BANCROFTS
ToURIST^S GUIDE:
• YOSEMITE.^
SAN FRANCISCO AND AROUND THE BAY,
( SOUTH. )
SAN FRANC/SCO :
A. L. BANCROFT 6- COMPANY,
1871. < •
ij^ ^
V^m
1»
;^^c »eP*-
Entertd according to Act of Congress, in the j'ear 187 1,
By A. L. BANCROFT & CO.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
Bancroft's Steam Printing, LithographbTg", foigVaVing aiid Book-binding
Establishment, San Francisco, Cal.
CONTENTS.
Preface, - - - 4
Introduction, ' 7
Routes and Expenses, - - 13-24
YosEMiTE Valley, '. . . 25
The Big Trees, Calaveras, 52
Mariposa, 57
Other Groves, 67
Bower Cave,
72
Alabaster Cave, 77
Index to San Pkancisco, 89
San Francisco, g^
Excursion Routes, 205
Sacramento, 232
Stockton, 243
Oakland, 209
San Jose, 212
Mt. Diablo, - 227
Lake Tahoe, 250
Donner Lake, 25 1
265087
PREFACE.
This is a Pocket Guide to Yosemite Valley and the Big Trees,
with the best routes thither and thence. It also includes San
P rancisco with the cities, towns, caves, mines and beaches within
a hundred miles south and east of this city.
We have tried to make it accurate and reliable in all state-
ments of routes, distances, time required, conveyances, fares,
hotels, rates, etc., making a snug, neat and tasteful book, to be
sold at a low rate on all overland trains and ocean steamers
bound hither, meeting all tourists, excursionists and travelers
some hundreds of miles before they reach San Francisco, posting
them on all the most attractive spots in the State, and answering
in advance all necessary questions, thus enabling them, before
setting foot in the city, to plan their excursions, decide upon
routes, choose conveyances, select hotels, and calculate expenses.
And then, when they have actually been over the whole ground,
and thoroughly tested it, find everything ^^just as the book said J'"'
True, we already have three or four costly volumes, written
for a similar purpose, but we claim that for the ordinary use of
the average tourist this is superior to any or all of them in at
least three important particulars:
1st. It omits all tedious, long-drawn, and unnecessarily minute
descriptions, which may occasionally suit some very critical or
scientific tourist, but whose chief value is to guide the traveler's
money into the publisher's pocket.
2d. It contains brief descriptions of all the most notable curi-
osities and wonders of the State. Its statements are drawn from
the latest official scientific sources, or taken from the personal
PREFACE.
observation and actual measurements of the writer, made ex-
pressly for this work.
3d. It is compact and economical of time, space and money,
none of which the tourist usually cares to waste or lose or throw
away.
The public have called for it, and we have done our best to
respond, with the material, and in the time, at our command.
That it contains no mistakes we do not claim, but that it in-
cludes fewer than any similar book we confidently affirm. We
have availed ourselves of every practicable source of reliable
information up to date, June, 1871.
In a new and fast-growing State, like ours, where railroad
companies sometimes lay nearly a league of track a day, it is
simply impossible that any publication should remain perfectly
accurate in every particular, even for twenty-four hours after its
issue.
We pledge ourselves to disappoint no reasonable expectation,
and shall thankfully receive and gratefully appreciate any cor-
rection or later information which any traveler, railroad, stage
or saddle-train agent, or hotel manager, will kindly commu-
nicate.
In response to many calls, constantly repeated, and now
pressingly urged, we offer this little Common -sense Hand-book
Guide, which truthfully tells tourists just
Where to go ; How far it is ; How to get there ;
When to start ; Whom to stop With ;
How LONG IT takes; and, How much it all costs.
San Francisco, Cal., June, 1871.
YOSEMITE,
You are going to Yosemite. Of course you are. What else
did you come to California for ? The idea of a man in his right
mind, having the slightest love of beauty, grandeur and sublimity,
coming to California and not going to Yosemite! W hy, it's pre-
posterous; it's incredible; it's impossible. We may as well dis-
miss the thought at once. Of course you go. So that's settled.
Now, when will you go ? If you have means and are sure of
time to see all the wonders and beauties which the State offers,
then might you wisely and safely leave the best until the last;
that is, reserve Yosemite for your final trip before you return.
But, lest time or cash should fail, or sudden summons hasten
your departure, it is wisest and safest to make sure of it at once
while you may. It would never do to go back East, confront
inquiring friends, and have to humbly confess that you had been
to California, but had not seen Yosemite.
Then, how shairyou go. If you are fresh and strong, with
the nerve and muscle of a young and enthusiastic college pedes-
trian, you can do it on foot, as Bayard Taylor did Europe. It's
the most independent and enjoyable way of all if you have time
and disposition, and no ladies in your party. If you should vf'i^h.
to try that, get a copy of the Overland Monthly for July, 1870,
turn to the article " Yosemite on Foot," and you have your guide.
If you haven't time or ambition to distinguish yourself by emu-
lating Weston, you may possibly contemplate an excursion on
hoofs. Several parties have done Yosemite on all fours, and
report a tough American nag, or a wiry little Mexican mustang
as an indispensable auxiliary. Parties who wish to avoid the
sense of dependence, as well as the pecuniary expense of hiring
8 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
■
a stable horse, frequently buy a tough native horse for seventy-
five or a hundred dollars, use him for the entire trip, with
no expense beyond that of daily feeding, keep him until they
have finished their tour, and then sell him for nearly as much,
ii^gome cases even more, than they paid.
Mounted in this way you accomplish a sort of vicarious pedes-
trianism, gladly substituting equine hoofs for human heels, while
the animal himself rejoices in a responsible backer in the bifur-
cated person of your bestriding self ; or, still again, it may be —
it probably does be, as our little four-year-old says— that you are
too fashionably lazy, — I beg pardon, I meant to say, it is possi-
ble that you have inherited a constitutional aversion to protract-
ed exertion, which, by long indulgence, has quite unfitted you
for the thoroughly manly or womanly pursuit of grandeur, beau-
ty, and pleasure in the saddle— chasing health on horseback.
One other way remains, before you fall back upon the fashiona-
ble and feeble way of " being carried '' 'in the regular, orthodox
and popular style, which suffers you to attempt no personal ex-
ercise beyond " the heavy looking on." You may combine sad-
dle and wagon : that is, take a strong wagon, carrying tent,
provisions and cooking apparatus, with one or two of the more
unskillful riders on the seat, while the others in the saddle re-
volve as equestrian satellites around.
But if you decide, as most do, and as you probably will, to
take no responsibility and cumber yourself with no care, you se-
lect one of the various public routes, seek out its agent, make
your contract, give up all planning and providing on your own
part, pay over your coin, take your tickets for the round trip,
commit yourself to one of the various lines of public conveyances,
dismiss all anxiety and give yourself up to receive and absorb all
the pleasure that may lie along the route, or await you at its end.
And if your object is simply enjoyment, untroubled by exer-
tion, and unmixed with anxiety, that is, undoubtedly, the" best
way.
YOSEMITE.
You are in San Francisco, at the Grand, at the Occidental, at
the Lick House or the Cosmopolitan. In their luxurious beds
you have slept off the fatigue of thirty-three hundred miles across
the continent, and at their bountiful tables you have fed yourself
into courage and spirit for new and further enterprise. Youiiave
come forth so fresh and brave that you feel ready for eight thous-
and miles more, straight across the tranquil Pacific ; or climbing,
unaided, the loftiest vertebral peak of that spinal range which
furnishes the backbone of the continent. Your new vigor has let
off its frothy effervescence in sundry spasmodic dashes about the
city and around its suburbs. You have driven to the Cliff House,
interviewed the seals, climbed Telegraph hill, rusticated at
Woodward's, spent an afternoon at Bancroft's, crossed to Oak-
land, inspected Alcatraz and Fort Point, and, in short, complet-
ed the little day-trips and half-day tours which so restfully en-
tertain the newly-arrived traveler, gradually acclimate him to
our occidental air and familiarize him with our cosmopolitan
people. You feel strong and fresh : ready for the grand excur-
sion. All your drawing-room and dining-table suits are snugly
packed in trunks, folded away in drawers or carefully hung in
wardrobe or clothespress. The roughest, strongest and warmest
suit in your possession you have donned. Specially provide
good stout, yet easy, boots or shoes, with the softest and most
comfortable of socks or stockings. Remember that every day
brings two climates, a cool or even cold one for morning and
evening, with a hot and dusty noon sandwiched between. Um-
brellas and rubber blankets you won't need, though a good trav-
eling shawl will serve you frequently and well. Stovepipe hats
are an abomination — a hard hat of any shape, first cousin to it,
and the extra wide brimmed ladies' picnic hat, closely akin to
both. Browns, drabs and grays are your best colors ; linens and
woolens your best materials ; fine flannels next the skin, and
especially provide plenty of something soft and thick to come
between you and the horse, during the necessary miles in the
BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
saddle. This last is not a matter of choice, but of necessity.
Calculate to spend at least -two weeks in the valley, and allow
two or even three days each way for your trip in and out. Of
course you can go faster and quicker if you wish or must, but of
all Recursions imaginable, Yosemite most needs deliberation and
leisure. These are precisely the two things of which the aver-
age American tourist has the least. Whence it has happened
that very few indeed, especially of our own countrymen, have
ever really visited Yosemite. Hundreds have dashed in, plunged
around and rushed out. Horace (}reeley staid about as long as it
would take him to rush off one of his patent chain-lightning,
hieroglyphic Tribune editorials.
He rode in at midnight, reached his lodging at one o'clock in
the morning, too tired to eat, and too sore to tell of it; went to
bed, sick, sore and disgusted. Up late next morning, so lame
he could hardly sit in his saddle, hobbled hurriedly around three
or four hours, and was on his way out again at a little afternoon.
Many of the grandest sights he didn't even catch the remotest
glimpse of; those he did see he just glanced at, too weary to
appreciate their slightest beauty, and too hurried to allow him-
self time to begin to grow to the true scale of their grandeur;
and having given to the whole valley about one quarter of the
time necessary to thoroughly study, intelligently enjoy and
qeartily appreciate the least of its wonder-, he has the presump-
tion to fancy he has ''been to Yosemite." The fact is, he never
really saw a single object about the valley, except, possibly, the
giant cliff, Tu-toch-ah-nu-lah, which, as he says, looked as if it
might have leaned over and buried him beneath its vastness, and
which, as I say, would, doubtless, have done so speedily, had it
known that the shabby rider who shambled along under its base
that moonlight night, sore at one end, sleepy at the other, and
sick all the way between, was going to rush off and talk so inad-
equately, unworthily and even untruthfully about objects which
no human eye ever did see or could see in the condition of his
YO SEMITE,
sleep-oppressed optics on that slumbrous August morning. He
has the cheek to declare that the fall of Yosemite is a humbug.
It would be interesting to know what the fall thought of Greeley.
One thing is sure, all earlier and later visitors unite in the opin-
ion that the only humbug in the valley that year went out of it in
his saddle about three o'clock on that drowsy August afternoon,
and has never since marred the measureless realities which he
sleepily slandered. The simple fact is, Mr, Greeley saw the
little which he did see three or four months too late in the sea-
son. If he ever comes again, at the right time, and stays to
really see the wonders of the valley, he will be heartily ashamed
of what he then wrote, and freely pardon his present critic.
Meantime, exit H. G. We bear thee no malice. The soul that
can see and feel as little as thine did in Yosemite provokes no
anger, but only sorrow and compassion. For the sake of thy
sore and raw and sadly-pummeled body, we freely forgive the
terribly shaken soul that inhabited it on that memorable midnight
when horse and saddle maliciously united in assault and battery
on th^ most sensitive portion of thine editorial corporosity . Vale,
Greeley, vale. The next time thou comest hither, wear what
hat thou likest and match it with what suit may please thee
best, but if thou lovest life, and wouldst see good days, tell, oh
Horace, tell the truth.
Pardon our digression to Greeley. We have spent so much time
on him, not because he occasionally scribbles illegible manu-
script for a new and struggling paper in a small eastern village,
but because he came faster, arrived sorer, stayed fewer hours,
saw less of the valley, and slandered it more than any one else
has ever attempted.
Olive Logan spoke disparagingly of the Yosemite Fall, but the
Fall is still there. She adds some slanderous remarks about the
conduct of the drivers along the route, to which the only fitting
answer would be these questions: " When a man or a woman
all alone in a room, looks into a mirror, and doesn't see a gentle-
12 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
man or lady reflected therein — whose fault is it? Is the difficulty
in the glass or va. front of it ?
But let us start. From San Francisco to Yosemite there are
three routes. All of them carry one, first, to or near Stockton,
which city we reach by rail or river, and all of them bring us, at
last, into the valley by one of the only two trails which enter it.
Between the outer ends of these trails and Stockton, or vicinity,
lie the various intermediate places or way 'stations which have
given name to the routes which pass through them, and concern-
ing which the tourist chiefly needs reliable information.
Looking upon any good map, not drawn in the exclusive inter-
est of some one of these . rival routes, you can easily see for
yourself, spite of all agents' representations, which is the' most
direct way, geographically or topographically .
We now mention these in regular order, reckoning from north
to south; that is, down the map, as we used to say at school. For
convenience, we may distinguish the three routes as the upper or
north route, the middle route, and the lower or south route.
Big Oak Flat Route.
The upper or north route is commonly called the Big Oak Flat ^
or the Hutchings route. If we go by this, we can either go di-
rectly into the valley, or make a detour by way of the Calaveras
Big Trees. The following table showing distances, times and
conveyances, by the straight and quick way.
TO YOSEMITE VALLEY — DIRECT.
From
To
Miles.
Hours.
By
San Francisco
Stockton
90
28
24
14
32
II
10
4
4
Steamer.
Milton
Car.
Milton
Chinese Camp
Garrote
ramerack
Yosemite
Stage.
Chinese Camp
Garrote
Tamarack
Saddle.
.
199
27%
BIG OAK FLAT ROUTE.
By the above way you leave San Francisco at four o'clock p.m.,
from the vs^harf, at the foot of Broadway, by one of the California
Pacific Railroad Company's steamers for Stockton. You have a
fine afternoon and sunset view of San Francisco, the shipping,
Oakland, Yerba Buena and Alcatraz Islands, the Golden Gate,
Angel Island, Mount Tamalpais, San Quentin, San Pablo Bay,
Vallejo, Mare Island, Suisun Bay, Benicia, Martinez, and Mount
Diablo. Those who have crossed the continent by rail find this
sail a pleasant change. They avoid the dust, get a good night's
rest on the steamer, reach Stockton at from two to three o'clock
in the morning, breakfast at six, and at seven take the cars of the
Stockton and Copperopolis Railroad from the station near the
landing. We reach Milton, twenty-eight miles, at 8.20, find the
stage waiting, and immediately embark, and are off at once.
The road lies through a mountainous country, well timbered.
The air is clear and invigorating, and the scenery sublime. The
road is good, the stages first-class, and the drivers obliging.
About one we reach Chinese Camp, and after twenty-four
miles staging are ready for a half-hour's rest and a good dinner;
or, we may wait for both until we reach Garr'ote, fourteen miles
farther. Here either of two gooS hotels will feed and lodge us.
Next morning we'd better dress for the horse-back ride in the af-
ternoon. Lay aside all superfluous luggage and pack your extra
nice clothing, if you have been foolish enough to bring any, in
your valise. A small hand-satchel you can pack behind you on
the horse, o»-take it before you. Let it be as small and snugly-
packed as possible. One word further, and a most important
one, especially to ladies. Calculate to ride astride, and dress
for it. You can wear a long skirt to Tamarack, but beyond it is
a nuisance. A woman who has only one leg, or has two on one
side, may have some excuse for the unnatural, ungraceful, dan-
gerous and barbarous side-saddle. The last word was prompted
by rememlfcring the raw back of the beautiful horse which car-
ried Miss Dix into the valley, under the old, conventional, side-
14 BANCROI^T'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
saddle. The lady is, unquestionably, a noted philanthropist,
but that poor horse probably never suspected it. Anna Dickin-
son rode in man-fashion, arrived fresh and strong, and so did her
horse. Ask her animal if he wants to carry that lady again and
he'll never say nay (neigh). On a trip like this the side-saddle
is barbarous to the horse and dangerous to the rider. The on^y
good thing about it is that it jolts and racks and strains and tires
thft rider so outrageously, that it is fast converting many women
to the sensible and safe way.
From Tamarack Flat the road dwindles to a trail, winds
among pine trees, crosses an occasional rivulet, commands a fine '
outlook through the trees, now and then, and finally, almost be-
fore you know it, brings you to the brink of the valley. Thence
let your horse have his head. He'll take care of himself and you
too — land you safely at the foot of the trail, and deposit you
at Hutchings' by five or six o'clock, in good time for the am-
ple dinner which will be waiting.
If you wish to take the Calaveras Big Trees on your way, youn
can do so, either going or coming, by taking the same general
route as far as Milton, to which place the times, distances, and
conveyances are the same as in the table already given.
From Milton you take stage through Murphy's to Sperry & Per-
ry's hotel, where, you dine in the very shadows of the Big Tree
grove. Having stayed among the vegetable monsters as long as
you can, you return thence by stage to Sonora, twenty-nine miles;
time six hours; from Sonora to Garrote, also by stage, twenty-
five miles in five hours, and then you strike the same road which
you would travel by going directly in, so that the conveyances,
time and distances of the former table will also serve you hence.
As we said a few paragraphs back, these two routes are not really
separate and distinct routes, as nearly one hundred and twenty
miles on the western end, and about fifty miles at the eastern
end, are the same in both. The time occupied in gwing or com-
ing by the way of the trees is twelve and one half hours more
COULTERVILLE ROUTE.
than by the direct route, and the fare is seven dollars more, be-
sides, of course, the expense of one night's lodging and two meals
more on the route, than will be necessary to one going directly
in.
The second route, the midd)e one, is the
Coulterville Route.
so named from the principal town through which it passes, which
took its own name from General Coulter, who still manages the
business of the line.
By this route you leave San Francisco at four P. m, by cars on
Central Pacific Railroad ; change cars at Lathrop for Modesto,
arriving same evening. Remain over night at the Ross House,
James Cole, proprietor, and leave by stage at eight A. M. for
Coulterville, forty-eight miles, ten hours, arriving at six P. M.
You dine at La Grange, twenty-eight miles from Modesto.
Stay all night at Wagner's Hotel, Coulterville, where supper,
lodging and breakfast cost you $2,50.
Next morning rise early, take a good hot breakfast, leave
Coulterville at five o'clock for Gobin's Ranch at Crane's Flat,
thirty miles, where you are due at twelve. Dine at Gobin's for
$1.00. At one o'clock leave Gobin's by saddle train, arriving at
Black's Hotel, in the valley, fifteen miles, at six P. M., thus
taking it leisurely, especially down the mountain-side trail into
the valley, where no animal can go fast and keep his feet, and
no rider can hurry and save his neck.
Returning, leave the valley at six in the morning, and reach
Gobin's, Crane Flat, at eleven, taking five hours, the same time
as when going in, as horses can go full as fast up the trail as
down. Dine at Gobin's, as when going in. Leave Crane Flat at
twelve, and reach Coulterville at half past five, where the same
hotel, Wagner's, accommodates you with supper, lodging and
breakfast, and at the same rates as before.
Leave Coulterville at six next morning, and drive twenty-eight
miles to Roberts', where we dine, at noon. From Roberts' to
i6 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Modesto is twenty miles. We are due at Modesto at from four
to half past four P. M. From Modesto we may take cars for
Stockton and Sacramento*, at five, and go through direct to either
of those places. But if we wish to return to San Francisco, we
stop at Lathrop, in a station where an excellent dinner or supper
can be had for 75 or 50 cents; and wait until eleven p. M., when
a freight train, with sleeping car attached, comes along,* and
bring us to San Francisco at half past seven next morning.
This route gives regular rest, takes one through a beautiful and
picturesque country, from the fact that, after striking the foot-
hills, it lies along the dividing ridge Ijetween the Tuolumne and
Merced rivers. On the east lies the Sierra Nevada, with Castle
Peak, Mount Dana, and other prominent points, while westward
it commands a view of the San Joaquin Valley and the Coast
Range. To this may be added the fact that as a good part of
the road runs east and west, and as the prevailing winds are
northerly, the dust is blown away to one side instead of along
with you.
Another and very great advantage of this route is that, from
and after the fifteenth of this month, June, 1871, it will run stages
to the very brink of the valley, leaving but two and a half miles
of saddle riding to the valley below, and only seven miles on
horseback to the hotels. This same advantage will then be true,
also, of the Big Oak Flat, or Hutchings' route, which enters the
valley by the same trail.
Mariposa Route.
This is the lower, or southern route, taking its name from
that of its chief town, Mariposa, once famous as the seat of Fre-
mont's famous "estate," with its gold mines of supposed ex-
haustless wealth.
This route takes one by California Pacific Railroad from
San Francisco, through Lathrop to Modesto, one hundred
and one miles ; thence ninety -six miles of staging, through
MOKELUMNE HILL ROUTE. 17
Snelling's, Hornitos, Bear Valley, and White & Hatch's
(stop over night) to Clark & Moore's, at the end of stag-
ing. From Clark's to the brink of the valley, by saddle,
is twenty-three miles, and thence to the hotels, seven miles;
making a total of thirty miles horseback riding. As an offset to
this the Mariposa Route claims the advantage of the view from
Inspiration Point, which lies nearly a mile off the direct trail,
and for grandeur and beauty ip certainly all that can be claimed
or desired.
Besides the view from Inspiration Point, this route also pre-
sents the attraction of the Mariposa Big Trees,, six miles from
Clark's, and requiring an additional expense of $2.50 for each
horse, besides the cost of another day's board and the fee of the
guide.
The Calaveras trees, while equally grand and beautiful and
even loftier, have the great advantage of an excellent hotel in
the very midst of them, so that the tourist can spend much more
time in rambling among their mo.numental bulks.
Besides the three routes already named, two others have been
opened during the present season. The first of these may be
called the
Mokelumne Hill Route.
Parties of eight, leaving San Francisco on the morning train,
or Sacramento on the noon train, can take stage at Mokelumne
station, at 1.30 p.m., reach Mokelumne Hill the same evening
at seven o'clock, stay all night, and reach the Calaveras Big
Trees at noon next day.
Price, from San Francisco to the Trees, and return, $17.00;
from Sacramento to the Trees and back, $15.50. Parties of four
will be taken for $15.00 each from Mokelumne station to the
trees and back, in first class coaches and carriages. Any wish-
ing to try this route can address Peck & Co., Mokelumne Hill.
From the trees one can go on to the valley by regular stages,
%
i8 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
and come out by any trail he likes, by making previous arrange-
ments accordingly.
The second additional route is known as
Hamilton's New Rcute.
By this route the tourist from either San Francisco or Stockton
takes the Western Pacific Railroad to Gait, wherjce stages leav-
ing at one P. M,, carry him by the way of lone City and Valley,
through Jackson to Mokelumne Hill, where he arrives at 7 P.M.,
and stays over night,
Leave Mokelumne Hill at 6.30 next morning; take the direct
route through Railroad Flat and reach the Big Trees at noon.
Fare, for the round trip from San Francisco or Sacramento,
$20,00. From either city to the Big Trees, $12.00, leaving one
free to go from the grove to Yosemite, when and as he likes.
Independent Trips,
Are commonly made in one of three ways:
1st. By private wagons, taking camping apparatus, cooking
utensils and provisions along.
2d. In the saddle, taking apparatus, utensils and food along on
pack horses.
3d. On foot, taking as little as possible, and depending mainly
on hotels and wayside ranches or farm houses for the necessary
meals and lodging, unless you choose to lodge in your own blank-
ets.
I. BY PRIVATE WAGONS.
•Parties of from four to thirty try this method every season,
and report themselves delighted with the enjoyment of it, and
subjected to an average expense not exceeding $2.00 a day for
each one of a party less than eight, or $1.50, or even less, a day
for a party of from twelve to thirty.
HOTEL RATES.
II. BY SADDLE AND PACK ANIMALS.
By this method the party is still more independent than by
wagons, as hoofs can go where wheels cannot. The expense is
about the- same, as what is saved in the hire of' wagons is bal-
anced by the cost of the greater number of horses where there
must be one animal for each person in the party, besides from
one to lour, or even six, animals to carry camp equipage and
food.
III. ON FOOT.
• For complete independence, combined with the ability to go
where and as you please, unconfined by roads or trails, this is the
best way of all. You can feed and lodge at hotels and wayside
houses, or you can take along blankets and lodge where night
overtakes you. To the untrained this may seem exceedingly
rough and uncomfortable; to those who have fairly tried it, you
will have no need to recommend it.
Hotel Hates along these Routes.
The hotel rates vary but little by whatever route you- may go
or come. You will seldom find a meal or a lodging as low as
fifty cents, especially among the mountains and at the places
most frequented by summer travel. The more common price is
seventy-five cents for either, and as we approach the Valley, or the
Big Trees, we may calculate on that figure as the usual cost. The
reasonable tourist,— and those who have souls great enough to lead
them to nature's wonders are supposed to be reasonable at least, —
will readily see two good reasons why the charges along routes
like these must be relatively higher than along the more frequent-
ly and permanently traveled routes of the thickly settled portions
of the State: 1st, Everything which requires transportation, fui^
niture, carpets, and all articles of food which cannot be raised in
the immediate vicinity, necessarily cost much more for transport-
tation than where steamers or cars bring them almost to the door.
2nd, The travel along all such routes, and the consequent profit-
20 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
upon that travel, must be made within less than one third of
the year. During the remaining two thirds, furniture must
stand unused, and nearly the whole amount invested for the
accommodation of tourists must remain idle, not only yielding
no income, but actually becoming a source of additional expense
until the opening of a new season.
We have no disposition to apologize for any extortionate or
unreasonable charges ; for we are very happy to say that any
such apology is rarely needed. Every experienced and fair-
minded traveler knows that his fellow passengers are unreasonable
and extortionate in their demands fully as often as the transpor-
tation companies and their agents are in theirs. The various lines
mto the Valley and the Big Trees are managed by men who realize
perfectly well that the amount of patronage they receive, and con-
sequently, the profits which they make, must depend upon their
gaining and keeping the good will of the traveling public. There
is plenty of opposition ; among the rival lines, no one has or
can obtain any monopoly.
The sensible and safe way, here, as everywhere, is to make a
definite agreement beforehand. Don't trust any stranger's as-
surance that "we'll make that all rights That very fair sound-
ing phrase has made more trouble than almost any other of
equal length. The trouble is that it has two meanings. The
speaker's "all right" means, for himself, and the hearer's
•' all right " means for himself ^ too ; hence the frequent
upshot of such loose understanding is, that it proves a com-
plete /w/xunderstanding, when they come to settle. Distinct-
ly specify what is to be done ; fiow it is to be done ; by whom
and when ; and then add at least ten per cent, to the specified
c(^t for those little extras which will inevitably force themselves
^pon you in almost every trip. Thus you may escape adding
yourself to the list of those improvident ones whose usual exclam-
ation at the close of any pleasure trip is " It cost me a great
deal more than I expected; and I always thought it would.'"
HORSES AND GUIDES. 21
Valley Hotels,
There are three — Hutching's, Black's, and Liedig's. Any of
them will keep you well for from $3.00 to $3.50 a day, or $20.00
a week. Hutchmgs' is the farthest up the valley and nearer the
greater number of points of interest. Hutchings himself, as
poor Dan Setchell used to make Captain Cuttle say of his friend
*'01e Sol Gills," is the " chuck-fuUedest mano' science," in all
matters pertaining to the valley and its history, that one can find
in the State. He keeps an excellent house and usually enter-
tains the more distinguished literary and scientific tourists. The
Yosemite branch of the Western Union Telegraph now com-
pleted and working as far as Garrote, will be extended into the
valley and have its office at Hutchings, by July ist.
Black's is a new house, built expressly for the increased travel
of late years— having excellent bath and other accommodations,
with well-finished and furnished rooms. It stands three quarters
of a mile nearer the west end of the valley.
Liedig's is also new, and is specially noted for the bountiful
supply of well-cooked food which usually loads its hospitable
table, under the immediate and personal superintendence of its
obliging hostess. It is situated nearly in front of the base of
Sentinel Rock.
Each of these houses, of course, has its warm friends, loud in
its praises. All of them do their best for the satisfaction of
guests and any one of them will provide the tourist with a com-
fortable home.
Horses and Guides in the Valley.
For a good horse and saddle the charge is $2,150 a day, or for
a trip, if it occupies such part of the day that the animal can-
not go out on any other one the same day. If you propose to
stay a week or more, and wish to engage the same horse for your
22 BANCROFT'S TOURIST' S^UIDE.
regular and exclusive use every day during that time, you can do
so for one fifth less; sometimes lower than that.
The hoi'ses are good, trusty, serviceable beasts, trained to their
business and generally safe and reliable.
Going into or coming out from the valley with any regular
trip, over any route, you have nothing to do with providing or
paying for a guide. One accompanies the saddle-train each
way.
In and about the valley, you can have the company and at-
tention of a practiced and competent guide for $3.00 a day — or,
a trip. The guide's fee is the same whether the party be small
or large.
No tourist who has the nerve and muscle of an average man
or woman really needs either horse or guide. The valley is only
seven miles long and but a mile wide. The perpendicular walls,
from three to five thousand feet high, shut you in all around.
You certainly can't get out; and with so many prominent land-
marks all about you, you can't get lost, unless you try very hard
indeed. With a good guide-book before you and well-rested
legs under you, a very moderate exercise of common sense will
take you all about the valley, and enable you thoroughly to ex-
plore its wonders "on foot and alone " if you choose so to go.
Bear in mind, however, that you are nearly a mile — in some
places more than a mile — above the sea ; that the atmosphere is
rare and light ; that you need to restrain your impulse to dash
about, especially at first. For the first two or three days "go
slow " — take it moderately ; see less than you think you might,
rather than more. As you become more familiar with the char-
acter of the rocks and ravines and accustomed to the exertion of
climbing about them, you can extend your excursions and attempt
harder things.
For the longer trips, such as the ascent of the Sentinel Rock, it
may be safer and wiser to employ a good guide .
EXPENSES. 23
Expenses,
The total necessary expenses by each route are :
1st. By Big Oak Flat (Hutchings') Route:
From San Francisco to Yosemite Valley, or return $20
From wSan Francisco to Yosemite a7td return 38
From San Francisco to the Calaveras Big Trees, or return. 10
From San Francisco to the Calaveras Big Trees and Valley,
or return 25
From San Francisco to the Calaveras Big Trees and Valley,
and return 45
Thomas Houseworth & Co., Agents, 317 and 319 Montgomery
street, San Francisco.
2d. By the Coulterville Route:
From San Francisco to Yosemite VaUey, or return $20
From San Francisco to Yosemite Valley, and return 38
G. W. Coulter, Agent, 214 Montgomery street, San Francisco.
3d. By Mariposa Route:
From San Francisco to Yosemite Valley, or return $25
From San Francisco to Yosemite Valley, and^Qinm 45
Ed. Harrison, Agent, Grand Hotel, San Francisco.
Board and Lodging en route, per day $3 00
Board and Lodging in the Valley, per day 3 00
Board and Lodging at Big Trees, per day 3 00
Board and Lodging in either place, per week 20 00
Horses in Valley, or to Big Trees, per day. 2 50
Guides in Valley or to Big Trees, per day 3 00
TOTAL EXPENSES OF EXCURSION.
I . To Yosemite Valley, direct, by Big Oak or Coulterville,
stay one week in the Valley, hiring guide and horse three
days, and returning by same route , $80
24 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
2. Above excursion, including Calaveras Big Trees 90
3. To Yosemite Valley direct, by Mariposa, staying a week
in the Valley, hiring guide and horse three days, and coming
out same way 87
4. Above excursion, including ^Mariposa Big Trees 93
5. In by Big Oak Flat or Coulterville, and out by Maripo-
sa, or vice versxi, other conditions as above 87
6. In by Mariposa, and out by Big Oak Flat, visiting both
groves of Big Trees, same conditions as above i lo
In the above statement the expense for guide is based on the
supposition that the party includes at least three persons.
YOSEMITE VALLEY.
The name is Indian. Pronounce it in four sjdla-
bles, accenting the second. It means " Big Griz-
zly Bear."
The valley lies very near the centre of the State,
reckoning north and soutli, about one fifth the way
across from east to west, and almost exactly in the
middle of the high Sierras which inclose it. Its
direction from San Francisco is a little south of
east, and its distance about one hundred and forty
miles in an air line. The valley iteelf lies nearly
east and west. Its main axis runs a little north of
east by a little south of west.
It consists of three parts:
1st. The surrounding wall of solid rock, nearly
vertical, and varjdng in height from one thousand
to four and even five thousand feet.
2d. The slope of rocky masses and fragments
which have fallen from the face of the cliffs, form-
ing a sort of talvi8 or escarpment along the foot of
this wall, from seventy-five to three hundred and
fifty feet high, throughout the greater part of its
extent.
2
26 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
3d. The nearly level bottom land, lying between
these slopes, forming the valley proj^er, and divided
into two unequal j)arts by the Merced River flowing
through westerly, from end to end.
The main valley is seven miles long; though one
may make it longer if he estimates the branches or
divisions at the upper or eastern end. Its width varies
from a few feet on either side of the stream, to a
full mile and a quarter in its broadest part. It con-
tains over a thousand acres; two thirds meadow,
and the rest a few feet higher, somewhat sandy,
gravelly, and, in places, covered with rocks and
boulders from the surrounding cliffs. Over the lat-
ter portion, at in'egular intervals, trees, shrubs and
ferns are sparsely sprinkled or set in irregular
groups. The richer bottom supports several fine
clumps and gToves of graceful trees.
The bottom 5 of the valley is four thousand feet
above the level of the sea, and has an average fall,
towards the west, of about six feet to the mile. The
river varies in width from fifty to seventy feet, and
in depth from six to twelve feet. Its bottom is
gravelly, its cuiTent remarkably swift, its waters
clear as crystal. Trout, of deHcious quality, abound,
but seldom allow white men to catch them.
^ The rocky wall which shuts it in, averages over
three quarters of a mUe in pei-jjendicular height.
N(5^!Hj^g on wheels has ever gone up or down this
tremendous precipice, and in only two places have
YO SEMITE VALLEY. 27
tlie surest-footed horses or mules been able to find
a safe trail.
Yosemite Yalley is really a huge sink or cleft in
a tangle of rock-mountains; a gigantic trougb, not
scooped or hollowed out from above, but sunk
straight down, as if the bottom had dropped plumb
toward the centre, leaving both walls so high
that if either should fall, its top would reach clear
across the valley and crash against the opposite
cliff several hundred feet above its base.
In many places these cliffs rise into rock-moun-
tains, or swell into huge mountainous domes, two
or three of which have been split squarely in two,
or cleft straight down from top to bottom, and the
two halves, still standing straight 'up, have been
heaved or thrown a half-mile asunder, whence each
looks wistfully across at its old mate, or frowns
sternly and gloomity down upon the beautiful valley
which quietly keeps them apart.
Here and there they tower into lofty spires, shoot
up in shattered or splintered needles, or solemnly
stand in stately groups of massive turrets. High
bastions surmount steep precipices, and both look
down on awful chasms.
Back from the edge of the valley, behind these
cliffs, the rock country stretches away in every di-
rection through leagues of solid granite, rising kpg'-
ularly into scattered hills, peaks and mou'lKns,
between which run the various snow-fed streams.
28 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
whose final, sudden plunge over the valley's sharp
and rofcky brink makes the numerous falls of such
wonderful height.
Coming in by either trail, one enters the western
or lower end of the valley. AYe will suj)pose our-
selves entering by the Mariposa trail. "We have
clambered, or allowed our animals to clamber, safely
down the rocky, steep, and crooked trail, which
lands us finally at the foot of the precipitous slope
of two thousand seven hundi-ed feet. As we follow
the trail up the valley, that is, bearing away to the
right, going eastward along the foot of the south
wall, we encounter the falls, mountains, spu'es and
domes in the f olloAving order :
One coming .in by the Coulterville, Hardin's or
Big Oak Flat trail, finds himself at the same end of
the valley, dii-ectly opposite the foot of the Mari-
posa trail, having the river between; and as he bears
away to the left, along the base of the north wall,
he would, of course, meet all these wonders in ex-
actly the reverse order. But to return to the foot of
the Marij^osa or Clark's trail :
First, the
Bridal Veil Fall,
Indian name Po-lio-no, meaning, " The Spirit of
the Evil Wind." The fall is over nine hundred feet
higll^and of indescribable beauty. The stream
which forms it has an average width of some sixty-
BRIDAL VEIL FALL. 29
five feet at the edge of the cliff where it breaks over
the brink. It is narrower in summer and wider in
winter. For six hundred ancj thirty feet the stream
leaps clear of the cliff in one unbroken fall. Thence
it rushes down the steep slope of broken rocks in a
confusion of intermingled cascades nearly three
hundred feet more.
The varying pressure of the changeful wind causes
a veil-like waving, swaying and fluttering, which
readily suggests the obviously fitting and most ap-
propriate name.
What could a bride be made of,
Who would wear a veil like this ?
No sooner asked than answered,
She must be " Maid o' the Mist."
This fall presents its greatest beauty in May or
June when the volume of water is not too great.
The situation of Pohono, added to its intiinsic
beauty, waving a welcome as the tourist enters and
fluttering a farewell as he leaves, make it the uni-
versal favorite. Ladies especially love to linger at
its foot, feasting their eyes with its marvelous and
changeful beauty, and delighting their hearts with
the delicious suggestiveness of its most appropri-
ate name. The honeymoon can nowhere be more
fittingly or happily spent than within sight of
Pohono.
Half a mile further the cliff rounds outward and
30 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
swells upward into an enormous double, rocky
bastion, tlae
Cathedral Rocks.
Two thousand six liundred and sixty feet above the
valley. Indian name, Po-see-nah Chbock-kah,
meaniijg a large store or hoard of acorns. From
certain points of sight the form of these rocks read-
ily suggests the outline of a dilapidated Gothic
cathedral. Only the superior gi'andeui- of Tu-
toch-ah-nu-lah and the South Dome, prevent this
rock from greater fame. Outside of Tosemite it
would quickly attain a world-wide celebrity.
Just beyond these rocks the cliff bears away to
the southeast and sends up two slender, graceful
pinnacles of splintered granite, rising five hundred
feet above the main wall, which supports them.
These are the
Cathedral Spires.
Their summits are twenty-four hundred feet
above the valley. Seen from the northeast, a mile
distant, these s]3ires apjDear symmetrical, of equal
height, squarely hewn and rising above the edge of
the cliff behind, exactly like two towers of a Gothic
cathedral. One who doubts the ai^propriateness
of their name, has only to view them from this
point, whence a single glance will end his skeptic-
ism. Beyond the si^u-es the wall runs southeasterly
SENTINEL ROCK. 31
a quarter of a mile, then curves through an easterly
and northerly sweep into a north and south line.
The whole sweep forms a sort of precipitous coast
with its rocky headlands, inclosing the valley be-
tween like an emerald bay. Beyond this bay the
rocky wall gradually curves again, and resumes its
easterly trend. An eighth of a mile further . brings
us to
The Fissure.
This is a cleft or split in the rock, running back
southeasterly at nearly a right angle with the face
of the cliff. It is one thousand feet deep, five feet
wide at the top and front, and grows gradually
narrower as it extends downward and backward
into the mountain. Several boulders have fallen
into it and lodged at different depths,
A third of a mile east of this fissure, and a mile
and three quarters from the Cathedral Rocks, an-
other rocky promontory j^rojects northwesterly, like
a huge buttress, a third of a mile into the valley,
crowned with a lofty granite obelisk, three hundred
feet tliick, and standing straight up twelve hundred
feet above the giant cliff which supports it. This
is the famous
Sentinel Rock.
so named from its resemblance to a gigantic watch-
tower or signal station, for which, the legends say,
the Indians formerly used it. The Indian name
32 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
was Loya. Its top is three thousand and forty-three
feet above the river at its foot. The sides show
plainly-marked perpendicular cleavages in the gran-
ite.
Although so steep in front and at the sides, a
strong gras}), a sure foot, a cool nerve and a calm
head can safely climb it from the rear, that is, the
southwest side. At least they have done so more
than once, and planted a flag to wave in triumph
from its summit. By the unanimous and unques-
tioned verdict of all tounsts, this rock is one of the
grandest and most beautiful even in Yosemite itself.
Its striking prominence has made it a favorite
subject with all ai-tists who have visited the valley.
Thi-ee quaiiers of a mile southeast of the senti-
nel tower, haK a mile back from the brink of the
precipice, and partially or totally hidden by it, ac-
cording as the spectator stands nearer to or farther
from the foot of the cliff, the
Sentinel Dome
lifts its hemispherical bulk four thousand one hun-
dred and fifty feet. This is one of the most regu- .
larly formed of all of the peculiar dome-like peaks
about the valley. The Indian name was Loy-e-ma.
A horseman can reach the very summit by a trail
up the eastern slope, and enjoy a most extensive
view as his reward. From this dome, the profile of
the South Dome and strongly marked moraines of
GLACIER ROCK. 33
^ the Too-loo-le-wack Canon appear to better advan-
tage than from any other point.
A mile east of Sentinel Rock the face of the cliff
becomes less precipitous, bends sharply around to
the south, and thence back towards the southwest,
forming an angular and sloping rocky bluff known
as
Glacier Rock,
called by the Indians, Oo-woo-yoo-wah, which
means, the '' Great Eock of the Elk." The story
has it that during one of the expeditions of troojDS
into the valley, a party of soldiers, searching for
Indians, undertook to climb this rock, and while,
slowly and with great labor, working their way up
its smooth and steep slope, the hunted red men
suddenly appeared upon its summit, and began to
roll large stones down upon them. These came
thundering down with terrific niose and frightful
speed. The pale faces turned and fled with head-
long haste, but the destructive missiles smote seve-
ral of them with instant death.
y From the point of Glacier Eock one has a fine
r view of the valley. All the domes, with the Yosem-
ite, Vernal and Nevada Falls are plainly visible
thence.
For nearly a mile southeast of Glacier Eock the
cliff becomes steej)er and more precipitous, forming
^ the western wall of a wild, rough canon, stretching
away southeasterly for nearl}^ a mile. Over the
34 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
cliff at the liead of tliis canon the south fork of the
Merced plunges six hundred feet in the
milouette Fall.
This is also called the Too-loo-le-wack, or Too-
lool-we-ack Fall. The meaning of either of these
, Indian names is not certainly given. Cunningham,
one of the oldest and best guides of the valle}^ calls
the canon and the fall at the head of it, the El-lil-
o-wit. The tourist who attempts this canon must
leave all hoofs behind, and, falling back to first piin-
ciples, de}3end entirely upon his own understanding.
Among the enormous masses of rock which ob-
struct it, several extensive fissures and romantic
caverns furnish additional stimulus to the wonder-
loving pedestrian. As General Coulter says : ' ' rough
is no name for it." It is one of the wildest jolaces
imaginable. Few tourists accomplish it, but those
who do are amply repaid.
^ From the foot of the Il-lil-ou-ette Canon make
your wa}^ directly east, clamber along haK a mile, or
let your horse do it for you, then bear away to the
right, slightly south of east, and you find yourself
entering the canon of the main Merced itself. Now
pick your way carefully along, and, as soon as you
feel sufficiently sure of your foothold, look about
you, and look ahead. Did you ever see finer boul-
der-scenery in your life ? Stop under the shelter-
ing lee of this huge, church-like bo alder, and don
VERNAL FALL. 35
the oiled or rubber suit which awaits your hire. You
can get on without it, but the spray will quickly
wet you into a
" DemVl damp, moist and disagreeable body,"
if you try ii
Now take a stout stick, a deep breath, hold firmly
on to both and plunge sturdily along the ascending
trail. The deepest, richest and greenest of moss
lines the narrow foot-path on either hand. Look
quickly; enjoy it while you may, for presently you
find breath and sight nearly taken away together
by heavy sj^ray-gusts, rushing, wind-driven, down
the canon. Catching the intervals between, and
catching your breath at the same time, you lift your
nearly blinded eyes to the
Vernal Pall.
four hundred and fifty feet high, one hundred feet
wide, and from three to five feet deep where it
breaks over the square-cut^edgeof the solid granite
beneath. • The name Vernal was given it on account
of the greenness of its. water as it plunges over the
brink, as well as to distinguish it from the very-
white fall a mile above. The Indian name was Pi-
wy-ack, which is differently translated to mean " a
shower of crystals," or " the cataract of diamonds."
This fall pours in one solid unbroken sheet of
emerald green, flecked and fringed with creamy
foam, and filling the whole canon below with a thick,
36 BAyCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
and fine and ceaseless spray, which keeps its moss,
and grass and foliage of a rich, deep green nowhere
surpassed in nature. This spray also combines with
the sunshine to develop another and a marvelous
beauty. At almost any point along the trail for
several rods below the fall, the visitor who is climb-
ing in the morning has only to turn square about to
find himself glorified by an exquisitely beautiful cir-
cular rainbow surrounding his head like a halo.
This rainbow fonns a comj)lete circle of so small a
diameter that the tourist who views it for the first
time involuntarily stretches out his hands to grasp
it.
The path is wet and slippery, and the ladder-
stairs which carry one up the right-hand face of the
cliff, just at the south edge of the fall, are steep
and tiresome. But good oil or rubber suits keep
out the wet, a good restful pause now and then
keej)s in the breath, while careful stepping and firm
holding on rob the steepness and slipperiness of all
their real danger. Scores of ladies go up and come
down every season without accident or harmful fa-
tigue.
Arrived at the top of the singularly square-cut
granite cliff, we turn to the left, walk to the very
edge of the stream and the brink of the fall, and
gaze into the misty chasm in which the foot of the
fall disappears. One need not fear to do so, for
nature, as if with special forethought for the gratifi-
ILLILOUETTE tALL. 37
cation of future guests, has provided a remarkable
parapet of solid granite running along the very
edge of the brink for several yards south of the fall,
just breast high, and looking as if made on purpose
for timid tourists to lean over, and gaze with fear-
less safety into the seething chasm in whose foaming
depths the foot of the cataract shrouds itself in im-
penetrable mist.
This ceaseless mistiness makes it almost impossi-
ble to estimate or calculate the exact height of the
fall with any satisfactory accuracy. Another vari-
able element which enters into all conjectures of its
height is the fact that the rock on which it strikes
slopes sharply down for upwards of a hundred and
sixty feet. Hence in late spring or early summer,
when the volume and velocity of the river are
greatest, the water, shooting further out, falls at
the very base of this slope, and gives the fall a
height of four hundred and seventy-five or even five
hundred feet in May or June. In October, on the
other hand, when the stream is at its lowest, the
water, falling straight down, strikes upon the top
of this slope, a hundred and sixty or seventy-five
feet above its base, and thus diminishes the height
of the fall by just that amount.
In its volume, this fall resembles Niagara more
than any other in the valley. In width, of course,
it falls far below, but its height is more than three
times as great. It also resembles Niagara in its
38 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
greatening on the gaze witli each successive yisit.
In its approaches, in its surroundings, and in itself,
the Vernal fall surpasses expectation and fully satis-
fies desire.
Half a mile above the Vernal is a small but beau-
tiful gem of a little fall, called the
Kachooxnah,
or Wild Cat Fall. The reason of the name is
ob\ious to one standing a hundred feet below, and
noting how the impetuous stream, breaking over
the sharp edge of a huge transverse boulder, dashes
against the sloping side of another; lying angularly
across; and is thrown, or seems to spring, diagon-
ally across towards the northern bank, readily,
though roughly, suggesting the sudden side-spring
of the animal for whom the observing red man
named it.
• Another half mile, and the rocky walls close to-
gether, shut us in and bar our fui-ther progress.
The canon narrows to a point, over w^jose right
hand wall, close to the very angle of meeting, the
same river, the main Merced, plunges its whole
volume in the famous
Nevada Fall,
/ seven hundred feet high, seventy-five feet wide at
the brink, and one hundred and thirty below. This
fall is, in all respects, one of the grandest in the
NEVADA FALL. 39
world. In lieight, in width, in purity and volume
of water during tlie early summer, in graceful pecu-
liarities and in grandeur of surrounding scenery, it
is simply stupendous. Other falls, though few,
surpass it in the single element of height, but in
surrounding grandeur, in the harmony of beauty
and magnificence, none equal this. None brings
the visitor oftener to its foot, detains him with
greater delight, or sends him away with more pro-
found satisfaction.
The exact statement of the height of this fall is
hindered by causes similar to those at the Vernal^
viz: the constant and blinding spray around the
bottom, and the consequent uncertainty as to the
exact spot where the water strikes.
The rock beneath this fall is not vertical, but
rather steeply inclined, having a slope of about
eighty-five degrees through its upper half and not
far from seventy-five degrees through its lowxr.
Hence in summer, when tourists usually see it, the
diminished force of the current causes the water
rather to slide down the slope, than to shoot out
over and fall clear of it, as in the sx^ring. Thus,
from June to November the Nevada is more prop-
erly a chute or slide than a fall. During this sea-
son the friction of the rock breaks the stream into
a white froth; hence the name, Nevada, or Snowy
Fall.
When the water is very low, the fittest thing to
4o BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
wliicli one could liken it would be to myriads of
white lace or gauze veils hung over the face of the
cliff, waving and fluttering in the wind. A party of
ladies originated this figure, and it occui-red also to
Mr. Bowles in his fine descriptions of Yosemite
wonders.
As one stands in the canon below gazing at the
Nevada, the Snowy Fall, away upon his left, about
a third of a mile back from the brink of the north-
east wall of the canon, rises
Mt. Broderick,
or the Cap of Liberty, whose general outline sug-
gests its name. Its rounded summit lifts its smooth,
weather-poKshed granite two thousand . feet above
the fall and nearly five thousand above the main
valley. It bears upon its crown a single juniper of
enormous diameter.
Away to the right of the canon, just jDceping
above the edge of the cliff, and nearly two miles
south-southeast of the Nevada Fall, rises the steep,
conical summit of the South Dome, or
Mt Starr King,
reaching an estimated height of one mile above the
valley. Next to the wonderful half-dome, this is
the steepest and smoothest cone in the region. In-
dian name, See-wah-lam, meaning not known. Its
THE HALF-DOME. 41
exact height, like that of its great namesake, has
never been satisfactorily settled.
Clambering back down this canon, depositing our
oiled or rubber suits, and experiencing an imme-
diate sense of relief and lightness, we retrace the
trail up which we came, bear away to the right, that
is, going nearly northwest, proceed nearly or quite
a mile round the base of a lofty buttress, and ope^i
the
Tenaya Canon,
stretching av*^ay northeast nearly in a continuous
line with the main valley itself.
About one mile up this canon towers Yosemite's
sheerest and loftiest isolated cliff, the
Half-Dome
itself. It is a bare crest of naked granite, four
thousand seven hundred and forty feet high, cleft
straight down in one vast vertical front on the Ten-
aya, or northwest side, while on the back, that is,
toward the southeast, it swells off and rounds away
with a dome-like sweep that utterly dwarfs the
grandeur of a thousand St. Peters in one.
Following still on up the Tenaya Canon, nearly
two miles beyond the dome, and a thousand feet
higher, rises the
Clouds' Rest,
a granite ri"dge, long, bare and steep, having its
axis parallel with that of the valley, and falling
42 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
away along its southeastern slope into the rocky
mountain wilderness of the High Sierras. This is
one of the few points about the valley which the
Geological Survey has not yet measured. They
estimated its height one thousand feet above that
of the Half Dome, which would make its summit
ten thousand feet, or nearly two miles above the
sea level.
Beyond this, little of note invites the traveler's
delay, so we make our way northwesterly straight
across this canon from the base of its southeasterly
wall toward that of the opposite cliff. On the way,
however.
Mirror Lake
arrests and enchants us. Surely wafer reflections
were never more perfect. The Indian name Ke-ko-
too-yem, Sleeping Water, was never more happily
bestowed. Imagine a j)erfect water mirror nearly
eight acres in extent, and of a temperament so calm
and deep and philosophic that it devotes its whole
life to the profoundest reflection. A mile of soHd
cliff above, a mile of seeming solid cliff beneath;
for though the mind knows the lower to be only an
image, the eye cannot, by simple sight alone, deter-
mine which is the solid original and which the shad-
owy reflection.
Twin mountaius, base to base, here meet the astou-
ished eye;
One towers toward lieaven in substance vast,
NORTH DOME. 43
One looms below in shadow cast,
As grand, as perfect as its peer on high.
In early morning, wlien no breeze ripples the
lake, its reflections are, indeed, marvelously life-like.
So exactly is eveiy line and point repeated that the
photographic view has puzzled hundreds to tell
which mountain is in the air and which is in the water.
The spectator who takes the photogram in his hand
for the first time often hesitates for several minutes
before he can determine which side up the picture
should be held. The depth of the lake is from
eight to twenty feet.
One sufficiently vigorous and persevering may
push on up the Tenaya creek till he finds the
^ Tenaya Lake,
over a mile long, snugly nestled in among the
mountains. This lies beyond the usual limit of
tourists' excursions, but well repays a visit.
Nearly a mile northwest of the lake, and about a
third of a mile back from the edge of the cliff, the
Nortli Dome
lifts its rounded granite bulk three thousand five
hundred and seventy feet above the valley. It looks
as if built of huge, concentric, overlapping, hemi-
spherical domes, piled one upon another, andjiaving
their overlapping edges irregularly broken away.
On the valley side, that is, toward the south and
44 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
southeast, it is so steep that no human foot has
ever climbed it. In the rear, however, that is,
toward the north and west, it falls away in a vast
ridge or spine, along which one can easily gain the
very summit of the dome itself. The Indian name
was To-coy-ah, meaning the shade of an Indian
baby basket.
Passing three quarters of a mile still down, we
reach the angle or turn between the Tenaya canon
and the valley proper. In this turn, in fact forming
the angle, stands the
"Washington Column,
/ a rounded, columnar rock tower, partially standing
forth from the abutting cliff behind. This reaches
the height of two thousand five hundred feet.
Immediately beyond this large masses of the huge
concentric, overlapping plates, have cracked off,
slipped away and fallen, leaving rough bas-relief
arches several hunLlred yards long, and projecting
some scores of fee c, like rudely-di'awn gigantic eye-
brows. These are commonly called the '
Royal Arches,
or the Arched Hocks, but the .Indian name, Hun-to,
" The Watching Eye," wiU better satisfy the poet-
ical visitor, imless, indeed, his Masonic proclivities
quite overpower his poetic appreciation, in which
case he will undoubtedly prefer the former title.
YO SEMITE FALL. 45
For the next mile and a half noi-thwest nothing of
special wonder for Yosemite detains us.
The relief is fitting and needful, not only that we
may recover in some degree from the continued
effect of the marvels already past, but, more especi-
ally, that we may rally in preparation for the most
stupendous wonder of them all, the great
Yosemite Fall
itself. Here language ceases and art quite fails.
No words nor j^aintings, not even the photogram
itself, can reproduce one tithe of the grandeur here
enthroned. A cataract from heaven to earth, plung-
ing from the clouds of the sky to bury itself among
the trees of the forest. The loftiest waterfall yet
known upon the face of the globe.
Don't mention figures yet, please. When a man
is overwhelmed with the sublime, don't plunge him
into statistics. By and by, when we have cooled
down to a safe pitch, we may condescend to hear
the calm calculator project his inexorable mathe-
matics into the very face of nature's sublimity and
triumphantly tell us just liow great this surpassing
wonder is. But after all his exactest calculations,
his absolute measurements and his positive assur-
ances, OYi^feeh how small the fraction of real great-
ness which figui'es can express or the intellect
apprehend. A cataract half a mile high, setting
its forehead against the stars and planting its feet
46 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
at the base of the eternal liills. Gracefully swaying
from side to side in rhythmical vibration, swelling
into grandeur in earlier spring, and shrinking into
beaut}' under the ardency of summer heat; towering
far above all other cataracts, it calmly abides, the
undisputed monarch of them all.
A half mile is no exaggeration, for the official
measurement of the State Survey makes the height
two thousand six hundred and forty-one (2,641)
feet — a/uZZ half mile, and one foot more.
The fall is not in one unbroken, perpendicular
sheet, but in three successive leaps. In the upper
fall, the stream slides over a huge rounded lip or
edge of polished granite, and falls one thousand
five hundred and eighty-seven feet in one tremend-
ous plunge. Here its whole volume thunders upon
a broad shelf or recess, whence it rushes in a series
of roughly-broken cascades down a broken sloj^e of
over seven hundred feet in linear measurement,
but whose base is six hundred and twenty-six feet
perpendicularly below its to^. From the bottom
of this broken sloj^e it makes a final plunge of four
hundred and twenty-eight feet in one clear fall, and
then slides off contentedly into the restful shadows
of the welcoming forests below.
Its width, like that of all snow-fed streams,
varies greatly with the season. In March or April,
when the tributary snows are melting most rajoidly,
and myriads of streamlets swell its volume, the
THREE BROTHERS. 47
stream is from seventy-five to a hundred feet wide,
■where it suddenly slips over the smoothly-rounded
granite at its upper brink. During the same season
it scatters or spreads to a width of from three to
four hundred feet, when it breaks uj)on the rocky
masses below.
In later spring, or earlier summer, it dwindles to
less than a third of its greatest bulk ; and its most
intimate friend, the veteran Yosemite pioneer,
Hutchings, tells us that he has seen it when it
hardly seemed more than a silver thread winding-
down the face of the cliff. Under a full moon, the
element of weirdness mingles with its graceful
grandeur, shrouds it with mystery, and transports
one into a soft and dreamy wonder-land, from
which he cares not to return.
A mile further on our way back toward the west-
ern end, brings us under, or in front of, the triple
rocky group, or three-peaked stone-mountain,
whose name, the .
Three Brothers,
readily suggests itself to one standing in the proper
place below. They are tliree huge, bluntly conical,
rocky peaks, fronting nearly south, slightly inclined
toward the valley and descending in height as they
approach it. To the rude Indian fancy they might
well suggest the name Porn-porn-pa-sue — " Mount-
ains playing leap-frog," — with which they christened
them. •
48 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
The higliest, wliicli is the northernmost, the one
furthest back from the valley, is three thousand
eight hundred and thirty feet high. The summit
of this rock is readily reached by a trail from the
rear, and affords a superb view of the valley and its
surroundings. Nearly all who have enjoyed it con-
sider it the very best to be had.
Another mile-and-a-half and the rocky wonders
of Yosemite fitly culminate and terminate in
Tu-toch-ali-nu-lah,
*' The Great Chief of the Valley" more commonly,
though very weakly, called "El Capitan," an ordi-
nary Spanish word, meaning simply, "the Captain;"
good enough for a feny-boat or river steamer, but
entirely beneath the dignity of this most magnifi-
cent rock on the face of the earth.
Tu-toch-ah-nulah is an immense granite cliff, pro-
jecting angularly into the valley, toward the south-
west. It has tw© fronts, one facing nearly west,
the other southeasterh", meeting in a sub-acute
angle. These two fronts are over a mile long, and
three thousand three hundred feet high, smooth,
bare and vertical, and bounded above by a sharp
edge, standing pressed against the sky, which its
Atlas-like shoulder seems made to uphold.
The State Survey, with all its scientific coolness,
could not help saying, " El Capiian imposes upon
us by its stupendous bulk, which seems as if hewed
TU-TOCH-AH-NU-LAH. 49
from the mountains on purpose to stand as the type
of eternal massiveness. It is doubtful, if anyy* here
in the world, there is presented so squarely cut, so
lofty and so imposing a face of rock." Starr King-
declared, " A more majestic object than this rock,
I never expect to see on this planet." Horace
Greeley, who enjoyed the rare experience of enter-
ing the valley by night, and in moonlight too, thus
pays tribute to the Great Chief :
" That first, full, deliberate gaze, up the opposite
height ! Can I ever forget it? The valley here, is
scarcely' half a mile wide, while its northern wall
of mainly naked, perpendicular granite, is at least
four thousand feet high, probably more. But the
modicum of moonlight that fell into this awful
gorge, gave to that precipice a vagueness of outline,
an indefinite vastness, a ghostly and weird spiritu-
ality. Had the mountain spoken to me in an audi-
ble voice, or begun to lean over with the purpose of
burying me, I should hardly have been surprised."
After Tutochahnulah, nothing on earth can seem
ver}^ grand or overpowering, and with this the won-
ders of the valley fitly close.
"We have, by no means,, seen all the falls, nor even
mentioned all the peaks, but the others are of little
note in Yosemite, though, elsewhere, tourists might
go a thousand miles to see the least of them. This
valley is, beyond com^Darison, the most, wonderful
and beautiful of all earthly sights. No matter how
3
50 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
incredulous one may be before entering, the Great
Chief and his tremendous allies, soon crush him
into the most humble and complete subjection. Do
not expect, however, that your first view will stag-
ger your skepticism. On the contrary, it may even
confirm it. Upon our first view of Tutochahnulah,
as we were walking into the valley, one bright July
forenoon, we stopped a mile and a half from its
foot, collected ourselves for a calm, cool, mathemat-*
ical judgment and said with all confidence, " That
rock isn't over fifteen hundred feet high. It can't
be. Why, just look at that tree near its base.
That tree, certainly, can't be more than a hundred
and twenty-five feet high, and certainly, the cliff
doesn't rise more than ten times its height above it."
But, unfortunately, we had forgotten that never
before had we seen the works of nature on as grand
a scale. One's judgment has to change its base.
He has to reconstruct it ; to adopt a new unit.
Comparison serv^es him little, for he has no ade-
quate standard by which to measure, or with
which to compare the rock-mountains before him.
They are like nothing else. They are a law unto
themselves, and one must learn the law, the new
law, before he can begin to enter the secret of their
greatness. Look at that tree. Elsewhere 3'ou
would call it lofty. It measures a hundred and
fifty feet, and yet, that wall of solid rock behind
rises straight up to twenty times its height above it.
YO SEMITE. 51
Look again; now, turn away; shut eyes and think.
Forget all former standards and adopt the new.
Slowly you begin to '^ even " yourself to the stu-
pendous scale of the gigantic shapes around.
Even Niagara requires two or three days before
one begins to fully realize or truly appreciate its
greatness. How much more, then, Yosemite, com-
pared with which Niagara is but a very little thing !
Then, on the other hand, one must remember that
after he has adjusted himself to the new and grand-
er scale of Yosemite, upon coming out into the
midst of ordinary hills and mountains, for several
days they seem Ioav and flat and small.
A single visit to Yosemite dwarfs all other natu-
ral wonders and spoils one for all places else. He
who has seen it listens quietly to the most enthusi-
astic rhapsodies of the most Avidely traveled tour-
ists, and simply answers, with a calm, superior
smile, ' ' Ah, that's all very well, but you should see
The Traveler's University — should such an insti-
tution ever exist — can never righteously graduate
the most widely traveled tourist, until he can truth-
fully add to his name, " Y. S. T."— Yosemite Tour-
ist.
52 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
THE BIG TREES.
Teh California Big Trees are a kind of Redwood ;
or, if the strictest and most scientific judgment
does not rank tliem in the same family, it must, at
least, allow a very close relationship) .
Nine gToVes are already certainly known, and,
every year or two, as the exploration of the State
becomes more exact, or approaches completion,
other smaller gToves, straggling gi'oups or solitaiy
clumps, are added to the number. Of all those
thus far discovered the Calaveras Grove and the
Mariposa Grove are the most celebrated, both from
the extent of the groves and the size and height of
the trees composing them.
The Calaveras Grove
receives its name from that of the county in which
it stands. It is near the source of the south fork
of the Calaveras river, while the upper tributaries
of the Mokelumne and the Stanislaus rivers flow
near it : the foiTaer on the north, the latter on the
southeast. It is about sixteen miles from Mur-
phy's Camp, and on or near the road crossing the
Sierras by the Silver Mountain Pass. This grove
THE CALAVERAS GROVE: 53
has received more visitors and attained gre'ater
celebrity than any other, for four reasons :
1st. It vras the first discovered.
2d. It was nearer the principal routes of travel,
hence more easily accessible.
3d. One can visit it on wheels.
4th. Last, and best for the tired tourist, an ex-
cellent hotel at the verj^iargin of the grove; Sper-
ly & Perry, projDrietors.
The grove extends northeast and southwest about
five eighths of a mile. Its width is only about one
fifth as great. It stands in a shallow valley be-
tween two gentle slopes. Its height above the
sea is four thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine
feet. In late spring or early winter a small brook
winds and bubbles through the grove ; but under
the glare of summer suns and the gaze of throng-
ing visitors, it modestly "dries up."
The grove contains about ninety trees which can
be called really "big," besides a considerable num-
ber of smaller ones deferentially grouped around
the outskirts. Several of the larger ones have fallen
since the grove was discovered, in the spring of
1852; one has had the bark stripped off to the
height of one hundred and sixteen feet, and one
has been cut down, or, rather, bored and sawed
down. The bark thus removed was exhibited in
different cities in this country, and finally deposited
in the Sydenham Crystal Palace, England, only to
be burned in the fire which destroyed a part of that
54 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
building some years since. The two trees thus
destroyed were among the finest, if not the very
finest in the grove. Among those now standing,
the tallest is the ^'KeA'stone State;" the largest
and finest, the "Empire State."
The following table gives the height of all the
trees measured by the State Sui-i^ey, and their
gii'th six feet from the ground :
Names of Trees. Girth. Height.
Keystone State . 45 ^' 32^
General Jackson 4U 319
Mother of the Forest (without bark) 61 315
Daniel Webster 47 307
Kiehard Cobden 41 284
Starr King .^ 52 283
Pride of the Forest : •. 48 282
Heni-i' Clay 47 280
Bay State 46 275
Jas. King of William 51 274
Sentinel 49 272
Dr. Kane 50 271
Arbor Vitae Queen •. 30 269
Abraham Lincoln 44 268
Maid of Honor 27 266
Old VeiTQont 40 265
Uncle Sam 43 265
Mother (and Son) 51 261
Three Graces (highest) 30 262
Wm. CuUen Bryant 48 262
U. S. Grant 34 261
Gen. Scott 43 258
Geo. Washing-ton .- 51 256
Henry Ward Beecher .» 34 252
California 33 250
Uncle Tom's Cabin 50 250
Beauty of the Forest 39 249
J. B. McPherson 31 246
Florence Nightingale 37 246
James Wadsworth 27 239
Elihu Burritt 31 231
/f
THE CALAVERAS GROVE. 55.
The exact measurement of the diameter and the
ascertaining of the age of one of the largest trees
in this grove, was accomplished by cutting it down.
This was done soon after the discovery of the grove.
It occupied five men during twenty-two days.
They did it by boring into the tree with pump au-
gers. The tree stood so perfectly vertical that,
even after they had bored.it completely off, it would
not fall. It took three days' labor driving huge
Avedges in jiipon one side until the monumental
monster leaned, toppled and fell.
They hewed and smoothed off the stump six feet
above the ground, and then made careful measure-
ments as follows : *
Across its longest diameter, north of centre, 10 feet 4 inches.
Across its longest diameter, south of centre, 13 " 9% "
Total largest diameter, 24 feet 1% iuc's.
•
The shorter diameter, from east to west, was
twenty-three feet, divided exactly even, eleven and
one half feet from the centre each way.
The thickness of the bark averaged eighteen
inches. This would add three feet to the diameter,
making the total diameter as the tree originally
stood, a little over twenty-seven feet one way, and
twenty-six feet the other. That is eigMy-five feet in
circumference, six feet from the ground.
The age was ascertained thus : After it had been
felled, it was again cut through about thirty feet
56 . BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
from the first cut. At the upper end of this section,
which was, of course, nearly forty feet above the
ground, as the tree originally stood, they carefully
counted the rings of annual gTowth, at the same
time exactly measuring the width of each set of one
hundred rings, counting from the outside inwards.
These were the figures :
First hundred rings 3.0 inches.
Second
Third
Fourth "
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh "
Eighth "
Ninth
Tenth ' "
Eleventh "
Twelfth "
Fifty-five years
3.7
4.1
3.9
4.1
4.1
4.6
5.6
7.3
7.9
10.1
13.0
9.4
1.255 years. 80.8 inches.
A small hole in the middle of the tree prevented
the exact detennining of the number of rings which
had rotted away, or were missing from the centre ;
but allowing for that, as well as for the time which
the tree must have taken to gTow to the height at
which they made the count, it is probably spealdng
within bounds, to say that this tree was, in round
numbers, thirteen hundred years old !
As the table shows, this grove contains four trees
over three hundred feet high. The heights of these
big trees, in both the great groves, are usually
THE MARIPOSA GROVE, . ^57
OYerstated. The above measurements Avere care-
fully and scientifically made — in several cases re-
peated and verified — and may be relied on as correct.
The "Keystone State" enjoys the proud honor of
lifting its head higher than ^ny other tree now
■known to be standing on the western continent.
Australia has trees a hundred and fifty feet hi^-her.
The stories occasionally told of trees over four
hundred feet high having once stood in this grove,
have no reasonable foundation and are not entitled
to belief. Neither is it true, as some have marvel-
ously asserted, that it takes two men and a boy,
working half a day each, to look to the top of the
highest tree in this grove.
The Calaveras trees, as a rule, are taller and slim-
mer than those of Mariposa. This has probably
resulted from their growing in a spot more shel-
tered from the high winds which sweep across the
Sierra, to which other groves have been more
exposed.
The Mariposa Grove,
likewise named from the county in which it stands,
is about sixteen miles directly south of the lower
hotel in Yosemite valley, and about four miles
southeast of Clark's Eanch. Like the Calaveras
Grove, it occupies a shallow valley or depression
in the back of a ridge which runs easterly between
Big Creek and the South Merced. One branch of
the creek rises in the grove.
58 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
The grant made by Congress is two miles square
and embraces two distinct groves ; that is, two col-
lections of big trees, separated by a considerable
space having none. The upper grove contains
three hundred and sixty-five trees of the true Se-
quoia Gigardea species, having a diameter of one
foot or over. Besides these, are a great number of
younger and smaller ones.
The lower grove is not as large, and its trees are
more scattered. It lies southwesterly from the up-
per. Some of its trees grow quite high up the
gulches on the south side of the ridge which sepa-
rates the two groves.
On Wednesday, July 7th, 1869, the largest trees
of this grove were carefully measured, under the
guidance and with the assistance of Mr. Clarke
himself, one of the State Commissioners charged
with the care of these groves and of the Yosemite
valley. To prevent misunderstanding and insure
uniformity, each tree was measured three feet from
the ground, excej^t where the outside of the base
was burned away, when the tree was gu'ted seven
and a half feet above giound.
The following figures are taken from that day's
phonographic journal, written on the sjDot :
The "Grizzly Giant," seven and one half feet up,
measures seventy-eight and one half feet in circum-
ference. Three feet above ground this tree meas-
ured over a hundred feet round ; but several feet
THE MARIPOSA GROVE. 59
of this measurement came from projecting roots,
wliere they swell out from the trunk into the mam-
moth diagonal braces or shores, necessary to sup-
port and stiffen such a gigantic structure in its hold
upon the earth.
One hundred feet up, an immense branch, over
six feet through, grows out horizontally some twen-
ty feet, then turns like an elbow and goes up forty
feet. It naturally suggests some huge gladiator,
uncovering his biceps and drawing up his arm to
*' show his muscle." This is the largest tree now
standing in the grove, and is the one of which
Starr King wrote :
"I confess that my own feeling, as I first scanned
it, and let the eye roam up its tawny pillar, was of
intense disappointment. But then, I said to my-
self, this is, doubtless, one of the striplings of this
Anak brood — only a small affair of some forty feet
in girth. • I took out the measuring line, fastened
it on the trunk with a knife, and walked around,
unwinding as I went. The line was seventy-five
feet long. I came to the end before completing
the circuit. Nine feet more were needed. I had
dismounted before a structure eighty-four feet in
circumference, and nearly three hundred feet high,
and I should not have guessed that it would meas-
ure more than fifteen feet through."
Here, as in Yosemite and at Niagara, tourists are
usually disappointed in the first view. The lifelong
6o BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
familiarity with lesser magnitudes makes it almost
impossible for tlie mind to free itself from tlie tram-
mels of habit, and leap at a single bound, into any
adequate perception of the incredible magnitudes
which confront him. One needs spend at least a
week among these Brobdignagian bulks, come twice
a day and stay twelve hours each time, before he
grows to any worthy apx^reciation of their unbe-
lievable bigness.
Of the other trees, the largest ten, measured
three feet above gTound, gave the following cir-
cumferences :
La Fayette 83 feet.
The Governor ,. 75 "
Cbas, Crocker 75 "
The Chief Commissioner 74 "
Governor Stanford 74 "
Washington ." 72 "
Phito's Chimney 71 "
The Big Diamond (Koh-i-noor) 65 "
The Governor's Wife 62 "
The Forest Queen 58 "
Others of equal size, possibly greater than some
above, were not measured.
" The Grovernor" is a generic name, applied in
honor of him who may happen to be the actual in-
cumbent at any time. At present, of course, it
means Gov. Haight. It is an actual botanical fact,
that the tree has actually gained in height under
the present gubernatorial administration. It cer-
tainly is not as low(e) by several inches as during
THE MARIPOSA GROVE. 6i
tlie reign, or lack of rain, of the preceding in-
cumbent.
The same general complimentary intention
christened the •' ' Gavernor's Wife," which has as
graceful a form and as dignified a bearing among
trees as such a lady should have among the women
of the State. Then, too, the tree stands with a
gentle inclination toward '^ The Governor," which
may not be without its suggestions to those fond of
tracing analogies. ^
The " Chief Commissioner" is the largest of a
clump of eight, which stand grouped, as if in con-
sultation, at a respectful distance from the Gov-
ernor.
" Pluto's Chimney" is a huge old stump, burned
and blackened all over, inside and out. Hibernian
visitors sometimes call ic "The Devil's Dhudeen."
It is between forty and fifty feet high. On one
side of the base is a huge opening, much like a
a Puritan fireplace or a Scotch inglenook; while
within, the whole tree is burned away so that one
can look up and out clear to the very sky through its
huge cii'cular chimney. Outside, the bark and the
roots have been burned wholly away. Before the
burning, this tree must have equaled the largest.
Nearly in front of the cabin ir^the upper grove,
and not far from the delicious spring before alluded
to, stands a solitaiy tree having its roots burned
away on one side, leaning south, and presenting a
62 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
general appearance of tiying to *' swing round tlie
circle." In view of all these facts, some imagina-
tive genius once christened it "Andy JohnsOn."
The only inappropriate thing in the application of
that name was the fact that the tree stood so near
a sj)ring of cold water. The " Big Diamond" or
' ' Koh-i-noor" is the largest of a group of four veiy
straight and. symmetrical trees occupying the cor-
ners of a regular rhombus or lozenge, so exactly
d^wn as to readily suggest the name ' ' Diamond
Group," by which they have been called.
As already remarked, the Mariposa Grove really
consists of two gi'oves — the upper and the. lower,
which approach within a half mile of each other.
The upper grove contains three hundred and sixty-
five trees; one for eveiy day in the year, with large
ones for Sundays. By an unfortunate omission,
however, it makes no provision for leap year. This
is the principal objection which luimarried spinster
tourists have thus far been able to urge against it.
The lower grove has two hundred and forty-one
trees, generally smaller than ttiose of the upper
grove. The total number in both groves, according
to the latest official count, is six hundred and six.
Within ten years several trees have fallen, and
others follow thei^i from time to time, so that the
most accurate count of them made in any one year
might not tally with another equally careful count
a year earlier or later.
THE MARIPOSA GROVE. 63
Among the prostrate trees lies the " Fallen Giant/'
measuring eighty-five feet around, three feet from
the present base. The bark, the sapwood, the roots,
and probably the original base, are all burned
away. When standing, this monster must have
been by far the largest in both groves, and,
indeed, Ifirger than any now known in the world.
It should have been called " Lucifer," a name
hereby respectfully submitted for the consideration
of future tourists.
The living trees of this species exude a dark-
colored substance, looking like gum, but readily
dissolving in water. This has a veiy acrid, bitter
taste, which probably aids in preserving the tree
from injurious insects, and preventing the decay of
the woody fibre.
The fruit or seed is hardly conical, but rather
ellipsoidal or rudely oval in form, an inch and a
half long by one inch through, and looking far too
insignificant to contain the actual germ of the most
gigantic structure known to botanical science.
Their age, indicated by the concentric rings of
annual growth, carefully counted and registered by
the gentlemen of the State Survisy, varies from five
to thirteen, possibly fifteen, centuries.
The word '^ Sequoia," is the Latin form of the
Indian Sequoyah, the name of a Cherokee Inclian
of mixed blood, w^ho is supposed to have been born
about 1770, and who lived in Will's Yalley, in the
64 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
extreme northeastern corner of Alabama, among
the Cherokees. His English name Tvas George
Guess. He became famous by his invention of an
alphabet, and written letters for his tribe. This
alphabet was constructed with wonderful ingenuity.
It consisted of eighty-six characters, each repre-
senting a syllable, and it had already come into
considerable use before the whites heard anything
of it. After a while, the missionaries took up
Sequoyah's idea, had types cast, supj)lied a j)rint-
ing press to the Cherokee nation, and in 1828
started a newspaper printed partly with these types.
Driven, with the rest of his tribe, bej^ond the
Mississippi, he died in New Mexico, in 1843. His
alphabet is still in use, though destined to pass
away with his doomed race, but not into complete
oblivion, for his name, attached to one of the
gi'andest productions of the vegetable kingdom will
keep his memory forever green.
For the foregoing bit of- aboriginal biography,
we gTatefully acknowledge our obligation to *Prof .
Brewer and the gentlemen of the State Sui-vey, to
whom he originally furnished it.
Had Sequoyah's* name been Cadmus — had the
Cherokees been Phenicians — aud had this modern
heathen of the eighteenth century invented his
alphabet away back before the Christian era, his
name would have stood in every school history
among those of inventors, philosophers, discoverers
THE MARIPOSA GROVE. 65
and benefactors ; as it is he's *' only an Indian."
No one can deny, however, that he was one of the
best re(a)d men in the history of the world.
Botji the Calaveras and the Mariposa groves con-
tain hollow trunks of fallen trees, through which,
or into which, two and even three horsemen can
ride abreast for sixty or seventy feet. Each grove,
also, has trees which have been burned out at the
base, but have not fallen. Still standing, they con-
tain or enclose huge charcoal-lined rooms, into
which one can ride. The writer has been one of
four mounted men who rode their horses into such
a cavity in the Mariposa grove, and reined their
horses up side by side without crowding each other
or pressing the outside one against the wall.
One who has seen only the ordinary big trees of
*' down east," or " out west," forests, finds it hard
to believe that any such vegetable monsters can
really exist. Even the multiplied and repeated
assurances of friends who have actually '* 8een them,
sir," and " measured them myself, I tell you,"
hardly arrest the outward expression of incredulity,
and seldom win the inward faith of the skeptical
hearer. Fancy j^ourself sitting down to an after-
dinner chat in the fifteen-foot sitting room, adjoin-
ing the dining room of equal size. You fall to
talking of 'the " Big Trees." You say, '' Why, my
dear sjr, I have actually rode into, and sat upon my
horse in, a tree whose hollow was so big that you
66 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
could put botli these rooms into it, side by side, and
still have seyen or eight feet of solid wood standing
on each side of me. No, sir, not romancing at all.
It's an actual, scientific, measured/«c^, sir." ^ Your
friend looks quizzically and incredulously into both
your eyes, as he says, " Why, now see here, my
dear fellow, do you supj^ose I'm going to believe
that ? Tell a moderate whopper, and back it up
with such repeated assertion and scientific authoiity,
and you might possibly make me believe it, or at
least, allow it until you were fairly out of hearing;
but to sit here at a man's own fireside and tell him
such a monstrous story as that, and expect him to
swallow it for truth — ah, no, my dear fellow, that's
too much, altogether too much."
So you have to give it over and drop the argu-
ment for the present, in the hope that some one of
the numerous excursion jiarties, now so rapidly
multiplying every year, will soon include him, cany
him into the actual j)resence of these veritable
monsters of the vegetable kingdom, confront him
with theu' colossal columns, and compel his belief.
And yet the general incredulity is hardly to be
wondered M, after all. In nearly every one of us, our
faith in what may be, largely depends upon our
j)ersonal knowledge of the facts which have been.
In matters pertaining to the outward, the material,
the physical world, our actual experience of the
j)ast governs our belief as to the future. And even
BIG TREES. 67
when the objects of our disbelief are set bodily be-
fore our vision, and we have actually seen tliem and
handled them, it is often difficult to believe our
own eyes. So far is " seeing from believing" when
the sight so far surpasses all former experience.
There is another grove of big trees in Fresno
county, about fourteen miles southeast of Clark's.
It is not far from a conspicuous point called Wam-
melo Eock. The State Survey did not include it,
neither have tourists usually visited it. According
to the description of Mr. Clark, who has partially
explored it, it extends for more than two miles and
a half in length, by from one to two in width. He
has counted five hundred trees in it, and believes- it
to contain not far from six hundred in all. The
largest which he measured had a circumference of
eighty-one feet at three feet from the ground.
Following along the slope of the Sierras, to the
southeast about fifty miles, l^etween King's aild
Kaweah rivers, we find the largest grove of these
trees yet discovered in the State.
The State Survey partially explored this locality,
and have given us the following particulars: The
trees form a belt rather than a grove. This belt is
found about thirty miles north-northeast of Visalia,
near the tributaries of the King's and Kaweah
rivers, and along the divide between. They are
scattered up and down the slopes and along the
68 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
valleys, but reach tlieir greatest size ia tlie shallow
basins where the soil is more moist.
Along the trail from VisaKa to Big Meadows the
belt is four or five miles wide and extends through
a verticalTange of twenty-five hundred feet; that is,
the trees along the lower edge of the bplt stand
nearly half a mile in perpendicular height below
those along its upper boundary. The length of
this belt is as much as eight or ten .miles and may
be more.
These trees are not collected in groves, but
straggle along through the forests in company with
the other species usually found at this height in
the Sierras. They are most abundant between six
and seven thousand feet above the sea. Their num-
ber is very great; probably thousands might be
counted. In size, however, they are not remarka-
ble; that is, in comparison mth those of Calaveras
aftd Marix^osa. Bj^t few exceed twenty feet in
diameter — the average is from ten to twelve feet,
while the great majority are smaller.
One tree which had been felled, had a diameter
of eight feet, not including the bark, and was three
hundred and seventy-seven years old. The largest
one seen wag near Thomas' ^lill. This had a cir-
cumference of one hundred and six feet near the
ground, though quite a portion of the base had
been burned away.
Another tree, which had fallen and been burnecT
%
BIG TREES. 69
hollow, was so large that three horsemen could ride
abreast into the cavity for thii'ty feet, its inside
height and width being nearly twelve feet. Seventy
feet in, the diameter of the cavity was still as much
as eight feet.
The base of this tree could not be easily meas-
ured ; but the trunk was burned off at one hundred
and twenty feet from the base, and at that point
had a diameter, not including the bark, of thirteen
feet and two inehes. At one hundred and sixty-
nine feet from its base, this tree was still nine feet
through. The Indians speak of a still Jarger tree
to the north of King's river. It was not in the
power of the State Survey to look it up and meas-
ure it at that time.
All through these forests young Big Trees of all
sizes, from the seedling upwards, were very numer-
ous. At Thomas' Mill they cut them up into lum-
ber, as if they were the most common tree in the
forest.
Fallen tininks of old .trees are also numerous.
Many of these must have lain for ages, as they had
almost wholly rotted away, though the wood is
very durable.
Judging from the number o'f these trees found
between King's and Kaweah rivers, it would seem
that the Big Trees best like that locality and its
vicinity, so that it is not improbable that a further
70 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
exiDloration would show a continuous belt of some
fifty or sixty miles in extent.
From tlie researches thus far made, it appears
that the Big Tree is not as strange and exceptional
as most supj)ose. It occurs in such abundance, of
all ages and sizes, that there is no reason to con-
clude that it is djdng out, or that it belongs exclu-
sively to some past geological or botanical epoch.
The age of the big trees is not as great as that as-
signed by some of the highest auffiorities to some
of the English yews. And in height tHey hardly
begin to equal that of the Australian Eucalyptus
amygdalina, many of which, on the authority of Dr.
MuUer, the eminent Government botanist, have ex-
ceeded four hundred feet. One, indeed, reached
the enormous height of four hundred and eighty
feet, thus overtopping the tallest Sequoia by one
hundred and fifty-five feet. And in diameter, alsS,
there are trees which exceed th^ Big Tree, as, for
example, the Baobab; but these are always compar-
atively low, rarely reachirfg the height of more than
sixty or seventy feet, while their excessive diameter
comes from a peculiarly swollen and distoi*ted base.
On the whole, we may safely claim that no known
tree in the world equals the California Big Trees in
-the combined elements of size and height, -and in
consequent grandeur, unless, indeed, it may be the
Eucalyptus. The largest Australian tree yet re-
ported, is said to be eighty-one feet in circumfer-
BIG TREES.
ence, four feet from tlie ground. This is a highly
respectable vegetable, but not quite equal to the
certified measurements of some of the largest of
the California JBig Trees.
So the American tourist through the wonders of
California, may yet claim that his country still 230s-
sesses the loftiest waterfalls, the most overpower-
ing cliffs, and the grandest trees yet known upon
the face of the globe.
eANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
BOWER CAVE.
The traveler who desires good roads, romantic
scenery, comfortable conTeyances-, and excellent
hotel accommodations, will be sure to go in or come
out by way of Coulterville. This town lies on Max-
well creek, a branch of the Merced, about eighteen
hundred feet above the sea, and not far from the
border-land between the *' foot-hills*' and the
mountains proper. The road nins from Coulter-
ville nearly northeast, about eight miles, when it
strikes the North Fork of the Merced. Along the
side of this stream it descends fgr a short distance,
then crosses and passes near the
Bo^wer Cave.
This is a picturesque and unique locality, and is
well worth a visit.
The cave is an immense crack or sink, or both
combined, in the solid limestone of the mountain-
top. At the sui'face it presents a somewhat cres-
cent-shaped Oldening, one hundred and thirty-three
feet long, eighty-six feet wide near the centre, antl
BOWER CAVE.
one hundred and nine feet deep in the deej)est
place. Trees grow from the bottom and lift their
branches out through the opening at the top, while
a beautifully tranquil and wonderfully clear lake
occupies the greater portion of the floor.
We enter at the north end and go down by a
rough but strong and safe staircase. The walls of
the cleft are perpendicular, or nearly so, thoughout
the greater portion of their extent, but near the
south end the upper part of the wall projects or
overhangs several feet.
The bottom has the form of an irregular square,
measuring over a hundred feet one way and some-
what less than a hundred the other. From the
bottom and near the centre grow three large maples,
the largest of which is more than two feet through,
and about a hundred and twenty-five feet high.
Around these trees are benches, capable of seating
a score or two of persons. On one side of the wall,
some twenty feet above the bottom, is a singular
niche or alcove which has been christened the
"Pulpit." It is occasionally used for the legiti-
mate purpose of similar constructions, though more
frequently occupied by the fiddler of some festive
party. Upon special occasions, such as a Fourth
of July celebration, they erect tables here and use
all the available floor as a dining hall. Over a hun-
dred have thus dined here at one time.
In one corner, and nearly under the pulpit, is a
4
74 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
small but singularly beautiful lake, rendered some-
wliat ghostly and mysterious by the overhanging
rocky wall, and the intercepted light falling through
the overshadowing trees. Upon this lake is a small
boat, in which the imaginative visitor may easily
fancy himself crossing the Styx, Tvith himself as his
own Charon. Not far from the corner of this
lake, nearly under the pulj)it, the water is claimed
to have an immense depth. In all parts it is so
clear that one can plainly see the cracks and crev-
ices in the sloping limestone sides at the depth of
foiiy feet. The vision would, doubtless, penetrate
much deejjer did not the overhanging walls obstruct
the light.
Having rowed across the lake, as you are return-
ing to the shore, the guide may possibly ask you to
keep very quiet while he calls and feeds his fish.
He gives a few soft whistles, places his hand in the
water, waits a moment, repeats his whistle, and
softly whispers, " Here they come." Up swim sev-
eral large trout, rub their noses against his hand,
and circle slowly around it, evidently waiting for
the customar}" food. And that hand seldom disap-
points them. It is a pleasant and restful sight.
After enjoying it, seeing them finish feeding, and
returning to the landing, you ask the guide how
they became so tame. He tells you, that for seve-
ral weeks after putting them into the lake, which
he did some years ago, he came every day, about
BOWER CAVE. 75
the same time, softly whistling and gently dropping
crumbs and worms into the water. After a few
days he began to hold on to one end of a worm
while the trout would swim up, take hold of the
other end and tug away until he pulled it apart, or
the hand let go. After a few months they seemed
to have learned to associate the whistling and the
feeding, so that whenever they hear the first they
swim up in evident expectation of the second.
At various heights upon one wall several large
cavities or small caves are worn into the rock, some
of which admit the tourist for a considerable dis-
tance. These make that side of the wall a collec-
tion of cells, some of which are high enough to per-
mit the visitor to walk erect; others so low that
they compel one who would enter to crawl upon
his hands and knees. When first discovered,
the , walls of these chambers were covered with
beautiful stalactites of various sizes and fanciful
forms, but the ruthless hands of vandal visitors
have gradually broken them off and carried them
away, until hardly a trace of theu' original beauty
and variety remains.
During the heat of the summer, the time when
nearly all visitors enter this cave, its cool and
refreshing temperature makes it a comfortable and
welcome retreat, especially during the hotter mid-
day hours. The place seems as if nature and art
had combined to make it as attractive as possible
76 BANCROFTS TOURIST'S GUIDE.
for hot weather j)iciiics, or midsummer lunch
parties. It is difficult to imagine, and almost im-
possible to discover a more fascinating combination
of dell and grotto, grove and lake, cave- and bower,
than nature has kindly provided for the toiuist in
the romantic Bower Cave.
ALABASTER CAVE.
The following account of one of the most beau-
tiful of all nature's marvels, is taken, with few alter-
ations, from Yosemite Hutchings' book, entitled
" Scenes of "Wonder and Curiosity in California.'
The Alabaster Cave is in El Dorado County,
twelve and a half miles from Folsom by the "Whisky
Bar" road, and ten miles by the El Dorado Valley
turnpike. Its more exact location is upon Kidd's
Ravine, about three quarters of a mile from its
opening upon the north fork of the American River.
From Sacramento it is thirty-three miles; by rail to
Folsom; from Auburn, about three miles, by stage.
It was discovered in April, 1860, in the following
way: A ledge of limestone, resembling marble in
appearance, cropped out by the side of El Dorado
Valley turnpike road. Ux)on testing it was found
to be capable of producing excellent lime.
On the 18fch of April, 1860, two workmen, George
S. Hatterman and John Harris, were quariying
limestone from this ledge, when, upon the removal
of a large piece of rock, they discovered a dark
78 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
opening sufficiently enlarged to permit their en-
trance. "Availing themselves of the light x^ouring
in through the opening, they went in as far as they
could see — some fifty feet. Before venturing fur-
ther into the darkness, they threw a stone forward,
which, striking in water, determined them to return
for lights. At this junctui-e Mr. Gwinn, the owner
of the ledge, came up, and, upon learning of their
discovery, immediately sent for candles to enable
them to further prosecute their explorations. The
result of these, after several hours spent in them,
can hardly be better described than in Mr. Gwinn's
own language, taken from a letter, dated April 19,
1860, addressed to Mr. Holmes, a gentleman friend
of his residiag in Sacramento, and first published
in the Bee^ of that city:
" Wonders will never cease. On yesterday, we,
in quarrying rock, made an opening to the most
beautiful cave you ever beheld. On our first en-
trance we descended about fifteen feet, gradually,
to the centre of the room, w^hich is one hundred by
thirty feet. At the north end there is a most mag-
nificent pulpit, in the Episcopal church style, that
man has' ever seen. It seems that it is, and should
be, called the "Holy of Holies." It is completed
with the most beautiful drapery of alabaster sterites
of all colors, varying from white to pink-red, over-
hanging the beholder. Immediately under the
pulpit there is a beautiful lake of water, extending
ALABASTER CAVE. 79
to an unknown distance. We thought this all, but,
to our great admiration, on arriving at the centre
of the first room, we saw an entrance to an inner
chamber, still more splendid; two hundred by one
hundred feet, with the most beautiful alabaster
overhanging in every possible shape of drapery.
Here stands magnitude, giving the instant impres-
sion of a power above man ; grandeur that defies
decay ; antiquity that tells of ages unnumbered;
beauty that the touch of time makes more beautiful;
use exhaustless for the service of men; strength
imperishable as the globe, the monument of eter-
nity— the truest earthly emblem of that everlasting
and unchangeable, irresistible Majesty, by whom,
and for whom, all things were made."
As soon as the news spread, hundreds of people
flocked to see the newly discovered wonder, from
all the surrounding mining settlements, so that
within the first six days, it was visited by upwards
of four hundred persons, many of whom, we regret
to say, possessed a larger organ of acquisitiveness
than of veneration, and laid vandal hands on some
of the moFt beautiful portions within reach, near the
entrance. Upon this, the proprietor closed it until
arrangements could be made for its protection and
systematic illumination; the better' to see and not
to touch the specimens.
At this time Messrs. Smith & Hatterman leased
the cave and immediately began to prepare it for
8o BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
the reception of tlie public by building barricades,
platforms, etc. , and placing a large number of lamps
at favorable points, for tlie better illumination and
inspection of the different chambers.
At the time of its discovery, in the spring, consid-
erable water was standing in some of the deepest
of the cavities, but it presently began to recede at
the rate of nearly six inches a day, and continued
to do so, until, in a few weeks, it had entirely dis-
appeared, leaving the cave perfectly dry. This
afforded opportunity for further exploration, upon
which it was found that a more convenient entrance
coulcl be made, with but little labor, from an unim-
poi-tant room within a few feet of the road. This
was accordingly done, and the new opening, in ad-
dition to its increased. convenience, allows the free
circulation of pure air.
Having thus given a historical sketch of its discov-
ery, with other matters connected with its preserva-
tion and management, we shall now endeavor to
take the reader with us, at least in imagination,
while attempting a detailed description of its inte-
rior.
Upon approaching the cave from the roadside,
we descend three or four steps to a board floor.
Here is a door which is always carefully locked when
no visitors are within. Passing on we enter a cham-
ber about twenty-five feet long by seventeen feet
wide and from five to twelve and a half feet in
height.
ALABASTER CAVE.
Though very plain and comparatively unattrac-
tive at both roof and 'sides, it is yet quite curious,
especially to visitors unaccustomed to caves. Here
is also a desk, upon which lies a book inscribed,
*' Coral Cave Register. " This book was presented
by some gentlemen of San Francisco, who thought
that the name '* Coral Cave" would be more appro-
priate. The impression produced upon our mind
upon the first walk through it, was that ' ' Alabaster
Cave" would be equally as good a name, but, upon
examining it more thoroughly , we afterwards thought,
that as a great proportion of the ornaments at the
roots of the stalactites look like beautifully frozen
mosses, or very fine coral, and the long icicle-look-
ing pendants being more like alabaster, the name.
Coral Cave, was to be preferred. But as Mr. Gwinn
had given the name ' ' Alabaster" to the works
themselves, on account of the purity and whiteness
of the limestone there found, even before the dis-
covery of the cave, we cheerfully acquiesce in the
name originally given.
The register was opened April twenty-fourth,
1860, and upon our visit, September thirtieth of
the same year, two thousand seven hundred and
twenty-one names had been registered. Some three
or four thousand persons had visited it before the
register was provided, many declined entering their
names after it was furnished, and many others vis-
ited it after the date of our visit, so that it is prob-
82 BANCROFT'S tOURIST' S GUIDE.
able that the number of persons who entered this
cave during the year of its discovery must have been
nearly or quite three thousand five hundred.
Advancing beyond the vestibule, or register room,
along another passage or room, our e^'es rest on
several notices, such as, " Please not touch the
specimens." " No smoking allowed," " Hands and
feet off," with feel scratched out, amputation of
those members not intended!
The low, shelving, rocky wall upon the left and
near the end of the passage are covered with coral-
like excrescences, resembling bunches of coarse
rock-moss. This brings us to the entrance of the
Dungeon of Enchantment.
Before us is a broad, oddly-shaped and low-roofed
chamber, about one hundred and twenty feet long,
by seventy in width, and from four to twenty feet
high.
Bright coral-like stalactites hang down in irreg-
ular rows and in almost every variety of shape and
shade, from milk-white to cream color; forming a
most agreeable contrast with the dark arches and
the frowning buttresses on either hand, while low-
browed ridges, some almost black, others of a red-
dish-brown, stretch from either side, the space
between which is ornamented with a peculiar kind
of coloring which nearly resembles a grotesque
species of graining.
ALABASTER CAVE. 83
Descending toward the left, we approach one of
the most singularly beautiful groups of stalactites in
this apartment. Some of these are fine pendants,
hardly larger than pipestems, from two to five feet
long, and hollow from end to end. When the cave
was first discovered there were four or five of these
pendants over eight feet long, but the early admit-
ted vandals ruthlessly destroyed, or selfishly car-
ried them off. Others resemble the ears of white
elephants, or, rather, the white elephant of Siam,
while others still present the appearance of long
and slender cones, inverted.
Examining this and other groups more closely,
we discover at their bases coral-like excrescences of
great beauty; here, like petrified moss, brilliant,
and almost transparent ; there, a pretty fungus,
tipped and spangled with diamonds; yonder, mini-
ature pine trees, which, with a most obliging dispo-
sition to accommodate themselves to circumstances,
grow bottom up. In other places appear fleeces of
the finest merino or silky floss.
Leaving these, and turning to the right, we can
ascend a ladder into the loftiest part of this cham-
ber. Here new combinations of beauty surprise
and delight us. Thence passing on, we come to a
large stalagmite, whose form and size suggest a
tying post for horses. This has been dignified, or
mystified, anything but beautified, by different
names, more or less appropriate. One is " Lot's
84 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Wife." If the woman was no liiglier than the stag-
lamite, she must have been a dwarf, for the top of
the post is but four feet and a quarter above its
bottom, while its diameter at the bottom is hardly
one foot. Its two other names, " Hercules' Club,"
and " Brobdignag's Forefinger," are more appro-
priate, though the latter would suggest an " exag-
geration," as Mrs. Partington would have it.
Continuing on, we pass over a gently rising floor
resembling solidified snow, until we approach the
verge of, and look down into, an immense abyss,
surmounted by a cavernous roof. Icicle and coral
formations depend from the roof , and a rude draj)ery
of jet covers the sides. Here is suspended a singu-
lar petrifaction resembling a human heart, which
which looks as if it might have belonged to one of
the primitive Titans, or come from the chest of that
Miltonian monster, whose spear-shaft was like a
Norway pine.
On one side of this is an elevated and nearly level
natui'al floor, upon which a table and seats have
been temporarily erected for the convenience of
choristers, choirs or singing societies, and even for
the accommodation of public worship, should any
desire to witness or participate in it in this most
beautiful of God's natural temples. The lover of
sacred music would be delighted beyond measure
to hear these " vaulted hills" resound the symj)ho-
nies of Mozart, Haydn or Mendelssohn. Scores of
#
ALABASTER CAVE. 85
these pendent harps would vibrate in unison, or
echo them in delicious harmonies from chamber to
chamber, or bear them from roof to wall in dimin-
ishing reverberations even to the most remote of
these rock-formed corridors.
We may not linger here too long, so passing
hence, we enter other and smaller chambers, along
whose roofs we trace formations that resemble
streams of water suddenly- arrested in their flow and
turned to ice. In another, a peculiarly shajoed pet-
rifaction presents a perfectly formed beet from one
point of view, while from another it resembles a
small elephant's head. Not far hence, a bell-shaped
hollow, a beautiful combination of grotto and ar-
cade, has received the name of '' Julia's Bower."
Once more advancing, a narrow^ low-roofed pas-
sage brings us into the most beautiful chamber of
all, the
Crystal Cliapel.
No language can suitably convey, nor any com-
parisons worthily suggest, the combined beauty and
magnificence of this wonderful spot. ' ' From the
beginning," says Hutchings, " we have felt that we
were almost presumptuous in attempting to portray
these wonderful scenes, but, in hope of inducing
others to see, with their natural eyes, the sights
that we have seen, and enjoy the pleasure that we
have enjoyed, we entered upon the task, even
though inadequately, of giving an outline — nothing
86 BAXCROFT\S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
more. Here, however, we confess ourselves entirely
at a loss.
''The sublime grandeur of this imposing sight fills
the soul with astonishment that swells up from
within as though its purpose was to make the be-
holder speechless, the language of silence being the
most fitting and impressive when puny man treads
the great halls of nature, the more surely to lead
him, humbly, from these to the untold gloiy of the
Infinite One who devised the laws, and superin-
tended the processes that brought such wonders into
being.
" After the mind seems prepared to examine this
gorgeous spectacle somewhat in detail, we look
upon the ceiling, if we may so speak, which is en-
iirely covered with myiiads of the most beautiful of
stone icicles, long, large and brilliant ; between
these are squares or panels, the mullions and bars of
which seem to be formed of diamonds; while the
panels themselves resemble the frosting upon win-
dows in the very depth of winter; and even those
are of many colors, that most prevailing being of a
light pinkish-cream. Moss, coral, floss, wool, trees,
and many other forms, adorn the interstices between
the larger of the stalactites. At the further end is
one vast mass of rock, resembling congealed water,
apparently formed into many folds and hillocks ; in
many instances connected by pillars with the roof
above. Deep down and underneath this is the en-
trance by which we reached the chamber.
ALABASTER CAVE. 87
"At our right stands a large staglamite, dome-
shaped at the top, and covered with beautifully
undulating and wavy folds. Every imaginable
gracefulness possible to the most curiously arranged
drapery, is here visible, ' carved in alabaster' by the
Great Architect of the universe. This is named
'The Pulpit.'
" In order to examine this object with more mi-
nuteness, a temporary platform has been erected,
which, although detractive of the general effect, in
our opinion, affords a nearer and better view of all
these remarkable objects in detail.
" This spectacle, as well as the others, being bril-
liantly illuminated, the scene is very imposing, and
reminds one of those highly-wrought pictures of
the imagination, painted in such charming language ,
and with such good effect in such works as the
* Arabian Nights.'
" Other apartments known as the ' Picture Gal-
lery,' etc., might well" detain us longer, but, as in
many of their most important particulars, they bear
a striking resemblance to those already described,
we leave them for the tourist to examine for him-
self." If what we have said excites the desire of
any tourist to visit this new combination of wonder
and beaut}^, we are quite sure he will agree with us
that the words of man utterly fail to adequately pic-
ture forth the works of God, and will ever after de-
light his soul with the life-long memory of his charm-
ing visit to the wonderful Alabaster Cave.
Tourist's Complete Guide
San Francisco, Suburbs and Vicinity;
With Special Trips and Short Excursions in and
ABOUT THE CiTY.
I. CITY PROPER.
Sketch op the City — Historical, Topographical, General
Plan 95-107
Appboaches to the City — From the east, by boat; from
the south, by rail; from the ocean, by steamship, 107-113
Conveyances — Hacks, Coaches, Cars, Porters, Legal Eates,
Caution, Baggage and Package Express, - - 113-116
Hotels — Grand, Occidental, Cosmopolitan, Lick House,
Brooklyn, Euss House, American Exchange, Morton
House, International, Hotel Gailhard, What Cheer,
(males only), - - - . - - - - 116-12]
Lodging Houses — Nucleus, Clarendon, - - - 121
Eestaueants — Saulman's, Swain's, Job's, Martin's, Ler-
mitte's, - . 121-122
Baths — Fresh, Salt, Turkish, Eussian, Eoman, Steam and
Vapor, 122
Places of Amusement — California, Metropolitan, Alham-
bra, Maguire's, and Chinese Theatres; Museums, Melo-
deons. Dance Halls, and Beer Cellars, - - 122-125
Halls — Piatt's, Union, Pacific, Mercantile Library, Me-
chanic's Institute, Y. M. C. A., Mozart, Dashaway, 125-126
Billiards, Bowling Saloons and Shooting Galleries, 127-128
92 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
Gymnasiums — 01ymf)ic Club, Y. M. C. A., German Turn
Verein, Skating Kinks, Base Ball Ground, - 128-130
Gaedens— Woodward's, City, - - . - 130-140
Menageeies — Woodward's Zoological Grounds, North
Beach, 140
Squares and Paeks — Plaza, (Portsmouth Square). Wash-
ington Square, South Park, 141
Peomenades -Montgomery Street, Kearny Street, Califor-
nia Street. Best Time, ----- 141-144
Deives — Cliff House Eoad, Ocean House Road, Bay View,
New Ocean Koad, Best Time, - - - - * 145-148
LiBEABiES AND Eeading Eooms — Mercantile, Mechanic's
Institute, Odd Fellow's, Pioneers, Y. M. C. A., What
Cheer, Woodward's Gardens, 148
Public Buildings — Federal: Post Office, Custom House,
Old Mint, New Mint, Marine Hospital. City and County:
Old City Hall, New City Hall, Jail, Almshouse, Indus-
trial School, Engine Houses, Engines. Corporation and
Society Buildings: Pioneer's, Merchant's Exchange, Bank
of California, Mercantile Library Building, Mechanic's
Institute, Masonic Temple, Odd Fellow's Hall, Y. M. C. A.
Building, Mechanics' PaviHon, - - - 148-157
Business Buildings and Blocks— Alta California Building,
Bancroft's, Donohoe, Kelly & Co., Hai-jDending's Block,
Murphy, Grant & Co., Tobin, Dixon & Davisson, Tread-
well's, Tucker's, Wells, Fargo & C.'s Building, White
House, . - - 157-1^9
Manufactoeies — Kimball Car and Carriage Factory, Paci-
fic Eolliiig Mills, Mission Woolen Mills, Foundi-ies and
Iron Works, Locomotives, Boilers, Mining Machinery,
Shot Tower and Lead Works, Sugar Befinery, Glass
Works, Ship Yards, ------ 159-161
Chubches — Baptist, Congregational, Ejiiscopal, Jewish,
Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Swedcn-
borgian. Unitarian, Chinese Mission House, Mariner's
Church, Old Mission Chui-ch, - - - - 161-167
Hospitals and Asylums — City and County, French, Ger-
man, Protestant Oiphan, Roman Catholic Orphan, 167-169
Colleges — California Business University, City College,
St. Ignatius', St. Mary's, Toland Medical, . - 169-170
SAN FRANCISCO AND ^VICINITY. 93
School Buildings — Denman, Girl's High, Lincoln, Val-
encia Street, - - 171-172
Printing, Lithographing, Binding, and Blank Book Mann-
factiiring Establishment, 172-173
PRIVATE Kesidences — Davis', Eldridges, Laidley's, La-
tham's, Bancroft's, Otis', Parrott's, Tallant's, Taylor's,
Tobin's, - - - 174
Points of Obseevation — Telegraph Hill, Ktissian Hill,
Clay Street Hill, California Street Hill, Kiucon Hill,
Lone Mountain, Twin Peaks, Bernal Heights, U. S.
Observatory. Views from each, _ - _ 174-184
Plow TO Get About — Horse Car Lines, Eoutes, Distances,
Times, Fares, Buggies, Carriages, Coaches and Saddle
Horses; qualities of, and charges for. Hacks, with rates
of hire, 184-188
II. SUBUKBS AND VICINITY.
Commencing at the foot of Market street, thence southward
along or near the water front, continuing around the en-
tire city and returning to the point of starting. Also,
mentioning more distant points, visible to the spectator
looking beyond the suburbs.
LuMBEE Yaeds ; Wharves and Merchant Fleet; California
and Oregon S. S. Co.'s Wharves and Ships ; Black Dia-
mond Coal Co.'s Pier; Kincon Point; U. S. Marine Hos-
pital ; P. M. S. S. Co.'s Piers, Docks, Sheds and Ships ;
Gas Works : C. P. K. E. Co,'s Freight Pier, Depot and
Boat ; Mission Bay; Mission Kock ; U. S. Ship Anchor-
age ; Steamboat Reserves ; Long Bridge ; Yacht Club
and Boat-house, with Yachts ; Potrero ; Glass Works ;
Pacific Rolling Mill ; Deep Cut; Islais Creek and Bridge;
Rope Walk ; Italian Fishing Fleet and Flakes ; Celestial
Ditto ; South San Francisco ; Catholic Orphan Asylum ;
Hunter's Point ; Dry Dock ; Bay View Race Course ;
Visitacion Point and Valley ; San Bruno Road ; New
Butchertown ; Ocean House Road ; Lake Honda ; Alms-
house ; Small Pox Hospital ; Ocean House Race Track ;
Lake Merced; Ocean House; Pacific Beach; Seal Rocks;
Cliff House ; Farallones ; Point Lobos ; Signal Station ;
94 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Helmet Rock; Fort Point ; Fort ; Light-House ; Golden
Gate ; Lime Point ; Point Bonita ; Mountain Lake ;
Lobos Creek : Presidio ; Barracks ; Parade Ground ;
Black Point ; Pacific Woolen Mills ; North Beach ; An-
gel Island ; Alcatraz ; North Point ; Sea Wall ; Ferries,
188-196
III. HOW TO SEE THE CITY.
Under this head we suggest :
Morning, or half-day excursions, in and about the city and
its suburbs.
I. IN AND ABOUT THE CITY.
1. Montgomery Street, Telegraph Hill, North Beach,
Washington Square, The Plaza, City Hall, Kearny
street, 197
2. Chinese Quarter, 197
3. Third street, South Park, Long Bridge, Potrero, South
San Francisco, Dry Dock, - - - - _ 201
4. Water Front, (south), Stewart street, P. M. S. S. Co.'s
Docks and Mammoth Steamships, Foundries, Factories,
Shot Tower, - - 202
5. Water Fi'ont, (north), Sea Wall, North Point, Ware-
houses and Clippers, Iron Ships, Bay and Eiver Steam-
boats and Docks, .---.-- 202
6. Southwestern Suburbs, Mission street, Woodward's
Gardens, Old Mission Church, Jewish Cemeteries,
Woolen MiUs, Howard street, 202
7. Western Suburbs and Beyond Bush street. Laurel Hill,
Lone Mountain Cemeteries, Cliff House Eoad, Race
Track, Cliflf House, Seal rocks. Pacific Beach, Ocean
House, Road Track, Lake Honda, New Ocean Road, 203
8. Northwestern Suburbs and Beyond: Russian Hill,
Spring Yalley, Fort Point, Fortress, Lighthouse, Golden
Gate, Presidio, Black Point, 203
SAN FRANCISCO.
Historical.
The site of what is now tlie city of San Francis-
co was first permanently occupied by white men,
September 17, 1776. The same year witnessed the
entrenchment of a garrison and the establishment
of a Mission.
San Francisco owes its origin to Catholic mis-
sionaries and Spanish soldiers. Father Junipero
Serra led the missionaries — and virtually command-
ed the soldiers. The name San Francisco was
given in honor of Saint Francis of Asisis, a city
of Italy, the founder of the order of Franciscans
to which Father Junipero belonged. The presidio,
garrison or fort, was founded first, Sept. 17, and
the mission about three weeks later, Oct. 9th. The
site first chosen was near a small lagoon back of,
that is, west of, what is now called Russian Hill,
but the prevailing winds proved so high and bitter
as to colnpel its early removal to the more shelter-
ed spot, over a mile south, under the lee of high
hills, and near the present Mission Creek. Here,
96 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
at the head, of what is now Center or Sixteenth
Street, the old church stni stands.
For nearly sixty years the mission stood, the nu-
cleus of a little Tillage of rude adobe houses, ten-
anted by a fluctuating poj^ulation of Indians,
Mexicans and Spanish — and the center of a mili-
tary and religious authority, which upon more than
one occasion made itself felt and feared for leagTies
around. The population rarely rose above four
hundi'ed and frequently fell to less than a hundred
and fifty.
In 1835, Capt. W. A. Kichardson put up the first
pioneer dwelling, with rude wooden walls and sail-
cloth roof. On the fourth of July of the next year,
1836, Jacob P. Leese finished the first frame house.
This house stood where the St. Francis Hotel now
stands, — on the southwest corner of Clay and
Dupont streets, a single block west of the pres-
ent City Hall. Leese had his store on the beach,
which was where Montgomery and Commercial
streets now intersect. N.early seven soUd blocks
of made-land now stretch between where that old
beach lay and the present water front. Other
houses soon rose near that of Leese, and presently
the villagers saw their little settlement fast
approaching the dignity of a new town, and
cast about to find a name. Nature caused it to
spring out of the ground for them in the form of
a species of aromatic mint, which, surroundiag their
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITV. 97
dwellings, perfuming the morning air and supply-
ing frequent and varied medicinal needs, had
proved indeed, as the Spaniards called it, " Yerba
Buena," the Good Herb. So the herb named the
town, and the name ^^ stuck," as the Calif ornians
say, for nearly a dozen years. During these years
the houses grew in number, until 1847, when the
town contained seventy-nine buildings, — thirty-one
frame, twenty-six adobe, and the rest shanties — and
these houses sheltered three hundred souls, or, at
least, that number of bodies. On the 30th of Jan-
uary of that year, these three hundred dropped the
old name Yerba Buena, and adopted the older one,
which had belonged to the neighboring mission for
nearly fourscore years. Thus the town also became
San Francisco, and has ever since so remained.
The first steamboat appeared in the bay, Novem-
ber 15th of the same year. In March, 1848, the
houses had grown to two hundred, and the popula-
tion to eight hundred and fifty. On the third of
the next month, the first. public school began.
New Year's Day, '49, the new city claimed a pop-
ulation of two thousand. Three days later the two
previously published weekly papers merged into the
Alta California, the earliest established of all news-
papers now existing in the State.
The early miners were making from twenty to
thirty dollars a day, getting " bags" of dust and
"piles" of nuggets, and rushing down to "Frisco"
98 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
to gamble it away. These were the *' flush times"
of the new city. Fresh eggs cost from seventy-five
cents to one dollar apiece. For a beefsteak and a
cup of coffee for breakfast one had to pay a dollar
and a half, and a dinner cost him from two to ten
or even twenty dollars, according to apjDctite and
drinketite. Rough labor brought the old Congres-
sional pay of eight dollars a day; di'aymen earned
twenty dollars a day; and family "help" could
hardly be had for forty, or even fifty, dollars a week.
The great mass of the men lived in tents. Very few
women had come, but those few were overwhelmed
with attention; if one wished to cross the street in
the rainy season, a score of brawny arms would fight
for the privilege of gallantly wading through the
sea of mud to carry her across the unpaved street.
Great fires came, foirr of them; the first the day
before Chistmas, '49 — it burned over a million dol-
lars worth; the second, May 4th, '50 — it destroyed
three millions dollars worth. A little over a month
later, June 14th, 1850, the most destmctive fire the
city ever saw left it poorer by four millions of dol-
lars; and on the 17th of the next September the
fourth fire consumed another half million. Nearly
nine million dollars worth burned in less than nine
months !
Business thrived immensely. In 1852, more than
seven vessels a day anived at or departed from San
Francisco. Commerce overdid itself. Long piers
SAAT FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 99
ran out over the flats where now solid blocks of
loft}^ buildings have stood for half a score of years.
Sometimes storms kept back the clippers; then
prices went still higher. Between March and
November, flour went up from eight to forty dol-
lars a barrel, while the " Alta " came down from its
usual broad and sightly page to the size of a pane
of window-glass, fourteen by ten. Villainy flour-
ished; drinking, gambling, robbery and. murder
held high carnival; the law did little, and did that
little shabbily and tardily; so the people woke and
resumed their original legislative, judicial, and es-
pecially their executive, functions.
In '51 and '52, and again in '56, they came nobly
to the front, hung the worst villains who defied the
common law, frightened away the others, restored
order, established security for honest men, and re-
solved themselves again into law-abiding citizens.
And thus, through perils of fire, social convulsions,
and financial fluctuation, the cosmopolitan city has
swept swiftly on until to-day, though having barely
attained her majority, she stands in the first half-
score of American cities. Every year she leaves a
city or two behind in her steady progress toward the
throne of the continent which she will surely occupy
before the present century has fully fled.
Situation and Extent.
In extent, population, commerce, wealth and
the growth, San Francisco of to-day is not only the
lOO BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
chief city of California, but tlie great commercial
metrojDolisof the whole Pacific slope. It is both a
city and a county; the county occupies the extreme
end of a hilly peninsula stretching north to the
Golden Gate, between the Pacific Ocean on the
west, and San Francisco bay on the east.
The whole peninsula has a length of from thirty-
five to forty miles, with an average width of from
twelve to fifteen miles. The average width of the
county from bay to ocean is four and one half miles,
and its extreme length, from the Golden Gate on
the north, to the San Mateo County line on the south,
is six miles and a half. Its boundary line being the
natural one of a coast or shore on the west, north
and east, is more or less irregular; on the south it
is straight. Its entire area is^26,681 acres, including
the Presidio reservation of 1,500 acres, which belongs
to the general government.
The county also includes the Farallon Islands,
lying nearly thirty miles west in the Pacific Ocean,
with the islands of Alcatraz and Yerba Buena, or
Goat Island, in San Francisco bay.
The city proper occupies the northeast corner of
the county. Its limits extend about two miles and
a half from east to west,' by three and a half from
north to south, thus including between one fifth and
one sixth the area of the county.
The natural surface was very uneven and the soil
equally varied — sand beach, salt marsh, mud flats,
SAN FRANCISCO aM yidlMll'Y. '' ' ' idi
low plains, narrow ravines, small and shallow val-
leys, elevated benches or plateaux, sandy knolls
and dunes, and stretches of the close, adobe soil,
made up its original surface; while rocky bluffg
fortified its shore line, and extensive ledges under-
laid its hills or cropped out from their sides, or
crowned their tops. These hills varied in height
from two hundred and sixty to four hundred and
ten feet, while west and south of the city limits
they rose still higher. One or two small lagoons lay
sluggishly about, and as many. small streams found
their way thence to the bay.
The original founders of the city, as is usual in
similar cases, seemed never to suspect that they
were moulding the beginnings of a grand metropolis.
Hence they laid out what little they did project with
the least possible regard to present symmetry, or
the probable demands of future growth. The
natural inequalities of surface, the grade and width
of streets which must become necessary to a large
city, reservations for public buildings, promenades,
gardens, parks, etc., with the sanitary necessity of
thorough drainage, were matters of which they seem
to have been serenely unconscious, or, worse still,
sublimely indifferent. And many of their immediate
successors in authority were legitimate descendants,
or humbly imitative followers.
We have not an important street in the city which
conforms its course to the cardinal points of the
162 ' ' 'BAhrC^O'FT'S' TOURIST'S GUIDE.
a
compass, and but one main avenue, Market street,
which begins to be wide enough. As Cronise truth-
fully says: " The whole town stands askew."
We now proceed to ''orient" the tourist, as
Horace Mann used to say, in regard to such
streets, avenues, thoroughfares, cuts, parks, etc.,
as mainly constitute the highly artificial, though
not particularly ornamental, topography of our
little occidental village.
General Plan.
Market street is the widest and the longest, start-
ing at the water front, half a mile east of the old
City Hall, and slightly ascending through eight or
nine blocks, it runs thence southwesterly on a
nearly level grade beyond the city limits. Its west-
ern end is yet unfinished. A mile and a half from
the water it cuts through a moderately high and
immoderately rocky hill, beyond which it stretches
away toward the unfenced freedom of the higher
hills, and the dead level of the western beach
beyond, at which it will probably condescend ulti-
mately to stop. Its sui'face presents every variety
of natural conformation ingeniously varied with
artificial distortion. Plank, nibble, McAdam, cob-
ble, Nicolson, gravel. Stow foundation, gravel,
adobe, sand, and finally undisguised dirt, offer their
pleasing variety to the exploring eye. From two
to four horse-railroad tracks diversify its surface
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 103
with their restful regularity, while the steam cars
from San Jose follow their locomotive a short dis-
tance up its western end.
Stately blocks, grand hotels, massive stores, lofty
factories, tumble-down shanties, unoccupied lots
and vacant sand-hills form its picturesque boundary
on either hand. When the high summer winds
sweep easterly down its broad avenue, laden with
clouds of flying sand from vacant lots along its
either margin, it becomes a decidedly open question
whether the lots aforesaid really belong in the
department of real estate, or should, properly enter
the catalogue of "movable property."
"We have dwelt thus at length upon this street,
not only on account of its central position and
superior dimensions, but because it is a representa-
tive street. Others are like it as far as they can be.
They would resemble it still more closely, did
length, width and direction permit. It is fast be-
coming the great business street of the city, and,
spite of the roughness and crudeness necessarily
attaching to all the streets of a new and fast-grow-
ing city, it unmistakably possesses all the requisites
of the future "Grand Avenue" of the Pacific
metropolis.
On the northeast of Market street, through the
older portion of the city, the streets run at right
angles with each other, though neither at right an-
gles or parallel with Market. One set runs, in straight
5
I04 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
lines, nearly north and soutli. The other set, also
straight, crosses the former at right angles, that is,
running nearly east and west. The principal of
these streets, as one goes from the bay westerly, back
toward the hills, and, in fact, some distance up
their slopes, are Front, Batter}^, Sansome, Mont-
gomeiy, Kearny, Dupont, Stockton, Powell, Mason,
Taylor, and a dozen others, of which those nearer
the bay are gradually growing into importance as
business streets, especially along the more level
portions of their southern blocks, near where they
run into Market street. Beyond these, that is, west
of them, the streets are chiefly occupied by dwell-
ing houses, among which are many expensive resi-
dences of the most modern construction and elegant
design.
Between Front street and the bay run two short-
er streets, Davis and Drumm, along which, as. well
as upon the northern part of Front street, are sev-
eral of the principal wharves, piers, docks and
steamboat landings.
At right angles with these streets, running back
at an acute angle from Market street, and at a right
angle with the water front as well as the streets al-
ready named, are Gearys Post, Sutter, Bush, Pine,
California, Sacramento, Clay, Washington, Jack-
son, Pacific, Broadway, with a dozen or more others
still further north, and a score or so south.
Along the eastern blocks of these streets, that is,
within five or six squares of the water, stand many
SAN FRAACISCO AND VICINITY. 105
of the leading business houses, hotels, newspaper
offices, etc.
A sufficient variety of pavement diversifies the
surface of all these streets — from the primitive,
original and everlasting cobble, destroyer of quiet,
destruction to wheels and death on horses, to the
smooth-rolling Nicolson and the beautifully lev^l
Stow foundation, blessed bane of all the above
abominations, and not a specially bad thing for the
contractors. The sidewalks generally have a
liberal breadth. They are commonly covered
with plank, asphaltum or brick, and, near the cor-
ners and in front of the numerous rum-holes, with
gangs of bilks or crowds of loafers, who have only,
as Sydney Smith once said of a certain vestry in
London, to lay their heads together to make a first-
class wooden pavement.
South of Market street, that is, in the newer and
more rapidly growing portion of the city, the streets
were laid out under a new survey, and, of course,
have an angle and direction of their own. One set
runs parallel with Market, that is, nearly southwest
and northeast. Their names, in receding order
from Market, are Mission, Howard, Folsom, Har-
rison, Bryant, Brannan, etc. These streets are
generally wider than those of the older, northern
part. Southeast of them are seven or eight paral-
lel streets, gradually growing shorter as they come
nearer the Mission Bay, ending in South street, less
io6 BAISrCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
than a block and a half long, lying along tlie water
front. The lower or eastern ends of nearly all these
streets run down to piers and wharves, upon which
are the leading lumber and coal yards of the city,
the largest hay and grain bams and sheds, and the
immense docks of the great Pacific Mail Steamship
Company. Nearly two miles back from the water
front all these streets "swing around the cu'cle"
far enough to bring them into an exactly north and
south line, and ci-eej^ southward down the peninsu-
la, a block or two farther south every season.
The streets running at right angles with Market
street, beginning at the water front and reckoning
back southwesterly, are named by their numbers.
First, Second, etc., up to Thu'tieth, and even be-
yond. Between First street and the present water
front, some six or seven blocks have been filled in
and are occupied chiefly by gas works, lumber
yards and large manufactories. The new streets
thus formed are named, in receding order from
First street, Fremont, Beale, Main, Spear, Stuart
and East. To reduce blocks to miles, one has only
to know that in the older part of the city the blocks,
reckoning east and west, number twelve to the mile,
including the streets between. From north to south
they are shorter, numbering sixteen to the mile.
South of Market street the blocks are about one
seventh of a mile long from east to west, and one
ninth of a mile wide. In both the older and newer
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 107
parts of the city, the regular standard blocks are
frequently subdivided by one, and sometimes two,
smaller streets, running through them each way.
Near the city front, the first six blocks, reckoning
back from the water, have from one half to two
thirds the standard size. Bearing these dimensions
in mind, one can readily reduce blocks to miles,
and calculate distance and time accordingly.
Approaches to the City.
From only one direction can the traveler ap-
proach the city by land; that is, by coming up
from the south, through San Jose and the inter-
vening places. From every other direction one
approaches by water. Between Sacramento and San
Francisco there are two princixDal routes by -rail.
The first brings the tourist to Yallejo, sixty miles,
and thence twenty-three miles by boat, making a
total of eighty- three miles, over the shortest and
quickest route. Time, four hours and a half, fare,
$3.00.
Approaching by this route, he comes down npon
the city from the northeast. On the left, the San
Pablo, Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda shores, ris-
ing gently back into broad plains, whose further
edges fringe the feet of the back-lying hills. Be-
yond the hills. Mount Diablo. On the larboard
bow, as the sailors say, that is, a little southwest,
rises Goat Island, or Yerba Buena, three hundred
io8 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
and forty feet. This island looks *'veiy like a
whale," and in outline seems a Tery monster among
leviathans at that.
Dii-ectly south the waters of the bay stretch so
far that one can seldom discern the shore line, and
may easily fancy himself looking out to sea in that
direction. Further round to the right, that is, more
westerly, he may catch a glim^Dse of Hunter's Point
with the chimney and engine house of the Diy
Dock. Nearer lies the Potrero, with the suburban
city fast creeping up the sides, and crowning the
summit of its rocky promontory. From the beach,
at its nearest base, stretch out the piers and rise
the grimy buildings of the Pacific Rolling Mills.
Still nearer you see the south end of the long
bridge, stretching southerly across Mission Bay,
and connecting the Potrero with the city. In a
line with the further end of this, bridge, and a mile
or more nearer, we have the piers and sheds of the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, with the immense
ships of theu' China line, the largest wooden vessels
afloat. The steejD slope just to the right of them,
on which you see the upper stories of a large brick
building, is Rincon Hill, and the building is the U. S.
Marine Hospital. That monument, as it seems, is
the Shot Tower, while in front of, around and beyond
it, you see the usual medley of ordinary city build-
ings, here and there rising into single or double
church spires, broken by the bulk of some big busi-
SAIV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 109
ness block, and relieved by the regular lines of in-
tersecting streets.
Eight of Kincon Hill, where the city fills a broad
hollow, you are looking over what was once the
*' Happy "Valley " of early times. In a line beyond
it lies the Mission, which you cannot now discover,
backed by the '' Twin Peaks," and the high hills
which form the back-bone of the peninsula. Still
following around, the larger buildings of the older
city meet the eye, gradually rising up the southern
slope. Those singular minarets or mosque-like
twin towers or spires, surmount the Jewish Syna-
gogue. Here and there a church spire shoots above
the roofs, but one sees fewer of them than in eastern
cities of equal size, because the possibility of earth-
quakes, and the certainty of high winds, restrain
architects and builders from attempting anything
too lofty or exposed. Several of the finest churches
in the city, spread out on the earth much more than
they rise toward heaven. One reason may be that
they do not own far in the latter direction.
North of the Synagogue towers, the hill still rises
through three blocks, when it reaches its full height
in California street hill. Then a slight depression
in the hill-top outline, followed by another rise in-
to the Clay street and "Washington street hill, two
blocks north and three blocks west of the former.
The higher hill still further north but nearer the
front, is the famous land-mark and signal-station,
no BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Telegraph Hill, from whose top the long familiar
observatoiy has but recently disappeared; pros-
trated on a stormy night last winter, by one of the
giant winds whose fuiy it had so long defied.
Beyond, or to the right of Telegraph hill, the
city falls away to the northwest, and the bay shore
also trends in that direction. Black Point, the
Presidio, and finally Fort Point, bring us to the
Golden Gate.
Unfolding to empire its way,
Wide opened by gold and by fate,
Swnng by tides wliicli no nation can stay,
Here standeth the continent's gate.
Through the naiTow Gate one has a single
glimpse of the grand old sea, which stretches so
peacefully away under the sunset. For northern
gate-post you have Lime Point; and thence the
vision rests on high hills packed in behind, and
gi'adually lifting the gaze to Mount Tamalpais, be-
yond whose sharply-cut summit, nothing of note
attracts the sight. Between us and Tamalpais, four
miles nearer and half a mile lower, close at the wa-
ter's edge, we have the small but beautifully situ-
ated town of Saucelito, with its sheltered picnic
grounds and tranquil bay. Beyond the Saucelito
bay you can almost see through Raccoon Strait,
and discover that the higher land nearer the boat
is not a point, but an island. Its name is Angel
Island. It is the largest and most valuable island
SAiV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY.
in the bay. The Government owns it and occupies
its southwestern side with barracks, garrison and
parade grounds. Several batteries dot the shore
at diiferent j)oints, and a military road around the
island, connects them with the garrison.
This other small island of solid rock, crowned
with a heavy fortress and girt with forts and bat-
teries, is Alcatraz, the Pacific Gibraltar.
Instead of coming by way of Vallejo, the passen-
ger from Sacramento may come by rail through
Stockton, forty-eight miles; thence by rail to Oak-
land, eighty-six miles; and thence by boat to San
Francisco, four miles; making a total distance of
one hundred and thirty-eight miles, all rail except
the last four. Through fare, $2.50.
By this route you approach the city on the east,
and have only to change the point of sight from
northeast to east, and remember that Goat Island
will be seen close by on the right hand, that is,
north of the boat, to make the description of the
approach from Vallejo almost equally accurate and
easily adaptable for the approach from Oakland,
which is the direction from which the great major-
ity approach.
Those who may prefer can have their choice of a
third way from Sacramento, and a second from
Stockton; that is by steamer, usually leaving each
of those cities at noon, and due in San Francisco in
eight hours. From Sacramento by water the dis-
112 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
tance is one hundred and twenty-five miles, and the
fare, $1.50 ; from Stockton, one hundred and twen-
ty miles, fare, $1.50 ; dinner on board, $1.00;
staterooms, $2.00, single beiihs, $1.00. These
boats reach San Francisco so early one seldom
needs a stateroom, excej^t in case of illness, or a
strong desire for seclusion. Both lines of steamers
land at the same pier, at the foot of Broadway, from
ten to twelve blocks from the leading first-class ho-
tels.
The only important route of apj)roaching San
Francisco, and riding into the city by land, lies on
the south, coming from Gilroy, San Jose, Santa
Clara, Redwood City, and ' intermediate places, in
the cars of the Southern Pacific railroad. Coming in
by this route, one traverses the fertile plains of the
Santa Clara Yalley, and skirts the foot-hills l^^ing
along the western base of the almost mountains,
which form the divide between the bay slope and
the ocean slope of the broad peninsula. Near Red-
wood City, and for the succeeding fifteen miles,
the track runs between fresh water fields on the
west and salt water marsh upon the east. From
the Twelve-Mile Farm in, we strike nearer the
centre of the constanth^ narrowing peninsula, and
near San Miguel catch the first glimpse of the
broad Pacific. The large building just west of the
track is the Industrial School, our California House
of Reformation. The southern suburbs of the city,
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 113
through which we enter, present nothing remarka-
ble beyond the usual medley of old shanties, broad
vegetable gardens, pleasant, home-like cottages,
and here and there the more pretentious suburban
residence, increasing in number as we come nearer
the centre.
We come in by Valencia street, and reach the
station upon Market, just east of its junction with
Valencia.
Ocean Approach.
Besides the approaches already mentioned, one
may come in from Panama, Mexico, Oregon, the
Sandwich Islands, Australia^ Japan or China. From
whichever he may come, for the last ten miles be-
fore reaching the dock, his track will be the same.
A few miles west of Fort Point, all these various
ocean routes converge into one, enter San Francis-
co Bay by the Golden Grate, and bear away south-
ward until they intersect, and for a short distance
coincide with, the approach from Vallejo, already
briefly described.
Conveyauces.
Hacks. — Approaching the wharf or the railroad
station, you encounter the usual jargon of hotel and
baggage runners, each shouting his hotel, hack or
coach, as if strength of lungs was his chief stock in
trade. It is but simple justice to San Francisco
hackmen, however, to say that a more obliging.
114 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
prompt, and courteous set, can hardly be found
in any American city of equal size. That travelers
may exactly understand for themselves the law •
regulating hacks and coaches, we quote order No.
718, of the Board of Supervisors of the city and
county of San Francisco :
Section 7. ''For a hackney carriage drawn by
more than one horse, for one jjerson, not exceeding
one mile, $1.50, and for more than one person, not
exceeding one mile, $2.50 ; and for each additional
mile, for each passenger, 50 cents. For a hackney
caniage drawn by one horse, for one person, not
exceeding one mile, $1.00 ; for more than one per-
son, not exceeding one' mile, $1.50; for each i^as-
senger, for each additional mile, 25 cents."
Sec. 8. "From any landing of any steamboat, to
any point east of the west line of Larkin street, and
north of the south line of Brannan street, and east
of Third street, shall, in all cases, be estimated not
to exceed one mile. "
In forty-nine cases out of fifty, no newly-arrived
gentleman or lady will have any personal need to
know the law; the foregoing is written mainly for
the fiftieth. Bear in mind that these rates, like all
fares and charges in the Golden State, are payable
in gold or its equivalent coin; also, that they are the
higJiest. Hackmen often carry for less.
Coaches. — Besides the hacks, one may find hotel
coaches, which cany free to the hotel for which
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 115
they run, or charge fifty cents for each passenger
within the limits above specified.
Cars. — The red carS of the City Front line pass
the head of the dock every five minutes. These
cany one to the very door of the " Cosmopolitan/'
and " Occidental " Hotels, within one block of the
"Lick House," and two blocks of the "Grand
Hotel." Directly across the street from the pier of
the Sacramento and Stockton steamers, half a block
from the landing for passengers by rail, and one
block from the landing of those coming by Vallejo,
the green cars of the Sutter street line' carry
one directly by the " Cosmopolitan," the " Lick
House," and the " Occidental," and within half a
block of the " Grand." On both these lines the
rate is ten cents coin for a single fare, or twenty-
five cents for a coupon ticket good for four rides.
Wagons. — At or near any landing, one can always
find numbered express wagons, waiting to carry
baggage for from 50 cents to $1.00, according to
bulk, weight, or distance.
Porters. — Black, white and yellow, will serve you
for ' ' two bits, " that is 25 cents, for carrying any
reasonable package within reasonable distance. It
is well, however, to keep your eye on porter and
package.
Baggage and Package Expresses. — Half an hour
or more before reaching the city, either by car or
boat, agents of the above companies will take your
ii6 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
checks and your money, give you a receipt for both,
and deliver your baggage, for 25 cents for each or-
dinary-sized trunk or valise, at any place within the
single-fare limits already given. These are reliable
and responsible companies, whose agents none need
fear to trust. They deliver baggage promptly and
in as good condition as received.
Hotels.
The foreign tourist can witness to the great lack
of really fine hotels abroad. All England hardly
furnishes a single hotel to rank v>dth the best of our
second-class hotels in America. Outside of Boston,
New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, and
Cincinnati, few, even of the northern cities, pre-
sent any notable hotel attractions to the temporary
guest. New Orleans has a single good hotel, but
hardly one of the other southern cities has yet out-
grown the old-fashioned " tavern."
In respect to these — in good hotels — by the imme-
diate and unanimous verdict of ever}" tourist, San
Francisco stands preeminent. Nowhere on the con-
tinent can the traveler find beds, tables and rooms
superior to those of the " Grand," the "Occident-
al," the " Cosmopolitan," and the "Lick House."
and in no large city of America will he find as reas-
onable charges, considering the amount and quality
of accommodation and the style of service rendered.
The usual standard rate at the four leading first-
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 117
*■■
class houses, is $3.00 a day, for board and room.
At the *' Brooklyn," " Kuss," and "American Ex-
change, " the rates are $2.00 to $2.50 a day, for
good rooms and equally good board.
The Gkand Hotel. — This magnificent hotel is the
newest of all. It stands on the south side of Market
street, occupying the whole block from New Mont-
gomery to Second street, and stretching southward
along new Montgomery, across Stevenson street to
Jessie. Its north front is 205 feet, its west front
335 feet, thus covering over one acre and a half of
ground. Its height is three stories, surmounted by
a Mansard roof, containing a fourth. Its style of
architecture may be called the " modern combina-
tion," highly ornamented. In method of construc-
tion, it is a complete frame building, surrounded by
brick walls of unusual thickness. Its four hundred
rooms include chambers, parlors and suits of the
amplest dimensions and the richest furnishing.
The halls, corridors and stairways are spacious and
airy. Through all the halls, at intervals of every
few feet, hang coils of fire-hose, each attached to
full hydrants, and always ready for instant use.
Bath-rooms and toilets abound. Barber-shop, bil-
liard room, and the most elegantly frescoed bar-
room upon the coast, occupy the most convenient
portions of the basement and first floor. An amply-
supplied reading-room, with most luxurious chairs,
juvites and detains all weary guests. Branch offi-
ii8 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
ces of the leading telegraphs, postal delivery box,
and all needed facilities for coiTespondence, are at
hand. Hacks stand constantly at the three spa-
cious entrances, and four leading lines of horse-
cars radiate thence to every portion of the city and
suburbs.
The dining-hall accommodates three ^hundred.
Its tables are of moderate size, suiTounded by
plenty of room, loaded with abundant " substan-
tial," flanked with all the latest delicacies, and
served in the most attentive manner. Breakfast
rooms for private parties, and separate eating-rooms
for servants and children, immediately adjoin the
main dining-hall. A large and well-appointed
laundry i^romptly accommodates guests.
If there's anything else imaginable in the whole
list of first-class hotel accommodations, just mention
it to your obliging host Johnson, or his courieous
and efficient adjutant, Eidgeway, and it shall go
hard but they will furnish it for you at once, if it is
to be had within the limits of telegraph and ex-
press.
The OccmENTAL. — This popular standard house
stands upon the east side of Montgomery; its west
front occupies the whole block from Bush street
to Sutter; stretches its north flank half a block
down Bush street, while its south flank goes a hun-
dred and sixty-seven feet down Sutter street. Ver-
tically it rises six stories into the sunshine. Four
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 119
hundred and twelve elegant single and double
rooms, with numerous suits having ample bathing
and other accommodations, besides ladies' parlors,
dining-halls, billiard-hall, convenient offices, broad
stairways, spacious halls, and roomy passages,
make up this truly magnificent mammoth establish-
ment. The carpets and furniture are of the most
elegant and costly description. A large and beauti-
fully-fitted patent safety elevator adjoins the grand
staircase near the main hall, and reading-room at
the Montgomery street entrance.
Near the main entrance is a telegraph-office —
hacks stand always in froirt, and four leading lines
of horse-cars pass the three entrances. A newspaper
and periodical stand, with post-office letter-box,
complete the conveniences of the reading-room.
The walls are braced with iron, and securely
anchored, besides being connected across the build-
ing by heavy iron ties on every stoiy. Manager,
Philip McShane.
Cosmopolitan Hotel. — This worthy compeer of
the two already described, occupies the southwest
corner of Bush and Sansome streets. Cen-
trally-located, elegantly-constructed, conveniently-
arranged, and well-furnished, this house is one of the
largest and newest first-class hotels. An extensive
addition, including some scores of single and double
rooms, richly furnished in the most modern style,
sufficiently indicate its prosj)erity. Tubbs & Pat-
ten, managers.
120 BANCROFT' S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Lick House. — West side of Monjigomery , between
Sutter and ^Post streets. Its east front occupies
tlie entire block between these two streets, and
runs up between one and two hundred feet of each
of them. Whilst this house is excellently^ finished
and furnished throughout, it is especially cele-
brated for its elegant dining-hall, which is probably
more artistically-planned and exquisitely-finished
than any public dining-hall in the world. Jno. M.
Lawlor & Co., managers.
Brooklyn Hotel. — Next to the elegant hotels
already named, one may reckon the "Brooklyn" — on
Bush street, north side, between Montgomery and
Sansome. This excellent house makes a specialty
of accommodating families, having an unusually
large number of suits of rooms especially designed
for their comfort. Its rates are about two thirds of
those before mentioned. Hotel coaches convey all
guests to the house free of charge. Messrs. Kelly
& Wood, proprietors.
Besides the * 'Brooklyn," the traveler not wishing
to stop at any of the grander and dearer houses,
may have his choice of the " Russ House," west side
of Montgomery, from Sutter to Pine, Messrs. Pear-
son & Seymour, proprietors; the '' American Ex-
change," Sansome street, west side, corner of Hal-
leck, Timothy Sargent, proprietor; the "Morton
House," formerly Orleans Hotel, 117 Post street,
south side, just above Kearny; and the " Interna-
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY.
tional Hotel," Wejgant & Partridge, 530-534 Jack-
son street, north side, just below Kearny.
European Plan. — One fond of this style, may
suit himself at Gailhard's Hotel, Nos. 507 and 509
Pine street, Pereira & Co., proprietors. " What
Cheer House" — This famous hotel combines the
lodging-house and restaurant under one roof, with
a success of which no old Californian needs be told.
Besides the usual reading-room, it has also an ex-
tensive library and museum, free to all guests; R.
B. Woodward, proprietor, 525-529 Sacramento
street.
Lodging Houses.
Among these we name the " Nucleus" and the
" Clarendon" as equal to the best. The " Nucleus"
stands on the southeast corner of Third and Mar-
ket streets; David Stern, proprietor. The " Claren-
don House," John M. Ward, manager, 574 Folsom
street, northwest corner of Second, is new and
central.
Restaurants.
Whether a man eats to live or lives to eat, he
can readily suit himself here. At present rates,
the traveler can get better food, greater variety,
and more of it for the same money, than in any
eastern city. Among the best restaurants, are
Saulmann's, 520 California street, north side, be-
tween Montgomery and Kearny; Swaiil's Family
Bakery and Restaurant, 636 Market, north side,
122 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
between Montgomery and Kearny; Martin's, Com-
mercial street; Job's, 327 Kearny; and Lermitte's
Coffee Saloon, 530 Merchant street.
Baths.
The hotels usually furnish first-class facilities with-
out the trouble of going out from under the roof.
Should anyone, however, wish a more extended ap-
plication of fresh or salt water, hot or cold, vapor
or steam, Turkish, Eussian or Koman, he has come
to the very place where they have them even better
than in their original countries. If you doubt it,
ask Bayard Taylor.
Zeile's Baths, at 527 Pacific street, north side,
between Montgomery and Kearny, furnish more
natural facilities and improved artificial appliances
for the scientific aj^plication of Russian, Turkish,
and Roman baths, than any other establishment in
Europe or America. The visitor will be surprised
at the extent and completeness of eveiy api^oint-
ment in Dr. Zeile's establishment.
Places of Amusement.
No matter how busy you may be at home, you
are here for enjoyment. When evening comes you
want a good lecture, concert or i)lay. We have
them all — the first occasionally, the last two reg'u-
larl}^ The newest, largest and finest play house
is the
1^
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 123
Califoknia Theater, on the north side of Bush
street between Kearny and Dupont: John McCul-
lough, lessee and manager. If there's a good play
in the city, we generally find it here- if there are
comfortable chairs and luxurious boxes anywhere,
they are certainly here; and if there's an artist of
good taste and a successful manager combined in
one man, his name is John McCuUough. The the-
ater is new and spacious, having comfoi-table seats
for over three thousand, one of the largest stages
in the United States, with complete mechanical ap-
pliances, and finely-j)ainted scenery and drop-
curtain.
Metropolitan Theater. — Montgomery street, north
side, between Washington and Jackson. Occasion-
ally occupied for transient engagements, often pre-
senting excellent plays. Has fine acoustic proper-
ties; seats two thousand.
Alhambra, 325 Bush street. This is a snug and
tasty combination of theater, minstrels and opera
house, usually presenting some popular and spicy
blending of wit, art and song.
Maguire's Opera House. ^ — Washington street,
north side, between Montgomery and Kearny;
Thomas Maguire, proprietor. This is the famous
old theater in which Forrest, Kean and Booth de-
lighted the California audiences of earlier days.
Chinese Theater. — At No. 630 Jackson street the
curious visitor may witness the most curious medley
124 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
ever put upon a stage and called a play. An inter-
minable and unintelligible jargon of ding-dong,
clatter-clattter, tum-tum and rattle-rattle-rattle com-
bined with falsetto screeches, wonderful gymnas-
tics, graceful contortions, terrific sword combats,
and strange old oriental masqueradings, is what you
may see in the celestial play house. Half an hour
of it will fully satisfy you; but every eastern visitor
must needs endure at least so much.
MusEuais — Woodward's. — At Woodward's Gar-
dens, Mission street, between Thii'teenth and Four-
teenth. This contains over ten thousand si^ecimens
of zoology, ornithology, Indian relics, alcoholic col-
lections, natural curiosities, ancient coins, etc., be-
sides a beautifully arranged and finely lighted art
gallery, including several rare old pictures, and a
sort of floral museum in the shape of a charming
conservatory, wherein fragrance vies with beauty to
delight and detain.
Melodeons, Dance Halls, Beer Cellars. — We
hardly anticipate that the average tourist will care
to be '* guided" into places under this heading, but
the philosophic student of human nature, as well as
the curious observer of social customs, cannot con-
sider his knowledge of any city complete until he
has personally seen and actually known, not only
the highest, but the lowest, amusements extensively
patronized by its people. Like all other large cities,
San Francisco has its share of low haunts in which
^
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 125
really modest, and sometimes meritorious, perform-
ances blend with a much larger proportion of im-
modest, meretricious and disgraceful ones.
HaUs.
Platt's Hall. — 216 Montgomery, east side, just
north of Bush street, is one of the most popular in
the city. Popular concerts, literary lectures, reli-
gious anniversaries, educational celebrations, magi-
cal entertainments, military balls and social dances,
succeed each other so rapidly that there are few
nights, especially in the pleasure season, when
Piatt's Hall does not offer something worth going
to see. Henry B. Piatt, proprietor.
Union Hall. — South side of Howard, near Third.
This is the largest permanent hall in the city, and
a grand place for unusually large social parties, ex-
hibitions, political conventions and popular mass
meetings. It easily accommodates upwards of
three thousand.
Pacific Hall. — In the California Theater build-
ing, north side of Bush, just above Kearny. This
is a centrally-located, tastefully-finished double
hall, that is, two connected so as to be used singly
or jointly according to need. Capacity, fifteen
hundred.
Mercantile Library Hall. — In the baseitient of
the Mercantile Library Association Building, north
side of Bush street, between Montgomery and San-
126 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
some. Elegantly finished in pure white, with
paneled and ornamented walls and ceilings. Ac-
commodates eight hundred. The closeness of the
neighboring buildings gives it a bad light by day,
but no hall in the city lights up more brilliantly at
night.
Mechanics' Institute Hall. — Upon the lower
floor of the building of that association, south side
of Post street, between Montgomeiy and Kearny.
This is another newly-constructed, conveniently-
planned, well-furnished and centrally-located hall,
with a medium capacity of about six hundred.
Y. M. C. A. Hall. — Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation building, north side of Sutter, just west of
Kearny. A remarkably neat, well-proportioned,
lofty and well-ventilated hall, having its capacity
largely increased by a conveniently-sloping gallery
stretching across the whole of one side, and throw-
ing forward its flanks at either end. Capacity, six
hundred and fifty.
Dashaway Hall. — Dashaway Society's building,
south side of Post, between Kearny and Dupont.
This singular name* belongs to the pioneer temper-
ance organization of the Pacific coa^t. Its origin
can hardly be better stated than .in the brief sen-
tences of Tuthill, in his History of California: " A
company of firemen, Howard No. 3, sitting in their
engine house late at night, January 1st, 1859, cele-
brating New Year's after the custom of the country.
SAJV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 127
fell to musing over tlieir future prospects, and were
vouchsafed a vision of tlieir probable fate. At last
they solemnly agreed to discontinue the use of in-
toxicating liquor, or, as they phrased it, to ' ' da^h
away the cup." They accordingly organized a tem-
perance society of " Dashaways," with Frank E. E.
Whitney, chief engineer of the fire department of
San Francisco, as their first President, pledging
themselves to drink nothing intoxicating for five
and one half months. They kept their promise,
and liked it so well that, before reaching the limit
of their self-imposed pledge, they renewed it for
all time." Thus began the first temperance society
of California, which has enrolled thousands of
names, erected a fine building, founded a large
library, and maintains weekly lectures to this day.
In a country where wine is fast becoming a chief
production, and whose greatest present danger is the
social glass, the origin, efforts and success of the
pioneer temperance organization merit more than
passing notice.
Billiards. — Tournaments and champions of this
king of in-door games compel brief mention of this
popular amusement and the j)laces where one may
best enjoy it. Every leading hotel has a fine bil-
liard room attached ; those of the four first named
are palatial in the elegance and richness of their
finish and furniture.
Bowling Saloons and Shooting Galleries. — We
6
128 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
set these togetlier, not because of am^ particular
affinity between the two, but because the city has
hardly enough of either to make an item of one
alone. At the southwest comer of Montgomery
and Pine, the enthusiastic bowler may probably
find as many pins as he can prostrate, with attend-
ants who can set them up as fast as he can knock
them down ; while at 913 Keamy street, he can
keep up his practice, if ali'eady an expert, or "get
his hand in," if a novice, at
" Shooting folly as she flies."
Those wishing the longer range for rifle practice,
find it at Heiinann's, near the Presidio, that is, on
one's way to Fort Point.
Gymnasiums.
Although nominally a christian land, California
has yet many sturdy "musclemen" within her bor-
ders, while her larger cities have several schools of
various kinds, for the training of young disciples
in " muscular Christianity.
Chief among these in San Francisco, stands the
Olympic Club, the largest physical culture club in
the State. Founded in 1860, duiing its eleven
years of ceaseless and increasing activity, over five
thousand persons have availed themselves of its ad-
mii'able facilities for acquiring or perfecting one's
ability to "travel on his muscle." It is by no
means an association of boys, or of young men
-£^'
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 129
only ; some of the best known gray-beard pioneers,
with many of the leading merchants and profession-
al men, have enthusiastically enjoyed their daily
" play-spell" within its walls for many years, and
they do it still. At 35 Sutter street, south side,
just below Montgomery, one may find their spa-
cious and lofty hall, amj)ly supplied with all the
paraphernalia of modern gymnastics, and adorned
with several large paintings in oil, by prominent
artists who are also Olympics, besides the photo-
graphs of 23ast and present leading members.
The San Francisco Turn-verein have their hall
and rooms on the north side of OTarrell, between
Mason and Taylor. Organized in 1852, it is the
oldest association in the State, owns its premises,
and has an actual present membership of nearly six
hundred. It is, of course, conducted ujpon the
German plan.
Y. M. C, A. — Those who want a roll at the pins
upon strictly orthodox principles, or to punch each
other's heads under the sanction of Christianity,
can escape, or at least modif}^, the censure of their
uncharitable spiritual superiors, by resorting to the
very neat and comfortable gymnasium in the base-
ment of the Young Men's Christian Association
Building, already described. This has the great
advantage and the unquestionable attraction of
providing for ladies also. It has all the necessary
conveniences of bath-rooms and dressing-rooms at-
tached.
130 BANCROFT'S TOURTST'S GUIDE. .
Skating Einks. — Mercury, the fleet messenger of
the gods, is fabled to have had wings upon his feet.
Forbidden by gravity to emulate him, our modern
skaters fasten wheels to their feet, and make up for
their inability to fly by developing theii' power to
skate. The immense floor of the Mechanics' Insti-
tute Mammoth Pavilion, on the west side of Stock-
ton, between Post and Geary, affords the largest
and smoothest rink to be found in the union. Two
or three others exist in the city, besides the very
large and fine new one in the j)aviHon at Wood-
ward's Gardens.
Base-Ball and Cricket Grounds. — At the south-
east corner of Folsom and Twenty-fifth streets, an
entire block, inclosed by a high fence, leveled to
the necessaiy smoothness and overlooked by sev-
eral hundred well-sheltered spectators' seats, fur-
nishes fine accommodations for match games of
base-ball and cricket. Here the famous Red
Stockings, of Cincinnati, won fi-esh laurels, and
the officers and crew of H. B. M. ship Zealous,
played the crack cricket clubs of the State.
Parks and Gardens.
woodward's gardens
Are on the west side of Mission street, between
Thirteenth and Fourteenth. This famous resort is
both park and garden, and much more besides. Its
fences inclose nearly six acres, but its actual surface
. SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 131
considerably surpasses tliat area, from the fact that
the hill-slopes and terraces, with the various floors
and galleries of the different buildings really double
or even treble the original sui'face beneath, so that,
if sxDreadupon one level, they would cover thousands
of square feet more. They thus rival any public
square in size and far surpass it in variety and
beauty.
We reach them, by the red cars of the City Kail-
road Company, leaving the west front of the Grand
Hotel, at the junction of New Montgomery Avenue
and Market street, every five minutes — fare five
cents. Or we may go out by either the Market
street, Howard street, or Folsom street cars. The
first of these carry us within a little over a block of
the entrance — fare, five cents; the second within a
block, and the third within two blocks. Fare on
the last two, ten cents for a single ride, or four
tickets for a quarter. On sunny days and holiday
afternoons the City Railroad runs large, open-sided
excursion or picnic cars, newly constructed ex-
pressly to be run to and from the Gardens. The
entrance is upon the west side of Mission, be-
tween Thirteenth and Fourteenth, through an
elegant architectural gatewaj^, or sort of fagade,
surmounted by four colossal statues, or carved
figures. The two central figures resemble a com-
bination of Minerva and the Goddess of Liberty;
one might not go far wrong in letting them stand for
132 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
California and Oregon. The one upon either flank is
a notably well-caiTed giizzly; larger than life and
twice as natural, sitting erect upon his haunches,
supporting a flag-staff with his fore paws, and with
mouth slightly opened in an amiable grin of undis-
guised pleasure at the prominence of his elevated
position, and of welcome to the visiting thousands
who constantly deposit their quarters and dimes
beneath his sentinel post.
Arrived within we seem to have suddenly left the
windy city and dusty streets far behind. Grassy
lawns siuTOund beautiful gardens. Eveiy variety
of flowerj' vine and blossoming shrub alternates
with rare trees interspersed here and there with
artificial clumps of imported trees, or stretching
along the border of the original grove native to the
spo t , while gi'avel walks wind among the whole . Im-
mediately upon the right of the entrance, in the
gate-keeper's building, is a libraiy of nearly two
thousand standard volumes, many of them rare and
costly. Directly in front of the gateway, stands
the
MUSEUM,
formerly Mr. "Woodward's private residence — at
present occupied by a miscellaneous museum of
natural and artificial wonders, beasts, birds, fishes
and shells, with an occasional freak of nature in
the shape of a mammoth or a dwarf, or a still
more startling preservation of some double-headed
SAAT FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 133
or six-legged specimens. The zoologist or ornithol-
ogist would scarcely get beyond this building the
first day. Left of the Museum stands the
CONSERVATORY.
This is the principal one pf five fiower and plant
houses, having an aggregate length of three hun-
dred feet by one tenth that width. This is a really
elegant crystal palace in miniature, filled with the
beauty and fragrance of the rarest exotics. Through
this one may pass directly to the
ART GALLERY.
The vestibule or ante-room of the Art Gallery is
in fact another museum, containing two statues, an
extensive collection of birds and bird's eggs; up-
wards of a thousand coins of all ages and nations,
curious idols and weapons, with hundreds of other
curiosities helpfully classified, and the whole en-
closed in an ante-room elegantly proportioned and
beautifully frescoed by Poldeman, in imitation of
Pompeii. Thence we enter the Art Gallery proper,
lighted from above — frescoed by the same artist —
decorated, in the corners, with allegorical represen-
tations of Painting, Sculpture, Music and Architect-
ure— while over the door hang the two celebrated
bas-reliefs, "Night" and "Morning," by Thor-
waldsen. Niches on each side contain busts of
Schiller, Goethe, Tasso and Petrarch, Over sixty
rare old paintings or faithful copies cover the walls.
134 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Raphael and Salvator Rosa appear in beautiful
copies; several gems from the best Dutch masters
furnish a transition to the modem school, of
which one or two pictures from Bierstadt, and two
or three views of California scenery by Virgil Wil-
liams, stand as pleasing tyj)es.
Leaving the Art Gallery, by another exit, we
stand upon the margin of a lovely little lake, around
whose centre revolves the great attraction for the
young folks, and no small novelty to most adult
visitors, the famous
ROTAEY BOAT.
This endless craft is a huge circular vessel, rigged
with fore and aft sails, and seating a hundred peo-
ple, who step in from the concave landing upon one
side as the radial seats successively come uj). It
would puzzle the *' cutest" old salt to find bow or
stern to this curious craft; the shrewdest country-
men have to confess that they " can't make head
nor tail out of tlie thing," while the enjoyment
which the youngsters find in it, hke the boat itself,
never comes to an end.
Between the lake and the conservatory, an out-
door
GYMNASIUM,
with ladders, bars, rings, swings and climbing-
poles, accommodates all who may wish to recreate
the body. From the lake flows a little stream,
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITV.
along whose banks the pelican, the crane, the alba-
tross, the wild goose and the common gull, pom-
pously stalk or awkwardly waddle; while in its
water, two or three beavers, a pair of minks and a
seal or two, make their homes. Beyond this, the
HENNERY,
in which the admirer of fine poultry may see a large
variety of the choicest stock. An ad;joining in-
closure presents a pair of ostriches, and another
has two or three beautiful deer and fawn. Near
the southwest corner of the garden, the
TUNNEL
carries the visitor through a heavily-timbered, se-
curely planked, cleanly-kept and well-lighted pas-
sage under Fourteenth street, into the
ZOOLOGICAL GROUNDS
and the amphitheater. Here, ranged along the
north side, backed by a high and tight fence, and
fronting the south that they may have the warmest
possible exposure, are the animals of the menagerie.
Royal Bengal Tigers, Rocky Mountain Grizzlies,
Mexican Panthers, and South American Jaguars,
Australian Kangaroos, and a curious medley of
dissimilar animals known as the "Happy Family,"
make up the caged collection. The cages are
roomy, airy, cleanly and secure. The animals are
remarkably fine specimens, kept in capital condi-
136 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
tion, and the keeper is intelligent and courteous.
Bej'ond the great cages is another range of small-
er ones, containing black and cinnamon bears, fox-
es, badgers, raccoons, opossums, and mischievous
monkeys of all sizes. Esquimaux dogs, Siberian
reindeer and European elk, with many other ani-
mals, more than we have space even to catalogue,
make up a collection of animated nature sufficient
to stock haif a dozen ordinaiy traveling shows, and
still leave enough on hand to surpass any of them.
Besides these, spacious inclosures allow Arabian
and Bactrian camels a free promenade, while still
beyond, another yard is tenanted by the shaggiest,
sleepiest-looking, most patient and good-natured
donkeys that ever allowed a gang of roistering
youngsters to pack themselves upon their backs,
only to be incontinently and ignominously pitched
over their heads into a promiscuous pile of dust-
covered and disgusted juvenile humanity. At the
extreme end of the Zoological Grounds the inclos-
ure on the right contains a genuine Rocky Mountain
Buffalo, while in the larger one upon the left, two
or three reindeer contentedly browse.
AMPHITHEATER .
In the center of the zoological grounds, a large
race-course, securely inclosed between inner and
outer circular fences, affords free scope for Roman
Chariot races, hurdle races, foot races, and eques-
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 137
trian performances generally. Within the inner
fence, a level circle of some eighty feet diameter, ac-
commodates acrobatic performers ; while a lofty pole,
rising from its center, furnishes ambitious young-
sters all needed facilities for flying swings or skillful
" shinning/' Around this stadium are raised seats
for three thousand, with a covered portion shelter-
ing six hundred, not to mention standing room for
ten thousand more.
Keturning through the tunnel we turn to the
left, ascend the hill and enter the
PAVILION.
This is the largest and strongest permanent
wooden building upon the coast. It has the form
of a parallelogram with the corners unequally cut
off, thus giving its ground outline the shape of an
irregular octagon. It is one hundred and fifty feet
long, by one hundred and thirty wide and fifty
high, surmounted by a water-tight roof, nearly an
acre and a half in extent. Half a dozen broad en-
trances admit us to the spacious interior. Here we
have a central floor; one hundred and ten feet long
by ninety feet wide, as solidly laid, perfectly fitted
and smoothly planed as art could make it, and
furnishing the finest
SKATING KINK
imaginable, or the most capacious ball-room floor
to be desired. Around this floor, a sort of dress-
138 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
circle, fitted with easy seats, separated by broad
aisles and roomy spaces, rises gradually back to tbe
surrounding wall. This dress-circle accommodates
three thousand spectators. Above it is a broad
gallery of equal size, similarly fitted and holding as
many. The gallery windows command a fine yiew
of the underlying gardens, the meandering walks, the
lake, the conservatories, shrubbeiy andthejnuse-
um ; of the zoological grounds and amphitheater
further away, and of the southwestern suburbs,
bounded by the Mission hills, beyond. This pa-
vilion has a seating capacity of six thousand, while
for any brief mass-meeting, four thousand more
could easily stand in the nine thousand nine hun-
dred square feet of space upon the floor. A com-
modious and conveniently located music, or speak-
er's stand, with broad staii'ways between dress-cii'cle
and gallery, complete the appointments of this
mammoth building, whose workman-like finish and
enormous strength, fully equal its huge size and
immense capacity. Just west of the pavilion stands
a pictirresque little
^ TURKISH MOSQUE,
whose exterior faithfullj- reproduces the oriental
original. Its interior is tastefully frescoed, while
its domed ceiling presents an astronomical fresco,
representing the stany heavens. Near the south-
east corner of the pavilion is the
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 139
RESTAUEANT,
SO that one need not leave the grounds, should he
find occasion to fill his stomach before he has suf-
ficiently feasted his eyes. Between the restaurant
and the mosque, occuj)ying the highest point of
the hill, stands ^
THE OBSERVATORY,
formed by a secure railing and comfortable seats
inclosing and surrounding the circular top of a
huge reservoir, or tank. Until the recent erection
of the pavilion, this was the best point of view from
which to study the plan of the grounds and enjoy
their scenery; and even now, it well rewards ascent,
especially for those who hardly care to climb into
the pavilion gallery.
In various snug places among and under the
trees, and, in some places, surrounding their trunks,
are scattered scores of ^
LUNCH TABLES,
as a sort of out-post or picket-guard thrown out by
the restaurant proper. All about the top of the
pavilion hill, -and for some distance down its sides,
these tables, of all shapes and sizes, round, ring-
shaped, triangular, octagonal, square, and "par-
allelogramical," and suiTOunded by an abundance
of comfortable seats, occupy the most romantic sit-
uations. Descending the hill-slope by a winding
path, we pass a broad lawn upon the left, on which
I40 BANCRObT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
the enterprising proprietor proposes the early erec-
tion of a large, conveniently-arranged fire-proof
museum, for the better security of his valuable
collections and cabinets.
We have now completed the general tour of this
elegant park, with its delightful combination of the
beautiful in nature and the wonderful in art, with
the rarest curiosities of both. As a broad and airy-
holiday play-ground for tired pupils, as a romantic
retreat for family picnics, as a pleasure-park for the
quiet promenades of old and young, as a varied
field of study for the natiu^alist, as one of the lungs
through which the tired and dusty city may draw a
cool, refreshing, healthful breath, and, finally, as a
grand union of park, garden, conservatory, muse-
um, gymnasium, zoological grounds and art gal-
lery, no eastern city offers the equal of Woodward's
Gardens.
City Gardens.
On the south side of Twelfth street, stretching
from Folsom to Harrison, and running half a
block south. Entrance on the corner of Folsom
and Twelfth. Reached most directly by the Fol-
som street cars. Admission, 25 cts.
Menageries.
The finest in the city is that already described in
the zoological department of Woodward's Gardens.
SAiV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 141
The only other is a small collection of bears,
monkeys and birds at North Beach.
Squares and Parks.
The oldest and best finished public square is
Portsmouth Square, commonly called the Plaza, on
the west side of Kearny street, extending from
Clay street to Washington street, and directly front-
ing the old City Hall. Besides these are Washing-
ton, Union, Columbia, Lobos, Alcatraz, Lafayette,
Jefferson, Alta, Hamilton and Alamo Squares, with
Yerba Buena, Buena Yista and Golden Gate Parks.
The last named covers nearly 1,200 acres, (of sand
at present.) Of these, the Plaza and Washington
Square are the principal ones which have been suf-
ficiently improved to merit even passing notice.
To these one may add South Park, a small but
elegant private inclosure occupying the centre of
the block between Bryant and Brannan streets.
Promenades.
Montgomery Street. — This is the San Francisco
Broadway. Flanked on either side by many of
the largest and finest retail business houses, as well
as two of the leading hotels. During the fore-
noon business monopolizes it almost exclusively;
afternoons fashion claims its sidewalks, and well-
nigh crowds business, not exactly to the wall, but
rather upon the curbstone, if not fairly into the
142 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
gutter. From three to five p. m. the tide of mam-
mon begins to ebb, and that of fashion swells in at
full flood. Fair women and frail, beauty and
ugliness — calicoes, silks, satins, velvets, broad-
cloths, beavers and cashmere, make up the motley-
throng, swaying and trailing up and down the
crowded thoroughfare. The faces are ver}" fair, ' ' as
far as we can see," and the forms equally graceful,
with the same limitation.
Masculine faces, broad-browed, clear-ey^, bronze-
cheeked, firm-mouthed or full-bearded, impress one
with the dash, the drive and the nerve which have
spanned the continent with rails and bridged the
Pacific with ships, ere yet the flush of full manhood
has fairly settled upon them. Too many, it is true,
show the full, uncertain lip, the flushed cheek and
dewy eye that tell of excessive stimulus too fre-
quently applied. Nowhere on earth is the tempta-
tion to drink stronger than here. Business is
sharp, competition brisk, and the climate the most
stimulating anywhere to be found. So they drive
till natui'e falters or weakens and calls for rest.
But rest they cannot or will not afford ; the stimu-
lus is quicker y it is everywhere close at hand — it
seems to save time. Business men die suddenly ;
on the street to-day, at Laurel Hill to-morrow;
heart disease, apoplexy, congestion of the lungs, or
liver complaint, are among fhe causes most fre-
quently assigned to the inquiring public. The
SAN FRAA CISCO AND VICINITY. 143
causes of these causes, few stop to ask, or dare to-
tell.
Kearny Street. — Parallel witli Montgomery and
but a single block above, that is, west of it, runs
the rival, if not already the equal, business and
pleasure avenue, Kearny street. Though some sin-
gle buildings on Montgomery may be finer, the av-
erage of the business blocks along Kearjiy street
already equals, if it does not surpass that of its
rival. Tlie street itself is broader, the sidewalks
wider, while the press of vehicles and the throngs
of fashion are fully equal.
California Street. — At right angles with both
these streets, and intersecting them near their cen-
tre, California street, the "Wall street of San Fran-
cisco, runs straight down from one of the highest
summits within the city limits, to within two blocks
of the water front, and there debouches into Mar-
ket. Its upper portion lies between elegant private
residences ; half way down the slope stand two of
the leading city churches ; below, the Alia office,
and leading telegraj)h offices ; thence from Mont-
gomery down, the finest number of business blocks
the city presents. On this street below Montgom-
ery, the Bank of California, the Merchants' Ex-
change, the Pacific Insurance Company's Building,
Hayward's, Duncan's, and Wormser's, with other
blocks and building^, present a continuous front of
architectural beauty rarely equaled.
144 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
]VL\EKET Street. — This broad, dividing avenue
which separates the older city from the nev^er,
offers a rare architectui'al medley to the exploring
tourist's eye. Some of the grandest business blocks
on the Pacific slope tower up between or stand
squarely opposite the frailest wooden shells that
yet sunive the " early days." Kunning up from
the water, one encounters such noble blocks as
Treadwell's, not lofty but broad, deep and strong.
Harpending's whole-block front. Tlfe Grand
Hotel and Nucleus foretell the size and style of the
blocks which are yet to form continuous fronts
along this main artery of trade.
Second, Thiei) and Fourth Streets. — South of
Market, these streets come nearer to fashionable
streets than any others; especially along the blocks
nearer to Market. They present several single
buildings of notable size and style.
The Best Temee. — For any walk or drive within
the city limits, or on the entire San Francisco
peninstdar, the most comfortable hours of all the
day, during the season in which the tourists com-
monly visit us, that is from May to September, are,
unquestionably, the morning hours; the earlier the
better. If you would see men and women go
later; take the afternoon, face the wind and the
dust, be lifted bodily off your feet, round "Cape
Horn," as they call the southe'ast corner of Market
and Third streets, until you have quite enough of
SAJV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 145
that "free-soil" which may be a very fine thing in
politics, but is, a " beastly disagreeable thing," as
our English friends might say, on a promenade.
Drives.
The Cliff House Eoad. — Stretches rfsvesterly from
the city limits, now the west end of Bush street, to
the Pacific Ocean beach — originally a mere trail
over shifting sand hills. It has become the broad-
est, hardest, smoothest and longest track in the
State. If you want an idea o'f California horse-
flesh, and San Francisco turnouts, trot out this
way almost any day. The track has a fine, hard
surface wide enough, in places, for twenty teams
abreast, and is often nearly filled from side to side
with smooth-rolling or friendly racing teams, from
the natty single buggy to the elegant coach, or the
stately four-in-hand. A million dollars' worth of
legs and wheels flash by a man in a very few hours
on this fashionable drive, especially on a race-day.
Along this road are one or two waj^side inns, which,
like the majority of California inns, are chiefly
drinking-houses under another name. At the end
stands the Cliff House, so named from its site,
the solid top of a precipitous rocky bluff or
cliff, overlooking ihe Seal Rocks, a few hun-
dred feet west; then a thirty-mile horizon of
the Pacific Ocean, broken only by the sharp
rocky points of the Farallones low down under the
146. BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
western sky, visible only when fogs and mists and
haze are wanting. Attached to the house are long
► horse sheds which shut off the wind from 3- our
horse while his driver goes in to interview Fouler,
mine host of the Cliff. South of the Cliff the road
goes down k) and out upon the Ocean House,
which differs little from the popular eastern beach
drives, except that it is not as wide even at the
lowest of the tide, and that the ocean view thence
is far more seldom diversified with sails. The
beach and surf are good, however, and a brisk
drive of two or three miles upon it, seldom fails to
put the oxygen into the lungs — the iodine into
the blood, and the exhilaration into the S]3irits.
Some two or three miles south of the Cliff House,
the road bends east, leaves the beach and starts
back to the city by another way, known as the
Ocean House Road, named, like the other, from
the house standing near its seaward end. Ap-
proaching the city by this route, one reaches a
greater height than by the Cliff House road, and
when about two miles from the city, enjoys a beauti-
ful view of the southern and western city, the ship-
ping, the bay, the opposite shore, the trailing cities
and towns, whose houses gleam between the trees
of Contra Costa and Alamedar counties, with their
grassy foot-hills, the whole view backed and bound-
ed by old Mt. Diablo beyond^. Returning by this
road, one enters the city suburbs upon the south-
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 147
west by Seventeenth, or Corbett street, passes di-
rectly by the Mission with the famous old church
which named it, and pursues his way back to the
centre by Market, Mission, Howard or Folsom
streets. Between the Cliff House and Ocean House
roads, and nearer the latter, private enterprise has
recently constructed a thii'd track, known as the
Central Ocean Drive.
Bay Yiew Road. — Drive from Market street along
Third to the Long Bridge, cross that to the Potrero,
keep straight on through the deep cut, over the
Islais bridge, thence through South San Francisco,
up a little rise, from whose summit you look down
into a little valley or green bay of vegetable gar-
dens, between which and the water stands the Bay
View House, on one side of the Bay Yiew race
track. From several points as you drive out, you
will readily understand why they used the phrase
"Bay Yiew" so frequently in naming localities
hereabout. If you wish to return by another way,
drive half a mile beyond the track, where your way
runs into the older road of early times. If you have
time, drive on to the brow of the hill and look down
into Yisitacion Yalley; if not, at the acute angle
where the roads become one, you turn sharply
back, and after two miles of -slightly uneven road,
enter the city between the eastern edge bf the Mis-
sion flats and the western foot of the Potrero hills.
The best time for all these drives, as already said
148 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
concerning tlie promenades, is morning, the earlier
the better. Besides the greater purity and fresh-
ness of the air, everywhere accompanying the morn-
ing hours, one then escapes the wind and dust
which, on nearly every afternoon, constitute the
chief drawback from the full enjoyment of outdoor
pleasure during those hours.
Librariea
In these windy and dusty afternoons, when na-
ture seems to frown, art and literature invite you
within, and proffer quiet retreats with the best of
company — good books. For a city as young and
as distinctively absorbed in business, San Francisco
has amply provided for the gratification of scien-
tific research or literary taste. The chief libraries
are the Mercantile, the Mechanics' Institute, the
Odd Fellows', the Pioneers', and the Y. M. C. A.,
each of which is located in the building of the same
name, presently to be noticed. Besides these, at
the AYhat Cheer House, and at Woodward's Gar-
dens, one finds two or three thousand well selected
standard volumes, free to guests and visitors.
Public Buildings.
FEDERAL.
Post-Office. — The first of these to every toiuist
is, naturally, the Government building thi'ough
which his letters come and go. This is a mode-
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 149
rately-sized two-story building of stuccoed brick,
running parallel Tvith the west side of Battery street,
between Washington and Jackson, One may enter
from any street of the three. The ladies' entrance,
which is also common, is from Washington street.
The principal business entrance is on the west front
of the building, through a cross street entered at
either end from Washington or Jackson. The
office opens daily at 8 a. m., and closes at 6:30 p.m.,
except Sundays, when its only open hour is from
9 to 10 A.M. The great overland mail for New
York, by the way of Salt Lake and Omaha, closes
every week day at 7:30 a. m., and on Saturdays at
3 p. M. N. B. Stone, P. M.
The Custom House is simply the upper floor of
the Post-office building. Entrance on Battery,
near W^ashington. Timothy G. Phelps, Collector.
U. S. Bkanch Mint. — The old building still occu-
pied, and likely to be for at least a year, stands on
the north side of Commercial, near Montgomery.
Office hours from 9 a. m. to 2 p. m. Visitors re-
ceived daily from 9 to 12. O. H. La Grange, Su-
perintendent.
The New Mint, or what is to be that building,
stands on the northwest corner of Fifth and Mission
streets. Its ground dimensions are 221J feet on
Fifth, by 166J feet on Mission street. The base-
ment is already built of California granite. Above
the basement, which is 13| feet high, the walls are
150 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
built of blue-gray freestone, from Newcastle Island
in tbe Gulf of Georgia, between Vancouver's Island
and the mainland of Britisb Columbia. Thus, Un-
cle Sam is building his new Mint of Biitish stone.
Two stories of 18J feet each will surmount the
high basement. The lower of these is now nearly
completed. From the pavement to the crown of
the roof will be 70 feet. Two chimneys will tower
to the height of 150 feet.
The U. S. Maeine Hospital stands at the north-
east corner of Harrison and Main streets, upon the
northeast slope of Rincon Hill. This is the old
building. The hosi)ital also occupies the former
buildings of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, on the
southeast corner of Mission and Fifteenth streets.
CITY AND C0U^'TY BUILDINGS.
Old City Hall. — This famous old brick and
stucco, two-story, earthquake-cracked, and iron-
braced structure, with the adjoining Hall of
Records, stretches along the east side of Kearny
street from Merchant to Washington, and extends
nearl}^ a third of the block down each of those
streets. The police-offices and lock-ups occupy
the basement, while the usual District Court rooms,
with Judges' Chambers* and municipal offices. Su-
pervisors' and Board of Education rooms, fill the
upper floors, and clamor for more room.
The New Crrv Hall thus far exists only on
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 151
paper. Tlie Commissioners have chosen an elabo-
rate plan for a costly edifice, wliicli will far surpass
anything on the coast in architectural beauty; but
the execution of that plan has hardly yet completed
the excavation for the foundation walls. Hence it
is yet too early to tantalize the tourist with descrip-
tions of a beautiful building not yet visible, except in
the architect's drawing, or the lithographic copies.
If any tourist is curious to see the ^ite^ he may find it
by going out Market street till he reaches what was
known as Yerba Buena Park, corner of Market
and Seventh streets. The City Hall Commissioners
adopted the plans and sj)ecifications of Mr. Augus-
tus Laver, of New York, and elected him architect;
but, at the present rate of progress, it is hardly
probable that less than two or three years will
witness the completion of the urgently-needed and
magnificently-designed new City Hall.
Jail. — On the north side of Broadway, between
Dupont and Kearny, one desirous of inspecting
our penal institutions may find ample opportunity to
study the physiognomy of that class which inhab-
its them, and learn the crimes which preponderate
in the Pacific metropolis. Sheriff, P. J. White.
Almshouse. — This asylum occupies one of the
healthiest locations in the State, near the Ocean
House, or San Miguel road, about four and one
quarter miles southwest of the City Hall. M. J.
Keating, Superintendent.
7
152 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE,
_ .
Industrial School. — This finely-consti-ucted, con-
veniently-aiTanged and well-managed reform school,
stands on the western slope of the peninsula hills,
about seven miles southwest of the city. Like the
Almshouse it has as healthful a location as can be
found in the State. It receives only boys, who are
regularly taught by competent teachers, and em-
IDloyed in various indoor occupations or out-door
work. Present number of inmates, two hundred and
twelve. The order and discipHne of this school
well repay a visit. Jno. C. Pelton, Superintendent.
ExGEs'E Houses. — In early days, before the estab-
lishment of homes, the pioneer firemen seemed to love
theii* machine veiy much as the sailor loves his ship.
They built elegant and costly engine houses, which
became to many of them the only homes they ever
knew. Since the introduction of the improved
steam fire engines, and the organization of the paid
fire department, the glory of the old volunteer or-
ganizations has well nigh departed. But their
houses yet remain, some of them converted to other
uses, while others still retain much of their earlier
attractiveness.
Eight first-class steamers, of the Amoskeag make,
weighing from three to four tons each, throwing
four hundred gallons a minute, each costing from
four to five thousand dollars in gold coin, and
manned by twelve men, make up the present i^aid
fire department. At a public trial a week since,
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 153
New York and Philadelphia witnesses voluntarily
and unanimously testified that they had never seeii
machines reach the spot as soon and get a stream
upon the flames as quickly, as did the machines of
our fire department. This fact may conduce to the
sense of security with which the eastern tourist lies
down to sleep in his strange bed. For the benefit
of any extra nervous gentleman, we may add the
universal rule of conduct in regard to midnight
alarms of fire among us, is this : When waked by
a fire-alarm, place your hand against the nearest
wall. If it feels cold, lie still ; if moderately warm,
order a different room at once ; if positively hot,
leave for another hotel immediately.
CORPORATION AND SOCIETY BUILDINGS.
The Pioneer's Building. — A finely proportioned
building- on the corner of Gold and Montgomery
streets, above Jackson. This building is not as note-
worthy as the society which built and chiefly oc-
cupies it. The famous " Society of California
Pioneers" was formed in August, 1850. Its con-
stitution declares its object to be:
"To cultivate the social virtues of its members ;
" To collect and preserve information connected
with the early settlement of the country; and
"To perpetuate the memory of those whose
sagacity, energy and love of independence induced
them to settle in the wilderness and become the
germs of a new State."
154 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
It includes three classes: 1st. Native Cali-
fornians; foreigners living in California before the
American conquest; and citizens of the United
States who became actual residents here before
January 1st, 1849 — with the male descendants of
these.
2d. Citizens of the United States who became
actual residents of California before Januaiy 1st,
1850, and their male descendants. .
3d. Honoraiy members admitted according to
the by-laws. The society has enrolled over 1,300
members. Its historical library and museum well
repay a visit. Charles D. Carter, President.
Merchant's Exchange. — This building, the com-
mercial headquarters of the mercantile aiTQy of the
Pacific, stands on the south side of California street,
between Montgomeiy and Sansome. It ranks
among the largest and finest architectural orna-
ments of the city.
Bank of C-\lifoex[a. — Northwest corner of Cali-
fornia and Sansome. This elegant stone stnicture
is not remarkable for size; but for broad and deep
foundations, slow and strong consti-uction, harmo-
nious proportions, convenient aiTangements and
admirable finish mthin and without, it ranks
among the finest and most costly business build-
ings in the Union. President, D. O. Mills.
Cashier, William C. Ealston.
Mercantile Libkart Buildino. — North side of Bush
SAJV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 155
street, between Montgomery and Sansome, This is
the building for which the great lottery paid. It
presents a noble front, a finely finished interior,
with library room containing over 30,000 volumes,
reading room, magazine room, reference room,
chess room, with a large ladies' room of remarkably
costly and tasteful furnishing. The hall in the
basement, has already been noticed. Ogden Hoff-.
man. President; Alfred Stebbins, Librarian.
Mechanics' Institute Building. — South side of
Post street, just below Kearny. A well-propor-
tioned, substantially built, sensible-looking build-
ing, and so far truthfully indicative of the health-
ful prosperity of the excellent organization which
owns and occupies it. A library of nearly 20,000
volumes, including many rare and costly scientific
works, a large and well-stocked reading room, a
sort of museum, including mineralogical cabinets,
mechanical models, scientific apparatus and works
of art, with a popular business college, occupy
this valuable building. The commodious hall upon
the lower floor, has been previously described.
Mechanics' Pavilion. — Union Square, between
Geary and Post streets on the south and north,
and Stockton and Powell streets on the east and
west. One of the largest, if not the largest, wooden
buildings now standing in America, covering two
and one half acres of ground; originally erected
by the Mechanics' Institute Association, for the
156 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
accommodation of their biennial fail's, and found
almost indisjDensably convenient for all grander
gatherings; it has since been retained, and success-
ively occupied by fairs, grand masquerade balls,
velocipede schools and skating rinks. The most
notable event occurring under its mammoth roof
was the Grand Musical Festival or Gift Concert, in
aid of the Mercantile Libraiy Association, given
under the lead of Madame Camilla Urso. After
the approaching Mechanics' Fair, to be held this
summer, the building is to be removed.
Masonic Temple. — Upon the west side of Mont-
gomery, at the comer of Post; of peculiar and at-
tractive architecture, imposing proportions and
elegant finish, it justly ranks among the most
prominent buildings of the city.
Odd Fellows' Hall. — Montgomery street, be-
tween Pine and California. Not particularly im-
posing from without, but attractive from the unity,
strength and benificence of the Order which it
represents. Within are a libraiy of nearly 20,000
standard and j)opular volumes, a well-supplied
reading-room, and a well-managed savings' bank.
Y. M. C. A. — This quartette of initials has now
become so well known throughout the larger cities of
the Union, that the visitor in any large city is dis-
appointed if he does not find the local habitation of
this fast-sj)reading bond of unity among all good
men. Here, upon Sutter street, just above Kearny,
SA.V FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 157
he will be agreeabl}^ disappointed to discover a
large, new, stone-front building, unique in design,
and most pleasing in its general effect. Within are
library, reading-rooms, hall, gymnasium, and
several convenient lodging-rooms. Chas. Goodall,
President; H. L. Chamberlain, Librarian. .
Business Buildings and Blocks.
Alta California Building — On the south side of
California street, between Montgomery and Kearny.
Its comparatively great height, as related to its
width, give it a somewhat monumental appearance,
not inai3propriate, however, when we remember that
the whole tasteful structure stands as the monu-
ment of the enterprise, energy, perseverance and
success of the oldest and largest paper published
in the State. Fred. MacCrellish & Co., proprie-
tors.
Bancroft's — South side of Market street, between
Third and Fourth. Few business buildings upon
the continent combine the colossal proportions with
the graceful details of this mammoth house of the
oldest and largest publishing firm upon the coast.
DoNOHOE, Kelly & Co.'s Building — Upon the
southeast corner of Montgomery and Sacramento
streets, deserves mention among the finest business
buildings.
Harpending's Block — On the south side of Mar-
ket street, between First and Second; the longest
158 BANCROFT'S- TOURIST'S GUIDE.
and loftiest business front presented by any single
business block in the city.
Murphy, Grant & Go's. Building — Northeast
corner of Bush and Sansome. A large and hand-
some building, as strong as iron, stone and brick
can make it.
ToBiN, Dixon & Davisson's Building — Northwest
corner of Sansome and Sutter, can hardly be
omitted from the inspection of our finest business
houses.
Tread well's Agricultural Warehouse — South
side of Market street, opposite Front. Not lofty,
but broad; not imposing, but extensive.
Tucker's — Northwest corner of Montgomeiy
and Sutter. Lofty, finely -j^roportioned, monu-
mental, and substantial; surmounted by a clock-
tower, which has become one of the landmarks of
the city. The main salesroom within is beautifully
frescoed and fitted throughout with extreme ele-
gance and at great cost.
The White House — Comer of Kearny and Post
streets. An elegant new ii'on and brick structure,
light, airy and ornamental in its general efiect.
Beceives -its name from its color, which has hitherto
been an uncommon one in this city, but is daily
becoming less so. Occupied chiefly by the leading
dry goods firm of J. W. Davidson & Co.
Wells, Fargo & Co's. Building — Corner of
California and Montgomery streets. Who does not
SA.V FRANCISCO AND VICINITY,
t59
know it ? Solid granite blocks, dressed in China,
brought hither in ships, and piled in stern sim-
plicity upon that central corner to outstand all
earthquake shocks, and survive all business wrecks.
A pioneer building which has already become far
too small for its immense business, but ought never
to be taken down until the whole city goes with it.
Manufactories.
Kimball Car and Carriage FACTORY.—Corner of
Bryant and Fourth streets. Eastern visitors call
this the largest establishment of the kind in America.
In .immense extent, convenient arrangement, and
comprehensiveness of scope, it can hardly be sur-
passed. Its latest triumph is the construction of a
magnificent Palace Car, built wholly of California
woods, undisguised by paint, carving, gilding, or
varnish — the most complete and superb palace
on wheels ever built. Thirty-five different woods
enter into its construction, displaying a variety of
structure and a range of harmonious tints hardly
imaginable by those who have seen only the poor
imitations of feeble art. The car is a triumph of
taste and skill, and is worth a half-day's time of
any tourist simply to study and enjoy it. It has
been proposed that the merchants of this city buy
it, and present it to the President of the United
States — to the office^ not the incumbent — to be kept
at Washington, and used as the official car for all
i6o BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Presidential tours. A better idea could hardly be
suggested. May the motion prevail !
The Pacific Rolling Mills stand upon the
point of the Potrero. They include all the massive
machinery of their ponderous business, and turn
out heavy castings, forgings, and railroad iron by
hundreds of tons daily.
The Mission Woolen Mills — Folsom street, cor-
ner of Sixteenth. Here are made those wonderful
blankets of such marvelous fineness and thickness,
which have attracted so much attention, and re-
ceived even the World's Fair premium abroad.
Foundries and Iron Works.
Union Iron Works. — The oldest and largest in
California, emplopng three hundred and thirty
men, and turning out the heaviest and most perfect
mining and railroad machinery, locomotives, etc.
Located on the northeast corner of Mission and
First streets. H. J. Booth & Co.
KisDON Iron and Locomotive Works, southeast
corner of Howard and Beale streets. Has all
the latest mechanical improvements of the business.
Can turn out a shaft forty-eight feet long, and
weighing thirty tons. It employs two hundi'ed and
seventy-five hands. John N. Eisdon, president.
The Fulton, Miners', and Pacific Foundries, with
the Etna and Vulcan Iron Works, are the other
leading ones of the coast.
SA.V FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. i6i
Shot To^wer and Lead Works.
Corner of Howard and First streets. The pioneer
and, thus far, the only works upon the coast. The
tower is one of the most prominent and sightly
objects visible in all the water approaches to the
city.
Sugar Refineries.
The city has four: The San Francisco and Paci-
fic, Bay, California, and Golden Gate, turning
out twenty thousand tons of sugar annually.
Ship Yards.
At North Beach and at the Potrero are the prin-
cipal yards. They build mainly river steamers or
ferry boats, or smaller ocean craft, rarely construct-
ing anything above three hundred tons. For
larger craft it is cheaper to go north, where
immense forests of the finest ship-timber run clear
down to the ocean beach, and stand asking to be
built into ships.
Glass Works.
Two : one in the city, on the south side of Town-
send, between Third and Fourth; and the other,
the Pacific Glass works, on the Potrero, at the
corner of Iowa and Mariposa streets. These con-
fine their works chiefly to bottles, telegraph caps,
etc. .
Churches.
Baptist. — This prominent denomination has six
i62 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
_
cliurcli buildings in the city. The First Baptist
Church claims special space from the fact that it
was the first Protestant house of worship dedicated
in California. This Avas in August, 1849. The
present building of stuccoed brick, occupies the
original site of the first small, wooden pioneer
church — on the north side of Washington street,
between Stockton and Dupont. Rev. A. R. Med-
bury. Pastor.
CoNGEEGATiONAL. — This denomination has the
honor of ha\ang furnished the first settled Protest-
ant chaplain in San Francisco, Rev. T. Dwight
Hunt. He held the rare position of "Citizens'
Chaplain," Nov. 1st, 1848, conducting Divine wor-
ship) every Sunday in the " Public Institute," (the
school-house) on Portsmouth Square — the Plaza.
The citizens unitedly invited him from Honolulu,
and paid him $2,500 a year. The denomination
has four chui'ch buildings- -named by their order
of erection. The First Congregational Church is
on the southwest corner of CaHfornia and Duj)ont
streets. The pastor is Rev. Dr. Stone, formerly of
the Park street church, Boston.
Episcopal. — This denomination has five church
buildings, of which Grace Church, corner of Cali-
fornia and Stockton streets, is the oldest and larg-
est. The building is 135 feet long, 62 feet wide
and &Q feet high. Its great size and sightly location
make it one of the prominent buildings in any
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 163
•
general view of the city. Kev. James S. Bush,
Rector. The four other Episcopal church build-
ings are — Trinity, St. John's, Cburch of the Advent,
and St. Luke's.
Hebrew. — Synagogue of the Congregation
Emanu-el, Sutter street, between Stockton and
Powell. Of the five Jewish congregations, this has
" The Synagogue" par excellence — the one always
meant when one speaks of " The Jewish Syna-
gogue." It is an elegant and costly structure, built
of brick, not yet stuccoed, supporting two promi-
nent towers, and finished within in most approx)ri-
ate and artistic style. Total cost, including lot,
$185,000, gold coin.
Methodist. — This popular, powerful and rapidly
growing denomination has already erected eleven
church buildings in San Francisco — more than any
other Protestant Church, except the Presbyterians.
Its newest and most elegant church is the First
Methodist Ej)iscopal Church, on the west side of
Powell, between Washington and Jackson. This
is one of the most elegant and really artistic
churches i within and without, any where to be
found. Rev. Dr. Cox, Pastor.
Howard Street M. E. Church. — South side of
Howard, between Second and Third. This is the
most substantial and valuable building owned by
the denomination. Value, including lot and par-
i64 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
. _ __ — ^
sonage, $100,000. Its style is medieval gothic.
Pastor, Rev. L, Walker.
Presbyterian. — This recently united denomina-
tion, no longer old and new school, lias also eleven
churcli buildings; of these the two most noted are
the Calvary Presbyterian Church, corner of
Geary and Powell street-s. This church is as capa-
cious and comfortable, even luxurious within, as the
most fastidious could desire. Its organ is the
largest and finest on the coast. Eev. J. Hemj)hill,
Pastor.
Howard Presbyterian Church, Mission street,
near Thii'd; lately, Eev. Dr. Scudder's. This
building, with a plain and unpretentious ex-
terior, has greater seating capacity than any other
Protestant church in the city. It is of recent con-
struction and very convenient internal arrange-
ments. Temporary pastor. Rev. J. K. Kendall.
First Presbyterian Church — On the west side of
Stockton, between Washington and Clay. This
gothic building is one of the largest and finest —
but its chief claim to notice here, rests upon the
fact that the church which built it, organized May
20th, 1849, under the direction of the Rev. Albert
Williams, was the first Protestant church organized
in San Francisco.
Roman Catholic. — St. Patrick's Church, on the
north side of Mission, between Third and Fourth
streets. Although so new that it is not yet fin-
•SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 165
ishecl, this church is set first, because it is the
largest in the State, being one hundred and sixty
feet long by eighty feet wide. Its spire is the
loftiest and most beautifully proportioned in the
city, height 240 feet. Rev. Peter J. Grey, Pastor.
St. Mary's Cathedral, California street, at the
northeast corner of Dupont. In age, cost and rank
this building is entitled to the first place. It is a
noble structure of Gothic architecture, which has
been carried out in every detail. The front extends
seventy- five feet on California street, from which
the cathedral runs back one hundred and thii-ty-one
feet on Dupont. The tower is at present one hun-
dred and thirty -five feet high, and is to be sur-
mounted by a spire rising sixty-five feet further.
The Most Rev. Joseph S. Alemany is the Arch_
bishop.
Old Mission Church, on the southwest corner of
Sixteenth and Dolores streets. This was dedicated
Oct. 9, 1776, by Father Junipero Serra, the father
of the California missions. Aside from its age and
associations, the building is of little note. It is
built of the old adobes, which were simply unburnt
bricks dried in the sun, and formed a favorite build-
ing material with the early Spanish and Mexican
inhabitants. The old custom-house, on Portsmouth
square, was built of this material. The roof was
covered with semi-cylindrical tiles of burnt clay,
laid in alternate rows, the first one having the con-
iG6 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.*
caTe side up, and tlie next its convex side up. The
outside, generally, is very plain, though the front
shows some old-fashioned round columns, and a
few small bells sus^^endedin square apertures under
the projecting roof. The interior is dark, cold and
comfortless. Rev. Thos. Gushing, Pastor.
Besides the three churches already named, the
Catholics have nine others in the city, in addition
to five or six chapels and asylums.
SwEDENBOEGiAN. — First Ncw Jerusalem Church.
This is a very neat Gothic building, on the north
side of OTarrell, between Mason and Taylor
streets. Eev. John Doughty, Pastor.
A second New Jerusalem Church, of which Rev.
Joseph Worcester is pastor, having yet erected no
building, meets in the Druids' Hall, No. 413 Sutter
street.
Unitarian. — First Unitarian Church. This most
beautiful church edifice stands upon the south side
of Geary street, just below Stockton. Its front pre-
sents, unquestionably, the finest sj)ecimen of church
architecture in the State, and can hardly be sur-
passed in America. The interior is tastefully deco-
rated with a colored fresco of extreme beauty, and
most artistic harmony of tint. The organ, bajD-
tismal font, and the 23ulj)it, perpetuate the unique
taste of the lamented pastor, whose loved name the
public mind cannot dissociate from the beautiful
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 167
building, whicli, always known as " Starr King's"
cliurcli, has become his fitting monument.
This is the only church building of this denom-
ination in the city or the State.
Chinese Mission House. — This is a combination
church and school-house, new, neat and commo-
dious, fifty-six feet by seventy feet, and three stories
high. Adjoining school-rooms, readily thrown
into one, rooms for the Superintendent, Eey. Mr.
Gibson and family, and for his assistant, Kev. Hu
Sing Me, the native j)reacher, and his family, occu-
py the various floors. School "keeps" every even-
ing in the week, except Saturday and Sunday.
Bible class at half-past ten every Sunday morning,
and Sunday school at seven p. m.
The entire property belongs ta the Methodist
Church, who maintain it as a most efficient home
mission.
The Mariner's Chu^xjh, northeast corner of Sacra-
mento and Drumm streets. It is a neat and com-
modious wooden building, erected in 1867, by
contiibutions from merchants and other citizens of
San Francisco. Rev. J. Rowell, Pastor.
Hospitals and Asylums.
City and County Hospital, — Stands upon the
southwest corner of Stockton and Francisco streets.
FiiENCH Benevolent Society. — Has one of the
finest hospitals of the State, a large and handsome
i68 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
brick building, surrounded witb j)leasant gardens and
ornamented grounds, occui^ying the whole block on
the south side of Biyant, between Fifth and Sixth,
making a most agTeeable and healthful home for
the invalid. Others besides French may receive
its benefits, by assuming membership and j)aying its
moderate dues.
German Genekai. Benevolent Society. — Admits
only Germans. It has over eighteen hundred
members. On Brannan street, near Third, this
society has a verj^ large two-story brick building
with basement — furnished with eveiy fonn of bath,
and looking out upon fine gardens and shrubbeiy.
Protestant Orphan Asylum. — On the West side of
Laguna- street, between Haight and Waller. A
large and ^egant building of brick and stone —
one of the ornamental landmarks of that part of
the city. It accommodates two hundred and fifty
little ones. Mrs. Ii'a P. Eankin, President; Mrs.
Lucy Stewart, Matron.
Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. — Market street,
south side, between New Montgomery and Third.
A noble and cajDacious brick building accommo-
dating three hundred and twenty children,
and having a school of five hundred and fifty
day scholars attached. The Asylum is under the
sole management of Archbishop Alemany and the
Sisters of Charity.
San Francisco Female Hospital. — Comer of Clay
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 169
street and Prospect Place. Any woman who is
sick and poor, has a right to its benefits. It is
a genuine charity, regarding neither nativity, relig-
ion nor social rank. Mrs. M. E. Eoberts, Presi-
dent; Dr. C. T. Deane, Physician.
Ladies' Protection and Relief Society. — Frank-
lin street, between Post and Geary. The main
object 6f the society is to furnish a real Home for
friendless or destitute gii'ls, between three and four-
teen years old. Boys, under ten and over three,
may be received . and provided for until furnished
with a permanent home in a christian family. It
has over two hundred inmates, nearly all girls.
Miss C. A. Harmon, Matron.
Nearly a hundred other public and private
benevolent societies attempt to make up, as well as
possible, the lack of friends and homes, always so
severely felt by strangers or temporary residents in
any large city, and especially so in one of as cos-
% mopolitan a character as ours.
Colleges.
Besides the larger public schools, which are
really the peoples' colleges — the city has sixty-five
colleges and private schools. The number of
pupils attending them in 1870 was 4,582, against
21,000 in the public schools.
City College. — Southeast corner of Stockton
and Geary streets. This institution has built and
170 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
furnislied an elegant French GotMc building at
University Mound, some three miles southwest
of the city, which it will occui)^^ early in '72. Be-
sides the usual studies, this college especially pro-
vides the best facilities for obtaining a thorough
practical knowledge of Chemistry, in all its ap-
plications to assaying, mining, medical manufac-
tures and mechanics. Rev. Dr. Veeder, President.
Heald's Business College. — College Building,
Post street, between Montgomeiy and Kearny.
Its design is to educate bo3-s and young men, with
a special view to practical business. It is one of
the famous thirty-six Brj^ant and Stratton Business
Colleges, located in the leading cities of the United
States and Canada. Students, two hundred and
fifty. E. P. Heald, President.
St. Ignatius' College. — -Occupies the noble brick
building on the south side of Market street, be-
tween Fourth and Fifth. It is largely attended,
and is successfully conducted by the Jesuit
Fathers.
St. Maky's College. — On the old county road to
San Jose, four and a half miles southwest of the
city. Building, two hundred and eighty feet front,
by fifty feet deep — of excellent proportion and
fine appearance. Conducted by the Christian
Brothers. B. Justin, President.
ToLAND Medical College. — East side of Stock-
ton street, between Chestnut and Francisco. The
%
SAiV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY.
171
building is of brick, capacious, commodious, finely
located and admirably adapted to the purpose of
its construction. H. H. Toland, M. D., President.
Public School Buildings.
Lincoln. — Fifth street — soutli side, near Market.
Brick structure, four stories liigii, 141J feet long,
63 J feet wide; 20 class-rooms 129x34 feet, besides
eiglit wardrobes and teachers' rooms — wide halls,
and four broad stairways the whole height, with a
large hall in the upj^er story. It accommodates
twelve hundred grammar grade pupils, all boys.
In front stands a finel}^ modeled statue of Abraham
Lincoln for whom the building was named. Cost,
$100,000, gold coin. B. Marks, Principal.
Denman. — Bush street, north side, corner of
Tajdor. Brick stuccoed; length, 98J feet; width,
68 feet; height, four stories, including attic rooms.
Fourteen class-rooms, each 28x34, accommo-
dating eight hundred pupils, all girls. Cost,
$78,000, gold. This building was named in honor
of James Denman, one of the pioneer public school
teachers of the city^ — the founder of this school and
for many years, as at present, its j)rincij)al. Few
cities in the Union can show school buildings as
elegant, convenient, substantial and costly as these
two noble monuments of public ap}Dreciation of,
and liberality towards, the system which must
underlie and sustain our free government if it is
to stand at all.
172 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Tehama. — Teliama street, near First. Brick, un-
disguised; 111 feet long, 75 feet deep, three stories
high, besides spacious basement play-rooms — has
sixteen class-rooms, each 24x31, hall, 41x49, with
ample stairings, and convenient teacher's-rooms
and amj^le yards. Cost, $28,300, gold. It accom-
modates one thousand primary pupils of both sexes.
Mrs. E. A. Wood, Principal.
Besides these, the city has several large and fine
wooden school-houses of modern structure. Of
these the most sightly, is the Girls' High School,
south side of Bush street, near Stockton — 57x92,
three stories, ten class-rooms, 27x34, with an as-
sembly hall, 54x55; whose length can be increased
to 90 feet, by opening folding doors between it
and two adjoining class-rooms. It is the most con-
veniently arranged, best ventilated, sunniest, most
cheerful and healthful school-house in the State.
Ellis H. Holmes, Principal. To these the De-
partment has recently added, and is now adding,
four or five 18 class-room Jjuildings, of wood,
each accommodating one thousand pupils, now
occupying the old and small school-rooms of early
days or hived in unsuitable rented rooms.
Bancroft's Book and Stationery Establishment.
It may appear like exaggeration to say that San
Francisco contains the largest and most complete
general Book and Stationery, mercantile and manu-
%
SAN FRAA CISCO AND VICINITY. 173
facturing business in the world. Yet, such is the
fact. Not that the business, by any means, equals
that of Harpers' and Appletons', of New York, Hach-
ette of Paris, or the stationers of London. But,
between these houses and Bancroft's, there is no
comparison. The character of their trade is totally
different. One publishes books, another manufac-
tures paper, and so each is large in one thing,
whereas the Bancrofts, collecting from the manu-
facturers of all the world, and manufacturing ac-
cording to the requirements of their trade, cover
under one management the ground occupied by all
others combined. In older and larger cities, one
house deals in law 'books alone; another, school
books, etc., while this San Francisco house — besides
a full stock of books in every department of litera-
ture, and stationery from the manufacturers of Eu-
rope and America, paper from the mills of New
England, pencils from Germany, pen-holders from
Paris — unite Printing, Book-binding, Lithography,
Blank-Book Making, Engraving, &c., every thing,
in short, comprised in all the business of all the
others.
The detail is necessarily very great. They buy
from a thousand sellers, and sell to many thousand
buyers. Over one hundred employes, divided into
nine departments, each under an experienced man-
ager, ply their vocation like bees in a hive of six
rooms, each 37 by 170 feet. To the latest improve-
174 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
ments of the finest macliineiy, clriYen by steam, ap-
ply tlie highest order of sMlled labor, and San
Francisco can do anything as well and as cheaply
as N-ew York, London or Paris.
The retail department, occupying the first floor,
has the most magnificent salesroom on the Pacific
coast. Visitors are warmly welcomed, and stran-
gers politely shown through the premises.
Private Residences.
For the convenience of the touiist, who may want
to see the homes of our city as well as her public
buildings and business blocks, we mention the
locality of the following, wlach are among the
finest of our private dwellings: Erwin Da^is,
southwest comer of California and Powell streets;
Milton S. .Latham, Folsom street, opposite Haw-
thorne, on Rincon Hill; D. J. Tallant, corner of
Bush and ifonee^ street; Richard Tobin, corner of
California and Taylor Streets; John Parrott, 620
Folsom street. By making two trips — first, over
California street, and retmiiing by Sutter or Bush
street; second, over Rincon Hill on Folsom street,
and retui-ning by Hamson, the visitor may see the
finest of our private residences.
Points of Observation.
Telegraph Hlll. — This notable natural landmark
stands at the head, that is, at the north end of
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 175
Montgomery street. The early settlement, the
pioneer hamlet from which, the present city has
grown, was made in the hollow near the southwest
foot. Civilization has encircled it on the land side, ^.
and crept two thirds the way up, while com-
merce has claimed the water front along its oppo-
site base — but the summit still stands as free as
when the priestly fathers first looked thence upon
the glorious inland sea, which flashes between it
and the sunrise. Let us climb it — this way, straight
uj) the Montgomery street sidewalk. Slowly,
please; we have the day before us; exhausted lungs
impair one's sight. Stop at the corner of each
intersecting street, and glance either way, but es-
pecially eastward — that is, downward toward the
Bay. Now, *' Excelsior," again; up these stairs;
now along this natural surface — no as^Dhaltum
walks or Stow foundation pavements up here yet,
you see — on, by these houses; turn to the left here;
now to the right, follow this winding way; patiently
please — that's it; only two or three minutes more
— ah! here it is — this is the highest point, where
the old observatory stood'. Sit and breathe a mo-
ment; slip oh your overcoat, or put that extra
shawl about you; it's easy to take cold here, far
easier than to rid yourself of it in the city below.
For the sake of method in our survey, we may as
well begin at the northwest; thence " swing round
the circle," through north, east, south and west,
8
' 176 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
and return to the point of starting. Looking nortti-
westerlj^ then, we have first the elevated, undu-
lating plateau, which stretches along the flattened
^ summits of the northermost spur of the broad
jDeninsular hills, and terminates in the precipitous
bluff known as Fort Point — the southern gate-post
of the far-famed Golden Gate. Throug'h this we
gaze seaward along the further margin of the strait,
where it sends in a surging cove upon the rocky
beach, between Point Diablo and Point Bonita.
The projection of the latter point shuts off the
vision, which else might range up the northwesterly
trend of the coast, along the ocean-shore of Marin
county to Punta de los Reyes, (King's Point) which
projects southward between Bolinas bay and the
ocean. Between Point Diablo and Lime Point, a
• slight northerly curve, in the shore line makes a
shallow cove, from whose edge the vision climbs the
successive hills or ridges which fill the ascending
space as it roughly rises toward the crowning point
of Marin county, Mmint Tamalpais, two thousand
six hundred and four feet nearer heaven than the
beach line whence we set forth. Still following
round, we look up into Richardson's Baj;; next the
southwestern end of Raccoon Strait, and then
Angel Island. We are now looking north. Alca-
traz, the rocky island which nature set just there to
support a commanding • fortress ; then, an eye-
sweep up over the northern pai-t of San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 177
Bay to that narrow strait whicli joins it with San
Pablo Bay; northeast the San Pablo shore of Con-
tra Costa county, and the hills which terminate the
Mount Diablo peninsular range. Nearer east,
the strangely monotonous hills, whose ridges and
gullies look as if plowed out by heavy rains, and
rounded by sweeping winds. Grassy or earthy,
they look, according to the time of year and kind
of season. Now, almost east, the vision falls. This
large island, off in the midst of the bay, is Yerba
Buena, or Goat Island. It rises three hundred and
fort}^ feet above low water mark. Nearly in a line
over the island appears Berkeley, the site of the
University of California, of which one large build-
ing, already two thirds raised, you may possibly
discern. A little further south — that is, to the
right, you can j^lainly see the State Asylum for the
Deaf and Dumb and Blind. This noble building-
crowns a gently-sloping eminence just at the mar-
gin betw.een the broad and nearly level plain which
stretches between it and the bay, and the foothills
back of which the Contra Costa mountains bring-
up the rear.
Almost due east lies Oakland, the tree-city of
the beautiful grove-dotted plain. Then Clinton,
San Antonio, Brooklyn and Alameda, snuggled in
together so closely that one can't tell " which is
which;" and, as far as the beauty of the view is
concerned, it doesn't matter either, for they are all
178 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
fair to look upon and IotgIt to behold. The clus-
tering trees shut out by far the larger portion of
the houses, so that we might hardly susi^ect the
size and population of the towns, whose scattered
roofs show here and there among the trees.
We are loolang southeasterly now. That creek,
whose mouth you see just beyond Alameda,
leads into San Leandro bay; and right over it,
nearly hidden by intei-vening trees, lies the town of
the same name. A little fui-ther south, and too dis-
tant to be plainly seen, is Hayward's. That de-
pression in the mountain summits beyond, marks
the opening of Livermore pass, thi'ough which the
Western Pacific Railroad finds its way.
Beyond Hayward's, further south, and thence
sweeping around to the right, toward the extreme
end of the bay, we dimly discern the noiihern end of
the beautiful Santa Clara Valley, where it widens
out and flattens down to the bay. We are now
looking abnost due south. Only foui- miles down.
Hunter's Point shuts off our further view, and com-
pels us to look nearer home. A trifle west of that,
and half as'far away, the Potrero j^resents its trans-
verse ridge, fast disapj)earing under the rapidly-
growing city, and showing a gap of daylight where
the deep cut of the Bay View horse railroad was re-
lentlessly dug and blasted through, in its stubborn
pursuit of a practicable grade. Between the cut
and ourselves, the Long Bridge' shuts off the Mis-
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY, 179
sion bay, and shows where the fast-filling mud-flats
will soon crowd back the bay, and make a new
water front. Still nearer, we have the western
slope or ridge of Kincon Hill, rising gradually to
the left, and packed all over with the huddled and
mostly wooden houses of the new and hurriedly-
built city. Along the inner base of the hill, and
stretching out westward, lies the old " Happy
Valley." That's just this side of where you see the
shot-tower, and runs thence four or five blocks to
the right. Between that and ourselves, coming-
over this side of Market street, we have the oldest
and most denselj^-built part of the city, relieved
here and there — by the Occidental Hotel, Tucker's
tower, the Merchants' Exchange, Murphy, Grant
& Go's, building, and half a dozen others. Now
let the vision range away southwest, again begin-
ning at the hills and coming in. The bounding
hills are Bernal Heights, west of which Fairmount
and the adjacent hills merge into the peninsular
range, and form a rude amphitheatre, within which
nestles the fast-growing southwestern precinct.
Coming up toward the west, the twin summits of
the Mission peaks slant the vision up against the
sky, or plunge it into the fleecy billows of in-rolling
ocean fog, Avhich seldom survives the warmer air of
the inner basin long enough to roll far down their
western slope. Between them and Vis lies the Mis-
sion Dolores, grouped around its century-old
i8o BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
cliurcli. Nortliward of the twin-peaks tlie hills
rise in " promiscuous prominence." A little south
of west, that irregularly conical hill, surmounted
by a gigantic solitary cross, is the famous "Lone
Mountain," about whose lower slopes, and around
Avhose base are gTouped so many " cities of the
dead." Thence northerly, to the point whence our
sui'vey began, little of note arrests the sight, more
than the broad reach of lower hills and sandy
dunes, which patiently wait the coming occupation
of the westward-growing city.
Although the point beneath our feet is but three
hundred feet high, the panoramic view is wider and
freer than from any other, even the highest hilltop
of the city.
Russian Hill. — About one mile west-southwest
from Telegraph Hill, on Vallejo street, between
Taylor and Jones street, Russian Hill rises nearly
sixty feet higher, but offers little additional pros-
pect. It was formerly surmounted by a sort of
cork-screw obsei-vatory, a skeleton structure of
open frame-work, suiTounded by a spiral stairway,
whose summit afforded the loftiest lookout within
the city limits. West-northwest of this hill, and
about three-quarters of a mile from its summit, lies
the small lagoon, near which the founders of the
early mission first located.
Clay Street Hill. — Nearly south of Russian
Hill, and about three furlongs from it, rises this
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICLNIl V.
hill, the highest within the city limits. It is
named from the street which runs just south of its
summit, or will do so v/hen cut through. The hill
is 376 feet high, and is a little over a mile south-
west of telegraph Hill. The view from its sum-
mit differs only in having moved the point of sight
a mile southwest, and raised it about 80 feet.
California Street Hill — This, too, takes its
name from that of the neighboring street. It is
hardly proper to call it a separate hill as it is but
two blocks south of Cla'^ Street Hill, from which
only a slight hollow originally separated it.
RiNCON Hill. — Three quarters of a mile south-
west of the City Hall. Its highest point reaches
hardly a hundred feet above the bay level. The
whole hill originally offered such sightly locations
for building that it is covered on nearly all sides,
and crowded upon its very height, by some of the
most comfortable and home-like residences in the
entire city. This fact makes it almost impossible
to get an unobstructed view, in all directions, from
any part of it. It was a favorite, and almost an
aristocratic site for residences, until the heartless
greed for gain procured legal authority to excavate
the famous " Second Street Cut;" 75 feet deep,
which needlessly ruined the beauty of the hill.
Lone Mountain. — This singularly symmetrical hill
stands two and one-half miles west of the City
Hall, at the head of Bush street. It is 284J feet
i82 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
high. From its summit rises a solitaiy cross
which, especially near sunset, stands foi*th against
the western sky with peculiar, beautiful effect. The
view hence is full of inspiration and suggestion.
None have caught more of these, or embodied them
in finer words than Bret Harte, in his fayorite
lines :
As I stand by the cross on the lone niomitain crest,
Looking oyer the ultimate sea,
In the gloom of the mountain a ship lies at rest.
And one sails away froUFthe lea;
One spreads its white wings on a far-reaching track.
With pennant and sheet flowing free,
One hides in the shadow with sails laid aback —
The ship that is waiting for me !
BiTt lo, in the distance the clouds break away,
The Gate's glowing portal I see,
And I hear, from the out-going ship in the bay,
The song of the sailors in glee;
So I think of the luminous foot-prints that bore
The comfort o'er dark Galilee,
And wait for the signal to go to the shore;
To the ship that is waiting for me.
Mission Peaks. — The double peaks already men-
tioned in our panoramic eye-sweep from Telegraph
Hill, lying three miles southwest of it, sometimes
called the Twin Peaks. They are five hundred and
ten feet high, and stand four miles southwest of
the City Hall. They, are the loftiest points in the
county; either summit commands a view which
SJN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 183
well repays the time and labor expended in gain-
ing it.
Bernal Heights. — This name designates a sliort
range of hills nearly five miles west-southwest of
the City Hall. Starting near the bay, they run
transversely, that is, westerly, far about one mile
across the peninsula. Their highest point is two
hundred and ninety-five feet above the bay.
The highest point of the Potrero is three hun-
dred and twenty-six feet above low tide, and the
San Miguel Hills, near the southerly line of the
county, reach the height of about four hundred
feet. The Pacific Heights, near Alta Plaza, a mile
and a half west of the City Hall, are three hundred
and seventy-five feet high.
These are all the natural elevations of note within
the city and county. The best artificial otrtlooks
may be had from the roof of the houses standing
on or near the summits of those hills wliich rise
within the settled j)ortion. The roof of Bancroft's
building, the cupola of the Grand Hotel, the U.S.
Military Observatory, on the southwest corner of
Third and Market streets, and the Shot Tower, if
you can j^ersuade Mayor Selby to let you up, ail.
afford extensive and beautiful prosj)ects.
Having thus told the tourist all we know about
the most feasible and temperate methods of ' ' get-
ting high," we leave him to his own direction, only
adding that if he isn't satisfied with our efforts in his
1 84 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
behalf, lie'd better go " up in a balloon," and view
our citj^ as the Germans did Paris.
How to get about.
The universal, inexpensive, always-ready and
democratic way is by the ever-present Horse Cars.
Seven different companies have laid about fifty
miles of rail in and about the city, and carry one
either directly to or within a very short distance of
any desired point.
Lines, Routes and Colors. — The Omnibus and
North Beach and Mission R.R. Companies run
yellow cars through Third and Fourth, Sansome,
Montgomery and Kearney, the central blocks of
Stockton, and the northern ends of Powell and
Mason. They also run red cars from the centre of
the city to the southwestern limits, through How-
ard and Folsom streets.
The Central Jl.R. Co. runs red cai*s from the
steamboat landings along the city front, through
Jackson, Sansome, Bush, and other leading streets
to Lone Mountain. Theii- cars are commonly called
the Lone Mountain cars.
The Front Street and Ocean R.E. Co. runs gi-een
cars from the steamboat landings at the foot of
Broadway, up that street, along Battery, Market,
Sutter and Polk streets, by Spring Valley to the
Presidio, whence ' busses connect for Fort Point,
A. branch of this road runs through Larkin street
SAy FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 185
across Market tlirougli Ninth to Mission; thus con-
necting the western with the southwestern suburbs.
Within the year this company has also constructed
and put into operation another branch, carrying one
to Laurel Hill Cemetery and Lone Mountain.
The Market Street K.E., the pioneer, runs blue
cars from the junction of Montgomeiy and Market
street, opposite the Grand Hotel, through Market
by the San Jose Depot, and out Valencia to
Twenty-sixth. From the junction of Ninth and
Larkin street with Market, it sends a branch out
through Hayes Valley to Hayes Valley Pavilion.
The City R. R. — Lately built, and newly stocked,
runs from the west front of Grand Hotel, at the
junction of Market and New Montgomery, along
the latter to Mission, thence out Mission to Twenty-
Sixth, passing directly by the entrance to Wood-
ward's Gardens, and within one block of the San
Jose depot.
The Potrero and Bay View R. R. — Connecting
with the North Beach and Mission R. R., at the
south end of Fourth street, runs thence across the
Long Bridge over Mission Bay — through the. Potrero
Deep Cut, over the Islais Creek bridge, through
South San Francisco to the Bay View Race Track
terminus, within half a mile of Hunter's Point and
the Dry Dock.
Times, Fares, etc. — Commencing at about 6 p.
M., in summer earlier, the cars run at various in-
1 86 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
tervals of from tliree to seven minutes until 11 and
12 o'clock p. M., and on the City E. R., till 1.30
the next morning. Nearly all the roads sell tickets,
haying four coupons attached, for 'twenty-five cents
each. Every coupon is good for one fare from one
end of the city to the other, and the coupon tickets
of one* company are received by every other. For
single fares, paid without coupons, they usually
charge ten cents. Nearly a year ago the City R.
R. started the half-dime fare, asking but five cents
for a single ride, and the Market street R. R. has
also adopted it. "Children occupying seats, full
fare."
Several of the companies issue transfer checks
entitling the passenger to continue his ride upon
any intersecting line without extra charge.
Hacks and Coaches. — For the benefit of those
who have occasion to engage any of the above, for
the transient sei-vice of any excursion lying outside
of the regular routes, or beyond the legal limits
within which the fixed fare obtains, we subjoin
the following l©gal regulations also contained in
the order and section already quoted on a previous
page:
*' For a hackney carriage, drawn by more than
one horse, for four or less persons, when engaged
by the hour, to be computed for the time occupied
in going and returning, including detention, $3 for
the first hour, and $2 for each subsequent hour.
SAJV FRANCISCO AND VICINIl V. 187
" For a hackney carriage, drawn by one horse,
for two persons, when engaged by the hour, to be
occupied in going and returning, including deten-
tions, $1 50 for the first hour, and $1 for each
subsequent hour."
It is hardly necessary to remark, yet it may pre-
vent misunderstanding to add, that the above rates
pay for the service of the lahole carriage, and may
be equitably divided among the occupants as they
agree.
Livery Service. — The livery stables of the city
are numerous, and well-stocked with animals of
blood and sj)eed, and every form of two or four-
wheeled vehicles from the substantial, three-seated
thorough-braced w^agon to the elegant or fancy
single buggy or sulky. The usual rates, at all
first class stables, are five dollars a day, or a drive,
for a single team, and ten dollars for a double one.
For a very short trip, and a very short time, they
frequently abate something, and when a team is
engaged for several days or weeks at once, com-
monly make the rate lower. For saddle horses the
price is usually one half that of a single team, that
is $2 50 for a day or drive — subject to similar re-
ductions as above.
On Foot. — If you -have the nerve and muscle of
a man, and are not sadly out of training, by all means
walk through or about the city and around its
suburbs. In several places, as, in climbiiig Tele-
i88 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
graph or any other hill, you -will have to walk, and
then 3^ou can. Even our lady visitors might profi-
tably emulate the pedestrian performances of their
English sisters. ' Provide good easy, wide-bot-
tomed, low-heeled walking-shoes, boots or gaiters,
and take the beautiful, windless and dustless
morning hours for it and, unless your taste is fash-
ionably perv^erted or your phj'sical energy hope-
lessly exhausted, you will find it most delightful.
Among the Scottish Highlands, or in the Swiss
Alps, you would certainly do it, endure it, enjoy
it, and subsequently boast of it; why not try it
here ?
Suburbs and Vicinity.
We suppose the visitor to have fairly rested — to
have walked about a little through the more central
portion; to have somewhat studied the general
plan of the city, in view of the larger or shorter
time which he has to spend in the city, to have
made up his mind how much he will see, and what
it shall be. By way of helping his planning and
sight-seeing, we now catalogue and briefly remark
upon the more notable points, taken in regular
order from the most central starting point. We
offer the following pages as helpful suggestions to
those who cannot avail themselves of the i^ersonal
guidance of some resident friend, who can con-
stantly accompany them to direct their route, and
verbally explain the details which these printed
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY, 189
pages attempt. If one lias not time, or does not
wish to see anything here set down, he can easily
omit it, and from the remainder select whatever he
may chose, transposing, combining, modifying
and adapting according to his own good pleasure.
GENEBAL CIRCUIT OF THE CITY.
Commencing at the foot of Market street, thence
southward, along or over the water front, continu-
ing around the entire city and returning to the
point of starting. Also mentioning more distant
points visible to the spectator looking beyond the
suburbs :
The Lumber Yards, Wharves and Merchant Fleet,
first attract our notice. Millions of feet of boards,
plank and timber from the northern coast of this
State and from Oregon, ranged in immense piles on
broad and deep piers — alongside of which the
schooners, brigs and barks of the lumber fleet are
constantly discharging.
Thence along Stewart or East street, the latter
being nearer the water, by large lumber-yards,
boat-shops, blacksmithing and ship-chandling es-
tablishments, we reach the California and Oregon
S. S. Co's wharves and slips. The Folsdm street
cars run within five short blocks ; nearer than any
others.
Black Diamond Coal Company's Pier. — Barges,
sheds and piles of coal, straight from the bowels of
I90 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Mount Diablo, corner Spear and Harrison streets,
P. B. Cornwall, agent.
Bincon Point, foot of Harrison street. The
wharves and filling have quite obliterated the old
shore line, which originally turning a short corner
here, received the name "E-incon," which, in Span-
ish, means simply a corner.
IT. S. Marine Hospital, noi-thwest corner of Har-
rison and Spear.
P. M. S. S. Co.'s Piers, Docks, Sheds and Slips.
Water front, foot of Brannan and Townsend streets.
Piers having a total front of 1200 feet, shed 600
feet long by 250 wide. Steamships over five thou-
sand tons register and docks built especially for
them. Capt. W. B. Cox, Superintendent.
Gas Works, corner of King and Second. The
other works of the same company, the San Fran-
cisco Gas Co., are on Howard street, from First
to Beale.
C. P. E. R. Co.'s Freight Pier, Depot and Boat.
Foot of Second street.
Mission Bay. Foot of Second and Third streets.
The broad cove lying between South street and
Potrero ; now fast filling in, especially beyond, that
is, south of the Long Bridge.
Mission Rock. — Off the foot of Third street. Has
a shanty on it. Used for fishing.
XJ. S. Ship Anchorage. — Between foot of Third
and the Mission Rock, and within a quarter-mile
SAJV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY.
radius of tlie latter. U. S. Revenue Cutters and
Coast Survey vessels, chiefly occupy it.
Steamboat Reserves. — In the docks between
Third and Fourth and the adjacent ones along the
south side of the bridge.
Long Bridge. — From the foot of Fourth street,
across Mission Bay to Potrero — one mile. Will
becon^e Kentucky street, when tke filling-in makes
a street of w^hat is now a bridge.
Yacht Club Building. — East side of Long Bridge,
one third across. Yachts at moorings near.
Potrero. — The point at the south end of Long
Bridge. Si)anish for pasture ground. Originally
a rocky ridge. Fast disappearing under houses.
Glass Works. — Pacific Glass Works, corner Iowa
and Mariposa streets, four blocks west of bridge.
Pacific Rolling Mill. — Potrero Point, water front,
east of bridge.
Deep Cut, is really Kentucky street, brought
down somewhere near the future grade, by cutting-
through the solid rock, to an average depth of 75
feet for nearly a fifth of a mile.
Rope Walk runs under Kentucky street, near the
north end of the Islais Creek Bridge, which is the
same street continued across Islais Creek, now a
solidly planked bridge, seven eighths of a mile long.
Italian Fishing Fleet and Flakes, on the right of
the bridge, along the cove-beach just beyond the
rope-walk. Their Mongolian competitors have their
boats and beach a little further south.
192 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
South San Francisco is the lising land or ridge
south of Islais Creek. It is a pleasant suburb, rap-
idly growing.
Catholic Orphan Asylum, that large, new wood-
en building fronting on Connecticut street, nine
blocks west of the bridge.
Hunter's Point is the east end of South San
Francisco, a rocky point in which the Drs' Dock,
dug out of the solid rock, four hundred and twen-
ty-one feet long, one hundred and twenty feet wide
at the top, and sixty feet wide at the bottom, which
is twenty-two feet below mean high water. With
the Floating Dock, near by, it cost two millions of
dollars.
Bay Yiew Race Track, near Railroad Avenue, a
mile southwest of Islais Bridge One mile around;
broad, smooth and hard. Bay View House at north
miirgin, near west end.
Visitacion Point and Valley, three quarters of a
mile be3^ond the race course; worth driving out to
see, if you have plenty of time.
San Bruno Road unites with this railroad avenue
about half a mile beyond the race course; brings
one back near
New Butchertown, corner of Islais Creek Canal
and Kentucky street.
Drive back this old San Bmno Road, until jou
come to Twenty-sixth street; along that to Mission;
down Mission to Seventeenth, out which you may
SJJV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 193
drive until you find your way winding and climbing
up and over the east slopes of the peninsular hills
along the Oce^i House Road, a broad, hard track,
leading over the hills to the house which names it.
Opposite Twenty-fourth street is the toll gate,
where you pay twelve and a half, or twenty -five
cents, according. to your team. A mile beyond, a
side gate, free, admits you to a carriage-way through
the fields, leading down, three quarters of a mile,
to Lake Honda, the huge double-reservoir of slop-
ing-sided masonry, covered with cement, and hold-
ing thirty-five million gallons. This well merits a
visit. The City Almshouse stands on the hill,
half a mile south of the lake.
The Small-pox Hospital is the small building-
standing alone on the hill, a third of a mile north
of the Almshouse.
Returning to, and resuming the main road, a mile
southwesterly and then westerly, brings us to the
Ocean Race Course, securely enclosed, and having
the usual circuit and surface.
Opposite this, and half a mile south lies Lake
Merced, three quarters of a mile long by a fifth of
a mile wide. That part of it nearer to, and paral-
lel with the road, is a smaller, nearly separate lake
called simply " the Lagoon."
Ocean House, on a slight sandy knoll, half a
mile northwest of Lake Merced.
Pacific Beach. — This is the sandy shore of the
194 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
'' ultimate sea," stretching almost exactly north two
miles to the base of the cliff, up which a well-built
road carries us a score of rods northt^esterly to the
Cliff House, the grand terminus, or at least way-
station of all ocean diives. Its broad, covered
piazza, well-furnished with easy chairs and good
marine glasses, has been for y^ars the popular ob-
sei'^atory whence fashion languidly patronizes the
Pacific, or gazes with momentary interest -upon the
Seal Eocks — three hundi'ed feet from the shore,
and dotted with lubb6rly seals, clumsily climbing
upon the lower rocks, or lazily sunning themselves
above.
Farallones — Twenty-five miles seaward from the
Cliff House — seven sharj)-pointed islets break the
monotony of the western horizon. The highest of
these rises three hundred and forty feet, and has a
large lighthouse of the first-class, vrith the finest
Fresnel light on the coast.
Point Lobes, a precipitous' coast bluff, a thii'd
of a niile north of the Cliff House, chiefl}^ noted
as the site of the Signal Station; provided ^th a
fine glass and the usual outfit of a marine observa-
tory. Thence along the beach, or the brow of the
bluff, if you like climbing, by the Helmet Rock,
whose shape hardly appears from the land, around
the curve of the shore, whose general direction here
is northeast, a full mile, to
Fort Point, where stands a doubly-strengthened
SAiV FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 195
and ]iea\dly-mounted fort, yet unnamed, whose
chief interest founds upon its general resemblance
to the famous Fort Sumter.
Lighthouse. — The northwest angle of the fort
supports a substantial tower, showing affixed white
light. From the walls of the fort, or better still,
from the lighthouse balcony, we look upon and
across the
Golden Grate, the connecting strait between the
Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. It is be-
tween three and four miles long, from one to two
miles wide, and over four hundred feet deep.
Lime Point, the northern inside gate-post — the
southeastern extremity of Marin county.
Point Bonita. — The outer or oceanward point of
the northern shore, nearly two miles west of the
fort, crowned with a lighthouse.
Mountain Lake — One mile south of the fort, and
sending a little rivulet called Lobos Creek westward
into the Pacific, which it helps to replenish.
Presidio — Spanish for garrison or barracks. This
is nearly a mile southeast of the fort, as we return
toward the city. Its main features are the exteur
si ve barracks, accommodating several hundred U. S.
soldiers, who make this their point of arrival and
departure in going to or coming from the different
stations to which they may be ordered. Forming
the parallelogram front is the parade ground, a
broad, open field, gently falling toward the bay,
196 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE
surrounded by the officei-s' quarters or the bar-
racks, and dotted with batteries here and there.
Black Point. — The water front at the foot of
Franklin and Grough streets.
Pioneer Woolen Mills — Corner of Polk and
Reade streets. Office, 115 Battery street.
North Beach — From the foot of Powell street
west to Black Point.
Angel Island, three and a half miles north of
Black Point, across the bay.
Alcatraces Island^A mile and a half north of
North Beach, off in the ba}^ heavily fortified, com-
manding the Golden Gate.
North Point — Water front, foot of Kearnj^ street,
corner of Bay street.
Sea Wall — Water front from the foot of Union
street, southward; a sloping bulkhead of rubble,
faced with heavier rock, costing $240 a linear foot,
and a mile and a half long.
Ferries. — Alameda — Corner of Davis and Pacific
street. City Front Cars.
Oakland — Same dock, next slip south. City
Front Cars.
Saucelito — Meiggs' Wharf, foot of Powell street.
North Beach cars.
San Quentin — Davis street, near Vallejo. City
Front or Sutter street cars.
Vallejo — Corner of Front and Vallejo. City
Front or Sutter street cars.
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 197
HOW TO SEE SAN FRANCISCO • AND ITS SUEROUNDINGS.
Brief trij^s, or short excursions, requiring but a
few hours each. Short skeleton tours in and about
the suburbs, suggesting the most interesting points,
with the walks, rides, drives or sails by which one
may reach them — the time required and the best
hours of the day, the amount of walking necessary,
with the conveniences and cost.
IN AND ABOUT THE CITY.
I. Walk up Montgomery street to Telegraph
Hill. If you don't feel like climbing clear to the
top, follow the foot-path which winds around about
two thirds up its east and northeast slopes. If
you go to the top you can go down into — or if you
take the lower path you will come round into, Lom-
bard street. Walk down that to Powell; turn to
your right and follow Powell north to the water
and Meiggs' wharf, down the wharf if you want
the bay breeze, and the bay sights from a lower
level; come back — take the South Park cars; ride
up Powell by Washington Square, up Stockton,
down Washington — get out at the upper corner of
the Plaza, walk diagonally across, notice the old
City Hall on your left, stroll up Kearny to Cali-
fornia or Bush, down which you descend one block
to Montgomery.
II. Chinese Quarters. — Sacramento street, from
Kearny to Dupont, along Dupont to Pacific, down
198 BANCROFT' S 'TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Pacific to Stockton, to Jackson, down Jackson
to Kearny; cast your eyes down the little alleyways
and courts which cut up the blocks along these
streets. Look at these signs! " Hop Yik, Wo
Ki, Tin Yuk, Hop Wo, Chung Sun, Cheung
Kuong, Hang Ki, Yang Kee, Shang Tong,
Shun Wo," that last would'nt be a bad one
to go over the door of *' civilized" laim-hole.
"Wing On Tsiang, Wung Wo Shang, Kwong On
Cheang," and scores of others. Most are personal
names, some are business mottoes.t They are
generally phonographic, that is, you pronounce
them according to their spelling*". Here and there
one suggests fun. For instance, "ManLi." Well,
why not a Chinaman as well as a white man? Has
the superior race the monopoly of lying? That
sign is certainly creditable to the Chinese female;
it says Man Li; not woman lie . Not far thence a
veiy appropriate successor finishes the logical se-
quence, "Hung Hi." Certainly, why not? That's
what ought to be done to any merchant who will
lie. Any Man Li, should be " Hung Hi." These
celestials certainly have no bad idea of the eternal
fitness of things. What would haj)pen to our
Melican merchants if that rule were rigidly aj)-
plied ? It would'nt be much trouble to . take the
next census. This is the out-door glance by daj'light.
If you want a more thorough exploration by day or
by night, call on special officer Duffield, (George
SAN FRAA CISCO AND VICINITY. 199
W.) at 1,107 Montgomory street, who knows their
haunts and ways, and can show you all you'll care
to see. His long, experience among them has also
acquainted them with him to such a degree, that
they allow him to enter and pass through their
houses and rooms whence another might be shut
out. In fact, he is their special officer, paid by the
Chinese merchants to guard their property, and is
emphatically the man to have for an escort. He
can take you into their gambling saloons, into their
pigeon-hole Jodging houses where rag-pickers, beg-
gars and thieves fill the air with opium smoke, then
shove themselves, feet foremost, into a square box
of a pigeon-hole, more like a coffin than a couch.
He can guide you into crooked, narrow, labyrin-
thine passages through which you can just squeeze,
and which you could never find nor enter without
guidance; into inner courts, around which, and in
the midst of which, stand old rickety, tumble-down,
vermin-haunted hives of wooden tenements which
rise through three or four stories, all alive with the
swarming lazzaroni, packed into the smallest and
dirtiest of rooms, and huddled into every dark and
filthy corner.
These^are the lowest and worst of their race; the
infeimal celestials, among whom the officer will not
take a woman at all, and where it would not be safe
for any man to attempt entrance alone. The ap-
proaches are so ingeniously constructed and so art-
9
200 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
fully disguised, and the passages wind among each
other so intricately, and intersect each other so per-
plexingly, that not one in a thousand could ever
find the beginning, and hardly one in ten thousand
could discover the end.
" For ways that are dark.
And for tricks that are vain,
The heathen Chinee 'm peculiar ;
Which the same I would rise to explain."
The stranger must not conclude, however, that
such as these make up the bulk of the C^hinese who
come to us. On the contraiy, these are the lowest
and vilest, the dregs and settlings of their social
system; no more fit to be taken as samples of their
nation than the low, whisky-drinking, shillaly-
swinging, skull-cracking, vote-re^Deating Irish, who
now govern New York, are to be taken as fair types
of the " finest pisantiy undher the sun," or consid-
ered as a representative of the educated Irishman,
than whom a warmer-hearted, freer-handed, more
courteous-mannered gentleman one can hardly meet
in a thousand miles.
So the middle classes of the Chinese are .cleanly,
sober, industrious and honest, while their leading
merchants, of whom we have several fine represen-
tatives in the city, are models of business integrity
and social courteB3^ Enter one of their establish-
ments, with proper introduction, and you shall en-
counter the most perfect politeness throughout the
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY.
interview, and carry away tlie impression that you
were never more heartily welcomed and generously
entertained, according to their custom, of course,
by any strangers, in your life.
And one very notable thing should also be said
of their street deportment; you may walk through
their quarter every day and night for a month, and
not see a single drunken man of their own race. If
you encounter one at all, he is likely to belong to
the " superior race."
Your survey of the Chinese quarter would be in-
complete without a visit to their temples or joss
houses. One of these stands off Pine, just above
Kearny. They are also used as hospitals.
Should you wish any souvenir in the shape of
their peculiarly ingenious manufacture,* you may
find them at the Chinese or Japanese bazaars.
III. Thikd Street. — Five and a half blocks to
South Park; thence three blocks to the water;
along Channel street to Long Bridge. Here we
may take the Bay- View cars, ride across the Mission
Bay, visit the Eolling Mills, or keep on through
the Deep Cut, over Islais Creek bridge, through
South San Francisco, to Bay View track, whence
'busses carry us to Hunter's Point and the Dry
Dock. Best time, morning, unless some ship is
going into dock on the high tide. Fare in 'bus,
twenty-five cents each.
202 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
IV. — Water FRONT-South of Market.-Walk along
East or Stewart St., by U. S. Marine Hospital, to P.
M.S.S. Co/s ships and docks andC. P.K.R. Freight
piers and depot. Thus far no cars. At foot of
Brannan take cars, ride up that to Third, down
Third, by South Park, to Howard — along Howard
to Second, along Second to Market again. Or j^ou
can walk from the water up Second to Market
again. Or you can walk from the water up Second
through the cut to Han-ison, climb the bridge-stairs,
walk down Hanisonto First or Fremont, turn left,
and come back by the Shot Tower, Foundiies, and
Factories to Market.
V. — Water Froxt — North of Market. — No cars
here. Stroll northerly by the corners of the different
streets, ajong the heads of the different piers,
among the grain and produce boats, river steamer
do(?ks and feny slips, around to North Point, with
its bonded warehouses, iron clippers, and sea wall,
thence back Sansome to Broadway, whence cars
take you again to the centre.
YI. — Southwestern Suburbs. — From comer west
front of Grand Hotel, take city cars out Mission, by
fine new church, new Mint, to Woodward's Gar-
dens; thence to Sixteenth; up that three blocks,
westerly, to Dolores street, where stands the old
Mission Church, the site of the first permanent set-
tlement of San Francisco ; out Dolores; south two
blocks, to Jewish Cemeteries; back by same way to
SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY. 203
Sixteenth ; down that to Mission Woolen Mills ;
thence home by Folsom street or Howard street
cars, either of which "brings you to Market street.
VII. — Western Suburbs and beyond. — From
Montgomery up Sutter, by cars, or up Bush by feet
or wheels. Either street carries jovl westerly to
Laurel Hill, in which elegant monuments and
mausoleums merit more than passing notice; thence
east three blocks to Lfone Mountain and -the ceme-
teries grouped about its base, and upon its lower
slopes — the Odd Fellows', west; the Masonic, south,
and the Calvary north and east. Out the Cliff
House Eoad — you'll need horse probably, or can
take the 'bus for 25 cents each way — by the Race
Track or Driving Park, to the Cliff House; look at
the Seal Rock's, Seals, Ocean andFarallones; thence
south along Pacific Beach to Ocean House, whence
in by Ocean Road or the new Central Road by
Lake Peralta and Lake Honda. The old Ocean
Road brings you back through the Mission; the
new one, in by Lone Mountain again,
VIII. — Northwestern Suburbs and beyond. —
Up Geary, Post or Sutter to Van Ness Avenue ;
thence twelve blocks north through Spring Valley,
by cars from Broadway west to Harbor View, Pre-
sidio and Fort Point. Returning from the Presi-
dio, keep towards the Bay ; come around by Black
Point, whence, skirting the water-front through
five or six rough blocks, you reach the foot of Ma-
204 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
son or Powell street, and find other cars waiting to
bring you home.
The routes aboYe suggested, are by no means
exhaustive, but will take one to or near the most
noted points. If the tourist can have the personal
guidance and escort of some well-posted friend, so
much the better. In the absence of such friend, or
even to accompany him, we respectfully submit our
little pocket substitute.
EXCURSION ROUTES.
Undeb this head we suggest different excursions
to and through the most noted localities within a
limited radius. We have arranged them in
the order of their neighborhood to each other, so
that one may pass from the end of one to the be-
ginning of the next without the necessity of return-
ing to San Francisco more than once or twice be-
fore completing them all.
I. The Bay Trip.
We suppose you tired of land travel, with its ac-
companying jar and dust, and willing to spend a
half day in a smooth-sailing steamer on the beauti-
ful bay. Go to No. 703 Market street, only nine
nine doors east of Bancroft's, to the office of Gen.
Ord, commanding the Department of California.
He can give you a pass, ordering- the captain of the
McPherson, the lively little Government propeller,
which daily makes the rounds of the military posts
on all the chief islands in the harbor, to take you
2o6 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
to any you may wish to visit, or all, if you desire.
No other boat makes these trips. This one goes
the rounds twice a day. Unless particularly fond
of high wind, and short, choppy, sea-sicky waves,
you'd better go in the morning. The steamer
leaves Jackson street pier every morning at eight,
and eveiy afternoon at three. It takes you first, to
Alcatraz, or Alcatraces,, as the Government
spells it over the fortress gate. The first is the
singular, and the second the plural, form of a
Spanish word meaning a pelican. The island lies
a mile and a quarter north of San Francisco, and
two and one half miles east of the Golden Gate,
whose entrance it commands. It is one third of a
mile long, one tenth of a mile wide, rises a hundred
and foriy feet above low tide ; a rudely elongated
oval in shape, contains about thirty acres, com-
posed mainly of solid rock ; is hea\ily foiiified on
all sides and crowned by a strong fortress on the
toj). Perfect belts of batteries surround the island,
mounting some of the heaviest guns yet made in
America. It is the key to the foriifications of the
harbor.
The island affords no fresh water. All which is
used there is carried thither from the main land or
caught in cisterns during the rainy season. On the
highest point stands a lighthouse of the thii'd or-
der, whose light can be seen, on a clear night,
twelve miles at sea, outside the Golden Gate.
EXCURSION ROUTES, 207
The southeast point of the island has a heavy fog-
bell, which strikes four times a minute through all
dense fogs. If you wish to land and examine the
fortress and batteries, you can do so, and stay until
the boat returns, usually half or three quarters of
an hour, or remain till its afternoon trip, five or
six hours later. From Alcatraz, the boat goes a
mile and a half to
Angel Island, which lies three miles north of
San Francisco, and is the largest and most valuable
island in the bay. It is a mile and one third long,
three quarters of a mile wide, and seven hundred
and seventy-one feet high. It contains about six
hundred acres of excellent land, watered by natural
springs. On the east side are quarries of blue and
brown sand-stone, while good brick-clay is found
elsewhere. Three fixed batteries, mounting large
and heavy guns, and connected by a military road
encircling the island, have been built. The offi-
cers' quarters, barracks, and parade ground, are in
a shallow, gently-sloping valley, near the landing
on the west side,
fieturning, we touch at Alcatraz and thence
steam round .to
Yeeba Buena, or Goat Island, two miles east of
San Franc-isco, and two and a half from the Oak-
land shore, from which the long railroad pier is
heading straight for it, with the evident intention
of bridging the entire distance at an early day.
2o8 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
The island contains little over half a square mile,
principally covered with chapparal, which is here a
thicket of low, evergi-een oaks, dwarfed by the salt
air and the high winds. The Grovernment also
owns and occupies this island — ban-acks, shops,
and garrison. The name Goat Island was given
from the fact that many vessels coming to this port
in early times, from southern ports where goats
were cheap, used to bring them for fresh meat on
the passage. In the event of a short voyage, a few
goats survived, and upon arrival here were turned
loose upon this island, as it lay near the anchorage,
£ind provided a place from which the goats could
not escape. These veteran survivors of the voyage
" round the horn," presently increased to such
numbers as to originate the name " Goat Island,''
which has, to a sconsiderable degree, suj)planted
the earlier and more significant name Yerba Buena.
This latter name, having been lifted from the city,
ought at least to be allowed to fall and rest upon
the island, in perpetuation of those "early days,"
whose landmarks are fast failing and fading into
forgetfulness. •
Now return with the boat to the pie;*, exchange
the pure bay-breeze for dust-laden city aii's, and
you have completed your bay trip.
EXCURSION ROUTES. 209
n. The Oakland Trip.
Oakland lies seven miles east of San Francisco.
At least tliat is the distance from centre to centre;
between the nearest margins the measure would be
hardly five miles. A dozen times a day the ferry-
boat takes one over ; •fare, 25 cents. Get out at
Broadway street, turn to your left, walk four or five
blocks, notice the comfortable, roomy api)earance
of the city. Two blocks up, observe that neat
church on the left, set well back from the street
and surrounded by ample grounds and pleasant
gardens. That's Kev. Dr. Mooar's Congregational
Church. A block or two beyond, look up the broad
street to the right, and you see the buildings and
grounds now occupied by the State University of
California, pending the erection of ampler accommo-
dations on the University site at Berkeley, five miles
north. Take the horse cars if you like, and ride
out north along the "telegraph road." Noble res-
idences and beautiful grounds line both sides of the
way. A mile out, that large, new, wooden build-
ing, crowning the summit of a moderate hill, ac-
commodates McClure's Academy, wherein the mil-
itary drill reinforces and enlivens the other usual
studies of a first-class academy.
A third of a mile further, upon the same side
appears the large and finely-proportioned Pacific
Female College, lately purchased by the Pacific
Theological Seminary.
2IO BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Still north two miles further, brings us to or in
front of the
Deaf, Dumb and Blind Asylum, beautifully lo-
cated on the top of a little rise, and commanding
a fine view of the Golden Gate, the bay, San Fran-
cisco, and its sun-oundings. • The style of the build-
ing is a modified Gothic. It is built of a fine-
grained, bluish granite, from a neighboring quar-
ry. It has a length of one hundred and ninety-
two feet front, one hundred and forty-eight feet
depth, sixty-two feet height up the three stories and
a half to the gable, and one hundred and forty-five
feet to the top of the tower. Within, the school-
rooms, chapel, halls, dormitories, and bath-rooms,
are models of convenient arrangement. Principal,
Prof. Wilkinson.
Another mile and we cross a ravine, bear away to
the left, and find ourselves on the grounds of the
State Universit}' of which only the Mining and
Agricultural College Building has begun to take
form. The site is the finest imaginable: facing the
Golden Gate, the bay and its islands, and the
"Golden City" beyond.
Continuing west from the University site, we
may go down to the San Pablo road and return to
Oakland by a different route. Approaching the cen-
tre we may note the new City Hall, delight ourselves
with glances down the broad and "tree-ful" streets.
Arrived at the Market street station we take the
EXCURSION ROUTES. 211
cars south, cross the San Antonio creek, through
Brooklyn to San Leandro, where we may get out
and take another train to
Hayvrard's,
Six miles southeasterly from San Leandro. This
is a new, pleasantly-situated and rapidly-growing
town, the shipping point for a large agricultural
region around. Here see the grain sheds, run out
to the Brighton cattle market, the largest in the
vState, after which you can take stage six miles to
Aivarado,
And there inspect the salt works, but, more es-
pecially, the
Beet Sugar Works, the first erected and oper-
ated in California, and regarded as the pioneer of
an extensive and valuable industry. From Alvara-
do you can keep on, by stage, nine miles to the
Warm Springs, or you can reach these by driving
to Niles, or Decoto, and thence ^taking the cars of
the San Jose road. These springs are about two
miles south of the Old Mission San Jose, in the
midst of a pleasant grove of oak and other trees,
near the Agua Caliente (hot water) creek. The
waters contain lime, sulphur, magnesia, and iron,
in various combinations. Summer guests speak
highly of the neighboring hotel.
BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
■ From the springs return to the railroad, and
riding eleven miles, enter on
rv. The San Jose Trip.
which begins with
San Jose.
The county seat of Santa Clara county ; in popula-
tion the fourth city of the State, in character of
population one of the first, and in beautiful sur-
roundings the gem city. It has a fine situa-
tion, in the midst of a beautiful valley, and a
climate so healthy that many people affected with
lung complaints go thither to live, as a means of
cure. Hundreds from San Francisco and the inter-
mediate cities, go on excursions to San Jose and
vicinity every summer. From whatever direction
we approach San Jose, the first object to meet the
eye is the lofty dome of the
CouET HorsE. Next to the State Capitol at Sac-
ramento, this is the finest building in the State.
It stands on the tVest side of First street, fronting
St. James Square. Its architecture is Roman Co-
rinthian; its dimensions, one hundred feet front,
one hundred and forty feet depth ; 'height, fifty-six
feet to cornice ; to top of dome, one hundred and
fifteen feet. The building is divided into two lofty
stories, containing the principal court room, sixty-
five feet long, forty-eight feet wide and thirty-eight
EXCURSION ROUTES. 213
feet bigli, with twenty large and elegant rooms for
county officials. The view from the dome is alone
worth going to San Jose to enjoy. Whatever else
you may omit, in and about the city, do not omit
this.
The State Normal School Building. Next to the
Court House, 'this is the chief object of interest.
It occupies the centre of Washington Square, faces
west; architecture, Corinthian; length, two hun-
dred and eighty-four feet; depth, one hundred and
sixty feet; and height to top of cornice, seventy
feet; to top of tower, one hundred and fifty-two
feet ; number- of stories, four, including basement
and mansard roof. The- Normal Hall is ninety-one
feet long, sixty-six feet wide, and forty feet high,
accommodating nine hundred.
AuzERAis House. Among the finest buildings in
the city, and the best hotel south of San Francisco,
is the Auzerais House. For first-class hotel accom-
modations in all variety, for cordial welcome and
courteous service, stop here, and you will not be
disappointed ; especially when restfully reclining
in the charming park and garden attached to the
house. Rates, usual first-class; from $3.00 single
day, to $20.00, or even $15.00, a week, with lower
rates for longer times.
New York Exchange Hotel. Corner of First
and St. John's streets, ranking next to the Auze-
rais, affords excellent rooms, with good board and
214 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
attentive service, for from $2.00 a day to $12.00 a
week.
If you want to ride through the surrounding
valley, as you certainly will, after looking from the
court-house dome, go to Church & Wallace, No.
386 First street, who will have a capital team wait-
ing for you at the station if you merely drop them
a slight hint by telegraph.
Besides the public buildings already named, fine
churches, school buildings, business blocks,*private
residences and beautiful gardens well repay a stroll
through this queen city of a lovely valley.
Ne"w Almaden.
From San Jose, take one of Church & Wallace's
teams, and drive thirteen miles southerly to the
celebrated
Quicksilver Mine, named for the famous old Al-
maden mine, in Spain, with the syllable, *' new,"
prefixed by way of distinction. This mine is over
five hundred feet deep, and employs nearly five
hundred men. For permission to enter, apply to
J. B. Randol, Esq., manager, residing at New Al-
maden. If you prefer to go out by public convey-
ance, a stage will take you over any afternoon at
2.30 for $1.50.
Drive back to San Jose: thence, by steam car,
horse car or private team, go over three miles north
to
. EXCURSION ROUTES. 215
Santa Clara,
A pleasant, qui^t town, clliefly noted for the Santa
Clara College (Jesuit), which occupies the site of
the old mission, which was really the germ of the
town; and the University of the Pacific (Methodist).
Saratoga.
Springs, of course, ten miles southwest of San
Jose, from which daily stage carries one over for
$1.50. These springs are called the
Congress Springs, frord the resemblance of their
water to that of the original and famous springs of
that name at the New York Saratoga. They are
three shallow springs, excavaied in the sandstone,
and tasting very much alike. The water contains
sulphates and carbonates of soda, iron and lime,
with traces of magnesia. It is very refreshing and
healthful; so much so that the guests at the neigh-
boring hotel annually consume increasing quanti-
ties, besides the thousand bottles sent away daily.
Thence back to San Jose, and, after a good
night's rest, set forth on tour
V. Gilroy, and Points South,
and the places for which it is the starting point.
This brisk and lively, neat and thriving town,
we beg its pardon, city, is thirty-one miles south-
east of San Jose, from which one reaches it by the
2i6 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE
Southern Pacific Railroad for a fare of $2.00. This
city is the present terminus of the railroad, and the
consequent centre from which radiate the various
stage routes to the "lower countr3\" On every
hand it presents evidences of business prosperity
and rapid growth. Population, over two thousand.
Hot Sj)ring — Fourteen miles northeast of Gil-
roy, in a small, rocky ravine opening into Coyote
Canon, is this noted sjDring. Its water contains
iron, soda, magnesia, sulphur, and baryta, and has
a pungent but not unpleasant taste. Throughout
the year it preserves a uniform temj^erature of about
one hundred and ten degrees. Within a rod of
the hot spring are a dozen or more large springs of
pure, cold water. T^he curative properties of the
water, added to the romantic character of the sur-
rounding sceneiy, have caused the erection of a
fine hotel, reached by regular stages, over a good
road, from Gilroy.
Some twelve miles southwest of Gilroy, one may
find, in the
Pa j arc Valley,
A.S quiet and beautiful an agricultural nook as the
State 'affords. For a quiet retreat in some hospita-
ble farmhouse, with a good chance for small game,
for a day or two, this snug valley will decidedly
"fill the bill." Its blac*k soil, famous potatoes,
and charming little branch canons will dispose a
EXCURSION ROUTES. 217
farmer, or a hunter, or a painter to stay as long as
possible. When yon have rusticated as long as you
can in the romantic vicinity of Gilroy, and are ready,
though unwilling, to go, you can return b}^ the way
you came, if you like; but, if time permits, and you
wish to see one of the pleasantest sections of the
State, you will take stage through Hollister and
San Juan,
A quiet little town, old and quaint, and chiefly
notable for its early mission, founded in 1797, to
Monterey,
The first capital of California, and noted, also, as
the place where the American flag was first raised
in California, by Com. Sloat, July 7th, 1846. Here
•one may see plenty of the old adobe houses, with
tiled roofs, built in the primitive Mexican style.
From Monterey, you may come up the coast, by
water, or go back to San Juan, and thence take
stage to Watsonville, near the seaward end of the
beautiful Pajaro Valley, and come through to
VI. Santa Cruz, and Up tiie Coast.
Beyond comparison the most delightful among the
smaller towns of the State. In fact it is the occi-
dental Newport, the Pacific Nahant, where languid
fashion and exhausted business most do congregate.
Here land and water meet, present the best beauty
2i8 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
of each, and combine to proffer new ones impossi-
ble to eitber alone. Rid^s, rambles and drives,
swims and sails, picnics and chowder-parties, ex-
cellent hotel accommodations, and plenty of good
comjDany, furnish the material for as varied enjoy-
ment, and as much of it, as any one of ordinary
constitution can stand. The way of approach which
we have mentioned, is comparatively rare. The ■
most noted route is from Santa Clara by daily stage,
thirty miles; fare, $3.20.
When you have sufficiently enjoyed Santa Cruz
and its beautiful surroundings, you may take the
stage any Monday, Wednesday or Friday morning,
at eight o'clock, for a
Rids Up the Coast
Eight miles north we pass Laguna Creek, noted*
for good fishing, while its vicinity proffers fine
shooting, both of which attractions have combined
to make it a favorite camping-ground for picnic
parties.
Nearly three miles further, William's Landing
gives you the first chance to witness " hawser-ship-
ping", an ingenious de\ice for getting produce, or
any form of merchandise, into a boat, or upon the
deck of a vessel when the surf is too rough to per-
mit the landing of a boat or the continuance of a
pier. Thus art makes a " port" for loading or dis-
charging where niature forbids the construction of
the ordinaiy facilities.
EXCURSION ROUTES. 219
Three and a half miles brings us to Davenport's
Landing, an open roadsi^ad, famous for the longest
pier running out into the open ocean, of any place
on the Pacific Coast.
Thence two miles, to the beautiful laurel groves
and camping -grounds of Scott's Creek. Nearly
one hundred and fifty deer have been killed in this
neighborhood in one season.
Four miles more, and Frogtown welcomes us.
Here David Post proves himself posted in the pro-
viding of " good square" meals; in fact, he's just
the David who can slay the Goliah of hunger,
though, instead of hitting one in the middle of the
forehead, he commonly aims about an inch below
the nose.
Waddell's Wharf is three miles further. Thence,
by Steel's Ranch and White House Ranch to
Pigeon Point.
On the coast, about ten miles from Frogtown,
thii'ty-one from Santa Cruz, and seven from
Pescadero. This is important to all the neigh-
boring inhabitants, because it is their shipping
point, where one may witness the ' ' hawser-pier" in
its glory; and interesting to the tourist, because it
i&a whaling station, and the only one on the coast
which he will be likely to see. A colony of Portu-
guese do the whaling. They go out in large open
boats, six men to a boat, and shoot the harpoon
220 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE. ■
into the whale from the harpoon-gun. One may
sometimes see a dozen or more whales at once, roll-
ing and spouting, or "blowing," in the offing.
Seven-miles further, and our journey ends, or, at
least, this particular stage-route ends in
Pescadero.
Ho for Pescadero and the famous Pebble Beach!
By rail from San Francisco to San Mateo, twenty
miles south, thence by Troy coaches over a new toll
road, to Pescadero, thirty miles. Total distance,
fifty miles. Time: to San Mateo, one houi*, thence
to Pescadero, four and a half hours. Fare: to San
Mateo, $1.00, thence to Pescadero, |2.85.
Leaving San Mateo, the road winds through beau-
tiful scenery to the summit of the Santa Cruz
mountains, which divide the waters of the Bay
from those of the ocean. The summit^s eight miles
from San Mateo and affords a ^^ew of great extent,
embracing the long coast line on the west, white
with the surf of breakers, and the broad expanse of
the Bay on the east, ^^th the Diablo range of
mountains bounding the hoiizon.
From the summit, it is four miles to the old-fash-
ioned pueblo of Spanishtown, nestled in a little
dell opening out on Half-Moon Bay. Thence four
miles to Purissima, another coast town, near which
an isolated, rounded peak, called Ball Knob, rises
conspicuously above the surrounding hills. From
EXCURSION ROUTES.
Purissima, a drive of twelve miles along, or in sight
of, the beach, brings us to our destination.
Pescadero, is the Spanish for fisherman, from
pescado, fish. The town is situated near the mouth
of Pescadero creek, so named, probably, from the
abundance of trout which swarm in its pools and
eddys. The village is about a mile from the beach,
in a sheltered depression, affording a charming and
secluded retreat for pleasure seekers and invalids.
The tourist will find good hotel and stabling accom-
modations, among the best of which are the Lincoln
hotel and stables, under the charge of Capt. Kin-
sey.
Prominent among the objects of interest around
Pescadero, is the celebrated Pebble Beach, three
miles south. Here may be seen ladies, gentlemen,
and children, on a warm summer day, down on
their hands ailR knees, searching for curious and
pretty little pebbles of every hue and shape. The
supply is never exhausted, for every storm casts up
a new store of treasures. Pebbles of sufficient
beauty and value to be set in brooches and rings,
have been discovered here.
The Shell Beach is two miles fui-ther on, being
five miles from the hotel, and affords a great deal
of variety to the beach hunters.
The Moss Beach is twelve miles south, and here
the lovers of the most beautiful, fanciful and deli-
222 BANCROhT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
cate combinations of colors and fibres, peculiar to
sea mosses, can revel to their hearts' content.
The other objects of interest along the coast, are
Sea Lion Kocks, two miles west of the hotel, being,
as the name suggests, a large rock coyered with sea
lions.
Marble Bath Tubs, five miles south. These are
excavations in the solid rock, in the shape of bath
tubs, some of natural and some of colossal size.
Pescadero Creek, as above intimated, is a noted
trouting stream. A beautiful drive of six miles up
the creek, brings us to the Mineral Springs, and
two miles further, is a forest of Big Trees, some of
which are said to be fifty feet in circumference.
In their vicinity are thi-ee shingle mills.
One mile west of the town, is a so-called Indian
Mound, from the summit of which a fine ^dew is ob-
tained. •
The Butano Falls seven miles distant, on Butano
Creek, consists of a succession of cascades, over
thirty feet high, located in a deep rapine, sur-
rounded by romantic sceneiy.
T'rom Pescadero, we may keep on up the coast,
any Monday, Wednesday or Friday morning,
through San Gregorio, Purissima, and other quiet
little towns, through a beautiful countij, over high
hills and bluffs bordering on the beach, and afford-
ing' most magnificent ocean views, eighteen miles,
to'SiDanishtown, or
EXCURSION ROUTES. 223
Half Moon Bay.
The shipping-point of a fertile region lying
in the immediate vicinity, and extending back into
branching valleys.
From this place the road leaves the coast, climbs
the hills, by a winding and well-cut grade, to a
height of eight hundred feet, whence one enjoys a
combination of bay, ocean, hill and valley scenery
rarely equaled. Upon this summit we pass, for
convenience' sake, to
Crystal Springs and San Mateo County,
and, after enjoying four miles of charming views,
while winding down the western slopes, we reach
Crystal Springs, where a number of cold, clear
springs break through the rocks, in a romantic
canon, forming so attractive a spot for summer
recreation that a large and fine hotel has been built
and well sustained. The neighboring roads are
good, the tramps endless", and game encouragingly
plentiful. Thence four miles of delightful road
brings us to •
San Mateo,
And the iron track again. This is a beautiful
little town, made expressly for homes. Sev-
eral prominent San Francisco merchants have
here hidden their country residences away among
oak groves so snugly that one must know exactly
224 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
where theyare, and even then be close upon them,
before he would begin to suspect their number,
their beauty, and their comfort.
From this place, it is worth one's while to drive or
ride four miles down to
Belmont,
Noted as a favorite picnic ground for large
Sunday school and society excursions, chiefly
from San Francisco, and as the residence of Wm.
C. Kalston, Esq., whose country seat, in beauty of
location, extent of accommodations, with variety
and completeness of appointments, happily com-
bines the elegance of a palace with the simplicity
and comfoii of a home. Many a distinguished east-
em visitor warmly remembers the generous hospi-
tality of that *' home behind the hill."
From Belmont, it is but three miles and a quar-
ter to
Redwood City,
The county seat of San Mateo county, on a nav-
igable slough leading into the bay. Its chief in-
dustry is the hauling from the hills and shipping
from the wharves the redwood lumber, whose abun-
dance has named the town. It has a good hotel —
the American House. Four miles south of Ked-
wood City,
EXCURSION ROUTES. 225
Meulo Park
Terminates our excursion in this direction. The
attractions of this place are the fine residences of
San Francisco merchants, surrounded by noble
oaks, which, scattered and grouped over a square
mile or two, hereabout, have furnished half the name
of the place. Nature made it a '' Park ; " man add-
ed the ''Menlo."
Here we may take tha cars again, and after a ride
of thirty -two miles, first passing, in reverse order,
through the three towns just named, with Millbrae,
the elegant home of D. O. Mills, Esq., San Bruno,
T^welve Mile Farm, Schoolhouse Station and San
IV:Rguel, we complete the southern tour around the
bay and along the coast, and again commit our-
selves for a time to the whirl and dust and bustle
of the metropolis.
Having refreshed ourselves with a dash of city
life again for a day or two, we are off for the north-
ern circuit, including San Rafael, Mt. Tamalpais,
San Quentin, State Prison, and Saucelito. No. 9:
Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, the Geysers,
and Clear Lake, with Sonoma and its vineyards,
we complete No. 10 with Vallejo, Mare Island, the
U. S. Navy Yard, .Napa, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll
and Calistoga. We come back down the valley to
Vallejo, whence McCue's stages take us to Benicia,
seven and a half miles.
226 BANCROFT' S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
[ For particulars of above three trips, see Ban-
croft's Tourist's Guide — Geysers.]
11. Mt. Diablo Trip.
Across the sti-ait of Carquinez from Benicia, and
connected with it by a steam ferry, lies
Martinez,
The county seat of Contra Costa county. The
town has a picturesque situation, sevei*al pleasant
residences, very beautiful surroundings, and a
charming climate. The celebrated Alhambra ranch,
which has taken several medals as the best cul-
tivated farm, yielding the best fruits, and the b^t
native wine in the State, lies but a shoi-t distaiftje
hence. Five miles back from Maiiinez and the bay,
connected with the former by stage and vdth the lat-
ter by a navigable creek, stands
Pacheco,
A quiet, pleasant, country town, noted as the
shipping point of the broad and fertile agricul-
tural fields of the Diablo and San Ramon valleys,
lying around and beyond it. The manufactui-e of
caiTiages and agricultural implements also conduce
to its prosperity and importance. Another daily
stage line also connects this town with Oakland.
Eight miles beyond Pacheco, further iji and
higher up, is
EXCURSION ROUTES. 227
Clayton,
The largest and most romanticaUy situated town
in this part of the State, and in the latter par-
ticular, surpassed by few on the coast. Occu-
pying an elevated bench, or plateau, it com-
mands fine views, and having many wide-spread-
ing oaks scattered through and around, it posesses
much intrinsic beauty. Mr. Clayton, whose name
the town has taken, has a vineyard of nearly forty
thousand vines, which, though never irrigated, are
vigorous and prolific. *He sends his excellent
grapes directly to San Francisco, for the immedi-
ate market which they are sure to command, and
thus realizes a greater profit than by making them
into wine. Other vineyards and orchards in this
vicinity have over one hundred thousand vines, and
nearly forty thousand fruit trees. Clayton is the
usual point of departure for the ascent of
Mount Diablo,
Three thousand eight hundred and seventy-six
feet high, and christened with its infernal ap-
pellation because, like its satanic prototype, it
seldom lets men out of its sight. The best time
to climb the mountain is early in the morning — the
earlier the better. If one can stand on the summit
at sunrise he will receive the most ample reward
for his early rising. The distance from Clayton up
228 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE.
is eight miles; tlie time occupied by a comfortable
ascent is a little over two lioui-s. If there are ladies,
or persons unused to riding and climbing, the party
should allow a good three hours. The Clayton
livery stable furnishes trained saddle horses for
$2.50 a day. The expense of a guide, who fur-
nishes his own horse, is $4.00 for the trip, which,
of course, as in Yosemite, is usually divided among
the party. Though not absolutely necessary to
• employ a guide, it is decidedly safer and better,
especially if the party includes ladies, as the trail
is in some places difficult, and even dangerous to
strangers. The first four miles south from Clay-
ton a good carriage-road follows the course of a
stream through a deep canon. Over this part,
ladies unused to the saddle, and desiring to avoid
unnecessary fatigue, would better ride on wheels.
At the end of this road, n,ear a farm-house, the
tourist turns to the right, and follows a cut trail
westerly to Deer Flat, where are two huts and a
spring. Beyond Deer Flat, the trail runs south-
easterly to the top of a ridge in sight of the flat
below, and thence lies along the top of this ridge,
two and a half miles to the summit, where, for the
first time in his life, probably, the traveler may get
the deril f aMy under his feet — or at least the devil's
mountain.
In the opinion of most tourists, this peak com-
mands a more extensive, varied', and beautiful pros-
*!'
EXCURSION ROUTES. 229
pect than any equal elevation in the world. The
mountain has two peaks, lying in a northeast and
southwest line, nearly three miles apart. The
southwestern one is the higher, and possesses sci-
entific or topographical interest, from the fact that
the State Survey made it one of the three " initial
points," from which they ran the " base lines" and
"meridian lines," from which or by which the
townships and sections are reckoned and located in
all extensive conveyances of land. This mountain
has an additional claim to its sulphurous surname,
from the fact that it is supposed to have been,
formerly, a volc^o.
Looking east upon a clear day, or with the good
field glass which some one of the party has thought-
fully provided, you may see the Pacific Ocean,
sometimes the Farallone Islands, San Francisco,
the bay, the Golden Gate, Mt. Tamalpais, the Pet-
aluma, Sonoma and Napa Valleys, San Pablo and
Suisun Bays, Vallejo, Navy Yard, Benicia, the Sac-
ramento and San Joaquin Yaileys, with the tortu-
ous windings of their serpentine rivers, creeks and
sloughs, Stockton and Sacramento cities, the Ma-
rysville Buttes, and the snow-capped Sierras be-
yond all; while away to the southwest the quiet
Santa Clara valley completes the magnificent sweep
of the glorious panorama, unrolled for more than a
hundred miles around.
If any of the party feel like sermonizing, the text
230 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
will readily occur to you : ' ' Then the Devil' taketh him
up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth
him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory
of them, and saith unto him: ' All these things will
I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me,"
As for his proposition to *' fall down," w^e have
only to remark, "Beloved hearers ! don't you do it,
for the devil or any other man;" you'd break your
necks as sure as you tried it. Better sit dow^n in
one of the sheltered nooks in the lee below the
summit, eat your lunch and prepare for the de-
scent.
We may easily return to Clayton in time to ^isit
the *
Black Diamond Coal Mines,
At Noi-tonville, six miles distant, over a good road,
through a rugged, mountainous and picturesque
region. The tunnels enter the northeast side of
the mountain, descend nearly three hundred feet
southwesterly, whence one level follows a three-
foot-thick seam, a good half mile northw^esterly.
Two main seams are worked at present, one four
feet and the other about three feet thick. They
dip easterly, or northeasterly. The mine is very
neat, and even cleanly, for a coal mine, so that one
could wear down an ordinary suit without harmful
soiling.
The railroad from the mine to the pier, five miles
and a half below, whither iron cars, propelled by
.*
EXCURSION ROUTES. 23 1
gravity, can aarry three thousand tons per day, is
chiefly remarkable for its unusual grade down the
first mile and a half, through which the descent is
two hundred and seventy-four feet to the mile. To
meet this unusual, but unavoidable necessity, heavy
locomotives, of peculiar design and construction,
were invented and built at San Francisco. They
weigh twenty tons, have three pairs of thirty-six-
inch driving wheels, with complex and powerful
brakes for the enormous friction necessary.
From these mines one may descend by the rail-
road already described, to New York Landing,
whence the regular Stockton steamer will transport
him thither, or return him to San Francisco, the
tourist's grand base of supplies, and point of de-
parture for nearly all the more notable excursions
about the State and the coast.
12. Sacramento, Stockton, and the Lakes.
To the eleven tours already detailed, one may,
or even must, add a twelfth, which is separated
from the t)thers, and added, in conclusion, because
it consists of cities and places lying on or near the
great overland route by which every tourist will be
almost certain to enter or leave the State ; in most
cases, both. These are the capital city, Sacramen-
to ; the San Joaquin county seat, Stockton ; with
Lake Tahoe and Donner lake. One may stop to
see these as he comes or goes, or may make them
232 BANCROFT'S TOURISTS GUIDE,
the objects of a special excursion, of ^ich the two
lakes, especially Tahoe, are notably worthy.
Sacramento.
At the time of the American occupation of Cal-
ifornia, and for some time previous, the present
site of this city was called the " Embarcadero ; "
that is, in Si)anish, simply " the wharf, or the
landing-place," though it strictly means the ship-
ping-place.
Gen. Jno. A. Sutter came from New Mexico and
settled here in August, 1839. The next year the
Mexican Government granted him the land on
which he had "located." ' He accordingly built a
fort and gave himself to stock raising, agriculture,
and trade. Thenceforward for several years the
place was known only as " Sutter's Fort." In
July, 1845, Gen. Sutter engaged the service of Jas.
W. Marshall, as a sort of agent, or manager. This
man became the discoverer of gold in the following
accidental manner: In September, 1847, he went
up some fifty miles from the fort, upon the south
fork of the American river, to construct a sawmill,
which, in due time, with one single, most fortu-
nate blunder, he accomplished. The blunder was
this : when the water, was let on, the tail-race
proved too naiTow and too shallow. To widen and
deepen it in the quickest and cheapest way, he let
through a strong current of water, which swept a
EXCURSION ROUTER. 233
mass of mud and gravel down to and beyond the
lower end.
January 19th, 1848, the birth-day of the "Gold-
en Age " in California, Marshall noticed several
yellowish particles shining out from this mud and
gravel. He was, naturally, curious enough to col-
lect and examine them. He called five carpenters
who were at work on the mill, to join their judg-
ments with his. They talked over the possibility
of its being gold, but seem to have thought it so
little probable J that they quietly returned to their
usual work. Among the larger pieces of "yellow
stuff'' , which Marshall picked up that day, was a
pebble weighing six * pennyweights and eleven
grains. He gave it to the. nearest housekeeper,
Mrs. Weimer, and asked her to boil it in saleratus
water and see what would come of it. She was
making soap at the time, and thinking the lye
would proye stronger than simple saleratus water,
she immediately pitched it into the soaj) kettle,
from which it was fished oat the next day, and
found all the brighter for its long boiling.
Two weeks later, Marshall brought the speci-
mens down to the fort and gave them to Sutter to
have them tested. Before the General had quite
made up his mind as to whether they were certain-
ly gold or not, he went up to the mill, and, with
Marshall, made a treaty with the Indians, buying
their titles to all the surrounding country. The
234 BANCROI^T'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
little cii'cle that knew it, tried to keep tlie matter
secret, but it soon leaked out, and though not sure
of its real nature, several began to hunt the yellow
stuff that might prove the king of metals.
The next month, Febi-uary, one of the party car-
ried some of the dust down to Yerba Buena (San
Francisco). Here he providentially met Isaac
Humphrey, an old Georgia gold miner, who, upon
his first look at the specimens, said they were gold,
and that the diggings must be rich. He tried to
persuade some of his friends to go up to the mill
with him, but they thought it only a crazy expedi-
tion, and let him go alone. Mr. Humphrey reached
the mill March 7th. Only a few were lazily hunt-
ing for gold; there was no excitement; the most of
the men were working in the mill as usual. Next
day he began " prospecting," and quickly satisfied
himself that he had " struck it rich." He returned
to the mill, made a " rocker," and immediately
commenced placer mining in dead earnest.
A few days later, Baptiste, a Frenchman, who
had mined in Mexico, left the lumber he was saw-
ing for Sutter, at Weber's, ten miles east of Colo-
ma, and came over to the mill. He agreed with
Humphrey that the region was rich, furnished him-
self with rocker and pan, and forthwith began to
develop the shining wealth, beside which mills,
lumber, ranches, flocks, and crops were of small
account. So these two men, Humphrey and Bap-
EXCURSION ROUTES. 235
tiste, became tlie pioneer gold-miners of California,
and the first practical teachers of placer mining.
The lumbermen around* crowded in to see how they
did it. The process was simple, the teachers were
obliging, the lesson easy, the result sure and
speedy wealth.
They soon located ''claims" all about, began to
hoard their " piles," and Sutter's Fort, as the place
through ^hich all new comers passed, began a
rapid growth, which proved the origin and nucleus
of the present capital of California.
The Sacramento of to-day stands on the east bank
of the Sacramento Kiver, about one mile below
the junction of the American River, and at the
head of tide navigation.
Ne:5:t to San Francisco, it is the largest city in
the State, having a population of twenty thousand.
It owes its importance chiefly to four things :
1st. Its central position, in the midst of the fin-
est agricultural region of the State.
2d. Its situation at the head of tide water on the
largest river of the State.
3d. It is the great railroad centre. Four leading
roads terminate there.
4th. It is the political capital, having become so
in 1854.
The city was originally built on ground so low
and level that the heavy floods have twice broken
through the levee and nearly destroyed the town.
236 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
The two great floods were tliose of 1851-2 and
1861-2. Thus, by sheer necessity of self-preserva-
tion, the inhabitants have teen compelled to raise
the grade of all the streets, and, in fact, of almost
the whole city, nearly ten feet above the original
level.
Sacramento has fine schools and churches, while
the gardens^ and shinibbery about the houses, com-
bined with the trees along the streets,* give it a
most refreshing, home-like, and attractive appear-
ance. Beyond the depots, immense foundries and
machine shops of the Central Pacific railroad, the
city presents the single great attraction of the
State Capitol, an immense building occupying
the centre of four blocks, bounded by L and N
streets on the north and south, and by Twelfth and
Tenth streets on the east and west. These four
blocks were a gift from the city to the State. The
building faces west, fronting three hundred and
twenty feet on Tenth street, while its two wings
run back along L and N streets, one hundred and
sixty-four feet upon each . Its height is eighty feet,
divided into three lofty stories. The lower story is
granite ; those above, brick. The main entrance is
approached by granite steps, twenty-fi.ve feet high
and eighty feet wide. The style of architecture is
composite — the Roman Corinthian. The building
was begun ten years ago, has been steadily carried
on since, and will probably require two or three
years longer for its full completion.
EXCURSION ROUTES. 237
The Interior. — Entering tlie vestibule, we find
ourselves in a hall twenty feet deep, seventy-three
feet wide, an^ having broad stairs on either hand. •
From the vestibule a broad and high-arched door-
way, admits us to the
Eotunda, seventy-two feet in diameter, and ris-
ing through the height of the first dome. In the
wall, between the openings of the different broad
halls, are four niches to be filled by statues of
"Washington, Lincoln, a pioneer miner, and a pio-
neer hunter, one half larger than life. Above
these niches and the hall entrances, will be eight
panels, each thirteen feet by six, with stucco frames
for frescoes. Directly over each of these will be a
round panel for similar purposes, and with similar
ornamentation. Above these circular panels, will
be a row of thirteen sunken panels, each thirteen
by eight and a half feet, to be filled with pictures ;
and over these, still higher up, a tier of frames,
each ten by sixteen feet, numbering sixteen in all,
and also intended for paintings. The frames of
these last extend clear to the bottom of the sky-
light, and are to be painted red, white and blue,
successively, thus 2^resenting from below a huge
sixteen pointed star of the national colors.
The First Story is twenty-one and a half feet
high. From the right of the rotunda, a hall six-
teen feet wide, leads south through the centre of
that wing. First, on the right, are the Secretary of
238 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
State's two rooms, twenty-nine feet wide, and hav-
ing a united length of forty-seven feet, elegantly
finished and furnished. Beyond these, in the south-
west corner, is a reception, or committee room,
twenty-seven by thirty, while the other corner has
a like space divided into two rooms for similar pur-
poses. Opposite the Secretary's is the "Chief Jus-
tice's room. As we may not have time to descend
to and describe the lower or ground floor, we may
here say that its space is mainly occupied by the
Judges of the Supreme Court. In the north wing
we have a similar arrangement of rooms, and to be
occupied by the State Treasurer, Controller, Attor-
ney-General, Board of Education, besides two yet
unassigned.
Keturning to the rotunda, and going east, we
enter the
Supreme Court Room, occupying a circular or
ellipsoidal projection built out from the east side
of the building between the two wings. The room
is fifty-eight by forty-six feet, lofty and well-lighted.
Thence, crossing a hall on the southwest, one en-
ters the Supreme Court Library Room, twenty-eight
by thirty-three feet, and containing four thousand
volumes.
The Second Floor has a height of twenty feet
clear, with halls like those below. Along the cen-
tral j)ortion of the main hall the rooms on eitlier
side are the Public Law Library Room, two Com-»
EXCURSION ROUTES. 239
mittee rooms on eacli side of the Library, two rooms
for the Sergeants-at-Arms of the Assembly and the
Senate, and eight Committee Booms. Occupying
the east half of the south wing is the Senate
chamber, while the Assembl}^ chamber has the cor-
responding location in the north wing, and the
State Library occupies the circular projection on
the east side immediately over the Supreme Court
Koom already described. Between the
Senate Chamber and the hall swing a pair of
magnificent double doors of solid black walnut, in-
closing beautiful panels of California laurel-wood,
bordered by elaborate carving. These doors are
thirteen feet high by seven feet wide, and six
inches thick, and for massive elegance and costli-
ness, are among the noticeable features of the Cap-
itol. The Chamber itself is sixty-two feet deep,
seventy-two feet wide, and forty-six feet high. A
continuous gallery, supported by eight Corinthian
columns, extends across the west side, and throws
a wing some distance forward on both the north and
south. These columns are copied from those in
portico of Septimus Severus at Kome. Twenty
windows light the room by day, and two large gilt
and crystal chandeliers by night. The President's
desk occupies a recess in the centre of the east side.
Above the desk, large gold letters present the
motto, '■' Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri." A
full-length portrait of Washington hangs above this
240 BAXCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
motto. Tlie senators' desks are of black walnut, of
large size, and handsome pattern. A capacious
arm-chair, upholstered with crimson plush velvet,
accompanies each desk.
The Assembly Chamber occupies the eastern por-
tion of the north wing. It measures ten feet more
each way than the Senate Chamber; has the same
style of architecture, and closely resembles that
room in its general finish and furnishing, except
that the desks and chairs are twice as numerous;
the senators numbeiing forty, the assemblj^men,
eighty. The upholstering of the chairs of this
room is of green velvet. Yery rich and heavy car-
pets of elegant patterns cover the floors of both
rooms. The motto of this hall is, •' Legislatorum
est justas leges condere." Over the motto hangs a
life-size portrait of General Sutter, the founder of
the city. Still above the portrait, in a sort of arched
niche, is a statue of Minerva, having a horn of plen-
ty on her right and a California bear upon her left.
A like statue similarly flanked, occupies the corres-
ponding position in the Senate Chamber.
The State Librar3^ — The State Library occupies
the circular or elipsoidal projection midway between
the north and south wings on the east side of the
building, immediately over the Supreme Court
rooms. The Library Room is fifty-eight feet long
by forty-six feet wide, and forty-six feet high. Its
plan is unique. In the centre, a rotunda, rising
EXCURSION ROUTES, 241
straight up through, is crowned by a dome, whose
top is sixty-three feet above the floor. A broad,
circular galleiy divides the room into two stories,
each of which is itself again divided into two by a
sub-gallery. The circular space around the rotun-
da, contains nine equal alcoves. The peculiar out-
line produces a singular, and somewhat startling
effect, which is, that when standing in the centre
of this library, one cannot see a single book, al-
though the shelves around him contain nearly thirty
thousand volumes. Convenient stairs give easy
access to galleries and sub-galleries; all of which
are arranged in the same manner. Counting the
different levels from which ascend the successive
tiers of radial shelving, the libraiy room is four
stories high. The dome rests on twelve Corinthian
columns, similar to those in the Senate and Assem-
bly chambers, already described. Still above the li-
brary, surrounding the rotunda, is a large circular
room, devoted to the storage of papers, pamphlets,
.and congressional reports.
The Third Floor is eighteen feet high in the
clear, and is divided into seventeen committee
rooms, besides a large hall in the southwest corner
of the south wing, which is provided for a cabinet
and museum.
The Dome. — Over the inner dome, already built,
will be erected the main or outer dome, one hun-
dred feet higher, supported on massive iron col-
242 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
umns, and surmounted by Powers' statue of Cali-
fornia, in ii'on.
The G-rounds about the building, covering the
four- blocks donated by the city, will be terraced
and sodded, set with native trees, beautiful flower
plots, traverbed by graveled walks, inclosed by a
massive and costly fence, and entered by gateways
at the corners and at the centres of each side.
Over $1,000,000, in gold coin, has already been
expended upon it, and it is more than "probable
that the better part of another million will follow
the first, before Californians will witness the com-
pletion of their costly capitol, which is, however,
as it should be, by far the noblest building west ^
the Mississippi.
Although still unfinished, the Legislature took
formal possession of the building on Monday, Dec.
6th, 1869. The Secretary of State, State Treasurer,
Supreme Judges, and several other State officials,
already occupy the apartments assigned to them.
Other Buildings. — The new Odd Fellows' Hall,
the Savings Bank Building, two or three of the
churches, the residence of Chas. Crocker, and those
of several other prominent gentlemen, equal the
finest in the State.
Hotels. — The Golden Eagle and the Orleans are
the begt. The former is newer, stands nearer the
Capitol, and accommodates the legislators. The
latter is newly and elegantly furnished and is the
EXCURSION ROUTES. » 243
great haunt of the railroad men. As for tables and
bedSj either will furnish you the best in the city.
Each runs free coaches from the depots and wharves.
View of the City. — No neighboring natural emi-
nence affords any point of sight worth noting.
From the Capitol dome, however, one has a view
of the tree-embowered city, and the far-reaching,
fertile valley, the gracefully winding, tree-bordered
river, and the distant, snow-capped mountains,
which form a panorama of beauty, shut in by gTan-
deur, rarely to be enjoyed from as slight an eleva-
tion.
Stockton.
• A trifle over one third of the way down from Sa-
cramento to San Francisco, lies Stockton, the
county seat of San Joaquin County, and in popula-
tion, the fourth city of the State. It stands on
both banks of a deep and wide slough of the same
name, navigable the year round, and opening into
the San Joaquin river, three miles west of the city.
It was named in compliment to Commodore Stock-
ton, in honorable recognition of his prominent ser-
vices in the conquest of the State.
No city in California has had a more gradual,
steady and healthful growth. For many years it
was the point of departure and the centre of trade
for several of the richest mining regions, of which
business it still retains, directly or indirectly, a full
244 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
proportion. Its great source of prosperity and of
wealth, however, is the immense grain-producing
country, the famous San Joaquin valley, which sur-
rounds it.
Last year, 1870, Stockton exported 94,152,000
lbs., nearly 50,000 tons, of wheat; and 3,160,500
lbs. of wool; 53,586 tons of hay, and nearly 160
tons of butter and cheese.
The Abtesian Well. — One of the points of vital
interest to the inhabitants, if not to every tourist,
is the great well, one thousand and two feet deep,
seven inches in diameter, and discharging three
hundred and sixty thousand gallons daily.
The Insane Asylum. — The chief architectural at-
tractions of Stockton are the two large and fine
buildings of the State Insane Asylum, occupying
most extensive, beautifully planned, and tastefully
kejit grounds, in the northern part of the city.
The institution was opened in 1853, and has now
about eleven hundred patients in care. It is the
most expensive public institution yet completed in
the State, having cost nearly one million dollars.
It is open to visitors at stated hours, except the
female dejDartment, through which gentlemen are
not allowed to pass, unless by sjDCcial permission
of, or in company with, the attendant physician.
Superintendent and Resident Physician, Dr. G.
A. Shurtleff.
EXCURSION ROUTES. 245
Hotels. — Of the six or eight hotels in the city,
only two rank as first-class. The Yosemite House
is emphatically (he tourist's home. The moment
you step upon the depot platform, or the steam-
boat pier, look out for the bluest eye, the fairest
hair, and the most attractive face in the crowd, and
ride home with their owner. He's one of the three
McBean brothers, whose excellent management has
made the Yosemite House so wddely known and so
increasingly popular. The Grand Hotel is the
other first-class house, and is conducted upon the
restaurant plan.
Routes and Teams. — If you want to know where
to go and how to get there, ask for Robert C. Pat-
ten, or address him through box 91, Stockton P. O.,
and he'll make any desired arrangements for you,
in the kindest way, the promptest time, and at the
lowest rate.
From Stockton toward Oakland.
The Western Pacific railroad takes us first, to
Lathrop,
Nine miles west of Stockton. Here is the junction
of the Visalia division of the Central Pacific rail-
road now open to
Modesto,
Twenty-one miles south, on the Tuolumne river.
This is one of the present points of departure for the
246 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
Calaveras Big Trees and the Yoseniite Valley, whith-
er stages dejDart daily.
Returning to Lathrop and continuing west about
one mile thence, we cross the
San Joaquin River,
Broad, shallow and muddy, bordered by level reach-
es of tule lands, so low that a few feet rise in the
river overflows thousands of acres, and makes the
river sometimes nearly six miles wide. A necessi-
ty, resulting from this overflow, is the San Joaquin
Bridge, which not only spans the permanent bed of
the roily stream, but extends several miles across
the low tule lands, whose submergence would oth-
erwise completely stop all travel, except by swim-
ming, w^ading, boating or flying.
Seven miles from Lathrop, we come to
Banta's,
A small freight and passenger station, whence tri-
weekly stages connect for Hill's FeiTy, forty miles.
Five miles further, through a fine agi'icultui'al
country, brings us to
Ellis,
A small village clustered round the usual saloons
and restaurants ; whence six miles more and we
reach
EXCURSION ROUTES. 247
Midway,
"Whose name will never be true till either San
Francisco or Sacramento moves six miles nearer
the other.
Seven and a half miles further, we suddenly
plunge into a well-cut tunnel, about six hundred
feet long, whose chief peculiarity is that we enter
it in one county and leave it in another. It re-
ceives us in San Joaquin county, carries us under
the boundary, and ushers us into Alameda county.
Just after coming out from the tunnel, we whirl
by the little flag station Altamont, whence we begin
to enter upon the down grade, and roll through
the
Liveriuore Pass,
Which is either a valley or a hill, according to
whether one reckons downward from the higher
summits on either side, or upward from the lower
level at either end. Eight miles from Altamont we
stop at
Livermore,
A rapidly-growing village in the beautiful Liver-
more Yalley, forty-seven miles from San Francisco.
From this station down to
Pleasanton,
Is only six miles, and they are pleasant 'uns indeed.
248 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
A thriving town, finely situated and beautifully
suiTOunded.
Thence rolling rapidly down the tortuous track,
we skirt along the bases of high hills, follow the
windings of a charming little narrow valley, rum-
bling through two or three strong frame bridges,
for twelve miles, when
Niles,
And its junction, with " change cars for San Jose,"
notify us that we have fairly passed the hills, and
entered upon the fertile plains which gently slope
from the foothills to the bay, whose southern por-
tion is our first glimpse of Pacific salt water. At
Niles we can take the San Jose cars, and go round,
through that city, to San Francisco, all the way by
land, if we particularly desire to accomplish the
whole transit on wheels. If we do that, we shall
travel forty miles further than by keeping straight
on from Niles through
Decoto,
which is but two miles. Decoto is one of the "go-
ing to be" towns. At present it exists chiefly in
the future tense. Nine miles still between the rol-
ling foothills on the right and the almost level
plains stretching awaybayward, brings us to
A
EXCURSION ROUTES. 249
San Lorenzo,
Which presents nothing of special note beyond a
quiet, restful-looking town, quite refreshing to the
tired and dusty tourist. Thence four miles, and
San Leandro,
Town and creek, arrest our train for sixty seconds,
The court house, jail, a large agricultural imple-
ment factory, with several stores, one or two hotels
and a newspaper, invest this pleasant town with all
the dignity of a comfortable county seat. Seven
miles from San Leandro, is
Brooklyn,
A thriving, go-ahead town of two thousand inhabi-
tants nights, and about seventeen hundred by day,
when a good seventh of its denizens are away at
their business in San Francisco. . Thence a shoi-t
two miles, and we stop again at
Oakland,
The tree-embowered city named by nature, and
chosen by man for charming homes and quiet halls
of learning.
Moving once more, and for the last time, we
steam by the hedges, gardens, cottages and man-
sions along the southwest suburb, and roll slowly
out two miles along a strongly built pier, over the
250 BANCROhT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
shallow margin of the bay, or the undisguised flats,
according to the tide, and " down brakes" for good
on the last rails of the great iron way across the
continent, and over the waters of another ocean.
An elegant ferry-boat, ''El Capitan," quickly re-
ceives us, and, in fifteen minutes, the San Francis-
co pier welcomes us to the Occidental metropolis,
and our joiu'ney is done. Turn, now, to the para-
graph on hacks and hotels; let one take you to the
other, bathe, eat and sleep, and next morning,
hunt up the " Short Excui-sions in and about San
Francisco," and devote yourself to cultivating the
Pacific metropolis.
Lake Tahoe.
This beautiful mountain lake lies along the east-
em margins of Placer and El Dorado counties. The
State line between California and Nevada parses
through it, lengthwise, from north to south. We
reach it by stage from the Central Pacific railroad
at Truckee, in three hours, oyer a variable road,
through sceneiy often beautiful, and for the extrav-
agant fare of $3.00.
The lake is one mile and a quarter above the sea
level. It is itself a little inland sea, thirty miles
long, from eight to fifteen wide, and in places
nearly two thousand feet deep. Its water is clear
as crystal, cold as the melting ice and snows which
feed it, and the purest known upon the continent.
EXCURSION RO UTES. 25 1
Floating upon its surface, and looking down
through its water, ©ne can easily count the pebbles
and stones along its gravelly bottom at the depth
of sixty feet. One seems suspended between two
firmaments of ether, with birds flying above and
fish swimming below. And such trout! swimming
forty feet beneath you, and f>lainly visible in all
their quick and graceful motions between you and
the rocky bottom.
From the water's edge, grassy slopes, pebbly
beaches, rocky shores and precipitous bluffs lead
the ej'^e up through tree-dotted ravines, over forest-
crowned hills to snow-clad mountains, white-headed
with age, and ermine-mantled upon their tremend-
ous shoulders.
A small steamer or two ply upon the lake —
plenty of good boats await one, and excellent
hotels accommodate transient guests,* or more j^er-
manent boarders.
From Tahoe, back to Truckee, by stage, cross
the railroad, and ride out two miles to
Donner Lake,
Smaller, but hardly less beautiful than that just
left. Its ^reat beauty in itself, the wild and ro-
mantic surrounding scenery, its ease of access and
its good hotel, make it a popular summer resort.
The tragical circumstances, seldom equaled in the
pioneer history of any country, which gave the
252 BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
name to this lake, may be found graphically nar-
nated in* the "Overland Monthly'' for July, 1870.
If you visit these charming lakes on your journey
to the State you could not have a grander intro-
duction to its scenes of vronder and beauty ; if you
take them on your return east, you could not possi-
bly carry away more delicious memories of lovelier
spots. Whether they bid you "welcome" or
" farewell," you will leave them with regi-et, recall
them with delight, and long to return and linger
among their matchless charms.
COMPLETE INDEX.
Abbreviations.— S. F. San Francisco. Sac. Sacramento.
Jos6. St. Stockton. Yo. Tosemite.
S. J. San
Alabaster Cave 77
Alameda 196
Ferry 196
Alcatraz Island 196-206
Alhambra Theatre, S. F. . 123
Alinaden Mine 214
Alta California Bldg., S.F.157
Alvarado 211
American Ex. Hotel, S. F.120
Angel Island 196-207
Approaches to S. F 107
Art Gallery 133
Artesian Well, St 244
Asylums, S. F 167-8
Auzerais House, S. J. . . .213
Baggage Express, S. F.'. .115
Bancroft's 157-172-174
Bankof Cal., S. F 154
Banta's 246
Baseball Grounds 130
Baths 122
Bay Trips '205-
Bay View Eoad — Track —
House 147-192
Beer Cellars 124
Beet Sugar Works 211
Belmont 224
Bernal Heights, S. F. ...183
Big Trees 57
Billiards, S. F 127
Black Diamond Coal Co.
Mine 189-230
Black Point 196
Bonita Point 195
Bower Cave 72
Bowling Salo ns, S. F...127
Bridal Veil Fall, Yo. ... 28
Brief Trips, S.F 197
Broderick Mt 40
Brooklyn 249
Brooklyn Hotel, S. F. . . .120
Business Buildings and
Blocks, S.F.... 157-159
Butchertown 192
Calaveras Big Trees 52
Central P. K. E. Co 190
California Street, S. F. . .143
" Hill, S.F. 181
California Theatre 123
Capitol, Sac 236
Cathedral Kocks 30
Spires 30
Chinese Quarter, S.F. . . 197
Theatres 123
Churches, S. F 161
Circuit of S.F 189
254
BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
PAGE.
City Gardens 140
Citv and Co. Buildings,
"S. F 150-153
Clay Street HiU 180
Clayton 227
Cliff Hovse— Eoad . . 145-199
Cloud's Rest 41
Colleges, S. F 169-171
Congress Springs 215
Conveyances, S. F 113
Corporation Buildings,
S. F 153-157
Cosmopolitan Hotel, S.F.119
Court House, S.J 213
Cricket Grounds, S. F. . . 130
Crystal Chapel 85
" Springs 223
Custom House, S. F 149
Dance HaUs, S. F 124
Dashaways 126
Davenport's Landing. . . .219
Deaf and Dumb Asylum,
Berkeley 210
Decoto 248
Deep Cut, S. F 191
Denman School 171
Donner Lake 252
Donohoe Building 157
Drives, S. F 145
Dry Dock 192
Dungeon of Enchantment 82
ElCapitan 48
EUis 246
Engine Houses, S. F 152
Excursion Routes 205
FarraUones 194
Ferries 196
Fire Department, S. F.. .153
Fissure, The, Yo 31
PAGE.
Footing it 187
Fort Point 194
Frogto^sTi 219
Gardens, S. F 130
Gas Works, S. F 190
Gilroy 215
Glacier Rock 33
Glass Works 191
Goat Island 207
Gold, Discovery of 233
Golden Gate 195
Grand Hotel 117
Gymnasiums, S. F 128
Half Dome 41
Halls, S. F 125
Harpending's Block 157
Hayward's 211
Horse Cars, S. F 184
Hospitals, S. F 167-190
Hotels, S. F 116
How to get about 184
Hunter's Point 192
Illillouette Fall 35
Industrial School 152
Italian Fishing Fleet ... .191
Jail, S. F 151
Kachoomah Fall 38
Kimball Car Manufactory. 159
Lagoon, The 193
Laguna Creek 218
.Lake Honda 193
Lake Merced 193
Lathrop 275
Libraries, S. F 148
Light House, Fort Point. 193
Lime Point 195
Lincoln School 171
INDEX.
255
PAGE.
Livermore 247
Livery Stables 187
Lodging-houses, S. F. . . . 121
Lone Mountain 181
Long Bridge, S. P 191
Lumber Yards, S. F 189
Maguire's Opera House .123
Manufactories, S. F.. 159-161
Marine Hospital 150
Mariposa Big Trees 57
Marshall, Jas. W 232
Martinez 226
Masonic Temple, S. F. . . 156
Mechanics' Institute 158
' ' Pavilion 155
Melodeons, S. F 124
Menageries 140
Menlo Park 225
Mercantile Library, S, F.154
Merchants' Exchange 154
Metropolitan Theatre, S.F. 123
Midway 247
Milbrae 225
Mint 149
Mirror Lake 42
Mission Bay Peaks
Rocks 182-190
Modesto 245
Monterey 217
Mountain Lake 195
Mt. Broderiek 40
Mt. Diablo 226-227
Mt. Starr King 40
Museums, S.F 124
Nevada FaU 38
New Almaden 214
New York Exchange Hotel,
S.J 213
Niles 248
North Beach 196
PAGE.
North Dome 43.
" Point 196
Oakland 20^249
«' Ferry 196
Ocean House — Eoad . 146-193
" Eace Course 193
Odd Fellows' Hall, S. F. .156
Pacheco 226
Pacific Bank, S.F 193
P.M. S. S. Co 190
Pacific Boiling Mill . 160-191
Pajaro Valley 216
Palace Car 159
Parks, S. F 130
Pescadero 220
Creek 222
Pigeon Point 219
Pioneers, Society of 153
Pioneer Woolen 'Mills . . , 196
Pleasanton 247
Point Bonita 195
" Lobos 194
Points of Observation . . 174
Pompompasas 47
Post-office, S.F 148
Potrero 191
Presidio 195
Private Eesidences, S. F.174
Promenades, S. F. . .141-144
Pulpit, The 87
Eedwood City 224
Eestaurants, S.F 121
Eincon Hill 181
Point 190
Eope Walk, S. F 191
Eoyal Arches, Yo 44
Eussian Hill 180
Sacramento 231-2
San Bruno Eoad 192
256
BANCROFT'S TOURIST'S GUIDE.
PAGE.
SA^- Feancisco 95-201
Apijroaches 107
ftaths 122
Buildings — Business . . 157
Public... 148
Chinese Quarter 197
Churches 161
Colleges 169
Conveyances 113
Drives 145
Excursions about City . 197
Gvmnasiums 128
HaUs 125
Hills 174
Historical Sketch 95
Horse Cars 184
Hospitals, Asylums, etc. 167
Hotels ]16
How to get about 184
Libraries 148
Lodging Houses 121
Manufactories 159
Melodeons 124
Museums 124
Places of Amusement . 122
Plan of City 102
Private Residences. . . .174
Promenades 141
Bestaurants 121
Schools 171
Sea Wall 196
Situation and Extent . . 99
Skating Rinks 130
Squares and Parks .... 141
Suburbs and Vicinity . . 188
Theatres 122
San Joaquin River 246
San Jose— Trip 212
San Juan 217
San Leandro 249
San Lorenzo 249
Sau Mateo.... 223
PAGE.
San Quentin 196
Santa Clara 215
Santa Cruz 217
Saratoga 215
Saucelito 196
Scott's Creek 219
Sea Wall 196
Seal Rocks 194
Sentinel Dome 32
Sentinel Rock 31
Ship Yards, S. F 161
Shot Tower, S. F 161
Skating Rinks, S. F 130
South San Francisco .... 192
State Normal School, S.J.213
State University 210
Sugar Refineries 161
Sutter, Gen. Jno. A 232
Tahoe, Lake 250
Telegraph Hill 174
Tenaya Canon 41
Lake 43
Three Brothers 47
Tooloolweack Fall 36
Tutochahnuldh 48
VaUejo 196
Vernal Fall 35
Visitacion Point and Val.192
WaddeU's Wharf 219
Warm Springs 211
Washington Colimin 44
Woodward's Gardens. 130-140
YOSEMITE 24-48
For Routes, Conveyances,
Time, Hotels, Guides, .
Horses, Outfit, and Ex-
penses see
Introdvi^Aioy^.
INDEX TO ADVERTISEES.
Big Trkes, Calaveras Co.,
Sperry & Perry, - - xliii
Central Pac. R. R.
Yosemite route - - xv
Geysers.
Great Geyser Springs, J. C.
Susenbeth - - - xvi
GiLROY.
Hanna House, J. A. Gordon
& Co., - - - xliv
Modesto.
Ross House, J. Cole - xvii
Napa City.
Revere House, J.W.Sharp xviii
Oakland.
Taylor's Carpet Store, - liii
Pet ALUM A.
American Hotel Mrs, Wm.
Ordway - - - xix
San Francisco.
A. r>. Bancroft & Company,
Books and Stationery Cover
A. Li. Bancroft & Company,
Pianos - .• . . vii
Blake, Robbins & Co., Paper
----- xii
Bradley & Rulofson, Photo-
graphs - - - - XX
California Ink Company, G. L.
Faulkner ... xxi
City Livery and Sale Stables,
M. Magner, - - xlv
^ Eagle Pencils - xxii
R. Eitner, Engraver, xxiii
Jos Figel, Merchant Tailor xxiv
L P. Fisher, Advertising
Agent ... XXV
Grand Hotel, Johnson & Co xU'i
Henry G. Hanks, Assayer and
Chemist - - - Ivi
Hobbs, Gilmore & Co. - xxvi
J. Isaac & Co., ^ tationery xi
Sam'l Kellett, Plaster, Decora-
tions, ... xlviii
McAfee, Spiers & Co., Boiler
Makers ... viii
J. C. Meussdorffer, Hats xxvii
New York Livery Stable, Crit-
tenden & Dalton - xlix
Occidental Hotel, - xxviii
Overland Monthly, J. H. Car-
many & Co. - - - vi
Geo. T. Pracy - xxix
H. Rosekrans & Co., Hard-
ware ... XXX
Sherman & Hyde, Music
Dealers ... xxxi
Thurnauer & Zinn, Willow-
ware . - - - xxxii
Watkins' Photographic Views,
xiii
Woodward's Gardens - Ivii
San Jose.
Auzerais House - - 1
Church & Wallace, Teams and
Saddle Horses - - Ivi
New York Exchange Hotel li
vStockton.
Yosemite House - - liv
Yosemite.
Coulterville route - xxxiii
Coulterville and Mariposa
route, C. P. R. R. . xv
New Yosemite Hotel, Leidig
& Davaney, - . - Hi
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS.
Boston.
And. T. Gra,ves, Books xxxiv
Henry Hoyt, New Prize Books
- - - - XXXV
Lee & Shepard, Schwartz
Novels - - - - xiv
Lee & Shepard, Books of
Travel - - . xxxvi
Loring's R. R. Novels - Iv
H. A.Young& Co., Books xxxvii
New York.
Appleton's Guide Books xxxviii
Eagle Pencils - - xxii
Gillott's Pens Inside Cover
Harper's Periodicals^ - iii
J. S. Redfield, Books - xxxix
S. R.Wells, Phrenology xl
Shipraans' Patent File - v
Spencerian Pens,Ivison,Bl^^<:e-
man & Taylor - - iv
Palmyra. N. Y.
Globe Printing Presses - x
Philadelphia,
Chas. Desilver, School Books
- xli
Kay & Brother, Publishers,
&c. ... xlii
Springfield, Mass.
Webster's Dictionaries ix
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
Harper's Periodicals
Harper's Magazine.
The great design of Harper's is to give correct information and rational
amusement to the great masses ot the people. There is no monthly Magazine
an intelligent reading family can less afford to be without. j\Iany Magazines
are accumulated. Harper'' s is edited. — New England Homestead.
Harper's Weekly.
The best publication of its class in America, and so far ahead of all other
weekly journals as not to permit of any comparison between it and any of their
number. — Boston Traveler.
Harper's Weekly is the best and most interesting illustrated newspaper.
Nor does its value depend on its illustrations alone. Its reading-matter is of
a high order of literary merit — varied, instructive, entertaining, and uaexcep-
tionable.— TV. Y. Sun.
Harper's Bazar.
Free from all political and sectarian discussion, devoted to fashion, pleasure,
and instruction, it is just the agreeable, companionable, and interesting domestic
paper which every mother and wife and sweetheart will require every son,
husband, and lover to bring home with him, every Saturday evening. — Phila-
delphia Ledger.
TERMS:
Harper's Magazine, One Year, ?|4 oo
Harper's Weekly, One Year, 4 oo
Harper's Bazar, One Year, 4 00
Harper's Magazine, Harper's Weekly, and Harper's Bazar, to one ad-
dress, for one year, $10 00; or any two for %^ 00.
An extra copy of either the Magazine, Weekly, or Bazar will be supplied
gratis for every club of Five Subscribers at $4 00 each, in one remittance; or
Six Copies for |20 00, without extra copy.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
SPENCERIAN
STEEL PENS.
Ma7iufactured by the Original Inventor of
Steel Pens,
The celebrated durability and perfection of action of these Pens are owing to
a peculiar process of Carbenizing and to the grealcare taken in their manufac-
ture by the most skilled and experienced workmen in Europe.
They are a nearer approximation to the real SWAN QUILL than anything
hitherto invented.
For Sale by Dealers generally.
J8S" SAMPLE CARD, containing all the 14 NUMBERS artistically ar-
ranged and securely enclosed, sent by mail on receiptof 25 CENTS.
The Traveler s Vade Mecum,
Lately Published.
A Pocket Dictionary of the English
Language.
Abridged from Webster's Quarto, illustrated with nearly TWO
HUNDRED Engravings on Wood. By Wm. G.
Webster, and Wm. A, Wheeler.
THE ^LUSTRATED CATALOGUE, descriptive of The American Edu-
cational Series of School and College Text-Books, and The Educational
Reporter, a handsome publication full of useful information, mailed free to any
address.
Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co.,
Publishers,
138 and 140 Grand Street, New York.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
FOR SAVING VALUABLE PAPERS
NOTHING EQUALS
SHIPMAN'S
PATENT ADHESIVE
Letter and Invoice File.
We would respectfully call the attention of Business Men,
Bankers and others,to our Patent Adhesive Letter and Invoice File.
We claim that it is the best article in use for the preservation
of all kinds of printed or written documents, such as Letters,
Invoices, Bills, &c. &c. They are in use by most of the Business
Firms and Companies in the United States.
Its form is that of a scrap book, of various sizes, having narrow
leaves with adhesive surface, which requires only to be moistened
and the document applied; thus it becomes a book of 250 or 500
letters, ai-rangedm the oxdexol dates, secure from loss ox misplace-
ment., and as convenient for reference as a ledger account — and
this with the least expense of time. Every lover of order or
economist of time must appreciate its importance.
We also keep constantly on hand, in great variety^ Invoice
and Scrap Books, Letter Copying Books, Blank Books and a full
assortment of Stationery.
ASA L. SHIPMAN & SONS,
25 Chambers Street, New York.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
SUBSCRIBE FOR THE
Overland Monthly
The only Literary Magazine ■
PUBLISHED ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
The Seventh Volume of this popular California Magazine
will commence with the July Number for 1871. Its popularity
has induced the publishers to make still greater exertions in
producing an interesting and instructive periodical.
Terms: — $4.00 per a.nnum, pa^ad/e
in advance.
Club Rates: — Two copies, $7.00;
Fii'e copies,$i6,oo; Ten copies,$3o,oo;
and. each additional copy, $3.00. Por
every Club of Twenty Subscribers, an
extra copy will be furnished gratis.
PUBLISHED BY
'JOHN H. CARMAN Y & CO.
No. 409 WASHINGTON STREET
SAN FRANCISCO.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
PIANOS, ORGANS,
MUSIC PUBLICATIONS,
NEW PIANO AGENCY.— Messrs. A. L. Bancroft & Co.
have organized, under the management of Wm. Henry Knight,
a MUSIC DEPARTMENT, where may be fou^d a complete
assortment of PIANOS, ORGANS, SHEET MUSIC AND
MUSIC PUBLICATIONS. Following are some of their spec-
ialties:
I. The GEORGl PIANO-FORTE— a new and magnificent
instrument; in every respect strictly first-class, and becoming
very popular in the East.
II. The PRINCE ORGANS AND MELODEONS.—
There are 46,500 of these now in use. They are unsurpassed
among reed organs.
III. The McCAMMON PIANOS, formerly known as the
celebrated ' ' Boardman & Gray" Piano. A very superior, moderate
pi iced instrument.
IV. The COTTAGE AND SCHOOL PIANO.— In small
sized cases, elegant in appearance, of low cost, and very durable.
V. HOOK'S PIPE ORGANS FOR CHURCHES.— The
best manufactured.
VI. LUNAN'S GERMAN UPRIGHT PIANOS.— Fine-
toned, thoroughly well made instruments.
VII. MUSIC PUBLICATIONS.— Sheet Musjc, Instruction
Books, etc., etc.
For Descriptive Circulars and Price Lists, address or apply to
A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY,
Music Department,
Bancroft's Building, SAN FRANCISCO.
TOURIST'S GUIDE AD\^RTISER.
McAfee, Spiers & Co.,
Boilei' Makers a7id
GENERAL MACHINISTS.
High (Did Low- Pressure Boilers,
STATIONARY AND MARINE.
Howard St., bet. Fremont and Beale,
SAN FRANCISCO.
Also Orders received for every descrip-
tion of Machinery.
Having 24 years' experience in this business, we feel
confident of being able to compete, as to quality of work,
with any establishment on the Pacific Coast.
Particular and personal attention given to repairs of
old boilers on steamships and steamboats.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. ix
GET THE BEST
Webster's Unabridged
DICTIONARY.
10,000 Words and Meanings not in other Dictionaries. 3,000
Engravings. 1,840 Pages Quarto. Price $12.
Glad to add my testimony in its favor.
[President Walker of Hartford.]
Every scholar knows its value.
[W. H. Prescott, the HLstorian.]
The most complete Dictionary of the Language.
[Dr. Dick, of Scotland.]
The best guide of students of our language.
[John G. Whittier.]
He will transmit his name to latest posterity.
[Chancellor Kent.]
T^tyraological parts surpasses anything by earlier laborers.
-L> [George Bancroft.]
Bearing relation to Language Principia does to Philosophy.
[Elihu Burritt.]
Excels all others in defining scientific terms.
[President Hitchcock.]
SO far as I know, best defining Dictionary.
[Horace Mann.]
Take it altogether, the surpassing work.
[Smart, the English Orthoepist.]
A necessity for every intelligent family, student, teacher and professional
man. What library is complete without the best English Dictionary?
Published by G. & C. MERRIAM, Springfield. Mass.
Sold by A. L. BANCROFT & CO., San Francisco, and all Booksellers.
Also, WEBSTER'S NATIONAL PICTORIAL DICTIONARY.
1040 Pages Octavo. 600 Engravings. Price $5.
The work is really a gem of a Dictionary, jast the thing for the millions.—
American Educational Monthly.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
Globe Printing Presses.
IMPRESSION CAN BE THROWN OFF.
DWELL ON THE IMPRESSION.
DETENTION OF ROLLERS ON CYLINDER
AND DOUBLE VIBRATING DISTRIBUTORS,
GIVING UNLnnTED DISTRIBUTION.
NET CASH PRICES:
Half medium, 13 x xg}/2 inches inside of chase, $550.00. Fountain, $25.00.
Steam Fixtures, $15.00. Boxing, $10.00. — extra.
Quarto medium, 10 x 15 inches inside of chase, $425.00. Foimtain, $25.00.
Steam Fixtures, $15.00. ^Boxing, $7.00. — extra.
Eighth medium, 8 x 12 inches inside of chase, $250.00. Steam Fixtures,
$15.00. Boxing, $6.00. — extra.
One Roller Mould, two sets Roller Stocks, and three chases, are included
\\4th each Press.
All of these Presses will be thoroughly tested, strongly boxed,
and delivered to the order of the purchaser, at our manufactory,
Palmyra, N. Y.
Jones Manufacturing Co.
Palmyra, N. Y.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
JOSEPH ISAAC. H. ROBITSCHECK.
J. ISAAC & CO.,'
IMPORTERS AND JOBBERS OF
Stationery, Blank Books,
MANILA AND WRAPPING PAPERS,
Playing Cards, Labels, Liquor Essences,
ETC., ETC., ETC.,
5/j> Sansome St., cor. Merchant
SAN FRANCISCO.
J. ISAAC & CO'S
Paper Warehouse.
DEALRRS IN PAPERS
OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS.
Envelopes Jnks, Twine, Playing Cards,
LIQUOR AND WINE LABELS,
ESSENTIAL OILS, ETC, ETC
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
Blake, Robbins & Co.,
IMPORTERS AND JOBBERS OF
Book^ News J Writing and
WRAPPING PAPER,
Paper Bags, Card Stock, Straw Paper,
Straw and Binders' Board, Inks, Bronzes, Etc.
AGENTS FOR
Carson's Celebrated Letter Papers,
INFERIOR TO NONE.
Agents for Dexter's Manila Papers.
Agents for Whiting Mill Paper,
AND OTHER LEADING BRANDS,
^t6 Sacramento & ^ig Commercial Sts.
San Francisco.
Francis Blake, \
James Moffitt, > San Francisco.
Chas. F. Robbins, J
James W. Towne, New York.
New York Office, i8 and 20 Vesey Street,
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. xiii
WATKINS'
YosEMiTE Gallery,
429 Montgomery Street,
San Francisco, Cal,
Photographic Views
Of Yosemite Valley, the Big Trees, the Mines, the
splendid Scenery of the
CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD,
The- Coast etc., etc. Can be had in all sizes for
framing, the Album, or the Stereoscope.
Sold Wholesale and Retail. A liberal discount made
to the trade. Vou are requested to visit the Gallery,
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
The Most Popular Novels
ARE THE
SCHWARTZ NOVELS.
Translated from the Swedish of Madame Marie
Sophie Schwartz, by Miss Selma Borg,
and Miss Marie A. Brown.
NOW READY,
GUILT AND INNOCENCE Paper, $i oo; Cloth. $i 50.
" Madame Schwartz is a writer of much greater literary merit than Miss
Muhlbach, whose works have been so widely circulated in this coimtry.' — Ne^v
York AtUis.
GOLD AND NAME. Paper, §1 00; Cloth, $1 50.
" This is a powerful book; in plot and style, it is equally good. Its morals —
it may be considered to have several— are unexceptionable." — Ch?-istian Stan-
dard, Cincinnati.
BIRTH AND EDUCATION. Paper. $1 00; Cloth, gi 50.
"This title would make one suppose that it was a book devoted to common
schools and academies. Instead of that, it is a romance of the very highest
class, — one of the best historical novels of the age." — Albany Eve7iing Post.
THE WIFE OF A VAIN MAN. 8vo., Paper, $1 00; Cloth, $1 50.
In presentmg to American readers the first translations of this author, who in
her own country is universally popular, the publishers take pleasure in making
public the following tribute of the Great Swedish Lyric Artiste, Mlle. Chris-
tine NiLSSON.
New York, November 28, 1870.
Mademoiselle: — It is with great pleasure that I have learned that you, in
conjunction with Miss Makie A. Brown have undertaken to translate into En-
glish the magnificent works of Madame Schwartz.
Allow me then, dear Mademoiselle, as a fervent admirer of Mada.aie
Schwartz, to offer you and Miss Brown my liveliest iehcitations for having
chosen an author of so immense merit to introduce to the American public a
writer who has contributed to make the glory of our country.
I wish you all the success you deserve, and beg you to be so kind as to send
me a copy of the work as soon as it is published.
Accept, Mademoiselle, as well as Miss Brown, my warmest sympathy and
the assurance of my perfect consideration.
CHRISTINE NILSSON.
Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, and sent by
mail postpaid on receipt of price.
Lee & Shepard, Publishers, Boston.
Lee, Shepard & Dillingham,
47 and 49 Greene St., N. Y.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
YOSEMITE
AND
BIG TREE GROVES
IN TWO DAYS.
IMPORTANT FOR TOURISTS.
NE V ROUTE FOR 187 r,
VIA THE
VI SALT A DIVISION of the CENTRAL
PACIFIC RAILROAD,
FROM
LATHROP,
AND FROM THE TERMINUS OF THE C. P.
R. R. BY STAGE, VIA
MARIPOSA AND CLARK'S OR
COULTERVILLE.
8^ For further information see page 58.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
THE GREAT
GEYSER SPRINGS
OF CALIFORNIA.
THESE celebrated Springs are the greatest natural curipsity in the world,
and are reached by the
NAPA VALLEY ROUTE AND THE RUSSIAN
RIVER VALLEY ROUTE.
For particulars of these routes, see description in body of this guide.
The Medicinal and Curative Properties of the Geyser Springs are admitted
to be equal, if not superior, to CalLstoga, Baden-Baden, Aix-la-Chapel, Wies-
baden, or Homburg. The Scenery is wild, picturesque and grand in the
extreme, and finer than that of the lower Alps.
The Pluton, or Grea r Sulphir Creek, which runs by the Geyser Hotel,
is well supplied with mountain trout; and the hills abound with deer and
other game.
THE HOTEL
Is a large, two-story building, with spacious verandahs surrounding it, above
and below, and has been newly furnished. New steam and sulphur bath-
houses have been erected, and a large stable has been built. Private Ieams
can easily and safely drive over the new road from Calistoga, and at the
Geysers will find an abundance of good feed for their horses.
SADDLE HORSES
For ladies and Gentlemen, are always on hand, at reasonable prices.
A Good Table is kept at the Hotel, and the best of Liquors and Cigars
will be found at the bar, The rooms are comfortable, and the beds are all
new and provided with spring mattresses. •
Board and lodging per day, $3; board and lodging per week, $17.50;
single meals, each, $1.50. Baths, 25. Visiting the Geyser Canons, for each
person, $1. Children under ten yeais of age, half price.
jJ^Visitors are requested not to pay the Guides, as they are furnished by
the Hotel, free of charge.
Fare from San Francisco to Calistoga, per steamer and cars, §3.50. Suges
from there to the Gej-sers, $6.00 per passage.
J. C. SUSENBETH,
p. S. — For further particulars, inquire at the ofBceof J. S. POLACK, Esq.,
Room No. I, N. W. corner of Jackson and Montgomery Sts., Ssn Francisco.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
THE SHORTEST AND
BEST ROUTE TO YOSEMITE
Via Modesto.
ROSS HOUSE, MODESTO.
JOS. COLE, Proprietor.
Tourists will find this House conducted in first-class
style. Charges moderate, and every attention paid to
Guests. Stages leave this House daily for Snelling's,
Hornitas, Mariposa, Yosemite, and all points south.
YOSEMITE STABLES.
MODESTO, CAL.
HORSES, CARRIAGES AND SADDLE HORSES
To let on reasonable terms.
Horses boarded with the best of care, by the day or week.
Private Teams Furnished at the shortest notice; also Two
Four or Six Horse Turnouts furnished for Tourists,
with Concord or Kimball Carriages, with careful
and experienced Drivers.
F. H, ROSS, Proprietor,
Modesto is situated at the terminus of the Visalia Division of the C. P. R. R.
The Ross House, also the Yosemite Stables were built by F. H. Ross, almost
exclusively for the accommodation of Tourists, and no pains will be spared to
make their visit to the Hoase, or transit to the valley comfortable and pleasant.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
REVERE HOUSE
JOHN W. SHARP, Proprietor.
Second Street, opposite Court House,
NAPA CITY.
ONLY FIRST-CLASS HOUSE IN NAPA CITY.
THIS HOUSE is fitted up in superior style, and is
now open for the reception of Permanent and Transient
Guests. It is built in modem style, and the rooms are
large, airy and pleasant.
THE BAR is well supplied. THE TABLE shall be
second to none in the State. The farming community
will find at this House the best of accommodations at
reasonable prices.
'^v-
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
AMERICAN HOTEL,
Main- Street, Petaluma.
MRS. WM. ORDWAY, Proprietress.
This Hotel, first-class in every particular, is the leading
house in this city and one of the best hotels on the
coast.
THE BUILDING is a large, three-story, fire-proot
brick, situated in the center of the business part of the
city, well ventilated, supplied with water and gas, perfectly
arranged with a view to comfort and convenience,
containing sixty three rooms, elegant parlor, pleasant
reading room, first-class Bar and Billiard room, Hair
Dressing Saloon and Cigar Stand.
THE ROOMS, single and en-suite, are large, with
high ceilings, well ventilated and elegantly furnished.
THE TABLE is supplied with the best the market
affords, prepared and served in first-class style.
A LIVERY STABLE is connected with the Hotel.
Splendid carriages are furnished upon notice at the office.
OMNIBUSES convey guests to and from the Hotel
to cars and steamers, free of charge.
STAGES from the city leave from this Hotel.
Tourists, visiting the city, are shown eveiy courtesy
and attention in all departments of the Hotel.
XX TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
FOR THE VERY
Best Photographs,
GO TO
BRADLEY
AND
RULOFSON,
429 Montgomery Street,
SAJV FRANCISCO.
Closed on Sundays,
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
THE CALIFORNIA
INK COMPANY,
405 & 407 SANSOME STREET,
SAN FRANCISCO.
GEORGE L. FAULKNER, Agent.
Are manufacturing\Vriting Inks of different colors, equal if
not superior to those of Eastern or Foreign manufacture.
For our Black Writing Fluid, we claim:
1st. — That it will not corrode or clog the pen, but keep it
always in a bright, clean condition.
2d. — That there is no sediment that can settle and impair
the color.
3d. — That it flows freely from, and is of a rich, deep color
as soon as it leaves the pen.
4th. — It is not affected by acids, as an acid that would remove
the ink will eat up the paper.
5th. — It cannot be washed off with water.
6th. — It is a California production, and the manufacture of
the same keeps thousands of dollars in the State, that have hitherto
been sent abroad for Ink.
We also make a superior article of MUCILAGE that cannot
be excelled for its adhesive qualities.
LIQUID LAUNDRY BLUING.— A convenient and relia-
ble preparation, to take the place of all others hitherto used for
Laundry purposes. Put up in 8 oz. bottles and gallon jars.
The attention of the trade is respectfully solicited to these
manufactures. Perfect satisfaction guaranteed.
Refer, by permission, to Messrs. A. L. Bancroft & Company,
who are selling large quantities of our Writing Inks and Mucilage.
CALIFORNIA INK COMPANY,
GEO. L. FAULKNER, Agent.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
SATISFACTION IN ALL CASES GUARANTEED.
ASK FOUR STATIONER FOR
EAGLE PENCILS
These pencils, which have been before the American public
for several years, are rapidly growing in popularity, and are to-day
MORE EXTENSIVELY USED IN THE UNITED
STATES THAN AN^^ OTHER.
And are pronounced by all who have given them a fair trial, to be
INFERIOR TO NONE manufactured, and are sold at prices materially
lower than are other first-class articles.
Office Rubber-Head pencils are very much liked by business
men.
Eagle Drawing pencils are recommended in the Drawing
Books now in use in the State of California, and by Drawing
Teachers, and others.
EAGLE DIAMOND RUBBER IS THE BEST MANUFACTURED.
SOLD BY BOOKSELLERS & STATIONERS GENERALLY.
And at Wholesale and Retail by
A. L. Bancroft & Company,
B O OKSELLERS AND ST A TI ONERS
721 MARKET ST., SAN FR.\NCISCO.
i!lliil!piiiiii!iiPiiiiiiiii
M
I Hi
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
JOS. FIGEL,
Clothier, Merchant Tailor
AND DEALER IN
Men's and Boys' Clothing,
FURNISHING GOODS, TRUNKS, &C.
211 MONTGOMERY STREET,
Russ Block, opposite Piatt's Hall,
Would respectfully invite the attention of the Public to his
superior Stock of Goods, feeling confident that he can
suit, both in regard to Price and Quality.
A FEATURE
In his business is the particular attention paid to the manufacture
of Men's and Boys' Clothing, College and Military Uniforms of
every description to Order, from a large assortment of Cloths,
Cassimeres, Beavers, Scotch Tweed, etc.
Elegance of Style and Perfection of Fit are in all cases
guaranteed.
A visit to my Establishment will convince you of my ability
to please in every respect.
JOS. FIGEL,
No. 2 1 1 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
ESTABLISHED IN 1852
L. P. FISHER'S
ADVERTISING
agency:
Rooms 20 & 21 Aleve hunts Exchange
CALIFORNIA ST., SAN FRANCISCO.
Agent for the Sacramento Union.
^♦ADVERTISING IS THE OIL WHICH WISE MEN PUT
IN THEIR LAMPS." —Modern Proverb.
GIRARUS SECRET.
Stephen Girard, than whom no shrewder business man ever lived, used
to say in his old age:
'• I have always considered advertising liberally and long to be the great
medium of success in business and prelude to wealth. And I have made it an
invariable rule, too, to advertise in the dullest times, as well as in the busiest,
long experience having taught me that money thus spent is well laid out; as by
keeping my business continually before the public, it has secured many sales
that I otherwise would have lost."
Advertisements and Subscriptions solicited for papers published in Califor-
nia and Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Arizona and
adjacent Territories; Sandwich Islands, the British Possessions, Mexican Forts,
Nicaragua, Panama, Valparaiso, Japan, China, Europe, Australia, Atlantic
States, etc., etc.
N. B. — FOR SALE; bound volumes of the Sacrcunento Union, from Sept
19th, 1855, to the present time; also, the Sun-Francisco Evening Bulletin, in
bound volumes, from the beginning of its publication to the present time.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
SAN FRANCISCO MILLS.
HOBBS,GILMORE&CO.
Manufacturers of BOXES,
ALSO,
Sawing and Planing Mills,
Market, Beale and Main Sts.
SAN FRANCISCO.
San Pedro Street, near Depot, San Jose.
FOR SALE;
SPANISH CEDAR, MAHOGANY,
AND OTHER FANCY WOOD.
5^* We are now manufacturing, and will receive
orders for the manufacture of different kinds of
AGRICULTURAL MACHINES.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. xxvii
FOR FINE HATS
GO TO
J. C. Meussdorffer,
NORTH EAST CORNER
OF
Montgomery & Bush Sts.
SAN FRANCISCO.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
GEORGE T. PRACY,
MACHINE WORKS,
109 & III MISSION STREET,
SAN FRANCISCO.
These Works have lately been increased, by additional tools,
and we are now able to turn out any kind of work, equal to and
cheaper than any establishment in the State, that is to say:—
Steam Engines, Flour and Saw Mills, Quartz
Machinery, Printing Presses,
AND MACHINERY MADE OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.
IMPROVED SAFETY STORE HOISTS,
Fitted with Cutting's Patent Cams, unequaled for safety, con-
venience and cheapness. This Hoist can be built for about half
the price of any other in use. To be seen at HAWLEY & CO'S.
ALSO, MANUFACTURER AND SOLE AGENT FOR
pracy's celebrated governor.
TURNING LATHES, &C CONSTANTLY ON HAND.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
H. ROSEKRANS. S. READ.
H. RoSEKRANS & Co.
IMPORTERS A.ND DEALERS IN
HARDWARE,
Builders' Materials, Carpenters' Tools,
HO USE-FURNISHING UTENSILS,
AXD ALL KINDS OF
SHELF HARDWARE,
/j5 Montgomery Street
NEAR BUSH STREET,
SAN FRANCISCO.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
SHERMAN & HYDE,
IMPORTERS AND DEALERS IN
SHEET MUSIC
PIANOS, ORGANS,
AND
MUSICAL MERCHANDISE OF EVERY DESCRIPTION
Corner Kearny & Sutter Streets,
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
Send your orders directly to us. Remember it is
no more trouble or expense to send Sheet Music by
Mail, one thousand miles than it is one mile.
Music Teachers, Seminaries and Dealers liberally
dealt with.
xxxii TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
Thurnauer & Zinn,
IMPORTERS OF
French and German Fancy Baskets,
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN WILLOW WARE,
TOYS, FANCY GOODS
AND YANKEE NOTIONS,
CANE AND WILLOW CHAIRS,
LADIES' WORK STANDS,
Wooden Ware, Feather -Dusters, Brushes,
ETC., ETC., ETC.
533 MARKET STREET,
opposite Sutter and Sansome Streets, SAN FRANCISCO.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER,
The shortest and best route to
rOSEMlTE VALLET.
C, P. R. R, to Modesto, thence by stage to
Coulterville, Bower Cave, Pilot
Peak and Crane Flat,
Leaves Modesto on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 5
o'clock, A.M., arrives at Coulterville at 2 p. m.; distance 50
miles; leaving Coulterville at 4 P.M., arrive at Eower Cave,
at 7 P. M. Next morning leave Bower Cave at 6 a.m., and arrive
at Crane Flat at ii A. M. Take Saddle Horse and arrive at the
Hotels in the Valley, at 4 o'clock, p. M., 15 miles horseback.
Returning, leave Yosemite at 7 o'clock, A. M., distance, 46 miles,
arrive at Coulterville at 5 o'clock, p. m., leave Coulterville at 5
A. M., arrive at Modesto, at 4 o'clock p. M.
The above route is superior to all others, as there is less time
consumed on the road, more rest, and the whole route gives finer
scenery than by any other, from the fact that after you strike the
foot hills, you pass along the dividing ridge between the Tuolumne
and Merced rivers, to the East, the Sierra Nevada, with Castle
Peak, Mount Dames, and other prominent points, to the West, is
the San Joaquin, and the Coast Range; also less dust than any
other route, as the route is East and West, and the north winds
that are almost constantly blowing, carry the dust from you.
And as a round trip is always desirable; parties can go by
Coulterville, and out via Big Trees and Mariposa, or vice versa.
By the first of June, there will be but 2% miles horseback
riding into the valley.
The nights at Bower Cave are cool and refreshing, unsur-
passed on the whole route.
Through Tickets for sale at all the railroad offices, Sacra-
mento and Lathrop.
G. W. COULTER, Agent.
Office at C. B. & M; R. R. R. office 214 Montg'y Street.
:iv TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
VALUABLE BOOKS,
For Children and Youth,
PUBLISHED BY
ANDREW F. GRAVES,
20 CoRNHiLL, Boston, Mass.
THE SUNSHINE SERIES.— By H. N. W. B. Six volumes. i8mo., S3.60
This is an entirely new series of books, hy one of the best writers of juvenile
books. They are put up in a neat box, and will be found excellent for the
"Sabbath School Library."
AMY GARNETT. One vol., 16 mo. $1.25
LYNDANEWTON.— By Mis L.J. H.Frost. 16 mo., - - - 1.50
An excellent book, and one which will interest everjT one.
DAVY'S MOTTO. 16 mo., 1.25
It is better to do well than to say well is the motto.
JOE AND THE HOWARDS; or Armed with Eyes. By Carl. 16 mo. 1.25
It gives much valuable information in regard to insects, both on land a.id
water, in such a manner as cannot fail to amuse children, while it is storing their
minds with that which is useful for them to know.
THE RAINFORD SERIESi— By Glance Gaylord.
Four volumes in box, ......... §6.00
THE WOODBINE SERIES.— By Mrs. Madeline Leslie. i6mo. Il-
lustrated, $1.25
This is an entire new set, by a very popular author. Other volumes will be
issued from time to time. The title pages are printed in colors.
THE ARLINGTON SERIES. 4 vols., i6mo.
Four volumes in box, .....-.-- S5-50
THE PERCY FAMILY.— By Rev. D. C. Eddy, D. D.
Five volumes with neat box, -- 5.00
THE CEDAR BROOK STORIES, or the Clifford Children. By Mrs.
A. S M., author of " Only a Pauper." 5 vols. i8mo.
The five volumes handsomely illustrated in a neat box with illuminated
covers, ........... 3.25
CORWIN'S WEST'S SERIES.— 6 vols in a box, .... 4.50
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
HAVE YOU READ THE
NEW PRIZE BOOKS.
Both Sides of the Street, ($600) $1.60
Moth and Rust, ($300) $i.6o
Fourteenth Thousand now ready.
DIGGING A GRAVE
With a Wine-Glass.
And the First Glass of Wine.
Simple texts are sometimes more effective preachers than sermons, or whole
vohimes of well conceived essays. Read the two stories within the covers of
this book, kind reader, and if a first glass of wine tempt you, let the prayer go
forth, "Lead us not into temptation."
Beautifully illustrated. Price $1.25.
DOWN IN A SALOON;
OR
The ]\Jinister's Protege.
By the author of the new $600.00 prize book,
'« BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET."
Beautifully bound in gold and black, and sent prepaid by mail. Price, I1.50
For sale by all Booksellers.
HENRY HO YT,
No. 9 Cornhill, Boston.
For sale by A. L. Bancroft & Co.
xxxvi TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
BOOKS OF TRAVEL.
Published by
LEE & SHEPARD, BOSTON.
A Readable Book on California.
Thk Su?T8ET Land; or. The Great Pacific Slope. By Rey. John
Todd. D. D. 1 vol. 16mo. $1 50
The press all over the country has given this book by Dr. Todd, the
warmest praise. It contains, in a small compass, just what all desire to
know of California.
The '■^Heathen Chinee,'^ at Home and Abroad.
Why and How the Chinese Emigrate, and the means they adopt for
the purpose of reaching America. By Col. Russell H. Con well.
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. $1 50
" Nothing is wanting in Mr. Conwell's book for a clear apprehension of
every feature of his subject." — Christian Union.
Our New Possessions Surveyed.
Alaska and its Resources. By Wm. H. Dall. Director of the Scien-
tific Corps of the late Western Union Telegraph Expedition.
One large octavo volume, - - - . - - - $7 60
This is the only complete history of onr newly acquired possessions
published. The narrative is one of actual experience during a three
years' residence in the country.
A Graphic and Truthful History.
HiSTOBT OF Paraguay. With Notes of PerKoual Observations and
reminiscences of diplomacy under diflaculties. By Charles A.
Washburn, Commissioner and Minister Resident of the
United States at Asuncion, from 1861 to 1868. In two volumes.
Octavo. Illustrated \s-ith Maps and Engravings. - - $7 50
"A history stranger than many works of fiction, abounding in incidents
of devoted heroism, and fearful cruelty." — Chicago Post.
A yourtialist in Europe.
OvEB THE Ocean; or, Sights and Scenes in Foreign Lands. By
Curtis Guild, Editor of the "Commercial Bulletin," Boston.
Crown 8vo. - - - $2 50
"Mr. Curtis Guild has given the public a book of travel such as they
may search for elsewhere in vain." — Boston Post.
Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, and sent by
mail postpaid, on receipt of price.
Lee & Shepard, Publishers, Boston.
LEE, SHEPARD & DILLINGHAM, N. Y.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
GET THE BEST BOOKS
FOR THE CHILDREN,
Effie Wingate'8 Work. By Mary Dwinell Chellis, - . - - $1.50
Dea. Sim's Prayers. By Mary Dwinell Chellis, - . - - I.50
Pleasant Pages and Bible Pictures, 20 illustrations; - - - 1.50
Carl Bartlett or What can I do? By D. S. Ericson, 1vol. - 1.25
Bill Drock's Investment. By Mary Dwinell Chellis, 1 vol, - - 1..50
The Old Doctor's Son. By Mary Dwinell Chelhs, - "- - 1.50
Mr. Pendleton's Cup. By Glance Gaylord, 1.25
Miss Patience Hathaway. By Glance Gaylord, - - - - 1.50
Donald Deane. By Glance Gaylord, 1.50
Good Measure. A story for boys. By D. S. Ericson, - - 1.50
Clean Your Boots, Sir? A capital story for boys, - - - - ,60
The Little Peanut Merchant 1.25
Molly's Bible. By Miss Mary D. Chellis, 1.50
Truth and Trust, or Iron Mountain, 1.25
Hopes and Fears, or Broad Oaks, 1.25
Good for Evil, or Rose Cottage, -.-..-. 1.05
Sidney de Grey, or the Rival School Boys. By Lawrence Lancewood, 1.25
Nellie Warren, or the Lost Watch. By Lawrence Lancewood, Esq., 1,25
Louis Sinclair, By Lawrence Lancewood, Esq., ... 1.25
Mark Dunning's Enemy. By Mary Dwinell Chellis, ... 1.50
The Hermit of Holcombe. By Mary Dwinell Chellis, - - I.50
Breaking the Rules, 1.25
Earl Whiting, - - 1.25
The Runaway Boy, - - 1.25
Nellie Milton's Housekeeping. 1.26
Brownie Sandford, 1.25
Sylvia's Burden. 1*25
Ruth Lovell, - 1.25
Cousin Clara, By Lawrence Lancewood, 1.25
Jamie Noble, ---1.25
Peter Clinton. By Lawrence Lancewood, 1.25
A Hole in the Pocket, By Aunt Hattic, ' . 1.25
Stopping the Leak. By Aunt Hattie, 1,25
Lost but Found. ByAunt Hattie, --.-... j 25
Fashion and Folly. By Aunt Hattie, 1.25
Gypsy Breynton. By Miss E. Stuart Plielps. .... - l!25
Gypsy's Cousin Joy. By Miss E Stuart Phelps, - . . - 1.25
Gypsy's Sowing and Reaping. By Miss E, Stuart Phelps, . . 1.25
Gypsy's Year at the Golden Crescent, By Miss E. Stuart Phelps, 1.25
PUBLISHED BY
HENRY A. YOUNG & CO..
xxxyiii TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER,
GUIDE BOOKS
FOR TRAVELERS,
PUBLISHED BY
D, APPLETON & COMPANY.
APPLETONS' EUROPEAN GUIDE BOOK.— Including England. Scotland
and Ireland, France, Belgium, Holland, Northern and Southern Germany,
Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Russia, Denmark, Norway and
Sweden. Containing a Map of Europe, and Nine other Maps, with Plans
of 20 of the Principal Cities, and more than 120 Engravings. One vol.,
thick i2mo, morocco, tuck, gilt edges. $6.00
"This is a curious, a useful and an interesting book — a veritable directorj'
of travel, of immense value to the American tourists visi ting the Old World for
the first time, and to the native of Britain newly exploring the Continent." —
LondottExaniitter and Revieiv.
" 'Appletons' European Guide Book' is a compact manual for the foreign
traveler, crowding a great variety of information into a small compass, by a
rigorous brevity of statement, and the omission of all irrelevant details. — New
York Tribune.
" 'Appletons' Guide' is likely to create a stir among those with which
travelers are familiar. It is cheap, considering that it condenses the United
Kingdom and all the Continent of Europe, giving a large map, and nine others,
with plans of 20 of the principal cities, and 120 engravings, for a guinea." —
Anglo- American Times.
APPLETONS' RAILWAY GUIDE.— Containing Maps of the Principal
Railways in the L'nited States and the Canadas, and a General Map.
APPLETONS' NORTHERN and EASTERN GUIDE-BOOK.— Containing
an account of the Principal Watering-Placesand Summer Resorts in the New
England and Middle States. A New Eldition with revisions to date. $2.00
APPLETONS' WES lERN C^UIDE-BOOK— Containing all through Routes
to the West and all Land Routes. The completest work of the kind
published. ( IVill be published early in May. )
SKELETON ROUTES through England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland and Spain; with various ways of getting
from place to place, the time occupied, and the cost of each journey for a
party of four, with some of the principal things to see. i2mo. $1.00
NEW YORK ILLUSTRATED.— With 48 Illustrations and a Map, from
drawings made by the best artists. The most complete illustrated memento
of New York ever published. 8vo. Price, 50 cents; cloth, §1.00
Either of the above sent post paid, by mail, to anv address, on receipt
of the price. D. APPLETON & CO., Pub'lisheis, New York.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY
J. S. REDFIELD,
140 Fulton Street, New York.
I. MODERN WOMEN AND WHAT IS SAID OF THEM. A Reprint
of a Series of Articles in Tlie Saturday Review, with an Introduc-
tion by Mrs. Lucia Gilbert Calhoun . First Series.
In one Volume, i2mo, handsomely printed and bound in cloth, beveled
$2.00
II. MODERN WOMEN AND WHAT IS SAID OF THEM A Series
of Articles Reprinted from T?ie Saturday Revieiv. Second Series
In one Volume, i2mo, 400 pp. Uniform with First Series. $2.00
III. TRIBUNE ESSAYS. Leading Articles contributed to 77te New York
Tribune, from 1857 to 1863. By Charles T. Congdon, with an Intro-
duction by Horace Greeley. In one Volume, i2mo, 400 pp. Extra
Cloth. $1.50
IV HAND-BOOK OF PROGRESSIVE PHILOSOPHY. By Edward
Schiller. One Volume, i2mo, Extra Cloth. • $i-5o
WALT WHITMAN'S BOOKS:
V. LEAVES OF GRASS. A new Edition, with additions and revisions.
One Volume, i2mo, paper, uncut. $2.50
VI. PASSAGE TO INDIA. A Sequel to "Leaves of Grass." One Volume,
i2mo, paper, uncut. $1.00
VIL DEMOCRATIC VISTAS (Prose). One Volume, i2mo, paper. .75
VI IL CONJUGAL SINS AGAINST THE LAWS OF LIFE AND
HEALTH, and their Effects upon the Father, Mother and Child. By
A. K. Gardner, A. M., M. D.
In one Volume, i2mo. Paper cover, $1.00; bound, $1.50
IX. ON THE USES OF WINES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. By
Francis E. Anstie, M. D., F. R. C. P. Paper. .50
X. MODERN PALMISTRY; OR THE BOOK OF THE HAND.
Chiefly according to the systems of D'Arpentigny and Desbarrolles,
with some account of the Gipsies. By A. R. Craig, M.- A., with
Illustrations. Extra Cloth. #i-75
XI. THE KIDNEY AND ITS DISEASES. By Dr. E. H. Dickson.
Paper. .25
XII. REDFIELD'S HALF-DIME, VEST POCKET CITY MAPS. New
York, now ready.
XIII. LITTLE BREECHES, by John Hay, illustrated by J. F. EngeL
Beautifully done and printed by Photo-Lithography. .25
3tl TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
WORKS ON
PHRENOLOGY.
NEW PHYSIOGNOMY; or Signs of Cliaracter, as manifested through
Temperament and External Forms,and especially in the "Human Face Divine."
looo Illustrations. By S. R. Wells. Prices, §5, $8 and $10.
HOW TO READ CHARACTER. A new Illustrated Hand-Book of
Phrenology and Physiognomy, for Students and Examiners, with a Chart for
the Delineation of Character. 170 Engravings. Latest and best. For Prac-
tical Phrenologist. Paper. $ I. Muslin, $1.25. .
EDUCATION AND SELF IMPROVEMENT COMPLETE. Physi-
ology— Animal and Mental; Self-Culture; Memory and Intellectual Improve-
ment. One volume, $4.
LECTURES ON PHRENOLOGY. By Geo. Combe. Pm-enological
Mode of Investigation. One volume, i2mo. $1.75.
CON STITUTION OF MAN. Considered in Relation to External Objec ts
Revised. By Geo. Combe. 20 Engravings and Portrait of Author. $1.75
MORAL PHILOSOPHY. By Geo. Combe. Or, the Duties of Man
considered in his Individual, Domestic and Social Capacities. Latest Revised
edition, $1.75.
MENTAL SCIENCE. According to the Philosophy of Phrenology.
Lectures by G. S. Weaver. $1.50.
ANNUALS OF PHRENOLOGY AND PHYSIOGNUMY for 1865, '66,
'67, '68, '69, '70, '71. Containing 400 pages, many portraits and biographies,
with " How to Study Phrenology." The seven bound in one. $1.50.
PHRENOLOGY Proved, Illustrated and Applied. First principles.
Illustrated. $1.75.
PHRENOLOGICAL BUSTS. Classification and Location of the Organs
of the Brain, fully developed. Designed for Learners. Two sizes, the largest
in box, $2. The smaller, at $x. (Sent by express.)
EDUCATION: Its elementary Principles founded on the Nature of Man.
By Spurzheim. E.xcellent. $1.50.
DEFENCE OF PHRENOLOGY, $1.50. Natural Laws, Man, 75cts.
Self-Instructor. 75cts. Phrenology and the Scripture, 25cts. Chart of Physiog-
nomy, 25CtS.
How to Write — How to Talk — How to Behave — How to do
Business. Bound in one large handsome volume, post paid, $2.25. It is a
capital Book for Agents.
Sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of price, by S. R. WELLS, Publisher,
389 Broadway. Agents wanted.
N. B.— For sale by A. L. BANCROFT & CO., San Francisco, California.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. xli
STANDARD SCHOOL BOOKS
PUBLISHED AND
For sale by Charles Desilver,
No. 1229 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
And by Booksellers generally throughout the Union and the Canadas.
Descriptive Catalogues furnished on application, and any book sent by mail
postage paid, on receipt of the advertised price.
STANDARD SPEAKERS.
Sargent's Standard Speaker, half roan, $2 50
Sargent's Intermediate Standard Speaker, half-turkey morocco, - - 2 00
Sargent's Primary Standard Speaker, half-roan, . - - . 60
Sargent's Selections in Poetry, half-morocco, - - - - - i 50
Frost's American Speaker, half-roan, ...... 168
STANDARD SCHOOL HISTORIES.
Lord's History of the United States, half-morocco, - - - - i 68
Lord's Modern History, half-morocco, 225
Summary of History, designed to accompany Lord's Modem History.
I vol., i2mo., cloth, 60
Frost's History of the United States. i2mo., half roan, - - - i 68
Frost's History of the United States, royal i8mo , half-roan, - - 100
History of England, Pinnock's improved edition of Goldsmith, revised by
W. C. Taylor, LL, D., i vol. i2mo,, half roan, ... i 75
History of France, by W. C. Taylor, LL. D. . i vol. i2mo., half-roan, - i 75
History of Rome, Pinnock's improved edition of Goldsmith, revised by W.
C. Taylor, LL. D., i vol. i2mo., half-roan, - - - - i 75
NATURAL SCIENCES.
Johnston's Turner's Chemistry, half turkey, 2 50
Johnston's Turner's Elements of Chemistry, i vol. i2mo., half-morocco, i 68
Johnston's Natural Philosophy, i vol. i2mo., half-turkey morocco, i 75
Johnston's Primary Natural Philosophy, i vol. i8mo., half-roan, - 75
Guy's Astronomy and Keith on the Globes, i vol. i2mo., half-roan, i 25
CLASSICAL WORKS.
Virgil, Caesar, Horace, Cicero, Sallust, Ovid, Juvenal, half-turkey moroc-
co, each, 2 25
Xenophon's Anabasis, and Homer's Iliad, half-turkey morocco, each, 2 75
Clarke's Practical and Progressive Latin Grammar, half-turkey morocco, i 75
Gospel of St. John, translation with the original Greek text, - - 275
Livy. Interlinear translation by Hamilton and Clarke. (/« Press.)
To befolloTved by School Editions of other Classic Authors on the same plan.
For sale by A. L, Bancroft & Co,,
721 Market St., San Francisco, Cal.
xlii TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
KAY & BROTHER,
Law Publishers, Booksellers
AND IMPORTERS,
17 & 19 SOUTH SIXTH STREET,
PHILADELPHIA.
PUBLISH
Brightly 's Digest of the Laws of the United Stfftes, 2 vols.
8vo. - - - $16.50
Brightly's Digest of Federal Decisions, 2 vols. 8vo. - 13 -S^
Brightly 's Bankrupt Law, 8vo. ----- 3.00
Wharton's American Criminal Law, 3 vols. 8vo. - 22.50
Wharton's Precedents of Indictments and Pleas, 2 vols. 8vo. 15.00
Wharton's Law Dictionary, 8vo. - - - - 7.50
Wharton's Conflict of Laws, or Private International Law,
8vo. (In preparation.) -----
Wharton and Stelle's Medical Jurisprudence, 8vo. - 8.00
Hilliard on Injunctions, 8vo. 7.50
Hilliard on New Trials, 8vo. 7.50
Hilliard on Contracts, 2 vols. 8vo. (In preparation.)
Pennsylvania State Reports, vols, 131063; 51 vols,8vo.pervoL 4.50
etc., etc., etc., etc.
Kay & Brother always keep on hand a full assortment of
the Current Law Publications, together with many books now
either scarce or out of print, at the very lowest prices.
Letters of inquiry promptly answered.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. xllii
BIG TREES,
Calaveras County, California,
First-Class Hotel Accommodations,
SPERRY & PERRY, Proprietors.
The Calaveras Group is the one known to the World as the Big Trees of
California, and the one chiefly visited by tourists. It comprises the Mammoth
and the South Park groves. The Mammoth grove contains ninety-three of
these
Giants of the Forest,
among which are the
MOTHER OF THE FORKST, the bark from which was exhibited in the
Crystal Palace, London ; the
FATHER OF THE FOREST, through whose prostrate trunk thousands
have ridden on horseback ; and the
ORIGINAL BIG TREE, the stump of which forms the floor of the famous
Pavilion, thirty-two feet in diameter.
The South Park grove, six miles distant, has thirteen hundred and eighty of
these trees, many of them of immense size. One, still standing and growing,
has the inner portion at the base burned out, making a room large enough to
contain sixteen men on horseback at the same time ; and yet, enough of the
outer rim of the tree is left to support the colossal proportions above.
The Calaveras Group surpasses all others in the grandeur and beauty of its
trees, and is the only one having hotel accommodations.
Tourists leaving Stockton will take the cars of the Copperopolis railroad at
9 o'clock, A. M., to Milton, twenty-eight miles, connecting with a daily line of
Concord coaches via Winthrop's, for the Big Trees, making the entire distance
in ten hours. At Murphy's, stages leave daily for Yosemite Valley per
Hutching's new route, being the shortest and best to Yosemite Valley. A
daily line of coaches leave Gait for the Bfg Trees. At Melton, and Murphy's,
private conveyances can be obtained for the Big Trees and Yosemite Valley,
at low rates.
THOMAS HOUSEWORTH, Agent,
317 and 2,^() Montgomery St., San Francisco.
xliv TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
NEW HOTEL.
GILROY.
The Proprietors take pleasure in informing the public
generally that they have opened the NEW HOTEL, the
HANNA HOUSE.
SITUATED IN THE
Business Centre of the City, near the R. R.
Depot,
And fitted up in ELEGANT STYLE, and being- thor-
oughly experienced in the business, can promise their
patrons such attention and accommodations as are found
in a
FIRST-CLASS HOUSE.
Everything about the House is entirely new, and of
the best quality.
. THE HOTEL COACH
Will be in constant attendance to convey passengers to
and from the House FREE OF CHARGE.
The patronage of the public is respectfully solicited.
J. A. GORDON & CO.,
PROPRIETORS.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. xlv
CITY
Livery and Sale Stables,
332 Bush Street,
Bet. Montgomery and Kearny, SAN FRANCISCO.
M. MAGNER, - - Proprietor.
An entire new stock of fine young Horses, sound and free from
vice, of fine style, and capable of going as fast as any gentle-
man cares to drive. Also new and elegant Wagons of all de-
scriptions, which I wilJ let to responsible parties at popular
prices.
Saddle Horses for Ladies and Gentlemen,
Horses boarded with the very best of care, under my own
supervision, at prices to suit the times. Patronage respectfully
solicited.
M. MAGNER,
Formerly of the El Dorado Stables, Stockton .
Private Teams furnished for the Big Tree Grove and Yosemite
Falls, to start from Stockton, or the terminus of the Visalia or
Copperopolis Railroad.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. xlvii
GRAND HOTEL.
JOHNSON & CO., - - Proprietors.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.
xl/iii TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
SAMUEL KELLETT,
MANUFACTURER OF
PLASTER
Decorations,
No. 763
Market Street,
San Francisco.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. xlix
NEW YORK
Livery Stable.
Crittenden & Dalton,
Proprietors.
712 Mission Street, near Third,
opposite Dr. Scudder's Church, SAN FRANCISCO.
Four in Hand for Cliff House.
^^ Orders left at the Office of Grand Hotel promptly
attended to.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
H. S. GREELEY, Manager,
Formerly of the Occidental, San Franci.=cO.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER
NEW YORK
Exchange Hotel,
SAN JOSE.
First Street, corner St. Johns,
CENTRALLY LOCATED,
NEWLY FURNISHED.
Bath and Billiard Rooms, with Barber
Shop attached.
Board, with Rooms, $2 a day,
OR $12.00 A WEEK.
Suites, $4 a day, or $20 a week.
lii TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
THE NEW
YosEMiTE Hotel,
Fred. Leidig & Hugh Davanay,
PROPRIETORS.
This fine new Hotel is the first which the tourist
reaches on entering the Valley, and is situated on the
south bank of the Merced, in front of Cathedral Rock,
about three miles from the entrance to the Valley. The
main building is two stories in height, roomy, new and
clean, plenty of pleasant, airy bedrooms. Table supplied
with fresh mountain trout in abundance, in addition to
fresh butter, milk, eggs, fruit and every other luxury of
the mountains. A splendid stock of ice has been laid in
for the comfort of summer visitors — a luxury not to be
had elsewhere in the Valley. . Bar well stocked with best
qualities of Wines, Liquors and Cigars.
The famous Yosemite hostess, Mrs. Leidig, has charge,
of the domestic arrangements of the House, and the
Proprietors, in person, give their whole attention to the
accommodation of their guests.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER. liii
OAKLAND !
TAYLOR'S
Carpet Store
Cor. Broadway and Tenth Sts.,
OAKLAND, CAL.
CARPETS, Oil Cloth, Paper Hangings and Upholstery
Goods, Body Brussels, Tapestry Brussels, Three Ply,
Ingrain and Hemp Carpets.
OIL CLOTHS, all width and qualities.
PAPER HANGINGS, all styles and grades. Plain
and Decorative Paper Hanging in all its branches.
A full and complete line of UPHOLSTERY GOODS
always in stock.
Parties residing in Oakland and vicinity, and those contemplating removing
to Oakland, vk^ill do well to call and examine our stock before purchasing
elsewhere.
We Sell all Goods at Sau Francisco Prices !
CHAS. L. TAYLOR,
Cor. Broadway and Tenth Streets, Oakland.
liv TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
Yosemite House.
STOCKTON, CAL.
ALEXANDER McBEAN, Profr.
NEW FIRST-CLASS HOTEL.
Main Street, bet. San yose and Sutter,
Centrally Located, Finely Furnished.
BATH ROOMS, BARBER SHOP AND BILLIARD
ROO:\I ATTACHED,
EXCELLENT TABLE, FINE ROOMS, GAS AND
WATER THROUGHOUT.
Terms; S2.50 a day, S15.00 a week.
FREE COACH TO THE HOUSE.
TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
t
LORING'S
RAILWAY NOVELS!
WE COMMEND THEM TO ALL TRAVELERS.
ASK FOR THEM AT THE BOOKSTORES, AT THE DEPOT
NEWS STANDS, OF THE BOYS IN THE CARS,
AND ON THE BOATS.
LORING'S SUCCESSFUL BOOKS :
Louise M. Alcott's Moods, - - - - - - $1.25
*' " Three Proverb Stories, - - .75
Virginia F. Townsend's Hollands, - - - - 1.25
" " The Mills of Tuxbwry, - 1.25
Laura Caxton's Marion Berkley, 1.50
George McDonald's Robert Falconer, - - - 2.00
" " David Elginbrod, - - - - 1-75
" " Adele Cathcart, - - - 1.75
" ** Phantasies, 1.75
Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney's Hitherto, . . . . 2.00
*' The Gayworthys, - - - 2.00
" Patience Strong's Outings, - 1.75
" Mother Goose for Grown Folks, 1.50
" Faith Gartney's Girlhood, - 1.50
4vi TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
HENRY G. HANKS,
Assay er and Chemist,
AND DEALER IN
Fine Minerals, Fossils, Shells,
ETC., ETC., ETC.
Invites Tourists visiting San Francisco to call and examine
his collection at
649 Clay Street,
(UP STAIRS.)
TEAMS AND SADDLE HORSES.
CHURCH & WALLACE,
386 First Street, San Jose.
Single Horse and Buggy to Almaden Mine, - - $ 5 00
Elegant Double Teams, 10 00
Saddle Horses, 2 50
Teams ordered by Telegraph, will he on hand at the
Railway Depot.
Woodward's Gardens, Mission St., bet. 13th and 14th, San Francisco, Cal.
THE CENTRAL PARK OF THE PACIFIC.
Iviii TOURIST'S GUIDE ADVERTISER.
Yosemite and Big Tree Groves
VIA
Mariposa and Clark' s or Coulterville.
Thus a person can leave Sacramento at noon, or San Francisco at 4 p. m.
by the C P. R. R., remain over night at the junction of the Rail and Stage
roads, the second night at White & Hatch's and arrive in the Valley of the
Yosemite the next evening; or those who prefer can remain that night at Clark's
and ride leisurely into the Valley early the next day. The latter course might
be preferable to the majority of tourists, who would desire to visit en route
the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, which is but five miles from Clark's.
The trail from Clark's leads through Alder Creek, Empire Camp, Sentinel
Dome, Glacier Point, and the far-famed "Inspiration Point." From the
latter is obtained the first grand view of this wonderful Valley, lying four
thousand feet below the " Point."
LAKE TAHOE,
Via Stage fourteen mQes from TRUCKEE
DONNER LAKE,
Three miles from either TRUCKEE or SUMMIT.
CALAVERAS BIG TREES,
Via Sti^e, sixty-five miles from G-^ LT, or sixtj'-two miles from MOKELUMNE
THROUGH TICKETS:
C. p. R. R; OFFICE, 422 CALIFORNIA STREET.
OAKLAND WHARF.
C. & N. W. Ry. "{p 445 CALIFORNIA STREET.
C. B.&M. R.R. " 214 MONTGOMERY STREET.
C.R.I.&P.R.R. " 208 MONTGOMERY STREET.
K. C. St. J. & C. B. R. R. OFFICE, 306 MONT. ST.
Ivi
by
roi
Yc
an
be
the
Th
D.
lat
th.
.....KmAI. FIKB OF 25_CENTS
^I^R
" c
I
hO
CO
80
>
79
I
U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES
C0Hb717t'14
Z650S1
F
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY
i