The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 24, 1897, Page 19

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1897. 19 ! traversed the vegetation becomes less | and less and rocks become larger and Jarger. Suddenly the vegetation ceases as abruptly as though it were chopped out, and the entire surface of the mountain is simply an expanse of red bowlders of | various sizes. The trail winds between | these in the crookedest manner, and is most aifficult to follow because travel over the hard surface leaves little im- pression. This red patch is very little below tbe west peak and a little higher than the | surrounding country. It is harren in the extreme and as desolate as any spot cn[ the face of the earth. | But there is very little sign of convul- | sion here. It is as if the rocks were scat- | terea over a comparatively smooth section | of the mountain that was originally com- | posed of gravel and crushed stone. There | 13 not a sign of life visible from the center | of this patch. Iu general effect it looks | much like some of the pictures of the | moon that bave been taken lately—dead | { and silent. Juston the lower edge of the | | south side of this patch, put in such u; position as not to be visible from the top, | there are slight signs of vegetation. A few desert plants are taking root in the | i so!l that has been blown from a distance, but are not making much headway. Westward from this red patch the trail leads all down hill and becomes rougher | and rougher with every step. In a sortof | a hollow where dust has blown the trail leads through a patch of small trees of the | laurel species—a sort of oasis in the desert. | This hoilow is so located that it holdsa | A visit to this strange burned spot is | large proportion of the rain that falls into full of interest although itis notan easy | it, and so furnishes the moistute neces- | place to getat. Bul it is easier to reach | sary to keep the trees alive. Buttheyare| TH|S STONE WAS ONCE HURLED THROUGH THE AIR LIKE wo years ago. There is | not very flourishing, for the little soii that A PEBBLE. G -h it. Oue end ol this | haslodged between the rocks is not of the | is on he (..,::,( lilll.:n]]\.\i and the other nc\pv-s} l'.x"scrllhunn. G e Ak this spot in the long ago, when the ele- | were hurled through the air as if gravity at Bolinas ridge. [t _is possitle to reach N Y A L CE AR ROWD. b i5 WO At WaE did not exist. Upward they flew only to Of course in those days the sun must | fall back and be hurled upward again. FHE C-0-0-00-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0 00000 I know the vicinity referred {o. It is on the trail frcm my old station on the west peak. There is no direct evidence of volcanic action over that redland area, but there is eruptive rock there. This was in all probability the barned spot from either end. But|again on the other side. Here is the | both ways are hard work to all but haray | center of the burned spot—the place 0-0-00000 0-0-0-0-00-00 alpais v com ‘ound variegated green rock there, containing thin layers of asbestos. When the upheaval took place cannot be definitely stated, as the subject has not bzen thoroughly studied. No work on this vicinity has ever been published. GEORGE DAVIDSON. ern peak of | showing conciusiv:ly that the whole re- gion must at one time have been in a ¢ intense heat. om almost This was at to its present po- the earth were | been p nountain, a sed by burned thrown to the surface in a state of great heat, caused by fires below the earth’s % surface. The whole area was at one time burned to its present condition. I § [ % @ @ @ : @ : ; : § : § 2 at their greatest and everything was burned. That black rock that looks so | volcanic became that way through being heated. Nothing on this region has yet ished.” mountaineers. The easier way to go is to take the v at Milt Veiley and go to Fron . This isabout ifferent spurs of the moun- just before it makes the last mmit where the'monuments are, it passes the rn end of the trail 10 the burned sp Itis aiittle icult to find this trail, as is almost overgrown with tha haray etation of the moun But once fou e trail is ¢ low. In fact you cannot get off it even if you so de- sired because the tarweed, mesquite and sage form a wall on both sides that a | rablit would find difficult to penetrate. After about bhalf a mile has been bere take the | road winds | where the convulsion was at its height | and where the traces of nature's warfare | | are greatest. Even now everything sug- | gests commotion, although the silence is | | as profound as the tomb. The general color visible from the center of this patch is a dJdark gray, and also | numerous spots of black. Rocks the size of large buildings are scattered about on | all sides, as if some giant had been amus- | ing himself. One of these is at leust sev- | enty-five feet high, and is several hundred | feet from another. Itison ahill and ap- parently in danger of rolling down into Redwood Canyon. Other rocks of simi- lar shapes and sizes are in plenty. A little to the north of the large stone is | one of the strangest formations on the | whole of the burned spot. To all appear- ances this 1s an extinct crater. But the absence of any iraces of lava proves con- clusively that such cannot be the case. | | Seen from any side there is a cumpleuj havo shone as it does now—just as bricht and just as warm. Most likeiy the air was | calm. Perhaps birdssangin the trees and the whole face of nature suggesied peace apd happiness. Suddenly there was a rumbling sound | es of distant thunder. Loucer and louder it grew. Then the ground began to | tremble, then to shake. What screams of terror must have rent the air as the in- habitants of bush and forest were driven from their homes. With the shaking there was a rising in t he whole ridge of the land. Upward it went, splitiing here and there, while the sounds of thunder grew louder and louder, until they might | | have been heard for a hundred miles. | This may have lasted a few minutes—it | may-have lasted for days. Then from the cracks in the face of the earth blasts of heat rose and then fiames rolled heaven- | ward. Crunchine and grinding the great mass of earth kept getting higher and higher. From somewhere bealow a mighty force | Over and over again this was repeated, until the fires below the earth began to cool and the forces diminish. Then tire thunders ceased and the smoke rolled away. The shakings stopped, and the sun came cut and looked upon nature at peace. But what a change there was. All that had been visible before was swept away, and only the blackened stones left to mark the scene of the conflict. Not a tree was in sight nora living thing. The face of nature was as dead as the earth was when it rolled through an empty void. But no sooner had the work of destruc- tion beea completed than nature started to work to repair the damage. This work 13 now going on slowly. Here and thers can be ‘ound patches of grass and small plants as if a promise from nature thatall will some day be as it was on the morning of the day long ago when the terrible con- vulsion took place. But on the whole the spot is a veritable desert. On the slopes where the sun shines the rattlesuake hisses and hideous | circle of stones rising several feet ebove | the surrounding surface of sand and | eravel. They are blackened and burned, | {and look for all the world like volcanic able m of nature, almost to in- was exerted, and monstrous bowlders‘ reptiles are on the lookout for their prey. rock. The center of the circle of stones is | 4 o Tia = filled with sand, and a few plants of a | BERKE E S S A Lol pelinlon | hardy variety are straggling for existence | I > Y I #4 = ook thnp BEa there. The best geologist in the worid on no man seems to | seeing this for the first time would surely take it for an extinct crater, and not change bis mina uatil his investigations | had shown him his error. What caused | this strange formation can only be con- jectured. Perhaps the greatest forcs of toe upheaval was exerted at this point, | and it may be that the rocks in falling | simply got into this posivion. The iatter | idea, however, is not as tenable as the | first. ek spot more suggestive of the scenes in “Dante’s Inferno” than this would be well-nigh impossible to find. There is all | the desolation and all the barrenness and lall the horror. Blackened rocks and | burned bowlders are lying about in the wildest confusion. Everything suggests | terror, struggle and death. | DButwhatascene there must have been very likely it y began. PROPHET. em, no very exten- | zion have ever been e Davidson lived | a long time, He | er io the burned spot | al there to interest ry deep into a study | inted with geology a glauce .at | n is that itis of r, is not the his region atew said: | ery well and am volcanicup there. ty of eruptive rock, | VIEW AT WESTERN EDGE OF BURNED SPOT. e ot Sl - ’ | kind of railrond official, with a salary of | where the Archduke, who lived in a 1800 marks.” On the very next day he | castle near Dusseldorf, continued 1o visit k o8 led a:tired in fuli-dress uniform, and | her. Sometimes, when he was prevented explained that he was a surgeon attached | from coming in verson, he sent her mes- to a regiment, But Marie recogniz>d the | sages by a huscar orderly, telling Marie umform as that of a general, and | that his brother was the chief of the regi- told Lim so, whereupon he admitiel ment. (Not his broiher. but his uncle, that he was a general, but for political | the Emperor Franeis Josaph, is the nom- reasons did not desire to have | inal chief of this regiment.) A few weeks this fact made public, as he had tome to | later the Prince went on a visit to v weeks ago the telegraph informed | nied the truth of this story shortly after | neither b>en married to an the whole world that Archduke Franz | it had been circulated, and a few days aft- Ferdinand of Austr throne of A Archduke nor to an adventurer, ana this s:tled the te, heir to the | e-ward a letter, purporting to have been | matter for the time being. ria, had been married in | written by the young lady in gquestion, London to aulein Marie 1 mann, a | made the rounds of ali the leading papers. | ceived it now appears that the rumor of | young lady of respectablc thou bum- | In t letter, which was dated from Lon- | the marriage was based on somethin e e = R : o 3 8 | Essen to obtain information for the Aus- | Biarritz, the we!l-known French watering- ble rank. The Austrian Foreign Office de- | don, the lady declared that she had |more than itle gossip, notwithstanding | ¢ jan Government about Krupp's latest | pace, and during his absence me‘“ | :i‘em";“;,“;:'fl ;‘1':“"'"“5 ;‘“l'c"b have been | i ventions in regard to projectiles. | Princess Widow Stephanie arr.ved sud- o bl e::n mbl‘ 1{0'.!1:: of| e stayed a long time that evening lis- | denly in Essen, called on Miss Husmann, 5 s Yo pubiioly: deg ‘"‘d\ tening to Marie’s guitar-p:ayin -, and on | and it came to a viclent scene beiween that the alleged letter of their sister had ¥ s e According to private advices just re- | never been written by that lady, and sey. | P2TU% left his phoiosrabh with her. | the high-born Princess and Marie. FRAULEIN MARIE HUSMANN, eral dozen newspapers of Rheni<h Prussia | published interviews with the two brothers and a numb:r of other people whose veracity cannot be questioned, and, ac- cording to these, there can be no doubt | whatever that an affair between the Archduke and Miss Husmann did exist and that these two persons bave gone away together. That they were actuaily | married in London has not been ascer- | tained with accuracy, and persons of high | standing bave exerted themselves to keep the matter secret. According lo the statement of Miss Husmann’s oldest brother, who is a Catho- | lic priest of high standing and rector of the diocese of Altendorf, near Essen, in | Rhenish Prussia, the Archduke arrived in- | cognito in Essen about two years ago. He | was accompanied by two Russian noble- men and the trio visited and inspected | the famous gun and armor works of Mr. Krupp. The three gentlcmen became a ] quainted with Miss Husmann at the re: dence of her other brother. who is director | of the iron mine Saelzer, near Essen, and | for whom Marie was keeping house at that time. The Archduke, who appeared in ci- vilian clothes, bad introducec himself as | Dr. E. Berend and calied very irequently | and alone on Miss Husmann. Neither she nor any of her relatives knew at first | of the Archduke's identity and the de- | nouement came about is tae following manner: i The so-called Dr. Berend asked Miss | Marie one morning whom she supposed him to be, and to the unfeigned astonish- ment of the Archduke the young lady | answered: “Ob, Itake you to be some | | This photograph tne Iady showed to some of her friends, who declared that the origi- nal of the pciure must be a prince because he wore the deccoration of the Golaen Fleecs around nis nect. When the lover called again Marie upbraided bim with his dccertfulness, and he now told her | that he was the Aiciduke Franz Ferdi- nand of Austria, but that he in- tended to renounce his rights to the succession for which he had never felt the least inclination. In order to evade his duties he had simulated an incurable disease of the luugs, and hal circulated the story that he was too sick to live much longer. He aiso said that he had graduated from two universities and was a doctor and a philosopher. In the course of further conversation he became very sad and sentimenial and told Marie that he had to suffer from the intrigues of a lady of bigh rank (Arch- duchess Stepbanie, widow of the late Crown Prince Rudoiph of Austria), who had set Ler heart on marrying him so that she wouid become the fiiure Empress of Austria, an expeciation 10 which she had | been entitied before her uniortunate hus- | band commitied saicide. He had always intended to abdicate in favor of his brother Archduke Otto, but the Crown Princess’ widow had used atl her influence to prevent this, as Otto was already mar- ried and therefore could not marry her. He added that the Archduchess had dis- covered his relations to ker, Marie, and was making trouble for him in Vienna, Ehortly after this conversation Marie | moved to Altendorf, to the home of her above-mentioned brother, the priest On being apprised of this unexpected interlerence in his private affairs, the Archduke traveled at once to London in {order to make prevarations for his early nuptiais. As soon as this was accom- | plished he returned to Essen-Altendorf, | and after jemaining four days with the | Husmann family he went with Marie to London in order there 10 be married to | her by a friendly Archbisnop. Marie pos- | sessed 40,000 marks in cash, which it is be- lieved sue took with her. The Prince had | spent money freely, but in an unosten | tious manner m Essen, always paying in either Austrian or French gold. He bad ingratiated himself with Miss Husmann’s | brother, the priest, by giving him money | | for the poor, and to have masses read. H This statement of the priest has been published by nearly all the newepapers of | { Rbenish Prussia, and has been fully corroborated by Miss Marie's other brother, the director, and by many other persons .whose veracity cannot be ques.| | tioned, among others by the Protestant pastor, Von Borbeck, who lives next door to Reccor Ausman. Herr Krupp, the | | great cannon king, who knows the Arch- | duke well, has also asserted that he has | frequently seen him in company of Miss | | Husmann, and that saveral of hisemployes | have seen the Archduke and Marie leaving | Essen together by train. The only dis- | | crepancy of the different stories is that | | some say that the Archduchess Stephanie | had not called on Marie, and that the violent scene of which we spoke before | had occurred between her and Franz Ferdinand, and not between her and Marie. WiLLiax LoDTMANN. Over in Berkeley is a woman who savs she has lived since the world began and that she will live to s=e the end of it. She also predicts that the earth will soon see its miliennium. She calls herself the Prophetess of Truth and Light, to whom the future is‘as plain as the pages of a printed book. She is Alice Derby Linfield. One statement that she has made is that she has had the ancient prophets as preceptors and that she has twice saved the earth by her own efforts. On the door of her home is pinned a card on which are the words, *‘ Mrs. Linfield, Truth, Knowledge and Wisdom. Prophet.”” She is an elderly woman, with gray hair and sad, blu> eves. She wears a dress which she says was designed by the prophets, who, with her assistance, have kept the world whirling in space for some centuries. *‘ Mosss and David were my teachers,” she said to an' inquirer, ““and all the prophets hav: been my guides. Through them all I saw Solomon in his temple, the wise men at Bathlehem, the Mayflower and George Washington.” She also says that but for her intervention San Francisco would have been dsstroyed on a certain date, in accordance with a prediction made by her. San Francisco will sink beneath the waves, the end of the world will approach and the glorious palaces of Truth and Light will appear at Berkeley, descending from above, and these palaces wili rest on Elijah’s Hill. San Francisco will sink because of the wickedness of the peoplz, but Berkeley is God’s chosen city. In 1893, she says, she saved the city of Chicago from ruin. She did not give any reason for so doing. For six days and six nights th: counteracting forces passed throuzh her body, causing her great pain, but she persisted in exer~ cising her power. The tuture of the whole earth, she says, rests with her.