History of Sonoma County : including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys, and streams, Part 4

Author: Alley, Bowen & Co. 4n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: San Francisco : Alley, Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1008

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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

In 1859 Colonel A. C. Godwin, then the owner of the Geyser springs, organized a mining distriet, located a number of claims himself, and a num- ber of others were also taken up. These claims were afterward consolidated into one or two companies, and some work was done upon them. The low price of quicksilver, the searcity of labor, and lack of skill in manipulating the ore, led to loss, and finally put a stop to all work on the mines. In 1861 Colonel Godwin, who had given the enterprise most of its life, sold his interest in the springs and mines, and returned to the East. The stock of the consol- idated companies went to zero, and the mines were sold at sheriff's sale to satisfy the demand of creditors. Professor Whitney, with a corps of scien- tists, came along soon afterwards, and, with his "no vein theory " in the coast range, extinguished the last spark of life in mining enterprises in Sonoma for the time.

From 1861 to 1872 no work was done on the quicksilver mines. In the latter part of 1871, and early in 1872, a lively interest in the mines revived, quicksilver having advanced to one dollar a pound. Claims in the old dis- triet were re-located, roads were built, a mining town sprang up, and at least five hundred men were at work in the district. A lawsuit was commeneed between the old and new locators, which brought to the county-seat of Santa Rosa a number of the most distinguished mining lawyers of the Pacific coast, and learned and eloquent arguments were made which engaged the court for a prolonged session, creating for the time more excitement than was ever before witnessed in any case in the courts of Sonoma.

Just after the case was settled, quicksilver again fell in the market to fifty cents a pound. This at once checked the work of development, as most of the elaimants were prospectors, hoping to pay their way from the products of the mine, and it cost them as much to get the metal out as it would bring in the market. Of the number of claims taken up, two have proved very valuable,-the Oakland and the Cloverdale.

The Oakland Mine is situated near Geyser peak, which we have elsewhere mentioned. It is at the head of a deep gorge, on the north side of the moun- tain, known from its wild and sombre depths as the " Devil's Canon." The Oakland, from the opening of the mine, has had good ore, and more than paid its way. The furnace at the mine is a small one,-the product, about two hundred flasks a month, is up to its full capacity, and metal for at least one hundred and fifty flasks more per month is left upon the dump for a time when a larger furnace will be built. The ore is cinnabar, sulphate of Inereury, and specimens are found which will retort seventy-five per cent of metal. The average of the ore worked is about four per cent; lower grade ore is laid aside for reduction at some future time.

The Cloverdale Mine .- About seven miles from the Geysers, on Sulphur

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

creek, four miles northwest of the Oakland, the Cloverdale mine is situated. The hill in which this mine is located has all the appearance of an extinct geyser. The metal is diffused through the hill, and is found in the country rock, and in fine dust. There is a furnace at this mine, made with the view of working the latter kind of ore, which is rarely found. The Cloverdale is regarded as one of the most promising mines on the coast.

In a different part of the county two other valuable mines are located ; one is known as the Great Eastern, and the other as the Mount Jackson' They are four miles north of Guerneville.

The Great Eastern Mine .- The Great Eastern mine, situated twelve miles southwest of Healdsburg, was located in 1873, and in September, 1874, leased to Tiburcio Parrott, of San Francisco. The following figures are by Mr. Isaac Gum, President of the company owning the mine :-

Expense, $4,346.11; applied towards part payment on the furnaces, by the stockholders of the Great Eastern Company, $2,660.67 ; dividends paid, $14,051 ; cash on hand, $289.50. Total, $21,347.28. The terms of the lease are that Mr. Parrott puts on all improvements, pays expenses, etc., and receives therefor seven-eighths of the production.

The largest portion of the above expense item ($4,346.11) was incurred after Mr. Parrott took the mine, and includes cost of patent, lawsuit, etc. There have been $160,000 taken out of the mine in five years.

The company has given Mr. Parrott a new lease for five years, although his present lease will not expire till a year hence. There is now due Mr. Parrott from the mine $38,000, (in other words he has put in $38,000 more than he has received from the mine), and according to the provisions of the lease the stockholders are to receive one-eighth of the product till that amount is paid, above working expenses ; when, if quicksilver rises to fifty cents per pound, they get one-sixth; if it rises to fifty-five cents or over, they get one- fifth. At the expiration of Mr. Parrott's lease, providing the stockholders take the mine, they are to pay him a fair valuation for all the improvements he has made.

An important improvement now being made at the mine is the addition of hoisting works, capable of working six or seven hundred feet levels; there will be an ore cage and a double-stroke pump, the latter being needed to free the lower levels of water. A kiln of 60,000 bricks has recently been burned at the mine, and the little Eames furnace is to be taken down; another one will be built upon its foundation, with Haskins & Hall's patent ore chamber attached. There is now in use at the mine a twenty-ton Maxwell furnace, almost new, and in fine condition. The improvements in the way of build- ings, roads, etc., are numerous and substantial. At present the hoisting works are being adjusted, and it is expected that the mine will soon be in

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

full operation. D. H. Haskins is the superintendent. This mine was located by Messrs. Gum, Zane, and Lewis, of Healdsburg.

The Mount Jackson Mine .- This is also a very promising mine. Work was commenced in it in 1873, and has not stopped for a single day. It will one day fully equal the expectations of its owners. The Mount Jackson was also located by Messrs. Gum, Zane, and Lewis, of Healdsburg, and they sold it to a company of gentlemen of that city.

Mention has been made only of the four leading mines-there are a num- ber of others which can be worked to advantage whenever the owners are ready to develop them. If the demand would justify it, the quicksilver mines of Sonoma could be made to produce from three to five thousand flasks of mercury per month.

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT OF SONOMA COUNTY.

THE RUSSIAN, SPANISH AND AMERICAN OCCUPATION.

In those old days, when Spain was all powerful on land and sea ; when her fleets and subjects were to be found penetrating territories and oceans which existed merely in legends almost too fabulous to be credited, one of her navigators, in the month of October, 1775, Lieutenant Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, in His Majesty's ship the Sonora, touched at a bay on the coast, which he carefully explored, and called after himself-this is the Bodega bay of to-day. We are told by historians that the English Admiral, Sir Francis Drake, landed just below the coast line of Sonoma, in the year 1579, while, thirty-seven years prior to this date, Cape Mendocino had been discovered by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who named it in honor of the "illus- trious Senor Antonio de Mendoza," a Viceroy, and patron of the voyageur.

On September 17, 1776, the Presidio and Mission of San Francisco were founded, on what was then the extreme border of California, the former in a manner being a frontier command having a jurisdiction which extended to the farthest limits northwards of Spanish discovery. How the arts and sciences have bridged time! What do these comparatively few years in a nation's life show ? They speak for themselves ! San Francisco to-day is a marvel ! Short though her life has been she has worked wonders; to-day she is the centre of civilization as regards the western portion of this vast Continent; she is the heart which sends pulsations through the different com- mercial arteries of the coast; the throbbings of her veins are felt from Behr- ing's Straits to those of Magellan; across the oceans the influence of her sys- tem is known, while at home she is looked up to as the youth is whose care in the future will be the old, the sick, and the maimed.

Bodega bay having been already visited, a voyage of discovery was under- taken by Captain Quiros, to ascertain if there was water communication connecting it with the bay of San Francisco, being led to this, presumably, on the idea that the peninsula which juts into the Pacific and forms one side of the Golden Gate, now comprising Marin county, was an island. Captain Quiros left San Francisco in September, 1776, and gaining the entrance of the Petaluma creek, followed its many sinuosities as far as he could, but ulti- mately returned without finding the watercourse which he sought. Thus was the first trip into what is now known as Sonoma county made. This undertaking was one requiring no doubt a vast amount of time, labor, and endurance, as well as caution, for even at the present time, the mouths of the

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

creeks which flow into the San Pablo bay are difficult to detect, what then must it have been to those explorers who had to find the landmarks and fix them for all time! As we fly along the bays, rivers, creeks, and railroads of our State, we are prone to gaze on either hand and view with charmed eye and contented mind the miles upon miles of cultivated fields and the thousands of happy homes we pass, taking all as an accepted fact, at the same time totally forgetful of those intrepid men who first had the hardihood to pene- trate into them when unknown wilds, thus paving the way for generations yet unborn, and by their labor assuring both peace and plenty.

In the year 1793 the British Government was still in the habit of keeping a fleet of observation cruising along the Pacific shores, and on an occasion a party of Indians reported that they had actually anchored in Bodega bay. Upon receipt of this intelligence, instructions were sent to Governor Arril- laga, by the Viceroy of Mexico, to take prompt and energetic steps for the assertion and protection of Spanish rights, one of the measures consequently adopted being the construction of a redoubt mounted with four guns at Bodega, and the making a road to facilitate the transportation of supplies inland, a task of no mean engineering difficulty. It was found, however, that the English had taken no positive steps toward the permanent occupa- tion which had caused the alarm, therefore the battery was dismantled after a time, and the guns removed to Monterey.

A new era now commenced on the Pacific Coast.

The Russians, to whom then belonged all that territory now known as Alaska, had found their country of almost perpetual cold, without facilities for the cultivation of those fruits and cereals which are necessary to the maintenance of life; of game there was an inexhaustible supply; still, a variety was wanted. Thus, ships were despatched along the coast in quest of a spot where a station might be established and those wants supplied, at the same time bearing in mind the necessity of choosing a location easy of access to the head-quarters of their fur-hunters in Russian America. In a voyage of this nature, Bodega was visited in January, 1811, by Alexander Koskoff, who took possession of the place on the fragile pleas that he had been refused a supply of water at Yerba Buena (San Francisco), and that he had obtained by right of purchase from the Indians a small tract of land along the margin of the bay. Here he remained for a while, and to Bodega gave the name of Romanzoff, calling the stream, now known as Russian river, Slavianka. Koskoff, on account of having a wooden leg, received from the Spaniards the sobriquet of " Pie de Palo." General Vallejo, in a remarkably elaborate address on the early history of Sonoma, delivered at Santa Rosa on July 4, 1876, on the occasion of the Centennial celebration, remarks: "As the new-comers came without permission from the Spanish Government, they may be termed the pioneer 'squatters' of California."

The King of Spain, it should be remembered, claimed all territory north

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

to the Fuca Straits. Therefore, on Governor Arguello receiving the intelli- gence of the Russian occupation of Bodega, he reported the circumstance, as in duty bound, to the Viceroy, Revilla-Gigedo, who returned despatches ordering the Muscovite intruder to depart. The only answer received to this communication was a verbal message, saying that the orders of the Viceroy of Spain had been received and transmitted to St. Petersburg for the action of the Czar. Here, however, the matter did not rest. There arrived in the harbor of San Francisco, in 1816, in the Russian brig " Rurick," a scientific expedition, under the command of Otto von Kotzebue. In accordance with instructions received from the Spanish authorities, Governor Sola proceeded to San Francisco, visited Kotzebue, and, as directed by the Government, offered his aid in furtherance of the endeavors to advance scientific research on the coast. At the same time he complained of Koskoff; informed him of the action taken on either side, and laid particular emphasis on the fact that the Russians had been occupants of Spanish territory for five years. Upon this complaint, Don Gervasio Arguello was despatched to Bodega as the bearer of a message from Kotzebue to Koskoff, requiring his presence in San Francisco. This messenger was the first to bring a definite report of the Russian settlement there, which then consisted of twenty-five Russians and eighty Kodiac Indians. On the 28th day of October, a conference was held on board the " Rurick," in the harbor of San Francisco, between Arguello, Kotzebue and Koskoff; there being also present Jose Maria Estudillo, grand- father of that worthy official who was State Treasurer in 1876, and Luis Antonio Arguello, afterwards Governor of California; a naturalist, named Chamisso, acting as interpreter. It may here be mentioned that the Russian chief made the somewhat perilous voyage from Fort Ross to San Francisco in the frail baidarka, or skin boat, then much in vogue for lengthy journeys by water. No new development was made at this interview; for Koskoff claimed he was acting in strict conformity with instructions from the Governor of Sitka, therefore Kotzebue declined to take any action in the matter, contenting himself simply with the promise that the entire affair should be submitted to St. Petersburg, to await the instructions of the Emperor of Russia. Thus the matter then rested. Communications subse- quently made produced a like unsatisfactory result, and the Russians were permitted to remain for a lengthened period possessors of the land they had so arbitrarily appropriated.

So far indeed was it from the intention of the unwelcome Muscovite to move, that we find them extending their trapping expeditions along the coast, to the north and south, and for a considerble distance inland. At Fort Ross they constructed a quadrilateral stockade, which was deemed strong enough to resist the possible attacks of Spaniards or Indians. It had within its walls quarters for the commandant, officers, and men, an arsenal, store-houses, a Greek church surmounted with a cross and provided with a chime of bells,

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

besides several other erections for the use of mechanics, of which there were a number, the remains of whose trades were in existence at the time of the first American settlement. The stockade was about ten feet high, pierced with embrasures and furnished with carronades ; in addition to these, there were situated at opposite corners two bastions of two stories high, armed with six pieces of artillery. There was no lack of vegetables and fruits, for the gardens were of considerable proportions, and the orchard vast in extent and well filled with trees, some of which, now more than half a century old, are still flourishing and bear abundant crops. At this time, too, they made considerable annual shipments of grain to Sitka from Fort Ross and Bodega. Thus we may safely assert, without much fear of contradiction, that to Sonoma county belongs the honor of erecting the first church in California, north of the bay of San Francisco; but this is not all; to her belongs the credit of first planting fruit, raising grain, and working in leather, wood, and iron, within the limits of the same territory. With these industries in hand. there is not the remotest doubt that the Russians looked to a future permanent possession of Northern California ; the doctrine propounded in 1823 by Pres- ident Monroe, that "the American continents were henceforth not to be considered as subjects for foreign colonization by any European power," put an end to Russian land grabs on this part of the coast.

Captain John Hall visited Bodega and other parts of this coast in 1822. On June 8th, when at Bodega, he was visited by the Russian Governor, who brought with him, Captain Hall tells us, " two fine fat sheep, a large tub of butter, and some milk, which was very acceptable after a long voyage, and gave us proof at once of the Governor's hospitality, and of the abundance and cheapness of provisions. The price of a bullock at that time was twelve dollars, and of a sheep two dollars; vegetables were also plentiful and in their proper season."

Let us for a moment return to the earlier Russian times. As soon as their presence at Bodega was made known to the Spanish authorities, by the Indians, two non-commissioned officers, Sergeant Jose Sanchez and Corporal Heirara, undertook the rather hazardous task of reconnoitering the Russian establishment. This duty they succeeded in accomplishing, disguised as Indians. On their way back they captured a band of horses, which were swam across the bay of San Francisco behind canoes, at Playita de los Caballos, named so from this circumstance-now Lime Point. It was appre- hended at this juncture, that an attempt would be made by the Russians to get a foothold on San Francisco bay ; therefore the time-honored Fiery Cross was called into requisition. In such an event, immense piles of brushwood fired on the prominent mountain tops would inform the soldiery of a demon- stration, which, however, was never made.

In the year 1822, Mexico having won her independence, the regime of old Spain and her dashing cavaliers ceased, California giving in her adherence to

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

the new state of things. The federal constitution of 1824 was afterwards adopted, and the government of California vested in a Political Chief, aided · by a Council known as the Territorial Deputation.

With an armed escort under Ensign Jose Sanchez, mounted on the horses mentioned above, Padre Jose Altimira and Don Francisco Castro started on an expedition to select a suitable and convenient site whereon to establish a new mission, whither it was proposed to transfer the Mission of San Fran- cisco de Asis. The Padre and his party left San Raphael, where a mission had been already founded, on the 25th of June, 1823, and during the day passed the position now occupied by the city of Petaluma, then called by the Span- iards "Punta de los Esteros," and known to the Indians as "Chocuali," that night encamping on the " Arroyo Lema," where the large adobe on the Peta- luma Rancho was afterwards constructed by General M. G. Vallejo. Here a day's halt would appear to have been called, in order to take a glance at the beautiful country and devise means of further progress .. On the 27th they reached the famous "Laguna de Tolly," now, alas, nothing but a place, it having fallen into the hands of a German gentleman of marked utilitarian principles, who has drained and reclaimed it, and planted it with potatoes- Here the expedition took a northeasterly route, and entering the Sonoma valley, which Father Altimira states was then so called by former Indian residents ; the party encamped on the arroyo of "Pulpula," where J. A. Poppe, a merchant of Sonoma, has a large fish-breeding establishment, stocked with carp brought from Rhinefelt, in Germany, in August, 1871. The Holy father's narrative of the beauties of Sonoma valley, as seen by the new-comers, are so graphically portrayed by himself that we cannot refrain from quoting his own words: "At about 3 P. M.," (June 28, 1823) "leaving our camp and our boat on the slough near by, we started to explore, direct- ing our course northwestward across the plain of Sonoma, until we reached a stream (Sonoma river) of about five hundred plumas of water, crystalline, and most pleasing to the taste, flowing through a grove of beautiful and useful trees. The stream flows from some hills which inclose the plain, and terminate it on the north. We went on, penetrating a broad grove of oaks ; the trees were lofty and robust, offering an external source of utility, both for firewood and carriage material. This forest was about three leagues long from east to west and a league and a half wide from north to south. The plain is watered by another arroyo still more copious and pleasant than the former, flowing from west to east, but traveling northward from the centre of the plain. We explored this evening as far as the daylight permitted. The permanent springs, according to the statement of those who have seen them in the extreme dry season, ARE almost innumerable. No one can doubt the benignity of the Sonoma climate after noting the plants, the lofty and shady trees - alders, poplars, ash, laurel, and others - and especially the abundance and luxuriance of the wild grapes. We observed also that the

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

launch may come up the creek to where a settlement can be founded, truly a most convenient circumstance. We saw from these and other facts that Sonoma is a most desirable site for a mission."

Let us here note who are now located on the places brought prominently forward by Padre Altimira. The hills which inclose the valley and out of whose bosom the Sonoma river springs, is now occupied by the residence and vineyards of Mr. Edwards. The forest mentioned, covered the present site of the Leavenworth vineyards, the Hayes' estate, and the farms of Wratten, Carriger, Harrison, Craig, Herman, Wohler, Hill, Stewart, Warfield, Krous & Williams, La Motte, Hood, Kohler, Morris, and others. The second stream mentioned as flowing northward from the centre of the plains, is the "Olema," or flour-mill stream, on which Colonel George F. Hooper resides, while the locality in which he states are innumerable springs, is that tract of country where now are located the hacienda of Lachryma Montis, the resi- dence of General M. G. Vallejo, and the dwellings and vineyards of Haraszthy, Gillen, Tichner, Dressel, Winchel, Gundlach, Rufus, Snyder, Nathanson, and the ground of the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society. The head of naviga- tion noted is the place since called St. Louis, but usually known as the Embarcadero.

Padre Altimira continued his survey to " Huichica," at present the property of Streeter and Borel, and after most carefully exploring the Napa valley, climbed the Suisun range of mountains, and there found stone of excellent quality and in such large quantities that of it "a new Rome might be built." The party having extended their explorations to the eastward for ten leagues, returned to the Sonoma valley on the evening of the Ist of July.

We once more take up the Father's diary: " We descended into the plain, and in less than one-fourth of a league we found six hundred and seven springs of water; some among willows, others covered with tules, the water being fresh, sweet and of agreeable taste." Further explorations were made in different directions, but no site was found so suitable as that of Sonoma. . Therefore, on July 4, 1823, a cross was planted by Father Altimira very near the spot where the Catholic church now stands. Rites according to the Church of Rome were performed for the first time in Sonoma county, the place was named New San Francisco, and the third settlement in the county founded. The first two settlements, however arbitrary the proceedings may have been, it will be remembered were made at Bodega and Ross by the Russians, at which latter place they had also built a church.

The construction of the mission buildings was commenced at once, Altimira writing to Governor Arguello under date " New San Francisco, August 31, 1823: We chose a site and began work. In four days we have cut one hundred redwood beams with which to build a granary. A ditch has been dug and running water brought to the place where we are living." (Note- Now Mr. Pickett's vineyard.) " We are making a corral, to which, by the

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History of Sonoma County : including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys, and streams, Part 4

Author: Alley, Bowen & Co. 4n Publication date: 1880 Publisher: San Francisco : Alley, Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1008

Author: Alley, Bowen & Co. 4n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: San Francisco : Alley, Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1008