The San Francisco call., 1906-08-26

nshe fathofns lies beneath the keel.
Except in that portion of the Golden
Gate north of Fort Point, where sixty
three fathoms is reached there is no
greater depression in the entire bay
than in this submarine canyon of Rae
coon Straits, noted for the boiling
tides that surge through it's narrows,
curling into angry whitecaps as the
ebbing waters battle with the brisk
bay breezes. If The Call building wero
placed in its deep channel the tower
alone would rise above the water
Raccoon Straits owes its name not to
the nocturnal marauder dear to the
hearts of Afro Americans. but to the
msn-ofrwar Raccoon of his British
Majesty. King George Ill During the
war of 1912 this commerce-destroyer
lay in ambush in these waters await
ing unsuspecting Yankee merchant
men.
Skirting the tree-fringed shores of
Angel Island one gazes on the placid
beauty Of Hospital Cove, where the
United States quarantine station is To-
Gated. It's rows OF neat cottages and
barracks stretch back from the clean
painted wharves. 1t appears an orderly
but deserted village prepared for the
coming of the plague-ship. Long may
it wait, Some two miles on toward
Red RoclA a great hulk of antique build
lies at anchor. 1t. too. is ready for
some possible future emergency when
II will serve the nation as a floating
pest-house. Opposite this grim vessel
lies PaFadise Cove. a charming and
happily indentation of the.
Marin eoastIne. 1t is well to take
aboard a supply of fresh water gush-
ing from a pure spring on its shaded
slope. for there is no dependable water
hole on all Red Rock
The rock is situated ten miles to
the north of San Francisco. three from
San Quentin and about two from Point
Richmond Six miles of direct rowing
from Tiburon viii bring one TO its
shores. A couple OF miles northward
lie the ghthouse-studded islets of the
Brothers and Sisters. Until late years
NAN~S NArc1ACAS CNPo Va AONAo Wei .
known as Dos Hermanos and Dos Her
manas. but. unfortunately. the more
prosaic English equivalent has taken
the place of the liquid Spanish names
just as Yerba Buena has been dubbed
Goat Island" Red Rock is a fair-sized
island. more than half mile in cir
conference, rising $50 feet above the
bay. It's southern flank is shielded by
a score of Jagged pinnacles, reefs of
red jasper rock rising in picturesque
confusion. Tunnels pierce its west
ward cliffs, while other cavities chis-
cied by the erosive waves lead back
into caverns earpeted with seaweed.
Since American occupation Red Rock
has been an insular possession of Uncle
Sam. Years ago a mining company.
realizing the value of the deposit of
manganese ore traversing it's western
side, undertook to extract this mineral
for private profit. They tapped the
lodges with tunnels and ran a great
open cut diagonally up the face of the
island. Thousands of tons of ore were
dropped upon lighters and sorted and
shipped to far-off England. the nearest
market at that time. Then the Fed
eral authorities caused the suspension
of mining operations and the island
was reserved for military purposes.
To this day horizontal stulls that
propped the strata apart are plainly
visible from passing vessels. There is
ever a sense of mystery about an aban-
doned mine Stevenson has immortal
lied the deserted mining camp and
ledges of siiverado, where he spent
his honeymoon in 1880. The romance
OF this forgotten manganese mine is