USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol I > Part 31
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" Ninety-eight different newspapers are bound, there being at least one from each county in the state except Alpine county, where no paper is published. These bound volumes are all arranged in order in a room specially shelved for them, and they are consulted constantly."
Concerning the great reference rooms and their valuable storehouse of the world's great authorities, Mr. Gillis writes as follows :
" The main reference department occupies the central portion of the library on the second floor. The desk is placed in the center of the room, thus enabling the attendant to maintain supervision of the alcoves, which extend from the wall in radial form. The classes of biography, literature,
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and the fine arts occupy the alcoves nearest the desk, while the current news- papers and periodicals and the general reference works are placed in an ad- joining room. Among the many valuable works of reference in the library may be mentioned Audubon's Birds, large folio edition, Challenger Expedi- tion publications, Jesuit Relations, Bartholomew's Physical Atlas, Sargent's Silva of North America, Harris's Fishes of North America, Sowerby's Eng- lish Botany, Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of America, de luxe edition, Sabin's Dictionary of Books Relating to America, Kingsborough's Mexican Antiquities, Boydell's Shakespeare, Galéries Historiques de Ver- sailles, Racinet's Le Costume Historique, Description de l'Egypte, Early English Text Society publications, Spanish Colonial Architecture in Mexico, many complete sets of periodicals of various kinds, sets of the transactions and proceedings of associations and learned societies, and a large number of valuable government publications, state and national. The best new books are constantly being added to the collection, so that the student may avail himself of the latest sources of information. It is desired to make the library as useful as possible to the people of California, and any informa- tion or assistance which can be furnished will cheerfully be given. During the hours that the library is open there is an attendant at the reference desk, whose duty it is to furnish all needed assistance and advice."
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CHAPTER XXII.
ARCHITECTURE IN THE WEST.
It is usually in old countries that we look for striking developments in architecture, or, rather, for examples of the greatness of architecture, as exemplified in modern replicas of ancient masterpieces.
California's principal cities, however, are showing good examples of modern architecture, especially in the field devoted to commercial struc- tures. San Francisco has set the example for smaller cities, but it is within the last twenty years only that large buildings of modern design have sup- planted the old structures of mining days. In fact, for many years it was erroneously believed that larger structures would be unsafe owing to occa- sional earthquakes. As there has never been a destructive earthquake in the state since the temblor of 1868, which hurt all parts of the United States, that objection has lost its validity.
Architects assure the commercial public that the great steel frame build- ings of to-day will withstand earthquakes even better than the smaller struc- tures, so sky-scrapers are now quite common in San Francisco and are destined to take the place of inferior buildings in other cities.
Some of the great architects object to the cheapness of many buildings now under way. Though the old-fashioned low residence has given way to modern apartment houses, the latter are often cramped for room and the structural part is built for profit only ; but the same statement is true of other cities where commercialism predominates. The calculations of interest, wear and tear and general utility modify and curtail designs and cheapen the work.
The one distinctive type of California architecture is to be seen in the missions of the olden days. Many of them still stand as glorious ruins of a former thriving era, and the mission type has afforded an example for many beautiful buildings of to-day. A study of the missions is fraught with deep interest to the historian as well as to the student of architectural designs.
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Mr. Alex F. Oakey, one of San Francisco's best known architects, contributes the following to the History :
In architecture the chain of cause and effect is unbroken as in every- thing else. The prime causes are: Natural resources, climatic conditions, and social conditions.
The natural resources of California in every kind of building material are perhaps more varied and more unlimited than anywhere else in the world. There are inexhaustible deposits of the highest grade of glass sand, of clays and koalins for the manufacture of the coarsest terra-cotta, or the finest porcelain-vast quantities of stone for the making of cements, marble, granites, limestones and sandstones; all the metals, and a greater variety of woods than can be found in any equal area in the world-given greater facilities in transportation, which will be provided when a denser population requires them, and the first requisite of extensive and permanent building operations is satisfied.
The climatic conditions are also peculiarly favorable to the development of all the arts.
By social conditions, of course we mean the constitution of the whole social fabric; the increasing competitive struggle; "When each, isolated, regardless of his neighbor, turned against his neighbor, clutches what he : can get, and cries mine! and calls it peace because in the general cut-throat, cut-purse scramble, no steel knives but only a far cunninger sort can be employed." Such conditions inevitably produce ephemeral social relations, and make flats, apartment houses and hotels essential. People who can afford to build houses do so less to live in than entertain in. These facts are not peculiar to California; the tendency is the same everywhere; and the question is not whether these conditions are good or bad, but whether they have had a radical effect upon architecture for better or worse. One result is undoubtedly bad that by the commercial necessity of economizing space, the relative number of openings is increased to the destruction of an expression of repose. Certainly repose is the most important expression of architecture; it is synonymous with dignity, with peace, and with perma- nence. Hence the modern sky-scraper can only be imposing in size. The confession of rent-grabbing is frankly made by its innumerable windows, with no restful expanse of wall, or deep embrazures to give the assurance of
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solidity. Tacking on details of the glory of Rome when available spots can be found, will not restore the monumental character sordidly sacrificed.
Naturally California adopts such developments in architecture as appear in older and more populous communities ; and we all know too little of metal to say whether the steel frame is more than a passing commercial experi- ment-some conservatives believe that these ingenious devices must ulti- mately fail from several causes : vibration, corrosion, electrolysis, etc. If this belief should prove warranted by the collapse of some of this type of building, a general revival of what is meant by architectural design would certainly follow. It may be on the other hand that the steel frame and the elevator are to be the means of developing new and beautiful things. But as their avowed purpose is to make money regardless of esthetic consid- erations the prospect is not encouraging.
Society is incapable of building a great architectural monument, such as a cathedral at present. It prefers to spend its energies and resources in something that pays better. Some sacrifices are made, some tribute paid in the form of fine art, to the name of religion or science; but the personal element is so ostentatious as to make the results mere advertisements, how- ever beautiful the design or perfect the workmanship. The unconscious honesty of purpose that has given the old missions of California their ex- pression of repose, of being indigenous, cannot be assumed. Be it in paint- ing, music, poetry, architecture or philosophy, the author cannot do more than disguise his real motive. The real character of the motive will inevit- ably determine the importance of whatever he attempts. It is not surprising that there should be no distinct tendency in architecture during the suprem- acy of such conditions. During the last fifty years we have seen a Gothic revival, a Queen Anne craze, a Romanesque period; and now because it is the fashion to study architecture in Paris, we must submit for the time being to the constant assertion of modern French Renaissance, whether we want a theatre, a home or a church.
If it were not for the civilization of Greece and Rome our jurisprudence could not be what it is-nor could we have such libraries as we enjoy, but for the monasteries of the middle ages; and yet we find a court house more like a monastery than anything else, and a library trying to look like a Florentine palace. We are only pleading for a little discrimination-no
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amount of money can buy good things without. We have heard it said that we have nothing to do with musty tradition and should stand on our own feet, working out our own salvation in art as in everything-so be it! But then we should logically throw away our photographs, our picture books and our histories and forget them, evolving our own forms from our necessities, and indeed under different social conditions, we might, like the old Padres, do something individual.
As to what has actually been accomplished in architecture in California since it became one of the United States, we must admit that considering the opportunities, what has been done is quite as good, and quite as bad as could be expected. We see an increasing number of expensive buildings for all conceivable purposes, and of excellent workmanship, in which all sorts of scientific contrivances are liberally provided for comfort and convenience ; but when we consider the design of such structures as a whole or in detail, there is seldom any true reason for their existence-association of ideas seems entirely lacking.
It would seem that as Moliere is the father of the modern theatre, it should to some extent be a reminder of the Louis XIV. period. But we are as likely to find the theatre a weak reminder of the Alhambra in Grenada in all its details, while next door one of the pavilions of the palace of Ver- sailles stands on sheets of plate glass to sell dry goods in. From all these passing whims and fashions future generations will thrash out something that shall have a character of its own, as expressive of the life and character of modern civilization as any style of architecture ever was of the civiliza- tions we have superceded. Such a style must be born of other social con- ditions than we have yet established.
California is only beginning to perceive that her geographical position, her natural resources and her climate may make the center of such a civiliza- tion by the time she is an hundred years older, and what is more to our immediate purpose in this direction, the commercial classes are beginning to appreciate that the best fine art has a tangible commercial value.
Mr. Lowell once said that after all there are some things the heavy roller of Democracy cannot quite flatten down, and we may congratulate our- selves on the fact that the greatest achievements in fine art have hitherto been coeval with the greatest commercial prosperity.
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We need hardly take the arguments against luxurious living seriously because the world will not listen to them, and if it did life could easily be reduced to a pot of dried peas and a blanket. The greatest force in the world is an idea, and the greatest art is to adequately express it. We may remind those who like practical results, and are still skeptical of the import- ance of fine art to any but the leisure classes, that on more than one well authenticated occasion Ruger de Lille beat the Austrians with his Mar- seillaise hymn.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
SOME SCENIC WONDERS.
Wherever the name of California is spoken visions of scenic glory fill the mind, for the climate of the far west is not more celebrated in song and story than are the wonders of Yosemite, the glory of the big trees, and the inspiration of peak and canyon.
For these reasons a brief history and description of the wonderful val- ley are a proper part of the story of California, particularly as each year brings more visitors than the year previous to the wonderland of the west.
Mr. W. S. Pladwell has made a careful study of Yosemite, and to him the author is indebted for much of the valuable matter contained in this chapter. He says :
The Yosemite Valley, situated in the core of the high Sierra, has an area of about 36,000 acres, and is described as a cleft or gorge in the gran- ite peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, in the county of Mariposa, at the head waters of the Merced river. The territory embraced within the boundaries of the valley comprises the whole of the valley proper and extends back from the edge of the precipice for an average distance of one mile, all picturesque country, surpassed in natural curiosities and grandeur of scenery only by the beautiful Yosemite itself.
In the early fifties the white settlers of this region living among the foothills on the edges of the Sierra and on the plains of the great San Joaquin Valley, found it impossible to exist in peaceful relation with the scattered Indian tribes, which had been for centuries in undisputed possession of the land and regarded the invasion of the white men with fear and aversion. A number of depredations were committed and atrocities perpetrated before the white settlers banded together to drive them out of the country. Several battles and skirmishes were fought; the Indians, in accordance with their usual tactics lying in ambush, but they were repulsed after which they re- treated farther into the fastnesses of the hills, where it was ascertained they
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had a stronghold and foraging ground to which they could take refuge in time of need and remain indefinitely without fear of famine or discovery.
In the spring of 1851 the "Mariposa Battalion," as the settlers styled themselves, under command of Captain Boling, determined to explore the mountains and route the Indians from their refuge. While engaged in active pursuit of the enemy they followed them into a wonderful gorge, where an engagement ensued. The Indians were defeated in pitched battle, a number killed and the remainder put to flight. Thus were the wonders of the beautiful Yosemite, until then unknown and untrodden by the foot of the white race, first disclosed to their enchanted gaze.
The attention of the general public was not attracted to the valley, however, until 1852, when the experience of Captain Boling and his party was published and the charm of the place, discovered under such peculiar circumstances, depicted in colors so glowing that lovers of nature flocked to the spot, and their enthusiastic endorsement soon brought the tide of travel slowly in that direction.
In one of nature's cataclysms, a mighty upheaval of the ages, was chiseled this wonderful gorge, a cleft among gigantic boulders. The soften- ing hand of time bevelled the face of the rude rocks and covered the floor of the valley with soft tracery of foliage from her choicest storehouse. Against the radiant arch of the sky, gleaming like a translucent blue pearl, rise clustering peaks and stately domes, flashing with multi-colored lights from summit to summit. Down the sides of the majestic rocks twinkle the beautiful falls and cascades which make Yosemite unique and unlike any other valley under the sun. The exquisite Bridal Veil, so aptly named, with traces of tears mingling with happy leap of its waters plunges over the granite wall to an abyss of over nine hundred feet. Here and there the wind playfully catches up large fronds of the snowy, lace-like spray, throw- ing off myriads of glittering diamonds, in its descent to the dark abyss be- low. The Indians call it "Pohono," "Spirit of the Evil Wind." The water at the base twists into a thousand tortuous and fantastic shapes, veiled in the eternal swirling mists which, added to the deep, hollow roar of the dash- ing spray, calls into play all the weird superstition of Indian natures, and they people the place with gnomes and spirits of evil and would suffer torture sooner than approach it.
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Vernal, Nevada and Yosemite Falls deserve separate descriptions. Each has its individual merits-none is like the other, and they are all unlike any other fall in the world-surrounded as they are by wild and beautiful scen- ery. When the Vernal Fall catches the sunlight it becomes a cascade of glit- tering diamonds. The Ribbon Fall is a delicate gossamer spray, rippling over the side of the gleaming rocks for two thousand feet. The great Yo- semite plunges in three vast leaps, before being consigned in its writhing course to the deep canyon below, while the broad Nevada, a magnificent cataract of virgin white, surrounded by domes, pinnacles, peaks, precipices and spires, majestically and eternally wends its way onward, playing its part in the panorama of this wonderful scene.
From Inspiration Point, a magnificent view bursts upon the sight. When Emerson saw it he said it was "the only place that came up to the brag." The hills stand out in bold relief against an azure sky, cloud shad- ows veil the slumbrous but transparent atmosphere, softening the gorgeous coloring of mosaic russets and yellows. The daring points of Cathedral Spires are grandly outlined and look like a replica of some ancient Gothic cathedral. Built of massive irregular boulders of nature's own manufacture, in the midst of a scene so impressive as to defy description, it is a fitting altar for her worship. Who has not heard of El Capitan, the stately guard- ian of the valley, the majestic domes, beautiful arches and towering peaks that form the mural architecture of this wonderful storehouse of beauty?
The floor of the valley is covered with choicest of foliage, flora and the finest specimens of the forest, amid whose protecting shelter gentle crea- tures lurk. Here and there exquisite lakes mirror the surroundings, en- hancing the beauty of the scene. Springs and cascades leap laughingly from grim old rocks as if by enchantment, their rippling course ending in softly flowing streams of crystal purity. A sylvan fairyland is disclosed in all the wild pristine beauty of nature's handiwork. One glances upward, and everywhere, in such great profusion as to almost tax the senses, stand out in bold relief the magnificent vision of sculptured chasm and cliff, their stern sublimity and rugged aspect softened by the lights and shadows which play over them, the exquisite colorings of nature's brush and the sparkling cascades and cataracts which leap from their sides everywhere in prodigal array. The gleaming great Half Dome, burnished like copper. the Royal
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Arches, Sentinels, infinite variety and limitless compass of cave and cavern, crag, precipice, canyon, gorge, toned and idealized with sky effects above and the dainty carpeting of nature below in soft tender greens and oases of lakes and purling streams. This is the Yosemite Valley, reposing within the bosom of California, unequalled anywhere, and wanting but the guiding hand to bring the world to its feet in homage and admiration.
In 1864 certain influential citizens of California and lovers of nature generally, fearing the beautiful spot would be given over to pre-emption and settlement, thus causing its division into small holdings and depriving the public of a place of resort and recreation, interceded with congress to grant to the state the land comprising the valley and its approaches. Congress being so moved, did by an act grant to the state of California the "cleft or gorge in the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, situated in the county of Mariposa, in the state of California, at the head waters of the Merced river, with its branches and spurs, in estimated length 15 miles and an average width one mile back from the main edge of the precipice."
This grant to the state of the land described was made upon the express condition that the premises should be held for "public use, resort and recrea- tion" and should be inalienable for all time, but leases not exceeding ten years may be granted for portions of the premises. All income derived from these leases or privileges to be expended in the preservation or improvement of the property or for roads leading thereto. Boundaries to be established at the cost of the state by the United States surveyor general for the state of California, whose official plat, when affirmed by the commissioner, shall constitute evidence of the "Locus, extent and limits of the cleft or gorge." The premises to be managed by the governor of the state, with eight other commissioners appointed by him, who shall receive no compensation.
Section 2 of the same act granted to the state the tracts of land em- bracing what is known as the "Mariposa Big Tree Grove, not to exceed the area of four sections and to be taken in legal subdivisions of one quarter section each, upon the same stipulations and provisions that govern the Yosemite Valley."
Frederic F. Low, then governor of California, on September 28, 1864, issued a proclamation reciting the act of congress granting Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove, to the state, and appointed the eight other
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commissioners, to whom was confided the management of the valley, and warns and commands all persons from committing any "trespass, acts of destruction or devastation" within the boundaries of the grant.
Thereafter the commissioners formally took possession of the prem- ises.
The surveys necessary to establish the boundaries of the grants in question as required by the act of congress were made in the autumn of 1864, and the official plat of the work was approved by the commissioners and accepted by the commissioner of the general land office; thus the "locus, extent and limits" of the grants of the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove were determined.
This grant of congress was formally accepted by the legislature of California on behalf of the state, by an act approved April 2, 1866. This act appears in form "To ratify the appointment by the governor of the eight commissioners mentioned in the proclamation," and directs that their title shall be known in law as "The Commissioners to manage Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove" and defines their powers and duties.
It will thus be seen, by the enactment of these laws the state of Cali- fornia became vested with full title to the "cleft or gorge" known as the Yosemite Valley, together with the land within the boundary described in the act, and the land known as the Mariposa Big Tree Grove.
The commissioners hold this property for the uses and purposes men- tioned in the act creating the grant, and the Supreme Court of California, in the case of F. F. Low, governor, H. W. Cleveland, et al., commissioners, vs. J. M. Hutchings, cited in the 41 California Reports, Page 34, the opinion being written by Mr. Justice Crockett, from which no dissent was made, de- clares that so long as the powers of the commissioners remained unimpaired and the trust remains in force under which the state holds these lands, the right of the commissioners to their possession cannot be successfully resisted, and declares that the attempt of the state legislature to make a grant of a portion of these lands to the defendant Hutchings, would be an open and flagrant violation of the trust in which these lands were conveyed to the state, and therefore void.
The Supreme Court of the United States, at the December term, in
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1872, on appeal taken by defendant Hutchings, cited in the 15 Wallace, Page 77, Mr. Justice Field delivering the unanimous opinion of the court, sus- tained the decision of the supreme court of California, that the act of con- gress of June 30, 1864, granting the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the state of California, passed the title of those premises to the state, subject to the trust specified therein and to be "held for public use, resort and recreation and be inalienable for all time."
By these decisions of the courts of last resort, the title of the state to the lands described in the act of congress was confirmed, subject to the trust specified and to be held for public use and recreation forever.
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