From the Mountains to the Sea - A History of Los Angeles by Unbekannt

Author:Unbekannt [Unbekannt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Geschichte
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2015-11-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XII. THE AQUEDUCT

In my book "California," published by the Grafton Publishing Corporation, I made the following statement:

"The story of the Owens River Aqueduct is the story of a great city built on a desert that one day awoke to the very serious fact that it must stop growing or find more water for its uses. The city did not desire to stop growing, but there was no more water anywhere within sight that it could obtain. It had utilized to the utmost limit every drop of water in every stream to which it had a right. The city that faced this grave problem was the City of Los Angeles."

And also, here again, in order to discuss the present and to forecast the future, we find ourselves compelled to revert to the past — that beautiful and mighty past when were laid the cornerstones of the commonwealth, and when California 's career among civilized communities was begun. Wherefore, I ask the indulgence of my readers to quote again from my book "California":

"In considering the present and future greatness of California, the imagination constantly reverts to the first attempts that were made at civilization and commercial progress. One who knows and loves the story of California can never behold the great irrigation ditches which wake to living bloom the vast stretches of opulent plain and valley without seeing, as in a dream, the first uncertain waterway which Junipero Serra projected in the Mission Valley of San Diego. As one speeds now upon the shining highways that link towns and cities together from end to end of the Golden State, memory stirs in the loving heart, the dream of days when the Mission hospices, with their flocks and herds on the hillsides, and the Indian neophytes chanting in the harvest fields, awaited the welcome traveler on the King's Highway. And thus Junipero Serra stands forth the first and greatest character of which California yet can boast — her first missionary, her first merchant, the first of her empire builders. "

It is difficult to believe that Southern California, before the coming of white men, was really a desert. But that is what it was. It is now a great garden and lush with bloom, its agricultural and horticultural products running into many millions of dollars in a commercial way annually. But when the mission of San Gabriel was founded in 1771, and the pueblo of Los Angeles founded ten years later, water was the least plentiful thing to be found between the Tehachapi and San Diego. The rivers and streams of the country were then, as now, dry streaks of sand throughout the long hot summers.

When Los Angeles was founded in 1781 there was in sight a quantity of water available for domestic and farming purposes sufficient only to meet the needs of a small community. And everything was all right in this respect for many and many a year while Los Angeles remained a mere village, sleepy and contented.

It was only when

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.