USA > California > Mendocino County > History of Mendocino County, California : comprising its geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber > Part 12
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" From the rock amid the desert, Gushing forth at God's command, Streams of water, pure and sparkling, Laved and cooled the thirsty land; Hearts were cheered and eyes grew brighter,
Pleasure thrilled in every vein; Even age forgot its weakness, While it drank and drank again. 0, the spring forever flowing, Life and health and hope bestowing!"
As stated above, the mineral springs are divided into two general. classes, cold and thermal. Each of these classes have quite a number of representa- tives in the county. Of the former there is a very nice one about one mile south-west of Ukiah, near the residence of Mr. D. Gobbi. This spring contains a smaller percentage of mineral than some others, yet it is present in quantities sufficient to be appreciable. Peroxyd of iron, sulphur and magnesium seem to be the principal minerals contained in it, and it is very palatable and refreshing as a drink. Another spring of this character may be found on the road leading from Ukiah to Booneville, which is more strongly impregnated with minerals than the last mentioned. This one contains about the same ingredients as the first, with a goodly supply of carbonic acid gas, which makes it a sparkling, grateful beverage. In all of these springs there is more or less of the salts of sodium, but they are not characteristically soda springs, although they are so called generally. There are several other such springs all over the county, many of which doubtless have not yet been discovered.
Of the thermal mineral springs, the Vichy, situated three miles east of Ukiah, afford an excellent example. There are two of them, each of a temperature about equal to blood heat. The mineral elements of these springs are about the same as those mentioned above. Unfortunately, no
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chemical analysis has been made of any of the mineral springs in the county. The water is a delightful temperature for bathing purposes, and possesses, doubtless, excellent remedial qualities. Another example is the Orr spring, · situated west of Ukiah a few miles. The water in this spring is quite warm. There are other springs of this nature in various parts of the county, every one of which will prove to be a healing fountain, and will, when properly appreciated, become favorite places of resort for the ailing and diseased from all parts of the Union.
TIMBER .- Mendocino county is so preeminently a timber section, that an extended description of the timber belts of the Pacific coast, taken in connec- tion and compared with its own timber belts, will not be without great interest to the readers of this volume. Mr. A. W. Chase, in an article entitled "Timber Belts of the Pacific Coast," published in the Overland Monthly in 1874, gives such a clear and comprehensive view of the subject, that we cannot refrain from quoting quite extensively from it in this connection. "Commencing at the southern boundary of California, we find the great coast counties of San Diego and Los Angeles almost destitute of timber of any description, except the planted orchards. The few scattered oaks in some of the valleys, are not sufficient to supply even the immediate neighborhood with fuel, which is therefore brought from Santa Barbara and other points to the northward, the oak commanding as high as $16 per cord in the city of Los Angeles. A great deal of willow, which grows along the streams and in the marshy places of that section, is used for fuel. In that mild climate, where fuel-is used principally for the preparation of food, this light wood answers every purpose, and even better than coal or oak. On the island of Santa Catalina grows a stunted tree, called 'sour wood.' This timber is very soft when cut, but rapidly hardens by exposure, and at last attains the firmness of iron-wood. It is often used for such portions of the small vessels plying along the coast as require durability, such as tiller- heads, blocks, etc. Once properly introduced, this wood might supply the place of some imported varieties.
There is said to be a growth of pine and fir on the mountains baek of Los Angeles, but at a great distance, and so inaccessible, that it will probably never be utilized. Going northward, we find back of Santa Barbara a few scattered groves of live-oak, but of so inconsiderable an extent, as not to merit the name of timber belt. Such as they are, however, they furnish fuel sufficient for the uses of the inhabitants, and even for export to Los Angeles. It is a pity that the groves should be cut, as, besides adding to the beauty of the landscape, they, no doubt, make the difference in rain-fall between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, which is in favor of the former. These scattered oak groves are found in the valleys till we reach Point Conception, when they cease. From thence to Point Cypress, the north
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point of Carmel bay, the coast line is destitute of timber, if we except a few scattered redwood trees on the crests and flanks of the high hills behind San Simeon, marking the southern limit of the redwood belt. At Point Cypress is found the beautiful tree known as the Monterey cypress. This, although a great ornament to a garden, is not extensively used at present for lumber. Point Piños, the next point northward, is heavily wooded with a species of pine, valueless, however, on account of its limited extent and inaccessibility. Passing the scattered oak-groves of Monterey, we come next to the fair beginning of the great redwood belt of the coast, extending northward from the vicinity of Santa Cruz to Crescent City, in Del Norte county, including Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties. These redwood trees along the coast are known as the Sequoia sempervirens, and have been the principal source of lumber for the past quarter of a century or more. Great inroads have already been made into these mighty forests of the coast, as can be seen along the streams of Mendocino county, especially within easy sailing distance of San Fran- cisco, and a great proportion of the available timber has been converted into lumber and sent to market. There is, however, an immense belt of this redwood extending from Russian river northward, and just in off the coast a few miles. Mills are located at all the available points, and the work of lumbering is being pushed vigorously along, and the annual lumber product is something marvelous to contemplate. Under the head of 'Mills and Milling,' will be found estimates of the lumber yield of Mendocino county. At all these mills from year to year, the logs are becoming further removed, hence the expense is greater and the work more difficult, and one of two things must ultimately happen, viz .: either the price of lumber must appreciate, or the mills must cease operations. As the demand for lumber will always preclude the latter event, the former must result, except, of course, when the supply is greatly in excess of the demand and the market thus overstocked. The logging district is very extensive indeed, and the opportunities for opening new districts are very great, so that the supply of lumber cannot be appreciably diminished for a number of years to come yet. There are immense bodies of redwood extending from the Gualala river northward to the Eel and Mad rivers, back from the coast a few miles, in which the sound of the woodman's ax has not yet echoed or been heard. There is an immense belt back of Trinidad. Thence north ward the red wood becomes scattered, until we reach the vicinity of Crescent City. Back of this place and covering the low lands, once evidently overflowed by the sea, between Pelican bay on the north, and Crescent bay on the south, is an exceedingly heavy body of this timber. It extends up the flanks of the lower spurs of the Siskiyou mountains, which here put down to the sea, and ceases at an elevation of about one thousand two hundred feet above the the tide. Many of these trees have a diameter at their base of thirteen or
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fourteen feet, and the average run of saw logs would be from six to eight feet.
This redwood belt abruptly ceases in the valley of Smith's river, a few miles south of the Oregon boundary, and from thence northward it is unknown as a forest tree, though a few clumps are found over the Oregon line. Although to a casual observer the redwood appears the same wherever grown, yet there is a marked difference in the quality of that from different sections. Even in the same district some groves are valueless, while others, not a mile distant, yield clear lumber. The tree, for instance, that grows in low or swampy ground is apt, from excess of moisture, to be swelled or hollow-but- ted, and to have more or less of rottenness and defect; while on rolling land and the slopes of the mountains the trees will be solid and free from blemish. Again, the timber cut from the lower end of the belt contains a greater percentage of refuse and less clear lumber than that from Humboldt, Trini- dad or Crescent City. There is a variety of the Sequoia sempervirens back of Crescent City that is quite peculiar. The tree is of the ordinary size and leaf of the common redwood, but the wood itself is white and remarkably free from knots and imperfections.
When the redwood grows in swamps and other moist places, there some- times forms on its outside a remarkable excrescence, called 'redwood fungus.' This appears in the shape of a huge knot or wart on the tree, and is a growth of the bark, not having any distinct grain. When cut into slabs this knot shows a mottled, deep-red color, filled with little ' bird's-eyes,' remark- ably beautiful, and bearing a high polish. When cut into veneers, it is used for panel-work on billiard-tables, etc., and commands a high price in the mar- ket. In the northern redwoods one frequently sees bunches of ferns and trailing plants growing on these knots, the fallen leaves lodging on the pro- tuberence having in time created a soil. These little air gardens are very beautiful. Sometimes a redwood tree will take a twist or curl when young from some accidental cause, and this continues as it grows older, and in due time forms ' curly redwood,' exhibiting when sawed, a succession of spiral whorls in the grain. This variety is very fanciful sometimes, and is much sought after for ornamentation. Redwood is very durable in the ground, and is much used for fence posts and bridge mud-sills on this account, but does not endure atmospheric exposure nearly so well as some other varieties of wood. . It will not bear a heavy strain, being in a measure quite brittle, hence is not adapted to ship-building or other purposes where lightness and strength are desired in combination. In the early days, however, a number of ships were constructed from it at Fort Ross by the Russians, one of which is still alive. This lumber has been exported with profit for some years to South America, the Pacific Islands and Australia.
We have next to consider the different trees that, commencing with the redwood belt, grow in the same climate and soil, and in some instances, as with the red and yellow firs, the laurel and oak, extend beyond it. Of these
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the two which extend the fartherest south are the laurel (Oreodaphne Cali- fornica) and madroña (Arbutus Menziesii.) The former is found in the shel- tered valleys as far down as Santa Barbara, but on the lower coast rarely attains any size. As we go nortlıward, the tree increases in diameter and the wood in beauty. The laurel requires a rich soil and plenty of moisture for its proper development, and we accordingly find it growing on the river bottoms in groves and patches-never in forests, like the coniferc. The gnarled and twisted trunks, and the glossy deep-green leaves of this beau- tiful tree make it very ornamental, and were it not for the great length of time required for its growth, it could be introduced advantageously as a garden shrub, or an ornamental lawn tree. It bears a small oily nut of a strong aromatic flavor, which is sometimes used as food by the northern In- dians. The laurel is an evergreen, but has an annual flow of sap, which is quite an important fact to be taken in connection with its preparation for ship-building, or other use where it will be exposed to the action of moisture. The proper time for cutting is during the months of September, October and November. If cut before or after these months, the wood is liable to decay, also to be attacked by a small worm, but when cut in the proper season, and when water or dock seasoned, it is fully equal to any Eastern oak. The knees for the United States war steamer Saginaw, were made of this wood, and were obtained from Black Point, Marin county. The steamer was con- structed in 1864, at Mare Island, and upon being dismantled some years later, it was found that while many of the timbers were perfectly sound, others had entirely decayed. This instance is often cited as a case in point to show the unreliability of the wood of the laurel, but it is really no criterion, for it will be remembered that that steamer was constructed during the rush and excitement of the heat of the Rebellion, and she was needed for active ser- vice immediately, hence ample time was not taken to fully prepare all the timber as it should have been. Now, however, that its peculiar character- istics are known, and the proper treatment of it perfectly understood, it is rapidly growing in favor as a substitute for Eastern oak, and will event- ually practically supplant it in our markets.
The beauty of laurel as a fine wood for cabinet purposes has been demon- strated in San Francisco, by the elegant finish of several buildings fitted up with it, also the paneling and wainscoting of steamboats and cars. Its infinite variety of figure and shade from the fine bird's-eye obtained from the knots and corrugations to the clear yellow of the straight tree, make it particularly pleasing. The dark figures in the wood are obtained by sub- jecting it to the action of salt-water; the tanic acid then in combination with the salt produces the wavy spiral lines and stains. Some of the most beautiful figures are obtained from the roots and the feather-like figures from the ' crotches '-that is where the limbs join the tree. Laurel bears a very high polish, but it has to be carefully treated and well seasoned to
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prevent warping. It is, therefore, generally veneered on some light wood When well seasoned it forms a very good material for wood-carving, having no decided grain, and being tough in texture. Should the wood ever become as fashionable as black-walnut for furniture, it will prove a valuable article of export. Some of the largest laurel on the coast grow on the Klam- ath river, in Del Norte county. It is found also on all the small streams north of this, and in great quantities on the Coquille, in Oregon. The local name, or rather misnomer, for the wood by the Oregonians is 'myrtle.' The northern limit of the laurel belt seems to be Coos bay, although it is found in small quantities on the Umpqua.
Growing in the same belt with the laurel; but usually preferring the hill- sides and tops, to the more fertile valleys, is found the madroña (Arbutus Menziesii). This tree, so aptly named by Bret Harte, 'harlequin of the woods,' is one of the most striking objects of our forests. It is rarely found growing straight, the trunks are usually twisted into every conceivable shape. The peculiarity of the bark, which peels off in thin strips, and seems to consist of several layers attracts the eye at once. It is smooth and yel- low in young trees, but changes in the old to a deep madder-red. This is the thin outside layer, and when that scales off the inside layer appears green on the tender shoots, and yellow on the older wood. The bark shed- ding process occurs in the spring and early summer, and is a very marked peculiarity of the tree. The madroña bears a small red berry, which is a favorite food for the wild pigeon. The leaves are large and have a glossy green appearance fully as rich as the magnolia. On the lower coast it sel- dom attains a diameter to exceed more than two feet, while the most of it is far under that, but on the Rogue river of Oregon there are several extensive belts in which some of the trees attain great size. The wood is not exten- sively used at present for any purpose, although it has a fine grain. It is similar in color to maple though darker, but does not bear the high polish which laurel will, and is objected to by cabinet-makers on account of the fact that it checks very easily, and is hard to season.
Growing in the same belt with the laurel and madrona, but extending beyond them, being found in large groves on the rich bottoms of the Colum- bia, is the soft or Oregon maple. The first trees of any size are on the Klam- ath river; from thence northward the alluvial bottomns of all the streams emptying on the coast contain groves of maple. The tree is identical in ap- pearance with the soft maple (acer rubrum) of the East, and the foliage in autumn assumes the same gorgeous tints so often admired by travelers. The wood is white and quite tough, and while it will take quite a high polish it will not equal the laurel in that respect. It is soft and easily worked, but not especially beautiful, excepting when the wood of a tree has taken a wavy or spiral form, when it is called 'curly maple,' and is much prized for choice fur- niture or other veneering. The maple growing in damp spots frequently has
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the fungi, or excrescences of the bark and wood, spoken of above as occur- ring on the laurel and redwood ; and when a perfect piece of this can be found it is quite valuable, being curiously marked with little bird's-eyes or lighter and darker spots.
Growing on the bottoms of the Klamath and Smith's rivers in California, and the Chetko, Rogue and Umpqua rivers in Oregon, is found a variety of white ash. The uses to which this valuable wood is applied are well-known, yet very little effort has been made to utilize the ash lumber of the Pacific coast, though large quantities of it are imported yearly from the East. The few who have tried the native wood say that it is ' brash'-that is, lacks toughness and elasticity. It is just barely possible that the reason for this judgment lies in the fact that the timber so far used has come from the upper Willamette valley, where it was grown removed from the influence of sea air. It is a well-known fact that timber used in ship-building, oak, for instance, is of far greater value when grown on the sea-coast, than when grown far inland. Whether the sea air acts on the growth of the wood found on the coast streams so as to retard it, and thereby increase its toughness and pliability, or whether the rich, loamy soil of the interior inclines the trees of that section to rank, coarse, fibrous growth, is a question, but the fact is con- ceded by all. It is then to this cause, probably, that the comparative dis- favor to the native ash is due ; but very little of that grown on the Klamath or other rivers mentioned above has ever found its way to the San Francisco market. Some little, however, is cut for local consumption, and is considered by the country wagon-makers, where it is used, as fully equal, if not supe- rior, to the imported article. Although the supply is limited, yet enough of this ash lumber could be obtained to meet the demands of our coast, markets w 1 out importing it from the East.
Also growing in the redwood belt, but extending far beyond it, being found as high as Alaska, is another valuable hard wood, the northern yew, (Taxus brevifolia). This is the slowest growing tree of the coast, and the trunks rarely attain a large size, a diameter of fifteen inches at the base being very rare. The tree is identical with the English yew, planted prin- cipally in old graveyards in that country. It has a gnarled and twisted trunk, foliage and bark not unlike redwood, and bears a red berry. The wood is very close and compact, and of a dark red color, and its qualities are great toughness and elasticity, with ability to bear a high polish. The In- dians of the northern coast use it exclusively for their bows, and those of Alaska for their clubs and carved instruments. It darkens with age and use, getting eventually as black as ebony. It was quite fashionable for fur- niture a few hundred years ago in England, and those pieces which remain in a state of tolerable preservation to this day present a very sombre appear- ance. This wood has never been introduced into the San Francisco market, and could only be obtained in small quantities, yet it is believed that it
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would supply the place of some of the more costly imported varieties for small articles of use or ornament.
We will next refer to the coniferce, which grows in the great timber belt of the Pacific coast, proceeding north first from the redwood belt. The white spruce (Abies alba), and the black spruce (Abies nigra) is first found in quantities back of Crescent City, in Del Norte county, California, and it grows in low, swampy spots, and has a sparse foliage and thin bark. It is especially remarkable for its spreading roots which, when properly hewn out, form excellent ships' knees. The lumber obtained from the spruce is tough, white and inodorous, and forms a good substitute for the more costly cedar and sugar pine, but owing to the fact that it is not easily worked, can never supplant them. Spruce is found growing in low places from Crescent City to the Columbia river, and the principal supply of the San Francisco market comes from the latter place. Of the two the white variety affords the finest lumber.
The next timber of importance, south of the Oregon line, is the fir, of which family there are three varieties, the white (Picea grandis), red (Abies Douglasii), and yellow (Abies Williamsonii), the last named being the most valuable, and the first nearly worthless. The red fir has, perhaps, the widest geographical distribution of any of the coniferc of the coast, being found as low down as Russian river, and forming the great forests of Puget sound, whence it is exported under the name of 'Oregon pine.' It makes an in- ferior quality of lumber, though very tough and substantial for coarse, heavy purposes, such as building-frames and the like, where it can be protected from the dampness; and it can be produced in such large quantities that it occupies a very prominent place in our markets. The red fir is a stately tree, with foliage of dark green, and small cones, and while it grows to a great height in favored localities, its diameter is never as great as that of the red- wood. It prefers the slopes and ridges of the mountains to the low land, and is found in the lower coast counties of Oregon, growing well up toward the summit of the Siskiyou mountains. The bark of the red fir is rough, but close and compact, and it is chiefly by this sign that it is distinguished from its congener, the yellow fir, the bark of which latter is loose and scales off when rubbed.
The yellow fir is the best of the species, and affords a fine clear lumber, close-grained and dressing remarkably well. It is rarely brought into the San Francisco market, and when by accident a tree of this variety is cut on Puget sound it is confounded with the common or red fir. It is found in small quantities in Mendocino county and above, but not in groves of any importance until latitude 42º is reached. There are fine groves of it back of Crescent City, on the Rogue river, in Oregon, and back of Port Orford in the same State. The red fir, as before remarked, extends far northward, and is especially abundant on Puget sound. This great forest belt, how-
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ever, has suffered from the fires which every season sweep over it. There is a district of coast from the Umpqua river northward nearly to the Columbia, where the mountains are covered with bare trunks and strips of a heavy growth of timber. From the sea these mountains present a curious appear- ance, the bleached tree trunks showing white and producing the effect of a mist or cloud hanging over them.
We now come to the consideration of the most valuable belt of timber on the coast line proper, namely : the white or Port Orford cedar. This tree is exceedingly handsome in appearance, being usually thick at the base and tapering gradually upward. The foliage is a bright, lively green, yellowish towards the tips of the slender sprouts, flat in shape, and drooping from the top downward. The seed pod is very small and has a winged barb, not un- like the maple. The bark is in color a light brown, resembling redwood, but does not attain to nearly its thickness, while the wood is white, soft, of even grain and very odorous. It is rarely if ever affected by rot, seasons quickly, and when seasoned never warps. It is used extensively for inside finishing and for boat-building, and is especially valuable for linen closets, the resinous odor being a sure preventative against moths. White cedar commands the highest price of any of the soft woods grown on the coast, and ranks in the market next to sugar pine, which latter, being a tree grown only in the interior in any considerable bodies, does not come under the head of timber belts on the coast. This variety of cedar does not grow in a compact body, like redwood, but in clumps or patches, interspersed with firs. Its geographical range is the most limited of all the coniferce of the coast, being first found in scattered clumps and widely apart on the Klamath and Smith rivers in California, next in a small body on Rogue river, Oregon, and only assumes the character of a timber belt back of Port Orford. It is then found on the plateaus back of the coast line, and on the head-waters of the streams until we reach Coos bay, its northern limit. The Alaska cedar, some specimens of which have reached the San Francisco market, is a differ- ent tree, the lumber being denser, of a yellow cast, and possessing more of the working qualities of the fir than the Orford cedar.
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