" ... left him munching my valedictory apples. "
California Coast Trails
( Jolon, continued )
Likely Chase's mount Chino, taken previously
in the California desert.
Chase's mount Anton, in
the Santa Lucia, just
north of Jolon.
______________
" My only regret in leaving Jolon was that there I said farewell to my good
Chino. The roughness and heat of the journey...has resulted in the in-
flaming his withers again, and so badly that it would at least be two weeks
before he could be fit. I had noticed in the hotel stable a well-built
saddle-horse, a little heavier than Chino, of a color between buckskin and
sorrel, and showing a dark stripe along the back which is recognized
by experts in horseflesh as a mark of superior toughness. I decided on
the change.
It went much against the grain to part with the loyal companion of
several expeditions by California shore, desert, and mountain. But the
summer was getting late and I was only about halfway to my goal, so
that I must not lose more time if I was to finish the trip before the rainy
season set in.
I filled my pockets with Chino's preferred dainties, payed him a final
visit, and left him munching my valedictory apples with so much
indifference that poignant regret on my own side seemed superfluous.
It was mid-afternoon when I started with my new acquisition ( whom
I named Anton, by way of reference to the San Antonio Valley, in which
Jolon is situated ) for the Mission of San Antonio. "
___________________________
Link: National Registry, Dutton Hotel.
****
( click for larger image )
Photograph of letter Chase wrote and mailed
from Jolon, to Pasadena Librarian, Miss Russ,
at the time of the above passage. Chase tells
Miss Russ, " I am on a long horseback trip
three months already, all up the coast with a
view to a volume on The Coast of California. "
( author's collection )
_________
*** ( Please see next post, 3 of 3, for more photographs! ) ***
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