USA > California > Marin County > History of Marin County, California also an historical sketch of the state of California > Part 16
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in this transcendental paradise of incomparable magnificence. The valleys had long slept under a golden dream of flowers, and creeping nearer and nearer, mother Nature finally clothed my aged form' in a dress of youthful emerald, and placed a bouquet upon my head. But still the master spirit of creation-Man-was nowhere in the land. Revolution after revolution of the ponderous wheel of progress found me the same faithful sentinel over the Golden Gate, the inlet to the land of promise. While Homer was writ- ing his immortal Illiad, I was writing the history of the Pacific Slope. When that great and good man, Socrates, was teaching philosophy to the young men of Athens, I was teaching philosophy on this lonely shore. At the very moment when Virgil was engaged in writing Roman His- tory in Latin verse, I was writing the history of the earth with the pen of Nature. While Plato was being initiated into the mysteries of the Pythagorean system of philosophy, and when, still later, he was teaching his Platonic system, I was tracing the philosophy of future events in the sands of Time. Countless ages before the glory of ancient Troy, I was recording in the ledger of Nature the evidence by which the scientist of to-day reads my history. When Homer and Virgil were inditing the battles of Troy, I was writing the volcanic battles of California.
"Finally a sail is described on the bosom of the Pacific-and another, and another-and Man makes his appearance upon my broad domain; and while Confucius teaches moral maxims on the opposite side of the Pacific, Monte- zuma writes the history of his followers on this shore. Still further on the historical sail comes to view, and the Portugese, Cabrillo, catches a view of this golden land. In 1579 Admiral Drake landed upon the coast, and took possession of the country in the name of England, for which brave deed Queen Elizabeth knighted him "Sir Francis" Drake, and further tickled his vanity by volunteering the somewhat flattering compliment " that his actions did him more honor than his title." Next came the Jesuit Fathers, headed by Father Eusebio Kuhn, in the name and in the interest of Phillip II of Spain, who built missions and invited the people to bow in homage thereto, and no longer worship at the temple made by the eternal hand of God. To these inland travelers, and not to the ocean navigators, is the world indebted for the final discovery of the Golden Gate. Following in the wake of the padres, the Castillians of Spain slowly but sparsely settled up the country. The reign of those pioneer magnates was the most quiet, dig- nified, happy and hospitable that the broad acres of lovely California have ever experienced. Nor were they deficient in the culture and polish of true gentlemen.
"The necessity for intermarriage with the native women, and the poor edu- cational facilities at command materially deteriorated their descendants, until at the present time we only now and then meet with a noble old Cas- tilian of pure blood. But wherever met with, they are the same open-
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hearted, generous souls as of yore. At last civilization overspreads the land, like a spirit dream; the "golden fleece " is well-nigh harvested; many of the harvesters have been harvested by the hand of Time, and many more recline under their own vine and fig tree in peace and contentment. The spirit of progress is abroad in the land. I see it on every side, I scent it in every breeze. It glides over the beautiful Bay of San Francisco in floating homes; it heaves and plunges on the bosom of the Pacific in massive palaces of grandeur; it rushes over the land in the steam engine; it annihilates space in the electric telegraph; and its sons and daughters climb upon my aged back and watch the splendor of the scene as it passes to and fro."
From San Rafael the view of Tamalpais is so fine that no words are equal- to the description. Picturesque houses and woods, studding a hill-side, form another foreground to a Tamalpais picture, which even the old resident pauses to ponder over and admire. San Rafael from the south is a third view, the like of which few persons are permitted to gaze upon. You look down from a high ridge upon the beautiful town, and its handsome villas perched here and there in protected nooks or sunny hillsides. The Catholic Church, with its tall, white spire; the Presbyterian Church, and the splendid Court House, are commanding objects. Six or seven miles from the town you may trace the track of the North Pacific Coast Railroad, climbing up the sides of the mountains and winding in and out of the lateral canyons in a manner to fill the spectator with astonishment.
Gentle Reader : Looking up Mount Tamalpais from any point in this valley, its slopes present no evidence to the eye of the invading march of improvement ; no scars of a utilitarian hand are seen to mar its rugged and majestic beauty ; not even the road or trail by which tourists ascend can be seen. The huge flanks and ribs, the ridges and gorges present a wild natural appearance, inviting to any who might be in humor for the delights of pri- meval solitudes, or for penetrating the secure haunts of wild game ; but it would be the last place to go to find trophies of cunning workmanship, or to see a grand achievement of labor and engineering skill. Yet these appear- ances, like so many others in this world, are deceitful.
If you take the Lagunitas road from Ross' Valley, and ride about half way up the mountain, your eye will be delighted with the beautiful succes- sion of landscape pictures which follow each other with bewildering rapidity. But the greatest of all surprises is when you suddenly come upon the scene of a busy and noisy settlement, where several hundreds of men and horses are engaged, and where in the midst of the wilderness a great work has been prosecuted almost to completion. This is the Lagunitas Dam, the highest reservoir of the Marin County Water Company. Upon the north flank of the mountain are many little springs of the purest water. The site of the dam is a large, clear plateau, about midway from the valley to the summit, to which
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these springs flow down, and form little lakes (lagunitas). This is a spot so " beautiful for situation," so charming in its outlines and contour, and so distinguished by its romantie surroundings, its picturesque outlook, and its grand old shade trees, that it will at no distant day be a popular retreat from the city, and become the site of a large hotel. Its area is perhaps sixty to seventy-five acres, about one-half of which will be covered by the lake formed by the dam now in the course of construction, and which will add a feature of exceeding beauty to the already favored region.
The supplies from these springs have heretofore found their way to the sea through the Paper Mill Creek and Tomales bay, but the Water Company entirely turns the course and conducts the water to this valley and the Prison Point. The dam is six hundred feet long on the top, with a width of two "hundred feet at base and thirty-five on top, and the height is forty-three feet. The company were fortunate in finding material at hand exactly such as they required, and, what is more rare, the ends are as solid and firm as could be asked. The body of the dam is composed of a clayey loam, found close by, and the puddle pit of a yellow clay, which becomes when rolled as solid as any pot- tery. This is ten feet wide, and runs twenty-seven feet below the base of . the dam, where it rests on the bed rock, or rather is mortised two feet into the bed rock. This gives an idea of the thorough and substantial character of the work. The sides of the dam slope two feet to one of elevation, and the water side is faced with granite, taken from a quarry near the end of the dam. The capacity of the lake is estimated at twenty-five to thirty acres, and its volume at about one hundred and thirty millions of gallons. The reservoir is made thus large with a view to provide for the contingency of any winter in which there should be but little rain. The reservoir being filled to its full capacity in any wet winter, will hold more than enough water to supply all the present or prospective wants of San Rafael and vicinity for more than two years. But the dam can be raised seventeen feet higher, if need be, which would much more than double its capacity. There are but two dams on the coast that equal this in size, the Pillarcitos and the San Andreas, both on the Spring Valley Water Works. Mr. Hermann Schussler, who built these two, is also the Chief Engineer of the Lagunitas dam. The water is brought down here in an eight-inch pipe, having a fall of seven hundred and forty-three feet, and a carriage of one and a half million gallons a day. The road so far leads through canyons without extensive views, but is made beautiful by the variety of the forms and tints of the foliage on the creek banks and hillsides. The deep rich green of the laurel, now loading the air with the pungent perfume of its lemon-colored blossoms, the ceano- thus, often hiding its verdure under the luxuriance of its wild lilae flowers, the manzanita, showing white and pink blossoms intermingled with greyish green leaves, the evergreen oak, the holly, the dark redwood and the light green madrona, all evergreens, are the predominant features in this vegeta-
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tion ; deciduous trees and plants, which are bare of leaves at this season being comparatively rare. The wild gooseberry, however, is in bloom; the buckeye has opened its leaf buds, and the wild hazel has hung out its cat- kins as signs that spring is here. Wild flowers of many kinds appear also, though not in such numbers as to hide the grass.
. From Lagunitas, the trail-for from this point there is no wagon road-is steep and leads through the chaparral, with some hard climbing for the horses ; but we arrived safely on the summit half an hour before noon, though the distance-eleven miles from San Rafael, with an elevation of two thousand feet-could have been made in two hours and a half. The day was not perfectly clear, but it was clear enough to make all feel that they had been fortunate in selecting the time. The view is less comprehensive than from Diablo, and in many respects inferior ; but is in other respects superior and it is by far the best bird's-eye view of the Bay of San Francisco and its surroundings.
The ascent is but an easy pleasure-ride from San Rafael, between the hours of breakfast and supper-that is eight A. M. and six P. M .- with an ample scope for rest of several hours on the summit. Though the central summit, selected for the Station of the United States Coast Survey, is not the highest point, (two thousand five hundred and ninety-four,) the east peak exceeding it by some eight or ten feet, yet, from its more central position, the view from it is probably more comprehensive. The ascent is made from the northwest base of the mountain, through a ravine leading to the summit ridge, which is indicated by the numerous trails of horned cattle, migrating to and from either side of the mountain, for change of herbage and water. The scenery in that region is wild and romantic, showing abrupt declivities and deep ravines ; a wilderness of redwood, cedar and chaparral, in which are frequently found the blanched antlers of the elk, an animal now extinct, or hardly ever met with in these glades. The mountain summit is gained from thence by a succession of out-croppings between barren stretches, with only here and there a stunted cedar, or patches of low brambles.
The view from the Flagstaff Station is striking, over one hundred and fifty degrees of the western horizon being occupied by the Pacific Ocean; from Bodega Head, near the site of the early Russian settlement, Fort Ross, Tomales bay, and that remarkable low spit of land forming Point Reyes, and indicating the entrance to the Bay of Sir Francis Drake, in the north- west, round to the outer Bay of the Golden Gate, with the Farralones floating in the center of that western hemisphere; the northeastern quarter section occupied by distant mountain ranges, from Mount St. Helena and its eastern declivities to the hills of Montezuma, the foot-hills of the distant Sierra Nevada and the San Pablo Coast, enclosing a segment of San Pablo bay, abruptly cut off by the eastern peak of the Tamalpais Range, the very range on which we stand, which, culminating here in a towering mass, impedes
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the view in a due easterly direction. The southeasterly quarter section left for us to describe, is as full of interesting detail as it is enchantingly beauti- ful; haziness of atmosphere impeding the view of the southern end of the Bay of San Francisco, we have an apparently unbroken line of mountain. ridges, from the Santa Cruz Mountains south, to the Contra Costa Hill Range east, overtopped by the double peak of Mount Diablo, in an east- southeasterly direction; the shore-line of Contra Costa, studded with the clearly discernable sites of its growing settlements, and, opposite Oakland, on the extreme western, needle-like projection of the Southern Peninsula, the Bay City, with its wharfs and shipping, telegraph and Russian Hills, and even the street lines in range of sight. To our right, as well as to our left, we have in the foreground the abrupt lines of the declivities of the mountain itself, with a labyrinth of sinuosities, terminating in the projection of two prominent head-lands, encircling Saucelito and Richardson's bay, at- our feet; the one on the left, Corte de Madera, terminating in the head-lands opposite Angel Island, with Raccoon Straits and Stillwater bay between ; . that to the right massing itself in the Saucelito head-lands, forming the northern shore of the Golden Gate passage, with Lime Point, Point Diablo, and the Bonita Lighthouse; the opposite, or southern shore showing Fort Point, Presidio, and Black Point, and glimpses of the passage between ; while the San Miguel, San Bruno, and Sierra Moreno Range form the ascending scale of the Southern Peninsula, with the distant Santa Cruz Range on the horizon. What at first bewildered the beholder with the impression of a confused "archipelago, by following the lines of the main land, resolves itself into the center of the Bay of San Francisco, between San Pablo and San Mateo, and the grand tide channel, the body of water between Contra Costa and the Golden Gate passage, with Angel, Yerba Buena and Alcatraz Islands -the latter with its formidable batteries-appearing as a mere rocky islet, an illuminated speck in the azure lake !
We here reproduce the following lines which are from the pen of Mrs. F. D. Sweetser nee Maria E. Sutherland, a local poetess of much culture and sympathy of feeling.
MT. TAMALPAIS.
We will off! We'll away, at the breaking of day !
From the slumbering town to the green hills away!
Let them sleep who can, with pulse heavy and slow, But away, light as thistledown, pony we go, Through fields and through valleys, o'er hill we will fly. Away to the haunts of the deer we will hie.
We tread rarest scents from the dew laden flowers,
And shake from the brushwood dew diamonds in showers ; The birds songs are ringing out, joyous and free; The sweetest of all earthly music to me. We climbed our loved Tamalpais, rugged and steep, And light o'er the sage as the deer let us sweep.
Blake
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We laugh at all obstacles, we have no fear; On! on! my brave pony, the summit is near, At last we have mounted his grey rocky crest, All breathless and panting, awhile we will rest. The morning is fine; fast away rolls the mist, This scene of enchantment, what heart could resist ! At our feet the Pacific, on whose wrinkled old face One homeward-bound steamer is traveling apace; Bravely and speedily, toward the broad Gate Where loved ones her coming so anxiously wait. Countless sails o'er the water, like huge sea birds fly, To all points of the compass the tiny barks hie. I follow their flight-like birds on the wing- And lift up my voice with the fishers and sing. On my right a miniature world is unrolled, All the glories of Nature spread out, and unfold: Tiny forests and valleys, and green rolling hills,
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Spreading plains, murmuring streamlets and gay dancing rills, In sunshine of amber, and soft viel-like shade, As if for my pleasure, at my humble feet laid. My love for these mountains no language can tell, Whose shade o'er my dwelling since infancy fell.
I love thee, proud Tamalpais, guard of our town, Whose face in calm majesty ever looks down. Far grander and higher the Yosemite's white dome. But less dear to my heart, because further from home, Of the mountains of Scotland, my father oft tells,
And with love that's inherent, my Scottish heart thrills; With the Highlander's rapture, my youthful breast swells, As I roam free, untramelled, o'er Marin's green hills. I love them ! I love them ! and shall till I die; When I pray that my grave in their bosom may lie.
Thou, king of them all, with your grey rocky crest- When I die, may they lay me to sleep on thy breast.
With regard to the derivation of the name of this famous mountain it is said that Tamalpais is a compound word belonging to the ancient Aztec language; Tamal signifying an article of food, prepared thus: [cornmeal made into a stiff dough, inclosing a piece of meat, making a sort of dumpling, which is enveloped in a corn-husk and boiled. Pais, means region or country, thus, putting the two together in English, then we have as a name for the region surrounding that noble elevation, "Dumpling Land." Another "undoubted authority " states that it is derived from the language spoken by the Nicasio Indians, the two words being Tamal, the coast, and Pais, a mountain, collectively, Tamalpais, coast mountain. To the reader is left the choice of either derivation.
The following tale, in regard to Tamalpais, has been sent to us by an old resident, and may prove interesting : It appears that many years ago Jacob P. Leese was surveying in portions of the district, and had with him as assistants the old Indian chief Marin, for whom the county was named, and
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HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
some of his followers. It became necessary for Mr. Leese to establish an initial point on the top of Mount Tamalpais and wished that Marin and some others should go up with him. To this they made strong objections on account, as they said, that the top of the mountain was inhabited by evil spirits, and no one could go up there and come back alive. Mr. Leese tried in vain to persuade some one of them to accompany him to the sum- mit; he finally decided to go up alone, which he did, the Indians saying to him that they never expected to see him again. When Leese had reached the top, and accomplished his purpose, he was, for a time, puzzled to know how he could convince the redskins of his having reached the summit. To do this he placed a large limb across an old dead tree, thus forming a cross which could be seen from the valley below. He then descended and directed the attention of the Indians to the cross. Prior to this Marin had been consid- ered by his followers, as the bravest man in the world; he therefore found that now it would never do for him to be afraid to attempt what a white man had accomplished. Marin then determined, against the most earnest entreaties of his men, to go up where the white man had been. Tearing himself away from his tribe he ascended that monstrous high hill alone, and when there had to study how he should convince his followers of the fact. All he had on were a pair of duck pants and a red flannel shirt, and hard as it was he concluded to part with his shirt and hang it on the arm of Mr. Leese's cross, which having done he returned to the foot of the mountain, but his followers seeing him without his garment, at once concluded that he had been robbed of his uniform by the Devil himself, but pointing out to them with becoming pride his shirt waving upon the cross, much joy was expressed on his restoration to them as the bravest of the brave.
RAILROADS .- Of all the means which tend to cause the rapid settlement "of a country, perhaps there are none which produce such quick results as the railroad. So soon as it is learned that the fiery horse is snorting through a hitherto unknown territory, so sure are travelers to make their :appearance, and as the numbers of these increase, more certain is it that per- manent occupiers will follow, trading posts be opened, and around their nucleus before the lapse of many weeks will a town spring up. As the transportation of freights is facilitated, so will produce increase, and as crops multiply, still more certain it is that peace and plenty will reign.
The want of a rapid means of transportation had long been felt in Marin county, and though many lines of railroads from all parts of the surround- ing districts had been mooted, it was not until the first year of this decade that a line of cars became un fait accompli. We will now consider the
San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad .- This line which traverses the entire length of the Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and Russian River valleys, was commenced in the year 1869, and was completed to its present terminus at Cloverdale in 1872. As a road, not one in the entire State is more com-
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plete in its appointments, while from its incipience to the present time it has progressed with the county, and reflects much credit upon its builders and upon its management.
The builder of the line, and the President of the company is Colonel Peter Donahue. His attention was first called to the work by the Hon. A. P. Overton, now a prominent citizen of Santa Rosa and formerly of Petaluma. Colonel Donahue, with that keen business foresight for which he is so eminent among his compeers, at once saw the necessity which existed for such a road, took in hand, and pushed it to its completion with that iron will which knows not let nor hindrance. Of Colonel Donahue's labors, Mr. R. A. Thompson says: "To that enterprise, which has placed Colonel Donahue in the foremost rank of the business men of the great metropolis of the Pacific coast, we owe our excellent facilities for communication with San Francisco. When others faltered or drew back, he pressed to the front. His business sagacity and capital proved the " open sesame " which smoothed and made straight our highway to the sea, over which the varied products of Sonoma county are transported (a rich tribute) to his adopted city, San Francisco."
Colonel A. A. Bean, a most accomplished gentleman, is the manager of the line.
North Pacific Coast Railroad .- The North Pacific Coast Railroad extends from a point in Marin county, opposite San Francisco, through that county into Sonoma, and terminates at Duncan's mill, on Russian river. Milton S. Latham is President of the company. W. F. Russell is Secretary and general agent, John W. Dougherty is general manager, W. B. Price is Auditor and general passenger agent, C. B. Mansfield is assistant superin- tendent, and J. W. Fillmore, train despatcher.
The road was first opened January, 1875. Freight cars cross the Bay of San Francisco on barges to the opposite shore at Saucelito, the land ter- minus of the road, a distance of six miles; or, reversing the order, they carry the freight laden cars from the terminus to the city. Each barge has a capacity for twelve loaded cars, making a great saving in transporting freight.
The road has a. second terminus on the Bay of San Francisco, at San Quentin, by a branch road, which leaves the main line two miles north of San Rafael. The Saucelito terminus is used for freight business, while the San Quentin terminus is used principally for the passenger business. This latter terminus is connected with San Francisco, a distance of about nine miles, by two elegant ferry boats, built in New York exclusively for this line, and for travel between the city of San Francisco and San Rafael.
The road is a narrow gauge, being three feet between the rails. Leaving San Rafael, the road runs through Marin county, passing Ross' valley by Fairfax and Pacheco, to the summit, known as White Hill, at the head of Ross valley. The grade in this ascent is one hundred and twenty-one feet
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to the mile, and so doubles back upon itself that in one instance the tracks are not one hundred yards apart after traversing a distance of three-fourths of a mile.
At the summit the road passes through a tunnel thirteen hundred feet long, and descends into the valley of San Geromino creek to Nicasio, and from there to Tomales. The route to this point is through a splendid dairy country, and, for all those rare beauties of scenery peculiar to California, it can nowhere be surpassed.
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