Mount Diablo deserves and shall have a special
chapter all to itself. Occupying almost the exact center of Contra Costa
County, this mountain is one of the most conspicuous landmarks of the State.
Its prominence arises not from its size - for it is but 3896 feet in height
- but from its isolation. It is the only peak of any prominence in Contra
Costa County, rearing its head above all surrounding hills.
Whence arose the name Mount Diablo? The following
version was given in a report to the legislature in 1850, by General
Vallejo, that excellent authority on Californiana, quoted in a previous
chapter:
"In 1806 a military expedition from San Francisco
marched against the tribe 'Bolgones,' who were encamped at the foot of the
mount; as the victory was about to be decided in favor of the Indians, an
unknown personage, decorated with the most extraordinary plumage, and making
divers movements, suddenly appeared near the combatants. The Indians were
victorious, and the incognito (puy) departed toward the mount. The
defeated soldiers, on ascertaining that the spirit went through the same
ceremony daily and at all hours, named the mount 'Diablo,' in allusion to
its mysterious inhabitant, that continued thus to make his appearance until
the tribe was subdued by the troops in command of Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga,
in a second campaign of the same year. In the aboriginal tongue 'puy'
signifies 'evil spirit'; in Spanish it means 'diablo,' and doubtless it
signifies 'devil' in the Anglo-American language."
Referring to Mount Diablo, in the same report
General Vallejo said: "It was intended so to call the county, but both
branches of the legislature, after warm debates on the subject (the
representatives of the county opposing the said name), resolved on the less
profane one of 'Contra Costa.' "
There are at least half a dozen other legends
woven around Mount Diablo. A tale which is said to have been culled from the
archives of one of the old missions is about as follows: When, in 1769, the
Spanish padres came to found missions among the aborigines, the Indians
brought them gifts of gold nuggets from a high mountain not far from San
Francisco Bay. This peak, according to their traditions, had once belched
forth fire and smoke. The padres, fearing that gold might prove "the root of
all evil" to these primitive people, determined to forestall further search
for the precious metal. Secretly poisoning all the gold in their possession,
the padres placed it in a tub of water, from which they bade the Indians
make their dogs drink. When all the dogs died the superstitious fear of the
Indians was aroused and they were diverted from using gold as a medium of
exchange and never again sought it in the mountains. Thenceforth the
mountain from which the gold was obtained became known as Monte Diablo, or
Devil's Mountain.
Still another story comes from the pen of Bret
Harte. He relates that the worthy padre from the old mission San Pablo
climbed the now historic promontory, seeking new converts, or striving in
some similar manner to extend the dominion of the church. On reaching the
summit he encountered no less a personage than the Evil One himself in the
corporeal form of a gigantic bear. Changing from bear to human form in a
most disconcerting manner, the demon attacked the padre and all but slew
him. When the padre escaped and related his unusual experience, the mountain
was named El Monte Diablo.
With one more tale we will leave the domain of
legend and take up the later aspects of Mount Diablo. The following account
is quoted in full from an early historical work: "The mountain is also said
to take its name from a marvelous phenomenon witnessed amongst its wild and
precipitous gorges, at a time when, in the language of an old trapper,
'Injuns war plenty and white women war not.' It is related that once , in an
expedition against the horse-thief
tribes who inhabited the valley of the San Joaquin, as far
down as the base of the mountain, the native Californians came up with a
party of the freebooters, laden with the spoils of a hunt, and immediately
gave chase, driving them up the steep defiles which form the ascent of the
mountain on one side. Elated with the prospect of securing and meting out
punishment to the robbers, they were pressing hard after them, when lo! from
a cavernous opening in their path there issued forth such fierce flames,
accompanied by so terrible a roaring that, thinking themselves within a
riata's throw of the principal entrance to his Infernal Majesty's summer
palace, the astonished rancheros, with many 'Carajos!' and "Carambas!' and
like profane ejaculations, forgot their hostile errand and, turning tail,
scampered down the mountain faster than they had gone up. Reciting the
adventure to their fellow-rancheros on their return, it was unanimously
agreed that the Devil and his chief steward had fixed their abode in the
mountain and, in compliment to the great dealer in hoof and horns, they gave
the present name of Mount Diablo to the scene of their late terrific exploit
and discomfiture. As for the Indians, who, as they declared, all
mysteriously disappeared as the flames rose in view, of course the Dons
afterwards insisted that they were the favored children of the Devil!"
Mount Diablo was once a volcano. The outline of
part of the crater can still be traced, and bits of lava and igneous rock
can be found in the canons from the top of this picturesque peak to the
bottom.
The central mass of Mount Diablo is composed of
metamorphic sandstone, and is about six miles long and one and a half miles
wide. Large quantities of jasper rock filled with fine quartz are found near
the summit. Throughout are found a considerable amount of other minerals,
including serpentine and siliceous slate.
In reality Mount Diablo comprises two peaks,
which can be viewed to best advantage from the northwest or southeast. The
two peaks are about three miles apart, the southwestern peak comprising
Mount Diablo proper. The other mount is known as the North Peak, and is
about two hundred and sixty feet lower than Mount Diablo.
Innumerable oyster-shells and petrified
shell-fish, resembling those now found on the shores of the Atlantic, are
scattered about its summit, all of which indicate that long ago Mount Diablo
occupied the floor of the ocean instead of its present eminence.
The summit of Mount Diablo was selected in
1876 as the initial point for a continental triangulation survey. A station
was established by Professor Davidson, of the Coast Survey party, after
taking careful measurements to establish a base-line of eleven miles on the
plains of Yolo County. The trans-continental survey established an
absolutely accurate basis for future surveys by the United States.
The view from the top of the mountain is
awe-inspiring. A grand panorama, covering not less than forty thousand
square miles, or an area nearly equal to the state of New York, is spread
out before the beholder. A scope of country four hundred miles from north to
south is plainly visible on a clear day. Away to the west is the broad
Pacific. To the east the view extends to the very crest of the Sierras. It
is an excellent point from which to study the topography of a large portion
of California, from twelve to fifteen counties often being visible. The vast
interior valley of the State appears like a relief map. The most northern
point visible is Lassen's Buttes, two hundred miles distant, and Mount
Hamilton, upon which is located the Lick observatory, is discernible in the
south. Each time the eye encircles the horizon new scenes and added grandeur
are discovered. Turning again to the east, one beholds the Sacramento and
San Joaquin valleys, with their magnificent rivers. On the south the broad
expanse of San Francisco Bay comes into view. Across the bay to the west
lies San Francisco, enthroned, like Rome, among her hills, her streets
plainly visible. A nearer view discloses Yerba Buena Island, Alcatraz, and
the Golden Gate. Close at hand is San Pablo Bay and all its inlets. Out upon
the Pacific the eye rests upon the Farallones de las Grayles, twenty miles
beyond the Golden Gate. Reverting to the north, Martinez, the Straits of
Carquinez, Benicia, Vallejo, and Mare Island swing into view. One might
multiply this description indefinitely, but the foregoing will suffice as a
partial delineation of the magnitude of the view from this summit. Those who
care to gain first-hand information will find a journey to the top of Mount
Diablo distinctly worth while.
Due largely to the energy of one man, R. N.
Burgess, a Contra Costa product, the Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard, now
winds to the top by easy stages, and it is not a difficult matter to climb
this historic peak. Mr. Burgess saw the wonderful possibilities for
home-building in the picturesque vales that nestle about Mount Diablo. He
interested New York capitalists, and they invested $1, 095,000, founding the
Mount Diablo Villa Homes Association, which controls the Mount Diablo estate
of ten thousand acres. These men say that the next few years will see ten
thousand people living in magnificent villas among the sheltering crags of
old Mount Diablo. Their plans also include an appropriately designed tavern,
in which cloisters and stairways will be the dominant note, clinging to the
very top of the mountain. Closely following the contour of the peak, from a
distance the buildings will appear to be a part of the mountain itself.
Towering over all will be an observatory with a large telescope. To those
who gaze through the giant lens the beautiful surrounding country will seem
to be close at hand.
And now we will leave Mount Diablo with an
observation that possibly should have been made earlier in the chapter -
that the grizzled old sentinel was first seen by white men in the remote
days of 1772. Father Juan Crespi, friend and associate of Father Junipero
Serra, the mission builder, first glimpsed its peak while exploring San
Francisco Bay, after that great harbor was discovered from the land side by
Don Gaspar de Portola. Father Crespi was accompanied by Captain Don Pedro
Fagis, of the Presidio of Monterey.
The late S. J. Bennett, of Martinez, in the
late '70's drove the first stage that ever reached the top of this mountain.
The road at the time was kept in good condition, the expenses of its up-keep
being defrayed with the toll exacted from passengers and teams. Up the
mountain slopes on either side were groves of oak and pine, and at times
they were green with chaparral. As one continued to ascend, the declivities
became more bold and broken. Making up the sides were many wild glens, dark
with vines and shrubbery. At an elevation of twenty-five hundred feet was a
neat, well-kept hotel, open the year around, with good accommodations for
travelers. Parties could leave their teams here, and, if they desired to do
so, could make the remainder of the way to the top on foot. However, in the
early days there was no difficulty in reaching the summit with a good team.
At about five hundred feet from the top was a never-failing spring of pure
soft water.
Besides grand old Mount Diablo, there are other
peaks of considerable elevation: Rocky Mound, 1921 feet, and Redwood Peak,
1635 feet high, both in the range of Contra Costa Hills; Bushy Knob, 1742
feet, and Gray's Peak, 1921 feet.