The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 19, 1899, Page 21

AN FRANCISCO CALL, SUN DAY RCH 19 1899. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS RUNNING TO.MWASIE Tremendous Power and Untold Wealth Stored in the Great Watersheds of California—What Is Being Done to Control Them. ® ® ble the power of Niagara. ® $ ume, is 50 per cent more powerful. @ © $1,605,280,000 a year. & In the spring the Sacramento potency of seven Nlagaras, & millions of horse-power. All The western slope of the ¢ age annual water sypply of 1,767 and people want rain. 2060990 HERE are some remarkable things to be told about California waters, and the recent movement to do something toward saving and us- fng them makes their telling timely. There is in general but a very £light conception of the significance and the possibilities of the swarm of streams that ceaselessly rush down the mountain slopes of the State to find the restless gea., Few would guess that the Sacramento and San Joaquin would make three Niag- aras, when the spring floods have gather- ed in thelr channels, and that the incon- celvable power generated by these waters in their descent would turn every wheel in America and leave a few million horse- power for Europe. These mountain streams are nature's greatest gift to California, and the one most lavishly wasted. There is a wide difference between the theoretical and the practicable possibilities of a water supply, but the former are easier dealt with on paper and they fllustrate the latter. The “floor” of the great central valley of the State—the comparatively level plain bounded by the base line of the foothills 15,709 square miles in area. Of this the floor of the San Joaquin Valley occu- pies 11,513 square miles, and the floor of the Sacramento Valley 419 square miles. Now the water that flows through the Sacramento Valley, taking the average discharge of the Sacramento River for a period of vears, would vearly cover the floor of this valley to a depth of 10.22 feet. The average annual discharge of the San Joaquin River system would similarl cover the floor of that valley to a depth of about a foot and a half. The total average discharge of both rivers would cover the two valley floors to a depth of about four feet. It is not easy to comprehend the vast volume of water that pours through this central valley. Most of it comes down the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Range, through thickly set water courses that are wild and deep. The streams pause and muster below, and all meet in Suisun Ba The whole drainage area is re miles, more than the area ate of New New York. At times of greatest flood the streams draining through this central valley are estimated to discharge a total of about 1,080,000 cubia feet per second. The estimated average discharge of the Niagara River is 275,000 cubic feet per second, or a little more than a quarter of what all of the interior streams of California could show at their best. This does not mean that anything like this amount of water reaches the lower courses of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. It is merely an aggregate of estimated maximum floods of all the eams, little and big. The figures used in this article are taken mainly from the reports of State ngin: W. Ham Hall for 1830 and other of tha period when an extensive of the State’'s water problems was The estimates were largely made Grunsky and Marsden Manson, made. by C. F. two eminent engineers of the State. Other data is afforded by reports of Government ers. aking the average of dry and wet sea- the Sacramento River discharges 1.197,300,000,000 cubic feet a year. It abou this water were put in a tank one mile square at the base, the tank would have to be over eight miles high. This is not very much, elther, for in rears the river beats this record by lion cubic feet. For the ) the average discharge feet per second, and the many a few hundred b whole year 187 was 4 estimated quantity 1,402,885,000,00 cubia feet. ] The Sacramento discharges between three and four times as much water as the San Joaquin. Measurements or esti-| mates of the flow of the separate streams of the San Joaquin system where they enter the valley show an average aggre- gate of 16,083 cubic feet per second. A number of the smaller streams run dry in summer; the average for the period of August, September and October is 3,927 cubic feet per second, while for May, June and July it 18 40,480. The San Joaquin valley receives an average yearly flow of water from the Slerra Nevada slope of 507,729,600,000 cubic feet, which would cover an area of 18,248 square miles one foot deep. i The whole western slope of the Sierra Nevada range pours into the central vale ley an average mean yearly flow of 55715 cubic feet per second, less the small flow of Coast Range Creek, and this means that tie mountains give to the central valley an average annual supply of 1,757, 028,240,000 cubic feet, or enough to cover an area of 63,024 square miles one foot deep. That looks lfke plenty of water if it could be saved up and distributed when and where it would do fhe most good. As things are now, it does much harm while doing little good. The fall and spring floods that rush down over the lowlands work tremendous devastation. The lands subject to submergence at extreme “high water are estimated at 2750 square miles, or more than the area of Delaware, and every acre of these lands is marvelously fertile. The most striking feature of all this magnificent water supply is the incon- ceivable power latent in it. The might as well as the majesty of Niagara has been the wonder of the world. The N agara is a babe beside the mighty Sacra- mento in its potentiality, though no one it to look at the dirty, laz C: ornia stream and then at the awe- inspiring cataract. It is estimated that Niagara has a the- oretical power of 7,000,000 horsepower, of which several hundred - thousand horse- power can be practically used. Accord- ing to eminent authority there is now in use within a radius of 400 miles of the falls 2,733,000 horsepower by a population of 11,150,000 people. This includes the great manufacturing region of America. Within a radius of 300 miles there is. in use 1,967,000 horsepower by a population of £,246,000, It is estimated that the theo- retical power of the falls is equal to that of- all the coal mined in the world daily— about 200,000 tons. Now let us laok at the Sacramento. The great bulk of its' water comes from the high altitudes of the Slerra Nevadas. The valley rainfall is low. It increases with altitude until over a long portion of the range it exceeds 60 inches. The average helght of the range is over 8000 feet. These mountain tops are storm gatherers, and the snows are piled deep. The drainage area-of the Sacramento basin is 26,187 square miles. The valley itself occuples but 4200 square miles. As most of the water comes from high regions, it would be a conservative estimate to assume that all the water of the Sacramento comes from an average elevation of 4500 feet. Flectrical engineers assume that one HE average flow of the Sacramento generates more than dou- The little Yuba, when flooded with one-tenth Niagara's vol- At low market rates the mighty force of the Sacramento is worth while the San Joaquin system wastes the machinery in America would pro- vide a small job for all the Slerra Nevada's streams. jerra Nevadas sends down an aver- /028,240,000 cuble feet, but it runs away The Sacramento ter yearly to flood that valley ten feet deep. gets up sometimes the theoretical River drains off enough wa- ‘,\.:s@@@@@@@@@@@@@03@@@@@0 POOLIOOOODPOSS miner’'s inch of water, or one and one-half cubic feet a minute falling 450 feet, will produce one horse-power. If the average annua! flow of the Sacramento—37,632 cu- bic feet per second—be assumed to come from a height of 4500 feet, we have pro- duced 15,052,800 horse-power. With the conservative assumptions here used, we have in the Sacramento a steady average potentiality year in and year out that is n e CUTTING FRUIT For DRYING ports for the Interior Department, says of the California field for electric powe: “TI expect to see electric power trans- mission have a large development in Cal- ifornia. The natural advantages ‘are many. The rest dépends on commercial and findustrial conditions. The climate gives one advantage in that up to 3,000 feet elevation ditches can be kept open all winter. Topography-is favorable in the number of high spurs and ridges, to the ends of which water can be easily. taken to secure a good fall. Nagure here does a good deal toward storing water. It is stored in the form of snow, which melts adually later, and there are a great many lakes and reservoir sites which of- fer storage at high altitude In develop- ing water pewer it is easier to store and control a small amount of water with a high fall than a large amount with a low fall. The installation of high-head plants is cheaper than the installation of low- head plant In many ways California is peculiarly favorable to the development of electric power. All this affords a graphic hint of the possibilities of California waters. The coast streams and those of Southern Cal- ifornia have mighty potentialities and promises. In Lassen County, on the east- ern slope of the Slerra Nevadas, Is- Eagle Lake, altitude 5115 feet, 1500 feet deep, covering 85,000 acres and storing water enough to {irrigate 500,000 acres of now worthless lands lying below it that will be rich when water comes. A 7,000-foot tunnel is needed. Tahoe has a mighty future, when, if ever, a tunnel shall tap its vast store of water at an altitude of 6,200 feet and allow the water to be flumed to where it can be used at high pressure. i . being entered by the new State otgani- zation in the interest of conserving the waters. —_———— THE ENGINEER'S STORY. Well, *tis a hair-curlin’ story— 1 would it could not be recalled. The terrible fright of that hell-tinctured night Is the cause of my head bein’ bald. 1 was runnin’ the Git-There Express, On the Yankee Creek Jerkwater line, An’ the track along there was as crooked, I swear, As the growth of a fleld My run was a night one, Yank War' as black as the coal piled back there on the tank. pumpkin vine. an’ nights on the We pulled out of Tenderfoot station A day and almost a half late, An' every durn whee a-poundin’ the steel At a wildly extravagant rate. My fireman kep' pilin’ the coal in The jaws of the o’ 9 Till the sweat from h through a hose nose seemed to play An" splashed 'round hie feet on the floor, As we thundered along like a demon fn flight, A-rippin’ a streak through the breast of the night. Ae we rounded a curve on the mountain, Full sixty an hour, T will swear, Jest ahead was a sight that with blood-freezin” fright Would have rafsed a stuffed buffalo’s hair. The bridge over Ute Creek was burnin’, The flames shootin’ up In their glee; My God! how they gleamed in the air, they -seemed Like fiery-tongued imps on a spree. Jest snickered an’ sparkled an’ laughed like they knowed I'a fnake my next,trip on a different road. i In frenzy, I reached for the throttle, But 'twas stuck, an’' refused to obey. I yelled in affright, for our maddening flight I felt that I never could stay. Then wildly 1 grasped the big lever, Threw her. over, then held my hot breath, An’ walted for what I assuredly thought Was a sure an’ terrible death. Then came the wild crash, an’ with horror- fringed yell Down Into that great flery chasm I fell. When I came to mysel, I was lying On the floor of the bedroom; my wife @at astride of my form, an’ was making it warm Fur her Aarling, you bet your sweet lifel My hair she had clutched in her fingers An' was jammin' my head on the floor, more than double that of Niagara. wmn Francisco uses 60,000 horse-power, at a yearly cost of $7,200,000. At the value of $100 a year per horse-power, we find the Sacramento to be worth at least $1,505,280,- 000 a year for power alone if it could all be used and sold. This is just the Bacra- mento and its tributaries taken together. ‘The San Joaquin system s also mighty to the extent of a few million horse-power. The Yuba is fourth In importance among the streams that feed the Sacramento, but it will do for an illustration. It drains an area of 1329 square miles, and its head- waters turn the big stamp mills of Ne- da City and Grass Valley, supply towns and irrigate orchards, with small tax on its abilities. Like all those streams, its volume varfes greatly. Its extreme low stage is 500 cubic feet a second, its mean discharge perhaps 1500 cubic feet a second, and in flood it runs 26,000 cubic feet a se ond. Thirty miles above the junction with the Feather its altitude is 2650 feet and its grade 56 feet to the mile. Tt drains high areas of Nevada, Sierra and Yuba Counti: Now this little Yuba, when it is flooded and discharging 2600 feet a sec- ond is generating a theoretical force of 10,350,000 horse-power, O 50 per cent more than Niaga Falls. This is on the as- sumption that all its water falls on an average 4600 feet. The practicability of using economically this inconceivable reservoir of power is another matter, but nowhere on earth I there so much available water power so widely distributed. Natura seems to have planned those mountains to that end. High in the mountains are strung for 300 miles clustering lakes without number, often set in amphitheaters of which the exits may be dammed. Other amphithe- ters are natural reservoir sites. When he was State Engineer, W. Ham Hall lo- cated seventy-three reservoir sites. The United States Geological Survey has lo- cated forty-four. California is already the worl( greatest fleld for electric power transmission and holds the record for distance at 80 miles. Power plants will steadily multiply. Power is already being brought to Stockton from the mountains, and an infinitesimally small part of that mountain power will soon be turning wheels in San Francisco. C. E. Grunsky, who has studied Cali- fornia, water problems for many years and who has recently written three re. WRITING THE MESSA The Yuba Water Company is ready to supply power for a Holyoke near Cape Horn. The Sierra Nevada Mountains thus sup- ply enough water to flood the central val- ley of the State four feet deep yearl generate the power of several Nlagaras nd provide the means for storing its waters and for preventing or easing the floods. It is estimated that in these two valleys there are 12,000,000 acres of irri- gable ey and, easy to irrigate and that for juare mile of irrigable land there three and one-half square miles of watershed with abundant rainfall, This is the big field of effort that is just GE THAT FOUND ITS WAY TO THE STEVENS HOME - -~ - = Tot I yelled with delight when I found that my fright Was a horrible dream, nothing more. J had wildly grabbed one of her ankles, she said, reversed her clear over the head of bed. An' the Denver Evening Post. ————————— FAREWELL. “Where are you going, my pretty maid?"” “I'm going a-golfing, sir,” she said “May I go with you, m “If you'll stop swearing, “Ta-ta to you, my pretty mald; Why, then I could not play,” he said. —Life. he said. FOUND A RICH HUSBAND THROUGH AN ORANGE" Romantic Story of a Los Angeles Working Girl Who Has Just Married & MARRIED. STEVENS—MARSHALL.—At the home of Mrs. Sarah Newman, in the village of Rose, N. Y., Febru- ary 21, 1899, Joseph B. Stevens of Rochester, N. Y., and Miss Nellle M. Marshall of Los Angeles, Cal. The bride and groom are now on a tour of the West Indies and will be at home in Rochester in June.— Clyde (N. Y.) Times. MID the snow-clad hills of West- ern New York, in a little rural village, a fortnight ago there was the consummation of a very pic- turesque romance./ One seldom comes across such a charming bit of practical sentimentality in these pro- saic days. When Joseph B. Stevens and Nellie Marshall were joined in wedlock on the 21st of last month another chapter was added to a latter-day love story that ‘would be a veritable gem in the hands of a literary artist. The philosophers who agree that there Is nothing graceful in the utilitarian, commercial and mechani- cal lives of people in this generation to inspire the idyls of Tennyson, the love songs of a Wordsworth or the dainty bal- lads of a Tom Moore may find some res son to reverse their opinfon because of the little affalr of two hearts herewith narrated. The time of the opening act in this ro- mance was the winter of 1894-95. The scene was the brown-painted wooden orange-packing house of the Fruit Grow- ers’ Exchange at Azusa. The beginning as prosalc enough. Hundreds of people have done the same thing before, but none ever had the romantic turn that this act of Miss Nellile Marshall’s had. Among the residents in the foothill hamlet of Glendora, close to Azusa, in Los Angeles County, several years ago was Mrs. Agnes Marshall, widow of John P. Marshall. She had two daughters, Nellie and Emma, aged 15 and 13 respec- tively. Mrs. Marshall had a few acres of intractable land near the foothi! and a pension of an army veteran's widow. She L ETTER ARRIVE, and her daughters had come from Kansas City during 1890, shortly after Mr. Mar- shall’s death. Miss Nellie Marshall was a particularly prepossessing girl. When she lived in Kansas City, a child in short dresses, she was queen of a school children’s carnival, and her rosy cheeks and sparkling black res made her beauty remarked wherever her mother took her. Among all the girls in the eastern end of San Gabriel Valley— indeed, all that region—Nellie Marshall was the undisputed beauty. But she never seemed to know that. Her fresh pink and white complex chin, her wealth of hair—black raven’s wing—her soft, gentle expr her big, brilliant dark eyes, and especially her graceful, petite ways were the chief elements of her attractiveness. But her beaming good-nature, her jollity and her n, her chic little as a OOOOQ000000000000000OO00QOO0000DOOOOOOGODOOOOOQOOOOODC COST OF HONEYMOONS AT NEW YORK HOTELS. BOUT ten thousand honeymoons are spent in New York hotels annually,” said the manager of one of the big hostelries. “We gauge the figures very nearly right I fancy. New York is the Mecca for blushing brides and brid grooms from the far corners of this coun- try. The city, with its gorgeous hotels and amusement palaces, has no_rival in the affections of the newly wedded pairs from out of town. We find our bridal suites in constant demand.y “Is a New York honeymoon too expen- sive for a man with a modest income, or can it be brought down to an economical basi asked the reporter. “That question need not be a vexed one,” replied the hotel man. “A honey- moon here can be as costly as the purse can buy, or it can be spent for an amaz- ingly small amount, if you will take into consideration the luxury afforded by our modern hotels. For instance, not long ago a young Western multi-millionaire brought his bride here to one of our pal ace hotels. It cost him $700 a day for Ii ing expenses. He spent that amount with the hotel people. “In the hotel at the same time were a young couple from a New England town whose daily bills amounted to $11, which included their meals in the hotel. Using these figures, which are entirely accu- rate one can readilv see that luxurious £k living here Is not so frightfully exorbitant as our out-of-town friends imagine. These two couples were at the most expensive hotel in the city, which by no means in- sures the fact that it is the best. There are some half dozen other hotels quite as good and far cheaper. Of course, there is not the magnificent glitter. Besides, the young people do delight in sending the crested stationery from the fa—ous hotel to dazzle the eyes of the home folks. Seven hundred dollars seemed a fabu- lous sum for two people to spend in one day for living. Was the hotel manager a rival of Munchausen, or did the Western millionaire steal his ideas of a honeymoon from the magnificence of the “Arabian Nights"? Tnvestigation proved that the young Westerner had cultivated an ungiench- able thirst for modern luxury. Fortune had kindly relieved him of all thought for the morrow, so without regard to cost he ordered what suited his fancy. A glance at his bills and the following items were gleaned: State chamber Waldort-Astorfa, per day Private dining-room . Adjoining room for maid, electric con- nection 15 00 Board for 5 00 Meals, wines, 100 00 Carridge, ex 10 00 Tips . 5 00 Room 10 00 Flowers for rooms, Total o The state chamber in the Waldorf- Astoria is the most costly in the house. It is not of great size, but in magnificence rivais the most famous bedchambers of European palaces. The room is furnished and decorated in the style of Francis I. The four-poster bedstead, with its canopy, is an exact re- production in walnut of the original in the museum at Cluny. The cost of the alone is $3500. The prie dieu in the cost $1000. Draperies, carpets, tapes- tries and paintings frame in rare brie-a- brac and make the room one of beauty and splendor. Meanwhile the couple from New Eng- land were serenely content in their quar- ters at the Waldorf-Astorla. A pretty, bright room, with adjoining bath and ali modern conveniences, cost them $4 a day. Three meals, ordered jndiciously from the elaborate menu, amounted to $5. The combined tips of husband and - wife Teached the sum of $1, making a total of 11. Here is the memorandum in the hus- band’s notebook: bed Room at Waldorf-Astoria, per day. Meals, three for two people. Tips to maid and waiters Total These two voung people enjoyed public dining-roon: guests at table w. their trips. the Seeing well-dressed one of the sights of There were music, lights and flowers galore in the hotel, which they were at as much liberty to enjoy for their $11 as the Western pair for their $700. New York Capitalist. mustcal laugh made her even more pleas- ing among all who knew her. Once when she 'was in T.os Angeles on a visit a florist, who had designed a chariot of red roses and white carnations for the great floral parade during la fiesta week, vainly begged. pursued and finally offered a good-sized sum of money to Nellie Mar- shall to ride in his floral chariot during the parades, and thereby add to the at- tractiveness of the play. The widow Marshall and her two daughters found their foothill property unproductive without irrigation, and they had no money to buy water with. Times grew harder and more serious with the little famil The girls left school and went to work to do their share toward paying off the mortgage on the home place. The mother got out to work with her horse and plow to save a man's hire. Nellle-and Emma worked in the apricot and prune drying vards in the fall of 1894. They were ‘nimble workers, and, throwing their whole soul into their work, they each earned cents a day at cutting fruit and arranging it on the wooden trays for drying out in the sun- shine. When the orange harvesting season came on in January Neilie, like nearly all the country girls in the locality, went over to Azusa to pack oranges. For weeks the Marshall family had looked forward to that time, and it was considered a thankful boon which the fruit shippers were granting in permitting Nellle to earn a few dollars there. By faithful work and deftness in handling and wrap- ping the fruit and then ‘placing it in a box, according to its particular size, the girl could earn sometimes $1 a day. For weeks she rose six days in the week at 5 o'clock, walked two miles to the pack- ing house, ate a cold bite of a meal out of her basket at noon, and walked home at night. But there were times of jollity and joke in the orange packing house. Once dur- ing the noon hour while the girls were resting some one proposed that it would be fun to write a lot of humorous and sentimental messages on bits of paper and to wrap the same In with the oranges they were that day packing for the East- ern markets. Some of the girls had heard of such things, and it appealed to their sense of a lark. The scheme was dis- cussed in whispers among the stacks of orange boxes and the heaps of oranges. Of course the foreman must not know the girls' scheme, much less the superintend- ent at the packing house. Several girls got pencils and wrote la- conic messages, as funny as they knew FRKING IN THE| CANDY STOR memory of a schoolgirl epistolatory lark. Some mothers would have reprimanded thelr daughters for writing notes indis- criminately to people. But Nellie Marshall belleved she saw an_ honest young man back of the letter she had, and her mother, after some mental debate, saw no harm fn at least a civil message announc- ing receipt of a letter from 3000 miles away. From that a regular correspondence grew. At first the letters were brief and formal. Mr. Stevens gave references as to his reputation and family. He told of people in Pasadena who had known him from his birth, and his parents for years before that. Whenm the summer of 1535 had slid into fall the letters between tho little_white house on’the foothill ranch and Rochester, N. Y., became more fre- quent. Photographs were exchanged, and at once there came a big fat letter with a row of postage stamps upon the envelcpe, showing that the correspondent in Roch=- er was charmed at the picture of his California_correspondent. Very quickly a cousin of Mr. Stevens drove out from Pasadena and called upon the Marshalls. Then the Marshalls were invited to visit in Pasadena. Meanwhile the mails between Glendora and Roches- ter were not neglected. Important let- ters shuttled also between Pasadena and Rochester. More photographs were ex- changed and then came the period of gift making. In the winter of 1895-96 Mrs. Marshall and her daughters oid their fo 111 home and moved to Los Angeles, where Miss Nellie became a clerk in a candy store. Mr. Stevens came to Southern Cali- fornia, on a flying trip between his pro- fessional du One of the carriage rides he took with Miss Marshall was a drive to Azusa to the o packing house, where his first message among the oranges a year before had been written. When Mr. Stevens went back to Roc ter he left a solitaire diamond ring on the hand of his flancee. The course of true love, as the poet says, never did run true. In this case it ran over boulders so huge and surged curves so sharp that of love would have spent itself among the rocks before it reached the broad and smooth river of matrimony. Mr. Ste- vens' parents had hopes for marriage in another direction, and both they and M Marshall objected to a marriage w young lady under 18. Some impatien ters went between L ester. quent. Then shorter. Finally they ceased, and there was a return of former gifts. Each reSolved to forget the other, and each thought their romance closed. Mr. Stevens inherited a large fortune in the fall of 1898, and he went to Europe with bis sisters. While in Italy in the winter of 1896-97 he met an old school- mate of his from Rochester, who was traveling with her parents. Before he left for America he was engaged to marry her. Meanwhile Mrs. Marshall had died and her daughters went to live in the family of an uncle in Ventura, where Miss Nellie was employed in the effice of a nursery concern. The marriage of Mr. Stevens and his afManced was fixed for the early summer of 1897. He built a beautiful home at Vick Park, in Rochester, and was planning for its furnishing with all that wealth could buy, when his promised bride took il and died with pneumonia. He was almost crazed with grief. He went to Mexico and Cuba and sold the home he had bullt. A year ago he came out to Los An- geles. Very naturaliy his mind went back to his last former visit in.Southern Cali- fornia. His relatives in Pasadena told him they had lost track of Miss Nellis Marshall after she had moved away from Los Angeles. ‘The candy-store where she was once employed behind the counter had changed hands, and no one there could answer Mr. Stevens’ adroit ques- tions concerning Miss Marshall. Some ons sald she had married and moved away to 8an Francisco. He had glven up his quest (for simpla h a let- Angeles and Roch- Then the letters grew more infre- 'WEDDING ON THE how, on tiny pieces of paper. One or two wrote couplets they remembered having seen on valentines. The messages and sentiments were signed by genuine or fic- titious names. That afternoon the little papers bearing the schoolgirl penmanship were one by one stealthily tucked in among the oranges and thelr tissue paper wrappers. Nellle Marshall s in the scheme. She alw: participated in any girlish lark projected in her bailiwick. She wrote a dozen or a score of notes, all substantially the same, as follows. “These oranges were packed by a ro- mantic girl in the wild and woolly West. If you wish further information let Nel- lie Marshall, Azusa, Cal., know it.”” The oranges went away In a carload lot the following day, and in a few days the girls in the packing house forgot about their message-writing lark. Once or twice during the season other messages— sometimes bits of comic verse, sometimes a bit of mnocent fun and other times ad- ar s only—were written, and, unknown to the foreman, were tucked in with the packed oranges. The days of the orange shipments pa ed. Carload after carload of the fruit rolled away to the ¥ Winter merged into spring. The girls at the packing house never spoke more of the notes they had sent to market with the oranges The season was drawing to a close. Nel- lfe Marshall had left the packing house and had gone home to the Glendora ranch to help her {1l mother. Among the advertised letters at the Azusa postoffice one day in May was a Jetter for Miss Nellie Marshall. When it was brought to the foothill home over at Glendora every one there was surprised to find that it was from one Joseph B. Stev- ens of Rochester, N. Y. Then the secret of the messages that the girls in the packing house had writ- ten for fun was recalled and told. Mr, Stevens wrote that he had bought some Los Angeles oranges, and among them was a note from Nellle Marshall. His curiosity was aroused, inasmuch as he had relatives in Pasadena, and he had spent a winter in the San Gabriel Valley a' year previous. He politely asked the information vouchsafed in the note he had found wrapped among his oranges. Now some conventional girls would have tossed the letter from a stranger Into the fire, and have blushed at the FARM curlosity) after Miss Marshall, when he happened to run across a picture of her in a showcase in a photographer's gal- lery All his old-time love came surging back. He renewed his inquiries and he came across a friend-whom he had met in Los Angeles two years before. and then he learned that Miss Marshall was in Ventura. The next chapter in the romance covers several weeks in the spring of 1898. Mr. Stevens went to Ventura and wandered about the town until he met Mi Mar- shall. He renewed his suit and was fi ly accepted. Miss Marshall visited at the home of hi relatives in Pasadena. A date for the wedding was set last June, but suddenly there came the news of the death of Mr. Stevens' broth with Shafter in Cuba, and he had to hasten to Florida. Letters sed betweén P dena and Rochester daily for weeks. Mr. Stevens planned a dozen times to come to Cali- fornia and claim his bride, but he had securities that the war demanded his con- stant watching. Last November Miss Marshall and her sister went East to visit an aunt at Rose, N, Y. There Miss Marshall was stricken with the grip early in December, and for weeks she was alarmingly 1Il. She recovered measurably in February, and at the earliest opportunity she and Mr. Stevens were married. It was a sim ple wedding at the home of the bride's aunt on a New York farm. In the* hour of their joy the bride and groom did mot forget the romantic way they became ac- quainted. Amid the many telegrams of remembrance sent to California that day as ong o Mrs. Joseph B. Stevens’ girl assoclates in the Azusa packing-howse reminding them of the day, 4 isfls?of‘f:,é years to a day previQus, when the senti- mental notes were scribbled and wrapped tn with the packed oranges. : oseph B. Stevens is an only survivi son or the late ex-State Sepmtor TS M. Stevens of Brooklyn. His uncle on h maternal side was William B, Doqre millionaire banker-philanthropist s & York City twenty years ago. My, mieren, was graduated from Yale four or five years ago and was a lawyer in Rochester until he inherited large property Interoers. stocks and bonds, which now require h whole attention. 'He and his bride haveh gone on a tour of Por B the Bahama Islands, © .co Cuba and a R ———