Sonoma County
History
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL OF SONOMA COUNTY.
The climate of the county of Sonoma differs in many respects from that of other portions of the State. First, in this: the average rainfall is about one- quarter more than at San Francisco, fifty miles south. We have never, since the American settlement of the county, lost a crop from drouth, though other parts of the State have suffered severely. This is particularly due to the fact that our coast line is thirty-five miles west of a due north line from San Francisco. As the coast trends to the northward and westward, the annual rainfall increases. South of San Francisco, the coast trends to the south and east, and the reverse rule holds good--the rainfall is lighter until, as in Lower California, it rarely rains at all.
The season of rain in this section may be said to commence in October and end in May, though it sometimes rains in June. It is rare that it rains longer than two or three days at a time, and the intervals between rains varies from a few days to a month or six weeks. Old Californians consider the winter the most pleasant part of the year. As soon as the rains commence--in October-- the grass grows, and by the middle of November the hills and pastures are green. So soon as the ground is in condition to plow, after the first rains, the farmers sow their grain. December is usually a stormy month, with now and then a fall of snow on the surrounding hills; but it is rare that the snow falls in the valleys, and never lies on the ground. The thermometer seldom goes as low as thirty-seven degrees above zero; occasionally there is a thin coat of ice over the pools of standing water. December is usually the month of heaviest rainfall. In January one begins to recognize an indescribable feeling of spring in the air; the almond trees blossom, and the robins come. During this month grass and early-sown grain grown rapidly. If the early season has not been favorable for seeding, grain may be sown in January, February or March, and it will produce well. In this county it is often sown as late as the middle of April, producing a fair crop. As a rule, the bulk of the planting is done either in the fall, or in January, February, and the first half of March.
February is a growing month, and is one of the most pleasant in the year. It is like the month of May in the eastern States. The peach and cherry trees bloom this month. March is a stormy month; we are liable to have either heavy southeast storms or a dry north wind.
April, as in the east, is all smiles and tears--sunshine alternating with showers. Nature pushes her work in April, and vegetation grows astonishingly. The turning-point of the crop comes in the long warm days of this month; the rainy season is about over, and from that time until it matures the crop is sustained by the sea fogs, which set in about the first of May. In June the grain matures, and by the middle of July is ready for the harvest.
The season in Sonoma county begins a month sooner, and ends six weeks later than in Southern California. This is one of the greatest of its advantages over the other parts of the State, and has given the farmers of this section a good crop every year for twenty-seven years, while disastrous failures have elsewhere occurred. Corn is planted in April, after the rains have ceased, and a good crop is often raised without a drop of rain having fallen upon it; by good crop we mean, on the best bottom lands, from eighty to one hundred bushels to the acre.
We have mentioned the fog which sets in about the 1st of May. This phenomenon, of almost daily occurrence from May to the middle of August, is an important factor in the growth of the crop along the sea coast and on the bay of San Francisco. About the 1st of May the trades winds set in from the northwest. The Spanish galleons, bound from Manilla to Accapulco--three hundred years ago--steered for cape Mendocino, where they would encounter the northwest trade, and run before it, with swelling sails, to their beautiful harbor, Acapulco. To these winds the farmer of Sonoma, of our own time, is indebted for their never-failing crop. After a drying north wind in spring, which has parched the earth and twisted the blades of the growing grain, the trade sets in, and, as if by magic, the scene changes, the shriveled blades unfold, and absorb life at every pore from the moisture-laden breeze.
When the trade winds set in, a fog-bank forms every day off the land, caused, perhaps, by the meeting of a cold and warm strata of air. In the afternoon this fog comes inland with the breeze, which commences about noon every day. It is not an unhealthful fog; on the contrary, the most healthful season of the year is when the trade winds prevail. The fog spreads through the county late in the afternoon, continues through the night, and disappears about sunrise. This mild process of irrigation is repeated nearly every day during the season. The farmer estimates that three heavy fogs are equal to a light rain. The growing season is from six months to two months longer on the coast than in the interior; the grass keeps green, and this accounts for the productiveness of the dairy cows on the coast, and also for the fact that the wool of this section is very superior in length of staple, strength of fibre and in color, to that grown in the interior of the State.
We will give a brief review of the seasons since the American occupation of the country, as they affected Sonoma county. The season of 1849-50 was extremely wet; there was no rain gauge in this county, but not less than 45 inches of rain fell; the whole of Santa Rosa and Petaluma plains were flooded. In 1850-51 the rainfall was light; estimating by the reported fall of 4.10 inches in Sacramento city, it must have been about 12 inches here.
In 1851-52 the rainfall in this county was 24 inches; in 1852-3 there were very heavy rains, and the whole of Petaluma and Santa Rosa valleys were under water; there was a fall of not less than 42 inches, estimating the average of one-fourth more rain here than in San Francisco, where a fall of 33.5 inches is reported.
In 1853-54 the rainfall was 29 inches; in 1854-5, 30 inches; in 1855-6, 25 inches; in 1856-7, 25 inches; in 1857-8, 23 inches; in 1858-9, 23 inches; in 1859-60, 21 inches; in 1860-1, 17 inches; in 1861-2, 46 inches; in 1862-3, 17 inches; in 1863-4, 12 inches; in 1864-5, 26 inches; in 1866-7, 40 inches; in 1867-8, 50 inches; in 1868-9, 26 inches; in 1869-70, 25 inches; in 1870-71, 17 inches; in 1871-2, 40 inches; in 1872-3, 21.58 inches; in 1873-4, 29.54 inches; in 1874-5, 23.30 inches; in 1875-6, 32.10 inches. Mean annual rain- fall for twenty-six years, 27 inches.
Our crops have been more often injured by too much, than by too little rain In the dry years of 1863-4 and 1864-5, enormous crops were raised in this county; while in the greater part of the State there was an absolute failure of crops and grass.
Sonoma County is exempt from malarial disorders. There are no extremes of heat or cold, and nothing like winter. It is probable that more roses and flowers bloom in this valley, in December, than in all the hot-houses of New England. The climate is all that the most fastidious could ask. There are no troublesome insects that prey upon vegetation or humanity. As an evidence of the evenness of the temperature, we will state, in conclusion on this subject, that the same clothing may be worn here the year round, and is not too light for winter or too heavy for summer wear.
THE THERMAL BELT.
There is a warm strata of air in the hills, a few hundred feet above the valleys. This semi-tropical belt varies; in some localities it is very marked, and in others it is much less so. At night during the frosty seasons the cold air settles in the valleys, and the warm air rises. At daylight a severe frost may be seen in the valleys, heaviest along the water-courses, while in the warm belt, a few hundred fee above,--in come cases not more than sixty,--the most delicate shrubs and flowers are untouched. This season the tomato vines were not killed in the warm belt by the frost. The soil on the hills has often great depth, and is admirably adapted to fruit culture. Like the valleys, these lands are covered only by scattered groves of trees, little of it too steep for easy cultivation. It is exactly suited for semi-tropical fruit culture; here oranges, lemons, limes, English walnuts, almonds, and pomegranate trees grow well, and yield a certain crop. There are thousands of acres of this kind of land in Sonoma county, which can be bought at from fifteen to twenty dollars per acre. We know orchards where the fruits most sensitive to frost have never yet been injured; where the geranium, the fuchia and heliotrope will grow out of doors, and blossom in the winter months. Semi-tropical fruits are grown in the valleys, but, excepting the almond and English walnut, not with as much certainty as in the warm belt. The value of the hill lands of Sonoma County is not yet appreciated,--least of all by those who have been longest here.
AGRICULTURE.
Agriculture cut no figure in the minds of the pioneers, after the discovery of gold in 1848, in their estimates of the probabilities of the future of California. Those who had been longest here did not know the capabilities of the soil they occupied; the general impression prevailed that crops could not be raised without irrigation. The old fathers brought that idea with them from Lower California, and had never gotten rid of it. It remained for the Americans, when the first eager thirst for gold was satisfied, to prove that California was to surpass the world in the field of agriculture, horticulture and floriculture, as she had surpassed it in the yellow harvest of her gold fields.
Perchance some minor, when his work was done,
Leaned on his pick, just as the setting sun.
With ever-changing hue, and ruddy glow,
Illumed some peaceful vale that slept below,--
And as he gazed, a vision fair arose
Of what the unknown future might disclose;
He saw neat homesteads rise upon the plain,
Around them waving, yellow fields of grain.
He seemed to hear the voice of lowing kine
And bleating flocks, borne upward on the wind.
He saw beyond the vision still unfold,
And California was a land of corn, of wine, and gold.
That the priests did not know the soil would produce without irrigation, is proved by an incident in the history of the founding of the mission of Sonoma by Father Altimira, elsewhere measured in this sketch. He camped the second night, after leaving San Rafael, with his party on the arroyo Lema, where the old adobe stands on the Petaluma Plains,--now the valuable farm of W. D. Bliss, Esq., of Petaluma. We quote his journal: ”We started from Lema on the morning of the 27th, about six o’clock, and explored the plain running east, which is extensive enough for a mission, the land being fertile, and covered the grass, but of little use for plants, requiring irrigation in the summer season, for in that season the springs are dried up, as is also the brook running on said plat, or plain, called Chocaiomi.” It would be news to the present owner of the rich and fertile lands around the “old adobe,” to hear there was ever a doubt about its producing anything that grows within the boundaries of California, without irrigation.
The first agriculturists in Sonoma county, and north of San Francisco, were the Russians. They planted orchards and vines, and raised the shipped wheat from Bodega bay to Sitka, in the early part of the century. Some of the fruit trees which they planted at Ross, now more than fifty years old, are standing, and bear fruit. They did not cultivate what we regard as our best wheat soil, but, not withstanding, made heavy annual shipments of grain to their fur- hunters in Alaska.
The next farmers were priests, and their success proved the wonderful capability of the soil of Sonoma. They founded the mission of San Francisco Solano, at Sonoma, in 1823; and in 1834, eleven years after, an official report credits the mission with three thousand horned cattle, seven hundred horses, four thousand sheep, and the harvest that year as three thousand bushels of grain. This was the product of the small tract they occupied around the mission in Sonoma valley.
Up to 1851 the few Americans who were in this county raised only what grain they needed for their own consumption, depending mainly on cattle-raising for a support. The earliest trading here was for stock, and nine out of every ten of the civil suits before the first alcalde of Sonoma, ex-Governor Boggs, originated in disputes about cattle or horses. There was a wonderful craving on the part of the Mexicanized-American farmer to own a "manada," a band of worthless mustang mares and colts which run ad libitum over the plains.
As late as January, 1853, there were but four or five farmers on the plain opposite to Petaluma. There was quite a settlement in Green valley, and there was also a few stock-raisers on the Russian river, around the "old adobe." On Santa Rosa creek, and at Bodega.
The first considerable export of agricultural products from this county, under the American regime, was in 1850 and 1851, from the port of Bodega. The potatoes raised in that region became famous in the early history of San Francisco, and they have maintained their standing in the market to this day. Uncle Jimmy Watson, in 1850, with his partner, raised a big crop on land rented from Joseph O'Farrell, and realized enormous prices,--in short, he struck that year a potato "bonanza." The potatoes raised in Green valley were shipped, some by Bodega and others by way of the town of Sonoma. In the spring of 1851, William McReynolds paid two hundred and fifty dollars for a ton of potatoes, and planted them on his Green Valley farm. In the spring of that year he built a potato warehouse on Bodega bay for Jasper O'Farrell. In August of the same summer he hauled lumber to the present site of the city of Petaluma, and, in partnership with James M. Hudspeth, put up a warehouse on the bank of the creek. It had been discovered that the produce of Green valley could be shipped cheaper from Petaluma than Bodega. Two small vessels were trading at that point; up to this time they carried only game, of which there was an enormous quantity in this section. Baylis & Flogsdel run one vessel, Linus & Wyatt another. Some hay was cut that fall, baled, and stored for shipment. Game, potatoes and hay were the first articles of export via Petaluma; the former item was perhaps of greater value than both the latter, for a fat buck was worth from an ounce to twenty dollars.
Fruit culture was started very early in the history of the county. Among the very first to engage in this now large and important interest were Mitchell Gillem and Major Sullivan, of Green Valley. They came together to the county in 1850, and thought that it appeared to be a good fruit country.
In 1851 they heard that a man named Weeks had brought out a lot of trees from the East, and had them buried in the sand where the old Zine House stood, about three and a-half miles north of Petaluma. They purchased about one hundred and fifty trees at one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars a-piece, with Mr. Churchman, of Green Valley, and they were the first orchards planted. For many years after, the profit on these trees was enormous, and fruit culture soon grew into a trade of the first importance, and so continues to this day. There were, perhaps, a few small orchards in Sonoma Valley, prior to the ones we have mentioned, but they produced nothing for export.
From 1852 to 1855 the increase of population was large, and the growth of the agricultural interest was surprising.
In 1855 we can leave the fields of conjecture and give a close approximate estimate of the condition of agriculture in Sonoma county. It so happened that the county that year had a faithful, intelligent and public-spirited assessor, Smith D. Towne, now a leading business man and pioneer druggist in the town of Petuluma. In the first number of the Petaluma Journal, issued on the 2d of August, 1855, we find carefully compiled, by Assessor Towne, the statistics of the county. Mendocino was then included with Sonoma.
The number of acres enclosed is reported 37,052, of which 22,400 were in cultivation.
The number of acres in wheat is given at 12,233, which will yield, it is estimated, 28 bushels to the acre. Mr. Towne then recommended the clubhead as the best variety to plant, and experience since has proved his sagacity.
The number of acres seeded to oats is given at 3,268, which, it is estimated, will yield 35 bushels to the acre.
BARLEY.--This grain, says the assessor, has few friends this year. Number of acres sown, 1,561; average yield, 35 bushels to the acre.
CORN.--Of this product there are 714 acres, most of which is in the Russian River and Dry Creek valleys, where it seems to flourish luxuriantly. Estimated yield, 40 bushels to the acre.
RYE.--Eight acres planted for an experiment.
BUCKWHEAT.--Ninety-nine acres planted. As yet, none harvested. Cannot estimate the yield.
PEAS AND BEANS, 333 acres.
POTATOES.--The quantity planted this year is 1,693 acres, against 2,600 last year. Probable yield, 40 sacks to the acre. (There was a falling off in the potato crop because many producers had been badly bitten the year before, among whom was the assessor.)
FRUIT TREES.--There are 6,730 set out from one to three years old, comprising apples, peach, pear, apricots, quince, figs and plum, about one-third bearing. "I think," says the assessor, "our county will compare favorably, both as regards quality and quantity of fruits, with any other county in the State."
VINEYARDS.--There are many fine vineyards, numbering, in the aggregate, 24,800 vines, which are loaded with grapes.
CATTLE.--Number milch-cows, 3,350; total cattle of all kinds, 26,250; horses, total number, 4,958; hogs, total number, 19,459; sheep, total number, 7,065.
Now, by way of contrast, we propose to give the figures of the assessor of Sonoma for the year 1876. The reader will please bear in mind that the statistics are, in almost every case, below, rather than above the estimate, as there is always a reluctance on the part of the taxpayer to give information to one who levies or gathers a tax.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, 1876.
Land enclosed--acres, 310,520; land cultivated--acres, 195,575. Wheat-- acres 45,000, bushels 800,000; barley--acres 21,213, bushels 424,201; oats-- acres 19, 597, bushels 587,410; rye--acres 225, bushels 4,500; corn--acres 37,000, bushels 740,000; beans--acres 125, bushels 2,500; potatoes--acres 2,500, tons 6,000; sweet potatoes--acres 120, tons 3,000; hay--acres 43,744, tons 50,000; hops--acres 150, pounds 15,000.
DAIRY PRODUCTS AND WOOL.
Butter, pounds..................2,125,000
Cheese, pounds....................250,000
Wool, pounds......................750,000
FRUIT TREES.
Bearing lemon trees, 372; oranges, 1,994; olive trees, 227; apple trees, 112,376; pear trees, 24,722; peach trees, 57,813; plum trees, 17,467; cherry trees, 12,310; nectarine trees, 1,510; quince trees, 2,100; apricot trees, 1,725; fig trees 1,000; almond trees, 9,845; walnut--English, 5,300; walnut--black, 800; prune trees, 725; mulberry trees, 625.
THE WINE PRODUCT OF SONOMA COUNTY.
Wine-making is one of the leading industries of Sonoma county. Sonoma Valley is almost wholly devoted to grape-culture; on an average 680 vines are planted to the acre; the yield in grapes is from 10 to 30 pounds to the vine. It takes 14 pounds of grapes to make a gallon of wine. The system of "short pruning" is practised; the vines are cut back to the stump every year, and the finest clusters of grapes often rest on the ground. We give herewith a tabulated statement of the wine and brandy manufactured in the valley of Sonoma last year, with the names of the wine-growers, and estimates for the rest of the county.
A law was passed by Congress last session which permits producers to store their brandy in bonded warehouses and pay the internal revenue duty of seventy cents per gallon when the brandy is sold or withdrawn for consumption. This will largely increase the production.
WINE AND BRANDY MADE IN SONOMA VALLEY FROM THE VINTAGE OF 1876, AND BRANDY THAT WILL BE MADE NEXT YEAR UNDER
THE NEW BONDED WAREHOUSE LAW.
[The figures indicate gallons]
Wine. Brandy. Brandy under new law.
Goess, Geo. A ......... 1,500 ....... .......
Hooper, Geo. F.......... 20,000 200 500
Wegener, Julius......... 3,000 20 100
Sonoma Wine & Brandy Co. 160,000 3,500 8,000
Lamotte, Alfred V....... 30,000 ....... 500
Gibson, John............ 3,000 ....... ......
Warfield, J.B............. 280,000 ......... 10,000
Justi, Charles............ 6,000 ......... 200
Clark, John E............. 17,000 ......... 5,000
Williams, Jos. A.......... 25,000 260 5,000
Whitman, G. W. & H. H..... 50,000 ......... 2,000
Watriss, Geo. E........... 12,000 ......... 300
Mayers, L. W.............. 35,000 ......... 1,000
Aquillon, C............... 12,000 350 .........
Moorse, E. E.............. 200 ........ .........
Bradford, Ward............ 52,000 ......... 2,000
Glaister, T. S............ 10,000 ......... 100
Haubert, Jacob............ 30,000 ......... .........
Dresel, Julius............ 32,000 ......... 300
Winkle, Henry............. 42,000 ......... 500
Ehrlich, F................ 25,000 ......... 500
Simon, Jacob.............. 3,000 ......... .........
Dominico, A............... 15,000 ......... 500
Haraszthy, A. F........... 35,000 200 500
Tichner, Estate of L...... 75,000 700 3,000
Poppe, J. A............... 17,000 350 1,000
Snyder, J. R.............. 12,000 200 .........
Weyl & Leiding............ 15,000 1,000 .........
Craig, O. W............... 25,000 2,000 .........
Carriger, N............... 35,000 1,500 4,000
Rodgers, W. K............. 25,000 800 .........
Chauvet, J................ 10,000 150 3,000
Stewart, Charles V........ 25,000 ........ .........
Gundlach, Jacob........... 95,000 ......... 6,000
Hood, Wm.................. 80,000 3,000 6,000
Buena Vista Vincult'l Soc. 158,000 4,000 .........
Kochler & Froehlick....... 45,000 4,000 .........
Wohler, Herman............ 15,000 ......... .........
Wise, Christian........... 7,000 ......... .........
Winegardner, F............ 8,000 ......... .........
Nau, Thomas............... 15,000 ......... .........
Asphalt, N................ 4,000 ......... .........
Rommel, C................. 4,000 ......... .........
Steer, G.................. 5,000 ......... .........
Guerne, F................. 15,000 ......... .........
Manning, R................ 2,000 ......... .........
Shaw, James............... 5,000 ......... .........
_________ _________ _______
Total 1,335,700 22,230 60,000
The wine product of Santa Rosa and the Gullicos valleys is about 500,000 gallons.
The wine product of Russian River township is about 400,000 gallons.
The wine product of Mendocino and Washington townships aggregates about 500,000 gallons. The rest of the county 100,000 gallons.
Total wine product of Sonoma county for 1876, 2,535,000 gallons.
LIVE STOCK.
Horses, 9,246: mules, 717; cattle of all grades, 28,154; sheep of all grades, 250,000; common goats, 1,021; Cashmere and Angora, full blood, 500; hogs, 13,701.
MILLS AND FACTORIES.
Grist--mills 10—-steam power 3, water power 7; saw-mills 13—-steam power 13; lumber, sawed—-feet 50,000,000, shingles 10,000,000; woolen mill, 1; boot and shoe factory, 1; Alden fruit dryers, 3; railroads—-broad-guage 1, length 70 miles, value $378,300; narrow-guage 1, length in this county about 25 miles; value $75,000 per mile.
Registered voters.........6,000
Estimated population.....40,000
We think the contrast of the above figures with those of 1855 will show a very steady rate of progress for a period of little more than twenty years, and the county has just begun to advance.
Taking the statistics of the assessor, and from other sources, we have made an estimate of the value of the annual products of Sonoma county for the present year. Many of the products here given will largely increase, especially the yield of the forests, for the reason that both railroads have recently been completed to the timber region, and a number of new mills are building.
TIMBER.
Sonoma county possesses one marked advantage over most of the agricultural counties of this State. It has an immense source of wealth in its timber. The great redwood timber-belt commences in Humboldt and reaches down the coast for one hundred and fifty miles, terminating in Sonoma county. From the Valhalla—-the north boundary-line of Sonoma—-to the mouth of Russian river, the county along the coast is timbered. The timber grows inland from the sea-shore for about eight miles. The reader will see by reference to the map that Russian river turns around the town of Healdsburg, and flows west; just after leaving the valley it enters the timber-region, through which it flows to the sea. A branch of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad leaves the main road at Fulton and runs into this timber, terminating at Guerneville, a lumber-manufacturing centre. The timber in the Russian River bottom is not surpassed on this coast. Fed by the rich alluvial soil, and watered by the annual overflow of the river, the trees grew to an enormous size. Some of them will measure fifteen feet in diameter, and are over three hundred and fifty feet high. They row to the height of one hundred and fifty feet without lateral branches, the bole of the tree preserving a remarkable uniformity of size. In some cases a single tree has been worked-up into sixty-five thousand feet of lumber, worth at least one thousand dollars. The wood in the tree standing is valued at two dollars per thousand feet. One hundred and fifty thousand feet to the acre, six million feet on a forty-acre tract, is an average of good land. The very finest on the margin of the streams would produce at least eight hundred thousand feet to the acre, and the yield runs downward from that figure to twenty-five thousand feet to the acre.
The redwood belongs exclusively to the foggy coast-regions; south of San Francisco the supply has been cut out, and as it grows nowhere else, either north or south, Sonoma, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties may be said to have a monoply of this wood, the first in commercial importance on the Pacific coast. Oregon, with her magnificent forests, has none; Puget sound, with a lumber supply incalculable, has no redwood; nor does it grow anywhere on either slope of the Sierra Nevada.
The redwood is a close-grained timber, splits true, and is very light in color, like the Eastern cedar. It works beautifully under the plane, and has the merit of retaining its place and shape without warp or shrinkage. Its durability is unquestioned. Hundreds of miles of redwood fences, built twenty years ago, are yet sound, and attest this fact. For fence-posts and railroad ties it is the best wood known, resisting the action of both air and water with matchless durability.
Sonoma and Mendocino counties furnished the ties for the Central Pacific Railroad. Every Eastern train that crosses the Sierra rolls over the product of the forests of Sonoma. The redwood is also used for ties on the Southern Pacific, and ties from this county are now laid on the desert of the Colorado. They have gone further, having been shipped to South America for that wonderful road which leads from Lima, in Peru, to the summit of the Andes, seventeen thousand feet above the level of the Pacific. Harry Meiggs, who built the road, was once a mill-owner in this county. He remembered the redwood and its valuable properties, and ordered from our forests ties for his railroad up the Andes. The redwood is a creature of the fog. During the summer months the trade-winds blow along the north coast with great regularity. A dense fog banks up some miles from the shore; later in the day the wind increases, and the fog is driven inland. Detached masses first come in like flying squadrons, creeping through the foliage of the tallest trees, crawling over the hilltops, and down the opposite slopes, filling up the canons, and soon hill and valley are enveloped in dripping mist.
The foliage of the redwood possesses the peculiar power of condensing this mist and converting it into rain, thus supplying the roots which sustain the mighty bole of the tree with moisture during the long and rainless months of summer. The fog continues through the night, and disappears with the sunrise. This irrigating process is repeated every day during the prevalence of the trades. Few persons can appreciate the grandeur of these redwood forests. Last summer the writer stood upon the summit of the coast range; to the northward lay a sweep of majestic forests unsurpassed on the continent --tier upon tier, range after range of redwoods, until, fifty miles away in the distance, their green crests faded or merged with the colors of the horizon; and could we have compassed the outer bound of vision, beyond, to an equal distance, the eye would have been greeted by unbroken forests.
We now propose to give the number and capacity of the saw-mills of Sonoma county, with an estimate of the amount of standing timber owned by each, commencing with the most northerly mill, coming southward, and thence to the mills on the eastern side of the timber-belt which supplies our local demand. The lumber manufactured on the sea-coast is shipped altogether to San Francisco.
First, we have Gualala Mill Company, Haywood E. Harmon, superintendent, with a capacity for cutting 30,000 feet of lumber a day.
This company owns about two square miles of timber land on the Sonoma side of the river, averaging about 50,000 feet to the acre, say 75,000,000 feet.
Next we have the Clipper Mill Company with a capacity of 30,000 feet a day; about 3,000 acres of land belong to this company, which will average 40,000 feet to the acre, say 125,000,000 feet.
The Platt Mill Company has a cutting capacity of 30,000 feet a day, and 1,500 acres of land which will average 75,000 feet to the acre, say 112,000,000 feet.
Between the last named mill, which is located at Stewart's point, a shipping place on the coast and Russian river, a distance of twenty miles, there are different bodies of timber, the most valuable of which belongs to a G. W. Call, of Fort Ross; it lies north of Black mountain, contains 400 acres, and will yield at least 30,000,000 feet; other lots will aggregate say 100,000,000 feet, a total from Stewart's point to Russian river, of 125,000,000 feet. Total of all timber between the Valhalla and Russian river, 437,000,000 feet.
Duncan's mill, formerly A. Duncan & Co., now Duncan's Mill, Land, and Lumber Company, is building a new mill on the north side of Russian river at a point where the North Pacific Railroad bridge crosses the river; they own on that side of the river 3,600 acres of land, which will yield a total of say 216,000,000 feet.
The tract of land known as the Moore Brother's tract, now the property of the Russian River Land and Lumber Association, has two mills upon it, the largest with a capacity of 30,000 feet per day; the other, known as Stewart's mill, with a capacity for cutting 20,000 feet per day. This company owns 9,000 acres of land lying south of Russian river, and west of Howard's cañon, upon which there is, say 450,000,000 feet of lumber.
We now purpose to give an estimate of the timber in the Bodega district, south of Russian river, and north of Howard's cañon.
Meeker Bros. & Co. have 2,800 acres, upon which there is 170,000,000 feet.
Duncan, Bixby & Co. have 1,100 acres, on which there is 45,000,000 feet.
On the Jonive ranch there is left about 30,000,000 feet; on the Bodega ranch about 20,000,000; J.K . Smith's tract 10,000,000; Latham & Streeten's tract, 10,000,000; scattering outside lands held by various owners, say 60,000,000. Total in the Bodega country and north of Howard's cañon, 345,000,000 feet.
In the timber section opposite Guerneville, on Russian river, R. E. Lewis owns 220 acres of land, which will cut 60,000 feet to the acre; a total of 10,800,000 feet.
The Madrona Company have a tract of land of about 1,000 acres, with an estimated amount of standing lumber equal to 55,000,000 feet; their mill has a capacity of 35,000 feet per day.
S. H. Torrence has about 60 acres, which will cut, say 60,000 feet to the acre; total, 3,600,000 feet. Henry Beaver has 120 acres which will average 60,000 feet, say 7,200,000 feet; other parties on Pocket cañon, say 15,000,000 feet. Total timber opposite Guerneville, and in Pocket cañon, 33,000,000 feet.
On the north side of Russian river, from Dutch Bill creek to Hurlbut cañon, 700 acres averaged 60,000 feet, equal to a total of 42 000,000 feet. In Hurlbut cañon 2,000 acres at 60,000 feet to the acre, 120,000,000 feet. In the Big Bottom, near Guerneville, W. H. Willets has 160 acres of bottom land which will cut 15,000,000 feet. H. T. Hewitt has 160 acres which will cut 10,000,000 feet. R. B. Lunsford has 200 acres, say 12,000,000 feet. Heald & Guerne, beside their Hurlbut-cañon timber, have 360 acres which will average 60,000 feet, a total of 21,600,000 feet; Murphy Bros. 15,000,000; Ike and Tom Smith 120 acres, 60,000 feet to the acre, 7,200,000 feet; J. B. Armstrong 420 acres, 20,000,000 feet; James Peugh 40 acres bottom land, 60,000,000; H. Speckerman 40 acres, say 4,000,000 feet; J. K. Wood, 160 acres, 6,4000,000 feet; Henry Miller 200 acres, 60,000 feet to the acre, 12,000,000; S. B. Torrence 20 acres, 150,000 feet to the acre, 3,000,000 feet.
In Elliott cañon, Korbel Bros. own land which will yield 22,000,000; John Beaver 60 acres, which will cut about 5,000,000 feet.
On Mill creek the Marshall timber will cut about 15,000,000 feet.
There are three large saw-mills near Guerneville. Korbel Bros'. mill with a capacity of 30,000 feet a day; Murphy Bros. with a capacity of 30,000 feet; Heald & Guerne's mill with a capacity of about 30,000 feet a day.
In Bodega township there are four mills, Meeker Bros., Ben Joy, and J. K. Smith's, with a capacity each for sawing 15,000 feet of lumber a day, and another mill, owned by Frank Gilford, with a capacity of about 4,000 feet a day. It is estimated by lumbermen that when the timber is cut, cord-wood left standing on the land will make more freight than the lumber did.
The cutting capacity of all the mills in the county, with an estimate of their annual production of lumber is herewith given. The mills are not run more than nine months in the year, and not up to their full capacity.
STEAM SAW-MILLS--CAPACITY--ANNUAL PRODUCT.
Gualala mill................capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 5,000,000
Clipper mill................capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 5,000,000
Platt's mill................capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 5,000,000
Duncan's Mill L. & L. A.....capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 5,000,000
Russian River L. & L. A.....capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 5,000,000
Streeten's mill ............capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 4,000,000
Heald & Guerne's mill.......capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 4,000,000
Murphy Bros. mill ..........capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 5,000,000
Korbel Bros. mill ..........capacity 30,000 feet.....annual product.... 5,000,000
J. K. Smith's mill..........capacity 12,000 feet.....annual product.... 2,000,000
Ben Joy's mill..............capacity 12,000 feet.....annual product.... 2,000,000
Meeker Bros. mill..........capacity 15,000 feet.......annual product.....3,000,000
F. Gilford's mill..........capacity 10,000 feet.......annual product.....1,000,000
Madrona mills..............capacity 35,000 feet.......annual product.....6,000,000
______ _________
Total daily capacity of all mills.. 354,000 Total annual product.. 57,000,000
At this rate of consumption, our timber in reach of the railroads would last for nearly fifty years, and more transportation in cord-wood and tan-bark would be left upon the land than had been hauled off in lumber. An extension of the railroad will of course open up new fields. It is now quite certain that the narrow-gauge road will follow Austin creek from Russian river, cross the divide, and go down the Valhalla . This would open up an immense field not now in reach of market.
TABULATED STATEMENT OF TIMBER BY SECTIONS.
Between Valhalla and Russian river..................437,000,000
Duncan's Mill, Land and Lumber Co...................216,000,000
Russian River Land and Lumber Co....................450,000,000
Bodega country and north of Howard's canon..........345,000,000
Opposite Guerneville.................................33,000,000
Hulbert's canon, Big Bottom, Elliott's canon........350,000,000
Marshall timber on Mill creek........................15,000,000
_____________
Total number of feet in county.................... 1,846,000,000
The reader will bear in mind that there are several million cords of tan-bark and cord-wood, of which no estimate has been made. In estimating the redwood, we have figured on from fifty to sixty thousand feet to the acre; on best bottom lands there are acres that will yield eight hundred thousand feet; on thin land the yield will run as low as twenty-five thousand feet to the acre.
THE HARD-WOODS.
We herewith give a brief description of the other valuable commercial woods which grow in the forests of Sonoma, commencing with the California laurel, a beautiful evergreen which grows in the redwood belt. The wood bears a high polish, and is extensively used as veneer; leaves and wood have a strong aromatic odor. It is a valuable product of the Sonoma forests.
The madrona, one of the most striking trees of California, grows abundantly in this section. The bark is a bright red color, and peels off at regular intervals; the new bark is a pea-green color. The wood is hard, and is employed for making shoe-lasts, wooden stirrups, and other articles. It is the handsomest of the forest's trees, but will not bear transplanting.
THE OAKS.
The chestnut-oak, quercus densi flora, is abundant in the redwood forests of Sonoma. The bark is rich in tannin; the trees are stripped, and large quantities of the bark are shipped for tanning hides. The price of the bark in San Francisco is from fifteen to seventeen dollars per cord; consumption about one hundred and fifty cords a month. The wood of this tree is used in the manufacture of chairs at the Forrestville and other factories.
The live-oak grows abundantly in this county; it has little commercial value, except for fuel. The black-oak is found on all the hill-lands in the county, and is the best wood we have for fuel. The burr-oak is the largest and most common of the oaks. It is this tree, with its long pendant branches, that gives to California scenery its peculiar charm. They grow in clusters, and long may they stand to adorn the landscape. A clump of this variety of oaks may be seen in the Plaza of Santa Rosa.
MINES AND MINING INTEREST.
As early as 1852 there were reported discoveries of gold on Russian river. One of the Kelseys led a prospecting party as far as Eel river. This party discovered and named Eden valley, and Round valley, in Mendocino county, then a part of Sonoma. They, too, first crossed and gave the name Sanhedrin to the grand mountain which overlooks all the beautiful valleys of Mendocino. They met with no great success, and returned, but some members of the party still live in that part of Mendocino county, then first seen by white men. In 1854 reports of gold discoveries on Russian river were revived, but soon died out.
After the discovery and occupation of Geyser springs, the abundant indications of cinnabar in the neighborhood attracted attention. The price of quick- silver at the time was low,--fifty cents a pound; the cost of reduction was great, and the Almaden mine was producing a supply adequate to the demand. For these reasons no especial attention was paid to the indications of mercury everywhere visible on the surface near the Geysers.
In 1859 Colonel A. C. Godwin, then the owner of the Geyser springs, organized a mining district, located a number of claims himself, and a number of others were also taken up. These claims were afterwards consolidated into one or two companies, and some work was done on them. The low price of quicksilver, the scarcity of labor, and lack of skill in manipulating the ore, led to loss, and finally put a stop to all work on the mines. In 1861 Colonel Godwin, who had given the enterprise most of its life, sold his interest in the springs and mines, and returned to the East. The stock of the consolidated companies went to zero, and the mines were sold at sheriff’s sale to satisfy the demand of creditors. Professor Whitney, with a corps of scientists, came along soon afterwards, and, with his "no vein theory" in coast range, extinguished the last spark of life in mining enterprises in Sonoma, for the time.
From 1861 to 1872 no work was done on the quicksilver mines. In the latter part of 1871, and early in 1872, a lively interest in the mines revived,-- quicksilver having advanced to one dollar a pound. Claims in the old district were re-located, roads were built, a mining town sprung up, and at least five hundred men were at work in the district. A lawsuit was commenced between the old and new locaters, which brought to the county-seat of Santa Rosa a number of the most distinguished mining lawyers of the Pacific coast, and learned and eloquent arguments were made, which engaged the court for a prolonged session, creating for the time more excitement than was ever before witnessed in any case in the courts of Sonoma.
Just after the case was settled, quicksilver again fell in the market to fifty cents a pound. This at once checked the work of development, as most of the claimants were prospectors, hoping to pay their way from the products of the mine, and it cost them as much to get the metal out as it would bring in the market. Of the number of claims taken up, two have proved very valuable,—-the Oakland and the Cloverdale. The Oakland mine is situated near Geyser peak, which we have elsewhere mentioned. It is at the head of a deep gorge, on the north side of the mountain, known from its wild and sombre depths, as the "Devil's cañon." The Oakland, from the opening of the mine, has had good ore, and more than paid its way. It is now working in the three- hundred-foot level, in a seven-foot seam of exceedingly rich ore. The furnace at the mine is a small one,-—the product, about two hundred flasks a month, is up to its full capacity, and metal for at least one hundred and fifty flasks more per month is left upon the dump for a time when a larger furnace will be built. The ore is cinnabar, sulphate of mercury, and specimens are found which will retort seventy-five per cent of metal. The average of the ore worked is about four per cent.; lower grade ore is laid aside for the reduction at some future time.
About seven miles from the Geysers, on Sulphur creek, four miles northwest of the Oakland, the Cloverdale mine is situated. The hill in which this mine is located has all the appearance of an extinct geyser. The metal is diffused through the hill, and is found in the country rock, and in fine dust. There is a furnace at this mine, made with the view of working the latter kind of ore, which is rarely found. The Cloverdale is working two hundred flasks of metal per month, with very limited furnace capacity, and its production might be largely increased. It is regarded as one of the most promising mines on the coast.
In a different part of the county, near Guerneville,-—the reader can locate the place on the map,-—two other valuable mines are located; one is known as the Great Eastern, and the other as the Mount Jackson. They are four miles north of Guerneville. The Great Eastern and Great Western mines were located in the spring of 1874, by Messrs. Gum, Zane and Lewis, of Healdsburg. The two mines are separated only by an intervening cañon, through which a small stream has cut a deep channel. The Western was sold by the locators to a company of Healdsburg gentlemen, and the name was changed to Mount Jackson.
The Great Eastern was leased by the owners to Messrs. Parrott & Co., of San Francisco, who are wealthy merchants and deal largely in quicksilver for the Mexican and South American trade. Their lease was for six years, commencing August 1, 1874. Operations were commenced in September following, and have been steadily continued up to the present time. A bench of retorts was erected in the summer of 1875, which were used to burn the selected ore. The retorts were kept running until the building of the Eames furnace was commenced in 1876. There are ten thousand feet of tunnel in the mine, and five shafts, mainly for prospecting purposes. The ore now worked is taken from a body ten by forty feet in size, in which a shaft has been sunk to a depth of eighty feet into ore averaging about four per cent mercury. The ore is brought to the furnace at a cost which does not exceed ten cents a ton, on an incline on hundred and fifty feet long. The monthly production of a mine with an Eames fine-ore rotary furnace, is about two hundred flasks of metal a month. Total amount produced, about one thousand flasks. The mine looks well, and in a few years will produce metal in large quantities.
The Mount Jackson is also a very promising mine. Work was commenced on it in 1873, and has not stopped for a single day. There are two thousand two hundred feet of tunnel in this mine--four furnaces have been built, and four hundred and forty-three flasks of metal have been taken out; of this amount three hundred and fifty have been produced in the last four months. A new tunnel is now underway, which will be six hundred feet long, giving one hundred feet in depth on the ledge. Since first commencing work eighty-five thousand dollars have been expended on the mine. The Mount Jackson will one day fully equal the expectations of its owners.
We have mentioned specially only the four leading mines--there are a number of others which can be worked to advantage whenever the owners are ready to develop them. If the demand would justify it, the quicksilver mines of Sonoma could be made to produce from three to five thousand flakes of mercury a month.
There are a number of very promising viens <sic> of copper ore in this county, but none have been sufficiently worked to prove their value.
In many parts of Sonoma county coal indications have been found, but none have been fully developed. There is a ledge near the town of Santa Rosa, in Cotate or Taylor mountain, which is opening with most flattering prospects of success. Coal has been taken from this mine, which is not surpassed by any yet discovered on this coast. The coals of the Pacific are all inferior to the Eastern coals. They are rather a lignite than a true coal. They do not coke but burn to ashes like wood; for domestic and steam use they answer admirably. A company composed of the wealthiest citizens of Sonoma county, with ample capital, has been organized to work Taylor Mountain mine, and there is every reason to believe that we are on the eve of opening up a deposit of coal which will be more valuable than any gold mine in the State. Should coal be added to our products it would soon put Sonoma county in the first rank of manufacturing counties, as it is now first in wine, fruit, dairy, lumber and other products of the soil.
THE GEYSERS.
Among the noted springs and places of interest in Sonoma county, the Geysers are justly entitled to pre-eminence. They are located in the Mayacmas range of mountains, one thousand seven hundred feet above the sea-level. Imagine a clear, bold stream, a rod wide, flowing through a great cañon, with lofty mountains upon either side. Imagine a vast trench, a quarter of a mile long, appropriately called the "Devil's cañon," cutting the mountain, on the east side of the creek, at right-angles; in this trench or cut are the water and steam jets which form the Geysers. The springs, uniting their waters, make up a stream hissing hot, which falls into Pluto creek. We will not attempt a description, further than to say that the sides of this trench are scorched and burnt, and through its whole length issue whirring steam-jets and boiling water, some of which is black as ink. Standing in the middle of this discord of harsh sounds, and enveloped in a sulphurous vapor, it requires no great stretch of fancy to imagine one has passed from the accustomed order and beauty of nature to the threshold of chaos.
The first known white man that visited these springs was Wm. B. Elliott, in April, 1847, though they were known to the Indians prior to that time. There is a steam spring known as the Indian Sweat-bath, where those of the tribe afflicted with rheumatism were brought and laid upon a scaffold immediately over the spring, and steamed until cured, or death carried them to the hunting grounds of the Great Spirit, where the twisting pangs of rheumatism are unknown.
The first house at the Geysers was built by M. Levy on a beautiful flat just west of the springs. Upon this flat the fearless hunter Elliott, the discoverer of the Geysers, and his son killed a grizzly bear who was inclined to dispute the right of the white man to explore the mysteries of the Devil's cañon. The house which Levy built upon this flat was known as the Old Homestead, and is remarkable for a wild grape-vine on its site, measuring twelve inches in diameter. In 1854 Major Ewing erected a cloth house where the present hotel stands. Levy, finding it a more eligible situation than his own, consolidated his interest with Major Ewing's. After this a saw-mill was brought in, and a part of the hotel now in use was built.
The late Colonel A. C. Godwin, then a merchant in Geysersville, became an owner in the property soon after it was settled. Colonel Godwin was a man of winning manners, and a personal magnatism that attracted all who knew him. Together with him, and another dear friend, deceased, the writer, on his first visit, in 1857, explored the wonders of Geyser cañon. After a lapse of years we revisited the same scene with a guide; the associations and surroundings recalled to memory the first owner of the Geysers, and brought forcibly to mind the beautiful words of the poet:
"Many a year is in its grave
Since I crossed this restless wave;
And the evening, fair as ever,
Shines on ruin, rock, and river,
Then on this same stream beside
Stood two comrades, old and tried;
Take O! stranger thrice thy fee,
Take--I give it willingly,
For invisible to thee,
Spirits twain have walked with me."
The first route to the springs was through Knight's valley to the foot of the mountain, in stages, then on horse-back by a narrow trail over the mountain. W. McDonald, still a resident of Knight's valley, acted as a guide. Levy kept the hotel during Mr. Godwin's ownership; he was succeeded by Major Ewing, and Major Ewing by H. Utting. After Mr. Utting the place changed hands nearly every year, and the hotel was kept successively by Coe & Baxter, Clark Foss, and F. H. Coe. In 1866 it was rented by Major Shafer, who kept it until 1870; he was succeeded by J. C. Susenbeth, who remained there three years. B. S. Hollingsworth was the lessee for the years 1874-5-6 and 7; he was succeeded, in April of this year, by Mr. W. Forsyth, the present proprietor. The first register kept at the springs was in the year 1854, and there are but twenty names upon it. From that time on, the number increased every year until 1875, when three thousand five hundred names were enrolled. The first wagon-road made to Geysers was from Healdsburg over what is called the Hog's Back ridge. On the 15th of May, 1861, R. C. Flournoy drove a double team and buggy over the new road, and to him belongs the credit of taking the first wheeled vehicle of any kind to the Geyser springs. He was accompanied by a lady, and reached the hotel at eleven o'clock P.M., without breaking a bolt. The main trail to the Geysers was over this road until 1869, when a toll-road was built from Knight's valley, and a stage-line was put on that route. In 1874 the toll-road from Cloverdale up Sulphur creek was built, and opened the following season. Of all the roads to the Geysers, that from Healdsburg, over the Hog's Back, is the most interesting and beautiful; it follows the crest of the high ridge separating the waters of Big and Little Sulphur creeks, passing close under the shadow of Geyser peak, affording a view of the great Russian River valley and the sea beyond, unsurpassed anywhere in its breadth, variety, and beauty. N. W. Bostwick runs passengers through by this route, with first-class vehicles, and in the shortest possible time. There are other roads into the springs from Lake county, and there is also a good trail from Geyserville. The springs can be reached by private conveyance in about three hours' and a-half travel from Santa Rosa.
MINERAL SPRINGS.
SKAGGS' SPRINGS are next in importance and popularity to the Geysers, and are crowded annually by those in quest of good health or pleasure from all parts of the Pacific Coast. These springs are situated at the head of Dry Creek valley, about eight miles west of the depot of San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad at Geyserville. The land upon which they are located was entered in 1856 by William Skaggs, A. Skaggs, and William and John Knight, as a grazing ranch. In the spring of 1857 A. Skaggs bought out his partners, and has since continued sole proprietor.
There are a number of hot sulphur springs at Skaggs' of delicious temperature for bathing. There is also a cold soda and iron spring, a valuable tonic for invalids, but the luxurious baths, which seem to recreate one anew, are the chief attractions of the place. The first regular visitors to Skaggs' came in 1860, the number increased until 1864, when it became apparent that the medicinal properties of the waters was fast extending its reputation, and would justify an outlay for permanent improvements, which were at once commenced. The house was opened for the reception of guests in 1864 by A. Skaggs; he rented the place in 1867 and resumed control in 1868. In 1869 and 1870 the house was leased by John Leonard, and in 1871 by B. F. Tucker. Perry Emmerson kept it in 1872-73, and since that time the springs have been under the management of Mr. Skaggs himself.
A large sum of money has been expended by the proprietor. There are good accommodations for at least three hundred persons in the hotels and the cottages which surround it. There are elegant walks and drives about the grounds, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the most popular place of resort for families north of the bay of San Francisco.
The largest number of guests the first year the springs were opened, on any one day, did not exceed twenty; now as many as three hundred have registered in a day, and for the season they may be counted by the thousands. The location of the springs will be seen on the accompaning map. To reach Skaggs', passengers may leave San Francisco any day by the morning or evening boat, and in three hours, by steamer and car, arrive at Geyserville, when an elegant four-horse stage awaits the cars. From Geyserville the distance over a beautiful road to the springs is but eight miles, just long enough to give a real zest to the bath, which comes always first and last in order. These justly popular springs grow in reputation every year because they have real merit, and the proprietor does all that can be done for the comfort and pleasure of his numerous patrons.
LITTON SPRINGS are located four miles from Healdsburg, on the line of the railroad. They were improved about two years ago by Captain Litton, the owner, at an expense of $80,000. There is a very handsome hotel and a number of cottages. The water is an agreeable seltzer, and is bottled and sold in considerable quantities. When better known, no doubt Litton will become a favorite place of resort. We have not heard who has charge of the hotel for this season. These springs may be reached any day by the regular trains of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad.
THE MARK WEST SPRINGS are situated in Mark West creek, about nine miles from Santa Rosa; they are beautifully located in a bend of the creek which forms a romantic little dell surrounded by chapparal hills. These hills during the season display colors as rich as the mountain heather, which has been celebrated in the old country in song and story. It is not overdrawing the picture to say that in mid-summer the little valley in which the springs are located, glows like an emerald set about with opals.
The chief attraction of this spring is its sulphur bath. They are owned by Judge A. P. Overton, of Santa Rosa, and are leased by Mr. Simpson, an experienced popular landlord. Their nearness to Santo Rosa, and the excellence of the baths will always make Mark West springs a favorite and fashionable place of summer resort.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS are situated two miles and a half from Santa Rosa, under the Cotate peak which overlooks the city. They are owned by John Taylor, and are leased by Mr. Hughes. The place is well improved; the water holds in solution sulphur, soda, magnesia, and iron, and is con- sidered very healing for many of the ills that flesh is heir to. There are also a number of well-fitted bath-rooms supplied with hot and cold mineral water. It is a favorite drive from Santa Rosa to the springs, and they are also patronized by many from abroad.
THE PETRIFIED FOREST.
The petrified forest deserves liberal space in any description of the places of interest in the county of Sonoma. It is a fossil forest of great extent, and not the least of its curious features is its owner, Charles Evans, or Petrified Charley, as he is now called. Charley is a Swede, who was born, well, no matter when, at all events, a long time after St. Helena buried the living forest of which we now have a cast in stone, in scoria from its heart of fire. The only possible connection between Charlie and the volcanic period is that the latter saw the trees buried, and the former exhumed them, and forms the missing link between the past and the present period.
The forest is sixteen miles from Santa Rosa. It was not brought prominently into notice until 1871, when the land was enclosed by the present owner. Professor Whiting visited it, and Sam Brannan had a large rockery at the Calistoga springs from fragments hauled from the forest. A number of persons came out to see the trees, and this induced Evans to clear away the brush and excavate the most accessible of the trees, doing a little more every year; he then enclosed the land, and charges a small fee, as guide, to repay him for his labor. The trees lie in two tiers, forming a parallelogram, a mile in extent, from east to west, and about a quarter of a mile across, from north to south,-- the roots are towards the north and tops to the south. They lie at an angle of from five to thirty-five degrees; the butt end of the trees are always lowest. They are buried in volcanic ashes or tufa, and the ground around them fairly sparkles with particles of silica. The largest tree excavated is eleven feet in diameter at the root, and is sixty-eight feet long. It is broken in several places. The forest has been visited by about ten thousand persons in the past six years, and all who have been there express themselves as well repaid for their time and trouble. The forest can be reached and examined thoroughly in a day from Santa Rosa by J. P. Clark's Calistoga stage-line. Those visiting the Geysers by the Cloverdale route will be taken to the forest by Foss' line of stages from the Geysers to Calistoga. For the first six years the owner put in all his time in improving grounds, and it is admitted to be, in the language of Mr. Evans, "the prettiest place in the hills of California."