The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 28, 1896, Page 25

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 1896. 25 ODDITIES OF THE GOLDEN STATE FOUND OUTSIDE THE BEATEN PATH THE STRANGE | BRD THAT IS UNENOWN T0 CRNITHOLOGESTS. | Tommy Harvey of Soncma Has an Uncouth - Pet That Has No Standing in the Natural History Books. Tommy Harvey, a boy of 10, living on the outskirts of Sonoma, has the strangest bird pet of any boy in the State. It may | be, of course, that some great ornithologist might find an unpronounceable name for the creature, but men who have lived in the vicinity for thirty years and done con- | siderable hunting say they never saw its | like before, and most of them never want | to again, for the shock to their nervous | systems by the first sight of it was most severe. Nor can they be blamed, for the | appearance of Tommy Harvey’s bird is enough to makea man drink water ex- | clusively for the rest of his life. Tommy found this out and it furnished him with great amusement. The first man who saw the bird came upon it sud- denly while Tommy was plaving with itin theroad. He gave a jumpand a how! and ran away so fast he looked like a whole regiment of soldiers. Almost anybody else would have done the same thing. In fact, Tommy Harvey’s bird looks like the 1orrid memory of an attack of delirinm tremens, and any drinking man would momentarily expect to see a countless multitude just like it come suddenly out of space. | b Tommy Harvey caught his bird about | ten days ago. He was out hunting for | frogsin a marsh not far from town, and | was having a good time, as boys will. | Suddenly he heard a sound, between a | screech and a whistle, that made him jump. He started to run and saw the strange bird directly in front of him. Of course it did not frighten him as badly as | it did some people who have seen it since, | but for several moments he thought there | was a sledge-hammer inside of him where | his heart ought to be. As boys have a powerfal habit ¢f doing, Tommy got over that feeling and started to investigate the bird. It was not the least bit afraid of | him. He used a long stick at first, for the bird to exercise its beak on, until he saw that it could not bite very hard. Gradually he got nearer and nearer, ard braver and braver as he assured himself of the queer bird’s harmlessness. | In a short time Tommy mustered up | courage enough to stroke the bird’s back. This seemed to please it and it humped | itself in delight. Tommy was delighted | also ana was not long in making up his mind to take the bird home. He had for- gotten all about the frogs and they | croaked and croaked in unmolested glee. | When Tommy reached home with his | prize he first showed it to his mother. But that good woman did not want to look at it. She simply gave a shriek and fled from the house the moment Tommy | setit on the floor. The bird, of course, did not mind the shriek and proceeded to make itself at bome. Tommy fed it the | best there was in‘the house, and also all there was in the house, and still it was | hungry. It ate and ate, and Tommy’s | mother, who by this time had recovered enough to sneak around the side of the house and peep in a window, was willing that it should bave all it wanted. Tommy then took his bird out on the | street and created great consternation among the men and envy among the other boys because it did not belong to them. The first night Tommy owned the bird he wanted to take it to bed with him. His mother allowed him to do this, but boy and bird both slept in the woodshed. | Tommy has since made up his mind that the bird can sleep by itself in the wood- | shed. He said he was not afraid—of course not—but it was lonesome out there, and his pet wanted to play with him and | wouldn't let him sleep, There sre a great many peculiar things | about the appearance of Tommy’s bird. It | Jooks like a combination of ostrich, eagle and owl. 1t is very young, not more than three weeks old, and yet it is at least eighteen inches high, orlarger than a baby | ostrich of the same age. It is covered with | a soft, white fuzz like a young duck, and has feet that look to be about twice the size they ought to be. Passing down the | sides of the creature are a series of stripes | themselves. of brown color like a zebra; and its head— it's & nightmare.” Projecting from a dark circle on 1ts face is the beak of a vulture while the eyes are small and wicke looking. The bira's wings are dark in color, and most of the time hang down at jts sides. It cannot fly yet and is not able to walk much. The size of the bird is most deceiving in regard to 1ts weight. It | | and other similar feats. A WONDERFUL | D0G THAT PLAYS THE PART OF PEDAGOGUE. Born in Liverpool, but Now Delights and Astonishes Those Who Fre- qu:nt the Clay-Street Market. . ! Jack is the name of the smartest dog in Clay-street Market, and there are lots of dogs with big brain-pans in that establish- ment. The peculiarity of Jack, however, is that he is most desirous of imparting his knowledge to the rest of his breed. Not only is Jack a smart dog but heisa trained dog, which is further proof to the | adage that “a rolling stone gets polished.” Jack first saw the light of day in Liver- pool, about five vears ago, in a little saloon | near the monster floating dock; but of course he don’t want everybody to know this. As the saloon-keeper had a good many more just like him he gave Jack to a ship’s captain, who took him on many long voyages. Jack saw a great many strange | lands, but did not take a liking to| any of them until he struck California. He had no sooner got inside the Golden Gate than he knew that he had struck the | best part of the world. Home ties were | strong, though, and Jack was undecided about staying here, until one day he wan- | dered up Clay street into the market. | That settled it. No more England and free trade for Jack and no more sailing | the stormy seas, Clay street was a good | deal better than Lime street when the | meat question was considered. Jack s really the property of Uri & Co., although he makes his home in any of the | stalls he pleases. He was not in the mar- ket very long before it was known that he could perform many tricks the sailors had taught him. For awhile he had all of the glory of this to himself, and then sud- denly made up his mind to impart some of his knowledge to his fellows. It was no trouble for Jack to get pupils, as he is on friendly terms with all the dogs in town, and many of them showed a strong disposition to gain some of his accomplishments. The trouble was that they could not learn. It was as easy as fun for Jack to stand on his head, but most of those he tried to teach generally succeeded only in breaking their noses. He tried many simpler tricks, but to the same end—failure. | It was then that Jack hit on the idea of | taking his pupils when they were quite | young, and his efforts have been crowned | with success. He now has a class every | day at such hours as he can find a puppy | willing to go through instruction. Those who believe that animals are un- | able to communicate ideas to one another 1 should watch Jack and one of his pupils. | He will first do a certain thing himself, | and then appears to -explain it to the| puppy. The youngster is attentive, and | then tries to imitate his master. | Of course, the puppies learn some things | quicker than others. Rat killing, for in-| stance, they pick up very rapidly. Jack’s method of doing thisis to cateh the rat, gently at first, and throw it into the air. ‘When the squealing rodent is descending, he gives it one rap across its spinal column and the rat has nothing more to say. The puppies enjoy learning this trick, butdon’t aiways do it as gracefully as Jack. They kill the rat, though, before they get through, or Jack finds out the reason why. During the three years he has been in the market Jack has taught many dozen puppies to become proficient ratters. He is the best of teachers, because he holds the coast record of 115 rats in a single night. Knowing this, itis easy to account for the scarcity of rats in the Clay-street market. Jack has taught many puppies to stand | on their heads and to stand on their hind | legs, as well as jumping over high obstacles | He has tried in | vain, however, to teach any of them to climb a ladder or turn a back handspring, | both of which he does easily and grace- fully himself. But he never gets tired, and still hopes to accomplish his purpose. | Almost every day be can be seen hardat work. He gets one or more puppies and makes them watch him climb a ladder. The puppies, however, are satisfied to lec him do it, and refuse to make the attempt In such cases Jack is likely to tuke a squealing youngster by the back of the neck and try to boost him up the ladder. 1t occasionally happens that Jack’s lad- der-climbing gets him into trouble. He can go up all right, but cannot turn around and come down. He has to jump, and should he in his enthusiasm climb too high for this must wait for some of the men to take him down. Thisisnot al- Jooks as heavy as a big turkey, but really does not weigh more than three pounds. [ARGEST BRANDY-STILL 1IN WORLD - ways convenient, and Jack often has to | wait a long time before relief comes, The men in the market are quite proud of all of Jack’s accomplishments. But they are still pronder of his attempts to impart them to his friends. They think, therefore, that San Francisco can boast ot the only dog pedagogue in the world. d /////// Y, AN N THE BIGGEST WIDE WORLD. Greatest in Size and Capacity and Located on the El Pinal Vine- yard in San Joaquin Couaty. California is a big State, and most of the things within its borders are in compari- son. This is true particularly as concerns horticultural and viticultural matters. It known that the Lucerne vineyard in Kings County is the largest acreage in the world devoted to the growing of raisin grapes. A few weeks ago THE CALL published a picture of the largest wine vat in the world and this week is able to produce a drawing of the largest brandy still in the world., ‘When the word *largest’’ is used in this instance it dces not mean largest in point of the size of the machine, but in point of capacity. To explain this it is necessary to state that distilling apparatus has been constantly improving within the last ten years. The process virtually rémains the same, but the machinery has been made to occupy less space. One of the old-fash- ioned stills, such as are in general use throughout the East and in Europe, with the same capacity of the largest in the world, would occupy about ten times the space 1n cubic measure. The largest brandy still in the world is on the El Pinal vineyard in San Joaquin County, not far from Stockton. Itis the property of George West, and part of it | has been built about four years and the other part was finished only a short time ago. As is well known, the El Pinal vine- vard has always made a specialty of brandy and sweet wines. It was the intention of the provrietors to do this when they went into business, and for that reason they had the largest still built that was ever put up. That was, as has been stated, about four vears ago, and even then it was ahead of anything eise in existence. It could pro- duce more brandy in twenty-four hours than any other still in the worid, and it has not been surpassed since. But even that was not enough to supply all of the alcobol needed in their business, so an- other still was buiit and made to work in connection with the original one. The two are really one still as they are used, and have about three times the capacity of any other still in the world. This enormous machine is located in a building by itself, and part of the year is kept running day and night. It is very complicated in its workings, so that a de- scription of that part of it cannot be at- tempted here. 1t will be sufficient to state that the grapejuice or wine is pumped from the vats to a tank on top of the still. From there it simply passes through a series of heated chambers in the form of a vapor and comes out in the shape of brandy. Itcan be tested in the different chambers and the change noted, In the In the first chamber it is little more than warm wine, and it gradually gets stronger and stronger, until it is sharp to taste. From the time the wine leaves the tank until it comes ont as grape brandy only ten minutes is occupied. Intheold meth- od of distitling it used to take about three hours. In appearance the largest brandy still in the world is simply a conglomeration of tanks, pipes and boilers. Theaccompany- ing drawing shows only a portion of the ap- paratus, as it is impossible to show all of it in one picture, owing to the way it is placed in the building. Tne capacity of this still is enough to make a person wonder what becomes of all of its products. When runaing full time it can convert 15,000 gallons of wine into brandy a day. This will make about 4000 gallons every twenty-four hoars, or enough to keep about 40,000 men in a state of intoxication during that time. In a month there would be enough cf brandy on hand to intoxicate 1,200,000 men, or about the entire population of New York. But as it happens, very little of this brandy is sold as brandy. It is used to “fortify”’ sweet wines so that they will be in condition to keep until ready to send to market. The alcohol acts as a preserva- tive of the grape juice the same asit would of anything else. It keeps it from turn- ing sour. THE CURIODS BRANDY STILL IN ALL THE MARKING OF ARROWHEAD MOUNTALN. Strange Freak of Nature Plain'y Visible on the Side of a Great Eminence in Sonoma County. ‘Who is not interested in the strange forms that can often be seen in the rock formztions of mountain sides? People will travel hundreds of miles to see some combination of rocks that has accident- ally taken the shape of a man’s hea They will stand, almost in awe, before a cliff on the side of which groups of figures can be seen, by a good stretch of the imag- ination, when the same work done by a human being would not arrest their atten- tion for a2 moment. All of which shows that nearly everybody has some admira- tion for nature and are even inclined to give ber a shade the best of it when judg- ing her efforts at reproducing herself, Down in San Bernardino County there is a spot on a mountain-side that has taken very much the formation of an Indian arrowhead. Ever since it was dis- covered it has been a sort of show place for tourists in the vicinity, many of them traveling many miles to see it. It proved to be such an attraction that a big hotel was built near by, and there were often hundreds of visitors in a day. And yet it took considerable imagination to see the arrowhead, even after one had it located, which was not easy to do, as the whole mountain side was nearly the same color, the curious effect being produced by a smooth gray rock that was surroundea by rough ones a little darker, and the dull grasses and weeds that grew between them. People were so interested in the curiosity that it was almost impossible for some time to keep enough photographson hand to supply the demand. All guide-books of the southern part of the State contain pic- tures of it, so that its fame is world-wide. While this freak of nature hasbeen prov- ing such an attraction one of the same kind in Sonoma County has scarcely been heard of, and it is really a great deal more ‘remarkable. It is on the western slope of a mountain, just to the northward of Vine- yard station and can be seen for many miles. It requires no imagination to see it, as it is of a much lighter color than the rest of the mountain and always stands out in strong relief. In fact the contrast is almost equal to black and white. This freak ot nature has not only been a curiosity to white people, but it is known that the Indians had some sort of regard for it. When it first came into existence is not known. It was there when the Mexicans came and they were told by their Indian predecessors that it had been referred to in the legends of their tribes for a thousand moous or more. The Mexicans paid little attention to the Arrowhead further than to think it queer. Many of them wentup to it but of course it then lost its curious gspect and became a patch of bare mountain land. It was difficult to get the Indians to talk of the Arrowhead,but the ciuse of this aversion has neyer been ascertained. About twenty years agoa number of the residents of Sonoma determined to make an exploration of the peak and started to work with pick and shovel. In less than five hours they had found a whole wagon loud of Indian zottery. Inafew months the whole surface of the Arrowhead had been dug over and hundreds of curious objects found, totally different from those in use by the Indians of the present day. All efforts tofind out what they were proved failures. The Indians abso- lutely refused to talk about them and from the day the ground was first broken it has been impossible to get an Indian within a mile of the locality. The Sonoma County Arrowhead lies with its tip pointing uphill and towards the north. It is perfect in form and has shaft that shows plainly. The arrowhead itself is of a sort of a light clay color, ana the surroundings are very dark green. It was evidently caused by alandslide. Aside from the strange shape the landslide took it is stranger sti]l that nothing has since grown on the spot. The land is of a good quality, and in the many years it has been exposed to the action of the rains should bave become fertile. " THE LARGEST GROWTH OF CACTUS HEDGE IN THE WORLD. A Remarkable Prickly Pear Tree That Flourishes Wonderfully Though Far From Its Ndtive Soil. One of the most puzzling things to botan- ists is the fact that plants can occasionally be found growing to verfection, and even abnormally, under conditions directly op- posite to what is generally accepted as needful to them. ~ One of the most pronounced examples of this can be seén in the big cactus hedge at Sonoma. Under any circumstances this vegetable growth would be a curijosity, as it is undoubtedly one of the largest, if not the largest, in the world. It is said to have been planted about sixty vears ago by the good padres who founded the mission of Sonoma. They were all men who had spent their lives farther south, and the sight of a cactus tree was almost as necessary to them as their daily food. To be sure a few tiny examples of the prickly pear could be found on the hills, but those were not what the padres wanted. They wanted the kind that grows in Southcrn Califor- nia and on the deserts of Arizona. So they obtained a few roots from San Diego, it is said, and soon had their gar- den under way. They expected to have something grand, but it is safe to say that in their wildest dreams they never con- jured up anything like the hedge now growing. This giant prickly pear hedge is just back of the old mission and close to the church General Vallejo built for his sol- diers. Itis one of the sights of Sornoma, and at present looks its best, because it is in bloom. The most striking thing about the hedge is its great height, although it coyers nearly 600 square feet of land. It grows in a sort of row over 100 feet long and about ten feet wide at the widest point. It tapers to the ends or it would cover 1000 feat. The accompanying picture only shows but is enough to give an 1dea of the height of the tallest tree. To measure this ex- actly is, of course, a difficult matter, as the tallest tree is in the center of a thick growth of stickers. A few weeks ago a rough ‘sight” measurement was made with a level and a pole and the result showed thirty-two feet. This is nearly correct, as the picture shows the tree to be about tive times the five feet. than the tallest prickly pear would just about make it, according to perspective measurement. The prickly pear is not generally con- sidered beautiful, but the hedge at Sonoma is really pleasing to look at. The large blue-green leaves that look so thick and clumsy here produce an artistic effect. There are so many of them, and they have a way of being thrown into strong relief against the dark shadows of the interior of the hedge, that is almost uncanny, as it makes them seem to be suspended in air. Of course, the hedge being in bloom now, it looks better than usual, as the bright red flowers lend an additional charm. One of the peculiar effects to be observed in this hedge is that it is not swayed by the wind except when a gale is blowing. Grass, weeds and other trees near by are tossed about gracefully, but the prickly pear, on account of being so heavy, re- mains as rigid as if cut out of stone. This remarkable hedge has been of al- most its present size for many years, As fast as new leaves form old ones fall off. a portion of the hedge at the widest point, | height of a lady, which would be twenty- | Allowing for the fact that the | lady is about fifteen feet nearer the camera | | A CITY THAT I§ BUILT ON THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO. Houses 2nd Thoroughfares That Pro- ject From the Lani Far Out Over the Mission Mud Flats. The people of San Francisco do not re- ally know just how many interesting and them, Or is it that there are so many strange and curious thing®on every hand that one grows callous and passes them by without notice ? Down on the Mission mud flats, just off the mouth of the channel, there is a little city on the water that in almost any other part of the world would be a sight to show all visttors. Thousands of people pass it daily and never give it notice. Some patriotic citizens may explain this by say- ing that there are so many interesting things here that the one in question is of Ino importance, which may be all very true. But there is no denying the fact that it is worthy of a great deal more at- tention than it has received in the past. The commengement of this city’s build- ing dates back about ten years. It was at the time the pier was built oat toward Mission Rovk. This naturally made work for a great many peovle in' the immediate vicinity, and the pier became a central point for doing business. As the business of Mission Rock grew so grew the pier, and soon a number of boat- builders were located there. At first they had only their workshops there, but soon moved their household eifects also. Houses sageway became like a street. Later on a time came when there was no longer room on the pier for houses. Such a trifle did not interfere with the prospec- tive builders, however. It was a little more work, but they drove piles in the mud as near the pier as was necessary for their purpose and Jet some of the houses hang over. This has been going on for a long time and at present the city covers many acres. i It is certainly one of the most pictur- esque places in the State. The buildings are constructed on easy lines and in such positions as best suited the builders. The | result is a conglomeration of sky-lines, | broken here and there with flagpoles and chimneys. Many oi the buildings are in the form of a balcony and hang over the water in the most threatening manner. | But they are most likely safe enough and | nobody has ever heard of anybody loosing sleep through fear of taking a plunge into | the waters of the bay. | In this little city on the water there are | about 150 people living. Most of them are | engaged 1n some sort of maritime business, such as fishing or boat-building, and the others are there to supply their wants. There are no large dry-goods stores in this { town, and one will search in vain for a church. But & first-class saloon has been prosperous - for many years. One man keeps a sort of general store and his wife takes in boarders, At least, she did for a long time. They are a happy lot ot people, these San Francisco Venetians. None of them work themselves to death and they have plenty to eat and drink. They also have time to entertain the few visitors they may have. In other respects the town is like any other. Babies are born there and old people die occasionally, just the same as in any other part of the world. ‘When seen from any direction this curi- ous town presents a picturesque and artistic appearance. The piles on which it is built are not in the best of repair and are cov- ered with barnacles that give them a rich gray-green color. IKE TONDRICK THEe ONTHE WATERS oF SAnN FRANCISCO BAY - 3-YEAR-OLD JANDow ToMMYS, : HARVEY 9 SrRanGe PET unusual things there are around about | were built on the pier, and the main pas- | ' IKE TONDRICK, THE INFANT SANDOW OF © BUSH STREET A Wonderful San Francisco Child of Three Years That Can Lift and Carry More Than Forty Pounds. | It is only within the last year, however, that Ike bas taken to ‘“‘showing off”’ what he could do. He was able to walk when | only a few months old, but bis mother did not allow him out on the street. When he was two years old, however, it became im- possible to restrain him. Ropes to tie him wére snapped like bits of string, and he would seize anything within reach to break down a door so that he could get out of a room. Ike Tondrick is only a child of three, but he has more strength than most of 10. And he delightsin it to such an extent that he puts in most of his time testing it. Little Ike’s home is on Bush street, near Taylor, and his parents are both strong | healthy people in the prime of life, so the boy comes by his phenomenal strength honestly. He always was strong, and when only a baby showed great vigorin | many ways. | Mrs. Tondrick attempted to combat | this propensity for some time, but at: last it became monotonous and the boy wus | allowed to bave his way. And he has had it. No bov of twice his years dare cross him and he makes it lively for any young- ster that annoys him, no matter what his age. As a fighter Ike 1s in a class by himself, but he shows his strength more markedly { in his act of earrying heavy articles. Twenty-five pounds is nothing to him. | Thirty he can carry easy and when he tries he can transport it for a distance of a block, which is a good deal for anybody. The other morning Ike and a number of | boys were at play and it seems that a | large block of wood was needed to hold ! up a certain corner of the stage. Some | repairs are being made to the schoolhouse fence on the corner of Bush and Taylor streets, and Ike concluded that the desired object could be obtained there. He found just the thing that was wanted—a beam four feet long and seven inches thick both ways. To have even lifted this would have taxed the strength of most boys, but the young Sandow picked it up as if it was a chip. He held it in his arms and walked | all the way to where the other boys were without resting. When Le got there it took two of them to move 1t to where it was wanted. Ike’s great feat, though, is to carry another boy. He will pick up one larger than himself and carry him a great distance. He carried a stone from one end of the block to the other a few days ago, and when it was weighed at the grocery it tipped the beam at forty pounds. In appearance Ike is a good-looking boy, although a little heavy. But he is solid. No superfluous fat about him. He is all muscle and bone. His complexion is a beautiful cream and pink in spite of the fact that heis out in the sun most of the time. And how he can eat; anything—no matter what—disappears like magic when placed on a plate in front of him. He was never sick a day in his life and from his sppearance is not likely to be. His disposition is remarkably good, con- sidering the opportunities he has to play the bully. He is ready to help anybody in trouble and is not afraid of getting into it himself. In fact he likes trouble, particu- larly if it is of a lively kind, with plenty | of kicking and seratching. There is only one thing that mars Ike's happiness in life, and that is the fact that he has to wear dresses. He says he is a boy, but his mother thinks he looks bet- ter in girls’ clothes, and that good lady is a person that Ike don’t trifle with, ex- cept she tries to keep him in the house. It is all right if he can get away, but if he tears his clothes often she is sure to find it out and he has to pay for it. To see this child carrying a heavy load is an almost grotesque sight. Forty pounds of wood is as large as heis. Ike certainly has a great future before him, THe TALLEST CACTUS . HEDGE;IN,-;'HE WoRLP: