USA > California > Contra Costa County > History of Contra Costa County, California, including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description; together with a record of the Mexican grants also, incidents of pioneer life; and biographical sketches of early and prominent settlers and representative men > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80
The chief openings to the Clark Vein are the Black Diamond Com- pany's openings, of which there are three. The first of these is known as the " Little Slope," the second is the " Mount Hope Slope," and third the "Black Diamond Shaft." Second, the "Union Company's Slope." Third, the slope of the old Eureka Company. Fourth, the "Pittsburg Slope." Fifth, the " Independent Shaft."
The mouth of the " Hoisting Slope " of the Black Diamond Company is situated in the bottom of a deep ravine, which runs up southwesterly among the hills, and is eight hundred and thirty feet above low water mark on the San Joaquin River. This slope is ninety-eight feet long, and goes down through the Clark Vein at a pitch of about 35°.
The mouth of the " Mount Hope Slope" is situated about four hundred and fifty feet northeasterly from the mouth of the " Hoisting Slope," and is seven hundred and ninety-seven feet above low water mark on the San Joaquin River. This slope is two hundred and ninety-three feet long, to the Clark Vein, and has a pitch to the south of about 37º 15'. From its foot the " Mount Hope Gangway" runs east and west through the Clark Vein, and is over a mile in length.
The " Black Diamond shaft " is situated six hundred and twenty feet
72
History of Contra Costa County.
northwesterly from the mouth of the " Mount Hope slope." It is vertical and its mouth is eight hundred and thirty-nine feet above low water mark.
The mouth of the " Union Company's slope" is situated very close to the line between the S. E. and the S. W. quarters of section 4, and is eight hundred and sixty-six feet above low water mark on the San Joaquin River. The slope is four hundred and seventeen feet long to the "Clark vein," with a pitch of 37° 45' to the south. From its foot a gangway runs east and west through the Clark vein.
From a point on this gangway, two hundred and forty-four feet west of the foot of this slope, a counter slope runs down, with a pitch of 28° 23' to the north, three hundred and four feet to a second gangway, and then about three hundred feet to another gangway. The old Eureka slope was about two hundred and ninety feet long, with an average pitch of 43º 15' to the south ; its mouth is seven hundred and eighty-six feet above low water mark.
The Pittsburg slope is in the southeast corner of section 4. Its mouth is eight hundred and thirty-eight feet above low water mark. Its pitch, 25° 50' west of south, and is two hundred and forty feet long to the Clark vein. From its foot a gangway runs in both directions through the com- pany's property. From a point on this gangway, twenty-five feet west of the foot of the Surface slope, a counter slope runs down on the dip about eight hundred feet, with a pitch of 31° 30'.
There are, however, two intermediate gangways, one at a point three hundred feet, and the other at a point five hundred and seventy-nine feet down from the head of the counter slope. In the eastern part of this mine and distant nearly a quarter of a mile from the foot of the surface slope, there is another counter slope running down from the upper gangway to the second one.
The Independent shaft is a vertical shaft sunk by the now defunct In- dependent Company, at a point a little S. W. from the center of the N. E. quarter of the S. E. quarter of section 4. Its mouth is seven hundred and nineteen feet above low water mark, and it is seven hundred and ten feet deep. This mine was worked at a great loss and was finally abandoned.
FAULTS AND DISTURBANCES. Throughout the Mount Diablo coal mines the beds are frequently more or less disturbed by faults and dislocations, some of them being of great magnitude.
These disturbances are generally most sharply defined in the Clark vein. The longest distance which occurs anywhere in the mines without any fault or disturbance of noticeable magnitude, is a distance of about two thousand feet on the Clark vein stretching east from the Black Diamond into the Union mine. Most of the larger faults of these mines have a northeasterly and southwesterly course, the plane dipping at a steep angle
73
The Mount Diablo Coal Field.
to the northwest. With reference to the direction of those in the faults, the general law holds pretty well throughout these mines, that where the plane of a fault is inclined from the vertical, it is the hanging wall of the fault that has gone down. This law, though general, is not universal, as cases occur where the throw is in the opposite direction.
The general line of strike of the beds, in spite of all faults and disturb- ances, is very straight for a distance of nearly a mile and a half in a direction of about N. 86° E. from the Pittsburg slope, to a point about as far west as the middle of section 5, and within this distance the dip does not vary greatly from 30°, ranging in general from 28° to 32°. But going west from the middle line of sections 5 and & the beds and strata curve around in a gentle sweep to the south, while at the same time their dip diminishes until it does not exceed 20°.
The general form of the beds as they lie in this shape is that of warped surfaces, which produces a gradual increase in the height of all the lifts in going toward the west.
VENTILATION .- In mines situated as these are amongst the deep cañons and high hills, there is generally great difficulty in securing good ventila- tion, which is a necessary adjunct to the working of the mines. Artificial means have been resorted to, and not until lately with any success. The water being supersaturated to such an excess of Sulphuretted Hydrogen, that on exposure to the air it forms white deposits of sulphur, and the gas escaping causes a bad effect on the eyes. One method used at the mines for ventilation was the keeping of lighted fires at the bottom of the venti- lating shafts, which heated the air and kept it in rapid circulation.
Chloride of lime was used for the purpose of decomposing and absorb- ing the deleterious gases, but it did not accomplish the work ; its odor being very disagreeable, this method had to be abandoned finally. Then one of the largest sizes of Root's patent rotary blowers was obtained. This was driven by a small engine, the air was forced through a pipe down the Black Diamond shaft, and after its course through the mines, found its exit through the Mount Hope gangway. This method worked very well, but it was not complete. Another method was resorted to; instead of forcing the air down through the mines and out, this principle was reversed, and the air was exhausted from the mines ; this was an improvement on the other, yet enough gas remains still to make it disagreeable to those working in them.
There is but little fire damp in these mines, yet occasionally a locality is found which requires close watching, but not enough shows itself to re- quire the use of the safety lamp, this being used only as a test for the fire damp. Numerous small casualities have occurred from the presence of fire damp, which only resulted in the severe burning and occasionally in
74
History of Contra Costa County.
the death of one or two men. But it was all owing to the gross careless- ness of the miners going into those parts of the mines that had not been worked for some time, and where they might have expected to find the fire damp, if they had reflected but a moment.
PEACOCK AND SAN FRANCISCO MINES .- To the west of the Black Dia- mond Company's mines for a distance of a mile or two there has been considerable prospecting done in years past, but the above mines are the only ones worth mentioning. The "Peacock " mine is situated on the Black Diamond bed. The San Francisco mine is situated about half a mile west of the Peacock mine ; this mine is also on the Black Diamond bed, but neither have been profitably worked.
CENTRAL OR STEWART'S MINE .- This mine is over the ridge and east- erly from Somersville, and is situated in a steep and narrow ridge running east and west across section 10. It was originally opened by a tunnel, its length to the Clark bed being about one thousand feet. There are exposed in this tunnel beneath the Clark bed four distinct seams of coal of differ- ent thicknesses. In 1870 a gangway was driven in on the Clark bed two hundred and seventy-five feet east and three hundred and seventy-five feet west from the tunnel and considerable coal extracted, the bed averaging thirty-nine inches in thickness. Since that time a tunnel has been driven in Stewart's mine from the Clark bed northerly through the ridge, and to daylight on the other side.
EMPIRE MINE .- This mine is located on the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 12, and is about four hundred feet above tide mark on the San Joaquin River.
What information we have been able to glean on this mine will be found in the History of Township Number Five.
TEUTONIA MINE,-Passing east from the Empire mine we come to the Teutonia mine, in the south part of the S. W. quarter of section 7, T. 1 N., R. 2 E., the mouth of the mine being about one hundred and fifty feet north of the section line. Considerable work was done on this mine and a large amount of coal was found, the seam being about thirty-six inches thick, but it was finally abandoned.
RANCHO DE LOS MEGANOS COAL MINES .- The mines on this ranch are situated just on the edge of the Mount Diablo foot hills, at a point some five miles easterly from the Mount Diablo mines, and at an elevation of about one hundred and sixty feet above tide mark on the San Joaquin
75
The Mount Diablo Coal Field.
River. The parties who commenced to develop this property ran a slope from the outcrop down a vein about three and a half feet in thickness, and one hundred and seventy-five feet in length. The dip of the vein is about N. 35° E., and at an angle of 18° to the horizon. A shaft was then sunk one thousand three hundred and seventy-five feet N. 70° 45' E. from the mouth of the slope. This shaft is four hundred feet in depth, and was divided into three compartments, two for hoisting coal and one for pumping purposes. Some work has been done in the mine since, but it has not been operated for market purposes. The distance to a suitable landing on the San Joaquin is about seven and three-fourths miles. With this mine the Mount Diablo coal fields may be said to terminate. No indications worth mentioning show themselves until we reach the Corral Hollow coal field.
76
History of Contra Costa County.
-
THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY.
The Spanish, Mexican and American Periods.
The history of the Contra Costa dates back to the time when California was visited by the white race. The Pacific Ocean was given to the world by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, who looked down from the heights of Panama upon its placid bosom on the twenty-fifth day of September, 1513. In 1519 Mexico was conquered by Hernando Cortez, and sixteen years there- after, in 1537, his pilot, Zimenez, discovered Lower California. In 1542, a voyage of discovery was made along the Californian coast by the famous Captain Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, on the 5th July of which year he landed at Cape St. Lucas, in Lower California, and following the coast he finally entered the delightful harbor of San Diego, in Upper California, September 28th. This place he named San Miguel, which was afterwards changed by Viscaiño to that which it now bears. It was not until the year 1602, how- ever, that the Spaniards took any actual steps to possess and colonize the continent. In that year Don Sebastian Viscaiño was dispatched by the Viceroy of Mexico, acting under the instructions of his royal master, Philip III, on a voyage of search in three small vessels. He visited various points on the coast, among them San Diego, was well pleased with the appearance of the country, and on December 10th discovered and entered a harbor which he named in honor of Count de Monterey, the Viceroy who had dis- patched him on the cruise.
We are told by the ancient historiographers that part of this expedition reached as high as the Columbia River, in Oregon, and that the whole sub- sequently returned to Acapulco, its efforts being pronounced satisfactory.
For some unexplained cause, not much use had been made of the in- formation gained from these trips, which were of frequent occurrence, and it was not for one hundred and sixty-eight years that any steps towards the permanent settlement of Upper California were undertaken. Under the joint management of Church and State, a plan with this end in view was commenced in the year 1683, but it failed, the State being represented by Admiral Otondo, and the Church by a Jesuit Father named Kino, La Paz being their point of operation ; but we are correct, we believe, in stat-
Wörterbosch
JOEL HARLAN.
Early History and Settlement of Contra Costa County. 77
ing that they did not all visit Upper California. The settlement of the peninsula was finally undertaken fourteen years later, when sixteen mis- sionary establishments were founded by Father Salva Tierra. The order which he represented falling into disgrace in Europe, however, was banished from the dominions of Spain and Lower California in 1768, after laboring for seventy years. They were in turn succeeded by the Franciscans and Dominicans, the former of whom, under the guidance of Father Junipero Serra, proceeded to the conquest and conversion of this part of the country. This Reverend Father is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as the Apostle of Upper California, and acknowledged in history as its founder.
The first permanent settlement in California, as we now know it, was made at San Diego. in 1769, when was also established the first mission, whence further operations were directed and new missions founded.
The discovery of the Bay of San Francisco, which, with its contiguous sheets of water, bathes our western shores, was long a subject of dispute. Some have claimed the honor for Sir Francis Drake, who, in his famous marauding expedition of 1577-78-79, put into what was then, and long after, called the Port of San Francisco, and remained some weeks, refitting his ships. He called the country " New Albion," and took formal posses- sion of it in the name of his sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, and as her repre- sentative accepted the allegiance of some of the native chiefs. In perpetual memory of this act of possession, the old chronicler relates that a wooden pillar was erected, to which was fixed a silver plate containing an engraved likeness of her Majesty, with the date. It was probably a redwood post with an English crown-piece, or perhaps a shilling, nailed fast to it, bearing her royal image and authenticated by the stamp of her mint. But that this Spanish Port of San Francisco, entered by Drake in 1578, wherein the Manilla galleon " San Augustine" was wrecked in 1595, and which Viscaiño also visited in 1603, is not the same which now bears the name, has been fairly established from ancient records recently brought to light by the California Historical Society, and has been definitely accepted by an authority no less distinguished than Professor George Davidson, of the United States Coast Survey. A description of it is to be found in an old Pacific Coast Pilot, written by Admiral José Gonzales Cabrera Bruno, and published in Manilla in 1734. It is there located immediately under the lea of Point Reyes, and corresponds perfectly with that now termed Sir Francis Drake's Bay.
The present Bay of San Francisco remained unknown down to the year 1769, when José Galvez, the Visitor-General of New Spain, determined on the occupation of Upper California. For this purpose two expeditions were simultaneously dispatched from Lower California, the one by land, the other by sea. The overland one, under the command of Don Gaspar de Portala, the first Governor of California, reached San Diego on the first of July, in
78
History of Contra Costa County.
the year named, and after a short rest there, resumed its northward march on the 14th of the same month. Two schooners, the "San Jose" and the " Principe," had been directed to follow up the coast, and a rendezvous ap- pointed at the Bay of Monterey, described by Viscaiño as a magnificent port, and which Galvez designed to occupy as the base of his new colony.
After numerous vicissitudes Portala's expedition descending the valley of the Salinas reached its mouth October 1st. Unable on a hasty reconnais- sance to find the " magnificent port " described by Viscaino, and misled by a fog-bank into the belief of another headland immediately north of Point Año Nuevo (now the extreme southwestern point of San Mateo county), the adventurers continued their journey, and, on the 30th of the month, reached Point Corral de Tierra and camped on the site of the present town of Half Moon Bay. The headland to the west of them Father Crespi, the chaplain of the expedition, called Point " Guardian Angel," but the more worldly-minded soldiers, from the abundance of mussels found there, gave it the name of Punta de Almeja or Mussel Point.
In attempting to go further up the coast the ascent of the first ridge revealed to the observers of the expedition, far to the north-northwest, Point Reyes, with the Bay of San Francisco under its lee, and the Farra- lones to seaward, and confirmed the doubts which had, for the past month, distracted the leaders of the party, whether they had not long since passed by the famous port of Monterey, without finding it. A halt was called and a counter-march decided on. But, preliminary to returning from their un- successful search, Sergeant Ortega, with a party of soldiers, was dispatched over the hills to the northeast, to explore and report on the character of the country to be found there. Three days were allowed for this examina- tion, and in the meantime the men were permitted to hunt at discretion through the neighboring hills. On the evening of November 2d some of these hunters returned announcing the discovery of an immense arm of the sea, stretching inland. This was confirmed on the following day by the return of Ortega's party, who announced their glad tidings in advance, by the discharge of musketry, waving of flags, etc.
Animated by this unlooked for intelligence, Portala broke up his camp on the following day and struck out over the hills to the northeastward. From the summit of these the party looked down on our noble bay, which, in their admiration, they termed another Mediterranean Sea. They turned southward, with the idea of getting round the head of the bay and so reaching Point Reyes and the harbor of San Francisco, lost for one hundred and sixty-seven years. On the evening of November 6th they encamped on the northerly bank of the San Francisquito Creek, not far from where Governor Stanford's house now stands. Explorers were again sent out, but as these reported that the bay again became wide and extended to an unknown distance southeast- wardly, alarm at the rashness of their undertaking began to prevail, and
Early History and Settlement of Contra Costa County. 79
they arrested their march. In fact their powers were spent, and it was well they decided to tempt no more; for, to have pursued their journey further, in their exhausted condition might have resulted in the loss of their whole party. The discoveries they had made it was important to pre- serve. Their provisions were almost exhausted; several of their number had died, and more than half the remainder were down with scurvy; the native inhabitants showed signs of hostility, and the Winter of an unknown region was at hand. A council was again called, and it was voted unani- mously to retrace their steps. Governor Portala would indeed still have pushed on, but yielded to the unanimous voice of his companions, and on November 11, 1769, they commenced their homeward march.
All their meat and vegetables had long been consumed, and their ammu- nition was nearly exhausted. Their allowance of food was reduced to five small tortillas a day. These, with shell-fish obtained on the sea shore, acorns and pine nuts gathered by the way, or furnished by friendly In- dians, and an occasional wild goose killed with a stick, furnished the staple of their poor food, as they toiled over their weary homeward march. They reached Point Pinos again on the 27th November, and notwithstanding their distressed condition remained there till the 9th December, searching in vain up and down the coast for that famous harbor of Monterey which Viscaiño had described in such glowing terms. Point Pinos, indeed, they recognized from its description and the latitude assigned to it; but nothing else could they find corresponding to the description of the bay they were in search of. In despair they at last concluded that the harbor must have been filled up by sand or obliterated by some convulsion of nature. All hope of meet- ing the schooners from whose stores they might have obtained succor, was abandoned; and on the 9th of December they sadly prepared to renew their toilsome and dreary march towards San Diego.
Before starting they erected on the south side of Point Pinos a large wooden cross, on which was rudely carved the words, " Dig at the foot of this and you will find a writing ;" and at its foot accordingly they buried a brief account of their journey. Its text as set forth in Father Crespi's diary, was as follows :-
" The overland expedition which left San Diego on the 14th of July, 1769, under the command of Don Gaspar de Portala, Governor of Califor- . nia, reached the channel of Santa Barbara on the 9th of August, and passed Point Conception on the 27th of the same month. It reached the Sierra de Santa Lucia, on September 13th, entered that range of mountains on the 17th, and emerged from them on the 1st of October ; on the same day caught sight of Point Pinos and the harbor on its north and south sides, without discovering any indications of the Bay of Monterey. Determined to push on further in search of it, on the 30th of October we got sight of Point Reyes and the Farrallones at the Bay of San Francisco, which are seven in
80
History of Contra Costa County.
number. The expedition strove to reach Point Reyes but was hindered by an immense arm of the sea which, extending to a great distance inland, compelled them to make an enormous circuit for that purpose. In conse- quence of this and other difficulties, the greatest being the absolute want of food, the expedition was compelled to turn back, believing that they must have passed the harbor of Monterey without discovering it. Started on return from the Bay of San Francisco, on November 11th, passed Point Año Nuevo on the 19th, and reached this point and harbor of Pinos on the 27th of the same month. From that date until the present 9th of Decem- ber, we have used every effort to find the Bay of Monterey, searching the coast, notwithstanding its ruggedness, far and wide, but in vain. At last, undeceived and despairing of finding it after so many efforts, sufferings and labors, and having left of all our stock of provisions but fourteen small sacks of flour, we leave this place to-day for San Diego. I beg of Almighty God to guide us ; and for you, traveler, who may read this, that He may guide you also to the harbor of Eternal Salvation.
" Done in this harbor of Pinos, this 9th of December, 1769.
" NOTE .- That Don Michael Constanzo, our engineer, observed the lati- tude of various places on the coast, and the same are as follows :-
"San Diego, at the camp of the overland expedition, 32° 42'.
" Indian village, at the east end of the channel of Santa Barbara, 34° 13'.
" Point Conception, 34° 30'.
" The southern foot of the Sierra de Santa Lucia, 35° 45'.
" Its northern extremity at this harbor and Point of Pinos, 36° 36'.
" Point Año Nuevo, which has low reefs of rocks, 36° 04 .*
" The land near the harbor of San Francisco, the Farrallones bearing west quarter north, 37° 35'.
."Point Reyes, which we discovered on the west northwest from the same place, supposed to be 37° 44'.
" If the commanders of the schooners, either the San Jose or the Principe, should reach this place within a few days after this date, on learning the contents of this writing and the distressed condition of this expedition, we beseech them to follow the coast down closely towards San Diego, so that if we should be happy enough to catch sight of them, we may be able to apprize them by signals, flags and firearms of this place in which succor and provisions may reach us.
" Glory be to God," says the pious old chronicler, " the cross was erected on a little hillock close to the beach of the small harbor, on the south side of Pinos, and at its foot we buried the letter." On the other side of the Point they erected another cross, and carved on its arms with a razor, the words : "The overland expedition from San Diego returned from this place on the 9th of December, 1769-starving."
" Probably an error in transcribing. The other latitudes are very nearly correct.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.