USA > California > Mendocino County > History of Mendocino and Lake counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading, men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 15
USA > California > Lake County > History of Mendocino and Lake counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading, men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 15
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CHAPTER XIII Westport Township
Westport township comprises all that part of Mendocino county north of Chadbourne gulch, the north line of Ten Mile township, and east of Long Valley township, with Humboldt county for its north line and the Pacific ocean for its western limit, into which it reaches as far as wind and weather will permit by means of various and numerous wharves, shipping cables, etc. It has the same general features of surface and soil as the more south- ern townships, but is rougher, more mountainous, heavier timbered, and less level land within its borders. There are no large streams in it, Usal creek
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being the most considerable, only ten or twelve miles long. Timber in its various forms is the main, all-abounding product, though hay, grain and potatoes sufficient for ordinary home consumption are produced and some oats shipped, all of unexcelled quality. Peas and string beans grow luxuri- antly, and in 1911 C. G. Lewis began canning them for the public and is competing successfully with the highly prized Clear Lake brand.
The climate is equable and not as foggy as farther down the coast, a headland on the north, Cape Mendocino, deflecting it in a measure.
The first known white settler was Lloyd Beall, who was at the site of the present town of Westport in 1864, and from the appearance of his sur- roundings must have been there some years. His house stood near a spring between George Fee's present residence and the town. At the same time Alfred Weges settled a short distance north, on the creek to which he gave his name.
November, 1864, Beall sold a half interest in all the country lying be- tween Chadbourne gulch and the point where the Union Landing now is to E. J. Whipple, together with thirteen horses, two hundred and ten cattle and thirty hogs, for $1600. At that time M. C. Dougherty was getting out tim- bers on the hill above where the school house stands to build a chute for shipping potatoes in a four-ton boat moored below the bluff, near by. March, 1865. Osborne & Heldt sold Beall and Whipple 640 acres for $600, just south of Chadbourne gulch. At that time the land was unsurveyed, and only possessory title could pass. April 1, Beall and Whipple divided the land, Beall took the land south of DeHaven and Whipple that north of that creek. Brenner and H. Helmken sold land to Beall near the future chute; the de- scription is such that one cannot identify. March, 1877, Boyd & Switzer seem to have possession of the property, and sold eight acres and right of way to F. Helmke, who started in to build a chute and wharf, but gave way to J. T. Rogers in the fall, who obtained a franchise February 5, 1878, and built or completed the chute. There was no harbor or protection from wind or heavy ocean swell, so that loading was uncertain. To facilitate fast work when conditions were favorable, Mr. Rogers duplicated his wharf and chute. The one had a span of 275 feet, and its outer end rested on a large rock. from which a cable and pulley conveyed the cargo to and from the vessel ; 150,000 feet could be shipped in a day.
Now the town began to grow apace. Fields Bros. built and stocked a store in 1877. George W. Stevenson opened a saloon, the first building in the town; Sampson opened another; George McPhee opened a store in 1878; J. H. Murphy a livery stable in 1879; the same year Fred Johns built a large hotel, which is one of the few buildings still standing. J. S. Kimball built a big hotel, which he afterwards sold to Charles Kimball and Cooper. This became the drummers' favorite house for a time, but closed its career by fire, as have many other buildings. Saloons and hotels were built in ad- vance of necessity, and whenever a mill shut down business languished. At one time there were four hotels, as many stores and seven saloons, be- sides hotel bars. Thousands of ties, hundreds of cords of bark and millions of feet of lumber were shipped monthly, and in 1881 up to August 19 twenty- eight schooners had been loaded.
Weges Creek mill was built in 1881 by Pollard & Blaisdell, who failed in 1882, and the mill went into the hands of Gill, Gordon & McPhee, who ran it until 1889 and closed down. It was moved to De Haven. Gordon's
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ranch, by Gill & Gordon, and afterwards went into the possession of the Pollard Lumber Co. and has long stood idle. W. Graham built a mill at Weges creek in 1881, and took in as partners Chester and McGowan, and failed in 1885. Hansen Hilton fell heir to it in a business way, and it was afterwards known as the California Lumber Co. All these mills were of capacity of from 25,000 to 40,000 feet per day. J. S. Kimball put in a mill half a mile north of the town of 40,000 feet capacity, which he ran about six years to 1885. He also built and stocked a store, continuing it to 1892. His operations in lumber, ties and bark were colossal and continued until 1892. The Pollard Lumber Company obtained a franchise for chute at Westport September, 1905.
McFaul & Williams built a mill on Howard creek, two miles north of Westport, in 1875, and ran a railroad to Union Landing, two miles farther north. Since then it has passed into the hands of the West Coast Lumber Co. and at this writing February, 1914, an application in bankruptcy is pend- ing. J. S. Kimball sold his store at Westport to Hart in 1899. Three build- ings in town were burned in 1900. Commercial hotel and Stevenson's house burned. McFaul & Keene put in a mill at Switzer gulch in December, 1883. At that time, or rather in 1884, there were five mills within four miles of Westport, running spasmodically, and the greater number of them are ready to run yet, whenever the price of lumber and capital conjoin.
Of the stores, only two remain, Dr. T. H. Smith and Lowell's. One hotel, one saloon, one blacksmith shop, one stable, and twenty occupied dwelling houses. Fire and decay have taken more than half the buildings, and what remain are dilapidated. At one time there were both Masonic and A. O. U. W. halls.
R. A. Hardy obtained a franchise for wharf and chute six miles north of Westport, and gave his name to the place, in 1892, and the following year contracted 60,000 ties. Bark wood and ties were the only shipments until 1903, when the remains of the Rockport mill were brought over to Hardy, and a fine mill of 40,000 feet capacity was erected. A good two- story hotel was also built, as were stables, store, dwellings, etc. The whole passed into the hands of the Pennsylvania & New York Lumber Co. in 1907 June 4, 1911, it was burned with 3.000,000 feet of lumber, nearly as much being saved. As the timber tributary was not sufficient to warrant a new sawmill, a shingle mill was erected in 1913, but not run until the fall of 1914. This company now owns the coast up to near Needle Rock, thirty miles.
Rockport mill was built by W. R. Miller in 1877 of 40,000 feet capacity, and was destroyed by fire. The wharf and chute were erected in 1876 and were the finest in the county. The track and wharf are about three- fourths of a mile long, finishing with a steel wire suspension span 275 feet long to an island and cable. It is supported by seven all-steel wire cables, the first erected on this coast. The mill burned in 1889, since which time nothing has been done here.
The first white settler here was Leonard Dodge, and he obtained fran- chise for chute a little north of Cottoneva in 1876. In 1866 A. J. Lowell settled on the creek three miles up and soon after Henry Devilbiss arrived and remained some years.
Usal mill was built in 1890. A wharf 900 feet long and about three miles of railroad were put in. It was burned July 12, 1902. The Usal timber was the largest in the county, but of poor quality. It seemed to have belonged
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to an earlier era than other timber along the coast, and it was so full of doted places and wind cracks that it did not yield more than half the lumber its size indicated. The wharf was difficult to maintain and repeatedly lost sections. Nothing is now doing at the place. Kilduff & Proudfoot lost a shake mill by fire on August 4, 1901.
Northport, six miles farther north, was once a busy place, shipping bark and ties, but there is no activity there now.
At Little Jackass gulch R. H. Anderson did a shipping business in 1875, but it was discontinued in a short time as the timber tributary to it was sold-6,000 acres to one Eastern concern at $40 per acre. Still farther up the coast is Needle Rock. The first settlement liere was made by Captain Mor- gan and son in 1868. With D. W. McCallum, they began operations to de- velop a shipping place, but both Morgan and McCallum died before their object was accomplished. J. B. Stetson, Jr., acquired the property in 1890 and built about three miles of railroad and shipping facilities in 1891. A small mill was built about three miles back, but only ran a short time and was removed. In 1898 Needle Rock passed into the hands of the Needle Rock Company, which incorporated the following January with $30,000 capital and the following subscribers to the stock: W. P. Thomas, Wiley English, Ed DeCamp, J. F. Clark and H. B. Muir, $18,000 having been sub- scribed by them. The property has been leased for some years by Stewart & McKee. There are about 150 acres of farming land and 1600 acres of grazing land back of the landing.
A few miles farther north is Bear Harbor. The first knowledge we can get of the place is that in 1862 J. A. Hamilton and William Oliver drove a band of cattle there from Point Arena. Oliver was killed by the Indians. What became of the cattle is unknown at this time. Capt. J. A. Morgan and son, L. A. Morgan, were there in 1868, and sold the place to Kaiser Bros. C. C. Milton began preparations for building a chute, but was drowned at Rockport. In 1884 W. A. McCornack bought land of the Kaisers and again in 1888, and built a chute in 1892. In February, 1893, he sold the chute and adjoining land to Messrs. Pollard, Dodge, Stewart and Hunter; they, with A. B. Cooper, incorporated in July as the Bear Harbor Lumber Co., $200,000 capital, $80,000 subscribed. In the next year the company surveyed a rail- road to and down Indian creek, nine miles. The grade was finished and rails laid in 1898. In 1899 a tidal wave struck and demolished the wharf and chute, drowning one man. II. N. Anderson built a large mill at the terminus of the road, and before it was running was struck by a falling scantling, receiving fatal injuries. The mill has not started up to date. September 11, 1912, an engineer, Rankin, and a large party of capitalists examined the prop- erty, but nothing resulted therefrom.
A wagon road was built from Bear Harbor to Low Gap to connect with Humboldt county system. About the harbor is eighty acres farming land and 1500 acres grazing land. At Andersonia, near the mill, are several small farms, and some good bottom land and about 3000 acres grazing land. The first settlers there were Sam Pearcy, Bob Jones and Macoosh Mudgett in the order named. It was at one time a voting precinct, but has of late been discontinued as such.
All the roads on the upper coast section were built for the convenience of hauling timber products down hill to the mills or shipping points, and are steep and narrow. No matter how steep they were, there must be no
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uphaul with the load. And as the most of them were made by private work, the way that took the least work was the way selected. Gradually all this is being remedied. The steep climbs up and down the gulches are nearly all eliminated along the coast by long, high bridges, and grades are being made around instead of over the points to be avoided. The grade immediately south of Westport gives the most trouble of any in the county. Every wet season it either slides out or in and the past winter it has done the former to quite an extent.
At the present time and for a year past there has been no sawmill running between Fort Bragg and the Humboldt line. in which territory at one time there were ten mills; and now there are five lying idle.
Of wrecks there have been many on this section of the coast, and for a short time there was a newspaper in Westport to chronicle them, the News and Argus 1882-3. It was started solely to catch the land entry advertise- ments and as soon as the bulk of the land was entered its ephemeral exis- tence terminated. The Meriwether. H. H. Knapp. Sea Foam and Humboldt were lost at Westport in 1885-7 : the Venture and Silver Spring at Rockport. and some others.
Game is at all times abundant, especially the predatory class. Two boys, Pat and Louis Roach, killed two panthers, a bear and two cubs, in an hour in 1882. And three bear were killed at Usal in 1908. Of highway rob- beries this section has been remarkably clear. A notable one occurred at Usal November, 1899, when a saloon and eight men were held up, resulting in a loss of $3,000. Had it occurred fifteen minutes later it would have been $600 more.
CHAPTER XIV
Early History of Lake County
Lake county, California, is frequently referred to, by persons of travel, experience and imagination, with appropriateness in respect to its physical characteristics, as the Switzerland of America. The Walled-in-County is another title applied to the section. These synonyms and its legal appellation fitly describe in a few words this isolated and naturally favored part of the Golden State.
To briefly enlarge on its topographical features, the county is a region of mountains and lakes, situated in the Coast range, midway between the Sacramento valley and the Pacific ocean, about one hundred miles due north of San Francisco. It is a plateau, with a mean altitude of 1500 feet above sea level. The boundary lines in the main follow the summits of the en- circling mountain ridges. From many points of access, there bursts on the traveler at the moment of crossing the boundary line a comprehensive view of Lake county. It is spread out in a panorama below him, the wide, peaceful expanse of Clear lake occupying the center of the picture, surrounded by rolling hills and the checkerboards of cultivated valleys. Mt. Konocti rises solitarily 2500 feet sheer from the level of the placid lake, a majestic chieftain or guardian of the scene. as his Indian name signifies. From Konocti, almost in the geographical center of the region, can be seen the greater part of the 1332 square miles of the county's area. In an almost unbroken circle from the viewpoint stretches the rim of rugged and dark pine-forested mountains.
M
Clercy A killhenry
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With the exception of the extreme northern part, which drains through Eel river, into the Pacific ocean, and a section in the south draining via Putah creek into the Sacramento river, the entire county is a single vast water- shed, its streams flowing into Clear lake, from which the only outlet is Cache creek, flowing through a tortuous gorge in the hills, through Yolo county into the Sacramento river.
Early Indian Inhabitants
In this secluded region, favored with an equable climate and beneficently provisioned by nature in plant growth, game, and the waters so teeming with fish that at spawning running streams were choked with them, there lived before the white invasion thousands of the aboriginal inhabitants, the Indians.
These were for the most part of the general family of the Pomos, va- rious tribes of which, speaking slightly different dialects, inhabited different valleys. Some of these tribes whose names have been adopted in geographi- cal nomenclature were the Guenocks and Locollomillos, who lived between Clear lake and Napa in sections now known as the Loconomi valley, Guenoc rancho and Callayomi rancho, adjoining Middletown; the Lupilomis, living near the present site of Kelseyville: the Napobatin, meaning "many houses," which was the collective name of six tribes living at Clear lake, the principal ones of which were the Hoolanapo, living just south of the present site of Lakeport, and the Habenapo, located at the mouth of Kelsey creek on the north side. These Pomos were closely related to other tribes living in the Russian River valley and intervisited frequently with the Sanels, living at the site now occupied by Hopland.
The aboriginals of Long and Indian valleys on the east side of Clear lake, and on Cache and Putah creeks, to the south, belonged to a Northern California division different from the Pomos, and were related to the tribes of Napa valley. For instance, in the spring of 1849. when ex-Governor L. W. Boggs of Missouri desired to secure a body of the upper country Indians to work for a gold prospecting party at the headwaters of the Sacramento, he sent a chief of the Suisuns, who easily interpreted for the white men.
In Long valley the chief tribe was known as the Lolsels, or Loldlas. This name signified "wild tobacco place." The chief of the Lolsels at the time of the first settlement of white men was Clitey, then probably eighty years old. He became very friendly with J. F. Hanson, one of the first white settlers in that section. who learned the Indian language, acted as an inter- preter and was greatly liked by the Indians. Clitey, with part of his tribe, was driven by civil war to the present Upper Lake region.
Many of the names applied to the various tribes by early historians were the local appellations given to them by the Hoolanapos, and were not often the names that the tribes called themselves. Augustine was chief of the Hoolanapos for many years in the time of the beginning of the white in- vasion. He was intelligent and bore a name for veracity and probity, and his accounts furnished most of the information of early Indian life in the Clear Lake region. Totaling the estimates of the many small tribes, fur- nished by Augustine, it is probable there were between four and five thou- sand Indians in the territory when the whites first invaded the country. The United States census of 1880 gave the Indian population as 765. Their pres- ent number is 490.
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The aboriginal inhabitants were not rated very high by historians Ban- croft and Gibbs. They were of the division commonly known as "Diggers," and were short and thick-set, not symmetrically built, and had very dark complexions. But they had many good qualities, which persist in their pres- ent day descendants. These Indians were skilful hunters and fishers, and expert with game traps. They made active and trusty vaqueros as early as the middle forties, under the regime of Salvador Vallejo, and Stone and Kelsey found them very willing and efficient workers.
According to the index of the advancement of primitive races evidenced by the existence and character of boats used, the Clear Lake Indians de- serve a leading place. They built boats with willow poles for keel and gun- wales, withes for ribs, and interwove tules for covering. The boats were not perfectly watertight, but were seaworthy. In later periods they made log dugouts, with fire as the chief implement. In basket-making, the Pomos excelled, and at this day their handicraft is much prized. Many of their baskets are fine specimens of close and complicated weaving and beautiful feather work. They build houses of willow pole frames, thatched with grass or tules, and conical or round in shape. In agriculture and other vocations they now do as well as many white men.
The Clear Lake Indians practiced many weird and not ungraceful dances, the most interesting being the fire-eating dance, in which the men hold glowing coals between their lips. These dances are now given only at rare intervals and only by the older members of the tribes, the knowledge and skill displayed in them having apparently been lost to the younger generation.
Legend of Konocti
There are but a few Indian legends extant, mostly touching on the physi- cal features of the country and the forces of nature, showing the limited extent of the Pomos' imagination and religious ideas. One of these legends is interpreted as follows :
Konocti was a proud and powerful chief, with a beautiful daughter Lupiyomi. His rival was a young chief named Kah-bel, who loved Lupiyomi and his passion was reciprocated. Konocti refused his consent to their marriage and was challenged to battle by Kalı-bel. On either side of the Narrows of Clear lake the mighty chiefs took their stand, and hurled rocks at each other across the water. The Indian narrator in support of this legend points to the immense boulders strewn to this day over these mountain sides. The Indian girl grieved over the deadly contest, and Little Borax lake, in- tensely impregnated with mineral, attests to her bitter tears. Kah-bel was killed, and his blood is now seen in the red splashes on the gashed side of Red Hill, on the north shore of the Narrows. But old Chief Konocti also succumbed to his wounds, and sank back to form the rugged volcanic rock pile which bears his name. The maiden Lupiyomi was so distraught over the death of both her lover and her father she threw herself into the lake and her unfailing tears now bubble up in the big soda spring. Omarocharbe, which gushes out of the waters of Clear lake at Soda bay.
Mexican Land Grants
The territory now embraced in Lake county was so remote from the points of early discovery and the highways of the padres that it attracted but few of the Spanish-Mexican settlers of California. But three land grants
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from the Mexican government have ever been claimed, and of these but two were approved by the United States courts. The history of the third and rejected one, of most historic interest, is best told in the opinion of Judge Ogden Hoffman, of the United States district court, in the case of United States vs. Teschmaker, et al., given at Sonoma in September, 1866.
On January 4, 1853, the claimants petitioned the board of land com- missioners for confirmation of their claim to the place known as Lup-Yomi, containing fourteen square leagues. In support of their claim a grant was produced, dated September 5, 1844, purporting to be signed by Manuel Micheltoreno and conveying to Salvador and Juan Antonio Vallejo the land known as Laguna de Lup-Yomi, to the extent of sixteen square leagues. On the map accompanying the grant the sheet of water now known as Clear lake and a considerable tract of land around it was rudely delineated. As no evidence from the archives was offered, and a memorandum written on the grant to the effect that note of it had been taken in the proper book was found to be false, the supreme court had refused to confirm the claim and remanded the case to the district court for further testimony. On the trial before Judge Hoffman, one Vincente P. Gomez sought to support the grant by an expediente purporting to contain a concession of the land in question. This document contained a petition signed by Salvador Vallejo, and dated May 23, 1844, soliciting for himself, and for Antonio Vallejo, Rosalia Olivera and Marcos Juarez, a tract of land south of the lake thirty-two square leagues in extent.
On the grounds of the difference in the claims solicited in the grant and the expediente, the fact that the signature of the Mexican secretary had been torn off the latter, and the lack of archive testimony, the claim was rejected. By the time of this decision the section designated in this grant, comprising Big, Scotts, Upper Lake and Bachelor valleys, was well settled by Ameri- cans, who, anxious to prove rights to the land they had occupied, had em- ployed S. K. Welch to represent them in the court. There was great relief and satisfaction over the decision in favor of the United States, and the settlers' lands were surveyed and entered up regularly.
There is no doubt but that Salvador Vallejo had undisputed possession of the territory embraced in the grant for a number of years. Chief Augus- tine in later years gave a list of the major-domos who had charge of Vallejo's cattle. It is established that Vallejo tried to sell this grant to several Ameri- cans before 1850, and negotiations were at one time pending between him and Governor Boggs.
Callayomi grant for three leagues, in what is known as the Loconomi valley (in the heart of which Middletown is now situated), was ceded to Robert T. Ridley on June 17. 1845, by M. Micheltoreno, governor-general of California, and was approved by the Department Assembly, September 26, 1845. The United States survey showed the grant to contain 8242 acres. Col. A. A. Ritchie and P. S. Forbes filed a petition claiming this grant, with the board of land commissioners, February 12, 1852, and their claim was confirmed and a patent issued in December of that year. The owners of this grant were never in conflict with settlers to any considerable extent. In 1871 the land was divided into small tracts and disposed of to actual settlers.
Guenoc grant, comprising 21,220 acres, adjoining to the north and east the Callayomi grant, was ceded by the Mexican government to George Roch
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