The Newtown bee., 1904-07-29
CALIFORNIA SIGHTS
As Seen Through the Eyes of an Esteemed Newtown
 Gentleman,
E. L. JOHNSON.
Central California,

ITlenuS on 1nQepenQenCe day, tOl(
 stories and sang home lsongs while
 sitting around big camp fire in tn,
 shadow of the big redwood trees o1
 which you were told in a previous let
 ter, and day later took sthe train 8,
 Santa Cruz for San Jose, 70 miles t<
 northward on the direct route to Sar
 Francisco. For that run we took the
 narrow gauge road of the Southern
 Pacific that for part of the distance
 has it's course among the tortuouf
 windings in the Santa Cruz mountains
 Soon after leaving the city we cross the San Lorenzo river, run through a short tunnel, and then climb steadily along the western slope of the San Lo. renzo Canyon, among the redwood, the laurel and the pine, up into the Santa Cruz mountains Most of the country through which we pass is forest cover ed. No steam saw mills have as yet despoiled the heavy timber and the density of smaller growth makes the SCENERY GRAND BEYOND DEsCR1P- TON. =. |-s Here and there are rounded hills in open spaces that are under cultivation, growing wheat or given up to orchards and vineyards. When seven miles out from Santa Cruz we reach the big trees, of the same species ot all the redwoods in the Santa Cruz noun tains, and the only forests of the kind in the known world. The group known as the '"big trees," covers an area of about 60 acres, and is the pro- perty of one man. The grove that is enclosed, for the privilege of seeing
 which 8 charge of 9 cents is charged, contains 100 trees from 30 to 95 feet in circumference, and from 200 to over 300 feet tall, and are supposed to be over 5000 years old. One old patriarch is called the General Fremont" for he camped in the tree which is hollow, in the winter of 1S46, when on his way from San Francisco to Monterey which was at that time the capital of California. The trunk is hollow for 25 feet from its base. It is 63 feet in circumference, and in it's hollow base party Of fifty can stand at one time.
 We stood within the tree and looked out through the holes that were cut through the sides of the trunk to serve as windows in 1846. A hole that had been cut at that time to let the smoke out, some 20 feet up. had en- closed by growth, leaving large scar to mark the spot. It is common thing to see these great mountain red woods burnt out, so that six or eight men can stand in one, but so tenace. ous of life are they, that they keep on growing for centuries. One tree, the "Giant," is 65 feet in circumference and 303 feet tall. The "Gen Grant" is 63 feet in circumference and 300 feet high. 'The General Sherman" is 62 feet in circumference and 300 feet high, and though badly scared by fire is hale, hearty and vigorous in it's old age. Many of the trees grow in groups, and there is one group of p trees growing from a single stump that forms 8 circle 11O feet in circumference, and the tallest of the trees is 300 feet high. This is called the Cathedral. These trees, taken as whole, create a templed grove of such majesty, that we, meas uring our temporal life with so narrow span may well look upon them as the Immortals. These trees of which we here write must not be confounded with the Sequoi gigantic of the Sier- ras in the Yosemite. They are the Sequoia sempervisens, of the great redwood forests of the Santa Cruz mountains, and though of gigantic growth are smaller than those in the Yosemite. No time need be wasted
 in seeing the big trees, for we step
 from the railroad station right into the grove, and the great trees of the group are all within the radius of 35 acres. When we again take the train to continue on our course, we wind along the mountain sides for several miles, running through seven moun- tain tunnels, two of them, each over one mile in length, passing several sta tions to accommodate the sparse popu- lation thereabouts, but more as ship ping stations and resorts; for the coun- try is vast play ground for city peo- pie in midsummer, who live here in- expensively, camping, riding, fishing,
 hunting, living out of doors. Deer, quail, wild pigeons, squirrels and other game is plenty enough to make hunting interesting, and occasional sawmill plants among the redwoods and pines, giving em- ployment to many men. The red woods and pines call into service OK teams that haul their train of 20 logs down greased skids to the mill amid 8 confusion of tongues, Babel like. As we reached Glenwood we were remind ed of drive we had a few days before taken from "Hopedale Farm" to reach the place, that was the grand est of all the many mountain drives we have yet taken. Here there is a red wood forest park of 30 acres, free to all. The trees on this range are some of them three hundred feet tall and straight as an arrow, and one hundred feet from their base F foot logs may