USA > California > Mendocino County > History of Mendocino County, California : comprising its geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber > Part 49
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him sternly in the face, said : " In accordance with your own consent to de- liver this package at Fort Bragg, I have prepared it for dispatch to the com- mandant of that post. In your presence I have put upon it the proper super- scription, and I have furthermore sealed it with the great green seal of the Government of the United States, which seal is as immutable as the laws of the Medes and Persians, sealing things even unto life and death, but never allowing any change of purpose, or abatement of intention, after once being sealed. Moreover, this is a package belonging to the Government, and I have delivered it into your hands to transport to its destination. The regulations which govern such matters do not allow me to to take that pack- age back nor retain it here, for it is the spirit of the intention in such mat- ters, that all packages and letters appertaining to the service of the Govern- ment shall be forwarded, with all haste and expedition, to its destination, and by him only to whom it is intrusted. Therefore, you, and you alone, can transport that package, and you are permitted to deliver it to none other than the person addressed; and should you be derelict in the performance of this important duty, you shall be arrested by the minions of our great Re- public. Go!" It is said, that the poor fellow trudged away over the trail through the hot sun, and consumed the day in making the few miles that intervened between the two points. Mr. Doherty still survives the storms of time, and is at present residing near the scenes of his early California life, enjoying the sunset days of life to the fullest extent.
" Bob" White! Yes, everybody in Mendocino county knows this facetious, fun-loving, warm-hearted, generous, genial, hospitable pioneer, now a resident of Cahto, a small town which he, assisted by his life-long companion, Cap- tain John P. Simpson, has nurtured and fostered even as a herdsman would a shorn lamb in a cold season. These gentlemen came to California
" In the days of old, The days of gold, The days of '49,"
And have passed through it all, and many are the stories that are still told all over the county about the funny things "Bob" has said and done. He certainly had a grim sense of humor, if the following is any criterion to judge by. We record it as we heard it many miles from Cahto, and far outside the limits of Mendocino county, and long before we had had the pleasure of meeting the gentleman and receiving the cordial hand-grasp of welcome to his fullsome hospitality. The reminiscence is as follows: Away back in the '50ies, when "Bob" was agent at the Mendocino reservation, he took a notion that a good hunting dog would be a fine thing for him to have up there, so one day, when he was in San Francisco, he procured a young dog with the necessary "points" about him for a hunter, and brought him to Mendocino county. Little did that dog dream when he was spending the whinning days of his puppyhood in dozing on the sunny side of a reservation
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shanty, sheltered from the freezing fogs of a summer's day on the coast; that the tragic windup of his hitherto uneventful career would entitle him to a place on the enblazoned page of Mendocino's history. But who knows! " There is a destiny that shapes our ends," and it is something to be glorious in death, no matter how tame our life may have been; but to our story. " Bob" used to take the incipient hunter out daily and give him lessons, and under his skillful management the hound acquired quite a knowledge of what well-trained dogs are expected to do under certain circumstances. But his doom was nearer than e'er he dreamed, or than it had ever entered " Bob's" head either. At the reservation, filling the position of a cog in one of the multitudinous wheels of the labyrinthian machinery of an institution of that kind, was one dapper, dandyfied youth, with his maiden moustache yet in bloom, by name Joseph Palmer. We doubt if he ever dreamed that his name would be handed down to generations yet unborn in connection with this dog story of "Bob" White's. Palmer wanted to borrow the dog to go into the valley, near where Cahto now stands, for the purpose of deer-hunting. Mr. White demurred, stating that the dog was not sufficiently trained; but after much pursuasion, his kindheartedness ran away with his judgment and in an evil moment he promised to let the dog go. When Palmer returned he was minus the dog and when interrogated concerning his dogship he replied, " Why the -- dog started to run after a jack-rabbit and I told him to stop and he would not do it, so I shot him, and killed him." Of course it was accidental, as the man had, doubtless, seen hunters indulging in the cruel practice of shooting at dogs with small bird-shot, when they refuse to obey their orders, and he had tried to do the same thing, but with such unfortu- nate success that the dog stopped forever. To say that Mr. White was mad does not express one-half of the feeling that surged and beat about under his vest-lining; but he said but little, only remarking that he would get even with him some day for his smart trick. Now if there was one thing above another that Palmer delighted in it was the appearance of his quarters. He occupied a small single-roomed building on one side of the parade ground, and this was adorned, as well as the limited opportunity would permit. Among his choice imported articles of furniture he numbered a handsome, though small, bronze clock, which he, in an unfortunate hour, had placed upon an evergreen-festooned mantel-shelf, just in front of the door, where all passers-by could see it. One day "Bob" came by the door, the sight of which, through the law of "association of ideas," brought to his mind the recollection of his lost dog, and beholding the clock ticking off the moments of times with so nonchalant and sang froid on air, an idea struck him. Hc halted, right-faced and came to a parade rest, and then taking his revolver from its holster he drew a bead on the dial of the clock, and shouted out to it to "stop !" " Tick, tack," went the clock, all unheedful of his com- mands, and all unmindful of the destiny that awaited it ere it had reeled off
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many more threads from the bobbin of time. "Stop !" he shouted again, and, as if to test his nerve, and to dare him to do his worst, the hammer began to peal out the hour of " high twelve." This audacious impudence had the desired effect, and with a shout of "stop, I say-you, stop !" he sent a bullet speeding on its mission of destruction and crashing through the deli- icate mechanism of the time-piece. Another and another followed in rapid succession until that clock was a total wreck, not being hardly the ghost of its former self. In time, Palmer returned, and soon espied the mischief that had been wrought in his absence. He at once set out to find the perpetrator, and soon met Mr. White of whom he asked in excited tones if he had any idea who had done it. White coolly remarked that he did it. " What in - did you do that for?" screamed the man from the very agony of anger. "Why, replied 'Bob,' one of his blandest smiles illuminating his countenance in the meantime, "I came by the house, and it was going, and I told it to stop and it did not, and I shot it." Palmer comprehended the matter, and walked away.
FORT BRAGG .- This was the name of the military post at the Mendocino Reservation, and was established by Lieutenant Gibson in 1857. He erected the first house in the post, which was a small square one, and is still stand- ing. We take the following extract from a description of Fort Bragg as it appeared in November, 1863, which was published in one of the Ukiah papers: " We will now transport the reader to the most lovely location in the county - Fort Bragg. This post is situated one and a half miles north of the mouth of the Noyo river, upon the Government reservation. It is not anything like a fortification, but is the nicest little village we have ever seen. There would seem to have been a provision of nature, that this coast shall at least have one beautiful spot upon it. Fort Bragg is merely a smooth, sloping, open piece of ground in a pine forest, with the various buildings encircling the open space, which is about ten acres in extent. The slope of the ground is towards the ocean, from whose biting winds it is sheltered by a thick belt of pines. On the most elevated, and extremely eastern portion of the plaza, are situated the Captain's and Lieutenant's quarters, overlooking the whole of the other buildings. Upon the right and left, along the sides of the parallelogram, at regular intervals, are the quarters for the men and non-commissioned officers. At the extreme lower part of the plaza are the guard-house, commissary and quartermaster's store- house; and in the edge of the pines are the stables, and upon a high knoll in the north-west corner, is the hospital. Around in the space thus enclosed is a circular carriage way, and intersecting each other at right angles across the plaza are raised walks, and in the center is a magnificent flag-pole, proudly waving from the summit of which is our country's flag. The parade ground here afforded is as smooth as a floor, having just enough
Wantwider
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slope to insure good drainage. The buildings are comfortable and neat, inside and out, and all painted and white-washed."
But how changed are all things now ! The reservation was abandoned in 1867, and the military post was no longer needed nor sustained, and from that time on everything has been allowed to go to decay and ruin. Long years ago the paint and white-wash had been washed off from the buildings by the fogs of summer and the rains of winter, and their places have been taken by a coat of green moss. The fence that was once the pride of the commandant has gone to wreck along with everything else, and now the public highway bisects the parade ground. The old quarters of officers and men are still standing, but fast decaying. The plaza once so smooth and nicely kept, is now overgrown with a heavy crop of dog fennel and " chick- weed." Like the tribes of Indians the reservation was supposed to gather in and care for, gone to wreck and ruin with scarcely a vestige left to mark their former abiding-place.
SAW-MILLS .- The pioneer mill of the Mendocino coast, was erected in Big River township, and at the place known in early days as Big River, by Harry Meigs, poor, expatriated Harry! the man of all men of his time, who had pluck and energy enough to breast the battle of life, perfectly un- daunted, and to seize upon the opportunities that presented themselves in that day of wonderful enterprises. He, that in a strange land, speaking a foreign tongue, and associated with another race of people, displayed the ability to carry out enterprises that went far to connect the moon and earth, and left behind him, when called hence, a work that shall stand as long as this utilitarian age endures, speaking to all the generations that are to follow, and telling them to behold what a gigantic enterprise the master mind of Harry Meigs was able to conceive and conduct to a successful issue. But, because of a misstep here in the maelstrom days of finances, the popular voice cried out against him, and the one master mind of all was driven from California, and whatever blessings his industry and enterprise might have done for his adopted State, were lost to her, and transplanted upon other soil. And beside his name may well be placed, in the same category, that other martyr to a financial crisis, William C. Ralston, both of whom, were men that gave their all for California, " but their own received them not."
We have already narrated the facts which led to the discovery of the im- mense redwood forests in Mendocino county. The reader will remember the silk-laden vessel that was cast upon the strand at Noyo, and the party which came from Bodega to gather salvage upon the beach, and how they brought back such glowing reports of the grand old forests of redwoods, growing on all the hill and mountain sides, and along the banks of all the streams, extending down to the very ocean's brink, at a most propitious point, where schooners and larger vessels could land with safety, and take on a cargo of
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lumber. They will also remember that Harry Meigs, at once, conceived the idea, upon being satisfied that the reports were correct, of erecting a mill at that point, and with him, to will was to do, and soon all the machinery of preparation was in motion. The brig Ontario was purchased in San Fran- cisco, and the machinery and men embarked upon it for Big River harbor. At the same time, oxen were sent overland from Bodega, that were to draw the logs to the mill. After a thirty days' trip, the brig arrived at her destination. The mill was erected on the point of the headland which flanks the harbor on the north side, it being intended to drive the logs out of the mouth of the river into the bay, and then draw them up to the mill, but this plan did not prove feasible, and a railroad was constructed from the flat on the river bank, up the grade to the mill, and the logs were thus transported from the woods to the mill. At that time, there were no chutes as there are now, and the lumber, after being sawed, was drawn back on the railroad to the flat, and transported in lighters out to the vessels lying in the harbor. The saw used in this mill, was a gang sash of twenty-eight saws and did good execution. In 1853, another mill was built by the same com- pany (known as the California Lumber Company, of which firm, Meigs was the back-bone). This second mill was located on the flat, on the site of the. present mill. The machinery in this mill was quite an improvement over that used in the other, and consisted of two single circular saws, one muley, and one sash saw, and had a capacity of forty thousand feet of lumber per day. These mills changed hands in the fall of 1854, after the failure of Meigs. J. B. Ford and E. C. Williams had been working for the company since its organiza- tion, and their wages had accumulated, till they were a considerable sum, and they levied an attachment on the mill and machinery. Messrs. Godeffroy, Sillem & Freundt had a claim of $400,000 against the Lumber Company, and they also issued an attachment against the mill property. A compromise was effected, by which the entire property was taken into the hands of the attachees, and each party named, retained a fifth interest. The new com- pany run both mills till 1856 or 1857, but not regularly, however, the mill on the point was then taken down.
October 17, 1863, the mill on the flat was destroyed by fire, and fifty thousand feet of lumber with it, and the present mill building was erected in 1864. This mill is now owned by the Mendocino Lumber Company, and the present machinery consists of two muley saws, one double circular, one single circular, one gang edger, one picket saw, one picket header, one bat- ton gang, four planers, and one sticking machine. The capacity of the mill is thirty thousand with one side, or fifty-five thousand with both sides. By sides is meant the using of so much extra machinery as is necessary to keep two gangs of men at work. In 1877 this mill ran both sides, and they cut thirty-four thousand logs during the season, and the average number cut of ordinary years, with one side is twenty-five thousand. There is a railroad
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extending from the mill to the chutes at the port, a distance of about one mile. The track passes up a grade, which is sixty-four feet high, and cars are elevated over it by a stationary engine. The company own three chutes at the point; hence can land three vessels at one time. There is a shingle- mill in connection with the mill, which has a capacity of fifteen thousand a day. The company owns about twenty-two thousand acres of timber land, which extends back from the coast twenty-four miles in a direct line, and they have already cut logs as far as eighteen miles back in a straight line. It is estimated that the mill has cut an average of eight million feet of lumber yearly since 1852, making a grand total of nearly two hundred and twenty-five million feet, which has been cut by this mill alone. When this mill is running to its full capacity it affords work for two hundred and twenty-five men, and puts about seven thousand dollars into circulation monthly in the item of wages alone. It will thus be seen that a saw-mill running at its full capacity is no mean factor in the prosperity of the com- munity in which it is located.
In the summer of 1852, George Hegenmeyer and --- Scharf, went up the Big river about ten miles, and began getting out piles for the San Francisco market. In September of that year they were joined by Gibhard Hegen- meyer in this business. Soon after the latter's arrival Mr. Scharf took the contract from Captain Richardson to erect and put in operation a water- power saw-mill at the Albion. This mill was built during the winter of 1852-3, and was the second mill in Mendocino county. Nothing is now known of its capacity, nor how long it remained there or what became of it.
The third mill in the township was constructed at Noyo for Captain Rich- ardson also. The Hegenmeyer Brothers remained at work getting out piles on Big river until the freshet of that winter carried their piles down the river, and their summer's work floated out upon the bosom of the broad Pacific and disappeared. How like many of the enterprises, fond hopes and proud am- bitions of poor mortals ! To-day we have the bubble in our grasp, but to-mor- row it floats out upon the broad ocean, and we see it no more forever. This high water carried of the roof their house, but the body of it was so braced between two trees that it could not get away. About Christmas, 1852, George Hegenmeyer took the contract from Captain Richardson to construct the mill at Noyo, and his brother Gibhard accompanied him. After working until the building was about ready to receive the machinery, George went to San Francisco for the machinery and the necessary men to run the mill, leaving Gibherd in charge at the Noyo. In February, 1853, the Indians made a raid on the place and drove the occupants off, and stole everything in the house, except three guns, which they left, being evidently afraid of them. In the latter part of March George arrived from San Francisco on the schooner Water Witch, with the machinery and men, and at once renewed operations on the mill, which was located about three miles up the Noyo
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river. It was not, however, gotten into operation until November, 1853. The power was water, and the machinery consisted of one single circular and one edger, and it had a capacity of eight thousand feet daily. It was run for a few months only, cutting about one hundred and fifty thousand feet of lumber. In January, 1854, it was carried away by a freshet.
The Albion steam mill was built in 1853 by A. G. Dallas, Donald David- son and A. W. Macpherson, and was the second steam mill built in the town- ship. It had a sash saw and a capacity of only four thousand feet daily. In 1855 a single circular saw and a planer were put into the mill, which increased its capacity to fourteen thousand feet. This mill continued to run till 1867, when it was destroyed by fire. During that year a new mill was built at the Albion, which is the present one. The machinery of the new mill consisted of one double circular saw, one sash saw, two planers, one picket and one lath saw, one picket header, and one single edger, and it has a capacity of thirty-five thousand feet of lumber daily. Logs for the mill are driven down the Albion river, near the mouth of which is a dam and booms. The mill is at present owned by Macpherson & Weatherby, who own in connection with it about twenty-seven thousand acres of timber land. It is estimated that this mill has cut about one hundred and twenty- five million feet of lumber since it was put in operation, and it is also esti- mated that about two-thirds of the available timber has now been cut out.
The Noyo mill was put in operation in 1858 by A. W. Macpherson, and when built it had a capacity of about thirty-five thousand feet daily, or six million a year. The first machinery consisted of a gang sash with twenty- six saws in the gang, and one seventy-two inch single circular. The present machinery consists of one double circular, one single circular, one pony saw, three planing-machines, one picket saw, one picket header, and one lath saw. Its present capacity is forty thousand feet daily. It is owned by Messrs. Macpherson & Weatherby. It is estimated that the mill has cut about one hundred and twenty million feet of lumber, which amount is probably about one-third of the entire yield of their tract of timber land, which embraces about seventeen thousand acres.
The Navarra mill was built in 1861 by Messrs. Tichenor & Hendy, and is at present owned by Messrs. H. B. Tichenor & Co. It had a capacity when first put in operation of ten thousand feet daily, but from time to time new and improved machinery has been added until now its capacity is thirty- five thousand feet, which is up to the average of first-class mills along the coast. The present machinery consists of one double circular, one muley and one picket saw, one Stearns' gang edger, three planers and one picket header, all of which are propelled by an engine of 'ample capacity. It is esti- mated that there is a body of timber accessible to the mill consisting of twenty thousand acres, of which the company owns fifteen thousand acres, of which about one-twentieth has been cut, yielding about one hundred and
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twenty million feet of lumber. When the mill was first built the lumber was all lightered out to the vessels, but in 1868 a wharf was constructed and a railroad track laid from the mill to the end of the wharf. This withstood the waves and storm only two years, when it was washed away. Lighters were again resorted to, and used until 1574, when another attempt was made to establish and maintain a wharf. This remained until the winter of 1878. which proved so disastrous to the improvements along the coast, when it again succumbed to the action of the waves. The present wharf was then built, which is six hundred feet long, from high water mark, and twenty- four feet wide in the main, and sixty feet wide at the outer end, thus mak- ing room for two vessels to load at one time. There is a depth of seventeen feet of water at low tide at the end of the wharf, thus affording ample anchorage for the deepest draft vessels that come in there.
The Caspar mill was built by Messrs. Kelley & Randall in the fall of 1661 and in the fall of 1564 J. G. Jackson came into possession of it, and has since owned it. It had a capacity when tirst put in operation of fifteen thousand feet, which has since been increased by the addition of new and improved machinery to forty-five thousand feet daily. The original machinery consisted of a sash and pony saw. The machinery at present consists of one double and one single circular saw, one gang edger, one picket saw. one picket header, three planers, and a shingle mill with a capacity of twenty- five thousand daily. The mill is situated on-the north bank of the stream and near its mouth. The proprietor of the mill owns about ten thousand four hundred and thirty acres of timber land in connection with the mill, of which it is estimated that almost fifty per cent has been cut out, yielding about one hundred and fifteen million feet of lumber. For the purpose of conveying the logs from the woods to the mill, there is a wide gauge rail- road built, which is three and a half miles long. The propelling power on this track is a geared locomotive. similar to the one used at Gualala; and there are ten cars used for transportation purposes. There is a tramway from the mill to the landing, on which the lumber is conveyed to the chute. There are at present one hundred and sixty-six men employed in the various vocations about the mill.
The Little River mill was erected in 1564 by Messrs. Silas Coombs. Ruel Stickney & Tapping Reeves, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. In November. 1571. Mr. Reeves disposed of his interest to the other gentlemen, and in December, 1573. Mr. Stickney sold his interest to C. A. Perkins: Mr Coombs retaining his interest in the mill from the first. When built it Lad a capacity of twenty thousand fect daily, having a double circular saw, and other smaller saws and necessary machinery, and about one hundred men were required to keep every department in motion. In March, 1574. after running very nearly ten years, the mill was destroyed by fire, which is sup- posed to have originated in the engine-room, as the planing department was
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