December 1927

DEPARTMENT OP THE INTERIOR HUBERT WORK, SECRETARY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STEPHEN T. MATHER, DIRECTOR YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES VOL. VI. DECEMBER, 1927, NO. I2

This is the official publication of the Educational Department of Yosemite National' Park. It is published each month by the National Park Service with the cooperation of the Yosemite Natural History Association, and its purpose is to supply dependable information on the natural history and scientific features of Yosemite National Park. The articles published herein are not copyrighted as it is intended that they shall be freely used►by the press. Communications should be addressed to C. P. Russell, Park Naturalist, Yosemite Natio4pal Park, California.

E. P. LEAVITT

Acting Superintendent

"LEARN TO READ THE TRAIL-SIDE"

YOSPMITP NATIONAL PARK, CALIF.'9,v2

A PERSONAL INVITATION, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK IS YOURS! WE OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WANT TO HELP YOU TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR. PARK

AND TO UNDERSTAND IT IN ITS EVERY MOOD. ALL OF THE FOLLOWING SERVICE IS OFFERED TO YOU free BY YOUR GOVERNMENT: Visit the Yosemite Museum ! Here you will learn the full story of the Park ---- what tools were used by the great Sculptor in carving this mighty granite-walled gorge; who lived here before the white man came; how the Days of Gold. led to Yosemite's discovery; how the pioneers prepared the way for you; and how the' birds and mammals and trees and flowers live together in congenial communities waiting to make your acquaintance. Plan your trail trips on the large scale models in.the Geography Room. The Yosemite Library in the museum provides references on all phases of Yosemite history and natural history. Popular lectures on Yosemite geology and other branches of natural history are given by nature guides at scheduled times each day. The nature guide on duty will be more than willing to answer your ques t ions on any subject.

Go Afield with a Nature Guide! Take advantage of this free service that will help ?tau to know your Park A competent scientist will conduct you over Yosemite trails, and from him you may learn first hand of the native flowers, trees, birds, mammals, and geological features. See Schedule of Nature Guide Field Trips. Visit Glacier Point Lookout ! From there you will obtain an unexcelled view of Yosemite High Sierra. The binocular telescope will bring Mt. Lyell t? within one third of a mile from where you' stand; you can recognize friends climbing trails several miles away. The Nature Guide in attendance will 'rhelp you to operate it and will explain what you see. A small library is at your command. You will enjoy the informal nightly campfire talks given here. Attend the Nature Guide Campfire Talks! In addition to the museum lectures members of the. educational staff give talks as a part of the evening program at Camp Curry and Yosemite Lodge. Non-technical explanations of how Yosemite came to be; what you may expect of Yosemite bears; how the local Indians lived; what birds you see about your camps; what trout0you will catch in Yosemite waters; how you may best visit the wonderland of the summit region; and scores of similar subjefts are given by the National Park Service Nature Guides.

ALL OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES ARE PROVIDED FREE OF. CHARGE BY YOUR GOVERNMENT. —TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM—

Volume VI December Io27 Number i

BODIE, DEAD CITY OF,MONO..

By C. P. Russell (Copyright by C. P. Russell.) "Good-bye God! I'm going to to these absorbing files. Bodie." Then there is Joseph Wasson':; When in the late 70's, that turbu- "Bodie and Esmeralda," written in lent town, Bodie, was attaining its 1878. Wasson's objective, no doubt, reputation as a tough place, a newswas 'to place the mining companies paper of Truckee, California, qubt_ in a way to sell more stock, out ed the small daughter in a Bodie he has given some interesting nisbound family as having offered the tort' also upon which one may deabove prayer. An editor of one of Pend :, the several Bodie papers rejoin.-d "See Jim Cain!" that the little girl had been misBest of all, one may go to Bocliel quoted. What she really said was, For some time past all of my co.n- "Good, by God! I'm going to tacts with men of former Bodie exBodie." periences have resulted in one and For a number of years the writer the same admonition, "See l;m of these lines has been tracing be Cain. He is still in Bodie!" It0story of the rise and fall of the Gently it was my opportunity to mining activities in Mono county drive into Bodie, and my very great These researches into the trend of pleasure to "see Jim Cain." Through human events east of the Sierras his kindness and through the great were made in connection with 'the hospitality of his son and daughorganization of historical data and ter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. D. V. Cain. relics for the Yosemite Museum I enjoyed an old-time Western welWith the first dips into the exertcome to their home, and a twentying matter, however, the studies befour-hour visit in the ghost town came more than a duty. At any of Bodie. rate, they became a most enticing An Amazing Sight and engrossing duty. It was easier We - entered the old town from to pursue the work to a conclusion Bridgeport. The road is narrow than it was to leave it alone. but grades are not steep and the Four Newspapers Published surface is good. Over this road in Camp from "Big Meadows," as Bridgeport Search in the Bancroft library was known in the days of Its uncovered files of newspapers printbuilding, have passed thousands of ed in the "roarin' " camps. Chief stages and mountains of freignt among these were the Bodie ChronAs we topped a sage-covered mo;;nisle, Bodie Free Press, Bodie Borntaro there opened before us the ing News and Bodie Standard. If amazing sight of the deserted city. the reader doubts the ability of and the mightily-scarred hills, tun mining camp editors to perpetuate neled hills which have given up fahthe living spirit of cities that are ulous wealth and engulfed still nth doomed to physical ruin let him go er fortunes.

YOSEMITI NATURE NOTES

The Landlord of Bodie active citizens centered their hopes Do you know the loneliness of a upon the mining bustle on Bodie truly deserted city? It is appalling' Bluff, twelve thousand men and wu Through a long street lined with men lived the unrestrained exist business houses, grayed and warped ence of the almost lawless camp, with weathering, and despairing In hundreds of men met violent aspect`, we made our way to one deaths, and human character was structure of promise. There we there disclosed at its worst and found Mr. J. S. Cain. There is noth best. It is the writer's purpose to ing weather-beaten nor spent about briefly outline here the history of Jim Cain. Since 1879 he has enthe Bodie region. The detailed gaged in Bodie affairs, and today story of events-in Bodie comprises he regards the future with all the a chapter in California history, ricn optimism of youth. He is the land in sensation and human interest, lord of Bodie. Its blocks >f busr that probably can be well presented ness houses, hotels, saloons, news by but one man. It should be writ paper offices, fire houses, amuse ten now and Jim Cain should write ment places, undertaker's establish it. ment, churches, schools, lodges, The Moore Punitive Expedition Chinatown, red-light district, ceme tery, mills and mines, are chiefly The first records of mineral finds his. He opens his old bank build in the Mono Lake region are those ing, in the vault of which was once that pertain to Lieut. T. Moore's stored a mint of wealth, and enter Indian-fighting expedition in the tains curious visitors. He regales Yosemite. In May, 1852, a party of these tourists with witty stories and prospectors found their way into amazes them with ancient photos; - Yosemite valley, where they wee,• Apparently his recompense is the attacked by the presumably quieted satisfaction of having pleased oth Yosemite Indians : Two members of ers with his review of the old the party were allied and the our town's palmy days. vivol s fled to Coarse Gold Gulch, The Wildest of the where their experiences were re. Latter-Day Mining Camps counted to the already inflamed miners, to whom Indian treachery It was my privilege to enjoy these was well known. The commander. rdcountings in the hospitable parlor of the regular army garrison et of the Cain home. Would that I Fort Miller was notified of these might have prevailed upon Mr. Cain events and. a detachment of the to put his intensely interesting anSecond Infantry was dispatched ecdotes and reminiscences in print' Yosemite in June, 1852 Lieutenant Through the years of Bodie's actiTredwell Moore was in command. ual scenes of violence that won for. A few Indians were captured in the town the reputation of. being Yosemite and executed : Tenaya's the wildest of the latter-day mining scouts undoubtedly witnessed this camps. "The Bad Man from Bodie" pronouncement of. judgment, and became nation-wide in repute. Jim the members of the tribe fled to Cain witnessed these exciting their! Piute allies at Mono lake. The events and now resides among the soldiers pursued the fleeing Indians disin.tegrating stage settings and by way of Tenaya lake and Bloody trappings of the arena of Bodie canyon. They found no trace of drama. Practically every street coltthe Yosemities, but they explored ner, yes, every building and every the region north and south of sagging door, recalls to him some Bloody canyon and found some spectacular occurrence in the ropromising deposits., In August they mance of Bodie's boom days. It is returned to Tuolumne Soda Springs futile to recount those tales here, and then made their way back to but perhaps some, reader may preMariposa by a route that passed vail upon Jim Cain to enrich westsouth of the Yosemite valley. Their ern history by chronicling those trail is indicated on the accompanystirring events. Twelve thousand ing chart.

SCENES IN THE GHOST CITY, BODIE

Upper 1 ft - Standard mill. The odie and the Standard con olidated and operated successfully for years after Bodie's docline. Upperright - In the palmy days a half dozen hotels strained to care for Bodie 's transients. Lower left • Affairs of the church were not entirely lacking. Lower right • Two hearses are to be found at the cemetery. Photos by FRASHERS, Pomona.

The Rise of the Sonora-Mono Trail and then wandered about all night Upon arrival at Mariposa they in a vain search for his companion. exhibited samples of their gold disIt was not until May that Body's coveries. This created the usual body was found, when it was buried "excitement," and Lee Vining with on the west side of the black ridge a party of companion. hastened to southwest of the present town. visit the region to prospect. LeevinTaylor's fate was more melancholy ing canyon, through which the than that of his companion. He was Tioga road now passes, was named killed by Indians at Hot Springs, for the leader of this party. These north of the town of Benton. (2) first miners, with a few others, Other miners came into the continued to work in the Mono vicinity and at a meeting with E. region, apparently unthought of by Green presiding, "Body Mining Drstheir former associates west of the trict" was organized Subsequent Sierras. In 1857 it became known usage changed "Body" to "Bodie. among the miners of the Mother In the 'summer of 1860 prospectors Lode that rich deposits had been located lodes a few miles north of found at "Dogtown " and MonoBodie that were destined to put the vllle, and a rush from the Tuolumne Bodie find "in the shade" for ' some mines resulted. The Mono trail years to come. This was the Aurora from Big Oak flat, through Tamadiscovery, upon which the Esmerrack flat, Tenaya lake, Tuolumne aids District, organized in 1860, cenmeadows and Bloody canyon' was tered. blazed at this time and came into Mono County Is Organized great use. The Sonora pass route Aurora forged ahead and became was also used and it was over this a wildly excited camp, but, its trail that the discoverer of Bodie bloody career was little more than traveled from the Tuolumne mines a drunken orgie. The rich ores to Mono. which had induced extravagance W. S. Body, Founder of and wild speculation disappeared Mining Camp when shafts had been sunk about According to accounts printed 100 feet, and the "excitement" came when excitement at Bodie was high, to a sudden end. the discoverer of the Bodie wealth, It is worthy of note that the first W. S. Body, came to California on board of county supervisors bf the the sloop Matthew Vassar, in 1848. county of Mono met in Aurora, He had lived in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., June 13, 1861. By 1864 it was disand there left a wife and six chilcovered that the camp was some dren. (1) In November, 1859, Body, miles within the state of Nevada, Garraty, Doyle, Taylor and Brodiso Bridgeport was named the gan crossed Sonora pass to test the county seat. (3) Just before the move Mono possibilities. On their way was made a substantial courthouse back to the west side of the mounhad been built in Aurora, and the tains they dug into placer ground old building still stands. E. A. in a gulch on the east side of Silver Sherman, first editor of the EsmeHill, one of those present pockralda,Star of Aurora, journeyed to marked hills just above Bodie. our eastern states prior to 1863-84, Tragic Deaths. and took with him a fifty-pound The partners apparently remained specimen of rich Aurora ore. This on the ground and equipped themchunk of rock had been sold and vity, there transpired those perpetresold at mining camp auctions to selves to work their claims. In swell the sanitary fund, of Civil March, 1880, Body and "Black" war significance. Thousands of Taylor went to Monoville for supdollars were added to the fund by plies, and en route were overtaken this one specimen, just as had been by a severe snow storm. Body bedone through repeated sale of the came exhausted and Taylor atcelebrated Austin, Nev., sack of tempted to carry him, but was flour. forced to wrap a blanket around Plymouth Rock Is Cornerstone him and leave him. Taylor reMr. Sherman met Mr. Davis of turned to their cabin, obtained food, the Pilgrim Society, in Plymouth, 92'

Bodie views. (Left) Jim Cain, lsndlord of tl.e old town. Photos by FRASHERS Inc., Pomona.

Mass., and exchanged the Aurora before the hilarious horde that ore for a piece of Plymouth rock foregathered in his former haunts. This f ragment of Plymouth rock In 1871, J. G. McClinton had diewas brought back to Aurora, and covered the forgotten Body grave when the Modoc county courthouse while searching for a horse. (5) He was built there, the Plymouth rock made no move to change the burial fragment was laced in the corner site until some one of Bodie's sevstone. Someone, eventually will' oral newspapers launched errupull that bit of sacred rock from neous reports as to the whereout the. deserted courthouse wall abouts of Body's remains. In the Perhaps they will know the sig fail of 1879 McClinton and Josedn nificance of it, and perhaps they Wasson exhumed the skeleton, ex- ' will not. hibited it to Bodie's motiey popuMark Twain's Cabin lace, and then gave it an elaborate Mark Twair at one time resided burial, not. excluding an eloquei.t in Aurora and engaged in his address by Hon. R. D. Fe. gusun. humorous 'xaggerations His i&7) Now this honored skeleton occabin there, which even in 187A cupies a grave that is quite as when Wasson wrote his "Bodie neglected as the sage-grown niche and Esmeralda," tied become some in which it originally rested, but it what mythical, was recently !muted at least shares a place with the and moved to Reno. where it is now other several hundred dead, dise.hibited. At any rate, an Aurora posed of in Bodie's forgotten cemcabin was found which might have etery. been occupied by Mark Twain The Bottom Falls out Since It Is If the old type It is To make Bodie's story short,,ei perhaps as valuable as would It op h suffice to say that for tour yeas s were Its complete pedigree known the camp maintained the same The truly important activity in high pressure activity. Men mined. the Esmeralda region prompted the milled. played, fought, and hunbuilding of the Sonora Pass wagon deeds died. Some fifty companies road The Mono count; supervisors tunneled into Bodie's bluff, and all ordered that road bonds on the but turned it inside out. Probably "Sonora and Mono road" he issued twentyfive millions in bullion were on November 5, 1863 The road was conveyed in Bodie stage coaches :t. projected in 1864 and opened to the railroad at Carson Perhaps -to travel in 1868. amount almost as great was sunk The Little Girl's Prayer into the hills by the numerous Bodie in the meantime had not companies that carried on !renbut given up the ghost. but only a corn wealthaetlOnly the 'Standard and paratively few miners occupied the the Bodie had proved to be in, camp From Its discovery until mensely profitable, and in 1881 the 1877 an average of twenty votes stock.narket went to pieces' were polled each year In 1878 they Bodie's mines, one after another Bodie Mining Company made a closed down. In 1887 the Standard phenomenally rich strike of gold and the Bodie consolidated and and silver ore and the entire min operated sanely and profitably for ing world was startled. Stock some twenty from 50 cents to $54 y years longer. (4) But share. The news swept all western. and camp's mad days of wild specshare. like wild fire, and by 187P uation and excessive living were Bodie's crowd and reputation was done. Gradually activities have such that the little girl's prayer of ceased and a few years ago, even "Good-bye God! I'm going to the Standard closed. The town is Bodie" was representative of the a spectre. Only Jim Cain's optimopinion held by contemporaries. Ism and very healthy humor prevent the place from assuming All and Paraded of the aspects of an unbu: ied skeleton. Even W. S. - Body, whose body Mr. Cain gave me a specimen.f had moldered in a rocky grave for ore from the Addenda mine. He nearly twenty years, was not undeclares that Bodie's activities in disturbed by the activity. His 1879 will be as nothing when cornbones were dug up and paraded. pared to the boom that Is coming!

YOSEMITE MATURE NOTES

HISTORY OF OTHER SUMMIT CAMPS

machinery up 4000 feet of almost The Mono Trail, Mariposa Trail, vertical mountainside to Tioga, in the story of Monoville, and the winter. Such difficulties prompthistory of Bodie have been consid• ed the Great Sierra Mining Cornered in the text of the accompany party to construct the Tioga road ing article. A brief history of the that they might bring their maother points shown follows : chinery in from the west side of Tioga Mine the Sierras. The road was comIn 1874, William Brusky, a prospleted in 1883 at a cost of $64,000. pector, came upon a prospect hole, hole, 1884, disawhichof a)wa s seem "financialto shovel, pick and an obliterated no ay a g ca m to tice at this place. The notice indiol a part in mining coma history, overtook the Great Sierra the mine had been located as erra Mining cated "The Sheepherder" in 1860. It was company, and all work was presumed by Brusky that the orig dropped. Records show that $300,inal locators were returning to 000 was expended at Tioga and

there is no Mariposa or Tuolumne from Mono was ever milled. that Now, w their ore D iggings, Bodie or Aurora when heirs of the eted. Now, we are to. former owner are in they made the find. He flattered vestigating the possibilities of a rethe claim by supposing that 'the sumption of work. original locators probably perished as it is not likely that they would Summit mine abandon so promising a claim." (8) Yosemite hikers who have At any rate, he relocated the claim climbed into that interesting sumas the "Sheepherder." mit region above Gaylor lakes, have In 1878. E. B Burdick organized been led to ponder over the origin the Tioga district. (9). Most of thr of the picturesque village of longmines were owned by men of Sodeserted rock cabins clustered nora, although some eastern cap about a deep mine shaft. This is ital was also interested The dis the Mount Dana Summit mine, trict extended from Kings ranch whose owners were determined to at the foot of Bloody canyon, over operate in winter as well as in summer. In the Homer Mining Index, Lundy, of October 30, 1880, we are down the Tuolumne river to Lam told that the superintendent of this Bert's Soda Springs. It was eight mine visited Lundy and employed miles in extent from north U skilled miners to spend the winter south. At one time, there were there. In December of the same 350 locations in the district. Ben year a Mr. Burdick descended to netville (now called Tioga) was Bodie to obtain money with which headquarters for the Great Sierra to pay those miners. "He got Mining Company offices, which tripped up on Bodie whisky and concern was operating the old was drunk for weeks Some of the Sheepherder as the "Tiogs mine.' miners returned to Lundy from the Opening Trails to Tioga Summit mine The distance is but The company apparently suffered seven miles, but they were two no lack of funds and operations days making the trip and suffered were launched on a grand scale many hardships." Later F W. Pike Great quantities of supplies and took charge of the Summit mine, equipment were packed into the but no record has been handed camp at enormous expenditure of down on the final demise of the labor and money. At first the place camp. was accessible only via the Bloody Lundy Canyon trail, and Mexican packers Prior to 1879..1. Lundy was contracted to keep their pack ani operating a sawmill at the head of mats active on 'this spectacular Lundy lake. His product helped to mountain highway. A trail was supply Bodie's enormous demand then built from the busy camp of for timber. In 1879 a discovery of Lundy, and that new route to noplacer diggings was made along ga proved most valuable The Mill creek between Mono lake and Homer Mining Index of March 4. the mouth of the.canyon Pros1882 contains an amazing account pectors rushed to the region and of transporting 16,000 pounds of when it was determined that the

placers amounted to nothing a Like the other camps, Lundy is search was made in the mountains now defunct. The May Lundy mine above. A rich region was found, has not operated for some years. "Homer district" was organized, and the building of a dam has October 9, 1879, and Lundy townsite raised Lundy lake so that a part of was located at Lundy lake. C. ii. the townsite is submerged. Nye is credited with the discovery. Fuller and Hayt Mine It is worthy of mention that the At the very head of Bloody canSierra Telegraph Company extendyon, within Mono pass, are to be ed its line from Lundy to Yosemfound sturdily built log cabins in ite valley, where it made connection various stages of decay. From the with Street's line to Sonora in 1881. Homer Mining Index, it has beer. Reports from the State Mining possible to glean occasional bits of Bureau 'would indicate that someinformation regarding the strange thing like $3,000,000 has been taken old camp. from the May Lundy mine. The It is stated in an 1880 number of town of Lundy proved to be subthe Index that Fuller and Hayt disstantial for many years, and the covered large ledges of antimonal "Homer Mining Index"' printed silver there in 1879. The Mammoth there is the best, of all the newsCity Herald of September 3, 1871), papers that were produced in the contains a glowing account of the ephemeral camps of, Mono. -Somewealth • to be obtained from the thing of the spirit of mining camp "Golden Crown," as the mine was journalism may be gathered from christened; and predicts that thou the following note taken from a Desands of menwill be working at the cember, 1880, number of the head of Bloody can7bn within one "Index." year. Other references reveal the fact that S. H. Crane and 0 HumRunning a Mining phreys were interested in the prop Camp Newspaper perty as well as Fuller and Hayt. "The Index wear a cadaverous In 1881, these owners bonded their aspect this week. It is the unavoidmine to New York operators for able result of a concatenation of $15,000, and not later reference is congruous circumstances. The boss made to activity there, has gone to Bodie on special business. The devil has been taking 1=Mammoth CMityBarn Herald,ediNoov..2'. medicine, so that his work at the 1822—Bodie Wiriiam. es and Esmeralda. Joseph case has been spasmodic and jerky. Wasson, 1878. The printing office is open on all 3—Records of the Board of Supersides and the snow flies in whervisors, Mono county, 1861 to dare ever it, leases. In the morning (In courthouse, Bridgeport.) p g 4 Bodie; last of old-time mining everything is frozen solid. Then camps. Grant H. Smith, Calif. Hisi we thaw things out and the whole Soc. Quart. Vol. 4, No. 1; 1925. concern is deluged with drippings. 5M ammotlt City Times. Oct. 29, It is hard to set type under such 18696—Bodie conditions. When the office is dry 3, 1879, it is too cold to work. When it is 7—The Chronicle, Bodie. Nov. 1. warm.the printer needs gum boots 1879. and oil skins.. In fact it has been 8—Homer Mining Index. Sunday, 19, 1881. a hell, of a job to get this paper Se9-Bodie Daily Free Press. Dec. out." 29, 1880.

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BRIDGEPORT ~BODIE 1859 1857 MONOVILLE\,18 79 LUNIDY -1882.7CNO PASS

'I iJLLER + HAYT MINE 1879

HISTORY OF SIERRA-SUMMIT MINING I N VICINITY OF YOSEMITE TRAILS TIOGA ROAD PARK BOUNDARYDATES INDICATE BEGINNING OF ACTIVITY DATA FROM THE YOSEMITE MUSF UM

1927

MONO LAKE

1860

T10GA

-3878 SUM1vhITMINE

MONO TRAIL

1857

MERGED Q

1852

TO MORIPOCA