Mexico weekly ledger., 1915-03-18
TELLS OF TRIP UP THE
BEAUTIFUL MT. TAMALPAIS

ULhullI VI MI. IhlIIhLI Hi
Miss Sylvia Wylde, formerly of
this county, is now in California and
her letters concerning that beautiful
country are very interesting. Miss
Wylde is the daughter of Mr.. and Mrs.
George Wylde who lived at Benton
City until about ten years ago, when
Mr.. Wylde went to Alaska, during the
rush for gold. One of Miss Wylde's
letters follows:
San Francisco, Cal, March /, 1915.
Cliff House, the noted and time hon
ored landmark of San Francisco,
stands like a grand old sentinel upon
its rocky cliff, overlooking the sea.
On three sides of it the roaring waves
are continuously splashing and melt
ing away into seething foam. 1t is
an imposing structure and without
seeing it, no trip to this city would be
complete.
l enjoyed the novelty of eating my
first meal in San Francisco at this
celebrated Hotel, being invited to an
oyster and clam dinner given here by
a party Of Frisco friends. The view
Of the ocean obtainable from the din
ing room Of Cliff House is one of
grandeur and beauty. The marvel
GUS tints Of an ocean c~loudland, the
glory Of the sunset, rejecting in a
shining path across the waters, all
battle description. As we ate, a
steamer sailed out to sea. We watch
ed it until only the outline was Wis
ible against the distant horizon and
it finally blended into the mixture of
sky and sea and was lost to our sight.
There is always a feeling of sadness in
watching an outgoing ship.
From this point can be seen, also,
the famous Seal Rocks, where live
many Seals and Sea Lions.
Here are the Sutro Baths, said to
be the finest establishment of its kind
ever erected and which has an inter-
esting museum in connection.
One Of the most notable features
in the restoration of San Francisco
from the earthquake ruins of 1906,
is the almost complete rebuilding of
Chinatown by the Chinese, at a cost of
millions of dollars. 1t has an esti-
mated population of $4,000, is said to
be the largest Oriental city east of
the Orient, and has some of the finest
Oriental bazaars even seer in the
West. Their line of fine embroider-
les, china, wonderful vases, and var
iety Of oddities, is of great interest to
tourists, who are always welcome in
Chinatown.
An instructive point on my sight
seeing trips through this city was the
United States Mint. Here the guide
is very courteous and explains in de-
tail the process of making the var
ious metals into coin, as he leads one
through the different departments,
beginning with the melting room and
ending with the weighing and sacking
room. In all of these divisions, work
men are actively engaged in the work,
which gives a visitor an illustration, |
and with the Guides explanations,
furnishes a good knowledge Of the
way u money is made. This mint
can coin a million inc a, month and
employs 1870 men and 42 In
addition to coming money for the
United States, and for other American
countries, such as Salvador, this mint
turns out money for the PHILIPPINE
Islands. 1t has one Of the finest num-
ismatic collections in the world.
One of the buildings in San Francis
co that withstood the earthquake nine
years ago, is the quaint little Mission
Dolores, founded in 1776 by the Fran
ciscan Fathers. It is built of adobe,
!
and has been abandoned for a modern
church erected by its side but which
fell during the ''shake-up" since which
time the Mission has again been occu-
pied. It is built on the old Spanish
style, and three deep toned bells still
ring out the music Of old Spain, from
their inches il the front wall btHcath
the cross.
One Of the most beautiful trips to
be made from SanFrancisco is the
ride up Mt. Tamalpais, which is stu
ated just north of the entrance to the
Golden Gate, within a distance of less
than two hours ride from San Fran
cisco. This mountain is only 1852 feet
in height, but commands a view of
mountains, islands, bays and ocean
which is unsurpassed. From the sum
nit, one can get the actual height,
right from the level of the sea, while
from most Of the III ,untain peaks,
which may be higher in actual elev-
alton, one does not get the expanse of
view on account of the surrounding
hills and valleys being also of a high
elevation.
The Mt. Tamalpais Railway was
built in 1896. 1t is not a cog road.
but is a standard broad-gauge rail
road with steam, oil burning traction
locomotives of a special type, whose
cylinders turn "a shaft geared to the
driving wheels on their axles. The
grade is gradual, averaging about 5
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