USA > California > Napa County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 5
USA > California > Lake County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 5
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Silver .- This metal occurs in three forms in Napa County-native, chlorides, and sulphurets. In its native form, it is found in union with gold; as a chloride, it appears in black streaks in the substance through which it is disseminated, and as a sulphuret, it occurs in flaky-appearing spots or specks in the quartz in which it is incorporated. In all the mines in the vicinity of Calistoga, it is found in some one of these forms, and often, and indeed, generally, in all three.
Gold .- Gold occurs in union with silver in all the silver mines in the county, and in quite large quantities. It does not occur free, however, as a rule, and but few ledges have been discovered where it is so found.
Quicksilver .- This metal is found in greater or less quantities all over the northern portion of the county, the principal lodes extending from south-east to north-west. The ore on which the Redington Mine is situated extends as far north as the Sulphur Bank in Lake County. The ore on which the Ivanhoe and Oat Hill Mines are situated extends as far north as the Great Western, the Great Eastern lying between the two. The ledge on which the Phoenix and Washington are located, extends to the top of St. Helena Mountain, while the Oakville is located on the west side of Napa Valley, and that lode extends well into Sonoma County. When we speak of a lode extending to such and such points we do not mean to say that a mine can be opened at any and all points along the line, but that the same
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general systems of rocks and minerals extend over the designated territory. Cinnabar is the form in which this metal usually occurs, and is composed of 812 grains of quicksilver to 18} grains of sulphur. It does not usually occur free, but there are a few instances where it does. It usually occurs in veins of soft talcose rock, and in serpentine districts, but the Ivanhoe and Oat Hill are exceptions, for in them it often occurs associated with sandstone, and so closely that it can not be detected until a metallic sub- stance has been rubbed harshly against it, when the cinnabar is seen by the red streak left upon the rock.
MINERALS .- We will now pass to the consideration of the minerals that are to be found in Napa County.
Quartz .- Quartz or silica is the most widely diffused of all the minerals which go to make up the surface of the earth. It is found of every shade of color, owing to the readiness with which it combines with other sub- stances. Beautiful specimens of quartz crystals are to be found in all the mining section around and above Calistoga, and those taken from the Sil- verado Mine, referred to above, are among the choicest to be found in California.
Feldspar .- This substance enters largely into the composition of the earth's crust, and differs from quartz in having a regular cleavage, a pearly luster, and in being somewhat softer than the latter. When this mineral is decomposed it forms a clay called kaolin, much used in the manufacture of pottery. Common brick clay is impure, decomposed feldspar, and the color is due to the oxyd of iron in the clay. There are several localities where brick clay, as well as potter's, is found in Napa County.
Limestone .- This very valuable mineral occurs in Napa County in quite extended quantities and in many localities. A ledge of it extends from the northern end of Berryessa Valley, across the upper end of Pope Valley, and thence into Lake County. Some of this will burn to good advantage, the re- sult being a fair quality of quick-lime. There seems to be an impression that a rock is not limestone unless it will burn and make lime. Such an idea will mislead any one, for there are large bodies of true limestone which will not make lime at all. Limestone is the carbonate of lime.
Gypsum .- The sulphate of lime occurs in several localities in Napa County, beginning at the lower end of Berryessa Valley and extending across the range to the lower end of Chiles Valley. It is a firm, solid, heavy rock, and easily acquires quite a polish, and as readily loses it when exposed to the action of the atmosphere.
Hornblende .- This is a tough mineral, generally dark colored, and occurs everywhere in rocks of volcanic origin, and in some of the older slates and
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in syenite. It is found in small quantities in Napa County in connection with serpentine.
Talc .- This is the softest mineral given in the scale of hardness, and has an unctious or oily feeling. It is in talcose rock, mostly, that cinnabar is found, hence it can be seen in any of the quicksilver mines in the county, except, perhaps, the Oakville.
Serpentine .- This occurs in its massive form in many sections of Napa County, especially near Knoxville, and the Phoenix Mine. It is a grayish color, and may be easily discerned by the smooth, almost oily surface of it. It is mottled by the chromate of iron. None of the finer varieties, such as verd-antique, are met with here.
Shale .- Shale occurs in large quantities in Napa County, and may be seen in most of the road cuts along the mountain sides, notably in the grade up St. Helena. It is formed from clay, which is hardened into rock by pressure and chemical action, together with a species of crystalization which occurs in the mineral base of the clay. Silicious shale is the most common, if not the only kind to be found in Napa County.
Sulphur .- This substance is to be found everywhere in Napa County in composition with other minerals, and in many of the springs of the county, notably the White Sulphur, near St. Helena, and the Hot Springs at Calistoga.
Soda .- This mineral, in the form of carbonates, sulphates and chlorides, is to be found in connection with the waters of many springs in the county, such as the Napa Soda and the Walter Springs.
Ammonia. This substance is developed in large quantities in the pro- cess of reducing the ores of the Oat Hill Mines.
Coal .- Coal of a good quality has been found in Browns Valley, the vein being four and a half feet thick, but for some cause it has never been advantageously worked. It is not a true coal, however, but is brown or lignitic, and not well adapted to economical purposes. It is sometimes stated that the coal of this State, and, in fact, all coal, is the product of petroleum-that is, asphaltum hardened into the condition in which it now appears-but such is not the case. There has only been, so far, one locality discovered where such a coal occurs, and that is in Albert County, Canada, and the coal is known as Albertite.
Petroleum .- This very useful substance occurs almost all over Napa County in greater or less quantities, being present in all the mineral springs and in many of the pure water springs. On Mr. Cutler's place, north-west of Napa City a short distance, there is quite a considerable quantity of it to
Weiterborch
Yours truly
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be found, and Professor Denton visited the locality and gave it a careful examination, and pronounced the showing good for a paying yield. Pro- fessor Denton's theory of the source of petroleum will not be without inte- rest to the readers of our work in this connection. It has always been a mooted question as to what was the true origin of petroleum, many holding that it was the oil of those monster animals which infested the earth during the Carboniferous and subsequent ages of the world. Others held that it was the product of coal, and was closely allied thereto, having been driven out of the coal beds by the force of pressure and heat. Then there were a number of other ideas not worthy of record here, but interesting only as adornments to the great curiosity shop of the theories and vagaries of man- kind. The Professor's solution of the problem is, that the oil is a deposit made by a species of coral insect which existed in the Silurian and Devonian seas, and known as the favosite. They constructed their coral in the shape and style of a honey-comb, and filled the cells with an oily substance. In the course of time other ages deposited their formations upon these beds of coral, and the weight of superincumbent matter crushed these cells and lib- erated the oil. The limestones of the Devonian and Sub-Carboniferous periods were not porous enough to retain the oily matter, nor were the coal fields of the Carboniferous age. The Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous systems all contain rocks too compact to retain the oil, though it is probable that it remained in the sandstones of them all until crushed out by the weight of the upper layers of the earth's structure. In the Tertiary the sandstone is coarse and porous, and well adapted to receive the oil, and as there has not been such a great amount of matter deposited upon this formation, it is there that it is to be found. In substantiation of the asser- tion that the oil was formed by the favosites, the Professor states that he has often found the cells of this insect filled with the pure oil in Pennsyl- vania and West Virginia. It is evident that the oil came from somewhere, and that it was formed by some law of nature, and the thing to do is to decide what is the most feasible theory. The above seems to be that theory, and we incline to believe in its truthfulness, but leave our readers to believe whatsoever may seem best to them.
Basalt and Trap .- Passing into the realm of volcanic action, we find basalt and trap rock as the two best representatives of these rocks. They are hard, compact, and basalt is well adapted to the uses of man. They occur in greater or less quantities all over Napa County.
Tufa and Scoria .- These substances, which result from volcanic action, are found scattered all over the face of Napa County in rank profusion. They are useless in an economic view.
Obsidian .- This is another volcanic substance, and resembles bottle glass
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very much. A mountain of it exists north-east of St. Helena. It was used extensively by the Indians in the manufacture of arrow and spear heads.
SPRINGS .- Napa County is noted far and wide for the abundance and variety of the Springs within its limits, they being both mineral and pure, cold and thermal. From every mountain side beautiful streams of water gush forth and find their way to the nearest brooklet, where their united rivulets form into a beautiful babbling stream, that sings a merry song as it dances over the pebbly bed, or leaps like a merry-hearted school girl, from rock to rock, in its gleeful chase to the valley below. The water from these springs is soft, pure and sweet, and it is truly a delight to quench one's thirst with the pearly draught. The flow of these springs vary from a few gallons to enormous quantities per day. The water is very useful for the purpose of irrigation, and is much used for that.
The mineral springs of Napa County are worthy an extended notice, and the reader is referred to the Township histories, where full and complete sketches will be found of them all; but here only an outline will be given. These springs are divided into two general classes, thermal and cold, and the hot sulphur springs at Calistoga, and the Ætna Springs afford fine illustrations of the former, while the Napa Soda and Walter's Springs represent the latter. Soda, iron, sulphur and magnesia, are the principal minerals contained in all these springs, their peculiarities existing only on account of the amount of each in the individual springs.
TIMBER .- While Napa County is not pre-eminently a timbered section, yet almost all varieties of wood that are indigenious to this section of Cal- ifornia may be found within its limits.
As many of the coniferæ which grow in California are represented in Napa County, we append the following list, more as a matter of reference than anything else, feeling that it will serve a good purpose for all of our readers who are at all observing of the different trees which grow in their county :-
1. Picea nobilis, a magnificent tree, growing up to two hundred feet in height, flourishing principally in the Shasta Mountains. It has dark green leaves, which appear silvery underneath. It yields excellent timber, and is cultivated largely in Europe for ornamental purposes, being grown there from the seed.
2. Picea amabilis, a similar tree, growing especially ncar Truckee, where large forests of them exist, called by lumbermen red fir; it has, however, different cones and lighter foliage than the fir.
3. Picea grandis, a fine tree, rising up to two hundred feet in height, called by lumbermen white or balsam fir. The lumber is, however, not
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much esteemed, being soft and coarse-grained ; but it is exceedingly hand- some as an ornamental tree.
4. Picea cracteata, perhaps the handsomest of all conifers. It is found growing in the Santa Lucia Mountains, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties. It is a tree of surpassing beauty, and highly esteemed in England, where young trees of this species are growing. The seed is extremely valuable, on account of the fact that many years pass by before the cones become perfect and produce seeds capable of germination. There is in San Luis Obispo County a grove of one hundred of these trees, worth a trip any time to see. Nowhere else are many found. Unless this grove is protected +it will soon become extinct, as no young trees are growing in it. The tree would seem to have ceased to reproduce itself here. It must have aid and protection. No one has laid eyes on the handsomest cone-bearer who has not been so fortunate as to look up at the Picea cracteata, the beautiful tree, as they call it in Europe, where they consider it a rare gem.
5. Abies Douglasii, a most valuable tree of California, growing easily in almost any soil, excellent for timber, and found largely in Northern Cali- fornia and north to British Columbia.
6. Abies Menziesii, and seventh, Abies Williamsonii, grow chiefly in northern California. The lumber is used only for rough purposes, and is not very valuable. The first four are of the true firs, while the fifth, sixth, and seventh are the spruces of the coast.
8. Pinus Lambertiana, the sugar-pine, the grandest tree of the country, cultivated in northern Europe now, largely because of its excellent timber qualities, and most of the growth there is from seeds sent from here, especially from British Columbia, and by the Hudson Bay Company during the last twenty-five years.
9. Pinus Jeffreyii, a beautiful pine growing especially thick near Carson, Nevada. It is esteemed highly in Europe because of its foliage, its usefulness for lumber, and its applicability for ornamentation, and because it will grow upon the meanest soil. It reaches an average height of one hundred and fifty feet. It is one of the hardiest of evergreens It has large cones, with pyramidal hooked scales.
10. Pinus Coulteri, found only in the Coast Range ; rises about sixty or seventy feet; distinguished as having the heaviest cones of any of the family of conifers.
11. Pinus Manchesteri, named after the Duke of Manchester, who dis- covered it in the Yosemite Valley. Botanists believe it to be only a variety of Pinus ponderosa. It has, however, larger cones.
12. Pinus tuberculata, a small evergreen found mainly in the Shasta Mountains. The cones do not, often, open for years, and in order to get out
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the seeds a high degree of heat has to be applied, such are the resinous qualities of the cone.
13. Pinus insignis, the Monterey pine, one of the handsomest of the whole species. It has beautiful light green foliage, which is too tender for Europe, where it fails under cultivation.
14. Pinus ponderosa, or heavy wooded pine. It is the pitch-pine of the mountains above the altitude of four thousand feet.
15. Pinus monticola, grows at an altitude of from six thousand to eight thousand feet. It is a tall and erect sugar pine, and is used largely for railroad ties because of its durability.
16. Pinus aristata, grows rarely in California. It is called the awned- cone pine. Some of the trees are to be found near the Calaveras Grove. It reaches fifty or sixty feet in height.
17. Pinus concorta, an exceedingly tough wood, and does not rot. It has recently been introduced into Europe. Douglas found it on swamp ground on this coast, near the ocean. It is found in many northern parts of the continent. It is very hardy.
18. Pinus edulis, a small tree found largely in the lower country, and yielding edible nuts.
19. Sequoia gigantea, the big trees of California. Its synonym is Wellingtonia gigantea, and it is also known as Washingtonia gigantea. The cones are described as about two inches long, ovate, terminal, solitary, and with numerous prickled stipitate scales. The honor of the discovery of the great trees is in dispute, as is also the derivation of the name sequoia.
20. Sequoia semperviren. This is the half-brother of that last named, and is the redwood tree of the coast.
21. Libocedrus decurrens is the California white cedar. The trees grow very large, reaching a height of two hundred feet. It is excellent timber for use underground. Many of the trees are affected by dry-rot.
22. Cupressus fragrans, or the fragrant cypress. It grows principally in Oregon, and is there called the ginger pine, because of its aromatic flavor. It is a fine wood, and is used largely in the best furniture in Oregon.
Of the coniferc mentioned in the above list, let us see what ones are indigenous to Napa County. Beginning with the coast or common red- wood (Sequoia sempervirens), we find that it grows all along the range of mountains west of Napa Valley, and also on Howell Mountain. It would seem a little strange that this tree should be found on the mountains of the Mayacamas range south of Mount St. Helena, and not north of it. In an early day there was quite an amount of milling done among the redwoods of this county, especially in the canon above Dr. Hitchcock's place, where there were no less than three sawmills.
The next coniferc in importance is the yellow fir (Abies Williamsonii),
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which is found all over Napa County in greater or less quantities. It makes excellent lumber, and several mills have been engaged chiefly in working this timber. It is used very extensively, also, in timbering up mines. It grows tall and straight, and makes a beautiful tree.
A congener, white fir (Picea grandis), grows sparsely in Napa County. It is, however, a much more beautiful tree than the red fir, growing lithe and straight to a lofty height, and having a fine, smooth, light-colored bark, not so very dissimilar to the ash. The stranger would choose it every time in preference to the red fir, for economical purposes, but great would be his surprise to find at the end of a year that his beatiful tree was nought but ashes, as it were, that length of time being sufficient to almost entirely rot the whole body of the tree. 1132098
Another congener is the red fir (Picea amabilis), commonly known by the name of Oregon pine, but which is really not a pine at all. This is not so generally spread over the county as either of the other two brothers, and is not considered as good lumber here as it is farther north, although it is prized for its toughness, but not for its durability or fineness of grain, in both of which qualities it is sadly lacking.
Of the remaining coniferæ the sugar pine (Pinus Lambertiana) is by far the most important, and is in fact the only kind of pine that can be used at all for economic purposes. It is the choicest of all soft woods which grow upon the Pacific Slope. Its fiber is compact, and its grain fine, while it works very easily, and beyond the fault of " season checking" is altogether a desirable lumber. It is used principally for doors, sash, blinds, counters, shelving, and similar purposes. While it does not grow to any extent in Napa County, some good trees of it have been found on Mount St. Helena, and in that vicinity.
The California white cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), is found quite ex- tensively scattered over the surface of Napa County, though it is getting much scarcer than in the earlier days of the county. It is a beautiful tree, growing to a good height, with stately proportions. It was much sought after by the early settlers from the fact that it worked so easily.
The last coniferæ that we shall mention as being indigenous to Napa County is the heavy coned pine, commonly known as the "Digger " or " bull pine " (Pinus Coulteri). It is a scraggy, worthlesss tree, and is fit for nothing except kindling wood or cheap firewood. Its cones are very large, and contain large quantities of nuts, which in olden times the In- dians used to relish very much, hence the name "Digger Pine." There is a great amount of pitch in the cones, and the Indians would build a fire and hold them over it till the pitch was melted and the nuts thus released. These cones are now the delight of the camping party in the mountains, and many happy hours are spent in the early night around the cheerful and high blazing fire which they are famous for making.
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Of the other varieties of trees which grow in Napa the chestnut oak (Quercus densiflora), is the most important, as it is from this tree that the tan-bark is derived. Quite large bodies of it grow in the mountains in the upper end of the county, and large quantities of bark are exported an- nually. The wood is good for fuel only.
The laurel (Oreodaphne Californica) is a wood much prized for veneer- ing and ornamental purposes, and some very fine trees of it are to be found in Napa County, it being pretty generally distributed all over this section of the State.
The live oak (Quercus virens) is the most numerous of any of the oaks which grow in Napa County, but its chief use is for firewood. It is con- sidered the best wood for fuel that grows upon the coast, and always com- mands the highest prices in the markets where it is offered for sale. It is to be found on all the mountain sides in the county. There are several other varieties of oak, such as the black, white, valley, etc., in the county, but none are of any importance except for firewood, and some of them are not to be praised very much for even this purpose.
Probably the widest diffused tree and of the least value in Napa County is the madroña (Arbutus Menziesii). It is to be found in all the moun- tains, and the traveler becomes so accustomed to seeing its face that he really falls in love with it.
Quite a considerable alder (Alnus) grows along the streams of the county, and is useful for nothing except light, summer firewood. There is occasionally a white ash (Fraxinus alba) and rarely a white poplar (Popu- lus alba) growing on the mountain sides, but not in any bodies.
Passing from trees to shrubs we find the manzanita growing everywhere in the mountains, its bright red bark and deep green leaves contrasting beautifully, and producing a charming effect on the landscape. Here and there, in clumps and clusters, the buckeye (Esculus pavia) grows all over the county, and in time of blooming they make the air redolent with rich perfume. Another shrub, which is the chief of all the flowering shrubs in the county, is the azalea, which is found along the banks of almost all the mountain streams. It is a member of the rhododendron family, and its flower is white. During the time of its first fresh blooming it presents a very handsome appearance, the flowers being almost as pure and wax-look- ing as orange blossoms. All over the mountains there is a shrub called chemisal (pronounced cheméese), with which every citizen of the county is familiar. It is useless for any purpose, and grows so dense in places that even a mountain sheep is bothered to find its way through it. The wild hazel grows quite commonly all over the county, but does not seem to be so prolific a bearer of nuts as its Eastern congener, nor do the bush or hull look quite like those found at the East. Wild grapes are found in great
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profusion in the mountains of Napa County, but they are small and sour, with an excessively large seed, hence are unfit for use. The poison oak is found all over the mountains and is well known, to the sorrow of many pleasure seekers.
There are other trees and shrubs growing in Napa County, such as the willow, pepper-wood, etc., but those of any importance have been mentioned above. There is one other shrub, however, which deserves special mention, the holly (Ilex opaca). It is commonly known as the bear-berry, from the fact that the berries were a favorite relish of Bruin's, in the days of his free ramblings over these mountains. The shrub grows in height from three to ten feet, the leaves are glossy and bright green, and the berries turn a beautiful red about midwinter, and are used much for purposes of adorn- ment for festive occasions during the holidays. The berries soon wither and lose their beauty, however, after they are severed from the parent stem.
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