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down their rifles. “Seventeen I counted, all that remained
of the strong command. -
Presently the doctors arrived from the cruiser, and began
their grim trade on a flat rock. But the most evil sight was
to see the lighthouse, forgotten by all, unblinkingly staring
into the face of the now open day.
y
‘But the night’s work had not been wasted by us, for by
sunset we wer€ honored guests on the cruiser, with a passage __
- home before us.
Chloe had brought off in her uncle’s boat the odds and
ends from our lodgings. The anchor cable was rattling
on the deck, and at that we shook hands with her, and said
good-by. She stood and looked at us, and we noticed she
had put-on her gala dress. Still she remained, till Gilbert
suddenly cried: “Goodness, we’ve forgotten. But we'll
send you our debt as soon as we get home to New York—
never you fear, Chloe.” .
“No! never,” she cried, “not that; no money owing.” She
turned, her red lips open and eyes brimming; she stooped,
kissed Gilbert in her arms! swung round, kissed me full and
fair, and was gone with a flutter of skirt and clicking of shoe
heels on the brass ledges of the stair.
The last we saw of San José was a
woman waving and waving till she faded in the dusk and
distance. .
THE END.
—__~>- e-2 —__—__
SPANISH CEDAR LOGS.
In the early days of cigar box manufacture in California,
they were made almost exclusively of Spanish cedar. But
that wood has become very scarce and high priced of late
years, and other woods are taking its place to a certain
extent. . 7
And one of those woods is California redwood. In Cali-
fornia at present the cigar box makers use about one-fourth
redwood; the balance is composed of Spanish cedar and what
is known to the trade as “imitation” lumber, which is noth-
ing more than the common poplar and basswood of New
-England, sawed up, planed, and then stained in imitation of
Spanish cedar, or veneered with Spanish cedar, because
Spanish cedar is par excellence the real stuff for cigar
boxes, :
The gilt edge cigars all have to be packed in Spanish
cedar, else there is a kick from the opulent and fastidious
smoker, who claims that the natural aroma of the wood
imparts an improved flavor to the cigars.
This may be a superstition, but as the well-to-do lovers
of the weed are perfectly willing to pay. for it the trade are
only too anxious to flatter their customers’ tastes.
It is a luxury and one that is growing more and more
expensive; for in the early days of cigar box making Span-
ish cedar could be bought at $55 a thousand feet; now it
costs $95 a thousand feet.
Now some one asks where and how is Spanish cedar ob-
tained? Right here on the Pacific coast; but not in Cali- .
fornia, however, replete as her resources are. You have
to go away south along the Mexican and Central American
coasts for this special kind of lumber. And California has
driven a trade in Spanish cedar ever since cigar box making
had its inception on the Pacific coast; in fact, there is
hardly a product of any part of the known world that does
not come to the port by the Golden Gate. :
The ever restless coasting schooners are the craft that
bring our Spanish cedar logs up out of the tropics, and it is
a peculiar trade—not only the maritime part of the traffic,
but that part which is performed on land; for that part is
- done along the primitive ways of the easy going Mexican
ee pete eee ce ete
and Central American.
ee Be me en ee
OAR ROD RR merece
lonely boat and a>
MOTOR STORIES.
It is to be presumed that away back in the garly days of
maritime traffic on the lower coast there were supplies of
Spanish cedar logs that could be obtained at the regular
ports of 2ntry; Sut :vidently such a supply, if it ever existed,
finally became exhausted, and as nobody down. in those
regions had the enterprise to build railroads from their Sea-
ports into the lumber regions of the interior, the stock of
cedar had to be picked up all along the coast, wherever the
wood could be found. That made the transfer of the logs
from the shore to the vessel’s side a very laborious undet+
taking and one no white man would ever have thought of
resorting to. a ‘
But first in order comes the cutting of the cedar timben
and the transportation of the logs to the shore. This, too,’
was done by the simple-minded Mexicans and Central Ameri-
cans. Of course, at first these people cut the timber nearest
the seashore, and then kept working back into the country,,
a process that\involved more and more labor, because the
distance of transportation was all the time increasing.
The cedar trees were chopped down and then cut-up into
logs varying in length’ from six to twelve feet, according to
the size of the trees. These logs were then hewn square,
ranging in size from nine inches to two feet. /
This was done in order that they might be packed closely
when on board of the’ California schooners. . Then along
came a swarthy Castilian, a pair of oxen attached to one
of those funny wooden two-wheeled carts, with axle bare.
Upon this cart, called a carita, were loaded a number of
logs, the number, of course, depending upon the size, and
were lashed on, with one end. dragging upon the ground
behind. In this way the logs were hauled to the sea coast
and deposited just above high tide line. After a while Span-
ish cedar Segan to grow scarce along the ocean belt, and then
the Mexicans went up the rivers and creeks and cut cedar
timber along the banks. The logs were rolled into the
streams and driven down to the sea, either loose or in rafts,
and were loaded thence upon the California schooners.
Now, there was a certain season when the loading of
cedar logs down along the southern coast upon the schooners
from the north was practicable, and that was in what Cali-
fornia calls the winter season, when in southern waters the
weather is the calmest of any season during the year, For
there were no deep water harbors or extensive ocean piers
whereat to find dockage for the schooners, and the loading
had to be done offshore at any point where there might Be
a quantity of logs awaiting shipment. So the California
sailing masters used to go cruising down the southern coast,
keeping a sharp lookout for signals from ashore indicating
the presence of a cargo. Ata given signal they would tack
to larboard and pull in as close to the beach as the sound-
ings would permit. Sometimes they would have to anchor as.
much as two miles offshore. , °
When all was ready for loading two of the Mexicans on
shore would seize a log, watch for the next incoming com-.
ber, and just as it was about to break on the beach they
would start,, rush through it with their log in hand, and
would then find themselves in comparatively smooth water.
As soon as deep water was reached the two men would
start to paddle the log out to the waiting vessel. There was
a man on each side of the log, and each man had one arm
flung over the log, while the other was left free to do the
paddling. Arriving at the vessel’s side the log would be
caught by the crew:of the craft and pulled on board. The
two swimmers would then turn about and swim back to the
shore for another log. By this slow and laborious process
the vessel was finally loaded, the logs paid for, and the prow
turned northward.. a oo
For this kind of labor the Mexicans were paid $1 a day
each in Mexican money, worth only about fifty cents in
United States currency. But the Mexicans appeared to be
quite well satisfied with their wages, and could save. some-
thing out of their pay for a rainy day; because living was
cheap in that kindly climate—a bunch of bananas and some