contingency, then carried us off to a log of pitch-pine,
from which he wanted some splinters, in case of om* being
snowed up on the mountains in returning, when they
would be invaluable as kindling. The pitch collects in
the knots, where the wood is so saturated with it as to
be almost transparent. The slightest spark sets it in a
blaze, and a little bit of it placed among logs is better
than any ' patent fire-reviver.'
526 SAN FRANCISCO.
We then recrossed the river, and went to see the
' Bridal Yeil Fall ;' or rather, to see it closer, for it is
visible for some distance on the trail, and is among the
first objects that strike the eye on entering the valley.
The Indian name is 'Po-ho-no' — Spuit of the Evil Wind.
There is always a current of au^ m the corner where it
falls, blowing it to one side or the other, and causing a
misty, floating transparency, sufficient to originate such
a name as ' Bridal Veil,' had it possessed no other. But
to the least vivid imagination, when once the idea of a
Spirit had been conceived, the Indian name must appear
far more appropriate. While watching the light, feathery
spray always blown from the surface of the water, the
fall appears truly like a phantom half hidden by a misty
cloud, now and then revealing a glimpse of his form or
white beard, or putting forth a warning, ghostly finger,
while the wind blows aside the shroud concealing the
rest of a spectral and terrific being. It is a lovely fall,
940 feet without a break. To get under it one had to
scramble over rough rocks, and across the lower part of
the fall itself, where it rushes brawling among boulders
and trees on its way to join the Merced. Had we hstened
to Mr. Stegeman, we should have probably remained
there till now, as nothing would induce him to believe
that the sun, which was already below the mountains,
and must have been almost setting, would not come
round to a certain point for our especial benefit, and form
a rainbow in the water, as it does about the same time
on a summer's evening. Even ocular demonstration,
and the deepening gloom, failed to convince him ; and
while riding home in the gloaming he constantly turned
THE MARIPOSA GROVE. 527
Ills head, to make sure that not one ray had strayed round
the corner ; and then shook it with a puzzled expression,
and a ' Wal, I can't make it oute. I know, when I have
been here before, I always seen the rainbows just at sim-
set ; coz, you see, the sun must come down the opening
o' the valley, and it hadn't got there when we was up at
the Fall ! ' It was a bitterly cold evening, and we were
glad after dinner to retire to his ' Smoke-house ' and pine-
logs, where, though the building was only a wooden shed
built against a rock, answering for fireplace and chimney,
open to the stars, and with old boxes for chah's, it was
far more comfortable than the room with a stove whicli
was not allowed to burn.
The next monimg, in bitter cold, we set oif on our
return ; regretfully indeed, but it was not considered safe
for us to stay longer. A good deal more snow had fallen
since we were in the valley, and our progress over the
mountain was slow. Darkness overtook us before we
reached Mr. Clark's, but we had the prospect of a bright
fire and comfortable room to cheer us on our dreary road.
It took us ten hours to accomphsh the twenty-six miles.
We had to stop continually to clear the snow from the
horses' hoofs.
The following day soon after breakfast we rode about
six or seven miles to see the ' Mariposa Grove.' The
tree, known in England as ' Welhngtonia,' was by a
jealous American called ' Washingtonia,' and has finally
been named ' Sequoia gigantea,' arborists agreeing that
the trees belong to a chstinct genus. This is not such a
decided ' grove ' as a collection of the same trees at Cala-
veras seems from description to be, but the individual
528 SAN FRANCISCO.
trees are finer. Nearly the whole way we rode through
pine-forest, up a steep and rugged mountain-road. The
first tree we came to is called ' The Fallen Monarch.' It
is a splendid trunk, and, though sunk to a considerable
distance in the ground, is higher than a man on horseback
standing beside it. The height of these trees is not what
one would expect from their girth ; and when full grown,
they are by no means as symmetrical in form as the pines
and cedars among which they stand, the latter averaging
250 feet in height. The Sequoia grows to the height of
100 feet or more, straight up, without any branches, and
then seems to stop short, with the look that trees have,
when theu" roots touch upon rock or uncongenial soil.
But they are very grand, and when young, with theu-
branches feathering down to the ground, or middle-aged,
with the height in proportion to the girth, are lovely.
Then- rich brown bark, gleaming through the dark foliage
around, and their clean, smooth-looking trunks, must
always be a grateful sight. The largest of all, called the
' Grizzly Giant,' is 33 feet in diameter, and the voice of
a person caUing to some one on the other side sounds
quite far away. This tree, however, is not much higher
than many of those around, whose main trunks are little,
if at all, larger than its lower branches. Two or three of
these trees are lying on the ground. One is broken, and
hollowed out by fire, through which, by slightly stooping
one's head, it is easy to ride on horseback. The size of
the cone is disproportionately small. We saw none larger
than a hen's egg, and the average is still smaller. There
is a little log-cabin in the middle of the forest, within
sight of a few of the most beautiful trees, called after
DINING-ROOM AT BEAR VALLEY. 529
Mr. Clark (whose name is Galen), * Galen's Hospice.' Here
people generally rest, and have luncheon ; but it was
far too cold for us to do more than ride through the grove,
examine the giants, and return with a good deal of rain
and snow falHng at intervals. Next day we returned to
Bear Valley. We rode straight through to Mariposa, and
only stopped by the way to gather acorns from different
kinds of oak. At Mariposa we got a buggy, and went on
to Bear Valley, where we found the house in a state of
semi-grandeur, semi-disorganization, and our old Scotch
hostess in a state of entire excitement, much regretting
our not having appeared the night before, as they had
had a ball there. Our dinner was laid in the laundry,
which still bore traces of the violent usao^e it had received
from hob-nailed, and not very clean, boots. The walls
were adorned tent-fashion, with brilliant stars and stripes.
As a phase of American life it would have been worth
seeing. We were told that ' the ladies were all dressed
most tasteful ; nearly all had white dresses, quite elegant ;
and some of them black-lace flounces.'
The next day it poured from morning to night, makuig
us glad to have left the mountains in time. There was
nothing to be done, nor to disturb the monotony of the
pit-pat of the rain-drops, except the arrival and departure
of two very damp-looking stages, watcliing the unliarness-
ing of whose respective teams must have occupied at least
three minutes on each occasion. There being no church
to attend the next day, we prociu-ed a couple of horses,
and rode to the top of a high hill near, called Mount
Bullion, whence there is a fine view of the country round.
The mountains on either side of the Yo Semite Valley
M M
530 SAN FRANCISCO.
and the Sierra Nevada range rose clear, cold, and dazzling
white against the blue sky. We saw this when we suc-
ceeded in reaching the summit — a feat, the accompHshment
of which was rendered doubtful by the decrepid nature of
our steeds. It was a very narrow, steep, stony track by
which we had to make our way, one at a time. Both our
saddles turned, and we had to dismount and set them
right. This, as they were of Mexican build, was not
easily accomplished.
The Mexican man's saddle is very comfortable, par-
ticularly for riding a long march at the shuffling jog-trot
of the mustangs. It is high in the cantle, and has also a
large ' horn ' on the pummel, on which to hang packs,
bags, the bridle, or anything else.
On our return to the hotel we found two ' ladies ' and a
' gentleman * regahng themselves in our sitting-room, and
a child sleeping on my bed. This is a land of equahty, and
probably, there being but one private room, our not being
in the way was considered a sufficient reason for taking
our room to do honour to one ' of the wealthiest ladies in
these parts,' who had driven over twelve miles to see her
friend. I fancy the remembrance of Enghsh and Scotch
manners and customs must have come over our hostess
on seeing a look of astonishment in our faces, for she was
more than usually civil after the departure of her guests.
The next day we left, riding twelve miles to Coulter-
ville, which is another entrance to the Yo Semite Valley.
The trail is shorter and better than the Mariposa trail,
but with not nearly such fine views, and missmg the
Mammoth trees. On the road were some quartz mines,
which we stopped to visit. Our late guide's son was clerk
COULTERVILLE. 531
there, and took us into the mine, where the superintendent
joined us. It was not different from the quartz mines
we saw in AustraHa, except that the pulleys for drawing
up the quartz and water from the lower gallery, are
worked hy an engine, of which the boiler is 600 feet
above. The steam is conducted for that distance through
a tunnel, in which pipes are laid. But, as the superinten-
dent said, 'It's only because there's no other in these
parts that they think so much of it. In the mines in
Devonshire and Gloucestershire, where I worked all my
life till I came out here seven years ago, they'd think
nothing of such an engine as that.' He expatiated upon
the penny-wise and pound-foohsh system of the share-
holders, which prevented their getting nearly as much as
they might out of the mines. They would not, he said,
lay out a farthing more than was absolutely necessary,
and expected immediate return for everything. This
mine was part of the grant of land made to General
Fremont, a large part of which he was obhged to seU. It
now belongs to a company, and is paying well.
The road to Coulterville is only a narrow trail up and
down over the moimtain. It is pretty, but we saw it on
a didl day ; and the stunted brushwood covering the
mountains seemed tame after the pine-forests of the Mari-
posa country. We found a clean, comfortable hotel in
the town, and a civil landlord, who came after dmner to
ask if we should like to see a cabmet of minerals, collected
by a man living here. It was poiu-ing with rain, and we
had to wade through deep mud in the short distance be-
tween the hotel and a biUiard saloon to which our host
conducted us. One of the occupants he addressed as
532 SAN FRANCISCO.
' Captain/ and begged him to show us his cabinet; where-
upon we were taken into a bedroom behind, in which it
stood. The cabinet itself was a beautiful piece of work,
made out of different Cahfornian woods. The collection ;
of minerals was admirable : there were about two hundred
specimens, neatly and scientifically arranged. The col-
lector received a prize for it at the Industrial Fair of the ,
Mechanics' Institute in America, and wished to exhibit it
at Paris, but did not like sending it, and was unable to
take it. Judging from this collection, Cahfornia must
indeed be rich in ores of all kinds. A Dutchman, who
lives in the backwoods, earns liis living by making boxes,
desks, &c., out of the various woods of the country, which
he sends to CoidterviUe to be sold. They are very beau-
tifid, and he arranges the colours with great taste, but
asks such an enormous price for them that one does not j
feel inclined to invest largely. In tliis country, doUars
generally are charged where shillings are in England ; a
doUar being worth about 45. or 5 s.
The next morning, after an early breakfast, we set |
off, with our host as guide, to ride six or seven miles to I
see some hydraulic mining — ' hydrauhcking,' as they caU. j
it. The side of a hill is washed down into a wooden '
sluice, in the form of a capital Y, by a powerful jet of
water turned on through a hose. Across what represents
the foot of the Y, which is very long, are ' blocks,' i. e.
narrow boxes sunk between the joints of the wood. Into
these ' blocks ' the sand and gold fall, wliile the water
runs off to the river. From the boxes they collect and
wash the gold every three or four months. The man
whose claim we visited had been workmg there since
HYDRAULIC MINING. 533
1852, and had, by all accounts, done very well. The
method of obtaining water for the work is an instance of
the dislike miners here have to making any outlay with-
out immediate return. The river is within a few hundred
yards (feet it was when they began), but is a good deal
below where they work. An engine to raise the water
would have been expensive at first, but the cost would
have been paid over and over again to any one working
for long. This man had paid four dollars a-day all those
years for water conveyed through ditches, from reservoirs
on the other side of the country. The miners Uve
very roughly. Wooden huts were scattered about, and
all over the ground near were deep holes, where ' pro-
specting' had been gomg on. Outside the door of each
hut is hung a slate, upon which the miner, on going out
in the morning, writes his orders for the butcher, who
comes round daily and leaves the meat ordered, either in
a cupboard near the door, or m a safe, which in summer
is hung up in a tree hard by. Most of the houses had
goats and poultry about them, and one or two had
gardens.
We returned on our road about a couple of miles, and
then met a buggy, which with our bags had come after
us, to take us twenty-four miles further, to the place
where the coach would pick us up between two and three
the next morning. Wlien my father was taking our
places at the coach-office, an instance of 'Americanism'
occurred which a gentleman in New York, to whom I was
telling it, would hardly beheve was not one of the hen
trovato anecdotes made up for books. The clerk in the
office, looking out of the window, said to my father, ' Oh,
534 SAN FRANCISCO.
here comes the gentleman who '11 drive you : you can
speak to him.' When the ' gentleman ' came in the clerk
turned to him, * Look here ! this is the chap I was
speaking to you about, who wants to be taken up at
So-and-so ! '
Our road was very bad ; the mud, nearly the whole
way, was up to the axles, and below it was rough and
rocky — 'sidhng,' as our driver called it. It was a bitterly
cold night, and quite dark before we reached our destin-
ation. There was formerly a very good hotel here, but
no town, nor even village, near it ; and it was supported
solely by the custom of coach-travellers. When a new
line was opened, and many of the coaches left this road,
the hotel was closed. We had been warned of this, but
also told that the hotel cook, a Dutchwoman, had a small
house near, in wliich she received any stray passengers
whom chance or necessity might cause to spend a night
at the place ; and that she made them very comfortable.
After a glowing description which we received of this
good woman's abode, we did not expect the cranky wooden
shed, at the door of which we aUghted, with the stars
shining through gaps in the roof, and the winds of heaven
finding free entrance everywhere. There was no hght,
no soimd, no movement. We knocked and shouted, and
at length a brigand-looking man came cautiously to the
door. He seemed at first unwilling to admit us, but pre-
sently returned, with a dim, smoking lamp in his hand,
and explained liis previous hesitation by saying that his
wife was in bed with toothache, and he did not know
' how he could do for us.'
The apartment we entered was, T conclude, the bar ;
A ROAD-SIDE INN. 535
there was a small counter at one side, from behind which
our host dispensed drinkables, and a few groceries, to two
or three teamsters, who had come up soon after us, and
were, like ourselves, to pass the night in this hovel.
There appeared but one hglit in the establishment, the
same dim, smoking lamp which had met us on the thres-
hold, being carried backwards and forwards between the
counter and the kitchen. Wlien his duties did not re-
quire his presence elsewhere, oui' host came and sat
with the teamsters, our driver, and ourselves round the
wood-fire, our only light being that afforded by the
flaming logs. The picturesqueness of the group was
presently enhanced by the arrival of a child about two
years old, who had been roused by the advent of strangers,
and now clothed from tip to toe in a suit of scarlet
flannel, sat on his father's knee, looking like a hobgoblin
or lepriliorn ! If our quarters had fallen short of the
description given of their comfort, so, in the matter of
cleanliness, did the supper and suj)per-table, to which a
dui^y Negro servant, after some time, summoned us ;
but the poor people had done their best, and it was not
theii" fault if their friends had exaggerated their powers
of entertainment. A small cupboard, with a camp-bed in
it, was, after supper, shown me as my bed-room, and a
sofa was given to my father by the fire ; the teamsters
and others slept in their chairs. We did not undress, for
the coach was to pass at 2 a.m. It was not a regular
stopping-place, and we wished not to keep it waiting,
therefore, on the first sound of wheels, every one was on
the alert, and as the coach came near, rushed to the door
and shouted ; but it was the ' Opposition ' coach, and
536 SAN FRANCISCO.
would not stop, so we went back to our couches, not
altogether unwillingly, for it was piercingly cold, and the
prospect of being for twenty hours of such weather in an
American coach, was far from exhilarating. Our coach
never came at all. At dayhght my father went back to
the ' Crimea House,' where, though the hotel is closed,
the coaches still change horses. We had called as we
passed the previous night, and left special word for the
coachman not to forget us ; but on the order being given
him by the ostler, the ' gentleman ' declared that it was
another place at which he should have picked us up, and
not finding us there he had filled up our places, and
should not pass our house at all ! This was pleasant
news for people who were anxious not to spend time
unnecessarily at places of no interest. The coach only
ran three tunes a- week, and we must take our seats from
Coulterville ; but our buggy-driver of the previous day
came to the rescue. He had ' nothing not to say per-
tikler ' to do, and would drive us twelve miles to Knight's
Ferry, where we could get another vehicle to take us to
Stockton, so, directly after breakfast, we set off. It was
a lovely morning, but we had to follow a very bad road,
or rather track, for it was nothing more. It lay prmci-
pally through rolling country, fertile, and in parts much
enclosed. The open land was in places very pretty.
Imiumerable magpies were chattering amongst the fine
trees, squirrels darting in and out of their holes, and near
any patch of underwood or scrub, the ground was alive
with handsome crested-quail, in bevies of nearly a
Imndi'ed. Larks were singing high in the ah-, and on
the ploughed fields were here and there a pair of wise-
STOCKTON. 537
looking owls, blinking in the sun. The Nevada Range in
the distance was beautiful, and, except for the delay, we
did not regret having missed the coach, in which we
should also have missed this pleasant twelve miles' drive.
At Knight's Ferry we found a man who promised that
we should be at Stockton by 6 p.m. ; the distance was
forty-five miles, and it was then half-past twelve. At a
quarter to one we started ; our horses went well, but the
roads were extremely bad, and we had one or two delays.
One of the portmanteaux broke away in going over a
ditch, then one of the reins broke, and shortly after the
driver, in trying to avoid a bog, brought us to a hedge
and ditch that the horses could not face, and so we had
to turn romid and go through the bog after all. Then
we met a buggy returnmg from Stockton, with the driver
of which ours changed places, and the man proved so
much less efficient than the master in picking out the
best parts of the road and making the horses go, that
darkness overtook us while we were still twelve or four-
teen miles from Stockton, and our driver informed us, in
a lugubrious voice, that we had the worst bit of the
whole road before us. Being dark we could not see it,
but feel it we did, and the results were visible on clothes
and portmanteaux when we arrived at Stockton. Here
we foimd an hotel, a bad imitation of the ' Occidental ' at
San Francisco. At the time we were very glad to enter
its doors, but it proved, on further acquaintance, very
duty and uncomfortable. The ' parlour-' was full of school-
girls going home for Christmas ; and in descriptions of
boarding-school conversations, I never met with anything
approaching the vulgarity of these cliildren. In Stockton
538 SAN FRANCISCO.
there is nothing whatever to see or do, except that the
mud, surpassing even San Francisco, or the newest
AustraHan town, was a curiosity in its way. "We con-
gratulated ourselves in leaving by daylight next day for
San Francisco, thereby seeing the views on the river.
But we went on, and on, and saw nothing, except an
expanse of rushes and reeds, rustling and bowing as the
wave of the steamer reached them, until just at sunset,
when Mount Diavolo, as the only high mountain near
San Francisco is named, rose grandly before us. As the
setting sun descended beliind the mountain, it left the
summit glowing hke red-hot iron, fading to a semi-trans-
parent purple ; and the reflexion in the Eastern sky, and
the rosy light on the peaks of the Nevadas, was lovely.
We made an expedition soon after oiu? return to see
some cinnabar mines in the county of Almeda. It was
our first experience of American railroad travelling. We
left San Francisco by the 8.30 A.M. ' cars,' and arrived at
San Jose about eleven o'clock. The latter, as its name
indicates, was originally a Spanish settlement : it now
contains foreigners of almost every country in the world,
■— French, Germans, Spaniards, Portuguese, Mexicans,
Chilians, English, Chinese, but very few Americans. The
medley of tongues heard while passing through the streets
is extraordinary.
To English people it certainly is distressing, not to be
able, by a little additional payment, to save themselves
from the close contact with the ' Great Unwashed,'
which is the traveller's unhappy fate in American cars.
The juxtaposition into which he is brought with that
very usefid, but not very agreeable portion of the
NEW ALMEDA. 539
world's population, is sadly afflicting to more senses than
one. '
Our speed was not great, and the stoppages were
numerous. People complain sometimes of the indistinct
way in which English guards call out the names of sta-
tions, but with them the constant repetition gives some
chance of catching the word. Besides wliich, we have in
England a large printed board, which has not, as yet,
been adopted on this side the continent. Here, the ' con-
ductor ' thrusts his head in at the door, withdraws it
immediately, and, while banging the door to, bawls out
some name, as unintelligible and as mysterious to the un-
itiated as a London street-cry.
Whether the country through which our road lay is
pretty or not I cannot say, for the fog was dense ; and
we could see little, except that, as we neared San Jose,
we passed tlirough a forest of very fine evergreen oaks.
On arriving, we took our seats on the outside of the
New Almedan coach, to drive twelve miles to Almeda.
The country is said to be extremely pretty hereabouts ;
the liills are high and wooded, the flat ground much cidti-
vated. But the fog continued so tliick that it prevented
our seeing much, except the very beautifid plane-trees,
which are numerous all over this part of the country.
At New Almeda we found a rough, comfortable hotel,
kept by a civil little Frenchman and his German ^vife.
Wliile they were preparuig limch, my father went to find
out the manager of the mines. Perfect equahty is occa-
sionally usefid, as we found on this occasion. A few days
before, a gentleman in San Francisco had promised to
send us a letter of introduction to this manager. He
540 SAN FEANCISCO.
kept his word, but the letter was not dehvered to us at