The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-21

1t an Open Air TOwn-Great Forests
Edged the Piace-Its Hills. Its Quarters.
It's Dwellings, Its Careless People.
The old San Francisco Is dead. The
cavest, lightest hearted, most pleasure
loving city of this continent, and in many
WAYS the most interesting and romantic,
is a horde of huddled refugees living among
ruins. 1t may rebuild; it probably will;
hut those who have known that peculiar
city bv the Golden Gate and nave caught
lis flavor of the Arabian Nights feel that it
can never be the same. 1t is as though a
pretty, frivolous woman had passed through
a great tragedy. She survives, but she is
sobered and different. If it rises out OF
the ashes it must be a modern city, much
like other cities and without its old favor.
The city lay on a series of hills and the
lowlands between. These hills are really
the end Of the Coast Range of mountains
which lie between the interior valleys and
the ocean to the south. To it's rear was
the ocean,; but the greater part Of the town
fronted on two sides on San Francisco
Bay. a body Of water always tinged with
gold from the great ~washings of the noun
tain, usually overhung with a haze, and Of
magnificent color changes. Across the
bay to the north lies Mount Tanalpais,
about 6, 900 feet high, and 30 close that ferries
from the waterfront took one in less than
half an hour to the little towns Of Sausalito
and Belvidere, at it's foot.
1t is a wooded mountain, with ample
slopes, and from it on the north stretch
ava ridges of forest land, the outposts Of
the great Northern woods OF Sequoid sem
perrirens. This mountain and the noun
famous country to the south brought the
real forest closer to San Francisco thar to
any other American city.
Within the last few years men nave killed
deer on the slopes of Tamalpais and looked
down to see the cable cars crawling up the
ILLS Of San Francisco to the north. In the
suburbs coyotes still steal in and rob hen
roosts by night. The people lived much out
of doors. There is 10 time of the year, ex-
cept a short part Of the rainy season, when
the weather keeps one from the woods. Tit
slopes Of Tamslpais are crowded with little
villas dotted through the woods, and these
minor estates run far up into the redwood
country. The deep coves of Belvidere,
sheltered by the wind from Tamalpais, held
a colony Of "arks" or houseboats, where
people lived In the rather disa greeable sum-
msr months, coming over to business every
day by ferxy. Everything invites out of
doors.
WONDERFUL CLIMATE OF THE CITY.
The climate Of California is peculiar; it is
hard to give an impression Of it. In the
first place, all the forces Of nature work on
laws of their owl in that part Of California.
There is no thunder or lightning; there is no
snow, excepta furry once in five or six years;
there are perhaps half a dozen nights in
the winter whepthe thermometer '-ops low
enough so THAI there is a little film OF ice
on exposed wahr in the morning. Neither
is there any hoh weather. Yet most East
erners remaining in San Francisco for a few
DAYS remember that they we're always
cnilly.
For the Gate is a big funnel, drawing
in the winds and the mists which cool of
the great, hot interior valleys Of the San
Joaquin and Sacramento. So the west
wind blows steadily ten months OF the
year and almost all the mornings are foggy.
This keeps the temperature steady at about
30 degrees-a little cool for comfort OF
an unacciimated person, especially indoors.
Californians, used to it, hardly ever think
of making fires in their houses except in
the few exceptional days Of the winter
season, and then they rely mainly upon
freplaces. This is like the custom OF the
Nenetians and the Florentines.
But give an fastener six months OF it,
and he too learns to exist without q chill
in a steady temperature a little lower than
that 10 Dhiph hn ic nnnIiafnnnnH Af hnVna
After that one goes about with perfect
Indifference to the temperature, Summer
and winter San Francisco women wear
light tailor-made clothes, and men wear
The same fall weight suits all the year around.
There is no such thing as a change OF cloth
ing for the seasons And after becoming
acclimated these people find the changes
from hot to cold in the normal regions Of
the earth hard to bear. Perhaps once
in two or three years there comes a day
when there is no fog, no wind and q high
temperature in the coast district. Then
there is hot weather, perhaps up in the
eighties, and Californians grumble, swelter
and rustic for summer clothes. These
rare hot days are the only times when one
sees on the streets OF San Francisco women
in light dresses.
Along in early May the rains cease
At that time everything is green and bright
and the great golden peoples, as large as the
n'fcer of an after dinner coffee cup, are
poisoning everywhere. Tamalpais is
green to it's top; everything is washed and
bright. By late May a yellow tinge is creep
ing over the hills. This Is followed by a
golden June and a brown July and August.
The hrs are burned and dry. The fog
comes IT. heavily, too; and normally this is
TIE most disagreeable season OF the year.
september brings a day or two Of gentle
rain, and then a change, as sweet and mys-
terious as the breaking Of spring in the
East. comes over the hills. The green grows
through the brown and the flowers begin to
come out.
As a matter Of fact, the unpleasantness Of
summer is modified by the certainty that
one can go anywhere without fear OF rain.
And in all the coast mountains, especially
the seaward slopes, the dews and the shell
ter Of the giant underbrush keep the water
30 that these areas are green and pleasant
all summer.
In a normal year the rains begin to fall
heavily in November; there will be three or