The lake of the sky, Lake Tahoe, in the high Sierras of California and Nevada; its history, Indians, discovery by Fremont Legendary lore, various namings, physical characteristics, glacial phenomena, geology, single outlet, automobile routes, historic towns, early mining excitements, steamer ride, mineral springs, mountain and lake resorts, trail and ccamping out trips, summer residences, fishing, hunting, flowers, birds, animals, trees and chapparal [l] with a full account of the of the Tahoe national fores, the public use of the water of lake Tahoe and much other interesting matter
i ^ ^^ ^T^ lTj u ■ - - 5 uo O ^-■w 1, :# % ->F.rAi FC; i ^: iFCALIFO/?^ «^^WEl)^ ^ lOSANCElfx^ ^.OfCAlIFOff/^ <A;OFCAll£0/,^ < ?. ^t'Aavaan^iv ^ lOSANCEl£r^ <^tllBRARYQ^ ^;x «^^\\t•^ ^ ^ ^ -^ L2 s i — J aaii^ "^^AavaaiH^^ %ju: .\it.iiMi\/rDr/- irKAWfFI/ < ^ i:_i CO Ir^ f u-- r r'Aiicnn, 4 g ^ '—1 vol ' o bK\} 2: *^^' ^//i' -'J I' 2? THE LAKE OF THE SKY LAKE TAHOE THE LAKE OF THE SKY LAKE TAHOE IN THE HIGH SIERRAS OF CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA ITS HISTORY, INDIANS, DISCOVERY BY FREMONT, LEGENDARY LORE, VARIOUS NAMINGS, PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, GLACIAL PHENOMENA, GEOLOGY, SINGLE OUTLET, AUTOMOBILE ROUTES, HISTORIC TOWNS, EARLY MINING EXCITEMENTS, STEAMER RIDE, MINERAL SPRINGS, MOUNTAIN AND LAKE RESORTS, TRAIL AND CAMPING OUT TRIPS, SUMMER RESIDENCES, FISHING, HUNTING, FLOWERS, BIRDS, ANIMALS, TREES AND CHAPPARAL, WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OP THE TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST, THE PUBLIC USE OF THE WATER OP LAKE TAHOE AND MUCH OTHER INTERESTING MATTER. BY GEORGE WHARTON JAMES AUTHOR OF " In and Around the Grand Canyon," " In and Out of the Old Missions of California," " The Wonders of the Colorado Desert," " Through Ramona's Country," " The Indians of the Painted Desert Region," ** California, Romantic and Beautiful," etc., etc. 1915 GEORGE WHARTON JAMES 1098 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, Calif. Copyright, 1915, By Edith E. Farnsworth All Rights Reserved J. F. TAPLEY CO. NEW YOHK «!■ ROBERT M. WATSON (To his friends "Bob") Fearless Explorer, Expert Mountaineer, Peerless Guide, Truthful Fisherman, Humane Hunter, Delightful Ra- conteur, True-hearted Gentle- man, Generous Communicator of a large and varied Knowl- edge, Brother to Man and Beast and Devoted Friend, AND TO ANOTHER, though younger brother of the same craft RICHARD MICHAELIS These Pages are Cordially Dedicated with the Author's High Esteem and Affectionate Regards. X "BOB" WATSON, TAHOE GUIDE, AT lloMi:, \\riii ms Doc, SKOOKUM 70HN INTRODUCTION California is proving itself more and more the wonder- land of the United States. Its hosts of annual visitors are increasing with marvelous rapidity; its population is grow- ing by accretions from the other states faster than any other section in the civilized world. The reasons are not far to seek. They may be summarized in five words, viz., climate, topography, healthfulness, productiveness and all-around liveableness. Its climate is already a catch word to the na- tions; its healthfulness is attested by the thousands who have come here sick and almost hopeless and who are now rugged, robust and happy; its productiveness is demon- strated by the millions of dollars its citizens annually re- ceive for the thousands of car-loads (one might almost say train-loads) of oranges, lemons, grape-fruit, walnuts, alm- onds, peaches, figs, apricots, onions, potatoes, asparagus and other fruits of its soil; and its all-around home qualities are best evidenced by the growth, in two or three decades, of scores of towns from a merely nominal population to five, ten, twenty, forty or fifty thousand, and of the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland to metropolises, the two former already claiming populations of half a million or thereabouts. As far as its topography, its scenic qualities, are con- cerned, the world of tourists already has rendered any argument upon that line unnecessary. It is already begin- ning to rival Switzerland, though that Alpine land has crowded populations within a day's journey to draw from. vili INTRODUCTION One has but to name Monterey, the Mt. Shasta region, Los Angeles, San Diego and Coronado, the Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, the Big Trees, the King and Kern River Divide, Mono Lake and a score of other scenic regions in Cali- fornia to start tongues to vv^agging over interesting reminis- cences, whether it be in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid or Petrograd. Books galore are being published to make California's charms better known, and it has long seemed strange to me that no book has been published on Lake Tahoe and its surrounding country of mountains, forests, glacial valleys, lakes and canyons, for I am confident that in one or two de- cades from now its circle of admirers and regular visitors will include people from all over the civilized world, all of whom will declare that it is incomparable as a lake resort, and that its infinite variety of charm, delight and health- ful allurement can never adequately be told. Discovered by the " Pathfinder " Fremont ; described in the early days of California history and literature by John Le Conte, Mark Twain, Thomas Starr King, Ben C. Tru- man, and later by John Vance Cheney and others; for countless centuries the fishing haunt of the peaceable Ne- vada JVashoes, who first called it Tahoe — High or Clear Water — and of the California Monos; the home of many of their interesting legends and folk-lore tales; occa- sionally the scene of fierce conflicts between the defending Indians and those who would drive them away, it early be- came the object of the jealous and inconsequent squabbling of politicians. Its discoverer had named it Mountain Lake, or Lake Bonpland, the latter name after the traveling and exploring companion of Baron von Humboldt, whose name is retained in the Humboldt River of Nevada, but when the first reasonably accurate survey of its shores was made, John Bigler was the occupant of the gubernatorial chair of the INTRODUCTION ix State of California and it was named after him. Then, later, for purely political reasons, it was changed to Tahoe, and finally back to Bigler, which name it still officially re- tains, though of the thousands who visit it annually but a very small proportion have ever heard that such a name was applied to it. In turn, soon after its discovery, Tahoe became the scene of a rnining excitement that failed to " pan out," the home of vast logging and lumber operations and the objective point to which several famous " Knights of the Lash " drove world-noted men and women in swinging Concord coaches. In summer it is the haunt of Nature's most dainty, glorious, and alluring picturesqueness ; in winter the abode, during some days, of the Storm King with his cohorts of hosts of clouds, filled with rain, hail, sleet and snow, of fierce winds, of dread lightnings, of majestic displays of rudest power. Suddenly, after having covered peak and slope, meadow and shore, with snow to a depth of six, eight, ten or more feet, the Storm King retires and Solus again reigns supreme. And then! ah, then is the time to see Lake Tahoe and its surrounding country. The placid summer views are ex- quisite and soul-stirring, but what of Tahoe now? The days and nights are free from wind and frost, the sun tem- pers the cold and every hour is an exhilaration. The Ameri- can people have not yet learned, as have the Europeans in the Alps, the marvelous delights and stimulations of the winter in such a place as Lake Tahoe. But they will learn in time, and though a prophet is generally without honor in his own country, I will assume a role not altogether foreign, and venture the assertion that I shall live to see the day when winter visitors to Lake Tahoe will number more than those who will visit it throughout the whole of the year (1914) in which I write. One of the surprises often expressed by those I have met here who have wintered X INTRODUCTION in the Alps is that no provision is made for hotel accommo- dation during the winter at Lake Tahoe. To return, however, to the charms of Tahoe that are already known to many thousands. Within the last two or three decades it has become the increasingly popular Mecca of the hunter, sportsman, and fisherman ; the natural haunt of the thoughtful and studious lover of God's great and varied out-of-doors, and, since fashionable hotels were built, the chosen resort of many thousands of the wealthy, pleasure-loving and luxurious. What wonder that there should be a growing desire on the part of the citizens of the United States — and especially of California and Ne- vada— together with well-informed travelers from all parts of the world, for larger knowledge and fuller infor- mation about Lake Tahoe than has hitherto been available. To meet this laudable desire has been my chief incite- ment in the preparation of the following pages, but I should be untrue to my own devotion to Lake Tahoe, which has extended over a period of more than thirty years, were I to ignore the influence the Lake's beauty has had over me, and the urge it has placed within me. Realizing and feel- ing these emotions I have constantly asked with Edward Rowland Sill: What can I for such a world give back again? And my only answer has been, and is, this: Could I only hint the beauty — Some least shadow of the beauty, Unto men! In looking over the files of more or less ephemeral litera- ture, as well as the records of the explorations of early days, I have been astonished at the rich treasures of scien- tific and descriptive literature that have Lake Tahoe as their object. Not the least service this unpretentious volume INTRODUCTION xi will accomplish is the gathering together of these little- known jewels. It will be noticed that I have used the word Sierran rather than Alpine throughout these pages. Why not? Why should the writer, describing the majestic, the glorious, the sublime of the later-formed mountain ranges of earth, designate them by a term coined for another and far-away range ? I would have the reader, however, be careful to pro- nounce it accurately. It is not Sy-eer-an, but See-ehr-ran, almost as if one were advising another to " See Aaron," the brother of Moses. Tahoe is not Teh-e, nor is it Tah-ho, nor Tah-o. The Washoe Indians, from whom we get the name, pronounce it as if it were one syllable Tao, like a Chinese name, the " a " having the broad sound ah of the Continent. Likewise Tallac is not pronounced with the accent on the last syllable (as is generally heard), but Tal-ac. WTiile these niceties of pronunciation are not of vast im- portance, they preserve to us the intonations of the original inhabitants, who, as far as we know, were the first human beings to gaze upon the face of this ever-glorious and beau- tiful Lake. When Mark Twain and Thomas Starr King visited Tahoe it was largely in Its primitive wildness, though log- ging operations for the securing of timber for the mines of Virginia City had been going on for some time and had led to the settlement at Glenbrook (where four great saw mills were in constant operation so long as weather per- mitted), and the stage-road from Placerville to Virginia City demanded stopping-stations, as Myers, Yanks, Row- lands and Lakeside. But to-day, while the commercial operations have largely ceased, the scenic attractions of Lake Tahoe and its region xii INTRODUCTION have justified the erection of over twenty resorts and camps, at least two of them rivaling in extent and elaborate- ness of plant any of the gigantic resort hotels of either the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, the others varying in size and degree, according to the class of patronage they seek. That these provisions for the entertainment of travelers, yearly visitors, and health seekers will speedily increase with the years there can be no doubt, for there is but one Lake Tahoe, and its lovers will ultimately be legion. Already, also, it has begun to assert itself as a place of summer resi- dence. Fifteen years ago private residences on Lake Tahoe might have been enumerated on the fingers of the two hands; now they number as many hundreds, and the sound of the hammer and saw is constantly heard, and dainty villas, bungalows, cottages, and rustic homes are springing up as if by magic. Then Lake Tahoe was comparatively hard to reach. "Now, the trains of the Southern Pacific and the Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company deposit one on the very edge of the Lake easier and with less personal exer- tion than is required to go to and from any large metropoli- tan hotel in one city to a similar hotel in another city. It is almost inevitable that in such a book as this there should be some repetition. Just as one sees the same peaks and lakes, shore-line and trees from different portions of the Lake — though, of course, at slightly or widely differing angles — so in writing, the attention of the reader naturally is called again and again to the same scenes. But this book is written not so much with an eye to its literary quality, as to afford the visitor to Lake Tahoe — whether contem- plative, actual, or retrospective — a truthful and compre- hensive account and description of the Lake and its sur- roundings. It will be observed that in many places I have capitalized INTRODUCTION xiu the common noun Lake. Whenever this appears It signi- fies Lake Tahoe — the chief of all the lakes of the Sierras. While it is very delightful to sit on the veranda or in the swinging seats of the Tavern lawn, or at the choice nooks of all the resorts from Tahoe City completely around the Lake, it is not possible to write a book on Lake Tahoe there. One must get out and feel the bigness of it all; climb its mountains, follow its trout streams; ride or walk or push one's way through its leafy coverts; dwell in the shade of its forests; row over its myriad of lakes; study its geology, before he can know or write about Tahoe. This is what I have done. And this is what I desire to urge most earnestly upon my reader. Don't lounge around the hotels all the time. Get all you want of that kind of recreation; then " go in " for the more strenuous fun of wandering and climbing. Go alone or in company, afoot or horseback, only go! Thus will Tahoe increase the number of its devoted visitants and my object in writing these pages be accomplished. Tahoe Tavern, June 1914. i^ CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Introduction vii I Why " the Lake of the Sky "? . . 1-12 II Fremont and the Discovery of Lake Tahoe 13-25 III The Indians of Lake Tahoe . . . 26-38 IV Indian Legends of the Tahoe Region 39-55 V The Various Names of Lake Tahoe . 56-62 VI John Le Conte's Physical Studies of Lake Tahoe 63-77 VII How Lake Tahoe Was Formed , . 78-81 VIII The Glacial History of Lake Tahoe 82-101 IX The Lesser Lakes of the Tahoe Re- gion and How They Were Formed 102-105 X Donner Lake and Its Tragic His- tory 106-110 XI Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River . 111-115 XII By Rail to Lake Tahoe .... 116-120 XIII The Wishbone Automobile Route to and Around Lake Tahoe . 1 21-142 XIV Tahoe Tavern 143-152 XV Trail Trips in the Tahoe Region . 153-184 To Watson's Peak and Lake . . 154 CHAPTER XVi XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX XXXI XXXII XXXIII' CONTENTS PAGE To Squaw Valley, Granite Chief Peak, Five Lakes and Deer Park Springs 165 To Ellis Peak 178 Camping Out Trips in the Tahoe Re- gion 185-198 To Hell Hole and the Rubicon River 188 Historic Tahoe Towns .... 199—204 By Steamer Around Lake Tahoe . 205-213 Deer Park Springs 214-217 Rubicon Springs 218-221 Emerald Bay and Camp .... 222-229 Al-Tahoe 230-231 Glen Alpine Springs 232-239 Fallen Leaf Lake and Its Resorts . 240-250 Lakeside Park 251-254 Glenbrook and Marlette Lake . . 255-261 Carnelian Bay and Tahoe Country Club 262-265 Fishing in the Lakes of the Tahoe Region 266-276 Hunting at Lake Tahoe . . . 277 The Flowers of the Tahoe Region . 278-284 The Chaparral of the Tahoe Region 285-289 How to Distinguish the Trees of the Tahoe Region .... 290-300 The Birds and Animals of the Tahoe Region 301-313 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXXIV The Squaw Valley Mining Excite- ment 314-319 XXXV The Fremont Howitzer and Lake Tahoe 320-326 XXXVI The Mount Rose Observatory . . 327-331 XXXVII Lake Tahoe in Winter .... 332-337 Written by Dr. J. E. Church, Jr., University of Nevada. XXXVIII Lake Tahoe as a Summer Residence . 338-340 XXXIX The Tahoe National Forest . . . 341-352 XL Public Use of the Waters of Lake Tahoe 353-358 APPENDIX A Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe . . 359-362 B Mark Twain and the Forest Rangers 363-365 C Thomas Starr King at Lake Tahoe . 366-372 D Joseph LeConte at Lake Tahoe . . 373-376 E John Vance Cheney at Lake Tahoe . 377-380 F The Resorts of Lake Tahoe . . . 381-386 THE LAKE OF THE SKY LAKE TAHOE CHAPTER I WHY "the lake of THE SKY " ? LAKE TAHOE is the largest lake at its altitude — twenty-three miles long by thirteen broad, 6225 feet above the level of the sea — with but one ex- ception in the world. Then, too, it closely resembles the sky in its pure and perfect color. One often experiences, on looking down upon it from one of its many surround- ing mountains, a feeling of surprise, as if the sky and earth had somehow been reversed and he was looking down upon the sky instead of the earth. And, further, Lake Tahoe so exquisitely mirrors the purity of the sky; its general atmosphere is so perfect, that one feels it is peculiarly akin to the sky. Mark Twain walked to Lake Tahoe in the early sixties, from Carson City, carrying a couple of blankets and an ax. He suggests that his readers will find it advantageous to go on horseback. It was a hot summer day, not calculated to make one of his temperament susceptible to fine scenic im- pressions, yet this is what he says: We plodded on, two or three hours longer, and at last the Lake burst upon us — a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, 2 THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft full three thousand feet higher still. It was a vast oval, and one would have to use up eighty or a hundred good miles in traveling around it. As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords! And there you have it! Articulate or inarticulate, some- thing like this is what every one thinks when he first sees Tahoe, and the oftener he sees it, and the more he knows it the more grand and glorious it becomes. It is immaterial that there are lakes perched upon higher mountain shelves, and that one or two of them, at equal or superior altitudes, are larger in size. Tahoe ranks in the forefront both for altitude and size, and in beauty and picturesqueness, majesty and sublimity, there is no mountain body of water on this earth that is its equal. Why such superlatives in which world-travelers generally — in fact, invariably — agree ? There must be some reason for it. Nay, there are many. To thousands the chief charm of Lake Tahoe is in the exquisite, rare, and astonishing colors of its waters. They are an endless source of delight to all who see them, no matter how insensible they may be, ordinarily, to the effect of color. There is no shade of blue or green that cannot here be found and the absolutely clear and pellucid quality of the water enhances the beauty and perfection of the tone. One minister of San Francisco thus speaks of the color- ing: When the day Is calm there is a ring around the Lake ex- tending from a hundred yards to a mile from the shore which is the most brilliant green ; within this ring there is another zone of the deepest blue, and this gives place to royal purple in the distance; and the color of the Lake changes from day to day and from hour to hour. It is never twice WHY "THE LAKE OF THE SKY"? 3 the same — sometimes the blue is lapis lazuli, then it is jade, then it is purple, and when the breeze gently ruffles the surface it is silvery-gray. The Lake has as many moods as an April day or a lovely woman. But its normal ap- pearance is that of a floor of lapis lazuli set with a ring of emerald. The depth of the water, varying as it does from a few- feet to nearly or over 2000 feet, together with the peculiarly variable bottom of the Lake, have much to do with these color effects. The lake bottom on a'clear wind-quiet day can be clearly seen except in the lowest depths. Here and there are patches of fairly level area, covered either with rocky bowlders, moss-covered rocks, or vari-colored sands. Then, suddenly, the eye falls upon a ledge, on the yonder side of which the water suddenly becomes deep blue. That ledge may denote a submarine precipice, a hundred, five hundred, a thousand or more feet deep, and the changes caused by such sudden and awful depths are beyond verbal descrip- tion. Many of the softer color-efifects are produced by the light colored sands that are washed down into the shallower waters by the mountain streams. These vary considerably, from almost white and cream, to deep yellow, brown and red. Then the mosses that grow on the massive bowlders, rounded, square and irregular, of every conceivable size, that are strewn over the lake bottom, together with the equally varied rocks of the shore-line, some of them tower- ing hundreds of feet above the water — these have their share in the general enchantment and revelry of color. Emerald Bay and Meek's Bay are justly world-famed for their triumphs of color glories, for here there seem to be those peculiar combinations of varied objects, and depths, from the shallowest to the deepest, with the variations of colored sands and rocks on the bottom, as well as queer- 4 THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE shaped and colored bowlders lying on the vari-colored sands, that are not found elsewhere. The waving of the water gives a mottled effect surpassing the most delicate and richly- shaded marbles and onyxes. Watered-silks of the most perfect manufacture are but childish and puerile attempts at reproduction, and finest Turkish shawls, Bokhara rugs or Arab sheiks' dearest-prized Prayer Carpets are but glim- mering suggestions of what the Master Artist himself has here produced. There are not the glowing colors of sunrises and sunsets; but they are equally sublime, awe-inspiring and enchanting. There are Alpine-glows, and peach-blooms and opalescent fires, gleams and subtle suggestions that thrill moment by moment, and disappear as soon as seen, only to be followed by equally beautiful, enchanting and surprising effects, and with it all, is a mobility, a fluidity, a rippling, flowing, wav- ing, tossing series of effects that belong only to enchanted water — water kissed Into glory by the sun and moon, lured Into softest beauty by the glamour of the stars, and etherl- alized by the quiet and subtle charms of the Milky Way, and of the Suns, Comets and Meteors that the eye of man has never gazed upon. There is one especially color-blessed spot. It Is In Gre- cian Bay, between Rubicon Point and Emerald Bay. Here the shore formation Is wild and irregular, with deep holes, majestic, grand and rugged rocks and some trees and shrub- bery. Near the center of this is a deep hole, Into which one of the mountain streams runs over a light-colored sandy bot- tom where the water Is quite shallow. Around are vari- colored trees and shrubs, and these objects and conditions all combine to produce a mystic revelation of color gradations and harmonies, from emerald green and jade to the deepest amythestine or ultra-marine. When the wind slightly stirs WHY "THE LAKE OF THE SKY"? 5 the surface and these dancing ripples catch the sunbeams, one by one, in changeful and irregular measure, the eyes are dazzled with iridescences and living color-changes cover- ing hundreds of acres, thousands of them, as exquisite, glori- ous and dazzling as revealed in the most perfect peacock's tail-feathers, or humming-bird's throat. Over such spots one sits in his boat spell-bound, color-entranced, and the ears of his soul listen to color music as thrilling, as enchant- ing as melodies by Foster and Balfe, minuets by Mozart and Haydn, arias by Handel, nocturnes and serenades by Chopin and Schumann, overtures by Rossini, massive choruses and chorals by Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn, fugues by Bach, and concertos by Beethoven. The blue alone is enough to impress it forever upon the observant mind. Its rich, deep, perfect splendor is a con- stant surprise. One steps from his hotel, not thinking of the Lake — the blue of it rises through the trees, over the rocks, everywhere, vi^ith startling vividness. Surely never before was so large and wonderful a lake of inky blue, sapphire blue, ultra-marine, amethystine richness spread out for man's enjoyment. And while the summer months show this in all its smooth placidity and quietude, there seems to be a deeper blue, a richer shade take possession of the waves in the fall, or when its smoothness is rudely dispelled by the storms of winter and spring. So much for the color! Yet there are those who are devoted to Lake Tahoe who seldom speak of the coloring of its waters. Perhaps they are fascinated by its fishing. This has become as world- famed as its colors. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of the most gamey and delicately-flavored trout are caught here annually, both by experts and amateurs. The Federal and State governments, and private individuals yearly stock 6 THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE the main Lake and the hundred and one smaller lakes of the region with the finest species of trout obtainable, and the results fully justify the labor and expense. To the mountain-lover the Tahoe region is an earthly paradise. One summer I climbed over tw^enty peaks, each over nine thousand feet high, and all gave me glimpses of Tahoe. Some of them went up close to 1 1,000 feet. Are you an admirer of Alpine, nay, High Sierran, trees? You will find all the well-known, and several rare and en- tirely new species in this region. This field alone could well occupy a student, or a mere amateur tree-lover a whole sum- mer in rambling, climbing, collecting and studying. And as for geology — the Grand Canyon of Arizona has afforded me nature reading material for nearly three de- cades and I am delighted by reading it yet. Still I am free to confess the uplift of these high-sweeping Sierras, upon whose lofty summits The high-born, beautiful snow comes down, Silent and soft as the terrible feet Of Time on the mosses of ruins; the great glacial cirques, with their stupendous precipices from which the vast ice-sheets started, which gouged, smoothed, planed and grooved millions of acres of solid granite into lake-beds, polished domes and canyon walls and carried along millions of tons of rock debris to make scores of lateral and terminal moraines ; together with the evidences of uplift, subsidence and volcanic outpouring of diorite and other molten rocks, afford one as vast and enjoyable a field for contemplation as any ordinary man can find in the Grand Canyon. But why compare them? There is no need to do so. Each is supreme in its own right; different yet compelling, unlike yet equally engaging. WHY "THE LAKE OF THE SKY"? 7 Then there are the ineffable climate of summer, the sun- rises, the sunsets, the Indians, the flowers, the sweet-singing birds, the rowing, in winter the snow-shoeing, the camping- out, and, alas ! I must say it — the hunting. Why man will hunt save for food is beyond me. I deem it that every living thing has as much right to its life as I have to mine, but I find I am in a large minority among a certain class that finds at Lake Tahoe its hunting Mecca. Deer abound, and grouse and quail are quite common, and in the summer of 19 13 I knew of four bears being shot. Is it necessary to present further claims for Lake Tahoe? Every new hour finds a new charm, every new day calls for the louder praise, every added visit only fastens the chains of allurement deeper. For instance, this is the day of ath- letic maids, as well as men. We find them everywhere. Very well! Lake Tahoe is the physical culturist's heaven. In any one of its score of camps he may sleep out of doors, on the porch, out under the pines, by the side of the Lake or in his tent or cottage with open doors and windows. At sunrise, or later, in his bathing suit, or when away from too close neighbors, clothed, as dear old Walt Whitman puts it, '* in the natural and religious idea of nakedness," the cold waters of the Lake invite him to a healthful and invigorating plunge, with a stimulating and vivifying swim. A swift rub down with a crash towel, a rapid donning of rude walking togs and off, instanter, for a mile climb up one of the trails, a scramble over a rocky way to some hid- den Sierran lake, some sheltered tree nook, some elevated out- look point, and, after feasting the eyes on the glories of in- comparable and soul-elevating scenes, he returns to camp, eats a hearty breakfast, with a clear conscience, a vigorous appetite aided by hunger sauce, guided by the normal in- stincts of taste, all of which have been toned up by the mom- 8 THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE ing's exercise — what wonder that such an one radiates Life and Vim, Energy and Health, Joy and Content. Do you know what the lure must be when a busy man, an active man, an alert man, a man saturated with the nervous spirit of American commercial life, sits down in one of the seats overlooking the Lake, or spreads out his full length upon the grass, or on the beds of Sierran moss, which make a deliciously restful cushion, and stays there! He does nothing; doesn't even look consciously at the blue waters of the Lake, on the ineffable blue of the sky, or the rich green of the trees or the glory of the flowers — he simply sits or sprawls or lies and, though the influence is different, the ef- fect is the same as that expressed in the old hymn: My soul would ever stay, In such a frame as this, And sit and sing itself away, To everlasting bliss. There's the idea! Calm, rest, peace, bliss. Those are what you get at Lake Tahoe. And with them come re- newed health, increased vigor, strengthened courage, new power to go forth and seize the problems of life, with a surer grasp, a more certain touch, a more clearly and defi- nitely assured end. There are some peculiarities of Lake Tahoe that should be noted, although they are of a very different character from the foolish and sensational statements that used to be made in the early days of its history among white men. A serious advertising folder years ago sagely informed the traveling public as follows: "A strange phenomenon in connection with the Truckee River is the fact that the Lake from which it flows (Tahoe) has no inlet, so far as any one knows, and the lake into which it flows (Pyramid Lake, Nevada), has no outlet." How utterly absurd this is. Lake Tahoe has upward of WHY "THE LAKE OF THE SKY"? 9 a hundred feeders, among which may be named Glenbrook, the Upper Truckee, Fallen Leaf Creek, Eagle Creek, Meek's Creek, General Creek, McKinney Creek, Madden Creek, Blackwood Creek, and Ward Creek, all of these being con- stant streams, pouring many thousands of inches of water daily into the Lake even at the lowest flow, and in the snow-melting and rainy seasons sending down their floods in great abundance. To many it is a singular fact that Lake Tahoe never freezes over in winter. This is owing to its great depth, possibly aided by the ruffling and consequent disturbance of its surface by the strong northeasterly winter winds. The vast body of water, with such tremendous depth, maintains too high a temperature to be affected by surface reductions in temperature. Experiments show that the temperature in summer on the surface is 68 degrees Fahr. At 100 feet 55 degrees; at 300 feet 46 degrees; at 1506 feet 39 degrees. Twenty years ago the thermometer at Lake Tahoe regis- tered 18° F. below zero, and in 1 9 10 it was 10° F. below. Both these years Emerald Bay froze over. Perhaps the reason for this is found in the fact that the entrance to the bay is very shallow, and that this meager depth is subject to change in surface temperature, becoming warmer in sum- mer and colder in winter. This narrow ridge once solidly frozen, the warmth of the larger body of water would have no effect upon the now-confined smaller body of Emerald Bay. Once a firm hold taken by the ice, it would slowly spread its fingers and aid in the reduction of the tempera- ture beyond, first producing slush-ice, and then the more solid crystal ice, until the whole surface would be frozen solid. An explanation of the non-freezing of the main Lake has been offered by several local " authorities " as owing to the presence of a number of hot springs either in the bed of the Lake or near enough to its shores materially to affect its lo THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE temperature. But I know of few or no " facts " to justify such an explanation. When I first visited Lake Tahoe over thirty years ago I was seriously and solemnly informed by several (who evi- dently believed their own assertions) that, owing to the great elevation of the Lake, the density of the water, etc., etc.. It was impossible for any one to swim in Lake Tahoe. I was assured that several who had tried had had narrow escapes from drowning. While the utter absurdity of the statements was self-evident I decided I would give myself a practical demonstration. To be perfectly safe I purchased a clothes-line, then, hiring a row-boat, went as far away from shore as was desirable, undressed, tied one end of the rope around the seat, the other around my body, and — jumped in. I did not sink. Far from it. I was never more stimu- lated to swim in my life. My ten or fifteen feet dive took me into colder water than I had ever experienced before and I felt as if suddenly, and at one fell swoop, I were flayed alive. Gasping for breath I made for the boat, climbed in, and in the delicious glow that came with the reaction decided that it was quite as important to feel of the temperature of lake water before you leaped, as it was to render yourself safe from sinking by anchoring yourself to a clothesline. But I would not have my reader assume from the recital of this experience that Lake Tahoe is always too cold for swimming. Such is not the case. Indeed in June, July, August and September the swimming is delightful to those virho enjoy " the cool, silver shock of the plunge in a pool's living water," that Browning's Saul so vividly pictures for us. Hundreds of people — men, women and children — in these months indulge in the daily luxury, especially in the coves and beaches where the water is not too deep, and the sun's ardent rays woo them into comfortable warmth. After a warm day's tramp or ride over the trails, too, there WHY "THE LAKE OF THE SKY"? ii is nothing more delicious than a plunge into one of the lakes, A short, crisp swim, a vigorous rub down, and a resumption of the walk or ride and one feels fit enough to conquer a world. It can be imagined, too, what a lively scene the Lake pre- sents in the height of the season, when, from the scores of hotels, resorts, camps, private residences, fishermen's camps, etc. ; fishing-boats, row-boats, launches, motor-boats, and yachts ply to and fro in every direction, unconsciously vying with each other to attract the eye of the onlooker. The pure blue of the Lake, with its emerald ring and varying shades of color, added to by the iridescent gleam that possesses the surface when it is slightly rippled by a gentle breeze, contrasting with the active, vivid, moving boats of differing sizes, splashed with every conceivable color by the hats and costumes of the occupants — all these conspire to demand the eye, to enchain the attention, to harmlessly hypnotize, as it were, those who sit on the shore and look. And when is added to this the spontaneous shouts and shrieks of delight that the feminine " fishermen " give when they are successful and make a catch, the half-frenzied and altogether delighted announcements thereof, the whole- hearted or the half-jealous, half-envious return-congratula- tions, while now and then the large steamer, Tahoe, or an elegant private yacht, as the Tevis's Consuelo, crosses the scene, one may partially but never fully conceive the joy and radiant happiness, the satisfaction and content that Lake Tahoe inspires and produces. Lake Tahoe covers about 190 square miles, and its watershed is about 500 square miles. The boundary line between Nevada and California strikes the Lake on the northern border at the 120th meridian, and a point at that spot is called the State Line Point. The latitude parallel of this northern entrance is 39° 15". The boundary line 12 THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE goes due south until about 38° 58" and then strikes off at an oblique angle to the southeast, making the southern line close to Lakeside Park, a few miles east of the 120th me- ridian. CHAPTER II FREMONT AND THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE TAHOE LIKE so many other great discoveries that were to have an important effect upon the lives of countless num- bers of people, the discovery of Lake Tahoe was acci- dental. Nor did its finder comprehend the vast influence it was to possess, not only upon the residents of California and Nevada, but upon the travel-loving and sight-seeing por- tion of the population of the whole world. John C. Fremont, popularly acclaimed " the pathfinder," was its discoverer, on the 14th day of February, 1844. In the journal of his 1843-44 expedition he thus records the first sight of it: Accompanied by Mr. Preuss, I ascended to-day the highest peak to the right from which we had a beautiful view of a mountain lake at our feet, about fifteen miles in length, and so nearly surrounded by mountains that we could not discover an outlet. It cannot be deemed out of place in these pages, owing to the significance of the discovery by Fremont, to give a brief account of the exploration and its purposes, in the carrying out of which Tahoe was revealed to the intrepid and distinguished explorer. Fortunately for us, Fremont left a full story of his ex- periences in the Nevada country, complete in detail, and as fresh and vivid as if but written yesterday. This account, with illuminating Introduction, and explanatory notes by James U. Smith, from whose pioneer father Smith Valley 13 14 THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE is named, was republished in the Second Biennial Report of the Nevada Historical Society, from which, with the kind permission of the secretary, Professor Jeanne Elizabeth Wier, the following extracts are made. Fremont had already made his first exploration of the Rocky Mountains and South Pass in the summer of 1842. It was in this expedition that, standing on the highest peak of the Rockies, he looked down into the vast area beyond, known as the Great Basin, comprising with its mountain ranges the whole western portion of the continent of North America. This he determined to explore, and it was on this second expedition that Lakes Pyramid and Tahoe, the Truckee River, etc., were discovered. Later, Fremont made his third western journey, that in which he came into conflict with the Mexican officials of California, became governor of California, and was finally placed under arrest by General Kearny, and taken back to Washington to be tried for mutiny. The results of that unfortunate Kearny conflict are well known. At the official close of the dispute he made his fourth expedition and finally his fifth, all of which are fully treated in Smucker's and Bigelow's Life of Fremont. To return now to the second expedition. In the words of Mr. Smith: The object of the expedition was purely for the purpose of exploring and otherwise getting scientific information about the great territory between the Missouri frontier and the Pacific Ocean. Emigrants were making their way west- ward to the new Oregon Territory, and hunters and trappers had been visiting portions of that region. Farther north the fur companies had their posts and did a regular business with the trappers and Indians. But little was known about the regions further south, and especially the great territory between the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountain chains, and that little was freely adulterated with fiction. DISCOVERY OF LAKE TAHOE 15 Great Salt Lake was supposed to be a very strange and wonderful lake, the islands of which were covered with woods and flowers, through which roamed all kinds of game, and whose waters were sucked down in a great awe-inspiring whirlpool into an underground passage under the mountains and valleys to the distant sea. Another myth, or rather pair of myths, in which geographers placed sufficient faith to give a place on the maps of the time, was the great Buenaventura River, and that semi-tropical Mary's Lake, the waters from which found their way through the Sierra Nevadas to San Francisco Bay. Mary's Lake was supposed to be a body of water such as a traveler dreams about, whose clear waters were bordered by meadows ever green, a place on whose shores he could pitch his tent and cast aside all thought or care of the morrow. Fremont counted on this lake as a place where he could recuperate and make ready for a final dash eastward across the unknown country to the Rocky Mountains and thence home to the Mississippi River. Contrast these antici- pations with the hardships and fears he encountered while groping his way through the Black Rock Desert, north of Pyramid Lake. But Fremont was a good leader followed by courageous men, and disappointments did not make weaklings of either him or his men. His party, on leaving Missouri, consisted of thirty-nine men — Creoles, Canadian-Frenchmen, Ameri- cans, a German or two, a free negro and two Indians. 