The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 15, 1896, Page 17

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THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 1896. 17 O you know Kearny street? 1 fancy most readers of TuE CavLr giving an unhesitating and // affirmative answer to the ques- many San Franciscans really know Kearny street; queer. suggestive, businesslike, sordid, svlendid, repellant, f: inating Kearny street, wheremn one jostles and meets and passes in the course of an hour’s | walk all sorts and conditions of men, and encounters the outward and visible evi- dences of nearly every known phase of human existence. Whether one starts from the fountain, with newsboys and violet venders, mbs upward to the rookeries on the re the thoroughfare’s aspirations ci culminate, or starts from Telegraph Hill ax i maies the descent to where its teem- fe unites with that of Market street, npression received will be much the A constant success e, 5 pictures, glimpses of int gn life, little touches of human nature t bear witness to our human kinship, visions of fashion and wealth and beauty, uggestion of travel and a keen savor of adventure and the possibil in the w parcel of Kearny street from end to end. Up from the steep, cleated walks that climb Telegraph Hill wander devious by- ways whence issue quaint and pictur- esque, or startling and grotesque, pathetic, laughable, sometimes even beautiful always interesting figures. This Cit sometimes call s, but neve him who h ny street. old, weatl r ses'are gra , the premature age of houses early n a prey nge and_vicissitude. are § es that flourish ing th same. hey yrowns where the tender Cali- i sun has kissed them into beauty and bleached to & peculiar ashy whiteness by the salt s The people, too, add to the bright kaleidoscopic effect, even amid their dinginess, and onullv upon Tele- graph Hill, the bending blue sky, the rounding, curving ou s_of the farther green hills and the re d browns of the clayey roadway make a wonderful setting and background for the whole. One gets, perhaps, a better idea of this | most picturesque street in making the de- scent from Telegraph Hill. 1 climbed its steep sides the other day, to where, about the tall electric-licht mast, a group of boys ng their kites in the strong March . "A gang of men were at work aoout some sheds that were being newly roofed, 1t them hovered a throng of boys s—sturdy street arabs—of all na- caring away old shingles and wood. One urchin had con- t d a queer w endeavoring to raise it against the bre I3 he ran backward down the hill, sure- Nevertheless, I doubt if | that lurk | pected, all these are part and | kite from a broad shingle, | footea as a goat, every energy bent upon | his hopeless task. Vi i grandmoth- ers in miniature, with care-lined faces and | dark- | anxious eyes, dug their little heels into | accosted me as I descended, smilin the loose, slippery earth as, heavy-laden, | gratiatingly up from beneath the re they descended the slope with big bundles | blue striped shawl that covered heaa and of old shingles on their small heads. Half | shoulders. way up ihe last ascent a_sailor, bare- el b %) - Keier SmER\ AALD, ITS (tAnGinG 4 | and weather-beaten, was tossing a yellow- l haired, laughing baby high in the air. A ved daughter of the Romany Rye in- and “Tell your foriune, lady ?”’ she pleaded. [ shook my head. ‘‘She hits it | armed, tattooed, earrinzed, black-browed | every time,”” urged a companion who He made a pretty picture as | THE PIONEER’'S THOUGHTS WANDER BACK TO THE OLDEN DAYS. stood beside her. ‘‘She’ll tell your past and read the future for ¥°“ for two bits.”” The big gypsy eves were full of persuasion, but I knew enough of the past to realize that its burden is heavy, and I courted the future no faster than time woula reveal it, so steeling my heart I passed on. As I did so the seeress fired a parting shot: “Keep your money, laay,” she called, “1 dare s2y you need 1t,” an evidence of pre- science’ on her part that night have prompted me further to test her powers bad not time pressed. ‘The canine population of the upper ena of Kearny street is as interesting, as full of picturesque suggestion as are its human denizens. Assembled in solemn caucus in the center of the road in one block I counted a French poodle, an Irish setter, a dachshund, a spitz, a fox terrierand a bull- dog, besides any number that were just dogs. The sight brought to mind Josh Billings’ dictum: ‘“There iz 500 dawgs in this here town, and 250 of em cud dew all the bizness.” They were interesting, however, -as an indication of the various nationalities that people this part of our City, for beyond a peradventure nearly every doglet of them represented an owner to whom he stood as a reminder of other days in sunny France, in the Vaterland, in *‘the ould counthry,” or “at ’ome,”” wherever may have been the place left to try fortune in this strange City by the Golden Gate. 2 Little Italy, little Mexico, lesser Spain, minor France lie hereabouts, and the quaint region shows the influence of all in its picturesque surroundings. A little lower down and the street skirts the Chinese quarter. Warned by a queer, high-keyed yell of the approach of danger, I turned aside in the descent, just in time to avoid collision with a ‘‘three-abreast” team of gayly attired Mongolian urchins dashing along at a pace that showed them 10 be thoroughly imbued with the Ameri- can spirit of getting there. They were driven, their long queues serving as capi- tal reins, by a fourth lad of their race, and their queer little coats flapped wildly back in the breeze as their ridiculous little silk- clad legs worked like small pistons to the accompanying clatter of their absurd shoes. It looked like an illustration from the Arabian hts’ tales, and the impression was still with me as I watched a crop- headed, red-fezed, candy-peddling Syrian dodge the rushing quartet as they whirled in their wild career over the back trail. Portsmouth square and the cheap-clothing quarter are reached together. The spirit of old California when it comes to the City always seeks out Portsmouth square. Tired, bewildered, almost lost in the con- stantly raaking changes, 1t comes o rest on the plaza benches to muse upon the mutableness of all things Californian and talk to any one who will listen of those wonderful days ‘“when the water came up to Montgomery street.” Among the pic- turesque loungers always to be found in the plaza you may surely reckon upon finding one old-timer come up to see the sights, and so surely as you linger near the bench whereon he sits vou will catch tLe oft-repeated phrase, “Why, I remember,” prefacing some new reminiscence of the old days. We should note him when we see him with his broad-brimmed hat, his impossible coat and his high- heeled boots, for he is vpassng from our midst more rapidly than we realize. Turk and Christian, Greek and Jew, barbarian, Scythian and the hordes of modern Europe are gouring in upon us, bringing problems and influences by the score, but the argonauts are growing few in number and their memories dim. Passing Sacramento street the character of the thoroughfare undergoes another change. One meets fewer men with ear- rings; fewer olive-cemplexioned women in kerchiefs. The screams of parrots assail the ears and the windows of the shops are filled with queer animals and birds, or queerer collections of jewelry, Oriental wares and amazing firearms. You can buy almost anything along this part of Kearny street from a needle to a South American armadillo. The human curio is giving way to the curio of commerce. Rows of chattering Chinese women gape into the windows. Monkeys scream and jabber at them, the electric-cars clamor and jangle through the streets, and there is a bustle of business, of buying and sell- ing and gettitig gain. Butthe glamourand fascination that were a part of the hill pic- ture still hang over the street, and its character, though changed, is still indi- vidual. g A few blocks farther on, past the mar- kets, the studios and the pawnshops, and one is indeed “in the swim.”” The build- ings have grown taller. The street is cleaner, and the window displays are as different as though one had crossed seas to a distant city. Beautiful women richly "dressed, bonny Californian girls, well-groomed men, handsome carriages, spirited horses and solemn coachmen pass and repass on pavement and walk. Crystal and silver, silks, furs and all sorts and kinds of bril- liant goods and objects fill the windows. The clangor of the cable-cars is added to the whistle and rush of the electric road. The air is full of street-calls. ~ Venders call attention to the heaped-up latter-day gold of California, mined from fragrant or- chards and heaped in wagons along the curb. The perfume of flowers fills the air as we near the fountain, where all these rushing streams of life center, whence they radiate. > This is the aspect of Kearny street that we all know so well we are oiten likely to forget the wonder of it. Here are gathered the newsboys, the dealers in violets and roses, and this year the throng is swelled by sellers of acacia and eucalyptus blos- soms, for in some strange fashion city dwellers have awakened to the beauty of the eucalyptus blossoms, and the strange, delightful, fuzzy-wuzzy wonders of bloom have suddenly acquired a market value. It is all a curious, attractive, continuous picture, this new-old busy street of a pre- maturely old yet ever new city. It is not altogether a {ovely picture, and yet it is one thatis full of promise. ‘When we shall have awakened to a full consciousness of our City’s heritage of loveliness we will redeem Telezraph Hill from its present squalid reproach and make it the beautiful thing it ought to be. We shall one day learn better solutions of the problem of childhood in our streets, and our duties and privileges toward it. We shall some day love our City as we ought and realize its beauty and its possi- bilities, and then we shall set ourselves in earnest to complete the picture nature has begun for us. ADELINE KNAPP. g E(“(;‘ ik " 1} 1 w. e (@] o ~5g [ . - i‘b\, /_;b(;..\# ); == KEARNY STREET, NEAR MARKET. [From a photograph.] HEN the Government en- gineers first figured on erect- ing navigation lights off Point San uno, several years ago, they were con- fronted with a difficult problem. The con- ditions were most unusual, possibly rot occurring elsewhere in the United States, and none of the accepted systems seemed to fit the case. Point San Bruno is that portion of San Mateo County that projects into the bay near South San Francisco. As traffic in that direction is not very heavy an expen- sive lighthouse wasout of the question. At the same time it was known that an oc- casional southeaster was in the habit of so stirring up the surface of the water as to make the ordinary stake lights, used at the mouths of rivers and in sloughs, abso- Intely worthless. It was suggested to place the lights on shore, but this was also found to be impracticable, as the contour of the hills was such that the lights could oniy have been seen from a certain direc- O her waaa zeal mieed for the lights two decades ago, but they did not become an absolute necessity until the Baden Meat Company put up _their establishment and began bringing in cattle at night. The problem haa to be solved then, and Cap- tain Mariner, a retired shipmaster, who at the time was working on the meat com- pany’s new bulkhead did it. The hghts were put up according to his suggestions, founded on what his years of experience told him was needed, and they have an- swered every requirement from that day this. toTh; Point San Bruno lights are known e .(‘(/ ] G 3= 175__/;) TAKE j{ HTS & off ahHruno., to the department as stakelights, but they are in reality very different, and are called | by that name for want of a better one. In all there are three lights off Point San Bruno, although one is within the | dredged channel and is of little import- | ance. The two outer ones are each about | a quarter of a mile from land in compara- tively shallow water, but can only be reached by a small boat. They are ex- actly alike and were built at the same time, so that a description of one will answer for both. | The principal portion of the San Bruno Point lights might be called a tower. This is a three-cornered structure built of piles { driven in the mud that rise about twenty feet above the surface of the water at low { tide. On the top there is a triangular | platform, each side of which meesures | about twelve feet. A small house is buily on this platform that is used for filling and | trimming the lamps and also for storing | extra material and toois. In the center of the triangle of piles there is a fourth pile | that rises ten feet above the platform. On | the top of this, which is thirty feet above low tide, the lamp is fixed. This pileis also used as a ladder for the keeper. To meet all requirements the lamp is of peculiar construction. It is made to burn | erght days without attention, provided no | accident happens. This is necessary, as in bad weather it is often impossible to | zet anywhere near the tower without | great danger. The lamps are allowed to | burn all the time, but are of course at- | tended to everv day if the weather permits. | The lamp is what is known as a ‘“tubular | lens lantern.”” It is about two feet high and niue inches in diameter. It will givea light equalto about twenty candle-powers. | The oil reservoir is on top, so constructed that it will not become heated from the flame below. Mineral oil is used that is | fed to the wick much on thesame principle |as in the old-fashioned student lamp, | The wick is made of such material that it | does not “‘char” easily and will last a long time. The flame gradually gets dimmer after two or three days’ continuous burn- TWO OF THE POINT S\AN BRUNO STAKE LIGHTS. From a sketch by a * Call” artist) !lng, but is, of course, bright enough fcr | all purposes. The lamp is fastened to the pile by a set of springs that clutch it around the bottom and firmly hold it in place. Itis always removed for the pur- pose of being lighted, and afterward re- placed, Both of the Point San Bruno stake lizhts are in_charge of Captain Mariner, the man who designed them and helped put them up, and his job is at times a wearisome and hazardous one. Unlike most other lightkeepers, Captain Mariner does his watching from shore. All night long, in all sorts of weather, he walks over the hills, keeping a close watch on the beacons out on the water. If everything goes well he has no trouble, but if a sud- den storm comes up and one of the lights 18 extinguished 1t is his duty to relight it if possible. To do this it is necessary to take a small boat and row through the | breakers for over half a mile, and should a | heavy sea be running this is a most dan- gerous undertaking. At one time Captain Mariner used to go to the lights by himself, but now he al- Captain Mariner, Keecper of the Pbint San Bruno Stake Lights. [Sketched from life.] ways takes somebody with him in bad weather. The reason for this is that on one occasion he went out alone, and-while he was looking after the light the storm increased so in fury that he was unable to get ashore again for several hours. It was an awful night, the captain says. :The tower was shaken so violently by waves that almost reached the platform that he thought each moment it would be carried away. His boat at last went adrift, and even after the storm had subsided he had to wait several hours until help came. In nice weather the captain’s job is not so bad, as there is little to do beyond a pleasant row each morning to fill and trim the lamps. But the location of Point San Bruno, at the foot of a range of hilis, makes the atmospheric conditions uncer- tain, and many days when the sky is cloudless and the weather warm a cold wind will blow and the bay will be stirred The oldest house in Fresno County, and possibly in the whole San Joaquin Valley, is still standing not far from the ruins of Millerton, the former county seat. Aside from the interest that its age gives it, it 1s also worthy of study as an architectural curio, or monstrosity. The house is built of adobe bricks, but the Spanish style of structure with which that cheap and ser- viceable building material is associated is nowhere apparent. At first glance the house would not appear so unusual, but a few minutes’ study will reveal the fact that it is in a class by itself. ' There is a little of several styles of architecture in the general shape of the house, but they were never before seen in an adobe structure. In fact the more it is studied the more it seems like an_ architect’s nightmare, and the wonder is$hat 1t has not fallen down long ago. The house is said to have been built by a Mrs. Leech about forty-five years ago. She was quite a wealthy Eastern lady who had ber own ideas about everything. From the general appearance of the struc- ture it would seem as if she had one of the old log cabins of Illinois in view when she gave her directions. This is apparent iu the two end walls, which run to peaks, and also in the chimney, which is built on the outside and rises to a considerable height above the roof. The doorway is of enormous size. It has douable doors of heavy oak, somethirfinfler the style of old colonial houses. 1e ground plan is mfl““‘ each side being about forty feet. The walls are about three feet thick., The roof is of the old English thatched style, .and is still in good condition, although it has received no attention for years. The ridgepole is only a thin sapling, and in no way adds to the strength of the structure. ’lyhe wonder is that the end walls have stood so long with nothing to brace them. How the beam across the top of the door sustains the enormous weight of the adobe wall above it is another thing past under- standing. The wall of the front is still further weakened by what appears to be a second-story window. On the inside of the house as many queer things can be seen as on the out- side. The whole front portion of the house is one room about 25x35 feet. The roof of the house is the ceiiing of this room. Directly under the window, which can be seen from the outside, a gallery is built that looks as if it had been intended AN ARCHITECTURAL CURIOSITY. IT IS THE OLDEST HOUSE NOW STANDING IN FRESNO COUNTY. for the use of musicians. The fireplace is almost large enough to hold a cord of wood. The back portion of the house is two storied and cut up into dozens of small rooms. The house 1s still in use ana seems to meet all requirements. At times it will serve as a residence for work- ingmen and at others it will be turned into a stable for horses and cows. —————————— e AN 0ASIS WITH A CASINO. A Bit of Luxury to Be Met With in the Great Sahara. > The Biskran oasis, with its 150,000 trees, is only about two miles long, and extends in half a dozen little villages by the Oued stream. The Arabs, in their poetic phrase- ology, style it variously the ‘‘Desert Queen,’” the “Queen of the Oases’’ and the “Pearl of the Desert.”” Seen after two days’ journey through barren, treeless wastes, with its waving palms and brilliant verdure, it is a sight difficult to rival. Biskra has several fine bnildings, of which the town hall, built in the oriental style, with gleaming cupola and a forest of dainty pillars, is the gem. It cost £6000, and is cheap at that figure, but, of course, labor here is had for a song. ¥ The Oued Biskra flows through the oasis and causes much of its prosperity. The chief industry is date-raising, and nearly all the inhabitants own a little plat of ground devoted to this purpose, and gen- erally their only source of revenue. Biskra owes much to the Compagnie de 'Oued el R’irh, who bored artesidn wells and laid out vast date plantations. They also erected a fine casino and constructed a tramway to the celebrated Hammam Sala- hine, about six miles distant—springs well known to the Romans, whence Biskra was callea Ad Piscinam. In consideration of all these benefits the company was granted various privileges. They are to enjoy for ninety-nine years the profits arising from the springs and from 300 acres of land, be- sides a large town plat. Biskra is practically the “key to the Sa- hara,” and hence ever since the French entered, in 1844, has been an important military station. The lover of Oriental- ism will find it here in a much purer form than in semi-Europeanized Algiers, and can also enjoy an almost perfect climate. The district, however, is not rainless, as is often supposed; on the contrary, in winter there is a fair share of rain, though not so much as in Algiers, where this is the up by squalls. The Point San Bruno lightsare no longer of much use to the Baden Meat Company. as cattle seldlom come by steamer any more. The lights, however, have become of such importance to bay shipping that the Government still maintains them. Cavptain Mariner has had a most inter- esting career, He comes of a family of sailors, being born in Portland, Maine. At an early age he went to sea with his father and in due time rose to the position of master. He has had commandpgl sev- eral packet ships that sailed between the Atlantic coast and England. During the war he did a Jittle work in the way of run- ning the blockade. Captain Mariner came to California about 1866, but was unable to get a ship on account of the depression in the snipping business. He at last accepted a position assuperintendent of a pile driver. The pay was good and he liked the work so well that he stuck to it and never went 10 sea again. As prolpriamu of strong castles and no- ble castles the Archbishopsof York in early days were wealthier than the Arch- bishops of Canterbury. The former had official residences at Cawood, Southwell, ‘Whitehall, York and other places, Of these oniy Bishopthorpe remains, THE OLDEST HOUSE IN FRESNO-COUNTY: ' [From a photograph.] weak point in the climate. Like Algiers, it is beautifully mild, there is no snow, and for the majority of the winter there is brilliant sunshine and a very even temper- ature. In the summer, however, it is al- most uninhabitable. No one dreams of staving there unless military or other duty compels them. The heat is intense, the water noxious, and snakes and scor- pions abound whose bite often prove deadly in an hour. The country at this period is subject to plagues of grasshop- pers, the ruination of all verdure and pro- duce. A very annoying malady, called ‘“clou de Biskra,”’ prevails, which is said to resist most treatment except change of air.—Westminster Record. . e CHINESE DELICACY FACTORY. Mysterious Preparations Turned Out by Al Len. . “Len” is the name of the greatest Chi- nese delicacy (?) manufacturer in Califor- nia. His place is located on the banks of Baden channel, directly across from the abattoirs. Just what particular things Len makes is a mystery, because he has little to say to white men, and none of those in the neigh- borhood care to investigate. Len’s factory Chinese Delicacy Factory. [Sketched by a “Call” artist.] is, in fact, a mystery from start to finish. He has made arrangements with the Baden Meat Company to take such parts of the refuse from the animals they kill as he wants. He comes over every day and care- fully examines the piles of offal, cutting off pieceshereand there. He hasbeen watched, but nobody has been able to detect just what it is that he takes. Some days he will succeed in filling a large basket, and on others will obtain only a handful from the same amount of refuse. All that he takes is white in color. Len then rows to his place just across the channel and commences work at once. In a few minutes dense black smoke will pour from his chimney and often from the open windows. An awful stench fills the air that can be detected a quarter of a mile away. Fishermen who have been near the ‘place at these times say that Len rushes about from room to room in the wildest manner, muttering incantations in Chinese. He does not appear to mind the awful smell or the smoke-filled at- mosphere. The pre?lrafion of even a very small portion of refuse consumes at least six hours. About every two weeks Len takes a basket filled with small packages to San Francisco. He has told people that it was a delicate food preparation intended tor wealthy people, but that is all he will state. Three or four times a year a dele- ation of elegantly dressed Chinamen icnl visit and inspect his factory. Itis always a great event and every member of the party seems in high spirits. Few white men woi day in Len’s factory for a large sum of money. It is located on a bank of black, slimy mud. There are a number of build- ings that partly overshadow the water. All arein the most dilapidated condition ahd covered with a black, sooty grease. When uot at work Len does not object to visitors. In fact he invites everybody who comes near his place in a boat to “‘come in.” A few have started up his rickety steps, but always changed their minds about going further. e — - Telegrams to Women. The telegraphic messenger who keeps his eyes open hasan opportunity to note many curious phases of human nature. One told recently that women never opened a telegram without turning pale, and when the message was not alarming they looked disappointed. He delivered about two death messages a day, four birth messages, a great many business mes- sages, and once in a great while a love mes- sage that makes him tired to carryit. He carried one recently toa young man in town that read: ‘“‘How are you to-day, darling?’ The answer went promptly back by the boy, and was to the effect, ‘T am better, love.”” He once carried a mes- sage of death to a colored woman, and after reading it her emotions overcame her to such an extent that shecaught the mes- “| senger in her arms and soundly boxed his ears. Anothercolored woman refused to open or sign for a message, but walked the floor and beat her breastand screamed supposing it announced a death. When all the neighbors had come in one more ven- turesome than the rest read the message. It was simply a notice thdt the woman’s sister would come in from Leavenworth that evening to see her.—Atchison Globe. e The Chinese coalfields extend over up- ward of 400,000 square miles, while the English cover only 12,000. NEW TO-DAY. NEVER T00 LATE Premature Old Age Made Impossible. A Life-Time Habit Easily Broken—It's Easy if You Only Take the Right Road. [From the Press, Everett, Pa.] A number of.our great and most'ine ve tobacco reand chew- ers have quit the use of the filthy ‘weed. The reform = was started by Aaron Gerbor,who was a confirmed for many years to che use of tobacco. He tried the use of No-To- Bac, and to his reat surprise and elight it cured him. Hon. C.W. Ash- com,who had been smoking for sixty ears, tried No-To= ac, and it cured m. him. Col. Samuel Stoutener, who would eat up to- bacco like & cow eats hay, tried this wonderful remedy, and even Samuel, after all his years of slavery, lost the desire.. J. C. Cobler, Lessing Evans, Frank Dell, Geo. ay, C. O. Skillington, Hanson Robinett, Frank Hershberger, John 'Shinn_snd others have since tried No-To-Bac, and in every case they report, not only a cure of the tobacto habit, but a wondergll improvement in their general physical and mental condition, all of which to show that the use of tobacco had been xn?::r.lom to them in more ways than one. All of the above gentlemen are so well Pl with the results that we do not hesi. 1ate to join them in recommending it to suffer~ ing humanity, as we have thoroughly {nvesti. Bal and are satisfiea that No-To-Bac does the ‘work well and is & boon to mankind. The cost is trifling, and three boxes are guar- anteed to cure any case, or money refunded. One box in every instance stated above effected a cure, with one or two exceptions. No-To-Bae has a wonderful sale upon its merits alone, and can be secured at almost any drugstore ia this country or Canada. It is made by the Chicago, Montreal or ‘g‘nt“ lers l.r:‘° ‘warned tations, as there are several om Be sure you get NoZeBes, Thga

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