The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 4, 1901, Page 3

¥ THE SUNDAY CALL. NATIONAL PARK in the skylanf £ & 2 The most accessible of chased free most es to be p he Government, to be preserved fo by the neces- patrolled con- Sceni¢’ Rail- ssoclated to Kent and in making the 1) be 2 national ofil tpat the owners of will there public-spirited Ps nly tie funds needed to buy donate it to s. Messrs that erest ¢ required and disastrous con- s. Many acres are the care- of the Acres dded througt son with the of the constant ole region. The into the dry runs through brush and forest aken vears to mature. re most difficult to handle gered in at- st disfigure end m Kent, “is the largely. the rap- will be of tributary corn sco very Titlis the centeryof population 1¢ grow vt size, to & metropolis which d by mmunities h ers to be num- red by m nt Tamalpais is an traction v m all co! ies. will be res multitudes of - citizens lly Cali- ornlaps. There g v accessible to a great city s to be done for the preser and forests nd beau ne now. Think tk, rich in view, riety, the natural home elk, with be iy the visitor on every side— el the great k proposition. A 1 this city last week at were present a few gentle- en invited to meet Con- lk about the mat- accep bs to ta to th nce of a tion was disclosed. It was hat Uncle Sam has always soldiers to act as a patrol, to develop gion, who would be bene- fited by getting practical knowledge of life i nd wilderness coun- rests of the surrounding was also explained, would be dsome proper! d be 1 through danger of e. The watershed of the Marin County ruction by f wou s 1 M County Water Company would be preserved A wr r and an artist for The Call re- cently went over the country which it is proposed to ir Thes de as a national park. ompanied by several en- thusiastic mountaineers, who might aptly be styled th in County Alpine Club. Under their guidance a tramp was taken were .O-NEHR‘ L2 R ok TRE-SUMMIT--- from the summit ©f Mount Tamalpais over the Tamalpals and Bolinas ridges into several canvons and along water cour The party went up over the picturesque line of, the railroad to the mit in the afternoon. enjoved the of a rarely beautiful sunset and the ng in sun come up from behind Range on the tavern, ris 1l night the the mount f the Coast east Seaward and fi Franc g upt ward, conforming to the contour thereby assuming and summit o Bay. e Golden Gate and 1. of the lower foothills, e of a billow; oc: lay the fog. At its downward for a distance of several hun- dred feet. Mount Tamalpais and itsneigh- boring peaks and also the canyons to the east and west were bathed in sun- snow and the appe shine. Wild birds were ga‘ly piping their Jdies of ‘the morning. A bre stirred. the air was sweet with of wild-flawers and shrubbery. highest péint on whirl for the soft me odc F the wind om near the where nmit the veloeify registration has been set up by thie United States Weather Bureau, outl of the proposed park, as they rudely defined mountaineers, d be the waves the ranges su: ingly trending toward Tamalpais and by were pointed out Like great green ceeded one anothcr, rolling broad Pacific. tween the ran re canyons, any one of which might inspire the singer or the Beyond the irregular rim of green over the crests and margined rose in roundel hills, tawny curves of beautv made by N ghty pencil. Treea of fantastic outlines stood against the sky line, accentuating their isolation. Here were rocky highlands: there leagues of chaparral; vonder clumps of trees nnd high bushes which might furnish fit es¢ert Not far away a great (ract virgin forest wh! tnv toward the Be- > artist. that ran the valleys the country as lions: ture’s for the deer. or redwood the lumberman has never up jts plumy branches for adn The air moved lazily, The sound of the sea on its rocky shere ¢ hardly be heard. To the the mirrorlike surface of the bay The peaks of St, Helena and Diablo loomed grandly against the blue foil of an Itallan & To the ssuth the encircling fog had fantastically hem: the ax of adsd, hs theebbina eest sparkied Francisco sef med Richardsons Bay, Inclesing it as wilj 2 high parapet of purest snow, 6o that was like an azure lake, unruffled anrd shore bound. “You w see that the features to ba preserved are several. There is no land- scape superior to this, so travelers agrec From the summits all the bay Is in view all ¢dhe ocean so far as the eye cgn You have all the eastern and south- shores of the bay and valleys to look at. and see. ern and their mou ern tains and Then the Farallones must be counted in and also the peaks of high Sierra on a very clear day. They are 200 miles dis- tant. There is no known view that equals this in extent or in variety, sea and shore. That redwood forest in Redwood Canyon about 200 acres in extent. It is the only body of virgin redwood near San Fran- cisco. It would be vandalism to destroy it, but it will be lost unless it is protected by the Government. This wilderness that is outstretched over the hilis and in the canyons still shelters many deer. There < here in early times in the glens.” s another mountaineer speak- ing. ay upon the rocks with gaze fixed upon beauties of nature that grow upon susceptible people more and more as they are contemplated. The smoke of a good cigar drifted above his head as he spoke. His voice was dreamy. Above it rose the incessant hum of bees that were improving the shining hour by gath- ering honey. “How large would the park be?” asked 6f William Kent. “About two and one-half miles wide and eight miles long, with an irregular out- line. The land would be all wilderness. There is no use taking up apy smooth land toward the point, where there -is good grazing and fair soil. The main purpose is to include the mountain part and the wilderness, Here at the summit we are 2600 feet above the sea level. Prob- ably the lowest part of the park area would be 1200 to 1500 feet above the sea. it is all pristine wilderness.” “Who owns the property " was N-- - LAGUNITARY “The Tamalpais Land and Water pany, Shafter & Howard, the Marin ty Water Company, which has riparian rights, and the Kent estate owns a small part of it. The whole is in a very few hands.” Before the sun was up very far above the horizon the tramp was begun. The trail led northward, generally speaking, although it sinuously twisted about among the hills and along the undulations of the ridge. Off in the general direction taken Bolinas Bay and Tomales Bay could have been seen, and also the loom of Point Reyes, if the fog had lifted, but it still held clcse to the ocean, white and cot- The trail was very good. Border- ing it was a growth of chemisal or chap- arral, manzanita and scrub oak. The art- ist of the party had a camera that was as big and as heavy as a small house, but the party of mountaineers good na- turedly helped to pack it as they strode onward, chatting gayly. “I forgot to say, aid a picturesque mountaineer in khaki, “that on a clear day you can see all the Coast Range for hundreds of miles—Loma Prieta’s high top, the Cliff House, and of course San Francisco and all the islands of the ba Down one-ridge and up another. That was the initial experience of the tramp- ers, and it was constantly repeated during several hours. The several features of lue landscape of tiee wilderness revealed themselves even more favorably on close inspection than at a distance. For some time the Mount Tamalpais Raflway, the most picturesque of all mountain lines, was in view, making loops, . climbing grades and twisting in and out of dusky JCASCRPE -cumcH-- 1L NS When this was left behind the absolute. copses, wilderness was Not many years ago, in fact within the pleasant experience of the group of as- sembled mountaineers, there were bears on the mountain. Now there are deer, coyotes, wildcats, quall, rabbits, squirrels. Casting thelr grateful shade along the trail at intervals and frequently massed in forestlike growth, were mountain oaks. fir, tanbark ocaks, Douglass the California w! nal redwood chestnut or the mountain yew, oak, the madrone and occa trees. The upward trall led to a height where Redwood Canyon could be viewed. There are even some sequoia in the canyon. At this point of view the landscape has marked diversities, all accentuating the assertion that this was indeed pristine wilderness. Above was a rugged hill strewn with huge rocks. Below was the antique growth of Redwood Canyon, tak- ing seed, growing, dving and renewing its forest from time immemorial without the agency of man. Like a sea of green the chaparral extended all about the immedi- ate area, practically impenetrable where there was no friendly trail. Rising to a favorable point of observation a splendid view of distant mountains to the north and of half a score of canyons was re: vealed. Just beyond this point on the trail the foremost mountaineer gave a pleased call. o The others of the party came on not hastily but in due order. On the ground that was there bare of vegetation were imprinted the tracks of a deer which had recently passed there. “Oh, yes,” was the general cry, ‘‘there are many of th'em here. This is their Protect them and they natural home. would be numerous enough.’ Away from the trail at varying dis- tances were the Sweet George Can- yon, the beautiful wilderness that bor- ders Lagunitas Creek, with its lagoon country gemmed with little ponds: Cat- aract Guich, in the shadows of the trees of which sparkling rivulets bubble and laugh among bowlders, ;gather in still pools over which the wild flowers lean and (- des make music through day and by night. Here and there were clusters of trees sufficiently beautiful to pay any artist for tramping to view them. After crossing an old elk glen, in which the elks for- merly browsed undisturbed, passing over a rolling couhtry, the trampers came to a hummock crowned with lordly trees and eragged with gray rocks, and from the base bubbled out a spring cool and limpid, the waters of which had been considerate- 1v walled in by other wayfarers. This s the headwaters of Cataract Gulch. The spring is 2100 feet above the sea level, or only 400 feet lower than the summit of Mount Tamalpais. Wild flowers grew in the shade. Tresses of gray moss hung from the trees. A belated eschscholtzia rearcd its pretty yellow head in the sun just outside of the shade of the trees. The wind murmured deliclously among the myriads of leaves on the overhanging branches that flecked the cool spring pool with a lacework of shadows. After this the trail for the most part led through comparatively open country, but bordering this was the area of wilderness which was so entirely the work of nature and so little interfered with by man that it would from one of its boundaries to all others have thoroughly delighted the soul of Thoreau. The size of the timber growth increased, and there were cool shadows over a part of the way. Then the trail swung clear of the proposed park area, The party tofled up and down grades that were barren of any growth, excepting summer parched grasses. The color of bealth end the tan of the sun and wind began to show on their cheeks. They had traveled some miles, but their steps grew more elastic. Mingled with the odors of trees and the nelghboring flelds there be- to be blown in the aroma of the sea. Was warm and the sky was but thers was tonic In the alr, s pure and delightful to breathe. dealy the leader of the party #ed on a hill's crest and pointed due - The remainder of the party strug- gled delightedly upward to his point of vantage in viewing the landscape to their left and far below the leaping waves of the blue Pacific fringed the shores with a cordon of white foam. Under the hills nestled the pretty little town of Bolinas and in its placid bay were mingled the waters of streams that originate on the flanks of the hilly- wilderness subsidiary to the crowning and crowned height of Tamalpais Mountain. From then on it was all down hill to a wayside Inn. Here the parfy rested awhile. When the sun marched further toward the west and the trees began to cast long- er shadows, the tramp was resumed. The course was now outside of the proposed park, but the beaten road led to points where canyons could be easily visited. The trampers, especlally the artist, penetrated to the depths of shade that shut in the waters of Cataract Guich and of Laguni- tas Creek irom roadside view. The cam- era was kept busy transferring the per- fect but miniature scenes of the vicinage to preservative plates. As the shadows lengthened the smell of the country grew sweeter and the air became more de- lightful. The road that winds around from Bo- linas to Ross Valley passes so néar to one flank of Tamalpais Mountain that the forest growth can be studied. The trees are quite large and they grow thickly to- getper—too closely neighbors for the hunter, but not too close to retain their abounding life or to make lovely the slopes which they adorn. But even there the traces of past fires, threats of greater fires yet to come, are 'n evidence. Skele- ton-like trees hold up long denuded and weather-beaten trunks and limbs, show- ing where the fires once passed along the . country side, leaving them lifeless. & large fire would again make the reglon desolate. ‘When the tramp was over Willlam Kent took the view that there was a way to protect the trees under the forest reser- vation law. If the desired area was made a park the regulations of the Governmient would prevent tree-cvutting, and patrolling by the Governm ed with the cut- ting through ance of trail would be a guard a forest fires. Al- about Tamalpais Moun- ible by good trails, and the raliroad supplies a great accommodation with its well-adapted observation trains. Mr. Kent is hopeful that his work in be- half of a national park in the skyland of Mount Tamalpais will not be fruitless. BLIND EISHES. ISHES especi Among the fishes taken in s there are always lkely to be found some that had suffered some injury. to the eye, and the number in some cases would be large. “The reason for this Is very simple. The fishes travel in schools, many fishes together, and closely herded. Moving thus they are likely to jostle and rub against one 'apother. If they are frightened then the danger from this source is great- ly increased. “Take, for instance, a school of men- ou and mal tes ains " sald an oM fisherman, “are haden chased by bluefish. In their fright and their eagerness to escape. they rush off wildly, crowding and smashing to- gether, and sometimes actually pushing, in their wild rush, up out of the water on the beach. “Bluefish Tush off in the same wild manner when sharks smash into a school of them and begin biting and destroying right and left. “The frightened fishes would in such cases flee like a herd of stampeded cat- tle for the land. The cattle would, some of them be trampled down and killed, and some would have légs broken and some would lose fhe horns, and so on. The fishes would suffer injuries in like man- ner, and the eye, being an exposed and easily injured part, they are particularly liable to injury there. ~Blind fishes, or fishes with sight, suffering from from disease following injury are caught with the rest simply because they stay with them. They do not because of their blindness get lost. All fishes are pecu- liarly sensitive to the motion of the wa- ter about them; they feel the impulse glven by the slightest movement of it anywhere near'them. They keep within the circle of the movement made by the school. They don’t stray.away; they stay with the crowd, and if the crowd gets anything to eat they get at least some of the fragments.”—New York Sun. impaired injury or perhaps