Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 2 (1869 - 1875)

Lt 19h, 1874

White, W. C. [?]

Oakland, California

May 19, 1874

Previously unpublished.

[To Edson or Willie White?]

We are now getting settled in our new home, four miles from the city, close under the shadows of the mountains, whose towering heights are far above the city. It is indeed retired here. We enter a gate and follow the muddy road several rods from the cottage where we make our home. The public road is very narrow here. There is a narrow gorge in the mountains on either side. There is a very steep ascent. There is a running brook coming for quite a distance above, and running through one corner of a mountain farm. We seem to be separated from the din and bustle of the world. There are farms near by, and yet at such a distance are the houses from the road that we are in comparative solitude. 2LtMs, Lt 19h, 1874, par. 1

The view is grand from the summit of the mountain. We have a very distinct view of the bay and the Golden Gate. The prospect is very fine. The eye takes in at a glance the city of Oakland and the bay and the Golden Gate, and the bold, high mountains in the distance, both right and left. Here your father and I have climbed and found a retired place to pray. 2LtMs, Lt 19h, 1874, par. 2

I do not enjoy living in the cities, where I can only look on houses. I long for trees, for the silence of the mountains, the grand old rocks. Stirring, solemn thoughts come to me amid the wild scenery of nature. I contemplate that the eye of God has rested on these same rocks and knolls, and I love to be alone, all alone, with God and nature as my companions. 2LtMs, Lt 19h, 1874, par. 3

On the premises there was once quite a celebrated water-cure [institution]. Here there is a large three-story house standing desolate, forsaken, shattered, and dilapidated. 2LtMs, Lt 19h, 1874, par. 4

We live in a neat two-story cottage of eight rooms. We are not fully settled yet, but we feel at home. This is a very pleasant place to live. We have plenty of trees and a variety of flowers. We have no fruit, but our neighbors living close by have an abundance. We purchase of them. We have plenty of good milk, plenty of pasturage for cow and horses. Our ponies were brought to us yesterday by Brother Judson. We shall now have a good team to take us back and forth to the city. Your father is much pleased with our mountain home. 2LtMs, Lt 19h, 1874, par. 5

We see the necessity of a water-cure [institution] being established on this coast, but we are not yet settled where it will be. We want it in the most healthful location. We think that place in St. Helena, has some valuable advantages for its abundance of pure, soft water and its even climate. It would be a good place here. There is a running stream and springs of water, but there are drawbacks. We fear the climate is too harsh for consumptives. As yet I have had no difficulty with my lungs. I suffered pain in my lungs all the time while at Santa Rosa. St. Helena, we think, is the place for a Health Institute. It is mountainous. The climate is not harsh, and invalids make St. Helena a place of resort. 2LtMs, Lt 19h, 1874, par. 6

The journey with our quick-traveling ponies to and from the city will be the best recreation for your father. He will go every day to manage the paper, and if it were not for this distance from his business, he might be in constant danger of overdoing. The work is progressing here. The interest in the meetings continues. Some souls are taking their stand for the truth. 2LtMs, Lt 19h, 1874, par. 7