The Sierra citizen., 1854-08-12
Forest Citv.

/ Last Monday we paid o visit to this
renowned little city for the first time, and
though prepared to find brisk business
like village, We had not fully comprehend
ed its Importance. Forest City is rightly
named-situated in dense forest of pine
and fir, which three years ago was un-
marked by the woodma2's axe. But now
"the axe has been laid at the root of
the tree" and one by one those tall old
sentinels of the forest are falling before
this pioneer implement of civilization, and
lie scattered in every direction, sometimes
blocking up the trail. The sound of the
hammer and saw is heard from all quar-
ters, and along the hill sides half-fnished
!, buildings are seen at intervals, with here
and there a party leveling off foundation
for another.
| The place is romantic enough to satisfy
the most moonshiny individual, or the
most imaginative Of long-haired poets, but
the inhabitants are rather practical COM
munity, and pay more attention to sub
terranean excavations than landscape
painting. Some attention is paid to the
arts, however, as may be seen by the
quaint designs painted on canvas and fas-
tened over the entrance of some Of the
tunnels. That of the Live Yankee, in
particular, attracted our attention "a
large sized angular down-easter, with the
most impossible of bell-crowned hats,short
jacket and pantaloons to match, with his
hands thrust to the bottom Of his pockets,
in evident apprehension that nine-pence
had fallen through. Judging from the
gold taken out of that tunnel, it must be
populous with Yankees, not only alive
but kicking.
Some venturesome individual has climb
ed one of the tallest pines in the vicinity
of the Empire and Dutch tunnels. trimmed
off the the branches, and fastened the
American flag to the top, mailing sticks
on the side Of the tree in his ascent as a
sort of ladder, which we had about as leave
undertake to ascend as to climb the fa-
nous bean vine ladder to the moon.
1t is very difficult to form correct es-
innate of the number of inhabitants in and
about Forest City, but it is not far from
one thousand Since the water failed the
population has greatly diminished, but
even now it is one of the busiest little
places in the Uountains. The principal
street is built up with very neat, spacious
houses: and the hotels and saloons will
compare very fayorably with those in
} Downieville-not so large perhaps, but as
: tastefully finished, and quite as comforta-
BILE. The Read House, where we put up
and Jared sumptuously, is large elegant
building, where all the substantials, deli
cacies and attentions can be had, which
can be found anywhere in the mountains.
|
Of the mines in that district, reports Of
which have appeared in the Citizen occa-
sionally, and never without good authori-
ty, often modified to give credibility &c
what we knew to be true.
The great desideratum with the Forest
City people is water! Not diluted alco
hol colored with logwood juice, but the
clear cold streams that go hrawling down
the glens where they are not wanted. A
year or two hence thesa little brooks
, will be checked III their course and made
to run over the golden sands, and after
: wards be tumbled down the hill and left
to seek out new channel to the sea-
Such is the power of gold, that where it
: exists in the soil, even in the mountain
5 Businesses, the fox can no more dig his hole
} unscared, and when the wild deer goes
: down to the brook to drink he finds only
troubled waters, and he thinks to himself.
) can enemy hath done this"
AN ExT1NGuIsHER.- Vide Vest IN
| that settled" our dramatic hash lately
is about to put an extinguisher over the
Times . Transcript for certain of it.
ridiculous" theatrical notices. The same
} paper makes some important suggestions
to the editor of the "Paoneer." It is ex
: pected that the Times 8. Transcript will
'dry up after coming under the censure
OF paper equivalent in nomenclature to
"All Out Doors" bearing on its front such
terrific Symbols vicious looking snake
supposed to be the Identical sarpint that
undertook to gnaw the flea locomotive
volant, grizzly couchal>t, and buffalo
rampant-about to pitch into what we
F take to be either a young hippopotamus
or a "bar,' that has been shoyeled into a
boiling spring by the COW catcher, and
scdH. Fast country this
| ilpyCn IIv, Nhn IL 1 =