Lassen County CA Archives History - Books .....Description Of Lassen County 1882
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Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

DESCRIPTION OF LASSEN COUNTY.

   The county of Lassen lies in the northern portion of California, adjoining
the state of Nevada, the more important, productive, and populous portion being
within the Nevada basin. It is bounded by Modoc county on the north, the state
of Nevada on the east, Sierra and Plumas counties on the south, and Plumas and
Shasta counties on the west, from the last two of which it was cut off when
erected into a separate county. Honey Lake, Elysian, and Long valleys, until
within a few years the only important section of the county, formerly were a
portion of Plumas, and all its early history—that prior to 1864—is quite closely
connected with that of the parent county.

   The boundary on the east is the 120° of west longitude, separating the two
states of California and Nevada. On the east the county is divided from Plumas
by the summit of the mountains forming the water-shed between the Sacramento
river and its tributaries and the streams that flow into and lose themselves in
the great inland basin of Nevada. Between this summit and the state line, in the
southern part of the county, there lies but a narrow strip only a few miles
wide. This widens as we travel north, the summit ridge trending sharply to the
north-west, until the upper portion of the county becomes about eighty miles in
width. In the narrow strip to the south lies a fertile tract of land some forty
miles in length, called Long valley. Just to the north of this, where the county
opens out to a width of some sixty miles, lies Honey Lake valley, some forty
miles long by twenty wide. This valley is divided into two parts by a low range
of bald hills, the southern portion being sometimes known as Elysian valley. In
the center of the valley lies Honey lake, a large body of somewhat shallow water
some twenty miles in length from east to west and about eight miles in the
transverse direction. In the extreme north end of the valley, and just over a
low range of hills, lies a beautiful sheet of cold water, covering about 100
square miles, and called Eagle lake. Its waters are used extensively for
irrigating purposes, and in the near future, by the outlay of capital, will be
made to fertilize thousands of acres that are now but arid sagebrush plains.

   The dividing line from Shasta county lies west of the Sierra summits, running
directly north from a point a few miles east of Lassen peak, the north-west
corner of the county being drained by the Pit river and two large confluents,
Butte and Clear creeks, the waters flowing thence westerly to the Sacramento
river. This section of the county embraces all or portions of Round, Fall River,
and Big valleys, lying along Pit river, and now rapidly becoming settled up and
developed. Stock-raising, dairying, and considerable general farming is being
carried on in this section, and the future will see it advance with giant
strides, and take that important rank and position it is already beginning to
assume.

   Honey lake and Honey Lake valley, the names by which this section is best
known, and the only appellations given this whole region in the infancy of its
settlement, were named from the honey-dew found on the grass and shrubbery, of
which the Indians were very fond, and from which they made a sort of molasses
for their food. Webster defines the substance as follows: "HONEY-DEW—A sweet
substance ejected upon the leaves of plants by certain insects of the genus
Aphis." "APHIS, plural APHIDES—The plant-louse; the puceron; the vine-fretter."

   Lassen county has been described by writers on the resources of the slope as
a country of "rugged mountains, alkali flats, and arid sage-plains": certainly a
not very complimentary reference to a region that embraces some of the most
fertile and productive tracts in the whole state of California. However arid the
sage-plains are in their natural state, the introduction of water upon them by
means of irrigating ditches converts them into garden spots of the greatest
fertility. The marvelous change that has been wrought in these lands by the
patient and enterprising settlers has demonstrated the fact that the thousands
of acres still as barren and desolate in appearance as were the others need but
the hand of enterprise and capital to make them also highly productive and
valuable.

   Bunch-grass grows in great profusion, and thousands of cattle are grazed upon
this nutritious herbage for the beef market, while hundreds of milch cows are
also maintained. From these latter •were made in the past year 65,000 lbs. of
butter and 20,000 lbs. of cheese. The dairying industry is one that is destined
to be largely increased in the next few years. In the valley lands the snowfall
is generally so light that but little hay is required to subsist the stock
through the winter season. Hay is produced in large quantities, alfalfa being so
highly prolific that three and often four crops are cut during the season,
yielding from six to eight tons to the acre. Hay was cut from 15,000 acres
during the past season, realizing 20,000 tons, as reported by the assessor. The
great majority of this was grass; and as cattle had been pastured on the land a
portion of the year, the average yield to the acre is good. Alfalfa is being
sowed in increased quantities; and as the fields of this clover increase in
number, the average yield of hay to the acre will also increase.

   The raising of wheat and other cereals is becoming a great industry in the
county. The want of facilities for reaching market with the surplus grain has
retarded the development of agriculture in that direction to a great degree; but
it is hoped that the Nevada and Oregon road will be completed as far as
Susanville before many months. This will connect them at Reno with the Central
Pacific, and thus put them nearly on an even footing with the farmers of the
Sacramento valley in the matter of a grain market. Such a condition of affairs
would give an impetus to the agriculture of this section, and enlarge the area
of cultivated land to a large extent. The thousands of barren plains would soon
be brought under the influence of the vivifying water, and be subjected to the
dominion of the plow. The tinge of alkali to be found in the majority of
sage-brush lands soon disappears after water has been introduced. Some of the
finest and most productive tracts in the Nevada basin were a few years ago so
badly streaked with alkali as to discourage many from attempting to do anything
with them; but the running of water through them for two or three seasons
carried away this objectionable substance, and left a soil of surpassing
richness. The grain crop of 1881 was reported by the assessor as: wheat, acres,
3,000, bushels, 60,000; barley, acres, 1,400, bushels, 40,800; oats, acres, 630,
bushels, 24,500; rye, acres, 140, bushels, 1,400; corn, acres, 55, bushels,
1,200; buckwheat, acres, 40, bushels, 350; potatoes, acres, 210, tons, 1,000
(33,000 bushels). The real estate of the county was assessed at $672,564, and
the total taxable property at $1,215,353.

   Fruit is not one of the smallest products of this region. The fruits of the
temperate zone, where frosts of winter harden the trees and cause the sweet sap
to course through every vein and fiber in the spring, are raised with a
profusion and of a lusciousness of flavor unknown to the insipid fruits of the
Sacramento valley. Apples especially reach a perfection of size, soundness, and
flavor that can only be attained on this coast in these higher altitudes. There
are reported in the county 11,300 apple-trees, 650 pear-trees, 500 plum-trees,
1,000 peach-trees, 300 quince-trees. All these are matured and bearing fruit,
while great numbers of young trees have been set out which in a very few years
will increase the fruit crop hugely. The raising of grapes has to this time been
experimental only, and there are but 3,000 bearing vines in the county. The
vines require protection in winter, and those hardier species, whose flavor
exceed in delicacy the overgrown and tender product of the lands lying west of
the mountains, thrive and produce in great abundance. An outside market will be
required before the fruit industry can be developed to a much greater degree
with any profit.

   Manufactures have not yet obtained a foothold in the county, with the
exception of the making of flour and lumber. Two grist-mills, operating by
water-power three run of stone, are making an excellent quality of flour from
the grain raised at their doors, and supply the people with that commodity at
prices unknown before their establishment. They produced, in 1880, 4,500 barrels
of flour, and ground 1,000 bushels of corn. Six saw-mills, three run by water
and three by steam, manufactured 2,500,000 feet of lumber during the same year.
A fine growth of coniferous trees* covers the mountains along the western side
of the county, ample for the production of millions of feet of the best quality
of lumber annually for many years to come. In the northern and eastern section
of the county, the numerous short mountain ranges are either barren or covered
with the pinon pine, juniper, and small cedar, too small to make lumber, but
used by many for fire-wood.

   In several places can be found mineral and hot springs of the kind so
plentiful throughout the length and breadth of the great Nevada basin. One group
of these in particular is to be found on the margin of Honey lake, and has
attracted considerable attention. One of them boils furiously, and hot water
leaps several feet into the air, ejected with much force and some noise from an
opening in the ground twelve feet square, and apparently bottomless. Others are
to be found in several places, and many springs exist so impregnated with
sulphur and other bitter-tasting substances that their water has been compared
to the flavor of a rotten egg. These may or may not be one of the attractions of
this region. Some would prefer clear springs of cold, hard water. Wells sunk in
the ground sometimes strike warm and sometimes cold water; and instances have
occurred where two wells but a few feet apart have differed in this respect—the
one having cold and the other warm water. There is, however, no lack of good
water on account of these little eccentricities.

   Mining is carried on to a limited extent as compared with the counties that
lie wholly within the great mineral belt. Several quartz ledges are being
prospected and developed, and two quartz-mills are used for crushing the ore
extracted from the lodes. The mines of Hayden hill are believed to be as rich as
any in the state, and the probabilities are that capital will soon be employed
in opening up and developing them to the degree their importance warrants, and
thus add greatly to the industrial prosperity of the county.

   Lassen county was named in honor of Peter Lassen, one of California's oldest
and most respected pioneers, and the one who made the first permanent and
continuous settlement within the borders of the county. He was a native of
Denmark, and was born in the city of Copenhagen, August 7, 1800. At the usual
time of life he was apprenticed to the trade of a blacksmith in his native city.
In his twenty-ninth year he emigrated from Denmark to the United States, and
arrived the same year in Boston. After several months' residence in .eastern
cities, he removed to the west, and took up his residence at Katesville,
Charlton county, Mo. In the spring of 1839 he left Missouri in company with
twelve others, two of whom were women, to cross the Rocky mountains into Oregon.
They fell in with a train belonging to the American Fur Company, and after the
usual mishaps and fatigues of such an undertaking, they arrived at the Dalles,
Oregon, in October of the same year. From the Dalles they proceeded to Fort
Vancouver, and thence up the Willamette to a few miles above what is now Oregon
City; and after wintering here, they started for California by water, on the
vessel Lospanna. After a very rough passage of several weeks, they landed at
Fort Ross, then a Russian trading post. After a short stay they left for
Sutter's camp near the mouth of American river, where they remained fifteen
days, when they went to San Francisco. Shortly afterward Mr. Lassen went to San
Jose to winter, where he worked at his trade. In the spring of 1841 he bought
some land near Santa Cruz, where he built a saw-mill. After operating his mill
for some time he sold out, taking one hundred mules for pay; and in the fall of
1842 he took them up near Captain Sutter's, and ranched them. He worked at his
trade for Captain Sutter, taking his pay in stock.

   It was while in the service of Captain Sutter, in the summer of 1843, that
Lassen, with John Bidwell (now living at Chico) and James Bruheim, pursued a
party of emigrants on their way to Oregon, overtaking them at Red Bluff, and
recovering some stolen animals. The northern end of the valley was then entirely
unsettled, and Lassen was so pleased with the country that he selected a tract
of land, from a map of the region made upon their return by Mr. Bidwell, and
applied to Governor Micheltorena for a grant of the land, which he afterwards
obtained. In December, 1843, Lassen started for his new home, but because of
high water in the valley he camped at the Buttes until February, 1844, when he
arrived at his destination, and built the first civilized habitation north of
Marysville. This grant lies on Deer creek, in the county of Tehama. From this
time, though others settled around him, Lassen's ranch was the best known and
most important point in northern California. It was from this place that Fremont
started on his journey from the valley to Oregon, in the spring of 1848, and it
was Peter himself who guided Lieutenant Gillespie, a few days later, in search
of the Pathfinder, and overtook him that memorable night on the bank of Klamath
lake. [See pages 57-60.]

   After the discovery of gold in the spring of 1848, Lassen started out, with a
companion named Paul Richeson, to find a good emigrant trail into the upper end
of the valley, intending to divert emigration from the usual route, by the way
of the Humboldt and Truckee. They found what was afterwards known as the Lassen
route. Two years before, a company from the Willamette valley had laid out what
is known as the southern route to Oregon [see page 59], running from Fort Hall
west to Goose lake, then to Tule lake and through the Modoc country, across Lost
river, around the lower end of Klamath lake, through the pass to Rogue river
valley, and thence by the Hudson Bay trail to the Willamette valley. The route
followed to Yreka and vicinity, in 1851 and later years, was this old Oregon
trail as far as Klamath lake, and thence to Yreka by the way of Sheep rock.
Lassen's route followed the Oregon road as far as the head-waters of Pit river;
then branched to the south, following down that stream until north of Lassen
peak, passing around the eastern base of the mountain to Mountain Meadows in
this county; then west to the Big Meadows in Plumas county; then to the
head-waters of Deer creek, and down that stream to Lassen's ranch.

   Lassen and Richeson reached Fort Hall in the summer of 1848, and induced a
train of emigrants to try the new route to California. Lassen conducted the
twelve wagons that composed this train safely, though they encountered some
rugged and difficult mountains, until they reached Mountain Meadows or Big
Meadows. In one of these valleys they stopped for a time to recruit their stock
and supply themselves with provisions, being unable to proceed in the condition
they then were. Here they were overtaken, about the first of November, by a
party of Oregonians on their way to the gold-fields, and with their aid reached
Lassen's ranch in safety. In 1849-50 a large emigration was diverted from the
Carson or Truckee route, and induced to follow Lassen's cut-off, or, as it was
sometimes called, Lassen's Horn route, sarcastically comparing it to the journey
around Cape Horn. The point of divergence from the main route down the Humboldt
was indicated by a post stuck in the desert sands, surrounded by a watchful
body-guard of sage-brush, and inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees, across
which was nailed a shake bearing the legend "Lassen Road," to woo the unwary
emigrant from the crooked and broad way he had been traveling. Many were wooed
and won, and turned from the beaten track to follow this new road, of which they
knew nothing save that it was claimed to be a shorter route to the mines. Those
who came late in the fall of 1849 had a sad experience in the snow which blocked
the mountain trails. [See page 87.] The experiences of those who had departed
from the regular trail in 1849, to try Lassen's road, became generally known in
the state; and two or three years later, when many Californians were returning
again to this state, having gone home for their families, it was almost as much
as a man's life was worth to endeavor to seduce emigrants from the old route,
and attempt any of the new passes and cut-offs.

   Having been unfortunate, Lassen went to Indian valley, in Plumas county, in
1851, and with Isadore Meyerwitz, or Meyerowitz, and George Edward St. Felix,
took up a ranch and opened a trading post. A few years later, Lassen aud
Meyerwitz came to Honey Lake valley, the first actual settlers of this region.
Meyerwitz was drowned in the lake in 1856, and the kind-hearted Lassen met his
death at the mouth of the rifle, three years later. The Indians were charged
with his murder, but it is a question whether the perpetrators of the deed were
not of the Caucasian race. The citizens recovered the body from where it fell,
in the mountains north of Pyramid lake, and brought it to Honey lake for burial.
The remains were interred on the ranch he had located, and a monument of gray
stone marks his grave, reared by the citizens as a mark of affection and respect
for the old pioneer whose kind heart and simple integrity had won the love of all.

   The grand, snow-crowned peak that lifts its head far above its fellows for
miles around, and lies on the dividing line between Plumas and Shasta, and just
west of the Lassen county line remains to perpetuate his name long after the
pioneer shall be forgotten. Intimately connected with the county by name,
position, and historical association, a description of Lassen peak will be very
appropriate to this work. State Geologist Whitney, in Volume 1, "Geological
Survey of California," thus describes the mountain and its surroundings. The
gentlemen who headed the party making these explorations were Professor W. H.
Brewer and Clarence King, both of whom have a national reputation in the field
of science. The ascent of the mountain was made in September, 1863. The report
of Professor Whitney says:

   "From the head of the Big Meadows, Lassen's peak is not over fifteen miles
distant in a direct line; but by any practicable route it is fully twenty-five.
Our party followed up the Red Bluff road to Loveless's ranch, and then struck
through the forests without a trail, ascending gradually over a volcanic table,
the surface of which had some large rounded bowlders of lava scattered over it;
but which was, in general, covered by a deep soil of a dark red color, formed
from the decomposing basaltic rock, and supporting a heavy growth of timber,
Pinus contorta being the most abundant tree. In this lava table the branches of
the north fork of the Feather river have cut many deep canons.

   "A few miles south-east of the peak there are several hot springs, and
indications of the existence of others, from which cold water is now issuing.
One of these is called Steamboat spring, and from this there is a copious flow
of boiling water, while steam escapes from a great number of rents scattered
over an area of two or three acres. The lava has been very extensively
decomposed by the action of the hot water, which dissolves out a portion of the
silica, and leaves a mass of clay, either white or colored, according to the
amount of iron in the rock. Portions, which are now quite soft, still retain
perfectly the original structure of the mass. In one place, a large amount of
steam issues in a pool of hot water, throwing it up in jets to the height of
several feet, with considerable noise. Hunters say that they have seen the water
raised as high as twenty-five feet; but at the time of the visit of our party
the jets did not exceed eight feet in elevation.

   "North-west of the locality just noticed, about two miles from it, and eight
miles from the summit of the peak, in a direction N. 70° E., magnetic, is the
so-called Boiling lake. This is a pool of hot water, about 600 feet long and 300
wide; it lies in a depression between two streams of lava, the banks rising to
the height of a hundred feet around it, except on the side of the mountain,
where it has an outlet of a foot or two in width. The same decomposition of the
lava has gone on around this lake which was noticed above as having taken place
at the Steamboat spring. The water is whitened with the clayey material, and in
some places is thickened to the consistency of cream. Steam jets issue from this
viscous material; and along the banks and around them the clay accumulates, so
as to form tubes, or miniature mud volcanoes, from a few inches to four feet in
height. At the upper end of the pool clouds of steam and sulphurous gases rise
from crevices in the lava, which is slowly slaking and wasting away under their
influence, the rocks being covered with deliquescent salts, especially the
sulphuret of iron, which by its decomposition gives to the clays a variety of
shades of red, pink, purple, and brown. The elevation of this place is 5,976
feet above the sea.

   "About four miles north-west of the Boiling lake are other hot springs, which
are much more copious than at either of the localities already described, and
where the decomposition of the rocks has taken place on a most extensive scale.
These springs are scattered along a canon for half a mile, and they are copious
enough to form quite a stream, which, in its downward course, bears away the
decomposed materials constantly falling into it from the sides of the adjacent
cliffs. Sulphur is sublimed from many of the cavities, forming the most delicate
and beautiful crystallisations on the surrounding rocks. The same highly colored
clays and saline incrustations occur here which were described as existing at
the other localities. In all of these hot springs the Panicum thermale, and a
low form of vegetation, supposed to be Nostoc, are found growing in and about
the hot water and in places exposed to the jets of steam, exactly as at the
Geysers, which have been already described. [See page 93, volume 1, Geological
Survey of California.]

   "From the last-mentioned hot spring the land rises towards the north, and a
greater variety of rocks begins to be noticed. About four miles south of the
summit, beds of volcanic material having a decidedly slaty structure (rhyolite?)
were observed. Ascending to a height of about 1,000 feet above the hot springs,
at about 7,000 feet above the sea, the vegetation changed and assumed the
peculiar character which it has in the high Sierra; Abies Williamsoni, Pinus
Balfouriana, with here and there a Picea, were the principal trees in the
neighborhood of the camp, which was established for several days, at an altitude
of 7,596 feet, while the party was engaged in examining the summit of the mountain.

   "From this camp (No. 149) two ascents of the peak were made by Messrs. Brewer
and King: one September 26, 1863; the other on the night of the 29th. That on
the first day was not satisfactory, as a dense cloud of dust and smoke hung over
the Sacramento valley and obscured the neighboring mountains. At the time of the
second ascent the weather was perfectly clear, a light rain having fallen in the
valleys and snow on the mountain-tops. The camp was left at 2 A. M., and the
summit reached before sunrise. The view is described as one of unsurpassed
grandeur, the field embraced within the scope of vision extending from Mount
Hamilton on the south to Mount Pitt on the north, a distance of about 340 miles
on a straight line. Along the line of the Sierra to the south the whole chain
could be distinctly seen as far as Pyramid peak. East and west the field was
more contracted, extending from the Coast Ranges, west of the Sacramento river,
to the mountains near Pyramid lake.

   "There are four distinct summits to the peak, the highest of which is 10,577
feet above the sea. Three of these points are quite conspicuous; the other is
less so. These rise to the height of from 250 to 350 feet above the depression
or cavity which was undoubtedly once the crater of the volcano, the rim of which
has gradually been denuded so as to leave only these fragmentary evidences of
its former existence. The western point shows, in a very marked manner, the
action of steam and sulphurous gases upon it, as it is much whitened and
decomposed, everything indicating a long-continued solfatara action within the
crater, which has now entirely died away.

   "The upper portion of Lassen's peak is an imperfect flattened cone, with an
elliptical base, having its longer axis at right angles to that of the Sierra,
so that when seen from the plain it has the appearance of a very steep cone,
while from the mountains north or south it looks broad and dome-shaped. The cone
rises about 2,000 feet above the wide, gently sloping plateau of gray lava at
its base. It is principally made up of ashes and the debris of trachytic rocks,
from which-project four precipitous ridges of trachyte, radiating from the
center in various directions. The highest point of the crest is about a hundred
feet above any other of the remains of the rim of the former crater, and
although quite a sharp peak, it can be ascended to the very summit.

   "From the volcanic tables which cover the region in the vicinity of Lassen's
peak rise a great number of cones of all heights, several of them being nearly
as elevated as the peak itself. Some of these are sharp-pointed ridges, while
others have well-defined circular craters at their summits. A line of these
cones runs in a northerly direction to beyond Pit river; some of them are nearly
9,000 feet high; and Black butte, about fifteen miles east-north-east from
Lassen's, is probably over 9,500 feet above the sea. Around the base of this are
several lower cones, some with finely formed craters now covered with forests.

   "On the north-eastern slope of the peak, at about 2,000 feet below the
summit, is a crater surrounded with vertical walls, except at one point. The
exterior slopes are covered with ashes and pumice.

   "Four or five miles north of the summit of Lassen's peak is a cluster of
irregular, truncated cones, having all the appearances of a very recent origin.
Several persons gave their independent testimony that, from 1854 to 1857, these
cones were constantly emitting large quantities of steam and gases. Their sides
were found to be of loose ashes, and their broad summits were covered with
loose, angular fragments of lava, as if they had been raised up and broken by a
force acting from beneath. The rocks of which these cones are made up is that
peculiar variety of rhyolite, for which Richthofen has proposed the name of
Nevadite. It has a resemblance to granite, so that at a distance, and without
close examination, it would be taken for that rock. The minerals which make up
this curious variety of lava are chiefly quartz and feldspar (both sanidin and
glassy oligoclase, according to Richthofen), with long, slender prisms of
hornblende and hexagonal crystals of mica sparsely disseminated through the
mass. The feldspathic material is drawn out into an imperfectly fibrous form,
which is half-way between pumice and the 'Pele's hair' of the Sandwich Island
volcanoes. This condition has evidently been the result of the flowing of the
mass of lava after the consolidation of the quartz, and while the feldspathic
ingredient was still in a plastic condition. This is shown by the fact that the
threads or fibres are all directed in one way, which was evidently that of the
movement of the mass. The quartz is present in very large quantity in this rock:
it is transparent, but full of fine flaws and cracks.

   "On all sides of Lassen's peak evidences of the existence of former glaciers
were observed. The traces of them were most numerous and best preserved at an
altitude of from 7,500 to 8,000 feet; but they occurred in abundance between
6,000 and 9,000 feet. An immense glacier formed on the south slope just below
the farthest cone, and flowed south, covering a table several miles in extent,
and descending to the canons of the Feather river. Another one originated along
the divide east of the peak, and descended into the valley of Hat creek."

   In the Christmas number of the Sacramento Bee for the year 1881, Rev. J. H.
C. Bonte describes his impressions of Lassen's peak, in an article entitled
"Angling in the Sierra," in this beautiful language:

   "The Lassen group is a brotherhood of mountains; a congress of oval summits;
a celestial gathering of redeemed volcanoes, resting on the bosom of the great
Patriarch. The place of their resort is a royal court, where this conclave of
imperial heights receives embassies from the sea. It is a temple where they
receive the homage of the sun, moon, and stars. It is the king's treasure-house
from whence largesses are distributed to the humble valleys. The entire ascent
of Lassen from Big Meadows up to the snow-line, 10,777 feet above the sea, is
easy, and never percipitous. It is a terraced mountain, with alternate meadow
and forest, and is remarkable for the absence of the hideous and uncouth, for
the even splendor of its ever-ascending terraces. The terraced meadows! what
wild pranks of nature's art! what rich combinations of colors, which almost
produce a visible music! A terraced forest above, and one below, grass, flowers,
richly colored shrubbery, cataracts leaping gently with spread wings into the
meadows! Rivulets a few inches in width, running between banks of greenish-brown
moss, with flowers bending over them as if dropping a tribute of perfume while
inhaling the vapor. Loving tolerance, exquisite courtesy of flower and
tree—enough to draw tears of joy from eyes weary with human strife. Such scenes
possess personal magnetism, the art of fascination. Their grace, repose,
serenity, and purity soften the heart, impart peace, arouse the moral desires,
love, and reverence. The terraced meadows and forests of Lassen's peak linger in
the memory like a reminiscence of Paradise. Farther up the birds disappear, and
the eternal silences settle down on the scene, and wonder is succeeded by awe;
awe gives way to solemnity, and solemnity blossoms into peace and gladness. The
tone of Lassen is golden, silvery, and gladsome. It suggests force, vitalizing
power, held in equilibrium. In the evening, the scene is iridescent; in dark
nights, the stars hang down like hyacinths; on moonlight nights, it is solid
silver. In the early morning a thin, sheet-like cloud lies on the western curve;
the sun shines on the summit, the moon on the base, all in living rivalry to see
which can weave the most lovely garments of light and cloud, and a gentle
effervescence in the air proves the supremacy of the sun. As you stride over the
little meadows near the snow, the frost crumples under your steps, and brown
moss filled with prisms of ice reveals the splendors of the Aurora Borealis
beneath your feet, and the sun floods your soul with warmth and gladness."

   The altitude of a number of prominent points in Lassen county has been taken
and registered by Lieutenant Tillman. Some of these are on the summit ridge that
divides the two counties of Plumas and Lassen.

                                                     Feet.
Lassen peak                                         10,437
Mount Dyer                                           7,369
Summit of Taylorville and Susanville road            6,428
Thompson peak                                        7,752
Pass south of Milford                                5,999
McKissick peak                                       7,083
Adams peak                                           8,432
Beckwourth pass                                      5,192
Summit peak                                          8,302
Honey lake                                           3,949
Susanville                                           4,195
Lassen's grave                                       4,281
Stockton's mills                                     4,639
Johnson's ranch                                      4,379
Goodrich's ranch, Mt. Meadows                        4,883
Eagle lake                                           5,115
Milford                                              4,420
Willow ranch, Long valley                            4,275
Junction House, Long valley                          4,639
Shaffer peak                                         6,864
Horse lake                                           5,030
State Line peak, east of Long valley                 8,405



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

San Francisco: Fariss & Smith
(1882)

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/lassen/history/1882/illustra/descript121gms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/

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