me and I hesitated, but on
casting my eyes towards the ladies I perceived one of them smile, so
I proceeded on, and raising my hat, apologized for our interview,
saying that we were from the north and were captivated by the beauty
of the place. "Oh, not at all, you are perfectly welcome. Would you
like to look around?" We gladly accepted, and were shown around the
premises, and at my request to pick an orange myself to send home, I
was given permission, and told I might pick a lemon also, and
would I like a bunch of orange blossoms?

We finally had two card boxes given us, and packed the fruit in one
and the orange blossoms in the other. We were then invited in to rest
and found the ladies were representative of those we met
afterwards--the most kindly and courteous--and here I must say that I
never met more obliging people than these same good people of
California. I never met with a rebuff from anyone, and I am sure I
bothered them enough during our stay with enquiries of every kind and
another.

The police are instructed to supply everyone with necessary
information and are provided with books containing such information
as people may require. There are many excursions out of Los Angeles
in various directions, of which we availed ourselves. One of these
took us to Causton's ostrich farm, San Gabriel Mission, and Long
Beach. The ostrich farm is well worth a visit, to see these monster
birds running about with wings outstretched. We were informed that at
the age of six months they were full grown, and considering their
size and weight it is a wonder. They eat as much as a cow, and, to
show how high they can reach, the keeper stood on something and
raised his hand up to eight feet and the ostrich easily took an
orange from his hand and swallowed it whole. We were warned not to
come too close to them, for the ostrich is attracted by bright
hatpins in the ladies' hats or by jewelry, or by anything bright--all
are swallowed whole. One was sitting on a batch of eggs, which had
just been vacated by the male, who does the most of the sitting. The
visit to the San Gabriel Mission was of great interest to me, for it
was of ancient origin, having been one of those founded by Padre
Junipero Serra in 1771. The church we visited, and were conducted
through by a lay priest who, in a monotonous tone of voice, recited
all he knew of the mission. As before stated, the mission was about
one hundred and forty years old, and one cannot