F 868 S5C6 A A 1 JD XI 3 o 3 5 m 6 -r. 7 6 COLBURN KINGSHIP OF MT. LASSEN >^ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE KINGSHIP OF MT. LASSEN At Present the Only Active Volcano on the Mainland of the United States In the Pa^ California's Created Benefa(flor By Mrs. Frederick H. Colburn (Frona Eunice Wait) Author of " Yermah, the Dorado " Oh ! Mighty force ! Oh ! cosmic King ! With fiery breath and molten heart, By heaving brea^ and vibrant swing, 'Twas thus thou rent a world apart. F. E. \V. C. COPYRIGHTED BY FRONA EUNICE WAIT COLBURN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED San Francisco, California, November, 1922 NEMO PUBLISHING COMPANY 628 MILLS BUILDING SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. FV 0- J CQ 7 CO CO -a: ce: O ^v ^■'«* IN GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED TO JOSEPHINE WILSON IBM ^Hcfi^siB^cSSMiMllHH^^Sil^l^^^^^^^^H Hi. LASSEX PR.\K, FROM ALPINE GLADE. 2744S0 CONTENTS Page The Kingship of Mt. Lassen 1 Lassen, the Master Mountain 2 Various Names of the Volcano 4 How Ohl Is Lassen Peak? 6 A Prineely Domain -■ 7 What the Master Mountain Has Done for California 8 An Unsolved Miner's Riddle H Ancient and Modern River Courses H Mt. Lassen and Its Satellites 14 Present Wonders of Mt. Lassen District 1& Geysers and Hot Springs 18 Virtiin Forests • 18 Lava Caves and Caverns 18 An HI Dorado Legend 19 The Real Gold Lake 20 A Hunter's Paradise 22 "The Long. High Mountain That was Broken" 24 Animal and Human Life of the Olden Time 26 Early Indian Records 27 How to See Mt. Lassen 2^ The Active Volcano 30 A Safe Volcano 34 Human Interest Features 35 Farmers and Miners War 38 .A|)proaches to Lassen Peak 39 Roadways and Trails 40 The Manzanita Portal 43i The Feather River Approach 43 Life of Peter Lassen, a Pioneer of 1841 ; the Cecil Rhodes of Upper California.. 45 The Lassen Trail of Today 54 Flying Over Mt. Lassen 55 Lassen Volcanic National Park 56 American Gang Lore 58 Paul Runyan and Lassen Peak Eruption 60 An Imagiiuiry Overilow of Lassen Peak Ten Thousand Years Ago 61 A Made-to-Order Town 64 Hon. John E. Raker, Congressman Second District, California (Passage of the Raker Rill, H. R. 348, Created Lassen National Park in 1916) 65 Preliminary Report of George E. Goodwin, Chief Civil Engineer, National Park Service 66 To Mt. Lassen 68 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Vulcan's Head, Smoke Formation, Las.sen Peak Frontispiece n. K. Stlnson Plioto, nM4. Lassen Peak, from the North; .Manzanita Lake in Foreground 5 M. E. Dillmar Photo. Lassen Peak, Full Force Eruption, May '2'2, 191.'); From Forty Miles .\way 9 R. E. Stinson l^hoto. Huge Caulillower-shaped Eruption, May 22, 1915; From Anderson 13 Loomis & Myers Photo. Devastated Area, May 22, 1915 16 M. E. Ditlmar Photo. ILLUSTRATIONS (Continued) Page Lassen Peak, After the Great Eruption, May 22, 1915; Northeast . 17 B. F. Loomis Photo. Lassen Peak, in Characteristic- Kriii)tion, West Side, 1914 21 R. E. Stinson Photo. United States Forest Service Lookout House, September 29, 1914; Evening . 23 United States Forest Service Lookout House, September 30, 1914; Morning. . 23 Active Crater, Lassen Peak, Alter First Eruption, 1914 25 B. F. Loomis Photo. 15roke-off Mountain, Oldest Crater of Mt. Lassen 28 H. S. La\\1oii Photo. Pit River Falls 28 Pacific Gas & Electric Company Photo. Burney Falls, 125 Feet High 29 Pacific Gas & Electric Company Photo. Hat Creek Falls 29 Pacific Gas & Electric Company Photo. Devil's Kitchen, Near Drakesbad, South Base, Lassen Peak 31 P. J. Thompson Photo. First Showing of Smoke, Lassen Peak, May 30, 1914 33 The Final Eruption of May 22, 1915 33 General View, Boiling Lake 36 M. E. Dittmar Plioto. A Sputtering Mud Pot, Near Boiling Lake 36 H. S. La-wton Photo. Snow on the Little Styx, Devil's Kitchen 37 M. E. Dittmar Photo. Hot and Cold Water; Devil's Kitchen 38 H. S. Lawton Photo. Corner of Boiling Lake 38 H. S. Lawton Photo. Inside Crater, Cinder Cone; Basaltic Glass Formation 39 M. E. Dittmar Photo. Cinder Cone; An Ash Heap 6,400 Feet High 39 M. E. Dittmar Photo. The Lava Flows from Cinder Cone 41 Lake Enchantment, with Terrace of Cinder Cone Lavas on Left 41 Peter Lassen 44 Grave and Old Monument, Peter Lassen, Near Susanville 47 P. J. Tliompson Photo. Monument Erected by N. C. C. .\., Peter Lassen Grave, September 20, 1917... 49 Southeast Summit, Lassen Peak 55 H. S. La^^ion Plioto. Rough Country, Lassen Volcanic National Park 56 Section thirteen. Air Service, United States .-^rmy Photo. A Typical Ice Cavern; Foothills, Las-sen Peak 57 M. E. Dittmar Photo. Paul Bunyan, Droll Fellow with Rougish Eye, Who Makes Play Out of Work 59 .\ Well-formed Bread Crust Bomb (J3 H. E. Lawton Photo. Ashes in Foreground; Lassen Peak South 65 H. S. Lawton Photo. After a Hail Storm of Hot Rocks and Cinders 66 M. E. Dittmar I>hoto. Lassen Peak, Looking Southost from Manzanita Creek (i7 M. E. Dittmar Photo. California Alpine Club Monununt; Lassen Peak Sununit, North liS H. S. Lawton Photo. Lassen Volcanic National Park, Showing Proposed Scenic Boulevard tii) Lassen group is a brotherhood of mountains (orming a temple of the winds. The place of their resort is a royal court where this conclave of imperial heights receives embassies from the four elements, and homage from the sun, moon and stars. Rev. J. H. C. Bonte. FOREWORD |HE .tfcoloi^y of Calirornia rciids like ;i Hidcr Ihi^^iird rcjniance. SficntiCic niiiuls iind Ihenisclves ol)Iii,'e(l to use sui^crlatives (o convey an ;ide(iuatc' nR'aiiini^ in any line of (liscover\-. But lor all tliat, tlie avera.^e person knows nothing about the ,_ ^ ^,, puzzling distributions of minerals, the creation of our superb ■^^^ II watersheds, our priceless timber stands, the enrichment of valleys, or the out])ourings of cements and clays which are largely due to the volcanic activities of Mt. Lassen and its associated craters. Many have climbed Vesuvius, and have peered into the molten lava crater of Kilauea but have never seen Lassen Peak. This fact is neither creditable nor profitable. Mr. A. B. C. Dohrmann has aptly said that Northern California has mountain ranges which in the possession of any coimtry in Europe would be made to support the entire population. Not only is this statement true, but the inunediate vicinity of Mt. Lassen is the greatest scenic asset of the entire state. A visit to the locality can be made with safety and ease. There an intimate close-up may be had of how the universe was created. The distance from San Francisco is about two hundred and ten miles in a northeasterly direction. In writing of Lassen's wonders I have purposely avoided using technical terms, and have drawn freely upon the records of experts in special lines. To the State Mining Bureau, United States Forest Service Commission, Official Army Reports, Lassen Peak Portfolio, Veather Bureau data and Lassen Volcanic National Park Association field notes, am I much indebted. The observations of specialists in irrigation and power sites confirm much first-hand information obtained by my visits to various points in the volcanic area. The photographs used in illustrations were secured fioiii II. S. Law- ton, official photographer Western i^icific Railroad, tlie I-'ifleentli Aerial Photographic Section, L'nitetl Slates Army, for airplane snapshots, from M. E. Dittmar, Secretary-Manager, Lassen Volcanic National Park Asso- ciation, R. E. Stinson, G. E. Milford of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Chester Mullen and B. F. Loomis. Although my work is confined to the limits of (lalifornia I am not unminduful of the great changes wrought in Oregon anil Nevada by the volcanic disturbances centering in the original luountain. Much of the lava found in the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Ranges was erupted by local peaks and craters, but all responded to the fiery impulse of Lassen — the beneficent. I have treated the Lassen volcanic area as a whole in order that the reader may have a comprehensive background in which to visualize the glories of peak and mountain. Instead of having the last word it is my privilege to speak the first. Those who write after me will find a blazed trail only. Mine has been a lonesome (juest since there is no other layman's work for me to dispute or (juestion. ^h\s. Fhi:i)i:hi(.k 11. ("olhi nx. November, li)22. VULCAN'S HEAD, SMOKE FORMATION, LASSEN PEAK. COIUU-.CTIOXS On page 8 the illiistratiiiii used is Irdin ;i pliotogrnpli of :i copy- rif^lited photograpli 1)\ H. 1^. Stiiisoii. The eruption which caused the devaslation shown on page Hi occuiTdl on tlie evcnin}^ ol' May 111, lill,'), when a f^l'eal Hood of mud and water rushed down Lost and Hal Creeks and washed away four ranches. The photograph was made by Mr. I?. 1". I.ooniis. Both photographs on page 21! were made 1)\ Mr. 15. 1'. I.oomis. Tile pliotograpli at the top ol' page 'A'A was made l)y Mr. M. 1''. Loomis on Ma.\- 122, lill.'), a lew hours preceding the gi'eat eriiiition of that day. ()nl\ a portion ol' the original photograph is shown. 11 has been cut in half and Ihe copyright maik omitted. The illus- tration at the bottom of iiage :i.'i is from Number 2 of the lanious continuity series ol' live pholograplis ma for the condition of the photographs as reproduced. The photograph use<| on page 57 was made by Mr. H. I-". Loomis. It shows a flashlight view of one of several caves or lava tubes in the Devil's Half Acre on Hat Creek. On page 66 is shown another ])ho|ograph madi' l)\ Mr. 15. F. Loomis on October 20, 191 1. On page 50 the fourth paragraph should begin: "Alter Peter Las- sen lost his great ranch its name was changed and a portion of il was planted to the largest vineyai'd in Ihe world," etc. It is a yellow pine tree that stands at the head of I'cter Lassen's grave. It is said to be Ihe largesl yellow pine tree in Northein California. On page 57 the name II. L. ( omad should be .\. L. Conard. The Kingship of Mt. Lassen 'm^^M^^^'^'BX^ijMm^^^^^i: Aloof, unshadowed, close to God it stands. And works the wonders of the Master's will, Triumphant in its niij^hty power to fill The wasting places of earth's leveling lands. — Mary Gordon Holway. ASSEN is a mountain with a past — and a bad cnoiii-li one to be interesting, but Lassen Peak is only a part of the original volcano. Although wrecked, broken and niucli rechiced in height, this master mountain dominates two hundred thousand square miles of territory — an area almost as large as Great Britain and France combined. In the morning of time there stretched a semi-circle of flaming mountains from Mt. Baker to Mt. Las- sen. These w^ere beacon lights in a vast volcanic region which includes much of Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, ^Yashington, Idaho and Montana. One by one these lights winked out, until finally only Lassen Peak flares up occasionally, and sputters feebly, in comparison to its former titanic efl"orts. The wonders of the Yellowstone and the weird depressions of Death Valley are in the radius, and so are Santa (]ata- lina and other islands near the coast. On a stupendous scale within this magnificent domain is found every known volcanic phenomenon. Mt. Lassen occupies a key position. It sits in the apex of a colossal letter "Y" formed by the terminals of the adjoining mountain ranges. Some time in the remote past the original mountain filled a great depres- sion between the northern end of the Sierra Nevadas, the southern end of the Klamath ridge of the Cascades, and the Siskiyou spur of the Coast Range. Being volcanic in character, Lassen erupted its own laterals and literally joined itself to the other elevations. The mountain proper con- sists of Broke-oir Mountain, six unnamed pinnacles and Lassen Peak. Along the base of this huge serrated skyline the (>ld crater walls are clearly outlined. Glacial action is everywhere in evi(kMice on each slope of this high divide. Formed by the older flows of lava which center in Broke-olT Mountain are terraced glens once filled with glacial ice. Below the walls of lava are deeply scoured canyons marked and scarified by ice erosion. Heat and cold — ice and molten lava — have struggled for supremacy while the old mountain labored and fought for existence. Eons of time have passed since Broke-ofF Mountain was tlie central vent, and many isolated eruptions have occurred in the vast area dominated by the master mountain. "While everything east of the Rocky Mountains lay under an ice sheet one mile in thickness, Mt. Lassen in simultaneous eruption with hun- dreds of crater peaks in the immediate vicinity poured out the lavas which cap the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges. Geologically con- sidered, Northeastern California is an extension of the Sacramento Val- ley before the (]ascade Range was erupted to the north fork of the P^atlier River. When this occurred, the gap between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Coast Range was closed by a series of colossal lava dams. The Sierras are primarily of an older granite uplift while the Cascades were erupted in a more recent period and are composed prin- cipally of lava. In the watershed area these formations react upon each other in a curious manner. The lavas act as sponges, and absorb the moisture which brims over or seeps through the granite cups or con- tainers. LASSEN THE MASTER MOUNTAIN Between the two sentinel peaks, Mt. Lassen and Ml. Shasta, was fashioned one of the largest and most unique underground, natural water storage plateaus in the world. This area of live thousand square miles in the Pit River Basin includes Fall River and the mysterious Ris- ing River, Crystal Lake and Burney Creek. The latter stream presents a dry bed one-quarter of a mile above Burney Falls, over which one hun- dred and sixty second-feet of water falls to a depth of one hundred and twenty-five feet! The full volume of water bursts out of an apparently solid lava terrace. Ten millions of people could use one hundred gallons of w'atcr per person daily from the supply at the junction of Fall and Pit Rivers, and this regardless of climatic conditions or extra storage. The Modoc Lava Beds and the great watersheds of the Feather River country sustain Northern California's claim to leadership in power sites and irrigation possibilities. Heix' where the fires of licll burst forth And the mountains rocked from south to north, Here in tlie lieart of a wonderland To the god of I\)\ver a temple is phmncd. — H. S. Furlong. In the uncanny Lost River regions on both sides of Lassen Peak there are huge underground tunnels cut by the displaced waters through acres of volcanic matter and glacial ice. One spring in the Hat Creek country perpetually carries enough water to supply New York City. At least 80 per cent of the upper Sacramento flow comes from these hidden sources. Numerous streams empty into the Fall and Pit Rivers above the junction of the Sacramento while an enormous volume of subter- ranean waters find exit by way of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in Oregon. These empty into tiie Pacific Ocean at tjuite an opposite angle after draining a watershed of vast potential power. [ 2 ] The Northern Sierras contaclinfi Lassen Peak on the east presents a titanic jumble of broken be(h-ock slates mixed witli a ho(lge-j)oclge of other rocks everywhere burdened with a heavy o\er-toi)i)ing of andesitic lava. On the western slope of this niucli disturbed area arc found the sources of the ancient and modern rivers which have washed down the sands and gravels containing the surface deposits of precious metals. Deeper down are the veins and fissures packed in tightly be- tween the intruding granites when the earth rocked with the mighty heavings of innumerable craters responding to the impulse of the original volcano. On the eastern side of the range are tlie dry catchment basins of the desert reaching from the Columbia River plateau to the Salton Sea. In the Great Basin lying between the Rockies and the Sierras and extending from the Snake River to the Colorado there is said to be enough borax to cleanse the entire earth, salt enough to preserve it and soda enough to sweeten it. Extinct Bonneville and Lahontan Lakes divide interest with Mono, Owens and Searles Lakes, the latter three being utilized for water supplies or valued for potash or other utilitarian mineral contents. Unmistakable evidence indicates volcanic origin for the desert con- ditions in Imperial Valley, the Salton Sink, and the Mojave Desert. Here the flow's were basaltic and of intermittent cliaracter. First there was the torrential overllow of thin, watery lava corresponding to the condi- tions found in the ancient and modern river areas, across the divide, and undoubtedly traceable to the action of Broke-off Mountain in earlier times. A long period of quiescence followed in each case. The later ande- sitic lavas topped the Sierras but did not descend to the lowered desert levels. Today huge black basaltic buttes thickh dot the grayish lime, clay, cement and alkali coverings of the Great Basin area. Instead of gold and silver deposits the High Sierras are rich in building materials such as granite, brown and sand stone, various kinds of marbles beauti- fully marked, and vast beds of exquisite onyx. In Inyo and San Ber- nardino Counties there is said to be suiricient onyx and tine marble to build several large cities. Untold wealth is still hidden in the fantastic deposits of jjrecious metals, abundantly scattered by long-continued and violent earth shak- ings. In the immediate vicinity of Lassen Peak, seventy known minerals abound. Many are of great utility and value commercially, besides the mines of gold and silver which have already made California rich ami famous. The far-off approaches to this greatest wonderland of the .Northwest makes an irresistible appeal to the imagination. Lofty, snow-capped pinnacles reach miles into the air on the Cascade Mountain outskirts of Lassen Peak, while on the eastern slopes of the Sierras depressions far below sea level present a i)arched and desolate conti-ast. On the one hand is the transcendant beauty of countless frozen heights outlined by eternal verdure. On the olher hand, fantastic and weird imagery of heat waves tamper with the senses and lure to mirage illusion.s and destruction. On the west and north the mean elevations and climatic conditions provide moisture and sustenance for millions yet unborn. On the east [ 3 ] and south dcmidi'd iiiid dossicated sjinds have hlown over and buried tlie habitations of a lost race. Over it ail, written in letters of fire, is the magical impress of a rare phase of creative energy. Here the Master plans for a civilization higluM- tiian all that has gone before it. Here, too, is the urge to herculean deeds of wortli-wliile achievement. Here is the obligation to live up to California's opportunity for supreme leadership. Connecting tliis magic land with the long ago are the giant sequoia trees, ^hmy in the Mariposa grove are known to be thousands of years old. These grand old monarchs not only stood under the Star of Bethle- lieni, but were flourishing when the glories of Egypt departed. They have been actual witnesses of much that has happened in the Lassen country. A seciuoia blossoms once in four years, and it requires another four years for the small, hard cone to mature. None of the white race has witnessed the process of a sequoia seedling sprouting from the wind-scattered seeds winged to earth and rooted by moisture and sunshine. The redwoods are Tertiary trees, and are said to have composed the first general forests after plant life became well established. At one period stands of redwoods covered much of Scandinavia and parts of Europe as well as sections of the United States. Now the only surviving remnants are found in the fog belts of Northern California. Once extinct it would be hard to reforest them, as these trees propagate principally by ofTshoots from the upturned roots of a fallen monarch. For a cen- tury or so the young saplings cling to the rim of the circle formed by the mass of exposed roots. Finally the strongest crowd out the weak- lings and a group of redwoods still struggle for supremacy in the upper air spaces. The heaviest and most valuable timber covers in the United States flourish among the extinct craters, or stand like sentinels to guard the thin, light-weight soils over-topping a stratum of lavas said to average two thousand feet in depth. But for the moisture, altitude and sunlight of the rugged surfaces, the matchless redwood and other forests could not exist. VAKIOUS NAMES OF THE VOLCANO The padres accompanying the Arguello exploring expedition in 1820 bestowed the name of St. Joseph's Mountain on Lassen Peak. If not the first white men to see the peak, they w^ere the first to make a record and give the eminence a name. Passing trappers must have seen it during the next twenty years, but it was not until the late forties that American settlers called the entire mountain Lassen Buttes. In writing of the locality at a later period, Professor Whitney strongly objected to the word "buttes," because he declared the Fi'ench used such a designa- tion when referring to mere knolls. As setllemcnt increased on all sides the name varied. Older inhabi- tants continued to use the term Lassen Buttes. Later by common consent this was changed to Mt. Lassen — the name generally used throughout the country at present. In 1902, the United States Government estab- [ 4 ] lishcd a Forest Service patrol throuLjli tliat region, and after a pre- liminary survey issued a map, with a text compiled by Dr. J. S. Diller, entitled, "Lassen Peak Portfolio." This gave the peak an oflicial title. In 1907, President Roosevelt set aside the peak and Cinder Cone as national monuments. On August 9, 1916, President Wilson signed the bill which created the Lassen Volcanic National Park — an area of eighty-one thousand acres, which includes the mountain and peak in its western extremity. The pronunciation of the name Lassen has been a subject for con- siderable controversy. Old settlers give the "a" the broad "-ound as in "Lawson." Those of Scandinavian extraction make the word more like "Larsen," while the surviving family use the "a" as in "ah." It will be safe to follow the family tradition, which is also the popular pronunciation. Lassen Peak at present has four craters, varying in elevation and diameter, but not all have been active lately. On May 30, 1914, a new vent was formed in one of the craters by a series of explosive eruptions which have continued at irregular intervals since. The new opening is funnel-shaped and is estimated to be one thousand feet in diameter. It extends downward about eight hundred feet below the highest ridges of the older crater rim. The most violent eruption of the present time occurred on May 22, 1915. A column of steam and volcanic ash rose in a caulillower shape to the immense height of thirty-six thousand feet. So terrific was the force of the explosion that a great vent was torn in the side of the peak below the active crater. The superheated mud and scoria cut a wide path down the western slope and devastated an area of several square miles near Manzanita Creek. HOW OLD IS LASSEN PEAK? Latest discoveries raise tlie ([uestion of the age of Lassen Peak. It appears that this last vent of the ancient pile was erupted in a recent geological period — say, ten thousand years ago! If so, it was the greatest outstanding feature of the last universal overflow of Mt. Lassen and all of its satellites. The unmutilated mountain once towered from three thou- sand to five thousand feet higher in the air. Its head has been blown oil' and the lieart torn out and scattered hundreds of miles over the sur- rounding country. Showers of volcanic bombs still lie as thick as hail seventy-live miles away, and in many directions. These bear mute testimony to the terrific activity which wrecked this giant mass and left Lassen Peak the sole surviving firebrand among the multitude of extinct craters. As if unmindful of the old volcano's unruly conduct in the past, Lassen Ridge rides in rough fashion across the middle of the letter "Y" in a general northeasterly and southwesterly direction. This belt of lava peaks averaging ten thousand feet elevation and having many craters a mile in diameter extends from the north fork of the Feather River to the big bend of I'it River, fifty miles away. Holding Lassen and the three mountain ranges in a grip of eternity in the Lassen Ridge [ ] are Butt Mountain, Lookcnit, Magee and (j'ater Peaks. Burney Biitfes an«t Hat Mountain, l)esi(les a nameless and uncounted nest of lesser vents. A puin(;i;lv domain A bird's-eye view iroin the top of Lassen Peak rc\eais the jiiajest.v of God's handiwork, when the planet was beinj^ made ready for man's uses. The peak itself is ten thousand four liundred and sixty-five feet high, Broke-ofl' Mountain has an elevation of ei.yht tliousand six hr.ndred feet, while the six ])innaeles and domes in between have an average elevation of nine thousand feet. The Indians say that Prospect Peak, nine thousand two hundred feet high and in the near vicinity, was once a part of the older mountain. If this proves true, then Mt. Lassen proper was one of the largest mountains in the world. Indian (tral iiis- tory usually has a foundation in facts, no matter how obscured by child- like imagery or allegory. It is also well to l)ear in mind that compara- tively little is known of the actual developtnent of this st'll active- volcano. Completely encircling Lassen Peak is an indescribaljje nest of unnamed craters which add much to the impressive grandeur of tliis incomparable region. They thickly dot the lanbon-like river, fade into a hazy distance. The meeting of the mountains at the southerly base of the peak, and the crest of the Sierras, carry the vista into the heart of California. Last and northeast the ragged hi.qh-colored lava L 7 ] )e(ls slope toward I^aylc Lake and Honey Lake Valleys. In the intt'r- vening plateaus many peaks, lakes and ancient volcanic vents break the evergreen forest colorings and add much to the beauty of the surround- ing country. WIIAI THK MASTKB MOUNTAIN HAS DONK FOR CALIFOHNIA 'Ihe lirst amazing fact to beat in upon the senses is the existence of a titanic fault or uplifted fold in the earth's crust, which separates the Sierra Nevada Range from the Big Bend. This undulating wall begins in Long Valley, Lassen County, and literally drops the Nevada country downward from one to three thousand feet. The fault is clearly defined for three hundred and fifty miles, losing itself at Tehachapi Pass, after an up-and-down career at Owens Lake which varies from four thousand to eleven thousand feet elevation in a short distance. The next surprising discovery is that there is a sharp tilt in the ground surfaces in a general northern direction. The very steep dip to tile northeast of the highly tilted slates forming the bedrock running parallel with the axis of the Sierra Nevadas accounts for the excessive How of lavas toward the Columbia River plateau. The Sacramento Valley and the Coast Range are almost bare of lava, while the Cascade Mountains — a continuation of the Coast Range — are heavily capped with volcanic matter. The Sierras, running at a sharp angle to the Cascades, carry thousands of feet of thick, viscous deposit, (leologists say that between the Tertiary period and the Quartennary, which comes dow'n to the present time, the lavas were erupted in the great northwestern area. Turning toward Broke-ofT Mountain, the lowest of xMt. Lassen's peaks, one sees that here was where the first eruption of magnitude took place. It was from this center that the thin, fluid-like mass was sent in a deluge over almost the entire volcanic region. It is found on the Columbia River and along the course of the Des Clmtes and Snake Rivers. In California it turned the ancient rivers out of their original channels and left for the miner the untold riches of the auriferous gravel beds that have been and are being mined with varying degrees of profit. This basaltic, watery overflow cooled and hardened into the cement-like covering which securely sealed the golden sands and gravel for ages. Was it this flood of boiling fluid which caused the Pit River Indians to designate Lassen Peak "Kome Yermani" — the water mountain? Underneath the present top soil will be found ample evidence of how this overflow passed the Klamath Mountains and spread far and wide over the surrounding country. The next awe-inspiring thought is that the upheavals of Lassen and its contemporary volcanoes have given Northern California its splendid river courses — ancient and modern — while dooming the southern coun- ties to desert and drouth conditions. The high scarp wall of the great fault took up the slack in the earth's crust and left the depressions of Death Valley, of the Salton Sea and of Imperial Valley. On the Cali- fornia side is the Mojave Desert, while over in Nevada is Tonopah, bare of verdure, scant of moisture, but heavily laden with precious metals. [ 8 ] Another miracle wrought hy the volcanic activity of which Mt. Las- sen was the center was the great lissure known as the Mother Lode, con- tinuous and well defined for more than two hundred and fifty miles. The high scarp wall of the great fault is on the crest of the Sierras; the Motiier Lode fissure is in the foothills hut follows the same general trend. Not only did the earth's crust fold hut it also cracked under the terrific pressure of sui)tcrranean forces. From the top of Lassen Peak several fault cliffs can be seen about the head waters of Hutte Creek and on the road between Big and Moun- tain Meadows. An untrained eye will have no difliculty in tracing tlie lava uplifted ridges radiating in a fan shape with Mono Lake as a center and terminating near Quincy, in Plumas County. This system of faults is like huge waves of solid rock shaken apart and scattered broadcast in a hopeless and wliolly indescribable tangle. Long-continued earth((uakc produces the most freakish results im- aginable. All laws of normal continent-building seem to be igored or defied in the i)iliiig uj) and mixing of the country rock. Only the granite masses have been able to withstand the violent oscillations. Solid beds of slate have been heated and blown up into giant bubbles. Then they were shattered into bits, which were set on end like jagged teeth on innumerable steep declivities in Mt. Lassen's strange laboratory. A notable example of broken slates is found in the Merced Canyon, between El Portal and Yosemite Valley, while The Devil's Post Pile in the Minarettes of Madeia County bears testimony to the power of vol- canic energy when opi)osed b> an immovable mass of granite. The wizardry of the mountain in concealing gold nuggets in tiie auriferous gravels is matched b\ the cunning with which the grains of gold have been vaporized and cooled in the quartz veins. Cracks and crevices are filled with Hour of gold which has sifted in. The extraor- dinary methods of California's mineral deposits are only possible where there is intense internal Jieat and protracted volcanic action. Long continued oscillation caused tiie formation of the famous ribbon rock which contains the richest gold veins. This beautiful rock is characteristic of the Mother Lode and of many lesser and isolated gold-bearing fissures extending from below Mariposa County to the base of Mt. Lassen. This treasure trove is two hundred and fifty miles long and from twenty to seventy miles wide. In this section has been pro- duced two-thirds of California's mineral wealth. Here a criss-cross net- work of ancient river channels, heavy with aui-iferous gravels, precious nuggets and sands dispute honors with the lissure veins. The formation of the Mother Lode was the last event in the rock history of the Sierra Xevadas, and is of recent period, geologically. On the ojjpositc side of the great scarp wail are the immensely rich mineral deposits of Nevada. The famous (]omstock Lode, with its wealth of silver ores, disi)utes honors with the gold fields on the western slopes of the Sierras and both are closely connected witli tlie beneficent results of volcanic action. [ 10 ] AX I xsoi.vi:!) m;xi:i! s hiddi.i; The mysterious so-cjtlled "blue lead ciiannel" of the I'cjrest Hill Divide, in Placer County, has lon.i^ been a puzzle to the mining' geoioj-ist. It pre-supposed the existence of a niif^hly, ancient river llowin;,' from the northeast to the southwest, parallel to the crest oi the Sierras, 'i he name was derived from the bluish color of the very rich gravel filling' the river channel. A tormenting feature was the irregular and bafllinj^ course of the alleged stream. It seemed to spread far and wide, and to disappear frequently, making for a spotty condition in various mineral- ized sections. In some i)laces the streak of blue gravel was covered by a deposit of cement eighty feet deep. It almost invariably lay on bed- rock, showing that it belonged to the torrential overllow of the old original volcano with Broke-olf Mountain as its center. Tiie first scientific mining men accepted the ancient rivei' theory as to the origin of the blue lead. Then came a school of geologists who denied the possibility of any one body of water presenting the phe- nomena fomid in the blue lead district. They said it was too varietl and too widely distributed to have a common source. Now comes the certainty that an ancient river of wide dimensions and great length had its rise in Meadow Lake, Nevada County, and flowed along the base of the Northern Sierras. Geologists call it the .Jura Hiver and under direc- tion of Government specialists its length is being traced and mapped. Copious lield notes are being taken as to its history and functions, not only in the mineralized zone, but as an ancestor of one or more of our modern river courses. Nothing in Mt. Lassen's long volcanic career is more amazing than the effects of displaced waters and the intrusion of lavas, cement, gravels and sands hulen with gold into the old channels and river beds. The curious manner in which these treasure troves are hidden is almost beyond belief. As a general rule ancient submerged river channels arc broader and more siiallow than their modern suc- cessors. The old streams i)resent a labyrinthian distribution where drift mining is being done. It is found that the grades difVer greatly and that there were falls, rapids and whirlpools and other river phenomena, similar to the surface waters of today. In a few ancient river beds gold deposits have been uncovered more than six hundred feet below the top soil. ANCiicxT Axn MODKUX iuvi;u coi usi:s An unanswered question which i)uzzles the .neologist. bailies the min- ing engineer and exasperates the irrigationist is, ^Vhy does not the modern river follow its ancient betl? Professor Joseph Le (-onte was of opinion that the new channels are cut below the level of the old because of a considerable elevation of the whole Sierra Range in the northern part of the State. This proves that the earth's crust was tilted in the last big upheaval of Mt. Lassen and its minions. This also accounts for the splendid watershed of the locality and for the desert conditicms of the Great Basin and Southern California. Here many rivers start bravely for the sea, but the waters seep through the i)arched sanils. The streams finally splay out into numerous winding rivulets which become insignificant, dry runways Hushed by an occasional sjiring freshet. [ 11 ] I'l) in the Sierra looUiills is a well-known instance where the bed of an ancient river runs along the ridge of a hill, dips through the Hank of a mountain, clinil)s over a steep incline, and ends by bumping into a gianite spur. Of course, no well-mannered watercourse ever flung itself about in this i)r()miscuous fashion without the intervention of some freakish volcanic action such as Lassen affords. This badly-twisted, ancient river was discovered by some scientific miners who waslied the top of the hill from the bed, then hydraulicked the bed for its gold content. The process sent millions of tons of waste down through flume, tunnel and canyon into the Sacramento Valley where it did much to aggravate the "Slickens" question, once such a bone of contention be- tween farmer and miner. An observer standing at iianner Hill, near Nevada City, or on an elevation near Auburn, in Placer County, has only to look toward the east to discover many of the ancient river head-waters in the deep canyons in this picturesque region. An outlandish characteristic of lava is that it runs uphill, and that its velocity does not depend upon the incline. Lava makes as good time going uphill as down! The Sierra Nevada Mountains attest this pe- culiarity to a remarkable degree. The piling up of the thick, viscous,'^ andesite lava cap over this section left the table mountains when the action of the elements cut through the porous and less adhesive mass of scoria and ash mixed with the erupted matter. The cement la> ers, the lava caps and table mountains are the despair of the nomadic miner with pick and shovel. The chickens could easily have found much of the gold picked up by the forty-niner! When the gulches, canyons, river bars, benches, riffles and beds no longer yielded a fortune in a few days and in a deposit concentrated into a dozen yards, the typical prospector sought other fields. That the rush of the early fifties only scratched the surface is evidenced by the fact that in Placer County alone there are two hundred miles of ancient river chan- nels still unworked. In olden times the American River reached to English Mountain, and the Tuohnnne to Mt. Dana, but the most startling change of all over- took Lost River which disappeared near Hat Mountain. Here Lassen in an ugly mood swallowed up this venturesome stream and covered its place with a tortuous maze of crisped rocks, cinders and scorias. There is also another Lost River near Tule Lake, on the other side of the moun- tain close to the Lava Beds. It, too, has a ghastly geologic history and bears the indelible marks of a gigantic struggle with pent-up volcanic energy. A fascinating speculation concerns the ancient Jura River, with its dry bed and broken banks. Was this old river the original Sacramento?' Indian legend says that the waters of the Sacramento were, by a big shaking, hurled through Canjuinez Straits, thus cutting off San Fran- cisco peninsula from the mainland, and plowing out the Golden Gate entrance to the bay. Recently the .Jura River has been traced almost tO' the Mexican line, making it a worthy ancestor to the Sacramento, whichi [ 12 ] has its hoMiiiniii.ns in (iiiiU- an ()i)i)()silL' diicction near the base of Mt. Shasta. MOLNT LASSKX AND ITS SATKI.LITHS One of the oldest bits of land on the North American Continent is the crest of the Sierra Nevadas which begins in the Grizzly Spur Range in Plumas County and terminates in Pyramid Peak in El Dorado County. This ridge is older than the Rocky Mountains, and to it has l)een added by volcanic action all of the labyrinthian succession of ele- vations which form the present seventy-mile thick mountain chain. Here and thei-e these high crests are braced and held together by intersecting lava peaks whose tops contain extinct craters. Curiously enough, few of these volcanic flows originated at the places where they are now found. Many of the beds are sixty miles or more from their craters! Time and erosion have slipped them down the mountain sides. It must also be borne in mind that there were two universal over- flows when all of the craters in the entire system emptied simultane- ously. Ages elapsed between the two epochs, but there was much indi- vidual and isolated action by the various centers. Often these occur- rences were in widely separated localities. That Mt. Lassen was a factor in many of them is proven by the various kinds of lava composing the base of the mountain. The first was basaltic, then there was a consider- able eruption of rhyolite stone. The last big blow-up was of andecite, while the present ash and cinder deposits are of dacite. It is the latter which gives the mountain its beautiful, pearl-gray color, and is undis- puted evidence that the present fires are deep in the bowels of the earth. Dacite lava belongs to the Tertiary period, and is an old forniafion. Are the theorists right in the assumption that Mt. Lassen and Kilauea's liquid fire are on the same strata? Does not the phenomena of the vicinity give unmistakable evidence that Lassen Peak is never really quiescent? Does anyone believe that its present activity is caused by surface conditions? Is it not foolish to fear that a great catastrophe is Ijossible now? Mt. Lassen today is a hollow shell — a spent force — and all that it has been doing lately is to blow out and clean up its old vents! Strictly speaking, it is Lassen Peak that has been clearing its tiiroat. In accounting for the ocean of andecite lava in the last general over- llow, it is necessary to consider tiie innumerable centers within the radius of Mt. Lassen's activity. In the high Sierras near Colfax, Pinoli Peak, English Mountain, Grouse Ridge and Signal Peak did their full share. From Truckee are seen the lava craters of Snow Mountain. Mc- Kinstry and Pyramid Peaks which rise from the same granite plateau as Yosemite Valley where ice erosion and heavy shakings gouged out this matchless gem of creation. Southwest of Reno is a scarified mass of lava which extends from Truckee River Canyon to Washoe Valley. Mt. Pluto and its ridge of lesser vents were the source of the formations in that section. The conditions in Placer County are due to the presence of Canada Hill, Raid Mountain and Duncan Peak. The lavas here make the life of the miner miserable but put heart into the man looking for [ H ] power sites. 'Jlie scenery ol" lliis i uHf,'e(i rei^ioii is siii)eil) in its lofty grandeur. Hut it is west of Lake Tahoe, beginninf,' at \\ rjjher l^ake and includ- ing Mt. Lola, Castle Peak, Mt. Lincoln, 'l"ind)er Knob, Mt. Mildrerl and Twin Peaks, that the sublime and beautiful overcome one's awe of the titanic forces that have shaped this eerie region. Here at elevations of ten thousand feet or more are piles of the viscous, slow-moving andecite lava fully two thousand feet thick! Round Top, over in Alpine County, has a large group of lesser vents which were a i)art of the great move- ment, while Mt. Hobb, in El Dorado County, poin-ed lava over miles «tf that section. Another gigantic center culminates in Highland and liaymon*! Peaks near Markleville where the deposits are known to be four thousand feel thick, and are piled in such fantastic forms as beggar description. A picturesque spot is the gold-laden district close to the Dardanelles Bluffs. The counties adjacent to Mt. Lassen are filled with nests of crater peaks and vents which form a part of the Ihiee luimhcd and sixty-five craters visible from Lassen Peak. In the remote past, a steaming, desolate exi)anse of volcani*- tufa, mud and scoria covered all of the intervening spaces between these high crater centers. Then countless rills of storm waters ilowed down the slopes. Gullies, ravines and new master streams were formed. After the shakings ceased and a normal temperature was established, the canyon cutting began, with the bewildering results seen today. For several thousand years the topography of the mountain countr> has not changed. It still has its groves of oaks in the foothills, its giant pines on the middle slopes, and a thin fringe of storm-scarred hemlocks on the summits. Held fast in this rigid sea of partly submerged lavas are three of the scenic wonders of North America. These aie Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the United States, fourteen thousand five hun- dred and two feet, Mt. Lassen with its active volcanic peak, and the Yosemite Valley. PRESKXT WONDKIIS OF MT. L.VSSEX DISTUIOT It was the poetic imagination of Washington Irving which immortal- ized the story of Bonneville Lake. This perii)atelic body of water anciently occupied Honey Lake Valley and was the progenitor of Eiigie. Pyramid and Honey Lakes in the basin northeast of Mt. Lassen and of Great Salt Lake in Utah! Bonneville Lake was supposed to occupy seventeen thousand s([uare miles of territory and to have been fresh water. The Indian tradition is that when the mountains were all "spitting" at once a big water rushed in and stayed a long time! Did the water come from Lost Hiver, down whose enipty course the eruption of Lassen Peak. May 22. li)l.'), came like an avalanche of nuid. hot rocks and ashes? What is now left of Honey Lake lies like an c\t[iiisile lire ()pal eilged by a lacy formation of volcanic matter. Its shallow ilepths rellect each passing mood of cloud and sky. and by moonlight holds the senses spell- [ L') ] bound by its silvery shadows and glades of light. Its name is given because of the manna from Heaven in the form of a heavy, swcelisli dew that falls upon its grass blades each night. In striking contrast to the daintiness of Honey Lake are Lake Tahoe and Crater Lake, both cups of sapphire set in the ragged lips of an old crater. Lying so near the open vent of Lassen Peak as to be always in danger of extinction, is Lake Helen. Its waters are glacial, its surface usually blanketed with ice, and it is seldom other than snowbound. Of a totally diiferent character is Lake Tartarus, the boiling lake of Warner Valley, seven miles south of the base of Lassen Peak. Here the strangel> saturated mineral waters boil and gurgle in ceaseless fury, while a TT^^^ v..i* T- DllVASTATED AhKA, MAY 22, 1915. chain of sputtering mud pots completely encircle its steaming banks. No two of the mud pots are alike, either in coloring, activity or smell. It would be easy to believe that the unruly fire spirits of this uncanny region mess here perpetually and that their stews were continually in the process of cooking. The Devil's Kitchen, quite appropriately named, gives a continuous performance of steaming crevices, roaring geysers spouting hot water to varying heights up to one hundred and fifty feet. There are innumer- able waterfalls bursting through the steep walls of the narrow canyon, and every known kind of mineral spring, hissing and steaming along- side of others of ice-cold water. Perpendicular walls of broken lava [ 16 ] J siuTouiul llu' entire Kitelun, while liiroiimh it flows a luri^id stream, tlie Little Styx, which in the level places forms green, slimy pools where ti'oUs might find a tongenial hahitalion. GEYSERS AND HOT SIMUNCS On the south and soutiiwest sloiH's of Lasser. Peak there is an area of ahout thirty acres where one should pick their way carefully. I'his space contains ahout eight hundretl volcanic vents. And they hiss and steam and gurgle all the time! It is an uncanny region, and one feels that there is boiling water underneath the huge lava shell he is walking over. The fact that there is a top soil and verdure covering the area does not change this impression. Here the voices of Lassen are heard, and they are gutteral and sinister. Some movements of water soothe and pacify; some sing mer- rily, or chatter foolishly. Lassen growls and grumbles, snaps and snarls, and one is made aw^are that here latent but tempestuous fury sleeps fitfully after centuries of unbridled and wilful self-indulgence. Unruly Lassen has always been a law^ unto itself. Man and his puny works dwarf into insignificance in the presence of such stupendous cosmic forces. It is (piite evident that the geyser activity of this region has been accelerated by the latest explosive eruptions of the re-awakened peak. The water seems hotter and it is flung higher than it was before the events of 1914 and later. The Little Styx continues to be muddy, and there are trees and other debris cluttering its tortuous banks, which bear convincing evidence of a subterranean connection between the new craters and the Devil's Kitchen. vmGiN Fom:sTS ^Vit]lin a thirty-mile radius, and at elevations ranging from two thousand to forty-five hundred feet are splendid forests of sugar pine with horizontal boughs tipped with long pendant cones like dark rustic lanterns. Mingled with them are great columned trunks of yellow pine whose russet bark forms a sharp contrast of color to the majestic ever- green firs with their fairy banners of lacy yellow moss, to say nothing of the varied lesser growths scattered everywhere. A curious feature of the Lassen forest is the sudden falling of the matured trees, often when there is not a breath of air stirring. Without any apparent cause, down comes a hoary giant with a crash. None of the stands of timber is well rooted. Those at the higher altitudes are sparse and stunted in growth. At the snow-line only tamaracks survive the rigors of cold, bleak winds and eternal ice. Should ficc or other misfortune wipe out the forests of the mountain regions, the whole climatic condition of Northern California would change. There would be less rainfall and nuich severer cold. LAVA CAVES AND CAVEUXS The Modoc Lava Beds extend over one hundred square miles of territory north of Lassen Peak and between Modoc and Siskiyou Coun- [ 18 ] ties. Language fails to convey a corri'ct idea of tliis ainaziiiHly