked through Mr. Harris' field - ferns on one side of the path and potatoes on the other, both growing in luxuriance. They raise alfalfa here, and press if for hay. The cemetery is right under the thunderings of the Yo-Semite Falls, but all the falls and streams here been drying up fast since we have been here, and some of the lesser falls are all dried up. Alice Willets - the school teacher - came to our camp this evening. She is lonely, and hates to have us leave. Miss McAllep went and stayed all night with her in her tent, for she sleeps in a tent near Mr. Harris'. (T.S.R. 60. 2 P.M. 92. S.S. 81.)

July 21. Thursday. We left Yo-Semite this morn. loth to go, but we could not stay longer on Howard's account, though we feel we have seen but a small part of the wonders here. We came to the same place and lunched by the big rocks this Yo-Semite side of the summit. Here Mr. Pascoe found some curious relics of Indian fires. Went on past Crane's Flat, the Tuolumne Big Grove and through the tunnel, past Hodgkins, where we saw a real log cabin of the olden time, to Crocker's Ranch, where we camped. Extremely warm weather. (T.S.R. 64. 2 P.M. 98. S.S. 84.)

July 22. Friday. We left Crocker's and lunched in the pine woods by an old sawmill, where we saw a deer running. We passed by Garrote - old and new - and camped at Goodenow's Ranch. We found it very warm, it was -90 at Colfax, and when we camped Messrs. Cooke and Pascoe were both quite sick - had cramps in the stomach, we think, from changing drinking water so often. Both of them were reclined for the time by mustard plasters. We found the fleas and ants so thick in our tent that none of us slept much. It was the second hard night we have had - the first, the rain. (T.S.R. 62. 2 P.M. 95. S.S. 83.)

Page 139

1881. July 23. Saturday. Started this morning from Goodenow's traveled in the heat and dust towards Sonora. We went down one hill and up another, graded to compare well with Yo-Semite grade, crossed the Tuolumne on the suspension bridge, and toiled up, up the hill, which must be 3,000 ft. high in view much of the time of the roaring torrent of the river. When we had reached the summit, a beautiful view broke upon one sight on our left, mountains upon mountains, stretching far away even to the dim coast range, as far as the eye could see, nothing but ranges of mountains. We lunched at Carpenter's Ranch, not very far from Sonora, under the shade of magnificent oak and willow trees, which was very welcome, and cooked a little on their stove. Here was a very old lady, who, being rheumatic, hobbled about, She seemed good and patient and wished us well. Here was constantly running water and beautiful flowers of many varieties, and figtrees, all wonderfully luxuriant. We enjoyed our rest here very much, then pushed on through Sonora to Columbia, where we camped for the night on a hill covered with sticky tarweed, which joined with the dirt and dust on our clothes, made them doubly disagreeable. Had it not been so dark when we arrived, we might have chosen a far better place. (T.S.R. 62. 2 P.M. 95. S.S. 80.)

July 24. Sabbath in Columbia. The heat here is intense, greater, we find than at Lockeford, as the thermometer stands at over -100 in the shade. As we have decided to go to the Big Trees, Howard and Miss McAllep have concluded they must leave us here and return home. So they have taken our wagon and their horses, and started, expecting to reach Lockeford tomorrow. They have to commence school again next Mon. Aug. 1st, and will have none too much time to prepare and reach Tomales. This morning Howard called on classmate of his in the Normal - Miss McKenzie, and she returned the call at the camp. A Stockton camping party, some of whom Annie Cahill knew also called. And shortly after, Mrs. Beauvais, whom I have seen many times as her fathers - Andrews'.

Date Original

January 1880

Dates Covered

1880-1884

Circa Date

circa 1880-1884

Source

Original dimensions: 22 x 34 cm.

Resource Identifier

Locke_Diary_1880-1884_Image_074.tif

Publisher

Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

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