Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1913-06-13


San Bernardino of the San
Bernardino mountains, with
San Antonio and San Jacinto
only little lower on either side.
Then the range makes a decided drop
to the south and shows heights of
quite different character. with blunt
tops instead of sharp peaks. Palomar
and Ca1on mountains are bold and
conspicuous but not high, as noun
tains on the coast go. Still farther
south, however, in the peninsula of
Lower California, the range makes an
other lunge upward and produces the
great San Pedro Martir mountain.
more than nine thousand feet high.
That is its last great effort, for in it's
more southern reaches it is much
broken, with plenty of peaks, to be
sure, but no high ones.
While some of the mountains Of the
upper part of the range are higher
than San Pedro Martir. none other
presents so huge bulk Seen from
San Telmo, 1t is an unbroken wall
forty or fifty miles long, which at the
north end is first cut down sharply
and then beyond is almost completely
demolished, as mountains rank; and at
The south end is torn into gaps and
has had its crest knocked off.
There are two picachos, sharp,
Reedlelike, of pure white granite, but
they are so near the eastern side of
the mountain that they cannot be seen
at all from the west, and not from the
south till one has reached San Juan
De dos, then they appear pointing
heavenward, shining white like great
icebergs.
Almost Perpendicular.
The western side of the mountain is
abrupt, with very few places where it
may be climbed, but the eastern side
Is still more SO and makes an almost
perpendicular drop to the desert. On
that side one may descend. in scarcely
more than an hours time, from snow
and freezing temperature to a spot
Where the sun is warm and birds are
nesting. And then from beneath the
teathery crowns of tropical palms he
may look back to where, almost di-
rectly overhead, stand the rugged
pines he has just left.
1t is miles across the top from east
20 west, and with It's great length the
dimensions of the mountain are such
as to almost entitle it to be called
nigh tableland, with hills and valleys
and streams Of its own. AS 1t is high
enough to catch winter SHOWS and
summer rains. the pasturage on the
TOP Is always good, and when the low
er lands between the mountain and
Tue Pacitic are parched with drought
nefe is haven for starving herds.
ney come from as far away as San
Juan DE Dios and grow fat on the
sweet grasses and the delightfully."-
cooi summer air. When winter grips
the mountain. however, the herds
must descend, for then the climate is
700 rigorous TO be borne without suf-
ficient shelter.
The cattle and horses are not the
only ones that grow fat from a sum.
iher residence on San Pedro: the herd
sfS also are in clover, for the great
forests are the home of innumerable
ueer' and bighorn as well, though not
IA SO great numbers as the deer. Two
1oe1ican friends of mine who were
ending q herd of cattle on the sum-
-'i.' IN two weeks shot fifty deer and
might easily have shot more. but they
could not take care of and transport
any more jerked meat.
another man had q standing offer
rum San Francisco firm of S25 for
very head OF male bighorn, and he
'nipped good many. That traffic OF
Soufse was stopped when Mexican law
uectaFed closed season for mountain
susep' 1t was high time. too, for they
we're wantonly destroyed. sometimes
10y 40. even for their heads and skins.
out merely for the pleasure of slaugh.
yer think If American nimrods had
Understood how easily those marvel
uS hunting grounds might be reached
ooat to San Qulntin, where an eff
eleht Mexican guide with excellent
'aauie and pack mules was to be pro