The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-20
Fertile Farms, Vast Timber
Areas and Nearby Fields
of Coal.
ALSO AN EXCELLENT HARBOR
Matters Ripe for the Building of c
Railroad With a Through
Connection.
Especial Correspondence of THE CALL

between the sea ana the mountains along
the coast of Northern California. This
strip varies in width from mere thread to
several miles, and is crossed at frequent
intervals by clear streams, which come
down from the mountains. The narrow
bat fertile valleys along these streams are
sheltered from the direct winds OF the
ocean, and contain many profitable farms.
There are, of course, many who cannot
endure the fogs and dampness inseparable
from an ocean exposure, but to warm
blooded people, with no tendency to
bronchial or lung difficulty, the cool and
equab&e climate is usually found very en-
joyable. The rainfall increases very regu-
larly as we go north from San Francisco,
but does not become excessiveln this State.
The soil is usually deep alluvium OF great
fertility, but for some miles north of
Mendocino City is a black sand of less pro-
ductiveness in its natural state, partly
open and partly covered with a dense
growth of inferior pine, of no value except
for firewood.
For agricultural purposes this Northern
Coast strip possesses the advantage to the
small farmer of the possibility OF a wider
variety of products than perhaps can
be profitably raised in any other part Of
California. The farmers here can raise all
the cereals, all root crops, dairy products,
vegetables, beef and pork and the decidu-
Gus fruits, except apriCots, peaches, nee
tarines and grapes. No irrigation is re-
CURED for anything, but if desired, can be
had in abundance from the numerous
streams.
&c
disc for hunters and fishermen, and an
enterprising person located at some such
point as Fort Bragg might build up a
sportsmans resort which would come to
be known the world over.
The business of farmer on the coast
should be to produce first for his own con-
sumption and then for supplying the coast
towns and logging-camps. His surplus,
to go out of the country, should be mainly
in the form of dairy products, pork and
possibly eggs. On new lands potatoes do
remarka bly, well, and at one time the upper
coast shipped large quantities to San Fran
cisco, but as the land most suitable to this
purpose became gradually exhausted from
this crop, its production for market be-
came improbable, and now in some sea-
sons the coast towns actually obtain much
OF their supply of potatoes from San Fran
cisco.
The main business of the coast district
is lum bering. The redwood of the Coast
Range is said to be almost inexhaustible
but an accessible population like that
which so rapidly consumed the great for
ests of Michigan and Wisconsin would
make short work of it. A generation or
two of such demand would use up most OF
what is accessible at reasonable expense.
The lumber interests naturally coucen-
trate themselves about the coast points
most convenient for shipping. The young
est of these is the flourishing town Of Fort
Bragg, which has grown up during the past
few years. Fort Bragg, as the name i'm
plies, was an old United States military
post, abandoned many years since upon
the opening of the Indian reservation with
which it was connected. Ten years ago
there was nothing there but some of the
old post buildings rapidly gong to decay.
At that time the Fort Bragg Redwood
Company (since merged into the Union
Lumber Company, in seeking for suita-
BILE shipping point, found a small but deep
cove well protected by outlying reefs
which, with nc artificial improvement, has
proved one of the most convenient and
safest shipping points on the coast
The character of the harbor with its
present and prospective business fully JUS
titles the small appropriation from the
Government necessary to make 1t perfectly
| land-locked. From each side of the cove
project reefs at angles which would bring
them together at point but little outside
the general trend of the shore. These
reefs are partly uncovered at low water
and if filed in and built up with loose
rock, of which there is abundance at hand,
would form permanent and substantial
breakwater, with good entrance and no
bar. and which would completely inclose
snug, deep--water harbor, with dock
room for about dozen steamers of the
size now ordinarily employed in the coast
ing trade.
The lumber company's railroad now ex-
tends about ten miles into the mountains,
and is substantially built 1t will ulti-
mately be extended to Willis, about
thirty eight miles inland, there to form a
| junction with the Donahue road whenever
| that is extended to Humboldt Bay or con-
| tinued through Lake County to junction
with the Southern Pacific.
Upon Eel River, about forty miles from
| Willis, in direct line, are extensive and
accessible coal deposits, which mining en-
gineers have pronounced to be of good
quality. For the past two years there has
| Deen strong movement 1ully reported In
THE CALL, to at once connect Fort Bragg
by rail with these coal banks, by way of
Willis. A company was formed and ar
engagements made with G. W. Hunt, a
welI-known railroad contractor of Oregon,
to build the road. Mr.. Hunt brought on
his outfit, which comprised a full steamer
| load, and is now here; bat the financial
arrangements, supposed to be completed,
fell through for the time, and the enter
| prise is delayed pending the completion of
a new agreement. There are said to be no
engineering difficulties and no serious
grades 10 be surmounted. A very large
| lumber business is assured to such road,
and the line east of the Coast Range runs
through an excellent country.
| The harbor facilities at Fort Bragg are
abundant for vessels of moderate burden.
and with no serious expense could be
made satisfactory to golfers of consider
able size. There seems to be no question
of the abundance of the coal, and if the en-
! gineers who have reported upon its value
have not been mistaken the proposed rail-
road would seem to be a profitable enter
prise. When completed the lumber roads
| now extending into the mountains from
other numbering points along the coast
would gradually be extended to connect
with it, and thus all these ports would be
! connected with each other and the outside
world by a complete and convenient rail-