San Joaquin County CA Archives History - Books .....The Tule Land 1923 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Kellie Crnkovich markkell95@aol.com December 16, 2005, 2:06 pm Book Title: History Of San Joaquin County, California To the west of the high land there are thousands of acres of peat or tule land, estimated by Surveyor C. D. Gibbs in 1850 at 133,000 acres. This soil, which was covered with water a large part of the year, was Nature's last work. And she continued building up the land, very slowly, it is true, until man stopped the work by reclamation. It is now-known as the Holland of America. Lapham, in describing this soil, says, "In typical section the soil consists of six feet or more of fine alluvial river and tidal silts, intimately comŽmingled with partially decayed vegetable matter, undecomposed plant roots, stems, and fibers occurring in great profusion. This material is dark brown to black, of an exceedingly smooth and pasty consistency when wet, of spongy texture and generally saturated with water at a depth of two or three feet. This tule or peat land became, during the winter season, the feeding place of thousands of ducks and geese that flew from the north at the first approach of the Arctic w- inters. Then everyŽbody that could fire a shotgun went hunting. They had not far to go. Where now stands the Crown Flour Mills was all tules, and I have knowm Frank Giovanessi, a dead shot, to leave his home at sundown and return two hours later loaded down with game. Ducks were so plentiful that in November, 1859, "Over the city in flocks, thousands of ducks and geese are flying, and their 'honk, honk' may be heard night and day. Hank Saunders shot thirty-nine ducks and geese and the following day he got forty-two. Ducks are selling at 25 cents a pair." Now they are selling at one dollar a pair and scarce at that price. There are now no general feeding places for ducks, as the swamp land has all been reclaimed or sold to corporations. And the only men who can hunt game are members of gun clubs who have money to purchase reservaŽtions. One of the beautiful sights annually occuring in the fall of the year was the burnŽing of miles and miles of tules. They were set on fire by the hunters to clear the land and drive out the game, making it easier to locate a flock of ducks or geese. It was indeed a beautiful sight, especially at night "the ocean of fire," as one writer expressed it when the flames rushing along at racehorse speed, licking up with their red-forked tongues the dry tules. One writer of that day said, "The most magnificent spectacle we have ever witnessed delighted us on Tuesday last. The morning opened with a cloudy sky and a stiff wind was blowing from the northwest, which increased in velocity as the day advanced. About ten o'clock huge columns of smoke arose from the banks of the San Joaquin, which in time became so dense it flung a shadow upon the earth. The vast flames quickly spread, fanned by the wind and soon the enŽtire land was a vast conflagration. But it was as the evening set in that the picture presented its sublimest aspect. The red glare shot across the heavens and was reflected again upon the city and 'all men stood and gazed" These annual fires continued perhaps twice or three times a year until along in the eighties. Often they were very annoying, especially when the wind was from the west, as the streets and the housetops would be thickly sprinkled with burned tules. The family washing hung out to dry would become so smutted that it would have to be again rinsed out in clean water, and the small boys would have a jolly time blackening their own and the other fellow's face. In the tules and along the river banks might be found thousands of raccoons, otter, badger, beaver and other fur bearing animals. Beaver were plentiful in that region, as late as 1870. Robert Dykeman, a hunter, trapped 256 of the valuable fur-bearing animals, and also shot large quantities of game for market. The beaver was found on French Camp slough, and attracted to that locality the trappers of the Hudson Bay Company, an English corporation. The streams abounded in fish, and they were so plentiful that a directory published in 1852 said, "The Stockton Channel and the San Joaquin River contain an abundance of fish. There are salmon, trout, sturgeon, and an infinite variety of smaller kinds to the heart's content. We have seen children stand on the city wharves and fill their baskets with small fish in the course of an hour, amid the commerce. The salmon has a delicious flavor, and the trout is as delicate as an Apicius might desire." It was great sport for many boys to go fishing, perch being the principal fish caught. Richard Reibenstein and others would tell of their catching perch where now stands the Hotel Stockton, the Weber Hole, as it was called for many years. Some thirty years ago the Government began propagating black bass. Later a large number were placed in the Stockton Channel. From some cause, soon after, the perch all disappeared and none have since been seen. Up to the middle sevenŽties salmon and halibut were sold in the fish markets at 12 1/2 cents a pound. Sometimes an Italian would land at the wharf with a whale-boat load and sell them like hot cakes at from 50 cents to $1 each, according to size. Then came the fish corporations and they stopped the cheap sale of fish. Now with thousands of tons of fish in the rivers and ocean it is higher priced than the first cuts of meat. Additional Comments: HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY By George H. Tinkham Chapter I HISTORIC RECORD CO LOS ANGELES, CA 1923 File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/sanjoaquin/history/1923/historyo/tuleland243ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb