Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-02-13
LOFTY SAN PEDRO MARTIR.
A Great Mountain with 500, 900 Aeres q
Good Timber.


For some time, says the Ensenda
Cali correspondent of The San Diego
Sun, items have been published in the
press that all the great pine region of
San Pedro Martir, in Lower California,
was an entirely unexplored and unknown
country, while the facts are simply these:
Three years ago Col. ID. X. Allen care
fully examined that most beautiful por-
ton of this coast. Col. Allen spent near
ly 100 days In this great work. In his
report, most of which has been published,
largely quoted from by Charles Nordhoff
and others, he says:
"San Pedro Martir is one single great
mountain, instead Of o range of mount
aims. tits about 100 miles in length from
northwest to southeast, and from ten to
thirty miles in width, covering on area
Of more than 1, ,0O0, 900 acres, one-half of
which is covered with fine timber. I
found, on measuring fifty-fve acres, Sc
lected in different parts of the pine and
taken carefully as an average, that there
are twenty-seven large trees and nine
small ones to the acre. The large ones
viii average two to four logs to the tree,
each twelve feet in height and two and
one-half feet in diameter at the small
end"
The only white man that ever reached
the summit of the growth Of the yellow
and sugar pine, 1880 feet above the sea,
is Col. Allen. At three points, near and
80 DoIa 4 I, 81.
an altitude of 12, 800 feet above tide wa
ter at its lowest point. This was at the
three points known as Mounts Jesse, Isis
and Orion. Taking the level at that
point, 1880 feet, he calculated that the
height of the highest of the Tres Palomas
(hree doves) was not less than 1900 to
$1,000 feet above the sea.
The canyons on either side-grand,
wild and magnifcent-are filed with
pine up to the 12,800 foot line. Above
this only the pinion grows, which is
found nearly to the summit. The finest
springs of pure cold water are found at
ali altitude of H. 900 feet. No snow is
ever found on any of the peaks after July
until September. The annual rainfall
in summeris notmore than thirty inches,
as given by the Espinos. Out of the
ninety-veven days rain fell on fifty-on of
them. Never less than four feet of snow
falls in winter. The past two winters
ten feet of snow has fallen on the level
each winter. This accounts for the great
supply of water found in the Rosario,
San Simeon, San Domingo, San Rafael
Abajo, San Vicente, Santo Thomas and
San Rafael Arriba streams in Lower Cali
fornia. Beside Col. Allen, Capt Frank
Adams and a friend from Los Angeles,
George Tagart, visited San Pedro Martir
and reached the greatleyel plateau II 900
feet above the sea, in which are situated
the beautiful Castillo, Vallecitos, Vanada
Deer and White Pine valleys, which for
growth of pine, red cedar and spruce,
wild oats, wild rye, wild barley. red top
and clover, cannot be equaled on the
Pacific coast. Deer-blacktail, Whitehall
and moose-abound in great numbers,
and are gentle as cattle.
The grandest view of the world is said
by Col. Allen and his men to be had at
point $4,000 feet high, just north and
Hear the Tres Palomas. Facing the east
and northeast, the Colorado river lies
stretched out before you like thread of
silver from Yuma to its mouth On
clear day Yuma can be plainly seen.
The great peaks near Altar and Magda-
lena, and south to Hermocillo, are in
sight. Down the gulf Angel de Guardin
and Tiburen islands lie out in the gulf
as if asleep. Turn to the west, and
every point almost from the Coronado
islands to Cerros island is in plain view.
San Quintin bay and harbor lie at your
feet, 100 miles distant, like map. To
the southwark lie the great valleys of
Buenos Ayres, San Fernando and others.
As you turn to the west San Quintin, San
Ramon, Camalue and Colnett valleys, to
the north Vale Trinidad, and to the
east San Filepe valley and the great val
ley of the Coronado are seen.
Other visitors from San Ian Diego
have been as far up the mountain as La
Gruila, Encantada, old mission of San Pc
dro Martir, San Tomus, Santa Rosa and
Ulalle, among whom were DR.. Greggs,
7. s. Van Dyke, Fred Anthony and Mr..
Townsend, Of the Ranger. But they
only reached an altitude OF about 5000
feet above thst sea. Very few deer are
found at this altitude, as every year
more or less cattle are driven there for
pasture, and the Indians sent to look
after the cattle kill and drive off the
deer to parts where no one lives. Noone
at present lives on the mountain only in
summer. ]. NJ. Espinosa and family
formerly, for fourteen years, lived at the
old mission and kept their cattle there
every winter. At one time they had
$1,000 head of cattle on the mountain.