USA > California > Sonoma County > History of Sonoma County : including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys, and streams > Part 6
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
the the services of James Hudspeth, now of Green valley, Analy township, Sonoma county, Alexander Copeland, now in the southern part of the State, Nathaniel Coombs, lately of Napa county, but now deceased, and John Dau- binbiss, now of Santa Cruz county. These men went on board of the ship, and all set sail for Bodega bay, where he arrived sometime in the month of September, 1843. Upon his arrival here a new difficulty arose. Bidwell, Sutter's agent, refused Smith the privilege of landing and of establishing his mill on any part of the land which had been previously occupied by the Russians, and over which, as Sutter's agent, he supposed he had dominion. But the hardy old tar was not to be thwarted in his enterprise after waiting two long years for its fulfillment. Therefore he took his men and began at once to get out timber for his mill buildings. When Bidwell protested, the captain informed him that he proposed to proceed with his enterprise, and warned him not to interfere. Bidwell at once returned to New Helvetia, and reported to Sutter what had occurred. E. V. Sutter, son of Captain John A. Sutter, is our authority for the above statements; but in justice to Captain Smith we will say, that the Mexican government did not at that time, nor has it at any time since, recognized the Russian claim, nor that of Sutter, to the tract in question; and knowing this, Captain Smith was not doing an unrighteous deed when he took semi-forcible possession of the land. That the Mexican government approved of his course is certainly substan- tiated by the fact that it granted him eight leagues of the same territory a few years later. Captain Smith, in all his dealings with men, was characterized as the soul of honor, hence was incapable of committing any high-handed crimes.
We will now take a glance at this pioneer steam grist and saw mill during its course of construction, that we may get a clear idea of its machinery and capacities. It was situated at the foot of a hill, on the brow of which grew the very initial trees of the great redwood belt, and was nearly one mile, in a northwesterly direction from the present site of the town of Bodega Corners. An excavation about five feet deep and thirty by fifty feet was made. In the bottom of this a well was dug, for the purpose of furnishing the water supply to the boilers, which were of the most simple pattern known. They were three in number, each being thirty-six feet in length, and two and one-half feet in diameter. They were single-flue boilers, hav- ing three openings, all in one end, one through which the water entered the boiler, near the bottom, one through which the steam passed to the engine, near the top, and the large "man hole" in the centre of the end which was fastened down with bolts, nuts and packing. These three boilers were arranged in a row, with a furnace of masonry around them, the fire being built under, not in them, and the heat passed around and not through them, as at the present time. We know nothing of the style of the engine used, but it was doubtless one of the low-pressure stationary
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
class, so common thirty years ago. The mill contained one run of burs, with a probable capacity of ten barrels of flour per day. These burs were very peculiar in their composition, being made of small pieces of granite, united with a very tenacious and enduring cement; were about four feet in diameter and one and one-half feet in thickness, and encircled by two strong bands of iron. The saw was what is known among mill-men as a "sash " saw, i. e., one which is operated in a perpendicular position, similar to what they now call a "Mully " saw. It did not do the work nearly as fast as a circular saw, but it was far ahead of the old methods, either in a pit or with water or wind power. All this machinery which we have just described was nicely housed in a building erected of the lumber purchased by the Captain at Santa Cruz. Of course there were several other appliances which we have not thought necessary to describe in detail, such as flour bolts, log carriages, etc., but as far as it went, and for its capacity, the mill was complete in every respect. As stated above it was located at the foot of a bald hill, on the brow of which huge redwoods grew. As soon as Captain Smith landed he set men to work at cutting logs at this point, and as fast as chopped they were rolled down to the mill. This style of conveying logs from the woods to the mill was adhered to as long as Capt. Smith had the establishment. Upon the completion of the mill, and when it was found that all of its machinery worked to a charm, invitations were issued to the people of the surrounding country. Men of every nation- ality were there to see the marvelous machine put into operation. It was probably the first steam engine that quite a large portion of those present had ever witnessed in operation. Let us contemplate that throng for a moment. Here we see the "ranchero," with his broad "sombrero" over- shadowing him completely, his red bandana kerchief tied loosely about his neck, his bosom and arms bared to the sun, his broad-checked pantaloons showing out in bold relief, mounted on a fiery, half-tamed " caballo de silla." By his side, mounted also on just as wild a steed, is the " vaquero," with " sombrero" for his head, kerchief for his neck, "serrapa" thrown loosely about his shoulders, his horse caparisoned as befitting a man in his position, his long " lariata " hanging in graceful coils from his saddle-horn, with mammoth spurs dangling from his heels, the bells of which chimed harmoni- ously with the mellifluous hum of the conversation, and the rowels of which served to designate the standing of the wearer in the community. Then there was the old-time soldier, with a dress-parade air about his every look and action; and the grant-holders were there, and the Alcaldes, and all the the dignitaries within reach of the invitation. It was a grand holiday occa- sion for all, a day of sight-seeing not soon to be forgotten. Everything being in readiness, the hopper was filled with wheat brought from a neighboring ranch. The steam is turned on slowly, and the ponderous fly-wheel commences to revolve. The entire mass of machinery begins to vibrate with the power
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
imparted to it by the mighty agent curbed and bound in the iron boilers. All is motion, and the hum and whir of machinery is added to the babel of tongues, while amid exclamations of surprise and delight the grain is sent through the swirling burs into the bolts, and at length is reproduced before their wondering gaze as "flor de harina"-fine, white flour. Then a monster redwood log is placed upon the carriage, and the saw put in motion ; slowly but surely it whips its way through it, and the outside slab is thrown aside. The log is passed baek, and again approaches the saw. This time a beautiful plank is produced. Again and again is the operation repeated until, in a marvelously short period of time, the whole log is reduced to boards of different widths and thicknesses. While this is being done and admired by all, the first bags of flour have been sent to the house near by and converted into most excellent and nutritious bread. A beeve has been slaughtered, abundance of venison is at hand, and a sumptuous repast has been prepared, to which all are now invited to betake themselves. After the feast comes the toasts. The health and prosperity of the enterprizing Yankee host is drank in many an overflowing bumper. After dinner speeches were indulged in, and General M. G. Vallejo being there, and being the head and front of the native Cali- fornians present, was called upon to make some observations. In this speech he remarked that there were those present who would see more steam engines in the beautiful and fertile valleys of California than there would be soldiers. Surely was he endowed with prophetic power! He now has the satisfaction and pleasure of knowing how truly this remark has been verified. The repast and the sequent festivities over the company of sight-seers dis- perse, either to their homes or to some neighboring rancho, where a grand fandango is indulged in till the gray dawn steals upward over the far-away Sierras.
The sketch of the pioneer mill of Sonoma county would be incomplete without following it through the devious windings of the road it has traveled to the present time. Capt. Smith continued to operate it until the year 1850. During this time he sawed a vast amount of lumber, drawing it a distance of five or six miles to Bodega bay for shipment, some of which he exported to the Sandwich Islands, while he exchanged lumber for the tract of land known as the " Blucher " rancho. In Nov. 1849 he laid aside the sash saw and placed in its stead a circular saw. In 1850 Capt. Smith leased the entire traet of timber land on the Bodega rancho to Messrs. Hanks & Mudge for the term of ninety-nine years, for the sum of fifty thousand dollars. They took the saw out of the old building, and with new engines to run it, put it in a mill situated further up in the heart of the redwoods. After loca- ting at different points most convenient to the timber, the mill was eventu- ally taken to Mendocino county. In 1854 the Smith mill building was destroyed by fire, and it was never rebuilt, its projector and sustainer soon after being called to pass the dark river. One of the boilers does duty at the
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
present time as a "heater " at Duncan's mill. The visitor of to-day at the old mill site finds the excavation and the well of water in it; two of the old boilers lie mouldering and rusting on the ground in the excavation, while willow trees have grown up beside them to the height of twenty-five feet. At the end of the boilers one of the burs lies slowly but surely crumbling back to mother earth; time and weather have eaten great holes in it, and the surface that once was able to withstand the steeled edge of the mill- wright's piek is now as soft as sandstone. One of the iron bands which sur- rounded it in its day of strength and glory has rusted until it has parted and dropped away from the stone, while the other is fast going to decay. Curi- osity-seekers are ever and anon taking pieces of the granite and cement, and soon nothing will be left to tell of it. On the bank lies the smoke-stack, while here and there stands a post used in the foundation. A few logs which were brought to the mill thirty years ago, but which were never sawed, still lie where they were placed in that long ago time, mute reminders of what was, and what is, links uniting the strange historical past with the living present. To Sonoma county, therefore, is the honor due of the introduction of this great element of wealth and progress.
General Vallejo thus describes that memorable visit: " I distinctly remem- ber having predicted on that occasion that before many years there would be more steam-engines than soldiers in California. The successors of Smith have not only proved the truth of my words, but have almost verified the remark of my compatriot, General Jose Castro, at Monterey, that 'the North Americans were so enterprising a people that if it were proposed, they were quite capable of changing the color of the stars.' Castro's discourse was made with no sympathy for the North American, since it was well known that he was no friend to either Government or citizens; yet I believe that if General Castro had lived until to-day, he would unite with me in praise of that intelligent nation which opens her doors to the industrious citizens of the whole world, under the standard of true liberty."
Up to this time there had been twenty-three grants of land confirmed to their original owners inside the boundaries of Sonoma county. Of these the largest was the Petaluma grant, situated mostly in what is now known as Vallejo and Sonoma townships. It included all that vast tract, comprising at least seventy-five thousand acres, which lay between Sonoma creek on the cast, San Pablo bay on the south, and Petaluma creek on the west, possessing the most fertile soil in the county, if not in the entire State. Every acre of it was tillable, and might have been most easily enclosed. The tract is now assessed for not less than three millions of dollars. It was orig- inally granted to General M. G. Vallejo. Of the foreigners who had acquired land up to the period now under treatment, among the most notable were Jacob P. Leese, Henry D. Fitch, Juan P. Cooper, John Wilson and Mark West. Leese, Fitch and Cooper were brothers-in-law of General Vallejo. The site
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. .
whereon now stands the county seat-the flourishing town of Santa Rosa- was granted to Mrs. Carrillo, the mother of the well-known Julio Carrillo, who is still a resident of that city; while the country lying between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, in Analy township, was the property of Joaquin Carrillo, a brother of Mrs. Vallejo. The Bodega ranch, which contained thirty-five thousand four hundred and eighty-seven acres, was granted to Captain Stephen Smith, who is described as " a remarkable man, and was a fine type of the pioneer-honest, hospitable and generous to a fault." Cap- tain Juan B. Cooper, another sailor, received the "El Molino," or Mill ranch, so named from a mill which he had erected on it in 1834, but which was washed away by a freshet in 1840-41; Manuel Torres got the Munez ranch; and the Rancho de Herman, in the northwest of the county, was granted to a number of Teutons, where they appropriately named the stream running through their property the Valhalla. Jasper O'Farrel exchanged a ranch in Marin county for the Cañada de Jonive, situated in Analy township; and acquired, by purchase or otherwise, from MeIntosh, the tract in Bodega township known as the Estero Americano. Mark West received six thousand six hundred and sixty-three acres, between the two streams now called Mark West creek and Santa Rosa creek.
In another portion of our work will be found a fuller record of these Span- ish grants. The above named are sufficient to note in this place. Says Mr. Robert Thompson "The total number of acres included in all the grants in the county was four hundred thousand, one hundred and forty-three, just less than one-half its whole area as now bounded, which is estimated at eight hundred and fifty thousand acres. All the valleys we have elsewhere described were covered by grants without an exception. The public land all lay in the low hills, on the border of the valleys, and in the mountains. Fortunately for the future welfare of the county, these grants were sub- divided and sold in small tracts at a very early day. The titles to most of them were settled without much dispute or delay; and the subdivided lands were purchased by industrious and enterprising farmers, who have since lived upon and improved them. They have converted the long-horned worthless Spanish cattle into the short-horn, and the mustang horse into the thorough-bred, and the pastures of this worthless stock into homes of beauty and teeming abundance. With one exception all the grants have been sold in small tracts, and that is the Cotate ranch, on the plain between Petaluma and Santa Rosa. This traet belongs to an estate, and under the will can not be divided until the youngest child comes of age. This is the largest farm in the county, the railroad passing through it for six miles. The dairy is supplied with the milk of two hundred and fifty cows; there are five hundred head of cattle on the place, and ten thousand head of sheep; each cow averages daily one pound and a quarter of butter during the season, and the sheep shear an average of six pounds of wool each."
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
We have already in the commencement of our annals of Mendocino and Russian River townships, entered upon the subject of the primitive dwellings in vogue among the pioneers of 1840 and after; we would now call atten- tion to a few of their earlier implements and conveniences as well as one of these antique dwellings of another style, and in describing those adopted and made by Cyrus Alexander we but tell the story of the rest, for the experiences of each were almost identical. Mention has been made of the adobe houses of the early Californians. Let us consider one of these primi- tive habitations: Its construction was beautiful in its extreme simplicity. The walls were fashioned of large sun-dried bricks, made of that black loam known to settlers in the Golden State as adobe soil, mixed with straw, with no particularity as to species, measuring about eighteen inches square and three in thickness; these were cemented with mud, plastered within with the same substance, and white-washed when finished. The rafters and joists were of rough timber, with the bark simply peeled off and placed in the requisite position, while the residence of the wealthier classes were roofed with tiles of a convex shape, placed so that the one should overlap the other and thus make a watershed; or, later, with shingles, the poor contenting themselves with a thatch of tule, fastened down with thongs of bullocks' hide. The former modes of covering were expensive, and none but the opulent could afford the luxury of tiles. When completed, however, these mud dwellings will stand the brunt, and wear and tear of many decades, as can be evi- denced by the number which are still occupied in out-of- the-way corners of the county.
In order to facilitate transportation it was found necessary to construct some kind of a vehicle, which was done in this manner: The two wheels were sections of a log with a hole drilled or bored through the center, the axle being a pole sharpened at each extremity for spindles, with a hole and pin at either end so as to prevent the wheels from slipping off. Another pole fastened to the middle of the axle, served the purpose of a tongue. Upon this framework was set, or fastened, a species of wicker-work, framed of sticks bound together with strips of hide. The beasts of burden in use were oxen, of which there were a vast number. These were yoked with a stick across the forehead, notched and crooked, so as to fit the head closely, and the whole tied with rawhide. Such was the primitive cart of the time. The plow was a still more peculiar affair. It consisted of a long piece of timber which served the purpose of a beam, to the end of which a handle was fastened ; a mortise was next chiseled so as to admit the plow, which was a short stick with a natural crook, having a small piece of iron fastened on one end of it. With this crude implement was the ground upturned, while the branch of a convenient tree served the purposes of a harrow. Fences there were none so that crops might be protected; ditches were there- fore dug, and the crests of the sod covered with the branches of trees to warn
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
away the numerous bands of cattle and horses, and prevent their intrusion upon the newly sown grain. When the crops were ripe they were cut with a sickle, or any other convenient weapon, and then it became necessary to thresh it. Now for the modus operandi. The floor of the corral into which it was customary to drive the horses and cattle in order to lasso them, from constant use had become hardened. Into this inclosure the grain would be piled, and upon it the manatha, or band of mares, would be turned loose to tramp out the grain. The wildest horses, or mayhap the colts which had only been driven but once, and then to be branded, would be turned adrift upon the pile of straw, when would ensue a scene of the wildest confusion, the excited animals being driven, amidst the yelling of the vaqueros and the cracking of whips, here, there and everywhere, around, across and lengthwise, until the whole was trampled, leaving naught but the grain and chaff. The most difficult part of the operation, however, was the separating of the grain from the chaff. Owing to the length of the dry season, there was no urgent haste to effect this; therefore when the wind was high enough, the Indians, who soon fell into the ways of the white pioneers, more especially where they were paid in kind and kindness, would toss the trampled mass into the air with large wooden forks, cut from the adjacent oaks, and the wind carry away the lighter chaff leaving the heavier grain. With a favorable wind several bushels of wheat could thus be winnowed in the course of one day. Strange as it may appear, it is declared to be the fact, that grain thus win- nowed was much cleaner than it is to-day. Mention has elsewhere been made of the necessity which compelled the tanning of hides from which clothes might be made. Let us now relate the following ingenious device whereby Mrs. Alexander was wont to make yarn; a novel spinning-wheel truly. A large bowl was procured with its inner surface polished to a great degree of smoothness ; when ready for operation, it would rest in the lap of the manipulator, she occupying a low seat. In the bowl was twirled or spun a spindle whittled into such a shape as to perform its movements easily, its form being that of a peg-top. While this was kept in motion with one hand, the wool would be payed out with the other, thus spinning the yarn, enough of which could be prepared in one day to knit a pair of socks.
We have more than once referred to the vast bands of cattle that roamed about at will over the plains and among the mountains. Once a year these had to be driven in and rodeod, i. e. branded, a work of considerable danger, and one requiring much nerve. The occasion of rodeoing, however, was the signal for a feast; a large beeve would be slaughtered, and all would make merry until it was consumed. The rule or law concerning branded cattle in those early days was very strict. If any one was known to have branded his neighbor's cattle with his own mark, common usage called upon him to return in kind fourfold. Not only did this apply to cattle alone, but to all other kinds of live stock.
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
The early settlers in Sonoma county, but more especially those in the hilly distriets, had always been more or less molested by wild animals, chief among them being the grizzly bear. Up in the hills about Healdsburg Cyrus Alexander had his share of these annoyances ; let us record one of his experi- ences: He was then the proud possessor of a number of hogs, and hogs were but few in the county, one being worth about seventy-five dollars. It is well known that the grizzly has a most unjudaic partiality for pork, and one especially had evinced this taste among Mr. Alexander's pigs. He was a huge monster, and many plans had been laid to effect his capture, but without success. One night the " old fellow " had dispatched a fat hog, but for some unknown reason he left an uncaten half of his supper under the shade of a live oak. A war, offensive and defensive, was now declared against Bruin; it was premised that he would return on the following night to finish his repast, or, to lay in another supply. Alexander and his men therefore drove all the porkers that could be found into a pen, and gave them time to quiet down, which being attained, a gap was left in the gate-way to the pen so that stragglers could find ready ingress. The watchers next stationed themselves, gun in hand, in such positions, that they could keep within view both the half eaten pig and the pen. The night was dark and rainy-just such an one as Bruin would select for a foraging expedition. Nearly three hours after the sentinels had taken their posts, the hogs in the pen commenced to squeal and give signs of being disturbed, the watchers swiftly ran in that direction and sure enough there was Mr. Grizzly at work among the pigs; he had stationed himself at the entrance bars, and as each unsuspecting porker would approach so sure would he up paw and slap him over the back; two he had killed outright while several more had been much lacerated and mangled. The wily rascal had found out that by frightening the hogs they would attempt to escape, therefore he stationed himself at the only means of exit. Unluckily, as he was neared by the party, he took to . the mountains without giving the chance for a shot; however, future plans were arranged for his reception. Alexander determined to build a "log cabin bear trap." This construction was eight by ten feet in size and took several hard days' work to complete. A hole was next dug and laid with a log floor upon which the trap should rest, the corners being notched and pinned in such a manner that the bear could not force his paws through. A large and strong trap-door was next made, but before it was completed a tempting bait was set so as to lure Bruin to the spot-the ruse was success- ful-he came, took possession of the meat and returned to his lair. The door being now finished, the trap was put into working order and once more baited, this time with an entire pig, the door was hung upon a double trig- ger, after the manner of the "box skunk traps" of to-day, and was found to work admirably. Patience did the rest. In the morning, the door was down and the trap occupied by a monster weighing nine hundred pounds, who soon received his quietus with a rifle bullet.
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