The record-union., 1896-09-10

on the bay drive, which is giving great
satisfaction, and the people are de-
manding more.
''The Government is doing some road
work on the bar, and at the very kind
invitation of Mr.. Dennison, the Super
intendent, and j. G. Bull, Jr., the con-
tractor, we inspected the whole works
/ think the macadam is rather large for
work in my line, some of the rocks
weighing four tons, but it is just the
thing to make ship roads. The people
here are very much interested in the
road proposition, and much good work
is being done in every district. The city
of Eureka has a steam road roller, like
the one we have, and also a rock
crusher.
THE rock costs them about 81 25 per
ton to haul to the crusher, but they do
not yet know what it will cost to crush.
A pretty expensive proposition in COM
parison with ours, delivered crushed
and screened for fifty cents per ton. Yet
in Eureka they propose to have some
good streets. They use the roller for a
stationary engine to run the crusher. /
gathered much valuable data from the
Surveyor, Mr.. Herick, who 1 found an
up-to-date good road man. Here, as
we'll as in all Of the northern and coast
counties, they have such an enormous
rainfall that often the roads are washed
away in stretches Of fifty and one hun
dred feet, which, of course, blocks travel
sometimes for weeks. / was the guest
Of the Chamber of Commerce. and ad-
dressed them in the evening on street
Improvement. There are some very good
graveled roads in the vicinity Ferndale.
as gravel Is plentiful in Eel River and
smaller streams. We were five days
driving from Eureka to Ukiah down the
coast and over some very high mount
aims.
IN MENDOCINO.
"Some the grades were at least twenty
feet to the hundred, and often not over
seven feet in width. Many miles are
nothing more nor less than the old pack
trails widened out. We encountered the
tan bark cutters, and it does seem a
shame to destroy eight cords of the best
wood to get a cord of bark. These
'barkers' cut the roads into deep narrow
ruts and the dust was almost more
than we could stand. The acconmoda-
tions along this portion of our drive
anyone to take something along to eat,
especially if they are forced to stop at
Usal.
"Of all the counties through which I
have driven, Mendocino has more nat
urai road material on her mountain
grades than any other. Banks of red
and yellow shale abound everywhere.
yet they have not utilized it to any ex-
IL
carried. SO I had only the pleasure of
meeting the Chairman, who gave me all
the data at his command
A STEEP GRADE.
''The surveyor was engaged in run
ming line for a new road, and he was
endeavOring to not exceed one foot to
the rod, which is far better than some
Of his predecessors had made, there be-
ing in one instance four feet to the rod.
or twenty-five feet to the hundred.
Roads are plentiful, such as they are.
all through MendOcino, but I can't saw
all of them are easy means of commu
nication.' We drove from Ukiah to
Lakeport via Blue Lakes, three beauti
full small lakes Joined. On one side of
these lakes is a toll road and on the on
posite is a new road built mostly bv
subscription and well constructed
though quite dusty at the time we trav-
eled it.
LAKE COUNTY ROADS.
Lake County has some good roads
through its fertile valleys, but not as
many as she should have with the
abundance of material at hand. Rec
ords here were not in the best shape,
and I was forced to leave without a
complete report. From Lakeport our
course was through Highland Springs,
over finely built and maintained toll
road, down to Pieta. From there we
reached Santa Rosa via the Geysers,
Cloverdale and Heaidsurg. The road
to the Geysers was formerly toll road,
but the grade had been changed in
many places owing to the slides that
had carried 1t away.
II found curiosity on this road in
the shape Of a fine combination truss
bridge, costing about $1,000. The road