USA > California > Los Angeles County > Pasadena > History of Pasadena, comprising an account of the native Indian, the early Spanish, the Mexican, the American, the colony, and the incorporated city, occupancies of the Rancho San Pasqual, and its adjacent mountains, canyons, waterfalls and other objects of interest: being a complete and comprehensive histo-cyclopedia of all matters pertaining to this region > Part 70
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The Valley Union of June 4, 1886, published a report which I made of a great tunnel undertaking then in progress at the foot of Dry canyon, and for its historic interest I here quote it :
"Pasadena has the longest water tunnel in Los Angeles county. This tunnel is in the wash that forms the outlet from three water-bearing canyons, Las Flores, Rubio, and Dry canyon, but there is no flowing water in the wash except occasionally during the rainy season. More than a year ago a prospecting shaft was dug by Dolben and Watkins, forty feet deep, which yielded five feet of water and kept to that depth all summer. They then went about 1950 feet down the wash and started the tunnel, in July, 1885, at a level 120 feet lower than the bottom of their prospect shaft. The work has gone steadily forward since that time, and the tunnel is now in about 1050 feet from its mouth, in a line so straight that a man at the inner end with a good rifle could shoot a rabbit outside. The passage is three feet wide at base, and twenty inches at top, and five and a half feet high clear space inside of arch posts. Three air shafts have already been dug to con- nect with the tunnel from the surface ; but the first one has been passed and closed ; the second one is now in use both for ventilation and to hoist out
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debris ; the third one has not been brought into use yet, but will be entered in a week or so by tunnelers, who will work from its bottom both ways, one gang excavating toward the prospect shaft, and the other gang toward a junction with the passage already made ; and it is calculated that two more air-shafts will be necessary before they reach their water limit. The whole passage has been made through a bed of boulders, sand and gravel, with a little yellow clay mixed in, and many of the boulders are so large that they cannot be got out at all but must be drilled and blasted in order to clear a passage. The theory of this great enterprise is, that at or near their pros- pect shaft they will strike the sloping bed-rock of the mountain base, and thus undertap the percolation of the whole water-bearing stratum above the bed of the tunnel, which will be 160 feet below the surface at that point. The prospect shaft already penetrates five feet of the water-bearing stratum, and how much thicker that stratum is can only be determined by the philosophy of pick and drill. If they meet the bed-rock as anticipated, then they have right-of-way to cross-cut for several hundred feet both east and west, thus making lateral catch basins that will turn flowing streams into the outlet tunnel from both ways. The whole scheme is a gigantic experi- ment, based on a few known facts, and some unproved theories that look very plausible. But it costs a mint of money and a vast deal of pluck to make such a bold problemetical venture; and it is to be hoped that it will prove even a greater success than the projectors have reckoned on. The famous Bacon ranch tunnel, near where the S. G. V. railroad crosses Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena, is 675 feet long, but this new one will be more than four times as long, counting its lateral feeders."
Sad to say, this great enterprise proved an entire failure ; and the 3,000 feet tunnel lies there, dry and worthless, to rivet and clinch the name of "Dry canyon."
There are seven or eight tunnels connected with the Rubio canyon and Echo Mountain water supply. Two, I think, in Pine canyon, four in Las Flores canyon, and others in Eaton canyon, Millard canyon, and in banks of the Arroyo Seco and its tributaries ; also at Linda Vista, and Henniger's flat, etc .- besides those in the Glacial Terrace- a total of about fifty water tunnels within Pasadenaland in 1894. Some of these are further mentioned in connection with history of the water companies to which they belong.
October 10, 1891, a Board of Trade committee consisting of J. A. Bu- chanan, J. W. Scoville, A. J. Painter and James Craig made a report on Pasadena's water supply, from which I quote this passage, as printed in the weekly Star of October 14 :
" From the state engineer's report it is ascertained that the water avail- able for use in this vicinity, estimated for the dry season of dry years, is as follows :
Sheep Corral springs .. 60 miner's inches
Ivy, Thibbets, and Flutterwheel springs. 100 miner's inches
Painter's system To miner's inches
Millard canyon 7 miner's inches
Las Flores canyon
Io miner's inches
Rubio canyon 15 miner's inches
Eaton canyon 40 miner's inches
Total 244 miner's inches
A miner's inch of water is equal to a flow of nine gallons per minute. [See page 414 ; and foot note, page 421.]
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HISTORY OF PASADENA.
GLACIAL TERRACE.
The following correspondence will briefly explain what local points and features are comprehended under this general term, and why :
OFFICE PASADENA HISTORY CO., PASADENA, CAL., August 21, 1894.
Prof. A. J. McClatchie, Botanist Throop Polytechnic Institute :
DEAR SIR - Answering your inquiry as to local names of certain points rich in native flora, I respectfully submit the following : That peculiar and characteristic range of water-bearing bluffs from Raymond Hill eastward to San Marino, I have, for geological reasons, designated as the "Glacial Ter- race " group of spring brooks and canyons. It comprises Raymond creek and canyon, [formerly called in Spanish, Arroyo San Pasqual]; Los Robles brook and canyon, bordering Mr. J. E. Jardine's place ; Oak Knoll brook and canyon, which joins Los Robles brook at Willowdale and forms the "Mill Spring Creek" of the Mission Fathers; Mill Creek and canyon, which rises at the foot of Lake Avenue and runs directly down to Wilson lake, but its waters were also led by a ditch into their old stone mill by the Mission Fathers; Wilson's canyon, which rises at the foot of Wilson Avenue and runs down to B. D. Wilson's old original Lake Vineyard ranch barns and house, now known as the Patton place - this being the one where the Biology department of the Throop Polytechnic Institute has chiefly pro- cured fresh frogs for dissection and microscopic study ; Mission canyon, (also called "Wild Grape canyon") the longest and largest one of the series, famed for the abundance and fine quality of its wild grapes; and San Marino canyon, bordering San Marino ranch, Hon. J. De Barth Shorb's ele- gant residence grounds. Seven distinct water-way canyons, besides some unnamed tributary brooklets, all within a space of two miles ; and I suppose the native flora of this entire series or group of spring streams is substan- tially the same. Yours very truly, H. A. REID.
To PROF. MCCLATCHIE: The above having been submitted to me, If will say, that from my knowledge of glacial phenomena, and my observa- tions in the region referred to, I consider "Glacial Terrace " an appropriate name to indicate the character of the geological formations found there, and also a fitting and convenient local designation for that peculiar range of bluffs taken as a whole.
Respectfully, J. B. FRENCH.
I should here explain further, that the Glacial Terrace really commences at Columbia Hill, and extends eastward clear to the outwash of Eaton can- yon, beyond Lamanda Park ; and the "West Basin gully" from the Col- umbia street water-shed, and "Craig Avenue swale" on the eastern border of Pasadena territory, are both outlets of our geological basin, yet are not large enough to be rated as canyons - while the first named one does not produce a spring brook, and the last named produces its brook or creek be- yond our Pasadena territory. These are the reasons why they were not named in the above document. Prof. McClatchie wished to know the his- toric names and associations of these densely-verdured water-bearing can- yons -for sometimes botanical specimens were found in one canyon which did not occur in others.
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DIVISION EIGHT -- SCIENCE. .
CHAPTER XXXI.
ZOOLOGY .- Prof. Holder's Account and List of our Native Mammals ; also of Extinct Animals .- Joseph Grinnell's Account and List of Birds .- Will H. Wakeley's Speci- mens .- The Editor's own account of Reptiles and Insects.
NATIVE MAMMALS OF PASADENALAND.
In 1886 Prof. C. F. Holder, LL. D., was engaged by the Board of Trade to furnish literary and scientific articles to eastern and northern news- papers, on such matters in and about Pasadena as he could utilize, and thus bring this city extensively before the reading public abroad .* The Union of October 30 published a list of his writings under this engagement, which numbered a total at that time of eighty-four articles furnished by him to the press of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and various New England cities. He also made contributions to the local press of Pasadena and Los Angeles up to 1889. Among these writings are his descriptions of the native animals here ; and from these I make the following extracts :
From " Land of Sunshine," August, 1895.
JACK RABBIT ON THE JUMP.
THE JACK RABBIT, which is properly a hare, and is known to science as Lepus Californicus. The hares never burrow, forming nests upon the surface in the grass and there rearing their young, while the cotton tail forms a deep burrow, after the fashion of all rabbits. The hare of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, also called the "Jack Rabbit," is a different species, (L. Callotis,) though to the casual observer there is little difference.
KANGAROO RAT .- One evening at Las Casitas, near Pasadena, I saw in the dim light a curious object hopping along, which I found to be one of the queer jumping mice, so called, an animal known scientifically as Dipo-
* For list of Prof. Holder's published volumes, see page 224.
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HISTORY OF PASADENA.
domys. It was a most attractive creature, almost as large as a small rat, of beautiful fawn color, with white beneath, a long tufted tail with a white stripe on the side, large expressive eyes, and long powerful legs for leaping. It looked like a miniature kangaroo, and my captive had a pouch,-two, in fact, one each side of the jaw. The little creature had been feeding and its pouches were filled with very small seeds which it was storing up to eat at leisure. It hopped along nearly like a kangaroo, sitting up when alarmed, then leaping a foot or more, using its short fore feet to aid in the motion, in its general appearance carrying out its popular name of kangaroo rat .* The form common about Pasadena is Dipodomys Phillipsi.
GOPHER .- Few in California but are familiar with the gopher (geomys) and have not watched with amazement gallons of valuable water disappear in the holes of these tyrants of the garden. The gopher tunnels in every direction, and the entire upper surface of the valley, especially the cultiva- ted portion, is permeated with a maze of their making. Like the kangaroo rat, they have two pouches, one on each side of the mouth, and so large that two fingers can be pressed into them. The earth is pushed up out of the hole by the feet and breast of the animal, but the chief use of the pouch is to store up food, which is eaten at leisure in the burrow. The gopher is very sly and cunning, and rarely ventures out if any one is near. The nest of the gopher is in a room near the surface, and the young, queer little fellows, are often thrown out by the plow. The long burrows are made in excursions for choice roots, and perhaps for social and various purposes. [This creature is also called " pouched rat."-EDR.]
TREE RAT .- The stroller in the canyons often sees bunches of leaves and twigs, bound together so tightly that it is sometimes difficult to tear them apart. Frequently they are in trees, again are in bushes near the ground. [Two different species. (?)] Coming suddenly upon one, you may see a little creature darting away, resembling a rat. It is possibly the dusky- footed wood rat (Neotoma fuscipes), and the bunch of leaves is its nest, which, being above the surface of the ground, gives rise to the saying that California rats live in trees. One opened by me in a branch of the Arroyo Seco, after considerable labor, showed much method in its structure. The nest was at least three feet high, resting between the limbs of a tree, touch- ing the ground ; the upper twelve inches was made up of leaves and refuse packed together so closely that it formed a perfectly water-tight roof ; then came a large room filled with at least an armful of plant fiber and other soft material, all of the consistence of cotton, as dry and warm as could be de- sired. This was the nest, the sleeping room and the nursery of the young. This rested on a flooring of leaves, and beneath was a store-room containing at least two quarts of large acorns, among which I noticed several corn cobs, evidently taken from a house some distance away. The entire nest was per- meated by four or five passages, there being at least three exterior doors, while a lower or cellar door led into a burrow in the ground, which, in turn, had another opening fifteen feet away. This nest, I think, was unusual, as many more opened failed to show the system and good arrangement dis-
*Van Dyke calls this animal the "jumping mouse or jerboa, ofteu called kangaroo mouse." He also mentions four other varieties of mice found here, to wit : A loug-tailed ground mouse, a short- tailed ground mouse, a tree mouse, aud a desert mouse, somewhat squirrel-like iu appearauce and mo- tion, as it runs with great speed and occasional high jumps; it lives mostly in clumps or patches of the prickly pear cactus. These five varieties of mice he classifies entirely separate from the rats.
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DIVISION EIGHT-SCIENCE.
played by this wood rat of the Arroyo Seco .* While they are extremely timid, they take the most remarkable liberties around human habitations at night. In one case they removed some seeds from a box and placed them on a table, so that the owner began to grow superstitious about the singular changes that took place in the night. In another case a wood rat took corn from a bag and half filled the boot leg of a teamster before morning.
SQUIRRELS .- Of the squirrels, we have the beautiful gray form with fox-like tail, of the upper range, found clinging to the sycamore and other trees, in the canyons ; and the degenerate ground-squirrel of every vacant lot-nature's plow-man, upturning the earth, admitting air and water, so possibly doing some good. This creature, with its voice like the clink of a blaster's hammer, is found everywhere in the vicinity of man's habitation, and is a purely ground form, rarely ascending trees more than eight or ten feet. Some people esteem it a table delicacy, and it probably constituted a prominent feature of the Indian diet in olden times .; There is also a small squirrel (Spermophilus spilosoma) occasionally seen, resembling the chip- munk of the East.
Speaking of the squirrels of Southern California, Van Dyke says :
" Above an elevation of 4,000 feet is a gray squirrel, apparently the same as the one found East, though its habits and bark are quite different from those of the latter. At five or six thousand feet is found a thick-set, bob-tailed, striped sided chip munk, about twice the size of the eastern chip munk. It climbs but little, living in the ground and in holes in the rocks and fallen trees. At about the same elevation is sometimes found a squirrel of about the same size, build, and activity as the red squirrel of the East, but of a dull gray color. But the most common squirrel is the ground- squirrel, found mainly in the lowlands, generally in open ground, and dis- appearing at five or six thousand feet, or in very heavy timber. It is about the size of the gray squirrel, but built a trifle heavier behind. Its color is a dirty gray, lightly mottled. Its tail is neither so long, nor so heavily clad with hair as that of the gray squirrel. * * These ground squirrels, with the whole rat, mouse, gopher and hare tribe, can live without water. A dry winter, however, stops their increase, as it does that of the bees, hares, and valley quails. They seem to know there will be a scarcity of food. In such years no young are seen, and in the latter part of the season even the old ones disappear, becoming dormant, and awaiting in their holes the rains of the next winter."
MOLE .- I have seen only one species of the mole here, but in all proba- bility there are several. Their upturned ridges may often be seen after a rain, when they forage for the worms which constitute their chief food. The
* Van Dyke gives three species or varieties of native rat, to wit: The large wood rat, which builds both above and below ground at foot of tree or bush, as Prof. Holder has fully described ; but also a smaller one which builds its nests well up in trees. Over eleven years ago I saw some of these in Wilson canyon that were twenty five feet or more above ground. A third variety that lives entirely underground, and makes no nest above.
+I with others, both ladies and gentlemen, tried ground-squirrel meat. both stewed and fried, while camping on Wilson's peak, and found it really more tender, juicy and palatable than the timber squirrel, of which latter we had plenty. also. Yet I had always been told by the old settlers that these ground squ'rrels were not fit to eat-that they had a ratty quality and tasted of the ground, etc.,-all of which was purely imaginary. Early in 1893 a curious ground squirrel was caught at Eagle Rock val- ley and brought to W. H. Wakeley, the taxidermist of Pasadena, who secured and mounted the specimen as a rare lusus naturae. The right upper incisor had grown and curved inward until it formed a complete circle and came out at the top of the skull through the middle partition ; while the left incisor made a similar curve, 21/2 inches long, but veered sideways so that it turned up outside of the mouth. The tushes of the lower jaw were 34 inch long. I saw the specimen and measured it myself at Wakeley's Novelty Works, in June, 1894 .- EDR.
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HISTORY OF PASADENA.
eye of the mole has, from disuse, degenerated to some extent, but it is by no means useless, as is generally supposed. Moles should not be destroyed, as they annually kill vast numbers of insects injurious to vegetation. It has been estimated that a single mole will destroy 20,000 insects in a year.
Of the animals referred to above, the squirrels, rabbits, rats, kangaroo rat, and gopher belong to the order of Rodents, or gnawing animals. The Mole and its allies belong to another group, the Insectivora.
BATS .- We have about Pasadena several species, but perhaps the most ยท interesting and conspicuous forin is a long-eared bat, Macrotus Californicus, with an expanse of wing of nearly eighteen inches, a long head, and prominent almond-shaped ears. My first acquaintance with this little creature was in the mountains. I was awakened by what I thought was a draught blowing over my face. Again it came-a soft breeze lasting for a second, and I realized that a large bat was flying around the room. The bats here have the advantage of those farther north. The latter hibernate or go into winter quarters in November and lie dormant until the return of insect life in the spring. During this time they eat nothing, and nearly all the functions of life are at a standstill ; the Pasadena bats, on the contrary, living in an exceptional climate, enjoy life at night all the year round.
A small bat (scotophilus hesperus) with an expanse of about seven inches, is common here, while vespertilo nitidus is another small form. All these are insect eaters, living on the nocturnal insects. During the daytime the bats creep into dark places-chimneys, holes in trees, old roofs, caves and crevices in the rocks.
CIVET CAT .- One of the most attractive of the carnivora about Pasa- dena is the little animal known as the civet cat, "Pacific cat," and other names, and to the Mexicans as "Caca-mixtli " or rush cat. To science it is Bassaris, the species being known as astuta and sumichra ti, and is the American representative of the Nasua, and closely allied to the coon. It looks not unlike a cat, but has large ears and a fine, long, many-ringed tail. The little animal is nocturnal in its habits and gives little or no evidence of its agility during the day, but at night is literally as playful as a kitten. It feeds upon birds and small animals, and has been a puzzle to systematists, who yet dispute as to its proper place in the scale of life.
NOTE .- This so-called "civet cat " is such an exceptional little animal, being unknown in the Eastern States, that I will give more space to its con- sideration. The following article from the Los Angeles Times has a local historic interest, and at the same time illustrates what Prof. Holder says about the animal being " a puzzle to systematists :''
PASADENA, Aug. 31, 1893 .-- (To the editor of The Times.) There is a question of "civet-cat or coon" (?) at Hotel Rubio, the solution of which will be of interest to all lovers of beautiful wild animals. For a week or more some very cunning wild animal had been depredating the pantry, and especially feasting on fresh fruits kept in store. But on Monday night it was caught unhurt in a box trap, and put into a large wire cage for exhibition. It is one of the prettiest wild animals known in California zoology. Dr. Reid of Pasadena pronounced it a California coon, but others present said Thaddeus Lowe, Jr., had told them it was a civet-cat. Thus the local doctors of zoology differed, and, as usual, some sided with one and some with the other. The fact is, however, that both gentlemen were a little
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right, and both a little wrong. Prof. Tenney in his work on zoology calls it "civet-cat - Bassaris astuta," and remarks : "Animals somewhat raccoon- like in form. One species is found from Texas to California, and is about the size of the domestic cat, but more slender ; its color above is brownish yellow mixed with gray beneath; the tail is white and has six or eight black rings. It is arboreal, easily tamed, and a favorite pet with the miners."
But now the Century Encyclopedia pictures the same animal and calls it "Ring-tailed Bassaris," with this remark in the descriptive text : " Re- sembling the raccoon in some respects, but slenderer. * * Most nearly related to the raccoons (Procyonidae), having some superficial resemblance to the civets and genets."
Thus it will be seen how easily Dr. Reid and Mr. Lowe might differ in naming the animal, and yet both be right. The pretty creature really seems to combine in itself characteristics of the fox, the raccoon, and the lemur, with feline qualities least of all. It has been called locally in Cali- fornia by such names as California coon, mountain coon, coon-cat, and civet- cat, yet it is not a "cat " at all, either in face, skull, feet or preferred diet ; and it is such a pretty and harmless creature that Prof. Lowe ought not to allow them to be killed within the bounds of his great mountain electric railway and bridle-road circuits. ONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE.
Prof. Holder speaks of it as being "the American representative of the Nasua [Coati] .* And Nicholson's Zoology says they "present a singularly close resemblance to the lemurs of the old world, and appear to be their representatives in the western hemisphere. * * They are in some respects intermediate between the raccoons and the civets."
RACCOON .- The black-footed raccoon (Procyon hernandezii) is our neighbor, and that he is too neighborly sundry chicken owners can testify, while Mr. Rosenbaum tells me that they venture up to his pond or aquarium and have occasional nightly feasts upon his large carp. They hide during the day in the underbrush of the Arroyo, sallying out at night seeking whom they may devour. The Arroyo raccoons are famous fighters, and one that Mr. Bandini's hounds cornered seized one of the dogs by the claw, clinging like a bulldog, though beset by the entire pack, and only relin- quished its hold when shot through the head by Mr. Bandini.
SKUNK .- One of the most attractive of Pasadena animals is the striped little skunk. We have two species: One as large as a cat (Mephitis occi- dentales), which I have occasionally met in the bush, and a smaller one about as large as a weasel though much stouter, the little striped skunk (Spilogale putorius). The latter is a most beautiful and attractive creature. A gentleman in this city told me that for a long time the family was aston- ished at singular noises in the house, as if some one was running about overhead, scampering, falling and sliding. A sudden rush would be made for the room and nothing found. Finally, one of the ladies crept up stairs one night and opening the door softly, found the culprit-a striped skunk. The little fellow had a rubber ball and was playing with it, chasing it about and rolling over and over like a cat. How it got in was a mystery. A friend of the writer, in Los Angeles, caught three of these creatures in his
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